Thursday, September 25, 2008
Morning!
Our little Quinn has never been very good at waking up. It usually would take him at least 30 - 45 minutes before you could actually get a word out of him because all he wanted to do was suck his fingers and grumble. Well, he's pretty much stopped sucking his fingers and what a difference it has made! Lately he gets out of bed and comes downstairs with a HUGE smile on his face and gives either Chris or I a big "good morning' hug. It is just too sweet and such a change from our grumpy little man in the mornings.
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
The Great Truths....
GREAT TRUTHS THAT LITTLE CHILDREN HAVE LEARNED:
1) No matter how hard you try, you can't baptize cats.
2) When your Mom is mad at your Dad, don't let her brush your hair.
3) If your sister hits you, don't hit her back. They always catch the second person.
4) Never ask your 3-year old brother to hold a tomato.
5) You can't trust dogs to watch your food.
6) Don't sneeze when someone is cutting your hair.
7) Never hold a Dust-Buster and a cat at the same time.
8) You can't hide a piece of broccoli in a glass of milk.
9) Don't wear polka-dot underwear under white shorts.
10) The best place to be when you're sad is Grandpa's lap.
GREAT TRUTHS THAT ADULTS HAVE LEARNED:
1) Raising teenagers is like nailing Jell-O to a tree.
2) Wrinkles don't hurt.
3) Families are like fudge...mostly sweet, with a few nuts.
4) Today's mighty oak is just yesterday's nut that held its ground.
5) Laughing is good exercise. It's like jogging on the inside.
6) Middle age is when you choose your cereal for the fiber, not the toy.
GREAT TRUTHS ABOUT GROWING OLD
1) Growing old is mandatory; growing up is optional.
2) Forget the health food. I need all the preservatives I can get.
3) When you fall down, you wonder what else you can do while you're down there.
4) You're getting old when you get the same sensation from a rocking chair that you once got from a roller coaster.
5) It's frustrating when you know all the answers but nobody bothers to ask you the questions.
6) Time may be a great healer, ! but it's a lousy beautician.
7) Wisdom comes with age, but sometimes age comes alone.
THE FOUR STAGES OF LIFE:
1) You believe in Santa Claus.
2) You don't believe in Santa Claus.
3) You are Santa Claus.
4) You look like Santa Claus.
SUCCESS:
At age 4 success is . . . . not peeing in your pants.
At age 12 success is . . . having friends.
At age 16 success is . . . having a drivers license.
At age 20 success is . . . going all the way.
At age 35 success is . . . having money.
At age 50 success is . . . having money.
At age 60 success is . . . going all the way.
At age 70 success is . . . having a drivers license.
At age 75 success is . . . having friends.
At age 80 success is . . . not peeing in your pants.
Always remember to forget the troubles that pass your way BUT never forget to remember the blessings that come each day.
1) No matter how hard you try, you can't baptize cats.
2) When your Mom is mad at your Dad, don't let her brush your hair.
3) If your sister hits you, don't hit her back. They always catch the second person.
4) Never ask your 3-year old brother to hold a tomato.
5) You can't trust dogs to watch your food.
6) Don't sneeze when someone is cutting your hair.
7) Never hold a Dust-Buster and a cat at the same time.
8) You can't hide a piece of broccoli in a glass of milk.
9) Don't wear polka-dot underwear under white shorts.
10) The best place to be when you're sad is Grandpa's lap.
GREAT TRUTHS THAT ADULTS HAVE LEARNED:
1) Raising teenagers is like nailing Jell-O to a tree.
2) Wrinkles don't hurt.
3) Families are like fudge...mostly sweet, with a few nuts.
4) Today's mighty oak is just yesterday's nut that held its ground.
5) Laughing is good exercise. It's like jogging on the inside.
6) Middle age is when you choose your cereal for the fiber, not the toy.
GREAT TRUTHS ABOUT GROWING OLD
1) Growing old is mandatory; growing up is optional.
2) Forget the health food. I need all the preservatives I can get.
3) When you fall down, you wonder what else you can do while you're down there.
4) You're getting old when you get the same sensation from a rocking chair that you once got from a roller coaster.
5) It's frustrating when you know all the answers but nobody bothers to ask you the questions.
6) Time may be a great healer, ! but it's a lousy beautician.
7) Wisdom comes with age, but sometimes age comes alone.
THE FOUR STAGES OF LIFE:
1) You believe in Santa Claus.
2) You don't believe in Santa Claus.
3) You are Santa Claus.
4) You look like Santa Claus.
SUCCESS:
At age 4 success is . . . . not peeing in your pants.
