Pomp and Circumstance
How could I have forgotten to announce to the world that we attended Ms. Grace's Nursery School graduation last Friday. Special dress, cap, podium and all. Just for overkill, they included a valedictorian (who didn't have much to say - I guess it's hard to come up with an inspirational speech at 4 years old - Carpe Diem!).
I mocked Jonas who with great pride and dedication video recorded the whole ceremony...including the other class. I mock Jonas all the time for his video abilities - he tends to have a heavy finger on the record button, and we end up watching very lengthy snippets of Grace and Edie - what starts out being cute just ends up being annoying. However, I have to say, once the other, less diligent parents got wind of Jo's lengthy recording, everyone wants a copy so they can revel in their child's academic greatness.
And so, with Nursery School over, I now need to mentally prepare myself for the fact that our baby is headed off to school in the fall. It is a little depressing as that day in September will literally be the beginning of the never ending toil of academia and then the work force until she is 65. There's a nice heavy thought for the day.
Edie attended the ceremony as well, but had to be removed as she kept trying to disrupt the camera-man (perhaps in a bid to shine the camera on herself?)
This may be my last post for awhile - we are off to the cottage for Canada Day for our annual Absolut Bash - vodka, 2 babies, 3 preschoolers and Bishop's alumni.....I should have enough material for this blog for a whole year after this weekend.

Website of the day: http://www.extremefunnypictures.com/funnypic929.htm (scroll down and read the questions asked on the Canadian tourism site)

For Beverly Hills 90210 aficionados only:
http://gofugyourself.typepad.com/go_fug_yourself/2006/06/90210_a_legacy_.html

The double nap.
Well, Grace napped for the first time in 10 years (well, okay, seeing as she is only 4, maybe that is an exaggeration, but it has been a very long time) on Saturday, and for double bonus points, she napped when Edie napped. Let me itemize the things that were accomplished during that two hour period:
-laundry washed, dried, folded, and put away
-floor swept and mopped
-two loaves of corn bread baked
-sitting area finally arranged, photos put on display, flowers arranged
-Jonas pruned every single tree on our property
-lawn mowed

We dropped off Edie for a sleepover at my folks house on Saturday night, and she spent most of Sunday there too. Let me itemize what we accomplished on Sunday:
-fresh smoothies made for breakfast
-office finally unpacked and organized
-basement rearranged, we now have our gym set up, the playroom set up and the t.v. area all set up.
-Grace played un-interrupted Mr. Potato Head on the computer (Edie has a tendency to try and eat the mouse)
-went out for lunch, sat on a patio, waitress commented on what a nice family we were

I think, with all we accomplished this weekend, it is quietly understood between Jonas and I that we will have no more children, and may even give away one or two of the ones we presently have.

The Love List
Phew. I'm on the Love List. Grace has a developped a rather complicated way of organizing everyone in her life. Edie and I are on her love list. Jonas just made the "boy" love list (he was originally on the "like" list, he must have bribed her with candy or something). Friends further complicate the lists which have headings such as the Nursery School Love List (Kennedy and Sofia top this list) and the Nursery School Like List (this usually includes a list of boys, as boys, unless related, RARELY make the Love List). There is also the Soccer Love List, which includes Holly, but wait, Holly is also on the Day Care Love List, which leads to complicated questions such as "Mommy, can a person be on two lists?" and "Mommy, can someone be on a Love List and a Like List?" Grandparents seem to be sitting pretty on a Grandparent Love List, which has no "Like" category and doesn't appear to get altered, ever (must have something to do with Grandparents instinct to spoil). And there is the Toronto Love List, which gets complicated as there is also the Uncle Love List and the Auntie Love List. I was bombarded with all this information in a 1/2 hour period this morning, before coffee. No wonder Grace has a hard time falling asleep at night with all this documenting and organizing going on in her head.
I hesitate to enroll her in summer camp, not sure if I can handle another List to keep track of.

