Rocket Launch 2011

We gave my brother a model rocket for his birthday back in May.  Yesterday, August 1st 2011, which happened to be a civic holiday, we all went out as a family to launch it. 

The rest of us waited in the blistering heat while the boys read over the instructions.  Everything was in its original packaging, and in hindsight it looked as if some pre-assembling would have been advisable.  At one point my Dad had to walk back home to get a screwdriver. 

As you can see, the children and dogs were very helpful during launch preparation.

 Still the rocket was ready fairly quickly.  As Craig pointed out, NASA would have taken longer than 15 minutes to set up a shuttle launch, so we were actually being very efficient.

 We launched the rocket three times (because that's how many charges we had) and I cut together a short video that captures the launch experience.

 Very exciting, though the rocket was hard to follow with the camera once it was in the air.  Also, if anyone is interested this was Worf and Mortie the Jackapoo's first meeting.  The two dogs got along wonderfully.  They were very happy to frollic together despite Mortie's small size and Worf's young age.

Worf Filipowicz

 We weren't really planning on getting a dog, although we always knew we would some day.  My daughter's love of animals prompted me to take her to the animal shelter last week just for something to do.   During our visit, we mostly just looked at cats, because the sound of ten large dogs barking in a confined hallway was too much for Jadzia's tender nerves and eardrums.  However, I did notice that they had a puppy.  Not a washed up old mutt, but a puppy.

The sign said he was a Pointer x Border Collie, but we were later told he was probably a Lab x Border Collie, or maybe something else.  They found him on the street and your guess is as good as theirs.  In fact, they found him on our street. 

We went to the shelter today just to look at him.  We played with him in the room for playing with dogs.  We took him for a walk.  He likes to play fetch.  He likes the kids. The kids like him.  He's cute. He's calm for a puppy.

Adam would want to adopt any dog he saw, ditto for the kids, so it was all up to me to be the grown-up and make the big decisions.  I asked the shelter worker if they would hold him for twenty-four hours so I could think about it.  "No."  So we took him right then and there.  It was too late anyway.  He already felt like part of the family.

I need a freezie mommy

I can't wait to be done that box of freezies.  There are less than ten left in the box, mostly white ones because until recently my son thought white meant "no flavour".  Everyday my daughter tiptoes up to me and informs me in her sweet voice that she needs a freezie.  If I refuse, which I usually do after the third, forth, or tenth freezie, then the sweet voice changes into the whining, crying, yelling, sound of  a self-entitled toddler.

William always asks for a freezie thirty seconds to a minute after Jadzia asks for one.  This is exactly enough time for me to get back into whatever I was doing before only to be interrupted again.

The freezies are small, basically sips of sugary juice frozen in narrow plastic sleeves.  This is how I rationalize giving them large quantities of sometimes food.  I tried to limit them to two freezies at a time, but I the strength of my resolve is no match for a two-year-old's tantrum. In the time it took to write the first paragraph I had served out five freezies (two to William, and three to Jadzia).  My daughter is currently throwing herself on my lap in whiny desperation, because I haven't responded fast enough to her request for another.  Ah well, the more she eats, the faster they will be gone.

Balade sans enfants



Today is my husband's birthday, so what a perfect time to tell you all about the romantic bicycle ride we took last week at Niagara-on-the-lake. The town boasts a smooth, meandering bike path along the Niagara river, under the shade of mature oaks (and other majestic trees). I couldn't keep the smile off my face, and not just because of the beautiful scenery.

We travelled from our hotel past Fort George (headquarters of the British Army during the war of 1812) where I posed suggestively on a cannon:

Imagine always having to be the responsible one;  the person to decide "yes" or "no", whether an activity is safe, what volume is acceptable, and even which jokes are appropriate.  I didn't realize that's what my life is until that weight was lifted.

It reminded me of when my husband and I were dating, when we used to hang out, just enjoying each others company. For a moment I remembered what my world was like before my adorable, yet highly dependent offspring.  I remembered why I married this man in the first place.



We have fun together.  Fun. Remember that? Without the constant threat of over-tired tantrums and demands for snacks.  We biked to Brown's Point, and I have no idea if that's an accomplisment or not.  It didn't feel like a strenuous journey.  It was perfectly easy-going.

