Halia's 10 Helpful Tips for Good Table Etiquette

This evening, we had a discussion on good table manners.  Halia, age 5, had these helpful tips to share:

1. Don't hum.
2. Don't pick your nose.
3. Don't touch your eye.
4. Don't touch your bum or your vulva or your penis.
5. Don't suck on your Kleenex.  Even if it's tasty.  Mine is pretty tasty, actually.
6. Don't stick your fingers in your cup.
7. Don't mix food with your drink.
8. Don't eat the ceiling.
9. Don't eat like {name of friend}. Grabs fork with both hands and begins shovelling food into her mouth.
10. Don't sit in a "W". Kneels and splays both feet out to the side so her legs make a "W" shape.

Should I ever have the opportunity to dine with the Queen, I feel that Halia's advice will serve me well.

Something else to remember.

Four years ago today, I watched a woman catch a baby that was falling from the insides of another woman.

One tends to remember things like that.

Happy birthday, Halia!

These boots are made for...?

Halia is such a little scientist! I'm not sure that I would ever think to stop, stick my head in a boot, and start singing. And here she is testing the limits of a cat's patience...

Easter Away

I'm away for work this Easter. It's not fun being away from my family and I'm thinking about them a lot. Fortunately, the Easter Bunny came to our house early this year, so we still had our keto-friendly Easter egg hunt.

 I had a great chuckle listening to Jade and one of her kindergarten friends discussing the Easter Bunny and where those eggs come from. Where do those eggs come from? Santa has elves to make all those toys, but what about the Easter Bunny?

The Bedtime Book Club

After the pyjama and teeth brushing routine, it's time for the bedtime story/stories.  Jade, Halia, and I pile onto Jade's bed and read the kids' choice for the evening.  Tonight, Jade picked a story about a mermaid who saved her family's castle.

If it's not too late after the story, we'll have a little discussion.  I love it when a book contains some little life lesson that I can point out, helping me do my job as a dispenser of paternal wisdom.

"You know what I liked about this story," I asked?  "I liked how, unlike the mermaid's sisters who just sat around and whined about losing their castle, Spirulina didn't whine - she went and did something about it."

Pleased with the fine quality of my erudition, I continued.

"I think a lot of people don't realize that nothing gets accomplished by sitting around and whining; if you don't like the situation you're in you've got to do something to change it!"

"We've got realize!" Halia declares.

"Hunh?" I ask.

"We've got realize!"

Still confused, I turned from the book and looked at her and all was made clear.



We've got real eyes, indeed!

I think I might need to start dispensing my paternal wisdom in easier-to-digest doses.

Christmas with the Kids

It happens every year, but it's different with kids.  We do things we might not otherwise do, like going to see "The Nutcracker".

I took Jade last year and we both really enjoyed it.  This year, Fawn and Halia came along.  We were worried that sitting still through the performance would be too difficult for an active three-year-old girl, but we were wrong.  She watched with rapt attention.

They both liked it so much that they wanted to watch the VHS version as soon as we got home.  It helps that they do an excellent job of it here in Whitehorse.


We also went to a Christmas concert at a local school, where the Grade 1s were playing Fawn's Christmas  song, "Angels Are Smiling".  It was soooooooooooooooooo cute seeing them sing the song (with cue cards to help them along) and they did an excellent job.  Jade and Halia enjoyed the performance, too.



Do they look really grown up in that previous picture?  I thought so, too, so naturally I put them to work.


Just kidding.  They're both playing on their favourite (shhhhh-they're-learning-how-to-read-but-don't-tell-them) website, Starfall.com.  And just to prove that it's not all work, here are some pictures from us at play.


Aww, what a cute kitty!


Bad kitty!  Get out of that banjo case!  (Yes, just in case you were wondering, our cat, Crook, is still alive.)


Our friend, Nita, dropped by with some presents for the girls.  She made one gorgeous quilt for Jade and another gorgeous quilt for Halia.  They love them.  Thanks, Nita!!!


The same night that Nita dropped by with the quilts, we took the girls out for a little bit of Christmas carolling with about 30-40 or our neighbours.  It has become a bit of an annual tradition here, but the first year that we were able to participate.



