Vanity

A good friend of mine is in the midst of chemo. She cut her hair short to prepare her kiddos for the potential hair loss that comes with chemo. A group of us girls decided to chop our hair short to support her.
This week I learned that I am terribly vain about my hair.
I love having long hair. I love the feel of it swishing from side to side in a ponytail, I love how Simon snuggles into it and how Claire wraps her chubby baby fingers around it while nursing. The last time I had short hair (the shortest it's ever been is just above shoulder length) was when I was 15.
I have basically had the same hair cut for 17 years. My hair style had grown into an eleventh grader. Yeesh. My biggest style changes were growing out bangs and long layers.
Last night, Lindsey P. from Sheers (awesome hairdresser if you're looking - there's my plug) chopped off my locks.
I still don't recognize myself in the mirror. My head feels light. Washing and brushing my hair feels ridiculous and my neck gets chilly. I've also realized that I have really wavy hair.
It'll grow back. Until it does, I'm going to embrace this changed look.
I know that we made my friend smile and that was the point.
(I'll post pictures when my kids are in bed - neither want to sleep this afternoon... sigh - too much of a shock for them, I guess!)

Outside

"Outside, outside, outside" is Simon's mantra every day. Rain or shine, all the little guy wants to do is run wild in the backyard or explore the many fabulous parks our fine little city has to offer. His favorite activities involve picking berries off the vine (and storing them in his cache in our apple tree), picking dandelions and playing in the mud or dirt. He comes inside covered in dirt, mud, grass stains and he has the grimiest little face and hands. Good thing we have baths and do laundry.
Claire's a pretty good sport. She's a happy baby in the Bjorn and she's trying new things like the slide and the swing. Mostly, she just wants to sit on the lawn and chew on pieces of grass or other things that make her way into her grabby hands.

Unruly

When Trevor and I first bought our house, I spent the summer inside painting and organizing our nest. I completely ignored our yard until August... BIG mistake.
The next summer, I was much, much more dutiful in my yard tending. I changed a few things around the yard, I resurrected our crappy (literally - the previous owner had a big dog and multiple cats) grass and I planted tons of perennials.
For our third summer, I enjoyed yard work and took tender care of my little plants.
Then I had Simon.
We spent a lot of time in our back yard, Simon and I. We sat on our picnic blanket and watched the wind blow the leaves of our huge tree around. If I tried any yard work in his presence, his shrieks of despair convinced me to stop. Other then a few frantic weeding sprees and some disgruntled petunias, my yard was largely ignored.
Last summer, Simon slept every afternoon. Ideally, this would have been the perfect time for me to do yard work and, I did, on occasion. Usually, I just slept. My pregnancy with Claire and mornings with a demanding toddler took all my energy and I desperately needed my afternoon naps. This led to scraggly pansies and an outbreak of Creeping Charlie in both my front and back grass.
This year, I am taming the unruly! I have a great baby monitor and Claire is just going to get better at sleeping during the afternoons. (Hopefully, she'll get better at nights too so, I won't need to nap anymore either).
Look out, dandelions. Enjoy your last days, Creeping Charlie. Have one final foray, stinkweed. I am going to take my yard back!!!

Today, I finally got to my front yard. Ironically, when Trevor was cutting our grass earlier, our neighbour across the street complimented us on how cheerful and nice our yard was. (Thank the yellow tulips and the fact that Creeping Charlie can't be seen from across the street.) Thanks... I guess.

Laughing Through My Days

Kid, you make me laugh! I love being your Momma!

6 Months

Dear Claire,
You're six-months old today... and you're miserable. Poor girly - those 2 front bottom teeth are giving you grief. Your happy place right now is cuddling your Mama and gnawing on my shoulder. Not the best way to celebrate. (I caught myself telling you not to be such a "baby" about the pain and then I remembered that you are a baby - yeesh... silly Mama!)
You're talking a lot more. You think Fergus is your boyfriend and try your best to lure him over to you. You adore Simon (and have LOTS to tell him). You can stand (with support). You chew everything. You eat 3 bowls of cereal and fruits/veggies a day. You still get up 2-3 times at night (sigh). You roll like a champ and you're trying to creep. You play strange which makes a lot of people sad. You have a reverse hair mullet (tons of hair in the front and everything rubbed off in the back). You're wearing 9 month clothing. You still LOVE to be a part of the action.
Claire, you are also adorable. Your big us convince us to do whatever you want. You're patient with me as I look after your dictator of a brother. :) Your face lights up when Daddy walks in the room.
We love you, Little Miss Sunshine!

Transfer

I'm totally bummed to announce that I received a job transfer this week. Being on maternity leave made me vulnerable. My employer has to give me a comparable full-time position but, not necessarily at my original school. Sigh...
This will be my 4th school.
The only place I ever really "warmed up" was in Lanigan. At my inner-city school, I only had 1 year to get to know people and, as much as I tried, I knew those relationships would be fleeting. Now, just as I am starting to feel safe, to feel confident and comfortable on staff, I have to go and start over. (As friendly as I am, I'm as slow to warm as Simon about new places and people.)
The other sucky part is that it's an elementary school. No offense to elementary school teachers but, your job scares me. All day with the same kids. All year with the same kids. Blech.
I am also only going back part-time (mornings). Maybe elementary school will be more compatible for that. There's probably less extra-curr. Recess is kind of like a coffee break (more then the 5 minutes between classes that I use to photocopy, discipline after class, file discipline reports, go potty, get coffee/snacks and prep for my next class), right?
Of course, I don't go back until just before Claire's November B-day but still, there's a lot for me to figure out before then.

Claire's dedication

Today, we dedicated Claire to God. Although a little sleepy, she did great. We had a big lunch for our families in our backyard to celebrate her. The church gave her this verse:
"My soul finds rest in God alone; my salvation comes from Him. He alone is my rock and my salvation; He is my fortress; I will never be shaken." Psalm 62:1+2

May you never be shaken in your faith, little girl. May you always, always, always feel the peace that only God can bring. We love you, Claire Bear, and we're pretty pumped to be your parents!

A Walk Out

Reasons thousands of SK teachers walked out today!

Democracy in action

I'm not technically in the classroom right now but, I still have the rapt attention of two little students. Yesterday and today, Simon learned to say "democracy" and that democracy means "everybody votes". Today, he followed me as I marked my ballot and helped me put in the box.
As a teacher, I believe in modelling. This has led to some silly situations for me (being the only one over 18 not wearing my shoes to the shoeless assembly, weeks carting around my own baby egg, etc.) however, I believe that if I show kids that I buy into whatever it is I'm teaching, it's easier to sell them on it too.
I hope this will work as a parent too. I hope that Simon (and Claire) will take democracy seriously and will vote because their Momma and Daddy have told them about it, showed them how.

Besides... "field trips" are fun!