Wednesday 26 September 2012

Making time for the important stuff

Sometimes, especially with kids, we just get so caught up in our routines, school, activities, chores, etc...that life itself seems to pass us by. We fell into this trap a couple of years ago-swim lessons, skating lessons, music classes-our weekends were over before they had really begun. It was Sunday evening and we hadn't really had any time to just hang out.

The problem of course, was that the kids actually wanted to do these activities, and we had a hard time saying no. But this year, when planning out the kids' weekend activities, I decided to keep our Sundays activity-free. It has meant Saturdays are mad, and that we had to sacrifice an activity or two.

But it has also meant we have one day a week set aside for us as a family-time to sleep in, have a breakfast we don't have to rush through, and go places we wouldn't get to go otherwise.

One of our favourite places to go is the Bois-de-l'Île-Bizard Nature Park. It is about a half-hour drive, depending on traffic, and the only cost is parking. There are a couple of trails, including the marsh walk. And there is even a beach.




This was the first Sunday after the kids' activities started, and already I know we've done the right thing.
How do you make time for your family?

Wednesday 19 September 2012

Market day

Here in Montreal, we aren't lucky enough to have a Whole Foods. I know as I write this that Whole Foods has faced criticism, but I wish we had the option of a large grocery store chain that fills the organic niche. (I suspect the reason we don't have a Whole Foods, is because of Quebec's language laws, but that's a whole other post.) What we have instead is a handfull of smaller organic stores, with huge mark-ups, and conventional grocery stores that carry some organic foods.

We also have a pop-up organic market, the Marché Fermier, close to our home. Every Sunday and Thursday, all through the summer and right up until mid-October, local producers set up their stalls on a "green street" nearby.






























The market is a project of a non-profit organisation called La Maison de l'Amitié. In the few short years it has been around, the market has carved out a place for itself in Mile End. I'm sure some of this has to do with the Sunday afternoon concerts, and the little contests (a recent example was a multiple-choice question about the number of varieties of plums grown around the world.) But it's also just really laid-back and friendly. Oh yeah, and there's the food.



There aren't too many market days left before the cold weather sets in. Already, I know we're going to miss the food we've been enjoying from the market. And we'll miss the market itself. While I'd love to have the year-round selection of organic foods available at a place like Whole Foods, I know it couldn't replace this market.


Monday 17 September 2012

11h15 Monday morning


Yes, today is a school day, and yes, that is a hot fudge sundae Ruby is about to dig into, and yes, it is almost (but not quite) lunch time. At this point, I'm pretty sure you're wondering what kind of mother I am. Well, going to McDonald's is something of a tradition for me and Ruby. I take her here several times a year for a sundae, after every hospital appointment.

You see, Ruby is a heart child. If you don't know what that means, you're very lucky. Ruby was born with a cardiac malformation. I could get very technical here, and either tell you the name of the condition, which is pretty long, or I could describe it in detail. But honestly, none of that makes much sense to most people, it's just so many words. So, I'll just say Ruby has had several operations, including open-heart surgery when she was eight-months old, and she is pacemaker-dependent.

We're really lucky that Ruby gets to have a fairly normal childhood. She does gym class at school, she has swim lessons, she's taken figure skating lessons, and even competed at the Montreal Games one year. Most of the time, I don't see her in terms of her heart condition. She's just a normal little girl.

It wasn't always like that. When Ruby was born, we were told that she had a 50 per cent chance of surviving. During her first year, Ruby had a cardiology appointment every week, and we were never sure if that would be the week we'd be told she needed to go in for an operation. But we only had to live like that for a year. I know some families whose heart kids will need major operations every couple of years for the rest of their lives. All we have to worry about at this point is having Ruby's pacemaker replaced when it starts to wear out. As I said, we are very lucky.

And so, several times a year, Ruby and I go to the hospital, and step into our lives as a heart family. We arrive early, hand in her hospital card, say "hi" to the nurses and technicians, chat with other families whose kids also have pacemaker appointments, and we wait...and wait...and wait. Today, her appointment was an hour late, which wasn't so bad.

And then, after the appointment, we get to step back into normal life again. To celebrate, we have a hot fudge sundae, on a school day, even if it's almost lunch time.

Saturday 15 September 2012

Outdoor music

We now have our first open-air piano here in the neighbourhood, only a few blocks from where we live. I think we'll walk over this evening with the kids and see if there's a concert, or maybe put on one of our own.

Here is the piano's inaugural concert, performed by Patrick Watson , on the corner of St-Denis and Marianne.

Friday 14 September 2012

Learning as I go along

The first time I used a sewing machine was in Family Studies class in grade six. I remember being terrified that I was going to somehow manage to sew through my finger (I really didn't have any faith in the machine's foot...) Over the next three years, I produced a series of sewing mishaps, euphemistically referred to as 'projects' by my teacher, who must have wondered how anyone could so consistently sew crooked lines, get the tension wrong, or just not even line up pieces of fabric. To be honest, I much preferred shop class, where I had no trouble making a mail box with key hooks, wiring a lamp, and producing endless plastic key rings. When middle school was over I left sewing behind me and never looked back...until I became a mum.

I somehow got it into my head that Ruby should have homemade costumes. After all, that's what I had had when I was growing up. So, the sewing machine would come out once a year, usually with Hallowe'en looming only two weeks ahead, and I would cut out patterns, piece together fabric, and sew. But that was about my limit, and by the time Hallowe'en was over I was glad to put put away the sewing machine for another year. Then Oscar was born, and I was glad to have an excuse to switch to store-bought costumes.

This summer, inspired by my friend Jessica, I decided to pull out my sewing machine again. Jessica had made a couple of sundresses for her daughter, and Ruby had been admiring them. At eight years old, Ruby will soon be at the point where she doesn't want to wear sundresses. So, I decided to at least try to make one sundress. I figured the worst that could happen would be that the dress would be an abject failure, and that Ruby would realise that my talents as a mother lay elsewhere (pie-making, explaining Plato's Theory of Forms, etc...)

Well, I did it. And here are the pictures to prove it:










 



I found the tutorial on how to make this dress on a great blog called craftiness is not optional. The pattern is for a much younger child, but it was really easy to adapt. So, the sundresses were a success, Ruby is now convinced that I am a a fantastic seamstress (for now anyway...) and I'm working on a new sewing project. Sometimes, you just have to get out there and try something new. I'm glad I did.

What is something new you've tried to learn?
 

Thursday 13 September 2012

Hello

Welcome to Mile End. You won't find this neighbourhood on most street maps. The borders aren't clearly defined...but you'll recognise it when you're here. Life in Mile End just seems to move at a different pace. Kids still walk to school here (or ride their bikes, or their trotinettes...) and shopkeepers still stand on their front steps in the morning and say hi to people walking by.

Mile End is also a neighbourhood of balconies. There aren't too many houses here. Instead we have triplexes, rows of beautiful three-storey buildings with winding staircases, wrought iron railings, and balconies. The neighbourhood kids play on the front stoops, on the sidewalks, and in the alleys.

This is where we live.