17/52

A: Tiny rain boots that I'm sure have never been given such a thorough stomping in puddles (they are hand me downs, I think they've gone through at least 3 kids, but they look brand new, because size five feet do not often actually touch the ground outside). She is standing up on her own this week, a lot, which is terrifying to us parents. She gives the impression that she doesn't really know what's going on because she's so laissez faire about the fact that she is STANDING. UP. ON. HER. OWN. but I think actually to her it's just one more thing that she knew she could do anyhow, no big deal.

N: my big girl, so grown up. This week she has been using the term " No Harm Done" whenever someone bumps her, by accident- she said it to a woman while we were shopping and the woman nearly bust a gut laughing, so did I, only to be informed by N very seriously that it was not a joke.  She's also picked up the term "disaster zone"- in relation to the house, because I have been sewing in the dining room this week (picture cats eating thread, kids playing with pins, fabric and toys everywhere). I should note that "Disaster Zone" is said in two completely different ways depending on who is saying it- if it's me it's muttered under my breath, or out loud in shocked dismay, if it's her it's usually said with pride, " Is it a disaster zone in here mom?" (picture the giant smile on her face).

Favorite shot this week- http://52portraits2013.tumblr.com/ - baby legs are adorable, no two ways about it.

posting along with Jodi as usual.

More Ice and Snow...and Mud

mud, glorious mud

we are nothing if not bright when it comes to colour and pattern on our clothes

the snow is still strong enough to hold her three feet above the ground

16/52

Baby A snuggled up in her crib with Ferdinand the cat, N enjoying the sunshine in the front porch, which seems like the only part of the world that is warming up, spring is coming s l o w l y in this part of the world.

My favorite from last week-here- I love the perspective and bright colours.

posting along with Jodi

15/52

A: Caught between peeks in peek-a-boo, with a tiny zebra- placed there by lightening quick big sister fingers, only to be removed once baby sister tries to get it in her mouth.

N: Lounging in new zebra jammies that looked impossibly huge on the hanger- but somehow (magic?!?) fit perfectly when they were put on the child.

My favorite from last week here- nice to know my kids are not the only ones who got wedged under the couch!

linking up with Che and Fidel

14/52

N: playing with a Christmas she found under the couch, thank goodness that was the only thing under there! K tried to teach her the right way to say ridiculous this week, and I tried to stop him from doing it- she says ' bidiculous' and it is hilariously cute, I fear the day she grows out of it. She also surprised us all, Nana included, by talking about cartilage during a car ride- it took her a few tries to get get us to understand her- 'cartilage' was not what we were expecting to hear.

A: I had to include the picture of this babe standing up- at seven months! she is pulling herself up and standing on everything she can get her hands on- even unstable things, and will frequently just crawl out of the room by herself, as if she's got places to go. She's also getting teeth, and so she was doing that restless sort of constant nursing, you know, the kind that involves baby trying to do all sorts of aerobic activity while latched on, and leaves you feeling sweaty and annoyed, does anyone elses baby do that?

My favorite from last week- Flight Platform Living- the bubbles are so lovely!

Posting along with Jodi

Springtime in Manitoba

:: ethereal hoar frost on my favorite tree
:: the yard wreathed in white
:: a mysterious melting hole
:: the lacy crisp edge of a melting snowbank

Easter

We are not religious, but I was raised Catholic, he was raised United, and we live in North America- so the usual christian holidays are a little inescapable- just like the Easter bunny. Not that I want to escape them per say- but we do tend to put a different spin on them around here, I like the traditions of these holidays, but little by little, they have lost their christian meanings to me, until one day I just realized that I don't believe that anymore. I could say that the more I've learned about the origins of church symbolism, and stories the more cynical I've gotten- or tell you that a big part of why I'm not Catholic is that it doesn't jive with my Feminism, or that organized religion in general is a bit iffy in my opinion, but I think the biggest reason is that it doesn't resonate with me- maybe it never did, truly, I don't know. I don't know exactly what I do believe, but I certainly know what I don't.

The upshot of this is that I feel a little lost around the holidays, I want that tradition, especially for my kids, but I don't want the religion (yes, I also like to have my cake and eat it too, preferably with whipped cream). So I've been stumbling through how to do this, this year I think Easter went pretty well, we focused on spring time and rebirth, and the sun, and hoping for good things to come in 2013 for everyone we care about. It tends to be a bit pagan-ish, and I'm mostly okay with that. We also tend to fall back on family recipes, and food traditions, this year we made Paska or Babka, (traditional Ukrainian/Polish Easter bread) and we thought good thoughts while it rose and baked, we also dyed Easter eggs, there is something so hopeful about an egg, and had a special lamb shaped 40th birthday cake for K, (you have to love a man who embraces an animal shaped cake for his 40th birthday don't you?).

I think there is some balance for tradition and holidays, a mixture of fun and meaning, and I like to look to the things that are happening in nature to find the symbolism of these holidays. Little by little the inborn fear I have (from being raised catholic perhaps?) that I will turn into a full blown spooky pagan is vanishing, and I realize that I can make my own choices about this. There is meaning out there that does speak to me, and it's not so hard to find after all.