My Kids, My New Kids (on the Block) & Other Stuff

Hoops for a Day - Basketball Fundraiser for Autism Ontario

2011-08-26T22:06:00.004-06:00

The kids and I spent many, many hours playing basketball the other day. My brother Nick organized the event Hoops For a Day Hope For a Cure, which was a 24 hour basketball game to raise money for Autism Ontario. Our very talented cousin Braedan put together this sweet movie to show how much fun we had. Hopefully next year we'll have even more participants and raise even more money! (The video doesn't seem to embed correctly, so you may want to watch it on Youtube.)

What Have I Been Doing Lately?

2011-06-11T13:07:00.001-06:00

Ohhh...

Nothing much. :)

Baby Bjork

2010-12-23T17:23:00.002-07:00

Only the best thing you will see EVER.

This is Corina at age 3, singing It's Oh So Quiet. If you're so pressed for time that you don't have the full 4 minutes, do yourself a favour and at least watch from 2:38 to 3:05. They say laughter is the best medicine, but they're wrong. Toddlers singing Bjork songs is the best medicine.

My Grandpa's Face

2010-11-14T11:55:00.003-07:00

As I age, I see my Grandpa's face more and more in my own. His strong jaw and turned-down mouth that looked grumpy even when he wasn't, the angles in his face - somehow I got all of that. One of my favourite people on earth passed down his face to me. I might not be dainty or ultra-feminine, but I look like Grandpa. I'm very happy with that.

A Brief Guide to Life

2010-09-17T07:47:00.002-06:00

My project:

less TV, more reading
less shopping, more outdoors
less clutter, more space
less rush, more slowness
less consuming, more creating
less junk, more real food
less busywork, more impact
less driving, more walking
less noise, more solitude
less focus on the future, more on the present
less work, more play
less worry, more smiles
breathe

I can do this.

http://zenhabits.net/brief-guide/

My antiques, and a love story.

2010-08-18T14:50:00.004-06:00

Slowly my house is filling with antiques, and I am so happy about it! We now have my grandparent's dining room table, my mom's dresser from when she was little, some sweet teak Brady Bunch pieces in the living room, and my grandparent's living room mirror, among other things. Sure some of our "antiques" may only be 40 years old or so, but everything's relative, so shut up.

My mom gave us her Blue Willow china, which I totally am in love with. Today we toured Eldon House (London's oldest house, now a museum containing nearly 90% original furnishings) and saw our very own Blue Willow china prominently displayed in the dining room and kitchen. The tour guide told us the story of the picture, which seems like something I should have known.

Blue Willow china was introduced in the late 1700s and illustrates a love story! (Gag.)

The Willow Legend

There was once a Mandarin who had a beautiful daughter, Koong-se. He employed a secretary, Chang who, while he was attending to his master's accounts, fell in love with Koong-se, much to the anger of the Mandarin, who regarded the secretary as unworthy of his daughter.

The secretary was banished and a fence constructed around the gardens of the Mandarin's estate so that Chang could not see his daughter and Koong-se could only walk in the gardens and to the water's edge.

One day a shell fitted with sails containing a poem, and a bead which Koong-se had given to Chang, floated to the water's edge. Koong-se knew that her lover was not far away.

She was soon dismayed to learn that she had been betrothed to Ta-jin, a noble warrior Duke. She was full of despair when it was announced that her future husband, the noble Duke, was arriving, bearing a gift of jewels to celebrate his betrothal.

However, after the banquet, borrowing the robes of a servant, Chang passed through the guests unseen and came to Koong-se's room. They embraced and vowed to run away together. The Mandarin, the Duke, the guests, and all the servants had drunk so much wine that the couple almost got away without detection, but Koong-se's father saw her at the last minute and gave chase across the bridge.

The couple escaped and stayed with the maid that Koong-se's father had dismissed for conspiring with the lovers. Koong-se had given the casket of jewels to Chang and the Mandarin, who was also a magistrate, swore that he would use the jewels as a pretext to execute Chang when he caught him.

One night the Mandarin's spies reported that a man was hiding in a house by the river and the Mandarin's guards raided the house. But Chang had jumped into the ragging torrent and Koong-se thought that he had drowned.

Some days later the guards returned to search the house again. While Koong-se's maid talked to them, Chang came by boat to the window and took Koong-se away to safety.

They settled on a distant island, and over the years Chang became famous for his writings. This was to prove his undoing. The Mandarin heard about him and sent guards to destroy him. Chang was put to the sword and Koong-se set fire to the house while she was still inside.

Thus they both perished and the gods, touched by their love, immortalised them as two doves, eternally flying together in the sky.

(From http://www.thepotteries.org/patterns/willow.html )

And that's what I eat my Cheerios out of! I love knowing the story. One day, when I win that damn Lotto Max, I'm going to live in a beautiful estate full of antiques and I will bore everyone with the story of every last piece in my house.

I WILL!!!

My New Life!

2010-07-16T16:26:00.002-06:00

So many things, and mostly everyone already knows it all! Shortest version is we sold almost everything we own and drove across the country to live in London again. That's where I grew up, and where my family is. Picture above: sister, me, brother, sister, sister. There are 3 more brothers, but they missed out on the photo shoot.

Car things: my car insurance tripled in Ontario. Hate. There are approximately 132 hoops through which to jump to get licensed, insured, and registered in Ontario. Today I was exchanging my Alberta license for an Ontario one. After more than 2 hours in line (!!) I handed over my license, my passport, and filled out the paperwork. Then I signed the paperwork.

"Sorry...your signature is wrong. It doesn't match the one on your passport because it's too loopy. You have to do it again."

I did it again. It was still wrong. I wish I was exaggerating, but she made me do my signature at least 20 times.

Me: But I'm the one doing my signature...it's obviously right!
Her: But maybe it's not you. Maybe you're forging.
Me: But you have two pieces of government photo ID! What's harder, forging a signature, or forging a face?
Her: But the pictures are in black and white.
Me: ...

Anyway, after the 20 or so attempts, I finally got my own signature right and she believed it was me. Because, you know, when someone takes that long to get their signature right, it's clearly them.

Lost Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwich

2010-01-10T13:29:00.005-07:00

I can't find where this was originally posted. I didn't write it, but I should have because I could have.

How to Make a Sandwich on the Island

Jack
1. Gather ingredients
2. Point gun at ingredients and shout “HOW DO I MAKE A SANDWICH OUT OF YOU?!?!?”
3. Breathe heavily through your nose as though you were about to hit ingredients
4. Give up and make the sandwich yourself, and eat it bitterly

Kate
1. Make separate sandwiches, one with peanut butter and one with jelly
2. Take a bite of the peanut butter sandwich, declaring it the best
3. Take a bite of the jelly sandwich, declaring it the best
4. Repeat steps 2 and 3 ad infinitum
5. Follow peanut butter or jelly sandwich into grave danger

Sawyer
1. Throw the jar of jelly at wall, sneering “I don’t need no sandwich”
2. Call the mascot on the jar of peanut butter lots of clever nicknames
3. Huff and puff and stomp around and grumble a lot
4. When no one’s looking, make perfect, even, symmetrical peanut butter and jelly sandwich and sit in a corner, enjoying every bite

Locke
1. Sit idly by, believing that the ingredients will find a way to make a sandwich out of themselves
2. Lose faith and make the sandwich anyway
3. Realize that you were the instrument by which the ingredients chose to make a sandwich after all
4. Run around the room and grab everyone’s knives, insisting that their sandwiches will do the same in time

Hurley
1. Make sandwich
2. Eat sandwich
3. Repeat steps 1 and 2 ad infinitum

Sayid
1. Procure 23 milligrams of uranium-20
2. Set hadron supercollider to eight megajoules
3. Program a sandwich-making macro using Cobol or Visual Basic
4. Act all tough-like

Desmond
1. Eat sandwich
2. Call the sandwich “brother”
3. Place peanut butter slice over jelly slice
4. Spread jelly on the other slice
5. Spread peanut butter on one slice
6. Take two slices of bread, a jar of peanut butter and a jar of jelly

Ben
1. Steal someone else’s sandwich
2. Claim you coerced them into making the sandwich for you all along
3. Say you’ll tell them everything if they make you another sandwich
4. Stare at them all creepy-like

Libby
1. Lay out plans for one of the most intricate, fascinating, and delicious sandwiches of all time
2. Just as you start making it, get shot

Danielle
1. Apply peanut butter
2. Disappear for eight months
3. Apply jelly
4. Disappear for eight months
5. Eat sandwich

Claire
1. Mmmmmmm, peanut butter

Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse
1. Make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich
2. Have someone take a bite, then tell them it’s a baloney sandwich
3. Make up a whole bunch of other shit, then say you had planned it all along
4. Buy a few yachts

What are we at now...23 days until Lost is back? Yay!

