Le petit prince

Simone a eu le grand plaisir d'être spectatrice lors d'un très beau spectacle. Les élèves de l'école catholique ont présenté "Le petit prince".

Bon, d'accord, ce n'était que des enfants qui jouaient dans la pièce. Et il y a eu plusieurs problèmes techniques. Mais l'actrice qui jouait le rôle principal avait une voix du tonnerre - et elle réussit à ne pas vendre la mèche, même lorsque certains de ses co-équipiers oublièrent leur texte ni même lorsque la musique changea au beau milieu d'une des chansons de son répertoire. Et la mort du petit prince manqua beaucoup de réalisme car au lieu d'utiliser une bande sonore pour faire rire les étoiles, le petit prince a lui-même rigolé. Un corps qui bouge pour rire, ça ne fait pas très sérieux... Enfin, cela a empêché Simone de pleurer à larmes chaudes donc il ne faudrait pas trop se plaindre!

La chorale, un groupe de fille bien dévouée, a chanté pendant plus d'une heure et pas une fausse note n'a été jouée. Il faut dire que Simone avait eu peur de ne pas rester réveillée pendant tout le spectacle. Elle qui a l'habitude d'aller au lit à 19h30, en train de regarder un spectacle qui ne fait que débuter à 19h? Et au beau milieu d'une tempête de neige de surcroit? Du jamais vu!

What's your child's name?

The 11 year old had two siblings who attended the same high school that her middle school is located in. While registrations for the middle school have not taken place yet, the 11 year old was definitely antsy to visit the place.

"What do you mean, you can't take me to the open house on Thursday?" She moaned.

"Oh, for crying out loud!" Protested Simone. "You know that school! Both your brothers went there and you've been in several shows that took place there. What do you need to go and visit the place for?"

"Does that mean you'll take me?" the 11 year old asked hopefully.

"It means nothing," Simone assured her. Then she relented after seeing the disappointment on her daughter's face. "Okay, I'll make an appointment to register you at the school and you can come with me to visit the place. How's that?"

The child nodded eagerly, her good humour restored with this simple concession.

So Simone called the school to make an appointment with the guidance counsellor.

"What's your child's name?" The man answering the phone asked.

Simone told him.

"Oh. Ah." The man stumbled over his words. "Ha, ha!" He gulped audibly. "Uh, hi!" He said.

Oh boy... Another one that does not bode well... Maybe apples for the teachers will help...

Les exercices...

Le petit B a reçu une série d'exercices à faire tous les jours. En effet, une ergothérapeute et venu le voir et lui a montré quoi faire.

D'abord, il faut s'assoir sur le gros ballon rouge de Maman et sauter en chantant une chanson. Le ballon est trop grand pour le petit B et Simone a beaucoup de mal à le tenir assis dessus. Donc Simone s'installe la première sur le ballon et, ensemble, ils sautent au rythme de la chanson de l'alphabet.

Ensuite, il y a une série d'étirements à faire. Simone compte de un à dix et joue avec les doigts, les poignets, les coudes, les épaules et les hanches de son fils. Le petit B adore cet exercice et le demande souvent.

En troisième lieu, le petit B s'allonge sur le ventre pendant que sa mère fait rouler le gros ballon rouge sur son dos. "Aujourd'hui, nous allons préparer de la pizza. Je fais rouler le fromage sur la pizza. Tu es prêt?" Inévitablement, le petit B dit oui!

Pour finir, Simone lui chante une berçeuse alors qu'il se place sur le ventre sur le ballon. Cette série d'exercices est sensée calmer le petit B avant de sortir de la maison. C'est une autre étape à franchir avant d'ouvrir la porte d'entrée mais Simone espère que les résultats en feront raison...

Graduating!

In the change room of the pool, he changed into his swimsuit easily enough but little B seemed quite concerned.

"You change, Naan-naan," he told Simone.

Simone patiently explained that no, she would not be putting on her swimsuit today. Today, little B was going by himself in the pool with his teacher. He frowned at this revelation but went along gamely.

"Are you going to take a shower?" Simone asked as they passed the spraying water before entering the pool. She did get close enough to turn on the warmer water for one of the showers but since she was fully clothed, she did not get under the shower as she usually did. Little B responded to this by scaling the wall directly opposite to the showers in an effort to avoid them to altogether.

