The Great Salmon Run

Tags

blogging, Children, events, family, fish, good cause, kids, natural enviroment, nature, parenthood, run, salmon

The Great Salmon Run takes place this time each year at Tynehead Regional Park, in hope to promote and raise community awareness in freshwater fish habitat and the natural environment. With the option of an 8K, 5K and even 300M run, everyone is welcome to join this family friendly event.

Race packages.

Each package includes a Great Salmon Run t-shirt, a running bib and other goodies all secured in an insulated thermal lunch bag. How awesome!

I was relief to find that there were still a fair amount of parking stalls left at Tynehead Community hall at 10:30am, although we could always hop on the free shuttle bus service at North Surrey Secondary. The walk was approximately 500m down 96avenue to the event site. With almost one hour to spare the boys went straight to mini golfing and made sure to visit all the activity stations.

The Kids’ Dash and Splash run was about 300 meters.  Upon finishing, the boys received a ribbon.

After the race we headed to the hatchery where each child was given a bucket of salmon fry to release into the Serpentine River.

They went back three times, needless to say it was the best part of their day.

We wish the salmon luck on their huge journey.

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Happy Earth day!

Tags

Children, earth day, family, life, parenthood, Plants, sun flowers

My son Tyler has been reminding me for the past week of Earth Day, and insisted we celebrate the earth by participating in an outdoor planting activity.  I’ve been looking for ideas and last night I came across this brilliant concept by one amazing and very creative blogger named Kate.  Her sunflower race really sold me. The idea is to see who’s going to grow the biggest or tallest sunflower. Add some dirt and throw in a friendly competition, I say that`s gotta be a winning plan.

So, Tyler and I drove to a local nursery today where we had a very educational visit.  We picked out some tall blend sunflower seeds along with some geraniums and a variety of filler and trailer plants to be arranged in the 16 inch pots, for our front door.

 Let the race begin boys! (Can you guess where they get their competitive instinct from?hehe)

 I say this looks pretty decent for a first-timer 🙂

To sit or not to sit?

Tags

blog, blogging, boys, Children, lavatory, life, lifestyle, parenthood, parenting, pee sitting down, random thoughts, thoughs

As much as I like the idea of men sitting, I really don’t see much sense in banning urinals in men’s washroom and making it illegal or politically incorrect for men to pee while standing up, like the feminists of Western Europe are determined to do.

My sons were both potty trained by their second birthday.  There were the occasional accidents during the night but otherwise they were completely diaper-free, not even pull-ups. Patience and persistence definitely paid off, and it sure helped to have a couple of very cooperative boys.

Since two, they have urinated standing up. The splatters has minimized now that the boys no longer need the stool and their aims have gotten somewhat more accurate. Ideally, I would love for my sons to empty their bladder as they’re sitting down. I would think that’s every mother’s dream. However, my husband thinks it’s unmanly (unboyish?) for boys to pee sitting, but then again, he’s not the one cleaning the washroom. Anyway, since I am not a man and don’t know how these things work, I gave him the benefit of the doubt.

Lately, I’ve been noticing some puddles around the toilet. It doesn’t help to narrow down the perpetrator when there’s four potential suspects. So, I’ve been doing some reading and found that it’s normal for boys/men to sit during micturition. In fact, a lot of men do it, but not in public, which I agree with, and especially at night time, according to many forums and the Is it normal for men to pee sitting down? pole. I’ve since presented this information along with the pros and cons of this topic to my loving partner. I would like to say that he sided with me after hearing the logics, and seeing how the pros have outweighed the cons, but it was the persistent pestering that really did the trick. Never underestimate the power of nagging.

At some point my children will choose for themselves what best suits their needs. For now, while I still have some power, I think I might retrain my boys, only when they’re in my lavatory anyway.

Ever thought of how life would turn out if you haven’t made certain choices?

Tags

blog, life, lifestyle, mother, parenthood

Here’s how different I think my life might be if i had not become a wife and mother.

Living in Hong Kong: I am not Chinese, but I did spend a few years of my early childhood in Hong Kong and apparently I spoke perfect Cantonese then. I don’t remember it now; I can only pick up some basic terms and phrases, but not enough to carry on a conversation. I love the culture, the food and the language. I have thought of moving there many times.

