Big city excitement

Posted on November 9, 2009 by Sherry

There are exciting things that make you smile and then there are exciting things that you can quite frankly live without thankyouverymuch. Tonight I experienced the latter when I stood up, glanced out the window and saw five fire trucks, three police cars, an ambulance, a Hydro-Quebec vehicle, and a whole herd of emergency response personnel milling about.

I’m still not sure what’s going on. Whatever it was that happened, it happened at the building across the street (thank GOD because I would have been frantically waking the kids up and getting their shoes on if it had been our building!). Some of the people in the building were put onto a city bus that sat outside so that they’d be warm and comfortable, but I can see other people still in the building coming out on their balconies or peering out windows so clearly it wasn’t any raging fire – plus, no smoke.

I had also thought maybe it was a potential gas leak, especially when I saw that the street had been taped off, but again there were still people inside the building so it didn’t seem that likely. When the electric company showed up that didn’t seem to make sense for gas either (although I don’t know why they were there either since there didn’t seem to be a power failure).

George wasn’t home so I had to call him to tell him what was going on. When I took the dog down to pee I could see that if you were coming up the street there would be no way of knowing where the problem was since many emergency vehicles were right in front of our building. I know how panic-inducing it can be to see a bunch of cops and firefighters in front of your home so I let him know we were fine and that it was across the street.

As of now everything is calming down. There seems to be one fire truck left and the ambulance, but everyone else has left and it seems business as usual.

It’s just really creepy to find a large portion of your city’s emergency people right outside. I’m glad everyone seems to be fine! I can definitely pass on this type of excitement!

Families make the quiet woods louder

Posted on November 8, 2009 by Sherry

When I walk the dog in the woods with no one but me, her, and whomever is singing on my iPod, the woods are a quiet place. When I walk in the woods with just Breanna, it’s mostly quiet with the silence peppered with questions here and there. Breanna is a little version of me in that sense, she loves to be in the woods.

When I walk in the woods with Breanna, Hayley, and George… well, then the woods aren’t very quiet at all. Still, it’s a nice way to pass a Sunday afternoon. The weather today was ridiculous. At one point I debated taking off my coat but decided against it since I didn’t want to have to carry it. It was sunny and warm and just beautiful. It’s November and I’m in Canada. I know very well that it’s not going to last so it was great to enjoy it.

I also got to prove to the kids that I wasn’t lying when I said I found an old rusted-out car in the woods last Spring.

The bonus of course, is that Breanna crashed at bedtime, taking no more than five minutes to fall asleep. Hayley… well, Hayley is still awake at just past 9 pm, but at least she’s reading quietly in bed. I’m hoping she’ll drift off soon since she has to be up early tomorrow.

I don’t think it will take me long to fall asleep either. I think I’ll kick back with a glass of wine and some television and call it a night. Let’s see if I can start my week off without being completely exhausted!

Low-key weekend

Posted on November 7, 2009 by Sherry

Our weekend really started yesterday. I finished my work up early and took Breanna and the dog for a long walk in the woods. That’s a pretty nice way to end the week – a little communing with nature and all that. We won’t be able to do it much longer so we made the most of it.

Then we had the movie night that I mentioned. Once the kids were in bed, George and I decided to unwind with some Shiraz and a movie together. I always equate movies with the weekend because during the week there’s always something on television that one of us (usually it’s me) wants to watch.

This morning I actually slept in until 10 which was awesome. I had spent the entire week in a state of Perpetual Tired ™ so I really needed that. Hayley ended up being invited over to visit with a friend for the entire day including lunch and supper so Breanna played with some toys and had a long bath all by herself (or well, almost all by herself if you don’t count the 16 dinosaurs that joined her) after I spent some time trying to tame the mess in the bedroom.

George was going to a friend’s birthday party for dinner and the evening; I was supposed to go too but it was adult-only and his parents were busy so I couldn’t make it. Breanna and I ended up ordering Chinese food which we ate by candlelight. She thought that was pretty fancy.

Usually Breanna is depressed when Hayley goes out without her (other than to school) but she had a lot of fun. Aside from her bath and candlelight dinner she also played Wii with me for awhile, then two rounds of Candyland. She didn’t mind too much, though she did mention missing Hayley.

By the time Hayley got home at 7:30 she was pretty tired, but she insisted she could stay up a bit longer to join Breanna for another movie. She managed, but she’s going to bed in 15 minutes and I think she’ll crash fast and hard.

