Hallowe'en

I love Halloween. Not for the actual holiday itself, though I certainly enjoy it. No, what I love about Halloween is the next day. November 1st. The official kick off to Christmas. As soon as the last kid left my driveway tonight, I started putting up Christmas decorations. For the most part, I use snowmen until the middle of November and then start adding the actual Christmas decorations. In a place like Edmonton you could potentially have snow decorations up for 5 or 6 months. Even I get tired of them eventually and they usually come down at the beginning of March to be replaced by the St. Patrick's decorations. And on and on the cycle goes.

Anyway...back to Halloween. The two little ones were absolutely adorable, I will download the pictures tomorrow. I did their portraits in their costumes as well and will post them when they arrive next week. Sophie was a bat and Saoirse a monkey. We really lucked out with that choice, because she has become obsessed with Curious George. Tonight as William was taking her to bed she was crying for her costume "Monkey, monkey." It was very cute.

We went to Taylor's school parade. It took almost an hour, as the school has recently exploded in population. We are definitely feeling the effects of Alberta's booming economy. Need a job? Come here, just don't expect to find a place to live. At the very end, the principal invites all the younger siblings to parade around the gym. Taylor carried Sophie and her friend Ashley took Saoirse. Everyone loved the girls in their outfits.

William took Saoirse around our neighbourhood. She got a lot of stuff, but chose to eat the Halloween candy we were handing out. He then took Liam and his friends Josh and Tyler out for a few hours. Taylor went out on her own this year, for the first time. She went with her friends Connor, Theodore and Ryan (who she has had a crush on since Grade 3!) I was a bit worried about her being the only girl and being left behind, but she had a great time. Initially Ashley was also supposed to go but her mum changed her mind. She was out for over 2 hours and came home with 2 pillowcases full of candy.

Which leads me to a big problem. The candy...god, the candy. I have been going so great, I've lost more weight than what I gained with Sophie but between now and Christmas I am really going to struggle with not eating junkfood. Although I hate the fact that all my jeans are falling off me, I don't actually want them to fit properly ever again. I look forward to going out and buying new jeans, I don't want them to be too tight by January. Damn that candy tempting me. Bad candy! Bad!

The first snowfall

Today we had our first proper snowfall, not like the one a couple of weeks ago where it melted pretty quickly. This snow looks pretty hardy, like it might actually be here for the duration.

Fuck.

Saoirse, however, does not express this sentiment in regards to snow. Upstairs this morning, after me not understanding her telling me that those bastards Liverpool were kicking the shite out of my beloved Villa, she went to the window, pointed up towards it and says "Snow, snow!!"

Yea. Snow. Happy Days.

Saoirse missed snow last year due to the combined brown Christmas and her visit to Australia. It was sort of a shame because we had gotten her a funky wee baby sled for Christmas that she could not even use. She might get a month or two out of it now, if this snow sticks around and there's no sudden growth spurt.

She went outside pretty quickly this morning. William threw her smowpants and jacket on over her pajamas and off she went. Well, after she fell a few times in the livingroom. She was a bit like the Pillsbury Doughboy in her new gear. Liam took her outside and, to her great delight, threw snowballs at the livingroom window and then at Taylor who was watching out her bedroom window. He even managed to hit William in the ass, to the general amusement of us all.

In the afternoon, Taylor took Saoirse over to the hill down the road to try out the sled. She had a fantastic time, and in this new house I am able to see them from the patio window. Which works pretty well, really.

Oh, the humiliation

Sometimes in life you get what you deserve. And I suppose I deserved to have a not quite 2 year old Saoirse come up and tell me that Liverpool was beating Aston Villa. Not that she said that of course. What I heard was "Liva, Liva" and I just assumed she was saying "Liam, Liam." I suppose I also deserved to have Liam laughing at me when I came downstairs to see a score of 3-0. I deserve this because all week long I have been overly confident that Aston Villa would win, or at least draw. The only team not to lose a game yet, why should they break a streak against William's team.

It's a good thing that I use Sophie as my own personal alarm clock and that she didn't bother to go off this morning until after 9. It meant I missed the entire first half where, as Wiliam was so kind to inform me, "Liverpool played as though Aston Villa wasn't even there." I did have a brief spark of hope when a goal was scored just after I started watching but the hope ended pretty quickly.

Because Villa...they sorta kinda sucked.

At least some bloggers were pleased today.

