A Day in the Life ...

Musical musings

2013-03-19T22:24:00.000-04:00

It's been forever, I know. I don't think I can even call myself a blogger anymore. I wish I could. How to catch up when life has a way of catching up with you? The kids are getting older, we're all getting older. Opportunities come a-knockin' and you just gotta go for it. Don't sweat it, there is a plan, so why worry about it... I get the odd sense that Dad is looking out for me(oh to be young and to rave...) ... and if the good stuff happens, relish the moment (a-ha...) ...and this song just because I normally don't really like Pink and only marginally like "Fun" - but together they're magic...

Hard Work

2012-09-13T00:19:00.001-04:00

You can pretty much find video instructions on Youtube for anything these days. Which is a really good thing when your daughter wants to wear a fishtail braid.

Or when your own hair becomes a lot thinner than the horse hair texture you had in your 20s ... and now you can experiment a bit with it. Like doing fancy things with a flat iron. Yeah, who knew.

The other day as I was getting ready for work, I thought I'd try something a little different from my usual. My boy walked by my washroom, paused while looking at me, and commented:

"Hey, Mom, what are you doing?"

Me: "Oh, I'm using the flat iron to curl my hair. I saw it on Youtube and it looked easy enough. Trying to shake things up a bit, you know?"

The Boy: "Oh. Well, it looks like a lot of work."

Me: "I guess it sort of is."

The Boy, with a sigh..."I guess most things are. A lot of work, I mean. And it's okay if it's worth it."

Me (wondering how he'd become 40 years old overnight): "I'd agree. How'd you get so wise?"

The Boy: "Heh. Funny. That'll only last for today right?"

The little bugger.

Dustin' off the old blog

2012-09-02T14:39:00.000-04:00

...to capture life as it whips by.

For those of you who are still with me - whaddup?

I know I promised a final installment of our trip to NYC back in March - and I actually thought about it again a couple of book clubs ago as I hosted a discussion of "the Virgin Cure" which took place in the Bowery district of New York ... but then life promptly got in the way and here we are almost 6 months later.

So the long and the short of it - we had a great last couple of days in NYC, where we ate at a resto that used to host a huge nightclub scene back in the 80s (saw pix of Andy Warhol and Tina Chow in the bathroom),

which was just around the corner from where

the Blue Man Group now perform .... which itself was a hilarious experience and if you haven't yet seen for yourself, you should, as it's probably now available at a city near you...

Also explored a bit more of the Upper West Side ...

And that was January 2012.

February was pretty crazy workwise - with another couple of cross-atlantic trips for me ... and life wise- with the kids' school and their schedules, which got rudely interrupted by the boy's concussion on a ski hill while snowboarding ... which promptly ended the indoor rep season for soccer. I'll have to admit although it sucked somewhat for the boy and moved him even deeper into the underworld known as the land of Xbox addicts ... it alleviated things a little without the soccer runs on a thrice-weekly basis.

[As an aside - the concussion thing was a bit life-altering at the time. I suppose this is the stuff of 12 year old boys. If I had blogged about it at the time, the intensity surely would have surpassed this one sentence acknowledgement. Little did I know that there was more to come for this 12 year old. He didn't score an A+ on his report card for drama for nothing, after all. An update on this when we get into May].

For our late winter/spring break we decided it was my turn to determine holiday -ie a warm weather trip rather than the ski-based vacay. Which turned out to be a great thing.

Bahamas.

(I'm always holding a glass of something ... )

Jumping in the sun - what's not to jump about?

And the big bonus - the man did NOT get sick. Not once. A miracle for any hot vacation spot- for that is what he tends to do whenever we get on a plane for a destination somewhat Caribbean - get the GI (ie. gastrointestinal sort) blues.

I think we've stumbled onto something.

The lovely thing about Nassau (other than the fantabulous fresh-fruit alcoholic-even-at-10:30-AM-in-the-morning-daiquiris) was that we could take public (*cough* rickety buses with doors hanging joyfully by the hinges) transit to and fro without a worry. We chose not to do the usual all- inclusive, which tends to be become less and less economically attractive as our livers get older and it's no longer such a deal for "all you can drink" we are responsible parents, after all...although given the boy's growing hefty appetite it may be worth considering again as he hits the teen years).

Back to the bus.

Both kids, especially the G, were having a blast - not only was there no car seat on these buses, there was no seatbelt, and as above, sometimes barely a door.

You couldn't beat the Bahamian locals for their hospitality and overall pleasantness. One morning I took the girlie grocery shopping and the local bus driver not only suggested which place to go to for the best stuff- but when I showed up back on the road to head back to the hotel, another bus driver stopped mid- route (I couldn't find the bus-stop and was struggling with grocery bags through the bushes and keeping a hand on the girlie) and actually FOUND us. We hopped on the bus and he dropped us at the hotel within minutes. All for $2 USD. I told the driver it's as if their buses are always looking for lost tourists. He gave a hearty laugh, complete with gold toothed grin and although he was wearing sunglasses, I could see the glint of a smile in his eyes as he agreed with me.

On the Sunday night, when the restaurant we wanted to check out was closed, the bus driver wouldn't drop us off until he found one that was open, and when there weren't any along the way, he took us to a lovely place along the beach which we knew was open. So friendly, we felt well taken care of, truth be told.

And we did the dolphin encounter thing. Complete with Awkward family with the dolphin photo.

And that was March.

Now that we're in September, I've still got so much more catching up to do. I'll try to make it quick, as memories have a way of sifting through the sieves of my brain lately.

Return from the land of Lego

2012-03-10T12:18:00.009-05:00

Rather jeg-lagged today as I basically spent the last 24h awake, in meetings, roaming airports and on planes. ( I did catch up on some movies as those are how I watch them these days, on the plane, the plane.)

But I had to share the cuteness that is the girl, who was obviously thrilled with the latest "Mom guilt" purchases that came her way this time. (Oh, the brilliance of marketers who continue to keep the parent pocketbook-challenged.)

(When leftover Lego Star Wars and Spiderman no longer cut it...)

And on the controversy, why can't we all just be Friends?

NYC Trip Report continued: Of kicks and toys and American girls

2012-02-25T19:49:00.002-05:00

Wednesday was the day set aside for SHOPPING! Only NOT for me - it was time for the kidlets!

The one passion the boy shares with his mom is his love of hats and SHOES! (With all these amazing post-Christmas sales I've been tossing the shoeboxes into recycling and keep my new purchases at the office, in case my husband notices. Shhhh, let's keep it a secret!).

