Soccer, soccer, soccer

We got a call from Aidan's coach last night and apparently there are only 10 kids on the team! I know one of them, and he's a hockey fanatic so only makes about 1/2 the soccer games. It is going to be crazy for the poor guy, they will be playing the whole time. I don't know if he'll like it...

Meanwhile we got new shoes for Connor and he's happy. Delaney's happy in the old ones, and has to change every time we go to the park. Suddenly she's into clothes and dressing for every occasion. Definitely a girly girl!

Time to catch up

Wow, end of the year for everything. I need to catch you up on hockey, dancing, speed skating and soccer. Everyone is done - hurray! Soccer starts for us tomorrow or Thursday. Connor is playing up a year with the 10 year olds (soccer is his thing) and everyone is looking forward to the soccer season.

Delaney had her dance recital last weekend and it was terrific. She was really excited this year and had her hair done and everything. She performed really well and we were all proud of her. She also had some of her art from school chosen to be displayed at the school board office, so that was an honor and pretty exciting. She's now doing hip-hop as part of the after-school program and really likes that too.

Connor's team finished with a win in the last big tournament of the year (16 teams from the city and surrounding towns) and came in second in the league finals, which was a disappointment since they'd out-played everyone all season.

Aidan enjoyed speedskating and is doing running club this spring. He'll definitely be in shape for the soccer season! He's been having a lot of fun hanging out with his friends the past few weeks. He's got some really good friends and they have a good time together.

Sean is off to a conference next week (the first week of soccer). He's still part-time but that might change, who knows? Not over the summer though I hope! We aren't planning on any trips although we might head to Calgary at the end of August for my cousin Kathy's daughter's wedding. Haven't celebrated anything with the Hansons for a very long time so we're due! Nana is coming to visit (right?) and might bring Colleen, Rocco and Bianca along. It will be neat for her and Grace to meet - I imagine they will keep Delaney hopping and there might be a nose or two out of joint as both are cute as buttons and get the attention to go with it - especially from Delaney!

Back at last, but is anyone still out there?

I had a terrible inner ear infection at the end of January and I'm just now back to normal. I still get a little dizzy when I'm walking any distance, but everything else is back to normal. It was terrible! I missed 19 days of work (I don't think I've ever missed that much time in an entire year before) and I couldn't drive for over a month. But, I'm feeling good again, and no permanent damage done thank goodness.

The kids are doing well. They've been very busy this winter with one activity or another. Aidan has a burgeoning social life. All of a sudden his friends are very social and need to have playdates a few times a week. Since he's bussed to school this involves a lot of driving on the part of the parents which was tough on Sean when I couldn't drive. And that was on top of dance, choir, speed skating, hockey and music lessons that he had to drive them all to. Thank goodness he's working part-time!

Connor's team is in the league finals this weekend. He played last night to get the playoff spot and it was a real nail-biter but Connor scored the winning goal. You would have thought I'd scored it the way I was cheering! The coach's grandparents own a restaurant so they invited all the families for burgers and hotdogs afterward. It was a really nice evening.

Aidan was invited to take part in the CanSpell spelling bee. He had to spend some recesses indoors though, so declined the invitation. I was pleased he was asked though, it means he's one of the top spellers in the school. His teacher seemed very pleased with him at the parent-teacher interviews and he's got A's and A+'s in almost everything. We always knew he was a smart one, I'm glad he finally decided to get with the program!

Delaney had her choir concert last week. She played the xylophone and they sang a compilation of nursery rhymes. I don't think she enjoyed choir all that much since she decided that she's not going to do it next year. She still really loves dance and will continue with that and probably speed skating too if Aidan continues with it. I think Aidan would enjoy it more if he had a friend so we've invited his friends to the open house and maybe one of them will join next year.

We're all looking forward to spring break the last week of March. We'd thought we'd go to Nevada, but since I was so sick I really couldn't think of driving or flying. Now I think I'd be okay, but it seemed like it was taking so long to get better. We'll definitely be going next year.

