My Haircut

I've been growing my hair for quite awhile, with the intention of donating it to an organization that makes wigs for cancer patients. Finally it was long enough, which is good because I was starting to feel like there could be small animals nesting in my hair and I wouldn't have noticed. Saturday was the big day. A salon in the area gives free haircuts to people who are donating their hair, so I was excited to give it a try. They washed my hair and gave me a scalp massage, which is very very relaxing. My hairdresser, or stylist or whatever we're calling her - well, actually we'll call her Niki, because that's her name - offered to make me a latte. She then started talking about what she would do with my remaining hair once the long stuff was chopped off. I sat there, dizzy from the hair washing and the cozy drinks being served to me. About 45 minutes later she was done. The back was "undercut" and the front pieces were slightly longer than the back. It was an actual hairstyle instead of the "I'm growing my hair to donate it" look that I'd been sporting. I was content. I'd enjoyed a free haircut and coffee and made a new bff - Niki. Then, as I was driving home, it dawned on me that I had the same haircut as our friend, Kristen. I thought that maybe it wasn't that noticeable. I opened the door when I got home, John came towards me and said "Your hair is exactly like Kristen's." I made a few frantic calls. Niki agreed to fix my hair. And that is the story of how I had two haircuts in one afternoon.

Niagara Half Marathon

Today John and I and a bunch of our friends, completed the Niagara Half Marathon. Here are some of the highlights of today:
- the fact that the rain stopped when we needed it to.
- a kind stranger who offered us the use of her bathroom so that we wouldn't have to use the bushes, or worse yet, a porta potty.
- Gerry, Sarah and Steven watched our kids for us and brought them to the 10 km mark to cheer us on. It totally made me cry, so after seeing them I was gasping for breath while crying and running, which don't go well together. So, I had to quit crying and keep running. Not only did they watch our kids, but they (well, likely Gerry) made sure that we came home to a clean kitchen/house. Thanks, Gerry.
- Being cheered on by total strangers and friends who made the trip to come and cheer us on - thanks Rachel and Jenn!
- John and I were finally able to ditch the very very stinky man that we kept getting stuck behind.
- each one of us crossed the finish line and were happy with our times. John and I crossed the finish line holding hands, which my brother and nephews have told me is super lame. However, I think that they're just jealous because they would have liked to have held John's hand.
- Going out for pizza with our kids.
- WE DID IT!

she found me

The lady from the gym found me, at a yard sale, most unexpectedly. After doing a few double takes of each other we realized that we recognized each other. And then she approached me and clarified that she hadn't meant to be bossy or tell me that I'm lazy, but simply that she's been going to the gym for a long long time and that she likes exercising the way that she's been doing it. So, we made up. We're friends now. I'm not sure that we should be work-out partners though. I don't see that going very well.

Michael's real imaginary friend

Today Michael had a friend over. They were sitting at the table having a snack when Michael looked at me and gestured towards his friend. He then commented "he's pretend. I made him up." I may need to clarify the difference between playdates and imaginary friends.

LAZY, LAZY, LAZY!!!!!!!!

Today I went to the gym. I decided to start out on the stationary bikes. As I sat down, the woman on the bike next to me immediately started talking about her work-out. I asked her for some help setting my program as I wasn't familiar with this particular bike. She helped me out and then started giving me advice that didn't seem to make any sense. So, I changed the topic. Then she noticed that I had a "key." A key is a genius device that you can get programmed for your work-out. You meet with a trainer and they program your work-out into the key. When you go to the weight machines the little screen says "Hello Grace, you are lifting 50 millions pounds, nice job" and then the machine adjusts to 50 million pounds. Well, my new friend did not approve of the key. She started explaining that it was making me lazy. Lazy? I'm at the gym, lifting 50 million pounds. How is this lazy? She continued to explain her theory about how the system was making everyone LAZY, LAZY, LAZY!!!!! Again, I wasn't following her logic. Then I realized that I was five minutes into my work-out and I was trapped beside this woman. So, I pulled out my magazine and started reading and she pulled out her DR. PHIL book about relationships.

cake and quiche

I'm not sure if you know this, but today was National Bring Grace Something Delicious to Eat Day. I strongly believe that food prepared by other people always tastes best. I will admit that cooking isn't my first passion, but we get by. Anyway, here is the list of wonderful food that was given to me today:
carrot cake with vanilla bean icing (we ate half with playgroup, but yvonne left the other half of her cake love with me)
yummy loaf cake that smells good but I'm not sure what's in it because i haven't started eating it yet
quiche
spicy butter chicken
banana muffins
peanut brownies

It was a good day - a delicious day. Thanks to Yvonne, Kim and Cindy. Also, thanks to Lydia, Josiah and Levi who helped us eat this feast. No thanks to Jen who wasn't wiling to drive here to eat this feast.

