Happiness.

You can hear the sopraninininini, Timo, in this vid... :)
The next generation of VISI singers getting trained up.

winter?

Today
Timo got a new tooth (#7).
I picked a large number of apples from a neighbor who had a sign out saying neighbors welcome to pick.
I realize the need to reduce the amount of exasperation I seem to have these days. Mostly because I am tired of hearing that tone of voice back from my daughter.
I made Lasagna in the morning. (unheard of early dinner preparation)
We went to the Roosevelt Roundup at the kids' school and it was a super fun carnaval!
Ami won a pie in the cake walk.
I taught an ABM floor lesson class.
And yes. It snowed.

St Paddy's day

Today was fun. I don't have much time to write so this will be point form.
St Patrick's day
*Ami is disappointed that the leprechauns didn't come in the night (I'm not sure what they are supposed to do or how you know they came. . . )
*Ami makes his own version of muffins for breakfast- no formal recipe- they turn out pretty good actually!
*I go to the auction house to put some absentee bids on some items of interest- I'm getting obsessed with auctions.
*Timo starts long sounds- one breath, one long sound
*Timo also has really fine small motor skills- both hands- as he explores his world
*Ami's friend Emily comes over for a playdate
*Ami loses his tooth- he had a total snaggle tooth for 24 hours.
*Ami personally understands the Burns quote "Oh what a tangled web we weave, When first we practise to deceive!" - nothing terrible but a lesson well learned...
*I organize a parishioner to help with moving an electronic organ from GoodWill to our house for Ami. I bought it last week ($24.99) and have been keeping it a secret until today. I had hoped to keep it a secret until it was installed in our house but that didn't work out. It has lots of buttons- not many seem to affect/change the tone like they say they will but it is fun and he can say that he has an organ now and he can practice on it. I will get a video of it ASAP
*Ami tells me that he wants to be a famous composer when he grows up. Like Bach
He also wants to be a famous musician and artist.
*Mimi has an unimportant day except that she has 2 accidents with her elevated (high) chair.
*We finally put Mimi's tooth under her pillow tonight (it fell out in January) as Ami put his under his pillow too.
*Ami asked if they could have allowance. I said yes and then asked him how much he was thinking of. He suggested 17 cents.
*everyone wore green so that we wouldn't get pinched by leprechauns. :)


as a side note.... Yesterday Martin picked up Mimi from school on the Xtracycle. Apparently it was a big hit and everyone wanted to know about it in the parking lot of SUVs....

Good Will Shopping

I've always been keen on buying things. Second hand.
I never articulated why it is that I like things that are antique or have just been owned by someone else. I always thought that it was just because i liked to save money (which i do). However, I am thinking these days that there a few other factors that give me a thrill when I shop like this.
I think I like the thrill of the "hunt". One must hold goals very loosely when shopping like this although having an idea of what I want/need is very helpful. When I find something super awesome I feel so victorious (see past posts on numerous occasions!).
I think my reasons for enjoying second hand shopping are more than the thrill. It is ecologically so sound, you get better products (older stuff is often made better) and you don't have to go to the Mall. Often you are supporting great causes and/or small businesses plus you are actually saving lots of money.

Lately I have been spending a bunch of time searching out things at the Good Will here in Spokane. This is a remarkably awesome store and my average on getting an "Awesome Find" is quite high. I have acquired curtains, furniture (a cool vintage oval card table - perfect for games in the livingroom), kitchen items, toys, shoes, 3 pairs of slippers, 2 pairs of nice dress pants for Martin, and fabric for some sheer curtains among other things. This week my find was a beautiful sewing machine. Now I was really looking for a table to put my already existing sewing machine on but this sewing machine was waiting for me in the furniture section. I bought it thinking it would be perfect for the kids to have to use instead of giving me heart attacks by using mine. Then bought some fabric/pillow cases and the total bill was about $15. The fun and learning is priceless.