Christmas wish lists!

Aidan's mostly reads: wii, pokemon, wii, DS game, wii, wii, wii, wii (guess what he really wants!)

Connor thinks Santa will know what he really wants but a dog would be nice.

Delaney wants a doll that pees and poops and a digital pet.

Santa is going to have a hard time this year! All the wii's in Winnipeg are sold out.

Yikes!

Away for the weekend

We're going to the water slide part in the States this weekend. The kids are excited although Delaney is going to miss one of her friends' birthday parties. She's excited about going away though, so not too disappointed. She and I are going to slide together down the tube slide. I think the last time we went was 3 years ago, the kids would have been in grades 2, K and nursery school. We thought Aidan was so big he could wander on his own. And he did, he ran with the boys a fair amount. Then he came with Delaney and I and rode the tube slide. That's when we flipped half way down and they thought it was hilarious. I was trying to make sure nobody drowned!

Connor just came in and he's ripped the knees out of his pants. Delaney came in with her ski pants covered in mud. It's +8 today - what was she doing wearing ski pants? I asked her, and she said her pants would have gotten that dirty if she wasn't wearing them. Well, no. There is the alternative of staying out of the puddles! Or not sliding on your knees down a hill. Deep sigh. I guess I can wash and patch them...

Dance tonight, then cleaning - they each need to raise $6 to build a well in India but they are supposed to work for it. I'm hoping Mom has some odd jobs they can do to raise the money, I don't think they'll actually work for me! Too bad there's no snow, I could send them to the neighbours to shovel driveways. :)

Halloween howlers

The kids have been so excited! We went to Fort Whyte with some of Aidan and Connor's friends on the weekend and they were all in their costumes and having a good time. They can't wait to get out there tonight - even though there is snow on the ground. Connor is going with his friend Jake and Aidan's friend Mitchell will be oever as usual. Delaney is on her own with the boys, but usually gets lots of candy because she's so cute compared to them! I will post some pictures tomorrow.

Aidan and Delaney had their first speed skating meet on the weekend. Aidan did really well but in his last race the guy in front wiped out and took him out as well. He seemed pretty happy with mostly 2nd place finishes. Delaney came in 4th and 5th in her races. Apparently she waited for everyone to pass her and then started skating. No getting knocked over for my girl!

Part-time finally!

This is Sean's first week of part-time work. Well, it actually starts on Thursday, so he is taking Thursday off. Which is good because the kids are also off. They're off on Friday too, but Mom is going to babysit. Thursday is also parent-teacher-child conferences (yes, the kids are involved now too). And my last physio appointment. I guess I'm not going to the conferences, but that's okay, I'll get the full report from Sean and the kids. I might try to change my physio and go anyway.

Aidan's friend is speed-skating with him now and he's pretty happy about that. He's really improved this year. Delaney is doing great at speed-skating, she works the whole hour and seems to like it. By the end of the year we hope she'll be skating the real track (right now she's on the "inside track" and getting lessons with a few others who are just starting out).

Connor is doing well at hockey. I can't believe how big he is on the ice! He towers over most of the others although there are a few (very few) who are as big as him. Nobody bigger though. Funny, I always think of him as my little guy. I think he's going to end up being the tallest of the kids.

Everybody is happy and healthy right now. The kids are looking forward to Halloween. Delaney is a fairy princess complete with wand and wings - she asked for a costume and I said I'd make her one, but I ran into Giant Tiger to get something and there were costumes complete with wand and wings for $12 - I couldn't make it for that! Aidan is a zombie and we're doing the costume and makeup he found in a magazine. Connor is a spiderweb or a guy who walked into a spider web, we're not quite sure yet. It'll be good though.

Week off

Well sort of - soccer is finished, hockey camp is finished and all we have on the calendar this week is dance. Nice to spend some time at home!

