Happy 8th Birthday Damon!

You are a wonderful little boy.  You are so smart and analytical, strong and athletic.   And you have the singing voice of an angel.  You are always eager to share with your family, friends and unfortunate strangers, you are the most generous child I've ever seen.  I just hope that you always know how important and special you are to everybody.

Hamming it up with his cake.

He was thrilled with his new guitar.  He'll be starting lessons soon.

And here he is teaching Kira how to cheer for him.

I heard it straight from the horse's mouth

"Every day is like opposite day to me." - Damon Fair

This was his response when Patrick teased him. He asked Patrick to watch his food and Patrick told Puck to eat up and said, "oh didn't you know it's opposite day today?"

Logically reverse psychology should work on him. "Damon don't clean up your dirty clothes." The problem is that this guy is always one step ahead of me and will do a double reverse on me. *sigh*

A word of thanks

I wanted to say 'thank you' for the wonderful fudge! It disappeared rapidly. It tasted so good that the kids couldn't believe that "somebody actually made it." (I think they thought it was sent from the heavens.) Matt was away for work, so the kids and I decided that meant more fudge for us.

We are home from an exciting weekend away. Patrick's hockey team played in an international (ooooohhh aaaahhhh) tournament this past weekend. They didn't win any games, but Patrick looked great! And then after today's game he was awarded a special puck as the MVP! We are all so proud of him.

We all had a lot of fun hanging out with the players and their families at the rink and hotel (with a pool) this weekend and came home tired out. We aren't really looking forward to going back to work and school.

Behind those pretty ears

Kira woke up in the night after her birthday with croup. We used her inhalers and she started breathing easier so we went back to sleep. She was much better in the morning, but it returned again last night. This morning she was coughing a lot and started getting feverish (38 C or 100 F), so I rushed her over to the doctor's office. We waited there for an hour and her fever was up to 40 C (104 F) and she became very clingy and lethargic. The verdict was that she has a really bad ear infection in one ear. The doctor didn't rule out bronchitis, but we were already getting more inhalers for the croup and antibiotics for the ear infection anyway. Kira has also had diarrhea for a week now, which has left her with an awful diaper rash, so the doctor also prescribed some cream for that. Diarrhea, Respiratory infection, Ear Infection and a Diaper Rash. This poor girl is a mess.

I should have known when she asked for a cookie and took one bite and said, "I no like this Mommy." That's not the Kira I know.

It's still a bit early, but now I'm considering staying home with Kira (and Damon and Campbell) this weekend instead of going to Patrick's hockey tournament in the U.S.. I'm so tired of cancelling things because of sick kids.

On a related note, this clever ad made me laugh out loud today.

I'm not sure where I stand on this, I'm not cutting out ALL dairy from our diets yet, but I have never been one to push the kids to drink milk. Something about drinking milk that is made for 300 lb calves seems illogical to me.

Happy Birthday Princess!

Kira turned 2 today! We spent most of her birthday in the parts and service waiting room at our Ford dealership. It was special.

After our simple repair of the seat warmer turned into a major repair of the electrical system, they rented us a Dodge Caravan and we zipped off to the mall for a little bit of shopping and to get the one thing that Kira wanted.

Pretty ears! Daddy was away, so we had plans to take Patrick to hockey practice and then go out to dinner with Grandma-Sue. Patrick was home with a stomach bug and Campbell was green around the gills when I picked him up from school. I decided that I didn't want to waste money on meals that were likely to come right back up. So Grandma-Sue decided to bring cake and ginger ale to us. Kira opened her present.

A pretty charm bracelet and charm. See her pretty ears again!? She keeps wanting to admire them in the mirror.

I am sad that the day was hampered with illness and vehicle problems, but I hope all of your birthday wishes come true.

The 2006 New Years Resolution Generator

In the year 2006 I resolve to: Make as many people hate me as I possibly can. Get your resolution here

Along with many of the parents on our hockey team, I'm off to a rip-roaring start.

But seriously, my real new year's resolution is not to eat anymore oranges.

Gift tag fun

The boys got a kick out of these on their gifts on Christmas morning.

