running smelly, late, ugly, wet and well

housekeeping item: joe – i am not able to leave you comments on your blog. any hints or does your blog hate typepad people??? i get plenty of bubbles but that’s about it.

today magnificent and i went for a run at 6.45, just as the kids were emerging from their room. they were much amused to see us in our running togs, and i was hoping the sight of mummy and daddy being sporty would be a lasting memory. they would tell their kids, "ah yes, mummy and daddy taught us about fitness…."

instead of staring at us and fixing the sight of their parents into their ids, one of them raced to the door (with admirable speed) and shouted, "mummy needs smelly shoes, mummy needs smelly shoes!"

i’ll smelly you, kid.

sebastian had his first day of school today. it was just an hour orientation session. we started the morning by having a coffee with daddy and then heading up to the school. there was no one to tell us where to go, what classroom, etc, so we looked around until we found his cubby, and once we had located the words sebastian caldwell, he popped his knapsack into the space and we walked into the nearest classroom. it was the right one. we waved goodbye and as he was rounding the door sebastian asked me if i "would be there to pick him up when class was over".

of course i replied.

i had arranged to go for a power walk with one of the other mums, and when she arrived to drop off her daughter, we headed off. i never wear a watch, and wasn’t paying attention to the time, but i am a pretty fast walker…and we were walking, halfway there, and suddenly it was 11am and we needed to be at the school and were no where NEAR it. feeling like WE were the ones late for class, we started jogging, and kept this up until my body reminded me i had already been jogging this morning, so my friend called the school, and when we finally arrived (10 minutes late!!!!) our kids were waiting for us outside. 

seb’s face was fairly mutinous. he was sitting beside the teacher.

"mummy, why weren’t you waiting for me like you promised you would be?"

well kitten, i did come and pick you up like i promised, but i was a bit late, and i am sorry for that."

thank goodness for wordsmithing. YIKES.

from there, still sweating, we headed to park n shop to pick up a few items. i was still wearing sweats, trainers, jogging bra and had peeled off my tee and had put on a fresh pinny over it. not a good look, muriel. but who cares, i am shopping, who will i ever see?

a fashion maven girlfriend i haven’t seen for two years, that’s who. she’s a great girl who always looks one million dollars.

a few minutes ago, the kids jumped out of the bath and were prancing around pre towelling. sebastian suddently exclaimed, "we look like mummy and daddy after they have been running!" vast giggles from the rest of the crew, and suddenly they are all maniacs jogging on the floor, a la FLASHDANCE. this is my life.

and it’s racing by quickly.

disconcHERting when it’s HIM

it was a birthday party sort of weekend…friday, saturday, and sunday saw my kids trying to sing happy birthday through saliva filled mouths. its getting to the point where if they see a smoker bringing out a lighter, they congregate around that person eagerly and begin singing hopefully, craning their necks trying to view the cake.

if i haven’t mentioned before that magnificent charles is a better, more patient parent than i, then i either assumed you could figure that out, or was ashamed of the fact. i forget. regardless, he is. so imagine my surprise/shock/horror yesterday when he, traded in his mr cleaver/pa ingalls/mike brady self for a tess reaction.

the kids were no better/worse/different than they usually are/were/can be. no louder, no whingier, etc. we had been to a birthday party and actually had been complimented several times on how good they were. (this is because we gathered party food that is taboo at home, like doritos and juice boxes, and stuffed it into their mouths). then when we finally got home, we went down to the playground, they raced around. i was doing the typical tess thing with a couple of other mums, easing myself from the kids and having them racing up to me every once and a while for cuddles or to show off their latest accomplishment.

and then we went upstairs, mc bathed the kids and i heated up some risotto and set the table for dinner.

and then it.. happened. the kids weren’t being truly appalling, a couple of medium whingy bits, not listening and interrupting, i really can’t tell you what pushed mc over the edge, i know what does it for me, but suddently boom he was SO THERE.

it was very odd to see him so angry. he didn’t yell, and i think only i knew how upset he was, but he was. so we quickly fired off the kids into bed, all at once, and to no one’s surprise, none of them got out of bed, the first time since sebastian was put in his new bunkbed and the triplets were introduced to their big boy/big girl beds.

