MUMsical The Musical

Book: I Don't Know How She Does It!

2010-06-03T14:10:00.000-07:00

I often have people say to me "I don't know how you do it all" and I want to yell - "I don't." Part of me doesn't want to damage the facade. I mean if they think I have it together why should I give them any other ideas. Then the voice in my head is like - faker! Anyway, when I say the title of this book - I Don't Know How She Does It by Allison Pearson - I knew I had to read it!
This book made me laugh and cry. I really identified with the main character Kate and the whole struggle of juggling motherhood, work, marriage, family and friendship. I also like the way she wrote some of the story through emails like this one:

You know that I always say I want to be with my children. Well, I really want to be with my children. Some nights if I get home too late for Emily's bedtime, I go to the laundry basket and smell their clothes. I miss them so much. Never told anyone that before. And then when I am with them, like I am now, their need is just so needy. It's like a whole love affair crammed into one long weekend - passion, kisses, bitter tears, I love you, don't leave me, get me a drink, you like him more than me, take me to bed, you've got lovely hair, cuddle me, I hate you.
Drained & freaked out & need to go back to work soonest for a rest. What kind of mother is afraid of her own children?

Even though a majority of mothers work - there still is that stigma out there that you can't be passionate about mothering and work. You can't do both well - either the kids or the job would have to suffer. Probably in the end the only one that suffers is the MUM as she tries to juggle everything and deal with the guilt that not everything is perfect. Anyway-it is a great working mummy read!

THE LAW OF THE GARBAGE TRUCK

2010-05-31T08:52:00.000-07:00

Great email story!
I hopped in a taxi and we took off for the airport. We were driving in the right lane when suddenly a black car jumped out of a parking space right in front of us. My taxi driver slammed on his breaks, skidded, and missed the other car by just inches! The driver of the other car whipped his head around and started yelling at us. My taxi driver just smiled and waved at the guy. And I mean, he was really friendly.
So I asked, 'Why did you just do that? This guy almost ruined your car and sent us to the hospital!'
This is when my taxi driver taught me what I now call, 'The Law of the Garbage Truck.'
He explained that many people are like garbage trucks.
They run around full of garbage, full of frustration, full of anger and full of disappointment.
As their garbage piles up, they need a place to dump it and sometimes they'll dump it on you.
Don't take it personally, just smile, wave, wish them well and move on.
Don't take their garbage and spread it to other people at work, at home, or on the streets.
The bottom line is that successful people do not let garbage trucks take over their day.
Life's too short to wake up in the morning with regrets, so.....
'Love the people who treat you right. Pray for the ones who don't.'

Online Criminal Record Check

2009-11-25T12:40:00.000-08:00

Anyone volunteering or applying for government $ or working with kids... needs a criminal record check. Back Check is an online service that allows you to order your own reference check for about $40 or ask for references on behalf of your company or organization. I found out about it through Girl Guides.

Men's Brains Women's Brains

2009-10-07T14:53:00.000-07:00

Parenting: Dove Self Esteem Campaign

2009-10-02T22:31:00.000-07:00

Dove has some great resources for talking to kids about self image and the media. These two videos are just the start. Check out their website by clicking here!

How to Avoid Identy Theft

2009-09-30T09:34:00.000-07:00

This is from a CBC article. For the full article click here.

The following are tips to safeguard your identity.

* Before you reveal any personal information, find out how it will be used and if it will be shared.
* Check your financial statements to ensure all purchases listed are yours.
* Use passwords that are not easily guessed on your credit card, bank and phone accounts.
* Shield your PIN when using automated teller machines.
* Carry only the identification information you need. Keep other documents such as your social insurance number, birth certificate and passport in a safe place.
* Never give out personal information on the phone, by mail or through the internet unless you initiated the contact or know with whom you are dealing.
* Guard your mail.
* Shred documents that contain personal financial information, such as statements, credit card offers, copies of credit applications, receipts and insurance forms, before throwing them out.

Source: www.cbc.ca

Book: Confessions of a Slacker Mom

2009-09-28T17:48:00.001-07:00

This is a quick read that made me feel like I was doing some things right as a parent. Mead-Ferro is a working mom in the big city and speaks of the pressures - sometime self imposed that we feel as mothers in this time. She remembers how her mother raised her - allowing her to run free and experience life - to get messy and skin her knees - to trust her instincts. She feels that we have lost track of our own instincts and that we don't trust ourselves in our parenting. Slacker refers to not over protecting our children and letting them experience life and learn from their falls and failures. The book is funny and a great read!

RPD - Pride and Predjuduce

2009-09-28T14:28:00.002-07:00

This is the one it all started with... what more can I say - Mr. Darcy!

