No One Needs THESE Kinds of Memories!

You travel with your kids, happily picturing all the happy memories you're making for them to always remember.  And then this happens... out of three kids in the van, one is feverish, irritable and crying.  Another has a runny nose and is whiny and cranky.  And the other is puking in a bag.  And you're holding it open.  My one son said, "This is the WORST car trip ever!  I'll never forget it!"   Good times.  Sometimes travelling with kids is extremely....memorable.  :)

Scenes from Bruce Trail Burnt Point Loop - I Am Completely In Love With This Trail!

I was just up at the family cottage in Tobermory.  One of my favourite things to do there now is to run to a side trail of the Bruce, the Burnt Point Loop Trail.  It's so technical that running it feels like you're flying.  Those pictures you see of the rocks and roots - those aren't beside the trail, they ARE the trail.  It's amazing!  You have to leap and jump to do this trail.  It starts all foresty, with mossy logs and beautiful pine trails.  You get boardwalks and rocks, and then you get to the water.  You have beautiful views of the lake and the shoreline, and then you have to run over rocks to continue on.  Running in the forest along the water is wonderful, because you get the cool lake breezes through the trees.  The whole time I run this trail, I'm grinning.

 

 

I have run on many beautiful trails.  In fact, I think almost every trail I've run on has been beautiful.  (I'm easy that way.)  But this has to be one of the best I've seen so far!

Matching Socks = Stress

I never thought I'd say it, and frankly, I realize that it sounds silly.  But socks cause me a lot of stress.  Am I the only one?

I never thought this would be such a problem.

However, there it is.  Matching socks are like gold in our house.

Where do they all go?

I know people say that the solution is just to buy all the same socks.  Sounds easy, but then you have to be able to find them all.  And I have boys and girls, so they usually wear different socks.  And I get handed down socks.

Once I went to the same store and they didn't have that kind anymore.

I have a laundry basket full of unmatched socks.

The other day I was trying to find a matching pair of socks for my daughter.  Honestly, I found sixteen single socks and NOT ONE MATCHED.

I yelled to my husband in despair, "HOW IS THIS POSSIBLE?"

He doesn't care.  The kids would wear mismatched socks if it were up to him.

I'm not there yet.  I've stifled my inner Type A enough - it just isn't okay with screamingly unmatched.  Because don't get me wrong - I'm fine with two different socks if they're roughly the same colour.  I'm not completely anal.  But my daughter has all these crazy patterns and it would really stand out.

Life's too short, I know.

But come on!  Throw me some matching socks!

Oh the Mess, Mess, Mess!

I've printed the above comic before, but it's just so relevant that I had to do it again.

I remember when the kids were little and I was constantly stepping on small toys and Lego pieces.  Those things are lethal!  I would look forward to the day the kids were older and we no longer had tons of little toys everywhere.

Well, they're older.  And now I have food wrappers everywhere.  And food bits.

I feel like I'm constantly making the kids clean up their snack messes.

I'll make them come downstairs just to clear away all their food mess, hoping they will get the hint that I'm not going to do it for them.  So far, they remain oblivious and I remain frustrated.  (Somewhere, my parents are laughing and high-fiving karma.)

It's amazing what a big mess they can make in a very short time.

I swear that when my back is turned, they suddenly start grabbing cookie boxes to shake crumbs all over the place.

I am constantly having them grab the broom and dustpan and sweep up all the crumbs they spill.

And the computer table!  I asked my son this morning if he just randomly grabbed handfuls of food and threw it under there.  (Sarcasm is always a good parenting strategy.)  I swear it had been clean a second ago.  He just stared at me uncomprehendingly as he stuffed strawberries in his mouth. And then he left his bowl!

I'd run screaming into the hills but I have to go make him put it in the dishwasher.

 

I'm in Password Hell!

I was standing at a gas station, about to pre-pay, and the machine asked me for the pin on my credit card.  I couldn't remember it.  It's not even a new password; it's just a card that I don't use very often. I had a complete mind block.  I stood there, reviewing possibilities.  I mean, panicking.  I was thinking, 'Is it this one or that one?  Or the other one?  Will they keep my card if I never remember it?  This is so embarrassing and annoying all rolled into one!  For a little string of meaningless numbers!'

I decided, right then and there, that passwords have become a complete nightmare.  They're everywhere.  It's getting ridiculous.  Did I say 'getting'?  I mean, we are way past ridiculous! 

I have passwords to access my computers, my phones, my email accounts, and my blog.  One computer program alone on my work computer requires three different passwords just to get into it.  I have passwords for my debit card and my credit card.

At work, we have to change passwords for our phone and computer every few weeks.

I just counted; I currently have thirteen passwords I have to remember just to get through daily life!  I can barely remember what I had for lunch.

I am in password hell!  Am I the only one?

And don't you hate it when you forget a password, which happens all the time, because for every innocuous account you need to open online you have to pick a password which you have no hope in heck of remembering because you have so many other much more important ones to remember.  So you have to click the 'forgot password' button.  And wait.  I am so sick of the 'invalid password/user name' message.  Because if I miraculously remember the password, I'll have forgotten the user name I picked!

When do we get to just using a fingerprint?  Please?

PA Day in the Forest

Do you see the wooden bridge my children are standing on?  My boys made it!  It was their idea. I helped gather pieces of bark and branches.  Ella provided a running commentary.

We had such a great day playing in the forest.  We took a picnic and had drinks and snacks in between play times.

I love to see the kids running excitedly down different paths, and climbing along logs.

And the boys were so busy working together, they didn't fight once!  (Hmmm.  Maybe I should dump a truckload of bark into our backyard and make them build multiple bridges....or forts....it just might work!)

Perfect P.A. Day.

The Re-enactment of the Battle of 1812 - Historical Fun for the Kids!

 

For the first time ever, we took the kids to a re-enactment of the Battle of 1812, in Stoney Creek Ontario.

I thought it was amazingly well-done.

There were so many other things to do as well, and everything was free (except the food and some things for sale like pottery). 

We were able to explore the tower and climb up the steps to a wonderful view. 

We were able to tour the 'camps' and they were fascinating to see.  The costumes were wonderful.

There were free games (all historically accurate, of course) and the kids could dress up, get their faces painted, shoot bows and arrows, and even try stilts! 

The kids loved the cannons going off as well as the actual battle.

If you want historical fun, try out the re-enactment!