The Mom Card Revoke

Let me start with a little story.

Last spring I signed Little Girl up for soccer.  She is 5 so she plays on the U5 team.

On the first day of soccer it is cold, rainy, and yucky; she is not 100% she wants to be there anymore –but we persevere. 

We check in and are told to go to a specific spot – there are 4 fields where 8 different teams are going to be playing / practicing – some of the teams are U5 and some are U6.

 

So I work my Mom magic (complete with placebo magic soccer pills that help calm her nerves) and we have our first practice / game.

But at the end of the game we find out we are on the wrong team – she has been playing on one of the U6 teams!  Well damn it! That would explain why so many of the other kids were so much better than her.

So off we go to join our team and the rest of the season is hunky dory. 

 

Blue Jersey = Wrong Team

 

Red Jersey = Right Team

 

Let’s fast forward to last night.

Last night was Little Girl’s first skating lesson and it also happened to be preschool registration night for Little Boy.

So again I work my Mom Magic and Hubby goes to stand in line for preschool registration, I wrangle the kids with a multitude of food / snacks and Little Boy’s LeapPad to keep him happy (didn’t quite work – I ran out of food).

But anyway, we get to the arena yesterday straight from day home and Little Girl’s name is not on the list.

So I pull up my handy receipt on my email – and voila – she is registered in the Wednesday class!

So we missed the first class already.

 

Well a huge thank you to the City’s recreation department because they let her join a class last night and next week we will go on the CORRECT night for skating lessons.

 

But really, I am surprised my Sports Mom Card doesn’t get revoked.

 

We are taking both kids for skiing lessons tomorrow morning – but Hubby booked them so we should be okay?!

Kindergarten Photos

"Wow, your daughter looks so much like you!"
I hear this statement a lot!!

So I thought I would show you all - side-by-side - here is my Kindergarten photo with her Kindergarten photo.

What do you think?  Do we look a like?

Spiderman & Barbie

Happy Halloween! 
Or should I say happy candy hangover day!

We had a great Halloween this year, there was snow on the ground and it was cold, but we live in Canada, we are tough and this is what memories are made of.

This kids are well layered under their costumes - 3 layers each!  And they did great.  Lasted way longer than I thought they would last - I was prepared to bring them home to warm up and then go back out, but after they warmed up they wanted to go and see Anna (out old day home lady).  So I threw them in the van and off we went for a little Halloween visit.

Over all a great night - lots of kids still in our neighborhood in spite of the weather.  How was your Halloween?  Lots of kids?

First Day of Kindergarten

So here is where I shamelessly show off pictures of Little Girl from her first day of Kindergarten.

Trust me, you are lucky, if you worked with me, you would have had to already endure me pulling out my iPhone and showing you my pictures and waiting for the required awwwwwww.

I dropped her off at her dayhome; she took the bus (along with all the other kids from the dayhome) and then I drove to the school and waited for her to arrive.

I wish I had gotten a picture of her on the bus and although I could have given my camera to the dayhome lady, I didn't want to stress Little Girl out more than I already feared she was stressing.

She was beyond excited and only showed some of her nervousness while we were lined up waiting for the bell to ring, but she didn't cry and went happily into the school with her class and teacher.
(On a side note - I didn't cry either - yeah!!!)

When I picked her up from dayhome at the end of the day, she came running up to me exclaiming how much fun school had been and she can't wait to go back, and then she proceeded to talk my ear off all the way home and the whole time I was making dinner about every little thing they did.

Alright, I think she is going to enjoy it - for now - we will re-visit this when she hits high school.

Changing Dayhomes

Last Friday was our last day at our dayhome.
It was a day of mixed feelings.

Anna and Little Girl at her Christmas party in 2009

Sad because we have been with Anna since Little Girl was one and I went back to work.

Sad because she has become part of our family and we love her, the kids love her and she loves our children as though they are her own grandchildren.
 
