Brocolliing

Vomit.  Throw up. Puke. Call it what you will but I think we can all agree that when it presents itself at 12:30 am, it can be referred to simply as "hell'.  Before having my own children, I would run the other direction if someone started heaving, actually I still do if they aren't my own,  I think it stems back to 1998 when one of my students threw up his Fruit Loops all over my flip flopped feet- no one told me about that sort of thing when I started my teacher training.  That all said, your own offsprings' fluids aren't as gross as a someone else's and you realize it is part of the duty you signed up for once you got that "positive' sign on the pee stick.

Since early on, Little D has always had stomach issues.  When she was 10 days old Rob was burping her and screamed, "Oh my God the baby puked!" from the other room.   I was deeply offended that he would referred to our pink little bundle's "spit up" in such a frat boy sort  of way.  It wasn't until I burped her after her next feeding that I realized he has described correctly- she was a puker.  A "Standby Me' blueberry pie scene" kinda puker.  After close to a year on zantac (peppermint is such a natural flavour to a newborn) and her sleeping in a baby carrier to keep her upright, she finally settled and only spat up occasionally-the kind that babies are supposed to make.

Fast forward 5 years to our "broccoli" stage.  Little D has always loved veggies,  She will pass on cookies, cupcakes, and slices of cake but will always polish off a veggie tray on her own at a birthday party (so not my kid).  After dinner one night we tucked her into bed only to wake to that God awful gagging sound that no parent wants to hear.  We ran up to find a puddle of digested broccoli on the bed, floor, and in her hair.  "Ewwwww broccoli," stated Rob.  "Ick broccoli," stated her loving mother.  We cleaned the mess up and tucked her back in to bed.  The next day, she ate some more broccoli resulting in the same reaction a short time later.  We, being the mature parents that we are, couldn't hide our disgust and once again greeted it with "eww broccoli" and "ick broccoli".  Based on this experience, I don't know why we were surprised when the noun became a verb and she reported to us one day that "Devin just broccolied" after a birthday party.  Broccoli was now a synonym for vomit.  Great.  Can say I have eaten much of it since.

Last night when going to bed, Little D reported having an upset stomach.   Figuring she was looking for some cuddles and perhaps a mid-week visit into our bed, I bowed and let her sleep on Daddy's side of the bed-I am so giving like that.  I fell asleep a short time later only to wake to a sound that I thought was her passing gas.  Nope.  She broccolied.  On Daddy's side of the bed.  When she got up to sort herself out, it trailed after her everywhere.  Oh and the smell.   We got her tucked into the spare room and Daddy gave her cuddles while I cleaned and got fresh sheets on the bed.  Figures this happens the night before he starts a new job.  Damn that Murphy and his law.

At 2:30 am I finally got back into bed and was beginning to doze when I heard that unmistakable run to the bathroom.  The poor little thing, where did it all come from?  Once again, we cleaned her and brought her back to our room to have a cuddle and get some sleep.  She walks in and with a impressed look on her face says, "Nice sheets!  Are they new? "  WTH???  The way kids bounce back after being sick always astonishes me-or perhaps I have become accustomed to the 'man cold' and how long that recovery seems to be.

I am happy to report that nothing too eventful happened after 2:30 and things have gone well today.  She did manage to have some toast and homemade soup (thanks to Big D).  I wonder if broccoli will be on the menu tomorrow?

No More Tears

So a very sad time has finally arrived: no more baby shampoo. after almost 8 years, there is only "grown up" shampoo in our house.  yes, I know it is ridiculous to feel sad about such a trivial matter but to me such an occurrence boldy states that I no longer have "babies" in my house but rather little people with hair that require a stronger concoction to hide their stink.  a very sad day indeed. is it wrong that I want to put them in the dryer to shrink them and keep 'em little?  yes, life is much easier with a 7 year old who prepares snack for her soccer team, tackles the laundry and makes the greatest grilled cheese without help, not to mention the 5 year old who insists on making her bed by herself everyday but this independence also reminds me that they are growing up and I can't do anything about it.  I do my best to hold on to this time ( My name is Noeleen and I buy footie pjs for my youngest and  sometimes steal my sleeping offspring out of their own beds and cuddle them in mine) while fake smiling how happy I am with their independence but deep in my heart I cringe at the thought that the scissors are getting closer to those apron strings.  I am sure that the next chapter in motherhood will be awesome but I admit ( and those who knew me "BC" -Before Children- know how odd this next statement is) I love being a mum to little folk; little folk that jump in my lap cause Scooby Doo was too scary, or the fireworks were too loud, little folk with a cut and can only find comfort in a kiss from me, little folk with chubby cheeks and chubbier toes, little folk that smell of baby shampoo.    :-(
so I am sure you will now understand if you find me in the hair product aisle of the drug store sniffing and hugging a familiar bottle of yellow shampoo.  and please, before you tease, pass me a kleenex because clearly its "no more tears" slogan is a farce.  sniff sniff.

happy new year

new years . ugh. the time when i feel the need to look at what things i need to improve in my life so that in a few a weeks when i drop the ball, i can feel crummy for not sticking to my guns. i do like the idea of a fresh start but feel a monday after a guilty weekend just as refreshing and september (back to school) the start to MY fiscal year. i think the word "resolution" is intimidating enough..."re" means to do something again, and "solution" is a way to solve a problem...to resolve a problem again and again and again. ... yikes, doesn't that already scream failure before startint? so this year i decided to come up with a few "readjustments" instead - things that i plan to tweak throughout the year as i feel needed. things that i do and feel i shouldn't or want to do but feel i shouldn't....so far i have come up with a few:

1. to allow the same paint brush to be dipped into different colours
2. to turn the tv on for my children to watch so i can have 5 mins to myself at the end of the day.
3. to say "because i said so" instead of doing the right parenting thing all the time
4. to admit i don't compost because the fruit flies drive me NUTS
5. to allow my kids to have whip cream out of the can more often just cause it makes them happy
6. not to plan everything all the time ...as often(who am i kidding?!)
7.no to be "on" the laundry and to let the dirty clothes pile up cause they aren't going anywhere but one day my girls will be
8. to accept that my reading will not go beyond sandra boyton and people magazine for a few more years...and to stop buying grown up books
9. to balance screentime with facetime (recently realized how handsome my hubby is and that time is treating him well)

i think that is it for now. nothing too far outta reach but things i can adjust when i see fit and nothing i feel i need "luck" to help me out with...

so happy new years to you and good luck on your re......?

puppy love

growing up, my best friend had a chow chow....named chow. it was the cutest creature i had ever seen...furry, fluffy...just the cutest. however, chow saw things differently. chow did not feel the love and did not want anyone to feel its love. anytime i went to pat the dog i took my life into to my hands. i never quite knew the reaction i was going to get. sometimes i was surprised and greeted with a friendly nuzzle and sloppy kiss...other times....watch out!

fast forward 30 (gulp!) years and i now have my own little "chow" at home...except instead of a purple tongue and fluffy coat....it has sticky fingers and two pig tails...and answers to "deirann". deirann is the cutest creature i have ever seen...cuddly, chubby....just the cutest. however, deirann sees things differently...especially when it comes to showing the love to her big sister. devin is desperate to have cuddles with her little sister and deirann will have NOTHING to do with it. in the middle of the night, in the deepest of sleeps, devin will reach out to her little sister and rest her arm on her ever so slightly only to have deirann (eyes still shut) pickup big sister's hand and drop it on the bed. it is funny to see but i do feel devin's frustration and since she will give cuddles on command (there are a lot of canine references in here that i am sure to pay for BIG in therapist's bills someday!) she does get very frustrated when the love is not reciprocated by deirann.

it is funny when deirann does offer some love...we jump at it say "devin stop what you are doing and take the love...enjoy it!" the last few weeks however, we have seen a slight change in little d. she has started to actually sit beside devin at dinner and even offer some kisses(!) without pleading or bribing....! i don't want to jinx things but i am hoping that this is the beginning of the sisterly love devin has been waiting 3 years for...(i just knocked wood as i typed that!). now, rest assured, i knew i would never have children that would be joined at the hip but i did hope they would be able tolerate each other. i also always figured that it would be the older one that would be telling the younger one to "leave me alone"...NOT the other way around. regardless, it is nice to finally be able to let them loose in the same room together and know that it will not (always) end in screaming and "leave me alone"

so hopefully, this is not just a phase and that we actually have been able to teach our "young" dog a new trick....

four outta five dentists....

so about a year ago we were floored to find out that devin had a whack of cavities. we have always been very careful about making sure both girls didn't get sweets nor juice, offering raisins and apples instead of candy, brushing faithfully twice a day, visiting the dentist twice a year since she they were 18 months...but somehow...bam...the eldest has crummy tootypegs.



once we recovered from the initial shock and guilt and got another appointment scheduled, we toodled back to the dentist office to have the issue dealt with. never being one to shy away from people or medicine devin happily plopped herself into the chair and opened her mouth wide with daddy standing nearby....while i waited in the waiting room with deirann....


everything went well for the first 5 minutes or so then i heard a cry that woulda make clarice starling shake in her boots followed by a heart wrenching "mmmmaaaammmmmmmaaaaa....."


rob appeared at the door, sweating, "noel, you have to come in here and help...."




gulp. ok, i signed up for the good, bad and ugly of parenting and i think this was covered somewhere in the small print. when i made it into the exam room, poor devin was pinned down by the hygienist while the dentist was trying to deal with her cavity. seeing your baby in that situation is not good....and i did everything in my power to contain myself and not put those two woman in full nelsons on the floor.

