Sometimes life is just so f$%#ing busy, no?

Time has a mind of its own. Sometimes it ticks by with painful tedium as I spend countless hours wiping down the same tables, sweeping the same floors, making the same peanut butter and jam sandwiches and saying the same things. "Broken record" is such a brilliant cliche really.

Yet then at all-too-often times (often predictable ones like before I have to get to work or dinner time) things begin to swirl and spin around me and I find that time itself has sped up and a coffee that can normally be consumed at a comfortable temperature now needs to be gulped, knots in hair must be pulled or hidden, clutter jammed into nooks and crannies, lesson ideas and to-do lists written on scraps of paper soon forgotten in my bag. Everything gets louder and I begin to twitch with anxiety about how I'll ever get it all done much less the kids dressed, but I do.

Ahhh, these are the days. And so I blog, to take a moment to reflect on it all. Because it is all there; fast and slow alike it brings with it a true wealth of gritty life that brings every conceivable emotion into our lives. And savour it I must, for it will soon pass and I will forget how pissed off I was, how embarrassed I felt, how naive it sounded, or how stupid I was. And if I forget, then how will I move through and laugh at myself the next time? Which I must, for this laughter and lightness is what makes me largely who I want to be. When I feel like I could pop someones head off like the top of a dandelion and then I listen to a child's rational behind those irksome actions, how can I not laugh at my own foolishness and wonder at the development of cognition. Life is so rich and so I also savour the joy of so many special cuddles, spoken sentiments of undying love, moments of pure silliness, laughter that makes me pee, observations that I may not have ever noticed on my own.


Since my last post we've;

- been to Baker and done some skiing and settling with the lovely Aitkens

- been to a good friends wedding

- terrorized the Loden (Rob's workplace) for 24hours of family fun

- gone back to Whistler to frolick in the pool

- homed a very tame and loving broccoli butterfly named Anna for a week (L)

- buried a mourned a beautiful yellow butterfly named Anna (L)

- realized that you really do go MUCH faster without training wheels (L)

- built and erupted numerous volcanoes (L)

- grown an incredible mop of hair that doesn't want a cut (L)

- finally got the hang of pooping on the potty (M)

- decided that Roberto Luongo is our favorite hockey player (M)

- named all our dolls Sally (M)

- accepted grandpa into our circle (M)

- taken on very full-time work for the next nine weeks (T)

- discovered that there is actually a video game I enjoy (T)

- become embarrassingly sore from 45 minutes of non-stop Dance Revolution (?)

- accepted numerous awards for his restaurant (R)

- lived on law-defying amounts of limited sleep (R)

- been accused of narcolepsy (R)

We also had a lovely Easter - I'll try and post those pics tomorrow!

And so here is this week's Tingolosophy:

When they make you snap, laugh.

When they make you fret, let go.

When they make you laugh, laugh hard.

When they cry, cry with them.

When it's just not fair, fix it.

When they dawdle, dawdle with them.

If their shoes don't match, who cares.

When you are asked to hold a slimy insect that repulses you, hold it.

Pick up other owners' dogshit. (Ok, I just threw that one in to see if you were reading)

When they show initiative, caring, insight and growth, acknowledge and foster it in the knowledge that it, like them, will grow.

And, time, like them ,will wax and wane, but it will always keep going and before we know it all we will have are the memories.

Mentholate your Life

If you are ever faced with the predicament of Vick's Vapor Rub in hair, take it from me; it may not come out.
Corn starch provides some relief.

Vancouver, BC. During the wee hours of Thursday morning, in a small home in East Vancouver, a small child of two awoke with a mischievous spirit flapping in her desires. Realizing that her exhausted mommy lay blissfully asleep in the little girl's own bed, only moments earlier cradling this small wee child in her arms, the girl left to see where her daddy might be. He was not found on his usual late-night roost of the sofa; tv blaring, remote in hand, but instead tucked up into his own bed. Faced with the confusion of not having anyone to change the channel from sports to cartoons, as her older brother still remained sleeping himself, the tot decided to stay close to her daddy and entertain herself until someone awoke and brought her cold, cold milk.

