Anybody's guess

Howaya

2007-05-24T17:47:00.000-04:00

Eep. Once you don't post, you don't post.

I kept meaning to get on here and say anything. But then I didn't. No excuses.

It's Sprummer! Totally HOT today and muggy/balmy for May. But it's kinda great. Mostly because there are people in my house right this very minute installing central air.

Lots of other things to be glad about.

My brother and his wife had a baby boy! Can't wait to see him and kiss him a hundred times!

Susie .

I am home again with the kids, full time.

I turned 37. Hmm. Maybe not glad about that, per se. But there it is.

There is still over a month until the older kids are out of school.

And that's all I have for now. I know, a bit light of a post, but better a bit than nothing, eh?

G'day mates. Will be stopping by soon.

A.

Happy Blogiversary to Moi!

2007-03-02T14:31:00.001-05:00

Three years! When i started this blog Luca was a baby still on the boob and Sam was in grade three and monty was still home all day with me. They've all changed so much! I haven't though. I just went and read through some old posts from three years ago. I am still struggling with keeping a tidy house with three little messmakers and my love of sugar. I still don't have my BA. I am still a fledging amateur stand up comic, a rabid ebayer. But there are good things that havent changed, either. Same good friends IRL. Some of the same blogfriends. Same Jay.

So that's that. Good on all of you who are still blogging away. Good to know ya.

A.

Me oh my oh.

2007-02-19T11:38:00.000-05:00

Hoo boy no post from Army in a long time!

No excuses. Just life. In no particular order, I've been busy with:

Snow shoveling

Two comedy gigs

Play memorizing

House (keeping Up with the Messes)

Kids activities

Getting smooches from Lucy. "Yer bes' my friend, Mommy."

Keeping Monty from further dental disasters.

Ebay.

Reading. (Just finished "The Boys From Brazil" and "Choke" by Chuck Palahaniuk. Just started "The Glass Castle" and "The Seven Principles for Making Marriage Work". I am almost always reading two (or 3) books at once.)

Getting kids in and out of winter gear.

Crock pot cooking. (beef stew tonight.)

Movie watching. (Saw Little Miss Sunshine on the weekend. LOVED.)

Yelling.

Trying not to yelling.

Story reading. (had to put something after yelling to make me look better.)

Cleaning snow off my van.

Helping Monty learn how to tell time.

Listening to Sam play piano.

Washing Lucy's favorite brown dress that twirls so well over and over.

Hiding the brown dress so she won't wear it EVERY DAY.

Work.

Driving around.

Lighting candles and making tea. These are top priority activities and should have been closer to the front of the list.

Treadmilling. I have actuallly gotten on to the thing several times a week for a month now! I actually LOOK FORWARD to it. Because I get to wear earphones and listen to music and ignore everybody for half an hour! It's kinda great!

Alright. Back to woik. Amy update over and out!

a.

A bit of Sweetness

2007-01-10T10:46:00.000-05:00

This is a short video of Lucy singing. It's pretty damn cute if I do say so myself.

Tidbits

2007-01-07T21:26:00.000-05:00

Well kids are back to school tomorrow, thank you very much. It's time, too. Jay and I had one of those weekends where we just look at each other and go, "Whose idea was it to have three kids?"

I am no longer full time employed. YEAH BABY! Jay actually left the place we work at, found something new/different/better and I told them I can only do two days a week, and some stuff from home. And they went for it. Cool eh? I was hating on the full time thing, let me tell youse. And I think my MIL was about done with it too. So a good way to start the new year! Back in my house, most of the time! I can give Lucy triple the smooches! We can go out for lunch together! And shopping and lady time! Forget about it!

On Christmas day I had picked out the nicest gymboree black velvet jumper for Lucy (secondhand of course, it cost me 2.99) with cherries on it. I agonized over whether she should wear a red blouse or a white blouse under it, finally settling on white (bought new! for $11.99!).
Unfortunately (but only a bit unfortunately) she got herself a Supergirl T shirt from Santa, and inSISted on wearing the super girl shirt under the black velvet jumper. And she worked it. The kids'll wear anything these days!

I am memorizing like a fiend these days. I am going to be in a play! In March.
It is called "I Never Saw Another Butterfly". I am playing the lead, God help me. They should have given the part to someone with much, much younger brain cells than me.

We got the kids a new keyboard for christmas, and Sam has been playing it non stop. He also got a 'how to' guitar book and has been playing that too. I love it. I just wish he would try something else besides the canon in D minor and Led Zeppelins Immigrant Song. Just for a change.

Well that's all the bits for now. Rec Room date with hubby. Amy out.

All I wanted for Christmas is......

2007-01-01T20:20:00.000-05:00

Monty's four front teeth.

We had a nice Christmas around here. Lots of food, lots of presents and crazy christmas chaos.

The one glitch was a little event that happened on Christmas Eve, after I had put Monty to bed. An hour later he came running out of his room screaming with blood pouring out of his mouth. It seems that he tried to tie a shoelace around one of his teeth to pull it out. The shoelace was hanging from Sam's loft bed. Monty was sitting on the edge of his (much lower) loft bed with the shoelace in his mouth and he fell. Basically hung himself by his teeth.

One tooth was about six feet away. The other was nowhere to be found. The two teeth in the middle were almost ripped out but not quite. The dentist took them out on saturday. So in one night, the kid lost four of his beautiful baby teeth. And almost gave me and his father a heart attack. The blood! The shaking! The not knowing what the hell had happened! We spent a few hours at the emergency dentist on Christmas Eve.

And one of the kickers too is that jay just changed jobs and we have no dental coverage for three months! So a nice little four hundred dollar expense right at Christmas! I am overdoing it! on the exclamation points but I can't help it!

For dramatic effect, here is how monty looked before Christmas eve.

So cute! Like a kid in a crest commercial!

And here is the after!

Are you ready?

I know. At least he is still smiling, eh. Again, I write these three words....
What a kid.

Well, happy new year to everyone. May 2007 be your year.

A.

First Ever Family Portrait!

2006-12-15T14:38:00.000-05:00

Well there it is. One of them, at least. It is freaking me out how much Sam looks like me!

Sugarplum Fairy

2006-12-12T15:40:00.000-05:00

Here is Lucy, in the basement of a church last saturday night. I made the colossally stupid assumption that she would be fun to bring to Sam's violin Christmas concert.

Not that fun. At all. She did not last more than a song and a half, then she was climbing all over me, trying to throw hymn books off the balcony, sticking her fingers up my nose, lifting her dress over her head. So we spent 94 percent of the concert in the basement, where I watched her twirl around and around while straining my ears to hear the violins upstairs so I could tell Sam I heard him.

Next year, I go sans the sugarplum.

A.

Sheesh

2006-11-30T09:35:00.000-05:00

Little hitch with blogger! My blog up and disappeared itself for a bit there.

Luckily, I was able to figure it out. Because it was easy to fix. Not because I have any great knowledge or anything.

Is it bloody November 30 already? Aye Yai Yai.

I don't even have anything interesting to write!

Well there are some things. But I can't say much about them yet.

And no, I'm not pregnant. In case that was one of the things you were thinking of.

Promise to put up a lovely long post soon. With pictures. Hey! I get my family portraits back from Sears on Monday! That was FUN. Trying to get three kids to be normal for a picture. While Monty was falling off the sled and laughing like a hyena, while Lucy was being shy and pulling up her corduroy skirt every two minutes. While Sam was lunging from side to side in some weird way.

We shall see. I know some of them turned out. I didn't pay ninety bucks for crap.

Hope everyone has a great thursday November 30th! NOVEMBER 30th!

A.

Forgot this.

2006-11-06T16:19:00.000-05:00

I tried the treadmill. Jay supervised me and I hopped up there and gave it a little whirl. Cept I got in trouble because I was eating a Dorito when I got on, and a little crumb fell down and rolled along with the rolly thingy and disappeared under the treadmill. Oops. Jay said,

"Aim! Who knows where that crumb is going to end up! No eating on the treadmill!"

Sheesh. What was I supposed to do, put the Dorito in my pocket while I tried the thing?

What's on YOUR work desktop?

2006-11-06T16:12:00.000-05:00

I found the perfect desktop picture for my new job. Because I get frustrated not knowing so many things, and I am kinda tired some days and I miss my old life. And this fits all that and more.

The more would be the good bits, that i am learning new things and the sun sometimes comes through my window just right and once in a while I go, "Aha!"

And I get to eat lunch with my hubby every day. There's that.

Shirley sorta expresses the weekend just past too. It seemed like my kids fought all weekend. Everytime they were in the same room together (and sometimes even when they weren't) they were arguing about something. There were karate chops, too.

Shirley is so cute! Look at that one curl. Focus on it, and it will make you feel better.

A.

postess with the mostess

2006-11-03T10:41:00.000-05:00

It is such a different feeling, now that it's November. I love that dark after supper light a candle cosy feeling.

Sam is playing indoor soccer this season. He has gone hog wild for soccer this year. He walks around the house balancing a soccer ball on his foot like Ronaldinho (sp?). He had a game last night and played well! Woo hoo! Two goals and an assist! He has never been a real sporty kid, more into drawing and violin and trying to teach himself chinese. But now it's all about le football. And what a rush to see him scooting around the field, making contact with the ball!

Jay bought the treadmill. It's bloody huge. It will be handy for hanging clothes on, I am sure. I may even string some Christmas lights on it. I will try the treadmill, of course, but I make no promises. I hate working out. When everything is done (which is never) around the house, the LAST thing I want to do is exert myself. There is just so much great TV to watch and books to be read and surfing to do. On my arse. In a chair.

Tomorrow is Saturday! That means German school for the boys and orchestra practice for Sam and music team rehearsal at church for Jay and I in the evening. Saturdays are busy for us. I also plan to hit a couple of church Christmas bazaars with Luca while German school is going on. LOVE bazaars. Penny sales! Baked goods! White Elephant table!

Picture time. Kids on Halloween night.

Lucy is wearing Sam's Teletubby costume that Grandma made him when he was three. Monty is a karate guy wearing his own gi because the Power Ranger costume I got him second hand did not come with a mask so he refused to wear it. Sam is, what else? A German Soccer Player.

Have a fantabulous friday folks!
A.

It's Kinda Ghosty Out

2006-10-31T08:29:00.000-05:00

Oldest and Youngest

2006-10-27T13:34:00.001-04:00

Last night, I was puttering around in the kitchen and I could hear sam up in lucy's room talking.
So I went and listened at the door,
Sam was reading her Charlotte's Web. It was so sweet to hear his voice reading the words I had read to him when he was a little guy.

"But it's unfair," cried Fern. "The pig couldn't help being born small, could it? If I had been very small at birth, would you have killed me?"
Mr. Arable smiled. "Certainly not," he said, looking down at his daughter with love. "But this is different. A little girl is one thing, a little runty pig is another."

I looked in, and there they were, snuggled side by side in lucy's bed. Lucy had her favourite blanket and was all hunkered down, sucking her two fingers. Sam looked so big beside her, so cute, with his freckled nose and long black eyelashes.

I left them alone, went back down to the kitchen. Finished my puttering with a big, happy heart.

A.

Playing Catch Up

2006-10-24T14:42:00.000-04:00

Feels like what I do, mostly. We leave at 7:15 in the morning and get home about quarter to six. Then I try to do all those things that I used to do mostly at my leisure, like cleaning and cooking and homeworking and checking school stuff and snuggling and airplane ridesing and bathing little people and feeding little people and shopping and a million other thinging.

Sounds nuts, eh?

But. Jay has adjusted nicely to carrying half the load, and things are not just my worry anymore. I love that. We BOTH think about what to have for dinner and what to put in the boys lunches and we both get on Sam to remember his school stuff and violin practicing. We fold laundry together while watching TV at night. It's very romantic. Heh.

It has been a busy month. Both boys birthdays are in October so we had a 10 big boy party with push up contests and Dance Dance Revolution contests (which I just LOVED. I mean, how much longer will they all be into DANCING?) and a small boy party with six little people playing musical chairs and duck duck goose and whatever other games I could come up with off the top of my head, can't even remember it's all a blur. I even forgot to get the brown paper bags I was going to get for them to decorate their own loot bags, so I found some big yellow envelopes in the filing cabinet in the basement and had them decorate those, lol!

Our van had a little hit and run. I was driving with Jay on a busy street and we got sideswiped. By the time I got my bearings they were long gone didn't even stop. Buggers. So off to the cop shop and calling insurance and then to the body shop blah blah blah.

This weekend I am having one of my Girls Night Out product parties. Should be a good one. And then sat is the family party for the boys birthday. 30+ people! Just me and my siblings and our kids and my parents alone is 18 people. add a few friends and a couple aunts and uncles and voila, instant crowd. So we gotta give the house a good spit and polish at some point, buy the food, plan something for all the little ones to do, etc.

