I Forgot About This!!

You know, I seriously did forget I even had this thing...
So, in nanny news...
Lil' Ethan has FINALLY started walking! 16 months! What a cutie though. Also, he's grown quite the mullet :) Actually it's more like mini-hockey-hair... also very cute. And great to make mohawks out of at the pool...
Anna has become a huge fan of playing make-believe, which is excellent. Although her favourite pretend game, and my least favourite, involves us being two teenager friends, who aren't just normal teenagers, we're rockstars! I always get to be Hilary and she's Avril. Oh joy.

I just finished writing you a HUGE long e-mail so I don't really need to update my non-nanny life!
Congrats on getting into the nursing program!!! I am so happy for you!
As for bringing me back something from India. All I would really like is a necklace of some sort, or bracelet or whatever. You know both the necklace and bracelet you brought back for me last time are still two of my favourite things ever!!
Okay, gotta get back to the nanny world, the little guy is chucking tennis balls at me!!

not the way it's supposed to work...

So, I've been a nanny or baby-sitting for how long now? a LONG time... and it has always worked very well as what I like to call the best form of birth control EVER! I love the kids - it's great hanging out with them all day, and I couldn't think of a better job in the world, but when 6 o'clock comes around and the parents come home, I am so happy to be outta here! But lately, with this additional little year old munchkin I have, it's been having the opposite effect. I'm really sad when his parents come home, I just want to stay with him ALL the time! And it's not like he's the perfect little baby or something, he screams quite a lot, is spoiled rotten by his family, and happens to know just how cute he is and is already quite manipulative in using it to his advantage ;)
I'm thinking it'll pass... this constant craving of wanting to have kids of my own! And even if it doesn't, it's not like there's a whole lot I can do about it - a few things I need to happen first before kids can enter the picture...
And Craig's partly right too - he tells me, "the smaller they are, the more they're false advertising..."
So anyways, that's all about that.
Just to fill you in on how adorable this little munchkin is, today we were listening to Metallica, I was going through his parent's CD collection - and Ethan's sitting on my lap doing his version of dancing which remarkably looked like a really good head bang - it was hilarious. I had to show the parents when they got home!
Okay on to other things...
I got myself on the "cancellation" list for the gastroenterologist appointment, and I talked to my doctor about travelling and she said just to wait until I get my results back from this barium enema I have on March 10 and it should be able to help them pinpoint exactly what the problem is because there's not much difference between it and the colonscopy in terms of possible diagnosises (sp?). If there is a problem like colitis or any of those other diseases travel to southeast Asia would definitely not be recommended, but if it's something simpler like an ulcer (that's what I'm rootin for ;) ) then I'm go for launch! I'm sure it's something simple - I'm just counting down the days til I can actually find out! But is that too late to get back to you? Middle of March? It's probably cutting it close... I dunno - oh so much confusion :)
Went to a small town wedding dance last weekend, and it wasn't our small town! It was for Trac's cousin Lindsey, do you remember her? She lived in Calgary for a while and was out with us a few times that you were out with us, the day we got evicted was one of those times ;) she's super gorgeous with curly blonde hair. Anyways, not important - it was her wedding up in Devon. Lots of cute guys, didn't make out with any of them unfortunately! Crawled across the street to our hotel room, went to the bathroom without turning on the light and I must have passed out for a minute because when I woke up I found myself trapped in this pitch black little room and I didn't want to make any noise because I was afraid I would wake everyone up, and I couldn't figure out how to get out! Started feeling a little clausterphobic clawing my way around trying to find the doorknob. I somehow located the hinges and actually took one of them out before realizing that I could just reach over and most likely find the doorknob. Too funny. Went to bed and when we woke up in the morning Jar's saying, "does anyone know why one of the hinges on the bathroom door is undone?" then it all came back to me! Oy, oy, oy - silly drunk Ang! So yeah, that's that... not much else to report. I should get back to my English distance ed course. Yuck. I hate English. And I could live the rest of my life quite happily if no one ever mentioned the word "symbolism" to me again!!!!
Anyhoo... I love you.. .monkey chew...
never mind.
later alligator,
in a while crocodile,
too soon baboon...
okay, okay...
bye for real!

germs, germs, germs...

