The Silver Wheel

Art!

2011-09-10T20:47:00.002-04:00

Willow's drawings featuring Mommy and Willow, a rainbow, the sun and our house. That was her favourite things to draw for a long time. Above the rainbow pictures is a mother and baby alien :)

Sunny September Sunflowers

2011-09-09T16:44:00.002-04:00

Peeping Tom Cat

2011-09-08T15:46:00.000-04:00

**$100 Gift Card from Think Geek*

2010-11-13T17:12:00.002-05:00

This is a great one!!! One lucky person is going to win a $100 gift from Think Geek. I'm completely in love with the Yoda back pack and the Tauntaun sleeping bag. Sooooo Cool!

Here's the link

http://www.shibleysmiles.com/2010/11/holiday-gift-guide-think-geek-100-gift.html

Win a Waldorf Doll

2010-11-11T17:28:00.005-05:00

Home Grown Families is hosting a giveaway. One lucky person will win a Waldorf Doll by Polar Bear Creations.

Go here to Home Grown Families to enter.

Melissa and Doug Giveaway

2010-11-10T17:26:00.005-05:00

Melissa and Doug are giving away a Deluxe Puppet Theater and Three Puppets to one lucky reader

Here's the link:

http://blog.melissaanddoug.com/2010/11/02/giveaway-deluxe-puppet-theater-and-3-puppets/

Natura Sleep Envelope Giveaway hosted by Natural Mommie

2010-11-07T15:43:00.006-05:00

I happened upon this ultra cool giveaway. It's an Natura Natural Wool Sleep Envelope. Hmmmm, natural wool bedding - sounds dreamy!!!!

Here's the link for the giveaway:

http://naturalmommie.com/2010/11/green-gift-guide-natura-washable-wool-comforter-mattress-pad-456/

Natural Mommie's Blog Link:

http://naturalmommie.com/

And if you want to check out a really great Canadian company that's enviromentally friendly too:

http://www.naturaworld.com/

My Name Is Sylar

2010-04-13T20:38:00.001-04:00

My name is Sylar. I have a hunger. A hunger to see how things work. I gaze into your brain and learn your ability. I will now gaze into the brain of this kitty. I will learn her ability. Will I acquire mouse catching abilities? Will I acquire yarn playing abilities? Only one way to find out. Feel the Power!!!!

Camping 2009

2009-09-05T14:25:00.002-04:00

Tentacles!
Sand Maze

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Singing Sands - Fun at the Beach!

2009-09-05T12:36:00.001-04:00

A Story by Niki

2008-12-05T14:58:00.004-05:00

Bloody Birthday Moon— by Nick

On Dad’s Birthday, February 20th, 2008 the moon as we know it turned to blood! How could this be? Well, that’s an interesting story. Sit down, shut up and let me tell you the story!

It all began with a cake. My Dad blew out the candles and then the room went dark. The only light came from the moonlight. We looked out expecting the sight of the full moon—BUT HALF OF IT WAS GONE!!!!!!!!! What happened to the other half. Did God take it? Did aliens think it was really made of cheese? Did they eat it??? No one knew.

Then when everyone else but the K family left the moon was replaced by a blood red sphere. So we went outside we looked at it, howled at it, threw snowballs and sticks at it and chased it.

Later we found out that it was just a Lunar Eclipse. We all felt really stupid.

The End.

A Hike on a Warm November Day

2008-11-26T15:24:00.009-05:00

We decided to take advantage of one of the last golden days of autumn earlier this month. I'm glad we did considering that it has looked more like winter in recent days.

I love this picture, we are all looking at the stream flowing under the bridge. The funny part of it is how Niki is leaned over so far you can't see his head. He kept his hat safe by putting it on his back, lol!

Willow running with her typically wind blown hair! This is the ruins at The Hermitage in the Dundas Conservation Area.

November sun hangs low in the afternoon sky.

Peaceful, Reflective Moments.

An apple tree, once part of a tame orchard is claimed by nature.

Joyful boy!

There are just so many uses for a stick!

The Sighting

Last Warm Days

Tree Hugs Rock

What Becomes of Jack-O-Lanterns When Halloween Is Through?

2008-11-26T15:10:00.002-05:00

Harvest

2008-11-26T15:04:00.001-05:00

This is what was happening all around us on Halloween weekend

Decorating our Home for Hallowe'en

2008-11-15T12:45:00.003-05:00

Every Hallowe'en we try to have a lot of fun getting our home ready for the few trick or treaters that we get out here.

Niki came up with the idea of making these 'Creepy Cracks' from an episode of Art Attack.

Josi made one as well!

Skeleton Tree

The Entrance to our house or the Hall of Horror!

2008-11-15T12:34:00.001-05:00

The Haunted Path to our Front Door

Skulls in the Garden

Niki's Puking Pumpkin

Watch Your Step! Oops! Josi's gruesome creations!

2008-11-15T12:24:00.002-05:00

Eeeeew! Braaaaaaiiiiins!!!

Niki's sneezing pumpkin

2008-11-15T12:14:00.003-05:00

Here are some of the Jack o Lanterns that Peter and I made. Carrots make really creepy tentacles or noses for our creations!
My Upsidedown pumpkin
Niki's Brain Bursting pumpkin

Halloween

2008-11-12T12:25:00.003-05:00

Grrr, why don't this pictures post in order!!! This is the end of the night. Willow was wiped right out from trick or treating, watching movies and eating junk food.
Here we are - The Gender Confused Pirate (I didn't really consider the fact that I was wearing a skirt and a beard and moustache until the evening was over and then I was like 'wait a second . . . . .heh-heh) The Scary Fairy (Josi was wearing motorcycle boots with the fairy costume) The Joker (Heath Ledger style all the way, baby) and our little winged unicorn riding clown (she would have worn a witch hat, too, making it a three costume combo if the hat would have stayed on her head, lol)

Homeschool Halloween Party at the Ecohouse

2008-11-12T12:12:00.002-05:00

We hosted a Halloween party for the hamilton Homeschool group at The Ecohouse. It was a blast and it seemed like everyone had a great time.

You can rent rooms at the Ecohouse, but it is also worth a field trip on it's own. It is owned by the community and is an example of an environmentally friendly building. It's a historical building that was willed to the city by it's last owner. What a wonderful concept! I hope we can use this location again. The people who manage the place are super friendly too!
A map of the house grounds. The Ecohouse includes a beautiful garden. The kids had fun exploring outside.
The house generates it's own power with solar panels and a wind turbine.
Hamilton's Ecohouse

2008-11-12T11:53:00.000-05:00

Autumn leaf art.
The Joker flees Gotham City
Making Friends.

2008-11-12T11:35:00.002-05:00

I asked Willow to make a clowny face! She must be a scary clown, lol!
The Joker is standing in front of the Ecohouses solar panels.
Willow is partying under the table.
Making cork screw willow wands.

Photos of Short Hills Provincial Park by Niki

2008-10-16T21:40:00.002-04:00

The Photographer

2008-10-16T21:33:00.001-04:00

2008-10-16T21:25:00.001-04:00

Hmm, I've messed up the order of the pics . . . but here they are!

2008-10-14T22:16:00.003-04:00

Happy Birthday Dear Willow, Four Year Old Girl!
Niki is a party noise maker
Serious business!!! Mika is Willow's helper.
Demolished cake.

Happy Birthday Willow!!! And Thanksgiving too.

2008-10-14T21:46:00.004-04:00

A couple of gifts in the morning to start off the big day!
Our annual Thanksgiving Hay ride!
And our annual Thanksgiving family walk in the woods.
Niki helps Willow with her pinata - it was like breaking concrete!