At age 12 success is . . . having friends.
At age 16 success is . . . having a drivers license.
At age 20 success is . . . going all the way.
At age 35 success is . . . having money.
At age 50 success is . . . having money.
At age 60 success is . . . going all the way.
At age 70 success is . . . having a drivers license.
At age 75 success is . . . having friends.
At age 80 success is . . . not peeing in your pants.
Always remember to forget the troubles that pass your way BUT never forget to remember the blessings that come each day.
Happy Birthday to Me!
This weekend was pretty much an all weekend celebration of my birthday. Yep - I celebrated my 29th birthday - again!! ;-)
On Saturday Chris and I went out to dinner and a show with some friends of ours. It was so nice to have a grown-up meal with grown-up conversations, and not have to order chicken nuggets for anyone! After dinner we went to a Queen tribute show, which was surprisingly good for a small town production. That being said, I realized I must be getting old because there were points in the show where I was actually plugging my ears because it was so loud. Oh my!
On Sunday we had our neighbours over for dinner - their birthdays straddle mine, so it was a group celebration. It was a really nice dinner, and the kids occupied themselves for a good hour and a half by setting up a 'light show' with Christmas lights, and then they put on a dance show for us - priceless!!
Some real highlights of the weekend were:
1) Quinn singing "Happy Birthday" to me every chance he got
2) Aidan buying me flowers. Seriously! The boys were at the grocery store with Chris and Aidan saw a bouquet of flowers and said: "Daddy, we need to get flowers for Mummy!" (clearly Chris has taught him well!)
3) Waiting for 3 bloody hours to register the kids for swimming lessons (which I will NEVER, EVER do again!)
All in all, it was a really nice weekend - I am so fortunate to have such a wonderful family and group of friends to celebrate with!
On Saturday Chris and I went out to dinner and a show with some friends of ours. It was so nice to have a grown-up meal with grown-up conversations, and not have to order chicken nuggets for anyone! After dinner we went to a Queen tribute show, which was surprisingly good for a small town production. That being said, I realized I must be getting old because there were points in the show where I was actually plugging my ears because it was so loud. Oh my!
On Sunday we had our neighbours over for dinner - their birthdays straddle mine, so it was a group celebration. It was a really nice dinner, and the kids occupied themselves for a good hour and a half by setting up a 'light show' with Christmas lights, and then they put on a dance show for us - priceless!!
Some real highlights of the weekend were:
1) Quinn singing "Happy Birthday" to me every chance he got
2) Aidan buying me flowers. Seriously! The boys were at the grocery store with Chris and Aidan saw a bouquet of flowers and said: "Daddy, we need to get flowers for Mummy!" (clearly Chris has taught him well!)
3) Waiting for 3 bloody hours to register the kids for swimming lessons (which I will NEVER, EVER do again!)
All in all, it was a really nice weekend - I am so fortunate to have such a wonderful family and group of friends to celebrate with!
Thursday, September 18, 2008
Weekend Highs and Blows
This past weekend we visited my parents in Cinci. On Saturday we went to Kings Island (a big amusement park) and the kids had an absolute blast. Aidan got to ride some pretty big coasters (the benefits of being tall for his age - and fearless!), and Quinn loved going on the little rides. That being said, I think the highlight of Quinn's day was watching the Dora show. He's never been to a live show before and when Dora and Boots came on stage his jaw dropped and he was absolutely blown away. It was too cute for words!
Here are some pictures from the adventure:
I love Quinn's face seeing Pablo for the first time:
With me on the Mystery Machine:
On the kiddie drop zone:
Aidan and Dad on the big coaster:
Zooming down the zoom-a-floom:
The other big adventure on the weekend happened on Sunday. The wind picked up around 12:30 and got pretty intense. Chris and I went shopping for a bit, and on the way home the van was shaking it was so windy. By the time we got home it was full-on gale force winds. A huge tree in my parents front yard fell over, and about an hour later another tree fell across the base of the driveway and landed on the neighbor's truck. The wind was absolutely unbelievable - I've never seen or heard anything like it. They say that it was going at about 60mph, and I can't even imagine what it would be like in hurricane force winds of 100mph. At about 6:00 the winds finally died down and Chris and my dad headed out to try to get rid of the tree at the end of the driveway. The boys and I headed out later on small branch and leaf clean-up. It was absolutely amazing. Here is some photographic evidence:
The last picture I have to share is one of Aidan and my Dad - the two buddies. I think it is just the cutest picture ever!