I'm back... and healthy again. The entire family that I work for was home last week with snotty noses and congested lungs and all that fun winter cold stuff. And after a couple of days of me keeping water glasses full, changing DVD's and handing out kleenexes every 30 seconds, they passed the lovely bug on to me :)
So can I thank you so much for your comments and reassurances that everything's gonna be a-ok. It worked. You're right - it'll be a great story for the grandkids. "You think you've got it bad? I remember when I had bloody poop for months ;)"
It'll be great.
So... what's new? Went to a Slipknot/Killswitch Engage concert a couple of weeks ago. Nothing like some good ol' death metal to make you feel good.
Still a little deaf in one ear!
Went to this ice carving festival out at Lake Louise -it was amazing! I can't believe the talent it takes for that... wish I could even attempt something like that! Maybe it should be my new hobby. I've been looking for something new to try out. Hmm... but I hate being cold - that could put a real damper on things.
Marty the car sucks ass. He's costing me $700 in repairs for some stupid steering box, rack & pinion. Argh. But isn't pinion a fun word to say?
In nanny news: Anna asked me yesterday if when her mom got older, would her boobies be like they are now or all wrinkled like her grandma's?
You've got to be kidding. I answered that most things turn wrinkly when you get older, so yes they probably would too. I thought about saying "you should ask your mom" but then had visions of Anna saying, "Mom, Angie said to ask you if your boobies are going to be wrinkly like Grandma's when you're older..."
Wanted to avoid that!
I have to get going, I'm at the library right now and that little warning sign came up that my time's running out! Just wanted to say hey and tell you how much I love you!!!!!
And miss you like crazy... I'll update again soon!

HAPPY 2005!!

Michelle my belle - how are you doing sweetie?
FYI - will you drink beer out of teapots with me one day? That sounds like fun...
Okay, um, where to start?
Well, in two weeks, I'm taking on another little munchkin. I think I've already told you that - Ethan, and he just turned a year old. He's Mia & Anna's cousin, and one of the cutest babies in the entire world!! Anyways this means that I'll be transporting four kids around, Mia, Anna, Ethan, and Asia (the girl we carpool with), and with all of these stupid parental worries about children riding in the front seats of vehicles I won't be able to fit them all in my car. So I get to, drumroll please, drive a minivan!!! WOW! Can't you picture it?
Guess what I got for Christmas? A sewing machine! I am very excited... I don't really know if I could become any MORE suzy homemakerish... (does that make any sense?)
Mia got another instrument of torture for Christmas - the Ashlee Simpson CD, add that to Hilary Duff, Pink and Lindsay Lohan - and I think it might cause me to actually go insane...
Anna got a pair of hooker boots. Yeah, thought that would make you laugh. I'm serious, a little pair of black leather boots that go up to her knees and have heels... what else would I call them?
I'm having stomach/intestine problems (long story - sorry if this is really disgusting, but it'll help with the rest of the story - I have blood in my bowel movements) and have been to the doctor three times in two months about it. First he thought it was food poisoning and gave me antibiotics, that didn't help, then he thought it was an internal hemmorhoid and gave me suppositories (not fun) that didn't help. In the mean time I've taken a sample in, but it tested negative for all infections, etc. So now I'm scheduled for a barium enema (also not fun) but the wait for that is a month or two, and I'm also scheduled to see a gastrointestinal specialist, but the soonest appt is July 26, my doctor explained what tests the specialist would do and how to prepare for them and then calmly told me that he would then be able to pinpoint exactly where the bleeding is coming from... What? So in the meantime, I'm just supposed to keep bleeding? This didn't seem to concern him too much. But I'm not too excited about it! Argh... In the meantime I have to have blood tests to make sure my red blood cell count isn't too low. This just doesn't make any sense to me. But on the other hand, I'm trying to tell myself to suck it up princess - at least I have healthcare and the ability to see a specialist when I need to. Not much else I can do about it, just wait...
Oh, munchkin's up. I've got more to tell you, but I'll write again later alligator

funny...

