Abarbablog

Slogan maker!

2011-03-21T12:07:00.002-03:00

Matt here:So today I had to do my blog, but I was distracted by a website called "Slogan Maker" were you type in something like "poop" or "food" and it will make a slogan like "poop for the rest of the night.'' or, ''Food in action'' and " Septic Systems Are Tasty".that was fun(ny) but I have nothing else about that topic.Has anyone heard of rebecca black? she is the new bieber. her "hit" called

canada games center FTW

2011-03-21T12:00:00.002-03:00

This is Sam. I was just going to say that my week has been pretty pointless but instead I am going to write about how we (The family) went to the Canada games center to go swimming. The pool had two slides. One was blue and one was yellow. The yellow one went outside the building and went around in circles a few times and then came back in. The blue one just went straight down.I was looking

On the slopes

2011-03-14T12:58:00.002-03:00

This is Sam. I have a cold right now not to bad but it was a few days ago. Let me explain what I felt like 2 days ago. I wake up at 2:oo in the morning feeling tired and sore so I went downstairs and got a drink and then went back to bed but I couldn't fall asleep. There I was lying in bed trying to go asleep when I remembered that we were going skiing in 2 days. I really started to get

Battle: Los Angeplace.

2011-03-14T12:54:00.005-03:00

Matt here:Last night Dad, Dan, Sam, and Me all went to see a movie. the movie was "Battle: Los Angeles" SPOILER ALERTThe rest of the movie was all Blam beam pewpewpewpewpewKABLOOMDFGDGATCalpewling aiblamrstrikakkghIn the end they found the mother ship and destroyed itIt seems that Michael bay directed it, oh wait, i think he might have a Fake nameThe aliens wanted our water, OUR WATER, Now we

cousins. (Oh yea)

2011-03-07T10:51:00.005-04:00

This is Sam. Four days ago our cousins uncle and aunt came from Montreal for four days. I was very anxious to get to the airport to see my cousins uncle and aunt. They said that they would be here at 1:00 but it got postponed for something like four hours (uhg). well when we finally got to the airport I was really exited (awww I didn't break anything :p) it was a lot of fun. Well moving on I

Spring already?

2011-03-07T10:24:00.005-04:00

Matt here:Why? Why? Why?I have a cold, a nasty one I always get them when it turns from winter to spring, I call it *sick voice* "That cold that I get when I note that I have not a cold this year".In other news, game 5 of a local AUS (Atlantic University Sport) game With the SMU Huskies VSSTFX X-men playing each other on Tuesday at 7:00 Alantic time. Sadly it is not on a stream But if you can

2011-02-07T16:57:00.005-04:00

One of the things I did this summer was hang around at one of our local boat clubs. I've learned to kayak in the last couple of years which has been great fun.My little brother Matt had started sailing last year and his favorite thing to do was rave about how awesome it was. In the spring I asked Mum if I could do a sailing class because I had learned everything there was to know about kayaking

Dan and chocolate bars

2011-02-02T11:01:00.002-04:00

This is Sam. I don't know what to talk about so I think I'm just going to write something that happened a long time ago. OK so i'm going to talk about Dan and how he would bribe me and then say something like this "I'll give it to you when I'm sixty". This really annoyed me and I wanted to get him back. BUT... I was something like four and I was horrible at this. still today I cant think of

My Mother the Saint

2011-01-31T17:41:00.004-04:00

I have been doing an algebra textbook since September. It hardly misses anything and even include extra lessons for the " spacial" kids who need a little extra shove or should I say bulldozing for them to understand whats going on. I have been doing well so far, getting at least 90% on the tests. I do the lessons alone and if I have any questions I review them with Mum later. This system has not

surviving the cold

2011-01-25T13:53:00.003-04:00

This is Sam. Two days ago it was -25 and when I woke up I thought that we left the heat off for something like 30 days with -5 weather. I felt like I was going to die of shivering. anyway that day we went to the Junior High where Matt goes. we were taking badminton lessons (I am going to edit this later I dont have time) bye!

Survival of The...

2011-01-25T12:40:00.003-04:00

Matt hereOn Monday I Went to a winter survival course at my Junior High school.So from the school it was a 2 hour bus ride there. 2 Hours there, 2 hours back. when we got there we had lunch I had ginger tea and pita with hummus. While we where there the teachers gave a lecture on how to survive. I learned that if you are in a plane crash you take the parachute first because it is a

Dividing Problems

2011-01-19T10:32:00.002-04:00

Matt here:Hello and welcome back to this blog!Today we are doing math, well... I am. Right now Sam is angry because he does not want to do his math. His math consists of dividing problems like 89 / 6 ( = 14 r2) . he is saying stuff like "My HEAD WILL EXPLODE!" and " I hate Math, I am allergic to it" Every day its non-stop math, Its wasting my life. I am NOT going to be an accountant"AlsoToday is

Happy Birthday To Me!

