News Update!

So, it is the middle of May. I won't even check when my last post was but I know it was before Grace could officially walk. She started walking - as a mode of getting around (rather than here and there) about a week after Easter. Just after she turned 14 months and now, she never stops!! I think her feet have finally grown or maybe they've just spread out from the walking. She has delicate, small feet like her Grandma. She can still fit into a size 3 which is about 6-9 month size...though she is almost a 4 now (6-12 month size). When I was shopping for Liam's pioneer outfit at Value Village the other day I came across some size 3 hot pink Mickey Crocs for Grace. She will often take off her runners and bring me her CROCS to put on. Very cute! (And no, I didn't actually find anything for Liam that day...but Grace also got a nice GAP raincoat for the fall - $4.99)

Other stuff...Luke's 7th birthday. Yes, SEVEN!! We had another Webkinz party because Luke wanted what Liam had. Luke's friends were not as into the "Webkinz" part of the party but they still had a great time. Despite a dismal weather forecast and many tears (from Luke) every time he saw the weather report it turned out to be a sunny and hot day! Go figure! Even up until the night before they were forecasting solid rain for the day.

(Great) Grandpa turned 85 on Saturday so we went out to Ancaster for a nice get together with everyone. Dan says that Grandpa appears to have the same energy and life as when he met him almost 21 years ago. It would've been Mema's birthday on that same day so we had some memories of her while we drove home. And today is (Great) Grandma's birthday!

Dan is taking another course - twice a week - and then he is done his Masters of Education which is great. I don't love being a single parent two nights a week but I'm sure this is preferable to him taking a fall course once I'm back at work (I just don't know that I prefer this yet...) One upside is that I've finally learned and remember how to use the latte machine so I can make my lattes when Dan has class...they still taste better when Dan makes them for me ; )

And...Liam is finished choir for the year. He had his big final concert on May 1st. It really was truly wonderful and then his choir did a fun family concert on the 3rd. Luke has also auditioned for the choir. We may be very busy next year! We haven't decided about hockey yet. It really is nice having those weekends free again but the boys need the exercise and it is only for about six months of the year. I know for sure that I am playing hockey again!

That's about it. I am still in perpetual sleep-deprivation mode. Grace wakes normally 2-3 times a night. Plus, I have been staying up way too late working on my ETSY shop, Princess Grace Bowtique.

So far I've had 68 sales in 6 weeks. At first, most of my customers were American but in the last couple of weeks I've had lots of Canadian orders. There is a niche for this in Canada as there aren't as many people selling this kind of quality product at these prices. However, I've had some shocks at the post office when I go to mail an $11 order of bows to Vancouver and it costs over $12...However, people would be pretty scared off at a $12 shipping fee! (this exact same box ships anywhere to the US for $6.94 - sigh). I need to use a box if someone orders lots of bows or they get squished...though now I have been sneaking one or two small bows into an envelope...and hoping they arrive in one piece! ($1.22 versus $10+ in Canada!)

Finally, here are some photos: Liam's pioneer day, Luke's party... and some of our adorable princess. I'll have to get my new FLIP video footage uploaded so you can see her run!

Luke's Perfect Pancakes

Today is a P.A. day so I have the kids home. Dan has interviews.

Early this morning Luke was begging to do some more cooking from his cookbook so we made Perfect Pancakes for breakfast. This was all done and eaten by 9 a.m. and before I had finished my cup of coffee!

We have a busy day. This morning I am taking the 3 kids to Dr. E (our chiropractor), I have a haircut later this afternoon then Luke and I have hockey practice and then Liam and I are going to see a TCC main choir concert at 8 pm. I wonder if there's time for me to shower?

I'd better go - Grace hasn't even had her morning diaper change yet! I'm not sure if she was impressed with the pancakes. I think she was waiting for her regular morning egg with spinach to arrive...

One Hundred Days of School

The first Friday of February marked the 100th day of school. As a teacher, this is a great sign that the year is half way done!!

