according.to.kim

Daily pic: 17 Dec 14

I also went to see G in her Irish dance class during "parent watch week."

Daily pic: 15 Dec 14

It's "parent watch week" at the girls' school of Irish dance. Can't beat this view! The sound was awesome, too.

Daily pic: 04 Sep 14

We went to the studio this evening to register the girls for dance -- our 10th time doing this; S's 10th season of Irish dance! (M's 8th and G's 4th year.) And so begins another full season of activities. (Girls touch football and cross country began today, as well!)

Daily pic: 07 Jun 14

Saturday was a huge day for dance performances! Our girls (1 or 2 per show) were in 9 shows today - including 3 extra shows in which S and B, along with their classmates, danced to the live fiddle music of Neek. Very exciting for them and a fantastic show! (S and her cousin B are among the dancers in this picture, during their Prairie Gael evening show.)

Add to that, 4 shows on Thursday, 4 on Friday, the Children's Program on Saturday, and Neil working behind the bar all hours, all 3 days... well, it was another busy Mosaic for us. As usual, Neil also helped with set up on Tuesday and Wednesday, and tear down on Sunday.

New/different this year:

• S danced in the late shows all 3 nights
• I didn't dance (definitely made my life easier!)
• I ate no food from any pavilions as I'm still doing AIP
• the girls are able to get themselves ready for dancing without me (nice!), as long as S helps the other two with their hair/wigs; I still need to make sure G's shoes are tied well (and they all need lots of help keeping their stuff gathered/organized between & after shows)
• first time the girls stayed at the Irish pavilion Saturday evening right through to clean up; and
• all 5 of us didn't go to any other pavilion together, but the girls and I were able to visit a few: G went to the Hungarian, Carribean, and Italian pavilions with L&B; S went to the German, Austrian, Caribbean, and Punjab pavilions with a friend; I took M and G to the Chinese and Francophone pavilions; and all but Neil saw a show at the Brazilian pavilion. Not bad considering I wasn't sure we'd make it to any others this year.

That's a wrap for Mosaic 2014 - our 9th as dance parents, and 6th time running the Children's Program.

Daily pic: 05 Jun 14

Gathering some of the items for the girls to get ready for Irish dancing at Mosaic. Day 1 of 3 extremely full days - and our 15th wedding anniversary!

Daily pic: 17 May 14

The girls performed Irish dancing at the Highland Games in Moose Jaw this afternoon. The weather was perfect for an outdoor event! This is G on the left and her best friend from dance class on the right. Both wearing brand new wigs. (G will be getting one in the same style as the blonde one. She didn't have it today because there was a mix-up with the order.)

Daily pic: 26 Apr 14

M performing Irish dance at the Strawberry Social, an annual charity fundraiser for Save the Children Canada. It's always held in a church basement and is one of the girls' favourite performance events of the year. All three danced well! We can see their hard work is paying off.

Daily pic: 23 Mar 14

The girls (and their cousin) performed Irish dancing at Spring Free From Racism today. S has danced here the past 8 or 9 years, and it's one of our favourite events. Shortly after dancing, I took Georgia to the Coop for her ringette game. The others stayed a bit longer and came to the Coop with mom (here to see the girls dance and play ringette today). As always, the girls enjoyed getting food and treats from various vendors at SFFR.

Our 2013-14 ringette season ended today. M finished yesterday, and both G and S played their last game of the season this afternoon. Despite not feeling 100% this weekend (sore throat, headache, and low fever; like several of her team mates), S finished strong with a hat trick in each of her last two games. Always fun to see her light up the game -- and her new post-goal celebrations are entertaining. We enjoyed seeing her somersault today. :)

Daily pic: 13 Mar 14

The girls' Irish dance shoes - jig (hard) shoes on the left and ghillies (soft shoes) on the right - freshly polished for their St. Pat's performances this weekend (15th, 16th, and 17th)!

It's that time of year when Irish dancing and ringette playoffs collide... and this year, a trade show for Steeped Tea on top of it. Bracing myself.

Also, we've just finished 10 games in 6 days. The next 8 are more spread out.

Daily pic: 18 Jan 14

M (far left) and G (far right) in their Irish dance class. It was M's 11th birthday today and I took birthday pictures, of course, but I chose this picture because it's rare for me to get a good dance class photo (especially one I can post - no faces) and it only exists because of this project!

Neil made M's favourite meal for her birthday: chicken fingers (homemade) and fries. I also made her a birthday cake with real-whipped-cream fluffy frosting.

Rounding up May 2013

Wish I was posting June. Oh, how it pains me to be a full month behind on this!

***

1. READ

• You are Special - a lovely book Georgia borrowed from the school
• Neil continued reading his Malazan series (1200-page books)

Madeline at Wascana on May 3.

2. WATCHED & LISTENED

TV

• Top Chef Canada (N/K/M/G)
• hockey playoffs (N)

DVDs/Movies

• Ice Age: Continental Drift (girls; Netflix on their computer)

Podcasts (K) - tried a few new ones, but they didn't stick

• WTF podcast (Marc Maron) - interview with Huey Lewis - 30th anniversary of Sports! - good interview; left me feeling nostalgic for Huey Lewis and the News :)
• Photography.ca (one show)
• Photography - Tips from the Top Floor (one show)
• The Digi Show

Videos (YouTube)

• Dumb Ways to Die - PSA from a railway company (the girls watched it over and over, and played the game on the iPad)
• The Duck Song

What's left on the trampoline after the girls are finished playing with water balloons.

