Fair's On!

Jack & I had a really nice afternoon together while Hannah was at school and Henry napped. I'm a lot less tired (sorry for all the complaining) and the air had that crisp fall feel to it. It's going to be a great weekend for the Markham Fair which opened today. I can see that as our family gets older we'll get more involved with the fair each year. Hannah & Jack both had a few crafts entered in their age groups, but Hannah went into a new age group this year - 6-10 year olds! We took Hannah & Jack this evening and had a sitter for Henry so that the other two could stay up a little later. The first thing we did was to go see their crafts. Hannah did some amazing work and was really proud of herself, but disappointed to see that she did not win one ribbon. She looked pretty deflated, especially since Jack won 2 - 3rd place ribbons and 1 - 6th. We told her how proud we were of her and that she should feel great about the job she did, she felt that one of her crafts in particular was probably overlooked because "it was so good they probably thought a grown-up helped me with it". So she hasn't lost her confidence anyway. We went tonight with our friend Dave J. to see the demolition derby...I wasn't sure what Dave would think of it as I consider him to be very urban, but he was as thrilled by it as we all were (although Jack was more impressed by the monster truck on display). A great way to spend the evening! ~ d
Oh yeah, I almost forgot to mention the Terry Fox scarecrow that completely freaked Jason out! The contest was to make a scarecrow, like for a farm...why would make someone make a Terry Fox scarecrow?!

Cookies for Sale.....4 bucks a box

Hannah started Sparks tonight, it's one group under Brownies, she was in it last year and had a great time. I'm not really sure what is involved, lots of singing and games, dancing, all of the teachers have names like Rainbow, Jewel, Diamond etc., which is right up her alley. When I walked over to pick her up, I was glad I brought the wagon because we had to bring home 2 big cases of mint chocolate cookies to sell door-to-door... Move over Henry, because I had to squish in those boxes somewhere, and by the time we got home he was lost under a box or two. We cracked open a box already and ate a few, not bad, but not as good as the chocolate & vanilla cookies they sell in the spring. Anway, if anyone wants cookies, we have them. Money goes to the cult, I mean a good cause.

+ 1 tired Mom

My eyes are still a bit buggy from looking at all the photos for the Markham Fair judging...1500 entries!! So much fun looking at so much work and being allowed to freely judge it, but tiring too. Especially since there's one other judge and we didn't always agree on what we liked and had to place first through fifth in each of 80 categories!
Hannah was so excited for her jazz class tonight that she told me this knock-knock joke on the way there:
Hannah: knock-knock
Me: who's there?
Hannah: jazz
Me: jazz who?
Hannah: jazz I can't wait to get to jazz class

Skating + Jazz = 2 tired kids

So tonight Jack started skating, it's a course through the city of Markham, it's a good program and not very expensive compared to some others. It's close to home and we can go before dinner and still be home to eat with everyone afterwards.










On the drive over, Jack seemed a little nervous, I think he wanted to make sure I was staying, which I did, but Dana said afterward that we didn't explain to him what he was doing, I just kind of said, okay you start skating today, let's go! I will have to remember to give him some notice and let him know what's involved before we jump in.

Once he had his skates on he was right into it, it was as if he didn't miss a beat from last winter. He was quite proud and told everyone in the change room he only fell twice.



After dinner, Dana took Hannah to her first Jazz dance lesson, I am not sure what's involved, but she sure looked cute. A gaggle of 6, 7 and 8 year olds learning jazz steps.

Poor Henry, I came down to the family room to find him dressed in a tutu and butterfly wings, he had been ambushed by his big sister....thankfully I didn't get it on film.

Henry

So Henry can say all of maybe 20 words, but he walks around the house all morning singing "Oompah, Loompah"!

6:42 pm...sunday...

Henry has his teletubbies pj's on for the first time, I think Mary passed them on, Thanks! they are a big hit, he is very proud of them, and his belly is just barely staying in. The weekend is quickly coming to an end. Dana was at a wedding yesterday and judging the photo contest at Markham Fair today, so we didn't see much of her this weekend, and I am off to swimming in about an hour.

Yesterday was spent around the house most of the day, cleaning and just playing on the front lawn, for dinner we grabbed fast food and went to TooGood Pond to have a picnic and feed the geese. It was great weather and relaxing just to let the kids run amok up and down a nice big hill, Hannah managed to roll up the hill at one point, and I'm not sure how she accomplished it.

