Why?

One of Elijah's favorite expressions lately is when I am about to shampoo the both of them during bathtime - "oh, she's coming to deal with us!" and once I'm shampooing - "She's dealing with us!"
The other morning started out just like any other. I had the boys dressed and ready, set out their breakfast so they could eat while I grabbed my shower. I knew there was trouble waiting when I turned off the taps and heard Elijah exclaim, "Jeremy, that is NOT good - Mommy is not going to be happy with you!"
I sighed, and dressed quickly. When I came out of the bathroom and looked into the dining room, this is the face I saw:

That's yogurt folks, all over Jeremy's head. I then tossed him into the tub to "deal with him".

What a difference a week makes

This is my boys 2 weekends ago. We took advantage of our 'warm' end of November weather and went for a walk at Rockwood park.

This is my boys last weekend. Out in the snow for our first real snowfall of the year.
Today it is much too cold to be outside. Jeremy complains walking from the house to the car and sighs with relief once he reaches it, announcing "I made it!".

It's all in a concert

These past few weeks represent the busiest time of year for my job. It starts somewhere in October and ends shortly before Christmas break. It's peak performance time among school aged kiddies.
Starting in October I begin getting kids ready for Remembrance Day services, very closely followed by early Christmas kick-off celebrations (Santa Claus parade, Empty Stocking Fund Telecast). Along the way I add to it plans and prep for yet another brilliant Christmas Concert (or two depending on how many schools I work at, it's been two for most of my time as a music teacher). These plans gather up steam the week before concert (trying not to have the kids peak in performance too early) and hope and pray not to be snowed out of any rehearsal or concert time. I know music teachers are the only ones who do not appreciate a storm day this time of year - come January bring 'em on :o) As for being sick, well, I teach sick if at all possible, with some classes I miss one day, I don't see them again for another week and it's very difficult to find a music based sub teacher willing to go over music with the kids. All I can say is I'm really looking forward to this time next week, when all will be a memory loaded into the camcorders of the families I teach. I hope they enjoy it!

Bohemian Rhapsody

This was my first introduction to Bohemian Rhapsody by Queen. If you were 15ish in 1990, it was probably yours too.



Looking back, I'm kinda surprised that my Dad didn't introduce me to the song earlier, seeing as most of my Queen knowledge comes from him, but whatever. So this past week, the You Tube hit has been the Muppets take on it. Brilliant! My kids love it! I love it (I love the Muppets) and I'm so amazed at how Muppet Studios pulled it off to make it kid friendly. If you haven't seen it yet take a look.



And just to round things off I found the full length version of the video, okay it's the Wayne's World version, which blends Queen's video and the movie together, but hey, it's my blog, I can blog the way I want to. Enjoy!

I'm officially very pregnant

I now have to squat down to pick things up off the floor, instead of bending at the waist. I can no longer join in with my classes in songs where we jump up and down or touch our toes. I have had more people in the past week ask about my pregnancy than ever before (apparently I had co-workers who didn't realise I was pregnant). I'm constantly being tickled from the inside by this baby - a funny feeling really). My walk has slowed down to the pregnant ladies gait - lots of fun when the only working printer in the school is completely on the other side of the building to my classroom. But I love it, every minute of it!

Classic Elves

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Hip Hop Elves

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Singing Elves

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Disco Elves

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Elf Fun - Country Elves

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Birthdays

Funny how birthdays change so much. I turned 34 yesterday and really enjoyed myself. We kept it quiet and had a nice dinner out with a few good friends at one of my favorite restaurants. My son couldn't get over that this was a fun time for me. You see he's 5. To him birthdays are all about cake, games, and presents. The more you play, the better time it is. I remember that. I remember my mom creating all sorts of games for us to play in the basement, complete with prizes. I remember the lists of presents that I wanted most of all. When you are little birthdays are very important. They are one day that is all and completely about you. In fact I remember every time it was the 13th of another month, I would do the math to figure out exactly how far away my birthday was.
As I got a little older, birthdays became an excuse for a mass sleepover. Of course what teenie bopper girls don't think about before hand is that a group of girls full of hormones, chocolate and lack of sleep is a disaster waiting to happen - friendship fights galore. Yet the idea always seemed good at the time.
College birthdays pretty much had a set pattern too. You'd get all prettied up to go out with a group of friends who would procede to make sure you never had a moment without a drink in hand (you'll have to forgive me if my memories are a little shaky on the details of those birthdays).
Now, I really am happy to just have a little bit of grown up time with a few good friends. I don't have mass lists of present ideas because I really don't need anything (another thing my son can't get over). It's not a big deal, it's just a nice evening out.

Advice

So I was getting ready tonight to go somewhere nice for my birthday (Suwanna - I can hardly wait!) and I realised that it is difficult to look nice when you are 6 months pregnant. I tried on 3 outfits. The first just looked dated (I got it when I was pregnant with Elijah, who is now 5). The second I just felt fat instead of pregnant...too bad it wasn't slightly looser - I probably would have been able to wear it a month ago. So now I'm in my 3rd, a loose pink blouse. It's pretty and feminine, but my goodness, who would have thought gettting dressed would be so difficult?

Look What I Made

Try JibJab Sendables® eCards today!

Something my brother made

Try JibJab Sendables® eCards today!

Last night I saw stars

...or the dangerous part of co-sleeping.

Most nights Jeremy climbs into our bed at some point of the night. He did last night. Nothing terrible or unusual about that really...until about 2 am when I saw stars and was awoken in pain. I'm not sure how, but Jeremy punched me in the eye while he was sleeping - hard!
Fortunately, I don't have a black eye, but my left eye is bruised on the right side, which you can see if I'm looking towards the left. It's sore, but it could have been worse.

