Long before Meghan, Duchess of Sussex and Diana, Princess of Wales, there was another controversial Royal that caused a stir within the house of Windsor: Wallis Simpson, also known as the Duchess of Windsor. Wallis’ relationship with Edward VIII (also known as David,) led to his abdication to the British throne and in the words of David himself, had no choice but to “discharge my duties as king as I would wish to do without the help and support of the woman I love.” David’s abdication prevented a constitutional crisis from occurring in Britain and was a story that rocked the entire world.
However, this particular novel is not about Wallis, but the woman who introduced David (then the Prince of Wales) to Wallis: Thelma Morgan, the Lady Furness, who is the protagonist in Bryn Turnbull’s debut novel “The Woman Before Wallis.” Thelma was a American socialite, and twin sister of Gloria Vanderbilt, who was married to Marmaduke Furness, the 1st Viscount Furness, at the time. Through the Viscount Furness, Thelma met many prominent figures within British high society, including some members of the British Royal Family such as Edward, the Prince of Wales.
The book highlights the many scandals that rocked the house of Windsor throughout the 1930’s and high-class society at that time. It discusses topics that were considered controversial during that period of history, such as divorce, homosexual relationships and extramarital affairs. The story is loosely based on Lady Furness’ life and goes into detail about her relationship with the Prince of Wales. During this period, her twin sister, Gloria, was also entangled in her own scandal as her relationship with Nadejda Mikhailovna Mountbatten, the Marchioness of Milford Haven, was up front and centre during her custody battle over her daughter, “Little Gloria” in New York. The trial is known as one of the biggest and most scandalous custody battles in U.S. court history.
Some of the prominent themes throughout the novel are the need to be accepted and loved; the balance of rank and power within high society and the importance of family. Thelma in my view, is a strong character of principle who is completely devoted towards her family and makes all her choices by following her heart. Author Bryn Turnbull describes her quite exquisitely and does not miss a beat. Turnbull proliferates the importance of family throughout the novel, as made evident between the relationship with her twin sister, Gloria, and devotion towards her ex-step-daughter, Averill. Finally, Thelma’s previous marriages heavily influenced her decisions regarding her journey towards finding true love by which the author describes very eloquently all throughout the novel.
An excellent debut for author Bryn Turnbull, I could not put this novel down. If you enjoy reading about royal history with a bit of a twist, then this book is just for you.
The summer of 2020 will go down in history as one of the most difficult summers our generation has ever had to endure. Typically, my family and I spend our summers in Croatia, however, we (regrettably) decided not to go due to the pandemic. As you may recall in earlier blog posts, 2019 was a very difficult year for me after my uncle’s sudden passing and 2020 was supposed to be a breath of fresh air. Like many of you, I experienced both emotional highs and lows, but at some point I told myself to not give in to negative feelings and try to make the most of this summer.
Was this the worst summer to date? Looking back, it wasn’t really that bad at all. It was very strange in the sense where we did some “normal” things but within the realm of social distancing. In other words, I felt as if we were living in a parallel universe. But for the sake of our kids, we tried to keep things as “normal” as possible: attending Sunday misa (church) at our parish in Oakville, weekly soccer practice in Hamilton, getting together with friends at the park on play dates, going to the zoo, visiting my parents in Windsor and so on. M. and I went out for a few dinner dates as well. As strange as this summer was, we found things to do and made the most out of it the best way we know how: through good food, wine and company.
The holy trinity of food- steak, pizza and fish
In our household, we are definitely foodies and no one can describe it better than my oldest son, T. At his annual check-up at the doctor’s office recently, the doctor asked T. what his favourite food was and he proudly replied “steak!” The doctor was delightfully surprised and sort of taken aback that a six-year-old’s favourite food is steak done rare. Fortunately, our kids like everything we make, from mahune to fish. Growing up in a Dalmatian household, my mother would always ask what we would eat the next day; my aunt used to own a restaurant in Germany, so food is definitely in our genes.
When the lockdown started, my husband made it his life’s mission to re-create the perfect pizza Napolitana as pizza is his all-time favourite food. He spent hours researching the best outdoor pizza oven for it’s value, so low and behold he purchased an Ooni Koda Gas-Powered Outdoor pizza oven. He justified the expense by stating that within 6 months the oven will pay itself off and so far it definitely has (nb: we used to order Pizza Nova like every Friday). During the first few weeks of lockdown, my husband would spend his spare time visiting various local Italian bakeries to find the gold standard of pizza flour- Caputo 00. We even planted Roma, cherry and hothouse tomatoes as well as basil for our pizza in our garden this year. Gardening in of itself was a very worthwhile and memorable experience. We got so into pizza making that we spent hours watching different dough recipes on YouTube. After testing a few different recipes, we decided that the one from Vito Iacopelli’s YouTube channel was best for us. How it works is that I make the dough and M. makes the pizza. This recipe from Vito makes approximately nine 12-inch dough balls; we make about 3 pizzas a week so the rest I just store in the freezer. Weekly pizza making is definitely a family affair as our kids get involved too. Overall, pizza making has become a newfound family tradition for years to come.
