No Worries, Mate!

That would seem to be the national phrase and philosophy.  How can you argue against that?!  LOVED Australia.  We even felt worry-free in the rain.  The sun did decide to make an appearance for our days at the beach in Manly and for the wedding of wonderful friends.  Gorgeous is an understatement.  Even though it is a ridiculously long flight and we missed our little monkeys lots, it was well worth the speedy trip to Oz. 

A taste of our pics. More to bore you with come later.  Cheers Mate!

Chillin', Mickey Style

It's in the air. I can feel it somewhere around the corner. Spring! I am SO ready for it to arrive. And things are looking up, generally. DH will be home in less than a week. It is March break and there is no school to stress about. No one is sick or having a migraine or anything right now. And the upside to buckets of rain lately is that I see bare pavement and blades of grass under the snow forts outside. I am .... happy.

The big mood lifter was that happy commercial mouse. We scored FREE tickets to "Disney on Ice" for today. (This is thanks to the Sens Foundation who are tremendously supportive to community groups. Yet another reason to love our NHL team, rock bottom or not.) Not just any tickets - box suite tickets - complete with our own bathroom for goodness sake. I was as happy as the kids. Something about sinking into fantasy, childhood stuff that has nothing to do with the day to day.

Here are the kids and a friend in the sweet suite. I could get used to this.

Happy March break y'all!

In which I feel so ridiculously positive that I even make myself gag.

This is definitely weird. Here it is a chilly February morning and I have some kind of strange "joie de vivre" thing going on. Why? I have no idea. Sure I have already had my 3 cups of coffee for the day before 9 am and I am a little giddy from lack of sleep due to my dear wee octopus daughter crawling into bed with me at annoying-o'clock but shouldn't that just make me feel moody? (And shouldn't poorly written run-on sentences make me a bit cranky too?) Where has all this positive energy come from?

When in doubt, analyze the heck out of it to suffocate any chance of it happening again. Here are the theories:

1. Someone slipped something into my PB and H toast this morning.
2. Kids were very cooperative and I think I didn't hear the word "no" once this morning.
3. I was blog-surfing before breakfast and came across this page which made me shift my perspective on my super Aspie kid.
4. The sun is shining and it isn't -30c and for some reason I want to spend time outside.
5. The planets have aligned in some unusual way and my cat is purring next to me.

Whatever. I'm going to lace up my skates and hit the canal today, all by myself, just for fun and at my own pace, before the planets shift and it all comes crashing down again.

Happy Thursday!

WW - Bridgehead made my day

On the weekend I felt worse than if I had swallowed glass. However, being supermom, I took DD to a birthday party at Gotta Paint (awesome place!) and I killed the time with a Westboro wander. I wheezed my way to Bridgehead and indulged in a yummy carrot cake and coffee. It was a miracle cure. I enjoyed the rest of my wander being easily amused by the hydrant art and all the Westboro wonders. Not such a dreadful day after all.

Wordless Wednesday - Southampton Holiday

Our family beating the heat on the beach in Southampton, Ontario.

Wordless Wednesday - bowling amusement

I don't know what they like most about a family bowling outing - the ball tossing or the toxic slushies they get. Nice tongues!

Mad Scientists

Sometimes I feel like our lives are one big science experiment. Everything around here seems to be some sort of investigation or another.

Currently we have some caterpillars on our kitchen counter - luckily in a glass container instead of free-range - munching away and hoping to become butterflies. This is a great experiment on metamorphosis for the kids. Or maybe it may be a lesson on what happens when mom accidentally sprays the container with kitchen cleaner and we have a mini-funeral for the little critters. All good and in the name of science, right?

Our backyard looks like a science lab too. The kids are building bridges out of bricks and boards, experimenting with balance with a levers and rocks and growing neglected seedlings in old coffee cans. Hands-on science is so much better than what you get in a book. Now some ideas are much more brilliant than others. "No, you may not build a catapult to see if the rocks will hit the neighbours windows!" Who needs expensive toys? There is nothing more fascinating than a sandbox and discarded kitchen measuring cups and containers. Worms and ants provide hours of entertainment.

I will not share with your the -ahem - "experiments" growing in my fridge. Not the kind of science I am proud of, really.