PS: There is something else I bought this week  which i feel very excited about but the blog post reveal will have to wait until i get it home from the good will. . .

the latest

We have a case of the sick going through our house right now and Ami is the most effected by it. High temperatures, the H-F Chest, coughing, grogginess, lots of sleeping and a fair dose of whine.

Martin had a particularly busy weekend this weekend because the Dean is away. M got to perform his first wedding yesterday which was very special for him. He thinks that he got a few eyebrows raised and some conceptions shattered when he mentioned in his homily that we lived together before we got married.
It snowed a bit this morning which makes everything brighter and cleaner.

Mimi went to see a play with some folks from church yesterday. It was really short notice and when I asked her if she would like to go (without me or Martin) she said "Yes, I am brave". That about sums her up! She has been very brave these days with a hard visit to the dentist and then getting sick and all. I just wish she would stop asking if I have a baby in my belly. I guess my poochy tummy is giving her the WRONG idea!!!!

"Mimi is so fun to look at!"

Timo is totally cute these days. He likes to blow bubbles and he just beams when Mimi is near. He is really good at going to sleep by himself during the day. He seems to have avoided the cold but who can say. All I know is that he still wanted to nurse every 2 hours in the night last night. I think I have had enough of that.

I got some items at the auction yesterday which I am very pleased about. It will mean better storage for books and kid things. Now I will need to get some storage situation for all my ABM props. I worked on a little girl from Grand Forks a couple of weeks ago and she will come again this week for three lessons. I need to find a few other kids to practice on so I can really learn ABM!

Ami was presented with an award for citizenship at his school (Citizen of the Month... there were about 5-8 citizens from every grade). He was very pleased with it and Martin and I and Mimi and Timo were all there to cheer him on at the assembly. He is wishing his life were different these days. Maybe things will be better when the cold/fever is gone.

see you next year

What I did on the last day of 2011.
-Julia and Travis visiting us from Vancouver
-I made breakfast (bran muffins), lunch (chicken soup) and dinner (pot-roast and pumpkin pie) all before lunch. (Julia did help in the making of the soup)
-Timo did lots of sleeping. I did a lot of leaking.
-Ami worked on the house he is making in the back yard (spending quality time with Martin)
-Mimi played with Travis a lot! (puzzles, drawing, giggling)
-Got my hair cut (what a relief! makes me feel much better) at the salon at 14th and Grand (3 min walk from our place).  It is a "non tipping salon" have you ever heard of such a thing?!?!
-Martin got his hair cut too.
-Started in on getting more boxes out of my office- put some in the attic thanks to Ami and Martin.
-Looking forward to NOT moving for a while although I am not inspired to unpack boxes lest we end up needing them packed some time soon (feel a bit burned by all the moving in the past 6 months...)
-I am officially no longer Ami's favourite parent (he announced this fact yesterday but told me today that he doesn't want the baby around anymore because he takes up too much of my time... does he like me or not, I'm getting mixed signals)
-Took Julia and Travis to Trader Joe's.
-Martin will preach at the New Year's Eve midnight mass and we will watch fireworks and drink champagne from the "chapter room" at the cathedral this evening
-Thought about how crazy 2011 was which makes me even crazier just thinking about it.
-Glad to be in a leap year next year.

Happy New Year!!!

3 kids at Christmas

Christmas Day 2011

A happy day that included opening stockings from Santa (stuffed animals = big hit!) and a walk in Manito Park. You will have to trust that Timo is in the stroller! Later in the afternoon we went sliding on the hill in Manito Park. It was perfect sliding conditions and elicited many infectious giggles.

Lists

My life is full of lists. I think about lists all the time. I carry them with me when I go out just in case I need to check them when I find myself in a store. My biggest list is not one to check in the store. It is the list of things I want to blog about and probably will never get the chance. Unfortunately that list is just in my head but here's what I can remember of it right now...

