A walk in the park

We went for a walk in the park.

It was a lovely way to end our visit with my family. Coincidentally, my sister and I were dressed like twins - green jackets and dark jeans.

My uncle and his girls joined us at the park. The six children enjoyed running around together at the playground.

My sister sat on a bench and kept an eye on the chaos while we chatted.

Afterwards the walked by the lake and the kids tried to skip stones in the lake. I don't think they have the hang of it yet. Most of the stones just went "plop" into the water.

Sometimes I forget to stop and smell the roses, but today I made sure to take a moment to enjoy the beauty in the world around me. Thank god for amazing days like today.

Reunions

It was a weekend of reunions this weekend. My parents returned after a long sojourn in Bangladesh My mom brought back many objects from my childhood like for example, a set of hankies that we used when we were in elementary school.

I got to see one of my dearest friends after many months. She was my maid of honor at my wedding, which seemed like only days ago, and now we are both moms of two. Here is my husband cuddling with my friends youngest. She is only 8 months and she is the most adorable child I have seen.

Here's a picture of my friend and I. My friend still looks the same but I look different. Some of you may be wondering why my hair looks a little poufy in this shot. It's because I was experimenting with a hairpiece my mother brought back from Bangladesh. My mom used to wear it in her youth.

Here is my sister trying another hairpiece on. It looks very natural on her.

My brother in law didn't want to miss out on the hairpiece action. It looks decidedly less natural on him.

Mini emo author

It was meet the teacher night. He has amazing teachers. Zaid showed us some his work. There were drawings and crafts and also wrote a book!

It's about a sad boy who has no family. The boy smiles at the end but he still doesn't find his family. It's a very sad book =(.

Losing my native tongue

My daughter's daycare class is learning about farm animals. Her teacher asked parents to translate the names of the animals to other languages. I love that her teacher tries to incorporate bits of our cultural in the classroom. Here are the animals translated into my native tongue, Bengali.

I wonder if my kids will grow up learning any Bengali. We speak English at home since my husband doesn't speak Bengali. I don't know how to read and write Bengali properly. I tried to learn it when I was 16 but it was too late. I can speak it fluently and I love Bengali songs. The lullabies I sang to my children were in Bengali and I hope one day when they grow up they will at least explore the language.

Domo Arigato

For those of you who don't know, Domo Arigato means thank you very very much in Japanese. It's also the way I felt after eating at a restaurant called Domo for the first time. Not only was the food delicious, the service and the ambiance was excellent. Here are some of the things I loved:
1. They were thoughtful enough to bring out plastic glasses for the kids. You would be surprised how many places don't do this.

2. The gave us soup on the house for the kids.

3. They served the food in a boat. It just tastes yummier when they do that.

4. I don't have a picture of it, but we were sitting in one of those little room-like booths, so nice and private. We didn't feel self conscious that people were watching when the kids did something funny.

20 uses for a piece of cardboard

We bought a calendar and it had a piece of cardboard inside it. My son immediately seized it and had me cut a whole in the center. He then spent at least two hours playing with the thing.
Game # 1 -Karate style board chopping.

Game # 6 Walking Picture Frame


Game # 18 Wearing a Bracelet - I know it LOOKS like the Karate thing from Game # 1, but it was supposed to be a fashionable accessory in this case.

I don't know why we bother buying him toys.

The best way to end to a grey day

Look a rainbow!

I braved the cold rain on our front porch to bring you this shot of the brightest rainbow I ever saw. It was like a stream of gold in the sky.

A day at the fair

On a whim, we decided to go to the Western Fair today. Look who we met in the parking lot by happy coincidence:

We met when our boys were three months old at mommy class. I had just seen her yesterday at cooking club. We hung out at the fair together which was great because our kids could go on the rides together and also because my family had never been to the Western Fair so it was great to have such an experienced guide! I love fate!
She led us right to the kidzone and our kids hopped on the rides.
Helicopter ride

Truck Ride

Carousel


Really slow train ride

Cotton Candy Break

Ferris wheel


Ski lift like ride



Centrifugal ride

It was a fun but tiring day. The kids fell asleep in the car.

Cooking club

A few months ago, I started talking to a few of my friends about starting a cooking club, where busy moms would meet once a month to cook a few meals together for our families. Today was our first meeting.  I hosted the session at my house. It was awesome! We had so much fun. I learned a whole bunch of new things from my fellow cooks. Usually I slave away in the kitchen for four hours by myself on Sundays, cooking for the entire week. Well cooking  with my friends took only three hours and at the end of it, we each had 3 entire meals prepared (chilli, vegetable fried rice and tandoori chicken) for our families.  It felt so much easier and quicker cooking together, less like a slave and more like a chef! Thank you ladies for such an amazing experience! Looking forward to the next one that will be hosted by my friend - chef extraordinaire. Until next month......