Sometimes I wish I wasn't so sensitive. I find myself thinking more and more about Grace and her role as first-born. Edie is really coming into herself and showing off a great little personality. She lights up a room, says super-cute things, has super-cute expressions and is also very loving and cuddly....she is just a joy. Sometimes though, when Edie's audience is oooohing and ahhhhing over her, I'll catch a sideways glimpse of Grace with an almost sad look on her face and it. just. breaks. my. heart. I'm not sure what is going on in her four year old mind, but just the thought of her thinking that maybe everyone *likes* Edie more than her kills me. It's tough, because Grace does a lot more things to piss us off, and her personality is such that she just exhausts us and doesn't stop for a cuddle, she'd rather stop for a game of chase/tickle/jump on the bed....basically anything that requires a lot more energy than I have. Grace's spirit is not something we want to crush, either, I think it's great that she is so full of beans, and I definitely think it will be a great character trait the older she gets.
At the end of the day, Jo and I do make a very special effort to have quality time with just Grace and make her feel as special as she is. Edie doesn't seem to have any doubt in her mind just how special she is.
Soccer last night got rained out - there was a pretty cool storm actually, and while other kids cried and clung to their parents with fear, Ms. Grace just grew wide eyed with excitement. After the storm we all went puddle jumping before bed.
I feel great today - I reset the alarm incorrectly and instead of getting up at 6, I got up at 7:15....an extra hour of sleep always goes over well with my psyche.
Website of the day: any suggestions? I don't have time to look for one today.

My favourite things about summer
While other people complain about the heat, I revel in walking out the door and being hit with a wall of heat. I love it when it is so hot out that it is almost hard to take a breath. I love how our kids skin looks all dewey because they are hot. I love how Edie gets ridiculous corkscrew curls at the back of head with the humidity (she will hate that when she is older). I love the golf-tan Jo gets (even though he hasn't been golfing much this summer?). I love eating Mr. Freezies with Grace, and enjoying it just as much as she. I love watching Edie trying to eat a Mr. Freezie. I love watching the girls having a grand-old time in their grandparents pool (didn't love Edie crying all through dinner because she wanted to go back in the pool!) I love grabbing some take-out and heading to Mooney's Bay with a blanket for a family pic-nic (don't love having to ask the lifeguard what the bacteria levels are for the water though....especially after Edie face-planted in the water!) I love turning on the airconditioning at night for a comfy sleep. I love watching the mosquitoes fly into the "Mosquito Magnet" to meet their maker. I love picking up the girls from daycare and finding them playing in the sprinkler, getting kicks out of filling up buckets over and over again. I love the taste of beer in the summer. I love hooking up with my childless girlfriend in the Market and sitting on a patio with her, talking about non-kid stuff.
This weekend was the first weekend that *really* felt like summer...maybe because the sun actually decided to make an appearance. I also bought a new pair of shoes.
It rocked.
Website of the day: http://www.overheardinnewyork.com/ Funny stuff.

(The above is Jo's artisitic interpretation of Edie last night)
Everything was easy-peasy last night. We had the girls bathed and sweet smelling (I love that smell); Edie, though cranky, went to bed early and without a fuss and Grace very matter-of-factly accepted that I was going out for the evening to run a few errands and that her Daddy was going to put her to bed (I even got a tear-free "good-bye Mommy! I love you! See you in the morning). Perfect! Upon my return home, the kitchen was clean, the dishwasher humming, and the house was quiet. Jonas and I had a rare chunk of time to spend together so we went to basement and started our plans for renovations. Everything was going well until we got to the bathroom and Jonas looked in horror at our garbage can.....there, in the can, were two of the most menacing looking, ginornous spiders you have ever seen. They looked like they were just waiting for their next plan of attack. Jo and I decided to attack before they could, and being the rational adults that we are, we got a garbage bag and put the whole garbage (yup, including the can) into the bag. Hey, money grows on trees and we can always buy another can! In retrospect, a little dramatic, but they were really scary looking spiders! They couldn't be trusted! Thank god today is garbage day and the ghastly beasts will forever be banished to the dump (in the perfectly good garbage can).
Think that was the end of the drama for the evening? Hell no! While this was going on, Edie began to cry, and by the time I got to her room, she had settled herself. An hour later, the cries began again, and these were the cries that I know need attention. I went into her room, picked her up, and I found myself holdng a convulsing 15 month old with a 105 degree temperature. It was horrible, and even with a heavy dose of Motrin, she didn't cool down for a long time. I was scared to put her back to bed until she felt totally normal. We defnitely put some time in on the ole' LazyBoy. This morning she was as cool as a cucumber and her (relatively) happy little self. How do they do that?
Once again, not to be outdone in the drama department, Grace called out for me, crying. (I swear she knows when I have just fallen asleep!) The high-drama for her? A mis-placed pillow. Oh the horror...But, to her credit, she rolled over and went right to sleep as soon as her pillow was re-positioned.
Hopefully tonight will not have so much action. Canada's Next Top Model is on and I don't want any interruptions.
Web site of the day: http://needsleep.net/

