Joshua Says . . .

At a weekend birthday party:

Joshua - "Can you make me another sandwich, please? I'm still hungry."

Me - "Are you sure? Cake is going to be served soon."

Joshua - "Yep. A hockey player's gotta eat, you know."

Back to school

Today is the day! Joshua and Katerina start Grade 3 and Isabella is starting Grade 1. She's a big kid now!

Summer ballet wrap-up

The girls had their summer recital and it was a blast! Isabella was in girly glory because her costume had a tutu.



Katerina had two performances, jazz and ballet. This was her first time taking a jazz class and she loved it. I only have a picture of her jazz costume, though.




She liked jazz so much she wanted to take a jazz class. Unfortunately, her school only offers the classes on the weekends, which conflict with hockey. However, I was able to find some classes that fit in our schedule at another school. She will be taking a jazz class (no performance) and a lyrical class (performance).

With the addition of these classes, she will be dancing almost 3 hours per week. Plus, Isabella and Katerina had auditioned and been accepted to dance in the Edmonton Festival Ballet company. They put on a Christmas show every year for the public. The production is "Twas the Night Before Christmas" and they will rehearse 1 hour per week from the middle of September to the end of November. The show will run December 2nd, 3rd, and 4th. So, for a couple of months, Katerina will be dancing 4 hours per week. She really wants to do this, though.

All three kids are in their final week of day camp at the YMCA, this week. They are having an enormous amount of fun this summer and that's what makes it all worth it. The next two weeks, the twins will have hockey skills camp, 1.5 hours per day, but the rest of the time they will have a bit of down time before school starts (September 2).

Busy, busy, busy

These past few weeks have been so busy. The kids have some specialty camps and I have been consumed with them. A couple of weeks ago, the twins were at the Edmonton Oilers Hockey School. My, but they had fun!

At 8:30 am, I dropped Isabella off at the YMCA for her day camp, then I drove out to St. Albert (about 40 minutes, one way) to the hockey school. It started at 9:45 am. After settling the twins in for the day, I went home and did my errands. Then, I picked Isabella up at 4:30 pm and went back out to St. Albert for the twins. Their wrap-up time was 5:45 pm. By the time we got home, it was close to 7 pm.

They had a blast, though. They were on the ice twice a day, and they lived and breathed hockey for 7 days. Their coaches were players from the University league and from the Oil Kings. Two Oilers came by on two separate days and signed autographs and jerseys. The Oilers that visited them were Steve McIntyre and Zack Stortini. Here's a picture of Joshua and Stortini:



After that wrapped up, the girls went into the summer ballet program. They are still in it with the wrap up performance on Saturday. I drop Joshua off at the YMCA day camp at 8:00 am and then head over to the ballet school. Isabella has 1 1/4 hours of ballet, and Katerina has 3 1/2 hours of ballet and jazz. By the time we get home, it is almost 1:30 pm. Then, we pick up Joshua at 4:30 pm.

Next week is the last week of day camps at the YMCA, and then they will start back to school on September 2nd. They have had a great summer so far and they have already told me they want to do the same again next year. LOL

Sync'ing my Blackberry with Thunderbird

I know there are others out there like me that curse and forswear using MS Outlook. I have used Thunderbird since it was still part of the old Netscape Navigator, however it doesn't sync with my blackberry. As much as I dislike my keyboard on my BB Pearl, I love having a blackberry. But, the lack of sync'ing with my computer made me determined to find a work around.

A few months ago, I managed to find how to sync my BB Calendar. I installed an add-on to my Thunderbird called Lightning. Lightning is the the add-on version of the Mozilla Sunbird calendar. Then, I set up a Google Calendar. I installed an add-on to Thunderbird, called Provider for Google Calendar, that would sync Lightning and Google. Lastly, I installed a Google mobile application on my blackberry from Google that would sync the Google Calendar to the blackberry one.

Lightning --> Google --> Blackberry

For the Blackberry Contacts and Tasks to sync with Thunderbird's Contacts and Tasks, I use a free program called Funambol. I registered with them and put in my Blackberry information. Then, I installed an add-on to Thunderbird that created a sync with Funambol.

Thunderbird --> Funambol --> Blackberry

Unfortunately, I have not discovered a sync for Blackberry's MemoPad. In it's place, I use a program called Upvise on my blackberry. It has a nice note feature as well as a Shopping list feature. It will sync with its website so I just created a quicklink on my desktop to the website.

A day of rugby

We had a wonderful day today. It started out this morning with the kids playing their regular game. However, the World Cup made an appearance and all the teams had their pictures taken with it. I managed to get a picture of it, too.



After the kids' games in the morning, we went home for a quick lunch before heading off to the "big game." This was the Canada vs. USA World Cup qualifier, game 2. Game one was held last weekend in North Carolina and Canada lost 12-6. Canada needed to win this game with a minimum of 7 points over USA today to qualify for the 2011 World Cup in New Zealand. They not only won today, they were great! The final score today was 41-18!

The whole family had a fantastic time. The weather was perfect and the crowds were really good.