Today

Today is gray and rainy cold.
Today is a day for tomato soup and Ritz crackers.
Today is a day for building lego stuctures.
Today is a day for creating with play-doh.
Today is a day for a curling up and cuddling in a quilt.
Today is a day for storytelling.
Today is a day to play go fish and memory.
Today is a day that could be written off but isn't.
Today isn't particularily exciting.
Today is a day fond memories are made of.

The Simple Life?

This has been flying around facebook lately and it's worth watching. It's given me a number of random thoughts over the past few days, so take a look and then read my random thoughts.



-I have 3 email accounts (4 if you count facebook) all with a different purpose, username and password. My main one, my old main one which is now mostly junk, my work one and facebook (which is where most people message me anyways) - how is this simple?

-Are we losing our abilility to converse face to face? Have you noticed how more and more often people are in a rush to finish talking and are off somewhere else? Texting at the table? Laptops on during meetings? When was the last time you sat down with a good friend and a cup of tea for a nice long chat?

-Have you noticed how many songs are about the good old days and they aren't our grandparents writing them? Tim McGraw, Brad Paisley, Alan Jackson (sorry I'm a little country biased here) all have ones out right now.

-Have you noticed how supposedly we should have all this extra time because of all our convenient time savers? Yet more and more people eat out and rely on pre-packaged food? They don't cook themselves because they don't have the time to do it.

-What are you most fond of when looking back at your childhood? Will your kids have the same sort of memories?

What I love about 5 year old hockey

Last night the kids got to practice bringing the pucks down the rink (width ways) and shooting them into the makeshift 'net' of 2 cones. Elijah lost his at one point when another 5 year old passed him one and said, "Here you go". Where else in hockey would you see spirit like that?

22 Weeks

1st Practice

Here he is - Timbits hockey is all he has talked about for the past year (when he first found out it existed). Playing hockey he's talked about for much, much longer (and he's only 5!) Anyone who knows Elijah well, knows how much he loves hockey. He watches hockey videos, reads hockey books, plays street hockey, wears hockey clothes, gets excited when he hears the scores on the radio...he just absolutely loves it. I don't know where this love of hockey came from originally. Jonathan and I have always enjoyed hockey, but it's not a priority for us. In fact, most games out here are on after Elijah's bedtime. However it started, the fact is it did - and hockey love has hit him hard. There really was no doubt that he would play this year.
Last night was his very first practice. Not only that, his first practice was at Harbour Station - where the Saint John Sea Dogs play. How cool is that? How excited a child did I have in my house? You can just imagine. He is just so confident that this is something he is supposed to do. In fact last year when we were working on the mechanics of how to skate, he took to it as work, hard work. As soon as someone put a hockey stick in his hand, the work part of it was gone - skating is just part of hockey and he decided he could do it - motivation!
The first steps on the ice were wobbily ones. And he slipped. I was so focussed on watching him and encouraging him. This was the first time he'd been on the ice without one of us beside him. But he did so well and each time he slipped, he just picked himself up again.

I took a look around the arena and all at once noticed one of the cutest things I'd ever seen. All the little hockey players were laying flat on the ice. All of them were determined to get up. All kept slipping down. But it was good. They were happy! They were playing hockey!
I was really impressed with the coaches. There were 5 of them there. All very kind hockey-loving, understanding men. They took their time with each and every one of these boys and girls. Encouraging them to get up. Showing them how to balance. How to use the stick to their advantage in skating. And Elijah started to get it. The stretches he was up on the ice skating increased longer and longer. He listened to all the hockey rules (sticks stay on the ice, gloves stay on the hands and listen to the coach). He stood 'hockey ready' when asked. And they practiced getting up and down over and over again. (Quite funny to see 20 kids all fall down on cue). I must say I was really happy to see Elijah stick with it and not give up. I really am so proud of him.
At the end of practice he was sweaty like a real hockey player and just beaming for the love of the game!
We had to celebrate a little of course, with a hot chocolate and a couple of Timbits!

It's official, I'm a hockey mom

In 2 hours, my oldest son starts hockey. Not only does he start hockey, his first practice is at Harbour Station, where the Saint John Sea Dogs Play. If you know Elijah at all, you'll have some inkling of the amount of excitement that is currently in my household. Pictures and stories to come :o)

Dr. Jeremy

Just making sure that the baby's okay.

Tonight's A Night For Cary Grant

Every month, I get a night to myself. Jonathan works an overnighter with the youth. I make sure to get the kids to bed on time and enjoy some me time. Tonight is a night for a bubble bath, a bowl of warm, buttery popcorn and Cary Grant on the screen.
I love old Hollywood. I know it is getting cliche, but it isn't Hollywood like it used to be Hollywood. Cary Grant was debonaire. Jimmy Stewart was the lovable boy next door all grown up. Humphrey Bogart was manly. Clark Gable was suave. Yes, the women were beautiful, but the men! Where are those men today? Thank goodness for our DVD players!

Baby Update

I had my ultrasound today - here's the lowdown:
Baby looks good, no problems!
Heartbeat- 154 BPM
Weight 10 oz
Revised Due Date - Feb 16, 2010

Contest Alert!

Hi Everyone,

I'm hosting a contest over on my book blogging site, Bookworm Kristen. You have an opportunity to win an autographed copy of either Cleopatra's Daughter or the Heritic Queen by Michelle Moran. To find out how to enter, click here.

Elijah's first day of kindergarten!

