Miscellaneous

Oh how I miss Vermont! This is my sister and I at Ben & Jerry's with our kids. Every year we take a picture here. They go back to when I was about 6 or 7. I think that one day I will write a letter to the people at Ben & jerry's and tell them how much we love them and how we go every year. This ice cream lid has always been there - since I can remember. And, did you know that including scoop shop sales this is the most popular ice cream? (Cherry Garcia is their number one pint seller - FYI)
This is the current state of my hallway. Do you like all the wood? All the boxes? This weekend we are tackling the project of our bedroom. Our current closet sucks - so we are walling it up and creating a nice new large closet that will run the entire width of our room. And we are painting.
The current colour of our room is this horrible pinkish/dusty rose colour. It's horrible. I have decided that just putting up a couple of coats of primer will be far better than living with this colour any longer. To add to the horror of the room is that the woman who lived here before us was a smoker and so the walls are yellowy. (who smokes in bed anymore?) we've tried washing the walls, but the best way to cover smoke is with paint. So that is what we will do.
We also have a firm rule of "no cats in the bedroom" (I'm allergic) so hopefully our room won't be cat hair filled.
After we do our room we're turning our attention to the spare room. But, I'm not sure when. We may get inspired and go for it - at least prime it. But, who knows.


Finally ... The memes. Her Bad Mother posted all the contents of her "bag" (read: purse) and encouraged her readers to do the same. I thought this was kind of fun. And, since I love a good meme - enjoy!

I'm going to from back to front (kind of)
1) My purse. I have many, but this is the one I use most. It holds everything.
2) Back Left - My wallet (Matt & Nat) it's small. I love it
3) Next to wallet - glasses case for prescription sunglasses
4) Next to case - my Coach change purse. Love. (from my sis)
5) Next to change purse - memo from GO Transit apologizing for delays
6) Second Row from Back left - my Blackberry/Crackberry - I love and hate this
7) Tylenol
8) Sunglasses that belong in their case
9) Glasses case (with glasses)
10) Pass for work with pig-like picture of me on it
11) Lypsyl
12) Postcard from Vermont from Matthew to Kalysta - I mailed it this morning!!!
13) 2 Pens
14) A gum wrapper
15) My social girl candy. This makes me laugh - they say on them "I'm an Open Invitation" - and they are cherry flavoured. They were a gift from my parents who didn't read that closely. They make me laugh.
16) change that belongs in my change purse
17) front middle - a second cup 2 for 1 coupon and some wadded up receipts and an old cold pill
18) Photo lab photos from my sister. She's very organized. The pictures are adorable
19) My 2 Shinylicious lip glosses. My current favourites. LOVE.

FINALLY - Haley Tagged me for a meme about my middle name

Basically you just post a relevant fact for each letter of your middle name. As you should know - my middle name is Dawn (as in Laural Dawn). Easy Peasy.

D - daring
A - adventurous
W - wacky
N - noisy

There you have it. And ... I am tagging 4 people since that's how many letters are in my middle name. And, these are people I've never tagged before (or have I?)
I tag: AndreAnna, MandyPoo, MammaLee and Sam

A little less Drama, a little more Laughter

Thankfully the major biting spell in our house is almost over.
I'm not sure what prompted it, though the suggestion that it may be because Mike didn't go on vacation with us or the fact that I've been extra emotional lately may have triggered it.
Who knows.
What I do know is that thankfully Matt has retracted his teeth and is becoming the three-year-old we know and love.
And he's back to his crazy self.
The last couple of nights we've been going on walks. I know I should be at the gym again, or even running, but it's been so nice out lately and I haven't felt like going to the gym. I want to be outside. And, since Matthew is loving riding his trike it has made going for walks much easier.
Believe it or not, 99% of the time Matt listens when we tell him to slow down, he knows not to ride on to the road, and he's not really capable of riding faster than we can run. So, it makes for an enjoyable walk.
Last night's walk/ride was to Starbucks. I was craving an evening coffee - and since I never drink caffeine in the evening, there aren't that many tasty decaf choices out there. And, I thought it would make for a perfect distance which it did.
But, the funniest part of the trip was watching Matt on his trike. He is now attempting to do various tricks. So, he'll stop, pick up his trike like he's doing a jump, and then plop it down. Or, he'll do a crazy spin. Or he'll wobble back and forth. Half the time Mike and I were cracking up. It was so cute.
And, I think I'm also learning with Matt that he needs to be tired out in the evening. We are sometimes guilty of letting him watch tv while we do various things. But, I think we need to get him outside enjoying the weather.
He's already told us the next subdivision he wants to ride through, so I think we may try it out.
Mike wants to get a bike for himself. I'm thinking next year he and Matt will probably be able to go for some bike rides together.
Personally, I can't stand bike riding. So, maybe I'll jog along behind them.
(okay, who am I kidding. Maybe I'll make a cup of coffee and read and let them have some father/son bonding time... so much nicer)

Clean

For the past few weeks I've been on this clean streak.
The problem that I have, which it seems my husabnd and son both have, is that I'm not a naturally neat person.
I have this issue where I'd love a clean house, but I have a hard time achieving it. Mike swears he doesn't see it, and Matthew takes great joy in creating messes all around him.
I'm fine with a house not being perfect. I like people, and myself of course, to feel welcome and comfortable to put their feet up and relax.
But, lately, it's been a lot less comfortable and a lot more messy.
The problem is that we aren't that organized, and so it's really hard to put stuff away somewhere where there is no place to put it. It's making me CRAZY.
So, I'm starting a rather aggressive plan to get this place in shape. I'm sorting, organizing and throwing out.
In fairness, we have lived in this house 8 months, and we have been in transition for the past few years, so we have lived out of boxes a lot. We've accumulated lots of junk.
Lst week I re-did the kitchen and put in a nice new cupboard. Our big plans for re-doing our kitchen are on hold for a bit, so I thought I could at least make some small changes.
Next step - basement.
While Mike took Matt to his parents' place for the day I cleaned, sorted and organized ALL of Matthew's toys. I threw out several bags of broken toys. I spent literally hours. And today I'm tired! But, I'm off to do laundry. FUN times!

Oh The Eyelashes

Last night I went to a Mary Kay party.
It was really quite a nice evening. There were 4 of us trying out glam new looks. We looked beautiful (okay maybe I looked a bit tarty, but whatever).
So, the Mary Kay lady was telling us about the eye makeup remover they have. (It's really good stuff by the way). I was drinking coffee while she was discussing the benefits of this eye makeup remover. Interesting information.
And then she told a story about how she had this client who burned her eyelashes off and how she kept using this eye makeup remover and the minerals in the eye make up remover made her eyelashes grow back.
I choked on my coffee.
Is this funny to anyone but me.
I could hardly hold in the giggles.
I was sitting next to my sister who was like "what's so funny?"
I had to reminder her of when I was missing eyelashes. Why, you may be wondering, was I without eyelashes?
That would be because I trusted my sister to wax my eyebrows. But, when she wasn't paying attention she dripped wax on my eyelashes, and along with my eyebrows came a few lashes. Ouch!
But, funny.
When I recalled that story she started to laugh too. In fact everyone started to crack up (at my trauma, people! You're laughing at my trauma. I kid. I was dying by that point).
All I could think to myself was who would have thought in that agony of having your eyelashes ripped out that you should use your mineral enhanced eye makeup remover to encourage eyelash growth.
And that thought made me giggle even more.
My friend sells Mary Kay. Next time I see her I will have to mention the benefits of the eye makeup remover. Good stuff. I'm thinking I should have some on hand for the next time Beck helps with hair removal.

