Full of Surprises

We headed out to a nearby city today for an open house. When we arrived the streets were packed with people, police were stopping traffic. Once we parked we realized there was a big fancy parade celebrating the city's 150 anniversary. There were floats, antique cars and lots of marching bands, which of course are our favorites! It was grey and cloudy, threatening eminent rain, but thankfully waited until we were inside and the parade was over. One of the kids commented on the greatness of stumbling on a parade which is so true!

Birthday Fun Poolside

Today we celebrated my two nephews birthdays who were turning 1 and 9. They have a pool, so the kids had a great time being in the water outside (its been awhile!). They were diving, trying out pool noodles, playing water tag, coming out only for hot dogs and cake and even then they were resistent! It was a nice gathering, and we left with an open invite to enjoy the pool...which the kids totally plan on taking advantage of.

Happy Birthday Naithan and Aidan!

Am I in a Circus?

A good friend of mine and I have been creatively arrange time for our kids to be together and for us to have time to refuel. This has taken different forms, depending on the stages of our kids and the needs we have had. When our second children were babies we read an excellent article in Mothering Magazine written by another friend about create 'tribes' as a way to support each other. We implemented this by taking turns at each others houses, to get through the day together. We gathered with kids in pjs, had breakfast together, cleaned out the fridge in between nursing and story time, we had lunch and playtime. We have cooked, sorted baby clothes and Tupperware, organized closets and filing cabinets. We have given each other time on their own to take classes, go to the gym and driving lessons. We have taken younger ones to playgroups and had special time with the older ones. Its been ever changing in the form it takes, yet constantly meeting different needs.

This week we decided to hold camp. On Tuesday all but Shai went to her house for a bone museum day. The day consisted of a bike and hike, digging in the sand, painting a clubhouse, playing the pizza shop game, making a video to advertise the museum and of course some lego because what would a day without lego be! They were exhausted but raved until bedtime of all the fun they had.

Today her kids came to our house. The theme; circus fun. We biked to the park to test our acrobatic skills, returned home for a cool down with water ballons, we tried a parachute, pool games, face painting, training the dog, painting a sign, making tickets, decorating clown ice cream cones.

It was tiring. It was long and hot. The house was a disaster zone afterwards. Would I do it again. Yes. But not for awhile.

May Your Aim Be True!

After lots of talking, planning, procrastinating (you know who you are!) , building, a rain delay, the much anticipated catapult night arrived. We put out a call for our homeschool group to meet us at a local park with homemade catapults for an evening of shooting peanuts and sharing dessert. About 10 families came with all different types of amazing catapults. They creatively made them using lego, tinkertoys, spools of thread, there was a vegetable shooting trebuchet, a few who needed to be transported on the roof of vans! A friend brought her families stomp rocket that kids and dads lined up to give a try. There was a grand firing of all the weapons, lots of running around after a helping of cookies and the parents even got to chat!
It was an event that really brought together the whole family. Dad's; who did much of the construction compared notes and shared suggestions for tweaking the construction for fine tuning. It's a personal goal to try and create similar opportunities for whole families to gather who share homeschooling as a lifestyle. It was lots of fun, and no one lost an eye!

Whooo...Whooo...

While exploring the forested section of the hiking trail a few days ago Elias discovered an owl pellet at the base of a red pine. Having the strong love of birds of prey that we do, this was extremely exciting. We have actually taken apart owl pellets before, but never ones we came across in the wild. Today we separated all the grey fur, put the bones into groupings and got out the nature books to try and decipher what small animals this owl enjoyed. A vole? a mouse? a bird?

He's Rolling!

Magical places and Blessings

We returned to our new favorite hiking trail today. The kids were disappointed that we didn't bring nets, buckets s=and rubber boots yesterday, so we returned prepared. The trail is on the land owned by a religious community which has a strong focus on eco spirituality. Many hikers walk the path as part of retreats or meditation. Hidden among the trees, in the fields and along the pond are solitary benches and chairs, calling out to be used and admire the beauty around. There were two particular surprises we stumbled upon that were re-fueling for us all. The first was a picture of a heart, a cross and the four corners, made out of rocks, pine cones, cedar and sticks that someone created in the middle of the path. The kids felt moved to stop and each create their own 'painting' from nature. As I sat and nursed on the cedar covered ground, the kids collecting and creating hearts and pictures I couldn't help be thankful for what a great life I lead. How many people get to be with those they love most of all, under a canopy of cedar, with no time line to follow, no agenda to meet other than to be.

