Spontaneous

Posted on May 17, 2010 by Sherry

Sometimes I really like planning things out and knowing what I’m doing over the next several days. For instance, I like knowing that on Wednesday and Thursday morning I’ll be at the school to volunteer for Breakfast Club, Wednesday evening I’ll be back at the school for a PPO meeting, and that Friday I’ll be going to check out a replica of a refugee camp that’s being set up in a big park by Doctors Without Borders. Throwing in some sort of event into the middle of all that could potentially throw a monkey wrench into my life. It’s not that I’m a control freak, I just like knowing what to expect and think that my anxiety issues are at least part of the reason for that. Let’s put it this way: The worst thing in the world anyone could do for me would be to throw me a surprise party. People with anxiety issues don’t need surprises, thanks.

However, all of that being said, life would be very rigid and dull if you never did anything spontaneous and so this weekend we had two totally impromptu outings. On Saturday I knew Hayley already had plans and George was going to be busy as well. The weather was calling for a lot of rain on and off all day so going to the park didn’t seem to be very likely but I wanted to have something fun for Breanna to do. Out of nowhere I decided that I should take her to the library since she had never been. I had to get a new card since I lost mine over two years ago (yes, it had been a long time since I had gone). Breanna was actually old enough to get her own card as well so she was really happy; she even got to sign her own name on the back.

She loved the library and was really good, even remembering to whisper or talk quietly. She thought it was cool that I could find specific books for her on the computer and then find them on the shelves. She requested some Caillou books and I suggested a few Dr. Seuss books as well (I confess that I like when the kids get those because I just really love reading them out loud), then she picked the rest of her haul based on what looked good to her. Who says you can’t judge a book by its cover?

We left with 12 books for her and 5 for me. We can each take a maximum of 15 but that was plenty for now.

(No, I’ve never read any of the Sookie Stackhouse books, so I’m giving them a try now.)

Our second unexpected outing was on Sunday evening after supper. I had given Hayley her bath and washed her hair in the late afternoon because I thought that maybe we’d go outside to play with some bubble toys in the evening. However, after taking the dog down for a quick pee, George pulled me aside and asked what I thought about taking the kids out for some ice cream. It was really warm on Sunday and somehow it seemed like the perfect way to end the weekend so off we went.

We tried one ice cream place and the line was so ridiculous that I’m not sure we would have actually been served until well after bed time so we left immediately. Next we tried a Dairy Queen nearby but it was pretty packed too and there was nowhere to park; their parking lot is very small and there’s no parking on the street so it wasn’t looking good. Luckily there’s another Dairy Queen not too far away that isn’t usually all that busy even on the hottest days of summer, so we headed over there and had no trouble at all.

Hayley surprised me by choosing pistachio ice cream (and she loved it), and requested that ginormous waffle cone with chocolate. Of course it was huge and she wasn’t able to finish it all but she enjoyed it! Meanwhile Breanna had really wanted banana ice cream which they didn’t have. She was disappointed but the cashier saved the day by suggesting some vanilla soft serve with some banana-flavored syrup on top – perfect and she loved it.

I stuck with a Blizzard, trying out their new waffle-caramel flavor. It was pretty good and had chocolate pieces in it as well, but I’m still hoping they’ll bring back their midnight truffle flavor from last year because that is seriously awesome. As always I couldn’t finish it even though I took the smallest size; they need a “smaller than small” size! George wasn’t in the mood for ice cream himself so he just got a grape slush which was good since the ice cream made the kids thirsty!

We dropped in on his parents for a short visit on the way home and I ran down to the basement to watch the last ten minutes of the first period of Montreal vs. Philly with George’s dad and, well… that was a truly awful game. I didn’t even watch it all once we got home, choosing the finale of Survivor instead. Here’s hoping we have a better game on Tuesday night!

We managed to get home before bedtime and got the kids quickly changed and off to bed. Breanna was exhausted and fell asleep quickly but Hayley listened to the game on her radio for awhile before finally giving in and drifting off.

