It’s amazing how far Sugar’s drawing has come – she just finished another journal this past week and I photographed some of my favourites!

BTW, one of the best small parenting decisions I did was to skip the colouring books and give the girls journals with blank pages – this kind of creativity would never happen if they were always colouring in someone else’s lines. I remember the preschool teacher was worried, because the girls didn’t “respect the lines” – well! Look at them burn up the paper now!

Well, there goes another tooth. This one Sugar asked me to pull, which, honestly, was hard to get up my nerve to do! Both Jrock and I have not fond remembrances of our dads grubbing out our teeth before they were ready. But I used some floss and it popped right out and now she is front toothless.

We;ve decided that Sugar MUST have been born first, because she is a little taller and her teeth are growing in first. Makes sense to us! lol

In December, Sugar and Spice joined a local Sparks group, thanks to an invite from their friend M. These pictures are from their enrollment ceremony when they officially became Sparks!

For those of you that don’t know, Sparks are Kindergarten and Grade 1 aged Girl Guides… they wear pink shirts and promise to “share and be a friend.”

Our family actually has a long long history with Girl guides and Boy Scouts, which I have been careful to keep a secret from their leaders (I really don’t have any time to do more volunteering now!)

I was in Brownies/Guides/Pathfinders/Jr.Leaders for 11 years – yes, count them, 11 years. My sister and brother also spent some time. Both my parents were leaders… the kind that took 10 year old girls winter camping in the snow! The fun kind. But it doesn’t stop there. My dad was a Scout, and his mom was a Scout leader… in fact, my great grandmother was in the first Girl Guide group ever, back in England. It’s just a huge part of our family.

So when the girls were invited along, I was pleased. Of course what the group does and how fun it is depends on the leader, but overall, Guides is a pretty good use of a young girls time. I think there is a lot of value in learning to be comfortable outdoors, and in learning to serve your community.

So far, the girls are doing a lot of colouring and crafts… but in 2 weeks they have their first overnight camp and are pretty excited about it. Hopefully they’ll be spending some more time outside as the weather gets warmer as well.

Sugar cleaning up after our countless hairy animals.

Here are two pictures of my Sparks helping with supper… and then they get to tell their peeps about it at the meeting! Oh, and a side note that is important to them – the girls love that they are not the only kids with brown skin in Sparks (as opposed to school.) It is actually a real positive for them!

Spice making her famous chipotle mayo for yam fries.

I took the opportunity when the girls’ room was pretty tidy one day to take some pictures of it. They have been living under the gabled roof for a month now, but it still has that “new room” mystique.

So this room used to be our guest room. Even though our adoption has been delayed, we didn’t think it fair to the girls to delay their move upstairs. So in December we started shopping and constructing, and just before Christmas they moved in.

There are still a few things left to do – like Ena’s murals, a couple of pillows and peg boards, but you get the idea.

Some sourcing notes!! I really like using previously loved furniture, but there was a scarcity of decent bunkbeds in our area. So we bought the bunkbeds, desk and cubbies from IKEA. The chairs we ordered and received from Target last summer. Besides that, though, the rest of the furniture was repurposed or refinished. Jrock built the shelves (he’s good at shelving!) with a big lip on the side to hold animals and stuff. I refurbished and painted their dresser (not shown – it’s in the closet) as well as the desk chairs. These were antique highchairs that I sawed off and strengthened and refinished. The dolly beds I turned into bunks and stenciled the lot to match. The rug and curtains were from the old guest room.

I hope you enjoy the pictures – the girls certainly love it, and I’m so glad with the way it turned out! (The plans here.)

he he – Probably not something that our girls will remember when they grow up, but over the holidays their dad and I were there for their first brush with the law!

We went skateboarding in my office, which was closed for the holidays. We have this awesome smooth cement floor – perfect! for skateboarding. And there wasn’t anyone else in sight.

But after 1/2 hour or so of boarding and a bunch of awesome action shots, the security guard came in and gave us the boot.

We’ve been there before, and the other security guards never cared. But this one was adamant that there was a “no skateboarding” policy on the property.

As we exited the building, one of our juvenile deliquints looked up at me with wide eyes and said “was that a policeman??”

“Naw, honey,” I replied. “Just security. Police wouldn’t care.”

he he

It looks like my little turkeys are having a good time in Creston! According tot he daily reports, they went to watch a figure-skating competition, went swimming, played outside, did their homework (not really homework, just read the same book as they are missing in school,) and have done lots of colouring! I’m so glad we have such good grandparents to take such good care of my special treasures!!

