Wasn't ready for THAT weekend...

It started so beautifully,

with the delivery of my sweet little macbook.

A lovely evening home with my little man.

Outdoor play

park time

a picnic snack on the lawn

bath time

early to bed.

Sounds perfect, eh?

Fired up the laptop,

bragged a bit on here

let the dog out

...

and at shortly after 11 it turned bad

he got skunked

the skunk was big

his face was 8 or 10 inches away

the yard was small

the panic was big

no way from the yard 

containing the trapped and frightened skunk

except through the townhouse

oy.

The rest of the weekend was spend de-skunking my life.

De-skunking a dog

who is afraid of spray bottles and hoses is special.

The carpets are in the garage.

The floors are scrubbed.

The couch covers washed.

Lots of laundry done.

Such is life.

In happier news 

Ben had his first Gym class and it was a success.

A bit of parachute action...

 no other shots because he was 

ALL.OVER.THE.PLACE.

Some fun in the sun today

without the camera

an early picnic dinner 

with a shared blizzard for dessert

and then a quiet evening at home 

with bath and play and books and bed 

all before 8:30.

With mama soon to follow.

On-line

Got a special package by UPS today.
Waited til the dude was sleeping to open it up,
turned it on
and whamo...I'm surfing wireless!

On a sweet little MacBook.

I don't even have wireless
but apparently my neighbour does.

Very exciting times.

In days gone by-

meemee is now muskick,
and it better be wake up jeff by the wiggles. 
Or twinkle twinkle.


And if he chose the wiggles CD 6 minutes ago
in the driveway
and now we are 5.5 minutes into the commute
with the wiggles singing
I'd better be prepared to change to the zoo CD.
Pronto.  On demand.
I'm not.
Willing that is.
So sometime the 34 remaining minutes are not so peaceful.


this? when wanting a label for something is now
call this mama?
and is closely followed by
OOH, a ___ whatever it is.
Like he simply forgot the name.


Favourite kitty one and two at the petstore?
Not on the list anymore.
Because of the pink pig,
about 18 inches long,
wrapped in nylon chew rope,
sort of like this
http://www.strictlypetsupplies.com/_180181901287-Tuffys-Polly-Pig-Chew-Toy
and perhaps the most terrifying item on earth.
Driving past the dog food he stood now
after our latest excursion to buy Boom's food
he now screams "people hide pig NOOOOW!"
Tears streaming down his face.


We can't drive down mainstreet without the pig being mentioned
cause we can't get home without passing the store.


Oh my quirky little guy.
 
Throwing his weight around publicly.
Doesn't want to hold hands on the street.
Wants to hold the dog's leash on main street.
Wants to walk and not ride
when mama is trying to exercise herself and the dog
(at faster than 1 km/decade please).


Wants noodles and rice and fruit
Only noodles and rice and fruit
for every meal
And the noodles better be white
and the rice better be white
and the fruit better be an orange.


And NO meat thank you very much.


All meat is chicken and all chicken is bad.
This pleases the vegetarian babysitter I must say.
So I've put upon her the task of introducing green veggies
containing iron
and now she gets to have the food struggles as well.
I'm all about sharing the quirks.


Love my little dude.
Sleeping so peacefully.
In his big boy bed.
After train play
and 40 stories 
and 10 songs
and rockingchair cuddles.
The only place,
other than on top of me
in my bed,
that he will ever sleep again
according to him.


Stubborn little tyke...

Done

Summer vacation that is.

In honour of summer

Ben and I took to the kitchen

and baked a batch of Back To School cookies

for the neighbourhood.

Fun times I tell you

for this sometimes gloomy

sometimes rainy 

sometimes neither 

sort of holiday Monday.

And he didn't nap 

so we had to do something to pass the time 

with JOY!!!  

Rather than napless whining.

So we cooked.

And he ate. 

And liked.

But then decided the man 

who had no limbs or head

was perhaps a bit under cooked 

and put him back in the oven...

Oh? There also seems to be a baby on the burner

ummm...

anyway, sweet little hand me down kitchen set 

(or "chicken" set according to Ben)

In other news?  I'm ready for tomorrow.

Well, as ready as I can be without knowing the kids.

And I may blog again some day.

Right after my new MacBook arrives 

and I get wireless 

and can blog while I"m upstairs 

and the dude is falling asleep in his own room.

Yesterday?

I would have had 1 hour and 45 minutes 

of blogging time 

as he shouted 

MOM, MAMA, MOMMY, MOOOOOOOM, repeat.

Today?  

30 seconds to snore with only one MOM.

In honour of back to school a bit of a Ben-ism

Playing with his birthday letters on the fridge.

I get the camera to show how he has sorted out the blue ones.

I think, wow, he sorted out the blue ones.

Camera in hand he puts the red A in the middle.

Hmmm

I say nice work Ben.

He says, pointing at the Oo's 

what sounds like "vowel"

then points at the A

and says what sounds like "A shit"

I get stuck on the "vowel" part....thinking WTH?

Turns out it was an "OWL"

wearing an "A SHIRT"

Go figure.

Lovely morning at the big city market

with my boy

(though cold...really cold and windy)

Followed closely by

Ben's long nap...

in his own bed 

in his own room 

where he went to sleep all by himself

last night (for 11 hours)

and today (going on hour 3 of the nap).

May my many blessings continue...

especially the sleeping one!

Wow...time flies

2 years ago today I went to the principal's office

after a very long day at school.

And a very long school staff meeting.

I sat at her desk.

Logged in to my email.

And in that office,

surrounded by some of my dearest friends,

my life changed forever.

The sun shines brighter.

Rainy days are for puddle jumping.

Twinkle Twinkle Little Star,

sung just so,

with air guitar accompaniment

brings tears to my eyes.

I like to watch the world through my new lens...Ben.

I love my job but long for home while I'm there.

2 years ago, my blog entry from Sept. 2, 2008.

I have been blessed with a referral for a sweet baby boy that I will call Benjaminh. After what has at times seemed like forever and ever my turn to be a mommy has arrived. I am blessed.

Benjaminh is living in an orphanage in a Vietnamese province outside of Hanoi. He rests comfortably in a green hammock with his arms stretched up and his tiny little toes curled. He stares straight into the camera, straight into my soul. He is beautiful. Everything I could possibly dream and more. Chubby little cheeks and fat little ankles.

As some of you know I have been doubly blessed as real life friends travelled to Benjaminh's home in June. They asked at that time which baby might be mine. They stroked his little legs and held his little hand. They took photos, just in case. 12 photos in total. I have, because of their kind and loving investigative work, 12 photos of my sweet baby when he was soooo new. Perhaps 2 1/2 weeks old. This is a gift that will be with my son as he grows up. Photos of a tiny baby Ben. Stories of a very protective and loving nanny. A gift I could not have given my son without their help. I hope I can pay that priceless favour forward very soon.

I'm going to go stare at 13 beautiful photos of my son now.

Those of you still searching for your children or waiting for the child you have already found...please know you are in my thoughts all of the time.


From where I sit right now it seems to be true.
The wait is really worth it.
Really.

Time flies...

I still stare at his pictures because he is so beautiful..

 But mostly I stare at his sweet face,

full of expression,

engaged, interested, alert.

And when he reaches for me (and when he doesn't) 

I hold him tight. 

 As often as I can.

These toddler days are numbered... 

He napped today.
And all is well with the world.
And tomorrow?


mamadaybendayomedayappyben

Say it quick like one big word.