A Full House and Full Hearts

We've enjoyed having my Mother- Father- and Sister-in-Law visiting from Vancouver for the past 10 days.  I am blessed with amazing in-laws, a gift for which I am often thankful.  It has been so nice to have the house full of people, all enjoying each others company over the past week.  Jeff dropped them off at the airport early this morning, and the house seems suddenly empty in their absence.

We had a great time hanging out together over the past week. We had a fairly leisurely pace, but still did a lot. A few trips were made to Stony Swamp to feed the birds ... this time to the trail beside the Wild Bird Hospital.  There were a number of walks around the neighbourhood, some with Maya riding her bike.  Jeff, SIL and I went out to Saunders Farm for their haunted activities one night.  My parents came for dinner one night, and we ordered in Chinese on another night (I'm embarrassed to say we were finally checking out our local Chinese Take-out after 3 1/2 years in the neighbourhood!) My MIL helped me sew together the curtain panels we'd purchased for Maya's room. In the midst were the usual routines of school and swimming lessons, of course.  And the culminating point, yesterday, was the joint birthday party for the girls; Maya turned 4 on Thursday and Chloe turns 1 tomorrow, so we had the whole extended family over for a birthday lunch complete with hot dogs and 2 birthday cakes.

It is a joy to watch my children with their Grandparents.  My father-in-law in particular absolutely loves babies and small children.  His mission on this trip, following Chloe's first steps last week, was to teach her to walk. Within the first 24 hours he had her taking 2 or 3 steps at a time from the coffee table to his arms and back.  By last night she was regularly taking up to 5 or 6 steps at a time, sometimes un-coached and we can truly say she is now walking. My MIL is so gentle with my children, and they both clearly love her.  Did I mention how blessed we are?

The girls have loved having so many adults available to play with and entertain them and I foresee some Grandparent withdrawal over the next few days.

Feeding the birds -- Jack Pine Trail

One of the best things about the community in which we live is its proximity to the Stony Swamp area.  Part of the National Capital Greenbelt, this protected area is full of walking trails where you can experience different flora and fauna as well as geology and sometimes a little bit of history.  You can check out a map of the various trails (and parking locations) here.

Our favourite is the Jack Pine Trail.  There are lots of birds and small animals such as chipmunks and squirrels to be seen in the forested areas, and the boardwalks across the several beaver ponds often have ducks or turtles and even on occasion a muskrat to see, depending on the time of year and the water level. The chickadees will eat bird seed right from your hand and the ducks are always happy to have you toss them some bird seed or stale bread. 

Monday afternoon the sun broke through the fall dampness and we decided it was a perfect time to head out for some fresh air and family time. We parked at P9, loaded Chloe into the backpack carrier and headed out on the trail.  We had barely left the parking lot behind when I noticed the chickadees flitting up to perch on nearby branches and watching us intently -- clearly they were interested in whether or not we had food for them.  They're a little more skittish in summer when food is plentiful, but this time of year when they're storing up for winter they are eager to feed from the hands of visitors -- even small and wiggly children.  We had lots of fun standing still, cupping birdseed in our outstretched hands and waiting to see which birds would choose to come land on our hands, and which would wait for us to give up and leave a little pile of seed on the ground for them as we continued on our way. I was impressed by Maya's patience and captivated by the delight and wonder on her face as birds came to land on her outstretched hands. 

Chloe loved watching the birds Daddy tried to feed, but they gave her a wider berth as she was a bit too noisy and wiggly for most of them. 

There were many ducks at the first boardwalk pond, enough to quarrel over the seeds we tossed them. (I forgot to take pictures ... oops.) After that, the trail took us through more forest where Maya looked for chipmunks and squirrels, and pointed out all the birch trees she saw, and then eventually to two marshier boardwalks.  Maya was disappointed she couldn't see any frogs, but the usual frog spot was largely obscured by cat tails this time. 

We recommend you check out this walking trail if you're in the area.  Maya is able to walk the approximately 3 Km loop herself (she's just about to turn 4), but you could make it shorter by just walking in from the parking lot as far as the first boardwalk and then returning back out the same way.  (There is a shorter loop you can do in the trail, but it misses the duck pond boardwalk.)  The trail is also navigable with a jogging-style stroller.  If you want a longer walk, the Jack Pine trail connects to trail #26, which adds a long loop over to P11 on West Hunt Club road and then back again.

