Ups & Downers

Whew! Finally made it to a new week. Monday. Although, the word does fill some with dread - for me it's a fresh start, a clean slate and a day of QUIET. ah. All I can hear is the hum of the CPU and the gentle swish of the washing machine - the only thing missing is a tweeting bird and a cuppa.. easily remedied, while the lovely late summer works its magic. As we can see by the gorgeous giant sunflowers blooming up a craze in the yard. I've never been a huge fan of growing sunflowers, although each year I do, I seem to like them more and more. Thank you, global climate change!

Last week was a first for a few things - first week of school, first time driving a school bus on the first day of school for the hubs, and a first job in 8 years for me. Oh! And a big first for Kyra - her first catch while out fishing! We had also applied for a rescue dog and were turned down. Turned down!? Weird, I know, as there are so many unwanted pets out there but I guess we were far too honest in our interview... Sigh. There are other rescue places to go to, so that's what we'll do. Once our wounds are licked and some yard work gets completed..

Until then, we'll keep up the drive for the biggest catch, the best school marks and the awesome-est garden.

Two Years Worth.. maybe.

It's been a long time between posts, I admit. But I have a good excuse... I lost touch and fell into a pit of ambivalence... I wanted to say things, I truly did. And in my mind, I have pages of script. But, dammit, I didn't type them down here and they're mostly gone.. *sniff*..

Let's see.. 2 years, huh..

I've knitted 100 items.

I've run a 1000 km.

I've put together about 10000 snacks.. (well, it feels like it).

On the home front:

We've watched a "home play" from the girls at least once a week. Although sometimes, we're treated to magic shows which often involve us closing our eyes in order for the trick to come to fruition. And sometimes, the shows have singing and dancing. It's like off-off-off-broadway... For example, as I type this they have just announced a play called, "Going On An Adventure, Hobbit"... I'm not sure of the plot but there's a lot of discussion about radishes and potatoes at the moment..

We're ready for hot chocolate!!

We put down our Shiba Inu, Kinny, last year. Her kidneys finally gave out and at 14 years old, we said good bye to her. I'll always remember her for her great camping and canoeing skills, her endless desire to chase cat toys and her love of mushrooms & tuna.. Oh, and the way her fuzzy little ears would stick out to the sides when she'd greet us at the door with her toy stuffie in her mouth. She was a good dog. A little neurotic, but a good dog.

Tux

We acquired a second cat (did I mention the first one?). We saved a cat from the Meow foundation and have given him all the food he can eat, all the lovin' he can handle and all the monkeys he can hump. (Don't ask). Tia, the first cat, is still fairly unimpressed by this newcomber but will indulge him with violent head-smacking when she feels it necessary.

School has been going well. Both the girls are excellent students so far and love to read at home. Sometimes it's a bit difficult to leave the house while noses are stuck in Tin-tin books, but we're still pretty happy that they prefer books to tv.

Early April weather brought some amazing things..

The garden is looking amazing. Each year it gets bigger, much to the chagrin of the kids, and the amount of food we get from it increases just that little bit more. We have successfully grown garlic this year which almost trumps the broccoli we grew last year. Broccoli!! No bugs and a whole summer's worth. It was so sweet and tasty. I can't wait to do it again next year.

Well, enough for today... I've gotta run anyway, the day is still gorgeous and the girls want to go for a bike ride..

Yup. Life is never dull around here.

Random Thoughts,

Sometimes, we see just how to vent your frustrations without tears... Kyra wrote this after getting mad at Dad, and the she stuck it to her closed door.. I can just see her "texting" us in later years.

Noelle was drawing a picture (which I can't find now) of 2 elephants - one REALLY big and one really tiny. Each of the elephants were covered in great long lines.. I asked her if they were zebra elephants and pointed to the lines on the big elephant. She replied, "No! Those are wrinkles!!". I said, "Oh, okay. So does the little one have wrinkles too?". To which she replied, "No. Those are shrinkles.."

Last night I was asked, in all seriousness, how people go about having a baby without being married...I responded in what any modern family would say..."People don't need to be married to have babies, of course. They should just really love each other and want the baby together." "Do dogs get married if they want puppies?" I asked her.. She laughed and was happy with that. Phew!