Willow is the life of the party!

Fun weekend . . . . so far.

2008-10-12T20:56:00.002-04:00

Not that I don't expect it to continue being fun. It's just that the weekend isn't done yet. The best part is still ahead of us.

Again, there are no pictures to prove it. You'll have to take my word for it. Yesterday we went to the Ball's Falls Thanksgiving Weekend Arts and Crafts Festival. As usual we got there very late and didn't get to look around at a leisurely pace. We did the speed tour. That's where you walk quickly and try to take it all in.

I missed The Fiddlers 3 http://www.fiddlers3.com/index1.html for the first time in years. I'm so sad about that, wah! They are a family group of celtic musicians. ah well, maybe next year, sigh.

But we certainly didn't skip the FOOD! We had roasted corn on the cob, french fries, almond bark and apple fritters. Mmmmmmmmm, fatty foods sooooooooo gooooood!

Today I was vending at St Jacob's Sunday market. I thought it might be a profitable day being a holiday weekend, but sales were slow. I did get a chance to knit a cute little hat for Willow with all that time sitting there not selling anything, lol. It's nice to accomplish something with my time. I zipped inside the market and bought a set of bamboo double pointed knitting needles so I could finish the hat - I only brought my circular needle.

While I was in there I indulged in a double shot of espresso, ooooooh it was nice! Haha, it was almost worth the trip to St Jacob's just for that. We want to get a GOOD espresso maker. We have a cheapo machine and it just never turns out very tasty. <----(understatement)

I'm beginning to feel like part of the market family. My van was being a bit weird this morning and I had multiple offers of help from fellow vendors. Very nice! Another example of the kindness was from my neighbor. Today I was beside the Pita booth (best pitas in town! I often buy my lunch there) and one of the lovely ladies there brought me a beautiful cup of fresh squeezed lemonade. Isn't that sweet?

I'm not sure how many market days are left for me this year. Fall is slowing sales. I may not go back until next spring. We'll just have to wait and see.

I hope to post again tomorrow or sometime next week to finish my report on the weekend. Tomorrow is not only Thanksgiving, but it is my baby's birthday!!!!!! Willow is turning 4 years old. So there will be much wrapping tonight and in the morning we are baking a cake! Yay!!! Oh I can't wait!!!

Weekend of Family Fun

2008-10-11T21:04:00.003-04:00

We kept ourselves plenty busy last weekend which isn't hard to do around here in the autumn. We went to a local Pioneer Day on the Saturday. Unfortunately though we brought the camera with us, we forgot to take pictures. We were visiting our friends who are 1812 re-enactors. To make up for the lack of pictures of our friends, here is a picture they sent me from one of their other events.

Here's Bill on the right and his friend Tommy. They should charge royalties on using their images. They get photographed so often! I expect Bill to tell me how much I owe him next time I see him, ha-ha!

Then on the Sunday, we went to a corn maze and pumpkin farm.

Look at Peter. Why he's a little sunflower, of course, lol!

Piggy backin' through the corn maze got to be pretty tiring. Why did I forget the stroller!?!? Willow enjoyed it though. We're moving so fast Josi is a blur!

Niki, put that corn right back where you found it! Niki couldn't resist the temptation though! Notice the witches baseball hat? That is Niki's official October hat. Super cool!

Haha, here we are pretending to be bored or exhausted or something. But no we were not bored at all. How could we be bored at a pumpkin farm in the fall?!?! Impossible I tell you!

Pagan Pride Day Harvest Festival

2008-09-30T18:29:00.005-04:00

This year I had the opportunity to vend my tie dyes at The Pagan Pride Day Harvest Festival. The weather was damp, misty and gray for the morning and it eventually turned to steady rain in the afternoon. It was still a very fun day! It's such a unique event with such a diversity in the people attending. That is definitely the best part - the people watching!

Me and my tie dyes!
I snapped this picture of folks enjoying my hoops! I donated Hula Hoops for the children's area and they were a BIG hit! It was beautiful seeing all the young 'uns playing.
Presenting The Silver Wheel! Hahahaha!!!!

Happy Birthday Josi!

2008-09-30T18:08:00.002-04:00

My first baby turned 14 on the 11th of September! Where does the time go?!? She asked her dad to make her cinnamon rolls instead of a birthday cake.They were a big hit with the family! The whole dinner was delicious. There was spaghetti and meatballs, salad, bruchetta, cinnamon rolls, cinnamon pull apart cake and peach pie! Family and food = good times!

Summer Vacation 2008

2008-09-13T20:53:00.001-04:00

2008-09-07T19:38:00.001-04:00

Mama and Kidlets

2008-09-07T19:23:00.002-04:00

I cannot for the life of me remember what it was that we were looking at with such intensity!

I just love how the bubbles in the water reflect on the rocks beneath.

Scenic Georgian Bay

Mama takes the plunge!

Willow gets a ride on Daddy's shoulders. Dreads make good handles

2008-09-07T19:11:00.002-04:00

Josi spent most of her vacation with her nose in a book. Wow, the apple didn't fall far!

Niki showing off his modelling skills. He's a natural, I tell ya!

Willow just being cute!

2008-09-07T18:42:00.002-04:00

Niki shooting hoops.

Niki helps to bury Willow.

Relaxin' Papa

2008-09-07T18:25:00.002-04:00

Chillin' on the beach (Seriously, it was cold!)
Please put that camera away!

Beach art!

2008-09-07T18:18:00.002-04:00

Niki's colourful kite in a bright blue sky.
Looks like we are walking on water. It stays shallow for a very long way out!
It was very chilly on the beach. Solution - where a sweater in the water!

Camping 2008

2008-09-07T18:06:00.002-04:00

Here's our beautiful campsite. It's so private and shady. Isn't it peaceful?
It's also a huge site. Lots of space to play or read or whatever you want to do!

2008-09-07T17:58:00.002-04:00

My first day at St Jacob's and Willow had to get used to me being gone for the whole day. This is what she was like when I got back around 6pm. Her room was a wreck and she had passed out in her chair!

Dress Up

2008-09-07T17:35:00.001-04:00

Josi dressed Willow up as a kitty cat. Willow really played the part meowing and licking, lol! Too Cute!

Willow's New Friend

2008-08-14T10:55:00.000-04:00

A Trip to the ROM

2008-08-14T10:46:00.002-04:00

Peter and the other fossils. (Just kidding, sweetie!)

Josi getting silly.

It's a bird, it's a plane . . . uh, it's a bird!

2008-08-07T00:16:00.000-04:00

Future Palientologist?

Hands on History!

Learning Together

Goodbye My Shady Friend

2008-07-01T16:30:00.000-04:00

It was a beautiful tree. A weeping willow. It dominated our entire front yard. I beleive it was about 36 or 37 years old, only a couple of years youner than I am. A few weeks ago Peter discovered that it had a large crack down throughout the trunk. The danger was that there were hydro lines on 3 sides of the tree. If it came down it was almost certainly going to take a hydro line down, too. So down it had to come.

Here's Mark up on the tractor's front end loader making the first cuts

Half down, two more trunks to go.

The aftermath. Our front yard looks so different without our shady willow. What I miss the most is the sound of the wind in her branches at night. :-(

Patchwork Dragonfly Dress

2008-06-05T13:49:00.001-04:00

Here's a sweet dress! The patchwork panels alternate from a medium solid purple and a blue/purple batik. The applique is a cute little batik dragonfly which is bonded and handstitched with blue embroidery floss.

Our New Model

2008-06-05T13:28:00.001-04:00

This is our new model! She was on sale at the fabric store. I got her for $50 off the original sales price!!! I think she needs a name though. Any ideas?

