The big game

I had said ahead of time that I wanted to be able to watch the World Cup final, uninterrupted...but it turns out the kids weren't otherwise engaged, and the other grown-ups were busy, so they ended up with me.

Here's how to make the best of things (with kids) when you really wanted to be alone. You involve them, with enthusiasm! I prepared my 4 year old, telling him we would be watching the big game!

Kids get right into the spirit of things, so he quickly chose his team: "the blue ones! I love them!" He fetched snacks for all, included everyone's favorite drink: 2% milk for little sis, soy milk for him, ginger ale for mommy.

He gathered together all our assorted soccer balls, including the small replica FIFA World Cup ball I'd bought. He set up a net, and then settled in to watch.

The 2 year old woke up from her nap, found us, and jumped on the bandwagon. Still sleepy, she selected and clutched a soccer ball to her, and started in on the snacks.

It was nice while it lasted, but kids don't appreciate a stalemate in which there aren't a lot of replays of goals bring scored. The 4 year old's attention lasted into the second half. The 2 year old enjoyed the extra snuggling time on the couch but grew restless by the end.

And so, I did get to see the whole game, into the extra time, not exactly as planned, but life unfolds just as it should on a Sunday afternoon. A few distractions, a few tweets, but then something momentous, the thing that changes everything from the meausured and the practiced to the epiphany, the fulfillment, the culmination of things, light streaming through the clouds, lightning striking, the ball crossing the invisible line into the net's embrace.

I will tell my kids in four years that they did watch the big game in 2014.

June

It was such a long winter it's hard to believe it might actually be...summer? Yet the ocassional threat of hail seems to remind us not to become too comfortable.

If we list all the activities we do, it would seem like we are having a grand time. However, we are sick, so that clouds the circumstances, and is the backdrop against which everything plays out.

I've enrolled Tyler in two consecutive weeks of summer day camp, and it will be a test run for full-day junior kindergarten. Even the logistics can be worked out: the wake-up and get-ready routine, packing and handling of snacks and lunch, and labelling of clothes and personal items.

Immediately after JK open house, I think my expectations were set higher for Tyler to display more independent behaviour. I do need to remember he's just turned 4.

Meanwhile, Ashley is becoming a bigger presence every day, shadowing and sometimes overpowering her more laid-back big brother. Who made her the boss? I think she assumed the role.

Our world of three adults and two kids makes for a busy house, but not a full one - we are off-balance in places where we previously had an anchor, a steadying presence.

Yes, always.

Ashley, two years old, hands me a book and says "Read it me!"

April showers

Yes, it's Spring, and I suppose it is cold...

Here at home, we have faced some tremendous loss, one that Tyler seeks to understand, and that Ashley may only feel. How do you explain death to a couple of toddlers, when life is all they've known? One way is to talk about life cycles of living things. Another way is to answer their questions as they observe proceedings. And, during the process, you guard their hearts.

It is a divine design and mercy that keeps Tyler from dwelling in sadness, and that keeps him from understanding that death is permanent.

Ashley looks at pictures and names him, her grandfather. "Don't forget," I whisper to her.

Make hay while the sun shines

In my case, it's "write a post while the kids play with Play-Doh..."

How is it these days? When parenting is physically demanding, I say I have a 3 year old and a 1 year old. When there are unexpectedly easy periods, I realize I have an almost-4 year old and an almost-2 year old.

Yesterday we dropped off the junior kindergarten registration package at the neighbourhood public school. Tyler will start a full-day program in September. Before moving into the area we had already established that this would be the school we would send our (future) kids to, and I feel at ease with this, six years later. Sending them to a school that we would have to drop off / pick up from, or have them take buses to, means the kids are less accessible, and the links to community more tenuous. Every morning I drive past the school, and read what they've posted on their outdoor sign. Every evening when I drive home, I scan to see how many cars are left in the parking lot - a sign of staff dedication to their work. I've checked out their provincial test scores, noted the diversity represented in their staff photographs, and I appreciate their well-kept grounds, abundance of green space, and modern outdoor play structures. I'm getting connected: I've joined the school's mailing list and am following them on Twitter.

Would I enrol them into an early French or French immersion program? After talking to my mother, retiring from 25 years of elementary school teaching this year, I don't think it's necessary. My kids are already being raised in a bilingual environment (English/Cantonese). My primary concern is that they develop a strong foundation and easy facility with English. Learning French as a subject in grade 4 means that it will be fun and novel, rather than a potential roadblock to learning all other subjects, including English.

What about private school? Well, I can't see paying a small fortune for the basics primary/junior. We have a few years to think about the value of it for the intermediate/senior years.

Now the countdown begins to the first day of school...Pinterest can help me make it a photo moment, but who will help me prepare my heart?

It's 2014 - time to get back into the writing habit. Participated in a work-related conference (#HRPA2014), and it feels good to ride that wave into the new calendar year.

Reading Italo Calvino's "If on a winter's night a traveler"

Approaching one year!

Ashley will be one year old soon, progressing from counting in months to counting by year...we hosted an early birthday party with a Minnie Mouse theme, toddler-friendly food, ice cream cake, and  presents! We took off with both kids for cross-border shopping the day after, and picked up some more pretty dresses, ones that look like they were designed for dolls.

Tyler & Ashley have already settled into a love/don't love relationship. He gets on a ride-on toy and tows her behind in a red wagon. He pats her lovingly while she's napping. He seeks to console her if she's crying. But then, he also hides his toys from her, pushes her away, and sometimes eats her food...

If we were to have a third, I'd like another girl. I think sisters are a stabilizing influence on each other,  and my son will also learn doubly how to respect women. Another boy would be easier though, we'd be more rough & tumble, and have no need for those pretty, but fussy clothes.

Not enough time to blog these days, just a tweet now & again...