THANKFUL

The turkey is on the BBQ, the kids are playing UNO with Auntie Lisa, Jake is enjoying a cigar on the deck, Will is napping...

The air is crisp, the sky is blue, the fire is warming the cabin...

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

BED MATES

I'm looking forward to sleeping beside my husband tonight and not Clara's barbies.  Sorry Clara, but you are getting kicked out of the bed too.

actual picture of my bed mates from this morning, minus my daughter

It's starting to feel like Halloween over here, with help from the arrival of 2 handpicked pumpkins and some various funny shaped gourds that the kids keep putting into my grocery cart when I'm not looking.  

It has been finalized: Clara will be a First Nations princess (a.k.a Pocahontas), Sam will be a Vampire (costume anyone?) and Will a chicken.  I am thinking bride corpse for myself.  I do like gruesome, thanks to my mom's Halloween and horror movie influence growing up.

And now to bed.  I vowed that I would be asleep before midnight tonight.

THE PIRATE BOAT PARK

This is our second time this week we have gone to Crema for a caramel macchiato and a muffin and then to the "pirate boat park."  I am very grateful for all the sunshine that Fall has brought, so far.

I have big plans for those 2 little ones.  They make a cute couple, don't you think?

HAPPY BIRTHDAY

Dear Jake,

I wish I could be with you in New York to help celebrate your birthday today.  The kids and I blew out some candles and made some wishes for you (some good ones).  We miss you already!

See you in 4 more sleeps...

Love the wife & kids.

We did manage to celebrate a little this past weekend before Jake flew away.  We had a delicious dinner with some friends on Saturday night and the kids and I let Jake sleep in a bit and made him his favourite kind of breakfast on Sunday morning (it involved bacon and eggs and potatoes). For his gift, Sam picked out 2 bottles of hot sauce and Clara wrapped up a toothbrush with a "Don't Touch" sticker.

 

AFTER THE SUMMER EVERYTHING CHANGED

A poem by Clara, recited to me on our walk home from school today.  

After the summer everything changed.

New school,

new shoes,

new playground,

new teachers,

new faces,

new friends

and even a new life.

And then becomes the summer again, and new things happen.

Don't be too worried.  Although it is true that she misses her old Montessori school (and apparently her size 12 shoes), after a movie, a kinder egg and a cuddle in our king bed tonight, she was back to being goofy and feeling less desperate.

And about those shoes.  Apparently the cute little beaded moccasins and dainty mary janes I bought her in early September are not appropriate for school.  It's all about the runners.  She picked these out, mostly because the lady at the shoe store told her they "breathed."   A lot of questions ensued, about how they breathed exactly and how come she couldn't see the breathe and what would happen if she jumped up and down hard, would that suffocate the shoes?, etc. It's all quite complicated.

FAMILY MEETING

We have had only 3 family meetings, 2 in February and 1 last week, but we plan to make this a family tradition every Saturday morning after puff pancakes and bacon.  It sort of goes like this (although I'm learning to have minimal expectations):

• We gather on our couch with our notebook and latte.  For now, I take notes, and either Jake or I act as leader.
• We begin the meeting with compliments to each family member.  "I love you because..." or "I'm grateful for you because..." and we all say thank you after we receive a compliment.
• In the week, I try to keep a list of issues or problems that arise to be discussed at the family meeting.  During the meeting, everyone is listened to, feelings are acknowledged (even the crazy ones) and we problem solve together.  If an agreement cannot be reached after a discussion we will table it until the next meeting.
• The meeting ends with a consensus of what we want to do as a family that day (in the Fall it is usually swimming).

Here is a sampling of the things that have been discussed so far:

• Sam likes Daddy's fast boat 
• Clara is having a hard time with her boots because they keep scratching her legs 
• Sam wants doors that open and close on his electric jeep

And just last week, Sam's compliment to his sister was "you know what is bugging me?...not Clara...a mosquito."

So there you go.  

Like I said my expectations are minimal but I think I will love this tradition. And next time, we will definitely hide the radio karaoke so Will doesn't play with it during the meeting.