Here are some pictures from the adventure:
I love Quinn's face seeing Pablo for the first time:
With me on the Mystery Machine:
On the kiddie drop zone:
Aidan and Dad on the big coaster:
Zooming down the zoom-a-floom:
The other big adventure on the weekend happened on Sunday. The wind picked up around 12:30 and got pretty intense. Chris and I went shopping for a bit, and on the way home the van was shaking it was so windy. By the time we got home it was full-on gale force winds. A huge tree in my parents front yard fell over, and about an hour later another tree fell across the base of the driveway and landed on the neighbor's truck. The wind was absolutely unbelievable - I've never seen or heard anything like it. They say that it was going at about 60mph, and I can't even imagine what it would be like in hurricane force winds of 100mph. At about 6:00 the winds finally died down and Chris and my dad headed out to try to get rid of the tree at the end of the driveway. The boys and I headed out later on small branch and leaf clean-up. It was absolutely amazing. Here is some photographic evidence:
The last picture I have to share is one of Aidan and my Dad - the two buddies. I think it is just the cutest picture ever!
Thursday, September 11, 2008
All hail the redneck!
The US election really has me up in arms. I've been following it quite closely and although my gal Hillary is out for the count, I'm still leaning towards the Democrats. I came across this article from the BBC - Today (http://news.bbc.co.uk/today/hi/today/newsid_7600000/7600592.stm)and think it hits the nail on the head with respect to who in the US is the deciding factor.... the rednecks.
Why rednecks may rule the world
By Joe Bageant
Author of Deerhunting With Jesus
During this US election cycle we are hearing a lot from the pundits and candidates about "heartland voters," and "white working class voters."
What they are talking about are rednecks. But in their political correctness, media types cannot bring themselves to utter the word "redneck." So I'll say it for them: redneck-redneck-redneck-redneck.
Delegates from Texas at the Republican National Convention
Like a Texas cowboy - delegates hang on every word
The fact is that we American rednecks embrace the term in a sort of proud defiance. To us, the term redneck indicates a culture we were born in and enjoy. So I find it very interesting that politically correct people have taken it upon themselves to protect us from what has come to be one of our own warm and light hearted terms for one another.
On the other hand, I can quite imagine their concern, given what's at stake in the upcoming election. We represent at least a third of all voters and no US president has ever been elected without our support.
Consequently, rednecks have never had so many friends or so much attention as in 2008. Contrary to the stereotype, we are not all tobacco chewing, guffawing Southerners, but are scattered from coast to coast. Over 50% of us live in the "cultural south", which is to say places with white Southern Scots-Irish values - redneck values.
They include western Pennsylvania, central Missouri and southern Illinois, upstate Michigan and Minnesota, eastern Connecticut, northern New Hampshire…
So when you look at what pundits call the red state heartland, you are looking at the Republic of Redneckia.
As to having our delicate beer-sodden feelings protected from the term redneck; well, I appreciate the effort, though I highly suspect that the best way to hide snobbishness is to pose as protector of any class of folks you cannot bear. Thus we are being protected by the very people who look down on us - educated urban progressives.
And let's face it, there's plenty to look down on. By any tasteful standard, we ain't a pretty people.
Uppity and slick? Not us...
We come in one size: extra large. We are sometimes insolent and often quick to fight. We love competitive spectacle such as NASCAR and paintball, and believe gun ownership is the eleventh commandment.
We fry things nobody ever considered friable - things like cupcakes, banana sandwiches and batter dipped artificial cheese…even pickles.
Her daughter had a baby out of wedlock? Big deal. What family has not?
And most of all we are defiant and suspicious of authority, and people who are "uppity" (sophisticated) and "slick" (people who use words with more than three syllables). Two should be enough for anybody.
And that is one of the reasons that, mystifying as it is to the outside world, John McCain's choice of the moose-shooting Alaskan woman with the pregnant unmarried teen daughter appeals to many redneck and working class Americans.
We all understand that there is a political class which dominates in America, and that Sarah Palin for damned sure is not one of them. And the more she is attacked by liberal Democratic elements (translation: elite highly-educated big city people) the more America's working mooks will come to her defence. Her daughter had a baby out of wedlock? Big deal. What family has not? She is a Christian fundamentalist who believes God spat on his beefy paws and made the world in seven days? So do at least 150 million other Americans. She snowmobiles and fishes and she is a looker to boot. She's a redneck.
American ethos
The term redneck indicates a lifestyle and culture that can be found in every state in our union. The essentials of redneck culture were brought to America by what we call the Scots Irish, after first being shipped to the Ulster Plantation, where our, uh, remarkable cultural legacy can still be seen every 12 July in Ireland.
