(Hour is one syllable to me, or at least I pretend it is for haiku when it’s convenient, but sometimes I say it with two…”Ow-er.” You?)

I don’t know what I did to earn the good karma, but two great things have happened in two days.

First of all, we did our taxes Thursday night and instead of paying thousands as we have since the kids were born we actually get enough back to pay off 2 of my 3 student loans! I guess it’s a good thing I didn’t make any money until September in 2009.

Then on Friday I got an email from the director of Primo’s preschool and they were able to make room for him to come full time starting in April! He’s so pumped, and now as long as the licensing department from child services approves the short-term ratio discrepancy for Bella she will get to stay at her current dayhome and we’ll only need my mom for the two weeks of maternity leave that our provider is taking.

My mom has offered to switch vehicles with us after Easter until summer break so the BG can transport Primo to school in the mornings and then I’ll pick up both kids after school. (His sports car doesn’t take child seats so we need a new vehicle in the summer. Another thing we can’t afford but will do anyway.)

Yee haw!

Because yeah. That’s our situation.

Every dayhome we’ve called is full before we get there for an interview.

The preschool is full until fall.

We have 6-8 weeks of no care for our children while I finish out the year. It’s looking more and more like the Big Guy will have to take all of his holidays for the year to be home for that time. That’s great – awesome even, for the kids, but screws us out of any family holiday, time together at Christmas, time for the kids to be with him when I go back in the fall 2 weeks before their full-time preschool starts, blah blah blah. Not ideal.

The extra crappy part? The April preschool intake filled up before I got our forms in because I got the flu. I even had them 99% completed and just didn’t take the time to email them in. Totally my fault.

So, that word that rhymes with truck? THAT.

I am inspired.
Dalai Lama quotes hit home.
Wisest man on earth?

2.

That’s Incredible!
Oprah’s going to try it.
That was a great show.

It’s hard to believe
it’s been done since ‘84.
I still remember.

3.

Never-ending job.
Laundry is my nemesis.
A full load each day.

4.

Watching Oprah now.
Adoption is such a gift.
I can’t imagine.

The pain of wonder…
never knowing what happened.
Bawling my eyes out.

Even in their pajamas with wet hair they’re damn cute.

Scene: We’re at the mailbox on the way home from work. I check the mail and hop back into the van with the kids with some mail and a parcel.

Mommy: Look Bud! My new Kindle case is finally here!

Primo: That’s too big. It won’t fit. The whole package is too big for your Kindle.

Mommy: I dunno. They were supposed to send me a new one that fit this time so it should be smaller.

Primo: It’s not. It’s too big.

An hour or so passes. We get home, have snack, and I start unpacking our bags from the day. I spot the parcel in my bag so I open it.

Mommy: You were right! This is exactly the same wrong one that they sent me last time.

Primo: Well, Mom. I AM always correct.

Well, duh.

Welcome to Vancouver 2010.

Got kids? Have some fun with our mascots!

Bella: I NEED MY MILK!

Mommy: Then ask with your best manners and I will get it for you. You need to say “Mommy, can you please get my milk?”

Bella: NO! DADDY WILL GET IT! I don’t WANT you to get it. (insert fake crying here)

Mommy: Are you Daddy’s girl today?

Bella: No, I’m a boy. I have a penis. I HAD a penis. A long time ago. Now I’m a girl. I need my milk. Please. (insert wicked laugh here)

She generally poops in her crib when she wakes up from her nap before she changes out of her pull-up. She’s gone in the toilet by fluke a few times, but generally has no interest.

Last week she was standing by the dining room bookshelf and I heard grunting so I grabbed her and ran to the bathroom. When I took off her pants, I saw that she’d pooped in her pan*ties and slipped out a very quiet “Oh, crap.”

Fast forward to today…

She woke up dry from her nap and peed in the toilet. I asked her if she had to poop and she said “Not yet.” When I asked her what she would do if she felt poop coming, she said…

“I’ll poop in the toilet, and then you’ll say CRAP!”

Oy.

The original recipe calls for sugar, white flour and way more butter. Trust me when I say this is not missing anything. It’s a definite family favourite!

