Jenn & Chris – Page 15 – Mom Dad CuppaKids

Family Matters

Parks & Rec RANT

by Jenn & Chris on December 6, 2014

DAD Says:

Are we ready for the assault? Let’s review:

Supplies supplied? rations check, coffee and internet access confirmed

Logistics: Turn off all data usage to ensure maximum bandwidth availability

Battle plan in place, with multiple options for any situation or combination that may arise.

Batteries are charged to full, phone has 3 bars.

Preparations are complete, we are good to go.

This is not an online dark ops challenge, a tough mudder race, or even christmas shopping saturday at the mall.

This is worse, MUCH worse.

We are signing up for Parks & Recreation programs, and may god have mercy on our souls.

Here is my pet peeve list, in no particular order.

7 am?? Really? This could all happen at a more civilized 10:30 without offending anyones sensibilities or religious requirements.

Throttled access: Ok equal righters, I know that some people don’t have internet or a computer and deserve a shot, but that doesn’t change the fact that I sit here for 24 minutes working on my carpal tunnel syndrome clicking incessantly like a poorly trained monkey, no offence to my simian brethren. No computer? Call. No phone? Go down to your local office.

Site set up: It sucks. This day and age, the whole thing is misrouted and only about a decade behind. It is slow, clumsy, and generally awkward. Oh, and they just updated it. Here’s your cookie for a job done.

Did I mention 7 am? Tempers run pretty high at 7 am on a Saturday morning when you are wait listed for swimming choice #2…

I think I know why Robbie got into the crack; he was probably all wound up trying to get junior artist on wednesday nights ’cause monday we have brownies and Sunday is church…

MOM Says:

I think in 10 years of marriage, Chris and I can still only use 2 hands to count how many fights we have had in that timeframe.

2 of them have been over Parks & Rec.

Nothing was more stressful than our first Parks & Rec sign up years ago. Having not developed the “System” yet, we naively hopped on the computer and somehow just logged in. Sweet. Click, Click and Done.

The second time, we sat there clicking for over an hour and when we finally got in there was absolutely nothing left bar a swimming lesson at 7pm on Friday evening. (Cause we all know how enthusiastic us moms and dads are to head out for swimming after a long week of work at 7…on a Friday…when PJ’s, Pizza and wine are FAR more the sensible option.

We have had more than one occasion in which one of us has eyed the clock at 6:58, leaping out of bed and calling for credit cards, family numbers, wifi login, and the Fun Guide. We have totally missed it a couple of times.

Over time, we developed a system. We were a machine. 2 laptops, 2 smartphones, and our house phone. Sometimes we hit it. In and out in 10 minutes, sometimes its over an hour. The best time being when it took till 9:20am. (2 hrs and 20 min after registration opened) That was one of the fights.

BEST TIP:

Establish a network. There are 3 families within our network. One of us will typically text the other 2 to remind them its Registration day. Once we have completed our registration, we will try to get back in. More often than not, we have found ourselves taking program codes over the phone to register their kids for the programs they want. Has saved A LOT of fights.

There are absolutely fabulous programs. They just need to get with the program and catch up to 2015.

Family Matters

Karma & my #LifeAdvice

by Jenn & Chris on December 5, 2014

Mom Says:

There is a sweet spot you need to find in social media these days. It’s about finding ways to stay positive in such a heavy atmosphere of negativity .

It’s so easy to get sucked in. You are assaulted daily with snarly, grumpy, angry posts and horrid, heartbreaking issues that can’t help but bring you down. It comes naturally to be negative. You have to work at being positive.

I have chosen not to bring that negativity further into my life. No likes, comments or shares in order to see less of them in my feed.

Instead I am focusing on creating karma that brings a positive frame of mind and a happy outlook on life.

To do that, I looked back to some of the best pieces of #LifeAdvice I have been given over the years.

1) If someone takes the time to show you who they really are, believe them the first time.

My mother in law shared this Maya Angelou quote with me on one of the first days we met.

I loved it.

This one has gotten me through a hundred or so moments of frustration when someone I care about (or think I should care about) acts like a total arse. Once an arse, always an arse. They showed you the first time their true colours, why so often do we hope that people like this somehow change?

Don’t be surprised by their jerkiness. Just move onward and upward. Leave them to their ugly.

My MIL also taught me how to find quiet on the end of our dock. For that I am forever grateful.

2) What does this all mean in the context of life?