Alien on Front, UFO on Back

2008-05-31T23:54:00.001-04:00

This is another design that I learned how to make thanks to Martine and Tom of True Tie Dye. A million thanks guys!!! This is such a rockin shirt!!! I can't wait to try some variations on this design. It should be mega fun!!

Ember Heart

2008-05-31T23:45:00.001-04:00

I made one of these sweet T's for my Mommy as a Mother's Day gift. I made her 2 different shirts, but this is her favorite, I think. The heart is like the blue hot embers of a fire and the rest of the shirt is variegating shades of yellow, orange, red and dark red. I LOVE the drizzling dye effect. It so different from traditional tie dye!
I

Spirals and Peace Signs, Oh My!

2008-05-31T23:26:00.001-04:00

Two more designs that I learned fromTom and Martine!!! Beautiful stuff!!!

It's a kaleidoscope of colour. Such a tasty T shirt.

And the traditional peace sign. I have new colours and variations on this one coming soon!

Earth Toned A Shaped Design

2008-05-31T22:45:00.003-04:00

Funny thing - I made this design by mistake originally. I was actually trying for a V design, but got messed up in the folding/tying process! I love how it turned out and now make them this way on purpose, lol!

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Agents Fox Mulder and Dana Scully

2007-09-07T10:40:00.000-04:00

Future Shop had an amazing sale on all DVD X Files seasons. They were originally going for more than $100 per season!!! They were on sale for $20!!!! I now have seasons 1-5 (the best seasons really) Woo-hoo! I am getting googly eyed from watching too many X files episodes. But I love it!

Back From Another Great Vacation

2007-08-27T11:59:00.000-04:00

We've been home for a few days now. The trip was great! I wish we could do that all summer long, every year. It's not so much the uncomfortable sleeps, the cold mornings, the rainy days outside or even the sunny days on the beach, finding really cool places for a hike or enjoying the drive on roads we've never been down. It's just so nice to escape everyday life! Not to think about money (well, not too much). Putting the brain on vacation mode!

Every year we start plotting and planning a way we could prolong vacation time, but reality just keeps hauling us back! Boo! We hate you reality. Go bother someone else and let me have my bank account that never runs out despite the fact that I've decided that work is lame and I find new ways to enjoy freedom!

Well back to the real life I must go. At least I got my tax situation cleared up and received a long awaited bit of cash. There are so many things we need to take care of that it will gone in no time. I did get to take the kids on a nice back to school shopping spree (I still hate to send them back. In my dream world I am also a super homeschooling mama, but I just can't seem to make that a reality either)

We're also getting a new minivan. I will have to post pics of the old van and the new van to really appreciate what a big deal this is, haha! All I will say for now is that it was looooong overdue, lol! It's a 2003 Venture, very new by our standards. We were accepted for financing which makes me feel like a real grown up at last (at the tender age of 38).

Peter and I are also planning to use some of the money for our business plan. I tell more about it later. It's very exciting and I feel like it's a time for action! I want to make more of the dream world a reality at last!

Which Harry Potter Character Are You?

2007-08-09T22:32:00.000-04:00

Which Harry Potter Character Are You?
	You are part Harry. You're a loyal and courageous friend. You'd do anything to protect the people you love, especially if it'll get you a break from class for a little while.
	You are part Ron. You're the typical sidekick. Sometimes you get jealous of your more popular friends, but that's only because you don't know how much work it is to be in the spotlight.
Find Your Character @ BrainFall.com

Grass Fire!

2007-08-07T12:39:00.000-04:00

Last week we had a huge grass fire behind our house. It started with an old stump in the middle of the field that my dad had decided to burn. They brought a sprayer full of water to soak the ground around the burn, but it can take weeks for a stump to finish burning. The dry dead roots under ground can smolder for a very long time. I guess the stump had been burning for about a week and one windy day sparks were carried to the dry straw stubble of the field. It happened so fast! My mother noticed it when it was still a pretty small fire but it only took my parents a minute to decide that they were going to need help getting this fire under control. They called 911.

My father had to do something in the meantime. The wind was blowing the grass fire quickly to the natural gas well drilling site! They had struck a huge gas supply just a few days before! The man who was digging the well wasn't there that day but all of his equipment and machinery were there. One of the vehicles was a full water truck. My dad decided to soak the ground between the fire and the gas well with the water from the truck.

Soon after we had pretty much every volunteer fireman, truck and some helpful neighbors working to get the fire under control. I guessed 20 acres at least were burned. Some of the trees on the edge of the field are singed brown, but I think many of them will recover. The fire got within 10 metres of the gas well. Phew! Wonder what would have happened if . . . .?!

Harry Potter Madness!!!

2007-07-26T22:07:00.000-04:00

Last Friday Josi and I waited in line with hundreds of other Harry Potter obsessed folks to be among the first to get our hands on the last adventure of the boy who lived. Since it is to be the last book we had to do it. It was now or never. It was so much fun hanging with the hardcore Harry stalkers! I added pictures on my Facebook of the big night. Lots of costumes, lots of fun and lots of excitement when those big crates of books were finally wheeled out minutes before midnight! It was a little like New Year's Eve!

By Sunday evening Josi was finished her copy and anxiously waiting for me to catch up (yes, I bought two copies at $45 each, I am utterly insane) so she could talk about it. Between taking care of Willow and a barn full of new chicks, I was finally able to finish today.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows was a fast and fun read. I'm mourning the loss of several characters but am pretty satisfied with the ending. It felt like it ended properly, the only way it could!

I have only one thing left to say Snape . . . . . . Snape, Snape, SNAPE!!!!!!! Oh, Severus Snape, you greasy haired mystery! I never knew!

Homework

2007-06-01T18:14:00.000-04:00

I'm tired of the kids getting three hours of homework. Niki had three hours of homework one night this week. He often has an hour of homework since he usually saves his math to work on at home with me. But this time it was three hours. THREE HOURS! Too much! I don't remember doing homework like that in highschool never mind elementary school. That's too freakin much homework!

One of the assignments was to write a post card to a relative, so here's what Niki wrote.

Dear Mom,

How are you? I am at the beach. I don't how I got here because I don't know how to drive and I forgot the popsicles. I wish you were here. Though I don't know why your not here so GET HERE NOW, YOU FOOL!!!

From Niki

P.S. Better hurry, it's getting dark.

Are You Id, Ego, or Superego?

2007-05-31T10:32:00.000-04:00

You Are the Ego

You take a balanced approach to your life.
You definitely aren't afraid to act out on your desires - even crazy ones.
But you usually think first. Morals drive you as much as hedonism does.
You've been able to live a life of pleasure... without living a life of excess.

Are You Id, Ego, or Superego?

May has been a Busy Month!

2007-05-24T10:25:00.000-04:00

Not much time to blog lately. May has been all about moving our hens from the barn where they are raised from day old chicks, over to the layer barn where we gather the eggs. So blogging and many other things have gone undone.

Well, there are a few things I've managed to accomplish. I have my garden tilled and ready to for nursery plants. This year I want to space my plants better so they are easier to work with when the get big.

I've also joined flylady, I always told myself I would never do that, but my house was getting so horribly messy I was desperate. Flylady sends me friendly email reminders, much like little post it notes, to help me organize my house without having to spend hours and hours at it. It's all about babysteps! And it seems to be working! My house is slowly emerging from CHAOS (Can't Have Anyone Over Syndrome). The best part is it makes me feel like I can accomplish anything if I take it one step at a time.

