This is an all points bulletin! Get out and enjoy the snow while you still can! For that past few weeks, the marshmellow blanket of happiness disappeared to be replaced by a mucky icy mess. But today winter has returned for a limited time only. Seize the day, everyone!
Imagine my glee, when I woke this morning to find a thick layer of snow all over everything. We wasted no time (well, we wasted a little time, we still have two kids) in getting all bundled and off to the tobogganing hill. We over filled our sled, two adults and two children riding together. Even Morty the Jackapoo got a chance to slide, though he mostly just chased us to the bottom.
Jadzia gets the prize for eating the most snow. And why not? Freshly fallen and purely white, even I had to admit it looked appetizing (though I managed to resist the urge).
At home we enjoyed some hot chocolate made with real cocoa and milk (hot chocolate made with water is a crime against chocolate).
If you are looking for something to do today, do NOT go to an indoor playground, do NOT go shopping, do NOT go to church, and do NOT go to the library. GO OUTSIDE. The mucky muck will be back before you know it.
Sunday, March 06, 2011
Thursday, March 03, 2011
Brownies = Happiness
I have a friend who is a health nut. She bakes muffins and brownies with little to no sugar and instead packs them full of things like chia seeds, hemp hearts, and spinach. She loves "super foods" and is ruthless about packing as much nutrition in her diet as possible.
This morning I was feeling less than super happy and needed some time to myself. So I locked myself in my bedroom while my children screamed and the dog barked at the door. I chatted on the phone, and cheered up a little, but found the ambient noise too distracting to fully relax.
I needed to get out of my rut. So I opened the door and suggest to my offspring that we make brownies. I thought of my health-nut friend as I handed the ingredients to my two helpers to bring to the table. I opted for white flour instead of whole wheat, I used all my sugar and all my eggs. Jadzia helped me crack the eggs. William poured in ingredients and used the mixer. They cleaned the bowl with their hands and tongues.
Now I know that baked goods are not a healthy way to get rid of a bad mood. But I feel better, and I haven't even had a single brownie yet. I can smell them now and I can hardly wait!
This morning I was feeling less than super happy and needed some time to myself. So I locked myself in my bedroom while my children screamed and the dog barked at the door. I chatted on the phone, and cheered up a little, but found the ambient noise too distracting to fully relax.
I needed to get out of my rut. So I opened the door and suggest to my offspring that we make brownies. I thought of my health-nut friend as I handed the ingredients to my two helpers to bring to the table. I opted for white flour instead of whole wheat, I used all my sugar and all my eggs. Jadzia helped me crack the eggs. William poured in ingredients and used the mixer. They cleaned the bowl with their hands and tongues.
Now I know that baked goods are not a healthy way to get rid of a bad mood. But I feel better, and I haven't even had a single brownie yet. I can smell them now and I can hardly wait!
Tuesday, March 01, 2011
I've been a shut-in the last little while
a) I didn't have a car because my hubby's car had a broken wheel or something and making money is apparently more important than going on outtings with the kids and doing my own grocery shopping.
b) I was waiting for the good snow to come back so I could go tobogganing or build a snowman. Or whatever.
The snow hasn't returned and has instead transformed into various piles of slush, and sheets of ice, and pits of mud. Still the sun, and my furry houseguest (my parents' jackapoo Morty), motivated me to go outside this afternoon.
It was too warm for snowpants, but the kids wore all their other winter paraphernalia. Although Jadzia opted to wear William's old alligator galoshes instead of her pink winter boots. When we arrived at the park near our house, we discovered that the playground structure was now standing in an iced-over muddy sink hole. This did not stop my children from climbing and sliding. Jadzia can now navigate that curved ladder without much hesitation. William was delighted at his new super power of breaking ice, and splashing in the frigid water. Of course I had to join in, just to show him that I was better at it, because I'm bigger.
After pushing my offspring on the swings (William is too big for the baby swings *tear*) for a tediously long time, I suggested we explore the forest near the park. Favourite quote of the day from William: "That's not a forest, it's just a bunch of trees." Okay, so it's not algonquin park, not even enough cover for teenagers to smoke pot without getting caught, but I didn't expect my son to become so jaded so soon. When we were in the trees, though, he decided that it was a forest after all. He found a long stick and sword-fought the bushes in a distinctly boyish way, while Jadzia examined the different consistancies of mud. We found squirrel tracks. I lured them out of the mini-forest with the promise of a snack.
I did have a car today, but I didn't end up going anywhere until after my hubby came home and we went out for dinner to celebrate a friend's birthday (Happy Birthday Mark!). On the way, the wheel made a funny noise. It sounded like a drunken Nascar car and was so loud that we actually pulled over, but ultimately ignored until after dinner. Now it's my car's turn for the shop. Oh reliable transportation, if only I'd appreciated you when you were here.
b) I was waiting for the good snow to come back so I could go tobogganing or build a snowman. Or whatever.
The snow hasn't returned and has instead transformed into various piles of slush, and sheets of ice, and pits of mud. Still the sun, and my furry houseguest (my parents' jackapoo Morty), motivated me to go outside this afternoon.
It was too warm for snowpants, but the kids wore all their other winter paraphernalia. Although Jadzia opted to wear William's old alligator galoshes instead of her pink winter boots. When we arrived at the park near our house, we discovered that the playground structure was now standing in an iced-over muddy sink hole. This did not stop my children from climbing and sliding. Jadzia can now navigate that curved ladder without much hesitation. William was delighted at his new super power of breaking ice, and splashing in the frigid water. Of course I had to join in, just to show him that I was better at it, because I'm bigger.
After pushing my offspring on the swings (William is too big for the baby swings *tear*) for a tediously long time, I suggested we explore the forest near the park. Favourite quote of the day from William: "That's not a forest, it's just a bunch of trees." Okay, so it's not algonquin park, not even enough cover for teenagers to smoke pot without getting caught, but I didn't expect my son to become so jaded so soon. When we were in the trees, though, he decided that it was a forest after all. He found a long stick and sword-fought the bushes in a distinctly boyish way, while Jadzia examined the different consistancies of mud. We found squirrel tracks. I lured them out of the mini-forest with the promise of a snack.
I did have a car today, but I didn't end up going anywhere until after my hubby came home and we went out for dinner to celebrate a friend's birthday (Happy Birthday Mark!). On the way, the wheel made a funny noise. It sounded like a drunken Nascar car and was so loud that we actually pulled over, but ultimately ignored until after dinner. Now it's my car's turn for the shop. Oh reliable transportation, if only I'd appreciated you when you were here.
Saturday, February 26, 2011
Sunday, February 20, 2011
I found my Twister game.
Yesterday I was having dinner at a friend's house and we were thinking how fun it would be to challenge each other to a game of Twister. Well, today I found my old Twister mat, along with the warped cardboard spinner very biased to the left hand. Luckily I also have this old Flash program I made to spin for us. Next time somebody challenges me to Twister, I'll be ready!
I also have a video (which I may post later) Adam took of the kids and I playing (very challenging when you're too short to reach the dots and don't know your left from your right, or the rules, or your colours).
Now I just have to find the painting I did in university of people playing Twister naked.
Now I just have to find the painting I did in university of people playing Twister naked.
Monday, February 14, 2011
Happy Valentine's Day
And it was a blast, a house full of people we love snacking and gabbing together. Mobs of children gathered around, not happy to simply observe the opening of presents. One racetrack delighted them all so much that they nearly came to blows. No indoor play place would have been better.
Tommorrow my little boy turns 4. He's already so grown up that I couldn't really think of him as 3. He's smart, kind, gentle, funny. He's a loving brother and a wonderful son. He owns a ridiculous amount of hotwheels tracks.
Happy Birthday William!
Tuesday, February 08, 2011
So Grown Up
Today I registered my son for junior kindergarten. The whole process took about an hour and involved gathering together some random forms and identification, dressing everyone in snow pants, walking through the snow at the pace of bundled two-year-old, and filling out a small stack of forms while my children ate crackers and grapes (with a brief break to visit the staff washroom). While we were snacking and form-filling, nutrition break started and my nephew Hunter greeted us in the hall. The kids got hugs. I got a "Hi Auntie Jen" and a "Bye Auntie Jen."
I was all excited about William's passage into manhood, so I got William to tell my husband where we went. His interpretation: "My Mom just wrote and we ate crackers." Okay, maybe he'll be more excited when we go to meet his teacher.
