It's gotta be a 'guy' thing ... even for little guys!

So I brought the boys to a pub for supper the other night. I've managed to get myself into a singing competition here in Halifax, and my youngest isn't crazy about the idea of his mom getting on stage to 'entertain' someone other than he and his brother ... so I brought them to the pub where I'm singing in order to give them an idea of where and what I'll be doing and they were also able to watch those who were auditioning for next month's competition. They thought it was pretty cool :-)

I have to admit, the boys were on their BEST behaviour all night. VERY well behaved. Until we were almost ready to go ... then they started checking out the waitresses!!!!! They're 10 & 6 and already checking out the waitresses!!! When ours came to the table to see if we wanted dessert, and my youngest said "My brother thinks you're hot!" ... I knew it was time to go!!!

As we were leaving, this man walking out in front of us got a great laugh ... the boys had asked me if they had been good in the pub. I said "You guys were absolutely AWESOME!!! Very very good! But next time ...... don't be telling the waitresses they're hot!!!!" The guy in front of us just lost it laughing :-)

And yes ... having a 6yr old tell you you're hot, can still make a grown woman blush LOL. ;-)

I found a lost little boy yesterday .... and returned him of course ;-)

I had another adventure after work yesterday! Leave it to me to find an adventure from my office to my car a few blocks away LOL.

I'm just about to head into the parking lot and I see this little boy, definitely looking LOST. Not crying, not panicking, but definitely had that 'look' about him, and my mommy senses were tingling and kicking in .... lost! So just as I'm about to approach him, he said "MOM!!!". That cinched it! I walked up to him and asked him "Did you lose your mom Bud?" He was whipping his head all around and said "Yeah ... I can't find my family ANYWHERE!!!!!. I just wanted to take a picture and they were gone!!!" My heart just sank for the poor little guy!

For anyone who's been on the Halifax Waterfront at end of day rush hour, you know how many people are walking around down there ... to the buses, ferry terminal, parking lots ... then there's the tourists .... EVERYWHERE! How was I ever going to find his family in that crowd, .... especially since I had to go pick up my own kids at day camp ....I didn't have alot of time ...

Turned out ... here's this little 6yr old boy ... from New York, here on a cruise ship, and they made a port stop in Hfx, and he lost his family, wandering around the waterfront alone :-( Thankfully us Nova Scotians are such nice people ;-)

I wasn't sure if I should try and find his family in the crowd, or take him directly back to the ship. I asked him if he was supposed to meet his family anywhere if he got lost (did they say he SHOULD go back to the ship, meet elsewhere???) did they have cell phones? Yes, they all did (Mom, grandma and uncle, who he was travelling with), but he didn't know any of their numbers. Then he said "I HAVE to be back at the ship at 5 ... it's LEAVING at 5!!!!" It was after 4:30 when he said that .... So ... on the chance I was going to be VERY late getting my own kids ... I made a quick judgement call and I decided to walk him back to the ship, and hand him over to security. Which is what we did :-)

We walked the 5-6 blocks to where the cruise ship was docked and I just kept talking to him the whole way. What was his name, where was he from? Telling him about my boys, going to NY for March Break, talking about the Pokemon Centre ... trying to keep him distracted I guess. Then, just as we were approaching Pier 21, a couple of 'ship dudes' came walking towards us. I stopped them, checked their ID and made sure they were from the Carnival Cruise, explained what happened, and then we all went to the ship. I went as far as I could with him to the security gates, and the 'ship dudes' took him from there onboard.

I was glad he was safe ... but I felt bad for his family cause I knew they were probably frantic!!!! But there wasn't much I could do about it at this point, so I headed back to my truck, and just kept scanning the crowds along the way for anyone who looked like they were frantically looking for something/someone.

I finally pulled out of the parking lot, drove maybe a couple of blocks and I saw a few people standing around looking 'off', and again ... the mommy senses kicked in and I thought "That's them!!!" Turned out it wasn't ... it was a few people who were helping look for him. Turned out the grandmother and uncle were stopping everyone asking if they'd seen a little boy, so some had stopped to help look ... and the mother ... she was 7 months pregnant :-( There was a rickshaw driver taking her back and forth between the ship and waterfront, all over ... looking for him. (for those that don't know, a rickshaw is like one of those carts a horse pulls, but this one's pulled by a human ... usually some 'hot', well built guy lol, a tourist 'thing') So I rolled down the passenger window and yelled at them. Asking if they were looking for a little boy, when they said yes, I said "I found him, I brought him back to the ship, he's fine!!!". Traffic was building up behind me and they're yelling "Pull Over!!! Come tell the Mother!!!" so I did :-)