In many primary classes, students count the days of school as a part of their math program. They look at patterns in a hundreds chart and use it to count by twos, fives and tens. They mark every day with a straw (or something similar) and then every ten days they bundle them together to make a group of ten. This is a great way to practice tens and ones. In my classroom, I like to take it one step further by relating it to money. Each day is a penny and then as the days pass, we trade in for nickels, dimes, quarters and finally a loonie on the one hundredth day of school. This way students can see the worth of one dime, for example, is equal to that of ten pennies. Kids are learners...they often think having all those pennies is worth way more than a small dime...simply because there are more of them!

So back to the purpose of this posting...
Liam and Luke both had homework assignments to mark the 100th day of school. Liam had to collect 100 objects and group them in some way. He had a clever idea (with the help of his Mom...to collect 100 items that Grace could choke on! He then grouped them by 5's and labelled according to categories like: money, game pieces, food etc.) Luke had to build a free-standing structure with 100 popsicle sticks. Here are their final products.

Snow

Finally it looks like we'll be having some accumulating snow. The weather has been so dry that I've been able to ride everyday to work. It was really dry this morning, but the flakes started to swirl around at about 2:00 p.m. Liam took these pictures as I walked the boys home from school.

Back to School!

I think the boys were more relaxed about going back to school than last year. Luke was a little nervous about his first full day of school but he loved it. He is now super excited about going to school and when we asked him if he wanted to go to the cottage last weekend he replied "no, I want to stay here and go to school!" Liam has the same teacher as last year (whom he adores) and Luke has the same teacher Liam had in Grade 1. Dan reports that his class of 33 is much easier to handle than the one he had last year.

We are still getting into the routine - the boys come home for lunch 3 times a week, which is a nice break for them but very hectic for Mommy and Grace. Grace never seems to get a proper nap on those days. On a good note, I get about 6 km of walking in on the days the boys come home for lunch.

We haven't started ball hockey or ice hockey yet but Liam has started choir and Dan has started the last of three classes he needs to complete for his Masters. Liam is hoping to take violin lessons so we are in the process of finding a teacher. Grace and I are taking a Salsa Babies class on Tuesdays when the boys stay for lunch. It is great exercise!

Here are some photos from the first morning of school.

School is out for summer!

Another school year gone by! I can't believe Luke will go into Grade 1 and Liam into Grade 3 in September. The boys got excellent report cards and while Liam is sad school is over, he is thrilled to have Ms. Aikman again next year.

We are packing up and doing laundry so we can head to the cottage this weekend. I am having a sudden reminder of all the gear that we need when travelling with a baby....

There is a lot of rain in the forecast for next week but who wants to stay in Toronto with a smelly garbage strike...?

It is dial-up for the internet while we are up north but I will try to post pictures when I can. Here are a few from the last week.

Liam's Relay Race

Liam had his first ever Track & Field meet today. It was a beautiful sunny 17 degrees outside. He ran the 100m x 4 relay. I was always a sprinter for Track & Field - I guess Liam got my power thighs! Yup, that's what I call them : ) Very good for playing hockey too...

A cake for Grace!

I knew when I heard the announcement that there was going to be hospitality at recess for the teachers that there might be pink icing in my future. Here's a picture of the corner of the cake I brought home for Beth and the boys.

They don't walk like they used to!

Today I took my class to see The Forbidden Phoenix at the Lorraine Kimsa Theatre for Young People. Since it was a warm day I decided to have them walk there and back. Oh, the complaints! I didn't think it was that far and www.gmap-pedometer.com confirmed it's less than 2 km each way.

Friday - clear cold blue skies!

I took these pictures on Friday. The first is from outside my school, the second is inside Beth's school, and the third I took as I was picking up the boys.

Gingerbread

I tried my hand at gingerbread people for the first time last night. Today I had the kids in my class decorate them as a treat on the last day.