Saturday, July 31, 2010

Next generation of great chefs

I would take a photo, but I hate to interrupt the moment and it might break the spell. Right now, as I lazily surf through the blogosphere, DH (dear husband) and DD (dear daughter) are being chefs in the kitchen.

The voices and smells coming from that room are amazing. Laura is being the incredibly proud sous-chef to Steve. There has been no fingers chopped nor burned arms. I hear a whole lot of joy going on. It is a long weekend and Steve loves to relax by being his own next food network star. Tonight's theme is Indonesian cuisine - mango salad, nasi goreng, satays and other delicious stuff. Laura proudly came up and has said such things as "I tried a green onion and I really, really loved it!" and "It's OK, I can handle it a little bit spicy - just pour me a big drink!"

I'm smitten. I do believe I'll keep this family.

PS - Also in the best mood as I got free tickets to Black Eyed Peas for tomorrow!

Thursday, July 29, 2010

Wordless Wednesday - Algonquin

OK, so it's actually Thursday and now I've add words. *D'oh!* We had a nice camping trip to Algonquin this past weekend. (When I say "nice" I mean nice-ish as we didn't get eaten alive by bugs, not soaked in rain and dinner wasn't burned, the kids had a good time, I got to drink wine out of a box while reading and we slept for at least 3 hours. It isn't really luxury but still a good escape and makes you appreciate home plumbing SO much.) Loved the hikes, fresh air, watching chipmunk antics and the kids playing so we'll be doing it again.... next year.






Tuesday, July 27, 2010

Not Exactly MOTY

Mother Of The Year I am not today. It seems I am doing my best to turn my kids into these.

Of course, what more can you expect from a slightly sleep deprived mama, woken at 5:30 with children who think they are roosters and a cat who seems to be on some kind of kitty-speed. Ugh! I am still recovering from camping in Algonquin with the crew - a whole other story.

This is how the day has gone. Stumble down for coffee, (for me and DH, not cat or progeny) and make children watch TV. Children wander away from TV and start demanding sustenance. No caffeine in mother yet so she gives them a piece of fruit not yet attacked by fruit flies and plunks them down in front of the TV yet again. Stare blankly at cupboard for a healthy and kid-appealing breakfast to magically appear with no effort. Settle for PB and H on toast - the daily staple around here. Turn sleep-walking husband in the direction of his car and stare at dishes, hoping they will magically do themselves. (Note to self - add magic wand to shopping list.)

The kids have logged a good 6 hours of screen time today between TV and computer games. Little of it has any educational value. On the plus side, this has helped keep my sanity somewhat intact and allowed me to function somewhat civilly. We did manage to step away a bit for our weekly trip to the library. If they served coffee there I would never leave. Also grabbed a few rations at our beloved Farmboy to feed the hungry beasts. The kids have snacked all day with barely a real meal. I have little to show for my day.

Tomorrow will be better, I hope. Being a SAHM is challenging at times. I crave some adult conversation and more me-time. I would like to drop the guilt of not doing enough to make my kids have a perfect, educational and delightful childhood all the time. I know there are usually better days but this ain't one of them. Meanwhile, it is time to get the kids hooked on game shows. "I'll take a 'T' please Pat!" They're somewhat educational, right?

Thursday, July 22, 2010

Oh Deer!




That's my first thought after seeing my lovely new passport photo. Just add a couple of
antlers and you've got it. Would you let this doe into your country? Hmmm.

On the plus side... updating my passport means that I will be travelling. Woo hoo! We are theoretically going to Scotland ... sometime... in the future... if we can figure out dates, flights, hotels, kid care, etc. DH is going for work and I get to come along and carry his luggage. Yay me! Slainte!

Sunday, July 18, 2010

The Pink Camera

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Laura turned 7 and got a great little pink camera for her birthday from us.  She loves it to the moon and back. Here are a few pics she took on her first day.  We went for a 1000 Island cruise yesterday.  It was a lovely, windy day on the boat.  I had just as much fun watching the family photographers as the scenery. 

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Laura and her grandfather did their best to out-click each other.  Fun to see the kid perspective.  

 

Laura - July 17 10 032Laura - July 17 10 036Laura - July 17 10 019

Laura - July 17 10 013Laura - July 17 10 015Laura - July 17 10 046

Wednesday, July 14, 2010

The planets aligned today

Some magic happened today.  We flipped from crappy mom turning her kids into couch potatoes to Owen saying “This is the best day of my life!”  Hunh?  How did that happen?  Well, I’ll tell ya.

Early afternoon is my all time low time of day, sometimes getting worse by late afternoon.  So I suck at finding entertainment for the kids if I have no plan.  Yesterday we worked on setting new records for huge amounts of screen-time and I gave them pizza for dinner.  Yay me. 

So today, I drove Owen to his beloved science camp and made a plan.  Laura and I dashed to Loblaws and found the swimsuit we have been looking for all week for $10 –score!  Then off to her speech therapist for a very productive session and the “girls” did lunch at Mongolian Village.  Laura loved it and proclaimed I was the best mom ever – a welcome boost to my flailing self-esteem this week.  Then we picked up Owen from camp which went very well as all his experiments worked perfectly. 