Someone yelled to grandma (This lady found him!!!) and she ran up to me first and OMIGOD I thought she was going to break me she hugged me so hard :-) My heart was just breaking for them, she was crying and crying :-( Then the mom appeared out of nowhere in the Rickshaw and she couldn't even speak, didn't move ... just cried and cried. I went over to her and just gave her a big hug and started crying myself ... (those darn mommy senses!!! lol) Told her not to worry, he was safe, back at the ship with security, and he was aVERY brave little boy! Then ... with their tears and thanks still in my head, I disappeared into the crowd, off to get my own kids. And let me tell ya ... I hugged them extra hard when I picked them up last night :-)

I thought about that poor mom alot last night. I can't imagine what she was feeling ... knowing your child was lost in a strange city ...and of course I thought of my own kids ... I've always told them never to go with strangers ... just as I'm sure this little guy's mom had always told him ... but he came with me anyway ... I could have been lying to him about taking him back to the ship and just whisked him away instead .... how are our kids supposed to know who to trust if they ARE lost ... especially in a strange city :-( There were no police officers around yesterday. What would my own kid do if he was lost and couldn't find the police ... go with a nice stranger?

I know I could drive myself crazy thinking about all the 'what if scenarios', so I guess I just have to let it go, and know that what goes around comes around, and god forbid, if either of my boys ever gets lost, I've done my good deed, hopefully someone would do the same for them.

Hey!! It's Friday!!! Have a great weekend everyone!!!

K.

P.S. If ya got 'em ... give 'em an extra hug tonight ...cause we all know, it only takes a second and they're gone!

Have you ever .....

Have you ever been reading, and either listening to the radio/cd or watching tv and at the exact moment you land on a particular word, you hear that same word on whatever it was you are listening to/watching? For example, as you read "... in a moment of terror ..." you hear " ... and the moment you've all been waiting for!" Reading and hearing the word 'moment' at the same time.

Being the type of person who likes to read in the down time, but also likes to have 'background noise' ... this happens to me all the time. I never really thought of it as unusual until ...

I asked my ex husband this question one day, and he looked at me sort of strangely and said simply ... "uh ... no." I've since asked a few other people, and I'm surprised at how many more no's I've received than yes's.

Guess it's just one of those freaky little quirks some of us are born with ... and just don't question lol ;-)

I Own a MOST SH*T Trophy! Enter Kim's Korner and Find Out Why...

Hey MySpacers/Bloggers,

I've decided to board the blogging bus to keep the family and friends updated. If you're here because I've invited you, glad you could make it! If you've wandered into my blog spot ... welcome! If you like what you read, feel free to come back. For some strange reason, 'things' always seem to happen to me. (which is probably why I like the phrase "everything happens for a reason"), so there'll always be new adventures to follow .

I really do own a Most Sh*t trophy. One of my friends gave it to me a couple of years ago, because she said I was the friend who had been through the 'Most Sh*t' than anyone else she knew ... not sure if I should really be proud of that title or not ... but I do display my trophy proudly, and if nothing else, it's a great conversation piece .

So ... what type of 'sh*t' have I been through that I deserve a trophy for? Well, nothing as serious as being a true 'survivor' of any sort, I haven't been through anything really horrible or heroic, not to me anyway. I just see it as .... life ... life happens right and you've just got to go with it. And it doesn't necessarily have to be something 'bad', but I guess I've had a few interesting incidents throughout my 20's, and into my 30's (so far), that not everyone goes through ....

Off the top of my head I can think of ...

• Separated Single Mom. A very common experience these days yes, but anyone who's been through it knows that's an adventure in itself lol

• Went back to work for the same company that had laid me off a year and a half previously. I had worked there for four years, so in some ways going back was strange, but in others it was sort of like coming home

• Working on a cool project at the office now. But it's under security ... so if I told you, I'd have to send some big scary guy looking for you afterwards

• In a three month period, I had one lung collapse, then the other, then the first one again. I had a lung disease and didn't know it

• The second lung collapsed at the funeral home. My dad died and I moved (actually my ex and two kids moved us into the new house, then drove 5 hrs to where I was) the same day and then my lung collapsed at the funeral home the next day

• I eventually had a double lung surgery. 15 percent less lungs now, and they're now stapled to the chest walls, but I'm still here lol

• We moved three times in three months one summer. The house we were renting went up for sale and we wanted to stay in the same school district. Anyone who has had to move two adults, two kids, two pets and the entire contents of a house knows this isn't a fun thing to do

• We all received mild - high arsenic poisoning from the well water at a house we rented. Never from drinking. But through cooking, washing etc.