One of the things I love about being a stay at home parent is having the time to spontaneously go with these learning opportunities. It's wonderful how much these little brains pick up just by doing and interacting with their world. Trips to museums, beaches, forests and even the park provide plenty of chances to discover about our world. We take advantage of it all any chance we get.

I grew up in a home with a scientific dad and siblings who loved to explore. We did everything from launching rockets to a snail terrarium, microscope discoveries to being woken up in the night to witness northern lights and wild thunderstorms. I am thrilled to be able to pass on all these interests to my children. They may not turn out to be scientists but they have already been bitten by the curiosity bug and I love it. No matter where there lives take them, I want them to be problem solvers and appreciate the world around them. I hope we are on our way, one mad scientific discovery at a time.

Honest Scrap Award Thingy

Oh happy day! They like me! They really like me.... or at least someone knows I exist.  Which is nice for a little blog newby. Two friends passed on this award to me this week!  A big thanks to Lynn at turtlehead for giving me the Honest Scrap Award, taking the time to read my posts and being so nice and supportive when she comments.  Also a big thanks to Anna at Life Is Good … At The Beach.  She’s a great person to know in the real world as well as in blog-land.  I am always inspired by her creativity and warm personality.  Cheers ladies!

The Honest Scrap Award Rules say that I must:

1. Brag about the award.
2. Include the name of the blogger who gave you the award and link back to that blogger.
3. Choose a selection of blogs that you find brilliant in honest content.
4. Show their names and links and leave a comment informing them that they were prized with this award.
5. List at least ten honest things about yourself.

So here it goes. I'm going with 10 "I believe" things so you can get a peek into my quirky foundation of being.

1. I believe the "I Believe" song was a little too overplayed during the 2010 Olympics on our Canadian networks. Don't get me wrong. It is a catchy tune with a lovely heart-warming, sappy message. I hummed it way too much but after a while the dread started to wear in. Like when you have pizza for the 5th day in a row - great at first but a big turnoff by the end. Even the school was piping it into the halls in the mornings to inspire the kids, so they hummed it all day too. Overload.

2. I believe that there is such a thing as Karma.  From this I mean that you become a better person by being better to others.  Often this reaps reward in others helping you out or simply feeling better about you day.  I am a person of faith (Christian) but most of my spiritual beliefs are based on leading a real life of kindness and love.  Sounds a little flakey but it works for me. 

3. I believe that success is when you live up to your own dreams and potential, not what society deems successful.  It took a while to understand this.  From time to time I feel inadequate being a SAHM and not using my degree for the betterment of the world.  But I am thrilled to have this wonderful window of time to help my kids live up to their potential and all that.  I am lucky to be able to afford to do so.  Now I am embracing the SAHM challenge, …most days.

4.  I believe all talents have value.  I have come to appreciate the smaller things so much more lately.  My son has Asperger’s Syndrome which is frustrating at times but also totally joyful.  His talents are atypical.  His memory can be amazing and he loves music.  He is so passionate at times I think he might burst from excitement.  These are talents that may or may not have practical applications but I know are important. 

5. I believe the sum is often better than the parts.  Like peanut butter and chocolate.  Triple yum!  Although pure chocolate does have it’s place at the pinnacle of decadence….  OK, sometimes the sum is great than it’s parts.  I think I will have to go to the kitchen and experiment with this hypothesis now….

6. I believe in the power of family.  I am part of an immediate family and an extended family that loves me for who I am.  I know they are people I can depend on.  We are not perfect and that is part of our charm.  We have been through much laughter and tears, joy and frustration but we are always together, unconditionally.

7. I believe in the power of friendship.  Friends play such an important part in our lives.  Whether they touch us daily, we only get to see them on occasion or even if we have only met online, they help complete us.  One of the things I like about getting older is that I am making new friends all the time.  I moved to Ottawa about a year and a half ago now and have already met some remarkable people who I am proud to call my friends.  The women I met when my children were babies are woven deep into my soul now and I am so lucky to have grown with them through those times.  Heck, I am even reconnecting with long lost friends on Facebook.  Everlasting. 

8.  I believe going back to nature can be one of the most centering things you can do.  There is a peace that comes over me when I get to an empty beach or hike among the trees.  I breathe deeper.  I smile more.  I live in the moment, enjoying the beauty of it all.  I feel honoured to live in Canada where nature is so abundant and getting out into it can be as short as  trip to the back garden.  I need to do this more often.