quick story...
I'm at the library, and I see this girl at the self checkout that looks so much like you. Long dark hair in two braids. She's wearing a pair of cargo pants and this hippy-like sweater. The thing was that her mannerisms were so much like yours - the way she was reaching into her pants pockets searching for her library card that she couldn't find anywhere. She finally dumped everything down on the ground and started searching for it. I went over to help her pick up her books and when I got a close look at her, I think she was like 12 - possibly even younger. But man she could be a mini-michelle (well about the same height as you actually - hahaha. Just kidding

One other quick story. We were at the bar last night in red deer. Good ol' Billy Bobs. And there's this guy that I thought I knew because he was standing with all of Jar's work friends, so I went over and said hey, how's it going? He says, "good, you? I guess now we can finish that conversations we had started last time..." I don't have a clue what hes talking about but decide to just play along... "oh yeah, where were we?" I ask. He says, "well, I was telling you my thoughts on same sex marriages." I'm thinking oh great, just what I really want to get into. A political conversation with your typical redneck. He then says, "when do you plan on heading out to Victoria?" "Pardon?" I say. "You know, to unite your souls and strengthen the bond of love and all that other crap you were feeding me."he tells me
I am very confused and must have a look of confusion on my face.
"Aren't you and your 'partner' going to get married out there anymore?"
"My partner?" I exclaim, "I don't really know what you're talking about..."
"Aren't you Brenda?" he asks
"Um, nope."
Turns out I look a lot like this Brenda. And "you have that lesbian air about you, too" he tells me.
Right.
Okee dokee...
That's all from me.
Later alligator!

what am I teaching her???

First off all can I just tell you how much I LOVE and look forward to reading your entries Michelle my belle... especially these last two mumbai entries. They were incredible - the words you chose to describe what you experienced painted a very vivid picture in my head. Definitely good enough to be published in any book. You should do that my dear, write a book... It was even somewhat of an emotional experience for me just reading it - I almost cried reading your descriptions of what you seen and experienced in the slums. But then again, that could just be me cry-over-everything Ang ;)

And in response to your last response - Michelle drama. What are you talking about? I've never witnessed any of that in my life... (I wish there was an easier way to convey sarcasm in writing)

Little funny story for you:
Anna has problems with brushing her teeth. The main problem being that she just likes to eat the yummy bubble gum flavoured toothpaste. Why do they make it taste so good? I just don't get it... So I've been on her case to remember to spit the toothpaste out, don't swallow it.
So every day, while she's brushing her teeth, I'm usually standing there saying
Spit, don't swallow...
Spit, don't swallow...
Spit, don't swallow...
It didn't hit me until the other day of what I was saying... I wonder if that little mantra will stick with her for the rest of her life. Will it have some effect on her sexual attitudes years and years down the road :-P

Not much else is new... Um, hanukah started on Wednesday - so I've been lighting my menorah for a couple of nights now :) Getting ready to practice up some dreidel. We're having people over for a little christmas party on Monday, and I'm even going to serve some jewish food - I'm just getting right into this. Pam's coming over, and I'm sure she'll frown upon it...
I get a week off at christmas time so I am really looking forward to that!
We had our big family christmas with my mom's side of the family last Saturday - the one where we have to rent a hall because the family's just gotten too darn big... it was a ton of fun. But due to lack of interest on the male side of our family (all of the outgoing ones were missing that day) my 16 year old niece Amber volunteered to be Santa. It was hilarious. She did a fantastic job, even though she didn't fool any of the kids for even a minute :)
We're going back to Red Deer tonight for this going away party for a friend of ours that works with Jarrod. Reason number one I can tell I'm getting older: I haven't gotten drunk in about 4 months. Even on our pub crawl, I wasn't really hammered, I was just a happy buzzed. Oh, I forgot about Halloween - I was pretty drunk on Halloween... but besides that, I just haven't, and I don't even really feel like it. You know? But I have a feeling things may get out of control this evening... we'll see. Even though honestly, I'd rather just stay at home and watch movies ;) - that's how I can tell I'm getting old!!!!
Well, I should get going. I love you mon amie!
Once again, I think your stories are absolutely incredible - keep them coming!!!
I'll write again soon,
your puddin pie :)

wish you were here...

