Capital Mummy

The End. And the Beginning.

2010-08-23T21:13:00.000-04:00

This week, as you might know, has been quite a busy time. Well... this week, this month, this year.

We're in a new town, with two new residences (one temporary, one permanent) and a new vision for our lives.

I'm mourning some of the parts of Ottawa life, namely people I'm missing, but I'm equally excited about what we're starting here.

It seemed, therefore, like an appropriate time to start a new blog.

Don't worry... this one will always be here, with all it's 633 posts worth of nonsense. I could never delete it as it's my only clear record of the early days of child-rearing.

But, admit it, chuckwagonsworld is a mouthful. And, at least for me, it represents my time in Ottawa.

So, if you'd care to continue reading my meaningless but well-intentioned web log, please join me at

The Chronicles of PoHo @ http://www.po-ho.blogspot.com/

More concise, non?

Hope to see you there.

xo Lee

Packed up and ready to go!

Still alive!

2010-08-20T19:54:00.000-04:00

A long, long week, my friends.

You know how you always read that moving your family tops the list of stressful life events? Well... it's true! I think Chris and I are just looking forward to the return of usual chaos.

Chris is still in Ottawa, as the house didn't close until late this afternoon. I'm in Peterborough with my family, and back and forth to our rental house in PoHo (45 minutes away), trying to organize our stuff enough to move in there. We take possession of our new house on Monday.

Totally, totally crazy. There's a reason people stay in the same house/town forever.

But! The worst is over, in terms of stress/craziness/packing/unpacking and now we can get into the new routine of school/daycare/renovations/etc. Doesn't sound that much less stressful, but I'm hopeful.

No new photos. I haven't had a moment to document a single thing, but you can bet I'll be taking lots of photos of our great new place on Monday.

Thanks for sticking with me. Regular posting to resume when regular life resumes.

xo

Dear, sweet Hannah

2010-08-16T08:19:00.000-04:00

This is a short post, as I'm actually leaving town this morning... FOREVER! (Okay, that's a bit dramatic. I know I'll be back! But I will be a visitor after today.)

Also, elaborating on the subject will cause me to start crying again and I have a long drive ahead of me this morning.

Leave it to say that the 2 1/2 years we've spent with Hannah as part of our family has been wonderful. I'm not sure how I will manage without her sunny self arriving every few mornings to whisk the boys off to fun.

Thanks Hannah. We miss you already. xo

Thanks, Uncle Phil, for taking some beautiful photos. Smooooooooooooch.

Sorry, sorry, sorry...

2010-08-09T17:46:00.000-04:00

I am moving after all!

The last week has been packing, cleaning, organizing and running a garage sale and hosting a going away party for 40. Forgive the lack o' posts.

I leave for good a week today, so not much time for blogging and taking pictures. I managed to get these ones the other day when the boys were laughing, rocking and taking apart chair cushions.

Just cute enough:

Or, should I say, 'cute' until Charley turns into a piggy-pirate. "Oink, mateys!"

Weekend escape

2010-08-03T09:30:00.000-04:00

We felt the need to escape the craziness of the house this weekend, so we did a day trip to Perth and Smiths Falls, about an hour south of Ottawa. It was a great break and reminded us of all the reasons we are moving to a small town. And we went to the train museum! Can't beat that.

Riverside, in Perth

A serious strut for a 2 year old...

Dare I say, Charley's favourite part was the train table (nothing like the familiar!), and Daddy's favourite part was the napping. No shame, that one...

Less than 2 weeks until Ottawa departure... Doing fun things now, like utility hookups and crawling under the attic eaves looking for bits and pieces. Sweaty and dusty!

Doesn't this just make you tired??

2010-07-28T21:29:00.001-04:00

It's a million degrees and these crazy kids just want to jump off ye olde vintage couch onto the beanbag chair. It's now a dare-devil sport where they see how far away they can move the chair and still land on it. Good times.

Also: Sam hasn't actually turned into a eunuch-ed Ken-doll....I was just protecting his shame, after shaming him with the hair-do photos.

Full-blown denial happening at this end... less than 3 weeks until departure and the house is still relatively un-touched by the 'moving bug'. Must really, really focus at some point. La dee dah...

When hairbrushes attack! (or: Is it just time for a haircut?)

2010-07-23T17:48:00.000-04:00

My hair is very, very straight. I am not one of the family members bestowed 'body' in the hair department. I do know, however, that it's a bad idea to brush one's curly hair when it's dry. There's a poof-phenomenon that occurs... my sister Sarah has taught me that.

Sam has been lucky enough to inherit curls from one side of the family or the other. I'm not sure if they will last into adulthood (and they do seem to be humidity/sweaty nap induced), but for now they are quite adorable.

So, the point: When Sammy found a hairbrush the other day (in the house, I mean... not on the street!) I couldn't resist messing with his hair.

It is certain that he will loathe me in the future for these pictures. He was pretty much loathing me during the actual event. He's cool enough to know when I'm mocking him. And laughing at him. Really, really hard.

And so, may I present a collection of hairstyles sure to be all the rage later this year:

The Lion

The Unicorn

The Twist

And my personal favourite:

The Comb-over

(You can feel his personal shame in that last shot, right? He could tell how weiner-ific he looked.)

Okay, okay... that's enough. Must go and do important things like nourish my children. And give Sammy an Alberto VO5 conditioning treatment.

Say it ain't so!

2010-07-22T08:14:00.000-04:00

Yep... while these two dudes sit in Ottawa and eat watermelon, their wandering Daddio is in Hawaii interviewing a celebrity. Seriously! I wouldn't joke with you!

He was home a whole week... I guess I should be grateful (?). He's so double-time jet-lagged... I don't think he knows what time/day/year it is. Home on Sunday, I guess we'll make it.

Which celebrity you ask? Here are your clues:

1. Foreign
2. Big head
3. Oscar winner

Hmmmm... wonder if you can unravel those clues!? (The answer could be Chris is you took out the award!)

That is all. Must go pack the miscellany of life.

(Don't) Touch a Truck

2010-07-19T20:17:00.000-04:00

Mothercraft's annual 'Touch a Truck' event was yesterday. Now, amazingly, I don't care that much for trucks... but my youngest son talks trucks non-stop. I was actually excited to go and face the crowds to touch one, or maybe more!, trucks.

Of course, Chris and Charley came along too. No need to hog all the truck-fun.

So we paid our admission (which I was happy to do, because Mothercraft is pretty darn awesome,) and we stepped 3.2 feet inside the gates, at which point Sam declared in a forceful manner "NO LIKE IT!!". Then he said 'no like it' 75 more times, clutching me with sweaty hands.

Okay. I could to-tally see where he was coming from. There were about 50 different vehicles, of one kind or another. That alone is a lot to take in, but then add to this the fact that all the attending kids are allowed to climb all over and into the trucks and set off any horns/whistles/sirens available.

Imagine 25 fire truck sirens going off at the same time, all within 100 metres of you. So, so painful. Hey.. Maybe there are parents out there who thought that it was really fun, but they are either masochists or hard of hearing.

Anyway... I couldn't get the truck-loving child to go anyway near a truck, whereas the train-loving child had a great time.

So enjoy these photos of the eldest getting his money worth.

A family shot. Can you feel Chris' ears ringing in this shot?:

The best I could do...

I managed to get the wee one to stand beside a tiny, tiny car. Not touch it... Not sit in it... Just stand beside it and look worried.

How can he dislike a crazy truck-touching outing so much and yet react like this to me giving him a bowl of watermelon?:

Meet my changeable son! Which version will I get tomorrow??

He's baaaa-aaack!

2010-07-15T20:04:00.001-04:00

Yep... the Big Man made it home safe and sound (although quite smelly, I must say...) on Tuesday evening. We couldn`t resist going to the airport to meet him and it was great and weepy and hilarious. I don`t have any photos of the actual reunion, because I opted for a movie, but perhaps John caught a few on his camera.

It was weird to see him because it felt like an extremely long time since we`d seen each other, and like no time at all. The boys were over-joyed and continue to be so. No grudges for them, lucky for Daddio.

Here are a few shots from the airport waiting period:

We did some colouring in anticipation of his arrival!

After a while, it`s important to have a raisin break to keep energy levels up.

Lookin`cute, waiting for Dad #1

Lookin' cute waiting for Dad #2

So, of course, with Dad home everything is more fun! (Especially when you're 4 and 2).

For instance, Mom just takes pictures of you in the pool, whereas Dad will get in and let you pummel him with water balloons. Clearly, he wins.

Look at that 'smooshed' balloon action!...

And re-action!!

I love Sam laughing this hard at the abuse Chris is suffering. Says it all.

The boys are rowdy in their beds at the moment, too excited from the re-introduction of Dad, so I must go and see if I can settle their silly selves. I wonder how many days this will last?

-------------

Edited to add anecdote:

Sam had a rash on his bum today and Charley asked me, very earnestly, "Will Sammy get some bum cream tonight because his testicles are sore?". Sigh... don't know whether I'm proud or horrified.

My Thank You list

2010-07-13T10:36:00.001-04:00

Okay.

I've done it.

36 days of single-parenting ends tonight when Chris (hopefully) arrives around 4:30. (Well, this is in theory of course. He won't be able to see, much less parent, at that point... but you know what I mean.)

It's been an amazing experience for both Chris and myself. I don't want to do it again anytime soon, but I think I've learned a lot from being here alone. Somehow I think I'm emerging as a better parent. I don't know how, but I think I'm more patient now. And I know my boys better than ever before. (I didn't think I could learn more about them, but they are changing so quickly! They are definitely little boys now.)

