Multitasking like a Pro

Posted on June 3, 2013 by

Today at breakfast I was lecturing my 12 year old son on the importance of multitasking. Here we were, running late as usual for school, and he is slowly slurping away at his cereal with a blank look on his face. Meanwhile, I am packing four kids lunches, brushing the girls hair, loading the dishwasher, answering the telephone, making breakfasts and re-heating my coffee in the microwave for the fifth time this morning. Frustrated, I decided that it was time for the kids to learn about multitasking.

First, I did mention that women were far superior than men at the art of multitasking, so I gave my son the benefit of the doubt. Perhaps, women are born multitaskers, perhaps it is learned, I don’t know, but at my house, the girls are definitely better than the boys. My husband has not been a very good role model…the only multitasking he can do is watching Tv and filling his mouth with chips at the same time. Talent!
Then, I explained how in the amount of time it took my son to finish his bowl of Frosted Flakes, I had already accomplished numerous tasks that would make his and my life easier, all simultaneously. He stared at me. I could see the wheels turning in his head, perhaps I got through to him?

He slowly raises from the table, grabs his iPad, heads to the bathroom and closes the door.
After a minute, he yells out to me, “How’s that for multitasking?”

I have raised a smart ass…

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Please…stop posting pictures of food everywhere online!

Posted on March 21, 2013 by

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I’m dieting.  Actually, just trying to cut down on sugars and carbs, and you know what? Things are going pretty good. That is, until I turn on my computer and go online.

Everywhere I turn, someone has posted another picture of food.  Seriously…do we really need to see that you baked 50 cupcakes for the bake sale, a completely vegan entrée or that carb-filled pasta recipe that you got off Pinterest? I’m sick of it, my diet hates it and now I am suddenly craving chicken fettucine alfredo.  Thanks, thanks a lot.

I swear that people think more about posting pictures of their food online then they actually do about eating the food they just wasted hours preparing and let’s not forget, sprucing up and choosing the correct sepia filter and vignette on Instagram.

What I find most irritating is all the people out there that post their photos of food on Facebook.  Really??? Unless you are a world-renowned chef or are actually going to drive a serving of that casserole you just baked to my house, please do not post it for me to see.  I, frankly, just don’t care that you seem to have time to cook a gourmet dinner while I am scraping together a box of Kraft Dinner for my 4 kids as we rush to yet another hockey game after school. Oh yes, I forgot, you must be a SUPERMOM because you posted that photo for everyone to see!

So here I am, urging you to please consider all of us tired, busy, dieting moms out there that just don’t have the time to arrange, Photoshop and upload a daily photo of our meals. When I cook a meal….I want to EAT it, not scrapbook it!

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Every Girl is a Princess

Posted on February 24, 2013 by

ImageEvery girl is a princess.

Young or old.

Beautiful or plain.

Big or small.

Loud or quiet.

Every girl is born believing she is a princess…because she is one. From day one, each and every girl is a princess. She should be told that she is worth something, worth everything.  She deserves to be listened to, respected and admired. She should know deep in her heart that she has the power to change the world no matter how tiny she may be. She should know laughter and tears, and she will learn from her mistakes.  She will know power. She will also know failure. Most of all, she will know love.

She is a princess and never let her forget that.

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Snow Covered Mountains

Posted on February 18, 2013 by

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Trepidation sets in as she slowly trudges upward to reach the peak.  Glancing down, she looks at me and raises her eyebrows as if to say, “Are you sure this is okay?” Gathering courage she waits at the top, situates herself just so, and tightens her grip.  One more glance downward, she lets her fear go and pushes slowly off.

Her eyes dance, anxiety vanishes as she lets out a squeal. SWOOSH! She passes me and I can’t help but smile. Her excitement is contagious and brings me back to my youth.  The days and nights spent in my back yard, climbing snow covered mountains and sliding down to new territories.

Adventure awaits.

It all begins with a heavy snowfall…and a laneway that needs to be cleared.

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Why this Mom loves Pancake Tuesday…

Posted on February 12, 2013 by

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Today is not just a normal Tuesday at our house. It seemed normal for the most part, kids went off to school, my husband and I headed out to our jobs, a doctors appointment, dog walking, dishes and laundry were thrown in there too.  But today is different. Today is Pancake Tuesday!

I love Pancake Tuesday! I’m sure there are lots of moms out there that love it too.  Do you want to know why? It’s not because eating breakfast for supper is probably the most exciting and unexpected thing to happen to a meal in our house for a long time.  It’s not because pancakes are super easy to make, and let’s not forget super easy to clean up too.  It’s not because I am Canadian and love anything smothered in maple syrup sweetness.

