a hike.

September 15, 2012 by mama lola

our plans for this evenings family boozy dinner with friends was cancelled. unfortunately, one of our friends’ kids got sick; one of the unfortunate consequences of school, i suppose. all those germs incubating in those enclosed spaces, yuck! sending lots of love to our friends and let’s hope mr.T bounces back soon.

this morning i suggested going for a long walk along the niagara escarpment, you know, tiring out the kids so they’ll have a quiet afternoon and fall asleep quickly tonight. so, we packed snacks, our water bottles and then hopped in the car, driving south to the escarpment. today was one of those early fall days that starts off cool and crispy, but warms up in the afternoon.

we had a great walk. we saw an incredibly beautiful waterfall at the start of our hike. the boys ran most of the way, with a break each, up on dear hubby’s shoulders. we gobbled up our picnic snack at dundas peak, while enjoying the warm sun on our faces. some of the trees are already changing colour, and i’m guessing at the height of autumn the view must be spectacular when the leaves are bright orange and red and yellow.

tomorrow we have our annual baby group photoshoot. here’s hoping the weather is as glorious as it was today; sunny and warm with a scent of fall in the air.

…

September 14, 2012 by mama lola

~ this moment ~

as inspired by souleMama; one photo from our week, no words. only an image to sum up our time as a family, one that captures a moment in time and is a visual reminder of where we were at this moment.

leave a comment below with a link to your own ~ this moment ~ from this week.

a rant about the park.

September 13, 2012 by mama lola

we have two neighbourhood parks we visit. the one at the top of the big hill is our favourite. there are lots of big trees that create wonderful shade on hot summer days, sand to dig in, and often we bump into other kids from the hood there. it’s a fun place to be.

the other park is a quick trip down the street and tucked away behind a bunch of houses. it’s actually completely enclosed with only an opening wide enough for city maintenance vehicles to come in. the park is quiet, with excellent climbing option, that bear loves, including playground equipment and big gnarly trees.

today, we went to the park down the street as it’s the perfect destination for bear to bike to. (we also went there last weekend and that’s really when my disgust started.) when we arrived at the playground last saturday and today, there was a pile of dog $h*t at the bottom of the big curly slide. i tried to cover it and shift it over, but we didn’t have our sand toys, so i only had my feet to use as tools. today, i phoned the city to complain and the woman at the other end was less than impressed with my complaint. i asked her if the park was a leash free park for dogs (because it is so enclosed), and she said no. then i told her about the poop i had found and told her it had been sitting there for almost a week. i explained that it was gross as my kids were here to play and asked if the city could put some signs up to remind people that they need to clean up after their dogs. she said she would pass along my query.
yeah right she will.

she practically hung up on me at the end of our conversation, which left me wanting to phone back and file a complaint about her! as the kids played and i walked around the designated play area, i found four other, crusty turd piles.

i wanted to phone her back, but decided i would take the kids to the other side of the park instead, where there is a bench, so we could have a snack. right next to our bench are some pretty amazing trees the kids love to climb. and climb they did. oh they had fun, until suddenly i realized lion’s little thumb was bleeding. i wiped it up, but it was bleeding quite a lot and that’s when i saw several massive pieces of broken glass from a shattered beer bottle.

that’s when i went from a rage to a sadness. the park is a public space to be shared by all, to be enjoyed by all, but obviously some do not understand that shared space comes with responsibility. you have to clean up after yourself, your dog, your friend, whatever. i don’t really care what people do at the park, as long as it’s not when we are there and they clean up their messes.
c’mon people!

as we were leaving bear suggested we make our own signs and bring them to the park to remind people how to responsibly and kindly, use a shared, public space. maybe that’s what we’ll do tomorrow! i felt like bursting with pride when he said that!

do you have suggestions or ideas about what we should do?

layers of yummy.

