Easter Fun

We spent Easter in Kingston at my parents place and Kathy, Steve, Jenny, Mary and the kids were all able to come as well.

The weekend was great - we celebrated Kian's third birthday, got to go on some adventure walks, and had a fun Easter Egg hunt outside in the nice weather.

I've posted a bunch of pictures as a slideshow - just click on the play button. You can make it bigger by clicking the enlarge button in the lower right corner (looks like four arrows pointing outward) and you can also click on "show info" in the upper right corner if you want to see some captions on some of the photos.

Sugaring Off - Kingston Style

Growing up in Quebec, I have very fond memories of going "Sugaring Off" (trip to Maple Sugar Shack). When I was little, we'd got to a wonderful place somewhere out in the country and enjoy touring around and learning how they make maple syrup and all of the other products. We'd get to sample the maple syrup being poured onto snow, and see how they evaporate the water from the sap to make the syrup.

We'd then go into a big lodge where they had huge long tables set up, and you'd be served an amazing meal of pancakes, sausage, bacon and real maple syrup. They'd have traditional French singers and musicians playing songs and there was always lots of singing and food and fun.

Times change though. I have no idea if the festivities still run the same way in Quebec anymore, but I know that things are much simpler if you go to maple syrup festivals throughout Ontario.

While Alex and I were in Kingston for a couple of days over March Break, he and I went with my parents to a local conservation area that has a fun "Maple Madness" event going on where you can go out to the woods, learn a bit about the process of making maple syrup and sample some pancakes with warm syrup. Granted it wasn't as extravagant (or fattening lol) as it was when I was a kid in Quebec, but we truly had an amazing time.

The weather was incredible and it was so much fun to get out for a little bit with Grandma and Grandpa and Alex had fun running along the path and checking out tree after tree to taste the sap that trickled into the pots.

I got some great pictures from the morning - hope you enjoy them.

Please note - if you click on any of the pictures in my blog, they should show you an enlarged version.

What an Imagination!

Alex has a wonderful imagination... I'm not sure if it comes from being an only child or if this is typical of being a five-year-old, but he's actually really good at keeping himself occupied.

One thing he's always loved to do is "fight bad guys". He will have very complex (and noisy) battles by himself where he jumps from one piece of furniture to another, having mighty duels with Star Wars bad guys, or Ben 10 monsters or one of the bad guys from things like Spider-Man or Superman. It's very cute to listen to as he does all of the sound affects for the battle, while he's literally bouncing around the room.

Another fun imagination game is to build forts or playhouses. Sometimes I build him the fort and then he'll spend eons getting it all set up just the way he likes. Other times, he'll build it himself, like he did in our bedroom closet or under his bunk bed.

And the latest craze is dressing up so he's ready for some adventure. He usually will just disappear into his room, and then come out wearing the most incredible outfit - adorable, bizarre, funny, outlandish and oh so priceless. I've managed to grab a picture of some of his latest outfits (usually for some big adventure or for the inevitable... 'for fighting bad guys'.

Winter's Ending

Well it's hard to believe that our first winter (well... half winter) in Ottawa is nearing an end. Alex and I built a cute little snowman in our front yard, but it didn't even last till Chris got home as the temperature starting rising and the snow changed to rain, so our pour little snowman became a lump by the time Chris finished work.

A few days later, it snowed again with nice wet snow that's perfect for making snowballs and snowmen, so Chris and Alex went out to the backyard to make a snowman with Strider running around like a lunatic, chasing snowballs and generally being a typical goofy lab. I was stuck working on the final stages of a big project, so Chris asked me for some suggestions about what to use for the eyes, nose and mouth on the snowman. I told him that Alex and I had used baby carrots for eyes and a small parsnip for a nose, and licorice for the mouth, so Chris raided our fridge and decided to use small baby red potatoes for the eyes and buttons, a parsnip for the nose and licorice for the mouth. They also put a hat on the snowman and gave him arms and had him holding up a broom - the snowman looked adorable and Chris and Alex had fun playing outdoors.