During half-time, the kids' teams entertained the crowds with a little bit of their kind of rugby. The older kids were at the ends of the field but our crew were right in the middle. The footage is a bit shaky as I was in a really awkward position during filming and I was zoomed in as far as I could.

The first video is of Isabella's group of 4 & 5 year olds. The 2nd and 3rd videos are of the 6 & 7 year olds. In the second video, Joshua is kicking in the ball. In the third video, Katerina is kicking the ball.








Here are some pictures from the day:













James Pritchard


Justin Mensah-Coker


Chauncey O'Toole

Short hair

The girls got their hair cut short today. Katerina's hair was long enough that she was able to donate her hair to Locks of Love.




Isabella's hair was straightened with a flat iron so it could be cut properly. I've never seen my baby with straight hair before!

Long pants to shorts

We all get them. The hole in the knee. Katerina had a pair of wine-coloured pants that got the knee tear. I turned them into a pair of cuffed shorts.





For those that don't know how, fold under 1 cm and press. Then fold under again to desired cuff height and press. Fold a third time back to the front so the fold is even with the bottom of the cuff and press. Sew near bottom of the cuff.

Sleepover x 2

It was a busy weekend as we hosted two sleepovers: one for the girls and one for the boys. Joshua had a few friends over on Friday night and they had a noisy, fun time. They eventually settled around 11:00 pm but they were up at 6:00 am. Here is a group picture:




Katerina's sleepover was on Saturday night. They settled down about 11:30 pm and woke up around 7:30 am. Here is a group shot of the girls:




On both nights the kids started to come by around 4:30 pm. We had a barbecue both nights with some craft making in the early evening. That was followed by a movie.

It was a little hectic at times but overall the kids were really good. The boys were definitely louder and messier than the girls. lol

I wasn't needed

Today was the all-day Kindergarten field trip. The teacher emailed me and said that there was a large parent response and said that she would like to give the parents who hadn't volunteered before the opportunity. I was fine with that so I had the whole school day to myself today.

I called the salon and asked if they could squeeze me in and they could. So, here is my new 'do:





The bangs are a bit short but that's okay, they'll grow. No highlights this time. I still had some from the last time, so I still have depth in the colour.

CueCat Scanner

I love this thing!

I got the CueCat Scanner from Library Thing and I've been scanning my books all morning.

I'm an old punk rocker

It's been 9(!) years since I was last at a concert. How time flies. Well, last Saturday night, Joel and I went to see Rancid and Rise Against at Rexall Place. WOW! I just loved it and I had a stupid, silly grin plastered on my face the whole time Rancid was on stage. LOL

I love Rancid but I have never seen them live. I've seen The Clash, Dead Kennedys, DOA, but those were all in my youth. I'm still a fan of punk and have numerous Punk-O-Rama CDs, Pennywise, The Transplants, etc but concerts fell to the wayside. However, as the kids are accepting having a babysitter, I think Joel and I will be going to more concerts again. Too bad we can't see more this summer because it is basically a punk summer here in Edmonton. Green Day, Bad Religion, Social Distortion, The Offspring, Blink 182. /wistful

Anyway, I have a few pics and videos from Saturday. Here is Tim Armstrong from Rancid and a stage picture of Rise Against.





The videos have extremely poor sound so you might want to turn the volume down a bit. Sorry about that.

I'm a pathetic rugby mom ;-)

The kids are really enjoying playing rugby. I sit on the sidelines and watch all three play and practice. I clap when our team scores a try (goal). I cheer when it is one of mine.

However, I have never seen a "real" game and I have no idea of the terminology of rugby (other than a "try"). I shock people when I tell them this. They look at me like I am from another planet. LOL.

Well, I will rectify this egregious situation this summer. I just purchased tickets for the whole family to see a real game. It is Canada vs USA in a World qualifying game, on July 11. It is taking place at the same place where my kids play. How cool is that?

Maybe after I see this game, I might be able to understand the terminology. Or not. :-D

Isabella's Kindergarten concert

Last night was her kindergarten concert. Here are a couple of pictures of her:






The gym was decorated with body art of all the kindergarten kids. Here was Isabella's body:




The kids sang 5 songs. In order, "Welcome", "Three Little Muffins", "Country Dancing", "Down by the Bay", and "Colours". The second video gets a little shaky at one point because I tried to zoom in. Sorry about that. So, without further ado, here is the little songbird:

A too big shirt for me

This is my first attempt at sewing something for myself and I made it too big. I went by my bust size but I should have gone by my RTW size, I think.

The pattern is Jalie 2794.

I'm not sure what I am going to do with it. I don't really relish the thought of ripping the seams and sewing the proper size. I'll probably throw it in my clothing recycle bin and make something for one of the girls at a later date.

Underwear for Joshua

I had bought some fabric a while back for Joshua but never made anything from it. Now that he's 7 years old, the fabric is just a little too young for him to wear as clothing, so I decided to use it up in underwear. I first tried out Jalie 2328 in the boxer brief style.



I also tried out the boxer brief style in the other Jalie pattern, Jalie 2327.



