Ellie at 6

I got peed on in my sleep last night. Not by J. Luckily.  S is still sneaking, ninja-spy style into our bed, and I woke up in what smelled like a urinal in Bryd Stadium during the fourth quarter.

Before kids, I would have thought after 6 years of parenting that I would have been through this already. I would have thought that my children would have both been fully potty trained, including at night, and that S would no longer use his paci at night.  I would have thought that, while the early years would have been tough,  I would have been through them by now.  This older me laughs and gently mocks that younger and more naive me when her back is turned while she is trying to nurse a new baby with a toddler hanging around.

J does not get peed on, by the way.  He mysteriously stays dry, while I just try to find a dry spot on my pillow (because you don't think I got up, do you? sleep is hard to come by, people).  

E celebrated turning 6 years old a few weeks ago.  Looking at her, I can't believe she is six.  I can't believe she started life outside of my body at almost 7 pounds and now she is a French-speaking, Wii-playing kindergartener.  She is capable of pouring her own milk, going to the bathroom on her own (mostly) and tries to teach S various things she probably shouldn't.  She is mischievous and funny and loving.  She is learning how to stand up for herself.  E is proving to be an awesome skier and I'm hoping she learns to swim to the end of the pool by the end of the school year.  In many ways, she is mirroring her toddler years - she goes to do something independent, and then is still very needy, cuddly and needs a lot of reassurance.  

Parenting continues to surprise me at how hard it is every single day.  I keep thinking that I will be good at it.  Maybe this week will be the turn around!  Mostly E and S are fine, and it is my own expectations that I am failing to meet. I am not reading to them enough, they watch too much television, they bicker with each other too much.  Then I try to do a reality check and tell myself that everything is a continuum and that they are well within the normal range on everything, and not every day is going to be perfect.  

And let's be honest, folks, how much can one adult play ________? You can really fill in the blank with any children's toy. I would rather play with a cardboard box than most toys. Actually, I got in trouble with J for buying E this cardboard box for her birthday.  

J and I talked with E over the past few weeks about how hard it is to be the oldest kiddo.  She gets to stay up late with us sometimes, and talk to us, but she also has to be the test case for a lot of our parenting mistakes, and be the responsible one.  Both J and I commiserated with her on how hard it is, and how well she does at being kind to S and teaching him the right things to do.  

Six years ago, I was up every few hours. She couldn't talk, or laugh, but I loved her so much! Now, she is sharing when she is hurt, and what she wants, and sometimes she has an attitude I would find hilarious if I were not her mother.  E is a delight, in every way. We are so lucky to have such a great kid as our daughter.   

The Devil is in the Details

It is all fun and adventure to live in another country.

Until that country is bilingual, and packages all of its products in two languages, and you are at Costco on a Saturday and you are in a rush.  You just want to know if the blankty-blank juice is indeed fruit punch or if the ziploc bags are gallon size so you don't buy the wrong thing and then get home and have to go out again for what will be the millionth time to the millionth place because youdon'thavetimeforthat. Because you've already had no hot water this week (fixed) and a broken dishwasher (also fixed) and a traveling husband (back) and you just want to run your blankty errands.

Then it isn't always so fun. I mean, it still IS, just not in that moment.  I think people sometimes suppose Canada is like America-lite, but it is not, friends, it is not.

We had to go to the American Consulate in Toronto recently to get E's passport renewed. Kids' passports are only good for 5 years.  You remember that one of the scariest places in the world to be, beside a military base in a combat zone, is an embassy/consulate. They had bomb alarm evacuation guidelines.  Also, excellent posters from the 80's that said "Feel the Spirit!" I would have taken a picture but I was allowed to bring nothing in, not even my key fob because it had a keyless remote.  I was allowed to pay in American dollars.

Ultimately, I do like living in another place. It is the little things like this that somehow exhaust me, though.*

*Like, what is Vim? And why would you clean with it? Is there a partner cleaner Vigor?
**Homework: please look up on google maps the town of Regina.

Pinterest, until JG stole it!

I was going to write about Pinterest, then JG STOLE MY IDEA ON HER BLOG. (But she is my friend and she introduced me to pinterest and now I neglect my family and stay up too late so it is all really OK.)

Really, pinterest is all about sharing, so you can go read her blog here, and save me the time of writing it.

I will be posting pics of E's pinterest-inspired birthday party next week here. *It's awesome!* And has lots of glitter and sparkly lights. Every 6 year old needs a party with glitter and sparkly lights.

I have been thinking about how men could use pinterest.  Perhaps to visually cultivate a personal style, or to note places they would like to travel. For the design-minded man, it wouldn't be an issue. But for the average guy, it may be more of a challenge.  I'm not sure.  Maybe for great sports photos? Food, recipes, cocktails? There are lots of great things visually on the internet to capture and review.

Take a look, create your own board. Mine are very much in infancy because I have been working on E's birthday, but I know some of you have them already. Apparently the app is not that great yet, but hopefully that is fixed soon.

Dad, please block this website on mom's computer. I accept no liability for this post or the effects.

Winter, Again, In Canada

There are so many things I am overdue to tell you about! Above, a picture of my friend and neighbor Paul's backyard ice skating rink. It is cold today - 10 degrees F - so finally cold enough to freeze the rink. I think we'll check it out tomorrow or the next day.  Because in Canada, they build rinks in their backyards.

Canadians also give delightful gifts. I urge you to take a few minutes and watch the video based on the book The Sweater.  Watch it until the end, otherwise you will not love the story as much as it should be loved. It is about a young boy who lives in rural Quebec, and needs a new hockey sweater. His mother writes to the department store to send him a new one. Is it the one all the other boys wear? What happens?  

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"Have you ever done this before, E?" I asked, knowing she hadn't.

"Why would I have cut down a Christmas tree? I'm Jewish!" she responded emphatically.

J suggested in the spirit of Canadiana, and in our first holiday season away from our families, we should cut down a tree at a tree farm about an hour north of the city.  They had a tractor ride out to get our trees, a sleigh ride if there was snow, and a bunch of other holiday activities. We did none of them. The place was packed. We arrived at about 9 a.m. on a Sunday, after keeping our kids up until 11 p.m. the night before, and were able to get on a tractor pretty easily. By the time we were leaving, there was a police person directing traffic outside and the lot was full.  We had our tree, though, that J/Paul Bunyan/Clark Griswold chopped down all by himself. 

Since S was so tired, blankie and paci also helped us pick out the tree. We got to carry S and the tree back to the pick up site. That was really fun! 

Mom has all of our stockings in a box in Arizona, with the guns, of course, so we had to make some. We didn't have any ornaments, so E and S went crazy. We had many ornaments with Buzz Lightyear and Spiderman stickers. 'Tis the season for superheroes.

S was also a reindeer in his school concert. He sang traditional Christmas songs with lyrics like, "Heigh-ho welcome baby Jesus," (it is pretty catchy) and the Santa cheer, "5-6-7-8, fill our stockings, don't be late, GOOOOO Santa!" This is actually fairly hilarious coming from a bunch of three year olds. If you have not been to a preschool concert lately, I urge you to find one and attend. It will restore your faith in humanity.  

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We also held our traditional latke Hanukkah party for our neighbors on Boxing Day, the 7th night of Hanukkah.  It was super fun and we (by we, I mean H) peeled 15 lbs of potatoes and I fried them up. We also made Renee's brisket and had lots of other yummy treats. We were even able to find Loonies and Toonies for our Canadian Hanukkah gelt bags!  

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We wish you a happy holiday season and a joy-filled 2012! There will be more to come as we celebrate E's birthday, begin skiing, skating, and enjoying our second winter in Canada.