Mommy’s Apple Pie Pancake

FRUIT:
4-10 med. Apples (depending if you want a bunch for on top or not – I always make as much as I can.)
1 tbsp. butter
2 tbsp. agave nectar
2 tsp. Mexican vanilla
A few dashes cinnamon

BATTER:
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup whole milk
2 egg whites
2 lg. eggs ( I have just used eggs/flax/applesauce combo too – just get the general amount right)
1/2 cup ground flax
1 tbsp. agave nectar

Peel and core the apples, cutting them into narrow wedges. Melt the butter in an oven-proof (preferably nonstick) skillet. Add the apple slices and drizzle with agave nectar.

Cook the slices over medium heat, stirring them gently now and then, until the apples have softened and the liquid has mostly evaporated. Mix in the vanilla and sprinkle the apples with cinnamon. You can bake the pancake in the skillet if the pan has a heat-proof handle. Otherwise, transfer the apples to a deep-dish pie plate or a small shallow baking dish.

In a medium bowl, combine the flour, milk, egg whites, eggs, flax and agave nectar. Beat the batter until the ingredients are well blended.

About 45 minutes before serving time, preheat oven to 425 degrees. Pour the batter over the hot fruit (if you have prepared the fruit in advance, heat it before adding the batter), and bake the pancake for 20 minutes. Reduce the heat to 350 degrees and bake the pancake for another 10-15 minutes or until it is puffed and browned.
Before serving the pancake, sprinkle it with icing sugar or top with more apples, or do both.

Cut the pancake into wedges and serve immediately.

NOTE: The two main mixtures – the apples and the batter – can be prepared in advance, but the final pancake must be baked just before serving.

Serves 6.

I always double or triple – it makes a wicked weekday morning breakfast when reheated.

Enjoy!

How to find the time?
Scrapbooks are truly precious
Gifts of memories.

Blogging does suffer.
But it’s completely worthwhile.
A priority.

When we are not here
The scrapbooks will tell stories.
Letters from their mom.

The young person who wrote this is a role model for her generation. I sincerely hope that my children feel the way that she does, and that I can inspire the students I teach to think differently as well.

You’re TWO! Oh, so very two! And, honestly, I love every second of it. You’re adorable, stubborn as all get out, and the sweetest, kindest little girl I’ve ever met.

Oh, where to begin?

You are SO smart. You know all of your letters, most of your letter sounds and can count to 14 (which is sometimes followed by 16, some random teens and then 20). You speak as clearly as many three year olds and your grammar and vocabulary far exceed many of them as well. You regularly speak sentences like “Daddy will come home before supper and then we will go to soccer and I will cheer for Primo!” It’s seriously amazing. You do have some of the cute “little kid” speech idiosyncrasies though, like l=w (I will = I wiw; Primo = Pwimo) and th = d/v (they=dey/vey). You can read a few words (a, I, it, the) and love to look through books while making up the story that goes with it. You do so many things that are expected of kindergarten students that you blow my mind on a regular basis.

You love with wild abandon, and you love many many beings. You, of course, love Daddy and I. Primo is definitely your favourite person on the planet. You love your grandparents, and insist on phoning Grandma Betty every day. You love Chloe. “See’s a bootiful cat! I wuv her!” You love Thai & Mavi. “Thai & Mavi awe my BEST fwends! Dey awe so sweet. My sweet puppy fwends. I WUV dem!” You smother us all with hugs & kisses (especially after you pinch or hit us, and also include an “I so sowwy Mommy. I wuv you sooo much!”) I can’t think of anything better in the world that cuddling you and feeling your cute little cheeks pressed against mine. I have no doubt that we will have our struggles as we both deal with the female hormones of different ages & stages (particularly because you got your stubborn streak from yours truly, but know that I will always love you just as much as I do this day. While I can’t imagine loving you more, my love for you does seem to grow daily so perhaps I may even love you more when you’re acting like a moron during your teenage years.

You love – and I do mean love – pink. When I get your clothes ready for you, there must be at least some pink…preferably all pink…or you shout “Dat’s not pink! I WUV pink! I wear pink! It’s my favowit!” When I asked you what kind of birthday party you wanted to have, you replied “Pink. Princess and pink.” When I asked what kind of cake you wanted, you replied “Pink.” When I asked who you wanted to invite, you initially replied “Primo, Daddy, Mommy, Grandma Betty, Taffy and Baby Ty-ah and Pink!” Of course, you added all of your other grandparents and family members and a few other friends as time went on, but you never removed Pink from the list! I think you were just making sure I really understood that your party was to be a pink party no matter who came.