I had promised the Boy a new pair of kicks for his size 9 men's feet (not kidding - he's not even 12 yet!) We thought that Macy's would be good place to start, and given that it wasn't too far from Times Square, another shopping mecca, we headed into tourist land first thing after breakfast. I had scoped out the subway route, but with a family of 4 it made sense just to hop into the nearest yellow cab. We lucked out - we got a clean non-stinky hybrid for our ride downtown.

We didn't luck out so much at the department store - although I'm continually amazed at my son's growing preference for neon bright apparel. The wooden escalator was cool though:

We decided to head into the thick of Times Square to continue our search - but we got hungry (and cold) again very quickly. So we stopped in at the Hard Rock for lunch -we don't normally like the chains when vacationing, but the NYC resto was actually quite good. You can't beat a good burger on a freezing day.

With our stomachs full, we continued on our quest for the perfect shoes. Thank goodness for the girlie that Toys R Us, complete with indoor ferris wheel, presented itself right next to the shoe store.

Lady Liberty in Lego glory...

Barbie, Barbie everywhere...

I still find this Toys R Us more impressive than FAO Schwartz. Maybe it had something to do with the hot chocolate:

Little G wanted make some small purchases, but I told her we were saving up for our visit with the American Girls. That promise and the cookie kept her content. In the meantime, the boys found fancy bright blue high tops - a great NYC souvenir for the boy.

The thing I love about Manhattan is that it is so walkable. From Times Square, the American Girl Store was but a few short blocks away. I'd never been exposed to the American Girl experience - and that's exactly what it is. When I first heard of this phenomenon, I found it a little creepy that the doll could be dressed exactly as its girl owner. On top of that, there was enough experience to occupy four floors - complete with restaurant, doll salon, pet shop ... I knew we would drop some coin once we went through the door. And this was heavenly for a 7 year old girl:

It took us a little while to settle on which doll was our mini-G, but we did it. I had to promise that if we were to go to Chicago I would arrange for an American Girl salon visit for mini-G - $12 for braiding is a little steep ( I offered to do it for $5 but it didn't cut it). When we left the building it was already quite dark and we decided to head back to the hotel. We were actually turned down for pickups by a few yellow cabs before we finally lucked out. Didn't think a cabbie would ever refuse a fare but I guess this was NYC. I guess with so many people hailing cabs they have the luxury of being picky.

At home base, the boy decided he wanted to check out the Urban outfitters across the street - cannot believe that he can actually fit some of those fashions. Hilarious that the boy noted that one of the sales guys was wearing majorly low, I'm talking down to his knees, low-riders. The boy noticed the boxers, but did think it was rather silly. We did score on a couple of cute striped T's for him, though.

Picked up some juice, fruit, yogurt and salmon and bagels for next day's breakfast - and headed back to our UWS headquarters.

For dinner we went around the corner Asian - Fusha West. Amazing pan Asian food and despite the look of the lounge once you enter, it was quite family friendly. We had sushi, tempura, soup - all with a little bit of a twist. We girls enjoyed it - see our shiny happy faces.

(Yes, that is a sari that was fashioned for Mini-G by the fabulous Bigger G. She's still an American girl under all that, after all, the US is multi-ethnic, isn't it? I suppose we should look for some mukluks for her, after all she's now in Canada, eh?)

And that was Wednesday. We didn't have too late a night, as Thursday would be our last full day in the city. So much more to do and see.

There's always time for a pint...or three

2012-02-19T15:14:00.024-05:00

Here we are in February and I still owe you a couple more posts about NYC.

I got sidetracked by a sojourn in the land of rain, sheep, more rain and green landscapes, where delicious deep, dark brew floweth.

There's nothing like a Guinness poured in the land of Guinness...

Breweries and all things brewing hold a very special place in my heart, for the brewing industry is where I found the man I would eventually marry (awwwww, so saccharine, I know, but really, it is where it all started...).

Seriously, though, if you ever get to Dublin, you must visit the Guinness storehouse. It is quite the experience.

This was my second trip to Dublin since September and this time I caught up with an old friend. Don't know if I've ever mentioned that a high school pal of mine has lived in Bermuda for about 20 years. And despite many conversations during which I discussed that I woulda, shoulda, coulda stayed with him and his family while he was a bonafide Bermudian resident ...do you think that I ever made it there?

Sigh.

But I did hook up with him in cold, wet, rainy Dublin where he relocated about a year ago. Oh well, it's the friendship that counts, right? It still amazes me sometimes these bonds that we have in life, and some relationships that last so long despite where life takes us. I can still see us bopping around to Rick James' Superfreak during our suburban high school dances (which was so heavily sampled in MC Hammer's "Can't Touch this", that I can't even remember which came first sometimes). And here we were, having coffee in Dublin, talking about kids, widowed mothers, company downsizes and job changes. We didn't realize it at the time, but life was really quite simple when we were teenagers. Where were we again?

Oh, yeah, Dublin.

Here are some shots of lovely Dublin doors...

Pretty Dublin garden...

Shopping Grafton street (and yes, I did buy a couple of cute outfits)

Not a lot of time to do much outside of work, but I always make time for shopping!

Hopefully if there is a next time for me to go again, it will be a wee bit warmer.

*****

Update on recent obsessions:

1/ Downton Abbey. Love. Managed to watch all of Season 1 on the flight, 3 episodes there, 4 episodes back. Mary and Matthew ("Rachel and Ross" of Masterpiece theatre); Anna and Bates - the drama, the suspense! Season 2 doesn't start in Canada until April. Gaccckkk! Cannot. Wait.

2/ Fitness. Despite feeling a little silly, my latest gym obsession has gotten me pumped enough to purchase these...

Yes, indeed I went there. And my husband is now afraid, very afraid.

A Day at the Museum

2012-01-22T19:16:00.000-05:00

I'm on a roll here, aren't I? At this rate I'll post more times in one month than I did all of last year. Not a bad thing, given that last year seems mostly a blur at this point!

On the Tuesday morning, we left the hotel a bit later than I had anticipated. Against my better judgement, I had given my family a bit more credit than was due. I'm a bit of a slow study that way ... or maybe an optimist. You can tell me.

I did a lot of surfing to plan for this trip and tried to book as many tickets ahead of time as possible. (A major tip: I visited this website, "broadwaybox", where you can find discount codes for many NYC attractions, broadway and offbroadway shows.) From our previous experience at the AMNH, there were lineups galore if you waited to purchase tickets onsite. So I booked ahead to make it easy upon arrival - I would just have to visit their ticket kiosk (like an ATM) - swipe my credit card and prest0, we'd have the tickets. The problem with that is that at time of booking, you have to decide on the scheduled timing for any shows that you'd like to include in your package. I made the executive decision that we would make the 10:30 AM showtime no problem given that it should only take 10 minutes to walk from our hotel to AMNH.

Surely this would give us plenty of time - we were in NYC and although there was so much to see we'd still have time for a leisurely breakfast, no?