Long-distance walk

My in-laws live in Vancouver. (For some people, having their in-laws thousands of miles away would be a blessing. As it turns out, my in-laws are wonderful and loving people whom I'd love to have living a lot closer.) My husband is very close to his parents and I know he regrets that his move to Ottawa following university took him so far away from them. To bridge the distance, we spend a lot of time talking on the telephone, e-mailing photos and videos, and videoconferencing.

My mom emigrated to Canada from Europe all by herself as a young adult. She hadn't planned to stay permanently but she met and married my dad and more than 40 years later she's still here. Growing up, I remember her writing a letter to her parents every week, full of the details of our lives. On very special occasions, there would be an expensive long distance call. I remember my mom's excitement about these calls, but also that she always seemed a little sad when the call was over. I know she wishes we could have had closer ties to her family while growing up.

This week, 11 month old Chloe took her first steps.  Chloe and Jeff were playing in the living room and videoconferencing with Grampy using our little netbook.  Chloe was standing with Daddy when Grampy held out his arms to her on the screen and encouraged her to walk to him.  And Chloe took 2 little steps from our living room straight to her Grampy, thousands of miles away.

Chloe hasn't taken any more steps since then.  Maybe walking to Vancouver was a little exhausting.

Chloe stands, but isn't ready to take any steps on her own yet.

Eye surgery

I haven't forgotten about blogging, just been busy recovering from laser eye surgery to correct my vision.  I've had it planned since last winter, and the date finally arrived last week.  It has had mixed results.  Everything went smoothly with the right eye and my distance vision is already much improved, even though I'm still in the midst of the healing process.  Sadly, there was a complication with the left eye.  When they cut the flap in the cornea it was too thin, meaning they couldn't lift it to proceed with the actual laser correction part for fear of tearing the cornea and leaving a hole in the centre.  There's no damage done, and it will heal normally.  In 3 months I will be able to have the vision corrected in that eye using a different technique -- one that doesn't require cutting the cornea, but which will involve a much longer healing time.  I was remarkably calm about it all at the time, due to the sedative I'd taken just before the surgery to calm my nervousness about the process.  And by the time the sedative was well worn off the following day I'd already had a chance to process the initial disappointment.  So all in all I've taken it pretty well (I think Jeff was much more upset about it) but it still sucks.  In the meantime, reading is still difficult, especially on the computer screen and will likely continue to be challenging for at least a week, so it is likely to be quiet around here for the next little while.

Book Recommendation: Stellaluna

Preface:  I love storybooks.  Not exactly a shocker given my calling as an elementary teacher.  I'm a sucker for a good story and/or great illustrations (the two don't always go together).  I frequently get asked to recommend good books to parents.  So every so often I'll share one of my favourites, as well as some ideas for things to think and talk about when you engage in the book with (or without!)your child.


One of my favourite storybooks is Janelle Cannon's Stellaluna. In Stellaluna a baby fruit bat is separated from her mother following an owl attack and is adopted by a family of baby birds.  The book follows Stellaluna as she struggles to fit in with her new bird family and ultimately learns some lessons about friendship and about being yourself.


The illustrations in the book are beautiful and very realistic with only the lightest anthropomorphic touch. Although the book is a fictional story it includes lots of information about the habits and habitat of fruit bats and it has an afterword which provides a little more background.  The language of the book is rich, right from the opening "In a warm and sultry forest far, far away, there once lived a mother fruit bat and her new baby."

I started reading this book to my daughter when she was about 3 years old, and she enjoyed the story but it was a little long for her attention span, so I'd really say it's probably for 4 years and up if you're reading it to them and about a grade 2 or 3 reading level if they're going to read it on their own. 

Some things to think about as you read Stellaluna together:

• Before you read, talk about what you already know about bats and how you feel about them. (ie. are they spooky? cute?)  Read the story, then see if you still feel the same way.
• What other stories does Stellaluna remind you of? How are they similar? (Hint: for me, The Ugly Duckling immediately springs to mind.  But kids often find all sorts of connections, including to TV shows or computer games).
• Talk about fiction and non-fiction, then try to decide together which category this story belongs in and why you feel that way.
• Hop on the Internet and search for some photos of fruit bats.  Look at how they compare to the illustrations in the book.

