Yesterday we had the dubious privilege of playing a wedding along with a singer and pianist. While they were competent musically, the geographical knowledge of the pianist left something to be desired. We were chatting after the gig and he was stunned to hear that we were from Canada and were moving back there. I explained the situation and he went on to ask if our preference would be to stay in America.
Now, let me just say that it irritates me when people say things like that. Canada is a part of NORTH America. Yes, it is the United States of America that is most commonly referred to as America proper, but it's still a questionable distinction that niggles at me every time.
The pianist then asked where we were from. Feeling a bit feisty, I simply said, "London, Ontario. You have no idea where that is, do you?" Admittedly, I waited a few seconds after saying London before following up with my question. I could tell from the look on his face that he had no clue. That's fine. I don't expect people here to know where London is. I usually add that we're 2 hours from Detroit, Niagara Falls or Toronto if that helps to put it in place. When I mentioned this, the pianist's eyes lit up.
"Detroit! I just recently learned that there's this whole chunk of Canada that's attached to Detroit. I never knew about it before. What's that lake up there? Is it Lake Superior? Anyway, I just learned about this chunk of Canada that's there. I had no idea it was there," he said innocently.
"That's MY chunk of Canada," I replied. "And nope, it's not on Lake Superior but you're in the right area!"
Oy. At least he knew that parts of Canada were "attached" to the US? Please, someone help me find a positive here other than that Ben and I had good practice at diplomacy, which in this case involved delayed guffaws in the car five minutes later.
Sunday, April 25, 2010
Dinner conversation
We like telling Anna that the food she eats is in her tummy because she flat out does not believe us. "Nooooo!" she'll say, giggling. "It's not in my tummy! It's in my mouth!"
Tonight at the dinner table we discussed how we chew food, swallow it, and it goes down our esophagus. Rachel was perturbed that I immediately went to tummy, intestines and bowels without any mention of various other organs. She has a book on the digestive system and probably knows more about it than I do!
We thought it would be funny to tell Anna that the food we eat turns into poop, or at least that's what happens to the parts that the body no longer needs. Rachel then wanted to know if food turns into poop only and drinks turn into pee only. We talked about how some foods have more water in them than others and then Rachel wanted to know if drinks could turn into poop. My comment was that it would be highly unlikely since drinks are liquid to start with.
"What about a stiff drink?" she asked innocently.
"I could use a stiff drink right about now," I said to Ben. He concurred.
Tonight at the dinner table we discussed how we chew food, swallow it, and it goes down our esophagus. Rachel was perturbed that I immediately went to tummy, intestines and bowels without any mention of various other organs. She has a book on the digestive system and probably knows more about it than I do!
We thought it would be funny to tell Anna that the food we eat turns into poop, or at least that's what happens to the parts that the body no longer needs. Rachel then wanted to know if food turns into poop only and drinks turn into pee only. We talked about how some foods have more water in them than others and then Rachel wanted to know if drinks could turn into poop. My comment was that it would be highly unlikely since drinks are liquid to start with.
"What about a stiff drink?" she asked innocently.
"I could use a stiff drink right about now," I said to Ben. He concurred.
Sunday, April 18, 2010
The Adventures of Sucky
Anna did not have a very good day today. Although she was happy to get to go to the babysitting room at Beth Shalom for a while this morning during Rachel's religious school class and Ben's Hebrew class, she was quite perturbed at being removed and taken home WITHOUT RACHEL! We tried to convince her that it was fine because we would go back to get Rachel at the end of class, but Anna would not be consoled.
We headed to Rachel's piano recital in Lawrence and of course Anna did not nap on the way. She was not happy about being taken out partway through the recital when she got too chatty and she let Ben know about it while they were out in the lobby.
She fell asleep on the way home for a brief nap and then spent the better part of the next hour at home screaming. I blame a combination of molars, lack of nap, and rough night last night.
We put her to bed tonight at around 6:45 p.m. A few minutes later, I heard her crying over the monitor, "I want my blue sucky back!" She usually chats and sings but doesn't cry, so I went up to see what was the matter. She had her pink sucky in her mouth but apparently desperately needed the blue one which she had also taken up to bed with her.