What to do for adventure in the tiring afternoon?  Why head for the Museum of Nature, of course!  The newly renovated museum was great, even if we did whip through at lightning speed.   The building itself is beautifully done with some great spaces.   The galleries and exhibitions are diverse and well done on the whole.  Cafe was rather expensive but they must know I’d rather pay it than have an overtired, hungry kid meltdown so whatever. 

Next home for a gourmet meal of mac ‘n cheese for the kids and samosas for me. (I’m solo tonight so anything goes.) Then they wanted to go bike riding.  Haven’t done that in a while so I grab some runners and band aids and head out.  Laura still rides with training wheels and it makes my life easier to have her doing that until she is really confident. 

Owen has some gross motor issues with coordination and balance and so had not yet mastered riding on his own without me holding on a bit.  Well tonight was his night to show me how far he’s come.  He did it all by himself!  Zipping down the street to the park, around the playground without a single crash.  And if that wasn’t enough, we discovered a fresh raspberry patch bursting with yummy berries too.  This is when Owen exclaimed “This is the best day of my life!”  I am so happy for him.

So, I guess I don’t totally suck as a mom today.  The plan worked. Unfortunately I had no camera with me all day so couldn’t document a thing.  Oh well.  Still special in my memory.  May there be more magic moments like these this summer. 

Tuesday, July 13, 2010

Knowing me, knowing you – July 2010

 

Time for the little random bits about me for the month.  Questions are courtesy of Shannon at Tales from the Fairy Blogmother.  Please join in if you like and go to Shannon’s page to see the Mr. Linky thing if you want to see others.  Cheers!

1. Do you like to garage sale?
Used to.  Don’t do it much now so that the amount of crap stuff around here gets smaller instead of bigger.  It was a great way to get things for the kids in the early years and you can find some great bargains. 

2. What do or would you garage sale for?

Largely kids things – clothes and toys.  I got a great double jogging stroller (as if I would actually be jogging – bahahaha! – but it did look cool and was great for the few months that I could use it with my gigantic older boy.  Got a great stash of girls clothes from the fashionista down the street here this year.  Score!

3. Cloth or paper napkins?

Cloth most of the time.  I like ‘m and they deal with the mega-messes we seem to generate very well.  Paper for parties though for simplicity and to keep with a theme.  One day I hope to invest in about 20 of the same plain cloth ones and I could use them for company.  If only I could sew.

4. Ever re-gift?

No, not really.  I do pass on things to others if I think they could use them or give the thing a try, whether it is a favourite or not.  I‘m very easy going about these things.  Or maybe I just don‘t get many gifts.  Hmmm.

5. Are you watching Big Brother or Last Comic Standing?

Alas, no.  I love stand up comedy but my hubby doesn‘t watch it.  I‘ll probably follow a bit when he is away.  I‘ve watched BB from time to time but not into it this year.  Now ask me again when Amazing Race starts again.  I‘m hooked on that one.

Thursday, July 8, 2010

Inspired

BOLO was awesome. Turtlehead is awesome for organizing it. I am in an awesome mood as I have finished painting the living room and it looks .... awesome. Me and my silly happy mood, but back to the point.


I expected to put some faces to the bloggers whom I have read, get a greater sense of who they are and where the come from. I expected to laugh a little with the room as we heard favourite posts being expressed. I even had hoped to learn a thing or two from veterans and make some new acquaintances in the process. What I failed to prepare for was the great inspiration that comes from an event like BOLO.

Somehow it becomes less about the scattered people there and more about the possibilities. These writers brought their diverse blog worlds to life with their readings. Some belly-aching funny, some new and informative, some enlightened and some poignant with their reflections on their lives. I loved it all. And it makes me want to read more, do more and be more. I want to write and experience more of life.

So thank you to all who contributed to the event and all who write blogs that are real. It matters. They are read, respected and reflected on with great appreciation. The diversity makes it colourful and I love it. Happy blogging and I look forward to any event I can get my hands on in the future.

Wednesday, July 7, 2010

Wordless Wednesday - Canada Day



We spent the day with family at my sister-in-laws new home on the lake. Hours of playing in the water, kyaking and sandcastle builiding, feasting on paper plates amid the moving boxes, sparklers at dusk and lighting off a few fireworks to toast this great country. Happy 143rd Canada!

Monday, July 5, 2010

I am a master of time-wastage

Am I ever glad I never started smoking, nor gambling, nor any other addictive habit more harmful than the destruction of my time. I would never be able to break out of it.

Here I sit, on a lovely sunny day, hanging out on my computer for way too much time on Facebook. Is this unusual for me? No, of course not! Why I have animals to feed and crops to attend to on Farmville, things to dig for on Treasure Isle and jewels to match in Bejeweled. This is ridiculous. What do I get out of all this? Sweet nothing except a few happy little beeps and smiling avatars. Yet I keep coming back to it, a slave to my routine.

Facebook does have its place. I love how I have connected with some people I knew in days of ole. Just last week I started communication with a friend I first met when I was 5. It makes the world a little smaller and it is great to connect with old friends and create new ones with current interests. Yet somewhere along the way, FB took over me.

So, the social experiment of the month will be a cold turkey withdrawal from all FB games, all computer games for 30 days. (Blogging and blog-surfing doesn't count. That is very important business!) You think it will work? What will I do with all the spare time I free up? Read? Work in the garden? Spend time with the kids? Perhaps by the end of fit all I will find more useful things to do with my time in the real world and kick the addiction. We shall see.