The Storybook Trail

The storybook trail is offered during most school holidays and is something that I never knew existed until recently. We arrived just in time to make it through the treasure hunt on the last day that it was being offered. The children had a spectacular time, so much so that I will be devoting two posts to it. I do not know much about the mansion that stands so majestically amidst gorgeous flowering gardens and vast expanses of lawn on the side of a hill over looking the city and sea, but the gardens, well- those we have explored most thoroughly. As you near the main house you come across a lily pond and waterfall that cascades down the hill into a small lake complete with spitting frogs which are guaranteed to fascinate three year old boys. You will notice living art work throughout the grounds, such as these sofas made from sculpted dirt and grass.

The children received clipboards with questions about common storybooks and characters and things that they had to find or count along the trail. Here they are at a hobbit house peering through a window in search of their answer.
Ruhi was the first to recognise this lamp post standing alone in a wooded grove. She said it reminded her of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (something I read to her ages ago) and who do you think we should meet beneath the trees just behind it?

Why Aslan of course.The children counted their way along an African safari identifying animals made from recycled materials. The girls also posed in Mowgli's hut after answering a question about The Jungle Book.

Bayan hopped along a log path

while Ruhi gave Wilbur a hug and Anisa picked his nose.They then counted the spiders in Charlotte's web before traipsing off to the Faraway Tree to find out how many fairies lived there. The artist had actually infused fairy statues into the bark and had constructed miniature windows and doors at the base of the tree.
For some unfathomable reason I did not take any pictures of this. I did however get a shot of Harry Potter's broomstick suspended in a grove of pine trees.
I also took some shots of the children posing in the same tree. For it was to this place that we returned after we had handed in our completed sheets, claimed our prize and had a picnic lunch.

There is something about this place that is just magic I tell you.

Magic.

Strike Two!

So we'd planned to have our mini, informal, devotional service for Marie today. It is school holidays and all the children are free. Unfortunately all of the children, save my own, are also sick. So...rather than wait any longer we thought we might as well say some prayers anyhow. It was not what I had planned, but was still simple and sweet. Prayers were said and quotations read in honor of a woman who I did not know very well, but one who was kind, patient and considerate, someone who loved children, was a devoted Baha'i and an ardent defender of the Faith. Prior to our last visit a year ago I have only vague memories of climbing the stairs to her apartment and enjoying the Shaklee Energy Bars that she not only got my mother to purchase, but to stock and sell herself as well. We must pause to appreciate the magnitude of this as my mother did not allow sugar in the house and was famous for sending me to school with such succulent treats as dried seaweed and tofu. Truly Marie was a miracle worker and my adolescent palate was extremely grateful. While she was a familiar face at Baha'i functions and gatherings throughout my childhood I never really got to know her. It is sad that we often don't realize these things before it is too late. So I am very glad that I had the chance to see her and speak to her again. Even though her health was failing and she was legally blind she was patient and smiling. She took my hand and proudly gave me a tour of her little apartment that had been added onto Vicki's house. She explained her routine, showed me pictures of her great-grandchildren and positively glowed as she talked about her family. She loved her family very much and I know she is dearly missed.

"Death preffereth unto every confident believer the cup that is life indeed. It bestoweth joy, and is the bearer of gladness. It conferreth the gift of everlasting life." ~Baha'u'llah

Bayan has a plan...

and I am beginning to think that his secret objective may be to slowly drive me insane.

In the last two days alone I have caught him drawing on the walls no less than eight times in five different locations (plus I have confiscated numerous writing implements which were surely on their way to a wall). I have redirected him to paper and more appropriate means for self-expression and his response was to redouble his efforts on the exercise equipment and create a network of highways under Anisa's names along the side of the kitchen. Because, and I quote: "Mummy...we need roads." Sigh.

He has blocked the toilet twice by systematically tearing toilet rolls to shreds until they fill the bowl and block the drainage hole. Unplugging the mess and shopping for toilet paper is becoming a daily routine. One that I could seriously do without. Following in the footsteps of his chocoholic sister, Bayan has taken to going to such lengths as repositioning furniture and scaling walls to reach the tasty morsels. And if you should catch him in the act, he quickly tosses the succulent treats to the side and admonishes you most passionately about the perils of ingesting too much chocolate. "Mummy, chocolate is bad for you." Yet apparently it is good for him. I also found him hunkered down in the pantry crunching away on what I thought were crackers. It was the only thing I could think of that would make that sound. I have since learned that saffron laced nabot (Persian sugar cubes) also pack a powerful crunch. Now take a peek at the pantry (photo altered to approximate Bayan's view of things.)The nabot was towards the top shelves (it has since been relocated) and he managed to get it down silently and safely, with no crashing jars or injuries. Honestly this kid has initiative and determination, not to mention specialized skills that make Tom Cruise's Mission Impossible look like a walk in the park.

He has taken a fancy to pouring milk into as many receptacles as possible. While excellent for his hand eye coordination and for his gross moor skills it inevitably ends with him using nearly every glass, cup, or mug in the house, sloshing milk across the counter and spilling it down the sides of the cabinet. He says to me in a very grown up and matter of fact manner. "Don't worry Mummy. I have a plan." He is rather vague on the details of the plan and somehow it never seems to involve cleaning up but it does apparently involve the use of markers. Only this time he is drawing on the fine china and not the walls. Is that an improvement? I really can't tell.

Have you seen my organic peppercorns?