3. EVENTS & OUTINGS

• Neil, the girls, and my manager attended my final Dale Carnegie class/graduation
• birthday parties: Georgia went to a home-salon party and a bowling party at Nortown Lanes; Madeline went to a party at Bath Goddess
• sleepovers with: Alissa (S) - 4 times
• playdates with: Elise, Keira, Victoria (G); Alex, Mattea (M)
• the girls went to K4J - last time for Sophia as a Captain
• Sophia attended a regular EDGE evening and a "lock-in" (sleepover) at Holy Cross parish - she loves going to EDGE
• the girls participated in a video for Greg Johnson, Tornado Hunter - they had to chase him like a scene in Rocky: Tornado Hunter Pre-season Training (they're on at 2:40, but hard to spot; Sophia's wearing pink) - the girls also enjoyed exploring the shore of Wascana Lake after the video shoot
• Georgia went shopping with her Auntie Laurel during the older girls' Saturday dance class
• Sophia and her friend Alissa went to Africa Day at Laval (in the evening); their classmates Angie and Alvin had invited them - it looked like a fantastic event with lots of food and entertainment
• on Mother's Day, we visited three greenhouses: West 25th, Cherry Lane, and Doorn's
• we had a potluck lunch at my work place - I was in charge of the theme and I asked everyone to bring a dish (or main ingredient) that starts with the first letter of their last name - I took Blackberry Lemon Salad
• we returned Rob's Jeep to YG and had lunch with Mom and Dad - the girls played with two of their cousins for a little while, too
• we went to the GAA Quiz Night Fundraiser (for the Gaelic football team, Prairie Gaels) - Neil and I teamed up with our friends Corey and Emma - we enjoyed the quizzes and did pretty well at 7th out of 13 teams; the kids had fun with games and crafts, and Neil won the big raffle prize: a night in the executive suite at the Travelodge (which we haven't used yet)

Kids running after the Tornado Hunter for his pre-season training video.

MUSIC & DANCE

• I attended a set-dancing workshop at St. Luke's Hall - learned the Corofin Plain Set; also, one evening at The Pump to practice the Antrim Square for Mosaic; first time dancing as a "lady" and I was totally disoriented!
• the girls danced in the Prairie Gael recital at the Leboldus theatre - a full hour of dancing - good show! the older girls had fun doing a couple dances to pop songs, including Firework (Katy Perry) and Inner Ninja (Classified); Georgia's group did the Fairy Reel very well! Laurel, Donna, Lou, Mom, Bev, Colleen, Grandma Mantay, and Sophia's friend Alissa were there, too
• the girls danced at the Save the Children Strawberry Social - Donna, Lou, Laurel, and Mattea (M's friend) were there, too - the older girls wore their new curly dance wigs for the first time; the girls brought home too much stuff from the flea market tables
• we enjoyed Georgia's Music for Young Children recital where she played two piano pieces very well: 1-2-3 Dance with Me and Piano Polka - duet with Mrs. Young. She also played in the Sunbeam 1 bell ensemble and sang the MYC Theme Song
• we enjoyed Sophia's spring band concert at LeBoldus - an impressive concert performed by band students from grades 6 to 12

Sophia is the closest trombone player on the far right.

SCHOOL

• Sophia and Meghan bought some items to wear for "twin day" at school; Madeline twinned with Mattea; Georgia with Victoria
• Sophia went out for lunch to Thai Garden with Meghan and their teacher (a treat Meghan had earned)
• the girls enjoyed a Subway lunch day, Smoothie day, and Record-breaking day at school
• Sophia spent a whole school day at a liturgical retreat
• Sophia went to the school's grade 7/8 drama, Mystery at Shady Acres, with Laurel (Bronwyn was there with her class)
• Sophia participated in a band tour to three elementary schools
• Madeline went with her class on a field trip to a classmate's beautiful farm (which we've all visited before) - they were lucky to have great weather for it
• Neil talked to all three grade one classes (separately) about bison

Bronwyn and Sophia before their first performance. / Neil trying the new leprechaun cut out.

MOSAIC (May 30-June 1)

• Thursday: Madeline, Sophia, and Bronwyn danced twice; Madeline's friend Mattea spent the whole evening with us; after the Irish pavilion, we visited the Kyiv Ukrainian, Brazilian, and Italian pavilions; the girls saw several friends dancing at the Kyiv; we met Donna, Lou, Laurel, and Chris at the Brazilian pavilion and saw a great show on the stage at the Orr Centre; home about 10:30
• Friday: I curled Georgia's hair with the hot rag rollers and lots of Redken Hot Sets 22 spray - it actually worked well, but the hour-long process was unpleasant for both of us; Georgia danced twice - Beginner Reel and Fairy Reel; I danced the Antrim Square; after the Irish pavilion, we visited the Korean, Hungarian, and Scottish pavilions; the girls tried on traditional Korean dresses and learned a traditional Hungarian dance; home about 10:30, except Neil who worked at the Irish pavilion until 1:00 am
• Saturday: I washed and curled Georgia's hair, and got myself and the girls ready for dancing (thank goodness the older girls wear wigs!); Donna and Lou picked up Dash in the morning (big thank you!); we were at the Irish pavilion for almost 12 hours... Neil ran the Children's Program (bracelet craft and leprechaun scavenger hunt) with help from Laurel and Tammy (dance mom); the girls and I each danced twice (six times between us); Rob, Robyn, Ethan, Jordyn, and Kacy came to see the girls dance (first time!); after their performances, Laurel took the girls to stay overnight in Avonlea; Neil worked behind the bar all evening; I enjoyed a one-hour break between the girls leaving and my last dance performance, and then worked at bar ticket sales from 8:30 to 11:15; the Dust Rhinos from Winnipeg were playing; Neil and I helped clean up for 30 minutes and then went home - exhausted!
• Food: I enjoyed a few bowls of Brewster's beef stew with potato cakes from the Irish pavilion; loved the Bulgogi (spicy pork, rice, and cabbage with Ranch dressing) at the Korean pavilion; and the girls ate a bunch of Tipperary Chips and TCBY frozen yogurt all weekend

Fantastic show at the Kyiv Ukrainian pavilion.