And of course because I have this weird disorder where when I have tons of things to do I decide to ignore most of it and take on a project, didn't I take most of Lucy's border down in her room with big plans to paint it before the party, WHY I don't know. But I also took her dresser out to the garage and stripped it and there it sits, all apart and waiting for paint! Aren't I just a gem?

So that's wots bin happening around here. I am liking my job pretty much. Really, life is busy but good.

Last night Jay was saying we should get a treadmill. I was like, for WHAT?

A.

Wha?

2006-10-13T08:36:00.000-04:00

I just looked out my window at work and

It's totally snowing.

3 Movies

2006-10-12T14:57:00.000-04:00

Saw "The Departed" on saturday on a date with me hubby. It was good! Jack Nicholson is getting a bit weird though. A little overacty/old/cuckoo/dramatic or something. But really, quite a good movie.

Saw "The Prize Winner Of Defiance, Ohio". LOVED it. LOVED IT! Julianne Moore, a true story, and the fifties. How much better can it get?

Halfway through "Water" an Indian movie Jay and I started on sunday. It is mostly about a little girl in 30's India who is an eight year old widow and has to live apart from society. Heartbreaking! But beautifully filmed and charming in a way.

And that's it fo now. Back to work for me!

A.

You Remind Me Of.......

2006-10-06T11:23:00.000-04:00

Got this from Effie's blog. It's cool, and a little surprising.
All me life I've been told I look like:
Ally Sheedy
Helena Bonham Carter
Bernadette Peters.
Now all of a sudden I look like these people.
Who the hell is Helen Clark?

I am going to do this again with a different picture, just to see.
Try it your self!
A.

Wedding Belles

2006-10-02T09:27:00.000-04:00

Wedding was lovely. It was a great day. Bride (my cousin Nat) was way past beautiful. Everyone looked great! Lucy's dress was so full and fancy she looked like she was floating when she walked. She did pretty good. Did not look up even once all the way down the aisle and back, she just watched her shiny black shoes pop out the bottom of her dress. It was kinda cute.

Here is the part where I was trying and trying to get her to stay in the shot for a wedding party photo. It was a little stressful.

Here is just a cute pic.

And here is one flower girl way past her expiry date.

It was a great day. Funny and happy and teary and family filled and just, great.
A.

Jobservations

2006-09-27T08:47:00.000-04:00

1. Mug warmer-LOVE it. I'd like one for my house. And wouldn't it be nice in the winter to have a bum warmer on your chair so you are all cosy?

2. My eyes get real tired by 2pm.

3. It's nice having the radio on all day.

4. It's nice to make a half a toasted bagel with peanut butter in the afternoon and have not one person ask me for a bite or say what about me and MY snack?

5. I have to ask a lot of questions. I am sure people are getting tired of me and will start hiding from me very soon.

6. It took me a week to remember unconsciously to shut the bathroom door when I pee. So used to keeping it open and keeping an ear out for the kids.

7. Afternoons go quicker than mornings.

8. I miss my kids.

9. Gotta go!

A.

Where i bin

2006-09-22T13:06:00.000-04:00

Hola.

Guess what I did?

Started a full time job. For real.

Haven't worked full time for a real long time. But an opportunity came up at my husband's workplace and I went for it.

So for the past two weeks, I have learned

Fax machine, Photocopier, Scanner, Fancy Business Phone,
How to Invoice, How to cost jobs, How to enter bills and pay bills and receive parts,
Two different kinds of business software, Excel,
How to work a stapler and letter opener, plus the thing that takes the staples out, I am really good at taking staples out, by the way, you would barely know they were ever there except for the little Dracula bites in the paper.

HuGe LeArNiNg curve. And I somehow have to figure out how not to get home at 530 and have to run around like a chicken till 1030pm.

Thankfully, Jay's mom lives with us, so it's a big big plus for childcare. Along with the fact that Sam and Monty are both now full timers.

Monty got in trouble at school yesterday for standing in the sink. Neat, huh?

I have a nice office. Big window and lots of space. I can see a bridge highway out my window, watch trucks gliding along it.

So, yeah! If I didn't stop by your blog in the past bit, forgive moi. Will get back on track now that I am not so new at everything. Blogging from work! Always wanted to be one of those people!

The wedding that lucy is a flower girl in is NEXT week. Should be so fun.

And now I better get back to stapling. Don't want to get in trouble! Get meself feered.

Have a super weekend, folks!

A.

Back 2 School!

2006-09-05T20:46:00.001-04:00

First day of school today! It was weird saying goodbye to Monty for the whole day, grade one and all. Felt a little like my heart got emptied out when he went into his classroom. Me and Lucy had some serious 'ladytime' though. Puttered around the house, did laundry, went for a walk and looked at everyone's flowers.

Here is a pic at the bus stop. The extra kid (in the blue) is the neighbor's. Monty looks a little overwhelmed by his gear. Sam looks like my big grade six boy (inSISted on wearing his Schweinsteiger jersey on the first day, very German-proud, that one) . Wah! Lucy is happy because at this point she thinks she is going to school too. The tears came after, when she had to be restrained from jumping onto the bus behind them. "I go sool too, mommy! I'n a big girl!"

Back 2 School!

2006-09-05T20:46:00.000-04:00

First day of school today! It was weird saying goodbye to Monty for the whole day, grade one and all. Felt a little like my heart got emptied out when he went into his classroom. Me and Lucy had some serious 'ladytime' though. Puttered around the house, did laundry, went for a walk and looked at everyone's flowers.

Here is a pic at the bus stop. The extra kid is the neighbor's. Monty looks a little overwhelmed by his gear. Sam looks like my big grade six boy. Wah! Lucy is happy because at this point she thinks she is going to school too. The tears came after, when she had to be restrained from jumping onto the bus behind them. "I go sool too, mommy! I'n a big girl!"

2006-09-01T09:23:00.000-04:00

Tagged like a year ago by Annejelynn, finally getting around to it!

The Instructions: List five songs that you're currently diggin' on - it doesn't matter what genre they're from, whether they have words or not, nor do they have to be any good, but they must be songs you're really enjoying right now. Post these instructions and the five songs including artist names on your blog. Then tag five people to see what they're listening to...

Mine are:

Robert Downey Jr cover of Yes's "Your Move"

My whole cd called The Vamps, especially "Caramba! It's the Samba!"

"Sexy Back" by Justin Timberlake. I actually PAID $1.19 on napster for this song! Help!

The CD from my kids Vacation Bible School. It's the music of our van when we are on the road. It's getting to me just a bit by now.

"Tomorrow" from Annie, currently on Lucy's roster of songs that she belts out. SO GREAT.

Alright! done!

I tag anyone who is up for it. No pressure its FRIDAY.

A,

If You Could Give A Kid A Ticket

2006-08-30T13:18:00.000-04:00

Monty would be getting one for purposefully and quite carefully taking a pair of blue handed scissors and chopping off half his sister's ponytail while she sat coloring in her pony book.

There would be an extra fee added for bad timing. Because his sister is going to be a FLOWER GIRL in a WEDDING in one month. And now we will have even less hair to work with than we originally had.

What a kid.

A.

The Vamps

2006-08-18T21:25:00.000-04:00

I got a little 2 cd set yesterday at a thrift store. It's called "The Vamps" and I am loving it. It has all these quirky songs done by Judy Garland, Peggy Lee, Marlene Deitrich, Lena Horne, and the like. It is darling and charming and bee-boppy and I like to pull up at stop lights and roll down the windows and have Marlene belting out, "You GO to my HEEEAAD, Like the Bubbles in a GLASS of CHAMPAGNE".

Our trip was awesome. Wow, setting up a trailer with no kids there is like, easy. And cooking is very easy, when your husband does it all, eggs in the mornin and barbecue at night, even the dishes after, he is a lovely tidy thing and I think I will keep him. We loved the little town near the conservation area! It looked like this when you crossed the bridge to get in.

I know. Swan!
And the park was really nice. Really nice! And we went tubing. But it was a bit rough and I feared for me life just a bit and once down the gorge was quite enough, thank you very mucha.
I took this pic at the Quarry, it was just neat to see this group of kids on the rocks.

And now I must go. Some children are NOT settling to bed so I need to go and pull a heavy.
Ciao!

I'll Believe It When I See It

2006-08-09T09:22:00.001-04:00

amy and jay (and Sam) wedding picture, August 1996. And yes, that is one of the napkins from our wedding, I have saved a pile of them.

Very busy household this morning. It is Jay and I's tenth wedding anniversary this month, and we are going away today FOR THREE WHOLE NIGHTS WITHOUT KIDS I CAN'T BREATHE WITH THE EXCITEMENT AND TERROR THAT IT MAY NOT HAPPEN because one of the kids will come down with typhoid fever or one of the babysitters wins the lottery and have to take a trip straight away to decide what to do with the money, and how can you ask them to still take your kid when they have all those decisions to make?

This is unprecedented for us. Three nights! We have done one night away several times, two nights once maybe six years ago. We are going camping with the trailer to Elora Gorge, supposed to be a real nice place north of here.

Kids are doing this

SAM - drop off at SIL's, my dad picks him up at 630 tonight takes him to soccer drops him back off there. Friday my dad goes back and gets him and keeps him for a night.

MONTY - bringing him with us as far as Waterloo, ON, where he will be dropped off at my sister's for two nights. Then on fri my mom will go pick him up and keep him for a night with sam.

LUCY - staying with my MIL (who lives with us, BTW) for two nights, Friday my cousin is coming to pick her up and keep her for the night.

Whew! See what I mean, I will believe it when I see it. But don't cry for me Argentina because we are going to have FUN. I bought COLOSSAL shrimp (17 dollars a pound) for the barbie. I bought some really pretty bottles of wine. We are going 'tubing'! Ha! And we are bringing our bikes! And I have two lovely novels tucked in my bag!

So Adios! Kiss today goodbye and point me t'wards tomorrow! Mmmm Hmmm!

Take care eh.

A.

Send one up for Susie

2006-08-06T21:37:00.000-04:00

Hola.

One of my blog-friends and an all around general lovely person by the name of Susie needs some serious good vibes and prayers sent her way. She's got some seriously scary symptoms, is potentially facing a totally crappy diagnosis, and if you would, could you stop by her blog and wish her well? Tell her I sent you, she won't mind at all.

Thanks, my ducklings. Happy sunday to you.

Aim

hey hey

2006-07-31T09:41:00.000-04:00

We're back!

Very nice vaycay! Kids had a blast, swimming and catching frogs and minnows (which monty kept calling 'limos') and crayfish, we hiked and sat by the fire and sat in the trailer listening to the rain, we barbecued and went into town for ice cream, explored and walked and did camp crafts. Whew!

Jay actually uploaded all the pics from the trip to our family website, if you want to check them out just go to

www.forderers.com

Because I am a bit lazy right now and don't feel like linking pics in here. I still have barely unpacked all our crap and it's been two whole days since we got home.

Have a great monday, eh.

A.

Packing it in

2006-07-23T21:08:00.000-04:00

We are off to a conservation area tomorrow for five days of camping! Fun!

I am just going un petit nutzy packing all the little things. I have made eighteen lists and I don't even know where the lists are, never mind the stuff.

Monty has already worn me down and managed to get me to open the 'camping cereal' and 'camping chips'. Nobody can top him for staying on track and getting the job done. It's too bad the job is wearing his mother down so she finally says, "YES! OKAY YES! TAKE IT ALL! I CAN'T LISTEN TO ANOTHER WORD!"

Well, I do hold my ground for the important things, mostly. A box of Alpha bits is just a casualty that I am willing to concede in trade for not having my ears bleed. Did that rhyme? I think it did.

We had a nice, calm weekend. Phone hardly rang. Got stuff done around the house. Went into woods behind our neighborhood with the boys today and got tons of pieces of wood that we can burn this week. We are finding we spend way too much on campfire wood and ice when we go.
It rained like the dickens yesterday. I announced that I was having a nap about three thirty in the afternoon, and tucked myself in bed where I slept a little but mostly read Dan Brown's Deception Point. Lovely.

One sad thing is that monty's little bike got stolen! He was riding it around on friday night in front of the house. Left it on the lawn at the side (we are a corner house). I saw it out there and meant to get it but forgot. Sat about noon I remembered it was there and went to look and it was gone! Helmet too! How crummy!

What a neighborhood. I once left my brand new car running in the driveway for eight hours after night school one night. Had come home and thought I was driving the babysitter home, left it running. Went in, found that she was already gone. Went to bed! Neighbor calls us at four thirty am when he is leaving for work to tell us it is running in driveway! Nobody stole that! But a little blue and red bike (that we just got at end of summer last year, eighty dollars thank you very much) and dinosaur helmet disappear. Weird.

Alright! well it is obvious to me if not you that I am stalling because I am not in the mood per se to pack a bunch of suitcases and food and a million other thingys.

