Corn is coming in season and it is DELICIOUS! As you can see, Nolan loves it! There wasn't a kernel left on that cob after he was finished with it! It was a nice dinner outside on the picnic table in my mom's backyard. It reminds me of when I was a kid (in fact, it could be the same picnic table, but not sure!). Beautiful weather and good food!
I also posted a few pictures of the kids at the park across the street. I pitched some baseballs to the boys there today and they competed for the record of hits. (Brett got 14 out of 16 as the final record, but Cameron was close behind and gave him a run for his money). It was a fun day. This was after getting the car inspected which it turned out didn't need any modifications and the inspection was free (Yes!). So I'm going to bed with a smile on my face tonight.
Thursday, July 29, 2010
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
And the adventure continues....
I am in my last week of school and I have a whole new perspective on the poor kiddos I teach. It is very hard to sit and listen to someone speak for much more than half an hour, so that translates to about 15 minutes for anyone under 12 years old. I have to get up and take a bathroom break just to reboot my brain (not that my brain is connected to any bathroom function...ha..ha..). So for all my bathroom frequent flyers, I "get" you now!!!
This past weekend I went to my brother's house and it added up to this: sun and sudden downpours + swimming in sun and sudden downpours + an AWESOME steak for dinner (and I mean cut with a butter knife, melt in your mouth awesome) + 2 wasp stings (Nolan - one under the toe and one on the leg. The poor baby screamed and he did a little stomping dance so I immediately thought ants on the feet, which I realized later made no sense to anyone here in the North because ants don't swarm and bite here. I guess that pleasure is only for desert dwellers....anyhow - I ran over and saw 2 wasps. He started saying "Owwiee" so I knew he got stung. He was such a trooper. Few tears and was up and playing about 10 minutes later.)+ got a major assignment done for school = a pretty good weekend - the stings.
As most of you know, we made the executive decision to find our 2 dogs a new home before leaving for Canada. Now that we are living the complicated life we had anticipated, I know it was the right thing to do and that it would have been virtually impossible to have done anything else. The hard thing is that Cameron has asked numerous times when we are going to bring the dogs. Now I had also made the executive decision (notice I am NOT an executive by trade....reasons for this perhaps)that it would be too much change to tell Cameron this from the get-go. So I told him "it will be a long time" or "I'm not sure. We'll see." Lies basically. But I selfishly (and wisely, I think) did not need to pry a 7 year old's fingers from the plane door headed for Canada while he screamed "I won't go without my dogs!!! You can't make me!!" Which is the little scenario I had in my head if I told him prior to leaving.
So anyhow, now that a few weeks had passed, I decided I needed to be clear with him the next time he asked. And he took awhile to ask.....until Sunday. So in a fumbling, unclear sort of way, I responded to Cameron's usual question of "When are we going to bring the dogs?" with something like...."Well, I don't know. It would be hard to bring them here.....they wouldn't do well in the snow.....Chewy is a chihuahua from Mexico and there isn't any snow in Mexico....They have lots of grass where they are (like we are short of grass here....my mom's backyard is a jungle comparatively)..." So after lots of "uhs..umm...well...", Cameron said, "So are the dogs not coming?". Well the tears began and Cameron very articulately expressed his feelings of sadness and anger and disappointment which he can do extraordinarily well for such a little guy. But then the anger took over and he began to blame me for ALL THE CHANGES!!! as he put it. He said it was my fault since Daddy never lived in Canada and wouldn't have known that Chewy wouldn't do well in snow.....besides, he wasn't here and he missed him. I made the decision to come here because it was my old home. He didn't mind the changes except now he does care since he can't have the dogs. He would never have come if he had known (see I was right about the plane scenario). So this went on for some time and I tried to reason out the situation without much luck. When I went into the living room where he was watching t.v. he would pick up a toy cowboy gun that "clicks" really loud when you pull the trigger. And as I put a dvd in, Cameron aimed the gun at my head from a distance and all I heard was"click...click...click...click...click...click...click",
you get the idea. So I left and cried my eyes out for a bit. Brett came out with tears in his eyes and asked if I was okay. It was all very dramatic. I told him I was fine and that Cameron had a right to be mad. In other words, it was understandable that he wanted my brains spilled onto the floor after putting 30 bullets in my head.....awwww...and this is my SWEET Cameron. But really,it is because he is so sweet and so sensitive that he was so angry and hurt and needed someone to blame.