4. RECIPES TO REMEMBER

• Blackberry Lemon Salad - delicious! (used EVOO in place of flax oil)
• Chocolate Coconut Milk Ice Cream - dairy free and awesome!
• Mason jar salads - my first ones included grape tomatoes, cucumbers, radishes, sugar snap peas, matchstick carrots, and lettuce - washed everything in water and vinegar
• Cilantro Lime Ranch Dressing - yum
• Neil's Ham & Broccoli Stuffed Potatoes
• Soft tacos: corn tortillas, grilled chicken breast, caramelized onions and peppers, lettuce, tomatoes, and salsa (no need for cheese or sour cream - for me)
• Gluten-free Sandwich Bread - good, but too expensive - cashew butter alone was over $6 on sale
• Neil's Pasta Sauce - this is my favourite! I enjoy it on spaghetti squash or gluten-free pasta
• Homemade "Holy Crap" or "Qi'a" cereal - my variation: 1/2 cup (+2T) hemp instead of 3/4 cup (+2T), 1 tsp cinnamon instead of 1/2 tsp, and no dried apples - excellent! I mix 3 Tbsp of cereal with 5 Tbsp almond milk and let sit for five minutes
• Chicago Dog salad - my invention: everything but the bun, sliced or chopped and mixed together

Our mini walk-in greenhouse (purchased last year on clearance).

5. GIFTS

• birthday gifts for two of Georgia's classmates and one of Madeline's
• Georgia received a fancy hairband from Auntie Laurel (which she wore at her piano recital)
• for Mother's Day, I received a card and artwork from Georgia, a card and watercolour painting from Madeline, and a fancy card with a Chai tea bag from Sophia; plus, a book about flowers and a kitchen tool rack (from the Strawberry Social flea market)
• we gave R&R a Canadian Tire gift card to thank them for lending their Jeep to us
• Neil received a LazyBoy recliner from a friend - the timing was perfect because his favourite chair broke the day before

Neil and Georgia planting seeds.

6. SPECIAL PURCHASES

• for the girls: soccer shoes for Gaelic football; plastic cord to make scoubidou crafts a.k.a. boondoggle - who knew?! (thanks to Google and Pinterest for the names); good skipping ropes; sketch books; balloons (to fill with water)
• for me: cute red shoes for summer, tennis elbow brace
• new curly dance wigs for Sophia and Madeline
• annuals, perennials, peat moss, two large pots, and three extra large tomato cages
• 2004 Toyota Sienna - found on UsedRegina.com - fantastic condition! much better than our old one and quite a difference between the '01 and '04 - the private sale process went very smoothly and we were able to pick up the van the next day - hooray!
• lidded garbage containers for each of the girls to have near their seats in the van - we're committed to keeping it clean
• 500 ml jars to make smaller mason-jar salads for the girls
• 11 new songs for my iPod - good to have a music update for walking in the morning
• spring school portraits - I ordered some to give away this time; it's been a few years since I last did that

Our "new" van.

7. HEALTH

• my right arm started hurting so badly, it became a useless appendage - I couldn't lift, grip, or squeeze anything! - saw my doctor on May 10; she referred me to physiotherapy and suggested I start using a brace which I wore often for at least a month
• I went to physio at CBI four times, iced my arm several times a day for awhile, and did some of my computer mousing with my left hand - and my arm started feeling better
• Georgia and Madeline had a cough and sniffles
• Georgia had a fever and vomiting one morning (and just in the morning, as usual)
• I developed sinusitis and it was pretty bad for a couple days
• Neil went to the chiropractor for his back and hip
• Sophia stayed home one afternoon with a stomach ache
• Georgia vomited several times on the Saturday morning of Mosaic - of all days! thank goodness she was fine the rest of the day, as usual - seriously, what's up with this???

Some of our plant purchases. / Icing my tennis elbow.

8. ACCOMPLISHMENTS

• I earned my certificate in the Dale Carnegie Course, Skills for Success - hooray! much effort, but well worth it
• I created and delivered a presentation about the knowledge base (sasktel.com/support) to my department and it went well
• cleaned up the front and back yards, and planted the garden
• conquered the kitchen 100% - it needed some extra attention (to say the least!)
• finally moved the old couch and chair out of the house
• Sophia received two rewards at school: lunch out for being good (most checkmarks and no Xs over the past month), and a Slurpee for cleaning up (which is a tad surprising to those who live with her!)
• more housework than usual because I took a week off work
• I made 17 mason jar salads on the Sunday before Mosaic and they were a life saver that week! just under 3 hours to make them
• prepared 101 bracelet kits for the Children's Program at Mosaic (supplies from Oriental Trading Company) - Madeline and Georgia were a big help

9. DISAPPOINTMENTS

• we hate the fridge we bought last September - too small! (and yet it's the same cubic feet as our old one) - if I had money to spare, I would replace it immediately
• Dash ran out the door, past me, and bit a man (hopefully just his jeans) who was merely walking past our house - he cannot be trusted with strangers :(
• we picked up supper from DQ in a moment of desperation - after preparing a bunch of food for the following week and then having no time to make dinner before a 3-hour concert! (also ate at Subway between two events - another "no time"/unprepared situation - boo)
• SGI didn't hear from the tire shop after asking them to pay the deductible on our van insurance

Our old van's windshield after the hood incident. / Cleaning out the van in the SGI compound.

10. GOALS

• cleared the collection basket - twice!
• completed March photos
• completed April photos
• completed March roundup
• backed up the computer
• took our monthly family photo

11. SPORTS

• Madeline was thrilled to be chosen to compete in the 200m race at the first track meet
• Sophia participated in track throughout the month - she won first place in several events at the quad meets, and then at the city track meet: 5th in triple jump, 5th in relay, 7th in 100m, and 8th in high jump - she wasn't thrilled but truly did well for being in the younger half of the age group (and many kids go home with no ribbons!)
• our friends, Steve and Maren, picked up the girls for their 8:00 am track practices - nice!
• Neil continued training with the Regina Gaels football team - they ran around Wascana a couple times - he was also interviewed for a Leader-Post story about non-traditional sports in Regina
• the girls went to the first two youth practices of Gaelic football - more than 20 children were there and all but five are from Ireland - it's free (for now) and all ages (3-12) practice together - they enjoyed it and want to keep playing

One of the first youth practices of Gaelic football. Neil always goes to help.

