I've always been astounded at the little guy's long-term memory. He remembers places we visited only once when he was only a year old!
But lately, I've noticed that he only needs to watch a movie once to remember intricate details from each scene as well as most of the dialogue, word for word. He's like this with music lyrics too. Someone taught him the Waving Flag song last week and he memorized it instantly. In fact, his teacher told me that he put up his hand and asked to sing the song to the class. That was the day after he heard the song for the first time! My little shy guy was brave enough to sing a song to his class? And he remembered all of the words?
Wow!
Hubby thinks he has a photographic memory. And I'm beginning to suspect he does too. Either that or his brain is a very big sponge.
Sunday, June 27, 2010
Saturday, June 26, 2010
Bonus!
I try not to indulge my son too much with sugary treats. However, from time to time, I do let his have 4 or 5 chocolate covered almonds from the organic store down the street.
Today he asked if he could have 4 chocolate almonds. I said okay and helped scoop them from the bulk bin into a little bag. I accidentally scooped out 5 instead of 4.
"Oh, I guess you get a bonus one," I told him.
"Can you put that one back?" he asked.
"I have an idea," I said. "You could give the bonus one to me."
He agreed but seemed strangely reluctant to buy the extra treat. As we were leaving the store, he pulled one of the chocolate almonds out of the bag and held it up.
"Mom, is this the boneless one?"
:-)
Today he asked if he could have 4 chocolate almonds. I said okay and helped scoop them from the bulk bin into a little bag. I accidentally scooped out 5 instead of 4.
"Oh, I guess you get a bonus one," I told him.
"Can you put that one back?" he asked.
"I have an idea," I said. "You could give the bonus one to me."
He agreed but seemed strangely reluctant to buy the extra treat. As we were leaving the store, he pulled one of the chocolate almonds out of the bag and held it up.
"Mom, is this the boneless one?"
:-)
Saturday, June 19, 2010
Small veins, street dancing and hooters
It's been a busy couple of weeks. A cottage trip to visit my parents, summer get-togethers with friends, end of year school festivities. As usual, my blog has dropped down on my list of priorities. So here are a few anecdotes.
- While visiting my parents, we watched Part 2 of a W5 feature about the "Liberation" treatment for Multiple Sclerosis (MS). My dad was diagnosed with MS more than 40 years ago, and has gradually become more and more disabled. It is becoming increasingly difficult for him to do all of the little things we take for granted (get in and out of bed, dress himself, drive, shower etc...). But he's truly a fighter and won't let it get the best of him. He's incredibly independent thanks largely to the fact that he's as stubborn as a goat (actually, 10 goats put together). This is a very good quality to have when faced with his day to day challenges.
While we were watching W5, the little guy kept coming into the room talking loudly and demanding my attention. I told him that he needed to be quiet because we were watching a very important show -- a show about how people like Grandpa who have MS and have trouble walking can get better. After I explained this to him he settled down and snuggled in next to me on the couch. He watched the entire show and has been drilling me with questions ever since.
For those of you who don't know about it, the Liberation treatment was developed by an Italian doctor named Dr. Zamboni. He discovered that people with MS had a narrowing in their veins (in their necks or other parts of their body) which resulted in poor drainage and a build up of iron deposits in the brain. In a test study, he performed a relatively simple surgery to widen the veins of MS patients with this condition to see if it would have any impact on their MS symptoms. The results were nothing short of miraculous for many of the test subjects. Some of the patients who had previously had bad balance and trouble walking are now able to walk perfectly. Others have reported that their MS attacks have completely disappeared. The list of miracles goes on and on. As word of this treatment spread, MS patients around the world have been offered new hope.
However, because this treatment hasn't been well researched or "proven," Canadians can't even get tested to see if they have the narrow vein condition. Doctors also won't perform the surgery on MS patients. Many MS sufferers who don't have time to wait for the research to catch up are saying to Hell with it and going overseas to get the operation. W5 spoke to some of these people and the reported results were nothing short of amazing. As a side note, my parent's neighbour at the cottage also has MS and has suffered from chronic pain and migraine headaches. She went to Poland and had the surgery done and is now pain free. My father is now considering following in her footsteps some day, even though he doesn't expect the results to be quite as dramatic because he's had MS for so long. But even if it could help him only slightly and make his life just a little bit easier, it would be worth every penny.
So back to my story about how the little guy watched the W5 episode. A few days later he asked, "Mom, does grandpa have small veins?"
"Yes, he probably does," I told him.
"Do I have small veins too?" he asked. "Am I going to get MS?"
