I Wanna Be A Millionaire, So Friggin Bad...

Yep I said it.  Show me the money!  I once told a friend, many, many years ago that I believed that one day, I would win the lottery.  I believed it.  I still do to some degree although the fact that I now rarely buy tickets probably works against me!

If I won the millions I would...(insert dreamy face here)

• not go back to work!!!
• renovate my entire house floor to ceiling
• rip out our small deck and patio and have it all professionally landscaped
• lay around eating bon bons
• buy a new car - nothing fancy
• buy my honey the Jaguar he dreams about
• pay off the mortgages of my family members
• donate to a charitable cause
• go back to school
• take a few vacations

Those are the big ones.  I also would not indulge my children so much that they get an entitled mentality.  You see that far too often and it really does the child no favours.  I'd rather see kids work hard to get where they want to be than sit around hoping for money to fall into their laps...ummm *blush* oh...so anyways...ahem

I like Him, I Really Like Him

Although my son may drive me drink (copious amounts) some days, he is a really, really good kid.   I don't know how it happened, but he is considerate, helpful, respectful and sociable.  He is not only able to talk to adults, he is actually social and easy to talk to, so most adults that meet him don't mind spending time with him.

He's certainly not perfect (as no one is) but I often feel so lucky that somehow he turned out so well.  I thought I'd blog about it now before he does something to irritate the holy crap out of me and all I want to blog about is what a rotten, ungrateful, sleeping in, texting teenager he is.

So back to sunshine and roses!  He loves his little sister - not so much that he has ever changed a diaper but who can blame him there?  He will watch her for a short while if I need him to and gets down on the floor to play at her level.  Her face lights up when he walks in the room!  I think that gives him a big high too, to see how happy she is when she sees him - it's so sweet!  Yesterday he was holding her and said to me "Do you realize that without you (me), we wouldn't be here?"  I didn't know whether to laugh or cry, so I laughed and asked if he'd just figured that out.  then he took Little Miss in to the bathroom mirror and said, "Without mommy, the mirror would be empty."  Awwww

Earlier in the week, I was having friends over for a swim with their little girl which I told my Kiddo about that morning.  At some point, and without drawing attention to it, he went and tidied his bathroom (as much as a 16 yr old boy can - the inside of the toilet was disease inducing but he made the effort) and put fresh towels and hand towels out.  He also cleaned his room.  There was no need for this but he knew that it would be nice on the off chance they wanted to use the upstairs bathroom.  What an awesome, fabulous kid!  You are always going to love your kids no matter what, but I really, truly like my son...and it's an awesome thing!

She's Getting There

Little Miss is doing her best to get herself mobile, if only to grab at things that she doesn't currently have access too like the remote control, DVD's, newspaper etc.  She's at the point now where she will launch forward at something...kind of dangerous but she doesn't care.  She's also starting to move backwards just a teeny bit, like a backward army crawl.  It doesn't look easy or comfortable but what do ya do?

She occupied herself in the yard yesterday by first trying to eat a crunchy leaf, and then when she decided it was nearly as good as a fig newton, she took time in ripping it to tiny little pieces.  When I picked her up she looked like she had tree confetti all over her.  She was happy though!  Clearly she will not be a tree hugger when she gets older.  If Daddy has his way she'll be a belching, meat eating, swearing machine who doesn't date until she's 40.  She'll wear clothing covering her from her earlobes to her toes and of course they'll be four sizes too big.  She'll study very hard to become a doctor or lawyer, earn a good paycheck and invest wisely so she can retire by 35 and take care of dear old mom and dad.

Who am I kidding - I'd be okay if that last sentence came true!

Monday Ramblings

Well...it's Monday.  Yep.  I have not been a good blogger lately - I am still enjoying so much sunshine and as well, Little Miss has hit an age where she demands a LOT more attention...like if you're walking through a snake pit and you have to keep an eye on the big ones for fear they might attack when you're not looking...kind of like that!

