Nekkid baby rocking

Is it just me?

I am a pessimist. I have acknowledged this about myself a LONG time ago. Sometimes - like today - I think that being a pessimist is a drag. It's my last day of work before the holidays. I am excited. I am THRILLED. Then I get one phone call and it sets me over the edge and spiralling into negativity. I have absolutely no control over the issue raised in the phone call. There is nothing I can do about it now. I WILL have an opportunity to voice my concerns and share my opinion on the subject in January. I just don't know how to "let it go".
Partially I am mad that the person who called would not keep the information to themselves until January - knowing there is nothing to be done.
I REALLY need to learn the skill of letting go.....

Still sick....

I thought it was over and we were all better. Then last night at 1:30 am, our littlest called out "Ma, Ma...... MA!" I went in and picked him up and asked him what was wrong. As I turned he puked EVERYWHERE. Poor little muffin. He is SO good natured and barely complains about anything, ever.
So into the shower we both went (I was covered from neck to ankle). My awesome spouse got up and cleaned up the floor while we were showering and we all went back to bed. He didn't puke again last night but I just called home and he is feeling miserable and back down for a nap. I HOPE it is because he is teething - I felt a molar last night which just came through - and not because we are headed for round two of illness in our house.
Tomorrow is my last day of work before the holidays and I am THRILLED to be getting some time off. I just don't want to spend it doing laundry and cleaning up after sick babies.
I don't care what anyone says, there is nothing about becoming a mother that makes it easier to clean up vomit. I don't care WHO it belongs to - I don't want to have anything to do with it!!

The "REAL" meaning of Christmas

It seems like every year at this time emails and letters start to circulate which talk about the"REAL" meaning of Christmas and how "Christ" is being taken out of Christmas. Last night I was going through an email box I don't look through often and found one of these letters addressed to me and my family.
I absolutely believe that everyone is entitled to their own opinion, and obviously, the person who sent this email feels quite strongly that "Christmas" is being "lost" to commercialism, political correctness, et cetera, et cetera.
It got me thinking. There are many ways in which I could respond (and I had to fight my desire to respond because I REALLY REALLY wanted to!) The more I thought about it, the more I realized that people will find whatever it is they are looking for. If I spend my time looking for the ways in which people have "altered" the true meaning of Christmas then I will find evidence to support my belief.
Instead, what I see, is not the deterioration of Christmas, but the spirit of love and of giving and of hope ALL around me. My nephew gathered all the coins he saved in his piggy bank to make a donation to animals in need. My mom coordinates the efforts of her siblings to put together Christmas hampers for needy people in her community. All around there are groups raising money to donate to some cause or another. Buying goats for communities in Africa. Wrapping presents for children in foster care. In my own small community businesses have been raising funds for a family with medical needs and all KINDS of organizations and individuals have been working towards raising money for a playground at the elementary school. My little boy goes to a head start program and his class participated in the food bingo, donating food to the local food bank. Now I will admit, the concept of a bingo card is not one he understands, but his mom had a BALL going through every cupboard in the house to gather as many items from the list as we could find to send with him (in a large box) to school the very next day. Does he completely "get it?" Probably not. He had as much fun going through the cupboard of cans and making additions to the box of donations sitting on the kitchen table.
It has been a thrill to take him into stores and see his enthusiasm for the lights, the music and the joy of choosing something to give to someone else - even if it is his own little brother or his dog, and even if it is something they probably won't even enjoy (I don't think the dog likes extension cords much). It is still HIM choosing something FOR someone else. I am absolutely LOVING how excited he is. I wish everyone could hear him singing the song he is learning for the Christmas Concert at his school tomorrow. He can't even say the words but he knows the tune and when there's a word he knows how to say he says it with all the enthusiasm his little body can muster.
There are opportunities for lessons about giving and sharing EVERYWHERE - if I look for them.
So I could spend my time writing about how UNChristmassy this season it, but instead I will focus on something different. I believe STRONGLY that what you look for you will find. So I wish for everyone that they will find a most excellent season filled with love and family and all the joy this time of year can bring.

Why we make a good couple...part 1

My spouse and I have been together a long time - I mean to say - we were together even before ELLEN came out!

We are very different as individuals and still we come together and complement one another well. Tonight is one example of that. Let me explain.....

I came home tonight and found Shel cleaning up vomit. Max had somehow consumed milk (when and where he got into it is still under investigation). He is allergic to milk and it made him more than a little ill. So I arrive with puking under way.

While Shel was cleaning up body fluid I picked up our very upset boy and held him on my lap. As I was holding him I felt his stomach gurgle and knew we were about to experience another bout of barking at the ants. I didn't have time to get to the bathroom so I held him, leaned forward and let him spew onto the floor. We avoided the furniture, the carpets, the clothing and managed to aim as well as could be expected. I was totally impressed with the finesse with which we managed the situation.