Today, we went to Markham Museum for Applefest, which wasn't the best planning dragging 3 kids in the rain to an outdoor event...it was soggy to say the least. Hannah and Jack made apple heads or something, I missed it as I was chasing Henry, he saw a horse and we were off. After that we went home for probably the final swim of the year, hopefully not, and now all three are having a bedtime snack.

Did anyone from Markham read that article in the Economist about peanut allergies, they had the 2 viewpoints of the ban of peanuts at school, and the writer interviewed a woman who believes that we have to stop punishing the whole student body for just a few kids...Ahh yeah that's a few kids that could die!) What a moron. They show a picture of her, and it's her with a big smile on her face spreading a slice of bread with a huge wad of peanut butter.

Okay, off to swimming soon, 2500 m of swimming doesn't sound so much fun right now - Jason

High/Low

I have a friend who asks her kids to tell her their high and low at the end of the day. We loved the idea so much, we've adopted it at our house. It was a PA Day today so I thought it would be a nice chance for everyone to sleep in, but the kids were so excited to have a PA Day that they woke up EARLY! I woke up with a sore throat and PMS (am I allowed to say that on this blog?) and grumpy before I even got out of bed. Had a play date at a great park planned with a bunch of Moms & kids. It really was a beautiful day - that fresh fall air and clear sky, so I shouldn't have felt grumpy...sometimes you just can't help it! Came home for Henry's nap and Jack started sniffling and grumping so I lay down with him for a minute and just as I was dozing off, Hannah asked if I could please come play princesses with her. I left Jack sleeping and Hannah and I played princesses making banana bread. Jack got up refreshed as I started getting a headache. Took the kids outside to play as Henry woke up. Went into his room to change the worst diaper ever and realized I had only one baby wipe left! As I'm struggling to make it last, the phone starts ringing, the oven timer beeps that my banana bread is ready and Hannah's shouting in the back door, "come quick before it disappears!" That was pretty much my low. - d

School Barbecue

Tonight was the Reesor Park school barbecue and meet the teacher night. Henry stayed home with a babysitter, and he cried and wasn't happy that he wasn't coming with me, poor kid, but I guess that lasted for 5 minutes the he was on to other things...I always wonder if the babysitter just makes that up to make me feel better. It worked. Dana was at work tonight so Jack, Hannah and I walked over and ate hot dogs and met up with their friends and parents, all the food was taken care of by school council so that was great. It is nice to know so many people in the area now that Hannah and Jack are in school. There was an assembley and the principal introduced all the teachers. I met Jack's kindergarten teacher, very nice, maybe 23 years old, so that means she was born in 1982...I remember 1982...it doesn't seem that far away. Anyway, Jack's classroom is very nice, lots of toys and she commented that he fits right in. Then we went to Hannah's classroom for a discussion of the curriculum. Hannah's in the 1/2 split, so things are a little different, and it is all new for Hannah anyway coming from kindergarten. Hannah was very excited to introduce me to the teacher and to show me her desk and her pencil case. I tried sitting in those little chairs, they sure are tiny. I think it will be a good year for Hannah and Jack, they are very excited about school, and that is something that is very different from how I viewed school - Jason

Dead Fish

Well, Goldie has been flushed.... Hannah and I went to clean the fish bowl that she was living in, but when we looked in, she was floating near the bottom, not breathing. Hannah didn't quite believe me at first and asked me to poke it a few times, which I did. She wasn't really sad, we were kind of preparing her that Goldie probably wouldn't make it much longer. Jack wasn't really bothered either. We gathered in the bathroom for a goldfish-style memorial. Hannah spoke of how pretty she was and Jack said "I really didn't get to know you"... Henry just pointed and screamed at the fish in the toilet, and Hannah flushed away. Henry now has the idea of flushing things down the toilet though, so maybe he shouldn't have been invited to the ceremony... Oh well, another fish...that was number 3. Dana hasn't been told the news yet, she has started back at Reportage working 2 nights a week. She will be relieved that the fish is out of the house and off to where fish go when they are flushed. - Jason

Day at the farm

Henry & I spent the morning at a farm while the other two kids were at school. There's not a lot of time before going back to pick up Jack, but we managed to squeeze in a lot of fun! - d

Fish...