RPD - Daniel D

2009-09-28T14:28:00.001-07:00

RPD - Cranford

2009-09-28T14:18:00.001-07:00

This is a fabulous BBC miniseries. Honestly - I laughed and cried so much I felt like an emotional wreck but in a good way!

Joke: ARE MEN HAPPIER THEN WOMEN?

2009-09-28T08:23:00.000-07:00

ARE MEN HAPPIER THEN WOMEN?

NICKNAMES:
If Laura, Kate and Sarah go out for lunch, they will call each other Laura, Kate and Sarah.
If Mike , Dave and John go out, they will affectionately refer to each other as Fat Boy, Godzilla and Four-eyes.

EATING OUT:
When the bill arrives, Mike , Dave and John will each throw in $20, even though it's only for $32.50. None of them will have anything smaller and none will actually admit they want change back.
When the girls get their bill, out come the pocket calculators.

MONEY:
A man will pay $2 for a $1 item he needs.
A woman will pay $1 for a $2 item that she doesn't need but it's on sale.

BATHROOMS:
A man has six items in his bathroom: toothbrush and toothpaste, shaving cream, razor, a bar of soap, and a towel .
The average number of items in the typical woman's bathroom is 337. A man would not be able to identify more than 20 of these items.

ARGUMENTS:
A woman has the last word in any argument.
Anything a man says after that is the beginning of a new argument.

FUTURE:
A woman worries about the future until she gets a husband.
A man never worries about the future until he gets a wife.

SUCCESS:
A successful man is one who makes more money than his wife can spend.
A successful woman is one who can find such a man.

MARRIAGE:
A woman marries a man expecting he will change, but he doesn't.
A man marries a woman expecting that she won't change, but she does.

DRESSING UP:
A woman will dress up to go shopping, water the plants, empty the trash, answer the phone, read a book, and get the mail.
A man will dress up for weddings and funerals.

NATURAL:
Men wake up as good-looking as they went to bed.
Women somehow deteriorate during the night.

OFFSPRING:
Ah, children. A woman knows all about her children. She knows about dentist appointments and romances, best friends, favourite foods, secret fears and hopes and dreams.
A man is vaguely aware of some short people living in the house.

TV: The Vicar of Dibley

2009-09-18T17:25:00.000-07:00

Very funny British series!

RPD - North and South

2009-09-18T17:01:00.000-07:00

I am addicted! I am a total sucker for Mr. Darcy, Captain Norrington, Mr. Thorton... Lately - I have been cruising YouTube for ones I haven't seen and low and behold I stubbled on BBC's North and South.

It is a 4 part mini series and reminded me alot of Jane Austen's Pride and Predjudice. I am sure it was styled after it. Check it out!

Google Docs

2008-10-15T18:56:00.000-07:00

Okay - maybe everyone knows about this but I have to talk about it anyway. I recently discovered google documents. If you sign up for a google account this is one of many free applications that you can sign on for... but this one has revolutionized my work life. As you know I work from home on a team with other people that work in various locations. We get together once in a while but mostly we work from our locations and try to communicate through email, phone... Google docs has allowed us to create spreadsheets, presentations and wordlike documents that are live online. We can edit them while talking on the phone together. Everything is in 'real time' and automatically saved so as you update someone else can see the changes. You can upload documents from your computer work on them and then download them again if needed. I use alot of spreadsheets to track projects and it is so handy to use this tool and then share it with co-workers. It has improved our communication and productivity tremendously and eliminated the old 'I didn't get that version' excuse and others ;-).

Take a tour: http://www.google.com/google-d-s/tour1.html

Special Play

2008-10-13T09:59:00.000-07:00

So... I like to read... fiction, fantasy and non-fiction stuff too - right now I am reading about blogging, parenting, ADHD and right brain thinking. If I find anything good I will let you know. OKay - I found something...
It is called special play. I tried it and it really worked. It so easy it almost seems obvious but in the crazy busy world it is a good reminder.
Basically, it involves taking time - even ten minutes - to hang out one on one with your child while they are playing. You simply watch or play along without telling them what to do or passing judgement on what they are doing. You can talk and ask questions but make sure they are leading the activity. It was interesting that while I was giving this undivided attention to my kids they just naturally opened up and I could physically feel the connection. Way cool! I just have to work on making the time.

