Go Habs GO!

OK, well the Canadiens up & left the hockey playoffs in the 2nd round but Sophie doesn't have to know just yet. Thanks Uncle John Balogh for getting these for baby #1.

Summery yummies

Sophie enjoying her 1st ice lolly.


The sibs with their yard sale table - minus the parasol. You can see the raised planter behind & to the right. We want to knock down both (just keeping a small one), so there is more room for playing & scooting about on wheeled items.

Just a quick one as the laptop is off to the computer dr to get a new keyboard & we are heading up the 401 to Montreal for a rainy w/end.

No one to turn to

Save the Children UK just released another report on sexual abuse & exploitation of children by aid workers & peacekeepers. It is extremely common with peacekeepers and all too frequent with "humanitarians" (both local & foreign). Some perpetrators are seen as sex tourists - taking the work (peacekeeping or "aid") b/c of the relative freedom & immunity they are accorded.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/in_depth/7420798.stm

One key is the attitude of the head of mission/staff, & whether he (lets be realistic) could give a hoot about the status of women & girls. Some places are doing better than others, but that's not saying much.

I'm currently contracted to revise materials that Save the Children Sweden & ECOWAS (the group of West African governments) use to train peacekeepers on child protection - surprise, surprise, the new units are on gender-based violence & HIV.

It all makes me think back 3 years ago when I was seated next to professor from Bristol University. As we flew to Liberia, he spoke about his work on genderising peacekeeping operations and sexual violence by those who are brought in to protect. By the end of the flight, he had almost persuaded me to take up his offer of applying to do a PhD with him. But life's path would have me tackle the same topics but from a different angle (& place).

If you go down to the woods today

So the junior & senior kindergartners (i.e. 4-5s) did a “unit” on bears this spring. They wrote & illustrated a book, had a picnic, etc. The culmination was the school concert. For just those kids, well over 100 relatives packed into the gym on Thursday night. The children were so excited; Seb had been counting the sleeps for a week. But the result was pretty darn lame (as you can see for yourselves below - or not). I mean why did we need the school system to teach our kids to stomp more?! (Seb is in his overalls, with an epi-pen around his waist and my sister's bear in his arms. He has never shown an iota of attachment to this creature before, but that's who he chose. His friend Xin is first/last in line in a Dewson school turquoise t-shirt & darling Um who graces us with a beautiful gown every school day is wearing, surprise, surprise, the beautiful gown).

Mr Evans is a lovely guy; so to cut him some slack, I posited that our kids were busy working on their sculptures with the community artist in residence. Seb was lucky to be in 1 of the 2 classes chosen for this event. He talked about it most days but there was a certain amount of secrecy. Tellingly, I haven't taken a photo of it (& M has taken the kids off to the party with the camera - which is why I have time to blog this morning!) but I will insert one here later. It is quite magnificent. Built out of "found materials", he sawed(!), hammered, glued, painted, re-glued, etc. I can't remember the whole explanation but it reflects on his being in Toronto. I'll have him explain it over the next few days.

A wonderful aspect was meeting the parents of kids who go to daycare. As a mostly not working mum, I power-push to school & back twice a weekday afternoon. But of the 22 kids, only 6 parents do that. The other 16 or so kids come in 2 groups brought by their daycare workers (bless them!). It was also a chance to meet the morning parents (i.e. who knew that Ivy in Seb's ballet class is in Mr Evans' morning group). Turns out that someone I knew at university is just blocks away with a daughter in the year ahead, and a colleague of Mike's has a boy in the opposite class to Seb. We also finally met the family that lives kitty-corner to the end of our street. They have oodles of bikes & trikes & wagons out front and I had figured that it was a single mum b/c I saw 2 kids with suitcases playing in the yard one Friday evening while two slightly tense adults conversed on the step. Ech of the kids is a year older than ours (i.e. 5 & almost 3) so they may befriend each other, but (perhaps even better for logistically-challenged me) they walk past our house every day on the way to daycare/school bus pick up!

