Happy Halloweeeeeeeeeeeeen

It all began with the hairy, scary monster cookie invasion!

Then the creepy, crawly spiders... ever watched "Arachnophobia"?!?!

Caught in tangled web....

Note the Ghetto Ride scarily parked in the background...

The big Daddy spider guards his lair....

Bwahahahahahahahahahhaaaaaaa.........

Journey to Ghost Ranch

In approximately one week, I will be sitting, feeling the earth beneath me and drinking in this view.

I will be joined with 20 or so other amazing, deep women from around the world, hungry for more. The Child and I begin our adventure on Tuesday, when I will be flying with him to Kelowna, settling him in with Grandma/Grandpa and then leaving for Ghost Ranch in Abiquiu, New Mexico.

By myself.

For a week.

I never imagined that New Mexico would be one of my travel destinations. Part of me is a little sad that it is not like the regular Mexico, all hot and palm trees and ocean. But after looking at some photos of where I will be staying, I think I can settle for awe inspiring, red rock view.

A lot of my blog is dedicated to my Mommy stories. The crazy, fun, sometimes hair-pulling times. Something that I don't talk a lot about here is what I do outside of the Mommy/housewife stuff. The purpose of this upcoming trip is to actually take my advanced training with Birthing From Within. I am in the process of becoming a certified mentor (aka childbirth educator... I prefer mentor as educator sounds very stuffy). So if you are unsure of what I do, I hold classes for parents to prepare them for the journey of pregnancy, childbirth and parenting. I am also a Doula, supporting women (physically, emotionally, spiritually) through the actual birth of their child.

I suppose I don't talk much about this on my blog as it is very close to my heart and runs very deep within. My blog is a place of light-hearted stories and recounting of the days with my son. To write about the deep shifts, the learning, the breathing, the emptying that I do (sometimes on a daily basis), feels like it is too huge for words. I am not the type of person to constantly be in that 'deep' frame of mind when socializing with friends and family. But get me one on one, with a good cup of something (tea, coffee, wine.. you pick!) and I'll take you to those deep places. In some ways I am excited to be in a place where I can open up those deep spaces, sharing with other women who are on journey parallel to mine. When else in my life will I be given this kind of opportunity? That in and of itself blows me away.

Beyond the excitement of traveling, meeting new people, learning and soaking in new things, sits just a tiny little bit of hesitation. This will be the longest that I have ever left The Child. I completely trust Grandma/Grandpa and know he will be just fine. But there is always that nagging feeling, that loss of control when I am not there. I feel it is so wonderful for children to grow up with a variety of influences and authorities in their life. My control issues are not so much about sticking to a routine, discipline, eating, sleeping etc. Rather, what if something happens? Something good or bad. I'm not there with him, knowing exactly what he needs or does not need. This train of thinking requires a lot of breathing, praying and letting go on my part.

Altogether, we will be gone for about two weeks. Taking a few days in Kelowna before and after my big trip to New Mexico to visit and rest between flights. Not sure how easy it will be for me to blog, especially in NM (apparently where we are the internet/phone connection is through microwave transmission. Fun times). That said, I'm sure you won't miss me too much as my blogging as been pretty few and far between lately.

I am going to try and post a few pictures sometime this weekend. I did a little seasonal Halloween decorating yesterday.. there is still a bit more to do. If you would have driven past my house you would have seen me standing on a chair on my porch, hanging large, hairy spiders. You would have not seen me swatting at my head like a crazy person because the wind made them fly around, hitting me in the back of the head. Even though they are completely fake, I was still not creeped out. *Shudder*

Stay tuned for some creepy crawly pictures and once I return from the big journey, I will do my best to write about all that happened. Ok, maybe not all, but I will at least pick my hi's and low's.

I think I can at least do that!

A Blessing Hiding in a Ghetto Ride

Our car decided this past week that it required more time at the day spa, having its catalytic converter massaged. This was one pricey massage, it even came with a new battery. Perhaps you remember this post? Doesn't seem all that long ago that the thing was spending our money at the day spa, and our bank account is proof. Ironically enough, this little spa treatment came just shortly after The Husband came home with a surround sound system for the TV. Funny how that works.

Last time the car was at the spa, we had to rent a vehicle. Then we were blessed as some friends leant us theirs while they were out of town. This time, we were blessed again as we didn't require a rental. The car was out for almost a week (could you imagine spending a week at the spa? Seriously) and that could have been one pricey rental bill. But this time the blessing of a loaned vehicle did not come in the form of some snazzy friend's car.

