Distracted in Hamilton

Galen in hockey action!

2012-02-02T11:33:00.008-05:00

Seven Years Old!

2012-01-26T09:47:00.004-05:00

Happy Holidays!

2011-12-23T10:59:00.002-05:00

We'll be living in Sweden for a year!

2011-11-10T20:12:00.002-05:00

My lovely wife is now a tenured Associate Professor. Officially, this doesn't happen until July 1, 2012 but we are already celebrating. With the promotion comes Joanna's first sabattical, a year long paid leave to perform research at another institution. She has selected the laboratory of Dr. Malin Celander at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden. So, as of July 1, 2012 we will all be living in Gothenburg, Sweden for one year and will be renting out our house to someone spending the year at McMaster. The good news is that we have already secured housing and almost have the school registration for the kids. We'll be living in the old, cobblestone section of Gothenburg in a 2-story, 3-bedroom condo. There will be a guest room! Here are some pictures and maps.

Drottninggatan Street View.

View Gothenburg & Sweden in a larger map

Our Place in Gothenberg!
Drottninggatan

3 gold stars

2011-11-07T16:01:00.002-05:00

Our household appears to be super-achievers this week. The highlights...

Ray - skater extraordinare; was invited to a special "Talent Night" (although it is not at night) for figure skating. It looks like an indoctrination of young skaters into the sport but she was one of 2 children from her learn-to-skate program invited this year to 2 one-hour skates. Ray is thrilled and will tell you she will represent Canada in the Olympics at some point in the future. She is also trying to convince me that this is a team sport because she plans to skate with a boy, although in pairs or dance is not yet clear.

Galen - hockey superstar; won the golden jersey in a vast marketing ploy by a certain burger joint that is underwriting uniforms for atom hockey this year. The golden jersey is awarded for best performance in the game and is to be worn at the next practice. Galen got this honor because he skated his butt off and showed the most amazing hustle, stick handling, passing and defensive play of his team yesterday. It was enough to invoke a "Holy CRAP!" from the opposing bench's coaches when he wove down the ice between several players using both stick and feet to advance the puck. No goal but that was because of superb goaltending on the opposing bench, not for lack of many excellent shots.

Mom - tenure. After a very ambiguous letter for the university, it was clear I'd made it past the faculty of Science and the senate appointments committee. The Senate meets on Wed but I have been told by my department chair that the ambiguous letter was as good as gold, go ahead and tell everyone. And my research leave has been approved!

Halloween Parade

2011-11-03T09:48:00.002-04:00

Every LEGO houseboat needs a bathroom

2011-11-03T09:41:00.002-04:00

Raynham's latest LEGO project is a houseboat. Ever practical, she is covering every detail...

The run

2011-09-28T08:32:00.003-04:00

It is fall Cross Country Running time here in Ontario. The grade 1-5 classes have been practicing - Galen before school, much to his dislike since it requires getting up early. Ray has been practicing at lunch. They had their school race last week and both placed well.

Ray, to my surprise, loved the running and placed 5th or 6th (depending on which parent she spoke to). The uncertainty in her placement is lost when you ask about how she placed compared to the girls (boys and girls run together in grade 1 and 2). There was only 1 girl ahead of her. Her attitude was typical Ray. "All my friends are complaining that the race is too long. I don't know what they are talking about. It is fine!" (visualize eye roll and look of disgust). Quite the little competitor this year. In soccer too, she was right in there. So it seems, our daughter has found a love of sports. Yippee!

Galen has been working very hard because in his grades, the top 12 go on to the regional race. Since grade 3, he has just missed that goal, hovering in the top 15 but just out of the top 12. This year? He was 11. Yesterday was the race at a local conservation area. Galen ran his heart out and placed 61 out of a pool of over 150 kids. He was in the top half of the pack the whole way and did great. He is becoming super competitive and wanted a top 30 finish. Not quite there but luckily, his competitiveness is balanced. He had fun, ran well, and ran hard. Satisfaction can be had, even when you don't get the result you desired. I love the attitude. The chocolate milk, provided by a friend's parent, at the end of the race, the football game after with the boys, the half day from school, and money from dad for the concession stand (slushies and bubblegum) were adequate enough to provide a great day for G! Best of all? I got to watch and cheer.

Back to School 2011!

2011-09-07T08:18:00.002-04:00

End of the School Year

2011-07-06T13:52:00.003-04:00

Schools Out!

2011-06-29T11:22:00.003-04:00

Today is the last day of school and Ray has "graduated" from kindergarten. That means:
1. All day at "galen's school" next year
2. No more day care (we LOVE not writing that check!)
3. Playing on the big playground (this is a very cool, big deal)

Ray had GLOWING, spectacular report cards from both public school and the SK program at the daycare. Nearly all C's (this is the top grade - consistently performs skill) from public school.

Galen has really recovered from his hard year. The decision to push for a classroom move was a very good one. He is ending grade 4 loving school again. He got straight B's, so passed well in all areas. He has set himself a goal to get some A's on his first grade 5 report card because he was disappointed by his grades (Perfectionist? Absolutely!). I LOVE the goal setting. Next year is his LAST in elementary school. Can you believe it?

For now, school is nearly out for summer and they head to Green Bay, WI for their first week alone with Nana and Poppa. Not sure who is more excited for this but it will be a great kick start to their summer!

JB and the glamour queen

2011-06-13T17:20:00.002-04:00

On a recent trip to for summer hair cuts, I decided that the faster we got through the salon, the better. Each kid got a different stylist and were in the chairs at the same time. Doubt I will be doing that again- unless they are side by side. Seated across the salon = bad idea.

Galen shed his long shaggy locks to avoid the sticky hair that comes with sunscreen + long hair. He wanted to keep as much length on top and ended up with a haircut that makes him look like Justin Bieber. No joke.

Ray is still trying to grow her hair as long a Rapunzel and avoids the cut at all costs. Just a trim and the smaller the trim the better. She figured on getting my money's worth though. I turned back from checking on G and found the hairdresser with the flat iron. Don't move! super HOT! I was freaking out a bit. "Is this her first time getting her hair straightened? You don't do this at home?" asked the hairdresser (with a faintly vacant look on her face). DUH. Who straightens hair for a 6 year old? That seems like something more related to someone 16, not 6. A little late, hairdresser asks for permission. Ray was in LOVE. She got a tiny french braid across the top of her forehead too. Guess what she will be asking for from now on?

Bunny bathing day

2011-06-08T10:24:00.000-04:00

Vacation lessons

2011-06-07T17:27:00.002-04:00

So it was ages ago but we did go to LA for a family vacation and had a great time. We took the kids to Disney, Universal Studios, many beaches, the Long Beach Aquarium and the Getty Center. The visit with Jason and April was amazing and relaxing. Thanks so much for hosting us!! A few highlights for you....

1. Disney princesses are in hiding
Despite our best efforts, not a single princess was found in Disney. Basically, I refused to stand in line for 1.5 hours so that our princess could meet their princesses. And it was a slow day. Ray was a bit heart broken (although she would NEVER have lasted in the line that long) at the end but promptly passed out mid complaint. I actually poked her and asked Andrew to check she was breathing. One minute tears, the next asleep. I had to hold her head up in the car she was falling out of her seat, still sleeping.

2. Big brothers can be so cool (And even if you spend a lot of money, they remember the little things)
We spent the day at Universal studios and Ray asked all day long for Dippin Dots. She was super excited for a $2.75 bowl of ice cream. Sure it's made with liquid nitrogen but the tickets to the park were so super expensive, how can that not compete with ice cream? Sigh. Of course, she orders her ice cream and then doesn't like it. Super Galen calmly offered to trade. "Well, it wouldn't be nice for her if she doesn't like her ice cream. I liked hers too, so I don't mind trading". Love the nice big brother.

3. Rayham cannot fly
But she tried. Off a 6-7 foot play structure. Thankfully no broken bones.

4. Princesses are mean.
Did you know that the Disney princesses laugh at little girls being pushed around in a stroller? Me neither but after the attempt at flying, there was no way Ray could make it through the park on her own feet. Apparently, wheelchairs are acceptable to princesses.

5. Both kids are big enough for BIG KID rides
Like Space Mountain and the Matterhorn. Daddy can't deal with it but the kids LOVED the rides.

6. No water is too cold for swimming if it's warm outside.
Picture the Californian's - jeans, tshirt, sweaters, some even had blankets on the beach
Picture my children - bathing suits and swimming in the Pacific. Freezing cold but happy as clams!

