Self-esteem is not an issue here

Babygirl came home from school with a huge pile of drawings and crafts which she was so happy to give to me for Mother's Day. The very best of the best was this picture.



The title at the top of the page read: "What I like about me". Babygirl (who cannot read yet) informed us that her teacher asked her to draw what she liked about herself and since what she likes about herself is "everything" she drew her whole entire little self.

The fact that she said this so matter of factly and seriously was totally adorable and quite possibly the best Mother's Day gift she could give me. After all, if she is able to feel this good about herself, I must be doing something right!

Bake sale economics

Babygirl's kindergarten class is having a bake sale this week to raise money for their year end field trip. We had our first bake sale experience last year in Pre-K. I must say, if children are too young to calculate their sales, they may be too young for the whole bake sale thing you know what I mean... Since I was a volunteer last year, I do have to admit that a bunch of preschoolers sitting behind a table of goodies almost begging you to purchase their baked goods with their eyes was the sweetest.

Last year I went all out, I made whoopie pies AND chocolate and candy coated pretzels which sold fairly quickly. We had wrapped our $18 worth of homebaked goods individually (as requested) and even added ribbon and stickers on the bags... after all it all comes down to marketing right?

However, I do not think the individual cost of the field trip to the zoo even came close to being reduced by the amount we paid to participate in the bake sale so... I'm kinda wondering if it's all worthwhile this year.

Nonetheless, we made 30 butterfly cupcakes tonight. I cut the tops off of each cupcake, layered frosting, cut wing shapes out of the tops and tuck them neatly on either side of gummy worms before adding liquorice antennae. Tada!


At first, biggirl said my cupcakes would be unappealing since there was no visible frosting... say what!?!

But, since total cupcake production was 33 and we are only sending 30 off to the bake sale, I quickly realized that they did have a certain 'je ne sais quoi' afterall.

The bottom line is that Babygirl is happy to bring her butterfly cupcakes to school and hoping they fly away quickly...only because she is hoping to help the little preschoolers (who she says are so cute) sell their goodies because you know, they don't know how bake sales work and she has bake sale experience because she is sooooo much older!

Grade 4 Drama

I haven't posted for a while mostly because I was really struggling with how to put into words the who and the how (and mostly the why) of our recent upsets. I think I have taken a step back enough now to get my message, a very important one, across to anyone and everyone who may stumble upon this post.

Three weeks ago, biggirl came home from school with baggage. I knew, as soon as she entered the door that things were going to be rocky...but never could I imagine just how rocky!

We were in a rush to get urgent homework done because she had gymnastics. Even if I know very well that being in a rush never results in a positive output with kids, I was struggling to get her settled with a notebook and pencil without much success when the doorbell rang.

I opened the door to the very distraught father of a girl in biggirl's class who asked to speak to me privately. I am sure he saw the question marks in my eyes as I followed him outside.

The father had shown up to inform me that biggirl was intimidating his daughter at school so much that they had considered changing schools, that biggirl was taking his daughter's friends away one by one, that she was the leader of the "pack", that she had splashed water in her face that day, etc., etc.... I was blown away, I could not feel my legs, my heart was pounding, I knew I had hives all over (which a glance in the mirror confirmed when I finally came back inside)... I kept telling him that I didn't understand, that biggirl was often coming home crying that no one would sit with her, that she had no one to play with, that no one wanted to be her friend...
Anyways, I vowed to fulfill my parental duty and speak with biggirl about the situation and call him later that evening. Biggirl confirmed the water splashing but for the rest of the "accusations" we were at a loss...really.

As promised, I dialed the father's number later that evening and offered that we meet, both girls and both set of parents later that week. They did not have time to meet with us.

Since he used the word "intimidation" which is a very powerful and serious accusation, I asked him which other incidents had occurred between the two girls for him to want his daughter to change schools. There were none.

I asked him to call me back at the end of the week to let me know if there was still a problem. He accepted. The call never came.

After thinking about this over and over and over again these past weeks, I guess my goal in writing this is for adults to realize that yes bullying and intimidation exist and they definitely are a serious problem in schoolyards. However, there is a big difference between normal grade 4 drama and intimidation.

Before we go knocking on anyone's door, as parents we have to take a step back, breathe, and think. Grade 4 is tough (on kids and parents alike) but so is life. We may want to protect our daughters from the mean words, angry glares, and jealous stares of their peers but let's face it, they are going to have to deal with them their entire lives, the best thing we can do is help them deal with it, encourage them to believe in themselves and empower them with strong self-esteem.


When you are 10 years old today's "I won't have anything to do with you" could be tomorrow's BFF...go figure. That, it seems, is just the way it is.

As a parent, I don't expect biggirl to be best friends with everyone but I do expect her to be fair, polite, and respectful with whomever she comes across in life. Of course, I hope others return the favor, including grade 4 parents...

