D, L & Co.

The Dance Extravaganza

2011-12-12T19:04:00.001-07:00

Saturday December 10th was Dance Extravaganza day around our parts, ie: Elysse and Chanelle's dance show.

The production goes as follows:

Get dance clothes on (this is always exiting for the girls)
Get hair done (less exciting)
Drive to the UofA (less exciting for dad because of the Butterdome craft sale and the Nutcracker which were both in full swing when we were trying to arrive:)
Drop off the ladies (Lyndsey gets the girls met up with their classes)
Dad finds parking (and plots the best path through indoor ped-ways to get back to the car)
Find great seats that friends have saved for us
Enjoy other people's cute little kids jumping and fluttering around the stage
Watch Chanelle's number through the video camera (Lyndsey) and through the lens between snaps (Dave)
Watch 13 other numbers of cute little kids (and some big kids too)
Watch Elysse's number through the video camera (Lyndsey) and through the lens between snaps (Dave)
Watch another several numbers of the cruise ship production the dance company puts on
Pick the kids up from the stage after they see Santa (in the same order they performed!)
Give them their flowers (Pink rose for Chanelle, Yellow for Elysse)
Form a trail behind the father duck navigating through the pedways to the parkade
Rush off so we can get ready to roll for the Messiah production (that's another post…)

As exciting as those details were, here's what you've actually been waiting for:

Chanelle

Elysse

Chanelle Turns 3!

2011-11-15T20:13:00.001-07:00

birthday balloons and birthday cereal (Froot Loops was the birthday cereal of choice for the second year in a row!)

what a pair of cuties

opening a few presents before school

This was classic. We got her a Fur Real kitty since she has a feline obsession these days. It walks and meows, which totally scared her, but this was her reaction to the purring.

She's warming up to it now.

Bessy the cow telling Chanelle to have a "moo-velous" birthday at playschool

and a few more presents... thank you Gramma, Great Gramma and Papa, and Auntie, Uncle and Kyle!

Cowgirl Party pictures coming soon!

The Never-Ending (Halloween) Story

2011-11-12T22:13:00.001-07:00

Well, we've had our first snowfall, and I thought I better get some Halloween pictures up before we really get in Christmas mode. Not to mention that my family has been asking for Halloween pictures for a while now... sorry!!

So here they are... our butterfly and our witch. They were pretty cute, and they got to wear their costumes quite a few times! I was looking forward to all the Halloween festivities... at first...

Chanelle at her playschool Halloween party (Thursday)

Elysse on her way to our Halloween concert for choir (Thursday)

Elysse and Jenna at the concert


the concert


Mary Poppins and Bert on our way to a Halloween party

Saturday came, and, though I was already tiring of Halloween, I had everything to make caramel apples, so I thought we better give it a try. I saw them on a blog and they looked so pretty. Let me just say that ours turned out MUCH less than pretty...

I think that will be the first and last time we make them... Just looking at all that sugar makes me want to go brush my teeth!

Then it was finally Halloween. What a long day it was.


Elysse at her Masquerade Party at school

we still hadn't carved our pumpkins by Halloween afternoon... so we got out the paint and Sharpies, and I let them go crazy!

getting ready to go trick-or-treating with some of the cousins

scary faces

doesn't this remind you of this?!


Mike, Becca, Bentley and Jackson dresses up as Captain Hook, Tiger Lily (or Lily Tiger, as Chanelle says), Peter Pan, and a Lost Boy - they looked so good!

Then we finally went trick-or-treating.

Isn't that what Halloween used to be? Just trick-or-treating??

There.

It finally ended.

She has a bed… really!

2011-11-05T22:42:00.001-06:00

My nightly rounds of kisses for my sleeping girls found this one in a
new location!
I guess it's been one of those days…

Elysse's Kindergarten Photo

2011-10-26T12:35:00.001-06:00

A Perfect Summer Afternoon... in Fall

2011-09-28T23:15:00.000-06:00

I'm considering blogging again...

While I think about it, I'll share a few pictures from this weekend.

Elysse took this. It is exactly how I remember our day.

We spent Saturday afternoon at Fort Edmonton Park. Just me and the girls. It was sunny, 30 degrees and the river valley was beautiful.

Daddy, Daddy, Daddy, look an X, it looks like they crashed!

2011-09-15T07:55:00.003-06:00

Posted via email from Dave Olsen's posterous

Daddy, Daddy, Daddy, look an X, it looks like they crashed!

2011-09-15T07:55:00.001-06:00

Posted via email from Dave Olsen's posterous

Someone is excited about her first day of pre-school!

2011-09-08T07:59:00.001-06:00

Posted via email from Dave Olsen's posterous

Bubble-aided Sculpture

2011-09-04T07:53:00.001-06:00

Bubbles are good for more than just getting clean!

See the full gallery on Posterous

Posted via email from Dave Olsen's posterous

It's finally done!

2011-08-16T07:49:00.001-06:00

Posted via email from Dave Olsen's posterous

New & Noteworthy

2011-07-31T16:36:00.001-06:00

Now don't get any big ideas, this is by no means an exhaustive list of
recent happenings. Actually it's only two little things, but it's a
step in the right direction as far as blogging goes.

1) Elysse swallowed her tooth! She was riding in the car back from
picking berries with Lyndsey and Chanelle, when suddenly she realized
that her treat was done… and her tooth was gone.

2) Chanelle got a haircut sometime before Jon & Lindsey's wedding. It
looks super cute, but sometimes I miss the wispy long hair; I doubt
she misses the tangled mess in her face every morning though.

Well, I guess that'll do for now…

See the full gallery on Posterous

Posted via email from Dave Olsen's posterous

Happy in Rainboots!

2011-06-16T21:08:00.001-06:00

Seriously, who doesn't love puddle jumping? Especially when you have stylin' Superstore rainboots?!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Excuse me while I plug my choir...

2011-06-09T08:40:00.006-06:00

Dave has done a significantly better job of posting these days, and he's way busier than me! I have quite a few things to catch up on, but this is what's consuming me these days, so I may as well keep the trend going.

I have been conducting children's choirs in Edmonton (school and community) since 2005. I used to be with Cantilon Choirs, but for the last two years I've been with a gr. 1-3 choir under Edmonton Junior Children's Choir, an amazing choir started by Anne McIntyre in 1998. We've just recently changed our name to Edmonton Young Voices.

More exciting news is that we've added new programs on both ends of the choir. We now offer a preschool program for 3-5 year olds called MUSICMAKERS. Then there's the Junior Choir for gr. 1-3, the Children's Choir for gr. 4-6 , and now the Chamber Choir for gr. 7-10.

My girls will both be in MUSICMAKERS this year. Anyone else want to join? Thursdays, 4:30-5:15.

My choir (Junior Choir, gr. 1-3) and the Children's Choir are also on Thursdays, but they start at 5:30. I've been in choirs almost forever, so I'm slightly biased, but it is a really fantastic experience. Let me know if you're interested, or check out our website:

www.eyv.ca

There's my plug! Next up... maybe Elysse's birthday? I better not promise anything...

Beautiful Ladies!

2011-05-30T08:20:00.006-06:00

I love this time of year, and I love this picture of my beautiful ladies!!! In case you didn't notice, this picture location and pose are making their return for the third time (see the first & second).

I guess, in keeping with those sister posts, I will give a brief history of what's going on in our lives:

I am busy with my landscaping company (sometimes a little too busy, but that a good thing right?)

Lyndsey is busy with choirs, teaching music on Thursday and Friday mornings, and of course the girls!

Elysse routinely asked me: "Dad, can you teach me everything I don't already know?" So the other day we learned about the forces of lift on an airplane wing and how the air has to travel further over the top of the wing which creates low pressure under it… ok, I'll spare you the rest of the details.

She just finished playschool for the year and is excited about Kindergarten in September. She loves to socialize with my "workers," and is still a prolific artist!

Chanelle is hilarious, she has picked up on our parenting technique of asking questions to provoke action, but she puts her own spin on it.

For example, if I see her throw a toy on the ground the conversation might go like this:
D: "Chanelle, did you throw your toy on the ground?"
C: "No."
D" "Chanelle, I was watching you. Did you throw your toy on the ground?"
C: "Yes."
D: "Do we do that?"
C: "No."
D: "Ok, can you put it away please?"
C: "Alright!" (I live that she talks like that!)

Anyway, the funny part is that she figured out that she can asked questions to which she already knows that answer too; only she has no intentions other than to ask the questions, unless she's mad, then it's very accusatory. Some instances are:

Upon me exiting the shower, if she's playing in our room: "Dad… did you have a shower?"
Upon Lyndsey getting home from choir: "Mom… did you come home?"
Upon wiping out and thinking that Elysse pushed her: (in a very Chanellesque angry tone) "Elysse… did you push me down?!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

She still has her moments, but we are proud of how she is improving the frequency of talking instead of freaking out about things. I say "improve" because there still is a lot of freaking out, but we're working on it. On the other hand she is so cute, and loving, and Elysse and her play so well together. Chanelle loves to be the "baby" and Elysse the "mommy."

Well, I guess this is the end of the End-of-May Spring Report, till next time…

Best Soggy Shreddies Ever!

2011-05-15T08:05:00.002-06:00

Elysse really wanted to make me breakfast today… really! I had got her Cheerios already and she was adamant that I let her do my breakfast. "What do you want daddy?" I asked for Shreddies.

I love Shreddies; always have, probably always will!

Side note
My uncle who is a doctor did a personal research project on himself that might interest anyone who gets canker sores: when he is eating Shreddies regularly he doesn't seem to get them. He attributes this to the high vitamin B12 in Shreddies, so… maybe that helps someone out there?

Anyways, the only thing I don't love about Shreddies is how fast they get soggy. If anyone knows me and how I'm a fast eater, this generally doesn't pose a problem. Today was a little different.

Since I was about to go into the shower I told Elysse that if she wanted to make me breakfast, she should not put the milk in till I was out of the shower. She seemed to get it, but I guess the overwhelming urge to do something nice for her dad was too much!

After the shower, she was waiting at the bathroom door for me while I was shaving when she couldn't wait anymore, she had to see me to tell me that she had made me breakfast and "poured the milk without one drip!"

Needless to say, today I had the best soggy Shreddies ever!