October, you tease...

Judging by the appearance of colder temps you'd think that snow was imminent..but, alas, we don our rubber boots, shoulder the unbroken umbrellas and head out into the rain. Our neighbour's moods are dull and dreary but the sight of happy puddle splashing helps us all drag out of the blah. It's why we love kids. That abandonment of the negative and the focus on the good in anything we're dealt. The only thing missing is worm rescuing. Poor Welly...

Artist's Interpretations

GAH!!!

Some days are like flowing rivers, that move quietly over age-old smooth stones.. And some days just suck.
These days, #2 (I call her that now because she defies her festive name) is like fingernails on a chalk board; or a wound that itches and seeps; or that nasty crow that keeps dropping bones in my birdbath (but that's another story). In other words, she's being irritating. I can only hope that this is a phase because we do know that she can be caring, thoughtful and pleasant - as I keep re-reading my previous blogs to remind myself (sometimes twice a day)...

Tonight's quote:
"Mah-ahm (mom), can I play with my blocks?"
"No, honey, it's bedtime"
"But mom, I'm not tired, I'm still playish"...

I must confess..

This week our preschool has asked for a review of their performance, after a long-and-what-feels-like-forever 9 months of classes. They must really care about the abilities of their choice in instructors if they wait a whole school year to ask for feedback, huh. Yup. That's what I thought too.. So, I did what any other mother of a youngster would do - I reviewed them with a cold heart and CSI precision. It was ugly. I feel slightly dirty for being honest and straight-to-the-point. But, rest assured, I'm feeling better through the assistance of chocolate & wine.

Three Months Gone By!

Birthdays, Zoo trips and the like kept us going and from not tearing the house to bits! Some days were a bit hard, trying and my skills as a calm mother-figure were challenged (yup, I just snorted in my wine glass). While some days were fun, easy and remarkably enlightening. Go figure. But now that the warmer weather (I'm not going to complain about the rain...well, maybe just a little) is here, we can rejoice in being outside when we feel like it and not feel guilty about spending the odd rainy day inside - curled in front of the 'movie of the week'.

Noelle is now the big '4' and as she keeps reminding us - TOMORROW I'll be FIVE.. lol! Add onto this new appreciation of how great getting older is, we also have the realization that she doesn't have anyone younger to annoy..er, play with. So, last week she asked us to have another baby and that it better be a little boy, because she wants a baby brother. This is also after telling us that she wants to live with another family, one that doesn't have ANY children...*eye roll*... Wow, can kids ever make you feel appreciated.

Here's a truncated description of the past few months...

 Tangled is the best movie ever. How many times can you pretend play "Rapunzel"? Kyra does a mean chameleon role, as she refuses to be anything remotely resembling a princess. You could imagine the fighting over that one...

Easter Eggs rock! Who doesn't love the excitement of discovering a certain floppy-eared bunny has been leaving his chocky droppings around the house? We searched, searched and searched some more for that varmint - but he obviously left in a hurry... Poor Welly, she was sure disappointed about that - but oddly satisfied after eating her weight in sweets.


The constant clicking of my knitting needles has slowed down to 'sporadic' level. But the kids continue to be thrilled with the things that make it their way. This sneaky looking cat was requested out of a library book of mine and aptly named 'Flower', since she now sports a knit flower on her neck (no pic of that one yet, too sneaky to be photo'd)..

Birthday feet!

Birthday tow-behind bike! 

 Kyra's birthday Pinata - Elephants are the thing for her and crafts are always a bonus when it comes to elephants! Being the continually clever mummy I can be, we combined the two and whipped up this little beauty. Who loves papier mache? We do, we do!!! Happy 6th Baby!




A herd of tasty pachyderms for the birthday shindig! Gluten-free chocolate with Italian buttercream..mmmm

 So, one more birthday left in these festive months and I've got a nice rest for the remaining part of the year. Well, until Halloween I suppose...hmm. Better start planning for that one... Let camping season begin!

Cold Snap Prisoners!