-the train trip from Edmonds with Timo and Mimi- one major poo up the back,  2 diaper changes in the smallest/train bathroom with all three of us in the room, arrival early to Spokane- waking up Mimi to get off the train
-Mimi's obsessive love of Timo and how she likes to pick him up.
-the things l like about our crazy huge house - A mother's best friend- ice and water from the water dispenser (can be acquired even while nursing), a gas fireplace, a double headed shower (one fixed and one on a "rope" allowing warm water to cover you from the front and back), a basement big enough to ride bikes in, a garage
-Ami's school, his relationship with Emily (crush #1)
-Timo at 6 weeks, bigger, stronger, able to be picked up by Mimi, SMILING! sleeping pretty well, wakeful in the evenings :(
-Generous parishioners bringing us meals and food
-day to day shopping- hooray for Trader Joe's!!!
-furniture and deals i have found to outfit our house
-the list goes on...

Ami's activities

I was going to write about what Ami has been up to these days but my sister so eloquently wrote about him on her blog that I figure you should read about it here!

Timo and Ami having a cuddle

Weekend in the City (Vancouver!)

On Saturday the kids and I set out for the weekend in Vancouver. We had a number of "dates" set up with our friends and family and miraculously we were able to see all but one family that we had hoped to see this trip! The kids were super excited to be heading off for such an adventure especially with the possibility that there might be snow in Vancouver. (the kids are super excited by snow- they have not experienced real winter in their memories and are eager to get their hands on the white stuff!!). We caught the 11 AM ferry (the Spirit of Vancouver Island- Ami's favourite BC Ferry Vessel) and were able to connect with our friends and neighbours on Turner Street Louise and her boys Elias and Mateo. So great to have a good visit and play at their house. Then it was a fantastic feast of veggies and super-duper sausages from Oyama on Granville Island for dinner at Kate, Jeff and Liam's and then a "late" night arrival at Oma and Papa's for sleeping.
On Sunday we went to the cathedral for church in the morning, remembered just how good church can be, confused a bunch of people with Caitlin and my baby (nothing like one mum holding the other's baby! yes they are exactly the same age, no they are not twins...etc etc), had to answer lots of questions about moving to Spokane, went for a lovely lunch with Hilary and Josh on Robson street ( Two Mums 4 kids!), then cousin time, Julia and Travis visit and a delicious dinner at Caitlin and Panos'. The twin cousins got to compare notes about almost being 4 weeks old and I got to hold another squishy, cute boy! Babies are so squishy it is awesome- something you forget when you haven't had one around for a bunch of years...
Monday AM was visiting time with Oma and Papa and then a visit with Lauren to round off our visiting in the big Smoke. Then it was back to the BCFerries to catch the Spirit of Vancouver Island (1PM) [designated "possible wait" but we got ON!!] Ami made friends with an elderly woman on the ferry- lots of discussion as to which vessel sailed where. I think she was totally charmed- even the woman sitting in front of the "friend" thought he was pretty incredible. So chatty and knowledgeable and fun.
I was proud of my kids for managing the rather grueling visiting schedule and there were no melt-downs or questionable behaviour.
The highlight for the kids (especially Ami) was that the snow from Sunday night had stayed around long enough at Lauren's house for us to make snowballs!

Help!

I have got to have two of the greatest kids around. Today was the day that they had an appointment to get their "school age" booster inoculations. I didn't want to ruin their days today so I kept this info from them until after school. I picked them up and started driving to the public health clinic which was in the opposite direction from our house. Neither of them made any comment about this and so I didn't either. When I finally pulled over to the curb to park both of them "woke up" to the fact that we were nowhere that they knew. I turned off the car and I turned around to tell them what we were doing there.

I said, "Well, today is the day that you guys get your inoculations."
"What does that mean" Ami said.
I explained that it meant getting poked with a needle.
In his most golly-gee voice Ami then said "oh HELLLLLLL....p".

I don't think he meant any joke by it but it was hilarious.