On the way back we stopped at a store advertising fresh cherries and shared a pint.  Nobody whined about their hunger until we were forced to stop, we just got a treat for ourselves and enjoyed it together.  Best. Day. Ever.

I love you, Adam.  Happy Birthday

They Feed Us then We Feed Them

 



On Saturday I went with my family to the ostrich farm. (In this instance my family includes my four-person family, my brother's three, and my friend Columbia's three as well).  Our first order of business was to order barbecued Ostrich burgers, which most of the kids didn't like (my 15-month-old niece seem to enjoy them).  The meat was lean, not as greasy as beef burgers, and it had a distinct flavour.  Vaguely remeniscent of beef or chicken, but not the same as either.  I found them quite delightful.

Next we took a tour of the farm, with a guide named Joey who looked about 15-years-old.  He showed us the breeders, adult Ostriches that were lucky enough to have avoided the chopping block.  Then he gave us a cup full of feed and took us to see the "Teenagers", who weren't so lucky.

They plunged their heads into our chalices of corn with such vigour, that the feed spilled everywhere.  Then, when the cups were empty, they pecked violently at our feet.  Although the word "pecked" is far too dainty, as the sound was across between machine-gun fire and an angry village mob pounding on your front door.  Joey told us that the ostriches have brains as big as their eye, and that they really aren't very smart.  While I enjoyed the experience of having dinosaur-like creatures lunge their rock-hard beaks at my toes, I really didn't feel too bad about eating them.

After that we got to peak through a window at a small group of adorable leopard-spotted ostrich chicks.

Advice: if you go, bring lots of cash.  They don't take debit or credit and there are lots of exotic meats you can buy there.  Luckily we had just enough to purchase some bison for Adam's birthday dinner tomorrow.



Lobster Poutine

It's a good thing that a three course meal was included in our Christmas giftcard, because otherwise  I would have cheaped out and not ordered the $18 appetizer.  You know how a lot of places sell "lobster" dishes, adding just a tiny amount of meat so they can print "lobster" on the menu and trick you into ordering it?  Not so at Zee's Grill!  I was pleasantly surprised to find giant chunks of claw meat over top of my cheese curds and fries.  It was the best poutine I have ever tasted.  Why doesn't New York fries offer the option, I wonder?

My entree was excellent aswell.  Tender pieces of duck breast on top of a bacon-loaded pasta. Saying "bacon" on the menu wasn't a trick!  Of course I was so full by the end of it that I had to open up my second stomach to make room for dessert.

Dessert: chocolate crepes with mousse, creme brulee, and fudge.  I was so rolly polly that I almost couldn't stay awake for the play we saw afterward at the Shaw Festival Theatre.

BTW: I neglected to take a picture of my delicious meal but here's a link I found with a picture of lobster poutine. Mine was served in a bowl, not on a newspaper, but it was basically the same. 

BBTW: This review is pro bono, but I do get paid to write them occasionally.

Vacation Haiku

I'm just back from Niagara-on-the-lake, a romantic two-day one-night vacation sans enfants.  My husband and I had such a good time that I'll need multiple blog entries to fully do it justice.  Although I did manage to sum up the trip in this haiku that I wrote in the room guestbook:

Yes, I'll be devoting an entire blog post to Lobster Poutine.  But for now I'll just say that I love my children.  They make me appreciate the exquisite freedom of not having them around.  My husband is my best friend (really, not just because I'm being cheesey) and hanging out just the two of us is super duper fun.  Yes, I said super duper.  Yes, my hubby is THAT fun to hang out with.

Summer

Today I strapped my kids into my chariot and rode to the nearby dress shop to buy the dress I'll be wearing to my sister's wedding. Since they were so good, quietly playing lego in front of the fitting rooms, that I took William and Jadzia to the dollarstore to choose a toy.  After running through the aisles, rolling balls across the floor, and deliberating over several options, William chose a bow and arrow and Jadzia chose a monkey with cymbals and candy.

We spent the rest of the afternoon in the backyard.  We put on our swimsuits and ran through the sprinkler until a mudpuddle formed in the middle of the lawn.  We blew bubbles after that.  Jadzia ran after the largest ones gleefully exclaiming "Big Big Bubbles!"  William shot some with arrows. 

