Oh, it's Thursday again...

It is S's bedtime and I realized that I hadn't had a chance to sit down at the computer today. Looking back at today, I realized that it was actually a rather busy day. And all in all, for a Thursday it wasn't that bad.

We started out the day by taking C to work since his car and deep snow don't really go together. I will admit I was grumpy doing it (I already apologized) because I am still sick and even though I have to get up at the crack of dawn when the kids have school, I'm not really a morning person. But we got him to work on time and I didn't get stuck in a snow drift, which would have made the day not fun.

I then got to ship J off to his friend's house for the whole morning. It was nice - almost like he was back in school. While he was gone S and I made a delivery of brownies to the hockey rink. There's a tournament this weekend and they asked parents to provide food for the hospitality room. There were some other brownies already there when we dropped ours off and I have to say, mine looked better. They were big (2"x 2") and had chocolate chunks in them. You'd choose those over tiny 1"x 1"brownies, wouldn't you? And the road to and from the rink wasn't bad, so driving wasn't as stressful as it could have been.

After the rink S and I headed to the library. She was really excited to go to the public library. Because the kids haven't been in school for a week, she's missed her library day. And when they do go to the library, they can only check out one book at a time. At the public library, I usually let her check out a whole bag of books. I hadn't taken a bag with me today because I thought we'd just be picking up the two books she wanted but she talked me into a few more (which isn't hard to do).

I love public libraries. Right now, S has been enjoying the Rainbow Fairy books by Daisy Meadows (if that's her real name, then I am Ms. America!). I read a few chapters to her each night I put her to bed. I have been borrowing the books from the library instead of buying them. I'm sure S would love to have her own set of them, but at $5 a book times 7 books, that's a lot of money, especially when we can get them from the library for free. When she's older and can read the books by herself, then maybe I'll get them but for now, the library is the way to go.

After the library we came home and S worked on building her Elsa Lego castle. She is building the whole thing by herself. I basically just sit there and help her snap the occasional stubborn piece together. I'll check every now and then to make sure that she's got things in the right place and she usually does. At almost 6 years old, she's got a fantastic eye when it comes to building things. I think this is the biggest set she's built, so it's taking her a while. We should finish it tomorrow.

After Lego time, J came home. They played video games for a bit while I kind of snoozed on the sofa. I'm still sick so any rest time I can get helps me be a better mommy. When they started bickering too much it was outside time. Today was actually sunny and almost warm (compared to what it's been). The kids had fun playing with their friends, both outside for a while and then inside. J was awesome and helped my friend by cleaning her kids' playroom. I had a good time hanging out with my friend, helping to save her sanity since her husband has been away all week.

Then it was time to go back downtown to pick up C from work and also pick up a Starbucks for my friend. She wanted Starbucks badly but getting two young kids downtown when there's a parking ban is tough and C works near there so he picked one up for her. That's what friends are for, right?

And now? Now it's snowing. Again. And school has already been canceled for tomorrow. Again. J is suppose to have hockey tomorrow morning at 6:15 am. We shall see if that still happens. We're only expecting 5-15 cm, which is nothing when you compare it to the 80 cm we got earlier this week. But still, it may be enough to cancel practice. At least I don't have to take him, which is good because as I said, I'm not a morning person. :-)

Social Lives

Yay, another snow day? I thought for sure that the kids would be back in school today but nope, the roads still aren't clear enough for the buses to get through. And they've already called school off for tomorrow. And my prediction is that there won't be school on Friday either.

I hadn't planned on doing my blog today. I was sick yesterday and then didn't sleep well last night so I felt even worse today. Thankfully C was able to come home and take the kids for a while so I could sleep. I'm slowly feeling better but still not feeling back to normal. I'm hoping tomorrow will be a better day.

C was awesome today. He came home from work because I felt so out of it to take care of the kids. He took the kids out to lunch and then over to the toy store to pick out birthday presents for the parties they are going to Sunday. I swear my kids have more of a social life than I do, especially J.

Yesterday he spent the day hanging out with his friend L. They spent half the day over at L's house and then the rest of the day at our house. They had planned to spend today together but L had to go to daycare. That didn't stop J's social schedule though. Another neighbor, also named J, invited him to come over for outdoor skating. While he was there he got another invitation for tomorrow from another friend. Right now J is at L's house, sledding. S was busy yesterday and today hanging out with her friends from across the street.

I'm glad my kids have friends. It's good for them to have friends. But holy moly, they are busier than I am some days! I'll just be glad when they finally get back to school. Sunday is looking nasty weather-wise, but I'm hopeful that they will be back in school on Monday. For my sanity, I hope they are back in school. :-)

Lego Day

Today marks one month of my daily blog! I started on January 5 and now it is February 5. I'm hoping I can keep going to make it to March 5. Go me!

