Swimming Squirrel

My husband went to clean out the pool skimmer today when he noticed....A TAIL!!
Upon further inspection, we decided it was attached to a squirrel and the rest of the body was in the skimmer opening. As he went to push it out so I could scoop it up in the net....IT MOVED!!

The squirrel was still alive!!
The salvage operation became a rescue mission!

Using a bucket and a tennis racket I scooped up the soaking wet, shivering, little baby squirrel and put it by a tree in our back yard.
After a while it climbed the tree....
But then, it climbed back down to hide under the bush at the bottom.

Molly, our ferocious dog, BARKED at it; it climbed up the tree.
Molly, our ferocious dog, walked away; the squirrel climbed down....
Repeat countless times all evening.....

So, I have to ask...
?1 Why does it keep climbing down the tree to sit on the ground??
Climb squirrel! Be free!

?2 Where is it's MOTHER!!
Mother Squirrel! You disappoint me! Come help your baby!!

Stay tuned.....

SOOiPC Saturday

Straight out of the iphone Camera Saturday

Bliss!!

Why do dogs love sticking their heads out of the car window?

How can wind (and bugs) gusting in your face bring such doggone joy?

Cool part of this photo...it was taken of her reflection in the side mirror!

Enjoy your day!

May the wind blow in your face and bring you joy!!

-Careful you don't swallow a bug!! GACK!

SOOiPC Saturday

Straight out of the iphone Camera Saturday

(or in this case Sunday because the picture was taken Saturday night!)

Bonfires!!!

Nothing beats a backyard bonfire!

Well actually, a beach bonfire is better but you take what you can get.

Friends, fun, laughter and marshmallows!

Once everyone else is in bed there is nothing more relaxing that staring at the flames!

Rocks and Noses

I was lurking away in Blogland-(surprise!) and I came across a favourite blog on which the Blogger had posted photos of her son's baseball team.
Little boys in baseball uniforms are so cute!

All three of my boys played at one point.
And let me tell you, they were cute!
Problem is....the game -not so cute
To me, watching baseball was like watching paint dry!
OMG! Boring!

One of my sons agreed!
(No names are being mentioned to protect his dignity)
Picture this.....
We were nearing the end of a loooong game and my son was taking his turn in the outfield.
The ball never made it to the outfield, so what was a player to do??
The solution: Play with the gravel!
Well, not so much play with it, but stick pieces of it up his nose to see if he could blow them out.
Now that's a fun game!!

Turns out, one of the rocks was a tight fit.
As he jammed his finger up his nose to get it out, the rock went higher.
As the inning ended and he came off the field, that finger was digging for gold (or gravel)!

"Get your finger out of your nose! That's gross!"
"There's a rock stuck in my nose!"
"A WHAT??"
"There's a rock up there (pointing to his eyeball area) and I can't get it out!"
"A rock! How did a rock get up there??"
"I put it in."
"You what? Why?"
"To see if I could blow it back out!"

Sometimes we mothers just don't see the fun in anything!

Anyhow, a trip to the ER and his nose was rock free.
I won't go into details....let's just say my kid thought it was an adventure and I nearly passed out!
The rest of the season ended uneventfully and after a few more seasons he switched to football.
Thank goodness!
It's more exciting AND he looks cute in that uniform as well!
I'll let you know if he tries sticking a football up his nose!

Happy Mother's Day!

Happy Mother's Day to all!

To Old Moms, New Moms, Wise Moms, Moms who Muddle through....

It's a hard job.....

There is no manual!

There is no right way, wrong way, this way, that way.....

It's a hard job......

It's a great job!

Thanks Boys!

As I muddle through- thanks for allowing me to be the best Mom I can be!

I love being your Mom!

Happy Mother's Day to all!

SOOiPC Saturday

Straight out of Iphone Camera Saturday

Out in my backyard, in an area we call 'the forest', the garden grows wild.
A few years ago, I transplanted a Trillium from the forest up north which surrounded a cottage we rented to our forest in the city.
Every spring the Trillium grows in my garden, and every spring it multiplies.
It now has 6 flowers that bloom!
It reminds me of hot summer days and family time spent at the cottage.
A tiny blossom of hope in this cold wet spring that better days are coming.