Tattoos and Piercings: When my husband and I dated I have 12 piercings, one of them on my tongue, and a single inked design, which I love but glad it’s hidden. This was when my curiosity with body art had just begun. My husband however has a different, more conservative view when it comes to appearances. Opposites attract. His perception of all things natural has rubbed off on me over the years.

Two-wheelers: There’s something inherently cool and appealing about motorcycles. Haven’t you ever thought of what it would be like to experience that exhilarating feeling of riding against the wind? I have and I seriously considered taking lessons.

Nursing: I was a candy stripper for two years during high school, and I thought I would grow up to be a nurse. But I decided that beautician school was much more interesting and quick. I realized later on that I prefer my original career choice, but by then family life has consumed all of my time.

Blonde hair and brown eyes: I always thought I would meet a nice white boy one day and have mixed babies. They’re just so darn cute and since I was not blessed with double eyelids or a high-bridged nose, the very thought of having an interracial baby was very intriguing. Luckily my boys turned out to be most handsome.

I‘ve transformed into someone I barely recognize, but I love the person I’ve become.

Easter Chaos

Tags

childhood, Children, Easter, family, kids, life, outdoors, parenthood, parenting

Today was one of those crazy arse days I wish I had a pause button.

We went to Surrey Nature Centre at Green Timbers for an egg hunt in the forest, and had a full day of activities and entertainment planned. However, upon our arrival we were stuck for nearly 15 minutes in the lineup of cars that was hardly moving, with three energetic boys in the back seat and one impatient mama. When we reached the entrance we waited in line again for about 10mins. Inside were white tens set up on the field for face painting, bouncing castle, crafts, and other Easter related activities, each one with its own line of people. Ugh!  We went straight to the egg hunting ground and waited yet another 20 minutes exactly for everyone to show and receive their egg carton. The hunt was chaotic with the boys running in every which directions. Luckily, my friend Julie agreed to watch one of my boys. We left right after the hunt, as the lines were just too long at the other stations, and I also wanted to go the Surrey Museum for the Easter Fair. We had visited the Museum last Easter and the boys had a blast so I was excited to return.

There was plenty of parking at the Museum. Other than a slight change in the scavenger hunt which took place inside the Museum, everything was as I remembered. The live animal petting was still a huge hit. There were no line ups; the boys got to do tons of crafts and games. There was even a personnel from the library who came and did three story readings and songs. We could have stayed for the dog race but by then the boys were more than willing to leave, which was a good thing because I was pooped. But I am definitely coming back there next year!

Hope your Easter went more smoothly.

Tackle your goals

Tags

Children, family, goal setting, parenthood

For a long time now I’ve wanted to bake a cake for my boys on their special day. However, after a couple of failed attempts I’ve accepted the defeat and realized the art of pastry just isn’t in my gene. But, that was a few years back, the new me is wiser and tougher and full of experience. Nah who am I kidding, I haven’t changed; my baking skills are still terrible. But, the kids are at that age now where they’ll remember the details of their memory. And Since I want those images to be nothing short of a beautiful childhood, worthy to take up space in their medial temporal lobe, I’d better start pulling up my sleeves. Having said that, I am going to try and bake all three of my boys a cake this year.

My other goal also requires a set of crafty hands. During last Halloween’s costume contest at Tyler’s school, I was both impressed and inspired by Jennifer Hobson, a woman who I truly admire and look up to and whose son is in Tyler’s kindergarden class. Seeing her three boys in their one of a kind, home-made outfits brought me back to the days of improvising; fabric markers, large garage bag and construction paper costumes, and pillow case trick or treat bags (I grew up in the ghetto okay).  I miss the simplicity and authenticness of it all. So, I am going to join Jen this year and hopefully in the process teach my children the other concept of Halloween.Now that I’ve made a public announcement, there’s no turning back.

We all have goals we want to achieve, here’s a tip my friend Kim Lam told me: Write it down. Leave it some place you know you`ll see. This way it becomes real and you`re reminded of it. And make sure to be specific about your goals. Instead of wanting to lose weight, write down how many pounds you want to lose. It’s not too late to tackle those New Year’s resolutions friends!