I am really missing you today!
A ton...
Unplugged 8 was last night. It was absolutely fantastic! Funny how one gets so caught up with commercialized music and then after something like that, I just feel very refreshed. There's so much actual musical talent out there, hidden in the most obscure places... it gave me that warm fuzzy feeling inside ;) Cam got up and played guitar with this guy Daniel Heffner who did this incredible "flamenco" style song. How someone's fingers can move that fast is beyond me! There was this one girl who did this hilarious song called "Ode To Bananas" - I know you would've appreciated it. The lyrics were the best! Another girl also wrote brilliant lyrics, but she was so shy, it was difficult hearing her sing over the guitar. Her voice was beautiful though, she just needed a little more umph behind it :)
so yeah, after it was over I found myself in an extremely nostalgic sentimental, I really miss Michelle mood...
In nanny news:
Gymnastics is over until january... awwwwwww.
The kids and I made about 50 christmas tree ornaments out of bakers clay yesterday. Leslee insists I'm running some sort of sweat shop, using child labour like that ;) I went for lunch with her and Bill the giant today and after it was over, Bill apologized for being such a bore to be around! I found it very endearing. He's not a bore, he's just sooooooo shy. Getting him into a conversation is like pulling teeth sometimes, but hey, that's allright - to each their own!
Hmmm... what have the kids been up to this week?
Last week I had the three year old from hell. Holy crap, was she a pain in the ass to be around.
Um, I wouldn't mind murdering Hilary Duff in her sleep, or just sending her to some faraway deserted island would probably do... she's Mia's idol.
Speaking of Mia, this morning she was in the bathroom for about 45 minutes, so eventually I went and knocked on the door and said, "come on mia, what on earth is taking so long?"
Mia: I'm doing my makeup
Me: WHAT?
Mia: My makeup. Mom gave me some of her old stuff.
Me: Let me in there right now please.
I find her all done up with about 4 coats of mascara and this bright purple glossy sparkly lipstick.
Me: Mia, you know that's okay to put on if we're just hanging around the house, but you're leaving in 30 minutes to spend the day with your grandparents, and that's not okay to wear over there. (she's eight remember...)
Mia: What do you want me to do?
Me: Wash it off.
15 minutes later,
Mia: Owwwwwww, it won't come off!!!!!!
Me: SCRUB HARDER!!
5 minutes later,
Mia: I think I scrubbed all my eyelashes off too...
Me: Is that my fault?
Then I of course hugged her and thanked her for doing such a good cleanup job. And no she didn't scrub her eyelashes off...

However a couple days ago when I made her wear her snowpants to school because A) it was snowing, B) it was cold outside, and C)they had an outdoors field trip, and snowpants were required... this is our little conversation...
Me: Mia get your coat and snowpants on.
Mia: WHAT? I can't wear my snowpants. No other kids have to wear their snowpants...
Me: (tempted to use the "if everyone else jumped off a bridge..." quote) Sorry, you have to today...
Mia's bottom lip comes out and her eyes kinda gloss over like tears are gonna make me change my mind...
Me: Get them on now please...
Mia: But Angie.... I'll do anything.
Me: Put them on now please, or you're going to be late...
Mia: You're ruining MY LIFE!!!

oh the drama...
this is where anna the three year old gets it from...

well I gotta go get this pink eye checked out again. It's getting worse...

You probably won't get a chance to read this for a few days, I believe you're in Bombay right now. It was so awesome to hear all about the camel fair. Made me want to jump on a plane and come and visit you!!

Anyhoo... I'll write again soon
Love you lots,

ang

A 3 Year Old's Views of the World

Our conversation in the car yesterday:
Anna: I sure am glad I'm pretty.
(I sit there silent for a second, not too sure what to say to that!)
Anna: because girls are upposed to be pretty.
Ang: Really? What about boys, what are they supposed to be?
Anna: Unpretty

A few weeks ago we're driving along and Anna spots a VW Beetle
Anna: PUNCH BUGGY GREEN BOOGER NO PUNCH BACK (their weird 'punchbuggy' ritual - not sure what the 'booger' part is all about...) When I get older I'm going to drive a punch buggy.
Ang: Are you? What colour?
Anna: No, maybe I'll drive a big truck like your dad's.
Ang: That would be fun...
Anna: Which is more money - a punchbuggy or a big truck?
Ang: Probably a big truck I'd say.
Anna: Then I'm going to have a big truck because I want to spend ALL my money!!

