Another Rite

We've been having the best summer weather to date. Sunny. Warm. Verging on (too) hot.

It's just like you imagine the summer to be: long days, late nights, trips to the farmer's market, BBQ'ed food, swimming pools and sunkissed kids.

However amongst all this frivolity, Nate, at four, is undergoing a rite of passage. It's one we all went through; one we may still bear the scars from. Yes, it's the time of year where training wheels come off and the relatively flat tarmac of our street becomes witness to burning rubber and skinned knees.

This past Sunday, while Jake was sleeping off the effects of a lunchtime cheeseburger and chocolate milk, David tinkered with Nate's bike, effectively halving the wheel base:



Here's the "I'm a proud owner of a two wheeler" photo, which is also known as, "I have no idea how hard this will be, so right now I'm smiling and there's no level of panic whatsoever."



David encouraged Nate to lean from side to side to test the balance. He encouraged Nate to walk with his bike to experiment with its stability:



And then they ran up and down the street several times:



And four tries into it, Nate was riding. By himself.



Let's hope the next sessions go just as smoothly. 'Cause it's nothing like when I tried to ride a bike. At age 8. Oh yes. But let's save that embarrassment for another time.

And you? Do you remember learning to ride? Or have you been teaching your children about life on two wheels?

Hyper Connectivity

David and I own a Social Media company. Really, it's David's baby and I'm along for the ride he's created. He's the brain and the energy behind the whole endeavor.

Being married to an entrepreneur in the social media space, I learned a fair amount about the social trend by dint of living with David. Then I joined the company as a project manager after mat leave one, the HR manager after mat leave two, and now as the Operations Manager. There's no one above me, so I could call myself the COO, or the OOO (Only Operations Officer) if I wanted.

The long and the short of it, is that being in the social media space as part of my job has changed a lot of things for me. I blog. I tweet. I have a fancy new Blackberry.

But all this social media involvement at work and at home has certainly affected the dynamics of our lives. I explore this idea over here. I'd be interested in hearing how social media has changed, or continues to change, your life.

Hanging Out in Stanley Park

C'Mon and Roar you Lions Roar*

When we received four free tickets from our neighbours to the BC Lions game (CFL folks), it seemed like a good idea at the time. Ever since going with his dad last season, Nate's been asking about his next trip to the stadium. He watches the games on tv with us -- a large bowl of homemade popcorn is an added draw -- and waves his BC Lions flag with glee throughout the year. In fact, at times he will sporadically shout "Go BC Lions!" at the top of his lungs. Even if it's the depth of winter.

Which brings us to last Friday. The first home game of the season. And four phenomenal seats. We were close to the field... so close that you felt like you were participating in the game much more than observing it.

Nate was excited the night before.

Nate was excited the morning of.

Nate was excited on the walk over.

And here is Nate right before the game while David was braving the food and beverage lines:

Yeah. Don't hold back there guy.

So, I focused my attention on Jake, attending his first ever game at 22 months. And lest you think this is young, there were lots of children 5 and under at the game. Men smashing full force into other men while trash-talking each other across the line of scrimmage is family friendly entertainment folks, lest you be thinking otherwise.

Oh and there are the Felions too. I didn't take any photos of them, but David also noticed that we were a lot closer to the "view" from our borrowed seats. (Our company owns season tickets, but they're much farther up in the stands.)

Back on point, here is my attempt to get "the excitement of my first football game ever" photo with Jakey.

Image 1: Lady, get away from me.

Image 2: That flash is getting in my eyes. Give it to me.

Image 3: Oh good god. Someone tell her to stop.

Image 4: Hey lookie over there... So they call them Felions, do they? Rawr.

Not to be put off by my children, I enlisted David to take a photo of me and the boys.


Do you know what horrifies me most about this photo? I wore that top to work today. I had no idea about the leaning forward thing in it. Yeah. Mortified.

So the kind lady next to David offered to take a family photo. But she was obviously unaware of my peanut head issue. And David's massive cranium issue. This looks like some sort of weird fun house shot: Just how distorted can we make this family appear? At least you can't see down my blouse.


Yeah, unfortunately, I don't think any of these'll make it into the scrapbook album somehow.

