Workshops for the Win! Blog #45

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Our first Workshop and collaboration! Whaaaaat!!!!

We missed you guys last week but we are back and we have news!

We love to workshop with kids! We love the self expression, creative energy, freedom and flow that this setting provides.  

I spent over 20 years in classrooms with children of all ages before I joined the nonprofit sector and during this time my love and appreciation for children’s creativity has blossomed.

I am soooooo excited to be partnering with two other creatives who share my passion and enthusiasm!

In fact, Kuki and I dreamed of collaborating with Fiona (Fionsy Doll Party) early on in our book publishing journey. We had been watching her grow her doll making concept in schools, camps and party settings with admiration and respect! We heard how many kids were delighting in her programs. I mean, who can resist? Building your own creation from recycled materials…. It’s awesome on every level!

So, here we are! A Spring workshop is now on the horizon!

We met up with Fi a few months ago to start dreaming this up. We thought a workshop would be the perfect setting to combine all of our gifts and skills.

Here’s how it’s going to roll.

We are accepting 15 participants for a full afternoon of creativity and self expression!

What to expect?

• Yoga (movement, games, meditation + mindfullness)

• Doll making

• Creative storytelling

• Music

• Self expression

Soooo…… that’s it! We honestly can’t wait to make this day come to life with your kids!

Get in touch because spaces are filling up!

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What does it mean to be gay blog #44

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This week we were asked to blog on this topic. We are so grateful because now we don’t have to think about it! Although we certainly don’t have any particular specialization in this areas we are happy to share our opinion and experiences…

Here we go…. I will go first and Dragon will follow

What does it mean to be gay according to Bunny.

For me, it means not being in a heterosexual relationship and not self identifying as hetero but let me be clear, that for others this might mean something totally different and I am not presuming what this means for them.

This blog is about me lol… now you know why I like blogging so much! Me me me….

Ok, back to the question. What does it mean to be gay?

Well, as I said, I can tell you what it means to me. I identify as a lesbian. This feels right for me.  Although this hasn’t always felt as clear. I have listened to the comments of others who have challenged this, asserting that I couldn’t be gay and that it is only Kuki that I fell in love with or that I must be bisexual because I had only ever been with men prior to her. When I first came out in the Fall of 2011, I was scared and uncertain and let people openly draw these conclusions. I was confused and trying to make sense of the situation myself.

I’m not sure when it clicked but suddenly it did. Just like that I realized that I had the agency to identify for myself and this wasn’t open to interpretation by others. I think the clarity came for me when I began to consider the letters in the acronym LGBTQ+ and became curious to learn about other members of the community, in particular those who identified as trans. I started to read books and watch documentaries and queer films and listen to the stories of the community. I found this very helpful.  I learned that some people know they are queer and / or are same sex attracted and / or feel misidentified by their biology from a very young age while others come to terms with this much later in life. Again, this is not open to interpretation. This is based solely on the experience of the individuals in question. Period.

I would often hear, “You can’t be gay, you were married to a man. You would have known”  and I would think yes. That’s true. I can’t be gay so what is going on then?

But the more I learned about people whose life doesn’t follow a linear path or make sense or subscribe to the social norms and boxes that we so dearly love, the more I realized that it was possible to be gay even though I was married to a man and even though I liked pink stuff and played with Barbies as a child. (My mother actually did say that to me at one point … but you always liked Barbies, aren’t you supposed to born gay? God bless her)

So, what does it mean to be gay? I don’t know what it means to you because it is your absolute right to be who you are, however that looks, and to allow yourself the freedom and opportunity to outgrow your gender or sexual identity and to expect your friends and family to allow you to flourish. I can only tell you what it means for me.

Our book The Butterfly Trap was not only important for us creatively, it also deepened our relationship and it felt like another step in our coming out journey. Queer people often describe coming out as something you do over and over. First we came out to our friends and fam, then at work, then we got married and stood in front of our whole community and the court of law, then we collaborated on and published our book. The assumption is always that you’re straight so our bio is unapologetically there on the pages of our book and we just decided to put it out there for all of our readers. We’re here and we’re queer lol

This is what it means to be gay. Being unapologetically and unwaveringly me. (and loving it) lol

Ok, now it’s my turn, Kuki aka Dragon to answer the question: What does it mean to be gay?According to Dragon

Honestly, it means to be ME, corny and cliché as it sounds, it’s true. I knew I was different when I was little. I was the stereotypical “tomboy” although I disliked that term when I was little until I came across a soccer add featuring Julie Foudy:

“Tomboy.
Alright, call me a tomboy.
Tomboys get medals. Tomboys win championships.
Tomboys can fly.
Oh, and tomboys aren’t boys.”

— Julie Foudy

I never felt like a boy, I just liked the same stereotypical things. I liked Ninja Turtles not Barbies. I played sports and cops and robbers. This was my experience, these were my interests, but please be aware this did not “make me gay” I was born this way.

During my process of coming out there were comments made to me that questioned my interests and activities as a youth. Was it because you played sports? Was it because you went to an all girls school? No and No. I always knew, but didn’t know; I guess the same way a person who likes the opposite gender just knows.

I went through a phase where I tried to be girly and wear high heels and dresses, even pretended to have a crush on a boy but it never felt real. It felt like I was always in costume. I couldn’t recognize myself as that person. Slowly, I started accepting that wearing pants and dress shirts are beautiful as well, and that it’s ok if someone “thinks I’m gay” because I AM! I now proudly define my style as Ellen DeGeneres meets quirky preppie. Although I still have some students draw me wearing a dress, more and more are taking note that I wear pants and that I do look different. I think this is a great opportunity to show them that girls don’t have to have long hair and wear a dress.

Being gay is not easy, I do have a fear that someone will not like me simply because of who I married, I do worry that I will be stared at and judged for kissing my wife in public.

I was terrified when I first came out to my colleagues at work, but they embraced me/us with open arms and have been such a tremendous support ever since. The thing is, I was afraid we weren’t going to be acknowledged, but we were treated like any other couple who were about to get married. The staff collected money and bought us a lovely gift and a very thoughtful card. You see, the fear of not counting, of not being seen was huge and that is why I felt the push to be out with my students.

I want all my students and especially the ones who have same sex parents to hear about my wife and all of our adventures. I want them to be represented, to have stories that mirror their life. And that is why our character Luki, her family and “The Butterfly Trap” is so important. It depicts Luki’s mother in pants and a dress shirt woodworking in the attic. In this story we can’t tell if Luki has one mom, two moms or a mom and dad or another guardian. There are such great books already written about same-sex parents like “And Tango Makes Three” by Justin Richardson and Peter Parnell and “Heather has Two Mommies” by Leslea Newman. In Luki’s next adventure, we plan on introducing another parental figure, and not making it the main purpose of the story. Stay tuned, Luki’s adventures have just begun.

