Birthdays and News

We have a question we ask each other: bad news or good news first? Usually its bad news first. So first to the bad news. Kaitlynn's results came back from the retinal scan and she indeed has night blindness. What she has is rod/cone dystrophy, and not the other syndrome that eventually degenerates to complete blindness. What it does mean is that she cannot see in the dark. Additionally, her daytime vision is affected also but not nearly as bad as night time but it is mitigated by her glasses. There is nothing we can do either except track it and monitor the degeneration over time. Her doctor expects that it won't completely degenerate, but it has to be watched. I am quite zen about it, as I suspected for a while that something was just not right. DH has found it hard, but he is coming around (he figures her boyfriends can drive her around at night, when she wants to go out.). So I am getting in touch with the Montreal Institute for the Blind, to figure out if she needs to go to specialized school, looking into the waiting list for a Mira dog if it comes to that... see, all zen. She will be fine and she is a happy kid and that in the end is all that matters. Its up to us to keep her active and healthy - she is in a gym class and she is taking figure skating lessons and doing very well! - so see for yourselves... she is just fine.

Now onto birthdays!

DH turns 24!

Zach turns 6!

School is great and I am learning lots. Work is crazy - now we have the possibility of 2 more astronauts coming on board our mission so in scientific speak we may have an N of 9! Very exciting... but craziness, as these two late additions may mean "Going back to the USSR... you don't know lucky you are... back in.. back in..." sorry got carried away there.

Also, you will say I am crazy (don't you know that by now?), but I am also on the Conseil d'etablissement (PTA) for the boys school. I am also the parent rep at the school board. And I have just won a volunteer position on the Committee for the Family in our municipality - I was appointed officially just this week during the city's Council meeting. I know, I know, I know... but I guess my cocooning period is done and I am coming out and spreading my wings, and letting the wind take me where ever it seems fit to land.

I have other surprises up my sleeve (or should I say pant leg), so stay posted...even though I am only posting once a month now!

Road Trip to Ottawa

I've survived my first two weeks at work, but talk about sending me for a crazy ride. I have a mission that is going to launch by next May, and while its really cool, its being thrown into the deep end from the moment you walk in the door!

In the midst of the crazyness, we had a road trip to Ottawa for my cousin's wedding. What a great time we all had, watching this strapping young man marry his sweet heart. I remember when I used to change his diapers... and now look at him:

The kids at the service... aren't they just adorable, and they were very well behaved.

Then it was off to the Museum of Civilization with Grammy Carol for a fun filled kids afternoon. Here are some pics of the kids having a great time:

Cutting out a circle with Grammy Carol's help.

Banging out a tune...

Welcome to my humble abode.

The desert is that way...

Not that way silly, this way...

Vrrrrooooommmmm.... heading down the highway!

More later when I have a bit more time!

The day has come

Its my last night of my extended parental leave tonight. I have so many things to say, but can't find the right words tonight... so pictures are going to have to do for now. I had the most wonderful leave ever, and I am very sad to see it end... but I've done it in style, by going out with a great bunch of ladies last night and re-hashing old memories and seeing bright new faces. When the words come, I will do a recap of this leave and this wonderful adventure with my 4 kids and my wonderful husband.

Kaitlynn striking a pose!

Butterfly clips in my hair... see?

My new birks! Don't they just rock... ok, so they don't... its an acquired taste, trust me.

My four kids getting ready to go on the ice for the first time... and they all skate now!

Tristan and Kaitlynn... doesn't get much more special than that.

It's finally happened!

Kaitlynn finally said "Je n'aime pas ca"!

She was referring to cumen scented zucchini. You see, she has eaten everything I have put in front of her, absolutely everything since we came together way back in November 2007... which, to be honest, is not "normal" for my children. I have children that have a lot of personality and a lot of hpmf in them, and I just couldn't figure out how to get Kaitlynn's character to come out when it came to eating. How could a child of 2 1/2 and 3 yrs old like absolutely everything... its just not right!

Out of the blue tonight, she looks up at me and says quite clearly "Je n'aime pas ca.". I told her it was all right not to like something, but that she needed to eat it anyways cause she was growing and needed her vegetables. She looked at her plate, then looked at me, and with an upturned nose, dug in to the best that she could palate. She ate most of it, but didn't like it at all. YUPPIE! Independent spirit on the way!

