Haunted

I am usually quite cynical. Most major world events bring out the cynic in me. Usually I watch a single newscast so I can know enough information to carry on a conversation. Usually I don't watch anymore news for a week following the event because it's inevitably going to be about said event. Usually I am so grossed out by the media that I throw up a little in my mouth. Usually.

There have been three world events that have gripped me enough to watch the television for many weeks looking for news stories. They've entered into my consciousness enough for me to actually buy a newspaper and spend free time searching for info on the internet. A lot of that information is in the back burner of my mind because the everyday stuff is up front, but every now and then I find myself still thinking about them. On April 16, 2007 another event entered into that group.

I am haunted by the Virginia Tech Massacre. That's not entirely true. I am haunted by one particular sentiment of the Virginia Tech Massacre. I didn't watch the quote, unquote distasteful tape of the murderer or anything else that was sent to NBC. I don't have any personal feelings about that, I just didn't watch. The thing that jumped out at me in the news shows I watched and interviews I listened to was that over and over the killer was described as 'the loneliest person you could ever meet'.

Now I know that there was a lot more going on in this man's life than him just being lonely. But the lonely factor is what is haunting me.

I watched an Oprah episode a while ago on which they featured a couple, Yvonne and Rich who began Challenge Day in which they go to schools and face the bullying epidemic. During that show Yvonne said something that I will never let go of. She said that the biggest problem in our highschools today is loneliness and isolation. It's not drugs, it's not promiscuity, it's not even bullying really. Isolation and loneliness is the key issue facing the next generation.

While all of our kids are striving after the "American Dream" getting burned out by their activity schedules in kindergarten, since sports have become scholarships and not games, when everyone has an iPod or blackberry or cellphone or whatever technological device they carry before they're old enough to need one, while we live completely disconnected lives in the most connected phase of our history; while all that goes on we aren't necessarily fixing any of the shortcomings we had in our past generations.

As a woman who has married a man who will be spending his life with teenagers this is especially haunting to me. We have the generation or two that come on the heels of the Virginia Tech murderer's generation already isolated and lonely. I will say again that I completely recognize there was much more going on in this man's life than just being lonely, but do you see the issue?

Do you see how history is already doomed to repeat itself? How there are already so many people out there who need to connect and not be lonely so that they don't do rash things? Do you see how we're so mistakenly playing the blame game by scapegoating video games and hip hop when really the issue is our disconnected culture?

I don't really know how to fix it. I wrestled for a long time with even posting this because I do think is a valuable dialogue to have so that through discussion we can find ways to not repeat history. I don't know if anyone else thinks these things or not, but I decided to write them anyway. If for no other reason than to get them out of my head so I can hopefully sleep again.

He was the loneliest person you could ever meet. Sadly that's not a unique description.

Babies at the Ballpark

Last Thursday was 'Babies at the Ballpark'. With Jays' season in full swing there are lots of special opportunities to go to the ballpark. We have a bit of an 'in' and are able to get free tickets every now and then. Isabella seems to love baseball more and more as we watch it. She spent the first two innings cheering for the teams and was so adorable that the frat boys in front of us even glanced back at her, laughing at her cuteness.

Brooklyn was the only one in Blue Jays wear. We got this little onesie when Isabella was born and it was nice to have it for Brooklyn to wear to her first baseball game. She watched most of the game and slept for an inning or two. There wasn't any fussing going on in our row! I was super thankful for that.


At the end of the game there was an opportunity to run the bases like the big kids. We took Isabella down even though I'm sure she had no idea what we were doing. It was also School Day and there were 15,000 students at this particular game. They all were running around the bases the same time Belle was and she got caught up in the moment and tripped rounding second. She has a great big bruise on her thigh, her first sports injury! She continued around the bases like a champ, but when Nick picked her up so she could 'slam' on home base--her pants fell down! Pull Up and all! Nick was carrying Brooklyn in her carrier and didn't see Belle's pants fall. Luckily I raced around to where the parents were able to meet the kids and helped her back to decency.


After running the bases we followed the trail of kids up and out of the ballpark. Rogers Center Staff handed Isabella her first baseball cards and a Jr. Jays Passport. She carried both so proudly all the way back to the car. It took us about 2.5 hours to get home as it was rush hour and there had been a Raptors game that day too. Lots of traffic. It did us good though because the girls really needed to sleep after their afternoon fun.

Just Do It

This sadly, is going to be another post to let you know of the non existent time I have in my life right now. We all got sick again this week. No trips to the bathroom, just awful colds. I had the worst on Wednesday and Nick is at his worst right now. I woke up at 6:00 to the bed violently shaking. It was Nick shivering so hard from his fever. We got that taken care of and now he's asleep. I have a meeting to attend tonight but I will be leaving at an early hour to come home and tend to my hubby so I will take send out my interview questions tonight. Watch your inboxes!!

Yep, me too.