2011-01-17T13:18:00.000-04:00

Matt here:5 Days ago I had my birthday. Lets start in the morning9:38 We left for the Ardmore Tearoom, a 1950's restaurant. The people there Do NOT give you small amounts, They fill the plate with what you ordered. So Sam and I got "The Lumberjack Special " which is 2 eggs, 2 pieces of toast, 3 strips of bacon, 2 sausages, and a piece of ham. it was $8.0010:20 We come home. I Just got check so

Hamachi bar and grill

2011-01-17T11:22:00.004-04:00

This is Sam. One night we were eating (Om nom nom) and Dad announced "we are going to do something that is going to last two hours or so on Saturday". Matt and I just could not wait and wanted to know what we were going to do. On Friday night we went to a hockey game and SMU won (YEEAAA). After that Dad got a text and he said "aw we can't go tomorrow". We asked "why" and he said "I have a hockey

A True Group Of Canucks

2011-01-11T12:31:00.003-04:00

Matt here:Seven years ago I told myself that I would make a igloo.Not that year. Seven years later I said the same thing, but, with a lot of help and encouragement from friends and total strangers, it finally worked it can fit easily 2 people. we have these boxes that we used for the blocks.At Nine-o-clock on Sunday night it was two tiers up, by 10 on Monday it was 3 up, and by 7 it was done!

igloo and snow

2011-01-11T11:56:00.002-04:00

This is Sam. Two days ago, as you know, it snowed. We had lots of fun and made forts and stuff when Matt said "I am going to make a igloo." I asked "how" and he said "I will make bricks with rubber made containers and place them in a circle" OK I said. Can I help (Sarah was beside me) Matt said "sure but you have to do what I say" I agreed and I guess that Sarah just wanted to help.When we

Sam and Matt and hilarity

2011-01-06T21:22:00.004-04:00

Matt came back from the mailbox and said, "um, Mom, one of the letters went into the mailbox rather unwillingly. So I'm not sure if it will get to its destination. I hope that is OK." Kate & I cracked up laughing. Upon further questioning we found out that the mailbox was full and Matt had shoved it in the top but it got stuck. I explained that from my days working for Canada Post (my Grandma was

HivesÉ

2010-12-31T10:43:00.002-04:00

This is Matt writing. On Christmas Eve Sam Ate a lot of shrimp. A LOT of shrimp.On Christmas Sam came down with a huge rash. He thought it was Aids or HIV. the kids kept taunting him about it with stuff like "Sam you only have 5 days to live".Lately we have gone skating at the Canada Games Speed Skate Oval. As you can imagine, I am not a good skater. Yesterday I woke up extremely sore everywhere.

H.I.V.E.S.

2010-12-31T08:58:00.003-04:00

This is Sam. A few days ago on Christmas eve we (the family) was watching a movie called the sandlot (very good movie) and I started to itch. I noticed that there were tiny dots on my body and when the movie was done I asked them what it was. They looked at me and Mom said I'm going to call the pharmacy. By this time I got scared. later Mom gave me half of a pill What is it I asked. Mom said it

Sam's sayings

2010-12-29T16:06:00.002-04:00

Yesterday we went to Pirate's Cove (swimming pool). A good time was had by all. But later Sam complained, "my cheeks are burning.". We asked why. He said, "the chlorine went through cracks that I had in my eyes and leaked down inside my cheeks." Man, I hate it when that happens.I fell down our outside stairs this morning - oh how it hurt. We had some very wet snow which I had asked Matt and Sam

How do I not remember this?

2010-12-29T11:42:00.002-04:00

Today I was sorting my email inbox, and I came across this.To: Ron and Marsha AbarbanelDear Parents,I searched long and hard, but was unable to find any study or even speculation-thing correlating moustaches and bipolar disorder. I used google, and then for good measure I searched the academic journals at the university library.Sorry :< KateI would love to remember the context of this, but nope .

Mr. Hives

2010-12-26T22:21:00.003-04:00

We have many names for Sam:Migraino - because he gets migrainesPathetico - because he can make himself look so pathetic when he doesn't get his wayTonight while Matt, Sam and I discussed this we thought of "Dramatico" and "Intensito" - you can guess why.But a new name emerged on Christmas Day - Sam named himself "Mr. Hives" because he got hives (maybe?) all over his body. We were busy and they

I Hate Our Christmas Tree

2010-12-23T15:36:00.000-04:00

Mum is allergic to trees. This means that we are not able to purchase trees and carry them into our house for the festive season. We got by with a pathetic fake Christmas tree for many many years, but that one eventually met its end. A lull began that has not yet finished. Nobody is willing to invest the time or money to walk down to Canadian Tire and buy a fake Christmas tree. Our living room

They Loved Lamp

2010-12-23T11:57:00.002-04:00

A year ago, we took a family trip to New England. Some friends of ours were kind enough to let us squeeze ourselves into their tiny apartment while they were in turn off visiting relatives in Moncton.It was a tight fit, made worse by the proliferation of bric-a-brac and furniture that they'd managed to squeeze into their flat.The worst offenders were the lamps. Lamps decorated every room. Every

A Very Dave Christmas

2010-12-23T09:17:00.005-04:00

Matt here:Mom just talked me and said to me that I need to improve my blogging work, she said that I blog like a kid in grade two.Thanks mom.So I guess that I'll start with a game I found. This game is a very fun one.It is called "Minecraft". It is a game about a world where everything is a block.You can make a lot of stuff. You can add or take blocks to build a house or a rocket or anything.At