I told him that I very much doubted it and that he shouldn't worry about it.
Fast forward to this morning. It was the crack of dawn and he shouted to me from down the hall, "Can you bring me my truck?"
I grumbled something about the fact that I was still sleeping and that he could come and get it if he wanted to. He whined and moaned and carried on like there was no tomorrow. Oh the torture of walking 20 feet down the hall!
"Is there something wrong with your legs," I asked.
"Yes," he replied. "I have MS."
:-)
**********************************
Tonight we crashed our friends' street party. They have a water slide/pool for the kids, BBQ, beer, ice cream etc... As part of the festivities, they had a dance contest.
The little guy watched some older kids show off their break dancing moves and was quite intrigued. Once the contest was over, he emerged from the water slide area - wearing nothing but dinosaur underwear - and took to the stage (which was actually just a green carpet). I have to say he had some pretty fancy moves!
**********************************
So I decided that it was time to go bra shopping -- something I do once every year or so whether I want to or not. I hate bra shopping and put it off until my undergarments are practically disintegrating. This really isn't a good idea considering my evident need for "support". I can almost hear my mom's voice right now saying, "I don't know where she got those from. It certainly wasn't from me!"
A fellow blogger had written about a bra shop in town that does professional sizings and fittings. The bras are out of the world expensive (between $100-$200 each!), but I decided this was the way to go. I reasoned that not only would save me a lot of time and headache (normally I have to try on 30 to find just 1 that fits), it would also make me and my clothes look better. And besides, a girl needs to treat herself once in a while. Right?
I couldn't believe it. In less than 20 minutes I had been sized and tried on at least 10 bras -- all of which fit me perfectly. I ended up buying 2 bras (gulp!) and I have to say that they make me look pretty good! I've always hated being well endowed, but today I actually felt at peace with bust line.
So what did I learn on this expensive adventure? Well, for one thing, I was buying bras that were WAY too small. My cups are two sizes larger than I thought they were! I guess I should just change my name to Chesty Laroux (Simpson's fans will understand what I mean). No wonder bra shopping has always been such a hassle! Now that I know my true size, I'm going to go out and buy a couple of cheaper ones too. And when I'm done, I'm going to get rid of all my old ones.
- While visiting my parents, we watched Part 2 of a W5 feature about the "Liberation" treatment for Multiple Sclerosis (MS). My dad was diagnosed with MS more than 40 years ago, and has gradually become more and more disabled. It is becoming increasingly difficult for him to do all of the little things we take for granted (get in and out of bed, dress himself, drive, shower etc...). But he's truly a fighter and won't let it get the best of him. He's incredibly independent thanks largely to the fact that he's as stubborn as a goat (actually, 10 goats put together). This is a very good quality to have when faced with his day to day challenges.
While we were watching W5, the little guy kept coming into the room talking loudly and demanding my attention. I told him that he needed to be quiet because we were watching a very important show -- a show about how people like Grandpa who have MS and have trouble walking can get better. After I explained this to him he settled down and snuggled in next to me on the couch. He watched the entire show and has been drilling me with questions ever since.
For those of you who don't know about it, the Liberation treatment was developed by an Italian doctor named Dr. Zamboni. He discovered that people with MS had a narrowing in their veins (in their necks or other parts of their body) which resulted in poor drainage and a build up of iron deposits in the brain. In a test study, he performed a relatively simple surgery to widen the veins of MS patients with this condition to see if it would have any impact on their MS symptoms. The results were nothing short of miraculous for many of the test subjects. Some of the patients who had previously had bad balance and trouble walking are now able to walk perfectly. Others have reported that their MS attacks have completely disappeared. The list of miracles goes on and on. As word of this treatment spread, MS patients around the world have been offered new hope.
However, because this treatment hasn't been well researched or "proven," Canadians can't even get tested to see if they have the narrow vein condition. Doctors also won't perform the surgery on MS patients. Many MS sufferers who don't have time to wait for the research to catch up are saying to Hell with it and going overseas to get the operation. W5 spoke to some of these people and the reported results were nothing short of amazing. As a side note, my parent's neighbour at the cottage also has MS and has suffered from chronic pain and migraine headaches. She went to Poland and had the surgery done and is now pain free. My father is now considering following in her footsteps some day, even though he doesn't expect the results to be quite as dramatic because he's had MS for so long. But even if it could help him only slightly and make his life just a little bit easier, it would be worth every penny.
So back to my story about how the little guy watched the W5 episode. A few days later he asked, "Mom, does grandpa have small veins?"
