See Jane Run

I was sooooo proud of Amelia and Evelyn tonight.

But lets start at the beginning...

Back in June the girls' school participated in a 5K run. Very non-competitive, more of a fun-run/walk for French schools in the area. This year Amelia came home kind of down. She said that she wished she could run it, that she had the ability to actually run a decent chunk of it. I told her that for sure she could do it if she was willing to put in a little bit of work. She really wanted to so we sat down and made some goals. We looked up learn-to-run programs for young girls and committed to running 3 times a week. We found a calendar we could track her distances and time in so she could see her progress and found a Halloween run in October to work toward.

The last 4 1/2 months have not been easy and it's been a learning curve for me too. The hardest part was finding the time to run. Early mornings are out because they're too early with Rene having to leave for work by 6:30am. Evenings are too unpredictable.  So we finally settled into a habit of running as soon as Rene gets home from work. I try to have dinner half ready or at least prepped so he can finish up and we can come home to a hot meal on the table.

Next hurdle, how do you keep a 9-year-old and nonathletic mother motivated? Add an energetic 7-year-old to the mix. It didn't take too long before Evelyn wanted to join in on the runs. Also add a crazy 2-year-old dog who really needs to get out and work off some energy. We also found a favourite place to run. A nice flat trail that has km markings every 1/2 km.

We didn't always want to get out but with the addition of the Halloween run looming in the background it was usually enough motivation to get us all running.

Thankfully on Thanksgiving weekend a treasure box of old dance costumes were discovered which sealed the deal. Add yet another reason Aunt Becca rocks!

The week before the run was the first time we ever ran 4kms so I wasn't sure how 5 was going to go on the day off but figured we'd get to the end no matter what. The day of the girls were pretty pumped. They were in their costumes as soon as they got home from school. Flashlights were found and readied (the run was at night) and water was stocked. We got to the run with plenty of time to enjoy face painting and balloon animals. I made the girls hold off on the free pizza, hot chocolate and gobs of candy being handed out and told them they could have their heart's desire AFTER the run.

I forgot how energizing participating in a run like this is. I've only done a couple in my life and this was by far the most fun. Probably because I was doing it with my girls but something about being behind a space-ship stroller, surrounded by minions, monsters, farm animals and grapes made the night a little more magical.

When the starting bell rang, the girls were off. And when I mean off, they were OFF. I kept asking if the needed a break and got an unequivocal no every time. We ran for over 10 minutes before one of them finally needed to stop, and even then they were ready to get back at it after 30 seconds. The furthest we'd got in our training was 3.5 minutes before breaking for 1.

We crossed  the finish line at just over 40 minutes to find a surprise personalized cheering section of Grandma and Aunt Erica.

What a fun night. Santa Shuffle, here we come.

First Annual Thanksgiving Apple Picking Trip

We had to start the day with chopping wood. The novelty has worn off for our helpers. Hmmmm, that insinuates they were ever excited.  Rephrase: the task continues to be daunting for our helpers. But they are troopers! As an incentive to getting the job done we promised them an afternoon of apple picking.

Still monkey see, monkey do

Initially I had visions of visiting one of those farms that makes the apple picking a small portion of fun as kids can participate in wagon rides, petting zoos, hay jumps, corn mazes...you get the picture. As the day wore on though the hours quickly passed and after wood chopping, lunch, and a quick jaunt to help a friend with roofing we ended up leaving Orangeville around 4:15pm. We hastily arrived at a farm 15 minutes before they closed, jumped on the last tractor ride out to the orchard, speedily picked a bag of apples and ran to catch the last tractor ride back to the farm.

I felt bad. The girls had really worked hard all morning with the prize of apple picking, which ended up being a 30 minute frenzy of apples and tractors. There was a farm dog (petting zoo?) and we had to remember where we parked (maze?) and they did jump over a chain fence (hay jump?) so I suppose we did cover all our bases.

The neat thing about kids: they know how to have fun. They were thrilled to be allowed to climb a ladder to reach the high branches (where Rene insisted all the best apples grew).

The look of concentration...

The scrutiny that every apple went through,
only the best for our family.

Lucienne's squeals of delight with the tractor ride would make anyone think we were on the ride of her life.

Heading back.

I had to question why there were people there without kids. Because pick-your-own-apples is really just a clever way to disguise make-your-own-work and without the antics of children it's really not that much fun.

Stop, Drop, Roll

**sorry for the low quality of pictures...it was dark out and the camera flash didn't seem to want to cooperate all the time.

The local fire department had an open house so we thought we'd stop by.

They had a fire house going that they let the kids spray. I tried to convince them to hit families going back to their cars (lets put a bit of a challenge to it) but the firefighter didn't seem to think it was a good idea. Audree wanted nothing to do with it at first but later in the night decided to try (Rene had the camera though and I couldn't find him so it will only be documented in our memory).