In addition to pink and your family, there are other things that you love. Babies top the list – real ones and play ones. You have more babies than you can play with but you rotate in a fair manner. You put diapers on them (actually, you get me to do it for you), take off their diapers and put them on the potty, get them dressed, feed them, tuck them in for naps, wake them up, take them for a walk in your stroller and then start all over again. You love ponies of all kinds, but especially your My Little Ponies (because there are lots of pink ones).

You have the best laugh, and when you and Primo get going the sound of the two of you cracking up makes my join right in. It brings tears to my eyes to see the two of you having so much fun together every single day. Your laugh is loud, just like mine (which is just like Grandpa Jack’s was). You laugh from the heart, and it shines in your eyes. You love to be tickled, and say so sweetly “Pees tickle me Mommy?” And, of course, I do – just to hear that giggle!

You, of course, play all day long, and you love to do crafts. You love to paint, colour, glue, play with Play Doh, stick stickers and do pretty much everything else that would qualify as crafts.

You are currently rather a crappy sleeper. You go to bed easily but wake up and spout the cutest little “Hi Mommy! I need a cudduw! Pees sing to me?” Therefore, it’s completely our fault that you’re used to coming to bed with us sometime between 11 pm and 3 am every night. You always go right back to sleep once you’re with us, but you generally only last about 10 minutes without crying if we put you back in your bed. I absolutely love to wake up to a smooch and a “Good mo-ning Mommy! I wuv you!” so I’m not really complaining, but it does affect Daddy’s sleep a bit. Just last night we decided we’d better start giving you a little cuddle and putting you back in your crib instead, and you seemed pretty fine with that. You’re still napping – about 45-75 minutes a day at home and anywhere from 2-3 hours when you’re at Michelle’s. (How is that even fair?)

Grandma Betty bought you your first package of big girl panties for Christmas and you’ve had one dry day in them already. You look so darn cute in them that it’s tempting to leave you in them all the time but we aren’t in the frame of mind for that yet. You do super many days but there are still times that you’re too busy to want to go to the potty so you’re obviously not really ready. You won’t poop in the potty yet either. You stand right in the middle of a room to poop in your pants and tell everyone else “I’m pooping. I need pwivacy. Pwees go away?” Maybe Easter vacation – we’ll wait and see when you decide to be ready.

Your second Christmas last month was a big hit. You were so excited about the songs, about Santa, about the presents…everything just thrilled you. You just loved our tree and asked to have the lights turned on as soon as you woke up in the morning. You were deservedly spoiled, but not rotten at all. In fact, when you opened the first pony from your stocking you hugged it and were just thrilled. When I asked if you wanted another, you said “I already got a pony, Mommy!” You loved everything – but more so the things that were pink, of course. We spent Christmas – ten days, actually – at Grandma Betty’s, which was awesome. Grandma Jeet & Grandpa Roger were in India so left gifts for us all at their house and we picked those up early to keep you entertained until Christmas. It was perfect as you and Primo both loved everything they gave you.

Bella, I just can’t imagine a little girl sweeter or cuter than you. I know all mothers are biased, but I know that you’re the most beautiful little girl I’ve ever met. I wish for you a lifetime of uninhibited joy, loud laughter, and dreams come true.

I love you from the bottom of the ocean to the top of the sky, and all the way around the world!

Mommy

She’s two. Already.
I can hardly believe it.
A princess in pink.

For our New Year’s celebration this year, we decided to devote ourselves completely to the children (duh – story of our lives and we love it) so we threw a “Noon Year’s Eve” party for them and their friends (and, therefore, my friends). We had about 18 people here including us, and just ate some delicious potluck food, played, wore party hats & blew party horns. We did a countdown to noon and then screamed and kissed and hugged. It was all wrapped up by about 1:30 and the rest of the day was ours to clean up & hang out as a family. Once the kids were in bed, the Big Guy and I watched the Flames game as we do every New Year’s Eve, drank hot lemon water and relaxed. We headed to bed shortly after eleven because Bella had been up crying three times already so we just took her in with us. I was technically up well past midnight (thanks to my new toy) but the BG and Bella were snoring beside me by then.