We had the Church Fall Supper this weekend and for the first time everyone volunteered. Aidan wrapped cutlery in napkins, Delaney and Sean cleared tables and Connor and I worked the door and let people in. It was good.

Mom is feeling a lot better. She's off with some friends on a trip they had planned to the States for a few days although she couldn't drive and probably didn't spend tons of time shopping. She's definitely getting over the infection and is on the mend.

Sean found someone to work part-time for him so he should be at home part-time soon. It's just sort of dawned on me that we will also have a quarter less income than we've been used to! I guess we'll have to cut back a bit, no more trips to Paris and Florida but we'll survive. We weren't really planning any major trips this year, so that's okay. It will be very nice for him to have the extra time to work on other things and for me to not have to rush, rush, rush all the time!

Busy week

We've had a really busy week this week. Mom came down with an inner ear infection last Sunday and called me first thing in the morning. I ended up calling the ambulance because she was so dizzy she couldn't stand up and I couldn't get her to the van to take her to the hospital. She ended up spending 2 nights in Emergency because she couldn't walk and was really nauseous and dizzy. She's feeling better now, but was really ill. I ended up working from home most of the week, so it was a pretty strange week for me too. We drank lots of tea and she snoozed a lot - I'm just glad it is going away! How horrible not to be able to walk or read or watch tv or anything...

Connor is in hockey camp and so-so about it. He hates having to go out when he's all comfortable at home so it's been a bit of a struggle. But, he's made the commitment to play hockey this year so he's got to go through with it now. I think he'll enjoy it once the season starts since he's really improving and will be one of the older kids this year.

Aidan got his new drumset last week. He's been a real social butterfly since school started and is out a couple of nights a week. Speedskating doesn't start until October so he'll be a lot busier then. Right now his soccer team is in the city finals, but they lost the first game last weekend. He plays again tomorrow but it is supposed to rain, so I'm not sure we'll all go and watch him. We'll be cheering though. He's a good little player, not a star but he's always in there digging.

Delaney is back in dance and taking piano lessons and loves both. She's so happy to be back at school with her friends! That child is the most social of the three of them for sure! She starts choir in October and speedskating, so she'll be really, really busy. But it will be good for her and she likes to be on the go all the time (unlike Connor!).

Sean should be working part-time within the next couple of weeks - we hope! He's done the interviews and is just waiting to see if the candidate accepts the job or not. Cross your fingers! This week would have been a lot easier if he had been working part-time...

I'm running a 10K next week but haven't been running very long distances lately so it might be a bit harder than I think. I haven't run at all this week since I had a very sore muscle in my calf this past week but I did some time on the elliptical so hope it will feel better.

And, that's what we've been up to! The kids are all happy at school and seem to like their teachers. We went to parent information night last night and they gave us information on what they'd be teaching and stuff and they all seem very nice. Connor has the same grade 3 teacher that Aidan had so we know she's good and Aidan's got a good teacher who only gives homework if they don't finish their work in class - that is exactly what Aidan needs! He seems more motivated this year and got 100% on his first spelling test. He gets actual grades this year, so that will be interesting. I just hope Delaney stops her social life long enough to learn to read at school this year...

The cousins

kids_bianca
Originally uploaded by LisaOH.

relaxing at Nana's the night before we left. Everyone was tired...

Kids in the cave

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Originally uploaded by LisaOH.

says it all, basically. This was near Blue Mountain, the Scenic Caves. Very cool.

Slingshot Kings

slingshots_manitoulin_island
Originally uploaded by LisaOH.

Here's the boys at Manitoulin Island where we missed the first ferry.

Almost back to school!

I can't believe I haven't posted all summer! I have good excuses though - we were away for most of July and into August and when we got home our computer got the blue screen of death and we were offline for a couple of weeks. It was really strange to realize how wired we are! If we want to go to a movie, check the Internet! How to cook spaghetti squash? Check the Internet! You just don't realize. And then, when we got it back I was used to not using it so often so didn't...

