Halloween partying, popularity, horror & my insanity

October 31, 2011 By

Halloween Partying

I did double-duty at the school on Friday that started with the costume parade and class parties.
I’ll have better pictures of the kiddos later but we opted on a dinosaur costume for Bode and Hadley went as the White Witch (Narnia is her favorite movie).

Jamie would like me to add he was not a part of the dinosaur choice because he said it was too “cutesy.”

I say what is a KINDERGARTNER if not cute?!

My horror

As I was waiting for the kids’ costume parade in the gym, I struck up a conversation to the gal next to me whom I swear I’ve never seen before. A few minutes into talking, she mentioned her twins–one boy and one girl.

And then it slowly started coming to me. You know the one: the dreadful feeling when you realize you somehow know that person but had forgotten them. I tried to cover my tracks by saying, “Wait a minute. You live in my neighborhood and our kids were at the same bus stop last year.” Nice.

But it got worse. The woman knew everything about me. “I saw you on The Marriage Ref and you totally should have won etc. etc. etc.”

My bad memory and Jamie’s pumpkin are ruining my life.

Norm

And the most popular kid in second grade is…

Bode.

You know. My kindergartner.

Going to school with that kid is like going to school with Norm from Cheers. His besties in kindergarten adore him and after volunteering in Haddie’s class, he and I eat in the lunchroom with her. This time, I kid you not, the second grade boys fought over who got to sit with him. Then, afterward, they begged me to let him stay and play Yoshi on the playground. As they were lining up, they insisted Bode give them all high-fives.

I guess sometimes, nice guys do finish first.

My Insanity

My friend posted a fabulous tutorial on how to make Halloween cake pops. If you’ve never heard of them, allow me to enlighten you: these little cakes on a stick are nothing short of moist and amazing (this, from a non-cake eater). And so I thought they’d be fun to make for the kids’ Halloween party.

There was nothing fun about making them.

Really, it was my fault. Between the kids’ two classes, there were 50 pops. And then my ward’s trunk-or-treat was that night and I’d signed up to bring a treat. Add in the women I visit teach and I was well over a hundred.

And so I made three different cakes: red velvet, vanilla and spice and spent the entire day slaving in the kitchen. I’m not exaggerating: THESE LITTLE GHOSTS TOOK ME SEVEN HOURS TO MAKE.
The positive: They were met with many rave reviews.
The negative: Some kids took them but didn’t bother eating them. I wanted to grab their little sugar-stuffed cheeks and scream,”DO YOU KNOW HOW LONG THOSE TOOK ME TO MAKE?”

Perhaps becoming emotionally invested in a treat is dangerous on many levels.

After spending seven hours on my still-recovering knee, I could barely walk. But the caveat came when I was carrying the laundry down the stairs later that day. Workers had been there cleaning our carpet and the floors were still damp. I slipped. I slammed. I slid. I threw out my back and injured my arm.

I’m going as myself for Halloween this year.

Because that is scary enough.

© Crazy Bloggin’ Canuck–A Denver Mom’s Blog
Filed Under: Bode, Hadley, holidays, Humor Tagged With:

Food Bank of the Rockies’ Celebrity Council (who me?)

October 27, 2011 By

I think everyone should have a “cause” close to their heart and combating child hunger is mine. I was first really exposed to it during my mission in Switzerland and France where I was privileged to provide service in the local food banks. As I worked with those wonderful people–so humble and grateful–something inside me was ignited.

Years later, I’ve been fortunate to work with the Food Bank of the Rockies on some local campaigns and have felt that same spark. So when I was asked to be a part of their new Celebrity Council (that includes famous professional athletes, media personalities and actors), I was honored.

And then I laughed. A lot.

I certainly don’t consider myself a celebrity but feel privileged to contribute to an organization that services 1,100 hunger-relief programs throughout Northern Colorado and Wyoming.

Last week, I attended a soiree to kick-off the council and was blown away to see my smiling face on the celebrity wall (top right-hand corner).

Note to self: Get a real head shot.

Of course, this isn’t my first brush with celebrity.

There was the time at the 2010 Vancouver Games at the USA House when I insulted a living legend.

