They Change Too Fast

I can't believe how much children change in the matter of a year.  This photo was taken Christmas 2008.  Julianne was a mere 4 months old.  At the time we thought she was the cutest thing on the planet.  I suppose

that's what parents are supposed to think about their children.  And she was actually pretty cute in this picture.  Pudge and all.  But as time went on she began to change.  To thin out, walk, and ultimately turn into a fiesty little girl.  And a comedienne she is becoming.  In the following photo taken just this afternoon, she saw me holding up the camera and started to make the same motions as I was.
Sometimes I miss that roly poly stage when she couldn't walk and relied on me to do everything for her.  Now that she is learning and trying to gain as much independance as she can, she is a little devil.  Temper

tantrums abound when she can't get her own way.  She needs your undivided attention all of the time. (When she's awake.  And that is becoming more and more frequent.)  Soon will come a day when she doesn't nap at all but I sure hope I can put that off as long as possible.  But nothing seems to ever go the way you want it to.  So you learn to take each day one at a time and try to enjoy it while you can.  I am beginning to learn that there are some things that are just able to wait until later to get done.  I have no choice.  I am the one that must adapt.
The fact that I am sometimes not as attentive to her as I should be, is becoming more and more apparent.  She favours her dad over me.  I try not to take it personally because I have heard this is common with little girls.  But it's hard not to.  She's fine when I am constantly playing with her, but as soon as I have to do something else I get the cold shoulder.
There are some days that I have to actually leave the house for work.  On those days she spends the day with Daddy and when I come home it's almost as if I don't exist.  Sure she seems excited as soon as I walk in the door but it quickly changes.  Then there are the days that I am gone pretty much all day so I don't see her at all and come the next day, like today, everything is about Daddy.  You would almost think that I am the one that works full time and not him.
I hope it's just a phase.  I do take some solace in the fact that when she's sick, I am the one she tends to come to.  But that's not very often.  *sigh*

(Ok I know this post was written on Wednesday but if you hop over to http://www.mycup2yours.com/ and read the comment I left on her post last night, you will understand why I am pretending it was written on Thursday.) 

When you don't know what to write, I've been told that you should just start typing and let whatever you want to fall onto the page.  So that's what I'm doing right now.  Nothing of much interest has happened in the last few days. Nothing that I would find interesting enough to write a whole blog post about at least.  So now I am just writing and trying to find something interesting as I go.  It's not working.  Not so far. 

An apartment condo caught fire the other day.  The same day that I finally made it to the Passport office to apply for passports for Julianne and myself.  I was sitting in the lobby of the office and several fire trucks went flying by.  As is the norm, I figured it was nothing.  However, when I came out of the building nearly a half hour later I see thick black smoke and flames billowing from a building not too far away.

I took a little drive by to get a closer look as we do have some family that lives in that area.  Thankfully it was actually across the street from where they live.  However, what was happening was still not exactly the best sight to see.
There is something strange about fire.  Whenever I see it, I get mildly excited.  It's not that there is extreme destruction going on at that particular time but there is something oddly beautiful about thick billowing smoke.  I remember when I was kid, there was a hotel that caught on fire and I was completely in awe of the way the smoke looked, like fluffy dark clouds flying into the sky.
This condo complex was just built a couple of years ago.  Now over 300 people are homeless and they're saying that there is so much damage to the building that it will have to be demolished.  I couldn't imagine how it feels to lose everything you own.  And for what?  Because someone didn't extinguish a cigarette properly.  Can you believe it?  I can I guess.  It's the first thing I thought when I saw the fire. It's always blamed on a smoker.  But the fact remains that it usually has something to do with the careless extinguishing of cigarette butts.  Amazing how expensive one little mistake can become.
It took firefighters nearly 24 hours to get the last of the hot spots.  But they got it under control.  There are actually two other buildings in this complex and it didn't look like they got touched so for that they have to be somewhat thankful.  I don't know if I would want to stay there though.
It was also one of the windiest days this month.  No wonder the fire spread as fast as it did. 

These were the best pictures I could find online. They are not my photos so I cannot take credit for any of them.  I do wish I had my camera with me when I saw it though.  If only...

