Things My Kids Said As Posted On Twitter

Not everything my kids say or do warrants a blog post.  This is why I like to share this roundup and snippets of recent conversations I've had with M&J as shared on Twitter.  Enjoy!

J: Today at school we found a cockroach on the playground, he was so cool, but don't worry, I didn't take him home because I thought that might make you mad. (yeah, MIGHT make me mad) #parenting

via Giphy

Trying a new recipe in the slow cooker today. As I loaded the ingredients in this morning M said: What smells like barf?  I obviously have really high hopes for dinner tonight #parenting

J: I am going to act like I'm 20 to try & impress my celebrity crush, cause she's also 20. Me: How are you going to act 20? J: Drive a car. Oh, and act stupid, but pretend I know everything. Me: That's really, very accurate. #parenting

Things I say now that I’m a parent: stop pretending to be Pennywise and freaking out your sister

via Giphy

J: my favourite number is eight because it’s so cute and because it has an adorable head and body #parenting

J: Vive la resistance means fight the power, baby! #parenting

via Giphy

Day 2 back to school post holidays J: I left my pillow on the bathroom floor so I could lay down and rest while I brushed my teeth. #parenting

M: Jack can you cuddle me? It will help me calm down and fall asleep before Santa comes #twins #parenting #ChristmasEve

The Saturday Lunchtime Wrestlers

On Saturday night, during a dinner with friends, the subject of building community in a big city like Toronto came up.  While YMCAs, Legions, churches, and actual community centres for kids and adults to swim and be active together are helpful and important, talk travelled to unofficial community hubs and a lack of them in our mega-city. Places that give you that "NORM!" Cheers feel, where everyone knows your name, or at least recognize your face enough to give you a friendly nod and smile.

The very next afternoon our family headed out to a local wrestling event held inside one of the many local craft breweries we're lucky enough to have just a couple kilometres away from home.  We walked over and were instantly brought back to the 1980's wrestling that many of us grew up with, including announcers who encouraged the crowd to embrace their 'inner eight year old' that afternoon.

Booing Bad Guy Freedom Wallace

We were surrounded by friends, neighbours, familiar faces, and saw several kids wearing swag from local schools, including our own.  As everyone cheered together, I was reminded of community being about where you make it, and Junction City Wrestling will always be a place we can call home.

With fun, albeit silly, plot lines, great villains and heroes, along with strong fierce female wrestlers (who take on men in the ring as well as female fighters) for my daughter and son to watch in action. Booing bad guys and high fiving your favourite wrestlers is a great way to spend an afternoon.

Space Monkey Takes the Ring

If you live in the area, or even further away in the GTA, I encourage you to come and check out Junction City Wrestling.  They often have free outdoor events in the summer, and their colder weather paid events are a fun way to beat the winter blahs.  They have two events scheduled in March, follow them on Facebook to find out more! They'll be happy to have you.  What are you waiting for?  Maybe we'll see you there!

Sharing My Writing On Other Sites

When I'm not parenting I work as a freelance writer, editor, and web writer.  Here is some of my non-parenting related writing for your reading pleasure. Please read and share any of the links that interest you, and as always, if you have any article ideas for me for the blog or anything else shoot me an email or a comment! Enjoy!

Travel

via Giphy

25 Pics Of People Who Ran Out Of Money While Traveling (And Improvised)

Housing

Polyamorous Purchasing Power in the Modern Housing Market

Fashion & Finance

via Giphy

Body Scanning Will Be The Death Of Clothing Sizes

Finance & Investment

Solving the Climate Crisis: the Greatest Investment Opportunity of Our Time?