12. NOTEWORTHY

• while I was driving on the Ring Road during rush hour, after having the van's tires changed and engine light checked, the van's hood flew up, smashing the windshield, denting the roof, and more - it was shocking, to say the least. I'm extremely grateful no one was hurt!
• my brother lent his Jeep Grand Cherokee to us while our van was out of commission - many thanks to him and to Mom for driving the Jeep to Regina for us - huge help!
• our 2001 Toyota Sienna van was deemed a total loss by SGI - surprise! suddenly had to shop for another vehicle which sucked up a bunch of spare time I didn't have (on top of dealing with SGI, cleaning out the old van, etc.)
• my Dale Carnegie trainer said I'd make a good coach - excellent opportunity for me! I agreed to coach in the fall
• the girls had school photos taken and they turned out well! - first time for spring portraits
• Georgia is very creative in making birthday cards for her friends - and she makes them entirely on her own :)
• getting Georgia to practice piano became extra challenging - but she still wants to take it next year; I registered her for Sunbeam 2 in MYC (Sophia and Madeline each had two years of lessons, and I'd like Georgia to have two years, as well)
• thanks to the slowest spring melt of all time, we didn't get water in our basement
• when the weather finally turned nice, the girls played outside at every opportunity - skipping, biking, trampolining... Sophia even chose the outdoors over Minecraft!
• I didn't have to wear ski pants to deliver papers and plants started growing outside! (not normally noteworthy, but after this winter...)

NOTEWORTHY (continued)

• Neil subbed at Prairie Sky School twice - on one occasion, he made vegan gingersnap cookies with the students :)
• the city replaced the sidewalk in front of our house
• I discovered the awesomeness of PicFrame for making photo collages on my computer (and iPad)
• we sold our bison cows and calves to Mom and Dad (we bought our original three calves in 1999)
• the girls started their 2013 obsession with water balloons - and their new favourite thing to do is to put the filled balloons on the trampoline and jump around them so they bounce and pop
• when my department director saw that our new van has only three hub caps, he made a bunch of calls trying to find one for me - he didn't find one, but it was nice of him to try!
• I took a week off work (the week of Victoria Day) - I've done this for a few years now and I love it! I planned out the whole week with my top 3 priorities for each day, and accomplished quite a bit
• I started Finding Your Photo Style at BPC - really enjoyed this class with six teachers (one per week) - this class renewed my interest in taking photos more deliberately :)
• Sophia earned 10/10 for a presentation on paleontology as a career - she has always said she wants to be a paleontologist and remains committed to it
• the girls attended their final dance and piano lessons until fall - hooray! by this time, we're all so ready for a break
• Sophia dip-dyed her hair in blue Kool-Aid - with guidance from Bronwyn over Facetime
• after asking for her cooperation, Sophia wrote, "I will co-operate after May 24th 2013," and signed it - how can I enforce this?!

Where did February go?

• 25 ringette games - S/M
• 2 ringette practices - S/M
• 3 ringette tournaments - S/M/all
• 12 Irish dance classes - S/M/G
• 3 music classes - G/K
• 20 piano practices - G/K (up to 10 minutes each)
• 12 work days - K
• 12 school days - S/M/G
• 12 lunch supervision days - N
• 48 lunches packed - N
• 2 after-school improv meets - S
• 21 days of paper delivery - N/K
• 2 appointments - girls/N
• 1 sick day - K
• 4 weeks of almost-daily coursework - K (online nutrition class)
• 28 replies to OhLife emails - K
• 1 digital Project Life layout - K
• plus... LIFE in general!

...which may explain why this is my only blog post in February. (I just couldn't let a whole calendar month pass by without a single post!)

Here's my one layout. More to come, I hope!

Supplies: Project Life Clementine Edition; Pockets No. 3: The Basics by Valorie Wibbens; Pagekraft Papers by One Little Bird

13/12/12

This is what I see when I leave my office, as I walk to my parking spot. The lights in the middle are from the refinery/upgrader.

I had planned to get today's photo at my set dancing class this evening -- and I did take a few photos there -- but I also took this emergency backup photo on my iPad when I left work today. I'm glad I did because my photos from set dancing wouldn't work for blog posting (people shots). We had a bit of a Christmas party at set dancing tonight, with a snack/dessert potluck and some singing and musical entertainment from various members of the class. With a few extra guests, we had three full sets (8 couples per set) and we danced the Connemara, Clare Lancer, and Antrim Square sets, plus the Circle Waltz (one of my favourites) and another two-hand dance. I really enjoy set dancing and will join again after Christmas!

Rounding up June 2012

My roundups are getting longer! I guess I'm adding more details, but June was also exceptionally full. Both Mosaic and the Avonlea Centennial could have had their own posts but they're included here.

***

1. READ

• Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins (Sophia)
• The Cupcake Queen by Heather Hepler (Sophia)
• My Life in Pink & Green by Lisa Greenwald (Sophia)

I spent an hour painting Madeline's nails one evening. She has lovely nails!

2. WATCHED & LISTENED

• TV
  • The Killing (N/K) - end of series
  • Top Chef Canada (N/K) - end of season
  • Master Chef (N/K) - I watched the first episode, but decided not to watch again until much later in the season (if at all)
  • The Next Food Network Star (N)
  • NHL Stanley Cup Finals (N)
  • Strictly Irish Dancing - a documentary on the 2011 World Irish Dancing Championships (girls)
• DVDs/Movies
  • Moneyball (N/K) - great movie!
  • Madagascar 3 - the girls saw it with L&B at the Southland
• Podcasts (K):
  • Paperclipping Roundtable
  • The Digi Show

Set dancing at Mosaic. I'm on the far right with my back to the camera.