I have this ridiculous but very real fear of fish. So when Hannah brought one home from a birthday party on Friday (yes, I said it was ok) in a ziplock bag and Jason wasn't home, I had to find a way to get it into the tiny jar we would use as a fishbowl. I brought Hannah into the kitchen for moral support, and sure enough, as I'm transferring the water and fish to the jar, to my horror, the fish escapes from the bag onto the kitchen counter where it's flipping around!! I'm trying not to act too scared but not hiding it well while shouting to Hannah to pick it up! The fish manages to flip itself into the kitchen sink where there are residue soap suds (highly toxic for fish). I'm panicking and shouting at Hannah as calmly as I can to get it, to which she replies, "Mommy, you're scaring me", but amazingly, she does. So great, the fish is in a tiny bowl but now full of soap. A quick call to Dad and he says we should get it into as much fresh water as possible, but yes, it will probably die. I've called Jason on his cell phone with no answer 3 times by now to try to gauge how soon he'll be home. I don't think we have a lot of time. So now I have to convince Hannah that her little fishy is really cute and she should pick it up in her hand out of one jar to put into this bigger jar...we have not net! She's an amazing kid! She took a deep breath and picked that fish up and put it in it's new jar where it will STAY! I check 10 times a day, and so far it's still alive. - d

Monday, Monday...

Monday. Yes it is. Back to work. To tell you the truth I would rather be home taking the kids to school but I am here at work, drinking my Tim Horton's large double cream only and trying to figure out which of the million work emails to reply to first that I received since Friday. The weekend was a bit of a blur, Dana had a wedding on Saturday and Sunday, so I really didn't see her much, we caught up for 5 minutes this morning when I got out of the shower. I spent the weekend with the kids, Hannah had 2 birthday parties to attend, a Fear Factor party(I don't think Hannah knows what Fear Factor is still...), where they bobbed for apples in a pail of goldfish...and she brought one home, which is a whole other story as Dana is scared of fish, but she is the one who said yes... The other party was yesterday, a Princess and the Pauper party where they came home dressed in jewels, crowns and new shoes..... I think there was a real horse involved. Jack had a friend over, he is finally meeting his own friends at school, and Henry is just running everywhere, always running, he always looks bruised and beaten.
I think that's it, off to email land for an hour... - Jason

Happy Birthday Jen B!

Cats in Sinks!

Our friend Stephanie emailed us this link to this very odd website called Cats in Sinks.

Yes, all about cats in sinks, hundreds of cats in sinks, just cats in sinks, why? Just because they are in the sink.

Rainy day...

There's something about rainy days that I just love. They make me all maternal & cozy. They also somehow give me an excuse to be lazy. Henry & I spent the morning watching Sesame Street & Teletubbies and playing musical instruments and farm. I don't know why I need an excuse to play with my kids since that's why I stay home, but there always seems to be other stuff to do and I occassionally need a rainy day to play.






Last night we had Mike and Eri (and Bennett) over for dinner for Mike's birthday and later Mom & Dad came by for a short visit. It's nice to live close enough to my family for drop-in visits and I feel sorry that we can't do the same with Jason's family. - d

Things I wished I kept

Looking at all the books the kids have I am remembering the books I had as a kid. I still have a couple, "Alligator Pie", a Winnnie the Pooh book that is pretty beat up, and I think that's about it. But there are a couple that I wished I kept, one was about a giraffe named nosaj (Jason backwards) it was one of those personalized books and I thought it was the greatest because it had my name in it, along with my family and where I lived etc. The other was odd, it was about a boy who lived in a house without windows, and to get light in the house he would run outside with a large pan and tried to fill the pan with sunlight then run back in the house, until finally someone told him that he needed windows. Duh, Now that I think of it he was a pretty dumb kid, but I would like to find the name of it, I have searched the internet and no luck. I am not sure what the morale of the story was or if it even had one. Weird. - Jason

GO TO BED!

Now that Hannah is in school for the entire day opposed to half day kindergarten, I think it has really wiped her out. It was a long night of her and Jack arguing in their bedroom, getting out of bed, a lot of crying, wimpering, and "Daddy (whimper, whimper) It's not fair, It's just not fair", then someone was bitten (not sure what happened there), I had to separate them, Jack and Hannah share a room, a glow in the dark necklace was taken away, 2nd chances were given and now everyone is asleep...ahhh. I checked, no bite marks were left.

Another biting story, when Hannah was 3 and Jack 1, Hannah came upstairs to tell us "Jack bit himself on the back of his leg" Hmmm, yeah I don't think so - j

Happy Birthday, Dave J!

Happy Birthday, Mike!!

