I'm not a SuperMom. And that's okay.

I'm not one of those women whose lives are all consumed by her children. I'm just not. And I've realized, I'm okay with that. And for me, that works.

There. I said it.

And I'm going to expand on it. It's going to be blunt. Beware.

I love Sam. When we have other children, I will love them too. Very much. I love being a mother, and think it's one of the most important roles in my life.

However, I have other things to talk about than diaper rash, teething, the consistency of my child's BMs, breastfeeding, labour... oh, the list goes on. I do talk about those things. Probably more than I realize. But those aren't the only things I know stuff about.

I guess I'm just realizing over time, that once you become a mother, sometimes people assume that's ALL you are. I don't like that box. Some people are okay with that box. It suits some women perfectly to have an entire vocabulary consisting of words and phrases having to do with child rearing. And I'm glad that those women exist, because we're all different, and I appreciate that. But I'm realizing that is SO not me.

I've sometimes felt guilty about this. I shy away from moms' groups. You couldn't pay me ENOUGH to ever run a dayhome. I'd rather go to work. There. I said that too. (Yikes.) I've felt like I'm a bad mother if I don't want to do those things. But I've come to be okay with it. To embrace it. And just relax about it. And realize that it's just who I am.

I'm also realizing how blessed I am to be surrounded by friends who make me feel good about who I am. Yes, we talk about let-down, and child birth, and bum creams, and it's good to have a place to discuss and talk about those things too. But it's so much more. And I'm really blessed by that. And I feel accepted for not being a SuperMom.

So, thanks.

And I hope I did not offend anyone. None of that was meant as an attack on anyone, or women who may be more like that than me. All the power to those ladies! It's just not me. :)

Border Mishaps

This past weekend I went on a road trip to Vancouver with my sister Kerry.  It was a ton of fun. It went really fast, though.  We left on Thursday afternoon, and didn't roll into my parents' until 3:30 in the morning!  We did sightseeing all day Friday and Saturday.  We went to Science World, the beach, over to the market on the waterfront of North Van... and lots more.  We came home on Sunday.

Perhaps my favourite part (or at least the funniest), was when we accidentally ended up on the US side of the border, without having even entered the States.  Let me explain:  my parents live on 4th Avenue.  The US/Canada border is 0 Avenue.  So they live close, and it's really close to the Peace Arch border crossing.  I wanted to take 0 Avenue home one day, to show Kerry how neat it is to drive on 0 Avenue, because just across the ditch is the States. So we headed down to the border crossing, because when I used to live down there, I remembered being able to just take a little detour down there, cross the traffic coming up from the US, and get onto 0 Avenue.  I had no idea that all this had changed.  

We kept getting closer and closer to the actual border crossing, and I kept thinking that the little road had to be there somewhere.  All of a sudden, I realized there was no road (they've done a bunch of remodeling), and we were headed into the States, with no way to get out. Well, there WAS one way - there was a one-way lane coming from the road coming up from the US.  So I figured that was my only way out, and took the one-way road the wrong way.  I thought we were in the clear. However, once I got into the traffic heading away from the States, I looked up and realized that we were on the WRONG side of the border crossing heading into Canada.  The two border stations aren't side by side - the one entering Canada is up a bit, so we ended up in the area between the two.  I started panicking, trying to think of how we would explain that we HADN'T been in the US, but took a little road the wrong way.  How stupid to think that we were entering Canada from the States, but had never actually been there... oh my.  And neither of us had passports, which, as of June 1, is a requirement for travel into and out of the US.  I took a deep breath, and as we drove up, tried to explain what had happened.  The man was stern.  And just kind of mean.  And he encountered this: "Uh, I'm so sorry sir, but we took a wrong turn and ended up here.  Uh... we didn't even go to the States... uh... I'm so sorry... I didn't mean to."  I explained about the little road I remembered from before but how it had changed.  He stared at me.  I was sure we were going to be searched and have rectal exams at any moment.  He asked for ID. We showed him our AB drivers' licenses.  I'm sure he thought, "figures".  He asked about drugs, alcohol, and firearms - none of which was in the vehicle (phew! - It's not totally out there to think that Kris may have left a rifle in our car).  He gave back our IDs and explained the correct way to get where we were going.  We were so thankful.  And then we laughed. And laughed some more.  Who knew we could go through a border crossing coming up from the States without even having been there?!  And who knew someone would actually BELIEVE us?!  I sweated a lot in those 10 minutes.  

But it was a great trip.  Lots of good memories.  

Adventurous Cooking

Let me set the stage:

I really enjoy cooking and trying new things.  Kris does not.  I enjoy eating meatless every so often.  Kris does not.  I enjoy change.  Kris does not.  I enjoy beans.  Kris does not.  

A little while back, I found a recipe for Chickpea Patties.  Essentially, they're like falafel.  I love chickpeas.  (And, you guessed it, Kris does not.)  I decided to put them on the menu. Kris came home the other night to me grilling my patties.  He looked utterly disgusted.  And a little let down that supper involved legumes instead of animal.  He was a really good sport about it though.  We ate them in pitas, and I made some fresh, homemade tzatziki to go with them.  I thought they were quite good.  Sam liked them too.  And Kris liked them more than he would care to admit.  They definitely came out on top of my blackbean burgers.

I grew up in a home with 6 kids.  And a mom who claims that wild meat makes her ill. Needless to say, suppers were kind of bland and very, you know, normal.  With 6 kids who each have an array of likes and dislikes, and 2 who'd only eat Kraft Dinner, you can see why this was.  Kris grew up having to eat stewed tomatoes out of the can, and had to take Tums when they were on vacation and not eating normally.  For the calcium, of course.  My goal is to have our children grow up trying new things, and being exposed to some different foods. That way, when they go to someone's house, and supper ISN'T pepperoni pizza or spaghetti, they'll be able to handle it.  We'll see.  So I have my reasons.  And I think Kris is coming around...