March in a Nutshell (and by March, I mean the month.)

So, I haven't blogged for a long time. Like I said earlier, I'm not a very committed person when it comes to this kind of stuff. Well, let's list some major events in the month of March...

First off, Na'thaniel's birthday!



This is why I don't understand children. I mean, who doesn't like getting cake in their face on their birthday? It's baffling, really.

Secondly, Shaylynn's birthday!



She is different. Her mood swings outnumber the times I fall down in one day. And her sense of humour is, well...senseless.

Next up, we have my first plane ride/visit with my great grandma/trip to Toronto.



Well, this is my view from the plane. Unsurprisingly, I did not get nauseous. I'm not really a motion sickness person. Except those darn spinning apples always do me in. Anyways, this was a week of new transportation methods...my first subway rides, my first cab rides, and my first plane rides! Not to mention, my first time travelling any further than a 7 hour car ride from home.



My great grams. What a cutie, hey? I can see where I get my good looks from...(oops, I just typed out a winky face and then realized how much I hate emoticons. Ha.)



I thought this was clever of me. I took a picture from the CN Tower, and it has the shadow in the picture. Ah, my artistic side shines through.



There was this glass floor...and I stood on it. I'm so brave! (Again, with the urges to stick a winky face in here...)

Finally, my personal favorite event of this month...



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The snow finally melted! As uneventful as this may seem to you, in Manitoba...it's definitely a rarity that the snow melts in March. Global warming, I love you.

I Saw Miley Cyrus and thought...

The other day, I found my 3 year old sister crying. When I asked her what was wrong, she told me, "Ran, I not pretty."

That broke my heart. I told her, "You're beautiful, Shaylynn! Don't ever say you're not pretty!"

It kind of got me thinking though. What is wrong with our society, that it makes children think that they're not pretty enough?

Well, I've been told, many times that "beauty is in the eye of the beholder." But I'm not sure that that's entirely true. I mean, sure, you decide what you find attractive, but what shapes your point of view on that subject? What helps you decide the way you view the world? Magazines? Television? Movies? Celebrities? People you see everyday?

Who decided that "beautiful" is skinny girls with long legs and spray tans? Who decided that "pretty" is fake eyelashes and straight hair? Who made up our societies minds that to be "attractive", women have to wear clothing two sizes too small?

Uh, how can you even be sure that it's a real person underneath all the fakeness?

And when you really think about it, who exactly are we even trying to impress?

No Points for "Trying" Here!

I wouldn't say I'm the biggest procrastinator ever, but I'm up there. Friday morning Science class, I was given an assignment...here it is..."Make a Balloon Car".


This isn't mine, by the way.


I figured it would be easy. Easy as pie. And by pie, I mean apple, blueberry, cherry or chocolate pie, not 3.1415 kind of pi. By the way, Pi Day was yesterday! Albert Einstein was born on Pi Day! Back to the subject...I thought building a balloon car would be easy.

Long story short, I was wrong. After a temper tantrum and giving up, I did my pilates and went to bed.

I woke up this morning, only to tell my mother that I would not be attending classes this morning because I refused to fail. She told me that they had to give me marks for trying. Well, this is not true. (Here's where the moral of my story comes in...)

Between the ages of 3-12, they give you marks or points for "trying" because they want you to learn that "trying" helps you to succeed. Well, as true as this is, in the real world, not only do you need to try...but you need to succeed.

In Grade 10 Science, you do not get marks for "trying".

The Tale of how Dimitri Made Twenty-Five Cents...

I was just sitting there, bare-footed, in the middle of a Japanese restaurant, with my 6 year old brother, while he eats his happy meal, listening to country music.

How did I end up in this...unique situation?

Well, let me start with, it's not exactly what I planned.



A couple days ago, my younger brother, Dimitri, decided me and him, we should be best friends. I guess that's cool, except I was planning on going out with some friends that day. So, Dimitri decides to come along and of course, Mom says...yes.

WHAT?! Since when does Mom say yes about Dimitri going anywhere?!



Well, Dimitri comes along. And I have a decent time. Dimitri is bored out of his mind, but I'm having a fun time. It's a basketball game and my favorite team was winning and life was good. But Dimitri was bored. So I figured, he's probably not going to want to go anywhere with me again...I never get anything right.

Well, the very next day, I have plans to go out again with some friends. And again, Dimitri's very desire in life is to come...with...me. Again, Mom agrees. And again, Dimitri comes. It all seemed to be going very well. In fact, we were having a jolly good time.



Well, we're going out to eat, and the vote is unanimous - sushi. Well, almost unanimous...Dimitri wants McDonald's. So, we stop at McDonald's and pick up a Happy Meal.

