This is from Delaney and Connor

Connor: I love you all and I hope Auntie Colleen and Uncle Rocco get their baby soon. I hope you like her!

Delaney: How are you all? What are you all doing?

Redecorating

Argggh, I wrote a whole bunch and it disappeared! We're redecorating the boys' room in a safari theme, although the walls are going to be pale yellow (saffron?) and we're finally getting rid of the bunk beds. Actually, they are already gone and I spent the afternoon priming. Now I'm tired and grumpy and nobody can think of what they want for supper. Delaney wants macaroni and the boys want pizza. They always want pizza!

It's been a while since I updated this blog. Things have been busy but I'll get to it more often now I hope.

Spelling tests

Forgot to mention that Aidan got 10/12 on his Dictee, and I had hid the list on him for most of the week (accidentally of course!) so he only got a quick look at it the morning before the test. He's a smartie that one!

Friday already?

Yup. Aidan's off to basketball and Connor has his friend Jake over for pizza night. I ran into one of Connor's friends mother's at school today and she said they are moving in December to Ottawa! Too bad, they also have a daughter Delaney's age and they got along very well. Now Delaney won't know anyone she'll be starting kindergarten with. Although a lot of the kids don't know each other. Actually, Connor and Aidan didn't know anyone either, but it would be nice! It's also too bad since they are a very nice couple and we'll miss them. It seems like all the friends I've made since I moved back to Winnipeg have left! Hmmm.

I haven't written much this week. It has been crazy and hectic and I'm kind of glad it's over. On Tuesday Sean dropped Delaney off at school only to find that it was an inservice day! They took her to the daycare part and all was well, but I can't believe I missed the notice.

I finally got all of my marking done and have one more week until the students are on their field placement. I'll be very happy to have some actual time to get the marking done (not outside of my regular work hours!) and to get everything ready for the last six weeks of the term. And then I'm done! I am enjoying it, and kind of like going between two jobs, but it would be much better if I had some actual time for prepping outside of home time. I teach 6 hours the days I'm there so there isn't any time and then I have my other full-time job the other three days of the week. Okay, okay, I've complained enough - I know!

We're starting to think about booking our trip to Florida and are seriously thinking of taking the train. It sounds great, and I love to travel by train and watch the country go by. They have feature films every night in the club car, and if you get a roomette (or a family room as we'll have to do), you get all your meals and everything. I doubt we'll ever do it again, so we thought it would be good experience for the kids. We hope to fly back, but I was just telling Sean that I wouldn't mind taking the train back again too...

Happy Thanksgiving!

It's time to think about what we're thankful for, and I have to say I'm very thankful for my little family. As trying as they can occassionally be, I sure can't imagine life without these little people around! And I'm also very thankful for my extended family, especially Mimi and Nana and Grandad who are so involved with the kids and give them such a sense of being loved and cared for. And their aunts and uncles who provide the fun and help out whenever we ask. Finally, I'm thankful for the beautiful fall we're having too! I don't think I could have handled an early cold spell this year after the horrible winter and summer we had.

And thank goodness it is a long weekend! We are more than ready for it. The kids had swimming this morning and Conno is off to hockey. I'm going to bring Delaney and Aidan to watch him for a bit, he's feeling a bit hard done by. We went shopping at Cosco after swimming and he kept getting scolded for one thing or another. We're also off to watch the geese landing on the lakes at Fort Whyte at about 6:00 - they're having a family night with popcorn and stuff so that should be fun.

I've still got an exam to mark, an assignment to prepare and a lesson to get ready for, but that can all wait until tomorrow or Monday. Mom is making Thanksgiving supper on Monday because Kevin didn't want to come home for the weekend. He's bringing his great good friend Hugh from Nova Scotia for supper, so it should be good. And he's requested both apple and pumpkin pie, so my bunch will be happy too.

Lunch out with Connor

Connor and I went out for lunch today before he had a doctor's appointment at 2:00. We both felt like we were playing hookey, and the weather was so beautiful that we ended up going for an ice cream after his appointment and sitting in the sun.

We also got to watch Delaney's dance tonight. She's improving all the time and is pretty cute. Still takes after her mom a bit (she's got a sense of rhythm but the coordination is lacking!)

We're all tired and are just now getting to our tomota soup and breadsticks. Man, it's almost bedtime! No way I'm getting any marking done tonight. I think I'm going to end up spending at least one day of the long weekend doing work... ick.

Home again, home again, jiggety jig!

Well, Sean and I are home from Montreal - what a great city! We both think that would be a great place to live, but we'll need to brush up on our French. I was surprised how much I understood, but I really can't speak it. By the time I translate what I want to say, the conversation has moved way past me.

It was a really busy conference but we walked a bit and saw some of Montreal and had some really great meals. The leaves were turning and it was really beautiful. I'd love to take the kids next time, but it was really nice to have a little get-away, just the two of us.

The kids did fine with Mimi. She managed to get them everywhere except basketball (Aidan) and Connor's second hockey practice at 6:30 Sunday morning (can't say I blame her!)

Seems to have been a bit of a fight at school on Friday and the boys went to the office to talk to the principal today. Connor says he missed recess and Aidan says they aren't allowed to play with the grade one kids anymore. I think I need to find out what is going on. I doubt that the problem really has anything to do with grade one and grade three kids playing togethere, I think it is more the grade one kids picking on one of their own. It doesn't seem to me that the grade threes had much to do with it. Arggh - I hate this kind of stuff! I don't want to interfere, but I know that they were really having fun building a city in the sandbox so I need to find out more.

Back to real life!