On our way back to the car, after seeing a northern oriole, watching the goslings, finding an owl pellet at the base of a tree, holding a few frogs and peeking into a nest, we stumbled onto another very cool spot. There was a ring of fully grown cedar, perhaps 10 or 12 of them, with a fully grown silver birch in the centre, creating an enclosure with a roof. Hanging from the birch tree was some wind chimes and two muskoka chairs inviting you to sit. One of the kids commented that they felt like a fairy in a large fairyland and another thought they should say a prayer and ring the chimes to let all know. It was a very cool afternoon. One leaving me feeling refreshed and so blessed.

Here a Chick There a Chick

A friend called this morning to let us know that the chicken eggs she has been watching have begun to hatch. The kids were delighted to be invited over to watch and even hold some three hour old chicks! This family has been turning the eggs over every day, monitoring the temperature and preparing for the chicks arrival. Apparently about half of the 24 eggs are expected to hatch and the ones which are darker in color are usually the more likely to survive. It was amazing to watch little beaks stick out of the shell, hearing them peep through their shell before they even hatch. It was amazing to see. The talk of having chickens has begun again, but the idea of just having them until they hatch has become an interesting possibility....the wheels are turning.

Hiking on Mother's Day

What of my favorite family activities is hiking. So after a wonderful breakfast we headed into the sunshine to explore a trail at St. Ignatius Jesuit Retreat Centre and Farm. The trail is called the Daffodil Path and is line with these flowers in memory of some individuals. The flowers were just finishing to bloom just teasing us with how beautiful they must have looked a few weeks ago. It was a gorgeous trail, with a pond, baby geese, cedar grove, a marsh where Elias saw a raccoon. It's a trail we plan on adding to our favorites list!

Time to Begin

Plans have been made, options explored, materials and tools gathered. It's time to build.

Planting a seed

Today was the second week of a science coop and we are focusing on seeds. The kids and I read some books and the chapter in our curriculum prior to gathering to have a context for our learning today. We started talking about the cycle of a seed in a fruit baring plant, and a non-fruit bearing plant such as a sunflower. Then we all dug into the collection of seeds and seed pods our two families had gathered. We cut open a seed looking at its different parts; seed coat, starch, embryo, cotyledons. The kids were excited to cut open and share their findings with each other as each of the samples were different on the outside. The avocado seed was particularly interesting.

Following the table time we headed outside for a walk in the neighbourhood to look at berries, whirligig's, seed pods. Before heading home we had a quick romp at the park.

A Show of an Artistic Kind

Tonight our local Homeschool Group hosted an art show. The kids all created beautiful unique displays of their art work; jewelry, knitting, weaving, painting, Lego creations, wood work, clay, scrapbooks, sculptures. They also created an artist profile, sharing their personal information but also their inspiration for their work. Aria insisted on using a different name as an artists, for she explained that she feels like a different person when she does her art work and therefore signed her pieces Purple Green Face. There were comment cards for the viewers to fill in. My kids really enjoy reading what people have to say, hearing what people felt and thought of their work was uplifting for them. Although this event was not as well attended as the science fair (perhaps because of the time of year, perhaps because art is more objective, perhaps science holds more merit for some) there was a good turn out. It was a great night.

Brotherly Love

The Wonderful World of Backyard

The kids spend hours a day in the backyard. We don't have any trees strong enough to climb, we have no swings, fancy permanent forts or slides. What we do have is a large collection of sticks, rocks, open areas of dirt that are for them, a vegetable garden, bird feeders and two families of sparrows who return to our bird houses every year, trees and flowers that we are doing are best to grow and lots of imagination. I am constantly delighted by the games and creations they come up. In the past they have created campsites, potions, camouflage barricades to hide behind while watching the birds, animal tunnels to explore, gone back in time and visited the future. Today while soaking up the glorious sunshine they created a ti pee in the dirt corner complete with fire pit. There is talk of painting the sheet or gathering some larger sticks on our next hike, but for now it is impressive just the way it is. They also lined a path with sticks, rocks and 'stuff'' around the yard creating a race track. One person would count while the other two raced to the finish line, taking turns setting world records! The wonders of a backyard.

