Check it out!!!!

Moobs…who I have a mad blogging crush on as it is, added me to his international Tuenous Connection nominees.  Go and read the list.…it is a strange and bizarre and hilarious batch of brushes with fame.

I got double tagged…and sorry to those that tagged me a bit ago that I didn’t do!

Left Coast Mama tagged me with a Seven Thing I Love About Me one and Timber Leaves tagged me with a Seven RANDOM things one.

Let me get Adam to preschool and I will probably combine the two!

Ok..I am combining this into SEVEN RANDOM THINGS I LOVE ABOUT ME!

1.  My sense of humour

2.  My ability to adapt to the crowd.  I can usually find common ground with just about anyone.

3.  My own cooking….I don’t have a huge repertoire but the few are yummy …to me anyway

4.  My ability to recall obscure facts…usually about movies.

5.  My chest.  Not my boobs….not anymore…but the nice chunck of skin just above them.  The skin is purdy!

6.  My dogged focus.  Once something is on my mind, I can’t let it go and I usually work really hard to get to the bottom of it

7.  Hmmmmm I am liking my hair right now!

Yep…It was great.

Check out WetCoast for my “review!”

Mom had a great time!

I love attending concerts where the average age is about 40! Made me feel all young and spry.

It just was not fun being woken up at 6:30 this am after a late night…yes 11 IS a late night to me these days.

Life is starting to settle down a bit…but only for a bit.

Adam finished off his birthday fun with a trip to Build a Bear that his preschool had set up as a field trip.  Crunchy Dad volunteered and had a great time with the kids.

Poor Crunchy Husband has a horrible throat infection and appears to be allergic to almost every type of antibiotic he tries..so he is really suffering.  I think we are all just worn down with being so busy and just not getting the rest we need.

He is still trying to help his mom…she is waiting to hear if they are going to do surgery or not and then we are all trying to plan for the after care and quality of life issues.

I have totally lost my mind…my neighbour has asked if I want to do Daycare for her two kids….they are fantastic kids and I sure could use the money.  It would be part time…especially when they are at school in the fall.   So it wouldn’t be too bad.  I have just never been a ‘kid’ person.  I mean, I LOVE my kids…but other people’s?

But again…..I could really use the money.

We attended an orientation for Adam’s Kindergarten, which starts in September….my baby is going to BIG school!

It seems to be a nice little school and a good set up for them.   Volunteers from a grade 5 class took the kids to hang with them while the staff talked to us….Adam was thrilled that one of his neighbour buddy’s was there….made his day to be hanging with a ‘cool’ older kid.

So I think he will love it and do just fine.

Crunchy Husband is all giddy and nostalgic about school now!

Anyway..I am hoping life gets into a bit of a routine again soon.  We have Caity’s birthday in June and I am totally wigging about BlogHer in July!!!

I guess one of these days I need to write something more pithy than these little photo journals…..hmmmm.

So I am going to see The Police tomorrow night.

Big nostalgia trip.

My mom and I saw Sting a while back and he got the biggest cheers for all the band stuff instead of his own work.  I think he got the hint.

Yes.  My mom.  And I am seeing this show with her too!  She bought the tickets.

We were discussing our plan of action for the night….dinner? drinkies?

Yeah…

As the thighs spread out and the chins hang further down, I can only feel that any effort would come across as trying just a teeny bit too hard.

We will go and try to look as unfrumpy as possible.

Instead of getting stressed about a party for the wee man, we decided to spread the fun out and fill our days with activities that Adam likes to do.

Yesterday, we picked up a cake (disaster horror - don’t let your husbands who don’t eat cake order cake!) and went to see my MIL who was out on a day pass.  Adam received

gifts there and was very happy.

Then we moved onto Science World.

Caity was a bit underwhelmed.

It was heaven for Adam.

We brought home two very weary and happy children last night.

Today was my mom.

Thanks Nana!

Oooh MOOOORE stuff!

I was ready to kill em by THIS time.  Between the fighting and NOT sharing and bickering due to Adam being TOTALLY overexcited.  Crunchy Husband was fighting whatever germs had been attacking me and really was dubious about getting out today.

But we forged ahead and hit the Vancouver Aquarium.  While I am uncomfortable with the whole animal for entertainment thing, the aquarium is more educational than that….people who love Sea World would be bored.  But the kids LOVE IT!

Watched a lady swim with the sharks

Ooohed over the big fish.

Enjoyed the Beluga Show.  They moved from this spot to the SPLASH ZONE.

I am sorry I don’t have photos of that.  I was laughing too hard.

They have a new section with AMAZING tanks for getting close up with the critter.  Caity was fascinated by the Jelly Fish.

And Caity enjoyed the sunny weather.

Adam couldn’t get enough of the Whales.

Anyway…I have bored you enough with the photos.  Suffice it to say, we have had a great weekend of family fun togetherness.   Balm for the soul.   With all the things going on….THIS was a good thing.

I just don’t know where we will put all the new toys.  Or figure out how to assemble the Green Machine.

Cheers to all!