I might make this holiday a bi-weekly thing....or maybe weekly.

Christmas List

I find my kids birthday and Christmas lists to be very entertaining. I still have Charis' birthday list in my wallet because it is so funny and cute. Yesterday morning Charis wrote out Michael's christmas list for him. It is as follows:
1. sea doo
2. a dirt bike
3. a bunny - either alive or toy
4. dinkie cars
5. real cell phone
6. polly pockets
7. candy
8. nerf guns
9. teck decks

Today he started asking how soon until Christmas. He held up four fingers and asked "this many sleeps???"

honestly

I went to Costco today. There were lots of samples out. One of the sample tables was hidden in the back of the store, past the milk. The lady was handing out tiny little samples of juice in tiny little paper cups like the kind that the fluoride lady used. If you never had the fluoride lady visit your school as a kid, you were clearly born at the wrong time and in the wrong place. The fluoride didn't taste great, but the arrival of the fluoride lady meant that class would be interrupted for ten minutes and how exciting is that? Okay, back to the juice, the brand was "HonestKids." So, I asked if drinking the juice would make my kids honest and if it would I would buy six cases of it. The lady kindly replied that "No, it will not." Then she went on to say "only modelling honestly will make them honest. Children learn by what they see." From most people this would have been condescending and annoying. But this lady was so gentle and soft spoken that I wanted to sit beside her and talk for awhile. Maybe I'll go back next week. She can keep the juice though. It tasted like fluoride.

my apologies

I was on a long long road trip with the kids today - just the kids and me and eighty million Geronimo Stilton books on CD. All in all, it went really well, but anytime that four people are stuck in a vehicle together with some guy pretending to be a mouse (if you don't know who Geronimo Stilton is, now is the time to find out), things can get a bit nutty.
I put off dinner until 7 p.m., thinking that if I waited that long, then there would only be an hour more driving required until we were home. So, we were all suffering from not enough food and too much Geronimo, who, by the way, is totally obsessed with cheese, when we stopped at Wendy's for dinner. As we ordered, Michael climbed on the little railing that is meant to corral the customers before ordering. I ordered our food and then looked behind me just in time to see an older man reaching out to grab him in case he fell, all the while reprimanding Michael for climbing there, as it was much too dangerous. Well, I was cranky and not in the mood to have some dude imply that my parenting sucked. So, I took a look at him and said "I am not in the place to get parenting tips from you." I may have been a bit snarky about it. I then took Michael and held him on my hip under the pretence that our food was ready. It wasn't ready. As I stood there, waiting, I realized that I kind of agreed with the guy. It wasn't that great of a place for Michael to sit. He would totally crack his head open if he fell. But I didn't have it in me to be gracious and say "Hey, you're right." I was tired and hungry and wanted my cheeseburger. So, to the not so helpful man in Wendy's who was trying to be helpful, "I'm sorry." I'm pretty sure that both he and Brian Mulroney read my blog.

next time, you come sooner

After supper this evening I went out to do what we call a "shoppers trip." This is in reference to the fact that I find it very therapeutic and relaxing to wander around Shoppers Drug Mart, especially if done after supper, in that short but sometimes exhausting hour of tuck-ins. I don't always go to Shoppers. Sometimes it's the library, a book store...even groceries when things are really desperate. So, this evening I went to the bank and then noticed a spa across the street that said it welcomed "walk ins" and did pedicures. I'm not generally inclined to get pedicures, manicures or facials...for a variety of reasons, including:
1) I'd rather spend our money elsewhere.
2) I'd rather spend my time elsewhere.
3) I generally walk away feeling quite hideous as the aesthetician tends to spend much of the time exclaiming how I'm really quite a mess and do require more regular visits to her and her team of people.
4) I'm always a bit concerned that I'm going to catch some gross fungus from improperly washed tools.