They had all the trucks open so the kids and Dads could climb inside. One kid even managed to get the horn on one of them working. Those firemen really can move fast, I got the impression that it wasn't suppose to be operational.

They had all the gear out and kids could suit up and see how far they could walk. They even had them holding oxygen tanks and axes...not sure how safe that was but the kids' sure thought it was great (once again, Rene and camera were MIA).

They had a spin-the-wheel-answer-the-question-and-win-a-prize table. Apparently I need to brush up on my fire safety knowledge, most of the answers I fed the girls were embarrassingly wrong (once again, no Rene and thus no camera).

There was someone dressed up as a dalmatian dog that Lucienne thought was hilarious, until he took a step towards us. She would then yell "No, scary, scary" until he would take one step back which she would burst out laughing and think he was great. We played that game for a few minutes until it just seemed cruel. Audree was quite enamored with him and gave him lots of hugs and high fives (and of course, no Rene and camera).

For most of the night I couldn't find Rene (which really made me wish I had the camera).  Turns out he made a new volunteer fight-fighter friend who was talking up the profession. He now has the fire-fighting bug in his head. Volunteers need to be on-call from 6pm to 6am but don't necessarily get called every night. I wonder if he realizes there may be heights involved.

Watch Out World

It was this girl's first day of school today. To say she was excited would be an understatement. I think we've been counting down this day since the start of school last year. Only then it seemed so far away that my little blond-haired girl would actually be going. I don't know how that passed so quickly. We were counting by events (Halloween, Christmas, birthdays, Easter, summer, then school), then it came down to months, then weeks, then we made a daily chain to count down the final 9 days (only because she officially started school 9 days after her sisters). 

And today she's gone.

I'll admit, I was a bit teary...but I always am sending off a kid for the first time. 

As excited as she was she was also nervous. She was nervous about not knowing what her teacher is saying, not knowing when it is time to eat or play, of making a mistake and getting in trouble, about being sent to the principal's office (thank-you older sisters), of not having anyone to play with. How can a four-year-old have so many concerns? The last couple of days she's been asking me how nervous I am. 

I overheard this conversation between her and Evelyn this morning as they were getting ready:

Audrée: "What if everyone laughs at me?"

Evelyn: "Are you kidding? You are beautiful. All the boys in your class are going to want to marry you."

Audrée: "But what if I do something then everyone laughs?"

Evelyn: "Don't worry. You tell them I'm your older sister and then find me and I'll make sure they stop."

What a blessing it is to have older sisters! Older sisters who were just as excited as she was that she finally was coming to school with them. As the bus pulled away from the house I saw them all squeezed into one seat with Audree tucked in the middle. They were struggling to find a place to put all their bags. 

The house was eerily quiet as Lucienne and I came back in (although she rectified that soon enough). I don't even want to think about the day I'll be walking into the house all alone. Until then, Lulu and I will hold down the fort until their return at 3:30. This should be interesting...

A Whole Lot of Hair

First day of school tomorrow for Audrée...very exciting!!! I thought we'd start off on the right foot and send her in clean. As she was finishing up her bath she said, "Mom, I want my hair to be beautiful tomorrow, can you put it in buns so it's very curly?"

I think she may end up with a complex about those golden locks of hers, but only time will tell. I've already caught her asking a family friend if he thought her hair was beautiful. As a father of three boys and a one year old girl (who is working on growing a beautiful mane) he dutifully nodded. She then proceeded to demonstrate how she brushes it to keep it shiny and smooth.

Of course, if Audrée has buns, then her protegé must have them too. Luci was surprisingly still as I put them in and didn't complain about it hurting. Audrée tells me that it hurts but is worth it. Lucienne loves having her hair done and will often ask for a ponytail.

And Evelyn followed suit. With her we tried an experimental cornrow attempt.

I wondered how long Lucienne would keep them in but as of bedtime they were still there. However, she's a hair twirler, especially to soothe herself to sleep, so as I nursed her she had no idea what to do with her hands and fingers. They were all over the place looking for something to twirl or fiddle. I have a feeling those buns aren't all going to be there in the morning!

A friend posted on Facebook, "I don't know how you do it with 4 girls...I have a hard enough time with just doing Kenzie's hair!" To which I responded, "This happens once every 4-5 months. I'm lucky if a brush runs through everyone's hair on a normal day". Erica seconded that.


Postscript: Audree woke me up at 2 in the morning to let me know she had taken out her buns so that her hair wouldn't be too poufy in the morning. And since she was already there...she snuggled in for the rest of the night. When Lucienne crawled in around 4 hers were still holding on. She'd pulled them a bit but at least the bottom half of her hair should be curly.

Doing the Can-Can

Note: this picture was taken early in the
canning day when smiles still abounded.

On Saturday we canned tomatoes. That simple phrase really doesn't do it justice.

3 bushels (with a cumulative of 1/2 a bushel being rotten, thank goodness!!)

58 jars.