That is one excited boy. Up early and ready for school. He's been waiting for kindergarten for a long time.
Unfortunately, his little brother is not so happy with what's going on. All he knows is that brother has new stuff and he doesn't. Brother is going somewhere and he isn't. Life's tough when you are two. (Don't feel too bad for him though, this was one of the 2 days a week that is now 'Jeremy and Daddy day' and loved having Daddy all to himself)
I really wanted to get that '1st day of school shot'. I had to stop him from running to the car while I juggled the video camera and the regular camera.
Happy in his classroom, ready to meet his teacher.
Very happy to discover the lego table, filled with 'little lego'. He's been begging us for little lego as we only have duplo in the house. He's old enough for this, his brother isn't. Life's tough when you are 5. Good thing kindergarten came along.

I left him here, happy to play and went on my way. My way wasn't too far away. I teach in the same school. My classroom is in a different wing and coincidentally, his was my first class of the day. He got a kick out of calling me "Mrs. Springthorpe" and did so extraneously.

Now that the first week of school is over, I'd say he's pretty happy to be there. He couldn't believe I wasn't making him a lunch for his lunchbox today. He's pretty thrilled with his teacher too, life is now full of "Mr. Whalen said...." and "Mr. Whalen did...".

So my son, I wish you well in your educational journey, may you never lose your love of learning!

Those of you who are my facebook friends, there are more pictures of Elijah's first day posted in my photos to look at :o)

Am I showing?

I've recently had to tell several people that I'm pregnant. (for work health reasons, it's best if my supervisors know, in case something were to happen). One of my principals simply could not believe it when I told her I was almost 4 months along. She said, you couldn't tell, you don't look it. Well, I'm hoping people start to think I am naturally and not just that I've put on a little weight. Tonight I had a tell tale sign. My apron I usually use I wrap around me once to the back and then tie it up at the front, usually no problem...tonight, slight problem. I could still do it but not as comfortably as usual. I'll have to get a mid pregnancy shot soon and post it up.

Lunch

I just made Elijah's first school lunch. This completely caught me off guard into a parent moment. My son's first school lunch. You see, I don't make sandwiches for my own lunches at work, but sandwiches are a school neccessary type food. (they don't get to microwave, we do). I remember making my own school lunches when I was a student and it doesn't seem that very long ago. A very familiar feeling, but now in a different context.

well...

Yes, we survived the move - we're still working on the bumps related to moving including our internet not working - thank goodness for the public library (I can feel my internet addiction tension eased a little bit - but not in time to save my squash from wilting in Farmville)...I will fill in the story when hopefully the Aliant guy fixes our connection late Friday.

Kid Picture of the Week

We move houses on Monday, I guess Jeremy wanted to make sure we brought him with us too :o)



This picture is posted as part of Clever Mamas' Kid Picture of the Week meme. You can join in by posting your own picture and linking up with us here!

Jonathan got me a great present :o)

Thanks to Jonathan's love of Ebay, he bought me a Canon rebel for a great price last week. I've just started trying it out and know I have a lot to learn yet. A lot!
I'm really impressed with the pictures I took already, just as an introduction. These were taken on some of the automatic settings. I really want to learn how to use the lenses and set things up myself.

One more picture for Dad

My Dad found out the history of the Montague lighthouse for me "The lighthouse near Montague is the Georgetown Range Front light.. there is an older decomissioned light nearby ..."
I did get a picture of the two together and thought I would post it for him. Love you Dad :o)

Yes I am

For those of you wondering, and not observant to the additional ticker on the side...yes, I am pregnant! The baby is due in February. We're very excited about it and feel like we can share the news a bit now that the baby's heartbeat has been picked up (we've had our share of miscarriages over the years and weren't sure if baby #3 would ever come our way), we've also grown pretty cautious in sharing the news. Looking forward to sharing more at a later date :o)

Lighthouses for my Dad

My Dad's hobby is lighthouses. When he visits anywhere he looks for lighthouses. He now keeps a lighthouse blog (it's pretty good too) http://nealslighthouses.blogspot.com/. So when we're away generally at some point one of us will say, we should get a picture of that for dad or grampa. So here's a couple from PEI, the one I'm in front of with the kids in North Rustico, the other is outside of Montague.

Camping is a pretty funny thing

We got back from a camping trip in PEI yesterday. While we were there, I became highly amused at the amount of people who walk to and from the washrooms in the morning in their PJ's and no makeup and messy bed head. Normally, we wouldn't be caught anywhere in public looking like this, but camping brings out the necessity of it. This is me, I have to pee, I'll look nice later.

Sad News

My parent's dog, Brodie passed away a couple of days ago. He was a real Scottie, a big dog trapped in a little dog's body. He loved to guard my parent's place, keeping watch over their complex. He also loved attention, walks and pets. He will be missed.

Are we becoming less literate?

This is something that has been bugging me more and more often. We are being presented information visually via pictures and video more often than via the written word. Look at the fast food restaurants. Do they print their menu anymore? Nope. Just a big picture wall really with prices on it. And the online news. You used to be able to link to a news story where you could choose to read it or watch the video clip. Now, quite often the option to read it is not available. I like to read. In fact I love to read. I can read and take in information much faster if it is written than if it is on video format. Sure, the video can enhance it, but sometimes I just want to skim over the gist of it, not sit there for 5 minutes while everything gets detailed out to me. Just my Monday morning vent.

I need more days like today

We took today off. We didn't do any packing. We didn't work at cleaning the house. We didn't spell each other off to get some things done around the house.
Today we drove to the beach.
Today we ate a makeshift picnic.
Today we taught our 5 year old about seagull aerodynamics.
Today I sat in silence and read.
Today I watched my kids on the playground.
Today I laid out in the sun.
Today we went for ice cream.
Today I watched my 2 year old battle ice cream and win. (and laughed at the process).
Today we took the long way home.
Today I watched my 5 year old light up because he was having family time.
Today I didn't worry about dinner until 7pm.
Today I let my kids eat in the living room with the TV on.
Today I let my kids stay up a little later.
Today I had hugs and kisses and cuddles.
Today I am relaxed.