Here we all sit, chained to the inside of our house.. Unbelievable wind chills are our worst enemies of late and today would be a big surprise if it wasn't another day of them. So, I might as well complain about it on the internet! We have been able to go tobogganing a few times this winter - but the snow is now crusty and disappearing into thin air as I type this...sigh... We've put on and taken off our ice skates a few times. But when you're three, minus twenty just won't work for that activity... Even the poor dog has been suffering from non-walks. On an up note - the cat has her own tree now, completely upholstered even! She's happy (as happy as a cat can get I think) and gets WAY more exercise than any of us. We do get to see the inside of many malls, libraries and pools. Home Depot loves us in the wee hours of the morning when the littlest one can run freely up and down the aisles of paint, plumbing and light bulbs while I deliberate over getting new LED fixtures and paint colours for the living room. Decisions are still pending... No one has asked us to leave yet, so we keep returning.  Last week we spent many hours operating on stuffed animals and 'delivering' baby fuzzies from our artificial wombs. Pretend play has gotten much more sophisticated of late, you can imagine... At least tomorrow we get to go to swimming lessons and possibly out to our friend's farm to behead some chickens... (NOW it's getting exciting, isn't it??!)..

Holy Cats!

It's been AGES...I know..Spring disappeared, Summer arrived, Summer left and here we are.. smack dab in the middle of Fall. Phew! There was much camping, gardening, bike riding, visiting, eating, drinking, merriment, tears and laughter. It's just a jumble in my head right now but I thought I'd touch on a few things we accomplished over the past few months.. At the bottom of the family totem pole we have Kinny, the Shiba, she turned 12 this year. She's getting a bit white around the muzzle and turning into a cat the way she sleeps all day unless someone jingles her collar (on purpose or by accident). She's hooked on glucosamine and rediscovering 'chase-y' the way she used to. Oh, and she doesn't growl nearly half as much at the girls anymore BUT she has taken to peeing on our bed when she gets left out of family activities (like when we mow the lawn outside and leave her inside). Annoying, yes. Solvable, yes. We just have to remember...

Next on the list we have the newest member of the household - Tia, the silver tabby.

This little cheeky thing found Kyra & I out front of the house one Sunday morning, after a good run (Kyra rides her bike with me now). She just came a-runnin' from up the block and hasn't left yet! The vet figures she was left behind when someone moved since she's healthy, sociable and about 4 months old. Either way, we tried posting ads, searching the local vets and the local humane society but to no avail.. We've since become her pets I think...

Noelle has mastered "how to annoy your sister" 101. She can dress herself completely, sometimes even accurately! She can poop on the toilet, most days... And she's attempting to learn how to use a knife - "No, Noelle, we don't eat FROM the knife..". It'll take some practise... But I have to admit, the most amazing thing about her is her ability to observe and comment on things. She can compliment you out of the blue and will empathize with you at the drop of a hat! She came up the stairs the other day and said, "Mummy, I like your pony tail"... and then went about her business.. It's pretty damn cute when you witness it!

Kyra mastered the use of a bike, sans training wheels! Yay! And will ride at every chance she can...

Below she's pictured on a 7 degree day.. I think I was dressed in coat & mitts, she apparently still has an internal combustion engine on full speed!

She also took an airplane trip and dipped her toes in the Pacific ocean - we now own stellar collection of shells!

 All in all, a great summer for everyone! It's nice that we can take longer car trips now that the kids are older - who knows how far afield we can make it next year!?

Now that fall has arrived..the garden is getting tidied, bulbs are planted and the girls are rediscovering the sandbox! I'm taking advantage of the new distraction and doing a thorough cleanse of their clothing collections. Just Purge It... Feels good..

Oh, and we've offically entered the public school system. Opinion-pending at this time...

Until Winter, I guess we'll plug along. And at this time of year we'll be thankful for the great things we are able to do, able to eat and for the great people we can share it all with!

