Amusements

The funniest conversation I have had in a long time:

Jack: I know how to play pocket ping pong. But I can't play it with these pants because they have no pockets.
Me: Oh, really? What is Pocket Ping Pong?
Jack (looking embarassed): Oh, never mind.
Me: No, I really want to know. What is it?
Jack: It's when you put your hands in your pockets and swing your nuts back and forth. Like this: ping...pong...ping...pong...
Me: Ok... maybe you should do that in the privacy of your own room...
Aimee: I want to play pocket ping pong.
Jack: Girls can't play pocket ping pong. Well maybe they can if they're really fat...

Thankfully (or not) the conversation fizzled out at that moment.

I don't even want to know where it came from but I am still chuckling about it.

Must go kiss the boy good night. Needless to say, I will knock before entering. Hate to interrupt a good game of... well... you know.

Alternatives

Ok, so the bed wasn't great at first but now it's my preferred studying spot. And Tucker's preferred snoozing spot, but only if there is someone to squish up against. My aches and pains might even be improving. And if it's the placebo effect, inspired by the silly amount of money we spent on it, I'm ok with that.

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So Trevor decided to cancel the tv cable. I am describing it as a social experiment. The only thing I have missed so far is live sports (the 10 minutes a week I watch is fairly expensive I guess). I don't miss the advertising. I might miss "House Hunters International" when I am trying to run on the treadmill at 6:00 am... not entirely sure what I will do then. I have a few podcasts I can listen to but we'll see if that keeps me motivated when I am desperate to stop. The kids are managing with recorded stuff but their friends feel sorry for them. We'll see how long before we crack and call for basic cable again.

I'm off to battle Tucker for some nocturnal real estate. It's a big bed, but he is a bigger dog and he really doesn't like lying in a neat and tidy ball at the end of the bed - no, he must be right up against me. Not fair. Aimee has way more human-to-bed ratio - why doesn't he sleep with her?

I'll keep you posted on the cable experiment, as well as any developments on the bed. Ok, maybe not any developments, but I'll definitely let you know how much the quality of my sleep improves as I get used to its vastness and space-foamy comfort.

Bed

I am writing from my new bed. We bought a new bed because the dog sleeps with us and he is big.The made our previously adequate (but never 100% comfortable) bed too small. So we got a king sized bed. It's the size of a football field.

Interestingly, the dog seems to be reserving judgment on the bed. He doesn't seem to be loving it yet.

And to be truthful, either am I. When we first wrestled it from the 100 lbs of cardboard and plastic it came in, and sat down on it, it felt remarkably like a giant brick. Slowly, it warmed to the consistency of a big slab of plywood. It is feeling a little better now, but if the magical "pressure relieving" properties of the hooley-dooley state-of-the-art memory foam don't make up for its granite-like consistency, you can bet that EQ3 will be getting a very irate call from me tomorrow. Oh, and it arrived 2 weeks later than they said it would so keep that in mind if you ever decide to buy something from them. So we'll see if this is "transition pain" or if it really was a very expensive mistake.

At the risk of sounding like I have been taken in by the snake oil salesman, I want to say for the record that I am fully expecting my recent back pain to be cured with this investment, mainly so I no longer have to admit that this major purchase, made in very uncertain economic times, was for the dog.

But it's so exciting! It's huge! Our old pillows look like tooth fairy pillows on it... never thought to get big pillows. Did get nice new sheets, and my sister is bringing us a duvet cover from Ikea to replace the one the dog put his toenails through scratching out his comfy spot. I can hardly wait for it to be bedtime and I can test out the super-duper cures-ebola last-bed-you'll-ever-buy properties.

I'll let you know how it goes. Here is a picture of Tucker getting settled:

He is now pressed right up against me - he seems discombobulated by the goings-on around here. His kennel is in another room now and I'm sure everything smells different... we'll see how he punishes us - I would bet it is either by inserting himself directly between us for the entire night, or dropping stinky pancake batter all over the living room floor at 4:00 am. If it comes down to it, I'm rooting for the former - we have acres of real estate here - plenty of room for everyone!

NOT!

And here is a picture of Aimee enjoying the benefits of a hand me down bed - she also has room for dogs and many stuffed animals, pillows, books, pencils, and heaven know what else that she used to cram into a little single bed. She is quite tickled. The big bed almost wouldn't go into her room - it took some very astute spatial abilities to get it to go down the stairs and around the corner...

You might have noticed her fire-engine red hair - today all the other members of my family coloured their hair - all except me, for once. Oh, and one of the lumps under her blanket is Jinx.

So I'm off to bed - I'll keep you posted on how it cures all my ailments and improves the economy all at the same time. If I can get the dog off me long enough to reach for my laptop.

Talent

I learned tonight that my child can sing. She is a member of the Children's Choir and they had their first concert tonight. It was wonderful. It was beyond words entertaining, in a way I am not ususally entertained by the kids' activities. I can't wait for their Christmas concert.

This week I have learned a lot of things about work and bullying and "walking the talk" (what a stupid expression), most of which were causing me to consider quitting and moving my family to some idyllic tropical South American beach where I could sip homemade rum cocktails and home school my kids... for the time being though I will have to call it Character Building and Learning Patience because I just paid $2600 in car insurance and I need my job. But I certainly don't love it right now.

Instead, I will carry on one day at a time and attribute my 24-hour-old headache to the change in weather (yes, winter is here... in full colour) and not the giant knot in the middle of my back. The one that causes chest pain and numb fingers.

I feel unwell. I need a long weekend desperately. It may take a monumental effort of will to make it to the end of this degree without a nervous breakdown. But at least then I might be able to get some sleep...

I'm whining off to bed. Hopefully I'll hear that beautiful choir music in my head as I fall asleep.