Local events

Isaac's school puts on a Children's festival every two years. This was one of those years. Apparently, they had over 2700 people from the local area (and not so local area) attend.



We went down there on the day, and got thoroughly entertained.
-Arche Brazil - dance and drums performers
- Ukrainian dancers - Norah loved their outfits
- A petting zoo, including a 4 day old lamb
- a bounce house - Isaac's highlight, that almost wasn't


- "Majica" the clown, who actually brought tears to the eyes of many of the adults in the room

We were bummed out by the missing Caribbean steel band drummers, but we got over it. We did have lunch on the grass (taco in a bag), and huge freezies for the kids (ew, but cheap and loved). It was a lovely day too, not like the previous one where it was 33 degrees and melting.

Life, it changes in a heartbeat

Last Tuesday, I wrote about sitting at the medical clinic with Isaac. I wrote about talking with a woman I know, and her two kids being there with us. When I last saw them that day, we were wondering what her youngest was sick with, and were figuring ear infection.

Today, I went to the grocery store and spotted a new poster near the cash. At the Co-op, they often put up signs for local events. The name jumped out at me, and I had to move closer to make sure I was reading it properly.

Turns out, the little guy - Sterling - who was sick at the clinic that day with Isaac didn't have an ear infection with a low grade fever. He's actually in the University hospital in Saskatoon, recovering from surgery to remove the just-discovered brain tumor he's suffering with. At least, the part of the tumor they were able to remove. There is going to be a fundraising banquet in town for him and his family in two weeks. I'm just in shock, and had a hard time holding it together in the store as I paid for our groceries. I had NO idea that this was the diagnosis they handed him after our long afternoon sitting together and coloring in the clinic.

Please pray for Sterling and his family. He's not yet 2, and is the youngest of 4 kids. His mom is still in Saskatoon with him, and he's in critical condition after his surgery on Thursday. Life changes so fast sometimes.

Sick boy

We spent the weekend at camp. By we, I mean Kristin and the kids, and Nanny too. Rob was tied up with a big "do" at the church. Mom was running the Counselor Training weekend, and Nanny was on child care. Lots of fun, and really, REALLY glad we didn't get snow like they did last year on the May-long.

However, Isaac's lingering cold took a bit of a nasty turn. :( Lots of really rough coughing spells, which kept him (and the grown ups) from sleeping well. Mom's a bit concerned that he may have lost the genetic lottery and inherited her asthma as well as her straight hair. Poor kid. Thankful that there was some kids Tylenol up at camp, because of course we didn't pack any the one time we actually needed it. Little guy was actually asking for sleep, was very lethargic and feverish and put himself to bed last night early, fully clothed.

All of that, of course, is out of character, so Mom decided a trip to the clinic was in order. The Tuesday after a long weekend is traditionally not a quick trip in to the walk-in clinic. Today proved to be no exception. Luckily, a woman we know was there with her sick toddler, but very not sick preschooler. Isaac and Miss B had a great time chatting, playing grocery store and making up stories about kangaroos while we waited. And waited. And waited.

By the time we finally saw the doctor, Isaac was ready for a nap. He did great answering questions, and was very good about some poking and prodding. He was less pleased with the antibiotics that were prescribed. The chest x-ray was fun though.

So, we know that there is some kind of infection he's dealing with - his phlegm let us know that - now we're just hoping and praying for good news from the chest x-ray.

Ahh, yes. The Tuesday trip to the clinic. By the time we got home from it all, we had been gone over 4 hours. Nice.

Most fun gift!

Courtesy of birthday money from Grandma Edith, and also some from Grandpa Tom, Isaac is now the proud owner of a "really super cool" marble run set. It is so much fun to set up new pathways and let the marbles GO!

"This is one of the most fun toys EVER!"
- Isaac

Thanks so much, this is fun for us all.

Norah's first soccer game

Oh my, it was SO funny! Kids running, kicking, rolling, jumping. They were such a crazy little crew. Coach Doug was trying to actually use some strategy with them, and, well, it didn't quite work. It was a lot of fun to watch though. Norah was so excited, and even ran off the field to tell us that she had kicked the ball. We sent her back on the field.


Unfortunately, capturing a photo of her wasn't easy. That's her in #7 with her back to the camera, the girl with the long braids.

Happy Mother's Day!

Happy Mother's Day to all our readers! We may not all be mothers, but we have all had mothers to think of and celebrate this day.

The mother in this house has had a lovely Mother's Day weekend. Including a trip to Saskatoon with girlfriends to see "the Phantom of the Opera", overnight, drink cocktails and shop. Brunch after church with the moms and kids of our church was also wonderful.

Mother's Day wishes from our little girls who one day aspire to be mothers themselves. They have both said that's what they want to be when they grow up. Well, that or princesses.

Skipping and other excitement

The kids have discovered skipping. It's the big thing at Isaac's school right now. The girls both got skipping ropes in their treat bags from Isaac's party and have been trying to figure them out ever since. They were trying some skipping out yesterday.

Also, there is some excitement around our yard. The house behind us sold a few weeks ago, and the new owners are planning to flip it. The house is in BAD shape, so I hope they don't have it fall down on them in the process. There is a big bin there, and they pulled down the garage this weekend. There should be lots going on for the kids to watch over the next few weeks.

Then the empty lot next door sold (at what seemed to be a very inflated price, but hey, we weren't buying it). Not sure what the plans will be there, but with the speed things are going up here in town, could be a fun summer of observing the process.

Now if only we could get moving on the garden...

Sports season is here!

s

Soccer season has started. Isaac had his first game Tuesday night. He's on the yellow team, they have called themselves "Gold". He's the one in the red socks. Note the team's coach, Isaac calls him dad.

