Happy Halloween

By day, mild mannered members of the squash family.


By night, glowing orbs.


Happy Halloween, may it be filled with ghost, goblins and chocolate treats!
(especially the chocolate treats - have you test tasted them yet? VERY important part of Halloween, don't forget!)

Imperfect Happiness

Hey there, remember me? It's been a week and half since I posted and I don't think I have ever gone that long without posting unless I have been away. We haven't been away.

I have been here, busy with nothing in particular, just the day to day stuff.

Last Friday when Jack had a day off school, I was chatting with my mom. I mentioned that the boys were driving me crazy and it was only 11 AM.

That's when she commented that all she reads on here is how much I love being a mom and how fantastic it is.

Um.

Yeah.

So guess what?

Perhaps I save the lovely flowery life is perfect BLAH BLAH BLAH for this. Maybe that's why I haven't posted in a week and a half. Who really wants to read that drivel all the time anyway?

I haven't been feeling the life is perfect sort of stuff lately. I mean, there's nothing wrong per se. Nothing at all. Maybe my hormones are out of whack yet again. They have a tendency to do that causing hot flashes that make me wonder if I haven't died and hit Hell with a fury like I never intended. If the hormones can do that, then the probably mess with my mood too.

The truth is that while I do LOVE being a mom and a wife, there are days.

Days when kenneling my children is really appealing. Apparently it is frowned upon though. Clearly those people don't have children.

Days when the lip from Jack has me madder than grizzly bear who has awoken from hibernation in the middle of February. When did 7 year olds start lipping off like teenagers anyway?

Days when I say things I really shouldn't to my kids. Calling your son a chicken is also frowned upon in case you were wondering. Not that I have done that or anything but that might be an idea for another post so that you don't all abandon me for being the worst mother on the face of the earth. I am pretty sure I am in the running for that honour.

Days when I neglect spending quality time with my children so I can get the laundry, cleaning, cooking, blogging, twittering and scrabble playing in.

Days when I spend more time yelling at the kids to hurry up and no time slowing down and loving them.

Let's stop here and give a shout out to my friend, guilt, shall we?

I can't do it all. I don't even want to fake that I can. Life is a balance and for the most part, I think I do okay. But is it perfect and lovely and wonderful and full of sunshine and rainbows all the time?

NOT EVEN REMOTELY.

And if I have portrayed it as such here, I must set the record straight.

We get crusty sometimes. It might be lack of sleep, it might be hunger, it might be hormones.

We have disagreements.

The kids fight and we yell at them to stop it in the name of all that is holy already.

But at the end of the day, would we change a thing.

No.

Well maybe the yelling and the not slowing down and the disagreements and and and......

But if life were perfect, you would have to wake me up because how incredibly boring would that be?

Me, myself and I

A long time ago, when the earth was green, I asked you, my dearly beloved, to shoot questions at me. Here they are, a tad before you are old and grey, answered.

Be still your beating hearts!

If you could travel ANYWHERE where would you go?

ANYWHERE? Whew, that’s a tough one. But if it was all expenses paid then it would have to be a two month long tour of New Zealand and then Australia. I am not sure I’ll be able to afford such a trip in my lifetime. Scratch that, I am certain I won’t for a few reasons but primarily because I chose not too work 24/7 and make copious amounts of $$$$ to pay for such extravagance. Give me a free trip and I am so there.

And then I would also like to go zip cording in the Amazon Rainforest, work in an orphanage in Equador (and maybe bring home 2 or 3 sweeties too), go on safari in Africa and eat sushi in Japan. Well maybe no sushi, I mean raw fish just doesn’t sound appealing, thank you but Japan does. I might just have to pack some peanut butter and a loaf of bread.

What is/would be on your playlist?

My playlist, hmm, that’s a good one. The only time I listen to music is when I am running. I like songs with some rhythm to keep me going. My favourite artist when I am running is…don’t laugh, please, it’s not like I am going to say Hannah Montana or something…well maybe it’s just as bad, I don’t know…Ashlee Simpson. You see, she has just enough teen angst (or young 20 something angst) and lots of beat to keep my feet a moving. Next would have to be Bon Jovi’s latest album, Lost Highway. This should come as no surprise to anyone who has been reading this for a bit. Other favourites include Kelly Clarkson (the first two albums only), The Dixie Chicks (they got sass., I like me some sass. And apparently they cause me to lose all grip of the English language. Ah well, never really had a good grasp anyway.) and my newest favourite is Daughtry. The lead singer was on American Idol. I have no idea what season but the dude is good.