No. Not so much in reality. Seems I'm still the only morning person in this family. We left the hotel by 10 minutes after the hour, giving us barely any slack to pick up the tickets (yes, I still had to get those) and figure out where the space show was in the HUGE building. And of course we went to the wrong spaceshow first! I hadn't anticipated an early run - I suppose it could be seen as a fringe benefit, but not necessarily when you're not in the mood for a workout. In the end, we did make the show (and not that it was worth it- if it's the Whoopi Goldberg narrated space show, just skip it).

(...here's another lesson - although it might seem a little easier traveling with school-agers versus toddlers - ie. no diaper bag, no lugging around food/bottles/ strollers ... there is now more baggage of a different kind. A lot more negotiation is involved when you're dealing with whining about leaving beloved Cartoon network and the TV shows that we don't normally get at home. And also not helpful - a husband who is not a morning person and who would prefer some deservedly extra shut-eye. The mother/wife a.k.a . Me in this scenario just feels like a caged animal in the hotel room, as she's usually the first up and itching to do NYC in short order. By 10 AM I've already been up for more than a couple of hours and stir-crazy is putting it mildly. I wish I were a runner ... now that's an idea for next time...)

Rant over. Let's move on. The AMNH was wonderful - again. We had actually seen the "Night at the Museum" a second (or maybe 3rd time now) over the Christmas break, so it was amazing to see some of these things live.

That's one big canoe...

An origami tree

The squid and the whale (have you caught the movie? You should.)

Hall of "water dinosaurs" according to the girl

Our gracious hosts...

Most of the rest of the visit was captured on video, so the shots here weren't really representative of the amount of ground we covered. By about 1:30PM the kids were tired and hungry, and the museum had gotten rather crowded. You probably need at least 3 days to see everything at the AMNH rather than just 3 hours. But we were all museumed out.

We headed out into the frigid temperatures - and yes, even for us Canucks, it was very cold on that Tuesday. After a bit of arguing as to the best place to eat with the kids (another note to file - hungry is not a good state for this family)... we settled on a French cafe "Nice Matin" which is the restaurant affiliated with another hotel I had looked into staying at - The Lucerne, which also has kitchenette facilities. I had the most amazing sandwich there and the kids were happy with their meals - it was a welcome respite from the crazy frigid wind.

It was really too cold and late in the day for the family to do anything after getting back to the hotel. Well, you guessed it, except for the Momster - who decided to walk a few blocks down to the Upper West Side's Century 21 location. After all, I had to buy a couple of hats for me and the girlie - it was so darn cold! But yes, I scored again with Betsy Johnson ("Mommy are those spiders?) and Velvet Tees; and a great Calvin Klein dress for work.

For dinner that night everyone was still tired and seeing as it was so cold, we decided just to have dinner again at the Viand Cafe. Nice and close - and a perfect end to a long and busy day.

Agenda for Wednesday? Times Square and shopping - only this time not for me.

Friday Fragments "I'm Back" edition

2012-01-20T07:25:00.010-05:00

Don't forget to check out the home of glorious Fragments( Mrs. 4444)

***I've got a few more posts coming regarding my NYC trip, but in the mean time here we are with some fragments.

I haven't done this in a loooong time, so glad to be back. I didn't realize how much I had missed blogging - looking back at previous posts over the holidays I realized that this space is where I've described so many amazing things about my life, my family, everything around me - things that made me laugh, cry, and think. Blogging doesn't seem to be the "it" thing to do anymore [(not sure that it ever was ;), but yeah, since you're reading this you know that we're still the cool kids, however old school this may be...]. It's incredible to me, though that I've been doing this for over 6 years now, and a lot of what has happened and changed is captured right here. And I really missed my bloggy friends.

***My husband bought me a Kobo Touch for Christmas. Well, more like I bought it as I couldn't decide what I wanted before hand- thought about Kindle Fire while in the US, but it's not available yet in Canada, and I worried about support, and access to the ebooks etc...So I stayed Canadian.

Since I'm now in a book club and reading things outside of work, it seemed like a good idea. So now I'm pumped with my Kobo and hot pink book cover - and at a loss for what to read! I have the "Virgin Cure" by Amy McKay sitting on my bedside table but I'm looking for something a bit more uplifting at the moment. Any suggestions?

***** The girlie tried gymnastics camp over the summer and I think she's discovered her passion. I can't believe the strength in that petite little body of hers - especially her pipes! With her little toothpick arms she works those bars incredibly. She's asked (and been asked by the gym teacher) to be moved up a level. I'm not sure if she's good enough for competition, but I guess we'll see.

Between her and her brother's intense soccer schedule, it may just do us in. But when you're a parent you can't not explore when your kids show such a keen interest. Regardless of how much stress it will add to our daily lives - that's what I signed up for when we had the kids, isn't it?

***** It's Chinese New year weekend coming up. We're getting together with my Mom and brother (sister will be away) on Sunday, New Year's Eve, for a family lunch. I'd forgotten that the 22nd will also be the 3rd anniversary of my Dad's passing.

Three years. That went by fast. I still "see" him sometimes whenever I see a fellow with a Kangol cap on. Dad, you were so cool.

***** I was driving the boy to his soccer game last Saturday and forcing him to talk to me - (backgrounder - apparently he doesn't talk much to his Dad in the car, and Ian asked me whether he's the same with me. To which the boy replied: "I always talk to Mom in the car, Dad. She FORCES me to, bullies me with questions so I have to answer back!" Hey, no apologies for trying to keep in the loop with my kid).

So back to the car. I was talking a bit about my week because the boy wasn't sharing too much about his. Then I started talking about my Dad and all that he accomplished in his life, how proud I was of my Dad after I found out what he did, and how proud he should be of his Grandpa (and how proud Grandpa would be of him). Yadadadada. While I was chattering away, trying to engage the boy, he cut through it all and said,
"Mom, can we just stop talking? This work stuff is just BORING!"

Can't blame him. The boy is just 11 years old, and coaching him as if he's a first year MBA student. Good job, Mom.

*****
Have a great weekend, all.

A walk in the park

2012-01-14T11:59:00.000-05:00

With Monday still being a stat holiday, we decided to skip the major attractions and take advantage of the lovely not-too-cold weather. Day Two would be spent exploring Central Park.

Exploring would require some good energy, so we started with a very hearty breakfast at the restaurant adjacent to our hotel - the Viand Cafe. We felt a real sense of neighbourhood in this cafe: young couples with their trendy strollers for their designer-dressed toddlers, lattes and eggwhite omelettes- and the food - well, there was an awful lot of it. Which I was pleased (or depending how you look at it, appalled) at how easily I was able to scarf down the outrageously proportioned vegetarian frittata. Better to focus on the fact that the girlie who is a notoriously picky eater, was able to finish her French toast.

