Bread Crumbs In The Butter

Bullety, Edition 27; Freaking Friday!

• 4 months ago, we bought three new laptops from a dude on Ebay (I know, I know). They worked fine for a bit, but then the hard drive crashed on one. Okay. Fine. We put it aside and planned to purchase a new one for it.  So, we used just two and things were fine. That is, until the remaining one we called mine met an untimely death. Meghan was going in for a pre-school bus hug and she knocked over an entire cup of coffee.  I just thank God that it was John sitting at the computer because I have a tendency to yell and swear in situations like this. He calmly cleaned it up, turned the computer upside down and soaked up as much coffee as he could.   I drove my baby to the repairman post-haste, and brought along the other dead one for a new hard drive.  The fabulous news is that this man fixed the coffee computer and put a new hard drive in the other one. All for the bargain price of ... well ... forget it. The point is, we have three working laptops again. Now, if I could just get our Windows XP laptops to see our Windows 98 desktops on our network, I would be a happy girl!

• Report Card Day happened just after March Break for us and I am blown away by my children. Not only did they all get fantastic grades, they got amazing and glowing comments from their teachers. Grades are one thing, but hearing that their teachers think my children are also wonderful people counts for so much more. I am extremely proud of them.

• Who's watching Big Brother 9?  What did ya think of Chelsia's little spell of crazy this week? I have to admit, I'm a big fan. That sort of outburst and trash talk as she's walking out the door is just what this season needed. I've been so inspired by her that today, rather than wish customers at the Post Office a nice day, I've told them to be "rode hard and left for wet".  That, my friends, is pure poetry!

• Today, Meghan announced that she new spring was coming. Know how?  She said (and I quote) "The truck smells like poo and there are dead animals on the road again! I just love Spring!".  This is why she got straight A's my friends, this is why.

Magic

There's a drawer in my room, the top drawer of John's mother's mahogany dresser if you must know, that I keep secrets in.  In that drawer, there are envelopes and knick knacks. A small collection of some of the most wonderful moments of this family's history.

Countless brightly covered envelopes are the first thing you would notice. Each one featuring a unique message from a unique child. There are teeth in these envelopes. On them they have let the Tooth Fairy know how happy they are that she has come to see them.  It hasn't escaped my notice that with each tooth their handwriting has gotten more steady, their spelling more mature.  Not only am I saving each tooth as a reminder of how far they've come, I'm saving each envelope to remind me how much they've learned.  At first the messages to the Tooth Fairy were a spontaneous thing. An idea bred from the innocent minds of my amazing children. Now though, I'm insistent that they tell the story of that tooth. Where they lost it. How they felt. It's a new tradition.

There are also cards from Mother's Days past. The outfits they were put in after their births. A small square of Erin's first blanket.  There are a few notes that I've scrawled on a note pad to put in their lunches. And the report cards. Every single glowing report from their teachers, telling me that they think my kids are just as awesome as I do.

Tonight, I added something new.  A little note I found tucked into an envelope and places on my pillow.  It was brightly painted and easy to see, but clearly marked "Secret!" on both sides.

Since all four children were fast asleep I figured it was safe to bring the envelope to John. It was addressed to both of us.  I tore it open and read it to John, quietly, in case little ears were still awake.

It was a letter from Kristyn, our one child who no longer believes in the magic of Santa or The Tooth Fair or The Easter Bunny. I've always maintained it's a bit of relief when your child has figured out this secret. It means you don't have to be as careful and that you finally get a bit of the credit that has been so selfishly hoarded by a myth - as magical as it may be.

In this letter Kristyn thanked us for the wonderful Easter baskets, which were not extravagant, but modestly filled with yummy chocolates and cookies with their names on them.  She told us she appreciated each item and had enjoyed her day.  The best part? The lavish and tasty dinner we had enjoyed together as a family.  She wanted us to know that she loved being a part of this family and valued her place in it.

I cried as I placed the envelope in my drawer, once again struck with a sense of amazement that a person this cool and this caring could be my daughter. She is truly a reminder of every which way my life could have gone and she forces me to be thankful for every day I've had since her arrival.