7. Eating with your hands does not make kids more adventurous
We ate out at some great places but the kids were not so fond of the Ethiopian restaurant we went to. Adults loved it. I thought the communal food plate and the lack of cutlery would win them over. Galen tried everything and found some things to eat. Ray was not so impressed. She ate the bread.

Easter did not induce tummy aches

2011-04-25T13:13:00.002-04:00

Easter did not induce tummy aches, but it was a close one.

The kids got up at 7 am and at 7:08 am, Galen came to my bedroom to apologize for "being a bad kid. We did the egg hunt with out you." And basically, it was true. They got up, dumped out the stuff in their basket and whisked through their grandparents house picking up eggs. Raynham was not contrite. "The eggs were right there, mom. I just saw them". No control is apparently not her fault and maybe those eggs just fell into her basket.... Turns out, they weren't so good at finding eggs and Andrew and I had to play Hot/Cold with both trying to find those that were overlooked. Then they went outside and found some more. The hunt was a lot of fun this year.

By 10 am, having realized that my daughter was consuming far more chocolate than she should, she was cut off (or so I thought...). Ray started hiding her eggs for Galen to find, again and again. By 11 am, I was called over to check out what they were doing and noticed a very large pile of silvery wrappers. Checked the basket and there were only 5 little eggs left - is this it??? YUP. At least 20 foil chocolate eggs, a cadbury easter cream egg, and a kinder egg had all been consumed by Ray. "I didn't mean to eat all that chocolate" was her defense. Chocolate was confiscated. Surprisingly, no stomach pains followed the gorging. I felt slightly sick at the thought of eating all of it, but she was fine. Well, except for the sugar high which made her manic. She traded between wildly excited and crying over the course of the day. But I am very sure she did NOT learn a lesson.

Kid Logic

2011-04-17T16:21:00.001-04:00

Rina (teacher): Nicole? Are you here today, Nicole?

Nicole: Yup! Here I am!

Rina: ok, prove it!

Nicole: I am standing right here.

Rina: But what if I am just imagining that you are right here? How do I know if you are real?

Raynham: You mean she might be Fake Nicole?

Nicole: I am standing right here next to Raynham and you can touch me. So you know I am here.

Raynham: Yes, see here we are.

Rina: What if Raynham is also in my imagination? Raynham, can you prove you are really here? Maybe I am dreaming.

Raynham: You are not dreaming because everything and everybody is here like it always is when you are awake.

Rina: you mean, even that purple bunny standing next to you?

Nicole: there is no bunny.

Rina: prove it! I see a purple bunny with a purple bow standing next to Raynham. Just like I see you sating next to Raynham.

Raynham: Rina! There is no bunny. I am Raynham and I am wearing Raynham’s things and I know everything Raynham should know. So I am Raynham and I am right here.

Rina: I don’t know for sure. You really could be Imagined Raynham in Raynham clothes with Raynham ideas and Raynham memories.....

Raynham: Well then, if I am imaginary, then you are imaginary... and we are imaginary together – so it doesn’t matter what I can prove!

My kid is a smart*$$ and that is sometimes a good thing

2011-03-31T06:24:00.002-04:00

Galen has math homework each night. 3-5 division problems, one number divided into a 3 digit number. He was doing a counting up approach he learned in class, but was not doing true long division with remainders. As my division questions have got harder and harder, I just couldn't watch the counting up anymore. Let me show you another way, my son. So, we sat down and started to work through the long division steps.
How many times does 3 go into 1? none, OK include the next digit
How many times does 3 go into 10? 3 with one remainder; bring down the next digit.
How many times does 3 go into 12? 4. Great, so 102 divided by 3 is 34.

Trouble is, the guy wants to just do it in his head. He wasn't bothering to write down HOW he got his answer, which the teachers don't like because they assess the answer and the route to the answer. But G has to argue that its fine, no problem, because he can do it. And showed me over and over and over. So, I changed tactics. I'll show you that it is easy to make mistakes if you are trying to carry remainders in your head. Let me prove to you that writing it down is better. I'll give you a life lesson - I start increasing the number of digits. From 3 to 5, Ahh yes that is the correct answer. From 5 to 6, then 7, then 8 digits. Dude got them all correct, doing the math in his head. He laughed and the lesson was lost. Fine, you don't need to write it down because it is easy to mess up, you can keep track of remainders in your head. Smart*$$ son.

So my argument is back to "because your teacher told you to". Not the best reason but still a reason. He is taking in his work sheet to show his teacher and I am moving on to something more challenging. Clearly, math is his strength.

Galen made the News too! Festival of Strings

2011-03-09T21:32:00.003-05:00

We always knew that the kids would take some form of music. When G started school, we quickly learned that strings were in. Why? The strings program at our school board starts in Grade 4 with beginner violin and adds in cello and upright bass as the children get a bit more experienced (and large enough to hold the instruments!). The kids have small group lessons at school once a week and orchestra practice on Saturdays. The quality of the program is best understood by watching the kids perform. Last night we watched as Galen and a group of nearly 400 students went on stage at the local concert hall to perform in their various orchestras. They were featured in the news and the video clips below shows some of the performance. In the largest mass orchestra (first shots), the beginners, including Galen, are on the risers at the very back. Galen's beginner orchestra is highlighted in the very end. You can just see him to the left of the conductor when they stand for their applause! Next year, he will play in the West Hamilton Strings Orchestra.

Words of Advice

2011-03-09T10:45:00.003-05:00

Yesterday was the 100th International Women’s Day and to commemorate our local paper ran a challenge to its’ readers. They asked for words of advice from women to a baby girl born today. Ray's fantastic teacher borrowed their challenge and presented it to the SK girls and asked them to come up with some wise words. Here are Ray's wise words for girls everywhere.

All the girls' work made the local news!

A Valentine's Chocolate Sampling

2011-02-14T20:12:00.002-05:00

I think we have created a new Valentine's tradition at our house. Tonight for Valentine's we and the kids had a chocolate sampling. Starting with milk chocolate we worked our way up the chocolate ladder to 90% pure: 65%, 75%, 85%, 90%. We then followed with the flavours: 70% with orange, 70% with cherry and chili, and lastly the unexpected 43% with sea salt. I'm not so sure about the latter, but it was a hit with Joanna. Galen surprised by liking chocolate in 85% range, even appreciating the 90%. Raynham is a kid's purist - milk chocolate all the way.

Raptors Game!

2011-02-13T13:51:00.002-05:00

More 2010 Photos

2011-01-31T20:11:00.004-05:00

Long overdue, but I've finally posted Photos of Summer, Fall, and Winter 2010! Trips, weddings, sports, birthdays, Christmas, more. Oh my, it was a remarkably busy year. Who can guess what kind of bug Raynham is holding?

Snowshoes!

2011-01-13T09:46:00.002-05:00

I have been asking for the past 3 years for snowshoes for Christmas. Not just for me but for the whole family. We live next to a big park with lots of trails through the woods and we greatly enjoy walks all spring, summer and fall. Winter weather keeps us out unless we got snowshoes.

This year for Christmas, I got my wish. Yesterday, the snow accumulation was finally big enough to try them out. G and Ray used them to climb the snow pile in the front yard and then we all went to Churchill park for a walk in the moonlight. The kids loved them and now can't wait to go see the deer in the woods.

P.S. Check out G in his fancy jacket - its his select team hockey jacket and he looks so cool....

Birthday stress relief

2011-01-12T17:00:00.003-05:00

The last couple of years, in January, we have had birthday stress. Not because Mom and daughter have their birthdays a day apart. I realized on the day of her birth that I had essentially lost my birthday for the next 18-20 years. Kids shouldn't have to share their day with anyone, especially their parent.

No, the stress has been about the invite list and gifts. The gift issue was never touchy with Galen. We implemented the rule - no gifts from friends, only from family - because, quite frankly, he was (IS) completely spoiled. As the first baby for most of our extended family, he was showered with presents. Although more kids have come, the presents have not got smaller. So, recognizing we had no business telling anyone what to get the kids or to control the amount of the purchases, we put a halt to more presents from friends. We finally suggested they could bring a small book or toy to be donated because, apparently, it is distressing to bring nothing. Seriously, I was trying to relieve all of the need to go shopping. Galen got the logic and thought it was cool that his "friend" party allowed him to donate potential birthday presents to kids who may have gone without. Ray has had a harder time with this rule and sees the donations as "presents that could have been mine but are for someone else". I could see her point. They were there, they looked cool and new and shiny and not for her. Two years ago, it made her cry and I almost gave in and let her pick one. Last year, after clearly thinking hard about it, she suggested we ask for food for the food bank, "because I won't want the food as much as a toy and people need that too". Super smart, adopted on the spot, no tears and a new tradition for Ray.