Here is Kira at Campbell's "Wild" Christmas party. She was not impressed with Santa, but happily accepted the bag of candy he gave her.


Here she is hanging out with her boyfriend. They are hilarious together. The other day, he was sick and wanted to be cuddled by his mommy. Kira didn't know why he was being picked up and cuddled, but she threw herself down on the floor and cried, "I fall down, pick me up too." Actress-in-training

A sad farewell to Uncle $andy

"Glenn Murray 'Sandy' McTavish, 83, of Shakespeare passed away in the Maples Home for Seniors, Tavistock on Saturday, December 31, 2005. He was born in North Easthope Township, Perth County on April 8, 1922, a son of the late Joseph and Jean (Taylor) McTavish. Sandy served as a pilot in the R.C.A.F. during World War II; he had been a salesperson for Rolland Paper; was a member of the Shakespeare Optimist Club; a member of the Exeter Memorial Branch #167 Royal Canadian Legion and the Stratford Saturday Noon Hour Club. He is survived by one brother, Grant McTavish of Mareeba, Queensland, Australia; two sisters-in-law, Lillian McTavish of Stratford, Dora McTavish of Exeter; several nieces and nephews and special friends, the Oldershaw family of Toronto. He will be expecially missed by Murray McTavish whose daily visit enabled him to remain independent. He was pre-deceased by two brothers, Donald McTavish and Gordon McTavish; his sister and brother-in-law, Isabel and Harry Darrel."

Uncle $andy was a wonderful man. He was a dear friend to my grandmother and grandfather and was considered part of our family. I think I was about 12 before I figured out that he wasn't actually a blood relative. For about 30 years, he welcomed my whole family to his farm every Thanksgiving weekend, and many of my childhood memories are of times spent there amongst his antiques playing kick the football in the tree, cards and sitting by the fire. His passion for old houses and antiques is probably what gave me the desire to buy our old house. I am sad that I didn't get to see him at my Aunt's house on Christmas day. I will remember his warm smile with fondness.

The Three 'C's

I hope that everybody had a very merry Christmas spent in good health and good cheer. It didn't exactly go that way for us.

My aunt says I'm working my way through the alphabet, but I got stuck on 'c'. 'C' for concussion, croup and chocolate.

Patrick was okay after his concussion. The next morning we asked him if his head hurt and he said, "It only hurts when I shake it like this."

Damon was still wheezy on Christmas eve morning, so he missed his hockey game. Kira was still wheezy too and very clingy. We went ahead and went to my sister's Christmas Eve gathering. Kira was not enjoying herself though, and the croupy bark started up. After she opened a red wool coat from us, she put it on and said, "I wanna go home now." She curled up on my shoulder and fell asleep. Soon she was running a fever. Once we got home, I started up the steamy shower and locked Damon, Kira and myself in the bathroom and started giving out doses of motrin, ventolin and flovent. Then Kira and I took Puck outside. The drugs, the steam and the cold night air did not help her. I am pretty laid-back about croup, because I have dealt with it so many times over the years with Patrick, but I was starting to panic. Finally, I gave her another dose of everything and she finally seemed to breathe a little easier so we went to bed.

Patrick woke up at 8 am ready to open stockings. We woke up the other boys, but didn't have the heart to wake up Kira, so we went down and opened stockings without her. The boys were happy with their stockings and raced upstairs to try out their toys and video games. I was feeling very tired and kind of sick myself, so I lay down on the couch while they played. Suddenly I realized that my shadow, Puck, was not with me. That's where the third "c" comes in. I went down to the living room and found the shredded remains of Matt's 1 lb Toblerone chocolate bar. I slammed him in his crate (mostly for his own protection - Matt is especially protective of his Toblerone bars at Christmas) and checked on the internet. I read a few different pages giving different levels before chocolate can become toxic. The consensus seemed to be that 1 lb of chocolate would not kill a 50 lb dog, but it could make him feel mighty sick. I used a syringe to give him hydrogen peroxide to try to induce vomiting in hopes that I might be able to get some of the chocolate out of his stomach and alleviate some of his discomfort. He stood there on the deck with foam coming out of his mouth, trying desperately to hang onto his chocolate. I put him in his crate, and let him out frequently. No signs or symptoms.