This one my dad gave me. I didn’t realize at the time how often I would refer back to this throughout my life.

If you are upset…really upset at the way things are going, take a step back and look at it in the whole context of your lifetime…does it really matter? That much? 10 out of 10 times, it was a no.

My dad had many wise words growing up. I used to not “get it”. Now I see his influence so often when I am talking to the kids. Thanks Dad. (& Thanks for being my dance partner)

3) If you don’t like something, change it. If you can’t change it, change your attitude. Don’t complain.

I cut this Maya Angelou quote out as a teenager and put in my journal. She seems to circle my world on an on-going basis.

Bottom line, in this karmic world you are still responsible for your own destiny. YOU make the choice on how you are going to live.

If YOU choose to live negatively, always complaining, always finding the down side in things..the negativity will be ever present.

But if you choose to live a life focus on “positivitude” then you will invite positive into your life and amazing, beautiful, wonderful things will start appearing in your world.

Trust me..Karma might be a bitch. But if you are nice, you might get to know a different side of her.

Dad Says:

Early in my life I was told I would need 3 things.

A good lawyer, a good accountant and a good wife.

Not necessarily in that order.

@Manulife is asking you to spread some positive by thanking those in your life who have given you great #LifeAdvice. Take a moment to thank someone important to you. That positive will sure come back in spades.

Family Matters

Cabbage Patch and The Girl

by Jenn & Chris on December 4, 2014

Mom Says:

It was 1982 and Cabbage Patch Kids were everywhere..and nowhere. Legendary stories have passed through the years of 6 hour line-ups, fist-fights and the “hunt”. The search for a pervasive Cabbage Patch kid in the height of a Christmas craze.

It was commercial carnage.

My mom has a great story on trying to find a Cabbage Patch Kid right up to Christmas Eve. She ultimately worked her illustrious magic and somehow managed to have one under the tree for me that year. It was the BEST and most memorable year of my childhood.

Sophia Lauren - My first "Baby" growing up — Sophia Lauren – My first “Baby” growing up

My Cabbage Patch Kid’s name was Sophia Lauren and we did EVERYTHING together. The responsibility of motherhood first played out as I filled out the adoption papers to officially adopt Sophia. I loved her with all my might.

A new “Cabbage Patch Kid” has come to our world this Christmas.

Her name is My American Girl and she is this year’s IT GIRL.

I thought we had managed to avoid it.

And then one little girl got one at school….

And that (as they say) was the beginning of the end.

I have to give them credit. The My American Girl has done a brilliant job of marketing their franchise. They have extended their line from the original historical BeForever doll to include My American Girl, Girl of the Year, Bitty Baby and a thousand additional accessories. They have apps and books and movies and online presence. Oh my!

Discussions though of My American Girl dolls seems to bring venom to some mommy’s lips.

Yes, its American. I get that. I actually looked hard at supporting the MapleLea doll. I gotta say its feels a bit like buying a BETA in a sea of VHS. In a world where a User Experience can make or break a product, MapleLea maybe needs to step it up a bit. Be engaging and entertaining, active on social media, tell us the story of the Canadian dolls, create emotional ties and extend product offerings beyond the doll. If you are going to market in this space during THIS time… You HAVE to market with strategic intent.

The bottom line is that my child wants something desperately for Christmas. Who could forget Ralphie in The Christmas Story when all he wanted was a Red Rider bb gun?

As much as I might not agree with the commercialism of it all, this is her one big present. It is what it is.

We still have my Cabbage Patch Kid. She’s currently hanging out in my daughter’s room, looking forward to her new friend, the My American Girl Doll.

BFF's - DD's Cabbage Patch and my old one. — BFF’s – DD’s Cabbage Patch and my old one.

Dad says:

I never had a cabbage patch doll, but I did hold one hostage to get a ball back from a neighbours yard when I was 9. Complete with a ransom note. Sorry Donna, wasn’t meant to be traumatic or scarring.

I am of two minds on this; the abhorrent hyper capitalism of the holiday, the real reason of Christmas, blah blah blah. It is awful, but getting mad at the retailers about this years trend is like yelling at the teller about your interest rate. The other side is this: we are able to provide our child with something that may well be a lasting joy, and so that is the end of this discussion.

Do what you want, don’t hurt other people. It’s that simple.

Family Matters

My Life as a Playlist

by Jenn & Chris on December 2, 2014

On the way to school yesterday, April Wine’s Say Hello came on the radio.

