a peek inside the fishbowl

The house has been very quiet. On Sunday we packed the girls off to an introductory week at summer camp. As I write this they are probably swimming, kayaking, or roasting something over a fire at a place I wrote about last summer. 

Here they are, just before their departure on a big charter bus:

They were thrilled to go.

One child was a bit more eager to depart than the other. One girl’s kisses and hugs were brief and fleeting, and the other one didn’t seem to want to let go, and gave me enough kisses and hugs to see me through until the time we see each other again.  

I wrote them both little notes to keep them from missing home too much. I did this once before. I was travelling somewhere and I wrote two letters with “IN CASE OF EMERGENCY” on the envelope. Sarah never forgot this so I was asked for a repeat performance. The notes I wrote this time were written on quarter sheets of plain paper, folded, stapled and labelled with the name and the day of the week. e.g. “Sarah – open Sunday night.”

So, packed with memories of home, all-weather clothing, and footwear, and paddles, and lifejackets, and their lunches and Everything Else They Needed To bring … they boarded and waited for departure.

While the girls were in their seats they blew kisses and made heart shapes with their fingers and X’s and O’s and motioned to us about a couple of thrilling discoveries on the bus that included barf bags and the fact that there was going to be a movie on board. And before we knew it they were gone.

I started missing them the moment the bus left the parking lot. It’s a short stay, only a week, but STILL.

After they left, Mark and I had a nice breakfast at the Heart & Crown on Preston St. The hashbrowns were delicious deeply fried bits of potato and the coffee could have been better. Our meal was quiet and unhurried. We wondered aloud about The Things We Did Before Kids. And you know what, we couldn’t really remember.

Mark is on holiday. The other night we rented a movie (The Road, which has got to win an award for the most misleading trailer EVER) and had a nice dinner. We had Indian food last night. We slept in today and have spent a lot of time working.

We took Piper to the vet’s for a follow-up re: a limpy leg and to Critter Jungle to pick up some dry dog food. And that’s about the extent of it.

Parenthood is so funny. You spend years craving five frickin’ minutes of quiet, and when you finally get it you don’t know what to do with it.

The KMDM activity we drew last week was about the stuff we drink:

Stop the pop! And drink more water. Flavour it with lemon or a sprig of mint. Cola adds extra calories to our diets. Studies show that drinking large amounts of cola may contribute to obesity.

I was struck by the word “may” in this one, because I am fairly certain it was a foregone conclusion.

Water is good. Here is a glass which has been decorated by a slice of lemon. There will be no scurvy in this house. No sir. There will only be lemony goodness.

As I mentioned last week, Emma handed this tip to me with a smile and a big declaration of how EASY this was going to be. After all, we aren’t big pop drinkers.

That very night we went to see Toy Story in 3D (I recommend it!) and found ourselves happily settled into our seats with both popcorn … and pop. We totally forgot. It was as if KMDM didn’t exist. Woody and Buzz Lightyear erased our brains completely.

Other than that minor setback, we did just fine – as we always do – with milk, water, juice (in the mornings) and coffee (for me). In fact, we had a very hot and sticky family outing in the middle of the week (more on that later) and fought the urge to hydrate ourselves with cold caffeinated beverages (for Mark and I) and a cold sugary treat for the girls. We bought 1.5 litres of water instead. And felt better for it.

I feel like this particular challenge was a bit of a cheat because we drink pop so infrequently. I’d be interested in knowing (and am not sure how I would find this out) where and how most of the purchased pop gets consumed. (Because good lord, it’s so cheap. Every time I turn around there’s a twofour of pop on sale, or two litres for 99 cents.) Where does it happen? At the dinner table? In front of the TV? Regardless, it’s liquid dessert, and it’s a huge reason why our society is battling obesity right now. If someone wanted to lose weight I bet they’d go a long way just by cutting out sugary drinks (I’m lumping things like Koolaid and fruit drinks in here too).

ETA: check out this article in the Globe and Mail about iced coffees and juice smoothies.

–

This post is part of the Know More Do More initiative which was spearheaded by the Champlain Cardiovascular Disease Prevention Network. KMDM is about empowering parents and inspiring them to take charge of their children’s health by taking easy steps to increase activity levels and improve eating habits. I’m one of two champion families who has been asked to take this challenge. You can join too. Check out the official website for more information. If you’re blogging about your participation, please let me know so we can cheer each other on! You can read all of my past weekly challenges here.

p.s. i’m no longer tweeting for KMDM. If it is kept up you will be able to follow along here.

What with school holidays and Canada Day I hardly know what day it is anymore. Our Canada Day celebrations were pretty low key. As per tradition we went to see the fireworks downtown, and that’s about it!

Things are so busy around here right now I hardly know where to turn. Or where to begin!

Anyway it is now Saturday and I was remiss about posting Friday’s portrait. Is anyone tired of this feature yet? :)

I like to call this one: Squeeeeeeeak