Happy Canada Day

I just got home from the Canada Day fireworks.  We met up with some friends, with kids who have known my kids since infancy and marched down the street singing Happy Birthday to Canada.  When we got to the park we laid out our blankets and were joined by more friends, and my parents.  It was past the children's bedtimes but they stayed awake by eating oranges and popcorn, wrestling and giggling together, and dancing to Ashley MacIsaac's enthusiastic fiddle-playing.

When the fiddling was done, we stood up as a woman in a red dress came on stage and sang O Canada.  The end of the anthem was punctuated by the first fireworks.  Every colourful explosion was followed by squeals of "more! more!"  The display was just as gorgeous as my husband's fancy dancy photo would have you believe.

On the walk back to the car, we glanced across the lake and saw another fireworks display in the distance. Dispite their exhaustion, and in fact because of it, the kids attempted to climb a fence to get a closer look. By the time we had had our hugs, said our goodbyes, and brought our tired children home to bed, it was almost July 2nd.

Just enough time to post a blog before the stroke of midnight. Good night, Canada.  Happy Birthday.

Update: Our group made the Burlington Post Canada Day slideshow.  Check out #22, #28 and #35.

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!

Best Day Ever

This morning I got up early and finished my daily word count so I wouldn't have to ignore my kids all day to complete it.  I wanted to get the kids out of the house to avoid anymore ketchup or yogurt messes, but the morning sky looked grey.  So I invited my friend Becca over for a playdate instead.  William and Aedan have literally known each other since they were infants and they were very excited to get this opportunity to play.  After a nice chat, lunch, and cuddling of baby Amelia, Becca and family had to be on their way.

Once they had gone, I realized that the grey sky had turned a beautiful blue. So I got William and Jadzia outside on their bikes.  At first William didn't want to go downhill because he was afraid to go too fast (he is my son, after all), but he soon conquered his fear.  He raced down the steepest portion of sidewalk again and again, a proud grin glued on his face.

When the hill became tiresome we biked to the park.  By this time my youngest was getting tired (partly from the excitement and partly because she insists on lifting and dragging her trike instead of using the pedals).  After a short time both whined at my inadequate swing pushing, so I bribed them home with the promise of chocolate chip cookies.

As always, the kids helped me get all the ingredients together and mix them.  For those who are interested, I always use this recipe but modify it based on my mood and what I have in my cupboards.  Today I made the following modifications:  omitted the cocoa, put half brown sugar and half white, added a cup of oatmeal, a cup of chocolate chips, and some coconut. I cooked them for 11 minutes, left them in a turned off oven for 5 minutes, and let them cool on the cookie sheets for 5 more minutes.  Holy Q, they were perfect; melty chocolate chips, soft chewy consistency, subtle coconut taste.

Of course none of this avoided food mess.  I left the cookies on the stove too long and my daughter helped herself.  I was finding half-eaten cookies all over the house for hours afterwards.  Of course I saved them.  Cookies this delicious should not be wasted.

Mall Fair 2010!

This time of year a fair randomly sprouts up in the mall parking lot and starts charging ridiculous prices for food, rides, and games.  But what is normally a useless money-vacuum, is a worthwhile and wonderful experience when children are involved (of course it helps to share a bulk pack of ride tickets).  All the kiddie rides are variations on the same thing; kids drive around in a circle in some sort of vehicle (car, boat, worm).  Watching them is hilarious.  Zoe concentrates as though she is taking a driver's test.  Aedan performs over-the-shoulder blindspot checks.  William, in full road rage mode, growls "Go faster!"

Speaking of looking silly while on a ride, my husband took a video of me riding the ferris wheel in an attempt to capture my fear of heights on film.  As you can see though, I was fairly calm and collected the whole time:

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.

Baby John's Welcome Shin-dig

I just went to a playdate/baby shower at my friend Columbia's house. 2 babies, 3 women, 3 toddlers, and a twelve-year-old. Officially, we were welcoming our friend Jessica's new baby John to the world (he's a month old and makes Jadzia look like a giant), but for some reason he didn't seem to notice there was a party going on at all.

You might imagine that many toddlers would be less relaxing than only one toddler, but I find the opposite to be true. It's nice to have friends who occupy the same circle of hell as you do. Not that having children is hell, there is much joy. I'm just glad it was someone else's child who got nail polish on the couch (because it could just have easily been mine).

We did trash Columbia's place a bit. I tried to help tidy up, but I have dyspurgatia (like dyslexia, only with cleaning and yes, I made that word up). Everyone's coming to my house for a bbq on the weekend, though, so I'll get my pay back.

Thanks Columbia, you're amazing.

Congratulations Becky and Dave!

My kindergarten class is getting married off one by one. Today was Becky's turn. She and her husband Dave tied the knot in a medieval-style ceremony at Webster's Falls. It was a beautiful day for an outdoor wedding. Nothing but sunshine, and no sticky humidity.

Here's a shot of the happy couple with Becky's Mom:



And here's a shot of the whole wedding party:



And finally, here's a shot of Becky blowing out the candles on her wedding cake:


Okay, you got me. That last shot wasn't taken today. That was Becky's tenthish birthday party. (Guess who that is on the left?)

Every once in a while it hits me: Hey, I've known these people since kindergarten and now we're getting married and having babies! I didn't have a lot of friends in elementary school, but most of them are still my friends today. Craziness.