Game trauma aside, it was a really good weekend and while I’ll stick to making plans for most things, I do love the spontaneous moments too. I hope your weekend was great too!

Holding on

Posted on May 2, 2010 by Sherry

One of the hardest things for me when it comes to parenting (you know, aside from breaking up the neverending sibling fights) is knowing that the whole time you’re raising your kids you’re also preparing them for the time when you have to let them go.

And really, you have to let go bit by bit as time goes by. It’s not just a big event when they leave home for college or move out to their own place though I can guess that’s huge. Honestly, you let go just a little bit on a day to day basis. The first time you watch them head off to school. The first time they go off to a birthday party where you weren’t invited to come along. Heck the first time they don’t need you to push them on the swings, the first time they take those first steps, the first time they turn away and don’t need to be nursed anymore. It’s all letting go and some of it is so easy and seamless you don’t notice it at first. Other times – like waving goodbye at school – it’s like a little knife in your lungs when you try to breathe with a big smile plastered to your face and tears that you command not to fall just yet.

That’s why sometimes you have to hold on to the little things, those little moments when they still need you. Sometimes those moments can be a nuisance at first glance but if you can remember they won’t be there forever you can realize how important they are to that particular child and to you.

With Hayley it happens the mornings that I volunteer at the school for the breakfast club. She’s not one to cling to me but on those mornings she sticks close to my side while I prepare the food. When she eats she waves and smiles at me frequently while I stand behind the table serving breakfast to her fellow students. Then the first bell rings and she has to get ready to leave and she suddenly comes over to me again and again for hugs. Sometimes I have to insist that she must leave to collect her coat and bags and get out of the way because she’s blocking the line for the bus kids who have only just arrived and who need to hurry to get a chance to eat before the last bell rings. Then I think of high school looming in the future and I wonder how likely it is that she would run to me for more hugs and kisses in her teenage years. That’s when I put the tongs down, apologize to the student waiting for an English Muffin, and I wrap my arms around her and I hold her tight before finally shooing her off to class.

Breanna is still more attached to me than Hayley but I can see her slowly growing further and further away from me just like all kids do as they get older. She doesn’t need as many hugs and snuggles anymore. She still wants to tell me every little thing and she still likes to snuggle up to me when she’s tired or upset, but she’s always been independent at the same time and that independence is growing stronger as time goes by. Sometimes I look at her and wonder where the heck my baby went. Then I remember this was the kid who started walking at nine months of age and so maybe she’s been stepping forward for longer than I’ve realized. On the other hand, last week George had an appointment that started before I’d get back from breakfast club so he took Breanna with him. While they killed time, they went to McDonald’s for breakfast. When they got home he told me that she had only eaten one of her pancakes because she missed me and she kept telling him, “I wish Mommy was here.” I swooped down to hug her and held on to that moment where she was still small enough to want her mom around for something as simple as breakfast.

They grow and they grow and they grow, and when they’re babies we excitedly write down all their milestones in their baby books (or our blogs) and we marvel at how fast they’re progressing. Later we realize how much they’ve changed, how far they’ve come, and we’re appalled at how fast time slipped by.

That’s why I have to hold on to the little moments in between and never forget them.

(Yes, I’m going to completely ignore the fact that I didn’t update ONCE the entire month of April. Ahem.)

Winter joys make the season better

Posted on January 3, 2010 by Sherry

I will probably never be able to say that I love winter. I used to like it more when I was a teenager and cross-country skied. I learned how to ski downhill at one point too and I loved that as well but the chair lifts always scared the hell out of me and I missed cross-country trails.

I do know that making yourself have fun out in the snow and cold – even if it’s in the middle of a bit of a snow storm as it was yesterday – is a fine way to make the loooong winter season (yes, I *am* Canadian, we get a whole ton of winter) a little more bearable.