That said, I uploaded the pics on my camera today and laughed at all of the ones I took to blog about...so here goes!

I came downstairs one day and my Kiddo says "Guess what I did?"  I said "What?" and he runs to get the camera to show me that he'd made his own breakfast.  Yes he is almost 17.  To clarify, he always gets his own breakfast, but the difference is that if he wants fresh berries his laziness prevails and he asks me to wash them.  This particular day he...gasp...washed and cut them himself.  I'll wait while you marvel at your computer screen and inwardly applaud.

Alright now - in all honesty for a 17 yr old boy to wash and cut up raspberries, strawberries and banana to go on his cereal seems a pretty big feat, so bravo Kiddo!  (It looks yummy doesn't it?)

Self portrait.  Strange angle.  You're welcome.

Another sort of 'self portrait' when my dear hubby let Little Miss press camera buttons...kinda cute though!

This is a highly unflattering picture of me on the trampoline.  Why am I posting it you ask?  Well, quite frankly I have no clue.  I guess it kind of makes me smile and feel like a kid again for a moment.  (And yes I do have a bathing suit on under that VERY SHORT cover up)

"My mommy says I'm cute...I don't know what that means but she smiles when she says it.  She also smiles when I fart though so who knows?"

Lookit what I grew!!!  Okay, there was no effort - the plants came with the house but I love them!  We get fresh raspberries every day - this is the first one this year!  Yummy!

Ah yes, the exploding ketchup bottle.  As you can see the ketchup is almost empty and someone turned it upside down.  My Kiddo opened it and BAM it went everywhere!

The next two pictures are of a little food storage area I just located, secretive like Area 51 but I found it.  You see, we have a wine rack in our dining room with this wooden statue on it.  I often find that my Kiddo has decided to place his stuff on it (although I have no idea why because it's not in the area of traffic flow from room to room).  the other day I laughed when I saw that something was placed behind the little wooden people.  Upon closer inspection...

I found this.  Mr. Noodles was just hanging out behind the wooden people.  (A little addendum - today I found a box of Vinta Crackers there too.  Mr. Noodles and the blue cup are still there.  I think he's storing up for winter or something, but I'm leaving it all there to see how much crap he can accumulate before he picks it up!)

***

Ahh yes.  So our car was squealing very loudly for a few days.  It got worse and worse.  I decided to take it to a mechanic when it got to a point that I was slouched down in my seat with a ball cap tilted so people couldn't see my face as I drove.  It was that bad.  I was going to book it an appt, but first decided to check with some other folks - my facebook friends.  I posted a message on FB asking what could be making that terrible front end squealing.  Within minutes I had 5 women respond (yes all women!) that it could be the brakes, rotors or a belt.  I knew the tires needed replacing and the brakes would be needing replacement soon, however it didn't make the sound when braking.  I was informed that brakes come with 'squealers" (Not sure if that's the name for it but whatever) that squeal when you need new brakes.  Ummmm isn't that what grinding is for?  I never replaced brakes before until they'd start grinding and shuddering while braking.  Apparently that's not cool.  No wonder my cars fell apart.  Sooo this weekend my hubby bought new brake pads and rotors and replaced ours.  Here is the pic of the old with the new (you figure out which is which).  The thickness of the pad on the top is crazy compared with the tiny sliver left on the bottom one.  I am happy to report that the squeal is gone and we no longer have to pound on the brake petal.  In fact my seatbelt came in handy when I almost went through the windshield when stopping at a light.  Thanks honey!

Just a cute pic of my little patootie.  You can see she's actually getting hair.  Real hair!  Unfortunately it's coming in in a bit of a mohawk, but I've decided to let her rock the mohawk and get some gel (or sweet potatoes - they have the same effect) and spike her hawk!  Pics to come!

"I may not be crawling yet but I'm getting close!"

That ends our brief, chaotic slideshow of my recent photo taking!  Please exit to the right and watch your step.  Thank you for joining us on this journey!