But, every three years or so I like to give it another try. Part of me is very intrigued with it all. So, tonight I thought that I'd get a pedicure. I walked in and there was an opening. I was told to chose a colour of nail polish and was then guided to my chair. The aesthetician showed me that my chair could give me a massage and showed me how to operate it. Well, massage was an understatement. My chair started shaking and moving to the extent that I thought that maybe an alien baby was trying to break free. I felt as though everyone in the place was watching as my entire body was being thrown around by the massaging chair. However, I wanted to give it a fair try, so I endured - all the while shaking and convulsing.

In the meantime the aesthetician started working on my feet. Soon it became clear that she was disgusted by the sorry state of my feet. As she worked she looked up at with contempt, saying, "next time, you come sooner." She then picked up a razor blade in an attempt to soften my feet. I turned off the crazy massaging chair as the combination of my shaking body and the razor so close to my feet seemed like a bad idea. She continued to repeat "you need to come here once a month." Like I said, she was holding a razor, so I kept agreeing that I had been very neglectful of my feet and that I was willing to repent from my terrible ways.

Don't get me wrong. It was actually quite a relaxing experience. There was hot water, nice smelling lotion and pretty nail polish. But, I'd rather spend my time doing other things, like running, swimming with my family and flying kites with my kids. I'd rather spend my money on new running shoes or chocolate. And now, my feet feel a bit itchy - probably some crazy fungus...but they do look pretty.

how to get a free pair of crocs

Our daughter, Charis is afraid of escalators. This evening we went to the mall. There was an escalator. We went to the second floor in a store called Sporting Life. As we went up we talked with her about how brave she was being and how we as kids could remember being leery of escalators as well. Soon we needed to go back to the first level. We got back on the escalator. A store manager got on right behind us and asked if we'd found everything. Halfway to the first floor Michael started panicking. As I looked down I saw John prying Michael's croc out of the escalator. Thankfully his foot was not harmed but his croc was in three pieces, covered in black grease. I turned to ask the manager "So, could you give my son a pair of crocs?" She replied that they used to have signs warning parents to be careful of such a thing happening, specifically when kids are wearing crocs or flip flops. I commented that the sign seemed like a good idea, but I was still holding one mangled croc and a weeping one shoed four year old. She then went to check if she could replace his shoes and returned a few minutes later to say that I could have a new pair of crocs for half price or some socks that he could wear in lieu of shoes. What? I noticed that she was wearing shoes and nobody else seemed to be wandering around in socks. I asked if there was someone else who I could speak with. She brought me to Chris. Chris was in charge. I was holding a very sad Michael who was wailing "I DON'T WANT NEW CROCS. I REALLY REALLY LIKE MY OLD ONES!!!!!!!!!!" I asked Chris for a new pair of crocs. He said "yes." We went back upstairs - on the escalator. I held Michael this time. Charis firmly clutched John's hand. We picked out new crocs and Michael decided that he much preferred his new ones. They're red with stripes around the bottom.

So, we got some free new shoes, but I'm pretty sure that Charis will remain a reluctant escalator rider.

Summer Fun 2010

Today Jason, Charis, Michael and I sat down and made a list of some of the things that we'd like to do this summer. Yes, I appreciate lists...sometimes I make lists of the lists that I need make. I especially like crossing things off my lists. Sometimes I do something and then write it on my list so that I can cross it off.
So, here it is - the Summer Fun 2010 List:
-run in the rain
-go to Centre Island
-picnic
-have a water fight
- pull out the little pool
- hike at Crawford Lake or Rattray Marsh
- get new shoes
- have a summer party
- play Nicky Nicky Nine Doors
- grow tomatoes
- have a big game of soccer at the school
- go strawberry picking
- have friends over
- do stained glass craft
- paint
- play play-doh
- tour fire station (initially they wanted to tour the police station but Michael grabbed my hand so that I wouldn't be able to write that one down. He's scared that they'll keep him in their jail. So, we settled on fire station. Although, I have to admit that I always feel quite ridiculous showing up at fire stations asking for tours.)

Please feel free to add suggestions of other summer fun stuff.

pizza

TODAY'S ENTRY OF SOMETHING DELICIOUS TO EAT:
homemade pizza with chicken, oven roasted tomatoes, mozzarella cheese, bbq sauce, pineapple...mmm, I might go eat some leftovers now.

