Canada Day July 2, 2008

Happy Canada Day!

 

I am a Canadian and most times, I am proud of that.  I love our country.  I love the place I live in our country.  I love the freedoms we have.  I love our universal health care (of course, there are parts of it which could use improving…but in general, we are so fortunate to have access to the best in the world).  I am so proud that our country offers a full year parental leave.  I am proud that we are ‘peace keepers’.  I am proud that we are forward thinking in terms of gay marriage.  I am proud that we have a great sense of humour in general.  I am so proud of so many things.  If I were to travel, I would proudly show off my maple leaf.  I am a hockey watching, skate owning, touqe wearing Canadian. 

All that being said…we had a pretty laid back day.  We spent the majority of the day at my dad’s house.  We were helping get his air conditioning installed and a floor built for his new gazebo in the back yard.  The kids were into everything…..and even managed to escape the back yard!  There was much sun had…much sprinkler running…much laughing.  This evening, friends of ours came over for supper and a little Wii.  We bowled, we tennis’d.  It was good all around.  Now, I am making a huge pot of soup…apparently having the temperature in the low 30’s today wasn’t enough heat for me to avoid wanting a pot of hamburger soup.  I hope we have a fire again tonight.  I don’t think we will make it to any fire works..the girls have been in bed for a couple of hours already and the sun isn’t even fully down. 

Next year, we will hopefully make it to a parade and fireworks.  This year I am happy to lounge in the hamock in front of the fire pit, eating marshmellows S so perfectly toasts for me!

Happy Day!

Jay Walkers Festival June 7, 2008

Yesterday we all went to the Jay Walker’s Festival in a town close to our village.  It was very similar to a fair our old home town had every yeard called the Abbotsford Berry Festival.  Both my husband and I grew up going to this downtown festival.  I loved it.  My favorite was local corn on the cob and smoked salmon.  Not to mention all the berries and ice cream you could eat.  There was the prerequiste local dancers doing their thing and of course a seniors banjo band to play the day away.  There was over priced rides which were much more fun at night with the lights lit up.  It was just alot of fun to see your down town transformed into a carnival atmosphere.

How lucky were we to discover a simialr event in our own new back yard!  We strolled around the tables, looking at the wares.  We snacked on food cooked by the local Lion’s club.  We listened to a young women who sounded alot like Jewel.  The kids didn’t make it on a ride.  It was a little over our budget yesterday…and I have a fear of rides that are taken down and reassembled in a twenty-four hour period.  The kids had a great morning and so did I.  I am looking forward to next years event now.  Nice to start making memories with our own children, even though we aren’t in our old town.

My Daily Rant June 6, 2008

My husband mentioned last night that the company who makes Hummer SUV’s, will no longer be making them, except for military use!  Is this right?  Are they really going to stop producing this gas guzzling beast of a SUV?  Just yesterday our local news was talking about big trucks and SUV’s and how people around here aren’t buying smaller cars at all….bigger ones in fact!  A local mom with two kids was interviewed and she just couldn’t imagine fitting her two children into anything smaller than her Ford Explorer…maybe she has Obese children who require custom fitted car seats….hmmm.   I understand that some industries require the use of large trucks and such for their daily operations.  What I don’t get is how a family of four can’t wrap their minds around downsizing. 

I blame McDonald’s for this trend.  Everything in our world is ‘upsized’ now.  We can’t just have  a large pop with our Big Mac…we must have a pop so large we can’t possibly drink it.  We have to have so many fries that an immigrant family of five can feast off of one order.  We are told daily that we need to have bigger better things, whoa…but not a big but or a big belly, or big thighs….but boobs are okay!  It is so confusing.  I want the biggest vehichle around to haul the smallest ass in town…hmm.  Big hair is out, but big lips are in.  I can’t keep up with the times.  I believe that I was born in the wrong time.  If I were apart of the first settlers to Canada, I would be picked to be a bride first…I have enough meat on my bones to ensure I would last a hard winter.  If I had met Michelangelo, he surely would have painted my rounded body.  I am a sex symbol in the wrong era!  I am backwards for today.  I have a big ass and I want to shove it into the smallest car around! 

 

 

Good Start June 3, 2008

Yep, I am still here.  And, doing much better than yesterday.  I am pretty sure any SAHM has felt like I did yesterday.  I am sure those who go out in the world to work, feel the same way on some days.  You live through it, get a good nights sleep and wake up refreshed.

I am working on new ways to help Emma not be whinny and discontented throughout the day.  This morning when she wasn’t allowed to have a Tim Bit before breakfast and she started to cry, I calmy explained why to her and then asked her to go to her bed if she wanted to continue to cry and be upset.  It didnt’ take her long and she was back out with us in the kitchen.  This happened a couple of times this morning; where she had to go back and forth to bedroom to compose herself.  But, she is happier and so am I.  We are off to a good start….and they are both ‘napping’ right now and I have some time to myself…yeah.

 

What Are We Thinking? June 1, 2008

We are getting ready to head out the door in a couple of minutes.  I am not too sure how well this supper will turn out.  Thankfully it is just to Boston Pizza and not some super fancy place where the kids will cause a huge scene.  As it is, they will probably cause just a little bit of a scene. 

About a month ago, Hannah started having tantrums in restaurants.  This hasn’t been fun at all.  We shovel our food in as fast as we can, and take what we can’t eat home.  Eventually we throw it away because our appitites have been lost.  I dont’ know why we said we would go out.  I just figured we would wait a few months until all the crying and screaming was over with before we ventured out in public with the toddlers.  Hmm.  I will have to let you know how well it goes…but I might just take an Ativan now and help along the night where I can.

Children’s Festival May 31, 2008

The girls and I went to a children’s festival today.  It was alot of walking and alot of sun.  The girls were a little bit too young for most of the activities though,  And the lines for the free things were insane.  My oldest went into a bouncy castle for the first time today.  She enjoyed herself until the bigger kids came and started bouncing super hard.  Neither girl was too keen to wait in line for a free balloon animal or to have their face painted so we ended up skipping those things.  We did manage to buy tickets for the a Rythm demonstration.  It was fine until my youngest wanted to run amok.  I ended up having my lemonade dumped on me and I was doused in grass clippings.  Pretty much, it was horrible to sit on the floor and attempt to trap the girl in my arms while the demonstration was happening.  Finally we were able to stand up and dance.  Silly me, I thought I would put her on my shoulders and dance that way.  Instantly, I became the drum on which she began to beat away on.  My hair was destroyed and my head hurt.  Finally it was over.  Silly me.  I handed off my glasses to the little on while I was strapping her into her stroller and she snapped off the arm.  So, I left with a headache, messy hair and a broken pair of glasses.  All in all it was stellar day. 

Honestly, we all had a really good day.  we munched on Fat Franks (hot dogs), licked tiger ice cream.  We played in the park and swang on the swings.  We have red noses and rosy cheeks.  We are all tired.  It was a good day all around.  I am looking forward to next years festival.  The girls will be that much older and they will be able to participate in so many more activites.  It will be more fun than this year.  But, I am happy we went and got a lay of the land for our next time out.

Lazy May 29, 2008

I think maybe I clean too much and don’t spend enough time playing with the girls.  I think maybe I take too much me time and don’t spend enough time reading books to the girls.  I think sometimes I am a lazy mom.  It really isn’t that hard to give just a little more.  A story here, a tea party there.  Sitting at the table and actually eating with the girls is not the same as being in the kitchen cleaning, watching them eat.  Hmm.  I think I have some work to do.