Also, when I lived in Salt Lake City, I was the Travel Editor for Sports Guide Magazine for a number of years. I must have had a pretty good following because every year, Sports Guide published a “Best Of” list based on reader’s nominations and votes.

I won the “Best All-around Female” award, along with Picabo Street (who was a really big deal at the time after winning a gold medal in super G at the 1998 Winter Olympics.)

When Jamie and I were dating, he Googled my name and found that article.

I’m sure it was the clincher for him. :-)

I’d love your support! For every Facebook “like” the Food Bank of the Rockies receives through October, Vitamin Cottage is donating $1. And here’s the amazing thing: A $1 donation provides 4 meals for kids in need so please take a moment to click!

© Crazy Bloggin’ Canuck–A Denver Mom’s Blog
Filed Under: issues

The Beauty of a Beautiful Heartbreak

October 26, 2011 By

I mentioned my admiration for musician Hilary Weeks but when I saw the video for her newest release, Beautiful Heartbreak, I just had to share.

She gave the back-story of writing it at Time Out for Women. There were four babies in her congregation at church who were born to different families. All four had severe medical challenges but friends and neighbors banded together in amazing ways to support these families as they tried to nurse their babies back to health.

All four of them died within the year.

Hilary mourned with them but was so inspired to see how they dealt with the loss and wrote this song. While it’s not inherently religious, I love it because it is human. No one goes through life without heartbreak of some kind–whether it’s depression or unemployment, loneliness, illness or death.

Be sure to watch the video until the end…that’s when my big, ugly cry broke out.

No worries. I’m not featured in the video blubbering away.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xyX-I-um5Kk]
Hilary Weeks Video

This song is such a great reminder to take the good with the bad and that life is sometimes a beautiful heartbreak.

But we can still make it beautiful.

Buy her new CD “Every Step” on iTunes here. And no, this is not a sponsored post. I just think she’s pretty darn great.

© Crazy Bloggin’ Canuck–A Denver Mom’s Blog
Filed Under: LDS

Talkin’ about my girl

October 25, 2011 By

Part of trying to connect on a deeper level is taking a step back and looking at who needs TLC.

Hadley is one of them.

I’ve always had a deep connection with Bode but have to work harder with Hadley. Though we’re both independent, adventurous spitfires, we speak a very different love language. Bode and I are snugglers. Hadley is not physical but I’m slowly learning her “love language” is spending quality time together.

We haven’t had any meaningful one-on-one time since school started.

So, on Saturday morning, I announced Hadley and I were having a girl afternoon. The boys would go to Bode’s soccer game (another three goals–yay!) and the girls would hike Lookout Mountain in Golden.

I’ve probably hiked Lookout Mountain a hundred times, half of them were carrying my babies and the other half solo. I thought I knew the nuances of every bend in the trail.

Until I hiked it with my 7-year-old daughter.

I love hiking for a number of reasons that include beauty and fresh air but I’m in it for the workout when I’m alone. While Hadley kept a fast clip, she reminded me of what it means to stop and smell the roses.

That means applauding the squirrels as they launch across their forested trapeze and scaling every random rock wall she could find.
Finding perfect perches to howl at the moon abyss.
And stopping to marvel at the view at the summit.My sad confession: I’ve always enjoyed the view but have never been absolutely blown away by its beauty until I saw it through my little girl’s eyes.

There is a very kid-friendly nature center at the top and I suggested we eat our snacks over there to get out of the wind. She looked over at the crowded parking lot, wrinkled her nose and pointed to a bluff overlooking the mountains.

“There’s too many cars and people over there. I want to look at the beautiful view and then go to the nature center,” she said.

Mini-Me.

Thinking back upon it now, I can’t even remember what we talked about but we babbled non-stop. It’s amazing how a whole lot of nothings amount to something wonderful.

We stopped at Cold Stone ice cream and as we drove home, Hadley pensively said: “That was an awesome girl day, Mommy. We need to do that more often.”

I couldn’t agree more.