Since this is a post about William, I must mention what a wonderful boy he is. Yesterday we went to one of those indoor play places with his friends. He helped his sister up and down the equipment, taking her by the hand and gently leading her. He helped his friend who is a little more timid than he is (William is fearless). Sometimes he went and got her Mom, sometimes he would help her himself and then tell her Mom: "That's okay, we don't need you now." I was so proud that he acted so grown-up, so kind, so gentle, so brave.
He's going to rule Junior Kindergarten!
I was all excited about William's passage into manhood, so I got William to tell my husband where we went. His interpretation: "My Mom just wrote and we ate crackers." Okay, maybe he'll be more excited when we go to meet his teacher.
Since this is a post about William, I must mention what a wonderful boy he is. Yesterday we went to one of those indoor play places with his friends. He helped his sister up and down the equipment, taking her by the hand and gently leading her. He helped his friend who is a little more timid than he is (William is fearless). Sometimes he went and got her Mom, sometimes he would help her himself and then tell her Mom: "That's okay, we don't need you now." I was so proud that he acted so grown-up, so kind, so gentle, so brave.
He's going to rule Junior Kindergarten!
Sunday, February 06, 2011
Jadzia sleeps in a big girl bed. Night 1.
Adam has plans to build Jadzia a canopy princess bed to compete with William's car bed. In the mean-time my parents had a comfy mattress and box spring they wanted to get rid of. It's the same bed I slept on as a teenager and it's very, very comfy. Adam is going to modify his bed design to accomadate the mattress, which is a double, not a single like William's, and takes up 80% of her bedroom.
Yesterday was a day of birthday partying, no napping, and temper tantrums, so I decided to put her to bed early. So just after dinner I managed to get the tantruming sesame street addict to brush her teeth, then I took her to her room to read her stories. When I said "story" she ran out of her bedroom towards the basement and freaked out when I brought her back. She thought I meant "Toy Story" and screamed "Toy Story Three Buzz!"
I calmed her down and got back to the business of reading stories. Normally I read two or three stories and then put her in her crib. This time, Jadzia was boss, jumping out of bed to pick another book sometimes when I was in the middle of reading one. I read almost every book in her book bin, and read several of them twice.
By the end, I was reading each book EXTRA SLOWLY, like a robot running out of batteries, and she was sucking her thumb and jumping out of bed less often. When she looked dozey enough, I shut the light and started singing "Hush little baby", just like I do every night.
I sang it lying down.
I sang it standing up.
I sang it while sitting on the floor.
Jadzia kept almost sort of pretending to sleep, then waking up grinning at me. Finally, two hours after I began the process, she fell asleep sideways on the bed, which still left enough space for me to lie beside her. It's a big bed for a little girl.
She slept all night, all the way to nine. Her brother woke up at 5 am because he "needed" someone to sleep with him.
Yesterday was a day of birthday partying, no napping, and temper tantrums, so I decided to put her to bed early. So just after dinner I managed to get the tantruming sesame street addict to brush her teeth, then I took her to her room to read her stories. When I said "story" she ran out of her bedroom towards the basement and freaked out when I brought her back. She thought I meant "Toy Story" and screamed "Toy Story Three Buzz!"
I calmed her down and got back to the business of reading stories. Normally I read two or three stories and then put her in her crib. This time, Jadzia was boss, jumping out of bed to pick another book sometimes when I was in the middle of reading one. I read almost every book in her book bin, and read several of them twice.
By the end, I was reading each book EXTRA SLOWLY, like a robot running out of batteries, and she was sucking her thumb and jumping out of bed less often. When she looked dozey enough, I shut the light and started singing "Hush little baby", just like I do every night.
I sang it lying down.
I sang it standing up.
I sang it while sitting on the floor.
Jadzia kept almost sort of pretending to sleep, then waking up grinning at me. Finally, two hours after I began the process, she fell asleep sideways on the bed, which still left enough space for me to lie beside her. It's a big bed for a little girl.
She slept all night, all the way to nine. Her brother woke up at 5 am because he "needed" someone to sleep with him.
Thursday, February 03, 2011
Creative Arts Awards
Well I'm back from the Creative Burlington First Annual Arts Appreciation Awards. Apparently the even will be shown on Cogeco Cable at some time in the future, so those of you who couldn't afford the $65 to attend can curl up on the couch and watch the event. Alas, the "light fare" has all been eaten, so no deep fried scallops, peppers, or spring rolls for you (unless you cook your own to make your viewing experience more authentic).
If an evening of community television isn't your style, you could skip ahead to the most important part of the night, the literary arts award. Watch the video below(ahem, technical difficulties have prevented me from posting the video below just yet)
Congratulations to my Mom, Sylvia McNicoll, for winning the award. The most diserving person definitely won. Mom is a highly accomplished author with twenty-eight or more books published. I am an über-procrastinator with zero books published. The third finalist, Bobbie, is a very friendly woman who smiles a lot.
Highlights:
Mom and I cornered the mayor at the reception and chatted at him. It's not every day you get to make awkward small talk with the leader of your city.
All the finalists, myself included, got certificates. This is because there really are no winners and losers and even the non-awards-recipients should get something. Mine is going in my rah-rah for me binder.
I was totally embarrassed to see my video interview. Even when other interviews were being shown, I was mortified because I knew I was next. Everyone said I did okay though. (You can judge for yourself when I get that gosh darn video posted).
We arranged for all the literary artists to sit at the same table. Bobbie brought some of her friends who all seemed nice, one of them even had pinky red hair. It was fun to have a literary table. And even though Bobbie and I didn't receive the award, we got to touch it because we were sitting with my Mom. We all agreed that it should say "Literary Artist of the Year" on it, instead of ricipient of whatever.
Thank you to Natalie for watching the kids and putting them to bed. Love you babe.
If an evening of community television isn't your style, you could skip ahead to the most important part of the night, the literary arts award. Watch the video below
Congratulations to my Mom, Sylvia McNicoll, for winning the award. The most diserving person definitely won. Mom is a highly accomplished author with twenty-eight or more books published. I am an über-procrastinator with zero books published. The third finalist, Bobbie, is a very friendly woman who smiles a lot.
Highlights:
Mom and I cornered the mayor at the reception and chatted at him. It's not every day you get to make awkward small talk with the leader of your city.
All the finalists, myself included, got certificates. This is because there really are no winners and losers and even the non-awards-recipients should get something. Mine is going in my rah-rah for me binder.
I was totally embarrassed to see my video interview. Even when other interviews were being shown, I was mortified because I knew I was next. Everyone said I did okay though. (You can judge for yourself when I get that gosh darn video posted).
We arranged for all the literary artists to sit at the same table. Bobbie brought some of her friends who all seemed nice, one of them even had pinky red hair. It was fun to have a literary table. And even though Bobbie and I didn't receive the award, we got to touch it because we were sitting with my Mom. We all agreed that it should say "Literary Artist of the Year" on it, instead of ricipient of whatever.
Thank you to Natalie for watching the kids and putting them to bed. Love you babe.
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
Sunday, January 23, 2011
Interviewing for my Oscar Moment
For those of you who are wondering, I still don't know who won Creative Burlington's illustrious award for literary artist of the year. I'll find out on February 3rd. In the meantime, they video interviewed me. The idea is for them to have a nifty video for each of the finalists so they can be introduced Oscar-style at the fancy awards night.
So a few days before my interview, I got a tickle in my throat. Then William got sick too and spent three days on the couch watching tv and refusing to eat anything (he also vomited each day at precisely 6 o'clock). It's my own fault really. When a friend of mine (hi Natalie) came to my door and told me her kids were all snotty but could she please bring them in to play anyway, I totally let her come in and spread her germies. Well I learned my lesson!
Anyway, yesterday I went with my Mom to the Creative Burlington office (a tiny building on Lakeshore) to have our interviews taped. By this time I had a phlegmy cough, froggy voice, and was feeling slightly nauseous. The lady who greeted me asked if I was "one of them or just along for the ride." I thought to myself, if I she doesn't know me, I must not be the winner. I should have said something witty and clever, but instead I whined "I'm one of them" like a grade-school student being forced to play dodgeball.
My Mom went first. I watched her being filmed and she answered all the questions and looked and sounded very professional. Next it was my turn. My Mom left so I wouldn't be nervous. Sitting in the chair was way different than watching my Mom sit in the chair. All the lights were on me, and each light was as bright as the sun. I squinted for a few minutes then one of the video people "Sarah" gave me a mic to put on. I had to feed a wire up under my shirt, and snap a battery pack to my butt.