My spouse followed behind us to clean up the mess we had made. As she was cleaning up she said" Wow, Stomach acid really cleans the floor better than I have been able to scrub it!"
Her glass is always half full, and mine half empty. We make a great pair. I will hold puking kids as long as I never have to clean up after them, and she would prefer not to hold them and "aim!" And through al the realy gross moments that neither one of us would choose to endure, we share the moments and she brings a smile to my face. (Stomach acid really did a nice job of cleaning the floor!)

Christmas shopping with a limited vocabulary

Max is old enough this year that we have decided he can participate in Christmas shopping as we pick up presents for one another and the pets.

Last year Christmas was COMPLETELY overwhelming and the poor kid was a wreck, but this year he is right into the spirit of things and excited about everything. Whenever we get into the van we have to listen to his Christmas music and snap our fingers. He snaps right along and reminds us if we happen to stop snapping for some reason. (Driving is not an excuse for not snapping by the way). We went for Christmas photos and he even sat on Santa's lap without crying!

Shopping on the other hand is something we need to work on still.

To say he is obsessed with extension cords and electricity is an understatement. There are a few stores in town we frequent and he can give you a grand tour of every aisle that has items needing plugs, where the cords run and where the outlets are.

Although his vocabulary is growing he still does not have a lot of words so you can't really ask him what he would like to get for his brother or we would end up wrapping an "onion" or a "hallway". That leaves pointing (which he does well).

Going down the aisle we ask, "Max, Would CJ like this?" His response to EVERY question is "No". Trying a different tack we ask, "Max, what would CJ like?" He responds to THIS question by escorting us to the aisle with extension cords. EVERYONE wants an extension cord according to Max. His moms, his brother, his dog, his cousins, and PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE Santa, don't forget an extension cord for him. He has a blue one already (if you needed help choosing a color).

sitting in court

Last week I had the wonderful experience of spending the day in court. I was called to testify and told I needed to be at the courthouse at 9am. I was there. The way the court works here is that everyone called to appear for the day enters the room at the same time and they go through each case. No-one ever leaves the room to call into the lobby and see if you are present. If you aren't in the room then you miss out - and pay the consequences.
I was a "little" freaked out that there is no-one at all at the entrance checking people as they enter. No wand, no metal detector, nothing. At one point a gentleman began to yell at the judge and the sheriffs jumped to their feet and ran towards him. The judge told him to leave and he did - but not before I had scoped out which exit I would take if things got nasty (and which people I could beat to the door!)
About 50 people were in the room at the beginning of the day. It started out with closed Circuit television showing people in the remand center as they came up on the docket. Then we went through the docket for the day. I was trying to pay attention and see if there was any rhyme or reason - alphabetical, age, reverse alphabetical - but I couldn't see anything that explained how cases were being called. It didn't even appear to be going by the date of the incident. I was there for an incident that happened on October 7th, but there were incidences that happened more recently than mine which were called before mine.
I had a LOT of time to sit and try to figure out the system of names being called because I was the ABSOLUTE LAST case to be called for the day.
Those court benches are insanely uncomfortable. In the provincial building where the courtroom is located there are no vending machines.
Granted - there were some interesting things, but nothing so interesting that I was thrilled to be there or that made the time pass more quickly.
So I went. I waited all day. I testified. I was cross examined (which was the most interesting part of my day).
Then yesterday I received a message on my phone from the RCMP to let me know what had happened in court. Apparently there was some breakdown in communication because as the officer was reading to the message machine what had happened in court he says "I see here that you were subpoenaed. I don't know why that happened, it was not necessary, and I hope you didn't miss work to sit in court for that."
If I had the energy to muster frustration I would have. While it was not the most painful day I have ever spend, it was by FAR anything I would have selected to participate in. I didn't know I had a choice once I was subpoenaed to not show up?
Interesting.

12 of 12

12 of 12 is hosted each month by Chad Darnell. You can check out his cool site and others who participate by linking HERE.

Here is my contribution for this month:


#1. When we woke up this morning the temperature was a BALMY -38 degrees C. That translates into a day spent indoors and finding ways of amusing ourselves. These days can be LONG ones.


#2. What better to do than combine two of our favorite things - moms and extension cords! Mom is such a good sport!


#3. Time to make supper. We busted out the recipe book and started to make Chili Con Carne. Unfortunately half way through we realized we didn't have all the ingredients. Oh well. What little boys don't know won't hurt them, so we served it "as is" and pretended all was well!


#4. From extension cords to mixing bowls. This is a day full of excitement! Little boys "helped" cooking supper.


#5. Finger lickin good!

#6. And some even managed to get inside of him!

#7. Time for some television viewing. Only one of our boys is interested in tv - can you guess which one?

#8. Sitting in one spot got boring so we "rocked" around the living room and laughed.

#9. Not everyone in the house was enthusiastic about the day indoors. Poor Zuva was bored out of her mind and tried to sleep the day away.

#10. The Christmas tree was too tempting to pass up.

#11. Will this day EVER end?

#12. Everyone is in bed. The puppy won't go to the bathroom without an escort - she is worried she will freeze to the ground and we wont notice she is gone. Time for a last check to make sure the vehicle is plugged and and it's off to bed!