Halloween

Chase had a really hard time deciding what to be for Halloween this year.  After much (days and days) deliberation, she decided to be a witch.  Madoc, on the other hand, knew at the beginning of this month, that she would be Bat Girl.

Halloween

Funny Halloween story.

We have a lovely Chinese neighbor, who asked me "so how does Halloween work?"

I told her how kids go from door to door.  They knock; they ask for candy.  She looked worried.  She said, "but my house is so small, I don't think I can fit so many people in my house?"  So I explained they don't actually come in and hang out, they only stay long enough to grab a handful of candy.  She was relieved.

Tangrams

Madoc was busy in the playroom this morning.  When she emerged, she had something for our cat, Dagney.  Here it is.  Funny enough, Dagney was really impressed and couldn't stop looking at it.

Proud Mum

I'm so proud of you, Chase!  Excellent!  

And what I am most proud of, is not that you can actually ride a bike, it's that you didn't get frustrated and you kept trying until you got it.  Really good job, my girl!  Really good job.

A quick note about bike riding

Chase learned to ride her bike yesterday.  It was an amazing day.  Not just because she learned to ride her bike, but because she was taught by her father, and there were no tears, no scrapes and so many smiles.

I learn more about Chase every day.  She is a perfectionist.  She expects to get everything right the first time.  She gets frustrated easily.  She gets discouraged and shuts down quickly.  And so while she is incredibly clever, and learns quickly, we have to tell her time and again that her best effort counts more than her (immediate) success.

And so that is why yesterday was such an important day, and why I am so very proud of her.  Bike riding is not easy.  But she did not cry.  She did not shut down.  She did not get discouraged.  She stayed focused and gave it her best effort.  And her hard work paid off.

And I'm proud of Hubs, too, for keeping his cool and making it fun.

My little astronauts

A custom rocket, back by popular demand.  Amazing to watch them play.  Chase made a very complex map with all kinds of adventures on it and they've packed their rocket to make sure they have enough things (like lassos) to help them fight aliens.  They play so very well together.

Chase's New Bike

Odds & Ends

Nothing gets my creative juices flowing like really bad air pollution.  With my girls spending most of their time inside these days, I've had to come up with lots of ideas to keep them busy.

Green spaghetti, it turns out, is really fun for about 5 minutes.  I also learned that it doesn't keep overnight.



We also baked cotton balls covered in flour and food color. Great fun!



Shaving cream and cotton wool was also a hit.



We tried to make bouncy balls.  Not exactly a success.



I've also started working with the girls on their manners.



Chase has become an incredible artist.



And Madoc is, too!  Here is her self-portrait.



Life is good!

Long time, no post

Quite a lot has happened since I last wrote.

Chase started a new school.  She had some growing (shrinking) pains at first but seems to have settled in nicely.  She tells me she has a lot of friends, but for some reason I always hear about the kids that aren't nice.  She is swimming once-a-week there, and taking Mandarin.  She takes a taxi to and from school with two other girls, it still makes me very uncomfortable, but the other option is to be in the car for 3 hours every day.

Madoc is at her same little school, which is lovely and fun and supportive.  We have decided to hold her back a year, because she was born in December, which makes her the absolute youngest in the class.  And as she is also the youngest at home, if we don't hold her back she will never have a chance to lead, whereas if we do, she will be the oldest, know the most and have a chance to help, guide and lead younger children.  She will also get more out the curriculum.

Hubs is still happy at work.  We have our fingers crossed for another relocation in the next 6-months.  The air pollution here is absolutely the worst part of living here and downright depressing after almost 3 years.

Funny little conversation between Madoc and Chase yesterday.

Chase - "Don't tell Madoc which garden I'm going to tomorrow.  Madoc, you guess."
Madoc - "um, Kadoori Farms?"
Chase - "no"
Madoc - "um, school Garden?"
Chase - "no"
Madoc - "um, kindergarten?"

Funny girls!