Mushily I look to the back seat and say…”Ohhhh do you guys remember this song?” This is the song Mommy used to put you to sleep with when you were babies. My brain zipped instantly back there. To a time of exhaustion and survival and bliss. To when the kids were babes and we were trying everything to get them down. (Who knew Classic Canadian Rock would be so effective?)

I realized that songs have become my way of categorizing and time-stamping vivid memories of my lifetime.

I started thinking of my life as a playlist and what would it include. (Jenn’s Life – A Canadian Girl growing up in the 90’s and 2000’s with a big love for all kinds of music)

If you were to hit play, here is a snippet of what you would find.

Erasure’s Oh L’Amour and Depeche Mode’s Just Can’t Get Enough both take me home to a teen dance club we used to frequent on a Saturday night. White jeans sitting just above the hips, pinned down through the calves (to look like jodphurs), a floral button up shirt or V-Neck sweater and floods of Obsession or Eternity floating through the room.

Lynyrd Skynyrd’s Sweet Home Alabama reminds me of May 2-4. A kids right of passage in Canada, likely the first long weekend you went camping with friends, in mixed company, overloading the car with too much stuff and too many people.

Martin Sexton’s Black Sheep , and The Holmes Brothers Amazing Grace brings me back to sunny days, magical voices, workshop tents and the Winnipeg Folk Fest. What I always and affectionately have termed my Peace Place.

Spirit of the West’ s Home for a Rest will forever be that LAST big broohahaaa, get out on the dance floor, jump with as much energy as you can yelling “TAKE ME HOME!!!” at the top of your lungs, last song before the bar closed on any given university night out.

The Verve’s Bittersweet Symphony brings me back to a New Year’s Eve where I danced with my friend Jake. We were 21 and that was the last time we saw each other. Shortly after, Jake was going shot for shot with vodka shooters against a group of Russians at a wedding. He ended up choking on his own vomit. (To this day you will find me rolling super drunk people over onto their side). I also have a firm belief that every time I hear Bittersweet Symphony, its him giving me a little “Hi”.

Jake - No one was as goofy or as loveable as this guy — Jake – No one was as goofy or as loveable as this guy

Cake’s I will Survive brings me to insanely fun house parties we used to throw when I was almost too young to own my own house. The guitar solo in the middle is one of those glorious, you just gotta air guitar, can’t help but dance kind of middles. If ya know what I mean.

James Taylor’s Fire & Rain was the night Chris and I got engaged. As JT played that song at the Molson Amphitheatre (an open air concert stage by the water), Chris had his arms around me and we gazed at the stars. When we got home that night, I had said “This was the most perfect night”. He said back “Not quite. It would be perfect if you did me the honour of being my wife”.

Jack Johnson’s Banana Pancakes was dancing in our kitchen, massively pregnant (with the best hobbit feet a girl could want) and then again dancing around our kitchen with a brand new baby. So tired but so much in love with this beautiful little boy who would make me weep just by smiling up at me.

00740024 — Sheer exhaustion but sheer delight

The songs are too recent to carve out a space in my permanent playlist (yet). But I have a feeling that all our Friday Night Dance Party memories (something we do every Friday as soon as we get home) will be part of my next round.

These kids fill up my heart and my song list

I’m curious what does YOUR PLAYLIST look like?

Healthy Living

For the Love of Hockey- Moms turn to play

by Jenn & Chris on December 1, 2014

Mom Says:

I started playing hockey as another challenge to take on heading into my 40th year.

We kind of did it on a lark…

I had just taken a Learn to Skate with Parks & Rec the year before and along with my dear friend Wendy, I threw together a Play It Again Sports Hockey Kit and set out for my first game.

It was awful.

Screen Shot 2014-11-30 at 11.07.11 PM — Our first hockey game

I think I probably fell on my own about 15 times, ran into about 10 other players and nearly broke my back from wrenching from straight up fear of falling again.

I hated it. I ended up at the Chiropractor A LOT.

I promptly set about adding a hockey skills class at my local Canlan arena, two gals in a sea of guys trying to up our game.

Week after week I endured the frustration and challenge of not being able to keep the puck on my stick, giving it away like a hot potato, falling, crashing, learning to stop. You name it. I sucked at it.

There is something incredibly humbling about being really bad at the start of something new.

We kept going. We finished Winter Hockey and signed up for summer.

Somewhere along the way, I started loving playing hockey.

We have convinced almost all these moms to play

I had missed being on a team. I had missed being competitive about sport. I had missed pushing myself to get better at something.

