Spawnling vs. Public School

First day jitters.
(I may have to include the name of a good therapist
in the teacher gifts this year.)


We have come such a long way.

The reason I started this blog - other than to have a place to vent about how overwhelmed I was feeling at the time - was to have a spot to record our journey. A public place, where I could let out my narcissistic exhibitionist side.

Looking back, I can see how much life has changed.

How little sleep I used to get.

How awesome I've become with the passing of time. It's really quite a lot, which is odd considering I was already incredibly awesome when I started blogging.

Oh, right: and how much the gremlins are growing. Also that.

When I started this blog, I was pregnant with Spawnling. He was born on October 12, 2006. Since that was before the widely spread use of smartphones, my sister made the announcement on this blog and remains its only guest poster to date.

I was really, really high when I called to give her the details. I was on two fantastic i.v. drugs that made me think everything was hilarious: lights, doctors, dropped surgical instruments, toothbrushes, my new baby... In fact, when the doctor said "He looks just like his daddy!" I replied with "Phew. Thank goodness I dodged that bullet!"

People should never give me drugs. Never, ever, ever.

After my unplanned c-section and unfortunate stay in the recovery room where I told the nurse far too much information about our sex life, I was brought back to the room to chill with my ten pound homey. Geekster stood nervously by the bed as I balanced the phone on my shoulder to recite the birth details to my sister, and latched our newborn on for his first feeding with my free hands. There were pillows and bars and my i.v. and a few other things that I sort of haphazardly threw around to make breastfeeding work right after surgery. I don't remember very much on account of how stoned I was, but I'm sure it was terrifying to watch.

Anyway, the point is I didn't drop my hour-old baby off the bed despite being so high, and he's alive today to start kindergarten. The end.

Can you believe it? I'm both sentimental and thrilled, as I confessed in my last post. There were no tears this morning from anyone. Here are some pictures.


Big brother Gutsy and a worried-looking kindergartener



Still looking slightly worried, but warming up to the idea.



All better.
And if I don't have THE CUTEST five-year-old on the planet,
I'll tell him you said that and he'll probably kick you a few times.



Happy first day, my littlest gremlin. I love you tremendously - even when I'm not high, which says a lot.



It's OK to be Happy They're Growing Up

Spawnling and his buddy W.
They've been friends since babyhood.
Playdates, playgroup, preschool...
They argue like an old couple. If I can get it on video someday I will.


Spawnling is starting kindergarten on Friday.

In our province, kids go to school five full days a week when they hit the Big K. There is no slow integration unless you put them in daycare or preschool first. It's like one minute they're not in school and the next minute BLAMMO! they're walking apprehensively into the school yard with their chubby little arms hugging an oversized backpack as you watch, sad and sobbing.

Except when you're not.

I cried when Intrepid lugged his chiropractic nightmare of a school bag into the yard eleven years ago. I was even a little melancholy when Gutsy did the same half a decade ago. With Spawnling? Not so much. I had my moment when The Spawn said goodbye to his amazing preschool teachers in June. I cried in my car on the way to pick him up on that last day. I cried when he hugged them tight for the last time. I cried when they cried because he was crying. It was the end of an era. My littlest boy - my last little boy - was no longer such a little boy anymore. Heartbreaking.

Except it isn't, really.

A part of me feels like I should be much more upset than I am (which is not at all). Attachment Parent Maven wonders if I'm blocking some deeply buried volcano of emotion that's going to burst to the surface, leaving me sobbing into a head of lettuce on the floor at the grocery store. Anytime now. Wait for it. Here it comes.

Except it won't.

I've come to three conclusions lately:

1. I've been doing this parenting thing a long time. I've been a stay-at-home-mom with only minimal part-time interruptions since 1996. Let me do the math for you: That's almost sixteen years. SIXTEEN YEARS. That's longer than a good vehicle will last you these days. That's working your way up to senior management in most workplaces. That's about two-thirds of the way through a typical mortgage. That's how long it takes to become a plastic surgeon. That's a long fucking time.

2. I am so ready - so very, very ready - to do something else; something that involves being by myself or only around people who are legally responsible for themselves; something that doesn't involve negotiating hostile toy takeovers and noon-hour vegetable battles; something that allows me to eat my lunch in peace and drink a cup of coffee without it going cold on the counter. I'm ready. I'm excited. I. AM. READY. 