Itsy bitsy spider indeed.
Missed Grace's soccer game last night due to a visit to the walk-in clinic with Edie. She has a bite on her foot that swelled (swoll?) over the course of the day yesterday, and of course Edie, being the sensitive soul that she is, spiked a fever of 104 (I swear, the kid spikes a fever when she stubs her toe). Well, with visions of gangrene and foot amputations, I took my "ill" baby to the clinic. Why is it kids are always all smiles, laughs, giggles and able to run around when they are in the waiting room at the clinic? I felt like I had to justify our place in line by pointing out her swollen little foot. I don't go to these clinics for kicks!
The doctor who saw Edie was a hoot. He specializes in travel medicine and he was super excited to see us because a) Edie's middle name is Belize ("oh! you travel!" he exclaimed, to which I snorted, because a roadtrip to Toronto is most travelling we have done in a while!) and b) she had a most exciting, unusual growth on her foot caused by a spider bite....he said this was the most exciting thing he'd seen all day! He even encouraged me call him at home this morning if I had any more concerns. He was so great with Edie too - confident, jolly and patient. Edie was most excited when he drew a circle around the bite and gave him a big "oooohhhhh!". Sometimes you never know who you are going to get at these clinics and I'm super happy that we got to see Dr. Paul Assaad.
So, Edie was up only once during the night (thank you Edie!) for her shot of Advil, and not to be outdone by her little sister, Grace also got up with a bad dream. Grace knows I don't have much patience for bad dreams, but she likes to holler out for me, get me out of bed, inform me of the situation, and then request her father's presence (who is much more soft-hearted than I and will go lie down with her for as long as needed).
Stay tuned for developments in spider-bite saga....
Website of the day:
http://entomology.unl.edu/images/spiders/spiders1.htm

"But WHY can't I go swimming in green water???"






I am actually glad it was a lousy weekend...turns out our pool has a leak in it and needs some major repair work (you suck previous houseowners!) and we won't be able to use it until we get it fixed. I know, I know, cry me a river, worst things in life could happen. But here's the thing, I have wanted a pool for so long, I see it as a great way for our family to hang out and have fun, and as an opportunity to treat our house as a destination point for friends and family who just want to hang out and cool off. This was a major reason why I wanted this house. I just feel so let down that we are having this problem. Grace doesn't really get it - the pool is there, but she can't use it. If I find it frustrating, imagine how a 4-year old feels. Anyhow, it will get fixed, and up to this point Jo and I have been giving the previous homeowners the benefit of the doubt (the 40 bags of garbage we had to haul out of the house, the "missing" central vac accessories, the horrible state of the backyard) - we made excuses for them thinking they may have been too busy because of their jobs. But you know what? When you outright lie and say something is in working order when it isn't, you are are the lowest of the low in my eyes. You just suck. It's scary that people like this have kids are teaching them that this kind of thing is acceptable.
That is my Monday morning vent.
We had our new neighbours over for dinner on Saturday night, which was great. They have a 4 year old and 2 year old, so they didn't even blink when Edie cried on and off the whole time and threw her dinner on the floor; nor did they flinch when Grace spilled her full glass of water all over the table and on our guest's chair cushion. They didn't seem to judge me when by the end of evening I had, courtesy of Edie, smushed banana in my hair and on my nice black shirt. These are good people. And they have a pool that works.
We accomplished a fair amount of work in our garden on Sunday - luckily Edie has developped a weird obsession with her little stand-up sandbox, which keeps her occupied for about a good hour. Grace is happy as long as you play with her in two minute intervals (I get to weed for two minutes, then we play "spider and fly" for two minutes - a game in which Grace is the spider, a big stick is her web, and she chases you around the garden until you get caught in her web....) I felt justified in skipping my workout last night!
Apparently the "comments" section isn't working 100%, I have received some positive feed back though and will continue posting. Thanks for leaving comments though!
Website of the day:
http://www.gameskidsplay.net/
(spider and fly became a little boring after a while!)

