Weekly gnome picture - man, they are cute!

Emma doesn't know how to keep her eyes open during pictures. She says "cheese" with so much enthusiasm she closes her eyes in the process!

Niagara Falls - the most beautiful place on earth! It poured rain, and we got soaked, but had a wonderful time!

Everyone is home safe and sound and things are very quiet here. The dog is in "treat withdrawal" and there have been no "Mamma Mia" songs being sung. Today was my first Wednesday off. I have thoroughly enjoyed it. The laundry got done, the sheets got changed, the boys got haircuts (Sterling now looks like he is ready for the army) and we sat down to a delicious family meal - BBQ (on our "new to us" bbq) chicken. I got to help Kaedo with his homework, the boys have been playing and Craig and I actually got to have a conversation with each other that did not include a phone. It has been great. Back to work tomorrow but all of us are off on Friday and will have a nice long weekend together. Looking forward to it.

Annette - nice to know that someone aside from my parents, S&S and our siblings are reading the blog!

Where has the time gone?

My oh My, Saturday already. Where has the time gone? We are having a blast here all together. Wednesday night, their flight was late, but better late than never. I met them at the carousel and was so happy to have mom, dad, Jessica, Em and Sparkly come to visit. Thursday morning started bright and early with a stop off at Starbucks and a visit in their hotel room (all before 8am). The boys went to school and we went and visited with GG and had lunch and then off to work for me. I called Craig at 6:30pm to see how everything was and he informed me that the ambulance was here because Em had fallen getting out of the trampoline. She had completely knocked the wind out of herself and had stopped breathing. I rushed to the hospital from work and stayed with mom, Jessica, Em and Sparkly until about 9:45pm. Mom and I brought Sparkly home and Jessica and Em returned about an hour later. So scary! She is feeling much better now, thank god.
Friday we went into T.O. and went to Casa Loma for the day. I headed into work from there and the rest of them just hung out. The boys were thrilled to get the day off school. I learned that my new shift schedule had been approved and this week I start my new shift that includes longer daily hours but Wednesday's off so I can be with the fam. So looking forward to that.
Today we had GG's birthday party and then mom took the boys to the movies, Jessica, Dad and Sparkly went back to the Manor to visit with GG and "anti Craig" and I took Em to Bulk Barn and Price Chopper. We then played a quasi game of Doodle Dice, went to the park, and now she is watching Shrek. Craig is working and I am doing this. Tonight, Jessica and I are off for a night of debauchery (ha - the movies) and mom will be getting our picnic ready for NIAGARA FALLS!!!! Kaedo is going to sleep over at a friends house tonight and we will be picking him up bright and early tomorrow morning.
Tomorrow Niagara Falls is in the cards and thank goodness it is a bit of a drive, as Kaedo will probably need the sleep. On the way back, Craig and dad are going to stop off in Burlington and pick up a BBQ that a co-worker of Craig's is giving us. Jessica picked up a bottle of wine for me to give to her and I've decorated that and Craig will leave it for her tomorrow.
Who knows what Monday will bring, but I know it will include many more hugs, lots of packing and some farewells.
I know the adage is "short and sweet", but this trip has been a little too short.
I have been so lucky to have a lot of opportunities to bond with my new niece and my "medium girl" niece still loves me. It has been so great to hold and cuddle Avery and hold hands and talk with Em. Jessica is doing such a great job with them. They are awesome. Craig and I are truly blessed to have such great nieces and nephews. We love them all so much.

School is Cool

I saw this in Kaedo's backpack. Aahhh! The wonders of Science class. I think this is hilarious. He has quite a way with words. I like this much more than "Emily Rocha is hot. Very Hot".

week 3

Weekly gnome picture. This picture is a perfect representation of our mornings. It is never a hassle to get the kids up and ready for school and they are always up for learning.
Tonight the boys have eye appointments, so Craig will be taking them this evening. We'll see how that goes. I think everything is fine, but tonight we will know for sure.
In other news, Kaedo has changed instruments at school and is now doing percussion. Thank god they don't have to practice at home!
One more sleep before everyone gets here. I am so looking forward to seeing everyone! Also, happy 2 month birthday to Princess Sparkly Pants yesterday. Can't wait to get my hands on that ball of mushy goodness!
Also - did you know this is post # 575? Oh My!

