More Birds!!

The only thing better than going to Mountsberg, is having Mountsberg come to you!!! One of our favourite places to go is the Mountsberg Raptor Centre outside of Milton. Today, we were lucky enough to have their birds of prey show come to our local library. Everyone had fun checking out the birds - a Great Horned Owl, a Screech Owl, and Red Tailed Hawk. And of course, because we were with a group of 3 - 8 year olds, the greatest 'hoot' (pardon the pun) was having the birds poop on the floor. What could be more fun than that?!?!

Chocolate Chip Snack Cake

This is one of my favorite recipes for when a pile of kid come over to play...it is fast and easy to put together with ingredients that I have on hand, has oatmeal in it to keep it moist without too much butter, has no icing , which makes it a little less messy for little fingers, and is full of chocolate chips, which makes anything a hit. It bakes up in a 9 x 13 pan, and you can cut it up into 20 good-size pieces to feed a crowd. Enjoy!

Chocolate Chip Snack Cake
1 3/4 cups boiling water
1 cup oats
1/2 cup butter
1 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1 3/4 cups flour
2 tbsp cocoa
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 package chocolate chips (semi-sweet or milk)

Combine water and oats and let sit for 10 minutes. Cream together butter and sugars, then beat in eggs one at a time. Combine dry ingredients and add to wet mixture, along with oats mixture and stir until combined. Stir in 1 cup chocolate chips. Pour into a greased 9 x 13 inch pan, and sprinkle with remaining chocolate chips. Bake at 350 degrees for 40 - 45 minutes. Enjoy!

Wind Mills

These wind mills have got to be one of the most amazing things to see with regards to energy, environment, weather....These are just a few shots of a very cool wind farm on Hwy 89 just west of Shelbourne. You really can't get a good idea of the amazing size of these windmills until you are standing at the base of one, craning your back to see the top. We only spent a little time talking about alternative energy sources when we were looking at them because my guys are still a little young, but this would be a fabulous place to see if you were doing some more advance exploration of wind energy. The most astonishing sight was when we drove by these windmills on a very cloudy day - we could not see the top of them, only the blades that would slice down through the fog, swing by, and then disappear up again into the mist. Very Cool. Gee, I wonder if the company that owns them would host a field trip.....

Healing

The soul is healed by being with children.
~Fyodor Dostoyevsky

Little Bones

(Click on the picture above to get a closer look - really cool!)

A very good friend of the family, who obviously knows a lot about little boys, sent us a treasure box a few months ago filled with all of the things that William and Charlie love...pretty rocks, feathers, wooden thread spools, shells, paint brushes, a huge moth in an old cigar box....you get the picture. We spent hours going through the box when we first got it, and the boys were thrilled to find a collection of bones and teeth from various animals and birds. The bones were carefully collected and laid in an old toy box that we had on hand that made for the perfect display case. Earlier this week, Charlie decided to take it out again for a look-see. Armed with magnifying glasses and a field guide, he set to work trying to figure out what everything was. I love watching this kind of exploration - completely kid-initiated, at their own pace, and focused on exactly the kind of thing that a little boy wants to learn about! Both William and Charlie are excited about the next collections day with our homeschool group so that they can share their treasures with all of their friends.

Swimming, Swimming, In the Swimming Pool...

Of all the ways that we are blessed, one of the best is certainly Pop - Jim's father who lives just 3 doors up the street from us, and is a God-send. He is the strong-silent type, works harder than anyone else I know (even those half his age) and is one of the most hands-on grandfathers that I have ever met. The boys love him to death, and are always up for a visit.

Among the many wonderful things that Pop does (for us and everyone else) is to keep up the swimming pool in his back yard. He uses it too, I am sure, but William and Charlie are no doubt its biggest fans. Swimming is a daily event if the summer (unless I can talk them into taking a bit of a break) and I have to admit, that there is no better way to spend a hot and sunny day than splashing in the clear blue.

McMiclael Gallery

Last week the boys and I headed over the the McMichael Art Gallery to take in some ...well...some art. I thought that I would report back here (even though I was not able to take my camera inside the gallery) because it was such a mixed day - good and bad. On the good side, the pieces were beautiful. The gallery itself is a great building, on beautiful grounds, and the collection is fabulous - makes me proud to be Canadian!! (Insert beer commercial here).

On the down side, I have never felt quite so unwelcome at a 'public' place before. I understand that the pieces are very valuable. I understand that they are somewhat fragile and that they are a national treasure. I understand that they don't want little people with peanut-butter-and-jam-y fingers touching them. But holy cow!! There were 2 staff people in each gallery, and rather than walking around answering questions, interacting with the patrons, or (God forbid!) even enjoying the pieces themselves, they walk up close enough to peer over your shoulder and glare. Now, I have two boys. Two young boys. I understand that young boys can seem a little frightening if you don't actually spend time with them. But you know what? As a mother, don't you think that if I thought even for one moment that my kids would cause problems, not listen to my instructions, be destructive or otherwise run amuck that I would find something other to do with them for the day than to visit an art gallery?!?!? Even William, who is all of 6 years old, picked up on the vibe.

So here is my advice for them (and yes, I plan to share my thoughts with them directly, too)...At some point, about 30 years from now, all of the old bitties that are paying the bills now will be dead. Unless you make the gallery if not welcoming, then at least accessible to kids now (yes, well-behaved kids) it will be a pretty lonely place in the future. My kids were excited to be going there. They had specific paintings they wanted to search out. They brought their own sketch books in case they felt inspired. But if I asked them now if they wanted to go back, I am afraid of what their answer might be. The reception that they were given there gave them the message loud and clear that a gallery is not the place for children. That is a great loss not only for them, but for all of us.