So, what do you think of...

...this season's "Bachelor"?

The boys and I caught the show for the first time tonight.

The consensus was that he was a bit cheesy.

At one point, he was telling one of the girls how much he admired her spirit, her intelligence, her warmth, her honesty, her generosity, her sincerity...fill in any more cheesy-sounding compliments here.

#2 piped up, "This guy uses more descriptors than a Harry Potter book!"

Out of the mouths of ten-year-olds...

What Kind of Cake Am I? Chocolate, Baby! What Else is There?!

You Are a Chocolate Cake

Fun, comforting, and friendly. You are a true classic, and while you're not super cutting edge, you're high quality. People love your company - and have even been known to get addicted to you.

What Kind of Cake Are You?

I had sort of forgotten about Blogthings until I visited my friend Pissy's site yesterday, and she reminded me of how much fun these things can be.

Try it out.

Wish Me Peace (and a Broken Leg)

I'm enjoying an ever-so-brief moment of peace before I wake up the monkeys.

This will be a busy Sunday. The church school musical performance is this morning, followed by a potluck hosted by the church school.

The musical is adorable - a look at what life was like for children aboard Noah's ark. My favourite song is "What Do You Do on a Rainy Day in an Ark?" I play the part of Mrs. Noah, and my solo is "Have You Ever Kept House in an Ark?"

This morning I need to finish up my pasta and meat sauce for the potluck and be at the church an hour early for last minute rehearsal.

Wish me a broken leg!

Thankful Thursday

This week I am thankful...

... for the safe travel of my dad, his wife, my sister and her husband. They have been in Europe since early April. We received an email last night from Paris, and it sounds as if they are having a spectacular time and that the weather has been perfect. They arrive home on the weekend.

... for the hard work and dedication of #2's Cub leaders and #3's Beaver leaders. I know I've mentioned my gratitude to them before, but it bears repeating. The wind-up night was earlier this week, complete with order-in pizza and potluck salads and desserts for the whole family. It was a veritable smorgasbord of good food and goodwill.

... for soft overnight spring rains that help coax the eruption of green but do not dampen daily life.

... for yesterday's rejuvenating book day.

... for strong early morning coffee.

... for last night's American Idol show, which helped me appreciate my own life so much more. It was more of a telethon than an Idol episode. I hate to admit that, as I watched it, there were times I had tears rolling down my cheeks. I hate when I let shows like that manipulate my emotions. Did any of you watch it?

... for the patience of my church council colleagues. I was elected to church council in February and I attended my third meeting earlier this week. I'm not sure I've said anything out loud at any of the meetings yet. I've sat back though, and tried to pick up the rhythm of the meetings, and hopefully, I'll be able to contribute something soon.

Literary Heaven

Today I get to spend the day at a book display.

I will be in a large, hushed room with few people and myriads of books.

New books. Shiny books. Perfect books.

Picture books. Fiction. Non-fiction.

Hardcovers. Paperbacks. Graphic Novels.

It is my idea of heaven.

The only downfall is I must decide which ones I can afford in my library budget and which ones I cannot.

I've always been a very inclusive person. It's just not fair that I have to exclude some of them!

Book Review - "After"

Francis Chalifour's After is a fictional account of the year after a father commits suicide.

It is not a book I would have chosen to read, had it not been a nominee for next year's Willow Awards.

I don't care for sad books. I don't quite understand the tremendous appeal of Lurlene McDaniel's writing to teenage girls. Perhaps they have not yet encountered their quota of sadness in their own lives, so they must live vicariously.

I, myself, choose to encounter sadness on any level, as rarely as is possible.

But, as it was for my work, I was willing to make the sacrifice.

By the end of this book, however, I was very pleasantly surprised.

The main character of After is fifteen-year Francis, and he is coping with growing up as best he can. Like many young men his age, Francis hates to be different, and, as "the kid with the dead dad", he finds himself always different. On top of that, his dad killed himself, so he is also "the kid with the crazy dead dad." Even worse.

There are absolutely heart-wrenching moments, like when Francis encounters his first breakup with a girl. Francis longs for his father's presence in order to "ask him what you're supposed to do when you're in love with a girl who is so clearly, cruelly, not in love with you".

Also, for a brief moment near the end of the book, Francis gets it in his mind that he will see his father again, so he composes a list of questions he must ask when he does. The list includes (among others) "How did you know you had fallen in love with Maman?", "Were you popular in school?" and "Were you proud of me?" I cried when I read that list of questions. How many of us have wanted to ask those types of questions of our parents?

The book is a tender, heartfelt account of grief. Many times, I forgot how Francis's father passed away, as it is the grief itself the book focuses on: the denial, the anger, the eventual acceptance.