While they waited for the swimming instructor's arrival, little B climbed onto Simone's lap. "Hmmm," she thought. "This does not bode well." Usually, the little guy sat down next to her.

But when his teacher arrived, little B bounced up and said, "Hi!"

"Go watch from the viewing area," hissed the teacher to Simone. The prospect of 30 free minutes was enticement plenty for Simone to hightail it out of the pool area. She sweated with the other parents in the sauna area... uh, the viewing area of the pool and thoroughly enjoyed watching the little guy. He did so well!

His teacher confirmed it when Simone went to pick little B up. "He can register for preschool A," she told Simone.

And Simone had needlessly feared that they'd be stuck in preschool preparation for yet another session... Little B sure showed her!

Le chien commence à comprendre

Ce que le chien de Simone comprend ne peut pas être certain, bien sur, mais chose certaine, il s'assagit.

Hier en soirée, lors de leur promenade quotidienne, Simone et son chien ont rencontré d'autres animaux à quatre pattes. Il faut dire qu'il faisait longtemps qu'ils n'avaient rencontré qui que ce soit: l'hiver n'est pas une saison propice aux promenades, de toute évidence. Mais hier voilà que Simone rencontra une femme avec son chien.

Eliot, comme d'habitude, s'est mis à aboyer dès qu'il aperçut l'autre bête.

"Assis!" fit Simone.

À regret et très, très lentement, Eliot baissa ses fesses dans le banc de neige.

"Ouaf?" Fit-il.

Simone attendit patiemment que le chien se taise puis lui dit, "Marche."

"Ouaf!" fit Eliot en se levant.

"Assis," répéta Simone.

Eliot s'assit et aboya. Simone attendit qu'il se calme puis lui dit, "Marche!"

Eliot se leva et aboya mais avec beaucoup moins d'enthousiasme.

"Assis," dit Simone. "Décidément, on ne va pas aller loin à ce rythme là!"

Eliot se garda bien d'aboyer et lorsqu'il se fit dire, "Marche!" Il obtempéra sans broncher.

Lorsque Simone et Eliot virent un autre chien croiser leur chemin, Eliot aboya deux fois avant de se taîre. Et il ne broncha pas du tout pour le troisième chien. Il faut dire qu'il y a grande chance qu'il n'ait pas vu le troisième chien: c'était un carlin dont le maitre devait peser plus de 135 kg!

Tattoo me!

While wandering through the mall yesterday, Simone, hubby and little B came across a perfume promotion. The promo included tattoos for any and all interested.

"Do you want a tattoo?" The black-haired, cropped t-shirt wearing chick behind the counter asked little B.

Little B's reply was mostly incomprehensible. He ran around the cosmetics counter and dashed over to a jewelry display where he tried on several bracelets.

Simone explained to the little guy, who'd never worn a tattoo before, that tattoos were similar to stickers and that they had a big bee tattoo if he was interested.

"Bee?" He asked. "Like little B?"

Simone laughed, "Sort of."

And little B took his mother's hand as they headed back to the tattoo stand.

"Where do you want your sticker?" The tattoo girl asked little B.

Little B lifted his sweater, exposing his belly with a shy grin.

"Okee dokee," said tattoo girl, and handed Simone the tattoo and a wet sponge. Simone dutifully placed the tattoo face down on little B's belly but the wet sponge was a tough sell. It was, after all, winter...

Little B wriggled and tried to get away. Simone kept a death grip on his arm and on the sponge. Eventually, the requisite 30 minutes elapsed.

"Look!" Simone said, pointing to little B's belly.

His eyes wide, little B looked down on his decorated middle section and grinned. "Tattoo!" He shouted. "Again!" He ordered tattoo girl.

"Not again," said Simone. "When this one fades, we'll give you a new one."

"Okay," little B said equably. He raced to an unsuspecting pair of shoppers. "Look!" He flashed his belly. "Tattoo!" He added helpfully.

Sigh... Let's hope this is just a passing phase...

L'animatrice d'un jour

Simone ne savait pas trop quoi faire. Enfin, si. Mais non, après tout.

On lui avait demandé de remplacer l'animatrice du Coin des petits parce que cette dernière souffrait de troubles d'intestins. Le petit B était super heureux de passer la matinée avec tous les jouets mais il voulu savoir, "Où est Mme S?"