Right now, the girls are tucked snugly in their beds.  I'm sure it'll be happy mayhem in a half-dozen precious hours.

I hope that your Christmas is filled with happy mayhem, too.  Merry Christmas!

I paca, you paca, we alpaca!

Last weekend, Midnight Sun Alpacas had a "Farm Fair". I was single parenting (Fawn was at Breakout West) and it seemed like it would be a fun activity to do with the girls, so I took them. I'm glad we went!

We were allowed to get up close and personal with the alpacas, who seemed to be as curious about the kids as the kids were about the alpacas.  We were even allowed into the alpaca pens and got to pet some of them.

Some of the alpacas were used for more than their wool.  Like horses, they had little bridles on their faces.  Jade really wanted to visit the one with the reddish bridle.  As you can see, she was very excited...

... but it was the greyish one that really made her laugh with its little, bleating "aaah!"

The roosters were noisy and fun to watch.  They looked big with their pouffy winter feathers, but nowhere near as big as the...


...turkeys!  They were puffing themselves up and coming to visit the girls, putting on a great display.

We all agreed that the turkeys were our favourite.  I don't know why - there's just something about them that's cool!  Maybe it's that weird skin on their head or how they like to strut around all puffy-chested.

Finally, the girls got to go for a carriage ride behind one of the alpacas!  How many people can say they've been pulled by an alpaca?  Check that one off the bucket list!



I'll be keeping my eyes open for this one when they host the Midnight Sun Alpaca Farm Fair again next year - and this time I'll bring some cash to buy one of their nice sweaters!

Climbing with Kids

I have a severe blogging backlog that I will try to address over the coming week. Get ready for a bounty of binge blogging!

First up is a continuation of our trip to Ontario. My family (parents, brother and sister and respective partners and their kids) all went rock climbing at Calabogie.

First up was a short hike, followed by some preparation (getting the ropes ready for climbing, etc.).  The kids were, naturally, excited.









It was Jade's and Halia's first time climbing in a harness. They're natural climbers (as most kids are) but once the harness and rope was on they temporarily forgot how to climb - but not for long!

First up was Halia, belayed by my brother, Tim...






Then Fawn took a turn.  She went up the wall like a bolt of lightning!







Even my Mum tried it, much to our delight.


I belayed Jade for her turn.




She didn't make it to the top, but it was fun while it lasted!  It didn't take her long to get comfortable with the idea of being in a harness.



There are lots of great climbs around Whitehorse.  It makes me want to get a new rope and a couple of kids harnesses and do some family climbing.  I'm putting that on the agenda for next summer!

A Happy Father's Day.

Last Saturday, a fellow dad and I loaded our kids onto the sailboat and set sail on Kusawa Lake for an overnight trip.  I was completely unaware that Sunday was Father's Day.  Regardless, with a good steady breeze out of the south carrying us silently most of the way down the lake, and my daughters happy to be out on an adventure, it was a fantastic way spend Father's Day.  Even if I was oblivious to what day it was.

The Neighbourhood Bike Gang

It was too warm for leather jackets.

Potty Parlance

I spent the better part of the afternoon at the library with the kids. They love it there. Although I was interested in the goings-on at the Yukon Sourdough Rendezvous, the blustery winds and driving snow made the library the more sensible choice for the day.

Halia, now two years old is, joyfully, potty-trained and has been for a while now. While we were at the library, she told me she had to "Go poo! Go poo!"

In our library, sound carries, so her cries of "Go poo!" could be heard by all. The concept of speaking quietly in a library is not one that has registered with Halia.

I rushed her to the washroom where she went pee. I asked her if she still had to poo and she informed me that she did not. Just in case she did have to go, I kept her on the toilet and spent the next ten minutes trying to keep her from grabbing everything you wouldn't want a child to touch in the washroom wonderland. She didn't go poo, but at least she went pee.

About five minutes later, she declared, "Go poo! Go poo!"

I asked her, "Do you really need to go poo?" People were smirking as I asked. It's hard to read a book when someone is talking about poo. All eyes were on us as the patrons waited for her response.

