Amazing paleontological discovery

This is a longish video and a huge file, but if you want to hear Nigel interview the Pastasaurus, I recommend it.

There Will Be Chocolate

Easter weekend. Three days for most. Four days if you work for the government, like most people in this town. Shining sun. Cool spring air. And chocolate eggs. Oh yes, chocolate eggs galore.

Good Friday was sunny and relatively warm (we're talking 8C/46F range), so Tom and I decided not to be lame and actually go out in the morning. With the kids. You know, get them fed and dressed and into the car several hours before noon. This is every day for some parents, but since we got a nanny last year, we rarely have to get the kids ready in the morning. She shows up, we leave, and voila. So we are rusty! Also, Henry is a big dawdler and we have to remind him every 33 seconds to stay on task and put on his shoes, zip up his hoodie, put on his shoes, PUT ON HIS SHOES! All while trying to wrangle squirmy Dexter into whatever stuff he needs to wear for the trip. I'd been hoping that the end of winter gear would mark that start of easier family excursions, but I'm slowly accepting that until it is socially acceptable to take your children out on the town in bare feet and underwear (the kids, not the parents), it will take FOREVER for us to roll out the door with both of our pokey boys in tow. I say all this just so you don't think there's anything normal about us going out with the kids in the morning. Normally it's something I put off until late afternoon.

ANYWAY, we went to the Experimental Farm, which was hosting all-day Easter Egg hunts and "meet the baby animals" events. These attractions, combined with the fact that the weather was not awful, inspired approximately 72% of families with children under 5 in the Ottawa-Gatineau region to do the same thing. The Farm was a zoo! I've never seen it like that before. Instead of Good Friday it felt like Black Friday at Wal-Mart with waves of humanity coming at your from all sides, threatening to mow down the weak with their massive strollers.

Nevertheless, Dexter loves animals right now and had a grand time admiring the livestock, while Henry gorged on easy-to-find chocolate eggs. Really, it was a fun morning.

Saturday saw us at another morning event, this time in our neighbourhood. The new Children's Garden had an egg hunt, so the boys loaded up yet again. Then they went to an egg decorating party at the neighbours. And, of course, the Easter Bunny visited our house on Sunday.

After all this egg hunting, we are well stocked with that crappy, hyper-sweet faux chocolate confection stuff that's unpalatable to adults but CRACK to preschoolers. So now I'm playing the roll of reverse Easter Bunny, stashing foil-covered "chocolate" eggs in places where the kids, or at least Dexter, is unlikely to find them. This is necessary because if my sweet little Dexter so much as spies that shiny foil from across the room, it goes down like this:

Dexter, pointing: "Egg? Egg? Egg? Egg?"
Responsible parent: "No Dexy, no egg now. You've had enough today."
Dexter, angry: EGG. EGG. EGG. EGGWaaaaaHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!

He then enters a phase we've labeled "Nuclear Meltdown," a full-throttle, no-holds-barred, drooly, snotty, screamy toddler tantrum. Let me tell you--this kid can throw them down. This will go on for HOURS (i.e. 5 minutes). Then I give up just give him the damned egg, because I'm a weak, ineffectual parent. Also, I figure he's too young to learn lessons from his behavior, so the fight doesn't seem worth it. For that reason, no chocolate Easter eggs can be visible anywhere in the house. Prevention is my only effective strategy. What can I say--the kid likes his treats. I can't imagine where he got that from...

Next year my strategy will be to acquire higher quality Easter treats and eat down the stash myself, behind the kids' backs. You can save time by putting my Mother of the Year award in the mail now!