Cake is a 4-letter word

So, as I noted yesterday, the school had its annual cake raffle.  It involves teaching kids a valuable lesson on probability and dealing with disappointment while they toss in raffle tickets in favour of cakes that are much better than they would ever receive at home.  (Any normal home anyway. ) 

As usual, I try to prime my children on this "tough luck kid" life lesson thing before they go to school to avoid a meltdown in public.  As usual, my daughter has her stupid run of luck and wins, again, like she did here and like our son did here.  (Sheesh!  How the hell am I supposed to teach her to not play the lottery if she wins all the time!  No, wait... "Honey, can you please come to the casino with mommy?" Anyway, here is her winning cake.

Yay, we have a winner!  Except it is not all sunshine and lollipops.  The cake is Chocolate.   Owen can't do chocolate due to this.  So.... being awesome, I commit to making another cake.  Except the kids are wising up and being more demanding.   I raised the bar.  What was I thinking?!  Here is what I created.

I rock.  I am still committed to not making a cake for the raffle next year.    I know I will already be making one at home and I just do not need the extra stress.

The Upside of 40-something

Whoever said you can't teach an old dog new tricks must have just meant it literally.  People learn all the time.  Call is wisdom, been-there-done-that or just a constant search to make life easier, I've noticed some things have got better over time.


• Parallel parking - I can do it now!  First time, I swivel right into the spot without dinging the BMW or knocking down a pedestrian on the sidewalk.  I am amazed.  I have no idea why this is happening now.  Maybe I have just lost the fear and I have no need to impress a date.  Back in my youth I purposely took my driver's licence in January so that I wouldn't have to demonstrate the parallel parking thing due to snowbanks.  Now I grab a street side spot without hesitation. 



One of the cakes I did NOT make


• I say "no" when I want to say it.  For example, I love the school cake raffle.  The parents make gorgeous cakes and send them in.  I did it a couple of times and I know there was lots of swearing involved.  Baking is not my forte.  So, no, I love to help with lots of things but this isn't one that works for me.
• I say "yes" to more things, just because I want to, not to please anyone else.  The past decade has been so devoted to making life wonderful for my family, that I have often felt my needs and wants slipping to the back of the line.  There are times that I had no idea of who I was and what I wanted out of life.  I am taking "me" back.  I deserve it.  When opportunities present themselves, I say yes so much more often.  That feels pretty damn good.
• If I drive the car, I pick the music.  As head chauffeur of this place, I have the joy of driving my kids all over the place.  Out have gone boppy kids tunes to make way for my stuff.  I am a much happier driver if I can sing along to something that doesn't make me want to whack a fuzzy muppet.  Road trip anyone?

I'm sure there are a few dozen more things I could add to this list, but I can't think of them right now.  Another bonus to being more mature is that any need to be perfect has evaporated.  I am happier not stressing over whether this is the perfect post or not.  It isn't and I just want to blog it anyway. 

Maybe the old dogs are actually just getting wiser, having watched too many cats in their happy self-centered worlds.  Forget the new tricks, dude.  Fetch the damn ball yourself, this sunbeam is really comfy!

Wordless Wednesday: Shovel Collection

You know you live in Ottawa when you have a fine collection of shovels.  They all have their purposes and get used regularly.  I think I need to save up for a snowblower.