The Great and Random Ramblings of Cannwin

We're all narcissists--all lovers of our own reflection. There used to be this commercial on TV that showed a guy walking past the reflective window of a business building. He stops, turns to his reflection and begins dancing... watching himself the entire time. The camera zooms back to show the inside of the building where a group of people sit in a meeting room and stare at him in amusement. It's a very funny commercial. In our house we have a big mirror that used to be in the bathroom (it's big...as big as a dresser) I didn't like it in the bathroom so I made Ralexwin take it down for me. Ever since then it has been propped up against the wall in our bedroom (he doesn't want to get rid of it... I don't want to decorate with it and I will admit it's pretty handy). It's an eye catcher if there ever was one. No one walks past it without checking themselves in it. The kids are the worst. This morning Albowin was tirading about us enforcing his schoo

I'm not really a Halloween person. If it weren't for my kids I probably wouldn't do anything. I carve a pumpkin because they want to carve a pumpkin. I don't dress them up unless they want to be dressed up. Friends will ask me, what is Remewin going to be for Halloween, and I say, "a baby." They ask, "what are you going to be?" "A mom." I won't apologize for it because I really don't care. I don't like buying costumes, it seems rather overboard. So I make them. Making costumes is probably the part I look forward to. The part I actually enjoy. Two years ago Vicbowin wanted to be a ' Sparkle Fairy .' Albowin wanted to be a knight (his costume is courtesy of some pretty cool uncles and a grandma) For Halloween last year Vicbowin wanted to be an Egyptian Princess. Albowin wanted to be a knight (again thanks to the uncles... note his shield). This year Vicbowin wants t

(First off who can tell me what movie my title comes from? It's in a song in a movie) Okay: ------------- Vicbowin: Is that a debit card or a gift card? Me: Gift. Vicbowin: Oh. Gift cards aren't as much fun... because you can only use them once and you can use debit cards over and over again. ---------------- Albowin: Which aisle do you want me to go down. MC: That one. Albowin: Which one!? MC: The first one. Albowin (frustrated and consequently loud): Do you want me to go down that aisle or the one where the lady with the different color skin is? --------------- (at Vicbowin's baptism) Iyawin screaming at the top of his lungs and kicking so hard his socks fly off: I wanna take a baff too!!!!! ------------- Vicbowin: Jane isn't very nice. She lies a lot. She has a brown face. Me: What!? That doesn't have anything.... Vicbowin: I know, I know. I know a lot of people with brown faces that are really nice, she just isn't. Me: (T

The Irish Twins had their birthdays this last week. So I naturally made the birthday cake. Last year's cake I took a big risk and made a jack-o-lantern (the creation of orange frosting is a fine art). This year the kids spent the entire summer pointing out any cake they liked. "Mom! I want that one with the five layers!" I can't do five layers. I can't do two layers. I am a strict one layer cake decorator.* Then one of the munchkins spotted an Earth cake. That got me thinking "I just might be able to do that " (blue frosting being much easier than orange). So that's what I did: I'm not quite sure how Europe is shaped, but I've never lived there so I can justify myself. I mean I don't really know what Pennsylvania looks like either. But by the time I made it to Africa my hand was starting to ache and the Mischievite had discovered I was frosting a cake. I guess it's a good thing I wasn't in on the planning sessions for Earth Design

Vicbowin went in for her yearly doctor's appointment yesterday. The nurse did the usual weighing, measuring, temperaturing (is that a word?) and then took us to a room to wait for the doctor. *side note-- it was me and 4 children in the space the size of a laundry room.* So the doctor came in and immediately started asking me questions about her eating and nutrition. Then he asked how tall I was. "5'10"." I say. "And your husband?" "Six foot, but his sisters are pretty average height for women, 5'4"s and stuff." He wrote it all down and then in a very professional manner informed me that Vicbowin was in the 10% range for her age and height. (this means in a group of 100 kids she would have 90 kids taller than her). "Really!?" I was fairly surprised. Dr. K went on. "Plotting out her height growth--at this rate your daughter is going to be around 5'1" or 5'2", but it's also dependent on what age she

I used to be good at making fires. It's one of those things I picked up from years of camping with my family and church, but Ralexwin has spoiled me with lighter fluid and I've lost the art. It now takes me forever to get a fire going. I finally got one crackling away this morning and am now waiting for the cozy warmth to fill the room. My knee has been throbbing all morning and I'm hoping the warmth will help calm it down. It's annoying feeling old at 29. And when my knee hurts I feel old, especially since the pain usually radiates all the way down into my ankle. *sigh* It has been rainy and cold for two days. The farmers have yet to harvest their corn, something about it being to wet, and I wonder if they will actually get it harvested at all this year. What happens if it stays wet? I love the Fall... when it is Fall. This year we seem to have skipped right over it and gone into Cold. No brisk, no chill, no sweaters and layers. It's all scarves, hats and coats. W

Tonight is my birthday, I am so excited that I am eight. I don't think I will forget it. I get to stay up as late as I want on my birthday even though I usually stay up till seven. I've gotten an early present that is a bracelet maker. Mom and I played dress up games on the computer. This one is my favorite: Mom and I made more and here they are. Mine: Mom's: Mom thinks it's interesting to see the difference in our styles (mom's words).

