Friday, July 27, 2007

It Was a Lovely Day

Today was a great day from tip to tail.

Keegan was the sparkle of my day today. He came home from school positively BURSTING with pride. He had written his name all by himself. And I have to say, his printing is beautiful; better than Phoenix's and he is two years older! Plus he actually ate lunch at school, for the first time in three weeks.

We had a great afternoon too. My friend Christy came over with her two daughters, who are the same ages as Phoenix and Keegs, and the kiddies had a great time in the pool. I had a fabulous time chatting with Christy.

Then this evening, Keegan had his last soccer game, and scored the winning goal in the last 2 seconds of the game! Every parent on both sides were cheering! He was so proud. And because it was the last game, all of the kids got participation medals, but Keegan was convinced it was because he got the goal. He practically has sparkles coming off of the top of his head. Too cute.

All in all a great day.

Wednesday, July 25, 2007

Pictures, Pictures, Gotta Love Pictures

Phoenix on the tree swing his cousin Lucas rigged up.
Keegs and Phoenix kicking back on Uncle Paul's boat.

Keegan driving Uncle Fern's boat. Note the look of concentration!


Keegan's first catch! A good sized smallmouth bass.



Ty giving me the "For the love of God, Mommy, get me the hell out of this canoe!" look.




Keegan checking out a frog. He asked me if he kissed it, would it turn into a beeyouteeful princess?





View from the upper deck.






Front of the cottage.







Tuesday, July 24, 2007

Back, Baby!







Yes, yes, I'm back from vacation. I know you were all on tenterhooks waiting for me to post, so here I am. (Yeah, right.) Anyway, here's the dish.
We rented a cottage for the week on Pigeon Lake in Bobcaygeon. First off, I have to say that the cottage was beautiful. It was very nicely furnished, clean, and with a completely stocked kitchen, from a salad spinner to an electric knife. Very nice compared to other cottages we've rented which have 3 bowls and a spoon.
The bonus of the week was getting to spend extra time with my sister-in-law Ela, who is one of my very best friends, and her kids, who are the best too. They are very good to my kids, considering the age gaps (my niece and nephew are 10 and 12, where as my kiddies are 2, 5, & 7).

I was looking forward to the week also, because my brother took the same week off, and has a place on the same lake, so I figured we'd get to spend a lot of time together, and my two eldest boys were excited about hanging with their Uncle Paul.
Well, here's the ups and downside (s) to the week: Pigeon Lake, while fabulous for fishing, sucks for swimming. It is choked with weeds and is now infested with dead carp (google dead carp in the Kawarthas and you'll see what I mean), so that meant minimal swimming for the kids. And actually, by day three, officials were advising against swimming in the lake (not because of the virus that was killing the carp, as it does not transfer between species, but) because of the bacteria caused by the decomposing fish. Lovely. So, with no swimming, what to do with the kidlets? Well, there's always fishing.

Phoenix and especially Keegan (aka Izumi) had a great time fishing with their Uncle Fern. Phoenix caught a few rock bass, and Keegan, within 3 seconds of casting his first line, caught a nice sized smallmouth bass. Then he caught a rock bass, and a baby perch (which he declared "so cute!" and kissed it before tossing it back into the water). Mark and Auntie Ela took the kids for canoe rides which they greatly enjoyed as well.

The rest of the time, we read, played countless games of Scrabble (never take on Lucas, you can't win against him!), or ate yummy food. One day Mark and the kids and I went into Fenelon Falls to walk around, and stop for ice cream. We found a great little park there with a fabulous playground, and a nice beach and graduated swim area onto Sturgeon Lake. Mark took the boys and Ela and her kids there the next day to swim.
And as for hanging with Uncle Paul? Well, he seemed a lot more interested in fishing with my brother-in-law, than with spending time with me and my family. Pissed me off, if you want to know (in case you are reading this, buster!). I actually had to send my kids off to him at the dock in their lifejackets to ask them for a ride in his new boat. (N.B. I never was offered a ride in his boat, period.) I also had to invite myself and family to his trailer to check it out. I was annoyed that he spent more time with my in-law and his kids than he spent with me and mine. But what can you do?
Evenings were good. We either sat around the campfire, eating toasted marshmallows and drinking Bailey's-spiked coffee while watching the bats swoop around to eat the mosquitoes, or hid from the bugs and played Scrabble at the kitchen table.
Nights? Not so good. Mainly because Mark and I had what I have come to call "the unwanted roommate"-aka Ty. Ty, from night one, decided that 12-2:30 am was a great time to crawl onto our bed, jump on our heads, and sing what lyrics he knows from the Wiggles, count from 1-10, skip along the alphabet song, and run through his repetoire of animal sounds. NOT FUN!!!!!!! Little bugger! Plus, mid-week his asthma kicked in, so I was on puffer-duty all day and night too. So, Mark and I pretty much need a vacation now from our vacation!
All in all, I would give this vacation a 6.5/10. The kids would score it at least two points higher.
It was a nice place, but not for a couple with three VERY BUSY kidlets, that need to swim.
Did get some nice nature shots though. Enjoy! I will post pictures of the cottage and kidlets tomorrow...