But I gotta. So I'll go and say have a great week one and all!!

A.

hey hey

2006-07-13T21:44:00.000-04:00

You know how it is. It's summer. And the days are long. So you try to get out with the kids at some point. You feed them a few times a day. You hang load after load of laundry on the clothesline. You visit people. You go camping. You get groceries. You pay bills. You get new tires for your car. You relax.
But you don't really blog.

Summer's goin' good. It's busy, but not too busy. I can't BELIEVE I have a child going into GRADE SIX in the fall.

Lucy wants to be a pirate when she grows up. ain't she just a scoundrel?

We are very much enjoying our trailer. Camping with trois enfants is alotta work, but we are getting the hang of it.

Something about this picture reminds me of Holly Hobbie.

We (okay not ME, but Jay and a friend and a brother in law and a neighbor and Sam) put a new garage roof on.

And Lucy had her third birthday! Woo hoo!

Yes that is only two candles on the cake. Two big ass dining room candles. Hey, you use what you have.
And now I must go! Happy friday to one and all!
A.

Papa's Day

2006-06-18T21:39:00.000-04:00

Happy Father's Day to all the dads!

Happy Father's Day to you, Jay, father of our three not-so-little-anymore ones.

A few weeks ago, I watched you holding Lucy up to a drinking fountain. One arm around her waist, one hand holding both her knees, so that she was comfortably kneeling and could take her time getting a nice long drink. You didn't rush her or complain that she was heavy. You just held her there, and kissed the top of her head before putting her back down.

I love how you go out with a wrench every time we are to go on a long bike ride, and you check all our bikes for anything loose. It feels great to know you are keeping us safe, but what is even greater is that our boys are learning that that's what daddies do. Keep their brood safe.

Only a dad can take his son out to see Nacho Libre. And laugh at all the goofy stuff and come home and compete with each other to tell me the funny bits and the storyline.

I love how you never sit down at Sam's soccer games, but walk back and forth along the sidelines, keeping an eye on the ball, calling out encouragements, but never yelling mad.

It's neat to see the kids come out in the morning, one by one, and sit on the stairs like sleepy racoons, watching you get ready for work. And when you are at the door and going, you just have to say, "Okay, see you, guys!" and at least one of them always jumps up and goes flying at you for a goodbye hug. And you always laugh.

I love how Monty brings out the silly in you. And how Sam brings out the determined in you. And how Lucy brings out such tenderness, such sweetness, it catches my heart.

Happy Father's Day. With love. To you.

Picture Blog

2006-06-04T19:43:00.001-04:00

FIRST, my sister had her baby! Little Jack Walton Mitchell was born May 31, 8lbs, 6 oz. He is utterly gorgeous and his mama did awesomely. Way to go, Sio! I need to get over there with me camera to take some pictures of him.

My new and improved gate should be ready this week. Kickass Welder Tony ended up putting one bar in between each of the other long bars.

So yay! And now for some pictures.
This is the wisteria in my friend Sandy's backyard. It's unbelievable. You can smell wisteria perfume long before you even see the tree. It looks like somebody is getting married.

When you go underneath it and look up, you could just croak it's so pretty.

And you know how they say in real estate that location is everything?
Well, here is a mourning dove that hears that, man.

Okay I know! Enough of the wisteria already. But isn't it something?

Something else pretty, Lucy on a sunday morning.

Geez, kid would it kill ya to give us a smile after spending all that time on your hairdo? And ack! What's with your mother's veiny feet?

Here is miss fancy enjoying some one on one with Bon Jovi. She even put on her good shoes for the show.

And I love this. Monty the eggbert, just keeping the neighborhood free of crime.

And, to be fair, something from my darling oldest child. Sly Cooper, as interpreted by Sam.

And that's all I got, folks! Enjoy your day! When did it get June already, somebody pray tell.
A,.

Don't Hate The Gate

2006-05-25T07:39:00.000-04:00

Last summer, the wooden gate that Jay built when he and our old Italian neighbor Tony replaced the fence between our houses together was ripped off it's hinges, never to be replaced again.

It was too heavy anyway. So I was promised a new gate. A nice, simple, elegant black metal gate that could be made at Jay's shop and welded by a different Tony, who is a kick ass welder.

Fast forward to this spring. I was pretty patient, for me. But around April I started gently reminding the husband that we NEED that gate. That I can't let the kids out in the backyard without being there every second because they can escape.

Fast forward a month or so, with breaks for slightly more urgent reminders.

Then, two weeks ago, I got word that the materials had been ordered! Woo hoo! I would be able to let Lucy play outside without having to set up a sentry post of me on a lawn chair at the side of the house, so she couldn't get out. Now, Monty can get out if he wants to. Even with the old gate, if he wanted out, he would just find something to stand on, hoist himself up onto the brick wall that encloses part of our yard, and like a skilled and handsome jewel theif, scale his way back down the other side of the wall. BUT. This takes time. Much easier to go to where the gate WAS and just run out of the yard and find somewhere to hide easy peasy.

So. Two days ago, Jay came home with my beautiful gate laid gently down in the back of the truck on cardboard, gleaming with a fresh coat of black paint. I almost died.

He didn't even come in for dinner. Just got right started on putting that gate up. What a hunk.

I went outside after a half hour to see the gate.

As I was walking toward it, my heart did a little jumpy jump. Happy wife! Then I got closer.

Can you see what I saw?
No?
Does this help?

My gate. That is supposed to keep them IN, is just a fancy EXIT.
Argh.
A.

Kids! They Make You Laugh.

2006-05-19T08:45:00.000-04:00

The other day I went to Costco with Monty. I was pleased with myself, for I only bought food items, because usually I go to Costco with the intention of getting food, but somehow end up with a book, a huge package of gel pens and a pair of capris too. This time I restrained myself. (Okay, I did buy one pair of capris for $13.99.) But the rest was food! And food is essential!

Whew. Okay. So I am driving home and Monty starts talking in the back seat. He says,

"I'n a Mama, mommy."

"That's nice, honey."

"No, mommy! I'n a big fat mama."

"Monty. It's not nice to say fat."

"But I am! I'n a big fat mama. Look."

"What?"

"Look at me, mommy! Like the video store!"

"Video store? What about the video store?"

"I'm a big fat mama like the video store. LOOK!"

So I look.

Scroll down to see what I saw in my rear view mirror.

My triple package of hot dogs, on his head. Like the curlers on Big Momma's hair on the video poster for "Big Momma's House".

I almost drove off the road, I laughed so hard.

What a kid.

A.

Fun With Link

2006-05-17T09:07:00.000-04:00

Or, maybe, link with fun.

You can go to our family website and see my set from last thurs. It went not too bad... I did 90% new material, which was scary, but always interesting to see what happens.

Clink Here

Have a hellawednesday!

A to Z last three weeks

2006-05-11T08:42:00.000-04:00

A is for Amy, that would be me.
B is for Birthday. I turn 36 today.
C is for Comedy. Got a gig tonight.
D is for Delay. As in, 'Amy delay blogging for long time'.
E is for Exam. Wrote mine on Apr 26 and I think it went really well!
Oh, and Essay! I got an 81.
F is for Fiona Walker, just finished her book, "Kiss Chase" today. Good stuff.
G is for Girls Night Out. Having one of my stuff-parties tomorrow night.
H is for HOUSE that HAS to be CLEANED.
I is for Ill. How I will feel before going on stage tonight.
J is for Jay, my hubby who said to me before I left,
"So think about what you want for dinner tonight even though I know
it will be Chinese, and email me. I will pick it up on the way home for your birthday.
Oh! Happy Birthday, Aim!"
K is for Karate. Sam got his green belt and Monty got his yellow belt.
L is for Laughs. Please, God, make me make em laugh tonight.
M is for Mp3 player that I got off ebay for 35 bucks. Lovin' it when I'm cleaning the house or walking in my 'hood.
N is for Niece. My baby neice Elizabeth in Heaven. Who was born too soon on April 3rd, 2006, and didn't make it. Bless her little darling self. And bless her momma and daddy and sisters.
O is for Orchestra. Sammy had two violin concerts last weekend.
P is for Pie! My friend Joanne presented me with a homemade strawberry pie at 9 am this morning! It's in the fridge. I may have a little slice and then move the other slices around so it looks like I didn't have a slice yet.
Q is for Quote. Here's one:
"After thirty, a body has a mind of its own."- - - - Bette Midler
R is for Rock that Lucy got stuck up her nose when we went camping. I got it out, using the "mommy method". Ask me about it sometime.
S is for Sitting. Which I meant to do more of today.
T is for TRAILER! We bought one this year and had our first night away with it at a local
Conservation area (where the rock up the nose incident happened). Lots of work, but fun too.
U is for Upside down, like Breech. Which is how my lil nephew is in his mom's tummy. C'mon, little guy, turn around!
V is for violet. The colour of lilacs, which are blooming right now. My favourite flower by miles.
W is for Weather. And we have had some gorgeous.
X is for Xylophone. And X-ray. What?
Y is for Younger than 36. Which is how I feel.
Z is for ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ.

Ciao!

Wish I could Call In Sick Today

2006-04-21T09:15:00.000-04:00

Wahh. But I can't. Because Stay Home Mammas don't have anyone to call in sick to.

The thing is, I am not even sick! I just want an emergency day off for Baby (Frances) and Andie Walsh.

Oh, don't you know them? Well, maybe you know their real names, JENNIFER GREY and MOLLY RINGWALD.

I just read in the paper that BOTH of them are in my town, in two different areas, shooting movies! WAHHHHHHHHHH!

I want to go. I want to get pretty and get in my mini van and drive to these two locations with a pad and paper and my camera and find them. How fun would that be? I could even wear a homemade name tag so I look like I am working on the set. I would so not get in the way of production. I just want to go and watch them. Maybe exchange a few words with them. Tell Jennifer that I saw Dirty Dancing four times in the theatre alone. Tell Molly that I wished and wished I had half her style in PIP. Maybe get a picture or two or fifteen.

Angst. How often does this happen, that both of those gals would be in your town on the same day? Not very, I am guessing.

How horrible would it be to drag three small kids (my own two plus the little guy I am babysitting) around with me, trying to get a glimpse of jen and molly?

Yeah, not gonna do that.

Wish I could call in sick today.

Hoppy Easter Everyone.

2006-04-15T21:16:00.000-04:00

Well Said.

2006-04-04T18:54:00.001-04:00

George Bernard Shaw wrote,

"This is the true joy of life, the being used up for a purpose recognized by yourself as a mighty one; being a force of nature instead of a feverish, selfish little cod of ailments and greivances, complaining that the world will not devote itself to making you happy.

I am of the opinion that my life belongs to the community, and as long as I live, it is my privilege to do for it whatever I can. I want to be thoroughly used up when I die, for the harder I work, the more I live."

Could not agree with you more, George. And while I can be a selfish little cod sometimes, I can also always strive to not be one.

A.

Gorgeous Out

2006-03-31T13:27:00.000-05:00

For some reason, my memories of things come on strong at the beginning of spring. Maybe the nice weather wakes up my brain. Maybe it's the smells of outdoors that bring to mind days past. Who knows? I wrote these fast and I am posting them before I get all in my head about them.

1.

We were talking about nothing and you stopped, took in a breath and put your hands on the top of a warm stone wall. You pulled yourself up and sat down, your legs hanging, and one of your sandals fell off.

Then you said, "I wonder where my dad is."

I looked at you, you held a piece of your long brown hair and dragged it across your upper lip.
I said nothing. Just waited to see what else you would say, which is what I always did when you got like this.

"My aunt told me once that he was famous, but I think she was just trying to cheer me up or something. My mom never says anything, except for that one time, she just changes the subject when I ask her about him. I'm gonna go to a private investigator someday. Maybe I'll be a private investigator someday and go find him myself."

I was sitting on the grass, pulling the zipper on my knapsack just an inch one way closed and then open again. It was so warm out, with a little wind and the sound far away of cars coming up the hill.

You finally looked down at me.

I smiled.

2.

We had read Cue For Treason. We had learned about mythology (with poor Icarus and his wings melting). Mrs. Wilkins was a great, strict, interesting English teacher with a semi cruel smile and thick glasses. Now we were doing Merchant of Venice and discussing Portia and her mercy speech. Which didn't have much of an impact to me at almost fifteen, because I was busy daydreaming about Victor Keca (two years older, tall, Croatian, hunky, mostly unaware of my existence) bringing me a fancy doughnut from Tim Hortons for my birthday. How handsome he would be in his red adidas jacket, walking over from the boys school with my treat!

It was that first windy warm spring day, and Mrs. Wilkins told the girls sitting nearest the windows to open them all up! It was exciting, for hers was a class of little pizazz. We all buzzed and beamed while the windows were opened, a long line of them along one side of the basement classroom.