I won't repeat the questions and answers because I'm sure you're all going to spend $65 to see the awards show and will see the finished video then. I will say that I managed to get through it all without coughing. Huzzah! At the end of the interview I read some of my work, so they could splice that in too. We were told to prepare a minute of work, which is not quite a page of text. When you're writing a novel, even one as short as mine, one page is nothing. But I chose a scene that would knock your socks off. I hope the end product isn't too embarrassing.
I'm always sick when I have to be on camera. I had a cold when I did this thing too, but everyone said I was fabulous anyway.
Anyway, I already won something: an Arts Matter T-shirt.
So a few days before my interview, I got a tickle in my throat. Then William got sick too and spent three days on the couch watching tv and refusing to eat anything (he also vomited each day at precisely 6 o'clock). It's my own fault really. When a friend of mine (hi Natalie) came to my door and told me her kids were all snotty but could she please bring them in to play anyway, I totally let her come in and spread her germies. Well I learned my lesson!
Anyway, yesterday I went with my Mom to the Creative Burlington office (a tiny building on Lakeshore) to have our interviews taped. By this time I had a phlegmy cough, froggy voice, and was feeling slightly nauseous. The lady who greeted me asked if I was "one of them or just along for the ride." I thought to myself, if I she doesn't know me, I must not be the winner. I should have said something witty and clever, but instead I whined "I'm one of them" like a grade-school student being forced to play dodgeball.
My Mom went first. I watched her being filmed and she answered all the questions and looked and sounded very professional. Next it was my turn. My Mom left so I wouldn't be nervous. Sitting in the chair was way different than watching my Mom sit in the chair. All the lights were on me, and each light was as bright as the sun. I squinted for a few minutes then one of the video people "Sarah" gave me a mic to put on. I had to feed a wire up under my shirt, and snap a battery pack to my butt.
I won't repeat the questions and answers because I'm sure you're all going to spend $65 to see the awards show and will see the finished video then. I will say that I managed to get through it all without coughing. Huzzah! At the end of the interview I read some of my work, so they could splice that in too. We were told to prepare a minute of work, which is not quite a page of text. When you're writing a novel, even one as short as mine, one page is nothing. But I chose a scene that would knock your socks off. I hope the end product isn't too embarrassing.
I'm always sick when I have to be on camera. I had a cold when I did this thing too, but everyone said I was fabulous anyway.
Anyway, I already won something: an Arts Matter T-shirt.
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
Winter wonderland
This morning I awoke to a fresh heap of powder all over everything. Now I try to get up at seven every morning and do a little outdoor exercise, usually walking since my bike was stolen and winter arrived. But today I decided to be extra productive and shovel the driveway.
Most of the time we just leave the driveway as is and drive our SUVs over whatever hardened mountains of ice result. A couple of years ago the mail man refused to deliver our mail because our driveway was too treacherous. Through rain, snow, sleet or hail my butt! Anyway, me shoveling is such an event that my husband snapped some paparazzi-style photos of me to commemorate the occassion.
Check out my giant he-man shovel!
Anyway, being outside in the snow reminded me that playing in the snow is a part of childhood that we've been doing far too little of this season. So I put "play in the snow with kids" on my to-do list and after breakfast I got them ready.
William, Jadzia and I had a great time frollicking in the mounds of powder my shoveling created. Well, William and I had fun anyway. Jadzia, who can barely stand in her boots and snowpants let alone walk, mostly just sat in the snow and glared and me.
The white stuff was too powdery for a snowman, or even a snow ball fight (though we did try). Instead I dragged the children in a toboggan to the nearby school (which has a wicked hill, tame enough for my kids but not so slow the adult gets bored). Jadzia giggled the first time down the hill but shortly after began to get weepy. I convinced William to go home by promising hot chocolate and declared our winter outting a success.
Except I ran out of milk and had to make the hot chocolates partially with water, blech. Luckily they had just enough milk in them to be tolerable.
Most of the time we just leave the driveway as is and drive our SUVs over whatever hardened mountains of ice result. A couple of years ago the mail man refused to deliver our mail because our driveway was too treacherous. Through rain, snow, sleet or hail my butt! Anyway, me shoveling is such an event that my husband snapped some paparazzi-style photos of me to commemorate the occassion.
Anyway, being outside in the snow reminded me that playing in the snow is a part of childhood that we've been doing far too little of this season. So I put "play in the snow with kids" on my to-do list and after breakfast I got them ready.
William, Jadzia and I had a great time frollicking in the mounds of powder my shoveling created. Well, William and I had fun anyway. Jadzia, who can barely stand in her boots and snowpants let alone walk, mostly just sat in the snow and glared and me.
The white stuff was too powdery for a snowman, or even a snow ball fight (though we did try). Instead I dragged the children in a toboggan to the nearby school (which has a wicked hill, tame enough for my kids but not so slow the adult gets bored). Jadzia giggled the first time down the hill but shortly after began to get weepy. I convinced William to go home by promising hot chocolate and declared our winter outting a success.
Except I ran out of milk and had to make the hot chocolates partially with water, blech. Luckily they had just enough milk in them to be tolerable.
Monday, January 10, 2011
Dancing Washing Machines and Productivity
So my Mom took William out tobogganing with my nephew, and Jadzia napped (still is napping), so I had some time to myself. I had high hopes of being extra productive, but I only had enough time to put in a load of laundry before they came home. And I'm not one of those people who separates her lights and darks either. If it all turns out grey, so be it. Life is too short.
Turns out I forgot that William's comforter was in the washing machine, with puke on it from his bout of illness on Saturday night. I stuffed an entire load of laundry on top of that, just squished it in over capacity. Last time I tried this the load was so unbalanced that my washer had its own private dance party. It's not doing that now, but it might start to boogie down at the spin cycle. I'm wearing one of my summer shirts today, the one that looks nice the moment I put it on, then starts riding up and showing my stretch-marked belly. Hence, laundry needed to be done.
I already finished my 500 words today, so I'm feeling pretty good about myself. I'm a writer, not a housewife after all.
Spin cycle! I can hear the dance party starting now.
Turns out I forgot that William's comforter was in the washing machine, with puke on it from his bout of illness on Saturday night. I stuffed an entire load of laundry on top of that, just squished it in over capacity. Last time I tried this the load was so unbalanced that my washer had its own private dance party. It's not doing that now, but it might start to boogie down at the spin cycle. I'm wearing one of my summer shirts today, the one that looks nice the moment I put it on, then starts riding up and showing my stretch-marked belly. Hence, laundry needed to be done.
I already finished my 500 words today, so I'm feeling pretty good about myself. I'm a writer, not a housewife after all.
Spin cycle! I can hear the dance party starting now.
Saturday, January 08, 2011
500 words a day
So I've been trying to be more productive with writing. I'm committed to making a career out of being a science fiction author. The book I'm working on now I wrote a first draft of when I was about nineteen, the one I plan on finishing next I began shortly afterwards. I did the math, at 500 words a day, I can write 50 000 words (about the length of my novel) in 4 months. Why has it taken me over a decade?
Oh I did some other stuff in between, finished university, got married, had two kids. I also logged a lot of hours of Tetris, Wii, Farmville, Farm Frenzy, and whatever else happened to be my game of the week. Occasionally I did slightly more productive things. I painted, I made flash cartoons, I blogged, I wrote for Today's Parent Toronto (thank you, mom). For a while I wanted to work for a magazine, but ideas for articles don't come to me the way ideas for science fiction stories do. I sent one query, which I wrote in magazine writing class. It was kindly rejected.
I now have real excuses. Adorable excuses named William and Jadzia, who demand my attention before I can complete a sentence. As I was writing this post, William came to me crying because he had somehow put a chair on his toe. Jadzia is sitting on my lap right now colouring. There are pen marks all over her arms and mine. I no longer have long stretches of uninterrupted time to myself. I squandered those in my youth. I think my mother tried to warn me. She has 28 books published. I'd be happy with one or two.
I'm more committed now than I have ever been. My book will be done by February 4th. It's good enough to be published and I won't give up until it is. And I won't stop writing, I will finish this book and the next and the next. I will outline and plan. I will sell. I will be so ambitious and obnoxious that you won't recognize me. I am talented. I'm no longer going to sheepishly pretend that I'm not. I'm no longer going to be so afraid of success that I won't even try.