Hang on... I will be dreading this in a few months, but for now, I am just so happy that she found the courage to speak up and express her likes and dislikes.

On our way back home

What a busy summer this has been. I have been barely able to sit down and read something, let alone write stuff down. Sorry to all those friends out there that are waiting for a response to emails or return phone calls- I just have not seen the days, and then a month has passed.

A quick recap of what we have been up to:

- Greg and I celebrated our 2nd wedding anniversary by going on a surprise trip to Stratford, Ontario to catch some Shakespeare and some contemporary plays. This was no small undertaking - kids stayed with friends, DH's on call schedule was covered by a colleague, his boss gave leave approval.... all without DH having a clue of what was going on. He was thoroughly surprised when I did not drive the car towards Tristan's hockey game, but towards the airport for our 2 pm flight to Toronto. We had just a lovely adult time, watching wonderful theater, playing my very first 18 hole round of golf, and romantic dinner at The Church restaurant. We couldn't have done this without everyone's help - so thank's a million to everyone!

- I am letting the cat out of the bag, in a general sense. I have had a job interview or two, but haven't heard anything yet. I am trying to keep my head down, as I only have 2 weeks of leave left and I want to enjoy every minute with my kids! They are all home with me next week, while DH may very well have to work late a few nights... should be just fascinating how I maintain my sanity next week.

- Tristan finished his U8 soccer season (phew). His team finished in first place for the regular season, then during the play-offs, they finished in first place! He was invited to play Intercity league, against 9 year olds.... which we politely declined, and said to his coach "maybe next year". While Tristan's nickname may be "The Tank", as nothing gets passed him on the soccer pitch (he plays defense), he is only 7 and we worry that playing against bigger and maturer kids may be just a bit much.

- Zach finished his U6 soccer season (double phew). He had a great time, especially with the very muddy field! Zach also plays defense, but would from time to time surprise everyone and come from the back of the field to score a goal!

- Master Zorro, HIC, is now officially recognized as a herding dog. Grammy Carol, Orlagh, Zorro and I went off to Alfred, Ontario to herd some sheep one fine Saturday. I was so scared that Zorro would just not be into sheep, but boy did he surprise me. He was evaluated as being able to be a working dog, and we are just so proud of him! He demonstrated his herding technique on Zach one night recently, trying to get Zach back to the master herder (me)... it was quite funny, as they kept going around and around and around the couch, until I called off Zorro. He had medium eyes going btw!

- Jacob has grown over 3 1/2 inches since April! I have no idea what he has been eating, but he now looks like a bean pole with a mop of blond curly hair! He continues to be a wonderful mimic, and his vocabulary grows every day: he has now acquired the very important words such as "Stinker", "Stinky", "Poopster", etc. It still eludes him, however, to know when to go potty for number 2... hence the words referenced above.

- Kaitlynn has also grown just short of  2 inches since April! I guess its all that organic milk that I have been buying! Her glasses are working out just fine, but we still worry about her night time eye sight. She is waiting for an appointment with a bunch of PHD's at the Children's to have her retinal rods counted and to see if they are functioning. There seems to be two likely causes for this potential problem, and we are hoping that its the most simple problem which will only affect her night time vision. If its the other problem, then her sight will slowly degenerate. Keep your paws crossed for her! We are still waiting for speech therapy to start, but she continues to try out her "new" mouth: the other day she started making horse noises in the car! Her next visit for her cleft won't be till she is 4, when they will evaluate her orthodontic work requirements and whether teeth need to be pulled to allow room for her secondary teeth to come in.

- Tristan and Zach have both started the regular hockey season this weekend ( oh no! we just finished soccer!). Tristan, following two intense weeks of hockey camp with his brother, just wowed me on the ice with his side stopping and with his puck handling. I guess all those early mornings have paid off (but boy, am I tired!)! I am anxiously waiting to see what level of Novice he will make (A, B, or C)... won't know until late October. Zach continues to do his own thing on the ice, coming alive as defense when his team needs him, in MAGH-2... but he hasn't quite figured out that he won't get a pass if he isn't paying attention to the puck and the other players. I marvel at how his brain works - completely left brained, where I am right brained - and am in awe of my second son!