Changing Diapers

Unaware, she dances around the room, giggling and twirling, squealing in delight.  Completely oblivious to the growing cushion in her pants.  But I am not.  Through the little pink pants, I see the sponge swelling from moisture upon moisture.  I glance at the clock and know that it's time. 
A soft pink hand, so fragile and delicate, full of little white bones that could be crushed with just slightly too much pressure, wraps around my thumb and we toddle together into the bedroom.
Although she is not fully aware of the meaning behind this activity, she knows that something is about to change.  That she will receive a little more comfort.
She flops on the bed, content and watching, but yet still so adamant for independance that she helps remove the thin cloth shell that protects delicate skin beneath.  Before I have the chance to unfasten the adhesive strips, she rips them away like band-aids.  I slip the soiled diaper from under her bum and she laughs.  Kicks at the new found freedom.  With a warm damp cloth, I wipe away the tiny remnants that remain unabsorbed by the cotton shell.  I dry the moisture, further cleaning her fragile skin. 
Tiny red dots remain, a reminder of the invisible particles that manage to cling to her bottom.  Despite every effort , I know I can never fully fix everything.
White cream, thick and soothing, is applied to her exposed parts, an attempt to further sooth any potential discomfort.  But she kicks and rolls, resisting my tender touch.
We struggle, we laugh until the change is complete, then she rolls off the bed, feet firmly planted on the floor and then she races from the room, squealing in delight.
I stand alone in the middle of the room, holding a damp cloth in one hand and the weight of one little girl in the other.  Completely aware that soon she will do this on her own.

Word Association: Metaphorically Speaking

I am taking a weekend workshop on metaphors.  How to use them, when to use them.  Thought I would share a few exercises just for the sake of having something to write.  I have included a description of the exercise and then what I came up with in the short span of time allotted to write.

1. Close your eyes and envision death.  What is the first image that comes to mind?  Think about it, see it, then write what you see...5 minutes.  Don't overthink...just free write.

Death
The reaper stands over his body, scythe in hand, waiting for the precise moment to swing, severing the last life strings of his being.  Strings so badly frayed that they hang by a single thread.  One more abuse of the already fragile body will snap the breath from him and the reaper will have captured his pray.

But he is patient.  In his dark robes, head cloaked, he lurks in the shadows.

2. Same as above but this time envision happiness.

Happiness
Is a child squealing in delight at the kitten that scurries past,or the squirrels skittering up the rugged tree trunk.  A child, who for no one else, is herself.  Able to relish the beauty in a tainted world.  The beauty that most take for granted.  She is the freedom that we all desire.  That we all felt once, but soon became shackled by the chains of life.

3. Again the same as above but this time, what is the first thing that comes to mind when you think of self?

Self
In the breeze outside my window, tiny leaves dance on the currents.  A joyful song that no one else can hear.  It skitters and floats, just beyond your grasp, constantly eluded by a graceful swing and a twist.  You reach again, wanting so desperately to touch even the rough nubbed end of the stem but you miss and fall to your knees.


Give it try.  Share if you like.

The Polish Divorce

The Polish Divorce



A Polish man moved to the USA and married an American girl.
Although his English was far from perfect, they got along very well.
One day he rushed into a lawyer's office and asked him if he could arrange a divorce for him.

The lawyer said that getting a divorce would depend on the circumstances, and asked him the following questions:

Have you any grounds?
Yes, an acre and half and nice little home.

No, I mean what is the foundation of this case?
It made of concrete.

I don't think you understand. Does either of you have a real grudge?
No, we have carport, and not need one.

I mean what are your relations like?
All my relations still in Poland .

Is there any infidelity in your marriage?
We have hi-fidelity stereo and good DVD player.

Does your wife beat you up?
No, I always up before her.

Is your wife a nagger?
No, she white.

Why do you want this divorce?
She going to kill me.

What makes you think that?
I got proof.