Anyway, we have all the school supplies and everyone is ready to get back to the routine. Maybe not as fast as we're getting into it though. Connor starts hockey camp Tuesay, Aidan's in the city playoffs starting on Wednesday and music lessons start Saturday. We've also got dance, speedskating and hockey registration next week.

The kids have enjoyed the last few weeks though. They were all at camp for two weeks. Aidan loved his computer camp where they made a really cool movie (which I will try to post when I figure out how to do it). Connor liked soccer camp as much as he likes any camp (my little home-body) and Delaney loved both her drama camp and the sports/craft camp. She is so ready to go back to school. Last week they just spent at home lazing around the house and hanging out. They didn't get much of that this summer so deserved it. They don't start school until Wednesday so we're getting haircuts Tuesday and Connor goes to the orthodontist to get the spacers for his retainer put in. Then the boys go back Wednesday and Delaney goes back on Thursday.

Sean's finally interviewing for his part-time librarian job so will hopefully be working part-time by October. That means we may have a ceiling up in the basement by Christmas (in case Auntie Coleen, Rocco and Nana are planning to visit). We're both looking forward to him working part-time, it will make our lives a lot easier - the rushing won't seem as bad when somebody is home during the day to get stuff done.

I'm still running. I'm doing the Tracks of Glory in a few weeks so need to get a few long runs in - it's a 10K and my friend is doing it with me.

That's it for us. We've had a great summer and are looking forward to getting back in a routine. We're really enjoying the long weekend though... we've watched a couple of movies, taken a few bike rides and tonight we label back-to-school supplies (or maybe have baths, yeah definitely that!).

Done with soccer, done with dance, done with...

well you can fill in the rest!

We're on the last week of school and are officially on vacation after this. No more soccer, no more music lessons, no Tae Kwan Do, no nothing. No school either really - Aidan had a field trip today, Connor has one tomorrow, Delaney's kindergarten graduation on Wednesday, sports day on Thursday and class parties on Friday. Sounds like hard work to me!

Connor got his yellow-striped belt in Tae Kwon Do. They told him that he would have skipped ahead to yellow belt if he would have been better behaved and a better listenener. It was hard on him, but good for him to hear that there are consequences. Then today he came home and Mitchell told me that he'd been swearing on the bus. I guess he knows there are consequences in Tae Kwon Do, but is still not convinced about school. I told him if he gets kicked off the bus he's going to the local school and is walking. I think at this time of year he doesn't much care.

Hey look at me!

I'm blogging twice in one week! I've got time again. I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. I got enough sleep last night!

Nothing much has changed. Delaney ran into a little boy at soccer last night and has a black-ish eye. You know Delaney, everything must be discussed to the last detail so I imagine I'll be hearing far more about this eye as time goes by. This morning we just had time for a "ooh, that looks a little sore" but I imagine my patient hubby heard far more after I left. It really is nothing serious, but our local hypochondriac must make sure that it has registered with everyone.

Aidan is off to a play date after school. He's a popular kid these days and is enlarging his group of friends. That's great, quite a change from this time last year when we were worried about him and he didn't seem very happy.

Connor is also having a playdate. And we're heading to the soccer jamboree all day tomorrow. And it's his last violin lesson for the summer. And we're going to one of his friend's for a barbecue tomorrow night so he's happy. Hopefully he'll get his yellow-stripe belt tonight.

I applied for a job in Switzerland. Chances are thousands of people applied, but ever since I did it I've been thinking how great it would be. Until yesterday when I started thinking what a hassle it would be! It's a two-year contract, so if I could get a leave-without-pay I'd probably go. But I doubt I'll have to make that decision!

Longest Day of the Year!

