Sunday afternoon - and here I am finally in the den where I should have been last Monday - to declutter.
Finding lots of interesting things - throwing out as much as I can, finding a place for the rest - have only scratched the surface.
i. I've unearthed lots of items of interest that belong to Leah. One is a list of text message acronyms (now posted on her bulletin board)and the other is a sheet of lyrics to Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah" (also on her bulletin board).
One evening I heard her in the den playing it OVER AND OVER AND OVER AGAIN. She, like the rest of our family, is entranced by that song, and wanted to learn all the words. There she was, pen in hand, listening intently, and madly writing down each word as fast as she could. I helped her a bit, then suggested that we look up the lyrics online. That opened up a whole new world for her. We found and printed lyrics to many of her favourite songs. I'm hoping that I find her handwritten notes - those will be put away in her scrapbook. Memories of my curious, passionate child.
ii. Yippee! I am catching up on family blogs and find that cousin Kyran just published an article on decluttering. Procrastination gives way to serendipity again!
iii. More loose pictures put away. 20 plus cords stashed away (we must have at least 100 cords - I'm sure that we don't have 100 electronic devices). Of course, I still can't find the cord for Leah's camera. I want to download pix from our only March break adventure and can't! However, I did find Leah's runners, gym clothes and library book.
Break time: Leah and I are taking turns reading. Time to stop multi-tasking. The laundry, blog, clutter, lunches will just have to wait.
Sunday, March 22, 2009
Saturday, March 21, 2009
Fabulous Fifteen
Well, it has come to this. A fifteen year old Ev. How did we celebrate? With 15+ of our closest friends and family.
Let's see:
Sharing birthday cakes with cousin Brandon (6 on the 16th)
With mom and dad, Uncle Ron, Aunt Michelle, the Bassans & McCormacks
With Carson (modelling her grad dress) and Grandpa (Dad keeps asking- "that's a top right?")
And with big sis:
Ev got a call from the Florida Seniors Choir today - she loved that.
Happy birthday beautiful!
Let's see:
Sharing birthday cakes with cousin Brandon (6 on the 16th)
With mom and dad, Uncle Ron, Aunt Michelle, the Bassans & McCormacks
With Carson (modelling her grad dress) and Grandpa (Dad keeps asking- "that's a top right?")
And with big sis:
Ev got a call from the Florida Seniors Choir today - she loved that.
Happy birthday beautiful!
Saturday, February 21, 2009
Catching up...
New uniforms:
Playing Rock Band with the cousins:
Bowling fundraiser for the Cheerleaders:
Playing Rock Band with the cousins:
Bowling fundraiser for the Cheerleaders:
Thursday, January 29, 2009
Snow Day!
Finally - a snow day! The kids stayed home from school, and I stayed home from work. I wasn't home because of the weather - although I'm sure there were major delays and problems with the trains, but because I had booked it off weeks earlier for some dr's appointments.
Even though the kids couldn't walk 5 blocks to school, I was able to drive back and forth across town for appointments and tests. (It was pretty slippery though.)
It was an added bonus to spend time with the kids in between appointments. Leah played next door all morning, then played outside with the neighbours for an hour or so.
They were at our place in the afternoon, playing American Idol karaoke - after some mugs of hot chocolate.
Ev had a great day too! She had 3 friends over and they spent most of the day setting up and posing as Teen Vogue models. It seems we have enough clothes for 4 girls to model and pose in FOR A WHOLE DAY! Here they are in the front room looking at the shots on Ev's camera. Note the backdrop...and the outfits!
Tomorrow is a PA day for the girls. What a week! Rob is taking Ev & Leah skiing in Ellicotville where our friends are spending a mini vacation. I'll be slugging it out at work trying to get my project off the ground (well, actually, on the ground).
And C is on her own - maybe she can do baking with Omi. It must be winter, we are all craving chocolate and desserts.
Only 4 1/2 months till summer!
Even though the kids couldn't walk 5 blocks to school, I was able to drive back and forth across town for appointments and tests. (It was pretty slippery though.)
It was an added bonus to spend time with the kids in between appointments. Leah played next door all morning, then played outside with the neighbours for an hour or so.
They were at our place in the afternoon, playing American Idol karaoke - after some mugs of hot chocolate.