Does Pressing 9 really work?

I'm just curious. I'm sure you all get them, the pre-recorded telemarketer messages. You know the ones that call at dinner, nap-time, the kids' bedtime and pretty much every other inconvenient time you can imagine. I listened through one today and found out that I could press 9 to be removed, so I did (this is different than my usual instinct to just hang up right away) - I'm just wondering if it really works, or just makes it worse because now they know someone actually stayed on the line long enough to get to that part of the message. What do you think?

Thoughts while packing

I was packing up our photo albums today - remember those? Big, heavy, full of memories. I found one that was just Elijah. Jeremy asked, "Where's me?" I don't have a photo album of Jeremy. All of his pictures are on the computer - easier for packing purposes but does not satisfy my son's curiosity for pictures at that moment. Should I print some of his off and put them in an album?
Also I was noticing how terrible some of the pictures were - this is what life was like before photoshop and other editing software, what you see is what you get.

Entitlement

Do you ever wonder how much a sense of entitlement people have these days and what it really means? I mean we get constant news. Every story has to top the next one. Celebrities can't just be people, they are constantly watched and we are constantly demanding to know the real story. Why? What does it really matter to us?
And then even us with our small lives and communities have opened ourselves up to it. I think about things like Facebook, (which I enjoy) and I wonder how much have we opened ourselves up to people feeling that they need to know more about us than they do. Think about it. We have 'friends' lists. Now everyone has 'friends' who are really more aquaintances, someone you know from work, or an old neighbour. You don't really want to leave them off your 'friends' list do you? That would be considered rude. Yet, you don't really want them knowing every detail of your life do you? Sometimes I forget about these 'friends' until someone comments on something that I wasn't expecting, or asks about something that I didn't really think should concern them. I get taken back. "What do you mean by that? Why do you want to know? Why do I have to answer you on that one?" Has the open concept of Facebook allowed people to a sense of entitlement that they would not normally have? Sure I have lots of aquaintance friends on Facebook, but I'm not looking at their pages constantly. Good friends yes. I love to see the new pictures and updates. Now there are some ways to combat it a bit. I upped my privacy settings quite a bit. I don't log in as being available for chat most of the time(I feel too obligated to actually chat with people that start conversations and then you have the whole awkward, well I've got to go part). I'd rather just share with people who are really important to me. Is it wrong to feel a little imposed upon? I don't know. Maybe I'm making too much of it and just rambling now. I know it's kinda funny because here I am blogging about it on a page that any one in the world can read. Kinda ironic really.

Sometimes I wish...

Summer is one of the rare times I can enjoy fresh air. I don't think I realised how fortunate I was weather wise when I lived in BC. Living in the Maritimes has some great perks to it, the weather is not one of them. One of the things I take full advantage of in the summer months is having the windows open in the house. Even on nights when we get rainstorms (I love the sound of rain). I just really like having the fresh air. When we lived in the uptown of the city I couldn't do this. It got really really noisy out there. And now I'm starting to wonder if I'm spoilt living in this house in the suburbs (or just getting picky). Tonight I've been sitting here purusing through facebook and catching up with my email and it's really bothered me by all the noise outside. I know I really shouldn't complain because it isn't yet 10pm. But sometimes I would like to live out in the country somewhere, maybe by a lake and then all the noise I would hear would be quiet, nature stuff - crickets, birds, frogs and the wind in the trees. Wouldn't that be nice? Ahhh, I guess I'm really overdue for a vacation!

Out of the Fog Belt

So I thought having a crappy summer weather wise was just part of living in NB. Then I started hearing from people in Fredericton that it was hot. Then friends of mine staying at Camp Medley came for a visit with tans. What? You mean there is sun in this province? I decided that the next foggy day was the next day we were headed up that way. So we did. Today we went to Medley and basked in the sunshine (of course me having dressed the boys in the morning fog did not have t-shirts and shorts ready for them, but they adapted with rolled up pant legs and rolled up sleeves). Oh it was so nice to just hang out at the dock and you could feel camp life just start to blanket over you.
We then went to CFB Gagetown for a look at the military vehicles on display (can you tell I'm the mother of boys) - "oh cool!" from both of them.
And we finished of the day in balmy Fredericton for supper.
We had high hopes that by staying in Fredericton until bedtime the boys would in fact fall asleep on the way home, so I stopped in at Wal-Mart for jammies. It didn't work. They were incredibly noisy and got a kick out of shouting "moose" whenever possible (not fun when you are driving on a highway known for moose. Other than that, it was a great day :o)

Sandra Bullock's Hair

We went to see "The Proposal" this past weekend. Really enjoyed having a night out together. As I was watching the movie I kept thinking about Sandra Bullock's hair. I think out of all the celebrities I've admired over time she's one whose hair comes closest to mine. I just wish I had a stylist to help me get ready in the morning. I know it would mean more than just throwing it up in a ponytail after a shower. Her ponytails look fancy and mine well...they keep the hair out of the way.

Discontinued

It's almost a given with me that if there is a product I like, chances are it won't be around for very long. I may be exaggerating a little but yesterday I went shopping and found out they no longer make the scent of deodorant I like. I know there are tons of other scents, but do you know how long it took me to find that one?
Also, we've been working with Jeremy's sunscreen allergies. We discovered that the sunscreen we bought in England has no effect on him. And the sunscreen they used at his daycare worked fine too. Of course that sunscreen is no longer made. We think we've found one he doesn't react to as much, but he still gets the itchies.
I used to find this in restaurants too. When I used to frequent Earls (in BC), I loved their black bean soup (good luck finding that one now), at Milestones it was their ceasar salad they made with black beans, chicken and corn nuts (also gone) and with Wendy's it was their Southwest Chicken Salad (sometimes back as a specialty item, but not on their regular menu).
So before you fall in love with a product, ask me if I like it. If I really love it enjoy it while you can 'cause it won't be around for very long :o)

Sleep Well

I enjoyed a quiet moment tonight, just watching both of my boys surrendered to sleep. They are so beautiful and I feel very blessed to have them both in my life.

