and another week flies by

All of you that are able to update your blog so regularly.....I applaud you! Good work! I have come to the conclusion that I am either just a slacker or just have too much stuff (I'll keep it friendly) going on!

So, here we are...another week of our precious summer has passed. And here we are now....the week before school starts up again. We will take Nicholas on Wednesday to meet with his new teacher and we will get a chance to meet and chat with her about the upcoming year ahead. My big SK boy now realizes summer is about over....and though he has shown some...okay, a teeny bit of enhusiasm, he really would just prefer to continue on with his summer vacation. But I remain confident that he will get right back into the swing of things once this school year begins. He sooooo needs it....even if he is not ready, we most certainly are!

And thus, the back to school shopping has begun. Not that a SK'er needs much...really just a new backpack and a new lunch bag...but of course, I need....okay, maybe want to buy him some new cool back to school clothes. So, backpack has been looked after. Nicholas' only request is that it be blue....no Superheroes or cartoon characters. I will openly admit this makes Mommy happy...so a nice blue backpack has been bought. We are, however, in search of a Star Wars lunch bag (so if any of you have spotted one....PLEASE let me know where). A trip to Winners today was disappointing but I did score a really cool pair of jeans..

Before I recap the week/end....I have to try and capture a little of what Shane has been up to. I could probaly sum it up in a few words like Shane-zilla, super-crankola, scary child....but that probaly doesn't sound like nice things for Mommy to say, right? Well, sorry...it has been the toughest time so far for both of us for both our boys. Shaney is going through some 'scary' phase and we find ourselves at our wits ends at times...too many times....and patience is not our strong suit right now. We are trying....trying. But the boy wants to control....and well, that needs to be knocked out....sooner than later hopefully. This boy has will...determination....might...to take us down!!! And really, we would be perfectly happy with a 'please' to come out of his mouth. And before I sound too over the top with my perfectly healthy, mostly happy, baby boy....let me say that I do believe while we were reading books this evening and when he wanted yet another book, I said to him Mommy will only read another book if you say please....I heard it... a faint, but it was there....please. So, we shall see...

Okay, so recent events...

A few weeks ago, I decided that I would like to have the girls over from work. My new work group....a chance to sit and be social outside of our cubby offices....and a good group of them agreed and made it out. Yay! My date was Friday at 530pm...and these girls are good... on time and decked out in their 'fall' gear as they all knew it was an outside evening. We had a few cocktails, some eats and I think we all had an enjoyable evening. Of course, the evening turned to night time and Kim and her hubby stayed back as we were hoping and we carried on until past midnight. Lots of fun....and we plan to invite them back for dinner soon. Thanks ladies for making it out!

Saturday, Nicholas and I had plans for some board games and a movie....so that is exactly what we did. We went to see G-Force which was quite entertaining....nothing like watching some super spy guinea pigs save the day!!

Sunday, the plan if the weather held was to take the boys to the CNE. For my family and friends in the south, the CNE (Canadian National Exhibition) is a huge carnival of sorts with many other attractions and happenings that comes through Toronto the last two weeks leading into Labour Day....it's a tradition that has been around for like 130 years and I spent many years as a child and later as an older 'child' trekking down for the festivities and many concerts. Well, I tend to grasp on to ideas and go with them thinking the kids will just love it and I wanted to start my own 'tradition' of taking our family so off we went.....and I now realize that this 'tradition' will have to wait another couple of years. We did have a great time but I think they will have just a good of time, even better, going to the local Orono Fair when it arrives in a couple of weeks. And we will be there....enjoying the same things as we did with young children for oh about, ten times less the cost, not to mention the aggravation of driving and sitting in evil traffic....don't even get me going with finding parking!! But alas, we got there and Shane enjoyed watching the massive crowds....just was taking it all in...giggles and grins with the activity... and Nicholas enjoyed the rides and games....and both really seemed to enjoy the Harry and his Bucketful of Dinosaurs show that we went to. Mommy enjoyed singing along....I think all of us Mommy's know the words to so many of these childrens shows....and secretly enjoy singing along...hehe!

So, that's about all I have for now...we are now getting ready for our 'end of the summer' long weekend at the cottage we rented in Maynooth. And believe it or not...the forecast looks good!

comings and goings

Why don't I keep this more up to date?? !!!

Sydney left for SC and has since started her first year of highschool!! Yes, our girl is officially a Freshman. It seems like only yesterday that I was a bundle of nerves and excitement to meet the wonderful little six year old that her Daddy was so anxious and proud for me to meet. And right from day one, I was smitten. And now here Sydney is...starting a whole new chapter in her life. We could not be more proud of you sweetheart...fully enjoy these coming years and all they have to offer.

Nicholas will start back to school the Wednesday after Labour Day. Now that he saw his best friend Chase at his birthday party on Friday, he actually seems a little bit excited about going back. Up until then...uh, NO. We will be happy to get him back with kids his own age and getting focused again with learning and socializing. We also found new daycare that we are quite excited about. It seems that with both of Nicholas' daycares in the past, he has always had children younger than him or older ones in school. And he has always formed bonds with these children but now, we are all happy that our new provider, Lindsay, has three boys....a 6 month old, and 5 and 6 year olds. And the 5 year old is also going into SK...only he is going to the french immersion school in B'ville. BUT they will have the same days off every week so my bet is they will become fast friends...and even better, they only live a few minutes up the road. Lindsay also cares for a 3 year old boy so he should be good company for Shane. The daycare setup is as we hoped...structured with a healthy focus on learning while also having fun.

Shane is doing great....although we do wish his words were coming along better. But, we do know they are coming and he most definitely understands what we say. We are working with him though and I'm sure I will be posting a blog one day saying be careful what you wish for...!!