I also joined another email group called Saving Dinner, which sends me a weeks worth of dinner recipes and a grocery list so I can get everything I need for the week without having to run back to the grocery store every other day. We were all getting tired of having the same 8 meals over and over again. Now we have something different every night. I'm also learning to enjoy cooking at last, at the age of 37! Cooking was Peter's area before. Now he can concentrate on his baking and I do the dinners (for now).

Summer's almost here! I'm looking forward to lots of outdoor time. Lately we've fallen into the habit of watching too much tv again. I don't know how it happened as we barely watched any for years. But it's crept back into our lives. I watch Lost, Battlestar Gallactica (dvds - a relative burned us copies of season 3. Gods, that's a frakkin good show!) and I've been watching Star Trek New Generation on dvd with the kids. I hope to get away from most of it this summer.

We are thinking of going out east at the end of August, but that will depend on money. I have my fingers and toes crossed!!! We need a REAL vacation!

My other summer plans is to start a new cob project. It will either be a hot tub or a green house. Probably the hot tub, because it is a much smaller project. The greenhouse might take years, lol! I'll keep the blog updated on that.

Next time I will try to post a couple of pictures of my latest patchy outfits. It's about time as one of them was my Yule outfit.

More soon, I promise!

Kathy needs . . .

2007-03-23T16:55:00.000-04:00

I was just reading some blogs and came across this funny game. You do a google search using your name and the word "needs". Write down the first few sentences you get from your search. It's hilarious and a little scary too! Here's what I came up with:

"Kathy needs to give herself some credit"

Hmmm, true.

"kathy needs to be on more talk shows"

Yes, i don't do enough of that, lol!

"Kathy needs more attention"

Well, that goes without saying! Well then I tried Kathleen.

"Kathleen needs to talk to people she trusts for reassurance that things will turn out great on the day. So far she's been a whirlwind of activity . . ."

I'm a whirlwind, but a whirlwind in need of reassurance!

"kathleen needs a life"

Ouch!

"kathleen talks too much during lessons" "kathleen needs to focus more on her learning and not on socializing"

Haha, that's what all my report cards said from kindergarten on up!

But since my full name is Mary Kathleen, I have to give Mary a try, just to be fair!

"Mary needs the lamb in school"

Because it followed me!

"Mary needs prayers."

???

"Mary needs shadows"

??????

"Mary needs to be freed from all this"

Gosh, maybe I do need prayers, lol!

and finally . . . .

"Mary Needs to Feed the Sheep"

Ain't that the truth!

Bye!

Blah!

2007-02-27T21:35:00.000-05:00

Two of the triplets died. I can't figure it out. They should have been past danger. They seemed so healthy and the deaths were so sudden. One died on day 3 and the other died on day 5. This is the part that makes me want to get rid of the ram and just keep a few sheep for fun pets. No more lambs!

Of course it's the lambs that are the funnest part of raising sheep. But it's so hard at times!

It's such a struggle to keep lambs alive in the middle of winter, yet I let them breed at their own natural timing and this is when nature deems the most appropriate time for lambs to be born?! Makes you wonder how they ever could have survived in the wild. But I think that is a big part of the problem. These domesticated breeds aren't very like their wild ancestors. Perhaps I should look into raising a heritage breed. My neighbor raises Icelandic sheep. This is a much much older breed and so it is supposed to be hardier. I might have to go visit and see if we might buy a couple of ewes and a ram this summer.

We need to do something. I thought lambing would be exciting when we first started with sheep. It's not. It stressful and frustrating and just plain sad at times. Ugh!

Frosty

2007-02-22T10:23:00.000-05:00

I've neglected my blog for more then 2 months! So I've added this picture of Mr Snowman. Say hello Mr Snowman!

It's been so busy here. Christmas and New Year's are long gone. Real winter finally arrived and we got our first big blizzard in years. The kids were thrilled with a real snow day at long last. We received around 50 cm of snow! We also experienced a good long deep freeze which will hopefully destroy the gypsy moth eggs. We might actually have leaves on our oak trees this summer!

My parent's took their yearly vacation, this time to Cuba and carried on the tradition of missing the biggest blizzards here at home. Keeping the hen barns warm and dry was a huge job while they were away. These are the moments in farming when normal work hours fly out the window. Barn checks have to happen every few hours day and night to make sure heaters and fans are working. But we made it through with only a few minor disasters, lol!

Of course during this time the lambs started to make their appearance. They seem to always choose the bitterest of February days to birth. We've had 2 single births. 2 sets of twins - one twin died from one set. And yesterday we saw our oldest mama birth the first set of triplets we've ever had here on our farm! I'll try to get a picture of them to add. I hope all three will survive. They've made it through the first 24 hours which is great. But there is one that seems weaker than the others. I've taken extra care to see that she's eating and is warm, but with weak lambs, it's never a sure thing. The other lamb we lost was a weak-at-birth lamb too. I'm crossing my fingers!

Happy Birthday Niki!!!!!

2006-12-12T23:19:00.000-05:00

My boy turned 10 years old on November 30th! Here's a picture of him playing 'babies' with Willow. He is so amazing with younger children and babies. And he's a great big brother.

Isn't he a sweet looking boy? He is going to be such a hansome man!

It seems like such a short time ago he was my brand new little baby. His birth was so sweet and easy, I was smiling the whole time. The whole pregnancy, I felt something magical was happening, like I was walking around on a slightly different plain of existence from the regular world.

He was the sweetest and easiest baby to have around. He laughed early and easily. He's still my bubbly happy boy. A true Jovial Jupiter Saggitarius.

It amazes me really. Life isn't easy for this boy. He has challenges that could have left him feeling angry, frustrated and sad. But he is always the one who looks at me and says "don't worry mom, it'll be okay".

Now I know that the magical presence I felt was his life force. He is my magical boy.

Smithville Christmas Parade

2006-11-27T21:03:00.000-05:00

Hmmm, for some reason, I can't pick the order of my pictures! I switched to beta blogger and now it takes longer to upload pictures and they are out of sequence.

These are pictures from the Smithville Christmas Parade. We went to the Hamilton parade last weekend, but there is something missing there, something you can only find at a small town parade. It was a blast!

Livestock! Always lots of livestock at a small town parade. These sheep needed extra coaxing to convince them that being in the parade was their glorious moment in the spotlight. Yes, that is a grave yard across the road, We chose a spot across the road from a cemetary. Merry Christmas!

This picture would have been the last. Willow fell asleep close to the end of the parade. She's still clutching her candy canes.

This would have been the first picture. Smithville's Christmas parade always begins with the old milk truck giving away free hot chocolate. What big city parade does that? We always love that part of the parade. Even this year in the 15C sunshine!

I had no idea that this was Smithville's WORLD FAMOUS grapple manufacturer. I didn't even know there WAS a world famous grapple manufacturer! Cool!

Yes, I admit it. I live in a community that features a Poultry Festival. But don't go a-knockin' the poultryfest til ya bin der!

Voices From The Farm

2006-11-27T10:49:00.000-05:00

If you are like me, a fan of the book Spiritual Midwifery by Ina May Gaskin or know anything about the most successful commune in America, you will enjoy reading "Voices From The Farm". The book is Edited by Rupert Fike, he also makes many contributions in the writing.

The book is a collection of memoirs of Farm residents. It starts of with tales from the beginning when The Farm was only an idea conceived by Stephen Gaskin, a well known teacher in San Fransisco's counterculture during the 60's, and the people who were like minded in their dream of creating a new way of life.

