An Interview with WackyMummy

A while back on one of my many, "I'll just click on another blog that so and so reads and see where it takes me" episodes I found myself on Citizen of the Month. It is a very clever blog by Neil Kramer and he started The Great Interview Experiment two years ago. I won't say too much about it as you should go check them out for yourself but I ended up meeting two very interesting bloggers - WackyMummy whom I interviewed and the Wench who interviewed me. Of course I haven't finished answering all of the Wench's though-provoking questions just yet so you will have to stay tuned to find out why I call myself Sybil and what one word describes each member of my family (I promise they won't all be four letter)

But on to Wacky Mummy and her witty answers to my Diane Sawyer-esque questions.

I started with any easy one - What is the difference between a Mummy and a Mommy?

A "u" instead of an "o" (Duh)

Next, a more personal question - When did you get your first camera and what did you take pictures of with it?

Answer? I don't actually remember, but the first one I remember was one that took 110 film. I got my first 35mm when I was 16. I have yet to get a "real camera", one that isn't "point and shoot". Yes, I'm a complete poser. (You'll find this hard to believe when you check out her photos)

Now for the question we all ask ourselves. When and why did you start blogging?

I started blogging about a year and half ago, trying to find a grasp on my life. I was going through a rough patch with feeling so isolates (living in the country, not having nearby friends, not being near anyone I know and loved) and not having a clue with how to be a mom ... I thought it was a shot in the dark to reach out and, through the medium of the internet and bitching about my life, I could connect with others and feel a real sense of kinship and community. And guess what? It worked! I don't subscribe only to so-called "Mommy blogs", but anything that includes humor/sarcasm/irony/photography/kids. I'm very eclectic. I'll ready anything that gets my attention. My favourite things to read right now, other than cereal boxes, are dinosaur encyclopedias (to my son).

And now we get even more personal - Who was your first blog crush?

You'll have to track me down sometime in the future and ask me again. I have yet to have it. I will say that my most memorable crush was David Hasselhoff back when Knight Rider was fresh and new (yes, I am that old ... and that weird), and my most recent (and current) crush is Enrique Iglesias. You can stop puking anytime now.

No puking here, historical crushes are far more interesting. I'll admit to a fascination with the brothers Cassidy. But on to the next question - When your son grows up you want him to be ...?

A major league baseball player.

Why?

Because of all the sports franchises they make the most money and have the least chance of dying from impact wounds. What will he actually be? Probably a paleontologist. That's a word he knows.

How would most of your friends describe you?

Friends? I have friends? Where are they? They would call me funny. And high-strung but easy-going. And easy to talk to. And quite neurotic.

How would someone who just met you describe you?

Weird. But easy to talk to. And sweet.

Are you a Maritimer (meaning from or living in the Martime provinces on Canada's east coast) by birth or by choice?

Neither. Is that an answer? Actually technically it's by choice, but in my defense I didn't know what I was getting into, and if I had known today I wouldn't have moved here. I would have stayed in sunny Southern California. But then I wouldn't have had by beautiful soon-to-be paleontologist or attempted blogging. And I've learned so much over the past almost-five years that I should probably be appreciative of that. But I'm not some days. Acceptance is a work in progress.

Thanks to WackyMummy for particpating in the Great Interview Experiment. It was fun meeting and getting to know another blogger working on acceptance and confessing to being neurotic. So go check out Citizen of the Month and read some more of the interviews. It makes the blogosphere a little bit smaller and a whole lot friendlier.

Wordless Wednesday at the Beach

Sometimes you might want to be alone ....

Or you might want to go swimming ....

Be sure to have a lifeguard (or two)

You never know who else you might find there.

(captions don't count as words, right?)

Oh, what a night

It's finally over, the fundraiser I had been organizing with a friend for the past three months is done and it was fantastic. All my sleepless nights, almost cancelling when we though no one was going to come - all for nought. People came, over 150 of them and they ate, drank, bid at the auction and danced. Oh, did we dance. It has been far too long since my Other Half and I really let loose. The best part was that I didn't drink much as I was in charge of the auction that didn't start until 10 o'clock so I was sober and when I finally could have a drink or two, it really was only one or two, maybe three and I felt fine in the morning.

