niagara falls: majestic enormity.

August 30, 2011 by mama lola

niagara falls on a windy and cloudy sunday afternoon (thanks irene), was perfection. we took our friend who is visiting from finland to show him the glory of this natural wonder. and man, the falls sure did deliver. even though i have seen the falls many, many times i am always in awe of their majestic enormity. we are so lucky to have such a beautiful natural wonder so close to home.

and the kids were so well behaved. bear walked along with his grandpa, while lion was in dear hubby’s arms. the crowds were managable and it was just a really fun way to spend a sunday! i recommend YOU try it!

we walked, we saw, we awed. we ate expensive ice cream. i took pictures. bear walked into a garbage can. lion fell asleep in his dad’s arms. we listened to old stories from the ol’ timer.

here’s hoping the week ahead is full of this much colour!

suukkoja:: kisses.

money wow$.

August 29, 2011 by mama lola

image found here at a new blog that i like. it’s got coupons and savings codes for all sorts of consumer goods and i love to save a buck if i can.

while driving the other day i was listening to the CBC and to this show (i was especially interested in the last two segments focussed on group buying and coupon hacking). we have signed up for a few deals on wagjag (group buying) and it’s been surprisingly easy and efficient. in the spring we purchased a trucks worth of top soil for $40 and recently we got a martini and dinner for two deal at a fabulous local restaurant.

i am all about finding a deal and hate to pay full price for things, especially for items i know will go on sale. things like diapers, pasta, ice cream, cleaning supplies, and even clothes. i am that mom who stocks up her shopping cart when chickpeas go on sale and buys winter clothes at deep discounts in the spring time. according to one expert on the radio show mentioned above, people like me, who refuse to pay full price, are bad for the economy. but, in my defence, we are a single income family with four people to feed, clothe and house, so i have to pinch my pennies when i can, right?

the only solace i can find in this situation is that there are thousands of other families who live like this, so you could say that we’re all facing this fight together. in fact, my friend is one of these people. she struggled with money for a long time, and it wasn’t until she discovered that investing in biotechnology (Biotechnologie investieren in German) provided her with much more money in the long run that she could spend quite happily on her shopping budgets and everything else. Maybe i should try the same thing because she said that it’s very rare that she stresses about her financial situation now. wow, wouldn’t that be amazing? but saving every bit of money that i have is so important to me and my family.

that being said, we had a unintentional frugal weekend thanks to my dad. we went to the glorious niagara falls and he paid for our lunch and the ridiculously confusing ice-cream that cost $27 for 3 cones and a cup. confusing for me, as i had no idea how to order and kept messing things up. i still have no idea how i got it all so wrong, but i did.
sigh.

i love things in the basement.

August 27, 2011 by mama lola

kids really do say the darndest things.
we have gotten quite strict about some things around the house. i am trying to encourage bear to tidy up his toys after he is done playing with them. sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn’t, so now i threaten to put the toy in the basement if he doesn’t get cracking. it sounds harsh, even to me as i type this, but we live in a small house and things really need to get put away. and really, tidying train tracks means putting them in a bucket, or collecting all the itty bitty lego and putting them back in their designated bin. today bear wouldn’t help tidy the train tracks and he told me “i love things in the basement”. fine, if you insist kid.

we were back at the airport picking up mummo from her adventures in finland. we watched some planes land first, parking illegally on the side of a road that circles the airport. it was super exciting and both boys were thrilled to see the planes up so close.

first, look at the size of the cars then look at the planes. that british airways plane on the right
was HUGE and LOUD!

inside the airport all the little people lost it, because they were so over tired by the later than usual evening and the excitement of watching the planes. bear was actually a disaster and the only way we could contain him was by dear, dear, hubby carrying him up on his shoulders. but wait, he was already carrying lion in the ergo, so it was quite the endeavour!

look at that summer bouquet my dad is holding, you can almost taste the sunshine and heat in those yellows! we also made this beautiful sign for mummo. it’s a map of finland coloured and stickered boldly by the boys. the guy peaking from behind the sign is our friend, ironically visiting from finland!

mummo and her boys and a young girl staring blatantly. oh well!

here’s hoping for glorious weather this weekend. hurricane irene is doing her thang along the eastern seaboard, but i don’t want her to rain on us. we had such a tense night on wednesday with the tornado warnings that i am so over the storms. plus, we’re hoping to hit niagara falls.

a park date with aeroplanes.

