The Big City

Last Thursday Kaedo and I had an appointment in T.O. to see the Orthopedic Surgeon for his knee. We decided to make it a day trip and take in some of the sights. We had a wonderful day and were so happy to be together. It is just a different type of outing when you are one on one. Kaedo took 72 pictures, and while I am not sure which ones he would have chosen to put on the blog, I have posted my favorites. He has become quite a remarkable photographer for his age. He has a real eye, and I think with a little guidance he will really be able to take some "works of art". I must admit that I think all his photos are great but it will be nice to see him expand and grow into this passion of his. He is very interested in structures. He took about 20 photos of just one building downtown because he felt there were so many interesting aspects of it. He does not rush but takes his time making sure he has taken a photo he is proud of. The other thing I have noticed is that he always takes multiples of the same subject. It really is quite fascinating.

 We had breakfast at Starbucks before our appointment. They had just planted some tulips in boxes around the patio (as we were sitting there) and since they are my fave, Kaedo snapped a couple of pix.

He took this one between the posts of a wrought iron fence. I really love how the trees are.

He thought this looked a bit like a spaceship and wasn't sure how he wanted to photograph it.  There were a lot of people in the square as there was an event taking place, so he couldn't quite get what he wanted, but I think it is very cool.

Must admit, this is one of my favorites. He stood up on a stone wall to take this one directly down the street. It looks as if the buildings are never ending.

He was amazed by this when we saw it. Even the wheels were moving. I think he took 5 or 6 pictures. 

That is art.

Week 31

Week 31! Yikes! If Kaedo doesn't get growing, they won't be in the same frame together.
The boys took this picture this morning in their pajamas and bedhead. I was surprised Ketchup didn't make an appearance.

Nice day was had today. Craig and I had breakfast together and then came home and hung out. Sterling took advantage of the opportunity to spend the afternoon with a new friend. We have met him a couple of times and he seems like a very nice young man.

Kaedo doesn't spend time with his friends on the weekends. He isn't interested unless it is as easy as playing with L next door. He decided that since he had his dad and I to himself he wanted to have a "movie afternoon". So we watched "Transformers.3". So good!!! So loud on our new TV that my ears are still wringing!

Tomorrow Kaedo has grad photos - how the hell can that be??? Shocking! I have an appointment I've been waiting for, Sterling has to walk home from school - which to him is a fate worse than death, and Craig is back to work, working hard on a huge event for his department which will be occurring on Friday. It will be a long week for him.

The boys are heading off volunteering in about an hour and then we start getting ready for the new week.

Have some other things to write about this week, like showing some great pictures Kaedo took on our trip to T.O. and what we did with our Saturday night.

Happy Sunday Everyone!

HIJACKED!

Jessica has hijacked the blog today for a little braggin' on her first born! 

The past couple weeks have been incredibly busy at our house.  Emma has had dance competitions for the past two weekends and done incredibly well. During all that she has also managed to qualify for the school Spelling Bee. Monday she had to challenge the grade 4 spelling test and get 100% to qualify. She did it, getting all 25 words right. It was very hard and a lot of work for both of us.  Today she got up there and did her best. She was out in the second round from a word she's never done (cerise) and was devastated but I'm so proud I can't even tell ya! In all the classes, grades 1-6, there were only 10 kids that made it. Out of the 3 grade 2 classes, only Emma and another boy from her class made it. It is also Emma's first time spelling aloud and was done in front of all the French students in the school. Did I mention she got a gold and first place out of 82 solo entries at Dance Power? It included a dance intensive scholarship, a cheque for $100 and a trophy. Did I mention it's the second year in a row she's grabbed that title? Last year there were 92 solos in her division.  Did I mention that she got a gold, a trophy for Outstanding Performer and a $50 cheque at Dance Invasion? Do I sound proud??? 

**** Emma I am really proud of you and am so thrilled to hear of your accomplishments. I'm so glad your mom wanted to share them all with us. I love you, Anti.