This was quite a few months ago - she's moved on to the boys are really icky phase since then
Anna: You know, I have a boyfriend...
Ang: I know (she tells me this at least 3 times a day) His name's Aaron.
Anna: That's right - but he sure is babyish. He's still in diapers - can you believe that? And I know how to pee like a grown-up!
Ang: Oh, I'm sure he'll learn how to use the toilet soon (what else was I going to say?)
Anna: Yeah, I think so. But he drools too!!!!

She's also expressed to me her belief that all girls are angels and all boys are "THE DEVIL" - picture her saying this while making her fingers into little devil horns on top of her head and growling the words...
I tell ya, what am I gonna do with this kid?? We went and seen the new Disney/Pixar movie yesterday - The Incredibles - it was fantastic! It just amazes me how realistic the character's are in those movies!! And the short film they always show beforehand is called "Boundin" - it's the best one I've ever seen...
In other news, the b-day party for Trac & Les went off fabulously! I made them do this scavenger hunt at Schanks. They had to find: an empty toilet paper roll, signature of someone named Trevor, red pen, used c-train ticket, condom, stranger's sock, crossword puzzle, out-of-town business card, American coin, and two other things I can't think of right now!! The goal was to get them off their asses and meeting some people - and they did!! I can't believe that two strangers volunteered their socks! Because the thing was they couldn't get those socks back, the girls had to keep them. Attached to each thing they couldn't find was a type of shooter they'd have to do if they couldn't find it or gave up. Trac, the loser, ended up finding everything. Leslee forfeited the used toilet paper roll card :) - ended up doing a prairie fire. She wasn't happy at all with that ;) We did some mini golf, pool, some of the games- it was awesome! I had such a good time - I gave Lestor a china white specifically from you!! Funny how I write this like you're the only one reading it - but I think you probably are!
I'm in the middle of writing you a letter right now filled with tons of stuff I don't wanna talk about in something that's available for the world to see ;)
Happy Diwali to you as well!!!!
I wish I could help you out with your being stuck in a pothole feeling. But that's usually something only you can get yourself out of - I just want to tell you how proud I am of you for being stuck in a rut over there rather than here. What I mean is that I think it's amazing that you actually got out of your comfort zone over here and are doing something that not many people take the chance or the opportunity to do! And you know what? I also think it's great that you realized all of this now - you do have the power to change how you're reacting to things and situations, and you've figured this out only two months into your stay. Think of how terrible terrible it would be if you realized all of it with only a week left in India... And on top of all that, I know you Michelle my belle, and you make the best of any situation you're in. You have the ability to flip things around and see them from a different point of view, which is something that I'm sure you've done already!
Now I'm rambling, I should get going - only an hour left of work then I'm off to good ol' Eckville to see the ma & pa. Oh, I'll have to fill you in on my carnie wagon experiences with my family down in Calgary - hee hee hee... next time.
P.S. Travis is not gay - as a matter of fact, he's married... although I guess that doesn't mean anything!
yeah, I don't know where Anna comes up with this stuff - a lot of it is from her eight year old sister who tries desperately to be a teenager. The munchkins don't watch any T.V.!! We watch a lot of movies but she's not exposed to commercials on the tv at all, which is strange!