Who's Googling Me?

I enjoy having Site Meter linked to my blogs. It gives me a good idea of who's reading and when and why. I looked up some of the referrals for this one today. Some of the googles didn't surprise me, things like "Paul McCartney Halifax", "Starblazers" (I get that one a lot), "Corb Lund" - all things I've written about. Then there was one google that stood out, "Kristen's Contemplations"...you mean someone actually googled my actual blog site? Who? Why? Friend? Just for interests sake, if you've ended up on my site today, leave a comment to tell me how you got here and why. Thanks!

At the movies

There are movies I love and adore and know by heart. And then there are movies I've seen a lot, not because I've picked them, but because my children have. Jeremy is currently watching 'Cars', again. It's a great movie granted, but it loses something when you've seen it 147 times - I don't think I'm exaggerating with that number either, this is the 3rd time we've had it on this week. Here's a little trip down kid movie lane that my children adore:

Paul McCartney

For my friends who have been reading my facebook updates, I promise this is the last I'll do on the Paul McCartney concert (unless you ask me about it of course!). So, I saw Paul McCartney play Halifax this past weekend. It was incredible!
I really couldn't believe that he'd play this side of Canada for his one and only Canadian concert date this year. I mean, it's so rare he plays live anymore that I didn't think I'd actually ever see him.
When the show was first announced it took me about half a second to decide that I was going. I then emailed my mom and told her I was getting a her a ticket so she better organise her vacation to NB around the concert date. My mom is the one who introduced me to McCartney and the Beatles (Dad played me Jimmy Buffet). I pretty much grew up on that music, Beatles, Wings, or McCartney solo, it's all good. She first saw McCartney when she was 14 and the Beatles were playing Vancouver.
So Saturday morning we set out on the most beautiful day summer has to offer so far and did the 4 hour drive to Halifax. We made good time and found out that there was a shuttle being offered to the concert site, just a 15 minute walk away from our hotel. Perfect!
We got to the site (the Halifax Commons) just after 2:30, with promise of the gates being opened at 3 (well, they didn't until 3:30, but no matter). At about 10 past 3, we heard and saw a motor brigade coming up the road, sirens and lights and black SUV's and who had his head out the window waving to all? Sir Paul himself - that was so cool, totally perked up the crowd.
The opening acts were fine, I especially enjoyed Joel Plaskett Emergency. He's great fun.
But there was nothing like the show itself! Everything just went up in quality and showmanship and effects and sound, just fabulous.

This was the playlist:

Drive My Car
Jet
Only Mama Knows
Flaming Pie
Got To Get You Into My Llife
Let Me Roll It / Foxy Lady
Highway
All My Loving
Long And Winding Road
My Love
Blackbird
Here Today
Dance Tonight
Calico Skies
Mrs Vanderbilt
Eleanor Rigby
Sing The Changes
Band On The Run
Back In The USSR
Something
I've Got A Feeling
Paperback Writer
A Day In The Life/ Give Peace A Chance
Let It Be
Live And Let Die
Hey Jude
-
Day Tripper
Lady Madonna
Mull of Kintyre (feat. 78th Highlanders Pipe Band from Halifax)
I Saw Her Standing There
-
Yesterday
Helter Skelter
Get Back
Sgt Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band / The End

I mean could you pick it better? I was thinking about that. You have a repetoire like his and it's 50 years of music and history of music. Really I had only 2 I really, really wanted to hear and the rest I'd be fine with (Let it Be and Live and Let Die) - he played them and back to back and Live and Let Die was the coolest performance I'd ever seen! With fireworks!

I did manage to take some very shaky video. I'm going to post it in order here to give you some idea of the show. I had about 18 minutes of video on my camera so this was the best I could do. A couple more things before the video. First I don't think I've ever seen someone play to a crowd and make such a large gathering feel so intimate. There were 50/60 000 people there. He was really funny. After the hoopla of Live and Let Die, he kind of clutched at his heart and shook his head as if to say, I'm getting too old for this :o) All in good fun of course. He also pulled a girl up onstage who had distracted him with her sign of : Paul please sign my arm so I can have it tatooed. He did - I hope she follows through (my mom said she would). Finally, can he ever rock it! Guitar, piano - no matter. Just so impressive!

A good bra is hard to find

My friend Tammy and her friend Ann opened a bra shop up last fall. Appropriately named, The Girl's Bra Shop (their blog link is on my sidebar), it developed out of the neverending quest for the perfect bra. You all know what I'm talking about girls. There is nothing worse than buying a bra only to find you hate the way it fits 3 days later. The shoulder straps don't tighten properly or the underwire digs into your ribs or its not quite as supportive as you first thought. In other words, a complete waste of money.
I finally got time away to go for a proper fitting at The Bra Shop yesterday and oh my goodness was I surprised. First of all the sizing. I was way off in my sizing, in fact when I asked the fitter she told me probably 90% of women that they see are wearing the wrong size. What a difference the right size and a proper fitting make. I know these girls are trained to do a proper fitting. (I was there for an hour). These aren't girls who want to work a mall job and really don't know what they are doing. I know that Tammy and Ann were trained by a specialist and had an intensive course to do what they do. Another difference was once I had found my size and tried on everything in the store in that size and narrowed down my choices, the fitter asked me to try everything I liked on again and take my time. Sit down, stretch, move around. You know then if it's going to dig or ride up in the back or anything else that bothers us about bras.
I ended up with 3 (but could have taken home 6 or 7 easily). And I'm just amazed at the comfort. I know it takes more time, and may cost a little more (but not so much, you'd be surprised), but it is sooooo worth it!

