I WON!

Welp. The Circle of Moms Top 25 Canadian Mom blog contest thingie has ended and I lost.

Or did I...?

I don't usually jump into those voting contests, but I wanted to reach out to Canadian bloggers. Because I'm Canadian. (Sorry!).

I was hoping that I was unique enough, with the whole animation thing, that I could stand a chance of making it into the Top 25 and maybe gain some recognition. But these vote-every-day contests are prolly not a measure of distinction, nor are they a measure of popularity. They reflect one's ability to rally the troops to click that little pink heart every single day.

And that's just not me. Cuz you know that I would rather be drawing than vote-slutting.

However, I did discover a couple of homegrown blogs that I really liked: Colleen Anthony's Curtains are Open, and "t" McCallan's Happy Soul Project. And I reconnected with my friend Tanya Toledano from the MontrealMom.com blog.

But my big win here is that I have YOU. Every single one of your votes was the richest, sweetest cream of the crop. My tribe may be small, but it's a quality tribe.

This little pink heart is for you...because I love you.

Thank-you for letting me be annoying, spam your groups, bump the Facebook convo's and basically twerk the Internet badly.

And now, it's back to the old drawing board.

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Sketchy memories.

I was hunting for a lost poem today, looking through my old journals, diaries and sketchbooks. I found this one little book from 2002 with drawings of my kids, and little notes about them. It brought me back in a way that no photograph can.

The eldest daughter was nearly eight. She was always practicing her violin.

She was a tiny little person. Small but perfectly formed.

It's hard to believe she's now nineteen and going to University.

And this daughter was only five at the time.

Even then she was fastidious about her clothes; everything had to be fancy, velvet, sparkley or shiny. She's still got definite ideas about fashion now that she's sixteen.

Children move a lot, and ink on paper is unforgiving. See how I noted my error of proportions on her face?

This was my son, at two. He was a jolly little fellow!

I was going to clean up the pages a little in Photoshop, because you can see right through them to the writing on the other side. But I decided to just leave it...after all, it's only a sketchbook.

The Huz, in a quiet moment.

I loved to watch my children. I felt that if I could fill my eyes up with them, I'd never forget the joy they gave me.

So many memories.

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Caregiver support.

I was hired to do this drawing for a local Caregivers Support Group - this particular group is involved with caring for the elderly. It's important to have support when you care for others, for it can be a heavy load. It's good to be able to ask for help too.

I donated the illustration.

If you are a caregiver, what do you do for support?

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Reflections of a 13 year old BOY.

This is the thirteen year old boy.  Do you remember when he was ten? I invite you to witness the fleeting balance of childhood and puberty.

The boy hasn't hit the tunnel of darkness yet. By that I mean he's still pretty delightful and affectionate. I like to watch him, I can tell he's studying the changes in his body, looking for signs of manhood.

Spiderman needn't worry...somehow I don't think he'll get left behind. What do your teens do in front of the mirror?

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A bunch of parenting TIPS.

I'm nominated for a Top 25 Canadian Moms blogging thing.

I don't usually get involved in contests and giveaways. Especially not the kind where you have to annoy people by asking them to vote for you repeatedly. But, alas, here I find myself doing just that.

But I don't like pestering people day after day for votes, which in the end prolly do more to boost the rankings of the host site anyways. Bleah. I much prefer the idea of offering you something of value as I ask for your precious *click*.

And so, in the spirit of exchange: I'll be leaving a bunch of parenting tips, mined from my personal experience (stuff that worked for me anyways), here on this blogpost from now until September 25th.

In return: puh-leeze consider voting for me every day until then. Just click on the little heart next to the word VOTE.

NO, you don't have to be in Canada to vote. You can be anywhere. And you can vote every day.

So here's the parenting tips:

1. Listen to the kids. Hear what they are saying to me not only with words, but also with their silence. A lack of communication can be as telling as a hand-written letter tattooed on the eyeballs. Never let them shut you out for long.

2. Respect the kids. Treat them as you would have them treat you. You know how you've nagged at them a million times to say "please", to lower their voice, and to speak with a civil tongue, even if they disagree? When they insist on the same respectful treatment in return, you'll know you're doing a good job.

3. Cop to it. If you make a mistake (and you will) you should always own up to it. Apologize, and explain why you did it. When a parent screws up, it's important to show that you're trying to do better. But you also want to move forward, so don't forget to forgive yourself too.

4. Be Consistent. Whether it's rules, or family routine, decide what it's gonna be and stick with it. Kids need that familiarity, it helps them feel secure - even teenagers, though they protest and complain. This doesn't mean that you can't surprize them once in a while by changing your mind (it keeps them on their toes!) but this should be rare.

This is fun right? More in a day or so. Please go votez for moi!

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Second chances.

It strikes me that a "no second chance" attitude is pretty much why teens commit suicide, why there are honor killings and burning brides in some cultures, and why a woman can get arrested, flogged or stoned to death for being raped in certain countries. It has a pernicious shame at its root.

On the plus side, there's a lot of discussion going on about it and I think that's healthy.

Helping our children navigate the insanity that is adolescence is difficult enough without social media archiving everything. After all the mistakes I've made in my life, I can't imagine not ever having the chance to get it right, somehow. The second chance, and all the chances after that are what made me all that I am today.

And I refuse to believe that I am not worthy.

What would your life be like if you'd had no second chances?

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The FUQman T-shirt

FUQ. It's not what you think.

At long last I have found a print-on-demand site that has a print area large enough to almost accommodate FUQman's impressive abs.

Behold the back of the shirt:

I dare you to name one other Super Hero shirt that includes instructions on where to attach the cape.

Okay, it's a little pricey for a t-shirt. Print on demand is hard to pay the rent with; I only get $4 on every FUQman t-shirt that's sold, Printfection gets the rest.

But remember folks: I didn't just make the shirt; I made a film and a music video. I created a universe...a way of life! (...actually, The Huz did that bit). And you get what you pay for here : a totally original Super Hero shirt. Represent Independent Thought! Surge with Exasperation at the cookie-cutter Antics of Mankind! Resist the Evil Lords of Irony! And stuff!!

Chins will wag.

"What the FUQ are you wearing?!?"

Whereupon you can roll your eyes and say, "Aww.....FUQmaaaaaan!"

And then you just send them here.



And here...



Because everyone knows what FUQ stands for.

Get your FUQman t-shirts here; men, women and kids styles.

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