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Wrapping up her birthday

Published October 8, 2008 China , Family , Food , Friends , Sport Leave a Comment

A12 turned twelve during our trip to China, but the party happened just a week ago.  Our children have birthday parties every second year if they wish.  Even while we were in China we were thinking about the party.  While shopping in Shanghai A12 picked up a few things to give to her guests.  Originally the party was to have a China theme but it became an Olympic party instead.

The guests were asked to pick a country and come with some representation like a mascot or flag or maybe dress in the country’s sporting colours.  Australia, Canada, Italy, USA, Great Britain, Botswana, Mexico, Israel and Argentina were represented.  The games were not all athletic, which was just as well, as it turned out to be a grey rainy day.  We had an obstacle course, balloon volleyball, an “eatathlon”, 1-100 sprint, ball toss, card relay, and a triathlon including horseriding, weight lifting and hurdles!

In most events gold, silver and bronze stickers where given out to be stuck on the medal tally chart.  I was very happy to see that every country placed in several events!  All competitors received a chocolate medal during the closing ceremony.  The athletes ate chicken, chips and salad together before consuming birthday cake made by L14 and decorated with the Olympic rings.

Newton and the Skate Park

Published September 30, 2008 Homeschooling , Sport 4 Comments


Group of Four spent the last two sessions together working on their skateboarding skills.  When we first decided to schedule this unit I must admit I was apprehensive.  I wanted it for B7′s sake; he is very keen to improve, but I just didn’t know how it would pan out.  I wasn’t sure that the non-skaters would be happy and I had no idea who would do the instructing.  I needn’t have worried.  The mother of three boys was in charge and she did a fabulous job.  We met at a local skate park and spent the first hour of each session learning the physics.  She took us through Newton’s laws of motion, using the skateboards whenever possible.

During the second hour she had invited Kevin, a skateboarder with a passion for encouraging children and inspiring confidence.  He spent some time teaching everyone about the parts of the skateboards and took them through some basic maneuvers before encouraging them to try the ramps.  There were gentle slopes and steeper slopes and Kevin was there to guide, instruct, even hold their hands if they wanted.

I was amazed at the progress B7 made in the first week.  He took the low ramp with no problems and then with some initial help mastered the second ramp.  When we returned the second week he considered the steepest ramp.

Kevin encouraged and advised him.

I held my breath and he did it.   Again and again.  He wiped out and got back up again and did it again.

(Click on photos to enlarge)

The good news

Published September 5, 2008 Sport 2 Comments

The good news is that when I saw the gastroenterologist yesterday, he had the results of my most recent blood test.  My ferritin level, which was 4 when I was diagnosed with Celiac disease, is now 82!  This is no doubt due to my three iron infusions so it will be interesting to see if I can maintain this level or continue to increase this level without further infusions.  I definitely have more energy than I did six months ago;  I even ran four mornings this week, and by the fourth it didn’t hurt as much.

More good news – we won our first game in the end of season playoffs last night 25 to 2.  The tournament runs through this weekend and the beginning of next week, then softball will be over for another year.

Summer Daze

Published September 1, 2008 Family , Friends , Homeschooling , Sport Leave a Comment

Today is the last day of the summer holidays, but it is definitely not the last day of summer. I keep telling people that summer could last another month or so yet. Wishful thinking, I know. I don’t know where all the summer days have gone. Even though we were only in China two weeks, it seemed to affect my whole summer. The weather also threw me out, it rained almost everyday through July and half of August. After the extreme heat of China the mild days here were pleasant but not the summer days we are used to.

On returning from China A12 and L14 threw themselves into studying for their music theory exams. For four weeks they spent large chunks of every day working, L14 did Grade 2 and A12 Grade 1. I think B7 found this a bit tough as he had already missed their company for two weeks only to find them always working on cadences, scales and Italian terms. They did take a break on the August long weekend, which included L14′s birthday, and we all visited our friends at their cottage in the Laurentians.