Our proximity to Central Park was fantastic. We were able to enjoy the walk to this oasis of green in the city. I know that Central Park is massive, but you really have to experience first hand to appreciate the enormity of it.

Strawberry Fields and the quiet tribute to John Lennon:

Picture of me blocking the famous Central Park Angels of the Waters fountain featured so prominently in movies and TV:

It was meant to be a leisurely day, but we decided to have an ultimate destination. So the loose plan was to visit the Central Park Zoo. It took us a good couple of hours, where we squeezed in a bit of rock climbing ...

but we finally found it ...

What a great little zoo. Even my Xbox addicted boy could find charm in the animals, proving that there's still a little boy to be found after all.

The zoo was at the base of Central Park, where it merged with Mid-town NYC. Whereupon we hit another institution...

So I'll let you in on a little secret... the best strategy for taking kids to FAO Schwartz' famous store and avoiding bankcruptcy? Take them at the end of a long day of walking. They were almost too tired to go in! Mean mummy - but I had to be, because, gulp, American Girl was still on the itinerary at some point during our stay. However, there was still enough energy to appreciate the array of Ugly Dolls:

By this point of the day, most were tired. We hailed a yellow cab and headed to the hotel. Back in the room, I got the kids settled in for Cartoon network so the hubs could have a snooze and more importantly, so I could attack the Loehmann's across the street for a bit. A very sweet, convenient discovery indeed. For there's always enough energy for this mom to shop for fashion - especially at some 40% -50% off already reduced Loehmann's prices.
Shopping for mommy? Why of course! I scored on a silk Cynthia Steffe dress, a Parasuco tartan shirt, a cute Harajuku Lovers Tshirt, Max Studio top, & Pure DKNY Tee for the summer ...all for about the equivalent of an American Girl Doll. I do miss my Fashion Fridays.

For dinner that evening, we headed around the corner to Josie's, where the food was wonderful, and the bartender poured a little too mean a drink. I think I had the boy a bit concerned, and the hubs had to put his hands up to tell me to "timeout" and stop my chatter for just 60 seconds. I can be rather loquacious when happy - the boy counted the word "Zabar's" about a dozen times while I quaffed a wicked martini. (We never did get to that famous market this trip, despite me going on and on and, apparently on again about it!)

I wasn't actually drunk. After a refreshing walk back to the hotel, I took a quick 10 minutes snooze once in our room, and woke up refreshed to get the kids to bed, knowing full well that we had a very busy and early start ahead for Tuesday.

The American Museum of Natural History awaited.

Inner Dookie-ness

2012-01-13T07:54:00.003-05:00

We interrupt this trip report for an important news bulletin - I must share a couple items from my bucket list.

I need to see a) the Foo Fighters. And b) Green Day. And hopefully sometime before I'm overly geriatric.

The following, although not exactly a reasonable facsimile of achieving (b) , will have to do for now:

Although we missed the opportunity to see this on Broadway, we were lucky enough for Broadway to come to us on Tuesday night.

Here's a taste:

The notes weren't always hit bang on, the music should have been waaaay louder to give Green Day's music justice (oh, I know, you can't replicate stadium in live theatre)...

But the energy was super high, I was exhausted just watching the dancing, and a great time was had by all - which is a big thing because the hubs, as you know, is not the musical type of guy. And big bonus - major eye candy for me. Nothing like seeing nicely cut young men on stage in their skivvies. Yes, the idiots were cute. A couple were even Canadian idiots. My husband had to hold me down.

You're probably curious about the cross-section of people who attended. It was indeed quite a mixed bag- some regular theatre go-ers of my mom's demographic who were likely passing the smelling salts around during the F bombs and middle-finger gestures flying about the stage. And then there were the families, some with kids not much older than my own, which got me thinking - WTF??? Do these parents not know the lyrics, the subject matter, do they not get that there might possibly be iv drug use, and maybe sex on stage, simulated though it was???.. and then there were parents who were happy to be away on a mid-week date night, still trying to hang on to their cool - sigh... guilty as charged.

The audience seemed not to be into it at all. Is it just me, or does "Holiday" not just naturally inspire uncontrollable head bopping? None of this was in evidence that evening. Just weird. I felt somewhat stifled, and even looked toward the front for some moshpit that I might possibly fade into so I could rock it out in fair anonymity. Too bad one didn't exist.

The only indication that it was a hit was at the end - standing ovations galore - and well deserved too. Finally, some energy in the audience.

A 90 minute non-stop, visual and auditory onslaught of the best kind. See it if you can.

And now for something to remind us that we're all getting a little older: "Classic" Green Day...

Epic start to 2012

2012-01-11T16:45:00.000-05:00

Heroic. Massive. Impressive.

Long.

Words that could be used to describe this post. What I'd like to accomplish here is two-fold: 1) cyber-dump the description of my last week for the internets to enjoy, and 2) have something for me to look back on as I will inevitably forget the details.

Details? Oh yeah - another recent discovery. Not only do I need more cowbell, but apparently a lot more walnuts as well.

I'd like to capture the best parts of what it was like to spend 5 nights in Manhattan with our 11 year old and just turned 7 year old. A nice family, bonding, city vacation. NYC was such a blast for me solo in November - and because we have extremely fond memories of the last time we took the kids around the same time of year in 2006 , we were pumped about this trip.

As I said, I could make this an epic post. But I won't. I'll need to break it up - for my sanity and for yours ...

Day 1 - New Years Day 2012

2:15 PM flight was very civilized. According to the flight attendant at check-in, the morning was an absolute zoo at the airport. We apparently avoided it all. A+ to me for planning the timing.

Side note: This allowed us to enjoy some New Years' Eve activity the night before (at a friend's house where, had my kids not had their friends to keep them busy, I would have embarassed them to no end dancing to Rush, the Cars (come on- "Just What I Needed?" - just have to bop to that...) - oh there was Radiohead too and some Green Day too - little G did great but had a meltdown at about 11:50 PM as there was too much of this old people stuff and LMFAO's "Sexy and I Know It" did not come on again as quickly as anticipated). ANYWHoooo...I'm rambling...I hope not to digress so much as we move forward.

We arrived at LaGuardia about 4:30 PM- I keep forgetting what a yuck airport LGA is- at least we didn't have to wait in the lounge here. Different story later when coming home.

We picked up a taxi very easily, and hit the road for the Upper West Side.

I had booked the Hotel Beacon, a couple of blocks around the corner from the Museum of Natural History. Seeing as we'd done midtown last visit, the UWS seemed like another great part of the city to explore.