The earliest tales are of the arrival of "The Caravan" in Tennessee. Stephen Gaskin, an English teacher at the San Fransisco State College, was well known for his free Monday Night Classes. Spiritually, Stephen and his pupils seemed to be quite eclectic, though they have always been described as a Christian community. One winter evening in 1969, several ministers from the American Academy of Religion happened upon a Monday Night Class. They were so impressed that arrangements were made for a tour of Stephen and his "sermons" in churches and campuses across the country. The Caravan was the result of his friends and pupils following the tour. Several hundred hippies travelled in buses, trucks and vans across the US. It must have been quite the sight in many a small town and city to see that many San Fransisco hippies in one place at one time!

It is truly a sign of the times that this tour happened the way it did, in my opinion. You have to understand that Stephen's "Monday Night Class" or Sermons if you prefer, were not at all what you might imagine any church service to be. Essentially the people attending services would talk about their experiences of psychedelics from the previous weekend (thus the name Monday Night Service) and try to gather what messages or lessons they were suppose to gain from the experiences. This was the roots of their spiritual community though later on psychedelics were no longer used by the community.

When the tour came to an end and Monday Night Classes resumed in San Francisco, I think there was a sense of loss. They folks of the Caravan had experienced a feeling of community, though nomadic, but a rare type of community. The community was based on honesty and on the idea that problems should be fixed immediately. Bad feelings must be dealt with immediately with truthfulness (and at times it seems rather blunt) so that negativity would not be allowed a space to fester. In the beginning this created a feeling of closeness and love and no one wanted to lose that.

A decision was made to pool all of the communities resources and assets. They would buy land and make that community into a reality - The Farm. Tennessee was chosen for it's inexpensive land, relatively mild winters and laws that would allow them the freedom to form their community. The communities assets would be held in common and redistributed as needed.

Here is where our story really begins.

The stories are interesting, funny, meaningful and sometimes sad. If you are an idealist and dream of living such a lifestyle, it is a reality check. Things are not often easy here. Poverty is a fact of life. You learn that "When Something Belongs to Everybody, It Doesn't Belong to Anybody". Having your friends and neighbors constantly trying to make you confront your issues must have been difficult to take at times!

I was fascinated by the practical details such as getting fresh water, food and shelter to all of the Farm folks and how they managed to make money to pay the bills. I particularly enjoyed reading some examples of the gate house log! Very interesting!

The Farm residents are admirable in their dedication to problem solving, not just within the community but in how they extended it to the world beyond. They stretched out that helpful hand to the world in projects such as Horn of Plenty, providing aid to Guatemala after the Quake of 78. They also provided an ambulance services in New York's Bronx when other ambulance services were afraid to enter the neighborhood. They made a positive impact outside of the community in their offers to take in women with unwanted pregnancies, to provide a safe place for them to bring their children into the world. It was a place were a woman could decide to keep her baby or leave her with a nice loving Farm foster family with the agreement that she could change her mind and come back for the baby any time. The Farm also extended help to the elderly and the mentally ill. The Farm was a community that viewed no one as worthless which so often seems to be the case in the larger world.

I appreciate the honesty in these tales. As you read on, you eventually begin to see the less than ideal events bound to happen in such a community. People tire of living in poverty. Things are not always distributed fairly and equally. Finally in the mid 1980's there were disagreements that could not be resolved and The Farm went through a process that felt like an ugly divorce. Eventually it emerged transformed from a Commune to a Cooperative. Individuals became responsible for their own household finances. During the transformation, many members left causing a collapse of the charitable organization "Horn of Plenty".

Today, many of the members that remain on The Farm are the ones who were there at the start in San Fransisco. There is a strong bond there still. Now their important works are the midwifery practice, the eco school, the book publishing company and their contributions to vegetarian food and cooking. There is still an idealism amongst the residents. They have a positive and vibrant energy. The experiment may not have been completely successful, but they have taught many valuable lessons to the world. It would be a mistake not to take something from their story and incorporate it into your life because it is up to each one of us to make this a good planet. We can learn from The Farm that a new way is possible, we can follow dreams. We CAN make a difference!

2006-11-20T19:14:00.000-05:00

Your Vocabulary Score: A-

Congratulations on your multifarious vocabulary!
You must be quite an erudite person.

How's Your Vocabulary?

November Double Rainbow

2006-11-20T18:43:00.000-05:00

Peter got this picture from our porch.

Halloween/Samhain Celebrations

2006-11-06T22:39:00.000-05:00

Our trick or treaters.

Some of our many jack o lanterns.

Halloween Fun at Howell's

2006-10-30T13:59:00.000-05:00

Peter and Willow enjoying the jack o latern display.

Mama and kiddos

Spooky Jack O Laterns

October is my favorite month of the year. There is rarely a boring moment. This year has probably been a bit slower than a typical year for us because of the constant rain we've been having this autumn. Still we have managed to take a trip to Hanes Corn Maze in West Flamborough, ten acres through an eloborate labrynthe of corn. We made a night time trip to Howell's Pumpkin Farm in Pelham. All of the pictures are from that trip. What a fun place Howell's is. Definately my favorite. And we made one bone chilling trip to Dymet's Pumpkin Farm in Dundas. Bonechilling not because it was spookiy but because it was absolutely freezing! Dymet's Farm is goregeous in that it perches on the egde of the escarpment overlooking Dundas valley. It's a spectacular view. But it's very open and windy there on a good day. Yesterday happened to be extra windy and cold so it was frigid there! We didn't stay long.

October is drawing to a close. Tomorrow is Halloween and Samhain. Fun celebrations for the family. I will post pictures as soon as I can!

My Baby Turns 2 !!!!!!

2006-10-29T10:32:00.000-05:00

Willow had a birthday on Friday October 13th. She is now 2 years old! She had a wonderful day of treats and fun. The play kitchen set from Granny and Grandpa were a huge hit. She had been "cooking" and "baking" just like Daddy ever since.

I thought it would be nice to share her birth story to celebrate this day. So here it is!

THE HOMEBIRTH OF WILLOW CERRIDWEN

It's a girl!

10-13-04

9lbs
22inches long

Willow’s birth was so different than my other’s. It’s so true when people tell you that it’s different each time. At least it was for me. My son Niki's birth almost 8 years ago was fairly quick and easy. So was Willow’s and yet it was different in so many ways!

Willow was low in my pelvis a month before her birth and completely engaged a couple of weeks before she was born. I don’t recall that feeling until the birth of my other children.

Of course time has a way of making you forget certain details!

I had tons of braxton hicks contractions, especially throughout the last month of pregnancy. A couple of weeks before the birth I would have series of braxton hicks contractions that were perfectly timed. I would get them every night and they would be gone by morning. They didn’t hurt at all, but I was amazed by the amount of downward pressure I would feel with each one! I definitely had that pregnant lady waddle!

A few days before she was born the evening contractions began to get more uncomfortable. I would feel them all the way around to my back and the peak began to feel a bit painful. They would wake me from my sleep as well! The day before the birth I had good strong contractions half the night. I kept the kids home from school thinking that this must be it! I mean I’ve been through all this before so I know what’s what! Well by 9:00am the contractions were pretty much gone. I would get some occasionally through the day, but nothing regular. I was so surprised by this prelabour. I didn’t have anything like that with my son and I figured that it would be the same or even shorter this time around. But now it seemed like I couldn’t even get going. I was so ready to finally meet my baby and I was getting pretty tired and moody.

I had planned from the beginning that the kids should be there for the birth, but I began to realize that the idea of having the kids there was making me feel a bit inhibited. I had shown them birth videos and talked about birth sounds and such, and they seemed very comfortable with the idea. But I guess I wasn’t. I didn’t want them to worry about me. (Even though they probably wouldn’t have been worried.) And I needed to be free to be loud and uninhibited. I began to think my body was reacting to these feelings and I thought it might be waiting for the kids to go to bed that night.

