Jumbled Thoughts Of Picture Day, Hamster Feet, Pre-Show Chaos and Being Thankful...

What a week! I am sure that my thoughts will be so scattered... I just hope they make sense. Each one of these probably could have been a tiny blog entry on its own, but when things get busy, they sure pile up fast!

The girls had picture day this week and wore some of the wonderful outfits they have in their closet that have totally gone ignored because dressing down is more popular. I put my foot down and asked them to wear their little tunics because they look so nice in them. Erin really had a hard time accepting the fact that I wanted her to look a bit dressy in the picture. Isn’t it amazing how they throw your own words back at you? “You always tell me that what is INSIDE is more important, Mom!” To which I replied “Yes, but the camera can only see the outside!” I can still remember when picture day was a big deal at school because it was FUN to get dressed in something nice for the pictures. By grade 3 I knew right where to go for the class pictures too... middle spot, back row. I mourn the fact that school clothes are so much more casual nowadays, even though I know the kids are probably more comfy.

After only a month of living with us, Nipper (the dwarf hamster) has my girls very well trained. She has decided that she likes waking up every morning before they go to school so that she can have them feed her some almond slivers before she goes back to sleep for the morning. Considering that the shop owner called her kind “Evil Incarnate”, she is taming quite nicely. She is acrobatic enough to climb up the cage bars towards the door when you have it open to put in food or water, and this morning came right out onto my hand for a treat for the first time. When she ran out of almond, she sniffed my hand and started to give me a nip as if to say “More!” so she got one other sliver before we let her jump back into the cage. Of course now Erin is wanting to have Nipper in HER hands immediately, but I have been promoting the concept of patience in training pets. I figure they might remember someday that patience also applies to parenting!

This is our Thanksgiving Weekend here in Canada and I really enjoy the chance to have a big turkey dinner over TWO months away from Christmas. We’ll be heading down to Nick’s mother’s on Monday for a meal, but I may just cook a turkey of our own to get the bones for soup and all the leftover meat.

Because I leave for Toronto on Wednesday, this weekend will also be about final kit assembly, packing, making sure that I have everything I need for the show etc. Not quite a restful long weekend, but hopefully a good one nonetheless. Nick looked at me the other night and asked what my hourly wage would be if I took the income from the weekend and divided it out by the number of hours it has taken me to design, kit, assemble, teach etc. I’m almost afraid to do the math, because it would probably work out to well below minimum wage... and yet I love what I do!!

It’s been comical in the chaos of the past two weeks with computer woes, sick kids and husband, late nights and stressful days, how easy I have found it to complain. This morning as I write this, I am reminded of all the things in my life that I DO have to be thankful for, especially given the many places in our world where people’s lives lie in shambles... even just to the south in Florida.

I think I just need to go rake up a big pile of leaves somewhere this weekend and jump in them!