Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens
Bright copper kettles and warm woollen mittens
Brown paper packages tied up with strings…
These are a few of my favorite things!
🙂
In which she fights the urge to wrap her boys in bubble wrap
Help me navigate this one, oh wise and experienced bloggy peeps. I’m trying to be free-range relaxed, but my inner helicopter parent is screeching for control.
As I’ve mentioned, we’ve signed Lucas up for soccer. He’s loving it and to my great surprise, so am I – so much so that I regret not caving in to Simon’s requests back in the day. Because this is Lucas’s first year, however, and because he is a child of Beloved and me, well – let’s just say that he’s no David Beckham. He’s getting pretty good at actually paying attention to where the ball and game play are, but there are kids on his team who have two or three years of experience already, and he’s no match for them with his extensive three weeks of drills behind him.
So here’s the thing. This is the first year the teams in this league have a goalie, and they take turns rotating playing goal. (Do you call it a goalie in soccer? Or do you play goal? I am so clueless. Can we talk baseball instead, because I can absolutely wax poetic about the infield fly rule and other baseball arcana. Soccer – not so much. Before I dredged the David Beckham reference out of my subconscious, the only soccer player I could come up with is Pélé.) The coach has asked them if they want to play goal and apparently every kid has said yes, so he made up a schedule and circulated it to the parents, saying “here’s the night your boy will play goal, please let me know if you or he decide that he doesn’t want to play goal.â€
Ugh. I don’t particularly want Lucas to want to be the goalie. I don’t want him to play goal partly because even at seven and eight years old, those kids kick hard, and I’m not sure Lucas is ready for that. Every game, there’s at least one kid in tears over an injury of some sort. I can’t help myself – I just don’t want him to potentially get hurt.
Moreso, though, and I feel great shame in having so little faith in him, but I don’t want him to lose his love for the game if he gets trounced in goal. I absolutely don’t care about whether his team wins or loses, and I think losing is an important lesson. They don’t actually keep score at this level, but every kid knows whether they’re winning or losing. I just don’t think he has the focus or experience to even see when the play is coming toward him, let alone the game skills to know how to block the goal. You can shake off a ball to the face or a hard but misplaced kick – but being the kid that let in eleventy goals takes longer to heal.
And so there’s my struggle. I don’t want him to be hurt, physically or emotionally, and I personally don’t think he’s ready to take on the responsibility of goal keeping. But I don’t want to be a bubble-wrap mom either. Lessons are learned best when they hurt. A little bit, anyway. I don’t want him to play goal, but I don’t want to be the only mom who says ‘I don’t want him to play goal.’ And I don’t particularly relish either the conversation where I explain to Lucas why I don’t want him to play goal OR the sleepless night before and endless hour of anxiety the day he actually does play goal.
Ugh. What do you think, bloggy peeps? Any of you with more experiences as soccer moms and dads care to offer any insight?
Photo of the day: Nature’s paintbrush
I was creeping around in the garden this morning as the sun came out after all that infernal rain recently, and found this baby clematis just waking up.
Pretty, heh? And I really didn’t do much more than adjust the exposure a bit and add a light gradient to the bottom corner because the green was blown completely out. The purple in the back is a fully bloomed clematis. You’d never guess this was on a chain link fence over my driveway, would you?
Photo of the day: Tristan’s big race
They say that the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree, but sometimes it rolls out of the orchard, down the farm lane and clear into the next county.
We were bemused last year when Tristan placed well in the school’s track and field events, as he’d never really expressed an interest in running – aside from never really going anywhere slowly. “He runs like the wind!” I remember his vice principal confiding to me in tones of hushed wonder, and he seemed to have a natural flair for running. We were so surprised and pleased, though, when he placed so well in several running events this year that he was invited to represent his school at the pentathlon (a 100m race, shot put, long jump, high jump and 800m race) that both Beloved and I made arrangements to come out and cheer him on.
We cheered ourselves ragged (okay, maybe that was just me) when Tristan came first in his heat in the 100m race to start the day. That’s him in red, #17.
He came in fourth of a dozen in the 800m race (missed third place by a whisker – really less than 3/10 of a second) and came in sixth overall.
As we sat in the stands waiting for the 800m race to begin, I was pretty sure my heart was going to either burst or come to a full stop from a complex mix of emotions covering the spectrum from “be careful” to “run hard” to “no matter where you place on this race, and no matter how big and smelly and hairy your feet might get, you are always my boy and I think you are a spectacularly amazing human being.”
When we teased him about where his speed comes from, he shrugged us off in the way only a teenager can. “I just don’t like to go slow.” I, who have nearly killed myself trying to keep pace with him on our evening dog walks, can testify to the absolute truth of that.
And you know what? He DOES run like the wind!
How to manage your CSA share (alternate title: Learning to love the chard)
I am pretty excited that our community supported agriculture (CSA) share will start arriving soon. We’ve signed up for a half share, which means we get a massive load of fresh, local organic veggies every two weeks from June through October.
