Wednesday, February 29, 2012

Oscar, from a preschooler's perspective

Like many other people, on Sunday night we turned the TV on and watched the Academy Awards. I wasn't so entertained, but that's how it is. J doesn't understand what the Academy Awards are. As far as she's concerned, the only movie out there worth watching is the "Car Kids' Show" aka Cars 2.

Part way through the show, after a particular couple had been shown a few times this conversation happened:

J: Mommy, why is that sick lady on the TV?

Me: What sick lady?

J: The one on the TV.

Me: (looking at the screen and seeing some presenter who is a man and doesn't look sick) Which lady?

J: The one with the man who needs a bath.

Guess who J was referring to...she was pretty accurate in her description!

Friday, February 10, 2012

The half-way point: 101 in 1001

Time for a 101 in 1001 update...I figured I'd write this post back at day 501, also known as January 28, 2012, but somehow that didn't happen.

Today is day 513. Not too far off.

At this point I've managed to complete 41 of my 101 things and there are 22 (I think) in progress. Which is pretty good I think. Some of the in progress items are big and some are almost complete, so I think I might be on track to get to 101. It might be close though. Thankfully I have over a year, so even some of the tough ones should be within reach.

I am a bit surprised that I have made over 50 new recipes already - some have made it into regular rotation and some will never be consumed at our house again. It was choosing recipes and I am still trying new stuff all the time - I may or may not blog about them, we'll see.

Our home is more home-like than it was 513 days ago. I've crossed off a few things and have made a lot of progress on others. There is a pretty good chance we'll be moving before all of the 1001 days have passed, so some of those goals might have to change. Like, if we do sell before we get a back splash installed in the kitchen, that goal will have to change. I can't imagine the new owners will want me to randomly show up and put tile up in their kitchen so I can cross something off a list on my blog. But you never know...

I'm enjoying this challenge immensely! It was a great way to motivate myself to do some of those things I've been putting off for a while and pushing myself a little harder...

Not sure if any of you are still out there, but if you are and you're doing a 101 in 1001 list, how is your list going?

Thursday, February 09, 2012

The Tiniest Girl Guide

19.3 Go on a 10 "adventures"
66. Take J camping, preferably in a tent
68. Take a holiday with J only


Okay, so technically she's not a Girl Guide...she's too young to even be a Spark, but J got to come with me to Guide camp this past weekend and she loved it!

waiting for the bus

The camp is up on the Sunshine Coast, so we had to take two buses from our place to the ferry where we met the group. Then on the other side we took a bus to camp. J loves riding the bus. Waiting in line? Not so much. She was a bit hungry, so she got to have a treat...rice krispie squares are great!

what are you doing to my sandwich?


lighting it on fire
lighting it on fire?

On Saturday, the girls tried a new way of making lunch - milk carton grilled cheese! I vaguely remember this from when I was a Guide - you make your sandwich, wrap it in three layers of foil, stuff it into a milk carton and either light the milk carton (which is what we did) or drop it into the fire. J wasn't too sure about this, but in the end she had a very nice grilled cheese. I'm pretty sure when we did it, it was a layer of foil, a layer of damp newspaper and another layer of foil. We cooked a lot in the fire when I was a kid - the first night of camp we usually all brought tinfoil dinners - frozen veggies, a piece of chicken, and some potatoes and a bit of butter in a foil packet with newspaper and more foil wrapped around it...We also did s'mores and banana boats in the fire.

deep concentration

Saturday night the girls decorated their own t-shirt. J figured she had died and gone to heaven. Not only was she allowed to use permanent markers, she was encouraged to draw all over a piece of clothing and no one was going to ask her to stop!

shirt colouring

Plus she got to sit with the big kids and pretend to be one too! When you're three, this is a very big deal - many smiles for small faces!

cheerio queen

Sunday morning, J took her massive bag of Cheerios and came for a walk with some of the girls. We don't buy dry cereal very often - we eat a lot of oatmeal in the winter and smoothies when it's warmer - so J figured this was a pretty special treat!

can we stay longer
can we stay longer?

I love this camp - it's such a peaceful and beautiful place and I really didn't want to go home on Sunday. J had a great time, but she was ready to see her dad. We had a few tears because there were "no boys allowed" at camp and she wanted her dad to be there. We're talking about going back again for a longer stay (without Alex), but she wants to go to the Sunshine Coast with him too (maybe a little vacation this summer?)

getting the big kids to take her for a ride

One of the advantages of being little is that the big kids take really good care of you. J didn't even had to ask for a ride in the wagon, the girls suggested it. (Check out the J-designed shirt from the night before)

hiking to the road

J walked up to the highway from the camp site (she walked in under her own steam on Friday too) and didn't complain once about the long walk - I think it's under 1 km. I was quite proud of her as some of the girls complained the whole way.

going to see daddy soon
going to see Daddy soon!

bus riding

On the bus back to the ferry terminal, J got to sit in her favourite seat ever - the window seat at the very back of the bus!

giant rice krispie square

We waited for Alex and had a warm drink and a snack (more rice krispie squares!) and J chatted almost non-stop about all the fun stuff she did this weekend and the big-girl kids and the other leaders and the ocean. I'm pretty sure she had a great time! I can't wait to do it again (maybe next time we can sleep in a tent...)

Wednesday, February 08, 2012

Cousin date

A long time ago, before Christmas, Alex and I took some time off work to do pre-Christmas stuff like shop and bake and decorate, but we also figured we'd do some fun stuff. J and her cousin Baby C love playing together and since it was kind of wintery (which means wet) in Vancouver, we decided we'd go to the aquarium together.

j bubbles

This bubble windows are in what used to be the hands on section for kids. I think they had made the area into a waiting area for the theatre (the hands on stuff had moved...check out the kid on the phone below!), but the windows were still there. The girls had a great time watching them - the windows change colour too!

c bubbles

Baby C (who isn't really a baby anymore and will actually be a big sister in a few weeks) has never been to the aquarium before. She loved the wide open spaces and basically followed J around and did whatever J did.

hello

J loved this phone the very first time we brought her to the aquarium and apparently she still loves it. We had a hard time convincing her to put it down so we could check out some more of the animals.

backflips

J sat on Alex's shoulders and was totally mesmerized by the dolphin show. C ran away from her mom as fast as she could. I think she took in all of the outdoor exhibits in less than four minute!

beluga

And of course a visit to the aquarium would not be complete if we didn't visit the belugas! J wears her beluga shirt every time we go...I don't know what we'll do when she outgrows it!