Thanks for being here!!

Love,

Dragon and Bunny

Blog #42 and #43 3 Fun Facts about Dragon according to Bunny (uncensored) and 3 Fun Facts about Bunny according to Dragon

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3 Fun Facts about Dragon according to Bunny (uncensored)

OMG where do I begin? I just think about her and my heart goes pitter patter. She is truly the most incredible person! She is beautiful, funny smart and sweet. I literally can’t get enough of her but let me try and come up with 3 fun facts that might intrigue you.

NOTE: She hasn’t seen this so she will be as surprised as you!!!!!

1. She is fierce and competitive. You may already know that she is an athlete and has been playing organized sports since she was a child. Yes, that’s right, Kuki was an avid soccer and ringuette player, even dabbled in basketball and rugby too. But I think it’s fair to say that she really found herself as a hockey goalie in her late teens. Many years later, she still plays ice hockey at least twice a week and is in the gym training most days she is not playing. She listens to goalie podcasts, has a goalie coach, reads goalie books and is a huge Habs fan (especially Carey). Goalies are unique. As they tend the net, their game is as much mental as it is physical. They endure a lot of pressure and responsibility. It is quite impressive actually. Hats off to goalies everywhere! Now, here comes the real talk. The flip side of being an athlete means having a lot of determination and passion which at times can translate to anger and rage! If you follow hockey, you are familiar with videos of goalies losing their Sh”*t! Well, I have heard and seen Kuki do the same thing. Swearing, smashing her stick and losing control on the ice. Her teammates have seen it too and have learned when to avoid her to let her cool off. I have to admit, that on the one hand I don’t like to see her upset and I empathize because I know she can be really hard on herself. On the other hand I am secretly amused by her. I love her passion and her drive. Most people are shocked to learn about this. So, here’s Fun fact number 1! Kuki is a beast on the ice!

2. She loves dogs / cats. I mean, she really loves them. Like in much the same way that I do. When people say they love animals I always nod and smile because it might mean they think animals are cute, they used to have a goldfish, they like to watch silly pet videos on Youtube or whatever. When I met Kuki I had two dogs and a cat and  they were my life. I love them in the life altering way that you might love a family member. I prepared all of their food from scratch, I would make sure their daily exercise needs were met at the expense of other hobbies and interests, and I even took a solo vacation with my dog Shawn to a week long dog camp in Southern Vermont exclusively for dogs and their parents. So, when she told me that she loved animals I thought… yes, that’s nice. But it was only when we started to get to know each other more and when we were falling in love that I watched her take on the role of pet parent and be as devoted, loving and kind to the fur fam as me, if not more! She is an incredible caregiver, a dog and cat whisperer, and she blows me away with her overall care concern for them and their needs (Swoon).

3. She is a wicked talented artist. She has two art degrees on top of her Education degree. She has done so much personal reflection and introspection through the process of art making. She is gifted and loves to draw and sculpt. She has a talent for rendering portraits and still life with skill and accuracy. She has also worked in performance, installation and textiles. Kuki loves a challenge and for her art mediums are tools for learning, processing and discovery. I am fascinated when she tells me stories about her creative art projects and her vision to use math, statistics and quirky social experiments to draw conclusions. The way her mind works is unbelievable. She is a natural problem solver and this is obvious even in the way she conceives of and makes her art. I know that sometimes she is frustrated and misses her fine art days. But she finds some solace in her role as a Kindergarten teacher where her classroom and students are her project that she is so passionate about. Oh! And of course, our combined effort: DragonBunny Books!

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Fun Facts about Bunny

written by Dragon

Ok so Bunny just told me that we are going to write a Top 3 Fun Facts about each other. She won’t even let me see her intro. I have no idea which direction this is going, at least it will be fun. Joy and fun are such crucial aspects of life. It’s important to relish those moments. I just listened to a great hockey goalie podcast “Goalie by Garmen” where he gives some great insight both on being a goalie and on life in general. He encourages us to remember our successes because it’s all too easy to remember the last goal that went in and not the other 15 saves you made before that.

Celebrate your successes! Now, let’s celebrate Lee-Ann Matthews, the Bunny herself.

Here are my Top 3 Fun Facts about Bunny by me, Kuki, the Dragon.

1.     Fun Fact #1 Gym Rat

Bunny is a beast in the gym! You would be amazed at this little 5-foot-2 woman. She loves to challenge herself and lifts as much as she can. She’ll ask me: “How many reps do you do?” If I answer 6, she will do 12. Bunny is constantly challenging herself to improve. If you saw her “pipes” you would say that she’s Kelly Ripa’s twin! Don’t mess with her!!!

Even though she doesn’t typically play organized sports, she is really competitive at badminton, like REALLY competitive. I like to think I’m the sporty one in the relationship, but SHE is the badminton champ. I can’t even believe it. It actually bugs me because I really want to win. I might have to get some private coaching to help me out over here.

2.     Fun Fact #2 Teacher Extraordinaire

Bunny taught for many years as a preschool teacher. I remember being so inspired by her drive to create activities and her ability to remember a million and one songs off the top of her head. It’s also one of the reasons why I love her so much. She is so passionate about teaching, animating and the well-being of little humans.

One of her dreams was to be a kindergarten teacher. She would have been the best kindergarten teacher this world has known. She has a natural gift to see the world through the eyes of young children and is able to create incredible learning opportunities with ease. I try every day to be a fraction of the teacher that Bunny is. She is such an inspiration to me.

3.     Fun Fact #3: Singing

Did you know that Bunny sings randomly at least 10 times a day? Sometimes it’s not even real words, just loud sounds in an opera voice! This is our normal, call it vocal warm-up or just plain silly, it happens all the time at home. Thank God our animals are old and can’t hear as well. Jeremiah the cat can still hear, but he is a scaredy cat; he runs away if you look at him. We could never have this much fun with our border collie Shawn around. He would start barking and yipping and literally make us stop. We called him the “No Fun Police”. Shawn passed away 5 years ago this summer and our singing has never been the same.

Not only does Lee love to sing, she has an amazing voice as well. She has an incredible ability to remember the lyrics to songs and can harmonize anything! I forgot to mention that her rhyming ability is phenomenal. She can pop out a song in minutes! All I have to do is find a chord pattern and BOOM! Song is written! Stay tuned for our next single!

That’s it for this week’s blog! We did it! We broke the writer’s block!

You can always like, comment and share to show your support and don’t forget to Subscribe!

Love,

Dragon and Bunny

Blog # 42 Why do we blog? What's the point and who even reads it?

Why do we do this?

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This week somebody asked us why we blog? They asked, why do you do it and what is the point? Then followed up with, who even reads it?

The question was a little jarring because the truth is, creating blog content takes time and energy which given all that we do is already in short supply. So, ya, why do we even bother?

This got us thinking.

