H is for Hike

Saturday we went for a hike at Spencer's Gorge, an area characterized by beautiful waterfalls and hazardous cliffs. While my children were never actually in danger of falling to their deaths, I found myself constantly shooing them further away from the cliff's edge.

We saw several waterfalls, people walking their dogs, lovely stone bridges, a pit full of leaves to play in, and a field for rolling. I'm not sure who was more tired, the adults or the offspring, but only my husband had a nap afterwards.

My baby is FIVE YEARS OLD

My son William turned five today.  Here's a picture him when he was just a month old:

Here's a picture of him with his sister, taken just before his birthday party on Sunday:

He sure has transformed! (Get it?) Yes, he opted for a Halloween party for his birthday. I borrowed some Halloween decorations from a Halloween-obsessed friend and we put them up together.  He also helped decorate the cake, too. Here's the cake:

William chose all the icing colours and sprinkled the candy stars.  The orange happy face in the middle started out as a pumpkin, in keeping with the Halloween theme. Also, according to William, the red corner is  "blood from where somebody died".  Spooky. And what cake would be complete without three random cars?

Here's a picture of the kids playing bean bag toss:

The idea was to get your beanbag to land on that pumpkin. William asked for a beanbag game to be included in the festivities so Adam made that poster especially for the occasion. Later, William had fun sliding on the slippery print, and jumping off the stairs onto it.

Here are all the kids waiting for their food:

After all the hoopla about the cake, William had exactly one bite of it. He didn't even eat his ice cream.  He did have a popsicle though (he made me buy those).

Here is William opening presents:

One day he'll get the process of opening each present one at a time, reading the card first, and then thanking the gift giver.  That is not what happened here. Presents were being thrust at him by helpful party-goers and he tore at them like a gift-starved animal.

I spent all of Monday putting together Lego flying saucers and army vehicles.  None of these are still together now that it is Wednesday.

After the party goers left we went to visit my in-laws in Niagara Falls. Here is William opening the Innotab they got him:

He calls it his iPad. The thing is pretty cool. Of course, in about an hour both my kids had passed the games that came with it, including the difficult level. I can see how this thing could easily become a money sucker (and a battery sucker).

Here's Babcia, wearing William's Bumblebee mask:

Today (after William opened his presents from me and Adam) I spent about an hour trying to find a friend for William to play with on his birthday.  Having been unsuccessful, we headed to the Early Years, where we saw noone we know (other than the staff). The kids had a good time anyway.  They sang Happy Birthday to him in circle and he blew out a candle (no cake, just the candle).  

I promised my kids McDonald's for lunch but when I got to the McDonald's next door to the OEYC I realized I had forgotten my wallet at home. We went all the way home, then went to a different, closer McDonald's that had a play place in it.  I climbed through the tubes with Jadzia because she was too cranky to do it herself. The entire structure was hard plastic and tough on the knees.

We went home eventually, then went outside and played baseball in the snow. (William got a bat, ball and glove from Adam).  I pitched, he batted.  He didn't do too badly considering I'm a pretty terrible pitcher.

For dinner we went to my Mom's house, where he got gifts from his grandparents, uncles, aunts, and cousins. Here is a picture of the monkey cupcakes my Mom made for him:

He ate the digestive biscuit off the top, and also had some strawberries.  He's not much of a cake person, as you may have gathered.

In conclusion, my son is five. The tiny zygote that lived in my belly is big grown-up boy. 

Happy Birthday William!

Thankful things

So I've been reading the book "59 seconds: Change your Life in Under a Minute" by Richard Wiseman. It's a self help book that debunks other self help books and uses science to increase happiness and success. I have already spent well over 59 seconds perusing the book, and have come across an exercise that I can do right here on the blog.  I'm to maintain a diary for one week, Monday to Friday.  Each day, Professor Wiseman has prescribed a certain topic and at the end of the week I should end up with a blissfully happy feeling that for lasts months. Fun stuff!

Today is Monday.  I'm to think back to the previous week and write down three things that I'm thankful for.