My 3 Year Old Is Kicking my Butt

Seriously.
I'm beyond tired these days.
I thought that when the "terrible twos" were over and before the f*&%ing fours" began there would be some peace, a nice respite from the terror that can be my son.
I was sorely mistaken.
So, here I am, entering my fifth month of parenting a 3 year old, and I am seriously exhausted. I have tried being strict. I have tried being nice. I have tried ignoring. I have tried bribing. And NOTHING works. Nothing.
One minute he's the sweetest child in the world. He's hugging me and kissing me and telling me how much he loves me. I love that. And all is right with the world.
Then suddenly he turns. And because this insane child. Something sets him off and he goes wild. It's like if I don't work with his schedule and do what he wants then he attacks. Literally.
He has starting biting again. And it hurts.
I tell him no - he bites.
I say it's time to go - he bites.
I offer him candy - he bites.
I'm covered in bruises and my patience is wearing thin.
And it's not just me. Mike feels the same way. Every time Mike turns around Matthew is biting him too. It's gotten to the point where we compare bruises at night. It's not fun. And, keep in mind he's in daycare ALL DAY.
And so on it goes. But, it doesn't help that lately I've been tired and cranky and trying to cut down on caffeine.
So basically, my child is kicking my butt. I'm sure I'll sort this out one day. But today I'm just venting. Cause really, there's not much else today. If anyone has a solution (other than copious amounts of alcohol) please let me know ...

Back from Vacation

I'm back from vacation - 8 days with my son, my parents, my sister and her family.
I'm exhausted.
There's so much I have to talk about. There's the beauty of the mountains, the fun I had with Matthew and my family, the things we did, the meltdowns that occurred, the yummy food we ate and how I cannot imagine being a single parent to a 3-year old.
But, I'm tired.
This week wore me out.
Specifically, travelling by rental car and via train from Vermont to Toronto (in 13 hours) with heavy baggage has kicked my butt and rendered me exhausted. And, of course I came back home and decided to reorganize the kitchen. (don't ask).
Maybe tomorrow I will download some pictures, and talk about my travels.
But for now I will leave you with some of the highlights:

• Our first night of swimming - the kids found those rings that you throw in the water and then dive for. In her excitement my sister threw it to me, missed completely and whacked my mom in the head. Once we knew my mom was okay, my mom, sister and I could not stop giggling over my dad's comment of "it's okay, dear. Becky didn't mean to hit you. We all know she has horrible aim."
• Matthew and Kyla discovered that I could burp words. We were all floating in the pool, right before bedtime and they would give me a word and I would burp it for them. Hot!
• We went on the Ben and Jerry's factory tour 2 times, and went to Ben and Jerry's 10 times. (Matt went 11 times). We didn't have ice cream every time.
  
• I now have an ice cream cone tattoo on my ankle (it's airbrushed - not permanent)
• Matt having a new found obsession with the word "butt". Really - where did that come from?
• Walking on the recreation path. Who knew my child loved nature so much?

Okay. I'm done for tonight. Pictures to come.

Guest Post #3 - In which her hubby attempts to write something...

It's incredible that after knowing someone for 10 years, when you sit down to write something about them for the blogging world, the most incredible case of writers block seems to happen.

I remember the day I said to Laural "Hey, I started a blog, it's pretty cool.. You should try it out sometime". Little did I know that not only would she start blogging like crazy, but even attract a following. My blog sits there collecting dust and spiderwebs, while she on the other hand has gone on to have her own little group of blogging friends, be invited to blogging events, and even meet her favorite writers! I have to admit, sometimes she amazes me.

Sometimes I catch myself thinking "Gee, Laural should blog about this!", only to look over and see that she's already thinking long and hard about what she's going to write. Sure enough, shortly after we're within reach of a computer, she's off. It irks me at times, but that's part of being married to Laural. A beautiful, strong, independent, goal oriented, mother.

Sometimes she amazes me with the goals she sets and achieves. Losing weight, done. Running a 5k, done. Being a fantastic mother, done. Taking Matty all by herself on vacation, well.. almost done. Her strength of character and shear determination to finish what she starts is something I can always use a good dose of.

Of course it's not all paradise either. I believe she also has other, smaller goals, the purpose is to keep me on my toes. Goals like, surprising me with cats, asking me where her keys are, and my favorite.. Never closing zip-lock bags!

All and all though, I'm lucky to have such a wonderful partner at my side. I wouldn't have it any other way.

Guest Post # 2 - A Mom’s Eye View

I have two daughters, both of whom I am very proud to call “daughter”. They have grown into two women whom I admire for very different reasons. I think of them as my best girlfriends. I laugh with them, cry with them, and generally just have a wonderful time being with them.

Since this is Laural’s blog, I should probably be more specific about what it is I enjoy about having her as a daughter!

Laural is the whimsical one in the family who tells hilarious stories about every day events – they can be work related or home related. Many times I laugh so hard that tears run down my cheeks as she relays something that happened in her life. I usually shake my head and say audibly, “only Laural”. She was always the one her dad and I could rely on to tell us what was going on at school – usually with some embellishment.

She is the spontaneous one in the family who comes up with an idea and wants to run with it now. Like the time she decided that on the way to Vermont we should take a side trip – fly to New York. We don’t always go along with these outrageous ideas, but when you are around Laural you never feel like you are “in the box”; she pretty much operates “out of the box” whenever she can.

Yet there is a serious side to this crazy daughter of ours. We are both professional women in the business world. She works in the communications department of a large company, while I run my own soft skills training company. There have been times when I have called her for sage advice and gotten it. She helps design marketing materials for always edits and/or proofreads articles that I write for publication.

It has been a fun time watching both of our daughters grow into mature young adults who have each married wonderful men, had great kids and continue to be awesome human beings. But then as a mom, I may be just a tad biased.

GUEST POST #1 ... On Being Laural's Sister

Hi, my name is Becky, and I am the guest blogger today! This in itself is very funny because I can't even figure out half the time how to post comments on Laural's blog, so I've given up. Every once in awhile she writes a really nice thing about me and I can't even respond to it without calling my husband downstairs to fix the stupid blogging thingy that won't let me comment!! But, since Laural has asked me to write, I will, just for you sis!

I think what I would like to address is Laural's apparent insecurity about being a mom, or maybe being the mom she feels she should be. It's very odd at times reading Laural's blog because I think she sees me through rose coloured glasses. I think a lot of people do. I used to talk to my grandma about an argument I would have had with my husband, and she would just look at me and say "Becky, I can't imagine you ever raising your voice!" Well, I do. I lose it continually with my husband and my kids. Today it was over spilt bubbles - how pitiful is that? Perhaps this is the side of parenting I tend to shield a bit from my sister without realizing it. Even family vacations are well planned on my part - enough time away from parents and my sister that they don't always realize when I'm grouchy or tired or just annoyed with being around them for a week! I'm not trying to hide my true feelings, just make sure others don't suffer from my ups and downs. Clearly, as a result of that, I've somehow hidden a lot of my failures from Laural. So, I would like to take the rest of this blog clearly outlining for my sister why she is GREAT at her job of being a mom, and how her parenting makes me laugh and realize I should relax a bit with my parenting techniques:

1. Being a new mom-

Laural will say she went through major depression and had a very difficult baby - which is true. What she fails to mention is that she picked up the phone continually to talk to me. She had me over every week, even if she didn't feel like it. She would get up and put on a pot of coffee and have treats for Kyla. She carried on and got through even if it was the last thing she felt like doing. That shows a huge amount of courage.

