Winter fun has just begun

Two weeks ago the temperature dropped to -17 and traveling to school via sled was a novelty for the kids. However Mum was not that impressed...after a mild October we have not had to worry so much about the right combination of snow pants jackets gloves and boots. We had prepared ourselves to some extent with new jackets and were aware of Heather's old ski pants perhaps fitting Finlay and a pair of second hand ski pants that I had picked up last year for Heather, however had not actually dressed them to see if they fitted!!! Thankfully they all worked and all I had to do was update them with proper snow mitts. However I had forgotten what a pain in the ass it was to get both of them ready and bundled and now Finlay is running faster than he was last year I have to chase them both round the living room in various states of dress. So off we ventured to school

So we thought it was bad at -17, well last week we were hit with -34 temps in the morning, school was still running , however we arrived in the truck and made a quick dash into the building. Now I am cursing about what a pain it is to squish them in and out of the car seat with all their gear on, the added task of shoveling a pathway to make it to the truck and having to start the truck 15 mins prior to driving. Adding these onto an already hectic school morning and you could be looking at a dsaster about to happen!!!! But I have held it together!!!! I am glad that this is only lasting for 4 days and then it warms up to -10
We have still managed to get the kids out for atleast 30 mins and they have really enjoyed sledding. It seemed that it was a whole new experience for Finlay by the look of excitement and delight as he "whizzed down the hill.
He has also been on little skis for the first time and seemed to enjoy that following right behind his sister.

Autumn colours

Enjoying the heat of an October summer.

Winter is not far from our minds.

Some of my favorite pictures from our fall.

October has allowed us to enjoy the late Indian summer with afternoon trips to the lake and warm afternoons playing in the park.

To the gradual awareness that winter is just around the corner

Holloween. Yes, No, well maybe

...Jesse...

The costumes were set, Woody for Finlay and Jesse for Heather and how cute they looked as a team. She wore her outfit to school and she wore it to gymnastics, then the day before she stated that she wanted to be a princess. Understandably coming from a girl who runs around playing princesses and princes, calls herself Cinderella or Princess Aurora and will correct you if you call her Heather......even out in public when people in the grocery store say Hi to her and she has even been heard correcting her school teacher!!!!. She will ask night after night for me to tell her a make believe story about Briar Rose...for those that don't know, that is the name the 3 fairies gave to Princess Aurora for her first 16 yrs !!!! The things you learn!!! I could honestly have a degree in princess fairy tales now!!!!
So off we went to make her Princess Aurora, which was fine. Then the night of Halloween she wanted to be a Fairy Princess.......oh then a Fairy Queen.

Fairy princess......

......so Fairy Queen it was.

Finlay, well he was easy, he is male, less decisions to make about head gear and was delighted to be Woody!!!!

Two wheelin'

Isn't it amazing how kids gee each other along.
Heather has been on a bike with training wheels since the summer and has be getting along great with it, beginning off reluctantly and then steadily getting braver and braver. At that point we saw a significant improvement when one of her older friends sped by on her two wheeler and she seemed to strive to be as fast as her. Consequently increasing her confidence and speed and allowing is to cycle to school and back.
Well a short while ago we were looking after her friend who was a boy 18 months older. They played all morning and after lunch we were to take him to school. He had brought his two wheeler and so off we went, Heather on her training wheels, Caden on is two wheeler and Finlay in the stroller. Caden was fast and Heather was trying to keep up. On the way there she was asking me how was it that he was so good and I replied that it was because he had practiced and was older and bigger than her. Meanwhile, thinking to myself that this would be a prime opportunity to suggest a try on her little purple bike and to see that if she could practice then perhaps the next time we look after Caden they could cycle together on two wheels ( you really have to grab at these motivating opportunities as kids can be so fickle).
Well by the time we got back home Finlay was napping in the stroller, so we got out the purple "NX12 turbo booster bike" !!!!! We started up wobbly and holding onto the seat and then gradually within an hour she got it and off she went, proud as punch. And Mum....well she was pretty excited too with calls to dad and Grandparents. It really is so amazing the joy and excitement you get as a parent when your child develops and reaches new milestones and accomplishments
Since then we have had short times practicing with varying degrees of enthusiasm, however time will come when this will become second nature too

Stories for kids

One night while Heather was struggling to settle, I had to create an appealing way for her to go to sleep. She had recently enjoyed a Tinker bell movie, so I told her that every night the fairies come to her room to sprinkle pixie dust on her and that they only arrive once she is asleep. The pixie dust helps her grow big and strong. We listened for the fairies waiting by her window as they waited for her to fall asleep. Then Heather was still not wanting to be left alone and wanted me to stay with her...time was passing and it was getting later and later. So I then told her that the fairies would not come if an adult was in the room and that if I was caught in the room and had pixie dust sprinkled on me then I would get smaller. I had had all my pixie dust as a child and if I had any more then I would get smaller and smaller!!!. This seemed to help her settle on her own and I was able to leave her room.

One Sunday afternoon, Heather was at a friends birthday party and received a balloon to take home. She was as proud as punch of the balloon and held it in her hand all the way home. As we walked up the drive way, a neighbour came to talk and Heather continued up the steps. Suddenly I heard screams of " My Balloon!!!" and turned to see the balloon slowly drift up into the sky and there was now way that i could catch it. So we watched as it floated higher and higher and Heather just cried and cried as she watched her balloon disappear.
I told her that the balloon would find it's way to the land of the lost balloons and then it may meet other balloons that want to find their way back home, but we would have to be patient and way to see what happened. Well, on the Monday when we came home from her dance class I pulled up outside our house and couldn't believe it when I saw another pink balloon floating above the park and behind the houses. Surely it couldn't be Heather's balloon. We jumped out the car and I pointed it out to Heather and she was so excited that her balloon was trying to get back to her. A couple of days later the balloon arrived in our mud room. Balloon and Heather happy to be reunited!!!