On a cool fall morning walk, love is in the air

You can tell that fall is upon us when our walks on the way to school get a little too cool for comfort.

Today was such a day. There was a good sized chilly breeze that hit us face on all the way to school. So Cody and I decided to walk backwards.

That got old pretty quick when you stumble and can't see what you just tripped over. So we faced up to the fact that it was just cold out, so let's get busy and just get there.

I get a kick out of how Cody looks all bundled up. Half his face disappears behind his cushy winter coat zipped up right to the top. And with a toque pulled down, only eyes and nose appear. It's just, well, cute!

He reaches for my hand. "Mom, is my hand warm?" "Ohhh yeah, very nice!" But it's still cold out. So on we go.

We reach the school grounds and slow down. Cody then cuddles against me as a means to snuggle to keep warm, and to also add, "Ohhh Mom, I just LOVE you!"

With the big 'ol smile I wore on my face right after that comment, I forgot about being cold.

Cody reaches a milestone!

Cody wears a caesar haircut, that's a #2 buzz on the back, and longer on top so he can flip it up. When he goes in to get his haircut, he's most particular about just how long the long part is to remain. There has to be enough to work with after all.

In the mornings, he generally runs behind schedule but catches up pretty quick. Hence, what most would call, we're in rush mode. So some things get missed.

One battle is tweaking his hair. I do remind him at times he didn't 'flip' yet but most days my comment goes unheard. Whatever. I tend to allow him to be responsible for his decisions, whether good or bad. Plus, after only one coffee at that given time, my caffeine hasn't kicked in high enough to take on more unnecessary battles anyway.

So we drive to school today as we were running late. We like to walk when we can, but today just didn't work out that way. We drive up to the school and park. I say my usual Monday morning spiel, "Bye honey! Remember the Doghouse today. I love you! Have a good day!" I reach for him in the backseat, kiss his forehead and he normally runs off.

Today he glanced towards the sidewalk as he was about to open the door and quickly grabbed for the hairspray in my console instead. He douses just the front of his hair and holds the entire front up for a moment with the length of his arm. That would be the 'rush method' of the flip.

"Why now?"

No answer. I look towards the sidewalk and there are two girls walking by, glancing our way now and then. Ahhhh....

I inwardly am laughing out loud to myself. My boy is 9 and this matters big time to him!

"You look handsome! I'm sure the girls will appreciate it."

"NO mom! It's NOT the GIRLS! I don't LIKE them! They're EVIL."

LOLOLOL

Ok. That moment took me back to when in school at his age, we use to take ink pen and write down our arms, "SDSDSDSDBFP." Translation: super duper super duper super duper super duper (more if you had a longer arm) boy flea protection.

My boy has hit the super duper girl flea protection phase! Awwww....

I no doubt will not be saying awwwwww in about 5 years, but for today, at least I know my boy is stylin' and he's growing up just the way he should. Makes a mom right proud!

I'm not going to tell him about my outdated flea protection thing. I'm sure today's kid has other tricks up his sleeve. So I wait and learn and watch him grow up right before my very eyes. A day at a time. I speculate I have much more to learn too... eee... I need another coffee...

A day to remember.. to be quiet!

Today was our official Remembrance Day in Canada.

Cody and I had discussed the minute of silence on Nov 11, at 11 AM previously. But as the day dashed by, we simply forgot. I sadly remembered at about noon.

So later today, we were driving home around dinnertime, and Cody says, "Mom, we weren't quiet for that minute. Was that suppose to be today?"

Gulp... "Yeah it was Code."

"Can we do it now?"

While still driving, I answer, "Sure! Good idea!"

It's quiet. I look at the clock to figure out a minute...

"Now mom?"

"Ok."

I start timing...

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"Ok, starting... NOW mom. DON'T say anything!"

(I'm not going to say even an ok as it officially started this time I think...)

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.
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"Just tell me when it's a minute, ok?"

(to myself, OK!!!!!)

