Here he is....

I know, I know... I'm a bad mom. I should have posted these the day we got him, but things have been crazy. With the shuttle launch postponed, I have time now to update everyone.

Thanks to everyone for your name suggestions... but he picked his own name and its... Zeus. He immediately responded to that one the first time, and from that point on it was his.

He is a doll... or should I say a carpet, as DH had requested. He is so calm and gentle.. perfect Berner mentality. He was house broken in 12 hours (!) (sorry Nat), he knows to chew on his toys and not on other stuff except for 2 mistakes. I get to come home every lunch now to let him outside, which is such a nice break from the crazy life I lead. He and Zorro are inseparable, and I must say Zorro seems much happier now that he has a playmate - he is quite the big brother, showing the little one the ropes like: see, that kid right there on the street, he's our neighbor and I like to bark at him... so come and bark with me and lets see how long it takes Mom to stay "Stop it!"... bark, bark, bark X2 (with the little one not quite sure what that sound is coming out of his month). Hilarious!

Lots more to write, but I will start slowly!

Space Princess

Yes, folks.. I'm temporarily back from outer space. Things have been beyond crazy around here - between school for me, school for the kids, the Mission, activities for kids... well you all get the picture, there's been no time for blogging.

MBA is going great. I'm about to finish my third course, and right now my average is an A. I hope with this course, Human Resource Management, that I will be in the top of my class! I'm hoping to get a scholarship to defray some of the costs for school, so I am working very hard... and so is hubby, taking care of the house and the kids, letting me do homework and assignments.

The Mission is a space based mission aboard the space station. We have been training, producing documents (last count was 85), testing and retesting, and operating aboard the station. I am working shifts too, which is hard on everybody. It will all be worth it if this can help Parkinson's patience and people suffering from vestibular problems.




Tristan has had a rough year. Between school and the constant challenge to concentrate, hockey goalie on the B team even though he was told he would make A, a major infection in his leg that required his hospitalization... well, its been tough. On a brighter note, he got recruited into a AAA hockey team representing the entire South Shore - one of only 2 kids from our city! He also got recruited for intercity soccer - the same week! So he is playing majorly competitive sports in two areas, which is an adjustment for all of us as we are in this for the fun of it while other kids parents are fighting to get their kids more ice time or more field time.


Zachary is growing so fast, that he has almost caught up to Tristan. They are wearing about the same size pants now. Zach continues to be just bouncy with happiness, and loves grade 1 and homework. He did his first figure skating presentation this year, and played MAGH-2 level hockey. He is anxiously awaiting the start of the local soccer season!



Jacob continues to be our Munsch. He skipped terrible 2's and saved it all up for horrific 4's. Things have got to be his way, exactly, or else... well, you don't want to know. He continues to be our little blond boy, with a 'tude, who is growing nicely into his pants - he is finally wearing size 4, but the waist continues to be a challenge for this slight boy. He started figure skating lessons this year, and we finally understand why penguins run with their flippers behind them: balance. That is exactly how Jacob skates - full out, fast, with arms behind him he looks exactly like a penguin!





Kaitlynn is quite the young lady, with a tomboy 'tude. She has grown so much in the past year, its amazing. She has lost all her baby fat and she is quite lean and long. Her hair is beautiful and long and thick - Daddy has gotten quite good at doing ponytails now. She and Jacob are following gymnastic classes, and while she is all in pink she is no princess pushover! She also took figure skating lessons this winter, and she glides and goes at her own pace. She is quite comfortable on the ice.. who would have thought, given how scared she was to slip on the ice during her first winter here. She is going to be 4 real soon!


That's it for now!

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."

Firsts

This has been a week of firsts. Without any further waiting, here they are:

First Summer Dress, with First Dolly in hand (dolly's name is Fira, with butterfly wings and purple hair...umm, she's updside down). This dolly means a lot, because its the first toy she has ever picked out for herself . Also, in swimming lessons (which she is doing really well in) she piped up that she was a butterfly in the water (Regarde maman, je suis un papillon!).

Our Zorro, after his first visit to the groomers.
He positively shines and his fur is all fluffed up... boy, did he need a bath!

First ponytail! Yup, and its a good size one too!!!

Miss K all smiles with her first ponytail.
Nope, I didn't hurt her at all while pulling and tugging everything in.