Dave

Natural Style

2011-04-29T17:48:00.001-06:00

See the full gallery on Posterous

Posted via email from Dave Olsen's posterous

Trend Setter???

2011-04-17T13:47:00.001-06:00

Posted via email from Dave Olsen's posterous

Family Date...

2011-04-08T19:03:00.001-06:00

Sometimes we have a magic car and no matter how hard we try, it just takes us where it wants to go (this is important for the last part of this post). So tonight we ended up at DQ... in Beaumont (thanks, Groupon!).

Dave: "It's excruciating watching you eat your ice cream that slow, Chanelle."

And funniest thing ever - as we were getting in the car, we see Elysse at the front of the car, bent over talking. We figured out she was talking to the car, but it took some coaxing to get her to tell us what she was saying...

"Next time, will you take us to Disneyland?"

So cute.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Rainbow Cakes - Pick One!!

2011-04-08T16:39:00.001-06:00

Elysse has told me numerous times today... "10 days until it's my birthday!" I was feeling very prepared - I booked the party months ago, bought her present, planned the family dinner, and we even have her actual birthday planned out. As I write all that, it seems kind of epic, but that's how we do birthdays! In my family we call them Ukranian birthdays because they just keep going!

Anyway, the part I don't have planned is the cake. I don't really love making or decorating cakes... Dave gets way more into it than I do! But I remember how fun it is to have a fun birthday cake, so if Elysse wants a rainbow cake, I guess I'll make a rainbow cake!! The only question is which one... (I guess I need two - one for the party and one for the dinner?)

Elysse's favourite:

(I'm not crazy about all the white gunk! Whipping cream?)

A similar idea but with fondant... Looks better, but I'd probably still do it with icing.

(I feel much better about the reduced size of "white gunk!")

Love the top layer of this one! Probably not going to happen though!

Slightly simpler:

Candy rainbow... Not as cute but the kids would love it?

I also like the idea of the rainbow standing on top of the cake. What could I make it out of?

Could be fun?

Good old Martha... Love this one, but it seems like a ton of icing!

Same idea, but no icing between each layer. I like this idea, but Elysse is firm on her favourite!

Rainbow icing? Too much work?

Okay, please help me decide! One vote for party, one vote for family dinner, and feel free to combine ideas!!

PS - This isn't a rainbow cake at all, but I loved the Van Gogh "Starry Night" cake. Very impressive!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Last Day to Vote!!!

2011-04-04T09:22:00.006-06:00

My mother-in-law and two friends worked incredibly hard to create this beautiful video for the International Mormon Messages contest. It really is an amazing story about Shelly's neighbour, Kim - it reminds me to keep an eternal perspective through whatever trials and challenges come my way. Watch it and then go here to vote!! (The video is called A Life Worth Living.)

Happy Birthday Great Gramma!

2011-04-03T21:10:00.003-06:00

Forgive me!

2011-03-28T20:48:00.003-06:00

Okay, this one is even longer than the last, but my grandparents are in Arizona and loved the last one so much, I thought I'd post this one, too.

Speaking of my grandparents, this is a picture they took last year in Arizona.

And here is my backyard the day I was looking at their AZ pictures and lamenting the still-present snow. (Keep in mind the sunshine didn't come out until right when I took this picture. March has been very grey, hasn't it?)

Spring is coming.

It has to be.

Right?

Elysse's Ballet Dance

2011-03-25T07:41:00.001-06:00

A Good Day

2011-03-09T22:06:00.001-07:00

This is how much dough and mashed potatoes I had left after making perogies today. And I totally guessed on amounts! I guess I'm a perogy-making pro now, hey Mom?!

So, my stellar guessing skills displayed above, a day full of sunshine, running errands with a super-cute Chanelle (compared to her not-so-cute alter ego which we saw earlier this evening), a few solitary minutes at Superstore, being ahead of the game by getting Elysse's birthday present today (and on sale - yay me!), a fun playdate this afternoon, a good news email, McDonalds for supper, a long talk on the phone with my mom, and Modern Family in three minutes (probably accompanied by some Rolo ice cream) all equal a very good day.

Update: Modern Family is a repeat, so I'm skipping the ice cream and heading to bed... That is probably a better ending to my good day anyway, right?

Let's end with a picture Dave took... Cute!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Christmas songs are great anytime when kids sing them!

2011-03-09T10:05:00.001-07:00

IMG_0931.MOV Watch on Posterous

Posted via email from Dave Olsen's posterous

Blowing Hearts!

2011-02-25T22:47:00.003-07:00

These might be my favourite Valentines ever!

Cute story: some of Elysse's friends from dance asked her, "How do you blow hearts like that?" It was pretty cute watching her try to teach them how to hold their hands and put their lips so hearts would come out!

I found the idea on Etsy, but wasn't about to pay for it when I have a husband with stellar photoshop skills. It didn't take him too long, and I love how they turned out! And the best part was that there was no writing involved... (Did I deprive Elysse of not writing the names of all her classmates?!) Something I do need to think about, though: We gave candy, as did almost everyone else in her class. So I asked myself, when did Valentine's turn into Halloween? Now I'm trying to think of what to fill the bags with next year...

Family Day Snapshot

2011-02-22T21:58:00.001-07:00

Love these girls!!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

My Costco Favourites

2011-02-16T21:11:00.007-07:00

I'm generally a fairly restrained Costco shopper... Not usually someone to buy something we don't need, but I will buy something we use that wasn't on my list, if it's on sale - which is perfectly reasonable, right?

Anyway, lately I have found some things at Costco that I love. You know when you eat/drink something, and it just makes you happy? Read on...

I could (and would) drink a bottle of this and still drive home. Pure Blue Unwine... all natural wild blueberry juice. No preservatives. No added sugar. Mucho antioxidants. And so, SO good.

The cracker chip. My kids love these with their beloved hummus. They're not amazingly low in calories, but they are a good source of fiber, they're gluten free and again, no preservatives. And I like my kids to eat things with visible seeds in them... Weird, I know, but there it is.

This is not quite the cereal I have in my cupboard, but it's close. Mine is WildRoots Ancient Origins Blueberry Pomegranate cereal. I loooove it. And more good news: 1/3 c = 28% of your daily intake of fiber! Ha! Makes getting all your fiber the easy part of your day.

You'll have to excuse the lame cell phone photo of an empty bag - not a good representation of how delicious these are. Olafson's Flax Multigrain Breakfast pitas. Thicker than your average pita pocket, they sure hit the spot straight out of the toaster, stuffed with any scrambled egg concoction you can think of. One problem... I haven't found them at Costco the last two times I've been, and as you can see from the photo, we're out, so I'm slightly panicking...

Okay, this last thing is nothing new or exciting. Do you ever buy parmesan cheese at Costco? $14 for a huge container... always seemed a little excessive to me - that's a lot of parmesan. But if you have this recipe book, you know she uses a lot of parmesan. So now the huge container of parmesan holds a prominent place in our fridge.

Anything else I need to look for on my next Costco trip?

4 hugs a day, it's the minimum…

2011-02-15T10:16:00.001-07:00

Posted via email from Dave Olsen's posterous

Happy Valentine's Day 2011

2011-02-14T14:24:00.006-07:00

Well, another year is upon us and Valentine's day reminds us how quickly it goes. Since we have made quite the habit of not sending out Christmas cards, or a family newsletter, maybe a new tradition is in order: The Valentine's Day Picture Report!

From our family to yours: Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, and Happy Valentine's Day!!!

p.s. the pictures are from our late-fall family pictures session with the awesome Nicole Jensen. The weather was good, the light was great, we hope you enjoy!

Blossoming is a process... right?

2011-02-02T20:45:00.005-07:00

Chanelle, being the orchid child that she is, doesn't really eat that well. She is tentatively starting to try new things (and when I say tentatively, I mean hesitantly agreeable only when offered a chocolate chip for each bite), but her issue now is that she doesn't like feeding herself. It's not that she can't... she's just totally not interested in eating, unless the food is put in her mouth by someone else so she doesn't have to interrupt her train of thought.

That means every meal time sounds like a zoo, or a freeway, or whatever else we can think of to distract her enough to take a bite.

So the other night... I was getting tired of animals and vehicles (does anyone actually know how to make a helicopter noise??), so I decided to switch things up...

"Chanelle, let's do a rainbow! Shhhhhhhhhhh..." (while making an arch or "rainbow" in the air with her spoon).

Chanelle was apparently not impressed with my rainbow's "shhh" sound effect.

"No, Mommy... rainbows don't do that. Like this: (in a perfectly sweet singing voice) Somewhere over the rainbow..."

It was so cute, and a very well-tuned octave! And it made me laugh. I am not so stressed these days about what she does or doesn't do... I just hope that by the time she starts school, she will be feeding herself, and let's hope she doesn't do it with "trains" and "rainbows."

I'm definitely not saying she doesn't stress me out, because that happens daily, and some days, hourly. But I know I'm not alone in that!!

Not that I agree with labeling children, but I really do think the "orchid child" thing is funny, so I'm going to stick with it. Want to read more on orchid children?? Here's an article from the Globe and Mail: "How to raise and 'orchid child' to blossom!"

And here's Chanelle and her beloved hummus again.

Where were we...

2011-01-10T07:24:00.002-07:00

I know, I know... it's been a while. Truth be told, I started this post ages ago (as you can see from the date - it's actually Jan. 29 today!), but haven't had much motivation to finish it. We had a wonderful Christmas, and since then it's been nothing but snow and more snow. Which means... no Dave. So, I've been a little busy. Anyway, enough of that. This post starts somewhere in November, and ends somewhere before the obscene amounts of snow started to fall.

But before the snow came, look how beautiful it was! This was November in the river valley!

Our last swimming trip before Grandma Joyce and Grandpa Lowell moved... fun times.

Chanelle and Elysse spent a fair amount of time doing this before Chanelle's birthday finally came... thanks Gramma and Papa and Auntie and Uncle!

Here's the birthday girl coming down to her balloons and Froot Loops.

She had the morning with Dad while I was at our school's Remembrance Day Celebration, so they had a birthday interview.

Then that night was the Canadian Finals Rodeo!! Chanelle loves horses, so we thought it would be perfect... they were bored after the opening fireworks. Here they are with Nima.

