I had the kids laughing until tears were rolling down their cheeks this evening. Leo asked for a story right as I was getting ready to tuck them in and turn out the lights. I told a story about two kids named Clara and Leo and what they did today (it was a true story) and I used lots of sounds effects. The reoccurring swish swish of Leo's rain pants every time he walked somewhere had them rolling and holding their bellies with laughter!

The reason I recounted the day for them was so that I could make sure Leo knew how proud I was of him for walking all over town with me today. I'm really trying to dump the stroller, half the time it is more trouble that it is worth. It causes arguments about who gets to ride, and it is a pain in the patootie on public transit. So anyway, today was Leo's first tantrum-free metro trip and I wanted to make sure he knew what an amazing job he did of following my safety rules, and keeping up when we had to move a little quicker than usual. The story really helped me tell him one last time that I appreciated his behavior and hopefully he'll remember his accomplishment the next time we hop on the metro or bus. Clara also got a pat on the back during story time because when Clara's Mommy arrived(a wee bit late) to pick her up from school in the story, Clara was all dressed and ready to go and was not at all nervous or anxious about Mommy not being there on time.

Clara B is so cool, she told me when I arrived (5minutes late maximum) that everything was fine; two other mothers were there and Liliane was there (the after school monitor) and she knew that she could stay with them until I showed up. It is comforting to know that she feels so comfortable with these adults whom I also know and trust and that in an emergency situation I know that she would be attended to.

So, other than the bad new that I have to have a wisdom tooth extracted (wahhhh), it has been a fine day :)

Easter 2008

Clara, Leo and I had lots of fun dying Easter eggs this year.

Items of interest from our home:

- Clara was evacuated along with all students from the CSDM on Friday at about lunchtime. Seems that the school board was concerned by the roof crashing epidemic Quebec has been experiencing this winter as a result of all the snow we've had. I picked her up at the BIG Catholic church on Rachel St. Three local schools were evacuated there, when my eyes got accustomed to the darkness inside the church all I could see was an ocean of chattering children - they were having a blast!

-The CSDM snow clearing operation took 4 days, so Clara only went back to school today.

-The toilet that broke while Marc was out of town was fixed by the two resident plumbers; Marc and Leo worked together to replace the handle. Leo found this fascinating and was caught on several occasions in the hours that followed the repair job flushing the toilet and lifting the lid to the tank to see what was going on in there.

-Unfortunately, the toilet repair somehow brought about another toilet problem, a leak in the tank. At the moment we are living with an empty tank and pouring a bucket of water in every time we need to flush. Needless to say Leo loves it, he watches the process over and over again and never seems to get bored. Yes, I know my boy is obsessed with a toilet!

-Clara brought home her report card from school today. It is glowing... so I am glowing too. I am one proud mother I tell ya!

-Leo and I embarked on a day long project to make cinnamon buns. All that kneading and rising... it took forever. And Leo's absolute favorite step of the process - when I gave him the bowl of risen dough and told him to make a fist and punch it down. He was thrilled with the way the dough deflated with his powerful punch.

Being unicorns on Friday afternoon after I picked up my evacuee :)

Notes from day two of my 3 day adventure as a single parent.

1- when Clara and Leo are well prepared for and excited about the plan for the day they are very motivated to get out of the house. We had the smoothest departure EVER this morning and it was at 7:30am!
2- Clara really enjoyed going to the service de garde before and after school today. It was her first time for both. I have a feeling she'll be asking to stay after school more often now.
3- Leo is such a BOY. At the cabane a sucre today I could not tear him away from the corner of the hall that housed 3 video games and a table hockey machine. NO ONE was playing any of these "toys" yet, a gaggle of 3 and 4 year old boys hung around and took turns sitting in the driver seat of the arcade games the entire times we were supposed to be dancing.
4- Leo loved the "eggs that looked like pie."
5- Dragging an exhausted, sledded-out 5 year old and a newly woken up and unhappy 3 year old home is a little like hell on earth. They both cried the entire way from school to home. I just kept pulling the sled and dragging Clara along beside me. It was not a pretty picture.
6- Dinner of whatever mommy can find in the fridge while sitting on the couch watching cartoons is a big hit in our world. Clara kept asking if I was joking as I delivered small bowls of raw veggies, cold chicken, grapes and almonds to the couch and called it dinner.

A very full boy having his head stroked by his buddy Max

Notes from day one of my 3 day adventure as a single parent.
1 - It takes exactly one hour to drop off Clara at school and Leo at the halte garderie and get back home. Both of them arrived at their destinations on time despite the mountains of snow we climbed.
2- The toilet broke. Yep. It still flushes... if you take the lid of the tank and reach in. Great timing I say.

I think I am just about ready to get back to my blog. This winter has been HARD. I can't quite put my finger on what exactly tipped me over the edge, maybe it was the lice, the illnesses (mine and Marc's were the wost this year) or maybe it is just the pure intensity of being a pedestrian through a snowy and at times very cold winter. Whatever it was I hope to be on the other side of it now.

Today was the first day of "spring" break. Now I know why it is called semaine de relache... there is not much particularly spring-y about the weather... temps are mild but the snow, oh the snow. We spent the day mostly at home with a quick jaunt to Shreters for some new winter boots for Clara. I was worried about having to find decent winter boots this late in the season but thankfully one phone call later I had the last pair of Kamik Kids Snow Dogs in size 1 on hold for me at more 50% off their regular price - yay me! The rest of the day was a whole lot of imaginative play for Clara and Leo. They used face paints and made themselves into cats, they built a huge cat house using overturned chairs and blankets, they abandoned their kitty personas and became a prince and princess about to be married, and then they were tired and hungry and played themselves whining and begging for dinner to be ready.