Top 10 New Kids on the Block of 2009

2010-01-01T23:27:00.003-07:00

Top ten lists are important in the new year. Here's mine. I gave it a lot of thought.

Top Ten NKOTB Members of 2009.

1. Donnie

2. Donnie

3. Donnie

4. Donnie

5. Donnie

6. Donnie

7. Joe

8. Jordan

9. Jon

10. Danny

Grey Cup in Calgary, death, destruction.

2009-11-28T15:23:00.003-07:00

We just got back from the Grey Cup festivities in Calgary, where we saw my sister Dana and also almost died in a car accident 2874 different times. If you know me you already know the story, and if you don't already know, that was basically it anyway. The roads suddenly turned into ice when we tried to drive home, and everyone was smashing into each other. It was c-c-c-crazy and absolutely terrifying. We survived though. Woo!

I was smart enough to charge my camera battery before leaving so we could get lots of pictures, but stupid enough to leave my battery in the charger, bringing an empty camera. I have no pictures of my sister or her kids, who I hadn't seen in two years. Yep.

At the Grey Cup festivities, there were insane amounts of free stuff handed out. My favourite was the bacon though. A huge tub of bacon. The lady handed me a can of Pepsi Max and said, "No calories, so it's okay to have bacon!"

I was confused, but went to the bacon lady and took some. I asked her what the bacon was for. She said it's Pepsi Max's slogan. You can eat bacon because the Pepsi has no calories.

Love.

Me: "Clearly Pepsi isn't marketing this product to the Jews."

Lady: .....

Awkward silence. Sara eats bacon. Aaaaaaaaaaaand scene.
(Not end scene.)

Guess who loves me!

2009-10-03T12:12:00.003-06:00

"Her, her mom and her brother are the sweetest family! She is a little angel!"

- Donnie Wahlberg on Twitter, about MY family, with this picture included.

Oh my, I love him still. My life is super duper fun.

Conversations with my kids are the best.

2009-09-08T20:31:00.002-06:00

Oops...I forgot I had a blog.

At dinner tonight I was telling the kids about a guy I know named Lochlan.

Max: Do they call him Locke?
Me: No, but I should tell him we have a guinea pig named Locke.
Corina: Lochlan sounds like Walkman.
Max: You should tell him you have a Walkman.

My kids grew up once we hit the splashpark.

2009-07-30T18:41:00.004-06:00

Today Corina was in a bathing suit and I was a bit of a distance away from her. Those two things have not happened simultaneously in quite a while, and I guess I saw her objectively for a few seconds. I was shocked, SHOCKED I say, to see how long and skinny and toothpicky she is. It looks like it would hurt to hug her.

And this...this...when the hell did this happen?

Max now sits in a chair at the splashpark and watches little kids play?

MAX!!! What is happening to you?? TURN INTO MY BABY RIGHT NOW!

See you in another life, brutha.

2009-07-19T15:03:00.003-06:00

That's what Desmond said to his cagemate as we took him away. It was all very sad.

But today they were reunited. Say hi to Charlie! Desmond's on the left with the mohawk and Charlie is on the right with all the chub.

They get along so well. Charlie sings to Desmond (super loud purring) and Desmond is constantly saving Charlie's life. I don't know how many times today he has said, "You're gonna DIIIIIIEEEE Chahlieeeee!"

Charlie's kind of a spaz and he bit my thumb, but we still like him.

I have a creature in my house.

2009-07-17T16:12:00.003-06:00

I'm really not a pet person. Most people who know me are aware of that. I often wonder if I'm a horrible mom because all my kids really want in the world is a dog and a baby, and I won't give them either one. They ache for something little to love and cuddle and take care of, so today I gave in.

*sigh*

Introducing.....
Desmond! (Yes, Hume. I got to name him.)

He is a 10 week old guinea pig and he has a natural mohawk which makes him likable already. So far he's very scared and doesn't want to come out of his tunnel, but I'm sure we'll have more fun with him once he's comfortable. We even got him a leash so we could play in the backyard with him. Now that sounds like a party.

This is the new favourite activity in our house:
Staring. Fun!!! I hope it's everything they ever dreamed of.

Desmond better like New Kids on the Block, because tonight he'll be watching the live stream of their Full Service Tour with us. Woot! You can do it too. Just click here.

Full Service Tour In Your House!

2009-07-11T10:15:00.003-06:00

In da house?

New Kids on the Block's Full Service Tour didn't come anywhere near me this summer, which I am okay with. Really. I am. I never once cried about it. To make up for leaving Western Canada completely out of the tour, they are going to stream their Dallas show live online on July 17! Woot!

The show will be on iClips.net, and you can order the show starting Monday, July 13. I know all my friends will want to watch it. You'll get to see my boyfriend!

This is bringing back all the memories of their Pay Per View when I was a teenager. Maybe Donnie will ride in on a motorcycle, Danny will say "Live...via satellite!", and they'll all take off their shirts - just to continue bringing back the memories.

Joe and his son Griffin

2009-07-06T21:11:00.002-06:00

Joe has a book drive he does at each show, which is what he would like to tell you about here. Get ready for the most adorable thing ever.

The Griffster says "Sure" we can get to 25,000 books! from LET'S GET THIS FOUNDATION on Vimeo.

My ovaries just exploded. That was so sweet, and I love watching Joe as a dad.

School, singing, teeth, tattoos.

2009-06-28T16:23:00.003-06:00

It's summer! YAY! Now the kids and I get to stare at each other for two months straight, and we couldn't be happier about it.

Both the kids did really well this year in school again. Corina and a buddy had enrichment together so their giant brains wouldn't stagnate in their grade two class. I'm so glad she had a good teacher who was willing to do extra work for her.

Max had the big transition to middle school and it couldn't have gone better. He became a superstar on the trumpet in stage band, and continued with his scary big-brained ways. He got perfect on his science Provincial Achievement Test (that's possible?), and he joined the math club and entered the Pythagoras Mathematics Contest. In an assembly he was presented with this certificate of distinction for that test, which was apparently super hard and I'm sure I would fail.
He didn't even care. He was all, "Do I have to keep this award?"

And I was all, "YES! IT PROVES I'M A GOOD MOMMY! I mean...keep it if you want, buddy. I don't know..."

This is my pretty-haired Corina heading off for her last recital of the season. She sang Ferryman. I just love her hair all curled like that. She was too busy watching tv to even look at the camera.

Max finally lost his last two baby teeth, one right after the other. He decided he was done with them and yoinked them both out.

Today we went to the Tattoo Show at the Exhibition Grounds. I was very tempted to get a whole bunch of tattoos, like maybe a single tear on my cheek and a huge flower on my thigh, but I resisted. The kids aren't as strong though.

Donnie will be proud to see what Max got:

A seahorse will be proud to see what Corina got:

Here's the video of Corina's recital. I love her sweet voice.

Alice in Wonderland

2009-06-22T20:05:00.001-06:00

Ummm....yes please!!!

Thank you, Tim Burton.

I Built a Lamp!

2009-06-13T19:51:00.003-06:00

Before:
After:

Am I proud of myself? Oh yeah.

Do I appear insane while I build lamps? Another yeah.

I don't really love that kind of job, and I'm not super confident with such things. I'm very against negative self-talk though. When things aren't going well, I am careful not to say things like, "I can't do it! It's too hard! I suck at this!"

Instead, if you were watching me, you'd hear things like this over and over:

"You're doing a great job! That's okay...you can just do that part again and it will be fine. Good girl! Aaaaaaannnnd....GOOD! That's SO GOOD!!!" Nice things to say, but perhaps a little creepy when I'm home alone.

I love my lamp.

Popsicle!!!

2009-06-05T17:05:00.002-06:00

New Kids started their Full Service Tour last night. They aren't coming anywhere near me at all, and in a show of great restraint and mental health I didn't buy any tickets for far away shows. Yay me! Instead I'll be living on Youtube for the weekend watching every clip I can find. That's still healthy. Shut up.

I just watched this clip, and I LOVE it! It is absolutely brilliant. I laughed, I cried, I cheered, I bounced up and down while clapping my hands spastically...

So gangsta!!

I love it. Good job, Joe. I need to find another clip that shows more.

Women's Show and Chantal Kreviazuk

2009-05-31T17:39:00.005-06:00

Corina and I had a special girl's day yesterday. We sent Max off to have a boy's day with his best friend, and we went to the Women's Show. They had all kinds of girly displays there, like makeup, hair things, purses, bras, and vaginas. It was great fun.

At one of the hair places, the girl did Corina's hair all fancy for her. See?

At least once every 2 minutes from then on, someone stopped her to tell her how pretty she was. After about an hour of that, she told me it's really annoying being beautiful because no one will leave her alone. I know, Corina. I KNOW.