Happy because Little Girl has aged out of her care (she doesn't do before and after school care).
Happy because we are growing and starting school in a few days.
Happy because we have found another dayhome that I think will be just as good.
Happy because today they started at their new dayhome and went happily and no crying.




Little Boy getting his present from Santa at Anna's annual
Christmas party. (2009

Little Girl and Santa (2009)

 

Do you use a dayhome for your children?  Have you been a fortunate as we have to have found someone that has become an extension of your family?

School Lunch Ideas

Little Girl starts school is just under a week, Kindergarten for her is all day Tuesday, Thursday and Friday afternoon – so that means, 2 times a week she gets to bring her lunch.
This also means 2 times a week, I get to make her lunch.

Check out what I found for her:

Thermos brand - found at Superstore.

When I was in grade school and taking my lunch, my parents never made my lunch – all 4 of us kids made our own lunch.

I know this is what some “experts” say helps kids eat their lunch – having them make it themselves – and I do agree it helps kids put in the foods they are likely to eat, but I think instead the child should be involved in the process, but not completely responsible for the whole lunch.

And honestly, I have no problem making her lunch – I am actually excited and looking forward to it – so much so that I have been pinning blog posts and blogs with school lunch ideas since early spring.

But last week I asked Little Girl what kind of food she would like to bring; you want to know what her first response was?

“Peanuts!”

Seriously? Peanuts?  The only thing she is not allowed to bring – contraband peanuts, she wants to bring?

So after explaining to her about allergies and how no peanuts were allowed in the schools, etc, etc. she came up with some ideas:

-          Ham & cheese wrap
-          Pickles
-          Carrots (from my garden)
-          Granola bar
-          Fishy crackers

I am in love with the Bento lunch idea (the simple ones that look like this):

Source: Bent on Better Lunches

 

Not the crazy ones that look like this:

Cute, but someone has way too much time on their hands.

 

Here are some of my ideas for school lunches:

-          Banana bread

-          Mini muffins
-          Hard boiled egg
-          Crackers & cheese
-          Gold fish crackers
-          Pretzels
-          Pickles
-          Cheese string
-          Rice cakes
-          Pepperoni
-          Yogurt raisins
-          Raisins
-          Popcorn
-          Granola bars
     

Entrees:

-          Cold chicken fingers
-          Cold grilled cheese
-          Cold perogies
-          Wraps
-          Rolled up deli meat
-          Pasta
-          Soup with crackers
-          Bocconcini & tomato salad
-          Quesadilla
-          Mini quiche
-          Mini frittata
 

Fruit

-          Apple slices
-          Strawberries
-          Grapes
-          Cantaloupe
-          Pineapple
-          Orange slices
-          Mandarin orange
-          Fruit salad
-          Fruit kabobs (on toothpicks or straws for little kids)
-          Apple sauce

Veggies

-          Cucumber slices
-          Cherry tomatoes
-          Carrot sticks
-          Red pepper slices
-          Steamed broccoli (cold)
-          Snap peas
-          Hummus and veggies to dip


Are you making school lunches this year, or do you have a few years under your belt already?  Have any ideas for me?

A Helicopter Ride

I was not there for this conversation last night but I laughed and laughed when Hubby told me about it.

Little Girl: Daddy, when are we going for a helicopter ride?

Hubby: WHAT???

Little Girl: When are we going for a helicopter ride? (said with the exasperation of a teenage girl)

Hubby: When I find a helicopter on Kijiji honey.

Little Girl: YEAH!!!!

Hubby: (oh shit!) ummm, actually no……

 

Hubby and I got a chance to go Heli-hiking back in 2009.

My first helicopter ride.

 

Ready for School

 

School supplies – check
School uniform – check
Lunch bag – check
New day home organized – check
Bus schedule – check
Little Girl ready – check
Mom ready – nowhere near!