This year, again, we had drama over WHO is on the list. We don't invite the whole class as other families do (why are we always the ones doing something different???). We let her choose the number of friends as she is old. At 2 (her first friend party), she invited 2 friends over, at 3 she had 3 invitations to give away and so on.... She is up to 6 friends this year. The last couple of years, the list has been confusing. She invites kids she never has play dates over those she regularly sees outside of school. One in particular has never been invited in spite of the fact Ray plays with her most weeks, has sleepovers and is one of her "best friends". Every year she gets invited to said "best friend" birthday party. All the worse, they have very near birthdays and so the kid HAS TO KNOW she isn't invited. So, this year I did what I have never done. I inserted myself into the guest list and said I thought she HAD to invite this one child. Woe is me. Tears, upset, protesting even. And then clarity. Her list has not just been based on who her friends are, but on who will see her give out invitations. Thus, poor "best friend" who is in different class gets passed over so no hard feeling for the girls in her class. Today we handed out invites. The invites were to her friends that she plays with the most. I gave them out, quietly, to parents where possible, or directly into backpacks to be opened at night with mommy and daddy. Birthday stress is gone. And Ray gets who she really wants at her birthday. What a relief!

I have a dream

2011-01-11T11:57:00.005-05:00

Ray is studying Martin Luther King Jr in class and has learned a new word: protest. Philosophically, this word appeals to my opinionated daughter of course, but it has taken a while to really sink in what it means. Yesterday, she got it and immediately started protesting. "I protest recess!" she told her teacher - It was cold outside and she was having a good time inside. She is now protesting all sorts of things - basically much of what she is disinclined to do. I sense we will have official protests over bedtime, eating things she doesn't like on her plate, doing chores....

Her wisdom and logic has made the MLK Jr. story a bit confusing for her. She loves the demands for equality but can't seem to understand why anyone would care about the colour of your skin and how that is related to what people think of you. It occurs to me that this difficulty embodies MLK's dream - people that don't judge based on colour and can't really understand how anyone could. She understands he was assassinated because they didn't agree with him, but can't quite get how this was going to be productive. "But if you kill someone, no one is going to listen to you because you are a bad person. Why would they do that??" she was asking Dad last night. Ah to be so young and know so much.

2+1+1=fun

2010-12-08T10:08:00.002-05:00

Emma has been staying with us this week, while both of her parents are off on work trips. So each day we have 2+1 kids and mornings we have 2+1+1 when Jack gets dropped off.

Remarkably, the only difficult part is all the talking. It is incessant chatting, several kids at the same time, all trying to talk to one adult. They have a lot to share. Sometimes, I feel a bit dizzy and can't remember who was next. Emma shares a non-stop stream of random thoughts. "Auntie Jo! I have something to tell you! You need to come talk with me!". Mostly, I want them to be quiet so they can put some food in their gobs - there is so much to say that little is eaten at meal times. Thankfully, they don't mind staying up at the table for a while to get the job done. But mealtimes are a loud, long affair. Andrew looks exhausted and it is all the noise, not activities or drama that is causing it. He sits very quietly with a book after they go to bed and says next to nothing.

Jack and Emma had a bit of a stand off with the single booster seat - each one thinks the seat is theirs and doesn't want the other in it. Astonishingly, Emma says she is too little (when has she EVER thought she was too little for anything??) to sit in a chair without a booster and won't give it up for Jack. Jack, not to be outdone, will not sit on my lap for breakfast but gives Emma the stare down. When she leaves the table, he gets in the chair to eat and looks at her as if to say "This is my chair, kid!". Emma started to argue that the stroller was for her but considering she had walked to school the day before, she reconsidered and "let Jack use it".

Emma has been a great sleeper and a great helper. She is very insistent that she MUST help set the table and get dinner. You need to keep the girl armed with tasks. She and Raynham have worked out a system so that Raynham can take breaks in her room so it isn't full on cousins 24/7 (well, actually 24/4 - she will go home after 4 days). That means there has been less strife than normal between the girls who are more like sisters than cousins. They are even cooperating in putting the toys away and surprised us by getting the dollhouse upstairs by working as a team (probably best not to ponder this too much).

Turns out that 2+1+1 is a lot of fun. Seeing all the cousins play nicely together and the older ones take care of the younger has been super cool. Galen, as always, is the responsible one with a watchful eye when needed. I actually think we have seen more good behaviour this week than most. I don't know who to thank for this - possibly Santa - but I am completely grateful. I am also completely sure that stopping at 2 was a good idea.

Air Band!

2010-11-24T16:36:00.004-05:00

Back to school, back to the arena, back to my life?

2010-10-21T17:21:00.002-04:00

Fall is always a crazy time but this year, it is a tsunami.

First of all, we have lovely, beautiful Jack with us a few mornings a week. Jack, instead of instilling more chaos in the house, has instilled order to our mornings. And family breakfast. His smiles are a joy each morning. Galen has been an absolute leader in helping with Jack and plays with him whenever we are running late and usually pushes the stroller to school. They have a thing. Jack loves the attention and sometimes just feels the need to hug him tightly.

Second, Galen has started music lessons on the violin. We thought it was once a week, during school hours and were a bit surprised to find out there is also Saturday orchestra practice. But we are trying it anyways. The first few weeks were lovely. Then he was shown how to use the bow. That phrase about cats screeching when a kid plays a violin is true. I am glad most practice is done after school... It is hard to smile and clap when you are grimacing in pain from the high squeaky noises that are making your ears bleed. No really, he is doing great and mostly gets the notes correct.

Third, my travel schedule and grant writing is nuts this fall. I have new field sites to go to, conferences to attend, and a trip to teach. They are too many trips, in too few weeks, with too much other stuff to do. Yikes.

Last, we have started hockey and skating for the kids. Galen is going to have a good year and is trying out for the select team this year. He just missed the roster last year but I think he has a better chance this time around. He is playing with passion. Miss R has moved to the figure skating club for the CanSkate program. She has lovely white skates with toe picks and thinks they are divine. She was so happy to go on the ice so I know we made the right move for her. Last week, she was out twirling around, arms up in the air and telling her coach she was going the Olympics when she grows up.

So think of us this fall and know we are thinking about you. Our emails are few, our facebook posts lacking, our visits are scarce, but we still love you. And soon, the schedule will settle, the travel will be over, and we will be in touch. Promise.

Ringers!

2010-08-23T14:56:00.004-04:00

When I was a kid, we always spent part of each summer at my Grandparents Raynham's cottages in Port Elgin. Almost every evening involved games of Ringers, a game very similar to horseshoes. To my surprise, my grandmother found an original set in her basement and we put them to use this past weekend at a BBQ in our backyard. Good to see the next generation enjoying the game.

Lemonade Stand

2010-08-18T18:00:00.001-04:00

Raynham's first visit from the tooth fairy

2010-08-17T14:47:00.003-04:00

Custom Pokemon

2010-06-15T08:50:00.002-04:00

Spring Photos 2010

2010-06-14T15:26:00.003-04:00

Birthday parties, hockey, school shows, family events, golf, and more! Click here to see them all.

Rock Band Galen

2010-06-02T10:11:00.004-04:00

Life has been very busy for our family, so we haven't been posting much. However, Galen did have his 9th birthday, although he just missed the height cut-off for driving his own go-cart. I'll post some pictures soon, but here is a shot of him with his new Wii Lego Rock Band video game. April & Jason sent him the game and birthday money from Nana & PappaB plus John & Babusa bought him the guitar. I have a feeling we will be shopping for a drum kit tonight.

He shoots, He SCORES!

2010-03-02T07:04:00.002-05:00

G had a double header weekend in hockey. On Sunday morning, his team was rather subdued for 2 periods and then finally came alive and played the game. The result was a 5-6 loss for the blue penguins but considering it was 6-1 going into the 3rd period, they had one really, really good period. Galen had 2 assists and a couple of great scoring opportunities. The opposing goalie was fabulous.

Sunday night was crushing for G - I swear he was the only Canadian in tears of sadness after the US-CAN matchup. We were a household divided and his dual citizenship left him unsure through much of the Olympic on who to cheer for. Mostly, he cheered for both but when the games leave them completely one-on-one (as opposed to individual sports where they seem to battle themselves more than each other), it was a hard choice. Utter logic prevailed. G decided that the US women should win gold and the CAN men should win gold. But when the CAN women won, he held it together and changed his mind on the outcome of the men's game. To see both teams lose was too much. Of course, the screaming of others (who shall remain nameless here, ahem...) likely didn't help. When the US scored in the last 30 seconds of regular time, we all went nuts but for opposite reasons. When I left the room in frustration, I hear Andrew's voice: "No. Mommy is not mad at YOU. You didn't score that goal. Mommy loves hockey and she's just upset because she thought Canada was about to win".

