Guilt

Ugh, I feel so incredibly guilty right now that I just have to write it out and share and hopefully that will get rid of the knots in my stomach. No I haven't murdered anyone. It seems silly when it is written out, and I guess that is the idea. Lucas missed his afterschool tennis class. There, I said it. Of course it isn't as simple as that. There was limited enrollment for this program. Lucas has wanted to learn tennis for a few years now so I was very excited when his name was drawn as one of the grade 3 participants. When shortly thereafter he was moved to grade 2 I realized that it would be a little more challenging in that he wouldn't be with his classmates both on a friend level and on a reminder to go level. First class I had made sure he knew to go to it. But he was told by someone at school that it was only for grade 3, so he came home on the bus. No problem. Second time, he was feeling unwell and came home on the bus. Hmmm. The instructor emailed me asking if Lucas had changed his mind and reminded me that there were other kids wanting his spot if he wasn't going to come. I assured him that Lucas would be there next time. Today. And he wasn't. I forgot to remind him this morning. He is 8 so it isn't all my fault. He should be able to remember these things too. I thought to call his school to ask the front desk to remind him. Huh. Writing that out makes it sound a little like helicopter parenting. But I forgot to call the office between coming up with the idea and getting to a phone so the point is moot. And now he has missed all 3 of the classes so far. Now he is going to be behind technically, when he already isn't exactly the most naturally athletic child in the world. Argh. I still feel guilty but the knots have gone away.

Thanks.

Water world

So I am on my very first diet ever. It is the wussiest diet in the world I think. I call it my water diet. My plan is to drink nothing but water. No milk, no coffee, no pop, no beer, no wine. Just water. I increase my healthy H2O hydration, and eliminate those pesky extra calories in my adult beverages and conquer caffeine consumption. Okay, I broke my ground rule within the first few days. I decided that herbal tea is practically water. Then I decided that cutting out caffeine totally might not be good for my (mental) health. My compromise was to drink the occasional black coffee. No milk, no sugar, just coffee. I've never had my coffee black. Somehow I don't think that now that I've tasted black that I would never go back, but I am managing for now. I guess it is obvious that I am not holding hard and fast to any of my rules. I have no problem with the occasional beverage other than water. I had a glass of wine to toast my friends new house. I guess it is more of a guideline to only drink water, not a rule. I'm not sure that I notice any health benefits yet, but it has only been just under two weeks. I'll keep you updated :)

Christmas Wish List

Apologies to my regular 2 readers, I am interrupting my normal broadcasting for this special announcement:

OK The boys are generally happy with anything they get. They would be satisfied with some cheap crap from the Dollar store. Somehow I didn't think this was a satisfactory answer to the question "What would the boys want?" So, rather than just write a list for each member of the family, I will post a list here. The potential benefit could be if you comment on the blog if you are getting something specific (a particular book, or a specific gift item) there won't be any of those embarrassing buying the same thing moments. And if I think of something else I can just update here. I promise the boys do not read my blog :) I will remove this post after Christmas.

Lucas (8) and Michael (6 1/2):
construction kits
lego
role playing stuff (swords, nerf blasters, costumes)
zombies, monsters, lord of the rings related toys
board games (connect 4 was a favorite that was left behind in Geneva, they already have Monopoly and Jenga)
coloring books

David (2 1/2):
little figurines (knights, dragons, animals)
train related things
push and pull toys
car ramp
sit n spin
pretend stuff (doctor kit, tools, food)
play dough

Books:
Michael - Early reader books
Lucas - Calvin and Hobbes, Beast Quest (he has the first one), Asterix (in English or in French he has Asterix the Gaul, in Switzerland, and in Spain)

They are also getting a Wii for Christmas.

