Breathe-R!ghts.

"Look!" the little boy screamed with excitement as he pointed at the television commercial, "There are new Breathe-R!ghts for kids!" I laughed at the fact that my son was clearly enthralled with the idea, just as he had been when he saw the commercials for Slap Ch*p, Bump-!t's and Sham W*w. "Do you have flat hair?" he once asked me. "Uh, I don't think so," I replied rather confused with the question. "If you do have flat hair mom, you need to get a Bump-!it."

Well thanks.

As my son was pumped about the new commercial showing colorful nasal strips for kids, I laughed at him because he is often the main thing that humors me any given day. Now his new thing was Breathe-R!ghts and I knew I'd never hear the end of how much we needed to buy them.

But instead, the little boy disappeared for a few minutes and returned with a couple of items to create a special something. "Here mom," he said as he used the scissors, "This one's for you." I smiled at his creativity. I knew where we were going with this one.........so I took a before photo.

And here we are with our reinvented version of the Breathe-R!ght. Nothing a little electrical tape can't fix! Snoring woes BE GONE!

Joanna

The thing I love about Blogland is that it opens your mind, your world and your heart to other people who experience things you might not get as much as a glimmer of. Some people travel and you see the world through their stories and colorful, expressive photographs. Other people write about their daily experiences that include thoughtful, wise words that make you ponder your purpose in life. And then there are those who blog about heart wrenching circumstances that leave you breathless & weeping as you read their transparent words. This is what I love about blogging. Your eyes are opened to a portal that sees directly into someone else's heart.....often, someone you may not know.

Yesterday, I came across the blog of Joanna and was profoundly impacted by her words. I was shaken to the core and moved beyond words with every post. You see, just last month Joanna's husband of 9 years tragically died. She is a stay at home mom of 4 kids and is now widowed without her partner to walk beside & grow old with. Joanna & I are the same age and have been married the same amount of time..........and reading her words shook me to reality like none other.

After devouring her blog for the months of October & November I became extremely emotional as I told my husband, my living & breathing husband, about this courageous woman. The burden she now carries is something I cannot even comprehend. Through her powerful, candid words I am staring grief straight in the eyes and I can't help but be moved, astonished and ache for her. I read THIS POST where she wrote a letter to her husband on the one month anniversary of his death. I challenge you to read it and not feel her heart dripping with blood.

I couldn't imagine how hard it must be to sleep with your husband's t-shirt under your pillow wishing his head were resting atop the pillow instead. Or wake up knowing you must face the day because you are The Mom and life seems to continue on in spite of your grief. How would I do it? How would I.....as someone who is the same age as this woman & married the same amount of years......manage life without the man I love? I can't imagine.

Hug your children & your spouse today. And when you do, breathe a prayer for Joanna as she & her family struggle to find new meaning.

Early

I awoke to a dark, cold room just as the sun was beginning to rise. It was yesterday, November 12th, a Thursday and exactly 3 months since the day I gave birth to my baby girl. I stretched, yawned deeply and brought my daughter into the warm bed to nurse her."Good morning little lady," I said, "Today would be a PERFECT day to decorate for Christmas. Dontcha think?" She smiled at me, as did my son when I announced we'd spend the day unpacking box after box of Christmas decor. "But mama," the little boy said confusedly, "It's not even December yet!"

I knew it was early to begin decorating and in all truth, I had never cracked open the boxes any earlier than December 1st ever before. I don't know why I felt that particular day was THE day to begin the decoration frenzy, but nonetheless off we went setting up little trinkets here & there. The stockings were hung by the....uh.....gas fireplace with care. I smiled as one more little stocking was added to the mix.

I was sternly "warned" by my husband that the Christmas tree would not stand until December 1st because he refused to take it out of the box....and well, I can't physically trudge the darn thing up the stairs......so in the box it shall stay for the remainder of the month. Sigh.

The little boy asked me if we were going to set up the "Kid's Tree," to which I replied a resounding, "YES!!!!!!" You see, many many years ago when my husband & I were first married we had a tiny little tree because we could not afford a big tree. Nearly 10 years later, I unpacked the tree having held onto it for 'if we have kids one day, then we'll use it as The Kid's Tree.' Meaning, they get to decorate it however they want.

