Rain, rain go away...

As I was trying to dodge the rain today I suddenly realized that I don't own an umbrella. I live in VANCOUVER and I have managed to get by for a couple of years now without one.

Yesterday we had a patch of sunshine, and it was beautiful. Even though my window at work overlooks a dumpster in a pretty icky area of the city, that one patch of blue sky and sunshine made even that look beautiful. I love this city - and I don't even mind the rain too much.

A few weeks ago it seemed as though the big man upstairs was screwing with us Vancouverites. Vancouver's longest wet spell began January 6, 1953, and ended 29 days later. We were on track to beat that record a couple of weeks ago. We got to 28 days. Then the sun shone. FOR ONE DAY. Just enough so we couldn't get the record. And then, wouldn't you know it, just to rub it in, it has pretty much been pissing down ever since. Sigh. The kids love it though. We go out for walks and stomp in every single puddle we come across. The one great thing is that when the sun does come out and shine, it is like magic (and no, the cherry blossoms are not out. Yet.).

Whose wee legs are those?

I wrote here awhile ago about a photoshoot that both Nicholas and Ethan were in for a shoe company. Robeez make soft leather shoes for kids, and their head office is just outside of Vancouver. Their catalog and web-page with the new shoes came out today, and Nicholas' wee legs and feet can be seen right here. We'll have to wait and see what happens with Ethan's shots. I suspect that they wound up on the cutting room floor.

Sigh. The things that I find exciting.....I must get out more.

We got a new desk. Now we need a new house.

A few weeks ago, one of my co-workers asked me if I could use a computer desk. He said it was in great condition, but he got a new desk and wanted to find a good home for the one he had been using. Without thinking, I automatically said "sure!".

After I arranged to pick up the desk, I thought long and hard about where the hell we would put it in our house. We already have a computer desk that is wedged in a corner in the boys' play area, and our house is full to the rafters with mostly kids stuff. I can't wait for someone I know to get knocked up so I can get rid of alot of it!

So I pick up the desk, bring it home and leave it in the living room. Ken is looking at me like I have two heads, and I am sure he is wondering what the hell I was thinking. I did think at the time I said "yes" to this desk that it would be great for the boys in a few years. I just didn't think long and hard where it would live until then. While I mulled over where it could fit where it wouldn't stand out like dog's balls, I figured that since we had nowhere to put it, we needed a new house. But since we can't afford a new house (or a very very old one thanks to the Vancouver real-estate market) I decided to leave the desk in the living room and put some plants around it so that maybe it could look like it just blends in.

It isn't only the desk that is a new furniture item in this house. The boys got a great play fort for Christmas, and Ken and I have been trying to think of a place to put that monstrosity. It is really cute, but their play area is so full of stuff, that we had to move some crap from there and put it in the spare room (sorry mom, I guess you are now sleeping out in the shed) to make room for the new fort.

So we spent a good part of our Saturday night (yes, the riveting lives of married folk) putting this thing together.



The boys loved it. That is, until they saw the box it came in. Oh the joys. Lord help us all if we get a new fridge anytime soon!

Tit for tat.

Ethan was looking over my shoulder today and was asking why I didn't post a picture of him...

"mama, where's Ethan? Why isn't he on the computer?"

Well honey, here you go. Boy I wish I could crawl into his little wee brain and see how his little noggin works. I wish I knew what he was thinking when I took this today.

Did I mention he is lucky he is cute?

This is why he gets away with so much and has mommy wrapped around his little finger....



Good thing the internet doesn't smell. That blanket that he chews on just stinks.

Does anyone else think this is gross?

A couple of months ago, Ethan's preschool had a fundraiser in which we had to sell cookie dough. Rather than spend all my time pawning it off on coworkers and friends (aside from those who I KNEW would order some) I figured that I would just buy enough to fill my selling quota (which really wasn't that much). The cookie dough came in lots of flavours, and instead of having it all in a big tub, you can opt to get one ounce pre-formed cookies that you just pop in the oven. How hard can that be? Judging from the tally of what is left in the freezer, and the 12 or so cookies I have baked in the last month, it would appear that it is a HUGE challenge for me to take them out of the freezer and put them on the baking pan without taking a shortcut to my mouth. It seems to me that I have only done this a few times, but when I reached in the the freezer this morning for a once ounce piece of frozen, raw cookie dough heaven, I realized that I have eaten about 30 of the damned things without baking them first.

My husband thinks I am nuts. When he busted me the other day sneaking into the freezer he told me that he thought it was totally gross to eat cookie dough. I told him I thought he was nuts - everyone loves it. Am I right?

O.L.D.

