The Rat must Die!

Took BoyChild to a classmate's 6th birthday party.....I should have just said "no" when I read the venue of the party. Yes, it was at that god awful place where a giant rat and his henchmen insist on singing and dancing in a sad and pathetic attempt to engage the children and parents. But, being the nice Mom that I am I thought, how bad could it be.....it was worse.

What can I say, the greasy pizza with a sauce that must have come from rotten tomatoes, there was ear splitting music, noise and general mayhem and chaos created when children are allowed to run wild in a contained space. I could have put up with the bad food and the screaming children but what really irritated me were the really awful video/arcade games. They were so cheap and poorly made and designed. My son lost 4 tokens in 4 different games. He cried when it happened the first time and I promised I would get him a replacement, but then I realized I still had a cup full of tokens and there was no way I was staying in that place for one second longer than I had to and then the game became, how soon can we get rid of these tokens so we can actually get some fresh air and quiet.

The main problem with the party was that the birthday girl's parents insisted that all the children wait for the pizza and cake before they could go play the games.....the kids sat for an hour and a half-I am not kidding or exaggerating! Imagine if you will...12 children all between five and eight years old.....trying to get them to sit when just within their reach were tantalizing games, flashing lights and neon....crack for any child. It was torture, I had to keep playing rock, paper, scissors to keep my son and his friend entertained otherwise they were trying to fashion swords from their paper plates.

And then to top off the party, BoyChild insisted we had to redeem the tickets he had collected, after waiting in line behind 10 people. With a grand total of 22 tickets he got....a red lollypop. I had to go home and have a Cosmopolitan, I deserved it!

...and then I went home

It's been a long time.........you would have thought I'd have shown more signs of severe withdrawal and done something really desperate or been lurking in hospitals looking for a quick hit. But then, yesterday I got my fix, it should last for a few more months.

That's right, I got to hold a newborn in my arms yesterday....what, you actually thought I was writing about something else, didn't you?

My best friend in the whole world had her baby on April 2nd, he was two and a half weeks early. Due to the fact that we were away on holiday and then I got the Cold From Hell, it took a while for me to actually get to see the little guy. I'm really sad that I wasn't one of the first people in the world to actually hold him, I got to hold his older sister when she was a few hours old, I loved that. I made up for it by being able to hold him for as long as I wanted, though I did have to bargain with GirlChild for the holding time. GirlChild absolutely adores babies and young children so we actually had to take turns with the cuddle time. He is absolutely gorgeous and so sweet, I loved all the newborn sounds he made, the mewing, the sighs...I think my uterus actually began to ache. But that stage in my life is definitely over, M. and I have decided that we are not having any more children, so my only outlet is being able to hold newborns and babies of friends and relatives. It's so funny to see the difference in reaction to babies, GirlChild wouldn't leave the baby's side and couldn't wait to hold him, BoyChild glanced at the baby once and then ran off to play with my friend's daughter and never looked back.

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It's so funny to see the difference in dynamics and the type of play that happens between different genders. BoyChild had a playdate with a girl ,J., this afternoon, they had a great time. They drew on the sidewalk with chalk, played in the sand, rode bikes and scooter, played soccer, basketball and air hockey and the level of noise was moderate. Then we went to his grandparents' house for dinner and he got to play with his male cousin who is a year younger, they also had a great time with each other. Slightly different type of playing...their playing consisted of wrestling and tackling each other, chasing and running all through the house, playing with their toy soldiers and having mock battles while yelling and screaming at the top of their lungs. Needless to say he's having another playdate with J. very, very soon, just as soon as my ears stop ringing!

Back to normal

It's nice to finally be able to breathe without feeling like my head was ready to explode and also to actually speak more than 10 words without feeling like I was going to cough up a lung. It's lucky BoyChild is so cute and loveable, otherwise he would definitely be persona non grata around here for giving me the Cold From Hell. I know he suffered too, I will always remember how we spent Good Friday 2007, it was in a doctor's office in Whistler. I had very slim hopes of actually being able to track down a doctor and was really not looking forward to spending hours in an ER to get a prescription for antibiotics for a possible ear infection, but as I happily found out that in Whistler, everything is open seven days a week. Within 15 minutes of calling the office we were there and being seen by an incredibly friendly, caring, patient and nice doctor. I know for a fact that if I had actually been at home in Toronto, there would not have been a doctor's office open anywhere in the city on Good Friday, so the moral of this story, if you're sick, be sick in Whistler.