The book vividly portrays those moments when Francis feels he cannot go on, but go on he must, for his mother and his five-year-old brother Luc depend on him. More than once he declares that he will not betray their trust, like his father betrayed Francis's.

After also accurately shows how time heals grief, and, at the end of the book, hope shines on, and we all know that Francis, Maman, and Luc will survive. The gradual retreat of the fog of Francis's grief would be a powerful one for any teenager to read about, but especially one who has experienced a loss.

Thankful Thursday

This week I am thankful ...

... for our Sunday School co-ordinator who is slowly but surely coaching the kids through our spring musical, to be held at the end of the month. #1 has a lead part and rehearses three times a week. The others are in the general chorus and practice only on Sundays. I have a solo part. Yes, you read that correctly. I am Mrs. Noah, and I get to sing a solo. (I'm a little bit excited about it.)

... for running water and for a water heater big enough for all of us to get ready for work / school in the morning without killing each other over hot water.

... that it hasn't snowed this week.

... for days off, like last Friday when I was able to have lunch downtown with Main Man.

... that #1 still communicates with us about his life outside our home. Yesterday at the supper table, he shared with us that he had gotten into a physical fight with a long-time friend at recess time. The friend and a few other guys had been picking away at #1 for a couple of days. Then, at recess, they had been playing a game and tempers flared and it grew into a fight. He has a red mark on the side of his face, but if he hadn't told us about it, I don't think we would have known. Apparently, no teacher or supervisor saw it, which may be a good thing, because they stopped the fight themselves and carried on with life, I guess.

... for my job. Late last week and early this week, I was contemplating schemes and plots to ease my way out of this profession. The kids are fantastic, but all of the other garbage we have to deal with is starting to get me down. This has been a pretty good week at work, though, and, like I said, you gotta love the kids.

Have a great week, everybody!

Getting Back on Track

Well, after yesterday's post and all of your wonderfully supportive comments, I felt compelled to trudge ahead one step at a time and begin to turn my situation around.

I found a couple of things that I had misplaced, both at home and at work, so that helped a bit.

I'm still behind, but, as they say in the movie What About Bob?, "Baby steps, baby steps."

At my dentist appointment last week, I was reminded that I really haven't flossed in.... hmmmm.... well, a very long time. In my new spirit of self-improvement and non-procrastination, I decided to take out the little sample floss I received from my dentist and floss last night before bed.

This morning I feel like my mouth is full of over-stuffed bean-bag chairs. Guess I over-did it a bit.

I must remember... baby steps, baby steps.

Dragging my Heels

This spring has been a tough one emotionally for me.

I constantly feel so far behind.

I thought once report cards and parent teacher interviews and library book fair were over, I would be able to relax a little, but it hasn't really seemed that way. I think I got so far behind then that I'm still catching up now.

I'm at the stage now where my mind is so full of things that have to get done that it simply can't concentrate on getting anything done.

I'm misplacing things, forgetting to return phone calls and emails, missing permissions slips that must be signed, just generally in a dense fog of nothingness.

I go through sprints when I feel I must plough through all of the necessary before I can reward myself with a smidge of the enjoyable. Although on paper (or on the screen, I suppose) this sounds like a good plan, it ends up not as good as it sounds, for all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. In my case, it makes me grouchy, surly, and snappish.

I gave up blogging for a short while when I was at my busiest. I found that I missed all of you so much that the sacrifice back-fired. I spent almost the same amount of time in front of the computer, but I played mindless games instead, supposedly my reward for the sacrifice. It would have made better sense not to have sacrificed in the first place.

Ofttimes, when my brain is filled with this fog, there just isn't room for logic and priorities and simple common sense.

"Enchanted April"

I borrowed the video Enchanted April from the library this weekend.

Based on a book written in 1922 by Elizabeth von Arnim, it is the story of four women of diverse backgrounds who decide to rent a small Italian castle for the month of April. Together, they spend most of that month attempting to escape their disparate and desparate lives back home in dreary London.

The four women are played by Josie Lawrence, Miranda Richardson, Joan Plowright, and Polly Walker. Each does a brilliant job of giving her character just the right qualities. I especially love the character of Mrs. Wilkins, played by Josie Lawrence. At first she seems slightly batty, but once in Italy, where everyone's mind seems to open to new ideas, she seems acutely insightful.

I won't reveal any more of the story, as you truly must watch it unwind itself in order to enjoy it fully. It is completely family-appropriate, but may be a little bit slow for younger viewers.

And listen carefully to the dialogue. Often the humour is very subtle.

This is one of the best feel-good movies I've watched in a long time.

By the way, if you're thinking of watching it, try to watch it in April.

