Mummy Thoughts » family

Matthew asked to learn to cook

Thu, 12 Jan 2012 02:21:25 +0000

Wow, last night Matthew decided that he wanted to help me in the kitchen. When he was little he would help me with baking cookies and muffins, after all his first big word was “spatula”. It has been a while since he has helped me in the kitchen and he asked to do it last night. What blew me away was his comment “I need to learn to cook sometime”. Grab the opportunity, do it when they want to.

Matthew my sous-chef

So last night he helped me clean, cut up the veg and cooked them too. He knows how to fry eggs, now he can add another dish to his resume. He was also proud of himself as he also cut up the cilantro and grated the ginger for the steamed fish dish.

It was really nice, we worked well together, he wasn’t in the way and dinner preparation time was reduced. There wasn’t a big mess, he cleaned up as he was doing the preparation. I am so proud of my big guy, he is growing up so fast.

Great Canadian Chill Ottawa, 2012

Tue, 03 Jan 2012 18:53:03 +0000

We got an email from our friend Eric inviting us for a dip in the Ottawa River to raise money for Children’s cancer on January 1st. It was forecast to be +4C so Kyle said “Why Not”. What a way to start the Year!

I made a short video of Kyle’s “Big Event”.
Enjoy….

What Love means to a 4-8 year old

Mon, 02 Jan 2012 18:41:29 +0000

What Love means to a 4-8 year old . . …

A group of professional people posed this question to a group of 4 to 8 year-olds, ‘What does love mean?’
The answers they got were broader and deeper than anyone could have imagined See what you think:

‘When my grandmother got arthritis, she couldn’t bend over and paint her toenails anymore.
So my grandfather does it for her all the time, even when his hands got arthritis too. That’s love.’
Rebecca- age 8

‘When someone loves you, the way they say your name is different.
You just know that your name is safe in their mouth.’
Billy – age 4

‘Love is when a girl puts on perfume and a boy puts on shaving cologne and they go out and smell each other.’
Karl – age 5

‘Love is when you go out to eat and give somebody most of your French fries without making them give you any of theirs.’
Chrissy – age 6

‘Love is what makes you smile when you’re tired.’
Terri – age 4

‘Love is when my mommy makes coffee for my daddy and she takes a sip before giving it to him, to make sure the taste is OK.’
Danny – age 7

‘Love is when you kiss all the time. Then when you get tired of kissing, you still want to be together and you talk more.
My Mommy and Daddy are like that. They look gross when they kiss’
Emily – age 8

‘Love is what’s in the room with you at Christmas if you stop opening presents and listen.’
Bobby – age 7 (Wow!)

‘If you want to learn to love better, you should start with a friend who you hate,’
Nikka – age 6
(we need a few million more Nikka’s on this planet)

‘Love is when you tell a guy you like his shirt, then he wears it everyday.’
Noelle – age 7

‘Love is like a little old woman and a little old man who are still friends even after they know each other so well.’
Tommy – age 6

‘During my piano recital, I was on a stage and I was scared. I looked at all the people watching me and saw my daddy waving and smiling.
He was the only one doing that. I wasn’t scared anymore.’
Cindy – age 8

‘My mommy loves me more than anybody
You don’t see anyone else kissing me to sleep at night.’
Clare – age 6

‘Love is when Mommy gives Daddy the best piece of chicken.’
Elaine-age 5

‘Love is when Mommy sees Daddy smelly and sweaty and still says he is handsomer than Robert Redford.’
Chris – age 7

‘Love is when your puppy licks your face even after you left him alone all day.’
Mary Ann – age 4

‘I know my older sister loves me because she gives me all her old clothes and has to go out and buy new ones.’
Lauren – age 4

‘When you love somebody, your eyelashes go up and down and little stars come out of you.’ (what an image)
Karen – age 7

‘Love is when Mommy sees Daddy on the toilet and she doesn’t think it’s gross.’
Mark – age 6

