Phoenix

So this was going to be a blog post about the band Phoenix and how great they are (and it still will be), but now I have to have a bit of rant.

A nice man named Pascal kindly forwarded me the html for the Phoenix SNL videos that I mentioned yesterday. Alas, they were still inoperable. How is it possible that the actual band can't put their own performance on to their own website without NBC screwing them over?

Correct me if I am wrong, but I paid my cable bill to see the very crappy SNL show that was put on, with the only saving grace being Phoenix. I'm pretty sure that the network got paid its bajillion dollars to put on said disappointing show. If this is a matter of music copyright, then why would NBC care if Phoenix wanted to show the world their performance?

I'm starting to get very confused about these copyright laws. Does this mean that if I buy an album for my own listening pleasure, I'm not allowed to let anyone else listen to it? Is there some way that Big Brother can monitor every wedding, high school graduation and retirement so that the music companies (not the artists, mind you) get their 12 cents per play? (Why yes, yes there is!) I don't get it. Are music stores not supposed to play the music in their stores? Like, where does it end?

I'd really like to see some numbers on how record sales have been affected since the beginning of the MP3. I don't believe the invention of the cassette tape killed the music industry, did it? Are people not still buying concert tickets? I can't tell you how big of a collection of CDs I have where I have only ever listened to one song. I believe the music mucky mucks got their pound of flesh for those. Thanks for producing crap, by the way.

Anyway, Phoenix is the opposite of merde and I hope that somehow, some way you can see them or hear them perform. They have a fresh sound that is danceable and fun. Next thing we have to do it get them to Vancouver. My inner francophile is anxiously awaiting their arrival!

Okay, Now I'm Mad!

Am I destined to be tortured by Reality Television for the rest of my life? I found out within the last week or so that two of my current favourite shows - jPod and Jericho - have been cancelled. Now Jericho was kind of corny but at least there was some sort of a story line, paranoia and all. jPod was finally a Canadian program that I enjoyed and it took place in my very own city and was based on the same title book by Vancouver's Douglas Coupland. By the way, the book is slightly different but it's pretty funny. The show was hilarious! Thanks CBC for doing that to me, I appreciate it.

By now most of you know that my world revolves around television and as sad as that may sound, it's what generates my creativity. I'm not really a person who goes for a scenic hike and feels inspired to write poetry, but I can watch a quirky scene in a show or movie and think "oooh, that gives me an idea for...." Darnit all anyway!

To me reality t.v. (uh-oh she's off again) is not really reality. I believe that people feel compelled to act differently in situations or put on more emotions or add drama because they are in front of a camera. Ordinary mundane things are made out to be extra sincere, more painful, more exciting and so on. I truly believe there is a producer behind the camera egging people on for the sake of his padded pockets.

And of course, I am not totally immune to it. I still watch ANTM. I've had the sketchy experience of watching Scott Baio humiliate himself and I feel sad for him. Dude: get over yourself and grow up now. Otherwise we will be watching Scott Baio is 78 and Still Trying to Decide What to do With His Life somewhere in the future. Salt 'n'Pepa? For real? Do these has-beens really need the money so badly? How about a regular job? Try being a mail carrier in the rain or something. Oh, wait - celebrities have done that. Never mind.

Anyhoo, hopefully there will be something decent coming up in the new season. Or I'll just keep watching reruns of Law & Order, I guess.

What's new? I got to go away for a couple of days to hang out with my sister. That was nice, way too short and over all too soon. While I was away, Kestrel got her cast off and her elbow is doing quite nicely. I was surprised at how little I missed everyone! Complete sentences and thoughts were a total novelty!

Everything else is the same. Still making blankets and I have to take a bunch more photos to post on the Etsy site. Need to get some things printed up to go with them and order clothing tags for them.

That is all for now.

We Interrupt This Message...

So, my happy little glowing post yesterday was brought to an abrupt halt when my five year old was injured by my two and a half year old.

I was talking on the phone when I heard Kes start to cry and say that Hayden hurt her arm. I told her to go sit in the living room and I put him in time out, which he promptly ignored. Anyway, fast forward to about fifteen minutes later when I finally hang up and I go to check on Kestrel and she says in a teary voice "how am I going to dress myself with my arm like this?" I asked her where it was hurting and she pointed to her elbow. I asked her what happened and she told me "Hayden sat on my arm and twisted it". I think "Great. Nursemaid's elbow - AGAIN." I inform hubby and we decide that I should take her to the hospital and he'll hang with Hayden.

Okay. I guesstimated three hours and we were there for three and a half. Now not all of that was waiting, but it was torture nonetheless. There were obvious infectious kids in the waiting area (can't they quarantine them?) and I was squirming in my seat every time a kid hacked or sneezed. Thank goodness they had antiseptic gel everywhere.

So we consulted with the doctor and I explained what happened and that this was, like, the fourth time. He tried to "reduce" it (as they call it) twice and she screamed her head off. I told him that it wouldn't go in the last time either and they had to x-ray, blah-de-blah-de-blah. He decides it should be x-rayed. Back to waiting room, wait some more. Get escorted to x-ray. Wait. Try to console child as she screams her head off for the x-rays (three different positions). They give her a stick-on tattoo and a bendy pencil. Back to waiting room. Get called back into room by another doctor who asks some questions, like "was the arm pulled?" I say no and at this point, Kestrel's story has now changed to "Hayden was twirling around and fell on my arm". He decides since she is kind of old for nursemaid's elbow and that it wasn't pulled that it should be casted. They can't see any fracture on the films, but tell me that doesn't mean it isn't fractured. At the very least, since it hurts so much it will be immobile. Back to waiting room while another kid gets a cast on his foot. I promise her a pink cast and cross my fingers that they have that colour. Previous kid comes out with blue so it looks promising.

Help doctor by holding her arm in position as he applies cast. Bright pink as promised! Then he tells me that he is referring us to the Orthopaedic Department. Giant alarm bell goes off. Brain goes "HELL, NO". In case you are wondering why I will never ever visit the ortho department at BC Children's again, please read this, the clubfoot saga. I leave and immediately spring into action (bit slow on the uptake that girl she is) to get an appointment with our beloved Dr. Pirani.

Most of today was spent obtaining a referral and the x-rays to take with us tomorrow when we see him. So I will be putting aside the sewing yet again to attend to this, but hopefully it can be resolved by the end of tomorrow. Plus, if she needs a different cast, I totally trust the cast technologist there - Milt rocks!

