high and dry

It lives! He he....

I left my dropped-in-the-toilet cellphone out to dry for a few days and just reassembled it and ta da!....... it works!

paleo party

I was at a party last night with some wickedly cool CrossFit friends and it was so damn fun. I wore my 'big girl' shoes, legs were shaved (finally!!!), brows plucked, lips glossed. I felt like I was Cinderella.... ha!

It was nice to see people in clothes! It's not that we work out naked or anything... it's just that at the gym we're all sweaty in our old T's and Chucks and we don't have much time to socialize and hold a conversation during WODS because we're either panting or swearing.

My husband stayed home to watch the kids so I was able to stay out. I think I had the most fun out of everyone even though I was the only one not drinking. Just the fact that I had a 'get out of mommyhood' pass for a few hours put a spring in my step.

The only damper of the evening was dropping my cell phone in the toilet. Kinda forgot it was in my back pocket. Oh well.

By 1 a.m. I could barely keep my eyes open and was close to turning into a pumpkin so back to home I headed.

Thanks Sio for being the hostess with the mostess. And great seeing everyone! xo

uncivilization

I am living with Neanderthals.

Maiya, who cannot yet speak, will point to something she wants and just grunt at me till I hand it over. She'll sit and somehow, on her own, strip off all her clothes down to just her diaper so that it looks like she is wearing a loin cloth. And since she is new at running, she uses her arms for balance and as they flail about she looks like a running baby orangutan.

My husband is the carnivore. It is virtually impossible to get him to eat a fruit or a vegetable. And he is pretty good at hiding out in his man cave when he wants to get away from the craziness of the household.

Jacob is the simian monkey primate. He can eat with his toes. No kidding. And he leaps and swings from one piece of furniture to the next with such reckless abandon that I am winded just watching him. My goal is not to teach him his abc'c... but to keep him out of the ER.

I'd like to think that I'm the most civilized amongst my brood but I fear that I am not. My unibrow and unshaved legs are not civilized. Nor is wolfing down dinner using my fingers as a fork while standing over the sink.

sigh... I give. If you can't beat 'em, join 'em.

countdown begins

November 25th today. Exactly one month until Christmas. I never liked Christmas in general in part because I am a heathen, but mostly because I find the commercialism and the saccharin sweet muzak played throughout the malls the second Halloween is over to be simply nauseating. And Santa, wasn't his image as we know it invented by Coca-Cola?

Although I don't think I will ever be a fan of Christmas, I was slowly won over by the spirit of Christmas when I became a firefighter. Christmas Day was the first shift I ever worked. I had just graduated from Training and finally came on the floor as a full fledged firefighter. It was the best Christmas present I could have ever asked for.

There is something magical about working on Christmas. We set up a tree... usually some plasticky (and I am sure flammable!), lopsided, sad looking Charlie Brown tree that someone found in their Aunt's basement or at the local Goodwill but I love it all the more because it's the firehouse tree. Neighbours of the firehouse always stop by with cookies and clementines and hot chocolate. Turkey and all its trimmings get started soon as shift begins. And I have to attest that it is far better and more civilized sharing a meal with the boys than some of my relatives from my extended family. There is less baggage... that's for sure. And even if we get interrupted by a call during our meal, we don't care. It is Christmas after all and somebody needs us. And I think that is why I love working the holidays..... it is nice to be needed... and nice to be of help. And when I can help, that is when I am the most centred and at peace.

Now that I have children, I get to see Christmas through a child's eyes. Last year Jacob picked out his own real tree and his face shone like the North star. And for reasons like this, I won't be working Christmas this year. But I may just have to swing by the station with kids in tow anyway.... Christmas or not, you can't keep me away from the firehouse for long. ;) xo

words of wisdom

I read this quote a few days ago and it is still cracking me up.....

"In all of sport, the highest power outputs ever measured occur during the second pull of the snatch. I would guess that the lowest would occur in the posedown at the Mr. Olympia, but I may be wrong." — Coach Mark Rippetoe

Coach, I think you're correct as proven by exhibit A:
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Uhm, guys, at least put on some decent underwear. Please.
And uhm, that fake and bake tan can't be healthy. Wow.
And kind of scary when your family jewels can be hidden beneath a post-it note.
Ok... I'll stop now.

RX for when you're in a funk

There are some days I look in the mirror and just shake my head. I have dark circles under my eyes, unplucked eyebrows that would give Einstein a run for his money, crowsfeet that look more like teradactyl feet, and my soccer-mom haircut is greasy and increasingly going grey. No matter how precisely applied, no amount of make-up can save me. When I start feeling down, that's when I head for a workout. During that one hour, I can forget about whatever is ailing me and just focus on how great it feels to move. And breathe. And for a few moments I feel like I can conquer the world.



