Tomorrow I was supposed to go on a field trip with Kamryn. Her class (and it turns out the rest of the school) is going to a local cinema to see a foreign film (yes I agree it is a weird field trip). I have previously avoided field trips because of the requirement that you speak French while on them. I don't mind speaking French to my kids and murdering the language but I'm shy about others. My French isn't that bad but I'm vain. Anyway I finally got over myself and volunteered to be a chaperone on this trip. Kamryn was VERY excited. She asked me timidly yesterday what would happen if I had to work and her trip was at the same time. I told her that that wouldn't happen. Then I rearranged my entire work day around this trip. This morning she bounded into my room full of excitement to inform me that "our trip" was tomorrow. Then later in the day when an important meeting conflicted with the trip I declined to attend and instead wrote down everything I needed conveyed at the meeting and entrusted someone else to represent my concerns. I decided to work from home tomorrow around the trip. I cleared everything with my boss. All set.
Got home today and there is a note from the teacher. They have too many attendees because while they intended on having grades 4 through 6 go on Friday they've changed it so that the entire school will go tomorrow. Kamryn didn't believe me when I told her that I couldn't attend. Poor kid. I had to show her the note (which she can't read) and promise that I would go on the next trip. The only problem there is that having made a big deal out of this trip it will be difficult (not impossible but I'm asking a lot here) to get the same slack at work for the next trip which is in just two weeks. Not to mention what will happen if for some odd reason they don't need me to chaperone the next trip either (although this seems unlikely). I can't believe that after been so reluctant to participate for SOOOOOO very long (we're going back to preschool here) having finally worked up my nerve I didn't get to follow though. I do feel all googly inside that Kamryn wants me to go with her so badly – I know I don't have very many more years of such intense "mommy-worship" left.
Wow. I'm beginning to be calm now. I've seen Ohio come in and figure things are a little more certain now although I realize that the way the US system is structured things can change radically very quickly.
While I'm talking about the US system – what the heck?!?
I was chatting with a colleague this morning about people waiting hours to vote. Her comment (and she should know having worked for NGOs election monitoring in East Timor of all places!) "that's what happens in third world countries."
I don't understand how one of the most advanced countries in the world has so much trouble holding an election. Like really – how can people all over the country vote in completely different ways. Makes no sense. Different options. different ways of voting.
It's so simple here. You can register to vote when you file your taxes and before an election your voting card is mailed to you telling you where to go and vote. If you haven't registered that way someone will likely visit your home prior to the election to register you. On election day you go to your polling place where you are given a ballot. You go into the booth, take a pencil and draw and X next to the candidate you want. You then put the ballot in the ballot box. It is exactly the same way in Conception Bay, Newfoundland as it is in Inuktitut, Nunavut or Montreal, Quebec. You MIGHT wait 5 – 10 minutes to vote if you go at a particularly busy time. It's so simple.
Anyway, I going to stop complaining and go and watch all the fun. Going to be a late night.
Got to say it again – wow!
I do believe it is fair to say that "Fall back" is kicking my fluffy derriere. Sorry this post is all I can manage today. Can't.... keep.... eyes... open a moment longer.
I'm very interested in the US election. Transfixed. Six months ago I truly didn't believe that a black man could be elected as US president in my lifetime. I still don't totally believe it and my stomach gets all butterflie when I think of Tuesday. My mother asked me the other day (in jest) who I was going to vote for because I'm watching things so closely and I guess talking about it all a little too much.
Today I tried to explain the whole thing to Kamryn. I try to explain things political to her. This is nothing new; its something I've always done. She, unlike most Canadian elementary school kids, knows who the Prime Minister and the leader of the Opposition is – as does Sam. Its stuff we talk about in kid terms. I thought given her heritage (half Kenyan/half "Canadian") Barack Obama was a particularly appropriate topic. So I tried to explain the whole black-white prejudice thing. Really hard to do in kid terms!
Then I tried to explain Barack Obama. Okay that fell completely flat. Barack Obama, according to my six year old, isn't black. Neither is she. Or her brother. Now she will readily tell you she isn't white either. She is brown. I am black and Papa is pink. Makes me feel kind of warm and happy inside (despite her rejection of her heritage) because it means that no one is teasing her or haranguing her for being "black." At her age, I didn't have it so lucky. Now she is right of course; she isn't black and her race is actually pretty hard to pin down without being given some clues. She's pretty ambiguous so maybe that is the reason for the lack of teasing. Not so her brother though and he was whom she compared to Obama: "he's not black, he's just like Sam and Sam is just like me." Okay ...
As in many of our political conversations, I quit while I was ahead. We'll talk about it again a little later. If the election turns out the way its expected she's going to study this election in history class one day, the way I studied JFK's election and hopefully be a little awestruck.
So last week I had a mini-meltdown over problems Sam was having with elementary school. I didn't intend on it; it just kind of evolved from a question I asked on a bulletin board I frequent. I guess I needed the vent.