BTW: To my friends and family: after February 4th, be on my case. I recognize that selling the book will be the hard part, and I'll need lots of encouragement to stay on track. Thanks.
Oh I did some other stuff in between, finished university, got married, had two kids. I also logged a lot of hours of Tetris, Wii, Farmville, Farm Frenzy, and whatever else happened to be my game of the week. Occasionally I did slightly more productive things. I painted, I made flash cartoons, I blogged, I wrote for Today's Parent Toronto (thank you, mom). For a while I wanted to work for a magazine, but ideas for articles don't come to me the way ideas for science fiction stories do. I sent one query, which I wrote in magazine writing class. It was kindly rejected.
I now have real excuses. Adorable excuses named William and Jadzia, who demand my attention before I can complete a sentence. As I was writing this post, William came to me crying because he had somehow put a chair on his toe. Jadzia is sitting on my lap right now colouring. There are pen marks all over her arms and mine. I no longer have long stretches of uninterrupted time to myself. I squandered those in my youth. I think my mother tried to warn me. She has 28 books published. I'd be happy with one or two.
I'm more committed now than I have ever been. My book will be done by February 4th. It's good enough to be published and I won't give up until it is. And I won't stop writing, I will finish this book and the next and the next. I will outline and plan. I will sell. I will be so ambitious and obnoxious that you won't recognize me. I am talented. I'm no longer going to sheepishly pretend that I'm not. I'm no longer going to be so afraid of success that I won't even try.
BTW: To my friends and family: after February 4th, be on my case. I recognize that selling the book will be the hard part, and I'll need lots of encouragement to stay on track. Thanks.
Sunday, January 02, 2011
New Year's FAQs
I'd like to take this opportunity to answer some frequently asked questions about my Super Happy New Year's. At least, I think these questions would be frequently asked if I were one of those popular bloggers who got e-mails with questions from time to time. If you have any other questions that you frequently ask in your head, please comment below. I will do my best to answer each one individually (but you know, I'm so swamped with comments I may not be able to.
Question #1: How did you celebrate your New Year's?
Our New Year's usually involves sitting around with my husband possibly watching the ball drop on Global (because for some odd reason we don't get Citytv). This year (or rather, last year) I decided to have a party instead. I invited all my Mommy friends and their families, some of whom showed up. The goal was to relive my party days, when New Year's Eve meant drinking with friends. And we succeeded, sort of. The last guest left at 11 pm, because over-tired children tend to be less well behaved than well-rested children. Who knew? Anyway, William did make it to midnight (he saved his meltdowns for the next day). We watched the ball drop in Niagara Falls (on Global). The Barenaked Ladies sang Auld Lang Syne. Also everyone brought snacks, so we had our New Year's Day breakfast and lunch covered. Thanks guys.
Question #2: Have you made any New Year's resolutions?
I actually make resolutions throughout the year, so New Year's isn't special to me in that way. Normally my resolutions involve writing more and playing computer and video games less. This is tough because I got Mario Galaxy 2 in my stocking. Also there's literally an infinite amount of online games I can access using the same tool I use to write. It's like storing your heroine in the same drawer as the stuff that helps you not take heroine (I have no idea what that stuff might be, since I've never been a drug addict, so that analogy didn't work as well as I thought it would). But I do have ammunition. This year, my writing group friends and I are taking an online course called Defeating Self-Defeating Behaviours (aka how not to procrastinate 101). The first lecture had, among other things, some stuff about how sleep is good. So at 12:30 am I was sitting at my desk, reading about how sleep will help you loose weight, be more productive, etc. Now I'm trying to go to bed at 11 pm and get up at 7am. That's been going okay. I'm still playing lots of games, but I'm sure the second lecture will help me out with that once I get around to reading it.
Question #3: What is your favourite Star Trek movie?
Ever since I was a kid, my favourite Star Trek movie has always been Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home. In it, Captain Kirk and his friends have to go back in time to get some humpback whales (they are extinct in the 23rd century). The result is a ridiculous 80s comedy in which Spock jumps into a tank in a cetacean museum to mind-meld with a whale. Gold! The moral of course is that we should save the whales, because you never know when they are going to stop an alien probe from destroying the planet. Okay, nobody has asked me this question, but Adam recently bought Star Trek IV on blu-ray for only $7.00!!!! Score!
Edit:
Question #3 (From an anonymous comment below): If you found yourself on the sinking Titanic, what would be your Survival strategy?
I probably got to the Titanic using some kind of time machine, in which case I would prepare myself before the trip by appearing to be insanely wealthy. That way I would be let on the life boats with the first class passengers. If I had no preparation (ie: I fell through a random time portal, on the way to the grocery store) I would dazzle the captain with whatever futuristic technology I had on me (iPod, digital watch, disposible diaper, etc) so he would believe that I am from the future/an alien and do whatever I say. Then I would have him turn the ship away from the icebergs and sail safely to a tropical island. Failing that, I would find a giant piece of floating debris and hang out on it until help arrives.
Question #4 : If you could be the leader of a religion who would you be?
As an atheist, I really have no desire to be the leader of a religion, but if I had to choose one I would have to go with the Pope. He's got power. He's got cool hats. He's got a bulletproof limo (such faith!). I'd have to be a man, though, which is annoying because I enjoy my breasts and vagina.
Question #1: How did you celebrate your New Year's?
Our New Year's usually involves sitting around with my husband possibly watching the ball drop on Global (because for some odd reason we don't get Citytv). This year (or rather, last year) I decided to have a party instead. I invited all my Mommy friends and their families, some of whom showed up. The goal was to relive my party days, when New Year's Eve meant drinking with friends. And we succeeded, sort of. The last guest left at 11 pm, because over-tired children tend to be less well behaved than well-rested children. Who knew? Anyway, William did make it to midnight (he saved his meltdowns for the next day). We watched the ball drop in Niagara Falls (on Global). The Barenaked Ladies sang Auld Lang Syne. Also everyone brought snacks, so we had our New Year's Day breakfast and lunch covered. Thanks guys.
Question #2: Have you made any New Year's resolutions?
I actually make resolutions throughout the year, so New Year's isn't special to me in that way. Normally my resolutions involve writing more and playing computer and video games less. This is tough because I got Mario Galaxy 2 in my stocking. Also there's literally an infinite amount of online games I can access using the same tool I use to write. It's like storing your heroine in the same drawer as the stuff that helps you not take heroine (I have no idea what that stuff might be, since I've never been a drug addict, so that analogy didn't work as well as I thought it would). But I do have ammunition. This year, my writing group friends and I are taking an online course called Defeating Self-Defeating Behaviours (aka how not to procrastinate 101). The first lecture had, among other things, some stuff about how sleep is good. So at 12:30 am I was sitting at my desk, reading about how sleep will help you loose weight, be more productive, etc. Now I'm trying to go to bed at 11 pm and get up at 7am. That's been going okay. I'm still playing lots of games, but I'm sure the second lecture will help me out with that once I get around to reading it.
Question #3: What is your favourite Star Trek movie?
Ever since I was a kid, my favourite Star Trek movie has always been Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home. In it, Captain Kirk and his friends have to go back in time to get some humpback whales (they are extinct in the 23rd century). The result is a ridiculous 80s comedy in which Spock jumps into a tank in a cetacean museum to mind-meld with a whale. Gold! The moral of course is that we should save the whales, because you never know when they are going to stop an alien probe from destroying the planet. Okay, nobody has asked me this question, but Adam recently bought Star Trek IV on blu-ray for only $7.00!!!! Score!
Edit:
Question #3 (From an anonymous comment below): If you found yourself on the sinking Titanic, what would be your Survival strategy?
I probably got to the Titanic using some kind of time machine, in which case I would prepare myself before the trip by appearing to be insanely wealthy. That way I would be let on the life boats with the first class passengers. If I had no preparation (ie: I fell through a random time portal, on the way to the grocery store) I would dazzle the captain with whatever futuristic technology I had on me (iPod, digital watch, disposible diaper, etc) so he would believe that I am from the future/an alien and do whatever I say. Then I would have him turn the ship away from the icebergs and sail safely to a tropical island. Failing that, I would find a giant piece of floating debris and hang out on it until help arrives.
Question #4 : If you could be the leader of a religion who would you be?