So back to Kira. She finally woke up and sounded horrible. Croupy, miserable and congested. At this point we decided that she needed to see a doctor and we would have to miss out on the gift exchange with my dad's family and Christmas dinner with Matt's family. I called a few walk-in clinics but none were open. Kira opened her stocking and presents in our bed. Matt took our gifts to my brother's house so that he could pass them along to my aunt's house. Meanwhile, I gave Kira more medication and put her into the shower. She fell asleep again soon after that and I made brunch for Matt and the boys. After brunch, Kira and I headed off to the ER.

After 5 hours there, we left no better off than when we arrived. The triage nurse took Kira's temperature by armpit and it was 98.4 F. I said I thought she felt warmer than that, but the nurse and eventually the doctor just ignored me. I tried to clarify the point that I was not bringing her to ER because of croup, I was bringing her because her croupiness and wheeziness was not reacting to steroid inhalers and steam, but nobody seemed to "hear" my concerns. By the time the doctor saw her, the barking cough had changed and was now a wet productive cough. The doctor looked at me like I was a moron. "That is no croupy cough, that sounds wet to me." Well yeah it sounds wet now, but trust me it wasn't so wet at 3 am last night and I'm guessing it won't be as wet tonight. She listened to her lungs and heard a rattle so she sent her for chest x-rays. They came back clear. So the doctor came in again to talk to us and when she touched Kira's hand she said, "oh she feels warm now" and sent the nurse in to take her temperature again. The nurse did a rectal temperature this time and it was 102.5 F. Oh wow, mom was right. The whole time we were there, Kira just lay on the bed like a rag doll, asking me to lie next to her and then trying to close my eyes with her little fingers. The doctor said she felt it was a virus and I should just continue with the motrin and inhalers and follow up with the family doctor. Ohh, I'll be following up with the family doctor all right and not because she said to! My mommy instincts tell me there is something more to this.

For now, I'm putting my money on 'b' for bronchitis.

We had submarine sandwiches for Christmas dinner and watched Charlie and the Chocolate Factory together while Puck whined in his crate. Yesterday morning, when he was finally given free reign of the house again, the first thing Puck did was head straight for the dining room table. He jumped up on top of it and stole Kira's small Toblerone bar and swallowed it in one gulp. A day in solitary taught him nothing.

Kira was much better yesterday and was able to properly cough, so we had our Christmas dinner with Matt's parents. They spoiled all of us.

Matt is tired and having problems finding a good night's sleep, Patrick recovered fine from the concussion and his team is getting KILLED at a hockey tournament right now, Damon is slowly recovering from his virus, Campbell is fine and doing hockey school every day this week, Kira sounds like she is drowning with every cough and Puck has a stomach of steel. I'm treading water.

I've woken Patrick up once now and he was reactive. I was already up doing the old croup routine with Damon and Kira. This is a first for Kira and Damon hasn't had croup for an awfully long time. Kira's on my lap now.

Why am I not surprised that it is now Christmas Eve and I am dealing with a head injury and 2 croupy kids? I'm thinking that if I had all my shopping and wrapping finished already this would never have happened.

I should start taking wagers on Campbell.

They are home now. The ER was remarkably quick! The doctor believes that it is a concussion, but a mild one. His vision problems have cleared up. He sent home an information sheet on symptoms to watch for, and instructions on waking him through the night, and told him to take some Advil for the headache. He said that as for playing hockey again, we should play it by ear and if he has no further problems he can probably play in the tournament on the 27th. And he assured Matt that concussions aren't as bad as most people believe.

Agonizing

We are busy busy busy these days. We are finding it especially challenging to get all the shopping done in time. The kids didn't give us many suggestions this year so they have been hard to shop for.

Patrick's hockey team played a great game tonight and even though they lost, they weren't outplayed. They could easily beat this team next time. And Patrick played very well and even the one goal that was scored on his line he had played properly (forced the shot, didn't block the goalie's view).

