my smile box

it has been busy.  

as in blog-fall-by-the-way-side busy.

busy.

as in,
lots of company,

spring is coming,

i have three kids,

selling books, 

busy.

when my days are so full 

and i'm not blogging

i find myself writing down those little best moments on the back of envelopes

in my mind.

then i fold them up and cram them into a little smile box

in my mind.  

do you ever do that?

here is one i've had in there since last week.

forgive me if you've already heard it once
or twice.

one day last week, taija (my niece) was outside with the kids.

char was playing on the backside of our hill/ cliff.  

(this is something the kids are starting to do more and more and its no more dangerous than... 

a lot of other things).

this time, however, char started to scream, frantically,

"HELP HELP."

taija nearly had a heart attack.

the neighbour lady behind us probably did have a heart attack as

she nearly scurried up the embankment to attend to my 4 year old.

fortunately, taija got there first. 

char had repelled down with a vine of sorts and was channeling an imaginary 

stranded animal in extreme distress.

(an animal that could apparently speak english - thank you Go Diego Go! for that one).  

after taija assured the neighbour lady that char was fine, she brought her to me to relay the story.  

char looked at me with an ever so slight annoyance and said

"it's ok mom, it was just super hero stuff."

maybe this is where i was suppose to go into the whole 

"boy who cried wolf" saga.

but i didn't.  

i mean.

i have no expertise when it comes to super hero stuff.

worth a thousand words

1971

it was a big year...

and a year i am very thankful for even though i wasn't born yet.
can you say

happy

to the
Canucks (oh yeah)

Starbucks (thank ya jesus!)

Mountain Equipment Co-op (as per image above)

and 

most notable
and significant
...
the love of my life
G
note: gary's birthday was on the 26th. however, due to circumstances, the blog post was delayed until now.

someone else's perspective...

i need to give props where props are due...

these awesome photos were taken by my niece, taija.

taija is inclined towards all things artsy.

this week she has been snapping photos, refurbishing thrift store beads (with a little help from michael's) into necklace art and painting a series of canvases.

when she is home she's singing and dancing.

taija is here for her spring break, getting a crash course in crazy.

i'm not sure what the kids are going to do when she has to go home

(or me).

...

more photos to come.

one another

they love... love... love...

don't get me wrong...

i love

 folding laundry and watching hockey on a friday night.  

i really really do...

but 

sometimes i want to feel a wide eyed again

and rub elbows with someone i might have use to be.  

don't you?

fortunately, kathleen, has the ins on the vancouver folk scene.

and this friday past we went to see 

sheree plett and the eastside jubilee

i liked it.

i really really did.

it didn't rain today so we...

ditched the laundry 

and packed up our bikes and headed to the beautiful-ish

mill lake.

kathleen's mom is visiting from out of town 

and we wanted to show her a good time.  

it wasn't raining

but it was cold, socks-on-hands-cold.

the kids made it a full lap around the lake, but barely.

the last few meters, char insisted she couldn't do her breath anymore

and bo nearly fell asleep while pedaling.
i'm not even kidding.

 ...

we warmed up tim hortons style 

and when we got home the kids had great naps.

it was a morning, well worth it's weight in folded clothes.

...

it's the little victories: the kids have watched a total of 2 hours of "shows" this week.  

we have had 3 out of 5 total-tv-free days.  

that's something, isn't it!

...

happy weekend.

rainy days are good for...

... picking baby pinecones out of the lawn.

they are also real good for driving toy cars through dried beans,

cuddles on the couch,

reading books,

making banana bread,
and

playing 

"bear cubs,"

which is all the rage with the kids these days.

not going to lie

it was fun to divert from the usual

(play dough,

paint,

scissors,

glue,

mess everywhere)

craft time.

this child makes me smile

public service announcement

the following is from an email i sent to the folks i have in my contact list.  

let me know if you are interested... and my apologies for the annoying post.  
tomorrow we will return to our regular programming.

Hello Friends

As some of you may have already heard, I have recently signed up as a Usborne Book Consultant.

Life Lesson: Be careful what you mock. Please see here.

If you have no idea what Usborne Books is, you can go here. 