Ev had a great day too! She had 3 friends over and they spent most of the day setting up and posing as Teen Vogue models. It seems we have enough clothes for 4 girls to model and pose in FOR A WHOLE DAY! Here they are in the front room looking at the shots on Ev's camera. Note the backdrop...and the outfits!
Tomorrow is a PA day for the girls. What a week! Rob is taking Ev & Leah skiing in Ellicotville where our friends are spending a mini vacation. I'll be slugging it out at work trying to get my project off the ground (well, actually, on the ground).
And C is on her own - maybe she can do baking with Omi. It must be winter, we are all craving chocolate and desserts.
Only 4 1/2 months till summer!
Sunday, January 25, 2009
Another Sunday night
The Eagles DVD Hell Freezes Over is playing in the next room while Ev and I work in the den. Great music - even Ev likes it.
Leah and Rob are upstairs keeping each other company while playing DS (Rob) and doing homework (Leah).
C is at a friend's studying for a biology exam. At least that's what I've been told.
We had a relatively quiet weekend. Spent a lovely Friday evening at the home of one of the hockey parents - home made pizza, lots of wine and lots of laughs. Thank you Gina and Chris.
Hockey at 10:30 on Saturday. Great game, but we lost 3-2 to an undefeated team. It was a beautiful sunny day - cold too - but nice enough to head out for some exercise after getting the house vacuumed and in some semblance of order. Rob and I ran/walked for what felt like an hour, but apparently was only 22 minutes! I can feel it in my legs today - yesterday I just felt my chest burn. I spent the rest of the day resting. Ooh - we watched The Dark Knight - it was better than I expected. Heath Ledger really was fabulous as the Joker.
Lots of fitness for Rob, Ev & Leah today - they met Dwayne and his kids at Glen Eden for a day of skiing. They came back happy and in one piece - hooray!
Once they were out of the house this morning, I put together some crockpot chili, then headed to Hamilton to visit Loretta. We went to her local diner for lunch, then back to her house to catch up. What a great afternoon.
I guess that I had better go make lunches now, and call Dad to see what he is up to. And I have to get one more load of laundry in - I did not get much done yesterday. Ev is still working on a card for a friend who is in the hospital. Here she is at the desk right across from me:
Get well soon Kristen!
Leah and Rob are upstairs keeping each other company while playing DS (Rob) and doing homework (Leah).
C is at a friend's studying for a biology exam. At least that's what I've been told.
We had a relatively quiet weekend. Spent a lovely Friday evening at the home of one of the hockey parents - home made pizza, lots of wine and lots of laughs. Thank you Gina and Chris.
Hockey at 10:30 on Saturday. Great game, but we lost 3-2 to an undefeated team. It was a beautiful sunny day - cold too - but nice enough to head out for some exercise after getting the house vacuumed and in some semblance of order. Rob and I ran/walked for what felt like an hour, but apparently was only 22 minutes! I can feel it in my legs today - yesterday I just felt my chest burn. I spent the rest of the day resting. Ooh - we watched The Dark Knight - it was better than I expected. Heath Ledger really was fabulous as the Joker.
Lots of fitness for Rob, Ev & Leah today - they met Dwayne and his kids at Glen Eden for a day of skiing. They came back happy and in one piece - hooray!
Once they were out of the house this morning, I put together some crockpot chili, then headed to Hamilton to visit Loretta. We went to her local diner for lunch, then back to her house to catch up. What a great afternoon.
I guess that I had better go make lunches now, and call Dad to see what he is up to. And I have to get one more load of laundry in - I did not get much done yesterday. Ev is still working on a card for a friend who is in the hospital. Here she is at the desk right across from me:
Get well soon Kristen!
Sunday, January 18, 2009
Sunday Night
Scrambling late Saturday afternoon at the Walmart SuperCentre to pull together a quick dinner before heading to a 7:00 p.m. exhibition game in Burlington, we also grab a blade roast to throw in the crockpot for Sunday.
"Lovin' the crockpot" - to paraphrase Marion - one of my favouritist peeps.
With Omi's help, we manage to put together a nice roast, mashed potatoes, bok choy, and squash. I left a voice message with dad earlier in the afternoon, inviting him to join us, but since we haven't heard back, I'm assuming his sister grabbed him for the day.
Knowing that we had a meal on the go made the busy Sunday chore day less stressful. (You think that for a gal who only had to cook 2 days a week, I would embrace this meal preparation thing, but I still manage to turn it into a bigger operation than it has to be.)