It was so much fun to get dressed up and I was even able to put together an outfit from the depths of my closet. A LBD that I bought at Target a couple of years ago fit perfectly and had a great swingy skirt, I threw on a sparkly black cardigan to start the evening in and quickly shed it as we heated up the dance floor. All I had to spring for was a new black bra and a pair of stockings. I was even daring enough to wear stay ups as I hate pantyhose, just had to be sure I didn't twirl the skirt too high. Of course I didn't get a photo of how great everyone looked but we joked that we could have done one of those "How to find the LBD that's right for you" articles. There were six women all different heights and shapes, all in great LBD's and everyone looked fabulous.

It was one of those nights when everything came together, even if it was at the last minute. Something I am, truth be told, known for. We had a great committee but you know the feeling when in the end it all comes down to the ones who said they'd throw the party. My co-host is the most laid back person and nothing phased her. When I thought we should postpone it as ticket sales a week ago were dismal she said, "Even if it's only 75 people, we're having a party." Others got involved, a band was booked and wine ordered and suddenly it happened. We raised about $20,000 for the Medical Clinic being built in our town and showed some community spirit. Even the older crowd who found the band a little loud got out on the dance floor and bid on the ski vacation and golf membership.

At one point I went outside to cool off and looked out at the half moon rising over the Bay and thought, this is why I live here - it is a place where I can be a part of things, help to make a difference and have fun doing it.

Christmas Conundrum

I know Halloween has hardly been laid to rest and you south of the border have Thanksgiving to stress over but bare with me while I reminisce about the days when Christmas was about the boxes the gifts came in and the wrapping paper. It was about the shiny lights on the tree and going to the small town Santa Claus parade where the best float was the a flatbed truck with a couple of hay bales thrown on for Mary & Joseph to sit. Back when we had to stay up far too late Christmas Eve assembling the all wooden, Waldorf School-approved barn. When Christmas morning last hours because of all the dollar store animals I hid in the tree and the boys had to find. Now, my boys have never been ones for sleeping in but there was a time, not so long ago that we had to wake them up to open their stockings. (Actually it was their grandfather who had slept over and had been awake since 4am waiting for them to come and get him.)




Back in the good old days the gifts were plentiful but inexpensive, some blocks, a toy car or two and a Thomas the Tank Engine video (Yes, a video. For a VCR. I told you this was a while back). Then we moved up the gift scale to dinosaur books and figures, stuffed animals and stockings were filled with more dollar store items like plastic tools and Christmas socks and although the Thomas Brio trains weren't cheap, they were made of wood and I have kept every piece.




Then we entered the LEGO era which while more costly at least kept them busy for hours, days and even years later they still play with it making even better ships than the 10 pages of instructions resulted in. Star Wars became the default gift for Christmas and birthdays replacing everything Bat and Spider Men. Videos were replaced by DVD's and the first Game Boy weaseled it's way into our house thanks to a seven year old's broken leg in January.



It's been all down hill since then. And the Inversion Equation of Gifts has begun to apply. The formula applied to all items means that they are getting smaller while costing more and the next generation of Nano or DS or Xbox is out before they even figure out how to work the damn thing. What is wrong with this picture? I got my first clock radio when I was sixteen and I "borrowed" the old cassette player from my Dad's workshop to take to university.



And to add insult to injury last Christmas Eve our eldest, at age 10 (turning 11 a week later) caught us in the act. Yes, The Act. Wrapping presents and signing you-know-who's name on the tags. We thought everyone was asleep, I even went up stairs to listen for irregular breathing. It was the proverbial (literarial?) "not a creature was stirring" hour. So we set to it, got out the separate wrapping paper for the presents from you-know-who and got busy. Not long after I had poured my third glass of Bailey's on the rocks (our traditional Christmas Eve beverage) I heard stirring, then whimpering, then full on wailing and it wasn't carollers outside. It was Number One Son in full melt down.



He really had no idea. This was his 11th Christmas and he still believed. I don't know who was more upset him or me? At first I though, "Aw, come on, you had no idea? No one had said anything at school? No hints or whispers in the playground?" If there were he didn't hear them. We were officially The Worst Parents Ever. It took him an hour to calm down and we gave him the spiel about being Santa's helpers and the spirit of Christmas being the giving not Santa and that he could stay up next year and help (but no Baileys for him) and most importantly that if he ever wanted to get another gift ever again he was, under no uncertain circumstances, to tell his little brothers. Ten months later and so far so good. Which leads me back to my conundrum. And sorry if this post is starting to look like a page from the Future Shop catalogue, I like to illustrate my rants.