Today is a storm day, although I'm still trying to figure out why. It was snowing some this morning but the roads have been worse and it stopped snowing for quite a while. It rained for a bit which caused garage flooding (an on-going problem) and now it's snowing again but it's big wet flakes. The kids would be getting home from school about now normally and the roads are fine. Considering they've only been to school 4 days in the past two weeks I think they should have gone today.

But since I don't make that decision, I had the kids home with me. They were leaving each other alone for a change so I decided to work on the Lego set J got me for Christmas. I thought about writing but I knew as soon as I started they would start fighting and the Lego set has been sitting there awhile. It is The Hobbit Lake-town Chase set. This made J want to put together his MineCraft set from Christmas so I took one side of the dining room table and he took the other. S wanted to put something together too but she had already done all her sets from Christmas. J found a monster truck set in his room that had most of its parts so she put that together.

Here's my finished set:

It is a cool set. It was complicated enough to keep me interested but not so complicated that I couldn't finish it in a few hours (I had to take breaks to feed the kids, help S with her set, etc). I have a feeling we'll have more Lego days if I can make it it to Target tomorrow (the hubby took my car today because it's 4WD) since Target has started it's liquidation sale and Lego sets are on sale. Excuse me while I am sad for a bit about Target closing here in Canada. :-(

Anyway, Lego time was fun. J actually built is set all by himself. He likes the Lego sets better than the MegaBloks sets because of the way Lego sorts things out into numbered bags for you. This also worked out well for me because it gave me a natural stopping point to do other things. I have a few sets still in bags from the move up here that need to be put back together. Maybe tomorrow I'll let S work on one - she loves building things and has a good eye for detecting what's different from one picture to another. Or maybe, if the weather cooperates, we'll hit up Target and see what they have left. I did buy some sets on clearance a few weeks ago but I want to save those for birthday presents for the kids.

After my set was done, I did spy J eyeing the figures that came with my set. He loves playing with the mini-figs and is always joking about stealing some of mine. I'll have to keep an eye on my sets to make sure none of my mini-figs disappear. :-)

So far it's been a good day. And now I shall go make it better by getting myself a cup of tea and reading through what I wrote yesterday. S went outside and J is playing video games so I might actually get some writing/revising done. Or maybe I'll just curl up with my tea and knit for a bit. Either way, there will be tea involved!

Snow Days just aren't made for writing

Last night into this morning we had quite the storm. I think we ended up with over 57cms of snow. The winds this morning were gusting to 100 km/hr. But now the sun has come out and the wind has died down and it's actually rather nice looking out (it's still bloody cold). People are slowly starting to dig their way out from the crazy amount of snow we got. We have some drifts in our yard that are a good 6 to 7 ft tall and in other places you can see grass. It is definitely interesting to see how the wind blows the snow around.

This being Canada, there have been some people out on their snowmobiles, zipping up and down the main road. Our street, and many other side streets, are not plowed yet which means the driveway isn't cleared yet either. So no one is going anywhere for a while. I'm hoping that they get things cleared so the kids can go back to school tomorrow because Thursday is looking like more snow.

I did manage to get some time to sit down and work on my Kilynn story but I'm not happy with it. I'm having trouble coming up with the next part of the story - what happens when Kilynn wakes up. The words just weren't flowing today like they normally do. I wrote some, deleted it, and wrote some other stuff that I'm sort of okay with. With the kids home it is hard to give my entire focus to writing. That's why I'm hoping they go to school tomorrow - I need some distraction-free time to think through where the story is going. I guess I'm experiencing a bit of writer's block right now. I will keep at it in the hopes of breaking through. I'll probably chuck everything I've written today, but as least I did try.

Right now though, the kids and hubby are outside building an igloo, which sounds like fun. I think I will go suit up and join them outside. Spending time outside having fun might help clear my head and help me hear what Kilynn is trying to tell me. So, yeah, snow days with the kids home just aren't made for writing.

Kilynn, part 6

Snow day! The blizzard arrived as promised and the kids are home from school. Thankfully the hubby came home early enough yesterday to take J to hockey so I had an extra hour before having to take S to soccer. I used that extra hour to do editing/character names as well as add to what I had written yesterday. With the kids home, it is often hard to find time to write, so I'm glad I have a few days worth of writing done.