"Elle est maaalaaade," lui dit Simone en espérant qu'il n'insisterait pas qu'il fallait rentrer à la maison. Le petit B aime beaucoup ses routines et avec Mme S absente, la routine changeait.

Le petit B s'en alla dans la cuisine des enfants et se mit à servir du "thé". Donc pas de problèmes de son coté.

Lorsque la petite S arriva avec son frère, elle s'inquiéta immédiatement. "Où est Mme S?"

"Elle est maaalaaade," lui dit Simone.

"Ah bon," fit la petite S. Et elle se mis à jouer avec les chiots en peluche sur une des tables.

Le petit J et son jumeau, le petit L, voulaient aussi savoir, "Où est Mme S?"

"Elle est maaalaaade," fit Simone, qui avait adopté des grimaces pour l'occasion. Les jumeaux se mirent à rigoler.

"Elle revient, non?" La petite S s'inquiétait à nouveau.

"Oui, bien sur," Simone lui répondit très sérieusement. "Mais pas aujourd'hui. Aujourd'hui elle a mal au ventre."

"Bon, demain alors," décida la petite S. "Ça suffit comme ça."

De toute évidence, il y en a qui n'aprécient pas les simagrées...

The wall of shame...

Little B has been growing restless in the morning of late. While Simone goes about her morning routine, the little guy wakes up slowly, plays with the panoply of stuffed animals in his castle-shaped bed and, eventually, gets bored.

Now Simone has strictly forbidden the little guy from doing two things:

(a) getting out of his bed; and

(b) opening the door to his room.

Now Simone is no stranger to the world or raising children. Although her method may seem cruel, her madness bears some explanation. In his room, the little guy is safe. Should he get up and wander about the house unsupervised, all manner of chaos could ensue. Including but not limited to both the little guy and the larger, though equally clueless about personal safety, German Shepherd getting out onto the very busy thoroughfare that runs in front of Simone's house.

Nonetheless, little B has a mind of his own and, on more than one occasion, Simone has heard the telltale sound of the door creaking open.

"Are you opening your bedroom door?" Simone says in a menacing voice.

Pitter patter back to the bed, followed by noisy scrambling as he struggles up the ladder to the battlement of his castle.

"You'd better not be opening your bedroom door," warns Simone for good measure, peeking and seeing that the little guy is hiding his face in his pillow, knowing he's been "bad".

The poor tike doesn't even dare answer his mother.

But when she came to rescue him from imprisonment, she found a row of figurines, normally stored on a shelf and so quite obviously having been moved from their proper home, lined up on little B's play table.

The wall of shame... Sssshhhhh! Don't tell Mom I moved you, okay?

Okay.

Ça y est!!!

Le petit B a fait son premier cours tout seul avec son prof et ses amis dans la piscine.

"Aujourd'hui," lui a dit Simone, "Tu vas aller dans la piscine tout seul. Pas de maman avec toi."

"D'accord," a répondu le petit B.

"Tu viens prendre une douche avant la piscine?" Simone, en maillot de bain, était sous la douche et tendait sa main.

Le petit B a déposé sa serviette et s'est rapproché. Pas tout à fait, bien sur, mais assez pour se faire arroser. Il a rigolé et Simone lui a fait un gros bisous sur le crâne. Il craignait tellement la douche, il faisait bon de le voir s'amuser si près du jet d'eau.

"Alors, tu vas t'amuser avec Suzanne?" lui a demandé Simone.

"Oui," le petit B hochait de la tête avec enthousiasme. "Au revoir, Maman."

"Meuh non," a fait Simone. C'était à son tour de rigoler. "Il faut attendre que Suzanne soit là. Je ne te laisse pas tout seul comme ça au bord de la piscine!"

Et lorsque Suzanne arriva enfin, le petit B n'en pouvait plus d'attendre. Il se précipita vers la grande piscine et les gilets de sauvetage alors que les autres élèves se rassemblaient autour de leur prof.

"Ou est le petit B?" Suzanne le cherchait du regard mais, de toute évidence, ne le voyait pas.

"Près de la grande piscine," indiqua Simone.

Simone suivait le groupe et tenta de prendre une photo avec son portable mais on confisqua le portable jusqu'à la fin de la session car les photos sont défendues... Quel déception! Enfin, elle garde ses souvenirs bien gravés dans son coeur!

