I took this video about 2 weeks ago but each time I watch it I start tearing up with laughter… so of course I had to share…
The funniest part starts more around the 1:40 mark but I love the beginning part too so I decided to share it all…
The Kitchen table is truly the heart of the home… it is where we eat as a family (though with 4 kids it is not often the most relaxing of times) It is where we sit and talk. It is where the boys play with toys, or where Colin draws.
A few years ago we bought a new table. It looked OK right? It wasn’t… It was not only very boring, it was cheap… I learned my lesson…
I had bought it used and it was clean and the table was sturdy (and it actually could extend to fit 10 which was a lot of fun when we had people over) but within months the cushions that were covered with plastic when we had bought it were stained and dirty and then as time went by and the kids were… well… kids… the chairs just couldn’t keep up with the abuse of everyday use.
We kept on finding screws on the floor and after many times of repairing the chairs they just could not be repaired anymore and in the last few months we were down to just one or two chairs that were actually usable. Being that the boys have grown so much in the last years and are all too big for the higher chairs that we had for them it meant that we not only needed the four chairs that we had, we actually now need 6… we were four chairs short. That meant that Kitchen table was no longer the heart of the home anymore… it was not inviting, it was not a comfortable place to be. We used it when we had to but avoided it the rest of the time.
So, for the last months I have been looking for a new set. Money is tight so we needed to look for used and after seeing a few sets up on Kijiji that I really liked but had sold quickly, I knew exactly what I wanted.
On Saturday, about an hour before I left to go grocery shopping and go out to supper with “the girls” it happened… I found it…
It was listed for 300$ neg… and they said that there was one chair that was in need of a bit of repair… So I sent a message and said that I would offer 200$ and I would go get it right away (I was heading around that area any way) Just before I was about to head out the door I got the call… price accepted and I could go get it…
I got to the house with the idea that if it was not to my liking, I was willing to back down. But, I was not disappointed…
It is perfect… even with one chair that needs a bit of repair (there is a rung missing that can be replaced)
We have a new heart in the house, it makes me happy… we are back to eating at the table, I now sit at the table again and read and have tea. I look at recipes and the boys are back at the table to draw and play… We sit there for breakfast and lunch and supper and talk.. it just feels good to have that back…
Now I can’t wait to quilt a new runner and display things that make me happy…
Where is the heart of your household? Do you eat at the table on a regular basis?
If it were not for NaBloPoMo I would not be posting right now.
I am sick. It’s not fair for a mom to be sick. Who takes care of us? We have things to do, we have people to tend to, we have meals to make. My head feels like a watermelon that is about to explode. Heavy and stuffed to the brim…
But my day went on as usual… breakfast, cleaning up, starting stock for supper, hanging out with the kids, lunch, doing other misc. things in the kitchen, watching a movie, making supper etc…
At this moment, I am ready to be done. I finally finished making super and it is in the end stages simmering on the stove. Chicken and dumplings, ultimate comfort food and great sick food…
Of course being right before supper it means that it is the witching hour when kids are getting tired and hungry and everything is getting on their nerves… especially their siblings so I gave them the look (not my proudest moment) and asked them to go do something in the computer room so that I could have a bit of quiet and they went and did just that.
Luckily Willa also fell asleep about 45 min ago so I can sit for a few minutes trying to keep my head from exploding while waiting for Simon to get home…
As moms we should be exempt from colds…
It’s not fair to be sick and be a mom at the same time…
On the south shore of Montreal, on highway 30, just east of the 20, there is a hidden gem called the “Électrium” that not many people seem to know about…
Really, unless you are going there specifically, or out to one of the towns past the 20 (including where I live) you would never see it.
The Électrium is Hydro-Quebec’s “Electricity Interpretation Centre”… It is full of information, experiments and hands on activities about electricity and best of all, it is free! If you have read my blog for while or looked back in the archives you will see that I have already written about it, but another visit, warrants another post.
Last Friday the boys and I headed to Montreal for Wilhelmina’s Dr. Appointment… (btw… everything is looking good!!!) On the way back I went to the Atwater market to get some veggies and food for the week and then on the ride back home I decided to stop at the Électrium on a whim. Each time we had passed by the boys would talk about it but it was never a good time, so this time it was perfect and they got so excited when I took the exit.When we arrived, there was no else there.
We were met at the door by one of the guides and she asked if we wanted to just go around by ourselves or if we wanted the guided tour… The last time we were there we were with a french homeschooling group, so even though the kids understand french, it takes a bit more effort and were not able to really listen and follow. Of course, it was also more than 2 years ago so the age difference adds much more to comprehension also. So I said that it would be fun to have an english guided tour. We were asked to wait for a minutes in the unlikely event that others that wanted to follow an English tour may arrive, but no one did so we started…
(Waiting for the tour to start)
The first part of the tour is watching a series of clips on electricity made by the NFB.
They only showed the ones on electricity but the whole set can be watched here… (they are really fun to watch!!!)
oehttp://www.nfb.ca/film/science_please_1
oehttp://www.nfb.ca/film/science_please_part_2
After the watching the clips we were led into the next room which is about safety. The guide was great and really engaged the kids… even Willa was interested… well… somewhat…
Because it was just us and the guide, the boys were able to ask as many questions as they wanted and the guide was great at answering them. He was also very passionate about his job and about what he was talking about which made it so much more interesting and informative.
After learning about safety, it was the section on electricity in nature. Our own nervous system, our reflexes, the brain, heart etc… and of course, on of the highlights of the show is the electric eel (did you know that it is actually not an eel but a knifefish?). A blue panel next to the tank has lights that light up when the eel becomes electrified. Pretty cool of you ask me…
The next section is about static electricity and starts with a small film on the Aurora Borealis/Australis and lightening… both natural reactions of static electricity…
(making balls move though glass using static electricity)
This is of course a favourite section for all because static electricity means playing with the Plasma ball and the Van de Graaff Generator.
(Wilhelmina loved the Plasma Ball)
The last section is on magnetism and generating electricity. The boys listed and took in as much as they could but soon started getting restless… they last about 90 min before this so it was actually pretty impressive!
Since we were getting the private tour we were able to cut it short at that point and the guide left us alone so that we could go back to the beginning and the we could play with everything again…
Again, this is a great, free, hands on place to head with the kids… If you are in Montreal it is worth the short ride and will make for a great outing. They do ask for people to call ahead to not be at the same time as a group, it is a small place so if a school group is there, it will be cramped and not much fun but if it a lazy day, like on the day we went, it is a great way to spend a few hours…
For the fourth year in a row I have decided to do NaBloPoMo (National Blog Posting Month) in which the goal is to have at least one post per day for the whole month. Each year I use it as the opportunity to get back into the habit of writing and each year I find it hard but well worth it. When I was with Willa at the hospital I wondered if I had missed it (I forgot if it was Oct or Nov) and when I got back home I was so happy to see that I hadn’t. Of course if I had missed it, I could have done it by myself but my self-motivation is at times lacking and having the added outside pressure trumps my procrastination.
So I am putting myself up for the challenge once again. Posting every day for the whole month and getting back into the habit of blogging on a more regular basis.
So… If you have any ideas for me I would love to hear them!! Questions? topics you would like to hear my point of view on? Recipes that you would like to see?
I’m open!
And if you have a blog and are also going up for the challenge I would love for you to share your link with me…