As an atheist, I really have no desire to be the leader of a religion, but if I had to choose one I would have to go with the Pope. He's got power. He's got cool hats. He's got a bulletproof limo (such faith!). I'd have to be a man, though, which is annoying because I enjoy my breasts and vagina.
Sunday, December 26, 2010
William's Hotwheels Track
Two blogs in one day? Consider this a bonus, an epilogue if you will. Some moments are meant to be shared.
Christmas Moments
Jadzia loved the underwear she got from my parents. Sure she had toys to play with, but who needs them when you can sort and stack your big girl briefs and fill and empty a little gift bag over and over.
There's nothing quite like watching babies opening presents. Violet's intense expression while tearing the wrapping was priceless. The presents inside the paper weren't nearly as fascinating.
William got a hotwheels track made for colour-change cars which involves a skull head with sponge brain, a little squirt gun to spray the cars, and several vats of water for the cars to fall in/ drive through. He literally played with it all night. My Mom's table was so soaked that a small waterfall was gushing off the tablecloth onto the floor.
I should mention my Mom's Christmas log. I look forward to this chocolately monstrousity all year and it never disappoints. She also makes sticky toffee pudding, which is well received, but I find the caramel just gets in the way of the true meaning of Christmas: chocolate! This year, my mom had eight Lindor bunnies to be Santa's reindeer. Unfortunately, Jadzia snuck into the kitchen and quietly ate them all before they could decorate anything.
At 8 o'clock Christmas eve, Future Shop and Best Buy officially begin their Boxing Day sales and the whole family gathered around Dad's laptop to watch him attempt to buy an e-reader. Eventually Jadzia convinced him to watch Elmo videos instead. They also watched the video of Jadzia doing knock-knock jokes.
At the end of the night, William desperately wanted to have a bath to try out his new hotwheels bath toy. He had a gigantic freak out when we told him it was too late (it was ten o'clock). Luckily, it was Adam's turn to but him to bed. According to Adam, William crashed immediately after his good night hug.
Jadzia's favourite toys Christmas morning were the Pez dispensers from the stockings. Jessie for Jadzia, Buzz Lightyear for William, and Snow White for me. Jadzia ate the two packages of Pez that came with hers and then ate half of mine.
There was a Christmas present under the tree for Adam that I did not purchase. Proof of the existence of Santa Claus? Anyway Adam took his giant remote control big wheel truck out in the snow with William to try it out. They said it worked great, but the batteries didn't last long in the cold.
The whole family enjoyed playing with William's new lego set. While Adam and I searched through the big bucket of parts to find tiny, highly specialized, pieces to build a fire truck and police station, the kids mostly enjoyed the sound of the pieces in the box. Jadzia fished out a dozen tiny translucent coloured circles and carried them around the house.
Moments after I got Jadzia dressed to go to my in-laws, she got into Adam's Toblerone bar. She walked up to Adam, hands covered in chocolate, her tiny little bite-marks all over the large chunk in her hand.
Adam: "What the...."
Jadzia: "Chocolate!"
Miraculously, none got on her dress.
At my in-law's house, Jadzia loved eating her borscht, which is a delicious purple soup made from beets. (I like it too).
William got a fairly elaborate robot track, from my in-laws. My son is a little engineer and was able to figure out how everything works in only a few minutes (about as long as it takes me to figure it out). The first robot kicks the car, launches it into the claw-launcher, causing the next car to speed towards the giant robot, who punches the building twice, once quickly and a second time with a slow-moving spring-loaded arm. One car sails out of the building toward the end of the track and the other launches straight at the giant robot, breaking him in half!
There's nothing quite like watching babies opening presents. Violet's intense expression while tearing the wrapping was priceless. The presents inside the paper weren't nearly as fascinating.
William got a hotwheels track made for colour-change cars which involves a skull head with sponge brain, a little squirt gun to spray the cars, and several vats of water for the cars to fall in/ drive through. He literally played with it all night. My Mom's table was so soaked that a small waterfall was gushing off the tablecloth onto the floor.
I should mention my Mom's Christmas log. I look forward to this chocolately monstrousity all year and it never disappoints. She also makes sticky toffee pudding, which is well received, but I find the caramel just gets in the way of the true meaning of Christmas: chocolate! This year, my mom had eight Lindor bunnies to be Santa's reindeer. Unfortunately, Jadzia snuck into the kitchen and quietly ate them all before they could decorate anything.
At 8 o'clock Christmas eve, Future Shop and Best Buy officially begin their Boxing Day sales and the whole family gathered around Dad's laptop to watch him attempt to buy an e-reader. Eventually Jadzia convinced him to watch Elmo videos instead. They also watched the video of Jadzia doing knock-knock jokes.
At the end of the night, William desperately wanted to have a bath to try out his new hotwheels bath toy. He had a gigantic freak out when we told him it was too late (it was ten o'clock). Luckily, it was Adam's turn to but him to bed. According to Adam, William crashed immediately after his good night hug.
Jadzia's favourite toys Christmas morning were the Pez dispensers from the stockings. Jessie for Jadzia, Buzz Lightyear for William, and Snow White for me. Jadzia ate the two packages of Pez that came with hers and then ate half of mine.
There was a Christmas present under the tree for Adam that I did not purchase. Proof of the existence of Santa Claus? Anyway Adam took his giant remote control big wheel truck out in the snow with William to try it out. They said it worked great, but the batteries didn't last long in the cold.
The whole family enjoyed playing with William's new lego set. While Adam and I searched through the big bucket of parts to find tiny, highly specialized, pieces to build a fire truck and police station, the kids mostly enjoyed the sound of the pieces in the box. Jadzia fished out a dozen tiny translucent coloured circles and carried them around the house.
Moments after I got Jadzia dressed to go to my in-laws, she got into Adam's Toblerone bar. She walked up to Adam, hands covered in chocolate, her tiny little bite-marks all over the large chunk in her hand.
Adam: "What the...."
Jadzia: "Chocolate!"
Miraculously, none got on her dress.
At my in-law's house, Jadzia loved eating her borscht, which is a delicious purple soup made from beets. (I like it too).
William got a fairly elaborate robot track, from my in-laws. My son is a little engineer and was able to figure out how everything works in only a few minutes (about as long as it takes me to figure it out). The first robot kicks the car, launches it into the claw-launcher, causing the next car to speed towards the giant robot, who punches the building twice, once quickly and a second time with a slow-moving spring-loaded arm. One car sails out of the building toward the end of the track and the other launches straight at the giant robot, breaking him in half!
Of course it was also Jadzia's birthday, so she got a tiny icecream cake with candles to blow out. She gets so excited at the whole Happy-Birthday-singing candle-blowing ritual, whether it's her birthday or not.
Wednesday, December 22, 2010
First Skate of the Season
My parents bought the kids new skates for Jadzia's birthday, so today I decided to try them out. Of course, since my daughter has never been skating before, I didn't have a proper skating helmet for her. I invited my friend Cara along, whose daughter did not have skates. So we went off on separate shopping trips before meeting at Spencer Smith Park, which has a nice free outdoor rink. I wanted to make a quick stop and get there before the thaw, so I made sure to tell the kids, "We're just going in to get a helmet. We are not looking at the toys, okay?"
William seemed to go along with this, until the route to the sporting goods section took us by a rack of hotwheels cars. He then began a tantrum which lasted through trying on helmets, a decent sized line at the cash register, and the five minute drive to the lakeshore. In the end the only helmet that I could possibly get for Jadzia was identical to the one William already has (it's 2010 and girl's hockey equipment is still scarce). William forgot all about the injustice of not adding to his hotwheels collection soon after he saw his friend Leyla. Their screams of delight shattered eardrums for miles around.
When children outnumber the adults, skating is a lot of excercise. First, I held Jadzia up and skated her along for a short distance, then she held on to the wall/sat on the wall/sat on the ice while I skated back for William. Next I skated along with William, who seemed to have forgotten ninety percent of the skating skills he learned last year. Then I repeated the process, skating with Jadzia, then William, then Jadzia, then William. Considering my children are considerably shorter than me, my back was not enjoying this process. We did one lap as a group, then Cara let me skate once around by myself.
Next we enjoyed some hot chocolate and an overly greasy lunch at the nearby cafe. The kids played in the playground until we were all exhausted. We vowed to go skating again, and often. I love winter!