1. My family tops the list always. My husband Adam, and my kids William and Jadzia.  When I was younger, all I wanted was to have a husband, two kids, and a house, so this life is my dream come true.  Of course, I also wanted to live on the moon, but I'm sure that will come. This week the kids and I had some quality time tobogganing and on Saturday, Adam and I got to go on a date together. I get a lot of "I love you"s, especially from William.  They're especially nice unsolicited, when I'm expecting him to ask for a snack or something and instead get a declaration of affection.
2. The weather.  I am so glad it is finally winter weather.  This is my favourite time of year.  I mentioned we went tobogganing, right?  There's a perfect hill right next to William's school, and when I pick him up I bring the toboggan. Also, last week we went skating down by the lake.  Just perfect.  If you're going to go out and do winter stuff, wear an extra pair of pants.  I don't have snow pants so two pairs of jeans is so much better than one. I'm convinced that anyone who says they don't like winter is just cranky because their legs are cold.
3. My friends. Some of us went to the movies together on Saturday and saw Beauty and the Beast in 3D. (Thanks to Columbia for organizing it!)  Currently my best friends are my son's best friend's moms. On Mondays I take improv class and am often joined by mommy friends eager for a childless night. Last Monday, Becca went with me. She's probably my oldest friend, since we met in kindergarten. And her son is only two weeks older than mine, how great is that?  I love my friends unconditionally and know that they feel the same way about me.  Sappy, but true. 

Warm fuzzies engage!

Punta Cana Moments - The Trip Home

For the past week my family and I have been in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic to attend my sister's wedding.  It was a relaxing trip which included palm trees, swimming and buffets.  Of course the thing most fresh in my mind is the trip home, so that is what I will tell you about today.

To make our one-am flight we had to be all ready and in the lobby by nine, already past the kids bedtime.  Some rather pushy merchants happened to be set up selling various souvenir trinkets. I got suckered into buying two little drum noisemakers for the kids, and they promptly began fighting over who got to use the one with the crocodile on it (the other had a dolphin).  Shortly after that, Jadzia fell asleep, on my lap, in the lobby, despite the noise of the boisterous bar-goers. 

The bus took a route with many windy roads, and an exorbitant amount of speed bumps, stopping at several other resorts along the way. I tossed my still-comatose daughter at Adam because I was afraid I was going to vomit on her. I drank water, which helped a little at first, but then just wanted to come up.  But I made it to the airport without puking.  Huzzah!  William fell asleep on the bus.

Adam was already in charge of all the luggage, and I couldn't carry both kids so my mom carried Jadzia and I carried William.  That child has gotten a lot heavier since he lived in my belly five years ago. In the line up at Dominican customs, he woke enough to become delirious and started kicking me.  I put him down and guided the little zombie along, while Jadzia screamed as she attempted to find a comfortable position in Omi's arms.

We waited in the airport for a while, which is not air-conditioned.  In fact, the whole place is walls-optional.  I get that the Dominican doesn't get a lot of snow storms, but does it never rain sideways? Parts of it look more like a picnic shelter than an international airport.

Anyway, William nodded off again and I carried his limp body across the tarmac.  In the summer, I went portaging and had to carry half our gear in a giant pack.  That was nothing.  You know those tunnels that lead you right from the gate into your airplane?  Punta Cana doesn't have those.  Those tunnels are a good idea. I huffed and puffed along, up the stairs to the airplane, and finally chucked my first born onto the window seat. We set Jadzia down beside him and they stayed asleep until we landed in Toronto.

Then they had a great time with the moving sidewalks.

Celebrating Minor Accomplishments

Dressed the children (including socks).

Managed to have a nap today.

Helped out at my sister's Stag and Doe without feeling like the nerdy sister (even though I so am).

Won a raffle prize (Toys for Jadzia. We're hiding them until Christmas/birthday).

Got several achievements on the Sims facebook game.

Paid exact change for jar of mayonaise.

Finished all the levels of Factory Balls 4 without a walkthrough.

Made dinner yesterday for the family in less than 30 minutes.

Participated in a family outting to the pet store.  (Bought a leash, food, and a squeaky foot for Worf).

Received unsolicited I love yous from offspring.

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.

A Little Piece of History

My cousin in Germany sent me a bunch of old documents.  I've posted two of them above, selected because they have pictures on them. The guy rocking the Hitler mustache in both pics is my great grandfather, Anton John.  I just love old documents, don't you?  Check it out, the bottom picture is attached with little rivets!