"i think it is safe to say that you can just finish what you need to do to get her through the night so that we can deal with this another time in another way." i think my mamabear tone came through clear enough and medusa and her sister got their acts together and we were outta there pdq.

luckily we were able to get into a pediatric dentist two days later and eventually a pediatric dentist that offered gas...for the patient, not me. devin had her teeth sorted and $1500 (!) later, she flashed a sparkly smile complete with "gold mama not silver" caps on two baby teeth....yup $1500 to sort out BABY teeth! as parents we were assured we shouldn't beat ourselves up over the cavities and that devin had deep fissures that were prone to these issues....enough to keep me from anymore self-flogging.

fast forward a year to late august when devin complained of a sore tooth on the eve of deirann's dentist's appointment...good timing! when we arrived at the office they were happy to accommodate dev and after an xray stated that she had an infection in one of her "gold" teeth (honestly, they are the silvery ones and no she doesn't look like flavour flav with a grill). hopefully a does of antibiotics would nip it but if not, she would need it to be pulled....pulled....oh dear god how are we gonna explain that one to her???


anyhow, the meds didn't work and 2 weeks ago big d went in to have her first tooth pulled. we warned her that there would be blood and that no, we could not put a bandaid on it but that she would be ok and she would get to bring the tooth home. rob took her to the appointment (did i mention i am a HUGE wimp in these situations??) and waited for the call to say all was well....

the phone finally rang and all i couldn't make out what he was saying because of all the screaming in the background.


"oh my god, is she ok? what did they do???"


" they pulled the tooth."


"well i know that! but did they give her something for the pain?? is she ok? should i come home??"


"what noel?? i can't hear you? devin stop screaming!"


well if i could have climbed through the phone and strangled my heartless husband for speaking to my girl that way....i woulda.


"here, talk to your mother."


"mmmmaaaammmmmaaaaaaaa...."


"oh dev, are you ok? are you in pain???" i was doing everything not to cry myself.


"no....waaaaa....pain.....waaaaaaaa,"


"what devin, do you feel woozy??"


"no...waaaaa...mama....waaaaaaa."


"what is it devin??? what is wrong???"


"they...waaaaa....wouldn't lemme keep my tooth.....waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!"


we paid $750 to have that tooth capped the year before....ya think they woulda let her keep it or at least offered us some sorta rebate or something on it !!!


so, you can imagine what the rest of the conversation was like....devin wailing while i am trying to negotiate her off the ledge. she finally settled when we came up with the solution of writing the toothfairy (gotta love the fact we tell our children to NEVER lie....but an imaginary fairy leaving $ is acceptable false truth) a letter explaining what happened and leave that under her pillow.


the next few days were great. she happily showed EVERYONE the hole in her mouth and $ that the toothfairy left and we waited for the appointment to get her fitted for a spacer. i decided to be the brave one (ok, rob actually made me step up to the plate on this one) and bring devin to the appointment with deirann in tow before heading to work for the day. we went in and both girls happily greeted everyone in sight while playing in the waiting room (when did the dentist office become such a great place??? i swear i am going organize a playdate to meet there and enjoy all the toys!). when she was called, devin jumped up and skipped (yes skipped!) to the exam room and plopped herself in the chair. the hygienist did her thing and in a few minutes we were ready to leave.


"ok dev, let's go," i turned to see devin with her heading hanging low and one droopy lip appearing....


"what's wrong??"


she looked up with her big blues eyes, " that's it??? i want more. can' t the dentist use the suck chin (aka suction)on my spit??"


are you kidding?


i finally got her out of the room with the promise of some new dental floss only to turn and realize deirann was no where in sight. crap. she is fast, sneaky and recently labelled the "escape artist".

"marco???" our usual way of finding each other.

"polo!"

"marco???" i followed the sound of her voice...


"polo!" found her. sitting in the dental chair waiting for someone to come and fuss over her teeth.


"sorry d, you don't have an appointment today, we need to go to school."


"NNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!"


my child proceeded to have a full on fit in the dentist chair because she wanted someone to do something to her teeth....how can these children be mine?


so, a very kind-hearted hygienist flossed deirann's teeth and used the "suck chin" on her allowing us to finally leave the office and get on the road to work.


so where are we now? well yesterday devin had a spacer put in ( "its kinda like bracelets mama" "....um that's braces devin") and she is good to go for 3 months before our next check up. we are keeping a closer eye on deirann and limiting raisins and other chewy foods (who woulda thunk they were worse than lollipops???) and realizing sometimes things are outta your control. i have also decided that pediatric specialists are god-like and well worth the extra $ and that somehow i have managed to mother two children with a love of medicine that makes me wonder it they are truly mine.....

footwear optional

so deirann is two....VERY two.



we recently have been reminded of her age thanks to a couple of incidents and full-fledged conniptions. it amazes me that something so little can get so ticked at such insignificant things....and despite what my hubby says....i AM talking deirann...not me. case in point, this week my darling child lost it on me for helping put the "pea size" dollop of toothpaste on her toothbrush...and when i mean lost it....i truly mean it. she flipped. after a very dramatic "woe is me" head flop on to the counter top...she proceeded to cross her chubby little arms in front of her (they can barely wrap around her tummy) turn away from me and deliver "hmp...i mad". now, being a regular on the playing field of parenting with a few years of experience under my belt, i knew not to react to the behavior but rather determine what the real issue could be.


"wow you are angry aren't you deirann?"





silence.





"i can tell you are not happy."





silence. followed with the nastiest cutting eyes i have received in a long time.





"are you angry because i put the toothpaste on your toothbrush?"





"mmm hmm" her arms tightened a little more.





"would you like to put the toothpaste on yourself?"





BIG smile and up she goes to the sink to start the process of repasting the brush.





ok...so she wants some independence and control...i can swing that, no problem...after all, being a montessori teacher isn't that what we promote and ultimately want in our children?





so after some brushing and cuddles we head downstairs to begin the next part of the day.

and luckily it was a school day so i didn't have to spend the whole day with my little darling...wow..did i just write that?



anyhow the rest of the day went off without incident and at 4:15 i collected deirann and devin and began the journey home. we started off well until i decided to change the cd we were listening to in the car.



"no mama."



"pardon deirann?"



"no mama, i no like that song."



"well i do deirann and i would like to listen to it."



"nnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnoooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo."



and silence.



hmmm...maybe she is realizing she can't get her way all the time.



"THUMP!"



what just hit me in the head? i looked in the passenger seat beside me and there lies a pink little shoe...belonging to deirann. the stinker had thrown her shoe at me!!!



i saw red. i saw fire engine red.



i pulled over, stopped the car and got out. i then went to the back of the car and threw a HUGE hissy fit with language that would make a sailor blush. my kid just threw her shoe at me because we didn't agree on a musical selection. are you kidding? what did i do to deserve this???



once composed, i got back in the car and without saying a word, drove the car home....listening to my music (as you can clearly see, i have not matured as of late). we exited the car, entered the house and i deposited little miss deirann in her room for her to have some "time to think things over" aka mum's "get outta my hair or i am going to kill you" time.



a little while later (6 -oz- of -pinot -grigio -consumed-time to be exact) she padded into the kitchen and said, "i'm sorry mama. me not throw shoes at you, its not nice."



"ah thanks deirann, i accept your apology. just remember you can't get what you want all the time."



we enjoyed some cuddles and read a few books before getting ready for bed. both girls had a ball in the bubble bath and were up on their stools getting ready to brush their teeth. i set both girls up to put their own toothpaste on the brushes and went to turn down their beds....



then i heard the scream...



"MAMA!!!!!! "



i ran in expecting to find a severed limb on the floor or at least a goose egg forming on someone's head but no...i found deirann....



"you no put toothpaste on my toothbrush. hmp...i mad" and she proceeded to throw her toothbrush at me and cross her chubby little arms across her chest.



seriously...i can't win. nope. i can't.



i do know it is a phase but when you are in the thick of it, it is very hard to see the forest for the trees. so i am being consistent with boundaries and punishments ...and making footwear optional in my car.

