playdate

Roadtrip Round-Up: The Good, The Bad and the Downright Ugly

We had a fabulous time in PEI.  Even with the whackload of mosquitoes that came out to greet us.  Bloodsucking little buggers.  The dreaded roadtrip was...well...it was interesting, let's just put it that way.  There were some great moments and some truly terrible ones, but we're all alive and well and living in Toronto once again.  Since I have spent the better part of the last month obsessing over what to bring on the roadtrip to insure that we made it there without killing each other, I thought you might be curious as to what made the cut and what bit the big one.  Read on..

When Good Ideas Go Bad

Tonight’s dinner was supposed to be highlighted by a lovely maple-glazed squash dish, but the whole thing turned into a bit of a snafu (make that, snafood), and I had to go for backup.

No, I did not order a pizza. Sometimes, that is indeed my backup plan, and you know what? Sometimes that’s my only plan. But tonight was different. I was in the mood to cook, I was ready to cook, and because it’s Farmers’ Market day, I actually had lots of fresh ingredients on hand.

The Name Game

kitten kitten bo bitten, fee fi fo fitten, mee my mo mitten, kitten...

By now, my own bundle, so far known as The Bun, should have arrived. And hopefully, been named. I say hopefully because, well, around our house, the naming of babies is a long, arduous process. And other bloggers I know say it was tough for them, too. So how do you explain this to the sibling-to-be who may, as Pumpkinpie did, have her own ideas about being involved in the naming? How do you explain why a name is so important? Well, if you're me... you rely on someone else. Someone more articulate. Someone published.

Here are a few good stories about how we get and adapt to the names our parents choose for use.

Booming Apples

We have all had a boombox; that portable radio that we dragged along with us to a friend’s barbeque or to the cottage. They started off being cumbersome and only had the radio and cassette as your source options. Soon you could get the CD version but it still came with a cassette player (or sometimes two) even though the popularity of tape recordings was fading fast.

That's Edutainment!

I am a little obsessed with Sesame Street these days.  Maybe it's the whiff of back-to-school in the air, but I want - need! - my TV to have a little more education value.  It's a show that I remember fondly from my youth, and one which has survived the fickle tastes of TV consumers to become the longest running US television show in history - November marked its 38th anniversary.  With two kids under the age of 6, it probably comes as no surprise that we're all over Sesame around here.  My preschooler loves Play with Me Sesame and Elmo's World.  The Baby, if he could talk, would no doubt say that he prefers the old skool Sesame episodes. 

More importantly, though, I love Sesame. 

Procrastinate, Appreciate, Salivate

So, in the interest of not failing, I have decided to put off the torture task that is the Elimination Diet until after the U.S. election after I’m dead after an upcoming weekend at my in-laws. I may be forced willing to give up half the foods that comprise my diet in my own home, but I’m not willing to stand at the stove stirring my millet and kale gruel while everybody else is chowing down on my father-in-law’s amazing grilled pork chops, corn and beer. Can’t do it.

This will be a tough challenge for me, I know. Being a reformed picky eater, I vowed never to stop myself from eating any foods so long as they were healthy, and I’ve never ever been on a diet of any kind. Sacrifice is clearly not my forte.

monkeying around

We don't have enough art in our house.  And while I know what I like, my husband has a hard time finding anything he wants to look at daily for the next few years. (Ahem. Excluding me.)

I was looking on-line at some posters, trying to hash out some idea of what to put in the livingroom, when B whirled, his eyes shining. 'I know! Let's put up some of your pictures!'

I lurvvvve my camera, but I am an amateur photographer at best.  I was skeptical. 'Really?'

And he nodded. Well, dayum. I wish he'd told me that several years ago!

Off we went to look at the trillions of photos I'm holding captive on my hard drive.

We found several we thought were nice - the kids, scenery, sky shots - but they lost their lustre and a lot of the energy they had once they were printed out.

It was time to spruce them up.

God is in the Picture Books

Misterpie and I really haven't discussed how we will approach the topic of faith with Pumpkinpie. I was raised with no religious education at all, while his family were church-goers, but he did not continue on his own steam, so it is not something that we make part of our daily life, by any stretch.

Still, it is an important part of the lives of many, a major force in the world today and in the past, and something that I think speaks to a child's wonder about the world around them. It's not something I want to ignore or dismiss, however awkward I find my own unplumbed feelings. Being without a real denomination of my own, though, I am interested in talking in broader terms about the aspects of religion that I think are common across a number of major faiths, and that seek to make us better people. This is about the depth that I am comfortable with myself, and I think it leaves the topic open for further exploration as she grows older.