I Packed My Blogs

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Small Wonder Blog

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Slowly but surely...

...things are changing.

Stay tuned...

:-)

5 In 5

1. Does anyone know what a Bale Shredder is? I do now!
2. Website down. Email not working. I do not find this to be a stress reducing situation.
3. If you sent me an email in the last 48 hours, I didn't get it.
4. The stupid cloud surrounding my house is making it difficult to be motivated. Not to mention #2.
5. Maybe I should just go shopping.

(not such a meaty post today...)

Silent Auctions and Art Sales

I am not a gambler. I just don't find it fun, and I can never push the thought out of my head "The house always wins." But there is something about silent auctions that sucks me in. Maybe it's the stuff...not the actual items but the shopping aspect of it. You're not just risking your money, if you "win" you actually get something in return. Yay!

On Friday afternoon, we innocently took our two eldest children to their "Student Led Conferences" at their school. Each of them took a turn explaining their work and demonstrating their skills in their classroom. All of which ended with excited pleas, "Let's go to the Art Sale!" In the gymnasium, a Silent Auction and Art Sale. Here's the hook on this one. All of the art was created by the children. I don't know about you, but when asked "Can we buy my art?" I found it impossible to say "No sweetie. Mommy and Daddy are not interested in having any more of your art in our house." We bought everything they made.

Picasso?

Van Gogh?

We arrived in the gym shortly before the Silent Auction bidding was ending, and we bid on 3 items. A movie package, with 2 kids movies (Ratatouille and Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs), a box of Smartpop, a game and a box of chocolate bars. (It was not the kids who wanted this one.) A car detailing package. (You can guess who wanted this one.) And 4 tickets to any Storybook Theatre performance. We "won" all three. (Remember Joey "winning" the boat on Friends?) Now, all I have to do is pay for them.

On Saturday, we attended a fundraising Gala. Well, I attended. Paul worked all night, playing video on projection screens and shooting video of the speeches etc.


Anyway, the Providence committee do an AMAZING job of planning this event. It is always tons of fun, there are loads of ways to contribute and they raise lots of money. Silent auction, bucket draws, raffle tickets, door prizes. Table sponsorship, live auction, buy-a-brick for the new school. I chose to buy sunglasses ($40 for 2 pairs), have some flowers painted on my arm ($20), and enter to win 5 bottles of wine ($5). I bid on a couple of silent auction items, but did not "win" them. They always invent some sort of game or competition that requires everyone at each table to contribute even more cash on the spot.

Our table.

My red sunglasses.

My arm.

It is an impressive evening, for entertainment and fundraising. Oh, and the on-screen video looked fantastic!

5 In 5-Providence

Here's a little update from the Small Wonder front.

1. This week I am frantically trying to get some display video done for a fundraising dinner this Saturday. I am frantic this week because 101 things went wrong last week, which caused delays. Same old story. Yawn...
2. Here is the event...A Little Blues...Advance HD has produced their event display video for the past few years. Last time I attended the event I was barely pregnant, pretending to drink wine and trying not to feel sick. I think it will be more fun this year.
3. I love any and all organizations that provide learning opportunities for children. All children. Because all children deserve the right to learn and grow to their full potential.
4. I have been watching this movie...Lightening in a Bottle...which is all about the evolution of the blues, and it is really cool. I wouldn't have called myself a blues fan, but I really dig it.
5. I have 2 extra tickets to this event if anyone is interested, send me an email.

The Eyes Have It!

I mentioned the other day how I had my eyes checked, because I was having trouble seeing some things. And, it turns out, one eye is near sighted and the other one is far sighted. Now, I have my glasses, which my husband helped me pick out, thank goodness. I thought it was going to be really fun to pick glasses, like buying a new necklace or shoes. But, it was more like buying a new bathing suit. The selection didn't seem like enough, and the ones I LOVED required a second mortgage on our house. Then, I went through the ridiculous process of trying to match those in a less expensive brand. Sigh. Ended up with these. Not horrible.


Now, the challenge for me is to figure out how and when to use them. Because of the far sighted eye, I can't wear them all the time, which I would actually prefer if only to simplify the process. I don't need them to drive, but I am supposed to wear them to read and use the computer. When I need them most is for things like reading labels in grocery stores and the back of movies at Blockbuster. So, I need to carry them with me all the time.

The most interesting part of all this (to me, at least) is that last week, we took The Little One to Children's Hospital to have his eyes checked. They told us that he may never learn to use both eyes together, and this would primarily effect his depth perception. I was pretty upset about that. He went through surgery, we've obsessed over the health of his eyes, and his eyes may not work together anyway? This seemed like a pretty big deal to me. A few days ago, my eye doctor told me that because of the difference in vision, my eyes are not working together. Huh!?! Except for not being able to read small print, I don't notice it. Not such a big deal after all.

Argentina Anyone?

I just finished this video for a client, who is, believe it or not, another amazing Mom who is starting a business. And once again, I am inspired by her ingenuity and in awe of her creativity.



Not only am I ready to plan a trip to Argentina, I am hoping to be invited to one of her events. Food, wine and dancing. What's not to love!?!