What the hell do I get them for Christmas? Number One says he doesn't know what he wants. He lost his iPod which he had bought with his own money (he never loses anything) so do we replace it? And if it was a Nano do we get him the same one? Which, of course isn't the same because in the span of six months Apple has spawned two or three new generations of the damn things (kind of like the Star Trek Tribbles) which now cost almost the same as a iPod Touch.

Of course getting one of those would cause problem for Number Two who has my old iPod Classic and would flip if his brother got a Touch. And then Number Three would lose it because he is the only one who doesn't have one but he is seven for god's sake and doesn't even listen to music.

Now Number Two wants a PSP even though he already has a DS (I apologize for all the acronyms but I'll be damned if I am going to spell out all the brand names, so bear with me) and Number Three wants an xBox so he can play Halo?! Halo is one of those sniper shooting war games that I swore would never enter my house even if we are "the only ones who don't have it!"

We do have a Wii which I love because it doesn't have war games unless you count archery in Mario & Sonic go to the Olympics or the shooting in the Biathlon in the Winter Olympics. We also, I am ashamed to admit, have a Play Station 2 which is as old as the hills but came with Sing Star which is a karaoke game and we all love it. So needless to say our electronics quota is full and other than getting the new Winter Olympics game for the Wii there isn't much else I am willing to buy. Any thoughts other than unplugging everything and everyone and getting Monopoly 2.0? But you don't want to get me started on the so-called upgrading of classic board games.

Maybe I'll bust out the Thomas train tracks and set them up around the Christmas tree and see how that goes over?

On Being a Biker Babe

Well, at least for Halloween. I hate Halloween. No, not really but the anxiety building up to it is just one more thing I don't need on my plate. I've got a fundraiser for our local Medical Clinic the Saturday after and of course, I have to fumigate the house now that the sickies are all back at school. Back when we lived in the city the pressure was all about decorating the house and whether we'd have enough candy to make it through the night. We lived on a Halloween street. The kind that the local TV news would cover with one house going all out every year and everyone else trying to keep up or at least worrying whether a thousand pieces of candy would get you through the night. Back then the kids wore cute, fuzzy costumes from Costco that kept them warm if it snowed and they loved to wear them throughout the year for special occasions like grocery shopping or going to the dentist. Then we moved along to the superhero phase and Spiderman and Batman were the costume du jour. At least thoses guys didn't carry weapons dripping fake blood.

Things have changed a little since we moved out of the big city. We don't get any trick or treaters as we live on a dead end street with only eight houses. Most are inhabited by older people who, when they asked us why the kids didn't come trick or treating to their houses, I had to gently explain that turning on the porch light, if not putting out a pumpkin was the traditional way to let kids know you are open for visitors. So we go across town to the "new development" where the houses are all jammed together and you can get a heck of alot more candy in a much shorter period of time. On the way there we do stop in at the senior's apartment building where the ladies sit in the foyer and the kids parade through and have their picture taken and are given gorgeous little loot bags. It makes everyone's night. This year I am taking a few boxes of candy over to some of the families who live in the "new development" (it's not that new, probably built in the 70's but in this town that's considered new) since I feel guilty that we all descend upon them every year.

The kids' costumes are well, not exactly cute and cuddly or even brave superheroish. Boys want scary and bloody and ugly and preferably store bought. I hate this. Why when I was a kid we had to make our own costumes (my mother did not sew) so we dug through the dress up box and raided our parents closets and inevitably I was a witch, albeit a pretty one or a gypsy. We didn't have masks or swords or pretty princess dresses from WalMart. Now I sound like an old lady, "why when I was a girl we walked to school up hill, both ways ..."

Of course the other big difference was that we lived in the country and weren't smart enough to figure out on a candy collected per mile travelled that town was the place to go. We would all pile into my Dad's truck, front and back (this was the 70's, pre seat belts) and go up and down all the long farm laneways. My Dad and our neighbour would go into each house and usually end up having a beer while we ran around in the dark waiting to go on to the next house. Halloween was a night long affair and I am quite sure in retrospect that my Dad was throughly sloshed by the end of it. Ahhhh, the good old days.