What kind of proof?
She going to poison me. She buy a bottle at drugstore and put on shelf in bathroom. I can read English pretty good, and it say:

~~~Polish Remover~~~

Sorry, couldn't resist! 

Irish Joke

Paddy had been drinking at his local Dublin pub all day and most of the night celebrating St Patrick's Day. Mick, the bartender says, 'You'll not be drinking anymore tonight, Paddy'.
Paddy replies, 'OK Mick, I'll be on my way then'. Paddy spins around on his stool and steps off.. He falls flat on his face. 'Shoite' he says and pulls himself up by the stool and dusts himself off. He takes a step towards the door and falls flat on his face,
'Shoite, Shoite !'
He looks to the doorway and thinks to himself that if he can just get to the door and some fresh air he'll be fine. He belly crawls to the door and shimmies up to the door frame. He sticks his head outside and takes a deep breath of fresh air, feels much better and takes a step out onto the sidewalk and falls flat on his face.
'Bi'Jesus.... I'm fockin' focked,' he says.
He can see his house just a few doors down, and crawls to the door, hauls himself up the door frame, opens the door and shimmies inside.. He takes a look up the stairs and says 'No fockin' way'. He crawls up the stairs to his bedroom door and says 'I can make it to the bed'. He takes a step into the room and falls flat on his face. He says 'Fock it' and falls into bed.
The next morning, his wife, Jess, comes into the room carrying a cup of coffee and says, 'Get up Paddy. Did you have a bit to drink last night ?'
Paddy says, 'I did, Jess. I was fockin' pissed. But how'd you know?'
'Mick phoned . . . you left your wheelchair at the pub.'

Happy St. Patrick's Day!!!

Many cities across Canada have already passed laws prohibiting cell phone usage while operating a motor vehicle.  But Calgary has not joined that list yet.  Drivers in this city are already aware that it's a danger, it's distracting and simply put, it's just plain stupid.  So you would think if it's looked upon as being stupid or irresponsible, then certain groups/individuals would refrain from using them in an attempt to set an example. 

This afternoon I was driving on one of the busiest Calgary roads.  Actually I think it's actually the most traveled road in the city, technically spanning from southern Alberta to northern Alberta.  Yeah, that's right, it's a highway, but within our city limits it's known as Deerfoot Trail.  Drivers abhor it, steer clear of it if at all possible, but if you happen to live in the northeast or southeast quadrants of Calgary, it's virtually impossible to avoid.  Extra care needs to be paid when speeding along at a maximum posted speed of 100km/hr, which incidentally is always ignored. 

So I merge onto Deerfoot Trail from my own little corner of the city to find myself behind a Calgary City Police van.  Not usually a big deal except that the driver, who unless the vehicle was stolen is a police officer, is swerving slightly over the line, then over-correcting and veering into the other lane.  I pull back, unsure of what the heck he was doing.  The van slows down, speeds up a little, then slows again.  I am behind a driver who at most times, is not doing anymore than 70km/h, but at other times speeds over 100.  I pull back further, annoyed, because I need to get past this guy but I have to stay within the limits of the law, don't I? 

There is finally a break and I manage to pull around him.  As I come up on the side of this white and blue vehicle I can see the officer in his sideview mirror, talking on a cell phone.  I was shocked.  First thoughts of course were maybe it was an important call, maybe it was the office, but they do have radios for that kind of stuff so I was more inclined to believe it was a personal call.  What the hell???  This isn't right, is it?  They can't make their own rules separate from the rules set for the rest of the city.  Ok, as I said the rules aren't set, but they are implied and they should be leading by example.

So, I get around the cop to only be held up by another slow moving vehicle.  This time, it's just the average car, doing no more than 70km/hr in a 100km/h zone.  The driver is holding up three other vehicles besides mine.  Thankfully, this road is a three lane highway so I manage to pull around.  But as I pass, I see that the driver is an elderly man, talking on his cell phone. 

Quite frankly, since it's not illegal to drive and talk on a phone, if you can't maintain a normal driving speed, then pull the hell over.  Seriously, what is so damn important that the call can't wait until you reach your destination?? 

An Unknown Illness

Children can be so resilient.  Even when you know they are not quite themselves, they can plod on, oblivious to the fact that they should be curled up in the arms of their parents, resting and just being loved in their time of need.
