Stealing from a Child!

Posted on 2009-01-31 by Reema

This afternoon the boys and I were heading home. We had placed an order for roti (yes, we actually have a hole that makes it) and went to pick it up. It isn’t in the best area for parking and kind of grungy part of town. I pull right in from of the place and asked Max to grab our order.

I gave him three $20 bills… not sure how much it was. I guess Max went into the store and realized he dropped a bill or two. As he came out he saw this lady picking up the money.

The store owner came out with him as she saw the lady pick up his bills.

This girl said she dropped the money and was picking it up. Max had dropped two of the $20s.

The girl walks off. Max is disturbed.

What person takes from a child?

Obviously someone who needed the money.

And for us, it was just a bit of an eye opener. There are some not so nice people in Peterborough too.

Posted in General | Comments Off on Stealing from a Child!

The Power of Protein!

Posted on 2009-01-28 by Reema


I have been blogging mostly the trials of a moody teenager. Right now I know that we can’t survive another month the way it has been.

We were getting hair cuts a couple of days ago, something that takes about an hour and bit to have all 6 heads looking handsome. Usually during this time, the older ones wander around the stores near by, usually Sports Chek. They come back with a want list… and then continue to dream.

Sammy saw a ball cap. “Can you get this for me?” he asked.

“Can you stop with your moodiness for a week?” I asked. Can you sense my desperation? I am not beyond bribery or positive incentives!

OK… was the deal… one week of controling his moodiness and the ball cap will be his. Part of this is to simply calm him down to a place of talking to him without his attitude plugging his ears.

After talking to a friend about his moods etc., I realized that food was part of his issue. I have always known that when he is hungry, he is unreasonable. Yet it was pointed out to me the importance of PROTEIN and how much we need (even children).

I am not a huge fan of protein in general. Carbs are my friend. So I struggle to ingest an adequate amount myself. We always have the typical meat, carb and veggies kind of meal at home. But when we eat out, I am not usually on top of it. And I did not realize the amount of protein that one needs in a day!

I pointed out to Sammy that we needed to make a conscience effort of eating protein at each meal and snack time. He is not a big breakfast person. Shakes… he likes. So it is making sure that is happening.
Lunch is not his favorite time either, unless it is gourmet. So he is not really eating enough to ward off his moods.

Interesting… in the last 24 hours, with constant efforts of food and making protein a big part of his diet, we have had A FULL DAY without mood swings!

ONE DAY! Hey, if it means a hat a week… protein power… and no moodiness… I am all for it!

PROTEIN! It is its own SUPERHERO!

My brother’s response to this was “who knew that eating properly would be the answer!” He is such a smart mouth.

8 Comments

Happy Birthday Zachary!

Posted on 2009-01-28 by Reema

My sweetie pie Zachary has turned 7 years old!

I can truly say life without Zachary would be like never seeing the sun shine! He is such a bundle of joy, robust energy and full of curiosity. He is never still. He loves everything boy. Dirt, bugs, bikes,skateboards, snowboards, and has an unusual shoe fetish!

Sanj and I always planned on 4 children but never 4 boys. So we had another child. It was so in God’s plan for this wonderful boy to fill our home with that element that only Zach could fill.

Happy Birthday Zachary Thomas!
Oh how much I love you!
Stay just as you are… well a little quieter would be OK! 🙂
You will be what ever you want to be!
You are an amazing boy!
I am so proud to be your mom!
I love you infinite!

Posted in General | 1 Comment

Dreamer!

Posted on 2009-01-27 by Reema


One of the things I love about my children is watching them dream BIG! I love that they have dreams that are not tarnished by little things such as money and reality. They don’t have limitations in their dreams. Oh to bring that trait into with you into adulthood is such a wonderful thing. You always have your dreams!

I remember when Tyler was a bit younger… he really believed that he would one day play hockey in the NHL. Oops… he is reading over my shoulder and says, “I still will, you know I will!”

Love it! He lives and breathes hockey (and golf). A few years ago he wrote a story about going to a game and Toronto goalie got hurt. They called Tyler to fill in! He was thrilled! The story goes on to tell of the amazing moves he had and the start of his dream coming true.

Josh… dreams of becoming Indiana Jones and a mall cop!

Then there is Zach. He is a dreamer. He is actually saving his money for his dream… to own a ATV! His piggy bank holds less than a dollar in change. Yet he talks about WHEN he gets his ATV he will…

Tomorrow is his birthday. What I love about being a parent is being able to make a dream come true whether it is a big one or a small one!

