according.to.kim

Sparks day camp

Day camp was fantastic! And what a perfect day for it. What was the temperature this afternoon? 24 degrees (Celsius)? Whatever it was, it was gorgeous!

The camp was at Glen Harbor Girl Guide Camp which is near Saskatchewan Beach. There were 18 Sparks from two separate units, as well as Brownies and Girl Guides at the camp today (the Brownies and Guides stayed overnight last night and tonight). The girls were divided into five groups with all levels in each group, and they did several activities with a Halloween theme. I helped all the groups stamp Halloween images with acrylic paint onto canvas bags. I also carved a pumpkin and handed out treats after the scavenger hunt.

Sophia enjoyed the whole day. Soon after we arrived, I was asked to help set up the paint craft and Sophia was whisked away with the rest of the girls. I didn't see Sophia again for about two hours. She was happy to see me, and then she said, "The next time I go to day camp, I guess you can leave because I forgot all about you!" That makes me happy! But I'll probably go anyway, because it was fun for me too. It was nice to get to know some of the other parents as well.

I guess I should get Sophia to bed now. It's 9:30 p.m. You'd think she'd be tired after a day like today, but no, not Sophia!

Twelve and a half weeks

After twelve and a half weeks, we were finally able to give the girls a bath in our own house! It seemed like this day would never come. For three very long months, Sophia and Madeline have only bathed at relatives' homes; otherwise, they showered in our basement bathroom and at the pool after swimming lessons. Also, I had them soak their feet in the kitchen sink once in awhile. I'll admit they weren't the cleanest kids this summer!

Our bathroom renovation is now 99.8% complete. We pushed hard this week to get more than a dozen smallish tasks completed, and we have only three things left to do (which will have to wait because I'm taking Sophia to Sparks day camp tomorrow). I've even filled and painted the nail holes in the baseboard. We're that close to being done.

This project was so painfully long and tedious. I can't even tell you how much I hated the process or how frustrating it was at times, but I will say... the result is beautiful. I'm very pleased -- thank goodness! And I've never wanted to clean a bathroom as much as I want to clean this one. I just want it to stay looking fresh and new. I will take photos and post them as soon as we're totally finished.

The smell of KFC

(Here's another one for you, Rob.) Memories of driving to Melville with grandma and grandpa Mantay to visit great grandma Mantay in the nursing home. We would often (always?) pick up Kentucky Fried Chicken in Fort Qu'Appelle and we didn't eat it until we got to Melville. Yup, an hour in the car smelling KFC but not eating it! I think we would have a picnic there. It's been a long time; over 20 years for sure. Those were good times.

Great grandma Mantay (Margaret Wirth) lived to be 102 years old. Crippled by arthritis, she entered the St. Paul's Lutheran Home in Melville in 1954 and lived there for 35 years (I think she was the longest resident of that facility). She died in 1990.

Health update

It's been over five weeks since I came down with pneumonia. I'm still coughing, so I went to see my doctor yesterday. (She had said to come back after I finished the antibiotics to make sure the pneumonia is gone, but I didn't go.) She listened to my lungs and heard the odd crackle, so she prescribed a corticosteroid (budesonide powder) inhaler twice a day for one month. What a pain! I kinda wish I hadn't gone to the doctor now. I'll really regret it if I get a sinus infection, ear infection, or thrush which are possible side effects (among many others). I'll definitely do lots of rinsing and teeth-brushing after each dose, and for added prevention (I hope), I'm going to take acidophilus again (it's been sitting in my fridge for ages but is still good). I'm to go for another chest x-ray if I don't seem to be getting better.

Just a bit on Sophia's UTI... Her doctor called last Monday evening (three days after she started antibiotics) and said the lab report came back saying the bacteria was resistant to the antibiotic he had prescribed. He was going to prescribe another antibiotic, but didn't because she was feeling fine. Apparently, she had cleared it on her own. I hope it doesn't come back, but that is a possibility.

The smell of shoe polish

And shoe glue. Strong memory triggers. Good memories of my grandma and grandpa Byrns working in their shoe repair shop in Federal Way, Washington. I think it was called Century City Shoe Repair. My grandpa wearing a blue apron or smock. The sound of hammering, polishing, sewing. The gum ball machine in the front of the store. The dry cleaner next door.

I loved going to the shoe repair store. My grandpa died in 1986, so it has been more than 20 years since I was there. I remember it well though, and the smell of shoe polish always brings it back.

I don't know why I thought of that this morning. I didn't have the shoe polish out!