Poor muffin. She woke up crying tonight as she was in pain. We gave her some pain relief and I reassured her that it will be looked after tomorrow. Pray God it is so.

Ick

So a nasty coldsore erupted on my mouth in the middle of the night, so I didn't even have a chance at combatting it before it appeared. Ew. I feel like there is a tumour on my face and my friend suggested a burkha to cover my disfigurement. I may just go that route. It was threatening to wander further along the mouth line, so I threw down the gloves, got a prescription and have now waged war. It better be gone by tomorrow.

Nothing really super new to report. I might have the opportunity to go to Iowa for a symposium on clubfoot next month and it is merely a matter of paying for the flight and hotel, paying for the conference, getting the kids organized, renewing my passport and convincing my husband that it would be a good thing.

I got some vaccinations in preparation for my trip to Uganda next year and I have felt a bit yucky from them. Ah well - I'm sure if I got Polio and Hepatitis I'd feel yuckier, right?

Fact:

*The month that the sanitation workers in your city decide to hold a strike, is the very month you decide to clean out the garage to make room for a future gym and therefore you have piles more garbage to dispose of. And recycling. Oh, and it has to be Pride Weekend when there are a GAZILLION more people in the city to add MORE garbage to the overflowing bins.

*The one week that you don't enrol your four year old into daycamp to "give her a break", is the very week your two year old will decide to finally cut those last two molars and become a psychotic shrieking mess with a perfect antagonist on standby to stir him up the moment he calms down. Also during that week will above strike disrupt ANYTHING in the form of entertainment for the children, ie. community centres, public pools and libraries because all of the city is striking in support.

*The day your teenager arrives home from being away for an entire month she will immediately make plans to NEVER be around the parental units and avoid them at ALL COST.

*When you cancel a couple of important appointments to make way for another "slightly more important one", it will get cancelled and you're no further ahead than you were the day before with anything.

Catch me at the end of this week...I might be on heavy meds, but at least I'll be happy and stress-free! tee hee!

Potter Schmotter

I can't believe the furore. So sick of hearing about it. Who risks a stampede and harm to their person for the sake of a book that will be sitting on the shelves for the next gajillion years by the end of today? What's going to happen if you start reading it one day later than everybody else? Guess I just don't really care since I've only read the first book. I've seen the movies though, so I have a general idea of what's going on. Maybe I'll wait until it's in paperback. I mean, $45 for a kids book? Robbery.

Sorry HP fans - commence the tomato-throwing now.....

P.S. My friend is writing a book about alchemy that is WAY better! I hope she gets it published soon!

Is There Such a Thing as a Foot Reduction?

Okay - there is something wrong with me. My feet are too big. As sizes go, they're still within the "mainstream" sizing as a hefty 10, but that does not mean they have not been the bane of my existence since they reached that size.

I was into a ladies shoe size by age 9, which at that time I thought was cool. By the time I was a teenager and into a 10, it was depressing. Shoe shopping has always been cause for hyperventilating on my part. There has definitely been a lot of "settling" in my world when it came to shoes. The introduction of stores like Payless Shoe Source alleviated some of the stress as they carry shoes up to size 12, but still - they are not exactly quality shoes. I have rarely owned a comfortable pair of shoes and when I have - I've worn them to their untimely graves. I have literally had to force myself to throw footwear out even though it was "talking".

Anyway - the big feet. Here is my rant for the day. Can I please stop doing this?

This is a case of toe meets corner of wall with baseboard. Here's one from about two months ago that was toe meets IKEA box in the dark:


And remember this?

If there was a way to shorten my feet, I'd so be there. Ow.

Gettin' There!

Okay, so three weeks in the new place and I still have some boxes to unpack, not to mention the entire garage full of stuff that was all boxes of things in our old basement (that sat there for 6 years untouched), but I am beginning to feel like I'm almost there. I have been trying to channel my twin sister, who would have had all of this done in two days, but it's not working out so well. Naturally there are the considerations of newer household furnishings (new couch) to purchase as well as accessories (flat screen t.v.s), but all in good time. By way of an aside, the UGLY couch and loveseat that have been featured in many of the photos I have posted are GONE!! I am jubilant! Know why? They were a WEDDING gift from my SECOND husband's parents in 1994. All I can say is "ding dong the witch is dead". Every time I looked at those things they represented something less than savoury to me. The local chapter of the SPCA was more than happy to take them off our hands to resell to someone who will love them again.

Oh, and my office/slash sewing room has become a reality! Can I hear a "what-what"? Or better yet, how about a chorus of angels all singing that one perfect note? I've actually already made a baby blanket and given it as a gift - the ones for sale will come eventually, but for now I feel I must get back into the swing of things.

I have a lot on my plate right now. Household things aside, I've got Hayden's fundraiser coming up and did I mention I agreed to be a coordinator? What on earth was I thinking? I haven't even collected one cent for the walk yet and it's next Sunday. Boy when I choose to be dumb, I go all the way.

I need to unearth all of my fabric and crafting supplies and get them organized. I'm a little terrified of digging out all of the rubber stamps because I have been buying them willy nilly over the past few years and stuffing them anywhere and I really think I've lost track of the ones I've bought and exactly how many of them I have. Gulp! The fabric situation is no better. I notice that most of the plastic bins in the aforementioned garage have "Heather Material" written on the side of them. Oh boy.

I am continuing to work on the Ugandan project for Dr. Pirani. I got stuck on one piece that was much longer than the others and much harder to decipher (these are notes that were transcribed from tape and I am rewriting them and putting them into more of a "professional" format). It was also a very gut-wrenching piece for me to read as it got into more detail of the poverty situation over there and what people have to go through to survive, never mind getting treatment for their clubfoot kid. No wonder the rate of correction is only 60% as opposed to over 95% here. I now have a new mission that coincides with my desire to pay a visit over there. I have an appointment set up to talk to Dr. Pirani for early June and will fill you in when the time comes. Let's just say I am feeling very passionate about it.

I've been trying to write for myself as well. Not sure if I mentioned the children's story I have written, but I also have a piece of adult fiction that I've started and am not getting very far with. The time! Oh the time!

Here's the thing: having my "own space" to set up does not necessaily mean that I get the precious minutes to do it in. How about that? Huh!

