Folks, I just called CTV in Winnipeg, the Winnipeg Sun, and the Winnipeg Free Press. None of them had heard about the agency closure. ???

If you don’t want this to happen – call your local newspapers and TV stations, as well as the provincial news sources. Tell your stories, tell about the good work CAFAC has done, and see that the Ministry is pressured to work with them to continue.

They need to hear real people wth real stories!

Folks -

I just learned that Canada’s long-standing Ethiopian adoption agency CAFAC is on the edge of closing its doors February 3rd. this is absolutely TERRIBLE!!!

We need to help CAFAC get through this.

You may or may not know, but we were one of the first two families that flew to Ethiopia after the Imagine bankruptcy to get our kids. We can’t let this reliable and long-standing agency fall apart – especially if one of the core issues is the agency’s inability to charge adequate fees for increasing timelines.

When imagine fell apart, the tragedy wasn’t just families not realizing their dreams. The tragedies I saw were children being sent back to orphanages to live out their lives, Ethiopian staff losing their jobs and their own families going unfed, and a blight on the world’s perception of international adoption.

The CAFAC board explains their position very clearly and asks for help very clearly: http://cafac.ca

PLEASE, do at least one of these things tomorrow.

#1 Call a reporter in Manitoba and tell them why it’s a tragedy if CAFAC goes under/ceases operations.

#2 Call Minister Jennifer Howard’s offices 204-945-4173 (ministry) 204-946-0272 (constituency) to voice your support for CAFAC and to encourage the ministry to allow for interim funding and fee increases.

#3 if you can’t call, email your concerns to the minister: minfsl@leg.gov.mb.ca

Let’s unite and stop this agency from failing!!

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.)

Well, my rugrats are back home and back in routine. Aside from being a little tired and very cuddly, they seemed to have fared very well at Gramma and Grandpa’s house!

But on a totally different note: a little insight into what makes Sugar and Spice tick.

If there is one thing my kids are crazy about… it’s animals. The are avid naturalists, and love nothing more than to draw, read, watch or play out animal behaviors. Now, this mostly comes from Jrock and I (the whole nature / nurture thing takes another layer of meaning here.) We both are nature nuts – he is interested in animal behaviors and groups, as well as zoology. I’m more into ecology and interactions, as well as connecting with nature. He really likes mammals – I really like birds and other small beasties. It’s obvious we have passed these passions onto the girls. Jrock’s family were cattle farmers; whereas my family is the outdoorsy side. My dad’s a biologist and we all grew up hunting, fishing and exploring the great outdoors.

The fascinating thing is how the girls’ have got involved in our family interest but made it their own. spice is very creative and dramatic. So she loves playing out big elaborate stories and animal family scenes with her stuffies or small animal figurines. Spice is quite the little artist, and loves drawing pictures of animals and nature. She’s also very happy going for walks to watch ducks, or putter about in nature and the garden. Currently, she is growing some of her own pea plants in my kitchen.

Spice likes to examine bugs and other twigs and things in her microscope, always careful not to harm them. She also likes to call Grandpa on the phone and ask a specific question about something she’s been pondering… like why bighorn sheep’s horns keep growing.

Sugar, our ball of energy, is quite different. She acts out scenes directed by her sister, but her real passion is reading and learning about animals. She memorizes infinite details about different species, their interactions and habitats. Definitely, she’s the academic amateur zoologist, along with the same kind of detachment of many researchers. It doesn’t trouble her much to swish a bug to look at it.

But forget bugs – Sugar is interested mainly in cute animals (puppies) and large flashy species like zebras. Just like her sister, she loves it when Daddy finds her a video online that shows an animal doing something (hunting, reproducing, whatever,) and enjoys not only understanding but being able to explain her findings to other people. If you want to know how climate change works, just ask Sugar. She’ll ‘splain it!

Anyway, here are some of our girl’s favorite animal / nature toys and resources:

Schleich figurines.. boy they LOVE these, especially when they have a family or group of them.  Favorites are horses, tigers/lions and the new zebra and giraffes they got for Christmas.

The girls are absolutely gaga for Calico critters – all those infinitely tiny parts and the super cute animals! It’s just so right for their age!

Their matching Falkmanis otter puppets (they also have a skunk and an owl)

Some of their favorite reading books:

And their favorite books overall:

 And their favorite tools:

Favorite Netflix movie:

Favorite Netflix TV show (Tales of the Riverbank):

Once Upon a Hamster!

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!!

We’ve had so many requests for this recipe, I hope my sister doesn’t mind me posting it. I do make a couple of small changes when I make it, so the version of the recipe below is with my slight modifications!

                Chicken pieces (flat of thighs)

                Juice of 1 lemon

                2 tsp salt

Mix in a bowl and let marinate for at least 30 minutes.

                 2 onions

                 3 cloves garlic

                 2 tbsp fresh ginger

Mix into a paste using a blender or food processor.

                  ¼ c niter kibbeh
                  (or ¼ c butter with ¼ tsp each fenugreek, basil & black pepper)

                   2 tbsp paprika

                   ¼- ½ c berbere paste or 1-2tbsp powder

                    ½-2 tsp cayenne

Heat the butter in a large saucepan. Add the paprika, stir, and cook for 1 minute on med. Add berbere and cayenne and stir to cook 2-3 minutes. Add onion/garlic/ginger puree and sauté on medium until onion loses it’s raw smell, about 5 minutes.

                   ¼- ½ c red wine

                   3/4c stock

 Add wine and stock to taste.

Place chicken pieces in a large crockpot. Cover with sauce and stir. Cook on high for 1 hour, low 4+ hours.

                     3 tbl flour

                     2 tbl tomato paste

15 minutes before serving, take bones out of crockpot and return the chicken meat. Add 3 tbl flour to tomato paste and a little cold stock to make a roux, then stir it into the pot to thicken the sauce and add colour. Season with salt and additional berbere to taste. Let the mixture sit with the heat off for 10 minutes to thicken and settle. If desired, add 4 hard boiled eggs (peeled but whole) 10 minutes before serving.

Well, I’m two days into a week with no kids and no husband. Pretty blissful, I have to admit.

Jrock had a week’s worth of work in Creston, so he took the kids with him so they could visit and stay with my parents. I thought it was a great idea – the plan was for me to rest and catch up on work.

Well, two days in, and I’m feeling much more rested. I still have the dogs, which are a bit of work, espcially since it’s really cold here and they are jailed inside our +15 degree freezing house. But overall, there is little tidying or cooking to do, and I’m getting an amazing amount of work done.

Usually I try to spend 2-7pm with the kids, at least a few times a week. But that means that I’m back to work for several hours after they go to bed. It’s a choice – I know. I prioritize that time with them. But it does mean that I’m often up to all hours so I’m ready for the next day and on top of my work. People ask me all the time how I do so much with small kids – I say “I don’t sleep much.” It’s totally true.

But with no kids or husband at home (sorry honey, but honestly husbands take lots of time too!) life is simpler and I can work all day + evening with no interuptions. So I get more work done and don’t feel guilty either. I think I may have to arrange for this every couple of months! lol I even got to go out with a friend for dinner last night without worrying about a babysitter. Will wonders never cease.

Oh, btw, if you are a stalker or think that I’m vulnerable because I’m home by myself, think again: #1 – dogs, AND #2 – I keep a hatchet beside my bed. Not joking. Old habit from my single days.

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!