Oh the things you can find

So I admit it, I'm a lurker. And a lot of you are lurkers too. It's amazing what you can discover by lurking on places like Facebook and doing a little Googling isn't it. For example this week I discovered an old friend of mine has been divorced, remarried and has a new baby. I didn't find him, I found his new wife. Completely by accident. Strange isn't it? Do you ever google yourself? I've done it. My blogs and some of my friends blogs come up. As well as some work I did with the local Shakespeare society. Not too surprising. I know it's harder to find me on Facebook. I've set my privacy settings pretty high. But really, the stuff I post is mostly for me and my good friends. Is that hypocritical of me? Kind of a new morality quandry isn't it? What do you think?

Happy Canada Day!

So I'm one of those annoying people that knows stuff. Random stuff. My husband hates playing any sort of trivia game with me because he says I turn into a completely different person (all competitive). Anyways, I read an article this week on how Canadians really don't know a lot about their own country. Most of the questions seemed like they should know it, but I'm not really surprised at the ignorance. I teach children and I've gotten over the shock of them not knowing their provinces, because they never do. I do have a song to help them learn them of course (you knew that was coming). So here's my own Canada Day trivia quiz. Just 10 questions long. I'll post the answers in the comments section. Let me know how you did (no googling!)

1. It is currently 2009. How old is Canada this year?
2. How many territories are in Canada? Name them.
3. How many provinces are in Canada? Name them.
4. What is the capital city of Canada?
5. Who was the first Prime Minister of Canada?
6. Who is the current Prime Minister of Canada?
7. Who was the first Canadian to win an Academy Award?
8. What is Canada's newest province?
9. What is Canada's official national sport?
10. What was the last Canadian team to win the Stanley Cup?

For some fun Canadian reading take a look at Why I Hate Canadians by Will Ferguson and How to Be A Canadian (also by Will Ferguson and his brother Ian Ferguson). They are really interesting and really funny. Very Canadian.

Happy Father's Day

The house is quiet. Elijah has taken Jonathan out on a father-son date to see UP! Jeremy being quite disappointed that he's too young to go has suitably crashed into a nap - he's taking his Daddy to Starbucks at a later time for his date with dad.
Hope you all are having a Happy Father's Day!

On Duty

3 times a week I'm on duty, teacher supervison duty. Basically that means that I am one of several teachers who are out in the play yard making sure that the kids are doing what they are supposed to be doing and keeping them out of harm's way. These are just a few observations of my interactions with the kids during yard duty.

-dismissed the entire upstairs floor
-made sure that no one was hiding inside
-walked one class down the stairs to prevent running and chaos
-untangled bouncy balls on elastic strings
-taken away a bottle from a group playing spin the bottle
-taught a girl how to properly dribble a basketball so that it wouldn't get away from her
-broken up a 'secret' club (read - exclusive hurting others' feelings)
-broken up a physical fight
-broken up a game of truth or dare
-had kids assist with erasing the inappropriate chalk grafitti
-discussed with one child how yes indeed, those clouds really looked real
-directed the traffic on the monkey bars
-sent one child in for a band-aid for a skinned knee
-tracked how many students were in and out of the building to use the washroom
-decided which two students would be allowed to hold the door when we all went back inside
-blew the whistle to signal going in time
-supervised that they were going in the building okay
-wrote out lunch violations for those who were fighting

Oh yes, and all of this happened over the course of one lunch period.

Just a great old song

My grade 5's are working quietly and as requested I'm playing music for them (as long as they are quiet). I've put on a Motown mix (school appropriate music). And a funny thing happened...they all got very, very quiet when My Girl by the Temptations came one and they started to sway to the music, move their feet a little and I even caught a few of them singing along quietly.

Why must we do these things?