My mom, seeing I wasn't making much progress with him (that's an understatement since at that point he was turning into a pycho murdering maniac.. just kidding.."click"...), she became super nana and pulled all kinds of tricks out her bag of nana tricks. She asked Cameron to go with her to walk her dog "Zoe" and Cameron obliged. They had a talk about how hard it would be on the dogs to travel here (I tried that too but just got shot for it). They talked about dogs getting car sick and Cameron thought Chewy would get car sick because he whined the whole time we had him in the car. And that she would need him to help her walk Zoe and feed her. Since he could whistle, maybe he could teach Zoe to come when he whistles. And Zoe isn't good with other dogs, so Nana couldn't have any more dogs at her house. They also talked about Cameron being a vet someday since he loved animals so much. And then they talked about saving a dog from the shelter once we have a place of our own...maybe a "snow dog".... So Cameron came back smiling and even gave me a kiss. When Brettan asked if we were definitely leaving the dogs, Cameron chimes in, "Yup, we're not bringing them". I think my eyes grew twice their normal size, I couldn't believe it. The very next day, no word of a lie, Cameron asked "So when do we get to rescue a dog?".
Wish me luck on my last 2 and half days of school. Then I really have to get the rest of my "stuff" done and hope some of the supply lists open up for some school boards nearby. And if that falls through, I may be the next best coffee master at Starbucks with a little luck ;)
I posted a couple pictures - one of Lacey in the hot tub (she loves hot tubs because her bones freeze in regular pools) with some of my brother's neighborhood kids and one of Brett mowing the lawn for Nana. He does this for $5 and is saving up for a new video game....surprise, surprise! And then I stuck one in there of Nolan because I just want to squeeze him and I know you do too:)I hope everyone is well - Miss you all!
Paula
This past weekend I went to my brother's house and it added up to this: sun and sudden downpours + swimming in sun and sudden downpours + an AWESOME steak for dinner (and I mean cut with a butter knife, melt in your mouth awesome) + 2 wasp stings (Nolan - one under the toe and one on the leg. The poor baby screamed and he did a little stomping dance so I immediately thought ants on the feet, which I realized later made no sense to anyone here in the North because ants don't swarm and bite here. I guess that pleasure is only for desert dwellers....anyhow - I ran over and saw 2 wasps. He started saying "Owwiee" so I knew he got stung. He was such a trooper. Few tears and was up and playing about 10 minutes later.)+ got a major assignment done for school = a pretty good weekend - the stings.
As most of you know, we made the executive decision to find our 2 dogs a new home before leaving for Canada. Now that we are living the complicated life we had anticipated, I know it was the right thing to do and that it would have been virtually impossible to have done anything else. The hard thing is that Cameron has asked numerous times when we are going to bring the dogs. Now I had also made the executive decision (notice I am NOT an executive by trade....reasons for this perhaps)that it would be too much change to tell Cameron this from the get-go. So I told him "it will be a long time" or "I'm not sure. We'll see." Lies basically. But I selfishly (and wisely, I think) did not need to pry a 7 year old's fingers from the plane door headed for Canada while he screamed "I won't go without my dogs!!! You can't make me!!" Which is the little scenario I had in my head if I told him prior to leaving.
So anyhow, now that a few weeks had passed, I decided I needed to be clear with him the next time he asked. And he took awhile to ask.....until Sunday. So in a fumbling, unclear sort of way, I responded to Cameron's usual question of "When are we going to bring the dogs?" with something like...."Well, I don't know. It would be hard to bring them here.....they wouldn't do well in the snow.....Chewy is a chihuahua from Mexico and there isn't any snow in Mexico....They have lots of grass where they are (like we are short of grass here....my mom's backyard is a jungle comparatively)..." So after lots of "uhs..umm...well...", Cameron said, "So are the dogs not coming?". Well the tears began and Cameron very articulately expressed his feelings of sadness and anger and disappointment which he can do extraordinarily well for such a little guy. But then the anger took over and he began to blame me for ALL THE CHANGES!!! as he put it. He said it was my fault since Daddy never lived in Canada and wouldn't have known that Chewy wouldn't do well in snow.....besides, he wasn't here and he missed him. I made the decision to come here because it was my old home. He didn't mind the changes except now he does care since he can't have the dogs. He would never have come if he had known (see I was right about the plane scenario). So this went on for some time and I tried to reason out the situation without much luck. When I went into the living room where he was watching t.v. he would pick up a toy cowboy gun that "clicks" really loud when you pull the trigger. And as I put a dvd in, Cameron aimed the gun at my head from a distance and all I heard was"click...click...click...click...click...click...click",
you get the idea. So I left and cried my eyes out for a bit. Brett came out with tears in his eyes and asked if I was okay. It was all very dramatic. I told him I was fine and that Cameron had a right to be mad. In other words, it was understandable that he wanted my brains spilled onto the floor after putting 30 bullets in my head.....awwww...and this is my SWEET Cameron. But really,it is because he is so sweet and so sensitive that he was so angry and hurt and needed someone to blame.
