Wednesday Words of Advice & Warriors *Why I'm an UN-Warrior*

It's Wednesday! It's your chance to choose one of these blog topics to write about, include the applicable button below in your post, then come back here to include your link in Mr. Linky so we can all click on over to check it out. Don't forget to take a moment to click on a couple other links to see some posts by other bloggers. Tomorrow night I'll be choosing my favourite post and stopping by your blog so that I can write a post profiling YOU! For a refresher on what to write about, see HERE.

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I am an UN-Warrior and here are the sad reasons why:

- I cry at least once a week. Not because I feel sorry for myself, but because I'm scared.

- We have mice in the house at the moment and even if one was crawling on my kid, I think I'd be paralyzed with fear. Paralyzed while standing on a chair.

- I can preach about nutrition and healthy eating, but I eat like crap when I shouldn't and I can't get my kids to eat vegetables.

- I sometimes start my day with a shot of Mint Bailey's in my coffee (I always leave a giant gulp-full at the bottom so I figure half has sunk so it shouldn't count).

- I'm partially deaf. I rely on reading lips. A lot. But I'm too much of a weenie to get fitted for a hearing aide.

- I can be judgmental. I really try not to be. But I have NO patience for parents who don't put the needs of their kids first or for people who constantly play the victim card.

- I am sometimes really shallow. I got together with my husband because he had great legs. I thought this even in the 11th grade. And fyi: he still has great legs.

- I'm a Mama Bear. But there have been times that I have held my kids from being themselves, because I was more concerned at how other parents would judge us. I'm ashamed of this.

- I can't run. Jake thinks this is a major personality flaw, so I guess it is.

- I can be a miserable bitch. At least once a week. And often, hubby and I snap at each other. Or I beat him up until he cries.

Have you got any advice to share? Or a Warrior you want to write about? Go blog about it. Then come back and don't forget to enter your blog's URL in Mr. Linky below to share it with us. Happy Hump-Day!

FancyPants is my Favourite

FancyPants of On Living Overseas played along in yesterday's meme and she cracked me up in doing so. Her wise Wednesday Words of Advice were the following:

If you teach your children the proper names for their private parts- be prepared for embarrassment.

Click HERE to read the story that explains how she came to this understanding.

I have 'known' FancyPants for quite some time now. The online community is pretty incredible when you can tap into like-minded people that can entertain you at the same time. I was fortunate enough to land myself in an online book group 8 years ago, as a way to talk to other grown-ups who shared my interest in reading, as I was on my maternity leave with Jake. A group of 20-something women, all from different parts of North America, all from different walks of life, formed an instant friendship that is still going strong eight years later. FancyPants introduced me to what it was like to be in a military family. She is a navy wife, raising two young children and doing a damn good job of it too. I admire her strength and her sense of humour through all of her trials and tribulations while holding the fort when her husband is at sea. She recently moved to Japan and is adjusting to life in a foreign country and not only making the most of the situation, but immersing herself in the culture to soak up all that she can from the experience.

FancyPants is fairly new at this blogging thing, but I'm doing my best to encourage her to keep at it because I do so enjoy getting glimpses of her life. Help me out, will ya? Show her some love. Visit her and leave a comment, not only to help with her homesickness, but also to let her know that she's doing a great job.

My favourite post from her blog: What It Means to Be a Navy Wife

Wednesday's Words of Advice & Warriors *Odds 'n Ends*

It's here! It's your chance to choose one of these blog topics to write about, include the applicable button below in your post, then come back here to include your link in Mr. Linky so we can all click on over to check it out. Don't forget to take a moment to click on a couple other links to see some posts by other bloggers. Tomorrow night I'll be choosing my favourite post and stopping by your blog so that I can write a post profiling YOU! For a refresher on what to write about, see HERE.




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My Words Of Advice:


1) If you get that nagging voice in your head that tells you to call the shop to have your snow tires put on the car, even though it's early OCTOBER... do it!

This was what we woke up to this morning. And since Calgary doesn't believe in plowing or sanding any streets other than the main ones, I slid through three intersections while driving the twins to school, white-knuckling it the whole way. We made it safe and sound. Until Jonathan was driving the kids to a concert tonight and someone nailed the back side of the car. Day One and already an accident. Not good. Should have got those snow tires put on last week.

2) What's the best way to make your house smell homey, especially during the holidays? Simmer a pot of apple cider all day. Here's our family recipe (roughly, since I rarely measure anything):

jug of fresh-pressed apple cider or concentrated apple juice

3/4 bottle white wine

1 cup fresh cranberries

8-10 cloves

6-8 cinnamon sticks
*if you have any clementine oranges, I like to throw in a couple,
if not, throw in a couple of orange wedges

* bring to a boil and let it go for 5 minutes or so to burn off the alcohol

* bring down to a simmer and add a bottle of ginger ale

* let simmer all day

3) Are you a fan of Billy Bob Thornton? I can't stand him, but there once was a time when I could tolerate seeing him in a film. Until I saw him in Love Actually, when he played a US president. But then I DESPISED him once I saw this interview of him on Canadian CBC Radio's the Q. I had heard clips from this before, but had never seen the video footage. My advice to you: watch the clip. Then tell me what you think.