So in my mind, I'm thinking of what it must have been like to get a dreaded call home that your loved one wasn't returning. On what it was like to fight while missing your family you loved so. And what it must have felt like to bury a dear family member. I didn't live in a time of all this happening, but I have heard some stories from my parents and grandmother about the past. I just took the time to put myself in their place for just a moment.

We rounded the corner and thumped into the driveway.

"Minute's up. So, what did you think about?"

I turned behind me to see Cody had his head bowed and hands folded together on his lap... I was touched.

"I wasn't thinking of anything mom. I'm just tired."

Bah....

http://justanotherwonderfulday.blogspot.com/2008/11/pittance-of-time.html

BEAUTIFUL blogs!

Oh my goodness. Instead of going to bed like I should have earlier, I was browsing the net from blog to blog to blog analyzing how beautiful blogs are created. I suppose it's simply website building but in abit of a simpler form.

Check out how this gal revamps BORRRRRING blogs like mine into something spectacular... you must look at the before and afters via 1 column blogs, 2, 3, etc.

http://www.graphicallydesigning.com/search/label/2%20Column

This stuff just really interests me! It's so creative!

And here's one of the most incredible blogs I've come across to date. Look at these pictures! Layout of the blog! What she creates! She puts Martha Stewart to shame. I like just looking even if I don't learn something because everything is just so beautiful.

http://alittleloveliness.blogspot.com/

Looks like I have a little more work to do on the designing front. But not too bad so far for having 0 time to currently invest in new and wonderful things. I didn't even know what a blog was before April 2008.

It's already been SIX months since blogging and my renos. Wow. Time is flying. I'm so enjoying the busy-ness and progress of everything, but now, I'm really looking forward to learning how to build websites and blogs (among so many other things) with a one day shiny new laptop in my newly renovated home. I think I'm finally morphing into a world beyond dust and wall paint. I'm starting to think about a future. And THAT is huge. That right there is what my wonderful Extreme team is helping me to do. To move on from just renosrenosrenos. Gosh I am so grateful..

Let's just say this little blogging habit is slightly turning into a passion rather than an excuse to whittle away time. There is sooooo much to look forward to!

A pittance of time

I just came home from Cody's Remembrance Day assembly at his school.

Each year I go to this assembly. It truely moves me to watch a schoolful of children show respect for those that helped give us the kind of life we have today.

In tribute to the fallen soldiers and others affected by the war, I thank you. Please honor those fallen a pittance of your time and watch a short video below.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KYlrrAWCTRg

http://www.army.forces.gc.ca/chief_land_staff/remembrance/English/video.asp

Why I blog

What a hobby. For those that enjoy writing, blogging is one VERY fun thing to pass time with. But with my slug of a laptop with missing keys, even something so cool can become one annoying hobby pretty quick. One day I'll do something about that...



However, funny when we follow our hobbies (which actually shine as hidden passions, don't they?) that things start to click.

I've long wanted to mess with websites as my biz doesn't have one and I have customers at times that indeed ask if build them. Prefab blogging types of sites such as the one I'm using offer you templates to work within. And I play on them daily to attempt looks that please my eye. But it can be frustrating when you want to do something you can't seem to or don't have the option to. I came across a blog that was totally custom, yet used blogspot. Now I HAVE to figure that out so I can tweek to my heart's content and get my blogs to cooperate with my artsy mind.

Some may see this blogging or playing on the net as a total waste of braincells and life. But in my world where I'm still building up to what I wish to do for a living for my retirement years, every crazy hour I spend on this stuff, even if it gives me answers I don't want, is worth it. For me.

My retirement package will no doubt have something to do with a laptop nearby. Whether it's selling something, teaching, writing or building, I've yet to figure out. But each day I'm most certainly finding what works and doesn't work for me, which brings me one day closer to figuring out what I want to do when I grow up.

I have so much on my plate right now. My work and home and Cody need me 24/7. But as a wise friend once told me, it's important to carve out even 10 minutes a day on a passion of sorts. It gets you 10 minutes closer to your finished goal.