Hockey and passports

2010-12-23T08:57:00.002-04:00

This is Sam. A few days ago the family was eating dinner and Dad said, "let's pray for our friend Fadi about his passport." None of us knew that he needed a passport so we asked why. Dad said that Fadi had to get a passport to see his family in Jordan and if he didn't get it in one day or so he couldn't see his family. So we prayed. Nobody really had anything to pray except Mom. But I just hoped

Quotes of the Day

2010-12-22T19:32:00.003-04:00

Dan: Yeah, I know that J is always getting 100s in math, and I am always getting 99s, but I really believe I'm better than him at it. He just doesn't feel it like I do.Dan: Guess what Kate? Jacob's Dad has the clock in his car set ahead ten minutes because he cannot be late.Me: So? I have the clock in my bedroom set ahead four minutes for the same reason.Dan: Really? Have you ever thought, "Hey,

My first blog.

2010-12-22T13:42:00.002-04:00

This is Sam. I have a feeling that I'm going to fail but here I go. Three weeks ago Dad made a deal with us. If we (Me and Matt) go to bed on time for five days straight then he would take us to Dairy Queen and get us a dilly bar. Because we were always dilly dallying at bedtime. When we earned the dilly bar Dad said alright I'll get you guys it tomorrow. We went to get the dilly bar and some

Romantic Relationships

2010-12-21T21:04:00.006-04:00

As I have now reached the rather advanced age of 19, certain family members have started to pressure me to find a man.Matt: Kate, how old are you now?Me: 19Matt: You know, you should really start dating.Me: Thanks . . . I'll get right on that.Why my twelve year old brother is so eager to see me off on the road of non-platonic relationships is beyond me, but later on we had another conversation

Talking to Americans

2010-12-21T13:13:00.006-04:00

Last summer, we were lounging at a pool at Mont Tremblant, a ski-hill turned summer resort in the beautiful Laurentian mountain region of Quebec.Whenever we are in parts of Quebec with a good mix of francophones and anglophones, we like to play a game that we have dubbed Ontario ou Quebec, though in reality it is more just us distinguishing francophones from anglophones, as there are plenty of

Sam and the concept of Time

2010-12-20T19:46:00.002-04:00

Sam woke up early this morning and whispered in my ear, "they are releasing a new version of our game this morning. Can I go on the computer just for a little bit to check it out?" I said yes. A bit later he came down and asked, "what time is it in England right now. They said they were going to release the game but they haven't yet." I said, "well they are four hours ahead of us but they have

Zip Line

2010-12-20T17:40:00.004-04:00

Last night we were all sitting around the dinner table, and Mom asked us what our favourite childhood memories were. I think she was angling towards Christmas tradition memories, but the first thing that got mentioned was the zip line.The zip line has never appeared in the blog, maybe because it occurred during the post-drought of summertime. According to Sarah, Dan and her dreamed of the zip

2010-12-17T10:49:00.002-04:00

Matt and Sam were playing hockey in the snow. Suddenly Sam burst in the door. Dad? yeah? do you have a five dollar bill? uhh no, why? There's a homeless man going down the street collecting recyclable's and I want to give him some money. I found five dollars in change in my purse and gave it to Sam. I watched Sam run down the street to give it to the man, I didn't see if he did but when Sam

Sam's writing assignment

2010-12-16T11:09:00.002-04:00

I gave Sam the following writing topic: "And that is how my butt ended up on Mars and Uranus." This is what he wrote. (He wrote this over many days.)One day Sam was chillin' when the phone rang. Sam picked up the phone. Hello said an intelligent-smelling man. You are the lucky man who has been chosen to go on the NASA spaceship. Oh said Sam. What time should I be there? 11 o'clock said the man.

This World Is Crazy (Wikileaks)

2010-12-16T09:35:00.005-04:00

Matt here (this blog is a few week old): WHAT? Assange got bail?? North Korea is supplying Iran with missiles?This world is crazyI find it funny how these cables got out.Lady Gaga will be the undoing of the U.S. governmentBut it is outrages me the most that the U.S. Gov gave easy access to Pvt. Manning.The age of privacy has ended

Hockey Nets And Snow

2010-12-15T12:12:00.002-04:00

This is Matt writing: Today we got a new hockey net! We have had very bad experience with our other nets like this one (i don't have a picture of it, But Google street view has it)The other net we build out of wood and burlap, it was about 42" square and was on a tilt, we put rocks on it to keep it straight.I destroyed it when I Shot a ball at the corner.OopsOur new one is a REAL net that is 54"

Hockey And Christmas

2010-12-15T11:13:00.003-04:00

Hey guys, here are some happenings around our house lately. We have discovered through trial and error that giving presents for the holidays puts way too much stress on the buyer and that we would rather do without. We have also decided that buying another fake Christmas tree (Mums allergic to the real ones) would only lead to lack of storage issues and extra sweeping (shudder) of pine bristles.

