Future Stars

Saturday was Sydney's first day of soccer. Since Sydney continually says that girls do not play sports (who knew my non-participation in sports would have such an impact?), it was a toss-up to see how it would go. I was very pleasantly surprised. She really dug in & played. There were many moments of comedy, such as:

• the line of kids following the ball
• confusion over where the goal is. The kids use the width of the field, therefore their nets are the pylons, but when the real net is there on the sidelines it is rather confusing for a bunch of 4 & 5 year old (see video)
• Sydney losing interest in the second half & watching the airplanes flying overhead

There was only one bout of crying & it was well warranted since the little girl did get the ball in the face- ouch! Sydney's team is called the Future Stars, but time will only tell.

Hey, there's an airplane!

Coach Nick telling Sydney to get her head in the game.

Long weekend "leisure"

Although not part of the long weekend, Thursday at school was backwards day. So, Sydney picked out a hoodie to wear backwards. I talked her out of wearing all her clothes backwards & to focus only on the clothes that people see. A day is a long time to wear your underwear & pants backwards. She seemed to have lots of fun & it brought memories of childhood back to me...my favourite was pajama day though.


When the May long weekend is early as it was this year, you more often than not get really cold weather. This year was no exception, but we had plenty indoors to keep us busy. It was a very exciting event for Sydney & Jason. Sydney got a new-to-her bed (it was originally her great-grandparents bed), her "big, big girl bed" as she calls it.. I let her pick out her new bedding & she decided she wanted everything in yellow. Jason got his 'big boy bed' because we moved the bed from Sydney's room to its permanent location in Jason's room. When we originally bought this bed it was with the intent of eventually being in Jason's room.

His room was repainted to get rid of the baby green colour & I found bedding that I loved that allowed us to keep the blue ceiling (because painting over it will be a nightmare someday). Since Jason often does not adjust well to change, I was a little apprehensive about how all this change would be received. However, I worried for nothing. He keeps telling us that he loves his "woom", he loves his bed, he loves his paint, he loves his bedding- especially the tow trucks & dump trucks- it is a smashing success.

Luckily all this came together much quicker than I anticipated & we were able to get all the "work" done & do some fun things with the kids. The main attractions for the weekend were: (1) fireworks at Grandma & Papa's & (2) throwing stones in the water at Grindstone creek.

The Reveal

Sydney's reaction to her new bed


Jason's reaction to his new 'woom'

Chilly Night for Fireworks


Hiking & Pitching Stones at Grindstone Creek

Mini Olympics

Saturday was Sydney's gymnastic class & they had a mini-Olympics. Sydney seemed to enjoy it, but this too she tells us she is not going to take again next year. I haven't quite figured out her reasons for continually saying she doesn't want to take lessons anymore (swimming, skating & now gymnastics). I am not sure if it is a confidence thing (being around new/different kids & learning new skills), a perfectionist thing (not learning the skill to perfection), or just a don't like it & don't care attitude. Swimming is not negotiable, she has to take those lessons. Skating is also not negotiable for at least another year. Gymnastics is purely her choice, so if she doesn't want to take it next year- that is fine. I am thinking she would like Sparks, so maybe we will try that.

Here are some pictures from the Mini-Olympics.

Happy Mother's Day

Upon hearing the news that I had quit my job, a friend at work had said she was not surprised that I was choosing to stay home with the kids. She said if Kelly Bowman had quit she would have been shocked, but Kelly Taylor quitting did not surprise her at all.

I think this reaction perfectly sums up what Mother's Day means to me. The day I became a mom, changed my life completely.

(Afterwards I asked Brad if he felt that he saw this change as completely as my friend & wondered if he missed Kelly Bowman...he just shook his head & told me I am nuts.)

It's Official...

I am definitely tardy on my posting lately & missed writing about a lot of activity in the last month. I would say that I have fully recovered from my surgery & I am working my way back to a normal life again. However, on the return to normal we made a BIG change in our household.

On April 20th I returned to work & on April 21st I told them that I quit. I gave lots of notice, but effective July 16th my career at TU ends and I begin my next career- a stay-at-home-mom. This is an idea that Brad & I have talked about at different times over the last couple of years, but there always seemed to be a reason to wait. Being home recovering from surgery was a bit of a test. I know that I wanted to be home & stop missing all the stuff that I miss by being at work, but the question was- could I handle it? I quickly realized that there really was not that much time between when Sydney got on the bus & when she got off. Next year when she goes to a new school, she will only be there for afternoons & that time will go by like a blink of the eye. I may only have one more year before both kids will be in school full-time (if they do full-time JK in 2010), so if I am going to do it I want to do it when I get the most time with them as possible. So, I am very sad to leave work & not see my friends on a daily basis & will miss the different challenges that I face there- but I am really looking forward to the time I will now have with the kids & the opportunity to be more involved in their school life & get them involved in things that we could not do if I was working.

So that is the biggest "new" thing, but there were lots of other fun things that have happened like:

• Easter egg hunts
• Family gatherings
• I climbed a hill without getting winded (yeah!)
• Got a swing set for the kids
  
• Went for a hike with the kids to a waterfall & Jason told me afterward "that was fun Mommy" (next time we need to take the camera)
  
• Brooke & Bailey came for a visit
• Gramma had her 65th birthday & we decorated her lawn with homemade clocks (even though there were 65 real clocks inside their house that we could have polluted the lawn with, but thought we might get in big trouble for that

Lots of other fun things of course have happened, but those are the main markers. Here's some pictures from the last month.

Easter

Thanks Sandi!

Just for Fun

Darn stones!

Brooke & Bailey

How long before Sydney learns how to pump on the swing?

Happy Birthday Grandma!