Another tradition we started in our home was fish Sundays. We decided to bring the shores of Dalmatia closer to home by making seafood and blitva on Sundays after church. If we remember, we order brancin from the local market and M. grills it on the barbeque; but if we don’t get an order in on time, then its either salmon or scallops. Definitely a nice, light lunch to end the weekend paired of course with my favouriite Pošip from Saint Hills.
good things grow in ontario
The pandemic sort of forced us to “think outside of the box” without really going too far. Being a little bit of a wine snob (Brunello being my all-time favourite,) I must say that Ontario wines really surprised me this year. There truly is a pleortha of wineries, markets and restaurants to discover in the Niagara Escarpement and Niagara-on-the-Lake regions. In July, a few of us embarked on a small wine tour with dinner at Treadwell to end the day. Simply put, just being out on the property brings a sense of peace and tranquility. In a COVID world, many of the wineries and restaurants that I have visited have taken the proper steps to ensure safety but still provide an enjoyable experience. Some notable wines/wineries that really stood out to me and worth checking out are Five Rows, Domaine Queylus, Westcott Vineyards, Kabaca, Leaning Post and Pearl Morissette.
Pjesma i vino
Croatia has a long-standing history of producing wines dating back to Ancient Grecian times. In today’s world, Croatia is home to many world-class and unique wineries. Although Zlatan Plavac Sveta Nedelja Plavac Mali will always be my favourite Croatian wine, some notable favourites of mine that were imported from Croatia Unpacked are Korta Katerina’s Rosé and Plavac Mali, Saint Hills “Sv. Roko” Plavac Mali and “Posh” Pošip and finally Stina’s Plavac Mali. Try one of them and you may be pleasantly surprised!
krv nije voda – keeping it in the family
My parents always told me, friends may come and go, but in tough times, we always can rely on family. Although the last six months have been very difficult, there have been moments of complete joy. No one can ever take away that precious extra time I got to spend with my two little boys. This summer was definitely a memorable one, where we became closer as a family and got to explore a bit of Ontario and try some new things out. We visited my family in Windsor a few times and explored Windsor’s Via Italia. Daytrips to zoos were worthwhile, but I found with kids, sometimes the most simplest of activities are the most enjoyable. Walks throughout downtown Burlington over ice cream and exploring new splash pads and parks were probably the most memorable for us.
In summary, although this is a strange and albeit difficult time, the key to making memories are the ones with the people that matter most to you – your loved ones.
Disclaimer: This post was initially written in June. Although spas in Ontario have opened, not all services are available in stage 2 of the reopening process. However, these are great things to try when you want a spa day any day at home. Enjoy!
On Mother’s Day, a few ladies and I were supposed to go to Niagara-on-the-Lake for a spa day. We had booked it months in advance and were looking for some time away from our kids and husbands. Then the pandamic rolled around and decided to cancel most activities for 2020. Sadly, we did not go as planned as lockdown is still under effect, but I did not let it stop me from having a spa-day. So I decided to bring the spa home.
I want to start off by disclaiming that I am not an esthetician or a skin expert, but these are some of my “must-haves” for a spa day in the comfort of your own home.
1. Setting the mood
I think its really important to set the tone for your at-home spa day to feel completely relaxed. You may even want to “schedule” a time of when to do it around your kids’ schedule. I typically have my “spa nights” in the evening when my kids go to bed. I start off with diffusing some lavender oil or Balance essential oils (from Doterra) into my diffuser. I have the Petal Diffuser from Doterra which lights up. Sometimes I’ll even put on relaxing music to set the mood along with a glass of water with lemon slices or a glass of wine!
Wine pairing: Santa Margherita Pinot Grigio or Gérard Bertrand Côte des Roses Rosé.
Doterra Petal Diffuser
2. Face care
I love face masks but prior to putting one on, I like to give my face a good cleanse with a facial brush. There are tons of different facial brushes on the market at different price points but I like to keep it simple. I use the Dual Action Facial Brush by Quo Beauty and its available at Shoppers Drug Mart for $12.00. One side is for cleansing and the other side is for scrubbing, so I’ll start by cleansing my skin with a cleanser on the cleansing side and then scrub my pores on the other side.