I do want to teach the kids to cross-country ski at some point, maybe starting with a rental before investing in any equipment of our own; I had some excellent skis, boots, and bindings but they were lost when my grandmother sold her house so I’ll have to start from scratch too. Still, my dad taught me when I was five on those big plastic skis and I loved it for well over a decade.

Yesterday was not the day for new beginnings though so we went sledding instead with one of our friends and his daughter. There’s a nice hill in a nearby park and because it’s not a HUGE hill it’s a) perfect for smaller kids and b) doesn’t have so many people that you need to line up to go down it.

I was a bit apprehensive because the first (and last) time that Breanna went sledding she was utterly unimpressed. That’s actually putting it mildly. She hated it and lasted for two runs before she refused to sit on a sled ever again.That was two years ago though, so I was hopeful.

Yeah right. That kid LOVED sledding. Both Hayley and Breanna had a blast with their friend, and I must confess that the three adults had just as much fun. There’s not much else that can help you regain your youth like throwing yourself down a hill, shrieking like a loon. Well, regaining your youth until you realize you’re kind of achy later. But it was fun!

We only stayed for a little more than an hour because it was not only snowing, it was really windy as well, plus the kids got tired. Hayley and her friend went back to their place for the rest of the day and George, Breanna, and I stopped at his parents’ house for hot chocolate and warmth.

Like I said, I will never wake up and say, “holy crap, look at all that snow and ice, winter totally rocks!” Never. But at least days like yesterday make me remember that it can indeed be a fun season, especially when you’re a kid.

(See the full set of photos over here.)

One of my creative moments

Posted on December 30, 2009 by Sherry

This year, one of the gifts that we gave the kids for Christmas was a big Barbie furniture set. It came with furnishings for a bedroom, bathroom, kitchen, and living room. While Hayley had once mentioned wanting the Barbie Pink 3-Story Dream Townhouse (and oh my hell, it’s way cheaper in the stores here, wow!), we figured we just gave them the Diamond Castle last Christmas.

On the other hand, it was a lot of furniture and bits and pieces that would have been just lying around in a box. The castle already had a bit of furniture so it didn’t really have room for much more. I had to clean up the kids’ room a bit anyway so I looked around, scratched my head, curse a bit, and then I had an idea.

There was a white bookshelf in there that wasn’t really serving a highly important purpose; there’s a brown shelf in there that holds a ton of books, but the white one just held odds and ends which could find new homes. I pulled it out of the corner, did a bit of re-arranging, and set the furniture up inside.

Hayley was out when I did it, although Breanna saw some of it while I set it all up. When Hayley came home her eyes bugged out of her head because she was so excited that I made her a Barbie house.

The townhouse is certainly very nice and maybe we’ll get it some day but making one for them was way more fun and they both love it. I’m already thinking that I might like to get some wrapping paper to use as wallpaper, as well as some pictures to use as window views.

When I was a kid I played with Barbies. When I hit the early teen years I didn’t really play with them so much as I loved to set up houses for them at my grandmother’s place, using random things as furniture and whatnot. Apparently I haven’t really changed all that much after all these years.

Is it only Tuesday? Really??

Posted on December 15, 2009 by Sherry

Today I thought it was Thursday. Considering it’s only Tuesday, that’s pretty bad. Being off by one day is annoying enough, being off by two sucks. On the other hand I still have Christmas shopping to do so it’s good to keep from rushing forward too much, right?

(Christmas shopping. Ugh. The easiest way to suck out all my holiday cheer and joy is to set me loose in a store with other Christmas shoppers. One year everyone’s getting gift cards and hand-drawn cards, I swear.)

I was up at the school bright and early to help out with the used toy sale. I brought Breanna in with me and I was worried that she might get bored or have some sort of meltdown and I’d have to leave early. She ended up being perfectly behaved and had so much fun that she didn’t want to leave at lunch time.

