...has this ever happened to you?

I have a story...sit back, put your feet up (but keep your fingers on the scroll button), relax and listen...

I think is was two years ago, I may be wrong, usually am (ask Frank), we were on our way back from California? (ok, so the details of the story may be vague, but trust me, this is a good one), and we decided to stop at the outlet mall to do some last minute shopping before we arrived back in ohmylordhowcantheychargesomuchforthis?!? Canada. We had been driving for quite awhile and everyone was tired and sweaty, sick of being in the car, yet excited at the prospect of spending some money and getting some superawesome running shoes at the Nike Factory Outlet store. Well, that excitement lasted about 20 mins. My lovely 4 year old daughter (aka Mackendra) decided that the Nike Factory Outlet Store was boooorrriiiiinnnnnngggggg and she didn't want to be there. After hiding in the clothes (on the floor!) and following me and her dad around whilst moaning and whining and finally throwing a huge hissyfit in the middle of the shoe aisles, Frank had it. He grabbed her and took her outside. Thank you, Frank. He plunked her in the back of the car, cracked open the window (and no, it wasn't hot outside), locked the door and walked away. Don't panic...he didn't go far. He stood on the sidewalk, in clear view of the car and waited for us. I shopped on...blissfully unaware of the drama that was unfolding outside.

Not ten minutes after Frank had left, holding a crying child under his arm, did he come marching back in the store and say very firmly to me, "put it down, we're leaving." What? No! I'm not done spending money on shoes and other cute athletic gear. Why? Now I was the one whining and moaning. Frank just gave me his look, you know the one, the big, staring eyes, pursed lips, tight jaw, flared nostril look. Ok, ok...I'm coming. Aislinn!!!! Let's go, no, put it down, we're not buying anything, I know we promised, stop whining, comeon, now!!!! Now everyone was whining and moaning.

It turns out that Mackendra, sitting in the back of the car, had decided not to give up and let dad win. NO! Mackendra decided to up the ante...put me in the back of the car will you???? Well, how 'bout this? "HELP ME!!! HELP ME!!! Oh hi, can you go into the Nike store and get my Dad? Yes, he locked me in the back of the car and left me. Yes, a loooooooooong time ago." Uh huh...my dear daughter was hailing down fellow passing consumers and crying for help. Frank had already talked to one couple as they entered the store looking for him, telling them that everything was fine, that "no, she's ok, I'm here, I can see her, she'll be fine," all the while thinking to himself, "that little brat! And mind your own business!" Anyways, after the second couple that heeded the cry of a poor, abandoned, little girl locked in a car while he awful parents shopped at the outlet store for hours upon hours...Frank finally had it and proceeded to ruin the rest of his family's shopping pleasure.

Thanks Mackendra. Aislinn still talks about that day.

What have your children done to you to ruin your day?

Tanya

...a tornado hit it...

Shadup!

That's what I had to tell my little brother this morning as he came upstairs for our weekday morning commute to work together. This was in response to his snarky comment, "your house looks like a tornado hit it."

So, we had company Sunday night. Our lovely friends, The Cabuco's, came for dinner. Yummy sukiyaki! We even found this fabulous tabletop grill that allowed us to stuff our faces with "to-die-for" grilled beef, pork, fish and shrimp while partaking in the heavenly delicious-ness of the regular sukiyaki.

For those of you who are unfamiliar with sukiyaki, here is a picture.

Try not to drool on your keyboard. It is a Japanese dinner that consists of a whole bunch of raw meat and vegetable and noodles that are cooked at the table. And it is a favorite of ours.

Anyways, for this special occassion, the Konig/Johnson family embarked on a massive house-cleaning odyssey, as our house had not been properly cleaned for about 2 months. We vacuumed, we dusted, we did laundry, we threw out trash, we did dishes, we washed the floors, we cleaned window, we cleaned the toilet, we put toys away, did recycling, etc.....we even vacuumed the couch (scary!). Our house smelled and looked beautiful. We even installed a new faucet in our kitchen sink. It was lovely. And it lasted for 1 day.

This Wednesday, my grandparents are coming in from Prince George, they and I are flying to Toronto on Friday. This means we have to make some changes to accomodate their brief stay with us. Mainly, they will be sleeping in Aislinn's room. Which means the bunk bed is gone.

Picture this, but in red. No more!!!

It will be passed on to my sister's kids. In its place will be a brand new Ikea bed (which needed to be put together).

This also meant that Aislinn's room had to be "de-junkified". Man that kid collects a lot of crap! So, everything came out of her room, and it ended up in my living room. My previously, clean living room. We didn't finish our task last night, and this is what prompted my little brother to utter those heinous words this morning. I was not amused. Yes, my house looked like my girl's bedroom threwup all over it. But it will be taken care of tonight.

Mama and Kong kong will arrive to see a sparkling clean and well put together dwelling. Something that will make me proud. And they will sleep the sleep of innocents in their new bed and linens.

And I will tell Aislinn that if she ever thinks again about keeping 3 broken backpacks, schoolwork from 3 years ago, 6 balls, and clothes that haven't fit her since she was a size kids 8 in her bedroom that she will be disowned. Seriously!!!!

Frank calls it "packrat-itis" and he says that she gets it from me. Whatever.

Love Tanya

Family Photos

So, we have never done this as a family...this is something that is brand new for us. And it felt kinda weird. The kids loved it, but I don't know, it just felt awkward.

When I was a kid, I remember doing this just once with my own family. I was in grade 6 or so and I wore this very chic gray sweater dress. At least I thought it was very chic. But I was a grade 6'er living in Prince George, BC. What did I know? We all dressed up and headed to Sears for our one and only professional family photo shoot. The picture was before the 2 youngest in our family were born. The two siblings that were in the pictures with me, if I remember correctly had similar feelings to me. I think Ting had a really bad Afro/Perm haircut thing going on, and Rachel was just grumpy and not smiling at all in any of the pictures. I guess it wasn't very successful, because I have never seen any of those pictures in a frame or photo album. I also remember feeling just as weirded out then as I did this time. Who takes pictures like this? This isn't what we are like. And it is so hard to smile naturally. It just feels fake, plastered-on, not right! Oh, and my eyes are always squinty! Grrrrr....

Anyways, the good thing about this photoshoot was that it wasn't done in a stuffy Sears studio. The lovely Auria is a photography minor in university, and she went for a walk with us outside and then we constructed a studio at home with duct tape and a sheet.

So, here are some of the results:

Then we dressed up in our "fancy" clothes and took some more formal pictures, and these are the ones that made me all squirmy and feeling fake:



There was one picture that Frank really liked...it was of his girls.


Actually, this one is kinda cute.

But after holding my head just so, twisting my torso like this, lifting my chin, opening my eyes wider, and sucking in my gut, I needed to let loose a little.



The kids felt the same way...



When the dust cleared and the bright lights stopped blinding us, it turned out pretty good and I think we will end up seeing some of these pictures in frames, or at least on this blog.


Thanks for looking everyone. Hope you and yours have a great holiday season.

Love Tanya