And the birthday party. Banner courtesy of my handy dandy Cricut.

Chanelle and her cookie cake (said "coooo-kie").

And here she is trying to blow out her candles with her nose... funniest thing ever, and I didn't get it on video. But thank goodness for this picture!

And the little cowgirl in her new cowGIRL hat and cowGIRL boots (they correct me every time I call them cowBOY hats and boots).

Blake and Whitney came for a sleepover and we had a blast. I love Chanelle's expression here while Blake was reading to her.

And Whitney and Elysse playing doctor. These two are so fun to watch.

Now we're up to December... time to decorate the tree. Here's the girls with their new ornaments from Gramma.

And Elysse's letter to Santa...

Mailing the letter was even more fun than writing it!

This is how I spent a fair amount of nights in December... concert planning til the wee hours of the morning. None of my concerts are depicted in this post - I don't think there's one picture from any of them! Too bad... they might have been slightly more flattering than this one!

Elysse and I on our annual date to the Nutcracker. This year she was able to stop herself from singing along to the music, and she got to meet some of the ballerinas... very exciting.

The next afternoon was her own dance recital. Not sure if I'm allowed to post these with other kids in them, but Elysse was pretty darn cute, so I just have to share.

And her little concert at playschool. This girl loves to perform.

Elysse and Chanelle at Gramma's house on Christmas Eve.

Papa switched up the annual tradition of handing out Turtles to everyone by giving them to us on Christmas Eve this year. No one minded one bit! We used to have competitions for who could make theirs last the longest (I used to be able to get to mid-February) and who could be the sneakiest at taking them from each other (it's much easier now with the individually wrapped ones). Now we eat them too fast for any of those shenanigans.

Opening our Christmas Eve jammies!

Writing their notes to Santa. Love this one.

From Santa... "Tangled dresses!" There have been sparkles all over our house ever since.

Skating. The girls had so much fun. Don't Mom and Auntie look alike here?

Photo ops...

Skating at Hawrelak Park when we got back to Edmonton.

Dave's brother Jon is engaged! Introducing the future Lindsey Olsen.

Thank goodness for cousins. If they look sweaty, it's because this picture was actually taken after the next one where they were having a major dance party.

And finally, Dad building a snowslide for the girls in the backyard. It is now covered in a few more feet of snow.

Okay, now that we're caught up, I'll try to be more timely!

advent calendars and other stuff

2010-11-16T18:46:00.006-07:00

I'll admit it... I'm a bit of a chocolate snob. I can't stand waxy chocolate... the current thought of it is making me stick my tongue out. And shiver, heebie-jeebie style. Gross.

Now I shouldn't pass this on to my girls while they're still young enough not to notice a difference between dollar store chocolate and smooth, creamy callebaut (though how could anyone not notice a difference?!), but I just can't bring myself to buy those $2 advent calendars from Safeway or anywhere else. I remember having them and loving them when I was little, so apparently my taste in chocolates hasn't always been so exclusive.

Anyway, I usually buy them from Laura Secord or Purdy's, but $16? Really?!

So I've decided (and I'm probably late to this notion) I'm going to fashion my own advent calendar.

I LOVE this idea.

The best part about it, besides that it's the easiest one I found, is what is inside each envelope. Christmassy, family activities each day... from giving service to dancing to Christmas music to having a fancy, dress-up dinner. Check out the link - there's some great ideas.

And here are some other cool advent calendar ideas.

Now the trick will be finding the time to make it. And do I have to make two of them? And how will I fit a chocolate in these envelopes? Spending $2 at Safeway might not be such a bad idea...

On another note - did I mention it's Christmas concert season?? Anyone else a music teacher/musician and experiencing the same craziness?

And finally - our pictures are up on Nicole's website! I am SOOO happy with them! Nicole, you are amazing.

Alice and Snow White

2010-10-30T22:16:00.009-06:00

Costumes were so easy this year (I love that!)... the girls each got to pick out a dress at Disneyland this summer, and Halloween - done!

Halloween... not really my favourite holiday. The highlight for Elysse was hitting the spider pinata at playschool. Chanelle didn't really get it. But she did figure out that when people asked her who she was, she said, "I be Snow White!!" It was insanely adorable.

Tonight we went to a "trunk or treat" at the church. Everyone decorates their trunks (I should've taken some pictures - there were some pretty creative ones) and hands out candy. I almost like it better than the usual trick or treating! And it was so nice out! Anyway, all in all, it was a fun Halloween. And we're done before Halloween is even here!

This is Chanelle's face when you ask her to close her eyes! Every single time... Hilarious!

The Orchid Child

2010-10-18T23:23:00.007-06:00

(If you missed why we call her an orchid, here it is.)

Chanelle never ceases to make us laugh/cringe, depending on our mood and tolerance level.

Tonight for example... We are eating dinner, and she wants to be done and get down as she isn't enthralled with my menu selection, so she says with her big, oh-so-cute eyes, "I need to go to bed." This from the not-yet-2-year-old who, at this point in her life, HATES going to bed. (Tonight, thank goodness Dave's brother Mark was here getting help on his essay, because it took all three of us a turn to get her to go to sleep.)

Usually bedtime is her saying: "I need a change bum-bum," or anything else to delay the inevitable. (PS - not sure why she says bum-bum, but her owies are also "bonk-bonks.")

This girl astounds me - formulating excuses before she's 2!! If that is any indication of what is to come, I am worried...

On another note, we had family pictures taken this weekend by one of my best friend's sisters, Nicole Jensen. Chanelle only smiled when Dave and I were hiding and it was just her and Nicole. But I've accepted the fact that family pictures with an unsmiling Chanelle is an accurate representation! Now I'm making her sound like a miserable child, and really, she is sometimes, but the rest of the time she is so insanely cute that we can hardly handle it!

We've only seen a few of the photos from the shoot, and here are two.
Thanks, Nicole - that was so fun.

Recently...

2010-10-13T21:40:00.026-06:00

It's kind of weird, but I can't think of anything to write these days! So here is the past month in pictures...

Chanelle doesn't eat much, but she LOVES hummus - she loves it so much that she eats it with her fingers!

Elysse in her favourite "cowgirl boots."

Amy straightened Elysse's hair and they had a little photo shoot.

Chanelle woke up so happy one day - what a cutie.

Bonfire and smores!

They just stopped to give each other hugs and say, "I love you" on our walk one day.

Fun with cousins at the corn maze.

Chanelle makes the funniest faces.

Such a cute picture of Owen and Chanelle.

Elysse and Uncle Nima.

Chanelle in Elysse's shoes - she is always wearing someone's shoes.

Friday night family date to Tasty Tom's on Whyte and Leva for gelato.

Chanelle's two favourite things lately: wearing princess dresses...

and putting her fingers in her nose.

Halloween crafts - thanks, Gramma!

A visit with Grandma Joyce and Grandpa Lowell on Grandpa's 84th birthday.

We've had such beautiful weather, we spent Saturday afternoon in the river valley.

Looking for rocks!

And again with the finger in the nose... Oh dear.

What sweet girls.

Happy Turkey Day!

2010-10-10T23:48:00.001-06:00

Here's a card from Elysse. I thought it was pretty cute.

I am so thankful for these little girls.

2010-09-29T22:07:00.004-06:00

Fall Already?

2010-09-15T23:06:00.006-06:00

Yes, it seems that this year, we're skipping the summer-like weather that last September brought us. I love fall, so I'm not too disappointed, but I'm just hoping that winter doesn't come early, too!

These girls are happy to go outside whatever the weather.

Such love for these two...

I love Chanelle's face in this one!

Elysse is "making a collection"

A Kitchen Staple

2010-09-14T15:41:00.004-06:00

I'm not exaggerating when I say that EVERYTHING I've made out of this cookbook, we have loved. If you are looking for a new kitchen muse, Rose Reisman is it, and her Family Favorites has all the inspiration you'll need to change up your meal plans.

I made the fingerling potatoes with olive oil, sea salt and fresh rosemary the other day, and Dave said that they were the very best potatoes he ever had. How about that for a pat on the back?!

And the macaroni and cheese recipe in there is also the best one I've tried (and there have been many tries since this day).

I'll post my new favourite recipe EVER from this book soon... Let me know if you get/already have this book.

Tonight's menu is on pg. 134: potato corn chowder. Perfect for when we get back from our walk on this cloudy day!

Elysse's First First Day of School!

2010-09-10T21:18:00.004-06:00

I can't believe this day has come (and gone!)... (Pre)School always seemed so far away.

Until this morning.

This morning felt like a futuristic deja vu - like a memory of the years of mornings to come: kind of crazy with a few crises (like what shoes to wear), but this morning was different than all the ones to come because Elysse couldn't stop saying, "I get to go to schoooooool today!"

(as you can see, she insisted on the boots!)

Elysse did great. And I did great, too. Even when I was calling to her to say good bye and she didn't even notice, I held it together. Chanelle was miffed that she didn't get to stay, just like at Elysse's dance class the other day. And Dad was pretty proud of his independent little girl.

She had a fantastic time playing basketball and playing with shaving cream and silly foam. Though it sounds like the highlight was the cupcake they got!

Truly, I was as excited as she was. It's going to be a fun year!

(and here's her first dance class - cute in blue, hey?)

Possibilites...

2010-09-07T21:59:00.004-06:00

Oh, man. It has been a crazy few weeks. Well, I guess it has been a crazy summer that has catapulted into a crazy fall. We've only been home a week and a bit, but California already feels like a long time ago. Getting back into everything is always a bit overwhelming, but I am trying to focus on the possibilities, instead of the huge to do list I feel tapping my shoulder every ten seconds.

For example:

- it is possible that I will finish unpacking tomorrow and move the suitcases from the middle of our bedroom floor
- it is possible that I will finish the grocery shopping for the meal plan I made last week, so that I can start making the meals I am now a few days behind on!
- it's entirely possible that tomorrow will be much more productive than today (all relies on Chanelle's sleeping behaviour tonight!)

Here are a few pictures from our long weekend at the cabin. Thanks to my family for a really great weekend!

The girls at the lake.
Husking corn has become a September long weekend tradition for these two.
Elysse's first time fishing. It was fuh-reeeeezing. But she didn't complain once, and each time she caught a weed, she said, "Maybe next time it'll be a fish!"

