The kids were funny at the beach. This is their attempt at spelling LOVE for me :)
I have to say July was wonderful but I might be the only person on earth complaining about the heat. I really don't deal with it well. The thing that saved me is my igloo (aka, my basement studio) and the stand up fan in the kitchen.
It was a bit of a struggle to keep from blogging. I did make a few slips here and there, but for the most part, I recharged and I think without the self-imposed pressure of blogging daily, I had the time to better absorb some of the brilliance out there on the www. Wow, it's amazing. I've bookmarked a number of entries and hope to share them sometime soon.
What else did I do when I wasn't here on the www?
- July 1st was celebrated: Claire and Chloe was with Alex and family at RibFest in Etobicoke; Cole went with friends to Bronte Harbour and Louis let off sparklers for Caden in the back yard while watching the fireworks at the harbour. Me? I stayed clear of the bugs and read inside.
- There were two "not miss" shows this month: Jillian Michael's "Losing It" and "The Bachelorette" Our family is Team Chris all the way. How can we not be? He is from our town in Cape Cod! Lots of lessons learned on each show.
- One of the young ('95) hockey players at BTNL, in town from Nova Scotia, needed a place to hang out one day so I voluntold my kids that they were going to hang out with him. He was tall and handsome which was great for Claire, and he was a very talented defenseman, which was great for Cole, and he was lovely. I'm glad we could help out.
- We enjoyed both Wimbledon and the British Open. It was so nice to have shows to watch in the morning, live from overseas!
- I participated in the Mondo Beyondo Dream Lab and on Angie Warren's Project Photography. Going away for a while with no internet was not helpful with keeping up, but I learned a lot at any rate!
- The kids are reading like crazy! Books consumed so far include: City of Bones, City of Ashes and City of Glass by Cassandra Clare; Will Grayson, Will Grayson by John Green and David Levithan; The Fallen Part 1 by Thomas E. Sniegoski; the Hunger Games and Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins; Chosen, Untamed, Hunted, Tempted and Burned all by P.C. Cast & Kristin Cast; Graceling by Kristin Cashore; The Outsiders by S. E. Hinton; The A List, A Novel, by Zoey Dean; Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick; The Absolutely True Diary of a Part Time Indian by Sherman Alexie; The Chronicles of Ancient Darkness (series of 7 books) by Michelle Paver. Claire and Cole are sharing many books, Cole is passing some down to Caden. Chloe is reading a ton of Archie comics. Sometimes she really is me. I hope it's a "phase" for her as it was for me!
- New computers are in the house! Cole and Claire both attended their roll-outs and got the new hardware loaded with new software. I quite like how they look and they seem sturdier than the Dell's.
- After a huge mail delay, and perhaps bad timing, my Scrapbook Sussies kits finally arrived and I was able to submit my designs. Better late than never. Though, I have to say, a 2-day turn around for me is miraculous! :)
- I was invited to participate in a creative project with a friend and I can't wait to show off what I created!
- Claire and Cole spent a lot of time hanging out with their friends. So did Chloe and Caden. It is a joy to watch them be so social and active. They are still plagued with bouts of insecurity, but that is natural for kids who have a built-in social system with a big family. We're working on it!
- Emmy noms came out! My favourite The Good Wife with the brilliant Julianna Margulies got a nod or two. I'm also thrilled for the recognition, finally, for Kyle Chandler and Connie Britton of Friday Night Lights.
- I arrived home one day to a big puffy envelope with Ali Edward's Life Artist inside. Whoot. Thanks to my lovely cyber-friend, Susan from Georgia. Another puffy envelope arrived while we were on holiday with my Sketchbook Project book. I love mail!
- Caden arrived home one day with a new iPod, he bought it with his birthday money. The other thing he brought home? A new iPad for me! I immediately loaded up iBook and Shazam and all is great in the world.
- Movies watched by some combination of children: Toy Story 3; Knight & Day; Get Him to the Greek; Twilight: Eclipse ...
- Caden had a wonderful 3on3 hockey season. I think maybe, just maybe, he's getting it. Well, except for being kicked out of the final game for "interference". Hmm.