Deirann and the smoking gun...i mean shoe!

...these are a few of my favourite things...

i gotta say my favourite thing in the whole wide world is sat morning lie-ins...i love them... more than my husband...and he knows it.

now, a "lie in" in my house means getting to stay in bed til 8ish and by lie in i do not mean sleep in, no those days flew the coup early september 2005. nowadays a lie in means getting to physically lie in bed without an alarm clock reminding me i gotta be somewhere soon. nothing makes me happier than having devin pad into our room early in the am and say "cuddle mama?". i think that is my favourite thing to have whispered into my ear, well....unless it is george clooney doing the whispering. those few extra moments with my two jammie-clad girls can recharge my batteries better than any fancy starbucks drink, any " girl night"...anything i can think of. i truly feel like the grinch when his heart triples in size as soon as one of my girls plops themselves into our bed. now don't get me wrong, i do miss my days of restful sleep and wonder if i will ever sleep through the night again but in the meantime, i will make do.

my other favourite thing these days is friday night movie night. it wasn't too long ago that friday nights meant hanging with the girls at the baa field watching rugby or hitting "my apartment" in downtown to. but considering i am ready to crash by 9 pm most nights, friday movie night is awesome. mini marshamllows, a big blanket and cuddles on the couch....bliss. most days i still can't believe i was the one who proudly said "i am not having children no way in hell" and now i am the proud (albeit in consisitent) owner of a blog and it is all about them.

wow times have changed...and i can officially say , for the better.

Not the brightest crayon in the coloring box, now are we?

we recently celebrated deirann's second birthday. it was a week long gala filled with food, family and fun. of course there were also a whack of presents to be torn apart and greatly enjoyed by all. those who know me know that i am the queen of second hand bargains (aka princess cheapo) and often find family members justifying purchases for my girls' with "but it was on sale", or "i found it in the closet" and of course "it fell from the sky and i thought the girls would love it!". with that said, i also realize that birthdays are the time to be spoiled and indulge a little...so family members were given the green light to buy what they wanted for little miss d.

luckily everyone stayed pretty much in check and didn't go too crazy. a few good books (can always tell the teacher's kids can't ya?), cds, puzzles, wiggles' games, and gorgeous outfits were gracefully accepted along with a colouring book, paint set and some crayons. all excellent choices that will surely bring hours of fun.

i did have to laugh when the girls dove into the box of crayons later in the week and devin asked for a little help.
"mummy, can you help me with the clothes?"

" sure dev, you want to get your jammies on?"

"no mummy, the crayons' clothes."

?

"pardon devin?"

" i want to take the crayons' clothes off... they feel so much better that way."

"huh?"

when i took a look over, i noticed a little pile of torn paper forming on the floor near devin's chair....the paper belonged to the crayons.

"oh devin."

perhaps it was because the first few years of her life found miss devin in a topless fashion running on a beach, but whatever the reason, devin insists on taking the paper off of all newly purchased soap, socks off of deirann's feet and wrappers off of crayons. she can't stand being "fenced in".


while deirann enjoyed colouring the "big red car" orange with the crayons that came with the colouring book, devin refused to use them.


" i don't like the crayons."


"they slide across the paper."


"the crayons aren't right."


now keep in mind my alter ego, "princess cheapo" and i will at this point admit my love for "dollarama"...perhaps it explains where the crayons were purchased.


"but devin look, they have princesses on them!"


....silence....


oh well, there you have it, my child is a snob....a wax-colouring-utensil snob.


i did have to laugh at it all.


i can TOTALLY relate to the importance of crayons.


i remember for my 7th birthday, july 7th, 19?? (the month is relevant, not the year) i received my first box of 64 crayola crayons...with...the BUILT IN SHARPENER...and that beautiful cornflower blue. i swear i wanted to wear a cornflower blue dress for my wedding day while the sun shone in the cornflower blue sky and i gazed into my husband-to-be's cornflower blue eyes.....ahhhhh dreamy.


i remember getting other pressies but none would top those crayons. after colouring some pictures of almonzo wilder ( i KNOW someone out there relates!) my birthday party moved inside for some cake and mcdonalds' orange drink.


a short time later, my guests started to head home and i went out to gather my "loot". i remember being out front on the porch steps and seeing my crayons....and a little puddle (the therapist says it is good to talk about these things). i went to collect my prized pressie and realized something wasn't right....this is where you need to remember when i said my birthday was...especailly the month...

i vaguely remember my dad coming out and saying it was okay and "why not come and play with your fuzzy pump barber shop"...i think he even suggested a science experiment on what happens when wax meets heat.


but nothing was going to replace those crayons...those crayons that were now a big crayon...a big waxy lump of mass...july heat in canada causes things to melt...in the direct sun ....where i left my first new box of 64 crayola crayons with the built in sharpener...and that beautiful cornflower blue.


so, when devin complained about those "cheap" crayons i did what any intelligent, penny saving mother would do...I took her to michaels and bought the biggest baddest box of CRAYOLA crayons we could find....and used my 40% micheals' coupon i clipped a few days earlier.

"nobody buys my baby cheap crayons" johnny castle, dirty dancing.

blind date

so finally at the age of 38, i went on a blind date .


i had butterflies in my stomach when i made the call and left a message saying "ok, let's meet at 4 pm, my husband will be out and i desperate. i am tall, long brown hair, wearing a (surprise!) white tshirt, and navy skirt. looking forward to meeting you!"

so just before 4:00 i wandered down to the designated meeting spot...and waited. i kept smiling at people thinking " hmm...are you here to meet me? are you the friend i have been looking for?" finally a few minutes later, i heard "you must be noeleen."

i turned around to see a casually dressed parent with a toddler and a three year old.

"hi! you must be cora (ha! for all of you that thought i was meeting man....get your mind outta the gutter!) and this must be "insert kiddies names' here."

we made the intros between the girls and off they ran to play. cora and i spent a few minutes exchanging pleasantries and how it was so nice to finally find time for our girls to get together.

after moving to burlington a year ago, i am still looking for friends for my girls. i honestly look/sound like a crazy, stalker that goes up to people in playcentres and gives away my phone number. i slow down and look at kids walking down my street wondering if they are near the age of my own two kids...meanwhile i never really thought about what it must look like ...black suv with tinted windows that drives REAL slow passing children...while the driver takes a long stare at the lil ones walking past...kinda creepy when you think about it.

growing up i was crazy shy. my folks tried everything to get me to make friends...brownies, tennis, irish dancing...even bowling (cause apprently bowling allies are "the" place to meet people). but, i remained a very shy and awkward person up until late. now, i will talk to ANYONE if they have anything about them that looks remotely pink and "i know a four year old".

now don't get me wrong, devin has friends, however most of them are boys....boys who can tolerate princess etc for a very short amount of time if any at all. but lil miss d needs a bff that lives in ontario ....or at least canada ( see Spilling the Beans ) that enjoys the beauty of pretty things...not just star wars and batman.

so, cora and i hung out for a bit and the girls seemed to hit it off. she seemed like a parent that had the same "issues" i had...making me feel a little better for the time being. we laughed at our common thread (my sister in law met her at her place of business) and the things parents do for our kids.

when we left the park we said we would be in touch, "i'll call you" s were exchanged but leaving me with the unneeded stress of "will she call? or should i call her?" i think i actually got a little worried about the three day rule and if it acually applied to grown up-same sex friends.

luckily, birthday parties were in the future plans and invitations were exchanged. i was very excited to tell devin that she was invited to a princess party hosted by "insert new friend's name here" but was a little worried when she kept asking "who???" when i said the invitee's name. hmmm... i take it i am far more concerned about the situation than she.

so what have i learned outta all this??? that clearly i am a mother who worries far too much about her offspring making friends and that i gotta learn to relax when it comes to these little speed bumps in the road of life... all that and that there is surely $$$$ to be made in a lavalife website dedicated to "friendships for toddlers"....

the apple doesn't fall far from the tree

our eldest, devin, has a big personality. she likes to test limits...stand right up to the boundary line and see what she can do. i have also had everyone from teachers to friends and even the grandparents comment on how determined she is....now being a teacher i KNOW determined is code for stubborn and man is she stubborn...when mules talk to each other about other mules, they can often be heard saying " yeah, my little mule billy is as stubborn as a devin" i swear it is true. she also has inherited her father's case of selective hearing-a trait that frustrates me more than almost anything in life....ok i hate hard butter a little bit more but you get my point.

case in point yesterday. within 15 mins of devin being outta bed, she had ignored me 6 times (yes i counted) and did the complete opposite to what was asked twice. i am a patient person but even i have my limit and it was met yesterday. i let the course of the day ride out and finally at bedtime...i had enough.

rob was out at baseball (man did i curse his name as the night went on) and i was putting the girls to bed. it was one of those nights that we jinxed earlier by saying, "they both seem tired, they'll go down no problem"..ha rookie mistake...but sadly i ain't no rookie in this game and shoulda seen the change up coming. so, i asked devin to brush her teeth while i attempted to clean deirann's...i would be safer tackling an alligators...and finally gave up ...throwing the toothbrush into the laundry basket in hopes to release some of my frustration (keep this point in mind throughout this tale). i gave her a few last cuddles and plopped her in her crib. i then went to devin's room to see how far she had come on the tootypegs knowing damn well there was no way she brushing them.

