Works for Me Wednesday: my 8 year old reading and writing on his own!

Like many boys (I hope, or at least other parents and teachers say it’s true) Luka hasn’t been bitten by the reading bug yet. It took Graydon a long time too, but he had extenuating circumstances. Luka claims to have a “reading disability” that makes him unable to read, but when you consider he has a self-professed “math disability,” “kitchen-cleaning disability,” “Lego-putting-away disability” and “teeth-brushing disability,” you get the picture.

My little dude is reading-bug resistant, to the point I think he must have some special spray or lotion he puts on every day.

I have outlined before my various attempts to get him to read and write: letters to friends who have moved away, grocery lists, street signs, cereal boxes, incentive prizes for reading a certain number of books. Some work, some don’t. The $10 Neopets and Pokemon stuffies worked, as did $15 Webkinz, but it was turning out to be more expensive than private school. And still, he didn’t read or print or write because he wanted to.

Until Tessa gave him this book for Christmas:

The book that has taken Luka from "Ihate reading and writing!" to staying in the car, filling in the pages under the lights in the Zellers parking lot

"rarrararararararar," demands Hypnotoad.

The Diary of a Wimpy Kid Do-It-Yourself Book has Luka hypnotized much like Hypnotoadon Futurama—if the DIY book is in front of him, it’s like he is compelled to open it, read it and search for places to put his pencil or pen and get writing. It is astounding. The book is written by Jeff Kinney, author of the three and counting books in the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series.

Thank you Tessa. Your pick Works for Me!

Be sure to drop by Shannon’s blog for more tips and tricks of all kinds!

Cancer DX anniversary; or, why this is always a weird day for me

Acute lymphoblastic leukemia up-close and almost pretty in a sparkly jewel kind of way

December 17 is the anniversary of Graydon’s cancer diagnosis. On the weekend of December 14, 15 and 16 in 2001, we spent the weekend at home with Graydon with a printout of blood counts saying he had an ANC of close to zero, waiting for a fever and a race to the hospital. He didn’t get a fever. He couldn’t go to his buddy’s birthday sleepover party. I took him to my office on Sunday, where he helped me wrap work gifts in tissue paper, stuff gift bags, make hot chocolate and run down the empty halls like 8 year olds love to do. The next morning we were at Sick Kids at 8:30 a.m., and by 3:30 had a diagnosis of leukemia.

So December 17 is a weird day for our family me. I don’t publicize it, as in, “Let’s go to Swiss Chalet tonight! It’s Graydon’s DX anniversary!” I try not to think about it, and as a result, think about it all-day long. And this year it was particulary difficult, because Luka was turning 8 on the 21st, the same age Graydon was when he was diagnosed. So I spent the day looking at Luka and thinking about Graydon at that age, and well, it was a weird day.

Questions for you: Have you had a big, ugly anniversary to do with one of your kids, siblings? Do you mark it in some way? How long was it before you actually forgot the date for the first time?

Want to win some pre-teen/teenage swag? Click and enter my Teletoon contest!

Excuses, excuses…

Interesting how our excuses change as we age.

• He hit me first.
• She knocked that over.
• He ate the cookies.
• I peed my pants.
• The dog peed on my pants.
• The dog ate my homework.
• I left my backpack in the back of the coach’s car.
• My stick broke but my dad worked late and I couldn’t get a new one.
• My mum forgot to wash my tights.
• Dad was too tired to help me on my project.
• I wrote it down in a list but then I lost it.
• My curling iron broke, so no way could I go.
• My boyfriend fell asleep and I couldn’t wake him up.
• My best friend was sick and I had to stay and help her.
• The car wouldn’t start.
• The car ran out of gas.
• The car has been stolen.
• Christmas is a weird time with to much stuff to do, too many emotions and too much to think about.

Yes! That’s it! That’s my excuse for the absence of Because I Said So! for the last two weeks. Did you miss me? Don’t you hate when people ask you that? “Well, yes, of course I missed you. Were you really away?”

So it’s time for me to play catch-up! Wish me luck!

