I Sing

First of all, I just have to say I suck. It's been a month since I wrote anything down, beyond the posts that are sitting in draft. Pretty hypocritical eh Em?

This month has flown by. We celebrated Mike & Owen's birthdays, got the boys back to school somewhat unscathed, Owen had a huge allergy flare that had him missing school, and now hockey try-outs are in full swing.

What I really want to write about it how dorky I am. Not in the cool dorky way really. Just full-on dorky, I-can't-sing-but-break-into-song-a-lot.

I've mentioned before that I wake up my kids (not every day, that would be way too Mary Poppins) singing a song from kindergarten. When they were little, and I wasn't coping, I would break into the start of The Lion King theme song to vent my rage. (now I just swear). I've had children's songs in my head for years, from Sharon, Lois and Brahm to the Wiggles.

Last night Owen was not happy about having to wake up early for hockey, really though I think he was just worried about being evaluated. He tends to get real mopey at bedtime and loves to just complain about things he can't change. So, being the awesome parent that I am, I broke into song. Remember this one?

My poor kids.

(My poor grandchildren-to-be, because I know my kids won't be able to not break into song.)

Walking

I'm predominantly home with the boys this summer. I love that they can still have a pretty low-key relaxing summer, cottaging, sleeping in, getting re-acquainted with each other.

I still have niggling guilt that we should be out doing things, and since the budget is limited this summer, if I can find something to do that is free I'm all over it.

The way I grew up was pretty typical, lots of museums, running around the neighbourhood, swimming, and walking through woods checking out everything.

Mike isn't really interested in hiking through the woods. We still haven't pieced together what he spent his time doing during his childhood, beyond running the streets in packs and crashing bikes into brick walls.

So last week, I looked up the location of the trails I have been driving by. I don't feel very safe walking them by myself (safe from all the couples trying to find a quiet spot, if you know what I mean. yuck.), but I figured if I brought a gaggle of boys with me there's no way anyone would bother me.

We went last week and did two trails. The boys loved it:

So we went out again today. Got a little lost (as in, we took a detour off the main trail and it went on FOREVER. Apparently if we continued on, we could have hiked to Kingston.), but they still had fun.

Maybe we'll conquer all trails by next August and be ready for all the walking we'll do at our favourite place.

I'm not religious. I have my reasons. I was raised Catholic, and went to church and sunday school so I understand organized religion.

I am also not atheist, I've decided late in life. I suppose having a 4 year old niece die of cancer makes you want to believe in heaven and a higher existence.

If anyone could make me become hard-core converted religious it would be these two sisters: Stephanie Nielson and her sister Courtney. Somehow they are able to talk about being Mormon without being pious. They are still stylish. They are admittedly vain, confident, learning. They seem so calm in the face of chaos. They grew up with a big, laughing huge flawed family.

I'm not idealizing. I'm not. I'm just saying I appreciate all religion, I respect people's beliefs when they don't try to push them down my throat. And sometimes I think I'm more of a believer than I know because I envy (uh oh. sin.) the calm that comes from people knowing their place in the world.

Blog Love

The awesome-ness is in abundance!!

Check out the Lake House that Red Shoes posted about this week!

I am green with envy, and so inspired!!!

The Irish in Me

Well, our two weeks of visiting with extended family are over. The kids are numb from missing their cousins (immediately) and the lack of sleep.

We've been vegging around the house, catching up on laundry, e-mails, bills (yuck), PVR'd shows and videogaming.

I've come to the realization that we really are a truly Irish bunch. Beyond our perfectly catholic names (Theresa, Daniel, Colleen - not to forget Sean), we love our drink, we love a row, and we really like each other. There was plenty of all three over the last two weeks and my liver has begged me to take a break.

It was a ton of fun, and now I need a holiday from our holiday:

First day together

More cousins arrive, so jumping off the boat is in order

Terri & I discovered (thanks Mom!) a new store to love. Kilborn's. Where apparently they love WDW just as much as we do! We wanted to hide until they closed so we could play there all night. Mom stopped us.

Uncle Brian & Aunt Carmel came up to show us the progress on their house in Donegal, so we headed to the pub where we heard Kim Churchill. Amazing. (he's 19! what?)

Kayaking out to the island.

More boat leaping.

They cornered me on the deck with their water balloons. Aren't they funny?

I'd post more pictures of my little brother & fam, but not sure how they feel about it. They were definitely there to have FUN!

Cottage

The boys and I are the cottage, just us four, and it's the calm before the storm. (Like the boys are ever calm!)

Their cousins, their favourite group of people in the world, are arriving soon and they can't wait. The rest of their favourite people will be here next week, but my sister's kids get here today.

Hopefully, as in every year, they'll fall into the routine of catching frogs, heading out on the paddle boat, going kayaking, pushing my comfort level by asking to head out on their own on the lake, teasing, joking, being shadows of their big cousins, and eating us out of house and home.

It's the best thing, watching my kids love their cousins so much. My brothers & sister & I grew up away from our cousins, and we were at least a decade older than most of them, so we didn't get this. It would have been great, because we have lots of cousins. But sitting back and enjoying their very easy & automatic bond is amazing.