While I was there I bought her a huge (HUGE) tub of MegaBloks because she loves those, and I also got her a book of Princess paper dolls and a Caillou storytelling game. She was really happy to bring them home, and with the 50 cents I had leftover she picked out a little bus and a Sleeping Beauty figurine (no surprise there, it’s her favorite Disney princess).

Hayely was ecstatic to see me (and my money) when she came in for her classroom’s turn to browse around. She scored big and with only five bucks she bought a little Barbie house, a Barbie horse, a stuffed turtle, a rubber frog (no, I have no idea), a necklace that glows, and a hair tie that looks like a poodle. Lucky girl!

It was so busy and so much fun to help kids find toys they’d like that the time flew by and I couldn’t believe it when the bell rang for lunch. I thought I was only halfway through my shift. It was a pretty good way to spend the morning.

Meanwhile Breanna drew a ton of pictures, played with some of the toys (then put them back on the tables), talked to the other kids, and felt like a big girl having her snack at recess. She would have stayed the whole day but she was more tired than she realized.

Somehow I managed to eat some lunch, do all my work, make supper, and then get the kids out for a 45-minute walk around the neighborhood to look at all the Christmas lights.

Breanna fell asleep like she was knocked unconscious when I put her to bed. Hayley is still up because that’s just the way she is, but at least she’s reading quietly in bed.

As for me, I’m having my tea an hour early so I can go to bed and pass out too.

A Winter day in pictures

Posted on December 13, 2009 by Sherry

On Friday when Hayley got home from school both kids wanted to go outside. It was blowing snow like nobody’s business out there but I did what a mom has to do and bundled them – and myself – up as much as possible and ventured out. We only lasted about half an hour because the wind was brutal, dropping the temps down to -16 C (3F). Also, I need new boots because the ones I have are great for grip when it’s icy out but they only come above the ankles so when I’m in deep snow it all packs in there and my feet freeze.

Canada is fun in the winter, yes indeed!

Still, the kids had fun and I had fun watching them make snow angels and try to slide down the wee hill on the complex (next time we’ll take their sleds). And when I came back inside and got the dog, she had fun out in the snow too. Now that she’s over her, “wait, I don’t remember what this cold white stuff is” shock she goes completely crazy the second I open the door and take her out.

I’m trying not to count down to spring. Luckily the weekend saw an end to the wind so it’s not quite so bad.

Some photos from Friday:

I’d still rather be on a hot, sunny beach while I cool my feet in the Atlantic. How many more days until our next summer visit to Halifax?

The things I didn't do, the things I did

Posted on December 12, 2009 by Sherry

Today I had a sudden urge to clean up in a major way. Unless these types of urges hit me at inappropriate times (such as 11 pm or 15 minutes before I have to walk out the door) I generally try to run with them because to be perfectly honest I don’t love cleaning. Our home isn’t filthy but it’s often messy and I do the basics because I have to, not because cleaning is something that I naturally enjoy (I hear there are people who actually do enjoy it. I think they may be certifiably insane, but I can’t be sure.).

In the end I washed the breakfast and lunch dishes, made supper, and washed those dishes. I didn’t de-clutter or fold laundry or dust or any of the things that floated through my head in the morning. Hayley went out with her aunt and grandparents and they were coming back to pick Breanna up in the afternoon for supper. In the meantime she had nothing to do and was bored and lonely.

Instead of cleaning I helped Breanna make some soap with the (kid-safe) soap activity kit that her aunt gave her for her birthday. Then she had a huge bubble bath that contained more bubble than bath – though she decided not to use her new soaps so that she wouldn’t ruin them.

After that she helped me make some scrambled eggs for her lunch and once I had eaten a couple of sandwiches we embarked upon an epic Wii extravaganza, playing some party games and then some sports. Much to my embarrassment she kicked my ass at bowling. In the worst of the games she scored 178 while I managed 119. And I swear, I wasn’t trying to lose to make her feel better.