Passion about hockey prevailed last night as G brought his A game to the rink. His whole team played very, very well and they dominated with a 6-1 win. G scored in an amazing battle for the rebound in front of the net and had a spectacular assist from the blue line to his teammate rushing to the net. G was everywhere - battling for the puck at the boards, pushing the puck through the neutral zone, positioning himself in front of the net for shots and rebounds. He had at least 4 great scoring opportunities but he faced a hot goalie who was capable of making glove saves! We all thought G had scored 2 other times only to realize that the goalie had managed to keep a hold of it. He even had a great breakaway. Playoff games are so much fun to watch, particularly because of how well the kids play and the improvement they have made over the season. One of the best things about G's team is that they are a team and play as a team. One parent noted that if there is a real superstar on the team, the rest of the players don't develop as much. We have some great players on the team but they pass and work with their teammates. Great hockey.

Ray meanwhile has turned hockey into social hour. All the sisters, from age 3-6 get together and have convinced us parents that treats are in order. Now the moms carry a bag full of lollipops for the girls and enough books or toys to go around. Last night we brought rink pops and colouring books/markers. There was a line of little girls making pictures and a line of parents wearing half eaten ring pops! The girls have made the rink fun and let the parents watch the game. Now that is worth a lolly.

Interlock win

2010-02-21T19:53:00.002-05:00

Galen played his first interlock hockey game today down in the east end of town. Normally, we only play at the local rink and with 5 teams this year, there is plenty of teams in our local rink. Other local hockey leagues are not as lucky - the team we played today have only a single novice team and must play all interlock games. Although the drive wasn't far, I have to say that I am really glad we don't have to drive around to a different rink every weekend. Culturally though, we crossed a divide.

The first warning? The hockey dad in front of us yelling for his team to check when they play in a non-checking league. Apparently, novice is old enough to hit. Then, there was the lack of cheering for anything other than their own team. At our rink, parents cheer for anything good on the ice, no matter which team did it. If that wasn't enough, the parents actually booed their own children. Ponder that one. They yelled "Boo". At their kids.... Thankfully, with the glass, kids can't hear much of anything from the stands. Even better was the woman beside me, leaving her two year old. "Mommy needs to go out for a quick smoke" she says and then launched into a long warning of why she needed to stay with the young girls in the stands. Apparently, the rink was full of bad people that were waiting for little girls to wander away so they could steal them and hurt them. These people would kidnap her and she would never, ever see her mommy again. Hmmm. If so, perhaps you should either take the kid with you or wait 20 minutes until the game is over. Toto, we are not in Kansas anymore.

Galen and his team had a very good game, winning 5-2. G had 2 assists and 4 really great scoring opportunities. He will be talking about a neat little spin move he performed for a while. Me? I am glad to be heading back to my rink. Interlock seems over rated.

Christmas 2009 Photos and January Birthday

2010-02-08T20:58:00.002-05:00

Here is a new photo set of our holidays as well as January birthdays, plus a few other tidbits like broken wrists and Heroscape tournaments. See all of the pictures here.

Hockey Double Header - GOAL!

2010-02-01T20:28:00.001-05:00

Galen had two hockey games this weekend. Sunday's game was a 6-3 win, with Galen getting two assists. Tonight was a 6-4 loss, but Galen got two assists and a goal! He is so glad to be back playing hockey.

Stories out of school

2010-01-27T10:17:00.003-05:00

A couple of very funny stories from one of Ray's teachers...

Story #1:

Teacher: "Ray, will you be visiting Ronald McDonald House again this year after your birthday party?"
Ray: "This year, I am giving some food to some hungry people"
Teacher: "well, Ray - that is a most fabulous idea"
Ray (looking at her good friend Nicole): "Bring kosher food, OK? because that's what I am allergic to so I don't need it"

Story #2:...

ray: "I am now 5!"
Teacher: "I heard that it's your birthday and you are all grown up now... will you be getting your own apartment now?"
Ray: "noooooooooooooooooooo?!?!? wait... does Bram (her teacher's son and friend) have his own apartment?"

Who needs small maps?

2010-01-26T13:05:00.002-05:00

The kids are loving the birthday present Raynham got from her grandparents - a huge puzzle map. It now holds the proud place of honour in her bedroom - the entire floor.

Raynham is 5!

2010-01-26T09:26:00.003-05:00

Today my baby is 5! 5 freaking years old! It is amazing. She woke up bright and early (what else is new), smiling and happy.

Ray, at 630 am, with a huge smile: "Happy birthday to me! Good morning Momma!"

She was patient in waiting until 7 am (that seems almost painful to write because what person WANTS to be awake before 7 am??). She opened her cards and presents from Galen and Mom&Dad. She loved them and immediately started to work on decorating her tiaras (Galen's gift) while waiting for Mom and Dad to get some coffee and breakfast going.

Dad: "Raynham, what would you like for breakfast?"
Ray: "Bacon and pancakes and waffles and sausages (saw-cer-ges)!"
Dad: "Ahhhh. Well I don't have those things. How about toast or cereal?"
Ray: "But its my birthday and I should get to eat what I want! I don't want toast. I want BACON!"
Dad: "That's why we had your party on Sunday, remember?"
Ray: "But that wasn't breakfast food. That was dinner. And I didn't like that food anyways so it doesn't count."

Today she gets a party (with chips!) at Temple and a party at JK (with cupcakes!). Saturday, the girls descend. Traditionally, the kids do not get presents at their birthday party with their friends, but collect toys for a charity. Raynham has decided she doesn't like this.

Ray:"Mom, it makes me very sad that I don't get presents at my party"
Mom: "But Raynham, how many presents do you get from your family?"
Ray: "A lot but all my friends get presents from their friends at birthday parties. It makes me sad to look at the presents they bring but aren't for me"
Mom: "Do you understand why we don't ask for presents at your party?"
Ray: "I don't need more presents. But it still makes me sad."
Mom: "What do you want to do about it?"
Ray: Long pause... "Can I ask for food for hungry people instead? Food won't make me sad like toys do."

Easy solution from a 4 year old. Happy birthday, my princess.

Galen can return to Hockey

2010-01-22T10:52:00.002-05:00

Galen had his orthopaedics appointment today and the conclusion is that he had minor damage to the growth plate in his wrist plus lots of soft tissue damage. Today he got the all-clear to return to sports with the use of a wrist brace for one month. Otherwise, by Monday he can stop wearing the brace and start his one month of physiotherapy. Good thing the boy is patient.

Not a break

2010-01-09T12:47:00.002-05:00

Following up on: An unexpected "break" from hockey

Galen appears to have soft tissue damage only and a squished growth plate. He is wearing a brace for two more weeks and then will have another check-up. Looks like he'll be back in good shape after that. Whew!

An unexpected "break" from hockey

2010-01-04T21:45:00.003-05:00

We won't know the final decision until Galen sees the orthopaedics specialist in a week, but he is out of hockey for now. Galen had a fall during a recreational skate during the holidays, spraining his left wrist. We kept him out of hockey while he recovered and he was ready to return to the game tonight. But he played some street hockey after school and came inside complaining of renewed pain. But this time it was very specific in location and an x-ray at the hospital suggests a compression fracture in his wrist. A very minor break but there are concerns about it healing well. Depending upon what the specialist finds next week, he could be in a cast or splint for two to six weeks. Remarkably, when offered a treat for his first break, he asked for jello. The boy needs to set his sights higher.

Who else would send live animals??

2009-12-18T20:59:00.002-05:00

Every year, one of my favorite things to do is hunt for great presents for my nieces. Maia and Leah are particularly fun to buy for because they are older than Ray and I can see where she is going to be in one or six years. Plus, they are super smart, super cool girls who I get to buy the kind of presents I would love, were I only much younger. Ray is such a girly-girly girl and the barbie section just doesn't excite me (rather the opposite). Thankfully, Anna and Steve are VERY patient with my gifts. Why? cause I have sent live animals, not once but twice now.

It started when I saw this super cool ant farm. It had this crazy gel stuff and the ants came by mail and were to live happily building tunnels you could see. I knew Leah would LOVE it. So, using my all-powerful aunt status, I bought it and sent it.