The reason this has been a mostly-positive experience is because of the lovely folk who have been there for me.

Thanks to John and Marilyn, the bestest grandparents possible! The boys would have been way more bored and grumpy if it wasn't for your happy arrivals. I, also, would have been much more crabby. Thanks.

To Hannah who, although she gets paid for her work, is like a member of our family. She knows the boys almost as well as I do and always fulfills her role as "Fun-Mom". Thanks so much.

To lovely Alison who brought me a ready-made meal (yum!) and Fred and Tania who never forgot to ask if I needed something.

To my family for their chipper phone calls that kept my spirits up when they were flagging. Smooches.

To my beautiful sister-in-law, Leanne: Today is a big day for both of us. I get a husband back and you, my dear, get a new house. After a long year, I'm so happy that you are walking into a fresh-new-start today. Our chats always make me smile and I feel so lucky that we've grown so close over the last year. Congrats to you.

And, of course, this would not be complete without a big shout-out to my wonderful, funny and max-powered friend, Phil. What can I say? You have doled out more sanity to the dog, the boys and me than we deserve. You are a true, true friend and I hope I can do the same for you at some point.

And to everyone else who helped along the way... thanks.

Now my sappy little note is done. Sorry that it sounds like an acceptance speech gone long, but I really wanted to let these people know that I'm smiling today (and for the previous 35 days) because of them.

And you, Hub? You just get your tired, cute self home. A few more hours until you get to be welcomed back into this happy fold.

We can't wait.

36 days, my friends. It's a lifetime and a blink of an eye.

This makes me feel a bit sick...

2010-07-12T18:33:00.001-04:00

You know when you're on a flight to Europe and you hit the 4 or 5 hour point and you say to yourself "this is no longer fun"?

Imagine this being your life, right now. And that only gets him as far as Atlanta! With 2 more flights after that!!

Ewwwww.

You can do it Hub! Oh! My legs are developing clots just looking at this image...

Pool Party / Fool Party

2010-07-12T11:08:00.000-04:00

It's amazing how much fun we can cram into our tiny, mud-filled, grass-free, verging-on-slummy backyard!

A little pool, a bag on balloons, some water to fill them and some crazy kids = summer greatness.

Shenanigans:

After a few rounds of 'smoosh-face', the kids tried to help my face get into the same position...

Thanks kiddies.

And it's official! I've had my first cry, blubber-fest, sobbity-sob about leaving. I took this picture of the 'besties' and when I downloaded it I had a moment. It's going to be so, so hard to leave many of the people here in the Capital... with Sadie right up there at the top of the list.

In other news... I'm a FREEKIN' HERO! Or, in other words, I'm on day 35 of the solo-parent flight. Chris is already at the airport in Johannesburg awaiting departure. I feel sick for him about the 36-ish hours of travel ahead, but I can't wait to see him tomorrow night. Can you believe that we made it? I'm overwhelmed by the whole thing.

The best part of the World Cup is when it ends. Yay!

Surviving the heatwave

2010-07-10T12:10:00.000-04:00

I found this super-old school collapsible pool for the backyard just in time. The heat was really starting to get to us and the pool provided much needed relief. I know it's nothing fancy but considering Sam, who hates all things water, was seen cavorting in a splashy manner, I'd say it's juuuust right.

The whole 'nothing to pop or puncture' element makes me especially happy. We'll see how long it'll last us. Considering that these boys and my alterna-kids, Sadie and Rory, have used it plenty of the last few days, I'd say we've already got our money's worth.

Sweat, heat and angry South Americans

2010-07-07T10:53:00.000-04:00

It's been a busy week (as usual) and we're in the midst of a crazy heat-wave. Today we will hit the 100 degree mark, and that's before you factor in the humidity. (100 degrees sounds sooo much hotter than 35 degrees, don't you think? Sometime Fahrenheit wins.)

In addition to our sweaty times here, my Adventurous Hub is stirring up some heat of his own. He has officially been dubbed "The Most Hated Man in Paraguay". I'm not going to put up a link, lest the angry fans choose to name me "The Most Hated Wife in Paraguay", so if you're interested, search Hubby's name and the aforementioned country. Sheesh... Drama at the 30 day point.

Yes... Let us reflect on that number: 30!!! I've made it 30 days as a solo parent. And, do you want to know a secret? It's been okay. This isn't meant to scare the pants of my Huz, but in some ways it's easier to parent alone. Is that weird? There's something about knowing it's all on you that makes it more simple... Like, who are you going to complain to/blame/get cranky with? Nobody! Garbage didn't get taken out? No one's fault but your own. Kids are crabby? Oh well, you gotta deal.

You just do what needs to be done and that's it. End of story.

That being said, 6 days until the Hub is back from his adventure and we'll be glad to see him.

The boys have many things to relay, like:

1. Sometimes breakfast is just too much to bear.

2. Ditto 'socks and sandals'. (Look, he gets blisters, people! It's for his own good...)

3. Charley likes trains. (You may actually know that one already.)

4. Having Sadie next door is super-awesome.

5. Fake smiling is an art form.

6. Soccer rocks. For some. (Yep.. this is Uncle Phil, 'working from home' the other day.)

That is all. Must go and make a yoga mat out of freezies and then do the corpse pose for a while.

Mmmm... chilly.

Canada Day miracle!

2010-07-01T09:26:00.000-04:00

Look what I got for Canada Day:

A picture of my boys both looking at the camera and smiling!?.... AT THE SAME TIME!?

It is truly a miracle.

(Sorry to break your heart with their cuteness, Daddio! 12 days left!!)

When the cat's away...

2010-06-30T12:13:00.000-04:00

...The mud-babies will play!

The most terrifying part of this day was that somehow the mud and water combined to create a mini-Hitler doppelganger. Scary, indeed...

Day 21!!

2010-06-28T20:01:00.001-04:00

Somehow, through patience and luck and effort and the general goodwill of the gods, I've made it to day 21 of my solo-flight.

It helps that it's summer. I'm absolutely certain that if I'd been dealing with shoveling, boots and cold during this stretch I would be officially crazy by now.

In the spirit of enjoying every moment of summer, Nanna and I took the boys to a local park. It has an amazing playground, a field and a wading pool... who could ask for more? We hit up all the areas, although it must be said that Sam's 'swim' was him submerging himself to his ankles and declaring "I'm done" and walking away. (I will never understand how a Pisces is so opposed to all things water!). Charley on the other hand is a fan of the water and only almost-drowned once, which I call success. Hey, a sharp snort of water is good for you once and a while!

I had made my annual $3 investment in some new kites and today was the first afternoon breezy enough to justify their use. One of these years I'm going to realize that I have 2 options:

1. Stop buying kites. Period.
2. Stop buying dollar-store kites.

Charley's dazzler was an inflatable Buzz Lightyear kite. (Inflatable! Sounded so modern!) Sam's was the usual crappy triangle version. (Note: The only, ONLY, kites available were tarty princesses or violent comic characters... How about, say... green?)

We surely had our 10 minutes of allotted fun before inflatable Buzz sustained a lung-puncture and crappy, angry Batman had his tether torn. Oh well... off to the garbage for you, Chinese plastic!

Here's Charley, dragging the victim, having been told to put Buzz in the garbage can:

Hilarious or heart-breaking... you be the judge.

Then, to distract Charley from the pain, I made him go down this slide:

Seriously... this slide is like a 3 second free-fall before it shoots the kid out at the bottom like a rocket. Awesome.

Action shot:

Sam said 'no way'. Instead he climbed the most age inappropriate part of the play structure ('age inappropriate' on this particular climber being under 32...) and just hung out there for a while.

My actual vantage point of Sam in his perch:

After this face started to appear, I knew it was time to get the devils home.

What's nice, after a long afternoon out, is to return to your nice, calm, tidy and soothing home for some respite.

Oh wait. That's someone else's life. Here's what I came home to:

Not only is my house in a right tip, but I managed to pick up an extra child along the way. Actually, Sadie is the only reason I get dinner made most nights. She's a helluva babysitter and cheap too.... a sticker, some juice and I send her on her way.

That's the end of day 21. Oh, what fun will tomorrow bring??!!

Battle of Mid-way

2010-06-25T19:34:00.000-04:00

I think I've hit the half-way point to the return of the Wandering Reporter. I don't know whether to laugh or cry. I guess I'll do a feeble 'hurrah!' that I've survived the last 18 days in one piece-ish.

Although I'm keeping very close tabs on how long it is since Chris left and how long it is until he's back, I have yet to count the days until we move. I don't think my sanity can handle that number right now. Here's what I know, though: The day approacheth!

I figure acquiring the packing supplies is a good first step.

Sigh...

2010-06-23T10:21:00.000-04:00

Sometimes they're just so darn cute. I mean, look at that little elbow!

Day #15, people! That leave 3 weeks to go until the return of El Daddio from his African adventure. Slowly, slowly getting there...

Cowboy and Buckethead

2010-06-21T16:58:00.000-04:00

The boys are finding lots of ways to keep themselves busy and entertained while down to one parent. Interesting headgear seemed to be the theme of the day today:

Ol' Bucket Head. I think he's crying because it's getting too small to wear as a hat.

The King

"Well... Howdy Lil' Lady. Wanna mosie over to the sa-loon and get a sasparilla with this ol' cowpoke?"

Happy Daddio Day

2010-06-20T14:39:00.000-04:00

Even though he's a million miles away, we wish Mr. Big-Man a happy day. You're missed.

(The drawing was designed and directed by the boys. Charley asked for animals and 'Africa'. Sam drew the beard and the scary claw-hand.)