- Jacob and Kaitlynn both start activities this year! They will start maternelle figure skating lessons Sept 3 (while their older brothers will be doing power skating lessons on the other half of the rink). Jacob will be wearing Zach's old hockey skates, while Kaitlynn got her very first pair of pink figure skates! They are the cutest thing, and she took to walking in them like an old pro. Its still left to be seen how she will react to ice though! They will also both be taking a creative dance class on Saturday mornings.... that should be interesting to watch!

- Tristan starts Scouts this year too... did I mention that we only have 1 car now, so it will be an interesting challenge to get all this choreographed!

I leave you all with this photo... check out the clowns in the back!

I'm having a baby!

And its name is MBA! Scared you, didn't I?




I can finally let this cat out of the bag. I have applied and been accepted to do an executive MBA program at Athabasca University! We are so excited, its just like finding out we are pregnant again! The late nights, the early mornings, the juggling of responsibilities... well, you get the picture. The gestation period is longer than an elephants (22 months... and yes, I checked) - it will take about 2 1/2 years to complete, and I start this September.... along with my return to full time work, and the older boys at school in grade 1 and 2. We are completely nuts, or rather, I am completely nuts. But I really think this is the right thing to do for me at this time - I need the challenge, the network of interesting people I am going to meet, and the exercise for the brain. There are also other indications that I am on the right path, but I can't go into that right now as its all very hush, hush. Let's just say that when it rains, it pours around here!

Now, before you think that we are moving to Alberta, we aren't. The beauty of this program is its distance learning, and you do your courses and your work according to your schedule. There are lectures that you download, course work that you complete on your own, and then you have your thesis project to do and some final comprehensive exams to do also. No need to drive downtown, park and sit in a lecture hall... I can do it in my jammies if I want! DH finally gets to get his dream computer now that I need it for school - I wonder if that is tax deductible???

So that's my big news for today! WEEEEEEEEE..... look, Mom, no hands!

We're back!

What a crazy, crazy, crazy month this has been. We are just back from our very first family vacation to New Brunswick! We had a great time, staying in a chalet that we rented by the sea, swimming in the ocean, and doing "sorties". I think it might be best to do this with photos, so here we go!



Sunset in Riviere du Loup - this was the view from our balcony at a bity little motel that DH found. It was just lovely and a perfect way to start things off. They had a huge lawn in the back of the hotel for the kids to play on, with stunning views for the adults.


We started at the Acadian Village, in Caraquet. The kids loved it, especially the farms! Tristan was the most enamored with the whole Acadian feel, and would stop and ask as many questions as he could. Jacob loved the music, so we ended up buying a CD of Party Acadian music which was requested numerous times. I personally loved the molasses cookies, and couldn't get enough of them!


We stopped for lunch at a typical Acadian restaurant, in the Acadian Village. Everyone cleaned off their plate, and had dessert consisting of sugar pie and poutine au pain avec sucre brun... mmmmm!


We didn't always run around on sorties, we stopped and played at the chalet site too. Here are Zach and DH playing crocket together.


We also played catch. Check out Kaitlynn's pink glove! (Yes, I know... I am impossible!)


Day at the beach... what does Tristan do? Well, he immediately starts to build an aquaduc system. I think we have a civil engineer on our hands!


Playing on the beach. Oh, and that would be Tristan and Zach bringing water from the ocean to Tristan's aquaduc system.


Another one of our sorties: this one to Miscou Island, where the loneliest lighthouse resides. Its the farthest tip of NB and the lighthouse was built in 1816.


A brief stop at one of the marsh's on Miscou island. Kaitlynn was sleeping in the car with me!


Rainy day (the only one we had) involved a visit to the aquarium in Shappigan. The kids are at the touching part of the exhibit where they can touch any number of things that are found in the local waters, including a blue lobster (very rare).

On another day, we went to an eco park where we got to see the local birds up close. This one is a rare bird now, native to NB (can't remember the name), where they used to be many, many more but with the advent of colonization and man they have dwindled to very few.


The highlight of the eco park for the kids was the fishing. They actually caught a couple of fish!


Tristan proudly showing the fish and passing it around so everyone can hold it.

One of the beautiful sunsets from our chalet!