Harvest/farm/life update

Harvest began on August 1. By August 26, Neil and his parents were finished harvesting the peas, lentils, canola, and durum, and only had chickpeas left. Neil's dad finished harvesting the chickpeas sometime last week, except for some spots with heavy Kochia. I understand the crops were pretty good.

I'm so glad the harvest was relatively short and Neil didn't have to stay at the farm much this year. (Last year, they harvested almost continuously for seven and a half weeks.) Plus, it was fantastic -- and I'm very thankful -- that Ross, a relative from Alberta, was there to help with harvest, especially when Neil couldn't be there (when I was sick or he had classes).

The farm has been on the market for several months now. Here's the listing: MLS #225062.

Regarding Neil's real estate endeavour: He attended a six-day course this month for which he'll write four exams tomorrow (September 25). He also sent in his Phase 2 assignment last Tuesday, and he'll write that exam on Monday, October 2. After that, providing he gets at least 70% on everything (and I have no doubt he will), Neil will be able to get his license!

Neil has already had his photo taken for cards, advertising, etc. (I'm dying to see how it turned out!) Also, before he can start working for Century 21 Conexus Realty (Regina South), he has to provide them with 200 names and addresses for an announcement letter. (So, if I know you and you live in or near Regina, don't be surprised if you get one!)

Etymology of names

I've had this piece of paper kicking around here for quite awhile; perhaps a year. It's time to toss that paper, but not the content: the meanings (or etymology) of my children's first and middle names.

Sophia - "wisdom" (Greek)
Kristine - from Christian, "Christ-bearer"

Madeline - from Magdalene (biblical); "might", "power" (Greek)
Kathleen - "little darling" (Celtic)

Georgia - "farmer", "earth worker", "a tiller of the soil"
Mabel - "lovable" (Latin), "my beautiful one"

If you're interested in the etymology of first names, Behind the Name is very comprehensive.

Riders 23, BC 20 in OT

Neil and Sophia on their way to the Rider game this afternoon. It was Sophia's first time. Sounds like Neil picked a great game to take her to! The weather was great too -- sunny and 20 degrees Celcius.

Curious Georgia

She's really crawling and exploring every nook and cranny now!

(Did you know that Curious George is on back on TV? It started this month on PBS and CBC. Brings back memories for me, and the kids love it too.)

Good useful websites

Top five (not including the uber-useful Google):

• Snopes.com (Urban Legends Reference Pages) - THE source for finding out if that forwarded email has any credibility. They've seen (and researched) it all.
  
• Savour Life - All about the food scene in Saskatchewan (especially Regina). I highly recommend subscribing to the weekly e-magazine. Always informative.
• BabyCenter - Simply, my go-to site for everything about babies and children (I'd say for pregancy too, but I'm SO done with that). I like their newsletters as well.
• Google Maps - Good-looking, easy to use maps.
• Environment Canada Weather - For obvious reasons.

Speaking of fat

Until recently, I had the general impression that all saturated fat was bad and I was trying to avoid it, or at least limit my consumption. As a long-time reader/skimmer of Nutrition Action, I've been trained to read the nutrition label of every single thing I buy. The first two things I check are saturated and trans fats. (I try to avoid trans fat completely, but some dairy products have 0.1 grams of trans fat and I've accepted that... I think.)

However, a couple of weeks ago, I read a few things on the 'net and decided to try extra-virgin coconut oil -- a highly saturated fat -- for cooking. My understanding is that even though it's saturated, coconut oil is not a "bad fat". In fact, it's a healthier fat to use when cooking and contains good stuff like lauric acid. If you're interested, here's what I read:

• Mercola.com - The Truth About Coconut Oil
• Mercola.com - Pure Virgin Coconut Oil: The Healthy Fat
• Coconut Haven - Pure Virgin Coconut Oil
• Coconut Research Center - Virgin Coconut Oil Wins the War of Oils

Now, don't get me wrong. I'm not telling anyone to go out and buy coconut oil. I'm no expert on the subject; I just wanted to share what led me to believe that switching to coconut oil for cooking would be a good thing. Decide for yourself! And hey, if anyone out there has an opinion on this subject, I would like to hear it.

Anyway, FYI:

• I bought my 100% organic extra-virgin coconut oil at Old Fashion Foods. (It bugs the hell out of me that there's no "ed" at the end of "Fashion".)
• I love the smell of it! (No surprise since I love coconut.)
• I've used it to cook eggs and chicken and was very happy in both cases. (It does not make food taste like coconut.)
• I haven't yet decided if I will use it as a "luscious and soothing body oil" as suggested on the jar.