What can I say about Whistler, it is gorgeous, amazing, breathtaking scenery, superb skiing, incredibly friendly staff. The mountain is incredibly beautiful and awe inspiring. The Village is so packed with stores, it's easy to get lost....all right, maybe it's just me, have I mentioned that I have absolutely no sense of direction....seriously, if I'm lost and trying to find my way back, I have to fight my natural instinct, if my gut says "go left", I should always "go right" because my gut is always, always wrong. I got turned around a few times and it certainly didn't help that there were no less than 4 Starbucks within a 3 block radius, I'm serious people, there were too many Starbucks....really scary! I have to mention the people, the staff are amazing, everyone from the wait staff, the people in rentals, ski instructors and sales people, they all go overboard and beyond the call of duty in helping to make your stay as enjoyable as possible. And the best part about our trip, I didn't break my leg or anything else... woohoo! This is a minor miracle considering that I am the clumsiest person I know.


I loved seeing my sister, her husband and children. My niece and nephew have the cutest British accents. It's all "Mummy, may we have some biscuits" translation..."Mom, can I have a cookie?" My children had a great time with their cousins, except for the times when my nephew who is almost 8, would accidentally bruise or injure my son. He can be very rough when he plays and sometimes doesn't know when to stop or be gentle. During the goodbye hugs, my nephew, while attempting to hug my son, lifted him up in a rugby tackle move, then he accidentally dropped my son on his head on the very hard ceramic tile floor.....we seriously thought he had a concussion....yes, fun times! He ended up being okay, but it was a stressful rest of the day watching for any symptoms. And I had a really great visit with my sister and we got to really talk and catch up with each other....I really miss her.

We also had a great visit with my husband's relatives. We stayed with his aunt and uncle who are incredibly gracious and generous hosts. His aunt kept making us amazing breakfasts and his cousin made some delicious dinners for us, needless to say I think I must have gained 10 pounds on this trip....I haven't gone anywhere near a scale since I got back, so let's just hope it was only 10 pounds!!

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My thoughts and prayers go out to all the family and friends of the 32 people who were killed at Virginia Tech. My thoughts and prayers also go out to the Cho family.

Grateful

We returned from our trip out West late Monday night, and due to feeling the effects of jet lag and coming down with a really bad cough and yucky post nasal drip, I didn't get around to checking my favourite blogs until I was at work on Wednesday. The first blog I went to was to Snickollet I've been reading her blog for the past few months and I was immediately impressed with her honest, direct and eloquent writing style. I was even more impressed with how much she shared about her life, she shared her hopes, fears, dreams and was so achingly honest and vulnerable, it often brought tears to me eyes.

Her husband GH has been fighting the effects of pancreatic cancer and last night he lost his battle. He leaves behind a loving wife and two gorgeous babies. Snickollet's courage, determination and strength of character has moved me to tears many times. I have never met Snickollet and I can't explain how or why her words have affected me so deeply. I only know that I need to take away something from her words and her message. The message I choose to take is that I should be grateful. My husband always encourages me to look at my life and choose to be grateful for what I have, I constantly struggle to do this. I tend to wallow in self pity, looking only at what I don't have.

I am grateful for my beautiful, loving, healthy husband and children. They are my life and they deserve the best I have to offer.

I am grateful for my good health, I have never had any serious medical issues or health scares.

I am grateful for my family, despite the fact that my parents and especially my mother is a constant source of annoyance and irritation. The fact that her crazy and hurtful words and actions frequently drive me to tears and anger and frustration, I know that in her crazy, twisted and wacky way she is just doing her best and that she loves me.

I am grateful for my friends, they accept me for who I am.

Thank you Snickollet for reminding me of what is important. In honour of Snickollet and GH, I urge everyone to remember why they are grateful. Peace and love to all of you.