Sam's Sayings

2010-12-14T21:49:00.002-04:00

Sam and Matt were playing a rather heated soccer game. Sam was heading a ball and Matt wanted to get it. Instead he kicked Sam in the eye, leaving his footprint there and Sam's eye went black the next day. Sam told me, "the rec leaders got me some ice and said I could have a time out. But then I thought, "screw the pain. Matt's team might score. So I went back on the field."Sam told me he was

Syphilis and Bingo

2010-12-07T20:14:00.004-04:00

There's something amazing about Bingo. It requires everything that almost all humans are born with: the ability to concentrate, the ability to see lines, and the ability to say "Bingo!" I know what you're thinking. Newborn babies know how to say "Bingo?" The answer is yes. The reason you never hear them say it is because they haven't won Bingo. There's another thing that all humans are born with:

Where to Begin?

2010-09-20T21:11:00.003-03:00

It would be extremely difficult to dictate every interesting thing that has happened to me since the last time I blogged. It's not because of any reluctance of mine to write it down though. It's just that many many things have happened, and I fear that I will be up until midnight writing nonstop. I will write about recent happenings and not-so-recent happenings, and as the days go on and my

Braces Hula Hoops and Musical

2010-04-22T09:18:00.004-03:00

I woke up today and thought, "hey you know what I haven't done in a long time, a blog!" Well thats not exactly what happened my desire to blog really came after I had stumbled out of bed to turn the computer on and check facebook and MY favorite blogs but anyways. I have braces now, they are a extreme nuisance no nuts, no gummies, ( gummies are among the precious few candies I could eat because

Printing

2010-01-04T13:28:00.002-04:00

We've gotten a lot of those glowing Christmas letters where families lives are perfect.Our life is ... well, it is just quirky.Our older kids have gotten in to a bad habit of coming in for late night chats around 11:30 - just as we are falling asleep. This happened last night - and the teenager left around 12:30.Then I woke up at 6 a.m. - against my will. The eczema on my hands was killing me - I

Two dollars

2009-12-29T10:59:00.002-04:00

Sam has been a little obsessive about computer games lately. I've been down this road before. There was the infamous incident when I took the kids hiking and suddenly Dan (age 8) was gone. It was getting dark & I was feeling panicked, searching all over the dense forest. I walked home with the other kids, ready to call the police. I found Dan - he had walked HOME and was playing this addictive

Sevta visits

2009-11-21T07:59:00.002-04:00

Last weekend Ron's mom Noga came to visit. The kids were excited to see her & looked forward to what she always brings - kumradine. Basically apricot fruit leather - but much stickier and sweeter. It comes in a flat sheet - probably 9" X 30". They eat it for breakfast, lunch & supper.She taught the kids to make Baklava. Kate was bit horrified by the fat content and made it a second time with much

The Magical Visit

2009-11-21T07:47:00.002-04:00

We got a call from my friend Paul from university. He lives in Conneticuit but was in Halifax on his way to a meeting. He was free for the next 30 minutes. Could we meet. YES! We haven't seen each other for about 18 years (though we've kept in touch). Ron drove over from the university. I told the kids to get in the van. They went outside and said, "mom the van isn't here". Shoot! The van was in

So much to say

2009-09-17T15:44:00.002-03:00

September has been full. We had our friends Jeremy (Dad) and Nikki (daughter) with us for a few days. Nikki is 25 & I've known her since she was 18 months. Jeremy & his wife Mary mentored me at university & later Ron & me when we got married. It was lovely to relate to Nikki as an adult - a great adult - who now spends her time in Ecuador working in a squatter community doing advocacy work -

Typing

2009-09-10T09:10:00.002-03:00

recently my mom set us up with a typing program called dance mat typing, do i like it? sort of.its good for starting typing, i would recommend it.you have to do stuff like "all work no play makes jack a dull boy" & learn the home row.so, here's the link: http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/typing/....umm well i have to type, so here is a story.the story starts in a bank people where doing there own

Ready for Hurricane Bill

2009-08-23T10:00:00.003-03:00

We have been to the grocery store to buy water & canned goods for Hurricane Bill. We have lawnchairs & our barbeque in our small kitchen. This morning as I was squeezed in beside the barbeque to eat breakfast I told the kids, "there is a barbeque in the kitchen ... it is the elephant in the room."At soccer I overheard Matt telling soccer parents, "oh yeah ... we are ready for Hurricane Bill ...

Life and Times in Halifax

2009-08-17T20:40:00.002-03:00

Hi Folks,We have had a very busy two weeks. Our company had a staff conference in Halifax. We did not experience the WORST of it - because we work for a non-profit organization, things are always done on the cheap. While Ron & I slept in our cozy bed all the other staff were sleeping in university residence beds and eating residence cafeteria food.The BEST of it was seeing all kinds of old

My summer so far.