Following my face scrub, I’ll proceed to placing on my facial mask. There are tons of different facial masks available on the market for every skin type. You can use the traditional face mask or a sheet mask, but this comes down to personal preference. I have used both and had the same results. I typically like a nourishing mask or a mask with hyaluronic acid. While I wait for mask to set, I’ll take a warm a bath or relax on my bed with a heating pad on.
Coconut facial mask from Sephora
5. Final steps
Following the face mask, I’ll place face serum and eye cream on my face and then use a rose quartz facial roller for lymphatic drainage. Whether or not it works, I find it a very relaxing way to complete this skin-care regimen. I then conclude my mini-facial with a good moisturizer. For my eyes I use AluminEye eye cream and HydraCalm face moisturizer by AlumierMD Canada. I just recently started using these products and I have already noticed a difference!
Growing up, I remember waking up to the sweet smell of my mother’s orahnjača (walnut roll). At bridal showers, I always gravitated towards the orahnjača on the desert table as it’s not too sweet, nor too heavy and it always goes nicely with a cup of coffee. However, my mother’s recipe is my all-time favourite.
My mother always insists on baking it first thing in the morning to let it rise properly. Whether or not that’s an old Croatian wives’ tale, or if my mother made that up, I can say with confidence that I baked this recipe in an afternoon with no issues. It didn’t turn out perfect and again (as noted in my previous post about sirnica/Easter bread,) I had to decipher my mother’s recipe as she only provided me with approximate steps and “about” increments. With some investigative work, a few FaceTime calls and a million questions to my mom, I was able to figure out her orahnjača recipe!
Ingredients:
Part 1:
4-5 cups of bread flour (start with 4 cups and add more as needed)
1 cup of granulated sugar
1/2 cup of unsalted butter
2 tbsp of active dry yeast + 1 tbsp of sugar in 1 cup of warm water
pinch of salt
5 yolks (separate egg whites and place in fridge for part 2)
1 whole egg
1 cup of warm milk
1 shot of Jamaican rum
grated lemon zest and juice of 1 lemon
Part 2 (filling):
1/2 cup of sugar
egg whites from previous part
3/4 of a pound of ground walnuts
1 shot of espresso
Directions:
Using the paddle attachment of your stand-up mixer, cream the sugar and unsalted butter together on a low speed.
Add egg yolks, one by one, while mixing.
Add the whole egg.
Slowly add your flour on a low speed (I use speed 1 on my Cuisanart mixer).
Slowly pour the warm milk in while mixing.
Slowly add your yeast mixture in.
Add the rum and lemon zest and juice to the mixture.
Once thoroughly mixed, switch the paddle attachment and insert your dough hook and continue on a low speed (at this point I turn the dial to speed 2) until the mixture becomes a little tacky (you don’t want it to be too sticky or too firm; so add more flour or warm milk as needed).
Once the dough has thoroughly mixed, take the dough and knead it on a floured surface for about 10-15 minutes into a ball.
Place the dough ball into a large bowl, cover with a wash cloth and let rest in a warm oven for about 2 hours.
Remove dough from oven and on a floured surface, take your dough and cut into two halves. Take both parts and roll into two separate dough balls. Then place the dough balls into two separate bowls, cover each bowl with wash cloths and place in warm oven again to rise for about 30 minutes.
While dough is rising for the second time; take your ingredients from part two (sugar, egg whites, ground walnuts and espresso) into a medium-size bowl and mix with a spatula.
Remove dough from oven after it has risen for a second time.
Preheat your oven to 325 degrees C.
Roll each dough ball into a long flat oval or rectangle (does not have to be a perfect shape)
Then with a spatula, spread the walnut mixture on your flattened dough.
Gently take the edge of the dough and roll (you can also place the dough on a table cloth and pull the table cloth to roll it).
Repeat steps 16-17 on the second dough ball.
Place each roll into a bread pan OR you can place each roll on a cookie sheet.
Cover your bread pans or cookie sheet with tin foil and place in the oven and bake covered for 30 minutes.
After 30 minutes, remove the foil and continue baking until the top is golden brown (use a toothpick test to determine if it is done baking), for an additional 25-35 minutes.
Remove from oven and let rest for on a cooling rack about 30 minutes to an hour as the mixture is hot and can leak if you cut right away.