Oh, and just to brag (some more...), our egg& dairy-free chocolate cake was a hit at the bake sale. Seb got the last piece and being Seb didn't even recognise that he had made it.

Lovely dress & New pjs!

Here is Sophie wearing her gorgeous dress from Marite again. We are trying to squeeze her into it as much as possible b/c the weather is “against” it. This weekend, it finally looks like early summer & the dress is lined. But isn’t she a poppet and a half! The snap was taken at Seb’s school concert. More about that later.

Here's Seb in his new silken pjs - they have Chinese dragons!!. Thanks to Auntie Angela & Uncle Mohammed who gave them to him 2 years ago, when they brought the kids to visit us in France (via London, Haifa & Hong Kong!). I got some home-made ones at yesterday's yard sale; these summer ones of teddybears playing baseball will probably pop up in blogs to come.

Toronto opens its doors - part 1

It was a gloriously sunny and busy day yesterday for our first experience of Toronto's annual, free "Doors Open" weekend. M really wanted to go garage-saleing and once he had listed off all of our previous great finds to Seb, then I wanted to go too. So off we went en famille to a neighbourhood at least two steps above ours on the wealth scale (that's the key to yard sale "success"). Nothing to "write home about"/blog but a haul of kids' clothes (some with tags still on ...).

Then it was home for a quick but tasty BBQ. Then hopped on the bus and down to the police stables to see the horses and get a tour, which was a great hit. Jumped on the tram and along the waterfront to the old roundhouse that is being restored. There was a mini steam train & diesel train to sit on as it "choo-choo"ed along.They even turned the turntable every half-hour. There we met up with some friends from university & their 3 kids (Seb is exactly 1/2 way between the first two, while Sophie & Gopika are 2 months apart and already appear to be fast friends). We all had supper together & then we whooshed our way back across town via subway & tram - the TTC did us well yesterday!

Today Seb and his pops hit up 2 yard sales by 10 am and now are preparing to go to a birthday party, followed by more 'doors open" - the national ballet school & a local costume warehouse (it keeps costumes from the opera & stage productions). Then we hope to rendez-vous in Kensington market for the first of the summer's car-free days.

These are the things to love about living in a big city. But this time next month, we will be lying-low in France and loving it too.

How come?

We have been back using cloth diapers for a couple of months now. I don't mind it, really I don't - though I am glad there is now a door separating the laundry room from the kitchen. But to be honest, I would prefer not to have to deal with poopy bums and soiled nappies.

So how come I always seem to have a trail of little people behind me when I'm taking a dirty nappy from change table to bathroom???? And why do they like to squish into the smallest room of the house with me (and the stink)???

I'm in the love camp

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8RQSxZ3AvSE&eurl=http://www.ilovemarmite.com
I viewed it while nursing Sophie!

Seb's pregnant

You read it right. We were walking down the street on Friday, munching some popcorn. He started to puff out his belly and waddle.

Seb: I'm pregnant

me: oh ya. When are you due?

Seb: yup, I'm going to have the baby in 4 days.

me: hmm. So how did the baby get inside you?

Seb: (pause) There must have been a very very tiny baby on something I ate.

me: (Trying not to choke) Oh. What kind of food makes you pregnant?

Seb: ummm, popcorn.

me: Uh-oh (putting popcorn back in his bag). I wouldn't want to get pregnant again.

Strangely, he didn't mention it again until today - his due date. So it must be true!

Days of firsts

Yesterday, our cheeky monkey figured out how to turn a door handle and open the door. This will enable her to open any door in the house as they all have the same type of lever handle...

For the first time, she also unprompted did some gestures to the songs during the community centre's group sing-along.

Just in case you think I am bragging, today she bit me - out of glee, on the arm - for the first time.