My mom, seeing I wasn't making much progress with him (that's an understatement since at that point he was turning into a pycho murdering maniac.. just kidding.."click"...), she became super nana and pulled all kinds of tricks out her bag of nana tricks. She asked Cameron to go with her to walk her dog "Zoe" and Cameron obliged. They had a talk about how hard it would be on the dogs to travel here (I tried that too but just got shot for it). They talked about dogs getting car sick and Cameron thought Chewy would get car sick because he whined the whole time we had him in the car. And that she would need him to help her walk Zoe and feed her. Since he could whistle, maybe he could teach Zoe to come when he whistles. And Zoe isn't good with other dogs, so Nana couldn't have any more dogs at her house. They also talked about Cameron being a vet someday since he loved animals so much. And then they talked about saving a dog from the shelter once we have a place of our own...maybe a "snow dog".... So Cameron came back smiling and even gave me a kiss. When Brettan asked if we were definitely leaving the dogs, Cameron chimes in, "Yup, we're not bringing them". I think my eyes grew twice their normal size, I couldn't believe it. The very next day, no word of a lie, Cameron asked "So when do we get to rescue a dog?".
Wish me luck on my last 2 and half days of school. Then I really have to get the rest of my "stuff" done and hope some of the supply lists open up for some school boards nearby. And if that falls through, I may be the next best coffee master at Starbucks with a little luck ;)
I posted a couple pictures - one of Lacey in the hot tub (she loves hot tubs because her bones freeze in regular pools) with some of my brother's neighborhood kids and one of Brett mowing the lawn for Nana. He does this for $5 and is saving up for a new video game....surprise, surprise! And then I stuck one in there of Nolan because I just want to squeeze him and I know you do too:)I hope everyone is well - Miss you all!
Paula
Sunday, July 4, 2010
July 1st: Canada Day!
Happy 4th of July everyone! Canada Day here is July 1st. That evening we went to a place to watch fireworks not far from here called "Columbia Lake" where a university is located. It was SOOO packed and it brought me back to my college days with lots of students around with Canada Day gear (and some with secret beer stashes among other more aromatic substances)ALONG with many families. It was almost 10 o'clock by the time the fireworks went off, so that part wasn't very good (nor was the mile walk to the car - no exaggeration by the way). But the fireworks were AWESOME and it was over the lake so it was pretty cool. Cameron was cheering and yelling through the whole thing so the kids really enjoyed it.
I just got back from Collingwood where my sister lives in the Georgian Bay area (Northwest of here.....I think). We went swimming in Lake Huron (Wasaga Beach) and it is VERY VERY shallow for a really long distance, so it makes it pretty stress free with the kids. Lacey, Brettan and Cameron are all still there until Thursday (maybe less time if they start to miss me, but they didn't shed too many tears when I left so I won't hold my breath on that one). Nolan came back to Kitchener with me. I go to school tomorrow (Special Ed. qualification) - the start of a 3 week class....Monday through Thursday all day and only the morning on Friday. My sister thought she would keep the older kids. So Nana and Nolan will get some one on one bonding time while I'm at school.
We are doing well. I miss Scott terribly and I am looking for work. So far nothing seems to be opening up for me in the teaching field - not something I am terribly surprised by - so I will take one day at a time!
I posted some pictures of the kids at my sis Joanne's. They put the sprinkler on the slide and trampoline in the backyard. Fun stuff!
I'll write again soon! Love you! Paula
I just got back from Collingwood where my sister lives in the Georgian Bay area (Northwest of here.....I think). We went swimming in Lake Huron (Wasaga Beach) and it is VERY VERY shallow for a really long distance, so it makes it pretty stress free with the kids. Lacey, Brettan and Cameron are all still there until Thursday (maybe less time if they start to miss me, but they didn't shed too many tears when I left so I won't hold my breath on that one). Nolan came back to Kitchener with me. I go to school tomorrow (Special Ed. qualification) - the start of a 3 week class....Monday through Thursday all day and only the morning on Friday. My sister thought she would keep the older kids. So Nana and Nolan will get some one on one bonding time while I'm at school.
We are doing well. I miss Scott terribly and I am looking for work. So far nothing seems to be opening up for me in the teaching field - not something I am terribly surprised by - so I will take one day at a time!
I posted some pictures of the kids at my sis Joanne's. They put the sprinkler on the slide and trampoline in the backyard. Fun stuff!
I'll write again soon! Love you! Paula
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