Sunday morning Julianne woke up with a bit of a fever.  Not really anything to be concerned about.  I gave her a little infant Tylenol and she went on with the day, much the way she normally would.  Jumping, squealing, rearranging the furniture...
Monday much the same.  Although you could tell that now the fever was taking a toll on her.  She took an earlier nap that usual and longer than usual.  Woke up sweating and a little cranky.  She was fed and then on with her normal day.
Today...the fever spiked.  To me, an alarming 101.4.  And she was much more sluggish.  Hardly ate anything all morning, but did drink a lot.  She curled up in my arms for most of the morning.  Gave her more Tylenol and down for a nap.  She slept really well for a couple of hours.  Even though the fever was pretty much non-existant by the time she woke from her nap, she was sluggish and cuddly.  But that finally wore off and she became her usual active self.  A little cranky, but that is not entirely unusual either.  And she ate a pretty good dinner.  But by 6:30 this evening, she was stumbling around, rubbing her eyes.  Evident that she was tired we decided to put her down to sleep although it probably means she will either wake in the middle of the night or she will be awake really early.  Oh the sacrifices we have to make as parents.  Either way, I think the fever has broken.  There was no other evidence of anything wrong with her.  No diarrhea, no vomiting, for the most part still just as energetic as ever.  But something is swimming around in her little body, causing her immune system to fight back.  Some unknown little virus.  But my little fighter won't let it get the better of her.

 

I am having another one of those days when I know I should write but I just can't seem to find a topic of interest.  To hell with it being interesting to my audience, I couldn't even come up with something interesting to me.  So I decided to catch up on some of my blogs since I have been a little absent for the last little while and see if I could borrow or steal someone else's idea. 

And what do you know...Genny over at My Cup 2 Yours has Talking About Thursdays and I sure do love a good prompt.  Plus her theme today is to talk about your favourite blog(s).  Nothing better than boosting up some friends in the bloggie world, although there are days that I struggle to find anything nice to say about anyone.  Nothing personal...because there's lots of great stuff out there.  It's just that when you really sit down to think, what makes this person REALLY special, sometimes a cloud passes over and blocks any rays of sunshine from getting through.  Today is one of my cloudy days.  Probably having to do with the fact that I fell asleep curled up in our recliner and slept in the fetal position all night long.  I am just not as flexible as I used to be.

There are too many that I really like but I don't have the time nor the energy to write something great about them all so I am going to pick only one....

Drum roll please....

So F*cking Fabulous I Piss Glitter  The name says it all.  The sarcasm is beautiful.  Apryl is a single mother struggling to just get by in an unsympathetic world.  Her rants and frustrations are beautifully crafted to make you laugh, cry or sometimes just say...WTF?  And then just when you think she has hit rock bottom, she picks herself up and starts all over again.  Sometimes she even throws in a little poetry just to keep you on your toes.  So if you're up for riding that roller coaster with her, go check it out. 

If you want to join in Talking About Thursdays, click the image at the top of this post for more details.  Write your post and then link to the blog hop on Genny's site. 

Here's to a happy day.  The sun is shining, temperatures are supposed to come close to the double digits today...did I mention I love spring?

Just When I Thought I Had Nothing To Say...

Just when I thought I had nothing to say, along comes Apryl from So F*cking Fabulous I Piss Glitter and I get an award.  Heck, I got 2 awards at one time.  Look at me go!  So thank you, Apryl.  You're the best.

Now I have some RULES I am supposed to follow.

The Rules

1. Thank the person that nominated you; link to the person that gave you the award.

2. Pass this award on to 15 bloggers you've discovered and think are fantastic.

3. Contact said blogs and let them know, they've won.

4. State 7 things about yourself.

Now on to 7 things about myself that no one in the Bloggie world knows. Or very few at least.  This is not as easy as it sounds.  Especially when you want to make it funny or inspiring or just plain ridiculous.  I fear ridiculous is going to be the theme here.  Some of my crazy little quirks that I tend to keep to myself.  But I suppose instead of rambling I should get to the meat of the issue. 