Lovely Sadie

2010-06-18T19:26:00.000-04:00

This is Sadie. She lives next door. The boys ab-so-lutely adore her, as do I. I wouldn't mind having another child if she were 3 already. Don't think I want another newborn, but Sadie comes over and somehow it's less work than without her.

And I love when she runs with a saw. Half adorable, half maniacal. Perfect.

Day... 9?

2010-06-16T20:00:00.000-04:00

It's official. I've lost track of the days. One day is the next, is the next and so on. I think it's day 9. What does that leave?... 27?

Oh crap.

That's not even close. 1/4 hurrah!!!?!?!

All has been running somewhat smoothly until a recent (ie: 15 minutes ago) pooping-on-the-floor incident. Involving dancing in pile, running while flinging poo-bits and smearing. Oh, the smearing!

I put sicky, sad and weepy Charley to bed. It took 2 minutes. That's what happen when you leave a kid like this alone, naked, for 120 seconds.

I should know better...

Pirates and Kramer-hair

2010-06-14T07:20:00.000-04:00

I think it's time for a 'pirate-face-for-photos' intervention for this one:

And, no doubt, a haircut for this one:

It's nice that they love each other though...

Moving estimators coming today... Oh my God! This is really going to happen, isn't it?

Pre-schoolers secret rituals

2010-06-12T08:38:00.001-04:00

Click the title of this post to see the silliness.

Sibling pride

2010-06-12T07:17:00.001-04:00

I'm not sure which sibling I'm more proud of... my sister Emily who takes the most beautiful photos or my brother Ben who has turned out to be the most loving and wonderful dad.

What an amazing shot!

(No love for you in the post, Nay! Poor neglected middle child...)

Edited to add Emily's website: Unfurled Photography

What the Hub is up to

2010-06-11T08:57:00.000-04:00

If you'd like to read about Chris' journey across the Atlantic and continents, here's his travelogue posting:

In other news: It's official... Sam's head is going to take over the world! That's some crazy cranium.

New 'do and seasonal inappropriateness

2010-06-09T08:24:00.000-04:00

Thanks Grandparents for taking him to the salon while I was away. What a cute lil' head to come home to!

(Yeah. Those are Santa jammies. Is it so wrong in June? They are perfectly good pyjamas... My sensible/frugal self says it's a waste not to wear them beyond Christmas.)

Boston and abandonment

2010-06-08T10:09:00.001-04:00

My 'bribery' weekend in Boston/Providence is over (although extended by a night because of bad weather in Boston) and now the 36 day abandonment begins.

Chris leaves in an hour for the first of 3 flights that will whoosh him off to South Africa until mid-July. I feel sick for many reasons:

I'll miss him.
I'll miss having a second adult/parent in the house.
The boys seem to be coming down with the flu this morning (not a good start).
Kismet, although cute, is not a great conversationalist. ("Woo woo woo!" is the extent of it).

Sigh. We'll make it and we have much to look forward to beyond this stretch. We're both extremely excited for our move and new house! Charley starts school in September! It's summer!

Plus, if I was a military wife we'd be talking about a much longer desertion period. See!? Silver lining.

Here are a few shots from our great time in Boston and environs:

A man in the Common

Best graffiti and Chris doing his best attempt at "heartbroken".

This graveyard is amazing. Paul Revere, etc are buried there and it's old and creepy.

And don't even get me started on the Public Library. Dreeeeeeamy! At the risk of Chris saying that my 'nerd-dom" has impossibly increased, I love this library. Could have spent the day...

A little way finding...

And ready for a night on the town.

Great town... Great time. Something to remember on day 23 of 'all-alone'.

That's all for now. You'll forgive me if the posts are sporadic for the next while... Or maybe they won't be. Who knows. But if you don't hear from me, you'll know why.

Later.

Bean-Town Bound

2010-06-03T19:55:00.000-04:00

Hubs and I are off to Boston and the environs for the weekend. I believe this is a blatant bribery on my husband's part so that I still like him when he returns from his 36 day work marathon, but I'll take what I can get.

This has been, without a doubt, the busiest and craziest time of my life so far. And, really, there's more insanity to come...

So! Whenever I get overwhelmed for a minute I think to myself "Dude! You just bought a house that is awesome enough to feature in a BOOK!... and not as a 'before' picture".

Sigh. Can't even wait to get started working on our new digs.

Check for Boston photos early next week. Ta-ta!

When they were cute

2010-05-31T22:00:00.000-04:00

These were taken this morning, when they were still 'cute' to me and not quite as 'monstrous'. Seriously... when the drama of 4-years-old meets the temper of 2-years-old, it makes for a noxious stew.

Anyway, enjoy the shots from the not-yet-sullied a.m.:

Cuteness

Still cute-ish, but someone is trying a bit too hard.

Tonsil check (The weird thing about this photo is that I asked them to open their eyes really wide.)

Finding Big Bro amusing

Finding Lil' Bro amusing

A hearty rendition of the Scout classic "A Ram Sam Sam"

(Okay, side-note here... I just googled that song and learned a bunch. It's Moroccan!)

Free-stylin'

And, a vision of attitude to come in the p.m. hours of the day. ie: mini-thugs

There you have it. 2 minutes of my life. Too bad there isn't a soundtrack to accompany it...

Woot Woot! It's a party in the house!

2010-05-29T14:36:00.000-04:00

THIS house, my friends:

That's right, y'all! It's allllll mine! (Well... ours).

Who wants to come visit us first? There are servants quarters in the back half of the second floor, a spooky tower room, front and back stairs, fireplaces galore and a huge yard. I am PUMPED!

Oh yeah... there's knob and tube wiring, 1870-era windows and a sketchy roof too.

But who cares! It's ours come late August!!! Woooooooooooooooooooooooot!

A quick trip

2010-05-27T07:33:00.000-04:00

Jack's sleepy toes

I left the boys in the capable hands of their daddy for a day and a half earlier this week. I went home to say Happy Birthday to my bro and check on my Granny who has been feeling badly with a virus. It was a whirlwind but had it moments of silence, which is all I really want as a prezzie anyday o' the week!

I was lucky enough to be present for a Higg-kid gathering, so that I could catch up with two of the world's cutest kids; Evy and Jack.

Here they are:

Oh... and Brian ate the biggest hot dog in the world. This picture does NOT do it justice. It looked like Jack's arm. Ewww.

Piglets to Bubble-bathers

2010-05-23T12:33:00.001-04:00

The boys discovered the fine art of water meets topsoil this morning. I've never, ever seen them so dirty and you know that's saying something. I didn't get pictures of them lying in the mudpit they created yelling "Mommy! We're piglets!" so you'll just have to use the state of their clothes to give you an idea:

There's something really sad about Thomas just barely peeking out of those undies, saying "I'm up to my axles in mud!!"

I needed to remedy the dirty boy situation I found myself in and really didn't want that to involve bringing them into the house and upstairs to the bathtub.

In a moment of improvisation, I dumped the toys out of the bins from the storage unit and voila! Instant cleaning with the benefit of making C and S as happy as they've been in ages.

These pictures just make me so happy. They were in these chilly, hose-filled mini-tubs for a solid 30 minutes and still didn't want to come out. Now they're eating lunch and both sounding rather tired after a busy morning of getting dirty and cleaning up.

And look at the little toes showing through the tub... it was so weird and 'in utero' looking.

That's the day so far. Later!

p.s. Edited to add that I used eco-friendly, biodegradable soap, in case you thought I was contaminating the earth! Only the best for my ~~junkyard~~ backyard.

Nothing all week and then overload!

2010-05-23T08:30:00.000-04:00

Sorry for the delay between posts. It's been a busy, up-and-down kind of week trying to negotiate the purchase of our current favourite house possibility. Still no deal in place, but we have until Tuesday to try and work something out.

Amidst the drama of the adult world, the Jo-Higg family took a breather and went to the grand re-opening of the Canadian Museum of Nature parade yesterday morning. It was really fun and the boys brains almost blew-up from sensory overload.

Here's a summary of the day yesterday:

Wake up boys! We're going to a parade today!

I think this is Charley winking. And it scares me.

Arrive at the parade route and wait for the fun to start.

We saw marching dudes or, as Charley called them, 'happy men with pointy hats'.

We saw dancers of all varieties.

And really scary guys on stilts. Charley had to hide his face for this one.

But he came around for the swooshy rainbow-ribbon. He thought that was awesome.

And you can't have a Canadian parade without the ol' RCMP bringing up the rear and playing their tunes.

They thought the hats were cooooool.

Then home for lunch and a nap for Sam that left his hair particularly Kramer-ish:

Then it was time to jump in the puddles created by a 5 minute downpour. Like, reeeeeally jump in them, until there is mud-splatter on your face. If he had mud up to his face, you can imagine what his clothes looked like.

Then it was time to eat. So Daddy heads out to acquire delicious, home-crafted food (not). He seemed to think it was totally reasonable for little boys to split a foot-long sub, and I thought it was so hilarious I took the photos. And then the piglets actually ate the WHOLE thing.

So, there's a daily digest for you to digest. What's happening with you?

How cute?

2010-05-18T22:16:00.000-04:00

How adorable is my baby brother and his sweet little son, Jack? Lookin' good boys... and happy birthday, Benny. xo

Much better, thank you...

2010-05-16T19:51:00.000-04:00

Chris' arrival home from a week away has improved everyone's spirits, especially Charley's. (It's very likely this is temporary, but hey! I'll take what I can get.)