"devin have you brushed your teeth?"
she was in her room with her legs sticking out from under her bed no doubt searching for some lost treasure.
"look mama i found my magic wand!"
"great devin! maybe it can change you into a princess who realizes that she must brush her teeth in hopes to protect herself from the evil dragon!" i dug into the bottom of the day's creativity basket to pull that one.
"i also found my missing shoe..." ah...i see she was suffering from a severe case of hearing selectiveness at this point.
"hey devin, let's see who can brush their teeth first...me or you!"
with that, the ever-competitive devin zipped out from beneath the bed (with a shoe on her hand and magic wand between her teeth) racing to the bathroom.

"hmmm...that wasn't so bad" i thought to myself. i spent a few minutes sorting things in my room when i heard her at the door.
"are they all brushed princess devin? can we head to your room to read a book?"
instead of acknowledging i was speaking to her, devin had lost the wand and shoe and was now carrying her step stool and was placing it by the wall switch in my room.
"um, devin...? "
nothing.
"devin?"
nada.

at this point i should let those of you who don't know me that well, that my dad is irish and my mum is scottish... and i inherited many good traits because of this mix...as well as a GREAT temper.

i saw red.
i had enough.
i know she was focused on what she was doing and that i shouldn't get upset at such trivial matter, don't sweat the small stuff and all that junk...but i had had it.
somehow i managed to keep myself composed and said in a quiet voice,
" devin, you aren't doing as i asked so i am not doing what you asked. i am not reading you a story, go to bed."

now, at this point i should also let you know...devin had also inherited many good traits in her dna...as well as a GREAT temper.

wow. did she loose it.

that kid stormed into her room, slammed the door and threw the BIGGEST hissy fit known to humankind...ok maybe not the biggest but considering she is only three...i was pretty impressed with her fury.

i left her for a bit so we could both cool off. i could hear her in there saying a lot of stuff and making a lot of noise but decided not to poke the bear just yet.

of course all of this woke deirann up. i went back in to help settle her and enjoyed a little bit of time in the calmness of her room. meanwhile i could still hear hurricane devin tearing it up at the other end of the hallway. when deirann drifted off, i opened her door to be greeted by one sweaty, pissed off kid standing in the hall.

"i don't like my room."
" well that is too bad devin, i think it is a nice room."
"i don't like my room at all and i don't wanna be in it anymore."
so i scooped her up, sang "we shall overcome" and we went outside to watched the birds and rabbits in the garden, happy the storm had past.....

yeah right.

i followed up her last comment with my VERY adult comeback of " well, you can go back in your room or you can go sit on the front step with all the ants 'til daddy comes home." i am so mature.
"fine!" she screamed and proceeded to return to her room with a very dramatic door slam that made me wonder if the foundation would crack.
i could hear a little more rumbling in there and then silence. i waited a little longer then knocked the door.

"devin, can i come in?"
no answer.
hmmm...maybe she fell asleep.
i opened the door an peeked in.

i can see why she didn't like her room.
hurricane devin was a category 4 and did some damage.

she was lying calmly in the middle of her bed...with no sheets, blankets, pillows...nothing but her.
on her floor lay all the bed linens as well as everything normally found on top of the overstuffed ottoman she likes to read on (pillows, teddies, blankets etc).

feeling terrible that she was this upset, i sat on her bed and we had a good talk. we discussed what she was feeling and i let her know how i was feeling. i did what all the textbooks say to do, repeat back her statements so she knows i heard her, but still being firm with my own decision.

we settled up with a few heartfelt "i'm sorries" and enjoyed a good cuddle. we decided that it would be best to make her bed and even sang "what's going to work...TEAM work!" to help get the job done properly.

"mama, i really like my room you know."
"i know devin."
"mama this is the book you are going to read to me now..."

???
are you kidding me?

remember when i said she likes to stand as close to the line and see what she could get away with? she also likes to jump up and down on the line at times and laugh at you.

with that i said,
"goodnight devin i love you."

and heard " i love you too mama." followed by a giggle...

man we are in trouble when she is a teenager!

....and it brings back...those old emotions.....

so after 3 years i finally got my act together to start playing with my ipod.

we bought it with the great intentions that it would get me and the hubby moving a little more...as if it was the lack of music in my ears that kept me from going for a run at night! we bought it in the summer of 06 on a visit to canada before we returned to de island. thinking that we may get caught in customs uncle cheese, my brother in law (devin's nickname cause she couldn't say uncle steve) volunteered to upload some of music to the toy so it looked like we had had it for a while...aka bought it in bda. it was a great idea and we had no problem upon our return. i did have a problem when i when for my first outing and popped the buds into my ears. i scrolled around to find something to inspire me....when i realized....i so had the wrong man upload music.

uncle cheese is a HUGE beatles fan and all things related to them. me i am SO NOT a HUGE beatles fan and all things related to them. i can honesty not think of a band that i would rather not listen to ...ever again. i hate the beatles...yup i do....i hate 'em. i scrolled around some more and found that there was 8 .3 days of music uploaded ( i thought it would be a few songs!!) and it was a combo of the above mentioned act, billy joel, elton john, the eagles...can you get the idea? uncle cheese is 9 years older then me and this is very much his music...and very not mine. i can't stand any of it. now don't get me wrong, i enjoy listening to classic vinyl on xm and one of my favourite memories is driving through the mojave desert with cheese singing black dog at the top of our lungs while poor uncle bb (aka my sister in law, aunt karen) was rolling her eyes at us in the back seat. i do enjoy some classic rock but man, i am soooooooo not a fan of this stuff.

so i figured i would just delete the stuff i didn't like and add my own music. easier said then done. being the sneaky and o'so clever gal that i am, i tossed the instruction manual in canada so that those nasty customs officers wouldn't find it and figure out we had unclaimed goods (cause i was so guilty looking and much more harmful then the dope carring dude behind me in line!). finally one night after i put devin to sleep (she wasn't even a year yet) i plopped myself down on the couch and started "getting to know my ipod". i figured out a few things but couldn't find a delete button anywhere....! how can i get the music that i don't want off this damn thing? hmmm....maybe i can get some help online. luckily i found the manual i needed on a site and started to play around. i had an "aha" moment when i realized that i need to have it hooked up to my computer to delete things....i see. now, i won't bore you with the rest of the details, but anyone who remembers those early days of parenthood knows there is NO way you are going to waste those precious hours of childfree time trying to figure out how to delete 8.3 days of music from an ipod..besides who am i kidding? even elton john and almost the beatles was better listening then the damn lullabies that were being played in our house and car. so, the ipod kinda got tossed aside and almost forgotten about...

until a few weeks ago...devin came into the kitchen saying "look mama...look what i found...a breaving string"

i turned around and saw a long white string in her hand, when i looked a little more, i noticed the sting split in two and lead into her nostrils.

flashback....she had walked in a few nights earlier when i had a rerun of er on and asked why the man on the screen had a string coming out of his nose. i explained that it was supplying him with oxygen (once a teacher....) and quickly turned the channel.

apparently my ear buds were providing devin with much needed oxygen via the "breaving" string.

after taking the breaving string out...and disinfecting it...i realized that you know, i got some time these days, maybe i should get to know that ipod a little better....if i could only find it! thanks to a creative game of i spy and a fast little detective, devin located the device quickly and i was ready to get started.

where to start? i set up an account on itunes and started searching. i had tried this in bermuda but bermudian creditcards are/were not accepted (yeah i know, they will allow bermuda to take in guantanamo bay refugees but my credit card was questionable).it took me a while but i did finally delete most of the songs that good uncle cheese uploaded and was surprised to find a little stuff that we had in common...the clash, some hip even a little roxy music!

now onto the next problem. uploading music. when it comes to music, i like a little of everything. my tastes haven't changed that much and yes i will admit there are a few skeletons in my musical closet that i am embarrassed to know all the words to...like...shaggy(blame it on the dark n'stormies hanging out on the boat). i can't say i like one particular band or that there is an album that i could not live with out and i was finding it hard to figure out what i wanted to put on the ipod.
luckily, a friend (recently departed martin streek) posted a comment online around the same time "It really is amazing how a song can take you to a place, a time, from the past and make you feel the way you did back then...no matter how you feel at the present time... maybe that only happens to me...but I doubt it."

