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February 11, 2003
The week in a nutshell.
Jessica and Jeanette just posted entries, I'll try to keep this brief because me too, I have to get over there.
February 6th started off like any other morning except we were a bit lazier. The alarm went off at 6:00, the kids were already awake and we were cuddling in our bed. It's been about a week now Kaillan started singing these really cute songs where basically she names every person she knows while raising her feet to the sky. The radio was on and miraculously, silence fell when Andrew Carter spoke specifically at us: Krispy Kremes are coming to Montreal. It's at least a year since we first started hearing about these doughnuts and we already knew the first store will open here at the end of April. The night that even made our local news, we stayed up till just before midnight to hear the full report. So anyway, Andrew told us Krispy Kreme was going to a metro station near my work at 8:30a.m. and giving away 10,000 boxes of a dozen donuts. It was as if there was a fire on our beehinds, we shot out of bed and ran like maniacs to get ready, throwing our plan together. We HAD to beat traffic, if we left by 7:15, we could be there by 8:00 and be first in line. Brandan put hair gel on so he would look at least 12 and be old enough to get a box of his own. I know the kids didn't eat properly but they'd survive, did we even drink anything before we were out the door?
At 8:00 we miraculously found parking, albeit possibly illegal, grabbed the kids and ran for the station. Nobody was there, nobody was setting anything up and the guy at the ticket counter had absolutely no idea what I was talking about. The kids were sitting on a filthy dirty floor and we were obviously in the wrong place. Back out to the car and I called the radio station. The programme director had me on the line for ten minutes when all of a sudden we saw the bus drive by, so when I squeeled "there's the bus!", he asked me to please call him back live from the scene. We drove around the block, backed in and out of an alley and found ourselves in the most perfect spot in the world, the only van smack in the middle of Krispy Kreme convoy. I pulled out my camera and took a picture of the roadster in front of us, they waved. When eventually we got to the big hand-off, four people recognised me from the car, they gave Brandan a hat and three boxes of donuts. When I took a picture of him standing in front of the bus (this was after all, a family adventure), a television crew came over and filmed him, someone else asked if she could take our picture. Brandan was not interested at all because his mission was to just get in the car and eat a box of donuts. So were they worth it? Drumroll please...we only had the glazed kind and while yes they were very good, there's no doubt a different kind would be my favourite. I'd need a box of twelve different ones.
I forget where I left off last time, but Kaillan started a bad cold and it only took a couple days before she was kind enough to share it with me. The only thing worse than landing a really bad one is that I'm allergic to Kleenex. When Saturday night, I sneezed twenty two times in a row, held onto the counter and sneezed another seventeen times, I knew I'd either blown a million brain cells or the room was all of a sudden getting very black. I survived the worst day in the history of a cold and like always, bounced back the next day. The part that sucks though is we went to two parties and the food looked right up my alley but I couldn't taste any of it. Someone has got to cure the friggan cold already!
In all that feeling sorry for myself, I prescribed myself a decent night's sleep. I was going to haul myself off to the soundproof guest room and shut myself in till morning, Remo would juggle the kids overnight. Obviously everyone slept right through for the first time in forever and I swear I was up every half an hour. Tossed, turned, got up and checked if they had blankets on and tossed some more. I thought maybe it was because I couldn't breath, so I opted for another night sequestered. When that night too my sleep was stunted, I started worrying it's me with the problem, what if I don't know how to sleep a full night anymore?
Monday morning, Remo came in to wake me up and crawled under my warm covers with Brandan the shadow right behind him. I felt like I had just actually fallen asleep, it was the perfect time for Brandan to get a few clarifications on the baby issue.
"Mommy?"
"Hmmm."
"How did the baby get in your tummy?"
I was awake. Then I kicked Remo. Then he kicked me back. Even if I had been more alert, I was not prepared, so I went for deviation. "Dr. Bray's going to take the baby out before your birthday!".
"I know that, but how did he get it in there?"
"Well you have to be a grown up and you need a Mom and a Dad".
"I'm half a grownup".
"Well you have to be REALLY grownup. Oh Brandan, I forgot to tell you! Jungle Book is coming to the movies, we can take you next week"
"Jungle Book is for little kids. I want to see Spy Kids".
Half my thought was that he's only four and a half, then I wondered where is he getting this from? Isn't Spy Kids for ten year olds? And where is that birds and the bees book I bought anyway? I'm shy and while I don't want my children to prefer no clothes over clothes, I'm not going to put myself through wild contortions to cover myself up in front of them. I want them to feel very comfortable with their bodies because I don't feel there's anything wrong with it and most important, I want to make sure they feel completely open with me about themselves. Lumps, bumps, itches, show me! But I've never walked or talked this scene before and I need to figure out what's appropriate for his age. Honest to Gawd, this kind of stuff pops up from out of nowhere.
Remo and I have talked about whether we hope the baby is a boy or a girl. Though secretly I think he'd like a boy, we joked that it would be nice to have a girl so we could actually have a girl. I'm almost scared to mention it, Kaillan's all of a sudden turning into one and from out of nowhere this week, she became gentle. I believe communication was the root of most of her problems. So determined is she to meet her needs and so frustrated was she when we didn't get it, that she would flip out - or as Brandan explains, oh man, she's a disaster area again. I remember when Brandan was the same age, I thought for sure he was going to be a kid with problems and he or we worked through it. She's no different. So far. Now that her vocabulary is improving or at least her comprehension of the rest of the picture is becoming more clear, she's so much easier to work with. Not to say we've dropped the tantrums mind you, because she's 50% Italian and 50% Irish and she sucked the hot headed out of both of cultures, but she seems more flexible. I have hope she maybe won't mangle the new baby.
Speaking of names for the new one which we weren't, but I've been lately giving much thought to, Brandan revised his girl name to Sabrina (after my girlfriend's daughter). I have a hard time getting past Jacob because I like Jay, J.J. and Jake and there's no other "J" names that feel right (I used John on Brandan and James on Matthew). But Jacob was number one for 2001 and Brandan never made it to number one, but there's still a whole whack of them out there. I want strong and original but not too makeup and I'm not working with the easiest last name either. They just don't make names like they used to. I'm envious of those people who've had their baby names picked out their whole entire lives.
Obviously priorities are falling back into place if I'm back to discussing food. Because there comes those moments where life hits a standstill and everything sounds yuk and same old, I decided to start making a calendar of the dinners we have that really rule. Though I don't have to live by it, it'll come in handy when I'm brain dead and why not make planning and shopping easier? Last night we made a simple meatloaf and jazzed it up with a no MSG roast beef gravy like a Salisbury steak, mashed potatoes, mashed turnip with brown sugar, cauliflower and green beans and supper was knock out. Tonight? Homemade vegetable and chick pea soup, bagels and cream cheese and pineapple and strawberries for desert. In trying to live more on a budget, I've been bringing leftovers for lunch. What kills me is those days I spend half my morning watching the clock wondering is it too early for lunch now (10:00)? To the gang who's coming to Montreal, wait till you try a Montreal Bagel. I promise you'll be bringing them home with you and I hope the gang who's not coming is filthy stinking jealous.
It was a quiet kind of week. Saturday is our Valentines party so we'll be running around the next few days and somewhere in there the house'll have to get cleaned. Work is pretty busy and life, well life is like chocolate. I hope you all get spoiled by the Valentines of your lives.
Allisun
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