‘You really shouldn’t say ‘I love you’ unless you mean it. But if you mean it, you should say it a lot. People forget.’
Jessica – age 8

And the final one
The winner was a four year old child whose next door neighbor was an elderly gentleman who had recently lost his wife.
Upon seeing the man cry, the little boy went into the old gentleman’s yard, climbed onto his lap, and just sat there.
When his Mother asked what he had said to the neighbor, the little boy said,
‘Nothing, I just helped him cry’

What we learned from Barbara Coloroso in Ottawa

Thu, 10 Nov 2011 02:14:15 +0000

Kyle and I had the privilege of listening to Barbara Coloroso speak here in Ottawa last night. She is full of information. I had watch a video of her a few years ago and the biggest thing that we learned then was that kid don’t get much of a chance to make decisions. Decision making helps them to learn to think for themselves. So if it is not morally degrading or life threatening, let them do it. That is what we have been using when it comes to out kids. This was very evident in their choice of clothes. “I did not dress them!”

As in Matthew case, it was really crazy in the beginning… now he seems to have develop some sort of sense of style, most days his t-shirt is on backwards but he doesn’t really care!! There are more important things to worry about. Natalie wears her fancy dresses to school. Why not. There are not enough parties or Christmases to wear all those fancy dresses to before she grows out of them. That is her decision.

One of the main things I remember about last night is this example. We tell them how to dress, what to eat, how to behave and we have kids that listen and behave well. Unfortunately when they grow up, they do not learn to think for themselves. So when they get older, they still let other people, like peers tell to them what to do, how they dress, what they eat etc. So if their friends are more aggressive and bully, the could follow suit. If kids think for themselves, they would make their own decisions and know right from wrong and do what they believe in.

Today has been a fun day in terms of the kids putting what I learned into practice. I know the kids can think for themselves, sometime I feel I have to guide them along in the mornings especially. Reminding them about brushing their teeth and packing their lunches. It can get quite stressful in the mornings… So this morning I put the timer on the oven so that the kids know when they had to finish their breakfast so that they had enough time to get. Since Matthew always finishes his breakfast really fast, he gets to play in his room before school. So I put the timer on in their bedroom for 7:50am, so they know when they have to start getting ready to go out the door. Unfortunately I forgot the tell the other 2 and so they all totally ignored the alarm. So I went in to remind them 5 minutes later, I though perhaps the alarm didn’t go off. That is all I had to do, they packed their lunch, got ready and guess what, we all got to school on time… I did not have to do the constant reminders so there was less tension in the house. Somehow along the way, I forgot that they are very capable individuals and can think for themselves. I was very thankful for the reminder.

Her talk also talked about consequences, last night we came home past their bedtime. Of course they were fooling around before getting into bed. I asked the kids what the consequences would be if they didn’t go to sleep right away. Andrew said that he would get grounded. (oops I think we have over used that a little, we should not be raising them out of fear, something to take note of). Natalie figured it out, they would be tired the next day. Very logical and after that little discussion, they got ready for bed and no arguments. Somehow, when we get a little busy, we just forget the common sense things, the kids are so logical and they just need real answers.

Last night’s talk was worth it’s weight in gold. Kid are worth it, I love the little reminders, as parents we are the biggest influence on the children. How we behave and what we say to them or let them do will help them think for themselves and bring out the best in them. Thanks Babara.

Fall Apples in Ottawa

Sun, 16 Oct 2011 15:29:23 +0000

Since we are in Ottawa this fall, we havn’t had a chance to enjoy the wonderful apples from my mum’s tree in Winnipeg. But we have had our share of yummy free apples here. When the kids returned back to school in September we were pleasantly surprised to find out that the tree right in front of the school was an apple tree. Imagine my excitement of being able to make those apple pies and apple crumble.

The school encourage us to pick the apples to enjoy instead of letting them go to waste. So that is what we did. Every day after school, we stopped to pick apples on the way home. The kids loved climbing the tree and picking and eating those apples straight from the tree.

