The Ghost of Halloween Past

Well another Halloween has come and gone. It made me think of Andrew and just how much he disliked Halloween as a kid...who am I kidding he still dislikes it. Every year I would dress up my two little boys in these elaborate costumes that took forever to make and take them by the hand to go door to door to not only "talk to" but "take candy from" strangers. "Mommy you want me to talk to that man"? "Yes yes....go on up and go in his house he has candy for you"!This year with the H1N1 scare I contemplated dressing Emily up as a surgeon just so she could wear the gloves, scrubs and face mask. I have visions of parents all over the city wiping down each treat with copious amounts of Purell. You know the spray that they spray your bowling shoes with...that's what we all need. Yum! Andrew liked red gum balls, plain Hostess chips and Eatmore bars. First most gumballs given come in packs of four with different colors. Hostess chips not a problem and I have never seen Eatmores given out on Halloween. Needless to say as our little lambie would go...no be dragged to the door some poor homeowner would no doubt say what a cute little boy what are you? Andrew usually put the "a mutant ninja turtle - moron" look on his little five year old face and assess the treat situation like they had placed a neatly wrapped turd in front of his face. "No thank you I don't like licorice". "No thank you I only like red gumballs". "No thank you I'm allergic to apple juice". All the while Matt is opening his pillowcase and begging...."I'll take it I'll take it"! At the end of each Halloween night Matt would count his treasure trove of treats that would make any dentist scream in terror and Andrew would turn his pumpkin upside down...count his four gum balls and 5 bags of chips because that was all that fit in the pumpkin and vow to not go out next year. We stopped trick or treating a couple of years later as it was just torturous and started doing something fun on Halloween night - a movie, or bowling or whatever Andrew wanted to do and then would buy Matt whatever candy he wanted...and Andrew finally got his Eatmore bars. This year when I was getting ready to carve the pumpkin Emily said "No it's too scary". When I wanted to get her a costume "No thank you I no like trick or treat". You can see where this is going. We spent the night with friends last night who gave her a huge bucket of stuff...oh it was filled with cheese....yes I said cheese and chips and candy bars...and fun stuff....Emily dug down deep and with delight hauled out all the cheese and counted each one delighted in this whole Halloween gig if it meant a bucket full of cheese! Cheese...mercy. Let's just say not too many folks handing out cheese this Halloween..but Uncle Jimmy and Auntie Shelly are her heroes now! Don't be alarmed if you don't see us on Halloween we're probably holed up at home eating Eatmore bars, cheese cubes and heaven only knows what else! Donairs...yes that that would make Andrew smile! You now know why I have come to dislike Halloween myself!

When to stop buying diapers?

You would think that I would be able to remember how I stopped wearing diapers on the boys. Yes I know that they are 18 and 20 years old but they are my only point of reference for Emily. Here's how I knew they had reached certain milestones. Matt walked up to me one day, handed me his soother and said " I don't think I need this anymore". "Okey dokey"...time to get rid of the soother. Andrew was able to put his bubba on the second shelf of the cupboard (without a stool)...no problem, time to pack away the bubba -no conflict. Emily still wears a diaper at night. Two days ago while she was using the "facilities" she realised that we were out of TP and from the washroom came this yelling little voice - "Hey we need toilet paper". The next morning when I removed her diaper she promptly went down stairs and told Mike - "Daddy you need to go to Sobeys - I need toilet paper and diapers...I want Cinderella diapers". That night when we picked her up from the babysitters from the backseat came this nagging voice "Daddy did you get my diapers"? Rule #45 in potty training if your child can give directions to the grocery store, order diapers and follow up with you to see if you got said diapers...yes it is time to stop buying them. Good to know. Mama out.

Dog Biscuits...really

I was at a women's Bible study a few weeks back when a sheet of paper was passed around asking everyone to bake 3 dog biscuits. Yes 3 dog biscuits. I had never made dog biscuits before but hey if they needed them how hard would it be to make 3 and everyone else in the room had signed up so hey sign me up too. It wasn't until days later in a conversation with someone they mentioned having to schedule in the time to make 3 dozen biscuits that the light bulb went off! 3 Doz biscuits aka 3 dozen...not 3 dog...sigh! It gave me a chuckle at our grand opening to think...imagine would you like a bowl of chili and oh we have this dog biscuit to go with it...what a loser I am sometimes...but it was good for a huge laugh. Let the record show that I was willing to do it! Mama out.

The Difference between Mothers and Fathers

Emily asked me to build her a tower. I thought I did a pretty decent job she was happy and for an hour I was her hero until DH came home and decided that this was not an acceptable tower and well he could do better so he built this monstrosity.