However, during the third period, he started having problems with his vision. We aren't sure why, it could have been the elbow to his head during the second period, or it could have been sweat in his eyes. Either way, he went to check a guy into the boards and missed him buy a lot and hit the boards and hit his head. He skated away though and played another shift after that. After the game, his coach talked to Matt. Patrick's eyes were red, he was crying and had a headache. He said he had trouble seeing colours, but I think that he means that he is over-sensitive to light. On the way home we tried to assess him and all he kept saying was, "Can't I just go home and lie down? That's all I want to do." He showered and got into some comfortable clothes. He had no problems answering my stupid questions ("what is today?" "who are you?" etc) but his headache was not getting better and he was very sleepy, so we decided to take him to the hospital. Matt took him and I am sitting here waiting for him to call.

If it does turn out to be a concussion, this would be his first sport-related injury. So far he has been very lucky.

Puck turns one!

Today was a big day! Puck turned 1! He celebrated it amongst his adoring family.

Damon sat with him while Campbell brought in the "cake" (an end piece of Rollover). Kira gave him his gift (a brand new Kong). Patrick was certain that he was suddenly much more mature and not as hyper, because now he is an adult. Sure.

Now he is happily chewing his Kong, lying in his armchair while I type.

A year ago today, I was obsessively checking emails, feeling foolish that I was secretly hoping that MY puppy would be born that day, the same day as my old dog Maddie's birthday, feeling even more foolish that I was secretly hoping this would bring me some sort of psychic connection to MY puppy (I know, I have watched too many episodes of The Pet Psychic). But he is that puppy I was dreaming of. He is beautiful, loving, so smart and playful too. He plays hard and sleeps soundly, loves my kids and adores me.

Happy Birthday Bronte, True, and the other 7 beautiful puppies born that day!

overheard during gingerbread house decorating...

Campbell: Can somebody move? I can't get close enough to put this candy on.
Damon: I know, it's too crowded here.
Patrick: Well you guys had better get used to it. It's like that in this house.
Damon: What? too crowded?
Patrick: Yep.

I almost forgot this one.

Puck does NOT enjoy wearing the reindeer antlers, but he loves his red ruffle and wants it on all the time.  He likes wearing sweaters and jackets too.  I think it makes him feel special.

Christmas card rejects

I am trying to finish up my Christmas cards.  I have had a really difficult time choosing a photo this year.  I took many pictures, but not one of them jumped out as THE ONE.  But here are a few that I briefly considered.

Naughty or nice?


Happy Howlidays?



The stockings were hung but the chimney with care...


Silent night?

Kira-ism

Yesterday, as she helps me put away the clean cutlery, she was announcing "Here's a spoon mommy". She picked up a knife and I asked her "What is that called?" She looked at it and said "Here's a cut mommy." Makes sense to me.

When I GROW up (and up and up)

My local paper recommended this growth prediction program ---->here. They rely on extensive research to tell you how tall your child will grow to. It considers that some children are early bloomers and accounts for this. And if you are American, you can convert to inches here.

I'm guessing this is much more accurate than most growth predictor which say that my 4'10" 10 year old, Patrick will be 6'6". Sorry Patrick, but with a mom who's 5'7" and a dad who's 5'11", I think NOT! Besides, I was my full height by the time I was 11 and Matt was his full height at 13. It says he will be about 6'1". I really wanted to try a prediction for little Campbell, but I got an error message saying that the child needed to be at least 7 years old.

Do you like my new header? I was trying out a few things and Patrick added his own touch to it. LOL

My Big Boy is 10!

Patrick's birthday was on a Thursday this year.  So I picked up Patrick, his friend and Damon up from school and took 5 kids to the diner up the street from the school.  It was nice.  Then that night Patrick had a hockey practice, so I ordered pizzas for the hockey team.  The parents needed to have a meeting that night anyhow so the kids (including siblings) all ate pizza in the hallway with under the supervision of the coach.  They had a blast and I heard vague reports of a pepperoni fight.  Patrick didn't want to share his cake with his teammates, he wisely chose to have it at home with his brothers and sister. 

Last weekend we had a family party and celebrated my niece and nephew's birthdays along with Patrick's.  Here he is waiting to blow out his candles.


He really is a great kid.  He's a hard worker in school and sport.  And he is so kind and thoughtful.  I'm so proud of him.  Patrick, I hope your birthday was a happy one.