hmmm...what a great way to get started. i started think of songs that got me back to some part of my life and stirred up thoughts, memories, feelings...all that good stuff.

so below are a few (no real order, just the first ones i came up with...all over the place really!)of the songs/bands i have uploaded...i have even shared a few of the memories!

joy division love will tear us apart-high school dances, especially cfny roadshows & marty

the beat & specials- dancing & watching the mosh pit with tricia james at the special beat concert

irish rovers the unicorn-st peter's school in milton celebrated st patrick's day as if we were in dublin itself...my dad would take the day off work and take care of the lighting....i don't even remember what we did at christmas or easter....but man st patricks was fun! it is also one of the ones rob sang to my bumps and now the girls

u2 bad- one of the few u2 songs i actually like...camping at the koa with jenn russell

new order temptation-julie huyberts and i buying baseball cards at the 7-11 in bronte

the clash train in vain-driving to connecticut for a teaching practicum

54-40 baby have some faith & one gun- watching this awesome band i never heard of opening for the skydiggers at a ontario place

jerry garcia shining star- driving the cabot trail with rob and howling at stupid jokes

daughter pearl jam-pitcher tuesdays at the snail (wow i actually have memories from that time??!!)

the stones - you can't always get what you want- playing ucher in high school

nitty gritty dirt band you and me go fishin in the dark- jenny o...sauble beach...such a "talented, multitasking" friend...tee hee.

looking back, if someone asked me what do i listen to, i don't think these songs would jump to mind immediately but they made the cut. this was awesome, i had a starting point that and it looks like it has no end. poor rob is gonna wish i kept to my hobby of drinking wine...WAY cheaper than what the itunes bill will be!

so i put to you...what are your top memory songs? the ones that put you back to "that" place in time? the ones you know all the words to and sing at the top of your lungs with a goofy grin on your face....you know the ones....

now excuse me, i am off to enjoy a little jane's addiction....my most recent addition!

cool shoes

i recently had an acquaintance of mine commit suicide. the shock is slowly wearing off and i am coming to terms with the fact i will not have the opportunity to be in touch with him again and that there were many things i wanted to share with him. with that said, i have decided that i don't want to be in this situation again-one where i never got the chance to say what i really wanted to say to someone, let them know how much i liked them, admired them, enjoyed their company, simply felt blessed to know them. it got me wondering why this happens. i am one who will quickly comment on how cool a stranger's shoes are or how beautiful their child is, but i am not sure if i tell the people that really matter how i feel about them. i think i get too embarassed about putting those sorta feelings out there. sad really, but i am sure i am not the only person who feels this way. i don't mean for this to sound as trivial as it does but it is something looming over me right now. so, if you receive an email from me in the near future and i say i like your shoes, or your kid, have no fears, nothing bad is going on with me, i just wanted to let you know you are important to me for a reason.and marty, i liked your shoes.

i am stuck on bandaid.....

what is it about bandaids and kids? i swear my two purposely walk into things and trip on stuff just so they can run screaming to me for a bandaid... and i do think that the bandaids that are marketed these days definitely "aid" the cause...our first aid kit consists of dora, deigo, barbie, hello kitty and neon ones. i gotta say it ain't so good if you are a grown up in our house and get a "boo boo" especially in a spot that is not covered by clothing, cause you will be forced to sport one of the above.

last weekend poor devin got a whopper of a boo boo on her finger when a very heavy bathroom door slammed shut on her little wigglies before she could move them. she released one of those screams that you wait for...you know the ones....where they take the biggest, longest breath in (so long it allows you to warn everyone in the area to cover their ears) before the wail is released. once the cry was out she followed it with "bandaid, i need a bandaid now!!!" the little patient's finger was purple and blue in seconds and started to swell but there was no blood. once i examined it and made sure she could wiggle it, i explained that (once again) bandaids were to help stop bleeding etc. nope, she wouldn't have any of that explanation.

even deirann, who mastered the word bandaid by 15 months, LOVES to have bandaids on. she of course takes them off within 30 seconds of having them, but all the same she loves them.

now, when i was a kid, "plasters" as my mum called them, were not an accessory. no, they were a nuisance, they were ugly and never stayed on in the water or on the bending parts of the body that always seemed to get hurt. and the sticky residue they left behind when they did fall off....yuck...reason enough not to ask for one in the first place.

i remember my brother cut his foot on an above ground pool that the neighbour's had ( man i wanted one of those!) and my folks took him to the hospital. i waited for him to return and hear about all the pain the stitches caused...only for him to come back and say he got a "butterfly" bandaid put on, no stitches.

what? a butterfly bandaid? wait a minute...now even though i was (and still am) a tomboy...a "butterfly" bandaid sounds pretty good in my books! how come he got the butterfly bandaid? shouldn't he get the planet of the apes bandaid, or a crayfish bandaid...you know something a little more manly? you gotta love the places that sibling rivarly rears its ugly head . when he finally did show me the butterfly bandaid...and i was able to drag myself up of the ground (i don't do so well with blood and wounds) i was sorta relieved that he didn't get a pretty pink bandaid that was covered in butterflies...nope it was one of those ugly "plasters" shaped sorta like a butterfly....my first experience with false marketing.

so, at last count tonight...the girls have applied 14 bandaids on various wounds all over. i know it is a waste but it did allow for a few minutes of peace and quiet while i tried to use a tissue to stop a cut i got shaving my legs....hang on a sec....?!

sing, sing out loud, sing out strong..

so the littlest baker, deirann, has always had a keen interest in music. granted she is only 19 months old, but during her time on this planet, she has demonstrated an innate rhythm that can't be contained.

now, i have no musical talent what so ever, i can't even play the radio. luckily, daddy rob's dna comes to rescue and provides some skill in this area, he plays the guitar and has quite a nice voice...although i don't think i have ever actually told him! he is able to pick a song up in a heartbeat and strum in out in no time, same talent can be said for the piano. when i was pregnant with both girls, he happily sang away to my bump and often brought the guitar out for a little serenade. so with this said, you can see where deirann's musical abilities come from.

when she was a few weeks old, we realized that a few lines of "hush little baby don't say a word, mama's gonna buy you a .....(insert whatever you can think of here!)" which would quickly quiet deirann down. anytime she would peep a little cry we only needed to get the first few words out and it worked like a charm. even devin realized this song worked and she would join in with her version whenever she heard deirann getting upset.

fast forward a year and a bit to last night. we decided to take the girls to the local ice cream shop for an after dinner treat. once we were home and the ice cream was all done, deirann decided she wanted more....and she wanted it NOW. for such a little, sweet child she has one powerful set of lungs. i was upstairs getting devin ready for bed when i heard the ruckus below start. thankful i had the "easier" child for once, i wondered how long it would be until rob called out for some help. i waited...and waited...but the crying did stop quite quickly. hmmmm....did he take her outside and that is why i can' t hear her anymore? or did he have enough and toss her into the playroom and shut the door? getting a little worried and i started to head downstairs when i stopped suddenly near the spare room.

what is that? is that deirann singing? no, she was screaming bloody murder 15 secs ago and now she is singing?

i popped my head around the corner and saw deirann sitting on daddy's knee looking at the computer screen...

see for yourself......




now if you look real close at the screen, you can see who she is singing her duet with....

yup none other than susan boyle....yes "that" susan boyle from "britain's got talent".

it seems that a few weeks ago when rob was on the computer with deirann on his knee, he clicked on some link that brought him to "the" youtube video and shazamm! a star was born. deirann was mesmerised by this woman, and soon she was singing along to the les mis song the wee scottie was cranking out. thinking it was funny, rob didn't think much of it until a few days later was i was out and he was minding the offspring. deirann was having some sort of breakdown when father of the year remembered the videoclip. he brought her back up stairs and found the clip and sure enough the "baby whisperer" worked her magic and deirann was settled in no time, singing along once again.

as every parent will attest to, when a baby is crying you will do everything to come up with a way to quiet her down. over the years we have been known to take 3:45 am drives along horseshoe bay beach, we have purchased a variety of rocking, bouncing, swaying chairs for infants, invested in a bunch of soothers, even developed a rocking-sway dance sorta thing...you name it, we tried it. anything to settle the cry of our girls. but who woulda thunk a lass named susan boyle would be our new found hero? now, i am still not sure what part i find more amusing, that the baby settles when she hears the crooner or the fact she sings along with her....either way, i gotta say, kudos to my hubby rob for finding this solution! point: rob.