The kids are playing their last week of soccer. Aidan will have play-offs in the fall, but Delaney and Connor are done. Aidan's team has won almost all of their games, I think they've lost one and tied one and won all the rest. He's a good little player and is having fun. Tonight they play Kirkfield-Westwood, where I grew up! Connor can't wait to play on the full field next year, he's really ready and this year hasn't been that great for him. Delaney is still enjoying it, but tells me that she doesn't like running around and getting sweaty and out of breath! Connor also got tested at Tae Kwon Do on Tuesday so might be getting a yellow stripe belt on Friday. We'll see, I guess he wasn't behaving too well...

Also into the last two weeks of school so the kids are basically on play time now. We're making plans for our trip to Ontario this summer to spend some time with Nana, Auntie Colleen, Uncle Rocco and Bianca in Port Elgin. We're also going to go to Ottawa and Toronto for a few days. The kids haven't really been either place and since we're heading that way we might as well go. We're all looking forward to it!

I ran my first half-marathon this weekend. It was a great experience and I'll definitely do it again next year. Sean brought the kids to see me cross the finish line, and they announced my name when I ran into the stadium. I've never enjoyed a popsicle so much in my life!! Next year I doubt Sean will bring the kids - it was a bit of a hassle getting there. They do a full marathon, a half-marathon, a 10K, and a fun run so there were over 12,000 people running. I was in the bathroom when it started (!) but at one point on the course there was a slight incline and there were a mile of people in front of me. In every shape and size too. There was a Hutterite woman running in her dress and head-covering. I was down to my sports bra by the end, so I imagine she was pretty darn hot!

Anyway, we're looking forward to the summer and being done with the rushing to soccer after every meal, although it's been a beautiful spring and it's been fun to watch the kids.

Busy month of May!

Here we are at the end of the month and I haven't written anything. It has been pretty crazy with the kids all in soccer and music lessons still going on. Everybody is enjoying soccer I think. Connor loves it of course and is out there running like crazy, scoring goals and high-fiving everyone. Aidan is a little more low-key, not as confident but as good a player as anyone else out there. He's far more likely to pass the ball than charge the goal, although he's very good at dribbling. Delaney is just as good as any of the kids on her team and seems to like it this year. She's scored two goals that I've seen and is having fun.

Sean and I went away for our anniversary the weekend of the 16th but I was getting over a sinus infection so it was pretty low-key. The long weekend was nice. We went to the farm on Sunday and everybody had a good time. Delaney was enchanted with the kittens and spent most of her time with them. She also liked the horse and had no fear. It's a very nice horse, and was snuffling us all for sugar cubes. The kids were a little nervous because she is so big, but Delaney walked right up and got snuffled and thought it was very funny. The boys chased the cats and played badminton and soccer with their cousins. At one point I looked out the window and saw Peter walking across the lawn. Wondering where the boys were I leaned back and saw the two of them following him with raised axes - definitely not a good game to be playing! I went out and asked them what they were doing and they said "We know, we know." and set the axes down. Funny guys!

This weekend I'm going to Moose Jaw with my girlfriends from high school - leaving poor Sean to cope alone again, although he is fine with it. We're going to the hot springs and spa to celebrate our 40th birthdays this year. Last time we met up to celebrate our 30th birthdays and I was about 7 months pregnant with Aidan. I think everyone is done having kids now. I can't imagine us getting together for our 50th birthdays, but I probably couldn't imagine it for our 40th ten years ago either!

April - the easy month

Well, it's supposed to be. Of course Connor's team got into a late hockey tournament and won the B side championships on Good Friday (although who wants to get up at 7:00 to go to hockey on Good Friday?). And First Communion is this weekend so we've been practicing for that and finishing our workbook. And Delaney's dance recital is on Friday so we've had pictures, a concert, a group rehearsal, a dress rehearsal and the actual recital. I look at the calendar and we have 4 days this month with nothing written on them. Craziness!

And, soccer starts next week! Aidan and Connor are playing Mondays and Wednesdays and Delaney is playing Tuesdays and Thursdays. It will be a crazy two months - I've stocked the freezer with quick meals, but I don't think we'll be eating together too much!

