You Da Meanest Mommy Evah!!

Yep. I've heard it before and I'm sure I'll hear it again. "You da meanest Mommy evah!" (Callum) and "Wutz you pwobwem anyways?" (Kaitlyn) and also "I'm so sick of you" (courtesy of Kaitlyn again) I have heard these words come from the mouths of the children I love and devote my life to.

Today we spent the afternoon at the SPCA animal shelter at my neice's birthday party. It was a great place for the kids to be as they can really learn a lot about compassion, giving and gratitude at a place like that. There were so many dogs, cats and other animals waiting to be adopted. It was hard to read all of the little blurbs posted on each of their kennels about where they came from, their characteristics and why they are there. Although they are all very unique in their own way, they all had in common their search for a "Forever Home."

I clearly explained to my family before going in, that we were NOT going to be bringing a pet home today. We have had a dog before and I was not ready to have another one yet. Admittedly, my heart sank a little as I watched my kids (especially Callum) gaze at the pets as they walked past each cage.

We successfully left empty handed but not without a struggle. I was expecting to hear the children tell me I was the meanest Mommy ever. I was expecting them to put up a fuss about not getting a pet, even though they were warned ahead of time. But they didn't. It is my husband who is giving me a hard time!! The mood he has been in since leaving there and the lines he has thrown at me in reaction to us leaving empty handed is unbelievable. He basically had all the dogs he would like to have picked out and all I had to do was choose one. Wasn't that sweet of him? He was letting ME choose!?! How very considerate of him! His behaviour was worse than any of the children's and his arguments for wanting to get a dog today were very weak. I am the one who will be home with it all day and a new dog is like having another baby in the house. I already do home daycare... I don't need to have another baby around right now. I am the one who would have to walk it and be home for it. We wouldn't be able to take off for weekends away without planning for someone to take it. I hardly ask anyone to baby-sit for me. Just how am I supposed to ask for someone to dog-sit for me? I am not ready to make these commitments yet. One of these days, far, far from today, I imagine we will once again have a dog in the house but today is not that day.

Animal lover he is. Push over I am not. Guess today I'm da meanest wife EVAH!!

I Have A Lot To Be Thankful For

This photo was taken Thanksgiving Day at my in-laws place. We all got together for dinner and you could see in my MIL's face how important that was for her to have everyone gathered together. She did a quick toast to us all telling us how lucky she is to have such a wonderful family.

For the past 5 years, Chris and I haven't left the house on Christmas Day. We decided that it is the only day of the year that Santa comes and to tear them away from their new stuff they just got and rush around all day, was not going to happen. This obviously has caused mayhem each and every year but as we explained to everyone, there are many days over the holidays to get together and there are a number of other occasions throughout the year to have dinner as a family. This one day each year was to be a day at home in our pj's, a day to play, a day to take in the magic and avoid the chaos of a child's Christmas. As children, Chris and I both remember opening our gifts, then rushing to get ready to go somewhere and wear itchy, dressy, uncomfortable clothing. On the years we were hosting at our house, my mum couldn't get to the kitchen fast enough after opening gifts and she really missed out on the day by cooking it away. Call us selfish, call us untraditional but we are happy we did what we did. My only regret is that our absence caused some hurt feelings towards some of the most important people in our lives. If they don't already realize, then I hope they'll someday understand why we did what we did.

Two years ago, I promised my mother-in-law we would start venturing out on Christmas day again, the year Callum turned five. So, this is it. We're going there Christmas Day this year. As we've been approaching the holiday season, I was starting to feel like maybe we shouldn't have made that commitment just yet. Maybe we should be staying home for at least another year, but after being at her house for Thanksgiving, I'm glad we're going. Our boys are older now and they are ready to experience the chaos Christmas brings. My MIL is very proud of her family and has been looking forward to this year for a long time. The closer we get now, the more I'm looking forward to it as well. I will NOT be dressing my kids in itchy, dressy, uncomfortable clothing though.

What If Environmentalists Had Written Star Wars?

If Star Wars had been written by environmentalists, it would look like this.

"Kindness should become the natural way of life, not the exception." (Buddha)

via twitter @vegan_one

Kyle David Miller 2002-2005

The Importance Of A Five Point Harness is a very powerful video. I had Callum in a booster when I first viewed this video but went out and got the seat in the video once I realized there was one for his size on the market. I often go back and watch it as it puts things in perspective for me. My son was born only a few days before Kyle and when I get angry at him for little things and for little reason, I remember this video and how lucky I am to have my boys. The Miller's have put together a new video of Kyle and it is equally as sad but beautiful to watch. RIP little Kyle David Miller.

“We begin to find and become ourselves when we notice how we are already found, already truly, entirely, wildly, messily, marvelously who we were born to be.”
— Anne Lamott

via oprah.com

“Dressing is a way of life. It brings you joy. It can give you freedom and liberation, help you to find yourself and to move without restraint. Isn't elegance forgetting
what one is wearing?”
— Yves Saint Laurent

via oprah.com

Mother-Roger Waters & Sinead O'Connor

Shame On You-Indigo Girls!!

Thank You For Hearing Me-Sinead O'Connor