Family Vacation...

We just returned from our worst family vacation ever. For the first 3 days, I fought off a migraine while the girls, now 10 and 12.5 years old, fought each other constantly in the way that only pre-teenagers do... nasty... Our 5 year old was more interested in asking "when are we going back to the hotel?" and "when are we going home?" than in the zoo, or the museum. Sigh.

There were a few bright spots. We met friends while there and did the CN Tower Tour with them. Those few hours with someone else seemed to distract the girls from quarrelling with each other. Then we had supper at the Marche Movenpick (now the Richtree Market) on Yonge. Did I mention we were in Toronto? Fabulous place to visit. We even used to live there- for 3 years prior to having kids. After spending a week on the 401 and 400- in traffic that wasn't even bad, by TO standards- I'm happy to be living much farther off the beaten track. Like I said, fabulous place to visit... and shop in.

Two other bright spots to mention- I dragged the whole family down Queen Street West into the "Fashion District" where there is a wool store called Romni Wool. Here it is:

So, I would have preferred to go myself, but that wasn't really in the cards. So, we all walk from Osgoode station (because we had to see the CityTV/Much Music building), all the way down Queen West until we get past Bathurst. Finally, there is the shop. I spent about 20 wonderful minutes staring at and feeling wool that I can never buy in person here (e.g., Berroco, Debbie Bliss, etc. etc...), until my little people (and my one big person) got too restless. So, I quickly bought 9 skeins of Berroco Ultra Alpaca in an orangey-burgandy and left. Oh, to spend an hour or two there. Someday, maybe. I'll have to check for upcoming conferences in Toronto so I can get there by myself. So, the wool is stashed for a few weeks until I finally decide on a sweater pattern.

The other bright spot was a concert. The Jonas Brothers concert, if you can believe it! Our oldest daughter is a fanatic. I mean completely fanatic about them- and has been for about 2 years. Every inch of her bedroom is plastered in Joe, Kevin, and Nick. Last year, we had tickets to see them in the Ampitheatre, but backed out of the trip a few weeks before, due to my work committments, mostly. Good things come to those who wait, it seems. The concert was in the Skydome/Rogers Centre this year and was a real piece of work.

Now, I am saying this as a disengaged observer- I am definitely not a Jonas Brothers or Jordan Sparkes fan. But the production... totally top-notch. Very impressive. Of course, they are of Disney pedigree, so its not too surprising, I guess. It was also the loudest concert I've ever attended- thanks to the high pitched screaming of at least 30, 000 pre-teen girls (most of the other 26, 000 had to be their parents, right?)! I have to admit, the boys are kind of hot. If I was 25 years younger, I'm sure they'd be my Rick Springfield, Scott Baio, and Eric Estrada ;) And I almost have my daughter convinced that Joe's offering to the parents in the audience of "Sweet Caroline" was really just for me ;) (LOL- how old does he think we are!?! I consider myself more of the Simon LeBon than the Neil Diamond era, thank-you very much.)

Anyways, here's a tip: if you haven't seen the romantic comedy "The Proposal" with Sandra Bullock, do yourself a favour and go. I watched it on the plane on the way home. In fact, now that I think of it, maybe that was the best part of the trip...

Naw. It was the wool shop.

Summer Snaps

Mini-Quilting

I imagine that in a previous life, I was a pioneer woman, working on the homestead, raising children and hens and making everything from scratch.

I just get so much satisfaction from creating physical objects- some useful, some not so much.

My most recent project started as a gift for my in-laws upcoming 50th Anniversary. I found a design in one of my favorite magazines (that I buy, fawn over for days, stack on my bedside table, and then sometimes find the time to make something from): Quilting Arts magazine. This was the Holiday 2008-2009 edition- and it is called "A Quilted Family Tree", designed by Virginia Cole.

Basically, it involves patching together a miniature quilt top from approx. 1 inch blocks, backing it with muslin and then quilting. Then, in the shape of a tree, you paste on words- cut from books or printed- that are relevant to your family. Here's mine:



Since the miniquilt was made bigger than I needed, there were some fairly big scraps left over. As it turns out, one of my best friend's mother was having her 80th birthday party on Sunday past, and I decided to make her something similar out of the scrap pieces. So, I cut out 4 pieces, sewed them together, quilted them onto a muslin backing, and then put a small binding on the whole thing. I found a "quilt quote", dug into some of my scrapbooking embellishments, and the whole thing came together:

Not bad for a few days of off-and-on creativity!

Happy Summer!

So, I missed the opportunity to wish everyone a Happy Canada Day (July 1st) and a Happy Independence Day (July 4th)- but better late than never!

We had subdued Canada Day celebrations this year- the weather was cold, the holiday was on a Wednesday, I was recovering from a migraine... but we took the kids to our community celebration as a way to mark the day. I'm not a typical flag-flyer, but I am very grateful to live in this country and proud to be Canadian, so its important to us to remember that, at least once a year.