Confirmation that Catholics are somewhat insane

I know that title is going to piss people off and that's not what I'm out to do. Well maybe a little, because no one has ever really gotten mad at me on here. Oh, except for the INXS concert fiasco. I'm Catholic myself so I feel I am justified in saying that some of the more faithful amongst us are not just somewhat insane but fucking CRAZY.

On Monday night I went with my friends Nancy and Michelle to a confirmation class at our church. Our kids are in Grade 6 and are preparing for this sacrament. Except that we, as parents, have to go to two 2 hour classes before they even get started. My parents never went through this particular torture. And torture it was.

There are two sentences that led me to this belief of insanity. The first was that when our speaker said she was confirmed at the age of 6 and thought to herself "Now I am a soldier of Christ." Imagine thinking that age of six! Granted she's from Scotland, a child of Irish parents, and is about 65 or so. Perhaps the fact that I was raised by one lapsed Catholic and an anti Catholic Protestant made me much too lax in my Catholicism. Perhaps if my entire family had attended church every single Sunday of my life rather than the odd Sunday, Easter and Christmas (Eve, not Day...are you bloody mad? Imagine giving up an hour of Christmas Day to go to Church!) I would be more aware of my role as a soldier for Christ.

The second phrase actually frightened me. She said that people should be able to look at us and just know that we are Christians, that they should be able to pick us out of a crowd and know that we are witnesses for God. Frankly, I think it is this very attitude that starts wars. Why should I be any different than the Jewish (insert any other religion if you so choose) person standing next to me? Isn't every religious person a witness for their particular God? Where does any one of us get off saying that our religion is better, or that we are the "chosen" religion and so therefore the only witnesses? That comment bothered me on Monday and it still bothers me 3 days later (even if it says Wednesday at the tope there...it's taken me 2 days to write this and I almost deleted the whole post but I thought fuck it.)

I have had issues with my religion since I was eight and had to go through Reconciliation. I have always been extremely shy and as a kid was somewhat (well, alot) terrified of men. So to have to sit alone in a little room with some old man in a black outfit was slightly more than terrifying. I question why we do Reconciliation so young, after all what sins can an 8 year old have committed? Apparently my list should have been very long, because there was no pleasing this man. It got so that I lied just so that I could get out of there. I recall saying that I didn't wash the dishes and that I called my mother a swear word. I never had to wash the dishes so I'm not sure where the sin was and at 8 I had yet to utter a swear word. I don't think I had ever heard one at that point. Well, I'm sure I had from older kids but they would have went right over my head. I must point out that this priest was not my parish priest, at the time all sacraments were celebrated together as a class not individually like they are now. I loved, loved, loved my parish priest, Father Lou, he was fantastic.

Anyway, I have never been back to confession and if I were to go now I am sure the priest and I could spend a week discussing the sins I have committed since the age of 8. There are many, a few broken commandments and all. Because I had what I perceived to be a terrible experience I didn't want Taylor to do Reconciliation but of course you can't be confirmed without it. She does it the week before her Confirmation. She also has to attend a 6 hour retreat with her sponsor. Her sponsor is her godmother and as she is expecting her first child in May I doubt she will want to sit in a church for 6 hours at 9 months pregnant so chances are I will be going to that as well.

Sigh. The things we do for our children. I don't have to do it for Liam though, he's refused to do any of the sacraments. He says "I am only half Catholic." He's an odd one, that boy. William seems to think it is enough that Saoirse is baptized, he doesn't think she needs to do anything else and that she can choose when she is old enough. And poor Sophie, it appears that she is destined to be nothing for so far William has not budged on the baptism issue.

So while I certainly have issues and I most definitely disagree with alot of the things the Church stands for, it was very important to me that my kids be baptized. I don't know why. I can only explain it by saying that if something were to happen to one of them, I would like them to have something that they believe in that might be able to help them get through whatever situation they are in.

Another stolen meme

Why do I love these things so much? I don't know, but they make me all tingly inside.