3. The biggest conclusion - well, more of a revelation, really: It is totally and completely okay for me to be happy about this time in our lives.


It's okay for me to love my kids and also love my time away from them.

It's okay for me to for me to want to do something beyond parenting.

It's okay for me to grow and change as my children grow and change.

It's okay for me to believe that my kids can and will thrive in new situations. We've given them a solid foundation. I've nursed and nurtured, corrected and comforted, held and hugged each and every one of them. I can look back on that and feel like I did a good job.

I set out to do something that was important to me: I wanted to stay home with my kids until they were ready for school. I did that. It was hard sometimes. It made me cry, it made me cringe, it made me fight with my spouse about money, it made me want to run away and start a coffee plantation in South America with nothing but a donkey to look after.

But I did it. Um, the staying home bit, not the donkey thing... which actually sounds a lot more perverted when I call it "the donkey thing."

I met my goal. A huge decade-and-a-half goal. And I feel so good about that. I'm not sending the last little gremlin off to school with a heavy heart; I'm sending him with the knowledge that we can transition to this next stage of parent/child togetherness and still keep a great thing going.

I'm fucking awesome. I'm, like, the plastic surgeon of parenting.

My level of comfort and happiness cannot be overstated. It feels good to let myself feel good about this. We should celebrate the day Attachment Parent Maven finally welcomed Savvy Entrepreneur Maven into the family.

Cue the donkey.


Why Zombies Make Great Friends

Every day they're shufflin'.

If movies like Zombieland and Shawn Dawn of the Dead have taught us anything, it's that there's a storm coming.

Whether the catalyst is a superbug, GMO popcorn or the closing of the majority of Starbucks locations, zombies are going to overrun our streets and homes. True story. Hollywood never lies.

If that isn't bad enough, some folks are going to have a hard time finding and maintaining close post-apocalyptic friendships. I mean, there's the whole population issue; many people had difficulty making friends when there were seven billion people to choose from. What are we going to do when that number is drastically reduced? To make matters worse, shows like The Walking Dead demonstrate that those who have survived the uprising tend to have unstable minds and major character flaws. Some are outright douchebags, and most will turn on you over a backpack full of stale food.

Not exactly golf buddy material, if you ask me.

If we can't get along with the few remaining humans, how are we supposed to build a social circle again? Zombies, that's how.

Everyone thinks zombies are the enemy. But that's a blanket statement that is hurtful and, frankly, prejudice. Shame on you. Zombies have their uses, and in fact can be productive members of society. They don't swear, they eat leftovers, they're very determined... And think about it: when is the last time you saw the undead driving an SUV? Never, that's when. And that means zombies are environmentally conscious, to boot; another one of their great qualities.

There are many sound reasons to choose the undead to break bread - or, um, skulls - with. Here are some tips to making it a lasting friendship:

It's best to befriend only a single undead at a time. They tend to be a little... intense. Having two or three in a room with you might get a bit uncomfortable.

Zombies are great listeners. They don't tend to talk much and it's almost like they want to get inside your head. You will never feel misunderstood.

You will never have to share clothes with a zombie. Their style tends to start and end at 1994 grunge. Your closet will always be safe.

Zombies are natural egalitarians. They don't care if you're tall or short, fat or thin, a pop star or a poptart. They'll want to get close to you no matter who you are. That has to feel special.

Zombies help you keep that big ego of yours in check. The last thing you want is for your head to get bigger and more noticeable. Trust me.

Zombies make great running partners. They generally like it if you lead, though.

Some business ventures to avoid with your ZFF: animal rescue, orphanage, cranial massage studio.

Opening a butcher shop, on the other hand, is a sound idea. You will want to discuss what types of meat you're serving in advance, however, just to avoid confusion - and mysterious customer disappearances.

If, one day, your zombie friend moans "want inside you," breathe easy: they're not trying to cross that awkward line into romance.

Extra bonus: you will always be the pretty friend. If that isn't incentive right there, I don't know what is.

I don't know about you, but I'm totally sold.

In short, if you're struggling to meet a BFF after society has fallen, why not throw a fishhook full of spoiled meat into an alley and reel yourself in a new one?


The Maven's guide to surviving a family vacation

I'm back from vacation! Of course you missed me while I've been gone, crying tears of blog-less sadness and what-have-you.