Chanelle cheering Kyle on during his game of pool with himself.

It's also possible that I might possibly blog some of our California pictures... we'll see where that falls on the to do list tomorrow!

Home again!

2010-08-28T21:43:00.007-06:00

We're back and well… ready to sleep. Elysse knows the routine and she was back into the swing of things in a hurry after a long while of sleeping on an air mattress.

Chanelle is just getting her feet wet in sleeping in a big girl bed, but I think tonight she is doing it a little more gracefully & super cute!!!

As for me, after driving home from California, I'm feeling like joining the girls right now; and so ends this post!

Fresh Pickened Flowers

2010-08-21T20:45:00.001-06:00

Posted via email from Dave Olsen's posterous

Done!

2010-08-12T23:54:00.005-06:00

I would love to say, "Done and DONE!" But I still have some work to do!

Here are a couple pictures from before our third year recital...

And a few pictures of the girls...

Now Natalie and Blake and Whitney are here, and we are having a holiday!! Here we are at Laguna Beach.

More to come!

Fibonacci Week

2010-07-19T23:06:00.004-06:00

This program sometimes seems insane! Or maybe I'm insane for doing it?? I don't know, but now that I'm nearly at the end, I think I'll just carry on.

This week is fondly known as Fibonacci week in the program. I'll explain that later, or you can read about Fibonacci's golden mean here. Anyway, it's basically the point we've been building up to, we're at the point of maximum retention, and (theoretically) all the really good stuff should be happening this week. Not the best explanation, but like I said, I'll try again later.

And now I'm going to post pictures that are completely unrelated to Fibonacci!

Here we are today after realizing that we haven't taken any pictures, and only have three weeks left! From left to right, Brad (Las Vegas), Athanasia (Greece), David (LA) and Grace (LA). Such good friends - I am going to miss them dearly.

Last weekend, Grace, Thania and I went to In the Heights at the Pantages in Hollywood. It was AMAZING! Definitely one of my favourite musicals. Going again this Thursday - can't wait!

This past weekend we had a concert with the Pasadena Pops. We sang with an orchestra of professional studio musicians after rehearsing the music for an hour TOTAL! It was kind of crazy, but the music were pieces like The Circle of Life from the Lion King, Ragtime, and the one I can't get out of my head... "There's no business like show business!" Definitely an interesting experience... I felt like I was observing "show business," egos and all! But overall, it was really fun and neat to sing behind such a great orchestra (even if they weren't always friendly!).

Here are some of the girls waiting to get started. There was a lot of waiting involved! And then a picture of the set up of the concert.

That's all for now! I felt bad I hadn't posted anything for so long, so I'll try to get some pictures of the girls up soon!

Pigtails and Cuteness

2010-07-03T11:14:00.003-06:00

Last night Mom had Elysse at Disneyland, so Chanelle and I went with some friends from school to the Huntington Gardens for a picnic and their evening concert. The gardens are stunningly beautiful at every turn, and amongst all the gardens are museums containing the Huntingtons' private art collection. More pictures of the gardens to come, but for now, here are some pictures my friend Vincent took of Chanelle. (So far, he's been the only one to capture her smiling on camera!)

(This last picture is when we were watching eight ducklings slide and somersault down a stepped waterfall with Mama Duck waddling over them - it was hilarious, and Chanelle was squealing with delight! Forgot to take a video, darn it!)

California Girls

2010-07-01T22:37:00.011-06:00

We really love it here. The girls are having so much fun. I'm having fun... sometimes! School has been a bit crazy these past two weeks, but I'm getting back into it slowly. The workload is definitely way more and way more difficult this year, but I already only have five weeks left. I should really be working right now, but I guess I'm celebrating Canada Day by taking my own little holiday from homework.

We did actually celebrate Canada Day (sort of!) - one of the girls in my program is from Vancouver, and happens to be an amazing accompanist. So at the end of our masterclass today we handed out the music for O Canada and had everyone stand and sing it. My mom brought the girls in their Canada shirts and Elysse handed out a few Canadian flags that she made, and then we all had cookies they brought for us. Next year will be our first Canada Day at home since July 1, 2007. We will definitely resume our traditional Canada Day barbeque - can't wait!

Anyway, here are a TON of pictures. Mom has kept a full schedule the past few weeks, and that means lots of pictures! And since I haven't done a blog post for a few weeks, here they all are!

I hope our families enjoy them! We sure miss all of you!

Market Day and fresh lemonade!

We did Disneyland the second full day we were here - after all, Elysse does equate California with Disneyland, so this is what she thought we were driving to the whole way down!

Playing at the beautiful park across the street

Mom took the girls to "The Barnyard Zoo"

(love this one!)Elysse had a blast riding the horses!

They've done lots of colouring. I love Chanelle's face in this picture!
(they're scented markers)

At Kidspace Children's Museum in Pasadena

At our "welcome party" for school with my supervisor's daughter

The LA Zoo
Building things with their cool new toy, Wedgits
(hours of fun, even for adults - you need to find these for sure!)
Toy Story 3 - LOVED IT!
Picnics and playing in the sand
A nature walk in Millard Canyon - a beautiful spot in the San Gabriel Mountains, only 15 minutes from where we are
This is not a great picture, but try to get a good look at Elysse's face. This is right after she said in a very sweet voice, "I really do love it here, but I never want to come back here again." She's really not the outdoorsy type, I guess!
Chanelle, on the other hand, LOVED it! Especially walking in the creek.
More playing after a concert in the park
Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach
Mom found Chanelle this way one night
Fun in the bathtub
(sorry for the bum shot, Dave!)

The Arboretum - this place is amazing.
Mom saw an episode of Bones being shot there last year, and this year there was a movie being shot. She's actually already seen 4 movies being shot! They do a lot of filming in our neighbourhood, so that's kind of fun. I'm sure we're the only ones who think it's neat - everyone who lives here probably thinks it's annoying because of all the trailers!
More colouring!
Modeling her Canada shirt at the market today
Chanelle still won't smile for the camera

Chanelle is talking non-stop. She's a parrot and repeats everything you say, but is also doing really well speaking on her own. It's so funny to here sentences in her squeaky little voice. Today she counted to 11! And the other night she put her hand on my cheek and said, "I love you, mommy." Melted my heart!

Elysse has said some pretty funny things too. When she found out that Gramma's birthday is coming up, she was very insistent that Gramma choose a birthday theme: "Gramma, what kind of birthday do you want? I had Hawaii, Jenna had ladybugs, now you have to choose one!"
And the other day Mom was asking her what they should do the following day. They had done a few things that required lots of driving and walking, so Elysse replied, in all seriousness, "Something better than driving and walking."

We've had a few good laughs!
I'm sure there will be many more pictures to come, though it might take me a few weeks! I'll be paying for this little "holiday" I've taken for a while, I'm sure!

Happy Canada Day!

Love Dad

2010-06-20T18:26:00.006-06:00

Happy Father's Day, Dave! We really wish we were there with you today (or that you were here with us!).

You are such a great dad... singing Twinkle Twinkle over and over on Skype with Chanelle and teaching Elysse all about different trees (she pointed out a Thunderchild the other day!), and always spending time with the girls, even when you have work, work, and more work to do - I am constantly amazed by you and love you so much.

We tried a photoshoot today - these pictures give you a pretty clear picture of how it went!

Here is a message from Elysse. (She is singing you a Father's Day song right now - it's pretty funny. Something about "you and me going on an awesome trip - let's go!")

Daddy, I love you so much and I miss you lots.
Have fun in Edmonton.
Daddy, thank you for being my daddy and I love you all the time.
Daddy, I loooooove to help you and I love to watch you do work.
Daddy, my favourite thing about you is when you give me hugs and kisses.

Love Dad. (I love how she says this!)
From Elysse

And from Chanelle:

I luh-loo Daddy!

Happy Father's Day!

To my Beautiful Girls

2010-06-18T09:53:00.001-06:00

I love you!

See and download the full gallery on posterous

Posted via email from Dave Olsen's posterous

Our Little Orchid

2010-06-09T22:33:00.006-06:00

Today I had two appointments for our little Chanelle: a phone appt. with a preschool occupational therapist and an appt. with a dietitian. All because Chanelle is a picky eater and still does not like to eat fruits or vegetables (with the exception of some baby food), among many other foods she refuses to try.

This is hard for me to accept. I've always thought that (to an extent) picky eaters are created. But apparently this is not always the case. Chanelle is not only sensitive to taste, temperature, and texture, but to everything else you can imagine, too. Sensitive feelings, sensitive skin, sensitive immune system (?), sensitive temperament... the list goes on.

The OT I talked to today told me they have a name for these delicate children.

Orchids.

Incredibly sensitive and fragile, but they turn out beautiful.

I loved that!

Maybe we'll stop calling her the devil child...

Here she is...

2010-06-04T12:49:00.001-06:00

Sorry for the same picture twice - cropping is a complicated process and I leave the complicated things for Dave. :)

Isn't she adorable?

One year ago...

2010-05-31T13:44:00.003-06:00

We don't have one…

2010-05-26T23:04:00.001-06:00

But the video is awesome!!!

Posted via email from Dave Olsen's posterous

A Birthday, a Restaurant Review, a Recipe, and a Spaz

2010-05-25T22:41:00.007-06:00

Last Friday was Dave's special day. Dave and I both had to be at work early, so in lieu of a more elaborate breakfast, we had birthday bagels (with a candle!) and birthday berries.

This birthday was very low stress, which was great! The breakfast was easy, which was a good start. The gift was easy - I had ordered it a long time ago and I knew that it was something Dave would want. He actually told me about it after I ordered it. Perfect! (Here it is if you're curious!) The birthday date was easy, too. Early show of Ironman 2 (we haven't been to a movie in AGES!) and a late dinner at The Melting Pot.

The food was great, except that they were out of bread. Out of bread? Seriously? Anyway, as I said, we really enjoyed the meal. We had a spinach artichoke cheese fondue first (sans bread), then lettuce wraps, then the traditional European-style fondue in canola oil, and then (drumroll, please) the long-awaited chocolate fondue. Oh, yum. Probably my favourite thing in the world, and this chocolate (with a swirl of peanut butter) fondue didn't disappoint. Really the only disappointment of the night was the service - we had to wait forever in between courses, and I couldn't figure out what we were waiting for. After all, we were the ones cooking the meal. And did I mention that they were out of bread?

