Wanna buy a 2-year old?

That's what my mother asked me when I answered my phone yesterday..."Wanna buy a 2-year old?" I laughed, she laughed and said she was just kidding. I'm thinking a small tiny itsy bitsy part of her may have been serious.

Tracey and the kids are in Newfoundland right now visiting Grandma and Poppa and so continues the crazy shenanigans otherwise known as "Isabella".

Before I begin, here's the theory broken down into sections:
a. Isabella is a Middle Child....I am a Middle Child...I completely relate with the syndrome.
b. Erykah couldn't be like this because she was the first child and always had someone watching her back and front and sideways and upsidedown...Someone always guiding her to be "a good girl"..."No, don't touch that". "Oh please be careful". "Don't do that" etc.
c. Isabella CANNOT be watched constantly because she now has an infant baby sister who requires a great deal of attention.
d. Isabella has that glint in her eye telling of a natural mischievious (sp?) nature.
e. Isabella is actually acting in an age appropriate way: Exploring her world, being curious about the things around her, climbing, jumping, running, pushing the boundaries, etc.

And with that explanation I will now recount what has happened by way of Isabella so far on vacation:

1. She has locked my mother out of the house (she inside, my mom outside)
2. She has, without crying or sulking or any signs of discomfort, seriously scraped and cut her knees while playing outside.
3. She has to be watched constantly outside rather than be content to just play in the yard. As Dad put it, "If you don't watch her, she'll be up da Roy's or down da Don's" (interpretation: She would be walking BY HERSELF ON THE ROAD either one way to the convenience store or the other way to the Gas Station).

And the craziest of all (to which I laughed hysterically when my sister told me because it's one of those things that's so bad that you just have to laugh out loud):

Isabella flooded her grandparents basement!!! Yes, that's right...
How? you may ask...
Simple: She plugged the bathroom sink and let the water run.
When it was finally discovered the cupboard door of the bathroom cabinet was ruined and the water had spread almost to the back corner of the basement!
My sister was so mad she said she didn't even know what to do with Isabella.
So, she decided to put her in Uncle Darren's bedroom downstairs to sit for time out.
My sister then closed the door.
The door then locked (which I'm not certain was done by accident by my sister or purposely by Isabella)
Either way, my sister goes to get Isabella out of time out and the door is locked.
So, they go around the side of the house to peek in the window to Uncle Darren's old bedroom to make sure Isabella is okay, "Isabella, are you ok?", "Isabella, can you try and unlock the door please?!"
And what is Isabella doing?
Sitting on the bed watching TV
And how does "punished" Isabella respond to her mothers request?
Hands over ears saying "I can't hear you!"

Honest to Goodness, I totally laughed my ass off. And really, what do you do? My poor sister had no idea, not the slightest clue. I mean, you have to punish her because what she did was wrong, right? but how? And did she try to do that on purpose? Probably not. But still it's wrong. So how do you discipline a two-year-old for being two? I dunno...And I'm no help at all in the discipline of my nieces cause I always laugh at their "bad" antics. tsk tsk tsk! I guess a part of me hopes that Isabella will continue to be her silly and happy and curious self with safe and moral boundaries, that her personality won't be stumped because we don't know what to do to bring out the best in her, that she'll just be "Isabella", the one with the gleam in her eye of mind-turning mystery, that she'll always give me stories to tell and laughter to share.

And how can I possibly be upset at a little girl who wants to call her auntie on the phone and then hugs and kisses the receiver to say bye because it's the closest she can get to me right now. How? How? How?

All I can really say is this: God give my sister patience and understanding and give Isabella an extra angel to keep her safe and sound.

Another Important Life Lesson: Lobster on Ice

For those of you who, like me, (Mr. Samms, this means YOU) are deeply disturbed by the way we've always cooked lobsters (you know, just throwing them screaming and tails flailing into a big huge pot of salty boiling water) you'll be happy with my new-found knowledge as learned on my favourite new cooking show, the TAKE HOME CHEF a.k.a. Hot Aussie, Curtis.
So, according to Curtis, the most humane way to cook a lobster is to first put the lobster in the freezer. The cold temperature makes the lobster go into a deep sleep/state of unconsciousness so then it's not aware of what's happening as it plunges into the scorching water.
And now we can just enjoy our yummy lobster instead of feeling guilty about how cruelly we cook them...Amen!

Save your Scissors

Not that I like this song particularly but it's playing on the radio now and I needed at title for this post.