Once they came in to hot chocolate and a warm fire, they left Strider outside to play. That's where the plan derailed a bit. For anyone else with a Labrador retriever, you'll probably be able to guess what happened. These dogs are literally walking garbage disposals - cute, but they will eat just about anything you put before them. So just imagine what Strider did when faced with what he surely saw as his personal buffet in the form of a snowman... he very carefully ate every edible part of the snowman without disturbing anything else.

I looked out a few hours later and our poor snowman was still there, but without the parsnips, licorice and potatoes!

Lesson learned, I guess. *grins*

Another big winter activity we got Alex involved with is skating. It's a bigger deal here in Ottawa as it seems kids are fitted for skates before they can walk, so we're a little behind the typical schedule but Alex seemed to get the hang of skating very quickly. The first time out, he could barely keep his balance but within minutes he could stand up on his own. Now, after only about 4 short practice skates with us in Kingston and Ottawa, Alex went on a field trip with his class to the local arena and got to skate with his class. Chris and I went along to help out, as did many other parents from the class. At first, Alex held onto Chris' hand, but very quickly he was skating on his own towards Chris. It was fun to see him getting comfortable with this new sport, and I truly hope he enjoys it as it will be nice to skate on the canal next winter with him. We had hoped to do that this winter, but they closed all of the outdoor rinks earlier than usual due to the mild weather we've been having in Ottawa.

Here's a few pictures of Alex skating with his class trip.

Earth Hour

Once again this year, I'm planning on having our family participate in Earth Hour - it's a very small thing we can do to learn about climate change and help Alex learn about making responsible decisions for the environment and recycling and conserving energy.



I fully admit that we're probably one of the worst examples of being a "green" family. We are still getting used to the new 'green bin' program that Ottawa initiated in January, and we still make the mistake of throwing out things we could probably recycle - but we are trying to change. I have used local "freecycle" groups for about two years now and have kept quite a few things from being thrown away.

For those who don't know what Earth Hour is, here's the info from their website:

Earth Hour started in 2007 in Sydney, Australia when 2.2 million homes and businesses turned their lights off for one hour to make their stand against climate change. Only a year later and Earth Hour had become a global sustainability movement with more than 50 million people across 35 countries participating. Global landmarks such as the, Sydney Harbour Bridge, The CN Tower in Toronto, The Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, and Rome’s Colosseum, all stood in darkness, as symbols of hope for a cause that grows more urgent by the hour.


In March 2009, hundreds of millions of people took part in the third Earth Hour. Over 4000 cities in 88 countries officially switched off to pledge their support for the planet, making Earth Hour 2009 the world’s largest global climate change initiative.

Earth Hour 2010 takes place on Saturday 27 March at 8.30pm (local time) and is a global call to action to every individual, every business and every community throughout the world. It is a call to stand up, to take responsibility, to get involved and lead the way towards a sustainable future. Iconic buildings and landmarks from Europe to Asia to the Americas will stand in darkness. People across the world from all walks of life will turn off their lights and join together in celebration and contemplation of the one thing we all have in common – our planet. So sign up now and let’s make 2010 the biggest Earth Hour yet!.

It’s Showtime! Show the world what can be done.

Fun Visits with Family

Over the past two weekends, we've been lucky to have been able to spend lots of time with family. Over the long weekend (Family Day), Kathy and Sarah took the train up from Toronto and stayed with us for a few days. It was great having them here - and Alex loved having Sarah around to play with.

Aside from some fun watching the Olympics, we also got out to our first time at Winterlude (Ottawa's Winter Festival) for a bit of fun on ice slides, and checking out snow sculptures and having some treats. We didn't stay too long as the day was cold and snowy and overcast, but it was great to get out to our first official "Ottawa" outing. The next day, we went to the Museum of Civilization and the Children's Museum and had a great time checking out some of the fun exhibits and learning a bit about different aspects of Canadian history and culture, as well as different cultures from around the world.

Here's a few pictures from Sarah and Kathy's visit and our time at Winterlude and the Museum of Civilization.

Relaxing and playing DS by the fire


Ready for some Winterlude Fun!


Sampling the maple sugar on snow (he wasn't keen on it)


Chris and Alex coming down the big ice slide


Checking out a snowmobile



Alex and Sarah on a bus from India (I think)


Alex checking out how some people live in other parts of the world.