I have a special 'helper' who, at least once a day rearranges the pantry products for me. His current fetish is with the glass jars and containers that he likes to take from the shelves and rearrange on the floor. The cans are his second items of choice, but they normally wind up on the counter top as I am preparing dinner with implicit instructions from my sous chef about which cans to use and how many to add. You know tasty tips like how I must add peach halves, asparagus spears, tomato paste and lemon pepper tuna to the chicken curry. If I fail to heed his instructions he can often be found foraging for can openers and attempting to open the cans and add the ingredients himself. Perhaps I should just let him try it. Despite the fact that he favors glass and canned products (in terms of relocating them at least) he has also made off with some organic spices. I found a brilliant range at the store and have been using them instead of their cheaper counterparts. The one I use most is the whole peppercorns which I grind just before adding to food. That is, when I can find them. I have been peppercornless for two days now and am beginning to feel seriously frustrated. They are not with the spices, they are not in the pantry, they are not on the bookcase, tucked in the couch or hidden beneath the exercise equipment. I have searched all Bayan's usual haunts and even some not so usual ones, to no avail...where, oh where, could they be?

More Playdates

While we have been busily moving from one play date to the next I have realized that I really have not taken any pictures of them. We have been too busy enjoying the company of friends to worry about preserving the moments on film...and someone has been forgetting to take the camera. But we shan't dwell on that. Besides -today I remembered. So there.

We joined some friends from school for a visit to the museum and after me schlepping uphill carrying four coats, two umbrellas, a large bag, a camera, a purse and Bayan, we managed to see one and a half displays before Bayan began to chant his mantra in a desperate, tortured wail: "I want to go home!" "I don' like this!!" "I hungry!!!"(that may have been partially my fault as I refused to let him eat chocolate for breakfast) "I want to go HOME!!!" We continued through the Egyptian display and saw part of the geology exhibition before I decided to take him downstairs for a snack. Suddenly everyone was hungry. And thus ended our museum tour. We enjoyed a light snack that saw Bayan display such impeccable table manners as attempt to dunk his face into what was left of the tomato sauce and try to lap up the remnants with his tongue. I wonder where he gets that from...Grammy.

From the museum we ran an errand that I had put off for ages and then joined J. and A. for lunch. The kids were so excited because we hadn't seen them for such a long time and they got right into it happily playing from the minute we arrived until we, sadly, had to leave. They enjoyed card games and dress ups, crafty things and toys, playing outside with all the fabulous ride-onsthat Bayan adored ever so much...but more than anything they just enjoyed being together. We even arranged to take some silly photos like this one of a super strong Ruhi holding her sister and J. in the palm of each hand. And I got to have a baby fix as little H. is now 8 months old and just as gorgeous as can be... I am so in love.

Playdates and Publications

Nearly every day of the school holidays is booked with a play date or some sort of plans. We have already caught up with J. and A. a couple of times, had E. over to play and made bath bombs with J. and S. from school. V. has also been dropping in to visit nearly every day and we are still intending to catch up with a lot of friends that we don't get to see very often. So the relaxing second week that I had hoped to keep clear for relaxing is now a tangle of outings and visitors, but the kids are happy. They are relaxed, are looking forward to seeing their friends and are enjoying living in the moment. Which, really, is what it is all about.

In other news one of Ruhi's pictures has been selected to be in a prayer book which is due to be published sometime next year, so she has been busily redoing her illustrations as the first one arrived rather crumpled and they were unable to scan the image clearly. We are all very proud and can hardly wait to see what the whole book looks like.

The Heart Foundation

We awoke this morning to a deluge of hail hitting our roof and windows. From the look of things it appeared as though we would not be getting our door knock appeal done today after all. But after a quick trip to a local library book sale and a brief peek at a second hand shop the weather was vastly improved and after lunch we set out with bag in hand to beg our neighbours for cash donations on behalf of The Heart Foundation. The kids love this! We have done this ever since Anisa was a baby and they look forward to it all year. They especially enjoy pounding on doors and ringing bells. This year we developed a system. Ruhi rings the doorbell once (there is nothing like three enthusiastic children descending on your doorstep each one trying to ring the bell better than the others. Trust me, I know.) and Anisa knocks once. Bayan got to put the "Sorry I missed you" cards into the mail boxes. This year was the first year we went without a stroller or baby sling and I must say that we made excellent time. We finished both streets in the one go and collected over eighty dollars. They are already looking forward to doing it again next year.

Look What I Found

I was under the impression that these were unavailable here. But lo and behold while passing a candy shop at the local shopping centre I came across a perfectly healthful display featuring such nutritious products as Hershey's Chocolates, Pop tarts, Jolly ranchers, Reece's Peanut Butter Cups and an assortment of American candies. The children are entirely unfamiliar with these products and I, for the most part, intend to keep it that way. However I could not pass up purchasing one Butterfinger (these used to be my favorite) and while we will not be doing this often I thought it would be fun to try to make some of our own Butterfinger ice cream.

Bayan wholeheartedly agreed (huge surprise there) and quickly volunteered to be my co-chef... but really I think he was in charge. He was so excited that he could not hold still long enough for me to get a good photo. So I give you the blurry grin and the fist of triumph that he held aloft while the ice-cream machine did it's bit, mixing fresh cream, vanilla, eggs, sugar and crumbled Butterfinger into a delectable frozen treat...which went over splendidly and received rave reviews all around.

Sprng is in the Air!

The fruit trees are in full bloom, the weather is turning warm again, and we are finding ourselves out in the garden more often. We have decided to do a veggie patch and the children have been helping clear the area of weeds and planning what tasty treats we will grow this year... Ahem, attempt to grow.

Oh, and we have been chasing butterflies and collecting caterpillars too.