The days seem to go by in one foggy haze for me right now. The kids being together in the same room has generally worked out - Kes will just roll over and ignore Hayden if he's bothering. But I notice that Hayden's nap is starting to play a key role in how well he settles down. If he gets to sleep later than around 1:30, then he's awake for much longer (like right now I can hear him thrashing his brace against the crib right above me - turkey). This, of course does not mean that he won't still wake up at SIX-FREAKIN'-FIFTEEN in the morning, like he's been doing for the past couple of weeks. I feel like the walking dead right now. Or like I have suddenly acquired ADD (not too unlikely as it is already in the family) and concentrate on one thing at a time. Ay me.

On Kes: the bribery technique for the toileting issue has worked WONDERS! It worked almost from the get-go and I have let a couple of little near incidents go. I wasn't going to today, but she was so devastated that she wasn't going to be able to put a sticker on the calendar that I made a deal with her and it all worked out. I have to say that as bad as people think bribery is, it WORKS. Plus as a friend's husband put it: "I wouldn't go to work if they didn't pay me" - so technically the world is made up of bribery, ain't it? HA!

On Hayden: his language skills are still reasonably immature, but progressing. I can understand most of his gibberish and now and again he comes out with expressions such as "Oh, NO WAY!" and "Oh God!" that sound hilarious. I find that even though his speech is less advanced than his sisters' was, he is much more mature in many other ways. For example, this morning I sat him on a big chair at the kitchen table so he could eat a fruit cup. We got rid of the high chair before we moved and bought a little inflatable booster seat, but I bypassed it today. He calmly sat and ate his fruit, stopping to sip the juice out of the cup when he noticed it was dripping off his spoon onto the table. Had I ever tried that with Kes at this age, she would have been off the chair and running around splashing fruit juice all over the house.

Recently I bought a CD for Hayden at his sing-a-long group by this woman (who runs the group) and both of the kids love it**. It's a CD of fun songs for kids that aren't necessarily all kiddie songs. I think some of them might be old pub songs actually! When "The Cat Came Back" starts to play you can hear Hayden singing "back", "day", "away" and it is just so darned cute. I really need to get him into music as early as possible. He just loves singing. He also sings along to his Learn to Dress Elmo doll, which I love!

Well, that's about all for now folks. Bye for now!

** My favorite song on the CD is "Paddy McGinty's Goat" - way too funny:

Mister Patrick McGinty, an Irishman of note,
Came into a fortune, so bought himself a goat.
Said he, "Sure, of goat's milk I mean to have my fill!"
But when he got his Nanny home, he found it was a Bill.

And now all the ladies who live in Killaloo
Are all wearing bustles like their mothers used to do.
They each wear a bolster beneath the petticoat,
And leave the rest to Providence and Paddy McGinty's goat!

Missis Burke to her daughter said, "Listen, Mary Jane,
Now who was the man you were cuddling in the lane?
He'd long wiry whiskers all hanging from his chin."
"Twas only Pat McGinty's goat, " she answer'd with a grin.

Then she went away from the village in disgrace,
She came back with powder and paint upon her face.
She'd rings on her fingers, and she wore a sable coat,
You bet your life they never came from Paddy McGinty's goat.

Little Norah McCarthy the knot was going to tie,
She washed all her trousseau and hung it out to dry.
Then up came the goat and he saw the bits of white.
He chewed up all her falderals, and on her wedding night

"Oh turn out the gas quick!" she shouted out to Pat,
For though l'm your bride, sure l'm not worth looking at.
I'd got two of ev'rything, I told you when I wrote,
But now I've one of nothing, all thro' Paddy McGinty's goat.

Mickey Riley he went to the races t'other day.
He won twenty dollars and shouted, "Hip Hooray!!"
He held up the note, shouting "Look what I've got!"
The goat came up and grabbed at it and swallowed all the lot.

"He's eaten my banknote," said Mickey, with the hump.
They ran for the doctor, he brought a stomach pump.
He pumped and he pumped for that twenty dollar note,
But all he got was ninepence out of Paddy McGinty's goat.

Now old Paddy's Goat had a wonderous appetite,
and one day for breakfast he ate some dynamite.
A whole box of matches he swallowed all serene
and then he went and gobbled up a quart of paraffin.

He sat by the fireside, he didn't give a hang,
He swallowed a spark and exploded with a bang.
So if you go to heaven you can bet a dollar note....
that the Angel with the whiskers on is Paddy McGinty's Goat.

P.S. I got my hair cut on Friday. Nothing really to report. Just happy to have it cut is all.

Happy Mother's Day?

Today, on what is supposed to be a day celebrating mothers, I want to quit. I resign from being a mother. Maybe I will reconsider tomorrow, but it really depends on how much sleep I get.

The kids have driven me absolutely bat-sh*t crazy today. Hayden is cutting his two year molars - one. at. a. time. Can we just say "painful" and not just for him. I'm not sure what is happening with Kes, but her behaviour has gotten increasingly worse. She is combative, contrary and contradictory. She would literally argue that the sky is black right now. Every little thing that comes out of my mouth is met with a "no, (insert long explanation of why "no" here)". To top it all off, she has been wetting her pants continually, much to our frustration. I have tried to be really nice about it and not get upset. So far the "understanding approach" has not worked. Getting angry doesn't work either. I'm going to have to pull out the big guns and revert back to the bribery method. We aren't sure if this is just a by-product of the move and all the changes that have been going on around here, but whatever it is, we're darned sick of it and it has to stop. This is my second bout of nightmarish toilet training and I can just hardly WAIT for Hayden to start. Oh boy.

Blergh. Ahhh...anyway.....

The new house is fab and we are slowly emptying out boxes and revealing more space as time goes by. I am finding though that just trying to keep on top of the daily stuff, PLUS unpack - kind of sucks the life out of me. You know once you've unpacked all of the necessities that you really lose the drive to carry on. But I will prevail! The new neighbours seem excellent so far and have made us feel very welcome to the area. We had one amazingly delicious dinner out this weekend at a Filipino restaurant called Rekados that was so good I think I might be dreaming about it for weeks to come!

Well, gotta go and check out my new MP3 player that hubby bought for me today!