Anyway Sam and I had a big talk last Sunday about why we need to behave at school and on the bus. I asked him if it was difficult and bless his little heart he told me yes in this quiet little voice. So we made a deal that if he did well at school this week and didn't get in trouble he could have a surprise on Friday. He worked REALLY hard all week. I even got to see him in action myself as Daniel and I attended a school assembly they had - 200 kids sitting on the floor of the gymnasium for an hour of rather boring material and Sam sat and behaved the WHOLE time - many old kids got pulled out for not behaving and his class was a beehive of restless kids acting up. I was amazed by Sam's self restraint. At the end of each day he was so proud to tell me how well he was doing and on Friday since he didn't have any reportable incidents at school I took him to the Dollar store and let him buy anything he wanted (he chose a foam sword). He was so proud of himself AND he has complied all weekend with the warning that if he hit anything or anybody with the sword it will be taken away.
I'm a little in awe of this grown-up behaving little boy I'm seeing. I want to know what he did with Sam. I am aware that this is unlikely to be a completely permanent change but I'm not asking for perfection just progress and evidence of effort.
Then came the cherry on the cake - he started indoor soccer for his second year on Saturday. Last year this was a weekly disaster. He went with my his not so patient father and every week Daniel stormed in the door after soccer and ranted about how awful it was. I didn't have high hopes for this year either and was super shocked when Daniel called me after the class to tell me he was taking Sam out for "coffee" because he had been so good at soccer.
Turns out that not only did he behave but the coach is so impressed with his skills and athletic ability that he moving him to the 5/6 year old class. The coach said "if I leave him in this class [the 3/4 year old class] he's just going to use the other kids as pylons." I knew he was pretty good with a ball (any ball - last year they used to stick him in goal to give the other kids a chance at touching the ball once or twice) but I never imagined ... Advancing kids past their age group is not common in this program so the coach (who has a really good reputation) really much see something in Sam.
My only worry is that the 5/6 class is an "independent" class (the 3/4 class is a Parent and Me class). While Sam has mad skills, I'm not sure if he has the maturity to handle the independence of the older class. The coach has recognized this as well though (I think I love him) and has encouraged Daniel to "helicopter" parent a bit given that Sam will be up to two years younger than most of the kid's in the class. I'm so proud of Sam, *I* feel like I did something special - lol - and I of course did NOTHING.
Okay I'm on a diet or a lifestyle change as Weight Watchers pushes over and over again. I got out all my old Weight Watchers materials and I've been following the program (on my own, I know not recommended) for 6 days now. I THINK I might be feeling a change but I'm not sure. I don't own a scale. I'm not going to buy one so I have to go on how my clothes fit. They weren't fitting at all and now I think they are beginning to fit a little but I'm not really sure how much of that is just in my head. I haven't gone over even one day. Tomorrow – my tenth anniversary I'm going to binge completely. But that's what flex points are for no? (probably not but hell, it's my tenth anniversary).
You want to know a nasty side effect of all this good eating? I'm disgusted by what the husband is eating. COMPLETELY. And I'm not exaggerating. He eats terribly. He eats like a teenage boy and he really shouldn't. BOTH his parents are diabetic. And he carries all his weight in a paunch around the middle – not at all good for his heart. Now it has always kind of bugged me. but now it is grossing me out. Maybe because I'm hyper aware of what I'm putting in my belly? Now to make matters worse he THINKS he is eating quite healthily. And really he eats a lot of fruit and drinks a lot of water and his meals themselves are not bad but it's the snacking. He snacks on crap. When he is the least bit hungry he must eat immediately and it has to be crappy snacks. He thinks they are healthy - Casava and plaintain chips, for instance. Okay they sound like they might be healthier for you than potato chips but in reality they have just as much fat and are just as bad for you. And he doesn't just have one snack – he'll have chips followed by ice cream followed by rice cakes (at least those are healthy) And then there is portion control. I have some nice "healthy" trail mix that I snack on. Well a small handful is a healthy serving. He will eat several handfuls while waiting for dinner to be ready – yikes. This drives me particularly nuts because the kids and I aren't snacking and he doesn't get the urgency behind getting dinner on the table without needless delays.
Anyway its really bugging me. And being about 30 lbs overweight and dieting for all of 6 days I don't feel I have a right to say anything but I just wanted to put down somewhere that its driving me absolutely insane.
Well Kamryn started school yesterday morning. She was so very excited. Bus was scheduled for 8:45; at 7:45 she came bounding into our bedroom (I'm still on holidays) all dressed and her hair combed to announce that she had eaten breakfast and was ready to go but no one had packed her a lunch yet. lol The school bus was a no show (no surprise was the same last year) so we drove her to school much to her disdain.
Major topic among her friends when they saw each other for the first time - teeth! It was hilarious they were all comparing mouths - all twenty or so of them.
The school has already called us about the bus. Seems the transportation company is having major problems. The administration is calling each and every parent. Insane.
I asked Kamryn what was the best part of first grade: "Maman you know you get THREE recesses! One in the morning! One in the Afternoon! And one AFTER lunch!" Ahhh... the simple things.