What movie do you have to sit down and watch no matter what every time it comes on TV (even though you probably own the DVD already)?

Funny you should ask, you know, since I asked you to ask and all. Huh?

Anyway, I actually rarely watch the same movie twice. If I have seen it, I will flip away from it purposely. And DVD’s? We don’t own too many unless you count Toy Story, Cars and The Bee Movie. My kids do not share this trait with me. They will happily watch these 40 bazillion times.

But books, those I will read, then reread and then reread again. I think I must have a stronger visual memory because I tend to remember movies very clearly, yet when I reread a book after 3 or more years, it’s like reading it for the first time. And co-incidentally I prefer reading to watching movies. I am a bookworm and have trouble putting a book down until I have finished it. It’s like my crack really. The world stops when I am reading.

Sorry you asked now, huh?

What scent brings back the most memories and what are they?

The one that sticks out most in my mind is the scent of my Grandpa. A little bit of smoke and something I could never ever put my finger on. It was distinctly him though and I can still smell it in my mind as I type this.

For the most part, I don’t associate with smells strongly. Taste, now that is a whole other story.

What is one goal/dream/project you want to finish/accomplish that others may not know about?

I am coming to conclude that I am very much a goal orientated person. I have always had something to strive toward, getting an education, then a job, then getting hitched, then starting a family, then figuring out how to work from home to be here for my kids. In the last year, I have come to a crossroads. No more goals. The kids are almost both in school. My job is steady. The house is painted and decorated to the best of my ability. What is left?

Me. I became a project.

I began working out about a year and half ago, you know, that pesky “baby” fat needed to get gone (still working on that BTW). About 9 months ago I realized I hit a plateau and needed outside intervention. I started working with a trainer. The results? Amazing. Oh don’t kid yourself, I can still find sixteen faults with my body if you ask but compared to where it was, we have climbed mountains.

This spring I decided that I was going to kick running in the butt. I have never been able to run. Ever. Cough up a lung? That I had down to a science. My friend gave me a learn to run 10km program. I started slow. Run one minute, walk one minute. It was doable. I wasn’t coughing up lungs left right and center.

Fast forward 3 months and I have successfully run 10 km. And I didn’t die. This is a small miracle to me and proves, yet again, that I can do just about anything if I commit and do the work.

I now regularly run no less than 5 km.

And?

I am pretty much sure I will give a half marathon a go in April. That’s 21.1 km or 13 miles.

That almost blows my mind but yet, how incredibly cool will it feel to meet that goal?

Now if my body will hold up, I’ll be looking for a new goal come May of next year. Wish me luck. I will need copious amounts of it.

Oh and this half marathon thing is all Cheryl’s fault. She ran her third (at least) this June and it got me to thinking….She might be regretting ever suggesting that I give it go, what with all the emails she gets with my million and one questions.

When you were younger what did you want to be "when you grew up"?

Oh I shudder to think what I would have said, probably a teacher or a cowgirl or something like that, but probably, most certainly, not an accountant.

I did always know that I wanted to be a mother though. I remember being 4 years old and playing make believe and knowing that someday, if I was extremely lucky, I would have kids of my own.

Turns out, I won the lottery on that one.

Are you what you thought you wanted to be?

See above. But I like what I do. Okay, let’s rephrase that. I didn’t so much love being an accountant but I do love working with students who want to be accountants. I know, it’s so glamorous you can hardly stand it.

I have other aspirations though. I want to pursue photography as a hobby. I might, maybe, in the future learn to teach Pilates. This is not the end for me, well unless that bus has my number on it. As long as I have time I hope to continue to evolve. And of course, I will always be mom to two boys. I just hope I can to do that well enough, I mean is there really anything more important?

Are you done having kids?

L-o-n-g story short, yes. Unless there is some kind of medical marvel (picture Ross and Monica’s Father (Friends) saying this….)

Now that was fun, in a long winded, holy cow I didn’t ask for your life story kind of way.

Maybe you have more questions? Shoot away. It’s quite evident that I am happy to talk at length about myself.