However, it is always a pleasant surprise when we can pull off a nice meal and have Omi and Opa join us. And tonight, while Omi cleaned up, I felt it vital that the evening be recorded visually - for posterity.
Post- dinner, here's where we found the family:
Reading in the front room:
Doing homework in the kitchen:
In the upstairs bathroom dressing up like Nancy Drew:
Doing dishes while the daughter-in-law takes pictures:
Trying to get the HD connection figured out:
Self-portrait into the dirty hall mirror:
Dad briefing the kids on how to work the new HD/BluRay hook-up (note mom is no where to be seen):
And the dining room waiting for the last bit of tidy up:
And now, most of the family are gathered in the family room watching Ghost Town - on
BluRay-whooooo! Time to refill my wine glass and join them.
Happy end of weekend to all!
(And best wishes to mom and aunties for a fabulous cruise!)
"Lovin' the crockpot" - to paraphrase Marion - one of my favouritist peeps.
With Omi's help, we manage to put together a nice roast, mashed potatoes, bok choy, and squash. I left a voice message with dad earlier in the afternoon, inviting him to join us, but since we haven't heard back, I'm assuming his sister grabbed him for the day.
Knowing that we had a meal on the go made the busy Sunday chore day less stressful. (You think that for a gal who only had to cook 2 days a week, I would embrace this meal preparation thing, but I still manage to turn it into a bigger operation than it has to be.)
However, it is always a pleasant surprise when we can pull off a nice meal and have Omi and Opa join us. And tonight, while Omi cleaned up, I felt it vital that the evening be recorded visually - for posterity.
Post- dinner, here's where we found the family:
Reading in the front room:
Doing homework in the kitchen:
In the upstairs bathroom dressing up like Nancy Drew:
Doing dishes while the daughter-in-law takes pictures:
Trying to get the HD connection figured out:
Self-portrait into the dirty hall mirror:
Dad briefing the kids on how to work the new HD/BluRay hook-up (note mom is no where to be seen):
And the dining room waiting for the last bit of tidy up:
And now, most of the family are gathered in the family room watching Ghost Town - on
BluRay-whooooo! Time to refill my wine glass and join them.
Happy end of weekend to all!
(And best wishes to mom and aunties for a fabulous cruise!)
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
Homework blues - life is good!
The high school girls are in the midst of finishing big projects that are known in their world as Summatives. I promised both of them that I would help with formatting and editing and have done some. However, tonight was the night that Ev booked me to help proof and edit her final drafts. And of course, tonight I finally tore myself away from the office at 8:30 - having just finished my 5000 page summative - or as it is known in my world - an options paper. I was directed to write it yesterday afternoon and the first draft was to have been distributed for review by end of that day. Rather a challenge as I had barely researched one, let alone three options. By late this afternoon, I had some basic information and most importantly, clearer direction on what it was we weren't asking for, and was able to get a decent draft to our legal team, our subject matter experts and my boss and her boss. I'm sure that the final document will look dramatically different from the current version. That's fine with me - I need this option paper approved to get my project started.
And my girls just want to get their projects finished - so I am pleased to report that I was able to work with Ev on her project this evening. Now it just needs some minor adjustments before printing - to be done tomorrow morning and handed in a few hours later. C's projects need a bit more work - but with luck, I will be home in good time to help direct the final stage of her project. And luckier still, Rob will be home from his work trip to LA and he can keep Leah occupied.
Despite the fact that it is close to 1:00 am, and that I am dog tired, my eyes are burning and I need to be up in a few hours to help Ev get this project and herself out the door in time tomorrow, (and to prepare myself for an onslaught of constructive criticism on my paper) I am grateful that these are the biggest challenges in my life right now.
Life is good!
And my girls just want to get their projects finished - so I am pleased to report that I was able to work with Ev on her project this evening. Now it just needs some minor adjustments before printing - to be done tomorrow morning and handed in a few hours later. C's projects need a bit more work - but with luck, I will be home in good time to help direct the final stage of her project. And luckier still, Rob will be home from his work trip to LA and he can keep Leah occupied.
Despite the fact that it is close to 1:00 am, and that I am dog tired, my eyes are burning and I need to be up in a few hours to help Ev get this project and herself out the door in time tomorrow, (and to prepare myself for an onslaught of constructive criticism on my paper) I am grateful that these are the biggest challenges in my life right now.
Life is good!
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