I asked her if she had possibly given it to Dad before she went to bed and she said "Yes!" Upon checking with Ben, this was not the case. I searched everywhere in her bed for the blue sucky and still could not find it. Since I had a spare package down in the kitchen, I offered to get her a new, PURPLE sucky. She was thrilled at the prospect, so I got her to promise that she would stay in her bed while I went downstairs to get it.
In the meantime, Ben had come back inside. He went upstairs to look again. While in Anna's room, he noticed that she had an odd bulge in her shirt. Yes, folks, Anna had stuffed the blue sucky UNDER HER SHIRT and then proceeded to wail about how she wanted it back. Oy.
She ended up needing to lie down in our room with Ben in order to finally get to sleep. He just moved her back to her bed where she will hopefully stay until morning!
We headed to Rachel's piano recital in Lawrence and of course Anna did not nap on the way. She was not happy about being taken out partway through the recital when she got too chatty and she let Ben know about it while they were out in the lobby.
She fell asleep on the way home for a brief nap and then spent the better part of the next hour at home screaming. I blame a combination of molars, lack of nap, and rough night last night.
We put her to bed tonight at around 6:45 p.m. A few minutes later, I heard her crying over the monitor, "I want my blue sucky back!" She usually chats and sings but doesn't cry, so I went up to see what was the matter. She had her pink sucky in her mouth but apparently desperately needed the blue one which she had also taken up to bed with her.
I asked her if she had possibly given it to Dad before she went to bed and she said "Yes!" Upon checking with Ben, this was not the case. I searched everywhere in her bed for the blue sucky and still could not find it. Since I had a spare package down in the kitchen, I offered to get her a new, PURPLE sucky. She was thrilled at the prospect, so I got her to promise that she would stay in her bed while I went downstairs to get it.
In the meantime, Ben had come back inside. He went upstairs to look again. While in Anna's room, he noticed that she had an odd bulge in her shirt. Yes, folks, Anna had stuffed the blue sucky UNDER HER SHIRT and then proceeded to wail about how she wanted it back. Oy.
She ended up needing to lie down in our room with Ben in order to finally get to sleep. He just moved her back to her bed where she will hopefully stay until morning!
Censorship
Apparently we should be more carefully monitoring what our 6-year-old reads. A few months ago, we bought Rachel a bird book on clearance for a few dollars. She has enjoyed reading through it and learning about birds.
Tonight I happened to glance over her shoulder while she was reading and noticed that she was reading a chapter entitled, "Seeking a Mate". The chapter had a section on monogamy and "cheating" birds and included reference to a study where male red wing blackbirds were given vasectomies yet still managed to fertilize eggs. In fact, the term "vasectomized" was used - I wasn't even aware that there was such a word.
Luckily, Rachel does seem oblivious to the finer meaning of it all. I asked her what she was reading and she initially told me that she was reading the chapter about seeking a mate. "What's a mate?" I asked her. "One of a pair," she answered. "Oh. Why do birds sometimes go in pairs?" I inquired innocently. "So they can have babies!" she responded. A-ha! "And how do birds have babies?" was the next question out of my mouth. "YOU know! Birds lay eggs!" she said in a tone that implied that I was quite silly to have even thought about asking her these questions.
Tonight I happened to glance over her shoulder while she was reading and noticed that she was reading a chapter entitled, "Seeking a Mate". The chapter had a section on monogamy and "cheating" birds and included reference to a study where male red wing blackbirds were given vasectomies yet still managed to fertilize eggs. In fact, the term "vasectomized" was used - I wasn't even aware that there was such a word.
Luckily, Rachel does seem oblivious to the finer meaning of it all. I asked her what she was reading and she initially told me that she was reading the chapter about seeking a mate. "What's a mate?" I asked her. "One of a pair," she answered. "Oh. Why do birds sometimes go in pairs?" I inquired innocently. "So they can have babies!" she responded. A-ha! "And how do birds have babies?" was the next question out of my mouth. "YOU know! Birds lay eggs!" she said in a tone that implied that I was quite silly to have even thought about asking her these questions.
Better than tv
Our video baby monitor has to be one of the best things we have ever bought. It lets us crack up while watching Anna at her finest. Lately she has been taking well over an hour to wind down and go to sleep, so we frequently hear conversations with her "friends" as well as the occasional song.
Tonight we were treated to about a dozen verses of "The Wheels on the Bus", Anna-style.