Twilight

A chance discussion between the 11 year old and a friend led to an interest in the book "Eclipse" by Stephenie Meyer.

The interest, fueled by a quick trip to the library, led to the book being borrowed and placed in the 11 year old's greedy hands. The child, who previously had to be bullied into reading for 15 minutes daily, suddenly lost interest in television and computer. At any given moment, she could be found with the book in her hands. And she wasn't simply carrying it, even though carting the item would constitute excellent weightlifting exercise! Nope. She actually read it.

In fact, a visit to her grandmother's on the weekend happened to fall precisely when the 11 year old was reaching the last 30 pages of the novel. The 11 year old usually chatters endlessly, sings, dances, takes up space but on this particular visit, she squeezed herself into the couch and read with that mix of eagerness and sadness one gets when reaching the end of a particularly good story.

"What's wrong with her?" Asked her grandmother. "Why is she pretending to read?"

Simone assured her mother that the child was indeed reading and that her engrossment explained the girl's lack of bubbliness.

"Hmph," grumped Simone's mother, put off by her grandchild's unusual quiet. "I hope she gets over it."

Surely there are worse things than escaping on the wings of a vampire to visit a werewolf bound for Canada?

Malheureusement, le weekend est terminé...

Il fut trop court, bien sur, même avec trois jours de congé. Mais voilà que nous sommes déjà à un jour de quarante jours sans internet. Et, histoire de bien se priver, Simone a aussi décidé de ne pas manger de sucreries pendant sa traversée du désert.

Courage, Simone! Il faudra se gaver aujourd'hui! Et il faut aussi espérer que l'internet marchera toute la journée. Hier, du matin au soir, RIEN ne fonctionnait. Allons, prions ensemble!

The moon is up...

Little B has learned to read and even he is amazed by his new skills.

Yesterday, he picked up a copy of the classic "Ten Apples Up on Top", the hard cardboard version made for little hands. He said, "Naan-naan! Read this!"

Simone glanced at the book and said, "You can read this yourself, you know. Try it."

Little B's stared at the book for a few moments himself and said, laboriously, "Ten. App-uhs. Up. On. Top." He looked at his mother, eyes wide with wonder. "Ten apples up on top!" He exclaimed.

"And you can read the rest of the book just as well," Simone assured him.

Little B did indeed read the book himself, marveling anew at the ever increasing number of apples being piled up on the heads of the lion, the tiger and the dog. Then he took out another, more recent classic: Pajama Time. He bypassed the Naan-nan option entirely.

"The moon is up, it's gettin' late, let's get weady to sehwuhbwate!" He read, his finger following the text and his tongue wedged between his teeth.

Sigh... Yet another hurdle mastered...

Une journée bien éprouvante...

Il fallait s'y attendre... Tôt ou tard, le petit B allait grandir. Et bien hier, il est passé d'exploit en exploit.

Il a fait plus de la moitié de son cours de natation sans Simone, et ce en sachant que celle-ci n'était pas à ses cotés et sans l'appeler à venir se joindre à lui. En fait, il a passé la demi-heure dans les bras de son prof de natation.

Il a essayé de découper un cercle dans du carton et y est même presque arrivé. Et lorsque Simone a sorti une paire de ciseaux plus importante et lui a dit que c'est avec ça qu'on coupe les cheveux, il a laissé sa mère couper deux touffes de cheveux. Ça n'a peut-être pas l'air impressionnant mais pour un enfant qui déteste se faire couper les cheveux, c'est en fait presque miraculeux.

Et pour couronner cette journée déjà chargée, au parc intérieur pour enfants, le petit B a grimpé, chassé et joué sans l'entremise de sa mère.

Il va falloir que Simone trouve de quoi s'occuper! À ce rythme là, c'est à croire que le petit B n'a presque plus besoin d'elle...

It's a biiiiig driveway...

In the summertime, the driveway easily accommodates six vehicles. With winter snow squeezing space in, five large vehicles can comfortably share the driveway.

So Simone was not impressed when she got home yesterday and saw two vehicles in her driveway. One, a pick up truck, was parked at the top of the driveway near the garage and off to the side, occcupying one (1) spot.