Frolics

We celebrated a milestone age for the big sister - who couldn't wait to open gifts this year - and had specially requested a UNICORN cake (to which I replied, nonchalantly, "of course!").. 6 hours of happy toil, and a good chilling in the fridge overnight - we had our very first (of many) requested shaped birthday cakes. Okay, so there've been a couple before, but this was the first time someone actually remembered that she requested it! To be honest, I'm a bit frightened of what I'll get asked to create next year - but mostly I'm enjoying the creative direction the birthdays are taking.. Our gift to her was a new pet fish (if you can call them 'pets'), Boris the Betta fish. He's a handsome fella and mostly gets fed by his owner, but doesn't protest too much when he skips a meal here and there.. We also took the girls 10-pin bowling for the first time, and everyone had a great time! Noelle was overly determined to carry her very own ball to the lane and eventually got very irate when Grandpa used her pink ball!! Needless to say, Kyra beat the kids and Grandma beat the adults.. They should tour!!

We also ventured into the land of 'kindergarten registration' this past month...(insert eerie music here)... I tried to dig up my experience from way back, but nothing really came to me about Kindergarten..oh, except for our class bunny getting loose in the hallway and pooping everywhere while the caretaker Mr Nelson yelled at it. Memories are funny things sometimes... Needless to say, this didn't instill much confidence in the nervous Neo-scholar but she soon relaxed after an evening of kindergarten activities put on by the school. The next morning she was thoroughly disappointed to have to go to back to Preschool!

Noelle has been a topsy turvy little angel/monster these months.. Lots of stubborn ideas about food, activities and personal hygiene... She still refuses to eat cheese but will eat Babybel (she doesn't consider something in a little wax pocket to be cheese I guess), she always has to find mud and jump in it (today she made 'mud' angels in the rain - did I mention that I hate laundry?) AND (wait for it) she won't poop on the toilet.. She waits until bedtime when I put a diaper on her, and she poops in it instead... argh.. I've tried researching a cure for this, but have come to no avail. Short of issuing an enema, I wait patiently for this phase to come to an end. But dammit, it's a looooong phase.. sigh.. In the meantime, we continue to contribute to the landfill with her one/day effluent/diaper package and carry on focusing on the cuteness of her.. Tonight she used a piece of asparagus as a magic wand, flinging balsamic vinegar everywhere while chanting magical words - it's worth the laughs she gives us..

And until summer returns to us - I guess we'll be seeing a lot more of those umbrellas...maybe I really should go buy some rubber boots afterall (if you can't beat 'em..join 'em!). Happy puddle jumping!

You Say It's Your Birthday...

..Happy Birthday to ya!!!

Well, we made it..well, SHE made it. It's a miracle I think, considering the number of smashed fingers, bruised bones and lacerations we've endured. We can count ourselves lucky that it hasn't been worse and there have been NO trips to the ER for her (knock on wood, cross fingers, swing the lucky rabbit's foot...).

At 3 she's already goofy, with facial expressions and funny voices to add to the mix. She's stubborn - she can scream non-stop for what seems like hours over a toy that was taken away because she said she didn't want it anymore. She's lovable - she'll hug us hello, good-bye and in-between, and can make you feel like she pined in your absence when you hopped out to the garage for a minute. And, she still picks fights with Kyra and trash talks poor Christopher after playing with him all day. I wonder what the next year will bring??

Snapshots of Late

Just ol' Crazy Eyes interrupting some serious eating here...

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Hangin' in the 'T

Play & Eat, It's the Life!

A lot of days I focus far too much on what things don't get done, what messes get made and just how much of a non-life I think I have. Today (and many other days) I've been looking at what progress we've made in terms of relationships, sharing and general personality traits.. Fairly deep yes, but introspective I can be sometimes... And all this focus-y stuff, studying the girls and their traits, I've come to the conclusion that not much has really changed from last year other than the direct correlation between food/play and the ability to not hurt each other. As long as both are fed and happy with the games, they will not cause each other pain. But the minute..erm, second, one of these variables is out by a micron - tears will inevitably ensue from pain infliction. It's ugly. It's not right. It happens waaaay too quickly for me sometimes (I swear I just left the room for a second!). And I have to act insanely fast to change it. It always works. I'm learning.

Happy New Year!!

A bit 'forced' but at least we can say that they like posing together now! Let's hope the New Year brings a lot more friendship like this..