2. Being a mom to a boy -

Thank God I had girls!!!! I look at Matty, and I know I couldn't do it. I have no idea how that kid thinks. I love him to death, but he is a complete mystery to me. I can't keep up to his questions, his energy, anything! I am astounded every day how Laural figures out how to parent him. I would be pulling every book off the shelf at the library to try and figure out how to do it. I feel I was given a much easier lot in life getting 2 girls - at this point (check in with me when they hit puberty)

3. Being a mom to others -

I think a big part of being a great mom, is loving your kid's friends. I would want Kyla's friends as they grow older to be able to trust me and come to me if they needed help. I watch Laural with Kyla and am very touched by how much effort she puts into being a loving and caring aunt. She'll call out of the blue some days to see if she can take Kyla for an ice cream in the evening. I feel good knowing that if Kyla was in trouble and didn't feel she could come to me, that she would be able to talk to my sister.

4. Being a working mom -

Here, as usual, Laural and I have chosen different paths. Laural shines as a working mom. I would be an utter failure. I will go back to work sooner than later, but as a bit of a homebody, I want to have quiet moments with my kids during the day and be the one to go on adventures with them. I like my small network of friends, and the small routines I've put in place. I can't imagine Laural lasting long with this. Laural always has a hundred and one things on the go at work - dives into the social aspect of work, and then easily comes home and slides into being a mom. I haven't figured out how she switches back and forth so quickly, except to assume that the GO is actually a magical ride from one realm to the other. She literally jumps from work, to home, to the gym, to friends, without missing a beat. It's exhausting to watch, but exciting as well! I could never do it.

I would never take a toddler on the train by myself. Not because it can't be done, I just wouldn't think I could do it. Laural gets excited about the idea, jumps in, and then looks back to debate the obstacles. Throughout her life she has had experiences I could only hope to have because she does this. Her life is a series of stories that keep you enraptured and wanting to hear more. I live alongside this and love every minute of my life as Laural's sister.

While I'm Away

I'm leaving for vacation tomorrow.
Now, I know I don't have a million readers. But, there are some of you who very kindly check in here a lot. And, I wanted to do something special while I'm away.
Enter the Guest Bloggers.
I speak a lot about the people in my "real life" - my family and my friends. And, they don't all blog. Here's their lucky chance.
Over the next few days you get to read what they have to say. I don't know what it will be. My guideline was that it can be about anything - it can be about what I'm really like (sometimes adorable, sometimes a tyrant) or it can be about life in general.
I haven't read them yet. My husband is posting them for me. I can't wait.
And, wisely, when I recruited my mom and sister to post for me I recruited them before we all spend a week in a timeshare together. Because what they say after that may be vastly different. They will, afterall, experience the pre-coffee Laural which is a little terrifying to say the least.

So, check back often, enjoy the antics of my guest posters and please ... COMMENT!!! And let them feel the love.

Awwww ... How cute

This is a picture of Matty and I in the local paper. It's a very teeny picture. But, ya know, the paparazzi always seems to find me :)
I wish you could see how high up we were, but it was still pretty cool.

Just a few days away

My vacation to Vermont is approaching quickly. I'm almost packed. I'm beginning to get people to cover for various things for me at work, and I'm seriously ready for a break.
And then it hit me last night.
I'm nervous!
Sometimes I sign up for crazy things. Like, oh, taking Matt on 2 train rides, getting a rental car and negotiating my way through Montreal to Vermont ON MY OWN.
Have I mentioned driving in new cities makes me nervous. Driving an unfamiliar car in a city I rarely drive in ... yikes. (did I mention I failed 5 driving tests? In suburbia!!!)
What am I thinking.
The nice people around me keep assuring me that I'll be fine. Afterall, I've been reminding myself, I used to be a tour guide.
The thing about being a tour guide ... I usually had a competent bus driver who would point me in the right direction.
Yes, I've driven in Montreal, but Mike was at least sitting there with a map. It's the same with the train stations.
I'm a little nervous about trying to find my way to the correct track when we have to board the train. I know this is completely ridiculous - afterall, I'll be boarding the Via train at Union Station which is exactly where I get off the GO train everyday. But, Union Station is huge.
I'm wisely meeting a friend (and colleague) for coffee a little early. It will be fun, and she's very good with directions. I'm sure I'll make it to the train just fine.
But after that ... well we shall see.
I'm also a little nervous about entertaining Matthew on the 5 hour train ride. I've got activities and a portable DVD player (with 2 hours battery time), but beyond that, I don't know. I'm hoping he will be amused by the scenery and the fact that he is on a train.
Of course, I'm also a little worried about the trip itself. I have many many plans for the trip including taking a cable car up a mountain (when we were about 11 and 13 my parents had us climb that mountain!!!), going to Ben & Jerry's, visiting some farms, shopping, swimming and relaxing. But, I'm hoping my somewhat precocious 3-year old wants to do this too.
And then there's the eating aspect.
I'm used to Mike eating out with us. It will be weird just the 2 of us. I mean, Mike is generally the voice of reason when Matt decides he just wants ice cream for dinner and I kind of want to go with it. Although, since we will be in Vermont, in my opinion it's perfectly logical to eat ice cream for every meal. I mean, really, think globally eat locally!!!!
Actually, I'm pretty excited too.
And, the other thing I'm thinking of is creating a vacation scrapbook when I get back. I haven't scrap booked since Matt's first birthday, and I think it would be super fun!
Just really really nervous. And, I have a feeling when we get back, Mike and Matthew are going to have some great daddy-son bonding days while I SLEEP!!!!

Me ... a Supermom!

About once a month the guilt of being a working mother gets me down. I love my job, and I don’t really want to stay at home.

But, when my son’s daycare goes on a field trip I feel I am missing out. When I hear about a first, or when I observe him learning to read numbers and I haven’t taught him the ever-familiar guilt creeps in.

So, I wasn’t quite sure what to expect when I started reading the book “Journey to the Darkside Supermom Goes Home” by Kathy Buckworth.

The book is touted as a ‘good hard look’ at what happens corporate moms decided to become stay-at-home moms. Yikes!

It’s not like I was planning to quit my job and stay at home. That’s not why I read it. I just read it for fun. It’s written by a humourist who is a parenting writer, so I figured that it may be a fun read.

I was completely right.

Somehow Kathy Buckworth has the ability to make me laugh at myself. I’m what she would describe as a “supermom” because I work and manage having a child and everything that goes along with that in the evenings.

Some of her descriptions are dead-on. At one point she talks about how supermoms leave work and are proud to get to the child’s play on time while the parents who have been toiling away to get the play going look on in judgement.

Been there – I did a semester of Saturday gymnastics with Matthew. I wish Kathy had been by my side so she could have laughed along with me.

Anyway …

She takes an incredibly humourous look at what it’s truly like to stay at home with kids. She is somehow able to describe the boredom and busy-ness at the same time. Her descriptions of the various types of moms out there was hilarious.

By the time I finished reading the book there were two things that happened. First, I truly understood my sister’s life a little better (she stays at home). I sometimes wish I was doing what she was, but this book reminded me, in an incredibly funny way, that it’s not as easy as she makes it look.

