a hippie with a minivan

Full day…

On Saturday, Simon, Willa and I went to Montreal for the day. Simon had a concert to go to in the evening and the boys wanted to go to the cabin so the two events coincided perfectly. My mom came and got the boys on Friday and Khéna was so excited that for nearly two hours before she got here, he was dressed and waiting in the stairs, ready to go.

She came and then left right after lunch, the boys faced beamed as they headed out. Though rain was on the forecast, I wasn’t worried at all that they would have a blast.

We had a quiet evening on Friday and then got up on Saturday bright and early.

Two weeks ago I had gotten a message on Facebook asking if I might be interested in giving a babywearing workshop at a great new store/café in Montreal called Melons et Clémentines. I called the owners and we arranged to meet on Saturday morning. What a great space that has been set up and what amazing people doing it! I am so happy to be able to get to know them and now I need to get my butt into action and get ready to give workshops on both EC and babywearing. It is not going to become a big source of income but it might bring in a few dollars and it will be a great opportunity to get to know some more amazing like minded moms.

Simon and I then went for lunch and then headed out to the talk on unschooling given by Sandra and Holly Dodd. I have to admit that I didn’t find it that amazing of a talk, I guess it was a bit basic and was a repeat of a lot of things that I had read in the past, but it was fun to see the usual faces in the crowd and be able meet others. I know that I say it often, but it is so refreshing to get together with like minded people. It not only makes us feel what we are doing is “normal” but it is also great to talk and get feedback from people that are living the same challenges, going through similar experiences, dealing with the same comments and internal struggles. It gives me a boost each time.

After the talk I brought Simon to the Metro so that he could head to his show and I headed out to the West Island to pick up Sushi at my favorite place and then brought it back to my friend Gen’s house to eat and hang out with her for the evening and we talked and shared until Simon called to say he was done and then I went and got him and then we headed home, arriving at about 1am…

We got up on Sunday morning, and headed out in the cold and the rain to go pick up the boys at the cabin…

Though we have to admit that it is a lot quieter in the house without them, I was really happy to see them again. Sometimes even just a day away makes me look at them in a different way and realize just how big they are really getting.

Anarchist Book Fair

Last Sunday I was invited to speak at the Anarchist book fair in Montreal to talk about alternative/unassisted birthing along with my friend Martine who has also had two unassisted births (and who was present at my last birth). We only had a few minutes each to talk but we talked about our experiences, our paths that brought us to our decision, the way we looked into our fears and how we prepared ourselves. Then we took questions and before we knew it, it was over.

The day continued though and right after us was an unschooling presentation and a talk about free-schools etc., and then finishing off the day with a discussion about child protective services, which as I am realizing more in hearing about others’ experiences is a very real problem when you are choosing to live marginally.

The greatest part of the day though was getting together with likeminded people, people that I knew, people that I met, people that came from far away and who I might not meet again. When you are together in a group like that, where your choices and beliefs are the “norm” it makes it easier to not just keep going, but to move forward and want to do more.

All in all it was a great experience and I hope to be able to speak again next year and maybe to have even more of a voice in that community.

Heat Wave…

We just came out of our first heat wave of the year and unfortunately our pool wasn’t ready for it… So we suffered, yes, suffered through a few days of heat…

Wilhelmina had the right idea and slept through the hottest part of the day yesterday…

The boys played in the kiddie pool and with the hose and in the mud and had a great time…

The temperature finally dropped last night and each gust of wind was so refreshing… of course this morning, after the heat wave had passed, the pool was ready… Simon did the last touches, cleaning and and the getting the steps in (with some help from Khéna)

When the pool was ready the boys didn’t hesitate to jump in… and neither did we. The temp of the pool was actually warmer today, at the end of May, than it was the while of last summer… it was perfect!

Of course, Wilhelmina couldn’t miss out on the fun… she absolutely LOVED the water! she went in 4 times and each time she got more and more excited and when she was out she showed very clearly that she wanted to be back in. It is amazing how much she is growing.

So, though summer is not officially here, for us it feels as though it is…

4 months old!

I can’t believe it, my baby is now 4 months old…

Her birth seems so far away but then again, it seems like yesterday. I guess that is the way we feel for a long time, isn’t it?

She is such a beautiful and smiley girl…

Recently we started to put her down on the floor and the first time we did, she turned over and soon after turned over the other way. No problem, she is now a pro…

EC is going great. Nights are still easy and though we sometimes have a small miss in the morning, the potty is full and she is dry until then. At night she wakes up once or twice to potty but will often skip the nurse and just fall right back asleep.

In the day she is more often without a diaper at all and has barely has a miss… she is clear when she needs to go and will hold it in especially when we are out and about. Some people think that EC is hard and time consuming…. it is so not that at all… I can’t imagine going back to diapering a baby.

Wilhelmina is the little princess of the house, her brothers (and parents 😉 ) adore her and they love to make her laugh and smile. Her growing also makes me realize how much they are growing also.

Xavier loves to hold her and to walk around with her. He is getting comfortable picking her up and walking her around and putting her down gently. Today he tried out the sling even 🙂 You wouldn’t believe how amazed and proud I was to see my son, carrying my daughter.

He was proud too…

Quebec City…

Last weekend we headed to Quebec city for a family party. It is so rare that extended family gets together is happy time (not a funeral) so I jumped on the chance…

An old friend and his wife invited us to sleep over at their house that night also which was amazingly kind considering that we are six people and they have an apartment. It was one of those weekends that everything just turned out great and we all had fun.

The party was for my mom’s cousin’s 25th anniversary. There were a lot of happy tears and catching up and meeting second cousins and relatives that I had never met before. The boys had fun running around outside and picking at the buffet and hanging out with their grandma and going to the bathroom downstairs all by themselves. All dressed up we were able to get a pic of the family… This is the first time that we are all in a picture as it is usually Simon and I who are behind the camera…

(Khéna was fixated on the fountain that was in front of us)

My grandmother was really happy to spend sometime with the kids also…

After the party we headed back to our friend’s apartment and then in the morning we headed to a flea market and then to the old city. It is amazing how you can go along the street and then meet the walls of the old city and be taken back in time. Buildings, centuries old, line the streets crowed together, and you are taken back in time. We parked the cars in the lower city and looked for a place to eat lunch.

(Chateau Frontenac, the most photographed Hotel in the world)

After lunch we decided to take the Funiculaire up to the upper city and then walk down again so that we could walk around more without us all getting too tired. The Funiculaire first went into operation in 1879 and worked on steam and counterweights. In 1907 it went electric and over the years it has been updated. It is a short ride that costs 2$ but is well worth it, and the boys loved it…

(from the street in the lower city and the view going to the top)

At the top, there are the remains of the fort that stood on that spot nearly 400 years ago. The boys loved going around in the remains and seeing where things used to be.

Of course the view from the top is also spectacular…

(another family pic!! and again, Khéna is not looking… )

After walking a bit in the upper city, we headed back down… It was a beautiful day, it was the weekend and their were tons of people, but it didn’t hinder the experience at all..

We had Gellato, we people watched and looked at murals on the walls of the buildings (click on the pics below to see in big) We saw street performers (Khéna was quite intrigued by the statue lady) and heard music and just enjoyed the history around us…. I look forward to returning in the near future for another adventure…