Tuesday, December 21, 2010
Knock-Knock Jokes with Jadzia
This one had to go on video.
And here's my favourite Elmo video. I guess I just love to see him tortured.
And here's my favourite Elmo video. I guess I just love to see him tortured.
Sunday, December 19, 2010
Basically Sophisticated
I've just been informed that google can now filter results by reading level. As you know, I'm a very sophistercated writer and google will probably list me as highly advanced.
Hmmmn. Well, I'm going to go ahead and take that as a compliment.
Well, if you like writing that's accessible to the masses, you still have time (until tommorrow) to vote for me. Be warned, the Creative Burlington site is written at the intermediate level.
Monday, December 13, 2010
Our Latest Video
I am just way too lazy to blog about our amazing and busy weekend, so William helped me make a video about it. He chose the title, which isn't all that relevant, but should get us some extra hits from the hotwheels-obsessed 4-year-old demographic.
Pictures to come (maybe).
Pictures to come (maybe).
Saturday, December 11, 2010
Jadzia's Birthday Party!
Since my poor daughter chose to be born on Christmas Day, she is doomed to never have her birthday celebration on the week of her birthday like a normal person. So instead, we had her party today. We had lots of fun. Well I did. There were friends and presents and cake and brie and everything. Here are some pics and a video so you can feel like you were there:
This Fisher Price Dog was Jadzia's first gift, from her friend Leyla who had to leave early (totally forgot to give her a loot bag). Jadzia loved this dog since she saw one at the Fisher Price media day at Ontario Place in the summer and I've looked for it but never found it. It's great to have friends who are good shoppers. Actually Jadzia loved all her presents. But was a bit overwhelmed at the quantity.
Notice how the kids look like they are sitting waiting patiently for Jadzia to open her present? Not so! I was holding children off left and right so that Jadzia could at least be the first to touch her gifts. At times her friends were a little too eager to "help" her unwrap, and to "share" the gifts once they were open.
I'd like to say for a record that that cake is an ice cream cake that I made myself. I figured that since my daughter likes ice cream better than cake, I should make it special for her birthday. Basically it's two layers of ice cream with oreo cookie crumbs and chocolate sauce in the middle, and whipped cream icing. Jadzia ate the ice cream, leaving the layer of cookie crumbs untouched.
Now sing along to the Birthday Song:
Thursday, December 09, 2010
Creative Burlington Posts More Stuff
Creative Burlington now has samples of our work linked on the bio page. If you just want to read mine, here's a direct link. I must warn you that the indents and line breaks are all wonky. Honestly it looked pretty when I sent it to them. And please, if you haven't already, VOTE FOR ME. If facebook is a good indication, my Mom has more friends than I do and is sure to steal my prize. I just bought a new stove and I could really use the money.
Now if anyone knows of a place that will entertain both kids and husbands this morning, please help me out with that too.
EDIT: It looks like Creative Burlington no longer requires you to put in your e-mail address to vote. So those of you who have already voted can vote again! (Not that I would endorse cheating, but it is for a good cause: ME!)
Now if anyone knows of a place that will entertain both kids and husbands this morning, please help me out with that too.
EDIT: It looks like Creative Burlington no longer requires you to put in your e-mail address to vote. So those of you who have already voted can vote again! (Not that I would endorse cheating, but it is for a good cause: ME!)
Wednesday, December 08, 2010
The kids go to the dentist
I'd like to begin by saying how proud I am of my son for being so good at the dentist. He didn't want to go at first, but that was mostly because he was too busy surfing hotwheels videos on youtube. Once we were there though, he played nicely in the waiting room, then opened his mouth really wide for the dentist, and even let them clean and floss his teeth. Jadzia was good too, but slightly less enthusiastic about opening her mouth, and her teeth were only counted, not cleaned. (Unless you count the little piece of broccoli the dentist found stuck in her teeth. How embarrassing!)
I must admit, I'm a little jealous of their experience. My trips to the dentist involve: freezing, poking with sharp instruments, blood, and a lecture about flossing. Their trip involved: playing with a plush horse (with creepily human teeth), having their teeth counted, brushing with grape flavoured toothpaste, and free toys. I still got the lecture about flossing, though. Apparently, once a day I'm actually supposed to lay William down and floss his molars. Um....right.
Also William's teeth are very close together, which means when his adult teeth come in they'll be all crowded and he'll need braces. And he has a "deep bite": his front teeth hide his bottom teeth when he bites down. I don't know how this with adversely affect his life, but it is apparently undesirable. Ka-ching!
When asked how he enjoyed the dentist, William exclaimed "It was fun!!"
Sunday, December 05, 2010
I'm up for an award (again)
And this time you can help me win! I submitted the first chapter of my book, tentatively entitled "wardroids" to Creative Arts Burlington for their first annual arts recognition awards. Unfortunately, there's nowhere where you can actually read my submission, or look at any of the other submissions in any of the categories. You'll just have to trust that it is as brilliant as this blog...and anything else you may have read of mine.
There are three nominees in the litery arts category: Jennifer Filipowicz (that's me), Bobbie Smith (some random person), and Sylvia McNicoll. That's right, Sylvia McNicoll. Ever since I was in her womb she's been trying to steal my thunder. This is sure to split the family and friend vote, leaving Bobbie poised to grab my prize!
Don't let it happen! Vote here. You can vote online or print out a ballot to send it (although why you would go to the trouble of finding a stamp when you're already at the website is completely baffling to me). There are also links to everyone's website, but ignore those and just trust that I'm the best. Don't bother with the other categories either, just type in your e-mail and click the little round button thing beside my name and click "vote." Yeah, it's pretty straight forward.
Edit: It looks like Creative Burlington has now put our bios up. And there's links to writing samples. Although my link just says "sample coming soon". I'm not sure why they didn't just put everything up at the same time, but it's their first year doing this so maybe next year they'll be more on the ball.
There are three nominees in the litery arts category: Jennifer Filipowicz (that's me), Bobbie Smith (some random person), and Sylvia McNicoll. That's right, Sylvia McNicoll. Ever since I was in her womb she's been trying to steal my thunder. This is sure to split the family and friend vote, leaving Bobbie poised to grab my prize!
Don't let it happen! Vote here. You can vote online or print out a ballot to send it (although why you would go to the trouble of finding a stamp when you're already at the website is completely baffling to me). There are also links to everyone's website, but ignore those and just trust that I'm the best. Don't bother with the other categories either, just type in your e-mail and click the little round button thing beside my name and click "vote." Yeah, it's pretty straight forward.
Edit: It looks like Creative Burlington has now put our bios up. And there's links to writing samples. Although my link just says "sample coming soon". I'm not sure why they didn't just put everything up at the same time, but it's their first year doing this so maybe next year they'll be more on the ball.
Thursday, December 02, 2010
Sunday, November 28, 2010
And this is why they get in free
We paid the extra ten bucks to see the chinese terracota empire exhibit. See back in the day, the big shots had themselves buried with hundreds of statues of servants, warriors, farm animals, etc to help them in the afterlife. Only now all the statues are in the museum, so somewhere out there some Emperors are saying to themselves "Dude! Where are all my chickens?"
William kept asking to go to the dinosaurs from the moment we got there. Jadzia, on the other hand, was interested in everything but by that I mean everything, including things that weren't necessarily exhibits. Luckily they had some reproductions that you could touch, and I had fun showing her those, even with William constantly whining "Let's just go see something else".
We spent most of the rest of our time in the children's area:
The highlight of the day (at least for the kids) was this stage Jadzia discoved in front of one of the video exhibits; great for dancing, jumping, and general goofiness. I leave you with this video of their performance:
Friday, November 26, 2010
Christmassy Activities
Since my Christmas tree is up now, I've been inspired to do more Christmassing things. This morning I got the kids into nice clothes and took them to see Santa. As we were entering the mall I noticed that Jadzia had somehow managed to get pomegranate juice on her dress, even though I had fed them while they were still in their undies and pull-ups. You can't see the stain in the picture, right guys?Santa asked William and Jadzia what they wanted for Christmas. William replied that he wanted Criss Cross Crash, his Hot Wheels toy request of the week. Jadzia, who I was surprised answered the question at all, replied "Doggies!" I only hope she doesn't mean a real one.
Jadzia started flipping out as soon as the candy canes ran out, but I'd promised William that we would stop at the Bulk Barn and get ingredients for a grahm cracker house. Unwilling to accept the convention of purchasing candy before you eat it, Jadzia had a meltdown in the middle of the store. I quickly grabbed the grahm crackers and icing mix, while William chose several candies for decoration.