Since I told William he couldn't shoot his bow indoors, he wanted to stay outside long after the rest of us were tired, bored, and hungry. He attempted to climb the slide using the suction cups on his arrows, breaking one in the process.  Eventually I convinced everyone to come inside.  Okay, I dragged everyone in.

It was a productive day.

William goes to kindergarten

Yesterday we took William to the kindergarten open house.  Before we went William put on his new backpack and said "Are we going to school now?"  So after dinner my Mom came to watch Jadzia and the rest of us walked the short distance to William's school.  William was immediately greeted as he came in and given a ziploc bag with stuff in it.  We were told that we had to keep the ziploc and not lose it before September.  Our first test as school parents, I hope we don't fail it!

The kindergarten room was similar to the Early Years, lots of toys, blocks, train sets, colouring sheets, educational doo-dads, etc.  And all over the wall the room also had enough charts, posters, numbers, letters, and artwork to give me ADD.  We met the two kindergarten teachers, but because of bizarre regulations we weren't allowed to know which would actually be teaching him.


William was excited by the magnifying glasses and nature things ("Science!") but he ended up spending most of his time building a totally awesome truck out of lego.  Reading over the info for parents, I saw that William has pretty much already met all the educational goals for JK and SK, so I figure he's going to totally ace this whole school thing. Also, the rest of the kids that were there seemed much smaller, so he'll rule the playground aswell.

When I told William it was time to go, he said "Then why did we even come?" I think he wanted to play all day.  Well good, soon he'll be forced to.

Oh and this morning he asked me "Can we go to school today?" 

Jadzia draws Happy Faces

Seriously I think she's some kind of genius.

Funny Breakfast quotes

Jadzia: I like strawberries.  I like yummy waffles in my mouth.

William: Sometimes you have a dream where you fly a rocket to the moon and that is kind of a dream.
Me: Did you have a dream where you flew a rocket to the moon?
William: No.

William's Dream

William: I had a Power Ranger dream and people were taking our car.
Me: Power Rangers were taking our car?
William: No, we were Power Rangers and someone else was taking our car.
Me: What did we do?
William: It was just a dream, we didn't do anything.
Me: Oh.
William: And I saw that you were eating something.  You said it was cat food and it tasted like cheerios.
Me: I was eating cat food that tasted like cheerios?
William: Yeah, and it was cheerios.

About two minute later...

William: I like Power Rangers

Golden Arches

I just entered this contest from McDonald's:

McDonald’s® All-Access Moms, presented by CityLine and hosted by Nanny Robina, are inviting Canadian mommy bloggers* for a chance to get a first-hand look behind-the-scenes at the Golden Arches to learn the truth about McDonald’s restaurants and the food it serves. McDonald’s All-Access Moms will have the chance to ask the hard-hitting questions on every parent’s mind and delve deeper into the quality of food sourcing and preparation at McDonald’s restaurants. At the same time, these moms will be blogging candidly about their experiences and sharing their thoughts with parents across the country.

I've seen the movie Supersize me, but since I'm not a vegan and don't work for PETA, I'm not sure how "hard-hitting" I would be.  I decided to enter anyway.  I filled out the online form, copied and pasted a sample blog entry, and answered some questions about my family and our mealtime traditions.  The most difficult part was making a video explaining why I should be chosen.  How do you say anything on camera in only 30 seconds?  Here is my attempt:

And here's another video I made to explain the last one.  (Actually I recorded it because Jadzia began screaming as soon as I stopped recording her):

Wish me luck.

Super Omi Turned 80 Today

And she has no idea.

My grandmother has had alzeimer's since before my kids were born.  When my husband and I were dating, she was already starting to forget and repeat things.  She used to flirt with the security guards in her building.  She cooked for me all the time.  She made liver and bacon, homemade schnitzel and spätzle, rouladen. She always made you eat too much, never taking no for an answer.  She told everyone I was her favourite granddaughter, and bragged that I "sang like an angel", even though I only ever sang along to the radio.  She cheated at rummikube. We would laugh together, talk about music, and men, and the world. She would give me a quarter if I got a question right on jeopardy before the contestants did.  I was her smart cookie.