Ultimately, the Scots Irish have had more of an effect on the American ethos than any other immigrant group. Here are a few you will recognize:
* Belief that no law is above God's law, not even the US Constitution.
* Hyper patriotism. A fighting defence of native land, home and heart, even when it is not actually threatened: ie, Iraq, Panama, Grenada, Somalia, Cuba, Nicaragua, Vietnam, Haiti and dozens more with righteous operations titles such as Enduring Freedom, Restore Hope, and Just Cause.
* A love of guns and tremendous respect for the warrior ideal. Along with this comes a strong sense of fealty and loyalty. Fealty to wartime leaders, whether it be FDR or George Bush.
* Self effacement, humility. We are usually the butt of our own jokes, in an effort not to appear aloof among one another.
* Belief that most things outside our own community and nation are inferior and threatening, that the world is jealous of the American lifestyle.
* Personal pride in equality. No man, however rich or powerful, is better than me.
* Perseverance and belief in hard work. If a man or a family is poor, it is because they did not work hard enough. God rewards those who work hard enough. So does the American system.
* The only free country in the world is the United States, and the only reason we ever go to war is to protect that freedom.
All this has become so deeply instilled as to now be reflexive. It represents many of the worst traits in American culture and a few of the best.
And that has every thinking person here in the US, except perhaps John McCain and Sarah Palin, worried.
Very worried.
Why rednecks may rule the world
By Joe Bageant
Author of Deerhunting With Jesus
During this US election cycle we are hearing a lot from the pundits and candidates about "heartland voters," and "white working class voters."
What they are talking about are rednecks. But in their political correctness, media types cannot bring themselves to utter the word "redneck." So I'll say it for them: redneck-redneck-redneck-redneck.
Delegates from Texas at the Republican National Convention
Like a Texas cowboy - delegates hang on every word
The fact is that we American rednecks embrace the term in a sort of proud defiance. To us, the term redneck indicates a culture we were born in and enjoy. So I find it very interesting that politically correct people have taken it upon themselves to protect us from what has come to be one of our own warm and light hearted terms for one another.
On the other hand, I can quite imagine their concern, given what's at stake in the upcoming election. We represent at least a third of all voters and no US president has ever been elected without our support.
Consequently, rednecks have never had so many friends or so much attention as in 2008. Contrary to the stereotype, we are not all tobacco chewing, guffawing Southerners, but are scattered from coast to coast. Over 50% of us live in the "cultural south", which is to say places with white Southern Scots-Irish values - redneck values.
They include western Pennsylvania, central Missouri and southern Illinois, upstate Michigan and Minnesota, eastern Connecticut, northern New Hampshire…
So when you look at what pundits call the red state heartland, you are looking at the Republic of Redneckia.
As to having our delicate beer-sodden feelings protected from the term redneck; well, I appreciate the effort, though I highly suspect that the best way to hide snobbishness is to pose as protector of any class of folks you cannot bear. Thus we are being protected by the very people who look down on us - educated urban progressives.
And let's face it, there's plenty to look down on. By any tasteful standard, we ain't a pretty people.
Uppity and slick? Not us...
We come in one size: extra large. We are sometimes insolent and often quick to fight. We love competitive spectacle such as NASCAR and paintball, and believe gun ownership is the eleventh commandment.
We fry things nobody ever considered friable - things like cupcakes, banana sandwiches and batter dipped artificial cheese…even pickles.
Her daughter had a baby out of wedlock? Big deal. What family has not?
And most of all we are defiant and suspicious of authority, and people who are "uppity" (sophisticated) and "slick" (people who use words with more than three syllables). Two should be enough for anybody.
And that is one of the reasons that, mystifying as it is to the outside world, John McCain's choice of the moose-shooting Alaskan woman with the pregnant unmarried teen daughter appeals to many redneck and working class Americans.
We all understand that there is a political class which dominates in America, and that Sarah Palin for damned sure is not one of them. And the more she is attacked by liberal Democratic elements (translation: elite highly-educated big city people) the more America's working mooks will come to her defence. Her daughter had a baby out of wedlock? Big deal. What family has not? She is a Christian fundamentalist who believes God spat on his beefy paws and made the world in seven days? So do at least 150 million other Americans. She snowmobiles and fishes and she is a looker to boot. She's a redneck.
American ethos
The term redneck indicates a lifestyle and culture that can be found in every state in our union. The essentials of redneck culture were brought to America by what we call the Scots Irish, after first being shipped to the Ulster Plantation, where our, uh, remarkable cultural legacy can still be seen every 12 July in Ireland.