Dreams! I think that the only way to live is to continue dreaming. Dream big! Dream about tomorrow! Just Dream!

Posted in General | Comments Off on Dreamer!

Smarties

Posted on 2009-01-27 by Reema


Today Josh had a lovely play date with one of his little friends. It is always great to go to a friend’s because the toys are new and he is happy and occupied. He is not yet real social away from his brothers.

I was able to chat and catch up with my girlfriend. We talked about a variety of things, yet one stuck out in my mind. Egos… and how we let others make us feel about ourselves. They may not do this intentionally yet we (in our insecurities) make it about us.

She was saying how not having gone further in her education, can feel inferior or less than in that area with someone who may have gone to university etc.

The funny thing is that as I was driving home I realized that I feel so unlearned when I am with her. She is so educated on nutrition, health, and life in general. She is brilliant and a true motivational speaker. After I am in her presence for just a bit, I leave so motivated to be better or do better for myself and my children.

I love it! She is a wealth of knowledge. She is so smart and real and her spirit is simply refreshing.

So I realized as I walk away… feeling like there is so much I am not doing for my kids (not that she made me feel this way… I am making myself feel this way).. I have to realize that we are each gifted in special areas. This is what makes us who we are.

I am sure that I have strengths and continue to seek those out. Yet I appreciate and enjoy her company for the wealth of knowledge I get from our conversations. I love the trueness of our friendship. There is no fluff. Just real appreciation and love and gratitude for the gift that friends are in our lives.

What better school than the knowledge that comes from friends? I don’t feel like I have much to “teach” her… but hey one never knows what is being passed.

So I realize that life is the best teacher… God puts into our path just the right relationship at the right time. Ever wonder how so and so had been in your life for years… yet NOW you have developed a real friendship? Why now? I don’t wonder anymore. I know that I will be blessed by this person at some point and it is all simply about God’s time not ours.

Posted in General | 2 Comments

Out of the Box

Posted on 2009-01-26 by Reema


I am a person that has had to teach myself that I am smart. Or rather, that I am not dumb. In school, I never did exceptionally well. There was classes I did great such as grade 7… I am sure I did good. I had the biggest crush on Mr. Taylor. So I was engaged.

On the whole I sucked. When it came time for the standard testing that they do … you remember… those tests that you fill in the circles… I filled the circles by making patterns. Or maybe it was time to circle B because I already squiggled too many A’s and C’s.

I don’t remember being hyper active but judging myself as an adult, I am sure to be classified as ADHD if I were in school today.

Why is it that people with energy have to be classified? Why is it that there isn’t something to describe the normal person… with not as much energy?

Really, as one time teacher… why have we not done something about the kids that don’t learn inside the box? Why are they are classified?

As I watch a couple of my sons that don’t learn in the box… the sitting down, taking notes, concentrate quietly, I found myself fuming. Why don’t we test how kids learn as young ones and then teach them that way? If you are a right brain child and have extra energy flowing through you… you are lost.

Well there are schools but you would have to pay money most don’t have. So I feel frustrated for those kids that are labeled.
I feel bad that hyper activity is a negative.

Yet check this out:

Ansel Adams (1902-1984) — Photographer

Ann Bancroft — (1931-present) — Actress

Alexander Graham Bell — (1862-1939) — Telephone Inventor

Harry Andersen — (1952-present) — Actor

Hans Christian Anderson — (1805-1875) — Author

Beethoven — (1770-1827) — Composer

Harry Belafonte — (1927-present) — Actor, Vocalist

Col. Gregory “Pappy” Boyington — (1912-1988)
WWII Flying Ace (Black Sheep Squadron Leader)

Terry Bradshaw — (1948-Present) — Football Quarterback

George Burns — (1896-1996) — Actor

Sir Richard Francis Burton — (1821-1890)
Explorer, Linguist, Scholar, Writer

Admiral Richard Byrd — (1888-1957) — Aviator
(Was retired from the navy as, “Unfit for service”)

Thomas Carlyle — (1795-1881)
Scottish historian, critic, and sociological writer

Andrew Carnegie – (1835-1919) Industialist

Jim Carrey — (1962-present) — Comedian

Lewis Carroll — (1832-1898) — Author (Alice in Wonderland)

