Hypotheticals, trick and Pizza

While we were eating dinner last night we started to play 'hypotheticals'. We started out pretty predictably with, "Would you rather be invisible for a day or be able to fly?" Tess said she'd like to fly but Meg and Olly said they'd prefer to be invisible. Then we went on to, "Would you rather find a door which led to a sweet shop just for you or a door which would lead to anywhere you'd want?" Meg's response to this one was she'd choose the door to anywhere because then she could choose a sweet shop if she wanted.... Clever!

Then we hit a new level. Meg said, "Would you rather be poo or wee?"

[Always pops up somewhere...]

I asked her if she had an answer and her response was, "I'd rather be wee - it's faster..."

Who knew?

Right now I'm sitting watching Meg with Heather, Lily and Ashley enjoying the warm weather on the deck. Heather is practicing the old 'disappearing coin' trick (a prize from a birthday party at the weekend). They are all laughing hysterically because Heather keeps messing up and revealing how the trick works.

I love watching them while away their time together.

Tonight I'm out for a Mom's Night Out. This is my original moms' group from when Tess was five weeks old. Twelve of us are still in touch and we organise monthly get-togethers. Tonight we're off to one of my favourite restaurants, Cravings, and I am looking forward to ordering their very delicious sushi pizza.

Imagine sushi rice made into a small, flat circle then fried until crisp on both sides, topped with spicy salmon and other yummy sushi treats... mmmm, my mouth is watering at the thought!!

Ahhh!

Stranger, Innocent Bystander and Overall

Our Tuesday began with a bit of a fright. There were reports filtering through that a child had been approached by a stranger in our neighbourhood. He had tried to drag her away but had been startled by the girl's friend coming out of her house. It really was the talk of the school yard; mums standing in small groups discussing what they knew, kids looking scared by the news their friends were telling them, teachers trying to assure people that everything was being done, e-mail being passed on from every possible source. It was a real wake up call. Tess and Meg regularly play outside without supervision and often will run in to grab something or tell me something... Anything could happen..

Today it seems the girl involved had made the whole story up! While I'm relieved that there is no prowler out there, I am left wondering how troubled a 7-year-old needs to be to need attention this badly...

I think all the talk about news reports got Tess and her friends chattering and trying out phrases they'd heard on the TV and radio. She was telling me, on the way back from swimming, that her and Juliana always call each other names even when they don't know what they mean.

"Like what?" I asked.

"Well, I call her 'innocent bystander' and she calls me 'critic'." I just thought it was hilarious that they were using these phrases as terms of affection...

Another very funny thing was the conversation I had with Jill today. Despite the very bad news she's had about her health lately I love that she's able to still laugh with me. She was describing how she'd been cleaning today (which I don't think she's allowed to do...!) and how she's been reminding herself of Mrs.Overall as she shakily carries her cup of tea across the room. The image has stuck in my head all day today.

I'll let you judge:

Jill?

Mrs.Overall?

What do you think?!!

Strange, Slower and Stooge

It felt very strange today to be walking around without my camera. The 'A Week In The Life' project is over. I took over 750 photos last week... just of our everyday stuff; food we ate, times we got up, places we went, people we saw... I cannot wait to put all of this information together into a scrapbook. I keep thinking how fun it'll be to look back next year, or in 5 years, or even longer and see what we did with our week.

It was actually a very busy week; Olly was away but we also had all sorts of other unusual things going on. Perhaps this week will be slower.

Today has NOT proved to be slower. The usual Monday stuff of going to the gym and a trip to the grocery store was joined by an emergency babysitting situation.. Well, my friend's sitter was sick so I helped juggle her kids' schedules as well as my own. So while this was going on I was having to deal with a banking situation which came up for us. Aynway, the point is it makes me really think twice about going back to work. I know it can be done, but coupled with Tess telling how much she loves me going into her class every week, it just makes me think...

Anyway tomorrow will also not be slower. I'm facilitating at MumVet tomorrow with my friend Susan who is a DIY wiz. Me? I'm to be the stooge. The one they get to say, "If Vickie can do it, anyone can do it...' So we're trying out some power tools, and small DIY projects. Should be fun!

Breakfast-time, Time Out and Time Out and About

After another slow start this morning the request was for chocolate chip pancakes; a favourite breakfast-time treat! I was hoping that this would put the bad moods of yesterday to rest...

It was not to be!

The bad moods continued as we went about our day. Meg went to a rock climbing birthday party, and Tess and I went to Home Depot for some things to repair the holes in the walls. Then my bad mood was exacerbated by the horrible traffic on the way to pick up from the party. Consequently we all needed a time out this afternoon; the girls went to their rooms with snacks and I watched TV for a bit. It was definitely what we needed.

Later when we'd all spent a little time apart the Moore girls came a-knocking and out they all went on the Ripsticks and scooters. They all wanted to practice in a bigger space so I volunteered to take everyone down to the school yard for some much-needed time out and about.