Here's the main course.

And here's Dave keeping track of the cooking times on his phone. I thought it was hilarious. Though it did make for perfectly cooked meat!

On another note, here are the remnants of a very delicious pot roast we had on Sunday.

And here is the recipe from Campbell's.

I love recipes with minimal ingredients, and all this one calls for is a roast, potatoes, carrots, one can of mushroom soup, and one package of Lipton onion soup mix. It smelled good all day long, and it tasted amazing!

For dessert we made ice cream in Dave's new ice cream maker! (And by "Dave's" I mean "ours.") Again, a recipe with minimal ingredients: cream, milk, sugar, vanilla. It was so good. And so much fun! Next up: chocolate ice cream and lemon sorbet.

You can find this model at Costco.

Dave didn't get his birthday cake until Victoria Day, but it was worth the wait. Aren't Martha's recipes always worth the wait?!

Here he is getting ready to blow out his one candle.

Disclaimer: I didn't take these pictures (Dave did!), but I'm sure glad we have them! Chanelle is a sweet little girl, but she does spaz a lot, so there are many opportunities for documenting it!

Chanelle was trying to take her (button-up) shirt off by pulling it over her head. And getting very frustrated in the process. Can you hear the shrieks through these pictures??

And some other random pictures:

A few weeks ago we went on a Sunday evening stroll by the river. Here are a couple snapshots:

And here's Elysse riding in the Cat with Chase - a highlight because she was riding in the Cat, and a highlight because she was riding with Chase!

Coming soon:

Doing Disneyland with Kids

and

B & R's Grad!

A Link and A Question

2010-05-22T22:12:00.004-06:00

If you use time outs with your kids, read this article, by the same author as the last link I posted:

Time-Out! Coaching Preschoolers to Social Success

Dave and I always try to end time outs with a "teaching moment" and I loved how Amanda (from Not Just Cute) describes this in a sports metaphor (using Coach Krzyzewski of Duke's champion NCAA team)-

"Imagine a coach like Coach K calling a time-out and saying, “You guys aren’t playing very well.” Then he just sits all his players down on the bench while he leaves to make a phone call or clean up some spilled popcorn a few rows up. Then, when the 30 seconds allotted for that time-out have expired, he walks back to the team and says, “OK, you can go back out now. I want you to play better, OK?”

...

"When Coach K calls a time-out, he gives his players a chance to catch their breath and refocus. He gives clear and concise directions and expectations. Then he sends his players back out with a plan."

She also talks about helping the child make retribution. I'm going to work on the "helping" part. Instead of telling Elysse she must clean all the marker up by herself and can't do anything else until it's clean, I will help her.

Loving these tips!
Thanks, Amanda!

* * * * * * * * * * *

And on another note, I need help!

As you might have noticed, I've taken over our "family" blog with recipes, kitchen gadgets, and parenting resources, so I'm starting a new one!

It's going to be called, "Pinkies Up" (I'll explain later), but the "pinkiesup" blogspot address isn't available.

Any other ideas?

Dave's idea was: "fifth digit elevated" (we can't decide if it's lame or witty). And we tossed around a few other ideas, but nothing wonderful.

Let me know if you have a good idea, and I will think of something special to reward you with. Perhaps a pineapple peeler/slicer/corer?

Happy long weekend!

"Social Graces"

2010-05-17T21:24:00.006-06:00

Did anyone else have this book when they were little? I loved it. Is that weird?

I also think I learned how to properly set the table before I learned to tie my shoes. And I once took an 8-week "etiquette" course, where I learned to eat a bun by gently tearing off and buttering one small piece at a time (which I don't do now).

Elysse reminded me at supper tonight that I shouldn't talk with my mouth full, so maybe I'm due for another class. But even though my manners aren't fit for dinner with the queen, I'm glad my family taught me the value and necessity of good manners from an early age. And Dave and I are trying to teach our girls the same thing.

"Please" and "thank you" are the obvious basics (explained very nicely in the book above!), but I am always looking for resources to teach social graces that go beyond that.

Here is a GREAT one on the Simple Kids blog:

Parenting Preschoolers: A Starting Place for Social Graces

This is an article by Amanda Morgan, who is the author of Not Just Cute - another great blog.

She takes manners and courtesy right into discipline, and it really does all go hand in hand. I firmly believe that (so far) discipline is the absolute hardest part of parenting. I don't believe in punishment, but I firmly believe in predetermined, relevant, consistent discipline, and spend a fair amount of time thinking (and worrying) about it. I loved what Amanda Morgan's article suggested.

Here are a few of her points that resounded in me:

Many challenging behaviors are absolutely normal parts of development. This doesn’t mean you shouldn’t correct the behaviors, but their appearance doesn’t mean you’ve done a lousy job of parenting or that you have an inherently “bad” kid.

Social skills are learned skills.

When the next shouting match or toy tug-of-war occurs, take a deep breath and recognize those conflicts as teaching opportunities.

Young children have the capacity to feel all the turbulent emotions we feel as adults, but a limited ability to verbalize it.

When the focus is on punishment as a reaction to improper behavior, we are only teaching the child not to “get caught” being “bad.”

I could list a ton more, but if this is something that is part of your life right now, I suggest reading it. Don't skip anything - there are gems the whole way through! And please share if you have any resources that you've found useful! I think we could all use some new ideas in this department, right?

2010-05-14T20:59:00.004-06:00

None of these pictures are amazing, but they remind me that Chanelle is generally happy, because this week she really hasn't been!

My friend Chelsie and her new baby, Cooper, came for a visit. The girls LOVED him. At one point, I found Chanelle in his carseat, with his soother in her mouth, and she had the biggest smile. Too bad I didn't have the camera then!

Chanelle dancing up a storm at a wedding we went to.

Dave teaching Elysse the YMCA.

The girls doing yoga. This is the only position Chanelle can really do, but she tries all the other ones! It's pretty cute. Elysse LOVES doing yoga.

This will freak my mom out, but our door doesn't really latch sometimes, and Chanelle went outside. Mom, I was watching her the whole time, but I thought it was funny, so I left her out there long enough to get a picture!

At Pyper's (Nathan & Brittany's little girl) first birthday party with my little buddy, Jackson (Mark & Tasha's little guy). He is insanely cute.

Even though I told Elysse it was Pyper's party (not HER'S!), she was allowed to help blow out the candle. How does she always manage to get into the spotlight? I don't think Pyper minded, though.

She was trying to get her sunglasses on her head like mine.

When we pass the little carousel rides at the mall, I always say no. I finally said yes, and I took pictures to prove it!

We went on a cupcake date last night. I couldn't get a normal smile out of Elysse!
(We went to Fuss on Whyte Ave. I think I liked them better the first time I had them. I'm looking forward to trying Hey Cupcake in Sherwood Park next time.)

So far this week...

2010-05-12T21:43:00.003-06:00

I called the cable company to ask for a free pvr, and got one! Good bye commercials.

I spent 2 1/2 hours waiting at a walk-in clinic with a sick Chanelle and a hungry Elysse (Thankfully, they were both so great the whole time - partly thanks to the nice new mom sitting beside us who had an imaginary tea party with Elysse. I love it when random people are nice to my kids, but I couldn't believe this mom - brand new baby, still recovering from a c-section, no sleep, and suffering with a kidney infection, and took the time to tell Elysse her imaginary cookies were delicious).

I actually spent the majority of today doing "sick" errands - offering Chanelle anything and everything I could think of to drink and eat, filling prescriptions, picking up pee-collecting bags from the lab, returning full pee bags to the lab and trying to transfer it to a tiny container (how is that possible?!), taking temperatures and giving baths. (I think it's a bladder infection, but I guess we'll find out soon.)

I have been very grateful for the beautiful sunshine and time spent outside walking, in friends' backyards, at the park, and reading stories to Elysse on the deck.

I have watched the video of Elysse's dance for her year end show about 10 times, trying to learn it so I can help her with it. Still have "Oh mister sun, sun, mister golden sun..." in my head.

I have commented on friends' pictures and statuses on facebook and then wondered if my house would be cleaner if I hadn't done that... the jury's still out on that one.

I lead a youth activity at church - tried to teach 40-some teenagers about conducting and singing, but the funnest part was a "name that hymn" game that involved wheelbarrow racing and many laughs.

I then spent 2 hours rehearsing one song with a great group of singers for a recording session on Saturday. I was reminded how much I love making music with great singers - so much fun.

I have looked at sheets that need to be washed, a bathroom that needs to be cleaned, toys that need to be put away, hamburger that needs to be cooked (it's going in the garbage), and passed. For now, anyway. I find it so hard to do housework when the sun is shining! (And when it's not.)

I watched Elysse sitting tall with her legs crossed, feeding Chanelle and telling her to "focus." It was so funny. Later that night she had a spaz, verging on a tantrum. Little lady to spaz child in 30 minutes. Mercy...

What day is it? I honestly feel like tomorrow must be Friday. Oh well! Let's see what Thursday brings...

How Sweet It Is

2010-05-09T22:25:00.002-06:00

Mother's Day 2010 - how lucky am I?!

Here was last Mother's Day -

And another one from this year - I love Chanelle's smile here.

These girls are hilarious and insanely cute. Elysse wants to know about absolutely everything - the other day she asked me, "Mom, can you tell me all about hinges?" And Chanelle now responds when I call her by saying, "What?" I couldn't believe it when I heard it! She also is fond of saying, "I cook" while pushing a chair to the counter, as well as "have it" when she wants something and "hey!" (very high-pitched!) when she doesn't get it! Love, love, love them.

I Love My Mom

2010-05-08T23:07:00.000-06:00

A free digital greeting by Smilebox

My New Life

2010-05-06T16:29:00.000-06:00

This woman is someone who reminds me daily that happiness is a matter of perspective.

I've been reading Stephanie's blog for quite a long time now, and it always reminds me...

to take things a little less for granted;

that small acts of kindness go a long, long way;

to try and find the upside to our trials and challenges, because surely there are some!;

to find joy in the small and simple things of life - smiles and kisses and yummy food;

and above all, to choose happiness.

Ole?