August 18, 2011 by mama lola

my mom flew to finland last week. the boys, dear hubby, my dad and i sent her off with lots of love to keep her warm at night.

first we met at a park just under the airport runway. it was loud and kinda fun to hear the roar of the planes while surrounded by suburbia!

the airport was a bit disappointing as it’s set up in a way you can’t see the planes very well. after my mom sent her baggage to the plane, and after some yummy frozen yoghurt we headed to the top floor of the parking garage to see small glimpses of real planes. the sky was stunning; glorious pastels layered the sky, as if someone had taken a large brush and painted the sunset in. the picture below does not capture the beauty of the colours.

it was an unusual evening for the kids, so they lost their steam quickly. we kissed mummo and sent her off on her adventure. bear is a little worried she is not coming back, so we’ll make sure we’re there to greet her upon her arrival!

happy travels everyone!

finger drama: mistakes made and lessons learned.

August 17, 2011 by mama lola

the other evening bear and dear hubby were in the kitchen cleaning up after dinner. bear had been really pushing the boundaries that day and by evening he was royal pain with his nonsense! then, there was an abrupt bang, then bone chilling, hair raising screams from the kitchen and dear hubby’s calm words trying to console bear. bear had had his left hand smushed by a window. we have one of those old fashioned windows you push up and then prop open with a stick, and i guess the stick was teasing our three year old and so, yeah, he took out the window support and BANG! it was awful to see him in such obvious pain and i felt like a neglectful, bad parent for opening the window and propping it open like that. of course, we had talked to bear about not touching it and i think right before the incident i heard dear hubby tell bear not to touch… but, so it goes.

we live and learn. we make mistakes, sometimes really painful ones and we move on.

luckily our family doctor has an on-call service, so after icing the fingers and giving bear a dose of acetaminophen, we decided best to call just in case we were missing something. while dear hubby chatted with the on-call doctor, bear and i sat in the playroom discussing the pained incident. he vowed never to do it again and explained that it was a mistake. my heart filled with pride listening to his profound analysis. he obviously needed to debrief the situation, just like me and it was nice to hold him and help him through the intellectual side of the incident. as the drugs kicked in and the adrenalin wore off, bear quickly fell asleep snuggled in my lap.

without a peep or complaint all night, bear woke up in the morning in a little bit of pain, but seemed to be in good spirits. with doctor’s orders from the previous evening’s on-call advice, bear and i headed to our family doctor, who was luckily able to see us first thing. she had a quick look at the swollen pinky and sent us for x-rays at the local hospital. my heart sank and i got scared instantly. what would we do if the finger or hand was broken? i felt like crying. but, i held back and we headed to the hospital. there we got the x-rays done quickly without any waiting. bear was scared, but i kept whispering sweet notions into his ear which built his courage, i think. he kept his wee hand so still and moved it accordingly for each set of the pictures. again, my heart filled with such pride.

a blurry picture while waiting for the x-ray. brave bear.

finally, after waiting for almost an hour we got the all clear: NO BROKEN FINGER!

tending to our veggie garden.

in the afternoon we played outside in the backyard, always very mindful of the painful left hand. bear kept the wrist limp and never even tried to use it for anything. poor fella!

high five, bro!

look out butterflies, there’s a catcher in town!

here’s the damage…

the pinky is the most damaged part of his wee hand. it looks worse in real life and he wouldn’t let me take a picture of it. this one i had to sneak in.

slumber party.