The next part is speculation, but it is believed that the poor neglected child took herself to the washroom where she successfully emptied her bladder but forgot to put her pants back on. Upon returning to her daddy, she noticed an enticing green jar lying beside his collection of used tissues. To her great surprise and happiness, it was easy to open and smelled deliciously of daddy himself. A grand dip of the fingers and that squishy, cold joy was in her hand and ready for business. With glee she lathered her half-clothed body and then took another handful. This bolder dip went into her hair and manipulated until her hair was just right. Daddy snored on and mommy still lay blissfully unsuspecting in the child's bed, so the youngster jumped in to wriggle beside her warm and cozy daddy.

When Mommy awoke shortly after, it was with trepidation that she exited the children's bedroom. Something smelled amiss - surely her husband had not drowned himself in a bottle of Vick's Vapor Rub the evening before? Perhaps the tenants were aromatherapyizing some bad chi out of their house? A Laura Secord truck dumped its contents in the lane? Do they still make those chocolates? ... ... ... Oh. A beaver. A slick, oily beaver preparing for a trip down the river? Perhaps the beaver has a bad cold? No.... Oh.... Yes.... Good morning bug.

Although hours of research have now been conducted by the family, over twelve washes with various different household products performed and countless tsk-tskings have been heard, it remains to be seen if Vaseline comes out of hair or mentholatum out of anything.

And what do the parents have to say for themselves? They were both quoted as saying that although they realized raising children was fraught with adventure, they had yet to imagine their second child could trump their first for mischievousness. And the elder child? When last seen, a serene smile permeated his every move as he basked in the novelty of not being the naughty one.

Palm Desert/Disneyland

I should be marking right now; it's really great incentive for blogging...

We needed a bit of sun and family time after the hectic holidays, so we popped down to the states for a quick visit to the club in Palm Desert and Pooh Bear. It was our first time visiting the Intrawest down there, and we were very impressed. The rooms and grounds were gorgeous and immaculately kept. The staff was great, as usual, and the club's amenities lived up to our expectations. The kids pool, for me, was a huge seller. It was shaded and only a couple of feet at its deepest. Mia spent a long day luxuriating in her own private pool while Lucas played in the big family pool. I think there are a total of five pools on the property and more than double that number in hot tubs and barbecues!

Our patio looking over the golf course. The ducks came to visit each morning to see if they could get any crumbs. (And boy did they ever at our place!)

Apparently I liked this picture a lot... the coffee sure was good!

Angels... caught in time for ever... hahahahahahaha...

Teddy REALLY soaked up the sun. He was starting to feel a little grizzly this winter, but some down time on the patio and a round of golf while we were out at the living desert really did wonders for his demeanour. I did worry a bit about his evening consumption, but hey, I figure that every bear needs a little time off from his work, right?

Pool party girl. I don't think she took those glasses off for two days straight.

Mia's trip highlights are, in no particular order, swimming in the "hot pool" under the stars at night and the kids pool by day, falling asleep in Mommy's arms in the bath tub, dancing to the live band at "Las Casuelas Terraza" in downtown Palm Springs, getting hundreds of kisses from Snoopy at Knottsberry Farm, and OMGoodness... meeting Pooh Bear and Tigger in person at Disneyland.

My little man.

Lucas' highlights were all the Daddy time playing foosball, swimming and wrestling, the miniature train exhibit at The Living Desert, the giant bag of hot kettle corn, swimming under the stars in the hot pools, the Sidewinder at Knottsberry farm, and OMGoodness ... Splash Mountain and Big Thunder Mountain at Disneyland.

I personally choose to forget the travelling aspect of the trip and focus on the warmth of the sun, the hugs and the laughter.

Do you remember the Teacups?!

All in all, a great trip. It was far too short, but it did a lot of good for our souls.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Boobies

"Mommy, what are boobies?"

"They are breasts Lucas."

-long pause-

"Daddy? What are boobies?"

"They are breasts. You know, like what women have." (This is accompanied by wild thumping of the chest like an orangutan.)

"Oh. Yeah."

-pause-

"They're booby-traps, right?"

"Yes Lucas. And you have to be very careful because once you get caught by a booby-trap then you'll end up married with two kids."

"Ok Daddy."

Doing Time for Christmas

Sorry for the late blog. I think I went into sleep mode over the Christmas break - all of me, but most especially my motivation to do anything much more than sleep and eat. The snow, as much as I truly love it, was a short lived thrill that, coupled with a family cold, turned into a deep frustration. We didn't get even an eighth of what we had intended to do done over the break. But this, was not necessarily a bad thing.