The Power of Advertising

If you ever wonder who they write all those commercials with catchy songs and funny premises for...it's me. I am their target audience. After seeing the commercials for this and this, I have been fighting the urge to go out and BUY! Lately I find old commercial songs popping into my head at certain times. For example, whenever I make the kids chicken noodle soup now, I sing:

When I want chicken noodle
Mom makes Lipton Chicken Noodle
It's the only chicken noodle
That'll do

'Cuz Lipton chicken noodle
Is delicious chicken noodle
And there's lots of little noodles
That you chew

Thanks Mom for chicken noodle
Thanks for Lipton Chicken Noodle
It's the only chicken noodle
That'll do!

In the original commercial, I vaguely remember a kid in a chicken suit (on stage as though he was in a school play) walking around with his wings flapping, so of course I have to add this to the act. It's most entertaining for my kids.

Then yesterday, after Kes had a wipeout on the concrete, hubby mentioned that she might need some Ozonol on her knee. I then broke into this:

How about a little squeeze?
You've had a little fall
You've scraped your elbow or your knee
That's the time for a little squeeze
Of Ozonol

And just randomly popping into my head came this 1980s Canadian anti-smoking tune. It was rather mournful and to the point:

I never did a thing
That made a smaller person
Lose the way
My freedom won't allow it
My freedom...
Won't allow it

That one is quite obscure and I could not even find it on a Google search. Anyway, it's funny how having kids makes you wax nostalgic and recall the weirdest things from your youth.

We've been hosting a Japanese exchange student this week at our home. We had expected them around 8pm on Saturday and there was a huge mixup with the times and they ended up arriving at 10:30am. We didn't get the call until around 3:00pm as we were out shopping for groceries in preparation. Fortunately we are only five minutes from the school and got there quickly, but these poor kids had been waiting there all day! Some of the host families are in Surrey! I felt so bad for the three or four we left behind. And then they had to be back at the school at 7:45 the next morning for a day trip to Victoria, poor kids! Her name is Mina (meena) and she will be with us until Sunday and although she is relatively quiet and unobtrusive, I am finding one more person in the house to be overwhelming. The great part is that even though we were led to believe that she would have no English, hers is quite good. As good fortune would have it, English is her passion and she works very hard at it. Naturally she came bearing lots of gifts that only come packaged the way the Japanese do it. Everything was gift-wrapped neatly. There was a tin of rice crackers in a variety of flavours, a wooden "catch the ball" toy for the kids, as well as a couple of story books that Mina laboriously translated for us into English (how very sweet!) along with a little setup of the storybook characters in beanbag form (I'll try and snap a photo of that), a jar of cherry blossoms packed in salt that you make into a tea (peculiar, but not bad), and a little box of confections individually wrapped in rice paper - they are shaped like little bells and are like eating a sugar cube - yum!

So now you know why I have been a little quiet these last few days.

Hayden has turned into a mina bird and repeats most things you say to him. He is learning more shapes now, so along with DIE (star) and MOO (moon), he now has KIRKLE (circle) , OVOVO (oval) and GOGOGO (triangle). If I ever need to distract him, as I did this morning while we signed some insurance papers, I pop in A Treasure in My Garden and he stands there enthralled - this is by far the best purchase I have EVER made. The songs are sweet, short and not the kind that drive you batty after hearing them 10,000 times.

The other thing he really likes is Hi5. I ADORE this program! Not only are the songs catchy and short, but the show contains none of the typical preachiness that you find in so many of today's cartoons and kids shows. I mean, I know we have to make kids aware about the environment and social issues early on, but please. We are talking about year and a half old kids. They want colours, they want music, they was flash, they want entertainment. They are not going to understand the nuances of saving the rainforest ditties. Don't they get enough of that forcefed to them in school anyway? How many times has my teenaged daughter had to go out and pick up other people's garbage, cigarette butts and dirty diapers in the community? More times than I like to count. And don't we have city services (and pay taxes) for that stuff?

Okay, somewhere along the way that turned into an unintentional rant! Sorry about that!

The movers have been booked and are arriving on April 27th to do the packing. I am sick with excitement, mostly because I don't have to do it! Sure, I'll pack a few things so I know where they are, like my makeup. But for the most part, I'll enjoy that present-like atmosphere of opening boxes on the other end, not knowing exactly what is in them!

Saints Preserve Me!

Okay, I can't even talk about the house thing. I think I'm deep in denial right now.

What I DO want to talk about is the stupid Coastal Health Authority who is, once again, trying to immunize my teenaged daughter, when she is COMPLETELY UP TO DATE on all of them. They sent me a form stating that they had signed consent from me to immunize her and on February 20th, will innoculate her for the following:

Measles, Mumps, Rubella
Polio
Tetanus, Diphtheria, Petussis
Polio

Ummm...she needs the polio TWICE in the same day? Get it together morons! Here is the letter I am attaching to the form:

To whom it may concern;

Please do not immunize my daughter again. You do not have a signed consent from me allowing you to immunize her. She is completely up to date on all of her vaccinations, save the hepatitis B, which I have refused (a few times). Part of her shots were done by Fraser Health Authority (under the name Hannah J*hns*n) and the others (with the exception of her Grade Nine shot which was done at the school, so there should be a record) were done by her doctor, Dr. K.J. The school should have a record of her health passport in her file stating that she has all of her vaccinations. My copy of it is buried in our basement somewhere and I have no idea where it might exactly be. This is the second time I have confronted this issue. I have no reason to lie about this. I am not a tree-hugging Commercial Drive parent and take immunizations very seriously, so I would appreciate it if you would just take my word for it.

If this continues to be a problem, I will, very begrudgingly, drag my two small and trialsome children on a bus and the Skytrain out to her doctor’s office in New Westminster, walk up the godawful hill from Sapperton station because there is no ramp there any more, carrying my 25 pound son and propelling my preschool-aged daughter, and obtain what records I can, but you need to know that this will cause me to be in a VERY. BAD. MOOD. And this will then cause every single living organism in my immediate cosmos to suffer. I hope you are willing to take the responsibility for that.

In the meantime, if you could kindly put a note on her records that she is up to date and roll your eyes about her difficult mother and maybe spit on the ground when you speak my name; that would be great.

Yours truly,

I hope they get the message this time. Gits.