There are moments in the life of a child when they feel the raging desire to repeat themselves over and over and over again. As if by some small chance the mere imitation of a broken record will gain them the results they want. "That's mine." " Nuh , uh." "Yes!" "No!" "Yes!" "No!" It crosses the mind of many adults at this point of the argument--'What would happen if I didn't stop them? Would they go on and on forever?' There are other occasions when children think they will get an answer if they repeat themselves. "Mom can I go play?" "Can I?" "Mom, I want to go play." "Mom." "Mom." "Mom." Other times they have occasion to amuse themselves with this same tactic. Like this past Sunday when the neighbor boy discovered that his dog barked every time the car beeped. (It's worth noting that I was trying to nap.) Be

It's almost NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) and I've decided to give it a shot for the third time. The first year I made it to the finish line, but last year (as some of you may recall) my computer decided to give up the ghost in the middle of November and I didn't finish. This year I plan to make the 50,000 word goal in record time! Not only that but I'm mixing it up a little by co-writing my story with Ralexwin (this really means I write and he supplies ideas). So what are we going to write about? Well, I told you all about my how Ralexwin and I tell stories to the kids ( here and here ). Remember? I've decided to use that as my basis for this year. A story about the adventures of Princess Vicbowin and her gallant brother Albowin . We're very excited to have a big story to share with them. ----- As for today I have about a million things to do to prepare for the rest of the week. A week that includes 3 flu shots (god willing and the creek don'

I love to read the classifieds. It's probably the same part of me that enjoys going through catalogs and circling all the things I like (I rarely buy, I just 'window' shop). My favorite part about the classifieds, though, is when things are written in a humorous way. Like these: Oh dear, I would hope so. I'm not sure that's always a positive thing. In fact, I wouldn't be using that as my tag line if I was trying to sell something. And my favorite (or rather least favorite) is when this TINY little snippet was posted on the 14 th of October, and was the only notice I received . It's nice when they tell you these things in advance.

The kids have parent teacher conferences coming up this month which also means that the school's are having their annual book fairs. Yesterday the munckins brought home the mini-catalog with some of the more popular books (and prices) displayed inside. I perused through it and found this little gem of literary genius. *crickets chirping* That's right--they forgot to talk about the rabid llamas. I guess you write whatever you can when you're trying to get kids to read. Perhaps it's an exciting book for a little person but that description is lacking. It makes me think of a movie Ralexwin and I saw once (can't remember the name) about a cruise ship that's hit by a wave and flips over. The captain of the boat announces that they've become the victims of a 'rogue wave' and goes on to explain that rogue waves are fast, deadly and virtually undetectable. At this point in the movie we both started laughing. I can imagine the writing style: "I want to m

Vicbowin to our basement roommate: V:"Mom wants to know what you're wearing tonight?" Melissa: "What's she wearing?" V:"Black, that's all she ever wears when she's going out." Iyawin to me: I: "Becca is your baby?" Me: "Yes, are you my baby too?" I: "No.... I'm an alligator." Iyawin , Albowin and Ralexwin at bedtime: I: "Is 'Lissa my mommy?" A: "No! She's your step-mom." I: "Two Mommies!?" R: "No, no, no. Melissa is our roommate not your step mom. A step mom is someone who marries your dad after your mom does something like dies." Vicbowin after attending a Miley Cyrus concert: " Miley's brother sang before her and he must have been hot because he took his shirt off, but you couldn't even tell he had his shirt off cuz he had so many tattoos. And his hair was long like a girls! I don't think that was very

I got this in the mail recently and really had to laugh. Talk about subtle product manipulation. I can't imagine how they were expecting people to respond. Did they expect this answer? Or this? There seems to be a certain amount of advertising charisma that we've lost in the past few years. It's sad, really, that such a talent replaced by this. *shakes head in sadness*

At approximately 3 PM Central Standard Time on October 29, 2009 was the crowning moment of my emotional life. If there were a throne for patience I would be the queen. Why? Because yesterday was the flu vaccine clinic and I alone was responsible for the vaccination of three children. It wasn't pretty. It was like mixing gasoline with matches. Bleach with other chemicals. Baking soda with water. Salt with wounds. Tongues with frozen flag poles. Children with shots. More appropriately eight year olds with shots. Eight year olds who were under the impression they wouldn't have to get another shot until they were twelve. Eight year olds with little brothers to scare the pee out of. I can't even begin to tell you how horrible that hour was. If there was a place in Hell for mom's it would involve vaccine clinics. When the Vicbowin figured out what was going on she started to cry. That's never a good sign when you have another ten minutes to go. Albowin kept l

1. Remewin's smiles. 2. Iyawin pretending he's asleep. 3. Sweatshirts and jeans on a cold fall morning. 4. 7 year old's . 5. 6 year old boys who get in trouble at school for kissing. 6. Fall mornings, warm blankets and fires. 7. Parades you wait all year for. 8. Watching movies in my bed as I curl up with Ralexwin . 9. Baby firsts. 10. Fridays.