The New Year started off with the end of a family cold - yet again! At least the cold is over and not just beginning.. I can honestly say that I'm kinda sick of sickness. Historically, we all get sick in January - the cycle WILL be broken (shaking fist)...

On that note, here are a few things that we're learning as the new year creeps forward...

• We're all learning the art of negotiation - "if you pee in the toilet, you can have your hippo back..." (insert smiles & sing-song voice)
• We're learning new words - "..my hair's all frisby, mom.." (pointing to fluffy hair)
• We're learning that kids are still full of surprises - "..Can I help you with the dishes, mom??" (insert stunned expression on the mother)

..2010 is lookin' good so far.. Cheers!!!

'Tis the Season...

What kind of Christmas is Christmas without a couple o' cookies being cut & baked, hmm? We managed to wing off a few dozen gluten-free gingerbread. The girls enjoyed the dough handling more than anything (second to the actual ingestion of said cookies). I have to admit, I really like doing this too - brought me back to when I was a girl with my Mum letting me decorate cookies. We're not quite at the 'help decorate' stage but soon...

Concentrate...concentrate...

Decorated cookies.. I went a little old school, but it was worth the results..

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Smiles for the camera!

New territory was conquered just before Christmas - we took the kids skating for the first time. As you can see, there's a bit of practising to be had, but at least she's confident enough to stand without holding on (okay, there's the 'safety skate' at the boards..). Even Noelle loved being out on the ice, when she wasn't hiding from the smiles of the oodles of other strangers that wanted to engage her.. How I ended up with 2 shy girls is beyond me, but they slowly show signs of emerging from their wee shells and continually surprise us.

Halloween or H1N1, which is scarier???

..that is the question, apparently.. I guess it would be silly not to point out the whole healthcare fiasco of late or at the least, give it mention. Suffice it to say, this whole immunization against the swine flu has been a complete keystone cops routine and unbelievably poorly organized by our healthcare system - 5 hour waits, wristband entries and public protests are just a few of the sad lowlights. On a happy note, the girls have both been 'shot' and are nursing owie arms. I'm not sure when we will go get ours, hopefully the vaccine jar will once again be flush in a few weeks and the mass hysteria will have died down and then we'll get'er done..

In other news..
For Halloween, I was a mechanic, Kyra was a witch (last year's costume still fit! yay!) and Noelle was a featherless chicken (she didn't want to wear the poke-y feathers).. The bootie was great and is currently residing atop an innocent cupboard, nicely forgotten.. oo, did someone say 'snack time??'

What to do, what to do...

SNOW is definitely part of Canada's Food Guide..it is at our house.

Don't worry, she only ate the white snow...and lots of it! It took until 'blue lip' stage to get her in the house. Good thing she likes the stuff, I have a feeling we'll be seeing quite a bit of it this winter.

The Last of the Summer Mud

..reason number 29 as to why I do LOTS of laundry.. this was taken an hour before bedtime .....and minutes before bathtime..

Back in Time

Officially, we've begun our slow climb into good health once again...and to celebrate such good fortune (being alive, that is) we took the girls to Heritage Park. Yes, it is a 'trip back in time' but it really brings us both back to when we were kids going to Heritage Park or riding the bike path by, around and across from it. Nothing but great memories I think and today was no exception - the sky crystal clear and the crowds, far apart from each other. Kyra guided us through the park deeming herself 'Chief Map Engineer' (she's BIG on maps these days) and we hit all the great spots with trains, chickens, weird looking stoves (Kyra couldn't identify the stove in the old kitchens) and the arts & crafts display. Oh, and let's not forget petting the bunny bums (the non-bitey end) or the work horses and enjoying a grassy picnic by the fountain..sigh. I'm also pretty sure Noelle enjoyed picking up Poplar tree leaves & trying to feed the hens with them AND getting free candy from the Bank..

Lunch time!

This one looks just like the one in our garage!!

Hen Teasing 101

Playing with the Fountain

Gasoline Alley (beautifully restored classics) - no Model T's tho'...hmm

Below is a tribute from the HandCrafter's Guild to Audrey (our neighbour), who died August 25th suddenly and saddened us all. We have many of these fine tatted articles in our own home, gifted by her - she did beautiful work!