"What does the cow say? MOOOOOOOO! The cow on the bus goes moo, moo, moo."
"What does the sheep say? BAAAAAAAAAAA! The sheep on the bus goes baa, baa, baa."
"The flamingo on the bus says I'm a flamingo!"
And on and on... she sang an entire verse for each animal. Then she proceeded to sing about family members. I feel the need to preface this by saying that Anna is usually in our bedroom/bathroom in the mornings itching to go downstairs but being held back by her parents who shower first.
"The mommy on the bus says I have to get my clothes on, I have to get my clothes on, I have to get my clothes on! The mommy on the bus says I have to get my clothes on, all through the town!"
"The daddy on the bus says I want to read..."
"The Rachel on the bus says I want to read my magazine..."
This went on for quite some time before we had to quit listening in order to go and put Rachel to bed. At least no-one argues about bedtime here!
Tonight we were treated to about a dozen verses of "The Wheels on the Bus", Anna-style.
"What does the cow say? MOOOOOOOO! The cow on the bus goes moo, moo, moo."
"What does the sheep say? BAAAAAAAAAAA! The sheep on the bus goes baa, baa, baa."
"The flamingo on the bus says I'm a flamingo!"
And on and on... she sang an entire verse for each animal. Then she proceeded to sing about family members. I feel the need to preface this by saying that Anna is usually in our bedroom/bathroom in the mornings itching to go downstairs but being held back by her parents who shower first.
"The mommy on the bus says I have to get my clothes on, I have to get my clothes on, I have to get my clothes on! The mommy on the bus says I have to get my clothes on, all through the town!"
"The daddy on the bus says I want to read..."
"The Rachel on the bus says I want to read my magazine..."
This went on for quite some time before we had to quit listening in order to go and put Rachel to bed. At least no-one argues about bedtime here!
Saturday, April 17, 2010
How many books?
How many books do you think we own? To cut costs a bit on the move, we're packing our own books, CDs, music, linens, etc. Basically, if it's easy to pack, we're doing it. The movers can pack the awkward and breakable stuff.
I'm up to 225 books already. That doesn't include any sheet music or children's books, nor am I finished packing our books.
If you want to "enter" a guess, go ahead and comment on this post. There might even be a prize for the winner! Price-is-Right style, so no going over...
I'm up to 225 books already. That doesn't include any sheet music or children's books, nor am I finished packing our books.
If you want to "enter" a guess, go ahead and comment on this post. There might even be a prize for the winner! Price-is-Right style, so no going over...
Thursday, April 15, 2010
I see a trend here
The last time I took Anna to Costco, we were walking in from the parking lot when she randomly told me, "We have to watch out for Swiper the fox! He might swipe our stuff!" I told her that I didn't think Swiper would be taking our stuff since he's a character on a tv show. Undeterred, she told me again that "he might swipe our stuff!" I realized that I could easily nip this in the bud if I was willing to ignore reality in favour of an answer that would be acceptable to a 2-year-old: "No, Anna, Swiper doesn't shop at Costco," I told her. "So he won't swipe our stuff."
She happily repeated, "Swiper doesn't shop at Costco!" and that was the last I heard of it. Then again, we haven't been to Costco in a little while...
Yesterday while driving to the chiropractor, the Dvorak cello concerto was on the radio. Since Ben has been inundating the kids with cello CDs when he takes them places, it shouldn't have come as a huge surprise when Anna piped up with, "I hear a cello!" She quickly followed up with, "We have to watch out for the orchestra!" I wonder why. Is the orchestra dangerous?
And for the record, hearing Anna say "cello" is hilarious since her l and r sounds still come out as w sounds.
She happily repeated, "Swiper doesn't shop at Costco!" and that was the last I heard of it. Then again, we haven't been to Costco in a little while...
Yesterday while driving to the chiropractor, the Dvorak cello concerto was on the radio. Since Ben has been inundating the kids with cello CDs when he takes them places, it shouldn't have come as a huge surprise when Anna piped up with, "I hear a cello!" She quickly followed up with, "We have to watch out for the orchestra!" I wonder why. Is the orchestra dangerous?
And for the record, hearing Anna say "cello" is hilarious since her l and r sounds still come out as w sounds.
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
Looking forward to the fall!
