April 11 - Day of Pink

Today is the Day of Pink - the International Day Against Bullying, Discrimination, Homophobia and Transphobia. Many schools commemorate the day by dressing in pink in support of the anti-bullying movement. It began in 2007 when students at a Nova Scotia high school decided to all wear pink in support of a student who had been tormented after wearing a pink shirt.
Devlin and Ceilidh reminded me last night of the need to wear pink. For Ceilidh - this is not an issue. Almost 90% of her wardrobe is comprised of pink hues. Devlin has no pink shirts. It was suggested that he borrow Ceilidh's pink socks, but he manly indicated he would wear one of Ceilidh's shirts instead. I took out several and he selected the plain, dark pink, long-sleeved shirt. Meanwhile, Ceilidh dressed in pink from head to toe.
Devlin's only complaint about the shirt? It smelled like Ceilidh. Considering it was a clean shirt, I advised him the "smell" was laundry soap, and that his shirts also smelled the same. Shrugging, he donned the shirt and looked somewhat pleased.

100 days for Quinn - April 9, 2012

Quinn is 100 days old. It's a special milestone in our Korean culture, borne from the days when infant mortality rates were especially high in the early weeks. Although maternal and perinatal health programs have improved infant survival rates exponentially, a child's 100th day is still commemorated with pictures and lots of rice cakes. In our chaotic life, Quinn's 100th day was marked with pictures, lots of cuddles and a cake.
I can't believe it's been 100 days since our darling monkey made his grand entrance on the last waning minutes of 2011. Since then, though my quality of sleep has drastically declined, our daily lives have been enriched and brightened by the contagious smiles Quinn deals out to all of us.
I have been pleasantly surprised by the lack of jealousy among his older siblings. I have been deeply touched by their helpfulness and eagerness to hold Baby Quinn, except of course, when his diaper needs to be changed. Every morning, Devlin kisses his brother "good morning" and he is quick to ask about Quinn when he comes home from school.  Ceilidh will cuddle her baby brother, and when I'm not looking, pick him up from whatever surface Quinn was lying on. Aisling calls Quinn the "cutest baby" and serenades him whenever he cries.
At 100 days, Quinn is smiling easily, especially in the mornings. He loves to "talk" with you, and vocalizes his happiness and his displeasure. Bathtimes are generally a session of happy coos and grins, so long as the water is steaming warm. He's not a huge fan of car rides, and proved it by crying from Chatham to Mississauga on the journey home from Windsor. At feeding time, he expresses his excitement by joyfully kicking his legs while batting away his mother's shirt and smiling gleefully.
His gummy grins are enough to whisk away a terrible night's sleep. His jutting lower lip and sad eyes tug at your heart as you quickly scoop up the twelve and half pounds of baby and cuddle him close, as you swear to right whatever is wrong in his world. Whenever he snuggles his face into my neck, a wave of contentment  washes over me that melts away the daily stresses of my chore list. The realization that 100 days has already sped by with lightening speed moves me to sit down and revel in the moment. We cuddle, we play with some toys, we coo at each other. Instead of folding the laundry, I rock Quinn to sleep in my arms, and let him snooze gently while I stare at his peaceful face.
Happy 100 days Quinn!

Dandelions and Phone Numbers

You know it's spring when you awaken to the sun shining through the window and birds chirping noisily. On the bare trees, leaf buds are starting to form, and the tender green shoots of tulips and daffodils are starting to poke their way through the dirt.
In our chaotic home, the signs of spring also include plastic tumblers filled with water and wilting dandelions - evidence of the flowers lovingly picked and arranged by Aisling. There are chalk drawings on the driveways - created on the first warm and sunny day. Plastic toys and hula hoops are strewn across the backyard, and bicycles litter the driveway, alongside the hockey net.
And then there is puppy love...
The other day, Devlin and Ceilidh were dutifully emptying out their backpacks and lunch boxes and bringing me the "important" papers from school. Crumpled in his sweaty palm, was a scrap of paper that Devlin also presented to me.
"What's that?" I ask.
"A phone number," he answers nonchalantly.
"Whose?"
"A girl gave it to me so I can call her."
I mentally run through various responses, and come up with, "Hmmm...have we taught you how to use the phone? How are you going to call her if you don't know how to use the phone properly?"
No sweat to the young Romeo.
"Well, I gave her our number, so she can call me then," came the reply accompanied by shrugging shoulders.