My high school German doesn't extend beyond colours, numbers, and feelings, so I can't make heads or tails of most of my cousin's files (he said one was in Czech, not German, but I can't tell which).  Still, it's nice to have a piece of history.

Awesome Family Photo!

Welcome Amelia

On Tuesday night, a very good friend of mine gave birth to a new baby girl.  (Yes today is Friday.  Yes, I am behind on my blog entries).  I'm writing this to say welcome to planet Earth, Amelia.

And congratulations to Becca, Drew and Aedan on this newest addition to your family.

BTW: Today I saw a blue heron while bike riding on a hydro path near my house.  Suddenly this giant bird came out of nowhere.  Wait until you get to explore, Amelia, this place is fantastic!

Super Happy Family Search Story

Here's my version of a Google Search Story, w using their search story creator on youtube. What a fabulously sneaky way to spread your ad campaign. As if they need an ad campaign. I mean, who hasn't heard of/used Google? W

BTW: The W's in this post are not typos.  They were requested by William.  Now off to watch monster truck videos.

Best Birthday EVER!

I'll hit the end of my third decade in a couple days, so yesterday we commemorated the event with a wild party in my honour. My fabulous husband cleaned the house, made pierogi lasagna, and baked a cake shaped like the Enterprise. The "wildness" came in the form of children of various ages that attended.

That morning, as my husband was getting ready for the shindig, I took the kids to Ikea with my friend Becca and her family. Becca showed William the play area Ikea has for kids to play in while adults shop. The room has a ballroom, big screen, TV, play kitchen, train table, and tonnes of toys. William's eyes were wide as saucers as Becca told him that this was a special place where no Mommies were allowed, but kids can go if (and here's the catch) they know how to use the potty and wear underwear all the time. William immediately wanted to put underwear on. We promised to come back on Wednesday if he kept wearing underwear, so he could play there with his friend Aedan (Becca's son who is already toilet trained). So far he's still wearing underwear (with several accidents). If this works, Becca doesn't have to get me anything for birthday or Christmas at least until Jadzia turns 2.

Some fun moments:
My friend's daughter 7 1/2 year old Katelyn totally crushing on my nephew Hunter.
William and his friend Leyla having a twenty minute hug and wrestle fest. Yes, love was in the air.
William peeing on the carpet in front of like ten people.
My totally awesome Star Trek Cake.
The screening of my brother's wedding video on Adam's computer, including hilarious video clips depicting the history of my brother's filmmaking career.

Did I mention my totally awesome cake? I don't really have a picture of it before it was devoured. Anyone?

William, Craig, and a bunch of other people, dancing in front of the wedding slideshow.

Karaoke after party with Eireann and Craig!

BTW: William still pees on the floor, and on chairs, but now he comes rushing to us after he does it, announcing "I'm going to clean up all pee."

Also: William pulled down his underwear and peed on his little potty, which is small enough that he can carry it around himself.

Family videos of the future

My husband and I have been playing with JibJab's "starring me" video selection. I've posted a couple of my favorites below.

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Algonquin trip summary 2: a family of four in a tent.

When I say that I went camping, people inevidably ask: "Did the kids sleep okay in the tent?" Yes, is the short answer, as in "yes, they did sleep." Our sleeping arrangements were as follows: Jadzia in her playpen, me theoretically on the thermarests but nearly pushed under the playpen by William, William sleeping between me and Adam usually sideways with his arms around my neck and his feet kicking my husband's face.

Jadzia, who seemed determined to keep her regular schedule despite all the camping going on around her, went to bed first. Our ease in getting William to sleep might have something to do with keeping him up hours past his bedtime, roasting marshmallows on the fire. In William's case, "roasting" meant cuddling on someone's lap, with a dazed look in his eyes, holding a marshmallow stick so far away from the flames as to keep them eternally raw. When I offered to roast them for him he exclaimed "No, I will do it!" and when I asked if he wanted to eat the marshmallows he replied "No, marshmallows not done" or "No, marshmallows too hot."

My nephew Hunter seemed to enjoy roasting more than actually eating the marshmallows. He'd roast two at a time, usually offering one of them to my Mom or Dad, or announcing before he started "I'm roasting marshmallows, does anybody want one?" He was always on the quest for the perfect marshmallow.

