september 2010

september 27

aly did her first entrepreneurial bit the weekend of the 18th, selling cards at a local fall fair. she's now planning websites and sale strategies. she definitely takes after sascha in that regard.

it's been a busy couple of weeks since school started. i've put them in swim class twice a week [what was i thinking?!], toby's hockey is apparently 4 days a week and besides that, there's been meet the teacher night, guides and a variety of other activities adding to the chaos! fortunately mom and dad arrived on friday and they always come in awfully handy!

i have a new chore strategy for the kids. i have tried various lists and star charts in the past, but in my new grand scheme they both know to expect two chores after they have unpacked their bags and done any homework. those chores are whatever i happen to need that day, but i've also got one of them helping to make dinner each night in the hopes that one of them will love it and be willing to be the family chef instead of me [i can dream can't i!]

september 12

toby is 9! [the traditional birthday breakfast]

toby's party went very well - not too stressful at all. we had thought to take our little automatic putting green to entertain the children when they arrived and while we were waiting for food which kept everyone pretty busy. fortunately we had the mini-golf course pretty much to ourselves so all the shouting didn't bother anyone! zoe also LOVES to be outside so she was pretty content to just wander around [and lie down on the putting green!]

my idea for a golf hole cake got somewhat more complicated when toby and sascha got involved and decided it should be an exact replica of toby's favourite hole in the world - the 17th hole at TPC sawgrass!

september 8

friday was our official last day of the school holidays and our day of rest. it was only going to bed that night that i realized that a 'day of rest' is not what it used to be. we bought stuff for goody bags for toby's birthday, went to a bakery supply store for cake decorating stuff, went to deliver some newsletters for work, did some grocery shopping, came home, failed to get zoe to nap, went to deliver toby's birthday invites, picked up a whole sockeye salmon from a local dock [$12 - fantastic deal], dropped off a family place newsletter at starbucks [and ended up paying nearly $15 for 3 drinks - i'm never taking the children to starbucks again - and I only had 2 of the children with me!], came home, baked a cake, stared in horror at the salmon, started hacking bits off the salmon, gave up and decided to bake it whole, took a very grumpy toddler for a walk around the neighbourhood, made dinner, decorated the cake, and then started on cleaning up and washing up. not to mention the 3 loads of laundry i'd done which needed folding and putting away before i finally staggered to bed at 12.30am.

we had a lovely weekend and managed to get a little bit of relaxation in between a trip to victoria. we slept on the boat but decided not to take it out. sascha almost hoisted me up the mast to change a couple of lightbulbs but, due to technical difficulties, that experience has been deferred to another day! we retrieved aly from the saanich fair where she had managed to win all sorts of prizes - including first prize for 'her' duck eggs! she had a wonderful summer on the island [thank you very much nikki and colin] and i swear there must be something in the water on the farm because she seems to have grown at least an inch for every week she was there. she's even managed to catch back up to toby which i didn't think would ever happen.

this week it's been back to school. tuesday was the obligatory one hour day of school which drives me absolutely crazy. [one-hour i ask you? it's a working-parent's nightmare] and apparently i'd managed to completely forget how difficult it is to get 3 children out of the house in the morning...sigh

of course, they are wonderful children and just to remind myself of that, this is my new phone screensaver :)

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