2009-08-02T09:02:00.002-03:00

Well so far July was good,sailing,rockclimbing,day camp (i made a game)!saw the natal day fireworks,saw my cousins,learned a knot (reef knot).sailing was great, very thrilling when you almost flip. i got to sail solo, it rained all week so when i came in, i soaked to the skin and freezing, after we got hot cocolate. i rigged a opti in 20 minutes (if you think thats lame try it) .day camp was Very

The rest of our summer

2009-07-31T20:17:00.003-03:00

Since returning to Halifax we've had - you guessed it - rain. Halifax has had 4 days of sun the entire summer. Kate is working as a nanny and loves it - loves the kids. Dan is volunteering at the city boat club - they run recreation programs to learn boating. So Dan is the teacher & Sarah was his student. She said he acted very mature and professional. Matt learned to sail in a sailboat just big

It has been too long - or what we've been up to

2009-07-31T19:59:00.002-03:00

We went on vacation ... then we came back and forgot to blog. Here is the scoop.Katelyn graduated - we sat through a long, hot afternoon of speeches and awards, tapping our toes impatiently because right after graduation we were going on vacation! If we had known that it was going to be the last hot afternoon we would see for the entire summer we might have savoured it.We came home, packed up the

Life and Times at Abarba-house

2009-06-23T21:49:00.003-03:00

Hi y'all,Katelyn got her 4 wisdom teeth out a week ago ... she is a lot better but not fully recovered. They do something called "conscience sedation" which is like a deep drunkeness but done with "medicine". When I walked into the recovery room she was having a conversation with this guy who seemed fully alert. She didn't realize that her mouth had gauze the size of two washcloths in it - she

Life and Times at Abarba-house

2009-06-14T21:18:00.002-03:00

1. Katelyn was on T.V.! A camera appeared in her face outside Perks coffee shop about what she thought about Halifax's 3 million dollar failed attempt to stop dumping sewage into our harbour. Lots and lots (millions) of people saw her on T.V. and she has been a celebrity ever since. She said, "I guess we won't be able to go swimming in the ocean this summer." Then they asked her whether she

View from my window

2009-06-09T23:16:00.002-03:00

1. Katelyn had her final flute concert. She played beautifully and so did many of her classmates. Secretly, having heard her play that same song for quite a few months, I am relieved the concert is over. I'm ready for a new song. I remember when I did my Grade 8 piano (shocking, I know, since I have no musical talent), my mom refused to let me play a Bartok piece - it was a horribly discordant

Hospital

2009-06-02T10:28:00.004-03:00

Where to begin...First of all I guess I should apologize for not blogging for a very long time... I have no excuse. My bad.On a day not long ago, I was playing a soccer game against Halifax County. As County doesn't have a Tier 1 (highest league) team, their Tier 1 players moved down to Tier 2a and all their Tier 2a players moved down to the league we play, Tier 2b. Because all the players were a

Oh I wish I had a picture

2009-05-28T22:56:00.002-03:00

Matt came in white as a ghost."Sam fell off Andy & Kellie's deck. He needs help."I ran fast. There lay Sam on his back. He couldn't really talk. I wondered if his neck or back was broken. Turns out he had been climbing up their deck (which is off the 2nd floor of their house) when Matt called him for dinner. He fell 10 feet onto grass. He had the forethought to realize he was falling & stuck out

Marsha & Ron's new volunteer job

2009-05-28T22:46:00.003-03:00

Dan is playing recreational soccer this summer ... and when I heard they needed a manager I volunteered. I have now dragged Ron into it - I do the admin side of things, he does the sitting on the bench, recording goals & going deaf from listening the coach yell helpful coaching tips like "pass the ball" throughout the game. Today I got an e-mail to "call up" a goalie (called keeper in the biz)

Fun With Radar

2009-05-22T08:42:00.003-03:00

http://www.weatheroffice.gc.ca/radar/index_e.html Its Really Cool, It shows weather all over canada.Instructions are on the upper right.Matt ~

Rainy Days & Friends

2009-05-18T12:35:00.002-03:00

We got an emergency call from Dan's friend Cam. Could he come over to get help with math because he was just in Washington, D.C. Sure! Can you think of anything better to do on a Saturday night? We can't - yes, yes, we are a weird family.Cam had been visiting family in D.C. and came back bearing presents. He brought Dan the declaration of Independance - a very good copy of it anyway. This was a

Rainy day Sunday afternoon visit to Ardmore

2009-05-18T12:27:00.002-03:00

The kids have wanted forever to go to the Ardmore. It is a very old diner that is very popular - a place that serves burgers, fries, shakes, pie & rice pudding. So enter a rainy Sunday & no line up at the Ardmore. We ordered a plate of fries, a plate of onion rings & 2 strawberry milkshakes. They were all delicious in their heart-attack inducing goodness. After we finished Matt spoke up to the

Itsy bitsy teeney weeney red speedo

2009-05-18T12:21:00.002-03:00

At dinner last night the kids were talking and I said, “I’m sorry, I didn’t hear what you were saying. I was thinking about the guy in the red speedo.” We went to Dalplex (big pool with high diving boards) and this guy was there doing National Lifeguard training. Dan said, “even I noticed how buff he was.” He was very buff but the problem, which Sarah & I both noticed was his red speedo –

After the Fire

2009-05-18T12:20:00.003-03:00

Our kids were sitting at the front of church for the Children's Moment. The woman leading it said, "what did God send to put out the fires?"Sam said, "Helicopters".The answer she was looking for was "rain", but yes, helipcopters is also a fair answer.