Nana arrives tomorrow and the kids are really excited. Happily, it is one of the days when we don't have anything on the calendar so we're going out to eat. Friday is the big dance, Sunday the first communion, Tuesday the school operetta "Of Mice and Mozart" (Aidan has a solo line, he's one of the composers) and Nana leaves on Thursday. She sure picked the best time to come though, everybody has something special on that she'll get to see.

Our new fridge and stove and dishwasher are coming today. I just hope they fit....

Long Time No See

It just occurred to me tht I haven't updated this blog in ages. March was the craziest month every, I think. Even spring break was crazy, I felt like I needed a vacation after spring break. Connor was in the hockey play-offs (they were third in their division), Delaney's costumes needed finishing for dance and Aidan was finishing up speed skating with a bang. Then there were report cards, parent-teacher interviews (I missed them because I was in Atlanta), sickeness, dental surgery and my trip to Atlanta. Delaney and I were sick and I had the dental surgery. Silly dentist kept telling me that I might miss an afternoon of work but that I'd be fine. He forgot to tell me that I'd have packing in my teeth for 2 weeks and wouldn't be able to eat anything I needed to take a bite out of. He was a very nice dentist though.

We did have a nice spring break - went to the Festival of Fools at the Forks, saw a play and a movie and Sean and I saw Stuart MacLean and the Vinyl Cafe - that was a lot of fun.

Delaney has been wearing her diamond earrings and sparkling all over the place. We just got out of rubber boots and there was a huge thunderstorm last night (woke us up) so now the kids are back in them. Connor has done his best to ruin a new pair of pants I bought him by playing soccer without his splash pants on and kick-sliding into the goal. Aidan ruined 2 pairs of sneakers this winter so he got new ones with laces (a major step for our nearly 10-year-old).

Altanta was strange, but I got my paper delivered and I got home again. I also saw this amazing exhibit of the Quilts at Gee's Bend - very beautiful. And I bought a mug at the Margaret Mitchell Museum. Nobody walks in Atlanta though so the streets felt very deserted. And I was still kind of sick so wasn't in the mood for being social with people I didn't really know. I was very glad to get home to my family! That will probably be my only trip for work this year and I'm kind of happy about it.

All is well

The kids are fine, Sean's fine and I'm fine. We are almost to the end of the hockey/speed skating season and I am glad! Playoffs end on the 18th for Connor's team if they make it right to the end. Speed skating is done on the 20th. Good thing since I'm leaving on the 22nd for Atlanta. I'm less worried about it since I got the power points done for my paper. And, I'm the last session on the last day before the final keynote, so I'm thinking a lot of people will prefer to see the sights rather than listen to me!

I really have nothing much to report. Aidan has been doing his homework, Connor has been having pretty good days at school and Delaney is very happy these days and working on her home reading. She has stopped calling her dad an idiot so he's happy too (she spent quite a bit of time in her room there for a while). Mom sewd the costumes for her dance recital for me, so they are looking good and I owe her a big dinner out and a free ticket to the recital.

Speed skating has been a bit dangerous lately. Someone broke an arm last week and there was a twisted ankle this week. I'm not sure if they are trying to be fancy after the Olympics or what, but Aidan has been his same self. The child needs to learn to do some cross-cuts but he is still really enjoying himself, and I guess that's the point of it all.

After fighting with Connor all season to get him to outdoor practices, this Tuesday he didn't want to come home and I ended up being late for yoga. I think he might have one or two practices yet, but isn't that just typical? He's got a tournament this week which is going to mean a lot of eating on the run because it's all week and on the other side of the city. But there is the light at the end of the tunnel.

We're off today because the kids had an inservice. The boys got a new gamecube game so are busy playing downstairs. Delaney is having two of her friends over this afternoon and is happy about that. I'm going to try to get a little bit of work done. Last night I was feeling pretty stressed about work but its funny what a sleeping in morning can do for that! I will try to work on my presentation though, the sooner that is done the better I'll feel. And that's about all that's up with us!