We're either getting busier or I'm getting (more) long winded. This is lengthy! But I assure you there are far fewer words here than in my OhLife entries. :)
***
1. READ
- Something Good by Robert Munch (read to M&G) - the girls noticed how similar I am to the dad in the story: "Oh no! Put it all back. This is all sugary junk." :)
- Mortimer by Robert Munch (read to M&G)
- continued reading two Captain Underpants books (read to M&G)
- I started reading three books by Dale Carnegie
Our naturally-dyed Easter eggs. There are a few places for instructions on my Easter board.
2. WATCHED & LISTENED
TV
- Top Chef (N/K/M/G)
- Top Chef Canada (N/K)
DVDs/Movies
- Oz the Great and Powerful (Sophia with Alissa at Southland)
Podcasts (K)
- The Digi Show
- Paperclipping Roundtable
I cook my Oat-Quinoa Porridge every weekend. Love it!
3. EVENTS & OUTINGS
- Madeline went skating with her class; Neil went, too
- Sophia attended a couple EDGE nights, including a scavenger hunt at the Southland Mall (she and Meghan went together)
- sleepovers with: Elise (G); Rianne (M); Meghan, Alissa (S) - and all three went to Bronwyn's
- playdates with: Elise, Keira (G); Mattea, Alex, Taya W (M)
- Georgia went to It's a Blast with Elise one afternoon
- Madeline went to the Fieldhouse with Aria, played tennis for the first time, and ate lunch at Ngoc Van (Vietnamese Noodle House)
- Neil and I went to Flip for dinner - our food was delicious! - and then to Lancaster Taphouse for a drink
- I attended one set dancing class of the new session - and then didn't return as it was the same evening as my Dale Carnegie course
- I went to the Austrian Club for wings with a couple coworkers
- we all attended Stations of the Cross one evening when the K4J kids were participating - the girls prepared a poster depicting station #4 (Sophia drew it; Madeline and Georgia coloured it; and then Sophia glued on some tissue paper in a few places)
- I went to a Prairie Snappers meetup outside the Science Centre - we took B&W photos in the lobby and outside, and then went to Sweet on Broad St. for coffee (if you're interested, you can see my Prairie Snappers set on Flickr)
- busy St. Patrick's Day: Sophia's ringette game, dancing at Spring Free From Racism, Madeline's ringette game, St. Pat's dinner at Queensbury (where I also danced the Connemara set) - lots of new families from Ireland were there
- Irish dance performances:
- Madeline danced five solos at Parkside Extendicare - Georgia was there, too, but she had a bit of stage fright and didn't dance - perhaps b/c she was the only one there from her class
- Sophia and Madeline danced at the tradeshow, What Women Want
- all three danced at Spring Free From Racism - Georgia was happy to dance with Keira - we enjoyed food from various vendors, too
- all three danced (in street clothes) at the Irish Club St. Patrick's Day dinner
Sophia (1st) and Madeline (6th) at the end of their dance performance at What Women Want.
3. EVENTS & OUTINGS (continued)
- Madeline went to the Sports Hall of Fame with her class
- Sophia played trombone in the Optimist Band Festival at the Conexus Arts Centre
- I enjoyed an appreciation BBQ lunch at my office one day and then lunch out with my manager the next day - I had the #28 Dragon Bowl at Browns Social House - awesome!
- Sophia played a small role in a Passion Play during two masses on Good Friday
- went to the Western Canadian Ringette Championships at the Coop - watched (1) U19 game between two SK teams - they tied 7-7 and then played OT; (2) half of the 18+ gold final; and (3) U19 gold final - close, exciting game and SK won! fun to watch this level of ringette
- after watching a WCRC game with L&B, we all went to Smokin' Okies for supper and then the girls went to their house for a sleepover
- Neil and Steve went to Curt's one evening; they talked about Mosaic
- the girls enjoyed finding treats on Easter morning and dying Easter eggs with Kool-Aid; Neil and I wanted to try naturally-dyed eggs, so we tried it and they turned out pretty well!
- we went to L&B's for Easter dinner - along with Donna and Lou, back from Texas just a couple days earlier, and Laurel's friend Chris - delicious meal and good visiting!
The bench - normally used for sitting! - where Neil waits for the girls after school.
4. RECIPES TO REMEMBER
- Amaranth Chocolate Bars - Sophia enjoyed popping the amaranth for this recipe - grain-free, dairy-free, and yummy!