Beaver Fever

There was a young fellow at our favourite Guinness-serving establishment last night wearing a T-shirt that read, "I have beaver fever."

I was tempted to approach him, shake his hand and tell him that, as the mother of three boys who have all benefitted from the Beaver program, I truly appreciate his work with the children. I also wanted to tell him that I'm especially appreciative of his commitment in light of the evidence that the work is affecting his health.

Now that's dedication!

Welcome to the Weakend

I've had the past week off.

I've been savouring a little slice of heaven, forkful by scrumptious forkful.

I had had big plans, but the snow early in the week ki-boshed many of those. And that's okay.

On a lazy week off, I will not apologise for catching the odd Oprah show or for finishing two books or for watching a mindless video with my boys.

We have done jobs we never could have done without a huge solid block of time off. Of course, we tackled the basement - and we are still surrounded by comic books yet to catalog. Perhaps today.

I've discovered, though, that I hate the weekend at the end of a holiday. Is it still holiday? Or is it just a regular weekend? I mean - I would be doing this exact same thing had I not had last week off.

And I still have schoolwork to address, just like a regular weekend. (I know what you clever, organized people out there are thinking - why didn't she do her marking through the week so she could enjoy her last days off? Well, pshaw to you if that's what you're thinking!)

So, I suppose what I'm trying to say is that my holiday is over. This is just a regular ol' hectic weekend in our household.

And I suppose that will have to do.

Paraskavedekatriaphobia

When I was a teenager, I used to tell people that 13 was my lucky number. I even requested the number 13 as my number on the volleyball team.

You see, I was a very normal - AKA boring - person, and I felt this little bit of silliness made me ever-so-slightly quirky.

Besides, who really believes in these silly superstitions, anyway? I sure didn't

Until... the first time I tried out for my driver's license - on Friday the 13th.

My favourite number totally betrayed me.

Happy Friday the 13th, everyone! Do you have any interesting Friday the 13th stories to share?

Thankful Thursday

This week I am thankful...

...for Ruffy's handsome new "do". A girlfriend of mine has a mobile grooming business. It is the most convenient thing! She just knocks on the door, takes him out to the trailer and when he returns, he is all glammed up, complete with fashionable bandanna around his neck.

...that our car passed today's safety inspection check.

...for that weird feeling after you get your teeth cleaned. We have the coolest dentist's office! While I had my appointment today, I watched the tv set into the ceiling. Cool, eh? And I got to have orange creamsicle flavoured flouride.

...that my Easter chocolate is almost gone. I've eaten mountains of garbage this week.

...for Easter holidays. I'm afraid I've had a very lazy week, but it's been great to spend some time with the boys.

...for my sister-in-law, a faithful reader and a fantastic hostess. She hosted a family supper last Friday for my nephew's 19th birthday. Although all of her family dinners are great, this one seemed especially enjoyable, probably because I was looking forward to a week's holiday and could concentrate on delicious food and enjoyable conversation instead of the pile of notebooks waiting to be marked at home.

...that all of my tiny 4-legged guests seem to be gone from the basement.

...for the new minister at our church. She is so personable and genuine!

...for the anticipation of lunch out with Main Man tomorrow at our favourite East Indian place. Butter chicken, here I come!

(This next one is supplied by #1. He's trying to help me finish up quickly because I promised to take the boys to the library when I'm done here.)

...that none of the Catholic schoolgirls at #1's band clinic last week caught his eye. (He's right. My life will be easier - for a short while, anyway - because of that.)

Whistle While You Work (Just Be Careful Not to Suck in)

The basement archeological dig continues.

We are finding things we had forgotten we owned - and definitely don't need. Clothes we wore in college, textbooks we used in college, videos we watched in college (Good thing Main Man was the first one to find that box and not #1, #2, or #3!).

We've found some good things too, though. We found $46 worth of rolled coins. We found our first dog's "baby book", where I had chronicled the first two years of her life (before we had human children, obviously). We found Main Man's stash of ugly ties and old Hawaiian shirts, with which the older boys squealed with delight.

Probably the most valuable items stored in our cellar both in terms of financial value and sentimental value are Main Man's comics. He has been a collector since he was seven or eight years old. The older boys have been given the task of going through the multitude of boxes and cataloguing the titles and numbers on a spreadsheet. I'm not sure they've ever been given a more enjoyable chore.

Someone....

....needs to tell Mother Nature that April Fool's Day has passed us by.

We woke up this morning - April 10 - to a blizzardy winter wonderland outside.

I am so tired of snow!

I Am One Proud Mama!

#2 came home from school one day last week very excited.

His class had participated in a city-wide writing assessment. Each Grade Four student in the system wrote on the topic "A Memorable Event" and then the stories were sent into the division office to be graded by committee.

