- Tuesday, April 01, 2014
- 17 Comments
Today marked a special milestone for me on Twitter. It was the day that I hit 10,000 followers and crossed over into the 5-digits. Some might say it's just a number. No big deal, right? Well, I beg to differ. For me, it's symbolic of the connections I have made over the last five years thanks to Twitter. While I can't say that I have truly connected with each and every one of my followers on a personal level, I feel extremely blessed knowing that I have made some real-life connections that have lead to new-found friendships with so many amazing people, I dare not name them all for fear of unintentionally excluding anyone.
Granted, being an avid Twitter user has also allowed me to connect and converse with brands and well-known Canadian talent such as Wes 'Maestro' Williams, Gerry Dee and other cast members of CBC's Mr. D., Allan Hawco of Republic of Doyle, and Jully Black. There are also so many fun Twitter parties and contests to participate in and prizes to be won, like the $500 gift card I won recently from Walmart Canada.
But, in all honesty, I am thankful for the glib repartee, the helpful suggestions, and the continual support of all those who have shared in the happy times, laughed at the lame jokes, and rejoiced in the successes. The fact that I have tweeted nearly 35,000 times and haven't scared off the entire Twitterverse makes me want to frolick in the virtual fields of the InterWeb and send out e-hugs to all my Tweeps. Five digits worth.
- Monday, March 24, 2014
- 5 Comments
Today is the day that I turn 35 years old. If you round up, that's almost the same as saying I'm 40. It's a sobering thought knowing that I'm not, nor will I ever be, as young as I once was. But that's okay. I can live with the pair of strands of grey hair that I see in the mirror every morning. And I'm okay with the fact that I don't have the most up-to-date or trendiest wardrobe. I will even admit I kind of miss my neon green New Kids on the Block t-shirt.
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| Sporting my NKOTB tee alongside my buddy Mickey |
What I have difficulty with is the fading memories. I want to be able to remember all the little things right alongside the milestones of years past. I want to remember the good, the bad and even the ugly. Including my atrocious perm below, bangs and all.
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| Grade 8 grad |
Over the past few days, I have contemplated cutting my hair really short and trying out a completely different hairstyle altogether. And I have also reevaluated my need to be more physically active and get into better shape.
At the end of the day, I may not be the prettiest, most fashionable or physically fit 35-year-old on the planet, but I can surely take pride in my accomplishments over the years, the friends I have made, and the life I have established for my children. I am an imperfect mother and wife, a horrible cook, an aspiring teacher. I make no apologies for who I am today or for any of my faults. The person that I am took 35 years to make and I wouldn't change a thing.
As a gift to myself to acknowledge all of my hard work, sacrifices and successes, I treated myself to my very first DSLR camera, a Canon Rebel T3i, so that I can preserve today's memories and maybe even get mom in the picture more. You're only 35 once.
- Sunday, February 10, 2013
- 27 Comments
As a French teacher, I teach students from ages 5 to 13. And while I know that each child learns at their own pace, I often take for granted that, by the time they reach grade 1 or even 2 depending on their learning abilities, they have mastered a very difficult learning milestone - reading. I never really knew how hard it is to teach a child to read until I had a child of my own. I have always been eager to teach my daughter the alphabet and promote an early love of reading, especially since I struggled with reading when I was a child. But it hasn't been until my daughter started Junior Kindergarten this year that she is actually learning (and loving) phonics. At her school, they use the Jolly Phonics program and I always rejoice when she comes home and shows me the new letter sound under study. She's so excited about it, too. And now, it's been about a week or two that she is decoding words entirely on her own. For Christmas, her teacher gave her a copy of Flip and Flop written by Dawn Apperley. She has read it about 3 or 4 times now and feels so proud knowing that she can read entire sentences. I couldn't be more thrilled! I use this book for guided reading, since there are many words that are intimidating such as spluttered, thought, and excitedly. But there are also some repetition and fun-sounding words like wheeee and boomba, which she thoroughly enjoys.
