Some Things

I swear this was yesterday

But THIS was yesterday…

I’ve been thinking about how quickly time goes. I found out this week that my daughter will likely need braces, and while I wonder how I’m going to cover that, I also thought about how lucky she is that she will get them. I needed them also, but it didn’t happen for me.

My teeth aren’t horrible; I can smile without being self-concious, but I could use them and my dentist has recommended it on a few occasions. But do I want braces at 39? Is there enough time left to make it worth it? When does the time come that you just say “Screw it. I’m not paying for anything with an expiry date that could possibly exceed the time I have left.”

But then I take my Gramma shopping and she buys yogourt, so maybe this never happens?

Today is November 11, which is Remembrance Day in Canada. Last year I wrote about my Grandpa who was a tailgunner in WWII. When I call my Gramma today we will talk about him and we both might cry a little a bit. (We totally will.)

I miss him more the older I get. It makes me sad for my children, who don’t have a relationship with their own grandfather. But, so it goes.

Some other things that made me think this week:

• On Friday I wrote about how my week hadn’t been a particularly good week. But no sooner than I hit “publish” I got some good news, and things turned around, at least halfway. They turned around enough that I could breathe again. So hey, if anyone needs a wish granted, let me know and I will take it to the WordPress gods. MAI BLOG IS A MAGICAL 8-BALL.
• School is in full swing for the kids and I have to say, we’re lucky here in regards to homework. My daughter in grade eight has a manageable amount, and less than an hour or two a few times a week. It’s appropriately challenging, so far no one has cried yet. She is normally finishes her math and French at school and this is a good thing because I doesn’t do the math or Francias, cuz I ams a English majer. I read a funny blog post about homework this week by Alice Bradley (Finslippy.) It was excellent because – like the best humour – it is true. I had my kids read it and they agreed wholeheartedly. Thank you, Alice.
• We’re in week two of Movember, and some twitter friends and I created emoticons to celebrate:

Are you participating, or supporting someone who is? It’s not too late. When it comes to facial hair, it’s NEVER TOO LATE.

• This coming week I am having lunch with some new friends, who I met despite that fact that adults don’t make friends as easily as 5 year-olds do. Ann at Ann’s Rants had me smiling all week thinking about what it would be like if we did. She is totally getting invited to my birthday party at Chuck E. Cheese.
• If this post seems disjointed, blame these:

Seven of them in a sitting will give you the shakes, heybutchaknowhat? I don’t care.

This week I also wrote at MamaPop.com about the crazy-but-lovable-wait-no-they’re-horrible Jackson family, and I also have an article at iVillage.ca about one of the worst parts of being a divorced parent.

Have a great week. Or at least one that doesn’t suck.

If this blog were scratch-n-sniff, this post would be pumpkin spice

It’s the end of the week! Although to be honest, all the days just sort of blur into one another when you work from home, so seeing the kids in their underwear eating un-toasted freezer waffles at 10am is usually the only indication that it’s not a week day.

Usually. Sometimes this happens on Mondays so maybe I should buy a calendar.

The kids are with their dad this weekend so it’s just me home today. This is when I should be doing things like laundry, bathing, and calendar shopping. I have completed none of these things since the kids departure yesterday, and it’s nearing the “don’t bother” tipping point on Sunday. My Sunday morning was happily wasted at a diner laughing with a girlfriend over mediocre coffee and great eggs.

I hope everyone is having a great autumn weekend, revelling in as many pumpkin-spice scented foods and activities as their olfactory glands can tolerate. If you were going to go on Facebook today, let me save you the trouble. Here are the top 5 updates:

1. Pumpkin patch with the family today!
2. Mmmm, pumpkin spice lattes!
3. Apple picking fun; now warming up with vanilla pumpkin lattes.
4. I love pumpkin and apple spiced coffee after the pumpkin patch!
5. PUMPKINSPICEAPPLEFUNPUMPKINPATCHSPICESSPICESSPICESCOFFEEYUM!

My oven is broken and I can’t burn candles because haveyoumetmyson, so I will live vicariously through the 23 million comments in my timeline.

Here are some things I specifically I enjoyed this week:

This week in paper reading I have Man Made: A Stupid Quest for Masculinity by Joel Stein on my nightstand. Follow Joel in his quest to become a “real man” after the birth of his son, when he is taught in part by a 13-year-old boy named “Wiggles.” The first chapter is worth the cost of the book or download alone. (Although I borrowed the book from the library. If you do the same, don’t tell Joel on Twitter. He will scold you.)

Get ye to the book store.

Smacksy

I love Lisa and the way she writes about her family, and the world is lucky it has a Bob.

Jack Straw Lane

On making friends when a playground glance and sharing a juice box is no longer an appropriate social gathering tool.

Mom101

Why you should care about the response to online security breaches, even if you haven’t been affected.

Ann’s Rants

Ann’s fantastic take on “Peter Pam’s” – women who fight the signs of age like I’d fight a toddler for a cookie.

A Little Pregnant

Lies she tells her children. The comments cover almost everything I’ve ever done/believed.

The Mouthy Housewives

Smash Cakes. These are a thing, people.

I also wrote other places this week. At iVillage.ca I wrote about why I don’t have a favourite child, and at Huffington Post Canada with my take on 50 Shades of Grey.

So spark up a “Vanilla Spice Chai Latte Pile of Leaves in a Pumpkin Patch” candle, and get some reading done!