Since a certain relative of mine has been nagging, Ben finally called the Jewish school in London to confirm that there would indeed be a spot for Rachel in Gr.1 this coming fall. We knew that it would not be an issue since the school is tiny. This was confirmed when the secretary told Ben that even if Rachel just showed up in September there would be a spot for her.
At this point, they have 5 kids confirmed for Gr.1 in the fall. Apparently another 3-4 have shown interest but the average class size at the school is 7 kids and they don't have any classes with more than 9 kids right now. We know at least two of the kids that will be in her class, and I'd be surprised if we didn't know some of the others too.
We have a meeting set up with the principal when we're home in May and from there we'll see what happens. We have to also set up a meeting with the finance manager, but that can be done after we move back. They don't turn anyone away and tuition is basically arranged on an individual basis if you're not able to afford the "official" tuition. That's quite different from the elitist attitude I've seen in other schools, eh?
We still need to call the preschool (also at the Jewish Community Centre - can we say one-stop shopping!?) to see if we can get Anna in for Tues. & Thurs. mornings this fall. While she doesn't "need" it, it will be nice to have the option of weekday morning teaching. (Hear that, Sue? How's Tues. or Thurs. look for you this fall? I'll even supply the chocolate...)
It'll be interesting to see how Rachel will fit in academically. I'm hoping that her year of religious school at Beth Shalom will have gotten her roughly to the same point in Hebrew, and I have absolutely no idea where she'll fit in with everything else!
At this point, they have 5 kids confirmed for Gr.1 in the fall. Apparently another 3-4 have shown interest but the average class size at the school is 7 kids and they don't have any classes with more than 9 kids right now. We know at least two of the kids that will be in her class, and I'd be surprised if we didn't know some of the others too.
We have a meeting set up with the principal when we're home in May and from there we'll see what happens. We have to also set up a meeting with the finance manager, but that can be done after we move back. They don't turn anyone away and tuition is basically arranged on an individual basis if you're not able to afford the "official" tuition. That's quite different from the elitist attitude I've seen in other schools, eh?
We still need to call the preschool (also at the Jewish Community Centre - can we say one-stop shopping!?) to see if we can get Anna in for Tues. & Thurs. mornings this fall. While she doesn't "need" it, it will be nice to have the option of weekday morning teaching. (Hear that, Sue? How's Tues. or Thurs. look for you this fall? I'll even supply the chocolate...)
It'll be interesting to see how Rachel will fit in academically. I'm hoping that her year of religious school at Beth Shalom will have gotten her roughly to the same point in Hebrew, and I have absolutely no idea where she'll fit in with everything else!
Sunday, April 11, 2010
I'd be happier if I didn't see the title option...
...every time I go to blog. I don't have creative titles half the time anyway, and I just want to type my stuff and be done!
A few days ago, Ben put Anna into her carseat to take her on errands with him. She was unimpressed and told him in no uncertain terms, "I want to drive!" He pointed out that there was a problem with that since she wasn't old enough and didn't have a driver's license. She thought about it and then conceded, "Ok, you can drive."
Today we had Rachel's birthday party at Build-a-Bear. Anna stuffed a black bear. Its name? "Build-a-bear!" Seriously. She is referring to her bear as "build-a-bear". Rachel stuffed a pink unicorn who is apparently now named Ella. She wouldn't tell the party leader at the store what the unicorn's name was though. She kept saying that it was a secret. This was problematic since the lady needed to know the unicorn's name in order to print off the "birth certificate"! Eventually Rachel consented to sharing the name since I saw it printed on the certificate.
Both girls had a great time at the party. We went out to the Elephant Bar for dinner afterwards and then came home to get ready for bed after a very long day! If I ever get around to posting pictures you will see just how grown-up Rachel is looking these days and how much fun the girls had!
A few days ago, Ben put Anna into her carseat to take her on errands with him. She was unimpressed and told him in no uncertain terms, "I want to drive!" He pointed out that there was a problem with that since she wasn't old enough and didn't have a driver's license. She thought about it and then conceded, "Ok, you can drive."
