Thursday, February 14, 2013

Valentine’s Day Fail


Apparently having a one year old in daycare requires a parenting guide book as I have no clue what Valentine’s Day etiquette requires of me. Nor, did I expect my child to come home with any valentine’s.

Yesterday I reached into G’s bag to reveal a valentine from a boy named Ethan. I cried of course. G’s very first valentine! I do not know who Ethan is, but I knew right then that if I showed up empty handed today that I would forever feel guilty about not giving Ethan back a valentine.



Now G’s daycare is an in-home daycare where I think there is maybe 3 or 4 full time kids with a few that come before and after school. As I drop G off so early in the morning I never see the other kids and well T isn't really attentive when it comes to paying attention when he picks him up, so I had no clue what age kids I needed to send valentine’s to?

My first thought was just cards – but G is too young to personalize them so not creative enough. My second thought was helium balloons – some argue not safe & there was no way I was finding them on such short notice in my small town. So I asked my mom group (a group of about 160 ladies with kids all the same age as G). The solution came quick – fish valentine’s day cards and gold fish crackers.

Off I went to the grocery store at 7:30pm in search of what I needed. They had gold fish crackers, but no such luck on fish valentines, so off I went to the craft department. Do you think I could even find fish stickers?

Here is what I came up with. I spent the night cutting, gluing, sticking, taping…..


I now have a yearly reminder in my phone on February 1st to remind me to get a list of names and to start the valentines WAY in advance.

Poor T, all he got was a chocolate bar with a bubble guppie’s sticker on it in his car!


Tuesday, February 12, 2013

The Donicamoon


Remember waaaaayyyy back when. When one of my favourite people and I were not speaking and it felt horrible. Well given time and a few emails things got back to normal and for once in my life (due to her crap luck) I got lucky and she came to work in the city for the summer.

This is another reason you were hearing crickets around here. Every spare second I could get I was spending on my Donicamoon.

We did all of our favorites – Shopping, Ikea trip, eating at a favorite restaurant, dinners and visits at all the beautiful houses she house sits, and of course going to an independent theater to watch film festival movies. Her love of artsy movies I can not find in anyone else. She came to my house, met G, and made fun of T. It was like old times.

If you are artsy there are two films (now available everywhere) I suggest:
1.       Your sister’s sister
2.       Take this waltz (beware of so long it is uncomfortable period of nudity)

The only thing that kept us apart (which felt like there was something constantly) was her work, G, other social activities for both of us.

Then came the bad news (for me anyway). She was being given back her old job at a University eight hours away beginning with the school year. The days became numbered and I was torn as this is the exact same time my sister was getting married. I couldn't be two places at once.

And just like that she was gone. I looked up the price of flights to visit, tried to come up with some time some how I could make the trip and it still hasn't happened and doesn't look like it will.

Time just continues to pass and we exchange emails and pictures and movie and book suggestions but it is just not the same. 

Oh what I would do for another Donicamoon....I'd add more minutes to the day, and try to eliminate more so we could do more. Life is too short to have a friend that lives so far away.