Busy day in the kitchen today. Sterling and I started off making Popcorn Twists, a family favorite. We then moved on to Sugar Cookies and pumpkin chocolate chip muffins and I finished up making strawberry cream cheese muffins and am now cooking pasta for some homemade Macaroni and cheese with bread crumb crust. Yum.
Had a great talk with mom this morning. 75 minutes. Dad answered the phone when I called and his opening remark was "we've been waiting for you". I had purposely waited until 10am so that I wouldn't get them out of bed. Next Sunday morning we won't be having our weekly call as mom will be here and we'll be on our way to Niagara Falls.
I am so looking forward to seeing everyone. 3 more sleeps.
Kaedo has spent the day playing with the neighbors. Sterling has been hanging out and Craig has been watching football. All in all a very productive and nice day. Back to work tomorrow. I'm hoping to hear something about my shift request. It would be great if it came together for me.

Saturday

Hi All - not too much going on. Everyone is up, showered and ready to get on with the day. The boys are bowling this morning - I think Kaedo was dreaming about bowling - he is soooo excited. He loves it. At least one of my children was listening when I kept repeating myself "one pin is better than no pins"....

...back from bowling. The boys did great. Sterling 398 and Kaedo 297. They both did awesome. The weather is nice here today so I plan to get the kids outside, soaking up some sun.

Sterling has lost his wallet and is very frustrated. He can't find it anywhere and his debit card is in there. Poor guy. I have no idea where he might have put it. Going to go and help him look.

Thought I would post this layout I did of Kaedo. I love this picture. So cute.

Have a great weekend.

Thursday already?

Seems that I always say that on Thursdays, doesn't it? Man, does the week fly by.
The boys have meet the teacher night at school. Craig is going to take them and meet the teachers and talk to the music teacher. Thanks to everyone who weighed in on "Clarinetgate". I appreciate it. I spoke with Sterling's Music teacher yesterday morning and we have decided that I am going to buy him a new mouthpiece and he will have his own reed. That, along with disinfecting the instrument should work out OK. My major concern is getting any allergen close to his mouth. I think this was a good middle of the road decision. We have to be so careful not to scare him out of living his life but we also need to keep him safe. Like Kelly said, schools are a dirty place. I guess everywhere is, really.
Might be having some boys over for a sleepover Saturday night. We'll see if that pans out. Wolverine is new on DVD, so I am sure that is on Craig's agenda. I think he and Sterling will also finish watching the Lord of the Rings Trilogy. Gross. My "guilty pleasure" TV show is on as well, so I might take an hour and watch that.
Football and bowling are also on the menu. I'll be getting my exercise going between the lanes. Sterling also asked about a trip to the Zoo. We'll see if there are any extra kids spending the night first.
Next week is a busy week with our company coming on Wednesday night and Stan's birthday on Wednesday. While we won't be able to celebrate with him in person, we will be there in spirit. Who will be first to get the birthday call in????

Week 2

At the beginning of every school year I have good intentions of taking a picture every week to see the changes from the beginning of the year and the end. Here is the first. I am going to put it in my day-timer to remind myself that I want to do this. Kaedo wanted to make sure G-nome-e had his picture taken as well.
On another note, we came across our first real "peanut concern" at school yesterday. Sterling and Kaedo are both playing musical instruments this year in school. Sterling is playing the clarinet, Kaedo, the trumpet. Thank god they don't have to practice at home. Sterling learned yesterday that he would be sharing his instrument with 9 other classes. That means that other kids will be putting their mouth where Sterling's mouth has to go. Sterling was grossed out by the whole situation but neither him nor Craig thought about the peanut consequences associated with this. (score one for mom!) Needless to say - before I went to bed last night I sent an email to the principal advising him of my concerns. Let me just say I have a lot of concerns about this. He assured me that he would speak with the music teacher about disinfecting Sterling's instrument and confirming that Sterling would have his own reed. Here is the question of the day - do I rent an instrument for Sterling that he doesn't have to share, or put Sterling's allergy in the hands of the music teacher? I would love your thoughts on this. Please weigh in and let me know.