I felt exhausted from homeschooling the kids, trying to get some work done as well as regular chores and I just couldn’t handle it anymore. I buried my head into a sea of tears and had to walk away into a different room in my home to be alone. I felt guilty for doing this, because I did not want my boys to see me cry. My husband told the kids that mommy needs a few minutes to herself.
Before the pandemic, if I was ever stressed, I would go to the gym or go out to a local coffee shop to diffuse, but due to the current lock-down there is no where to go, which adds an extra layer of stress.
I never in my life imagined that we would live through a global pandemic, yet here we are.
It is currently week 6 of the lock-down here in Ontario and everyone is starting to feel it in different ways.
Up until this point, I was making the most of this situation. I embraced the idea of slowing down. I even wrote a blog post about it. I started to do things that I normally wouldn’t have time to do: participating in the wave of baking bread and sharing it on Instagram; drinking fancy wines on the weekends, pinning arts and crafts ides for the kids on Pinterest and purged a lot of old clothes and toys for donation. I started watching foreign dramas on Netflix for fun and even contemplated downloading TikTok and get in on the bandwagon, but changed my mind because I am too old for it.
For the first time in years, I had a break from rushing home from work to soccer practice and I really enjoyed this idea and yet, time went on…..
There is still that fear of catching the virus itself. As my oldest has asthma and was born with a heart condition, I am extra vigilant. I barely leave the house and if I do, its just for necessities. On top of all this, I still worry that my husband may bring it home from the hospital where he works at.
As the lock-down here in Ontario continues on, it started to hit close to home for me. Knowing that it will be months until I see my parents, my friends and colleagues again started to weigh heavily on me. 2020 was supposed to be our year. Our family has been through so much over the past 6 years- premature birth, high-risk pregnancy, my husband’s residency and a sudden family death to name a few. I know, many of you had plans cancelled too, so we aren’t alone, but I just felt like this was a big and crewel joke.
Now, I am starting to worry about the financial implications of the pandemic too. Like you, many questions are going through my mind: will there be massive job loss? Will our taxes increase to support these benefits? Will we ever recover from this?
This created a perfect storm which culminated in me breaking down on Friday night. However, this in of itself brought a huge relief as I let all that fear, worry and guilt out. I’ve been positive throughout this whole process and on Friday night, I was extremely overwhelmed. Trying to balance everything at home just got to me and I reached my boiling point. I needed that release.
What I can tell you is that I am learning more about myself and how to cope with such situations. This time has also given me time to self-reflect and I gained a newperspective. My grandfather lived through three wars, Spanish flu and communism, yet he lived a wonderful life and passed away at age 101. He endured and saw a lot in his lifetime but he survived. He had hope and appreciation for life.
What I have found helpful during these times is reflection and mindfulness. I have been journaling since I was 8 years old and I have found journaling so helpful during this time. Staying connected on social media has become a blessing and watching all those good memes (the guy toasting to himself in the washroom is my all time favourite). Self-care and taking breaks from homeschooling and work is so important too, I’ve had a few nights where I just had a face mask on while reading a good book. I also find exercise quite therapeutic.
My advice if you are feeling overwhelmed, upset or frustrated, take that energy and turn it into something positive. Find your niche. Find something that sparks you, that makes you feel like you, no matter how difficult the circumstances are.
If you feel overwhelmed like I do, I want you to know, it’s okay, because you are not alone. It’s okay to cry and let your feelings out. We are all feeling this and is even getting to the strongest of us……and it’s okay to feel vulnerable. I keep reminding myself to count my blessings and that this will not last forever.
As I have learned with experience, the human spirit is resilient, but this is a choice: you have to choose that path and firmly believe in it because your mindset is what will get you through this.
Easter is considered to be the most important holiday in the Catholic faith. For Croatians specifically, Easter is also about tradition. On Holy Saturday, Croatians (and most Eastern Europeans for that matter) will bring baskets of sweet bread and eggs to be blessed during mass. Some people also add smoked meats and green onions to their baskets. This tradition of bringing baskets to be blessed dates back generations.
Usually, we go to my family’s home in Windsor for Easter, however due to the pandemic this won’t be possible. Perhaps it was a sign for me to learn how to bake my mom’s Easter bread and carry the tradition on. The Easter bread my mom bakes is a sweet bread, known as sirnica or pinca. This sweet bread is typically baked in Dalmatia, but other regions in Croatia have their own versions of this Easter bread. Some put rum in theirs and others raisins. My mother-in-law who is from Gorski Kotar makes her Easter bread with a ham in it. This particular recipe that I am going to share with you is the one that my mom makes every Easter. My mother learned this recipe from her sister-in-law, my Strina (aunt).
