Now that my kids are six years old, I have the pleasure of reading chapter books to them. No more reciting the same picture book over and over again until I’m tempted to bash my head through my kids’ black-out-blinds in search of sharp glass. Lately, I’ve been on a Roald Dahl kick. He’s hilarious, […]
Whiteboard Wednesday
Spoonerisms, Speaking, and Swearing
I love Spoonerisms, mostly because I misspeak a lot. For those who don’t know the pleasure of mixing their words up as frequently as Sarah Palin says Tea Party, let me explain. A Spoonerism is when you confuse the beginning sounds of two nearby words. As a kid, for example, I babysat for a couple […]
Pizza, Wine, and Fine Motor Skills
Instead of spending the evening of my 40th birthday wining and dining at a lovely restaurant in Banff (which was the plan until the temperature crashed and a foot of snow fell), we spend it in a suburban Boston Pizza. After all, any restaurant that is less than five minutes from our house and gives […]
When Kids Learn Hip Hop
Yesterday, my kids had Hip Hop lessons at school. This interesting tidbit came out at dinner, after my kids pushed away their bowls of Thai soup and looked around for their favourite food group: chicken nuggets. While I was slurping the coconut milk out of their rice, Vivian and William treated us to a Hip […]
Kids, Kitchens, and Craziness
One of my New Year’s Resolutions for a Lazy Parent was to get my kids more involved in cooking. It’s not that I have a wish for them to go through life with four fingers each; it’s that I want them to be able to cook one meal a week by the time they’re ten. […]
Jekyll and Hyde: my roles as a mother
My kids love their stuffed animals. They have a menagerie, and most of their beloved stuffies are named. There’s Rainbow, Heartsy, Thomas, Apple Sauce, and Milkshake, to name a few. Mostly, these toys cause little controversy, as one would expect from sewn fluff balls. But two recent anecdotes illustrate my role as a Jekyll and […]
Imagination, Logic and Magic Wands
I can see how a few centuries ago, it was common belief that fairies and spirits came out in the dark. Little Pucks, Peaseblossoms and Mustard Seeds flitting about, one moment blessing beds, the next causing mischief. In our household at least, the crazies always seem to happen after sunset. If it’s not the full […]
Music, Playlists, and Children
Because we are masochists, we bought both Vivian and William a portable stereo for Christmas. These two gifts were even new. My husband purchased them for $10 each in some industrial area. I’m hoping they weren’t stolen from under someone else’s tree, but my husband assured me the place looked “pretty legit.” We also bought […]
When Kids Help in the Kitchen
Our kids sometimes “help” in the kitchen. While they prefer to chop carrots or dump spaghetti into a pot of boiling water, I usually insist they do tasks that are less likely to fast-track us to the surgical ward. Some chores they initiate on their own. Vivian has surprised us by unpacking the dishwasher, though […]
Children and Yoga in the Kitchen
We have one of those open style kitchens which means when I do bother to cook, I can watch Vivian and William body slam each other into couches and walls in the adjacent living room. Sometimes, however, my kids are not so violent. They like to do yoga. With their Gumby spines, they make up […]