I stumbled onto the NieNie Dialogues yesterday (which evidently everyone but me knew about). One of her posts was titled "I'm a Queen, Look What I Just Did." It was the most inspirational blog post I had read in a long time. I began to think about my own blog about how I post about my children. Do I show how much I adore them? How feminine they make me feel? Do I talk about my adoration for them or do I complain and seem unhappy with my life? I thought it was time to clarify some things. To tell you that I, too, am a Queen. I AM A QUEEN. I should say that to myself more often. "We are women of a God who delights in his daughters feeling beautiful and adored. Whatever that is to you personally, don't let it go undone. It is in you safe and warm and no one can take that away from you...no one." She is right of course and I need to think more about that each day. So today I wanted to show you what makes me feel safe and warm. I want you to see wh

Do you know the story of Esther in the Bible? About the edict to annihilate the Jews and how Esther stops it? Well, Esther has this uncle, Mordecai, and when he discovers that his people have been slotted for destruction he goes before the gates of the palace and tears his clothes, puts ash all over his body and wails. Sometimes I feel like doing that. Sometimes I feel like pulling a Brittany Spears and shaving off all my hair. Sometimes I feel like forgoing all pretenses and just ripping my hair out--this morning would be one of those times. This morning when I woke to my Mischievite handing me a band-aid for his ouch. The band aid from the medicine box that sits on the microwave that is hanging from the top of the counter in the middle of the kitchen. This morning when I rolled over to open the band aid (not thinking about why he might need one) and took a big sniff of the air around me. It didn't take long to notice the difference, the burning wax smell that was wafting into my

Have you ever taken one of those personality tests? The 'what's your color' sort of thing? I'm sure you have. According to Facebook this is my personality: There you go. I'm a big talker. But what about all those things that make up who we are that don't have to do with our social skills? What about them, huh? I propose a new type of personality test. The Acronymian . These would be the medical, educational, and whatever else things that have made up your life. The real you. Let's take a look see shall we? I am a: M-W-F- ACL - TMJD - PTSD -ADD-IUD Translation--I'm a married white female with a messed up knee, a messed up jaw, and a messed up brain, and I'm not having any more kids for a while. My husband: M-W-M-ES- OIF 2-BS- EIT -JD(almost but not quite) Translation--He's a married white male, an Eagle Scout and war veteran. He has a Bachelor's of Science in Engineering and is almost a lawyer. So what's your acronym? I mean if we'r

So I had this interesting thing happen to me recently. Well, let me back up a little--I have a body that was put together with some string and a little spare glue. I am always having one issue or another. Ralexwin swears that we need to have a medical savings account just for my physical anomalies especially since everyone we know swears that the body starts to fail at 30. Speed forward. I was laying in bed one night feeding my little Remewin (so within the last two months) and I went to open my mouth. It didn't open. Well, it did a little but then it just stopped. I tried again with the same result. I closed my mouth moved my jaw around a little and made the attempt a third time. Nothing. By now I was beginning to panic a just a bit. Why on Earth would my mouth not be opening!? It felt as if my jaw was locked in place. *gasp* (I thought) it must be lock jaw. I knew it! I'm dying. I moved my jaw around again and was rewarded with a loud POP. My mouth opened up.

I spent this morning wrapped up with my baby in the rocking chair. Yesterday was a crazy day full of scrapbook paper, wood blocks, mod podge and every responsibility I typically have. I didn't get much time with my little Remewin and we were both needing it. So I decided to put off my morning for a little while, wrap my arms around my baby and fill up my love reserves. She was happy to oblige. That's the nice thing about babies. They love to cuddle. I realized the toll this month is going to take on everyone yesterday when Iyawin fell asleep curled in my arm. These little ones need my attention just as much as the older ones need my devotion. I will have to work better at stopping what I am doing to hold, kiss, and care for each one of them individually. Being a mother really does make you re-evaluate your list of priorities.

I hate laundry. It's like the never ending pile of horror. And it has migratory patterns. At the end of the week it is on the floor in the basement then slowly basket by basket it makes its way up to my bed. None of it ever seems to make it into closets and drawers but when the unlikely does happen and the clothes are divided (and conquered) there isn't enough room. Plus, there never seems to be enough laundry soap or dryer sheets and the reminder bell must be broken because I never hear it. The most common refrain heard on any given weekday in my house is "I don't have any socks!" or "I can't find any underwear." I've decided it's best for the health of all my children that they wear their siblings socks and undies at least once a year. Ralexwin thinks it's mean to make Albowin wear his sisters socks or to make Vicbowin wear her brothers underwear. It's not like I'm making them go to school in damp clothing (which I did as a