For all the people I love. This is my family. Each and every one of you. You make me who I am. Thanks for always being there for us, for me. Love you. ***mom - you are at the bottom - hope you can see your name - it's there!

New Shoes

SO, new shoes were on the agenda this weekend. Can you guess who is wearing which? Size 7s and 9s - MENS. What I really noticed taking these pictures is that their shoes really do represent them and their personalities. It's cool when you notice those things. Sterling officially has bigger feet than me and Kaedo's are rapidly growing. They actually needed indoor shoes but as usual, they fell in love with their new shoes and decided they had to be their outdoors. I'll have to spend some time tomorrow cleaning up their "old outdoors" so they can pass as "new indoors". Don't know if that is even remotely possible but I'll make them passable.



Looking forward to talking with mom this morning as well as an afternoon with Deniese. The boys have plans to rope Craig into a bike ride.

Bowlarama

Sterling

Kaedo

Notice all the strikes?

Notice all the strikes?

Bowling started this morning and the kids did great. Kaedo bowling 85, 86 and 36, qualifying for his 75 single badge. Sterling 137, 180 and 98 qualifying for his 400 triple badge. It was very exciting but is going to be very anxiety ridden for me in the coming weeks as Craig is playing football and I will be racing from one lane to the other to watch. Aak!

The weather is great here and we don't have much planned for the rest of the day. We'll see what everyone wants to do and go from there.

Friday - where has the week gone? The first week of school is almost over and so far so good. The boys are loving it. Sterling loves his teacher and Kaedo really likes his. That is the first hurdle, and we have cleared it easily. So glad about that.
Tomorrow Craig starts the fall season of football. He probably won't sleep tonight. Ha! 8am - he must really love it! The boys start bowling tomorrow. Kaedo is SOOO excited. He just can't wait. He's got his bowling shirt ready to wear. Sterling is very excited as well. Indoor shoes have to be purchased and some red pens and other misc. items that Kaedo's teacher has requested. Sunday I will have my weekly chat with mom - so looking forward to that. It is hard getting used to talking to each other only once a week. Two more weekend conversations and then we will be seeing each other. Can't wait to see everyone. I will also be spending the afternoon with a friend - I am really looking forward to that as we haven't gotten together since my birthday.

Hope everyone has a good weekend.

Hump Day

So, the first day was a success. The boys love their teachers and they were very happy to be back with their friends. What made me laugh about the whole back to school thing is that you would think after two months of being together 24/7, the boys would be off playing with their own friends. It ended up that they played with each other in the yard along with some of their friends thrown in for good measure. Those two are definitely best friends. I am so happy about that. I never regret having them so close together. To this day I still believe that was the best decision Craig and I ever made.
Thanks for the calls to see how school went as well as the emails. The boys love that.
Hope everyone is well and I'll try to get a picture for tomorrow.

First Day of School

School's back! The boys were excited to go back and were up bright and early this morning, ready to go. It was a little bittersweet. We now go back to me only seeing them in the morning for 45 minutes. The other sad part was them not wanting me to walk them to the yard. Sigh. Note the picture of them walking away from me. Grade 5 and 6. How can that be? Another year of homework, PA days, field trips, hot lunches, spelling tests, book reports and speeches. Glad to be back into the routine.

The End...

...of summer that is!

Zippy the grasshopper

Friendship bracelets I made that the boys and I wear

The house the kids made for their pet grasshoppers

The boys are out playing with the neighbors, Craig is finishing up dumping the pool and I am doing this and getting ready for work tonight. Pulling a 4-midnight tonight, so that is good.