I laughed when I saw a recent post on Apartment Therapy with tips about how to prepare for your CSA share, not because I don’t think it’s a clever idea for a post, but because since this is our fourth year with Roots and Shoots, I wish I’d read something similar back in the day. The CSA share does take a little more managing than the average trip to the grocery store, but it’s so worth it!
I love our Roots and Shoots shares for many reasons, but one of the biggest is that it pushes us out of our culinary comfort zone. We’ve learned to love kale, kohlrabi, garlic scapes, fennel, brussels sprouts, Hakurei turnips, acorn squash and lots of other previously-intimidating vegetables. Which brings me to the point of my post today. There is one veggie that I know will show up in copious quantities in the share, one that I will almost always try to trade out for another share of kale or radishes or just about anything – one I have decided that I will embrace and learn to love once and for all. Can you help?
What the holy heck do I do with Swiss chard?
In the blog post from Apartment Therapy I linked above, there’s a passing reference to wilting it down: “Since it’s easier to store a few cups of chard than a few bunches, consider wilting them down as you get them and adding them to dishes as needed.” What does this mean? How do I achieve this space-saving alchemy, how long can I store it after I wilt it, and then what do I do with it?
Enlighten me, wise and sage (and marjoram) bloggy peeps – help us learn to love the chard!
Manotick families, support the proposed “pool to school” pathway!
This is terrific news for Manotick families with kids at or heading to St Mark High School. Per the latest Manotick Village and Community Association newsletter, there has been movement on the proposed pathway between St Mark High School and the Long Island Aquatic Centre, where it will meet up with the village’s existing network of sidewalks.
From the newsletter:
An MVCA-promoted project for a pathway connection between the Village of Manotick and the Osgoode Multi-Use Pathway is included in the list of Community Connectivity Projects (2015-2018) for the proposed Term of Council Strategic Initiatives. The project was initially named the “Pool to School Pathway”, as its objective was to allow for a safe pathway for students, pedestrians and cyclists to travel from St.Mark High School to the Manotick pool area, where sidewalks are in place.
The project name is “CC10 – Osgoode Pathway to Manotick Link”. The MVCA has asked the city for more details on this project. Residents wishing to express support for this project are asked to please write/click on these links: Councillor George Darouze at George.Darouze@Ottawa.ca and Councillor Scott Moffatt at Scott.Moffatt@Ottawa.ca, with a copy to president@manotickvca.org
Your support for a safe route for our youth, cyclists and pedestrians along Mitch Owens is greatly appreciated.
I think this is an excellent idea and long overdue. I know Tristan would love to bike to school, but there is no way I would allow him to ride on Mitch Owens, with no paved shoulder, speed limits of 80 km/hr and terrible truck traffic. He has missed the bus once or twice and walked home and I’ve cringed having heard that he took it upon himself to walk home along Mitch Owens. It’s simply not safe in any weather, and non-navigable in winter.
Even myself, I love to ride around the island but I am seriously terrified of riding on any of the arterial roads into and out of Manotick – the edges of the road are rough and the shoulders aren’t paved. Who would have thought living outside the urban areas would lead to such a lack of bike paths? We love being able to walk to the library, the shops, the pool and the elementary school – it would be terrific if the boys could some day safely ride to the high school as well.
I’m 100% in support of this initiative to link two of Manotick’s biggest neighbourhoods, especially one that gives safe, easy access to the local high school. If you agree, feel free to let our city councillors know!
Photo of the day: Sweet sisters on the porch
Hooray! Another portrait season launched and the porch is officially open for business. I had a visit yesterday from this adorable twosome – look at those sparkly eyes!
They were just the perfect mix of sweet and shy with a wee hint of sassy. And oh those matching dresses! I’m sure I’ll be sharing more of this session once I finish sorting through the photos.
Weekend bookings are filling up quickly, so if you’re interested in playful summer portraits of your family, please get in touch soon!
In which she makes solid progress in her health and weight goals
Two months ago, on Easter Sunday, I pulled my FitBit back out of the drawer, where it had been taking a brief break from my wrist. I’ve missed my 10,000 steps per day goal only seven out of the 61 days since then. I’m pretty pleased with that!
I’ve really been working on overcoming my naturally sedentary nature. I try not to go more than 90 minutes sitting at my desk without getting up and moving around. My favourite work break is to get up, walk down to the main floor, across the length of the building, and back up the stairs to my fourth floor office. It’s surprising how clear your head gets after breaking away from a task and doing eight flights of stairs! I’m also working on getting a stand-up desk, and have jerry-rigged my current office set-up with stacks of dictionaries under the keyboard tray in the meanwhile. Not exactly ergonomic, but it will do for now.
I’ve also been pretty good at getting home from work in enough time to leave the car in the driveway and walk the kilometer or so over to the boys’ school to pick them up and then walk them home, or on days when time is short, hopping on my bike and cruising over to the school, then walking my bike home with the boys. One of my fellow moms at the school gate commented on how I’m always smiling and happy-looking as I walk up and I realized that it’s one of my favourite times of day – a peaceful transition from the work day to the rest of the day wrapped in an invigorating 15 minute walk. (And heh, the more late I am, the more invigorating the walk can be!)