Hotel Beacon is adjacent to the cool Beacon theatre that has hosted the likes of such acts as The Cure (incidently, Robert Smith is almost looking more Divine than anyone else these days -I know, so cruel, but it's hard to continue rocking the look of Goth when you're in your fifties, I suppose...) Morrissey, Louis CK ... who knew. Unfortunately, no great shows were on while we were there - although Peter Frampton is apparently "coming Alive" again in a few short weeks. Him and Myth busters - now THAT be would be cool.

The hotel is a converted apartment building - (in fact it appeared as if there was an original tenant just next door - very elderly )but it was perfect for a family - with a small kitchenette, pullout in the living room and a completely separate bedroom with King - an ideal space. Bonus with Fairways market across the street and a 24/7 Duane Read two buildings up.

The kitchenette, because you know, I've got a thing about kitchens...

We took it easy on our first evening, to energize for the next day of exploring. So that evening we had a delicious steak dinner at the Fairways Cafe, complete with amazing onion rings and reasonably priced wine.

All settled in to start our fantasy of living like an UWS family. Well, one can dream, right?
Next stop, Central Park.

Sorry

2011-12-27T20:06:00.000-05:00

As I get older and wiser, self-awareness has provided me the ability to admit that I'm not all that perfect. Not that I was always so self-assured and confident. Very far from that. But somewhere along the line, I started believing all those encouraging words that my parents were telling me about being strong, smart, and - as I become more like my mother - ALWAYS right.

There were hints of this as a young child. Let's take a peek at a little vignette of when I was about 6 years old, playing that classic Hasbro Game :"SORRY" with a few older kids...

"Karen, you picked that card, lucky you! Now you can take anyone else's guy and put yours there!"

Gee, this was fun. I could actually win over these big kids!

"Okay, now that you moved your guy, you have to say "SORRY" really loudly!!"

I thought, uh, I don't think so. Why should I say sorry? I didn't do anything wrong. I picked the sorry card and made the necessary move. It was part of the game.

So I said, "No. I'm not going to say sorry."

They all looked at each other and then the eldest said,

"But you have to Karen, it's in the rules." (*I just checked of course, and it isn't - almost 40 years later and it still smarts!)

I shook my head. No way was I going to say "SORRY" for doing everything right.

So they all started chanting "SOR-RY, SOR-RY, SOR-RY!!!!!!"

And I started to bawl.

I never did say sorry.

A tragic tale. To this day, it remains very hard for me to say I'm sorry.

*****

So the point of this story? Turns out my son has been a lunch monitor since the school year started. And apparently he rocks at it... so much so that when he mentioned that he might not continue into the next term, the Grade 2 class wrote him a bunch of "Thank You" cards.

Only they weren't so much 'Thank you" as "Sorry" cards (as in "Sorry I was loud", "Sorry I was bad", "Sorry I didn't listen")

I wouldn't have believed it if I didn't see it for myself.

I guess there is hope for the next generation.

****

A Denouement:

I recounted my "sorry" boardgame tale to my brother and sister-in-law about a week before the holidays. My brother, being more than a few years younger than me, wasn't yet around to witness my traumatic experience firsthand. They were so enamoured with my story that for Christmas, lo and behold, they gave our family this...

Thanks little bro. You're so awesome.

Return to the Big Apple

2011-11-25T23:20:00.001-05:00

Beautiful Bryant Park

(Me with my new boyfriend in Times Square)

*****

The last time I was in Manhattan it was also in November. Three years ago . Three years isn't a long time. For me it feels almost like a lifetime, considering the changes and the crazy pace of life since then. I'm sure it's been the same for most of you - life just has this way of taking you places. From the major loss of my Dad, to the loss of my annoying organ Gabe (a.k.a. biggest freakish gallbladder in the world) this past July, and everything in between, it's been an absolute roller coaster. Things were a little bit easier for me in November 2008. But in a lot of ways I'm more fulfilled than I was back then.

As many of you know, I was mostly (give or take a few projects) a Stay at Home Mom when I visited NYC last. Likely not the happiest SAHM- hence the trip tagging along with my "business man" hubby to Manhattan. Shortly after my return from that trip in 2008, I had my first date with Gabe and it was such fun that we ended up in Emerg. Followed quickly by a blur of activity due to my Dad's illness and family time that wasn't always so pleasant.

It's in life's darkest moments that you see the brilliant possibilities, I suppose. You see, that bleak period also provided me the rarest opportunity for a true heart to heart talk with my Dad. He felt blessed that despite his failing (well, spiralling out of control) health, he had the time to tell me things he'd never voiced directly to me. It's not the typical Chinese way to be so direct. In those last alone times with Dad, he reinforced in me that I could do anything in this world that I wanted to do - and that he pushed because he knew I was up to the challenge, me, the eldest, probably the one he could push the hardest. He knew I could take it and that I would continue to take it, elevate it to the next level.

And then he was gone.

In the physical sense, at any rate. I think Dad has had a big hand in much of the positive changes in my life since then. The subtle encouragement even in my last conversations with him, led me to re-evaluate my life, and what I wanted to do with it. Was I satisfied being a SAHM? My life since then is evidence that I wanted, and actually needed, much more.

Despite my thinking that Dad didn't ever have a clue as to who I was, it turns out that he knew me all along.

*****

"Mom, do you like work? You've been back for a while now." (My son showing some reflective capability for a change - yes!! He must have been away from the Xbox.)

"Well, I do. It keeps me busy while you guys are at school and the money helps. And I do feel that I'm accomplishing something - what I do makes a difference in people's lives, and it's nice to have a career and be a Mom at the same time."

"The people at your office are nice. It seems like you're enjoying your work. I guess the travel is hard though."

(Mother guilt set in about now...)

"I do find the travel tough, buddy. I miss you guys when I'm away and it's especially hard when it overlaps with Dad's."

"You miss us, but admit it Mom, there's a part of you that likes going away. I mean, when you're there you just have to wake up, shower, have your coffee and read the paper and then go to your meetings. You don't have to worry about getting us ready at all, rushing in the morning, packing lunches, getting us to bed at night... "

(You realize that he has a point don't you. Not only does this kid have my back, he knows this stuff. Scary psychic 11 year old. )

"You're a smart alec kiddo," I admitted, ruffling his hair.

"We miss YOU a lot when you travel Mom..."

(making my heart ache as he embraced me in a huge hug).

"By the way, next time you're in New York, can you get me a Yankees snap-back? "

How could I not?

Halloween - tis the season for fake body ink ...

2011-11-01T21:46:00.000-04:00

"Hey, Mike, check out my Mom's costume!"

In other words, I guess I could almost be classified as cool...

Up close...

This is the look I was going for ... (loved the book - too chicken to see the movie as yet though!)

But this is more who I am ... shiny happy punk Mom...