48 Things You Could Care Less About

1. FIRST NAME? Emma
2. WERE YOU NAMED AFTER ANYONE? My dad's aunt who lived in Belfast. I mentioned before that she was the only member of his family that my mum liked. It was a toss up between Emma and Fiona.
3. WHEN DID YOU LAST CRY? Yesterday maybe.
4. DO YOU LIKE YOUR HANDWRITING? I prefer my printing.
5. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE LUNCHMEAT? Roasted chicken from the Safeway deli.
6. IF YOU WERE ANOTHER PERSON WOULD YOU BE FRIENDS WITH YOU? I'd find me awfully quiet, but yes.
7. DO YOU HAVE A JOURNAL? You're reading it.
8. DO YOU STILL HAVE YOUR TONSILS? Yes.
9. WOULD YOU BUNGEE JUMP? No, because they weigh you first.
10. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE CEREAL? I'm a porridge sort of girl, but I kind of fancy French Toast Crunch. Not that I've seen it in about a year.
11. DO YOU UNTIE YOUR SHOES WHEN YOU TAKE THEM OFF? No, because then I would be required to do them up again. These days I am mostly wearing crocs, ugly yet comfy and require zero effort to throw on when you have 2 babies, a diaper bag, a purse and a garbage bag to get out the house.
12. DO YOU THINK YOU ARE STRONG? When I have to be.
13. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE ICE CREAM FLAVOR? Pralines and cream.
14.SHOE SIZE? 8
5. RED OR PINK? I could take or leave either one.
16. WHAT IS THE LEAST FAVORITE THING ABOUT YOURSELF? My grumpy disposition.
17. WHO DO YOU MISS THE MOST? Oh, that's a hard one.
18. DO YOU WANT EVERYONE TO SEND THIS BACK TO YOU? This must have started out as an email. But definitely tell me if you do it.
19. WHAT COLOR PANTS, SHIRT AND SHOES ARE YOU WEARING? Blue jeans, brown, no shoes at moment. I'm more Canadian than British in that aspect.
20. LAST THING YOU ATE? some BBQ flavoured bits and bites.
21. WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW? I'm watching Six Degrees.
22. IF YOU WERE A CRAYON, WHAT COLOR WOULD YOU BE? uuuuuummmmmm...Perfect Plum. It's a stampin' up marker, not a crayon.
23. FAVORITE SMELL? The same as the last time I answered this question...the smell of Saoirse and Sophie's hair after a bath with Gerbers Oatmeal Wash. This might change with Christmas coming.
24. WHO WAS THE LAST PERSON YOU TALKED TO ON THE PHONE? My friend Jen. Or was it Candy? No, no, it was me mammy. I had to check my phone for that one. I called to ask her to get the Fisher Price Little People house for Saoirse's birthday. It's on sale.
25. THE FIRST THING YOU NOTICE ABOUT PEOPLE YOU ARE ATTRACTED TO? Eyes, bum, and yes, I totally admit to checking out the package. Not that it matters.
26. DO YOU LIKE THE PERSON you stole THIS from? I don't know her but through her blog.
27. FAVORITE DRINK? Tea.
28. FAVORITE SPORT? Soccer or hockey.
29. EYE COLOR? Blue.
30. HAT SIZE? Huh? Hats? I don't wear hats. Unless it's -40 or something.
31. DO YOU WEAR CONTACTS? No, but I should wear glasses.
32. FAVORITE FOOD? I'm going through a Greek phrase at the moment.
33. SCARY MOVIES OR HAPPY ENDINGS? Happy Endings.
35. SUMMER OR WINTER? Winter. Unless it actually is winter.
36. HUGS OR KISSES? Both. Given by the right people of course.
37. FAVORITE DESSERT? Some sort of cheesecake. Though Moxie's does a great white chocolate brownie.
38. WHO IS MOST LIKELY TO RESPOND? Yes, this started life as an email.
39. LEAST LIKELY TO RESPOND? Definitely an email.
40. WHAT BOOKS ARE YOU READING? Some Jill Mansell one and an anthology by female Irish authors on divorce called If Only.
41. WHAT'S ON YOUR MOUSE Pad? The Tasmanian Devil.
42. WHAT DID YOU WATCH LAST NIGHT ON TV? How I Met Your Mother. I so love that show. Why do I never name Neil Patrick Harris as the celebrity I would sleep with when I do these things? Other than that, Wednesdays are crap. Justice was supposed to be on but wasn't.
43. FAVORITE SOUNDS? Saoirse laughing, Sophie cooing and that sighing sound she makes while sleeping.
44. ROLLING STONE OR BEATLES? Beatles
45. THE FURTHEST YOU'VE BEEN FROM HOME? Canary Islands, I think. I'm no good with distances.
46. WHAT'S YOUR SPECIAL TALENT? I haven't developed any special talents in the last few months so it's still my ability to orgasm without being touched. TMI? Sorry, but it is my blog.
47. WHERE WERE YOU BORN? Sutton Coldfield, England. Birmingham, just in case you think I was born in the arse end of nowhere.
48. WHO SENT THIS TO YOU? I stole it from Lost Somewhere in Antrim. But at least I told her.

