Lest We Forget

Posted on November 11, 2011 by Gwen

 

Victory Square Cenotaph

I always feel a sense of sorrow and gratitude on November 11th. I know that my great grandfather went to war when he didn’t have to so that less of Canada’s young men needed to go. My grandfather was in the Navy and so was Anthony’s dad.  My father was in the reserves, and there are so many more of our family that are either in the armed forces now or were. Aidan and Quinlan’s uncle Jimmy is in Afghanistan again. Remembrance Day is not just a tribute to those in our armed forces who fought in both the first and second world wars. Remembrance Day is so that we remember those sacrifices that men and women made in the past and are still making today. We remember those husbands and wives and families that are left behind when a soldier goes away to defend.

This is part of the reason that for the last few years I have brought Aidan and Quinlan to the War Memorial in downtown Vancouver. As much as I hate the thought of war, sometimes it is necessary. We need to remember those that have died and those that are still living. They need to see that they and their sacrifices are not forgotten and that the youngest of us will remember.

We Remember

Parading along Hastings

RCMP Marching

 

Posted in Aidan, Quinlan, Remembrance Day | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on Lest We Forget

Things That Are Making the Rounds in Our House

Posted on November 10, 2011 by Gwen

I promise this post is not in anyway about sickness or iPhones. In our house lately there are a few things that the boys say that make Anthony and I laugh out loud.

There are a lot of times that Anthony or I ask Quinlan questions. It could be “Why on earth did you not go to the toilet?” Or, “Why did you climb on the counter?” Lately he has an answer ” I don’t have a good answer for that.” Also on the subject of toilet training, Quinlan likes to hide behind things and yell “No peeking at me!” At this point we try very hard to get him to the toilet on time. Sigh.

Aidan had a girlfriend at the beginning of the school year. He told me about it very shyly and when I asked him what did having a girlfriend mean to him he answered “We are friends who do some secret stuff.” (I am paraphrasing at this point.) When I regained my breath I asked as calmly as I could what secret stuff he was doing with his girlfriend. “We hugged and kissed on the cheek.” The adorable tilt of his head and slight blush was both heartwarming and terrifying for me. Things cooled off pretty quickly and the discussion about not hugging and kissing at school seems to have sunk in. I am just glad that he wanted to tell me. He has a new girlfriend now who he has not hugged or kissed. The funniest part of all the discussions was Quinlan’s quip after hearing about Aidan’s girlfriend incident “I want to kiss a girl before I am old.” This was said very plaintively as if he was getting long in the tooth and might never kiss a girl at all.

Have you ever noticed that anytime a child says “It is not funny!” in that indignant tone, that even if you are trying to agree and not laugh, it really is at least a little bit funny.

What are the things that make you chuckle?

Posted in Aidan, My Boys, out of the mouthes of babes, Quinlan | Tagged , | Comments Off on Things That Are Making the Rounds in Our House

iPhone: Heal Thyself & Kids: Please Heal Thyselves

Posted on November 9, 2011 by Gwen

Last night was a night of insomnia for me. I guess it was all the listening to Aidan cough and waiting for one or both of the boys to run into the room ready to be sick. This morning we had already decided that we weren’t sending Aidan to school, but Anthony was going to try to go to work. I guess with all the non sleep and the sickness my iPhone decided to give me a break and for today it decided to work as long as it was connected to the computer. I was able to back it up. and Anthony synced all my apps and contacts. I hope it stays.

As for the kids, both boys are restless and I brought Aidan to the doctor. He is now on some puffers to help him get rid of the cough, and time will get rid of the stomach flu. I am so ready for all of us to be healthy again and in all of our activities and school.

Posted in Aidan | Comments Off on iPhone: Heal Thyself & Kids: Please Heal Thyselves

Red or Gold?

Posted on November 8, 2011 by Gwen

Every once in a while I look for dresses online. t is hard to find dresses that fit my bust here in Vancouver unless they are not very flattering. I found a dress on Igigi that I think is beautiful and will look nice with my rack, but it is a little expensive. I wish there was a place I could try it on and get a few opinions, but since I can’t I will give you a couple of pictures from the website and see which you guys like better. Maybe you can let me know if you think this is a style that would look good on me or not.

The Leigh dress in red.

The Leigh dress in gold.

I like them both, but I think I might like the red better. Now I just need to convince myself that $180 is ok for me to spend on a dress, especially if I need to get a new iPhone.

Posted in Gwen | Tagged , , | 7 Comments