Happy 4th Birthday Ty!!!

Ty-ger! You are 4 today! At the risk of sounding like your grandmother, it seems like just yesterday that you were born...

You have come a long way in the past year. You are talking a lot more, you dress yourself, you are toilet-trained (YAY!) and are increasingly independent, to the point of giving me anxiety attacks.

You know all of your letters, and can write them too...and know all of your numbers to 30 and beyond. You can write your name, and can read a few 2 and 3 letter words. I am surprised daily at what you can do.

You are loving and affectionate, and sweet beyond words. You still love to hug and kiss and cuddle. You love books, and numbers and running until your legs give out.

You have a lively imagination, and an ear for music. I am impressed that you know the words to most Buddy Holly songs, and the Beatles, and a few Electric 6 songs too. Rock on brotha!

I enjoy seeing the daily changes you bring to our lives, and look forward to the year ahead, with your graduation from preschool in June, and the start of JK in the fall.

Love and kisses,

Mommy

Happy 7th Birthday Keegan!!!

Oh Keegan my Keegan! You are 7 years old today. You lost your second tooth last week and your top two are really wiggly...you are almost as tall as your older brother, even though you are almost 2 years apart...you are growing like a weed!

I am very, very proud of all you have accomplished this year. Your best subject in school is drama/dance, and I'm not at all surprised. You are certainly at your creative best when you are in front of an audience. Your team came in first at the ballroom dancing competition at school, and I was so proud of the way you presented yourself. You seem to have transported straight from the classic movie era; I call you my little Clark Gable as you are so gallant.

You always have a bright smile for me, and declarations of love--you are my joy. Although your temper sometimes gets the better of you (Incredible Hulk!) you are learning to bring it under control (Bruce Banner!) and I know and appreciate how difficult this is sometimes, especially when you are frustrated. I am proud of your efforts.

Your reading has really come along this year too, and I love your passion for learning new things. Every year, every day with you teaches me something new, and I look forward to sharing another year of exciting new experiences with you.

Have a wonderful birthday Keegan. I hope you always stay as sweet as you are now.

I love you!

XOXO

Mommy

Uh...what?

What's that you say? Only 5 days left of school? Kripes! June seems to have snuck up on me this year...May was such a busy month that I think I left my brain somewhere back on the 31st.

What's new...hmm...well, my baby boy is turning 8 tomorrow! I cannot believe it. Cliche though it is, it just seems like yesterday when he was born...sigh. On Saturday, the Reptile Party Guy is coming over with a slew of creepy critters to entertain the troops. I really hope the weather holds so we can have it in the backyard. I actually kind of looking forward to the party; I think it will be pretty neat to touch and hold snakes and lizards and stuff.

Next week, as I mentioned (in shock!) is the last week of school. Report cards etc...I have a busy summer planned for the boys, so hopefully I won't get too many of the "Mommy! I'm bored!" cries. They have a week off, then Phoenix and Keegan are off to a week of camp. A week off, then the cottage for a week, a week off, then more camp, then two weeks off and school! Doesn't sound so bad that way.

Exciting development! Ty got into the summer session of CIP (Community Intervention Program) which is a short term, intensive intervention program for preschool children who attend child care and are experiencing significant challenges with social and communication skills
that may impede successful inclusion. A small group of children attend six weeks for three half day sessions delivered by a multidisciplinary team of professionals. Child care staff and parents receive opportunities for training and information sharing during the sessions. Keegan attended this program and it worked MIRACLES for him, so I am hopeful for the outcome for Ty.

The goal is to get him using more spontaneous speech, and build on sentence length. He starts in mid-July, and goes for 6 weeks. I was very happy to get him in the program, because otherwise, he would have had a 2 month break in service. This way he keeps to routine a bit, and is still enjoying the social interaction of his peers.

This summer we are renting our friends' cottage near Huntsville. The kidlets are really looking forward to it. So am I. It's nice to get away from the same old routine sometimes. We are also planning a bunch of day trips, and camping weekends, assuming we ever get back on track with the weather.

We've had so much rain lately! Major thunderstorms, brilliant lightning shows, tornado watches, and on Monday, a hailstorm, with fallout the size of marbles! All of these weather occurances seem to happen at 3:01 pm, just as the kidlets are getting out of school.