I told them that we would visit the nurse and then we would go down the street to the bakery to get a treat. They seemed to have NO problem with this plan at all. I was expecting big resistance but Ami lead the way with his "oh well" attitude and it meant that it was the smoothest medical procedure ever. Ami went first and he had to have 2 pokes. After the first one he said "That was nothing!" The second one stung a bit more so that was a bit uncomfortable. Mimi was hesitant about her shot but her brother did such good behaviour modelling she couldn't really fight it too hard. Besides, Ami started picking out which sticker he thought Mimi would like even before the shot went in. He is such a kind and distracting brother!

the duo sometimes known as Amimi or Mimiel

Then we went to the bakery and got cookies. Ami chose double chocolate and Mimi chose shortbread with jam center and white chocolate drizzle.  All was well.

Things learned. . .

Ami's Hallowe'en hat/costume (Mr. BC Ferry)

Timo's Hallowe'en costume (Mr Small 'n' Cute)

Mimi's Hallowe'en costume (Ms BC Faerie)

Having two kids and a newborn teaches you all sorts of things that you may not have expected. It teaches you to go to bed earlier than you could ever imagine. It teaches you to get your "work" done first thing in the day - otherwise you will never fit it in at the end. It teaches you to type one-handed - with either hand. It teaches you that you have more than enough love to go around.

3 Weeks

Yesterday we celebrated Timo being three weeks old!!! He can do all sorts of tricks now!
Here is what he is like at 3 weeks

Timo is a champion nurser. He can nurse anywhere and in any position.
He looks around very purposefully. He mostly likes shadows and architecture (just like Ami did).
He gained 1lbs 1 oz from his birth weight as of Saturday last. (>15% of his total weight)
He likes being swaddled or being held nice and snuggly - a good way to fall asleep.
He sleeps in my bed with me at night and for the most part sleeps and feeds with not much wake-time.
He is finding out about his hands a bit and they have much more presence in his world.
He keeps showing signs of indvertantly rolling over- looking up and then arching his back and starting to get his opposite leg/foot involved... yikes
He lost his belly-button stump at exactly 3 weeks.
His eyes are gummy and he has a tiny bit of acne (all normal).

In celebration of his 3 week birthday he had his first poo all the way up his back.

Remembering

Yesterday at school Mimi and Ami had a Remembrance Day Ceremony. They have lots of questions about Remembrance Day and War and Death. I love how Canadians have Remembrance day rather than Veterans Day- it just seems more all encompassing. I love the poppies and the poetry and the remembering. I also love that both my kids were wreath-bearers (representing their respective classes) at their assembly. I hope they teach Timo everything they know.

Growing up for boys

Ami is also doing all sorts of new things these days although they might be harder to spot than those of Mimi's.
Ami is doing tremendous reading. He is a very polite boy (to him Mum anyway) and I am still astounded by it sometimes. I think he has figured out how being polite can get you things that you might not get otherwise! He is very helpful to me and looks after his little sister very nicely (at least on occasion...)
He is having lots of scary dreams these days and his imagination is very vivid. We have to make sure we don't read books that cause bad dreams (The Hinky Pink) or watch scary movies.... What is "real" and what is "not real" blur a lot these nights....

Ami decided to be a school bus for Hallowe'en this year. I decided that I wasn't up for making a big costume like last year's "bulldozer" ....

 

 ....or the year before's "excavator".

I thought we could change it up a little as in the previous costumes we encountered difficulties in ascending and descending stairs. I suggested we make a bus "hat" which would adorn Ami's head. He agreed that this sounded like a reasonable idea and so I set forth to create said hat. A hard thing about making a hat of this sort is that the boy is small and the boy wants that bus to be big.The hat does have the effect of making Ami look very penitential.

I made the box out of a box that Katie sourced for us. Ami hated to see it get cut down to the final size but I think that he now understands now why we had to do that! I ended up cutting the hole for his head a touch too large so we had to implement the use of the ball-cap to make his head a little more difficult to poke through the hole. I bought some awesome yellow paper to cover the box with (we have plenteous amounts of yellow paper now..) and Ami set about to decorate it. It is, of course, a Berkeley Unified School District School Bus. It came as no surprise that he was the only one to be a "BUSD school bus" at the Washington Elementary School Hallowe'en costume parade.


