Awhile back, Hayley told me her class was going on a field trip to the fire station and they needed a few parent volunteers. She really wanted to go so I said sure. The truth is, I think I was just as excited as she was because I had never been to a fire station myself – I must have had a deprived childhood!

We went last Thursday and I wasn’t sure what to expect of a group of Kindergarten kids outside of the classroom but they were pretty good most of the time. What was especially cute was the fact that they had all watched a fire video the day before so they knew all kinds of random trivia. They kept putting their hands up and telling the firemen things like, “your ladder goes 100 feet high!” and “your boots have steel in them”. The firemen were so surprised at how much a bunch of five- and six-year-olds knew.

We got a tour of the hose truck, the ladder truck, and even the search and rescue boat and they were all really nice. They clowned around with the kids a lot. At the end they did a demonstration of the ladder, the one that goes 100 feet up. My god. It is insane. I took one look and said if I ever needed to be rescued with that, they’d have to shoot me up with Valium or knock me out before they could get me down the damn thing. Even one of the firemen said he’d been on one that goes 130 feet high and he admitted, “yeah, it’s a bit… uh, SCARY.”

Yes, just a little scary.

Just when they were finished putting the ladder back down, the alarm suddenly went off. We got to see first hand (as we all rushed off to the side to get out of the way) exactly how fast they can get dressed and in the trucks. It was quite a bustling end to our visit but at least we were done rather than just starting out!

The kids were super animated on the way back to the school and then we sat while the teacher read a fireman story to them. Once that was done it was time for lunch so I left Hayley for a couple more hours, but I really enjoyed going. Too bad the year is over and volunteering is almost over. Because I went to this and to an event earlier in the year and George recorded them singing at Christmas time, we got invited to a little assembly and tea. I’m not sure if we’ll go but it’s really nice that they show the appreciation. I know not all parents are able to do stuff like this so I’m really grateful that my schedule allows for me to take part.

I don’t know if all families have our weird sense of humor or if it’s just us, but it works. Some people have peaceful, serious, thoughtful dinner conversation. And we have this:

*bing* The grill signals that the next round of burgers is done cooking. George gets up.
Sherry: Oh, you don’t need two buns, I only put on a second one for you, I only felt like having the one tonight.
George: Aw, that’s too bad, I was going to give you the bun that I just dropped on the floor.
Sherry: Joke’s on you, I farted in the bun bag.
George: You’re freaked out.
Hayley and Breanna: *laughing hysterically at the mention of the word “fart”*

Who wants to come over for dinner?

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While I’ve enjoyed Mother’s Day in the past, this year was the best one ever. It really ended up being an entire weekend. George had to do some work out near my parents on Saturday so the kids and I went over there. It was so much better to go see my Mom on the Saturday because we got to spend a lot more time with her, we had dinner there, and it was less rushed than if we had tried to fit a visit in on Sunday. I got my mom a DVD of The Waterhorse because I knew she would enjoy it and when I called her on Sunday to wish her a happy Mother’s Day, she said that she had watched it with my dad on Saturday night and she absolutely loved it.

On Sunday, I got to sleep in a little bit, and even though it wasn’t hardcore sleeping (I dozed, mostly), it felt great. Hayley brought in a beautiful card that she had made in school and it’s the best card I ever got. Then she went off with Breanna and George in the other room and came in with a bag for me. They had gotten me a new MP3 player. My sister had gotten me one for Christmas, but the volume button got stuck one day and when I tried to press it to turn it up, it actually jammed right up inside the player. As a result, the player worked but I couldn’t turn it up (or down since I couldn’t bring it back up later – Amanda, take note, the buttons jam easily, don’t bust your volume too!). It was hard to hear outside with traffic. I still use it in the bedroom with a pair of old computer speakers so it’s still getting plenty of use (every night I listen to my current favorite album and then I go to sleep with the sounds of white noise playing on it). Now though, I have another one that I can use outdoors again and I love it.

They got dressed then and left me by myself on a quest to get some breakfast. They came back with McDonalds and oh my god I haven’t had a Mickey D’s egg and sausage McMuffin in years. That was so damn good.

I managed to get Breanna to sleep for about 45 minutes just so she wouldn’t get cranky from nap deprivation and when she got up we headed out to a used book store. I couldn’t browse quite as much as I would normally like (we have to go back just George and I some day), I did enjoy poking around and I got myself two books – The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants which I always wanted to read, and don’t laugh but I also got Dianetics. Yes, the Scientology-applauded book by L. Ron Hubbard. Relax, I’m not converting – I used to study religion and I was fascinated by cults so this is the sort of thing I enjoy reading simply for the sake of curiosity.

(If I suddenly start talking about Xenu, please stage an intervention.)

The man who owns the store was super nice, chatting with everyone who came in, giving the girls lollipops (and being nice enough to discreetly ask us first), and then giving me a carnation for Mother’s Day. I can’t wait to go back!