My friend P invited the girls and I up to Silver Star last weekend for a sleepover.

Her daughter T was born in Swaziland and is a year younger than our girls. It was Sugar and Spice’s first sleepover – complete with pjs and a movie!

We drove up Saturday and the snow started to fall down and down – that night there were 22cms of soft new powder! First, we went sledding with P’s eldest boy, ad the girls just had a hoot. Then after a warm supper complete with “kid wine” (sparkling juice) we did the jammies and a movie thing while I super quickly braided Sugar’s hair.

We cozied up in their warm cabin for stories and then P and I got some lovely chat time in over some “adult wine” while the kids drifted off to Neverneverland.

The next day we all bundled up again to go skating. T is actually a really good skiier, but since our girls haven’t skiied before, she bravely threw on some skates and joined them out on the rink. I don’t skate, but I plowed (still snowing!) a track around the rink and the girls hoofed it around.

It was a wonderful break and a chance to relax. thanks for a great time!

“My baby!” That’s all I could exclaim over and over when Sugar lost her FIRST TOOTH yesterday. My little girl is growing up way too fast!

She was interrupting me in conversation, and I kept saying “just a minute, honey. Just a minute!” but she persisted, and showed me her tooth – and I was dumbstruck. It was so tiny… she had been complaining of a sore tooth for the last couple of days, but we thought she was too young to lose it. Wrongo.

Last night, we had a big debate  about if we should throw the tooth on the roof, like they do in Ethiopia, or to put it under Sugar’s pillow. I would have salvaged that tooth, let me tell you, somehow. But the easier solution ended up being the pillow, and she was tickled pink by a toonie under the pillow this morning. Spice, on the other hand, was green with envy. 

Spice was watching out like a maniac today – and when I declared that one of her bottom teeth is loose – oh, she was so delighted.

On the way home from work today, I picked up one of our teenage Ethiopian neighbor/friends and peppered her with questions about the bird song (you sing it when you throw the tooth on the roof.) She was delighted to hear about the Canadian tooth fairy (big smiles) but is going to try to write out the words and remember the tune for us so we can sing the bird song next time!

PS: the funniest. There were so many tooth fairy questions today – Sugar asked Daddy: “Daddy, what does the tooth fairy DO with all the teeth? Can we look it up on the internet?”

Sure enough, the internet provided. Apparently the tooth fairy gives them to babies who don’t have teeth yet.  Learn something new every day!

What do we do on a winter day off? Probably one of our favourite afternoons is to go for a hike .. ok, hike is maybe an ambitous term. Walk. A walk, up and down an trail somewhere. Then, there is the manditory warm-up, with good food or good drinks.

This winter day we went up Mission Creek, beyond the city’s greenway. The dogs just had a wonderful time and we enjoyed our slippery route as well.

Then, a wonderful meal at the Woodfire Bakery, which is a must-visit when you come to Kelowna. They make hearty and delicious carnivorous German food from scratch – yum!

We ended up having three days of celebration for Ethiopian Christmas. The day after our own party we went to a friend’s house and eat and visited with our Ethiopian friends. Then on Monday we had an Ethiopian day in kindergarten, complete with stories, food and music.

Sugar and two of her older friends… she has just blossomed and now feels much more comfortable with attention from Ethiopian women. She still squirms when she gets kissed and hugged, but doesn’t hide behind my dress anymore!

A bit of a funny story… we were on our way out to the party, and the girls were decked out in some traditional Ethiopian clothes. Spice looks up at me and says “why do you get to go to the party, Mommy? You’re pink!” Notice the “you are pink” instead of “you have pink skin.” I think they are starting to develop racial contructs. Anyway, I just replied “well, because I’m with you, honey!” She sort of squished up her nose at me and then decided to take me at face value.

 The girls’ classroom event was pretty fun. I read the story of “Kaldi and the Dancing Goat” which we bought when in Ethiopia. It tells a fictional story of the discovery of coffee, and then to solve the mystery we looked at and smelled raw coffee beans and roasted coffee grounds.

We played Ethiopian music and instruments, and then the brave kids (most of them!) tried some lentils and injera. Finally, we finished with colouring sheets photocopied out of the “A is for Addis Ababa” book that my mom bought for the girls in Ethiopia. Props to the girls’ teacher, who just let us come and do our thing. We even demonstrated haggling (after a question about where we bought our clothes,) much to the delight of her students.

