I have never heard of 8th Continent, but if I knew where to pick up some of their soymilk, I’d run right out and get some (in spite of the fact that none of my family members like soymilk). It is just so refreshing to see a mom depicted in a commercial who is not perfect….
The company’s website includes the following: “We know it’s not easy being a mom. That’s why we salute momhood for what it is: doing your best every day, and trying not to screw up too much. ” What a great motto.
So, another school year has started and once again, B is not happy about being left behind by his sisters. This year I don’t have a picture of him wailing at the bus stop. You’ll just have to visualize it. Actually, it was when we dropped him of at the caregiver, but the expression was pretty much the same. :-) Don’t worry, he got over it pretty quickly.
This week is the first full week of the girls going to full-day kindergarten. All of the kids’ activities started last weekend too – swimming (for all three kids), piano lessons and Chinese school (for the girls only). So, naturally this week everyone is a little bit on edge and there have been lots of time-outs and melt-downs late in the day.
Keeping with tradition, I captured the girls on their first day of school…
The first day of school we had some issues with the bus, and the girls ended up not being dropped off at the caregivers’ house. But I think we have it all sorted out now. Also on that day, we discovered that the girls have been separated this year into two different classes. Not a big deal, but it might have been nice to know that a bit in advance so I could have prepared them … especially E who is not crazy about the idea. And I have sneaking suspicion that the main reason the girls were separated was to make it easier for their teachers to tell them apart, and not for their benefit. But, whatever, it will probably be good for the girls too.
Finally, for the last year or so, I’ve been struggling with the girls who always want “wild hair” – i.e., no barrettes or pony-tails, etc. But I can’t stand seeing their hair in their eyes all the time. Last Saturday we had an appointment to get their hair trimmed, and on a whim we all decided that bangs were the way to go. Here are before and after pictures, all taken within a couple of hours of each other… (sorry for the quality of the first shot… it was taken by DoT on his cell phone)
Finally, for those of you still having difficulties telling the girls apart, your troubles may soon end. We had both girls to the eye doctor on Friday, and it looks like at least one of them may need glasses. (Of course, I guess if they both end up with glasses, you could still have problems.) We go back at the end of the month, to further assess them, and we’ll see then. I broached the subject of glasses with them, and unlike my experience (oh so many years ago, when glasses were absolutely not desirable), both girls want to have glasses.
Finally, I wanted to put up a picture of the kids in their new Chinese outfits from Auntie P and Uncle J. (Thanks so much, J&P!) The outfits are fantastic. My pictures really don’t do them justice.
I had to take a lot of pictures to get this one decent one (with them all looking at the camera and smiling). Here’s one of the failed attempts, but I still love this picture…
Okay, so I think we’re now up-to-date (for anyone who hasn’t already seen it, I put up a post a couple of days ago. Scroll down if you missed it.)
K…
This post has been a long time coming. We’ve been very busy, and I just haven’t been able to find the time to put up another blog post. But I didn’t want to miss telling you all about our trip to Centre Island (Toronto), so I’m finally resorting to just a quick post with a bunch of pictures.
Friends of ours had suggested to us that when we were in Toronto we should check out Centre Island. And am I ever glad we listened to them. This place is perfect for kids our kids’ ages. For weeks after we came back to Ottawa the kids asked when we were going to go to Centre Island again. We had such a great time. Here are a few of the (many) pictures we took….
Checking out the view on the ferry ride to the Island.
B and I riding the chair lift across the Island. Notice my seemingly happy expression in spite of the fact that I did not enjoy the ride at all. I’m not a fan of heights, and despite the fact that the chair didn’t look that high up from the ground, when I was up in it, it seemed a lot higher. B on the other hand loved the ride.
As did the girls (A in this picture) and DoT…
Don’t you think every car should have two steering wheels?
Hey little brother!
Riding the rails.
And, of course, there was the always popular merry-go-round.
Finally, after learning my lesson with the chair lift, I made DoT take all the kids on the Ferris wheel. First A and B…
Then E…
I zoomed in for this picture, from at least 20 metres away. How does she always know when I’m taking a picture, and manage to mess it up at the last moment?…
Okay, so that’s all I’m going to say (show) about Centre Island. For anyone out there with kids between 2 and 8-ish, I’d highly recommend it.
Coming soon… a post about what’s happened in Ottawa since we got back.