A creative date night!

My husband, the artist (click here to see his work) hasn't been able to paint in a really long time and he was getting all frustrated, so I planned a secret painting date for us. He had no clue we were going to paint. When the baby sitter showed up, he was apprehensive. He hates surprises, especially since I told him to dress in something he didn't mind getting dirty. I snuck the art supplies in the back of the car and only when he pulled into the art studio parking lot, did he realize what we were going to do. Here he is, a blank canvas finally before him.

Here is our work. The spectacular sunset is his and my painting is a scene from the local bog.

They're still not done. We are going to come back in 2 weeks for another date!
We ended the night with some sushi. Yummmmm.

The romance is still alive even after 7 1/2 years.

Kissing in Kindergarten

Overall I am very happy with my son's school this year. He as an amazing teacher who is full of enthusiasm and a love for teaching. Unfortunately that is not the only love that is in the air. My son, who is not even five yet, has girl problems!


 Last week he told me about a girl who grabbed by the hand when they were outside in the school yard and took him to a place where there was a lot of dirt and kissed him on the cheek. I have since had a chat with the people that watch him to make sure he is always in their sight lines. I have also told him that only family members kiss each other. Yesterday I find out that this same girl declared to the class that she and my son were getting married and that everyone was invited. Obviously someone forgot to invite me to the wedding =).

In addition to this issue, my son has an issue with an "older woman". He says she is a teenager, but really she's a girl in 4th grade. Last year when my son was the youngest, cutest, littlest kid at school this girl used to dote on him. She spent a lot of time playing with him, teaching him things and just hanging out with him. I used to think it was awesome that she gave him so much positive attention. Over the summer she has forgotten him, but for my son, his feeling have just intensified. He says things to me like "Mummy she has the most beautiful smile."  and "I can't stop thinking about her all the time." or "When she smiles at me, it makes me feel so happy." Oh boy, we are in trouble! Yesterday when I asked him what his favourite part of his day was, he told me it was going for a walk with this girl. I asked him what they talked about while they walked. He said "She didn't talk to me" I asked him if he walked in front of her, beside her or behind her, and his answer was "Behind her." Uh oh! I've since had a chat with him, asking him if he maybe wants to make friends with kids his own age, but he says "I will make friends with kids like me, but she is my favourite." He's only four! What is a mother to do? Any advice?

Milestones

The women in the glue family hit some milestones today.

This is me after running 5k in 35 minutes!

Yay! This is a big accomplishment for me. It's been a long time since I ran 5k continuously.

These are shots of my BIG girl at lunch today.

Note the empty high chair. She says she's too big to sit in a restuarant high chair anymore. Sigh..... I don't have a baby anymore!

Bummed out

Couldn't go for a jog this morning. At least the plants are getting some much needed nourishment. Hope it sunny tomorrow morning!

Labor Day Fun

Day two at the water park was just as fun and exhausting as the first. Here we are ready to leave.

Look I'm getting a kiss! As we were leaving, I met the coordinator for the children's club. We chatted for a while and then she gave the kids wolf ears! Don't they look cute?

Look at my tired little cub sleeping on the way home.

I think the ears just make him cuter! I hope this doesn't mean he's going to be up later tonight. It the first day of school tomorrow!

Great day at the water park

Water + stairs + wave pool + slides = sheer mayhem and chaos

Breaking news: my girl stuck by my side all day.

Here a shot of the four kiddies at the beginning of the day.

Surrounded by beauty

Usually I only run on Saturday mornings. I like to spend Sunday mornings lazing in bed. It's all about balance right? However, this weekend I HAD to run on Sunday! Last night I went to a friend's house for dinner. She is a new friend and already a beloved friend. Amongst the many things I love about her, is the fact that she is an amazing cook! She and her husband made us a Hungarian speciality called elephant ears. It is fried dough topped with garlic melted with butter,  sour cream and cheese. It was divine but also probably a 1000 calories! This morning when I stepped on the scale, I was two whole pounds heavier than I was yesterday so I put on my shoes and headed out the door. I am so glad I did. I'm sure I didn't burn off every calorie I ate, but the run was invigorating. It felt incredible!

End of an era

Yesterday was son's last day at daycare.

I think I was more upset than he was. His teachers have been amazing. They have ignited the love of learning in him. I hope he will carry this with him through his time in full day kindergarten. My babies are all grown up. Even this one:

Don't you dare call her a baby! When I ask her if she's my baby girl she says "No! I'm a big girl!" Well excuse me! What's a mother to do?