Thursday, October 11, 2007
Break a leg
Saturday, September 01, 2007
Last moments at the old house
Tuesday, August 14, 2007
Moving
We are ALL trying to get the house into move-in condition. The previous owner has been very helpful and even had the carpets cleaned for us, but there is still a lot of work to do as the previous tenants were smokers and we have been trying to remove the traces of smoking before we paint. The kids have been shocked and awed by the buckets of dirty water that we remove from the walls and the way the glass cleaner "turns the colour of cola" when we spray it on the interior windows. Note the cola coloured water running down the wall that Campbell is washing. I also wanted to point out the apples that Kira has are from our trees.
Friday, July 27, 2007
Hanna's newfound mobility
Thursday, July 26, 2007
This just in
Tuesday, July 24, 2007
Summer update
You can see my house photos in my facebook album.
Now our problem has been finding a new house with such a tight timeframe. We put an offer in on a house in the country. It sits on a 56 acre farm. The owner is severing a 2 acre lot to go with the house. It will include a field that is currently used for vegetables, and a few rows of apple trees. The house needs lots of TLC, but the rooms are pretty large and there are 5 bedrooms. It is about 30 years old. The real reason we chose this house over some others we were looking at is the location. It’s on a road that is very well known for the mansions that are on the waterfront side of the road. It is very hard to get waterfront building lots now and a building lot alone will cost 500,000 now. Matt and I are banking on the fact that this will eventually rub off on our side of the road. We figure that any work we do to this house will come back to us dollar for dollar. Matt is going to move a futon into the house on August 14th and start cleaning and painting after work before we move any of our furniture in. I have to say that while I will miss our house, I am starting to get excited about my new “modern country” decorating scheme.
The boys have been doing really well with their summer hockey. When we signed them up, we put Damon up 3 years into Patrick’s age division, and we put Patrick up 2 years as well. Damon is holding his own against the older boys! Because of his size and his toughness on the ice, nobody except the convenor has a clue that he is so much younger. And Patrick’s skating is standing out and he has a lot of hockey people out there really excited about him coming to the region. Dads from various teams found out we hadn’t bought a house yet and were trying to talk us into moving to their town so that he could play on their sons’ team as opposed to against their sons’ teams. When you are an 11 year old boy moving to a new area, it is nice to be welcomed like that!
Campbell is doing well and enjoying his summer vacation. His soccer ended and his best friend went to Japan for the summer. He lost his first tooth and has another one that is loose. He also has an awful cavity that I need to get taken care of. Bad me.
Kira finally decided that she was going to be toilet trained. So she was. As easy as that. Other than a couple of totally acceptable accidents, she has done great.
Hanna cut her first tooth. She is very very close to crawling, but instead she does a half-crawl, half scoot. When she is crawling and she wants to get to something, she leans forward on her arms as if she will crawl, she goes forward with her arms until her legs are extended behind her, and then she sits back down. Somehow she moves around the room remarkably well with this method.
Saturday, June 23, 2007
Wednesday, June 13, 2007
Didn't their moms tell them that it is rude?
If not I'll have to get us all new t-shirts from Cafe Press with "Yes they are all mine." or "Yes I know what causes this." OR if all else fails I should just buy the kids shirts that say "STOP STARING AT MY MOM'S TITS." Yes, that should do it.
Tuesday, June 12, 2007
Saturday, June 02, 2007
The things they pick up from TV
Campbell: Can I have a piece of paper? I'm going to try some pointilism.
Kira: I want paper too. Yay, pointillism.
Campbell: Kira, pointillism is where you do dots.
Kira: Yes, I know, I LOVE pointillism.
Campbell: Okay, let's go.
I'll be sure to scan in the masterpieces later today.
Friday, June 01, 2007
Needles and thorns.
Her new trick is waving. I will try to get it on video and post it later. She waves at strangers, she waves at the dog, she waves at passing cars, it is very cute. And if anybody says the word 'bye', her little hand starts waving madly. Patrick also used this waving to teach her to give "high fives".
Campbell had his 7 year check up. He is weighing 47 lbs and is 4 feet tall. For the second year in a row, his urinalysis has shown blood in it, so based on the history of me and Patrick, the doctor felt safe saying that he has Thin Basement Membrane Disease (also known as Benign Familial Hematuria). I know, it sounds more like a home inspector's term than a medical condition. The main part of it being that it is benign and it runs in families.
The lilacs have finished, the lily of the valley are yellowing. My creamy scented roses are in bloom in my front garden and my asian lilies are almost ready to bloom. My peonies seem to be a little bit late this year, but I'm glad for that. My honeysuckle is covering the trellis and FINALLY flowering for the first time. I'm really enjoying watching my gardens this year and I feel sad that this is the last year I will be with them. At the same time, the thought of planting new gardens in our next house is exciting.