Once they’re out for the night I can relax with some inappropriate-for-kids TV. I think tonight will be perfect for catching up on Vampire Diaries with some wine. The show rips off a lot of Twilight and it’s pretty cheesy so naturally I love it.

Hope you’re having a great weekend too – what are you up to?

Igor! Pull the switch!

Posted on November 6, 2009 by Sherry

Quite some time ago George and I started doing Friday evening movie nights with Hayley. We’d either get a movie we hadn’t seen before or just watch an old favorite, we’d have some snacks, and we’d let Hayley stay up a bit later.

We lost movie night for awhile and I don’t really know why. I’ve done them several times with either both the kids or with just Breanna if Hayley is out somewhere but it had been quite some time since we did the full family movie night. Somehow it came up yesterday so I suggested that we do it this week.

We popped some popcorn for the kids and put on a new-to-us movie. If you haven’t seen Igor yet and you have kids in roughly the same age range (or even a bit older, there’s some good humor that younger kids don’t really catch), I strongly suggest you give it a try.

Basically it’s about a land of evil scientists and all their Igor assistants and how one Igor learns that you don’t have to be evil to be successful. It sounds saccharine when it’s put that way but it’s a bit spooky (not too scary though – even at just shy of four years old, Breanna wasn’t afraid), it’s fun, and George and I both laughed more than just a few times.

I love movies that are good for kids but even more than that, I love when kids’ movies are fun for us too!

Light and dark, dark and light

Posted on November 4, 2009 by Sherry

November is one of those months that always feels like it’s going to drag on forever. I go through this twice a year. Now and in March. In March it’s because by then I’ve definitely officially had enough of Winter thank you very much, and yet any Canadian can tell you can the season most definitely does not wrap up in March. In fact, you’re lucky to be rid of the snow by the end of April.

For November I think it’s the whole early darkness. I’m lucky in one way since the time change happened over the weekend. During the week I’m outside at 6:30 am with the dog. I get up and take her out to pee before I get Hayley up because otherwise she would just whine at me the entire time I’m trying to get the off-to-school routine done. For about the last two weeks it was incredibly crappy and depressing to go out with the dog because it was so dark out there. I would take her out at 11 pm and at 6:30 am and it was really hard to tell the difference because it looked pretty much the same.

Now that the clocks have gone back it’s light out when I walk out the door and that helps a bit. I’ve still been overly tired so far this week, but it does make me feel a little better to see sunlight out there.

Of course the drawback is that the sun then goes DOWN earlier at the end of the day. For the past four days I’ve taken the dog for a walk (it’s all about the damn dog apparently) in the late afternoon only to notice that the sky is getting dark faster and faster and the temperature sinks down with it.

It’s all a reminder that Winter is coming and you’d think a Canadian who has spent all 35 years of her life living here would be used to it by now but I’m just not. Forget heading East to Halifax, I’m starting to think I need to move a little further South instead.

How many days until Spring?

Culture for the elementary school

Posted on November 3, 2009 by Sherry

Being a member of the Governing Board at Hayley’s school, I received an email one day asking us to vote on approving a last-minute field trip for grades one through six. The trip was to go see a play called “Simon and the Egg” which is about the environment, climate change, and how we’re all responsible for doing our part to help out.

I immediately said yes because it sounded like a good idea – many kids haven’t seen a play at that age and anything that brings about awareness for environmental causes is okay in my book. When I received the permission slip, I signed it, slipped the small fee into an envelope and sent it off with a little note telling Hayley’s teacher to let me know if she needed a volunteer.

The trip was divided over three days with grades one and two attending the play on Monday. First I received a call at 9 am and her teacher told me that she had received confirmation from one of the moms and she wouldn’t need me this time. No problem. Not five minutes later she called back to tell me the other grade two class had no volunteer because the mom was at home with two sick kids, and would I mind going with them?

Well, no I wouldn’t mind one bit. I know most of those kids by this point anyway and was happy to go with them. The best part was that Hayley didn’t even know I was coming so she almost fell over in shock when she passed me in the hallway and saw that I was there. She was a little annoyed that I wasn’t volunteering for her class but we were all on the same bus and the theater was very small so it didn’t make much difference in the end.

The theater we went to was incredible because it’s an very small venue. There isn’t even a stage for the play, it’s performed directly on the floor, right in front of you. You get to sit so close that you almost feel like you’re a part of the play itself. It was also a one-man show which – as a person who took acting classes once upon a lifetime – always impresses me. Monologues are incredibly scary since you have no one to play off but yourself, your imagination, and your audience, so I give massive props to actor Michel Lefebvre for doing a fantastic job.

