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!