That food she's eating is from a cooking show they had there. I wish we had been there longer, because every time the guy cooked something he gave it out to the crowd. I love free food best of all!

When the Women's Show was over for the day, they had a Chantal Kreviazuk concert. We had 4th row tickets.
Hi Chantal. You look like me.

This is one of Corina's favourite songs. She did this one while we were still in our 4th row seats. We ended up in front row almost in the centre because there were a couple of empty seats. I gave those people some time to show up, but they didn't. It's a shame to leave front row seats empty. A damn shame.

At the end of the show, Corina skipped up to Chantal with a big smile on her face, waving. Chantal crouched down and said hi to her and called her Sweetie. Corina could not have been happier.

Today she wrote a fan letter to her. She wouldn't tell me what she was working on, other than to ask for my cd so she could spell "something". This is what the letter says.

To: Chantal Kreviazuk. You're pretty and I love your music, but my favourite song is I'm Leaving on a Jet Plane. It has a pretty sound. If you ever have a concert, buy front row seats and centre and get two for me and my mom and VIP passes, if it is far away give us something to get there with. You don't know where I live. I live at (.......). Send it to that address and please do it, and put my name on it so I get to open it. This is how you spell my name. C-O-R-I-N-A.

ps. I am the little girl that at the women's show I came and waved to you and you said "Bye Sweetie".

OMG. She was so proud to show me that letter when it was done. I had to try not to laugh. She's got a sense of entitlement, eh? I blame Donnie. She thinks every celebrity is like him now.

Trickster Week

2009-05-31T17:31:00.004-06:00

Trickster is some weird organization that goes around to schools doing a week of drama with the kids. They were at Corina's school this week. Every class had a prop. Corina's class had bins. The kids were responsible for coming up with a skit using their props, and then on Friday night each class presented their skits for family and friends.

In one part of Corina's skit, she played the bottom of a fallen tree and got cut in half. She was so excited about this. She talked about it all week long.

She was a squirrel ranger or something like that. I really need to ask her about it. It was kind of confusing. Anyway, the main thing they were talking about was the environment.

I don't know what was happening here, but Corina looks happy about it.

This is the part of the skit where Corina is the bottom of the tree. She falls when she's trying to get up. Max and I are playing the part of the great audience members who laugh WAY too loud at Corina's part. We love her! Shut up.

Meet My New Phone

2009-05-18T18:22:00.002-06:00

I'm a little excited about this...
It's a 1950s payphone, homeboy! I'm just waiting for it to be delivered. I will have the best phone ever!

I'm a Limey!

2009-05-16T17:58:00.006-06:00

I'm a little bit obsessed. It all started innocently enough with making my own soaps, so I could avoid nasty chemicals. I needed a yummy smelling essential oil, and the first one I picked was lime. I made some shower soap with it. I pretty much fell in love.

Then last summer when I was at the farmer's market in Salt Lake City, I found Bubble and Bee. They make great, chemical-free products. My favourite by far is the lotion stick. It is lime and coconut, but basically just smells like limes. I bought a bunch of them so they could last until my next visit, but I use them all day long until I smell green. I'm almost out. What will I do??

So often I have wanted to take a bite of my lotion stick, so I thought maybe instead I should find something more appropriate to put in my mouth that would taste like limes. Yay Crystal Light!

I discovered this recently. As if it's not limey enough, I also stick a lime wedge into the neck.

Shoving lime wedges into bottle necks helped me realize what it is I truly want to do, and it is this:

I now suck limes. Like - all the time. I crave them like they're my crack. I crave them in a way that simply can't be normal. And then it makes me giggle because my family is from England and I get to live a racial slur against myself.

Ack Attack. I laughed until I cried.

2009-05-10T20:27:00.004-06:00

You can read it all here: http://www.theackattack.net/?p=576

Ben: This is impressive, John. How did you know hhhhwhen to be here?
Locke: Why did you say it like that?
Ben: hhhhhWhat ever do you mean?
Locke: You mean WHAT ever do you mean?
Ben: Right, hhhhwhat ever do you mean?

Locke: You’re saying it weird, you’re putting too much emphasis on the h.
Ben: hhhhWhatever, man.
Locke: Say “what.”
Ben: What.
Locke: Now say “What ever do you mean.”
Ben: hhhhhhWhat ever do you mean?
Locke: …

Locke: You know, me and The Island are like total BFFs now.
Ben: No way!
Locke: Way! Right before you murdered me I bought us some of those Best Friends Forever necklaces. I wear “Best” and The Island wears “Friends.” Jealous?

Kiwanis Festival Provincials

2009-05-10T18:11:00.004-06:00

Last night we got back from Edmonton, where Corina's choir was competing in the provincials. It was a super busy, slightly crazy weekend. The kids nearly overflowed the toilet tank on the bus, we went to a science centre, Chuck E Cheese, Swiss Chalet, a picnic, swimming (but not my group because I'm mean), probably other stuff that I forget, and we also were on the road for about 15 hours.

We had about 7 hours of this on Friday to get to Edmonton:
We spent a few hours at the Science Centre in Edmonton, where we learned about boogers, poop, pee, farts, and other very scientific things.

Corina actually rode this.

Want proof? Here's proof:

These are the girls I had in my room. One of them vomited the whole way up on the bus, and then stayed awake coughing until 4:00 am. I still like her though. Here we are after 2 whole hours of sleep on Saturday night.

Our choir. I like to describe them as scrappy.

Here are their two performances.

One more performance and then we're done for the year, thank God.

Twisted

2009-04-24T18:16:00.001-06:00

Twisted Helena

A little bit cool, yes?

Five Brothers and a Million Sisters

2009-04-23T19:29:00.004-06:00

Joe wrote a song for me!

Or - Joe McIntyre from New Kids on the Block wrote a song for all New Kids' fans. I think it's really cute and sweet.

Friday afternoon in Bostontown-
still know my way around.
Tryin' 'a find the rehearsal spot for
the reunion of the 'kids on the block.

Gonna rip it like we used to do.
Good to be back chillin' with the crew.
Don't know how its gonna be, but
last time we made history.

So tell ya mother and ya sistah too,
the New Kids are coming back for you.
And in my heart I knew you'd never forget,
but to see you again like this
makes me feel like I'll never be alone.

Wherever it is I'm goin' to, whatever I am
is because of you and I thank you. And I thank you.
5 BROTHERS AND A MILLION SISTERS-
didn't know how much I missed you.
Thank you. And I thank you.

All the way back and all the way up tonight.
Call it what you want, but I'll call it love tonight.
Some people said we couldn't do it again,
but the New Kids had the last word in the end.

See what happens when you follow your dreams?
See what happens when you just believe?
The whole world opens up her arms.
Everything is easy that used to be hard.

So tell ya mother that I lover her too
and don't you know we did it all for you, cuz
in my heart I knew you'd never forget,
but to see you again like this
makes me feel like I'll never be alone.

Wherever it is I'm goin' to, whatever I am
is because of you and I thank you. And I thank you.
5 BROTHERS AND A MILLION SISTERS-
didn't know how much I missed you.
Thank you. And I thank you.

Cuz you build me up. You make me high.
When I feel your love, I wanna fly.
No matter what we're goin' through
there ain't nothin' we can't do.

And I thank you.

Watch out for the gays. Seriously.

2009-04-21T20:36:00.001-06:00

A Gaythering Storm from Jane Lynch

Pilot Season

2009-04-20T18:28:00.001-06:00

Sarah Silverman. Yay!
http://www.mydamnchannel.com/Pilot_Season/Pilot_Season/ThatWasThenThisisNow_1350.aspx

She's so cute.

Conversation in my house tonight

2009-04-17T21:28:00.005-06:00

Max: Mommy, do you have to buy electricity?

Me: Yes, buddy.

A minute later....

Max: Thank you for buying electricity. I like it.

Corina: Yeah, I like it. Thank you.

Now I ask you, blog readers - have you ever heard of children so thoughtful and sweet that they thank their mother for electricity? I could cry. I love my kids .

Corina's Quiz

2009-04-16T15:35:00.001-06:00

Questions and answers by Corina.

1. What is your favourite colour?
Pink, because it’s a nice, light, bubbly colour, and because I like bubble gum.

2. What do you dream about?
When I’m daydreaming, I dream about if I could be Donnie’s daughter. He gives me presents and we watch movies together, and we have a whole bunch of fun.

3. Describe the coolest outfit.
A green dress with waves at the bottom, but they’re still green. There are lines on it that are light bubblegum pink, and then it has a whole bunch of strawberries and raspberries on it. For the shoes, green shoes with raspberries and strawberries on them.

4. Who was the first man to land a spaceship?
Bob Snider.

5. Who do you love the most in the world?
My mommy, because she always cuddles with me and she makes fun stuff with me.

6. Who do you love the most in the world not counting family?
Donnie and Joe, because they’re New Kids on the Block, and they’re cute, and they’re good at singing and dancing.