I am eternally curious. One downfall to that being that I am always curious what people think of me. It's nice every now and then when someone tells you exactly what they think of you, (not always a positive experience, but usually), and so I thought I'd join this interview train because I was so curious what Angella would ask me. Here are her questions;

1. Assuming calories don't count, what is your favourite - a salty or sweet treat?

I love salty snacks with the exception of Easter Cream Eggs which I eat in abundance while they are out and probably match them with Easter Cream Egg McFlurries.

2. If you could live anywhere in the world (other than where you are), where would it be?

I honestly don't know. I'm not one of those people who daydreams of travelling so I haven't considered many other places in the world. If I could rewind a bit I would consider relocating to Holland, (I think it's Holland), for my child bearing years so I could enjoy one-year-fully-paid-mat leaves. I'd like to live somewhere that it is eternally spring or fall cuz they're my favorite seasons, rain does not put me in a grey mood. Or Vancouver Island so I could become Sarah McLachlan's new BFF.

3. Coke or Pepsi, diet or all sugar?

I am a Coke girl, all sugar. However, I will turn down a regular Coke in a can or bottle. I will never turn down a Slurpee and if I'm drinking Coke out of the can or bottle I like it in a glass filled with crushed ice.

4. What would your dream career be (other than a Mom)?

I know it would be something in the hospitality industry, but I'm not exactly sure what. For a while I wanted to have an Inn, (a la Gilmore Girls), but I worked in a hotel banquet department and truly loved that job. Running an insanely busy banquet department in a hotel, resort, or reception hall is definitely something I would love to do.

5. What do you do when nobody's looking?

I put icing on Arrowroot crackers to make 'sandwiches'. I talk to myself. I google people all the time.

So! If you would like to join in on the interviewing party, follow these directions:

1. Leave me a comment saying, “Interview me.”
2. I will respond by emailing you five questions. I get to pick the questions.
3. You will update your blog with the answers to the questions.
4. You will include this explanation and an offer to interview someone else in the same post.
5. When others comment asking to be interviewed, you will ask them five questions.

Severe

I am a severe night hawk, which I'm sure I've mentioned before and if you know me you are putting a fake surprised look on your face and sarcastically oozing 'really??'. I am well aware of this fact. What I have been ignorant to is just how much life I miss out on. A lot of night hawks end up staying up too late and then they are sleepy when they arise the next morning. My hawkishness is so severe that I do not do anything I do not absolutely have to do as long as the sun is up, then as soon as the sun goes down I am the accomplishment queen. Not good. So not good by any standards. Today I had a Get Together at 1:30ish. I didn't even get out of bed until 9:00, not an early day in anyone's book. But here I was actually perturbed that I had to do something during the day. I was excited for the event, don't get me wrong, but I kept on thinking to myself, 'why didn't I schedule this at night?'. The answer dear Amanda is because no one would have come as they are all SANE. I got myself together while Nick took Belle to swimming lessons and headed out the door. The day is beautiful. It's sunshiney, the air smells fresh, it's actually nice to not be sitting on my couch right now. I need to learn to live when it's daytime and normal people do stuff.

Six

I don't have a picture today of Brooklyn at six months. I have been doing these monthly shots of her in a white onsie laying on angel's wings. As she gets bigger the wings get smaller and it's cute in my opinion. But at her check up yesterday she got the usual vaccinations and today she is such a sleepy baby. I'll be sure to get the pictures this weekend, but thought I'd post this as I procrastinate from cleaning my kitchen. Brooklyn is now 6kgs, (13lbs 2 oz) and is totally healthy in all aspects. We had the resident instead of our regular doctor which is fine by me, but I think it's an evil plot by our family doctor. There just happens to be a resident to see us when the kids need needles. Smart planning, keeping the kiddos liking you! The resident started in on her list of "does your child do this..." and I was sort of impatient so I just rattled her latest tricks off, and the resident was impressed enough to not ask me anymore questions. Isabella also had to get a needle yesterday just to catch up as we switched provinces during the time of regular vaccinations in a kid's life. We got Isabella stuck first so if Brooklyn's pain upset her it would be after the fact of her own pain. This was great planning cuz Belle did cry when Brooklyn cried and the resident looked like she might cry. Good planning Dr. S, good planning.

It's been a while.....

It has been far too many days since I last wrote a blog post. I really don't mean for that to happen, but life has gotten so full lately. I have about a billion ideas for posts and none of them are getting written. And they still wont because I have two Creative Memories Get Togethers this weekend and we got the ok to put a workshop in our garage so we're working on that. One day I'll have time to write the posts in my mind, but for now here are some pictures of our world.

These first two are Isabella and I decorating EasterEggs. There are a lot more picture of it, but Nick didn't think to warn me about the cleavage. (Which as he pointed out later, why would he warn me about it, it's just fine with him.) The eggs didn't work out the way I really wanted, but Belle had a great time. She counted while the eggs were in the dye, 1-2-3-7-8-9! I know that each year the eggs will get more and more grown up and I'll actually get nostalgic about these ones!

