NS pictures - Halifax waterfront

some NS pictures (finally) - the pumpkin patch

Leather Daddy Piglet

Well, no need for Choose Your Own Adventure parenting this week. Jason sailed through his activities - engaged, happy and energetic. Yoga class was great. He stood still in Mountain pose for 17 seconds and laid down, doing deep breathing in corpse pose for over a minute (yes, I did time it). He also assured his yoga teacher that was going to "practice relaxing at home". We also just returned from Sporty Kids, where he had a blast working on his golf technique.

I had a lot of pain in my back this week which has led to the discovery of laying around, reading and watching daytime television this week. And while my projects go unfinished and I have to ask Heather for more help in the evenings, I must say it is a relaxing lifestyle option!

I went out last night to see a trans/queer stand up comedian. My life of queer activism and parenting colided as the comic used stuffed animals to act out a queer community meeting ("Leather Daddy Piglet"; a dog who identied as a"furry" because he liked to dress up as a seal; dominatrix Hello Kitty). Of course the stuffed animals were lent voices in the comic sketch, which is exactly what Jason really enjoys right now. Usually when he asks you to come and play cars right now, it is not the person he wants but rather someone to give voice to his teddy bear. On one hand, I do regret ever starting this but on the otyher, it was little brown teddy who coaxed Jason to eat lunch today. Nonetheless, I was vaguely uncomfortable last night noting how crazy talking stuffed animals looked.

Choose your own adventure parenting

Sometimes I feel I am in a game of "choose your own adventure parenting". If you remember those books from the 1980's, basically you are faced with a situation, are offered some choices and once a choice is made, you follow on in the adventure with whatever consequences are attached to your choice. What was great was that you could work your way through the book many times, trying out different scenarios. Unfortunately what choose your own adventure (CYOA) parenting lacks is the chance to try try out choices because if the results aren't to your liking, you can't go back but rather have to deal with a whole new set of choices.

Example: "Sporty Kids" program, today in Kanata (suburbia). It is a child only program which was frankly a surprise to both Jasona nd I the first day. I have decided that it would be good for him to do something on his own that is more fun than euphemistically name "pre-school" aka daycare. (he sees right through us on that one by the way). Anyway, what do parents do during "sporty Kids"? Well, on Day 1, most parents, mainly Moms, came prepared and the class started with free time for the kids and the cracking of magazines for Moms (things like "Kids Bedroom Renovations" and I don't think it is what Jason does every evening in his room. Today I was prepared. I had a Chatelaine magazine with me!! Festive holiday planning special!!! I even had a drink.

All was going well in the early part of the class. Jason was having a lot of fun and was glowing, all the way through warm up stretching. Today was basketball, another favourite, until the ball bounced into his face. From then on, Jason was sobbing off and on for 40 minutes. I was in the gym (no Chatelaine for me). He would try to re-engage every few minutes but then more sobbing. Then water bottle throwing. Then a fit. And it was as I watched him rolling on the groun, that I was struck by the choices I had before me: a) hard core Mama - get up and walk out of the room and out of sight; b) soppy Mom - "come here my littlw wee baby..."; c) somewhere in between - giving hugs but trying not to get too emotional. I had been trying this but we all know how good I am at being unemotional; or d)pull him from the class, and address the not great behaviour of cup throwing.

If this were really CYOA parenting I could have tried out each of these ideas and more to see I anyone of them could have resulted in my son finshing sporty kids by playing with the parachute. Instead, I pulled him, trying to talk about cup throwing, gave up, gave hugs and we played outside. Came home and had lovely cuddles and stories. I guess it was a good choice after all.

I am now tidying up, which my Mom always did with enthusiasm but I hate, probably because parts of our house resist and refuse "tidying up" attempts. However, Jason had walked into the house 2 days in a row and announced "what a big mess!"

On the way to Sporty Kids (did I mention it was in the suburbs), Jason was rocking out to some kids music, and shouted up front "Rock and roll baby" which is what I say to him when we start on an an adventure. Once in kanata, he asked if we were in Halifax (I guess it seemed like a really far drive). When I asked why it reminded him of Halifax, he said because it's cloudy.

One more - I also think that this Halifax remembering might have led to the tears. After class he spent a long time on a big boulder pointing out where Halifax and Ottawa would be if it were a map and how far apart they are. :(

Halifax, soccer and more...

We are back from warm and sunny Halifax (and no I am not being ironic – we endured the curse of being too warm most of the week!). We had a great week, with many highlights. Jason said that going to the park with everybody (at various times) was the highlight for him. He is also still talking about the tire swing high in the tree on Hwy 102 and the “enormous” pumpkins at Howard Dill’s pumpkin patch.