The play was probably a little over the heads of the kids because of their ages. The story wasn’t blatant in-your-face “save the environment!” in its message, it was more abstract and I think that they probably didn’th catch all the nuances that the adults and older kids would. Still, it was a totally stunning visual experience which had the entire audience of children enthralled. In all honestly, my own mouth was hanging open more than once just because it was all so beautiful and so well done.

In the end, what I loved most was that it didn’t preach – no one tells you what you need to do, you’re left to figure out for yourself where your responsibilities lie. I like that, especially from an educational viewpoint because it lets you ask the kids questions. On the way back I asked Hayley what she thought we needed to do in general, and she said things like more plants and trees, no littering, picking up garbage… Kids are often more aware than they might appear on the surface.

Overall though, even if the kids didn’t catch as many things as I did, I’m just ecstatic to know that they saw a play. One boy on the bus asked me what a play is when we were driving out there and for this generation to understand, I had to tell him that it’s similar to when characters on television tell you a story except in a play you get the story right in front of you. I don’t think he really got it until he saw it for himself.

Arts aren’t necessarily a top priority in the education system anymore, so knowing that the kids at Hayley’s school are getting to experience some culture and theater made me very happy. It was nine bucks well spent and I’m glad that we, as a board, unanimously voted our approval because I think it was really beneficial.

If you happen to be from the Montreal area, I urge you to check it out yourself, I don’t think you’ll be disappointed.

I may have to tape open my eyelids

Posted on November 2, 2009 by Sherry

Due to my night owl nature combined with having young kids, I am frequently more tired than I would like to be. I always mean well and do try to get to bed at a decent hour, but it’s hard because my second wind kicks in. More than any other day, though, I hate to be tired on a Monday. It just feels so wrong and depressing to start the week off exhausted.

Unfortunately for me, I didn’t get to bed until about 12:15 am which was already starting things off on the wrong foot since that meant I had all of six hours before my alarm would go off. Yikes. On top of that, I woke up at 4:15 this morning by Breanna hacking and coughing. I did sort of doze on and off but I woke up every time she coughed again (luckily for her, she didn’t seem to really wake up, although she is a bit groggy this morning) and I also had trouble getting back into a deep sleep because in the back of my head I knew I didn’t really have that much time before I’d need to get up.

So I’m running on a little more than four hours of disrupted sleep which is bad enough in and of itself. However, I also got a call from the school; the grade one and two classes are attending a play about the environment today and I had asked if they needed me to chaperone. It seemed they were fine but Hayley’s teacher called me back to say that the other grade two class is missing a parent and they wondered if I could come after all. Of course I said yes because it makes me feel better to be there while Hayley’s being shuttled about. I was considering lying down for an hour or two but I’d rather go help out.

On top of that, when we get back home I’ll have to slam through whatever’s left in my work load and eat supper at a decent hour because I have a Governing Board meeting back at the school this evening. Judging by the amount of topics listed on the agenda I’m betting it’s going to be a long one and I’ll consider myself lucky if it’s wrapped up by 9 pm. I can’t complain too much though, because one of the other mothers going on the field trip is on the board and even Hayley’s teacher is on the board, so we’ll all be tired tonight!

I think that by the time I get home for the last time tonight, take the dog out for her last pee, get myself a cup of green tea and a treat from the Halloween bag, I’ll be more than ready to crash and crash HARD in bed. Here’s hoping I get a good solid sleep throughout the night so that I feel more awake than I do right now.

Hoo boy, it’s going to be a long day.

Quiet weekends are pretty good

Posted on October 27, 2009 by Sherry

I ended up having a fairly peaceful weekend, something that doesn’t happen often what with having two kids and all. George’s sister was in town after not being able to get out this way for awhile and the kids were both so excited. We went over to see George’s parents on Friday because his dad was celebrating his birthday. Although George had to go out I went with the girls and we had cake and tea, and Hayley got her belated birthday gifts from her aunt and uncle.

The crown that Breanna is wearing is from a craft kit that Hayley got as a gift. And isn’t it a shame that the kids obviously don’t like their uncle at all? I mean really. Can’t you just see how much they can’t stand him? (Yeah right. As you can see, they LOVE him.)

On Saturday they spent some time just doing the craft crowns and hanging around the apartment, followed by a quick trip to the Dollar Store with George. I had about an hour or so of peace and quiet during which I actually took a shower without having to worry about what anyone else was doing. Let me tell you, that’s a total luxury for me.