Hmmm

OK _ here we go -

Here's what's on my night table: iPod dock, iPod and headphones, hair elastics, earrings, rosary, milk glass bowl, bobby pins, used kleenex

Perennial to do list: wash the walls, clean the basement, make blueberry muffins for Sterling, clean out the van - the list is never ending

Refrigerator Shelves: coffee from Stan and Shirley's last visit, mayo, bean sprouts that will never be eaten, pop, grapes, cheese, ketchup, my water bottle, the rest of the bag of brussel sprouts that Craig said were crap, yogurt in a bottle, pasta, eggs, cream cheese and a loaf of bread

Fantasy Itinerary: Wake the kids up at 6am after having gotten up at 5am and packed for them. Heading to the airport before rush hour without telling them where we're going. Grabbing a flight to Hawaii and seeing the look on their faces when we yell "SURPRISE"! Heading to Hawaii for 10 days to walk the volcanos, swim with dolphins (can you do that in Hawaii?) see where Hawaii Five-O is filmed, play on the beach, soak up the sun, and be together.

Playlist: Not a music listener, so generally a Nora.Roberts book or J.D.Robb on my iPod. I can listen to them over and over again.

Bucket List: Take a trip to Hawaii (see above), swim with the dolphins (see above), go back to college, have enough money to get my kids each a car and a post secondary education, take a trip with Craig on our 20th anniversary, build or find my dream house - the list goes on and on.

Phone Ringer Sound: silent - never turn it on. Can't stand when it rings and don't like it vibrating in my pocket. Drives my family crazy but at least I carry it and check it. That's got to count for something. Right?

Favorite TV Show: Big.Bang.Theory, Elementary or Bones. Love all three but I can watch episodes of Big.Bang over and over again.

So there you have it - more than you ever wanted to know!

Week 30

How can the weekend be over already?

We have had a great weekend and that is so nice after the sadness of last week.

Friday I had the opportunity to speak with my mom for a LOOONNNGGGGG time and she filled me in on everything about my gramma's funeral. It sounds like it was a wonderful celebration. It was so great talking to her.

Saturday Craig played football in the morning and had a really good time. He said he played well and his team won. At 2pm I took Kaedo to P&R's house where he was getting a cooking lesson and then hosting a meal for our family. Kaedo and R (my aunt) made chinese food and he learned all about chopping, dicing, preparing, how to read a recipe and how to present. He loved every minute of it and the food was great. After supper Craig and P watched hockey while the the four of us got the kitchen cleaned up. My aunt had decided that her and I were going to take on the boys in a game of pool and it was hilarious. We laughed our heads off. Aside from her, we all suck. We played two games, and headed out at 10pm. A wonderful night.

Today Craig and I went to breakfast - our usual Sunday date - you can't beat a $2.49 special! When we got back I had the chance to talk to my mom again to iron out some details about Jessica's Christmas/birthday present - that she still didn't have from December. Sterling got in on the conversation as it was about electronics.

We realized we had enough points to head out to the movies, so we did that and it was great. Craig worried throughout the movie that he was going to have to listen to me bitch that it sucked (not my usual kind of show) but I actually LOVED it. We went to a new theater where the sound gets blasted at you. At one point I jumped about 3 feet in the air. LOL.

After the movie we sat in the car while mom called us and we surprised Jessica with her gift (it was from the 6 of us). We sang (which seemed a bit like it was in a round because we weren't in sync AT all, but it was funny). When she opened it, she kept yelling, "Oh My God, Oh My God". It was a good thing we knew she was opening a present. haha. She loved it and we were happy that she finally had her present.

After that a few errands, a few chores and the boys are heading out to volunteer in about 30 minutes.

A new week tomorrow and Craig has a new person starting. We will look forward to tomorrow night when we get to hear all about his day.