I totally forgot to say...

...that on Monday Sophie rolled on to her tummy.

Has she done it again?

Absolutely not.

Oh, and Saoirse did not pee from 10am until 5pm. She then peed in her booster seat. She will go and sit on the potty, not use it, use a wipe, flush it, then climb on the toilet to wash her hands. I have told her she is no longer allowed to wash her hands unless she pees. Who knew hand washing could be used as a bribe? When she had a nappy put on at 7, she peed through it in about 5 minutes and leaked on to Taylor's jeans. That was a whole lot of holding that girl did.

This is so totally a mum post. Sorry to any of the fellas that read this (a grand total of four, I believe!)

The coming of winter

In honour (??) of the first snowfall this year, Sophie wore this shirt. Just so you know, last year we had no snow until March. They say this is going to be a mild winter but I don't believe a word of it. It's freezing.



Sophie shows the blogging world just what her mummy thinks of having 6 months of snow and cold.

Taylor's school photos

What exactly is blogger's problem, do you think? I tried to upload 5 pictures but it wouldn't let me. I tried one and it was fine. I guess I'll have to do seperate posts. Bugger.

Anyways, this is the proof for Taylor's school photos. She absolutely hates them, doesn't like to show her teeth in pictures and doesn't like how her hair looks. 'Huh?', says I, 'it looks brushed. What's wrong with that?' Her hair was cut and streaked the day before these photos, and chance is a fine thing if she thinks she's getting another $75 spent on her hair for retakes. I don't even spend that on my own hair. And, yes, I know that's pretty cheap...no need to tell me.

Visiting the sea lions

Yesterday after Taylor finished school we went over to the mall as it was customer appreciation day and all the attractions were free. Our plan was to go to Galaxyland, but we ran into Liam with his friend Josh and Josh's mum and apparently it was extremely busy, full of teenagers jumping the line and generally being teens. (In a little under a year and a half I will be the mother of one of THEM and I am sort of dreading it. Even though the majority of the ones I know are very nice.) They were going to go play miniature golf instead and I said that I would take the girls to the sea lions instead.

It's a half hour show, called Treasure of the Mall or something like that and is complete with cheesy acting, 2 sea lions and a penguin. It was cute, if not a tad boring and a little long for an antsy almost 2 year old. Taylor was picked to throw rings at one of the sea lions and she did a pretty good job. At the end you could have your picture taken and I was sure Saoirse, who loves the sea lions, would be great. I was so wrong. Taylor was holding her and when it jumped up it splashed and she immediately started crying and buried her head on Taylor. Ah well.



Note that I still can not get Taylor to brush her hais properly and I DID NOT buy her that hideous shirt. My friend did. Those Mary Kate and Ashley clothes are some ugly.

One reason why I adore Saoirse

We were coming home from the health clinic, Saoirse had decided to walk rather than ride in the pram with Sophie. She hopped in puddles, was stopped by some woman who said she was beautiful (she was looking pretty cute in her new jacket and hat) and then decided she would try and unzip my purse which was hanging off the stroller.

ME: "What are you doing Saoirse?"
S: "Opening purse."
Me: "What do you need from my purse?"
S: "Money."

Proof that this child belongs to me. She loves money and shoes, just like her mummy.

1. You can press a button that will make any one person explode. Who would you blow up? Wayne Rooney. While in the midst of a Manchester United/ Chelsea games in the hopes that a few more players might go along with him.

2. You can flip a switch that will wipe any band or musical artist out of existence. Which one will it be? Can I not get rid of a whole genre? I would totally get rid of rap.

3. Who would you really like to just punch in the face? Again, Wayne Rooney. Closer to home, it would be Alberta Conservative leader hopeful Mark Norris who goes to my church and is just so slimey.

4. What is your favorite cheese? Havarti, with jalapenos. Yum.

5. You can only have one kind of sandwich. Every sandwich ingredient known to humankind is at your immediate disposal. What kind will you make? Roasted chicken on a roasted garlic sub with havarti, red onions, fresh mushrooms, red pepper, banana peppers, extra jalapenos, mustard and mayo.