- I really wish Cape Cod was closer, but then again, if it were, everyone we know would be there ... that would be like having a place in Muskoka! Anyway, we enjoyed another holiday in the Cape. We were able to fit in a mere four full days of holiday - with travel time there and back. It was too short, but it was, in Cole's words: "One day is better than none. I'm glad we had four." I'm glad all four of mine agreed. It was a long 20+ hours in the car, but worth every kilometre!
- The Berkshires are beautiful and next year we're going back to Lenox, MA to explore a bit more.
- I do not know who discovered lobster, but THANK YOU!
- Mel Gibson has lost his mind. Absolutely bi-polar or manic depression, but wow buddy, shut up!
- Cole may not be happy about being Corner Back rather than Linebacker, but he's good at it. As the "last guy" he's pretty good at bringing them down.
- Camps! Outrigger Canoe. Robotics. Theater. Day camp is the best. They are exposed to so many things they don't normally do. How fun!
- I love technology. Seriously. It has so much good. It brings things I'd never experience in person (the Louvre, Wikipedia, pick a library) directly into my home. How wondrous. How amazing! Given all of that, I have to say I'm tired of the cyber-bully-bullshit. I'm thrilled my kids include me in the "drama" at least to let me know. This month it was formspring - for which I have an account. But really? I can't even repeat here any (deleted) question asked of my 14-year-old daughter this last month. Disgusting.
- Have I mentioned how much I admire Cathy Zielske? Or totally tickled I am to be included with my friend Barb Wong in our mutual admiration?
- It appears the oil leak in the Gulf of Mexico has been capped. That took a crazy amount of time and it's heart-wrenching to think of the damage done.
- My step mum is really interested in Caden being tested at the Arrowsmith School in Toronto. He seems fine to me, but since his near-drowning and resulting coma in 2003, we might as well check him out completely.
- Re-entry is a bitch. Hello allergies! I need to buy a lifetime supply of kleenex. Argh. This summer sucks. Really. Bad.
- I'm already missing the routine and order of the school year. It must be the heat getting to me.
- And then, when I'm suffering the most, I get notification that a lovely someone - who is also an important someone - reads my blog, and recommended it. Specifically the Monthly Review Posts! Thanks Wendy!
- In keeping with my newfound confidence, I applied to be a contributor at a collective of creative women I really enjoy. Fingers crossed! (Note: I wasn't chosen, but who knows? I'm still confident!)
- I'm still trying to wrap my head around the idea that Claire is dating Alex and Cole is dating Nicole and as prepared as I thought I was for this eventuality, I'm not.
- Along with Caden, I met with my friend Barb Wong and her family in Markham while she was in town to visit with other internet friends. Our plans didn't quite work out, but we're flexible. It was just so nice to see her again!
- Chloe has announced she wants to play hockey again this winter. My friend Lindy took her, with Olivia, to the rink just to confirm her resolve.
- Though disappointed the Titans didn't advance any further than the regular season, Cole had a great time learning how to play football. Whatever will I do on Tuesday and Thursday evening with no practices? :)
- The basement projects are well underway. Even the garage has been purged!
- We're still waiting for our tree removal guys to get back so we can tidy up the property and make plans for replacement (read: live) plants and trees.
- We went for our last meal at The Big Smoke. What a disappointment. The food was dreadful and the staff was far too busy pounding shots at the bar than actually taking care of the paying clients waiting at their tables. Sad.
- Cole has kept up with his hockey: a bit of BTNL, Strong Hockey has opened in Oakville, lessons in Mississauga and shinny. Not too much, but more than nothing after all, Training Camp starts at the end of August! One day he had Outrigger Canoe Camp from 8 to 3, Strong Hockey training from 4 to 5:30 and Football Practice from 6:30 to 8. He LOVED it. Not all days were that intense - or diverse, but there were a few doozies this month.
- Lots of time spent chatting with sisters Andrea and Beth. Love catching up!
- I have become the project queen with many albums and mini's on the go. One thing leads to another and it is so wonderful. I've shared a few and look forward to sharing more!
For having no real plans we seem to be staying pretty busy!
We're just shy of halfway through summer and I think everyone has enjoyed the flexible schedule, hanging out with friends, reading tons of books, posing for and taking photos, eating barbeque and watermelon, having sleep-overs, joining friends for dinner, attending movies and, and, and ... I expect August to be more of the same, less one child as Cole is off to overnight camp for two of the weeks. As for me, I'm done with the heat and we haven't even entered the hot part of summer!