Wishing you all a wonderful rest of your weekend and we hope that Spring is on it's way to you. It feels like it has finally arrived here.

I took this picture in August of 2004 and many years later it is still one of my favorite pictures.

I have been thinking lately about the state of this blog and how it seems maybe a little sadder than it used to. I want to apologize for that. I think when you put has much time and consideration into doing a blog like this one (over 1430 posts since it's inception) the topics seems to run closely to the feelings of the author.

Today is no different. I am thinking of the horrors of the Boston.Marathon today, as I have been for the last couple of days. The families, the friends, the volunteers, the police and emergency crews, the heroes and the villian(s). How does anyone believe this is acceptable? That this is the way to get your point across? A child, among others, died in this act of cowardice. This makes me sad. It makes me cry. It makes me want to keep my children home with me.

I am thankful we live in a country that at least provides me with the sense of being safe. But are we really? I don't know. What I do know is that every day I seem to become more scared about living my life and I must tell you, it is not a good way to be. We must continue on our lives as we always have, and hope that we remain safe. I must continue to teach my sons the difference between right and wrong, the necessity of being the hero and of asking for help, because when we raise children who respect themselves and others, we make our world a little safer.

Rest In Peace

4 generations - her first grandchild and first great-grandchild

My gramma died last night. At 11:55pm. Five minutes before my mom's birthday ended. My mom is fine with it. But she's always been stronger than I. It has been a hard day. My mom had a hard time connecting with me this morning and while I know it's not true, I feel like I let her down, not being on the other end of the phone when she called. She spent all night knowing my gramma had died without telling me or J. She didn't want to upset our night. My mom thinks of us first even when she shouldn't be.

Back to my gramma. She was a wonderful gramma to me and she loved the boys so very much. She had had a rough life - the loss of a child, a move from her family in England and many other things that she would not want me to dwell on.

My gramma loved music and she loved to dance. She must have taught me the Charleston 50 times. She had rhythm from the top of her head to the end of her toes and loved music right until the end of her life.

She would always have rather eaten dessert first, and I guess I am her granddaughter in that way. She couldn't cook, and in my memory never pretended she could, but was always a gracious host who had a meal or treat ready when you came to visit.

In her later years she spent many hours watching the birds come to the feeder outside her window. I often wonder if my mom got her love of birds from my gramma.

She loved game shows - any game show. I am sure I watched more Jeopardy and Wheel of Fortune with her than I ever thought possible.  She would yell out the answers, and laugh if she wasn't right. She had a wonderful laugh. It lit up her face.

She loved Bingo - her true passion - or so I used to tell her. She tried to convert me on more occasions than I care to remember but I never could do more than one sheet at a time. I think she finally gave up on me.

She loved the Legion and the friends she had there. I don't have any memories of her going there but I know it was something she loved and she made life-long friends.

When Sterling was a baby I used to work in Calgary on the weekends and used to stay with my gramma. She was a wonderful host and always slept on the couch while she gave me her bed. I always felt guilty but she said she slept better on the couch and "don't argue with your grandmother".

I spent a lot of time with my gramma when I lived in Alberta but must admit since moving across the country I haven't seen her as often as I should have.

What I will say is that she loved her family very much. They were of utmost importance to her. She was kind but spoke her mind, and when she thought I was fat she told me, LOL. If only she could see me now. She is probably yelling at me from Heaven! Take a damn walk! And you know what? She's absolutely right.

She was a wonderful gramma and a great great-grandma. I was so very lucky to have her in my life. Now she is with her son, her sisters, her parents and the friends that passed before her. I hope there is a great band playing for her. All those classics she loved. That, if nothing else, will bring a smile to her face.

So now I sit 3000 kms away wishing I was with my mom, holding her hand, talking or not talking. She is the strongest woman I know and she will get through this sad time knowing it was gramma's time to pass. While I loved my gramma, my mom is my hero.