For those of you who haven't, ya'll seriously have to try Crossfit.
It's so much damn fun. Thanks for the pic, Paul. It will remind me that I am not the frenzied mama mess that I am during the other 23 hours of the day. Just don't look too closely at my legs in the picture..... I haven't had the time to shave them in weeks.
Eeeeeeeewwwwwww.

potty mouth

The closer I get to starting back at work, the worse my language gets....

It seems that my potty mouth has returned.
I've started swearing like a drunken sailor.

Perhaps it's because I am headed back to work soon and I'm morphing back into that firefighter mode. It's not that the boys at the fire station swear a lot. In fact, I think I am the one who swears the most. Not classy, and definitely not ladylike but hell, saying the F word is just so damn satisfying. Especially after all this time singing lullabies and nursery rhymes and basically minding my p's and q's while singing abc's, swearing just feeeeels good. When you're up to your armpits in laundry and dishes and in bed by 10pm and up at 6, I get my kicks where I can.

I just have to watch myself swearing around the children... especially around Jacob. I don't need him coming home from daycare with a note from his teacher that he was cussin'. I couldn't really wash his mouth out with soap without me gargling along with him. ;)

another milestone

Jacob came home from daycare all breathless from excitement. He worked hard all day with his friends to make the perfect birthday card for his baby sister. And of course he wanted cake. So even though it was close to bedtime we figured... why not? A nice sponge cake never hurt anyone and since we didn't put icing on it we didn't have to worry too, too much about sugar spins.

The birthday girl:


Cake is going...


...going


...going...


Gone!

Maiya had more fun feeding Jacob which was fine by him... lol

Happy Birthday my little one!

when I grow up.

As a parent, I sometimes wonder what my children will want to be when they grow up. It never dawned on me to become a firefighter until I was 30 years old and had many jobs and several careers that led me to where I am today. Youth is a perfect time to explore....

Will Jacob be a construction worker?


Or a team mascot?


Perhaps a car jockey?


Or a cross dressing ladder operator?


Who knows? I don't care what he wants to do as long as he is deep down happy and isn't living in my basement when he's 35.

Maiya is 2 years younger than her big brother thus has had less time to explore career options. One thing I do know for sure though....

She is a ham.


And she already has the requisite skills to become a great plumber.

Remembrance Day

Even though they are too young to understand, I tell my children that they have won the birth lottery... for they live in a country where they can speak any language and follow any religion without persecution. They have a health care system that won't turn them away at the hospital door. They can go to school. They can grow up to be anything they want to be. They have food. They have clean water. And most of all, they are not growing up in a country at war. Granted, we have soldiers in Afghanistan but so far, I am able to shelter them from that.

I was listening on the radio to the Remembrance Day ceremonies and there was a lump in my throat. I cannot imagine what it would be like to have a loved one at war, or worse, to have lost a loved one. I am far away from war. And my experience is limited to what I read and if I search, I may hear a story from a veteran and from someone who lived through it. Jacob's great-grandfather (my husband's grand dad) fought in World War I. He is still alive to this day at the age of 95 to recount events during a time before internet and ipods. My paternal grandmother lost 4 of her children during the Second World War because there was no medication available to treat them. They died from illnesses that easily would have been cured today. My maternal grandmother sewed the family jewels inside the stuffing of my mother's dolly. I have one of her rings that I will be giving to my Maiya dolly one day.

So today, I give thanks to those who have fought, and to those who are still fighting in wars they did not start. I give thanks that my children can sleep peacefully at night. Every year I buy a poppy and proudly wear it. But this year I was given an extra special poppy from Jacob. It is a little construction paper poppy with its centre askew and a teeny heart sticker and sprinkled with glitter and glued to a pin. This is one of those things that I will keep forever because this little poppy is my symbol of hope.... that my son and daughter grow without fear in a world of peace.

To all the soldiers of the past, present, and future, thank you and God Bless.

Zena

Looks like Princess Warrior Maiya is staking her territory. Baby or not, she knows what she wants. She is fearless. And she has a grip. Wrestling something she shouldn't have out of her hands is like wrestling with an alligator. And oh you should see the crocodile tears that roll down her face when she doesn't get her way. And when she does get her way she grins like the cat that ate the canary. She's a good actress. She will squawk like a teradactyl to let you know that what she has is hers.... she has made her big brother scurry away in fear once or twice. He's a smart boy. He knows already that when girls are moody it is best to just walk away or go hide in the man cave with Daddy. ;)

That's my girl..... xo

uh oh

We've all had bad days at work. I've had my share but whoever was driving on this particular day, well, he'll have a bit of explaining to do. Yikes.