Did the bad moods disappear? Well, let's just say these smiles tell the story...

Scrapping, Wheels and Sister

My crazy girlfriends were here until 12.30 last night. How wonderful that I have a group of friends as obsessed with scrapping as I am. We ate alot of snacks, Nancy and I drank a bottle of wine and we managed a page or two. Here are mine:

This one isn't quite finished. It was taken at Tess' birthday party; the girls were choosing who would be the seeker in hide and seek and used the rhyme, "Ip dip chocolate chip, you are not it..." I just loved how all their feet were 'in'.

And these are some favourite photos of Tess taken at the ski hill after lessons this winter. The skiing fashions definitely suit her!

Anyway, the next project will be the 'Week In The Life' stuff - can't wait!

As Olly is still away we were supposed to have another easy day... That is just a ridiculous thought! The lazy day included lots of visits with and visits from friends, playing out and generally having a bad-tempered, argumentative time... NOT an easy day!

There were all the girls from the street generally playing on an array of vehicles with wheels. Scooters, roller blades, skateboards, and Ripsticks. And all seemed to generate bad feelings and resentment in one way or another...

Tess is now determined to save up for a Ripstick of her own and I said we'd pay half if she managed to save enough.

Anyway, after such a stressful day we went to the Klugsberger's for dinner. (Thanks Dom and Pete, by the way!)
And as the girls were finally getting ready for bed, Tess began to count the money in her piggy bank.

Ripstick are around $100. Tess counted out $48... And then I heard the following conversation:

"Oh Meg - I love you so much. Thank you so much."

"You're welcome. It's because I want you to have what you want that I've given it to you."

Meg had given her big sister the extra $2 out of her savings towards her goal. Isn't that lovely? Ahhh, perhaps today wasn't such a bad day!

Costumes, Connections and Craft

At 7.03am this morning I had a need to be a good mother and produce costumes for my daughters' Earth Day parade. As neither of them is particularly bothered with dressing up I had thought I could get away without actually making any, but I'm a stay-at-home mum... I should be able to do these things...

So here are the results:

Five minutes of stapling + 2 minutes rummaging around the rubbish = 2 happy girls! Hurrah for inspiration.

Since I'm no longer spending every spare hour when the girls are in school looking for houses I looked upon today as a day for getting things done. I did, but it wasn't the things I was expecting. Instead of the piles of washing, tidying bedrooms and sorting mail I made connections. I managed to call a few people I should have called ages ago (Alison and Rachael - my best, best friends), check up on Jill (my best, best mother-in-law), talk with Pete (my best, best father-in-law.. [Are you reading this?]), arrange play dates for the girls, scrapbooking dates with my scrapping buddies and re-arrange an accidently double booked date with my friend, Monica. It feels good to catch up and re-connect - it is good to talk things through and resolve long-standing issues. [Much more cathartic than housework!]

And to tonight. Once the girls are in bed (in about 28 minutes... Not that I'm counting or anything...) I will be hosting a scrapbooking evening for myself and Steph. A chance to craft together and once again connect. And tomorrow night a longer evening with Nancy and Liane... Ahh! How I love to scrap!

So, time to get the girls in from the street. Meg is on her scooter and Tess is having a go at Ripsticking (which is a kind of skateboard split in two). Wish me luck!

And finally, a quote from Emerson:

Finish each day and be done with it. You
have done what you could. Some
blunders and absurdities no doubt crept in;
forget them as soon as you can.
Tomorrow is a new day; begin it well and
serenely and with too high a spirit to
be encumbered with your old
nonsense.

Favourite, Rubbish and Bike

Yesterday at my Moms' Group we took part in a session called 'My Favourite Things'. It was a light-hearted discussion about things we might recommend (face cream, hair spray) or places we love (restaurants, cookie shops) or simply things that made us happy (scrapbooking, baking). When I was thinking about what I might contribute the first favourite that came to mind was Toronto. I realised that Toronto is making me very happy at the moment. Now that we have the house found, it just feels really good to be back here. The girls are settled in school, I love connecting with my friends and, with the exception of being far away from friends and family, everything feels pretty good.

Even getting stuck in traffic on the way back from swimming yesterday took on a different feeling and I just appreciate being here in this city!

As usual I went into Tess' classroom this morning to help out. However, it wasn't a usual morning as the school is celebrating Earth Week this week by carrying out different activities every day. Today we went out rubbish collecting.

The class was very thorough; wearing an interesting collection of gardening, rubber, plastic gloves they rummaged for the tiniest pieces of rubbish (as, really, there is not to much in our neighbourhood) in the gutters and sidewalks of their designated block. They collected a surprisingly large amount and were excited to add it to the whole school's bins.

As my contribution to Earth Week I've been using my bike alot this week. And much to my surprise I've been loving it.... Better get a helmet....!