The girls were so proud! And it was so nice to see them showing off their culture – with positive attention form the other kids. A great experience!

Well, we ended up having a really nice Christmas – and my friend M was SO impressed by the food. Whewf! She really was surprised by the azita – which was pretty easy to cook and a refreshing contrast (it’s served cold and has jalepeno and lime flavors) to the rest of the food.

A little pre-supper dancing to Ethiopian radio…

Doro Wat was the favorite as usual… but my injera was VERY respectable. Jrock said it’s the best I’ve made yet. The only trick is that it was sticky. I asked M about this and got kind of a convoluted answer, so I’ll press her further to fin out why. But the texture was right, it had a bit of shine, lots of eyes (bubbles) and a really nice flavour. Yeah!

The injera looks small, but I have a really huge mesob (basket).

J and C and their daughters Tigger and Chuckles joined us on short notice – I figured we always get to go to Harvest Moon Festival dinners and the like, it would be nice to share with them too. So we had a big meal and the five kids played until late. And now I have leftovers for many many frozen meals.

Azita

The crockpot doro wat – always a crowd favourite.

Alesha lentils – very mild and garlic gingery – everybody likes it

Aib done by Suagr – it was a few people's favorite!

Beef tibs

Melkam Genna! Today is Ethiopian Christmas and I’m cooking up a big feast of Ethiopian dishes for supper. Usually we go to our Ethiopian friends’ house, but M is working a night shift and can’t cook, I volunteered for them to come over here. What was I thinking???

Jrock came down from the TV room to check in on the action.

“Smells like onions,” he grinned. It always smells to high heaven like onions for an Ethipian feast, since I’ve chopped 9 onions today.

“Heh – you must be a little nervous having the best Ethiopian cook we know come over and try your food!”

Thanks, honey. I was trying not to pay attention to that.

M is seriously an amazing cook – that’s one of the reason all our community celebrations are at her house. And her injera is better than most Ethiopian restaurants. Luckily, I know she isn’t judgemental and will just appreciate my effort. Still – a little nervous.

On the menu tonight – Doro Wat (Chicken Stew; Auntie Ena’s amazing recipe,) Alecha (mild yellow lentils,) Azita (lime and green pepper black lentils,) and Beef Tibs (like a beef stir-fry.) Oh, and I can’t forget – Sugar made her first batch of Aib, Ethiopian fresh cheese today, with fresh herbs. Her dish will be well received no matter what! lol but it actually is tasty too.

Wish me luck!

We invited ourselves out to my parent’s new home and joined my sister and her husband in Creston for the holidays. Overall, we had a lovely Christmas… with homemade perogies, skating and broomball, excited children opening gifts, turkey and stuffing, and warm times with family.

BUT – there was a downside to the holiday. On the way over the Salmo-Creston pass (you’ve seen it on Kokanee beer cans) my ears were plugged up and started to hurt like a much warmer place. By the time I got to Creston, my head was in agony. This was Christmas Eve, and Christmas Day I had to go to the hospital. The doctor showed off my “angry” ear infection to the nurses and my husband, and I returned back to Mom and Dad’s with antibiotics and a very sore head.

Ever since, I’ve been in so much pain – my ear feels like it’s holding a pressurized balloon. The only silver lining is that when we drove home (avoiding the Creston-Salmo PAss) we went through Nelson and saw from friends that we wouldn’t have otherwise. But it certainly put a damper on the holidays for me.

Luckily, the girls and Jrock are suffering form no such malaise and they had a wonderful holiday. The girls had a blast playing with all their presents and their extended family. We all had a restful and relaxing time at Mom and Dad’s.

I hope you all had a wonderful holiday too (minus the ear infection!)

Two nights ago we went over to our friend L and her family’s house for a winter solstice party. Being from the frosty North, I have been to many a Summer Solstice Party (can we say party all night long?) bu this was a much more family-oriented, low key affair.

The picture above was drawn by yours truly (be amazed at my talent) and coloured by Spice – it’s of the girls and I at the park looking across the lake.

Some of the kids, setting out towards the lake.

We ate soup and breads and goodies and then walked as a troupe to the lake with candle lanterns. L just lives a couple of blocks from us and it’s only another block to the lake, so it was the perfect-length winter walk with two girls.

It reminded me of caroling when I was growing up! A lost art.

When we set out, Spice found it “a bit scary” walking at night, but with lanterns and singing and Christmas lights everywhere, it warmed up her soul and both girls enjoyed it immensely!

Here’s to longer days! Yeah!!!