There are still tons of apples on the tree. Unfortunately they are now too high to climb to pick. So yesterday we took the ladder and we picked more apples. Made juice yesterday and will make another apple crisp today! The super easy recipe is at the bottom of the blog.

The big surprise was when Kyle came home from one of his customers this week who is a farmer. Check out the size of that apple. Kyle is not sure whether to eat it or not. I remember seeing apples that size in Australia….

The apple is as big as her head

His favourite fruit!

Guess which one is from the farm and which one is from the school

Apple Oatmeal Crisp

1/2 cup brown sugar
1 cup rolled oats
1 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup butter melted
Mixed the above ingredient together and line the pan with half the mixture.

4 cups sliced apples
1/2 cup white sugar
2 tsp cinnamon
Mix the apples together with the sugar and cinnamon and place on top of the oatmeal mixture.
Top off the apples with the remaining half of the oatmeal mixture.

Place it in the oven for 350F for 45minutes.
Enjoy!
The kids like it with ice-cream.

Happy Thanksgiving 2011

Tue, 11 Oct 2011 02:52:43 +0000

I have much to be thankful for. Life is good.

I love long weekends. This weekend, the kids and I cleaned out their bedrooms, it was long overdue. We started on Saturday, took a break in the afternoon and finished on Sunday. So now the deal is that they have to clean up every night before they go to bed. I think we have said that many times before. I need to put down my foot down more and not let the kids take advantage with excuses. Tonight Natalie had a fit when we told her she had to put her toys away even though we helped her she didn’t have to do it herself. The tears… So their room is now tidy. The goal is to make sure they keep it that way! I am thankful for clean and tidy rooms.

I did some tidying up myself. The winter clothes are out and most of the summer stuff has been put away. It is so odd as it is still so warm outside. We went for a bike ride to Britannia Beach on Sunday afternoon and it was such a lovely ride. The park was just packed, everyone was out enjoying the wonderful warm October weather. I am thankful for the great weather we are having.

It was a social weekend for us too. Saturday we went to a un-traditional baby shower with the family in Rockland. We met up with friends from our Peak Potential courses and it was an awesome evening. The kids just entertained themselves, and played on the vast property. Saturday night we had our vegetarian thanksgiving dinner with a couple of friends. I made a sweet potato gratin, amazing what you can find online when you do a google search. I search for “vegetarian thanksgiving dinner”! Today we went to visit our friends Terry and Jane. It always amazes me when our kids meet up with our friends kids. This is the second time our kids have gotten together since moving back to Ottawa, and they are so comfortable together. When they met up the first time, they hadn’t seen each other for over 4 years, Matthew would have been 6. No problem hanging out together to play. That is so great. I am thankful for great kids.

This morning, I slept in, very rare for me. I can’t remember when the last time I did that. I was quite stuffed up last night and had a restless sleep so the extra couple of hours this morning was so very nice. I am thankful for a husband who looked after the kids and let me sleep in.

What a awesome weekend. I have so much to be thankful for. What are you thankful for?

I know why I feel good in Ottawa

Fri, 03 Jun 2011 19:35:54 +0000

Today was a day off from school for the kids so I decided to them out for a bike ride this morning. It was a beautiful cool day here, a slight breeze and the sun was shinning. As we live close to the Ottawa River, we decided to go for a ride along the river path. We saddled up and off we went.

During the ride (I ran along side Natalie, she is still getting used to the stops and starts), I was able to just enjoy the river and the surroundings, the water lapping along the river bank, the trees blowing in the wind and the birds in the sky. It was pretty amazing, we didn’t hear too much of the traffic even though the riding path was along the Ottawa Parkway. Everything just seemed so right.

We biked up to the pond where Matthew caught a frog a evening before with his friend. Nature right in the city. Can’t beat that.

The ride was short as the kids had a plans with my parents but we had a great little adventure right in our back yard. These are the little things that make living in Ottawa so good!

Back to Work

Thu, 26 May 2011 02:06:19 +0000

When I quit Engineering 10 years ago, I always thought that I would have to go back to school if I decided to go back into an Engineering field. Now I realize that is not the case.