Norah had her first practice last night, and she was beyond excited. Forgot to take pics though. Although, friends of ours managed to videotape some of it, including Ruby rummaging through the rest of the mid-point practice snacks. Norah will be great at soccer, once she starts to remember that soccer balls are for kicking, not carrying and kicking.

To add to the sports excitement (2 nights a week each for N and I), Isaac is now playing t-ball for the Jays in town. His practice and game nights are the same as Norah's soccer, with a small gap inbetween. Can we say picnics in the van? When he heard which team he was on, Isaac wanted to know if every t-ball team was named for letters of the alphabet.

Ruby's hairdo today

Birthday party time!

In the spirit of themed birthday parties...

The Kingpin invited 5 of his friends to
Spare the time
Strike the date
and join him at the bowling alley to celebrate his 6th birthday

The birthday boy at the table. So hard to get a shot when the 4 "big kids" would not stop waving the balloons around. It was pretty funny though.


Mr. C giving me his "no paparazzi" pose. Oh, Joy, when you read this, you will have to explain to him what that means. *grin*



The cake. Didn't turn out quite as well as I wanted, but it's what he wanted, and he liked it. Although, black icing is NO FUN to work with. I have one purple-tinted palm to show for it.
I also made bowling ball sugar cookies with black icing.



Blowing out the candles, sitting next to Miss M, who shares a birthday with him.

Soapbox

I spent the majority of today at a car seat clinic in town (and got a bit of a sunburn too), checking car seats. There were a couple of things that I saw today that kind of freaked me out. Since the people reading this are people I care about, many with kids, I'm going to take this time to stand on my soapbox.

- Car seats have expiry dates. Generally they are on the bottom of the seat, with a "Do not use past" date on them. Pay attention to those dates. Seriously.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wvCRz7BRAM0 I got to see two expired seats in use today, and it's kind of scary.

- Know your child's height and weight. Use a seat that accommodates them. The longer you can keep them in a harnessed (ideally rear-facing!), the safer they will be. Don't rush them into a booster, or forward facing, any convenience gained will be lost the minute your vehicle hits something. There are currently a lot of seats coming on to the market that have higher weight limits so you can keep your little one harnessed longer. Seats that go to 47, 48 or even 65 pounds can be found in many Canadian stores. Like this one for only $120 at Sears. This one is pricer, but you can fit three across the back seat of many sedans...where was this seat when we needed three kids in harnessed seats and had to buy a van??

- rear-facing is safest. Don't worry about their legs. Kids are bendy, and no child has even broken their legs in a collision while rear facing - a lot better stats than the number of children who have had neck and/or brain injuries while forward facing.

- read the manual your seat comes with. Otherwise you could end up doing the completely, totally 100% wrong thing with your seat, like one I saw today. Seriously, that was s.c.a.r.y.

- Make sure your seat is properly installed. Tight in your vehicle. Go to a clinic if you want to be sure, or talk to a car seat tech (hint hint, you know at least one).

- Make sure that your child is in the seat nice and tight. Only one adult finger should be able to fit under the strap at their collar bone.

- use the seat every time you are in the vehicle! most accidents happen close to home, so don't assume it's ever safe to let your little one not be in a safe seat. Also, make sure to adjust the straps every time, or make sure the seat belt locks if they are in a booster. The brief seconds it takes to do that ensure their safety and yours - an unrestrained child can become a projectile in a collision...which causes danger to every other passenger in a vehicle.

I think that's it for now. Please, take good care of your little ones and help keep them safe - they need you to.

the 'cranky girl' ballet pictures

These are pictures of pictures, so they aren't totally clear. These were the "I don't want my picture taken" shots from the ballet recital rehearsal day.


The group shot. That's her in the middle, arms crossed, pouting.

6 years

From this:


To this:





All in 6 years. Happy birthday Isaac!

Ruby in the kitchen

Ruby loves cooking in her kitchen. She's always whipping up something to eat.

"hi mamma, you take my picture?"


"I make you someping. Soup. I make you strawberry soup mamma"


"I feed you soup mamma. Hey, I in there? I can see me in the camera?"

what a little change can do

Our kids aren't huge play-dough kids. They don't seem to enjoy a lot of time playing and fiddling with it. Today, I decided to shake things up. I cut up a bunch of straws and let them go.



Spiders and other assorted bugs were the result. Snakes with straw-sized polka dots on their backs. An iguana with sticks coming out of his back. Lots of fun.


I'm not sure what this was, but Ruby was plenty proud of it.

We spent the morning shoveling out the 12 to 18 inches of snow all over the driveway and stairs. Then most of the afternoon inside, because where could you go with the streets still unplowed. By suppertime, the kids were ready to blow of some more steam. So we videoed them dancing. Note Ruby's accessories - the clomping sound is her shoes. Norah loves to dance facing the tv, because she can see herself.

don't want to talk about the weather

but how can I NOT!?

it's been snowing for the past 24 hours. Rob had to cancel his church service out of town, the highways are under "travel not recommended" advisories. It's snowing like crazy, windy and blowing. Big drifts, and nearly a foot of snow in places. A foot of snow on our "finally melted and dry" yard. Gah!

April. It's April, right???

yet again!

This week's paper, that's our boy in the middle row. Three kids, three weeks, three pictures in the paper.

For the record, he has since had a haircut. A much needed haircut.

From tonight's music festival finale

They invited Isaac's class back to perform one of their pieces. Here they are. He's on the end in the middle row - the one who needs a haircut. Like father, like son.

the media love affair continues

that's our dancer. Second from the left. Cover of this week's paper.