My initial reaction was, why do painters make paintings? Why do poets write poetry? Why do creatives create? Because that is what we do, that is what we have always done as a means of processing information, of building communities, understanding one another and ourselves. Ideally, these processes are not only therapeutic and helpful for the creator. Ideally, self expression creates large ripples and opens us up to one another.

I mean, isn’t connection the whole reason and purpose for life?

When I first fell in love with dragon, I was distraught because it meant forfeiting so many things that I thought were essential. I had a house, a business, and an established marriage that was holding it all together. I was speaking to a therapist at the time and was in distress about the ways in which I feared I had failed and she reminded me that connection is the whole purpose of life, that deep meaningful connection is why we are here. I can’t tell you how that helped me.

Connection trumps everything.

Dragon and I took took a huge risk by being together. It was scary and uncertain. But after 7+ years, we can safely say that cultivating this connection has enhanced how we connect to others. We have deeper and more meaningful relationships and stronger ties to our community since we have been together.

Our connection has created waves of connection that are life giving.

That is why we wrote The Butterfly Trap.  That is why we are working on our next book. That is why we believe in the process of art making and storytelling and that is why we write a blog.

Thanks for being here.

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Dragon is Back and is she is Blogging!

Reflections from my Cali Conference Adventure

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Last week I left for California with my kindergarten colleagues. I know Bunny was nervous about me leaving, but what you may not know is that I was as well. She is my best friend, my wife and someone who I just like to be around as much as I can. Gushy I know but it’s true. She has gone away for conferences before, but that was before Shannon (our 17-year-old Chihuahua) was so old and had so many persistent needs that are best met by both of us. I kissed our little dog on the head before I left, though I was worried and didn’t like saying good bye, I continued on.

I had to pack the night before as I still had a full day of teaching before me. Ok, Bunny packed for me as she often/always is my fashion consultant in the mornings, so I of course needed her to plan my outfits for the conference! I feel a sense of duty to represent the queer, gender non-conforming females out there and to make the statement that Yes, it’s ok to wear pants!

Last Thursday was a crazy day, I taught all morning, coached basketball at lunch, had a meeting right before literally running to the taxi that would take us to the airport. Once we were at the airport though, the reality sank in: we- are- going- to- CALI! I recalled selecting my workshops with great anticipation, as this is my first ever teachers’ conference and I couldn’t  wait to see what it was like. And the most amazing thing was that our whole team was given this exciting opportunity to attend together! I do apologize if I haven’t mentioned our kindergarten team’s amazingness until now, because they are some of the best people in the world. Our office is organized like one big table. Our desks all face each other and we often jokingly give out the “cleanest desk award” to who ever deserves it, usually not me. Other teachers marvel at how we actually get work done this way, but we do, you see, kindergarten is a village; we all care for all the students, and we all love our job. Teamwork is our middle name, we have a flat leadership approach that thrives on each others strengths.

On the plane ride we took time to finish up some collaborative work, watched a movie or two and probably annoyed our neighbours with our high fives, giddiness and my passing of

chocolate to those around me. We were EXCITED!

When we finally arrived in Los Angeles, we jokingly wondered which actors we would see. Well, low and behold, I saw Eugene Levy and his eyebrows from across the luggage carousel! CHECK! We met our taxi driver and he drove us in style and quite quickly, I must add, to Pasadena. We rested and regrouped to be ready for our next couple of conference days.

All the workshops I went to had one underlying theme in common, Keep It Simple Sweetie. This was helpful for me as I am a perfectionist and although this motivates me to constantly improve and push my limits, I often want everything I produce to be PERFECT. The problem is that perfection doesn’t exist, and I seem to forget that sometimes. I was encouraged by the workshops because I learned that I am already doing many of the activities/ideas that were presented. I was inspired by each presenters’ passion and joy for what they do. Each teacher, retired or currently working, had one consistent message: they want to constantly improve themselves and that they love what they do. There is that old cliché that says, if you love what you do then it’s not work. Well that is definitely true here. These presenters love what they do. Which was validating for our K Team because we share this sentiment.

Here are a few broad stroke conference takeaways:

• Tablecloths make easy, affordable decorations and can help transform a classroom in millions of creative ways

• Don’t be afraid to be imaginative

• Presenters with a Southern Drawl are very funny

• Bucket Filling is a great tool for empathy and social skill building

• “We all have feelings and we all like feeling good”

• Phonemic awareness is crucial

• When helping children learn to write ask what is the “spelling” and not  which “letter” do you hear

• Seats closest to electrical plugs are VERY sought-after

• Integrating STEM can be easy and modest: use simple materials

• Fruit in California is divine, eat as much as you can

Not only did we learn a lot at the conference, we also became a closer team. The laughs and

adventures we experienced reinforced the bond we have with each other and strengthened our

team in incredible ways. From playing Ping-Pong, to thrift store bargain hunting, to finding gluten-free restaurants, to going swimming at the outdoor pool in 13C weather, to renting a car and driving to the Hollywood Hills, to looking at all the big homes in Beverly Hills and trying to find a public bathroom for all of us women, to renting bikes in Venice and biking along the ocean and the canals, to saying hi to all the animals I encountered, to seeing the ocean and touching

the water, to trying to find all the most perfect gifts for my wife along the way because I missed her terribly and knew she would have loved to be here with me and that she would have loved it as much as we did.  We had so much fun! What an incredible experience, and I am honored to bring this passion back to snowy, icy, cold Montreal.

Note: Teachers and Parents, If you want to know more about the actual presentations, just leave a note and I can write another little blog.

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Transforming Disappointments into Opportunities

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Transforming Disappointments into opportunities

Disclaimer: Not sure if this a blog post or a diary entry, but bear with me here. I think I’m onto something ...

This theme runs through the course of our history, we understand it through the lenses of philosophy, religion, art, film etc. It’s certainly not new to me as disappointment is something that I am all too familiar with but I received a new understanding, that I believe may lead to some meaningful changes for me, and I would like to share them with you.

I had a rough week largely due to the following trifecta:  anxiety, headaches and negative thoughts (ugh).

Kuki left for California on Thursday and this triggered me. I have to remind myself that anxiety is not always rational. In fact, anxiety often doesn’t make sense at all as I know full well that there is no objective reason for me to feel anxious about my wife going to a teacher’s conference in sunny California. This is a wonderful opportunity of growth and learning for her in a warm climate with colleagues who are also friends. There are even benefits for me, I enjoy my own company and anticipate the alone time, creative space and reflection that her brief departure will afford.

So, it’s all good right?

Despite all this, I felt unbouyed by her leaving. I felt unboyed by the idea of her leaving. To make matters worse our furnace was making noise, I had to contact a plumber and helping her to prepare for her trip, packing and organizing was filling me with anxiety. I was counting down the days to her departure with dread!