Then a few of Brooklyn's cuteness. I was noticing that I have less pictures of Brooklyn then I had of Belle. Not because I take less but because Brooklyn is doing everything so much faster. It took her two hours to learn to roll over, not two weeks. Isabella was making her first moves to crawling at 8 months, Brooklyn already gets up on all fours and then launches herself forward. It's a bit crazy how quickly she's growing up, if only I could slow it down just a touch.

Brooklyn also thoroughly enjoys her bath now. It's a part of our night time routine and both girls very early knew the word "bath" before they could talk. Brooklyn starts to get fussy in the early evening and all she wants is bath time. Then she's good to go for a while longer. We've never had a baby bath, just one of those wire things with the fabric stretched over it, but we picked up one of those bath rings and Brooklyn is really enjoying it and Belle loves that the water now comes up over her thighs!

The first home game of the Jays season was on Monday night. The guys tried to get tickets, but it was totally sold out. So we got some of us together for dinner and the game. When the game started Isabella got so excited, like most children get on a sugar high. She was cheering and dancing to the National anthem. She sort of followed the game and when all of us were cheering for a run scored or a good play Isabella would shout out a hearty, "Touchdown!". Yeah we've got to work on helping her sort out her sports. This is our buddy Ryan, or should I say Isabella's buddy Ryan.

Taxed

It's that time of year again, sorta. I've never dreaded tax time for two reasons; one-I pay someone else to do my taxes, two-I've only ever gotten a rebate. I enjoy tax time actually. For the last four years we've done up our taxes and decided on one luxury,(usually clothing to replace pieces we've worn straight through), we would purchase. Then the rest of the money goes into our savings account and is the beginning of our budget for the next move. This year is not a usual year because- WE'RE NOT MOVING. Which in itself feels very, very good to say.

In the summer time I was very stressed about money and I shared a lot of that on this blog because it was what was real in my life at that time. I figure it's only fair to balance out the bad with the good and I am so happy to share some of the blessings of this years tax season.

Yesterday I paid in full the remaining balance on our leather living room set. That means we officially completely own everything in our house! We are not the kind of people to pay for 'things' on credit, and even though it was just one purchase, it was enough to leave us feeling uneasy every month. Now it's gone.

A lot of people wished me a year of blessings around the New Year and I just wanted to take a second and share one.

The Wonderful World of Weddings

My cousin got married on Saturday, and these pictures are mostly for my mom who couldn't make it to the wedding. The wedding was very "them". If you click on the picture here you can see his facial hair and the essence of his hat. That's what I mean by "them". Sometimes I go to weddings and am so bored by how they are just like every other wedding I've ever been to, but not this one. The wedding was at a banguet center and the wedding and reception were in the same room. We sat on chairs on the dance floor during the ceremony and we could see all the tables set up for the reception. After the ceremony they had us file out into the foyer, through the receiving
line and back into the room. By the time we arrived back into the room our tables were in place with chairs around them and we were handed a shot and escorted to our table. It was neat. During the ceremony the rings were passed around in a little bag. Everyone held them for a second and said a silent prayer or blessing over them before passing them on. Neither the father of the groom or the father of the bride were in attendance and so the Mother of the Groom gave the groom away and the Mother of the Bride gave the bride away. Our family is huge into hockey, and so in true family fashion the bridal party entered the reception

wearing hockey jerseys to the music of Hockey Night in Canada
and introduced like a starting line up. This banquet center in particular is known for their Crepe Suzette dessert. All the lights were turned off and three Maitre de's did an extensive light show. The liquid actually burns blue once they get going and they did things like pour it down a sword and walk in a circle while pouring it from one pan to another. It was very, very cool. Each table was served their meal and it was 6 courses! We got appetizers & drinks, salad, a pasta course, a roast beef course, a chicken course and then the crepe suzette. The bartender would even bring your drink right to the table, I was just getting the free Coke so I went up to the bar each time for it, I needed to stretch and get ready for the next course! This cake was done by my aunt and it's really cute. She


even personalized the licence plates. Unfortunately we had to leave before i

t was cut as the MC never really got the night rolling. There was one thing then a looooooooooooooong stretch and then another. We stayed just until the first dance and it was 11:00pm. There hadn't been any cake cutting, the night lunch, other dances or boquet or garter tossing.

I think we have one more wedding to attend in July which I'm looking forward to. This wedding made me realize that I miss working at Travelodge in the Banquet Department where I went to at least a wedding a weekend! A happy thing this wedding reminded me though- winter is really over! Bring on Wedding Season.

Carrier Monkey?

We are all doing much better. Nick, Isabella and I have not puked or run to the Throne in over 60 hours! Yesterday we went to a wedding and I dropped Brooklyn off at a friends while I took Isabella to swimming lessons. The people who looked after Brooklyn are now dealing with the same sickness. Is she to blame??? I haven't heard from the folks who babysat during the wedding, but I hope they aren't all sick too. Brooklyn has yet to show any sort of sickness symptom. She has been sleeping a fair bit this week, but I assume that's because she's growing. As in VISIBLY growing this week. My little cherub is becoming my chubub.

*The T-shirt was not on purpose irony, but funny nonetheless!