Who knew?

Wednesday's Word of the Week

Yesterday, I was reading an email which stated:
(each family will) participate in fundraising on a discrete measurement basis.....

Now the word discrete didn't look right to me (I rely heavily on spellcheck!) and the note didn't make sense. We'd fundraise but not talk about it to others??

Quite a discussion ensued between my husband and I.
"Don't you know what discrete means?"
"I thought I did! Do you?"

Well it turns out that there is discrete and then there is discreet.
Who knew??
discreet means 'judicious, prudent, showing discernment,' while discrete means 'detached, separate' and 'individually distinct'

Learn something new everyday!
Thanks thesaurus.com!!

Butt Heads!

My Opinion Monday.

I don't smoke.
I've never been a smoker.
Smoking bothers me.....
The smell!
The smoke!
The butts!

In fact, I get down right irritated when the person ahead of me in a car, tosses their butt out of their car window.
It's littering!
It's dirty!
Butt heads!

Have you ever parked only to discover that someone has emptied their ash tray of butts in the parking spot!
It's gross!
It's dirty!
Butt heads!

My opinion: if you are dumb enough to smoke, keep your butts to yourself!
Butt heads!

Elmer Fudd!!

I was reading an article on my Sympatico homepage about misheard song lyrics and I was transported back to my first Bruce Springsteen concert in 1982.
Ahhh....Glory Days!

I wasn't familiar with Bruce or his music at the time but I was asked to go on a date with a really nice guy. So off I went!
The concert was at the old Exhibition Stadium in downtown Toronto.
It was rockin'!
The crowd started chanting for a favourite....
I'M ON FIRE! I'M ON FIRE!
Was it a good song? How should I know? I didn't know any of Bruce's stuff!
But I wanted to fit in and I wanted to look good in front of my date!

ELMER FUDD! ELMER FUDD! ELMER FUDD!
Bruce was obviously a Bugs Bunny fan, he even wrote songs about them!

ELMER FUDD! ELMER FUDD! ELMER FUDD!
I can yell really loud! I was impressing everyone around me! They were all looking at me as I chanted at the top of my voice! Especially my date!

ELMER FUDD! ELMER FUDD! ELMER FUDD!
Let's just say my new found love of Bruce Springsteen's music lasted longer than my date!
Misheard lyrics?? I'm a champion!

ELMER FUDD!

SOOiPC Saturday

My friend Lee, who I have mentioned before, does this cool Blog post on

Saturdays called SOOC Saturdays.

Straight out of Camera Saturday -and she posts one of her wonderful pictures.

Since I want to be creative like Lee when I grow up,

I am starting today SOOiPC Saturdays:

Straight out of iPhone Camera Saturdays.

Last Sunday, H and I went and cheered on our brave friend Mo in her first 10km race!

It was pouring rain and it was cold.

Mo ran! We cheered! I was inspired!

Thanks Mo for your inspiration of setting a goal and sticking to it!

GO MO!!

I Hate My Dog!!

Before you start to read this I just want to post a warning...
If you love your dog-close the blog window now.
If hating my dog offends you-close the blog window now.


Then again, if it is going to cause you to phone PETA or the SPCA or the local Humane Society to demand they remove my dog from my custody......
READ ON!! Let me know if they are coming so I can pack her food and toys!

So....I hate my dog!
It was a long day at work.
I needed to get home.
I opened the door and was greeted by the dog, as always.
(she sounds sweet....don't be fooled!)

Then, I walked into the kitchen.....
Seems the dog had opened the cupboard and attacked the garbage and the green bin.
The contents were all over the kitchen floor.
Some garbage was in the living room, some in the hallway.

I picked it all up, scraped it out of the cupboard and scrubbed the floor.

