An heir and a spare - as they say

I woke up (way too early, I might add) to read the Kate had had her baby, a little girl. A new Princess in the Monarchy. While, I don't know William and Kate, have never met little George, it was such an exciting thing to read.

I love the royals and have been a royal watcher for years, and while many people don't understand and don't like the Monarchy, it has no effect on us as Canadians and therefore I don't understand the hoopla. It's not as if the queen brings down royal decrees upon us and we seem more than happy to wait for days to catch a glimpse of the royals when they visit our country.

Whether the Monarchy was becoming outdated and unnecessary in England, is not for me to judge. Although I suppose since it's my blog, I will. The Monarchy seems to work for them, and the new generation, specifically William, Kate and Harry have added a new life into old traditions. They are a bright light shone on centuries old tradition, pomp and circumstance. They have shown the world they are real people, living real and yet extraordinary lives. While Kate married into the life, William and Harry have been thrust into it and have been such remarkable leaders for their generation. William is the first heir to the throne to ever hold a job outside that of royal duties, Harry set in place the Invictus Games, as well as fighting for his Country, and has shown us all that there is nothing wrong with both working hard and having fun.

Kate, well, she is quite simply amazing to me. Educated, smart, empathetic, caring, beautiful, kind and while she knew what she was getting into when she married William, she stated from the beginning that she would do things on her terms, and she has. She has stepped up and performed her royal duties regally and wonderfully and she has also stayed true to her roots and the person her parents raised her to be. The first official picture of her and William and George was taken by her father in her parent's backyard. She's cool like that.

We all admire someone. Someone we think embodies characteristics that we believe we hold, wish we held or are impressed in the way they present themselves. Isn't it a shame that we have these wonderful examples of people who give their lives to family and service and yet people believe that they should not have the life they have. On top of that, so many hold people with far less moral conviction and family values in higher esteem. Basketball players charged with rape, people who are famous but beat their spouses, murderers, drug dealers and rappers who sing about misogyny and bigotry. To be honest, I don't get it. While I have 10 years on William and Kate and more than that on Harry, I look up to them and the things they do.

Do we need the Monarchy in Canada? No, not really. But it is tradition, and while we are so quick to stand behind some of our Country's traditions - some of which are exclusionary and bigoted, we are quick to want to walk away from this. Makes no sense to me.

So today I say welcome to the new Princess, congratulations to Will and Kate and their families, hurray for Prince George and the little sister he will get to terrorize and thank you for bringing me so many hours of pleasure reading about you and your family. Thank you for the good you do, the example you set and the kindness you show. Wishing you happiness and health as you add this beautiful baby to your family.

I can't wait to hear her name. I'm sure Diana will be there somewhere.

The G-Man

This little cutie is just the love of our lives. Man he is a sweetheart. I can't believe he poses like this with his back legs stuck out. So funny. He is so good. He loves popcorn, especially with cheddar cheese seasoning. He loves to play with toys and must have 20 of them. He loves to gnaw on elk antlers. His favorite place is the dog park. He's a racist and seems to prefer white dogs. We are trying to train this out of him. So far it isn't going so well. He has no idea he only weighs 8lbs and will take on any dog of any size. He has an underbite and needs braces but we can't afford them. Plus we hate brushing his teeth, so that won't be happening. He loves to have his belly rubbed and he is not picky as to who gives them to him. He doesn't sleep in a kennel, but on the couch, or the chair or the other couch, or quite frankly anywhere he wants (except our beds). He doesn't chew on shoes but I have to chicken wire my favorite plant because that he will eat. Like Ketchup he loves pizza crust. He also seems to love rabbits and I wonder if he will murder again this year. He is so happy when you come home and jumps around like he hasn't seen you in 5 years and has been waiting patiently at the door for your return. What an ego boost!

I guess in the end, what he is is a very important part of our family. He isn't one of our kids, and we don't love him to distraction. He is our pet and a little more. For Craig, he is someone who will patiently sit and do tricks just so Craig can say he did it, and G can get more treats. For Kaedo he is the being that filled the void left by Ketchup and made his heart full again. For Sterling, he is his best friend - I think Sterling loves him most of all. For me, he is the calm in my head, the one who chases away the noise and helps me see that I can get through the day. Some days he is my dog, some days he is my savior.