Most Croatian-Canadians will understand when I say that figuring out my mom’s Easter bread recipe is like a solving a puzzle. No directions and all approximate amounts (od prilike) for the ingredients or po potrebi (as needed). With the help of FaceTime and a lot of questions on my end, I was able to figure out this family recipe. Overall, I was quite pleased with the results, despite the fact that a part of the bottom tore. The bread was nice and soft and reminded me so much of home.
3 loaves | 2 hours prep time | 3 hours total
Ingredients:
8 egg yolks
1 cup sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 packet of Dr. Oetker vanilla sugar
Lemon grinds from 1 lemon
Juice from 1 lemon
2 teaspoons Fleischmann’s active dry yeast (mix with ¼ cup warm water and 1 teaspoon granulated sugar)
¾ cup vegetable oil
1 cup warm milk
Approximately 2-4 cups of all-purpose flour (note: my mom’s recipe just says flour as needed, so I kept adding flour into the mixer until it formed a dough).
1 egg for glazing
Cooking spray for pans
Directions:
1. Follow the directions for the yeast (mix ¼ cup warm water and 1 teaspoon granulated sugar and let stand for 10 minutes).
2. Mix the yolks with cup sugar; add the vanilla extract and packet of the vanilla sugar. Mix for a few minutes.
3. Add the yeast mixture and continue mixing.
4. Add grinds from lemon and lemon juice while mixing.
5. Add the cup of warm milk while mixing.
6. Add the oil.
7. Add the flour slowly to the mixer until it forms a dough. Then with a wooden spoon, knead the dough into a ball.
8. Take your dough, cover with a kitchen cloth and let it rest in a warm oven to rise for approximately 1 and a half hours.
9. Once dough has risen, remove from warm oven. Punch the dough and knead on a floured surface or use a wooden spoon to knead the dough (I had to knead the dough, my mom uses a wooden spoon so I would say do what is easier for you).
10. Preheat oven to 275 degrees Fahrenheit (or 280 depending on your oven).
11. Divide dough into three round cake pans, or corning ware bowls, or stainless steel bowls (note: if your pans are not non-stick, then spray generously with PAM or whatever cooking spray you have available)
12. Crack one egg and scramble, with a brush, glaze the three loaves.
13. Place pans into oven and bake at 275 (or 280) for 15 minutes; then increase heat to 310 (or 325 depending on your oven) for 40-45 minutes.
14. Remove from oven and place loaves on cooling racks to cool.
Notes: *I didn’t want to make as many loaves as my mom, so I cut the ingredients in half and still worked beautifully. I filled two small corning ware dishes and one normal sized corning-ware dish.
**I think it would be easier in non-stick cake pans as they don’t stick; in hindsight, I should have placed mine in bread pans but my mom insists it has to be a round shape as that is traditional. As I did not have cake pans available she said corning ware dishes would be fine. I didn’t have cooking spray available, so I brushed oil on it and some of it stuck but overall it was still good! ***My mom uses a hand mixer but I used my Cuisanart stand-mixer and it turned out fine.
We are now entering week three of self-isolation here in Ontario, Canada and I must say that despite all the insecurity and fear surrounding the pandemic, for the first time in a long time I feel peace.
I feel peace away from the traffic.
I feel peace in the neighbourhoods and in the streets.
I feel energized.
For the first time in a long time, I don’t have to worry about rushing home from work to get supper ready on time. I don’t have to worry about planning my day around the kids’ activities and worrying if I’ll be on time or not because of the traffic. I am no longer exhausted from staying up late at night to finish chores as I have a bit more extra time during the day. I can finally enjoy that cup of coffee warm in my own home, in my pyjamas while cuddling with one of the kids. It’s great. Although the implications of the pandemic are scary, I feel somewhat at peace knowing I am at home, safe, with my little ones. My anxiety levels have definitely decreased knowing that we don’t have to rush to go anywhere. It’s a welcoming break.
I must say, its not perfect: homeschooling the boys has not been easy; we have meltdowns and we have tantrums. Sometimes they just aren’t that into it. I am currently in the process of trying to get set-up to work from home. Like everything though, I’ll figure it out. With that being said, the kids’ bedtime routines have been a bit off, and I am working on creating some type of routine. But overall, the big reward to all this is that we are spending more time together. We are doing things that we would not otherwise have had the time to do and we are starting to get creative. We spend time exploring the backyard in search for nature’s treasures. We started baking almost everyday and it’s been a delight and sense of pride for the kids. I made bread for the first time and a decent Croatian apple strudel. Not bad for a novice baker.
