Learning to Embrace Winter

Today is my first day off with the puppy around.  I have dreams of Christmas shopping, making Christmas cards and hauling out the decorations.  Realistically I know none of these things will necessarily happen but I choose to live in happy denial.
I am not generally a fan of all things winter.  I have a special dislike of being cold and have yet to find a coat (no matter how much money is spent on it) that will keep me warm when I'm out in the snow.  Usually I prefer to be inside watching my family enjoy snowball fights and sledding.  This year, we have a dog.  A dog who loves snow and cold.  In fact, he's been sleeping on the back deck (with snow accumulating on his fur) already this morning.  As I see it, my personal challenge is to learn to embrace the winter and get off my (warm) couch and get outside.  Starting today.  Wish me luck.

Angel of Black Friday

This year I ventured into the world of Black Friday shopping, Canadian style.  There were no stampedes or people getting trampled but there were some pretty good deals.  I spent a good hour in line in Aeropostale, which is mortifying to admit out loud let alone type in my blog.  While I tried to be patient in waiting in the bedazzled hoodie-lined aisles, I felt fortunate to be there on my own.  The woman behind me had a double stroller occupied by a 6 month old boy and a 15 month old girl.  And she was smiling.  Truly unbelievable.  I was so taken aback by her calm demeanor (which i couldn't pull off and i was there by myself) that I complimented her on how well she was doing.  She proceeded to tell me that she'd left three kids (all under 5) at home!  While my inside-my-head voice said, "yikes!", the polite side of me asked her about her kids.  The more I learned, the more I realized that I was standing in front of a modern day angel.  Of her five kids under five years of age, 3 were foster kids and two had been adopted after she had fostered them.  The kids that were with her were happy, she was happy and honestly, it was pretty inspiring.   Certainly not inspiring enough to have more kids or wait obscene amounts of time in a teen clothing store, but inspiring in a "there are still really good people in the world" sort of way.  I'll take it.

2 Days and Counting

Day two and we're all still standing.  In fact, it's been rather easy so far.  I know, I cringe as I type that too.  I am sure it will get more challenging but for now, we have seen nothing but a snuggly, somewhat playful, quick to learn, and loving pup.  Mind you, he is doing a fair bit of sleeping these days.  With only two accidents thus far, I feel like we've won the puppy lottery.
While I have tried to make sure Jim is the Alpha (he should be for at least one member of our family anyway, right?) I have come to realize that I am far too controlling to let him just be.  Maybe if we tried to curb my behaviour with a reinforcer like chocolate?

It's a Boy

Welcome Home Ridley!!

Breathe Deeply and Smile

I feel like I am back in the land of the healthy again.  What a long haul that was, and I suspect my bout of pneumonia wasn't even all that serious.  Time to focus on keeping my lungs healthy.  For the first time in my life, I have consistently relied on a puffer to allow me to breathe properly.  I have a new appreciation for all of those with asthma, that's for sure.
So much happening in the past week and so hard to watch it all from the sidelines.  DD #1 got cast as a lead in her school show (Miss Dorothy in Thoroughly Modern Millie), DD#2 stepped up and did her homework independently, and hubby made dinner and cleaned the kitchen every night without snarky comments on my part.  Again I am humbled by how much goodness there is in my life if I just stand still for a minute and appreciate it.

Be Grateful

It's been a crazy week around here.  Come to think of it, I think I start many of my posts that way.  Apparently my life is leaning toward crazy these days but all is good so I guess crazy is working for me.
I also do a truck load of reflecting which I suppose is a good thing.  In theory anyway.  Tuesday night my cold turned into something ugly and since Wednesday I have been sidelined with Pneumonia (A gift from DD#2 who had it late last week).  This has given me way too much time to reflect.  Left alone with my thoughts in a quiet home (as I type this I am aware that a quiet home is really a lovely thing and being alone it one, is a treasure.  what is my problem??) I have been obsessively reflecting on everything.  What a cyclone of nonsense it's become.  Clearly I need to return to work or, at the very least, find someone sane and rational to talk to.
Today I vow to reflect on something worthwhile.  On this remembrance day, I am thinking of my grampy who drove the truck that carried ammunition to the front lines.  He sacrificed so much for the comforts and freedoms I enjoy today.  I think about my mum who didn't meet her father until she was five years old, on a military airfield in the cold of late autumn.  I can't even begin to imagine the life my nanny led back at home, with a small child, hoping that the officer delivering telegrams wouldn't stop at her house.
We have so much to be grateful for.  We have been given so much.  This is worthwhile reflection.

Anne Taintor

I love Anne Taintor.  Love. Her.  Last night as I contemplated making dinner, this magnet popped into my mind.  Let's just say, cooking is not my first joy.

Einstein is my hero

“Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid.” 
― Albert Einstein




Someone I know posted this on facebook today and it made me stop and consider many things about dd#2.  As always, we are in the struggle for writing.  Clearly she is creative and has good ideas.  Getting them on paper is a whole different story. While my approach has been more along the lines of "fish climbing the tree" I really need to focus on what she does well and let the rest go.  Now if I can convince the school of this.  Wish me luck, we're headed into round one.

Disassembling the Traps

It's been an interesting couple of weeks around here.  For some reason, dd#2 has been a bit out of sorts and doing all sorts of poorly thought out/half crazy things.  I have been doing a lot of head shaking lately. And wondering where all this is coming from.  While amusing and frequently maddening, I have some deep concerns that the puppy will be the least of my worries come the end of November.  We have had some heart to heart discussions about the limits of my ability to deal with nonsense (which is next to none at this point) and the appropriate way for a 10 year old girl to act.  She sagely nodded her head and agreed.  There would be no more self-made chaos on her part.
Yesterday, on the drive home from dropping dd#1 off at the pool after school, I had a small but interesting request as we drove by her school...."Mom, can you stop at school so I can disassemble the traps?".  I didn't have the strength to ask.