Halifax on Fire

2009-05-02T08:33:00.003-03:00

Hi Everybody,We have an exciting last few days as a major fire was burning in the forest right next to our neighborhood. You can read about it here.http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20090501.wfire0501/BNStory/National/homehttp://communityherald.ca/list/39When you watch the video you can see where we live - they interview a firefighter in our mall parking lot! They interviewed a

The Tale of the Hockey Net

2009-04-13T10:17:00.002-03:00

"Mom, do you think it would be OK if we used some of Dad's scrap wood to make a hockey net?" I thought it would be really OK - especially since it was the first warm day in many months and the kids had VOLUNTEERED to be outside. For hours I heard nails being banged. I looked out & saw a neighbour giving much needed engineering advice. Then another neighbour donated a piece of burlap for a net.

Matt & Sam become domestic gods

2009-04-13T10:10:00.003-03:00

"Mom, I've cleaned 80 % of the house" Sam enthused as I watched him pick up dirt off the stairs. He had made beds, put dishes in the dishwasher, swept floors and more."Mom, can I make myself a snack?" yelled Matt. Before I could answer Sam replied in a tired, frustrated voice, "No, Matt. I just finished cleaning up the kitchen."Later Matt complained that I had never taught him how to cook. I had

Matt & Sam and the Grocery Budget

2009-03-26T22:49:00.002-03:00

I told Matt & Sam that we were having Peanut Butter & Jam sandwiches for lunch - I had bought some big tubs of peanut butter on sale and didn't realize that they actually have a best before date coming up soon. This was only one PB& J lunch but with the expiry date looming, there were more to come. Matt & Sam whined. They complained. They said I made bad lunches. They wanted eggs - which is fine

Bits and Bites

2009-03-26T20:20:00.002-03:00

One of my friends pointed out something even funnier about my "dress pants gate". She said, "imagine the look on Ron's face when he put on one pair of pants that were 2" too short - then quickly changed to the other pair of pants that were 2" too long." Sheesh. That makes the story even funnier. Maybe I will try it for April Fools Day.At Saint Mary's University we have a mascot that is a Husky.

Ron's dress pants

2009-03-23T22:54:00.003-03:00

I bought Ron a great pair of Docker dress pants this week at Value Village. They were too long. No problem! With the sewing machine Ron's mom bought for the kids I could hem them. I have been doing this thing called a Euro hem on jeans - it maintains the original hemline & creates an invisible tuck. So I did this on Ron's dress pants. Then I though it would be nice to make them look more finished

Strip Poker

2009-03-22T19:58:00.004-03:00

I know this is a family blog, but I can't pass up the opportunity to tell you what is going on in my living room as I sit here watching in stunned silence.My kids are playing STRIP POKER!!Sam is sockless. Sarah is wearing a Rabbit skin hat which is covering a pink head band, 3 scarves, a coat and mittens. Matt is wearing a toque and missing a sock. Dan is in command at this point, having only

Marvellous Matt

2009-03-13T00:11:00.003-03:00

Matt was sitting in the dentist chair when he shared this story.Matt: I had a dream last night that Sam & I went on Metro Transit to watch a Habs game at the Metro Centre.Dr. B: Really, what happened? (Dr. B. is a big hockey fan).Matt: The Habs scored in the first second of play.Dr. B: Wow. In the first second? Did they win the game?Matt: I don't know. We left before the end of the game so that

Cooking with Marsha - my brief affair with Rachel Ray

2009-03-12T23:49:00.002-03:00

Confessions:I LOVE food.I cook a lot - like every day, three times.I read recipe books a lot.The sharing of food with family & friends is extremely important to me. I consider it an opportunity to bless people, to express warmth and love. Now this is a funny aside. Kate & Dan had their sibling friends Holly & Cam over. Holly & Cam had taught Kate & Dan how to make sushi - so when they came over

Unusual happenings at Abarba-house

2009-03-01T19:47:00.002-04:00

Lots of exciting things happening at Abarba-house.Well, this is not exciting. Sam has had his worst migraine ever. He got it yesterday, was out for the entire day. Late in the evening he decided that to feel better he really needed an orange. I said I would go get him one but he said he felt well enough to come with me. He liked the fresh air. And the orange was good. This morning he woke up very

Will winter never end? A blog post with attitude.

2009-02-24T17:09:00.003-04:00

I have had a rough time with winter ... I think I might have mild S.A.D. - I started taking 2000 I.U. of Vit D. I am not sure if it is just a placebo effect or not but I feel better. In the last 10 days we have finally seen the sun once or twice ... no sun since November. We have had just tons of ice ... many ice storms. It has gotten to the point where I am talking to strangers & one of us says,

Readers deserve a BLOG post

2009-02-13T15:47:00.002-04:00

It has been very cold here this winter, very icy. It has killed my motivation to do anything that isn't necessary. I have even being feeling like I have S.A.D. - the vitamin lady at the health food store suggested increasing my Vitamin D intake to 2000 i.u. a day - it makes me feel better knowing that this might help. The literature on S.A.D. says to go outside even if it is cloudy - which it has