Internet danger: Why you should never order Christmas presents online late at night

OK, I have held off ordering things off the internet for years now, worried about security and identity theft and ether-thieves getting into my bank account (what they would do there puzzles me, but that’s not the point). But lack of time, Christmas-crowd-piped-in-
carols-aphobia and sheer laziness have led me to where I am today—more than half my holiday shopping conducted over the computer.

I got a box just yesterday, though, that makes me question whether I should have a V-chip/timer-lockdown device on the home computer. I remember the night, it was a Tuesday, I was ripping around the internet being very clever and funny picking, designing and ordering gifts. It was very, very late (A&E was switching over to their “A&E Classroom Presents…” show). I was not drinking. Yet what came out of that box yesterday has Merlot written all over it:

• a custom-printed T-shirt for my teeny niece in small—adult small. She will fit into it in maybe 12 years
• very classy and clever business postcards for my brother-in-law, which include the words “msrket,” “plsyer,” “snd” and “Svenue”
• stickie notes for my brother that say “A important note from …”

A small part of me (very small) thinks it would still be funny to give these gifts, mostly because I often think I am invincible, and my sibs would welcome the chance to laugh at with me on Boxing Day. I know it’s important to laugh at oneself, but how much company do I really need?

———

Want to win some pre-teen/teenage swag? Click here to enter my Teletoon contest!

See you tomorrow for Works for Me Wednesday

What Mummy wants for Christmas #1

Luka came screeching into the kitchen yesterday—

“Mummy, Mummy!! The thing you need for Christmas is on TV RIGHT NOW!”

He’d been trying for days to remember what it was that he saw in an ad that I HAVE to have for Christmas, so I dropped the pot I was washing and ran to the living room.

The ad showed a family Christmas morning, the dad trying out a new drill, a kid playing a guitar and a woman in a robe smiling as if she were in a different world.

“Look, look, this is it!”

The kid says something to mom, and she looks up in recognition, then removes an earbud, or little earphone thingy, the sound level blares, she smiles at her noisy child and replaces the earbud, settling back into the couch and smiling again as the noise level drops.

“That’s it mum, that’s what I’m going to get you. So you can have some peace and quiet.”

Too funny. When I was a kid, we used to pester my dad all the time with questions about what he wanted for Christmas, Father’s Day, his birthday, and the answer was always the same: “Just some peace and quiet.” My mother never said that.

It must be a guy thing.

Friday Foto Finish Fiesta: who’s that leggy blonde?

Oh gosh, it’s me! As part of my office’s Festive Holiday Celebration, we were asked to bring in an oldie but a goodie for a guessing game. Since I look very similar even today, same lanky yet slender build, cascading blond locks, no bangs, mind, I think probably everyone guessed it was me. Oh well. You can’t hide fine breeding.

Now check out Candid Carrie’s Friday blog carnival. The theme is simple one—post a favourite photo and say why it’s a fave. That’s her spelling up there in the title, and when you visit her site to see the other photos, you’ll see tons of creative Phriday spelling!

Want to win some pre-teen/teenage swag? Click back one day and enter my Teletoon contest!

Things I Love Thursday: cartoons and a contest!

Over at The Diaper Diaries, it’s time for Jill’s weekly “Things I Love Thursday” blog carnival. A couple of weeks ago I did my TILT (Things I Love Tursday) posting and held a contest to give away what I loved. It was a success, and I’m doing it again.

I love cartoons. When I was little, it was Top Cat (I knew every word—I checked it out on YouTube, and yes, my memory is smokin’: “Top Cat! The most effectual Top Cat! Whose intellectual close friends get to call him T.C., providing it’s with dignity. Top Cat! The indisputable leader of the gang. He’s the boss, he’s a pip, he’s the championship. He’s the most tip top, Top Cat. Yes he’s a chief, he’s a king, but above everything, he’s the most tip top, Top Cat. Top Cat!” I will have to spend more time on YouTube—it is cartoon therapy!); Wally Gator (whom I received plenty of teasing over as a kid, now sing along! “Wally Gator is a swinging alligator in the swamp. He’s the greatest peculator [OK, I never knew this meant embezzler. Wally Gator was an operator, but an embezzler? Now I’m starting to take offense] when he really starts to romp. There has never been a greater operator in the swamp. See ya later, Wally Gator!”) and Snagglepuss, of “Exit, stage right!” and “Heavens to Meratroid!”