It has been a busy summer for me at work. We have a lot of projects on the go with graduate students, but that's a good thing. In spite of this, I've managed to squeeze in a few leisure activities- like planting my "red, white and blue" flower box. I call it my "Obama Garden"- in honour of the first African-American President of the United States of America! Take a look:




My 10-year-old has been bent on having me make her a recycled "Kool-Aid" bag. We don't even really drink Kool-Aid at our house, but we bought a couple of boxes of the and her cousins donated some of their leftover pouches. This is the result:


So, it took me the better part of Thursday evening to do that, but it was kind of fun. I also broke off a needle in my sewing machine (which I just had serviced) and ended up shifting the bobbin casing, requiring that I take the bottom plate apart and fiddle a bit, but it all ended up OK. LOL- I can't believe I'm making Kool-Aid bags! Oh my.

I hope anyone reading this is having a great summer. I imagine my blog posts will be quite few. BTW, if any of you want to hear the story of a wonderful adoption from China's Waiting Child Program, go to the blog links on your right and click on "The Seventh Diamond". You'll find a link in Kimberly's blog to her travel blog, kept for her family's journey to Sophia Jane. Beautiful Miss Sophia is such a treasure! Seeing her with her brothers is so heart-warming. Welcome home, sweetie!

June in Adopt-a-Shelter-Cat Month

OK- so let me be clear from the start: adopting a pet is NOT the same thing as adopting a child.

IMO, using the word "adoption" to describe the process of getting a pet and bringing it into your family in no way diminishes the term as it is used to describe the process of bringing a child into your life. The processes are vastly different, but they both mean that you are making a long-term commitment to another living being. The commitment made to a cat or dog and the commitment made to a child are obviously not in the same league at all! So, as an adoptive mom and as someone who has also "adopted" pets, I will use the word in both ways, without apology. (But I am sorry if I sound touchy!)

Now that's out of the way, June is adopt-a-cat month in Canada and the US. So, spread the word... there are thousands of cats and kittens in shelters all across North America just waiting for someone to find them and bring them home.

Check out the story of my cats here:

http://ruffspots.wordpress.com/2009/06/06/june-is-adopt-a-shelter-cat-month/

While you're there, submit a photo of your favorite feline! And if you don't have a cat in your life, you might want to consider the possibility...

As someone who lives with and loves both cats and dogs, I have to say that dogs are wonderful and rewarding, but they involve considerable work. (Actually, I always say that raising a puppy is more intense than raising a baby!)

Cats, on the other hand, are purr-fect pure pleasure.

Blog Neglect

I am so guilty of blog neglect. Over this past year, in particular, I haven't blogged much, nor have I been reading other blogs regularly. But, for some reason, I'm not ready to clue up my blog. It still feels like an old friend who you can go without talking to for months, then drop in on and pick up exactly where you left off.

At the end of this summer, we will celebrate the two year anniversary of bringing home our son. He'll start Kindergarten this coming fall. There has been so much growth- both literally and figuratively- around here since he's been home that it is truly remarkable. We are incredibly lucky with all of our 3 kids.

And now, we are at a crossroads. Do we have room in our lives for one more child? Not so sure. The hectic pace of keeping up with the schedules of 3 children when both parents work full-time (with one of them travelling frequently) is sometimes wearing. But my fantasy family has always included 4 kids. I can't help but have this nagging feeling that we might not be totally done with our family. But, then the feeling passes as the reality of getting supper on the table or another lunch box ready smacks me between the eyes!

The other nagging feeling I have is that if there is another child to enter our lives, then maybe he (I don't think its a "she") won't come to us through international adoption. I almost can't believe I've written that! I am such a proponent of adoption through China's Waiting Child Program. Our experience has been so fantastic with the WCP. It would be my logical first choice to adopt again through this program- we'd request another son, 2-3 years old, probably cleft-affected. So, I can't reconcile why I feel that I am being drawn more towards other options... especially when the other options are so unclear to me... or maybe they don't even exist at all. Sigh.

I've been reading posts on some of my adoption-related yahoo groups concerning how you know when "you're done" with growing your family. I guess it is different for everyone. I'll keep you posted.

Happy Mother's Day!

Happy Mother's Day to all you Moms and Moms-to-be out there!

See what my precious brood gave me for Mother's Day 2009.

First, from my 12 year-old daughter:

Then, from my 9 year-old (she was *so* excited to give it to me!):

Finally, from my sweet 4 year-old son (flowers made from coffee filters):

Am I a lucky Mom, or what?

And here's what I spent 2 glorious hours this morning making for the Nannys:

I am counting all my little blessings today. My thoughts are with those of you are who still waiting to share your first Mother's Day with your child.