Today we had Rachel's birthday party at Build-a-Bear. Anna stuffed a black bear. Its name? "Build-a-bear!" Seriously. She is referring to her bear as "build-a-bear". Rachel stuffed a pink unicorn who is apparently now named Ella. She wouldn't tell the party leader at the store what the unicorn's name was though. She kept saying that it was a secret. This was problematic since the lady needed to know the unicorn's name in order to print off the "birth certificate"! Eventually Rachel consented to sharing the name since I saw it printed on the certificate.
Both girls had a great time at the party. We went out to the Elephant Bar for dinner afterwards and then came home to get ready for bed after a very long day! If I ever get around to posting pictures you will see just how grown-up Rachel is looking these days and how much fun the girls had!
Tuesday, April 06, 2010
We're in trouble if Rachel sees these...
http://www.potterybarnkids.com/products/elephant-knobs/?pkey=x%7C4%7C1%7C%7C3%7Celephant%7C%7C0&cm_src=SCH
Saturday, April 03, 2010
Moving Day
...is apparently coming up faster than we think. We had a couple of moving companies come to give us estimates this week. While I am pleased that the estimate from the company that we are going to use was not higher than my "goal" estimate, it's still going to cost us a lot to move everything home. I'm on the rampage selling and/or donating everything that doesn't fit us, isn't being used or is just plain excess.
I guess that the rules regarding transporting goods into Canada have changed recently since we are now being told that they need to load our things on June 1 or 2 in order to have an earliest delivery date of June 8th. The delivery window will be June 8-19 which seems ridiculous unless the truck driver is planning on gallivanting all over the US before coming to London. I can't possibly see how a truck that is loaded in Kansas on June 2nd couldn't be in London on the 8th but what do I know?
Anyway, June 1st is less than 2 months away so it's time to sort and downsize. The only things we won't be able to sell until the last minute are the dryer and the fridge.
I guess that the rules regarding transporting goods into Canada have changed recently since we are now being told that they need to load our things on June 1 or 2 in order to have an earliest delivery date of June 8th. The delivery window will be June 8-19 which seems ridiculous unless the truck driver is planning on gallivanting all over the US before coming to London. I can't possibly see how a truck that is loaded in Kansas on June 2nd couldn't be in London on the 8th but what do I know?
Anyway, June 1st is less than 2 months away so it's time to sort and downsize. The only things we won't be able to sell until the last minute are the dryer and the fridge.
Another kid funny
Yesterday in a futile attempt to distract the kids while I was cooking dinner, Ben took them outside. We ended up having dessert before (and after!) dinner in the form of ridiculously overpriced Passover chocolate chip cookies. I sent them out with a box of cookies and baby wipes.
After everyone was done eating, I still needed about 10-15 minutes to finish getting dinner on the table so I suggested a nature walk. Ben took the girls down the street and they got busy looking for things. When Anna came back in the house, she excitedly told me, "We saw lots of WARMS out there!" (ie. worms - does anyone remember Rachel mispronouncing that word for years!?)
After everyone was done eating, I still needed about 10-15 minutes to finish getting dinner on the table so I suggested a nature walk. Ben took the girls down the street and they got busy looking for things. When Anna came back in the house, she excitedly told me, "We saw lots of WARMS out there!" (ie. worms - does anyone remember Rachel mispronouncing that word for years!?)
She's definitely our kid
Today at lunch we were all being a little silly. It's rather difficult to get a stubborn two-year-old to eat Passover food at the best of times so we started having Ben pretend to take her food for himself. That got Anna all the way through a bowl of egg noodles and made me happy that at least she's eating something besides fruit this week.
After the noodles for the kids (and omelets for us, yum!), I brought out fruit. The girls had applesauce and Ben had an apple. I jokingly told the kids that it wasn't an apple, it was an alien spaceship. They didn't believe me at first but Ben and I continued to joke about it while he ate the apple. Finally, I said that clearly Dad had eaten the aliens since he was all done his apple.
Rachel thought about this for a moment and then said, "If there were aliens in there, they'd definitely be in the core." She's got a point...
After the noodles for the kids (and omelets for us, yum!), I brought out fruit. The girls had applesauce and Ben had an apple. I jokingly told the kids that it wasn't an apple, it was an alien spaceship. They didn't believe me at first but Ben and I continued to joke about it while he ate the apple. Finally, I said that clearly Dad had eaten the aliens since he was all done his apple.
Rachel thought about this for a moment and then said, "If there were aliens in there, they'd definitely be in the core." She's got a point...
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