Speaking of school, apparently this year they are not holding a graduation service for the SK kids. This really pisses me off, and I know I'm not the only parent of a 6 year old to feel this way. We've all been telling our kids that they are graduating into big kid school and now, no ceremony. Word is, the teachers don't want to do one extra second of planning that they don't have to. It's the first time I can remember in the last 8 years that they haven't done it, and I think it SUCKS. I may have to go lay the boots to the administration. Stay tuned.

Well, I guess I should go finish my baking. I'm making cookies for Phoenix to share with his classmates at school tomorrow for his birthday. Next chore: his reptile cake!

Happy 6th Birthday Keeg-a-Roo!

Oh Keegan, my Keegan. You are 6 today. And as luck would have it, you are sharing your birthday with all the moms out here on Mother's Day.

I cannot believe how fast 6 years have flown by. You are growing like a weed! And you are so smart, with your reading and math, you blow me away. You are also so sweet. Not a day goes by where you don't make me smile with your adorable phrases in passing, like, "After you, your Highness!" or "You are lovely. You are the most beautifulest mommy in the whole world!"

When I see all that you have accomplished this year, I feel so proud. You are popular with the boys and girls alike, and always have a gang of pals around you. When I think of how you used to play off in the corner by yourself, it warms my heart to see you not only engaging in play, but inviting the shyer kids to join in too.

You have moved away from the world of Thomas the Tank Engine, and Pokemon, and have fallen headfirst into the land of LEGO, Star Wars and Indiana Jones. You are my joy, and you should be very proud of all that you are and do. Your enthusiam for new things makes me enjoy and appreciate my world all the more.

Happy Birthday Keegs. I love you!

XOXOXOXO

Mommy

Happy 7th Birthday Bunny!

Bunny! You are seven years old today!!! Wow, where did those years go? I remember when you used to sleep in a laundry basket. Now the top of your head comes up to my breastbone. Your feet have grown so much this year that you've been through 3 shoe sizes. You are still so skinny I can count your ribs through a snowsuit, but you are getting taller every time I blink. At the beginning of the school year, you could read a handful of sight words, and now you read me BOOKS. Every day.



You are still loving Transformers (especially with the new movie out in a few weeks) and Webkinz (although not quite as much), and your newest obsession, Pokemon cards and assorted paraphenalia.



You are very smart and have a great sense of humour. You are learning the carefully crafted art of sarcasm from the masters ( your parents). You are a great big brother; Keegs worships you and Ty believes that you are there for his personal entertainment, 24/7. You have learned to swim, and are like a little fishy in the pool.



You never hesitate to give me a hug and kiss (even in the school yard!...oh, I'll miss that when it stops, and sadly, it will...) and you tell me you love me a minimum of 10 times a day. I love your honest nature and your deeply rooted sense of morality. Daddy says you are like Superman, and cannot tell a lie. Your own guilt punishes you for things I would never know about otherwise, but it is a rare and wonderful quality to have, especially at your age, when fudging the truth is an easy way out. Your feeling are easily hurt by offhand comments by your peers, because you honestly can't understand why someone would say things like that to someone else just to be mean. You are also the first one to point out that what they are doing is wrong, and that real friends wouldn't act that way. A psychic told me that your destiny would lie in a field where you will try to right the wrongs of the world. Professional superhero? I'll have to get started designing your logo.



I wish you happiness, health, love and excitement as you enter your eighth year. Happy Birthday Bunny. I fell in love with you the minute they placed you in my arms, and I haven't stopped for one breath since.



XOXO



Mommy

June Round Up

Well, well, well. I haven't been here in a while. To tell you the truth, I've been sucked into the world of Crackbook...I mean...Facebook. I'm a bit of an addict, if you really want to know. I like the versatility of the site. I can post notes, snoop on my friends lives to see what's going on with them, and set up millions of photo albums.

But to my readers that haven't found me there, hello!

May was a killer-busy month, and June has followed the same pattern. Lots of parties to deal with, and too many cakes to count. Phoenix's birthday is tomorrow, so I just finished his cake. We are taking him bowling (with 9 of his friends). I went all Martha Stewart and made bowling-ball loot bags out of papier mache, made into mini-pinatas. Seemed like a good idea at the time, but by the time I had finished them all, it was over 11 hours of work. Too much really, for a bunch of 7 year olds that are going to destroy them to get the goods inside, in less than 2.2 seconds. Sigh. Why do I set myself up for these things?

