First Skating Lesson and Thrift Shopping

Cole had his first skating lesson last night. They're half an hour long and start at 6:15. We were back in the van by 6:45. He fought it the whole time, hated that he couldn't just stand and walk, his feet were constantly kicking, and he came off the ice in tears. Mike, on the other hand, came off soaked in sweat from trying to help him. Poor little guy had no idea what he was supposed to be trying to do. It was a disaster. And the arena. OMG, the arena. Being that Cole is our first and just entering the world of parks and rec, we had no idea what to expect. What a gong show! 4 different levels of skating lessons on one rink, a hockey team practicing on the other, plus all the parents for everyone. INSANE. Trust Cole to hunt out the snack bar and vending machines right away though. We did take him to the other rink where a team of boys about 12 years old were practicing and showed him that's what he was going to learn to be doing. Ok, so he won't be learning to skate backwards and skid to a stop (my technical term for that thing where you turn to the side and stop) this session. But, once he hits Tot Hockey at 4 or 5, yes, he will.

Honestly, as far as sports go, we'd rather he played hockey. Neither of us really played team sports as kids, but feel it is valuable. And let's be honest, this is Vancouver. Soccer in the rain? No thanks. At least at the arena you always know it's going to be cold and dry. Sure, he can try t-ball in the spring. But, for the fall and winter, it's hockey.

Sunday is Mike's one day off a week right now. He's working crazy hours between his old store and making sure the new manager keeps it functioning at the level he got it to, and getting his new store up to par, or at least clean. I've been dying to go and check out some of our thrift stores, and Sunday would be the day to do it, since taking the boys to those stores would be insane. Only one was open. What a let down.

I went in looking for frames to do a frame arrangement over a bed of empty frames spray painted. Mike says absolutely nothing heavy above the bed in case of earthquake. Ok, then. Chances we'll be in bed when it hits...1 in 4 (we only sleep about 6 hours a night). And even if we are, a picture with glass falling on us is the least of our worries. Because if the picture falls off the wall, we need to get to our kids, and get out of the house, because that's a strong one. With the emergency kit we still haven't put together. Anyways, back to the frame arrangement. It adds colour. It's lightweight for my paranoid husband. And I can't find the blog it was on to save my life. I absolutely hate that. It was in green. And in the same post as a memo board that was a frame with a message about her boys keeping their hands out of their pants. *sigh*

My Value Village has lots of frames it turns out, all less than $7.99. Yay! I was checking out furniture as well. It's great if you're looking for a tv cabinet from the 80's in oak with the brass stripping. The part that made me really upset is that my Salvation Army (which will be referred to as the Sally Ann on from now on here) had an occasional chair I loved the style of that some new fabric would have made wonderful. My bedroom is a blank slate (well, not totally blank it's a weird tan) that has had nothing done to it.

Anyways, I'm off to try and find the blog post with the frames. I loved the green. I actually have linens in that green. Wish me luck. And meal plan! Crap! No wonder I'm lost at 5 every night.