Second, I was really glad to go to work. I’ve been reading this book on the train, and the further I got into, the more I realized I was quite happy to hang on to my title of Supermom just a little longer.

I really enjoyed this book. It wasn’t my typical read, but I was engrossed. And, this is one of those books that I’ll keep at work (really, I am) so the next time I am tired and frustrated and feeling like a crappy mom, I’ll pull it out and be able to say “oh yeah … I am making the right decision here.”

And, when you find a book that reminds you of that it’s a keeper.

But, don’t get me wrong, I think this is a book that a stay at home mom would enjoy too, because you’ll likely be reading thinking “finally, someone gets it.”

Friday Evening Fun

Last night we went to the Annual Midnight Madness event that takes in the town I grew up in. (Our city's neighbour).
It's a fun event. They close down all the downtown streets, the stores are open, there's a sidewalk sale, there's tons of food booths and activities. It's a big party, there are a million people. It's a fun, though crazy event.
The highlight of the evening for us? There was a firetruck there. And, they were offering rides in the aerial extension part of the truck - you know the thing the fire fighters ride in to get to the top of buildings. Mike saw this from a mile away and said Matty would love it. True. So we went over. And waited for about 45 minutes.
We told Matthew about 20 times that it was a long wait, but he was quite determined to stay in line. So we did. It was the first time that I've seen him be so patient about something. He had a blast waiting. He was chatting with another little boy ("Maybe we'll go so high up we'll be in space?" and "Maybe we'll be taller than dinosaurs" were my favourite discussions).
And then we made it to the front of the line. By the time I got there I was wondering how much we would have to pay. But it was FREE! Awesome.
Because Matthew is little (and because he was technically too little but I somehow got around that) one of his parents had to go up with him. I'm not quite sure how it was decided that parent should be me considering that I am not great with heights. But, on we went.
It was a blast.
We went up 35 feet or about 3 stories. We saw everything. It was an amazing experience. Matthew was in awe. Not only was he hanging out with one of his heroes, a firefighter, he was IN A FIRETRUCK.
And then I looked down. And looking back up at me was our the photographer for the community newspaper. So, when we got off the truck he asked for our names. My fingers are crossed that that picture will be in the paper. I just think that would be amazing to show Matthew what he looked like from way up high.

The other bizarre moment was when I was in Starbucks.
I was waiting in the super long bathroom line. Like many Starbucks, this one has one men's washroom and one women's washroom. The bathroom line was primarily women, and it was somehow decided by the hilarious and feisty teenage girls in line that we were going to have some equality. So, as we made our way through the line both men and women were directed into either washroom. We ignored the signs on the door and just went one at a time.
The moment of hilarity occurred when a man who was clearly used to getting his way walked around the line of about 25 women to use the men's room.
He got to the front of the line and got sent right back to the end of the line after being given a somewhat stern and hilarious lecture about gender equality courtesy of a 17 year old girl. Love it! And, then Matthew started shrieking "Mommy" while Mike and my dad were in line. I kept glancing back and smiling at him and trying to signal him to be quiet.
This same traffic directing, gender equality pushing teenager convinced the six teenage girls ahead of me in line to let me in front because "her child is freaking out and she looks tired".
And suddenly I love teenagers!!!
No, really. I do.

Since I'm not going to BlogHer ...

I'm not going to BlogHer. Truthfully, I'm not exactly in the group of people who are crying about it. It sounds like tons of fun - meeting bloggers, drinking wine, learning some stuff. I'd love to hear some of the panelists.
However, I also know that from my financial standpoint, me going to BlogHer would mean not going on vacation with my son, not having the little trip I had with Mike, etc. It's a priorities thing, and I'm totally okay with what I'm putting first. (please don't take this as, if you are going to BlogHer, that I think your priorities are off).
But ... for those of us who aren't going, who are just kind of envious, there's something fun and exciting.

A blogger who I read often has created her own contest - for those not going to BlogHer. A pity party of sorts where you could win a Coach purse. And, even if you don't, you can still download the button so you are almost as cool (cooler?) than those going.
I love contests. Especially this one.
Cheer up everyone!
And, happy Friday.

Melt Down in Aisle 5

Last night Matthew and I went to the grocery store. We had a few things to pick up.
One of the things I was looking for was packaged fruit salad. Matt has been bringing breakfast to school lately, and really wanted fruit salad. So we hunted for it.
Unfortunately for me the lunch box size fruit salad is in the same aisle as marshmallows and bags of raisins. (just an aside - why would packaged fruit salad not be next to canned fruit salad?)
Marshmallows ("Smarshmallows") and raisins are one of Matt's favourite foods. I sometimes buy them.
Last night I didn't want to. He was already getting a treat when I was buying him the fruit. We'd already had pizza. Enough is enough. Lately I'm realizing I give in a lot, and I'm trying to be firmer about all his whims.
So, when he grabbed a bag of marshmallows off the shelf I said no.
About twenty times.
He freaked out. And I waivered.
Guess what he did? He plopped the bag of marshmallows into the basket and then went to get a bag of raisins. When I said no he proceeded to have a meltdown. Again.
Lesson learned. If I let him get one thing after I say no and he then wins the argument and gets what he wants he will figure out that bad behaviour gets rewarded.
Yes, I have read this a million times. I'd just never realized that a) I was giving in to this and b) he had figured out that screaming wore me down.
So there we were in the middle of the grocery store, me having a lightbulb moment and him screaming at the top of his lungs.
I gave him 2 warnings to stop screaming or we would get neither the raisins nor the marshmallows. His response, of course, was scream louder. I gave him one more warning. More shouting. And then in one swift move I plopped the raisins and marshmallows on the shelf, picked the basket up with one hand and my screaming child up with the other.
It was not my most glorious moment.
I was THAT frazzled mom. The one who can't stop her child's screaming. Who is trying not to scream herself, and who frankly doesn't care that half the store is staring at her.
For a moment I was afraid someone would think I was kidnapping him, but his screams of "You are a MEAN MOMMY. Bad mommy. I wanted Marshmallows and I am maaaaaaaaaaaad at you mommy" probably warded off any worries about that.
And we made it to line. And I paid, impressively, with a screaming, writhing preschooler in my arms.
When we finished paying I carried him over to the flower department, and I pointed out the helium machine. And, as quickly as the meltdown started it stopped. I put Matthew down. He smiled at me and told me he wasn't mad anymore.
And then he said "but, Mommy, I really wanted the marshmallows and raisins and I was mad that you said no."
I looked him in the eye and said "I'm sorry you were mad, but we don't always get what we want." And, I'm not kidding you, a woman, about my mom's age, walked past me and gave me the thumbs up when she heard me say that.
And suddenly it was all okay.
Matt grabbed my hand and decided we should go home for some raisins and chocolate milk. I agreed.
And, I learned my lesson. I'm not going to give in so often. Really. I'm not.