I've been thinking a lot about California's proposition 8 these past few weeks. One thing that has really stood out for me is how hateful Christians are being about this. Ugh. I'm a Christian and I really don't want to be lumped in with the people that I've seen in the news. Please, my brothers and sisters, could you take a moment to read this and really think and pray about what I'm saying here. Now, I'm not a fan of gay marriage, particularly gay marriage in the church. But I'm also not a fan of the message that some of you are saying as an arguement against gay marriage. You say that God doesn't approve of gay marriage, so it shouldn't be so. Well, what good is that to someone who doesn't believe in God? How does that hold up in a society where there is a separation of church and state? It doesn't. The fact is that we live in a time where gay people are living in recognized unions. Just because you don't agree with it, doesn't mean that you need to be nasty about it. How does that show the love Christ has for people? How does that attract people to Him? It doesn't. I don't think it's right not recognising families. I don't think it's right to keep someone's partner from their deathbed because there isn't a legal recognition of their right as family. I don't think it's right that their children should be kept from them. I don't think it's right that the validity of their property should be kept from their partner and children should they pass away. This is the reality of the world that we live in. How does that help these people out? How is that being compassionate? It's not. It's being completely legalistic. We get so caught up in seeing homosexuality as a sin that we lose sight of the people. We lose sight of the emotion. We lose sight of the reality of lives being lived.
I know a wonderful pastor who thought of a great idea: the church should get out of the business of marriage. Now before you get all up in arms about this, look closer. Why not? Why not have a civil ceremony followed by a church blessing ceremony if you've always dreamed of a big church wedding? That's how they do weddings in places like France. Can't you see the problems that would erase? There are many gay couples who are fighting for the right to be married in the church. Well, what if the church wasn't responsible for marrying? What if the legal aspect of marriage was taken care of by the law, a justice of the peace? Would it make your marriage blessing ceremony any less special? My sister in law and her husband had such a wedding. They had a civil service at their home in Canada and then a blessing service at the church near her grandparents place in England. Both were lovely. Both were celebrated.
I am most concerned with how many Christians are choosing to walk out their Christianity on this one issue. We've contributed to making it Christian vs. Gays. It shouldn't be that way. It shouldn't be Christians vs. anyone except Satan. If we are really and truly walking as Christ walked, then why are we showing so much venom?
I want you to think about your own personal flaws and sins (and don't say you don't have any because everyone does - except Him). One of mine is the sin of glutony, I overeat. Do you honestly think I would have ever found the Lord if every time I turned around someone was saying to me: God hates fat people. ? No, I would have never come anywhere near a church. I would have felt so uncomfortable and so unwelcome. How is screaming out: God hates gay people any different? It's not. We've made being gay such a huge thing, that we've made it a stumbling block for anyone gay to get to know who Jesus is. The fact is, God created all of us. He loves all of us equally and whole-heartedly. He doesn't see any sin as any bigger than any other. We will all face Him one day and how are you going to answer the questions: How did you show this person love? How did you show this person who I am? How did you show compassion?
I have known and loved several gay people in my life. We have one friend so close to our hearts that our kids are being raised calling him 'uncle' (not biological, just a good friend). He's a great guy. I couldn't imagine if I had decided to gather up so much righteous, legalistic anger inside me and screamed hate at him. I would be the one to lose out. Instead, I have a good friend.

Do we have to be so negative?...really?

Argghhh - I am frustrated with the media!
First, let me remind everyone that while I don't actually have cable, I do enjoy a good TV program. I particularly enjoy British TV (can you see where this is leading?) and one of my favorites is Britain's Got Talent. I enjoyed Susan Boyle as much as the next person (in fact her story made a lovely lesson plan with one of my grade 7/8 classes), but the fact is there were many amazing acts that were on the show this year.
I'm quite pleased that Diversity won the show. I have never seen anything like what they did ever! Their choreography and movement was so unique, so precise, so perfect, so wonderful...(I could go on) - absolutely amazing stuff! But does the media write that? NO! They don't point out how good this group it. They don't point out how good the other talent was either - their focus is Susan Boyle lost(she placed 2nd).
They also wanted to dwell on a young girl, Hollie, who got a case of the nerves during her semi-final (she went on to re-do her performance and make it to the finals brilliantly) - is it too much for children to be on a show like this? Well they didn't see Shaheen Jafargoli perform and say that now did they? (Brilliant vocals) Or Aidan Davis, the 12 year old dancing phenom? Nope, the hot story is the negative story. Can we start building people up? Can we give credit for the combination of hard work and talent? Will that sell stories? I would much rather have woken up to headlines of Diversity Wins It All than Susan Boyle's Dream is Dead - find out why which a rediculously warped picture of her. You know, she is a lovely singer and I hope she continues to sing and that she does well with it, but I also hope that for a good many of the contestants that I saw on the show this year. Well done everyone, well done!

I've created a monster

So I thought it would be a fun thing to do for the end of the year, little did I know...I'm talking about the Hoedown Throwdown, a new dance by Miley Cyrus/Hannah Montana. I'm prety impressed with myself having never heard the song until last week to be able to learn it and the dance and teach it to 2 schools full of kids. I thought it would be a nice change from the Cha Cha Slide (and it is). It helps that there is a how-to video on YouTube by Miss Miley herself. I'm just now realising what I've done as I was on morning duty Friday morning and groups of kids all over the playground and singing and dancing it, and they all want to show me how good they are. Only 3 weeks till it's all over right?

Happy 200! (plus 69 plus ?)

This is my 200th Contemplation! Cheers to me! But, I've blogged more than that (a lot more). My first blog was over at MSN Spaces called Kristen's Place. I started back in Sept. 2005. We were still living in the apartment on Charlotte Street. I had one child and I had just started back at work after my maternity leave. Here's what my first entry sounded like:

September 09
Dimes
Have you ever noticed something so much that you know it isn't a coincidence? Lately I have been finding nothing but dimes. Everytime I find money, it is dimes, outside, in the car, in the couch, in the laundry, on the stairs of my apartment building...dimes and dimes and dimes! Jonathan told me he remembers hearing of a fellow who always found dimes and that God was trying to say something to him through it. Unfortunately, he doesn't remember what it was. Any ideas?

I took a little bit of time tonight to peek back (really I should put all of this on a disk to save it). Angela was my inspiration to start a blog in the first place (her link is over on my side bar). She was one of my college roommates and good friends and she blogged first.

I also found my first remembrances of teaching middle school (which I fought every step of the way but now love)

September 28
Life as a Middle School Teacher
Today I:
-rearranged the seating plan, again
-reinserted a nose ring to a panicked girl
-reminded students that yes, you lose marks when you hand in an assignment late (over and over again)
-answered questions about how old Janis Joplin was when she died (27) 10 minutes after our discussion of Janis Joplin's music was over
-answered questions about the pictures on my desk, "yes, that's my baby, yes, he's cute, yes, that's my husband, now Sit Down!"
-patrolled the bathroom log
-told several boys to take their hat off in the building
-allowed one student to call his grandmother to ask for pants as he ripped his
-kept 3 students for detention
-lectured one student for not showing up for detention
-added 1 pencil and 3 pens to my collection (parents, do you ever wonder why you spend so much money on school supplies?)
-tried to locate the owners of 25 papers with no names
-wondered at the fact that there was one with a perfect score that was never claimed
-was given the dirty look after informing a student that yes, their paper was due today and no it doesn't count if it was done but you left it at home
-wrested with the photocopier
-wondered at how my three grade 6 classes could be in such completely different spots of the same lesson with my most boisterous class about a day ahead of the rest
-found counselling information for a student
-and I think I taught a lesson on note length and rhythm at some point...