7. What is the best smell?
Freshly baked cookies and brownies.

8. What is the worst smell?
Toots.

9. If you could only eat one food, what would you choose?
And I would never die? Pickles!

10. Pick four words to describe your mom.
Funny, nice-smelling, pretty, best.

What Easter is Really About

2009-04-14T10:18:00.000-06:00

Saskatoon New Kids on the Block Concert

2009-04-13T11:30:00.003-06:00

Saturday was the NKOTB concert in Saskatoon, which is probably our last concert. They aren't coming anywhere near us for the summer tour, and I'm not about to drive 12 hours for a show. I know - I'm a bad fan.

Here we are just before the show started. We had great seats again. Yay! Corina looks incredibly sad, but I promise she was glad to be there.
The very scary Jabbawockeez opened the show. They are what nightmares are made of.

We were right up front for the B Stage for the first time. Security wasn't stopping people from running over there, so we did it. It was incredibly difficult because I had to hold Corina in my arms so she wouldn't get squished by the mob. She may not be huge, but she is 8 years old and heavy for a weakling like me. I had her on my hip, she wrapped her legs around me, and I tried to take a few pictures while getting pretty much molested by the crush of girls around us. Max says I squished him into someone else and it still hurts, but was worth it. It was so exciting! And look at this great picture of Donnie we got.

He was blowing kisses to Corina at the B Stage, so she says it was worth it too.

I love his smile in this one.

Max got a new Jabbawockeez shirt and Corina got a New Kids shirt. I got the track jacket, which I've been wanting forever but missed out on getting last time around.

As for that question some of you will be asking, the answer would be one of these, depending how you worded the question.

- Meh

- Not quite like November

- Not as much as expected

- I still love Donnie. I'm even wearing the shirt today.

Here is my video of the Click pose-off. They did it 3 times and it included fire. Also, Donnie speaks in a Canadian accent.

This is the very beginning of the show when they first come out and sing Call it What You Want, and the transition to MFG. It's kind of shaky. I was slightly excited.

Birthday Present for Corina

2009-04-12T22:52:00.003-06:00

Max and I bought Corina a High School Musical big girl bike last month and hid it in the basement. She knew her present was in the basement and she wasn't allowed down there, and we fed her lots of fake hints to throw her off. I "slipped" that she was going to love cuddling with it, for example. I'm so tricky.

The night before her birthday we brought her down to the basement and had her cover her ears and close her eyes while I brought out the cuddly present.

Yay! A bike! (Although I think I look a little more excited than she does. Or maybe I'm about to take a huge bite out of her.)

When I went upstairs to get the door, Corina pretended the bike was killing her and Max took pictures. They're quite a team.

This bike is way bigger than her old one, which was actually Max's old bike from when he turned 4. She did a great job riding it.

We had to give her the bike early because first thing in the morning on her birthday we left for the New Kids concert. I'll blog about that later. Or now. I haven't decided.

Collage of the Arts

2009-04-08T20:13:00.003-06:00

Max's middle school put on a big play this week. They performed downtown at the Sterndale Bennett Theatre on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday nights. Max isn't in drama, but his stage band opened for them each night.

He's in the back row beside the tall kid with the very white face. You can't really see him well, but he's there. His best friend Brenden is beside him, but he is completely behind the piano. Not the best set-up.

Most of those kids are in grade 8 and have been playing for a few years, but Max and Brenden are only in grade 6 and just started learning in September. We're very proud of them!

After the performance, we pretended Max was famous and we were insane fans. When he came out we chased him all over the place, taking his picture. That's because we're awesome.

We're his biggest fans!

Corina's Birthday Party

2009-04-08T20:06:00.003-06:00

Corina had her birthday party on the weekend. She's turning 8 on Friday, which is insane because she was just in my uterus yesterday. Time flies.

My sweet girl chose to have a Food Bank birthday party. Her invitations had a list of all her favourite foods (olives, pickles, cereal, tuna, salmon, chicken noodle soup) and her friends brought those foods for her to donate to the food bank.

It was hilarious to see how excited everyone was while she opened groceries.

Here she is dropping the food off the next morning at the food bank. We really didn't keep it. I swear.

She's getting a High School Musical bike from Max and me for her birthday. It has been hiding in our basement for a few weeks now, and somehow we've managed to keep it a secret. I'm a pretty bad secret keeper, so I'm proud of that. I know she's going to LOVE it.

Happy Days

2009-04-08T11:53:00.004-06:00

Yesterday Corina was finishing up her breakfast while I cleaned up the kitchen. I was busy at the sink, in my own little world, when Corina suddenly said the best thing ever. "Mommy...I like my life."

Made my day, that did. I'm so glad she feels that way. Maybe I'm doing something right!

On another note, or maybe kind of the same note, we're off to see Donnie in a couple of days. I like my life too.

You want a mommy blog?

2009-04-04T18:11:00.004-06:00

Here's your mommy blog!

Today was Max's big Robotics competition. For months he and his team have been building and programming their robots. I don't really understand anything they do or anything Max says about it, but I know it's super cool and I'm proud of him.
Here he is with his team and his great teacher. Love that guy.
Another fun thing that happened this week was Corina was in the Kiwanis Festival again. This time she sang with her choir. They performed three songs, and on one they got a mark of "superior". She's in the front row in the yellow shirt.

Here's the song.

Last night we went to a recital at the university. Corina's voice teacher was singing. It was over 2 hours of ladies singing in different languages. Corina loved every minute of it, as you can probably tell by her face.

Max, on the other hand, didn't love any minutes of it.

Tomorrow we're having Corina's birthday party. I bet there will be some cute pictures posted very soon.

Ol' Trumpety Max

2009-04-02T19:25:00.003-06:00

Max has music news! He and his best friend Mr Trumpet went to Kiwanis Music Festival twice last week. First he performed with his grade 6 band, where they got a mark of Superior. (That's a very good mark!)

The second performance was with the Jazz Band. That's for the grade 7 and 8 kids, but Max was invited to join because he's just that good. Unfortunately their music teacher was home with diarrhea that day and they had to have a stranger conduct for them, but even so, they scored an Excellent. Yay Max!

I couldn't go to either performance because they were during the day, and I'm a grown-up with a job. That part sucked.

Next week Max's jazz band is opening for a play at the Yates for 3 nights in a row.

I'm so glad he's into music finally. We tried violin for years and he never really loved it. We tried piano and he didn't care for that either. I'm glad we didn't give up on music, because he loves his trumpet. He talks about getting a part time job so he can buy more trumpets. That's just adorable.

Cute interview of my husband with his friends.

2009-04-01T20:55:00.002-06:00

Muffins!

2009-03-28T12:19:00.001-06:00

This video made me cry real tears.

Corina's Two Awards.

2009-03-25T13:42:00.003-06:00

My Corina has had a very big week! She has been preparing for quite a while now for her very first Kiwanis Festival performance. This morning she was in the Musical Theatre class. She performed Ice Cream from Anne of Green Gables. In musical theatre the kids sing, but they also act, dress up, have props, etc. It's pretty darn cool for a kid whose big dream is to be in musicals when she grows up.

Here is my little cutie in her Anne costume.

This is her performance at Kiwanis this morning. In the video the piano is quite loud, but thankfully in person it didn't drown her out. She did such a great job!

After Kiwanis we went out for a celebration lunch of popcorn chicken, and then she went back to school, where she performed in the music room for her class. She even did an encore!

At Kiwanis, the kids all receive marks and comments from the adjudicator. Corina came in first place! They said she has a "wonderful voice, secure pitch, musical phrasing, an open, bubbly energy, and very good punctuated moments." Fancy!

Corina's other excitement was winning a special citizenship award at school yesterday. She was called up in front of the whole school while her teacher read this about her:

Corina is a dedicated and hard working student who loves to learn. She knows the importance of always doing her best and takes pride in her accomplishments. She is always striving to learn new things or to improve on something she can do better. Corina is a sweet and positive member of the class. She can often be heard praising her classmates on their work. Corina is always polite and a good friend to everyone. She has many talents, including story writing, and a beautiful singing voice that anyone would be lucky to hear. Corina is very sensitive and caring to other people. For her birthday, she has asked her friends to bring donations to the food back instead of buying her presents. This is reflective of Corina's kind and generous spirit. Corina, you are truly a wonderful citizen of Galbraith. Congratulations!

I kinda love my kids. :)

Post Secret

2009-03-22T10:14:00.000-06:00

My Husband Is Very Talented

2009-03-20T22:00:00.003-06:00

I'm still so proud of my husband for the great job he did in Sixth Sense. I watch this movie every so often, and I always cry during this scene. He's not such a good actor that he makes me forget he's Donnie, because that's definitely impossible, but he does make my heart break. I hate to see him so broken. I'll never fail you Donnie! Now let me give you some cookies and fatten you up, baby.