4) I can't gush about this download-able software program enough. Our family had a little *incident* with one of the kids who was surfing YouTube for kid shows, and instead was witness to some gay porn. I am not making light of it, it was horrific for us as parents, to have to deal with the consequences of this. Our twins had worked for years to learn to use the mouse and keyboard on a computer, then to navigate pages independently. Watching video clips was the one thing that they both loved doing so much, but now we couldn't trust YouTube. We found an amazing alternative.

ZacBrowser was designed for kids with autism, but I would HIGHLY recommend it for any parents with young kids at home, who have an interest in the computer. Go to www.zacbrowser.com and download the program for FREE. It will create its own desktop icon so the kids can learn to click on it and not have to go on to the internet browser at all. The program has more than one link (games, music & video). No outside content can come in and no one can navigate out of the program on to inappropriate sites. The video option is like a mini YouTube, but its only clips are all taken from kid movies and tv shows. It's wonderful!

Have you got any advice to share? Or a Warrior you want to write about? Go blog about it. Then come bac and don't forget to enter your blog's URL in Mr. Linky below to share it with us. Happy Hump-Day!

Wednesday Words of Advice & Warriors *Pointy Toes*

It's here! It's your chance to choose one of these blog topics to write about, include the applicable button below in your post, then come back here to include your link in Mr. Linky so we can all click on over to check it out. Don't forget to take a moment to click on a couple other links to see some posts by other bloggers. Tomorrow night I'll be choosing my favourite post and stopping by your blog so that I can write a post profiling YOU! For a refresher on what to write about, see HERE.


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My Words Of Advice:

Let me tell you a little story about how I started my day today. I had dropped the boys off for school and had a bit of time to kill before a doctor's appointment. I thought I would drop in to a nearby Denny's for a coffee while I waited.

Let me give you a bit of back-drop of my city. Calgary is an old Cowboy town. Not so much now, with its recent inflation of the population, the cowboys are not usually found within city limits unless it's Stampede time. But the downtown business core certainly doesn't look nearly as sophiscated as other high-power cities. It's not exactly full of Hugo Boss, Prada or other brand-name wearers. I'd say business casual to New York or Toronto, would be considered business-formal to Calgarians.

So back to Denny's. I was walking into the restaurant and passed a pair of men who seemed to be leaving a business meeting, given their attire. Both were wearing grey suits.

Not bad. But the big mouthed buddy was wearing them with grey and tan coloured, snakeskin cowboy boots with the POINTIEST toes I have ever seen!

Now I wouldn't say I'm a malicious person or purposefully mean. But I can't deny that I have mean thoughts sometimes. So naturally, I had a few when I saw the mix of these two clothing choices.

So when Buddy says to his friend "Are you kidding me? The ladies love me!!!"(and I'm not really an eavesdropper on purpose, but if you're talking loudly as you walk beside a person, what do you expect?). 

I had a mean thought in my head in response to this. I thought (and I warn you, I say not nice, not classy things sometimes in my head), I thought, "Not with those p*ssy boots they don't!". - please don't be offended, I'm ashamed enough of my thoughts as it is.

Now here's my advice. Don't think mean thoughts.

Because you could do the same thing I did and mistakenly SAY THEM OUT LOUD!

I have never felt so horrified in my life. I have never done that before and still don't know how it happened. I probably wouldn't have even realized I'd said it if Buddy's friend didn't spit coffee out of his nose and Buddy didn't call me an F*n B*tch.

I hope my wisdom helps prevent similar future mishaps for you all, or you might just end up being the victim of a pointy toe kicked up the backside.

And as a side-note. If David Beckham was wearing that same combination;

 

 that body

+

the grey suit      

=

I would keep my mouth shut. But I can't promise that I won't be thinking not-so-nice thoughts.

(Where is my judgement gone? My dad is so going to be proud of his daughter after this post).




Have you got any advice to share? Or a Warrior you want to write about? Go blog about it. Then come back and don't forget to enter your blog's URL in Mr. Linky below to share it with us. Happy Hump-Day!

Don't Forget! Tomorrow's Wednesday Meme

Get'cher thinkers workin. Tomorrow I'm hosting another round of Willowjak's Wednesday Memes.
Click HERE for the refresher and come back tomorrow to join in and to add your site to Mr. Linky.