Spilling the Beans

i recently received an email from good friends of ours that still live in bermuda. they (including three year old adriana) confirmed that they would be coming for a visit in late august enroute to bermuda from b.c. needless to say, i was a little excited at the idea of having a well-missed girlfriend living with us for a few days...but boy i don't think anything would match devin 's excitement! adriana is her bestest friend in the whole wide world and even though they have only seen each other for a few days at christmas since last july, devin still talks about adriana regulary as if she just had lunch with her at milestones or a pedi with her at the spa...it is that kinda friendship.

this recent email made me flashback to last fall when i receved a similar email from the same family saying they were going to visit us around christmas enroute to b.c.
being an experinced teacher, i know it is important to forwarn children when something a little different to the routine will occur. i have also learned (the hard way!) that you do not spill the beans about the change to routine too earlier or too late. timing is once again very important. if you tell them too early, you will be greeted with "is today the day -insert change to routine here_?" and if you tell them too late...well that can send them over the edge.

but of course all this knowledge went out the window last fall and i decided that i would tell devin that adriana and her family wre coming for a visit.

"is my best friend adriana (i swear that is what she calls her...everytime!!) coming today?"

"no devin, adriana is not coming today."

next day, "is my best friend adriana coming today?"

"no devin, adriana is not coming today."

you can see where this is going. this all started in october...and adriana wasn't coming until december...oh boy.

the teacher in me saw this as a great opportunity to introduce devin to a calendar. we got a red marker, some stickers and a simple calender with big squares to write in dates.

"so devin, you see here, this is today...october 7th...you see here, this is december 18th...that is when adriana will be here!" we proceeded to decorate the "big day" and hung the calendar on the wall where devin could look at it and mark the dates off. we discussed the fun things they would do togegther and how great it would be to play in the snow with each other.

"so adriana will be here when there is snow?"

"yup, fingers crossed devin there is snow, adriana will be here."

the calendar seemed to work like a charm for a few days, devin would run downstairs and put a big red line through the day so she could see how many more days were left.

one morning dev ran down to mark of the day when she noticed the marker was missing.

"mama, where is the marker?"

"hmmm...it is not attached to the calendar with the string?"

"no mama....the string is here and the hat (aka the "top" to the marker) but no marker. i need the marker to mark off when my best friend adriana is coming...

"yes devin i kn..."

"mama, look at deriann..."

needless to say, we found the marker...and a little girl that looked like she had the measles.

we decided to move the marker and calendar out of harms way and continued to mark off the days to the big arrival.

"so did you mark off when adriana is coming today on your calandar?" i greeted young miss d one morning.

"nope, my best friend adriana is coming today!"

huh? after a quick check i confirmed it was only early november and we had over a month before her visit.

"no dev, adraina is not coming today. look at your calander, we have lots of days to go before she comes..."

" she is coming today," devin insisted.

"i am sorry devin, adri...."

"mummy you said she was coming today!" poor devin was getting a little "angry" now, clearly i was in the wrong.

"devin, adriana and her family are not coming until december 18th. it is only november 3rd." when in doubt, state the obvious.

"mummy it is snowing."devin also believes that when in doubt state the obvious .

"well look at that it is!" ok if i can divert her to the snow, she may shake this whole"adriana is coming today" thing.

"...and you said my best friend adriana would come when it snows...."

oy, i did say that didn't i?

"devin i meant that there would be snow on the ground when adriaina came to visit..."

"...but mummy you said..."

"...i didn't mean that when it snows for the first time she would be coming that same day!"

"..but mummy...??!!"

so once again i had to disappoint my daughter and explain that her bff would not be coming for a visit for a quite a few weeks. almost like dog years, time to kids is way longer then it is to adults.

she was quite upset but did come around. we found other ways to count down adriana's visit..deirann should be walking by the time adriana visits ..."look mama deirann is walking ...is my best friend adriana coming today?"...and after we put up the christmas decorations .." look mama the tree is decorated...is my best firiend adriana coming today?"

this continued until december 18th, the BIG day. but i gotta admit, the greeting the two gave each other and the fun they had for those few days made the wait worth while.

so, what did i learn from all this? that i need to keep my big mouth shut and that devin is on a need to know basis regarding visits from bestest friends, christmas, birthdays...all the important stuff.

recently, i was hanging with a neighbour watching our kids play in the dirt together and was telling her that adriana was coming for a visit and that we are going to plan devin's birthday party while adriana was here. i was just about to explain that this time, i was not going to tell devin about the visit until the day before they arrive ..but i didn't have the chance....

"hey devin," hollars friendly neigbour, "i hear your friend adriana is coming to visit you for your birthday!"

....man that kid's head turned quicker then anything i have ever seen. she stared at me with those big blue eyes and her mouth hanging open.....and let out a squeal of delight that surely caused glass to break in all the nearby houses...followed with..." is my best friend adriana coming today for my birfday????"

...it is may 11h....adriana is not coming until august 25th....and devin's birthday isn't until september 3rd.....

oy.

devin and her best friend adriana.

The Wheels on the Car Go Round and Round...

So finally at the age of 37, I got a brand spanking new car.

Up to this point I have happily driven "used" cars and loved them. I have had a VW GTI (it was the car that my husband pushed when it broke down, the first time we met-ah my knight in shining armour...well actually cowboy boots, tight jeans and a baseball jersey...but hey it was the 90s!), Honda Accord (I gotta say I LOVE driving standard), Honda Civic (we sold it when we moved to Bermuda), Mazda 323 (it POURED water out of the passenger's side/glove box when we took corners to fast...oddly it was not an option we were looking for) and Subaru Impreza ( a GREAT car that we sadly sold when we left de island). Since returning to Canada we have had a Honda Accord that belonged to Rob's mum and an Acura MDX that his sista lent us for 6 months 'til the lease was up. Looking back at my list, WOW that adds up to 28 wheels plus the 2 scooters we had over the 10 years...making it 32!

After test driving many a brand and style we settled on a 2009 Hyundai Santa Fe AWD, it was the one with the most leg room within our price range. We figure we will have it for a while, or as I put to Rob "We will have it until you at least 50 years old!"...that didn't go over so well.

The next question was colour, and that discussion went like this:

"So what colour do you think Dev?"

"Pink!" exclaims Devin.

"I don't think they make it in pink Dev..."

"Why? All pretty things are pink...butterflies, bubblegum, flowers, babies..." Good point, but no luck.

"How about red and white?" suggests Devin.

"Hmmmm...red and pink....why?"

"Well it is Santa's sleigh? Red and white would be just right."

.......?????..........huh?

"Santa's sleigh....?" I ask.

"Yeah, you said we were getting a 'Santa Sleigh' and his is red and white..."

I sooooooo have to work on my pronunciation, " Sorry Devin I said a 'Santa Fe' not a 'Santa Sleigh'........."

Man the look of disappointment on her face.

Anyhow, we decided...well actually we didn't "decide" as much as we were limited to black or "maybe willow blue (who names these colours???) if it is available but we won't know for 4-6 weeks" explains the saleswoman....ok, so black it is!

The car was delivered to the house after dinner last Wednesday. After a quick cruise around, getting all the bells and whistles pointed out and demonstrated (I LOVE satellite radio!!) the keys were passed over and the Bakers headed out for a quick cruise.

"It is so shiny!"

"Ohhhhhhh look at all the buttons!"

"Can I drive?"

"Can we sleep in it and look at the stars all night long through the hole in the ceiling (aka sunroof)."

No these were not Devin's comments....they were mine.

I never really got all the fuss over that "new car smell" but gotta admit, when that smell is your car...it stinks good. I enjoyed cruising around the next day and was thankful that it was warm enough to even have the windows open...yup, a good purchase indeed.

Being Thursday, it was my afternoon to pick Devin up from school since Rob has his afterschool shift. I collected my folks to bring then on a little drive and surprise Devin.

Arriving at school I was greeted with a sleepy little girl who wanted a cuddle, not the usual "MMMUUUMMMMMMYYYY!!!" followed with a NFL knee hit. Hmmmm...maybe she is still a little tired...she is kinda pale now that I look at her....oh I should really trust that maternal instinct.

I buckled Devin in and started the journey home. I had to take the QEW since the new 407 transponder has not arrived yet. No biggie, it wasn't rush hour yet, so we may only need to tack about 10 extra minutes on our commute.

"Grandma isn't our new car nice?"

"Look at the hole in the top Grandpa."

"Mummy I love our new car."

"Mummy I am thirsty."

"Mummy I have a tummy ache."

Oh oh. Once before on this same commute, Devin had a "Mummy I have a tummy ache" moment that quickly changed to a VERY messy issue within minutes.

Crap. I am in the fast lane at the exact spot where the QEW and 403 meet...could I be in a worse location?


"Hey Mum," I casually ask Grandma as I try to get over to the far shoulder, "Do you see a plastic bag in the back anywhere?" Meanwhile my hands are starting to sweat...please don't throw up, please don't throw up.....

"No, nothing back here," oh oh, not the response I wanted to hear.

"But here Devin, you can use my purse..." You gotta love my Mum, nothing phases her. Absolutely nothing.