When I was in New Orleans, it happened again. I saw the Frog-O-shere and totally wanted one and knew that Maia needed one too. It comes with a bamboo plant, cool coloured gravel, food and 2 african dwarf frogs. Can it get better??? (OK, I am a biologist) It was so cool that my grad students and I kept gravitating back to the same store to look at them. I was a bit worried about the live animal thing. They have pets - a dog, beta fish, and the ants of course. Luckily, Anna said yes and the gift arrived today, well in advance of Christmas. With the ants, you got the box with all the equipment and sent for the ants. I was expecting this again or maybe some fertilized eggs that were dormant. Nope. Live frogs arrived. Phone calls were made. Yes, please open it, if it says live frogs then they won't last in a plastic bag for a week.

So lucky girl got an early Christmas present and she loves them. She called to thank me and corrected me on whether they could have shipped the frog eggs without water (ah to be young and know everything....). Strangely, when the box, appropriately labelled "Live Frogs" arrived, Maia wondered "who sent this?". But really, who else would send live animals?

Social challenges for girls

2009-12-16T16:20:00.002-05:00

Raynham loves her JK program at Temple Playhouse, particularly as her closest friends are there. However, sharing of friends is a challenge for 4 and 5 year olds. Hence yesterday's conversation after school:

Raynham: I had problems with my friends today.

Dad: What happened?

Raynham: I was playing with one friend when the other wanted to play with me and they both got upset. I don't like being in the middle.

Dad: Yeah, that is difficult. How did you handle it?

Raynham: I told them I couldn't cut myself in two so they each could have half.

Dad: You certainly can't.

Raynham: Yea, all my guts would spill out.

Weekend fun with Mom

2009-12-14T08:26:00.003-05:00

Saturday was a super busy day. Both Ray and G were on the ice for hockey practice. Ray had a playdate with one of her best buddies. Cookie making was on the agenda. Two 4 year olds, cookie cutters and lots of decorations makes a lot of fun but also a lot of mess. I have NO photos of the event as Drew was at the rink with G the whole time (funny how he changed his mind last minute: "We might as well just stay here and watch the other kids skate"...). By the time he came home I had both the roomba vacuum and hand vac out! There were a LOT of sprinkles on the floor, but even MORE on the cookies!!!

After lunch, we headed to Hamilton Place for the Nutcracker Suite Ballet. G has gone to see this before, but never with a national ballet; Ray has never been before. Here is the difference between the two kids.

1. They are bought nutcracker christmas ornaments. Galen breaks his in the first 2 seconds (I love crazy glue) but Ray manages until 4 pm the next day until hers breaks. Galen breaks the gun, Ray pulls off the beard.

2. Galen is close to silent through the entire thing, then talks constantly about it afterwards. Ray has an endless play-by-play through the first act, falls asleep in the second and then cries when she wakes up because she "missed the fairies". I had to promise her there were NO fairies on after she fell asleep.

Luckily, both want to go again next year. Ray PROMISES she won't sleep at the end.

Of course, yesterday, the excitement was my friend Krista visiting (the kids love her) and the tree falling over. We've rescued the tree and are hoping for a quieter week......

Goal!

2009-12-13T10:40:00.003-05:00

Last week's game was a lot of fun to watch, with Galen taking three shots and getting one assist. The final was a 6-3 victory. Today's game was even better, with Galen getting one shot and a GOAL! First of the season! The final score was a 4-3 victory, with two other of Galen's teammates getting their first goal ever. Can't wait for tomorrow night's game.

Raynham's hockey school continues to go well, with all the kids doing the basics of getting up, skating forward, and now snowplow stopping. Raynham is working on driving her mother crazy, but when she isn't she is skating very well. Yet, she continues to insist that this is the last year of hockey for her - next year should be figure skating. Little does she know how hard that is.

Kiddie quotes for Christmas

2009-12-11T11:09:00.002-05:00

The kids are VERY excited that Christmas is coming. Here are few great moments...

Ray, seeing the president of my university at the kids Christmas party:
"Look! Its Santa! Why is he wearing that black suit?"

Galen, first thing in the morning:
Dec 1: "Mom! wake up! Its only 24 days until Christmas!"
Dec 2: "Mom! Wake up! Its only 23 days until Christmas!"
Dec 3: "Mom! Did you know its only 22 days until Christmas!"
....
Dec 7: "Mom! Its only 16 DAYS until Christmas! I'm so excited!!!" Me too G.

Ray, after getting in trouble: "I don't think I've been a very good girl this year. What if Santa brings me NOTHING?"

Ray, after the tree was decorated: "Can we open a present?" Not until Christmas, I replied. "But we already had one from your Christmas party, so why not another?"

Galen, discussing the potential that Santa isn't real: "A girl in my class says that Santa isn't real. She says its really your parents buying all that stuff. She says the easter bunny is your parents too but I don't think so. You don't make chocolate eggs, Mom. It would be crazy that parents would pretend to be a bunny and hide junk food around the house! What parent would DO that? It makes no sense. I think she'll be lucky to get anything from Santa this year"

Galen, on his gingerbread ambitions: "Everyone makes a house. I don't want to make a house this year, I want to make a gingerbread hockey rink! Complete with a rink, hockey players and a score board! And my team will be winning! Mom - that means we need.......just 12 hockey players in gingerbread. That's not so much, is it?"

Green Walls

2009-12-10T17:41:00.004-05:00

Literary mash-up

2009-12-02T20:44:00.004-05:00

Raynham has been studying Shakespeare at school, with her favourite so far being Midsummer's Night Dream. Literature is quickly becoming her thing. However, my latest read might not work for her. I'm reading Jane Austen's Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters. This literary mash-up combines Jane Austen's classic with the standards of great sea monster stories. The cover shows a lady of Regency England gazing lovingly at a tentacled hero. Conversation ensues...

Raynham: What is with your book?

Dad: I'm reading Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters.

Raynham: Why does that man have a squid face? And why is that lady in love with him?

Dad: I don't know, I haven't gotten to that part of the book yet.

(pause)

Raynham: Is she blind?

Yesterday's hockey game

2009-11-30T13:36:00.003-05:00

Galen played against two of his friends yesterday, one of which is a sniper who used to play Rep. I believe he got a double hat trick. The final score was 8-5, but Galen was one of the more offensive players. He was really determined at working the puck through the other team and had a shot on goal and an assist. Tonight we don't have a game, but are going to see Galen's best friend play in net.

Hockey double header

2009-11-23T20:59:00.002-05:00

Galen had two hockey games this weekend and they could not have been more different. Sunday's 7 am game was a mess and Galen's team lost 7 to 1. Galen's team was all over the place, including him, and there was absolutely no defence. What little offence they mounted was not enough to overcome some great goaltending by one of Galen's classmates.

Tonight's game was a different matter. Galen's team put in lots of offensive pressure and won 6 to 3. Galen was the star of the game by playing a strong offensive defence all night. On the attack, he was great a keeping the puck from crossing the blue line and on the defence, he broke up several attacks and made a great save when the goalie was overwhelmed. He really played hard and smart. Good job Galen!

Fall 2009 Photos

2009-11-05T09:40:00.002-05:00

London's Western Fair, apple and pumpkin picking, pumpkin carving, and Halloween! See all the pictures here.

Front Yard - Before and After

2009-10-24T17:49:00.005-04:00

I made the mistake of not taking a "before" photo before we redesigned and rebuilt our front yard. Much to my surprise, Google Street View took a shot about a month before we started the work. So, here are the before and after shots.

Raynham, where are your pants??

2009-10-22T17:21:00.002-04:00

Raynham is an active child at night. She doesn't sleep through - never, ever, ever. She wakes up early and she wakes up often. Normally, she rolls over and goes back to sleep.

She is somehow very aware of where mom (and dad) are in the house. If I stay up late I know, at some point, my daughter will show up downstairs looking for me. She'll decide to use the downstairs bathroom so she can ask when I'm coming to bed. She is ALWAYS the one who finds me asleep on the couch and gets me to come to bed.

Last night, Raynham showed up a bit early. It was only 10 pm and both Drew and I were still downstairs. Little footsteps on the stairs, across the living room... She arrives in the family room, opens the bathroom door and goes in. Only problem is that she is buck naked from the waist down. "Hi" she says casually while opening the bathroom door. "Ahhh Ray, where are your pants?? " asks mom while trying not to totally lose it. That's when she started peeing on the bathroom floor, frozen zombie-like, holding onto the door handle.

Turns out my kid sleepwalks. Life just got a bit more interesting....

The broken leg: a 1 year update

2009-10-21T09:36:00.002-04:00

It was over 1 year ago that I fell, while hiking, broke my leg and had surgery. It has been about 8 months since I had to wear the hideous, bright pink crocs my spouse bought for me. I don't even know where the walker, crutches or cane are located anymore (although I am betting they are in the basement, gathering dust). The last 4 months though, I have been bothered a bit by a screw head - you can see it and feel it easily which is a bit gross. It irritates me when I sit with my leg tucked up and in my skates too. I thought the screw was coming out. I was a bit worried about more surgery.