Prince Charles — (1948-present) — Future King of England

Cher (1946-present)— Actress/Singer

Agatha Christie — (1890-1976) — Author

Winston Churchill — (1874-1965) — Statesman (Failed the sixth grade)

Bill Cosby — (1937-present) — Actor

Tom Cruise — (1962-present) — Actor

Harvey Cushing M.D. — (1869-1939)
Greatest Neurosurgeon of the 20th Century

Salvador Dali — (1904-1989) —Artist

Leonardo da Vinci — (1452-1519) — Inventor, Artist

John Denver — (1943-1997) — Musician

Walt Disney — (1901-1971)
(A newspaper editor fired him because he had “No good ideas”.)

Kirk Douglas — (1916-present) — Actor

Thomas Edison — (1847-1931) — Inventor
(His teachers told him he was too stupid to learn anything)

Albert Einstein — (1879-1955) — Physicist
(Famous Tongue Sticking Out Picture)
(Einstein was four years old before he could speak,
and seven before he could read)

Dwight D. Eisenhower — (1890-1969) — U. S. President, Military General

Michael Faraday — (1791-1867) — British Physicist, Chemist

F. Scott Fitzgerald — (1896-1940) — Author

Malcolm Forbes — (1919-1990) — Forbes Magazine Founder & Publisher

Henry Ford — (1863-1947) — Automobile Innovator

Benjamin Franklin — (1706 – 1790) — Politician, Elder Statesman

Galileo (Galilei) — (1564-1642) — Mathematician, Astronomer

Danny Glover — (1947-present) — Actor

Tracey Gold — (1969-present) — Actress

Whoopi Goldberg — (1955-present) — Actress

Georg Frideric Handel — (1685-1759) — Composer

Valerie Hardin — Gothic Poet, Artist, Children’s Author

Mariette Hartley — (1940-present)
Actress (Tells of her and daughter’s ADD)

William Randolph Hearst — (1863-1951) — Newspaper Magnate

Ernest Hemingway — (1899-1961) — Author

Mariel Hemingway — (1961) — Actress

Milton Hershey — “The Chocolate King” — (1857-1945)

Dustin Hoffman — (1937-present) — Actor

Bruce Jenner — (1949-present) — Athlete

Luci Baines Johnson (1947-present) — LBJ’s Daughter

“Magic” Johnson — (1959-present) — Basketball Player

Samuel Johnson — Author

Michael Jordan — (1963-present) — Basketball Player

John F. Kennedy — (1917-1963) — U. S. President

Robert F. Kennedy — (1925-1968) — U.S. Attorney General

Jason Kidd — (1973-present) — Professional Basketball Player

John Lennon — (1940-1980) — Musician

Frederick Carlton (Carl) Lewis — (1961-present)
Olympic Gold Metalist, American track-and-field athlete.

Meriwether Lewis (Lewis & Clark) — (1774 -1809) — Explorer

Abraham Lincoln — (1809-1865) — U.S. President
(Entered The Black Hawk War as a Captain and came out a Private)

Greg Louganis — (1960-present) — Olympic Gold Medalist (Diving)

James Clerk Maxwell — (1831-1879) — British Physicist

Steve McQueen — (1930-1980) — Actor

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart — (1756-1791) — Composer

Napoleon Bonaparte — (1769-1873) — Emperor

Nasser (Gamal Abdel-nasser) — (1918-1970) — Egyptian Leader

Sir Issac Newton —(1642-1727) — Scientist, Mathematician
(Did poorly in grade school)

Nostradamus — (1503-1566) — Physician, Prophet

Ozzy Osbourne — (1948-present) — said he was ADHD on TV

Louis Pasteur — (1822-1895) — Scientist
(Rated as mediocre in chemistry when he attended the Royal College)

General George Patton — (1885-1945) — Military

Pablo Picasso — (1882-1973) — Artist

Edgar Allan Poe — (1809-1849) — Author, Poet

Rachmaninov — (1873-1943) — Composer

Eddie Rickenbacker — (1890-1973) — WWI Flying Ace

John D. Rockefeller — (1839-1937)
Founder, Standard Oil Company

Nelson Rockefeller — (1908-1979) — U.S. Vice President

August Rodin — (1840-1917) — Artist, Sculptor

Anna Eleanor Roosevelt — (1844-1962) — First Lady

Pete Rose — (1941-present) — Baseball Player

Babe Ruth — (1895-1948) — Baseball Legend

Nolan Ryan — (1947-present) — Baseball Player

Muhammad Anwar al-Sadat — (1918-1981) — Egyptian President
Nobel Peace Prize Winner in 1976