Even though I was just extolling the virtues of my little boy, Ami's adventures today included cutting off Mimi's bangs. It is hard to be too mad though. It is just too funny.

Unexpected Milestone

Today was Ami's first day riding the bus this school year. It seems to take forever to get permission to ride the bus. In the mean time we have been enjoying riding the Radish to and from school. All September Ami asked me (not incessantly but almost) about the bus and whether he could ride it. Finally the word came from on high that Amiel was permitted on the bus starting last Friday. He and I decided (before I told him that he could ride the bus that day- was that fair?) that he would stay at home for the day as he was still getting over his cold and I figured that he could do with a little break from school. So today was the first day back on number 20 with Ms Erin. Getting to the bus stop with Dad was no problem. We have an eager bus-rider.

For some reason I wondered whether he would remember to take the bus home from school. I did a lot of calling around to let his teacher and the school know that I was expecting him to take the bus home. I also phoned the transportation department to check in with them about his ETA at the bus stop. They said 3:21. That seemed pretty exact. I set my watch to head up to the stop at around 3:10. I decided to send Martin and told him to ask the bus driver if she would let him off the bus if there were no adults waiting for him at the stop. Last year if there was no-one waiting for him they would take him back to the school. I wanted to know what the ramifications were if we were late on pick-up. I didn't have to wait long for the answer to my question because about a minute after I had asked Martin to inquire, Amiel walked in the door. He walked home by himself from the bus stop!! He looked a little surprised but quite pleased with himself. Martin and I just could not stop chuckling. I guess he can do it but I plan on meeting him at the stop in the future!!

Grade One

Ami started Grade One on the day after Labour Day (or he started First Grade on the day after Labor Day!). When was arrived at Washington on our Xtracycle we were a little bit late and we encountered Ms Mimi as she was taking her class into the school. Ami was feeling a bit hesitant about the whole experience - arriving late (the other kids started on the Wednesday before), not knowing who his teacher was going to be. . .
Ms Mimi was very warm and welcoming to him and he was his usual "shy-at-first-greeting" self. Then she said "Ms Laurance is waiting for you"! He was so darling in his reaction. Under his breath I could hear him say "Just who I wanted!" He was full of smiles then.
Ms Laurance is the beautiful and elegant, always nice teacher who's room is next door to Ms Mimi's so the school routine really hasn't changed at all!
His first days and weeks were a little rocky as he was figuring out the dynamics of his class, the rules of the room, the expectations of the teacher etc. He wasn't so sure that he liked school all that much. Now things are looking up and he is quite happy with school and Ms Laurance.
In Grade One the students sit at little designated tables with other children (Ami sits with 3 other kids). Ms Laurance is very big into giving incentive rewards for homework done and other accomplishments. She is very successful with this! I am having trouble with the concept that homework would be required for grade one. It is very difficult to get him to do it and I hate being the person making him do something that I don't believe in. Grrrr. He says that he doesn't like math so I have been working on helping him to understand how important math is to being an engineer. I think his problem is that he finds what they are doing in math boring. . . .
Ami really likes the science teacher who comes to their class on Wednesdays. I haven't heard much about what they learn - all I've heard is that it is great!

Ami's reading is impressive. At the beginning of the year we were given a list of words that Grade Ones are supposed to practice so that will be able to read (sight reading- not figuring out the individual words) 75/80 words. Well Ami can already read them all. It makes me wonder if boredom will set in in school. . .
Ami stayed home from school today as he was feeling a little under the weather. He did agree to do some school work with me over the course of the day. It was quite fun really. If I had a curriculum I think we could probably do homeschooling but we would need a big group of other home schooled friends to play with. That wouldn't be so hard or so bad!!

Katie and I have decided to make sure that we do all the things we want to do in the Bay Area before graduation in May. To that end I think I will be taking Ami out of school maybe even one day a week to enrich our experience here.