The weather was beyond perfect today and we spent a good chunk of time outside, with a brief pit-stop for some milkshakes this aft. Charley said "this juice is delicious".

The boys ground their little legs down to stubs in the park. I can't even tell you the kilometre-age they put in. It was quite amazing.

Thanks to those of you who were kind in my moment of weakness this morn. And to the person who left the comment about "suck it up... think of all the working moms out there... etc"... Um... this is my blog and I moderate it, so whenever I see a loser-comment like yours Anonymous (if that is your real name...) then I hit a quick DELETE and laugh. Talk to me when you've done my job for 4 + years, you hater. Until then, try and add some joy to your own life, k?

Charley sez 'sheesh!'

Off to enjoy my quiet night, folks. Might just buy a house this week!

The inevitable cry of the stay-at-home mom

2010-05-16T07:20:00.000-04:00

Charley, 1 week old

So, I've been having a bit of a rough time with Charley lately. I'm not sure what's going on with him these days. I'm obviously way too close to the situation to assess the issues clearly, but he's really not acting like the boy I know.

Is he having his terrible two's late? Is he mad for some reason? Early puberty? Moody-itis? I wish I knew the answer.

This sometimes leads me to think, especially in the wee hours of the sleepless morning, that I'm not doing a good job as a stay-at-home mom. This isn't a call for sympathy and comfort, by the way. Just imagine it this way: You're working on a project at work really hard... like 12 hours a day, 7 days a week. I mean, it's your whole life. Now imagine that instead of seeing gains from your hard work, the whole project is starting to fall apart and get worse. It would suck, right?

In my lowest points this week, I said that I just wanted to go back to work and let someone else do the day-time child-rearing.

I think if I look at the situation logically, I would see that a number of events are contributing to my state of mind: a week parenting solo, selling our house, not having a new house to move into yet, Chris being up to his eyeballs with work, the boys getting up pre-6 a.m. the last week, etc.

I'm sure in a few months I'll look back and say 'hey, yeah! that was a rough stage', but being in the middle of it and having no idea how to get out is a tough place to be.

So, there's my mood today. If anyone has a miracle cure for the angry, crabby, bossy, whiny and pushy 4 year old send it along.

Otherwise, just hang in there. I'm sure the next post will be more chipper and feature some of the usual shenanigans... it's inevitable, right?

Oh yeah...

2010-05-15T08:13:00.000-04:00

In less exciting news, (anything is less exciting than the last post right?) we sold our house. Some neighbours came to the door with a big suitcase full of money, and who are we to say no? Saves us listing, staging and giving away 5%.

There you go. Onward, my friends!

Letting his heritage down

2010-05-13T11:07:00.004-04:00

Being of proud UK descent, you might think that Charley would be a soccer/football fan. I'm not going to pretend that he would be good at it, but at least interested in the process.

3-4 year old soccer class started up on Tuesday night. Chris is away for work, so I assumed the job of cheering parent. I cheered for about 22 seconds until I realized this wasn't going to be a success.

I am well aware of Charley's non-sporting tendencies. I knew he would not be aggressively chasing the ball or giving two hoots about scoring a goal, but I wasn't prepared for him to be the team doofus/weiner/meanie. In a short half an hour, he managed to kick other kids balls far, far away, throw grass at the coach, kick over goal pylons, and generally ignore the proceedings/directions.

I have passed my initial mood of "why do I get to be the mom of the BAD kid" and into the "slightly-more-humorous, look at these photos for proof mood".

Yes people. Laugh at my pain. I dare you not to.

Hmm.. don't quite know what all this 'stretching' is about...

Feigning interest in the rules.

Starting to lose interest

Time for a lie-down.

Can you find my child? Do you see the earnest children, happily chasing the ball? Yeah, not there.

Well, why not roll around the entire pitch, accumulating grass-stains but not a whit of soccer knowledge? A worthy question, Master Charley.

Sigh. Sigh. Double-sigh. I told Chris I'm retired (after one 30 minute session) from the 'Soccer-Mom' position. That's fine with me... never wanted that promotion in the first place. It will take the will of Nelson Mandela and the patience of Mother Theresa to get this boy into the sporting spirit. All interested parties may apply here.

You can stop laughing now...

Argh!

2010-05-09T19:49:00.002-04:00

Oh. My. God.

The past few weeks have obviously existed to make me realize that my usual insane life is actually much, much calmer than it could be. (And has been!)

Clean house. Stage house. Finish reno's. Sell house. Oh yeah... find new house. (None of these things have actually been completed yet...) And let us not forget the topsoil incident. ("The Day of the Dirt shall not be mentioned!")

Two sick kids. Winter's come back. Husband keeps repeatedly running both hands through hair, which seems to be retreating in fear.

Is it any wonder that I found the children trying to escape to the neighbours the other day. Chris saw them and said "when did our children start to look like they were escaped trailer park urchins?". (Husband anxiously runs hands through hair.)

Sigh. Happy Mother's Day to all. I reeeeally hope my present is a nap.

Oh wait... Chris leaves for 5 days of work tomorrow. Okay... um, maybe next year?

Get that finger outta there!!

2010-05-04T18:28:00.000-04:00

Yay for big brothers who police the bad habits of little brothers. In Sam's defence, he seems to have been hit with the allergy-patrol the last week. Poor him.

Keep up the good work, Officer Charley.

Posting maniac

2010-05-03T17:37:00.000-04:00

Seriously. When is the last time I posted this many times in a few days? Never, I'm pretty sure.

Just a few quick notes:

Note #1:

This is what Sam looked like when he woke up. Well, I mean, he looks the same as usual, but check out that hair!! Clearly the curls are a summer phenom. Glad to have them back.

Note #2:

This is what Charley looked like when he was obviously in a cool dude mood today. Rockin' the Small Paul.

Note the Third:

Check this, peeps! Yeah, that's right! My first Esquire byline!! If you want to read my (awesome) writing, you'll just have to pick up a copy. Har har har. May issue, out now

That is all. Must go and focus on important things like dinner and SELLING MY HOUSE!!!

Eeeeeep.

A portrait of reluctance

2010-05-03T13:47:00.001-04:00

When it's time to leave a fun place (ie: park, playgroup, friend's house, etc..) most parents deal with some amount of drama. Anything from some whining to a full-blown freak-out.

I've always been lucky that my boys don't totally lose their stuff when we're coming and going, but Charley has developed a version of the leaving-protest. His version is dogged reluctance.

I'll be all ready to go: Sam in wagon, toys picked up and be walking away and he'll be literally dragging his heels behind. There's not much, outside of physical intervention, to move things along either.

So, I'll give you the following photo essay, entitled "Oh Mother! Oh Bane of my Existence! I do not want to leave...sigh, sigh, double-sigh".

"Maybe I'll just sit here and feed the cement horse my snack..."

"Or make myself tiny and hope she doesn't notice?"

"Drats! She noticed me. Okay, how about I walk reeeeeeeeally sloooooow?"...

"And drag my sad feet along..."

"In a truly pathetic attempt for sympathy."

"No go? Oh well... Best hustle and try again next time!"

Beautiful weather, as you can see from the shots. I can really support this early, extended spring-summer things we've got going.

Because, let's face it...

2010-05-02T17:44:00.000-04:00

...Life's just not worth living if you can't start the day with a hearty, nude jogging session around the house.

And, of course, there's Kismet looking generally forlorn in the background. I think she hopes this silly, loud and rambunctious boy behaviour is a short-lived phase. Poor, poor pup.

Colourful, but messy

2010-05-02T08:02:00.000-04:00

Fingerpainting. Don't start it if you enjoy some level of calm and cleanliness.

Otherwise, go for it.

Note of fact: These fingerpaints have been kicking around since Hannah brought them 2 years ago. They've spent a few winters in an uninsulated room, experiencing -30 degrees and +30 degrees (celcius!) and everything in between. And they're TOTALLY fine.

Fingerpaints will outlive us all! And cockroaches.

Oh oh... I can hear Charley declaring that Sam has a 'booger face' from the other room, so must go and de-mucus. Ta ta.

House prep

2010-05-01T13:47:00.000-04:00

We're kickin' it into high gear around here. Less than 2 weeks until the house is on the market, so there's much to do... like packing up 700 of the 704 toys on the floor etc.

In all the chaos, no new pictures to be had. He are a few more from the Granny/Poppa weekend extravaganza.

Two boys take the back road,

And lo and behold, they find a cute toad.

It doesn't take much to delight wee boys, that's for sure. They've been happily playing in the last yard of topsoil every day this week. Today Sam managed to throw an entire shovel-full into his mouth and ear. His own mouth and ear. That's hard to do. He looked up at me with an entirely black-coated tongue extended as if to say "now how do I get out of this pickle?". A wipe of my hand and an apple juice tonic, and he was back at the excavation site.

When I changed his diaper before his nap a solid 1/2 cup of dirt and sand spilled out onto the floor. Oh well. I guess, knowing Sam as I do, it might have been much, much worse.

Fun in the sun

2010-04-28T07:31:00.000-04:00

Cousin Thomas came to visit the boys while we were visiting Granny and Poppa's and my boys taught the 14 month-er a few new tricks.

He went home considerably dirtier, but quite happy.

Charley also found lots of time to play with his log. Yep... he's obsessed with filling the log holes with rubber reptiles. He's a boy, after all!

The log lad.

Who needs toys when all they want to play with are sticks, logs, rocks and water? Oh, and Charley picked the entire clump of Granny's favourite tulips while we weren't looking. Oops! Add flowers to the list...

Granny B!