Sam drove me insane all day (he's better today) - he doesn't start 'til next week and he's lost without his playmate. Today we go off to the school with him for his intake interview. He already had a registration interview so this is his second encounter with the school – this school likes interviews. We'll put him in his uniform for the interview. I ironed his dress shirt because I figured it will be one of the only times he wears it. Unsupervised I fear for the poor shirts life. Golf shirts are a little hardier.
We are currently in our sixth hotel room in two weeks. Can someone please explain to me why they make electrical outlets so hard to find and use?
So here we are hurtling through Southern Ontario having just crossed the border. It's nice to be "home" again. Don't get me wrong, I like visiting the U.S. – very much actually. It's just different enough to be a bit of an adventure while being common enough to be easy. But there is a comfort to being in your home country and to carry it one further, your home province. Here I can complain righteously about things, safe in the knowledge that I have every right to complain, praise or try to change things. I have confidence that I know and understand the laws. Hell, that I know and understand the food! Who knew food could be so very different in places so much alike (there were sausages, biscuits and a HUGE TUB of white stuff that I later found out was gravy – yuck! Who eats gravy for breakfast?) And, I know where I am in the universe without consulting a map or our GPS.
Anyway, I enjoyed our little sojourn through the Northern U.S.. Michigan is really a beautiful state. I got to see it from one end to the other – twice! And Wisconsin is no slouch either. I'm firmly biased against Minnesota though because every time Daniel drives though he gets a ticket (we escaped unscathed this time). It's not even that we're speed demons either just bad luck and some confusing signage – thus the bias – it's like we are targeted because we have Canadian plates.
Oh! And I just clued in and turned on the radio. I'm so desperate for news: Canadian news... international news. I'm sorry but Americans do a piss poor job at relaying what's going on in the rest of the world. I know all about Obama, McCain, the US Olympic team and the Tropical Storm that hit Florida. I know a little about Russia and Georgia and there it ends. Although I must admit the "Daly Report" is a hoot! It's not real news. I'm desperate to know what's going on in the world beyond the US border. In 7 minutes (it's 7 minutes to the top of the hour) I will have real news. I'm not alone in my assessment of US broadcast journalism – Daniel gave a "Thank God" when the news started. lol
Anyway, on to more mundane topics. We are definitely getting to the point though where it's good this little journey is coming to an end. All this quantity time just might kill us. The kids are antsy and Daniel and I are just tired. Sam 24/7 is an exhausting proposition (at home when you're at the end of your rope you can always send him to his room – for the past 10 days though his room has been the same as my room. He's a good kid but he needs his alone time just as much as his parents. And Kamryn is just gone completely giddy. Getting her to bed each night is getting harder and harder.
Okay battery dying, more later...
Tonight, I learned that I can publish directly to my blog from this version of Microsoft. Too cool. I love this new computer more and more. What it means for me is tons 'o convenience. What this means for you is probably more, less typo filled entries (no guarantees there lol).
So here we are in finally (it rained for the first two days we were here as if we'd done something to offend God) sunny Winnipeg. Yesterday we went to visit my Father-in-law. My father-in-law is a very sweet man who told the funniest little stories. He was laid back and just fun to be with. Kamryn used to follow him everywhere like a shadow; it was hilarious to watch. He didn't seem like a "kid person" but here was this little kid toddling after him and it was so obvious that he just loved it. The kid's don't remember that man. He was sick by the time we adopted Sam and never really got to know him all that well. Now he is a shrunken (he has gone from over 200 lbs to under 120) little man who doesn't speak. He spends his days wandering the ward in a wheelchair that they have had to strap weights to the wheels to keep him from moving too fast (he runs down the other patients). Yesterday was the first time I had seen him in three years. When I last saw him he wasn't the same man I had known but he could walk and talk and take care of himself. I didn't want to see him yesterday. I went because, I think, it was expected that I would. I really wanted to remember him the way I knew him before but hey I obviously needed to get over myself as this really wasn't about me. I was though quite nervous about having the kids see him.
They took it in stride. I think Kamryn was scared although despite many questions about how she was feeling and if she wanted to ask me anything she seems to have taken it all in stride. Sam was intrigued that Grandpérè didn`t talk. Like any child who has questions and doesn`t quite understand he managed to work the fact the Grandpérè didn`t talk into everything he said for the first 10 minutes or so of our visit. My father-in-law had taken a fall a few days earlier and had gotten some stitches so he had a bandage on his head. At one point Sam pointed out that he too had a "bobo" -- indicating a mostly healed scrape on his knee – but that he still talked. That out of the way Sam climbed into his father's lap and proceeded to play cards with Grandpérè (Who doesn't really play as much as hold tightly onto the cards). At the end of the visit Sam went over to his grandfather and gave him a very tender hug and marched happily off to the elevator. The visit really showed his personality. He is such a rough and tumble kid but when he needs to be he slows right down and can be so incredibly sensitive. I dare say he did better than all the rest of us (his uncle, aunt, 2 cousins, sister, mother and father). I think we all learned a little watching him.