Johnathon and I celebrated our 7th wedding anniversary this past Monday. We were able to spend a couple hours chatting on the patio at our pub after work. Our plan was to go home, spend some time with the munchkins, get them tucked in and order Chinese and enjoy a quiet, candlelit dinner. Well...that plan didn't quite work out. We got the boys to bed, pulled out the menu..spent about a half hour deciding on what to order...only to find out that restaurant wasn't open on Mondays! Hm, so then we decided to order take out from the restaurant in town, Steamers. Johnathon called to order, only to find out they are closed down for two weeks as new owners have taken over. Hm. Now, most of you know that Newcastle is a tiny town with very limited options for dining. So, then it turned to pizza and wings. We had picked up slices for the boys the previous week and had a little taste...and oh so yummy. So, we thought we would give them a try. And guess what?? Closed. A pizza place that closed before 845 pm! Is this bad karma or what? What are we supposed to take from this?? Who knows...we are guessing just a good laugh! Oh, and it turns out, that we ended up ordering from our standard place and enjoyed some pizza and wings. Not exactly what we had in mind...but all good. Happy Anniversary to my wonderful husband...only 3 more years til Vegas baby and our re-marriage by Elvis!!

my baby boy turns 2

On July 31st, our little Shane-man turned two! TWO!! That may sound like such a little number but really, it is so BIG. Nicholas likes to remind me that Shane is not a baby any more when I call him baby boy. He will correct me and say he is not a baby Mommy, he is a toddler. And I always reply, you are both my babies..and you always will be. He always smiles.

Shane's actual birthday was the last day at the cottage. When Shane woke up, he snuggled in bed with us for a little while and Daddy and I sang Happy Birthday while all snuggled. He just looked at us with the 'my parents are goofy' look and then all smiles.

His actual 'celebraton' followed a couple days later once we were home and settled. Sydney and I had went shopping over the weekend and one of the items I was determined to find was a jumping/bouncy outdoor 'thingy' for Shane's birthday gift. I did not even think twice that Toys R Us wouldn't have any in stock. None. Zero. Apparently, although still mid-summer, they are out of season now. So, after the initial disappointment, we left the store empty-handed and moved on.

After our girly shopping, we left the mall and headed over to Canadian Tire where we hmmed and hawed over this ONE bouncy 'thingy' they still had in stock. I decided to buy it although it wasn't exactly what I had in mind but I did know both boys would still enjoy it. Just as we were walking away from that area, I noticed on the board of what they have in stock for big items, there was a picture of the big box I saw in the aisle but had the regular price tag of $599 on it so of course, that was not even an option. But this tag was showing final clearance....and I have to say, I was giddy at the price. So, that was that. And now we have a 12'X11' LARGE jumping 'thingy' in our backyard that all the kids get to enjoy.

Okay, now that was probaly way too lengthy of an explanation at how we arrived at Shane's gift but the shopper in me is still very excited to get such a great deal and for something the boys should get a few years use out of at least. Yay!

Shawn, Cheryl and the boys were over for Shanes party as well as Derek and Allison and the two boys...which is really a nice fit as there are the 3 older boys closer in age and the three younger ones all close in age. Believe it or not, it did not rain that day so we were all able to have fun in the backyard. Happy Birthday to my sweet two year old Shaney. Your smiles, giggles, smooches and hugs bring such happiness to so many. All our love baby boy.

cottage week

It's always more difficult for me to write about something after it has passed, or at least passed a while ago. But, all the same, wanted to blog about our cottage week. Over the years, we have been renting cottages as a getaway for the family to unwind and have some fun and forget about the rest of the world. This time we had little choice as we were lucky to even get a cell phone signal! Like everyone else, we hope for great weather and you have all these perfectly wonderful illusions of hot summer days....swimming, canoeing, playing in the sun. But again, this year, that wasn't really the case. This summer has been pretty non-existent (up until this current week anyway) and very, very wet! So we spent alot of time relaxing and enjoying the cottage views and sounds, fishing, a couple trips to the provincial park nearby, playing games, grilling and enjoying some 'refreshments'.

Aunt Toots made the trip by bus from Ottawa for the first half of the week...as always, wonderful to have her visit any time.

The park we went to was Bon Echo Provincial Park and some friends and co-workers had mentioned to me that it was well worth the visit. So, off we went...and were they ever right! What a stunning park! We all enjoyed the guided pontoon tour of the cliffs and the native pictographs. Very interesting and very pretty. The park itself really grabbed me and I have every intention of securing us a great camping spot there next year. Hoping to convince Shawn and his family to join us. The sites are close to everything, the views are awesome and the beaches are very well groomed with sandy, shallow entries. Perfect for the young ones...and us, ahem, older ones too!

Sydney and I went back a few days later to take the hike up the cliffs to the various lookout points. Again...so very worth it! It could only have been better had the sun been out.

The end of the week rolled around and it was time to head home. The timing worked out really well with it being a Fri-Fri rental so we were home to enjoy a 3 day long weekend before returning to work....and on that holiday Monday, we had Shane's 2nd birthday party...which I will talk about next post..

so much to write, so little time

Okay, back home from yet another road trip. This time we headed north to the reserve to spend a couple of days with Mom and Dad. As much as we loved seeing them, it feels so fabulously great to get back home after such a busy couple of weeks. Home sweet home...there's no place like home....such common phrases, but oh so true!

Lots to write about...our week at the cottage, Shaney's 2nd birthday, time with Sydney, Syd leaving :( ..

BUT our boys are equally as excited to be home and finished with the long drive so off I go for now.