© Crazy Bloggin’ Canuck–A Denver Mom’s Blog
Filed Under: Colorado, Hadley, hiking

Bode’s competition for the “Sweetest Kid on the Block”

October 24, 2011 By

Bode has a lot of great qualities but what I value most in him is he is just a good, sweet, kind-hearted soul. In fact, when I picked him up from a recent playdate, my neighbor observed, “Bode is the nicest kid on the block.”

He (obviously) doesn’t get it from me.

Part of being a nice kid is he has rarely has meltdowns and he gets along with everyone. I can put him in any situation, even with the socially-backward or aggressive types, and he will befriend them while being a force for good.

We have four hours until Hadley gets home so we try to go on an adventure every day. On Friday, we biked around Lake Arbor.
We stopped at the local playground and Bode played with a cute boy a couple of years younger than him. At one point, I overheard their conversation.

Bode: “I am Bode. What’s your name?”
Kid: “My name is Brandon. But they call me ‘Sweetie Pie.’”

© Crazy Bloggin’ Canuck–A Denver Mom’s Blog
Filed Under: Bode, Humor

When revenge is (too) sweet

October 21, 2011 By

Remember when I blogged about my friend Lisa’s sons wreaking havoc on my sweet Bode?

Wednesday, I had payback when I dragged her up my favorite secret hike.
Though with views like that of snow-covered 14,264-ft Mt. Evans it’s an iffy attempt at payback.

I’ll keep working on it.

© Crazy Bloggin’ Canuck–A Denver Mom’s Blog
Filed Under: Colorado, hiking

The Clicker and the Importance of Getting Unplugged

October 20, 2011 By

Sometimes you just need to get unplugged.

This is opposed to unhinged, which is what I have felt the last several weeks.

I hit my limit after a compendium of stress, work and more stress a couple of weeks ago. I woke up feeling…not depressed…but burned out and in dire need of a reboot after my family’s onslaught of medical and financial trials this year.

I attended Time Out For Women a couple of weekends ago and it was a much-needed spiritual boost. One of my favorite speakers (and inspiring musical artist) Hilary Weeks spoke about a statistic she had heard: that the average person has 300 negative thoughts a day. Thinking this was a staggering number, she decided to put it to the test. She bought herself a clicker and every time she had a negative thought, she counted it.

The final number wasn’t important but what resonated with me was how she felt after almost a week of doing it. For no reason at all, she woke up feeling depressed and absolutely hopeless about her life.

Recognizing the source, she turned the experiment around and documented every positive thought she had. The number of clicks skyrocketed as it became a practice in gratitude–from her family to God’s creations to the many little miracles that surrounded her. (Read her blog posts about it here).

Lesson learned: When you focus on the negatives, all your energy and psyche will give way to that energy. Conversely, thinking positive thoughts makes you happy.

I’ve never been a negative person but when you’re drowning in negative influences and aren’t filling it with as much positivity as possible, something’s gotta give and that’s exactly how I felt. So last week, I refused to let the uncertainty and stress take hold of me. I stepped away from my computer and filled my life with positive energy. I recommitted myself spiritually and spent every spare second in the outdoors marveling at the fall colors.

We picked crab apples and made applesauce.

We climbed trees.
I hiked.

And hiked some more.
And biked almost daily.
There is something so special about fall–life in all its summer pastels becomes golden. And somehow through imersing myself in it, each day I grew stronger, more at peace and connected. While our future may be uncertain, for these past weeks we’ve been living in the brevity of the moment and it has been magic.

One of my favorite passages of scripture in Mosiah 24: 13-15 has resonated with me. Alma and his people are doing what’s right and are living their lives when they are faced with a huge trial: wicked Amulon is sent to rule over them and places horrible burdens on their back. They even try to pray and risk the treat of being put to death.

Human instinct is to pray all the bad things away. I know I have and continue to do so. But the answer they received is so much more inspired.

13 And it came to pass that the voice of the Lord came to them in their afflictions, saying: Lift up your heads and be of good comfort, for I know of the covenant which ye have made unto me; and I will covenant with my people and deliver them out of bondage.

14 And I will also ease the burdens which are put upon your shoulders, that even you cannot feel them upon your backs, even while you are in bondage; and this will I do that ye may stand as witnesses for me hereafter, and that ye may know of a surety that I, the Lord God, do visit my people in their afflictions.

