I gotta Nikon Camera... I love to take Photographs - Paul Simon, Kodachrome

This week I have been getting great help from a very good photographer friend (THANKS FRANCINE!!!) so I can fine tune some of my picture taking. Here are few shots I capture over the last few days and be sure to check out Francine's art work seen here on Red Bubble http://www.redbubble.com/people/digitallystill She is very, very talented.


This is a picture of our cat Nookie in a bag right after I gave her some cat nip. Nice Kitty... just try and pet her, you'll lose a hand!

Magda's puppy Zuni showing her intense devotion to her mom.

Zuni demonstrating her fantastic recall!

Zuni with the zooomies. This was a fun shot to capture, I am really pleased with how it turned out!

Sid and her three friends on our freecycled toboggan. Ya, I am still psyched about that!

Airedale sandwich.

Crazy Mags

Now, I have to add some AWESOME shots that Magda took. Her puppy Zuni came over and met Groovy and Maggie for the first time. They all got along so well we can already see that Groovy and Zuni are going to be very, very good friends! Maggie was very well behaved and treated her guest with extreme kindness, she has always loved the girls much more than boys.

Bums

Protect the camera!

Groovy camouflaged as a snowman

Dogs are supposed to go in front of the sled not on it!

C'mon, Let's Play!

Well my first needle felting workshop is set to go for April 2nd 10 - 2 at Wabi-Sabi. I am also volunteering to do a needle felting workshop to support Ottawa Valley chapter of CPAW (Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society) http://www.cpaws-ov-vo.org/?p=410#more-410 sometime in early March. The CPAW event is to raise money and awareness for protecting green spaces in the Ottawa Valley. I am going to teach people how to needle felt small animals and then all our creations will be brought together for a window display. Some items will also be auctioned off to benefit CPAW. This is going to be so fun!

Sid quote of the day: "Do Werewolves live in warehouses?" Me- "No." Sid-"So what are warehouses for then?" ROFLOL

Brrrrrr

It was -31 when we woke up this morning! Holy COW! It is the coldest it has been so far this winter. By the time we headed out to play we decided on boots and jackets for the dogs. It is the first time this year they have had to wear them and they were great about it. We managed to stay outside for about and hour and a half.


Maggie testing the footwear. "SUPER MAGS"

All tuckered out, but warm!

A few weeks back I struck another Freecycle gold mine. A 6ft wooden toboggan in awesome condition. I picked it up during our big thaw and have been really anxious to give it a go. Ummm I mean I have been really anxious to let the kids try it out :P

Last week with snow really here to stay, Magda and I took the girls out for a touch of sledding.

The hills was steep so Sid wore her helmet. She really wasn't too sure about the entire thing. It took some convincing but finally she sat in the middle and braved the hill.

Here I am shocked as the sled had been pointing down hill (all the way to the left in the above picture) but just as we came into camera range, right on cue, the toboggan spun counterclockwise to provide Magda with the perfect shots!

And then we wiped out!

This is what it is alllll about :)

Heading back to the van, the girls got a free ride which was well deserved after all that hill climbing. Great shots Magda thank you! And also a SUPER big thank you to the kind family that re-homed their lovely toboggan with us.

On Wednesday our beautiful Groovy turned 8. Now that she is an older gal perhaps I should introduce her with her proper name, Princedale's Wildflower Groove C.G.C.. Eight years, wow! She really has mellowed into a beautiful friend with a huge heart. For Groovy's present Sid selected 3 small Kong squeaky tennis balls. These are perfect because Maggie does not like any other dogs having fun and will always take Groovy's toys from her when she is trying to play. These little balls tuck right into Groovy's mouth where Maggie cannot pull them out. Happiness is.....

Today I got an interesting link about whether to teach young kids math. I laughed because I happened to sign Sid up for Dreambox math online today. LOL never fails... Anyhow I thought it was worth passing on.

http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/freedom-learn/201003/when-less-is-more-the-case-teaching-less-math-in-schools

And finally something else schooly, a cool parenting quiz to see how you parent/teach your kid(s). Who doesn't love quizzes?! Enjoy!

Edu-Parent Quiz provided by DreamBox Learning a kindergarten, 1st grade and 2nd grade math game.

About the Edu-Parent Teaching Styles
As part of our commitment to support parent involvement in their children’s education, DreamBox Learning has sponsored the development of this Edu-Parent™ Quiz. It’s designed to help parents assess the style with which they interact and engage with their children on variety of educational topics. The Edu-Parent Quiz was co-authored and compiled by recognized educators and experts on parent education with over 30 years of community leadership.

The Edu-Parent Styles
There are a range of edu-parent styles, and each offers benefits and presents unique challenges. Here are the different styles that our experts have identified.

Coach
Coaches expect their children to always do their personal best and become successful learners. They talk with their children about school and steer them towards situations that play to their learning strengths. Children come to coaches to brainstorm ideas. They help their children “practice” and encourage them in any endeavor, offering reinforcement, advice and praise. The feedback coaches give helps their children course-correct, and learn from any experience.

A Coach’s challenges are:

•To recognize when to let their children take the baton and run on their own.
•And to realize that not everything in life has a game plan.


