Fan Expo 2010

We took the kids to Fan Expo last year and had such a good time, we thought we would try it again this year. What's not to like? Superheroes! Costumes! Comics! This is the stuff of dreams for little boys, so off we trek. We get a nice hotel room, eat out, and call it an end of summer mini-vacation.

We went on Friday night, because last year on Saturday the crowds were wild.

We found the Batmobile!


Notice the light saber. This is Xander's first light saber. On the odd occasion, I play "cool mommy" and get him something unexpected. These suckers light up and make noise: for $10. How could I resist. Keep an eye out for it, because he loved that thing.

We took a good look around the one side of the Silver Snail booth. Yup, only one side. It was huge. Here's the Silver Surfer at the top of the booth and then a few pics of my boys.

(Liam wasn't as thrilled overall about Fan Expo. There were a lot of people and he was too big for me to carry this year -- last year I used the Ergo -- so he was pretty low to the ground and got a lot of bags near his personal space.)

And if you have a light saber, you have to find a Darth Vader (in Lego, no less) to go with it. (Get a load of Xander's face!)


And the funniest story of the weekend was when we were walking along and I was talking to my little guy and said his name and these two young ladies, who were all done up in costumes, heard me say "Xander" and they loved his name so much that they had to have their picture taken with him. Funny, no?

No sooner had Xander left his new girlfriends, than this skanky booth bunny nice young lady gave my kid a temporary tattoo. (This kid really was a chick magnet on Friday night.) Said tattoo has yet to fade at all...a week later.

And then there are the storm troopers. Never forget a few storm troopers in the mix!
At the end of the night, we stopped off to see some friend who were working Fan Expo. Say hi to Scott, Denholm, and Mary.
And on our way back to the hotel...
We had originally planned to steer clear of the Expo on Saturday, because last year was such a zoo. But then our friends Deb and John wanted to go and we couldn't resist the idea of exploring with friends. So we stayed. Also, it was in a larger space this year, so our delusions led us to believe it wouldn't be quite so busy. Wrong! It was packed!

John went into the fray to get tickets for their family and we met up with Deb and Devon outside and played a bit. Because, you know, not all the fun is inside.

Of course, Xander made a few friends along the way.
And John came out with tickets in hand. Hooray!
(Sorry John, the one with you looking up is blurry.)

John may just be the biggest Batman fan on earth. So he got to meet Adam West and let us not forget that you can sit in the Batmobile....
And I especially liked the back of the shirts worn by the staff of this exhibit:

Did I mention the costumes?

Devon and Liam would go up and have their pictures taken, but Xander was suddenly overtaken by shyness. It might have been the paparazzi-like atmosphere.

There are always some hidden gems.
Did I mention the crowds? These shots are just the bare minimum. I should have gotten a few of the line up outside the convention hall, just trying to get in.


I think Liam had a bit better time later in the afternoon, when they were playing at Deb and John's house.

Apparently the dressing up part stuck with him though.

Spring Clean Out

Liam is a few months past two now. When Xander was two, we knew that we wanted another baby. Liam is two and we are both more towards the no end than the yes end. But Liam has been a hard little nut to crack, in terms of food and sleep and just generally settling life out. I could change my mind, but the more I think about going back to having a tiny one and doing all of that all over again, the less inclined I am to make that journey. Only time will tell in the end, but if you are betting, my recommendation wouldn't be to bet on another child here.

So I am sorting through clothes and getting rid of the ones we are done with. I keep telling myself that they are just clothes. A few I have kept, because the memories are so strong of the moments when the kids wore them. But most of the 12 month to 18 month clothing has now gone to a new home.

The best part about this is that they've gone to our daycare provider, K. She has a little boy, Nick, who is almost a year(and he is the cutest thing...don't tell his mom that I just want to kiss his cheeks all the time!) Plus, Liam thinks that Nick is a combination of his little brother and his best friend. (Funny enough, Xander and Lexi, K's daughter who is only a few months younger than Xman, think the same thing of each other.) What I am driving at is that we are fortunate enough to have K and her family as good friends, who feel a lot like extended family. And it feels good to pass things on to them. Like just passing it through the family.

Even when you know you are over 90% sure you are done, still there are hesitations. But as I am going through and passing clothing on, I find that it feels great too. A little more space. A few less things. Somehow, it seems like clearing things out is giving my brain space to be creative and think and go forward.

Remembering

It's Remembrance Day here in Canada. I generally spend a portion of the day thinking about the soldiers of the past and present and all that they have done so that I can have the life I do. And I had some of that today.

However, today I spent some time remembering the other side of war. The people caught in it and how they survive and get to the other side. The reason is very specific though: Stella.

Stella and Walter were friends of my parents when we lived in Ottawa. Like my Dad's family, they are Polish. As in born in Poland and emigrated to Canada after World War II. Just like my grandparents. I was about Xander's age when I met them. Stella and Walter had no children. I didn't know why then, but I do now. Stella was in a work camp during World War II and she got appendicitis. She would have been in her early 20s. Well, the Nazi doctors didn't just remove her appendix: they messed around with her reproductive system. I am not sure exactly what they did to her, but it doesn't really matter as it boils down to whatever they did ensured she would never have any children.

I remember Walter as laughing and kind. And Stella as warmth itself. She had a little garden and would let me putter there with her. She also took me places in the city. I especially remember going to the wading pool with her. And she made me a beautiful crocheted blanket.

I have trekked that blanket across Canada, through Europe, and over to Asia with me. Although I have to occasionally sew it up in places, that blanket is still on my bed today.

Years ago, Stella and Walter moved to Manitoba and my parents, in their own infinite moving pattern, lost track of them.

As you know, I was in Manitoba last week, for the funeral of the mother of one of my very best friends. While I was there, I spent a day with my parents, who live two hours away. We visited with some old friends, and out of the blue, my father started talking about Stella and Walter and how he'd lost track of them, but he had tried to find them in Selkirk, where he thought they had gone. He never did find them. That was last Wednesday.

My Mom gets the Winnipeg Free Press delivered. She rarely has time to do more than glance at it, so I am not sure why she does. Well, my Dad left for a trip to Honduros (don't ask) on Monday of this week. Tuesday my Mom opened up the Winnipeg paper and flipped it open to the obituaries.

And there was Stella's face.

It's been more than 20 years, but my Mother knew her face in a split second. And then she read the obituary. Walter has already died. Stella lived to 86 years old and died in her own home...in Winnipeg! (If only my father had had the foresight to look in the Winnipeg phone book instead of the one from Selkirk...or ask me, as I would have just done a Canada-wide search on Canada411.com, since their name is not common.) She was surrounded by her godchildren and friends. And she died the Monday before I was in Winnipeg. Two days before.

I remember. Today I remember Stella. Who was a beautiful person, who survived a horrific time.

And I remember that I may be the last generation to have known these people who have survived and gone on to talk about those wars. My grandparents, our friend Henry on the west coast who was in the Polish underground, and Stella and Walter. Their stories live in me, and I have a responsibity to pass them on.

I remember that my Dad spent his career in the military; protecting us all and serving his country.

And I remember the young men and women who are out there today.

But most of all, today I am remembering Stella. An honouring the gentleness of her soul, which taught me what true grace looked like.

And I thank them all.