After the mallows we'd take a long walk to the comfort station to use the washroom and brush our teeth. William was afraid of the loud flushing of the toilet, and would cover his face when I took him into the stall. Once my Mom, Hunter, and William got lost on the way back from the washroom and it was pouring rain and we didn't have a flashlight. Finally we found the camp office, where they gave us a map and directions.

At around ten, ten-thirty, we'd say goodnight, go into the tent, turn on our lantern, change into our pjs, and read a Robert Munsch story from the library anthology we brought with us.
Jadzia didn't wake up during any of this.

She did, however, wake up at six am to the sound of cawing grackles. Jadzia would then wake up me, then William, and then Adam. The adults were more than willing to go back to sleep, but William insisted we leave the tent to "See Hunter" and "Eat breakfast". Of course, once my daughter had woken up the rest of us, she went back to sleep until 9.

Algonquin trip summary 1: Hiking with the gang

My husband is demanding a blog entry summarizing our camping trip. Instead I think I'll write three. The camping-type excursion we engaged in the most was hiking. Each day we went on a different trail, carefully selecting the shortest loops.

All of the trails visited cliffs showing off the majesty of the park. Not being a heights person to begin with, and having a toddler along, I found myself constantly repeating "careful, careful" until my son began chanting "I will be careful. I will not be careful" as he stepped over tree-roots and around mud puddles. I stood between him and the drop-off whenever I could, but I wasn't as freaked out as I thought I would be.

I'd been on most of these hikes when we came here two summers ago, when William was the age Jadzia is now. The quiet serenity of nature was somewhat diminished this time. My family tends to fill any space it inhabits, even the great Algonquin forest. This is a good thing, lots of fun, lots of laughter, lots of love, resulting in a completely different hiking experience.

And a tip: if it has been raining, don't go on the Whiskey Rapids trail. The second half of the loop is a giant mudpie with no way around. You'd think this would be true of all the trails, but the rest were fine despite the rain.

Four Days of Grateful Things

I plan a longer entry after I've downloaded photos and such. I've been away from civilization and internet for four days camping in Algonquin. Of course I must list five things I am grateful for each day, so here's twenty:

marshmallows
sausages
campfire
canoeing
blue herons
the deer in the blueberry field
Adam taking my nephew Hunter fishing twice, and William fishing once
Having a big gang to hike with
Having some moments just my husband and I
My Mom and her electric frying pan
My Dad and his iPod
Herman's Hermits and other oldies
Warm nights
Everyone sleeping okay in the tent
Hunter being so grown up, but still being a kid
Ice cream
S'mores
The beach
A shower
Being home again

Dinner at Uncle Wojtek's House

Adam's uncle has a gigantic house up where you can get mansions for cheap (I don't know exactly what city it's in but you have to pass a lot of farms to get there). Adam says "It's Limehouse, near Acton, you know!" Anyway, we went there for dinner tonight and William had a blast playing with his second cousins, Conrad, Veronica, and Alexandra. Together they flew a kite, played with a remote controlled jeep and rode a skooter. Yes, William is too young for most of these activities but that didn't stop the older kids from trying to teach him. Conrad trying to get William to drive the RC Jeep was particularly amusing. Conrad kept telling William which button turned the car and which one made it go forwards and backward, and William kept saying "I will press this one" then smiling when the car made any kind of movement or noise.

When talking about cousins, one often gets confused as to whether they're second cousins, first cousins once removed, or just a bunch of kids who aren't actually related to you. For some reason, I clearly remember my friend's mother explaining cousin relations to me at a restaurant with crayon and a napkin. I don't have a napkin handy but here's my understanding:

I assume that everyone knows that your aunts and uncles are your parents' sisters and brothers.

Your aunts and uncles' kids are your first cousins.

Your first cousins' kids are your first cousins once removed.

Your kids and your first cousins' kids are second cousins.

If your second cousins had kids, they would be your first cousins twice removed. They would be your kids' second cousins once removed and your grandkids' third cousins.