why wasn’t i the one getting angry? why did magchar? he has seen them be so much worse and has held it together so admirably while i am off reading vanity fair and cooling down. it was a different sitatuion, all right. we went to bed quickly ourselves, watched our arrested development replacement, my name is earl, and by 9.30pm were asleep.

what got him so angry? why hasn’t he gotten angry before? they’ve been worse, BELIEVE ME.

breaking my water?

this was the summer i swam.

i am actually quite a competent swimmer, lifeguard level. i haven’t had a traumatic water incident. yet i rarely am in the water.

the reason for this is my hair. i have very thick, very fine hair (read: no body to it) and whenever it gets wet and is unaccompanied by conditioner, it gets all snaggly. the pain and hassle of combing out the snarls has made me water shy over the years. those detangling products i found made my hair limp. ah the joy of fine hair.

however, i now have very short hair. you’ve seen the pictures. and just about all summer long i wore it in bunches, or, gasp, loose. (the erstwhile ponytail has complained to the union.) and i was getting uncomfortable, wondering if my kids were only going to remember me as a dock-lingerer, aka: the person always with the camera but never involved in the sport. i know my kids see me as active, they race around the house to retrieve my grotty running shoes when they see me in my running kit, they know i exercise, but they don’t SEE it.

with short hair, i determined there was no excuse to stay dry. so i shucked off my drears and spent time in whatever lake we were near.

the first day we were at fintry, mum and i were in the water and i surprised her by diving in. after a short three minute swim, she said, "tess, this is the most i have ever seen you in the water!"

i was totally affronted. i had been in the water once and it was a record?

everyone else commented as well. so i know i did the right thing by getting into the water at least four times a day. some mornings, i would wake up, throw on my suit, and not get out of it until 9pm. how i don’t have a massive yeast infection is beyond me. there were mornings i would get up and would be hot, and only diving into the water would cool me off.

there were other days when we would be sitting on the dock, me wearing towels so that i wouldn’t get too much of a tan and covered in spf 30 just in case i did, and anne and pam sharing spf 4 and 6. and every five minutes or so we would say, "soon?’ and the others would respond, "yes, give me five…." and after three or four minutes, we would all dive in.

of course, skinny dipping is a big part of any vacation, and while in ontario i was a night time dipper, in bc i was a day time skinny dipper. a little more difficult this way. basically you dive in avec suit, then lose it, then drape it over the ladder, collecting it on your way out of the water.

one afternoon a few of us were floating naked in the water when sebbie jumped into the water, wearing his boat coat. he looked at me and declared the obvious, "mummy, you are naked." he looked around and said, "everyone is naked. you all have boobies." i then agreed that we were sans clothes, and he looked at me and asked, "but why?" i offered to let him try it, to take off his suit and just wear his boat coat, but he declined. "maybe when i am grown up" he told me later on.

yes, i bet when you are grown up.

one night we did go into the water at dusk. the people in the dock next to us were outside, so pam, anne and i tossed off our suits behind the adirondack chairs. our sweet nathan ("nafan") was there, and we instructed him to look the other way. the poor fellow nearly twisted himself off the dock in order to keep his eyes pure, and one, two, three, we were in the water. we then commanded that he bring our towels to the ladder, and he complied. eventually he came into the water to join us, but made the comment, "man, this would be so much more fun if i wasn’t related to two of you girls." nevertheless, skinnydipping is the best, and i’m glad this is the summer i took the plunge.

luggage, minds and bodies safely returned to hk

it was a safe and easy flight back to hong kong last night, but my goodness, it was a long day. the kids probably slept six of the 14 hours, which is as much as you can ask of anyone. i think the worst bit was checking in and standing in a lineup with 100 other fellow passengers while three air canada personnel valiantly tried to deal with everyone, and their (had to be) sedated front line fellow who was taking abuse from everyone (but not me!) assured me, "oh no, this is a good day! normally our lineups go down to the food court!"

i have learned that magnificent and i are masochistic….how else can you explain that we chose our first night back in town to introduce our children to their new big boy and big girl beds? yes! not only are you not tired but being put to bed…but your beds no longer contain you! it’s up to your conscience. probably NOT the best night to introduce the whole caper, but it had to happen. the triplets slept from midnight until 5am, seb was champion, slept until 8.30.

our clobber is sitting in various rooms, somehow just looking at it tires me. i have already unloaded my suitcase and a couple of other boxes, and i think that is my limit. i figure by my Christmas bake exchange the front room will be clean.

two notes and then i am off to convince the kids to stay awake for another five hours (whereapon they will not be tired anymore!)

