Birds of Prey Day and so much more

We really enjoyed our trip to Mountsberg for a Birds Of Prey program. We called to a Great Horned Owl who called back, we watched a barn owl eat a dead chick, we learned about imprinting and bird watching. It was a nice way (personally) to close the coop session I ran on Birds of Prey. Despite ran the kids enjoyed using other parts of the facility; play barn, haystacks and the animals.

Time is relative

It has been a busy week of going here and there. When its busy I appreciate our time spent at home even more, the quiet moments seem all the precious. While Aria was at Mirielle's preschool Elias, Ben and I jumped time periods a few times. There was ziggurat building with lego and archery and spears made from cave men, then present day archaeological digging to finish it off. When Aria returned there was camp fires from the land of makebelieve. I love how rejuvenating this time travel is for all of us.

Family Laws

We have been working on Story of the World, the history curriculum. All of us have been enjoying the reading as well as the activities. After reading about the Code of Hammurabi Elias and Ben made their own codes for our house. In reading them it makes one think it might be a refreshening enlightening time to have children create the rules. We had a great discussion about the concept of fairness, justice for everyone and how that might happen. For them it wasn't complicated, or confusing, being fair and making choices from the heart with love is easy.
Elias' Code

• When we go grocery shapping everyone chooses a treat.
• Every Monday there are chocolate sundaes for dessert.
• Use kind words with each other
• If you hit another person, you go to your room to calm down.
• Everyday everyone gets fresh air.
• Every morning we start the day with a family cuddle in mummy and daddy's bed.

Ben's Code

• Ask before using someone else's things.
• No bringing blankets downstairs.
• No smashing things, if you do you go to your room.
• Everyone shares.
• Book tape choice is done by taking turns.
• When you are having a bad day you get extra cuddles.

Don't Worry

While in the car

Aria: don't worry about me mum
Me: Why not Aria?
Aria: because I can dodge a wild bull
Me: wow!
pause
Aria: but if there were 15,000 wild bulls then you should worry!!

On Two Wheels!

And he is off! Ben has decided he is comfortable to learn to ride on two wheels. He was feeling a little reluctant. He has great confidence in his body's ability- not so much in the bike. But he did it the first try, he was brave and proud and graceful!! way to go Ben!

Creative Constructing

It's a fish!!! This is one of many Elias created, we had a small deep sea happening in the living room!

























Every astronaute needs protective gear! We worked very hard on a rocket... that seated two!

Looking for Treasure in Sand and Snow

In the afternoon we pulled out some of the activities the kids got for Christmas. They were thrilled to be digging out their various treasures; Aria a treasure box filled with snakes, Ben a game about dinosaurs with five figures and Elias a pirate game with coins and skulls. It was very very messy and I must admit feeling quite brave pulling it out. THe kids were great helpers, Ben wiped all the chairs and table down while ELias wiped Aria up. Many hands...


















The kids are often eager to go in the backyard even before having had breakfast. This morning was no different except that there was snow, which made the call to be outdoors even greater! By 9 am Ben had rolled a snowman (probably the last of the season...let's hope anyway lol!). While decorating it with stones and sticks it fell apart which was very upsetting for Ben so Elias created him a small baby snowman- brothers are great.

What a Great Guy!!!!

Chris has to work today, which isn't the norm as it's a Saturday. He has had a course for the last three days. He has been working so hard lately, choosing a job that suits his family's needs first, then his own. I am so blessed to have such an amazing guy (ah schucks), who is also a great dadda.
What we love about our Dadda (my hunka hunka burning love);
-he loves when we all pile on him in the morning
-he makes the best pancakes
-he is the grilled cheese king
-all the times he has left little surprises like tim horton's coupons for us to find
-his midafternoon call to say he loves us
-afternoon naps all cuddly and drooley (although its been along time)
- when cooking dinner he does a little jig
-building forts
-hockey on the drive way
-he gives big hugs and soft touches
-we love to wrestle around
-daddy always helps me on the computer
-i love when he reads a big pile of stories and bedtime
-if i need a helper to come downstairs with me -daddy will
-a great cuddler
-snuggling with daddy is great and hugging him
-i love to give him kisses
-going on car rides with dadda in his car, and he puts on music
-when just me and dadda go to the coffee shop together
-snowball and water fights is lots of fun with him
-going on walks and bike rides together- it will be great to do it again soon but tobogganing was really good
-hikes are great
-lego building is fun
-going through the car wash together
-holding hands, quiet moments, all five in the bed smiling to each other -ain't life great!

We love you, Thanks for all your hard work
ben, aria, elias and em

Behold Me Then, Just As I Am

Amazing Angels

Find your own light.
Buddha

Your light is beautiful. Let it shine.
Mama




How did it come that I have three incredible children.... who are children not babies?

Let the sap run!!!

What a beautiful day, both weather wise and enjoyment wise. We began by running lots of errands which was hectic. We joined a group of our friends for lunch at Sharon's which the kids just love. From there we went to Westfields, a historical village. We were guided through the different time periods and how maple syrup was gathering and made during each of these times. We physcially moved from station to station which I know the kids really appreciated. Each of them enjoyed the maple syrup rely, during which they each had a turn at the different jobs (carrying the yoke, running with the sticks, pulling the sled). It was hard to leave the game of tag at the end. Although it was a long tiring day, we all enjoyed the fun and our company.