At once the wind rushed in and blew all the papers off our desks!

We sat, semi terrified, and waited to see what Mrs. Wilkins would do. I am sure some of us thought she would give the wind a detention or at least a wicked scolding.

She smiled. And (I think, not totally sure of this because remember I had VK on the brain) I think, she may have let out a little whoop.

And we scrambled around, a class of girls in dark kilts and white blouses, picking up papers and handing them back to people, all the while laughing and enjoying this break in routine.

Hi.

2006-03-21T19:28:00.000-05:00

Kinda busy round here at the Sick Kids Residential Facility that is my house. Kinda uninspired to blog. But I am still around, still doing my thing. Will do longer post tomorrow. Too hard to consentrait with a rheumy toddler on my lap.

Toodles,
A.

Remembering an old friend

2006-03-08T16:25:00.000-05:00

Happy International Womens Day, Ladies!

March 8 is a day when I remember my friend Heather, who died six years ago. I blogged about it last year, and that kind of says it all. Send up a smile to her for me if you get a chance. She was something else.

A.

2028!

2006-03-08T08:51:00.000-05:00

I have reached the 2000 mark and I STILL have two or three sentences to do in my conclusion! Woo Hoola Hoopla Hoop!

Man, it's like labour. I can NOT WAIT to hand the baby over to the prof tonight. Buh-Bye.

Still working on endnotes and all that other junk.

What do ya do when you are embroiled in an essay but you need a break?

Well, you go to

www.idontlikeyouinthatway.com

Because your sister told you to. And it is FINE. It's like Krispy Kreme donuts, for your BRAIN.

A.

test

2006-03-06T11:51:00.000-05:00

test

Monday March 6

2006-03-06T08:07:00.000-05:00

Sooo, I have 1461 words written of my essay. I need 2000 minimum. If ANY OF YOU have any thoughts at all about the American Revolution and Republican Motherhood....

This was me yesterday, from 830 am to 7pm.

Saturday I worked on essay for about five hours. Then I went out for dinner!
This is me getting out for dinner.

Notice that I am wearing the same shirt to go out for dinner that I wore yesterday. I wore it all weekend. I still have it on. It's very comfortable and goes with a skirt OR pajama bottoms.
I don't even know what I am writing. Brain exhaustion. I did also treat myself to the Oscars last night. Very fun.

And just for very fun, here is a picture of Luca in her new coat that I got on ebay.

And now I must go get a kid off to school. He doesn't want to go, says he has a stomachache. He is totally going. He can have a stomachache another day.

Toodles! Hope you all have a nice Monday!
A.

How Inconsiderate of Me

2006-03-02T10:30:00.000-05:00

....I forgot my own blirthday. Two years ago (plus two days) I started blogging. I haven't a clue how many words I have. Bloggers word count thing is gone. It is fun to go back two years and see what was going on, Lucy was a baby, Monty wasn't even in school yet and Sam still listened to me when I told him to do stuff, for the most part, without ignoring me seven times and then going "OH-KAY-AY!" like he does now.

I am so glad to have met so many cool people through blogs. Crazy, smart, funny, endearing people. MWAH to allaya.

Now. I have a 12 page essay on republican motherhood due in six days. Blech! Must go make an attempt.

Have a great thursday!
Amy

PS. Thanks to crayonz for the heads up on spelling republican! Without that 'l' in there, it gets a little hairy!

Ordinary Extraordinary

2006-02-22T21:39:00.000-05:00

Staying home with kids can be real hard.

You get worn out with cajoling, with picking up the same things over and over. Your ears get tired of hearing shouts and whines. The days can seem so long.

But then. You have a morning when it's calm. And your middle guy helps you clean out the fridge. And the sun shines through the window and hits the bottoms of your toddlers feet as she is colouring in her pony book with great intent on the second stair.

A.

Heeeere's Amy

2006-02-21T08:02:00.000-05:00

Okay, Jay worked till the wee hours updating the family website. Good Guy.

Here is the link, I think you just need to click on the cartoon guy laughing.

http://www.forderers.com/

DISCLAIMER: Please don't mind the hair sticking out at the back of my head. Not sure what happened there, but it ain't right.

Hope it's funny to ya.

A.

Coming soon...

2006-02-20T11:36:00.000-05:00

Thought I would be able to put something neat up today, but it looks like it will happen tomorrow. I did a gig on saturday for a humour conference. Went pretty well. I will post the link to it as soon as hubby gets it up on the family website.

We also had a show thing at our church that we were involved in. It was a Valentines musical show. We did Canadian music. FUN. Jay played guitar and sang a couple of songs. I did the choreography for the performers. It was four nights in a row though. Pretty tired by the end of it all. I did have fun on saturday night with my friend's Nikon D70, taking pictures. Man, that is almost too much camera for me. But it was neat.

Okay this blog is in danger of extreme boredom. I am tired, there are five small kids here behind me eating lunch/throwing food/yelling. I will go and save you the details. But come back tomorrow! Comedy and fun!

A.

Lovely To Look At, Delightful To Hear, and Heaven to Know

2006-02-14T07:49:00.000-05:00

Happy Valentines Day!

I love old valentines. Here's one.

When I was little I loved
Erik Estrada,
Michael Jackson,
Luke Duke.

When I got bigger I loved
George Michael,
Simon LeBon,
Gene Kelly,
Judd Nelson. (Remember how he smoldered in The Breakfast Club?)
Jay.

In my twenties, I had crushes on
Steven Tyler,
Grant Show (Jake from Melrose)
Sam (my big boy),
Michael Flatley (I know, huh?),

In my thirties the winners are
Monty, Lucy, my dad, my momma, Jay, Sam, my sibs, my friends, my family, even my in-laws.
And my bloggers. And myself, most days.

So consider yourself smooched. I have found that the more open my heart, the easier it is for love, and life, and good things, to flow back in.

A.

All about the Hair.

2006-02-13T10:44:00.000-05:00

I was watching a bit of "Skating With Celebrities" the other day. Not a bad show, except for the Todd Bridges on skates part. And I LOVE Dorothy Hamill's haircut! It's short, with long piecy bangs. Very sassy.

And it occurs to me how time may change me, but I can't change time, or something like that.

Because here is me in 1979, with my Dorothy Hamill haircut.

And for reference, here is Dorothy back then.

See? What goes around comes around. The more things change, the more they stay the same. You can grow up and layer your hair in grade six to look like Princess Di, but the Dorothy will never really leave you.

A.

She'll Hafta Learn To Be A Lady...

2006-02-08T08:32:00.000-05:00

Poor Luca doesn't stand a chance of being a girly girl. Not with two older brothers.

Last night after dinner, all three of them were playfighting on the kitchen floor. Lucy took a soft kick from Monty to her thigh. She bent over, laughing, and yelled,

"OH My Nuts!"

Sheesh.

Flashback

2006-02-02T10:38:00.000-05:00

Got a hold of some old pictures that I had never seen before. This one is a gem from my dancing days. I was (ahem) nineteen. I had been taking dancing for two years. I wanted to take dancing since I was teeny but it never happened. With four kids in our house, probably tap and jazz weren't a big priority eh. So when I got my first part time job (besides babysitting) at seventeen the first thing I did with my first paycheque was walk into a dance studio and plunk down money for lessons. I loved it. I took it all. Jazz, tap, ballet, musical comedy. I went hard and heavy for two years, then once I started university I quit.
Here is moi in "Take Back Your Mink". I am the shortest one with the blonde wig, I did the lead part. Geez, I had fun. And do you notice the ENTHUSIASM of my leg! I was getting my money's worth, by george! I was giving it my ALL!

Oh, for a pint of that energy. A quarter cup, even.
A.

7mm, Comfort Fit 10K

2006-01-27T17:36:00.000-05:00

Last month I lost my wedding band. It has always been a little big on me and me being me I just never went and made it right for my finger. So for nine winters every time my hands got cold I would make fists to keep it on and it worked up till this winter. I was Christmas shopping, gloves on and gloves off, carrying bags, etc. And I went to the post office and took my gloves off and it was gone.

Served me right. Totally.

So I went to get a new one but my finger is size 5 and they didn't have any at the mall I was working at. So my MIL lent me her mothers wedding band that she got when she was 17 in 1939 and it fit but I couldnt live with myself if I lost it, and I am a, well, a loser. Of things.

So today I went to a jewelry store that was going out of business and got the wedding band I always wanted anyway, thick and solid and snuggly size 5. And I'm lovin it.

It's kinda neat that I got this now, because this month, nay, this week, marks the fact that Jay and I have been together for exactly half our lives. We met in our eighteenth year (1988) and eighteen years later is now. EIGHTEEN YEARS. Shaz-AM!

And it has been eighteen years of ups and downs and crazys and calms and a million other things. And as 'we' get older, well, I would have to say, it has become a sort of 'comfort fit'.
And it's good.
A.

So Glad I Got My Girl

2006-01-26T13:23:00.000-05:00

Guess who is going to be a FLOWER GIRL at her mom's cousin's wedding this fall?

Tuesday bits

2006-01-24T17:31:00.000-05:00

I love how it is 530 and I have to get the kids out the door in fifteen minutes for montys swimming lesson and sam (and jays, who has to meet us at rec centre because too late to come home first) Open Gym night and bring MIL to grocery store first. And I choose THIS time to blog. Because really, when is it NOT fifteen minutes till SOMETHING? Might as well sit down and start typing. Even though I have no idea where m's swimming trunks are and jay just called to tell me to bring him shorts and running shoes because well, you know I just have NOTHING BETTER TO DO, lets add one more thing to the fifteen minutes which is now thirteen minutes.

I have a small paper due tomorrow night on some rebellion in Upper Canada in 1837. I KNOW. What?
And I kinda wanted to go and check out an open mike comedy night tonight at a place downtown.
12 minutes.

What else? Sam and Jay went to Bon Jovi last night in Toronto and sam had a BLAST. Talked and talked and is still talking about it. MOMMY! IT WAS AWESOME! THE AUDIENCE WAS SINGING SO LOUD! AND DADDY BOUGHT ME A BRACELET! AND TWO GRADE SEVEN GUYS AT SCHOOL SAW MY HAVE A NICE DAY NECKLACE AND ASKED ME IF I WENT TO THE CONCERT!!

Okay now I really have to go. Monty and Luca are in the bathroom having a little toothpaste/soap/sink party. And I am leafing in eleven minutes.

BYE!!

Shot Through The Heart

2006-01-23T06:58:00.000-05:00

WHAT A GREAT CONCERT.

We had a blast. Concert was a great mix of old and new tunes. I had no idea I still remembered all the words to 'Living on a Prayer' until they played it and I was standing up singing it at the top of my lungs with 20,000 other people. FUN.

Really great show with awesome lighting and just loud enough that you could still turn to the person beside you and hear them say, "HOW AWESOME, eh?"

Bon Jovi must have an elixir of youth. I swear everytime he smiled the whole crowd went "WHOOOO HOOOO!"

HBSC Arena is a great venue. Clean and well laid out. We took a trolley from the hotel to the arena. I didn't bring my camera though! I was too ascairt to have it confiscated! I totally shouldn't have been. There must have been six million flashes going off all over the place during the concert.

I gotta say, the average age of the fans at the 'cert is kind of, older. Like, I would be medium rare old at 35 and the thousands of ladies screaming for Jon and Ritchie would be like, medium well old. Like about 45. With some great examples of 80's hair and fashions. Then there were younger people. But we all came together in our appreciation of solid rock n roll, baby. We were ONE, with our fists in the air singing, "Blaze of Glory". And "YOUR LOVE IS LIKE, BAAAD MEDICINE! BAD MEDICINE IS WHAT AH NEED!"

Don't judge it. You totally would have been there, too.
Jon played on a bunch of 'satellite' stages, little stages set up in the crowd. It was a riot to see ladies taking close up pictures of his butt with their cell phones when he turned around.

Heh.

Jay kept saying how much Sam would like the concert. So wehn we got home we thought we would check ebay and see if there were any tickets being sold for any of the sold out conerts in Toronto this week. And there was! And we got a pair for HALF the price they would have cost us had we bought them direct! So he is taking Sam tonight. Sam is PUMPED.

Whew.
My comedy gig went well. It was a pretty good sized crowd for a coffee house. I did a bit of new stuff and mostly old stuff. I didn't tape it, though. Didn't get the camera charged up in time.
Man, I gotta go. Gotta get sam off to school and I am babysitting all day today.

Rock on!
A.

BBJ..............

2006-01-20T11:03:00.000-05:00

Before Bon Jovi, I must....

Pack a suitcase for Sam, include clothing and toothbrush and jammas and drawing supplies and a movie or two and his Terry Fox book AND his violin and music and music stand and ventolin and aerochamber. He is going to Grandpas.