My Sarah Silverman

2009-03-15T15:18:00.001-06:00

So funny.

Now, it's Sarah on Bill Maher. There are going to be swears, so there's your warning.

Don't say I never did anything for you!

Emotional weekend. Goodness.

2009-03-14T21:07:00.003-06:00

My Corina...
...is the type of girl who calls her mommy in the middle of the night from a sleepover, whispering that she needs to come home. Is it wrong to love that? I thought it was sweet. She loves me.

My Max...

...went to a birthday party today. The neighborhood bully, who is currently suspended from school for fighting, was also there. 1½ hours after I dropped Max off, I got a phone call. Max had been beaten up by the little asshole in the middle of the birthday party. My tiny Max who wouldn't hurt a fly! The kid used Max's hair against him, pulling it with one hand while he punched him with the other, and then "sacked him", as Max put it. I drove over there as fast as I could, worrying the whole way there that I was about to beat up a middle school kid. By the time I got there I was calm enough to not punch the asshole kid, but I didn't calm down enough to avoid saying, "If you ever touch Max again, it'll be me you're fighting, and I'LL PUNCH YOU RIGHT IN YOUR STUPID FACE - DO YOU UNDERSTAND??!!!

I think he understood. Good thing the drive took a few minutes, because I don't know if I would have been able to control my temper had I gotten there quicker. My talent is certainly not in controlling my temper, and if you touch my baby, well...you're pretty damn stupid.

O Canada at the Hurricanes Game

2009-03-13T21:54:00.005-06:00

Corina's choir, Con Moto Singers, sang O Canada at the Lethbridge Hurricanes game tonight. It was so exciting!

Here are all the kids dancing and singing while they waited for performance time.

It's dark during the introduction, but then they shine a spotlight on the kids and you can actually see them. Be patient! Corina is third from the right in the front row.

I think they did a great job. Such fun!

Here they are after they walked off the ice.

New Kids' New Opening!

2009-03-09T18:27:00.005-06:00

They're switching things up for the spring tour, which I'll be seeing next month. Yay! This is sort of a change, and sort of like time travelling back to a bunch of the New Kids concerts I went to as a kid. All we need now is the "Let's hear it....f-f-f-f-f-for the New Kids....ooooooooooon the Block!"

But apparently that's owned by Dick Scott Management and it ain't happening.

2:10 - Jordan forgot the words. I guess that's understandable, since they haven't performed it in years and years. Funny that the fans know their songs better than they do.
3:20 - on the second "It's so groovy"...the new, slow motion interpretive dance. Ha!

I can't wait for next month.

Last night's LOST

2009-03-05T17:56:00.003-07:00

OMG!!!!!!!! aaakdfjdsifakfjsadkfjdskfjsdfsdfkfdjkl!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I squealed with joy when we saw the statue last night. "FOUR TOES!"

*sigh*

I love this show.

Pinky and Baby Pinky!

2009-03-01T10:58:00.004-07:00

This is a picture of me and my older sister Dana., thirty-something years ago. I like pictures like this because I can look around at the objects in the room, such as the old Fisher Price parking garage that we used to play with all the time. I'm not sure why parking was such fun for children in the 70s, but it really was.

This picture is super sweet, because (Big) Pinky is in it. You can probably guess that Pinky is the huge, pink doll I'm putting on the rocking horse. She was one of my very favourite dolls.

This is me in the hospital because my face went crazy. Look closely - you'll see the crazy. You'll also see my leg all tied down to the bed. Aww...poor me. Now look beside me on the bed. You'll see Baby Pinky! She was my other favourite. I got her after I got the bigger one. Big Pinky used to just be Pinky, you see. My mom says I used to constantly ask her, "What should I name my Baby Pinky?" Finally she told me to name the damn thing Baby Pinky, and I did.

I really love my dollies. They live in Corina's room, but they are MINE ALL MINE!

See how emotional I get because of my love for them? Or maybe it was hair in my eyes. I can't remember now.

I never throw things out. For someone so cruel and heartless, I'm awfully sentimental.

Rosario Dawson's Mom and Me = same person

2009-02-26T20:02:00.004-07:00

I didn't know there were people who parent their children the way I do. Oh my...I laughed when I read this.

"My mom licked me - that was her punishment. If I was a little uppity or if I didn’t listen or if she wanted to get my attention, she’d lick the side of my face or under my armpit. My mom’s a six-foot-tall amazon and she’d say, ‘’You came out of my vagina and I own every part of you,’’ and she’d lick me like I was her wee pup and she was a lioness. It was humiliating and really intense. Very primal. It’s not spanking, but it definitely works."

- Rosario Dawson

Alice Cooper on LOST

2009-02-24T20:50:00.003-07:00

Really, I can't be the only one who sees the resemblance, can I?

2 in the Morning official video

2009-02-23T17:02:00.001-07:00

*sigh*

He's so sweet.

Ack Attack (Lost)

2009-02-22T10:48:00.004-07:00

New Ack Attack, everybody! Hurry to read it! Click this!

“Let me explain something. This is Saint Thomas. He didn’t buy the whole Resurrection thing. He didn’t become a true believer until he poked Jesus himself, and then he was ALL ABOUT the Resurrection…so in conclusion, go stick your finger in Locke.”
“If you want me to come with you, you will NEVER ASK ME ABOUT AARON EVEN THOUGH I’M HIS ~*MOM*~ AND YOU’RE HIS UNCLE.”

So they wake up bright eyed and bushy tailed the next morning and Jack’s like, “Good morning, lover. I made you some coffee and some Aaron juic…I mean…orange juice…how do you take it?”

UK Tour Video with 2 in the Morning

2009-02-22T10:09:00.004-07:00

I could totally time travel with this montage!

0:31 - the fan crying while she's sitting beside Joe made me cry too. And Joe is so cute with her!
1:08 - I love watching from their point of view as they rise from under the stage.
1:23 - Donnie's cute walk across the front of the stage
1:53 - look at the smile on Jordan's face when he's going to hug that fan!

I'm really hoping they're making a tour dvd.

New Purple Boots

2009-02-21T18:29:00.002-07:00

On a completely different note, I got new purple boots! On my computer I can't really tell they're purple, but maybe you can.
I love them. And apparently I love my bum too, because I'm totally caressing it.

The New Kids Reunion

2009-02-21T17:16:00.007-07:00

I made this post a little over a year ago. At the time, I was scared to even believe there would be a reunion. I didn't want to get my hopes up. I never get my hopes up. Ever. About anything.

People who know me really well understand (mostly) what the Donnie thing is about with me. It's too hard to explain, and so I'm just not going to.

The first time I heard the new song Close To You it was just the beginning lines. That's all they gave us, and it was when we were still trying to figure out if they were really getting back together. Hearing Donnie's voice and realizing they had recorded new material - well, I turned back into the mess of a 14/15/16 year old I used to be and I cried my eyes out. Then they announced a tour, and it was all pretty much overwhelming for me.

And now here we are, a year later.

I was just driving home from a great afternoon with a friend, and I was listening to Close To You. The whole song. I started thinking about that Me from a year ago, the Me who didn't know the rest of the song and had no idea what was in store for her.
My daydreams often involve time travel. (What...yours don't?) I imagined traveling back to last year and filling that Me in on everything that would happen.
I know I wouldn't have believed it. It's all really unbelievable.

I wish I could make a video, using that song and images of memories from all the wonderful things that have happened and then time travel back to show myself how much I had to look forward to.

Yes, I really daydream about time traveling with video montages.

Sometimes I get so happy that I need to share it with myself in other timelines.

Here's the song Close To You, with a perfect video.

I still can't watch videos like that without crying a little bit.

I don't believe in happy tears. I believe we cry in true sadness for all the times we've never been so happy. I can't appreciate my joy without having felt its opposite, and when my joy is so great, the sadness from other times feels that much darker. And so I cry. But I'm happy.

And that's what I've been thinking about today.

Photo Album Tag

2009-02-21T12:23:00.004-07:00

Michelle tagged me, and I decided I'd only do it if my picture was cool too, because I'm a copycat. It is cool.

Rules - go to your 6th photo album, find the 6th photo and post it with a story.

Story:
One time I was sitting mostly naked at the edge of my bed, pouting because it's not fair that I'm so skinny but have such big boobs, but yet am also incredibly rich and famous even though I'm not exceptionally talented or anything, and then my super sexy husband took my picture.
The end.

I tag Shauna because I know she'll never do it and therefore I find it funny to tag her. I also tag Shannon, Bethany, Kristi, and Kristy, because they might.

Kittens! Inspired by kittens!!!

2009-02-21T09:12:00.003-07:00

My brother Nick sent me this video. I've been watching it over and over this morning.

