Grammy, take 2

I had a wonderful relationship with my Grammy. I have so many fond memories of her and I was blessed to live in the same city so I could see her almost daily and spend the night at her house often. She peeled oranges for me at night and taught me how to play cat’s cradle. We would stay up late and watch Matlock together. She would tuck me in at night and I would stick my feet out the bottom of the bed...she would come back in three or four times to make sure my feet weren’t cold. Sadly, my Grammy passed away a few months before I was married.



My mom and I live about 9 hours apart so we don’t see each other often enough. My mom, is now playing Grammy to my children. She is spending the month of July with us and does she ever remind me of my Grammy. I wish we were closer so that my children could have the benefit of that kind of relationship, and frankly, I just really miss my mom.

What is THAT?

This is the look of shock on Bryanna's face when she saw our vacuum yesterday. No, there was nothing wrong with it; it's just that...ehm...it hasn't seen the light of day in quite a loooonng time. I finally pulled it out when our children started naming the dust bunnies.

Shopping with Kids

If I had a photo for this blog, it would be of Keith or I at our wits end. Why am I saying this you ask? It’s because we brought all three kids with us to go couch shopping. They were everywhere touching everything and it was extremely difficult to corral them all in while actually shopping. I wonder if furniture stores would let you bring in your own sheep dog.

It may not have been as difficult with two kids, because we could each be assigned to a child. It was when we moved to three children that our strategy had to change from man-to-man to zone defense. We’re still trying to perfect this strategy.

Last month we attempted furniture shopping as well. Devon saw a fancy wire light thing-a-ma-bob and grabbed it. He got a big shock and burned his fingers quite badly. We ended up in the emergency room of the children’s hospital; we took it as a sign that maybe it wasn’t time to buy a couch.

Obviously, we didn’t learn our lesson. This round, the two youngest of our always-well-behaved crew knocked over a VERY large mirror onto their heads and almost onto the floor. Thankfully, I was standing close enough to lunge forward and catch it with no damage done except scaring the crap out of the two offenders. At this point, we decided it would be best to leave.

Could this be another sign that we don't really need a couch after all?

...goes wee, wee, wee all the way home

This little piggy goes to the market, this little piggy stays home. All my kids, even my six-year old, still love this game. Even though I have an aversion to feet, I still really enjoy the game as well. The best part is the anticipation of the last toe when they know they are going to be tickled.

Princess and the Boy

We have a bungee cord that keeps our outdoor umbrella together when we’re not using it. Last night while we were sitting outside Devon was playing with it. The power of his imagination never fails to impresses me.

Me: ”What are you doing?”
Devon: “Playing with my dog. This is his leash. He’s a nice dog.”
Me: “What’s your dog’s name?”
Devon: “Princess and the boy”
Me: “Really?”
Devon: “Yes, really.”



I think naming our dog will be a very interesting activity when Keith finally caves.

Parenting can be Similar to Being Pecked to Death by Ducks

I know the title of this blog doesn`t exactly bode well for our family since it’s only the third day of nine long (seriously long) weeks of summer. Who needs water boarding? You just need a three-year old, a five-year old, and a six-year old simultaneously interviewing a detainee.

Patience has been eluding me. I must search in earnest for patience; however, I truly believe there is really only so much whining a person can bear before they go coco loco.

I will think about the vibrant colors coming from our garden and count to ten, no twenty...ahem...maybe one hundred in search of patience.

Yeah right, who has time for that? I can SO relate to Bill Cosby when he talks about brain damage. Check it out for yourself and see if you concur.

5-Year Old Girls Playing Soccer

Look at me, look at me, I’m waving. Whoa, I’m falling backwards over the ball that just hit my feet while I was waving. Run, run, run, and score! Oops, wrong net. Run, run, run, and score! Yeah, correct net this time.

Watching Caitlin play soccer is so much fun. She is so full of energy and enthusiasm. I think she truly enjoys the game. Then again, her motivation could be stemmed from the super cool set of folding chairs her coach brings for the team to sit on and the promise of a popsicle at the end of the game. The popsicle would totally get me too.

Each week before the game, the coach does the following cheer with them:

Give me an “I”,

Give me an “M”,

Give me a “P”,

Give me an “A”,

Give me a “C”,

Give me a “T”,

What do we have?

This week the girls actually screamed “IMPACT” instead of shrugging their shoulders and looking like a deer caught in headlights. Go Impact, Go!

School’s out for Summer

No more pencils, no more books, no more...that tune has been playing in my head since I woke up.

Today at 1pm is the last day of kindergarten for Bryanna. Next year she will be in Grade 1. She will no longer receive the special treatment that kindergartners get. She will move to the big playground with the rest of the school. She will be required to sit at a desk for most of the day. Am I ready for this monumental change? Ahem, I mean, is she ready for this? I’m not sure where the time went. She just started kindergarten. It was just yesterday I was peeling myself away from the school in tears. It was just yesterday I gave birth to my first-born beautiful baby with the big eyes and perfectly shaped lips.

I am so proud of everything she has done this year in school. She can now understand and follow a conversation in French. She still does not speak in French, except for singing her French school songs. Does that count? She never said a word as an infant, and then unexpectedly, she started speaking full sentences when she was two years old. I think she was waiting until it was perfect in her head before trying it aloud. Possibly, she is doing the same thing with French.



Bryanna with Mme Sabrina and Mme Rénouka

Wedding Tears

I have this weird urge to cry at weddings. I’m not sure if it’s wearing high heels, sucking in my stomach for hours, or just the feeling of love, but I almost always cry at weddings. There is some trigger that makes me highly emotional (yes, more so than usual). Maybe it’s just the love in the air that’s making my eyes water, kind of like pollen.

Not only did I make it through the entire wedding without falling, I actually felt a bit stylish. Only problem, after playing soccer on Friday night, walking 10km on Saturday morning, and dancing until 12am on Saturday night, I can no longer move any part of my body without screaming out in pain. Ehm...this predicament hasn’t exactly helped me plan the most wonderful father’s day for Keith.

Virgin Blogger

I’ve been following a friend’s blog, which I find so interesting. She moved to Ontario last summer and it has been a great way to stay in touch and watch her baby grow.

That being said, I've been just a tad addicted to these sites lately and absolutely love the fact that there is somewhere to chronicle the fun, cute, and sometimes annoying things that happen in every day mom-life. Since I have been horrible at chronicling anything for my children since I've had my third child, I thought this would be fun!

Now I'm off to a wedding. It has been a long time since Keith and I have been out without the children so we are really looking forward to it. I actually had my hair done and Aruna lent me her really high Jessica Simpson shoes so it should be a fun evening without kids....as long as I don't break an ankle or make a scene falling down somewhere (cross your fingers!)