The day before she left I had a huge migraine headache and needed to take pain medication, and wait in my car until I could muster the strength and focus to drive home. As I waited, I plummeted into a dark, desperate place where I felt deeply vulnerable, unstable and unable to function. I felt the familiar and unwelcome combo of anxiety and depression.

As if migraine pain and light sensitivity weren’t enough, the headaches almost always fill me with a crippling sense of disappointment and failure. You see, I have invested so much money, time and energy in the prevention of migraines. As traditional medicine offers little hope, I have consulted with and been treated by osteopaths, hypnotists and am currently under the care of an amazing acupressurist who has prescribed a nutritional protocol including supplements such as herbs, teas, flowers and other natural remedies, all with the goal of curing my headaches. So when I still get headaches despite these efforts I have thoughts such as, “why do I even bother, nothing will help . You are a lost cause” … among other unhelpful, negative discouragements.

Yesterday I had an acupressure session where I shared all of this and here’s what happened. During the treatment, I was asked to allow myself to feel the deep and lingering pain of disappointment in my life. I should explain that the disappointment I am processing is not the disappointment of everyday life but instead the disappointments that are a result of unmet expectations and betrayals by those you trust and love. This is far more complicated than being denied your desires for example.

At first it wasn’t easy because I couldn’t access these feelings on demand. Instead, I started to think about memories that triggered disappointment. And they started to come more and more easily. Soon, the feelings started to flow. I didn’t make any excuses for situations and people from my past, I didn’t look on the bright side, I didn’t think about forgiveness and empathy. I just felt the disappointment itself which meant allowing sadness and anger to arise as well.

It was heavy and hard but gradually I started to feel the memories and feelings move through my body and they started to feel lighter and disperse energetically down my limbs to my extremities. And then an insight emerged.

I realized that though I have experienced some major disappointment in the form of trauma, gaslighting and abuse, among others, I haven’t disappointed myself. I have been steadfast to myself. I continue to show up and take steps to heal and recover and to care for myself. I have been given the gift of disappointment as a way of attaining resiliency. The special cherry on top is that I have a strong desire to show up for and not to disappoint others. I started to feel a warm and deep internal sense of safety and self love. I would even say that I felt proud of myself.

I left the session feeling invigorated. In the car on the way home I started to think about disappointment and my relationship to it and how it can be a catalyst for growth and transformation if I can allow myself not to feel paralyzed and overwhelmed by it.

Then I thought of Luki from The Butterfly Trap. I thought of her disappointment when her mother says no to her. Her mother denies her wish to have a pet butterfly which makes her angry. But ultimately her disappointment is transformed into joy and freedom when she opts to leave the butterflies fly in the garden. It was her disappointment in fact, that allowed her to understand and experience her freedom.

Isn’t that cool?

I hope we can all be like Luki.

Is there any disappointment in your life that you can identify as being transformative?

Take a few minutes to process and let us know!

Get your own signed copy of the book

P.S Dragon / Kuki is coming home on Tuesday! I can’t wait!

Here are a few pics of the fun they are having at the Kindergarten conference. Doesn’t it look awesome???

Blog #39 Connecting through music even when it seems there is no other way ….

Singing, rhyming and connecting through music even when it seems there is no other way ….

I will never forget the summer of 2011. Dragon and I were working at a Montessori preschool that offered a summer camp program. This is how we met. I thought she was pretty cool, arty and sporty. I admired her for all these reasons as well as for her ability to animate and lead camp activities. But the real magic happened for me the day she brought her guitar to camp and started to play and sing one sunny morning in the garden.

This was the beginning of our story. We started to sing together and as if this wasn’t great enough, we soon began entertaining our little campers with fun sing-a-longs. Seeing the delight on their little faces and watching them come to life made it even more precious.  

This is how we fell in love. Before I even knew it was love. We were hanging out in our free time singing, harmonizing and laughing all summer. We started sinking deeper into this new realm and expressed our unspoken connection through music.

Music is a language that allowed us to experience nuanced and deep emotions. We were able to express ourselves and connect in ways that are unique to this medium without even having to talk. This was particularly helpful for us at a time when these feelings were so scary and unwelcome for a host of complicated reasons.

You could say that making music is how we found each other and now as we are on this book publishing journey, we are at it again!

We all know that the benefits of music are endless but we can tell you that from an educators perspective, it can be a life saver to provide focus, direction and calm a classroom like no other tool.

Our book The Butterfly Trap, is brought to life when we read it and sing the song to accompany it!  The truth is, we have received an outrageous amount of positive feedback from this. But the plot thickens, we are writing new songs and having the best time performing them. We have been on the radio to sing our Snow Day Celebration Anthem which we created on a whim when the snow day news busted out on the radio the night before. We love the spontaneity, joy and silliness that we can freely unleash when we sing. And this of course is inspired directly by childhood itself.

We have so many big plans to sing and entertain following in the footsteps of our idols formerly Sharon Lois and Bram, now Sharon and Bram. Hey! By the way, they are doing a farewell tour in June! Who’s in???

We have big plans guys… Keep an eye out for a summer music in the park event, an album and a tour. You may already know that we have only scratched the surface of our creative potential and we are so blessed that you are on this journey with us.

Look out world,

because Dragon & Bunny are coming at you!   

Our first single is ready to download!!!!! Many of you have asked for the MP3 because your kids sing it all the time. Big HUGE thank you to Mr. G Studios for helping us realize this dream.

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Let the Apple ripen on the branch beyond your need to take it down (Blog #38)

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Let the Apple ripen on the branch beyond your need to take it down.

(David Whyte)

One of our all time faves, Lisa Congdon illustrated and posted this quote from a David Whyte poem on Instagram today.

Years ago, Kuki flagged her as someone to look out for. She started following her and buying her books and we took her online Creative Bug classes. All this to say that Lisa is a huge inspiration to us. She is a mostly self taught artist who is not only brilliant, talented and prolific, but has grit and perseverance too.

Yes! her work is incredible but her tenacity and drive are equally impressive.

We learn so much from the artists, poets, influencers and change makers in our midst. We are grateful that we can make art to contribute to the world even in the most insignificant ways.  

As we continue to evolve on this book publishing journey we are deepening our understanding on waiting, ripening, patience and harvest.

Which is why this quote struck us today.

Let the Apple ripen on the branch beyond your need to take it down.

On this cold late Winter day, our fruit is still on the vine and we are savouring the sweet spot of now.

Where do you see the fruit ripening in your life? And do you have a need to take it down? What would happen if you waited?

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WINTER APPLE By David Whyte

Let the apple ripen

on the branch

beyond your need

to take it down.

Let the coolness

of autumn

and the breathing,

blowing wind

test its adherence

to endurance,

let the others fall.

Wait longer

than you would,

go against yourself,

find the pale nobility

of quiet that ripening

demands…

watch with patience

as the silhouette emerges

and the leaves fall;

see it become

a solitary roundness

against a greying sky,

let winter come

and the first

frost threaten,

and then wake

one morning

to see the breath

of winter

has haloed

its redness

with light.