After getting home and eating lunch, I was all gung ho to start the house construction. I built Jadzia's house (minus the decorations) while William attempted to spread icing on one cracker. William announced that he didn't want to build houses anymore and left the table. He returned when I offered to build his house so he could decorate it. By the time I was done, Jadzia had calapsed her house and I had to rebuild it for her. I showed William how to put icing on a candy so it would stick, but he refused to try it himself and instead instructed me on which candies to put where. In between following William's commands, I arranged peanut M&Ms on Jadzia's house vaguely in the shape of a Christmas tree, and tried to stick on the gummy worms faster than she was eating them.
Here are the results of our efforts:
Wednesday, November 24, 2010
Extra Children: The Sequel
Natalie's boys are here again. They'll be here over dinner today, which should be interesting due to a shortage of both chairs and dinner-enthusiastic children. I have no delusions that any of the boys will eat supper as William, Luke, and Patrick are currently eating the sandwiches Natalie brought (and it's only 3:30). Also Willliam never eats at dinner anyway.
Natalie has been gone about fifteen minutes and there's already been some hostility centering around William's Buzz Lightyear car that he got in California (and has recently resurfaced). Some of the conflict I presume was the result of low blood sugar. Hence, the sandwiches.
Tomorrow will be pay back time as I pawn my children off on Natalie so I can go to the dentist. It's my first appointment in a decade, which I thought was long enough to forget how much I really hate the dentist. It's not. I'm not afraid or anything; that would be silly. I just don't like when someone pokes at my gums with a pointy metal object and then claims it's my fault when they bleed. And we pay good money for this.
I'm hoping I can convince them to take off my permanent retainer. The secretary already tried to talk me out of it. Apparently as soon as the thing comes off my teeth will sproing out of alignment and I'll be as buck tooth as I was when I was ten. Instead, they'll cheerfully give me some floss threaders and encourage me to use them to torture myself every day, so that the torture in the dentist chair won't be so bad.
Mom/Auntie Jen duties I've performed since beginning this blog entry:
Edit: the boys won't be here for dinner after all. Their sister's parent-teacher interview was finished early. Both William and Luke were crying when Natalie walked in the door. Luke pushed William off a chair as his way of enforcing the "don't eat the cookie batter" guideline. I was hailed babysitter of the year.
Natalie has been gone about fifteen minutes and there's already been some hostility centering around William's Buzz Lightyear car that he got in California (and has recently resurfaced). Some of the conflict I presume was the result of low blood sugar. Hence, the sandwiches.
Tomorrow will be pay back time as I pawn my children off on Natalie so I can go to the dentist. It's my first appointment in a decade, which I thought was long enough to forget how much I really hate the dentist. It's not. I'm not afraid or anything; that would be silly. I just don't like when someone pokes at my gums with a pointy metal object and then claims it's my fault when they bleed. And we pay good money for this.
I'm hoping I can convince them to take off my permanent retainer. The secretary already tried to talk me out of it. Apparently as soon as the thing comes off my teeth will sproing out of alignment and I'll be as buck tooth as I was when I was ten. Instead, they'll cheerfully give me some floss threaders and encourage me to use them to torture myself every day, so that the torture in the dentist chair won't be so bad.
Mom/Auntie Jen duties I've performed since beginning this blog entry:
- Comforted Luke because Willliam "hurt him". I determined that this was another fight over the Buzz Lightyear car (even though we have a hundred similar hot wheels). Suggested to William that he really doesn't need to hold on to his car while he uses the computer.
- Moderated a disagreement between Luke and Patrick after Patrick claimed the chair that Luke was sitting on. Since we only have two child-sized computer chairs, I stacked some throw pillows for Luke. He seemed happy with that, though he stole the chair back at his earliest opportunity.
- Put the Buzz Lightyear car away after the boys continued to fight over it.
- Played blocks with Patrick.
- Played Elmo videos on my iPod for Jadzia.
- Changed Jadzia's poopy diaper.
- Changed Patrick's poopy diaper.
- Helped Luke on the potty.
- Helped Jadzia brush her teeth (at her request).
Edit: the boys won't be here for dinner after all. Their sister's parent-teacher interview was finished early. Both William and Luke were crying when Natalie walked in the door. Luke pushed William off a chair as his way of enforcing the "don't eat the cookie batter" guideline. I was hailed babysitter of the year.
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
Thank You Natalie!
Natalie cleaned and organized my living room. It looks awesome!!!! Check out the video.
Monday, November 22, 2010
Extra Children
Here's a video blog showing off the extra children I was watching today. BTW: Eat brie. It tastes like butter and cheese had a baby. Delicious!
Edit: For those of you who are so concerned. I lied when I said that I don't know where Natalie went. I know the details but it's none of your business. Mwah ha ha!
Also, Luke did not seriously injure himself, he just needed a wee cuddle.
Wednesday, November 17, 2010
The Miracle of Modern Slovenliness
I admit it, we're bad housekeepers. I like to cook, but have become quite skilled at ignoring the large stack of smelly pots and pans that appears as a result. Even when my husband and I do tackle the dishes and half-heartedly clean the kitchen, there's one place that we hate worst of all, one place where the stuck on food grime is unfaceable even when we're in a cleanly mood. That's right, the stove.
And yes, ladies and gentleman, that is really my stove in all its grimy glory. Yesterday my husband noticed that the clock on the stove was off. An inspection revealed that none of the digital controls were working. So, while we could still turn the dials to turn on the burners, the oven was unusable.
We grumbled about the inconvenience, but were secretly delighted. We have long blamed the coil-top for our slovenliness. After briefly considering calling a repair person, we headed to a nearby plaza saturated by range-selling retailers.
Being a gadget guy, Adam already knew about the latest jazzy stovetop technology: induction heating. If you haven't heard about it, allow me to dazzle and amaze you. Imagine if you could heat up a pot without heating up a stove, so that even gobs of orange bolognase would never bake on. Imagine if you never had to worry about little hands touching the burners, because they would only ever get slightly warm. Imagine if you accidentally left a container of margarine on a burner....and nothing melted! These things are possible as you can tell by this eggcellent stock image:
This miracle technology comes with a hefty pricetag and, though we knew it would fit our lifestyle perfectly, for less than half the price we could get a non-gadgety oven similar to the one that broke. Problem is, all other ovens looked the same to me. We knew we were gettting a flat top instead of a coil, but other than that none of them stood out over all others. Except, of course, for our friend the induction top.
We travelled across a rainy parking lot from FutureShop to Bad Boy and back again. We got their sales people to duel (not with swords, although that would have been cool). In the end we went with FutureShop. They had a better return policy, could get us our stove within a week, and were much lower on the sleeziness radar. Plus they gave us a free Blu-ray movie.
So we spent a million dollars that we don't have and went home clutching the most expensive DVD we've ever bought. I can't wait until my new toy comes on Friday!
We grumbled about the inconvenience, but were secretly delighted. We have long blamed the coil-top for our slovenliness. After briefly considering calling a repair person, we headed to a nearby plaza saturated by range-selling retailers.
Being a gadget guy, Adam already knew about the latest jazzy stovetop technology: induction heating. If you haven't heard about it, allow me to dazzle and amaze you. Imagine if you could heat up a pot without heating up a stove, so that even gobs of orange bolognase would never bake on. Imagine if you never had to worry about little hands touching the burners, because they would only ever get slightly warm. Imagine if you accidentally left a container of margarine on a burner....and nothing melted! These things are possible as you can tell by this eggcellent stock image:
This miracle technology comes with a hefty pricetag and, though we knew it would fit our lifestyle perfectly, for less than half the price we could get a non-gadgety oven similar to the one that broke. Problem is, all other ovens looked the same to me. We knew we were gettting a flat top instead of a coil, but other than that none of them stood out over all others. Except, of course, for our friend the induction top.
We travelled across a rainy parking lot from FutureShop to Bad Boy and back again. We got their sales people to duel (not with swords, although that would have been cool). In the end we went with FutureShop. They had a better return policy, could get us our stove within a week, and were much lower on the sleeziness radar. Plus they gave us a free Blu-ray movie.
So we spent a million dollars that we don't have and went home clutching the most expensive DVD we've ever bought. I can't wait until my new toy comes on Friday!