September 12, 2012 by mama lola

don’t you just love smoothies? i’ve been on a bit of a smoothie kick as it’s a great breakfast boost for the kids and the perfect way to get that needed protein into them. especially now that bear is in JK all day! I’ve even gone out and purchased the Best Juicer I could find to create delicious glasses of goodness.

i check the fridge for various fruits bits, veggie chunks and other possible smoothie ingredients. i chuck what i can find into my container and blend away (i just use my immersion hand-held blender). i always make sure i put in flax oil, tofu, unsweetened organic almond milk and some kind of fruit. often i use banana’s, berries, or left over fruit salad chunks. sometimes, i’ll throw in a dollop of plain organic yoghurt or a splash of organic whole cow’s milk. when i was on my cleanse i was encouraged to make smoothies with spinach, so i now i put in big handfuls of the fresh organic green stuff. once i had no spinach so i threw in some kale. the spinach is tasteless when mixed in, but provides awesome nutrition. this smoothie pictured below also has ground flax seeds in it.

i don’t measure anything when making smoothies. i add until i like the colour, consistency or taste. i only use about a 1/4 cup of flax oil and one heaping table spoon of the ground flax seeds.

have fun! enjoy!

do you have favourite smoothie flavour?

quiet day.

September 11, 2012 by mama lola

we are having a quiet home day today. the boys need some peace today.
as do i.

* please check out on the right-side-bar a new facebook button. click and come join the fun with bear & lion on fb!

* also, up top there under the peggy’s cove photo, i added a new tab listing some of my fave blogs out there. now, go do some reading!

[ source ]

peace out.
xo

lion in the sun.

September 10, 2012 by mama lola

this space has become very saturated with bear and and all of his school stuff recently.

i don’t want to send the wrong message that i favour my bear and that i have forgotten all ablout my lion, because, that would be ridiculous! lion and his needs have been at the forefront of the school decisions right next to bear’s. one reason we chose to only send bear to school three days a week instead of the typical five, was because we wanted to nurture the relationship between the boys. in the summer i would lay in bed at night wondering how our littlest guy would cope with his big bro at school all day, every day, gone. i honestly worried he would fall into a bit of a depression.
dramatic? perhaps.
but, again, since we can keep bear home we midas well. the benefits are enumerable for all of us.

i could have sent my lion to preschool this fall, but instead i chose to keep him at home with me, because he and i have never really spent much time alone, just the two of us. with dear hubby at work and bear at school all day, it is the perfect time to clock in some valuable one on one time with my wee guy. now at two lion is seriously asserting his own wants and needs, and has an opinion about everything (just like his mama). by spending more focused time with him, i think it’ll help curb some of the screaming and tattling that takes over in the evening around here.

i will look into community programs and see what we will do. maybe swimming, maybe a reading group, maybe an art class. whatever we do decide to do, i am so excited for us to spend time as duo!

he’s excited too, he just doesn’t know it yet!

how do you divide yourself amongst your kids? how do you find balance?

a letter to my bear.

September 9, 2012 by mama lola

to my sweet bear,

i am writing this letter to you as a kind of coming of age ritual. this is a first of many, i hope.

here we go…you are my first born son.
you have always brought great joy to my life and as my first, there has been great uncertainty at times as well. your dad and i have always tried our best, with what we knew at the time. sometimes we really didn’t know very much! i am so proud to be your mama, your äiti. your silly personality, your sense of humour and your artistic flare are such a pleasure to live with every day. your intuitive abilities with people will take you far and will help you with whatever you do. your sensitive self will provide a foundation to help navigate the ups and downs in life. your emotions will guide you, even during difficult times.

i have watched you grow greatly this year; your confidence has started to blossom. your thirst for knowledge and creative expression have found a wonderful balance within you, rounding out who you are, and who you are becoming. my wish is that i have provided you with the opportunities to grow into a responsible adult

two years ago our little lion joined our family. since then, i have watched you grow into a solid, big brother. your relationship with him is already close and full of love. i hope the two of you remain the best of buds throughout your lives.

today, you are four-and-a-half years old and you are entering a new chapter in your life by starting kindergarten. we have discussed at length what you should expect, what your classroom will look like, how to behave at school, what kind of activities you will participate in and so on. i believe you are as ready as you ever will be.

