March B-R-E-A-K - Day 4

What gorgeous spring weather we are having for our staycation! Too bad Seb wanted to spend the day indoors playing Horse-opoly... He wiped the floor with me, which of course I turned into a learning moment by discussing the 99%, 1% / Occupy XXX movements.

Over the next 2 months, the "Lightbox" downtown is hosting a retrospective of Studio Ghibli, our family's favourite film studio. So on Tuesday, Sophie and her papa went off to see her favourite movie - My Neighbour Totoro - on the mighty big screen http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif-(and yes, they bumped into people we knew). http://tiff.net/spiritedaway She even got dressed up!



And was so happy to see her new raincoat come out of storage (thanks Nana!).



After a yummy lunch at home, I dashed off for some me time. Seb roped his dad and our neighbour into playing - you guessed it - Horse-opoly. Then he was finally persuaded to head to the park to play some baseball with everyone...

Wednesday is supposed to be 17 degrees and sunny!!! So more time outdoors in short sleeves. On Thursday, we are planning a tea party for some kindergarten friends, while Seb takes a classmate to his pick of the Studio Ghibli retrospective. And Thursday night will be packing for our get-away!! (Though I think Seb started last week)

March B-R-E-A-K - Day 3

Monday was so busy I barely took photos.

In the morning, we all headed to Value Village to pillage their second hand bookshelves. $75 later, we came home with about 2 dozen books, 2 pairs of pants (1 funky striped pair of cords for Sophie and 1 significantly less funky pair of jeans for her dad), and "Horse-opoly" (think monopoly but horse-themed).

Sitting on our steps were the first 3 fellow theatre-goers (they were 14 minutes early). Off we went as a group, to join others from Seb's class at a terrific production of the Neverending Story. And then 7 of the kids came home to play!!

Meanwhile, Sophie had a lovely time playing at the park and home with 2 younger sibs.

So come to think of it, there were 10 kids rampaging around the top floor on Monday afternoon. Perhaps you could hear them?

March B-R-E-A-K - Day 2

Sunday started well with fresh squeezed blood oranges and tangelos (?), plus bagels and cream cheese of course! Some play time outside in the unseasonably warm weather and then off to Humber Arch Bridge and park with a classmate. There was some tree-climbing of course and some prodding of stagnant waters with sticks. In fact, it was perhaps the most urban hike I have ever experienced as we could hear traffic rushing by at all times...

But still what a treat to have this weather in mid-March!

March B-R-E-A-K - Day 1

We have a Toronto tradition. On the first day of March Break, we trek to the East side to visit the city's best children's bookshop - Mable's Fables - where we pour over the shelves and each child leaves with a book of her or his choice. A firm one book only. All other titles are safely noted down for library visits or birthday lists.

We then migrate a few blocks over to the city's best (i.e. Montreal inspired) bagel house to consume copious amounts of bagels and cream cheese, as well as bring some home.

This time we added a new twist by starting at the slightly eastside Brickworks farmers' market and annual Seedy Saturday. There we ate fresh samosas with tamarind sauce and steaming hot waffles with apples and whipped cream... And yes, we ran into people we knew.

March B-R-E-A-K - Day 0

At 11:30 on Friday morning, March Break started for Sophie and me; Seb joined us at 3:30, while their dad squeaked in last at 5:48pm (but I think he was perhaps the most exuberant).

It started with me taking Sophie and a pal for a celebratory lunch (only because pal's mum was sick for the 5th day with the flu and the little guy announced that he didn't like the grilled cheese or tuna sandwich options that I had planned at home). The kindergartners played merrily at home while I made brownies and then it was off to collect big bro and drop friend.

After a final gymnastics session, it was home for another yummy dish from the Plenty recipe book and some time to plan our March Break together. My darling has done a visual calendar of each day, complete with the weather forecast - I told you he was excited. It is full of city adventures, outdoor adventures, clearing the house a bit (...), reading!!!, a play, 2 family movies, maybe a date night, friends, the waterpark in Niagara, cooking, baking and more.

But first, Friday is family movie night and this time we were swept away to Narnia with Prince Caspian.

Dovercourt Young Readers Society - chapter book edition

Saturday was the first session of the new chapter book club. Each family puts forward a book; then on the day, animates not only the discussion by a number of activities. This time it was map-making and character deconstruction.

We managed to find a copy of Roxie and the Hooligans and finish it in time. The meeting itself was packed and wonderfully, it included every dad, except one who works weekends. And then tons of baked goods are consumed too.

Me? I was home reading my own chapter book and making a scrumptious lunch from a gorgeous recipe book.

Splash!!

In two weeks, we are going to nip away for some family fun time - 2 days/one night at a water slide park/resort-thingy (i.e. a cheap version of a winter break). My cousin goes to a similar one in Wisconsin and a classmate's parents slip away almost every quarter for some family relaxation. In fact, previous visitors are coming out of the woodwork (or is that, the hot tub?).

http://www.fallsviewwaterpark.com/explore-the-waterpark.php?
And the icing on the cake? 4 tickets to see a hypnotist!

But shhh, it's a secret for another few days...

Last ski lesson

Sunday was the last ski lesson and the kids did marvelously. Plus they scored new micro-fibre winter hats.

We hope the snow will stick around (up there in ski country at least) for another 2-3 weeks, so we can ski en famille some more - especially during March break (10th-18th).

Parenting with hope and honesty

Parenting is hard work. Full of joys and challenges, the mundane and the sublime, the physical and the philosophical. It's work that I would quit on desperate occasion and yet work that I feel so lucky to do.

Top tip, to fall into the latter category, it helps to get enough sleep. Other top tip, do this parenting stuff with someone you trust implicitly but be as clearly explicit about stuff as possible - it avoids confusion.

I don't treat this blog as a site for parenting wisdoms and woes; however, here is a lovely post that someone passed along, which reminds me to be a realist but not a naysayer:

http://katiewetherbee.wordpress.com/2012/02/06/joy-or-just-wait/http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif

Over the past 8 1/2 years, I have failed at parenting my offspring; I have succeeded too. My body and mind bear the marks of both. Hopefully not in equal measure, but ask the kids in 20 years.

How to spend a Friday afternoon

Last Friday, Sophie and I lunched with other lovely ladies - 2 other mums and 3 other daughters - at a groovy vegan cafe near school. Then we headed to the library to find the latest kids book club book and then on to the bookshop to get the book that is the basis for a play that I am talking loads of the Grade 3s to see in March Break. Oh and Sophie snagged another Clementine with her birthday money.

Not sure what we will get up to this afternoon, besides finish the Book Club book for tomorrow and bake some cookies.