2010-04-26T17:40:00.000-04:00

We had a gathering to honour Granny Barbara (centre) who is turning 92 in June. It wasn't really a birthday party, but since Al and Jim will be on the East coast then, we got together now.

It was lots of fun, except that Charley was having an over-tired meltdown (see above) and Sam almost knocked his nose off on some sturdy door-trim and had a nosebleed on and off for a few hours. Sigh. Never goes exactly as you wish, does it?

Do you think?

2010-04-25T07:03:00.000-04:00

Between jumping on the furniture, riding in Auntie Yumyum's new convertible, shucking and scattering cow-corn for the birds and hiking in the woods, do you think the boys are having a nice weekend at Granny and Poppa's?

Yep.

Oh... and here's the house for sale that I toured in Port Hope yesterday. Just a little shack...

Yes please, husband!! You've got to LOVE Port Hope and it's heritage overload.

Um... 13

2010-04-20T18:28:00.000-04:00

Yeah. So it was 13 yards of soil... not 10.

Lots. Of. Dirt.

Luckily, we had some help.

Uncle Stu carves a path through. Yay!

And then today...

Larry!!!

One of the city crew from up the road came and 'relieved' us of about 5 yards of the soil for the work they were doing. The boys were almost inside out from the joy of having a digger in our driveway. The nice man's name was Larry, but they boys ended up thinking that the digger's name was Larry. Either way... woo hoo!

Basically, it left us with just enough for this kind of fun.

Best day ever... if you're 4 or 2. But not if you're daddy. Poor, broken Chris.

Dirt, dirt, dirt

2010-04-19T13:35:00.000-04:00

I guess when you're a man you say things like "Why order 2 yards of topsoil, when you can order 10?!".

Why indeed.

Sweet faces

2010-04-17T18:22:00.000-04:00

I'm feeling quite mushy about my sweet boys faces today. I always appeciate their goofy mugs, but since I actually performed the Heimlich maneuver on Charley yesterday, thus dis-lodging the marble from his windpipe, I'm feeling even more gratitude and love today. I was totally calm during the episode and didn't get the panicky sweats until 3 a.m.. It sure is something to know that you were there at the right time for your child.

Marbles are getting picked up today and I'm going to put them away for a week or so...

Big Boy: (alive and kickin')

Little Boy:

Ah... they're tormenting each other. Now they're dancing. Tormenting again. Now Sam's crawling under the play area carpet.

Live tweeting the boys actions! The fun never ends. (Thank goodness.)

Phew

2010-04-13T07:43:00.000-04:00

Off on another PoHo real estate mission today. I think this is the last visit for a while, so wish us success!

Yesterday, I was going through some old family photos on my old computer and came across these pictures of Chris when he was Sam's age. I was amazed to see the resemblance. I just didn't think it was there... and yet, there it is.

Do you see it?

Just move those eyes apart another 1/2 inch, or so... darken down the hair and PRESTO!

This guy!

Must run. Updates on house shopping to come.

Auntie Toots

2010-04-10T09:18:00.000-04:00

Happy Birthday to YOU,

Happy Birthday dear Too-oooooots,

Happy Birthday to YOU!

I hope your birthday is fun, fun, fun. (I see it's cold in L.A. this week. Must be a nice break!)

p.s. Stole the photo from your site... as usual.

A series of events

2010-04-09T20:41:00.000-04:00

This is not a complaining post. This is the factual recounting of events from approximately 3 p.m. until around 5 p.m. today.

In order to keep 2 boys busy on a day that is quite grey and cold and yucky out, one must provide a wide variety of activities to keep them entertained. Chris is in New York for a couple days, so the fun level has to be 'upped' a bit to make up for the lack o' Daddy.

To give you an idea of the number of activities I'm talking about, here is a nearly-complete, but surely not quite complete, list of the things we did this afternoon.

1. Colouring

A portrait of me, according to Sam.

2. Puzzles

Charley not only assembled the puzzle almost entirely on his own, he also told me the names of all the dinosaurs. Nerd.

3. Cootie catchers

Retro Fun!

4. Paper Hats

5. Paper dolls

6. Personalized homemade books listing items that one 4 year old finds important enough to record in picture form.

The items being: trains, crackers, blocks, family (grudgingly), crayons and whales.

7. Train stuff

Like, building a track for the 897th time. This year.

8. T-ball (indoors)

9. Bike riding (indoors)

(Can I be forgiven for not capturing these last two events on camera. It's all about the protection of human and non-human items during these times.)

10. Dance Party involving Raffi. Always with the Raffi.

And, I swear, there was much, much more. I just can't quite remember it all. Can you blame me?

Now, I'm downstairs typing this, listening to the singing and general 'jumping in the crib' action from above and wondering "What, in various Gods names, do I need to do to get them to go to bed in a timely manner if not what I've already done?"

Clearly, it's time to sign them up for spinning classes. At least Sam, anyways. He is crazy with a dash of coo-coo.

Must go and tie him to his bed now. Ta ta.

Colouring, pretzels and Yo Gabba Gabba

2010-04-07T19:50:00.000-04:00

Some of you might remember that, pre-Thomas mania, Yo Gabba Gabba was a pretty big deal in this household. Then Thomas took over a large portion of Charley's brain and Sam was too young to argue.

Well, now Sam is old enough to express an opinion (loudly) and the common t.v. viewing ground seems to be 'gabba'. It's nice to have DJ Lance and Brobee and Foofa back in our world for a bit.

Sam now calls the plush dolls we have 'his fwiends' and our colouring session today involved me drawing out the characters and letting them colour them in. Fun for all!

Sam is quite serious about the whole affair.

Charley tackles Foofa. He declared that pink is his 'favourite'.

If you don't know the characters, I guess you can't be expected to give me my mega-props on the likenesses...

Charley compares the drawings to the real thing.

As DJ Lance would say "It's AWE-SOME!"

Well, it's awesome until SOME-one decides to have a meltdown about which drinking vessel suits his Highness. Cup? NO! Sippy? NO! Bottle? NO! Any known bowl-like item in the house? WAAAAAAHHHHNNNN!!

Can you say DRA-MA?

I'm not going to point fingers, but I think the emotional spectrum is vast and plentiful in this one. (Ummm...Auntie Yum? Do these looks seem familiar at all? Just sayin', s'all...)

All's well, and all that. Took the Fericious Monster out for a stroll where he saw a dog, a cat, a squirrel and an airplane and thus = best walk ever. (Until tomorrow).

Happy Birthday dear DJ

2010-04-03T21:13:00.000-04:00

Cousin D turned 7 today. We went out to their place, ate cake, played and sweated in the unseasonably warm temperatures. It was 30 degrees when we left there at dinner-time (that's 90 to all you Yanks) and it had me, for one, feeling quite flattened. I'm all for the heat, but usually there's a bit more warning before you hit these temperatures. You should see the flowers and trees... it's like they're in a race to bloom, thinking that they are behind or something.

Anyway, Ms. D looked beau-ti-ful and was happy to open her prezzies and generally reign supreme as the coolest, oldest cousin.

This was the look she gave me when I asked her to show me her new 'mature' look.

So cute!

Little Sis JJ is pretty cute too.

My boys just filled and smeared their faces with cake.

Oh. And in a quiet moment, I found Charley like this.

That reminds me... When we were playing a game of 'toss the ball against the wall' (fun!) I called out to Charley, having not seen him for a few minutes. I said "Charley, where are you?" and he answered from the entryway "I'm just here in the closet, Mommy".

???

Birthday party! Ball throwing! Kids everywhere! Overall fun and mayhem!.. And where is Charley. Yep. Sitting in the front hall closet with the doors closed.

Sigh.

I don't need to do another 'my kid is weird' monologue, right? Good.

Let's just leave it at that.

Happy Easter to all those who Easter-cize. To everyone else, enjoy your long weekend.

More Mania at Granny and Poppa's house

2010-03-30T14:01:00.000-04:00

I was telling my parents that, if everyone has a personal 'slogan' that sums up their world, Sam's is most definitely "Everything is AWE-SOME!". He is too funny. He's loud and messy and a bit crazy, but OH SO joyous!

Awesome-ness also includes wrestling with Big Bro in the tub.

All of a sudden I am a mother of 'boys'. Jumping, running, wrestling, real boys. Sigh. Did I mention that Sam already has a deep appreciation of fart humour? I'm so doomed.

Sammy is a Star

2010-03-29T22:00:00.002-04:00

Sam loves his stars. Check out the smooching here.

Birthday Bash

2010-03-27T21:41:00.000-04:00

Yep, it's my big day. I won't say which one, because I stopped celebrating birthday 'numbers' after 35, but a good day anyway.

We're hangin' with the extendo-fam here in Peterborough while various siblings work at my house in Ottawa. Confusing? Yes. Call it a birthday present from my bro, my littlest sis and her man. They are doing some finishing touches on unfinished work in our house so that we can sell that joint and get outta town. Whoever buys it will be lucky that the best workers around put their touch on it.

So, while they slave away, I'm hanging here with my boy-o's. When we pull into the driveway here, their little eyes light up. They think 'oh! fun-land!' and scamper off without looking back my way.

Here's a few shots of the day:

While colouring a birthday card for mom, Sam gets distracted and decorates his apple.

Scampering on a local bridge.

Moving too fast to get a head-shot.

Great-Granny Barbara observes the 2008 babies. Those two are SO in cahoots.

Mega-cahoots.

The impossible, 3 child shot attempt.

Kids, Moms and Ice Cream Cake. Sticky, yummy goooood.

Soooo happy about the cake. Thanks for bringing it, Tania!

That is all. Greetings and salutations from a wise, old woman.