This next section of the story, where Kilynn's grandmother explains the Hunt is long. I'm going to break it up over a few days to spare your eyes reading it on the screen. A quick recap of part 5 - Kilynn learned that her mother had been taken by the Hunt and that her father blamed her for it. She fled the city and went to her favorite place in the woods where her grandmother was waiting. Ryl and Herry had followed Kilynn and the three of them had just settled down to listen to their grandmother tell them about the Hunt. Here we go:

Kilynn, part 6

“The story of the Hunt begins just over a hundred years ago, on an island far on the other side of this world. It is a small island in the middle of a vast ocean, with no other land close by. The waters surrounding the ocean are turbulent, even in the calm season. In the storm season the island disappears into a cloud of mist, obscuring it from the view. In addition to the churning waters, it is said that large, dangerous creatures feast upon any ship that dares sail near the island. Because of this, the people of the island lived in near isolation from the world around them. And this didn’t bother them for their few encounters with outsiders never went well.

“I can see you want to ask why. I shall tell you. The people of the island appear human, like you, but they are a little more than human. They possess a spark in their soul that grants them magical abilities. Even the smallest child on the island can control the basic elements of earth, air, fire, and water. As they grow older, children are taught how to use their abilities to contribute to their society. The cities on the island are lovely places, with beautifully sculpted buildings and statues, well-tended gardens, and clear, pure water to drink.”

Ryl started to speak, interrupting his grandmother, but she put a finger to her lips to quiet him. “Be patient Ryl, and wait until my story is done. If you still have questions when I am through, then you may ask them. But for now, be quiet and listen.”

“Any time outsiders had visited the island they were intrigued by the mysterious powers of the islanders. They would often try to kidnap some of the citizens, enslaving them to harness their magical powers. But once off the island, their powers faded and many of the citizens were killed or turned out and left on their own to struggle to survive or die. It is said that the queen, Abryelle, cast a spell upon the ocean to churn up the waters surrounding the island in hopes of protecting her people from outsiders. She also instructed them, that should an outsider ever arrive on the island again, to hide their abilities. She would do anything to protect her people.

“Life was good and simple on the island and the people loved their queen. She had born one daughter, who was named her heir, and many sons. The children were also adored by the people, for they were sweet children who were eager to do their best to keep the island safe and happy.

“One day when the princess, Larya, had reached her eighteenth birthday, a large wooden ship sailed into the harbour of the main city on the island. The people were shocked that someone had managed to sail through the troubled waters and reach their remote island. When the captain and his crew disembarked, they were surprised by the beautiful city they found and the peaceful but scared people that greeted him.

“The captain, Willam, was escorted to Queen Abryelle, where an offer of friendship was cautiously made. The captain revealed that he and his crew had been blown off course while trying to sail from one land to another and had no knowledge of the island. Abryelle was suspicious of this until the captain showed her a map which did not include the island. Hoping to keep the magically abilities of the islanders a secret, the queen would not let Captain Willam and his crew leave the castle grounds.

“At first, Willam was angered by this for he wished to leave the island and return to his exploration of the seas. But with storm season starting the queen could not in good conscience let them leave for doing so would be sending them to their deaths. Willam would stalk around the castle grounds in a huff until the day he met the princess.

“Princess Larya had been away when Captain Willam arrived in the city and did not return until he had been there a month. Larya was mesmerized when she saw him for the first time for he was so different than the men of the island with their dark hair and eyes, and pale skin. He was taller than anyone else on the island, with silky blond hair and bright emerald green eyes that stood out against his suntanned skin. Willam, likewise, was entranced with the beautiful daughter of the queen. She had long dark hair like the other women of the island, but her eyes were a rare bright blue instead of the usual brown of her people."

At this description, Ryl and Herry looked over in surprise at Kilynn for their grandmother had just described her. She was taller than her grandmother, but Kilynn’s hair was a deep brown-black and her eyes were bright blue. Kilynn looked at her brother and saw they could be related to the captain her grandmother was describing with their blond hair and green eyes. Their grandmother smiled at them as they studied each other then went back to her story.

“Captain Willam and Larya began to spend a lot of time together, and this concerned her mother. As the heir to the throne, the princess was to marry a man of her mother’s choosing – someone of a high background that would help to continue the royal bloodline. Thinking it would help reduce their interest in each other, Abryelle reluctantly allowed Willam to leave the castle and explore the city. She knew this was dangerous for the captain would see her people using their abilities. But the captain was too entranced with the Larya to be bothered with the people of the city.