And for those of you who love books by Robert Munsch, I just thought I would throw in this link to Kidspace from the Toronto Public Library site where you can access animated versions of his wonderfully illustrated books online and listen to the author read them himself. It's a great site and it also features a wide array of books from several different authors. Just look under "Read-a-Story," click on "Tumblebooks Library" and then click on "Story Books" to view them online.
On a similar note, Madeleine is taking her phonics skills and applying it to her writing. She has mostly written individual words up until yesterday when she finally had the confidence to write the following in a note to Santa Claus:
Madeleine wos u per uv soks. (Madeleine wants a pair of socks.)
Madeleine wos u bot. (Madeleine wants a boat.)
I cannot express the joy I felt when I read what she wrote. It is a true marvel and blessing to be able to witness this ongoing learning process through the eyes of a 4-year-old and the pride she feels throughout her journey when she has accomplished something truly remarkable.
Madeleine, when you read this in the (near) future, I want you to know that I am so proud of your accomplishments!
Love you,
Mom
And for those of you who love books by Robert Munsch, I just thought I would throw in this link to Kidspace from the Toronto Public Library site where you can access animated versions of his wonderfully illustrated books online and listen to the author read them himself. It's a great site and it also features a wide array of books from several different authors. Just look under "Read-a-Story," click on "Tumblebooks Library" and then click on "Story Books" to view them online.
On a similar note, Madeleine is taking her phonics skills and applying it to her writing. She has mostly written individual words up until yesterday when she finally had the confidence to write the following in a note to Santa Claus:
Madeleine wos u per uv soks. (Madeleine wants a pair of socks.)
Madeleine wos u bot. (Madeleine wants a boat.)
I cannot express the joy I felt when I read what she wrote. It is a true marvel and blessing to be able to witness this ongoing learning process through the eyes of a 4-year-old and the pride she feels throughout her journey when she has accomplished something truly remarkable.
Madeleine, when you read this in the (near) future, I want you to know that I am so proud of your accomplishments!
Love you,
Mom
- Thursday, December 24, 2009
- 2 Comments
Can I tell you how much I love listening to my little ham sing songs? It's seems to be his latest habit. Sometimes I am not sure what song or rhyme he's trying to sing but you can tell it's something he's heard over and over, probably at daycare. When I inquired about it this morning, I was told he's been learning some Christmas carols. So when I starting singing "Jingle Bells" and "Must be Santa", he started humming and chiming in with a few words here and there. This is in addition to "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star" which he can't seem to get enough of this week.
And listen to this: I changed his diaper and dressed him in his pyjamas tonight before putting him down for the night. I left him in his crib while I ran downstairs to grab him a bottle and when I returned, he kind of grabbed at his diaper in between his legs and made a sort of "pfft" sound. I was so excited thinking he was signaling to me that he had made a pooh. Now, though he didn't do that exactly, he did pee and that's enough for me to jump up and down. It's seems that I can start the initial potty training. I guess I should pull out the Potty Training DVD I got in the mail last week, which was a complimentary gift I signed up for with Huggies. I haven't seen it yet but for those who are interested, you can order (from limited copies) on their Pull-Ups site. I'm hoping potty training will be a little less messy than it was with my first.
Anyway, my daughter is staying with her nonna tonight. She's had a fever and will need to miss another day of school. It's nice knowing she's keeping my mother-in-law company, especially since she misses her husband dearly. But I'll miss my little girl oh, so much tonight. I'm also hoping her fever will finally break. She's had so many coughs and colds already this year. She deserves a break!
- Tuesday, December 08, 2009
- 0 Comments
So it's finally happening. My daughter is starting to sound out words phonetically! It amazes me to know end and although she spelled Africa "Afik" I am so excited to see how her skills will grow from here. It makes me light up with utter joy to hear her spell words on her own and read isolated words. She is so smart! My son is also making some achievements of his own as well. Not only is his lexicon ever expanding, but he is also saying these new words with more clarity. And he notices it, too. I love it!
I just wanted to share this picture I took of them around Halloween.
And here is a recent picture of my little ham!
I just wanted to share this picture I took of them around Halloween.
And here is a recent picture of my little ham!
- Thursday, November 26, 2009
- 0 Comments
