O' HAPPY DAYS

Summer time is holiday time!

Once again, structure and a logical rhythm for the day has gone out the window and been replaced by - chaos!
This is what the long summer break does to us: Late mornings, later nights,

Port Moody, Buntzen Lake

 spontaneous outings,


 

A bike ride along the dykes to Pitt Meadows

 

impromptu  BBq's!

Like always, it is the small stuff that makes life so fantastic and exciting regardless of being an expat in a new country or not!

For example, who and how many young boys / men  will I find in our men cave at any time of the day?

Whom will I find sitting on the kitchen table in the morning?  This in itself is quite challenging - I need to be dressed appropriately not to embarrass our son's friends (it's my house though)!


Oh, I love the teenage stage!
Given the choice, I vote  to give birth to children of at least 10 years of age!                                         I know, I know, this makes the whole process of carrying and delivering a child slightly more challenging and difficult! Okay, I need to think this through properly before I propose this next step in evolution!

Life with teenagers has so many more perks than feeding and nappy changes:
You might find yourself at the local shop for Body Piercings, holding hands with your second 13 year old while he is getting his ear pierced!

(Only one, that's right! Boys with two studs at that young age look somewhat - girly? Is that the word I am looking for? Our youngest would call it gay! But what does he know? He is only 10!)

Or, you discover real life thrills when your 16 year old takes you for a spin around the neighbourhood with your car!

 This is what I call a White Knuckle Ride! And let's not forget the sweaty palms and arm pits!

HELP! I NEED ANOTHER HUSBAND

Only dairy farmers or bakers need to apply!

The successful candidate must be able to supply an endless amount of dairy products - preferable milk - and baked goods; staked high to satisfy the on going hunger of four teenage boys.



I honestly thought buying nappies, formula milk or baby food in jars was bad enough. Years later I get a rude awakening: Our children changed from the cute, chubby, helpless little creatures into independent, strong willed, still cute (but different cute) young men, with a huge appetite!

Our new house came with one fridge and skinny freezer only. The boys empty them at a faster rate than I can restock them!



These days you can find me either on the way to the grocery store, in the grocery store or on my way home. Once at home I get ready to bake muffins, cookies, brownies or pancakes. I even took up yogurt making.

Joey, our Korean exchange student, can eat for three! Furthermore, he literally drinks our ketchup bottles empty; he fears Heinz will stop producing them shortly.  At first I thought he doesn't like my cooking because he puts the sauce on everything. But even I have to admit,  my cooking isn't that bad either;  Joey simply loves the taste of ketchup.

The two most common questions I have to answer on a regular basis are: "When are we eating dinner?" and "What are we eating later on?"  Of course, there is nothing wrong with being asked these questions, it's just very frustrating to answer them right after the boys wolfed down their afternoon meal of French toast or toasties (melted cheese).

If Dominic agrees to change our marital status from 'couple' to 'quadruple', I will search for a legitimate religious order which allows women to have three men. If the google search will be unsuccessful I need to settle this matter once and for all: I am sure there will be another mid-term sale coming up soon and I will get myself a bread maker, a waffle iron, an ice-cream maker, a second fridge and freezer, big sacks of flour and a cow for the backyard.

Right now a song pops into my head. The one where Marilyn Monroe sings about "Diamonds are a Girl's Best Friend". Easy for her to sing, she never had children....