We went here.
It was awesome.
Minus all those moments when it wasn't.

We went to Prince Edward Island for the second year in a row. It involved two days of travel each way and a fair amount of chaos. Still, it was smoother than last year - in large part because we're learning the ins and outs of successful family travel. I've decided to share my trip tips with you because I'm just that nice.

(My birthday is coming up in a few days. Please remember how nice I am.)

HOW TO SURVIVE A FAMILY VACATION:

1. Remember to pack lightly. Fewer shirts, fewer pants, fewer kids. Whatever works.

2. Bring traveling essentials: crayons, colouring books, pillows, dart guns, barbiturates...

3. If traveling by car, remember to allocate time for frequent stops: bathroom breaks for them, crying-in-the-bathroom breaks for you, and threatening-to-leave-them-on-the-side-of-the-road-I'm-not-even-joking-anymore-kids rest stop breaks.

4. If traveling by plane, remember to bring along some of those blinders the horses wear and put them on your face so as to avoid the wary looks from passengers as you sit your children next to them.

5. Choose a kid-friendly hotel. It'll be the loud one where children are behaving even more poorly than your own. Take a moment to gaze upon your little angels and be so, so proud of them - and you, because you are an amazing parent compared to the ones in 312 and 207.

6. Make sure the hotel includes a complimentary breakfast. That way you can watch your children eat without looking down at your wallet.

7. Do not over-schedule your trip. Too many activities can be overwhelming for everyone, resulting in whining and possibly tantrums.

8. Do not under-schedule your trip. Too few activities can be underwhelming for everyone, resulting in whining and possibly tantrums.

9. Sit down and try to figure out the precise amount of activities needed to have a vacation free of whining and possibly tantrums. You may also want to Google Map your way to the nearest asylum, because that's where you'll be headed if you keep trying to solve the unsolvable.

10. Bring a book with you. You'll never have time to read it, but it will give you something to sigh and frown at that won't be traumatized.

11. Glare at those people who seem to have kids who thrive on vacations. You don't like those people because they're the ones who make you think your family can have that kind of stress-free fun. Also, they get to actually read their books. To make yourself fell better, fashion little voodoo dolls out of envy and resentment, place them in twigs tied together a la Blair Witch, and put them in front of their cabin doors. This could be a great downtime activity for your non-book-reading family.

12. Know your family's limits. Book-reading families can head somewhere for 2 or 3 weeks. Your family's ideal vacation time may be shorter, like 2 or 3 hours days. Own it, accept it, and enjoy what your kids are capable of handling.

13. Stop and appreciate every quiet moment - those rare times when everyone is on their best behaviour and no one is wishing for a giant bottle of scotch. Turn to your partner and sentimentally say how great this vacation has been, and how you should definitely do it again next year. Or, if you don't have a partner, mention it out loud to yourself. Don't worry, it's no crazier than the way you're thinking in these moments, anyway.

14. Take lots of pictures. Then, when you get home, share the pictures where everyone is smiling and happy. The website might ask if you really want to create an album that only has 3 photos in it. Click 'YES'. Name your album something positive, like "Our best vacation ever!" or "Wonderful seaside memories" or whatever else will help your brain re-write history.

15. Take a picture of you holding a book in your bathing suit and add it to the photo album. History re-write complete. What an excellent trip! Rinse and repeat next year.

How to Make the Perfect Cup of Coffee

De-freaking-licious.


Step 1. Crawl out of bed for the eleventeeth time and pick up teething, screaming baby.

Step 2. Put screaming baby down for a minute so your arms are free.

Step 3. After you realize Step 2 is totally not going to work, pick up screaming baby. If you can't locate sling, find another way to magically hold baby while keeping both arms free. 

Step 4. Think twice and place duct tape back in drawer. That is not an acceptable way to affix a baby to ones body. Make peace with the fact that you're just going to do this shit one-handed like everything else lately.

Step 5. Reach into cupboard and grab your favourite coffee. Being as tired as you are, your "favourite coffee" is probably whichever one you grabbed first.

Step 6. Swear a few times when you realize it's whole bean. 

Step 7. Apologize to baby for swearing, even thought he probably couldn't hear you over his own screams. Consider not telling people how often you swear around your infant.

