It's all good...

Lost Loves

#1 and #2 have never been crazy attached to any object.   We never had blankies or soothers or anything that they had to have in order to fall asleep.  I always thought that getting a child hooked on an object was more trouble than it was worth and I felt particularly smug when my sister in law had to drive for miles to retrieve a forgotten duck so that her then 3 year old would fall asleep.   Not giving them a love object was a good thing.   

#3 is a different sort of kid.   He's fallen for objects and made them his security toy without me forcing it.     The most frustrating thing about his habit of having these security objects is that they are usually small things - when he was not quite 2 he had a little Diego toy (Diego is Dora's cousin who traipses around the Amazon rescuing talking animals....seriously...it's like a nature show but with cartoons and talking animals and without the hotness of Chris Kratt)   Diego was accidentally left at a friend's house one night and #3 refused to go to sleep without him.   It was really late so there was no way I was going to call the friend and ask if I could have this stupid little piece of plastic so that #3 would go to sleep.   I loaded him in the car thinking I could do the "drive around until they fall asleep" trick and he wailed his way around the neighbourhood crying "DIEGO! DIEGO!"  until finally falling asleep.    

He and his friend made little creatures called "Smudgies" out of tiny pompoms and sequins.   These smudgies went to school with #3 and actually managed to make it home again.    At night we usually end up going on a hunt for whatever tiny object has become his new best friend.   He cannot sleep without whatever love object he's attached to at that moment.   Well, he can.   It just takes longer.   All of these objects are small though.  They are always things that are easily lost and hard to find when they are put down and forgotten.

Last year a vet visited #3's preschool class to talk about taking care of animals.   She brought with her some small stuffed dogs that were promotional items a flea control company had been giving out.    #3 received a little stuffed yellow lab with a blue bandanna.   Cute in a crappy promotional stuffed animal resembling a Happy Meal toy kind of way.    The dog was named Scruffy (well, first he was named Paperclip but then when #3's good friend named his dog Scruffy the name changed). 

Scruffy went to school every day, Scruffy played here at home.  Scruffy was #3's constant companion.   Scruffy was very cute and Scruffy talked in a squishy baby kind of voice and was frequently a victim of surprise explosions.    Scruffy was well loved.   

On Saturday Scruffy went up the CN Tower with us.  Scruffy looked out over Toronto and marveled at how far he could see.    Scruffy came down the tower with us and that's where things get fuzzy.   Somewhere between the Tower and the walk back to the hotel Scruffy escaped.    When we got back to the hotel #3 asked me for Scruffy and I didn't have him.   The Dude didn't have him.  Grandma didn't have him.  Grandpa didn't have him.    It was awful.  

The Dude retraced our steps back to the tower while I loaded up three very unhappy kids and tried to make my way through Toronto traffic to meet him.   We were very hopeful that Scruffy would be found but the Dude's face told me that he wasn't able to find Scruffy.   

There was much wailing from the backseat.   Even #1 who is knee deep in tween angsty coolness had a tear on her cheek over the loss of Scruffy.    #2 cried solidly most of the way home and #3 cried like he had just lost his best friend.   I have to admit to being a bit upset about poor Scruffy myself.  

There is good news though.   I sent out an email to the parents from the preschool last year to see if anyone has a Scruffy and if they'd be willing to give it to #3 to ease his pain.   One very lovely little girl understood #3's pain and will be giving the Scruffy she received to him.   How sweet is that? 

We're all hoping that sweet Scruffy has been picked up by some loving kid and is having many more adventures in his new home.   At least he got to move back to Canada.  

Here's Scruffy at the top of the tower during happier times.

Not much to say today

Baby Ike Needs Help

Lists

I've been bombarded with lists lately.   There's the 25 Random Things list that has infected Facebook (I found this article on the phenomenon pretty funny ) I chose not to do the Random Thing list because I just really didn't feel like it.   Yes, I admit to enjoying reading other people's lists particularly one old high school friend who I think must have smoked something funny before writing his... 

I have lists of things I must do, lists of things that need fixing around the house and the ever present grocery list.    Yesterday a poster at Mothertalkers wrote about an assignment she'd been given to make a list of 10 things she did right that day.  She's been told to do this list every day for two weeks and think about how it makes her feel.   I can see the value in it - people use those Gratitude Journals to remember that things are good when it looks very, very bleak.    It's healthy to remind yourself that you did do a few things right even when you're up to your elbows in the toilet bowl or you're looking at that giant basket of unmatched socks for the 100th time.   Oh, that's just my life.   So I made a 10 things I did right yesterday list (well, I did it yesterday but it's not a list about the things I did right yesterday except it kind of is a list about the things I did yesterday since I wrote it yesterday...yup...I'm still off the booze)  

So here it is.   Feel free to add yours.   It's healthy and fun!    

    1.I got my shoes on the right feet.

2. I managed to pick up the dog poop with the plastic bag without getting any of it on my hands.

3. I started the day with three children and ended the day with three children.  I think they're the same ones.

4.  I managed to write a couple of lines for my bio for my advertising page and none of those lines contained the word "tits".

5. I was nice to the mother of my son's friend even though I think she's a ninny.

6. I did not kick the cat down the basement steps after he bit my daughter...I tossed him gently. (he's not dealing well with the addition of the dog)

7. I found out that I am under the guidelines for using that Alli drug for weightloss.  

8. I didn't buy the giant bag of M&Ms at the warehouse store.  

9. I drove around this afternoon without giving anyone the finger.

10.  I let my husband do the dishes without making a crack about him just doing it because he was hoping for some nooky.