Omi has always loved kids, so my Mom thought that she might respond if I brought my kids in to see their great grandmother. It wasn't a party, nor even a celebration, only an attempt at giving Super Omi one last happy moment.  We stopped at Tim Horton's on the way and bought timbits for us and a yogurt for Omi.  Mom entered the combination to unlock the door and we saw her sitting in the hall.  She was sleeping in what my Mom calls her lazy-boy wheelchair. Her body looked thin and slumped, her skin pale. Her grey hair was combed straight.  Her bare feet were wrapped in white pillow-type things.  Her toenails were yellow.  She opened her eyes briefly, but didn't really look at any of us.   We wheeled her into the small courtyard and sang her happy birthday. 

We ate timbits and played catch with a football we brought with us.  At one moment, a woman walked across the courtyard, ripped a vine out of the garden and dragged it inside, leaving a trail of dirt on the floor.  We chatted with William about life and death and what Super Omi used to be like, then we left her and went to the waterfront and enjoyed the splashpad.  In the end we had a pretty nice day.

New Sod!!!!

Have you every seen anything more glorious?  I thought not.

Unimpressed?  Well up until this afternoon our backyard looked like this:

And for the longest time it looked like this:

And we spent the better part of the day doing this:

Now are you impressed?  Well here's that picture again so you can gaze fondly at our masterpiece:

Unfortunately, gazing fondly is all we can do with our new yard at the moment.  It must be watered religiously and not walked on for four weeks!  Gah!

BTW:  We took this opportunity to bury a time capsule. I'd tell you what's in it, but that's between me, my family and the citizens future.

William the Scholar

My son is awesome at building with lego, and playing video games.  He has the uncanny ability to say the most insightful things, and hold his own in discussions of life and death, evolution, astronomy and the possibility of extra terrestrial life.  However, he is notorious for his unwillingness to put crayon to paper.  While his sister colours on every available surface, William has only recently (and only occasionally) let go of his perfectionist tendancies long enough to attempt a happy face or racecar (the latter often followed by the remark "This is not actually a very good racecar. Can you do it?") .

So a couple of days ago when I bought a kindergarten printing book at the dollar store, I had very low expectations.  I showed it to him, but I didn't even suggest we try it.  Imagine my surprise then, when today I saw this:

He got out a marker and started filling out the book all by himself.  He did most of the capital letters and then went on to the small letters, at which point he declared "I'm not very good at the small letters."  I told him he was doing fabulously, but his standards for himself are much higher than the standards of others.  He takes after me that way.


And yes, he is left-handed.  How cool is that?

Downhill is not always faster

Today William wanted to mail a postcard to his friend.  After I had printed out the address, William made a few half-hearted marks on the paper then asked me to put on a movie. I wasn't about to waste a stamp on his short attention span so I encouraged him to draw some more.  He traced his hotwheels car. "Can we watch the movie now?"

In hindsight, I should have just put on his choice of DVD, ignoring the sunshine outside and hoping I wouldn't lose his creation before the next time I happened by a mailbox. Instead I insisted we mail the card, immediately.  I offered him the choice of riding his bicycle, or sitting in the stroller hitched to my bicycle.  "I want to ride my bicycle," Jadzia immediately chimed in and William agreed.  The nearest mailbox that I know of is about a kilometre away.

The way there is uphill.  My son insists on getting off his bike and pushing it up every slight incline.  Every time William gets off his bike, Jadzia gets off her tricycle and bolts.  She gleefully sprints down the sidewalk at speeds greater than any Mom lugging a fully-loaded diaper bag and a tricycle can achieve.  Other legitimate reasons for dismounting: picking dandelions, watching ants.  William also stops dead at each slightly elevated crack in the sidewalk and groans until I help him over it.

We stop at the library after we mail the postcard. This is William's idea. I have my netbook with me and try to write, but instead end up reading the most inane boardbooks imaginable for slightly longer than I can stand. After we pick out our books I give each kid an apple, more to lighten my load than because they are hungry. As we cross the library parking lot, the plastic bag holding my books breaks.

William roars (yes, roars) at each bird we pass, scaring them onto the rooftops. Jadzia joins in by belting out screams that are ear-piercing, blood-curdling and whatever other cliche you can think of to describe an unbearably high-pitched squeal.


