Piano Lessons

I'm teaching Piano to beginners!

I'm starting lessons again, to do my Grade 7 piano!

(I need minimum Grade 8 to be teaching)

I'll blog my progress. Please ask me about my progress if I forget.

Newest Blogger in our house

Calla has her own blog! It's callascorner.blogspot.com With that, comes her first email address. She's excited to be able to send her Daddy notes during the day, while he's at work.

Critters

EEEEK. maybe more like... ugh. We have mice residing under the sink. The base cabinet has a collapsed bottom, leaving a gap where the critters are entering. They have their paw prints in the grease cup, and little turds littering the area. (The typical under sink stuff is stored there: cleaning supplies, garbage, potatoes)

If I leave the cabinet open, will Minx, my mousing cat, take the hint and catch the little critters? Probably not, because I want her to.

A Quiet Wednesday

Wednesday is our home day. It's the day I keep for home-based learning activities.

How many subjects does baking cover?
Well, let's break it down:
1. Reading-I read the ingredients to R, he had to look at the list and find the right box on the shelf. (salt, baking soda...)
2. Math-explained fractions, read fractions, measured ingredients
3. Science-mixed ingredients, discussed whether we could separate them again, baked the muffins

C read a chapter from a Fairy Magic series book with few problems. (ugh, can they PLEASE stop making those books, each one has the same boring plot!) She likes them, they keep her reading which is good. Maybe I can sneak in some Magic Treehouse books for some variety.

We now have sight words stuck to our basement stairway walls. 20 words for R to learn to read, same 20 for C to learn to spell. And I thought I'd never get to the cross-teaching stage!! I know!! I'll put the colour words on coloured cards for E to learn her colours, while R learns to read the colours, while C learns to spell the colours.

I had a great idea for E & R. I want to make (or buy) an alphabet pocket chart, so E can put the letter in the pocket, R can put an item that starts/ends in the matching pocket. If they can play together, they can learn together.

It's a BOX

Who knew one freezer box could produce so much fun!! They had lunch in it, schooled in it, played in it, painted it.

Zoo

We spent yesterday morning at the Toronto Zoo. Winter trips are always our favourite, as the kids get the run of the place. The parking lot was nearly empty and we saw about a dozen other people there.
Eliana had to be pulled away from many exhibits, as she was so enthralled with each animal. The prairie dogs stared at her, the large aquarium had her amazed, she loved watching the gorillas, but the best was the Mandrill exhibit. There is a plexiglass barrier between the kids and the mandrills. I don't know who enjoys it more, the kids or the monkey! The kids would put their hand on the glass, the monkey would do the same. The monkey would move, the kids would follow. It was great!! Eliana put her hand on the glass where the mandril had his foot on it. They laughed when it licked the glass. (I think the girls would have licked it too, but we stopped that!)

MY AVM / VVM / VM

Sometimes finding an online community that one fits into isn't easy. I've been on parenting boards, homeschooling boards, but the one I feel most at home at is the AVM Survivors network. An AVM is Arteriovenous Malformation. My AVM is on the right side of my face & neck. I've had it referred to an AVM,VM and VVM (venous vascular malformation). Before finding this group, I had never met or talked to another person with a facial malformation similar to mind. Most of this group have brain AVMs, completely different than mine, but there are a few of us with facial VMs. To speak with someone who knows EXACTLY what it's like. To discuss past treatments, future options, to vent frustrations, fears.

There is a new treatment that my Interventional Neuroradiologist wants me to have. It's Interlesional Bleomycin. A minute amount of a cancer drug is injected, causing the veins to collapse. (the easy explaination) After a number of treatments, my AVM will be gone. Day surgery. No complications to speak of. So, you might ask, what am I waiting for?

Well...this may be hard to believe...I know what I look like now. I'm fine with it, it never bothers me. How am I going to look after? What if something does go wrong. Last time I was treated, I had Bells Palsy for a few weeks. What do I tell the kids: Mommy didn't like how she looked? I teach my kids that it doesn't matter what a person looks like, it's how they act, what they do. So, is this hypocritical? On the flip side, I think I should get it done, so they don't get asked 100x "what's wrong with your Mom's face?"

Sometimes it would be nice to just blend in with the crowd. Unless you look unique, you don't honestly know what it's like when people come up to you and remember you from a brief meeting, simply because you look different. For example: I had E in the ER a few months ago. During Christmas shopping, a woman approached me and asked how E made out. E wasn't with me at the time. Would this woman have recognized me if my facial malformation wasn't there? Probably not.

It is part of the ME. It's made me who I am.

This decision is not an easy one, not from a medical point of view, but from a personal one. As a child, my condition was managed by my parents. I must now (and should have 10+yrs ago) take ownership of my AVM.

Kids

I have a great helper with the snow. He's 5yo and can shovel out the walkway while I do the driveway. He does a great job too!

My dear 2yo just combed my hair. She stood on the chair behind me, and while I typed, made my hair 'pretty'

And the 6yo? Well, she stayed inside while we cleared the driveway, then watched the 2yo for the last 10 mins while I finished the driveway.

Sick Kids ads

Here's my rant. Why does Sick Kids Hosp. have to showcase stories of babies who died, on Teletoon, so I have to explain to my kids (6 & 5) what 'heart transplant' and 'her heart stopped' means. And why the Mommy is crying. I understand they're trying to raise money, but all I want to do after watching the ad is call their 1-800 number and ask them to stop putting those ads on kids channels.

Gluesticks and toddlers

What's the difference between Chapstick and a glue stick? Nothing if you're 2. Yep, Eliana was putting glue on like lip balm. Eww. Good thing it's nontoxic.

While shopping for a freezer, Eliana was given a small 'Bad Boy Furniture' doll that says Noooobody. So, we're in the kitchen, Gord makes the doll speak, then Eliana comes running in from the living room (which is the furthest point from the kitchen), yelling 'mine mine' grabs the doll and runs out. Think she's had too many toys taken away from her???

Happy New Year!!

Spent New Year's Eve with my Sister and her family at our house, on the agreement that Guitar Hero World Tour would be here too. Like we needed the incentive to get that! Guitar Hero World Tour is awesome! I love that the kids can play along too. Calla sings, improving her reading speed. She's becoming an avid reader, which I sometimes forget, especially while I'm typing and she's reading what I'm typing. (right, Calla?) Calla is watching me type and thinks it it neat that I don't look at the screen or the keyboard and I am watching her read this. Rowan plays the drums (oh, we're in trouble in a few years!!) Gord's not bad at all on the guitar. When we play as a family, I'm on Bass, also hitting the drum pedal when Rowan runs off.

Gotta run, lots to do today.