I have to first admit that I was a tad skeptical about this book. My first thought was ’sheesh’ more Gen-X’ers acting like this is the first generation to have kids…..EVER.

Not to mention there are quite a fair bit of books AND blogs out there that seem to follow this theme. Neal Pollack of Alternadad fame got a lot of coverage about this ‘phenomena’ already and the blogosphere has been awash with hipster and antihipster stories and arguments and the topic has been beaten to death.

But I have to admit, I have thoroughly enjoyed Punk Rock Dad.

I will also admit…that I have never heard of Pennywise or Jim Lindberg.

I am not and never have been a punk. Skater punk or otherwise. I did see Sid and Nancy though. Does that count?

I was always a more preppy-new wavey-goth girl. I listened to Front 242, Ministry and The Revolting Cocks. The most ‘dangerous’ I got was checking out the mosh pit at Lollapalooza or at a Front Line Assembly concert.

I cannot tell you how cool the thrill I just got watching my little girl rocking around the house when I ‘You Tubed’ my old fave’s.  My music collection from this era consists of TAPES and VINYL!  Go ask you mom’s about that!

Anyway…..I digress.  Suffice it to say,  I had to go look up the guy.

But it really doesn’t matter.  The book is fresh and honest.   If it is narcissistic, it is only in his own honesty at where his mind was pre and post kids about his uncertainty’s and mistakes.

He seems like a really nice guy.

Infact, it actually filled me with much uncertainty about my OWN parenting since he seemed to actually really have it together.  More than me for sure.   He has a nice house that sounds relatively organized and clean, which is more than I  can ever say.  He even has a mini van!

So a punker can do better than me. With THREE girls.

I have got to get my shit together.

Maybe my husband needs to right a book about being a nerd/movie/comic/geek/writer and dad.   Perhaps that is the key!

The book is a fun and light read…..He avoids or at least skims the usual “comedyfest” of delivery stories and poop….covers it and then moves on.  He is honest and forthright about his dislike of diaper changing instead of succumbing to the usual sitcommish joke fest of ‘golly gee, I am a dumb male’ routine.

Thank you Jim.

I enjoyed the book because it was nice to read about what being a parent is all about in the 21st Century.  We don’t all have 9 to 5 jobs.  We don’t all listen to mainstream music or watch American Idol (no offense to those that do).

Punk Rock Dad is a tale about what being a parent is all about today.

Yes, we may all be kids at heart and all hanging on to our youth.  Yes, we may bore our children to tears with ‘our’ music and ‘our’ tv shows and movies…..we may still like to dance and party…..we may still like to read comics….and we are parents.

We are the grown ups of this generation.

Watch out.

As Crunchy Husband and I have plowed through this rather rough time for our family….you start to notice the TRUE differences between you and your partner.

Crunchy Husband has noted that I appear stronger and more together when facing a family crisis.  I think in part this might be true..but again, this is NOT my mom.   Nor did I just bury my dad.

My dad passed away when I was about 13 and he was in Scotland and I here, and a letter about his demise didn’t really feel ‘real.’   This is real.

However, it is true in the sense that, I am more practical about these things and more ‘used’ to these things.  I have a large extended family.  EVERYONE stays in touch and so there has been births, illnesses and deaths dealt with throughout my life.  His family has no real contact with any extended family.  He has not even heard the ‘grown up’ talk as a kid.  He is very sheltered.

Another difference I have noticed…and again, this is not a bad thing…in fact I find it rather touching…is that while I am very independent and always set to go deal or do something on my own (the passports!), Crunchy Husband plans things as a family.   He prefers safety in numbers where I am - I suppose - more used to going it alone.

I forget I am someone to lean on.

Mind you, I get a tad confused because he also has that tendency to see MY rants as things that need taken care of and fixed where HIS rants are just that - rants- getting stuff of his chest so he feels better.

It gets a bit confusing.  I confuse his determination with just being plain old pissed at me and then I get huffy and edgy and then breathe a big sigh of relief when I finally ‘get it’

This then boggles or irritates him because he can’t believe the MASSIVE transformation in my demeanor.

Example:  The passport thing today.  He was happy that it was easy…he was happy to do it with me…kids in tow…..and I was waiting for the other shoe to drop, and there wasn’t any apart from him thinking I was a tad pathetic to go from snarky anger yesterday to sunshine and roses today.

Are we NOT the King and Queen of open and clear communication?

Check out WetCoastWomen for my passport story!

The ‘extra’ passport office was not accepting applications at  2pm today as they had ‘reached their quota.’

They also don’t accept people’s application if they want to leave the country before August 10th.

I am getting the impression that the Federal Government doesn’t actually want us to ever leave the country.

My son.

We were driving home from our dinner out last night. It was a gorgeous evening and we and everyone else had their windows down.

We pull up at a light and a green SUV stops on the drivers side, which is where Adam’s seat is.

Adam glances over…the guys smile and Adam says ‘Hey.’

Not ‘Hi’ or a childish ‘Hi There!’….’Hey.’

This kid has his shit together.

Oh and they had tattoo’s all over too…..they could clearly sense how much this kid had his shit together.