Now, we modern parents would never think of drinking and driving but we have been know to walk and tipple. I have this great old opera cloak from my grandmother (the opera-going gene died with her) with huge pockets. Big enough to hold a bottle of red and a couple of goblets in one and a few beers in the other. This way we can keep up with the kids as they race across lawns and streets all the while enjoying a lovely merlot or lager. Very civilized and another thing we would have never done in the city.

This year since Halloween falls on a Saturday I have my Mum coming up to stay over so that after we get home and the kids are well into their candy count, sort and trade we can be on our way. The count sort/sort/trade component of the evening hasn't changed since I was a kid. First take out anything with nuts as my Other Half is allergic (okay, that is new), then they take out anything that is even vaguely healthy like all natural fruit gummies and then they sort by ingredients - chocolate, gum, licorice, completely unidentifiable, etc. And then the trading begins. By this time we will be in our costumes and out the door.

Last year we went as pirates, the year before as the castways from Gilligan's Island (sans Gilligan for some reason) and this year we're gonna be bad ... bikers. Already have the tattoo sleeves to pull on, tight jeans, boots and even black leather chaps for the ol' man (actually, they belong to my Dad, he wears them horseback riding) His ol' lady will be sporting heavy make up and I might even spring for a pack of smokes to roll up in my sleeve so when we hit the dance floor we'll be smokin' ....

I know it's not called Swine Flu anymore but I still have a few questions

Running an infirmary here with two home from school. Non-stop laundry and running up and down the stirs with juice, soup and the thermometer. Number One has been home sick since going on a three day trip with his class. Twelve boys all sleeping together in a dorm, up all night and out in the rain all day. Even my never-gets-sick kid got sick. Called the school to say he wasn’t coming, gave them the symptoms and asked how many others were out and with what? Secretary who is not my favourite person at the best of times was “too busy to check the voicemail for that stuff.” Right, then why do you bother asking? Wouldn't it help those who are trying to get a handle on this thing to know and isn't that why they asked you to ask us? Heard through the grapevine that eight are home.

Then turned on the news and heard about a 13 year old boy who died yesterday in Toronto from H1N1, couldn’t change the channel fast enough for Number One not to see it. He had to play hockey last night as he is the only goalie on his team (don't ask). Everyone knew he was sick and now I am getting emails from other parents asking if it is H1N1? Called the doctor’s office - busy signal. Who the hell has a busy signal these days?!? Our doctor had recommended the boys getting the H1N1 shot once it was available - in November. Right, a little late now, it seems. Oh yeah and my brother-in-law was down in Boston last weekend playing hockey with a bunch of guys, three of whom have been diagnosed with H1N1 (at least they were actually tested). He wasn't tested and has no symptoms other than a sore throat but was put on Tamaflu and is supposed to wash his hands before holding his nine week old son.


An older lady I was talking to was also put on Tamaflu after her doctor told her (without testing) that she probably had it. There seems to be no rhyme or reason to any of this. I thought we had learned from the SARS outbreak in 2003? I thought the government had a plan for the next pandemic?

Sorry if this is all a little scattered but WTF am I supposed to think? They don’t seem to want to test anyone to see if they have it until after they are in the hospital or dead and I am sure as hell not taking my kids into emerg to find out if they have it. Where have all these statistics that the media keeps dropping come from if they really don't know who has it, who has recovered and who never had it in the first place?


And who is high risk? 13 year old hockey players, 42 year old woman, babies whose father's play hockey? I watched the news last night and saw the line ups in the U.S. for the shot and reports that there isn't enough for everyone who wants it. In Canada, our self-satisfied government is patting itself on the back and saying there is enough for everyone. Right, we have a population of 12 million in Ontario alone and they have 722,000 doses right now and another million coming next week. Even with my pathetic math skills that doesn't add up.


I am not an alarmist. We have never had the flu shot and my boys rarely get sick and when they do it only last hours (usually the wee small ones) and then I tell them to suck it up and go to school but this is utter chaos. You know, the kind in the movies, "Cats and dogs living togther, mass hysteria." And I know the doctors and researchers don't have all the answers but I wish they had one that I could tell my sons about why a 13 year old hockey player died 48 hours after getting the flu and why it won't happen to them.

Nothing new but this

Number Two Son took this one of Number Three Son. Guess the photography gene skips a generation.