August 14, 2011 by mama lola

we had a family sleepover at our dear friends’ house. we haven’t seen these friends in a very, very long time and we were overdue for some quality time. they have three beautiful kids (18mths to 5yrs), so our kids were thrilled to have lots of company and new toys to play with.

we had our traditional evening dinner, which as always was exciting with all five kids and us four adults sitting down to the table to eat. to my surprise it went remarkably smoothly, considering the details. i mean yes, oz fire did try to start a food fight by throwing random pieces of his dinner and our lion cried from the get go. but, us adults were able to chat and the big kids told summer stories and it felt really good to be with them.

then, the real party started after the kids were fast asleep upstairs.

we had one of those unintentional boozy, chatty nights that we used to take for granted back before the kids arrived. our conversations often have a reminiscent quality to them, but to balance things out we planned next summer’s adventures already! dear hubby and i are truly lucky to have such amazing, supportive friends like this. d’s the guy who hired dear hubby when he was laid off five months ago. and my sweet ray of sunshine is the voice i call during my life’s highest and lowest moments. we speak almost daily.

the following morning was tough. the men headed to their respective jobs, while us mamas stayed at home and mothered. luckily we had each other! it was a slow morning and we had big plans for the park in the afternoon, but just as ray of sunshine opened the door the sky, quite literally, dumped. oh, the rain. so, instead the big kids watched a movie and ate stove top pop corn.

cannot wait to spend a cottage weekend up north with them next month!
carling…..

the winds of change

August 13, 2011 by mama lola

i have had a challenging summer parenting my three year old bear. although we have experienced many joys and made lots of happy memories, there have also been a surprising number of tantrums and tears (shed by both of us). as i have tried to problem solve our way through this tangled mess of power struggles, i have felt quite hopeless.

bear fell asleep in the glider after being sent to his room. he’s growing so quickly these days.

but now, half way through august i see a light at the end of the tunnel. september is around the corner and with it comes routine. i am hoping the predictable nature of our weeks and days will bring with them peace and calm as well. bear will be returning to pre-school; a place he learned to enjoy and feel safe at. as i have said before, i feel eternally grateful for his lovely teachers, amy and stacy, who have helped him find independence and gain skills. bear will also be starting ballet classes, which he has been waiting for for many months.

it’s tough being little.

just like my kids, i thrive when i know what’s going on and know what to expect. i am a planner at heart and like to commit to things, whether it’s play dates with the kids or coffee with friends. i am hoping the cooler temperatures will bring with them some mama-inspiration. my family dinner plans have been placed on hold as our summer schedule has not allowed for the planning these meals deserves. also, with the outrageous heat waves that passed through in july, i tried to limit the use of the stove and oven so as not to heat up the house more. come september, family dinners will be back on!
i also have a basket of sewing projects waiting to be tackled. nothing too exciting, but clothes that need to be mended or adjusted to fit growing bodies. i just haven’t had the time or interest during these warm summer evenings.

as august rolls along, i am trying to enjoy the last few weeks of warm weather without wishing away the end of summer. we still have many adventures to take on and projects to tackle. but, like bear, i am looking forward to a cozy canadian winter!

oh my! a dragon in my house!

i am certain fall’s cooler winds will bring the change we are so desperate for.

camping quickie!

August 5, 2011 by mama lola

i had this whole camping entry planned, with stories of the fun we had and pictures capturing small moments of our good times weekend. but, somehow with so many pictures to edit i felt overwhelmed and left the whole blog world for a few days. here are a handful of pics from last weekend, as we head into a brand new one.

checking the tent at home and finally putting it up. daddy and his helpers.

the camp ground was on a first nations reserve.

an after dinner stroll down to the beach. the water was shallow and warm.

a lake front area on the reserve. beside the dock the view was magnificent and the rock beach was fun. bear found a rock that looked like grandpa E’s iphone!

this was a view from a lookout stop. obviously no photograph can capture the beauty and wonder of the view. it was beyond spectacular!

this weekend and next week are packed tightly with more summer adventures that include sailing, visiting best friends in the big city, play dates galore and sending my mom off to finland for a two week holiday! once things slow down a bit i am hoping to write some more thoughtful posts about community, poverty, pregnancy, health, post-partum, money; basically about things that i have witnessed or experienced this summer and made me think. think twice, even.

happy week-ending everyone!

going green(er).