3. EVENTS & OUTINGS

• Mosaic - see below
• Avonlea Centennial Celebration - see below
• Georgia attended two birthday parties, and an all-day playdate and sleepover with a friend (her first non-family sleepover)
• Madeline attended one birthday party, and went to a friend's house for a playdate and supper
• Sophia had a friend over one afternoon
• I attended four set-dancing classes; we learned the Clare Lancers set - very fun! revisited the Connemara and Kilfenora, and a variety of two-hand dances; I really enjoy set dancing and will continue in September
• we all attended the Irish Club and Prairie Gael's year-end windup/Mosaic volunteer appreciation BBQ at the Seniors' Centre on Elphinstone
• the girls and I went for a walk in Wascana and then to DQ for ice cream sandwiches
• I went to the CS Ops Annual Appreciation BBQ at work
• the girls invited me to attend their circus/amusement park which included a welcome song performance, bubble blowing, batting game, sword fighting with wet short pool noodles, shoulder massage, and lemonade :)
• we all attended a come and go tea (the girls called it a "stay and go" tea) at the Royal Regina Golf Club for Uncle Mike's Mom's 90th birthday
• Neil went to the first Rider home game
• we all attended the 2nd annual outdoor mass and BBQ - great weather and lunch (lots of homemade salads); the girls enjoyed a bunch of activities
• I enjoyed visiting with a friend/former coworker at the 13th Avenue Coffee House one evening
• I took the girls to the splash pad a couple times
• school activities:
  • Georgia's class went to the splash pad and another park in our area
  • Madeline's class went to the splash pad and bowling at Golden Mile
  • Sophia's class played in a grades 4-6 softball tournament, and her team won
  • Sophia and Madeline's classes did their annual walk around Wascana; Neil transported the lunch coolers, as usual
  • Sophia and Madeline's classes went swimming at the Sandra Schmirler on the last day of school
• 12 activities with Mom in 2012:
  • Georgia chose to paint plant pots; we each painted two 4" terracotta pots (purchased at Dollarama, then primed with white spray paint)
  • Madeline chose to make a teddy bear out of denim from Neil's old jeans - it turned out well (but it took a long time, and then I ruled out sewing projects for future activities)
  • Sophia chose to go to the Wascana Waterfowl Park (behind the Centre of the Arts)

Mosaic, May 31-June 2 (and more):

• Sophia danced St. Patrick's Day (hard shoe) twice on Thursday, Hornpipe (hard shoe) twice on Friday and Saturday (with Bronwyn);
• our niece, Bronwyn, danced the Hornpipe (hard shoe) and Sprig of Shillelagh (hard shoe) twice on Friday and Saturday;
• Madeline danced in an 8-person Reel choreography (soft shoe) and Treble Jig (hard shoe) twice on Thursday and Saturday;
• Georgia danced in a 5-person Reel choreography (soft shoe) twice on Friday and Saturday; it was her first performance -- super cute!
• I performed set dancing (8 people) - Antrim Square once on Thursday and twice on Friday, and Kilfenora three times on Saturday;
• we visited other pavilions: Scottish, Latin American, and Austrian on Thursday; German, Indian, and Caribbean on Friday;
• we ran the Children's Program at the Irish pavilion from 2:00 to 4:00 on Saturday - it's a good thing I did my share of the work (preparing bookmark kits) ahead of time because I had little time to help during the program itself;
• Neil worked at the bar from 5:00 pm to midnight on Saturday (plus, various jobs all three days); I did a little table cleaning and mopping late on Saturday; we also helped with tear-down from midnight to 1:30 am; and Neil helped with tear-down for eight straight hours on Sunday;
• Many thanks to: Laurel and Shauna for helping with the Children's Program; my parents for taking Dash for a walk Saturday afternoon; and Donna and Lou for taking the children to L&B's to stay overnight on Saturday. We appreciate all of your help so much!

Avonlea Centennial Celebration, June 29-July 1:

• we spent three days in Avonlea with Donna and Lou, Laurel and Bronwyn, and Shauna, Wayne, Cole, and Rian
• it was hot, sunny, and humid the whole weekend
• we saw the 15 Wing Moose Jaw Fly By to kick off the Centennial
• we attended the Riderville hospitality evening at the rink where the Rider game was shown on a big screen; Scott Schultz was there and the Riders beat Hamilton 43-16
• we celebrated Bronwyn's 12th birthday and Cole's 8th birthday
• thanks to Uncle Ron, we were FTF (first to find) a new cache called Dr. Henry Dunnet
• we enjoyed watching the parade with a big group of relatives, including cousins Gabe and Avery; the kids received a ton of candy and Grandma Louise (almost 97 years old) was on a float!
• the kids enjoyed the children's entertainment - inflated slide, face fainting, and petting zoo
• Shauna and Laurel took the kids for a quick tour of the school
• the older girls performed in the talent show in their Prairie Gael dresses: Sophia and Bronwyn did their soft-shoe Reel, Madeline did her Treble Jig (hard shoe), and then Sophia and Madeline did St. Patrick's Day (hard shoe)
• Saturday evening, we enjoyed the banquet, cabaret with Brad Johner, and an excellent show of fireworks - so close!
• we went to pancake breakfasts on Saturday and Sunday; both were nicely done
• Sunday afternoon, we had a big gathering of relatives at Donna and Lou's for a BBQ/potluck meal; the new babies of the family, Gracie and Luca, were there
• the four girls, Cole, and I (plus Glenys and Lee) went to the Jeffries' ranch to see Appaloosa and miniature horses - well worth the trip!
• we took the kids swimming at the pool at Dunnet
• Donna, Lou, Neil and I took the kids over to Ron and Carol's for a short visit Sunday evening
• Friday, the girls and Cole slept in a tent in Donna and Lou's back yard - for the first time without parents! Saturday, I slept in the tent with our three girls; and Sunday, we pulled the tent down just before a major thunderstorm hit - phew!