2010-05-04T09:33:00.003-06:00

Does anyone plan on making a Mexican feast for Cinco de Mayo tomorrow? I didn't really understand the significance of the holiday, but apparently this is what it celebrates:

the Battle of Puebla.

Regardless of how much you know about the history of the day, it's a good reason to cook some yummy Mexican food. Now I can't say any of what I'll be making would actually be an authentic Mexican dish, but it seems Mexican to us and it sure tastes good!

One of our favourites (even Elysse eats this) is plain old taco salad. But this is what I do to spice it up, and Dave raves about it every time:

Black Bean Salad
(from Food Network, but I've changed it to suit our tastes)

Dressing:
1 clove of garlic, finely diced or mashed
pinch of salt
juice of 1 1/2 - 2 limes (appx. 3 tbsp.)
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

Salad:
1 can corn kernels, rinsed
1 orange pepper, diced
1/4 cup diced red onion
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
1 avocado, diced
1/4 cup fresh cilantro, finely chopped
salt and pepper to taste

Make the dressing, in something like this if you have it (one of my most-used kitchen gadgets!): garlic first, sprinkle salt, add lime juice, gradually whisk in olive oil.

For the salad, heat about 1 tbsp olive oil in deep frying pan. When hot, add corn, orange pepper, onions and black beans, and cook for 3-5 minutes, until onions are soft (but not too soft!). Remove from heat and add dressing; mix well. Gently add tomatoes, avocado and cilantro.
Ready to eat!

We put it right in our taco salads, but I've often make it as a side dish to tortilla soup, tacos, enchiladas, chilupa, or any other Mexican dish we try. So, so yummy!
See the original recipe here.

I don't have a picture of it, but it's beautiful! I promise you'll love this! Let me know what you think!

Add a Vegetable: Baby Bok Choy

2010-04-29T14:20:00.003-06:00

If you haven't been able to tell yet, I'm really bad at remembering details. I can't remember where I saw this, but some health/nutrition guru/dr. suggested adding a new fruit or vegetable to your family's menu each week.

I think you might run out of new ones sooner or later, but I think the idea is to get out of the routine broccoli and corn, and try something new! Even if your kids turn up their noses at the look of a foreign vegetable (like mine did last night), it introduces them to different foods and presents all kinds of teachable moments - healthy eating, proper manners when you are served a food you don't like, the one-bite rule (this is a no-exceptions rule in our house), and maybe even some cultural awareness.

So last night we tried baby bok choy.

I loved it, Dave ate it, and Elysse tolerated (okay, gagged on) her one bite. I've eaten it before, but never cooked it, but will definitely be adding it to our vegetable rotation. A big bag of it was just over $1 at Superstore. I washed it, sliced them in half lengthwise, drizzled some sesame oil over them in a bowl, seasoned with a big of salt and pepper, and would have barbequed them if it weren't for the pouring rain, but instead did them on the open panini press for about 3-5 minutes (I think they would take much less on the BBQ). Thanks to Martha for the recipe!

Here are her other ideas on how to cook bok choy.

And here are some random tidbits about (baby) bok choy:

member of the cabbage family
when choosing baby bok choy, look for crisp white stalks and crisp green leaves
commonly grown in Alberta (this is good!) and California, and available year round, but best purchased in the fall and winter
like all green, leafy vegetables, it is packed with minerals and vitamins - high in vitamins A and C; high in beta-carotene which has been shown to reduce the risk of certain types of cancers, as well as cataracts; high in calcium and fiber, which makes it an aid to healthy digestion; high in folic acid, so it is especially great for pregnant women; contains potassium, as well as many other vitamins that are powerful antioxidants (see full nutritional breakdown here)

Let me know what vegetables/fruit you add to your menus and look for more ideas here. (Once I've regained my family's confidence by cooking a few of the "regular" veggies again!)

The Big Mall

2010-04-28T21:18:00.004-06:00

Occasionally when I tell people in California that I am from Edmonton, they'll say, "Oh, you guys have that big mall, right?"

And my answer is an abashed, "Yep."

It's true. We are known for a hockey team that used to be good and for a big, ugly, sprawling mall.

I generally try to stay away from the mall, unless I am needing some "me time", which I like to spend here. Those wonderful minutes spent among racks and tables of beautiful dresses, unique cardigans, must-have accessories, enlightening books, necessary-to-complete-me dishes, fun drawer pulls, etc, etc, etc can almost make me forget that West Edmonton Mall has "its own ecosystem." (I don't know who said that, but somebody somewhere did so I thought it belonged in quotes.) Don't you think it's weird that there are no rats or cockroaches in Alberta, except at West Ed?

But there are good things about that big, ugly mall, one of them being the playplace (is that term reserved by McDonald's?) in Galaxyland. It is GIGANTIC and has lots of fun things like crazy slides, ball pits, climbing nets, tubes... and germs, I'm sure, but I try not to think about that.

So last night, my cousin Karen and I took the girls to said playplace. It happened to be closing 15 minutes after we got there, which we didn't know. So when we didn't walk away after she told us they were closing, the (can't think of a suitable adjective) lady said she'd let us in with something muttered about looking the other way. We tried the same tactic with the lady at the playplace entrance, and she also let us in - free! So we had 10 minutes of free play time in a deserted playplace. Chanelle loved it, and Elysse would have if that roller coaster didn't keep going right over top of us. She stood there shaking each time it went by.

The other great thing about West Ed is Yogen Fruz. So after our 10 minutes were up, we headed for some raspberry frozen yogurt and watched all the figure skaters practicing. Elysse was mesmerized by one little girl in a showy outfit, and told me to watch her all the time.

(are you jealous, Natalie H?)

Then we headed to the pirate ship, for which I refuse to pay $1 to walk aboard. Seriously?! What a money grab. So we looked at it, then went to the pet store to see all the animals. How are there still puppies in pet stores? They're so so cute, and I felt so bad for them. Fish belong in pet stores, not puppies. (On a side note, when Chanelle sees an ant, she says, "puppy!")

To end our trip to West Edmonton Mall, Elysse asked for money to throw into the fountain. So I gave her a penny and reminded her to make a wish. She stood on the edge and said with such conviction, "I wish for a Sleeping Beauty stand," before hurling the penny as far as she could. She's been saving a long time for this thing, so I guess now she's resorted to wishing!

Yesterday while talking to my friend, Thania, from Greece, we were debating whether it would be a good idea or not to bring the girls when we go visit her (still in the wishful thinking phase of planning). She was worried about how we would entertain them, and told me that they do not have malls and things; they have beaches and good food. (A long time ago, Thania also called a shower a douche! I still laugh about that! She also speaks French, so it is an understandable substitution.)

While I would choose beaches and good food any day over a big mall, it did provide a really fun time on a rainy night.

Thanks for a great night, Karen!

Do you have one of these??

2010-04-27T08:50:00.004-06:00

I LOVE my pineapple corer/slicer/peeler, which was a birthday gift from my friend Natalie. Not that we have pineapples all that often, but boy, does this make life easier when we do! I always used to ask Dave to cut the pineapple, but I don't think I'll be doing that anymore! I'm sure these would be available at any kitchen supply store.

On the same note, Dave got me one of these a long time ago, and it's still one of my favourite kitchen gadgets, as we make a lot of apple crisps.

I think it's about $30 from Lee Valley, and worth every penny. Elysse loves turning the handle once I put the apple on - a good way to involve her in "making" (as she would say).

So if you get as excited about kitchen stuff as I do, maybe these would be good Mother's Day requests! Which kitchen gadget shall I ask for for Mother's Day - any ideas?

Elysse Rides a 2-Wheeler - 4th Birthday

2010-04-25T08:58:00.001-06:00

Posted via email from Dave Olsen's posterous

A Weekend of Birthday Part 1

2010-04-19T22:12:00.016-06:00

The Birthday Girl.
We think she's pretty wonderful.

The Birthday Cake.
Dave and I had a great time decorating these.

The Hawaiian Decor.
Balloons (can't have a party without balloons - I found a Hawaiian assortment at Wal-Mart),
lanterns and grass skirting (from Dave's sister's wedding in 2006),
leis and other assorted Hawaiian decorations (dollar store),
and a paper garland (the only thing I made).

I was going to decorate a few areas of the house, but decided to concentrate all the decorations in the kitchen, so it ended up looking better than if I hadn't done that. Elysse said, "Mom, this is the prettiest birthday I've ever seen. Thank you, Mom, thank you." That made it all worth it!

The Birthday Party.

Leis and grass skirts for each child, though the boys refused to wear the skirts! Even after I tried to explain that big, strong Hawaiian men wear them, they still looked at me like I was crazy before running in the other direction. So I have a few extras if anyone needs them!!
We made our own leis from a Creatology (foam cutouts) kit from Michael's. $9 for a kit to make 5 leis, unless you hit it on a 50% off day like I did. And if you provide more string, it makes way more than 5. Sweet.
Musical beach towels with a playlist of Hawaiian music from the library.
A picnic lunch while watching the Backyardigans' Surf's Up episode. Menu: Hawaiian pizza (Costco - 2/$11), veggies, fruit skewers, Munchies, chips, and Hawaiian punch.
Sand art in glass bottles. I used these bottles as the invitations, but forgot to get a picture. I just put a bit of sand in the bottom (from the local park!), then put a message inside written on cute Hawaiian paper. I attached some twine to the message before putting the cork in, and tied a name tag to the other end of the twine on the outside of the bottle. Then we asked everyone to bring the bottles back to the party. For this craft, I just bought coloured sand at Michael's ($3.50/bag) and we poured it in the bottles ($1.60 at Michael's). The kids needed a lot of help, but they loved it! We glue gunned the cork in the bottle so no one would end up with a rainbow of sand rubbed into their carpet later.
Hula hooping. Haven't done this in ages, and I was surprised I could actually do it! I also found hula hoops at the dollar store (though they were a little more than the advertised dollar), so I sent each child home with their own.
We were all outside having fun, and Dave came in and found Chanelle sitting her chair. Poor girl.
Blowing out 4 candles. She didn't need any help this year, and didn't spit on the cake this year, either!
The kids enjoyed the cupcakes while the adults enjoyed sorbets in real fruit shells from Costco.
Limbo. Yes, a broomstick works fine, but this was $10 at Wal-Mart, and it's a little more toddler friendly. Plus, it gave me time to get all the goodie bags handed out. I forgot to take pictures of the goodie bags, but this is what I did: they had super cute Hawaiian patterned tote bags at Dollarama, so I filled those with a sand bucket and shovel (Dollarama), ribbon stick (Dollarama), pineapple notebook and yellow pencil (Michael's dollar bins), Tropical Mike 'n Ike's (Costco), and Hawaiian stickers (dollar store).