(In)Sanity Saturdays

You'd think that five mornings a week at preschool would be enough for a four year old. Wrong. If I could figure a way to send her there seven days a week, believe me I would. She can't stand to have a down day and I cannot possibly entertain and stimulate her every second of the day. Somewhere along the way, she has to learn to rely on herself for entertainment. Sure, puzzles, Play-Doh and the computer have alleviated that to a degree, but then she always seems to make time for tormenting her little brother. And that seems to be accompanied by a steady stream of consciousness. Add to that the screaming of said brother and my brain starts to hurt intensely and I wish they had boarding school for little people. (Maybe they do?) I've momentarily shut them both up with microwaveable weiners - thanks heaven for small favours and thank you Maple Leaf Top Dogs Singles (TM)! They've polished off four weiners between them - gross.

Of course, it just isn't an interesting day around here without a little vomit! Am I right? The boy was eating some litle cookies that his sister (for once) had graciously shared with him. He kind of coughed and choked on one for a moment and I checked him to make sure he was okay. He never really has officially choked, so I don't get too wound up at these times. But he seemed recovered when a few seconds later I heard that delightful "splash". I hurried over to him thinking that his gag reflex had been activated but soon realized by the way he was crying, there was more on its way. Bingo. I really don't think he is sick though, as he recovered completely after that and then ate a bunch of weird stuff including bread and butter pickles. But I'll keep an eye on that just in case!

Last night as I was getting him ready for bed, something interesting occurred to me. He was just out of the bath and was being very affectionate; hugging me, kissing me. He was also being very silly, dancing and wriggling himself about, posturing almost. It was really cute and I gave him lots of positive attention for it. Then the notion came into my head that for males, the first woman you ever flirt with is your mother. And the way your mother responds to that can affect many things in your future. It's the same for girls, too, of course. Really, kids flirt with their fathers, as well as their mothers. Anyway, without getting all Freudian on you, it was intriguing to me. The thing that struck me the most was when he did a certain thing and then looked at me with this expectant smile on his face, knowing he was being cute, but wanting to be told so. Even at such an early age (he'll be 18 months on Tuesday!!).

Well, they're both down for sleeps right now, so I'm off to put my feet up and relax for a minute or two!

Some People Shouldn't Be Parents

Today, when I picked up Kestrel from preschool, there was a bit of an incident. I knew that on Wednesday she'd had an altercation with one of the other kids that goes there, where I'd been made aware that she had been the instigator (or so I thought) and the other kid had retaliated by hitting her on the back of the hand with a puzzle piece. It hurt enough for them to put ice on it, anyway. I told the teacher I wasn't surprised that this was the case, that she can be quite aggressive and definitely obnoxious, and we went on our way. I chalked it up to preschool antics.

When I picked her up today, she informed me that this kid, "M" had punched her in the stomach. I noticed that he was sitting in a time out and didn't look to worried about it. M's dad arrived to pick him up and Kestrel told him "M punched me in the stomach". His response? (to her if you can believe it) "Yeah? Well, I heard that you hit him on Wednesday, so uh, it goes both ways".

I BEG YOUR PARDON? DID YOU JUST TELL MY DAUGHTER THAT IT IS OKAY TO PUNCH SOMEONE AS LONG AS THEY HIT YOU FIRST? And if that is the case, since he had already hit her back on Wednesday, that would have made it okay for her to hit him today, WHICH SHE DID NOT.

It was truly the response of a twelve year (which speaks to me about his personality) and I was so shocked that I just walked away. I noticed that the teacher was waiting to talk to him anyway.

I had really bad anxiety after that. Thankfully, I was having lunch with my neighbour after dropping Kes off at daycare and she and I discussed it, so I felt better. But I'd not had the best week emotionally, so it was the icing on the cake.

Some people should not be allowed to reproduce.

It's a Rantful Day

Rant One: Costco's Kirkland brand of dryer sheets - SUCK! They do absolutely nothing to reduce static cling and they don't make the clothes smell nice at all. And the best part? If you buy them, you are stuck with about NINE THOUSAND of them.

Rant Two: Why when something explodes, does it always have to be in my washing machine? Remember the diaper? Well last night it was hubby's pillow. I read the instructions carefully and washed as per. When I opened the washing machine, I at first thought "that's odd, the soap didn't rinse out?", then when I looked closer I realized that it was about a BAZILLION teeny tiny nodules of fibrefill - filling my washer to the brim! AGGHH!! So thankfully there were only a couple of articles of clothing in the machine with it that I had to fish out and shake free of little fuzzies. But there went hubby's pillow. What a disappoinment too, because they were Sears brand and not cheap.

Rant Three: My allergies have kicked in full force today. Bummer. Now it's time to haul out the antihistamines and start popping them like candy again. I hate being a slave to drugs.

Rant Four (and really, the biggie): Why, oh WHY do the movie companies think it is a good idea to put eight hundred previews and the locked security message (that you can't bypass) on children's films? I mean, do they honestly think three year olds are reading the "don't copy on pain of death" message? Do they think that the adults haven't been reading that message since the dawn of time? Do they think the previews are a good idea when you play them and your child thinks that this is the movie coming on and either gets excited or ticked because she wanted the one that it really is? (Whoa - strange sentence there). I dunno - my patience for stuff is thin these days and I don't get it. It's like when we went to the theatre to see Ice Age 2 and there was an interminable amount of previews - to the point where I thought Kestrel was going to bust a vein in her head about the movie coming on. Someone oughtta write a letter....

Boy, I'm cranky.

Just to balance this post out, though - I forgot to mention that hubby got me red roses and lilies for our anniversary yesterday (my favorites) and two really good quality pens (by my request) from my favorite store Essence du Papier. So the anniversary was nice, albeit quiet, and nothing really out of the norm. Hopefully we will take care of the dinner part on the weekend coming up!

Brace for cuteness:

Hayden Stylin'

The More Things Change, the More They Stay the Same!

The scene from behind my house this morning....AGAIN! Remember February?



Okay, you can't really see it, but it's on fire again. Can you believe it?! I mean, what? Someone decided it wasn't burnt enough? So sad. I think the owner was going to try to salvage it, but now I think all it lost for the old beauty. Sigh. Our house reeks of smoke and creosote now. **Since it has taken me all day to compose this, the house is now a pile of rubble - they demolished it.

Anyway, hello my friends! I have missed you all! We returned from Phoenix on Sunday (late) and took a day to regroup. Phoenix was great - ninety degrees plus every day, but with some surprising cool breezes, rain and overcast moments.