Brian Mulroney

I saw a picture of Brian Mulroney in the paper the other day and it reminded me of the day that I met him. I was at a Shoppers Drug Mart close to Union Station. As I stood in line I noticed that the man behind me looked familiar. Yes, you guessed it, it was our former prime minister. Before I knew it, the words were out of my mouth "Hey, are you Brian Mulroney?" Then I noticed that clutched in his hand was a package of Imodium. And so, because I didn't want to hurt Brian's feelings I took his hand in mine and pretended that he wasn't bum sick. It was a beautiful moment. I wonder if he has written about it in his blog.

pretzels

TODAY'S ENTRY OF SOMETHING DELICIOUS TO EAT:

pretzels dipped in spicy hummus.

Try it.

I'm not your mom

The other day I walked into the grocery store, where they had set up a booth for "Child Find Canada" or another agency like that. The booth included a selection of toys to entice kids - and parents, I suppose. They had also hired some young men who I would guess to be in their early twenties. As I was walking towards the strawberries one of these guys approached me and said "Good Morning, Mom." REALLY? MOM? I couldn't stop myself. Sometimes I have this problem, where I just say whatever comes to mind (which was especially prevalent when I was pregnant, but that's a story for another day). I replied "I'M PRETTY SURE THAT I'M NOT YOUR MOM." Needless to say I didn't donate any money, sign up for a newsletter or take a "free" toy for my child...
Maybe I'll offer my services as a consultant to the agency. If they want to attract moms, they could offer free coffee or chocolate rather then another person trailing after them in the grocery store saying "mom, mom, mom...."

a purple room

About a week ago John commented that if I wanted Charis' bedroom painted soon I'd likely need to do it myself as he is busy with Hebrew class, slipping new alternators into the van and trying to fix his motorbike (which ended up going to the shop). So, I called my Dad. My Dad is very reliable - in that when he is asked to do something, his initial response is "NO, NO, NO." After a few hours he often warms up to the idea, or just gets tired of my Mom asking him. I'm not sure. So, by the end of the week my Mom said that she could come and help me in the gardens. Dad would come along and paint. On Saturday they showed up and Dad painted Charis' room. Now the point of this entry is that Charis' room is now a beautiful shade of purple that looks pink in some lighting. It looks great. I am thrilled - more thrilled than I expected to be. For some reason I have equated my daughter's purple/pink room with being a good mom. I am now mom of the year EVERY TIME that I walk into her room. It's amazing. I hope that it lasts.

Onto other topics, I've been reading some food blogs lately and am enjoying them. So, in tribute to all of the amazing food blogs that I read I'm going to list delicious foods that I've enjoyed as part of my blog:

TODAY'S ENTRY OF DELICIOUS THINGS TO EAT:

* dark chocolate m&ms (i didn't just discover these today but rather, I enjoy them every day so I thought that would be a good place to start in the delicious foods list)

*salad consisting of chopped avocado, shrimp and toasted pecans combined with some kraft poppyseed dressing. The fb friend who told me about it said that I could make my own dressing, but the kraft one works, so I'm going to use my time here on this earth for more productive pursuits, like watering the flowers that we planted yesterday.

DEFINITELY

The other day I learned how to spell "definitely." I feel better knowing that.

Ahhh Florida, a vacation where nobody gets eaten by sharks

We took a vacation to florida, which ended up being two weeks instead of one. It was great. Some highlights include:

*lots of old people (some of whom were friends with John's grandparents - that was cool). Others were pretty cranky and concerned that their hair not get wet - not as cool.

*a beautiful Easter sunrise church service

*my birthday - when John and I got engaged - okay, we've already done that, but he bought me a ring, which he's wanted to do since we got married 15 years ago - yup, you heard that right, 15 years. on our anniversary I called him to ask if that was really the right number. seems like maybe we're too young to be married that long. Helps that according to John's grandma I was a "child bride." She also said that I was like a young fawn....

* long afternoons at the beach where there were constant shark sightings in the ocean . Thankfully we were not eaten by sharks. I must confess that after all of the hype and beach closings I was sad to never actually see a shark.

* many fun trips to Target.

* flying with the kids for the first time. When we landed Charis and Jason turned to me and said "Thanks so much for the flight." So fun.

* A not great memory is that Jason got the stomach flu seven minutes into an NHL game (Florida against the Senators) that he went to with John. This was the night before we left, meaning that he was still feeling pretty rough for the flight home. Poor guy. then I caught it - at home. gross.