Today was my one year post-surgery check up. Surprise to me, the screw is not moving. In fact, the xrays look identical except for the lack of break in the bone. I have been discharged me from the fracture clinic. That screw? It was put in on an angle, so the head of the screw isn't flush with the bone. The swelling had just finally gone away and it took close to a year to completely heal. So I'll need to find some foam for my skate boot and deal with the mild irritation. The best part? If it continues to bother me, if it starts to hurt, they can just remove the one screw - tiny incision, no big deal, no long healing. For now though, I am keeping my metal.

Hold the Kosher

2009-10-01T10:00:00.003-04:00

This from one of Raynham's teachers at Temple Playhouse's JK program:

Teacher: o.k. guys, let's have some snack... any allergies in this class?

Raynham: i have an allergy!!!

Teacher: you do?

Raynham: i'm allergic to anything kosher

Teacher: really? that is really too bad - you can't have challah anymore

Raynham: no, i'm allergic to anything kosher but not challah

Teacher: oh, lucky thing - but no chocolate - that's really too bad

Raynham: chocolate isn't kosher

Teacher: oh, yes, yes it is

Raynham: well.... i'm allergic to anything kosher but not challah and not chocolate

Canadian National Exhibition and Toronto Zoo

2009-09-14T12:23:00.001-04:00

See all the pictures here.

Friday Game Night, Heroscape in Action...

2009-09-14T12:13:00.005-04:00

Yet another mammal joins the family

2009-09-14T12:05:00.005-04:00

Add to the rabbit (Harley) and guinea pig (Oink) our new family member, Tigger. Tigger used to live next door and then her housemate had kittens. Suffice it to say, Tigger does not like kittens, left home, and has been living with us. We've yet to let her stay the night, but that is sure to happen...

First day of school

2009-09-14T12:04:00.002-04:00

Last game glory

2009-09-13T13:10:00.003-04:00

Yesterday was Super Saturday, the grand soccer finale. We had two short games, one lost and one won. Galen had a great end of year - 2 goals, 1 assist, and a lovely header. Next year he moves up to the U10 level, with full rules. For now, we just need to start getting ready for hockey season...

Soccer season is at an end

2009-09-02T21:30:00.003-04:00

Tonight was the last regular game of Galen's U8B soccer season. You certainly could tell it was the end of the summer as most of the team's mind have started to drift and the busy summer days has them tuckered out in the evenings. The last two games have been a mess, with very little of the lessons learned being applied. Tonight was like watching a rugby game - a mass of players bunched up on each other in the middle of the field. Last week was similar and we lost 3-2. Tonight, only Galen and a few other players were mentally and physically in the game. Galen had a great half as goalie and then ran non-stop the second half, playing both offense and defense. The game was a 2-0 loss. Coach dad is tuckered out too and is ready for the school year break. However, we still have Super Saturday on September 12th with two midday games. Come out if you can!

Spring and Summer 2009 Photo Set

2009-08-24T10:44:00.002-04:00

What a full four months it has been, hard to keep up. Here is a photo set of the last of the school year for the kids and this summer's fun. View the complete set of photos here. In this set are Galen's 8th birthday, time with baby Kadynce, the arrival of baby Jack, Galen's highland dancing at school, Raynham's end of year show (My High School Musical), soccer for both kids (with parents coaching), summer fun with April & Jason (and Emma too!), Father's Day trip to Niagara Falls, attending Ian & Suzie's wedding on Lake Huron, major landscaping of the front yard (with Jackhammer Joanna), and field work with Joanna's graduate students to Lake Ontario.

Soccer Update, August 19, 2009

2009-08-19T21:48:00.002-04:00

We went away for a family camping trip last week so the Green Zombies played without Galen or their coach. Nonetheless, they played to a 3-1 victory. Good job guys! Tonight's game was a good one and while offense was about even, the other team had better luck scoring. Galen's team lost 5-2. Galen continues to improve with his footwork, with very few players able to take the ball from him. He also remains a defensive star, making quite a few steals. Overall, the team is playing positions very well and passing is now standard. However, just a few more weeks left and the season is done. Good thing too, I'm already getting calls about hockey season...

Front yard landscaping, almost done

2009-08-10T11:25:00.004-04:00

Just a small portion of the new patio to finish leveling, but we are really close to being done...

soccer update

2009-08-06T08:53:00.002-04:00

Was it a long weekend, perhaps? No practice this week due to the holiday, just last nights game. What does that give you? A team of boys that are overtired and that have forgotten everything you've taught them. The game was chaos, at times rough. I didn't help that the city did not cut the grass so they had to force their way through 7 inch grass. Despite a few lovely plays and another near goal for Galen on a good pass, the team lost 5-1.

She Scores!!

2009-07-31T10:07:00.002-04:00

Soccer continues to dominate weekly life but is nearing an end for Ray - only one week left. Last night the maroon, burgundy, red, purple team (our official, parent, boy and girl colours) "won" our match. The reality is that, until last week, no one on my entire team had scored a single goal. We run around the field like crazy but don't score. Other teams steal the ball and score, ours just runs with the ball until someone else comes near... Last game was great because we scored not once but 4 times!!! My team regulars amount to about 4 kids and Ray was the only regular who did not score last game. Well, she scored her first goal last night on a beautiful steal in her end zone. She went straight to the net, put in the ball, and raised her fists to the sky, cheering loudly. Triumphant! Ray went running straight to mom for a hug and then off to brother to make sure he saw it all...

Meanwhile, the Green Zombies won another game this week (5-2). The team was finally passing the ball to teammates and played their positions (even defense!!) much of the game. Our goalies did a fabulous job at keeping the score down and they could hoof it over the half on drop kicks. You can really tell that it will be time to move up to the big field next year! Coach has been working on heading the ball and juggling and it paid off as many of the team managed to get high balls down to their feet under control. G had an amazing near goal - a well placed pass from a teammate directly in front of the net. That G didn't score was unbelievable, the goalie made a diving save that just stopped him. On defense, he still rules though. In a sea of red jerseys on the attack, G ran to cut off the advance and aggressively stopped the play. He is a joy to watch on the field.

Do-it-Yourself Landscaping in progress

2009-07-28T16:05:00.003-04:00

(also see Jackhammer Joanna at work)

soccer update July 23

2009-07-23T17:28:00.002-04:00

Galen's team have really improved in that last few weeks. Most notable is the playing of positions, passing on the attack, and clearing the ball up the wings. Last week's game was a 6-1 victory as the position keeping dominated the game. Last night was a tough one. After the half, Galen's team was losing 4-0. They were up against a team of older and bigger kids that played positions and had aggressive passing attacks. After two strong wins, the boys were in shock. To their credit they re-organized and re-formed their positions and spent the second half on the attack, ending the game in a 4-4 tie. Galen received an excellent pass to centre and made a great shot on goal, but was denied by a good goalie. Overall, both teams played very well and all the coaches walked away very happy with their players.

Jackhammer Joanna

2009-07-19T09:34:00.005-04:00

This summer we are rebuilding our front yard, which so far has resembled a jungle. This includes removing our old sidewalk and adding curving paths. Here is Jackhammer Joanna removing the old sidewalk...

Soccer Update July 8th

2009-07-08T21:32:00.001-04:00

Last week's game was rained out, but tonight was a go! Our last two players joined the team so we had a full roster. I suspect that helped gain the 6-1 victory for Galen's team...

Soccer update

2009-06-26T11:11:00.003-04:00

Don't you just hate when the other team figures out positions and passing? The game this week as a slaughter, something like 5 or 6 (or maybe 7) to zero. The boys did take is very well, however. Plus, Galen's best friend Remi (on the other team) got his first soccer goal ever!

Daddy drinks for the government

2009-06-26T11:02:00.003-04:00

The trouble with eight year olds is that they often make attempts at humour that entirely fall flat. They don't realize they fall flat, but they do. I was dropping Galen off at school this week and as we walked up the the school we were discussing why mom was drinking less coffee and why he was cut off coke for awhile. A bit too much caffeine for both of them lately. So, as I drop him off I mention that I'm going to grab a cup of coffee and then go work for awhile. Thinking he is funny, he yells out "No coffee for you! Too much caffeine!". Parents around me think this is kind of funny, but as he walks away, trying to be even funnier, he shouts, "And no more drinking beer before driving me to school!". Uncomfortable stares abound. Thanks dude, they already all think I'm a bit weird, but now they think I'm an alcoholic.