After the exams were finally over they both breathed sighs of relief and then realised there were only three weeks of holidays left. B7 and A12 went to a soccer camp run by SU at our church which they thoroughly enjoyed. Both came home each day hot, sunburnt and happy. L14 and I fitted in several games of tennis, some swimming and a little shopping. Throughout these weeks of theory and sport I steadily sorted and cleaned through many rooms of the house. I also spent hours planning for the coming school year.

As has been our custom since we came to Canada we went out for an “End of School Dinner”. We had not eaten out together since I was diagnosed with celiac disease so we decided to try one of the restaurants recommended by the Ottawa Celiace Association. It was Indian and the food was delicious. We all chose something to share and I was able to eat just about everything. I had prepared certificates for the children as I have in past years. The awards can be for excellent results, considerable improvement or consistent effort. I also had movie gift certificates for them each this year and they bought a cd for Andrew and I. As in past years it was a very enjoyable night.

We returned to our friends’ cottage for a week of swimming, kayaking, card games and more school planning (the mums of course, not the kids!) It was very relaxing, as it always is; the days were sunny and warm, the nights crisp and the company refreshing. Both families returned to celebrate H’s birthday, which was a fancy dress party. L14 made alterations to a “Queen Guinevere” dress I had made years ago and turned it into one of the Princess Bride’s costumes. A12 created an Arabian nights style costume to be Aravis from “The Horse and His Boy”. (I’ll try and post a photo tomorrow)

This past week has disappeared as I have tried to get the house to rights, attended several planning meetings and worked on details for the upcoming Stellae Boreales retreat. Tomorrow we begin a new year and according the levels here in Canada we have a highschooler, a junior highschooler and an elementary school student. I think everyone is looking forward to the year’s challenges, the first one being getting out of bed at a reasonable time tomorrow morning!

Playing

Published June 7, 2008 Family , Music , Sport 1 Comment

Today was hot; our first taste of summer for the year. At 9:00am we were on the field warming up for our first game and it was already 25° C. By the time we finished our second game in the early afternoon it was 30° C. At this point Andrew and I had to leave but our team stayed on to play in the tier B final. I haven’t heard  whether they won or not.

Thankfully we did not have to turn up at the Senior Solo Recital in our hot, sweaty gear. We all arrived refreshed to enjoy L13′s three pieces for her Book 8 graduation, A11′s performance of the Souvenir de Sarasate and the rest of the recital. It is wonderful every year to see how the girls have progressed and matured in their playing. It doesn’t seem all that long ago when they were watching the senior students and wondering when they were going to play those hard pieces!

book 8 graduation

Soccer, softball, swimming and sleep

Published June 3, 2008 Sport Leave a Comment

A11 and B7 are playing soccer again this year. They both play at the same time and place, two nights a week. We like the way it is run, they practise for the first twenty minutes and then play for forty minutes; fun, but not high pressure. Both children are really enjoying it and A11′s team is undefeated after nine games, they have had a few ties but no losses. B7′s team has had tasted victory and defeat but they won tonight and that’s what matters to B!

Softball started for Andrew and I the same week as soccer but we have had only one win so far. This weekend is the first tournament, which clashes once again with the violin Senior Solo Recital. We will make it to both but may turn up to the recital in our softball gear! L13 graduates from Book 8 this year which means she performs three pieces at the recital rather than one and receives a graduation medal.

I have been swimming three or four times a week for two months now and, apart from the “getting out of bed to go part” I am enjoying it. The motivation was a very sore back, which though improved, is still giving me some trouble. I have been able to increase the number of laps I do and decrease the amount of time they take.

As I mentioned in my post about my celiac disease diagnosis I have very low iron at present. Low iron often equals low energy. I knew I was pretty tired when I fell asleep in the middle of a science lesson with the girls! I asked a question and then… silence. The girls wondered. Then I woke up, it was a very brief snooze, a matter of seconds actually, but I realised that I had no idea if they had answered the question. I checked whether I had even asked a question. Apparently I had.

Last week I had a quick nap in the orthodontist waiting room and a longer one while receiving an iron infusion. I was in a comfy reclining chair for three hours with an IV in my arm, it was the perfect time for a siesta. Tne next day I tried not to fall asleep while we were watching our history video, I’m sure I only missed a minute or two, but the couch was so soft and I was so tired… and well, you get the idea.