I was just about to start preparing supper when the phone rang and George’s sister invited the kids over to eat with them. That was fine with me! After they left I made supper for just the two of us (though Breanna requested that I save some stew for her – good thing I did, that’s what she ended up having for her snack!) and I actually ate an entire plate of food without having to get up to refill someone’s cup, break up an argument, or anything. Another fine luxury, eating a meal in peace.

George went to buy some red wine and to drop something off for a friend and I spent a couple of hours surrounded by practically no noise. There was no TV, no music, no computer games, no sibling bickering, nothing other than the usual neighborhood sounds of cars driving by and the occasional set of footsteps out in the hall.

After the kids came home and went to bed, George and I tried to watch Drag Me to Hell but we only got halfway through it before Breanna started coughing in her sleep so we stopped it there and finished it on Sunday night. (For the record, it’s seriously not worth the 90+ minutes of your life unless you enjoy horror movies that aren’t actually scary, are utterly predictable, and have cheap special effects. Seriously, I said that it looked like they only had a $1000 effects budget and George added that half of that must have been blown on pizza and beer. Really bad in this day and age.)

Sunday was another relaxing day and the kids went out with their aunt and uncle one more time for a couple of hours to wander around the mall and to get ice cream. I love my kids, but I must admit that it’s kind of nice to have occasional pockets of quiet time to myself here and there!

The weekend went by so fast. And unfortunately so far the week is dragging by. I could have sworn it was Wednesday today but it’s only Tuesday. Booooo.

*******

I’ve been suffering from a complete and total lack of creative inspiration. I had to force myself to sit down and write this just to try to break through it. I’ve also been neglecting my camera. I took a few photos while over at George’s parents’ house but I’ve been going days without taking a single picture, and even when I do they seem to sit on my card for days before I finally dump them to my computer and actually do something with them.

I don’t know what’s going on. I think I need to make myself carry my camera with me even if I don’t feel like taking any pictures, and just try to take a few shots a day until this block goes away.

A propos of nothing in particular, here’s at least one other photo that I took over the past week.

Breanna wanted to print out a blue superhero mask that she found online but I need a new ink cartridge so I couldn’t. She was disappointed so I drew one by hand, colored it in, cut it out, and gave it to her. She was thrilled! Other than the fact that it’s not green, she reminds me of Super Why.

It’s so incredibly frustrating to be a creative person by nature and to find myself completely unable to do anything. Let’s hope this passes quickly.

'Tis the season and all that

Posted on October 23, 2009 by Sherry

In my stereotypical Canadian way, I’d like to tell you about the weather around my parts lately and then complain about them because that’s what we do as Canadians. Although I know that many people consider Canada to be a land of ice and snow, we do usually have a decent Fall even if it’s not long enough for my tastes. I’d personally like Fall to last a very long time because what’s not to like? You get to wear warm sweaters but you don’t freeze to death, everyone starts making things like chili and apple crisp, and the trees explode into a symphony of colors. It’s my favorite season.

Lately though, the temperatures have been hovering more at early Winter levels. It’s been hanging out at the freezing mark early in the morning and only inching its way up a few more degrees during the day. Today Hayley asked me if I could give her a hat to wear because her head has been cold at recess and lunch. Yesterday it snowed (though at least it didn’t stick when it hit the ground) and I may or may not have said something inappropriate to be said around young children.

I know we can’t stop Winter from coming but it’s just too early. We still have to go Trick or Treating next Saturday and I’m thinking that all those jokes about Canadian Halloween costumes being designed to go over a snow suit just might be true this year. I’m feeling ripped off, I want my proper Fall back!

*******

Last week, Hayley stayed home on Thursday and Friday because she wasn’t feeling well and had a low-grade fever. Of course everyone immediately thinks of H1N1 these days when someone has a fever but I don’t think that’s what it was because a) she didn’t have any other symptoms of that particular flu, b) despite being kept home again on Monday to be sure, she was actually fine by then, and c) both my kids have always gotten a low fever with every single illness they’ve ever had. Always.

Still, you can’t send kids to school with fevers so she stayed home and then we kept both the kids home from a birthday party on Saturday. Hayley was especially unhappy about that but she was still under the weather and we didn’t want her to spread it around. We also wanted her to get better so she could go back to school. At least they had some cake sent home for them, so that perked them up!

Meanwhile everyone around me (and I’m including myself too) seems to be sniffling or coughing or both. We’re back to that season of trading off germs from one person to the other, the joys of the school year. Between the frequency with which Hayley brings home colds and whatnot and the media coverage of H1N1 I’ve been thinking hard about the vaccine. I’m about 90% sure that we’ll all go and get it.