Pack a suitcase for Monty, include clothes, etc with Ninja Turtles toothbrush and toothpaste and his power ranger toys and his power ranger sleeping bag. He is going to Sandy's.

Pack a suitcase for Lucy, include baby things like diapers and wipes and bum cream and sippy cup and a couple changes of clothes and her 'night night' (blanket) and pack up her playpen and some bedding. She is going to Traceys.

Pack my own suitcase for my big overnight in Buffalo. Include Bon Jovi shirt and other neccessities. Include notebook so I can write out a comedy set for tomorrow night and hopefully practice it in car to and fro Buffalo.

Arrangements for pickups have already been made. Must write itinerary for Oma (MIL) who will be home while kids get picked up at 4 pm, 430 pm and 5pm respectively.

Get to bank to deposit cheques and get some American money. Call baby sitter to come tomorro night at 630 so Jay can accompany me to comedy gig. Drop monty off at school at 12:45. I am watching Gabriel this morning and Eleni will be dropped off in about fifteen minutes. Feed the four children their lunch. Get Lucy down for nap. Get out of bad ratty track pants and weird chenille sweater that I put on this morning. Print out tickets to concert.

Clean out car somewhat as we are driving everyone to Buffalo.

Eat something besides tea.

Tidy up living room that has systematically been destroyed by two two year olds this morning.

And that is about it. All this should be done in less than three hours because we plan to leave at 2pm. Hardy har har har har har har har ho ho haa ha hee hee.

Who cares? I am going to see BON JOVI. And it will be betta than fine.

A.

Some Things...

2006-01-17T16:20:00.000-05:00

Started "A Million Little Pieces" yesterday. Totally on page 101. I tried to read it while cleaning the bathroom because I didn't want to put it down. I don't care about all the controversy surrounding it. I am, so to speak, hooked.

Gotta do a comedy gig on Saturday. Ten minute set. MUST decide what I am going to say. (Too bad it is after Christmas, eh.)

FRIDAY NIGHT. Jay and I are going to Buffalo, NY (It is only about fifty minute drive) to see

In concert! Wooo Hooo! We be Livin on a Prayer! We be Wanted Dead or Alive! Can't WAIT.

The course I wanted to take, "Cults in North America" is full. Rats. So I am taking "Women in US and Canada in the 20th Century" or something like that. It is available on Wed nights. That's all I know.

Tonight is swimming lessons for Monty and Open Gym night for Jay and Sam. Jay mentioned that I should do the gym night with him and Sam. Uh, no thanks. Basketball and indoor soccer and Nerf Floor Hockey? I so don't have the skillz OR the inclination OR the BRA for it. I will stick to my little Pilates DVD. After I finish this book, of course.

Ciao!
A.

Happy Birthday Gigi

2006-01-16T17:33:00.000-05:00

Do you know my sister Jen?

(1970. jen, 2 years 4 months, and amy, 6 days old)

If you know someone who makes you laugh within thirty seconds of a phone call, you do.
If you have someone in your life who listens to you carry on about any number of things with infinite patience, you do.
If you know a great, loving, excellent mom, you know my sister Jen in a way.
And if you have an older sister, close in age, who you would admire for every cool detail, from wit to great hair to the knick knacks on her dresser, you know her.
And you know Jen if you have someone who makes you feel better about things just by thinking about her.

(1975. amy, jennifer, siobbhan and charlie)

Today is her birthday. She is 38. But to me, she will always be 7 and telling me the ways of the world in the back of the station wagon. 10 and sitting against the back of her bedroom door with me. 11 and getting us all to pose on the front lawn while she pretended to take pictures with her Brownie camera. 14 and beautiful in her grade eight grad dress and Princess Di haircut. 18 and sad but so brave. 24 and in love with Terry. 27 and welcoming me home with her big smile. 30 and dancing with Kathleen. 33 and living in The Annex in Toronto and confident and showing me all she had discovered. Almost 35 and becoming Abby's mom. 37 and becoming Renee's mom too.....

Happy Happy Birthday to my sister, Jen. If you know someone like her, you are almost as lucky as me.

A.

Lil Sprout

2006-01-12T09:01:00.000-05:00

Thank you Gramma for making Luca this awersome little sweater and hat.

Kinda makes spring seem closer.

A.

Flotsam and Jetsam

2006-01-10T21:57:00.000-05:00

An eyelash scarf looks like this:

And I am sort of keeping my new years ideas!
I cleaned today. AND I did a 20 minute Pilates workout. AND I bought my MIL a year pass to our local rec centre, along with one for our whole family. How great, that for $130 bucks, we can swim everyday for a year if we were so inclined. Plus they have open gym nights (Jay and Sam went tonight and played basketball and soccer.) And other neat things. For 130 bucks a year!!

The pilates hurt me. I did it and I was all, 'this ain't no big thing, it's almost TOO easy.' Then within an hour I felt such fatigue in my muskels! Whoo hoo!

Before I get too annoying I will stop and say that I also had um, four big chocolate chip cookies as a little mid afternoon snack. So I kind of had to do the pilates.

I am reading "The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency". And it is totally great.
I saw "Memoirs of a Geisha" on friday night. And I really quite enjoyed it.

I made peanut chicken stir fry for dinner tonight. And it was yum. The kids loved it, with the rice stick noodles.

I am having another of my Girls Night Out parties in Feb. Stocking up on goodies. Fun.

I am registering for a course that starts tomorrow night. Not sure which one it will be yet! Nothin like the last minute, Aim!

I am outta here. Must sit. And watch something on TV. Now.

A.

Resolute

2006-01-06T09:29:00.000-05:00

So not making resolutions this year. Or even goals. I just have some loose ideas, if you will, for things to maybe improve on and maybe just leave alone.

Can I be any more afraid of failure?

Idea One.
Physical Movement Increase. I am not a sportsy mom. I don't jump up and say, "Let's all go swimming/skating/walking/to the park!" much. I do like half zip fleeces and nice running shoes. And I could totally do a day of pictures in the park, posing out with the kids, looking athletic and prettily flushed. But as a rule, I am not real active. I find my life is all about having to get off my arse when I don't want to anyway.
But I think I need to give a little bit more to up the physical ante. For ma famille. And it will hurt. So that is one idea.

Idea Two.
(Don't you love how I am doing this on Jan 6 when everyone else did it Dec 31 or Jan 1?)
General Tidiness Increase.
I struggle with keeping up with the house on a daily (nay, minute-ly) basis. I know lots of you will say, 'oh my house is a mess too, whatareyagonnado.' But truth be told. I have friends who say this too, and their houses are across the board always tidier than mine on any given day. You guys know who you are. And yer killin me.
So I need to figure out how to maintain better. Because I am a little tired of this resolution/idea.

Idea Three.
Greater Good Input.
This one I am not so afeared of. I resolve to help more people. However they need it. To not be such a bitch when my MIL takes too long at the grocery store and I have to wait in the car. To lend a hand when I can, and even when I think I can't. To give more. To say, "Yes. No Problem. How can I help you with that? What can I do? Where do you need me to be? How are you?"

And that's about it. I also want to grow out my nails and pay my bills on time and be more patient with my kids and bring a little more romance to my marriage and eat more vegetables and have less back pain and finish my BA and do more stand up comedy and be generally more stylish in the everyday and crochet an eyelash scarf and stop squeezing my pimples and put laundry away faster and go to my parents house more often and spend less money and a million other things. But, you know.

Happy January 6! It's Epiphany!

A.

Recappage

2006-01-04T11:12:00.000-05:00

So Christmas Eve was a hub of activity, from work at the mall to home getting kids cleaned up and presents wrapped and then driving out to my parents place. Which was real nice. Sam played piano and violin almost the whole time.

And all the little grandkids ran around like fancy little pinballs. Cute.

And then home again to pop them in their beds and then Jay and I power-wrapped till midnight.

They slept till 730 Christmas morn! It was hilarious listening from my warm cosy bed to Sam and Monty running around and shouting with glee about stockings and things under the tree that weren't there the night before.

The biggest hit were the cups I got for Monty and Luca, one Pooh, one Chicken Little. They carried them everywhere.

Note the close up detail of Lucy's first nightgown, made with love by her grandma who should really check into sewing rehab soon. Thanks, mom.

She also made pajamas for Eggbert and Sammy.

These kids did not get out of their pajamas for whole Christmas day.

It was lovely. Jay made an enormous, pajama bursting brunch and we all said grace and tucked in. And for the rest of the day we nibbled on leftover bacon and sausage and Turtles chocolates.

Boxing day we had a nice turkey dinner at my SIL's. Yum.

Fast forward, please, to New Years Eve. Because it was a non eventful, relaxing and quiet week between. Jay had a cold so we didn't get out much. He was off all week and did a real nice job keeping my kitchen tidy. I miss him loading and unloading the dishwasher.

NYE we went out! Whoo hoo! Packed up three little suitcases and carted the kids off to my parents for the night! And went out to dinner with fourteen other people to a gorgeous restaurant!

Oh, you wanted to know what I wore? No problem.

See how good a person can clean up when there is only that person to get ready?
Everyone came back to our place afterward, to ring in the new year. It was great.
And now I must go!
Promise I won't wait a whole nother year before blogging again.
A.

Howaya

2006-01-03T23:11:00.000-05:00

I'm still around, just lazy to blog.
Holidays came and went.
Promise that tomorrow I'll put on the dog.
And post, and yammer, and vent.

Give yourself a smooch from me.

2005-12-24T18:07:00.000-05:00

A lil wtf tuesday

2005-12-20T14:36:00.000-05:00

Mrtl's thematic suggestions are so great, but I rarely get around to accomplishing them. But not this week! This week I am on le ball.

First off for wtf tuesday is a little item I saw whilst working at the mall a few weeks ago. I enjoyed a little pee-break and then took my sweet time getting back to my booth, because I was working with someone else for a change. I checked out a few shop windows, and stopped at this store, with some pretty things in the window. It was called "Vintage Memories". You know the drill, fancy beaded lampshades and tatted lace linens and lots of dollies with glass heads and baptismal gowns on. All a bit over the top but still fun to look at.

Then I saw the most horrifying thing ever. A monkey doll, fully dressed in ornate Victorian clothing.

I know! WTF, right?!! I stared at the thing and I swear it was trying to send me some secret messages of terror and madness. The poor dolly beside it looked like it had succumbed to the monkey's evil aura. And there was a giraffe, on the floor beside it, that was also fully done up in Victorian garb. Wee-erd. I made the girl I was working with take the above picture with her camera phone, lest I went back the next day and it was gone, having been a strange hallucination brought on by mall air and a not-so-fresh Subway turkey sub.

I will try to get a better picture of it and maybe it's giraffe partner this weekend. Because I don't care if it is the day before the day before Christmas on friday. NOBODY in their RIGHT MIND would buy that thing, especially not as a gift.

So. In other news I threw my back out almost two weeks ago and I am still hobbling around. What a drag. Advil barely takes the edge off. I am going a bit insane because there are pots of things to do around here what with Christmas being FIVE DAYS AWAY and all, and I am good for about a half hour then de pain kicks in. Wah.

Alright, well, I must go. On my hands and knees I shall drag out all the bags of presents in my closet and see what still needs to be bought. Wrapping! ARgh I forgot about wrapping!

Oh well, it could be worse. I could live in the window with that monkey.

a.

BLOGGERS Cookie Exchange

2005-12-14T16:26:00.000-05:00

Or something like that. Susie's great idea!

I love poring over my Christmas cookbooks. I read and reread recipes for appetizers, side dishes, crafty things, gifty things, and cookies cookies cookies. Most of my time is spent on the reading and fantasizing about making things. It's fun.

For reals though, I make two or three kinds of cookies to freeze and bring out. And one or two nice breads to slice then freeze.

These have become a must. Love them, from one of those spiral church cookbooks where everyone puts their favourite recipe. You just know you will find a 'tuna salad casserole delight' in there. As well as '7 layer overnight salad' and 'Ambrosia'.

Ginger Sparklers

3/4 c. butter or marg.
1 c. br. sugar
1/4 c. light molasses (not blackstrap)
1 egg
2 c. flour
2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. gr. ginger
1 tsp. cinnamon
Cream together marg. (butter), brown sugar and molasses. Beat in egg until light and fluffy. Measure dry ingredients and mix thoroughly. Stir into creamed mixture until well mixed. Shape into 1 inch balls. Dip in sugar, place 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheet. Bake in a preheated oven 375 deg 8-10 min. Make 3 doz. cookies
NOTES : This makes soft yummy cookies, that are mildly spiced! I go heavier on the spices, even throw in allspice, cinnamon, whatever I have. So, so good with tea. Or right out of the freezer. Or anytime, anyplace, anywheres.

My sister Jen makes the most best Belgium cookies you ever did see. She has been the Queen of Belgiums since we were kids. I remember her at thirteen rolling out the dough on our kitchen island, allowing me to perform low pressure tasks like getting the jam out of the fridge and wiping her brow. Heh.