Now I just have to figure out how to only spend 10 min a day on my laptop... heh

The best rainy day ever

In good 'ol rainy BC Canada, we get a tremendous amount of rainfall. And yesterday was no exception.

A sudden downpour released from the sky. The rainwater rapidly made it's way down the road in true river form. Those kinds of cloudbursts always have me scrambling for the nearest window so I can better enjoy the show.

The sky was heavy overhead as if there was a dark ceiling hugging your surroundings. And then the coolest part happened. A burst of warm sunlight came sneaking in from the sideways window, warming up the darkened outdoor room. THAT is the very part that made me run outside. I LOVE those moments when it's raining and sunny at the very same time!

I had to quickly run back inside again for my camera, for THIS is what happened next, right in my backyard.


The rainbow was massive, and doubled up after this picture was taken. It was simply one of those moments where you felt like calling all your neighbours to get outside and enjoy!

Instead, I quietly stood in the rain with my camera buried under my shirt, enjoying the awesome show all to myself, wearing a huge grin. Nature most certainly does it best!

Being ultra selective on Halloween

The night before Halloween, we carved up the pumpkins. The entire house is being renovated with only a couple rooms that allowed some elbow room for carving, so into my office we went. Perfect! Never before have we carved on nice clean tables.

And Cody surpassed what I expected with the carving. I was whipping out freehand goofy simplistic faces but he wanted to do a pattern. Good for him! And he did a fabulous job of a skull with flames coming out of the head.

Cody wanted to be an army guy this year again. So he piled on every camouflage item of clothing he could muster up from his closet, complete with a matching backpack I just found at the thrift!

To my surprise, Cody wasn't in a huge rush to get out there. He wanted to stay home for abit to give out some candy. So that we did. We decorated up our front entrance enough to invite kids to come on over so we waited. And waited. And waited. A sprinkling arrived and the costumes were exquisite! I really liked these two ghosts that had sheets covering over the tops of their heads but wore glow sticks around their necks underneath the sheets. It was an eerie new technology kinda cool. Gotta appreciate that kind of uniqueness.

Then we put up our sign (a skeleton instructing kids to Please Take Two!) , a cooler full of candy at the front door and off we went.

We had just begun when our friends 4 yr old Phoebe and her mom Bec drove down our road. I invited them to join us so off we 4 went. Phoebe was an adorable little dragon that took great delight in growling at folks after receiving her candy. Priceless...

The weather held up perfectly! The roadways were wet but no rain fell. It was actually a beautiful night. And we hit a road that didn't have half the lights turned out.

As the night grew on, Cody was getting tired and decided only the houses that were decorated up were worthy of his presence. So here we were 1/2 hour away from our house and he was only wanting to go to half the houses?!? Common sense mom didn't see sense in that so I encouraged him to go for it. So what if they didn't have a welcoming pumpkin grinning back a him? They still had candy! No go. Oh well. Common sense mom speculated we only had to walk 1/2 as far as we did if we hit every house. Ah well. Even though I was exhausted from renos that day, I pushed my sorry body along, silently grunting with every step. This was Cody's night.

Little did I know, the boy was so respectful and visual. He pointed out to me that this house or that house probably didn't want to give out candy because if they didn't decorate, they didn't really like Halloween. So I respected his decision and marvelled how smart this kid is becoming right before my very eyes. So heads up people, if you want things to shut down early in regards to trick or treating, don't carve that goofy grinning pumpkin and those just like Cody will not be by. LOL

Traditionally we head over to the local yokel haunted house after trick or treating. But this year, Cody just wanted to stay home. Fine with me! I had been working on the house all day with hands over my head working on the ceiling and I was beyond just T I R E D. So we dumped his haul and munched away before bedtime.

Ohhhhh my bed sure felt great that night! But the entire event and preparation involved is so worth it and appreciated by Cody. That in itself makes it worthwhile for me.