My Life with the 3 year old Drama Queen

Quick question:
Should the term "yoga pants" even be in a three year old's vocabulary?
Yeah, I didn't think so...
Anna's favourite pair of pants are her blue "yoga pants" - once when we were downtown meeting Trac for lunch, Anna Banana announced: "I don't even know why I'm wearing my yoga pants when I'm not even doing any yoga!"
See, it's like having a teenager trapped in a three year old's body... when I'm around any other three year olds I find myself thinking "wow, are they ever babyish" and then I realize that no, they're normal. It's the Banana that doesn't act like your average three year old.
So today was gymnastics. She has graduated from the Gym-A-Tots program which required grown-up assistance with everything to the Hot Shots program where she doesn't need my help at all :( Do you have any idea what this means? I can no longer jump into the giant foam block pit!! That used to be the highlight of my week! The other highlight of my week used to be seeing her cute gymnastics coach Travis - my dream guy - great with kids, awesome sense of humour, and cute on top of it all! But we have a new coach now - Amanda, cute as well, but just not my type ;) Really Ang, like it matters - I shouldn't be picking activities for Anna with the hopes of hitting on her instructors!!
We had a tiny battle this morning over doing her hair - it has to be pulled back out of her face for gymnastics so I'm putting it into pigtails when she starts getting mad, "I don't WANT my hair in two ponies - it makes me look cute and I don't WANT TO BE CUTE!!!" So at first I tried convincing her that it didn't make her look cute, it made her look "cool". Then I thought, what am I doing? I'm the boss here. Her hair will be put into whatever I put it into. Then she asks if they can be "low ponies" - those are cool... Why can't anything be simple?
So I handed out candy at the house I was baby-sitting at last night and was VERY disappointed with the costumes. All I seen was witches, vampires and a couple dragons. Oh and one cowboy. Out of about 30 kids... some creativity people!!
Well, I've gotta get back to the munchkin. We're having a book marathon - curling up on the couch under a pile of blankets and reading for an hour - I love it!
Speaking of reading - there's this new kids' author I discovered that I LOVE! Andy Cutbill - he's from England, and I always find myself trying my best British accent out when I'm reading his stories (and you know how great my British accent is :) comes out as some sort of a cross between Australian, German and British...) He writes these great stories about a little boy named Albie - they're hilarious and the illustrations are amazing too!
Okay - later alligator...
too soon baboon :)

a little hungover...

Hey jiggly ass :)
So here I am babysitting the cutest little one year old in the entire world - and I've seen my fair share of one year olds! It's naptime and the parents gave me free reign of their computer so I figured, hey why not do some blogging. I really like the word "blog" - I'm going to try and use it on a more regular basis... I bet it'll piss Trac off ;)
So yesterday was the big halloween celebration! We went bowling for Shireen's birthday - so this is the third time I've seen Josh in the last two months. Insane, considering that I've only seen him a grand total of five times throughout their entire four year relationship! It was fun - Dustin, Superman, Jimmy & Lydia were there, I haven't seen any of them in a really long time! Everyone was dressed up. The venetian blinds were a hit! Took people long enough to figure it out though... Shireen's guess was that we were blind French painters. Yeah, okay... We'd usually have to say to people - look at the nametag, if we're from Venice we would be??? They'd think about it, then say "um, venetian" and then we'd still have to prompt them with, "and we're also..." They'd say "blind" and then they could usually piece it together. Sometimes not. They'd just have a look of pure confusion and say "uh, blind venetians" NO YOU IDIOT!!! I sucked ass at bowling - the first game my score was 47... yeah, just about every one else tripled that :)
I was so excited about going to a house party but it was kind of boring... But all you have to do is make your own fun, right? Scott the idiot, when trying to figure out the costumes says, "Uh, if you're from Venice you're Venisans - blind Venisans?" No, no, no... They got a keg and we played a plethora of drinking games - I think I was passed out by 10:30. Had a nice sleep though! Oh - funny story - as we're leaving the bowling alley Trac & I have our elbows linked and our walking sticks in front of us like we're actually blind and this dad says to his kids - watch out for the blind ladies, son get the door for them... He must have been wondering how blind people go bowling and then he watches us walk to the car and I climb in the drivers seat. As we drove by he looked scared shitless!! Poor guy...
Other than that... nothing is new. I'm planning a big birthday party for Leslee and Tracy next Saturday - we're gonna Schanks it up :) Should be fun - if you have a birthday message you'd like to give to Lestor the Molestor I'd be more than happy to pass it on to her along with a shooter of your choice :)
okee dokee artichokee, I'll talk to you later!

Happy Halloween!!!