• My youngest was standing next to me in the kitchen one night eating an apple, and choked. I had never done the Heimlich, which he was too young for anyway, but put one hand on his back and slid two fingers of the other hand down his chest and when I felt that spot under the rib cage, pushed and out popped the apple That was pretty cool! At the time I just did it (just 'life' right?). After wards, when I knew he was ok, I fell apart lol

• My oldest son had a Febrile Seizure (which I had never heard of before that day) when he was 18 mo old ... in the car, with his dad, waiting at the ferry terminal while watching my boat coming across the harbour .... They immediately left for the hospital, I didn't have a cell phone ... had no idea what was going on or where they were

• I hemorrhaged 10 days after having my second son. Dr hadn't removed all the placenta during birth. Lost over half my body's blood, went into shock etc. they did a minor surgery and all was well. Guess they gave the ex the "Sir, you should prepare yourself for being a single father" speech a little too soon. I was a new mom again and wasn't going anywhere lol

• Back in the days before Kids ;-) Our dog saved our lives one night Our kerosene heater was throwing off carbon monoxide all night. He woke us up barking. We woke up black, covered in soot (really ... any body part that hadn't been covered during the night was literally black!) and according to the fireman, we had about another 5 min or we wouldn't have woken up. Never used a kerosene heater again!

• A few years before we were married, the ex was operated on for a brain tumor, that it turned out the doctors didn't find, and then said he never had to begin with ... go figure

• When I found out my dad had cancer, I arranged for him to have a surprise phone call from Guy La Fleur, his all time hockey idol, for Christmas. I probably should have let him in on the surprise though, since he didn't believe it was him, humored 'him' for a minute then basically hung up on him (ohhhh I heard that collective cybergroan!) My mom explained everything when she arrived home a few mins later

And that's just off the top of my head ... and each of those is a blog in itself lol. Like I said, lots has happened in the last 15 yrs.May as well start with last weekend (not this one just past) and work backwards ....


I'm out for a walk with the kids at the lake and my purse is stolen out of my vehicle! ok ... so LOTS of people have had this one happen to them lol. Then the fun began! We were at the lake/trail with my friend and her two kids. When we left, we were on our way to a movie. One of my kids was traveling with her, and they didn't know my purse had been taken. I head to the theater to find her, so I can get her keys and check her house to make sure I hadn't forgotten it there, before I went through the process of reporting it stolen ... unfortunately, after discussing several movie times/theaters earlier in the afternoon, when we left the lake, she went to one theater, I went to another .

About 25 min later, I find her seated with my son and hers in the row in front of her and her daughter. I'm doing the 's'cuse me, s'cuse me, s'cuse me down the row to get to her, trying to quietly tell her what happened and ask for her keys, and my 6yr old leans over and LOUDLY whispers to his brother "HEY! Some bad guy(s) stole mom's purse!!"

So if I wasn't embarrassed enough before, I certainly was after that! Got the keys, checked the house, no purse. Went back to the lake in case they had only taken the money cards, and ditched the purse nearby ... no such luck Off to my place to call the credit card people, bank, and the police (yes, in that order lol).

Turns out in the half our between when it was stolen and when I noticed it gone, they managed to swipe $100 worth of gas at a gas station, with my credit card. There's no other identification required at the pumps, just the card swipe. And unfortunately, this station doesn't have cameras outside. Inside yes, outside no .

However ... the buttheads also tried to use my bank card, at my branch So the police will be looking into the footage from that video tape. I was able to give them the time of the attempted withdrawl(s), as well as the identification # of the exact ATM so hopefully they'll find them.

Last I heard from the police, they were waiting on the video tape and I should hear from them again this week. Sure it was only $100, and ultimately, after I go through the appeal with the CC people, I won't be responsible to pay it. But it's the principle of the thing. You just DON'T steal!!!! They freaked out my 6yr old!! That in itself deserves a "YES officer, I'm pressing charges!" Buttheads ticked off the wrong mom. I should also send them the bill for the replacement costs of the drivers license, birth certs, health cards etc. LOL!!!

There ya go. Welcome to my world Come back to find out what happened in each of the events mentioned above, (even the scarier ones usually have an element of humor to them lol) and read about the other adventures that helped earn me my Most Sh*t trophy!

Later Family, Friends, and anonymous Blog Readers!