My Cupcake

Mom, Do I really have to come in now?

Isn't he beautiful? Maybe I just think that because he's my "baby".

I'm whining again

Here is a listing of MOST of what I did this weekend. I kept it clean and left out the bathroom breaks and most diaper changes.
Saturday
6:30 the alarm goes off, I get up, give out clothes to the 4 kids, dress myself and Kira, feed the dog and take him out, cook breakfast and load up the minivan. Somewhere during this I realize that in addition to having a runny nose, now my throat is hurting and my body is aching.
7:30 We arrive at the arena and get Damon dressed for practice (while trying to keep an eye on Kira, Campbell and Patrick)
8:00 practice begins and I'm chasing Kira around while Patrick and Campbell hang out with their friends and fellow rink rats.
9:00 practice ends and I help Damon get his equipment off
9:30 We arrive home. I take the dog out.
10:00 Kira is already ready for a nap, I turned on the alarm before I lay down with her and it's good I did.
12:30 I make and serve lunch
1:45 play with the dog in the backyard and then put him in his crate
2:00 pack up the van again (this time with 2 hockey bags) leave for the arena again, we don't need to be there until 2:45, but the skate sharpening guy is open at 2.
2:15 stand in line for the skate sharpening guy who is not there, and the kids are climbing all over the benches, vending machines, etc.
2:45 Patrick joins up with his team for warm up
3:45 Patrick's game begins. Kira screams for pretty much all of the game and I get to watch very little. The team lost 8-0. The boys stayed fairly close which was unusual and greatly appreciated.
4:45 I leave Patrick's game with a few minutes left and take Campbell and Kira down to the dressing room and get Campbell ready for the team pictures. Much to my disgust, I opened up his bag to find MOLD growing on his damp equipment. My throat was closing up. It was so gross (Matt got a big long lecture on how HE didn't bother to dry out Campbell's equipment last Sunday). Luckily none of it was on his jersey for the photo.
5:00 Campbell's team photo
5:30 Campbell's practice. Kira has fallen asleep in her stroller! It's a miracle. Other hockey parents are shocked, they've never seen Kira sleep in her stroller.
6:30 Practice ends, Kira's up and poopy.
7:15 Arrive at McDonald's drive thru
7:30 Arrive home, take the dog out and eat our McDonald's. I wash Campbell's hockey equipment in hot water and oxiclean in the washing machine, at this point I don't care if it is ruined, I will not have mold on it!
8:00 All of the kids watch Kicking and Screaming in my bed. I take the dog out again.
9:30 All of the kids watch The Adventures of Shark Boy and Lava Girl while I pass out on my bed.
10:30 I take the dog out again and hang the hockey equipment up to dry.
11:00 I go back to bed.

