St-Pats and the Equinox

If you haven't been checking out Molly the barn owl and her 5 eggs, you can see them here:
http://www.sportsmansparadiseonline.com/Live_Owl_Nest_Box_Cam.html

Today the first egg is piping which means the first Owlet is working his way out. They have named him Max and you should see him between 2:00 this afternoon and midnight. WARNING: watching a silly webcam on a barn owls nest can be addictive. We have it on all day.

Last week Sid had her friend Charlotte over for the day. It has been a few months since the two had time to themselves and they had a great day together. Here they are preforming as the band "The Great Gracie Chase" as named by Sidney

It was a windy day but still about 10 degrees out so we had lunch outside followed by the 'dales supervising the kids on the climber

Later that week Sid and I went to the Experimental Farm (now known as the Agriculture Museum) with her friend Toby and Kim. It was a chilly day but we saw teeny tiny baby lambs! The kids had the museum almost to themselves, there were no line ups so we stayed and played hard for about 3 hours. I had some great pictures but accidentally deleted them from the camera : (

Last Sunday a homeschooling friend freecycled and old desk to us and Dad went and picked it up. It is a big hit. Sid has been playing school all week and every kid that has come over has ooooed and ahhhhed at this little thing. Sid has really enjoyed being the teacher.

Here Daddy is in school

Teacher Sidney demonstrates writing and cuttingFinally it is warm enough to go to the park and bring Sid's new scooter she got for Christmas from Shae, Greg and Addy. A lot of other little girls were very envious of it, especially because it had a special spot for Barbie.Ken picked up a race track which Sid helped him put together in the playroom. What fun for Sid and would be even more fun for Groovy if we let her catch the cars. Poor Groovy, she wants them so badly!

I found this activity in What Shall We Plant Today an Usborn book about plants. You take a cookie cutter and place it on ten pieces of paper towel then sprinkle Cress seeds in the cutter. Water the paper towels along the outsides but do not water the seed directly. Watch them grow over 7 days then eat them! Sid and Nan Nan did this activity together while I was at work. We are finally eating them this weekend.

Yesterday was the Spring Equinox and right on time for the occasion, we saw our first Robin out in the front yard. The Kildeer came back on Wednesday and will lay her eggs any day now which will hatch around the end of April, early May. Around that time we should also start seeing the Robin babes. This week when it was 16 degrees out, the Canadian Geese flew over us in droves. Spring really is here!!!

Lastly I have to add a blurb about my most recent felting. I have been enjoying it so much! Here are two Airedale items that I am sending to Toronto for their annual Airefest Airedale Rescue fundraiser.

And this weekend to take a break from the Airedales I made some farm animals. I am going to add a sheep and maybe a horse and then I will see if I can sell them on Etsy. I really enjoy making them so I am not overly concerned about selling them but I can only keep so many little felted things around here :)

Mensa Invitational

Thank you Ann for sending this to me. It is so good I had to post it here!

The Washington Post's Mensa Invitational once again invited readers to take any word from the dictionary, alter it by adding, subtracting, or changing one letter, and supply a new definition.

Here are the winners:

1. Cashtration (n.): The act of buying a house, which renders the subject financially impotent for an indefinite period of time.



2. Ignoranus : A person who's both stupid and an asshole.

3. Intaxicaton : Euphoria at getting a tax refund, which lasts until you realize it was your money to start with.

4. Reintarnation : Coming back to life as a hillbilly.

5. Bozone ( n.): The substance surrounding stupid people that stops bright ideas from penetrating. The bozone layer, unfortunately, shows little sign of breaking down in the near future.



6. Foreploy : Any misrepresentation about yourself for the purpose of getting laid..

7... Giraffiti : Vandalism spray-painted very, very high

8. Sarchasm : The gulf between the author of sarcastic wit and the person who doesn't get it.

9. Inoculatte : To take coffee intravenously when you are running late.

10. Osteopornosis : A degenerate disease. (This one got extra credit.)

11. Karmageddon : It's like, when everybody is sending off all these really bad vibes, right? And then, like, the Earth explodes and it's like, a serious bummer.

12. Decafalon (n.): The grueling event of getting through the day consuming only things that are good for you.

13. Glibido : All talk and no action.

14. Dopeler Effect: The tendency of stupid ideas to seem smarter when they come at you rapidly.

15. Arachnoleptic Fit (n.): The frantic dance performed just after you've accidentally walked through a
spider web.

16. Beelzebug (n.): Satan in the form of a mosquito, that gets into your bedroom at three in the morning and cannot be cast out.

17. Caterpallor ( n.): The color you turn after finding half a worm in the fruit you're eating.

The Washington Post has also published the winning submissions to its yearly contest, in which readers are asked to supply alternate meanings for common words.