Job Jar

Jeff is taking 9 weeks of parental leave this fall, so for 2 months both of us are home with the girls.  We have a long list of jobs we've been saving to get done while he isn't working, and after only 2 weeks we've already plowed through most of it.  (I say "we" when really Jeff has done most of the work, while I've kept the kids occupied).  Jobs done so far include: Garage wall crack fixed, basement ceiling tiles replaced, rotten window frames fixed, furnace ducts sealed, yard cleaned up, and dryer venting replaced.  We also had the furnace replaced and have booked an appointment to have more insulation added to the attic. 
All this while we've also had lots of time to spend with the kids, either as a whole family or with Jeff and I taking turns so the other one gets a break.  Despite the fast pace of work getting done around the house, it still feels like we're getting our batteries recharged, which we've desperately needed as it's been an adjustment getting used to having 2 kids this past year.
Jobs remaining on our list include landscaping the yard, painting the windows and hopefully stripping and restaining the deck.
What items are in your job jar?

Surprise Guests

We had unannounced (and uninvited) guests in our home the other day.

Around 4pm, my husband was watching tv when we heard a snuffling and scratching at the open window behind him.  Lo and behold, there was a raccoon perched on the window ledge trying to come in the window!  He started calling for Older Daughter and I to come and take a look before it could leave.  But as I approached the family room via the kitchen, I noticed there was another furry visitor IN THE KITCHEN! As Husband scrambled to get older daughter out of the bathroom and down the hall to see this, and I scrambled for the camera, I saw the tip of another furry tail around the corner of the island.  Yes, folks, this made raccoon number THREE.

At this point, Husband shooed them out of the kitchen back through the (torn open) sliding screen door. And they did need shooing.  We had not exactly been quiet or calm so far in this little adventure and 10-month-old Younger Daughter, who is terrified of cats, clearly felt that raccoons belong to the same category of scary creatures and had been screaming herself horse.  (Since they were slightly larger than she is and have teeth and claws, I can't say that I blame her.)  Once out of the house and on the back deck the raccoons didn't seem in any hurry to depart.  Eventually Husband shooed them again quite loudly, and they moseyed on over to the neighbours yards, checking out other backdoors and compost bins in the hope of finding something to eat.

But it didn't stop there.  No sirree.  About 8pm that night when Older Daughter was already in bed asleep they made a return.  I guess we were naive, but we had re-opened the sliding screen door to get some fresh evening air in the house, having no expectation that they might return.  Younger Daughter, enjoying a snack of cheerios in her high chair, sounded the alarm by crying at the top of her lungs.  I admit I wasn't too speedy to respond, figuring she was just telling me she was done her snack and wanted out, but as her vocalizations reached panic levels I turned to the kitchen in time to see the third bandit raccoon scramble through the broken screen.  Two of them were snuffling around as though tracking down the food my children had let fall from the table and the third was headed in the direction of the garbage can under the sink. 

Once again they were shooed outside, but this time with the glass door shut, they continued to sit outside the door and paw at it, trying to get back in again.  They weren't bothered at all by us banging on the glass or gesturing for them to go away, so Husband eventually threw open the door and emerged roaring and gesticulating at them in such a way that the lights of several neighbours flicked on, to see what was happening in the yard.  He got the water hose ready to give them a good blast, but this time they had wandered off into the dark.

We haven't seen them back in the few days since then, but apparently our experience wasn't uncommon.  Our next door neighbour has since told us that the day before they had pushed open their sliding door and made a meal fo the cat food.  Needless to say, we're now keeping the door shut!

First Week of School

My baby started school this week.  It seems like just the other day I held my tiny girl for the very first time, but somehow nearly 4 years have flown by.  Naturally, we've been preparing her for kinder all summer, talking about what to expect and I had really hoped that the drop-off in the supervised kinder play area would go well, but when it actually DID go smoothly (she barely glanced at us as we walked away), it turns out I was the one unprepared.  I definitely had to fight back some tears as I watched her proudly walk off with her teacher.  She had a fabulous first day, and has looked forward to returning every day this week.  She thinks her French teacher is hysterically funny and she enjoys playing with kids her age every day, although she already says recess is her favourite time!

First post

Breaking the ice here with a quick message to test things out. So far, I've been a blog follower, not a writer.  But it's hard to feel completely connected among the blogs I regularly follow when the communication is mostly one-sided. I've had the kernel of an idea for my own blog in mind for quite a while.  Today is the day to do something about it.  I'm not exactly sure how it will take shape over the next little while, but I see it touching on my life as a mom and teacher, hence Teachable Moments.

Oddly nervous, but ... pressing "publish"!