Kids today have it made in the cartoon department. They get the brand-new cartoons, the animé and the oldies. Luka has recently shifted away from the newer offerings to Teletoon Retro and it’s phenomenal retro catoons—The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle, Boris Badanov and Natasha, Dudley Do-Right, Woody Woodpecker, The Jetsons, The Tom & Jerry Show, even the original Spider-Man and that spine-tingling theme song (small note, I sang it as a wake-up lullaby to my sons, and it really worked!).

In addition to a nonstop diet of retro on Teletoon Retro (and that’s retro to viewers in their ’30s, 40’s, ’50s, 60’s and beyond), the regular Teletoon channel has all the good new cartoons such as 6teen (which we cannot live without at our house), Wayside, Ben 10, Johnny Test, My Gym Partner’s a Monkey, Futurama and returning soon, Total Drama Island.

Here is the holiday sked for those all important “Watch the Christmas movie, pass the tape and keep signing those cards” family evenings that are happening right now. All new this year on Teletoon are the broadcast and Canadian premieres of:

Side Show Christmas, where Santa is hypnotized and made part of The Most Unbelievable Show on Earth (Dec. 16 at 6p.m., Dec. 22 at 7 a.m. and 8:30 p.m.). A Dennis the Menace Christmas has Dennis staying true to character (Dec. 20 at 7:30, Dec. 23 at 5:30 and Dec. 24 at noon). Gotta Catch Santa Claus is an animated feature where a 12-year-old boy sets out to prove Santa is real, and finds a monster named LeFreeze is also on his trail. You have to tune in for this one, because William Shatner is the voice of the big guy (Dec. 21 ay 6 p.m., Dec. 22 at 11 a.m.

When Dec. 20 rolls around, it’s back-to-back cartoons with a Christmas theme of one kind or another, right up to ther big day.

It’s never to late to jump on The Secret World of Santa Claus, a 26-episode extravaganza of Santa and the elves foiling the useless attempts of troll-villains Gruzzlebeard and Dudley. Catch it every weekday at noon and 7p.m., and on the 25th, all episodes run in order from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m.

SO, HERE ‘S THE CONTEST! This fabulous bag of swag is king-size, and includes, among other items, a sparkly Teletoon travel mug, the hat and pencil set pictured below, a big hardcover Looney Tunes Storybook Collection, Teletoon notebook and matching pen, plus three DVDs—6teen Deck the Mall, the original Tom & Jerry A Nutcracker Tale, and the original Scooby-Doo! Pirates Ahoy! That has to add up to $100 easy. And all you have to do is answer one question below, or more if you like!

QUESTIONS FOR YOU: what was your favourite cartoon as a kid? Do you watch cartoons now? With a kid, or on your own? What’s your current fave? What is your favourite Christmas or holiday cartoon?

Now, check out The Diaper Diaries for more Things I Love Thursday posts, and enter my contest!

Works for Me Wednesday: Cosmic Catnip Extract Pump Spray

This is such an easy works-for-me posting that I feel somewhat guilty. guilty because it is no clever trick of mine, or hard-won wisdom. It was as easy as spending 25 per cent of my time in the pet aisles at the local MegloMart that gave me this brilliant tip.

Our big baby cat Angel, 10 years old and getting pretty tired of being followed around by an eager five-month-old puppy, loves catnip. I don’t like catnip all over the carpet. It looks like another green leafy substance I don’t want to be taking heart attacks over thinking it’s all over my floor. While in the pet aisle one day. Luka spied, and I paid for, Cosmic Catnip Extract in a pump sprayer. It claims to be 100 per cent pure catnip extract. We sprayed it on one of her favourite munched-up socks, and success! She hugged it, rolled on it, slobbered all over it, carried it to her food dish, introduced it to the gunk there, then carried it away to the top of a dresser. She was one happy kitty. Now I guess I need to check if this is on any adventurous teenager’s must-try list. I wonder if it’ll make them chew socks??

Be sure to drop by Shannon’s blog for more tips and tricks of all kinds!