Wednesday, May 16, 2007
Last race
Thursday, May 10, 2007
Hanna turns 6 months!
The past 6 months with Hanna have been an absolute delight. I am torn between wanting to see the wonderful girl she will become, and a desire to savour this perfect moment of her babyhood. But inevitably, time will have it's way. *sigh*
Thursday, May 03, 2007
If you had one wish...
Shane Bernier is a courageous seven-year-old boy from Lancaster, Ontario who was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia when he was only five. On June 6th, 2006 Shane and his family received some unfortunate news: Shane experienced a relapse after completing 108 of 130 weeks of treatment.
However, despite the bad news, Shane has managed to keep a positive outlook on his situation and has made a heart-warming wish... He hasn’t asked for money or toys or anything of the sort. Instead, his birthday is on May 30th and he would like to break the world record for the most birthday cards ever received. His goal is 350 million cards. With every card, Shane’s courage grows. Something as simple as sending a birthday card could be enough to help Shane find peace and joy in his current circumstances.
Please take the time to send a card to Shane and make his dream become a reality. Share his story with your friends, family and co-workers. If at all possible, get your youth groups, church congregations, employees, neighbours or communities to set aside a few minutes to write a thoughtful note to Shane.
With every card, Shane’s smile grows...If you’d like to send a card to Shane, please send it to:
Shane BernierPO Box 484
Lancaster, Ontario
K0C 1N0
Canada
Thursday, April 19, 2007
Update
Thursday, April 12, 2007
Happy Birthday Campbell!
Campbell had a birthday. My baby boy turned 7.
Campbell is a man who knows his own mind.
Last Wednesday, we met my online friend Beth from the April 2000 expecting board. She drove all the way up here from NYC! Campbell and Nicole shared a cake at the restaurant. Then we went back to the hotel and they swam.
On Friday night, he wanted to go bowling with my mother. He chose to have his family party along with our regular family easter celebrations so he had candles in his bird's nest cupcakes.
On Tuesday, his actual birthday, he wanted to get take out and bring it home. He requested fish and chips and root beer for dinner and an ice cream cake.
What could I say about this wonderful boy? Well, Campbell is a very determined young man. He is "a gentleman and a scholar". He is unbelievably hard working, both at schoolwork, his chores and hockey. We gave him a Scottish name, and he is growing up as a stereotypical scot. He wants to save up his money and doesn't like to part with it. He still has $140 in Toys R Us gift cards from his last birthday. He goes and walks around Toys R Us and asks me what items he can afford. He always puts the gift cards back in his wallet and asks to go home empty handed. He cuts out coupons for us to use. He has collected 37 dollars in Canadian Tire money and 46 dollars in McDonald's money. He is tough as nails when he is playing with other boys, but tender and sweet with is mother and his sisters. He has a very dry sense of humour and he keeps everybody laughing. I have confidence that whatever he chooses to do, he will do well at.
Monday, March 05, 2007
Sunday, March 04, 2007
Vater ist zu seinem Mutterland gegangen
Selling the house will have to wait another month.
Campbell's Playoff Game #3
In other action, Damon's team tied another game 4-4. Damon was on the ice for every goal that his team scored and was on for 2 of the goals against. Campbell's coaches came to watch Damon's game.
Patrick Playoff Games #3 & 4
Now I know where the bad attitudes from the other team come from. I was standing near some of the fathers from the other team. While I was standing there, one of the moms marched over and said to one of the fathers, "Those parents are awful. They are over there calling Matthew's mom a bitch." I looked over to where she had come from sitting and none of our parents were near them and when I looked to see if there was interraction between the two camps there wasn't. I know that some of our parents are prone to getting worked up about poor refereeing at games, but this wasn't even happening, they were all avidly watching the game. I'll assume that the parents from the other team were just trying to stir things up. Having said that, I have had some lovely chats with a couple of their mothers. They have the maturity to see that we are all in this together and one even complained that she hates to see her son's team slashing our goalie.
Game 4 was a home game for us, but the referee was horrible. With a score of 2-1, he didn't count a goal that clearly went into their net, hit the back of the net and came back out. He didn't call many dirty hits and let the game get out of hand. The missed goal was a turning point in the game and our kids seemed to fall apart after that. The final score was 5-1.