He said he liked both of them but the first one would be better in winter as they make him feel a little too warm right now. Fair enough. I thought I would also try the briefs style from Jalie 2327. He said he liked that style the best, so I was able to make 12 pairs from that fabric. I used size 8 on all pairs.

Katerina says

Whilst helping with the laundry, "I feel like Cinderella."

First rugby game of the season

Here is some rugby action:

Katerina




Isabella's group:



Joshua and Katerina's group:

Rugby Shorts for Isabella

The ready-to-wear (RTW) rugby shorts are expensive and they really don't make them small enough for Isabella. I used black twill for these as that is what the twins' shorts seem to be made from. The pattern used is Kwik Sew 2132, view B, size 5, however the pattern is now out-of-print. I used a larger elastic than called for. I used 1 1/2" elastic. I also topstitched down the inseams and the centre seams for added strength. I did not install a pocket.

Swimsuit for Katerina

Katerina needed a new swimsuit. The pattern used is Jalie 2317, view A, size 10. I used 3/8" plain elastic. Even though the pool is chlorinated, she'll grow out of the suit long before the elastic becomes compromised.

Ballet warmup wrap

I actually made two of these but different sizes. The one shown here is size 128 (size 7-8) but I also made a size 110 (size 6-6x). I used Ottobre Issue 4/2006, Design #19. I modified the front crossover so it would be a straight line down, plus I did not add the bottom ruffle. I eliminated the side slit for the tying string, too, as the string now sits at the bottom.

I also used binding, first binding the front and neckline. Then, I did a continuous binding on the bottom so as to incorporate the binding as the tying strings.

The fit turned out to be a bit loose. I don't think I will use this pattern again without some major fit alterations.

Thermal wicking undershirt

Rugby season has started and it is still cold (freezing temps). Isabella and Joshua still have their shirts from hockey but Katerina has outgrown hers. These are a combination of thermal and wicking. The wicking part is the dark fabric. The pattern used is Jalie 2448, size 8. I cut the collar shallower. I used the depth of size 2 but the length of size 8. I also top-stitched all seams. I had made this pattern before without top-stitching and I found the underarm cross-seam stressed too much.

Thermal wicking leggings

After making 4 pairs out of non-stretch fabric, here are 6 pairs made from stretch fabric. The wicking fabric is still not extremely stretchy so the leggings fit snug but they still work well. It will do for this spring on the rugby pitch but I'm going to have to hunt around for some wicking lycra, I think, for next time. The pattern used is Jalie 2444, sizes 5 and 8. Two pairs are size 5 and four pairs are size 8.

Non-stretch leggings

I had some thermal wicking fabric and I used it to makes 2 pairs each for the girls for rugby. However, I neglected to check the stretch. So, 4 pairs of non-stretch leggings are now sitting in my scrap bin. *sigh*

Isabella Says . . .

Whilst getting fabric cut, "Let's go to Hollywood, Mommy."

Isabella Says . . .

Driving to rugby practice, "We should get a Limbo Bar, Mommy."

New Thing - [insert child name] Says

Every now and then, the kids say some great things. So, I'm starting a new thing on the blog: [insert child name] Says . . .

She might have won but . . .

. . . the chaos makes me twitch.

I was Stumbling today and I came across this old video. A young woman is showing what her grandma left behind in her sewing room after the grandma passed away.

Whilst the stuff in there is a goldmine, all I wanted to do when watching was to go and organize the room. If you have an OCD complusion for order, you might not want to watch this.

And her name is . . .

Meet Esther:



She arrived today and I'm excited about being able to sew some thing for myself now that I have a dummy. I still need to pad her in a few places as she doesn't have the twin skin that I have.

A sewing to-do list

I think I need to start writing down a sewing to-do list. I keep thinking of things I want to sew but then I forget about them. My memory sucks. So, without further preamble, here is my list.

- under-armour for all 3 for rugby (it's still quite cold)
- rugby game day shorts for Isabella
- gymnastics leotard for Katerina
- swimsuits for the girls
- swimsuit for me
- wrap-around ballet warmup top for the girls
- produce bags
- grocery bags

That's it for now although I'll probably think of more later.

Winter's dying but not dead

I received a not so lovely surprise this morning. Snow. Wet and windy, too. I know why this happened. I put away the kids' snowsuits and winter gear this weekend.



Even the kids groaned at having to gear up again. They looked at the weather station and saw that it was 0ºC. They asked why they needed to wear scarves, toques, and mitts since it was so warm. I ended up giving them an impromptu lesson on humidity and how it relates to temperature.

They got a biology lesson this morning at the bus stop, too, as we huddled together against the wind like penguins. The topic discussed was how the female penguins used up stored body fat to lay an egg whilst the male penguins were out feeding so store up fat to get ready to incubate the egg at -65ºC temperatures.

I never pass up an learning opportunity.

The Tooth Fairy is busy at our house

4 PJs for Joshua

Using Kwik Sew 3042, I made Joshua 4 PJs with 3 of them also having matching summer shorts.

Maybe next year