- super simple guacamole - one avocado roughly mashed, juice from half a lime or lemon, S&P - yum!
- Hot Pink Garlic Jalepeno Kraut
- Skillet-Fried bison steaks (Ribs, Chops, Steaks & Wings)
- Corn and Bacon Chowder (Canadian Living's Best Soups & Stews) - very close to the soup I loved as a kid, but without canned soup
- Spicy Pecan-Crusted Chicken - with whole eggs, no water, and buckwheat flour instead of bread crumbs (Neil dredged chicken strips in flour, then pecan mixture; not mixed together) - loved by all!
- Roasted Butternut Squash - I used lemon instead of orange, and about half the maple syrup called for (also good with no maple syrup)
- Mini Quiches with a Hash Brown Crust
- Kim's Monster Muesli - my creation :) - I now make a double batch of the dry mix so it lasts awhile
- Mexican Chorizo and Sweet Potato Soup (Food Network Mag, November 2012)
- Avocado Feta Dip
- roll-ups made with butter lettuce, turkey, cream cheese, and one of: dill pickles, pickled asparagus, sliced avocado (with lime juice, S&P)
- Crash Hot Sweet Potatoes - lots of work but awesome - I used organic coconut sugar ipo. brown sugar
Crash Hot Sweet Potatoes. I put all of the seasoning on one side instead of turning them over.
5. GIFTS
- received a nice tip from a customer on one of our Leader-Post routes
- Laurel took the girls shopping at the Cornwall Centre for their birthday gifts - a treat in itself!
- socks and t-shirts for the girls, from Donna and Lou, brought home from Texas
- grapefruit from Texas - our last ones! I think the tree is gone now
Neil making Hot Pink Jalepeno Garlic Kraut.
6. SPECIAL PURCHASES
- prepaid plan for Neil's old cell phone - so we could send it with Sophia occasionally (she needed one for the EDGE scavenger hunt)
- furnace inspection (Home Heating Tune-Up through SaskEnergy) - nothing wrong with it
- new tires for the truck - and a bunch of other repairs
- crochet hooks and yarn for the girls
- full version of Minecraft for the computer - Sophia and Madeline shared the cost
- two crocks for fermenting from Ace Hardware in the US - Neil's parents brought them home for us
- work gloves for paper delivery for both of us
The girls used Kool-Aid and rubber bands to dye and decorate Easter eggs.
7. HEALTH
- Sophia came down with a cold and cough - stayed home from school one morning and missed one dance class
- Madeline had a stomach ache and came home from school mid-afternoon
- Neil came down with a cold
- Sophia stayed home from school one morning with a stomach ache; the next afternoon with a stomach ache and headache (the school's principal said 17% of students were out due to illness that day); and the whole next day - stomach again (no vomiting; just feeling unwell)
- at least 10 children in Madeline's class were ill with stomach bugs and/or sore throats at the same time - and Madeline avoided it
- breakfast continues to be a major challenge with the kids (especially Sophia) - still looking for easy alternatives to the highly-processed cereals they were accustomed to
I spent time reading Dale Carnegie books and doing our taxes.
8. ACCOMPLISHMENTS
- helped G with her "Timeline of Georgia" homework - great project; it turned out well!
- produced childcare tax receipts for three - a task that sneaks up on me every year
- removed the trim and hems from Madeline's dance dress; re-hemmed and sewed trim around the sleeves and skirt - I borrowed Laurel's machine as mine isn't working
- registered the girls for swimming lessons at the U of R - last two weeks of July (G in level 3; M in level 6; S in level 7)
- in one of my Dale Carnegie classes, I was voted in the top three for my "lesson learned" story (basically, if you want something you have to ask for it / if you don't ask, the answer is always no)
- submitted our income tax returns using TurboTax - about 10 hours of work for me - blech
Georgia's timeline for school.
9. DISAPPOINTMENTS
- thanks to the ice dam on our roof, water started running down and dripping from the top of the living room windows - on the inside! :( we also had some water around the window frames in both Sophia's room and Madeline and Georgia's room
- my laptop's trackpad stopped working (which affects both the trackpad and the Magic Mouse) - couldn't click on anything - major problem! and it was the Thursday night before Good Friday, so my computer was out of commission for five days over the long weekend
The winter of never-ending snow and cold.