Our chalet is the orange topped one, second from the left. As you can see, we were almost right on the beach!


A very cold day at the beach does not mean we can't have fun. We went for a long walk and picked up neat-o rocks and shells and all sorts of treasures. The waves were extremely powerful that day, and the wind was so strong that it woke us up at 4 a.m. - I thought it was the ocean coming to swallow us up! It may have been the tail end of a hurricane, we thought.

This shot was done by DH... just lovely!

Hanging around!

It was an adventure, to say the least. I did not get much sleep, so I was extremely, shall we say, cranky and I could only focus on the negatives unfortunately. Thank goodness DH stayed positive. The roughest parts were putting the kids to bed (they didn't want too, especially Jacob) and the mornings, when they would get up at 6ish a.m. after having fallen asleep at 10:30 pm (the kids usually are in bed by 7:30 pm). The driving was surprisingly all right. We made numerous stops to run around, and when we would find a park we would jump out and play for a bit. It took us 9 hour and 40 minutes to get back, the first 5 hours 40 minutes out of NB to Riviere du Loup. Would we do it again? Definitely... but I need some sleep first! Maybe next year we will do mid-NB, around Bouctouche and day trips to PEI. Oh, and we watched the entire Lord of the Rings Trilogy... all 12 hours of it, one disk per night (the hobbits are off to Isengard, to Isengard, to Isengard!).

More later on the other fun we have been having, notably work related for me (its all good).

Soccer season, and this and that!

So soccer has begun this week... did I mention that hockey and swimming haven't finished yet... no, well, they haven't... this Saturday and next are every mother's nightmare schedule wise. Both boys have swimming and soccer at the same time, and Tristan has hockey on top of that... at the same time. Tristan's soccer coach, that he has had for 3 years now, says its time to make choices - as in, choose soccer or else. He did mention that he has to make recommendations for intercity players... no pressure, none whatsoever (I really mean that, but I think said coach was trying to apply pressure). So choices have been made, and swimming and hockey have won out this time... see told you, no pressure. I am zen about all this sports stuff - if its meant to be, its meant to be no matter what I try to "force". (I was once one of those parents with stars in her eyes, but I have been sitting in a freezing hockey arena and a freezing soccer pitch once too often now, and I just go to enjoy to watch my kids learn new and exciting things now).



Now, having said all this, Tristan did really well even though he didn't want to go (he believes that his whole world is hockey, and the NHL). By the time we got there, he was just bubbling with enthusiasm and he found his form and his friends. I was very pleased to see him at the front of the pack during the running warm up, while some 4 or 5 kids were obviously lagging waaaaayyyyy behind and struggling. It reassures me that I keep these boys active and in good health (as was confirmed by his pediatrican recently - she let out, by surprise, what good shape he is in, with a very athletic build). He is also very tall - he is playing on U-8, even though he is just turned 7 and is among the tallest in the team of 12 boys.

They start playing positions this year, which is rough but Tristan tried hard to follow his coach's direction even though he couldn't always hear what was said to him (those soccer parents just talking away... yes, I am one of them, so I can put us down). He played defense for his two rotations on the field, but wasn't too pleased about it, but he did manage to get a kick on goal which was stopped. Final score, 0-0 (phew!).

Warming up!
(Yes, I make him wear a hat that protects his beautiful face and head from sun exposure, and I am one of the only ones... one thing I strongly believe in, and the boys have learned not to argue the point with me).

That's one way to corral a bunch of 7-8 year old boys.

Listening intently... well at least 2 out of 5 are. That is William (baseball cap) and Ulysse (blondish kid), just a couple of Tristan's best buddies.

More on soccer with Zach when I can actually get him to a game! He is part of the orange team, by the way. On Zach, he is just bubbling today cause he gets to go to school in grade 1 with Tristan this morning - Zach will be in grade 1 come September, and they set up a visit of the school for the kids prior to the start. Tristan and Zach were just bouncing, bouncing, bouncing with glee and happiness at the thought of spending the morning together at school. Tristan said very proudly that he would be giving up his chair to Zach during class, but that he would stay close to Zach to help him understand how things work. What a great bunch of kids we have!