We are ready for school or I should say we are physically ready and Little Girl is mentally ready, I am still wrapping my brain around the fact that 5 years ago right now she looked like this:

September Long weekend - 2007 (Little Girl - 4.5 months old)

 And now she looks like this:

Birthday Cake

According to the kids and my husband, a birthday is just not a birthday without cake.

I believe in making my own cakes fron scratch as much as possible, and let me tell you - I must really love my husband because this required me to turn on the oven on Sunday (+29C) in Calgary, with no air conditioning!

I also try and make his a different type / flavour of cake each year, this year I got my insperation from Pinterest - a Mint Chocolate Chip "Ice Cream" Cake. 

First a few pictures and the recipe to follow.

The birthday boy and his cake.

So after dinner, someone comes to snuggle with her Daddy:

While someone else finishes my piece of cake:

I turn my head for a minute and look at what happens.  Oh, he is so his father's son!

The cake was delish.  The cake itself is a fantastic classic chocolate cake, but the icing tasted so much like the ice cream it is made to resemble.

Hubby, myself and the kids all gave it 2 thumbs up!

Mint Chocolate Chip "Ice Cream" Cake

David Lebovitz Devil's Food Cake

9 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder

1 ½ cups cake flour

½ teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

¼ teaspoon baking powder

½ cup butter, at room temperature

1 ½ cups white sugar

2 large eggs, at room temperature

½ cup strong coffee (cold)

½ cup milk

Preheat oven to 350F.

Butter two 9” round cake pans, line the bottoms with parchment paper, set aside.

Sift together, cocoa powder, flour, salt, baking soda and baking powder.

Using a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and sugar together for about 5 minutes.  Add the eggs one at a time, beating after each addition.

Stir half the dry ingredients into the butter mixture, and then add the coffee and milk; continue stirring and then add the remaining half of the dry ingredients.

Divide the batter between the two pans, and bake for 25 minutes, or until done.

Cool completely before frosting.

Mint Chocolate Chip “Ice Cream” Icing

2 cups butter, at room temperature

6 cups icing sugar

2-3 teaspoons peppermint extract, adjust to taste

150g dark chocolate, very finely chopped

Green food colouring

Place the butter in the bowl of your stand mixer, beat on high with paddle attachment until fluffy and smooth.

Add the icing sugar one cup at a time (you might need slightly less or more), until you reach your desired icing consistency.

Add the peppermint extract to taste and the food colouring.  Gradually add the chocolate pieces.

Source: Raspberri Cupcakes Blog

Soccer Superstar

After Little Girl's first soccer game she asked me why she didn't get a gold medal?
So I had to explain that she had to play a lot of games to get a medal not just one.

This past weekend she has a tournament, and every player got a medal.  It might not actually be gold, but she thinks it is, and if some day she makes it to the Olympics in whatever sport and actually gets a gold medal, I will bet you she treats it with the same attention and reverence she is treating her first ever "gold" medal!

Last Day of School

Last week it was Little Girl's last day of preschool!

I am happy to report she passed and is moving on to Kindergarten.  LOL

I am super bummed that school is over, I really wish preschool went right up until mid-August.  Not only does Little Girl love it, but it is also a great break for her from her brother and an wonderful way for her to spend some energy.

I know next year I will be singing a different tune - I know I will be happy there is no homework for a few months, but for now we both will miss it.

And now a few pictures for you:

First day of school - September 2011

 

Last day of school - June 2012





  

Little Girl and her super wonderful teacher!



Through the Eyes of a 5 Year Old

While we were out at Allen Bill Pond on Sunday, Little Girl asked if she could take a picture with the camera.I am not sure if this was a mistake or not, becuse it was not just one picture, but more like 50 pictures she took over the course of our time there.

I have to say though, she is pretty good.  We just might have a future photographer on our hands.

I thought I would share a bunch of thse pictures with you all, I really love how she sees things differently than we do.

And becasue she did take so many, I have no choice but to share quite a few with you.  Trust me, I am not even posting half the pictures she took.