My mom makes pretty much everything great. Lately she has been into mereingue type things. Since the poor lady can't have anything with flour! Wouldn't you just DIE.

My sister Siobbhan is a good baker too. She has made a million pies with real pastry crust. Like, not from the freezer section that you let sit on the counter to thaw for ten minutes. Like, she has a pastry cutter and everything. It's scary. Here is a wish for her to bring a pie to my parents on Christmas Eve.

(wish)

My parents have done a do on Christmas Eve for about 20 years. It has gotten smaller since they moved out of the city, used to be 60 people, family and friends dropping by, staying late. The food didn't even get out till 10:30 sometimes. But it has changed. It is more of a family thing, now that everyone has kids (my mom and dad are soon to be grandparents of EIGHT precious precious little gelflings) It is an earlier night but just as special. We sing and eat and yack and their house always looks like a million christmas bucks. I am hoping to get Sam to play violin this year. If we play our cards right, we could enjoy some nice entertainment into our older age, with the eight offspring all performing different events for us. Hey, my sibs and I used to do an entire rendition of The Sound of Music in the front hall when we were kids, complete with Jen dragging Siobbhan upstairs while she pretended to be sleeping. We also did some pretty heavliy choreographed numbers to The Village People and The Beatles Red Album. Oh and Clap For The Wolfman.

I am not sure what we are doing Christmas day this year. The morning is always just my little family at home (with my MIL who lives downstairs), I don't get out of my housecoat (sorry, ROBE) until noon. SO fun to watch the kids unwrap everything, bring it over to me, "MOMMY!" whilst I sip my tea with Baileys. Lucy is going to be a riot this year, she kind of 'gets it' and I can't wait to see her running around with her loot. And then Jay makes a mother of a breakfast for us all. And then the house is that mostly contented new toy late night before quiet for a couple hours. With the Christmas music in the background.

Alright, well, time to go make supper and maybe see what's what.

Happy Cookie Exchange!

A.

Thank you! Nice people you are.

2005-12-12T20:45:00.000-05:00

I will post, even though I don't want to, because I liked so much opening my blog and seeing 37 comments! A personal record! So cool it is like an early Christmas prezzie.

Thanks to everyone of you darling people for saying such nice things about my comedy. I tell ya, comedy connects people like nobodys business. On Sunday at church I had ladies catch my eye and smile at me like we shared a secret. It was a nice feeling.

As for copyrighting, (which a few of you concerned sweethearts actually emailed me about!), I don't know much about it. I wouldnt even know how to go about it, except to date the video and mail it to myself and never open it. And that is only going on something that Miss Finlay my grade five teacher told us one day back in oh 1980. Things may have changed since then. Gawd, I'm a dork.

I am kind a tired tonight, Jay has night school. But it is his last class/exam night! Which means no more night school nights for at least three weeks! Yee haw! Actually, he has been picking up the slack around here, because I have had 'night things' going on, work and stuff. My candle booth is getting busier exponentially. People are starting to buy buy buy. It's looly.

Frig. Monty needs me up in his room AGAIN. Pee/Water/Nother Story (nope)/Tell You Something Mommy/Bug In My Bed/Shadow On The Wall/Hug Required. What a kid.

A.

Cah-medy Thursday

2005-12-08T08:03:00.000-05:00

Here is a linka to our family website that my hubby does. He worked for hours to get my comedy video on there. Good guy.

Link!

Just scroll down for the laughs (hope hope). He also has a song on there he wrote if you wanna have a listen.

Toodles!

A.

Way Back Wednesday

2005-12-07T09:09:00.000-05:00

I think this was started by Mama Duck. I found these old student bus passes from my first and second year of University so I scanned em and here they are.
Sixteen and Fifteen years ago I looked like this:

I am not sure why I look so sad in the first picture. Maybe my barrette was too tight. The fashion of the day was a huge gray T shirt with cutoff at the knee white jeans. And yes ma'am I tucked that massive T shirt in just so. VERY flattering!

The second picture is a little better, except one of my eyes seems to be wanting to laze off. That was a perm grown out from ten months before, if you can believe it. That perm, it could have taken over the world, survived a bombing, scrubbed a thousand pots clean. That day I was wearing a sleeveless sweater with a denim mini skirt. Not so mini compared to the cooter skirts they wear these days.

I look quite hopeful and studious in the second picture. Ha. Couldn't have known then that I would totally fail every single class I took that year, by just not showing up, ever. What a dork. What a waste of two thousand five hundred dollars of my parents money. I had to jump through many, many university hoops to get back in.

Alright, better go.

A.

Went Pretty Good!

2005-12-06T12:53:00.000-05:00

Really. I was a bit of a wreck beforehand because I was pacing around, worrying that I would forget my stuff. Half of it I had only made up a few days before. But somehow it was fine, they laughed alot and I had a pretty good time of it.

I will get Jay to put a link to the video (thanks Trace!) tonight and you can decide for yourselves if I brought the funny or naught.

A.

Whew!

2005-12-05T10:22:00.000-05:00

Now That wuzza bizzy weekend.

Friday night I took my MIL and SIL to see the Geritol Follies. Do you know them? They are a group of over 60 people who sing and dance and they are kinda great. One lady was 88 in the choir. One dancer (who had some nice legs on her) was 74. I am totally joining when I am 60. Only 24 and a half years to go!

The crowd was kind of Senioray.
From my seat it looked like this:

LOTS of white hair and no hair and Christmas brooches and good wool coats.
It took us FOREVER to get out of there, the wool coats and overshoes and walkers kind of bottlenecked and then you pretty much might as well have pitched a tent and sang some songs around a flashlight.

I kinda like old people though. I like how they undertake the business of walking. I like how they look around for old friends. I like how they smile at younger people. And I like how they are all put together from the talcum powder to the pouffy hair.

So it was fun. A good show.

Sat I worked at my booth alone and man alive I almost died because i had to pee from about eleven on and noone was coming till 230. I could hardly deal with the customers. I kept looking in the crowds of people walking by, desperate to see a familiar face. I thought that even if I saw someone from high school I would ask them just to wait at the booth for a minute while I took off. Then I thought, what about a friendly looking mom with a kid? You can trust moms. Except what if something happened with the kid, the mom would ditch my booth if that occurred. Well, nobody familiar came and I just had to deal. But my replacement people came a half hour early so I didn't die altogether.

Then we had music team rehearsal for church on Sunday and then a Christmas party thing. Then home to sleep, then back to church early and then I had to do sunday school with Sandy for the second service. Which is just fine because we get to hang out and the kids are walking talking riots. Then I stayed at church to decorate the gym because TONIGHT we are having a Ladies Christmas Event, pretty much run by me and my friend Joanne. Please if you have a minute send us a good vibe that we pull it off because we have basically whipped this thing togetha with a lick an a promise! Yee-ikes! I am doing stand up comedy! It has been a while and I am a bit rusty! So the exclamation marks come out! I will have it video taped and try to put a clip on here! If it turns out okay! If it does not turn out okay you will never, ever see it!

Deep breath in, Deep breath out.

Where oh where is the Diet Coke. I am watching my friends little guy this morning and he is almost two and he and Lucy are in cahoots big time and I don't even know what they shoved in the VCR but it was definitely not a VCR tape.

Toodles. Happy Monday! Blech!
A.

Quiet Morning, But Not For Long

2005-12-01T07:36:00.000-05:00

They actually slept in today.

Jay leaves for work just after seven. And as a rule, all the kids are usually up by six forty five. It's just how it is around here. But today, they slept in! They just woke up, and it is 7:35. Which means I got to get up with Jay and we got to talk and hang out while we made his lunch and stuff. So nice, to make tea with someone, like a little dance choreographed by time and togetherness. It was like a date!

And then I got to sit on the kitchen floor and drink my tea and read the paper ALONE. I do this every morning, but usually I have to get up sixteen times and someone is almost always hanging on my back, looking over my shoulder to see if there are any pictures of toys or kid movies.

The reverie has broken. Sam is on le toilette and Monty is yelling because he has to go pee. And Luca is calling from her crib, "Knock Knock! who da?"

We put up the Christmas tree last night. I could just sit and stare at it for hours. Some of my lights have died, though. Gotta get some new ones. I am all about the twinkling lights. I am hoping that the ornaments stay on the tree this year. Last year Lucy kept taking them off and hiding them in little piles all over the house.

Alright, well, duty calls. Nice talking to ya and all that.

A.

She's Got Her Daddy's Lashes

2005-11-24T11:19:00.000-05:00

Don't tell anyone but

2005-11-22T08:41:00.000-05:00

Sam is 10 and he still likes me to do this if he is going to have a banana.

A.

It's like I am trying to win some sort of dork contest

2005-11-18T07:47:00.001-05:00

Below is a copy of an email I sent my husband at work yesterday. Brackets with info have been added.

Subject Line: GULP. Bad News.

HI.

Remember in the summer when I backed out of our driveway and sorta hit that car?

Um, yeah. Well, I did that again. But harder. Wahhh!
I had Seth (montys little friend) and Monty and they were running around and I was trying to get them in the car to take Seth home and Monty to school. Seth got in the car but Monty kept running away from me, around the driveway. I got frustrated and got in and thought I would back the car up, get it on the street and then get him and put him in the car. So I was looking at him, standing in front of the garage door, as I backed out. And then I hit the car.

I knew it was someone from Bruno’s place’s (guy across the street) car. So I ran across the street and knocked on the door and rang the bell but noone came. So I took monty to school and seth home, came home myself and put a note on the car that it was me that hit it and please come over and get my information.

After a while I see the lady out there so I came out and told her it was me. (She is Bruno's cousins wife, italian lady in her 60s) She freaked out at me. Started yelling and saying “Why did you do this to me?” and I was like, “I am sorry and don’t worry I will pay for the repair” Her passenger back door has a scrape and a dent. She starts like leaning over the car and saying, “Oh, my stomach! Oh my new car!!” and then she said, “I have to go in to see Bruno” and I said okay well I will meet you in there I will go get my information. So I go back home to tell Oma (my MIL who lives with us) to watch Lucy for me, by this time I feel so bad I am crying myself!

So I come back out and Bruno and her are outside the car and she is crying and Bruno yells at her, “Come on! Amy is right across the street she said she will take care of it! Why are you getting all emotional!” (It was kind of funny). She said, “I can’t drive it to work” and he said, “Oh stop it, of course you can drive it to work!” So she left for work and I said I am sorry about ten more times and all she did was give me a dirty look like I had just offed her grandmother.

So then Bruno takes me into his house and says, “My God! She came running into the house screaming, I thought she was having a heart attack!” I went in and talked to them. Bruno tried to get me to have a shot of something to calm my nerves. I told him I already hit one car, better just have water. They were great. Alma (B’s wife) said, “She is just emotional, don’t take it personally, she is like that, high strung, the important thing is that noone got hurt and your kids are okay.” So they took my insurance info.

I am sure I will have to pay something out, maybe her deductible or something. And um, heh, our back bumper on one side got kinda cracked up (a lot). I feel like such an idiot that it happened not once but TWICE.

So that’s that. How is your day going?

Bye bye! Call me if you can.
Aim

It's like I am trying to win some sort of dork contest

2005-11-18T07:47:00.000-05:00

Below is a copy of an email I sent my husband at work yesterday. Brackets with info have been added.

Subject Line: GULP. Bad News.

HI.

Remember in the summer when I backed out of our driveway and sorta hit that car?

Um, yeah. Well, I did that again. But harder. Wahhh!
I had Seth (montys little friend) and Monty and they were running around and I was trying to get them in the car to take Seth home and Monty to school. Seth got in the car but Monty kept running away from me, around the driveway. I got frustrated and got in and thought I would back the car up, get it on the street and then get him and put him in the car. So I was looking at him, standing in front of the garage door, as I backed out. And then I hit the car.

I knew it was someone from Bruno’s place’s (guy across the street) car. So I ran across the street and knocked on the door and rang the bell but noone came. So I took monty to school and seth home, came home myself and put a note on the car that it was me that hit it and please come over and get my information.

After a while I see the lady out there so I came out and told her it was me. (She is Bruno's cousins wife, italian lady in her 60s) She freaked out at me. Started yelling and saying “Why did you do this to me?” and I was like, “I am sorry and don’t worry I will pay for the repair” Her passenger back door has a scrape and a dent. She starts like leaning over the car and saying, “Oh, my stomach! Oh my new car!!” and then she said, “I have to go in to see Bruno” and I said okay well I will meet you in there I will go get my information. So I go back home to tell Oma (my MIL who lives with us) to watch Lucy for me, by this time I feel so bad I am crying myself!