As for my weight, well I only lost 1.6 lbs this month, as I sort of let things go a bit but overall I have lost 17 1/2 inches all over (down 2 inches from last month). Back on the wagon this month!

Finally, I have been quiet cause I have a big decision to make about work seeing as I am supposed to return in early September. Thanks to Nathalie for our nice long chat and words of wisdom. I haven't sent my decision in yet to my boss, but I am getting to a point of acceptance about it. I thought this quote I stumbled across recently summed up things beautifully (Thucydides):

"The bravest are surely those who have the clearest vision of what is before them, glory and danger alike, and yet notwithstanding go out to meet it."

We have a Canadian in the house!

I was going to pace myself, really I was, but so much has happened that this just has to be a big post everyone.

First and foremost, you (and I) cannot believe what came in the mail today: Kaitlynn's Certificate of Citizenship! I applied on February 19th 2008, and here it is May 22 2008, a mere 3 months later and we have her citizenship card in hand!! We are just overjoyed and so excited that this came today, so unexpectedly (we received the form letter telling us it would take 13-15 months back in March!). Kaitlynn is now officially a Canadian Citizen... take a bow Kaitlynn!

Kaitlynn wearing her official Canadian team Olympic outfit, holding all the Beijing Olympic Mascots!

We celebrated two birthdays over the weekend: Kaitlynn and Tristan both have the same birthday, believe it or not (so does Zorro, for those dog lovers out there). First off, what a great birthday present to receive Kaitlynn's Citizenship Card. We got family pictures done with Grammy Carol (which I posted about all ready), and she got to have fun with the kids too! We did a dual theme: princesses for the girls, and hockey for the boys. Worked really well! Here are some choice moments:

Everyone gets their own cupcake to decorate, and I put a candle in each one that everyone gets to blow out.

For you picture takers out there, this is an amazing shot. I somehow managed to get Kaitlynn blowing out her candle... you can see the wisp of flame going out and you see Kaitlynn blowing! (more on the blowing below, for you parents considering adopting cleft affected kids)

I only like the candies and the icing! (She barely touched the cake)

My big boy Tristan who is now 7! Where does the time go?

Everyone around the table... yes, that is my 85% chocolate.
I can eat that type cause the sugar content is next to zero, and no I did not have any birthday cake! Did I mention that I have lost 24 lbs so far?

Now for the blowing: cleft affected kids cannot make a vacuum in their mouth when their palates are open. If you recall, Kaitlynn had her surgery back in February and she has healed nicely. The letters are coming out better now (we have nice n's and some p's coming), but creating that vacuum is hard when you are so used to being nasal. She tried and tried blowing into the party favour, which no outcome. Then I pinched her nose shut and ta-da, she blew through her mouth and got the thing to go out. Then miracles or miracles, she was able to create a vacuum again to blow out her candle. So that picture above with the candle going out is just amazing considering not 5 minutes before she could not do it, and then she could! She can now also drink from a straw (another vacuum thing). BRAVO Kaitlynn!

Going out on a limb

I went into work today for the first time in 6 months. Everyone was very happy to meet Kaitlynn and to see the changes in me. Yes, I still have straight hair and I have now lost 24 lbs! Kaitlynn won everyone over and they were all very surprised to see that she speaks fluently in french. I'm not 100% sure I should do this, but here is a pic of me and the family taken last weekend, as proof of how cute my kids are and that indeed my hair is straight (I kept saying to my mother that I couldn't believe I was having a great hair day, on the day of pictures!):


I had also promised earlier to talk about daycare... so here goes. We decided to split the daycare spot that Jacob currently holds into two part time spots. That way Jacob could spend two days a week with me, alone, and Kaitlynn could go and meet some new friends and socialize a bit more than she has been at home. This, my friends, was a stroke of genius! Jacob has been so much happier and more calm than I could possibly describe in words, while Kaitlynn who was languishing at home with no kids to play with during the day has just bubbled up with happiness. This has worked out nicely too, as it will be a slow transition for Kaitlynn into the daycare atmosphere and hopefully by August/September, she should be all ready for full time daycare when I go back to work.

I will post the pictures from the kids birthday parties... once I find the camera... I know its around here somewhere... yes, that would be kids, as Tristan and Kaitlynn (and Zorro) have the same birthday date (not year, obviously).