I'm her mom!
No...she's not!

I am weird.

pssssssssssss.....

That little girl is awesome.

Today Show Appearance

2009-02-20T23:55:00.001-07:00

They sang too, but it's the fake laughing I loved the most.

Our Big Trip to Calgary

2009-02-20T22:42:00.004-07:00

All three of us had the week off, so we really needed to do something super exciting. Nothing could be more exciting than a death drive to Calgary!

Really now. That's the best driving conditions Alberta can give us? The fog was like that for about 45 minutes. It was very scary.

We did manage to make it there alive, and spent about 14 hours at Chuck E Cheese. We love that place. LOVE.

This is the roller coaster simulator, because there's nothing better than not the real thing.
Max was totally excited to get his picture taken with Chuck. Chuck E. Chuck E Cheese? Is that is full name? I'm not sure how that works.

The part I liked the best was when the kids ran out of tokens. They knew I wasn't going to buy more, so instead of complaining, they turned into scavengers. They searched the place, looking for lost tokens and forgotten tickets. They were hilarious! They did that for at least 2 hours. They got over 70 tickets, and probably at least 10 to 15 tokens. I think they had more fun doing that than playing with the 124 tokens I bought for them.

This picture is important because my boots are really cute.

The kids chose Red Lobster for dinner, because we don't have one in Lethbridge. It's a special treat. I'm always so proud of my kids when they eat weird food. When I was their age I didn't even know what a nectarine was, and look at Corina eating a CRAB'S LEG!!! Who knew such a thing was possible?

We have so much fun together. We really do.

Palm Restaurant in New York

2009-02-20T22:31:00.001-07:00

"The Palm, located at the famous address of 837 Second Avenue, New York, New York, is The Palm Restaurant's flagship location. Still in its original 1926 location, The Palm provides a dining experience you won't soon forget. The walls of The Palm are covered with such vivid, colorful history that you won't be able to take your eyes off the walls. Some loyal diners have been coming back to this Palm for over 70 years for the same great food and service."

And now, a vivid colourful history of New Kids on the Block!

Thank You Oats

2009-02-19T19:54:00.003-07:00

My dad taught me this song when I was little, and I've never forgotten it. I did, though, forget to teach it to my kids until tonight. I sang it over and over, but they just couldn't get the words figured out. They were making me just about pee my pants though, so I had to tape them.

I didn't want to tell them, because the joy of not knowing could last forever! They begged and begged, and finally I said it clearly and now they know. The first thing Corina said after I told her about mares eating oats?

"I wish you never told me!"

Please ignore both my horrible singing and terrible laugh. They're not the point of the video, you know.

Oh, and I love how sweet Corina looks at the very beginning when I sing her name. Look at her! Don't you just love her?

New Kids on Regis and Kelly

2009-02-19T19:15:00.004-07:00

I love Donnie with that longer hair sticking out the back of his hat. He's so cute.

Here is another cute singer doing the same song.

The interview on Regis and Kelly was pretty good, but short. Lol omg etc @ Jon the construction worker.

Lost Thoughts

2009-02-19T15:27:00.004-07:00

That 3 year time gap between the Sawyer & Friends action and the Oceanic 6 action has been bothering me. They were showing us 3 years later with the O6, but right after the explosion with the Sawyer Gang. I wanted to know everything that has happened with the Sawyer Gang!

But I think now we know.

When Locke turned the wheel, the rapid time shifting stopped or slowed. They have spent the last 3 years as Dharma folks. We already knew Daniel had been Dharma, and now we see Jin as Dharma.

And Charlotte? Well, she knew how to speak Korean, but that was really a mystery. Why could she speak Korean?

I know! Because Jin, as Dharma in the 70s, is teaching young Charlotte so she can translate for him in the future! That would be cooooooooooool. I wonder if we'll get to see creepy old man Daniel warn Charlotte to leave and never return. Dun Dunn DUNNN!!!!!!!!

When I grow up, I'm going to manipulate time. I want my future to dictate your past.

Joaquin Phoenix

2009-02-19T13:22:00.003-07:00

I think he's beautiful.

I still think he's beautiful.

But I'd like to know, sooner than later, if this is a prank for a documentary or not. The Letterman interview makes my heart hurt. So sue me for having compassion! He's either every bit the brilliant actor we've always known him to be, or he's having a nervous breakdown. No laughing allowed until we know which it is.

I'm a speed demon

2009-02-18T15:03:00.004-07:00

I got a photo radar ticket in the mail today. It's my first speeding ticket in almost 6 years, so that's not so bad.

Last Tuesday Max had a Robotics competition out of town, and that meant he couldn't pick up Corina from the bus, which meant I had to race over to her school after work, then hurry home with her and get her a snack and such, and then quickly get her to choir, and then race from there to Cardston for Max's competition. So yes, I was in a race car and I was speeding. IN A SCHOOL ZONE!

Here's the photo radar picture. I like that they caught me at the exact moment I was running over that pedestrian.
I was doing 41 kms in a 30 km zone, which isn't really that bad - especially since I was in Max's school zone and his school had already been out for well over an hour. There were no kids around anywhere.

I don't mind paying the $80, because I know I really was speeding. The part that annoys me is that when I went to pay the fine online with my credit card, they wanted to charge me an extra $9 for the service. They're charging me extra to do all the work for them online?

Fine, idiots. I'll pay by credit card through the mail and keep my $9. I win! (I think?)

And no, I didn't really run over anyone. My picture is in the mail. I don't get to keep it.

Call the New Kids on the Block!

2009-02-18T11:41:00.001-07:00

Call it! Joe answers. I swear.

CALL US! +1 (617) 830-1100 - LEAVE US A MESSAGE!

Not Even Gross

2009-02-17T19:05:00.002-07:00

I got brave and made a spinach smoothie today. Krispy promised me it wouldn't make me vomit, and she was totally right.

First I filled my blender with fresh spinach and some orange juice and blended that. It looked so disgusting that I really couldn't believe it would turn out. I tasted it at that point, and I didn't die. I didn't want more, but I didn't die. I added frozen blueberries, strawberries, and raspberries. It stopped looking like bile and turned into this vision:
So pretty!

And then I drank it. It was delicious! I want another one already. I'm going to be so healthy and strong.

Pretty pretty hair.

2009-02-16T23:03:00.001-07:00

When my hair gets a little longer - I'm thinking maybe two more months - I'm going to look exactly like this.
I can't wait!

Big Day for Corina!

2009-02-15T15:03:00.003-07:00

Corina is the only kid in her class, and maybe even in her grade, who still has her baby teeth on top. Last year the dentist was starting to wonder if she even had adult teeth in there, so he did an x-ray to make sure. (Yeah, she does.)

Now look how weird her tooth was this morning!

Even though it looks ready to come out, it was still really attached on the one side and I couldn't get it. It still had too many connectors, as we say in our house.

I can't believe how much tooth there was inside her gums. There was at least as much inside the gums as there was outside. See that? DO YOU???

Weird.

After wiggling it for a few hours, crying a little, and hiding in the basement, she finally let me pull it out.

SHE IS ADORABLE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Once she gets those big ones in, she has to get braces to fix her jaw. She is very expensive to own. Good thing she's cute and sweet or I'd return her.

Robo Sumo Competition

2009-02-15T14:52:00.003-07:00

Max is in Robotics again this year. He built a robot and then programmed it to Sumo wrestle. We went to a competition in Cardston last week and our three boys had a great time. They're such smarties.
After the competition, all the boys put their robots in the sumo ring together. This video makes me giggle. I love how excited they all sound!

Burger King Valentine's Dinner Waste

2009-02-14T21:49:00.004-07:00

We wanted to go to The Keg, but without reservations on Valentine's Day we'd probably have to wait about 24 hours for a table. Instead, we went for ghetto steak at Burger King - Whoppers! Yum!

The guy put our food on the tray, but then he started putting Corina's kids meal in a bag, even though we were staying. I know they always do that, but suddenly I realized how dumb that is. Why does she need a bag for her cheeseburger? Why can't it just sit on the tray with our Whoppers?

As he was opening the bag, I told him we don't need it and that he can just put her meal on the tray. He looked really confused by that. I just repeated that he could put the food on the tray and the bag wasn't necessary. He said, "But...that's where we put the toy!" I told him it was okay to put the toy on the tray too. Clearly I blew his mind.

I realize it's just one bag, and that at our fast food dinner we still created a lot of waste, but still. Why the extra bag? It really makes no sense.

I heard that same guy saying to another customer, "Sorry, I had to put your meal in a bag because we're out of trays." All the trays were sitting in a big pile at the garbage, waiting to be washed. No one went to get them the whole time we were there. They just kept using bags for the people who were eating in.

We humans create a lot of garbage. Maybe we should do something about that.