A decade of love

A few months ago we were talking about how we celebrate adult birthdays in a big way when we turn 30,40,50,60, etc.
Biggirl was quick to catch on that multiples of 10 were worth celebrating and that since she would be turning 10 this year, that meant she deserved a party!
I know this may make me sound a wee bit lazy but two years ago I decided that the typical birthday party invitations wouldn't be sent out to classmates after the eighth birthday...
You see the 8th birthday was kinda hectic. Ever since I could remember (and biggirl too) my husband was out of the country on business whenever we had the birthday party with her friends from school (we celebrate once with friends and once with family). It just happened that way and although I would have loved to have some help, it kept us busy while he was away (really, really busy!) When she turned eight we organized a dance party. Now, I somehow thought that after my hour of well-planned, high-energy, chaotic yet organized games, they would do a little dancing while I prepared the buffet... well, that didn't work out as planned at all. They just couldn't get enough of the games and when I just plain did not have any other game up my sleeve, they followed me around the house asking me what the next activity was as I prepared food for 10 eight year olds.
At the end of the evening, no music had been played, nobody had danced, and I was exhausted... I actually still remember the feeling two years later!
So that was supposed to be it...until she reached the first multiple of 10.
But, since I am wiser and more experienced in the birthday department, I now know how to organize a party with a minimum of work.

I called the local bowling alley.

Heck, I even let her invite a couple boys which I never would have done if we were throwing a dance party in our basement (if I'm really, really lucky that will wait for the next multiple of 10!)

So Happy Birthday biggirl and thank you so much for your first decade of love!

Melt away snow!

This is it... the last ski pic of the year if we aren't blessed (did I just say blessed!?!) with another 2010 snowstorm. The scenery was beautiful, the temperatures divine, and the family time was great... but there just isn't enough snow left for it to be worth the splurge anymore!
So melt away snow, melt away now!
As babygirl states, the end of skiing is a good thing because it means spring is coming and spring leads to summer, the season anyone who's ever met (or read) me knows is my absolutely favorite season of all!
Now I just have to figure out what we can do to enjoy the sunshine until everything dries up outdoors!

Ultimate Winter Workout

The girls are just a day away from Spring Break and two days ago it seemed as if Spring really was in the air. The streets were dry, the snowbanks were almost a thing of the past, and we could see grass popping out here and there. Okay, it wasn't pretty green grass, more the brown, muddy kind, but still, there was hope until it hit me...

...a snowstorm that is!

All my boasting of a shovel-free winter is a thing of the past. So what's a girl to do? I grabbed my shovel and dug myself out of the wet, wet snow. The kind of snow that sticks to the shovel and requires three sets of shakes before finally letting go.Today, I have the aches and pains to prove it. Quebec winters do provide the ultimate workout, I'll give them that much!

The good news is there will be skiing,snowman-making,and hot cocoa during Spring Break. Now I think I know why more and more people are calling it March Break... Spring is just too far out of winter's reach to give us a break yet!

Schedule jam

Life is hectic. Between work, homework, housework, skating and gymnastics lessons, school, skiing, and Saturday nights with friends or family, our schedule is jammed. We seem to be running around all the time.

When I was little, my dog would have the silly habit of spinning around in circles in the attempt to (I think) catch its tail. Well... I kind of feel like I'm spinning around these days, only there is no tail to catch... so when will it stop?

I recently was speaking with a mother who was sitting next to me at the ice rink on a day when I was feeling as if I didn't really have control over the day's schedule and to-do list...I smiled when she told me that she's felt that way for years now.

Well there you go. This mom who seemed on top of everything, like all the moms sitting, calmly (or so it seems from afar) watching their kids skate was also trying to catch a tail which just is not there.

Why do we do it? What could we eliminate from our schedule? Well, nothing really.

Work is work. It's not just a money thing either. It's necessary because it gives me something to call mine. It keeps my brain alert (in different ways than doing Grade 4math), and provides goals and challenges (other than keeping the house clean)!

School is necessary too. It provides all of the above for the girls.

Sports are necessary in my book also. They provide discipline and develop abilities which the girls will use their entire lives a.k.a. stress, competition, and time management...

Skiing and Saturday nights with friends or family give us time to have fun together before the craziness starts all over again. I guess it's a good thing I took figure skating lessons when I was young too. I can control my spinning...to some extent anyways!

Mommy honor roll

When I was in school, I was a straight-A, honor roll student. The high school I went to displayed students' averages and I remember how I was crushingly disappointed with a 94% average if I wasn't the one with THE highest average... Looking back now, I sometimes think I was part of an overachieving class of 92 (...)

