The Biker's Back

Yesterday I heard the screen door slam; I thought Nolan went outside to dig in his snow cave. But when Nolan came downstairs I realized it was Jarom who went outside. I went to see what Jarom was doing and surprise, surprise he was not in the backyard, I went to find him and heard his little bike wheels riding down the road. When I finally saw him, he gave me a smile of pure happiness and said, “Mom, I Love riding my bike”.

Nolan
Jarom loves action figures, especially ones that come with a horse or a motor bike. He recently found a Playmobil guy that I was saving for a special occasion and has been pouring over the pamphlet which shows him all the other Playmobil guys he can collect. He and Nolan have a plan of all the guys they are going to buy. Nolan was telling Tricia how much Jarom loves Playmobil and said, “I am going to save up all my money so that I can buy Jarom those guys he really wants”. Nolan has always been unnaturally generous and kindhearted. He makes me so proud.

Spring Break!!!

Friday officially marked the start of Spring Break. I love Spring Break! It is a little taste of what summer is going to be like. I love having my kids home and being able to do fun things with them. I love the carefree nature of life. I love not having to make 4 trips to school every day (6 on Tuesdays and Thursdays). I love not having to force feed my kids breakfast before I send them out into the world. I love not having to ask them 15 times to brush their teeth, get dressed or get their coats on; we are off to do fun things so asking once is all that is required.

Yesterday we went to the Manitoba Museum of Man and Nature. There is always a lot to see at the museum and this trip was one of the best since Jarom was old enough to understand everything a little bit better, ask questions and tell me stories about things he knew. He only set off the alarm twice for going in areas he wasn’t allowed to go. Nolan and his friend Greg dressed up as voyagers and guessed the different pelts of lots of different animals. Nolan was especially interested in the Red Fox because he recently finished a report on Red Foxes that was quite impressive.

Today we made an early morning trip to the Zoo with some friends from church. They all have little kids, so Nolan brought his friend Leon along making everyone’s trip much more enjoyable. We’ve been the Zoo lots of times, but it’s always fun to go and see the monkeys and other animals. Because of the weather, lots of animals were out and about and moving that we normally don’t get to see in action. Usually the animals just lay on the stands in stupor of boredom. I’m sure most of them have been locked up for the winter so their still small cages must feel extra large after of winter indoors.

#6 Snow Flower and the Secret Fan

I know you have all been anxiously awaiting my review; sorry. I posted the picture and then ran out of time to do my write up. Such is the life of a busy, busy, busy stay at home mom.

I could probably go on and on about this book forever, I loved it or I guess I should say, was enthralled by it that much. In fact, I tried to convey my thoughts on the book the other night to James, Tricia and Spencer, but after a while their eyes started to glaze over, so I figured my 15 minutes were up.

Summation of the book:

This is the story of two Laotongs (“same olds” an emotional match between two Chinese girls that lasts throughout their lives). This story tells of their foot binding, arranged marriages and life as Chinese girl/women. I would highly recommend this book; as I have previously mentioned, I love books that introduce me to Chinese and Japanese culture. This book provokes alot of thoughts about the mistakes we make as women and the essential need we have to be loved and understood. I think this story would make a wonderful book club book.

Ok, I realize that I didn’t summarize this book every well, but there is so much in this book that I loved that I’m not sure what to write about.

I give this book 5 out of 5 starts *****

I am currently reading “My Sister’s Keeper” by Jodi Picoult. It’s an emotionally hard book; I wasn’t quite sure what I was getting myself into when started reading it, but now that I’ve started I have to find out the ending.

Round 2

Behold the latest display of love between brothers. You may all remember the black eye Nolan gave Jarom last year... I’ve included a picture just incase you somehow managed to forget. On Sunday during a very competitive game of basketball Nolan tripped Jarom and Jarom landed face first into the same T.V. stand that caused the black eye. Unfortunately the picture is unable to capture the full degree of the swelling and bruising, but it’s a dewsie. It’s only going to worse as time goes on and the bruise starts to works it’s way to the surface.