But let me rewind a moment and tell you the big news......Hamster Boy is crawling! We have an airport system where hubby drops of myself, the kids and all of our stuff then goes to park the car in the long term and shuttles back. It works really well for us so we avoid getting all of us and our things onto a shuttle bus. Anyway, the day we were departing, he dropped us off and while we were waiting, Hannah put Hayden down on the carpet and a few seconds later said to me "Mom...he's crawling!" I looked and sure enough he was! And if you don't believe me, here's proof! I was very excited to say the least. He also seems to stop and plant a foot now and again which is even better news as he still does not want to put weight on his feet. So I am hopeful that this is the start of something big!

We have a policy now when we travel with the little ones where we try to do only one thing per day. This system worked very well for me as I could schedule in naps and recharge myself. Usually for Hayden's morning nap I would put him down while the others went and had a swim. Then I could shower and maybe hang out on the balcony and read (or pull out my gray hairs as I did one morning!) Then we would meet up with the family, get food, do our activity we planned and return to the hotel for afternoon naps. Later we would regroup for dinner. The kids had a few late nights, but over all slept really well. Hayden even slept through the night twice in the little crib they supplied for us! The other two nights he woke around 1 am and joined us in the bed and slept until daylight - it was real heaven! Of course, now that we are home, he's being a complete dork and I suspect he's working on the last two top teeth. Enough of the teething already! Here's a photo of him sawing logs:



The Phoenix Zoo was superb this time - due to the fact that it was overcast, all of the animals were out anticipating rain so we got to see lions and tigers and bears - oh my! The only bad thing that happened was my brother in law ran over the back of my leg with the double cart thingie we had rented for the kids and I now have a bruise the size of my hand on my calf. **And update - today I smashed yet ANOTHER toe (on the same foot) and this time succeeded in ripping off half of the toenail. It's purple and swollen and really smarts! What is wrong with me these days? Clutz-ee!

I have more photos and things to upload but it's taking far too long for me to get organized! I'll aim for the next post! It's good to be back!

A Visit From an Old....Friend?

I'm sorry I have not been blogging lately. I have not been in the mood. This last week has been very weird for me - I've been feeling sickly, depressed, moody and unmotivated about everything. Hayden has been doing all sorts of fantastic things I want to share with you and I just have not had the drive to even type one word. I have, however, been knitting like a crazy woman - which has suceeded in bringing back the repetetive strain that I know and love so well. That has not stopped me, though, as I invested in a new neoprene wrist support that rocks (which I promptly lost so my husband had to replace for me).

But this is not the old friend I am talking about. I went to Bellingham today (oh fair town, how I have missed ye!) with a good friend of mine and once we got there we stopped at Starbuck's for a coffee. I needed a potty break as my morning tea had kicked in, so I excused myself and oh! Hello Aunt Flo - haven't seen YOU in a long time. My, I've missed you......NOT! Well, my nineteen months of blissful period-free life are now over and I guess the reality is that this means I am now fertile again. Oh. Joy. This now means birth control and stuff. Blech. I had a feeling that she was going to return sooner than later because Hayden has been nursing less and less. In fact, I meant to blog about it - how he has only been nursing once or twice in the night and maybe before bedtime sometimes. I've been having angst over it because I don't want to switch over to bottles, really. Call me crazy, but why would I want to wean him off of something else? I've already got the soothers to worry about for that. So. Do I put him onto formula in the sippy cup? He's almost nine months old, should I venture into milk yet, or wait the rest of the three months until he is a year? Man, I just don't know...my girls were nursing demons until the day I weaned them and Kes pinched my nipples for months after I weaned her just to see the milk squirt out. Sorry...overshare. And let's not forget the fact that ordinarily I've been the one with the control in this matter and I am feeling a little rejected to say the least. He just ain't interested. I've been trying to get him to nurse and he has treated my goods like they were made of rubber and has even bitten me a few times. Of course, he eats like a HORSE! He is averaging two to three jars of baby food (two veg, one fruit) per day, along with two large bowls of cereal. If he doesn't eat veggies for lunch, he has a container of yogurt - and not the little Minigo ones either. He is never happier than when I am handing him food and he has started to eat real solids - I have a video clip of him eating frozen peas (heated of course). He loves bread, crackers and cereal circles (we don't buy that TSP one!). He will gnaw on a pizza crust if given it; he has eaten raisins. I am impressed with his appetite and it's not like he is this big roly poly kid - he's quite proportioned!

His progress is as follows:

- he can lean way over supported with one hand to get a toy while sitting
- he can do the same when he is on his knees
- he tries to get from knees back to sitting, but is getting frustrated trying to swing the brace back around
- he easily scoots backwards on hands and knees now
- he is trying to wave bye-bye when prompted
- he is giving kisses now
- his very latest (and the one I'm most excited about): he can get up onto his hands and feet (downward facing dog for you yoga fans)...IN THE BRACE! I have a picture to upload of that one!

In the meantime here is a photo series of he of the rubber legs:



















I think he may end up a gymnast!

Farewell for a Few Days

Tonight the husband is taking myself and the kids over to a hotel to stay for about two or three nights while he has the living room renovated. I'm having several issues with this.

1. Why another reno? WHY?
2. Why another reno, when he keeps threatening to move?
3. This is going to make my life more complicated as usual, with regard to getting kids to school/daycare/preschool.
4. He gets to sleep in a bed all by himself with no one else around, and sleep in. Does this make me jealous? A WHOLE DAMN LOT!! (He's sleeping up there right now while I am down here with a whiny eight month old and a bratty three year old who just fed the baby Silly Putty.)
5. I am worried about my stuff, because past experience has taught me that men don't give a crap and will not think about your possessions getting destroyed from construction dust and/or things falling on them.

On the upside, I won't have to breathe in construction dust and wind up in the hospital with severe breathing problems. Just from the tidying and tossing out we did last night, I have really sore eyes from rubbing them insanely and am wheezing like an old emphysema patient. And I don't even want to describe the old mouse crap we unearthed. It was shades of the great mouse infestation of aught-two to aught-five. Here's where we dealt with it. On the even "upper" side, we are staying at the Century Plaza Hotel, where there is a spa!! We are in one of the suites, too, which is great because I can put the kids down to bed and Hannah and I can hang out and have some together time. But I will be essentially single-parenting for three days and I am having a hard time stomaching it.

Okay, complaining over.