Manic Ruler

2010-03-22T09:13:00.000-04:00

He's the King. It just depends, minute to minute, whether he's a benevolant leader or a iron-fisted tyrant:

Daddy Love

2010-03-22T09:10:00.002-04:00

Charley looooves his Daddy. Don't we all?

Truck riding

2010-03-18T11:32:00.000-04:00

Because boys will be boys, here are some shots of them pushing each other around in the big Tonka truck. You can tell, I'm sure, that they are moving at great speed. It's a wall-bashingly, rumbly, loud good time.

Speedy! Blurry! Fun!

Don't ask me why...

2010-03-16T21:54:00.000-04:00

It seems that Vimeo videos only show up when you use Firefox (on PC), but if you click on the title of the video in the previous post you can watch it.

In other news:

This is, FOR REAL, how Charley set up the breakfast table the other morning. Yep. He put the picture of himself there, in full view, for his enjoyment while he ate. Please click photo for a closer view. Clearly, the Jones ego is strong in this one...

Delayed naysayer

2010-03-16T14:33:00.000-04:00

Birthday boy's new favourite word. from Lee on Vimeo.

The now-2-year-old shared his feelings.

Nether-landed

2010-03-11T18:47:00.000-05:00

We've been left to fend for our selves while Chris attends an art show in The Netherlands. (It sounds more glamourous than it is... or at least that's what he tells me).

Luckily it's been the most beautiful, mild and sunny March ever. We spend the vast majority of the day outside today. We lit the bbq for the first time and had a picnic lunch. Deee-licious. With my husband, parents and parents in law all traveling this week, I resorted to calling Phil to taunt him with our sunny lunch while he slaved away for the government. (har har har)

Hot dog mayhem! With pickles!

Can you even imagine trying to take away his hot dog. He scares me.

Kismet sez 'yes please'.

Sam goes Atkins.

And for after-lunch entertainment, Sam gets wedged in the chair. He watched Charley go in and out this way for 5 minutes but LO! and behold... his HEAD wouldn't go through the space. Har har har dee har. The Cannonball strikes again!

PoHo and Millbillies

2010-03-09T07:49:00.000-05:00

Chris and I took a road trip on Saturday to explore Port Hope. We both grew up near there and know the town, but we went looking with new eyes, contemplating it as a place we might move.

We've been debating a move from Ottawa for a while, and although nothing's decided at this point, Port Hope is a serious contender for relocation.

It's hard not to fall in love.

After a sunny afternoon in Port Hope we whipped up the highway to see Sarah in Millbrook. (20 minutes!) It was Jimmy's birthday so we showed up as a surprise during the family dinner and wished him well. I got to stay on overnight to spend some time with everyone. Chris drove home to take over child-care duties from John and Marilyn.

A quick shot with Chris before he drove off.

Yay! I got to stay and smooch babies! Love this girl!

And let's not forget Bubba. Jack = 3 months old, 17 1/2 pounds and burly!

I like how Jimmy didn't quite make it into the shot, even though it's his birthday.

Cuties galore. Seriously... look at the muffin-top on that baby!

Jack is quite a 'feisty' baby and when you dare to put him in his carseat, he has the meltdown of all meltdowns. I like this shot, where he's been put outside to cool off after his crying fit. Yeah... that'll teach ya!

Clearly the booze is for his parents.

That is all. Back to Ottawa life now, which means that Chris is jetting off to the Netherlands today and I'm wiping noses and bums. Just the usual.

Your happy viewing of the day

2010-03-03T09:58:00.000-05:00

If this doesn't make you smile you should just go back to bed. I looooove this band and their new video is a dazzler.

OK Go - This too shall pass, RGM version

When Grandparents Attack

2010-03-02T08:44:00.000-05:00

Chris and I ventured out on Saturday night for dinner and to greet Ed at his surprise 40th birthday party. This left John and Marilyn in charge of feeding, bathing and wrangling the hooligans into bed. Not a task for the faint-hearted.

Now, I don't need to tell you that there is often rowdiness after bathtime. Well, amidst the leaping and flailing and bouncing of young bodies, Charley's cheekbone crashed into The Cannonball. I think Sam's head should always be referred to as such. It was quite a blow, I hear, and although Sam didn't even notice (The Cannonball, after all...), Charley was a bit upset.

When I arrived home, Nanna and Dodo informed me that there had been 'an incident' and warned me that there may be physical proof in the morning.

Indeed, Charley took a good hit.

Tough Guy

It is possible that Charley has inherited my interesting hemo-genes and bruises with gusto. I've discovered that it's impossible to photograph bruises, but you get the idea from this shot.

The only strange thing about this is that it doesn't happen every night! Charley spent romp-time last night with his hands over his face everytime that Sam made a move. Har har har... that'll teach you! Don't mess with The Cannonball!

(Seriously... I took this picture while Chris and Phil were watching the hockey game on Sunday, and I had to set up a wee theatre in the kitchen in order to get dinner made. LOOK at that HEAD! I know I talk waaaaaay too much about Sam's melon, but really! I couldn't stop laughing looking at them sitting there.)

Post-dinner we had cake to celebrate The Cannonball's 2nd birthday. Charley kept referring to it as his own birthday. For example, I would say "Yay, Sammy! It's your birthday" and Charley would respond "You're right! It IS my birthday".

Charley's lips, pursed and ready to go

A rare family shot

Never forget... Mama wields a big knife. Show respect.

That's all from Crazyville. Chris may potentially be mentioned on Oprah today, in relation to the Roger Ebert story. Y'know... just a normal day.

p.s. Thanks to John and Marilyn for the babysitting. One little black eye is a small price to pay for a night out. Plus, Charley feel like a tough guy now.

Sam-Sam's big day

2010-02-28T10:22:00.000-05:00

With a birthday falling a week after Big Bro's, Sam is destined to be the 'forgotten child'. Well, Sammy, I'm here today to say "Happy Birthday, Crazy Boy!".

Sammy:

1 month

6 months

1 year

2 year old Sam!!:

I love you Mr. Stinky McCuteface. Happy Birthday.

2 years old.

32 lbs

35.5 inches long

Colossal head

Pitching boys

2010-02-27T08:25:00.001-05:00

Post-bathtime has always been romp-time in this household. It doesn't seem particularly logical (ie: the boys should be all mellow and snuggly after a warm bath) but it's the case.

Of course, it doesn't help at all that I engage them in a game of boy-pitchin'. Now, before you email me and say that I'm playing too rough, know that I am met with pleading and begging for a good throwing session by two young boys every night.

But even I was surprised by their velocity in this recent photo session by Auntie Emily.

Yep. Nothing like ending 12 hours of parenting with a little chuck-the-kid action. Too funny.

Oh. And Sam likes to jump on the bed. A lot.

Such ruffians!

4th Annual Bowl-a-thon

2010-02-23T12:43:00.000-05:00

Charley was born on February 21st, 2006. He was 39 days early. He was delivered early because he had atrial flutter (meaning his heart was beating over 200 beaths per minute). It is almost an unheard of condition in utero... really, really rare. I spent 20 nights in the hospital while they tried to fix him both in and out of my belly. In the end, they cardioverted him when he was a couple of hours old (meaning "electrocuted his heart") and all was fixed.

Whenever his birthday rolls around I think back to that time, which was the hardest thing I've had to live through. Being stuck in a tiny hospital room, attached to machines and taking terrible drugs, all the while waiting to find out if your beloved first-born was going to make it. Wondering if he was going to be okay. Wondering if they were going to have to cut open his tiny, newborn heart. It was nearly unbearable.

So, a part of me remembers the bad parts of his birthday. Thinking about how he stopped breathing right after he was born. Thinking about them wheeling him away in a box to the adjacent hospital, far away from me. Thinking about them shocking him with tiny panels that left burn marks on his chest. Honestly, it is still too much for me to think about. When I think about him spending those first nights alone in a box, my heart just breaks.

(Insert this song here. It must have been written by someone who knew exactly how Chris and I felt back in that first week, and I've always thought of it as the 'theme song' of Charley's first few days.)

Of course, as you know, the ending to this story is a happy one. Now I have a lovely, busy, chatty, train-crazed 4 year old, who may not be traditionally normal but certainly has normal heart. And that erases the sadness, stress and mayhem from those weeks into near oblivion.

When I brought Charley home from the hospital at one week old, I was able to bathe his 5 1/2 pound self in a mixing bowl. Since then, I've photographed him with the same bowl every year on his birthday to show me, and everyone else, how he's grown and thrived since then.

The shots:

One week

One year

Two years

Three years

And, now! Presenting! 4 YEARS OLD!:

He went to the doctor's today and weighed in at 38 pounds. He's come a long, long way from that premature, red, angry and skinny little baby. Well.... he's still skinny and occasionally angry.

Happy Birthday little man. xo

1462 days ago

2010-02-22T20:42:00.000-05:00

How can I have a child who is 1462 days old? (That's 365 x 4 + 1 for leap year + 1 for being a day late posting)

Charley celebrated the big #4 yesterday in great style. We had a party and had a great time with friends, food and drink. We were celebrating lil' bro's 2nd birthday also, but since his real birthday isn't until Sunday, we'll make this post about Big C.

Emily and Brian made a surprise appearance this weekend which was great on many levels, not the least being the quality of her photography skills. Had she not been there I would have missed out on photographic moments like this:

and this:

(I love a wry smile.)

Lucky for me, she was here to get some shots of the birthday party itself. There was a perfect gathering of people, both adults and kids (as far as I was concerned...) and everyone (seemingly) enjoyed themselves.

