Did you go out this year to watch Canada Day, or Independence Day fireworks? What city were you in? I am not sure but I don’t think that I have ever been to the Canada Day fireworks in Victoria, my excuse is young children. Almost the entire time we have lived in Victoria we either had a newborn or a toddler to take care of, and nightfall was way past their bedtime. Never mind the noise which is frightening to me as an adult. This year with a seven and not quite four-year-old we were able to enjoy the fireworks together as a family. Continue reading
Family
Crabbing
This past weekend my oldest was invited to a birthday party. The day before we hosted a Canada Day party and I may have had a few too many celebratory cocktails. I peeled myself out of bed an hour before the party started, and wasn’t feeling 100%. Attending a child’s birthday party hung over is not my favourite activity. But it was all in celebration of Canada so what can I say.
We attend children’s birthday parties many weekends of the year and they all start to blend together but this one was different. I was intrigued to what a crabbing party involved so instead of dropping off my child and picking him up a few hours later I stuck around, and I am so glad that I did. Continue reading
Birthday Books
With the advent of digital photography, photos are snapped and lost into the black hole of technology. Some of us do not ever get the photos out of the camera, and some transfer them to computers but then do little with them. The other day I looked for photos that I took last October at the pumpkin patch, and I could not find them. I could not even remember which camera I took them with. I know I took them but finding them has proven to be a challenge. Continue reading
Minecraft-ING
My seven year old is obsessed with Minecraft. I hear a lot of “Mom did you know, in Minecraft……” which is about where I zone out because I really know very little about Minecraft. However, I am interested in expanding upon his interests. I think it is great that he is so passionate about something, even if it is based on a video game. Instead of incessantly playing video games I want him to build on the creative problem solving skills learned in Minecraft, and apply those skills to other things. Continue reading
Runaway Kindness
I was reminded this morning of my worst parenting experience. Four years ago, I was 7 months pregnant, and having just entered the last trimester, I was exhausted. It was a Friday afternoon and my husband had just come home from work early. He had been to the doctors earlier in the day and needed a prescription. I was lying in bed reading a book when he got home. He told me that he was going to run out to the pharmacy and get the prescription filled. My oldest who was three started crying, as his dad got ready to go. He really wanted to go with him, but he was still wearing his PJ’s.
Even though it was close to five o’clock, I had failed to get him dressed because on this particular day we didn’t leave the house. I was barely dressed myself with yoga pants and a t-shirt. At this point in my pregnancy, bras were strictly for public appearances, and I had no plans to venture into public. Continue reading
THANK YOU
Thank you to all of the people that donated to our walk for the Brain Tumour Foundation. My husband, son who requested donations in lieu of gifts for his 7th birthday and I raised a combined total of $2,395. We walked/ran the 5K route around the University of Victoria yesterday. I ran it with my 7-year-old trainer, while my husband walked with our 3 year old. It was an emotional day as I remembered where I was last year for the walk. Last year I had been recently diagnosed and was in the process of learning about treatment. I could not run because it caused a great amount of pain in my head. However, this year I proudly wore the blue survivor shirt and ran most of the 5K with my seven year old.
Horsing Around
Sunday morning my oldest has drawing classes, and he was refusing to go recently because he was “too busy” pretending to be a cowboy. He and his brother were both galloping around wearing cowboy hats. After I promised that, he could return to playing cowboys after drawing he dropped the hat and off we went. As soon as we returned, I was roped into their pretend play.
“Where are your horses?” I asked
“We don’t have horses,” they said
“Do you want horses?” I asked
“YES” they said
“Where do we get some?” they asked
“We make them,” I said
The Dali Museum: St. Petersburg
When I turned 16 many many moons ago I did not ask for a party instead I asked to go to the Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO). My dad took the day off work (which never happened) and my mom arranged for my three siblings to be escorted to and from school. My boyfriend at the time came along and the four of us headed to Toronto for the day.
This was my first trip to an art gallery, or at least the first one that I remember. Years later, I became a student at the Ontario College of Art and Design. OCAD is in the backyard of the AGO, and my student card served as entrance to the AGO thus I was in frequent attendance. Continue reading
Surprise, we are having a party
This year when I was talking about birthday plans with my oldest, we gave him the option of having a party or going skiing. He picked skiing, which is fantastic. We were more than happy to try something new with the kids and especially because he wanted to do it so badly. Unfortunately, he got sick as soon as we got there, and missed going skiing.
I also know that this time in our lives is fleeting. Birthdays are a reminder that our kids (and all of us) are getting older by the second, and I just couldn’t skip the party. I can see that there is a limited number of birthday parties left before the kids are too cool to have their parents involved in birthday celebrations so while I can I am going to celebrate. Continue reading
Crawling out from under a rock
I just finished writing four exams, and I feel like I have been in hiding for a month, or maybe four. I am so excited to be finished for the semester; it is hard to meet the needs of my kids, husband and myself as a full-time student. There is a reason why you are supposed to go to University before you have kids; it is easier without a posse in tow.
You know that work life balance or in my current case the study life balance that people speak of; I don’t think that it exists. It’s just a big jumbled up mess of life. Since I have had kids I have worked full-time, traveled weekly for work, worked from home, been a stay at home mom, worked from home and I have been a full-time student. Each has its own challenges but I have yet to find a balance that works, therefore I have decided that it doesn’t exists. I have given up on the notion of finding it. Continue reading
Making A Life 