After we left the store we drove down to the water and hung out for a little while on the banks of the St. Lawrence, enjoying the waterfront. We’re planning to go back soon for a picnic just because it was so beautiful and the kids loved it.

We headed towards our own corner of suburbia and stopped for some ice cream, then headed over to see George’s mom for awhile. We hung out chatting while the kids played with their aunt, and then we finally came home for supper, bath time for the girls, and a very easy bedtime. They were both so tired it didn’t take much for them to fall asleep.

There’s a photo album from the weekend over here on Flickr. Despite taking 147 photos over two days (!) I managed to bring it down to just 13, don’t worry.

It was definitely the best Mother’s Day I could have asked for. Next year has a lot to live up to!

Hayley is so sensitive sometimes that it amazes me. Lately there have been a lot of snails around our place – at the park, in the field, on the sidewalks, everywhere. I’m used to finding them sometimes (and usually when we find them, the shells are already empty) but I’ve never seen so many all at once.

The other night it rained and there were snails everywhere, all over the sidewalks. A few of them had been stepped on and crushed and Hayley was horrified. Before we could go anywhere, she had to save the snails. She crouched down carefully on the sidewalk and she would gently tap the top of the shell until the snail went back inside. Then she picked each one up and placed it out of harm’s way on the grass where it would be safer. Lather, rinse, repeat.

When she had finished being a superhero, we started to leave when she spotted a few more further away. I was in a bit of a hurry so I told her it was okay, we could just leave those ones, they’d likely make it to the grass on their own. My sensitive little girl looked up at me with tears in her eyes and asked me please, couldn’t she just go save those ones too.

Please, what could I do? I was completely powerless to such a heartfelt and not all that unreasonable request. And so Hayley saved three more snails that day.

We left the one that we saw on a fire hydrant though, figuring he was definitely out of danger of being accidentally squished way up there. Besides, we thought he might be the world’s tiniest firefighter and maybe he was on duty in case of a sudden fire. We didn’t want him to lose his job, so he got to stay put.

I’ve always known Hayley is a sensitive kid, but I never realized it extended to the planet’s slimy creatures too.

——-

I just reviewed the awesome book Were You Raised by Wolves? Clues to the Mysteries of Adulthood by Christie Mellor on behalf of the Parent Bloggers Network. Go check it out, it was a great and fun read.

Mother’s Day is just around the corner, coming up this Sunday. I had half forgotten until I got a card in the mail from my sister, wishing me a happy Mother’s Day.

Over at the Parent Bloggers Network, they’ve asked how we’d like to be recognized as a mother. What do *I* want for Mother’s Day?

There are some things I wouldn’t mind (something with Hayley and Breanna’s birthstones, or some kind of electronic gadget because let’s face it, I’ve been a geek and a dork longer than I’ve been a mom!), but most of the things I’d like are not objects and don’t cost much if anything.

I would like to sleep in just a little bit. Not noon or 11 am or anything crazy, I’d just like to sleep until 9 or 9:30. Sometimes I just refuse to get up and I lie in bed in the morning on the weekend, but I’m not sleeping. If I’m lucky I might doze on and off but I’m not fully asleep. I’d really like to sleep.

I’d like some breakfast but I don’t really need to ask too much for that; George often makes breakfast on one morning of the weekend anyway, making eggs and bacon and toast. I love that.

I’d love it if the kids would stop bickering for the entire day but that’s unlikely so I’ll settle for at least toning it down a notch.

I’m looking forward to whatever Hayley is making for the big day at school, and so far it’s a surprise which is even better. I also hope someone will get Breanna to draw me something too. I love homemade cards and drawings from my kids.

That’s pretty much it. I know that because I’m not the only mother here, part of the day will be spent visiting my mother and George’s mother, but if I can squeeze a few of those things in, it will be a good day for me. If our parents lived out of the area, I’d probably request a visit to the big nature park that I love so much, but family visits are good too.

See? The commercials on television may make it out as though women everywhere only want diamonds and extravagant meals out. I’m pretty low-key, I don’t want anything crazy or out of the ordinary.

What do you want for Mother’s Day?

Reading is a wonderful thing. I was that stereotype girl with thick glasses, out-of-control-hair, bad fashion sense, and a nose perpetually stuck in a book. I still love reading even if I don’t make as much time for reading of the book variety (I read a lot of stuff online of course).

Hayley loves reading too and she’s getting better and better at it. A couple of weeks ago she took Are You My Mother? by Dr. Seuss to school and she read it to her class, getting a huge “super reader” sticker from her teacher along with a note saying she had “read it beautifully”. Every night, she gets into bed and she turns on her reading lamp and reads her books to herself. We still read to her too (I’m in the middle of a chapter book with her about Mariposa, she loves it. I can’t wait until she’s ready for a really big chapter book so I can read The Secret of N.I.M.H. to her!) but she just really loves reading to herself.

However, there are some drawbacks to it, and if you’re currently the parent of a child who has not learned to read yet, you might want to bear it in mind.