What I learned about Terry Fox; by Hannah

What did you learn about Terry Fox?
Terry Fox was a boy, he ran across Canada, halfway I mean, because he had Cancer, he couldn't run no more, and a couple months later he died.

Why is he so special?
Because he ran across Canada on one leg.

What do we do every year?
We run.

Why did he run?
To help get rid of Cancer by getting money for the doctor's.

Jack's first school day!

What a nice day! Jack seemed to really enjoy his first day at school and made a new little friend who he played space ships with. Each kindergartener got to bring in a stuffed animal for their first day and I guess they each had a show-and-tell about their little friend. Jack brought his "Jack Bear" in his new Star Wars knapsac...it's so weird, he's into some really big-kid stuff but he's still such a little kid. And believe me, it's not that I'm encouraging the big-kid stuff...he really LOVES Star Wars and I wish he still loved Blues Clues.
It was nice to get to have a whole morning alone with Henry. He's such a monkey to chase after that he's often stuck in a stroller...so to have my undivided attention meant he could run wild! And he sure does. If I say don't go on the road, he runs straight for the road. If I say don't walk so quickly on the cement, he runs. You get the pattern. It was a busy but really nice morning. Poor little Henry, he was thrilled to be so free!
Hannah seems to be settling into school well too and seems like a bigger kid already. She waits until bedtime (of course) to tell all the details of her day, but at least I still get the details! - d

Is everyone this busy?

I was talking to my friend Karen tonight and we were saying how incredibly busy we are (and I'm sure some people find this hard to believe since I don't even work full-time) but for those who do, I don't know how you manage it! When do you fit in laundry and groceries and making meals if you work 8 hours a day? Hannah and Jack finish school for lunch at different times so I end up going to and from the school 5 times a day if Hannah wants to come home for lunch (which so far she does). I don't think she'll have the choice in the winter. Don't get me wrong, I wouldn't change my life for anyone's, I just sometimes wish that I only needed 2 hours of sleep a night.
Friday night I had a wonderful Moms' night out painting ceramics and drinking wine and chatting...all very therapeutic...and not hectic! Jason's Dad arrived Friday afternoon so I was sorry I had already arranged these plans, but happy to see all the Moms from Hannah's school who I had been missing over the summer.

Saturday I had an extra long wedding with an AWFUL videographer. I can't be sure the video will be awful, but he was awful as a person. Pushy and mean and creating these really lame scenarios! At one point the bride asked him to please leave her alone! I didn't see the kids (or Jason's Dad) almost all day then left first thing this morning for another photo shoot - this time of a car! Something I've never shot before but it was really fun! Then back just in time for Jack's "Soccer Day" where they receive their trophies and supposedly a team picture - although that turned out to be yet another mix-up with this league. Later Eri & Mike and Benny came for a swim - Bennett's first I think! And Mom showed up for a bit too. So now I'm trying to catch up on a full week's laundry - about 7 loads - does everyone have this much?! And fill in all the first-week-of-school forms that Hannah has brought home. And make lunches and recesses for tomorrow. And Jason's just back from swimming (his swimming club has just started up again for the season) and I'd really like to hear how his weekend was! I think I've been inspired by Andrew & Ali though whose blog is now up and running. They tend to just say what they're thinking more than I have been...so I hope nobody minds the run-on. - d

Meeting the teacher

Today was Jack's day to go and meet the teacher before he starts school on Monday. I tend to lump him in with Hannah a lot and forget that he's only 4. He seemed so little and nervous walking to the school with me. But by the time we were walking home, he was so excited for Monday to arrive. His teacher seems really nice, very young and she had a Spiderman book so that's enough for Jack! - d

Heavy Henry

Dana called me after taking Henry for his regular checkup at the doctors office today to tell me that they weighed Henry and guess how much he weighed.... Now Henry isn't a small 18-month old baby, in fact he's quite a large plump, I think I strained my back the other day picking him up. Henry weighed in at 34 pounds, for the heck of it, she had Jack jump on the scale at the doctor's office and he only weighs 32 pounds!! and he is 3 years older - to - the - day! Who is this large baby we have, he is not only heavy, he's tall. He is some kind of giant baby. I hope he doesn't get taller than Jack, who isn't a shrimp, but Jack wasn't that tall at Henry's age. I just hope he doesn't turn into those 80 pound babies they have on Maury Povich - j

Hannah's First Day in Grade 1

So one down one more to go. Hannah started school today, Grade One, big leagues now. Dana was off early in the morning walking 3 kids to school. Everything went well, she's in the 1-2 split, with Mrs. Brousseau. I think she was a little nervous at first because there were a sea of children trying to find their way to class, but is very excited about sitting at a desk and meeting all of the kids in her class. Jack doesn't start for awhile, he goes to meet his teacher Ms. Long on Thursday - j

Twas the night before school starts.....