It’s with a heavy heart that…

These are the first photo Christmas cards I have ever ordered

...I have to report the sudden illness (read: death, but tell no one) of Luka’s favourite bunny, Lizzie. Just Sunday night Luka was carrying her around the living room, saying things like “Isn’t she the perfect size?” “Don’t you think she is so beautiful?” “She is the softest thing I ever felt.” “Doesn’t she look comfortable on me?” and yes, she did look beautiful, perfect size, soft fur and all.

And Monday morning she was stretched out at one end of her large hutch, with her sister on the shelf across from her at the opposite end of the space. Tessa came round the corner first, said good morning to both of them and knew in a flash it was lights-out time when Lizzie didn’t pop right up.

She mouthed the words over Luka’s head, right in the hallway beside the living room, “I think Lizzie’s dead.”

And she was. She was so pretty stretched out, with her white belly fur peeking out. But she was gone.

In a carefully choreographed series of moves, we got Luka through breakfast, changed and out the door without visiting the bunnies, a very unusual morning for him since he always stops to say hello to them on his way through to the kitchen. I googled around to find out what to do, Graydon picked her up and put her in a Holt Renfrew shopping bag (personally I would like to go out in a Chanel or Tiffany or Louboutin bag) and Tessa, Graydon, Clover and I drove Lizzie to the pet crematorium. It was very, very sad.

Now, the big question? When to tell Luka? I’ve been feeling oddly lighthearted recently, and decided to, for the first time, order photo cards for Christmas this year. You can see the card, above. And that’s Luka and Lizzie on the front. I also made a little photo desk calendar for relatives, with this same photo on the cover. Do I tell Luka that his special bunny bit it and have him looking at these cards on all the mantels of our friends and relatives over the holidays? Do I make a public announcement that Lizzie is sick, and we’ll see how she is after the holidays, then we find out she’s terminal and dies soon after? Right now we’ve told him Lizzie’s eyes were all puffy and runny and she had to go to the small animal vet, where she’ll be staying for maybe a long time until the vet finds out what’s wrong with her.

I know, you’re asking yourself what’s wrong with me, mom blogger? Pets die, kids find out, life goes on. Luka has had fish die, his much-mourned Crabby died, and countless hamsters have died. He cried after every hamster, and after Crabby. Sucker Fish, Froggie, Sir Poops a Lot, they died and he didn’t cry. But his big, warm, loved-to-be-hugged Lizzie? I can’t bear to tell him now, not just before his birthday and Christmas and with the card all over the place.

I’m opting for telling him after Christmas.

QUESTIONS FOR YOU: what would you do? what’s the harm in waiting two weeks? how have your seven-year-olds taken the death of a well-loved pet? Please weigh-in, I need all the help I can get.

Thanks, and see you tomorrow!

We have winners!

I have the winners in the Amazing Baby contest! I want to thank everyone who entered, and say that this is when I wish I had an unlimited supply of prizes, because every entry deserves a prize. You guys write so well, and so from the heart! Your love of babies comes through with every word. Here are the winning entries:

The most amazing things about the babies in my life:

They learn, even if we do not teach them.
They love us, even if we do not love ourselves.
They see good, even if we surround them with bad.
They smile when they see us, even if we have had the worst day.
They show endurance, even if we put obstacles in their way.
They love our voice, even if we cannot sing.
They bring comfort, especially when its been too long since we’ve been touched.
They find happiness in the smallest thing, and remind us to do the same.
They love to play, and show us it is okay to do the same.
They need us, almost as much as we need them.

—Angela

She has this amazing ability to make me smile with her little antics. Her hugs takes away the worst of the say. Her laugh is so infectious. She reminds me to slow down when I am stressed. She is an angel. Her love is so unconditional.

—Earthlingorgeous

I’m sending an email to each of you, asking for a mailing address. The prize, and a final plug for a book that I adore and think should be in the possession of every parent, grandparent and parent-to-be, is Amazing Baby, the new book by world-renowned anthropologist Desmond Morris (Firefly Books, hardcover, $40). Congratulations! Enjoy your incredible book!

I have a new contest coming up the end of this week, with prizes from a television station we are truly addicted to in my house: Teletoon! I’m going to give you the highlight kids’ shows over the holiday period, and all you have to do is tell me what YOUR favourite kid show is (from today’s shows and your own favourites when you were a kid!). See you tomorrow!