Nope.

It came in the shape and form of my Father-in-law's travel/work, ghetto van.

A large, blue (baby blue to be exact), Ford Aerostar, early 90's van. Complete with the bumper being held to the van with a bungee cord. Let me not forget to mention the two mountain bikes in the back as well as a foam mattress for those late nights when you just can't drive (or bike) home. This blessing in disguise was left to us by the FIL after he finished a job out here and actually purchased a new van to drive home. Don't get me wrong, having a second vehicle is fabulous, just not when I have to drive it.

Yes, it did its job while my little car was being fixed. Yes, I should be grateful. And humble. I was, trust me. But I have pride. Just enough pride to park behind (or very far away) stores so no one could see me getting out of the ghetto ride. Just enough pride to wear my big, celebrity style sunglasses and hold my Starbucks up high, proving that I still had one last shred of dignity.

But the van also made me do crazy things. Perhaps it was the fumes of oil and grease that permeated my brain, making me into a crazy woman. I did not realize the effect of the van until one late afternoon in the grocery store parking lot. It had been a stressful shopping trip. One that was supposed to be quick, yet wasn't, complete with a cranky, demanding, sassy toddler.

Once outside, loading my loot into the van, a man approached me. He began to tell me his story of how he was just released from the hospital (I'm assuming he was looking for monetary help) and lifted his shirt to give me proof. Proof was his oozing brown, gauzed-up wound.

Me: "I don't want to see that!!!"

Random Man: "Oh, sorry.... I, uh, was just wondering...."

Me (in full snapshow voice): "What do you want from me?! Can't you see I'm a Mom, here with my kid?"

Random Man: "Oh, yah, uhhhh... sorry. Nevermind. Have a nice day."

Me: Audible sigh. "You too".

Please note I do not ever act this way to strangers. That poor poor man. He felt the full-on wrath of a stressed out, ghetto van drivin', hungry (grocery shopping does that to me), Mom. I felt terrible driving home, then I realized it must have been the van. I was taken over by its ghetto powers. Ok, not really, but I was trying to think up some excuse.

Even though the van tested my dignity, pushed me to snapshow on complete strangers, and even made me park miles away from my destination, it did its job. That I am thankful for. Some people don't even have a vehicle to drive, yes, I thought plenty about that.

Anytime that I am feeling ungrateful about something, I try and think of one positive thing, something to help me count my blessings. So, ghetto van, not only am I thankful for you getting us safely from point A to point B. But I am also thankful for how you complimented our costumes this past weekend. Nothing says AWESOME like rolling up to a family Halloween dance party, dressed in full Disco attire, driving a bumpin', baby blue, ghetto ride.

And for that, I thank you.

Paging Doctor Dangerous

Life has been stupidly busy. I am ready to get off this train and onto a plane to somewhere tropical where I can sip drinks in coconuts and blog all day. And read Twilight.

Sigh.

It is late and I should be in bed. But I am so unbelievably dedicated to you, my Faithful Few, that I had to share a quick tid-bit of my life today.

Somehow my son has learned to play doctor. Yah. I know what you're thinking. But all repressed memories aside, I really have no idea how he knows what a Doctor does as its been over a year since he's seen one. (Does that make me a bad parent that I forgot the yearly check-up this year?)

Around dinner time today, our neighbor and dear friend E showed up for a little visit. In between swapping Thanksgiving stories and entertaining a certain 3yr old, an interesting incident occurred. The Child and E were playing around, tickling, etc (she is one of his favorite babysitters) when he announced that she needed to lay down. He was going to do Doctor.

She played along, and I watched with some amusement to see what he actually thought that was.

(I find imaginary play very fascinating. Its like a window into the brain of my child, a small snippet where I can actually understand how he sees the world).

So after listening to her heart, tummy and leg. His diagnosis was that she was sick and not feeling very well. We thought it was cute and she removed herself from the 'table' floor and we continued on with our conversations.

Next thing we know, The Child is mumbling something about being a very bad Doctor. He walks over with his pretend pager (yah, he has a play doctors kit. Really, we're just thinking about our own retirement. Someone has to support us). She asks if its his pager and he says yes. She says "Paging Dr. Child" in her best nurse voice and he responds....

"No. Paging Doctor Dangerous"