So I come back out and Bruno and her are outside the car and she is crying and Bruno yells at her, “Come on! Amy is right across the street she said she will take care of it! Why are you getting all emotional!” (It was kind of funny). She said, “I can’t drive it to work” and he said, “Oh stop it, of course you can drive it to work!” So she left for work and I said I am sorry about ten more times and all she did was give me a dirty look like I had just offed her grandmother.

So then Bruno takes me into his house and says, “My God! She came running into the house screaming, I thought she was having a heart attack!” I went in and talked to them. They were great. Alma (B’s wife) said, “She is just emotional, don’t take it personally, she is like that, high strung, the important thing is that noone got hurt and your kids are okay.” So they took my insurance info.

I am sure I will have to pay something out, maybe her deductible or something. And um, heh, our back bumper on one side got kinda cracked up (a lot). I feel like such an idiot that it happened not once but TWICE.

So that’s that. How is your day going?

Bye bye! Call me if you can.
Aim

Workin' At The Mall

2005-11-12T21:39:00.000-05:00

I did my first shift at the candle booth last night. It wasn't bad. It is a pretty big booth, and I must have walked around it six hundred and forty eight times. My eyes were tired by the end! It wasn't that busy, so you know how it is when you are trying to sort of look busy, I windexed the glass and straightened the boxes of candle holders, walked around. I wanted to sit on my little stool more but I am too friggin short and when I was sitting on there I could barely see over the top of the candles if there were customers looking or not. I sat on my foot for a bit for some height but then my foot fell asleep.

I was nervous when I got there! What a weiner. Not because it is some high power job ha ha, but I haven't worked outside my house in like, five years. And I had to do the wheelin and dealin babysitting tango before I left. Each kid went somewhere different. So by the time I got there my stomach was all knotted up from being outside my comfort zone. Blech.

The girl that was there in the day trained me for an hour. And just before she was leaving I went to get a tea and to hit the bathroom, because I would be alone for four hours, no breaky breaky. So I am walking with all this cash register/debit/credit card information in my head. I had a pretty good handle on it. I got a tea and walked back, feeling a little sassy in my criss cross top and tweed Aline skirt and maroon boots.

But I must have been too in my head. Because then I walked INTO A WALL.

I didn't see the corner. And OOF! My tea went all over. One side of my short, spiky hairdo went flat. And I felt like a complete and utter idiot.

Luckily alot of other people at the mall must have been in their own heads like i was, because as far as I could tell, nobody really noticed. In the movies that would have been the part where Julia Roberts or Sandra Bullock crashes into the wall like a beautiful klutz and lands in the arms of some hunk. In real life you just kind of look around like 'who put that wall there?' and then when you see that noone really noticed you sort of walk away from the scene of the crime, wiping the tea off your hands onto your skirt because it is brown and anyway already has tea on it.
And then you do your four hours at the candle booth. And then you go home.

A.

All I want for Christmas....

2005-11-11T09:05:00.000-05:00

Oh, the Sloan kids loved this show. Doris, Leroy, Bruno (my favorite person on TV after Gopher from Love Boat and Erik Estrada), Coco, Danny Amatulo (also very cute, In '84 I danced with a guy at Sandy's school who looked a little bit like him, oh! my heart.) Mr. Sharofsky, the blonde teacher, Debbie Allan ("You want Fame? Well, Fame costs. And you're gonna pay right here. In sweat.")

What a great show. I honestly thought high school would be like that, with people dancing on the tables out of nowhere doin the Hot Lunch Jam. And I could sing "Starmaker" like nobody's business. Bruno was so cute. I remember when he did a song about Mr. Sharofsky. "Here he comes, flappin his gums, what's he gonna say? have a nice day?" I can't believe I remember that.

If you are a FF (Fame Fan) why not treat yourself to this.

I have watched it three times this morning. I know. Leroy's split leap at the end almost makes me cry. Especially since he is gone now, he's dancing with the angels. Poor guy.

"I'M GONNA BE A DANCER! A GOOD DANCER! YOU KNOW WHO SAYS SO? ME!"

A.

On My Mind

2005-11-08T21:49:00.000-05:00

I got a new little job. I will be working in a booth at the mall on the weekends for the Christmas Season. It is a candle booth! I am kind of excited to wear nice pants and watch people shop. And be all by meself at my booth in Limeridge, selling things to grown ups.

Grown ups aren't as cute as kids, but they don't cry as much, either. And they can all wipe their own bums and hold a cup without spilling it and they would take responsibility if they happened to eat a whole bunch of Halloween candy before 8 am.

So yeah, I start on Friday. I can only work on the weekends I told the guy because that is when hubby is home. No friggin way I am paying a baby sitter to work for eight bucks an hour.

I am hoping I get a lil discount on the candles though. If you are one of my peeps, don't read on. Because you are probably getting a candle type thing for Christmas. Surprise!

I have also been asked to do another one of my 'girls night out' parties at my aunt's friends house. Which is good because I have lots of stuff left over from the last one.

Since I got a head startino on my Christmas shopping last weekend i am now all over it. I almost wrapped a few things tonight. If there weren't sixteen loads of laundry to put away I would have done so. I just want to get this house reasonably tidy because one of the first things I am doing with my extra moola is getting a housecleaner in, just once, in December. To hell with a new outfit. I want to come home and hear the vacuum overheating and smell the pine sol and have them say, 'We are almost done!' It is the BEST.

And now it is two minutes to ten and I am going to grab the baskets of L. to fold in front of the TV whilst I watch I don't even know what because tuesday is not usually a tv night for me. Hmmmm.

Toodles,
A.

Hola

2005-11-07T08:10:00.000-05:00

Good weekend.

GOT AWAY FOR A NIGHT with some friends. Oh yes, I did. And it was mighty fine. Five of us went to Niagara Falls NY for a night, which is less than an hour away. Shopped. Ate at TGIFridays. Went to Target! And Tops! Laughed our heads off. Shopped. Slept in. Ate at Applebees.

It was great. In twenty four hours I don't think I have laughed so much. I did some early Christmas shopping. I got Lucy the BEST coat. I got a skirt at the Old Navy outlet for four bucks, and a cookie sheet, loaf pan AND square baking pan for 11 bucks. Good times!

Jay held down the fort quite nicely whilst I was away. I did not come home to a messy house, which was one of my criteria for getting away well. My only regret is that I brought my camera but took no pictures! Wahh!

Saturday night we had an old friend come by for a visit. We hadn't seen him in about three years, it was great to catch up.

Sun we had church. And someone stole some stuff from our van right outside the church! Jay plays electric guitar in the church band. And after the service, he popped outside and put his guitars in the van. Came back in to help me get the kids from Sunday school. So he left it unlocked for about five minutes. (He insists that he locked it, so let's just say, um, maybe the lock thing on his keys didn't work. Because he LoCKED it, people. ) Anyhoo, it must have been unlocked because there was no other way it could have happened. We were getting the kids in after and I look on the passenger side floor and the floor mat is all yanked up and there are CD cases all over the place. I say, "Man! These KIds!"
Then I see my makeup bag is dumped everywhere. And Jays case/bag thing is on it's side and empty. And I am like, "Uh Oh. We got ripped off!"
First we were freaking out just a tad because Jays empty case thingy meant that his newish mp3 player was gone ($300) along with the accessories and cables ($100) and his philishaver that he keeps in there, too ($150). Which would be just about what we would pay for a deductible if we were to put a claim in. Which we couldn't anyway because Jay had left the car unlocked. (I mean, locked! I swear I locked it! You KNOW me, Aim!)

And there were all the cd's in the bottom drawer thingy gone. And all the spare change was gone.

But then, I started moving the mess around and oh! there was the mp3 player under my seat and the shaver under the car mat and the cords. All they took were about ten cds and about 8 bucks in loose change.

So really, we were happy. And a little stunned that we got off so easy. Jay had both his (expensive) guitars in the back, not taken either. Our church is right downtown. So someone probably was walking by and saw the door unlocked and decided to go for it. But they were obviously so focussed on getting cash (and cd's you can trade in for cash) that they didn't bother with anything else. I feel kinda sorry for that person. How frantic and desperate they must have felt to be scrambling through our car, looking for money. Now, had they taken the expensive stuff, I probably wouldn't be feeling so compassionate.

But it's a good lesson. Because I leave my purse in the car 80 percent of the time. But yesterday I didn't. And from now on I will take it with me.

So tell me,
1. When was your last night out with the girls and where'd you go?
2. What has been stolen from you?

A.

It's Not Just that He Looks Like Me

2005-11-02T21:26:00.000-05:00

Sam lost some of his violin music. Two pieces, to be concise. And he looked for them for about sixty seconds and of course didn't find them.

Instead of taking time to look further and probably finding them, he takes ten minutes to make a little sign. He comes down to the kitchen and thumbtacks it to the wall with a flourish and a little smile.

Oh, he is so my kid.

Trick or Treat

2005-11-01T08:50:00.000-05:00

Kids had fun. Mom and Daddy ate too much candy.

Weekend Update 2

2005-10-30T18:04:00.000-05:00

Took the kids to a pumpkin farm today. What a blast.

Lucy wore the bear costume that my mom made for Monty when he was 2. She was just about the huggiest bear in the pumpkin patch. Well, she was the only bear in the pumpkin patch. But you know.

A.

Weekend Update

2005-10-30T16:07:00.000-05:00

The 'Girls Night Out' Sale went well!

Over thirty ladies came and saw and shopped. It was great! The best part was that I didn't let anyone buy anything until 8:30, so everyone was browsing and checking stuff out for an hour beforehand. There were some um, lets say tensions between people who where interested in the same thing. People even hid a few things until they could actually get their hands on them!
Here are a couple of pics.

I had hundreds of items out, and sold alot of it. Stuff was priced low, I think everyone was happy with the value. There was OPI nail polish and Cinique/Lancome/Trucco/BedHead make up, Crabtree and Evelyn, Candle at Home, Vic Sec bras, Claires jewelry, and a bunch of other thingys, from perfume samples to silver jewelry. It was FUN.

And I got to take out me hubby for dinner and a movie on me! I had some helpers. I could not have done it all myself. So props go to my ma, my MIL, aunt nancy, cousin nat, aunty eileen.

Here is my Aunt Brenda's hair.

I had such a good time! I am totally doing it again.

A.

Whirling Dervish

2005-10-28T07:22:00.000-04:00

I am having a party of sorts tonight. It's kind of a sale party. I have bought lots of different items on ebay, from cosmetics to Victoria's Secret bras, to gifty things to jewelry. And I am going to turn my living room and dining room into a garage sale.

I have never done anything like this before. But I always wanted to. In many ways, I hate 'home parties' which are not really 'parties' at all but just tense tittering guilt trips where everyone feels obligated to spend thirty-two dollars on a plastic container they coulda got at WalMart for three bucks, just to buy something. I have sat in a friend's living room and watched her AND her sisters each spend 50 dollars on Satin Hands 'systems', knowing that they have no money for it.

So my 'party' will be different. Stuff is priced from fifty cents up. Everyone gets something for free just for coming. And I have a bunch of little prizes to give away.

Who knows how this will turn out? I got the music mixed, the veggies and dip made. I have put little price stickers on hundreds of items. I have invited 30 ladies, friends, family, and otherwise.

Now all I have to do is turn my house into a little store.

I was on the dining room floor yesterday, wrapping up these candle holder thingys and putting ribbons around them. My husband came up and just looked at me. He smiled. "You always got somethin' goin on, Aim."

I said, "Yup." And kept wrapping. "Hey! I need you to help me carry the TV downstairs so I can use the entertainment centre to put stuff on."

There is something about carrying something heavy together that makes me feel good.

So wish me luck!

A.

My skin is tired.

2005-10-26T21:52:00.000-04:00

Did you ever have that? When you are just utterly done? And even the skin between your eyes hurts?

S'kinda how i feel right now. I don't even know what to do with myself because it is too early for me to go to bed. If I climbed into bed right now, my restless legs would say HI! WHAT ARE YOU DOING IN BED WE WANT TO GO JOGGING EVEN THOUGH YOU HAVEN'T JOGGED SINCE YOU WERE A WANNABE ANOREXIC IN GRADE EIGHT! SO GET OUT OF BED! BECAUSE WE WANT TO DANCE TO MARIAH CAREY, STUPID! HEY! DONT READ! WHAT ARE YOU DOING? YOU THINK YOU CAN JUST LIE THERE AND RELAX? FORGET IT! GET UP! GETUPGETUPGETUPGETUPGET UP!!

So I won't go to bed. I will wander around a bit and see if there is anything to do. I wish I was into canning. I could totally can some jam right now. Or iron. I could iron. But I have nothing to iron nor do I have an ironing board, per se. When I must iron I take a blanket and cover my coffee table in the rec room with it. Cept it slides all over the place so I have to go and find tape to tape it around the legs. Then I do this and then I have to go find the iron. Then I have to find the clothes I must iron. Then I get everything together and then I iron.