March is my least favorite month of the entire year. The ground is still covered in snow, it slowly starts to melt revealing all the dirt, grime and garbage that has collected over the winter; every once in awhile we are teased with a day or two of warmth that only make the cold windy days that much crueler. But the worst part of March is that the kids have been stuck indoors for 5 very long months and have the worst case of Spring Fever. The fighting comes to a climax and we all go to bed at night dreaming that the snow is gone and the weather is such that we are able to frolic outside. It’s a good thing the Groundhog saw his shadow this year or I may have been driven to drink myself into a Coke induced oblivion.

Book Review #5 - The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time

This book is unlike any other book I’ve read. Mark Haddon has written from the perspective of Christopher, who has autism. While out walking in the middle of the night he comes across a dog that has been murdered with a garden tool; Christopher decides to become as his favorite detective, Sherlock Holmes, and solve the mystery of Wellington’s death. On his quest to solve the crime, he uncovers things he was never meant to know.

This book is very interesting because Christopher comes across some very emotional situations. Because of his autism, he is unable to react in an emotional way, but rather uses logic and mathematics to understand and deal with what the situations at hand.

I give this book 4 out of 5 stars ****

Basketball Star

Saturday was Nolan's last basketball game of the season. The kids played a great game. I couldn't help but feel proud of them as I watched them dribble with one hand, bounce pass, rebound and score; all of the players have improved so much since our first practice. It was rewarding too see.

I loved coaching the team and I hope that I can coach again in the future.

Lucky Charms

I have inherited a no sugar cereal policy from my mother. Growing up our cupboards were full or healthy, hearty cereals, such as Shreddies, Raisin Bran and I think I even remember a box of Grape Nuts sitting on the pantry shelve for so long that it had an inch thick layer of dust on it ( you know it’s bad when even the parent won’t eat it). Once in awhile I stray from my policy and break down and buy my kids a box of cereal that we have affectionately named “Crap Cereal”. This was just such an occasion on our shopping trip on Monday.

Jarom saw a box of Lucky Charms and declared it to be his favorite cereal. Chalk one up for the creators of all Lucky Charms commercials; they obviously know their target group. I ended up buying the LC and the second we walked in the door, Jarom had the box open and poured himself a bowl. After school Nolan entered the house and it was like he had a sixth sense that a box of crap cereal had somehow made it into the house; he had a bowl poured before I even had my coat off. I think the beloved box of cereal last all of 3 hours. Every time I turned around the boys were sneaking a bowl. Now for my confession… I had a bowl too and it was Good!!!

Book review #4 - Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress

Under the revolution of Mao, thousands of Chinese young people were sent to mountains to live with peasants to be "re-educated". This is the story of two friends, Luo and Ma, who after a time come across banded literature. Luo falls in love with a peasant girl, who is the daughter of the mountain tailor. Luo reads the little seamstress Balzac hoping to educate her simple mind, making her more acceptable to the society he comes from.

I’ve always been fascinated by books from other cultures that allow me a glimpse into their traditions. This book was delightful as I found myself totally engrossed in the lives of the characters. I would highly recommend this book.

I give this book 4 out of 5 stars ****

CariBoo

Jarom is a big time gamer. He loves to play pretty much any game that is available to him… not sure who he inherited this wonderful quality from. As a result I am always on the lookout for new games. I picked up Cariboo after Jarom played it with his Speech Pathologist and I realized the value in it. It is a delightfully fun way to get kids to learn their number, colors and letters. Jarom being a typical boy has no desire to learn these; hence the only way for me to get him to learn is to trick him into it. Anyhow, on with the game explanation; there are 6 or 5 balls (not really sure which) that you drop down into 3 holes, after a little shake the balls land under doors which the kids open according to the cards they draw. If by chance they are fortunate enough to pick the door with the ball inside, they drop the ball into another hole leading to the tumbling tidepool. When all the balls have gone into the tidepool a treasure chest opens to reveal the jewel. It’s a fun quick little game that I am sure all kids will enjoy. It's for ages 3 and up and retails for around $15. I had a hard time finding it and finally snatched up the last one at Wal-Mart.