Birthday bumps. Deanna reminded me about this fun birthday tradition.

Family picture.
And we're done. Fun party, and the weather was perfect. It was 24 degrees! On April 17!

Here's what we found the girls doing right after the party.

Interesting…

2010-04-19T08:13:00.001-06:00

Elysse loves choosing her own pajammas! Last night she picked a long
sleeve shirt & shorts. When she woke up this morning she had cold legs
so daddy got something with longer legs.

Upon initial inspection, sensing a significant discrepancy between my
& Lyndsey's fashion senses, she said:

"Dad, I think mom will say these look interesting…"

Posted via email from Dave Olsen's posterous

Elysse - Post-4th-Birthday Party!

2010-04-17T15:18:00.001-06:00

The excitement ran high… and now and now on to the after party!

Posted via email from Dave Olsen's posterous

Elysse - Pre-4th-Birthday Party!

2010-04-17T09:22:00.001-06:00

See and download the full gallery on posterous

Posted via email from Dave Olsen's posterous

The Funnies

2010-04-15T20:40:00.003-06:00

I couldn't tell you the last time I read the comics. I used to LOVE reading them on Saturday mornings. Especially Family Circle - did anyone else think that one was hilarious? And Dilbert. Is he still around?

Anyway, I got to choir this afternoon, and sitting on the piano was this:

Ha! I love it.

Under the Sea

2010-04-13T21:52:00.005-06:00

(This happened quite a while ago, but it's definitely worth posting.)

It was one of those days.

L o n g, loud, and I was on the verge of losing my sanity from a screaming Chanelle (all four of her canines were coming in) and a defiant Elysse (she seems to go in spurts of defiance, and we were on day three or four of one).

Dave was busy working all day and into the night, so I was on my own, trying to summon any remnant of my patience.

I had asked Elysse to clean the playroom a few times. Lots of times, actually. And I was getting frustrated and cranky that she wasn't doing it. Okay, more than frustrated. Each time I asked her to pick up a toy, she thought playing with it was the better option. And though I knew her 3-year-old mind wasn't capable of it, I felt like she was intentionally pushing me to the limits of my sanity, just for the fun of it. Do you ever feel that way, or is it just me?

Anyway, after the room finally got cleaned up, I said it was bedtime.

As she started walking up the stairs ahead of me, she said without turning around,

"Come on, Ursula."

I can still hear her voice - it sounded like a parent talking to a child, and it was hilarious. Even after all the craziness that day, it was so funny, I just laughed. And replaying it in my mind still makes me laugh.

Let me just say that we had watched The Little Mermaid that day. I'm not sure if that is any credit to me.

Let me also say this: now at the end of those days, I try to think of Ariel. Wouldn't it be funny if instead of nagging Elysse to clean the playroom, I started singing, "Look at this stuff, isn't it neat..."

Easter at Gramma's

2010-04-08T21:50:00.022-06:00

Our Easter went something like this:

decorating Easter eggs

making Easter cookies
(with the coolest cookies cutters around, from Williams Sonoma)

having fun at the Easter Eggstravaganza at the Galt Museum

taking care of a very sick Chanelle

piano duets and cuddles on the couch

eating fruit with whipping cream -
Gramma knows how to make everything special!

waking up to Easter baskets and rubber boots from the Easter bunny

and of course, an Easter egg hunt in the backyard!

and one more for the road:

Next time you have to bring dessert...

2010-04-07T08:45:00.002-06:00

... these are great! A mini version of the always popular fruit pizza. Sugar cookies, cream cheese icing, and fruit! You can do a glaze if you want, too.

Many recipes for these suggest the store bought sugar cookie dough, but I use Martha's Old Fashioned Sugar Cookies, which are one of my very favourites. But don't over cook them! Your best bet is to make them a little big and undercook them just a bit - they're crunchy on the outside and chewy on the inside, and the hint of lemon is delicious!

Then a cream cheese icing - pick your favourite. I just use a brick of cream cheese, some icing sugar, and some vanilla.

Use any fruit you can find. Canned mandarin oranges are always an option, and then you can use the fruit juice from the can for the glaze (below). I would have used blueberries instead of blackberries, but I couldn't find any.

The glaze, if you want to add one more step, is easy:

1/2 cup fruit juice
1/4 tbsp water
1 tbsp cornstarch

Mix water and cornstarch together and add to fruit juice. Heat until thick. Let cool. Drizzle over fruit.

With all these food posts, are any of you wondering where our kids are?! An Easter post is coming soon...

Treat Yourself! (or someone else!)

2010-04-01T14:39:00.003-06:00

Every time we come to Lethbridge for a visit, my mom has something new and wonderful for me to try. These are exceptionally wonderful. I've almost eaten the whole pomegranate bag, and I'm sure I'll be moving onto the blueberry and acai by tonight. I haven't spent that much time studying the nutrition label, because, well, I'm on holidays? And I've almost convinced myself that they're healthy because it's dark chocolate and fruit! Perfect!

Do yourself a favour and buy a bag of these! Mom found them at Safeway, but I think they'll be available in other stores, as well.

Let me know what you think!

Easy Easter Treats

2010-03-27T16:42:00.004-06:00

I can't remember where I've seen these before, but somebody more creative than me came up with this super cute (and super easy) idea:

Rice Krispie square nests with Mini Eggs!

The best part about these are the mini eggs, so don't use anything but the good ones! Or if you do, don't share them with me! (just kidding, of course - I will happily take any food shared with me!)

Elysse did almost everything in the "making" process, with the exception of greasing the mini bundt pans. If you don't have mini bundt or mini tube cake pans, I think well-greased hands could form the sticky mixture into a shape quite similar, and maybe even more nest-like.

The construction paper leaves were the best I could come up with for packaging these treats.

I'm sure someone will have a better idea. Please let me know if you do! And while you're at, please pass along your Easter treats.

Next, I'm thinking of something more traditional like hot cross buns or paska bread... I'll let you know how it goes.

An Athabascan Adventure

2010-03-25T22:20:00.004-06:00

Athabasca, Alberta.
About 140km north of Edmonton.
In the beautiful Athabasca River valley. Well, it's probably more beautiful in the summertime.
This time of year, it's... snowy.
And cold.
But still pretty, in that cold, snowy kind of way.

I just spent a few days there, as I was asked to come adjudicate some of the sessions at the Athabasca and District Music Festival. I was excited to go because my great gramma lives there, and thought it would be fun to bring the kids so we could all go for a visit. But as it turned out, it was the few days before the home and garden show, and a family trip was not a possibility. So I went by myself.

All by myself. It almost felt like a holiday.

Almost.

After all, I was going to Athabasca. Not the most popular destination for a solo getaway.

But it was fun. I adjudicated a few choirs and 94 solos, sung by brave little grade 1-3 boys and girls. Between those 94 kids, there were six songs! Six! Needless to say, I've been singing "Ali the Alligator" since I got home.

Before, between and after I was madly writing 94 pages of comments to those cute little kids (and running out of positive adjectives after 4 pages!), I was having a retreat of sorts. They put me up at the Red Roof Gallery Guest House.

This house is the second property of an artist, and she uses it as her gallery, her studio, and occasionally as a guest house. It's really wonderful. And it was the perfect place to start reading my birthday present, a new book on beginning oil painting. I was going to start reading it sometime soon, but there was no phone, internet, or tv at this guest house (hence the retreat-ness), so what else was I going to do?! I'll admit that I was a little uncomfortable in a house that quiet. I'm definitely not in a "quiet" season of life (mostly thanks to Chanelle!).

fresh muffins and fruit, hot chocolate, and many other yummy treats were waiting for me

Della McLean's painting of one of my favourite paintings, Vermeer's Girl with a Pearl Earring

Della's working studio

creepy doll outside my bedroom (with Kevin Low in the background)

painting of creepy doll
(I'm sure its sentimental value overshadows the creepiness for the owner,
but for me, not so much...)

her wall of fame - Catrina Le May Doan, Gordie Howe, Mike Clemons, etc...

It was really a beautiful house, and I recommend it to anyone going to Athabasca, or anyone (mom) who needs a quiet retreat.

The other great part about the quick visit was seeing my great gramma (my mom's dad's mom). Can you believe we have 5 generations on the Pylypiuk side?! I was pretty sure she'd be around, so I didn't even call her to tell her I was coming. I just buzzed up and said, "Gramma, I'm downstairs!" To which she responded, "You're downstairs?!" It was funny, but I guess you had to be there.

Here I am with my great gramma Baba Mary

It was neat being in Athabasca, because my other great grandparents lived there, too. I definitely have some roots in that little town. People there know my last name (Pylypiuk) and know my relatives, and that always makes the world feel a little bit smaller.

I took the opportunity to take a couple snapshots:

the house my great gramma moved into after selling her farm
built in 1928 (obviously been redone)
I remember staying here with her and eating Bugles, thinking they must have been some kind of Ukrainian snack since I had never had them before

the United Church, over 100 years old
I'm guessing both my great grandparents went here at some point

And the one snapshot I forgot to take was of Gramma G's restaurant. Not much to look at as it used to be the bus depot, but it was the best soup and sandwich I've ever had. Even better than The Upper Crust. I've never been so glad that I ordered pickles on my sandwich. I already can't wait to go back.

And the best part of the trip, of course, was getting home. Chanelle gave me the biggest hug. Elysse and I laid in her bed and she asked me all the things I did. So I described everything I did and saw and ate, and then asked her what she did that day. Her response (after some serious thought):

"I played, and played, and played. And played and played. And then I stopped."

Now to end this novel of a post, this is what my drive home looked like:

The end.

Ok then…

2010-03-16T19:55:00.004-06:00

So I come around the corner to Elysse stuffing a ball under her
nightgown. "It's my new baby!"

"It just came out… now it's a ball!"

See and download the full gallery on posterous

Posted via email from Dave Olsen's posterous

Oh so good.