Adam says that there is way too much learning and logic in this blog post and not enough humour. That may be so, but I like knowing stuff, and seeing as most people reading this are trolling the internet reading random things, I'm guessing you like to know stuff too. But just in case you too were looking for more humour, here's a picture of me in an old Polish army officer's cap:

William and Jadzia

Today, as I was getting Jadzia ready for bed, William was doing his usual song and dance for attention. (Today this involved using a plastic log from his train set as a gun and shooting at me). Jadzia kept turning her head away from her bedtime booby meal to get a glimpse of the show. So I sat her up and faced her in William's direction. Immediately she began laughing like a maniac. William, happy to have someone appreciate his humour, smiled gleefully and began excitedly naming all the objects in the room for his sister's amusement. Bed! Book! Pillow! Clothes! Mommy! With every word Jadzia's laughed harder, and louder, and squealed, and got hiccups, and kept laughing.

This isn't the first time William's antics have put his sister into histerics. To Jadzia, her brother is the most hilarious person in the world, and William is happy to play comedian.

Happy Easter

Our Easter celebrations:

Dyed and coloured eggs on Good Friday at my parents' house.

Went to my parents house this morning for breakfast. William immediately began chowing down on some Easter cookies that Auntie Eireann made for him. He also handed them out to everyone like a gentleman.

When Hunter arrived, Adam and I followed clues to William's basket, while Willliam followed Hunter around as he searched for his.

Then we had to wait while my Dad (Opa) "talked with the Easter Bunny" about where to hide the eggs we had coloured.

Found the eggs Opa and the Easter Bunny had hidden. Then had our traditional egg fight. Kevin, my sister's boyfriend, won. I think they actually brought their winning egg from home, which is dedication (or cheating, I can't decide which).

Then we all went outside to try out the 3D sidewalk chalk that the bunny brought us. No amount of putting 3D glasses in front of the camera would get the effect to appear on film. Basically all warm colours seemed to come towards you, while all cool colours seemed to recede. So really, only the red is 3D. Still cool though.

I wonder how my mother-in-law would feel about some hopscotch on her driveway when we go over there this evening. Maybe not a good idea.

Free Wings

The other day my Dad noticed an ad in the paper advertising free wings all day today as part of St. Louis Bar & Grill's grand re-opening. Apparently starting tommorrow (Tues) they're also giving free entrees to mothers and children. This sounded too good to be true, so I called the place, and they assured me that yes, the wings were free and, no there was no catch.

So today I called the only two mommy friends I have phone numbers for, one I couldn't reach, and the other is making the trip down from St Catharines tommorrow.

But I want free wings now, thought I. So I kidnapped my parents and took them to the restaurant.

"Free wings. Free wings." My son repeated over and over as we walked in the door. The wings were free, but we all had to buy drinks and my Mom had a salad, so we (buy "we" I of course mean my mother) ended up paying $25 including tip.

They were out of highchairs, so once William was finished eating (mostly cheese out of my mom's salad) he went wandering about the restaurant with my Dad. The manager had a stash of toys, and gave William a package of six dollar-store quality racecars.

I'm thinking of going there for lunch this week. 450 Appleby just north of New St, if anyone wants to join me.

Presents from the Family

CARDS



From Craig and Eireann (my brother and sister-in-law). A reminder of Eireann and my glory days in art and art history, especially in the class of van Gogh expert, the humourless witch Bologna Welsh.




From my hubby Adam and my son William and Captain Kirk. Captain Kirk is thinking about me on my birthday and wishes he could have attended.





From Robin, Kevin, and Hunter (my sister, her bf, and my nephew.) Rob's sense of humour may have slightly exaggerated my age, but that's nothing compared to my cakes candles. According to them, I was celebrating my 7522nd birthday.

PRESENTS

From my Mom and sister. Four nursing bras and two "before and after" shirts from thyme maternity.

From Craig and Eireann. A maternity top, a hat and scarf. And, last but not least, a totally awesome wallet that I desperately needed. William likes it too, he threw a fit this morning because I wouldn't let him yank the cards out of it (an activity that destroyed my previous wallet).

From Adam and my parents, and Adam's parents. A camera that takes good, in focus, pictures, and not just in the bright sunshine. Adam wanted to get a pink one but this camera is too good for colour, so instead he got me a bright red camera case. Awesome!

Here's a short video (if it ever loads) of my family at my birthday (to demonstrate my camera's video feature). Minus Craig, Hunter, and William who are in another room dealing with a poo-mergency. That's right, my brother changed a poo-diaper. What a fabulous birthday present from him!

The question is what will come first, the video or the fridge repair man.