• I think not finishing my Christmas shopping put a good stop to that last-minute panic phenomenon. Although it was a sour disappointment to not receive my photo order (six gifts... ouch) it created much warmer gift-giving once the snow had melted.



• We only once got stuck in the snow; Christmas day, everyone including Mom was packed in the truck, the turkey needed to go into Mom's oven and there were three cars stuck at the bottom of our very steep street. In a moment of testosterone combined with acute frustration and engorged SUV pride, an unnamed male attempted to pull a u-turn in two-feet deep snow. The upside of that was that we chatted with and met some neighbours who kindly spent three quarters of an hour digging us out. Lucas very kindly spent the whole forty five minutes giving us advice on how to best get out of the situation.




• I spent New Year's Eve shovelling my mom's car out of her garage, down the lane and then back into a parking spot beside her house. All for a couple of bottles of wine and some cheese. I could have walked in ten minutes, but for some stupid reason I thought I should "rescue" her from her own seclusion. Instead I bought myself a serious case of self loathing. However once again I was impressed with the help of kind neighbours as well as the pig-headedness of a certain gender. Let's just say that three different strange men got into the car and tried to gun it in their chivalric attempt to save me. By midnight I realized that my suspicion of arthritis in my hands was very likely right. Hmmm, Happy New Year.
  
• I am now consequently have a mid-life moment. I turn 35 this year, close enough! I must press forward with my to-do list.


• The best snow moment for me came when spending an afternoon shovelling. I was down the walk and the kids were safely playing in the yard when I heard a small voice calling me from far away. When I rounded the corner I saw Mia lodged, literally, in a bank of snow off the side of the back steps. She had one leg and one arm completely stuck and was madly waving the others at a hilariously cartoonish angle. I really wanted to run in the house and get the camera before I got her out, but compassion won over humour.

• I read an amazing book in about 48 hours, much to Rob's frustration at my ability tune all out. If you need a good read, check out The Book of the Negroes by Lawrence Hill.

Lucas now has a serious case of space curiosity as well as super hero impersonation.

I never got the dollhouse I wanted when I was little - not depravity, just a long story. Anyhow, this year Santa brought one for Mia. We love it.

I hope you all had a great holiday and 2009 brings you lots of good things. :) Ting

Pre-Christmas

It's almost here... A naked elf has been seen running around the snow-bound house causing all sorts of mischief.

Wine box inserts are turned into parking-garage castles.

Cuddles are warm and safe; the sofa is coveted by all.

Tape is to be pulled and pulled. Gifts to be wrapped.

We awake to the smell of preschool baking; bananas, rosemary, milk, water, flour, sugar and red food-colouring, of course. Mmmmmm.....

The biggest tree we could (not) fit in our house has been bought and now decorated.

More sleepy cuddles needed. (We don't see Daddy a lot.)

Lots of onions to caramelize and tenderloin and prosciutto wrapped asparagus to barbecue.

Good food, wine and friends to be enjoyed.

Happy Pre-Christmas Festivities to all!

My Baby is Two?

Dear Mia - you're two?

Where did these last two years go?

They whirled past in clouds of hope, love and joy.

You've only just begun to show us what you are

A loving, gentle soul with the wit of an owl

The roar of a lion, the impishness of a monkey,

the loyalty of a treasured dog,

the words of an admired parrot.

You entered our world quielty and calmly

And as you grow you teach us to be more

More kind, more forgiving, more loving.

How many kisses do I need before I sleep?

How many hugs do I get when I wake up?

You sense my holes and fill my need.

Always forgiving, always there.

Happy Birthday Hija.

Te amo.

Busy times...

As I mentioned in my last post, it's birthday season here and we are SWAMPED with it! nevertheless, we managed to get a way to Whistler for a quick family weekend. Rob slept much of the trip, which was much needed, and the rest of us just kind of hung out. The kids were really taken with the birds who fed right out of their hands. We had a little 'cangrejada' (crab pig-out) for Mom's birthday, got whooped by Rob at a couple of games of Settlers, took Mom on a wild, dark ride down the water slide after perhaps a little too much wine and had a good unwind.

On a side note, I bought these homeopathic tablets for Lucas to see if I could cure some of his daily irritable angst. Whether or not they are effective can be debated, but the package made me laugh (and dream) so I had to give them a go...