I'd better get off the laptop & get the bunkie cleared out. There'll be three very big kids sleeping in there tonight, talking about god knows what way past my bedtime!

Mondays are all about sharing things I find on the internet. Except this is Tuesday, so oops. (I've never been great with routine.)

found this here

Love the look of this store in Vancouver. Love, love the feel of it.

If a store, website, blog have a European feel to it I'm all over it!

I was at the library recently and picked up the Pioneer Woman cookbook (my Mom loves her blog) and was pleasantly surprised. By no means low-fat recipes, but great ones for feeding three teenage boys. Just preparing early, Ty's only 12 after all.

Again, with the Apartment Therapy. Ugh. What a time-sucking vacuum it is!! And now they want me to become their 'friend' on facebook. Forget it.

Rockstar Diaries always makes me feel totally uncool and old, but I read her blog anyway because I like to torture myself.

Today is going to be crazy hot here and my job as a SAHM this summer is essentially to keep my kids cooled off, happy, and fed. Challenge accepted.

{edited to add: my sister just called and said "don't you sound like a cutesy-Mom with what you're going to do all summer". laughing at me. don't let me give you the wrong impression, it's 2:00, my kids are fed & cooled off but also on the PS3 and I'm having a Heineken.}

Thrifty Fixes

We all have one. Admit it.

An old Ikea shelf in our house. A little worse for wear from multiple moves, it's partner probably put out on the front lawn for pick-up. But somewhere, in the house you now live in, is the shelf.

Mine has somehow ended up in our family room. It had a siamese twin & a taller partner, but alas it is the only one that remains (and I'm pretty sure this one came from my sister).

I really, really love a pattern I've been noticing on some of the design blogs I read. Arranging your books by COLOUR! I love it. Did I say that already? Since I was feeling 'nesty' last night, that's what I did:


I couldn't help the middle shelf, unfortunately. It won't co-operate. I'll have to find all the books scattered in every room of my house & change it. I also added some fabric on the bottom, with the help of my trusty staple gun, to hide this mess:

Ahh, isn't that serene. (No judging on the book choices, I'm not a snob.)

Change of topic, Mike & I celebrated our 14th wedding anniversary last week with *shocker* a pint at the local Irish pub. Why do I find signs like these sooo appealing.

At one point in our marriage, very early on, we used to discuss opening a pub. Totally unrealistic considering neither of us has actually ever worked in one. But we both love the true Irish pubs, you know the ones. Two rooms with the bar in the middle on both sides, one room having couches & booths and t.v.s, the other tables for eating. Dog lying by the bar.

Of course we wanted to own one in Ireland. We've both been, Mike in '90 and me in '93. Can't wait to go with him, let's hope it's not another 20 years.

Oh, I just got a huge lump in my throat thinking about my kids in kindie. If I was to ever teach, it would be kindie kids. I love them, I do. Such a wonderful age, all vulnerable from being cozy with Mummy for 4 years, quirky because they don't know to be self-conscious yet, vulnerable, and sometimes stubborn. But such wonderful little beings, these ones.

My boys had an amazing kindergarten teacher in Ottawa in our small community school, Mrs. Briggs. I volunteered in all three boys classes when they were with her. It' where I learned her morning song, which I still sing to the boys when I wake them up much to their chagrin. (Mom, stooppppp). She was so great at picking up on every child's unique abilities. She was so calm. And when she asked them to sit down, she would ask them to sit on their bottoms. How classy. To top it off, she dressed fun. Fun, funky, and colourful!

Thinking back to that time in our lives where I was overwhelmed, exhausted, stretched thin, I loved every minute of it. We had such cute routines, the bookmobile, the park..so healthy and well rounded we were. So, so cozy.

How do you keep that feeling as the kids get older? I really don't know. Will I look back at this time in our lives in 10 years & think the same thing. I hope so.

For now, I need to remind myself to be in the moment and enjoy scenes like this:

Have I Ever Told You?

Have I ever confessed how much I love blogs? Or really, how much I love the internet. It is my newspaper, my reading material, my inspiration, my connection. I'm a little obssessed.

I love blogs like Apartment Therapy and Knock Knock. They are so inspiring in design and ideas.

I love Nie Nie, Cjane, Dooce of course. Mormons and ex-mormons. I'm not even religious. My 'favourites' folders are vast and diverse and I read what's happening depending on my mood.

There are the 'Mom' blogs too, although I sincerely think it's an insult to label them just that because they are so much more. Suburban Bliss, Drowning in Kids (because, hello, canadian) and of course now local Bread Crumbs in the Butter.

I kind of feel like my repertoire of blogs that I read are legendary. Like I've compiled such an amazing list of women to read about, draw from, and relate to that it can only be shared with certain people.

Eventually blog readers will come upon a lot of the same blogs I love on their own, but I`m going to make a concerted effort to add all my favs to the blogroll. I suppose after all these years of reading I should share.