Halia informed me that she had to go, so off we went to the bathroom again. I got her up on the toilet.

"Are you going to go poo?" I asked.

She informed me that she didn't have to go. But then told me that she did. But then told me that she didn't. Over and over again.

It was all very confusing. After about three minutes of this, she firmly declared that she didn't need to go. I spent the next ten minutes trying to wash her hands and keep her from grabbing everything you wouldn't want a child to touch in the washroom wonderland - because that's exactly what it seemed like, a magical place full of things that are forbidden! So tempting! So worth lying to your father that you need to go poo for, just to see it all!

I was less than impressed.

Five minutes later, she again declared that she needed to go poo.

"Go poo! Go poo!"

"Do you really need to go poo?" I asked, more than a little frustrated, "Or do you just want to play in the washroom?" By now, more people were interested in the ongoing poo saga then they were in their own library affairs.

"Play!" she declared.

"No," I responded. "Do you need to go poo?" I asked again, just in case.

"No," she said.

"Halia, do you need to poo?" I asked, again. One can never be too certain.

"Yes," she said.

"You need to poo?" I asked.

"No," she said.

Finally, she gave me two affirmative answers in a row (majority rules), so we went.

I got her all ready and she sat there on the toilet seat. I held her so she wouldn't slip back into the toilet bowl.

"Are you going to go poo?" I asked.

"No."

"You had better go poo," I said, trying not to grit my teeth. I was tired of these bathroom shenanigans. "Are you going to go poo?"

"Yes."

"Caterpillar!" she cried.

"Caterpillar?" I asked.

And then it started.

"Big poo!" she declared, "Caterpillar! Caterpillar!"

"Caterpillar?" I asked.

Caterpillar poo!"

And sure enough, she was right. There in the toilet bowl was something that looked just like a giant caterpillar.

Though I'm pretty certain that's not where butterflies come from.

I am, however, pretty certain that "Do you need to make some caterpillars?" is going to become part of the family vernacular.

"Caterpillars!" is a much nicer thing to shout in a public library.

This kid in my house.

There's this kid in my house. She's been living here for two years now. She came at a time when we really had our hands full. We were dealing with a stubborn case of epilepsy, the rigors of the ketogenic diet, and trying to figure out how to deal with an emotional kid who wouldn't eat.

The new kid was pretty good, really. She let us do what we needed to do and didn't put up much of a fuss. Of course, when she wanted some attention, she let us know it. I mean, she REALLY let us know it. The kid could scream. She could go from zero to a thousand decibels in a millisecond and didn't waste any time going from one to the other.

In a lot of ways, though, she seemed like a stranger to me. Here was this kid who appeared in our house one day, but we were busy so we told her to "make yourself comfortable". Unlike with our first, where I was more actively involved, her mom took care of most of the work. I didn't feel like I really got the chance to bond with her in the same way as the first and, to be honest, there was a time when I wondered if I would ever truly love the child.

I always felt bad that she wasn't getting the attention she deserved, but she really seemed quite content most of the time. She was confident and independent and determined to do things her own way right from the start.

Since that day when she first appeared in our house, many things have changed. She's still confident and independent and determined, but as she gets older I'm beginning to see new aspects of her personality emerge. She is as smart as a whip. She's as stubborn as her mother (or more so). She is a daredevil who knows no fear. She is a huge clown who loves to make faces and get people laughing. Her smile and laughter are absolutely infectious.

And I love her more deeply than I can express.

Yesterday was her birthday, but she is the gift.

Happy Birthday, Halia.

It's already winter in Old Crow.

It's mild and fall-like in Whitehorse, but it's already winter in Old Crow, the Yukon's most northerly community.







I always enjoy my visits to Old Crow. Not only is it beautiful, it is the epitome of northern hospitality. I just spent a week there on a work project.

I also always enjoy my homecoming. I am always amazed at the changes in my kids when I return. All of a sudden, Halia has started using four and five word sentences and she's trying out other words that just make me laugh. The school bus is the "coo-coo bus" and Rice Crispies are "rice fee-fees". I think I like her versions of the words better.

I'll be doing a lot of travel around the Yukon in the near future. I'll post when I get the chance.