A couple of months ago, JAZZ Solar Solutions, the company Kyle works at had an information booth at the Green Expo here in Ottawa. I decided to go out help out with making contacts and meeting potential customers. In preparation of that, I decided that I better brush up on my technical knowledge and learn everything about Photo Voltaics also know as Solar Panels. The design and multiple and applications. Having the engineering background helped a lot with understanding the workings of the system. It was so much fun to learn again, it has been so long since I did any sort of technical application. What I didn’t know, I had an in-house teacher in Kyle and I figured I would learn on the job.

So I spent 2 days at the Green Expo and met so many cool people from different walks of life with different needs and ideas. I really enjoyed that. After that I was hooked, I did another show the weekend after and now I am back in the work force, doing sales for JAZZ Solar Solutions.

It has been a challenging couple of months. Learning about all this new stuff, talking to and teaching potential customers. Working on fitting in the sales calls and meetings into my already busy schedule. Like they said if you want anything done, give it to a busy person.

My main priority in life is still the kids and family so I only work in between school, activities and meals. Sometimes I think I am crazy adding work into my life but it is quite exciting to be back working. I have the idea job, working around my schedule, working when I can and if I can.

While I was home full time, I would be visit my friends at their work place, I would sometimes wonder what it would be like to be back working outside the home, and knew I wouldn’t be able to do a 9-5 and be home for the children. Now I am in an ideal situation. I am back in the workforce and work around the family’s schedule.

Sometime, I do information seminars at night and if Kyle is working late, I take the kids with me on the bus. They occupy themselves with their books and crafts and on his way home, Kyle comes and picks them up. One Saturday Kyle even took them on a job site with him. I had sales training and he had to finish a ground mount installation. The property was really sandy so we bought them some sand toys at a garage sale and they spent the afternoon hanging out with daddy. They had a blast. They also came to one of the trade shows with us. Hung around the booth and did their own thing.

I am fortunate that the kids are so flexible, they are learning to respect my time when I am working. They understand when I am working at home, they cannot bother unless it is really pressing. They have to solve their own issues which mostly involves each other….

My life is never dull, sometimes I think I am crazy for taking on more. I realize I am doing what I believe in and it is all worth it!

Outdoor School

Tue, 05 Apr 2011 18:04:47 +0000

What a neat concept. We do not need a class room to learn….

Today was a big day for the family!

Mon, 04 Apr 2011 02:47:48 +0000

As a Catholic mum, today was a big day for our family. Andrew received his sacrament of reconciliation earlier in the year and in May he will receive his first Holy Communion. Today, they had a special enrollment mass where the kids were introduced to the parish. The presented his with a cross that they wore proudly. It was great to see all these kids on their journeys.

Another wonderful event was that Matthew served as an altar boy today for the first time. It was great to see him up there assisting the priest. I am a proud mum. He had been approached many times by our priest in Winnipeg and he always said no. When we arrived here, the parish priest asked him too and he still said no. I was kinda disappointed but this wasn’t something that could be forced.

While we were at the Y a couple weeks ago, they kids saw another priest, Father Edwin that helps our parish priest. They went up to talk to him and when I joined them, the priest announced that Matthew was going to serve. That was so awesome, not sure what he said, maybe Matthew just felt more comfortable with him.

So tonight Matthew and I talked about being an altar server and he said that he didn’t feel nervous at all. Today we went to the 11:30 mass and there were lots of servers so he wasn’t alone. Normally we go to the 8:30am mass and there is usually a lack of altar servers at that time. He said that he would serve in the 8:30 mass next week, our usual mass time. It was really touching for me at church as I realize my first born is growing up. He will be 10 next week and he won’t be sitting with us during mass much. The next child is ready to receive his sacraments. Natalie is not allowed to grow up…..

I am thankful for my healthy and wonderful family. I know God is watching over us and protecting us. I feel so blessed and love! I love my life.