5 Things In 5 Minutes

1. One project is finished, and another one begins. I like that kind of pacing. This next one is pretty easy, and ends with me attending a fundraising gala. Sounds good.
2. I am excited about working lately, for two reasons. One, because I am doing more and more web video for small business, which I love! Second, the business structure in our house is shifting a bit so I have a little more to do, Paul has just a tiny bit less to do, and we maximize tax benefits etc. It only makes sense.
3. I had my eyes checked today, for the first time in ages, maybe in my adult life! I made the appointment because, due to my advanced age, I am starting to have trouble reading fine print. Or, as I like to say, they have started printing things smaller. (I sound like I'm one hundred years old!) Anyway, One of my eyes is near sighted and the other one is far sighted. So, if you are standing across the room, and you want my attention, you need to move slightly to my right and wave.
4. I am working on a new promo video for Small Wonder. This one will be focused on web video. It hasn't really taken shape yet, still floating ideas around in my head. I am open to suggestions...
5. I can't see the mountains today. Not because I am looking only with my left eye, but because there are clouds in the way. I don't like it when I can't see the mountains.

Have a great week, everyone!

BLINK!

Here is yet ANOTHER great idea from ANOTHER awesome Mom entrepreneur. We rock, ladies!!!



I had fun at this party, I learned a few things, and I looked GREAT when I left. And the effects were lasting, as I have been replacing old makeup, taking an extra few minutes to do my makeup each day, and therefore, feeling just a bit more confident when I head out the door. Nice work, Kara!

Uninvited?

Today's post is a bit more personal than I like to be on this blog. But I need to sort out my thoughts on this situation, and I am interested in your opinions about it. It is sort of a parenting issue, kind of an extended family problem, and a bit of a...I really don't know what it is.

Let me set it up for you. I have a favourite uncle, on my Dad's side of the family. My Dad has 9 siblings, all of whom have had an impact, big or small, on my childhood, and my life. And let me be clear, in case any of them ever read this, I love them all! But my Dad's eldest sibling, my Uncle Peter, stands out in my mind. He is a story teller, like my Dad, and like me. He always tells me to write more, write more. And whenever we see him, he shares stories from his life, amazing, captivating stories. After all, he is about to be 90 years old.

So, there will be a party in Salmon Arm, BC, where he lives, to celebrate his 90 years of wonderful life. Technically, I was never invited. The way things usually work in our family is that someone decides they are going, and then they tell a few others, and then before you know it, it's a party. With the addition of facebook, this process happens much faster. My Dad is going, and I told him I would like to go, too. It turns out, the party is on the one weekend in April when not only can Paul not go, but he can't even take care of the kids while I go. So, I decided to take my kids, and my Dad, in my van, to Salmon Arm for the weekend.

Here is where my dilemma is created. This morning I found out children are not allowed at the party. There is not enough room in the venue. I was, at once, sad, angry and understanding. After all, it's not my party, and I was never really invited in the first place. But we are a large family who rarely have the opportunity to gather, and why should some members be excluded from a gathering because they have kids. But mostly, I so very much want my uncle to know how important he is to me, and that I care about him, and that I am grateful to have him in my life. How can I do that if I am not allowed to be there?

Well, my dilemma is not really a dilemma at all. I don't know anyone who is not related to me in Salmon Arm who could babysit. I can't leave them at home, because Paul will be insanely busy with a production that weekend. I can't go. End of story.

My question to all of you is what do you do, and how do you feel if you are invited to something, but told your children are not welcome?

I will tell you one thing. When I organize MY Dad's 70th Birthday party next year, everyone, including children, trained pets and imaginary friends, will be welcome.

5 Things In 5 Minutes

1. I really liked it when people whose blogs I follow make entries frequently. I really dislike it when no one has blogged lately. I pretty sure that makes me seem a bit desperate.
2. We have recovered almost all of our photos, which, if you don't know, were lost in some sort computer @*&*&#%&! And we have no idea why. I say almost because there are about 500 fewer jpeg files now than there were before. (When you have over 17 thousand photos, 500 doesn't seem like a big deal.) And we have no idea why. And each jpeg file is twice as big as before. And we have no idea why. And they are all named "lostfile00004446389984" or something like that. And we have no... You get the picture.
3. Back-up. Back-up. Back-up.
4. I am 40 now. It is not too big of a deal. I went through a bigger age crisis when I was a 37 year old pregnant woman. Still, I'm thinking I should not waste too much time waiting for things to happen. Like I wasn't impatient enough before.
5. The Little One has become very interested in Thomas and Duplo. The fun part of that is that the Older Boys are having such a good time digging out their old toys and "helping" him play.

No photos today. See #2.

San Diego 2010-Day 7 and 8

Well, I don't think anyone is even reading this anymore. And I'm a little tired of posting about it, so let's wrap up the vacation today.

Day 7 (Bernardo Winery): Our last full day in San Diego was one of my favourites.

The day started, surprisingly, with the building of some Lego.

Then we took a drive to a theme park for parents.

We had lunch at the winery, sitting outside under the trees.

Took a stroll around the property.

There were all these cute little specialty shops.

Do I need to type "grapes" here?