"When the wind's in the West, the sap runs best...
And when the sind's in the North, the sap runs forth.
When the wind's in the South, the sap runs drouth...
And when the wind's in the East, the sap runs least."
-Old New England Farm Song

Aria sweet sweet Aria

Photos taken by Aria of her creations.
She took her time arranging the blocks in the perfect set up for the camera. She then tried looking at the blocks from different ways until she had the photo taken. I think photography may (or not) be in the future.















Aria ; a lioness, a beautiful song (my buttercup)
Today my buttercup danced some ballet, played her electric guitar, made up her own tunes, listened to the history book we are working on, drew pictures of pharoahs, wrote letters to friends, tried on a few outfits, skateboarded, built a chipmunk home, explained in great detail how her imaginary friend is able to fly around the world to India, the Arctic, Nana's house and the zoo in a day, did some stretches, brushed her hair and mine, had playtime with friends, tried different hairstyles with barrettes, made some pretend soup, served tea, helped prepare snack, pretended to be a mole, sang O Canada 22 times (each timely a slightly different version) worked on two puzzles and played playmobile, built the machine her imaginary friend Weather uses to travel out of lego, did letter sounds with her baby doll ..... and its only dinner time! In between each activity in her day Aria has the unbelievable talent of continuously talking, it really is a gift never to be distracted from it.

She is an incredible little girl, her interests are so vast and she meets each of them with such life. She processes everything through talking, which is such a gift to me because I get to hear all she is learning, thinking and wondering. Today was no different to any other day, except perhaps I was more perceptive to how wonderfully amazing she is- what a blessing!

I

Game Time

Mum has a very sore throat today so everyone agreed we would take it easy. The only official items on our agenda was the last dance class and beavers in the evening. We decided to play lots of games (some which were our own version-like connect four for one). We enjoying digging out classics we hadn't used in a long time. I couldn't keep better company, my kids are fun to be with, considerate, kind, loving, great sense of humour and I really enjoy spending time with them. I choose from my heart to be with them, not out of obligation, guilt, fear or any other crazy reason- I love spending my time with them.

Sunny Days Chasing the Clouds Away

After a busy morning at the fire station we enjoyed regrouping around playmobile over lunch. The kids imaginations just awe me when they play with it, the material they are/have been reading and discussing comes out in this play. They had the canoe going down the Euphrates river, and the pharoahs planning attacks, General Brock's men hiding in the bushes, and Buddha trying to negotiate peace. And I thought things weren't sinking in!

The sun was shinning and the sky was clear and blue. We really enjoyed our hike with friends, splashing in the river, collecting enormous sticks and having spring appear before us.

Fire Station Tour

We have been talking about our neighbourhood, and what that means. We created a list of all the important parts of a neighbourhood, and we are trying to visit some of them. The people are tangible, interesting folk, not just abstract figures in books. We are working on a fire plan....which has brought along some interesting discussion on ways to get out of the house (ie. homemade parachutes, rappelling, skateboards, scaling the wall!!!!).

Generosity

We celebrated my dad's 60th birthday today by going out dinner as a family to a restaurant with a buffet. We all enjoyed the evening and ate lots of yummy food. During the drive afterwards Ben commented that the restaurant owners must be such nice people, that they were incredibly generous. Chris and I had no idea where he was going with this, and asked him what he meant. He said that he was able to go up to the table and get as much watermelon as he liked, he didn't have to ask, and he got to decide how much he took. This was not like any other restaurant he had ever been to and therefore the owners must really really love sharing. Chris mentioned that the type of restaurant was a buffet. Ben understood that to be the family who owned the restaurant to be named Buffet. We decided to leave it at that, Ben loved thinking this family gave him a great gift. How great is that!

How many kinds of kisses are there?

Aria asked me while cuddling how many kinds of kisses are there? While thinking about the question she asked she began listing the ones she could think of;
chicken peck kiss, tickly kiss, goodnight kiss, goodmorning kiss, on the top of the head kiss, a kiss after you get hurt, a snake kiss, a big huge goin' pop your head off kiss, a soft gentle kiss, a butterfly kiss and a snuggly kiss. I asked which one she liked best and she said without pause " an I love you kiss" (with a come on mum face to go with it)!

Asking good questions is half the learning
Buddist proverb

gardening wish list

On our gardening wish list is

pumpkins
bean poles
sunflowers
corn stalks (enough to make a maze)
tomatoes
carrotts
a tunnel of peas
a shady nook made from sticks
a fairy house
moonflowers
windchimes tons and tons of windchimes
bird feeders
a hummingbird feeder for our window
stepping stones
a pot for magic morning dew
a bush big enough to hide behind
a badminton set
a tree house to have family sleepovers in or afternoon naps
corn flowers
more lavendar and mint
more raspberries
a spot for moth broth
a dinner triangle
a big blanket always ready to use
a mural on our fence
candles to have night time dance


Some keep the sabbath going to church
I keep it staying at home
with a bobolink for a chorister
and an orchard for a dome.
Emily Dickinson

Airport Adventures

Despite the bitter wind, runny noses and cold toes we really enjoyed our tour of the local airport. We live very close and often watch the planes fly over our house. We learned about the planes, how the controls work, what it takes to be a pilot (although there were no takers in our house) watched planes take off and land, and sat in a four seater. To warm up afterwards we enjoyed hot chocolate and toast!