Cousins watching the Avonlea Centennial Parade.

4. RECIPES TO REMEMBER

• sliced avocados tossed with lime juice and S&P - best condiment/side dish ever - goes with everything!
• Mexican Torta Burgers (Food Network Mag)
• Rhubarb Compote (Martha Stewart) - I love the ginger!
• Bacon-Ranch Potato Salad #10 (Food Network Mag)
• Thai Marinated Grilled Chicken Skewers (Cooking Channel) - bison instead of chicken; we all loved these
• Sophia's Perfect Popovers

My bison burger one day. We all laughed at how tall it was (about 4.5 inches) - impossible to bite!

5. GIFTS

• from our neighbour, five fruit syrups from BC for watching her plants and watering as needed
• from Auntie Shauna:
  • Sophia received two books (The Cupcake Queen and My Life in Pink & Green),
  • Madeline received a notebook and Shake It Up t-shirt, and
  • Georgia received owl-themed stationery and a Hannah Montana tattoo
• for Father's Day, Neil received:
  • from Madeline, a little wooden bird house she painted at school, bird seed, and coupons (for things like walking on his back)
  • from Georgia, a picture she coloured at school
  • from all three girls, a Father's Day fill-in-the blanks sheet they each completed (e.g., If he could go on a trip, he would go *to a space station.* My favourite thing about my dad is *his cooking.*) Idea from Pinterest; unfortunately, the original source appears to be lost; feel free to download the one I created: fathers-day.pdf
• when school ended, Neil received:
  • from a teacher, a $10 Canadian Tire gift card for distributing the milk every day at school
  • from a parent, a 4-pack of Kilkenney Irish Cream Ale for doing lunch supervision every day

Sophia's "Tiny Dino" lily and Meadow Sage.

6. SPECIAL PURCHASES

• I bought some materials for Sophia's Halloween costume (only available in summer!)
• two new tires for my bike
• we hired College Pro Painters to paint all of the window and door trim on our house and garage (plus the garage people door and fascia) - it needed to be done so badly and we were never going to get around to it! All of the trim is chocolate brown now; some was off white before

Our back yard after a weekend of hard work.

7. HEALTH

• I had a terrible cramp on the right side of my right lower leg - unbelievably painful; it subsided after I found the right crouching position and drank some pickle juice (thanks to the Internet)

The girls enjoyed collecting caterpillars and keeping them (briefly) in containers. I used my Crop-A-Dile to punch holes in the lid.

8. ACCOMPLISHMENTS

• I registered the girls for K4J VBS in August, ringette (Sophia and Madeline), and MYC piano (Georgia)
• we did a bunch of yard work and it's looking good! I cleared all of the weeds from the paths and we added more crusher dust; we moved the whole pile of wood chips (from last year's broken spruce tree) into our yard and spread it all over the east side of our back yard; we also weeded the garden beds, trimmed our large lilac bushes, and cleaned up all the toys, sticks, etc.
• I sold a few things on UsedRegina.com - the Sizzix Big Shot and bag I won last year (never used), fleece fabric, and 75-300mm Canon lens (total: $265!)
• Neil made a feast of ribs and wings for Father's Day - shared with his parents and L&B at Laurel's house: blue ribbon barbecued pork ribs with classic red barbecue sauce, and chicken wings 4 ways: grilled hot wings, chile-lime wings with cilantro dipping sauce, dry-rubbed wings with PB&J sauce, and dry-rubbed wings with ranch dressing (Joy of Cooking) - all (but the ranch) from cookbook, Ribs, Chops, Steaks & Wings
• Georgia, Madeline, and Sophia completed kindergarten, grade 3, and grade 5 - all report cards were good!

Ducks at the Wascana Waterfowl Park.

9. DISAPPOINTMENTS

• seeing evidence that our iMac's hard drive is failing - again (second one in this computer); started thinking about buying a new computer this year (now... looking forward to a faster processor and Mountain Lion!)
• I did no scrapbooking (layouts), except to finish a digital page I started in May

Fascinating mammatus clouds on June 26.

10. GOALS

• processed May photos
• backed up my computer
• cleared my collection basket 1/4 weeks - boo
• worked on my email inbox and computer 1/4 weeks - tough month
• made no layouts (my goal was 6) - I don't think this is working out
• took our monthly family photo - thanks to Laurel for taking our picture in Avonlea on June 30!

Yep, we were in our PJs (except Neil).

11. NOTEWORTHY

• we celebrated our 13th wedding anniversary on June 5 - Neil made a delicious supper for all five of us: grilled pork chops, crispy potato wedges, corn on the cob, and Greek salad; later, we watched the Top Chef Canada finale together
• our computer gave me a big scare when it wouldn't turn on again after a power outage; then I learned that it might start after being unplugged completely for several minutes. It worked -- phew!
• vandals spray-painted words on the side of our van in the middle of the night, and were caught within hours - thanks to our neighbour seeing them do it and calling police right away; we were able to remove the paint immediately with a Magic Eraser
• online classes: completed Picture Black & White with Tracey Clark at BPC; enjoyed Got Glue? a free class from Tami Taylor at Creative Passion Classes; continued reading and watching class content in Twelve at BPC
• I attended the band meeting for Grade 5 parents and learned Sophia will play trombone next year! We've reserved a used rental instrument from St. John's Music
• we had some tornado watches and warnings during the last week of June - just as the city was commemorating the 100th anniverasary of the Regina Cyclone, the deadliest tornado in Canadian history
• after one thunder storm, we saw beautiful and rare mammatus clouds over Regina
• we had no home phone, Internet, or TV service for six days - fortunately, we did have access to the Internet via cellular data on my iPad -- and we were away for three of those days
• I enjoyed talking about writing and editing with author, Alan Smith, at the Avonlea Centennial. He wrote Saskatchewan Birds, which we've owned for years - I wish I had known this when talking to him!