1. You know that crinkly sound a plastic bag makes when you touch it, or you're emptying groceries or garbage, or cleaning the litter box?  Well, that sound makes my skin crawl as if just touching the bag releases a nest of a million little ants that are now climbing all over my body.  Some people can't stand fingers down a chalkboard or to touch cardboard...

2. I once walked down the full length of a ski hill.  Skis in one hand, poles in the other.  It's a lot further than it looks from the bottom.

3. I have some of the smelliest feet around.  For a girl at least.  The fact that I hate to wear socks and my feet sweat profusely has led to the early destruction of many pairs of shoes.

4. I am a walking contradiction.  It's said that most people are multi-dimensional.  But sometimes I even think I am full of crap.  I hate disorganization...it makes me feel out of control, disoriented.  But yet, some days I just let things lay where they land.  And for days...until someone else cleans up the mess or I get so frustrated and then act all irritated like it's someone elses fault.

5.  One time when I was sick and too weak to walk to the bathroom, I peed in my cat's litter box.

6.  I regret very few things in my life.  The decisions I have made have molded me into the person I am today and I don't mind that person at all.  But if I had the chance to go back and do it different, I would have gone to university and gotten a degree instead of taking a college diploma program and dropping out anyway. It never used to bother me...but lately I have spent so much time around people that have a bachelors or masters or PhD in something and I begin to feel a little inferior.  I know it's irrational.  I'm a smart person but for some reason because I didn't spend thousands of dollars for a piece of paper that says I'm smart, I feel like I missed out on something.

7.  I hate brussel sprouts and green peppers.

And the Award goes to...

1. MochaTrina from MeSoHongry
2. SandyB from Reinventing Sandy B 
3. Melissa at Rock and Drool
4. Chief at Hiding From the Kids
5. Genny at My Cup 2 Yours
6. Kate at Busted Plumbing
7. IT at Well, Oh Yeah
8. Shana at Blaze n' Crochet
9. Dawn at Dawning
10. Alex at Whoa Momma
11. This Little Girl Dreams
12. ZoeyJane at Mommy Was Moody
13. Laura at The Life of My Love
14. UberGrumpy at UberGrumpy
15. Julia at The World is My Oyster

Congratulations, you all deserve it!!!!!

Blast From The Past-Just a Ramble

I have often wondered what happened to the good old classic cartoons.  They have changed so much since I was a child and there is something that I find just a little off about the cartoons of today.  Just when I thought all was lost, I found a tv channel that has everything I loved.  The Flintstones, The Jetsons, The Smurfs, Alvin and the Chipmunks, Fraggle Rock (ok not a cartoon but still a good one).

But, it surprises me the content of some of these programs.  Stuff I loved as a kid and now as I sit and watch the Flintstones, I realize that it was really full of more grown up content.  In this particular episode, Wilma is upset because her and Fred never do anything together anymore.  Fred is wrapped up in work, his Water Buffalo club and bowling and Wilma wants to go to a movie, to have Fred pay a little attention to her like before they were married.  So Fred agrees to take Wilma out and then Barney reminds Fred that they have a Water Buffalo Bowling Tournament.  Fred wants to do the right thing for his wife but at the same time doesn't want to let down his friends.  He comes up with an idea to be in two places at once and as is tradition it backfires on him and he gets caught.  Although he does win the bowling tournament, Wilma thinks they had a date so she's happy.  But when the truth is revealed Wilma forgives Fred and they live happily ever after.  How close was this program to real 'grown up' life and kids in the 70's and 80's loved this stuff. 

When you compare to the likes of Franklin and Dora the Explorer, it's so different.  The cartoons today seem to focus more on issues that pertain to kids.  Which there is nothing wrong with that.  And they are all trying to teach something, again great.  But why do they come off so flat? 

Maybe I am looking at a different audience.  Under 5 would probably get more enjoyment from the latter form of cartoons, and maybe I was just a tad older when I was watching my cartoons.  I do rememeber things like The Friendly Giant, Sesame Street, Mr. Dressup and I loved those too.  So maybe the problem is the age difference and I am comparing with the wrong audience.

But I sure love these oldies.  Sounds like Bugs Bunny is on now.