I'm So Ready for a Vacation

I can tell I'm ready for a vacation.
I've had it with work. Generally I like my job. I like the team I am on, and I like what I do. But, really lately I'm just not feeling it.
Take for instance today. We did the Big Bike Ride. I love it. It's fun. You ride this huge bike around Toronto screaming shouting and dancing to music. What's not to love. But, I just didn't care this year. I groaned about it. I whined about it.
I was in a bad mood.
Of course once I got my team outfit on, and I had an excuse to wear lulus at work, it got much better. And, by the time I was on the bike I was a crazy woman, screaming "woo hoo" at all the people staring at us (pictures will follow). But leading up to it. Blah.
We had a team meeting and it turns out that I'm not the only one feeling this way. We're all a little ready for vacation. We've all had the fleeting thought of calling in sick and enjoying the day. My solace is knowing that at least I'm not alone.
So I'm biding my time. I realized I'd hit the point of disinterest when instead of working I actually insisted on doing a mini-makeover on a colleague who never wears make-up. (it was fun and she looked good.)
Luckily I leave for vacation next Friday. I can't wait!!! I've planned out my route to Vermont, I'm packing this weekend. I can almost smell the mountain air. I am dreaming of Ben & Jerry's ice cream, Cold Hollow Cider Mill and the Stowe Recreation Path.
Less than 2 weeks. The anticipation is building.

Will Wonders Never Cease????

I had a doctor's appointment today.
After the usual peeing in the cup and height measurement it came time for the scale.
And the number wasn't bad. Not bad at all.
And then it happened. My doctor reviewed my chart, looked at my weight, did a double take, reviewed my previous weights and then turned to me and said:
"That's a phenomenal weight. I'm impressed."
No comment on dropping a few more. No suggestion about further dieting. Her only comment was to keep doing what I'm doing.
Okay ... so unfortunately I am not cured, and I can't start eating fast food every day. But, I do have an urge to go celebrate over a Big Mac.
Anyone interested?
Actually, I have to admit that I really was just encouraged to go home and eat salad or something. The rest of the weight I want to lose is for vanity, and I may as well admit that I'm somewhat vain.
The only weird thing about the appointment is that I have high blood pressure, and it makes no sense to anyone since it's higher than when I was heavier, drinking more coffee and eating crap. The irony is that on Wednesday I'm taking part in The Big Bike For Heart and Stroke at work. At least I'm raising money for an organization that may end up solving this bizarre problem.
(don't worry - I'm not about to keel over)

It Isn't easy Being Three ...

On Friday i got called home from work because matthew was sick.
Poor thing.
My husband picked him up, and when he got him he was suffering from some sort of flu. Rough, but survivable. Things got much worse as his day went on.
Before he even made it home he fell down some stairs and scratched his leg.
Then we got him home.
While I was trying to think of something yummy yet healthy (and not illness inducing for him to eat) he asked me if he could try towing my flashlight with his helicopter.
I was feeling very accomodating. I probably should have looked before saying yes because he put the (gigantic) flashlight on the counter, hooked the helicopter up to it, and decided to see if the flashlight could fly.
It can't.
It bonked him in the head and almost knocked him out.
Once he recovered from the head trauma we had some yummy lunch. He wanted a raisin bagel, and proceeded to eat just the raisins.
Yum.
And then on to the afternoon fun (who says a sick child needs a nap?)
We decided to play with Rosie Rose Petal the beloved kitten. And, what's fun for kittens to do. Play in umbrellas of course!!!



















Don't worry - the kitten was enjoying the umbrella ride. She kept hopping in. Fun times!!!!
Of course, I decided some outdoor play was in order.
Of course, yet another injury ensued. This time a major scrape on his leg. Don't ask me how. I was watching the entire time. I really don't know!
After all of the excitement of the day Matthew finally, FINALLY decided that he would sleep. Of course, all of the play tired Miss Rosie out as well, so they had a lovely nap on the couch.
And, as for me ... exhausted!

Lick's Annoys Me

Tonight we decided to go to Licks as a family. It's pretty easy because Matt likes their food, their nature burger is healthy for me and Mike is happy to have whatever they are serving.
The Licks near us is usually fairly slow. But, tonight was an exception. Tonight they were extraordinarily slow.
The painful process started when I ordered. Matt has waited in line with me for a few minutes, but eventually he and Mike gave up and went for a walk.
So, I ordered: "One kids' homeburger meal with cheese, please," is what I started with. Before I could get to mine I was stopped.
"You can't get a kid's meal. You are over 12."
Huh???
I was ordering for my son, but this is dumb. So I had to point my child out to her.
Ohhhh kay.
Then I got on to ordering Mike's meal.
"I'll have the homeburger combo with large onion rings and a diet coke."
Her question "What size diet coke?"
Me: "The size that comes with a combo."
Her: "This isn't a combo anymore since you got a large."
Ohhh kay.
And then we got to the name thing.
Her: "What's your name"
me: "Laural"
Her: "What?"
Me: "Laural - L-A-U-R-A-L"
Her: "really? that's weird."
Nice.

Once we got through that we moved on to getting the burgers and fries. I waited 10 minutes. There was one person in front of my. Seriously. 10 minutes. For fast food. In an empty restaurant. And then they got stuff wrong. It was frustrating.
As I finally walked away with my correct order I got called back for an extra order of fries. And I had to explain that no, I did not order those fries. And then had to wait while they made sure that I indeed did not order the fries that I did not want.

Painful.

I won't get started on the whole ice cream shamozzle that occurred at the end of the meal.

Not that I'm feeling old, or anything ...

But, last night I was babysitting my nieces.
It turns out that my nieces and my son are all obsessed with the question "how old are you?"
I have no problem telling them my age, but after being asked a zillion times by every child I meet, I grow a little tired of it.
So last night when my 5-year-old niece said to me "Aunt Laural, how old are you?"
I said "how old do you think I am?"
Kyla looked at me, thought about it for a minute and then said "Ummmm 82?"
Nice.
She was completely serious.
It turns out that I may be buying that wrinkle cream a little earlier than anticipated.
Kyla's baby sister redeemed them, though, when she guessed that I'm 4.
I'm thinking 29 is a happy medium???

Lately I haven't been totally focused on losing weight.
I still have a goal in mind. But, it's summer. And, it's harder to go to the gym. Matt wants to play outside, we've gone on a mini-vacation, we've been gardening, we've been celebrating birthdays and holidays.
The bottom line is, I've been having too much fun to be completely focused on my eating and exercising habits.
Add to this the fact that I had a tooth pulled (don't worry - no more pictures) which has limited how much I want to eat, what I can eat, and the ability to use a straw ... and you have some very bizarre food combinations going on.
When we went to Buffalo I had every intention of stuffing myself at Cheesecake Factory, and enjoying some fine American cuisine. I did, but I wasn't that hungry. I actually whined to Mike that it was unfair that I was at my new favourite restaurant and all I wanted was soup!!!
So today I decided to weigh myself.
I knew that I've been eating poorly. I told myself as I stepped on the scale that it was totally fine whatever number came up because I would just focus back on eating healthy and lose the "vacation weight".
I almost had a heart attack when I saw the number.
It was significantly less than when I weighed myself last week.
Bizarre.
I stepped off, let the scale go blank, and then stepped back on (it's digital).
Same number.
Then I had my shower. And got back on. Soaking wet, with a towel I was still 5 pounds lighter than last Monday.
This morning I weighed myself 7 times. I'm convinced it's not a fluke, and that I actually have lost weight. I don't get it. But I like it.
And, it's kicked me back into healthy eating because I figure I may as well see if I can lose more weight while my body is on a role!!!