August 3, 2011 by mama lola

i am always looking for ways to be a little more environmentally friendly. there are some things in our household we can’t change, but there are so many little things we can do to make a small difference. i was inspired while reading this list, so i compiled my own. i chose ten things we could change or improve at our house.

start collecting “grey” water in our kitchen. i have wanted to do this for a long time, so here’s my moment to start. “grey” water for us means, dish water or left over sips of coffee or water in mugs etc.
buy more in bulk and bring own bag or container.
only buy local produce and product when possible. although there are some items we ALWAYS buy that are local, i want to make more of an effort to keep our local economy thriving. this includes food, but also purchasing gifts from local artisans or crafters or independent sellers.
ride my bike more. poor tallulah doesn’t get the pedal time she deserves!
when driving use the car more efficiently by getting more errands done in one trip.
sign up for on-line billing and see how much of that junk the bank mails out can actually be eliminated.
waste less food. this is becoming an issue for us that fills me with guilt.
re-use, re=use: do more crafts with cereal boxes or sour cream containers, make grocery lists on used paper, bird feeders out of cartons (*send me your suggestions!)
make own food: i could bake bread, pickle things more often, dry more herbs….
unplug small appliances so as not to use “ghost” electricity.

i think that is a very doable list and one that i can always add to or edit as needed. what do you guys think? i would appreciate any feedback.
i will update you with my goings-on. wish us luck!

my worst hour.

July 29, 2011 by mama lola

we had a terrible hour on tuesday between 11:45am-12:45pm. we were visiting my folks in the big city and all i had to do was walk to the subway station and pick-up a set of car keys from dear hubby. he was working in the city that day. the walk to the station is 10 minutes max for an adult. i had carelessly left my keys back home (an hours drive), and i couldn’t get into the car. i thought i was going to have to call a Locksmith Clevedon (or one local to my area) to try and sort the situation for me. dear hubby was taking his lunch hour to get on the subway and bring me the keys.

all bear had to do was put on his sandals, so we could walk to the station and get the keys. lion was in the sling and my mom was ready to go. but, bear wouldn’t put on his sandals and when i finally got them on his feet he ripped them off. with the clock ticking and the sun beating down on us, i grabbed bear by the hand and set off to the subway. he screamed and cried and tried to keep up in his bare feet.

when we finally reached the station things went from bad to worse in a millisecond. my mom took lion and bear was completely out of control. people stared and two kind people asked if i needed help or water. they were so gentle and understanding and nodded knowingly when i said he was three and explained was over tired. i just sat there trying to hold him and kept whispering that i loved him into his ear.

dear hubby was 20 minutes late. of course! when i saw him i just grabbed the keys and got the hell outta there! as we started back to the house, bear in my arms, lion in my mom’s everyone began to calm down. bear was finally able to catch his breath after almost an hour of screaming. back at the house i sat in my mom’s rocking chair, held my two boys and felt the exhaustion enter my body in waves. bear drank some water and then walked in to my parents’ tv room and fell asleep on the floor. just like that. he slept there for two hours!

he’s getting more confident on his bike; way to ride dude!

i am not sharing this parenting disaster story as way to seek pity, but as a way to normalize these awful minutes, hours or days that happen with our kids. bear and i are going through a rough time and i am desperately searching for something to help resolve this family crisis of sorts. we are beyond consistency and expectations, although i do believe in those, but i feel like we are even more derailed than that. i am more lost than i initially understood or wanted to admit. all of that being said, i do believe we can find our way again, especially with lots of love and maybe some more self care on my part.

i’m back to reading and re-reading some parenting books i enjoy. i have also received some recommendations, which i will look into- thanks!

we went and saw “bob the builder” do a free show in the big city after the screaming fiasco. bear was excited during the show, but terrified to meet him afterwards. can’t really blame the kid, look how big bob’s head is! later bear told me bob has soft hands.

happy long weekend my fellow cannucks! see you on the other side!