Wednesday, July 11, 2007

All That's New

Well, it's been a bit. Here's what's new, and not all of it good.

Two weeks ago, on Saturday, Mark had taken the two eldest out for a haircut, as I attempted to put Ty down for his nap. He was coughing his guts out, and I was thinking, KRIPES! Not sick again! He coughing over the monitor got increasingly worse, so I went to check on him, only to find him in the midst of a major asthma attack.

After a quick call to Mark apprising him of the situation, I called 911 and got an ambulance. While waiting for said ambulance, Ty threw up three times (all over the two of us). Stripped us both down, got new clothes, and hustled off to the hospital. He had the Ventolin mask on the way to the hospital, plus three more doses while we were there. His oxygen saturation level was still below the "go home" level of 92%, (he was at 85%), so they sent him for a chest X-ray, and then a quadruple dose of ventolin after that. His levels finally creeped up to 92%. I was told that I could take him home (after being there for 8 hours with no food or drink), but I had to be vigilant with his care, and blast him with double doses of Ventolin every two hours all night. Needless to say, I didn't sleep much that night.

After a few days, the coughing stopped and he's been okay ever since. But jeez, scared the CRAP out of me.

This week, since we had a temporary lull in illness, Ty decided to get this freaky rash, which had me booking down to the doctor's office yesterday in the 90 degree heat. The diagnosis? It's a rash. Yeah, no shit, buddy! Got some cortisone and went home. (Rash is better today).

Keegan is finally settling into "summer school", after a week of adjustment hell (ie night terrors and separation anxiety attacks). That really sucked, but he seems to be okay now. He is making friends and having a great time. I think that it is the much higher level of expectations that is causing his grief. He was so used to being top dog at his preschool, that it's a blow to his ego to come in near the bottom of the social ladder.

So, now we are in pre-vacation countdown, which means that I'e done absolutely NOTHING by means of preparation. I'd better get off of my considerable ass and get moving. The kiddies are really looking forward to it. We are going away with Mark's sister and her family this year, so I expect that it will be an awesome time. Also, my brother has a place on the same lake that we are going to, and he's taking the same week off, so we get the added bonus of "Uncle Paul" for the week too.

Well, I guess that's about all the news for now. If I come up with anything exciting between now and va-cay time, I'll be sure to let you know all about it.

Oh! Almost forgot! Little boy is in his new toddler bed! He's doing great (he's only fallen out twice...) and loves his Bear in the Big Blue House bedding that I scored for him on E-Bay.

TTFN.

Sunday, July 01, 2007

Keegan graduated from preschool on Friday. The teachers were more weepy than the parents. Keegan was like a king in his court. All the kids came up to him to say goodbye, and he had a kind word and a hug for everyone. "Goodbye Matthew. You are a good boy." or "Bye Avery! You are sweet!" And the teacher! She hugged him. Let him go. Then pulled him back and hugged him again. "I'm gonna miss that one..." she said to me.

No moss grows on Keegs, though. Tuesday he starts "summer school". We are enjoying his 3 day summer. He got to see his cousins, go swimming, go to a birthday party, play soccer, go to Zooz, fly planes in the park, and hang with mom and dad. One day left! Hopefully we will do something "shady" as I am suffering (no, I NEVER learn) from a crippling sunburn of a lovely magenta hue.

I always end up with the sunburn, but I am known throughout the neighbourhood as the sunscreen Nazi for my kids. If I could only find a suncreen that is non-greasy, and wouldn't make my skin rashy, I would wear it. Honest! (Recommendations welcome).

Hope all the canucks are having a great Canada Day!

TTFN