Ultimately, the Scots Irish have had more of an effect on the American ethos than any other immigrant group. Here are a few you will recognize:
* Belief that no law is above God's law, not even the US Constitution.
* Hyper patriotism. A fighting defence of native land, home and heart, even when it is not actually threatened: ie, Iraq, Panama, Grenada, Somalia, Cuba, Nicaragua, Vietnam, Haiti and dozens more with righteous operations titles such as Enduring Freedom, Restore Hope, and Just Cause.
* A love of guns and tremendous respect for the warrior ideal. Along with this comes a strong sense of fealty and loyalty. Fealty to wartime leaders, whether it be FDR or George Bush.
* Self effacement, humility. We are usually the butt of our own jokes, in an effort not to appear aloof among one another.
* Belief that most things outside our own community and nation are inferior and threatening, that the world is jealous of the American lifestyle.
* Personal pride in equality. No man, however rich or powerful, is better than me.
* Perseverance and belief in hard work. If a man or a family is poor, it is because they did not work hard enough. God rewards those who work hard enough. So does the American system.
* The only free country in the world is the United States, and the only reason we ever go to war is to protect that freedom.
All this has become so deeply instilled as to now be reflexive. It represents many of the worst traits in American culture and a few of the best.
And that has every thinking person here in the US, except perhaps John McCain and Sarah Palin, worried.
Very worried.
I'm an Auntie again!
First things first: a HUGE congrats to my sister Natasha and Dave on the birth of their third child - a girl!! This as-yet-to-be-named baby took her time in joining us in the world, but she's finally here weighing in at 7lbs 14oz. We can't wait to meet her!
Other than new babies we've been busy getting into the routine of school plus extra-curricular stuff. Aidan started Beavers this week and when he got home from the meeting he was just wiped out! But he really enjoyed it.
Here are some recent pics:
I had a classic "Mommy" moment the other day. I was driving from work to pick the kids up from school and daycare. It was a long day, and I was pretty much zoned out in the car (which is a nice change because usually I have three kids singing, talking or monkeying around when I'm in the car!). Suddenly I hear "hi-yah!" I just about jumped out of my skin because there was no one else in the car with me. After calming down, I realized that one of the kids toys had fallen off their car seat, and the jolt had started the damn thing talking. So, for the next 10 minutes I was listening to a bloody McDonald's Kung-fu Panda toy jabber away. So much for peace and quiet!
Other than new babies we've been busy getting into the routine of school plus extra-curricular stuff. Aidan started Beavers this week and when he got home from the meeting he was just wiped out! But he really enjoyed it.
Here are some recent pics:
I had a classic "Mommy" moment the other day. I was driving from work to pick the kids up from school and daycare. It was a long day, and I was pretty much zoned out in the car (which is a nice change because usually I have three kids singing, talking or monkeying around when I'm in the car!). Suddenly I hear "hi-yah!" I just about jumped out of my skin because there was no one else in the car with me. After calming down, I realized that one of the kids toys had fallen off their car seat, and the jolt had started the damn thing talking. So, for the next 10 minutes I was listening to a bloody McDonald's Kung-fu Panda toy jabber away. So much for peace and quiet!
Friday, September 5, 2008
So many things so little time....
I've just realized it's been quite a while since I updated things. Where to start....
Our Labour Day weekend was awesome. Between going to friends houses for bonfires or hitting the beach, it was very low-key and relaxed. An absolutely perfect ending to summer.
On Tuesday Aidan started school - which he was very excited about because as he said: "I get to run around with my friends". Here are a few first day of school pictures:
On Wednesday, it was brutally hot, so the boys decided to make their own version of rain. Here is the result:
You've got to give them credit on creativity!!
And Ms Shannon..... well, the little turkey has decided that it is now time to pull herself up on absolutely everything. So now she crawls over to something, grabs on and hauls herself to a standing position. Oh dear - walking is soon to follow!!
Our Labour Day weekend was awesome. Between going to friends houses for bonfires or hitting the beach, it was very low-key and relaxed. An absolutely perfect ending to summer.
On Tuesday Aidan started school - which he was very excited about because as he said: "I get to run around with my friends". Here are a few first day of school pictures:
On Wednesday, it was brutally hot, so the boys decided to make their own version of rain. Here is the result:
You've got to give them credit on creativity!!
And Ms Shannon..... well, the little turkey has decided that it is now time to pull herself up on absolutely everything. So now she crawls over to something, grabs on and hauls herself to a standing position. Oh dear - walking is soon to follow!!
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