Time for a bit of tasting. We chose one red and one white.

The boys wait patiently at a table outside.

Once we were done at the winery, we ended up back at the...
The ocean beach was pretty rough, so we walked 3 blocks over to the bay.

Since the winery was not very fun for the boys, we promised them McDonalds for dinner. We spent the evening finishing off the wine in our fridge, packing and fretting about how we would fit everything in.

Day 8: Home Again

The only reason I am including this day is because of how it ended. Here is the story.

We got up early and starting trying to pack the remainder of our stuff. It soon became clear that if we squeezed it all into the bags we had, we may end up with a few exploded zippers by the time we hit baggage claim in Calgary. So, Paul went out in search of cheap baggage, and came back with a duffel bag and a Birthday Starbucks for me. Nice!

We got to the airport early, grabbed some breakfast and dumped out the last of the Little One's milk from his sippy cup before going through security. (This detail will become important in a minute.) Then, we waited. And waited. The flight was late coming from Calgary. The older boys did a great job of chasing the Little One around the gate area, keeping all of them busy and wearing them out before the flight. Paul and I spent the time searching each and every vending machine and food kiosk for milk. There was none to be found. Finally, Paul asked someone, and they told him they haven't had milk in the airport for 3 days. What!?!?!?!? The only place that had milk was McDonalds, on the other side of security. You can see our problem, can't you?

Finally, the plane arrived, we got on, and, thankfully, the Little One fell asleep right after take-off.

Then, half an hour later, he woke up. That is when things got difficult. He wanted milk. He only wanted milk. No juice. No water. No cheerios. Nothing. Just milk. I knew from the flight down that these Westjet flights don't have fridges, so they don't carry milk. No big deal. Only two and a half hours to go with a screaming toddler who can't be consoled. The only way we could get him to calm down even a little was to let him stand between our seats. There were two business men behind us, one of whom had a laptop open on his lap for the entire flight. At one point, the Little One touched the computer, and the guy freaked out, telling Paul that he almost knocked it off his lap! Seriously? Anyway, I ignored the guy, the Little One continued the scream and fuss for the rest of the flight, and the two business men continued to complain about it.

Cut to us standing at baggage claim waiting for our luggage. A woman walks up to me and says "I just wanted to tell you that you have a lovely family." Huh? She went on the explain she had been on the flight with us, and that she remembered what it was like having small children, she had been there, and she hoped the guy with the laptop slipped on the ice outside the airport. Made my day!

After we had all our bags, Paul went to pick up our car, and I took the boys to Tim Horton's. We'd like some of those Canadian donuts, please. And of course, some milk.

San Diego 2010-Day 6

LEGOLAND!!!

This was the day the boys had been waiting for since we started planning this trip. To be honest, I was a little nervous. After Sea World, I was not at all sure our family could handle Legoland. But, we had learned a few lessons, and had relaxed a bit since then. So, off we went, our best attitudes in mind, and our pockets full of cash.

It was, by far, the best day of our vacation!!!

Ice cream first, of course.

The best part of Legoland was that there were lots of things for the older boys and the Little One.

The Little One's first ride... ever. He was a little nervous, but once it started moving, he loved it!!!

Land of Adventure
(This was an Indiana Jones ride.)

Dune Raiders
(A giant slide. The two middle ones are ours.)

Castle Hill

The Little One wanted to be locked up, too.

I ate apple fries (deep fried granny smith apple slices with whipped vanilla cream dip) while the boys played mini-golf.

"Get me outta here!"
(Waiting for golfers to finish 18 holes was hard.)

Pirate Shores
(They were trying to get their Dad wet.)

Fun Town
(They got a driver's license with their picture on it after this. Cool!)

Building with Duplo in Explore Village

A slide for the Little One

More building (Bionicles) in Imagination Zone

A quick stroll through Miniland USA before hitting the gift shop.

The boys all had Christmas money that they saved to spend in Legoland. We waited until the end to shop, which was a mistake. The place was a zoo, and the shopping experience with two hyper-excited boys and a stroller was intense, to say the least. But they were all happy with what they got, and we needed to buy an extra piece of luggage to bring it all home. Success!

Another beautiful sunset on the way home.

San Diego 2010-Day 5

San Diego Zoo: They call it one of the best zoos in the world, and it was pretty good. We could have taken a bus tour, but we chose to walk. It was a lot of walking, but it was a gorgeous day, and we enjoyed the stroll almost as much as the animals.

Nothing says "Happy Valentine's Day" like waiting in a crowd to get into the zoo.

Pretty in pink.

We told the boys this was their long lost brother.

They have amazing structures and landscapes.

Stood in a long line to see the Pandas.
(The line to see the baby was 3 times as long. We did not see the baby.)

After that, we needed a beverage break.

No (live) elephants were harmed in the taking of these photos.

The real elephants. One of our favourites.

Didn't I see some of these scampering across the road last summer?

Bye bye zoo. Time for the beach!

After the beach, Paul barbecued kabobs for dinner, and we had heart shaped chocolate cake for dessert. Then, we all watched the season premiere of Amazing Race. It was, indeed, a Happy Valentine's Day!