After dinner we went to the movies to see Yes Man. I love Jim Carrey. Omg he makes me lol.

Be My Valentine Girl...

2009-02-14T16:32:00.004-07:00

...and I'll give you my heart forever. (Ahhh, old-school New Kids. You're the bestest.)

I don't have the best track record for Valentine's Day. I got married on February 14th, twelve years ago. That sure turned out well. A few years ago on February 13th I broke up with my fiance. That didn't make for the best Valentine's Day either, even though it was definitely the right thing to do.

From now on, my only Valentines will be my kids and Donnie. We like it that way.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Who Are The People in Your Neighborhood

2009-02-13T14:56:00.002-07:00

Having a mentally ill neighbor who is obsessed with me is not as fun as it sounds.

I still love my son, son.

2009-02-12T20:44:00.003-07:00

Again, this little cutie:

We watch Friends together a few times a week. I love that he loves Friends. Now that we have cable for the first time in many, many years, we can watch reruns of it. I loved it the first time around, and now I can love it all over again with my Max!

Tonight he wanted a snack, but I said no because we had already eaten plenty of junk and I knew he wasn't truly hungry. But! Then he said, "I'm feeling peckish".

He's feeling peckish! How can I say no to him when he uses such a great word?? He's so funny and cute. I love him.

Impressive Paint Job!

2009-02-11T18:56:00.001-07:00

Very realistic.

After the dentist...

2009-02-08T22:03:00.002-07:00

Akjfdksljfkdsjfiwerjks!!!!!!!!!!!! This is the funniest thing I have ever seen in my life!

Thanks to my Granola love for the video.

Parent Teacher Interviews

2009-02-05T19:21:00.002-07:00

This kid:
Best big brother ever.
Sweetest son ever.
Super handsome.
Perfect hair.
Always honest.
Amazing trumpet player.
Basketball superstar.
Loved by his teachers.
Chased by all the girls.
Well liked by his peers.

And his composite mark for his school testing? The big huge test all the kids took in November?

He's at a grade 12 level.

He is 11 years old.

It's impossible to *not* brag about him.

Leave Jon Alone!

2009-02-05T18:56:00.002-07:00

I don't think outing people is a great thing. Leave Jon alone!

Little Cover Girl

2009-02-04T20:23:00.003-07:00

I really really hope Donnie does the old school Cover Girl on the spring tour...and of course that he picks Corina. So adorable! I love how embarrassed/surprised she looks to hear her voice when she sings in Donnie's mic.

Christian Bale and Bill O'Reilly

2009-02-04T16:52:00.003-07:00

Two men I really can't stand, making me laugh and laugh!

Warning - there may be a small swear in this video.

I don't think I want to watch any movie Christian Bale is in. Ever. He's everything I hate in a person.

My Donnie Goes Golfing

2009-02-02T18:16:00.000-07:00

Find more videos like this on New Kids on the Block

Cast Away Empathy

2009-02-01T13:01:00.004-07:00

At home I watch LOST with my kids and then we discuss it all week long. At work I'm reading Robinson Crusoe with the kids, and then we talk about it all week long. In other words, being stranded on an island is huge on my mind lately, and so I've been thinking about the movie Cast Away. (Which I always thought was called Castaway, but I was always wrong.)

Last night I rented it to watch with Max and Corina. I saw it at the theatre when it came out, but not since. Did you remember that it's a really good movie? It is!

I remembered the volleyball friend named Wilson, but I had forgotten most of the details. I was cuddled up on the couch with Corina when it came to the part where Wilson gets lost at sea. My heart! That was so sad.

But mostly what I'll remember from watching the movie this time was Corina's reaction to Wilson floating away. She looked up at me with tears in her eyes and said, "Mommy...that's sad!" And then she started sobbing. Maybe not quite as hard as Tom Hanks sobs at that point, but she came close. This little girl has more empathy than all the adults I know combined. Honestly...I could learn a lot from her.

Saskatooooooooooooon!!!!

2009-01-29T16:43:00.003-07:00

My Donnie and his friend Danny are feeling very happy. See?

The reason?

We're all going to see each other again in April when they come to Western Canada! Thank Donnie they're coming when I'm on a one week holiday, so I don't have to book any time. I'll be heading to Saskatoon, and then from there...I suppose we'll see.

It's gonna be...ummm...none of yer. Unless I know you. :)

Haaaaaaaaaappy!

2009-01-27T12:01:00.002-07:00

Ummm...I love my life.

Really.

I think there might be a horseshoe in my bottom.

I love my life.

I love it.

Lost - Ack Attack

2009-01-25T21:11:00.001-07:00

“Hey Professor Honeydew, gimme yer shirt!”

And Miles is like, “Um, I could give you my shirt, I’m totally wearing like 3 right now…”

I so love Ack Attack recaps.
http://www.theackattack.net/?p=453

NKOTB No Surrender Charitable Trust

2009-01-25T14:56:00.004-07:00

Back in the day, Donnie used to draw really cute caricatures of the guys. Remember that? Of course you do. Well, he still does them just the same. He drew this for auction.

You can go here:
nosurrender.org

to bid on the picture and the marker. I want the marker.

LOST - my love returns.

2009-01-24T19:58:00.002-07:00

First of all, here's a super funny Lost video.

So, about the new episode, Richard does age then, right? He's just time traveling all over the place, which made it appear as though he doesn't age. I figure that when they met John on the island, Richard traveled back to John's childhood and did the Dalai Lama test, and so on. You think?

If you can't change the past because it didn't happen, but then Daniel *did* change the past by talking to Desmond and creating Desmond's new "memory", then what about when Locke got shot in the leg near the plane by Ethan when he was moving through time? Okay, remember back when he was at the plane with Boone and suddenly he couldn't walk? There you go! It's because he got shot by Ethan! NEAT!

Are we thinking the scary chalkboard/roasted chestnut lady is Daniel's mom? Did I mention she's scary? And that she scares me?

No matter how many people Ben kills, I still enjoy him. I loved his face when Hurley threw the Hot Pocket at him. He cracks me up. My friend Megan met him when she was in New York, and I feel kinda jealous.

Richard and Locke - Richard's all "I have to hurry! There's no time! LISTEN!"...but he still has time to be a smartass about the compass. "It...points north, John." Heht. I loved that.

Can't wait for next week!

My Donnie in Manchester

2009-01-24T18:36:00.003-07:00

Maybe one day you were sitting around thinking, "I wonder what Sara thinks is the most perfect face in the world..."

Well, wonder no more. Here it is.

C'mon now. You have to admit, he's awfully cute. I adore him.

Corina's Artwork

2009-01-24T17:41:00.001-07:00

Corina drew this family picture. I love it! She does such a good job on Max. It's almost like a photograph of him. And me - I have that exact outfit. She's quite a little artist. Not sure what all the dogs are about though...

NKOTB in Glasgow, being awesome.

2009-01-24T17:01:00.003-07:00

My boyfriend Donnie is still on his world tour. Here he is performing Summertime in Glasgow. I love when they get silly like this. It just makes me giggle and giggle. This is one of my favourite videos of them.

Highlights:
It starts off with Joe dancing with a bra. Classic.
Right off, Jordan and Donnie are goofing around, which I LOVE.
0:24 - Jordan's beautiful pose. So cute.
0:30 - Joe tries to get them to behave. "Hey, I'm singing, bastards!"
1:20 - Jordan's Beyonce dance. Silly Jordan is my favourite Jordan.
1:30 - my very favourite part - my boyfriend is so tilty! I gasped.
2:15 - Joe attack!

I have a perma-grin on my face every time I watch this. I love it. I think what I really want is to *be* a New Kid. Next time Jon is ready to quit, I'll take his place.

Kilmorey Lodge

2009-01-20T20:00:00.003-07:00

This is a picture of us at Kilmorey Lodge in Waterton for Max's 10th birthday dinner. My dad was out here that week and we all went there together. We love that place!

Here is what it looked like this morning.

And this is what it looks like now.

Kilmorey Lodge, one of Waterton Lakes National Park’s most iconic landmarks, was destroyed in an early morning fire Tuesday.

Four guests were staying in the lodge when the blaze broke out shortly before 4 a.m., all of whom were safely evacuated.

However, the historic structure -- first built in 1926 and rebuilt after a 1933 blaze -- was completely engulfed by the time firefighters arrived on scene shortly after.

"When you have a building that old, once a fire digs in, it's so difficult. It was a complete loss," said Pincher Creek Fire Chief Tom Harnos.

It took firefighters little more than an hour and a half to bring the major flames under control.
All that remained from the destruction was a stone fireplace.

Locklynn Craig, the owner of the 23-room hotel, praised night security staff for noticing the flames and promptly alerting guests and fire personnel. Yet he added nothing can replace the loss of a landmark which has played host to countless celebrities and conferences.

