Brent and Toni are leaving for China just before May long weekend to get Grace (did I mention that is her name? it's lovely and already suits her). I can't wait to see her! It will be so nice to have a baby around again. When we were in Hamilton we saw a lot of Bianca and she is just the sweetest thing, I've never known what's it like to have a baby you can just play with and hand back to Dad when she gets poopy. She is just walking and still a little shaky but she laughed and smiled and gave kisses and the kids absolutely adored her. I could have taken her home with me very easily but I don't think Colleen and Rocco would have liked that. They are enamoured of her too (justifiably!) and are super parents.
Delaney has been talking about Bianca ever since we were there. Conversations now go like this:
Delaney: I forgot! Someday I'm going to be a grandma!
Me: Yes, you will.
Delaney: And Bianca will be a grandma too some day.
Me: Yes.
Delaney: But she's still a baby now.
Me: Yes.
Delaney: But I was a baby too.
Me: Yes.
Delaney: But someday I'll be a mom.
Me: Yes.
Delaney: And Bianca will be a mom too someday.
Me: Yes.
And so on. She really never quits. I hate driving with her anywhere because anythign that crosses her mind comes out her mouth, preceeded by "Mom. Guess what?". I love her dearly and know that I should be cherishing these moments and I do, but I cherish a little peace and quiet every now and then too.
Aidan had his first basketball game last weekend and he was terrific! He got a basket to tie the game and they ended up winning by 1 point. He got most of the rebounds and raced down the court and even took a couple of foul shots. It was all very exciting and I can't wait for today's game. He's tired though, he was at a sleepover last night and they didn't get to bed until 11:30 and were up at 6:45 apparently. Yikes!
Connor and Delaney are both off at birthday parties today. It's a beautiful day for it and is supposed to be even nicer tomorrow. It is sure nice to actually have a spring this year (knock wood!). This week coming up we have Delaney's dance recital so there is a practice Wednesday night and a rehearsal on Thursday night and the recital on Friday. Then we start soccer the week after. I'm looking forward to the summer and no activities! The kids are happy and busy though, so it's all worth it. Everybody has one sport and one music or dance plus swimming lessons, so it is pretty balanced. Except for Sean and I who do most of the driving of course! Last week I resorted to buying subs and feeding them in the car for the first time. It is just dance and basketball ended up on the same night for these 2 weeks, and then we'll be okay again.
Well, everyone is out for the next half hour or so and I'm going to sit down, drink a cup of tea and read my latest book I'm reviewing. So far it's very good!
Saturday, April 23, 2005
Tuesday, April 19, 2005
Sad news
Part of keeping this blog was to try to keep a record for the kids of our family life as well as keeping family and friends outside Winnipeg in touch with what we're all up to. So, even though most of you already know I feel like I need to record that Sean's dad, Edward O'Hara, passed away on April 6th. Even though we knew he was very sick, we were hoping for the best and were taken by surprise. Sean is still in shock to some degree, as are his mom and sister I think. And, to make it more stressful I was in Paris awhen it happened, so Sean had to get the kids to Hamilton on his own. Thank goodness for Toni who dropped everything, found flights, brought over stew and flew with them to Toronto. Then she went back 2 days later to meet Mom and I and come to the funeral and fly Mom home. And then she came back to Toronto again to fly the kids and I home 2 days after that. I'm sorry she missed the trip to Paris but my family sure appreciated her being here at the time.
The kids were having a tough time with it too, especially Aidan. He's at a tough age. I thought Connor would be the one who was most upset, but of course Connor shows it in different ways. All three were upset, and they were also whisked off to Hamilton to a very busy house full of people they hadn't seen in years (except Nana of course). And Sean was busy with his mom and sister so they spent time with Nicole and her kids and Dan and Tyler - thank goodness everybody stepped in and helped out! It sure wasn't ideal for anyone. I feel terrible being so far away but we couldn't get a flight home. Toni said that everything was overbooked by 10% because of the Pope's funeral but Air Canada sure wasn't very helpful when Sean called them. Anyways, I'm very grateful to everyone who helped with the kids.
The funeral mass was lovely. The priest in Mount Hope is a former Protestant minister who converted. He is married with children and has a psychology degree and does family counselling. I was so impressed with him, he was a wonderful comfort to the family. He is a perfect example of what priests could be if the Church would enter the 21st century. And he really did Mr. O'Hara justice. I really only knew him from one perspective, but Fr. Hampson shared stories that let you see what he was like as a person which he'd learned from talking to the family and friends, as well as from his own friendship with Mr. O'Hara. There were a lot of people at the funeral and Nana will have a lot of support from family and friends.
