It Figures....

3/4 of my household is sick. That would be me and the 2 boys. All I planned to get done while Ollie and Gib were at Daycamp is not going to get done, because they are not at daycamp. They are at home in bed and I don't feel up to much. Although I did have some toast for breakfast. The only upside to being sick like this... I have finally lost a little weight this summer.

Aside - Yesterday was the media call for Fringe. We were interviewed by Graham Neal of CFRN and we had a photo done by the Edmonton Journal. 'Tis good. Hopefully some of that will appear over the next few weeks.

I've been a Mother for 7 years... Seems longer... seems infinite...

Tomorrow Oliver turns 7. So, 7 years ago right now I was in labour. The pains were probably just starting to get painful. With each contraction Oliver's heart rate would drop. I could tell that I was not progressing and that it was likely that I would need a c-section for his sake. I hoped not, but I was mentally prepared for the inevitable. In about 2 - 3 hours, 7 years ago, they would tell me that for sure. When I had the actual c-section I was completely awake and making jokes. I could joke because once they gave me the spinal I was no longer feeling the contractions. When Oliver was presented to me, I smiled at him and said "Hey Baby" and he looked at me. I was sure he recognized my voice. I recognized him. So 7 years ago I became a Mother and it feels like I have always been one.

Family? Dynamics...

It was a weekend of Family Interactions. On Saturday I took the boys to my brother and sister-in-law's for a Birthday Brunch in honour of my niece's 1st Birthday. It was a nice little event and the boys played with their cousins and their cousin's cousins as there were kids from both sides of the family there. We did have to leave because Oliver and one of the cousin's cousin have a bit of a personality clash and I could tell he was not dealing with it well. I wanted to get out of there before he punched her in the face. As we drove home, Oliver fumed for a little while and then asked "Is _____ on my birthday party list?" to which I replied "No. Did you want to invite her?". Then he said "I want to write her name on the list and then I want to scribble it out.". Uninviting her would have more punch than not inviting her at all, I guess. I have a bit of a hard time at these gatherings because of my brother's mother-in-law. She has a habit of saying things to me that always leave me wondering if it was an insult. If she's joking, it's not really funny. I am worried that at the next thing I am going to snap and lose it. I also get a little mentally exhausted trying to figure out if I should be as offended as I feel.

On Sunday we went to the Oberholtzer Reunion for Mark's extended family. These are held every 2 years and are the descendants of Mark's great-great Grandparents. Mark's branch of the family is always in good attendance because many of them live close, but several branches have dropped off the tree. It was a good afternoon. The boys found several boy cousins of the same or similar age to play with. They didn't eat much but they ran around a lot and had a lot of fun. Mark is the Genealogist of the Family so he had put together a little slide show that went over very well. He really enjoyed the day and I visited with those I knew and a few I didn't really know. One afternoon for every 2 years makes it hard to get to know everyone. In any case, the day went well.

Looking for the Beat...

I am back home now for over a week and I am in search of the rhythm for the summer. The boys have had one week of Daycamp and I used that week to get quite a bit done.

I got 4 large bags of 'stuff' for Goodwill packed and out of the house. I cleaned the front vestibule (vestibule... I like that word) which was smelling like little and big boys shoes (because that's mostly what is in the vestibule). The vestibule now smells a lot like pine-sol.

I set up the Daycare arrangement for Gibson for the Fall (yay!). I now believe that the 1 - 1.5 year waiting list hype about daycares is a myth. The lists look that long because everyone gets themselves on 10-15 waiting lists and then when people start calling with a spot they get through it fairly quickly. My 1-1.5 year wait was in actuality 2 weeks! Ah, but the daycare is nice and close to the Uni and is a university affiliated daycare (good quality generally) and I liked it. I think it will be good for Gibson.

I called the University about my application... still waiting on the Keyano Transcript. Only 14 spaces left in the class I want... hurry up!

I rehearsed twice this week. I am about 75% off book, which I should be happy with, but I am kicking myself. It is still a month away. I have also been making chocolate Cinderella Lollipops for the press packets. I am quite enamoured of this and haven't been eating much chocolate at all. I promise. I spent a bit of time at Michael's to get the stuff for the press packets and I really love Michael's. Perhaps too much so. I also wrote my bio for the program (check!).