In an odd way, the pandemic has taught me a bit more about myself and how stressed I really was. Trying to balance a career and motherhood is exhausting. But for the first time in a long time, I feel as if I am finally in tune with myself. I adapted a more gentler and slower lifestyle, which is the complete 360 to the life that I was used to. I found that since the pandemic started, I am exercising even more, despite the fact that the gym is closed. The fact that I am getting an extra hour or two of sleep as well is another added benefit. In addition, with malls being closed and whatnot, I found that I am less tempted to shop and waste money unnecessarily. Since being at home, I’ve adapted a minimalist wardrobe and I actually think its suitable for me and my taste. Perhaps living simply is the way to go.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we in Canada are basically adjusting to a new way of life as we navigate through self-isolation. Because of the pandemic, most non-essential services are closed, including schools and day cares. In Ontario, school is currently postponed until April 5th (although this is subject to change) and now parents are left with the seemingly daunting task of home schooling their kids. Last week was a bit of an experiment in terms of home schooling the boys as I tried out different methods to see what works best for them. I was pretty relaxed considering I don’t believe in forcing kids to do something when they really don’t want to. Furthermore, as it was technically their March break, I didn’t want to push them too much with home schooling.
What I learned from that first week is that my boys need structure and simply put, thrive under a structured day. I also learned that I have to tailor their learning based on their age and needs: T, my oldest, is in senior kindergarten and can start to recognize words , read books for his age and is really good at math. Whereas, my youngest I, is 3 and a half; he knows his 123s and ABCs and loves to draw.
Here is a little glimpse of our homeschooling routine.
Please note, what works for my kids does not necessarily mean it will work for you as every child is different. In addition, I am not an educator (although I did get into teacher’s college but rejected the offer because I got my first job in Toronto and went there instead) so I am basically putting together what works for my kids from the resources I have available to me. My educational background is in Political Science (I have an MA and a BA) in case you are wondering (and no I won’t be teaching them public policy or the foundations of classical political thought yet!)
The key is being in tune with
their needs and following their cues.
The first thing I did was create a schedule for the boys and placed in on the fridge directly across the island where we eat so its in plain view. I figure the island is the best place to conduct our home school as they can enjoy a snack while learning plus we have a lot of space. With that being said, the schedule is in no way strict, its more of a guideline for me and if they aren’t into it, we move on to the next activity or have some free play time instead.
Play is so important for kids as it promotes their development and sense of imagination.
Based on my research, preschoolers and kindergarteners only require 1-2 hours of learning a day. I also learned early on that you can’t force them to learn as you do not want to create a negative association with learning. At this age learning just needs to be fun!
We typically start our day like we would on a normal school day: we get dressed, we brush our teeth and we eat breakfast and get started with our day. Usually I will start Kumon first as my oldest is in Kumon and his teacher gave him work sheets until the end of April. For my youngest, I found a Kumon workbook at Costco called Are You Ready for Kindergarten? so that he too can try out Kumon.
My biggest challenge is since I am at home while M works, I have to home school them at different times.
This can be challenging homeschooling two kids who are at different levels. What I started doing is that I’ll focus one activity with one child and then switch. So far this method has been working for me, although some days it can be challenging as one may be more interested in his toys for instance.
I also found that there are a lot of great resources available online for children, such as the Scholastic Remote Learning and the School Age Program with TVO. I really like the Scholastic Remote Learning because every day there is a new lesson theme (i.e. bears) and comes with free printable worksheets. There is a quiz at the end of each lesson so it gives us time to recap what we learned for that day. Both my boys seem to enjoy this program the most. My cousin, who happens to be a teacher, set my kids up with a Raz-Kids account to get them ahead with reading. She tailored the program to each of their levels. I also downloaded the Math Story Time App and Go Noodle on the iPad.
With that being said, I try to stick to the guidelines surrounding screen time as set out by the Canadian Pediatric Society as much as possible. I also find that if my kids have too much screen time, they become really wired (as do we when we spend too much time in front of a screen!) This is where free play and going outside comes in handy.
Our kids need a break from all this stimulation (be it from technology and what not) and sometimes we just need to let kids be kids!
…so we go outside, be it in the backyard to run around and play soccer, or to take the scooters out for a scooter ride (since parks are off limits due to the pandemic). Fresh air is good for everyone and getting my boys moving makes for a much happier day. Going outside promotes both physical activity and wellness in children.