Historian
Historians share both knowledge and confidence borne out of a wealth of experience. They want to save their children the trouble of re-inventing the wheel — they’ve learned what does and doesn’t work and want to pass this along! Historians want kids to understand and benefit from valuable lessons they learned growing up. They take time to explain how to complete tasks and projects, and show their children how to take proven and effective approaches in their life. Historians are available to provide guidance and direction when needed and their children may seek out their tried and true advice and support.

An Historian’s challenges are:

•To recognize and adapt when their children prefer their own unique and effective solutions.
•And to let their children learn about the process of discovery instead of prescribing the outcome.


Mentor
Mentors are focused on preparing their children for life-long learning. When talking with their children, they listen and guide with questions, often providing choices and decision-making opportunities. While strategies and boundaries they establish might be invisible to the casual observer, they ground their parenting style. By modeling independent thinking and problem solving, Mentors hope their children become independent learners and thinkers in their own right.

A Mentor’s challenges are:

•To listen to what their children are saying, rather than listening for what they want to hear.
•And to respect their children’s independent thoughts and ask the next question—even when they disagree.


Observer
Believing that children learn from their experiences, and with a high tolerance for mistakes, Observers feel children do best with minimal parental interference. Sometimes they stand back and let the situation unfold in its own way — thinking they may not have the right answer — knowing the more experiences their children have, the more confident they will be as adults. Assuming things will work out, as they should, Observers believe the most valuable gift is letting go.

An Observer’s challenges are:

•To recognize when their children need them to be available.
•And to help their children know when they need to ask for assistance or advice and whom they might ask.


Superhero
Superheroes understand the value of hard work and persistence, and have high standards. They teach their children to always do their best, and that it never hurts to have an extra set of eyes double-check their work to eliminate errors. They have that eye for detail and help their children by showing them where something might need a bit more work or attention. Because Superheroes are dedicated to the end result, they will help their children finish projects and provide encouragement, guidance and assistance to make sure their best is always represented in everything they do.

A Superhero’s challenges are:

•To recognize how mistakes can become steppingstones to learning.
•And to help their children decide when and how to be independent with their work.

An Early Family Christmas

I love this picture! It captures what a wonderful time we had Dec. 20 and 21 at Granny and Grandpa's Ho-Ho's. Here Greg called Dad "Grandpa Bubbles" (trailer park boys) and we all cracked up. Great capture Shae!

Ken had to work on the Tuesday so he was unable to make it but the rest of the family managed to get the day off for an early family Christmas celebration. On the Sunday, Greg, Shae, Addy and Taylor arrived at the farm then on Monday Rick and I drove up to spend the night. We had so much fun it was about -1 out so we went for a nice long walk and then ended up sledding for about an hour afterwards.


I had a hat but Tay offered me her extra one because she was wearing her penguin hat. I LOVE this hat!!!

Group shot with Shae behind the camera

Group shot with Greg Behind the camera!

Rick attacking the hill on a sled

Sid following Uncle Rick's lead

"I'm OK!"

Grandpa and Granny in their woods

Uncle Rick getting a push down another hill

Ultimate cuteness!

Addy going for her first solo sled ride

Mom and Addy zooming down the hill

Dad and Addy sledding too.

Granny gives it a try while Sid, Rick and Taylor build a jump for more excitement

Wheeeeeeeee..... uncle Rick heads for the new jump

CONTACT!!

Ah but then the still bendable teenager Taylor shows us how it is done!

Good air penguin girl!

In the safety of her daddy's arms Addy watches on as her Mom, sister, aunt, and uncle fly down the hill.

Greg going straight for the unfrozen pond.....

Don't worry Greg, we won't catch you!

Shae has a turn

I have a turn.

Meanwhile at the bottom of the hill the paparazzi capture the day and occasionally cause interference to help stop the sledders from going into the pond (after they protect their cameras of course)!

Sid has a go at the jump.

Success!

Greg tackles Rick at the end of the run. Just helping out by making sure he doesn't land in the water!

Back inside we warmed up while Uncle Rick told us some very creative stories.

Fresh air, warm fire, good stories makes for very sleepy people!

Even Addy got in on the fun!

A little later, Ronda, Peter and Grace joined us and we had a wonderful dinner together.

Then off to bed......

The following day Sean, Eleni, George and Liam came up and we celebrated Christmas with gifts, dirty Santa and the most amazing Christmas dinner. I will be adding a group shot when I get it :)

I didn't get many pictures inside and by the time we got out for a walk it was getting really dark but here are a few shots from our walk together.

Dad, Greg and Addy, Sean with Liam on his shoulders and Eleni, Rick and George


George and Sid on Grandpa's new bridge over the creek. Oops I should say crick....

The sun setting indicated that it was time to load up the vehicles and head for home. It was such a magical two days. Thank you, thank you, thank you Dad and Ann Lee for hosting such an amazing get together. The food, as always, was spectacular and it was so great seeing all the little kids together. Best of all, I cannot remember the last time I played in the snow with my brothers. Total FUN!
Peace, health and happiness to you all for the coming year!