George C. Scott — (1927-present) — Actor

George Bernard Shaw — (1856-1950)—Author

Will Smith — Actor, Rapper, Entertainer

Tom Smothers — (1937-present) — Actor, Singer, Entertainer

Socrates — (469-399 B.C.) — Philosopher

Suzanne Somers — (1946-present) — Actress

Steven Spielberg — (1946-present) — Filmmaker

Sylvester Stallone — (1946-present) — Actor

Jackie Stewart — (1939-present) — Grand Prix Hall of Famer

James Stewart — (1908-1997) — Actor

Henry David Thoreau — (1817-1862) — Author

(Lev Nikolayevich) Leo Tolstoy — (1828-1910) — Russian Author
(Flunked out of college)

Alberto Tomba — (1966-present) — Italian Alpine Ski Champion

Vincent van Gogh — (1853-1890) — Artist

Russell Varian — (1899-1959) — Inventor

Jules Verne — (1828-1905) — Author

Werner von Braun — (1912-1977) — Rocket Scientist
Flunked 9th grade algebra.

Lindsay Wagner — (1949-present) — Actress (Bionic Woman)

Gen. William C. Westmoreland — (1914-present) — Military (Vietnam Era)

Robin Williams — (1952-present) — Comedian

Woodrow Wilson — (1856-1924) — U. S. President

Henry Winkler — (1945-present) — Actor (Fonzie)

Stevie Wonder — (1950-present ) — Musician

F. W. Woolworth — (1852-1919) — Department Store Innovator
(While working in a dry goods store at 21, his employers wouldn’t let him
wait on a customer because he “Didn’t have enough sense.”)

Frank Lloyd Wright — (1867-1959) — Architect

Orville Wright — (1871-1948) — Airplane Developer

Wilber Wright — (1867-1912) — Airplane Developer

William Wrigley, Jr. — (1933-1999) — Chewing Gum Maker

William Butler Yeat

I don’t know who every one is but do know that they are all famous for amazing contributions to society. They also all have/had ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder).

One day maybe my name will be listed.

Short attention span, moving a mile a minute are not bad qualities. They are just characteristics that can be misunderstood or even annoying. Yet if embraced and encouraged, if modeled and shaped in positive ways… imagine what can come out of the box!

Giftedness and greatness that did not fit in a box!

1 Comment

Ready or Not… Here JK Comes!

Posted on 2009-01-26 by Reema


The school’s Weekly Word came home and said that JK/SK Days were Feb. 25th! Josh will get to go into his classroom and spend some time playing and checking it out! Oh My Goodness!!!

I am not sure I am ready. I am not sure HE is ready! Today while at the Y, he had to go poop. As I was helping him, I said, ” You know you will have to learn to clean your own bum… Mommy won’t be there to help you at school.”

His reply was ” What if my finger goes IN my bum?”

Oh dear!

Later, as I was helping him pull up his pants, again, I mentioned his need to do things on his own. ” What will you do at school, with no one there to pull your pants up?” I asked…

“I’ll walk naked to my class!” was his reply!

No doubt he would! So I know they say empty nest syndrome is when your child leaves your home for university… um what about when they leave you for junior kindergarten???

Oh dear. I am not sure I am ready for this. Sammy (a day or two) and Tyler (six weeks) had adjustment periods going to school. Jordan, Max and Zachary were ready and delighted to go to their brothers school.

Then there is the baby. He isn’t a baby anymore. I know this. I try to make him do things himself. I leave him in care at the Y for the time I work out. I am trying to cut the cord bits at a time. But maybe because he is the last one or maybe we just have a different bond… but the cord keeps bouncing back like a Slinky!

JK open house is the beginning. I feel funny. Maybe I need a puffer. Maybe I need a _____________ … I don’t know.
LIfe is coming at me too fast. High school and JK all at the same time!

Posted in General | 2 Comments

Blogger’s Block

Posted on 2009-01-25 by Reema


I haven’t written since mid-week. Partly, because I have had a “writer’s block” so to speak. Silly. Sanj keeps insisting that I need to write for me… not the readers (the couple that humor me).