I decided to create an arts & crafts board on Pinterest to get ideas on how to help the boys with their fine-motor skills. For instance, tomorrow we will make crocodiles out of green popsicle sticks. Considering that Easter is around the corner, we’ll make some Easter-themed art such as paper plate bunny masks. I also love to get my kids involved with baking. It’s a good opportunity for them to learn basics such as measuring and counting. Last week we baked muffins and earlier this week we made Croatian crepes (palačinke). I happened to have a gingerbread cookie set left over from Christmas so we spent one morning decorating gingerbread men. The kids are always so proud with how tasty their creations turn out!
Luckily, I stocked up on flash cards and workbooks from Costco last summer so we can work on different things such as basic math, counting, alphabets and sight words. My oldest can read and is slowly starting to write words, but my youngest still knows only his 123s and ABCs, so I would sit specifically with him and go through each flash card together.
Photo by Skitterphoto on Pexels.com
My oldest son’s kindergarten teacher also posts different activities to do at home on the classroom Twitter account, so I get both my boys involved. Today’s activity was to take out utensils and create patters and do some basic addition and subtraction. Tomorrow we will have an alphabet scavenger hunt where we will look for letters and then put together to create words.
By that point, it brings us to about noon (keep in mind I throw a snack or two in during the morning learning fun). After lunch I basically just let them unwind or play. My youngest still naps so I try to get him to sleep while the other will watch a show or play quietly. The afternoon is also a good time to read a book or two. Fortunately, my boys love being read to so every day we pick a different book to read. Other than that, the afternoon is pretty open and I basically let them control what they want to do for that part of the day.
As each day passes, I find that I am learning more and more about them; what their likes and dislikes are; what their strengths are and what skills we need to work on. I also have a new-found appreciation for teachers and early childhood educators.
Overall, I learned the key is to have fun otherwise it won’t work. Home schooling, when done right, can be a great experience for everyone.
Since the World Health Organization declared the COVID-19 virus a pandemic, I was silent. I did not know how to process this information. A few of my close friends described this as a real-life “Contagion.” I am not a medical expert, but what I do know is that the worst here in Canada is yet to come. I also know that it will be a very long time until things are back to “normal” again. Like many of us, I entered a state of shock.
Photo by YURI MANEI on Pexels.com
The hardest thing for me to process was watching my husband’s demeanor change over a course of a few days. My husband is a respirologist and like his colleagues, has been monitoring the situation quite closely. When I asked him what this all meant, he looked at me and said that life will be different for a very long time. The events happening throughout China and Italy paint a grim picture of what could happen if we don’t act fast to “flatten the curve.” Within a week the number of positive cases in Canada have jumped to just over 1000.
Not only are there an array of health issues and questions surrounding the management of the virus itself, but it touches upon so many other facets of life: the economy, the workforce, the way government works, education and overall, our lifestyle. Schools across the country and around the world have closed down. Employers are asking their employees to work from home if at all possible. Places of worship have asked their membership to pray/reflect at home; restaurants and bars have closed down, although some are remaining open for take out or curb-side pick-up just to keep afloat. People are asked to self-isolate and keep their distance until medical professionals and governments can come up with a solution. Life as we know it has stopped for a while so we can self-isolate in hopes of containing the virus and give the medical system some more time.
Probably the hardest thing society will face is not just the virus itself, but the financial implications that come with it. In addition to that, I fear a mental health crisis is to follow.
Humans are social beings and I know from experience that being on lock down is difficult. I’ve had some experience on being on some sort of lock down: my oldest son was born prematurely and the first winter home we could not leave the house (except for medical appointments) as his immunity was compromised. I remember screening all visitors for colds because a common cold could harm his premature lungs. He obtained an antibody shot called Synagis every month during cold and flu season to protect him against RSV. As parents, our goal was to keep him safe.
When I was pregnant with my youngest child, I experienced a form of isolation again. I was considered high risk due to my history of preterm labour. This meant extra medical appointments and physical restrictions. I was placed on strict bed-rest for 2 months following a one-week hospital stay for short cervix. I remember how difficult those times were- not being able to go out, not being able to go to work, to pick up my toddler son, I couldn’t do anything….it was hard, but I had one goal in mind: to keep my pregnancy safe and deliver to my baby to full-term.
You see, there is a common theme here with this isolation- being safe. In this present moment, our duty is to keep our loved ones safe; to protect our grandparents, our parents and our children. It’s our duty to stay home and to protect the elderly and the vulnerable. Our governments are asking us to do this and our medical professionals implore us to do it. I don’t have a crystal ball, nor will I speculate on what is to come, but I do have hope that we can get through this. It won’t be easy, but we have to stay positive.