Well, as soon as they were in bed I was contracting again. I got a nice hot bath going, scented with essential oils and listened to soothing music. It was great and really helped me relax. And get into the sensations. I’m sure that going into labour you just have to be in the right space in your head sometimes. It seemed to be the case for me.

After awhile I came out and sat with my hubby and tried to watch a movie with him. The surges were only coming every 10 to 20 minutes, but they were sharp at the peaks and made it hard to really enjoy the movie. I decided to go to bed and see if I could get some sleep. I still wasn’t convinced anything was really happening since it was the same drill as the night before. I spent another night waking up with each surge, but I could still sleep in between. They still seemed like really early contractions by how irregular they were. They were still anywhere from 5 to 10 minutes apart. Sometimes there would be a half hour of no pains. Other times there would be just a few minutes. I had felt this pattern with the births of my other kids. I was surprised how strong they felt though since they were so short and usually pretty far apart. Since I was trying to sleep I would wake at the peak of each contraction. It was a little harder to deal with the sensations since I wouldn’t be prepared for them. But I still managed to fall asleep between each one. I was so tired from the previous nights of surges!

I got up at 6:00 am so that I could rest on the couch. It helped to be sitting up! Made them way more manageable. I dozed on and off for another hour with only a couple of surges. I still couldn’t decide if it was going to happen that day or not. I decided to send the kids to school since keeping them home the day before had not worked out at all. I made their lunches, packed their backpacks and went to wake them up. I had to stop every once in a while for a contraction. They were still pretty irregular. Occasionally one would be pretty strong and I would need to stop for it. But I only had a couple like that as hubby and I got the kids fed, dressed and off to school. I told them that we might have the baby that day but then again we might not. They’d already heard that one a few times by then so I’m sure they didn’t take it too seriously, hee-hee!

Once they left I headed straight for the tub again but I didn’t stay in long because it felt just too hot in there. Instead I went back to my nest on the couch and got comfy, I tried to knit but couldn’t get into that at all.

Have I mentioned how wonderful hubby was yet? I should!!! He was so great! He brought me drinks whenever I asked. Got me my soothing music. Tempted me with his yummy baked treats and rubbed my back and belly whenever I looked uncomfortable. There was so much that we didn’t get to do when our other children were born. Our first had been at the hospital. We got there very early and had had almost every intervention you can think of other than a c-sec. We were pretty scared, not well prepared and just did what we were told. Our next birth was also at a hospital, but we were very well prepared that time. It was a great birth, but since Peter had to spend all of my active and transition part of labour driving us to the hospital, it wasn’t exactly what he had hoped for I’m sure. And since I arrived ready to push, he was pretty much shoved aside in the bustle to get ready. This time we were alone, relaxed and this may sound odd but it was very romantic. His love and support made that day so special. I got to see how gentle and caring he really is.

By 9:30 am we decided that the baby would probably be born that day, but probably not for a while. We put the waterproof cover on the bed and an old sheet on top and got cozy. Contractions were pretty short, but they were definitely getting strong. I had to breath slowly and deeply through many of them and after awhile I started to shake at the peak. Going to the bathroom at this point was not too fun partly because I had to go downstairs each time and also because each time I went, the contractions were so strong and it would turn out that I didn’t really need to go that much after all. I checked my cervix and thought I was probably completely effaced but probably only 3 cm (though I was only guessing) I was disappointed since the contractions felt strong and I was feeling that constant need to go to the bathroom. I felt so much further than 3 cm!

I suppose at that point I should have stayed up on my feet, but it felt so much nicer to sit in bed resting against Peter while he rubbed my lower back. I was definitely shaking at the peak of contrax and they were about 5-6 minutes apart by 10:00 am. I started thinking that even though I had a long way to go in dilation that it might go very fast soon. There was so much energy and pressure!

Peter paged our midwife and talked to Sue. She is a student midwife and I was really glad she was going to be there as I felt we had really hit it off. She asked to talk to me and of course that made my contrax stop! It’s amazing what a connection there is between brain and body. It's happened to me every time. I get stage fright! Sue understood though and still wanted to check since she knew how fast things went once I hit active labour with my son’s birth. She said she would come out at noon. I thought that sounded great.

It didn’t take long after I got off the phone for the surges to start again. Peter and I stayed in bed and continued as we had been before. Sue and Sandy arrived at about 11:30am. Sue checked my dilation and found me to be between 3-4 cm. I was surprised that my guess was so close but a little worried that the contractions were so strong without being more effective. I still felt that under the right circumstances I would go really fast!

It was exciting watching them take out the little blankets and clothes and wrapping them in a heating pad so that they would be nice and warm once our baby arrived! We talked and we all felt very strongly that I was going to have a speedy birth once active labour picked up. I had this odd instinctual feeling that once my water broke we would be in for a wild ride and so I actually asked if my water could be broken! I know that might seem like a strange request for a natural birth, but it was something I just knew was right. Normally I wouldn’t have picked that route. In fact, my water was artificially broken with my daughter Josi's birth and that was the first intervention that led to many others. But it was like I knew that this was the boost I needed and wanted. I just knew that it was going to be okay this time. The water bag was bulging with each contraction at this point. I said let's go for it. We got ready for a short, intense ride!

On the next contraction Sandy broke the bag. It was around noon. They helped me up and I went downstairs for a short walk and to use the bathroom again. They gave Peter and I privacy and he held me up through the next few contractions. They were suddenly very long, strong and fast! I tried the bathroom again and thought I really needed to go. I pushed just a couple of times before I realized what this was. I couldn’t really believe it though since it had been only 20 minutes since my water broke! I told Peter that I thought it wouldn’t be long now and so he helped me back upstairs. Sue checked the baby’s heart rate and had me lay down for a quick look at my cervix. Fully dilated! Wow! Lying on my back was unbearable, as was sitting, leaning back on my stack of pillows. I got up on my knees and Sandy brought over a chair for me to lean on. I told her I was feeling a huge amount of bowel pressure. I knew the baby was starting to move through my cervix then. Sandy was on the phone with a 3rd midwife who was lost on our back roads.

I asked Peter to sit in the chair I was leaning on so I could hang onto him rather than an empty chair. Then my body began to push! There was nothing I could do to stop or add to that power. It was the most intense sensation! I thought I might explode! I grabbed onto Peter, buried my face in his lap (hey, no jokes!) and just screamed and hollored my head off. I couldn’t not yell! There was so much sensation, power and energy blasting through me it had to go somewhere and boy did it ever. It hurt like hell, but yelling honestly helped me deal with it.

The baby was coming out fast! I was worried that I would tear and tried to tell the midwives that but I could only say ‘I can’t go slow. I have to go fast!’ Having midwives was such a different experience. They never told me what to do. I loved that. Being ordered about during pushing is the most annoying thing. People telling you when to push and when not to push as if it’s a moment you can control. They just spoke very quietly to each other while I clung to Peter and yelled. I could barely tell they were there! So wonderful! Another wonderful thing was having Peter to hang on to. We had wanted to have him catch this baby. But I really needed him in front of me for me to cling to and get comfort from rather than have him behind me looking at my bum with the midwives while I faced an empty chair.

As the head began to show I reached down to feel it. I did that with my son's birth and really loved that part. One difference - I was all smiles while Niki was coming out. This time I was still hollering but I started feeling that excitement too. It was very intense. The burning wasn’t too bad but the pressure was so strong. It felt like I might blow up into a million pieces. The head crowned and came out in one contraction and I yelled to Peter that the baby was coming out. I felt relief for a moment, but pushing out the shoulders and chest was still pretty hard. Once the head was out I kept my hands on her and as soon as her shoulders and chest were out she slid into my hands. I scooped her up and went straight from yells of pain to whooping with laughter. I started yelling ‘That was amazing! That was amazing!’ I saw she was a girl and told Peter. I love that moment after the birth! All 3 times have been incredible no matter what kind of birth it was.