Who also gave birth to a a little boy who morphed blue...

It was interesting driving to work - let's put it this way - the minivan didn't help me rock the look.

Lastly, to highlight my husband's handiwork

Hope you all had a wonderful Halloween.

Now onward to Christmas...

Hi Ho...

2011-10-30T15:30:00.020-04:00

...well I'm not Kermit the frog, but a new Muppets movie is on its way soon. But truth be told, I wasn't sure how to launch into a greeting after being away so long. I have been more than delinquent here. Since my last update, I have been busy...

family vacationing...

soccer momming...

traveling here...

Dublin Castle

Octagon Bar...Clarence Hotel...U2 owned.

and here...

(Opera House Copenhagen)

And, I've been to see this fellow

People at work had NO idea who he was - made me feel sooooo old(and the fact that he was playing at Casino Rama didn't make me feel any younger - despite the other fact that we appeared to be the youngest in the crowd...). But memories abounded because Avalon was the "last dance" song at our wedding. Bryan Ferry is still sexy and suave, even in his sixties. No wonder he has a 27 year old girlfriend. (Okay, that's borderline acceptable, but let's move on.)

I hit another birthday, and "turning 25 again" sounds a little more forced and a little less funny now that I'm on the other side of 40 approaching - gulp -the next decade.

This forced me to think about how I could switch things up a bit. I've now found a new addiction to add to my BodyJam fix of the week:

Now that I'm sans gallbladder and can re-indulge in cheese, and drink wine, and only feel ill effects every so often...I can work the guilt off even harder.

So now we're pretty much caught up. Mission critical, because I cannot NOT have a Halloween Post.

I keep raising the bar in terms of my costumes the last couple of years. So for 2011 I'm thinking I'll go a little darker, scarier. My costume has something to do with this...

Care to hazard a guess?

I'll let you know how it goes.

Happy Halloween.

Update, Vacay style

2011-07-19T21:08:00.006-04:00

Hi y'all - yes, still here. Actually managed to get to the office for one day -meetings took up most of the day, but then it was good to get back into it and stay in the loop. Now onto family vacation. Don't you just love the summer?

Following the last post...

Cairo Time - I'm officially in love with Patricia Clarkson (who happens to be the busiest actress this year... can't wait to see her in "One Day" and "Friends with Benefits"). Gone are the days of the great restrained romantic movie.. and then comes this. A love story to Cairo as well. Love.

For the record, I hosted a book club for "One Day" the book... and will post about it later. Love again.

The Fighter - Wow. No other words. No wonder so many Oscar nods.

Toodles.

Cholecystectomy and Bad Movie Reviews

2011-07-14T21:17:00.010-04:00

Abdominal surgery equals couch potato. Despite my best intentions, there's no avoiding this really. Although I have been getting out every day for an errand or two (or three - there's always something to pick up) I'm rather exhausted when I get home, and I wonder what my problem is. It's annoying to no end.

But along with prime time catching up with old blogging friends, reading books (some book reviews to come), I've managed to watch some DVDs and have discovered that cholecystectomy has done something - at least temporarily- to my taste in films.

Case in point - Day 2 post surgery: I LOVED the movie "The Dilemma" starring Vince Vaughn and Kevin James. I mean, it also starred Jennifer Connolly and Winona Ryder, who I've missed (she had such a great start before shopping dysfunction...). The premise of "what would you do if you found out your best friend's wife was having an affair" provided all sorts of comedic opportunity. And I laughed, to the point of having to clutch at my stomach in case of stitch-rupture.

Second case in point - Day 3 post surgery: I LOVED "How Do You Know" starring Reese Witherspoon, Paul Rudd, Owen Wilson, Jack Nicholson EVEN MORE. It's a James L Brooks film with wonderful actors - of course I should have loved it! Reese Witherspoon - the tiny thing, yeah, she's believable as a Pro-softball player faced with forced upon retirement; Owen Wilson - the lovable cad, yes, he worked for me; Paul Rudd - what's not to love about lovable Paul Rudd? Yeah, he could be a duped CEO with a loving but dysfunctional relationship with his loud angry father (yes, that would be Jack.)
Rotten Tomatoes gave both those movies squashed green tomatoes.

Case #3 - One week post surgery: I DID NOT LIKE "Somewhere" by Sofia Coppola. I had been looking forward to seeing this film since I first found out about it at the end of last year - I read a write up about Stephen Dorff's return to the big screen while on a work trip in Europe, and some sexy photos of him in those European magazines added to my anticipation of course. I was looking forward to some touching father/daughter scenes between him and Elle Fanning (gorgeous girl - Dakota must be jealous!) and although I must admit they did have some great chemistry, overall the film was one big SNOREFEST for me. Maybe I'm still too out of it to catch the symbolism and the subtleties (yeah, I know the "movie star escaping the trappings of celebrity for something real like the love of their child" wasn't so subtle) and it is a quiet film. But just way too quiet.

Would I normally love movies #1 and #2 - uh, likely not LOVE. Would I normally love movies like "Somewhere" - well yes, I would say so. For example, I really enjoyed the movie "Control", the story of Ian Curtis/ Joy Division that I finally watched a couple of weeks ago. Another quiet type of movie, shot in black and white actually, but it was different and I loved it.

So along with my gallbladder, it looks like my taste in film has also gone by the wayside. Hopefully the effect isn't irreversible.

Let's test it - next up are Cairo Time, The Fighter, Creation, You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger.

A rabbit out of a hat

2011-07-13T19:50:00.013-04:00

Hey-I'm on the other side. Four pokes to my midsection and I'm none the worse for wear. Well, relatively speaking anyway. Thanks for all your words of support-it really helped as I was surprisingly nervous. I suppose that even though it was day surgery it is still quite invasive and major in its own way, despite how common it is, particularly in women. My admitting nurse told me there was only one nurse in the surgery department that day who still had her gallbladder -amazing.

My surgery was delayed about an hour -something about a code red in the hospital (ie fire alarm) not allowing them to prep patients for surgery. Awww come onnnnnn -just kidding. But it was rather unnerving hearing this alarm go on and on and on for about 45 minutes before they moved me to the next "station". The worst part was when they took my glasses before leading me to the operating table -blind much??
Once they hooked me up to the anaesthetic and I took a couple of deep breaths I was out.

When I woke up I felt like I'd been hit by a Mack truck. I saw the other assisting doctor give me a thumbs up, saying "We got it all out-it was HUGE!". My doctor confirmed for Ian later that it was indeed "very large" but he didn't have to make the incision any bigger than usual. It's amazing what modern surgical techniques can accomplish these days. I don't even have stitches steri strips are what's holding the holes together. Amazing yet again. As the nurse told me it's like some sort of magic show -all done in the dark with cameras and video screens and presto out it comes. Sorry if it's TMI.