As if it’s not enough that she beats me at bowling she also laughs when I miss a spare and trash talks me while I set myself up. Sheesh.

In the end, my kitchen is clean. My living room is tidy as long as you don’t look at the fluff and dog hair and other things that spring up on the carpet at will. Beyond that, laundry still waits, papers are still unfiled, and my bedroom still resembles a warehouse more than a haven of great sleep.

But I don’t care because I made my daughter laugh (even if it was AT my expense) and we had fun. That’s more important.

Canadian pride

Posted on December 10, 2009 by Sherry

Normally I’m a quasi-Olympics fan. I like to watch them but won’t go out of my way to do it. I keep track of how Canada is doing, and if there are athletes competing that I particularly like then I check up on how they’re doing as well.

However, with the 2010 Winter Olympics being held in my own country (albeit at the complete opposite end!), there’s a certain level of excitement that I can’t ignore and I’m really looking forward to watching – and hoping that we don’t end up an embarrassed nation. There’s nothing more sad than the host country doing poorly!

In particular I enjoy watching the aerial skiing, alpine skiing, luge, and figure skating. Hockey is always fun too and seriously, Canada should totally win at that one so here’s hoping.

Today the Olympic Torch was coming to an area that allowed me to go and see it. I didn’t follow the torch route (though I might have for part of it if the kids were older) but the four of us went together to the end of the relay route to wait for its arrival. Yes, we kept Hayley out of school; I felt like it was a historic event that was really important for her to see and we wanted to see it as a family.

It was REALLY cold. It wasn’t technically that bad, but with the wind it was nuts, especially just standing around. Luckily the kids were well bundled up.

They also had a stage set up with some entertainment, including these guys who played drums and got the crowd all hyped up.

And then finally, after a lot of shivering, and after Hayley got to the point where she was just really cold, the Olympic Torch showed up. With it came a huge surprise for me. I had looked up the path and the destination and the schedule for the torch but I never looked to see who was going to be carrying it. It was mostly because I had figured it would be a local person I had never heard of. I was so excited when I found out it was being brought in by Josee Chouinard who is one of my favorite Canadian athletes.

I wish I could have gotten closer to take a picture without all the chains and stuff, but it was really packed. Still, it was really exciting to see the torch and to see her. I shouldn’t have been surprised since I tend to cry at the drop of a hat, but I was actually a bit unprepared for how emotional the whole thing was. It was so amazing to be there and I’m glad we got to go.

Next on my list of things I want to do to show my support – I desperately want the official red Olympic torch bearer mitts!

I know that today was probably not quite as exciting for Hayley (Breanna didn’t care, she was just happily playing in the snow the whole time) because of her age, but I think she’ll be happy to look back on it when she gets older and knows that she got to take part in a historical Canadian event.

Like aunt, like niece

Posted on November 30, 2009 by Sherry

It’s not uncommon to – even involuntarily – compare your kids to their parents. Is she more like Mom or more like Dad? When it comes to Breanna though, she has a habit that always reminds me of my sister which is funny since they don’t see each other very often due to Geography so it’s not something that she picked up from her aunt.

When Amanda was younger and going to school I vividly remember that my mother had a particular way of packing her lunch on certain days. My sister loved a ham and cheese sandwich. However, she didn’t care for it as an actual sandwich. My mom would pack a couple of slices of buttered bread, a few slices of deli ham, and a slice of cheese. All the pieces you need to make a ham and cheese sandwich, but they had to be packed separately.

Once it was lunch time, Amanda would then eat the individual pieces of her non-sandwich and she loved it. God forbid you actually built the sandwich for her though, because then she lost interest. It was a funny quirk and from what I remember it was only that particular sandwich that had to remain disassembled. Also, as far as I know she now eats all her sandwiches as actual, you know, sandwiches.