From the time that I made my way back upstairs to the birth only 7 minutes had passed!

I had gone from 4 cm to birth in 27 minutes!

I felt so high and amazed by the experience. We had done it again. There was this whole new person that wasn’t here before. She was whole and perfect and we just loved her right away. Peter cut the cord, a first for him since he had always felt too overwhelmed with our hospital births. I chose active management for the third stage since I have a mild bleeding disorder. I got a pitocin shot and the placenta came out whole and huge! A quick check of me and baby and then the midwives went quietly downstairs and let Peter and I have a private time with our new baby. I felt so much love for Peter and our baby and Josi and Niki though they had missed the birth after all. I felt that they could have handled it, but in the end I needed to feel completely relaxed and uninhibited to let that birth power carry me away.

Later we discovered she was 9 pounds. And that she was born with her hand up over her head. No wonder it was so intense! I didn’t tear though and I think being up on my knees helped quite a bit. The midwives checked us over again in an hour, tidied up a bit, hugged us, thanked us for such a nice easy birth and left just as quietly as they arrived.

By then it was only an hour until the kids would be home from school so we decided not to pick them up early, but surprise them instead. I greeted them at the door when the bus came, just like I always do. Peter was with the baby in the living room. They came in telling me about their day just like they always do until I showed them how squashy my belly was. They looked at me in such a funny confused way! Then I brought them to the living room to meet their brand new sister. They were so surprised and happy, Josi was a tiny bit disappointed at missing the birth, but was still completely happy. It’s wonderful having older kids because you always have hands willing to hold baby when you need them. They are wonderful with their new sister and love her so much!

Life is good!

2006-10-29T10:17:00.000-05:00

Almost 8 month preggo belly at the beach.

Willow, a bun fresh from the oven.

Josi and Niki meet their new baby sister.

Josi and Willow

2006-10-16T17:07:00.000-04:00

Sisters in the late afternoon autumn sunshine. My golden girls :)

Yum!!! Apple Fritters!!!

2006-10-16T16:44:00.000-04:00

This is a staple of the Ball's Falls Thanksgiving Weekend Festival. Hot apple fritters deep fried right there in a big old cast iron cauldron and dusted with confection sugar, ooooooooh that's goooood! I like how the girls making the fritters are dressed in pioneer dresses and the boys in denim overalls, cute!

Niki and I are presenting the sign, yes we are very silly people, lol! oh well! Peter is gallantly braving the mega huge line to get us those hot tasty treats. I swear I go to this festival for the apple fritters and to see the fiddlers 3. I just seem to coincidently get to the festival in time to see the fiddlers every year, even though I haven't checked the festival schedule. Just my luck because I love watching this group, they seem to enjoy what they do.

Other great things about this festival;

- the gourmet food tent with lots of samples, yum!

- the arts and crafts vendors

- the historic buildings including a working grist mill

- the beautiful mature maple trees in all their autumn glory

Autumn Walk in the Woods

2006-10-16T16:13:00.000-04:00

We began our Thanksgiving weekend with a visit with our friends Vickie, Kris and their lovely family. After the kids were settled in for the night we had a great evening of wine and hot tub and food! This time it was cold enough outside to really appreciate the outdoor hot tub. It was very comfy and relaxing!

The next morning we went for a walk in the woods behind their house. It was an absolutely fantastic perfect autumn day. It felt like the whole universe was bursting in yellow, orange and red. It was nice to finally have a day where there was not a cloud in the sky after so many endless gray and rainy ones.

We left for home early in the afternoon. It is a 3-4 hour drive (depending on traffic and constuction) but it was fun seeing all the colours along the way.

Our visit ended much too soon. We have been having such a wonderful time with Vickie and Kris. I am so glad that they are here in Ontario. I just love them!

Waterloo Royal Medieval Faire

2006-09-26T16:44:00.000-04:00

We took the kids to another amazing festival this weekend. It was a medieval faire! We will definately have to make this an annual event for our family - it was so much fun! So much to see and do!

When we arrived a wonderful celtic band was playing at the bandshell. I was happy to see a maypole, even if it was the wrong time of year for it, lol! There were many people dressed up in full costumes, loads of vendors selling, fairy wings, armour, swords and so much more.

It was a very interactive event. Children could play 'seige the castle' games using medieval weapons such as miniture trebuchets, battering rams and those big wicked crossbow things that shoot arrows the size of spears.

We watched a small skirmish amongst the knights. We saw the King and Queen and we even saw a dragon, hee-hee! And of course there were the countless fairies.

I wish there were more re enactment type of events close to us. I can't wait until next year!

Here's a few pictures from the Faire. Huzzah!

2006-09-26T12:03:00.000-04:00

2006-09-26T11:49:00.000-04:00

Willow's First Day of Playgroup

2006-09-21T18:07:00.000-04:00

So yesterday I took Willow to her first day of playgroup of the year. The playgroup is a distant reincarnation of a group I attended with Josi and Niki years ago. It's very different. The toys are fancier, the location is bigger and it's entirely free to attend - no membership fees! Also there are 2 full time ECE workers ready to help at anytime.

Willow seemed to have a good time. She is pretty bashful with strangers, but I could tell she was very pleased too! At circle time at the end Willow squirmed until she was right in the centre of the circle in front of the ECE reading the story, then she lay down right in the middle of the circle and played footsies with another little girl. It was very sweet. I think this will be a weekly outing for us.

I was kind of glad that they are in a new location now. I tried to go last year, (it was the new program, but at our old location)and had a hard time adjusting to all the differences. I kept comparing this new group with my old group. So much had changed. For one thing it is entirely government funded now. There were no ECE's in the old days like there are now. The Early Childhood Educators cater to the parents and children, whereas we had to work pretty hard at times to keep the group going. I know the new group sounds wonderful, but let me tell you why my old group was so special.

When Josi and Niki were little I attended a playgroup right here in my little rural neighborhood. It was a fun experience for us all. One thing that is so common amongst new mothers is the isolation of staying at home all day with babies and preschool children. Playgroup saved me from that lonliness.

It's funny to think how much I loved that experience. I'm a pretty introverted type of person and to a point I really love my privacy and quiet time, but apparently I really needed some kind of social outlet at that time. Getting to know these mothers was tough at first for me. I wasn't sure I had very much in common with these ladies. Motherhood is what we had in common. Trying to find community was another similarity. And that was all that was needed to form friendships.

Our community playgroup was unique in that it was formed and run by the mothers who attended. We applied each year for a very small government grant, about $7,000, enough to pay the rent of our space at the community hall. Any other money needed for supplies, toys, trips, parties was raised through a small membership fee and fundraisers.

We organized all of this through an elected commitee. Holding a place on the commitee meant really digging your hands into the management of our group. We held monthly meetings, most of which were open to all members. Every member was encouraged to express their ideas. This was our group and we wanted everyone to feel ownership.

All members were expected to help out with cleaning up, serving snacks, leading circle times. We did allow some people to escape duties if it really wasn't their bag. We set a seperate, slightly more pricey membership fee for those who wanted to escape duties. Most people preferred to help out. I like to think that it was because they wanted to be involved.

I've always stayed out of the spotlight in groups an organizations. Being an introvert means I've always dreaded any focus on myself. Still I got so involved with this group I served 3 years on the committee. I was the newsletter editor for two years and was chairperson for one year.