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roaring fire

A friend of mine recently witnessed a housefire. She said it was an incredible thing to watch but what she described as most striking was not the visual of the flames but the sound. She said the fire sounded like a roar. It was an interesting observation since although I have heard of the term 'roaring fire' I have never really listened to the sound of the fire at the call. Instead, I hear the blood rushing through my ears, I hear my heartbeat pound in my head. I hear myself trying to slow my breathing through the regulator.. which to me sounds a bit like Darth Vader. I hear the sirens. But most importantly, I listen for any voice commands from my Captain and my crew mates. They are my eyes and ears to help keep me safe. I also listen for anything that is transmitted over the radio channels giving us further instruction. I will listen more carefully for the sound of the fire next time. And if it roars, I'll just roar right back. ;)

never in a million years

I swung by work this morning on a whim since I needed to pick up some gear and my shift was on anyway. I just about peed myself when I walked in. The boys were in the throes of downward dog and pigeon poses. Yup. They were doing YOGA. Not typically what you'd expect firemen to be doing at the station. Normally you'd see them pumping major weights but nope... they were doing that stretchy stretchy stuff. And they weren't the least bit embarrassed. If I stop to think about it... it really is the perfect thing to do. It strengthens core muscles and keeps injuries at bay. Yoga I guess isn't for sissies.... heck... if it's good enough for Sting then it's good enough for my firemen. Not sure if I'll be jumping in though. I'd feel a bit weird trying to get myself into those pretzel positions in front of the guys.

Never in a million years would I have guessed that there would be yoga at a fire station.

oh my how times have changed.

pics... finally!

I finally found a second to upload pictures of Halloween.... Jacob wanted to be Bob the Builder which was nice and easy for a costume. Maiya refused to wear anything that remotely resembled a costume and was just happy to play with the pumpkin. I don't know who had more fun that night... me or Jacob. At first he would stand at the doors stiff as a board waiting for the treats to drop in his bag but after a few houses he was a pro running up the steps and standing proudly with his treat bag wide open. We only did one street that was wonderfully decorated and I wanted to stay out longer but my husband had to drag me home otherwise I would have kept Jacob out another hour for sure. It's just something about the crisp fall air and trudging through the dry leaves with my son that made it so much fun. The best part was that Jacob didn't care about the candy. I said he could have 'just one' that night and he chose a little lollipop and was happy as can be. Shame we have to wait an entire year to do it again.

inspiration

I was watching my children play today and I wish I could recapture the time when I was that brave. Jacob flies through the air with the rush of pleasure three year old boys get from discovering the world around them. He is fearless and his only boundaries are my 'no's' and 'please be carefuls'. He'll wipe out smack dab on his bum or end up sprawled across the floor like a rag doll only to pick himself up and dust himself off and resume full speed ahead. Perhaps it is just his little boy nature that he doesn't feel pain or perhaps it is because we have never overly coddled bumps and bruises. I believe that if we always try to stop our children from falling, they will never learn how to get up on their own. Speaking of which,
Maiya is taking her first unassisted steps! She will take three dainty, beautiful, perfect ballerina steps before toppling over. She'll laugh then attempt three more steps. When she gets tired she crawls. Maiya and Jacob live more in the moment than I have in the past ten years. They do not think about tomorrow, or yesterday, or what ifs, or have to's. They are my reminder that life is now... that it is a steady, patient, natural progression of crawling to walking to running to flying through this world of unlimited possibilities. We just need to trust in ourselves and let nature take its course. xo

been awhile

Ack! I cannot believe an entire week has gone by without me posting... Needless to say, it's been busy, busy, busy. Halloween was a blast... pics will come. Taking the entire H1N1 hysteria with a grain of salt. New bunker gear ordered and fitted... pics to come as well. Paperwork completed for my official return to work which is November 12 although my first tour doesn't happen until New Year's Eve. Still working out like a fiend which is my refuge and my fun. Am pushing more weight than ever before in my life. And best of all, finally catching up on some sleep. Which means no time at night to blog or do anything creative since I'm in bed by 9pm. I struggle with having a life or being well rested but these days rest trumps fun. My brain just functions better this way. And a rested mommy is a happy mommy. ;)