"This is truly a loss for the village of Waterton and for all of us who care deeply about this historical building," he said.

The cause of the fire is still under investigation.

Singing Lesson Problems.

2009-01-19T22:03:00.003-07:00

Until this month, singing lessons were one of the highlights of our week. Now they're the part of the week that makes me turn into an angry beast.

Lessons are in the back of a music store, where they have a bunch of small office-type rooms. When we returned after Christmas break, Corina's teacher told us they didn't have enough rooms to go around, and some students had to have their lessons in the coffee room. Corina is one of those lucky students. It's not really a proper lesson room at all, but I figured it wouldn't be all that bad. I did think it was odd that the woman in charge of these things didn't phone and ask me if I minded that, or maybe offer to knock a couple bucks off the lessons, but whatever. I can be easy going sometimes.

So...first lesson in the coffee room. There's a sign on the door that says the room is being used for lessons, and not to enter if the door is closed. Throughout Corina's half hour lesson, music teachers were constantly going in and out of the room. Corina's in there trying to learn new songs, and that kind of distraction is really not helpful. It was also very rude, because there was a sign. Obey the sign! Leave the poor little kid alone.

The next week before the lesson started, I asked the teacher to speak to the boss lady about having Corina moved into a proper room. There are lots of teenagers and adults who take lessons there and wouldn't be as distracted by people coming and going all the time.

During the lesson that week, people were constantly in and out of the room again. One girl even went in with a tv dinner and cooked it in there in the microwave! She's in there beeping away on the buttons...we could hear it from out in the hall/waiting room area. Ridiculous. THERE'S A NOTE ON THE DOOR!

Tonight was the third week in the coffee room. The boss lady was away, so the teacher hadn't had a chance to speak to her. First problem tonight was there were two guitar guys in the room when it was time for Corina's lesson. They didn't get out of there until 7:09! That stole 9 minutes out of Corina's short, 3o minute lesson that cost me $16. I'm so not okay with that. They weren't just sitting there, either. They were packing up, banging around and talking! During her lesson! In a tiny coffee room!

At 7:09 when those guys left, I pulled my chair in front of the coffee room door, blocking it. And then I started reading my book.

A few minutes went by, and then a young male teacher came along. He politely asked if I could move so he could go in the room. I promise I was actually really polite, but I smiled at him and said, "No...sorry." He looked awfully confused. I quickly explained the situation, apologized again, but made it clear I didn't want anyone else disturbing her. He seemed sort of okay with it and walked away.

A few minutes after that, the TV dinner teacher came along. She walked right up and wedged her leg behind my chair and asked me to move. Rudely. Like - "Ummm...can you move?"

I used my most polite voice, and I said, "No...sorry. My daughter is having her lesson. She'll be done in a few minutes".

She gave me the most awful look - as if I had just pooped on her, maybe. Or even in her. She said she only needed to go in for a minute, and continued wedging herself between me and the door. She had a Crystal Light package in her hand, so I imagine her urgent need to interrupt Corina's lesson DESPITE THE SIGN ON THE DOOR was because she really needed a low calorie drink. It was that important.

I repeated that Corina would be done in a few minutes.

So then the girl moved to the other side of me and wedged herself between me and the door again, but it's not like she could actually get past without pushing me on the floor. She was totally invading my personal space. I pretended she wasn't there and just read my book. Finally she blurted out, "WHAT...IS SHE HAVING A ONE HOUR LESSON OR SOMETHING???"

In my super polite voice, I again said, "Nope...she'll be out in a few minutes."

Maybe my calm voice was pissing her off more. I don't know. She stormed off, saying, "Now my student is waiting for me!" Like it's my fault she left someone waiting so she could have her stupid Crystal Light.

Then the young guy came back again, but he didn't pressure me to let him in. He just stood there kind of pouting. When Corina and her teacher came out, TV Dinner Crystal Light came stomping past us and stormed into the room. THANK GOD SHE STILL GOT TO HAVE HER CRYSTAL LIGHT!

Anyway, I made enemies tonight. But I suppose I'm going to be okay with that. I know it's inconvenient for them to not be able to use their coffee room, but I'm not the one who came up with the stupid plan to have lessons in there. And their boss put a damned sign on the door telling them to stay out. None of this is my fault, and I was as polite as I could possibly be.

This all goes along well with what I'm trying to teach my kids. One important thing I want them to understand is that people will treat them they way they let them. If you live your life as a doormat, you'll get treated like a doormat. That's just the way human beings are. I don't want M&C to be mean to people, but I want them to stand up for themselves. Corina has a right to an uninterrupted singing lesson, and I'm thinking she's probably going to get that now. I showed people how they have to treat me. (That would be with respect. Sheesh.)

Something I've always done with the kids since they could talk is make them order their own food in restaurants, or otherwise do the talking to grownups when they're capable and it's appropriate. I grew up so scared of talking to adults that one time as a teenager I cried my eyes out when my mom told me to order pizza. I had never done it before and I was terrified. She told me to do it or we weren't getting pizza. I chose not to get pizza. I was humiliated to be so lame about it, but I was too afraid to talk to a grownup. I was also too afraid to book a doctors appointment or anything like that. M&C aren't afraid. They can easily speak to grownups in those kinds of situations. Maybe ordering food isn't so important, but if you're too afraid to do that as a child or teenager, what chance is there that you'll be brave enough to speak up for yourself when it's really, truly important? Like when you have to call 911? Or tell someone to stop molesting you? Seriously. I know a girl who was so scared of talking to adults that she didn't say anything when a man she trusted started molesting her. I want my kids to be able to say, "Let go of my bum, and I'd like a Whopper Combo with root beer!"

So. Hopefully now we either get moved out of the coffee room because I'm such a pain in the ass, or at least people stop going in Corina's room because I'm such a pain in the ass. And hopefully this was a good lesson for my kids in speaking up for yourself. I think it was.

Finally, I want to say that it sucks that for the last three weeks I've left singing lessons with a knot in my stomach. This was supposed to be FUN!

Meh.

Joaquin Phoenix - music career.

2009-01-17T22:49:00.002-07:00

Sooooooooo....is Joaquin Phoenix okay? You may remember I posted a while ago that he was quitting acting. Here's what he's doing now:

He's a rapper. Yep.

And he fell off the stage.

I dunno - does this seem okay? I'd like for him to be okay.

NKOTB in London, Ontario

2009-01-16T14:20:00.004-07:00

Dear Donnie,
My name is Sara and I'm your biggest fan! I live in London, Ontario. I am 13 years old. I hope you will come here for a concert. You could play at London Gardens, and then you could stay at my house after the concert if you didn't want to stay at a hotel. I know my mom would say it's okay. London is a really nice city and you would love it. I hope you come here. I love you. I know I've already mailed you this exact letter about 75 times, but I wasn't sure if you got those ones.
Love Sara.

Dear Sara,
I'm sorry it took me over 20 years to get back to you. We had a lot of fan mail to answer. We would love to play in London! It appears as though London Gardens doesn't exist anymore, so how about we'll play at the JLC? We've just announced a bunch of shows out east because that's where you live, according to your hundreds of fan letters from the 1980's. We didn't plan anything out west, but that doesn't affect you, right? We'll be in London on March 29. Can we still stay at your house?
Love Donnie.

Dear Donnie,
ACK! I MOVED FAR AWAY!
dskjfdsiousklkdkfjdslkkk!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

*thud*

Pictures of Me

2009-01-15T22:50:00.001-07:00

I had a rough day at work today, so I came home and made a grumpy face while sitting in my undies at the foot of my bed.
And then I played sexy-dead. It's one of my talents.

The NKOTB Cruise Details...

2009-01-13T21:08:00.002-07:00

...for the cruise I'm not buying tickets for when they go on sale tomorrow morning.

http://rosetours.com/nkotb/pricing3.php

Private Event Pass which will include:
NKOTB Welcome Cocktail Party
NKOTB Experience with all band members
Full Concert by NKOTB
Photo Session with NKOTB in small groups
Question & Answer Session with NKOTB
Deck Party with NKOTB and DJ
2 Additional Deck Parties with DJ's
Gift Bag with cruise event souvenirs
Trivia Contest with special prizes
Karaoke
Chances to enter other onboard drawings for exclusive NKOTB Event Opportunities!
Full Access to all of Carnival's activities and facilities!
VIP Concierge at your service

Holy CRAP it's expensive! I think I'll take the owner's suite for $5000, please.

But if I did go, which I won't, I would win every special prize in the trivia contest. I memorized every New Kids fact possible when I was a kid, and none of them have left my brain. I can still rattle off the names of all the siblings with super fast speed. I know their shoe sizes, I know the lyrics to every song, I know their schools, their childhood friends and hangouts, the addresses of the homes they grew up in, where their parents met, their resting heart rates and blood pressure...

I'm not going on the cruise!