You'll just have to take my word for it when I say that we all went to the BC Lions game and had a fantabulous time. And were too busy to take any photos. Maybe next time.


* One day I'll record my kids singing the BC Lions song. You'll thank me for it.

The Big Guns Roll into Town

Yesterday, the big guns referenced in this post rolled into town. Well, except for Mr. Lady who lives here. The big gun in this town.

Where am I going with this? I have no idea.

Anyway, some people who shall remain nameless but I think it was this guy, although I might be wrong on that point, implied that Mr Lady and Redneck Mommy are actually the same person. Here is photo evidence that they are in fact two distinct entities. Of differing heights.



Definitely the most demur of the group was Katie. Of course she, apparently, got stuck with all the driving on the trip (did you see the size of the vehicle they were given?!). She survived the harassment from the back seat driver, barely. Which, I mentioned, doesn't count for much when you have multiple posts on your blog describing the various states of crumpledness of your vehicle(s).

Here we are doing our best to avoid the triple chin. Not bad. I am the only one who came out with smile wrinkles but that's because I lived in tropical climates for six years. (That's my story and I'm sticking to it.)



Unlike the crush and rush of Blogher, I got the chance to talk quite a bit with Tanis and Catherine. It was profound. So profound, I don't remember what we talked about. But I swear it was profound and interspersed with advice on what ages your kids are able to be left alone at home without a sitter. I volunteered 4 and 2, and Catherine 3 and 1, so I think that pretty much confirms that we're all ready for another round of going out next time everyone's in town. Oh, and Catherine mentioned she'd be willing to raid my husband's single malt scotch collection. Sounds ideal.

Anyone curious as to why my head looks so small? I think it's true that I have a peanut head. Explains a lot in retrospect.



I have an awesome group photo courtesy of MrLady's hubby and Morton's fine establishment. Unfortunately, I do not own a scanner. So you can just close your eyes now and imagine the fabulousness of it.

Okay.

So all in all it was a good night, even if it ended at midnight and I turned into a pumpkin on the way home.

If I Don't Come Back in a Few Hours...

The Canada Moms Blog road trip has hit Vancouver.

In the rain. Good god, make the rain stop.

Anyway, I'm off to meet them and whoop it up. Or have a drink or five two.

If I don't return, call my cell and offer whatever ransom they demand. No questions asked.

Smokin' Hot

After two summers in a row of "El Crappola" weather (brother-in-law to El Nino), we have been blessed, to date, with some smokin' hot weather. Thanks be to all who control the weather gods, influence them with dances, pay tribute to the altar of Mr Golden Sun, tithe the weather man, yada yada. It's working.

The thing about the hot weather though, is that it slows you down. The mental faculties stop working so well. Witness: I have retrieved my car keys from inside the deep freeze and David's tennis shoes in the last few days.

And the thing about men, especially husbands, is that they can sniff out this weakness. They might not be able to see a dirty sock in the middle of the bedroom floor for three weeks straight, but they can see their wives' mental facilities start to fade within a nanosecond of it happening.

And so began Saturday morning. A record breaking day for heat and humidity. At least it felt like it. There's no need for you to go into the archives and tell me that the real record-breaking heat was in 1938 which means that global warming is just some kind of fallacy perpetrated by David Suzuki and a left wing think tank. Global warming's the truth.

Deal with it.

Hmmm...

Okay, so where was I?

Right, heat and mental faculties.

David, sensing the moment was right to strike, casually asked me on Saturday morning if I would let him have a smoker. A Weber Smokey Mountain Cooker. Now, contemplate that statement if you would. If I said, "No," I would be in danger of being a petty-minded family dictator. If I said, "Yes," we would be in possession of the (possibly only) kitchen/cooking gadget David doesn't own. Seriously. Rock, meet hard place.

Exhibit One

Needless to say, David is now in possession of his (very last, plead to the kitchen god's wife) own smoker.

Today he tried it out and, like a man, decided to double the recommended amount of hickory for the spare ribs. Let's just say the entire house backyard neighbourhood got smoked out today.

Seriously, this heat wave better end before he starts working on his "Why I need a motorcycle" pitch. A wife can only take so much heat.