Now

Margot is watching Baby Art on DVD while playing with puzzle pieces.

She just did pipi in her waffle underwear. She told me by shouting "Oh no!". She sat patiently on the potty afterwards. She wiped herself and threw the toilet paper into the toilet. We flushed together. "Bye bye pipi". My plan was to toilet train her this summer. I have a few library books about the whole process. Not a thrilling read... I'm a bit slack and inconsistent with this whole potty-training business. Perhaps I should have a plan.

I'm drinking tea. My morning cup of orange pekoe with a dash of milk.

On my mind this moment (also, what I've been googling all morning):
-bed ideas for Margot. I love the idea of a low bed (futon-style). Toddler beds are cute, but they're not big enough! A bed, especially for a child, is a place where you can lay your dolls and teddies, have a bunch of books sprawled across it and lie sideways if you wish. She's still in her crib and enjoys it, but I'm itching to move things around in her room.
-buying a pair of Madrid Birks. I haven't bought new sandals in a really long time. Also, coincidentally, I've talked to too many people in the last few weeks who have bought newBirks. I'm jealous and I want my new pair. It's summer and my feet want to walk around in new sandals.

I'm also thinking about my next knitting projects.

And should I go to the grocery store now or in an hour? My brief list is made. Tugging Margot to a grocery store is an in and out business. No meandering around the aisles and reading ingredient lists.

Iceland - Part 3: Parenting

While in Reykjavik, we spent a lot of time lounging in parks and people watching. That's the way to savour a city's culture. Being a teacher and a parent, I have always had an interest in how kids are raised in different countries

Here are my observations.
-Many young parents (mid 20's)
-Lots of old-fashioned prams (the unpractical, clunky ones). Baby carriers are not used at all.
-Many fathers alone with their infants/ toddlers,/preschoolers, pushing prams or holding hands.
-Young children (elementary schools), biking by themselves by a major road, without an adult present. As our walking guide told us : "that is a common site in Reykjavik. Every one looks out for one another."
-Children playing in the streets until 10pm is common (the sun never sets in the summer) Our rental apartment was in a residential neighbourhood and we heard and saw children singing, kicking the soccer ball around and drawing on the sidewalks.
-Very child friendly society: spacious baby diaper rooms in small bistros, cafés, chic restaurants. High chairs (with blankets) were found everywhere. Most bookstores, info centres, cafés had an Ikea-style child-friendly area.

schoolyard

Here are some facts I found out:
-Paternity leave is compulsory in Iceland. The 9-month parental leave is divided as such: 3 months for mothers, 3 months for fathers and 3 months to be split anyway they wish. It is more equalitarian than Quebec's parental leave (the most parent-friendly leave in North America) as it obliges the father to take  those months caring for his child. They receive 80% of their salary.
-Birth rate is high: 2.14 child per woman  (in 2009).
-University is free (except for books and registration fees). Not only to Icelanders, but to any foreigner who wishes to study at an Icelandic university (as long as they can speak/read/understand Icelandic).
-Common for babies to sleep outside in their strollers. Check it out.

 random mural we stumbled upon:

For another view of European parenting, I encourage you to check out my lovely Bex's blog
In one of her most recent posts, she observes the following:
French parenting
As we all ate, drank and were merry, the kids (6 minibeasts in total) roamed around us. Every now and again there were tears and kisses were required, but generally apart from a background of happy giggling, we were in essence two separate parties. My impression, and I know you'll correct me if I'm wrong, is that in Britain and perhaps elsewhere, children are sent to bed early (by my standards...) and the evening is adult time. The French don't seem to separate adult time and kid time in quite the same way. The French are much more into family time. The kids are there. Just around. I like this approach. It suits me. We stayed until gone midnight (hooray, how I miss late nights), and the kids happily entertained themselves until then. All except Owen, who crawled into my lap at about 11pm, snuggled up and fell asleep. Good parenting? Bad parenting? The kids had a whale of a time and I had a lovely cuddle. My kind of parenting.

Iceland Part 2: Nature

The highlight of our trip was visiting the highlands on a super jeep and enjoying a 2.5-hour hike and hot spring dip in Laundmannalaugar (pronounced: land-manna-lawyer).

There's magic around every bend: the rocks, the lava, the colours, the flora, the water, the air. Iceland is magical! And, yes,  I do believe that elves live in that part of the country.

Our hike gave us a taste of what we will do when (not if) we come back. Hiking was majestic, friendly and full of wonder. Although we were alone, I felt great serenity and in presence of caring magical creatures.

The trail we did was the Greænagil (Green Valley) and was very hiker-friendly by having little white posts along the way (to make sure that you're on the right track). We walked through snow, lava field, water, moss.

Longest Day of the Year

Happy Summer!

Wishing you a season of fresh perspectives

playfulness,

and cold water,

After experiencing the Icelandic 22 (more like 24!)- hour daylight (or not quite nighttime), I'm happy to be in a country that has a reasonable amount of light in the summer. At least I can see the moon and stars in the dark sky!

Iceland - Part 1: Quirks

Educational murals:

Tasty pastries (Kleina)

Numerous outdoor sculptures in Reykjavik:

Catchy signs a little bit everywhere. This is one for the Laundromat Café which was awesome place!

Fitting right in. (More about fashion in the future)

Elf house (it really is!) in the city. "Is there anyone home?"

Pre-Bedtime Fun

Days are long when you wake up at 6:30am.
After dinner, we go through "pre-bedtime" angst. It's important to note that we eat dinner quite early, between 5:00 and 5:30pm, and that Margot hits the sack between 7:00 and 7:30pm.
What to do during those (sometimes long!) in-between hours? Sometimes referred to as "witching hour(s)". We try to have missions once or twice a week: go to the library to pick up/drop off books or go the store to buy something very specific. Other times, we stick around the house: go to the park, water the garden, etc.
My rule is: when the weather's nice, go outside!

This week, we discovered a nearby "rock" beach nearby. We often go to that park (Parc Moussette), but mostly stick to the grassy area where Margot has fun picking up pinecones and kicking(and throwing)the soccer ball.  But, this Tuesday evening, we ventured beyond the green, towards the water. Followed the rocky steps towards the river to discover a world ruled by families pickniking, young adults playing guitar, cyclists taking a break, individuals in their lawn chair reading a good book. A whole world was out there just relaxing and enjoying the breeze, the sunset and the geese flying by. We joined in.

Margot learned how to skip pebbles and rocks and inevitably got her shoes wet!

Moments

It's June. I began my blog on June 1st last year.
Here are a few random pics of the last few weeks/days.


If only my students knew who was marking their final exams...

Our new hired lil' lady:

(yes, she's "painting" the deck with water)

Here's a good way to spend a summer evening (pre-bedtime):

The Oasis Apple Juice poster girl in action:

Once you get the hang of it, sliding is fun!

A dragonfly said "hello" while on our hike last weekend: 

Showing Margot that when we throw a twig into the stream, it appears on the other side. We're watching for it!

Father and daughter looking for fish. And yes, there was tons!!!

Dressage competition at the Equestrian Park. An event in which I had no clue what was going on, but it was a fun and interesting (and free) outing on a sunny Sunday morning. Margot was more interested in the dogs in the audience.