So that a full

two months

after you

should have

taken the apple

down

you hold it in

your closed hand

at last and bite

into the cool

sweetness

spread evenly

through every

single atom

of a pale

and yielding

structure.

So that you taste

on that cold,

grey day,

not only

the after reward

of a patience

remembered,

not only

the summer

sunlight

of a postponed

perfection,

but the sweet

inward stillness

of the wait itself.

Love is Love (or is it)

Listen HERE

For Valentine’s Day, we thought we would share a few words about love. Our love in particular. The Dragon and Bunny variety. This week was so exciting for us because we had the most incredible opportunity to be interviewed by Natasha Hall on the Natasha Hall show on CJAD to talk about The Butterfly Trap.

listen to the interview

It was interesting, because in the interview, when she introduced us she identified our love story as something that evolved into a children’s book. Which is actually pretty accurate.

We met in the classroom, we bonded over our love of education and passion for the creative process. Years later, we decided to collaborate on The Butterfly Trap and our very own butterfly-loving Luki was born!

Being in love with Kuki, being her wife and sharing a life together is literally the best thing that has ever happened to me. For most of my life, I didn’t actually believe the lyrics of love songs. You know the ones, where lovers declared their undying gratitude and are transformed, healed and uplifted by the magical powers of romance. I literally thought that these words were as impossible and unrealistic as horned flying unicorns. I have been disappointed by love and had literally lost hope that lasting romance and loving kindness were possible. Until I became a Bunny and Kuki became a Dragon and all those words to all those sappy love songs became my living reality (flying unicorns, loving kindness and all).

It’s almost Valentine’s Day, so I am giving myself licence to confess my love and devotion to the human that is so consistently loving, kind and dedicated to me.

But Being in a queer relationship has its challenges. For example, just today I was waiting for Kuki in a cafe in Ottawa when someone who worked at the restaurant asked if I needed anything else. I replied without thinking …”no thanks.  I’m just waiting for my …. friend umm…I mean partner” gesturing toward the washroom. My friend?

Really?

Why would I even think that?

Why would I feel afraid or ashamed or even hesitant to say who I was waiting for?

My wife. She is my wife. In the eyes of the law, we are as legally married as any other couple. We were in Ottawa for Winter Pride for goodness sake! How much more affirming could that be? Yet I still had the knee jerk reaction to hide who I am and call her a friend because that is what most people assume. Or sister actually. We often hear, “you look so much alike… sisters?” And we have also been asked if we were mother - daughter but that’s another blog.

Anyway, the point is, it’s not always easy. Sometimes it’s full out scary and vulnerable. At times, we still feel that we have to hide who we are in order to avoid controversy which is I guess what happened to me today, without even thinking.

I am grateful for the slogan Love is Love but in real life, it’s really not. Queer love isn’t equal to hetero love in the eyes of our stubborn, hard-wired heteronormative perceptions.  Thankfully, the movement is gaining more traction and queer families are getting more acceptance, and queer kids are feeling less weird and that is awesome!

Fun fact: Our book series will have LGBTQ representation with the hopes of further breaking down stigmas and stereotypes and normalizing the community.

Because Love IS Love and speaking for myself, this love is the best most complete and life affirming love I could have ever imagined.

Happy Valentine’s Day to all the lovers! Keep on loving and striving and showing up for what matters. We can do this!

Blog 36. You don't have to be Happy all the time...

As promised, after the Bell Let’s Talk mental health awareness campaign, here is my story about my own mental health crisis

A few years ago my mental health plummeted. I started to have episodes of extreme panic coupled with a chronic sense of anxiety sprinkled with bouts of crippling depression.

I guess we can’t ever know exactly what triggers these things. Hormones? Chemical imbalance? Obviously I wanted to understand what would have lead to such a crisis. I do know that my sister had recently died of cancer revealing some profound deficits in my family and leaving me grasping for meaning. I can also tell you that I started having migraines and headaches with greater frequency than ever before.

I recently asked Dragon what she considered to be the most challenging phase of our relationship so far.

We have been through some transitions. From our harrowing beginnings (me coming out, divorcing and losing my house, business and reputation) to the loss of her cherished Grandmother, Noni, my mum’s stroke, losing our dogs Shawn and Betsy to illness, and to more positive but stressful nonetheless experiences such as getting married, writing and publishing our  book etc.

And she said that the mental health lapse I am describing was the hardest. She was scared and didn’t know what to do, how to help and if I would get better.

It was a really scary time. I sometimes felt desperate and didn’t know where to turn. I didn’t feel like getting out of bed, would cry all the time and I even had dark thoughts about suicide. I remember googling “what do you do if you feel like killing yourself” and keeping the suicide hotline page open and holding the phone open with the number ready to dial. As I said, it was a really scary and sad time and there were layers of distress to grapple with.

What did I do?

How did I climb out of the hole?

Or did I?

I reached out to friends who were health care professionals and asked for recommendations, I started seeing my therapist more often, I started drinking pots and pots of mint tea, removed sugar and caffeine from my diet and started taking vitamins, herbs and supplements from the health food store.

I think one of the most helpful modalities was regular osteopathy sessions offered by a very talented and sincere osteopath named Ken Allego.  I felt things shift literally after the first session with him. But it took months and many relapses to actually feel that I was out of the woods. In fact, I received treatments for a full year before I started to wean off. I have learned that I am someone who suffers from mental health conditions that can be triggered by stress, hormones and adversity. Actually, maybe I will never be out of the woods entirely but am now in the thicket with clear glimpses of meadow on most days.

Taking care of my mental health now is fuelled by visits to the gym for weight training, acupressure sessions with gifted healer Marjorie Silcoff, , yoga, prayer and meditation, and a careful nutrition regimen.

On a final note, I would like to remind us all that we can still live a wonderful, healthy, meaningful and productive life if we have been afflicted by anxiety and / or depression. Getting sick doesn’t mean we will always be sick. Many people recover, find strategies to cope, and even channel their pain and suffering into an opportunity for helping others, being creative and for social impact. It is important that we continue to de stigmatize mental illness and to support one another in radical ways.

We need to give ourselves permission to feel all the feelings and relieve the unrealistic pressure of being happy all the time.   

Always Remember ….Empathy matters! Be Kind! Be generous!! Be grateful! Be You!

(you may download this image HERE)

Blog 35. Our Top 5 Fave Kids Books of All Time!!

Bunny’s Top 5 Fave Kids Books of All Time!!

(Listen to the Blog and let us read to you HERE)

This morning I (Bunny) stood in front of our bookshelf, housing a vast collection of children’s books, board books, toddler books and yoga books and I have to say, it was hard to choose my top 5.