Tristan waiting for his first big game as a goalie (he's the one on the left). I love this shot... it makes me want to go and get it blown up - the colours, and the various stages of readiness of all the kids.
Boys being boys.

There he is... first game as goalie. It was rough one, but he loved every second of it. They lost (16-3), but this team has the best team spirit. After the second game (which they lost also, but Tristan held the score in the third period 3-3 with two amazing saves, that got the director of the program's attention... he came and talked to me and Tristan after the game, to encourage him and give him some pointers), the kids were all so happy with Tristan's work that they all swarmed him and jumped him. Tristan came out from the swirl of kids and sticks and mitts with the biggest grin on his face. Could he have found his spot?

Postscript:
Forgot to mention that Tristan is playing in a league of high performers. So for those in the know, he is playing against up to 9 year olds who played Novice A, AA, and AAA's! I would like to mention that Tristan just finished MAGH-2 (level below Novice), and he is 6! For those not in the know, next season, he has to try out for Novice and usually his age and experience means he will be in Novice B or C. Double and triple letters are considered Elite levels, btw.

Spring Hockey Season

Silly us... no really, silly us... sign up our eldest son for spring hockey season so that he can be with his friends and continue to play hockey some more. Now, he doesn't want to play forward or defense... no, of course not... he wants to play in goals this time. Now, he started playing goalie last summer in a camp for goalies. By the end of the week, he was completely burnt out and didn't ask after that to be a goalie. We thought he was cured. But no, he isn't.

So the last piece of equipment he needed was a goalie helmet (he played with a player's helmet last year, which worked just fine) because this is the real deal: he will be playing with kids aged 7-9 year olds so he needs his head properly protected. Now price is no object when we talk about protecting the head of my dear son... but really now, HOLY COW is it expensive! We go out to the local store to buy his helmet: choices range from black or white (cheapest, at $180... before taxes) to painted Superheroes (most expensive, at $260). Then we see this beauty, priced in the middle... and the rest is history:

Tristan's first goalie helmet

Side view (its a painted goalie)

I think he would sleep with the helmet, if we let him...

The boys enjoying the start of the play-offs together... the testosterone, popcorn smell in the air was very strong... I left the room very quickly after taking the picture, so as to not damped the male bonding :o)

His first game is on Sunday, with the Blue Jackets of St-Hubert. His style is a butterfly goalie (a la Patrick Roy) and I am hoping that the kids won't pick up too fast that they can get the puck in high on him. Keep your fingers crossed that he doesn't get beat up to bad by the damn puck, and has a good time! At least his helmet will scare the pucks away (at least that is what everyone said at the store as he walked out with his helmet in his hands).

Oh... and this is not the end of it. He only wants to go to hockey camp in the summer - currently, he has three weeks of hockey camp (two with Canlan and one with the McGill Redmen, my alma mater!). We had to do all sorts of convincing to get him to agree to 1 week of circus camp and one partial week of "Plein Air" camp (learning how to camp outdoors, along with a 1-day kayaking trip!). Boy, this is a rough crowd... there is more to life than hockey, you know... no really, its true (blasphemy to be saying these words right now considering we are in the midst of hockey play offs and we live in a hockey town!).

What a week...

No, I haven't dropped off the face of the earth yet, but boy what a week! Let's see how it started:

Yes, that's right it was my birthday on Saturday... I am now 14 years old, according to Zach, which makes me very old now (your almost 12 Maman.. then you will be old!). I have made some subtle changes in my appearance (which I continue to work at)... now, I have no make up on and I was rather tired, but for those of you who haven't seen me in a while, I guess I will post this pic of me at my party:




Yes, that's right... my hair is now straight. It takes me about 1 hour to do it, but I have managed to keep it going this way for a bit now. I have also lost 14.2 lbs, and I will continue to work at that for sure (that cake in front of me is an expresso/vanilla cheesecake that my hubby made me from scratch that is on my diet, cause there is no sugar nor carbs in it... what an awesome man I have). I have been consistently working out 3 to 4 times per week for about 2 1/2 hrs per day trying to get all that "pre-toddler" weight off (those chocolate covered almonds prior to LOA/TA really did me in!). I only have another 55 lbs to lose, but I will be happy with 25 lbs in the next 6 months (I'm one of those people that loses 1 lb a week no matter what I do and no matter how hard I work out... very frustrating, but at least I know that I can lose this weight if I stick to the plan).