Millennials Still Feel the Financial Crisis of 2008

How Smart Women Invest

Unapologetic Larger Than Life Celeb Personalities

via Giphy

10 Celebs Who Are Part Of Chelsea Handler's Hollywood Circle (10 Who Can't Stand Her)

20 Facts About Howard Stern That America's Got Talent Producers Want To Keep On The DL

20 Things Fans Don't Know About Jon Hamm's Private Life

20 Questions Fans Wish They Could Ask Eminem

20 Surprising Facts About Storage Wars’ Barry Weiss

Celebrity Relationships

via Face Shapes 101

20 Surprising Facts About Ellen DeGeneres And Portia de Rossi's Relationship

10 Celeb Men Kate Beckinsale Has Been Linked To (And 10 Who Are Not Good Enough For Her)

20 Little Known Facts About Brad Pitt And Bradley Cooper's Bromance

Celebrity Style

via Tenor

20 Photos Of Anna Kendrick's Transformation Through The Years

When The Party Is Over

Last week I had a solid case of the January blahs. I was sick with a head cold, had a less than stellar work week, and the kids were not adjusting their 'back to school' schedule no matter how much we tried at the end of the holiday season to get them back to a normal bed time routine.

Weeks like this are the few times when I miss having a coworker, particularly my former work wife Mrs. C, to commiserate with over coffee.

One morning Jack literally brought a pillow into the bathroom with him so he could "lay down" while brushing his teeth.  The kids were up late at night and exhausted each morning.  Chris and I felt like we had no evening to ourselves.  It was gloomy outside, and then it rained the same amount it normally does in a month in 24 hours.

I was ready to have a pity party.  And maybe I did, just a little bit, but I got over it pretty quickly.  We left up our tree until January 6th this year so we could enjoy the twinkling lights for a few extra days. I upcycled our received holiday cards into gift tags for next year.  I darned some socks, took some long naps to recover from my illness instead of pushing myself too hard.  We cleaned out our closets and donated some clothes. Molly and I planted some micro greens that have started to sprout, Why Hello!

This week I'm feeling a lot better.  I've reached out to more friends for coffee and some in person socialization. I've been walking the dog on the sunny side of the street. The kids are doing a readathon fundraiser for their library and it's been particularly nice to cuddle with them and read after a long day.  Chris and I have been playing cribbage nearly every night and I'm filling up our social calendar to beat out the worst of the winter blues.

We're taking the beginning of 2020 slowly, because we don't have to tackle an entire decade in the first two weeks of the year.  I am looking forward to our hygge weekend in a few weeks.  Any books, games, candles, or snack recommendations you'd like to share, let me know.

Stay cozy as the cold weather sets in and be kind to yourself as blue Monday approaches.

Movie Review - Jumanji 2, The Next Level

One of the items on Molly & Jack's Christmas Vacation bucket list was going to the theatre to see Jumanji 2, The Next Level.  We managed to check it out before they headed back to school on Monday.

via Consequence of Sound

What's in it for the Kids?
If your kid enjoyed the first reboot movie, they're sure to like the players facing off against the next level of the semi-cursed video game.  All of the old characters are there, along with some new ones, and the same funny running jokes as before.  It's fast paced and fun with a lot of action.

What's in it for the Adults?
In addition to the talents of the original cast, adults can take comfort in familiar faces from their childhood in the forms of Danny DeVito (playing a grandpa) and his fellow senior citizen friend Danny Glover who enter the game by accident while the teens need to navigate Jumanji alongside a pair who aren't well versed in video games or surviving the game.

Best Parts of the Movie
Funny video-game sized action with a fantastic cast, bound to keep you laughing all the way through. The addition of Awkwafina to the movie was an excellent fit.

via The Medium Is Not Enough

Worst Parts of the Movie
If you're going in and looking for a completely different story, you are going to be disappointed.  The same goes if you haven't seen the original film because you are going to miss some of the inside jokes and the film won't be as enjoyable. For a good portion Dwayne Johnson puts on a fake accent that doesn't work, but you can tell it was the best he could do. As far as sequels go, this one is solid, but it's still not as good as the original reboot.

Parental Warning
There are some adult jokes and language in this movie, along with some video game style Jumanji violence.  If you don't think your kid can take that, don't take them to this movie.

Overall Rating
A fun and wild ride I would rate this movie a 3.5/5, the kids really liked it and I would watch it again with the kids if they wanted to, but probably not multiple times like I would with the original Jumanji reboot.