My Mum did her best to quickly empty her purse of its contents but sadly Devin's little tummy decided to do the same thing....all over her carseat, pink poncho that she made in school and of course....the new car.

Oy vey.

I gotta say, for a three year old, she is a trooper. She sat in traffic for 35 minutes soaking wet.

"I frewup in the new car."

"Its ok Devidoo as long as you feel a little better."

"I frewup all over my pretty pink poncho."

"Don't worry Devin, we will clean it all up."

Now, I know I may seem like a heartless mother making her sit like that until we get home but let me plead my case...this is the child who changes her outfit if she gets a little splash of water on it when washing her hands, or some mulch gets stuck to her dress when she is playing outside. If I made ANY attempt to change her, there would be no earthly way I would be able to get her back into "that" carseat to get her home. So it was either sit in the carseat covered in you know what or sit in the car, clean but with out a carseat.....you see I am actually a very loving mum concerned about her well-being.

When we finally arrive home, I helped pull the soggy little noodle from her seat while trying to assess the damage.

"Ok, let's get you inside to change and for a quick bath..." I turn around to find my bashful three year old buck nude in our driveway...man that was fast!

"Um...Dev...let's get inside....." before the neighbours start to wonder about the nudist colony across the street!

"Look Mummy an ant...do you think he would like to see the mess I made?"

"Um....no I don't think so." I scoop her up and carry her inside while my mum (God bless her!) collects the soggy poncho, shoes, shirt and pants.

After a quick bath and some warm clothes I venture out to see the damage.

Hmmmm...not too bad. My Mum (once again, God bless her) cleaned up most of it leaving me just to get the little "bits" and the carseat.

At this point I realized all the excitement over a new car was silly. I mean it is just metal and rubber, it doesn't provide life, it doesn't laugh at silly jokes, and even those seat heater aren't all that exciting. No, a car is just a means from getting from A to B.....leather seats on the other hand are the GREATEST creation. Ever. All hail the inventor of wipeable, easy to clean leather seats. Yup, sliced bread ain't got nothing on seats that are forgiving to frowup.

I stood back and took one final look. Yup looks pretty good. So what if the car is only 22 hours old, as long as Devin is ok.

The next day after making sure tummies were feeling ok, Devin,Daddy and Deirann headed to school. A few minutes later, I headed out to work and jumped into the car. Hmmmm....I am sure this is NOT the new car smell I was expecting! Nothing a few bottles of Febreeze won't cure...and open windows....and maybe a nose plug.

Anyhow, off I go to start my day... singing at the top of my lungs in a Jerry Maguire kinda way.

I do love my new car...stink and all.

Eggs anyone?

So let's return to the scene of the crime....see Feb 6th for those of you who forgot.


Thursdays are Devin's Irish Dance Class days, I should probably call it "Devin's Skip, Roll Around and Do Nothing That The Teacher Asks Class"...but that would deserve a whole blog of its own...so on with last Thursday....


I decided that I would take both girls to the class since it would be "easier" than having to return to my folks' place to collect sweet, darling 17 month old Deirann at the end. My mum was helpful as always and offered to come with us to the class, but of course I declined since she had the baby most of the day....oy. ....I shoulda taken the offer.


We finally get to class the usual 5 minutes late (no matter what I do, when I leave, I am ALWAYS 5 minutes late for this class...drives me nuts). I start getting the offspring outta the car when Devin asks if she could bring the coloured Easter eggs she had made earlier with Grandma into the dance class.


"No Devin, you can't." Short, simple, answer.


"Ok I will bring the basket too." Did she not hear me? Does she attend my husband's class on selective hearing??


"No Devin, eggs are not a good idea in a dance class. They will get jumped on, squished and then what will we do??" All the while I am trying to get her to come out of the car.


"My teacher is going to be so excited to see them!".....?....really, does anyone actually hear me when I am talking out loud...cause if not, I will just keep my comments to myself and share them with the other little voices in my head instead.


"Devin, get out of the #$%! car NOW and leave the @#$% eggs inside, can't you do as you are told!!!!!"



No I did not really say this to her, but boy did I want to!! Instead she got the filtered version: "Devin, please get out of the car now so we can go inside. Hey I think Deirann is going to beat you getting out of the car!"...when in doubt, throw in a little competition, motivates the laziest of 'em don't it??


Devin finally got out of the car and reluctantly left the basket of eggs inside. She stood patiently and quietly by the wall as I got her dance shoes, water bottle, and baby sister ready.


"Ok, let's go, wow you were fast, you beat Deirann! Good jo......."


There stood little Miss Devin soaking wet for the knees down. She found the tap on the wall and decided to play.


"Mummy my feet are cold and wet...."


Count to ten...count to a hundred...just don't get angry....


"Well, I guess you can wear your dance shoes home after class." Happily she skipped into the studio while I trudged behind hauling everything else. Oh sometimes I miss when all I carried was my Burt's Bees chapstick and a smile on my face....


Once inside, I put Deirann down and helped Devin get her (brand!) new wet shoes off and put her dance shoes on.



Oh oh.


"Oh dear Devin, looks like I messed up and brought to left shoes that are different sizes...." How did I manage that??? "But you know, what a funny thing you can wear, everyone will love it!"....little white lies are ok to feed your kid right? They are like the 5 second dropped food rule.

"Nnnnnnnnnnooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!"


"Come on Dev, slip them on, no one will no even notice."


"Nnnnnnnnnnnnooooooooooooooooooooooo....." Followed with a very dramatic flop on the ground that many a Hollywood actress wastes money on acting coaches to learn.


Lord, give me strength.


At this point, I am getting a little hot since they crank the heat in the studio, and notice that about 8 parents are sitting comfortably on their chairs watching all this play out with the "Oh, been there, girl, and so don't miss it" look on their faces...


Insert other Dance Teacher's voice: "Ummm, excuse me, but there is a toddler in my tap dance class that is running around. Does she belong to anyone out here?"


Oh good lord, Deirann. I totally forgot about her. God that therapist's bill is going to be big later in life when she needs to talk about her childhood.

"Yeah she is mine, I will come get her."

Buddha, give me strength.

"Devin, come one, you go in with 2 wrong shoes, or bare feet. You choose."

"Nnnnnnnnnnnoooooooooooooooooooooooo!"

Now at this point, if I was one of the audience members sitting around on the chairs, I would quickly help out any struggling mother who is clearly over her head and needs a hand. But apparently the mums sitting around me, were enjoying the entertainment a great deal and did not feel the need to help.


So off I dash down the hall to grab Deirann and carry her back kicking and screaming to where Devin is lying.

"Ok Dev, let's go home. I am done." Gotta pick your battles and this ain't one of 'em.

"Nnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnooooooooooooooooooooo!"

Out pops Miss Dancing Teacher in her cute little dancing outfit, " Hi Devin, you ready to come in?" If she offers her a balloon I swear I will kill her.

"OK! Come on Mummy I waiting for you to put on my shoes. Look Miss Teacher, they don't match! Isn't it funny??"......are you kidding me?

Luckily, one lady who had been watching all this decided that I had suffered enough and offered to help Devin put on her shoes while I struggled to hold on to Deriann...it would be easier to hold onto a greased pig.



At this point we left the car about three minutes ago but it was by far the longest three minutes of my life.

"Mummy, where's my hair elastic? I MUST have one for class, Miss Teacher says so." Yeah, does Miss Teacher say it is ok to drink during daylight hours too, cause I'd love her if she said yes.

"Here Devin, let me put your hair up. Deriann sit." Ok so the the therapist's bill will also cover why we give the baby one word commands like she is an animal.

ZZZZZZZIIIIIIINNNNNNGGGGGG....THWAP.....WAAAAAAAAAAAAA! The hair elastic snaps in my hand/Devin's hair, "zings" across the room and "thwap" hits Deirann on the cheek. You can figure out the last part on your own. Add "why my parents beat me" to Deirann's therapist's bill.

Finally young, River-Dancing -wanna-be Miss Devin enters her class and I drop to the floor to play with the basket of toys and give Deirann a little much needed attention. She on the other hand, has other ideas. We spend the next 25 minutes running into the other studios with Deirann providing a little interpretive dance of her own. When I would finally capture her and drag her out from the classes, she is NOT a happy camper.

At the end of the class, Devin comes skipping out as happy as can be.

"That was fun Mum, everyone liked my shoes!" Good, a little silver lining is always welcomed.

"Great news Dev, well let's head home and tell Daddy. Come on let's see who can get ready first..."

"My shoes are wet, I am not putting them on."

"Fine, wear your dance shoes."

"No those are for wearing in the dance class only."

I can feel the eyes behind me and hear the snickers already.

"Well barefoot it is my love."

"Nnnnnnnnnnoooooooooooooooooo." Honestly, I feel like the Truman Show, where are those stinking cameras?