So it's done and I'm on the mend. Although it is incredible how everything is connected to your midsection. Something as simple as sleeping is even affected -I can't get used to sleeping on my back!

Did some work today but it's so deceptive-I feel almost normal, except for minor itching and pain (I weaned myself off oxycontin pretty quickly) but I'm so exhausted after just spending a couple hours on emails and budgets. It's tough to slow down after going at top speed for the last couple of years.

Yeah I know -I should milk it as long as I can! Skim milk, that is...

The Biggest Ever ...

2011-07-05T23:46:00.004-04:00

"Hey Karen, haven't seen you in a while - wow, you're looking great - so trim!"

"Thanks, I know I've lost weight. I can actually get into some outfits that I haven't worn since before I had the L-boy. To tell you the truth I weigh about what I did on my wedding day "

How wonderful - there's a silver lining to everything I suppose. It's too bad that I got here by not being able to eat properly for the last couple of months. Not eating is highly overrated.

I'm having surgery tomorrow.

*****

Book Clubs are Hazardous for Your Health

There's this thing called complacency. Complacency mixed with a little vino while noshing on mini pizzas and samosas during an enthusiastic discussion about "The Forgotten Garden", combine that with excitement about the Royal Wedding which was coming up the next day...well, let's just say that can create havoc on an unsuspecting gallbladder.

Yes, remember that little episode? That was over two years ago, and what followed was the darkest period of my life. Little wonder that I wasn't in such a hurry back then to go within a one metre radius of a hospital for elective surgery.

I guess there's no thwarting mother nature. So despite my best efforts with watching my rich, fatty food intake over the past couple of years, it's come back to bite me.

*****

"So what were you doing during the Royal Wedding?"

Well I certainly won't forget April 29, 2011. Nothing like a gallbladder attack to wake one up for historic nuptials. Hey, I was up anyway. I promised myself that if I could get through the pain, I would make an apointment with my doctor to get this looked at. Stat.

*****

"Oh, what's this?"

Not the most comforting words from your surgeon. I figured it wasn't a great thing to have something palpable down the belly way but assumed it was a result of the gallbladder issues.

Cue the CT scan, which ultimately proved that it was indeed my offending organ. It's just that they're not normally so freakishly huge.

*****

Tomorrow afternoon I should feel lighter, both physically and metaphorically. The relief from the chronic pain and relief from the worry of diet is so welcome. The irony of losing weight in time for bikini season, but having surgical scars to show for it, is not lost on me.

Who am I kidding? I'm too old to be wearing a bikini anyway.

I'm looking forward to having a Dairy Queen chocolate dipped ice cream cone. And some Bodyjam to go with that. Summer won't start for me until then.

Walk

2011-07-03T09:02:00.026-04:00

Baby Steps. Learning to blog again.

Yes, I'm back from an over four month hiatus.

In that time, my incompetence as a mommy blogger has been evidenced by the following:

Blogher ads officially requested that I remove their link. That's okay - I was making less than zero revenue;
I didn't provide any witty anecdotes about a great family ski vacation in Tremblant (well, I didn't ski, but it was fun nonetheless)... no fun pics (including space age inflatable leg boots a la "Lost in Space" that encased my tired legs during a spa treatment), no oohing and ahhing about the private hot tub and the wonderful accommodations, the non-stop gondola rides with the girlie, the pride in seeing my boy survive a bloody ski-to-the lip incident only to pick up and continue another 3 hours of snowboarding...
Also absent - posts about major life milestones for not just one -the horror- but both of my kids:

My girlie lost her first baby tooth .... and now she's on the verge of losing the second;

My boy turned eleven. He's a tween now, people, and overnight he began eating two dinners and sleeping in every morning;

I didn't weigh in on any of the hot parenting topics such as the TigerMom/Fun Mom debate - itching, just itching to get in on it but alas, left it too late;
I missed writing about the beautiful Royal Wedding:
I didn't reminisce about how I woke up way early to watch the other fairytale Royal wedding as a teen.
I did not dish about how gorgeous Kate is and how I wholly approve of pretty much all of her fashion choices,
Didn't note that William is still handsome despite starting to look more like his father than his mother these days ...
(when we get totally caught up later, you'll understand why I was other wise occupied during the Wedding Day);
Both US and Canadian versions of So You Think You Can Dance have started and I've said big, fat, nada...
I didn't mention with glowing pride that both kids got A+ grades on their report cards... (oh, I guess I just did)
I haven't gone on and on and on about gorgeous, spouse-endorsed crush - he speaks French, Mon Dieu - Bradley the Coop
We lost a household member (poor Goldie, RIP) but gained a couple new ones. Did. Not. Blog. About. It.

My bad. But here we are.

And what would a post from me be without the occasional musical reference?

I've rediscovered the Foo Fighters. Their performance on SNL around Easter time, sealed it - they need to be on our couples' concert list soon (this just in - found out that I'm traveling when they're playing the ACC in Toronto come August - not happy that the Man may be going without me * sob *).

Can't think of a cooler alt. Dad in their 40s than Dave Grohl.

Enjoy.

Like riding a bike ...

2011-02-20T17:46:00.026-05:00

Hello,hello...is anyone out there? Are you still with me?

I've been away so long that it feels like I don't even know how to do this anymore. It's not that I've forgotten about this place, I've actually been thinking about it aplenty. Finding the time to gather my thoughts and to capture them in any coherent fashion is another matter.

Where have I been by the way? Well, here, but with work and the kids and the soccer and the gymnastics...barely hanging on at times.

The kids want a dog. They've been wanting a dog for a couple of years now. I say, "It wouldn't be fair to the dog though, no one is home during the day."

And they respond, "I've got an idea, Mommy. Why don't we get a nanny -she could be home to look after the dog while we're at school."

Clever kids. Too clever. We're now working on it.

I didn't want to go there. After all, why can't I do it all? I've been doing it, well, sorta for over a year now. But it was always the plan to take stock of the full-time work situation after a year, and see if I would need help. If you look back at my posts in that time it gives you an idea of how well I've been coping-or more correctly how I haven't been coping. I'm tired of being tired, stressed and yelling all the the time. I'd like to spend more quality time with my kids and be less of a stress bag to my husband.

As I write this, I'm enjoying an evening with my family in a downtown hotel as part of our family day weekend. I smile as I hear them laughing, playing hide and seek, enjoying the moment. But at the back of mind I'm already planning what to write in the week's schedule for the man, before I head out again tomorrow evening for a week away across the other side of the ocean. The stress is just deferred.

I want to be able to smile at my kids more and shout at them less. To be able to help them with homework rather than having to keep an eye on dinner or watching the clock at the same time.