Sunday
7:00 the alarm goes off. I hand out clothes (including Patrick's team warm up suit, and his freshley ironed shirt, tie and dress pants to wear later to the game), I load up all 3 hockey bags in the van (no room for strollers today), serve breakfast and feed and take the dog out. Yep throat still hurts.
8:30 arrive at the rink and all of the kids come into the dressing room to help get Damon ready.
9:00 Damon's game begins, Patrick and Campbell are playing ball hockey in the lounge area of the rink. Kira wants to join them and doesn't want to stay with me while I watch the game. I see very little of the game. They lose 5-1, but Damon played pretty well (from what I saw).
10:00 Patrick takes Campbell to his dressing room to start getting ready. At the same time, Kira and I help Damon get undressed, once he is done, I go and finish helping Campbell.
10:30 Campbell's game begins. It is so cute to watch. He fell down trying to get the puck out of his end, and suddenly the other team's players were coming toward him, so instead of getting up, he used his feet to turn himself around on his side so he could kick the puck out. It was hilarious and showed that he wasn't going to give up! After a short rest, Kira wants to run again, so I don't see much of Campbell's game either.
11:30 I take off Campbell's skates and helmet and we run to the van.
11:45 Patrick gets into his dress clothes IN the van and we drive to his teammate's house. I don't want to hold them up for leaving for the game. I drop Patrick off (he is travelling 2 1/2 hours to an away game with them). They left and we headed home.
12:00 We arrive home, I take the dog out and I serve a quick lunch.
1:00 Kira has a quick nap and I lay down with her and fall asleep for a 1/2 hour while the boys watch TV.
1:30 Damon wakes me up to remind me that I owe them a walk. I don't feel like I can get up though. My arms and legs feel heavy, my throat is worse.
2:00 I'm up, but now Campbell and Kira don't want to go
3:00 Campbell changes his mind, but Kira wants to watch TV (she'll sit and watch in hopes that Dora will come on).
3:15 I'm ready, Damon's ready and pestering us to get going, Campbell is messing around and Kira is throwing a fit because she doesn't want to go out. And Puck was ready yesterday and is bouncing off the walls, literally.
3:45 We attempt to go out, but Damon has taken off his hat and now he can't find it. I wait on the front porch while he looks.
4:00 We head out with Kira and Campbell riding in the wagon. She's screaming as loud as she can and has her body stiffened like a board in her seat. Despite this, we have a nice walk along the wooded Escarpment Rail Trail.
5:00 We arrive home and Patrick is calling from his friend's car with the unbelievable news I already posted about. We are to meet his team at a restaurant for a celebration dinner at 6:30.
6:00 I try to change Kira into a clean shirt for the party and she has another fit. I jam her into a clean shirt and we head out the door. She keeps screaming and thrashing as I take her to the car and put her in.
6:30 We arrive at the restaurant and the kids join their friends. They have a table set up for all 15 players and most of their siblings. It is wild. Kira and I find a seat. The restaurant is obviously overwhelmed and the food takes a long time. The kids get their meals first and are finished and ready to run around before the parents meals arrive. And when they arrived, the couple beside me discovered that their burgers were FROZEN in the middle.
9:00 We are only the third family to leave the party, but my kids are tired and I just want the day to be over.
9:15 We arrive home and I let the dog out. Then I start the shower.
10:00 The kids all fall asleep. I sit down at the computer for a few minutes, I am tired but need to unwind.
11:15 I take the dog out and then go to bed. I haven't made lunches. I haven't set out the clothes they will wear for picture day. I'm asking a rotten Monday morning.
The End.

VICTORY!

They finally did it. Patrick's team won their VERY first hockey game all season. Well actually the AAA team he is on now didn't win last season either, so this is a truly momentous occasion. I was our home ice with Damon and Campbell's house league teams, so one of Patrick's teammates parents graciously offered to take Patrick to the away game today (far far away). They called from the car to say that we need to meet them at Boston Pizza for a victory party! I would hate to be an unsuspecting patron there when a team of pumped up 10 year olds shows up! WOOHOOOO We won!

I was told that the score was 1-0 with a minute or so left and our team pulled the goalie and scored. Then they scored another quick goal! I'm sure I'll hear LOTS of details about it all later.

A very strange compromise

Damon was in need of a haircut. He hates brushing his hair, and it was getting to the point where it needed a comb run through it from time to time. So I insisted that it be cut and it had to be done yesterday, because his hockey pictures were today and his school pictures are on Tuesday. I went online and found a gallery of various hairstyles for men and showed him many different options. I thought he would look charming in a traditional short tapered cut, but he wouldn't have any part of it. I said, well an Ivy cut would work too. Nope. I showed him crew cuts and caesar cuts and he turned up his nose. Finally I gave him no more options, I pulled out the clippers and tried to get him to sit still for his haircut. He wasn't co-operating so I told him a short buzzcut it would be since I could still do that while he was squirming and goofing off. He blurts out, "I know, I want a mohawk!" So the deal was, if he sat still for me, I'd give him his mohawk. Here's the result.



I think it's kind of cute, and I would rather go through this rebellious hair stage now while he is still cute enough to pull it off! If we don't put any "product" in it, it just looks like a bad buzzcut, so he doesn't have to be shocking every day. The first thing he wanted to do when he woke up today was style his hair! And when we got back from hockey, he wanted to wet it down and reapply "product". This should be interesting.

How do the elves do it?

I'm stumped. I just received the Christmas assignments from my Aunt Lynn. My dad's family draws names and makes gifts for each other. The gifts are incredibly thoughtful and well-made. They are a reflection of how creative and talented those people really are. So there is obvious pressure to keep up with the Joneses, or Oldershaws as the case may be.