10 random thoughts & updates

Ringette ended on March 25 for both Sophia and Madeline. Both girls enjoyed the season even though their teams were at the bottom of the standings (in both divisions, Petite and Novice). Now they're looking forward to wind-ups with their teams. Madeline's team is going to make bath products at Bath Goddess, while Sophia's team is going to use the rock-climbing wall at the Science Centre. We parents enjoy ringette, too, so we weren't particularily anxious for the season to end, but will appreciate the free time on our calendar!

Sophia started playing badminton this week. Both Neil and I liked badminton very much when we were young.

The girls brought their report cards home on Tuesday. They're all doing very well. (Sophia just needs to put a little more work into long division. I found this game for her to practice, and she likes it: Snork's Long Division.)

I've been doing some scrapbooking. Hooray! This morning, I completed my ninth layout of 2012 (4 digital and 5 paper). Now I need to produce another one by Saturday night to reach my goal of six layouts in March.

I'm planning to file our income taxes tomorrow, start to finish. I hope I can do it in under 5 hours. I know it's taken longer in the past, but I'm counting on TurboTax to have saved a bunch of my data from last year.

I can't believe we have NO snow left at the end of March. At this time last year -- after a winter of unusually high snowfall -- we still had a huge amount of snow (see a photo from March 29, 2011). I like this year much better!

I registered all three girls for the QCM Mini Marathon in September. Madeline and I have already walked the 3 km route, and we're planning to walk it as a family on a weekly basis over the next five months.

I registered all three girls for swimming lessons at the university during the last two weeks of July. They'll be in levels 1, 4, and 6.

My current Irish set-dancing class concludes this Saturday, March 31. I was able to attend seven of the eight classes. I really enjoy it and have decided to participate in the next 8-week session -- Thursday evenings beginning April 12 at the Polish Club, I think. Who would like to join me?! (I have also agreed to do some set-dancing on stage at Mosaic!)

I'm fascinated by these genealogy indexing projects. I had no idea that anyone could help index data from old records. Digital images of the 1940 U.S. Census will be released to the public on April 2, 2012. Cool!

PI 29/52: Where I stand

Where I stand, there's no end to the number of things that need to be done. Sunday afternoon I painted the bathroom wall and a piece of trim (MDF) so we could reinstall the towel bar and hooks. The towel bar and one of two hooks had (in separate incidents) become detached from the wall -- taking a bunch of the wall with them. Lovely. About six coats of compound later, we decided we needed a better way to secure the bar and hooks, so we screwed the board to the wall (to three studs) and then attached the towel bar and hooks to that. They aren't going anywhere now!

It looks and feels (in more ways than one) like Fall has arrived. The weather turned chilly this week. We went from six days of 30C+ weather to 18, and then 12. We had to cover our tomatoes overnight for the first time this year.

Our full calendar is another reminder that Fall is here (essentially). We've been super busy this month, and I can't believe it's the 15th already.

Sophia is running in cross country again this year. She's been to a few practices and two of four multi-school meets. She's doing very well, placing 9th last Thursday and 3rd today. Dozens compete (more than 75, I think), so it's quite an accomplishment to place in the top 10!

Sophia and Madeline have been to ringette conditioning camp nine of 12 times already. It ends next week on the 22nd, and then we'll have a week or two break before evaluations begin. (Yay!) Madeline also participated in the Come Try Ringette event last Saturday. Happily, her name was drawn for a new stick so we don't have to buy one for her. Sophia won a stick at the same event last year.

Irish dance lessons started this week for all three girls. This is Georgia's first year and she's very excited to finally have her turn! She's been waiting her whole life. This is Sophia's 7th year and Madeline's 5th. We'll be heading to the dance studio four times a week this year: Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Sunday. Ack! It's Madeline's first year of hard shoe, and she has separate classes for soft shoe and hard shoe. Sophia's soft shoe and hard shoe lessons are back-to-back.

Sophia is also taking piano lessons which is just once a week, thankfully. It hasn't been easy to get her to practice the past three weeks with the fantastic weather we were having and being so busy with ringette camp. I hope we can get her into an acceptable routine with this. She wanted to continue with piano this year, so she needs to put some effort into it! We've already decided this will be her last year in piano as she can participate in band at school next year.

In summary, Georgia has one activity, Madeline has two, and Sophia has three, plus cross-country in September and track in May. Sophia seems to need more organized activities, so I think this is fine for her, but she also has much more homework than ever before -- which is challenging for all of us! I spent a full hour helping her with homework this evening, and we didn't even finish. She'll have to finish it before her 8:00 am cross-country practice tomorrow.

Technicolor vision

I took many photos at the Irish pavilion yesterday where my daughters danced and my husband and I volunteered. While our pavilion is very lively and fun, it's certainly not one of the most colourful. This was the best I could do for my Picture Color prompt! But the scene does offer "a kind of technicolor merriment," don't you think?

I'm glad to have this photo because it represents our evening quite well. Neil was behind the bar from about 6:00 p.m. to midnight, and I sold bar tickets from 8:30 to 11:15 p.m. That was a new experience for me. I've never handled so much money in my life! We had three tills running with six people (one to make change and one to give tickets for each till). The line was solid almost the entire 2.75 hours, and we were selling tickets pretty darn fast. The volume was incredible.

Our day at the pavilion started much earlier, though. We ran the Children's Program from 2:00 to 4:00 p.m. We had two crafts: a shamrock keychain (made with pony beads, pipe cleaner, and key ring) and an Irish flag bracelet (made with pony beads, cord, and lanyard hook).We also had Irish dancers from Prairie Gael in full costume (including our own children) teaching basic dance steps. We estimate over 80 kids participated which was a great turn out. Many thanks to Laurel, Bronwyn, and Donna for helping with the crafts!