Oh yeah, we also drank a lot of Starbucks coffee. Mmmmm.

you seem like a nice lady

After writing about my dad last night I started wondering why he doesn't seem to face the same issues, that is, I don't notice people giving him weird unsolicited advice. I think that it may have something to do with the fact when my dad is tired of talking to someone he pats them on the head or back and says "you seem like a nice lady." Then he walks away. Maybe I'll try that.

if i could offer a word of advice

In the past few days or weeks I've found myself to be in various situations where total strangers are giving me advice on the strangest simplest things. For example, a few weeks ago a woman at costco found it necessary to tell me how to buy chicken - which is the least expensive cut of meat, what takes longest to cook and the big mystery of what is the difference between white and dark meat. In my heart I wanted to yell "DO I LOOK LIKE A MORON WHO HAS NEVER BOUGHT A PIECE OF CHICKEN BEFORE? WE'RE TALKING ABOUT BUYING CHICKEN, NOT SELECTING A DIAMOND RING!!!!" But instead, I nodded and acted as though she was sharing the most amazing information I had ever heard.
Yesterday I was shopping for pants for my daughter. Once again, a woman started telling me exactly what to look for - "make sure that they have some stretch to them, make sure that they're not low rise or her butt crack will show...."
I have to clarify that these people are not store employees. However, I need to confess that I may need to take some responsibility for what is happening. You see, these people are not approaching me. I'm approaching them. It's the "Jack Pool" in me (thanks dad.) I can't stop myself from talking to random strangers (and telling them that their babies are cute.) So, as I am realizing, I'm bringing some of this on myself.

one more quote from today

Charis exclaimed "I'm so glad that my goldfish is a girl!"

wise words from a saturday

Today Jason had a hockey game and we went to the bookstore, costco and Big Al's aquarium to buy goldfish.

I thought that I'd include some quotes that I heard and appreciated today.

* As Jason ate a hot dog at Costco he sighed "Ahh, this tastes like magic."

* Michael was thinking about the fish that we'd be getting. He commented "I like watching fish but not eating them. Mommy, will we be eating these fish?"

* After his bath I was dressing Michael and he wrapped his arms around me and said "Mommy, I love you and I love these pajamas."

* After listening to way too much arguing I shouted "If you don't stop fighting, you'll spend the rest of the day in your bedroom." Okay...so that wasn't so adorable....and I didn't appreciate it so much...maybe the kids didn't either.

Honourable mention goes to the couple at Starbucks who I asked for advice about my fighting children. The woman replied "Hug them." The man replied "sell them!" And no, I'm not above soliciting total strangers for parenting advice.

And now, one final thing that I learned today - if you're going to cave and buy a bag of chips for your family, don't do so at costco. We now own a bag of Munchie Mix so big that Michael could be lost in it for days. It was only $4.65 though. Reminds me of the Modern Family episode where they discover Costco....

Once again at the pool. The kids had their lessons today. The lesson ended with each of them receiving a progress report. Michael is three. He's in the Bobber class. These are the comments written about him:
"Michael demonstrates respect towards his fellow classmates.
Michael is doing well at his floats.
Michael would benefit from blowing bubbles when kicking.
Michae has improved the most at kicking."

Wow, impressive, right? That's a lot of words about swimming. I think that my entire kingergarten report card may have been shorter than that....."Grace needs to stop talking with her imaginary friend. She can count to 10."

Maybe I need to raise my standards. I'm just thrilled when he doesn't call his very nice teacher, Kevin, a 'meany tupid.'

aquafit

John, Michael and I went swimming at the y today. The aquafit class was running at the same time and was dismissed at the exact moment when we finished swimming. I headed to the showers one step in front of the group. As I tell what happened, its important to visualize properly, specifically that Aquafit seems to appeal to women of a certain age and body type...okay, older women who may be a bit heavy set.
As I left the shower area, wrapped in my towel there was a woman who was insistent on speaking with me despite the fact that she was half naked. We finished our short conversation and I headed to the dressing room. She wrapped herself in a towel and also headed to the locker area. Of course, our lockers were right beside each other. I started getting my stuff out. She tried to make her way to her locker. And then time stopped, like it always does in the middle of a tragedy. The woman tripped and started stumbling towards the ground. Before I knew it I was grabbing at her, in an attempt to save her. I was clutching something soft and fleshy. Thankfully it was her arm. I breathed a sigh of relief, dressed and ran out of the changeroom, vowing to never end swimming at the same time as aquafit ever again.