France photos

2009-06-19T09:33:00.001-04:00

A few photos from my France trip are now posted! Enjoy....

wine and cheese and duck, oh my!

2009-06-18T16:41:00.002-04:00

My trip to France seems so long ago, but I still have yet to post photos. I will post them, I promise. Trips with my grad students are a lot of fun, and this was no exception. Emily and I spent 4 great but cold and wet days in Bordeaux looking at architecture, learning about Bordeaux history and drinking wine. Much to Andrew's disgust, I ate more duck in many different forms (confit, fois gras and pate being the most prevalent forms) than I have in the combined last 5 years and can report that all was delicious. Highlights of my trip:

1. I found a new dessert wine to love: the Sauternes are wonderful dessert wines from the Sauterne region just south of Bordeaux and they are absolutely delicious. Considering I usually like my wine dry and red, that is saying something.

2. The architecture of Bordeaux is amazing and part of the reason it is a UNESCO world heritage site. My photos don't do it justice and the city still looks beautiful.

3. St. Emilion, a medieval villiage and another UNESCO world heritage site, was amazing with their old cobblestones, the incredible medieval church and catacombs, and surrounding vineyards. Not for the faint hearted, with mobility challenges or wearing anything other than sturdy footwear as the steep uneven streets are a big challenge.

4. Wine, wine and more wine. I picked a different wine at each meal except breakfasts and still didn't find a bad one. My list of potential wines is long and likely completely unavailable here.

5. The cheese room at one local restaurant known for their wines (over 250 types to choose from!) was one of the most incredible restaurant experiences I have had. The restaurant had one humid, cobblestone room filled with cheese and sent you in armed with a plate and knife. I think there were something like 70 or so cheeses to choose from packed into this tiny space and arranged according to variety. The question became which ones to pick? My strategy was to select many but very, very small tastes of cheese in order to maximize the options while ensuring I was still happy at the end of the cheese tasting.

6. The wine tasting at our conference dinner had 120 bottles open. I found the Sauternes there. I think I tried about 10-15 wines over the course of the evening, each one a swallow or two. It was a LOT of wine to choose from and the sommeliers were very helpful at suggesting what to try with each part of the meal. Quite frankly, it was surprising most people were not in worse shape at the end of the evening.

I have been to France several times before and this was one of my most pleasant trips and reminds me what I love about France: good food, good drink, lovely people, pretty cities and countryside, lots to do... I can't wait to go back and Andrew will HAVE to come next time.

EXTREME fishing

2009-06-18T10:05:00.003-04:00

I have really, really missed field work and quite enjoyed going out fishing with my students last summer. This summer we have much more extensive field plans. My student, Luke, is out most days locally with an undergraduate summer student. Sampling locally is not always the most enjoyable experience though as we are sampling as sites with high pollution and lots of really gross things floating in the water. Poor Luke has to wade through things that have been flushed down the toilet as we are sampling next to effluent discharge points. Yuk!

So it was with great anticipation that we planned our field trip to the Bruce National Park in Tobermory. It is one of our clean sites, required camping and was supposed to last all week. We'd go out in the morning, collect fish from traps and sample until about 1-2 pm, redeploy the traps and head out for a hike, swim etc in the afternoon. I brought things to read, imagined some quite time with Luke to plan his first paper. Ha ha! We went up on Monday, car absolutely loaded with gear and came home on Wednesday with all of our samples. Apparently, our fish species is WAY more prevalent in Georgian Bay. We caught all of our fish in one day and had one of the most intense sampling days trying to process all of them. We fished at a location suggested by the Canada Parks warden and he was so right - there were LOTS of round gobies. Our traps were very, very, very full. We finished our work and went to dinner at 10 pm on Tuesday and packed up camp on Wednesday morning for the return.

But while we were there, Tobermory was great. Nice weather, nice scenery and nothing floating in the water.....

Soccer Update

2009-06-17T21:04:00.002-04:00

Tonight the Green Zombies played an iron man game in the cold rain. Just enough players to play, but no substitutions. It was a great game and held to no score until the last moments, when one slipped by Galen's aggressive goaltending. Did I mention Galen is rather scary in the net? He does not believe in waiting for the game to come to him but instead charges out of the box at the attacking player to cut the angle. He has apparently watched too much World Cup as that is what the professionals do. However, he scares the hell out of the opposing team of seven and eight year olds, I swear some of them nearly pee their pants. Only the experienced all-star players keep cool and try to get around him (which one did). All the others nearly freeze and the ball becomes Galen's. He was only in net about 15 minutes but stopped more than 10 shots and attacks on the net.

Last week's game was a bit more chaotic, not much sense to it. The kids had a harder time with positions, but they certainly were enjoying themselves. They played to a 3-2 loss, but most had a good individual game.

Soccer update

2009-06-07T14:43:00.006-04:00

Last week we actually had soccer without being rained on. Galen's team played to a 4-4 tie and have started to learn their positions. Raynham had a great practice and first scrimmage. Here are a few photos...

Kitchen girls are NOT pretty

2009-06-02T09:02:00.003-04:00

Ray and I often clash over clothes. She wants to wear dresses that are so short they are really a shirt and I say they need pants. She wants to wear a dress with no tights or shirt underneath and I say its too cold. She wants to wear the pink dress and I say its dirty and she has to wear another.

This morning I suggested she wear this very cute top with pink leggings. Ray said no. Why? "Mom, its not fashion" was the distainful reply. Then she laid out the top with a pair of jeans to show me how it would look with the proper bottoms. Except that the jeans needed to be black for fashion. But the brown ones would give me the idea of why leggings were wrong and jeans were right. Fashion lesson #1 for Mom.

I have decided not to argue over clothes unless absolutely necessary. So, I accepted the fashion correction and offered to take her downstairs to the clean clothes basket to pick out what she wanted to wear. She picked her OshKosh demin overall dress with pink butterflies and after rejecting 5 tops finally settled on the yellow and orange striped shortsleeve shirt ("Not longsleeves MOM!" Fashion lession #2 for Mom). The clothes went upstairs and later she changed. Tears ensued. Apparently, the stiped tshirt with the overall bib front of the dress made her look like a "kitchen girl and EVERYONE knows that kitchen girls are NOT PRETTY!" Huh? Kitchen girl? She means a dishwasher but why can't they be pretty? Its a mystery but Andrew, who does all of our dishes, now knows he can't be pretty BECAUSE he does the dishes.

I'm not really sure how this turned out because I had to leave for work but for all women out here I now have some advice, based on Fashion lesson #3 for Mom. Stay out of the kitchen! Otherwise you won't be pretty. Raynham says so.

First Hockey, now Soccer...

2009-05-29T11:20:00.002-04:00

Galen's first soccer game of the season

2009-05-27T21:59:00.002-04:00

Tonight was the season opener for the "Green Zombies" with yours truly as the head coach. The boys played very well and gained a 5-3 victory, with Galen getting 1 goal and 1 assist. He had a good night, albeit we were all soaked the bone by the rain.

Make my Galen a Triple Triple

2009-05-25T10:58:00.003-04:00

Just a sample of how incredibly sweet Galen was last week.

Monday night. Joanna is in France and Drew wakes Galen up at 3 am as his sister has raging pain in her ears. "Galen, we need to take your sister to the hospital, please wake up". The boy doesn't blink an eye, says "ok", and pops out of bed and gets dressed. Proceeds to spend the next two hours helping his sister be patient at the hospital. Turns out it was an ear infection. When we get home, both kids crawl back into bed. Raynham sleeps to 10 am, but Galen is up at 7 am. Instead of waking his tired father, he goes downstairs and feeds/movies himself until 8 am, at which point he wakes up his dad to help get ready for school. Walks himself to school for the first time.

Tuesday night. We had planned on going out to dinner with several of Galen's friends and their dads. A place with good food and lots of games. Galen goes without Raynham and I as she is still sick, with money in his hand for games. Wins lots of tickets to exchange for prizes. Spends half of his tickets to purchase lipstick and a pink plush for his sister. No-one asked or suggested he do this.

Friday evening. Major birthday present is a new BMX bike for use at his BMX club. Specs are different than his street bike, so he'll own two bikes. Been waiting for BMX for a month. Very excited. Can't find one we can afford in his frame size. Meltdown? Tears? No. Calm, patient, "we'll look around next week", "perhaps I can spend some of my birthday money to help purchase a slightly more expensive bike", "don't worry, I'm not in a rush, we want to find the right one that I like and you can afford." Nobel prize for sweetness, man.