I usually leave the blanket on the table for a couple of days. And I look around for other things to iron before I have to take the tape and everything off.

So maybe I won't iron.

But I will get off the computer because now my eyeballs hurt.

Night night,
A.

Bad Date

2005-10-24T22:45:00.000-04:00

Mrtl's Motif Monday subj. is A Bad Date.

I remember one time I was sixteen and sort of dating this guy. He was very tall and skinny and insecure and he was a sort of actor. I was me, five foot one at the time. And we were walking along Lakeshore Drive in Burlington on a summer night. And there was a group of teenagers hanging out in front of one store and we walked by them.

They were just bratty kids goofing off, anyone who walked by probably got some kind of stupid commentary. They started snickering at us, and I thought I heard one of them say something about a beanpole, and another about us looking like Laurel and Hardy. We kept walking. It was only our third date so we were already not that comfortable, and this was awkward.

Once we got past them, I asked, just for conversation, "What did they say?"

And he said, "They were making fun of you because you are short."

That third date was our last date. I mean, honestly, what kind of guy does that?

Not my kinda guy, that's who.

BACK TO HORATIO KANE.

a.

Poor Horatio Kane!

2005-10-24T22:32:00.000-04:00

I meant to do a nice long blog but alls I can do is jump on here when its commercial time on CSI Miami. Poor Horatio is getting framed and the action is just too good!

Jay tapes shows on our Super Deluxe High Definition Cable Box, I swear that thing could cook dinner and give the kids their baths if I only knew how to work it. So when we watch our fave shows together, which are Lost and Medium, we skip over all the commercials and it only takes 35 minutes per show.

But I miss out! Because commercials are the bestest time to jump up and flip flop the laundry, or start the dishwasher, or pick up the sixty or so toys in the front hall. This uninterrupted TV show barrel-through doesn't work for me sometimes.

Oh! Gotta go!

Stuff Portrait Day

2005-10-21T10:08:00.000-04:00

Kudos to Kristine for keeping this going. It's fun, and even though I don't play every week, I love to snoop on other people's stuff.

First is a Tacky Vacation Picture.

I couldn't find any but I did find this. This is me, my dad holding me, my sister Jen, and my Uncle David, on a camping trip in 1972.

What is with the shirt I am wearing? What alley was it dragged through before it was put on the baby? If you look at my right hand, you can sorta see the big ole bandaging I have on it. I had grabbed a knife, blade in, and cut my hand open. So it is all taped up. Pretty tacky, eh.

Here is something my kid made.

Love the colours on this. Makes me Happy.

And my brush is boring boring. So I won't bother.

And that is all.

Toodle-oo. I am off to get groceries for the thirty five or so people coming over tomorrow for Sam and Monty's combo birthday party.

A.

An Open Letter From Our Fish

2005-10-19T09:06:00.000-04:00

Hi.

As of yesterday at 8pm, I lived in a little jar at the pet store alongside thirty or forty other betta fish. It wasn't a big place I had, but it was pretty quiet and peaceful.

Then The Forderers bought me and brought me home.

It was quite undignified. First I was kerplunked into a plastic bag and carried by a ten year old boy all the way home. He kept holding me up in the bag and looking at me, jostling me around, singing me the same song from The Killers over and over.

We got to their house. Pretty nice house, good neighborhood. But as soon as we walked in I could smell that there was a CAT downstairs. If you are a fish, this can bring on a lot of anxiety. I had to do breathing exercises to calm down.

They put me on the counter in my bag. There were two other little kids there, running around in circles and screaming about I don't know what. The Mom tried to keep them quiet, but they weren't listening. It was really loud and unnerving.

The two boys fought over me. It sounds more romantic than it really was. Each one of them wanted to be the one to put me in the tank. Finally the Dad stepped in and said if they can't get along then neither one of them was going to put me in the tank. I thought this was a wise move.

So the Mom got a new bowl ready for me and among all the shouting and screams (of delight, I think) I was kerplunked into the bowl. It's a pretty nice place. But man, these people were hyper! I had only been at their house for twenty minutes and already I needed a long nap.

After ogling me for a while, the parents put the kids to bed. I had an uneventful night. Which was a blessing because it has been a hell of a morning.

At 6:35 the middle kid comes crashing down the stairs, drags a stool over to my bowl and starts singing and talking to me. I don't know what he was saying, something about fish and star wars and spiderman and giant rats. Weirdo.

Then the other two kids came with the Mom and there was a big kerfuffle about what to name me. The middle kid wanted to name me Goldie (which is odd, considering I am not a goldfish) and the oldest kid wanted to name me Sly Cooper after a video game character. OH, the humanity. Finally they settled on Sly Goldie even though the oldest kid said it was the stupidest name he'd ever heard. Great.

So hi, my name is, um, Sly Goldie.

I swam around for a bit and watched these people get ready for their day. Now, I am no paragon of orderliness but these people are very unorganized. And the oldest kid totally didn't finish his toast even though he told his mom he did. I saw him toss it in the garbage.

At this point I figured that I might as well accept this family as they were and try to enjoy them. You can't pick your family, right?

BUT THEN. When everyone else was somewhere in the house, the littlest kid came to see me. She is pretty cute. But really close up to a fishbowl, not that cute. Kinda scary, actually. She talked to me, told me that she did not care for the names her duelling brothers had chosen, that she was just going to call me 'fishy' if it was alright.

I thought this was all well and good. Until she took a BABY WIPE out of a container and PUT it in MY BOWL.

I'll admit it. I panicked. You should have seen my gills. They were flapping like an old pair of undies on the line in a windstorm. I couldn't breathe. The baby wipe was floating down, down over me and I saw my life flash before my eyes.

Then the older boy saw what had happened. He yelled for the mom who came running and took the baby wipe out. I tried to signal to her that my water had been contaminated by the chemicals in the baby wipe! I guess she got it because she put me in a small bowl, changed my water, and put me back.

So now I am back. I'm okay, thanks for asking. But let me tell you I am not sure how long I will be around. I am completely exhausted now so I will sign off.

Here is to a better tomorrow.

Sly Goldie Fishy.

Fun Activities with Baby Powder

2005-10-18T09:29:00.000-04:00

All I was doing was unloading the dishwasher. And when I was finished I said, "Ki-ids! Come have a snack."
But noone answered me.
So I went to find them and what did my wondering eyes did appear
But Lucy with powder from ear to shining ear.

And Monty was having a right good time,
Making powder footprints on the couch behind.

My living room smells really good now.

A.

Happy 10th Birthday Sammy

2005-10-16T17:24:00.000-04:00

When you were one you were chubby and happy and calm. And we went everywhere together.

When you were almost three, you loved legos and your 'big blankie'. And you named your toy animals. There was Frank the Lion and Wanda the lizard and you had a pretend friend who you said was 'a chipmunk named Jim who lived in the forest'.

When you were almost four you loved Dinosaurs and Star Wars. And you started school. And you liked to wear vest-es that Grandma made for you. And you were best friends with Sara. And when you were about done being four, you turned to me the day before your next birthday and you said, "I don't think I want to turn five!"
And I said, "Why not?"
And you said, "Do I have to?"
And I said, "Yes, when you wake up tomorrow you will be five, buddy."
And you said, "Will I still have the same face?"

When you were five you became a big brother! And you would sing your baby brother songs that you made up, like
'Oh Monty-dearie, I love you all in my heart,
Oh Monty-dearie, you are as smart as a smart,
Oh Monty-dear-eeee, your my lo-oove!"
And you learned to ride your bike without training wheels. And you stopped writing your name as "MAS" and started writing it as "SAM".

At six you played with Lucas all the time. And you were a bat for Halloween. And your teacher was Ms. Sardo.

When you turned seven you had a big thing for Spiderman. And you took drawing classes. And you started karate. You made up your own game called "Slip and Slide".

At eight you were into X men. You drew them everywhere. And you started playing on the street with all the gang, Dimitri, Aris, Sam, Angelo, Daniel, Jacob, Matthew. And you became a big brother again! And you would hold Lucy any chance you got. And you would dance around and jump and do anything to make her laugh.

When you were nine you went on a train with Grandpa. And you got your purple belt. And you started to play the violin. And you had lots of homework. And you rode your bike with your friends farther from our house than ever before.

And now you are ten. And you will do a million new things before you turn eleven. And I am so lucky that I get to be here to watch you do them. And I love you.

It's When Things Get Hard That You Mus'nt Quit

2005-10-13T09:29:00.000-04:00

Unnnless you are going completely mental and for some reason you didn't sign the tuition cheque and they return it to you so you aren't even fully registered yet anyways so you can withdraw without monetary or academic penalty.............

A LOAD. It has been LIFTED.

So now YOU tell ME. What did you quit?

A.

It's Not Just Me

2005-10-12T08:52:00.000-04:00

My slavery course prof really does take the cake. Not only do our essays have to be in the Chicago style of citation, which I have never even heard of, but our book reviews must include:

a statement of the book's purpose
a synopsis of the book's content
a detailed analysis of the book's arguments
my evaluation of their strengths and weaknesses
some discussion of the book's sources
my overall judgement of the book's merits, demerits,
and it's contribution to scholarship.

Among a few other things. AND I AM ON PAGE 82 and THE BOOK IS 360 pages LONG.

Oh yeah, life on the edge is sah-weet.

Also, our class begins at 7pm. He says he will give us a TEN minute grace period to hand our papers in to his desk. Any paper that reaches his desk at or after 7:10 will be considered a DAY LATE.

So, like I said, it's not just me. Wah Wah Wah.

And it ain't like I'm gettin any work done during the day, eh? So I shall be burning the midnight oil. Pass the Jolt Cola.

Byes,
A.

Chew the Fat Tuesday

2005-10-11T13:30:00.000-04:00

See, yesterday was Thanksgiving here, so it feels so much like Monday to me I can't even stand it. And I have night class tonight. Which isn't working out that great. SO much READING! And while some of the reading isn't too bad, THERE IS TOO MUCH OF IT. We have six books for this one course. SIX. Can I bother you with a small sample from a book of articles that we are responsible for reading each week?

"Building upon a persistent religious tradition hostile to slavery and buttressed by republican ideology, during the Revolutionary War years all of the Northern states but New York and New Jersey took steps to eradicate slavery: by judicial, legislative, or constitutional action in Massachusetts and New Hampshire, by a process of gradual abolition in Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Connecticut."

Wh-aa-T? How many add-ons can you put on a sentence? I think this authour needs to invest in some periods. And who on earth says 'buttresses' anymore? And how on earth am I going to get a decent mark in this course when there are articles like this that take me two hours to read and after I am done I am like, 'hmm. what was that about again?'

Next week I have a 6-8 page book report due. On a book that I have trudged my way through one third of so far.

Why oh why oh why oh why didn't I just take that nice little Music in Film course?

Because I am a dork. That's why.

So I am off to read read read. Any distractions welcome. I will even read all the spam comments. I won't be panicking until say, Sunday night of next week. Then there will be The Amy Show. Where I run pell mell around the house upsetting everyone because I have to squeeze hours and hours of work through the night to get the essay done. It's fun. I should charge admission.

Seeya,
A.

Punk Mower

2005-10-07T12:35:00.000-04:00

Wish I had had my camera on me yesterday. Just down the street from my house lives this young guy. He is probably about 20-21 now. I have seen him metamorphose from this chubby dark haired kid with glasses and a huge facial birthmark to a thin punk rocker guy. It is fascinating how different he looks. He always says hello. He still has the birthmark, but it is kind of upstaged by his punk-ness.

He has this incredible mohawk. It is at least ten inches long and two toned. It looks like this big fan when he turns his head. He wears the punk standards, the plaid pants, the bracelets, the black shirt with the cutoff sleeves.

And yesterday I saw him mowing his neighbors lawn.

Man, a camera would have beeen good. What a neat image, of this guy bent over the lawnmower, pushing it uphill, with his bird of paradise hair and his 18 hole Docs.

Cool, man.

A.

True Love Look

2005-10-04T07:19:00.000-04:00

There are two people in her world that she looks at like this. Daddy. And Barney.

Honestly, if she had a swiss army knife I would find it carved into the tree on our front yard.

I don't mind Barney himself. Those kids that hang out with him on the various shows, though. Yikes. The overacting, the huge swinging arcs of head motion when they say, "YES!" Scaa-ary, man.

But Luca loves it all. She is starting to talk so much. We are getting out of the car yesterday and she is hugging her plush B. and she says, "C'I come, mommy?" I say, "Yep."
"C'Bar-ey come too?"
"Yes, he can."
"Coo, mommy."
I look at her. (She just said "Cool, mommy!" How awesome can you get?)
She smiles and hugs B. Then she laughs and says,
"Bar-ey said dat."

Then I squeezed her (and Barney) so hard and kissed her and life is good.

A.