Mighty oaks from little acorns grow

Today my son has made my world a better place to live. Something wonderful he started a few months ago has finally come into fruition. It all started last fall when the children in his daycare went for a walk. He told his teacher that he wanted to plant a tree "to make people happy". He followed through with this desire by writing a letter to the Mayor (translated from scribbles by his amazing daycare teacher) stating his wish. The teacher took the children to the Mayor's office and my son handed in the letter. His wish was granted and today the children from his daycare went to plant 31 trees in the park. He was very excited

Don't be fooled by the picture directly above, I ended up digging because the ground was too hard for him. His teacher took over when I got tired. (It's hard to dig in heels =)

He got to choose a the type of tree that he planted. He choose a red oak. One day his little plant will grow to look like this:

As he watered the plant a strange feeling came over me -  This tree will be here long after the hands that put it into the ground are gone. Look at that - four years old, and he already has a legacy!

Twins birthday

My sister has twins. They turned five this week. My children love them so of course their birthday is a big deal. This year my sister was smart and hosted it in a play center. Best idea ever - for the first time ever, the adults were able to enjoy themselves at a kiddie birthday party. Here is my daughter doing an impression of snow white.

Here is my son all kitted out as a pirate, complete with a blue balloon sword. There was much swashbuckling taking place!


I ate so much cake, I think I've gained back all the weight I've lost this week!

Sublime Saturday

Today was a busy day. When I woke up something unusual happened to me. My body was craving a run! I had to throw on my track pants, put on my running shoes and head out if the door. I got my neighbor out of bed to join me and the two of us hit the road. After about 5 minutes of jogging my body wanted to crawl back into bed but thank god my neighbor was there to keep me going! After 15 minutes our jog turned into a walk,and shortly thereafter that it turned into a shopping excursion. We encountered five separate garage sales and I scored a great little bike for my son. Meet the newest member of my neighborhood biker gang!

When we got home, I quickly packed our bags and headed over to my aunt's house for a lunch. After stuffing ourselves on her amazing cooking, we went over to my sister in laws house for a belated birthday BBQ for my husband. It was a tiring but fun day!

Lovely Birthday

My husband outdid himself on my birthday this year so of course I had to pull out all the stops for his special day. It started last night, on the eve of his birthday. My neighbor and I biked to the local supermarket to pick up a cake. (I don't drive at the moment so if I want to surprise my husband with a cake, I have to use an alternate means of transport to get it.) We picked up a lemon poppy bundt cake, the only cake that would survive the arduous bike ride home. It also boasted the lowest calories per serving. (Bonus!)
I lit a tea light candle and called him down around midnight for his cake. It was so yummy!

Then today I gave him his present. This watch. Note to my sister - if you are reading this, yes my husband is very worried that you will accuse him of copying you. Also my husband may exchange this watch for another one because as much as he likes it, he is not sure if it a little feminine. (FYI - the lady at the store reassured me that it is a men's watch.)

Next I stealthily arranged for the babysitter to come and took him out for dinner at Gozen.


















After dinner I took him to watch Legends in the making, a stand up comedy show with some up and coming Canadian comedians. It was being held at the Wolf Performance hall which is attached to the central library. Since I hadn't told my husband what we were going to watch, he thought I had brought him to a book reading or something equally nerdy. He resisted big time and was trying to convince me to take him to Men in Black 3 instead. I held fast though and in the end got him inside the theatre. We were the first people to show up and were directed to sit right in the middle of the front row.



















It was hilarious and we got a lot of interaction with the comedians. The mc couldn't get over my name, he thought it was so exotic! I would highly recommend this show - for those of you in Toronto - there is a show in the 14th of June at the Lawrence Center. If you are looking for a good laugh you should go!

Round and round the garden

I bumped into a friend from work when I went to collect my daughter from daycare. Her daughter is in the same room as mine She and I were exchanging mommy stories when our two little girls decided to chase each other around a tree. I had to take pictures, they looked so cute! Children have this capacity to find joy in the most mundane of settings. I need to learn how to do that again.

My heart hurts

I found out this morning that my son is being bullied at school. Two of the boys in his class hit him, spit at him and destroy crafts that he makes in class. He has been crying in his sleep and not telling me why. It finally came out this morning over his bowl of porridge that this is what is bothering him. I asked him if he has told his teacher and he told me that it is pretty hard to talk to his teacher once class has started. In the end I know that telling the teacher is only a band aid solution. No one likes a tattle tale right? So I also told him that next time these boys bother him, that he should very loudly tell them to stop it or behave themselves. This made my son more upset. He says that his teacher really doesn't like it when he speaks loudly. He agreed to tell them softly. I sent my son to school this morning with nothing more than two phrases as protection against being bullied. I feel  helpless and my heart aches.

Update: I just spoke with my son's teacher. She read the note I sent in with him and spoke to him about it. She let him know that he can approach her any time something like this happens and also she let me know that she has spoken to the boys in question as well. She also told the other teachers that are in the classroom what is going on and they will be keeping a close eye on the situation to make sure this type of behaviour does not happen again. The one thing she said that made me happy is that my son is doing very well right now and she would hate for his progress to be derailed so she is going to do her best to prevent the bullying from happening again. I am very comforted by her sincerity.

Neighborhood bike gang

I'm part of a biker gang now. Don't be shocked - I have a wild side! We went for a ride all over the neighborhood. It felt great to have the wind blowing in our faces. Here is a picture of us after our ride.

Ok maybe it doesn't look as cool as it sounds, but it was so much fun!