Fast forward many years (not too many, we’re not THAT old. Much. Yet.) and here we have Breanna. Breanna loves when we order Chinese food although in truth she mostly only wants the egg rolls. She’ll eat a few bites of other random things but the egg rolls are the main attraction and she’s been known to devour many of them in one sitting and then eat the leftovers for breakfast. I know.

Last night she wanted us to order Chinese but to be more budget-friendly we bought a box of frozen egg rolls and I just made those with some rice and vegetables. That was just as good as far as Breanna was concerned – more egg rolls for her!

Regardless of whether it’s take-out or frozen egg rolls, Breanna has a particular way of eating them. She won’t pick them up and eat them like your average person will. She bites the end off and then she essentially peels it. As she goes on through her meal she will eat the battered “peel” of the egg roll and then she eats the inside.

Essentially she’s eating the entire egg roll in one sitting, just not in one piece. It’s weird to me but she likes it that way and she doesn’t waste any of the food so I can’t complain. However, as I watched her eat one at lunch today it struck me that she’s just like my sister in that way, at least at a young age.

Kids are peculiar beings. I wonder if she’ll eat them that way forever or if she’ll eventually eat the whole thing at once.

(Then again I used to nibble the cheese off of my cheesies before eating the middle so what can I say? Maybe my family just breeds strange eaters?)

Did you have any weird eating habits as a kid?

Laid-back Saturday

Posted on November 21, 2009 by Sherry

This is exactly the kind of weekend that I like – we had plans but weren’t overly busy so it was a laid-back enjoyable day today. Tomorrow promises to be much of the same.

This morning I woke up at 8 am and realized that everyone else was still sound asleep out in the living room. It was the first time that Breanna had made it through the whole night for a living room camp-out. She usually wakes up around 3 am wanting to know where I am. However this time I actually had a chance to marvel that it was morning and I had not been poked awake by a small child needing to pee and then I even fell back to sleep for awhile. That was awesome.

After lunch we drove out to see my parents for the afternoon and Breanna opened up the present that they got her. My family knows how much Breanna loves dinosaurs and got her this little guy. I sometimes really despise battery-operated toys because they’re usually obnoxiously loud and take away from the chance to use your imagination but there are some that I do like. I definitely like this one. He chews on your finger (or a toy spoon, bottle, etc) and “eats”, then makes little cooing baby dinosaur sounds. No overkill and it’s really cute; she loves it.

Hayley and Breanna spent most of the visit trying to convince my parents’ cat to come out to play but unlike the first two cats my mom and dad owned, this one isn’t used to kids at all so she’s just not very interested in seeing two overly enthusiastic children who try to chase her around with toys. Alas.

It wasn’t cold out today but it was chilly by the time the sun started going down so we had a simple comfort food supper of grilled cheese sandwiches and tomato soup. When I was a kid my mom sometimes made tuna or salmon sandwiches and a mix of tomato and celery soup on nights when my dad wasn’t going to be home for supper and I always loved soup and sandwiches as a comfort meal.

Tonight it’s all quiet. Both kids were tired because they didn’t go to sleep until well after ten last night. Meanwhile, George is out at a friend’s house so it’s just me (and the dog, but she’s not much for conversation). I’m taking advantage by watching a movie that I know doesn’t interest George in the least, a foreign film called Osama. It’s about a family in Afghanistan during the rise of the Taliban. The father dies and leaves behind a wife and 12-year-old daughter. Since the Taliban prohibits women from working the young girl cuts her hair short and disguises herself as a boy so that she can work to support herself and her mother.

As you may have noted in my reading material post, that’s the kind of movie that is right up my alley.

So on that note, I’m off to read subtitles and relax. Enjoy your Saturday!

(The pictures of Breanna on her birthday are over here. Unfortunately the quality is kind of ech because it was pouring rain outside, leaving practically no natural light to use. My external flash needs new batteries so I had to use the dreaded on-camera flash. Alas. But the subject matter makes them cute anyway!)

Chaos Theory

Category Archives: Kids