Comments (0) DAILY SNACK
Mud on brand new shiny running shoes,
Walking on ledges,
And running up and down side streets.
Coffee enjoyed outside.
Shopping at the further store because I feel like walking,
Children running.
Noses running and eyes watering, too.
A taste of Spring, for sure.
DAILY SNACK
He’d been thrashing around on the bed for twenty minutes.
He was being silly,
Obstinate,
Unfocused.
I kept begging him to put his pajamas on.
“You can win another happy face sticker.”
Lame.
He was tired; I was tired.
I let go of Irene to pick out her pj’s,
Just as he reached over and grabbed her,
And she rolled over willingly,
Wrestling like they always do.
Except there was no bed on the other side of him,
And she went careening over him,
Head first.
I dove across the bed and caught her ankle,
Just as her head was hitting the floor.
And time froze for a couple beats,
As I dangled my daughter upside down off my bed.
Then I let her down gently and got up to comfort her.
She was hurt, but not badly.
Then,
I started screaming.
Thank goodness for doors that close and rooms to calm down in.
Thank goodness for teary-eyed hugs and I’m sorrys.
Because I know he didn’t mean to hurt her.
And he knows I didn’t mean to hurt him.
And I think we’re going to be alright.
DAILY SNACK
A good children’s shoe store in the area is going out of business.
Which of course means,
Sale!
There was only one pair of running shoes left in Colum’s size,
By the time we made it there.
A very shiny black and red and gold pair of Reeboks,
That fit perfectly and seemed well-constructed.
A bit shiny for my taste,
But Colum liked them.
So, sold.
There was some confusion at the cash,
And the price seemed a bit higher than I thought it would be,
But doesn’t that always happen at sales?
Colum was tearing around the store,
And a well-meaning two-year old was all over Irene.
So I handed over my bank card and punched in my pin number.
I then took the small shoe box handed to me by the clerk,
And put it into the back of my stroller.
Fast forward an hour to when I suggest Colum try on his new shoes for my sister.
I open the box and find:
A size 7 pair of brown sandals?!
The sales woman gave me the wrong pair of shoes,
And nobody answered when I tried calling the store,
And who knows if they’ll still have the shoes that I thought I bought,
And they had better give me a full refund!
Poor Colum.
Poor me.
DAILY SNACK
When we move to the new house,
In another two months,
I am really going to miss this view from my back deck.
It’s so cool, so urban, and it makes me think I could jump over rooftops if I needed to.
This next view, however,
I won’t miss so much.
Not that we will be missing out on raw, urban industry,
Nestled between Keele St. and two rail lines and silos and factories.
I promise there are parks nearby, too.
DAILY SNACK
A funny thing happened last night.
Canada kicked some Russian Olympic ass for the first time in 50 years,
But that wasn’t it.
The funny thing was that I watched that hockey game,
(At least the first period,)
With my family.
Not with my brothers and my dad like I’ve done a million times,
And not with my husband,
But with my husband and my children.
All four of us and only us.
Colum would really focus on the replays and jump and cheer when Canada scored.
And Irene.
You have never, NEVER seen a 16-month-old girl get so excited about a hockey face off.
She screams and shrieks and jumps up and down and claps her hand and grins when the camera closes in on a face off.
But the really funny thing is that it wasn’t us adults and them kids.
It was just us, our family, being together and getting worked up and excited about the same thing.
And that was really, really nice.
DAILY SNACK
My first-born baby woke up this morning,
And climbed up the furniture
To grab the Cars DVD.
He then opened it, put it into the DVD player, turned the TV to the right channel and pressed “play.”
Then, as I was just now putting Irene down for her nap,
He finished his lunch,
Put his plate in the dishwasher,
Got a clean cup for himself,
Poured some apple juice without spilling,
And sat down to watch the rest of his movie.
Clearly I’m not needed here anymore.
Sniffle, sniffle.
About time!
But still. Sniffle, sniffle.
And, for your viewing pleasure,
He also doubles as a huggable, furry Tigger that toddlers cannot resist:
DAILY SNACK
She disappeared while I was folding clothes in my bedroom.
She wasn’t in the living room, dining room, kitchen or bathroom, either.
Her own room?
What could she be doing in there?
DAILY SNACK
The bigger kids were playing in the bedroom,
After Irene’s baptism.
(Yes, she’s 15 months old. What?)
They were basically going crazy,
Jumping up and down on Colum’s bed,
And swinging wildly at his dinosaur mobile.
These kids are cousins and a couple years older than Colum.
I had just walked up to the open to door to check on things,
When Colum, eager to join in, called out,
“Hey guys! Check this out!”
He then threw a huge plastic spade up in the air,
Over his head,
And right into my hands.
He spun around to see where it had landed.
“Mommy!”
I couldn’t help myself,
I was just so proud to see him holding his own with the big kids.
We’ll deal with the perils of whipping giant toys around a room next time.
DAILY SNACK
This just in.
If you thought that newborns or six-month olds or one-year olds don’t like it when you use the computer,
You are right.
But that is nothing compared to the ire of a fifteen-month old,
Whose parent would deign to direct their attention toward a backlit screen.
The screaming, the tugging, the scratching.
The climbing up your leg and onto your lap,
And the smashing of little hands on keyboards,
Means that I my Daily Snacks have been somewhat less than daily as of late.
But I am catching up on the laundry.
DAILY SNACK
My poor baby girl,
Pukes like a lady.
She woke up toward the end of her nap,
Propped herself up on one elbow,
And emptied her lunch onto the sheets beside her.
Throughout the rest of the day,
She’s continued to discreetly bring up mouthfuls of water or breastmilk
Onto the floor or into my hand.
I only had to change her once.
Panorama Theme by 
Themocracy