For one thing, talking about certain topics with others in front of your children will become a lot more difficult. George can no longer turn to me and mention that he’s going to go buy a c-h-o-c-o-l-a-t-e b-a-r at the store because now Hayley will shriek, “You’re buying a chocolate bar?!” If I’m not sure I want to take the kids to the park I can’t say “We might go to the p-a-r-k if I finish my work in time” because then Hayley will ask me about the park five million times.

I hadn’t really thought about the repercussions of having a reader and no longer being able to spell. We can use French for now, although chocolat is too close to chocolate so some words are still impossible to hide, and she’ll be fluent in French soon enough that it will be off the table as an option too. Right now we resort to charades a lot, or vague references like “that place on the other side of town that serves hot beverages and little round edible things” so that Hayley can’t figure out we’re talking about donuts at Tim Horton’s.

Eventually we may have to learn an obscure language like Gaelic or Esperanto or perhaps Klingon just so we can still converse privately among the kids.

The other disadvantage is that it can be annoying. How so? Tonight Hayley was trying to resist sleep by banging her legs as loudly as possible on her mattress which was noisy enough, on top of all the books she kept knocking with a crash onto the floor. I was trying to watch American Idol work, so I went in and said, “Hayley, you’re going to wake your sister up which will interrupt American Idol my work, please be quiet!”

And she looked up at me with a big smile and said, “I can SPELL quiet! Q-u-i-e-t!” And what do you say to that? “Yes, very good, but please do it instead of just spelling it. You have to go to sleep.”

“I can spell sleep! S-l-e-e-p!”

“OK GREAT THEN JUST SPELL WORDS SILENTLY IN YOUR HEAD UNTIL YOU’RE SLEEPING.”

So think long and hard. Do you want to have your own words spelled back at you when you’re trying to parent? Do you want to lose an important method of communication with your spouse? If the answer to those questions is no, then do yourself a favor and go hide all the children’s books, turn off reading shows like Super Why and Sesame Street, and toss out the alphabet blocks.

It’s your only chance.

*******
By the way, I reviewed a really delicious c-e-r-e-a-l on my review blog. I was sent a complimentary box of Frosted Flakes Gold and it was so y-u-m-m-y it lasted under three days here. Go check it out!

Tonight, after George finished supper, he had to run out quickly to do a few things. He left while the girls and I were still eating supper. It was a pleasantly warm day so our balcony sliding doors were wide open.

While we were eating dessert (oh hello blueberries, *swoon*), I heard the screaming of brakes outside and I wasn’t 100% sure but I thought I heard a car hitting something. I rushed to the balcony and peered outside; we have an intersection outside so I thought there had been an accident. I didn’t see anything other than a car a little further across the crosswalk than it should have been so I assumed that someone thought they could beat the yellow light and then changed their mind at the last minute.

We finished eating and I had just started clearing the plates when I heard sirens. That’s not unusual, but the sirens didn’t get further away. In fact, it sounded like they stopped right outside. I went to the balcony again and saw fire trucks, an ambulance, and a police car.

I rushed out and tried to see what had happened but the trees on our front property blocked the view. I could see, though, that everything seemed to be happening right at the driveway of our parking lot.

Of course, Hayley and Breanna were out on the balcony with me and were very curious about what was going on but all that was running through my head was, “I don’t know when that screeching of brakes happened. I can’t remember how much time passed between when George walked out that front door and when the brakes screeched. Why can’t I remember how much time went by?!”

I didn’t want to alarm the kids, especially Hayley who understands more, so I said, “hey, let’s go downstairs and see what’s going on, get your shoes on!” Meanwhile, what my BRAIN was really saying was, “oh my god, oh my god, ohmygod did someone hit George and if so, is he okay?”

We went downstairs and walked over to where the yellow tape had already been put up and although I felt guilty, I breathed an enormous sigh of relief when I saw a minivan and a burgundy car, neither of which belonged to us. Then I alleviated my guilt when I noticed that although some people looked shaken up and some were being treated by medics, there didn’t appear to be any urgency so no one seemed to be seriously injured.

The minivan had a busted read bumper but the car was crumpled around the hood and looked like it would cost an awful lot to fix up. Clearly the minivan was leaving the parking lot and got rammed by someone going way too fast, coming up the street. Brilliant.

By the time we had been back upstairs for five minutes, we heard the beeping noise of an ambulance backing up and they headed towards the hospital but didn’t turn on sirens so I guess everyone was fine. Thank goodness.

Still. Just that thought on repeat, not knowing if the timing was such that someone could have hit George as he pulled out of the parking lot, or even hit him as he walked towards the garbage bin to toss out our trash on his way to the car… Well.

We’re not perfect. Like most couples we argue and fight, sometimes about stupid things, sometimes about important things but in stupid ways. But let me tell you, there is nothing like the feeling of your heart pounding up in your THROAT to make you realize that none of those things are all that important when it all comes down to it.

I’m glad no one was hurt, but I’m extra glad he wasn’t.