So off we went, my son & I to decorate the tiny tree. "How do you want to decorate it, hunny?" I asked. Enthusiastically he retored, "WITH RED & BLUE & SILVER!!!!! So that it can be a policeman tree."

Of course.

Being one who doesn't believe blue is a true Christmas color, I tried to reason with my son. "How about just red & silver?" He shook his head and insisted on blue ornaments to compliment the rest. It MUST be done, he assured me, or it wouldn't be a proper police tree.

Of course.

So I caved, and spent $2.99 on a package of blue bulbs and gave the little policeman his "Kid Policeman Christmas Tree."

What happens when baby girl gets old enough to reject the policeman idea and she insists on having a Barbie Girl tree? Oh dear. Hell to pay.

What a wonderful Christmas this will be. I'm so excited to see faces light up. But truly, I've already got the best Christmas present this year........I got a baby. To top it off, I've got a pretty awesome little boy and a fantastic man by my side. Merry Christmas to me!

Twice Free

Logging onto facebook this morning, I read a number of people's statuses saying things like, "Lest we forget, Remember your Freedom, and Thanks to the Veterans." This moved me because I am, to the very core of my being, thankful for my freedom in this glorious country of Canada. People died, full of passion & fervor to protect that freedom for me, for my family and yours. How blessed we are to be able to speak our minds, write what we want and not be censored, worship in whatever form we want to whomever we want, to pray in public, to wear whatever clothes we want, to eat whatever foods we desire and to raise our children in the best way we see fit......all without interference. How truly blessed.

I often enjoy watching movies that are set back in time to an era where women wear beautiful, long gowns, corsets and petticoats with their hair pinned up while side-sitting on a horse & saddle. I love seeing the beautiful garments of days gone by, but the real reason I watch these movies portraying the stories of Marie Antoinette, the wives of King Henry VIII and other remarkable women is because it reminds me to be thankful for my freedom as a woman. I realize that today is Remembrance Day and although we are called to appreciate the war veterans and what they did for our countries, I am also appreciating the fact that I have individuality and freedom as a woman.

Such examples of freedom as a woman are the fact that I married a man because I chose to, not because my parents arranged a suitable partner of equal stature for me. I have a university education and a career, whereas women in previous eras never had such an amazing opportunity. I can vote to elect government and I am thankful to the women that have come before me who fought tooth and nail for that right. My name is on the deed to our home and on the papers licensing our vehicles......something I often take for granted. I actually OWN my own things. I do not have any other person solely making decisions for the betterment of my children's lives or my own. Legally, men and women are considered equal.........and I feel so incredibly blessed to live in a country and era where that is the case. I have freedom as a woman and I appreciate it more than words can portray.

Take some time today to remember that you are free in so many senses of the word.

Morning Drama

The thing about having an infant again is that I'm up early and out the door much earlier than most people in civilization. By 8:00am I'm already aching to pick up the phone and ask someone over for coffee and adult conversation, but I dare not call for fear I'll be waking them up. I miss grown ups and talking in a language other than baby babble.

Anyhoooooo, this morning I noticed a number of strange things. Strange and funny things. The first being another mom driving a minivan with a towel wrapped around her freshly showered hair. At that sight I began to laugh. I have yet to do that; however, I have gone out with my slippers on. I didn't get a good look at the woman but she very well may have been wearing a white terrycloth robe as well. Hey, why not?!

With my baby in tote, I strolled into Starb*cks to have a deliciously concocted eggnog latte that have just come out this month. I mean, these things are HEAVEN to drink. Every sip takes me to a quiet wintery cabin with a blanket of heavy snow, candle light and......silence. No dinners to make, no children to bathe, no laundry to do. Just silence. And once my cup is finished I abruptly jerk back to reality of constant noise & chaos. So I order another one. And that's what I do all day. I only drink eggnog lattes, no food or water, simply to stay in my fantasy of silence and tranquility. Ok, I only have one cup and then sadly leave to do all my chores.....but a girl can dream.