He Scores

The kids were given lots of options for summer activities this year. The boys weren't sure they wanted to play soccer (I know the blasphemy of it! We come from generations of soccer players!). We created a lengthy list of possibilities and I was quite surprised with what they came up with. Aria decided to try soccer for the first time which she is very excited about. Elias decided to join the local mountain biking group which holds a youth camp and weekly rides, which he has been loving.

Ben choose lacrosse, a sport non of us have experience with. Each step of the way has been a learning for us all, which has been exciting. The amount of equipment requires 10-15 mins prep time! The practice and game follow each other and are 45 mins each, totalling an hour and a half of close to constant running around. He is exhausted and sweaty when he is done. He is really enjoying it. Tonight when he was getting ready he shared how much he wanted to get a goal. He is extremely competitive and he has a really hard time not coming in first or winning (which doesn't actually happen often). I gave a little pep talk about enjoying the game and working as a team, trying for a goal but it not being the soul purpose. Well he has such determination, that within the first ten minutes he scored!! He did a few victory laps he was filled with such excitement!

Welcome Home

Grammy and Grampy are home after a long (for us) trip to Italy and Ireland. Today we visited to hear some of their adventures, look at a few photos, have cuddles and catch up. They brought with them musical instruments from Ireland, folk tales and books, candy of course and packages from friends who visited Vietnam. It was great to have them home and quickly return to the favorite together things; reading with Grammy, helping Grampy in the backyard and planning more get togethers.

A nap?

For as long as I can remember I have been a morning person. The sun rising, the prospect of a new day, ceasing the moment by starting off full of intentions and determination, the magic of an empty canvas. I love the mornings. Prior to having kids I loved getting up early, going to the market, out for breakfast, reading the paper on the porch watching the sun rise. I must admit the mornings are not quite the same. I am often very tired and groggy, in dire need of coffee, bustling about feeding kids, taking care of animals, trying to get us out the door or met with a pile of books to read...all of which I love and continue to choose. My kids are morning kids. Despite when they get to sleep they are almost always up by a little after 7, sometimes earlier. This morning was one of those days. By 8:30 am we had made muffins, gone for a hike, had breakfast and snack, read a few books, looked at a new computer game, set up the train track, made some birthday cards. Its been a full day before most have begun. I keep asking if there is any chance they want to have an early morning nap.....no chance though.

Blissful Bickering

Our whole family enjoys listening to audiobooks. They are a favorite in the car, while having quiet time, before bed and just because. We have listened to some amazing books, some classics and some we probably would never have read. While driving in the car tonight the kids were talking about which audiobooks they were going to listen to at bedtime, an important part of the bedtime routine. We currently have out many different versions telling Shakespeare's works.


I really want to listen to Romeo and Juliet, I love that one.

That's not fair I want to listen to Romeo and Juliet, I have listened to Twelfth Night and Midsummer Nights Dream so many times I am dreaming about Puck dressed up as a girl!


I love that part when they say "blubbering and weeping, weeping and blubbering" I haven't listened to it that many times, and its in my room so I get it.

I am tired of Twelfth Night, I can say what people say before they do. I want something new to repeat. I don't even have a favorite part of Romeo and Juliet, come on!


While bickering in the car usually strikes a nerve, today I just smiled!

Bigger Still

Despite the midnight pleas to slow time, he still keeps growing. Shai is almost four months. He is such a contented, lovely baby. He wears the puddle of drool and wet ring from teething with a smile. He has just discovered his toes, he reaches with determination for anything in his reach as his is just figuring out how to grab things. He looks up with his big blues indiscriminately at whomever is cuddling him, and he has many admirers. He is the hit of every gathering, and oh my life is so much richer with him in my heart.