I’ve also discovered hot power yoga, and have been doing that once a week faithfully for about three months. I seriously love it, and it’s become a sacred part of my week. My family has been great about accepting the twice-weekly gym visits and now weekly yoga classes, and Tristan is an excellent walking companion. (And my excellent, I mean long-legged setter of unforgiving paces that sometimes leave me struggling to keep up with him!)
My focus has really been on moving my sedentary arse, so while I’ve been conscious of my food choices, I haven’t exactly been dieting. There has been poutine and chips, and a healthy share of Beloved’s amazing cookies. (Oh the irony: as I have been busy teaching myself how to cook real, whole foods, he has been teaching himself how to bake like his grandmother did. I keep asking him to bake the cookies I like least, just to ameliorate the temptation. The cinnamon oatmeal chocolate chip cookies from Chef Michael Smith’s Family Meals cookbook are more than my feeble willpower can withstand!)
All that to say, while I have been making good choices, I haven’t really been depriving myself, and I have been seeing some pretty solid progress: I’m down 10 lbs over two months, and am at my lowest weight in a couple of years.
You can see there has been a lot of two-steps-forward one-step-back, but that’s okay. I can feel the difference in how my clothes fit and even see the difference in the mirror – especially in yoga class, where I first flinched at my reflection months ago. I’ve got 2 lbs to go to my original goal, but if I go another 10 lbs I’ll be at my 10-year low, where I was circa 2009. That would be awesome, but what’s even more awesome is that I feel strong and healthy and proud of myself. And I had cookies along the way!
I’m doing anecdotal research about stand-up desks while I wait to see if the bureaucracy can cough one up for me. Are you using one? Any recommendations?
Simon’s piano recital
The boys have given us no shortage of reasons to be proud lately. Lucas has been adorable in his enthusiasm about soccer, and Tristan has turned into quite the track and field star. Today’s post, though, is all about Simon.
Simon took a year of piano lessons and then took a year off. Throughout the year off, though, he’d return to the electric keyboard that passes for a piano at our house (sidebar: I crave a piano with an almost physical sense of desire, but cannot for the life of me figure out where we’d put it!) and play idly with it often. We picked up his lessons at the Manotick School of Music earlier this year, and his teachers have been very positive about both his ability and his progress.
As I mentioned earlier, the Manotick School of Music is under new management this year, and nowhere was that new management’s touch more obvious than at the spring recital. I have to admit, I was a little grumbly when I found out it was not to be in the church basement around the corner, but waaaaay out in Kemptville at the municipal centre. (I spent a LOT of my week in Kemptville this week – it’s a lot more accessible than I expected, and closer than a lot of destinations in Ottawa or Kanata to Manotick!) I was delighted, though, when I saw the recital was in an actual hall, with theatre-style seats, and a stage – it was a big step up from the church basement and stacking chairs!
How fun is it that the kids played their spring recital on an actual stage, on a grand piano, no less? Here’s Simon’s 36 seconds of fame:
(Sorry about the aspect ratio. My mad videographer skills are somewhat underdeveloped, and I completely forgot to bring my camera and was using my iPhone in Instagram mode. Thank goodness YouTube now compensates for hapless moms-with-a-camera like me and at least rotates the footage to the proper orientation.)
Are you interested in music lessons in Manotick? I really can’t say enough good things about our experiences with the Manotick School of Music, and right now there’s an early-bird incentive to register before June 12 – they’ll waive the administration fee. More info on their website.
I love music lessons for a lot of reasons, none of them more than the huge smile of self-satisfaction on a little boy’s face as he walks off the stage after playing on a grand piano in front of a crowd. I may be a reluctant and late-blooming soccer mom, but music will always be first in my heart.
Disclosure: the Manotick School of Music is a sponsor of this blog, but this post was not part of our agreement. I just wanted our friends and family to see how awesome Simon is!
Photo of the day: Lucas’ first soccer game
Well, I’m pretty sure he’s no David Beckham, but you’ve never seen a happier kid than Lucas at his first ever soccer game. And look, for at least one shutter click, he was paying attention to the ball!
Five things I learned at our first soccer game:
1. It’s hella walk from the playground where we parked at the South Gower soccer fields to where the kids actually play. Like, a kilometer walk. Apparently there are four lots, and we chose the furthest. Now we know.
2. Lucas can eat a LOT of watermelon.
3. This is the first level they have goalies, and the kids take turn in goal. I think I have the flu the night Lucas is in goal. I’m not built to withstand that sort of stress.
4. The time passed a lot more quickly than I expected, and I enjoyed it more than I expected, too. Lucas didn’t stop smiling the whole night. And a few times, he actually watched the play.
5. When it’s down near 10C and windy, worry less about the bug spray and more about bringing a blanket. I’m still shivering. Lucas, on the other hand, was in shorts and his new jersey and didn’t notice it was cool.
It’s going to be a fun season!