I hope all of the dads out there had a nice Father's Day. My sister-in-law hosted the day at her place this year, and invited my dad and brothers too. It was great. Awesome food as always. I made an unbelievably awesome Chocolate Decadent Torte that tasted like it was 100000000 calories and as many grams of fat, but was actually from a diabetic cookbook. It was the most delicious and chocolatey sample of yumminess that I have ever had. Drop me a line if you want the recipe. (Thanks Darra, for supplying it to me). I also made a nice Lime Chiffon Pie that was a great hot weather dessert (a Kraft recipe).

In the past week, I also made my first ever batches of strawberry jam, and it is quite tasty, if I do say so myself. Phoenix gave it "10, 000 thumbs up", if that gives you any idea. Recipe also from Kraft (strawberry freezer jam). Sunday we are having the whole fam damily over for Phoenix's family b-day party, and then, by God, I am DONE. DONE I TELL YOU!

There is something to be said for having all three of your kids' birthdays in 2 months. Over in a fell swoop. And nothing huge now to plan until December. Oh yeah, Dad, I'm talking about you and the big 7-0. Mark your calendars, people.

I watched the movie "Ghostrider" with the kidlets a few nights ago. I had doubted the wisdom of this; I thought that perhaps Keegs would find it a bit too scary. Yeah, right. He now pretends he IS Ghostrider, to the point of sneaking up on you, getting an inch from your nose, and intoning in a deep James Earl Jones-esque voice, "Look into my eyes!" He's too friggin' cute.

In just over a week, Phoenix will be finishing up grade one. He has really worked hard this term, and I am sure that we will see stellar results on his report card. Keegan graduates from pre-school. (And then 3 days later starts his 5 day a week summer program. Poor kid!) He's really coming along too. I am super proud of my big boys.

Ty (aka Little Boy) has discovered the Wiggles, and dances and sings through most of his day. I can hear him in his room mimicking Captain Feathersword (Quack, quack, quack, doodle-eee-doo!) I am gratified to say that he is finally starting to eat like a human, meaning foods other than Alphaghetti and Kraft Dinner. True to his Polish genes, he has discovered the joy of perogies, and loves German food as well, like Bratwurst and veal schnitzel. He now even eats the occasional piece of bread, which gives me hope that one day I will be able to talk him into a sandwich or two.

In extended family news, Baby Clara is doing well. She has been moved to a Level II nursery, is off machines, and is gaining weight. I believe she is now above her birth weight of 4 lbs, 2 oz. As soon as she gets the hang of breast-feeding, she will be able to come home, hopefully by the end of this week. Yay! Oh, but we are supposed to give them Ty's crib. Hmm...better get him into his big-boy bed, and soon!

In sad news, my friend Melanie's father passed away on Friday. I was at the funeral home today for the visitation. Meli is holding up really, really well considering, and I am very proud of the way she is dealing with it all. Love you Mel!

Well, that's about it for me for tonight. This week rounds up the field-trips for the year too. Phoenix goes to a Provincial Park tomorrow, and Keegs goes to the same one on Thursday and Friday.

Hope everyone has had a less chaotic spring than me, but if not, I feel your pain. Hang in there, summer arrives in two days!

Peace.

The Big 0-2!

Oh Ty-ger! You are 2 years old today! In one short year you have gone from my little baby to a little boy.

Your smile lights up my day, and your frequent spontaneous hugs make my heart melt.

I love how you call me "Money" instead of Mommy (especially since a friend suggested that you are just combining Mommy and Honey).

I love how you will stop what you are doing to come over and lay your head on my chest and give a contented little sigh.

You are also trouble X 10! You are like a battery that never runs out of juice. Your ceaseless energy is to be admired. I wish I had even 1/10th of it!

You are fearless and a bit reckless. I have seen you vault off of furniture and stairs like you have super-powers, and you land with a laugh. You now climb and slide and run all over the creative playground at your brother's school, when last year you couldn't lift your legs high enough to climb the steps.