Step 8. Take out bean grinder. Pour in beans. Press start.

Step 9. Wait.

Step 10. Keep waiting.

Step 11. Hit side of grinder and mutter something about how cheaply-produced kitchen appliances are these days.  

Step 12. Release second string of profanities. Sigh deeply. Remove beans from juicer. Place in actual grinder.

Step 13. Bounce sad baby on your hip and sing some half-baked song about whales who's lyrics you can't quite remember because Dracula Jr.'s incisors were growing last night and you're really too tired for this shit.

Step 14. Search through every f-ing cupboard trying to find filters. 

Step 15. Grab paper towel. Place inside coffee maker basket. Hum Beverly Hillbillies theme song.

Step 16. Carefully measure out 1.5 tablespoons of freshly ground coff-- shit. Grab spoon out of Dracula's hand. Wash any visible coffee grounds out of his mouth while holding him over sink. Reminisce about how simple things were before your vagina gave life. Carefully measure out 1.5 tablespoons of freshly ground coffee and place in paper towel filter.

Step 17. Put in 2 cups of water. Press start. Wait for near-orgasmic brewing sounds.

Step 18. Turn machine on. Repeat step 17. Go check what's on TV.

Step 19. Scream louder than Screaming Dracula Baby when you return to kitchen and find coffee all over the counter, all over the floor, all over the dog, and all over your crushed hopes and dreams of a peaceful morning.

Step 20. Unplug machine. Glare at coffee pot sitting on opposite counter. Glare at Screaming Dracula Baby. Glare at now very excited dog.

Step 21. Throw hands available hand up in the air.

Step 22. Grab car keys. Walk outside in slippers. Place baby in car seat. 

Step 23. Make your way to nearest drive-thru. Order largest cup size available while baby finally falls asleep. Enjoy the best cup of coffee ever

How to survive the summer with your kids

This is the first in a series of "how-to" blog posts I'll be writing this week. Why? Because Annie from PhD in Parenting (who's brain I have a crush on) wrote an informative article on blog stats, and it made me realize that I need to write something people actually search for. If you own a blog - especially a parenting-oriented one - you should definitely read her article. Anyway, apparently a lot of people end up searching for how to do things, and I'm missing out on all that great traffic. So I decided I should write my own, Maven style. Feel free to find them through Google so I can feel like I've accomplished something.


---> HOW TO <--- (SEE? SEE?) SURVIVE THE SUMMER WITH YOUR KIDS

They have screamed. They have cried. You have cried. There are mystery stains on the couch and sunscreen art sinking into your drywall. You just found the meatloaf lovingly baked during yesterday's sweltering temperatures fed to the dog and brought back up - on your bed.

And it's not even August.

Unless your offspring are ushered off to daycamp or daycare or into the care of long-distance relatives for several weeks (and if they are, I'm very jealous and we can never be friends), you probably have your hands full during the warmer months of the year.

You might feel like you're losing your mind right about now. It's okay, I'm here for you. Here are some tricks I've learned in the last few years:

This seasonal method of keeping children still does not work work.
They eventually want you to uncover them.
Even when you're not done reading your magazine yet.
Children are SO selfish.


1. Don't worry about losing your mind. Good news: If you deliberately stay home with young children then you are already clinically insane. Stop telling yourself it's because of unconditional love or what's best for your family or what you've always wanted to do; denial is a major symptom of ones solar panels facing north. Just own it like I did. It's very liberating.

2. Try to get out more. You know, by yourself. If you can't do that, then take your kids to the park and pretend they're someone else's. This is where you get to use that newly-admitted crazy of yours. See that mom over on the bench who looks like she has her act together? They're her kids for now. She's doing a great job parenting them, being all calm and stuff - not even watching them, really, which is totally free-range parenting and all the rage. You can plop your childless ass under that tree and read your now-overdue library book. If the Individuals Formally Known as Your Children come by to ask for a snack, just point at her picnic basket. It's not like she can't feed her own kids. There are rules against that sort of thing.

3. It's absolutely okay to Google - and perhaps loosely relate to - "why mammals eat their young." Just do it. You'll feel so much better*.