And the winners are:

1. Coffee, n. The person upon whom one coughs.

2. Flabbergasted, adj. Appalled by discovering how much weight one has gained.

3. Abdicate, v. To give up all hope of ever having a flat stomach.

4. Esplanade, v. To attempt an explanation while drunk.

5. Willy-nilly, adj. Impotent.

6. Negligent, adj. Absentmindedly answering the door when wearing only a nightgown.

7. Lymph, v. To walk with a lisp.

8. Gargoyle, n. Olive-flavored mouthwash.

9. Flatulence, n. Emergency vehicle that picks up someone who has been run over by a steamroller.

10. Balderdash, n. A rapidly receding hairline.

11. Testicle, n. A humorous question on an exam.

12. Rectitude, n. The formal, dignified bearing adopted by proctologists.

13. Pokemon, n. A Rastafarian proctologist.



14. Oyster, n. A person who sprinkles his conversation with Yiddishisms.

15. Frisbeetarianism, n. The belief that, after death, the soul flies up onto the roof and gets stuck there.

16. Circumvent, n. An opening in the front of boxer shorts worn by Jewish men

If I Had....

A poem I came across on one of our local homeschooling lists. I love this....

If I Had My Child to Raise Over Again

If I had my child to raise all over again,
I'd finger-paint more, and point the finger less.
I would do less correcting and more connecting.
I'd take my eyes off my watch, and watch with my eyes.

I would care to know less and know to care more.
I'd take more hikes and fly more kites.
I'd stop playing serious, and seriously play.
I would run through more fields and gaze at more stars.

I 'd do more hugging and less tugging.
I'd build sef-esteem first, and the house later.
I would be firm less often, and affirm much more.
I'd teach less about the love of power,
and more about the power of love

- Diane Loomans

Spring is in the Aire!

I couldn't resist posting this picture first. I got it after Sid begged and pleaded for me to take a picture of her with her shirt on her head. I just grabbed the camera and click. Sometimes the most beautiful things are the simplest.

The Olympics have come and gone and we really enjoyed streaming many of the events. CTV did a great job with their website and we got to see everything we wanted to. Of course the hockey was the best part for us. Above is a group shot of our cheerleaders with Miss Sidney running the show as always.

This is a picture of Mom and Sid watching the women's gold medal game after Poulin scored her second goal for Canada. "Rock On Girls!!!" It was truly a tournament for the rookies with our goalie standing on her head in her first ever Olympic series.

This is little itty bitty Siddy and I in 2006 during the women's gold medal game in Torino

This year's gold medal game with Sid finally fitting into that beautiful jersey some of our hockey friends bought for her as a shower gift.

Spring is around the corner and with it comes new growth and new opportunities. I was invited (begged, pleaded) to come back to work for a month or two to help my partner Dixie out because the person who took over my job has taken a month off for stress leave. So I have returned to my old job of 10 years for one day a week. Mom has been wonderful and comes over and hangs out with Sid for the day which has Sid just over the moon! For two days after Nan Nan leaves, Sid says "No, that's not how Nan Nan puts my boots on." "No, that's now how Nan Nan....." I LOVE it!!!! It is so wonderful that Sid is getting this time alone with Nan Nan and they sure are having a great time together. Walking back into my old job was amazing. It was like I never left. Dixie was thrilled to have me there and was almost in tears because we are such a great team. I really do miss that place and know I have a spot there when the time comes.

This week has been beautiful gradually warming up throughout the week. We have had a BBQ three times and I have put all my laundry out on the line. I love line laundry. Here are some pictures of spring trying to chase the winter blues away.

Spring Laundry

First Picnic - no ants yet but the cat would happily steal the milk

Splash!!!!!!

Balance bike out of storage

A Little Rusty

Just Like Riding a Bike

Catch With Groovy - Amazing!


Catch With Maggie

Not So Amazing :)

Sid Captures Mommy At the BBQ. Mommy is thinking "Where did you get my camera?"

Through all this beautiful weather, poor Ken has had a flu. So he has heard us out and about but has not been able to enjoy it yet. Hopefully the weather will go back up to 12 early next week. Also Ken started a new employee and things have been working out wonderfully. I am so happy for him. It means so much to have someone he can count on. All kinds of new beginnings around here!

Lastly I must share Sid's new love for drawing. When not drawing machines that make things like coal or boats or coleslaw (???!!!!) she has started creating her own animals and listing their habitats, eating habits and interesting facts. Below is her most recent creation that I will save forever. What kind of foreshadowing does this kid have??? This is a fish she called a Sicologist. The subject of psycologists has never come up with Sid, I think the name was a fluke like the four legged animal she called a Velvecitty. Anyhow here is her picture and her description of a Sicologist fish.

A Sicologist Fish

It's head is where its tail should be and its tail is where its head should be. That is how it was born.

It eats dead crabs, seafood and other fish. And it eats blueberries and drinks water.

It lives deep, deep, deep in the sand.

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We just love this kid. She keeps us on our toes and laughing every day!