Today I am officially in my mid thirties. I remember years ago thinking that was really, really old. Now that forty is the new twenty, maybe it isn't so bad.

My dad has always had a knack for writing prose, and this is what I got in my birthday card today. I love it.

We feel proud to see that you did survive
To reach the age of thirty and five
And in those years you've accomplished lots
Not the least of which is your two little tots.

From out of school with a big degree
Then back to school at BCIT
Where you learned to become a safety geek
And then develop your own technique.

During that time you met your man Ken
Who made you feel like a silly brood hen
He gave you a ring in a little blue pouch
Which you later misplaced in the back of the couch

Over the years you had Ethan and Nicky
And held down your job which was really tricky
You learned how to mother without a degree
You and Ken became members of the bourgeoisie

Between work and your studies and of course music class
You've had not time to sit on your ass
Just enough time to take photos of course
And get Ken off to dragon boating to prevent a divorce.

Our advice to you dear as you reach thirty five
Is to take time for yourself, to keep you alive
Keep fit and keep smiling should be two of your tricks
A surefire recipie to reach thirty six.

Girls vs. Boys

My boys for the most part are pretty good. But, well...they are BOYS. They love cars, dirt, making a mess and are generally noisy. My girlfriends that have little girls tell me that their daughters also love all these things, and that they too can be equally as loud (I have yet to witness this though).

On Christmas day, we all went to my parent's house. My cousin and his wife were there with their little girl, and I am sure she thought all hell had broken loose and then some when we got there with our sugar filled, sleep deprived, all hyped up on presents kids. While my boys tore up the house, she just stood watching, not quite knowing what to make of it all.




So today in an attempt to "calm" my children I thought I would try getting the boys to try something different - sitting down at the table and colouring (Nicholas) and painting (Ethan). Actually, Ethan loves to paint, but he doesn't do it too much because it takes me about 10 minutes to get it all together, and about two seconds for him to slap something down on paper and say "I'm all done".

This is what resulted when I let Nicky colour...




Check out the teeth marks...



And this is an Ethan work of art that was completed in about two seconds...

Amazing what gets done when you should be studying for an exam...

When I was in University many years ago, I perfected the art of procrastination. I was great at getting stuff done, it just all got done nanoseconds before it had to be handed in. I always marveled at how sparkling clean my house was around exam time, the new gourmet dishes that I came up with because I would spend ages in the kitchen, and how many hair-do's I could come up with so that I wouldn't have to wear a ball cap to all my classes.

A few months ago, In a state of complete and utter stupidity, I signed up for a project management course. One of my girlfriends was stunned - "What the hell are you taking a project management course for? You work, you study, you have kids, if that isn't progect management, I don't know what the hell is. If you fail that will be really, really embarassing."

So now that I should be studying for this exam which is in a week, I am of course procrastinating, and my idea of "procrastination" is getting some laundry done, and trying for the millionth time to find my wedding band that I lost in the couch two years ago. Since I didn't feel like doing laundry the other night, I thought I would have another hunt for the wedding band...

Here's the scoop - almost two years ago, on my birthday, I lost my wedding ring. I was seven months preggo with Nicholas, and to this day, I am gobsmacked at how it was possible for the ring to FALL OFF MY FINGER when the rest of me was bloated to double my normal size (sadly, almost two years after the birth, my normal size is still well and truly hiding somewhere). I was sitting on the couch, lamenting the fact that it had been a horrible birthday and how could it possibly ever get worse. Yeah, did I mention I have a big mouth?

The thing I remember most about that day was that I spent a good portion of it in the emergency room with Ethan. We were in music class, and his teacher was holding his hand trying to get him to "hop". As she yanked up, she dislocated his elbow. I took him to our family doctor who told me to go to the ER and get it x-rayed. "Don't worry" she said, I'll phone ahead and you will be taken care of right away. That was music to my seven-month-pregnant self's ears.

As I found out later it is a really common injury, so common in fact that many doctors will just pop the elbow right back in while the child is in the waiting room. Alas, we got the full meal deal that day, because we had to wait four hours to see the doctor. Now I understand an 18 month old in the ER with a simple elbow out of joint is so not a priority, but hell, it took him about two seconds to pop that sucker back in. He was shocked that the family doctor didn't do it and that she sent me all the way to the hospital. Oh it was a long, long day.

The couch that I lost the ring in is a nice one. Too nice to just tear apart, but not quite nice enough that I could get away with strategically slicing it in a few placed for a good hunt around. So I turned the couch over, poked and prodded, and then lifted up the end...and I heard a "clink". On the hardwood floor. OMG there was the ring. Amazing. An early 35th birthday present to me.

Now I have to hit the books...again.