It is because it is the only meal this week that I didn’t have to sit and decide what to make for supper.  There were no thoughts at noon about what to make, what I need at the grocery store, or whether I had all the ingredients.  There was no scanning of Pinterest to see if I could come up with a neat, cool-looking recipe.  There was no foraging through my cupboards to see if we even had anything suitable for supper that night.  There was no worrying about whether my supper was within my ‘points’ or calorie intake. There was no thoughts at all about supper.

There was just pancakes.

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A Mountain of Lists

Posted on January 6, 2013 by

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I took a moment to check my ‘to-do’ list today.  It’s wasn’t that bad.  Typical stuff, such as, groceries, school lunches, hockey schedules etc.  Not that overwhelming really, until I realized that this was just one of my so-called ‘lists’.

I didn’t realize I was a closet list maker until I prepared to get ready to leave on a weeklong vacation.  We had packing lists, grocery lists, schedules, detailed lists for the in-laws and my parents, emergency lists and the dreaded work list.  Day-to-day, I do everything on most of these lists, without ever needing an actual list.

I go to work every day and don’t need to worry about whether stuff will get done because I will be there tomorrow to finish it.  But going away is different. I have to get a week’s worth of work done ahead of time, forward my emails and transfer my calls, complete deadlines and sort out any problems that may arise while I’m away.  This actually wasn’t too bad; I have great co-workers that I know will step up if there is a problem.  The work list wasn’t too bad.

It’s the everyday stuff that I do without even thinking or even making a list.  I get the groceries, do laundry, dishes and housework, feed the cat and dog, chauffeur the kids to hockey and other sports, make sure homework is done and many, many more tasks on that invisible list I do every week. I have had to make lists for other people to do while I’m away, and frankly, I am terrified and overwhelmed just looking at it.  Do I really do all that stuff every week?  I feel guilty asking other people to fill in for me.

I looked around at the multitude of lists before me. Hand written lists on the backs of old envelopes (don’t laugh, you do it to), lists on my dry erase board, lists that I have actually emailed myself so I would forget, scribbles on the calendars, notes for teachers, I have lists coming out my ears.

With all these lists you would think that I would be super organized and everything would run so smoothly that I wouldn’t need to worry about anything when I go away for a week. Yeah, right! Chances of me forgetting to add something or do something on these lists? 100%

Especially because I usually forget to add ‘read the list’ or ‘bring the list’ to the bottom of all my lists…

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Growing in 2013

Posted on January 1, 2013 by

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I’d like to say that 2012 was a momentous year for me, but that would be far from the truth.  2012 was…well, it just was. No big changes or surprises.  No life altering events.

However, on New Year’s Eve as I looked over at our family lounging on the couch after watching movies late into the night, I thought to myself, ”wow, look how much we’ve grown!”

They may not have been momentous, life altering events, but we have grown.  How easily we forget all those small moments that shape our life.  My youngest started Kindergarten, learned to skate and is becoming an outstanding artist.  She regularly stars in the uber exclusive art shows hosted in the kitchen at the famed “Fridge” venue.

My second youngest has already surpassed both me and my husband in piano skills.  I’ve been told, that even at just 7 years old, she can chord like no tomorrow.  I am still trying to figure out where that ‘cord’ is on the piano that her teacher keeps talking about…I’m pretty sure our piano isn’t plugged into anything.

My shy, second oldest child has blossomed into a young lady. She faced her fear of public speaking this year when she was chosen to say her speech in front of the entire school.  She wasn’t nervous at all and that was more of a mountain for her to climb than I will ever realize.

My oldest will be hitting into teen years soon.  He’s playing pee-wee hockey, which means body contact. It also means that I have a few more grey hairs and probably some minor heart pulpitations that I never had before.  Boy, has he grown this year…and I’m not just talking about the amount of food that he now forces into that bottomless pit of a stomach he has.  I mean, he has REALLY grown..almost as tall as me, almost.

My husband has grown. Grown up, I mean, really.  All it has taken has been a few minor health scares this year to really put his life into perspective.  He values what is important and realizes that work will always be there tomorrow, it can be put off to make time for the really important stuff…family time.

Yes, we have all grown.  I have grown to realize that we are constantly growing and sometimes we need to take a step back from life to really watch it.  These may not have been super exciting or life altering events, but they were growing experiences.

I can’t wait to see how much we grow in 2013!

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