Some of Jason’s best moments over the week…

- Saying “at last at last we are at the pumpkin patch” when we were really just lost and turning around.
- Then asking if the local Windsor restaurant would “have tofu? I like tofu.” No, my dear this is the land that tofu forgot. He however consoled himself with homemade turkey soup. And a couple of my French fries: “At last at last, my French fries!”
- Trying out Gran’s Nordic walking sticks at Point Pleasant Park.
- Hanging out with me in Halifax’s North End, including storytime at the North end library, coffee at the café, and a visit to the Mic Mac Child Development Centre.
- In Thursday’s wind and rain, he was quite concerned that it was “raining in my eyes”. He was okay once we reached the discovery centre and he got to act out a very elaborate rescue helicopter scenario, involving walking along a (pretend) street with Mam, letting go of my hand (big no no) and bumping his head. Luckily the rescue helicopter could whisk him to the doctor. If we did this once, we did it 10 times.
- Claudette’s cookies, which Mom and Jason are currently trying to emulate. “I really enjoyed eating those when we were in Halifax”.

We had a rather dramatic ending to our trip when we were unceremoniously placed on stand by because the flight was oversold and told that our ranking for actually getting on the place depending on “our status with Air Canada”. It’s funny but I always thought that if one bought a ticket for a certain flight one could reasonably depend on traveling that same day. Anyway we got on at the last minute, and I had the presence of mind to note to Stockwell Day as I got on that “my wife and I are raising a wonderful family”.

The glory and pain that is 2 and 4 year old soccer…

Heather and Jason go to soccer on Saturday mornings and this was my first time participating. Jason was having a rough morning with a great deal of crying before the whole thing even started. At any given time, a minimum of 20% pf the kids aren’t playing soccer – they might be rolling around on the floor, sitting on parents laps, lying on their balls – but they are definitely not playing soccer. When the coach tells everyone to go line up on the black line, some line up on other coloured lines, some line up on blacklines but the not the one indicated, and six or seven just go climb into the net. Aside from crying, Jason’s main distraction was engaging a few yoga postures mid-game (downward dog, bridge, etc.). At one point he got playing and ran past us waving saying “I’m playing soccer” as the ball went the other way. There was a major face plant. Then he was doing a drill that involved the coach throwing the ball and the kids chasing it and making a shot on net. Jason had already “scored” to the delight of the crowd. During his second drill, after the coach threw it, a bigger kid swooped in and took the shot. He was so heartbroken (and so was I but we are working though it).

Finally, today we went for a walk in Gatineau Park. Jason was a very good hike leader. He was also very helpful by holding our hands as we climbed over boulders. We have also been doing some drawing which has been great – Jason crossed a new developmental threshold recently and will now announce what he is going to draw and then do it.

Happy Thanksgiving

Hi all,

We are off tomorrow for NS so I will do a quick update and then load some photos from the last few days.

This has seemed like a busy week. Jason and I enjoyed Headstart on Monday. On Tuesday, we went to yoga class which Jason enjoyed despite a major face plant on the floor. We also got to visit with Kiah and her family for lunch afterwards. Yesterday, Jason headed off on his own to pre-school. He seemed excited and seemed to enjoy himself, despite thye teacher warning me that he hadn't peed or slept! However lunch was not the problem. He told me " Oh, the meal I had!"

Today we took Mom to work, had a playdate, speech therapy at CHEO and started our "sporty Kids" program. Phew!

I have had a busy week, volunteering for "dreams take flight"http://www.dreamstakeflight.ca/. I got up at 3 a.m. on Wednesday and got to bed at 1:30 a.m. on Thursday (and I didn't get to go to Walt Disney World!). It is a wonderful program that gets kids to Walt Disney World who probably wouldn't be going in the forseeable future. Despite being a bit bleary eyed, it was great to see those kids get off th eplane. One of the little guys that I drove couldn't stop talking, "We went on a bus, a plane and train...and a bus ...and a plane..."

I also went to a vigil and march for the Sisters in Spirit campaign, again very emotional as it is a campaign to help solve the problem of murdered or missing Aboriginal women across Canada.http://www.sistersinspirit.ca/engmissing.htm

Love to all, Lisa

soccer photos not ready yet...here's a substitute

Marathon man...waking up

So I just sat down to update the blog and my little man is awaking upstairs. He often wakes up talking and today he is saying, "I am here...I want hear that..what is that?"

Jason was a real marathon man over the weekend. Our little guy ran about 1km of the Run for the Cure, and the most difficult one that is on an incline up the bridge and towards Parliament Hill. What a trooper! Just as he got distracted, we came to the part where people wait and cheer, and cheer they did for Jason so he got to cross the finish line to thunderous applause. He was very proud (as were we!!).

He was also busy in many other ways - he and Heather went to soccer. I have pictures to upload in a minute and some little movies (please email me if you want them). Later on Saturday he helped us welcome some of our friends for a celebration of a friend's wedding (he even helped make the cake). jason really put on an early evening show, combining some old crowd favourites such as tree pose from yoga with his funny face and throwing in his "look". There was hopping, blaring fire trucks etc.

Today we went to Headtstart and I must say "hooray" for the G-L family. We both impressed the head teacher with our Inukitut and eagerness to eat raw artic char. We had a lot of fun!!

I think Jason has gone back to sleep but this little wake up is my wake up call to keep moving... a full wake up is close...

LL