Week 29 and a Happy Birthday!

Happy Sunday! Can't believe the gnome picture is done and it isn't 8pm!

All is well here. The weather is so so but all in all it has been a good weekend. The boys are out with Craig having some 'dad time' and I am working on this and playing on the computer. This afternoon we have homework to complete, studying to do, a project to work on, and Craig has to work some as well.

Tonight the boys have their volunteering and then it is early to bed to start the week.

I want to wish a VERY HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my mom today. We sang full blast this morning (we were the best, I'm sure) and her and I had the chance to have an abbreviated Sunday morning chat. They are going to one of my fave restaurants for her birthday lunch - we actually had our rehearsal dinner there, way back in the day. Mom, we are wishing you a wonderful day - we love you and wish we were with you!

Friday's News

Friday already. My has the week moved quickly.

It seems it was filled with appointments and pick ups and drop offs. Always something that needed doing, whether it was a trip to the doctor, a visit to the dollar store or a quick pop into Costco.

While Spring has yet to arrive, and Winter does seem to be gone, we are in the midst of a "Sprin-ter" storm with freezing rain, little bits of hail, blasts of wind, LOUD thunder and very close lightning. It has not been a great week. I think a lower mood comes with the "bluesy" weather and I am struggling to maintain a positive facade. I have returned to some weekly sessions that were very much missing in my life as of late, and have an appointment with my doctor later in the month for a much needed review.

On the bright side, I got a call from the Orthopedic Surgeon this morning and they have provided us with a spot for April 25. It is right in the heart of downtown T.O., so we will take the GO and make a day of it. We have spent much of the day getting more x-rays done, calling for copies of MRI images, and making sure we have everything that is necessary.

Tomorrow Kaedo is heading to my aunt's house for an afternoon of meal prep. She is going to give him some cooking lessons, and I think they have decided to make chinese food. They are going to scour some books, make their shopping list and then plan the meal they will make for our family and my aunt and uncle. He is very much looking forward to it.

Craig will be playing football tomorrow in this soggy wet mess. We may have to have him get naked on the front porch before coming in the house! Ha! If only my house were that clean that I thought it was necessary!

My gramma is slowly passing away right now. Her body has given up but her mind just isn't quite ready to. My mom has spent a lot of time with her this week and is returning to be with her Sunday/Monday. It is so very hard, or so I found it to be, when I stayed with my other gramma last year. It is hard to watch, and even harder to feel it is time for them to pass. While I will never speak for someone else on this topic, I found that as much as I loved my gramma and wanted to be with her, she had no quality of life. It was time for her to pass and during the last couple of days of her life I spoke with her often, telling her it was OK to let go. I don't know if she heard me, but eventually she did 'let go'.  Finally she was at peace, reunited with her son, an her mother and siblings and God. To her, going to Heaven was paramount, and I know that if there is a Heaven, she is there.

This weekend will find us singing to a very special someone - very loudly, because she is deaf, you know - just ask the boys! It will also find the boys volunteering on Sunday night, Kaedo and I working on some homework and a trip to Princess Auto (not me - the three men in my life). We may have failed to mention that to Craig.

Lastly (I really thought I had nothing to say - go figure), a very special CONGRATULATIONS!!!!! to my sweet niece E on her GOLD and 1st place in her musical theater sing and dance today!!!! First competition of the season and she is already kicking ass and taking names later! We are so proud of you honey! Way to GO!!!

Still Laughing My Ass Off!

This morning Sterling and I had the following text conversation. I laughed so hard, it made my day. I am not changing any of the spelling, so beware of typos!

Sterling: I riped my unders in gym

Me: Hahahahahahahahaha!

Sterling: Ya i had to be fast when i was changing

Me: I bet. That's hilarious.

Sterling: Ya its pretty breezy down there   (sidenote - this is the funniest thing I`ve ever heard)

Me: Maybe you should start going commando to get used to it.