Or better yet, you can attend, what i've dubbed: 

"My Debut" 

When & Where:

Tuesday, March 29 

From 10am to Noon (or earlier if it's a total wash). 

My friend, Jenne Rosse, has generously offered her spacious home for the event.

If you are interested in coming, message me and i will provide you with the address and directions.
  

What to expect:

I will be doing a brief introduction followed by a demonstration of couple of my favorite items.

For most of the time you will be free to peruse through beautiful books, chit chat with nice ladies

and ask your pressing questions about what in the heck-fire i've gotten myself into.

Also, there will be coffee and chocolate - among other good things to snack on.

Kids Stuff:

Please feel free to bring your children. There will be a story time and supervised activities for them downstairs.

(Also, I figure if there are a few kids running around it will take a little of the pressure off).

The Goods:

Because this event is kind of special for me I'm going to be giving out a lot of door prizes (like this)

and it would be so nice if you could maybe win one...or two.  

Thanks for taking the time to read this and thanks for being my friend!

c.davey

  

i'm ok with this...

i love the statements my kids make with their outfits.

and if they really love something (like a butterfly dress or a fluorescent zoo t-shirt) i love it too.  

i can't help it.

char is a layers girl, as in dress over skirt - very gypsy!  

bo is a sweat-sido dude.  he's not a fan of buttons or zippers or collars - understandably so.

jane is my wild one.  colors and prints are our friends and she is crazy about shoes.  

...

and really, i like letting my kids pick their clothes.

i think it gives them an opportunity to think for themselves and 

assert their ability to choose in an area where they can't really go wrong.

my children are little people, individuals on the same journey as me.

worrying about how they dress is more a reflection of my insecurity
than it is looking out for their best interest.

... 

today, however, i drew the line.

i asserted my ability to "choose" not to let my daughter wear   

 sport socks with sparkle ballet flats.
she was so bummed.

i gave her options - boots with socks or "sparkle shoes."

...

even now as i type this, i'm thinking, what's so bad with socks and sparkle shoes?

daveys got talent

chart-toppers include, but are not limited to:
"no time" by bo davey,
"stay close to your mom when you are at the store" by charlee davey,
"mine! don't bo!" by jane-z.
...
i think it might be time to get a new wardrobe, hair and make-up guy.

these girls...

i heart tuesday

monday...

brought to you by:

mister hat man

and miss no-pants
(she's a hoot)
(get it?)

i'll take monday with them any day...

our cool class

march is art month.

i'm a little in love with this guy.

what do you call this?

clockwork?

the dark horse

when i say these little 2-in-1 word combos:

"hostess-benefits"

"home-party"
"exclusive-executive"

do you get little feelings like spiders are crawling up your back?

yeah, me too.
(big shiver)
you know what else kills me?
public speaking.
can i get an amen?
i would describe the experience like
blacking out
then follow it up with about 2-4 hours of
feeling disoriented, maybe a little concussed.
the nausea for me comes a little before and a little after.
...
all of  which is knee-slapping hilarious considering,
i'm signing up to sell
usborne books
on monday.
(awkward silence)
there are lots of reasons i'm doing this.
#1 on the list being, i've never been "exclusive-executive" at anything.
and #2, and probably the most significant, i want to fill my home with
beautiful and inviting agents
of information, ideas, color and creativity
and these books fit into that department beautifully,
almost as well as crayola products.
honestly, i flip through the catalog and start to envision really big book shelves in every room.
 i'd really like to be able to fill them without spending a small fortune -
cause i don't have a small fortune.
and #3, i experience a mild euphoria when my children read books.
it's like getting a pat on the back at work or something.  it just feels good.
the list goes on,
 but i don't want to bore you here
(my happy place).

ok... so, here is the official put-it-out-there.
if you are in the mood to book a show with me, i'm down (like a rockstar).
and if you do so in the next 6 (7 actually) weeks
you get double the rockstar treatment.
oooh la la!
(that means double the free money to buy books for your mod squad)
and if free books don't entice you...
then perhaps you might consider
watching me give a group presentation with a barf bag,
worth your time in gold.