Daily life, February style

So have you ever done this? When I need to remember to buy some grocery item, I write it down. No problem there, right? My problem is in purging that item from my memory. What I do is I buy that item three or four weeks in a row. I finally realized this yesterday when I opened the cupboard. I have three containers of cupcake papers, which quite frankly I hardly ever use but I suppose I ran out of them sometime in the past. Also, in the pantry area I have made out of my hall closet, I have my Costco supplies. I keep buying the same things: croutons, ketchup, soda crackers. I have amazing amounts of these items, and yet every time I go to the store I have temporary stupidity and I say to myself: "Something's missing... oh yes, I must need ketchup." And into the cart it goes. Again. Please tell me someone else does this - or am I the only one who is fully prepared for a natural disaster that somehow depletes the world's supply of Premium Plus crackers?
We’ve had a fun, full couple of weeks. I took the boys to their friend Hudson’s birthday party at the local bowling alley a couple of Sundays ago. The boys had so much fun that I could barely snap a picture of them standing still. That brings to mind the fact that we are having a really hard time controlling the “excited voice” that Ethan uses. It’s so over-the-top annoying, and it was out in full force that day. It came about after his surgery – I think he was trying to talk loudly but couldn’t because of his sore throat. So he developed this Kermit yell which apparently has to be delivered at top volume as close to a person’s face as possible. Oh boy, does it ever drive me over the edge...
I also had some quiet moments, too. Chantal and I got out for a lovely lunch to celebrate her birthday. We went to Vij’s Rangoli, a delicious Indian restaurant that is something of a local legend for Indian cuisine. Since my parents were watching Ethan and Jack, and Chantal’s two boys were in daycare, she and I actually were able to talk for close to two hours, without being interrupted in 10-second increments by the little men. What a novel concept! I also got out for a Movie Night with my Book Club. We saw 27 Dresses, which was enjoyable even though it was a predictable romantic comedy. It was exactly what we were looking for in a chick flick!
Our next swim lesson segment started up, too. We registered the boys into classes that run 6:30 – 7 pm every Monday and Wednesday. It’s later in the day than I would have liked, but it was the only time where both lesson levels ran concurrently. This means that, miracle of all miracles, I can get into the pool myself and swim lengths for almost 20 minutes! So my triathlon training has officially started. I plan on doing one local triathlon in April, and another in August or September. The April one is a Sprint distance with a pool swim, so I won’t need a wetsuit. The swim is 700 m (28 laps of a 25 m pool), the bike is 20 km and the run only 5 km. So my goal is to complete it in about 1 hour 25 minutes, which would put me middle of the pack. Then the summer one will be an Olympic distance race – a 1500 m swim, just under 40 km on the bike, and a 10 km run. If I can finish that one in 3 hours, I would be ecstatic! I’m running a bit faster these days, but whether I can manage a 45 minute 10k run after the other two legs remains to be seen.
Another key to accomplish all these goals is to stay healthy, and I’m having a really hard time with my back. The problem is, of course, kid-related. I was putting some clothes away in the closet about 10 days ago when Ethan shouted, “Hey Mummy!” I turned around just in time to see the blurring mass of elbows and knees launch himself off the end of my bed into my arms. Upon impact, I took a step backward and of course stepped onto some sort of transforming vehicle which quickly slid out from under my foot. I stumbled backward straight into my closet, and fell right onto the little dresser in there. I definitely bruised my ribs and back and, for good measure, gave myself whiplash on the laundry basket too.
That was not the end of my stellar day. We went to the Superstore and as we were leaving, Jack wanted to be the one to retrieve the coin as it came out of the shopping cart. Of course, it jettisoned out past his outstretched hand and rolled under the long line of carts. I had to explain to the kids that I didn’t have $25 to detach all the carts to get at our $1, but they insisted I try to reach it. So I got down on my knees and stretched... of course my arm was about 15 feet too short, but I’d proved my point, so I stood up to walk back to the car with them. I had forgotten that there was a giant metal beam about 8 inches above my head. There was this big “goooonnnnng” sound and I collapsed into a puddle watching stars flying around my head. It was an actual rain puddle I had collapsed into, not just the figurative “collapse into a puddle” kind, so not only was I injured for the second time that day, I was now covered in mud. Lovely. The boys each took an arm and led me back to the car, where I recuperated for a few minutes before driving home for a Tylenol and a strong cup of tea. I didn’t go anywhere for 24 hours!
But that weekend, we headed up to Whistler again for some more skiing. Mike and I took the boys on the bunny hill for the day Saturday, and although our backs were killing us by the end of the day, it was really fun to ski with them. We had Jack in a ski harness, and it was all we could do to rein him in. He was tucked down, skis pointing straight down and yelling “Look out everyone” and “Faster, faster!” while we’re trying to hold him back and snowplowing as hard as we could to slow him down. Ethan really improved on his turns, too, and their enthusiasm is infectious. On Sunday, Ethan skied with his Gramps while we spent some time with Jack. Jack was not amused that he didn’t get to ski that day! We have promised him some alone-ski time with Gramps next time.
The boys enjoyed this past week at school, too. Jack had a Pink Day on Tuesday. I had taken him to the store to see if he wanted to pick out some pink socks or something to wear that day. He chose a cute pink long-sleeved t-shirt and said that he wanted to give it to his best friend Cassia after Pink Day was over. My little guy has a girlfriend! On Valentine’s Day, they got all hopped up on sugar at school. Jack had a dance-a-thon where they collected pledges and danced all class to raise money for World Vision. Ethan raised money of his own for his skills-a-thon, to benefit the Red Cross and for classroom supplies. He had six skills to complete (he was tested by his Big Buddy Zack from Grade 7): tying his shoe, doing five push-ups, reciting his phone number in French, counting to 20 in French, and naming the city and country we live in. We had to work hard on the shoes and the push-ups, but he passed all six of his skills!
I made us a nice dinner on Valentine’s Day. Mike and I had a cocktail and a nice salad while the boys had spaghetti and meatballs decorated with sauce in the shape of a heart. Then, after they went to bed, we enjoyed Coq au Vin, roasted potatoes, and baked asparagus with Chocolate mousse for dessert. I made all of it from scratch and it was truly delicious! We had wine, a tablecloth and real napkins. We even lit a candle – how decadent!
Now Mike and I are working hard on our deadlines for work. After this Thursday, I hope to have a little reprieve, just in time to play more Rock Band and do a little scrapbooking. With that said, I must get back to work. Until next time!