I was flooded with memories and emotions as I flipped through them all. I have had the privilege of teaching and offering programs to so many different kids and families. Some are in rough shape because they have been around a while and some were actually brand new as they were just placed in the library and haven’t even been read yet!

Some are precious to me because they make me nostalgic and remind me of how it felt to capture the hearts and imaginations of young children through the pages of a book for the first time.

I remember watching veteran teachers engage a group of children with finger plays and stories when I was a newbie educator and thinking I would never be able to do the same.

I soon became preoccupied by searching out and acquiring the most compelling children’s books and building my own personal library as this would give me an advantage during circle time. I looked for books that had beautiful illustrations, were filled with adventure and wonder!

Such as this one…. “Come The Terrible Tiger”

Some of the books I still have but the pages are falling out as they have been read and fondled and inspected by many many children over the past 25 years!

Anyway, the point is, I have read a lot of books to a lot of kids and this has been one of the most bonding and effective methods of reaching, teaching and connecting with my students.

I chose the following (in no particular order)

1. The World Belongs to You by Riccardo Bozzi / Illustrated by Olimpia Zagnoli (2013)

This is the newest acquisition in the collection I chose. It was just published in 2013 and has an incredible message, simple illustrations is empowering and validating. I use it in yoga classes as it reminds us of our agency, our freedom and our choices.

“You are free to believe in anything you want. You are also free to believe in nothing at all” It also reminds us of our place in the world and our sense of belonging. “The world belongs to you and you belong to the world”  and perhaps my favourite quote:

“You are free to love anyone you want and you are free to let that love go”

I found myself deeply moved by this picture book. The simple yet powerful message touched and opened my heart and I am hopeful that even the youngest readers are touched too.

2. Make A Face A Book with a Mirror by Henry and Amy Schwarz (1994)

This book has been a “GO-TO” in my collection for many years! It is awesome because it features large, simple illustrations of children in a variety of emotional states. The language is very simple. There is no plot, no protagonist, no storyline, just children experiencing their emotions. For example the second page features a forlorn looking child with the words  “I want my mommy SAD”. Every time I have read this book to children of all ages, they stop and they look and they connect with the sentiment and when I ask them if they have ever felt this way many heads are nodding empathetically. Another perk is that there is an actual mirror in the back of the book where the children can look at themselves and identify how they are feeling.

3. Hide and Seek by Jez Alborough (1994)

This book offers humour, delight, and of course, nothing is better when reading to young children than the element of surprise! There are a variety of animals who are playing together, there is counting and camouflage and sheer joy in the pages of this wonderful lift the flap book!

4. The Peace Book by Todd Parr (2004)

Todd Parr is one of our all time, hands down, biggest inspirations! We have all of his books and we read them as often as possible! The Peace Book is funny, sassy and smart and packs an important message. Plus, It champions diversity, inclusivity and care for our planet. What more could you ask for from a children’s book??

5. It’s Mine a fable by Leo Lionni (1985)

This book has been capturing the hearts and imaginations of my students for many years. I love how there are no humans in the book, instead there are frogs! I happen to love frogs so books about frogs always attract me. I also love nature and this book takes place in nature and allows readers to learn from and through nature and the elements. Most importantly the fable is about sharing. So, this delightful story has stood the test of time and deserves a place on your shelf if it isn’t there already!

A few final words about kids books.

If you love and connect with the book you are reading then you are more likely to read it in a way that will make your students / kids love it too.

Like any piece of writing or work of art, our responses are subjective so be mindful of this and patient with yourself and your kids if my selections don’t float your boat.

Let us know what your top five is - and did

The Butterfly Trap make the cut?

Love, Dragon and Bunny

5 Reasons Why we don’t have kids….

Listen Here (4 mins. 27 seconds)

Well, I can tell you now that I would have been voted most likely to have kids when I was in high school.

I mean, I LOVED kids!

I became an Aunt when I was 7 years old and I LOVED my little nephew beyond reason!

I was babysitting at the age of 13 and became a live-in nanny at 19. I worked at camps and took babysitting courses and I always thought, without a doubt, that I would have a family of my own.

I even did my undergrad in Education, majoring in Child Studies, then worked with young children in pre-school and daycare settings for 20 years! I became a children’s yoga teacher, a children and youth ministry leader and then we go and launch DragonBunny Books and write a children’s book!

Clearly, there is something very compelling for me about children. Dragon and I always laugh because when children spot us, they can tell that we are their people. Just last night we were in a restaurant and a young family walked in. The youngest started moving her Incredible Hulk figurine in our direction to engage us. “We’ve been spotted - they are onto us” we laugh. We get kids. We know their language, their world … Dragon has been working and volunteering in schools, daycares, camps and pools for twenty years too,

so ….

You get the picture.

We met in the classroom, we bonded over lesson plans, fun songs, art projects and endearing teaching moments. But despite all this…. We don’t have children of own…

Why?

Reason 1.

For starters, despite being married and intimate and sharing the same bed, we aren’t biologically capable of conceiving which we have come to learn is accountable for a large number of pregnancies. You will never hear the words “Oops! We’re pregnant!” from our mouths.

In fact, for us to get pregnant would be a complicated process where only one of us would be the biological parent meaning we couldn’t share this experience fully and that’s not how we roll.

And as for adoption…. Well read on and you will learn more

Reason 2.

Because we know ALLLLLLL about kids (the good, the bad and the ugly) we are also highly equipped to weigh the options. Of course, we have dreamed of having our own child: of the post bath, clean toddler, smelling like baby powder, waddling around in a onesie with damp curls and cooing like a dove …. But then there’s the flip side…. The endless activities, their relentless emotional needs, the financial strain, and the very fact that we would have to radically alter our lives and schedules, both professional and personal.

Reason 3.

There are a lot of people on the planet. The world doesn’t need another one from us. It gives us some consolation that we have never put diapers in landfill, no plastic toys, no endless stream of gifts and clothes and food and disposable everything that human life demands.

Reason 4.

Honestly, we don’t think we would be very good at it. We think we would probably freak out, be too anxious. Speaking for myself only now because Dragon is a much better person than me, I’m too selfish and I don’t want to give up the freedom of being child free.

Don’t get me wrong. There is a flip side to everything. Not having children means we are not going to experience the depth of love of being parents. We have to mourn this decision as well as to celebrate it. I do look longingly at babies wrapped up in strollers being pushed by proud parents. They radiate love and comfort and all good things.

Reason 5.

We are able to express our maternal instincts and nurturance to our fur family - who we adore and lavish with the attention, care and devotion of parents.

Plus we love all of the children in our lives including our nieces and nephews, god children and students from all walks of life.

We are fulfilled

Our relationship is fulfilling, our life is rich and we are not really wanting for anything.

I don’t have an unquenchable thirst or insatiable desire to be a parent - only a fleeting thought.

I sometimes feel a slight ache in my heart that I won’t ever know this kind of love, but I know the love that I have been blessed with and it feels me with inexplicable joy.