Kristina's My Favourite

This week I hosted my first meme. I really enjoyed participating and whether anyone plays along or not, I am happy that I have found a way to entertain myself. :)

Kristina played along and she cracked me up in doing so. Her wise Wednesday Words of Advice were the following:

"You should not post how bored you are on Facebook when half of the people you work with are on your friends list!!"

Kristina is one of my favourite go-to bloggers. She keeps it sweet and simple and incorporates two of my favourite things: books and food. You want a good book review or referral? Or an idea for what to feed everyone at dinner? Kristina plays part in something called: She passed on one of my now-favourite recipes:

Quick Southern-Style Baked Beans
recipe by Pam Anderson
Serves up to 18
8 slices bacon, halved
1 medium onion, cut into small dice
1/2 medium green pepper, cut into small dice
3 large cans (28 ounces each) pork and beans
3/4 cup barbecue sauce
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup distilled or cider vinegar
2 teaspoons dry mustard or 2 tablespoons Dijon

Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and heat oven to 325 degrees. Fry bacon in large, deep sauté pan skillet until bacon has partially cooked and released about 1/4 cup drippings. Remove bacon from pan and drain on paper towels. Add onions and peppers to drippings in pan and sauté until tender, about 5 minutes. Add beans and remaining ingredients bring to a simmer. (If skillet is not large enough, add beans and heat to a simmer then transfer to a large bowl and stir in remaining ingredients). Pour flavored beans into a greased 13-by 9-inch (or similar size) ovenproof pan. Top with bacon, then bake until beans are bubbly and sauce is the consistency of pancake syrup, about 2 hours. Let stand to thicken slightly and serve.

She's got some great links to some cool book reading challenges and I can always count on her to cheer me up with some fun stuff. She's got the most amazing birth story to share about her delivery of her miracle baby, Ethan as well. So on and take a look at Kristina's Favorites and see why she's one of mine.

Wednesday Words of Advice & Warriors *Devon*

It's here! Today is the day of my launch of Willowjak's Wednesday Words of Advice OR Wednesday Warriors. It's your chance to choose one of these blog topics to write about, include the applicable button below in your post, then come back here to include your link in Mr. Linky so we can all click on over to check it out. Don't forget to take a moment to click on a couple other links to see some posts by other bloggers. Tomorrow night I'll be choosing my favourite post and stopping by your blog so that I can write a post profiling YOU! For a refresher on what to write about, see HERE.

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I'd like to tell you about my Wednesday Warrior. Meet Devon.



Devon is also known as D-D-D-D-Devonius, sung to the tune of Duran Duran's "Notorious".

Notorious - Duran Duran

Or otherwise known as the girl in the Wendy's Hamburgers ad:




Devon entered my family's life a year and a bit ago. We have a lot of people in our lives who have met us because of autism. For that, autism has truly been a blessing. Devon is one of the very few who came out of circumstance. We're not an easy family to love. And we're definitely not an easy household to adjust to. If you stop by, you are likely to hear Muppets singing at full volume from the computer, as the tv blares the Backyardigans, as a few behavioural aides/therapists chase a kid through the hallway, while the boiling pots overflow on the stove, while the dog barks at the squirrel in the backyard, while an eight-year old slams a door because he doesn't want to clean his room, while the mom mutters "X*@**" under her breath at the husband who just kicked the mess on the floor into the corner instead of picking it up, while the great grandmother or great grandmother snores from the chair in the middle of the living room and while one naked 6 year old streaks through the house yelling "I'm gonna keeill you boy" (some great line he picked up from a movie clip that we can't track down and is repeated in the most embarrassing and inconvenient of moments in front of the worst possible audiences).



So when Devon was introduced to us, having had no prior exposure to kids with autism or this crazy, chaotic type of family life, I thought any future visits would be limited to those out of necessity. But no. Somehow she fell in love with my boys and all their eccentricities. She immediately bonded with Jake, Owen and Will. When she walked through the door, they ran to her with huge grins and big hugs. She volunteered to watch all three, when only a handful of people would only do this and get paid for it. She took a class in ABA to get a better understanding of the twins' therapy. She took a job at Jake's school as a receptionist and became his #1 cheerleader, helping him through a difficult transition into a new school and becoming a true friend that he could trust. Devon started as being the girl I had to be nice to, to the girl I liked, to a true friend that I would be happy to call a sister. Devon became a book buddy, my go-to girl to vent to about family issues, my Ranchman's companion and my after-dinner Games Night partner.



You don't know what you've got 'til it's gone means more now to me than ever. I didn't realize how much of a hole she would leave until I started looking into the future and seeing how many things she would have been a part of, but won't be.



But let me tell you why she's a warrior.

