Sugar Bush Time

It was a cold windy morning despite the promise of 10 degrees and sunshine. We dressed for the weather and with camera in hand we met our school friends at a local sugar bush.

Sid, being a lover of all animals, was one of the first to charge to the wagon and sit up near the horses. The driver, Lawrence, gave Sid the reins to Judy and Harry and told her to hold on tight because she was driving. She was pleased but she was so tense she was stone quiet. At one point I asked her if she liked the wagon ride and with a look of concentration on her face she answered "I am NOT in a talkative mood." I think she really thought she was holding on to those horses.

After the wagon ride it was off to the barns to feed and pet the animals. A worker in the barn pulled Sid aside and told her she could climb in the chicken coop and get herself an egg to show her class. She looked at me for permission and with a nod of my head she was off into the coop. She came out with a nice fresh egg that we got to take home in my purse. Thankfully it survived.

Next stop was the sugar shack to see the process of boiling down the sap to make maple syrup and then the best part, toffee on snow.

Since the trip Sid has been down with a bad bug. She has a bout of gastro and I am hoping it comes to an end soon. She is pretty cheery and chipper regardless but I am worried about her and will be until she is back to her old self.

While playing in her room she presented me with a poor little puppy in isolation because he came down with porks. He was waiting to see the vet. "Porks??" I ask. "Yes mommy, he has Porks and the vet has to fix him." With a grin on my face I ask " how did he catch porks?" and she answered "Mommy!! He fell on a porcupine and now he has porks!" Oh, of course! How could I have missed that???

Lastly, we stumbled across a new picture book yesterday and it is in our top 5 all time favorite books now. It is called Bark, George by Jules Feiffer. It is fun and hilarious. I had to read it 5 times in a row to Sid and we have been talking about it for two days straight. If you can find it at the library, it is worth the search. I found this title on a website called flashlightworthybooks.com

Mommy Loves Purple

This was our first full week with school and gymnastics. Preschool Tuesday and Thursday and gymnastics on Wednesday. It was a good week. Next week we have a music class at the family which is a one hour class for Sidney and an hour in a separate room for me. I am not sure what the parents do but it should be fun for her.

We had a fun week getting into our new routine. Sid loves school, gym is still her favorite and thankfully the last part of the day so she always leaves with a big smile on her face and is so eager to go back. She is learning her friends names and always reports who cried and missed their moms. Usually it is Gage and Eric. When I ask her if she cries or misses her mom she say "NO! I love school."

At home we are still doing lots of school stuff. Sidney is learning to recognize the numbers 1 - 5 and now knows the letter A as well as S, I, D, and X and O. She taught herself X and O! After telling me how much she LOVES Diego we started a field journal of all the wild animals we see around our house. The first animal was a fox we saw across the street and tomorrow we will add the Canada Goose. We colour and decorate a picture of the animal and I do a little write up about them. Next week we are going to work on saying the alphabet without singing it and to do some more work on her writing skills. She loves crafts but gets frustrated trying to colour. Colouring should be fun!!!!! I also bought some silicone muffin tins to start sorting buttons, or our large paperclips by size and colour.

Ken has had a busy week at work but has still found time for bedtime stories, Siddy cuddles and a special lunch meeting with us at McDonald's today. We LOVE daddy, he's the best! My weekend house league hockey has started and my competitive hockey starts on the 18th. Ken's parents are thinking of coming home so it will soon be time for Ken and his dad to start working on the plane again too.

The foster dog is still here and driving us crazy. He is a sweetheart but into everything. He is very slowly learning manners but now that his hips feel better he is an Airedale through and through. All three dogs are suffering from ragweed allergies but the rain this week has been great for keeping the pollen down.

We have a relaxing weekend planned at home. If it stops raining we might even close up the pool for the year. The south bound geese and rain means fall is here!

First Day Of Preschool

The morning started very early. I wanted to be up and ready to face our big day. Sid heard me cooking pancakes and wandered out to see what was going on. I don't think she was done sleeping yet. The dogs don't bother to get up until it is there breakfast time and she is starting to catch on! Once ready we headed out to preschool and Sid appeared to be just as excited as me. She had her backpack on and was ready to go!
Here are some shots of her and her friend Camryn, sitting in her cubby and playing with her friends.

I picked her up at 11:30 and the first thing out of her mouth was "Look mom, look mom" she yelled as she charged down the hall waving her certificate " I LOVE SCHOOL!!!" She had blue marker on her cheek, stickers on her hands and a smile that melted my heart. I was so proud!





Sidney informed me that she gets to be Miss Patty's helper on Tuesday and dress the weather bears. She can't wait to go back to school. Saturday we get to be in the Russell fair parade and ride the float. Ken will come so he will also get to meet Miss Patty and Sid's friends.

After school, Sharon and I took Sidney and her little friend Charlotte out to lunch to celebrate their first day of school. We had a great lunch and it was amazing to see the two girls just two weeks apart having conversations and sharing their lunch. The held hands the entire way in and out of the restaurant. It was an awwww moment I wish I had captured.

When Daddy got home from work he presented Sidney with her very own Big Girl watch for being so big and going to school. She was thrilled. Now we just have to teach her all her numbers.



Outside of school we still have our horsie friends we are taking care of. Here is two of the four, we are calling the light one Blondie until we find out her name. She is a sweetheart and loves hugs and pets. They have taken a real shine to us since we now go over and water them everyday and bring carrots and apples for snacks. They bring Siddy and I so many laughs and joy by just being around for us to pet and visit. Too bad they won't be here for long.