Family Time: Movies in the Park

taking pics in the dark, flash too bright for little eyes

Summer doesn't come soon enough for me living here in Canada... I don't excel at winter activities, so when the summer rolls around I am even more hands on momma than the rest of the year. Try to find fun things to do as a family and make moments the girls can remember for a lifetime to come.

After a day filled with park visits, soccer games, street party meeting, we had scheduled in our calendar a movie in the local park! Planned for weeks, with permits acquired from our city hall, equipment on loan and a neighbourhood excited with the idea of giving our little park some evening action!

Our view of the film

We debated about taking the girls since they are in toddler/kindergarten ages and bedtime is early in our house... and it doesn't get dark til after 9pm... but we decided sometimes bedtime can be put at the waste-side for special moments. What we did do was have dinner, and then get ready for bed. We washed up, put on our PJs, prepped our warm milk in a sippy cups and strollered up and headed out to the screening. That way if someone needed to pass out they already were laying down in the stroller.

It was fun, families on blankets, a concession stand, a viewing of "The Fantastic Mr. Fox" in honour of the spotting of the Fox who has been trolling around in our city neighbourhood! We brought some popcorn we made at home, blankets to ward off the mosquitoes and our vigor to sit through our first full length film.

I loved this outdoor chandelier

It was nice... what do you do to bring fun into the family during the summer?

Verdict Not-Guilty: Casey Anthony Trial

When I became a mother, and would do 3 am breast feedings I was glued to CNN... my night was filled with Anderson Cooper, Lou Dobbs and Larry King. I was glued, a permanent fixture on my bed for hours being mesmerized by the newest American issues. As a Canadian it was interesting to learn how different judicial systems we had, how opinionated and honest the newscasters were.

A lot of emotions were had when the Virginia Tech happened, I was horribly emotionally attached, and then more and more items horribly made my insides cry, I would wake up wanting to hear if there were updates. The Elections came up after that, made the topics a bit lighter to take in, but in 2008 while breast feeding #2, I heard about this little 2 year old gone missing.

I had become glued, I had wanted to know if they would find her. The grandparents all up in arms, the mother not really caring and a police department that seemed a little confused at the situation.

And then they indited Casey Anthony, I won't lie I felt it made sense... it made perfect sense. Presumptuous perhaps, but here I am late night breast feeding, loving, providing, and caressing my child while this mother seemed unfazed by the reality that her daughter was gone, now this isn't some horrible teen, but a very very young child who wouldn't know if it was even OK to cross the street.

Then you have the grandmother questioning her daughter with her statements. Does this get any weirder? Here is the grandmother asking questions, I as a stranger would ask, but this grandmother was an active member in the child's life and all of a sudden the child isn't around, just up and disappeared!

Months had passed, breastfeeding had stopped in my house.., and I had to take stock in the reality that I get emotionally attached to these cases and am without ability to do anything. I heard the trial had started, I wanted to watch, but didn't want to sensationalise the situation any further in my deeply tarnished heart from what I had already heard. It was hard as my twitter feed occasionally had a mom tweet a small update here and there in disgust. So much had gone wrong and I was catching glimpses. And every day I reminded myself don't go on CNN, just don't!

Yesterday, July 5th, 2011 at 2:15 the State of Florida, and the Orange County had the jury come out to read the verdict. My twitter feed was on fire, I turned on my CNN! Not Guilty, a not-guilty verdict was issued for Manslaughter, a Not-guilty for Child Abuse. I will not lie, to me she is guilty. Whatever the occurrence of how this poor hopeless child met her fate, the mother was guilty for her careless actions. If she had starved her child and the child had died from starvation or dehydration should would have been charged, she would have been found guilty.

But we all watch enough CSI, Law & Order, Criminal Minds to know that your best bet to find a missing child is within the first 48hrs. So for this woman to keep up a front, go out drinking and dancing while her mother calls at night to ask where her granddaughter was... seems like negligence causing bodily harm/death. If one is drunk or high and crashes there car, they might not have had motive, may not even remember doing it, but will pay large amounts of time in jail for causing or perpetuating death without taking concern for their fellow man when getting behind the wheel of their car. Can we not say that not taking concern of your own child should warrant punishment if during your lax and ignorant stance on your child where-abouts which then causes them to die. Does no guilt fall on this behaviour?

I horribly feel that no justice was served today, verdicts yes, judicial system did it's job... blah blah blah.... but no justice. This horribly innocent 2 year old will be lost, her soul perhaps in peace, in heaven being coddled by Angels (at least this is my hope for her) will never get the justice for her life lost, for every child whose life is lost after hers that will never get the proper coverage for negligence of parenting!

Tonight there will be a vigil across the nations to keep your porch lights on for Caylee Anthony, to light her way home and let her know she was not forgotten in the show that was the trial for her justice. I will secretly grieve for her little body as my daughters have both passed the age of 2 and are beautiful and smart. I am reminded that this beauty will never get to be more than a Headline story.