Being a grown-up isn't always easy. It requires making grown-up decisions. When you don't have kids, it requires making decisions that keep you on track to moving forward in life, while maintaining your self-respect, your pride and not losing sight of your dreams. Many times, it means moving on and leaving people behind. It might mean letting go of the "easy and safe" to choose the more difficult path that leads to greater reward. Putting yourself first and remembering that you deserve the best, not the mediocre.

Devon is leaving us tonight. She is moving back to Ontario to regroup and embark on a new chapter in her life. One that will hopefully bring her much happiness and peace with her decision. As her friend, I am proud of her. As her "sister", I am heart-broken. But my family will never forget the role she played in our life and our door will always be open for her to come back and visit.

Until next time, De-vo. xo

Willowjak's Memes

I had an idea this morning. It wasn't really original, I'll admit, but at least I can take pride in the fact that my brain cells were working even before the caffeine was administered. Before I share it with you, let me let you in on a word that took me a while to figure out. Much like any other community, the blogging world has its own language full of acronyms and specific vocabulary that are used, sometimes forgetting that non-bloggers may not have a freakin' clue of what we're talking about.

What is a MEME?

I stole this from chrisg.com because he can explain it far better than I ever could:

"In science, a Meme (pronounced to rhyme with “theme”) is a self-propagating unit of thought that is spread from one host to another. Richard Dawkins invented the term as a kind of idea-gene. Like genes, as Memes spread they mutate or die. Only the fittest Memes survive.

For bloggers Memes have become synonymous with internet quizzes, surveys, and novelties that people link to and pass around on their blogs, forums and via email, things like the “which superhero are you most like” test…

Fun or just interesting, it is only those that capture your imagination that you will take part in and propagate, apart from those you do out of a sense of duty to your friend who started it. The latter don’t tend to get very far."

I have participated in quite a few them myself on this blog and found that I mostly use them to get ideas of what I'd like to blog about. Meme's such as Mama Kat's Writer's Workshop are particularly inspiring because she always comes up with great ideas to get the writer imagination flowing.

So my idea this morning revolved around how could I keep myself motivated, to be more disciplined, to keep up with blogging on a daily basis? The answer lay in a schedule. How did I not think of this before? I have two boys with autism, a family with three kids, a dog, a busy husband and an extra grandparent or two living in my spare... I have a lot to juggle and we LIVE by the calendar.. of COURSE I need a schedule for blogging! Duh.

So I have decided to come up with my own memes. (Yes, I said memes with an "S").

Willowjak's Wednesday Words of Advice.
I wouldn't be the mom I am if I haven't picked up a lot of tips, tricks, recipes, advice, recommendations, critiques, etc. along the way. Parenting two children with special needs and one more who needs a lot of extras, requires the support of a lot of people. What better way to gather more ideas, than to host this blog party here on my own blog?

Every Monday I will post a reminder to my readers to start gathering their bag of tricks to pass along to help the rest of us out. You've got a no-fail killer recipe for mac 'n cheese you want to share? Have you read an article that might help us all to understand how to make the big decisions about whether or not to vaccinate your child? Have you read a fantastic book, watched a great movie or want to tell us to avoid a crappy new tv show and you want everyone to know about it? (it doesn't have to be related to parenting) Have you bought a hot new toy that will keep my kids entertained for hours that you want to recommend? Have you lived through an experience that taught you a life lesson that could help someone else if you shared it?

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OR

Willowjak's Wednesday Warriors
We all have our own hardships that we have had to dig deep to find the strength to overcome. I personally draw strength from Mama Warriors. Women who went above and beyond to do their best for their kids. They may not have made the headlines, but we see the evidence in their kids' achieving things others never thought they could. Do you know a warrior? Someone who went above and beyond? Someone who lives their life exceptionally generously on a daily basis? A blogger who has inspired you to be a better person? A fallen soldier you know of or heard about on the news? A child who has beat the odds of circumstance? A survivor?

Inspire us. We all need stories of Warriors to give us strength.


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Blog about it. Even if it seems silly. Even if it's as simple as "don't leave out an enticing, shiny container of diaper cream in case the two year old finds it and decides to redecorate the living room" (this might be my first entry). Even if your Warrior is a woman you read about in the morning newspaper, who saved a neighbourhood cat from a tree.

What do you do to participate?

Blog about it. Please grab the code and post the respective button in your post.

Then come back on Wednesday and link it up in Mr. Linky.

I ask that you check out the two entries above yours and leave them a message.

What role will I play in all this? On Thursday, after reading everyone's entries, I get to choose my favourite (-jealous?). If your post is chosen, I will do a profile about YOUR blog on Thursday. I will also tweet about it and add you to my blog's list of Favourites.

I'm really looking forward to building my own collection of advice and getting inspired by the warriors you choose to write about. More than anything, I'm excited to meet some new bloggers. Mark your calendars for Wednesday!!!



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