Suddenly my brain flashes back to that math question in grade school about getting a duck, fox and bag of corn across the river. Ok, how can I carry a 24 lb greased pig, a 40 lb shoeless-leprechaun and accessories to the car? Anyone...?

Thank God, or Buddha, hell even thank Muhammad, but thank some deity for Wii Fit and the fact that I have developed some upper body muscles that allowed me to carry all the above to the car somewhat gracefully and without dropping anything...or anyone.

I popped Deirann into her carseat while keeping Devin right beside me on the truck of the car-no need to repeat the water tap incident.

Hmmm...something smells kinda funny. Oh poor Deriann, got change that diaper when I get home.

Run around and pop Devin into her seat.

"Wow, really gotta change that diaper," I think as I lean in to buckle Devin.

"Mummy...can I bring the eggs into show Miss Dance Teacher now?"

The eggs. I forgot about those. I meant to hide them in the front seat before Devin saw them but somehow, I forgot....

Lord, they STINK! And I blamed poor Deirann on the smell....oh that therapist's bill is going to be a doosie!

"Nope, sorry Devin we are heading home." So glad we live close to the Studio cause that was a LOUD, STINKY car ride home.

When we finally get home and I deposit two girls in their grandparents' arms (Rob's folks came for a visit that I of course forgot about) and drag the contents of the car inside, I'm met with "So, what's for dinner?" It is 6:55 pm...hubby has been home for OVER an hour ...without kids....and suddenly can't decide on dinner on his own? I am busted.

"Eggs!" I bark and start to laugh.

Hmmm....I wonder how much my therapist's bill will be?

wow, how time flies.

i love my watch. rob bought it for me for my 29th birthday, it was the perfect gift. up to that point i had an old digital watch that you could put different velcro bands on....it looked better than it sounds...well, not really. anyhow, this new watch was a silver plated swiss army with simple numbers (i can't stand roman numerals, i am not italian and i do not live 500 years ago!) on a simple white face, with simple hands. simple is the theme. nothing fancy about it, well except it does have the date too. love this watch. as a teacher, it is a great watch to help students learn how to tell time, they would often tell their folks they wanted a watch "just like miss gibbons'." wow, i was finally the envy of someone! since it is waterproof i could wear it in the shower, ocean wherever. if i did take if off for some reason and forgot to put it on before leaving for work, i would feel totally off kilter all day-i would often have to borrow a student's watch just so i wouldn't drive myself crazy! i had to know the time, how would i survive if i didn't know the time??

now as most woman would attest to, time is very important in the land of pregnancy especially delivery. gotta time those contractions, gotta know how long it will take to get to the hospital, gotta time the breathing. timing is everything. and of course, when it all happens, you must know the exact time your child enters the world and takes that first breath (12:37 am and 4:07 pm thank you very much!) once you and the babe make it home, you must time how long the baby feeds on the left, then the right. what time she pooped, what time she peed....again, time time time!

however this changed in one of those early days when i noticed a little mark on my newbie's back..."omg, what is that???" maybe she is allergic to the baby soap we use, maybe the detergent is causing a reaction ....no wait, is that mark in the exact same place my arm rests when i am holding her? oh no, could it be that my watch is causing that mark??? omg i am a terrible mother. my own need for time is causing my child to develop a hideous scar that will surely limit her choice in suitors later in life. ok get a hold of yourself (remember i said it was the early days and i was VERY sleep deprived.) why not just remove the watch? i can wear it later, when i am going out (when is that again??).

for over 3 years i didn't wear my watch. i timed things the old-fashioned way. sun is up, breakfast time! high pitch cries, feeding time! sun setting, cuddle time! who needs a watch to dictate these things??

christmas this year brought many thoughtful pressies and lots of fun. hubby passed me a little gift that i slowly opened. it was a box from a local jewellers and inside was a beautiful new watch. immediately i realized that my girls were a little older and that my watch would no longer catch them or mark their skin. my hubby asked if i liked the watch but knew by my face i wasn't as excited as he thought i would be. "it is great, thanks". that was all i could muster. it was a very thoughtful gift and one that any other recipient would be grateful for. but that watch was a reminder that my girls were growing up and i could wear a watch again without fear of marking their tender skin.

so, it is now a few months since christmas morning and i still don't wear a watch. i did return the watch rob bought me and received a store credit. i decided to get my swiss army watch cleaned and tidied up so that it could be counted on to get me through the day as any good watch should. it is sitting on my bedside and will continue to do so until i decide the time is right. whenever that will be.

"pressing" issue

ok, i have always been the person that must iron her clothes. always. i have had people comment on this and must admit i pride myself on it . doesn't matter how busy the morning is or how casual the shirt, it must be ironed. now, i can also say i have never ironed any of rob's clothes, this need for crispness is only on the clothes i wear...ok and some of the girls' stuff too. now with all that said, yesterday i had a "wth" moment in regards to my needs being met.

on the spur of the moment i sent rob an email to see if he wanted to meet me at a local restaurant for dinner with the girls. he agreed it was a good idea and we aimed to meet at 5:30, plenty of time for me to grab deirann and get to the restaurant on time. as i wound up the day and started to tidy my desk, i happened to glance down at what i was wearing....oh god, i have become a makeover show's dream.

every morning i get up and have a shower-it is my coffee, i must have one everyday. i then throw on some sweats and head downstairs to start the day. wait, rewind....throw on some sweats??? what??? you can't iron sweats....when did this happen?

as i reflect on the last few months i realize that my favourite small appliance has been rarely used. to further emphasis my point, the ironing board, which used to be a more important piece of furniture then the tv, is in the linen closet....with dust on it. oh god.

i am lucky enough to work with my sister-in-law and brother-in-law in their home doing admin work etc for their business. i used to tease my sister-in-law about the stretchy pants she would wear to "the office" everyday and although a little envious, i couldn't imagine wearing comfy clothes day in and day out. i would certainly miss my pants and skirts and collared shirts right?

ok sis, i see your stretch pants and raise you an old sweatshirt with stains that even gil grissom and his posse wouldn't be able to identify!

so back to yesterday. now, the normal person would think, "hmm ....perhaps i have time to go home and change before meeting the love of my life, you know, put something a little more dressy on, like...jeans(!)" but i am not normal, no i am a problem solver with limited time. so i think , "hmmm....perhaps sis-in-law has a pair of black stretchy pants i can borrow, yeah that will do the job!" now lets assess the situation, i am wearing a white tshirt (for those of you who know me, you are not surprised), blue socks, blue sweat pants and a blue zipped hoodie, my footwear is what i have lived in for 6 months, my merrells. note that i am all in blue, that is what "putting an outfit together" these days means for me. so off i go to see what sis has to offer. my choice is a bright coral nike zipped hoodie "to redirect the eyes " or some capris...it is winter here in southern ontario. hmmm...things aren't looking good. Luckily, in the back of the closet is an off white sweater that may helped things out. looking at it i am surprised how long it is "it is from when i would wear leggings"....get the idea? so on it goes. did i mention i am 5'11 and my sis-in-law is about 5'4??? "well,if i simply push the sleeves up it will work"- again a problem solver at work.

so taking a quick look in the mirror i think "hey not too bad"...wait a sec...have i been walking around with my hair like this all day?

now, i am quite lucky to have pretty healthy, brown hair that occasionally sprouts a grey hair once in a while to remind me that i am approaching 40. it is wavy, manageable, you know, simple. i do make an effort to dry it but with a 15 month running around during my three minute"beauty routine" in the morning, i usually only get the front done, the part i see. i figure, hey who looks at the back of my head anyways? oy, i should-what a mess. however as the day goes on i usually end up putting it up with an elastic in a messy bun/cat toy sorta thing. i am not sure what look i am going for but it is certainly not the one that greets me in the mirror.

what happened to me...where did my need for crisp cotton shirts and cuffed pants go? when did everything get replaced with sweats? aren't sweats meant for working out...in a gym...but isn't it funny that most people who wear sweats are the people who have never set foot in a gym....myself included. the people i know that got to the gym wear tight fitting, lycra outfits from lulu fruitbowl not the old cotton ginny ones i possess. ok back on track.

i don't know how to describe my style. i guess classic/preppy (i LOVE white shirts-any style- chinos, cardigans) and usually shop for LL Bean, Bass, Columbia, Ann Taylor...that sorta style. however, sitting here i can't think of the last time i bought a piece of clothing for myself...or had to handwash something. i am a very low maintenance girl who lives for burts bees lip shimmer and a redsox cap, but how much "lower" can my maintenance go? i mean, can i wear my pjs to work? is that acceptable?

i think i need an intervention.

so next time we bump into each other, please do not give me the once over look...there is nothing you can think that i haven't already, just be happy that i made it out with clothes on. and if you know someone in need, i know where you can get a great iron and board for a good price...or maybe we can just swap for some stretchy pants?