6. You have the opportunity to sleep with the movie celebrity of your choice. We are talking no-strings-attached sex and it can only happen once. Who is the lucky celebrity of your choice? Hmmmm....I'm not a huge movie star person but I'll say Liam Neeson, just so if I can see if his penis is really as huge as they say it is. However, I would be slightly uncomfortable sleeping with someonewho had the same name as my son. Which is why I should be grateful that William is from the wrong side of Belfast and couldn't have his name shortened to Liam.

7. You have the opportunity to sleep with the music-celebrity of your choice. Who do you pick? I still have a bit of a thing for James Blunt, who's concert I am sadly not going to on November 2. He would have to keep his mouth shut though as I would not be at all aroused if I had to listen to that upper class British accent.

8. Now that you've slept with two different people in a row, you seem to be having an excellent day because you just came across a hundred-dollar bill on the sidewalk. Holy shit, a hundred bucks! How are you gonna spend it? A hundred? Who's the poor bastard who thought up this question? I guess I'd get a paper trimmer from Staples for $40 and then buy books with the rest. A hardcover perhaps instead of waiting for the paperback.

9. You just got a free plane ticket to anywhere. You have to depart right now. Where are you gonna go? Ireland, of course.

10. Upon arrival to the aforementioned location, you get off the plane and discover another hundred-dollar bill. Shit! Now that you are in the new location, what are you gonna do? A hundred dollars in Ireland isn't going to get me very far. I sure hope I brought some of my own money and a few credit cards. I guess I'd get William a Glentoran shirt, which means I better be up north.

11. An angel appears out of Heaven and offers you a lifetime supply of the alcoholic beverage of your choice. It is...? I don't drink enough to appreciate this question. Tequila, if I had to pick one but I sure hope she's coughing up for the mix too.

12. Rufus appears out of nowhere with a time-traveling phone booth. You can go anytime in the PAST. What time are you traveling to and what are you going to do when you get there? I once posted that if I could pick any time period to live in it would be Ireland during the Easter Rising - Civil War period or England during WWII. I'll stick with those. What would I do? Avoid getting killed I suppose. I just want to observe.

13. You discover a beautiful island upon which you may build your own society. You make the rules. What is the first rule you put into place? No rules, I'm easygoing.

14. You have been given the opportunity to create the half-hour TV show of your own design. What is it called and what's the premise? I am going to alienate at least half of the world's population by having a scrapbooking show, specifically designed for morons like me who enjoy step by step instructions.

15. What is your favorite curse word? For me to use it would be fuck or any variant of that word...feck, focker, etc... Secretly, I love the word cunt. Not when used to describe a part of the female anatomy, but when used in anger and said with an Irish accent. Example: That fuckin' cunt Rooney, ya wee cunt Giggs. Insert Man U player of choice.

16. One night you wake up because you heard a noise. You turn on the light to find that you are surrounded by MUMMIES. The mummies aren't really doing anything, they're just standing around your bed. What do you do? Ummm... totally freak out. Much like I did when I was 6 and saw the ghost of Old Mother Hubbard at the end of my bed.

17. Your house is on fire, holy shit! You have just enough time to run in there and grab ONE inanimate object. Don't worry, your loved ones and pets have already made it out safely.So what's the item? Photos.

18. The Angel of Death has descended upon you. Fortunately, the Angel of Death is pretty cool and in a good mood, and it offers you a half-hour to do whatever you want before you bite it. Whatcha gonna do in that half-hour? Tell my kids I love them and that I'm sorry I was such a shite mum. I was going to say have sex, but I wouldn't like to think that the Angel of Death was watching and maybe snickering.

19. You accidentally eat some radioactive vegetables. They were good, and what's even cooler is that they endow you with the super-power of your choice! What's it gonna be? The chances of me eating vegetables is slim to none, but I'd say the ability to be invisible so that I could hear all sorts of conversations I shouldn't.

20. You can re-live any point of time in your life. The time-span can only be a half-hour, though. What half-hour of your past would you like to experience again? When I lost my virginity I suppose. I wouldn have stopped it before it went all the way.