It truly was a wonderful Easter in our house. 

Overheard

Erin to her siblings.

"Guys!" she yelled. "I had the best day of the whole March Break today. Sarah's Mom and Dad took us to the movies, to Boston Pizza and to Kid Zone to play! We did everything you could possibly do in the city!"

Kristyn was busy on the computer and none of those things really thrill her (besides, she had been skiing and to two parties) so she feigned excitement and said "Wow. Lucky."

Meghan was instantly insanely jealous and I could hear her stomp out of the room. No doubt in search of John or myself to which she would preach the injustices of her six year old life.

Alex needed more though. Something to go on. Something tangible.

"When you were at Tid's Yone (Kid Zone) ... " he started. "... Did you pway on the slide?"

"Yeah." Erin said.

"Did you go in dat fing with the balls that are bigger dan your head?"

"Yes, Alex. It was awesome."

"Did you pway da games and get da tickets?"

"Yes. We did. I won 220 tickets. Look, I got you this Pokemon sticker!"

"Otay," he continued. "Did you get a snack at da snack counter?"

"Yes, Alex. We did everything!"

"Oh yeah, eh?"  I could practically hear the wheels turning in his head. Kid Zone is his thing. It's that thing we do when the girls are at school. Erin was trying to knock over the one thing he was hanging on to as the lucky little brother.

Then, I heard it. That little sigh of excitement that comes with the epiphany of a five year old boy about to throw it back in his sister's face.

"Did you use da boy's bathroom?" He yelled?

"Ew!" Erin yelled. "No. That's disgusting Alex!"

"Aha. I fought so. I do that."

I think even Erin had to admit that he had her there.

When A Country Girl Goes To The Big Mall

This morning, I woke up full of my own smug, sleep drunk determination and decided to head to Bayshore with the kids.

This is where I should point out that I decided not to shower, slung my greasy hair into a ponytail and the only personal hygiene that I attended to was brushing my teeth.l

Why not?  Kristyn was off skiing with a friend, leaving me with only three kids.  The best part? My kids have grown past the "stroller, diaper bag, know where the washrooms are at all times" stage and shopping should is much easier.  Alex isn't the happiest kid when it comes to buying clothes, but I needed new jeans, so off we went!

We hit Old Navy first, because even though I am never happy with the fit of their jeans, the price is always right! 

I approached a short, stocky looking fellow hanging out by the jeans. He had a headset on and looked important enough so I said "Hi there! I'm looking for a size 10 long in the Flirt fit, or Diva fit, or whatever the heck regular boot cut jeans are called now?"

"No no." he said "Are you sure you need a size 10?"

Much swearing ensued and I mumbled something up shutting his uppity ass up and getting me what I asked for.

I trucked all three kids and the jeans to the dressing room and guess what? He's right. I'm not a size 10. Actually, my ass and hips are, but these freaking lowest of the low rise jeans produce the most insane muffin top ever - and I don't have a lot of waist and belly fat!

As I was making my way down the walk of shame, to ask Senor Asshat if he had something in a bit of a higher waist,  I saw someone out of the corner of my eye.  A beautifully blue-eyed chick on a cell phone. She slammed the cell phone down and said "Chantal!"

I turned around, a bit confused, but once I got a hold of myself, I recognized her immediately.  A few months ago she had added me as a friend on Facebook, saying she had been reading my blog and while she didn't have a blog of her own, thought I might want to sneak a peak into her life!

Still though, had she not said anything to me, I would have continued to walk right past her.

We chatted for a bit. I'm pretty sure I had a runny nose. I know I had greasy hair.  And I forgot to introduce her to my kids.  I was charming.

As we walked away I said to Erin, "Holy cow! Someone recognized me from my blog! Isn't that cool?"

She was surely impressed, but the next words out of her mouth were not those of awe and support.  They were "Um, Mommy. Aren't you going to pay for that stuff?"

The sound of alarm bells woke my from my reverie. Everyone looked.  I was stealing clearance t-shirts and a pair of yoga pants.

