Moving

Not sure whether anyone’s still checking this blog, but just in case, I thought I’d let you know that I’ll be moving it soon to a new address:
http://beckcall.wordpress.com

The new site needs a bit of prettying up, but all of the old content is there. The only thing different is that I’ve started using pseudonyms for the boys to protect their privacy a bit. Calder’s learning to read now, so I figure it won’t be too long before he and his classmates start Googling each other. I’m sure you can figure out who’s who on the new site, but just in case:
Call = Calder. He’s starting signing his name “Call”, so it might not be the best pseudonym, but it fits so well with:
Beck = Jake. Because his middle name is Beckett.
And of course I’m at their beck and call.

I’ll leave this site up for another couple of weeks, but any new postings in the meantime will happen on the new site.

I hope to see you there!

The future

Calder: Mom, is the future real?
Me: Not yet.

I’m sure he’s expecting so see a flying car any day now.

Be kind to animals

Calder came home from school the other day with a “Be kind to animals” sticker on his shirt. I asked him about it, and he told me about a special presentation they had at school. He told me, “I love animals. And I love Jake. He’s like our pet.”

I wonder what his teacher thinks

Calder brought home one of his school projects today. He drew pictures to illustrate certain types of sounds.

On one side, he drew “Les sons graves” (deep sounds?):

The pictures are, from top to bottom: a hail storm at night, a fire-breathing dragon, and Mom yelling.

On the other side he drew “Les sons aigus” (sharp sounds?):

Above are: an elephant, a lion, and Mom screaming.

I guess I should watch my tone of voice in the morning, when I tell him to put on his boots for the fiftieth time.

My first job

My first job, besides babysitting, was working the overnight shift (11-7) at a donut shop the summer after high school. I worked the counter and drive-thru by myself and cleaned the place. I wasn't there completely alone, because there were always a few cooks working back in the kitchen. The place was located across the street from a bar, so that kept things interesting. A few memories:

- On my first night, one of the bar patrons came in for a Coke, paid with a $20, and told me to keep the change. People were often good about tipping at night, but that was the best

- Another night, a guy who was so drunk that he could hardly stand came in and sprawled across the counter, demanding whipped cream. Not cream-filled donuts. Just whipped cream. One of the cooks put some whipped cream in a container for me, and he left happy.

- I was told to defrost the big under-counter fridge, and then realized that I had no idea how to do it. Ended up chipping the ice of the inside of the fridge with a knife, and used hot water to melt away the rest of it. When I was finally finished, I realized that I should have unplugged it first.

- Usually around 2 am, most of the donuts were sold. One night, another inebriated customer pointed at a pumpernickel bagel and insisted that he wanted "that chocolate donut". He wouldn't believe that it wasn't a donut so I sold it to him. He ate it, and didn't seem to notice the difference.

- The standard-issue uniform consisted of an ugly peach-colored short sleeved blouse and a very, very short white wrap skirt. After a few too many comments from the clientele and an embarrassing fall on a wet floor, I started wearing pants to work.

- In the three or four months that I worked there, I wore through three pairs of shoes. The soles would wear smooth (causing the aforementioned fall), and then holes would form on the sides. Finally, I noticed that the de-greaser I used on the floors every night was mostly hydrochloric acid.

I continued to work there on weekends for the first month or two of university, then decided that the night shifts were to tough to do only a couple of times a week. So I quit and started working at a fabric store.

Oscars

The Oscar nominations were announced last week. In pre-kids years, I would have seen most of the films nominated for Best Picture. This year, I’ve only seen one of them (Slumdog Millionaire, which I really enjoyed), depite the fact that all of the nominated films appeal to me, and they’re all playing in Ottawa right now.

Have you seen any of them? Any recommendations about what I should see next?

Movie night

We pulled up to the movie store this evening, and Calder asked whether he could rent something. We said yes, and he replied, “Woo hoo! I’m going to get a movie that doesn’t teach me anything!” It seems that a Fairly Odd Parents DVD fit the bill.