Katelyn mile stones

2009-01-28T09:14:00.003-04:00

Monday: Katelyn got laid off for the first time in her life. She was working at an after-school daycare that is losing money. They will close the end of February. She wondered outloud if she could collect E.I. Dan commented that Kate was the first person he knew who had lost their job because of the recession.Tuesday: Katelyn finished high school. She wrote her last exam - a two part English exam

Ron's horrible no good very bad & awful day

2009-01-28T09:05:00.002-04:00

I got a call at 6:30 am. It was Ron. His car broke down & he needed to be rescued. He told me he was at "Layton" - a street I had never heard of. I "sleep drove" & found him - inside a PetroCanada gas station. He had called a tow truck - which took 2.5 hours to get there. He had to shoo away two police officers that wanted to ticket his car for parking in the middle of the street. (Really quite

Sam & division

2009-01-25T08:01:00.002-04:00

I made Matt & Sam a deal. If they did what was written on my list they could use the computers. Everything was going fine until Sam found out that he had to 50 division problems - not long division but things like: 48/6, etc.He cried, he whined, he pleaded, he begged. He even crumpled up his paper & threw it in the garbage. He complained that they were too hard, that he was just a little boy. It

View from my Window

2009-01-18T17:52:00.002-04:00

1. It is birthday month! Matt turned 11 last Monday & Dan turns 15 tomorrow (Jan 19th). They chose the same meal: curried chicken thighs, rice, and greek salad. Dan wants Greek roasted potatoes too. Matt had a missile-shaped chocolate cake. Dan is having a carrot cake with cream cheese icing. Carrot cake is one of the things I miss on my gluten-free, milk free diet. It has been 11 carrot cake

Sam's Bad Day

2009-01-05T20:02:00.002-04:00

Sam has had a very bad day. A rotten day. A terrible day. A day when he had to cry, have temper tantrums, whine, fuss and complain. Here is why, according to Sam.1. A boy at church was chasing him, kicking and punching. I (Marsha) can verify that this is true. We left church because of it. That set him up for a bad day today.2. People have been taunting him all day. They've said things like: "Sam

Christmas time in Abarbaland

2008-12-29T18:12:00.015-04:00

This is a picture of Ron & I on Boxing Day. We were meeting a friend for coffee on the waterfront ... but hadn't figured on all the coffee shops being closed. We are inside the Ferry Terminal, which was open. It was COLD.This is Katelyn doing a little modeling today ... modeling her mittens which she made over Christmas. She is submitting them to a knitting magazine for publication. We are at

I did it!! Finally.

2008-12-20T13:41:00.005-04:00

I have often watched men at the beach wearing speedos and wished I had my very own pair. Marsha and Katelyn always make fun of said men - which I took as a signal that me-in-a-speedo would never happen. Well I was out doing some Christmas shopping the other day and what should I happen by but a rack of sleek looking speedos. Blue speedos, black speedos and even white speedos. I just had to try on

Wheelchairs & Paddywagons

2008-12-19T23:07:00.003-04:00

We are celebrating tonight because Katelyn finished school today for two weeks! Hurrah! On Wednesday she was sitting in her Yearbook office wheelchair. Her friend Cam came in & said, "when are we taking the wheelchair to your house?" Katelyn had been thinking the same thing. The Abarba-kids have been talking about this wheelchair since September. They need it for a film they are making. But

SLEEP

2008-12-15T10:44:00.003-04:00

I have a problem. No matter what time I go to bed I never go to sleep until twelve, then I wake up at ten in the morning with some one yelling at me to get up. I think I might have to start waking up at four so I will fall asleep when I go to bed. Now to get an alarm clock that's loud enough to wake me up but not Katelyn through the wall hmmm I can probably use a watch. What to do with the four

Bits & Bytes

2008-12-13T12:04:00.000-04:00

Lots of funny little things going on around our house.1. Sam learned to read. He is reading this over my shoulder & pointed out, "I learned to read a long time ago." Yes, that's true. But now he is reading proper big chapter books - like Holes. He skipped the entire "beginning readers" stage & went straight to novels. He reads while sitting by the heater in the kitchen, while hanging upside down

Love

2008-12-09T13:11:00.012-04:00

I have a great story for you.As I may have blogged before, I babysit sometimes. And my favorite family (to babysit) is the one that consists of 4 kids, Caleb, Isaac, Abby and David. One night, just before I had to send the Caleb and Isaac to bed, Caleb asked, "who's your favorite female singer?" I often joke around with them when they ask me questions. For instance, one time Caleb asked me, "why

2008-12-09T11:26:00.002-04:00

Hello Its been a while since I wrote a blog so here are a few things I've done ranging from last year to nowtook a pottery course ( old news)took an art class it was badgave ten inches of my hair to cancertook up crocheting, knitting and sewing with a machinetook a breakdancing course.grew to be 4 inches taller then mombecame allergic to milk became allergic to tartrazine. My throat will close up