How many egg shells, bacon wrappers, pork wrappers, Chinese food remnants, tea bags, popcorn kernels, vegetable peels and God only know what else, can one dog stomach?
I did the house tour to see if she had barfed somewhere.....that is sure to come.

All the while the dog was in her crate.
Cowering under my cloud of hatred.

I hate my dog!

Feeling Bored?

Feeling bored?
Need some entertainment?
I found a great Internet adventure.

It all began when I was reading the description for this DVD:
Google Me
The basic story: "It all started when I Googled my name....."

So, I Googled my name (current and maiden surname).
I discovered a number of cool sites and interesting information.

Go ahead, try it!
You know you want to......

Don't Read It!!

I'm sorry!
I have a strong opinion that I just have to voice!

The ALA (American Library Association) has released it's
Most Frequently Challenged Books list, as well as the
100 Most Frequently Challenged Books of the Decade (2000 – 2009).

My opinion:
If you don't like it.....
DON"T READ IT!

A Blog I enjoy lurking, Rolling Around In My Head
has had people write in the comment section criticizing him for some of his postings.

My opinion:
If you don't like it....
DON"T READ IT!

Freedom of Voice!
Freedom of Expression!
Freedom to Write!
Freedom to put down a book!
Freedom to close a blog window!

If you don't like it....
DON"T READ IT!

Common sense people!!!

Oh! How I giggled!

I took two of my boys to the Dr.'s today for their Twinrix #2 shot.
We waited and waited and waited.......
The Dr. was obviously behind schedule.
Another kid was called in before us.

Then we heard it:
The screaming!
The yelling!
The begging!
The pleading!
The SCREAMING!!!

Obviously, she was torturing the poor kid.
How did I react??
I giggled uncontrollably!

A screaming child is so much funnier when it isn't yours!

My boys sat passively through their shots.
They didn't entertain any mothers in the waiting room.
They were mad because they didn't get a sucker.
The 'Screamer' walked out with a sucker.....

The lesson??
Screamers get suckers.
I can tell my boys are gearing up their vocal cords for shot #3.
I can hardly wait!

Rebuttal and a Moral Dilemma

Well, it's seems I have a rebuttal.
Not a comment, a rebuttal -an out and out dispute!
My dear MAC friend commented on my post yesterday:

..."cleverly turned on the microphone app. on my iPhone" ...?
Really J – you are no 007.
Perhaps it was the wine – three glasses of it – that distorted your perspective and diminished your slight of hand. Yup, that must be it.

First of all, lets clear a few things up.
2 glasses not 3.
I can't drive on 3...just stating a fact for all you 'coppers' out there!

Secondly, I wasn't being stealthy.
I admit it.
I took out the phone, turned on the microphone and said something to the effect of:
"Don't talk about me behind my back. I'm taping you!!"
Then I put it in full view on the table and dashed to the washroom.

Never in my sweetness and innocence did I imagine that they would tamper with my Facebook!
Hold on........!
Sweetness; innocence; thinking that my friends were trustworthy.....
She's right, it must have been the TWO glasses of wine.
My judgement was distorted.

However!
At the end of the evening I was very stealth-like (just like 007) when I discovered a huge error on the bill, slipped it across the table (very indiscreetly) and exclaimed in a stealthy whisper,
"She didn't charge us for everything!"

So this is where the moral dilemma comes in....
What do you do?
Do you pay the under-charged bill and run? Do you tell the waitress?

How about at a cashier?
If they give you too much change do you run with it? Or tell them?

At a bank machine....if you arrive at a machine only to find money sitting in the slot do you take it? Do you return it to the bank?

Someone drops money as they walk by you, do you pick it up and pocket it?
Do you return it to them.

Money! The root of all evil!

Bet you want to know what we did, don't you??

Lesson Learned

Tonight I had a GNO...
(Girl's Night Out).
I went out with the Mac Girls...
(my gang from McMaster).
We were having a blast.... as always.