Everybody always wants Matt to make for them. He can make dinosaurs fossils for their walls. Easy. Last year, poor Brian, brilliant lawyer that he is, had a bit of trouble reading the list, and Matt ended up receiving a lovely pair of silver earrings. Matt thought it was hilarious and wasn't disappointed at all.

I made for Miche who had just moved to Nova Scotia where they have awful winter storms. I made her a snuggly fleece blanket for two. This year, I am making for her husband, my Uncle Reed. What to do, what to do?

Patrick used a paddle to make hooks for my sister Marni last year. He had Matt screw hooks into the shaft, he traced her name on the blade and had Matt carve it and then he did a paint wash on the letters. This year, he makes for my 9 year old cousin, Aidan.

Damon made for Aidan last year. He made him a "Top Secret" case. The lock on the side is an alarm that goes off if you open it without the key. It is loud and obnoxious, and of course the boys all loved it. This year he makes for my cousin Mark who is twentysomething. We need some real help with this one!

Campbell is making for my cousin Lindsay who I'm going to guess is 19 or 20. I have an idea of something cool he can do for her with minimal help, but I'm always open to more ideas!

My brain is already hurting from taking the kids to the rink every day (and peeling 3 younger ones off of the ceiling beams while we are there), outwitting mice, selling cookie dough for the hockey team and all the daily grind of raising 4 kids and a nutty puppy (who has finally stopped spilling his bodily fluids on my carpeting). I beg you to offer me any suggestions you have! Please?????

Goofing around

Cheesy smiles.

Kira looking up to her handsome big brother.

Damon adores Kira. He has a knack for cheering Kira up and getting her excited about things. Actually he is a great motivator for other kids too. I think he could be a great teacher and coach someday. Proof that coaching is in the genes.

Halloween horror

(warning - may contain subject matter that is disturbing to some readers)

I've spent the past 2 days mopping up Puck's vomit. The kids brought home a tonne of halloween candy and of course he was eating anything that fell to the floor. Tuesday night he wouldn't get off of me while I was sleeping, early on Wednesday morning he sat up in bed and started heaving. After I shoved him to the floor he puked up chips that he had scrounged for the night before. He continued to puke, but it was mostly water and stomach juices, and he only had one small bowel movement. He was really clingy, but still active and wanting to eat. By last night I had convinced myself that he had a foreign body but being a GSP, I still hoped he would pass it. I watched him closely and cleared my schedule to take him to the vet's today. He woke up this morning feeling much better, so I started feeding him rice. About 45 minutes ago he finally tried to poop. I eagerly anticipated the results. Would it be an unwrapped mini chocolate bar? Or a sucker with a stick? What halloween horror would it be? Out came a rather disappointing 1 foot piece of yarn (and a multitude of crayon bits) that is likely from the blanket in his crate. He was probably chewing the blanket out of spite when I put him in his crate while I took the kids out trick or treating. The look of relief on his face as he turned to go back to the house was priceless. I'm saying prayers of thanks that he passed it without an expensive trip to the vets. I'd say he deserves a nice new Kong for that, maybe a new pack of tennis balls too.

Pumpkins

Thanks to Kristen's pumpkin links, the kids each chose and printed out their choice of templates. Daddy helped them clean out the pumpkins, they taped their templates on and then I had the job, I mean, honour of carving them. From left to right, we have Patrick's black widow spider, Damon's spooky cat, Kira's Hello Kitty and Campbell's Pirate skull. My brother Craig, who gave out candy for us tells me that we had a lot of compliments on them.

Happy 90th Grandmama!

Excited party guests.
Kira and Grandma Nancy. Say 'cheese'.

Now she can't stop smiling.

Look at that impish grin.

Kira is making the rounds with Bob.

Campbell and Kira check out the old photos.

Kira is helping the ladies clean up afterwards. She is taking the tablecloths off and giving them to the ladies in the kitchen.

Patrick and Damon visiting with the birthday girl. She enjoys visits from the kids.

Happy 90th birthday to a sweet and beautiful woman!