Headless Chicken

Tags

childhood, Children, extra curricular, family, moms, mother goose program, parenthood

I’ve become one of those moms who run around like a headless chicken, putting their children in all sorts of extracurricular activities. But, I have a perfectly good reason of course.

Our family had just moved to Canada and become permanent residents in ’92. And though my parents could barely speak a word of English, they worked really hard to provide for us five kids. I couldn’t be more proud or grateful for their courage and strength.  I know it is a privilege just to live in Canada, but as a child I was envious and always did wish I could be like the other kids, and got to do the things they did. Somehow I think it would have made me more confident and sociable in high school.  Oh well, it just meant that I had to work twice as hard to fit in.

Now that I am a parent it only makes sense that I would want to provide my children with the opportunities that I did not have. SO, for the last almost three years my sons have been enrolled in swimming, skating and piano lessons. Some people think it’s not necessary while others fear that we may have over worked the boys. The way I see it, it’s like going to the park except, they’re at the pool or the ice rink, etc. They’re playing while their brain is simultanously absorbing information.

I find swimming lessons to be important because it is a life-saving skill and can ultimately save their life one day or someone else’s for that matter. On the other hand, music is said to enhance their intelligence, coordination, concentration and foster creativity. It simply helps higher their academic achievement and improves their learning ability. While Ice hockey is a proud Canadian sport. So I say it is necessary. Although to be fair, I do have the advantage of being a full time mom, it’s part of my job description after all.

You can tell someone is a parent when…

Tags

Children, family, humour, kids, parenthood

1. They have ZERO social life.

2. All they talk about is having ZERO social life.

3. Their best friend is their spouse/significant other.

4. They know the names of characters from Treehouse.

5. They know what Treehouse is, or exactly what channel it’s on (and possibly the only channel they can enter without even looking at the remote control).

6. The home screen of their phone is that of a little person.

7. Their FB profile picture is also of that same little person.

8. They constantly update their FB profile of cute pictures that once again is not of themselves.

9. They have abnormally long conversation with random children (wait, that also applies to pedophiles).

10. They either drive an SUV or a Van (again, pedophiles. Why do I keep thinking of pedophiles?)

11. They assume ever person talking to random children for extended period of time and own a large vehicle is a pedophile.

12. They visit the grocery store more than the average person.

13. Their grocery list almost always has 3.25% homo milk written down.

14. One of their most visited stores is Toys R Us.

15. They always have awesome ideas for a child’s birthday present.

16. They know what an exersaucer is.

17. They are a morning person, when they never were before.

18. They sleep early on Friday nights. (see 1.)

19. They write blogs on a Saturday night. (also see 1.)

20. If you’re reading this right now changes are you are a parent, or you’re interested in becoming one or you’re like one to your niece or nephew.

If all of the above applies to you and you’re Not a parent then you my friend are a PEDOPHILE! Just joking.  Okay just don’t stock my children, plsss.

Who says you can’t have fun dressing up boys? Not I!

Tags

boys, Children, clothes, family, fashion, parenthood, style, trend

I love to pick out my sons’ wardrobe, more so than my own even. Now that I’ve said it out loud there’s definitely something wrong with that. Lol. I try to keep it interesting, avoiding the typical strips and solids whenever possible. I like to prove to people that you don’t have to have a girl to have fun playing dress up. Except for when it comes to school that’s a whole different argument and set of rules. My sons generally let me create just about any looks, as long as they don’t have to model for more than two minutes. After that they begin to fidget uncontrollably and break out dancing or transforming into one of their favourite superheroes. I would say that’s one of the biggest disadvantages of dressing for boys.

I am super excited that florescent colors are back on the shelves. Right now I’m obsessed with Zara’s spring collection for boys! Seeing all those vibrant hues just makes me so happy, like a kid in The Sweet Factory. The boys’ fashion has mostly been inspired by the contemporary punk meets skater look. So, naturally skinny jeans are high on the must-have list. God only knows Tyler has owned his fair share of them. So when they came out in a selection of bright colors how I can deprive him? Absolutely not! He’s got one in almost every color now, expect for yellow and orange, oh and pink. They’re decently priced at H&M, my other favourite Label.

I look forward to filling their closet with an explosion of rainbow apparels this spring…