Better them than me. I couldn't stand that first day, Dana said she always loved it. Hannah is so excited to meet her new teacher, and to use her new lunch bag. Jack starts on a staggered entry, so he meets his teacher on Thursday, then alternate days next week, then everyday the week after that.

What a great weekend, great weather. Dana had a wedding only on Sunday this weekend...who are these people that get married on long weekends.....oh ya we did. The wedding was in Ancaster and I guess it was Paul Masotti's wedding, a former Toronto Argo, so she was gone most of Sunday, the kids were invited to their friends house for the afternoon, and Henry had a nap so I didn't know what to do with myself, it was great - thanks Margaret!

This morning we went to Unionville for a Labour Day festival, great place that Unionville. We all enjoyed the kids' concert, it was really fun, they were able to go on stage and play along with the singers. The cat was a little scary though I must say - see picture.





Everyone back to work tomorrow, ughh - j

Happy Birthday Granny Gwen!

A Saturday at home!

It was so nice to go out last night and know that I didn't have a wedding today! I think this is one of the only Saturdays I've had off all summer! I have a wedding tomorrow instead. I said I was looking forward to a grown-up night out last night, I don't know if that's exactly what I'd call it, but it sure was a great time!



Jason & I took the kids to the park to fly kites today...we weren't sure if it was going to be windy enough, but Hannah's took off right away. She was pretty excited about it. She let Jack have a turn holding her kite since he couldn't get his off the ground, but after about a minute he said, "this is boring". - d

Hannah here.

I played zoo today, it had lots of animals. I worked there. At my zoo I fed the animals. Zebras, kangaroos, hippos, giraffes and many more. And I played doctor, Tabitha came to the doctors. She was okay. My cabbage patch kid came, and my doll Rose came. Rose and my cabbage patch kid were sick. I helped them. They are both 1. They had to stay at the doctor. Bye bye.

here's what's new...

Had a nice visit with my friend Lini yesterday and got to see her & Stig's new house...right in our old neighbourhood...too bad. We went to the park and out to McDonald's with the kids, it was a really great visit.




Then today had Hannah's friend over and a visit from Mom & Eri & Bennett! Lots of kiddies, lots of fun, but looking forward to a grown-up night out tonight with Kristy & Brent! - d

A disgrace

I wake up each morning and watch the coverage out of New Orleans, and keep thinking
that, okay today they will be out/sent food/given water. What is going on down there, how can the richest, most powerful country in the world take so long to respond, I don't get it, it is disgusting to watch from the outside - j

Hannah's 1st Post

I got a new lunch bag, it's a Barbie one. I really like that one. It's nice. Very pretty. I played in a tent today and it was standing up and I was standing up, Jack laughed, but he hurt his cheek, the bump was really really big. I'm in the 1-2 split at school, I am in grade 1. Caleb is in my class, Miranda, Sajel and those are the people that were in my class in Senior Kindergarten. I'm going to miss Julia at school, I mean in my class. I like my bike, I can do figure 8's on it. Bye bye, Hannah.

Jack's 1st Posting

Hi everyone. I got a new backpack and I hurt myself today. I bought it at the store (backpack) and I got my scrape today in the backyard and I am sad that I got it, but I'm happy that I got a new backpack. Hannah was 'monkey in the middle' and we were playing catch, and Mama threw the ball, it dropped and I runned to get it and Hannah too, and then we bonked Hannah's head on my cheek, and I started to cry, but I'm happy I got a new backpack. It's a Star Wars backpack. Bye everyone - Jack

1 - 2 Split

Dana just got back from the school to find out which class Hannah will be in when she returns. Hannah is in the 1-2 split...I wasn't sure how I felt about it but I think it will be fine, most of her good friends aren't in the same class and she doesn't seem to be bothered by it so why should I. Her teacher's name is ... I forget now, she got married so I don't know what it is. Last night Dana and I went out to a little pub on Markham main street, not a bad little place for a drink to celebrate our 8th anniversary...yeah I know 8. Time flies when there are babies everywhere. Thanks to Eri and Mike who watched the kids. I have been watching the coverage of the hurricane this morning, it's hard to believe. What a mess. - j