Yet I have had a block. I have plenty of thoughts over the week yet they have failed to make it onto my blog.

Other things I just can’t write… as someday I may be hurt by the boys… if all that goes on were written about!

And so it is Sunday and I feel the need to write. Let’s see what comes out!

Posted in General | 2 Comments

Facebook

Posted on 2009-01-25 by Reema


I was the first one to talk about Facebook. I didn’t understand this people who commented on what they were doing every few hours. But I have to admit, as my “friends” list grows, I am one of those hooked on it.

I like the fact that you can see what people from” yesterday” have been up to, or look at their pictures of family and friends. It is a great way to catch up and peep into someone’s life. It is a nice way to have people in your life that you wouldn’t normally stay in touch with every day.

I also like the fact that you can go on line and know that someone you know is on line too.

OK, maybe I am a loser. But I have so many friends from years ago. We will always be friends. But not the kind of friends that will chat or write every day or even once a month. But I know that in the world of cyber space, we are connected. I like that.

I like that you can write a liner to their comment and not feel rude or obligated to write a “catch up ” letter. I like being “friends” with my friends children, so I can see into their world and “know” them in a way I wouldn’t otherwise.

So I am a Facebook junkie. Later in the evening, while Sanj is studying or out… I know that there is someone there from “my world” that is there with me.

Is this pathetic or what? Probably. But I am enjoying it!

1 Comment

A Moment

Posted on 2009-01-21 by Reema


Today I drove the boys to school in my pajamas. I left Josh at home with Jordan (who is sick) and Sanj.

As I pulled out of the school parking lot, I had a moment. My big 12 passenger van was silent! Deathly silent. I looked back and realized that I was alone!

This is going to be what 8:46 a.m. feels like next year (at least 3 days of the week). It seems weird and a bit unnerving. My heart raced a bit. As much as I am ready for this next phase, I am not. I am not sure WHAT I will do with out my side kick, Josh, hanging on my body.

And the silence… I am not sure about that. I am not a person that likes to be alone for long periods of time. Maybe I will learn to like. I am not sure.

Thank goodness there is still 230 days, give or take, to get used to the change.

Posted in General | Comments Off on A Moment

History!

Posted on 2009-01-20 by Reema

I love watching the coverage today! (I also got ALL the laundry finished!!!) I am taken by the Obama family. I love watching the girls! What lovely girls! I love Michelle’s poise and confidence. I love the interaction between them. I love President Obama’s calm.

I feel calm just watching him. Of course none of this right now is about government or politics. It is about people. I had so many thoughts today as I watched:

Was he lonely? How much he must miss his mother and grandmother.

How amazing it must be to know that he is part of history… a part of a huge history.

What does one do after being president? He will still be young….

What I loved about this family is that it is about family. The chemistry and connection between each other is inspiring.

It is about family. It is about history, past and present. It is about people believing, needing to believe, ready to believe again.

I pray for President Obama… that God will guide him, use him and keep him close in His care.

I pray for a nation… a world.

History… a beautiful thing… today was amazing and inspiring!

Posted in General | Comments Off on History!

We Are One!

Posted on 2009-01-18 by Reema


Tonight I felt the goosebumps, the anticipation, the hope and change… as we watched “We Are One… Obama Inaugural Celebration.”

I wish so badly I could have been there. I am an American in my heart as I spent so many of my years there. I am so full of the hope for a nation, really a world that is so desperate for change.

It is a beautiful thing to see this family … to see history made … to see dreams of so many people of yesteryear come true.
May God Bless Us!

Posted in General | Comments Off on We Are One!

6:39 a.m. SATURDAY MORNING!

Posted on 2009-01-17 by Reema

Really… need I say more? I am so *&^%%$^$^%&*&^*&!!! My kids can NEVER wake up on time EVER… for school. Yet it is 6:30 a.m. and they are all awake. WIDE AWAKE!

I am so not happy.

Posted in General | Comments Off on 6:39 a.m. SATURDAY MORNING!

Friday Night

Posted on 2009-01-16 by Reema


Growing up we were raised in an Adventist home. Sabbath begins sundown Friday night and ends sun down Saturday night.

Sanj is on the piano playing a hymn, it is dark outside and suddenly I have this overwhelming feeling of homesickness for home.

Not sure what that means, maybe yesteryear. Maybe I miss my brother. We spend many a Friday night worshipping, planning a worship or hanging out with friends.