4. Just. Chill. Out. You know those parents who only give their kids, like, 18.4 minutes of screen time a day - even during those impossibly long summer days - and leave you with that gnawing "I'm doing something terribly wrong" feeling? They are more insane than you are. Or they're picking special mushrooms every time they take the kids out for "nature walks". Or they have the best behaved, self-amusing children ever, which CLEARLY means the kids are half-alien. Hey, when daddy comes from the Gamma-Granola quadrant and met mommy when he crash-landed on Hempseed Hill, those offspring will be too advanced for television. The rest of us can loosen up and let our average human children watch reruns of Sponge-Bob if it means they're not pulling each others hair for a morning.

5. It'll be over before you know it. In the blink of an eye school will be back in session. Playgroup registration will be in full swing. Or, if you took the summer off because you thought it would be "relaxing" (yes, I'm laughing at you), you'll be back at work and having adult conversation before you can say "I already told you that can't be flushed down the toilet" again. Soon you'll be trading in last minute library trips for lunch-making, and hour-long hikes for homework. And the worst part? By November you'll probably be missing the summer terribly. You sick individual, you.

*By "Just do it. You'll feel so much better" I do not mean you should actually eat your young. As tempting as that might sound after you discover they've been using your car as a scooter ramp, you'll likely wind up with bad indigestion and a side of remorse - after the scratches are buffed out, anyway. Also, you can only take the clinically insane defence so far.

Any other advice you'd give overwhelmed parental units of young humans? I know I'd love to hear it. We still have a month go to over here.


And this is why gardening and Photoshop do not mix

Dear Husband,

The next time you pluck a carrot from the garden and it looks like this:





please do not show it to me. Eat it on the spot, or feed it to a bunny, or at least snap its little root-a-dingle off before you bring it into the house and lay it on the counter like it's just a typical vegetable. Because it is not a typical vegetable, Geekster. IT HAS A PENIS. Don't even deny it. That's the Willy McCocklington of edible vegetation, ready to release its load of beta carotene all over the place.

It's not fair. We both know what happens when you leave stuff like that lying around.

I find it.

And I can't help myself.

And then I spend hours sitting in the dark office, giggling as I do terrible, disturbing things with Photoshop and the digital tablet my grandma gave me. Things like this:







And this:








And, um, this:







You are an enabler of the worst kind.

Love,
The Maven

PS: I expect you to compose an apology letter to my grandmother immediately. Do not enclose any carrots. (For all we know, this sickness runs in the family.)

My sister's artistic, um, talent.

My sister keeps sending me these drawings.

I think she's trying her hand at digital artistry and is seeking my approval. That's fine. I know what it's like to be a budding artist; It's always nice to hear that you have talent, right? It helps stoke the fire until the self-confidence train leaves the station. Goodness knows I still love hearing how awesome I am. I mean, I totally know already, but please feel free to keep telling me.

With her express permission - and a reminder that she needs to keep her ego in check when the compliments start flooding in - I have decided to share a couple of her best pieces on my blog. These are from a series called "Celebrity Tuesdays." I get one each week from her work address. (She's a civil servant - lots of time to draw.)






Don't know what Justin's doing on the left, but I'm totally digging this first celebrity creation! Now that Robin has his mask on he's ready to hop in the Batmobile and fight some crime. Maybe a crime against art.



Holy shitballs, Batman!
What the fuck did she do to my hair?



Next, we have one of the most beloved celebrities of all time:




(This is totally going in the twins' playroom.)




The smile gives it away immediately:




Mister Ed



Don't you love that she made it in black and white for added authenticity? Man, she's good. I'm so proud of you, Katie.

Please show my sister your love. Let Katie know what a talented artist she is and maybe she'll keep creating pieces that move us to tears-- uh, in a good way, of course.


A robbery, lots of noise and a unicorn


I need to preface this post by thanking Ottawa's CHEZ106 for totally making my weekend by reading 50 Plates of Bacon on the radio last Friday. That was a completely unplanned event - so much so that I slept through the entire thing because I didn't know it was on. I woke up to about 800 text messages, some emails and half a dozen Facebook posts about it. Oops. I was told there will be more 50 Plates read this week, which has me feeling a little giddy. 

I also need to thank Applegate Farms for posting that amazing photo on their Facebook page that sparked my smutty creativity. They've been great sports about the whole thing. Social media connects us all in the weirdest ways. In this case, Applegate Farms and I will forever be connected though pork erotica. That's special. 