Yesterday I went for lunch with my good friend Tanya, who I had not seen since her ill-fated wedding over 8 years ago. We have written and talked on the phone, but this was a long over due face-to-face visit. We (and Gibby) had a nice 2 hour power chat over lunch at BP's. So great to see her again and reconnect. I have these wonderful friends from over the years and I am glad they feel the same way about me!

So, where is the beat to the summer? I am still trying to find it. There are too many small chores to do that an actual identifiable beat may not be possible.

Back but Busy....

I got back from Minnesota on Wednesday. I left the previous Wednesday with my Mom, Oliver and Gibson and we took just over 2 days to get to Duluth. The driving went well. The boys were good for the majority of the time with sporadic flare-ups when they got tired or bored. We tried to minimize these by finding lunch spots with Play lands and when that was not available we played 'run around the car'. There were two main purposes for the trip. First, I wanted to see my Grandma Strand. She is 91 this August and I wanted to take the time to see her and to take the boys to see her now that they would be able to remember the visit. When we are dealing with 90+ there are no guarantees. I also wanted them to see her while she was still in good health. They were great with her and with my Aunt Sharon, Aunt Marilyn and Uncle Tom. Lots of hugs, easily doled out, card games and dice games in the evening. We would go out in the afternoon so that Grandma could have a rest. The second purpose was to show the boys Minnesota and Beaver Bay. We drove up Saturday to BB and we went to Grandma and Grandpa's house (now Uncle Bob's and Aunt Janet's). We walked down the hill. The intention was to go to the Rock Shop but a newly installed play park sidetracked us. After playing it was too hot to go on to the Rock shop. Just as well, that would have cost me. We also visited the Split Rock Lighthouse and took a trip to Grandpa's grave site. We were only in Minnesota for about 3 1/2 days. We headed back on Monday, leaving at about 11 AM. We arrived home at 3 PM on Wednesday. When I have time I shall post photos.

Upon return I did laundry and settled in. Then Thursday I was off to rehearsal for Cinderella - still bone tired from the trip but rising to the challenge. Tonight I am off to Dramaworks for the beginning of a weekend workshop. Maybe I will rest next week....

Cinderella Update!

I finally know our schedule and location for the 2008 Fringe Festival! I hope you all can come and out see this fantastic production of Cinderella. So far we have gotten a chunk of it blocked and off-book (about a 1/3 I think). The cast is gelling as we get to know one another and get comfortable with each other. We got the PCL (yay!) and the times are good. If you have a wee bairn or are a child at heart - check it out! If you want to help Mark with my kids, let me know and I will tell him and you can help with the wrangling. Just so you know, Oliver is hilarious to go with... especially when audience participation is required.

Who: Scott Brooks, Merran Carr-Wiggin, Michael Davidson, Kimberley Miller, Martin Kapusta, Gil Miciak, Chris Scott, Linette Smith, and myself (Kristen Finlay - if you are reading this blog you should know this!).
What: The Fringe runs August 14 - 24
Where: You can see our show at the PCL Studio Theatre in the Transalta Barns (10330 84 Ave)When:Friday, August 15 - 11:00 am
Saturday, August 16 - 6:45 pm
Sunday, August 17 - 12:45 pm
Monday, August 18 - 4:15 pm
Wednesday, August 20 - 1:15 pm
Thursday, August 21 - 2:30 pm
Friday, August 22 - 11:00 am
Saturday, August 23 - 2:45 pm

Let me know if you have any questions. I'd love to see you you there!

My Beautiful, Silly, Colour Co-ordinated Family!

This week ALL of my immediate family was in town for a period of about 48 hours and we planned ahead and got family pictures done. A bit of co-ordination was involved because we wanted some amount of colour matching without it looking too cheesy. It came together nicely.

We also did smaller groups and 'personality shots' like the one of just my family. I think that shot captures a lot! Between the expression on my and Mark's faces and Oliver's silliness and Gibson's earnestness I think you get it all.

We will now be going through the process of spending a lot of money since there were so many nice pictures. I am a real sucker for nice photos of my family.