I ask Dimitri - "Do you want Chicken Nuggets or a cheeseburger?"
Dimitri says - "Chicken Nuggets."
So, I buy a Chicken Nugget Happy Meal with a boy's toy and go back to the car and give it to him.



We drive to the sushi place and the very lovely Japanese lady directs us to a table, where we have to take off our shoes. Now, I'm not an expert on hygiene, and maybe it's just because I have a foot phobia, but I find this disgusting.

Well, we sit down, we order and Dimitri starts eating. He eats his whole meal. He turns and looks at me, and I swear to you, this is exactly what he says - "I wanted a cheeseburger."

...

There is no way that he actually told me that. After the embarrassment of having to stop and buy him a happy meal, and then sitting in a restaurant while he chows down on it, and then listening to his complaints. There is no way that I am okay with this.

Well, I tell him, he'll get twenty-five cents if he doesn't talk for the rest of the night.

Dimitri got a shiny quarter at the end of the evening.

He's 364 days old!

I've been crying a lot lately. Partially because Vienna is still left on the Bachelor, and Ali isn't. Partially because I am sick and tired of winter. So sick and tired, that I actually imagined my neighbor was mowing his lawn, ran outside and realized it was winter... But I'm mainly crying lately because, my little man is growing up.



This amazing little man has been mine since 3 days old. (I say "mine" but I didn't give birth to him. FYI.)



There has honestly never been a single day where this child has not made me smile. He is a ray of sunshine with curly black hair.



I hate to say it but I'm biased, he's probably one of my favorite people in the world. I just love him so much, it's absolutely ridiculous!

Tomorrow, Na'thaniel, my little man, turns one year old. Through all of his nastiness (because, trust me, he has his moments) and his craziness, and his hilarity, he is the sweetest little boy I've ever come in contact with.

I love you Na'thaniel!

Hey RAN

I am of the female gender. In case you haven't noticed. I care about what I wear...usually. There is the occassional fashion mishap. For example, my basketball pajama pants. Most likely, the ugliest things in the world. I wear em all the time. But I am partial to getting new clothes and...wearing them and...having people notice. I am, after all, a girl. Well, my three-year-old sister is the same way. When she gets new clothing, (which happens to be all the time, as spoiled as she is) she likes to stand in front of a person until this person notices, comments in a high pitched voice and smiles. I forgot what it's like to be three.

So, Shaylynn (the three year old sister of mine), gets a new dress, and she loves it. I'm on the computer. I could care less. She runs up to me.



Shaylynn: "Hey Ran." (She calls me "Ran". She can say "Brianna" but "Ran" just seems to be SO much more fun)
Me: (not even looking) "Hey Shaylynn."



Shaylynn: "Hey. Uncle Raaaaansey." (Now, I am not her uncle. I am not even a man. It just so happens that humor comes in all shapes and sizes for children. Calling someone who is obviously not their uncle, their uncle, is just hilarious.)
Me: (still not looking) "Hey. Shaaaaaay."



Shaylynn: "Hey RAN."
Me: (looks) "What?" (all of the following in a high pitched voice) "Oh, hey Shaylynn! Nice dress! You look soooo pretty!"
Shaylynn: "Thanks Ran." (runs away)

I guess what I'm trying to say is that we were all children at one time. Just humor them.

It's Coming..

Valentine's Day is coming up...and while other people are writing about the fabrication of this holiday to bring in dollars, deneros, green, notes, cabbage, cash, coin, dough, whatever you want to call it - that's what Valentine's day was apparently made for. I happen to disagree. I enjoy the sentiments of Valentine's Day. The chocolates, the flowers, the gigantic stuffed animals, the jewelry and all the heart shaped boxes that they come in.



I find that Valentine's Day is, in fact, romantic, although other people might not feel the same way. I think that Valentine's Day can be used as something other than a way to show love to your "significant other" though. It can be used to show love to a friend, to a parent or child, to a sibling, to someone you don't even know. Love can be shown in a variety of ways. You can show love by giving someone gifts, by giving them a hug, by baking them cookies or cleaning their apartment, by sitting by their bed while they recover from getting their wisdom teeth out (guess what I'm doing for Valentine's Day?!) or just by simply telling them you love them.

But, love shouldn't be saved for Valentine's Day only. Show everyone you see love even in the littlest ways. Pay for the person behind you in the drive thru (unless you turn around and see that they have a giant white van with 200 kids in it), holding the door for the next 500 people behind you (has that ever happened to you too?) or flash someone a smile. It's truly one of the easiest things to do.