– thank you all who made kind comments and sent emails about the blue bathing suit. but the DAY charles left ontario to head back to hong kong, i knew a side effect of single parenting would be increased stress, and so i increased my drug intake. not because i was having seizures, but because i didn’t want to. and of course, i started to gain weight immediately, and i did NOT help matters, because i got/get the mindset…."if i am going to gain weight from medication, i will at least enjoy some good food on the way." and so i began tucking in to some truly summer canadian treats. ten pounds heavier, mcharles and i are now together and the stress of travel is over, and as soon as school/september is well underway, the meds will reduce yet again. pleeeeze do not think i am a bikini queenie – so not the case.

– had some fun incidents with the kids and toilet training….a HUGE part of tt is routine.

1) wee/poopers

2) wipe

3) throw tissue into bowl

4) flush

5) wash hands

imagine the triumverate’s reaction the first time someone did a wee and went to wipe, only to be told "no, we don’t put the tissue in the toilet here". SUCH ANGER. i CLEARLY did NOT understand that TISSUE NEEDED to be IN THE BOWL in order for the act of wee to be completed.

i had only placated the kitten by complimenting her on the wonderful wiping she had done and disposing the tissue in the bin myself (she refused to put the tissue in the bin herself on the grounds that it does not belong there) when she hopped off, pulled up her knickers and went to flush the toilet.

"no sweetie, we don’t flush the toilet"

"yes! bye bye wee-wee!"

"no honey, we keep the wee-wee in the toilet here."

"NO! bye bye wee-wee!"

the tears, the frustration, oh there was foot stamping too….i am probably the world’s worst mother because i was killing myself laughing and dragged everyone in to witness these seemingly hourly showdowns (or better yet, take them on themselves), but i could see the poor kitten’s point.

yet really, now that i am back in the non septic world, i am not flushing after every wee, and i really don’t feel like it.

so we are back. pix to follow. (a few over here) how was your summer???

Lady in the Water

Hi there, this is Charles writing on behalf of Tess. I am in Hong Kong and this morning was talking to Tess, who is still in Toronto. Believe it or not, Tess actually asked me to post the following pictures of her! Please enjoy… they are terrific and flattering shots of Tess at the cottage last week!

Tess poses on Canadian Shield rocks after swimming from the main island to a smaller island… WOW – about a 30 minute endeavour!

At left and below, Tess plays in the water with the kids. Below right Tess sits with Carys on a boatride.

Ciao!

New Holiday Pictures

You can go to Charles’ blog for an update on the first portion of our Toronto trip and lots of outrageous and fun pictures. Don’t forget to please leave a comment on Charles’ blog to let us know your favourite pictures. Tess is still in Toronto for another week before making her way with the gang to Fintry on Lake Okanagan.

today was sebastian’s graduation from kindy.

thankfully nothing so twee as kindy kids walking down with caps and gowns to jazzed up versions of pomp and circumstance, just a gathering of parents where we were presented with the kids binders, a collection of special works they had created in the two years at the kindy, a sample of their "autograph" the day they started school and as the months progressed. i learned today that sebastian is a dab hand with a needle. very interesting.

sebastian needed new sandals, new bobs, and a few other things, but first i took sebastian, annie and adam out for lunch. why bother ordering food? they licked the tomato ketchup off the chips and then ate the chips, scoffed back the white bread and declared themselves full, but very willing to eat dessert. then we took the subway (MTR in hong kong speak) to central where we had a special treat: a shoe shine.

i won’t bother describing it, but hopefully the pictures do it justice. the crowds enjoyed it almost as much as the kids did. (Seb @ left with his teacher, Michelle)

tomorrow we fly. wish me luck.

as i procrastinate from finishing up the packing, etc, i am getting flashbacks to my childhood.

the morning we left for holidays was a mad rush for the breakfast table. not because we were in a hurry to hit the road, but because frugal blake had been monitoring grocery purchases for the past week. it was the fight to have no perishables left over.