Everyone in the East experienced this wonderful last snowstorm that dumped more snow onto us. We spent the better part of Sunday digging out the driveway.. when I say "we" I mean all 6 of us. Why else have kids, but to help dig out from a massive snow storm? (said tongue in cheek of course). This is a pic of our backyard. That is a four foot fence around our inground pool. Needless to say that the kids are not allowed to go out back now. We were also worried about the dog "jumping" the fence, but I guess he still sees it as a barrier.



(Sorry, I hope I haven't offended anyone with this joke... but I typed in "hearing test" for an image search and this came up and just cracked me me).

Kaitlynn went for her hearing test, and great news: the tubes make a big difference. She was rated at 40 dB, and she is now in the normal spectrum of 15 dB. There was 1 funky sound at the end which she didn't react too, but supposedly it was a such a weird noise that most 2 year olds don't get it.... who would have thought?

Mollusks are not in my near future: finally, after 25 years of waiting, its looking more and more like I am allergic to mollusks only, but not fish nor crustaceans. I had another skin test this week, and while I thought I was going to toss my cookies again, only my skin started to itch when he put the scallop on my arm (yes, that's right the doctor put a piece of scallop on my arm). The test was not a conclusive "yes, you are allergic" but the next step is to have a blood test done where they put actual scallops in my drawn blood to see what it does... who would have thought that is how you get a definitive answer? DH is excited... he wants me to eat sushi with him. That is going to take a while to get too, me thinks.



Then, Jacob had his first dentist appointment and was a real champ. He got to hold all the instruments and help the dentist do his thing. I completely forgot that he needed to have preventative antibiotics (he has a PDA, or in lay terms, a small hole in his heart) before he had his teeth cleaned... so afterwards, we ran to the pharmacy to only wait about 30 minutes to get two pills into him (the pharmacist didn't believe me when I told her he weighed 28 lbs... I had to go and get him out of the car with DH and Kaitlynn waiting, and bring him in to weigh him. At least the pharmacist apologized for doubting me - I know two things about my kids at all times: their weight and their shoe size. Crazy I know, but I can't tell you how many times I am at a store thinking I need to get this one shoes or boots, and I need their shoe size; the same goes for weight, as all medication is done by weight... well at least in our household it is, since my kids are above average or below average size for their ages).



Today saw the end of hockey season for the two older boys. Zach played against St-Hubert (no score... just for fun), and Tristan's team played against the parents. I got on the ice, and shocked a lot of people, shall we say, when they realized that I was no push over when it comes to skating (I initially was the only Mom on the ice, and was later joined by another Mom, among a sea of Dad's). The coaches had the parents do the warm up exercises, while the kids watched... I don't think they realized that I could do it and do it well - I had the coaches attention shall we say. I got a goal during the game, much to my surprise, and I got to face off with my kid a couple of times. I also played defense to Tristan's offensive plays a couple of times and gave him a run for his money. He has a lot more respect for me now that he realizes we can play together, I think. Now, I am not going to toot my own horn here, but it was quite the feeling walking into the arena with my bag of gear on my shoulder, my borrowed hockey stick in hand, watching the mens' reactions to my approach. My DH believed it ran along the lines of: "Oh man... she's good looking and she plays hockey... mama mia!" Tee hee... its nice to know that I can have that effect on some people even at the ripe old age of 14.

Coming together

I haven't dropped off the face of the earth yet, I'm still here. It has been another crazy week, most notably we got "The Call" for Kaitlynn's surgery. They offered us one of two dates: Feb 22 or Feb 26. Go ahead, go look at your calender... back yet... yup, that's right, next week! Oh, did I mention that DH is out of town all next week? No... guess when he gets back? Go ahead... I'm sure you can figure it out, seeing as everything we do seems to come to the same point in time, even though they are mutually exclusive events. Yup, Feb 22... at night. So forget Feb 22. We agreed to Feb 26, which unfortunately means that DH needs to take 3 full days off work to look after the kids, while I am at the hospital with the K. Oh, did I mention that DH only has 4 days of holiday left? And the week after K's surgery is spring break for the kids... me, 4 kids, alone... for one week... with one kid recovering from surgery. Niiiiiiiiiice.