It is clear, the effects of this pandemic will last years to come. I’m sure our children and our children’s children will be learning about it in their history classes. But as history has shown us, humans are resilient, time and time again. We will grow strong and learn from this experience. I am sure the best and the brightest are working on different treatments and solutions to bring this pandemic to an end, because there is hope.
We all have a role to play in this, by self-isolating, by helping the elderly, by being connected with our loved ones virtually, by staying home when you are sick and by washing our hands. In the meantime, lets show our gratitude to all of those on the front lines: doctors, nurses, pharmacists, lab technicians, hospital staff, custodians, grocery store workers, delivery drivers and so on. Together we can overcome this virus. Together we are stronger, for our future depends on it.
“Happiness is not something ready made. It comes from your own actions.” – Dalai Lama
What is happiness?
The past few years I’ve been on a journey to figure out what true happiness is. Over the course of 7 years I’ve went through some pretty big transitions from being me -> to wife -> to mother. If you think about it, that’s a lot change a person can endure in such a short period. You go through many different changes: the stages of pregnancy, the hormones and sleep deprivation that comes with it, the stress of finances, parenthood, work-life balance and so on. These challenges can certainly catch up to you!
For a while I was not feeling like myself and really started to ask myself some hard questions about life, namely what is true happiness.
I’ve definitely endured some of my own challenges which affected my perspective on life. We live in a world where things are becoming more and more materialistic, where we spend more time on our phones and less time talking to each other. We are surrounded by images that mislead us to believe what happiness is – a designer handbag, a luxurious vacation abroad, a Friday night out and so on. It seems as if today’s society is defining happiness by the amount of money we make or the the type of car we are driving. Over the past few years this topic started to fascinate me and as a result, I started writing about it more and more. It’s no wonder why so many young people are depressed- we have created for ourselves false expectations because of what we see on social media and television.
Following my uncle’s sudden passing last April, I started to go through the many stages of grief and began questioning my own purpose in life and what is truly important. I slowly began to realize that happiness isn’t the designer handbag I am wearing, but the people that surround me and the one life I have to embrace.
After my uncle’s death, I started to go through every memory I had of him because I did not want to forget anything about him. It then dawned upon me what the true meaning of happiness was because he knew the secret. What was it? He valued life and lived it to the fullest. He was kind to every person he met and valued each person for who they were. He was extremely generous because he enjoyed seeing people happy. He was always one of the first people to help- be it on a house renovation, a car repair, or volunteering at an event, he was always the first in line and he enjoyed it. He laughed, enjoyed dining at fine restaurants and was very sociable. He had an infectious smile that everyone loved. My uncle lived for today, he lived for the moment. In my homily dedicated to him I stated that “our world would be a much better place if we were more like him.”
The months following his passing, I started to realize what is truly important in life. I realized that a lot of these material things that surround us, don’t really matter. They are just that- things. You can have a lot of things, but if you aren’t surrounded by people who love you, then you don’t know what true happiness is. If you don’t have anyone to create memories with, then you are losing out on happiness. If you don’t do things that are fulfilling, then you can’t find happiness.
I began reflecting with my kids every night the good parts of our day and the bad parts of our day. We would discuss some things we enjoyed doing, and if we made poor choices, how we could have handled the situation differently. I started to laugh more when they goofed around before bed time, because I realized that stressing out before bed time is not worth it. Sometimes parenting can be hard- there are highs and lows, so I started to tell myself to enjoy this time because time is going by too fast!
I slowly started to realize it’s okay to not have the “most expensive” wardrobe or the “perfect” body and instead, to embrace the one I have. Now, I am thankful for my health- I feed my body with healthy food and exercise because that is what makes me feel good on the inside! I also enjoy a nice glass of red wine on the weekends (that’s what my uncle used to do!) and have a glass with my husband or some friends.
I started to live my life a bit more slowly. I began to count my blessings and not focus on my shortcomings. I slowly started to accept what I do have – and what I have is precious.
You see, my uncle knew the secret to happiness and lived it every day. I realized that the secret to happiness is CHOICE. You can create your own happiness. You can continue to be miserable, to complain, to loathe and to be jealous of others….or you can choose to be happy. You can appreciate the things you already have, embrace the good moments and reflect from the bad.
I have chosen to live my life in happiness. What will you choose?
Although the implications of the pandemic are scary, I feel somewhat at peace knowing I am at home, safe, with my little ones. My anxiety levels have definitely decreased knowing that we don’t have to rush to go anywhere. It’s a welcoming break.