We also rented The Day After Tomorrow, to try to make the 30 degree temperature drop we’re expecting tonight seem a bit milder

Reading

I absolutely adore books and always give and receive them for Christmas. This Christmas was especially book-intensive, and here are highlights of what we’re reading now:

Jake got a lot of books, including several by Sandra Boynton - always a favourite.

Calder got tons of books, mostly thanks to a well-timed Scholastic book fair at school. I volunteered there one evening and wasn’t much of a help, but picked out quite a pile of books. Plus, he got some great books from friends and relatives. Some favourites:

Scaredy Squirrel. It’s such a hit that I went out today and bought Scaredy Squirrel Goes to the Beach with a Chapters gift card that I got for Christmas.

The Dumb Bunnies - Friends gave Calder this series of books. Lots of humour for five year olds, and some more subtle background jokes for older kids and adults.

Terrific - Grandma and Grandpa bought this book about a man named Eugene who wins a trip to Bermuda. The fact that Grandpa’s name is Eugene and he’s been to Bermuda makes it extra amusing. And I like reading in a parrot voice

Classic Curious George Stories - A collection of the original Curious George stories. Up until now, we’ve only had the recent ones that are done in the style of Margret and H.A. Rey. The original stories are a bit edgier (as children’s stories go) and everyone, including George, smokes a pipe.

I got lots of nice books for Christmas, but my favourite is a vintage copy of Betty Crocker’s Dinner for Two Cookbook, illustrated by Charley Harper. Dooce pointed it out a while back, and it’s been on my wish list ever since because I love Charley Harper’s artwork and I have a general weakness for cookbooks.

I got a Chapter’s gift card for Christmas (thanks Mom and Dad!) and spent part of it today. I got Blindness because I’ve heard such good things about it from friends. I’m not really interested in seeing the movie, but I find the novel intriguing. I also bought The Food Allergy News Cookbook and it looks fantastic. Tons of recipes, and almost all of them are egg/milk/nut free. I foresee lots of baking in my future. It’ll be great to follow a recipe as written, instead of making some kludgey substitutions that don’t turn out well half the time.

Andrew seems very happy with his gift – a collection of all the issues of Arts & Architecture magazine. I was expecting a bound collection of articles from the magazines, but they’re exact reprints of the magazines, ads and all, all packaged up nicely. Very cool.

Anticipation

Calder is really, really looking forward to Christmas, and tells us each morning how many more days are left until the big day. We haven’t put any presents under the tree yet because I don’t think either of the boys would be able to restrain himself from opening them.

The other day, a big box of presents arrived from Grammy and Grampy. I opened it right away because I knew there were cookies and other treats inside, along with the presents. But Calder caught one glimpse of the presents and started asking to open them. I explained that we have to wait until Christmas, but he just doesn’t get the concept of waiting for an occasion. I closed up the box but before you know it, Calder had opened it again and found a present with his name on it. I heard him calling from the living room, “I found one for me! I’ll just open this one!” I caught him in time and put it back in the box, but not without protest and tears on Calder’s part. My favourite line was, “You know why I wanted to open it? Because they’re just such lovely gifts!”

Dentally advanced

I took Calder to the dentist last week for a checkup and cleaning. He absolutely LOVES going to the dentist because the hygienist is sweet and he gets to pick a prize from their treasure chest when he’s finished. While he’s there, he’s friendly, co-operative, and just generally a ray of sunshine. I’m considering moving into their offices – they must be able to spare one examination room!

He doesn’t have any cavities, but his teeth are quite crowded. And they’ve declared that he’s “dentally advanced” because he has two of his permanent teeth as well as his 6-year molars (not terribly surprising, since he got his first tooth at 3 months – much to my chagrin). They say there’s no particular advantage or disadvantage to it, but that he may end up going to an orthodontist in about a year and a half. I need to check whether our benefits cover braces!