A Year's Worth Of Makeup

I saw a cool and slightly disturbing video today that I had to share.  It was filmed to show how much makeup we use in a year, applied all in one day to a model.  It was kind of cool to watch.  They used 7 bottles of foundation, two bottles of blusher, two bottles of eye cream and 3 lip pens.  By the end the model looked like her face had melted.

Apparently they did a dry run on a male intern to make sure that that amount of makeup wouldn't kill someone.  Ummm - why would they try it with an intern...nobody cares if he dies?  LOL

Anyways - here's the link - it's kind of cool...and weird.

It's Finally Happened

I woke up today completely unaware of what day of the week it was.  I knew it couldn't be Saturday or Sunday or my Dear Hubby would be puttering around, and I knew it wasn't Monday because he was not puttering yesterday either.  Beyond that...no clue.  None.

I looked at the calendar and figured it was either Wednesday or Thursday...it was entirely possible it was Tuesday as well but my spidey senses told me it wasn't.  I tried to think of what was on the boob tube last night but I really didn't watch anything after an almost 2 hr walk with the doggies and falling into bed.  It probably wouldn't matter if I had watched anything with the crap ass reruns that are on through the summer (but that's another rant)

So, what else could tell me what day it is?  My phone maybe?  I pushed the button to see the time and hoped the date was there too - nope.  I didn't want to resort to the computer to google "What is today's date" for fear I'd be a complete moron, but at that point I was getting desperate.  The funny thing was there was no reason that I *had* to know the day of the week.  I had no plans.  I had nothing 'time sensitive' on the go.  I had no prep work that was to be done for any events.  I just felt like the biggest and most complete loser who is on maternity leave and has completely lost track of what day of the week it was.  Sigh.

Finally I called up to my Kiddo who was lounging on the couch and asked..."Is it Wednesday or Thursday?"  He asked "Why?"  I replied "Because I don't know," to which he said "Wednesday...no wait, Thursday...I think"

Yep, we're in this together he and I.

Finders Keepers

Who are these people who find a bag of money just sitting somewhere?  I want to know.  All too frequently I hear a news report about someone who has found a bag or suitcase full of cash (who carries a suitcase of cash anyways?) and turned it in to authorities.  I'm sure they are very good people but let me tell you if I ever find a bag of money I'm not saying a word.  Nope.  I'm gonna scoot home to count my big ol' bag of bills and then decide what to do with it...maybe a vacation...or a lexus...or maybe a personal chef to cater to my every craving!

I do have to say I like to see people rewarded when they turn in something they have found like this story.  If the envelope is not claimed they will get to keep all of the $14 000 and if it is claimed, they still get a percentage as a 'finder's fee'.  I like that.  I remember once hearing about someone who had turned in several hundred thousand dollars and when the absentminded rightful owner appeared he gave them $100.  Ummmm excuse me - I just gave back hundreds of thousands of buckaroos and you give me $100?  Really?  Seems cheap to me, but anyways.

A short while ago a teenager in Dallas, Texas found an envelope with $2000 in it near a mall and brought it to the nearest bank, who contacted police.  Although the practice in past had been to wait a set amount of time and then return it to the finder, the police decided to implement a new policy allowing them to keep the money.  I know people don't turn in found money hoping to get it back (well most don't) but what a rotten thing to do to a teenager who did the right thing.  After the story hit the news there was a public outcry and they did decide to let her keep it if no rightful owner came forward.  I have to say kudos to her for doing what was right.  More than once I have turned in a wallet or credit card that someone dropped or left somewhere.  I can only hope that my kiddies do the same thing if they find things that people may be missing.  In the meantime, I will continue to scan the bushes on the side of the road for a big old bag of cash waiting to come home with me!

Dirt

It's so funny.  When I had Kiddo almost (gulp) 17 yrs ago, I thought of myself as a pretty laid back mama.  I didn't stress too much about stuff, although I do remember wondering when he would finally crawl...hee hee

Now with Little Miss I find myself even more laid back.  So much so that she kinda raises herself while I lounge on the couch with my pomtini.