Sophie & her snacks/et sa petite collation

Here's our gorgeous mophead (post-bath her curls come out to play) t the park today. She is drinking her rice milk and chomping away on her plain oat cake - ah the finer things in life.

La belle robe etait un cadeau d'annniversaire de Michel et Marite. Enfin, elle est assez grande pour la porter. Merci vous deux!

The end result of my mothers' day/weekend

(BTW, this is Seb's ballet outfit)

Here you can see the fire truck that he bought himself with his busking money.



These are new reversable comforters - one for each child but Sophie will have to grow into hers.

Seb chose the colours + I dug around for old (such the gingham curtains that hung in my childhood room)and new decor items = Taddah, a bright, happy room for two siblings.





M did note part way through the hours of painting, that one can spend too much time and money fretting/decorating a kid's room (or dressing a kid). Instead of actually spending your energy on them - live, in your face, up close. Point taken. But it is so wonderful to have a whop of colour in our house. I can't stand wall after wall of designer "putty".


Tonight, we fired up the BBQ and had our first family BBQ. It was a lovely warm & sunny day here, which carried into early evening. So it was veggie kebabs, "hungerburgers", potato salad, beer. Seb was soooooooooooooooo happy to see the ketchup that I had bought for the weekend party. I had 4 year old help to wash & chop. Not much help on the clean-up front. But M was thrilled to come home from work to such a sight & feast.

New batteries

I know, I know; there's been a dearth of photos the last 2 weeks. We couldn't find the battery recharger (turned out it was in NB), and then took ages to get disposables and then to download anything etc. And we have been a tad busy with a certain person's 40th birthday. So with no further ado - PHOTOS GALORE.

Some shots of M's surprise BBQ - and the gorgeously scrumptious cake from the bakery that is behind us (literally behind us, though we sadly don't smell them). One of me reading in the kids' bedroom (before this weekend's paint job); another Sophie helping the birthday boy with his onerous duties. One of an old school friend and me in our new MAGENTA bathroom/laundry spot.

The day after mother's day

We never really celebrated Mother's Day in my childhood household, though my mum did always call her mother back in England on Mothering Sunday. We were told to demonstrate our love and respect every day of the year and not do sentimental things on a particular day. So, that's more or less how we are raising our 2 beansprouts.

However, I got to thinking yesterday that the day after Mothers' Day (yes, collective mothering) should be devoted to appreciating the machines that make modern mothering what it is - the stove that turns on at a flick of a switch, the water heater for the kids' baths, ( heck, the municipal water filtration plant!), and those beasts of domestic burden - the washer, dryer and dishwasher. May they all have years or years of good service ahead of them.

Finally!

For all of you who come here for updates on the kids, read no further. But for those of you who are interested in house updates or check in to see how much of a housewife I have morphed into (...), then you will be interested to know that FINALLY I have picked out a couch. I realised last week that I have put way too much time into this decision. Now I have put way too much money in too!

Anyway, here is the link. the shape and fabric are a surprise to M but he never checks the blog anyway - unlike you, dear devotees.
http://www.la-z-boy.com/furniture/customize.aspx?pid=5092 And then plug in "e881192" to get the fabric swatch.

It's protected against all calamaties for 12 years! Yup, that was a definite selling point given that M keeps trying to extend his legs over the side of "his" armchair" and rest his feet on "my" lovely new armchair. Hrrmmph!

Feel free to come and sit/lounge/sip/swig/lie/sleep on it anytime after July 1st.

Clean and not so clean

I came downstairs at 8 yesterday morning to a sight that filled me with incredulity - and hope. Seb was vacuuming, Sophie was "swiffing" (mopping) and their dad was sweeping. Maybe one day we will have a clean house!

But that day hasn't arrived just yet. Case in point - the fish just died. Probably because of the skanky water that it was always in. Haven't broken the news to Seb. Honestly, it would probably be a week before he noticed. Hmm, that would be an interesting experiment. But we will probably tell him this afternoon and get the event over with.