Just wondering if anyone is reading this. It's fun for me to do, and I thought it would be a nice way to stay in touch. Just curious if people are tuning in or not. Take a moment and make a comment at the bottom of the blog. thanks!

As promised, our little soccer star. Grace kicked the ball last night and saved two goals! She also abandoned (unannounced) her goalie duties to consume a granola bar. Her priority remains her stomach, I suppose. Other breaking news, during the game, Edie discovered the marvels of screwing and unscrewing a cap on and off a water bottle (this is of particular importance as it kept her occupied for a good twenty minutes). It was a night of many highlights.

Now that summer has really arrived, I want nothing more than to just laze at home with the family. What a brutal time of year for me to return to work! Thank goodness it is only three days a week - could be worse. I do enjoy the balance of going to work/staying at home, but somedays, especially when it is so nice out, I feel like a caged five year old in my cubicle. Is there anything wrong a 33 year old wanting to play hookey and go home an blow bubbles in the backyard? Besides, it's hard to be here knowing that the above subjects are waiting for me at home. I know they are messy, I know they are a pain sometimes, but I just love them!

Night terrors! Grace never had these, and Edie had her second one on Saturday night (of course we were out of town, staying at a friends house in Montreal!) So after getting Grace settled for the night (at 10:00 p.m., wayyyyy too late for Grace to be up) I heard some whimpering from the playpen. I usually choose to ignore cries at night because Edie usually settles herself quite nicely. Well, there was something different about these cries and they escalated into full hysterics. I picked her up and she looked terrified and pulled a Helen Keller by grabbing at my face; I guess she was trying to figure out who I was? What seemed to clinch it for her that I was in fact her Mommy was when she grabbed the necklace that she faithfully tries to yank off my neck every day - she calmed down and held on to that necklace for dear life. Poor little munchkin - I didn't want to put her back in her playpen. There is no feeling like holding on a child who is holding on to you just as strongly.
Montreal was great - too much wine, too much food, too much fun. I even squeezed in a few hours sans kids and went shopping (I love H&M!)
Grace played with the boys (she did look relieved when Ella, almost 4, showed up).
The drive home was a little bit difficult - Edie couldn't relax enough to fall asleep in the car, and it was her naptime. We realized that maybe she wasn't falling asleep because her big sister was poking her on and off for the whole ride! After a few threats (I never thought I would utter the words "do you want me to pull this car over right now!?) things settled down (thank God for mini-vans with DVD players!) and cruised home for an afternoon of swatting mosquitos, cursing the pool and doing some gardening.
One last complaint though: After an intense run and sweating out a weekends worth of toxins, I was looking forward to nice hot shower. Imagine my disapointment when I discovered that Grace had left the hot water tap running in the laundry room and used up all the hot water! Grrrr. I guess I should look on the bright side and be grateful that she washed her hands.....
website of the day: http://www.archive.org/details/movies - kind of a neat site to explore (love the drive-in movie ads!)