William doesn't want to go to fast on the downhill so he compensates by braking every two feet. Jadzia is tired and drags her feet along the ground as I push her tricycle.  I tell her she will wreck her shoes and hurt her feet if she continues.  She continues.  I threaten to take her shoes.  She continues.  I take her shoes. She doesn't care.  She steers the trike in a zigzag pattern on the sidewalk. I tilt the tricycle onto its back wheels so she can no longer steer.  She attempts to get off the trike.  I carry her (along with the diaper bag, netbook, Jadzia's sandals and six library books in a broken grocery bag). 

Yes, that's chocolate cake.



While William and Adam went off camping at the cayuga dragstrip, I offer proof that Jadzia and I had much more fun.  We attended a lovely party for my friend Natalie, mother of two of my daughter's handsome suitors (including the icing monster pictured above).  We picniced on the grounds of Dundurn Castle, then took a tour of the lavish mansion.

Jadzia's favourite phrase of the day: "I want to go that way!" She would then dash off in the opposite direction of the tour, ducking under any rope barriers that were in her way. She wanted to go downstairs when we were upstairs and upstairs when we were downstairs.

Dundurn Castle is significantly larger than my house, even though it was a family of four who lived there.  As the gentleman in 1850s attire lead us around, I felt a bit envious of the previous inhabitants.  I have a family of four.  I should therefore have an 18,000 square foot mansion with twelve servants, and a view of the lake, and cannons.  But then I remembered that they didn't have television or internet access.  I would trade all those servants and that big old mansion to be living here in the information age.  It's also pretty cool having cholera-free water.

Anyway, I really must use the magical powers of the internet to figure out how to make olden times sour dough bread.  The stuff they made there was hella good.

The end is near.

Well I finally did it.  I asked Lil' Monkeys staff for their WiFi password.  I finished today's wordcount and I wanted to message my husband to see if he would be late.  I just wanted to know if I had to rush home to make dinner.  Now I have opened a pandoras box that can never be closed.  Pretty soon, I'll be getting the WiFi passwords for all the play places, and then my writing productivity will take a dive.  I'll be facebooking, blogging, and online gaming instead of working on the great sci fi novel that would have one day made me a gazillion dollars. 

On the plus side, this means you, my blog readers, will probably be hearing more from me.  If any of you happen to have a gazillion dollars, please click the donate button in the side bar and share it with me.  Or give me the whole thing.  The world is ending on Saturday anyway.

Renewed love

I love Karaoke.  Love it.  Before the offspring I used to play a lot of Karaoke Revolution, a wickedly awesome video game that scores you as you sing.  Once in a while, when the moon was full, I even got my Karaoke-hating husband to sing a duet with me.  In recent years, however, I've mainly played games that either don't require reading (so they can be played with kids) or are very quiet (so they can be played after bedtime).  As you might have guessed, this game is neither.

Well tonight I had some friends over, and I roped them into playing my karaoke games with me.  Apparently, the version of Karaoke Revolution I have is for GameCube, which just goes to show you how long it's been since I've played it.  So anyway, we had to play SingStar instead, similar but inferior to Karaoke Revolution.  Despite the limited song selection, and incomprehensible scoring system, we had a blast playing the game.  Even the kids were grabbing the mic and singing.  They couldn't care less that they couldn't read the lyrics and just enjoyed the sound of their own voices.

So now I have a renewed love for Karaoke video games, so I need to stock up.  I need to download more songs for my SingStar, and maybe look for a newer version of Karaoke Revolution.  Yes, that's right, I said 'need', not want, NEED. 

I went to the zoo today.

I went to the zoo today.

Here is a video of a peacock dancing for a peahen:

Here is a picture of my family on the zoomobile:

Here's a picture of my daughter flashing a zebra:

The end.

When I have fun, I get tired

So on Thursday my inlaws came over.  I made lasagna and banana bread.  After enjoying the delicious meal and my mother-in-law raving about the banana bread, we all walked to the park together (the kids biked) because it was perfect weather to be outside.  It was a very pleasant evening, and afterwards I was very tired.