Allergy Boy - Part 2

2008-10-12T15:24:00.000-07:00

Now that Josh is 9 we are fairly much on top of his allergies and his asthma. He only takes his puffer once in a while and usually his breathing is good. We do manage this carefully and avoid situations where he might get into trouble. For example, we have some friends with cats so they now visit us or we arrange for Josh to go somewhere else when we plan to visit them. It is hard but having an asthma or allergy attack is worse. The other part of Josh's allergies that we have more trouble controlling is his itchness. I am not sure if he is really that itchy or if it has become a habit. Actually, I know he is itchy but sometimes it feels like a way to get attention! We also have to monitor his skin for excema out breaks and cracking. His feet can get especially bad. We have tried every cream out there and found that doing a scrub of salt or sugar mixed with canola oil seems to really help. We do it in the shower as it leaves a scum ring on the tub. (Be careful as if you use too much canola oil the floor of the shower can get slippery but usually the salt or sugar counteracts it and it is fine. Basically, I mix up a cup or 2 of salt or sugar with about 1/2 cup or so of canola oil. You have to be able to pick some up without it totally dripping of canola oil. Then he stands in the shower and I scrub his arms, legs, belly and back with the mixture. He helps out too (pretty soon he will not be cool with me helping him shower anyway). I think it feels good as it itches him at the same time. Then I turn on a warm shower and he rinses off. His skin is soft and smooth. After he is dry, I apply the cream of the week and he jumps into his pjs. During the winter or if he has been swimming alot we do this every other day. It does leave him smelling a little bit 'earthy' for lack of a better word but it is not that noticeable.

More Katie Ka-Boom

2008-10-12T14:52:00.000-07:00

Another Katie Ka-Boom video... it even looks like our Kate!
Theme Song lyrics:
She's Katie Ka-Boom
Katie Ka-Boom
She lives in a house with a garden in bloom
Her family knows that any time soon
Their little lady, Katie
Goes ka-boom!

Allergy Boy - Part 1

2008-10-12T14:25:00.000-07:00

A month after Josh was born we ended up in the emergency room. Josh was not breathing well at all and it was the beginning of several trips to the hospital and doctor. He had a nebulizer for the first few years and then graduated to puffers as he got older. Through trial and error we found out he was allergic to cats, grass, grain dust, various pollens and mold including snow mold and milk. At first, the doctors would not test him for allergies saying that he would probably show up allergic to everything because is histamine levels were so high. Eventually, one of them did test him and we added horses and peanuts to the list and took milk off. He doesn't seem to be anaphylatic to peanuts as he had eaten peanut butter cookies and not reacted. Further, Kate lives on peanut butter and he doesn't seemed bothered by it. It is one of those scary ones so we are careful and have trained him to read labels. The weirdest was that he didn't show allergic to milk - we were not totally convinced so we slowly introduced an few things like cheese and yogurt and he was fine. He still prefers to drinks soy milk so we have not gone back to drinking straight milk. Josh sees an asthma specialist and he started taking Singular about 1 and 1/2 years ago. He also takes an antihistamine - Aerus - if he feels his allergies bothering him. The asthma specialist recommended Aerus because it would not make him as 'stoned' as the others. The Singular seems to really help but then we heard it may be linked to depression and suicide. After talking to the doctor we have continued to give it to Josh as he was not showing these tendencies. We, of course, continue to monitor this.

Meet the Cast (Family)!

2008-10-10T22:25:00.001-07:00

Momsicle: Dorothy
That is me. Mother of Kate and Josh. Happily married to Peter. Working mom. Trained as a home economist and work as a agri-food consultant from a home office in rural Saskatchewan. I like to cook (sometimes), garden, read, write... I dislike housework...

Popsicle: Peter
Peter owns/operates commercial greenhouse growing bedding plants. He loves sports. He plays recreational hockey and watches any and every sport on tv that he can without me loosing my mind.

Katesicle: teenager going on 26 - aren't they all. She bounces between my sweet daughter and some moody monster. She has been basically a vegetarian since birth - actually before birth as I could not eat meat when I was pregnant with her. She loves sports and singing. She has a great sense of humour and a huge heart. This utube video reminds me of her...

Joshsicle: preteen and my experimental child. Why experimental? Because it seems like we are always trying something to help with his health or school or parenting... He is asthmatic, itchy, smart and has been labeled ADHD but I don't like labels. He is my sweet boy. He used to call himself that when he would knock at my office door and want to come in. "Mom - it is your sweet boy" - breaks my heart and he knows it!

Welcome to MUMsicle the Musical!

2008-10-10T22:12:00.000-07:00

This is my mummy blog. Why? I need an outlet. Not only to help me keep perspective but to help me laugh as I continue through this journey that is motherhood. I am also a teacher at heart and I think I have things to share that will be helpful to working moms! Why MUMsicle? Sounds fun - I like fun - and my daughter calls me that when we are joking around. Why Musical? It rhymed, I like music and I think it speaks to the chaos of parenthood. So join me! I hope we can have a few laughs, share some stories and fight the good fight!