The other, a relatively small car was parked at an angle at the bottom of the driveway near the road, effectively preventing anyone else from parking, short of scratching their vehicle to bits in an effort to get past the obstacle.

Simone put her left turn signal on, unwisely waiting in the middle lane to make a turn into her driveway, and called the tenants who live in the basement of her house on her cell phone. No answer.

She called again.

No answer.

She called a third time.

The vehicle behind her began to honk. There was lots of space in the right lane for anyone and everyone to pass but, sighing, Simone moved into her neighbour's driveway. After instructing the 11 year old to stay put with the 3 year old, Simone rushed to the basement of her house and knocked on the door.

No answer.

She knocked again.

Still no answer.

She knocked a third time.

Ah ha! The owner of the vehicle opened the door.

"Yes?" she asked.

"You own the red car, right?" Simone asked.

You might think that at this point the said owner of the red vehicle would remember that she had parked her car sideways in the driveway, effectively preventing anyone else from parking there.

Apparently not.

"Yeeessss?" The red vehicle owner gave Simone a blank stare.

Sigh.

"Your car is blocking the driveway," Simone said. "Could you either move it forward or to the side? I can't get in."

"Oh," said the girl. And, fortunately for Simone's already precarious level of sanity, she did move her car.

"Thank-you," said Simone to the red car owner as they both exited their cars.

"Oh, you're very welcome," replied the red car owner in a most gracious manner.

If only it were that "simple" in parking lots....

L'enfant prodige...

"C'est vrai? Il peut lire?" La prof de maternelle n'en revenait pas. "Comment as-tu fait pour pondre un enfant comme ça?"

Simone ne savait pas trop comment lui répondre. Le petit B avait été pondu comme tous ses autres enfants.

"Il peut faire d'autres choses?" s'intéressait la prof de maternelle.

"Il peut faire des calculs simples, il reconnait toutes les formes, du carré au rectangle, au losange, à l'hexagone..."

"Naan-naan! On part!" le petit B n'était nullement impressionné par le récit de ses exploits.

"Est-il capable de rester assis pendant une période prolongée?" Voulait savoir la prof.

"Euh oui, mais seulement s'il en a envi," avoua Simone.

C'est à dire que l'apprentissage du petit B ressemblera à celui de ses camarades de classe. Quand tout va bien dans un domaine, il risque fortement qu'il y ait des défis dans un autre domaine...

Buttoning buttons, zipping zippers and cutting with scissors...

Little B's interview with the principal of the school he is set to attend in September 2010 unearthed dreaded lapses in his education this far. He is as of yet unable to button buttons, get dressed and undressed, zip zippers or cut with precision.

In addition, the principal asked Simone if little B knew how to use a toilet. To which Simone replied with great aplomb, "Yes."

"And wipe himself afterward?" the principal inquired further.

"Yes," Simone assured the principal that little B could indeed wipe himself.

Of course, the principal probably wanted to know whether little B was toilet trained, which he is not. While the boy knows how to use a toilet and wipe himself and wash his hands afterward, his efforts so far have all been dry runs...

Hey, on the plus side, he does read very well...

Does that count?

Déjà l'école...

Bon d'accord, on n'y est pas tout à fait puisque les classes ne commencent qu'en septembre mais aujourd'hui, le petit B s'enregistre à l'école élémentaire.

Et oui. Ce matin-même. Simone se dit que ça s'est passé un peu trop vite, quatre ans. Surtout que maintenant, ils se comprennent très bien, le petit B et elle et voilà qu'il va falloir qu'elle le laisse aller à l'école tous les jours...

Le succès du petit B est assuré, bien sur, mais celui de Simone semble beaucoup moins certain. Car dès la rentrée des classes, Simone devra se trouver du travail. Pas étonnant qu'il y ait une certaine angoisse dans les coulisses...

Screaming, screaming, in the swimming pool...

"So, how did the swimming lessons go this morning?" Hubby asked Simone.

"Well, I had to go in the pool with our little guy while all the other parents watched their kids from the sidelines. It seems that little B is the only child left in the group who hasn't phased his mother out. Again." This is the second time Simone and little B take a swimming class designed to increase the comfort of toddlers in the pool. Parents take the initial classes with their kids and gradually stop getting in the pool.

Apparently, little B failed to read the script, which is astounding because he reads everything else.