I love potato chips

...but I don't love the fat, so I'm always on the look-out for lower fat chips. I've tried many and it seems disappointment is almost guaranteed -- until now. Neil found Kettle Brand Bakes at our corner store the other day and they are for sure the best lower fat potato chip we've ever had.

I'll still eat my favourite Classic Lay's once in awhile as a special treat, but for ordinary snacking, I could be pretty happy with these Bakes. (Salt lovers beware, there is very little salt on the Salted version; hmmm, they'd be fabulous with a low-fat dip. The Aged White Cheddar ones have more flavour and they're great. I haven't tried Hickory Honey Barbeque, but I bet they're good.)

On the topic of chips, I adore Stacy's Pita Chips (Simply Naked), but potato chips are my first love.

Fun, fun, fun

Sophia had her first Sparks meeting last evening and it was great! She proudly wore her new pink t-shirt (Sparks uniform) that says, "I promise to share and be a friend." I was there the whole time ('cause Sophia would not let me leave, of course*). The leader is awesome. She's a mother of three grown girls who all went through Girl Guides. The other helpers (a teacher, university student, and grade nine student) were great too. There are 20 girls (5- and 6-year olds) in Sophia's Unit. One of them is also in her kindergarten class.

The girls had so much fun playing games and singing songs outside. All very active stuff -- right up Sophia's alley. Also, at the end of the meeting, they played a game where they passed around three little stuffed animals ("Spark friends") during a song and whoever ended up with one at the end of the song got to take it home for a week. Sophia was one of the lucky ones! She ended up with Emer, a little green teddy bear from Ireland. There's also a journal that goes with Emer and we are to write down what he did and where he went during the week. Sophia's very excited about this!

I received a letter outlining many of the activities planned for the year, such as going on a city bus, visiting a nursing home, skating, tobogganning, and various parties. Tons of fun!

*At first, Sophia was very shy (as usual) and buried her head in her hands (or me) when anyone spoke to her. Fortunately, she started to warm up (literally and figuratively) when they played a game that involved running around. Sophia had been having fun for about 30 minutes and was happily playing a game when I told her I was going inside the building for a parent meeting. She immediately started crying and saying, "Don't leave me!" She was so distraught, she had to come with me. She did rejoin the Sparks after a little while though.

It's really frustrating when all the other children (including Madeline) don't seem to give a hoot that their parent isn't right there with them. It's happened many times and we're always left wondering why she acts this way. BUT, since I've been reading Raising Your Spirited Child, I've learned that this type of reaction to new people/places/experiences is just part of the spirited-child package, and I find it it so much easier to accept now.

Played volleyball tonight

I subbed for my ladies' team on one-hour notice. And what a way to kick things off after an 18-month hiatus! It's A-side competitive ball (quite a bit more strenuous than rec), we played two two-game matches with only five players (and lost them all), I'm out of shape, and I'm still coughing from my bout with pneumonia. Plus, in the second match I started getting cramps in my calves -- from dehydration, no doubt. Still, it was great! I love playing volleyball no matter what. And considering the circumstances, I didn't play too badly! Wow, I'm exhausted, and I'm going to be so sore tomorrow.

School notes

I'm very pleased with how well Sophia has adapted to going to school every day. She's cooperative when it's time to get ready and she's happy to go. I believe that having her attend preschool at the same school (classrooms off the same hallway, in fact) has paid huge dividends this year. Plus, it's great being able to leave Sophia outside the school when dropping her off. She seems to handle the separation much better there than at the classroom. Finally, there's absolutely no doubt that having Bronwyn in the same school and being able to see her before class and at recess has played a big role in Sophia's eagerness to go to school. Sophia loves taking the bus too. I'm so glad she can get used to taking the bus two days a week now before she has to start taking it five days a week. Good stuff!

Madeline is loving preschool too. Right from day one she's had no trouble saying goodbye to me when I take her to school. She often sings songs she's learning in preschool and likes to play "school" now. One day last week, she was playing "Madame Lorch" (which is her teacher's name) and she wanted me to be one of her classmates. The only problem Madeline has is not being able to go to school every day like Sophia! (But she's fine when I have to tell it's not a school day for her.)

You were playing WHAT???

Yesterday morning, we stopped at Darren and Ali's to drop off a few items for the garage sale. We were just going to be there for a couple of minutes, so the girls stayed in the van. When Neil and I got back into the van, it was obvious that Sophia and Madeline had gotten into my purse and my lipstick. As we drove away, I scolded them for going into my purse and putting lipstick on without permission, and I asked a very silly question: "Why did you do that?!"

Sophia's reply: "We were playing hooker."

I wasn't sure I heard that right. "You were playing what?