Sophia and Madeline also performed on stage in the 2:05 and 4:15 shows, while our niece Bronwyn danced at 3:05 and 5:30 p.m. They all danced so well! I love watching them. All four girls (and Dash) went to Avonlea with their grandparents after B's performance. This allowed Laurel, Neil, and me to volunteer all evening. Fun and exhausting! The pavilion closed at midnight, and then we helped clean up/tear down for over an hour. I didn't get to bed until 2:00 a.m. Long, long day.

I'm not going into too much detail about our 2011 Mosaic. I wrote an epic post about it last year: Mosaic 2010. The main differences from last year are: I didn't dance (this year was so much easier; huge difference!); Sophia and Bronwyn didn't dance together (for the first time in 6 years); Sophia and Bronwyn performed hard shoe dances; I volunteered for bar tickets (last year, I cleaned tables all evening); and we were able to go to more pavilions this year (Greek, Filipino, Chinese, Francophone, Brazilian, and Korean).

Changing of the guard

One of my tulips today. It'll be the first to bloom in our little patch. Yes, they're quite late! I was lucky to have a few minutes to shoot this photo between getting home from the conference and the kids coming home from school.

As soon as Sophia and Madeline were home from school, they got into their dresses and I got their hair ready for their dance performances at Mosaic (5:05 and 6:05 pm). Sophia performed her fast reel (soft shoe) with Sarah, and St. Patrick's Day (hard shoe) solo. Madeline danced in a large ceili choreography with nine others. They both danced very well! We're glad L&B were there, as well as Darren, Ali, Gabe, and Avery for the second performance. After that, we went to a couple other pavilions: Francophone and Brazilian. Bronwyn came with us and Laurel met us at the Brazilian pavilion just in time for the 9:00 pm show. Wowza! What a show at the Brazilian pavilion! Truly amazing, and totally worth the 45-minute wait.

PI 11/52: In the distance

Taken Saturday en route to Avonlea to have dinner at Donna and Lou's. The sky wasn't what I had hoped to capture for this prompt. Oh well; I didn't have time to go for another shot on a brighter day. This photo was extremey dull SOOC, but I hit it with some Pioneer Woman actions: lighten, sharpen, boost, and edge burn at 50% opacity. (And it's still pretty dull!) Two things strike me about this shot: (1) That it was May 7 and there's not a speck of green in sight. Seeding was delayed this year due to the very wet spring; and (2) The old barn and graineries make it seem like this photo could have been taken 50 years ago.

My mother-in-law, Donna, had knee replacement surgery on Monday (her second one) and I hope she's doing well. I know she was in a great deal of pain the first day, but I think it's a little better now. I wish her speedy healing!

P.S. On Tuesday, Sophia had another quad meet (four schools). She got 3rd in triple jump and 4th in 200m.

On Wednesday evening, I took Madeline to her last Music for Young Children class. Over the past two years, she learned a great deal about music in Sunbeams 1 and 2 (and so did I!), but it was time to close the book on this one. I don't know why, but Madeline started detesting piano practice around the beginning of 2011. She would complain and cry through the whole thing, every time. It was painful and we're both glad it's over! She's going to play ringette and continue Irish dancing next year, so I think it would have been too much anyway. Sophia, on the other hand, will be doing all three (piano, ringette, and dance), but I'll think she'll be fine with it, as it's no change from this year.

On Thursday evening (May 12), Neil and I took Madeline, Sophia, and Bronwyn to dance at a fundraising dinner. They performed at 6:00 p.m., so it was a bit of a scramble after I arrived home at 5:15 p.m., but we made it. I didn't do their hair at all (no wigs), so that was a big time saver. We just ensured it was off their faces. Madeline danced a beginner reel and single jig, a couple of dances she knew well at one time but hasn't practiced recently. She had a few mistakes in both and was a little upset about it backstage. Sophia and Bronwyn performed St. Patrick's Day (hard shoe) for the first time in front of an audience, as well as the slip jig and their new reel (soft shoe). Sophia had a little mistake in St. Patrick's Day, but she recovered very well and continued in sync to the end. Bernie was impressed. :)

Also, Neil helped tie rosaries at school for both Sophia and Madeline's classes, on two separate days.

PI 4/52: How things stack up

This week, Tracey encouraged us to actively create our image (rather than wait to discover something stacked). I had just made a scrapbook layout with a bunch of buttons on it, and I remembered a great photo of stacked buttons from one of the previous Picture classes. Plus, I like rainbows!

***

Sophia (grade 4) and Madeline (grade 2) received their second report cards yesterday. They are both doing very well in school. Sophia "excels" in physical education, arts education, mathematics, and science (not every single point within these categories, but most of them). Sophia has always been very physical and active, and her artistic abilities amaze me, so it was nice (and not surprising) to see these things reflected on her report card. It's also great to see the math and science items! Madeline "excels" in almost every area except physical education (she's "meeting outcomes" in that area).

***

I found this stack as is; I didn't touch a thing. (My dear husband deals with all of the lunch packing and unpacking. Yes, I'm very grateful!) Normally, I would hesitate to take a photo using the flash, but it was already dark and I wanted to capture this slice of our current life, so I took the photo and I'm glad I did. (The little one on top is used for Georgia's preschool snack.)

***

Last night, in the middle of the night, Georgia asked me what day spring starts. I said it started a couple days ago, to which she replied, "Okay, then what day is the snow going to be gone?" Other than being awakened at 4:00 a.m., I thought it was funny that she was thinking about this in the middle of the night. (What's not funny is that winter has returned! It's going to be -27 C with the wind chill tonight. Sheesh.)

***

When I put a hair net over Sophia's curly dance wig on the weekend, I was surprised and impressed with how the ringlets appeared. Only when I was looking through my photos on the computer did they strike me as looking like stacks of curls.