The decision was to build his version of the Sears Tower. Mine well mine was sub standard actually mine is what most Mom's would build in between everything else that has to be done around the house and DH's was what most men would build. Now DH is out and the Sears Tower toppled with a humongous crash which for the record can be added to the things that have made my heart skip a beat and my tower is no longer "da bomb" and well did I mention I hate blocks. You see if mine falls down it takes two seconds to put back together if "the Tower" falls down I need an engineer to rebuild it. I was thinking that I would buy a Litebrite for Em but after this show of competitiveness I'm sure whatever I made...off the top of my head I'd say a heart wouldn't compare to the New England Patriots logo DH would probably make. So I'm leaving the building to him and the hair care to me and everything will be just fine. I respect single parents for this very reason they need to be mother and father and do things that might not come naturally to them. When it's just one in my house anyway the little tower is what happens. I think we need to do a better job of loving on these parents and loving on these kids whenever we can just to even things out a bit and maybe give a them a bit of a break sometimes. Why not find a single parent in your sphere of influence and do something nice for them this week to encourage them I'm sure they would appreciate it! Mama out.

Bedtime is Crib time?

Wow I can't believe that this much time has passed and I haven't posted. Just goes to show you that old habits die easy not hard! Life is moving along and Em is growing like a weed. Her new thing is that DH is "dah man". "Daddy you're the best king ever"! Yes he is...yes he is. I've been thinking that I should be putting Em in a big girl bed but well she loves the crib and the whole she hasn't figured out that she can get out just yet seems to be working for me. So what if she will be almost four. I figure Son#1 had a soother until he could talk in complete sentences, Son#2 had a bubba at night until he was 7 why not sleep Em in a crib until......well....just until I can have an adult conversation with her around the whole "don't even think about getting out of that bed a hundred times"conversation and "while your at it could you take that diaper off too". Not quite sure when I'm going to venture into the diaperless sleeping. That is the worst. I remember Son#1 was brutal - in and out and in and out and in and out of our bedroom and up and down the stairs and crying and...well you get the picture. Em can sleep in the crib until she's twelve I don't care. I remember waking up and Son#2 would be a centimetre from my nose and just about give me a heart attack and I was 27. I'm 45 now I will have a heart attack! No I think the crib is lovely just lovely. It amazes me at just how laid back this mature parenting is. No pressure...no pushing....just chillin with the family. We are so not the scheduled, say a thousand words, participate in every thing parents that we used to be. Somehow maybe Em got ripped - but I don't think so. There is plenty of time for all of that really. Family is what we are trying to push, to be with and enjoy your family and to know what it means to be part of it. Yes plenty of time for that other stuff and plenty of time to be in a big girl bed I say who needs the conflict. Not this mature Mama. Mama out.

On the Move

Now isn't this a handsome couple! This is Son #2 with his prom date Kayla. This weekend marked another milestone in our home. Another prom down and another graduation on the way. We are so proud of Andrew. Andrew loves God and has some pretty definite plans around what he wants to do with his live. He received a full scholarship to University and is just heading into this young adult male portion of his life. He has his head screwed on just right and is about to embark on his journey of independence from us and we couldn't be happier for him. I look at this picture and can not believe where the time has gone. In a blink we are here. I've not been writing much because of some bad ju ju happening in my extended family since Mom's death and it has been disturbing to say the least. As I look at this picture I realise that this is what part of my life has been about. Raising Godly men and women and doing the best that you can for a Creator that entrusted this child to us. This stage in parenting is always the worst because as they begin a life independent of you there is this release back to God with the prayer "let him be all he can be for You". "May he fulfill his every purpose that You have created him for and may he soar to heights that only you can take him". Life is about focusing on the positive and not the negative life is about moving on...I am moving on past my extended family and the mess surrounding my Mom's death.....Andrew is moving on past the years of high school and adolescence, Matt is moving through his career as an officer serving our country and Emily is moving past the trying threes, Mike is moving along with us supporting, praying and finding his place alongside of us. The point is we are moving and that is ever so much better than standing still and stuck in the past...Moving that's where our family is right now on the move and I couldn't be happier. Will it all be smooth? No way and what fun would that be! Mama out.

This is Son #2 and DH (Dear husband). We got some really really good news today for Son #2. He's always done well in school and carries a great average. Through this whole sickness thing with Mom I haven't been in my right mind and not as sharp as I usually am around this stuff but he missed the deadline for entrance scholarships for every school he applied to. I felt so frustrated at myself and felt so bad for him because he has worked so hard. He kept saying "it's ok Mom God will work it out". Today he got a call from one of the universities he applied to offering him a $7,000 renewable four year scholarship! It is incredible because he didn't apply for anything. He missed the application deadline but just like he kept saying "God will work it out Mom", well He did. I don't know why I get so shocked. Where is my faith for goodness sake. We have faith but do we have faith with CERTAINTY? Son #2 had certainty and God faithfully rewarded him. I love when that happens. Mama out.