Overall it was an excellent week for me as a writer. I have another exciting project going on that I can't talk about just yet, but rest assured that it's taking my writing in a whole new direction. It, too, was unexpected. But life loves to smack me in the face with surprises. 

Speaking of which, I was in a foul mood yesterday thanks to some unexpected events. 

I got up early to go work out. I detest getting up early, but I'd rather get my gym on and back home again before the Gremlins Three scuttle out of bed to torment their father while he's trying to work. This scores me serious relationship brownie points (or so I thought - keep reading). It took every ounce of motivation I had to leave the house this morning.

And I get out to the car to find I had forgotten to lock it.

And someone had gone through it.

And made a mess.

And stolen my iPhone car kit (minus the iPhone, thankfully, which was tucked away in the house) and, even worse, my coffee money.

And did I mention they made a mess? Like I don't have enough to clean up in my life. Thanks, asshole. 

Not exactly the great start to the week I had imagined. I'm contemplating putting a fisher cat in the car every night. Nobody fucks with a fisher. One minute you lean in to steal someone's change and the next minute, BLAMMO! Fisher gnawing at your larcenous face. 

Step away from the hybrid, bitch.
(Photo credit: Tilly's Nest)


Anyway, I got to the gym and ended up having angry exercise. It's kind of like having angry sex, but worse.

Angry sex is great in its own the way. In the end you're all, "I am still very angry with you, but at least I had an orgasm." The problem with angry exercise is that, in the end, you're all, "I am still very angry with you, but I did not have an orgasm. I did, however, have a heart attack." I worked out really hard, iPod up loud enough to pop an eardrum, hair dripping with sweat, cheeks as red as that bad blush your grandma used to wear when her eyesight started going, a scowl on my face. Nobody talked to me. Nobody even waved to me. And if you know how insanely popular I am, you know that's as rare as a nun at a Britney Spears concert. 

I tried to be friendly on my way out the door by smiling at everyone, but I think it came out more of a twisted grimace than a smile, and I likely resembled a sweaty clown on bath salts.

An hour later, I was at my friend Robyn's house attempting to turn my frown upside down by quietly drinking a coffee and chitchatting. Apparently this heat wave has rendered me all kinds of stupid. Nobody can quietly do anything or enjoy coffee in any way when they bring three kids with them. I know this. I do. I practically wrote the book on impractical parenting, including a chapter on how to ensure maximum conversation disruption. I spent three hours negotiating hostile toy takeovers and giving out attitude citations. In the end, I threw all three gremlins in the car and told them they weren't getting their computers back until further notice. I then had to deal with two sulky kids and one that threw a tantrum. Fantastic.

Then - you know, because he likes to time these things oh-so-perfectly - my husband decided to buy a drumset. Yep. A drumset. Awesome. 

He was obviously reading my mind. I was totally thinking that what this house needs is more noise. 

The best part? We have a multipurpose room called the Moffice*. It's the music room/office.

You know, MY office?

Okay, also his office, but that's not the point. The point is that a drumset is not conducive to writing. It's like a bad college roommate sitcom come to life. There is no need to explain this further.

But I love him, and he's cute, and he's not generally inconsiderate, and he almost never argues when I really want something, so I did not veto the purchase. I may have sulked and whined a little bit, but I didn't yell, which, given the day I was having, was rather great of me.

Oh, and I made him buy me headphones. Nice ones that make noise go away by playing other noise of my choosing into them. 

I didn't like those headphones. They were tinny. So I whined about that until he gave me his nicer headphones. 

They look better on me anyway.
Minus the greasy hair.
PS: Sorry for the greasy hair shot.

Then I took myself out for a latte while he set up the divorceset drumset and put the kids to bed. Two hours later I came home with an actual smile on my face. 

I woke up feeling a lot better today. I hit the gym again and actually spoke to people, and I have a plan in place to Bedazzle the bass drum to look like this: 

 He can't be home all the time.
(Photo credit: Mommywantsvodka.com)
(Amazing idea credit: My friend Melissa at Refashionista)


*We don't actually call it a "moffice." I'm totally making that up. We call it the "office" which is a really stupid name when you think about it, because offices don't have music studios in them. We should call it the "studio", considering that studios sometimes have desks. Neither offices nor studios, however, tend to have pictures of half-naked unicorn men in them, thus making me think this room should have an entirely new name.