Playing "BAY-cation" with Mommy

Rarely do I think that I am a brilliant mother. I steal ideas, I copy trends. I'm not terribly original. But today ... I was smart.
At the end of July, Matthew and I are going on vacation to Vermont. I'm a little worried about losing him while we are travelling (we're taking the train) or while we are shopping or while we are wandering around.
I debated buying a harness. But ... I know my child well. And I know that there is no way that he would allow me to put one on him. So, while we were in Buffalo I bought a wrist harness. (it also included a full harness if anyone wants it). Mike and I decided that we needed to come up with some super great idea to convince Matthew to wear it.
And convince him I did.
I told him I bought him a "vacation bracelet". I pulled it out at the same time I pulled out the toys we brought back from Buffalo.
He likes the giant Lightning McQueen car. He played with it for 2 minutes.
But he loves the vacation bracelet.
I put it on him and gave him some leftover candy we had brought home with us.
All evening he has been saying "let's play BAY-cation!!!" and we put on our bracelets and walk around connected. Every so often we stop for "bay-cation food" (ju-jubes).
I feel a little like a dog being walked. So much so that Mike helpfully pointed out that we could have saved money and just bought me a leash.
But whatever. we're playing vacation and my child is willing to wear a bracelet that will hopefully keep us connected.
Genius.
I'm getting way too excited for our vacation.

Shuffled Off to Buffalo

Tomorrow, 07/07/07 is our 6th anniversary. So on wednesday night we left matt with my parents and shuffled off to buffalo.
We were going to leave thursday morning, but i decided to surprside mike and leave a day early.
It was a little crazy getting ready. i am usually the person who overpacks while mike survives on very little. But in his excitement he literally dumped the entire laundry basket in his suitcase and we were off!
We have had a lot of fun. We went shopping. We ate out. We sat and had starbucks. Twice! We have laughed over dumb stuff and not worried about much.
Of course we went to the Cheesecake factory. Yum. My meal (which again i ate a third of) filled me up so much that i could eat cheesecake. We ended up getting cheesecake to go!
Yummy.
More on our trip later.

Shuffled Off to Buffalo

Tomorrow, 07/07/07 is our 6th anniversary. So on wednesday night we left matt with my parents and shuffled off to buffalo.
We were going to leave thursday morning, but i decided to surprside mike and leave a day early.
It was a little crazy getting ready. i am usually the person who overpacks while mike survives on very little. But in his excitement he literally dumped the entire laundry basket in his suitcase and we were off!
We have had a lot of fun. We went shopping. We ate out. We sat and had starbucks. Twice! We have laughed over dumb stuff and not worried about much.
Of course we went to the Cheesecake factory. Yum. My meal (which again i ate a third of) filled me up so much that i could eat cheesecake. We ended up getting cheesecake to go!
Yummy.
More on our trip later.

Shuffled Off to Buffalo

Tooth Extraction ... Gross

This is the good side ...

Tonight I went for the long anticipated tooth extraction.
The good news is that the freezing has not yet worn off so I can type this. The bad news is that I know what's to come thanks to a helpful hygeniest.
Anyway, I won't get into too many details because one word sums it up quite nicely. OUCH!
I went in trying very hard not to be a baby about things. And that lasted at least 30 seconds.
Actually, it was very cool because the dentist put this little camera in my mouth and I got to see things on the big screen. It made me realize that this procedure was definitely necessary and that the cleaning I've been putting off for, okay YEARS, is really necessary.
So, sparing the details. But, it's not pleasant. In fact, it's so unpleasant that the dentist chose not to tell me anything other than that he would freeze me completely, and I had to sign a waiver.
The whole thing was longer than I thought. He had to wriggle the tooth for a full 10 minutes. I was shaking. And then he gave me a break. I calmed down, we started again.
The good news is that when I was a little girl my dad used to pull my tooth using pliers (when they were ready to come out). So, I was prepared. I had dealt with this before.
All in all. A success.
My reward???
I got to keep the tooth. Admittedly the dentist said that he had never let a patient keep a tooth that was infected. But, he felt that since he didn't think I would get through this without hyperventilating (I used my yoa breathing techniques) or crying (it was close but I held those tears in) I could choose between the tooth or a sticker.
I chose the tooth.
Why? Because I wanted to share it with the internets. I LOVE YOU GUYS!!!
Feel free to show your children who don't brush their teeth.

And this is why they pulled the tooth - look at that hole!!!

Tooth Fun ...

Sorry
I didn't mean to leave everyone hanging on the tooth front.
It turned out that the pain I was experiencing was from 2 teeth. The top and bottom molars. I thought it was the bottom of my mouth that was hurting. When they asked that's what I told them, but the hygeniest looked in my mouth and said we should probably x-ray the top and the bottom.
Which they did.
The bottom was a cavity. It was kind of deep and so they filled it right away. (a temporary filling). The top is bad news. The tooth is eroded. It's pretty gross. So I have to have it (WARNING - only look if you have a strong stomach) extracted. TONIGHT!
Actually, he would have extracted it right there. Except. I was shaking way too much. And, I was alone. So I get to go back tonight.
Thank God for Ativan. And ice packs. And Tylenol 3.
The funniest part was when he said to me that the bad news is that I have to take the tooth out. The good news is that I'm only afraid of the drill - not copious amounts of blood. Nice.
Have I mentioned it took me weeks to get over my wisdom teeth removal. Uggggh.

A Weekend to Celebrate

Mtt

This was a special weekend in our family. My cousin got married, it was my niece's birthday, and it was Canada Day.
It was a bit of an up and down weekend for me. I had a disastrous dentist appointment on Saturday where I had one cavity filled, and found out I'm getting another tooth pulled. (I have to go back because I didn't want to be totally swollen and in pain at a wedding). So, it's been a painful weekend.
But we didn't let that deter us from having fun.
My cousin's wedding - beautiful. It was nice to hang out with our family, we had a lot of laughs, and I love weddings.
Canada Day was also a blast. We discovered our new favourite food - kettle corn. I do NOT want to know how many calories that stuff has, but it sure is delicious. Matthew loved the ice cream and hotdogs being served up.
It was a beuatiful weekend. And, I'm grateful that today is a day off to relax (and go for lunch with my wondermoms!)

Cousins!

As If ...

I think I jinxed myself yesterday by saying how good life is.
Because when I got home my tooth started aching. It had been bugging me, but by 7:30 last night I was in severe pain. Of course on the Friday of a long weekend no dentist in Burlington was at their office. I was flipping through the yellow pages and calling every.single.office that had emergency service. And no one answered.
Then I finally discovered a phone number. It's very cool. It's the emergency dentist hotline. One dentist is always on call. So, I reached a very friendly dentist.
He went through all of my symptoms with me. And, he explained to me that not only was he convinced that I had a tooth infection, but that if I had a cold that had been around a couple of weeks and then my teeth were really hurting, my body was probably fighting an infection.
So this morning I'm going to go get my problem solved.
I've been told to get there for 9:30 and since my cousin's wedding is today he will have me out by 1.
Have I mentioned I'm terrified of the dentist? I'm squeamish. It hurts. I'm cranky. And I wanted to spend time looking pretty for the wedding, not having my teeth drilled.
However.
I am very grateful that I have fantastic dental coverage so I should get reimbursed for some of this appointment. And, I'm grateful that the dentist could squeeze me in today.
I'm just really hoping this does not mean a root canal. Because that will do me in. (and I'm going all alone and I need moral support for root canals.)
Wish me luck. Stupid Teeth.
PS I love this quote:
Germaine Greer - "The essence of pleasure is spontaneity."

FANTASTIC!