Tuesday, February 27, 2007
LEGAULT: Samuel Joseph Anthoni April 28, 1918 – February 26, 2007 Peacefully at the Oakville-Trafalgar Memorial Hospital. Dearly beloved husband and best friend of Patricia Katharine (nee Wilson). Cherished father of Margaret, Tony, Suzanne, Stephen (Diane), Terry (Peter May), and Jane (Bill Chandler). Much adored grandfather of Lisa (Pedro Salazar), Karen (Doug McElroy), Laurie (Kevin Kozak), Derek (Julia), Daniel, Adri (Matt Fair), Dana (Rob Kahro), Craig, Liane, Barbara, Cynthia, Robyn, Amelia, Alex, Jacqueline, Jeff, Kerry and Brett. Devoted great-grandfather of Ambar and Amarys Salazar, Matthew, Jennifer and Scott McElroy, William, Ellie and David Kozak, Aidan and Carter Legault, Patrick, Damon, Campbell, Kira and Hannah Fair, Peyton, Maddox and Tenley Kahro. Sam was the beloved eldest son of Antoni and Maria Legault and beloved oldest brother of Amelia Macejunas (Wally), Julia Stroud (James), Lena Beebe (Ken), Ernie Legault (Trish) and the late Rupert, Dorothy Small (Harold), Betty Morris (Glenn) and Norah Leclair (Evan). Sam was born and raised in Montreal, and met and married the love of his life in Prescott Ontario on September 26, 1942. They lived in Coteau Station Quebec for 9 years, then Sam was transferred to Toronto and they made their home in Port Credit. Sam worked for the CNR for 40 years until his retirement as Circuit Engineer. After his retirement from CNR he worked for WABCO as an engineering consultant, doing stints in Buenos Aries Argentina, Tralee Ireland and Miami Florida, where he was the Chief Circuit Designer, and Signal System Design Specialist on the Miami Dade Metrorail. After his second retirement, in 1986, Sam and Pat settled in Oakville where they devoted their lives to their children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Sam was very active in St. Mary’s Church, was on the Board of Directors of the St. Mary’s Credit Union, and a founding member and Chairman of the Port Credit Roman Catholic School Board, and Chairman of the Port Credit Library Board. He was very active in the Toastmaster’s Organization and became President of the Port Credit Chapter and then Lieutenant Governor of the central District of Ontario. He was an active member of the Knights of Columbus, and until he could no longer do it the secretary of the 60th Degree Knights of Columbus Oakville Branch. The Family would like to thank the staff of Northridge Nursing Home and the Oakville Hospital 4th floor for their care and support. In lieu of flowers kindly make a donation to the charity of your choice. Visitation will be held at the Kopriva Taylor Community Funeral Home, 64 Lakeshore Road West, (one block east of Kerr, 905-844-2600) on Wednesday 2-4 & 7-9 p.m. Mass of Christian Burial will be held 11:00 a.m. on Thursday, March 1, 2007 at Mary Mother of God Roman Catholic Church, 2745 North Ridge Trail, Oakville. Cremation to follow. Condolences and tributes may be sent to: www.koprivataylor.com
“May you always walk in sunshine, May you never want for more. May Irish Angels rest their wings Right beside your door May the road rise to meet you May the wind be always at your back May the sunshine warm upon your face The rains fall soft upon your fields and Until we meet again may God hold You in the palm of his hand”.
“Dad you were the heart of our family, we will love you and miss you forever”
Monday, February 26, 2007
Sam Legault 1918-2007
Campbell's Playoff Game #2
Saturday, February 24, 2007
Patrick's Playoff Game #2
Damon is still in regular season play and his game was tied 3-3.
Patrick's Playoff game #1
Mean-kids* 0
Patrick's team won their first playoff game! The energy level was really low, and our kids looked tired, but I guess the other team's kids were more tired. One of our players was hit from behind, breaking his collarbone. A penalty was called and the other player was ejected from the game and given a one game suspension. So now, this boy on our team, who has practiced 5 days a week since last August for this moment, is going to miss the rest of the playoffs and the tryouts for next season.
Game 2 just started, I'm waiting for the outcome.
* The kind of kids who don't apologize to six year-olds, even when they accidentally hit them in the eye with their sticks while walking through the hall to leave the arena.
Friday, February 23, 2007
"Oh Mommy, I'm so sorry."
Thursday, February 22, 2007
Remembering happier times...
It was a struggle for my mother, who is power of care, to make a decision. Other family members had opinions of their own, driven by how uncomfortable they were with watching their beloved father struggle for breath, they hoped he would go quickly and peacefully. For my mother his comfort was of utmost concern, but some of the measures were prolonging his death. My mother had to struggle with what his wishes would be. I suggested that as an unquestioning man of faith, her answer should come from the church, and that she should presume that he would want a Roman Catholic Living Will. She sought the counsel of the priest, but sadly was not helped much at all by that particular priest. However, while she struggled with this, his deterioration has continued and it has come to a point where things such as fluids, were only serving to flood his lungs, and any feeds through his feeding tube would only serve to cause him him to aspirate some. So barring heroic measures, the decision has been taken from her hands.