I made a crazy cake for my kiddo. I got the idea that creating a train cake was a genius idea and went at it. I thought of Martina during the entire process and cursed her for living as far away as she does.

It turned out well in a pleasing-4-year-olds way, meaning I didn't try to make it appealing to the grownups in the room. In fact, everytime I looked at it I felt a bit queasy.

I made mini cheesecakes for the adults, while displaying my cheesiest smile. Yep... canned topping. Nothing's too good for you guys!

The best moment of the day came when I the cake was presented to the boys. Charley is a bit strange (gasp!) and often feels the need to cover his eyes during moments of high emotion. (See here.) I loved Charley's reaction, but nothing beats our neighbour Vicente's look of pure, pure glee. (Click on photo for

max-emotion).

Also, Vicente peeking here:

Ah... they just make me happy.

More fun-day cuteness:

Little Man Renn

Bella = Beautiful

This photo = My heart melting

I can't thank you enough, Auntie Yum-yum. I just love every shot. (Here's the link to Emily photog site, in case you want to see more of her work.

A happy Jones family moment.

More photos to come tomorrow, including the annual BOWL shot! My, how he's grown.

Read this:

2010-02-17T09:30:00.000-05:00

I don't often advertise the work of my oh-so-talented husband, but as this is my favourite piece he's written, I'm suggesting you read this when you have 15 minutes to spare. It's taken off and been linked everywhere. (People, CNN, Reuters, AP, etc)

It's nice when hard work and big response collide.

Roger Ebert: The Essential Man, Esquire

Enjoy.

My sister and my girl-baby

2010-02-15T22:23:00.000-05:00

Sarah, aka Nayna, and Evy, aka Adorable-Hilarious-Elf-Baby-of-Mischief, came up for a visit this weekend. Yay Valentine's Day and Family Day!

Unfortunately, I managed to acquire a 24 hour flu and was out of commission for the bulk of the visit. I'm still wondering if it was food related, because how could I get a bug first? Post flu shot? Is that even possible? Doesn't it stand to reason that the man returning home from germ-filled air-travel or the boys home from playgroups would be the first to show symptoms?

Anyway... it was a major bummer to miss out on the one full day they were here, but Sarah (being the trooper that she always is) stayed the course and didn't leave until lunch-time today.

And what can I say about Miss Evelyn? That wee girl just kills me. I told Chris it's a good thing she's a girl, because she fulfills my girl-child needs. I just want to sneak her into my pocket and run away with her. She may be wee in stature, but that personality is big as the moon.

She and Sammy have long been in cahoots (being only 4 months apart in age) and they wasted no time re-kindling their shenanigans this weekend. Sammy taught her to go up and down the basement stairs and she worked at teaching him the 'stink-eye' face that she has mastered.

Double trouble

He loves her soooo much:

So, way back in the day (ie: July 2008) Sarah came to visit with 7 day-old Evy. (You see what I mean about her being a trooper?) Now, despite being a mere 4 months and 1 week old, Sam was quite a behemoth. And Evy, having arrived a few weeks early, was a little 6 pound-ish runt. It was, of course, hilarious to take their picture, side-by-side to compare the difference in size:

So, we though, what could be more fun than to re-create the shots today with Sam at 23 months and Evy at 19?

Yep, there's still a considerable size difference, but OH! the love. Can you feel it? Sarah and I were already discussing our future approach to telling them that they cannot, in fact, get married. So silly. The smooches! the intertwined fingers! The cutest thing ever.

There are more photos, but that will have to hold you for now. I'm already up too late for someone who spent yesterday vomiting profusely. (Too much? Sorry...)

Explanation of a no-post week

2010-02-12T08:24:00.000-05:00

Chris was off to Florida for four days this week and that was enough to put a hold on new blog posts. I don't know what I'd do without good ol' Uncle Phil on weeks like this. It's a great deal. I make him dinner and he entertains the boys for a few post-dinner minutes and then walks Kismet for me. Fair trade right? (Especially because, if I do say so myself, the food was quite good this week).

Chris is back now and busy as ever. To anyone who thinks he lives a life of leisure, he has about 72 different things on the go right now and works into the wee hours every night.

My boys seems to have become completely dictated by daylight. What I mean is, as the sun is rising earlier, so do they. I remember the old days of getting up at 7:30, but that hasn't happened in months and months. 6:30 seems to be the new reality. I can't complain too much, since I know many folk who are getting up far earlier than that.

They were certainly a handful this week. Charley gets very sick of my face on these solo-parent weeks and likes to get my attention by, say, colouring on the wall with a brown crayon. Hmmm. Not a good moment.

I think the arrival of Aunty Naynay and Baby Evy tomorrow will be a lovely distraction for all of us. I really appreciate that the newly full-time working Sarah is spending her precious weekend driving to visit us. I will reward her with Greek On Wheels and Art is In Bread and a visit to the Children's Museum. It's Winterlude too, so maybe (just maybe) we'll venture outside.

Here's a shot of Charley working on the salt dough we made this week. I have to plan my days very well when I'm alone. One day: make salt dough and mold it. That night: bake it. Next day: Paint dough creations. Etc. Four days alone = a series of 1 hour segments to fill with entertainment for boys, and the occasional Diego for Mom's sanity.

While Charley was working away on his creations, I noticed Sam in the background. He had abandoned the dough-process a while back and was very busy working on something. When I investigated I found this:

Jumbolino!

There he was, assembling a puzzle all on his lil' lonesome. It's this super-cool retro puzzle that I found at St. Vincent (of course!). Now I don't want to be Braggart Mom, but how clever is my little dude?

So, to summarize: a long 4 days alone, made better by caring Uncle, salt dough mixing, 178 books read, backyard digging excursions, 1007 requests by Charley for me to "watch him play", more days than not where Sam declared 'I do not take a nap anymore' (mega-yikes), husband returns, Sam likes puzzles and one tired mom (with a cold) just keeps on chugging along. (I think I can, I think I can...)

The End.

Oh, and here's a song for you:

The happy fire truck from E Lee Higginson on Vimeo.

Chocolate bribery

2010-02-06T08:11:00.000-05:00

As you know, I've some difficulty getting my two boys to hold still for more than 2 seconds in order to take a photo. Yesterday, my genius plan was to bribe them with chocolate chips so that I could get some shots. It worked, in a way... Lots of standing-still shots, but with brown, choco-teeths and mouths. Oh well... I take what I can get:

Can you tell that Charley was saying "pleeeeeease?" in this shot? He was asking for more. As if.

Kinda says it all

2010-02-01T10:10:00.000-05:00

Thanks Cheryl, Ed and Bella for inciting these smiles.

Ysabella is 3!

2010-02-01T07:30:00.000-05:00

We went to Cosmic Adventures yesterday for Bella's 3rd birthday party. It was too funny. Charley was screaming (in his hiiiiigh pitched voice) "I love it! I love it!" over and over again. It was a bit of a challenge for the first hour until Chris joined us post-soccer, but the little boys had a great time and kept me running.

When Phil and Chris showed up (sans children) the staff at the front gate had to go and get confirmation from Cheryl that they were allowed in. ha ha. I guess two bedraggled, sweaty men trying to enter the facility childless is a bit weird.

For photos of the event, check Cheryl's blog here. There's a super funny Higginson-Jones family portrait. We were laughing because a run-away balloon had deflated and stuck to the wall 25 feet up. Okay... it was funnier in real-life than in description. And check Sam's hair in that photo... could look any more like Kramer's baby in that last shot?

I looked away for 10 seconds

2010-01-31T08:50:00.000-05:00

That's all it took. Sigh. I've mentioned this before on this blog, but don't buy Galt kids markers... despite their claims, they are not washable. At least, not off flesh. (Perhaps I should just get rid of them, eh?)

I love the last photo where he's considering adding another colour to the mix.

Certified organic

2010-01-30T22:06:00.001-05:00

Organic, but still a bit dirty. And messy. And bossy. And whiney. But oh-so wholesome!

p.s. The comment sidebar provider I was using has discontinued it's service, so I'm using a different one that shows the newest comments on blogger. You'll notice we're going back quite a while with the old format!

Why kids are great

2010-01-27T11:28:00.000-05:00

The Reasons:

1. They are usually cute.

2. They often make me laugh.

Sammy colouring the inside of his nostril.

3. They can be put to work. (ie: loading and unloading the dishwasher, helping with laundry, clearing the table, sweeping... if they can reach it, I make them do it. I'm all for child labour).

4. They can be dressed up and paraded around for adults amusement.

5. They make you appreciate sleep. Oh, remember sleeping in? Do you!?

6. They say funny things. This week Charley responds to anything you say with a hearty "Are you kidding me?".

7. They're cute when they are all clean. Briefly clean.

Charley and Sam in their nightly 'otter brothers' ritual.

8. They are super great when they're new and mooshy.

9. They force you to learn organization, schedule and the art of zen. They make you think about what's important right now. They change the way you do things. They make you learn patience in abundance. They make everything different, sometimes in great, great ways.

10. They make you happy to have them.

Thanks boys.

______________________

Yesterday, the body of Katie Hadley, Phil's neighbour, was identified in Haiti. She was an engineer and 30 years old. She checked into the Hotel Montana just an hour or so before the earthquake struck. The facebook group that gathered to await information on her swelled to thousands and the words on the page speak to the kind of person she was. I hope that her family finds the support from this outpouring of love and finds some amount of comfort in it.

Short and tumble-y

2010-01-23T21:22:00.002-05:00

Wipe out from E Lee Higginson on Vimeo.