"Okay," said hubby. "But how did the rest of the class go? Did he have fun?"

"I'm not sure," hedged Simone. "He spent, oh, 98% of the class screaming."

"About what?" Asked hubby, surprised.

"He screamed because we were going in the big pool. He screamed because he didn't want to put on the life jacket. He screamed because he wanted to zip up the life jacket himself. He screamed because he couldn't snap the life jacket into place. He screamed because the water in the big pool was cold. He screamed because he didn't want to stand on the platform in the water. He screamed because he didn't want to do sticky... Oh, wait. Sticky fingers? That's F-U-N!!! He stopped screaming for sticky fingers."

"Hmmm," mumbled hubby. "I think I get the idea."

"Huh?" asked Simone. "I can't hear you very well. Speak up, please!"

Ce n'est pas de ma faute!

Meuh non! Bien sur! C'est toujours la faute de l'autre, du prof, de maman, de papa, de tout ceux qui n'ont pas réussi à élever l'enfant comme il faut.

Quand un enfant se comporte mal, ce n'est pas parce que cet enfant aura décidé d'agir ainsi! Ce ne sera que parce que les circonstances sont telles que l'enfant se trouvera obligé de mal réagir. Ou bien encore on ne lui aura jamais appris que voler, mentir, crier sa rage et s'exprimer à coups de poings ce n'est pas bien.

Parce que nous savons tous que lorsqu'un malheur quelconque nous arrive à nous, les adultes, ce n'est jamais de notre faute. Que le monde entier le sache: c'est toujours la faute des autres. Et comme le père de Simone s'évertue toujours à lui répéter...

la vie n'est pas juste. Parce qu'à l'autre bout du monde, et des fois bien plus près que cela, il y a des enfants qui n'ont rien à manger, qui n'ont pas de télé ni d'ordi dans leur chambre, qui ne savent pas s'ils survivront la semaine...

Out of energizing tea...

For Christmas, Simone's 20 year old gave her a beautifully wrapped box of energizing tea. Every morning since, Simone has enjoyed a steaming cuppa. And with each sip, Simone pondered on how wonderful a simple gift can be.

One box of tea provided Simone with over a month's worth of joyful moments. It's unlikely the 20 year old thought of this though you never know but his present evoked a journey down a well-trodden lane.

Simone remembered taking a tiny, perfect baby home one day. And the next day, she watched him stumble across a soccer field. Then she saw that boy go to school, clenching her hand so tightly she thought she might be losing circulation in her fingertips. She watched that beautiful boy weave around the opposite team as though they didn't exist and score a soccer goal, cheering loudly. And she listened to the words he wouldn't say when he thought he was in love for the first time. She was pregnant, her stomach a bowling ball, frightened for this first child of hers and loving him already. She sat in the audience and cried as he lit a candle and passed it to a Grade 11 student, giving the other student the flame to carry while he moved on to University. She read the essays he'd written with pride and joy. She listened to him play a song for her on his accoustic guitar, another priceless gift he offered her one Christmas...

With each sip of that tea, Simone vividly recalled her wonderful 20 year old and how much she loves him.

Thank-you. Thank-you, Sam I am. I do so like green eggs and ham.

Mais arrête d'aboyer, nom d'un...

Le chien de Simone a beaucoup à dire.

Hier, il voulait sortir dans la cour.

"Assis!" Commanda Simone, qui sait très bien que le chien va la bousculer dès que la porte patio sera ouverte.

Le chien lui fit un coup d'oeil meurtri mais s'assis. Très, très lentement.

"Reste là," ajouta Simone.

Le chien poussa un long soupir.

Simone ouvrit la porte. Les yeux braqués sur sa maitresse, le chien attendait, son corps tendu comme s'il se retenait avec difficulté.

"Allez, vas-y," dit finalement Simone après quelques secondes de tension infinie.

Le chien se rua dehors en aboyant comme un défoncé. Il se précipita vers le fond de la cour, la queue balayant la neige sur les sapins qui bordent la clôture. Il aboyait, l'air de dire, "Je suis lààààààààààààààààààààààààààààààààà!"

"T'as pas fini, non?" Demanda Simone.

Le chien s'arrêta brusquement pour contempler sa maitresse.

Il dut se décider que non, après tout, il n'avait pas fini...