Still, whenever I hear points brought up about how fast-tracked this was and whether it’s really safe or not, I do stop and think about it for a minute. I think I’m still more inclined to consider the H1N1 virus to have a higher risk than the vaccine does but I’d be lying if I didn’t admit to some concerns.

The vaccine is starting to arrive in Canada and Newfoundland has actually already done their first round, giving vaccines out to healthcare workers. I’ll be listening to the news to see how things go out there, if there are reports of bad reactions. On the other hand, hearing about the plans to postpone or cancel elective surgeries and the possibilities of turning hotel rooms into makeshift hospitals to be able to deal with the possible influx of H1N1 patients coming in re-kindles my resolve about getting the vaccine.

I’ve never been anti-vaccination. My kids were both immunized against everything except chicken pox. Neither had a stronger reaction than some crankiness and a low fever within the first 12 hours and I feel better for having protected them against diseases that could have killed them in a different era. But this one is different and it’s a little confusing, and it’s stressful to have to make a decision really soon.

What are you doing for H1N1? Getting the shot or riding it out?

The weekend already

Posted on October 16, 2009 by Sherry

A propos of nothing, these are the two photo poses sent home from the school for us to choose from for our Grade Two photo of Hayley this year.

I love them both – I’m so glad she really smiled big this year! – but we eventually decided to order a package of the photo on the right.

I woke up feeling a little bit surprised that it was Friday this morning and that the weekend was just around the corner. I guess I was a little thrown off by a couple of things, one being that it had been a four-day weekend so the week started on Tuesday. The other thing is that Hayley came down with some sort of bug and missed school on Thursday and Friday, so the whole week was just a big mess, logistically speaking.

I wasn’t able to send her to school because not only was she feeling under the weather, she also had a fever. I would be mildly concerned about H1N1 but she isn’t exhibiting any of the other common symptoms of the flu – besides, my kids get a fever with every illness. Still, fevers are not tolerated in schools at all right now because of concerns so there was no point. They just would have sent her back home as soon as it came back. Breanna’s been sniffly the past couple of days as well, so it’s just that season again.

The bummer about it is that friends of ours are having a birthday party for their daughter and son on Saturday but it’s looking like we won’t be able to make it. I don’t want to make anyone else sick, I don’t want the kids to be out if they’re feeling icky, and I don’t want them to get worse – especially Hayley since she’s missed two days of school for it. It’s too bad, I was really looking forward to it because it’s always a lot of fun, but hopefully we’ll see them soon. We’ll see how the kids are tomorrow and make a decision then.

On the other hand, it’s also George’s birthday on Saturday (old man!) so if the kids are still too sick to go, we’ll put them to bed and watch a movie together instead. I’m a little bit ticked off because we ordered a mic for George for his birthday (it’s not much of a surprise, he found it and asked me to order it since I have a PayPal account, but hey at least he gets exactly what he wants that way!) on September 30th and it still isn’t here. That’s totally ridiculous. I know it’s shipping from California but come on. It’s not like it was being brought here on foot.

According to the tracking info it only left the U.S. on the 7th, I don’t know why that took so long. And now it’s sitting in Montreal since the 13th but for some strange reason it hasn’t budged any closer to us. I know George is a big boy, it’s not quite the same as ordering something for a kid but still, it sucks to not have your birthday present ON YOUR BIRTHDAY, you know? From now on I’m only shopping from online retailers that use couriers because this postal service from the U.S. to Canada sucks.

(I was interested to learn that the tracking number doesn’t change after crossing the border so I was able to easily find the package on the Canada Post site too. That’s at least helpful. Having it sit there for three days, not so much.)

He looks pretty good for a ~~senior citizen~~ ~~old guy~~ birthday boy, doesn’t he?

Hayley’s school was supposed to have a movie night tonight but it was postponed until another to-be-determined date and she couldn’t have gone anyway, what with missing two days of school and all. To make up for it, I offered to do a movie night at home. I made popcorn and put it in the little popcorn containers that we have (they’re so cute), spread out a blanket on the floor, and put on a movie. Hayley chose some Star Trek for the evening’s entertainment. Clearly the ~~geek~~ apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.

It’s not quite the same as hanging out in the school gym with all your friends while only barely paying attention to a movie, but it went over well anyway.

In the meantime, here’s hoping I can keep the germs at bay. I have two meetings next week and no time for being sick! Please pass the Lysol!

Chaos Theory

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