Things are good. I know I've been very sparse in my comments to everyone lately, and really, in posting. I've just been swamped with stuff. I think we all are - that's what summer is about.
But, some good stuff.
Yesterday we had a work event where we went in teams (go team 5) and did a scavenger hunt around the city. I love this kind of stuff. LOVE IT!!!! Luckily I was on a team that was amazing. We were enthusiastic... AND WE WON!!!!!!! So cool. I got a gift certificate for $100 at Yorkdale. Go Team.
Nothing says fun like shopping. And, we went out afterwards and I had a few drinks with some old work friends and made some new ones. I love getting to know people. And, get to know people I did.
THEN...
I came in this morning to check my e-mail. I was flattered beyond belief to find out that I had been awarded a Rocking Girl Award. I was nominated by my blogging friend who I knew from Journalism School. (as I type this I suddenly have a serious craving for Salad King).
Anyway, I'm flattered and honoured. And, then someone said something really nice about me in the comments. And, that made me even happier.
So, thank you my friend.
Part of this award is that I get to award a Rocking Girl award to 5 people.

Multi-Tasking Mommy - because not only does she have a great blog, she is also a truly beautiful person. She's my complete opposite, I think, and I've e-mailed her several times to ask her opinion on things. She's amazing!

Haley-O - Hers was one of the first blogs I ever read (after Nine Pound Dictator). She is entertaining and funny and I love teh way she writes. I also love her honesty about what she's going through.

Ali - I actually read her blog for months before commenting on it because I felt she was far too cool for me. I have since realized that as cool as she is she's also very nice and hilarious sometimes.

Getting Unstuck - I loved Chantel's blog. I love love loved her book (really, if you haven't read it you should) and I found out that we went to the same school. Random. Anyway ... Really, she has some cool stuff, like she has lots of beauty tips and funny stories. Cool.

Nine Pound Dictator - We all know I love Rebecca. She's amazing and wonderful. She's honest, and she writes her stuff not caring whether or not people are mean to her or make fun of it. She's totally my hero in blogging and maybe even in real life. How could I NOT nominate her?

Sometimes he's just so cute ...

tonight we got home, and I was feeling miserable. Matt was being whiny. So, I asked him if he wanted a treat.
I pulled out his favourite - Pringles chips.
"No, mommy. I don't want that treat. I want a good treat."
The first thing that came to mind was that we have no treats in our house. And then he explained that he in fact wanted RAISINS.
Seriously. Raisins. Not lollipops or chocolate or chips. Raisins.
And he followed that by asking for apple juice.
I do not get it!
But, whatever works.

Overprotective much??

I try very hard not to be an overprotective mom.
I don't freak out if my son falls. I don't generally get annoyed at other kids being kids around him. He's in daycare, and I'm not one of the parents who wants an accident report for every cut and scratch.
So, it struck me as rather odd when my overprotective mothering instinct kicked in a couple of weeks ago.
We live in a townhouse complex, so there is a wall that divides our house from the house behind us. (so we have a side yard rather than a backyard). The house behind us has several children, four we think, one of whom, M, is 6 going on 7.
I met her when we had taken Rosie Rose Petal, our kitten, for a car ride and we were carrying her back home. M stopped us and asked to hold Rosie. I said no because she was really scared. But, M wanted to talk and play with Matthew. I finally told her that the next time Matthew and I were outside she could come hold Rosie and play with Matt.
I thought she would forget.
But, the next time we were outside, out she came. She wanted Matt to come over to her place. I said no. It went back and forth. I finally had to put on my mommy voice and say that it was time for her to go home. (she and Matt wanted to play on his bunk beds - I didn't really want her to come in).
Again tonight Matthew and I were outside with my nieces, my husband and my brother in law. Over she came - decked out in her bathing suit - to play in the sprinkler. Apparently she had asked her mom.
I didn't really mind it. First of all, it was kind of nice to have a 6 (almost 7) year old play in the sprinkler while I took a break. If she's playing outside, with me around, I'm okay with it. She seems nice. But, she's a little pushy.
What worries me is she wants Matt to go and play with her and her friends. There are lots of kids in the complex. I want Matthew to have friends. I want him to ride bikes and play and have a good time. But I'm not ready for him to be out of my sight.
I'm not quite ready to let go.
I'm sort of worried that I'll turn into that mom chasing her child around, bottle of sunscreen in one hand, cookies in another.
And, the other thing I wonder about ... why is this little girl allowed to run around to some other kids' house, with no concept of time or who these parents are. I would say my parents were fairly protective of me, but not overprotective. But, I guarantee you that they would not have let me go over to a stranger's home dressed only in a bathing suit. Isn't dangerous????
So, what do you think? Am I overprotective? And at what point do you start to let go a bit? I think 3 is just way too young.

Strawberry Picking and Amazing Strapless Bra Pics

My big plan for this weekend was to hang out with my boys and relax. But here it is, 9pm on Sunday, and I just realized I have not relaxed. At all.
But we had fun!
Yesterday I did something that's been needed doing for a long time. I did all of our laundry. I was hitting the point where I felt I had no clothes. I was beginning to think Matthew needed more clothes. I did 10 loads of laundry and discovered that we had a lot more stuff than I thought. And, I went to town organizing the entire basement.
Today we were going to go to the Pride parade, but Mike seemed grumpy, and I decided that the last thing we needed to do was take the GO train to Toronto, then the subway, and then stand in the sun. It was too much.
So thanks to the brilliant idea of Multi-tasking Mommy I decided to take Matthew strawberry picking.
We had a ton of fun.

We went on a tractor ride, we went for a pony ride and of course we picked strawberries.

Luckily I wasn't in it for the actual strawberry side of things because neither Matt nor I turned out to be great at actually picking strawberries. We got bored rather easily, and were more excited to eat than to pick. We ended up with a half basket of strawberries. We had a ton of fun and spent about 3 hours at the farm.
Then this evening we had a big family party for all of the July birthdays and father's day. It reallly was a lot of fun.

The new playhouse!

Kyla's crocs!

And, of course I took a picture of me in the new strapless bra ... fantastic!

Another Year ... Another Ballet Recital!!!!

Last night I went to my niece's second ballet recital. Again I attended as the proud aunt.
Because I'm not involved in the ballet world, I don't take her to lessons (though I've been and loved it), don't know all the parents, etc, to me a ballet recital is the coolest thing in the world. I love watching my niece dance. I couldn't be prouder.
The school she goes to is really well organized in the show. They have tons of classes to get onstage, and they do it really quickly. I actually sat back and thoroughly enjoyed the show. They mixed it so that you would get a baby ballet class (adorable) followed by an older class, and then they would throw in a seasoned dancer. I love the way they lay it out. You not only get an idea of all the classes, but you don't get bored watching all of one level at a time.
Of course Kyla's routine was the best. Her outfit was adorable and she was totally excited to be going onstage.

(Soooo cute! Thanks, Ali, for the tip to smuggle a camera in!)

It was amazing for me to watch her this year compared to last year. A year makes a huge difference. She followed along better, they did more complicated stuff. It was pretty cute.
It's also hilarious to watch the teachers. Kyla's teachers (Miss Marlene and Miss Rebecca) are onstage with the younger groups, and they are fun to watch. They totally get into it. It's worth going to the show just to watch them.
And, the other funny thing is watching all the little dancers in the audience. They get into the show completely. They twirl in their seats, and bop along to the music. LOVE it. They had a little boys hip hop class. I think when Matt is older I'll put him in.

