The Toronto Symphony Orchestra is kicking off this season’s Young People’s Concerts on Saturday. Each season boasts five one-hour-long concerts aimed at children aged 5 to 12. Colum and I attended their last concert in May and it was entirely memorable and worthwhile. We’ve been given media passes to attend this weekend as well and are bringing a couple cousins along for some age appropriate feedback.
Category: Uncategorized
Categories
Now Who’s Crafty, Biatch?
DAILY SNACK
Once upon a time
There was a mother who didn’t do crafts.
Hardly at all.
Then one day
She finished a carton of eggs
And remembered something from her childhood.
Two minutes later,
She handed her son a crayon.
Two more minutes later …
Voilà!
Thank you.
Thank you very much.
Categories
Saving My Ass Five Hours A Week
DAILY SNACK
When the parents arrive at 11:30 to pick up their kids
From the Artful Child nursery school
Maria calls their names
One by one.
Colum always comes tearing around the corner
Calling out, “Mommy! Mommy!”
He loves it there.
Yesterday Maria told me that he is such a stable personality.
Wha?
If Colum is the stable personality in that room,
Then boy am I ever grateful to not be there for 2.5 hours two days a week.
We do not pay our Early Childhood Educators nearly enough.
(Cough, cough. Government.)
He is always so proud to bring home things like this:
Categories
Behind the Scenes
DAILY SNACK
They were running
Around and around and around
The common space of the suburban bungalow.
Through the kitchen and around the corner,
Weaving this way or that around the Thanksgiving table,
Tearing through the living room and vestibule
And back into the kitchen.
Two boys, two cousins,
Two years apart.
Finally old enough to be friends.
I may be calling out to,
“Watch the vase!”
But I am really smiling.
?
Horoscopes Thursday October 15, 2009.
Aries (March 21-April 19)
When you take inspiration from the runways of fashion week, it won’t be the clothes you focus on. Instead marvel at the delicate balance that’s struck between cutting edge designs and celebrity egos. There might be some elbow jabs and snide comments, but the truth is that they need each other. Swallow your own pride this week and admit to your dependencies.
Taurus (April 20 – May 20)
Wow, you’re really into health and fitness these days, aren’t you? A focus on feeling better is for sure a good thing, but maybe leave the micro minis on the tennis court. And nobody really needs that much spandex in their everyday life either.
Gemini (May 21-June 20)
You might feel like you’re walking on egg shells today, Gemini, but it could be worse. At least you’re not trying to navigate the fragile ego of your family and coworkers in the ten-inch stiletto hooves that Alexander McQueen sent down the Paris runway last week.
Cancer (June 21-July 22)
Your funny side is showing, Cancer. Some days are just not meant for contemplating the heavy stuff and zingers are rolling off your tongue before you know it. This is, of course, basically a good thing. Just steer clear of serious people dealing with important issues today because you will be sure to offend.
Leo (July 23-Aug 22)
Math is everywhere this week. From the sheer volume of emails you’ve had to wade through to the geographic lines and patterns featured on the runway. Calculate the number of hours you have to yourself less the sleep deprivation quotient of any given day to find your happiness score.
Virgo (Aug 23-Sept 22)
Times are tough. That’s the cold, bare truth that has been ricocheting around your head for months now — and you are sick of it. Drink at the font of glamour and luxury that is Toronto Fashion Week and hope to get enough pizzas to carry you through the rest of the recession.
Libra (Sept 23 – Oct 22)
Stop right now and put down that print. Step away from the garment and take another look. Would you hang that print on your wall? Then why are you going to wrap it around your chest? Or plaster your ass with it? C’mon.
Scorpio (Oct 23-Nov 21)
Everything old is new again. This holds as true in your life this week as it does on the runway. Look for retro themes and tired old gimmicks to surface in both arenas. Underwear as outerwear? I don’t think you want to revisit that one, Scorpio.
Sagittarius (Nov 22-Dec 21)
You’re all business this week, Sagittarius, and you should definitely dress the part. Think intimation via glamour and confidence clothed in well-tailored separates. You know the cliche, “Dress for the job you want, not the one you have.”
Capricorn (Dec 22-Jan 19)
You are in a in a philosophic mind set this week. Is a reality-show-winning fashion designer as legit as the others? Will Project Runway and Top Model eventually populate the entire fashion world? Or are these glorified contest winners really the laughing stocks you think they are? One thing’s for sure, you won’t be cutting any corners this week.
Aquarius (Jan 20 – Feb 19)
You woke up and suddenly realized your whole wardrobe is nothing but uniforms. Jeans and tee weekend wear, business casual throughout the week and the latest trends after dark. Where is the real you? Have fun finding your one-of-a-kind self this week — and don’t rush it.
Pisces (Feb 20-March 20)
Expect to find fifty percent more ruffles in your life this week. Also, one hundred percent more romance. Soft fabrics and flirtatious frill abound when a certain someone is around. Sometimes the clothes speak louder than words.
Cute.
I have never minded changing diapers,
And I have even washed my own cloth diapers.
(On occasion. I mean I used to. At least once. Shut up.)
I even subscribed to the just-put-him-in-underwear-’till-he-learns school of toilet training.
I am intimately familiar with my kids
Various bodily excrements,
In short.
But it has never really bothered me.
UNTIL TODAY.
Suffice it to say that they both have diarrhea.
So even though Colum is fully toilet trained
And made it to the toilet in time
There was still a little pre-leakage that had to be washed out of his underwear.
And even though he made it to the toilet again
While I was washing said underwear
There were still a couple droplets lost to the living room floor.
Which I discovered when I stepped in them.
That was just before I went to change Irene
And discovered that she had managed to poo
Into her jeans and onto the outside of her shirt and undershirt
Even though she was wearing a diaper
And there wasn’t even that much poo.
Then, while I was changing her, she stepped in it.
And I finally thought,
I have had enough of this crap.
Categories
Recognition
I’ve waited all my life to hear,
“How did you make this great meal, Mom?
Now we can all dig in.”
Note that the meal was
Hummus on pita bread,
And steamed broccoli with grated cheddar cheese.
Years of training, Colum,
Years of training.
Categories
A Spoonful or Two
I got Colum to eat his soup yesterday
By guessing how many more bites it would take.
He counted every mouthful.
29
This was a nutritionally sound ploy,
But I worry about the OCD factor.
The boy likes to count things.
Categories
Feeding the Birds
DAILY SNACK
The other day I stepped out onto the deck and wondered if I should close the patio umbrella.
Then I saw this:
So obviously I went and got my camera,
And then Irene started screaming,
And Colum was climbing onto the kitchen counters
And lunch was burning.
Or something like that, I assume.
Because this morning Ed asked,
“Oh, did you make a bird feeder out of the patio umbrella?”
He thought I was actually trying to teach the children something.
Categories
It’s Not Just a Stage
“Okay, Colum, it’s time to go now.”
“No. I’m not ready yet.”
“No, honey, I gave a warning and now it’s time to put the animals away and get our jacket on.”
“I won’t.”
A well-meaning woman with a toddler smiled.
“I guess it’s just those terrible twos.”
“Except he’s three.”
“Oh well, the tail end then.”
“He’s three and a half.
He just likes a battle of the wills. “
You wouldn’t have wanted to see him at two.