Wow, my first entry in dun, dun, dun, dun... the NANNY BLOG. This was my friend Michelle's idea - and you know what my darling punkin head? I bet you're the only one reading this ;)
So, I just wanted to send a Happy Halloween your way... want me to fill you in on the exciting halloween activities me and the munchkins participated in this week?
First of all, preschool Halloween party - Anna is dressed as a butterfly. But of course we had a twenty minute battle in the morning because the outfit I had picked out for her to wear under her butterfly wings "doesn't LOOK GOOD!!" She's only three for crying out loud, but her whole world revolves around fashion. She's very much into dressing in one solid colour, and if I dare set out a pair of blue underwear for her to wear with her orange outfit, even though she doesn't own any orange underwear - it's pretty much the end of the world.
wow am I ever blabbing...
Let's get to the point of the preschool halloween party. They had to have it on the Tuesday rather than the Thursday (closer to halloween) because on the Thursday the entire private school was hosting an open house for potential students and anyone else to come and view the school and the classrooms and they wanted all children to be in their "natural habitats" What the HELL does that mean?
Tuesday evening I take the Anna Banana, her 8 year old sister Mia and the girl we carpool with, Asia, to Boo at the Zoo - a yearly event at the Calgary Zoo. Anna was FREAKED out. Holy crap... at the parts that weren't even scary. Oh look there's a giant green caterpillar with googly eyes - I know let's scream, "AAAAHHHH, RUN FOR YOUR LIFE..." just so we can freak out all the other little kids around. They had some "magicians" doing card tricks - they were pretty cool. I think the one was flirting with me. How weird is that? I'm carting around three kids, who most people assume are all mine - I guess it is possible, if I was knocked up when I was sixteen... So, I'm carrying Anna who's arms are wrapped so tightly around my neck I think I'm blue in the face, and choking, and this cute magician is flirting with me. Crazy... There was this guy dressed up as a big ape with a prison uniform on (personally doesn't make any sense to me - a gorilla escaping from jail?) and he's running around after the kids. I can see how this would be scary. So he's coming up to us as I'm trying to take the girls' pictures and Anna's screaming bloody murder, so I try telling her that it's just a monkey, nothing to be scared of, actually it's just a zookeeper dressed up as a monkey. She's clinging on to me, digging nails into my flesh, and the monkey comes over and pretends to cry, whimpering like we've hurt his feelings. Anna's still wants nothing to do with him. So I start petting the monkey, I stroked his head for a good two minutes, talking baby-talk "wook at the poor wittle monkey - he's so sad" trying to convince Anna that there's nothing to be scared of. In the end she doesn't believe me for one second and I feel like an idiot for rubbing this guy's head and talking jibberish to him.
On Wednesday we carved a pumpkin - not your ordinary pumpkin with spooky eyes and a missing teeth smile. Nope ours had to "look nice". So we have a girly girl pumpkin. Eyelashes, pouty lips and a cute little nose. This morning Mia stuck a "J-Lo" hat on top of our poor pumpkin's head. Oh, it's a sad world...
And yesterday we made a shitload of halloween cookies. I wish I could send some over to you Michelle my belle!
Then tonight the kids have the Heritage Park After Dark, tomorrow morning a jack o'lantern carving party at a friends house. Tomorrow night the Halloween Howler school dance and Sunday actual trick-or-treating.
When did halloween turn into a week long event? I forgot to mention our halloween day at gymnastics last Monday... Cripes!
Well how was that? A week in the life of nanny ang is more like it... And in my off-nanny hours, you ask? Haven't been up to much. Jarrod was in town for a millright course this week so we told him we could meet up with him and some of his classmates after their test last night. Where did we end up going? The strippers - oh fun... At least Trac and I have "our rule" - we'll go there but all our drinks are paid for... Jar doesn't mind. Wanna know about our costumes this year?
Venetian blinds - What, you're saying, how the hell do you pull that off? Well we're dressing "italian" - all black, these funky beret like hats, and ties, with a nametag saying, "Hi, I'm ____ from Venice", then we've got those big "blind-people" sunglasses and walking sticks. Get it? Venetian blinds... HA HA HA. Yeah, we're still just as dorky as ever :) We're going bowling for Shireen's birthday tomorrow afternoon and then to a house party at Mel & Scott's tomorrow night for halloween. It should be fun!
Okay well I should get back to my "nannying". The munchkin's watching some Toy Story right now. Aww, I knew someone once who had a crush on Woody... who could that be? ;) Funny, funny...
Anyways - HAPPY HALLOWEEN! Talk to you soon :)