“The crew, on the other hand, were jealous of the abilities of the islanders. The first mate, a man named Mikeal, started plotting a way to get one of the islanders onto their ship, thinking their abilities to control water and the oceans would be beneficial on their long voyage. Mikeal had noticed that Larya’s best friend, the Lady Syranne, had taken an interest in him. He pursued this relationship, hoping to entice Syranne of leaving the island with them. Mikeal did not realize that Syranne’s powers would fade when she left the island. Syranne had heard rumours that her abilities would fade, but she had fallen in love with Mikeal and would do anything for him and agreed to help him.

 “Abryelle saw that things were quickly becoming serious between her daughter and the captain and knew she had to put a stop to it. She had Willam and his crew locked up, first in their rooms and then in the dungeon when Larya let them out of their rooms. And although she could not lock her daughter up in the dungeon also, she assigned a constant guard to keep an eye on the young woman.

“Knowing that her mother would never allow them to marry, Larya began to plan for a way for her and Willam to be together. Mikeal revealed to the captain his relationship with the Lady Syranne and the captain managed to pass this information on to the princess. The two ladies began working together to come up with a way to free the sailors and leave the island.

Snow Day?

Woohoo! Both kids were healthy enough to go to school today. Of course when I woke up I wasn't sure if they were going to have school today. It was snowing pretty hard out there. I kept checking the various websites I have bookmarked to see if there were any announcements about school but nope, none. It was going to be a regular school day. But, my Washington, D.C. area brain thought, how can they have school? It's snoooooowing! Then I remembered, we live in Canada now. It takes a LOT to cancel school up here.

I grew up in the Washington D.C. area. That area doesn't know how to handle snow. A few snowflakes falling from the sky can cause a chain-reaction like you would not believe. The governments there do treat the roads and they have snow plows, but drivers in the area aren't used to snow so they don't really know how to drive in it. No one has snow tires on their cars because honestly, that area doesn't get that much snow to need them. But it is usually enough snow to cause traffic nightmares.

Like what you ask? Here's a good example. A few years ago, my husband was at work when it started snowing. On a good day he could make the drive home (a 10 mile drive at most) in 15-20 minutes. The snow started falling right before rush hour, which is totally misnamed. Seriously, it should be called sitting hour or creeping hour because that's pretty much what you do - sit in your car and creep along when the car in front of you moves, yelling curses at the drivers around you for not driving faster. And hour should most likely be hourS. It is a very angry time on the roads.

Anyway, the snow started falling and everyone freaked out and jumped in their cars to rush home before they got snowbound at work. Now, this wouldn't have been such a problem except with all these people rushing to get home the snow plows couldn't do their job. And with the snow plows unable to clear/treat the roads, people were getting stuck, which led to the snow plows unable to do their job...see the vicious cycle here? This led to it taking HOURS for people to get home. When the hubby left the office it took him 5 hours to get home. It should have been longer but he got sick of being stuck on a hill with a bunch of other people and drove on the wrong side of the road to get around them. 5 hours to go what should have taken 20 minutes.

This is why when it snows, the schools shut down. Can you imagine being stuck on a school bus for 5 hours with a bunch of rowdy kids? Sounds hellish to me too. Of course, closing school (or choosing not to) always results in criticism of the school system. Just last week they didn't close the schools when they should have and parents screamed about it. This week they closed the schools for snow and didn't really need to and parents screamed about it. And of course, after they miss so many days of school they have to make up those days, either by adding on time to the end of the year or taking away teacher work days/holidays. It's a no-win situation for the school districts. I am glad I am not the one who has to make that decision.

This is why when I got up this morning and saw it was snowing I expected schools to be closed. Even though I've been in Canada for a year and a half now and survived the worst winter in 20 years last year, I still expect school to shut down when it snows. The snow was coming down fast, the street hadn't been plowed, but the bus still came on time. And the kids went outside for recess while it was still snowing (they had a blast). They know how to handle snow up here. By noon the streets had been plowed and life was back to normal. And even last year, when we had blizzards, the kids were in school the next day, occasionally with an hour delay (usually not though). Oh, and there's no making up of school days. My friends up here looked at me funny when I asked about that last year.

Now, in D.C.'s defense, the area is a geographical nightmare for predicting snow. It often falls on the rain/snow line for storms and a slight shift in one direction or another can mean the area gets no snow or it gets 2 feet of snow. And since they get so little snow in the grand scheme of things, it would be a waste of money to keep a full-time road clearing staff like they do here.

I miss my friends and family back in the D.C. area, but I sure do not miss the traffic nightmares that occur when it snows. I do not miss having to make up snow days. I like living in a place where snow is a short inconvenience not a massive problem. And I like the fact that they put gravy on their fries up here. Try it sometime. You won't be disappointed.