Friday nights at university were special too. We took effort to look good, went to worship and left full of Worship.

Maybe I miss that… being full.

There is something so peaceful about Friday nights. Maybe it is the farewell to a busy week, the anticipation of breaking away from routine and just being. Whether it is spent alone or with family and friends, I love Friday nights. I think it is my favorite day.

Maybe it would be nice to just go home for a while. I know that seems to come up often in my blog. Guess it is a real loss I feel. I really hope that my children will one day appreciate having home… a place you can go and just be.

What does that mean? It means you are, for that period of time, not wife, mother, friend… whatever role you are all the time… you can just stop and be.

Just for a short while. Then you go back to the real world and it is all good. Maybe home is like going out for recess.

Comments Off on Friday Night

Family Day

Posted on 2009-01-16 by Reema






Today Sanj took the day off thinking he would get some snowboarding in. Since the weather was -20 something that didn’t happen. So as we all woke up slowly, sluggish and unwanting to start the day… we decided that everyone would skip school and we would go to breakfast and then go cheer Max’s game.

This week is the Atom Hockey Tournament… it is a big deal for kids in hockey ages 9-10. They get to miss a bit of school and it is their moment to shine.

Well within 5 minutes of making the decision to skip school, it suddenly felt like um maybe not. So begins the day. Unfortunately Sammy begins his attitude right away. It is not yet 8 a.m. Zachary is over tired. Josh is Josh. Sanj is frazzled.

The countdown to this day being over has begun.

I think that part is expectation. In my head, I see a warm fuzzy family moment. I see overly tired kids and feel like what a great day it would be for them to just be able to relax. PSH……….. the wand is cast.

Yet they are still kids full of complaint about each other, so and so touching each other, whatever. So in my head the warm fuzzy didn’t happen because I would have to rid myself of at least half the children. Sanj probably just needed to have the day to himself.

We still have the weekend to be together. And everyone seems grumpy. Maybe this is family day… or maybe everyday is family day.

I feel like I am the only one that appreciated our togetherness. Yet didn’t really appreciate it because there was no appreciativeness in the others. Does that make any sense?

The reality is this is us. There is constant appreciation and unappreciation. There is laughing and crying. There is sharing and complaining. There is pinching and hugging. There is noise. Quietness usually eludes us… until that noise is taken over by snoring. There is disappointment and moments of pride.

So was the day. The good parts were Jordan being given the OK to play hockey by his eye doctor. The boys have discovered Gilligan’s Island… black and white TV and loved and laughed through it. Max played a great game and had a good time.
I loved when Tyler went to Max and said, “Wow Max, you skate really fast.” Just what Max needed to hear from his brother! I loved that all my men have a common interest that keeps them connected… hockey.

So despite the disappointments of this day… I loved it. I loved us just being together.
These are just moments of the day (pictures)… taken by different boys.

Posted in Family | Comments Off on Family Day

If you are happy and you know it…

Posted on 2009-01-14 by Reema

Is ones attitude a personality thing? Do some people just have a “woe is me” personality?

I am beginning to think so. Sanj and I are very much opposites, as I have said many times. I am a glass half full most of the time and he would wonder why his glass was half empty. Yet it works for both of us in our own way.

Sanj’s attitude towards life pushes him to constantly seek out the things in life that he wants for himself and his family. He works like a dog, plays like a boy and loves with all his heart. Yet he has a very small select few people he likes and an even smaller few that he loves.

Part of this is he is constantly seeking the definition of love. “How do you know you love your dad?” is a question he asks.

Well, I am a person who simply loves. The definition is not as important as what I feel in my heart… in the deepest place… it is just a given. I know if I love you. I don’t have to know you for years. I just have to know that in my heart you feed me or maybe I need to feed you. That is good enough for me.

I usually love until I am hurt, then I will question the relationship. And yet as with my dad… I am and have been hurt yet that love is there. It is just there… as I breathe.

“Love makes the world go round.” If there isn’t love, what do you really have? Money? What good is money when you have no one to share it with? (well I suppose it can be a good companion if you have to be alone)! 🙂

It is the one thing that people yearn for. Even if they find it in an animal … their pet… it is something.

So it does disturb me that Sanj is so analytical about things. He says “HE KNOWS” he loves me. Yet how does he really know?

Back to the orignal question… personality. I would say you are born with the disposition you have.