The kids were having a tough time with it too, especially Aidan. He's at a tough age. I thought Connor would be the one who was most upset, but of course Connor shows it in different ways. All three were upset, and they were also whisked off to Hamilton to a very busy house full of people they hadn't seen in years (except Nana of course). And Sean was busy with his mom and sister so they spent time with Nicole and her kids and Dan and Tyler - thank goodness everybody stepped in and helped out! It sure wasn't ideal for anyone. I feel terrible being so far away but we couldn't get a flight home. Toni said that everything was overbooked by 10% because of the Pope's funeral but Air Canada sure wasn't very helpful when Sean called them. Anyways, I'm very grateful to everyone who helped with the kids.
The funeral mass was lovely. The priest in Mount Hope is a former Protestant minister who converted. He is married with children and has a psychology degree and does family counselling. I was so impressed with him, he was a wonderful comfort to the family. He is a perfect example of what priests could be if the Church would enter the 21st century. And he really did Mr. O'Hara justice. I really only knew him from one perspective, but Fr. Hampson shared stories that let you see what he was like as a person which he'd learned from talking to the family and friends, as well as from his own friendship with Mr. O'Hara. There were a lot of people at the funeral and Nana will have a lot of support from family and friends.
Friday, April 01, 2005
So excited I blogged it twice!
She is a cutie though. The latest from Brent and Tonis is that she will probably be named 'Grace' which is a beautiful name. Grace was something my dad thought a lot about in his last months, so is special that way, and her Chinese names are Shue Ting, one of which means 'Grace'. So, the omens seem to be there (I can't remember what the other name means and my only excuse is that it is almost 3:00 in the morning).
I took the kids to the Forks today and we saw "Cirkus Inferno". Connor and Aidan got a big kick out of it and Delaney kept asking me questions: What is that? Why are they doing that? Is it going to explode? She seemed worried about it all. I kept telling her I didn't know what would happen next and that was the fun of it, and finally she seemed to relax and get into it. At the end a huge whoopie cushion explodes and bits of paper are showered over the audience (Delaney liked that). We were in the second row so all had paper in our clothes for a while. The clowns were selling and autographing whoopie cushions at the end and both Connor and Delaney got one. They had a great time with them, setting letting the air out all over as we wandered the shops. When Sean picked us up (we'd taken the bus down and got a ride home with him) they had a great time exploding them in the back seat before he figured out what they had. Connor eventually tried to jump on his and it exploded, but Delaney's is still "tooting" as she says. Funny how much enjoyment they can get out of something so silly!
I couldn't get to sleep tonight. Worried about going away, Sean and the kids managing for a week (I know they can but I'm feeling guilty) and the Hamilton O'Haras. Grandad is in the hospital and is getting a little stronger. He is having a hard time with his appetite and is really exhausted so they put him on an IV. Keep him in your prayers.
To put myself to sleep I decided I'd get up and do some of the work I need to do for tomorrow. It's year-end at work and I needed to get my statistics done before I go away for a week in case my boss needs them. No matter how I try to keep track through the year, it is always messed up when I have to compile it for my supervisor. And this is the third time I've figured it out this year! Good thing I'm not the accountant in the family... Anyways, it's done and I just have to e-mail it in the morning. I didn't really want my boss to get an e-mail sent at 3:00 a.m. on April Fools day with my statistics!
Keep well while I'm away! Must get to sleep - kids will be up early(ish).
I took the kids to the Forks today and we saw "Cirkus Inferno". Connor and Aidan got a big kick out of it and Delaney kept asking me questions: What is that? Why are they doing that? Is it going to explode? She seemed worried about it all. I kept telling her I didn't know what would happen next and that was the fun of it, and finally she seemed to relax and get into it. At the end a huge whoopie cushion explodes and bits of paper are showered over the audience (Delaney liked that). We were in the second row so all had paper in our clothes for a while. The clowns were selling and autographing whoopie cushions at the end and both Connor and Delaney got one. They had a great time with them, setting letting the air out all over as we wandered the shops. When Sean picked us up (we'd taken the bus down and got a ride home with him) they had a great time exploding them in the back seat before he figured out what they had. Connor eventually tried to jump on his and it exploded, but Delaney's is still "tooting" as she says. Funny how much enjoyment they can get out of something so silly!
I couldn't get to sleep tonight. Worried about going away, Sean and the kids managing for a week (I know they can but I'm feeling guilty) and the Hamilton O'Haras. Grandad is in the hospital and is getting a little stronger. He is having a hard time with his appetite and is really exhausted so they put him on an IV. Keep him in your prayers.
To put myself to sleep I decided I'd get up and do some of the work I need to do for tomorrow. It's year-end at work and I needed to get my statistics done before I go away for a week in case my boss needs them. No matter how I try to keep track through the year, it is always messed up when I have to compile it for my supervisor. And this is the third time I've figured it out this year! Good thing I'm not the accountant in the family... Anyways, it's done and I just have to e-mail it in the morning. I didn't really want my boss to get an e-mail sent at 3:00 a.m. on April Fools day with my statistics!
Keep well while I'm away! Must get to sleep - kids will be up early(ish).
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