"Yes, he probably does," I told him.
"Do I have small veins too?" he asked. "Am I going to get MS?"
I told him that I very much doubted it and that he shouldn't worry about it.
Fast forward to this morning. It was the crack of dawn and he shouted to me from down the hall, "Can you bring me my truck?"
I grumbled something about the fact that I was still sleeping and that he could come and get it if he wanted to. He whined and moaned and carried on like there was no tomorrow. Oh the torture of walking 20 feet down the hall!
"Is there something wrong with your legs," I asked.
"Yes," he replied. "I have MS."
:-)
**********************************
Tonight we crashed our friends' street party. They have a water slide/pool for the kids, BBQ, beer, ice cream etc... As part of the festivities, they had a dance contest.
The little guy watched some older kids show off their break dancing moves and was quite intrigued. Once the contest was over, he emerged from the water slide area - wearing nothing but dinosaur underwear - and took to the stage (which was actually just a green carpet). I have to say he had some pretty fancy moves!
**********************************
So I decided that it was time to go bra shopping -- something I do once every year or so whether I want to or not. I hate bra shopping and put it off until my undergarments are practically disintegrating. This really isn't a good idea considering my evident need for "support". I can almost hear my mom's voice right now saying, "I don't know where she got those from. It certainly wasn't from me!"
A fellow blogger had written about a bra shop in town that does professional sizings and fittings. The bras are out of the world expensive (between $100-$200 each!), but I decided this was the way to go. I reasoned that not only would save me a lot of time and headache (normally I have to try on 30 to find just 1 that fits), it would also make me and my clothes look better. And besides, a girl needs to treat herself once in a while. Right?
I couldn't believe it. In less than 20 minutes I had been sized and tried on at least 10 bras -- all of which fit me perfectly. I ended up buying 2 bras (gulp!) and I have to say that they make me look pretty good! I've always hated being well endowed, but today I actually felt at peace with bust line.
So what did I learn on this expensive adventure? Well, for one thing, I was buying bras that were WAY too small. My cups are two sizes larger than I thought they were! I guess I should just change my name to Chesty Laroux (Simpson's fans will understand what I mean). No wonder bra shopping has always been such a hassle! Now that I know my true size, I'm going to go out and buy a couple of cheaper ones too. And when I'm done, I'm going to get rid of all my old ones.
Tuesday, June 01, 2010
National Lobster Day
On Saturday, the little guy found an awesome rubber lobster at a garage sale. He paid with it with his own money (25 cents) and it is now his most prized possession. He and the lobster are pretty much inseparable.
On Sunday morning he came bursting into our room and announced that it was Lobster Day. He was absolutely bubbling with excitement.
"What do you do on Lobster Day?" I asked.
"You celebrate lobsters," he said, while proudly holding up his red lobster.
"What sorts of things do you do to celebrate lobsters?"
"Well," he said, thinking for a moment. "You sing lobster songs and you get to eat ice cream after dinner. In a regular cone, not a sugar cone."
"Do we get to eat lobsters on Lobster Day?" I asked.
"No, just ice cream after dinner. And you can bake cookies too."
All good ideas!
Later that morning, when he was being a bit of a troublemaker, I told him that when little boys acted that way that Lobster Day got cancelled. I immediately felt guilty for saying this.
"You can't cancel Lobster Day, Mom!" he blubbered. The very thought that it might get cancelled almost brought him to tears.
So after promising to be a good boy I reassured him that Lobster Day would not be cancelled. And we all dressed in red to mark the occasion.
I think they should make it a national holiday, don't you?
On Sunday morning he came bursting into our room and announced that it was Lobster Day. He was absolutely bubbling with excitement.
"What do you do on Lobster Day?" I asked.
"You celebrate lobsters," he said, while proudly holding up his red lobster.
"What sorts of things do you do to celebrate lobsters?"
"Well," he said, thinking for a moment. "You sing lobster songs and you get to eat ice cream after dinner. In a regular cone, not a sugar cone."
"Do we get to eat lobsters on Lobster Day?" I asked.
"No, just ice cream after dinner. And you can bake cookies too."
All good ideas!
Later that morning, when he was being a bit of a troublemaker, I told him that when little boys acted that way that Lobster Day got cancelled. I immediately felt guilty for saying this.
"You can't cancel Lobster Day, Mom!" he blubbered. The very thought that it might get cancelled almost brought him to tears.
So after promising to be a good boy I reassured him that Lobster Day would not be cancelled. And we all dressed in red to mark the occasion.
I think they should make it a national holiday, don't you?
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