21. You can erase any horrible experience from your past. What will it be? (the answer "nothing" doesn't count)

22. You got kicked out of the country for being a time-traveling heathen who sleeps with celebrities and has super-powers. But check out this cool shit... you can move to anywhere else in the world! Bitchin'! What country are you going to live in now? Haha at bitchin'. I wonder how old the writer of this meme is. I must have done some massive damage with my invisibility powers to actually get kicked out of Canada so I guess I'd go south and create havoc for the Bush administration. Take away his papers mid speech or something so we can see him in full eejit mode.

23. This question still counts, even for those of you who are under age. Check it out. You have been eternally banned from every single bar in the world except for ONE. Which one is it gonna be? You can ban me from the all, remember my unlimited supply of tequila. Emma = cheap drunk.

24. Hopefully you didn't mention this in the super-powers question.... If you did, then we'll just expand on that. Check it out... Suddenly, you have gained the ability to FLOAT!!! Whose house are you going to float to first, and be like "Dude, check it out... I can FLOAT!"? I can not think of a single person that I would call dude so I guess no one. Unless I could also go back in time to my highschool days and then I might have called someone dude. Perhaps my old penpal Justin. That would mean floating to London, and I'm not entirely convinced about my floating stamina. Would I fall into the Atlantic Ocean?

25. The constant absorption of magical moonbeams mixed with the radioactive vegetables you consumed earlier has given you the ability to resurrect the dead famous-person of your choice. So which celebrity will you bring back to life? Does it have to be a celebrity? River Phoenix if so and only if I can sleep with him rather than Liam Neeson. Michael Collins, if not.

26. The Celestial Gates of Beyond have opened, much to your surprise because you didn't think such a thing existed. Death appears. As it turns out, Death is actually a pretty cool entity, and happens to be in a fantastic mood. Death offers to return the friend/family-member/person, etc. of your choice to the living world. Who will you bring back? I wouldn't bring back a family member, I believe they are in a better place now since they were sick when they died.

27. What's your theme song? "Not Ready to Make Nice" by the Dixie Chicks because of this verse:
Forgive, sounds good
Forget, I’m not sure I could
They say time heals everything
But I’m still waiting


I borrowed this from Eric and I had such fun with it I won't give it back. I successfully wasted an entire morning.

Sophie at 2 months

Well, I was going to post pictures but blogger's a wee bit of a fucker. Sophie is finally, finally, not requiring to be constantly held. I actually get an hour or two where she will sit in her chair and let me do something exciting like clean the oven and stove burners. Even right now she is just lying on the couch, she should be well asleep, but at least she's content. She could start screaming at any minute of course.

The baby acne has cleared up and she is cute again. I don't care what anyone says, no baby looks cute with a face full of zits. There are hardly any pictures of her over the last month. And I will regret that if I ever get around to scrapbooking. Or perhaps developing some pictures.

Ha! I knew she'd start screaming. I may finish this post tomorrow and I may even get some pics uploaded.

Post # 300

Holy crap..who woulda thunk it? 300. Blogland reminds me an awful lot of high school. And much like in high school, there is an shitload of stuff going on in my head which is feeling mighty fucked up.

In those days I would skip. Now, I'm just wandering away for awhile. I'll still be lurking though I'm sure.

Some questions and I

I'm continuing my journey of theft throughout the blogosphere, and this comes courtesy of Susan. She left out some of the questions and, frankly, I cannae blame her. If you want the whole kit and caboodle should you choose to do this, take a wander over to Willowtree. Or go just because he's Australian. Like William.



1. What does your headline mean?
It refers to a title I occassionally deserve. When (read if) I ever go over to beta, I may even have a category dedicated to my sometimes less than stellar parenting skills. I will definitely have one in rehards to mt oft naught children. I feel everyone should enjoy the milk slip n slide story.

2. Elaborate on your default photo:
Putting in a photo would require effort.

3. What's your middle name[s]?:
Jayne

6. What is your current problem?
Christmas is matter of weeks away and I am not done shopping.

9. Are you musically talented?
Not a chance.

10. I you could go back in time and change one thing, what would you change?
I would have paid attention in high school.

13. Can you dance?
I can barely even do the Cadillac Ranch.

14. What's the name of the song that's stuck in your head right now?
With a Little Help From My Friends... I just watched the Wonder Years.

16. Name someone with the same b-day as you.
Beethoven, Margaret Mead. There must be one or two living people also.December 16 anyone?

17. Have you ever destroyed someone's property?
When I was 6 my friend Paul and I broke his neighbour's basement window with a baseball. I got in a ton of trouble and have been careful ever since.