Ahem just kidding...gulp gulp gulp

Anyways, if her toy falls on the ground, I just pick it up and hand it back knowing it'll be in her mouth in seconds.  I let her chew on my credit cards, my cell phone case and anything else that won't break off and choke her.  The other day she was chewing on the silicone basting brush in my kitchen...it was clean to start but then she slobbers all over it, drops it on the floor and mommy hands it back to her.  To my credit I do remove any clumpy dog fur that attaches itself, but otherwise I can't even tell you how much dust and germs have also jumped on board for a one way trip to her gummy mouth.

I think this world is too obsessed with germs.  I think antibacterial soap is alright but I buy soap based on how it smells not how many extra germs it will eradicate.  I think that if you wash your hands well it doesn't matter what soap you use.  I think that over using antibacterial products and never exposing kids to germs and dirt is what causes them to get sick constantly.  Don't get me wrong, if the guy next door had ebola virus I wouldn't drag her over to get her exposed so she could fight it off but I'm not going to worry too much about how clean the floors are when I pick up her soother, wipe it on my pants and hand it right back to her.  Does this make me a bad mommy?  Maybe, but just let me finish my drink before you judge me.

Holiday Fireworks

(Disclaimer - I am not a total prude or boring person, and I enjoy a good fireworks show as much as the next guy...)

I changed my status update on Canada Day to read something like this

The number of people setting off fireworks in close proximity to the houses in the SUBURBS is ridiculous! 

It's seriously pissing me off. Go to the country to light your fireworks and shoot your air rifles...gawd!

I then realized that made me sound like a crusty old biddy who sits in her rocker on her front porch shaking her fist in the air at the bratty kids playing in the street.  But seriously people, it's how I felt.

We had no plans per se on Canada Day - just sitting in the backyard, floating in the pool and having some drinks. At around 7pm we were winding down (so old I know!) and I suggested that my Dear Hubby take 20 minutes to run to our rental property to sand the ceiling (we'd had a leak and he had to go back several times to repair, re-drywall, tape, mud and sand - short visits but several visits are necessary).  He asked if I'd mind, and I said I'd take Little Miss and the poochies out for a walk.

We set out, our little suburban gang on the pathways.  the first thing I noticed was that there were no cars at all on the street.  I was pleased, thinking this could be a nice, quiet stroll while everyone else was on Parliament Hill to see Will and Kate and the fireworks show.  I was sadly mistaken.  As we walked I could hear the tell tale sounds of fireworks close by.  When we got close to a friend's house, I saw the culprits, lighting fireworks ON THE PATH up ahead!  I suspect they may have stopped to let us pass (it was still broad daylight and there were houses right there) but I was still worried the fireworks would be way too close for comfort.

We changed course and went to the left down another pathway.  Over the next 15 minutes that it took us to get home we saw two more sets of kids lighting fireworks, one group in the street directly between two houses.  I cannot fathom why people think this is safe or smart.  Luckily the dogs and Little Miss did not seem bothered by the sudden noises, but my fear of being hit by flaming projectiles kept me a bit irritated at the whole thing.

The tell tale 'pop' sounds continued well into the night ceasing for good around midnight.  I understand that people want to have fun, but go somewhere that is not so densely populated for crying out loud.

Happy Canada Day!

What an awesome day!  We woke this morning to zip off to my in laws to visit with them for a bit.  The weather was gorgeous and we sat in the sun and shade for awhile.  Little Miss was in fine form playing with everything and very wiggly for nan and pop!

We brought her in the pool for the first time today - it was a balmy 82 degrees...ahhhh!

She loved the water - we just have to invest in a good floaty thing for her.  She hated the lifejacket because it kept going around her face (even though the sizing was good) so we used an inflatable and just held her which was easier.  She splashed around for quite awhile!  Then she played it cool.

Happy Canada Day to all of my Canuck friends!   Hope it was a great one!