So there you have it, 5 reasons we don’t have kids. That is, why we don’t have kids right now.

Who knows? We might wake up tomorrow with a whole new longing.

We’re open to that! But until then, this is it…

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We want it All!

Listen to the blog HERE

So the dust has settled.

We have launched our first book, our first Christmas season as published authors and the frenzy of sales and the holidays are now behind us.

Now we can breathe again…. Ahhhhh….

But wait, we didn’t create The Butterfly Trap book so we could breathe!

• We want to shake things up!

• We want to make a difference!

• We want to Provoke change!

• We want to make kids and families take a second look!

• We want people to question their beliefs!

• We want to rattle cages!

• We want to make people laugh!

• We want to make people think!

• We want people to love and care for nature!

Yes! We want it all!

So… that’s just what we’re up to!

We aren’t breathing more… although breathing is very important!

Instead, we are super excited about the new year and the new ways that we are going to get the word about The Butterfly Trap and DragonBunny books and all of our awesome dreams for 2019!

P.S Today we were contacted by a radio station for a potential segment on our book!

So thanks for reading this and believing in us. We are planning on making it worth your while!

Please Subscribe (thank you)

The Best is Yet To Come!

As we are counting down the final days of 2018..... we find ourselves a little nostalgic.

As you know, it was a big deal for us to launch The Butterfly Trap this year. We really put ourselves out there. We not only published for the first time but we also established a new website, blog and committed to building the DragonBunny Books brand. Even now as I write this, I get butterflies in my stomach - no pun intended.

You see, we have set our sights on big things. We believe that the best is yet to come. In 2019, not only will we publish again but we will continue to grow our audience and readership and watch The Butterfly Trap sensation expand to reach even more children, families and classrooms. We are developing supplemental materials to enhance your engagement with our book. Keep an eye out for music, lesson plans, work sheets and more!

We are excited to continue to deliver meaningful content for you and your family but we are also asking for your help as move into the New year...

What can you do?

• You can rate our book on Amazon and on our Facebook page.

• You can endorse our book by giving us a shout out on your own social media pages.

• You can follow us on Instagram, Youtube and Facebook.

• You can tell a friend, share our book, use good old fashioned word of mouth to spread the news!

• If you haven't bought our book, colouring book, cards, prints or Swag bag then head over to our online shop and do so now!

• Subscribe to our mailing list

Honestly, we are in this together and are so grateful to have a community as loyal, generous, kind and supportive as you are. We wish each of you all of the success, creativity, health, wealth, love and expansion that you desire and deserve!

Thank you 2018 and Welcome 2019!

Final Blog ... Bunny spills Highlights of 2018 with all the juicy details

Well, It’s Blog #30 and as it turns out it’s our final Blog of 2018. I have to tell you that I have found it very therapeutic to take this time every week to craft these entries. So, if you are reading now, thank you for indulging me!

I love writing. It was something I was actually good at when I was in elementary school. I remember having my stories read aloud and my compositions being entered into contests. I loved English and Art as much as I loathed Math and Geography! I have always used journalling as a means of helping me to process information and to document portions of my life.

But I digress…

Today it’s all about sharing highlights from 2018

As you can well-imagine, publishing The Butterfly Trap was not only a highlight of the year but a highlight of our lives.

Let’s flashback to December 2017 when I was working on daily illustrations for an Advent calendar and posting the images on Social Media - Inspired by Inktober. I received so much great feedback including inquiries and comments such as “you should illustrate a children’s book”

This of course appealed to me in every way. In fact, I had already written and illustrated a children’s book years ago but never taken the next steps. I vowed to myself that I would finally make this dream a reality and submit my story and artwork to a publisher in 2018.

To be honest, I was further propelled to make this happen as a trusted friend, mentor and colleague had just announced that he was leaving Canada. I was devastated. This impacted me so deeply as much of my passion and dedication to my work felt integral to our relationship at this time. I felt unhinged by his pending departure so I needed to channel my energy into something productive and meaningful.

When I shared my decision with Kuki, we considered the options and possibilities for publishing. It became very clear that what we really wanted was to do this together. We knew that our shared interest, combined talents and abilities were the perfect formula for book success. We decided to reboot the project from scratch…. together as Dragon and Bunny!

We renamed the main character who was originally Lulu, to a combination of both of our names, Kuki and Lee-Ann, Luki. And there you have it! The rest is history.

Re engineering the illustrations and story to reflect both of us was a complete labour of love.

Over the course of the past year, we have gone through all of the emotions: from anticipation to anxiety, regret, fear, elation and bliss.

But despite the rollercoaster of emotions, what has become increasingly clear is what makes life meaningful, rich and memorable. Life expands when we expand. Pushing our boundaries and growing, doing things that are a little crazy, this is the real stuff of life. Acquiring new skills and being able to stand on your own two feet… that is where the highlights are.

When my boss/friend/mentor left I wasn’t sure how I could stand on my own two feet. But I soon learned that I could. Plus, I suffered from all kinds of self doubt with regards to publishing The Butterfly Trap but nonetheless, I persevered.

Here’s the thing, one of the best ways to silence self doubt is to prove it wrong.

So, the highlight of 2018 isn’t really about the actual publishing of the book it is more about the grit it took to acquire new skills and abilities in the process. Grit creates a deeper and more sustainable sense of well being, like the kind of well being that trumps other accomplishments likely because it endures.

I could make a list as long as my arm detailing the skills, knowledge and insights that this process has taught us. I am so grateful for this. It is worth every ounce of effort, time, energy and money that we spent.

Maybe one day I can share some of my learnings with you or someone you know who might be interested in publishing. We would love to share!

We are so excited to work on our next project in 2019. And can only dream of the things we will learn along the way! This journey really is all about the process!

Don’t go anywhere you guys because the best is yet to come!

See you in the New Year…. I wonder what Luki will be up to in the next round??? Any guesses or suggestions welcome!

Learning to heed wisdom from iconic 80's Movies

It’s been busy for us.

Since we took the leap of faith and decided to embark on this book publishing journey, it’s been busy for us.

It’s been so busy in fact that we really haven’t stopped.

Here’s how busy it’s been…

We get up early and make an effort to eat something decent, squeeze in some time at the gym, some prayer, yoga, and / or meditation.

Then we start our work day early.

We work all day and in the evening we make sure that we are keeping an eye on my geriatric mum by doing her laundry, groceries and checking in. We also care for our sweet 17 year old dog who is losing interest in foods she once loved and we are now on a continuous quest to stimulate her appetite. We try to cook healthy food and eat properly and are usually depleted and in bed by 9pm. We run a youth group on Sunday mornings and Kuki plays hockey on week ends too. And of course, there is always groceries and household chores

AND…

as you well know,

we wrote, illustrated, published and marketed our first children’s book…THE BUTTERFLY TRAP. Since then, we have been doing book readings / signings and online events while building our brand, a website, social platforms etc etc….