19+ hours in total. (15 hours on Saturday, 2 on Sunday and Monday)

Rene made me take an oath that I would never buy that much of anything again. I solemnly swore, never again.

It all started with some salsa. Last year I whipped up a batch yielding a few jars of a friend's recipe that almost lasted us the year. The girls loved it, even more than store-bought (which says a lot) so needless to say I was more than willing to cook some up for my loving fans, this time enough to last until next tomato season. However, last year I was late on the uptake, I missed the bulk tomato season and bought the wrong type of tomatoes by the pound. When I saw the local grocery store with bushels of the "right" type of tomato my heart skipped a beat and I knew it was time. My mind thought, 3 bushels should do it, and if I need more I can always come back.

4 batches of salsa later there was a whole lot of tomatoes still sitting there. I don't think we had even used a full bushel. I'd recently read an article that canned tomatoes really weren't that great for you, something about the acidity reacting with the tin of the can. Great. I called up a friend who had sworn off canning to see if I could exchange her unused jars for a couple of homemade salsa. 24 jars of diced tomatoes later, there was still a whole lot of tomatoes still sitting there, and I was once again out of jars.

A quick run to a 24 hour Sobey's (at this point we were well beyond local stores still being open) and Rene returned with an additional 24 jars. I thought I'd mix it up a bit and try some tomato sauce. I found a recipe online that seemed yummy, and that I conveniently had all the spices for, and went about whipping up a batch of that. 8 jars later, still a whole lot of tomatoes sitting there.

At this point we were spent. It was midnight. We were tired...and both a little nauseous from inhaling fumes of cooking tomatoes all day. With 1/2 a bushel still left we called it a night. I sent my helper packing and tackled the last couple hours of waiting for diced tomatoes to finish up in their water baths.

I think I fell a little more in love with Rene that day. I knew he was a hard worker when it came to things like cutting wood, home renovations, building furniture and other "manly" crafts that he's so good at. But watching him wield a paring knife, wearing an apron, in the kitchen ALL day and night, boiling, de-skinning, de-seeding, and dicing tomatoes, willingly running off to fetch jars and other canning supplies we ran out of made me realize what kind of man he really is. One who loves me enough to spend his only day off in the kitchen with me dealing with my over-zealous-ambitious-tomato-canning-3-bushel vision. Never once did he complain.

Sunday, I was still spent. After returning home late from a  family birthday bash the house was a disaster and dishes were piled high on the counter. I crashed, leaving that lovely husband of mine doing the dishes (which, in my defense, I did say I would do in the morning because I knew how tired he was too).

When I woke in the morning, the site in the kitchen made me cry. And that's not a small feat. Not only were all the dishes done, 1/2 a bushel of tomatoes sat on the counter, peeled and diced. The garbage was even sitting at the curb with all the rotten tomatoes tucked in the green bin. I spent the morning finishing up the canning, put on some labels and hauled our harvest down to the food storage.

I also have to acknowledge my other trusty helpers. I wish I had taken more pictures but my hands were kind of slimy most of the day and I didn't want to seem like a slacker leisurely snapping photos of my family working hard. Amelia, Evelyn and Audree all had their hands in peeling and de-seeding. Amelia helped chop fresh herbs from our garden for the sauce. And Lucienne mostly stayed out of trouble, which is all we could really ask of her.

I'm thinking of asking for a pressure cooker for Christmas (hint-hint).

Another Summer Bites the Dust

I know I probably say it every year, but, THAT WAS THE SHORTEST SUMMER BREAK EVER!!

Today was the first day of school for the girls. Kind of. Audrée has to wait until next Thursday for her start date but the other two started today. This morning after the girls got on the bus we made a paper count-down chain, 9 loops for 9 days. It almost seems cruel that we've finally arrived at her year and she still has to wave to the girls as the bus disappears around the corner.

Anyway. The girls are ready. They were excited to see all their friends again and find out who their teachers are. Amelia's class is back together after having been split for 2 years so she's excited to be with Charlotte and her other girl-friends that she's been separated from. Evelyn's class will be split this year so she was a bit nervous to find out who she'll be with.

Turns out it's split with 15 of her classmates in one class and 4 of them in with the grade 1's. She's one of the four. At least she's with three of her closest friends but I'm not sure how I feel about her being with the younger grade when there's only four of them. I wish there was an easy way to keep tabs on what she's covering versus her counterpart classmates but I suppose if she seems to be getting smarter she must be doing ok. At least she enjoys reading and in the grand scheme of things if she doesn't cover everything that a normal grade 2 should cover she'll probably still survive in life.

Amelia's excited because this year she gets to learn English! Which really just means they can finally speak English at school and not get in trouble. Apparently they'll also be allowed to read the previously outlawed English books. It's the little things.

In the meantime, I have a couple more weeks of only having to get two girls ready, two sets of teeth brushed, two lunches made, and two bags packed. And I have my super Audrée helper home to help me entertain her little sister. Oh how different it will be when Audrée's not here.