Fun in the winter sun

2010-01-23T20:51:00.000-05:00

I'm certainly not the biggest fan of winter, but when winter's are like the last few days in Ontario (sunny, just below freezing..) you can imagine that winter could be fun.

The boys enjoyed themselves greatly out of doors today. Charley was out for 2 hours, had soaking wet socks and still had to be coerced to come in with the promise of hot cocoa. (His phrase, not mine. I guess 'hot chocolate' is to banal for his vocabulary)

Sammy discovered the joy of the hammock today. He was not wont to get out.

I almost killed myself hauling Charley around in the sled. I did, at one point, kind of lose hold of him and he slid about 200 metres straight down the hill with me chasing after him smiling and waving, but screaming on the inside 'oh please don't hit a tree!". He didn't and declared it to be great 'fun'.

Red cheeked boys recover from the outing with a little snuggle and Dora time.

It's 8:30 now and I think I've lost both parents to their beds. They really put in the hours today and, as you know, there's always more fun coming tomorrow!

I hear from Chris that he's having a great time, smoking and buying many cigars and imbibing in a few mojitos. These trips are obviously good for him, but they work out okay for me too, because he always comes home from them saying 'oh, you're the best wife!". Well, I can't argue with that!

Lovely, quiet evening. Might go retire myself!

Weekend away

2010-01-22T10:19:00.000-05:00

We're off to Granny and Poppa's house for a few days. It's not quite Cuba (where Chris and Uncle Phil are currently frolicking) but it's better than Ottawa all alone.

Hannah's here at the moment so that I can get packed and ready to go. We'll leave in a hour or so and hope for some quiet, nappish time on the drive.

Over the last 2 days I took some photos of the boys just trying to capture a couple of good shots. I took over a 100 pictures to get these few to give you an idea of how hard it is to get them to be semi-still and semi-cute.

First, my Charley. I attended the kindergarten information session on Wednesday night at his future school. I wish I could say that I felt all warm and happy about it, but mostly it made me feel like I was preparing to send him off to the evil clutches of the 'real world'. I guess that day is coming whether I like it or not.

And my Sammy. What a little man he's becoming. I really need to stop using the word 'baby' in reference to him. He's a big, funny and chatty boy now.

While I always love my boys, this week has made me reflect on how lucky we are. My heart and mind have been consumed with the tragedy of Haiti and all the moms, dads, sisters, brothers and friends who have lost people in the blink of an eye. Just love your crazy families, people. Squeeze your kids. Smooch your partners. Call your mom or dad.

From one lucky mom and wife and daughter and sister and granddaugter and woman and friend and person.

Bubba Jack

2010-01-21T09:51:00.000-05:00

My nephew is getting HUGE! He's pushing 13 1/2 pounds at 6 weeks. Oh, he's gonna be a porker baby. I've sent all my 12 month clothes on to him, because it won't be long before he needs that size!

He's adorable too:

Jim always did have a way with the young'uns.

A quick visit

2010-01-18T19:35:00.000-05:00

In their usual way, Al and Jim 'popped up' for a quick visit yesterday afternoon. As you know, Phil just got a new place and needed a few things for it. Al, who is a Kijiji-prowling maniac, found the most amazing deal on the mid-century teak unit and told me about it. Much to her dismay (I'm sure...) I thought, and Phil thought, it was perfect. So the parents acquired it and then drove it up to Ottawa. No prob, right?!

It was a long way to come, but we had a great, short visit with them.

The credenza arrives, and Sam supervises the unloading.

We had some of the usual fun:

Charley talks some trains.

A little session of 'push the baby in the truck'.

Some general pouting about coming inside.

And then they left!

They left some furniture lighter, but about 17 pounds heavier in fur.

Yep. Guess who hitched a lift back to doggy-paradise and didn't even glance back!? Ungrateful mongrel. Here is Miss Kismet today admiring Evy's shiny coat.

She won't be there long because I'm planning a visit to Peterborough this weekend. The big boys (ie: Chris and Phil) are off on their (almost) annual Cuba fun-weekend, so not much point of hanging around here without my hubby and my buddy. Hope they have fun and don't smoke too many cigars and don't get too hungover or too sunburnt.

Jerks.

Perspective

2010-01-15T08:58:00.000-05:00

So you write a post about a bad day (it was a bad one...) and then Haiti turns 3 million of it's people upside down and you think that getting knocked out by your shovel is not such a bad thing.

I've had a heavy heart about the devastation. It's hit a little too close to home as Phil's new neighbour, a sweet girl named Katie, is one of the missing Canadians. She arrived in Haiti 90 minutes before the earthquake and checked into her hotel. That particular hotel has collapsed and there's no word on her fate yet.

I won't pretend I know her, but seeing her shoes all lined up outside her door makes me feel a little extra sick and sad for all those people who are wondering about their missing loved ones. I don't know how I would survive if it was Chris who had been traveling and I was stuck here waiting for any news. My heart goes out to all those suffering from this global loss.

So, what can you do? Well, obviously you can donate money and send your thoughts and prayers. My wonderful MP, Paul Dewar, was hosting a campaign fundraising bowling event last night and changed his mind and donated all the money to the relief efforts. Yay for people like him.

In the meantime, one can only be grateful to be in a safe place with a healthy family and food and water and electricity and doctors and strong buildings and peace.

And classic rock.

Because sometimes you just have to dance.

Dancin' to the classics from E Lee Higginson on Vimeo.

Bad, baddy-bad, mega-super-coloso-bad

2010-01-11T19:38:00.000-05:00

You know those days that start off bad and go downhill from there? Yep. Just had one.

I won't bore you with all the details, but let it be said that I slipped outside and hit my chin on the shovel handle on the way down. I almost knocked myself out, but managed to crawl over to where the boys were playing. They thought this was hilarious and wondered if maybe I'd like to give them a horsie ride. Nice to know that I can take a mean uppercut to the chin and survive... I've also strained my lower back and hurt both wrists.

Add 45 incidents of irritation both before and after this event.

Then just an hour ago, Sam took the header of all headers down our very hard and very unforgiving maple stairs. He landed on his head with enough force to shake the walls. I don't know whether to be happy he has his giant melon, or blame it for the unbalance in the first place! Having reviewed the signs of concussion I'm sure he's fine. He already had a bruise on his ribs by the time I put him in his jammies, so I imagine he and I might feel similarly beat up tomorrow.

Chris is in New York and currently giving a reading of his super-awesome and AWARD-WINNING story. I hope his day is all that mine has not been. He deserves it.

Now, thinking back to happier days... Our Saturday venture to Millbrook was fun and interesting. The property is a heritage building on the main street. It currently has 2 commercial units and 3 residential units. It is one of those cases where it reeks of future potential, but currently just reeks. Some number crunching will be done and some calls made to determine our interest level. The fact that I can see Sarah's house from the upper floor is high on the 'pro' list. And spending 7 hours in the (quiet) car with my man was very fun, if not a bit butt-numbing.

And to those of you who kindly commented on my Googily-creation, I thank you. Especially since you are all wonderful artists in your own fields. And, yes. I love his eyebrows too... He's all hand-done and the eyebrows are stitched in black embroidery thread. Like I said, labour of looooove.

Well, Sam's screaming in his room now so I guess I should wrap this up. Hmmm, wonder if screaming is a good sign or a bad sign after a fall? (Or just a sign of his general naughtiness, like every other night).

Pictures will follow when I have a more inspiring day. Or maybe tomorrow if I have yet another doosy of a facial bruise. Wouldn't that be awesome?

2010 news

2010-01-09T07:14:00.000-05:00

Chris and I are driving to Millbrook tomorrow to look at a commercial property for sale. I'm not sure what will come from it, but life in Millbrook sure sounds dreamy to me these days. Ottawa is a hurting unit, and moreso in January. Brrrr.

Not much happening here. The boys are in the exact same stage as they were in the few weeks in Montana... a little confused, clingy, whiney, crabby and restless. I think Uncle Phil moving out this week was really confusing and they started to wonder if we were packing up yet again. We're missing Uncle Phil. It was nice to talk to an adult in the mornings and smell good coffee brewing. Now I just have to wait for my night owl husband to surface in order to see a post-pubescent face.

Speaking of my hirsuite hub, he sleuthfully went out and bought me my dream sewing machine today! It's really above and beyond; it practically walks around and plugs itself in. I'm a little intimidated, but sure I will make friends with it's practical German sensibilities soon enough. I guess I'm committed to the furthering of my little sewing career now.

I have been amiss not mentioning Kismet and her triumphant return to the bosom of the family.

She's come back quite sassy and a little depressed (missing her 'true' family) but we're happy to have her.

Charley declared her to be 'all nude' today. Interesting.

And as for the boys, the photos seem to show, they have spent a great deal of time indoors, doing crafty/cooking/play adventures. Hannah is back on board and taking both boys to a playgroup 2 mornings a week. Yay!

Based on a Diego episode, Charley has dubbed the two of them "Ollie" and "Oscar" and then sings a little song about how "we love each other SO!" and "I never want to be without my brother!", followed by a hugging and smooching session. Which usually turns to wrestling and then injury and then crying, all in about 60 seconds.

Mostly I'm getting a WHOLE whack of attitude, as seen above.

Today we made some homemade playdoh and dyed it 6 different colours. All before 9 a.m. Yep, bask in the rockin' coolness of my life.

That's about the extent of it.

Oh, except here's a nice moment. Poor dorky Sam is still young enough to think everything that Charley does is HI-larious. Even when the 'thing' he's doing is eating bubbles and exclaiming 'blech!'.

Bubble boys from E Lee Higginson on Vimeo.