A Corner Table in My World

Online schooling starts this week from the kids’ schools. Princess had her first online class today. It sounded very interesting from the other room… at least there was a lot of talking and a lot of laughter. Which I’m going to assume are good things. Gamer Boy and Angel Face get back to things on Wednesday, with quick set up calls happening tomorrow with some of the teachers. Piano and singing lessons have already transitioned to online with Zoom , and through Facebook, Instagram, YouTube , and websites, dance classes are launching in earnest this week as well. And there are a number of online tours (zoo’s, museums, etc) that I’m looking forward to doing [you know, with the kids] over the next couple weeks too. What are some online tools you’ve already taken advantage of during your social distancing, self-isolation, quarantine time? What are some that you’re looking forward to taking advantage of in the coming weeks? Remember I promised some Corner Table Kitchen Adve...

The kids are home from school. Indefinitely. They likely won’t be back in the classroom (at school) until September. Gasp… Scream… Sigh. Boy, is their education about to take a weird turn. LOL. The Corner Table Trio (aka Princess, Gamer Boy and Angel Face) haven’t received their home study information from their teachers yet. But we live in a marvellous age of technology which allows the kids to keep learning – even when they don’t really realize that’s what they’re doing. Being home all day with (basically) nowhere to go and not a lot to do, we’re giving them responsibilities they’ve never fully been given before,  and what supervision is required for these new tasks . And for the most part, I think, we’re just like everyone else, in that we are trying to stay as positive as we can during this time. Here are three things that we’ve already begun doing  at the Corner Table House: 1.   Everybody Cooks We’ve encouraged the kids to take Foods class...

Three weeks ago the kids went back to school and this year saw a big change for us. I picked their school very deliberately years ago. You see, Heli Dad and I both grew up in small towns - I attended the same school from kindergarten through high school graduation, he was at the same school until grade ten. We wanted that kind of learning community for our own kids and we are extremely lucky that we found that in a school very close to our home. We've been fortunate that our kids are able to attend their school right from preschool through grade nine.  This September, Princess started grade 10.  New school, new people... It's been a big adjustment for us all.  And boy, high school.   I don't think it's really even necessary for me to say more than that, is it? I have so many really great memories of high school, but I've got my share of bad ones too. And while so many things have changed in our society and in our culture, so many of the quintessential hig...

We’ve always tried to instill a love of a physically active life style in our kids. Whether it was bike rides in the neighborhood, swimming lessons, hiking in the mountains, gymnastics, football, or simply walking to the library instead of walking – we’ve tried to make sure that they are being active, trying new things, and having fun. Because, honestly, it sort of drives us crazy (as parents) when all the kids do is sit on their butts playing Minecraft or other video games, or watching TV or movies. And let’s be frank, the more I focus on my writing career and blogging gigs the worse I’m being as an example of what they should be doing to stay active – because I’m constantly reading a book (hardcopy or on a digital device), working on my iPad or iPhone, or sitting in front of my computer writing. Which is why I push for sports and physical literacy programs. And is why Heli-Dad (even though he loves going for hikes and bike rides with the kids on th...

With one thing or another I never did get around to sharing any of our Christmas shenanigans after the New Year. Well for the most part they were pretty much what we’ve come to expect and experience over the last several years – 4+ different days of Christmas dinners, family time, gift giving, game playing, catching up and having fun. As I’ve mentioned in previous years, as our extended families have grown larger and spread further afield, our Christmas celebrations have become larger, longer affairs that simply can’t be accomplished in one day. So here’s a brief breakdown of all this years celebrations’ parts… 

It occurred to me while I was trying to write a post recently – one that included most, if not all, of our (still growing) immediate family on both sides, that there are now quite a lot of us AND when telling stories it can get very confusing to follow precisely who is involved. So I decided it might be worthwhile to write up something of a list of common “characters” that I talk about: family members mostly just from the immediate family. Here we go… The Corner Table Family Writer Mom (me) & Heli Dad (my hubs) Kids: Princess, Gamer Boy & Angel Face Pets: Sphinx & Jude (cats) Writer Mom’s Family Grandma and Grandpa (my parents) Pets: various cats on The Farm Big Sister and Bro (my older sister & her hubs) Kids: Big Babe, HG & Genie Pet: Rufus (dog) Little Sister and Boyfriend (my younger sister & her boyfriend) Pet: Juno (dog) Heli Dad’s Family Grams (his mom) ...

Every year at Christmastime we spend a great deal of time with our families. This past Christmas was no different.  Our first celebration of the year is always with Heli Dad's side of the family.  This day is always fun and the kids especially always love it, as all the cousins that have been of an age to play with are on this side.  It was a day of fun conversation and planning get-togethers for the coming year and more!   For several days before Christmas the kids and I went through bins and bins of clothes that we've "put away" to give away at some point.  That point finally came (as it hadn't at any time in the past) and we gave tons of clothes away to charity.  Both the kids and I were amazed by how much there was to give away, and hope that everything passed on will find a new home with someone who will appreciate it.   We made/started a new tradition this year of decorating the tree (with the hanging décor) on Christmas Eve.  In the p...

So right now there are probably a dozen other things that I should be doing.   Not only that, but I had an entirely different post written that I intended to put up and then this morning I had a little snafu.   I don’t know what else to call it without making it seem way more important than it really is so snafu is what I settled on. I mentioned a while ago that I was having problems getting Baby on the ice at skating but that I was using the “wisdom” that I’d learned from my experiences with Boy to get through them, or around them, and not completely stress myself out.   Well apparently I spoke WAY too soon. The last couple of weeks I haven’t been able to get Baby to do anything.   And I do mean anything.   I can’t get her to skate, to do gymnastics, to listen at home, to keep her clothes on… nothing.   She’s started having temper tantrums more and more frequently, she’s always been the most strong-willed of the kids even if she’s usually more sub...

So remember back in September when I mentioned that I was going to get my certification to become a gymnastics coach?   And remember when I mentioned at the beginning of October that I’d headed up to Edmonton for the first weekend of training to do that?..   Things have been going really well with that. Just in case you’re curious.   And I am now a recreational gymnastics coach at our local club. As of Oct.29 I started teaching 2 parent & tot (18-23month old) classes and on Nov.2 I took on a third class with 4-year-olds.   It’s really fun actually and even though I wasn’t sure how well I’d like teaching the little tiny tots, I’ve discovered that I actually do like it, a lot.   I also spent my Saturday afternoon this past weekend coaching birthday parties.   Which was also really, really fun. And while we’re on the topic of gymnastics… the kids are all doing really well in their own classes.   Baby is getting better at following instruct...