Saturday, February 27, 2010

Nice!

Jack just came into the room crying a little because he'd bumped his head.

Abby: Mom, can I have some George candy to make Jack feel better?

Saturday, February 20, 2010

Nearly every day Abby wants to marry her brother. Some days,














he's a willing participant.













Some days...

















he is not.

Two of her, one of him

1. Him: Perhaps you're watching too much Olympic coverage when the resident 20 month-old stretches his arms above his head and shouts "woooo!" every time the tv goes on.

2. Her: Off to go shopping with her cousin today.

Abby: Are we going to their mall or our mall?
Me: Honey, they're the same mall.

pause

Abby: Yeah, but are we going to THEIR mall or OUR mall?
Me: Sweetie, it's the same mall!

another pause

Abby: But, MOM, which mall are we going to? Ours or theirs?

long pause combined with a sigh

Me: Theirs.

3. Her: Conversation on the same drive. She sniffles and needs a kleenex.
Me: Oh dear, honey, are you getting a cold?
Abby (very pleasantly): No, I'm just stuffed up, coughing and sniffling. I don't feel sick and I'm not getting a cold.

Well, alrighty then.

Friday, February 05, 2010

Happy sigh

There are currently 14 Chinese teenagers on our main level eating junk food and playing cards and Uno and in general making happy noises.

And I couldn't be more pleased.

There are things about my personality that I am still discovering about myself but the joy I find in a houseful of guests is not one of them.

From J-L: This is why we signed up for this gig.

Edited to add: And one of them is moving into an apartment with a friend and (with P's nudging) asked me to teach her how to cook. I don't know that I even have to tell you how THAT made me feel.

Thursday, February 04, 2010

Thursday Thirteen (of randomness)

Sorry, Pam, I know you prefer lists that have a theme but too bad for you.

1. Conversation this morning as Abby was trying to comb tangles out of her Little Pony’s mane:
Me (sarcastically): Oh, lots of tangles. Does she whine as much as you do when they’re getting combed out?

Abby (earnestly, seriously): No, she’s a stuffed animal.

2. Jack spilled a cup of coffee all over himself last night. Thankfully, it was one that had been sitting for awhile and wasn’t too hot. He cried but more from the shock and the wetness than anything I think. But, it was definitely odd cuddling a 20 month-old who smelled of coffee.

3. Our tickets are booked for our trip. Clicking that "complete booking" link is a tad nerve-wracking but once it’s clicked? Oh the delight.

4. Three tickets from Winnipeg to New Orleans? $2,400. Three tickets from Minneapolis to New Orleans? $1,300. Needless to say, we’re making the drive.

5. Speaking of our trip: The discovery that we both wanted to go to New Orleans happened during a Red Stick Ramblers concert during Folk Fest. Know what’s cool? We’re going to go hear them when we’re down there.

6. Tonight we’re going out for one of our international student’s birthdays. No cooking supper on a weeknight? Very cool.

7. The fact that we have a gift certificate (that I won) that will cover the entire cost of the 6 of us eating out at a nice restaurant? Even more cool.

8. She’s also having friends over for cake tomorrow night and this delights me as well as it will be the first time she’s had company over to our house since she’s been here and it just means she’s coming out of her shell a bit and feeling comfortable in our home.

9. We really like her and we hope she comes back next year. Truth is, we want her brother back next year too.

10. We bought a brand new laptop last week. I jokingly said before buying it that it was to save our marriage as J-L can be a wee bit of a computer hog. I thought it would increase my computer usage exponentially. Not so much. No question about it, my vice is much more the tv.

11. Oscar nominations came out this week (for those of you not completely obsessed with movies). This year they have decided to have 10 best picture nominations. I think that’s dumb. (That’s right, "dumb". I’ve been studying the dictionary a lot lately so my vocabulary is most impressive.) I think it completely diminishes those films actually deserving of a nomination.

12. Although, as much as I make it a rule to see all the best picture nominations and as much as I love the Oscar party I host every year I actually put very little weight on the awards themselves.

13. For example, Sandra Bullock was nominated for an Oscar this year (and is favoured to win), the very same year she was nominated for a Razzie (an award show that salutes the very worst that Hollywood has to offer). It wasn’t for the same movie but still, I think that proves my point a little.

Bonus: I saw a bumper sticker that is making me smile several hours later: "Honk if you’re Amish."