Each of my boys have such different personalities. You have read that Zachary is my child with a sunny happy life is great attitude.

Then take Jordan… despite whatever the circumstance… he is more “life is hard… woe is me.” He reminds me of my mother-in-law and her out look on life. I suppose he is alot like Sanj. And since he does not have a different life than his brothers in reality… it must be his personality to be like an Eeyore.

Good or bad? I guess there isn’t a real answer. Sanj was saying to me that “when I met you (in university) you were happy. You really didn’t have a lot to be happy about up until then.”

And yet to me, it is perception… I felt I had a lot to be happy about. I was free. I was blossoming and learn to spread my wings. I was exhaling! I had survived.

So can everyone be happy? Is it a choice? Or is it just part of your mechanics that some people will spend their life with dissatisfaction being part of their equation?

Posted in love | 2 Comments

Ridiculous…

Posted on 2009-01-13 by Reema

The weather outside is frightful… isn’t that a song? Well it isn’t a happy tune. Tonight the temperature is going to dip to a cool -30 Celsius!!! That is not taking into account the wind which is howling and blowing snow around everywhere!

I think that it should be a cold day rather than a snow day.
Brrrrrrrrrrr…

Posted in General | 1 Comment

Yum!

Posted on 2009-01-13 by Reema

This is a great recipe that I often make when I have friends over for lunch. It is great with a salad. It is a great vegetarian wrap and you can mix it up with anything you have on hand or add meat if you want.

Spread a wrap with plain cream cheese evenly to the edges.

Cut bit size broccoli and red peppers and boil to softened to your liking.
Drain.

Place veggies in the middle of wrap length ways… add shredded Chedder cheese and diced green onions.

Roll up wrap… place on cookie sheet and cover with foil (if you like it crispy don’t cover)…

Place in oven until heated through and cheese is melted.

Enjoy!

Posted in General | 1 Comment

Ill- equipped!

Posted on 2009-01-13 by Reema

It is 1:45 p.m. and as I watch the clock tick away I am wishing the day would slow down. I found that my early afternoons just go by too fast… Then it is 3 p.m. before I know it.

Pick up time. I am not sure what pick up time will hold. So as I watch the clock tick away i feel frustration and sadness flowing over.

God sure knew what He was doing when He made babies first. Cute, cuddly and they smell wonderful. The teenager… I am not sure that phase is even necessary. I am at a loss. My child that was at least happy part of the time is now full time surly, full of attitude, and ugly… hurtful.

I feel like I should send him to his room and just have a food/water machine in his room. I am not equipped to deal with him.

I do remember thinking my parents were dumb. I remember wishing I could be with my friends all day. But I would never voice or show that disrespect out loud. It was all locked up in my head. The one time I did voice back sarcastically, “Yes Ma’am” to my mom, I got slapped across my face and my glasses went flying.

So I am frustrated with knowing how to deal with a child that defies us at every turn. I am frustrated that he does not appreciate the life he has. I am frustrated that he does not understand that his actions have consequences.

I pray that the next sons of mine are not going to be as hard to deal with. I hope that I learn the key to coping with teenage years.

I am overwhelmed with a feeling of stress as I pick him up, knowing a smile is highly unlikely and that I will have done something totally annoying even before I pull up.

Lord Have mercy.

Posted in General | 2 Comments

Sugar and Spice and All Things Nice

Posted on 2009-01-11 by Reema


I feel like I am finally getting back to normal… Jordan will be going back to school tomorrow morning and life goes back to the good ole routine. I have missed the gym. I am so looking forward to just working out.

I have been really bad with giving into the crap my body seems to crave… almost need when I feel a little emotionally off balance. Unfortunately this could be every few hours! You know what is one of my favorite sinful indulgences? Wonder bread, soft… lathered with butter and then sugar. If you nuke it for a few seconds, just to melt the butter a smidgen… oh… butter and sugar…
every bit of emotional discombobulation disappears for the 20 seconds it takes to let that melt down.

Another favorite… cake icing. Or a pinch of brown sugar… that is soft. Hum… wonder why I am diabetic?

Ok I could go on. I am sure most of us could. Well not all of you… you know who you are… those of you that are walking around with my body… the one I see in my head.

But… hey… tomorrow I begin again.

Can’t wait. There is something to be said about routine…. bring it on.

Posted in General | Comments Off on Sugar and Spice and All Things Nice