Don't think for a minute that it was easy. I was not, I repeat not, one of those students who does not need to study to succeed. I worked and I studied A LOT! Just between you and me, I loved school. That may be partly because I come from a family of teachers (mom, dad, grandmother, uncle...) or just because, I loved reading and writing so much (and still do!) Chemistry and physics were a whole other story... needless to say my grades in the other subjects had to be way up there to compensate!

Today, I am a happy WAHM. Not the doctor, accountant, or engineer I could have been... but the mother, wife, and woman I want to be.

My biggirl struggles with school at times. Although I can't say I don't cringe when she brings home a test with a barely passing grade written in red at the top, I know that her grades will not be a measure of how successful she will be in life.

They will not determine her level of happiness or satisfaction and they should never limit her hopes for the future.

Of course, while she is figuring out for herself just what (who)she wants to be, I am here for her, guiding her as best I can. I like to think of myself as a tool... one she will hopefully use for many years to come for school and life in general.

One day, she may look back and remember how I made her work extra hard at her homework and created mock tests for her to practice and prepare for exams. Then, I hope she will put me on the mommy honor roll!

Skiing is serious

Although biggirl has many ski lessons under her belt, babygirl had never shown an interest in a lesson, private or otherwise...until this year.
Fueled by the desire to finally have her own set of ski poles, she expressed the desire to take a private ski lesson. We agreed, thinking it would be good for her to learn how to use the adorable heart-covered white sticks which had not seemed very useful for her so far.
So, I called the ski school and asked for a 1-hour lesson and asked for a young, dynamic, female instructor thinking babygirl would warm up to a girl more easily. But,of course,there was only one instructor available and he was a he (obviously). His name was Robbie (which babygirl thought was an awfully funny name for an adult for some reason).
So, right on time we showed up at the bottom of the hill to meet with Robbie. I hurried ahead to tell Robbie how our goal was for her to learn how to "use" her ski poles and babygirl's only worry (which was really mine all mine) was getting on and off the chairlift since we had always (actually my husband because I'm busy enough getting my own little self off of the chairlift!)carried her off.
Well, in a matter of seconds, Robbie was off explaining how to gain chairlift independance with babygirl tagging behind as best she could.
The three of us, myself, my husband, and biggirl followed from afar, all of us (really all 3 of us) somewhat worried.
We sat three chairs behind them on the lift and wondered how in the world babygirl was going to get through the next hour.
60 minutes later, we caught up with them at the bottom of the hill.
Robbie reported that babygirl was an impressive little skier and that the chairlift was no longer a mystery for her.
We headed for the lift and babygirl informed us of chairlift etiquette as we stood in line. "The lift is serious," she said. "It's not a game," she added, with a serious face just as she reached back to grab the chair with one hand to pull herself onto the moving "vehicle", her little poles tucked neatly in the other hand. Once at the top, she proudly glided off the seat on her own, letting the chair gently push her away, off to conquer the mountain.
Wow.....
This was a lesson for us. Children are seriously capable little beings...we just have to give them the chance to try!

Not a winter person but...

It's no secret, I am not a winter person. No matter how much I try to love skiing, I just can't wrap my mind around the idea of spending the day on the white stuff when the temps dip way south of zero (celsius that is!).

Don't get me wrong...when the sun is shining and the thermometer successfully rises above the freezing point, I love how the girls challenge me on the slopes.

Last time we went, I would start down the mountain ahead of the girls and after a while I would stop and turn around, thinking that babygirl was way behind and I would get a chance to rest, but nope...she was always right there. Of course she would then gladly zip by me daring me to chase after her.

Of course, if it wasn't for skiing we would never spend a full day outdoors, together as a family, in the middle of winter. There are so many things to do and so many distractions at home, but out there in the cold (freezing) air, we have all the time in the world to have fun together.

There is nothing like a chairlift chat on the way up the mountain... providing our mouths aren't frozen!

Feels like a full moon

I have just looked out every window of our house and although there are stars shining bright, I cannot for the life of me find the moon right now...yet, by the way the girls were acting tonight, I'm pretty sure there must be a full moon grinning (or maybe even laughing histerically)in the sky tonight.

My neighbor is the one who introduced me to the full moon = overactive kids theory and after several months of tallying, I am buying it.

On any given day, no matter which phase the moon is in, the girls argue, bicker, fight, and scream...oh yeah, there's a whole lot of screaming/shrieking/hollering/shouting that goes down between the two of them. Of course, we intervene and try and try again to get them to speak their thoughts instead of yelling them. Unfortunately, that often means we end up yelling too, since our normal voices couldn't possibly be heard at that point.

However, right around the time of a full moon, they act...different.

They have honest to goodness fun with each other but it's a silly, excited, and really, really, really LOUD kind of fun.

Honestly, it drives me absolutely crazy... but I really wish they had this complicity every day.

Of course it's easy to say this now that they are both tucked in bed and quiet, but hearing them laugh together is precious. Let this post be a reminder for next month!