Snow days

Published February 13, 2008 Friends , Homeschooling , Sport 2 Comments

As I have mentioned we have loads of snow this year. This has meant quite a few snow days for the school kids but our children don’t seem to get snow days. We do have days in the snow, however. Ottawa is in the middle of Winterlude, the winter festival held in February each year. One of the attractions is the giant snow slides. So group of four headed to the snow slides last week.

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Last Friday afternoon we tried a new location for skiing. It was a wooded area not far from here. Wind had not dislodged the fresh snow from the trees so every tree was still and laden with white. The children skied along discussing how it looked just like the snow scenes from The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. (now why doesn’t that surprise me?)

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We did not head down this hill on our X-country skis, by the way.

Wintry conditions

Published February 2, 2008 Family , Friends , Music , Sport 1 Comment

A snow storm blew in mid morning yesterday and continued for the rest of the day leaving us with a foot or more of snow to deal with. We were out most of the day for our history lesson, followed by cross country skiing. Skiing in amongst the trees kept us from the bearing the brunt of the blowing snow but by the time we finished my hair was two big white clumps of snow. Our homeward trip was a little slippery in places; by this time a lot of snow had fallen and the van had trouble getting going again after it stopped at stop signs.

This morning we woke to bright sunshine but a white, white world. Four of us did some tag team shoveling in order to get out to music lessons and orchestra. Although we live very close to a main road, our own street is often not plowed until well after the surrounding streets. Once out of the driveway I immediately became stuck in the street. Andrew and a couple of neighbours helped push me into the “ruts” so I could drive fifty metres and get stuck again where our street joins the main road! They pushed me out again and we were fine until I attempted to return in the afternoon.

On entering our street I was happy to see the plow had been by, but as I turned the corner I realised the plow was only a few houses ahead of me and the cleared space in the road was only one car wide. I reversed out again, ran an errand, giving the plow time to finish and Andrew time to clear the entry to our driveway. All this detail may seem quite unnecessary to those to live in this city too, but I am still amazed by the whole “snow removal routine” which must be put into practice every time a storm hits. So it is for those who are have never experienced what is now a familiar part of my winter.

After rehearsal were over we met up with a group of people Andrew works with to skate on the canal. It has been open for just over a week and was full of people. The weather was great for skating not too cold and not too warm, just around -4°C. As it was a family skate, I did not feel too bad about my shaky style, there was a 5 year old with the same technique. We spent an hour skating before enjoying a potluck dinner and heading home. The night was not over for the girls who are playing at the Viennese Ball tonight. Stellae Boreales has two time slots finishing at midnight!

Sunrise swim

Published December 12, 2007 Family , Sport 1 Comment

This morning I finally got back to lap swimming after three weeks off with a cold. It was a bit of a struggle to get out of bed and if I’d had to clear the driveway first I probably wouldn’t have bothered. But A11 accompanied me and it felt good to be swimming again.

After several hours of snow last night the trees were laden. It was rather pleasant to watch the sun rise as I swam up and down the pool. Through the floor to ceiling windows I could see it make gold edged silhouettes of the snow covered branches. When we left the pool it was -1° outside, not cold enough to freeze our wet hair!

Bikes and violins

Published September 15, 2007 Family , Music , Sport Leave a Comment

This weekend, like last weekend has involved hours of violin for the girls. I have just returned home from the performance group rehearsal but they have gone off with another family to play at a fundraising gala. Yesterday they both completed their auditions for the Ottawa Youth Orchestra Academy. The Academy has many ensembles, the two largest being the Ottawa Youth Orchestra and the Ottawa Junior Youth Orchestra.

B6′s weekend so far seems to have been spent on his bike. Across the road is a boy his age, next to him a couple more boys a bit older and down the road another boy. Just lately all five of them (plus A11, when she can) have been riding their bikes together. I’m not sure why it hadn’t happened earlier, but the result is a pretty worn out boy at the end of the day. When he is called in for meals he proudly tells us the latest tricks and feats he has mastered.

Oh, and by the way, you probably gathered we didn’t win our softball semi-final. To quote one of our players, “We played a very lacklustre game.” So that’s it for this year.

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