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Last week, we experienced summer weather up here in Canada.
This week it has been cold and wet.
With the possibility of snow this weekend.
Hold me.
The only thing that is keeping me from running away to live in a tropical climate are the signs that warm weather will be here to stay very soon.
New life is showing up everywhere I turn.
Colour is returning to brighten up the dreary landscape.
Nature is waking up and taking a deep breath.
And I am anxiously awaiting the sun and much more colour.
Spring makes me happy.
Summer will make me even happier.
Is it spring where you are yet?
Are there signs that nature is waking up from the cold weather?
Does it make you as happy as it makes me?
Do you feel like running to the hilltops and singing "The Hills are Alive"?
Aside from the fact that I talk about poop and boogers, I feel like you don't know much about me.
Is that intentional?
No.
Of course I don't share my deep dark secrets, but I really am an open book.
If you want to know something about me,I will probably give you a very honest, descriptive answer when you ask.
But,I rarely just start gabbing about me.
I just really hate talking about myself.
And I am kinda boring.
OK, really boring.
So if you want to talk about my many pairs of jeans and the Ellen show, I am totally with you......but if you want me to discuss politics and religion, it just wont happen.
I am boring that way.
Anyways........
Mama Kat wanted to know all about my love affair with coffee.
The truth is I hate the stuff.
*Drinks are not meant to be hot.
Only soup.
And I like even the worst flavours of soup a bazillion times better than coffee.
*Hot stuff is meant to be ingested with utensils.
It seems very silly to me that you would put your mouth up to a hot mug to swallow hot, muddy water.
It seems very silly to me to take 20 minutes to have one drink when I can down my whiskey.
*Coffee gives you raunchy breath and a horrible aftertaste. Whiskey does not.
Ew. Gross. Gag.
*Coffee gives you the poops.
I do not need any help in that department, thank you very much.
*It takes time to make a cup of java.
It takes 3 seconds to pour some whiskey.
...we bought the kids a basketball net and they didnt even say thank you until it was pointed out that they didnt say thank you.
Spoiled brats.
This one time I took my camera outside to capture their moves.......
But instead I joined in and acted silly.
Because that is what I do.
I live to embarrass my children and have them roll their eyes at me.
This one time I played basketball with my kids,but instead spent most of this quality time splitting up fights and yelling.
That's just what our family does.
Fights and yells.
But, really, we love eachother madly.
This one time I sat down, watched my kids play nicely for approximately 22.46 seconds and realized that my children are growing up too fast.
Hi.
Prepare yourselves.
I am PMSing big time.
You might want to sit down.
*I am frustrated. Frustrated at myself for being frustrated because I said I wouldn't be this way. I started this blog as a way to document our lives. As a way to express myself through words and photos. But I feel like I am currently stale. My readership isn't growing and I find myself getting upset about this.
Frustrating.
I enjoy comments. I enjoy knowing that people love or hate my stuff. Criticism or appreciation. I just need to know that it is all being read or I might just go private.
Bitchy of me? Maybe.
Remember, I am PMSing........
Lets move on.
*A conversation with my daughter.
"Mom,I have to go poo again"
"Oh no, do you have an upset tummy?"
"No. I have an upset bum."
*Random pic of daughter and I coming out of a poo-smelling Porta-potty, just because we are talking about bums and poop.
You're welcome.
*Speaking of poop, oldest child recently said his speech in front of his class. $10 to the person whoguesses the topic....or maybe just a shoutout on the blog. I had an upset tummy all day because it totally brought me back to my childhood speech days.
I hated standing in front of the class.
My husband, on the other hand, always won speech competitions.
Jerk.
*Middle child was sick with anxiety and stress for 2 weeks leading up to a math test.
Test results.....second highest mark in class.
*Heard this song recently.
I remembered every single word and sang along to it just like I did as a teen.
Rock on.
Then I felt the need to hear this song.
I still love it.
You should too.
And this one.
Party on Dude.
*I have been exercising more. Even running.
Every muscle/tissue/ligament/bone in my body hurts.
I'm old.
*When I go the gym,I always choose locker #69.
Lets discuss this weird behaviour of mine.
*Random picture of Smokey the barn cat just because I enjoy her.
Canada produces 85% of the world's maple syrup.
Warm, sunny days and cold, frosty nights are ideal for producing sap flow.
It takes 30-50 gallons of sap to produce 1 gallon of maple syrup. I am too lazy to convert gallons to litres for us Canadian peeps, but just know that it takes a whole bunch of sap to get just a little bit of syrup.
Maple syrup is a healthier {natural} alternative to sugar.
The sugar content of sap is approximately 2.5%
The sugar content of maple syrup is approximately 66%
No wonder I can drink the stuff.
Just kidding.
Kinda.
I did something today.
I made a conscious effort to listen to my children.
To give them my full attention.
Sadly, I let myself get caught up with the everyday chaos of living life and then realize at the end of the day that I did not give my kids all they deserve.
Me.
They deserve their Mommas attention.
So I gave it to them.
I pushed my almost 4 year old daughter on the swing and giggled with her as her tummy tickled from going so high.
I played basketball with my two boys and even acted a little goofy.
OK. Alot.
Oldest child told me all about his school day.
I listened.
Middle child told me how to play the game "Grounders".
I told him how I used to play Tether ball and Orange Crush.
He rolled his eyes.
Whatever.
I need to do this more often because sometimes I forget just how much they need their Momma to be "present" in their lives.
*sniff*
How do you keep a balanced life?
Are you "present" in the lives of your children?
Messy is a typical 10 year old boy.
He enjoys video games, the computer, sleeping in, the History Channel, junk food and being as lazy as he possibly can.
The kid actually tried to quit his chores because he didn't like them.
Serious.
Anyways, one of the few things that gets him excited and on his feet is horses.
Duke, to be specific.
He loves Duke.
And Duke loves him.
Duke doesn't love me, but that is OK because I like Ike better anyways.
Na Na Na Na poo poo!
Anyways, Messy has it in his head that he is going to "show" Duke at local fairs.
My interpretation of "showing a horse"
*purchasing a very expensive horse trailer to transport horse to local fair
*paying for expensive fuel to take expensive horse trailer and horse to local fair
*grooming to make the horse shiny and beautiful
*dressing horse in expensive "show" bling bling
*praying that the horse behaves and doesn't trample anyone
*walking/running with them in a circle
*going home with a ribbon....or nothing
Whatever.
I love my kid and whatever makes him smile, makes me smile.
Being around Dukers makes him happy.
And maybe...just maybe, one day he will win a ton of money so we can afford his expensive hobbies.
You know you are a blogger when you see your child stuck in the mud and think,
"This is a perfect picture opportunity".
"This is perfect blog material. I could write about the time she got herself stuck in the mud and then screamed and yelled so loud, everyone in the community thought she was being tortured"
But, instead, you try to help her out {unsuccessfully} before she is in it face first.
You know your husband is a loyal blog fan when he refuses to get child out of the mud until you get your camera and take some pictures so you can write about it on your blog.
My little girl isn't into dolls/babies.
But give her a stuffie and she is a happy Princess.
And yesterday as her brothers played basketball, spit because they think it is cool, peed in the mud and wrestled until they were out of breath, this little girl walked around with Minnie.
She showed Minnie the trees, the cats and even the horses.
She danced with Minnie, sang her some songs and took her down the slide.
Even giving her the odd hug and kiss along the way.
Thank you Oh Heavenly Father for giving me a girl who doesn't pee in public places.