So as I sat drinking my cup of bliss and listening to the soft, crooning music played overhead, I noticed the song, "Singing in the Rain" came on. I thought of my grandma because she loves that movie so much. Then I saw a middle aged man standing in line begin to enthusiastically bob his head to the music. He was doing a half-hearted head bang as if he were grooving to some hard core Aerosmith song. It was the strangest thing to watch. He was given 'er to Singing in the Rain! I turned my head and chuckled to myself. He's a rock star down to every single bone in his body.

In the same line up, a little boy likely no older than 3 years broke away from his mom, ran up to a complete stranger (not the head banging gentleman) and kissed them! The mom ran over and grabbed her son's hand while scolding him, "Stop the kissing!" I looked at her wide eyed with a very amused smile and she said, "He's a kissing freak. I don't get it." I laughed and nodded as though I understood. But I didn't. My son is social, loving to strike up conversations with anyone who would oblige him. But kissing strangers? Um, nope.

As I drove home on a busy street I noticed a woman walking her dogs. My mouth began to open and jaw began to drop and she walked her....count 'em.......NINE border collies. I thought my mother was crazy to have 7 children, but 9 dogs is just as nuts!!!! Hee hee. Just imagine all the dog poop she had to pick up along the way.

And this was all before 9am. I wonder what exciting & entertaining things happen in the even earlier hours of the morning. But I'm not that curious. I'll let someone else get up earlier and enjoy the morning drama.

White, Brown, Multigrain or Rye?

"Mama, how come we don't decorate our house for Halloween?" the little boy asked me. I explained how I didn't really like Halloween much except for the oodles of candy and silly costumes. In fact, I've never really decorated for any holiday other than Christmas and this year was no exception. The only decorations our house had for Halloween were two pumpkins craftily carved by daddy and uncle Norm.

This pumpkin got so scared he barfed up his lunch.

And of course I had to take my children around to trick-or-treat and see all the grandma's & grandpa's. And of course they had to be dressed in the best costumes EVER. So the little boy was a policeman and baby girl was Wonderbread. I know, it totally makes sense. ;) It was either that or she was gonna be a whoopie cushion which would have been just as awesome.....but daddy said no.

I love this picture the most. She's full of attitude and all like, "Dude, so are you gonna arrest me or something?"

You'd think I'd dress her in something all fairy princess-like, but NO, the Wonderbread costume I bought online was way too wicked-awesome to pass up.

She was completely enamored with GG (great grandma) and it warmed my heart to the core. It is so special to see the love between generations.

I hope your kids get enough candy to make them explode with happiness. My advice is for you to drink a pot of coffee just to keep up. Best of luck with that. Hey, I'm in the same boat as you!

Boing

The little boy bounded into my bedroom, bringing with him a loud presence as though he were a tornado rushing through the door. I stood shocked with the sudden hair raising increase in decibels as he ran over to me in a blur much like the Tasmanian Devil where I stood half dressed in a t-shirt and underwear. Although I was attempting to dress myself for the day, I stood frozen as he pointed at my thighs and asked loudly, "Um, mama. Why are your legs so sprinkley?" I looked to where he was pointing and I began to laugh.

"Do you mean dimply?" I asked. He nodded and I responded with, "Well, that's fat, hunny. It's called cellulite." He repeated the word cellulite and asked why it was there. I had no answer other than mommy gained weight and it went to her legs. Geeze, that's what I get for being a pear shaped woman. 'Once on the lips, forever on the hips,' is a saying that is OH SO TRUE for those of us with the small-on-top-big-on-the-bottom body types. Sigh.

Then he proceeded to try and make me feel better. "And I like it that your bum is so squishy," he said. I was full on laughing at that point. He took his finger and began to poke the side of my bum and said, "Look! Boing, boing, boing!" My bum jiggled like jello and we stood there laughing hard. Yes, I have a Badonk-Badonk. Junk in the trunk. I am bootylicious and apparently it is pretty darn obvious to my son. Awesome.

I just had a baby two months ago. I declare that I am allowed to have sprinkly legs and a squishy bum........for a few more months at least. I will not be hitting the gym yet because, well, I don't want to. So there. I will continue to bench press my 2 month old 16 pounder and run after my 5 year old. And if I happen to jiggle while I do it, well, that's the way it is.

Boing, boing, boing.