I took Hayden to physio yesterday and it went great! The physiotherapist was very impressed with his upper body strength. She told me a lot of the clubfoot kids she sees do not have this strength. I told her that I used to put him on his tummy even when he was in casts and she told me that was a smart thing to do. I really like her. Her philosophy is that kids should not have to exercise, but play. Therefore, she has designed her method of treatment around playing and regular household items you can use. I can see how this will be a big feature when he gets older. She showed me how to help encourage him to crawl forward by placing a sport headband that had been sewn down the center around his legs to keep his hips closer together. Because the bar keeps his feet so far apart, he naturally wants to stay like that out of the brace. She also showed him how to sit back down on his bum from kneeling. She knelt him at a 53L sized Rubbermaid Roughneck container and put toys on the lid for him. He could lean on the container and reach for toys. Also she sat him in front of it on a foamy chair so that he had to plant his feet on the ground. What I did not realize was that even if he is sitting and has his feet planted, he is bearing weight on his ankles. He can do this in the brace also. She was impressed with how quickly he caught on to things and for the most part he was very compliant, even though he had missed his nap. At one point he got irate and she told me that most likely it feels a little uncomfortable to him as he has never had to put weight on his ankles before. We finished up there and I headed over to my mom's place to have lunch before I took him to his portrait session.

When we arrived at the studio, I was was worried that he might end up losing it because he was now missing nap number two. But, he performed brilliantly and I can't wait to see the pictures! As soon as I have them, I'll scan them in and show them to you. I also had to get his passport photo taken because we'd like to go away this summer. Talk about a mug shot - they are not permitted to show teeth if they have them. The girls at the studio were telling me some of the crazy things that pictures have been rejected for and I just had to shake my head.

Anyway, that is it for now. I may try to get a post in if I can get over to Laura's and use her computer, but otherwise, I'll be back online Friday or Saturday. I am sure I will have plenty of tales to tell. Later, y'all!

The Walking Wounded

Thursday I got the kids all bundled up and ready to take Kestrel to preschool. All went well - visited with a neighbor briefly along the way - and we were on our merry way. Half way there (it's about a fifteen minute walk), the rear right wheel fell off of my double stroller. SON OF A.....(insert bad word here). This is the second Evenflo stroller I have purchased and experienced this EXACT same problem with. I am composing the angry letter now. In my head. So - back I went to the house to get the spare parts I thankfully had to repair the wheel. It still fell off a few more times along the way and I was starting to get scared that it would come off in the middle of a crosswalk and I and my children would be hit by a bus. Now let me interject here and say that it is not exactly rocket science to install the wheels on these strollers, otherwise I would be questioning my technique - but the only thing thats hold said wheels on are two little plastic clip-type pieces and then a "hubcap". I cannot be the only one experiencing this problem. So, cursing and swearing along the way, I called the preschool to let them know we'd be late, then called hubby to ask what time he would be returning home as I was NOT going to go through this on the trip back. I was going to camp out at Laura's and wait for him if necessary. As it turned out, he had a large window of time and could come get us when preschool was over - great. I can assure you that catching a heavy stroller with 60 some odd pounds of child in it - not good for the lower back. So I have been in a little pain.

Had a nice visit with Laura and I was able to drop off a little gift I made for her kidlet. I think it turned out rather cute, don't you?




Yesterday I dropped off the kids at daycare and came back home with hubby, who had to head up to his attic office. I took a leisurely shower and then applied makeup in front of the t.v. without little fingers trying to get at all of my expensive cosmetics. Then I blow-dryed my hair - another event that rarely happens alone. On my way back to the couch to retrieve my jewellery (I take all of it off, save my wedding ring, and hardly wear it when the kids are around) and WHAM! I nailed the toes of my right foot on the leg of the stupid gigantic coffee table that resides in my living room.

It hurt so bad and I knew that it was painful because I bypassed swearing and went straight to crying. I stuck my boot on right away so that it wouldn't swell (a wise decision on my part) and headed out to Metrotown Centre. I had me some shopping to do. I was limping pretty bad by the time I reached the mall, but I decided to just "shop through the pain" and guess what? That first excursion into Zara brought on a burst of endorphins so delightful that I became giddy and almost forgot my pain. Next was Old Navy, then the Gap, then Roots, Gymboree and finally Shoppers Drug Mart for some tape to bind my toes. I won't say how much money I spent today, but Hayden did very well. I got one thing for myself - another pair of jeans and was having such bad jean angst again in the change room that I had to fight off the tears by repeating to myself "skewed body image, skewed body image" over and over until I remembered that I have had three children and I am not a celebrity who can afford a personal trainer and live-in nanny. The thing is, I don't often look at myself in a full-length mirror and so I walk around in this blissful state of unawareness thinking I look alright and then I go into the change room and turn peuce at the image that stands before me. Laura tries to tell me I look just fine and I so appreciate that, but I wish I could convince myself of it fully, too. Time to get out the Body Image Workbook that I purchased ages ago. Sigh.

So. The foot. When I arrived back home, laden with packages I was happy to get the boots off and then had a look at my sore little toe. Um, ew. This is what I beheld:



Purple and green and black, oh my!

Later last night it looked like this:



And this:



Make sure you take note of the pedicure - isn't the nail polish pretty?

But back to the shopping. I got the cutest pair of shoes for Hayden. You'll never guess what size they are. Give up? Size one half. Not a 0, not a 1. Here's the best part - they are too long (so he really is a 0), but there is NO WAY I can cram his thick little feet into them. DRAT! I am going to have to investgate Payless and see if they have something for him there. Bummer.

But since I know you are all waiting for photos of the boy and not my foot, here you go:

sleeping blissfully

reading the menu

drinking from a straw for the first time

splish splash!

FYI, the blurry photos = hubby, the clear photos = me.

In the household news, I received a money order via the maintenance enforcement folks from the deadbeat dad for a whopping $200. Wow - he's really putting a dent in that 18+ grand debtload! If I was really vindictive, I'd publish his name on this blog - but I'd rather he not be able to find this blog by googling his own name. But....ummm...okay, his name is rant-Gay ohnson-Jay, there - now he can't google me! Haw haw haw! I'm sorry, that's so childish, but I can't help getting nasty on occasion when it comes to him. If only you KNEW the stories of what he put me through. One day I will share some of them with you.

And finally, inspired by my breakfast blog, I have decided to keep track (daily, if I can remember) of some of the foods I eat for breakfast.

Thursday: tea with sugar and cream
Friday: tea, a steamed barbecue pork bun, warmed
Today: tea, three cheese pepperoni sticks (disgusting, I know)

Some Good News!