Matt & the CBC

2008-12-01T08:26:00.002-04:00

Matt has been saying at bedtime, "I don't want to listen to you read to us. I'm just going to go to bed." I thought this was very strange behaviour. So one night after I read to Sam, I checked on him. The lights were out, he was in his bed & there were pillows over his head. I pulled off the pillows to kiss him and figured out his mysterious utterances: he was listening to the radio. I asked what

Sam & the Migraine

2008-12-01T08:18:00.003-04:00

We had our annual Christmas parade yesterday. Ron & I were out, but the kids went and somehow joined the parade - right between the last float & Santa Clause. Ron asked, "did you twirl a baton or something?" Nope. They just walked along & waved to the crowd. Afterwards Sarah got her picture taken with the mayor. I was shocked the first time I saw the mayor at our Christmas parade. I looked at him

2008-11-18T16:33:00.001-04:00

Mom wanted me to do a writing project about a something that triggers a memory. She wanted me to write it so that it induces a craving into whoever reads it. I decided to write about Mondays when I was about eleven or twelve years old. You may remember the blogs I wrote about Monday when I was that age. Monday. The day of boredom. Why? Our local library is closed on Monday. Mom is gone on

View From My Window

2008-11-11T19:51:00.002-04:00

Today we went to the Remembrance Day service in our community. Every year they have a parade with a pipe & drum band escorting the veterans down our main street. Katelyn sang "In Flanders Fields" "Abide in Me", etc. with her school choir. People spoke & remembered ... all very moving. The funny highlight was a poem that was read out from a school boy that had a line that said:"So today we wear a

The Rash - or the Itchy & Scratchy show

2008-11-01T22:59:00.003-03:00

In another episode of strange situations Marsha gets herself into ...For 3 days I have been unbearably itchy. Last night the itch woke me up several times. It is quite like mosquito bites in itchiness except more intense. I'd say I have about 30 itchy points on my body - you get the picture - very itchy. This morning I found a rash on my tummy - it actually didn't itch but made me wonder if I had

Dan's funny - NOT politically correct

2008-10-30T21:35:00.003-03:00

Dan was kayaking along the ocean during his kayaking course. The kayak teacher explained that the Princess of Bhutain & her husband - the highest ranking Buddhist Priest in North America owned a house they kayaked near. (We also have hiked near their house often as it abuts a public footpath along the ocean.) Dan told his kayak teacher, "Really? I always thought the people that lived in that

Wedding finery

2008-10-30T13:54:00.003-03:00

This is a picture of our kids in their wedding clothes before the wedding. Dan looks like he has a soul patch, but really it is a very bad cold sore. At the very last minute Matt decided he didn't want to wear the pants I had set aside for this occasion. His subsitute suggestion from his drawer was quite acceptable once we gave them an iron. The jacket I had picked out for Sarah to wear with a

Dan's babysitting adventures

2008-10-30T13:46:00.003-03:00

Dan has a favourite family to babysit for.They have 4 kids - Caleb (12) & Isaac (10), Abbie (4) & Dave (2). Caleb & Isaac are very fond of Dan. A neighbour saw Dan with the kids & said, "There was Dan pushing the stroller & Isaac & Caleb were just looking up at him with complete adoration." The other night they asked Dan a very fair question: Since Caleb is now 12, why does Dan have to babysit

View from my window

2008-10-28T14:09:00.002-03:00

Lots is happening at our house ... I'm almost too busy to blog. But our faitful readers need to hear from us.On Saturday we went to my cousin's wedding, just a 15 minute drive from our house. I have 55 first cousins & I think Carmen might be the last to get married for the first time. I was telling someone this morning about having 55 first cousins & they asked how this was possible. It is

A more exciting post than one about my epic haircut

2008-10-17T08:28:00.002-03:00

The Australians have arrived! They have been here for 10 days. Just yesterday they got a 2nd hand couch/love seat/chair & now they are completely set up in their house. You actually go into their house & it looks like someone lives there. Hurrah! I have spent a fair amount of time with them this week, mostly in the van, looking for stuff they needed. They are great people - easy to be around.

Hair Cut Part 3

2008-10-17T08:22:00.002-03:00

I finally was near the hairdressing shop ... I went up to a teacher, explained the long and short over my ears issue & she smiled and said, "yes, of course, we'll book you in." She looked at the computer & said, "can you come back at 1:30?" I said, "No. You can do it now or I can come back at my next appointment in November." She found someone suddenly (I was really hoping the teacher would just

Passendale & Bus Mishaps

2008-10-05T23:04:00.002-03:00

Ron was away for the weekend at a retreat with Dan & Sarah & took our van. That left me carless which was just fine. Sam & Matt & I walked all over town, me happy for the exercise & them complaining bitterly most of the time. I took them swimming twice, bought them Subway (incredibly cheap when you feed all your kids for $7.59) Today we had to take the bus to church - Kate & I had nursery duty &

Hair Cut Part 2

2008-10-05T23:01:00.002-03:00

To all my faithful readers who asked for a pic of my hair - I'll do my best. But since I don't know how to operate a camera or upload photos, it depends on the mercy of my children.I noticed today that the bangs are also cut unevenly - very short on the right, longer on the left. I saw my reflection in a piece of glass today & cried out in horror.Strangely, a friend told me she LIKED my hair