For all of us he is the cherry on top of a wonderful family.

So I've been told....

Sterling mentioned to me today that the blog had not been updated in "quite some time". Hmmm. Nothing like pressure from your 17 year old. So here goes.

A couple of weeks ago the boys made this contraption out of an old table of ours, one they found on the curb down the street, some wood they bought at Home Depot and a tarp.  They also pounded a table leg so far into the ground that an earthquake couldn't dislodge it. Next they took spray paint and drew targets like they were on acid. I would like to point out how incredibly cool it is that my kids build monstrosities like this. So the question is this - why?

Sterling has caught some of Kaedo's fascination with knives.  Did I mention that the fascination has turned to throwing knives? A lot of throwing knives. Like 30 throwing knives. Before the weather turned to shit and it rained for 6 days, they spent hours out there throwing knives and laughing like hyenas. To be quite honest, I can't believe they haven't either a) hit a major artery or b) hit each other. They have however hit the neighbors pool, sent them over the fence and begged for forgiveness from the neighbor with little kids.

I should mention, this was before I forced them to build this monstrosity. Now they are relatively safely throwing knives at shit. And the table leg? That's for pop cans, bottles of water and anything else they can make explode. 

What I wish I would have gotten was a picture of the zombie printouts they had pinned up there. LOL

For the record, I blame Stan and Shirley for this knife fascination. Craig's Bowie knife is a thing of legend around here (that sounds a little dirty) and he was quick to mention he was always fascinated by knives as a kid. So thanks Stan. Thanks Shirley. You rock.

In their defense, they probably wouldn't have let Craig collect over 70 knives. Mind you, who knows - there was no eBay back then.

The End of an Era

In 1995, Craig and I made our first big purchase together. A living room set. The tables went years ago in a garage sale and one of the boys have the chair in their room but today the old beat up couch and love seat got picked up by the City, and taken away. The things that couch has seen and heard - LOL. We thought we should commemorate the end of the era of this set by getting a picture taken of us. Not to be too hillbilly, we left it on the curb and continued with our day instead of sitting outside on it all afternoon.

It seems like such a small thing when you think about it, but we have laughed and cried, slept and watched movies, watched our babies sleep, folded laundry, ate meals and snacks, had family meetings and family visits, all on this furniture.

With tears and duct tape and really no need for it any more, it was time to go. I watched them load it up this morning and it pulled on my heart a little.

I may be a soapbox loving grade A bitch sometimes, but I'm still a softy at heart. Just don't tell anyone.

Happy Birthday!

I have been sitting here for 30 minutes, trying to thinking of something to write (gasp) all I can come up with is:

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM!

YOU ROCK!

I love you!

Heavily Fortified

Kaedo has a fascination with knives. One I will lay at Craig's feet, but that both of us have allowed. The picture here shows a sample of the knives he has collected, but does not include throwing knives and a Katana sword he picked up earlier this year.

To say he loves them, would be an understatement. While he does buy new throwing knives off eBay, the majority are vintage or antique that he has bought in flea markets and antique shops. He had initially started storing them in a letterpress tray, but the size and quantity have outgrown this. (maybe I should confiscate the tray???)

Sterling and Kaedo have set up a system in the back yard for throwing the knives, and G is very unhappy he doesn't get the backyard for his own play place. I'm not sure how you would explain a knife to the gut of your dog the your friendly neighborhood vet.

For now, we are letting him enjoy the fun, and this cool hobby.

Yikes!

Friday

As it thunders and lightnings here and the rain pours down, I just think how thankful I am for the life I have. For the life I provide for myself, that Craig provides for me and the joy my sons bring to my life every minute of the day. I see my tulips growing in my garden, and the flowers scattered around my house and know that Life is Good. No one can tell me otherwise.

We all have our trials and tribulations but at the very base of it, for me, with family, a roof over my head, a job I love, a calling I love, and flowers - oh so many flowers (lol), I know that I can face whatever the day throws at me. So I leave you today with a picture of some tulips that are lazing away on my kitchen table, enjoying knowing that someone thinks they are so very beautiful.

Happy Friday my friends. May the force be with you. (kickin' it old school with that reference)