This winter I am now in 2 hockey leagues, I practice once a week and I still do the hockey skills with the guys. We even convinced another friend to join us. If its an early game, all our kids come to cheer us on and nothing spurs you on more than a “GO Mommy GO!” The difference NOW is that I am smiling and SO proud when they come to watch us play.

Dad says:

Ok, so my son is not going to play in the NHL. Most likely because he doesn’t play hockey, which is a whole other post. Daughter doesn’t look destined to crack the bigs, as she keeps outvoting weekday broadcasts with Winx Club. So Hockey blood doesn’t run too deep in my house. Till now.

Jenn started playing hockey, if I recall, when she was asked why not. She couldn’t come up with a good answer, and wound up on skates after conning a few friends into a women’s beginner league. It was as expected. No skill, little knowledge, lots of apologizing for not being able to stop. Oh, and it was FUN. They came off the ice absolutely beaming about that one time they: stopped. hit the puck. did I mentioned stopped? It was awesome, but rudimentary. The ref seldom called interference because really, no intent or ability to turn…

Then they started taking classes. Words like edging, crossovers, and bar down crept into conversations. And the quality of hockey improved so dramatically the refs were gobsmacked by change, and said so!

I thought things were changing when it came to watching the game. Phrases changed from ‘whats offside again?’ to ‘Kadri was SO offside again!’. For a period. Then I get the push to head upstairs to finish on the kitchen tv while she dives through Netflix. Baby steps man.

The topic of playing together has come up a few times, but I am a bit different on the ice, and I am not sure our marriage is built to survive me screaming for a shift change using words that rhyme with puck…

Family Matters

Our Superhero: Captain Underpants books

by Jenn & Chris on November 28, 2014

Do you remember your first comic book? I think I read my garage sale compilation of The Fantastic Four and eerie Dr. Strange issues about a thousand times, wondering what superpower I would want if such wishes were granted, and if I would use that power for good or evil?

Hero’s have evolved over time; now they are more human and flawed, some would say odder as well. See Batman and Squirrel Girl for prime examples.

Now, my son has discovered a new superhero, amazing on so many levels. Let me tell you why: This one gets children to read chapter books. Seriously. Over video games and YouTube. So take that. What’s better than that? Power of Flight? Invisibility? Not even close…He makes children laugh. Out loud. If you can find a more powerful force in the universe, I’d love to hear it.
Our hero is Captain Underpants, and he is truly special. His super powers include a variety of underwear-related skills, his exploits are full of word play and alliteration BUT the real mark made by this caped commander of the commode is his creator.

Dav Pilkey began his career at 8 years old, crafting his first captain UP comic in the hallway of the school after being removed from class for a single picture. He was told that underwear is NOT funny, and that he can’t just draw pictures for a living. Wrong on both accounts, , and add to that he had to deal with learning disabilities along the way. Now, I appreciate a good story. I appreciate what he had to overcome to rise to success. But why he is now my hero is his treatment of children who are different.

Let me set this up for you, as Dav Pilkey took the stage at the #Inspire Book show in TO a few weeks ago. The children are bunched up on the floor, the parents comfortably settled in surrounding chairs. I have secured a front row seat, more to have a launch point to intervene should things go awry than interest in getting a better view of the author. Dav starts off with a brief history of how he got here, and then interacts with the kids, drawing pictures and asking questions. As this is going on, he is getting interrupted by one excited guy who won’t stop putting his hand up and answering questions before they are asked because, well, he literally can’t help himself.

Dav doesn’t filp out, doesn’t ignore, doesn’t do any of the standard stuff. He addresses the questions, acknowledges the child, but doesn’t reward him with extra gifts or the like but by treating him like EVERY OTHER KID. Amazing. Then after an excruciatingly long wait in the book signing line, (like 5 minutes), we make our way to get our favourite copies signed. All Spence can say is, hey, Dad, that’s Dav Pilkey!!. Can barely look at the man. And Dav smiles and thanks him for his questions earlier, and draws a special picture in his book.

Then Dog Breath gets a treatment for his sister, and we are off for a subway ride home.

Now, these rides are usually a running commentary of which stop is next and who we know who lives near. But today, all I got was a ‘Dav Pilkey remembered me…’, and he’d stare out the window.

Well, I remember Dav too. And thanks to captain underpants books, from all the odd superheros out there (and all their parents too).Tra-la-la.