2010-03-14T21:01:00.006-06:00

I'm not sure that words can describe how delicious this date was.

Dave and I took a break from our chores Saturday afternoon, as I had planned a date to a secret spot. I was looking forward to this for a month (looking forward to the date, but especially the food!).

Anyway, this isn't a restaurant review, so I won't go into much detail. But if you are in Edmonton, go to the Duchess Bake Shop on 124th Street. Prepare to spend a little bit of money - it's definitely not cheap.
But worth every penny.

So worth it.

about to enjoy croissant sandwiches -
he had tomato, bocconcini, and fresh basil
and i had pastrami and seedy mustard

best
croissants
ever
(in Edmonton)

in Dave's words, that was the best sandwich he ever had

nerdy picture, but that's how happy I was

this was life changing.
the pastry was the perfect crunchiness.
the custard was the perfect not-too-sweet.
and the fruit just made it more perfect.
mmmm...

some of the delicacies. definitely going to try the sour cherry pie next time. we purchased at least 6 of the different treats shown in these pictures.
the pain du chocolat and macarons (all the little coloured cookies in the next picture) - i didn't know they could be that good.

I love that they have mini cakes and pies and tarts. Can't wait to try the shop's namesake, the duchess cake (green cakes above) and everything else. I WILL try everything, take my word for it!

Once they get some art up on the walls, and maybe a bit more seating, it will be the perfect Saturday spot. If you come see me, we will go there.

Please come see me.

of course we had to bring Elysse a pink macaron

(It's sad, but it was hard for me to part with it. I really wanted to try the strawberry one, and I wasn't sure a 3 year old could appreciate a $1.75 cookie that was the size of a loonie. I consoled myself with a coconut macaron.
And a lemon one.

And a bite of Dave's dark chocolate one.)

Cute "little" girl!

2010-03-13T18:09:00.002-07:00

Chanelle is getting so big in some ways. Like the other day she was sitting in her highchair at dinner and said "poopy" so I jumped up and took her to the toilette… then she went potty on the toilette! (keep in mind she's only 16 months old)

We are so proud when they do "big" things, and it sometimes makes me wish they would stay little; I love this picture because it reminds me that she still is

Posted via email from Dave Olsen's posterous

Lucha-Lyssie

2010-03-01T17:33:00.002-07:00

See and download the full gallery on posterous

Elysse found Jon's Nacho Libre luchador mask… Ha!

Posted via email from Dave Olsen's posterous

Good Morning, Gramma and Papa!

2010-02-21T21:21:00.005-07:00

Here is a special post, dedicated to my grandparents who are enjoying the sun in Arizona. They check our blog faithfully, and we have been less than faithful at updating it. So here are some pictures of the latest goings-on up here. We miss you and love you!

Chanelle playing dress-up

the girls in front of the pillow cases "Auntie Lala" made for them

building a snow slide in the backyard with Dad on a very nice day

watching the Opening Ceremonies in our Canada gear

Elysse with her valentine, Blake
the Olsons (minus Kevin) came for a quick Valentine's breakfast

family day - i love how Dave and I are the ones that look stunned in this picture, instead of the kids!

skating on the lake
hockey on the lake
Elysse is learning how to skate!

We love all that, but we sure miss this:

Disobedient Head!

2010-02-12T21:43:00.001-07:00

Elysse: Mom, I want my head to go this way, but it keeps going that way.

Lyndsey: Well, you're the boss of your head so you can tell it which way to go

Elysse: Well, I already did, but it's not listening to me.

Posted via email from Dave Olsen's posterous

They straightened her hair

2010-01-30T13:56:00.003-07:00

See and download the full gallery on posterous

Elysse had a sleepover at Grandma & Grandpa Olsen's yeaterday. Today Mark & Becky were doing hair & makeup on the kids. Elysse ended up with straightened hair! Not sure if i'm ready for her curls to be gone yet.

Posted via email from Dave Olsen's posterous

Parenting 243

2010-01-28T04:18:00.003-07:00

Ok folks, today's class will begin at 2:22am.

First we'll have a crying one year old:

"Dave can you jump up and put her soother in?"

Ok. This algorithm is familiar so it only takes me a few seconds to solve the problem, then I'm back in bed.

My lab partner is working on her own problem: she hears the crying better than me. "She's still awake, should we let her cry?"

I think this is one of those insolvable questions the professors put up to see if you're paying attention, right before they throw you the curveball question:

Elysse walks in. "I need a drink of water."

My lab partner is getting creative with her strategy now:

"Elysse, go in and put Chanelle's soother back in." She obliges.

Crying persists. This problem is trickier than it appears, it's going to require some real attention. My lab partner decides to tackle the problem once and for all. She heads in to tend to Chanelle, changes a wet diaper , and starts cuddling the death scream machine (anyone who knows… knows)!

Meanwhile, Elysse is just standing at the landing.

The welling-up of sympathy for Chanelle's pain, and fury from her piercing death whail, have culminated in misfiring neurons as I leap out of bed with a vengance (full well knowing that there's no revenge to be had, nor any hope of sleep).

I walk in to Chanelle's room just to make sure Lynz isn't sticking Belly with a sharp implement; cause honestly, that is what it sounds like. All clear.

Back to the curveball question: "Daddy, I'm hungry!"

"It's time to sleep, not time to eat Lyssie."

From the other room: "Dave, she hasn't eaten anything all day."

Ok, I know I can solve this problem too. It's just that these questions have such a drawn out sequence of calculations to complete…

Step 1: Write down what you know…

That's right. She only had oatmeal for breakfast, but threw that up after dance class when her tummy was still hurting. With a few more barfs during the day and pretty much no supper, she must be starving.

Step 2: Choose your formulas…

I start walking back to my bedroom to get my sweats on, forgetting to tell her I'm taking her down to eat. I hear some whimpering and expect her to burst out crying. When she realizes that I'm getting dressed she bucks up and practices the "no more whiney voices" that we've been working on, this makes me proud.

In the cutest I-was-almost-crying-but-now-I'm-not voice a 3 1/2 year old could muster, she says: "Here are your slippers daddy, you can wear these." She wins my heart all over again, like she does every day. Ok let's do this thing!

Step 3: Start computing…

I get Elysse dressed in a house coat and slippers and descend for a middle of the night breakfast.

"I want oatmeal Dad!"

"Ok"

I set her on the counter. In just a few minutes her oatmeal comes out of the microwave so I get her settled at the table.

"My oatmeal is too hot. Can I have some yogurt while it cools down?"

"Here, have some water." I look in the fridge for yogurt. "Ummm, we're all out. How about a fruit cup."

"Ok, I'll have peaches."

"We only have pears."

Now she's finally eating and now she's done. She hops on the couch looking as if she is ready to consume some sort of media. Ok, focus, don't let a lapse in concentration cause a simple calculation error.

"Lyssie, it's the middle of the night. Time to go to bed."

She does! I walk upstairs and head to bed. Success, i think i solved that one!

Lynz is just coming out of Chanelle's room. Looks like she figured out her problem too!

I start writing this on my iPhone to the serenade of trailing whimpers from a 1 year old who is falling back asleep.

I think we might actually pass this class!?

Goodnight.

Posted via email from Dave Olsen's posterous

Little Talker

2010-01-23T17:16:00.002-07:00

We went up to Elysse's room to play before supper. I hear a whiney baby and turn around to see Chanelle trying to open Elysse's tag reader case.

Me: Do you want to play with the Tag Reader?

Belly: Yeah!!!!

Me: Elysse can Chanelle play with it?
Lyssie: Yup.

Me: Sit down Chanelle.

She obliges so I open the case for her

Belly: (unprompted) Tate you!

Posted via email from Dave Olsen's posterous

We made a dog!

2010-01-23T10:41:00.002-07:00

Posted via email from Dave Olsen's posterous

Pic of the Day

2010-01-21T23:26:00.003-07:00

Chanelle was being a bit sporadic with her head movements as I fed her some fruit (strawberry/apple) the other day. I went to give her a big spoonful right as she did a massive head bang... strawberry/apple sauce straight to the center-top of her head. Classic 1yr old move!

After trying to wash it out with a cloth she ended up with a new coiff:

Oh, by the way today Lyndsey handed Chanelle an animal cracker and she said "Thank you" or something very close. Then as any proud parent would, Lyndsey showered her with kisses for her first Thank you, to which Chanelle responded with "Happy!"

We love our Chanelly Belly! She is starting to talk so much. Hopefully we'll catch some good stuff on video for you all soon.

Posted via email from Dave Olsen's posterous

Lyndsey Surfs

2010-01-06T13:56:00.001-07:00

Posted via email from Dave Olsen's posterous

A very quick update from beautiful Hawaii

2010-01-06T13:07:00.002-07:00

DISCLAIMER: Journal style blog post to follow. Extensive use of lists of events, it helps us remember what we did.

SATURDAY:
Surfed in the break out from the Beach House, played in the big waves at Waimea Bay, the guys bought some surfboards, eaten at Kua Aina Burger in Haliewa.

SUNDAY:
Went to church, visited the Hawaii Temple & Visitors center where we took pictures, played Razzle Dazzle (hilarious card game the Jon taught us), and had communal meal of Taco Salad which was awesome!

MONDAY:
Surfed in the morning outside the beach house, Becca & Lynz took the kids to the zoo in Waikiki, we played & surfed at Waikiki Beach (Dave got a bit fried & a ridiculous tan line that will be documented in a later post), walked the strip a bit, everybody ate at Costco and then stocked up on supplies.

TUESDAY:
Had early morning surf way out from beach house, Dave had nap to recoup from his hours of paddling for 1 wave, surfed again, played at the beach, Lyndsey surfed, Elysse finally got really brave with the water and played in the shore-break, surfed again, had another communal meal of Chicken Salad sandwiches in Croissants with raw veggies and pita chips w/hummus.

Oh yeah, on two occasions so far we have arrived home and plopped an exhausted Elysse on the stairs where she exhibited signs of childhood-sleep-anywhere-itis. We'll see how many more times this happens.

The plethora of pictures should loosely follow the chronology described above with the exception of the first picture which I forgot to post before of us arriving at HNL Airport.

See and download the full gallery on posterous

Posted via email from Dave Olsen's posterous