He was the only student in Grade Four in his whole school to achieved a mark of 6 on his assessment, the highest mark available.

Here is the description of a piece of "6" writing:

This piece is full of creative ideas, with lots of interesting details. The lead hooks the reader's attention and the conclusion wraps the piece up neatly. Through the whole piece, the words are powerful and the writer's voice is strong. This piece is a pleasure to read or brings out strong feelings for the reader.

That's my boy!

Cr(H)appy Easter!

Happy Easter, everyone!

We have had a - shall we say - very interesting day.

It all started last night when Main Man and I went out after supper to buy Easter Bunny goodies. I know we shouldn't have left it 'til the last minute, but at least that way, we didn't have to worry about the kids finding our hiding place.

By the time we got home, it was late enough that I was very tired. Main Man, on the other hand, had promised to watch Monty Python and the Holy Grail with the boys, so he was bound and determined to keep his promise.

I tried to sit through it, but just couldn't make it. I was so tired!

So I went to bed.

Normally that would not have been such a big deal, but, because I had gone to bed before the boys, the Easter Bunny did not make an appearance - not at his usual time, anyway.

Therefore, he showed up at about 5:00 a.m. (if you know what I mean).

Luckily, I was able to get back to sleep after he woke me up (;-), and I got up to get ready for church around 8:30. The boys dribbled out of bed one at a time shortly after I did, and they were quite excited about their baskets. (Except that, unbeknownst to me- and the Easter Bunny evidently - they all decided they did not like dark chocolate. Funny, it's my favourite. Guess I'll have to eat theirs up for them.).

Anyway, we were about 15 minutes away from leaving for church when Main Man noticed something wrong with Ruffy, our schnoodle. It's difficult to put this delicately. Poor Ruffy had managed to stick a lump of poop the size of an egg to his bottom.

There was no way to remove it easily, so I stripped down (I was already in my church outfit.) and proceeded to bathe our uncomfortable pooch. Now that was a glamourous Easter morn!

We did manage to arrive at church on time, and everything went very smoothly there. Lots of "Happy Easter!"s and "Great to see you"s, and all of my boys actually listened to the sermon (I love our new minister!).

In the afternoon, we began our Easter holiday family project of clearing and cleaning out the basement. We have a contractor coming to begin foundation repair (Our house is 51 years old and built on a swamp.) in early May, so we're trying to either remove or sort out all of the items in the basement before then.

Of course, part of the clean-up process involves cleaning up after our little critter visitors of late. By the way, for anyone who has been following the Library Mama Mouse Saga, we seem to have beaten them. No new signs of their presence in over a week. Believe me, had there been any new evidence, you would not have seen me cleaning up in the basement today!

Anyway, as Main Man pointed out as he worked away at a storage closet filled with evidence (to put it delicately) of our little friends, we were sure having a "crappy" Easter this year.

I sincerely hope that none of you, my fair friends, have had as crappy an Easter as we have had, and that yours was instead very happy.

Growing Up: The Sequel

Part II

#1 is excited about a jazz band clinic he's attending tomorrow. A trio from New York is coming in to play for and with the kids and to give them some pointers.

Several schools will be attending, including some schools he's never worked with before. He informed me this evening that even a Catholic school would have students attending.

With a dreamy look in his eye, he mused, "Hmmmm, Catholic school girls..."

Boys Will be Boys

Last night oodles of giggles suddenly emanated from the room that #2 and #3 share. Knowing that could mean trouble, of course I opened the door to check on the situation.

It appears that they were testing the new protective gear we had just purchased for #2, as he will begin sparring in Tae Kwon Do this week.

He was decked out in his new cup, and #3 was trying to kick him as hard as he could in order to determine just how effective it was.

I'm glad I caught them before they began to test the new mouthguard.

Happy Blog-iversary to Me

Well, it's almost midnight, and I almost let today disappear without making a post, but I decided to bite the bullet and make the announcement:

Today - April 1st - is my blog-iversary.

I've been blogging for a year now. Hard to believe, but, yes, the day has arrived. It all began with this. I know, I know - what fine literature that is, isn't it? (Yes, my tongue is very firmly in my cheek.)

On a more serious note, though, thank you all for reading, and for commenting. There's something very heartwarming about the idea that people who have never met me are willing to type things into their computers to reach out to me and touch me. Thank you so much for your internet-friendships.

I have nothing profound to contribute today, nothing new. I'm sitting here with a glass of wine, enjoying the evening, having a little celebration all to myself.

All I will do is share my favourite post over the last year, the most poignant for me. I actually hoped to submit it to a magazine at one point, but I now know I never will. The closest I will come is to share it with my blog friends. I hope you enjoy it.

Sweet dreams, my friends. Please come again.