Possible - Most Exciting Trip Of My Life - in July

Okay, so I am really not the best at keeping up with a blog. Appologies to my 3 readers :)
So the most exciting thing happening with me right now (besides enrolling my 3 1/2 year old into kindergarten!!!) is the possiblity that I will be attending LeakyCon 2011, at Universal Studios, during the weekend of July 14-18!! For those of you who are wondering why on earth this is at all important, let me enlighten you.

I am one of the worlds biggest Harry Potter fans. Potterhead, Potter Geek, Harry Potter Nerd, one of those Harry Potter people, yes, that is me, call it what you will. (My oldest son's middle name is James, guess what Harry's middle name is? Just sayin'.)
LeakyCon is probably the biggest Harry Potter convention, and I have only ever attended one because they are mostly in the US, the one I did attend was luckily in Ottawa where I was fortunate to meet a whole bunch of great people, including Travis Prinzi author of "Harry Potter and Imagination" and the man behind the website The Hogs Head (http://thehogshead.org/) but I digress...
This convention will be held at Universal Studios, the home of The Wizarding World of Harry Potter Theme Park AND will be held during the opening of the last Harry Potter film, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2, and thus then end of an era.
To be surrounded by HP fans, in Universal Studios, during one of the biggest HP conventions, watching the very last HP movie would be the best experience of my life, surpassed only by the birth of my children, and my wedding day. Exciting. Too much excitement really, for one person. I might burst.

My plans are just waiting for the OK from my BFF to get a few days off of work so he can come with me.
This is when I ask you to pray, or whatever it is you do. :)

Mother of the Year? I think not...

What can I say? I'm a yeller. My voice is one of those voices that gets progressively louder as I get more irritated/excited/frustrated, you name it. So it goes without saying that my kids hear a lot of yelling, maybe not a LOT of yelling, but certainly when I've reached my limit, and certainly when I am already tired, when it's a certain time of the month or when I haven't had my coffee yet (don't judge me, caffeine is an addiction!).
So this morning, I am scolding my 13 month old for removing the floor vent (for the millionth time) and I look at my 3 year old and he's standing there with his fingers in his ears looking at the floor. WOW. GUILT!!!! So I pull his fingers out of his ears, and pull him into my arms and appologize to him (for the millionth time) for yelling. And then of course to console the 13 month old who is now bawling at my feet for getting the firm (but loud) "Don't TOUCH!".
Not my proudest moment as a parent, but I am trying, and I am learning that I can't be perfect all the time, I will lose my temper, and I will still yell, but I have made the committment to my sons to TRY to yell less often, and to remember to appologize when I do.
"It's really easy to beat ourselves up when we suffer what we feel to be a "lapse" in our vision of parenting. The truth is that being a parent is HARD and sometimes we do or say things we're not proud of." A good friend of mine said this to me and it was just what I needed to hear. Being a parent IS hard, and it's nice to know that you aren't alone.

And then he was One.

It has been way too long between posts, but right now I have all of three readers, so I'm sure you don't care. My baby turned one on Sunday and party mayhem insued. My easygoing, happy little boy dug right into his cake, just the way you want them to on their first birthday. The internal "are we done?" struggle rages on, with my heart flip flopping back and forth between wanting just one more, to wanting the best life for the two happy, healthy boys I already have.

 I finished Eat, Pray, Love and have since purchased a japa mala, hoping that I will find the time somewhere to meditate. I have a few plans for the upcoming year, one of which includes becoming a Certified Fitness Trainer. I just have to try an allow myself one goal at a time, since there are SO many things I want to do, and only so much time in which to do them. I have started baking and decorating cakes, which I LOVE to do. This I think, will remain a hobby. But I will post the occassional picture for your viewing pleasure.
I returned to work last week, which I thoroughly enjoy. I applied for a casual job in the Mother/Baby unit and see where that takes me. This is the area that I have wanted to be in since I graduated, but has not quite happened yet, so I will have to wait and see.
Until next time!

So what now?

I started this blog to gripe about some common courtesies in life that I wish would happen more often. Possibly, I just wish that I didn't have to write about them at all. To be honest, I don't have the energy to harbor all the resentment that it takes to keep up with a blog like that, and so here we are.
I am about 3/4 of the way through "Eat, Pray, Love" and I have to say that I am getting more out of this book than I thought I would. I am not a religious person, possibly because I was born and raised a Roman Catholic and I have many, MANY issues with this particular religion's practices. That being said, I do have my own set of moral beliefs and I do believe in God, so reading this book has allowed me to become less uncomfortable with the idea of "finding God", "becoming enlightened" or whatever you want to call it (pretty amazing what books can do, isn't it?).
What is my point exactly? Where am I going with this blog entry? I really don't want to focus on the negative so I am changing direction a bit and blogging about life, choices, children, books I love, and maybe even God if I get that far. Please don't let that scare you away :)

Public Play Areas

This post is geared towards the parents out there, or people who plan to be parents at some time in the future. When you take your kids to the park, indoor playground, or to the play area in McDonalds, please, PUH-LEASE, I beg of you, SUPERVISE YOUR CHILDREN! I have nothing against sitting down with your friend having a coffee, working on your laptop, clicking away on your Blackberry, whatever it is you need 5 minutes away from your children for, believe me, I get it. What pisses me off is when you child is misbehaving and you aren't doing anything about it. Or when you go there and don't lay the ground rules for your kids, so they have no bloody idea how to behave around other kids of varying ages. Talk to your kids BEFORE they go in, remind them there may be little ones around and they need to be careful, and they need to know that if they can't play by the rules of the facility, it's time to leave.
So, what is Chelsea's Rule #2? Children need guidence, DO YOUR JOB.

Welcome to Chelsea's World

In this world of mine, I imagine people to be much more courteous than they are. I have been told that we Canadians are quite polite, and perhaps I am expecting a little too much. I teach my kids to say please and thank you, to share with others, to hold doors for others, and to say excuse me for various bodily functions. Is it to much to ask for others to do the same?
This blog will probably end up being just a place for me to rant, or perhaps to glorify some of my biggest pet peeves (and there are a lot of them!) but it is my hope that it will be moderately entertaining and maybe it will be passed along to people who need a lesson in common courtesy!

Chelsea's Rule #1: The Thank You Wave

I'll start off with something easy because it's fresh in my mind.
When you are driving and someone lets you go ahead of them, it is common courtesy to do a little hand wave in thanks. Not doing so makes me want to slam into your brand new shiny Volvo with my semi-new dirty Hyundai.