ENjoy the pictures!!!My sister, her husband and Kyla

My parents and Kyla - click to enlarge - Kyla and my dad have the funniest expressions

Water for Elephants ... My Thoughts

Last week I wrote about any amazing book that I enjoyed. I'm not sure if it was a book review exactly, but i enjoyed it any wrote about it. Since then I've received some comments and emails suggesting that i should do this more often. And since i read a lot, i thought that is a great idea.
When i finished stuck in downward dog i started reading Leah Maclaren's book "The Continuity Girl". It sounded really good, but I could not get into it. At all.
My salvation from that drudgery came in the book "Water for Elephants" by Sara Cruen. One of my colleagues and I have discussed books at length. We disagree on several, however when she told me she enjoys Rebecca Eckler's writing, we figured a common ground could be found.
Enter her suggestion - Water for Elephants.
This book is not my typical read. It was dark and mostly humourless. It is haunting and chilling.
The story is about a young man who goes and joins a circus after his parents die suddenly. It tells of the circus life.
The book goes back and forth between a man in his nineties and a boy in his early twenties.
There were parts of the book I could barely stomach - stories of horrid abuse both to animals and people. There were sections where, if it were a movie, I would have looked away.
But the book is gripping. There were times i couldn't put it down. And the ending ...
The book is worth it for the ending, if nothing else.
I wouldn't say it was my favourite book ever. But i thoroughly enjoyed it, and it will haunt me for weeks to come.

---

The next book I'm reading is written by a comedienne. Check back soon - it looks like a good one!!

Girl's Night Out with my Niece

Tonight I went shoe shopping with my adorable, soon-to-be-5 niece Kyla.
When I asked her what she wanted for her birthday (July 1) she told me without hesitation pink, non-Mary Jane crocs.
Kyla is a very smart child. At the age of five she knows how to wrap me around her baby finger. She also knows that the way to my heart is through shoe shopping.
We went to the mall with a mission - to get crocs. We started off with a smoothie (for energy) and popcorn. I should point out that we would have gotten ice cream, but I had already been forbidden so we went with popcorn.
Once we were satisfied with all of that we went and got crocs. Choosing the crocs was the easy part - choosing the charms was not. She found 4 princesses, and I told her she could choose 2. I think she chose Belle and Cinderella. And then I decided to secretly buy the other two. But, apparently my tricky hiding the charms from Kyla looked like I was shop lifiting.
Once I cleared that up ...
We decided to go to Winners. Between us we tried on about 30 pairs of shoes. Kyla has mastered walking in heels of any size. We found some adorable high heel slides for her - but they were $25, and I was pretty sure that she would kill herself. But, I was impressed by her fashion sense. And, then we spotted some knock-off ballet flat crocs in hot pink. IN HER SIZE. How could we turn that down. They were too cute. So, then we decided she would wear those home and I will wrap the crocs for her birthday.
Of course, throughout the night we had lots of girl talk, some serious discussions about how you can not like the colour black or white but still have clothes with black and white in them. Seriousl business I tell you.
To top the night off I thought we should go to one of those photo booths. However, Kyla said to me "Aunt Laural, we can't do everything you want to do in one night. We need to save that for another day."
It would seem I've been told.
So, no pictures, but it was a fun night.

Bra Adventures in Buffalo

I will be the first person to tell you that I have big boobs. Not gigantic, freakish or Dolly Partonesque. Just big.
Here's the problem with breasts larger than a C cup - it's impossible to buy a strapless bra. And, given that all of the dresses out there that are made for women under the age of 80 require a strapless bra, I've been completely and utterly frustrated.
Here's the problem. My cousin is getting married in a couple of weeks (tee hee - Lisa did I just stress you out?) and while she is worrying about all of the last minute details, I'm worrying about what to wear.
I do have clothes I could wear. The problem is, all of my pre-pregnancy clothes, though I can at least squeeze into all of them, don't necessarily suit my body. Like I had this favourite blue dress that looked amazing and hugged all of the right curves. I can still do it up - it just doesn't look so right anymore.
I have clothes I wore post pregnancy, but they are huge.
And, who am I to turn down the opportunity to do a little shopping for a good cause.
But ... it's frustrating. All of the dresses this season are either strapless, spaghetti strapped or empire waisted. The empire waist does not flatter me, generally speaking. the empire waist held up by a stapless top is downright scary.
Basically, dresses this season are made for small boobed women. Seriously. I've worked my butt off to get into a smaller size, and now I have to go up to the largest size possible to squeeze my boobs in.
The good news is that having lost weight my breasts actually fit into the largest size - where as last year they would not have.
But, I still needed a strapless bra.
And, finding the perfect strapless bra is about 50 times harder than finding the perfect dress. It seems Canada does not sell bras, without straps, in anything larger than a c cup.
So last night we hopped in the car to go to Buffalo.
I had my sights set on Victoria's Secret. We got to Walden Galleria in record time, and made a beeline for V.S. (after we went to the toystore). Guess what? It was closed for some super sale. I almost cracked.
But, no, we went to Fredericks of Hollywood. I thought this store was only known for crotchless panties. But, no ... it's also known for bras made to fit women with implants. (the lady told me this). I don't have implants, but DD is a very typical implant size thanks to Pamela Anderson.
Anyway ...
They had strapless bras (see the extreme cleavage push-up) IN MY SIZE!!! It was a moment of pure excitement. I had choices. There was the strapless push up, the strapless non-push up. There were colour choices. I was in heaven. The sales lady was amazing. She confirmed my size, consluted on design, and brought me tons of stuff. And, not only did they have what I wanted. It was all on sale.
I ended up with 4 bras - 2 strapless, 2 normal (which are convertible).
I almost hugged the woman - and she told me that she gets this response from many Canadians - due to the lack of strapless bras.
Our evening was complete when we went to the Cheesecake Factory, where we had the yummiest dinner ever (though seriously, I ate a third of mine - and Mike ate half of his) and a waitress came over to tell us how adorable and well behaved our child was. Seriously. It was shocking!!!!
When we drove across the border we got stopped by customs. I knew we would, but I was not about to lie about my purchases because it would have been ridiculous. They inspected our entire car (which is a pretty scary thing), and then sent us on our way without making us pay anything.
Pretty sweet.
I love adventures like that!!!!

Grateful

It's father's day today. It's been a beautiful day. We went to brunch, we went shopping, we came home and set up an inflatable pool and enjoyed the sunny day.
A little later one of Mike's closest friends came over. They have gone off to the driving range. Matthew and I stayed home to make dinner, relax, and give Mike some time off.
Because it's Father's Day, and I wanted to make an authentic Father's Day meal I decided on homemade macaroni and potato salad.
So, I put 2 pots on the stove to boil.
We had a glass casserole dish sitting on the stove. I put our kettle on top of it to make some space. I put my pots of water on to boil.
EXCEPT.
I turned the wrong burner on.
I wasn't watching the stove. It takes a couple of minutes for the water to boil so I was cleaning off our dining room table.
And then I heard an explosion. It was so loud. I can't describe it.
The glass casserole dish exploded.
When I say exploded, I mean glass was everywhere.
Thank God - I had just turned on Treehouse and that Matthew was watching it far away from the kitchen
Thank God - I was in the dining room and didn't check when I was about to. If I had checked 5 seconds earlier I would have been attacked by spraying glass.
Thank God - that the cats were not around. Matthew had left his cup of slurpee drink on the stairs (even though I had told him not to) and Rosie Rose Petal was attempting to drink from his straw.
The kitchen's a mess. I have shards of glass in my feet from running into the kitchen, but really - could have been so much worse.
So grateful today. My heart is still pounding though.