"Hooker."

Huh? Did she just say hooker?! Neil and I looked at each other. We were both thinking, Does she know what a hooker is?! (Remember, they were also sporting some extra makeup.) For a second, I considered asking Sophia if she knew what a hooker was, but decided not to. I did NOT want to go there.

Neil and I were just so confused, we had no response. After a few seconds of our stunned silence, Sophia piped up, "Yeah, we were using the hook to hook your purse!" (The hook is a very long shoe horn that was in the van for some unknown reason.)

What a relief!

I immediately knew what she meant because when B was with us on Friday afternoon, they were playing with the long shoe horn and had snagged my purse several times. Each time it disappeared, I would think of something I needed from my purse and then act very surprised when my purse was missing. The girls roared with laughter every time I exclaimed, "Where's my purse?!"

Busy days

Between trips to the lab, doctor, school (3x), drugstore (2x), and Darren and Ali's (2x) ('cause I had a bunch of stuff to sell in their garage sale this weekend), it seemed like all I did yesterday Friday was help the girls get in and out of the van. (I also spent quite a bit of time pricing our stuff for the sale.)

Sophia and Madeline had a big happy day today yesterday... birthday party at 10:00 a.m., swimming lessons at 1:00 p.m., another birthday party at 2:00 p.m., and then a sleepover at Bronwyn's (starting right after the second party). At that point, Neil and I took the opportunity -- sans 5- and 3-year-old -- to do some shopping and go out for supper. It was so nice! Shopping and dining can be very challenging with Sophia and Madeline right now. Georgia was as good as gold (as usual).

We have another busy day tomorrow today. Neil has to finish his Phase II assignment (and I'll proof read it), plus we have to do a bunch of caulking in the bathroom, get Sophia and Madeline, and help wrap up the garage sale (remaining stuff will be donated or taken to the dump). We also have a person coming to sharpen our Cutco knives in the morning and I'm going to a friend's Pampered Chef party in the evening.

Sophia's ailment

Early Friday morning, Sophia started having symptoms of a urinary tract infection. As soon as the office opened, I called our doctor and booked an appointment for her at 1:30 p.m. They faxed a requisition for a urinalysis to the closest lab. I took Sophia to the lab at 11:00 a.m. (the earliest I could get her there) and they faxed the results back to the doctor before her appointment. Sometimes the system works very well!

Neil was in class all day Friday, so I had to take all three girls to the lab and to the doctor appointment. I picked Sophia up at school to take her to the doctor and then took her back about 45 minutes later. That was all fine except when I went to the classroom to get her, no one was there and it took a few minutes (time I hadn't planned for) to find them in the school library. We managed to be on time for the appointment anyway; it's a good thing our doctor isn't far from the school.

Between the urinalysis results and Sophia's symptoms, the doctor diagnosed UTI. He prescribed a liquid antibiotic (sulfa drug) for one week. After only three doses, Sophia seemed to be feeling quite a bit better this afternoon.

Eight month photo

I was looking through the eight-month photos of Georgia and had the feeling they looked very familiar. Sure enough, Sophia was wearing exactly the same outfit for her eight-month photo with the same teddy bear. (I'd show you but that would involve scanning which is too time-consuming at the moment. Sorry! The other photo of Sophia was easy to post because I already had a digital copy of it.)

Thank you

Thank you to everyone who sent supportive words regarding the situation with Sophia. I really appreciate them. I'm not sure why, but it actually does help to know we're not alone.

I'm definitely going to get a copy of the book Laurel suggested: Raising Your Spirited Child: A Guide for Parents Whose Child Is More Intense, Sensitive, Perceptive, Persistent, and Energetic by Mary Sheedy Kurcinka. The book sounds perfect. I can't wait to read it. This is from the publisher:

The spirited child—often called "difficult" or "strong-willed"—possesses traits we value in adults yet find challenging in children. Research shows that spirited kids are wired to be "more"—by temperament, they are more intense, sensitive, perceptive, persistent, and uncomfortable with change than the average child. In this revised edition of the award-winning classic, voted one of the top twenty books for parents, Kurcinka provides vivid examples and a refreshingly positive viewpoint.

The title of the book describes Sophia to a T. Also note the "uncomfortable with change" characteristic mentioned above. We've encountered this many times with Sophia. In fact, Sophia was in "fine form" at her dance class on Monday evening; her reason: it wasn't the same place as before!

In the meantime... the last two days have been a bit better. We are making a concerted effort to praise Sophia for all the good stuff and have reined in our negative reactions to the less desirable stuff -- except when safety is an issue (usually Georgia's safety).