I was desperate to use the washroom but I didn't want to miss out on the conversation.
Plus, as with all best friends, I didn't trust that they wouldn't talk about me behind my back!
What???...it's what great friends do!!
So, I cleverly turned on the Microphone App. on my iPhone, left it on the table and went off to pee.
Big mistake!
They changed my Facebook status.....
What can I say, it's what great friends do!!
Biotches!!

We're 45 turning 19 again!
I hope we never grow up!
Life is more fun when you have a gang to laugh with....
Just wish I still had the bladder control of a 19 year old.

Gas in the Car!

My Life.
(Sung to the tune of Silent Night.)

In the van,
In the back are the boys,
Focused on their electronic toys.
A sudden blast explodes in the air,
Horrible gas causes nostrils to flare,
Open the windows quick!
I'm feeling rather sick.

The air is green,
The smell is obscene,
The boys are laughing hysterically,
Competition is ripe in the air,
Another fart explodes back there.
Why oh why did I have boys?
Why did I have stinky boys?

Hobbits!

I gave birth to Hobbits!

No, they aren't hairy with big feet.
Then again....they are hairy and they do have big feet.
They just aren't as hairy and as big footed as Hobbits.

The clue that gives them away is their desire for food.
We were out the other night at a wonderful event when Hobbit #1 asked if we were stopping on the way home for dinner.
"We had dinner already," I answered.
Hobbit #2 piped up, "Not that dinner....Dinner #2."

Dinner #1? Dinner #2? Nighttime snack? Bedtime snack? I'm hungry in bed -I need another snack-Snack?
Hobbits I say!
I have no idea where they put it.
I just know that I am running out of the inspiration to create it.

"Kitchen's closed - the cook is tired - make it yourself!"I yell.
And they do.....
Hour by hour until they finally sleep.
Hobbits I say!

Jealous

I'm jealous.....of my purse.


It gets more compliments than I do!
"Great purse"
"Love the bag!"
"I want that purse"

What about me?!
Notice me!
Don't I look great?!
Don't ya just love me?!

My husband bought me the purse for Christmas.
I think he thought it would help him 'get something' in return.
I don't think so.....
He can sleep on the couch WITH the purse!


I had a feeling that other women may be feeling the same way about their purses.
So I went out of my way to focus on the person and ignore the purse.
"You look FANTASTIC! The purse is okay."
"You're GREAT! The purse is so-so"
"Love YOU! The purse is nice"


I have a few restraining orders now, but I think I made my point!

I am woman hear me Roar!
I'd like to see my purse try that!

I Digress...

Now that we're on the topic on boogeys...

Let's talk about the Boogeyman.
The who??
You know, the scary man that lived in your closet as a kid and made your nights a living hell.
As long as you stayed in bed and the closet door was shut, you were safe.
If the door was left open even a crack......
AHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!
If you had to get out of bed for any reason...
AHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!

The Boogeyman of my night terrors was made up entirely of....you guessed it -boogies!
Rolled and stacked one on top of another, he resembled a stick man made out of little circles.
I was a disturbed young child!
I can't tell you when I stopped fearing the Boogeyman, I can tell you that he made a lasting impression on me.
To this day I still can't sleep in a room if the cupboard door is open!

As a young adult about to be married, I was visited by another nighttime terror.
I would wake up in the middle of the night and standing at the end of my bed was a man in a black trench coat and a fedora type hat pulled low over his eyes!
AHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!
I would wake up screaming the apartment down.
We're luck no one ever called the cops.
My husband-to-be called him "The Commitment Man".
He terrified me for months!

These days, I only dream of Scary-Burglar-Type-Men in the house if I've had too much to drink or if I've taken some cold/flu medicine.
I've waken up in terror as he sneaks up to the side of my bed to slit my throat while I sleep.
AHHHHH!!!!!!!
I really have to lay off the wine!

So, there you have it.
My scary men in my bedroom at night post.
Aren't you proud?? I didn't mention my husband once!!
BWAHAHAHAHA!!!!!

Sorry, I couldn't resist!