For my older kids, they have sweet memories of trips to the pumpkin farm, halloween parties with Wanda the Witch (the kids were terrified of her!) making her balloon animals and our annual year end picnic.

For myself I have memories of drinking coffee and talking, sharing advice, seeing families grow, pregnancies, new babies, even some sad times, times of loss. Sharing with mamas who although were very different than me, shared that one thread of commonality : Motherhood

I still see those mother's in the hallways of my kids' school. We don't really get together these days, but we catch up when we pick up our kids, volunteer at the school or watch the school's yearly halloween parade. These mothers, who worked so hard to make our group work almost entirely outside of a goverment organized sytem are the same ones who work hard to keep the school going despite the lack of funding threatening to end anything extra curricular.

They taught me what community is. They are what community is.

So the new group may be very different. I can't really imagine feeling that level of involvment, but I do hope to make connections with my community. Mamahood is our bond!

Pagan Pride Day

2006-09-20T13:06:00.000-04:00

This weekend was Hamilton's Annual Pagan Pride Day festival. It was the 4th year for this event and was held at Gage Park. Wow, it was so much fun! We didn't get to spend too much time there since I had to get Josi to a sleep over party by 4:00pm, we missed opening and closing circle, but we had a great time browsing through all the cool stuff in the vendors area and doing lots of people watching. It was great to be amongst such beautiful and colourful folks of all ages.

I just wish I had some pictures to share! I will add a link to Hamilton's Pagan Pride Day website and Hamilton's Wiccan Temple site as well.

Niki found it totally boring as he has a bit of trouble grasping matters of spirituality. He likes the ideas of reincarnation and understands maybe a teensy bit about karma. He would have liked it better if there had of been a jump 'n' bounce or a ferris wheel, hee-hee!

Josi on the other hand is VERY interested in spirituality. She has been very interested in Buddhism and has recently shown more of an interest in feminine divinity and the ecological aspects so commonly found in paganism. It's very cool to watch her explore such non mainstream ideals (well, buddhism isn't exactly alternative, but in our prodominatly white christain community, I think it is a little rare).

Willow was just happy to run around the park, lol!

I can't wait to see how big the festival will be next year! The number of vendors must have doubled since the previous year and there were many more people as well.

My Girl turns 12!

2006-09-18T11:32:00.000-04:00

Josi is now 12 years old! She turned 12 on September 11. How did it happen? Where did the time go? Since the day Josi was born, time seemed to speed up. Peter and I were parents and everything changed. The changes were incredible, fulfilling, intense and bitteresweet at times.

It all began on September 11, 1994.

There are times when I just want to freeze time and hold onto her at this moment, just a little longer. But watching her grow into the person she is becoming is too amazing to put a stop to. How could I? She has so much ahead of her. If I really could stop time it wouldn't be fair to keep her from experiencing life. Her life.

But on her birthday I love to remember my first little baby. And the memories are beautiful! Her birth was also my own birth. The birth of a mother.

Back to School

2006-09-06T10:35:00.000-04:00

Yesterday, Josi and Niki started their new school year. I have such mixed feelings when it comes to school. I am a huge supporter of homeschooling. I feel that children learn best in the real world and that institional learning is not ideal. School is a great place to be bullied or be a bully. It's a great place to learn materialism. It's the right place to be if you want to learn how to wear what everyone else is wearing, do what everyone else is doing and say what everyone else is saying.

But . . .

I have met some wonderful parents and wonderful teachers (ALMOST all of them, but there is one that will never teach another child of mine) at Josi's and Niki's school. Most of them do care and have something worthwhile to share with these kids.

I'm happy with the teachers they have this year. Niki has a new educational assistant (Niki has some minor developemental delays) and I think she is going to be good for him. I like how she connected with Niki on his first day.

Josi's teacher is very pleasant and I have heard all good things about him. I loved seeing Josi back with her friends. She is friends with two sisters who seem very sweet and kind. And Niki was back with his best bud too.

Still, every September I wonder if I am doing the right thing. I wonder if we could be doing things differently. In some ways it is very hard to go against the mainstream especially when it involves the lives of people other then yourself. What I decide now has an effect on the rest of their lives. Talk about pressure!

So I will do what I do every year. I will see how it goes. If things go well, then to school they will go and if my children are unhappy we can go back to homeschooling.

ps - I'm pretty sure I worry too much, lol!

More Halfway Log Dump Pictures

2006-08-30T16:01:00.000-04:00

Josi sitting on Dog Rock. The water seemed to put everyone in a meditative state.

Hey Look, it's Atlas! Peter will use his super powers to hold up this cliff!

Niki and Peter found this cave while exploring the beach.

Halfway Log Dump

2006-08-30T15:34:00.000-04:00

Kris emerges from the wooded trail onto the spectacular white stony beach of Georgian Bay

The Dog Rock. Doesn't it look like a dog's head? Look at that beautiful carribean blue water!

Eillish, Niki and Hannah at Halfway Log Dump.

After Singing Sands we decided to finish our day by going down Emmet Lake Road. There is a short trail there that leads to Georgian Bay. This area is called Halfway Log Dump. It is an amazingly beautiful place. The water is brilliantly blue and there are piles of rounded white stones. The coastline consists of pale cliffs and forests as far as you can see in either direction.

It seemed to have such a calming effect on the children too. After spending some time there they seemed pretty mellow.

Hot Mamas and their Beach Babies!

2006-08-30T15:15:00.000-04:00

Vickie and Shae'mn relaxing at the beach.

The Silver Wheel

Art!

Sunny September Sunflowers

Peeping Tom Cat

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Win a Waldorf Doll

Melissa and Doug Giveaway

Natura Sleep Envelope Giveaway hosted by Natural Mommie

My Name Is Sylar

Camping 2009

Singing Sands - Fun at the Beach!

A Story by Niki

A Hike on a Warm November Day

What Becomes of Jack-O-Lanterns When Halloween Is Through?

Harvest

Decorating our Home for Hallowe'en

Halloween

Homeschool Halloween Party at the Ecohouse

Photos of Short Hills Provincial Park by Niki

Hmm, I've messed up the order of the pics . . . but here they are!

Happy Birthday Willow!!! And Thanksgiving too.

Fun weekend . . . . so far.

Weekend of Family Fun

Pagan Pride Day Harvest Festival

Happy Birthday Josi!

Summer Vacation 2008

Camping 2008

Dress Up

Willow's New Friend

A Trip to the ROM

Goodbye My Shady Friend

Patchwork Dragonfly Dress

Our New Model

Alien on Front, UFO on Back

Ember Heart

Spirals and Peace Signs, Oh My!

Earth Toned A Shaped Design

Agents Fox Mulder and Dana Scully

Back From Another Great Vacation

Which Harry Potter Character Are You?

Which Harry Potter Character Are You?

Grass Fire!

Harry Potter Madness!!!

Homework

Are You Id, Ego, or Superego?

May has been a Busy Month!

Kathy needs . . .

Blah!

Frosty

Happy Birthday Niki!!!!!

Smithville Christmas Parade

Voices From The Farm

November Double Rainbow

Halloween/Samhain Celebrations

Halloween Fun at Howell's

My Baby Turns 2 !!!!!!

Josi and Willow

Yum!!! Apple Fritters!!!

Autumn Walk in the Woods

Waterloo Royal Medieval Faire

Willow's First Day of Playgroup

Pagan Pride Day

My Girl turns 12!

Back to School

More Halfway Log Dump Pictures

Halfway Log Dump

Hot Mamas and their Beach Babies!

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