18. Have you ever been in a fight?
Verbal? yes. Fist? no.

19. Have you ever sang in front of a big audience?
Not a freakin chance.

21. What do you usually order from Starbucks?
A large cup of awake, one teabag, leave plenty of room for cream. I never say grande or venti, we're in Canada ffs. And it's an American company.

24. Has anyone ever said you looked like a celebrity?
You'll laugh if you've seen my pic but Drew Barrymore. Except I'd be the much larger version.

25. Do you still watch kiddy movies or TV shows?
Yes. I've watched Curious George twice in the last 24 hours.

27. Are you comfortable with your height?
No. I was I was taller. And thinner while we're at it.

28. Do you consider yourself adventurous?
I used to be.

29. Do you speak any other languages?
I can follow a simple conversation in French, and I can say a handful of phrases in Irish and German. I could not carry on a conversation in any.

30. Whats your favorite smell?
Saoirse and Sophie's hair after it has been washed with Gerber Oatmeal wash. Lovely.

Gifts from abroad

When I was a kid the best thing about people coming to visit wasseeing what they brought my brother and I for gifts. My nan was the best... she knew we would be dying to see what had been sent over so her suitcase would be opened up on the livingroom floor as soon as she arrived even though my mum would be saying to leave it until later. I still have the Zapf doll she brought when I was 7. He had an idetification bracelet on his wrist and my mum wrote the name I had chosen, Matthew, and my Nan's arrival date was his birthday- July 27, 1980. Along with half the lashes in one eye and his clothes that bracelet is long gone, but the doll himself has been well loved.

Always, always in my nan's suitcases, or my aunts', would be sweets and chocolate. I am sure I have said before that English chocolate is a thousand times better than ours. But the best thing of all are my beloved Rowntrees Fruit Pastilles. Yummy.

We went to see my mum yesterday. Although I have outgrown my absolute desire to have my gifts NOW my son has not. And knowing there were bars of chocolate awaiting him was pure torture. And it was torture for me to listen to him from Friday afternoon on asking when we were going to go see Nanny.

For Liam there were 6 Boost bars, and an electronic dragon to build from my aunt and uncle. My mum also got him a Liverpool shirt, but decided to save it for Christmas. Taylor received 2 large bags of maltesers, a much nicer version of our Whoppers and a couple of Jacqueline Wilson books. If you have a daughter of the 9-14 age group I highly recommend her. I've read a few myself, they are fantastic. William got 6 Yorkie bars and a huge Whole Nut Dairy Milk. I got 2 tubes of fruit pastilles and 2 of berry pastilles. Since strawberry and blackcurrant are my two favourite flavours I no longer even need the fruit pastilles anymore, I can just have berry forever more. For Saoirse there was a pack of chocolate buttons, which made her day.

My grandfather also sent two copies of Wet Wet Wet CDs that had been in the paper. He remembered that I had loved them the summer I was 13 and so saved them for me. This, the same man we are afraid to tell about Sophie. Still, I can't beleive he remembered.

My mum also brought back the scrapbook I had made for my nan the summer before she passed away. It has pictures of the 6 great grandchildren she had at that time, there have been two since. I wanted to add Sophie and Jacob, but since my grandad still does not know of Sophie's existence there is really no one to give it back to.

Back in December, I posted about my grandmother's death and something else sent over for me was a copy of the program for her service. Included in this was something my brother had written and I am going to post it here, because it speaks so well as to what sort of person my nan was (and my brother apparently, who is so much better with words than I am.)

This is what my uncle read:

Tribute From Distant Family
There are those who cannot be here today. Some prevented by ill-health, like Rene's brother Ken and his wife Audrey...
and others farther afield...

For them...
These are words from Irene's grandson, Thom, in Canada, but they express so well the sentiments felt by all those who are far away...

"My Nan was a woman who had a great joy for life.
A woman whose heart held a love unbounded.

At times I have felt that the distance between us has been like a chasm.

Regret for the moments that we could have shared seeps in, yet then, another part of me speaks and I recognize this regret as false, for my Nan will always rest within my heart.

And, although her last breath has passed her lips, her love still moves through me, as it moves through her whole family.

So clear this is to me when I think of the youngest of her family:

Children filled with joy and wonder.

Children born of love.

And how fortunate we are that the love with shared with her is a love we will share forever."