Anyways, just wanted to let you know that there are a bunch more pics of our girls cottage weekend on Christa's blog for your perusal. Good times!

Also, I forgot to mention and post pics of Logan's baptism we attended 2 weekends ago. Logan would be Mark and Kayla Knott's little man. I was quite pleased with a few of my shots. Unfortunately I'm really an amateur and it takes about 50 shots for me to get a good one still...lol...good thing I have a digital to delete all the bad ones!
Logan with Mommy, Daddy, and Godparents, Kelly and Rick

Congrats from the Priest

Logan in his little white suit almost always chewing on his hands...cute

George Grouse

Kinda funny story...
John (guy at work whose cottage we stayed at) was telling us about this grouse that suddenly appeared out of nowhere this year and constantly chases him around when he's outside - the grouse will jump up on his shoulder, chases his truck down the road when he leaves the cottage, follows the kids on the 4-wheeler when they go for a ride, just hangs around, etc. John doesn't have any clue where this bird came from or why it's so tame....we've decided that it has an identity crisis and thinks it's a farm chicken...lmao! John's sister studied native history and believes it could be their father come back to hang out with his family in the north country he loved so much.
Here's a cute video clip of the kids playing with "George Grouse" outside our cottage.

Girls Cottage Weekend

Here are just a few pics of our annual girls cottage weekend. It is so much fun! We stay in a nice cottage, our hosts are fabulous! We go boating and sea-dooing, eat lots of junk food (and some good food too, of course), drink a bit, sit in the hot-tub, and just plain relax without worries and without boys!
(Of course, I missed Jamie but I'm not one for the mushy gushy "Oh I just miss you OH SO MUCH! How can I live without you for a weekend?!" type of girl. Totally love hanging with the girls as I'm sure Jamie also loved hanging out with the boys on their GUYS ONLY a.k.a. NO NAGGING WOMEN camping trip...and then it's nice to be home with the hubster again at the end of it all...lol).

So here it is:
One of the little shops we visited on our boat ride...Happy Canada Day!

Christa on our visit to the Pointe au Baril lighthouse

Shots

Knot on dock...notice the flies attached to the rope, apparantly those things hatch in the water and then are everywhere along the shore.

The Girls, after our day on the seadoos we're a little sunburned

Miss me?

It seems like FOREVER since I last posted a blog entry. So unlike me. But last week was kinda hectic and then I was away for the weekend with the girls for our annual cottage trip. And now I'm back with tons of pics to share.

First of all, I would like to say (belated)
HAPPY CANADA DAY!!
Everyone has been driving around here with various country flags in celebration of soccer so it was great to see when some people also decided to fly their Canadian flags.

And on Canada Day, another celebration: Happy Anniversary to Tara and Jacques! Here's wishing you many more!

Before I start a new post with camping pics, I just have to share this one photo of my potato heads. I have a total of 4 in my cubicle at work (much to the dismay of my boss who VERY subtley "complains" by pointing them out but will never actually come out and tell me to get rid of them). So I come in the office one day last week and here they are totally gettin it on, on top of my keyboard! Maybe they're trying to get into making me some baby potato heads for my collection. lol ;) Lucky for me my boss didn't see them...Phew! I think that MAY have been the last straw.














(Promiscuous potato heads compliments of P.DaSilva...tsk tsk tsk)

Delicate

Love this poem....

Kids Who Are Different
by Digby Wolfe

Here's to the kids who are different,
The kids who don't always get A's,
The kids who have ears twice the size of their peers,
And noses that go on for days...

Here's to the kids who are different,
The kids they call crazy or dumb,
The kids who don't fit, with the guts and the grit,
Who dance to a different drum...

Here's to the kids who are different,
The kids with the mischievious streak,
For when they have grown, as history's shown,
It's their difference that makes them unique.

Really have to use it on a scrapbook page. Maybe a scrapbook page about our "decalit" (that how's Erykah says "delicate") Erykah who has broken her second bone this week. The first break was about 3 years ago - her collarbone. This time, she was playing outside, fell down (cause she's, um, just slightly clumsy), and fractured her elbow.

Erykah called me yesterday on my way home and our conversation went something like this:

Hello

Hi Auntie Myrna

Hi Erykah, how are you?

Good

How's your elbow?

Good

Is your elbow broken or is it pulled out of joint?

I dunno

What did the doctor say?