Building a wall in a house with Sarah


Riding a camel near the pyramids



This past week, Chris was in Kingston visiting veterinary clinics in the Brockville, Kingston and Napanee areas, so Alex and I went up by train to join him on his last night there. Alex and I took the train from the Via station near our place and enjoyed a nice relaxing trip to Kingston. Chris and Alex then spent the night in the hotel hanging out and having fun and I went to stay at my parents' place for the night and had a nice relaxing visit with my parents. Chris then dropped off Alex early the next morning on his way out to visit more vets on the Friday and Alex and I had fun hanging out with Grandma and Grandpa.

We made cookies, did some Lego and had a nice time until Chris came home later that day after he was finished work. On the Saturday, Chris and I went to see Avatar in 3D - what a great film! We'd been dying to see it, but just didn't have the time lately, nor did we have someone in Ottawa to watch Alex so we jumped at the opportunity to go see a grown-up film with just the two of us.

Grandpa took Alex out for lunch and then they ran a few errands together before meeting us at the movie theatre after our movie. We then took Alex with us and bought him his first set of ice skates as well as a helmet and face guard, and then we stopped in downtown Kingston to have Alex try out the skates for a bit.

That night, we had another great dinner with my parents and a fun evening. We got packed up the next morning to head back to Ottawa but stopped at the same small downtown rink again for Alex to skate a bit more so Grandma and Grandpa could see how well he was doing.

It still seems odd to be able to go visit them in under two hours - but it's great to be so close.

Here's a couple of pics from our visit to Kingston showing Alex trying out his new skates.

Organ Donation and You

In late October, I happened to read an amazing, and uplifting and heart wrenching story on the Toronto Star's website about a woman named Natalia Ritchie. Natalia has CF and was waiting on a lung transplant and the story profiled her blog and her desire to keep a record for her new baby daughter (born through a surrogate only a few months earlier). The story was incredible and I looked up Natalia's blog and was overwhelmed with her incredible story and the strength with which she was approaching the wait for a lung transplant, while dealing with CF and being in a hospital.

I found myself following her story - and was incredibly moved by her words and pictures and the brutal honesty she brought to her blog about the pain and anguish of living with CF, and also the joys and victories she experienced with her life, her family and her friends.

Most everyone who knows me would not know that I once lost someone very dear to me, and that organ donation has always been very personal to me. I've always known I would be an organ donor if something were ever to happen to me, and I've made sure to tell Chris about my desires, and to make sure that I have filled out my consent when renewing licenses, etc.

When I lost my friend, it was an awful time - it was a shock to lose someone so important to me who I thought I would have in my life forever - with no warning, no time to prepare. Saying goodbye to him in the hospital was beyond painful, but I respected his family's decision to donate his organs to people who could live because of their generous and loving decision.

So reading Natalia's blog and following her story struck a chord with me. As her blog chronicled her failing health, my heart went out to her and her family. As she slipped away day by day while waiting that "call", it helped me keep my own problems and stressors in perspective. We were in the middle of our move and trying to find a new home, and I was feeling so sick and scared at times, and I was truly fearful we'd have to sell our home and would not have a place to live right away (we'd sold ours before we found a place in Ottawa and the closing was very quick). As scary as that was, I couldn't help but feel that my problems were nothing compared to the battle Natalia was waging...

Time did seem to be running out for her when the call... THE CALL... finally came and she went through a double lung transplant. Reading her story and following along with her recovery has been an amazing experience, and because of her blog, I've spoken to many others about the importance of thinking through organ donation and ensuring your loved ones know what your desires are if anything tragic were ever to happen.

Recently, Natalia posted a link to another amazing blog - the story of a young girl (Eva Markvoort) who also has CF who had received a double lung transplant only two years ago and recently found out that her body was rejecting the lungs. She then had to wait for a second transplant - but it seems as if time is running out for Eva. To say that her blog is amazing and heartbreaking is an incredible understatement. Eva's story and pictures and words are so difficult to read, but they are also so important and so precious.

I urge you to check out their blogs - be prepared for tears, but if it helps to spread the message of the importance of organ donation, then I'm happy I made this post.

Natalia's blog can be found at:
http://www.natandmarty.blogspot.com/

Eva's blog can be found at:
http://65redroses.livejournal.com/