The fun doesn't stop there. I realized that K's vaccination appointment was the 29th, so desperately call the ped's to move up the appointment to make sure she is properly vaccinated before she goes into the hospital. They gave me Feb 20th, at 8:45 am. Ok, I can do that, the school bus comes at 8:04, walk Tristan to school by 8:15, in the car and ... oh, shoot, forgot, I am alone... means Jacob has to come along for the fun. Oh, that's all right we'll manage just fine - we will just make sure he is in another room while his sister gets 4 different limbs punctured (we want to make sure that Jacob doesn't go after the doctor, don't we?). DH calls the hospital to find out about the pre-op appointment. When is it? Yup, you guessed it, Feb 20th at 10 am... only day they do pre-op appointments. All right then, get to Taschereau by 8:45 am, hopefully get out out no later than 9:30 am, and boot it downtown for 10 am (praying that the bridges are clear and that there is no snow storm that day). Did I mention I have Jacob along for the fun? Should just be a hoot!

So, back to my original question: why does everything have to happen all at the same time?

So get this...

After two visits to the pediatrician, one visit to the clinic, then a rush to the Children's hospital to see the surgeon, we finally get confirmation that Tristan's foot is fine - whatever we have been doing, with the soaking and the oral and topical antibiotics has worked to clear up the infection. So no surgery finally! Can you believe this?! At least our ped's admitted that she just didn't know but she didn't want to take any chances. Now we wait the 7 more days of treatment and then we go see a dermatologist (anyone know of any good ones on the South Shore?) to make sure that the damn wart that started this whole story is gone. Oh, and Tristan and DH got fast tracked at the hospital for some reason, so almost no wait time and no triage - they were in and out in about 2 hrs.

When I get up enough nerve, I'll take a picture of his heel and post it... so you can all go "UGGHHHHH.... that's disgusting!" (Which btw is Tristan's favorite line now "Maman, c'est disgusting"). You know... I should have finished my studies in pre-med and become a pediatrician... it would have saved a lot of heart ache this week!

Update on Tristan

He is at the Children's Hospital now with DH... he has to have his heel cleaned up by a surgeon, even though we have been taking very good care of his foot and it looks a bit better (more white than red now), but there is a lot of dead skin to remove. More later... did I say Joy...

Well, there you go

Happy Year of the rat to everyone!

I didn't post anything right way, cause things were a bit murky. Now that I have spoken to the audiologist, I can speak more intelligently about Kaitlynn's ENT appointment yesterday. (I should mention that yesterday was a day from ... well you know... Jacob had a fever and a terrible cough, Tristan's wart is infected and needs immediate attention, Kaitlynn needed to go to Children's in the morning... and all this with 1 car - we pulled it off, but Dh had to take the day off to make it so). Kaitlynn's audiology test was not what I expected - she has no movement in her tympanic membrane and she has problems hearing in the high frequency range. Normal hearing is rated between 0-20 dB, whereas Kaitlynn is at 40 dB. To give you an idea, go underwater and try to listen to someone speaking to you... that is what she hears. (As a reference point, Tristan has 20 dB is his right ear, and 35 dB in his left). Needless to say, I was shocked given that she is speaking so much... I've lost count on how many words she knows. Tristan at this age and with his hearing wasn't speaking at all! So what happens now you ask? She will have tubes installed when they repair the cleft. She will then be tested 2 weeks later to see what she is hearing. She will probably have to have the tube surgery a few times, as they tend to drop out every 6 months or so. (BTW, this is quite common with clefts). Joy....

Tristan's foot is very, very, very infected. He is at home for the next two days so I can keep cleaning it and putting cream on it, and giving him his antibiotics like clockwork, and to make sure he doesn't walk on it too much. If its not better by tomorrow, we are off to the Children's so that he can have surgery to clean it up. Joy...

Jacob had a terrible fever on Tuesday night, with a horrible cough. Not usually bad, except for his preemie lungs which are always a worry to me. We started him on the pumps, but they take 48 hrs to take effect. So he came to bed with me, and watched the news for a bit until the meds took effect on his fever. While watching the news, a couple of women on the news clip walked by dressed in heejabs. Jacob, better known as Munch, pipes up with "Is that Irak?".... ummmm.... no, its not... "Oh Good, cause I don't like Irak.".... ummm why honey? "Because there is war there and its not a good place to be right now". ohhhhhhh..... Now, I ask you how does he know about Irak? How does he know anything about heejabs? HE'S THREE (barely)! We have no idea how he has processed this information - we watched the news in English, he only speaks French. He had a fever, was red as a tomato and he is talking to me about Irak! Oh my, are we in trouble.... Joy....

