I certainly never meant this hiatus to last five months!!! But May was busy with birthdays and getting ready for our big summer trip, then June was busy with more holiday prep and actually leaving on the trip, July we were travelling (not that I couldn’t have updated on-the-road), August was busy with getting settled back home and back-to-school prep, September was busy with getting settled into school, trying to get as much done around the house as possible before going back to work, welcoming our Nanny, a visit from grandparents… And here we are in October already. A full nine months since Button joined the family. Yikes.
So, what’s happened in the last five months? (Other than being busy with all of the above...)
I’ll give you a few brief snapshots, with (appropriately!) pictures:
Animal rescue
Early in May Mustang noticed a sparrow on our street that wasn’t flying well. She was very concerned. When I went out it had made it to a neighbour’s second-storey window awning, so I thought it was okay. But then it fluttered down and flopped about on the road, showing it obviously wasn’t okay. So, using my Tilley hat, Mustang managed to capture the poor critter. We brought it inside and put it in a box with a bit of birdseed and water (and some soft blankets so it would be comfy).
Here is Ms. Sparrow in her box. (It turned out she had a wing infection.)
On Saturday we took it to the bird rescue centre in the southwest section of the city, in the middle of a large, undeveloped wooded area. It was a lovely day, so we took advantage of the opportunity to hike down one of the trails and saw many other wild creatures.
A Canada goose was enjoying the day as much as we were!
it took some doing to catch the bluejay in action. We would put a peanut on the railing by the lookout over the marsh, and he would swoop down, grab it, and fly off in one big blur. I tried following him with the camer, but he moved too fast. So I trained my camera on the peanut and waited, and waited. This was the result.
The squirrels loved the peanuts, too.
As did the chipmunks!
I think this was a turtle shell, sans turtle, lying on the rocks by the base of the marsh lookout.
Watersnake - this was a marshy area and Mr. Snake was quite happy slithering aobut in the water.
Of course, to watch a water snake you gotta get close...
To top it all off, just as we got back to the parking lot, three deer delighted us with their presence.
May is birthday month
Our friend A has her birthday on the 7th. Mustang’s is the 21st. Button’s is the 27th. Laolao’s is the 28th. A’s dad, P, has his on the 30th. So from the beginning of the month, it was birthday planning non-stop! Laolao and Laoye had gone home at the end of March, but they flew out for another visit to celebrate all the birthdays (especially as it was Button’s first Canadian birthday). They arrived on May 20th and stayed until the partying was done on June 5th, this time taking their car that had lived here since October 2006!
Mustang turns 8
This was the first year she had a birthday party with her school friends (and two church friends as well). Mustang really wanted a unicorn cake - and not just a picture of a unicorn, but shaped like a unicorn! So Mommy worked some magic, and this was the result. Not the most elegant-looking of cakes, but Mustang was very happy with it.
Button turns 5
We had a fairly small celebration with a few grown-up church friends and neighbourhood friends. (Actually we had two, with church friends and one with our neighbourhood dog-walking friends (see below).) Since Mustang had a cool cake, Button needed one too. He wanted a tiger, but I didn't have to cut out the tiger shape, so I just decorated it fiercely.
We might have gone a bit overboard with the presents, but it was his first birthday in Canada and he didn't have a lot of toys that were distinctly "his." And I hadn't yet spent any of the "welcome-home" money from friends. So anyhow...
Laolao turns 70
Aoout a week before Laolao and Laoye arrived, it occurred to me that Laolao was having a "milestone" birthday this year. I would have liked to organize a big bash, but didn't have energy or time. So contacted our good friend L and asked if she might host a "surprise" celebration. We did it as a lunch on Laolao's birthday, with lady friends she's made during her manye extended stays. About a dozen ladies came, and it was a nice surprise. And a nice end-of-May day for a lunch in the garden.
A turns 15, P turns 52, and D turns 18!!! With a combined total of five birthdays in seven weeks (D’s is near the end of June), and a busy life with two teenage kids (them) and two little kids (us), and since they hadn't made it to Button's birthday celebration, we decided to have a “family” birthday party with prezzies for all (except the Moms and Laoye - we're the oddballs in the birthday schedule).
Big D and bigger D. (Used to be big D and little D... but that was ages ago!)
Walking dogs
Mustang yearns for a “real” pet. She plays with Calico on occasion, but being a guinea pig, Calico needs gentle play and isn’t particularly responsive. (She’s also rather timid- perhaps as a result of too vigourous play when we first got her? Or perhaps it’s just her nature.) Anyhow, Mustang would LOVE to have a dog. Of course, now that Button is around, he’d LOVE to have a dog too. Or a cat. Or a rabbit. Or a lizard…
Anyhow, after Mustang’s pleading one day in early May, I suggested she could try walking some of the neighbours’ dogs – get some experience, see if she really liked the dogs, get some exercise... “Sure!” she said, “who can we ask?”
There are certainly plenty of dogs in the neighbourhood. The trick is to find a person or family that doesn’t mind. Enter G and C. They live across the street, have three lovely Australian shepherd dogs, and – better yet – G is home much of the time, as he’s retired/on disability. And they like kids.
So I took Mustang and Button across the street and rang the bell. G answered, and we asked if they could walk the dogs. Of course, the dogs are a handful – small (well, medium-sized) but strong. Each of them probably weighs about the same as Button, and they’re low to the ground and powerful. So G gave each kid one dog and took one himself. I went, too, to see how things went.
Holly, at 12, is the oldest and also the gentlest. She was rescued from an illegal puppy mill and has lots of mother instinct. She doesn’t pull much at all, and tends to walk, not run. (She’s the one with the white ruff around her neck.)
Madison is 5 and is quite energetic. A beautiful golden colour, she loves to run, but doesn’t pull too too hard. At least, not compared to 3-year-old Nicky, the most rambunctious of the bunch. Nicky is constantly straining at the leash and wants to go fast, far, and furious.
For about two weeks Mustang and Button faithfully went and rang the bell almost every day after school to go walk the dogs. I was quite impressed! Then it diminished a bit, but not completely. Of course, we were gone most of the summer, and when we got back G&C were gone for a while. But now that school’s back in session, they’ve gone a few times for a dog-walking treat.
And in the process, we’ve made some new friends.
Odds and sodsWhen we hauled the bikes out in late March (as soon as the roads were clear of snow) I had put training wheels on Button’s bike. Within three weeks he had gotten his balance, learned to start and turn well, and didn’t need them anymore.
Look, Ma! No training wheels!
Spring is time to get out the bubble juice. A source of endless entertainment. Mustang still enjoys it, and so do I! We have a “millions of bubbles” gadget that does what it says – well, hundreds is more likely. But to a four-year-old, it sure seems like a hundred-million-thousand bubbles!!!
Well, if you can't get a real live bunny, a stuffy bunny will do. Welcome to Poppyseed...
On the last day of Tulip Festival, on the May long weekend, we went to the festival central and wandered around, taking in a few performances and enjoying an ice cream. But the highlight (for the kids at least) was riding this merry-go-round. They went two or three times!
There’s a nice garden just outside the city where they sell lots of herbs. We made a spring pilgrimage and, besides enjoying the garden, the kids had fun playing in the playground and just running around.