You keep growing, but I am not sure how, since you seem to exist on Cheerios and love. Occasionally you throw me a bone by eating something like honey-garlic sausages with gusto, only to pass them by the next time they cross your plate. Picky, whatever it is, it's working.

This year you were diagnosed with not only an egg allergy, but a peanut one as well. I am sure that your determination in all things will serve you well throughout the years in dealing with these allergies.

Your new obsession is with trains, and you spend 90% of your day with your Thomas and Friends toys. You love your brothers and extended family fiercely and without thought.

You are not as wordy as your eldest brother, but you are coming along. Some of your daily voabulary consists of: Money (Mommy), Daddy, Keggie (Keegan), Brother (Phoenix), Guh-pa (Grandpa), Oma, Opa, up, down, go, sit, back, front, head, knees, toes, belly, bee-bo (belly button) Bear, Tutter, Ojo, Teelow (Treelo),Ty, moon, sty (star) cowd (cloud), Tommy, Julie, Bla-Bla (Ela), Dando (Fernando), Pah (Paul), Patrick, Kisstie (Christy), Darra, Heidi...(all of the important name words, obviously), this is__________, stinky, oh no!, no, NO!, bunny, Shabadee (name of his bunny) and more every day. My favourite is in the mornings, when you say, "Money! Herr-row!" (Mommy! Hello!)

Hello, to you to sweetheart. I wish you the happiest of birthdays. You are a daily joy and I love you forever.

Much love and kisses as you start your third year.

XOXOXOXOXO

Money

The Big 0-5!

Keegan! You are 5 years old today! The changes you have been through this year have been amazing.

Your speech has improved a thousand fold, and through much hard work, you have accomplished so many things.

You can now dress yourself, brush your own teeth and put the toothpaste on the brush. You can button buttons, and zip zippers. You can put on your own shoes. You can correctly identify numbers up to 15, and all upper case letters and most lower case ones. You have tackled the once insurmountable task of learning prepositions and using them properly. You use he and she properly in a sentence. You can sequence events, and re-tell a story. These are all things that seemed impossible a year ago, and now you are an expert.

Last year, you wouldn't look anyone in the eye, or let another child in your personal space. Now you are the most popular kid in your class, with 4 best friends and a girlfriend to boot!

You are loving, outgoing and affectionate, and extremely loyal to all you call friends. You love to dance, and sing all day long. You are my sweet, sweet dolly and I can't say enough to describe how proud I am of the person you are and the big boy you are becoming. I love you from the bottom of my heart.

Happy Birthday Keegan! Lots of love and happiness as you enter your 6th year.

XO

Mommy

Strong Advocate For Home Schooling

I have become a strong advocate for home schooling. Why? Because at least if your children are confined to their own homes all day, they won't be bringing home a new virus every 3 seconds.

Yes, Keegs and Ty are sick. Again. Fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuudge.

Ty has some bronchial infection that makes him wheeze like a 10 pack a day smoker. He is on drugs and a puffer.

Keegs has major lung butter and a chest infection so he's on antibiotics too.

Took Keegs to the dr regarding his nosebleeds and general lack of good health on Thursday afternoon. Dr recommended extensive blood tests. He thinks he may be anaemic, as I posted before with the most benign of my suspicions. So they took 5 vials of blood out of him; not like he has much to spare these days. He was great. Not a peep out of him, not even a flinch. The lab techs were all "Oh, what courage! What a good boy you are!" And Keegs looks at them and says, "Yes. I know. I am brave." He's too cute.

So now we wait for some results, which will be somewhat delayed due to the Easter holiday and all, so look for an update on Tues or Wednesday.

Happy Birthday yesterday to my nephew Lucas, who is 12 years old! Enjoy your last preteen year ( or is it tween, now?)

Busy day tomorrow. Mark was in Ottawa all week, so I am way behind on my Easter errands. I have to get a million things done tomorrow including taking the boys for haircuts (although I think I may leave Ty's a bit longer in the front to cover his black eye (up close and personal with the kitchen stool) and the chunk that is missing from his forehead (faceplant from the stairs onto a Transformer toy). The kid is Evil Kneivel, I swear. No fear. Keep your fingers crossed that he survives each day.

Will post in the next few days with my Easter "mini" cakes...