I paid for my stuff and walked out - feeling totally like the bomb.

The Break

It's the March Break!  I'm off work for a week!  I have big plans.

I have plans to organize my house.  I have plans to go to the gym every day. I have plans to visit all kinds of friends I haven't seen in ages.  I have plans to help John.

Plans. Yes. I have plans.

I want to wake up early each day and embrace what I've set my mind to do. I will shower and get dressed. I'll stay away from Gmail and Facebook and really hit hard all of the projects that have gone to the wayside since I started working.

But let's be honest. Here's how it's really going to go.

I'm going to sleep until 9am, stay in my pajamas, climb into bed with Alex and read stories, play board games with the girls, make cookies with all four of them, play in the snow, avoid the phone, eat my weight in Mini-Eggs, catch on up American Idol with Kristyn, read several books that have been sitting on my nightstand, take long showers, stay up late drinking wine with John and finally get my highlights redone and hair cut.

I'm just being honest with myself.

Bullety, Edition 26; Awesome

• Today as I was wandering the kids' school hall, hoping to find someone in the know about skating days, I ran into Meghan's teacher.  She said she had been itching to talk to me about Meghan and could I meet her outside.  I did.  She said she needed my permission to move Meghan up from her Grade 1 level F.R.O.G. reading progre to the Grade 2 class, meaning she would be with the Grade 2's three aftertoons a week.  John has tried to take credit for this, but the last time I saw him crack a book was when we he got a special hardbound copy of the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit issue, so no, this credit is all mine! I was reading at 5. That's all me. If she was solving equations and such, he could take credit till his face was blue.  This is reading. This is Mommy.

• I have the March Break off from work. A month ago, when I booked the time off, I vowed not to organize anything and spend the week in my jammies, enjoying the bliss that is my children.  Then they got sick and we have a bazillion snow days where I couldn't get to work.  Now, I'm wondering if it's too early for them to get jobs for March Break so I can stay home and sleep without having a child poke me in the head with a butter knife asking for breakfast?

• On my drive home last night, I heard a great new song that stayed with me all night.  When I got home I rushed to the computer to find it on iTunes and low and behold, it was the free tune of the week. Score!  Please check out Club Thing by Yoav.  I hear he performs all concerts barefoot, no matter the weather.  That's awesome. Also, he's insanely hot. Hot.

• One last thing. If you're on Facebook guess what you can do?  You can search "Bread Crumbs In The Butter" and become a fan of this blog for all of the Facebooking world to see.  Do it. That's my second order in this post and this is the one you should heed!

The Snow Day

On Sunday it was clear my family had turned a corner.  Meghan had been diagnosed with with pneumonia on Wednesday, but had the spring back in her step.  Erin was off the couch and no longer whining that everything hurt - her hair, her earlobe, he big toe. Alex was being more questioning and insane than usual. Kristyn, who hadn't been sick, still wasn't sick. That made her my favourite. 

It was settled! On Monday, school/daycare would be attended by all! I was thrilled at the idea of returning to order and routine. Chaos would no longer rule. I gave them all baths for crissake!

Then, Monday morning. Busses were cancelled and the kids didn't go to school. I realize that the school's are still open and kids who live in town can usually make it in, but generally here, if the roads aren't safe for busses, it's not safe for a truck full of kids either.

I perservered!  Their return would be heralded on Tuesday instead.  And it was. They all had great days at school.

And now? 15-20cm of snow is being called for tomorrow.

I haven't counted yet, but I estimate that there have been somewhere between 15 and 20 snow days in Lanark County so far this school year.  That's a staggering number of days to miss.  Even though the school is open, this is a rural area - plenty of teachers and students can't make it in. If the kids go to school they get sprinkled other classes or play games all day. One teacher told me that it can sometimes take a couple of days just to get back into it and then it seems another snow day is afoot!

I don't have a solution. I'm not even sure I have a problem. I'm just annoyed. Not usually one to piss and moan about winter, I'm officially saying that enough is enough!