Hallowe'en

Well we have survived our first North American hallowe'en. Lucas wanted to be a vampire and was very
impressed with his glow in the dark fangs. Michael was a wizard compete with pointed hat and a magic wand. David was a monster with a green face since he often "Hulks out" these days. I reused a bug covered shirt from when Lucas and Michael were monsters a few years ago. For dinner I made mummy hotdogs, I hope to make it a tradition. I thought they were pretty cool. Chris didn't seem suitably impressed. All three boys were the picture of excitement as they ran from door to door and loudly recited the "Trick or Treat" mantra. David refused to hold my hand, wanting to go up and down the stairs and run house to house all by himself. By the time we decided to head for home his little hands were red with cold and his nose was running and his mouth was drooling.

Farm boys

This weekend we went to the Circle Pond Farm as part of the "Open Farm" event in Nova Scotia. All 3 boys were excited as soon as we arrived to a chorus of rooster crows. They saw geese, chickens, pheasants, turkeys, ducks, emus, sheep, baby kittens, and a few rabbits. Circle Pond Farm prides itself on having a wide variety of heritage breeds. The different breeds of bird were very interesting, but a heritage poultry farm smells just as appetizing as a regular poultry farm. Nuff said. There was a petting zoo. Petting zoo is a generous description. It was a 2 metre square pen with half a dozen animals within. The boys enjoyed petting the sheep. Chris showed Michael how to properly hold a bird and Michael spent the rest of the time chasing chickens and ducks. After a short while he was pretty good at being able to catch various fowl. Not to be outdone, Lucas showed his prowess by catching the rabbit. All in all, I think all three boys really enjoyed being on a real farm while Chris and I appreciated learning about the heritage breeds of poultry. A success.

A dinosaur named Sue

Santa Claus brought the boys dinosaur bones encased in clay. Lucas received this last Christmas as well and the boys really enjoy the excavation. Except for the massive amount of dust and mess it makes, I also enjoy the relative peace I get when my budding paleontologists are at work. Lucas has decided that once they have completed their digs they will watch Jurassic Park. In the meantime, I took them to the Museum of Natural History in Halifax to see Sue, the Tyrannosaurus rex. Sue (named for the woman who discovered the bones while waiting beside her broken down car), is the most complete T. rex skeleton discovered so far. The exhibit was very good, on loan from somewhere in the states (I'll update the post when I figure out where she is from). The rest of the museum was somewhat lacking, at least in our expectations after being regulars at the Natural History Museum in Geneva. I really hope there are some really great exhibits on hiatus during Sue's visit, because what is there right now does not even come close to justifying the entrance fee (Geneva's was free...). The basement was a bit of a treasure though, as there were a bunch of amphibians and reptiles in aquariums. David was quite taken with the bullfrogs.

A well deserved treat

The second time I have left work early is the second time that I have been stuck in crazy massive traffic. We still managed to make it out to Bayer's Lake to pick up some shirts for Lucas. I hadn't wanted to buy clothes for the kids at the beginning of the season since we would be moving. Lucas has been confined to a couple of shirts since moving to Halifax. I am sure we have more buried in a box or a pile of belongings somewhere.... Coupled with the limited supply was the breakdown of our washing machine last weekend. Time for new clothes indeed.
Lucas spotted the tell-tale signs of fast food restaurants nearby. By the time we were finished shopping, I was rather receptive to the idea. Lucas was pushing for McDonalds, but I knew better. I happened to know that the Burger King was a) within walking distance from where we were, b) had a t.v. showing Treehouse, their favourite, if somewhat juvenile for their age, station and c) there was a playroom. I decided to forgo the struggle with a high chair and plunked David down on the bench for the first time. The boys had a blast burning off much of those excess calories in the play room with some other little kids. Aside from the other tired looking parents of kids in the playroom, the place was deserted. It felt like we were all taking refuge. Letting our kids play and interact with other kids despite the -20 degrees outside.
A rather long and boring for anyone other than his parents movie of David eating his breakfast is here. Anyone interested in what kind of mess a toddler can make of Shreddies can stop by and watch as much or as little as you care too!