On Friday was our five-year-old friend Annaliese's birthday party.  We went to Amazing Adventures, a play centre complete with a bouncy castle, free-to-play arcade games, pink Harleys, and an intricate network of plastic tubeslides, all within a surprisingly confined area.   I of course had to try the slides and the bouncy castle in the name of supervising young ones. There were several birthday parties going on at once and I'm pretty sure there were some fire codes violated.  We had an amazing time.  Afterwards I was very very tired.

On Saturday we drove to Etobicoke to visit the Fantasy Fair for my friend Columbia's birthday.  We rode all the rides, many of them twice.  My favourite were the bumper cars, which are especially fun with friends. We also spent a fair amount of time chasing our kids through a giant play structure, vaguely reminiscent of the one we had spent hours in the day before.  After one last ride on the Fantasy Fair Express, we went out to dinner even though it was past the kids bedtime.  We ate cake.  It was a fabulous day. Afterwards I was exhausted.

On Sunday, which was Mother's Day, my husband and kids made me a wonderful card and an odd breakfast in bed.  Then we hitched up the trailer and biked all the way to Bronte Creek, a distance of 9.8 km (one way) and had a picnic.  The kids played in the park and in the play barn, and then we visited all the animals including a litter of piglets.  It was the best day ever.  Afterwards I was extremely exhausted.

On Monday, I was still in biking mode, so I biked with the kids down to Central Library, a distance of 7.3 km, (one way).  We met some friends there and William went to story hour.  We picked some books and the kids went on the computer. After some convincing by the Mommies we lured our offspring outside and played in the park a while.  Then I biked home, uphill, and (after a quick stop at home to grab some birthday presents) continued biking to my Mom's house.  We celebrated my Dad and my nephew's birthdays (which were actually on Saturday).  We ate pulled pork, potato pancakes, mashed potatoes and cake.  It was an awesome day.  Afterwards I was extremely exhausted (and a little sunburned). 

Today I'm trying to keep it low key and not have so much fun.  Of course I've already played Star Wars Lego with William on the Xbox and looked through the Halloween I Spy book we got from the library.  I also put Jadzia down for a nap because she threw my ipod accross the room.  I was going to catch up on some laundry today, my dryer is in pieces.  It wasn't drying so my husband is fixing it using the magic of internet knowledge.  Instead of watching youtube videos, or playing plants vs zombies, I've decided to take a moment to tell you how my week is going.

Done.  Now what should I make for dinner?

Jadzia's accomplishments

Yesterday, while we were at the Early Years Centre, my daughter coloured this picture:

This is a fine example of how Jadzia's artistic skill far exceeds the norm for a child of two and a half.  See how she chose appropriate colours for the flowers and stem, and kept those colours to the right general area! The real joy is to see the concentration on her face as she creates.  She would never choose a marker at random, and instead takes the utmost care with every colour selection.

And that's not all!  Jadzia is in full potty-training mode (she has trained me to give her an M&M every time she pees on the toilet).  After Jadzia had completed her masterpiece at the Early Years, we went next door to Ikea for a little lunch and some fun.  While we were in the front entrance of the store, Jadzia exclaimed "I go potty now!"  then immediately dropped her pants, showing a naked bottom half to amused furniture shoppers.  My friend Columbia, who had been watching Jadzia while I wrote on my netbook, quickly grabbed her and rushed her to the nearest toilet.  Since my daughter had peed on the toilet only minutes before, my expectations were low.  Miraculously, she pooed on the toilet!  I gave her two M&M's.

 

The Party that really deserves my vote

For those of you who are disappointed in the election results, here's some photos of the party that really deserves a majority.  I'm talking of course about my friend Columbia's outdoor fairy party which took place on Saturday.  There were fairy costumes, face painting, swords, an Easter egg hunt, potluck food and a giant Earth ball.  Just look at how much fun we are had:

Vote

If you haven't already, go and

VOTE

Here's some info to help you:

The English language section of the Bloc Quebecois website
The Conservative Party website
The Green Party website
The Liberal Party website
The NDP website

Elections Canada website
CBC election coverage

Please don't leave it in the hands of others to decide who gets to run this country.  I guarantee that they will not vote the way you or I would.  If you are over 18 and live in Canada, get your butt to a polling station now.