I'm backkkkkkk

A bit of catching up to do, I would say. First off, I'm better - the stitches come out in 2 weeks so I still can't smile nor laugh otherwise it pulls my whole cheek and causes the most uncomfortable feeling... but at least it is holding. I just heard that a friend of mine went through the same thing, but it ended in disaster when the stitches came out on their own three days later and the skin graft fell off!

Now onto pleasant things. I completely forgot to mention we had a great New Year's with our friends Sandra and Fred and their kids, Lily and Noah!


Isn't Lily just beautiful in her Chinese silk outfit! I of course forgot to put Kaitlynn in hers. The kids had mac and cheese, and the guys went all the way out to St-Lambert to get us Szechuan take out! Then we played Cranium for the first time, and we had a blast! Great way to bring in 2008.

Now, onto the festivities for Jacob's third birthday. The theme as you will see was Cars... all the way. The boy would watch the movie three or four times a day if we let him. The first words I hear from him in the morning, is "PISTON CUUUUUUPPPPPP"... I have no idea why, but he just loves the sound of it... but I digress. I made it through the day without one tear, so I think that is progress. DH had one or two moments, with flash backs, but he held up all right too.

the table before the activities

The kids decorating their own cupcakes

My three big boys, 6 1/2, 5 1/2, and 3!

Oh my... its.... CARS!!!!
(Its a carrying case for all his Cars' cars.)

I can't get the cake in fast enough so I will stuff it in!

Wants some? Its really good... honest, I just took a couple of bites.

Kaitlynn with her confection... she only likes the icing and the candies... for now.

I also just heard that a great friend of mine is getting married in March... I am just tickled pink for her and just plain HAPPY, HAPPY, HAPPY! I wish you the best wedding day, dear Rosie, and the best marriage - may it make you happy for a lifetime, and beyond that, 'cause you deserve it girlfriend!

Bob... the cutie patutie from Biggest Loser... (Check out the cool tatts, Pat!)

Finally, I am back on my healthy living plan - diet is a four letter word around here - and so I will be making some small changes on the blog to highlight this. The adoption community is changing, and it is quite frankly angry in a lot of places due to The Wait and the lack of information flow, and quite frankly the lack of having their child in their arms. I don't blame them for a second, and I am angry too about it... I just don't understand why so many kids and so many parents have to go unmatched, its just beyond me. I need some positive vibes going on, so I am going to look for some inspirational stuff to link too now. Hopefully this will help those that are still waiting for their angels to come see something different and positive.

Latest pics

Really late for work but I wanted to post these (Grandparents, don't worry I have copies for you that I will be sending along in the mail). Isn't he just gorgeous, our little angel, aka Munch?!

Chocolate factory x2

As promised, here are some more pics from the Z's bday party at Heyez Chocolaterie:

K, this is really interesting, but when can I eat some chocolate!

Mayan Chocolate God!

Don't you just want to put your mouth under
that stream of chocolate and
eat it all up!

Here are all the chocolate molds done!

Everyone walked out with a

beautiful mouse chocolate!

We had a wonderful time - the party started at 3:30 pm, and we got out at 5ish. We then went to our house for some burn-off-the-sugar time, ate some sandwiches and chips and decorated cupcakes and opened presents. We then sent everyone outside to play - we had such a great time that most people only left at 7:30 pm, when we thought it would be done by 6 pm. Parents showed up and stayed to talk and watch their kids play together. Even some neighbourhood kids came out and played with us. It was a whole lot of fun, and I think this goes down as a great success. The kids learned where chocolate comes from and they learned how to make a mold, and they got to eat as much chocolate as they wanted.

I highly, highly recommend Heyez for this type of activity: they are very well organized, the pace was just right for a bunch of 5 year olds, and the chocolate was devine. All the kids got to walk out with a beautiful chocolate mold that they made all on their own. Heyez is booked until December for this type of activity, so if you are planning on a party for next year, better start calling and reserve now (ask for Annie)!