Monday, November 15, 2010
It's an honour just to be nominated
Here's another video blog entry. (What can I say? The webcam is still a novelty.)
Saturday, November 13, 2010
Super Happy Hairdo
Another video blog entry! I show off my new hairdo while William tells everyone what he wants from Santa.
'Tis the Season
This morning my facebook friends reminded me that Santa Claus was coming to the mall by helicopter. So we got the kids all ready and piled into the car, even though the moment we stepped outside it was fairly obvious that no helicopter would be flying today. Fog on top of fog.
We went anyway. There was a crowd of people gathered in the Zellers parking lot. Some random elves gave us foam red antlers and tiny candy canes. Jadzia was in the middle of a two-day tantrum, and she wanted to wear her antlers, didn't want to wear her antlers, wanted to be picked up, didn't want to be held, wanted hats and mits, didn't want hats and mits. She was momentarily appeased by the bagpipe band playing Christmas carols in kilts. William was more excited to see his friend Leyla than the big man in red.
Santa arrived by fire truck. Yawn. We stuck around because Santa was walking down the line shaking everyone's hand. Only when he got to our spot he just kept walking, skipping like ten little kids! I promised the William and Jadzia that we would come back another day to visit Santa when he wasn't so busy, but honestly I was feeling more disappointed than they were.
I had planned to grab some socks for William while we were there, so we made the mistake of going into the mall. Jadzia refused to be held but also wouldn't walk or do anything besides whine. William behaved long enough to pick out his socks. Before we left home we prepared him that we weren't going to buy any food or toys at the store. Of course as soon as we passed the candy aisle he suddenly became REALLY REALLY HUNGRY and desperately needed candy and a hotwheels car. He flipped out so bad I had to carry him out of the store kicking and screaming (literally, I'm not just using an expression here).
We were supposed to go out for lunch afterwards but instead we decided to cut out losses and head home. Ho. Ho. Ho.
Thank goodness for Karaoke tonight. I need it!
Wednesday, November 10, 2010
Happy Birthday to Me Video Blog Entry
Here's a totally pointless video that I made telling you all about my birthday presents. Today I went to Bronte Creek with some friends and we had a playdate/birthday party. I was going to mention that in the video, but I forgot. I also forgot to mention the photo-made-to-look-like-a-painting of Jadzia and William and I that Adam made for me. I know you're all interested in what a 31-year-old gets for her birthday, so check out the vid.
Also, this Saturday is Karaoke at St Louis bar and grill (in Burlington, on Appleby I think). Join us! (Since it's a public place, I can feel free to invite the entire internet). Karaoke starts at 10.
Thursday, November 04, 2010
How to cook a pumpkin
Every halloween we buy a pumpkin to carve. Every November, the pumpkin sits outside until it rots or is used in acts of vandelism by neighbourhood hoodlems. This year, I looked at our two jack-o-lanterns and thought, these are vegetables. I could cook these!
I consulted my health-guru friend Natalie about how to cook a pumpkin. She told me to cut it up and put it in the microwave and.... I forget the rest. Anyway, I got out my trusty serated knife and brought the Lion Jack-o-Lantern in from the front porch. I don't know how Adam managed to carve these things (well, actually I do, with a dremel tool) but they are super hard to cut super pumpkins. I couldn't get a dent in it with my weakling muscles and my trusty serated knife.
Then I got an idea. I would use the hedge trimmer, which is basically just a big serated knife only it's electric. The extention cord situation in our yard is designed to faciliate using power tools housed in the shed, so the cords run from the house, behind our hedges along the length of the back yard, then through a hole in the shed. I then plugged in another extension cord and ran it back up to the house from the shed. The end result reminding me very much of the laryngeal nerve on a giraffe.
After about a second and a half of power-tooling with the hedge trimmer it became clear that a) the trimmer was not designed to cut through something this big, and b) I would probably make a big mess and break something if I tried.
So I brought the lion back inside. I knew it wouldn't fit in my microwave as is, but if I removed one rack on the oven... huzzah! It fit! I set the oven to 350 degrees (universal temperature for anything you don't really know how to cook) and waited. I figured that it would be easy to cut once it was soft (you know, like a sweet potato).
After I had played transformers, surfed youtube, and wrote this blog entry up until this point, the house began to smell like pumpkin. I took the hot pumpkin out of the oven. I put it on the cool oven rack on the floor. My trusty knife redeemed itself by slicing easily through the shell. The good bits came off easily, using a process which involved the knife, barbecue tongs, and a large spoon. I declared it a success and put the other pumpkin in the oven.
Now I just have to figure out what to do with four mixing bowls full of pumpkin (two bowls from each jack-o-lantern if the second yields as much as the first). So far, I've pureed some and put it into single serving zip-locks for freezing. I also gave the kids each a small bowl of pumpkin with brown sugar and cinnamon in it. They apparently "liked it" but neither of them ate the whole thing (and they were tiny bowls). I now have the food processor processor going pureeing more and the second jack-o-lantern (a robot) in the oven.
Unfortunately I've never been a big fan of pumpkin pie. Recipes anyone?
I consulted my health-guru friend Natalie about how to cook a pumpkin. She told me to cut it up and put it in the microwave and.... I forget the rest. Anyway, I got out my trusty serated knife and brought the Lion Jack-o-Lantern in from the front porch. I don't know how Adam managed to carve these things (well, actually I do, with a dremel tool) but they are super hard to cut super pumpkins. I couldn't get a dent in it with my weakling muscles and my trusty serated knife.
Then I got an idea. I would use the hedge trimmer, which is basically just a big serated knife only it's electric. The extention cord situation in our yard is designed to faciliate using power tools housed in the shed, so the cords run from the house, behind our hedges along the length of the back yard, then through a hole in the shed. I then plugged in another extension cord and ran it back up to the house from the shed. The end result reminding me very much of the laryngeal nerve on a giraffe.
After about a second and a half of power-tooling with the hedge trimmer it became clear that a) the trimmer was not designed to cut through something this big, and b) I would probably make a big mess and break something if I tried.
So I brought the lion back inside. I knew it wouldn't fit in my microwave as is, but if I removed one rack on the oven... huzzah! It fit! I set the oven to 350 degrees (universal temperature for anything you don't really know how to cook) and waited. I figured that it would be easy to cut once it was soft (you know, like a sweet potato).
After I had played transformers, surfed youtube, and wrote this blog entry up until this point, the house began to smell like pumpkin. I took the hot pumpkin out of the oven. I put it on the cool oven rack on the floor. My trusty knife redeemed itself by slicing easily through the shell. The good bits came off easily, using a process which involved the knife, barbecue tongs, and a large spoon. I declared it a success and put the other pumpkin in the oven.
Now I just have to figure out what to do with four mixing bowls full of pumpkin (two bowls from each jack-o-lantern if the second yields as much as the first). So far, I've pureed some and put it into single serving zip-locks for freezing. I also gave the kids each a small bowl of pumpkin with brown sugar and cinnamon in it. They apparently "liked it" but neither of them ate the whole thing (and they were tiny bowls). I now have the food processor processor going pureeing more and the second jack-o-lantern (a robot) in the oven.
Unfortunately I've never been a big fan of pumpkin pie. Recipes anyone?
Wednesday, November 03, 2010
Halloween
So after all the excitement leading up to Halloween you'd think I'd bother to write a post about the big day. Well, here it is. Complete with two pictures which I stole off my husband's facebook:
I took some photos of them trick-or-treating but they were too dark to really capture the cuteness. Jadzia worked especially hard, climbing front step after front step in a skirt that went to just above her ankles. She managed to finangle extra candy out of a few people too. She just held out her hand and batted those big dark eyelashes, as if she just didn't understand that she could only have one. Worked every time.
We didn't get to a lot of trick-or-treating in because it was SO COLD. William not yet at the age that he wants to go candy-begging for hours regardless of the weather. We hadn't even made it to the corner before he said "How about we just go home and eat our candy?" Jadzia could have gone on for a few more kilometres I'm sure.
Happy November! (1 week until my birthday!)
We didn't get to a lot of trick-or-treating in because it was SO COLD. William not yet at the age that he wants to go candy-begging for hours regardless of the weather. We hadn't even made it to the corner before he said "How about we just go home and eat our candy?" Jadzia could have gone on for a few more kilometres I'm sure.
Happy November! (1 week until my birthday!)
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