9. I believe in unconditional love.  There is much to say on this topic which I will get into sometime in the future.  Deep love may end in deep grief but the pain is nothing in comparison to the value of that love.  What hasn’t killed me has made me stronger and I am thankful.

10. I believe in gratitude.  I think this is one of the most important lessons we can teach our children – to be thankful.  We are SO lucky to be here in Canada, living the life that we do.  It is easy to take it for granted.  Children live much in the present and think it is the end of the world if they don’t have the latest zhu zhu pet or Webkiz.  But we have food, shelter, friends and family who love us, health and education and so much more.  There are also the daily things to be grateful for.  Having someone share an umbrella in a downpour or being in a class that embraces diversity.  It is a perspective that leads to a happy life.

There you go.  Quite the long spiel but if you got to the bottom of it, you get the unofficial patience award.  I hope you “get” me a little better from these honest beliefs. 

There are lots of bloggers who are so worthy of the Honest Scrap Award.  Here are a few who I enjoy and would love to see what they honestly come up with if they are up to the challenge:

Allison at Bibliomama – a great writer and the one who inspired me to blog in the first place.

Mary Lynn at Riding in a Handbasket –a lovely blogger and she is nice enough to be a follower to my little blog.

My friend at Spirited Blessings – a remarkable mom and person who I wish lived closer.

Checking One Off My Bucket List

Yep, I'm taking the leap. Well, not really a "leap" - that would be insane. But I am going up, up and away. I've got two tickets for a champagne hot air balloon ride over our beautiful nation's capital to be used this summer.


For some reason, the thought of taking a hot air balloon ride has always been fascinating to me. I love the idea of seeing the world from a different perspective, being in that big blue sky and silently gliding over the little ant-people below. Of course I'm a little afraid of heights but it is more the falling thing that is an issue for me. These balloons are very safe (don't tell me otherwise) and there will be a competent pilot there to blame if it all goes wrong.


The opportunity arose on the weekend while I volunteered for a Children At Risk dance event. This organization has been wonderful for our family and I was happy to give back. There was a silent auction and the hot air balloon ride thing was calling my name. Much better than the Princess Diana doll or the Molson's beer fridge items really.


So, here I go! I'll pick some nice day, grab my husband (who previously said he would never do such a thing but is now on the fence about it) or my sister (who is up for anything, anytime) and go for it. I'll post the pics if I make it back alive.


Is there anything on your bucket list that you would like to fulfill this year? Have you done anything in the past that is bucket list-ish? How'd that go? I'd love to hear.

Cheers!

Easter Egging

Does the Easter bunny do the egg hunt for the kids or for my amusement. I'm not sure who gets more pleasure out of it. The weather was a record breaking sunny and warm all weekend. Gorgeous.

I don't know what was stranger: that my kids insisted on fairness between them, helping each other find eggs and splitting the spoils evenly after the hunt; or that they both only wanted to eat one egg a day over the next month instead of having a chocolate pig-out. Never mind. I will just have to accept them, quirks and all.

Farm Fulfillment

Since my husband is away right now, I thought we needed a field trip to pass the time. My sister has a wonderful small farm about 3/4 hour away and kids the same ages as mine. Right now they are lambing. Some smaller ones needed to be bottle fed and I got to do the honours. I want to bring one home but I think my husband would be concerned and the cat would be alarmed.

Going to the farm is so centering for us all. The kids run free and are delighted to help with chores. They go treasure hunting in the fields, look for signs of dragons or fairies in the woods, and invent all sorts of contraptions. Getting fresh eggs, collecting maple sap or bringing hay to the sheep is all good fun for them. If only they could have such enthusiasm for room cleaning! The weather was ideal today and we walked with little complaint to the back of the property, seeing a piliated woodpecker and signs of porcupines on the way. Something about the fresh air and really getting back to the basics makes us all feel the stress lift.

All that being said, I couldn't live the country life. Too much city blood in me, loving my walks to coffee shops and having neighbours. Just the same, I'm so lucky to have this farm connection. I was too busy in the moment to remember my camera. So I've attached a photo of us in the fall enjoying such a day at the farm.