School starts bright and early tomorrow morning (actually 5 minutes later than all the other years), and in all reality 9:15am is not that early.

A wonderful summer was had by all and we are looking forward to the next round of visitors. The boys are especially looking forward to getting an extra day off in September. Thanks, Amma and Baba! Check back tomorrow for first day of school pictures. I'll post last years first day pictures too so we can check out the difference. I know the lack of hair will be a big thing but the 20 lbs Sterling has gained this year is bound to show as well! The kid is a tank!

Just thought I would show some of my latest works. I am working on some pages of Emma and my cutie nephews. Will post those later. Man, we have cute kids in our family! Enjoy. * I think you can click on them to see the image larger.

so lucky...

...to have this wonderful woman in my life. With both of us working all week, we have begun to set aside Saturday mornings for a marathon chat session. I look so forward to these talks that I even sent her a text last night to confirm we were still on for this morning. Thank goodness she is an early riser as I called her at 8am.
I am one of the lucky one who truly considers their mom as not only their parent but also a friend. A good friend. A great friend. Isn't it wonderful when you don't just love your family, you like them too? I sometimes think that is more important. There is a sense that because they are family the love is automatic. That isn't the case with "like". I am blessed enough to truly say I like my mom. Alot. A real lot. She's awesome!
Anyways - mom - I love you, I like you, I cherish our friendship. You are the best. Thanks for always be there for me. For loving me unconditionally and most importantly, for wanting to be my friend as well as my mom. That means the world to me. I love you!

How's that for a sandwich? Kaedo loves my toasted sandwiches and it's fun making a "semi dagwood" for him. Looks good, doesn't it? While I make these sandwiches for Kaedo every day, Sterling's lunch is not near as exciting. He eats Kraft Dinner for lunch EVERYDAY! That's what he loves, so why not.

Today's picture's of the cuties. Not too much going on here today. We got up and went for a bike ride this morning and then the boys will just be hanging out this afternoon. They may have friends over tonight but who knows. Only two days left of summer vacation. Can't believe how quickly it has gone by. Sterling is very excited to get back to school but Kaedo not so much.

Right now the boys are in different parts of the house talking to each other on their walkie talkies. They've decided to take a trip down to Dollarama for more caps for their cap guns (no, I don't need any "I thought you didn't let them play with guns" comments).

Just to "toot" Craig's horn (that sounds a little dirty, doesn't it?), he got picked in the first round of his football draft. Very impressive. He is a very good player and puts his whole heart into it. He starts on Sept 12 and the boys start bowling that day. Should be busy. Looking forward to getting back into the swing of regular life.

Finally - thanks for all the well wishes. The singing was great - Jessica, I am always impressed by how many songs you know - awesome! Mom - thanks for the 8:30am call. Stan and Shirley, thank you for the well wishes. You are all good role models for good marriages, so thank you. We love you all and surely couldn't have made it these 14 years without your help. They say it takes a village to raise a child, but I think it takes good role models to make a marriage work. We have learned not to give up and to work hard to keep our marriage working. Thank you.

14 Glorious Years

I know, probably not the easiest 14 years but we are still together and still in love. FYI, it wasn't easy finding a picture of just Shannon. For someone who loves taking pictures so much there sure aren't many of just her. Happy Anniversary My Love!

14 years - Oh My!

Happy Anniversary to the the nicest man I know, the handsomest guy around and the most fantastic father anyone could wish for. I love you and can't wait for the next 14 years. Happy Anniversary my love.

Just some random pictures of the boys. They are just hanging out today, enjoying the last few days of summer. The weather is beautiful today and the boys are playing with their dollies both inside and outside.

Craig has his football draft party tonight and I know he is looking forward to the season starting on the 12th. I am only working until 6:30pm tonight so I will get the chance to spend some extra time with the boys.

Both boys are bowling this winter. They decided that is what they would like to participate in. I'm going to be like a chicken with my head cut off running from one lane to the other watching them. The season is a little long but that was the choice they made. Aah, there's nothing like the sound of bowling balls hitting the gutters in the morning!