Monday, February 19, 2007
Sometimes goalies happen
Matt and I always vowed that none of our kids would be goalies. NEVER. Aside from that astronomical cost of goalie equipment, the experience of seeing the 12th goal slide past a 5 year old Patrick convinced me that neither my heart, nor my stomach could handle being a goalie's mom.
Damon really enjoyed his experiences as a goalie, and to his credit, he was a pretty decent goalie. Still, it was easy enough to convince him that his size and strength as a defenseman were far more valuable to his team.
Back in December, in the middle of a crazy weekend, Campbell had his first turn in net. Matt was accompanying Patrick and his team on a weekend away series. Damon had a tournament near Grandpa Bob's house, so the girls and I were there with Damon. Campbell's coach's family offered to keep him for the weekend so that he wouldn't miss the team Christmas Party and his turn in net. Damon's team lost in the semi-finals, giving me just enough time to get home to see Campbell's game. The photos here are of him on that day.
First a little bit of background, at the beginning of the season, MB, one of our players really started to stand out. By December, he was easily scoring 8 or 10 goals a game. His parents cautiously decided to move him up to the next age level so that he would be challenged a bit more. So when Campbell first played net, MB dominated the play, and Campbell only saw 3 shots on net. 1 went in, but we still won because MB scored a few hat-tricks.
That same week we had an "interlock" game with another arena's team, and no other goalies would have a chance to practice, Campbell got a second chance in net. This time he faced many more shots, and showed some impressive moves, helping his team win the game with a score of 5-2. Campbell won a "Super Sport" award for that game and I heard from all of the other parents how wonderful he was.
After watching everybody on the team took a turn in net, our coach needed to decide who was going to be in net for playoffs. I knew that he was impressed with Campbell, so I told Matt to tell the coach that he could have Campbell in net for alternate games, because I needed a week in between to recover my nerves. So when the coach asked Matt if Campbell would be the goalie for the playoffs, Matt looked down at a beaming Campbell and said, "Sure".
For weeks, Campbell let everybody know that he was going to be the playoff goalie. Family members, classmates, our family doctor, the cashier at the grocery store, they all knew that he, Campbell, would be the goalie for the playoffs. When it came time for a haircut, Campbell decided he needed a goalie haircut. So he asked Patrick who the best goalie in the whole wide world was. Patrick named a few names, and I did some google image searches. No offence to Patrick Roy, Ken Dryden or Dominik Hasek, but when we came across this photo of Martin Brodeur, it was clear to me who the best goalie in the whole wide world was, the one with the haircut that best suited Campbell! The next day we were at the arena all day for Patrick's school hockey tournament. Every hockey acquaintance we ran into at the tournament heard this, "I have da same haiwcut as da best goalie in da whole woild. Mawmmy, what's his name again? Oh yeah Mahtin Brodeu. An' I'm the goalie for da playoffs." At this point I was humouring him, but hoping that this was a phase and that a few tough games between the pipes and he would be singing a different song.
So Sunday rolls around, and we are playing against the top team in the league without MB. This team is used to winning with double digit scores. Campbell made some good saves, and that old feeling of dread in my stomach started to go away. He let a few in, but he got better with each save. By the third period, I found myself hoping that they would get another shot on him so that he could save it again! And I must say that he was just so cute doing it! My stomach was hurting, but that was from all of the cheering and laughing that we were doing watching him hop around in net. He kept his team in it, and the final score was 4-1 for the other team. The shots on net were 31-8 for the other team! He stopped 27. At his age, the goalies normally stop 50% of the shots. The other team's coach came to the bench, where Matt was as an assistant coach, to tell our coaches that the goalie was phenomenal. He asked where the goalie's dad was and Matt raised his hand. And he told Matt that he had a goalie on his hands. Other parents said, "that kid needs to be a goalie." In the hallways, I overheard strangers who had watched the game, "Did you see that kid in net, he was awesome."
When I got to the dressing room, I was surprised to see a teary-eyed Campbell. He was devastated. He wanted nothing less than a shut out. Matt and I reminded him that he played a very good team and then the coach started giving a speech about what an outstanding job Campbell did. Every parent and child from the team came and congratulated Campbell on his performance before they went home. That gave him some comfort.
His brothers gave him respect for the rest of the day. Damon was offering to carry his equipment to the van for him. Patrick was fussing over him all day. And little Campbell just basked in the glory.
So I learned that goalies do happen. And so does shameless bragging. Never say never.