New email?

I have been a vegetarian for 16years. That is half my life. During this time I have given up fish, chicken and red meat. My reasons are environmental and humanitarian. I am not against eating meat, but the way animals are treated and the amount (mainly westeners) consume. Chris and I agreed to have a vegetarian household, our kids as a result are vegetarian. Infact Elias and Ben don't show any interest of wanting to eat meat, perhaps as adults they sometimes say. Aria has tried some at outside functions and loves the smell of it cooking.
Many strange things have happened during this pregnancy, by farthest has been my insatiable, uncontrollable, overwhelming desire for meat. I crave dishes like cajun chicken gumbo, barbecued shrimp skewers, fish and chips, chicken off the bone, RIBS!!!! It has been so long I don't even know if I fully no what these taste like. Chris came home from work and there was no dinner made (not an uncommon occurrence lately). Before he had a chance to get his shoes off I got all the kids piled in the van and let him know he was taking me to Swiss Chalet!!!! I ate chicken off the bone!!! I had extra gravy and I loved every greasy bite. The kids watched in amazement, asking all kinds of questions about the bones, the skin the muscle of the chicken while they ate their pizza. Amazingly it didn't phase me at all, answering in between bites.
I don't know where things will go dietary wise from here but I guess we need to change our email......
any ideas????

Full of Love

I have been grumpy. Boarding nasty some days, crazy others. This is the first pregnancy during which I am angry most of the time. With the others I was weepy, overcome with tenderness, wanted to embrace the world and heal everyone. Not this time! I have no desire to be with anyone, I vomit most of the day and am getting no sleep. My poor kids. Elias jumped up on the bed with me this morning, he was sad that Dadda was away, he was worried about me being grumpy all the time and scared that our dog was going to die (there are no signs of that).
I am so thankful to have an intune mum. She came down today with fancy coffee and chocolate. The kids played with her while I went to read my book by the river. It was glorious and refreshing. I was so thankful for that space, as I am sure the kids were. It was so needed because this afternoon I had my ultrasound. I am always awed at how detailed the piture is and how moved I am to see it moving around. To share that moment with all the kids was fabulous. They are so excited and full of dreams to share with this baby. All five of us are already so in love with this baby. This afternoon for this moment I was felt tender, magical and full of love.

The Joy of a Log....

I read a few other blogs, mostly other homeschoolers or quirky women who live interesting lives. This time spent reading these blogs inspires me, rejuvenates me, noramalizes my often crazy thoughts, informs and educates me. I have found some fabulous resources for homeschooling and life in general from these blogs. One such blog shared her children's love of these nature themed Waldorf toys; fairies, animals, toadstools, logs, treehouses. My kids are constantly chopping up sticks, gathering baskets of rocks, drying flowers and then finding ways to bring them into the house. I must admit this drives me crazy. There is a trail of bark, sand, dried petals, broken branches all over the house. The house rule is that these are played with outside. I was so excited when I saw these toys because it provided a way for them to play creatively inside and for me to stop finding bits everywhere. The logs alone were $40 .....that's what I said. So I have a friend whose husband is great at woodworking, has all the gadgets the hobby requires and made us some. The kids have loved them. They are covered in linseed oil, so I appreciate the minimal clean up. Let the games begin.

Today is the day....

The Teddy Bear Picnic was today, hosted by the local civic museum. The kids pined over which bear would be the most appropriate one to celebrate with, once the decision was made, the picnic lunch packed, we hoped on the bus for big event. We were able to arrive a little early which meant avoiding a big crowd (something mum appreciates). The kids ran from station to station getting their faces painted, coloring, playing numerous games with their bears, winning chocolate bars, sharing snack, and running with friends. Ben even volunteered in a magic show....Something Aria desperately tried to do although unsuccessful. On the bus ride home two of the kids and all the bears fell asleep. It was a great way to start with Daddy being away for two weeks.






























































If you go out in the woods today
You're sure of a big surprise
If you go out in the woods today
You'd better go in disguise

For every bear that ever there was
will gather there for certain, because
Today's the day the teddy bears have their picnic

lyrics to The Teddy Bear Picnic

Little lady

Overheard walking the dog.
Ben : Hey Aria, if you could have a wish for anything what would it be?
Aria: Hmm. Hmmm. I would go to a party that had horse rides, jumpy castle, balloons, sparkles, candy. When we left we would get a gift bag full of lip balm, some of it would glow in the dark. You would be there too Ben,
Ben: that's a great wish.

Magical

"Moon Ballon, Moon Ballon
Tickle the tree,
four balloons, more balloons
blossom for me"

One of our favorite library books is currently Balloon Tree by Phoebe Gilman. The kids memorized the spell which is used to turn a tree into a balloon tree. It also requires a balloon to be buried at the base of the tree. This is actually their second attempt, I heard them outside at 6:00 am yesterday. Today they were up at a time I could function (meaning think to get the camera and enjoy the magic of the moment).

To the beach

Chris is going away for two weeks tommorrow to Calgary. It is hard to believe it has been 8 years since we lived there-wow time does fly. As part of the transition to say goodbye the kids came up with lots of their favorite activities to do with dad. They played road hockey with full gear, bought, cracked open and drank from a coconut, go frog catching, eat ice cream and GO TO THE BEACH.
We headed to Guelph Lake for the morning before talking him to the airport. The weather was perfect and it really didn't start to fill up until it was time to leave- so it was like having the beach to ourselves. We swam, made sandcastles and caught minnows. It was wonderful.

Summer Days

More backyard adventures

A playgym, piles of 'supplies', painted on scars, pool noodles, great imaginations = a sailing adventure

Who are those masked kids?

The masks are complete. We started with paper mache, then painted, glued, glittered and played.
Elias created a goblin (we have been reading lots of fairy tales from around the world), Ben is a raven (a raven king to be precise from a character in one of his favorite stories) and Aria's is a feather fairy.

Hi ho hi ho....

Crawfish catching. We haven't gone a lot this year. We have been really absorbed in frog catching that the crawfish have faded a bit in the background. Elias and Ben bought themselves new nets and when we went hiking and spotted some crawfish they were totally re-inspired. We say lots of big ones, but only the little ones made it into the pictures.

A land of many tales

Face painting has been a staple around our house lately. The kids like to be painted as animals, different people or with gruesome scars! They love to paint themselves (yeah for the pool outside!). It hasn't only been the face painting though, with the new faces come new characters. When we are out and about people ask where the kids have been, what started as a routine answer of "at home" as lead to responses including"the jungle looking for my tiger mother", "lost at sea", "at my castle".

Art

(above) Elias' work entitled Misty Morning and Hopper's Delight











(above) Aria's work 1. Making Music Morning Day and 2. Flowery Morning












(above) Ben's work is entitled Underwater Sea Man


Every artist dips his brush in his own soul and paints his own nature into his pictures
Henry Ward Beecher

True art is characterized by an irresistable urge in the creative artist
Albert Einstein

The purpose of art is washing the dust of daily life off our souls.
Pablo Picasso