"no need to buy our usual amount of milk, we won’t be here the full week…" was his mantra.

resultingly, if you weren’t one of the first to hit the breakfast table, chances are good that there would not be enough milk for your cereal. i didn’t get too bothered, i have always liked cereal and yogurt just fine. but i thought my dad was pushing it one year when he suggested to the very late arriving graeme that he add sour cream to his honey nut corn flakes, as the yogurt and milk was all gone.

it could work in reverse as well. bread all gone? excess milk? don’t drink too much tea, there isn’t a wee break scheduled for 300 kilometres. well graeme, we need to finish up that milk somehow. i suggest you disguise the taste of grape nuts with, um, well, some, i’ve got it, premium plus crackers. just crush them up a little, chumley. then add brown sugar, and lots of milk, finish up that milk, okay, and viola.

the man was a genius.

the night before departing dinners could be very interesting as well. every single leftover from the last six months was on the table. and dad was no hypocrite. he would load up his stale taco shell with cranberry, goat’s cheese, cabbage, tuna fish, a pinch of roast beef, and rice, and smile as he tucked into it. chew.

after taking a drink of water (possibly milk depending on supply) he would then suggest we all build our own before he made his second taco or whatever and all "the good leftovers were gone".

i wish my parents were here right now.

i have tried to make an intelligent top ten list, but alas failed. before the self – flagellation got too overwhleming i realised that 1980’s music videos and intelligent never really gelled anyways. at last no where nearly as well as the 80’s hair gelled. what was with that hair? how much time was spent getting it to stand to attention like that? did it matter which side, left or right, was smeared upward?

but it does have to say that dire straights MONEY FOR NOTHING needs to be named as the one which i feel to be the best overall video. clever, sums up the ’80’s excess, and there is something to be said for the fuzzy headband over the balding possibly permed hair.

however, peter gabriel’s sledgehammer is a close contender. that was pretty brilliant and he didn’t have to rely on scantily clad women. the fact that the video begins with what could be an ivf procedure has no bearing on the video’s high showing in the ranking. super video, super song, now i just have to figure out why someone would want to be my sledgehammer. so i would always have ice in my drink?

those are the two best in my opinion, and here is commentary on two random others: near the top would also be don henley’s boys of summer. don henley’s face looks so fresh…if you put that face beside his current one, the boys of summer face looks like it has been freshly ironed. joking aside, boys of summer was a great video and an even better song. super stuff.

charles and i agreed on a-ha, we liked the concept and thought it was extremely clever for mid 80’s.

i don’t want to go into further ratings because i will do injustice to some very good songs, and it gets hard to say why they are faves. so many of these are emotional favourites.  is SOLID a good choice because it reminds me of babysitting with my brother? no.

we leave in five days. i am so busy. i have all the work i set myself to do, but there is more being assigned to me. couldn’t people have given it to me earlier? apparently not.

humble pie & 80’s candy floss

today i wrote a tough letter to basically all the people i will be spending time with this summer. stating that the drug is making me a tad irrational, but there isn’t enough time to start a new drug.

after the triplets were born i was seeing a therapist and she was very interested in the fact that i wasn’t "angry" at epilepsy. we never explored "why not", we just established i wasn’t. but i don’t like this medicine/sideeffect business. at all. if i want to get upset with my mother’s choice of yellow gold instead of platinum jewellery, it should be on my terms, instead of medicine’s.

so i wrote the letter and duly sent it off, telling folks no reply was necessary. and of course, replies come in from people. i had writted that this was a "tough letter to write", and one person basically said they were sure it was, and that was one of the reasons i was so easy to love. my family and friends are so supportive.

i went for a run and was still feeling pretty low when i returned. but then i got an email from a friend that i hadn’t sent the email to. ironically, it was headed: because i love you. now let me tell you, this friend is a dynamo. she has 12 kids over to her flat and doesn’t sweat it, has dinner parties for 12 and doesn’t get a drop on her white outfit, is always accessorised, can wear a time consuming hairstyle with pieces that drape elegantly across the forehead and they stay in place, you know the type. i opened the email, and there was only a link.

http://freephotosandvideos.com/

go to it, friends. check it out. we have established that i am a lover of this sort of stuff…and tomorrow i will give you, a la letterman, my top 10.

sending out one email to help smooth out future matters left me feeling sad, opening another email to revist my past left me feeling sentimental, and happy.

your mission….list your faves!!! and pass this on, this is way too good to pass up.

HAVE FUN.