Something fishy on Mother's Day

2009-05-11T11:54:00.003-04:00

Mother's Day was a bit of a bonanza for Joanna. In recent weeks we have broken a cell phone, our digital camera, and our iPod. Joanna got new models of all three. However, the highlight of Mother's Day was our walk to the Royal Botanical Garden's Fishway. The Fishway is a structure that separates the Cootes Paradise wildlife sanctuary from Hamilton Harbour and Lake Ontario. Cootes Parasides was naturally separated from Lake Ontario until the construction of the Desjardins Canal. With construction of the canal, carp were able to invade Cootes Paradise and set about disturbing the natural habitat such that native species could no longer successfully use it as a fish nursery. The Cootes Paradise is one of the important nursery sites for native fish and the introduction of carp did great damage to Lake Ontario populations. The Fishway is a man-made barrier that captures fish both entering and exiting Cootes Paradise. On Sunday, we walked down to watch the emptying of the cages. Of the fish attempting to enter Cootes Paradise, all were allowed except for carp and goldfish, which were tossed back into Hamilton Harbor. Yes, goldfish from fishtanks. When dumped into Hamilton Harbor they do quite well and since they are carp they are not wanted in Cootes Paradise. Nearly all of the outgoing fish were white suckers, which just finished their spawn in Cootes Paradise. That and one lovely rainbow trout on its way back to Lake Ontario. View all of the pictures here.

first hot day of the year

2009-04-27T15:55:00.002-04:00

Two new photo sets: Easter and BMX Riding

2009-04-23T12:54:00.002-04:00

We had a lovely Easter at home this year. Joanna has been teaching non-stop and we had over two months of full weekends, so it was nice to garden and otherwise do nothing. The kids had a great Easter morning, as well as prior Easter egg making, and then we had the Pelletier crew over for dinner. During the week, we also had an outdoor Easter egg hunt with a bunch of the kids' friends. See all the Easter pictures here.

Galen has also joined Inflow, the local BMX and boarding club. Contrary to expectations, he is favouring BMX riding over skateboarding. See some photos here.

Shout out to the CBC

2009-04-15T10:45:00.003-04:00

As the Canadian Broadcast Corporation is having some funding difficulties, I thought I would post my moral support. When we lived in the US, I was a big fan of National Public Radio and I still listen to a number of their programs via podcast. Outside of their excellence in news reporting, NPR is particularly good a funny shows, the best being Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me and Car Talk. What NPR lacks is great radio drama in the BBC tradition. This is where CBC Radio comes in. My two favourites are Afghanada and Monsoon House. Afghanada is a radio drama centered on four Canadian soldiers serving in Kandahar Province, where the fight with the Taliban is its fiercest. The show is uncanny in being current and presenting the moral and practical complications of the war that we the electorate should be thinking about. Monsoon House is a hilarious look at the Canadian publishing business from the point of view of an Indo-Canadian family business. This show frequently has me in tears laughing. Another show of note is The Age of Persuasion, a remarkably interesting and funny series about the history and practices of marketing. Lastly, despite Billy Bob's recent surreal appearance, the Q remains one of the best shows on culture and the arts.

After the immunization shot...

2009-04-02T16:59:00.002-04:00

Kids, Kids, Kids

2009-03-30T16:24:00.003-04:00

Kids, cousins, friends, birthdays, tea sets, animals, strange fathers, cool dresses, and family. What more could you ask for? View all the photos here.

Hockey Super Saturday

2009-03-30T16:21:00.003-04:00

Hockey season has come to a close and Galen's team played hard but lost the final 5-3. They played very well and could have won the game if the opposing goalie had not stood on his head. Galen even got his first assist!

View photos from Super Saturday here.

I believe

2009-03-30T09:25:00.002-04:00

The belief in all things magical is coming to an end in our house. I got my first interrogation..

G: "Mom. Someone at school told me that the Easter Bunny is NOT REAL. They said it was ACTUALLY your parents hiding eggs all over the house. Tell me the TRUTH! (with finger pointing...) IS IT YOU?"

There was a look of disbelief in his eyes, he was smiling, like there was some shared inside joke that was only for us. Come on, Mom, I know the truth and you can tell me....

What to do in the face of the accusation? I lied. Even if his sister was not in the room, I would have still lied and lied as best as I possibly could.

Me: "Do you really think I'd be silly enough to hide chocolate all over the house for you?" Crazy thought, right? Note that his father is NOT included in this - I'd lose the argument right away. He is that crazy and silly. Hands down.

G:"Then who brings the chocolate? Tell me the truth! I need to know!"

Actually, you don't need to know at all. You will grow up soon enough and for now I want you to believe.

Me: "Do you really think that parents everywhere leave chocolate hidden all over the house for their kids?"

And that was it. Parents hiding chocolate, rather insane. Bunny capable of hiding chocolate all over everyone's house is somehow more reasonable. But I am so glad because it is a slippery slope from bunny to tooth fairy to Santa and suddenly childhood innocence is gone. For now though, he still believes.

Hockey Schedule

2009-03-14T15:17:00.002-04:00

Galen has fun games (i.e. not playoff) this Sunday at 8 am and next Saturday (March 21) at 10 am.

Galen's team will be playing for the Coronation Novice championship the following Super Saturday (March 28) at 2:45 pm at Olympic Arena in Dundas. This will be proceeded by Raynham's Super Saturday skatefest at 1 pm at the same venue. She may not move fast, but she'll still get a trophy!

Purim at Raynham's Preschool

2009-03-13T13:04:00.004-04:00

Another great trip to Deerhurst

2009-03-13T12:55:00.003-04:00

Here are a few photos of last weekend's skip trip with Tom & Heather up to Deerhurst resort. We were on the edge of Spring, so more swimming happened than skiing, but we did get a good 4 hour session in on Sunday. Drew won the endurance record as Raynham was good after a few runs with Tom, Joanna's ankle wore out after a few hours (mainly due to the strain of avoiding crashes with her less-than-skilled husband), and Galen performed a spectacular missed turn and crashed into a ditch full of boulders, giving Tom and Drew quite a fright. Despite a very bruised knee Galen was able to swim a full hour swim class the next day. If only I had that recovery rate. Overall, we had a very lovely weekend with Tom & Heather!

Hockey Update 10 March 2009

2009-03-10T09:52:00.001-04:00

We were away this weekend, so Galen did not play in the game. Word is that despite brilliant play by our goalie, the team lost a squeaker at 4-3. One more playoff game and then the final!

Putting your kids where the sun don't shine

2009-03-05T19:58:00.002-05:00

Who knew stuffing your kids into the human colon could be so much fun? See all the pictures here.

Hockey Update 1 March 2009

2009-03-01T16:43:00.001-05:00

A tight game, but a last moment goal makes it a 2 to 1 victory for Galen's team!

Hockey Update 22 Feb 2009

2009-02-22T14:25:00.003-05:00

Today's game was a great one, hard playing all the way. Everyone on Galen's team played well and put constant pressure on the opposing team, winning in the end at 6 to 4. Galen had some great play at the blue line and was the most aggressive he has ever been as a defenseman. All 6 goals involved an assist, a sign of the developing team play.

Sushi!

2009-02-20T17:04:00.002-05:00

Galen has been a rather limited eater in our experience. He would eat only crackers, bread and cereal products if we let him. His favorite foods are grilled cheese sandwiches and french fries.
Surprisingly, he has one exception - he loves sushi and not the california rolls but sashimi - the raw fish kind.

We have a reward system in the house - a way to recognize when the kids do something really great. They help out around the house for a long while, they are super nice and considerate with each other or friends... Basically when they are really, really good. We let them fill up a container with poms for each good thing they do and when it's full, they get a nice dinner and small reward. They filled their bowl last week and asked for a change - dinner out. Specifically sushi dinner.

Drew and I had dinner out at a nice sushi restaurant in town recently and took the kids back to our new find on Wednesday.
Galen ate: seaweed salad, edamame (steamed, salted soy beans), salmon sashimi, surf clam sashimi, crispy salmon nori rolls....
Raynham ate: edamame, salmon and red snapper sashimi and a bit of rice. She basically ate a huge amount of raw fish for dinner.

The servers were Japanese, young and kept coming back to stare at my children, stuffing their faces with raw fish. Both were using chopsticks, Galen very successfully. I don't know why they love sushi but I am very glad.

They even ate green tea and red bean ice cream for dessert. Both ice cream flavours sound weird but are totally, completely delicious. The red bean ice cream doesn't even appear on the menu but our server was so taken with the kids, he brought us some to taste and more when we discovered how good it was. Guess they looked like adventurous eaters!!