15 And now it came to pass that the burdens which were laid upon Alma and his brethren were made light; yea, the Lord did strengthen them that they could bear up their burdens with ease, and they did submit cheerfully and with patience to all the will of the Lord.

Another lesson learned: Don’t pray for a lighter burden, pray for a stronger back.


Our situation has not changed but my capacity to handle it has. And for that, I am grateful.

© Crazy Bloggin’ Canuck–A Denver Mom’s Blog
Filed Under: issues, LDS

On character building

October 18, 2011 By

I’m still alive but am taking a much-needed blogging break. In the interim, a glimpse at a conversation we had en route to the temple last weekend.

Me: I noticed last week just how many wrinkles I’m getting these days.

Jamie: That’s OK. It adds character.

{Long pause}

Jamie: And that’s just what you need–more character.

© Crazy Bloggin’ Canuck–A Denver Mom’s Blog
Filed Under: Humor, Jamie

The Day Jerry Rice Jr. Got Taken Down

October 10, 2011 By

I have another busy week and am just not feeling motivated to write so blog postings might be sparse this week. However, I have several posts in my “drafts” folder I never published so here’s one of them about Bode’s near-death experience late last summer…..

We’re going on our seventh year of being in our dinner group with friends from church. We’ve experienced everything from the humiliation of Halloween to when Groucho and Marilyn did murder. Last month, the festivities sunk to a new level.

Usually, our dinners just involve couples but a couple of times a year, we bring the kids together for a big ol’ party–no small undertaking because the six couples have 24 kids between them.

And yes, we are the underachievers in the group.

The first of those kids was college-bound so we planned a final picnic at a park near our house. It was a fun evening of good friends and fun as the kids played on the nearby playground until after dark. After dinner, we opted for a friendly game of kickball in the neighboring field.

Only it wasn’t quite so friendly.

You see, some of these people are competitors and make me look like Pollyanna comparatively. Bode was the youngest out of all the kids by two years and certainly the most overzealous, thrilled to catch the ball and run with it.

I didn’t have the heart to tell him he wasn’t Jerry Rice.

It all started going downhill when Hadley’s friend Alex went up to “bat.” You see, headstrong Alex and I have history. She talks smack, I dish it back. I once sang, “Girl, you’re amazing” to her at the top of my lungs in the grocery store because it’s her goal to be on America’s Got Talent and I was just showing her what it takes.

OK, so maybe I just wanted to embarrass her.

Anyway, back to kickball. Alex looked at me with her little beady eyes and I knew she was mine. The ball was rolled, she kicked it and it soared straight toward me. I leaped, caught it and she was out. In one gratifying moment, it was me vs. Alex and for once, I won.

And then her family cried foul. “She’s just a little girl!!!!” and revenge was sworn.

Problem is it wasn’t against me but against Jerry Rice Jr. The next time sweet Bode was up to bat, he kicked the ball. As he started to race to first base, Alex’s brothers–allegedly upstanding young men, Eagle Scouts and BYU-bound–nailed sweet Bode with the ball. H-A-R-D.

These photographs are not of The Incident, which means there was more than one because photos don’t lie. Brother #1:Brother #2:
As the Evil Ones rejoiced after Bode’s forcible take-out, their Head Evil One (their father, Phil), said, “Thank your Mommy for that, Bode.”

He came over to me and said in the most innocent voice, “Thank you for dat, Mommy!!”

Unfortunately for them, unforgiving Mommy is already plotting their take-down.

:-)

© Crazy Bloggin’ Canuck–A Denver Mom’s Blog
Filed Under: Bode, Humor

Marriage: The “Worse” Part of the “Better”

October 7, 2011 By


Me: “You seem less stressed today. Are you finally getting caught back up on work after being in the hospital last week?”

Jamie: “Doing much better. I only have two people yelling at me right now.”

Me: (At the top of my lungs): “HONEYYYYYYYYYY!”

Jamie: “Better make that three.”

© Crazy Bloggin’ Canuck–A Denver Mom’s Blog
Filed Under: Humor, Jamie
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