i see greatness in your life. i hope your curiosity takes you to interesting places around the world and that you meet good people. i hope you learn to dance to your own beat, ignoring what society dictates and ignoring the norms our consumer culture has created. i hope you love with everything in you and do not fear the pains and joys of commitment.

my wish is that i have provided you with the opportunities, taught you the right skills and told you i love you enough times. i hope you have felt loved and respected each day of your life; i know you have showed your love to me, even during times of frustration.

i love you.
from here to the moon and to saturn and back a gazillion times.

yours always,
äiti
september 09, 2012

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

[ sitting around at the park at five months. ]

[ all smiles at 18 months. ]

[ mischievous bear at 4.5 years. ]

. . . . . . . . . .

i got this ~~sappy~~ letter idea from a mama friend of mine. angela at “life with my forest creatures” wrote a letter to her daughter and you can read her letter HERE.

school gear!

September 8, 2012 by mama lola

here’s a quick look at bear’s must haves this fall for school with prices as we paid for them…

1. a new bookbag from MEC (HERE)

2. brand new super cool sneakers from H&M (HERE)

3. rad, red, chinos also from H&M (HERE)

4. fancy shirt, again from H&M (HERE)

5. light weight, easy to use rubbermaid containers (as seen HERE & HERE). i actually bought his on super-duper sale at the local grocery store!

…

September 7, 2012 by mama lola

~ this moment ~

bear started kindergarten today.

September 6, 2012 by mama lola

today was a big day for our family.

my eldest started school. they have a new system, where they don’t just throw the JK’s into the school and see who sins or swims, instead, they stagger the start days. that means, today bear went on from 12pm until 2pm to meet his teacher, see his classroom and make some new friends. dear hubby, lion and i walked to school with him. as we were walking i was holding back tears, biting my lip and trying desperately to ignore the urge to turn around and run back home with my bear tightly in my arms.

[ leaving the house with a pouty bear and tired lion.]

we arrived at the school to a small group of waiting families. then bear’s teacher called him and some other JK’s to go into her room. so, in we went and almost immediately we were told to quickly say good-bye and leave.
i felt so flustered and tried to give him a kiss; i don’t even remember if i told him i loved him. and then we left, leaving him behind. i rushed out of the school with tears welling up in my eyes, trying to wipe them away without smearing my mascara every where. why i put that stuff on… anyway, i only allowed myself to cry a few little sobs before we walked home. lion fell asleep in the stroller and the three of us we spent a quiet afternoon at home without our bear.

[ a quick good-bye. ]

the house felt empty without bear. he’s not a particularly loud kid, but he has big presence here. he holds his own and makes himself known.
my heart ached as i looked at baby pictures of him, wondering where my little bear had gone. how did four and a half years fly by like that? gone, i swear all i did was blink and swoosh, gone. time has this magic of disappearing into thin air.

the two hours at school passed quickly enough. back at school we met his teacher, madameC, who is lovely. she is friendly and soft, and her demeanour seems like an ideal match for my guy. she remembered bear from the visit the kids had in the spring, the one where he grabbed my leg and cried and wouldn’t let go. today madameC told me with a gentle smile that he didn’t cry at all and that he seemed quite calm. that is reassuring. something i needed to hear.

bear himself was delighted to show us his cubby for his shoes and the corner he tucked his bookbag into. he proudly presented me with the art he had done and excitedly explained that they had even gone outside. as i listened to him, i was honestly so happy for him and so proud, especially since going to JK is a big deal for my anxious little guy. but, and i hate to admit this, deep down inside i was sad that his life was going on without me; that he doesn’t need me quite so much any more; that he’s growing up.

i know it sounds silly, and possibly laughable.
but, as a stay-at-home-mama, letting go of my child and entrusting him to someone else is a big deal. that’s one of the reasons we’re only sending him for three days a week instead of the full five. luckily bear’s teacher madameC and the school principal seem unphased and supportive of our own schedule. i am not willing to completely give him up to the system. others can judge me all they want, but kids are in school all day, five days a week for over a decade. i want to spend as much time with my kids as possible, while i can.