I woke up yesterday feeling like a bag of crap and started thinking maybe I was developing a sinus infection. I actually felt worse than I did three days ago. Add to that Hayden whining and whimpering most of the night and I was beyond tired. Of course he had just drifted back off to sleep and Kestrel burst into our room and proceeded to have a very loud exchange with her father about her "uggies" (soothers), where I was shushing the pair of them but to no avail - Hayden woke up and was good for the day - AARGH! Then had a fight with hubby later about something else and the day was going swimmingly.

Of course I had a big day ahead of me with getting Kes to preschool (which requires walking there with around 60 pounds of combined child weight in the double stroller) and then I had to Skytrain it to Royal Columbian for a follow up visit with Dr. Pirani. Hubby tried to think of some alternatives for me to get around, but they all seemed even more complicated and stressful (one of them involved me driving back and forth about six times to the same area - no thanks). The weather held up nicely and I got the kids there - paid for the extra time that Kes would have to stay at preschool and headed off. Hayden entertained everybody on the train by being an outrageous flirt and we got to the hospital about 45 minutes early for our appointment. It was super quiet there so we were able to get in right away.

Dr. Pirani was very impressed with Hayden's Mitchell's - he'd never really seen them and thought they looked great. He asked if I was happy with them and I said most definitely. He asked how long Hayden was wearing them during the day and I told him 23+ hours. Sometimes I don't even give him the hour out of them because I am just bathing him and putting him to bed. He examined Hayden's feet and manipulated them all over - Hayden laying there completely unconcerned (yes!). I believe Dr. Pirani's exact words were "I'm over the moon with these feet"! You gotta love someone who is so pleased with their own handiwork! I told him how happy I was that Hayden's right foot stays fully abducted (turned outward) when I remove the shoe and also that his left foot moves freely over, where it used to be so stiff. Then I told him that I was mildly concerned that Hayden still won't really weight bear or even move his ankles and here Dr. Pirani said "yes, we need to get him up on them" and then came the good news.....

At the end of March, Hayden gets to reduce his hours in the shoes to nighttime only - ALREADY!! That means a maximum of 14 hours a day and a minimum of 12. I was so excited, I almost cried - I thought that he would be in them full time until he could stand up, which I was figuring for summetime at least. My first thought? "I'm going shoe shopping for my boy!" In addition to that, Dr. Pirani asked me if I would read over some material for a new clubfoot booklet he and others are putting together and I was totally delighted and honored! He said that I had been through the mill and he'd appreciate a parent perspective on it. COOL!

On the way home, after picking up Kestrel, I stopped in Chinatown to see if I could get a pair of those shoes with the squeakers in them to maybe encourage Hayden to stand, but alas - he is WAY smaller than even the smallest Asian size (13)!! I tried measuring his feet last night and I think they are about a 0 - eek! Sigh. So, excursion foiled. But I may venture out today sometime. Also, I tried to wedge some Robbez on his feet (they are also way too long), but his feet are so fat that I am not sure if he will ever wear them. DANG IT!

Here's a little something I was put onto by another blog, Gastronomy Domine. (I like her blog for so many reasons: a) she's in England, b) she blogs about yummy, yummy food that she prepares and c) she calls herself "squeezeweasel") Anyway, it's an appliance company called Smeg, whose products are naturally available everywhere but Canada - typical. But I have decided that my next house will have these appliances - they are beautiful (you know you've become an adult when you are getting thrills from fridges and stoves). So I don't care if I have to fly to England to get them. P.S. My other favorite food blog is Cooking With Anne - a must read.

Well, in closing here is photographic proof that Kes can actually be nice to her brother:



P.S. I don't think I do have a sinus infection as today I feel "okay". Just a crappy cold I guess.

The Weekend Away

Hi all - well we arrived back safely early yesterday afternoon much to my happiness. I am either sick again, or still or in addition to what I already have and I am. Not. Happy. Hayden has the same thing and we have both been rivers of snot and coughing alternately. I've had to sleep Hayden on his back on a pillow to allow for drainage for the poor guy because otherwise he can't breathe. His mood has been fine, though - I am happy to report.

What is it about hotels that they can't provide at least a queen sized bed? Do they not know what it is like to sleep with a bedhog for a husband as well as a small child who takes up the space of a small country? It is amazing how wide Hayden's wing span is (his brace). I started him off in the playpen that the hotel provided and ended up with him wedged between it and me with a pillow to cushion him, while I spent three torturous nights contorted into positions that Cirque du Soleil would envy. As nice as it was to get away, having five people sleep in one room is not my idea of a relaxing time. The 45 year old and 3 year old both snore, the teenager tossed and turned, as did I and the 8 month old banged his bar up and down on my legs continuously through the night. Thankfully I am not as black and blue as I had envisioned I would be. Long story short, got some shopping done, visited the Royal British Columbia Museum, and watched it snow for about 10 exciting minutes while we were there. Back home to a pile of laundry and a runny nose or two. The change of scenery was good. I guess.

I laid low today and thank goodness - it was so cold and windy here. Miserable even. Spent the day knitting and playing with the baby. He had three - count 'em - THREE naps today! I was worried that he had been fouled up with the weekend away, but he laid himself right down and went to sleep. Suh-weet!

Speaking of the knitting - I bought this book (think I mentioned it) and paid a fair bit for it (about $25, thank you very much) - but figured it was worth it because it is all knitted toys and they are really neat. But. There are several glaring mistakes in it and if I was not an experienced knitter I would be confused as heck right now. Also, when it comes time to sew the toys together the instructions are vague and say something like "assemble as per picture", and then they show a picture of HALF of the toy fully assembled - WTF?? There should be more specific instruction I think because one of the toys turned out pretty bad and I almost got discouraged, but instead I put it away and started another! Good grief.

I forgot to post this last time, though. Look what my Mommy made! I would like to say I helped but I was merely there for creative input. This is so my baby boy's legs don't dangle down and hurt him in the stroller. Have a look:






Notice how hard it is to get Hayden to smile? What a cheeseball! Anyway - thanks to my mom, this little contraption works great! It has a piece of wood inside (that she cut BY HERSELF on the big table saw in my Dad's garage!) and then she even made the cover REMOVABLE in order to be able to wash it. The woman is a genius I tellya! (And just so you know, I actually spelled genius as "genious" before I noticed - so obviously she did not pass it on! ha ha!)