Sterling: No thanks

Me: I'm sorry, but this is so funny. I'm still laughing.

Sterling: lol its not comfertable

Me: No, but it sure is funny!

Sterling: I know its hillariouse

Week 28

Awww, isn't Ketchup cute?
Sorry we are late this week. Another computer glitch, but I think we've got it under control now. The picture was taken on time, though.

Off to have supper with the fam. Have a great evening.

Did You Know?

This one's for you mom.

Did you Know?

1. My eyebrows always look like they are trying to fly off my face.

2. I rub my feet together in bed to get to sleep.

3. I would rather juggle carrying too many groceries to my car than take a plastic grocery bag at the grocery store.

4. While I know "everyone's doing it", I still feel guilty when I ask Sterling to download a movie for me I can't find anywhere else.

5. I probably own 26537 journals and have only written on the first page of each one.

6. I still write my grocery/To do lists on paper, not my phone or Playbook.

7. I will drive out of my way to go through a drive-thru teller.

8. I can't stand the feeling of frosted or 'jelly' glasses - yuck - shiveries!

9. I love golf - but only the first 6 holes!

10. I love to be by myself but find I am lonely when I go to the theater alone.

Now That's How You Do It!

Sterling Photoshopped this cool picture!

The boys spent a lot of last weekend taking pictures, doing tricks and having fun. I had the honor of taking the 10 pictures it took to capture Kaedo jumping over Sterling. I was laughing so hard that I kept taking it too late. The only thing I could think to tell Sterling was "don't let him knock your teeth out".

Craig starts his football league this weekend. I think he is excited. No more of this straight 10am though. Now he'll have to be at the field by 8:15am some mornings. Yuck. I will still be tucked in bed.

The boys are outside right now with L taking pictures and having fun. Craig is home and my book is calling me.  More pictures later this weekend!

Yikes!

Today my oldest has gone to the BIG CITY to spend the day with 80 other 9th graders seeing a hockey game, walking through Chinatown, St.Lawrence Market and the CN.Tower. No big deal, right? Wrong! I'm a wreck! This is the first time he has gone without us and trust me, in high school there isn't the parental supervision you see in elementary. Even though they may need it more. LOL.

He was so excited this morning. I hope it turns out to be as wonderful a day as he is hoping for.

I know I have recently spoken about my anger with the peanuts situation, and so today I am extremely aware that he will be placed in many situations - hockey game vendors selling bags of peanuts, peanuts being thrown around, Chinatown - but I just have to hope that he will be vigilant and aware and take care of himself.

So today I have a stomach ache, one that will remain until I pick him up. This just reminds me that in 8 months he'll be driving. Oh god!

week 27

Well, what a fuster cluck, as Sterling would say. Late last week our computer decided it no longer wanted to work. We have been without it for about 5 days and you really do not realize how much you come to depend on it. As such, the blog did not get the attention it so rightly deserved. Right now I am using Kaedo's computer to post this.  Added to all that, our internet and cable went down yesterday afternoon, not giving me the opportunity to post this photo on its appropriate day. The boys tell me that the cable and internet came back on-line at about midnight (yes, they were still up - no school today).

Short week for the boys and Sterling has an extra special field trip on Wednesday. He is going to a semi-pro (NHL farm team) hockey game, a visit to Chinatown, and tour around the base of the CN.Tower and a whole day with 80 of his fellow 9th graders. They have a really cool geography project to do with regard to their trip as well.

Kaedo is doing great and spent some time outside with Sterling over the weekend doing tricks on his scooter while Sterling took the pictures. Some of the shots are amazing and I am going to get Keado to go through them with me this week and tell me the names of the stunts. We had a blast taking one of the pictures in particular. I'll leave it to you to guess which one.

Our computer is still dead, but thanks to Craig we are slowly able to remove the content (pictures, video, documents) and save them to a new hard drive before he resets the computer to factory settings.