And, we wouldn’t change a thing!

But lately I’ve been feeling it.

There is no down time, friend time, goof off time or leisure time… that can’t be good.

Sometimes I look back at the person I was when I was a teenager. I remember feeling so carefree. Many teen agers are really stressed: they may have performance pressures and are high achievers, they have extra curricular activities. They are wound up and worried about the future.

That doesn’t describe me… nope. I was a dead beat.

• no self discipline,

• no structure,

• no sense of consequences.

• I hardly attended high school,

• I hung out with friends in cafes instead and didn’t worry about a thing.

AAAAAAHHHHH! That was the life!

Obviously I am joking. This was certainly not the life. I struggled with low self esteem, depression and was in a downward spiral of apathy and non productivity. It took me years to recover and I am sometimes still haunted by fears that no matter how hard I work I am not good enough. I wouldn’t wish this on anyone.

But lately I’ve been wondering… how about if I could embody some of these traits like just for a day… ok a half a day… or even an hour! I think of that iconic 80’s movie, Risky Business, where Tom Cruise and that other guy are philosophizing about life and the importance of throwing caution to the wind and the value of learning to say “What the f@#%” .

Then it strikes me that I may need to lean into this message, to soften a little, to heed the wisdom of the film Risky Business. Maybe not crash a Porsche, hire a sex trade worker, have an open house, out of control party and break a Fabergé egg but you know schedule some time for reading and art, take a day off and go to the movies, let something slide knowing that I can recover with ease…

So, this is my newest ambition. I’m not sure if I'll be able to follow through but at least I will make time during the Christmas holidays to sleep in, unwind and watch a little Netflix.

Our Holiday Traditions! And some stories from Christmas Past...

We have a few things that we do each Christmas that we can’t live without! But first let’s take a quick look at Christmas Past…

Since we write and illustrate children’s books it’s imperative that we know the mindset of the child and part of this is being connected to our own inner child. We will each share a few things about Christmas that would light up our hearts.

Bunny:

“I LOVED Christmas as a child! Like LOOOOOOOOOVED it…

…The snow, the music, the tree, tinsel and decorations, presents and crafts at school. We had a plastic brown “organ” that made it’s way from the basement to my bedroom once a year and we used to perform Christmas hymns with our Grandmother, with it. There are hardly any words for the joy this would bring! Christmas specials on TV and spray snow on the mirror! OMG! It was hard to contain myself in those days! Plus I really, really believed in Santa, the elves, the flying reindeer - the works!”

Dragon:

“I always wanted to catch Santa! I hatched a plan to wake up really early on Christmas morning so that I would be the first to announce, in the most loud and obnoxious voice, to my teenaged brothers that Santa had come. We left cookies on the table, that had to be Oreo’s although my parents strangely allowed me to eat the inside and leave Santa the chocolate outer layer only. This tradition was no longer effective once our family dog Pippin entered our lives lol.

Tree decoration was always left to my Grandmother (Noni) and I. We would carefully unwrap the delicate ornaments from Kleenex and place each one on the tree with great consideration. Now here’s where it gets good. Somehow I figured that if I clustered all the little bell ornaments on the bottom of the tree they would serve as a booby trap so I could catch Santa in the act! To top it all off, my Father would shake the tree periodically to provoke me. I never caught Santa but you’ll find out how I still keep hoping to when you read on!”

This brings us to 2018. We are currently celebrating our 8th Christmas together as Dragon and Bunny and we have established some new traditions as well as kept some from the past.

• we always decorate our tree together

• we always drink out of Christmas coffee mugs

• we always make breakfast and sing Christmas carols for my mum and our dear friend and neighbour on Christmas morning

• we make our own Christmas cards

• we still hang a booby trap bell at the bottom of our tree :)

• we listen to Christmas music in the car (until we can’t take it anymore)

• we watch Christmas shows that make us nostalgic (Dragon loves National Lampoons Christmas vacation while Bunny loves the original version of The Grinch who Stole Christmas)

What are your Christmas traditions?

Do you share any with us?

Let us know!

Blog #27 Live and Learn - Lessons from Newly Published Authors

Soooo…. you’re still with us!

Yay! That’s great news! Thanks for that! In fact, this is our 27th blog which means our website and blog are already 27 weeks old!

At this juncture, we wanted to touch base and share some of our learnings just one month into the official release of The Butterfly Trap! We are still learning and leaning into the newness of it all!

Here are a few things we know

1. Energy, drive and consistency are essential. Every time we think we have climbed a mountain and can coast a little, we realize that there is yet a taller mountain still waiting to be climbed.

2. This process cost twice as much money as we had budgeted for. We agreed to spend a set amount in the initial stages of publishing and we have easily doubled this projection.

3. Our friends, family and community have been SOOOO supportive! We have read our book to hundreds of kids and families already and our book is getting rave reviews! But breaking out and getting our book into stores, into the media and the wider community has yet to happen.

   The learning curve has been steep and we will continue to navigate this new territory and share our findings with you as we go!

Thank you for your support, presence and encouragement. We never take any of this for granted and we look forward to bringing you more blogs, videos and content that add value to you and your children’s lives!

Hey! Did you check out the Saturday morning Book Club last week? It’s linked here in case you couldn’t make it! We read our book and sang our song and had the absolute best time! FYI, we are planning on making this a regular thing so stay tuned and let us know what you think! Comments can be left below!

Plus, be sure to read alllll the blogs! There are 26 other after all!!

Oh! And shop now because our Swag Bags, make the best Christmas and Chanukah gifts!

The thrill of reading books Aloud

One of the highlights of teaching is story time. It’s a thrill to hold a book in your hands and bring it to life with your voice, using tone, cadence and timing to captivate the attention of your audience.

When small children imitate teacher behaviour, it’s often by assuming a seated posture in a chair, with a pointer finger on the book facing away and directed at the students on the floor. It’s hilarious to see them do this! Especially when you hear them imitating your voice and using some of your expressions (including your slightly sarcastic tone) lol

Teachers love to read for many reasons, the benefits of promoting literacy, language and vocabulary building etc but it’s also one of the more calm, soothing and focused activities in the classroom.

Reading aloud also promotes bonding and strengthens group dynamics, encourages creativity, self reflection and discussion and it’s FUN!!!!!

When we read The Butterfly Trap to kids, it is beyond any other. Passing on this story from our imaginations and seeing it come to life and take shape in the imaginations of others is such a special feeling.

Oh! And Guess what! We are reading our book on FB and Instagram Live on Sat. Nov 24th at 10 am EST. So we can bring all of this good fun stuff right to you wherever you are.

We will also do a Q&A

Sing our song inspired by the story …

and more!

We want to share the thrill of reading our book with YOU!

Will you join us?