New Year’s Day brought some great friends from out of town for brunch (have I shared my fruity french toast recipe with you? Because OH, it’s freaking amazing.) and then as we were about to head to my school to play in the gym another friend from out of town called and they were on their way over so we didn’t end up leaving the house all day.

I don’t really believe in resolutions simply because it’s time to buy a new calendar, but I do intend to drink more water and more hot lemon. Whether it’s a new year or not. And I still don’t have a new calendar. So there.

Yesterday we went tobogganing in the park behind our house, went to a live performance of Robert Munsch stories and then went to the school so I could check out my room before Monday and BG and the kids played in the gym. By then it was time for supper-bath-bed, thank goodness. We were beat. Then it was time to tackle the 10 bins of Christmas crap that covered our basement floor after being shoved down there so we could entertain upstairs. It’s all away until next year now, and if I ever get time to wash the cat hair and crumbs off the floor it will almost be habitable.

We took all three animals to the vet over the holiday. Thai is fat, Mavi has a yeast infection in his ears and Chloe has thyroid cancer, hypothyroidism, her body is eating her teeth, and a bunch of other things. Oh, the joy of loving animals. They get old too quickly. Thai and Mav are 6 and Chloe is 14, so nothing is out of the ordinary. The vet’s recommendation for Chloe is that she get $400 bloodwork soon-ish, and then we cure her cancer with radiation at which point she’ll go into isolation because she’ll be radioactive. If the radiation didn’t kill her, the isolation surely would. Her life expectancy with treatment. Average of 3 years. Without treatment? Average of 3 years. So, I think the decision is to love her and keep her happy as long as we can without major interference. As it stands, she eat & drinks, pees & poops, plays, purrs, and is as happy as ever. She just drinks and pukes a little more than she used to. She’s 14. I’ve had her since she was 8 weeks old. I don’t need to make her suffer. It’s a hard choice not to do a bunch of treatments, but at 14 I just don’t think it’s fair to her to make her uncomfortable in order to extend her life by maybe a few months. As I said, she’s happy & seems perfectly healthy right now and my gut tells me she’ll be that way for a while. If not, we’ll deal with it when the time comes. And when the time does come, how the hell do you explain euthanasia to children? Gah.

On that lovely note, Happy New Year! May 2010 bring you peace, and many many hugs.

Peace. It does not mean to be in a place where there is no noise, trouble or hard work. It means to be in the midst of those things and still be calm in your heart. -unknown

Clorox is giving away TWO Simple & Surprising Prize Packs including various Clorox cleaning products to my readers. (I received nothing to post this giveaway – not even a sample.)

To enter, just fire me off an email with CLOROX in the subject line, and share your favourite cleaning tip!

I can’t help it. I just got a bunch of new Christmas decorations for next to nothing in the post Christmas sales, and I want them put away properly for next year. Since we’re having a New Year’s Eve party, I am leaving my decorations up longer than usual so the putting away is a ways away yet. So, I just put them all out. Including adding new ribbon to the tree.

I think I need help.

Sure, I was hoping someone would send me one free, but I wouldn’t have paid three hundred bucks for it.

Until I had it. Now I totally would!

I bought my first book (boxed set actually – the Sookie Stackhouse 8 Book Set) for about half the price of the non-digital books, I had them instantly and have been reading all day. A smash it considering I only brought one book on vacation with me and I finished it four days ago. It’s way easier to read than I thought anything digital would be (six print sizes to choose from and you can read in bright light). My only complaint is that because it’s not a backlit LCD screen but uses electronic ink placement instead, you can’t read in the dark so you need a booklight or headlamp or something if there’s no overhead light (for travel or sneak-reading in bed).

So, what books should I order next?

Do you have a kindle? Love it? Hate it? Want one?

We have had a fabulous Christmas at my Mom’s place. The kids were utterly spoiled and screamed with excitement much of the day. We were spoiled as well, but with less screaming.

Photos to come – Bella’s crying so apparently I’m going to bed.

Merry Christmas!

Enjoy this throwback to simpler times. My children have watched it 4 times and are waiting for a chance to watch it again. In the era of cell phones for six year olds, this decidedly low-tech tv is still pretty great.

May your Christmas be filled with smiles, laughter and peaceful hearts.