I kept this blog until July 2006. Elijah had just turned 2. So why the change? Well, I think spaces was being reformatted and I was getting quite frustrated with not being able to do what I wanted with it. My friend Jill (who also is linked on my sidebar) had been blogging with blogspot, so I thought I would too. I called it Kristen's Rants and Raves I kept this one until Jan. 2007. So why change to here? Well, I think this was the time that I had to start logging in with a Google Account and somewhere in the process I was unable to log in at all, so I made something new. Eventually, the ability to access it on my dashboard was granted back to me, but by that time I'd switched everything over to here.

I like here. I think I've gotten better at blogging. I have used blogging in a lot of ways these past (almost) 4 years. I use it in teaching (it's a great way to make a playlist). Here's a game called name the country that I made on my Music form Around the World site. Currently some of my middle school classes are using it as a format to present their term projects on. I've used it for my oldest son's favorite videos as well. I now use my youtube account to make a playlist, but it did work in the past.

I've also added 2 of my hobbies into blogging. Reading at Bookworm Kristen and cooking at Whatcha Eatin'?. I'm particularily enjoying joining the communities that exist around these topics. I had no idea! If you ever get a chance, there's some great stuff being written. Excellent book review and giveaways and fabulous recipes and food tips!

My 4th current blog is with my friend Jill at Clever Mamas, which has been born out of many conversations on parenting. It's newer and I think we're still finding our place in blog land, but I'm enjoying it all the same. It so wonderful to be able to share our experiences as Mamas.

So here's to 200 ++++? however many posts I've written. Thanks for reading what's on my mind at any given moment!

Giveaway!

Hey Everyone! I'm hosting a giveaway on my recipe blog - check it out here!

One more I forgot

Keputch = ketchup

Learning to Talk

I realised that I haven't been as dillegent as I'd like when keeping track of all the stages that my kids go through. I'd like to think that I'll just remember everything, but I know I won't becuase I don't already.
Jeremy's language skills have just jumped radically in the past 6 months and I know I'm going to lose some of his baby language words if I don't write them down.
For the longest time he would say 'asai' for thank-you. (I think it came out of 'what do you say?')...he now says thank-youm (to which his big brother says, 'it's not thank yoummmm, it's thank you!')
The both of them, started by Jeremy have a near nightly routine of getting their energy out by running around in a circle in the living room and saying, 'I judge-ya, I judge-ya' repeatedly. I think Jeremy meant to say I gotcha, or I chase you, but this is what has come out and it's stuck. Currently, the 2 of them also chant 'na na vinci' for reasons I haven't figured out yet.
One of the funny things they do is fake sneeze while standing on our bed and then fall down and laugh their heads off 'aaaaahhhh choooo!'
A very endearing Jeremy will add an 'a' to the ends of words, like "I love-a you Mama', or "I kiss-a you Mama". He's a very affectionate, cuddly boy.
One of his daycare teachers is Dorothy. He learned her name quite quickly which surprised both her and I (most of the kids call her Dor). He finds it very funny to call one of us Dorothy - Dorothy, Dorothy - he'll call out. We'll turn the tables on him and say, Dorothy, Dorothy - to which he responds, 'I'm not Dorothy' - we'll also try it with other names - he thinks this is very funny.
What's also funny is how he says his name. I stopped calling him JJ for a while because when you asked him what his name was he'd say 'I JJ'. Now he kind of grunts his name in a low voice "I Jer-my"...this is also how he answers the question, how old are you? - "I Jer-my, I two"
He loves to play pretend. He has a pair of dinosaur jammies that as soon as he puts on he says "roar' and stomps around the house. He's also quite good at imitating an elephant - he hunches his back and puts his arm in front of his face and swings is as he lopes along.
He very rarely says Elijah's name. He calls him Brudder (brother). And follows him everywhere and does everything Elijah does. He's actually quite put out on Mondays when Elijah goes for swimming lessons. "I go simming lessons!" very adamantly.
He still has a few baby-words for things, made up words. We'll be driving in and he'll say, Mama? Daba daba daba da (and laugh). He's very charming.

I am Super Mom!

Tonight I accomplished the triple trim times two! Hair, fingernails, and toenails all cut on not one but two boys! What makes this a super feat extrodinaire? Not a single complaint out of either of them :o)

Desperate Times Call For Desperate Measures

Weekend mornings are times to relax. Time to enjoy cartoons over a sippy cup of apple juice (or a mug of tea, depending who you are). Time to prop yourself up with pillows and snuggle under a blanket. Sounds cozy and relaxing right?
Unfortunately the sounds I've been hearing have been:
No, Brother!
Share the blanket!
MY blanket!
Don't kick!
Kick, kick, kick (laugh)!
I know, you're shocked, my kids...fighting?
My little boys who used to be so content snuggling on the couch have grown. The couch they want to share is the loveseat. The other couch is a futon, that usually sits on the wall away from the loveseat. This morning, I moved it. I'd had it with the pushing and shoving of who got the comfiest spot, so turned the futon around and pushed it right up to the loveseat to make one long couch. And it worked. Both are happy. Both have room. And both have a good view of Curious George. Ahhh.

*Bonus marks if you can guess which boy said what!

My Mother's Day in Pictures

flowers

playtime

table picnic

lunch

mocha and a book

bath

BBQ

storytime

goodnight