So, I'm going there.

Never say never... I say.

(BTW, I caught the movie with the girlie and it rocked. I hate to admit it, but he is a rather sweet boy - and that was clear in the movie. He's a cutie-pie kid. So the girl crushin' on him a bit is fine by me.)

Ear Spears and the other one too

2011-01-26T22:56:00.015-05:00

Has it really been a month? I guess I have a lot of pent up posting to do.

*****

On New Year's Eve, I was in the line up to pay for heavily discounted Christmas paraphernalia at Winners when my cellphone rang.

"Hi. Guppy wanted me to call you, she has something to ask you" said Hubs on the other end.

"Okay, put her on."

"Mama, when are you going to be home?"

"In a little while sweetie. We're going to a New Year's party in about an hour so I won't be long."

"Well hurry, because I want to get my earspears."

"You want to get what?"

"My ears spears, my ears spears, Mama, my EARS SPEARS!!!!!".

'Oh, you want your ears pierced?"

"Yeah Mama, I want them now!!!"

"Oh, I don't know if that's such a good idea today. We should talk about it, and we don't have time. If you get it done and they bother you, you won't have much fun at the party. Let's talk when I get home."

"I WANT EARS SPEARS NOW!" she yelled through tears, and then I heard the phone go crashing onto the floor.

At least she wasn't in the cash line with me. Sigh.

*****

Fast forward a couple of weeks. It hadn't been forgotten.

"Mama, when will you be back from the gym? I want to get my ears pierced today." (too bad she figured out the pronunciation. One more step away from babyhood *sob*).

"Okay, I'll talk to Daddy when I get home and we'll plan it."

"Why talk to Daddy? It's a GIRL thing! We can go to the mall to the store where they sell the little girl earrings, and there's a chair there. The lady can do it right there - I saw other girls having it done. It's easy and it's not scary!"

She had a point. It is a girl thing. And Dad had no objections. So we checked out the website, looked at earring options and the video about ear care...and off we went to the mall.

My girl is an absolute warrior. Climbed up on the chair, chose her earrings, clutched the teddy bear tight and told the girl that she was ready. We mentioned that she could expect a pinch - and sure enough her whole body tensed and her face went beet red with the entry of the first post... but not a peep. For the second ear- even less reaction. "It's just a little pop, Mama, didn't hurt!"

A warrior.

*****

"Hey, you might think That I'm crazy But, you know I'm just your type I might be A little hazy But, you just cannot deny..."

"Uh, are you singing Britney Spears there, buddy?"

"Yeah. I hate to admit it, but unfortunately it's just too catchy a tune."

That was close.

This is more like it...

HAPPY HOLIDAYS

2010-12-25T12:22:00.005-05:00

All the best of the holiday season
from our family to yours...

A syrupy birthday post after all

2010-12-21T10:39:00.027-05:00

"So how much is Barbie blown?" asked the harried Mom, before uttering "oh that sounded good" under her breath.

Replied the balloon lady, "Well, I wasn't going there, but since you did... she's $4.99. She's real cheap."

I was thinking about doing a gooey, sappy, happy birthday post for my little Diva, who turns six years old tomorrow. The thing is, I'm not exactly a sappy, gooey person in real life. Sure, I may come across that way sometimes on this blog - I've certainly posted some drippy, syrupy words around these parts.

The reality is that my girlie's behaviour isn't always the most deserving of the accolades that I wish I could shower on her everyday. She is still fully capable of the "meltdown in public places stunt", which she exhibited in full force a couple of weeks ago at Party Packagers while shopping with me for loot bags. We had already made a deal that this was still going to be about her - after all, these would be for her friends at her upcoming birthday party.

Upon entry into party junk mecca, reason, however, flew out the window. After I refused to buy her her 1 millionth stuffed Ty doggie, she unleashed an epic tantrum that had her snotty and gasping for breath. Even the promise of a free balloon from the store manager on the condition that she stop crying, did nothing to deter her. The Diva tossed her coat on the floor at the cash - the cashier looked at me with pity in her eyes. I dragged the screaming, bawling 5 year old sans coat into the winter night, to pick her brother up from soccer practice with no minutes to spare. A party time was had by all.

I lectured her in the van about what happens to little girls when they misbehave in the party store - that all they end up with is a 'BIG FAT ZERO".

That, my friends, is reality.

But then a few days later, driving in the van to a playdate with her best friend, chatty Diva brings up that same exact conversation.

"Mommy, I told Anna the joke you told me after Party packagers, when you were so angry with me."

I held my breath.

"I told her that my mommy made me laugh, when she said that all I got for bad behaviour was a BIG FAT ZERO!!!!! You're so funny Mommy, there's no such thing as big fat zero! Anna thinks you're a funny mommy too!"

Whew.

*****

On the eve of her 6th birthday, my little one is currently lying here next to me, dealing with a crappy cold that hit her yesterday and caused her left eye to swell like she went a couple of rounds with Jaden Smith in the Karate Kid (she totally could have taken him, actually). She's coughy and snotty for a different reason this time, and likely feeling stuffed beyond her toy bears. But she's not complaining. She wants to build the gingerbread house, and watch me make ginger crackles later - the operative word is "watch" because she doesn't want anyone else to get sick. She wants to help me wrap the presents. She's got Christmas spirit and then some.

She is a real trooper, this one. She's tough, she knows what she wants, and she lets people know it. All while being as sweet as her sweet tooth gauges her to be. She can be a pain to her brother, but then criticize me when I tell him to be more assertive on the soccer field (Mommy, he's trying his BEST!). She's got her Daddy wrapped around her little finger.

She still climbs up on my lap for spontaneous snuggles. Especially after she's been bratty.

And honestly, I wouldn't have it any other way.

Happy Birthday, my sweet Guppy!

The Good Husband

2010-12-11T07:39:00.012-05:00

The Man had a birthday last weekend. It wasn't a milestone, it wasn't a particularly special year. But it was a good birthday, because he was actually here to celebrate it with us.

He doesn't ask for much. In fact, he asks for nothing. Nothing except the love of his family.

And more patience from his wife.So these are trying times for him.

He gives so much. Sure, I have to remind him a lot to get things done, but he is a Man.

Guess what he did for me when I got home from my trip?

After a week alone with the kids, during which time in his laid back style he kept the household intact, and even managed to get the kiddos to the schoolbus on time on the Monday after he slept in until 8:16 (bus comes at 8:35)...

...he made an appointment for my van, took it to be serviced and had my snow tires put on. Totally unsolicited effort. It snowed like the Dickens the next day. I am convinced he's Superman (well, at least Kreskin, but Superman is way hotter...)

So I'm glad that I picked him up a few things for his birthday:

Thank goodness for duty-free.