10. GOALS
- completed January photos
- completed January roundup
- took our monthly family photo - same place as last March (when there was no sign of winter)
11. SPORTS
- we enjoyed our time at the rinks with other ringette families - almost sorry to see the season end!
- Madeline's team, White Out, won all three of their round robin playoff games
- Sophia's team, Mojo, tied their first playoff game (it was terrible!) and then won the next two quite easily
- both teams advanced to the finals - first time going to the finals for both Sophia and Madeline!
- it was nerve wracking to have the girls play their semi finals back to back - and one of my worries came to fruition: Madeline's team lost - after winning every league game except the very first one - making it extra difficult to accept - Madeline was heartbroken, and we all felt sad for her and the whole team who had worked so hard all season
- Sophia's team won their semi-final game with a shut-out! impressive! how often does that happen? it was one of Mojo's best games ever
- White Out played in the Novice bronze final and won! (10-3) Madeline was ecstatic - her first medal! it was good to see this team end their stellar season on a high note
- Madeline went for brunch at the Four Seasons with her team after their final game
- Mojo played in the Petite gold final and won! (5-4) what a nail biter! the score was close all the way through... and Sophia had the game of her life (so far), scoring four of Mojo's five goals and assisting the the other one (third goal of the game)
- there was a big crowd cheering for Mojo; the game was intense, and with Sophia performing like she did... super exciting and proud moments for our family!
- Sophia earned the Player of the Game award for the gold final! well deserved! there's a lesson in how this day played out: Sophia was extremely (unusually) happy before the game - I believe she felt like they had already won - and then she played 110% - thoughts and attitude are so important!
- we're so glad Mom and Dad were able to come to the girls' ringette finals - and they were good ones to see :)
- Sophia and Madeline wore their ringette medals to school one day
- Neil attended the first Gaelic Athletic Association meeting in Regina where they chose their name (Regina Gaels) and colours (navy, green, and white)
- Sophia had signed up to do curling after school but it was canceled because there weren't enough students signed up (they needed eight)
Madeline's bronze and Sophia's gold medals. / Watching ringette at the WCRC.
12. NOTEWORTHY
- completed Nutrition for Health Promotion and Disease Prevention at Coursera.org (which covered heart disease, diabetes, cancer, obesity and weight management, and disorders of the GI tract) on March 6 and earned a grade of 100%!
- the final assignment (to prepare a dish from your culture, and provide the recipe, nutrition analysis, and a photo) was so fascinating, I did 36 peer assessments and collected a bunch of recipes from around the world (my dish was bison stew)
- enrolled in and started the Dale Carnegie Course: Effective Communications and Human Relations/Skills for Success on March 14 (eight classes on Thursday evenings, 5:30-9:30)
- Thursdays (for eight weeks) were long days with papers + work + Dale Carnegie class - but the class was always inspiring and energizing so I never felt tired during class
- Neil always had my supper ready to pick up and take to my class :)
- Madeline is a good helper and hard worker when asked to do something around the house
- Alternative Measures called to tell us what's required of the youth who spray painted words on our van last summer: a letter of apology and 220 hours of community service (which may include work in the park he also vandalized) for which he'll receive $200 - and he must donate that money to the Kinsmen
- Sophia worked on her babysitter's training with L&B
- it was extremely challenging to get Sophia to her dance class on Saturdays - this class involves a lot of stretching (to prevent injuries) and less dancing, and she hates it with a passion
- all three girls started learning how to crochet - Sophia learned from a friend at school, and the other two watched excellent videos: Howcast Arts & Recreation - How to Crochet for Beginners
- Sophia wrote her Concours speech about crab spiders :)
- saw a dude skiing behind a truck one morning (on my paper route)
- cold, snowy weather all through the month - what a difference from last year! near blizzard conditions one day - many highways and roads were closed around Regina
- the girls brought home report cards from school - Georgia is mature, vibrant, respectful, and hard-working; Madeline listens well and is always ready to participate and help out; Sophia is a well-rounded student and always friendly and considerate with everyone (glad to hear she's like this at school!)
- Madeline and her friend Alex tobogganed off the roof of her dad's house! video on YouTube
- we spent three hours delivering papers one morning when we subbed for a carrier who had subbed for us (two hours for his route alone) - there was so much snow, we nearly had the van stuck a few times
- Neil spent several days removing snow and ice from our roof
- the girls and their cousin Bronwyn made an awesome video - the story of Cinderella - truly amazing what B can do with an iPad!
