A soccer mom is born

I have been feeling a lot of gratitude lately.
Above all, I am grateful for these two wonderful people with whom I am privileged to share my life. Thank you both for being exactly who you are.

On a related note, thank you to my parents-in-law for all you have done for my husband and for our family.
And thank you to our soccer coaches and everyone who makes children's soccer happen in our neighbourhood, for bringing us this moment.
Before I became a parent, when I heard others moan about hours spent at cold arenas and damp fields, I wondered why they did it. Now I know. We watch our children play because it fills our hearts with joy.
I am so grateful to have this opportunity.

Easter consumption update

Well, it's been three weeks and J has almost finished eating the Easter Bunny that he was holding here (the one without ears).

That's the Easter Bunny that we got for him. The rest of the haul came from grandparents and neighbours. It's still untouched, except for half a bunny that my husband ate (shhhh).
I try not to think about all that chocolate lurking in the house, especially the Lindt carrots.
I also try not to be judgmental about the (in my opinion) ridiculous amount of chocolate that others gave our son.
I'm damned if I do and damned if I don't. I could say something to the others and feel mean-spirited. I could let him eat it all despite the fact that it makes him jittery and keeps him up at night, which I won't do. Or I can throw some of it away, and feel guilty for effectively betraying the donors. A little birdie suggested that I freeze it and use it in my Christmas baking. Two problems: my freezer is small and I don't do much Christmas baking.
Solution! We're having the family over for Mother's Day. Stay tuned for my Mother's Day chocolate creations...

p.s. My own Easter chocolate is of course long gone. It was delicious. Thank you K, J, and Godiva.

A thousand words on Easter today

It is worth a thousand words, isn't it?

Today this bunny nibbled in my garden and denied all responsibility for the treats shown above. 

Let It Be

Paul McCartney says it best.
{I posted this video last Tuesday with little comment. I had heard the song on the car radio in the morning, and it caught my attention. It's striking how we sometimes hear an old song as if we're hearing it for the first time. I had been baptized in the Catholic church a few days earlier on April 7, 2012, so the reference to Mother Mary intrigued me. When I came home I looked it up on-line (thanks Wikipedia).
I read that the song, written by Paul McCartney, was inspired by a dream in which he was visited by his late mother. It must have been a beautiful experience.
John Lennon later dissed the song in an interview. I wonder if he's run into Paul's mother upstairs...}

Willpower

Just read an interesting 2011 publication called Willpower: Rediscovering the Greatest Human Strength by Roy F. Baumeister and John Tierney.
I can't recommend it completely. It's a bit long-winded and it actually contains several typos. This is a hardcover book published by Penguin. Typos, people?
I also can't recall all of its points, because I read it each night just before sleep. This is actually one of the things I appreciated about the book: it put me to sleep. I'm serious. Sorry Baumeister and Tierney; I'm just saying. I am one of those people who cannot read novels, or apparently memoirs, before bed -- they keep me up all night because I can't bear to put them down. Willpower, on the other hand, is full of studies. The studies and their results are interesting, but it's not a story.
Since I was peacefully drifting off to sleep each night as I read it, I need to re-read it, with a pencil and a note pad this time.
If nothing else, this should generate another week of good sleep.
Moreover, it will help me to better understand and apply the authors' findings that (a) willpower is a finite resource depleted by use; and (b) willpower can be strengthened with training. This initially struck me as paradoxical, but of course it's no more paradoxical than muscle-power.
Why haven't I re-read the book yet? Well, it's a library book(!). This is part of the new austerity around here. I am LOVING the library. One catch -- no renewals if someone else has requested the book. So I rushed to finish up and return the book by its original due date, and promptly put in another request. Now I wait.
In the meantime, I can't get the book out of my head.
Fun fact from Willpower: it's weakened by low blood sugar.

Best Potty Chart Ever

I'm so happy to say that I have created the Best Potty Chart Ever.

It's easy: 

1. Find a piece of black construction paper.
2. Tape it to the bathroom wall.
3. Offer stickers.

It looks good. (Black goes with everything.)

It's J's favourite colour (again, black). 

It doesn't expire.

I get to decide when it's full. 

It's customizable. We started using just stars, but one day when we needed a big incentive we added the smiley planet stickers. 

Best of all, it worked!

Imperfectly happy video!

I love this very happy video. Life is too short to be perfect.