My elbow has a crack in it

Ouch, that's not good

But it didn't even hurt...and I have a pink cast. And it didn't even hurt when the doctor put the cast on and my dad got to help.

Oh really, well that's nice. Can I sign your cast?

Yeah it's the kind you can write on

So, will you go to school tomorrow?

Um yeah, and then all my friends can write their names on my cast

That's cool! Which arm is it?

I think it's my left

And what are you going to do if your arm gets itchy?

Well if I just leave it alone then the itch will go away Auntie Myrna!

Oh, okay. And what time did you get home from the hospital?

I dunno what time

Did it take you a long time or a short time at the hospital?

Um well, we got in after not waiting very long

Okay

And then I hear Isabella "the terror" in the background and we got disconnected so I assumed it was Isabella who hung up on us (which I don't think it was....poor girl getting the blame for something she didn't even do...I'm telling you it's the curse of being the middle child)

But anyways, my sister called me back and told me that all went well and the cast is bright neon pink and Erykah is doing very well and has to keep the cast on for about 3 weeks before they go back for the next appointment to check how the bone is doing.

Oh, the adventures of a 6year old.

Dance Dance

Erykah had her recital on Saturday. She's in Tap and Ballet, her third year. It's so super cute watching the little ones doing their routines.

Here's a video clip of a portion of the "The Night Before Christmas" which was her routine for ballet.
To help you pick her out of the crowd:
At the very beginning she is in the 2nd row on the left behind the little black girl. Then she moves with 2 other little girls to the back left with one of the "big" girls. Then I follow her with my camera as she runs across the stage. When they come back to the front (when the fast music starts) she's the third from the right, bopping around in complete synchrony...lol :) And then my battery dies.



A few pics from "California Girls" which was her tap routine. It's really hard to get good shots when they're moving all around (and they tell you before the performance that camera are not permitted...how dare they?). So the flash is off and all the photos turn out fuzzy but you get the basic idea. Erykah is on the immediate left of the instructor on all of the pics.

I've Never Been a Hero

Vicky and Cory's Jack n Jill this past Friday night. I'm not a drinker but I always have loads of fun watching everyone else get completely wasted. And I must say, my method is much better for the hangovers.

So I have lots of pics to share:
Of Christa and Jenny "selling" shots although through some observation I noticed they seemed to be drinking more than selling. Good job girls! lol :)
Of the most fabulous dance moves EVER!
Of Kristen being super drunk and then getting sick and disappearing into the back of Jason's pickup truck to lie down.
Of the groom, Cory, with his crooked trucker hat and wearing his "sunglasses at night"
and lots of other misc. silly shots.

But there are none of MOI being the hero of the night as explained in the following scenario:
Jamie and I show up at the door, hand in our tickets, buy drink tickets, etc. when a distraught girl walks in and asks to use the phone in the building.
We have no idea where the phone is in the building so she leaves.
I go to the Jack n Jill.
I come back out to take my turn at the door and the girl was coming in again. She was crying and looked so sad and totally distressed and so I offered her to take my cell phone to make her call. And I totally didn't even notice that she was kinda freaky with super-dyed jet black goth hair with a skull on the back of her jacket cause I'm totally good in that non-judgemental "you don't look at all like you're going to steal my cell phone" kinda way but then Kim puts doubt in my mind and asks, "Are you gonna just let her take your phone outside" and I respond in an uneasy, "um, yeah of course, I totally have full and complete trust in the strange sobbing girl with the skull and crossbones on her jacket". (Phew...that was the longest sentence ever!)
And 4.38 minutes later she arrives back in the building and hands me my cell phone and says "Thanks!" and I ask, "Are you ok?" cause she's still crying and she says "Yes" and walks out re-confirming my faith in humanity.
And then everyone was totally on my butt to make sure she didn't make some outrageous call to a foreign country thus costing me a bloody fortune so I was forced to check the outgoing calls and I was back on hero status when I found it was just a 647 Toronto number. Had it been a call to say Mongolia, for example, this email would be thusly named "I've never been an idiot" (except that would be a lie) so it all worked out in the end.

Photos soon...

Miscellany Jack n Jill

Jennifer about to do a wrestling move and Cory insisting I take a picture of her boobs in the process,...LMAO!!

The Groom

Friend Dexter cuddling with Stephy and baby Tristan

You would think she'd be able to put down her drink for at least the 2 SECONDS it took to collect her door prize winnings...lol