the kids' first flus

Our entire family just recovered from a powerful flu virus.  It started with Ruby, then Leo, then me (and my mom on the same night), and finally Ryan.  I can't remember having felt so bad in a long, long, long time.  It was the first flu bug for both kids and both were terrified of throwing up.  What a strange sensation it must be to experience nausea for the first time.  

With Ruby it came on slowly but suddenly, if that's possible.  She was fine for the first 30 minutes after waking up, but by breakfast time she became quiet and it was obvious something was very wrong.  She didn't know how to express her feelings but knew enough to tell us she was going to have to stay home from the Y that day.  

Leo's hit suddenly.  If it had been 15 minutes sooner, we would have had a horrible incident at the Superstore.  Thank God that didn't happen.  When he irrupted, a large bowl of noodles he had eaten for lunch was revealed and it just kept coming.  Poor guy.  He was completely shocked and weirded out.  That was the first of three pukes on had on me that day.  Leo's not so good with the bucket and the toilet for throwing up was out of the question.  

While the kids were back to themselves within 9 hours, the grown-ups took a little longer to recover.  We're bigger after all.  

Sweet Ruby napping during a 30 minute reprieve.  

We set up a bed here for Leo.  

Me and Leo before his next episode.  

Ironically, since Leo started at the Y, they've only had 2 days together due to all the absences!  Hopefully we have illness behind us for a few months and can look forward to a lovely Christmas with Family and Friends!  

I can't wait for Christmas this year!

Yippee! 

the end of an era (in kid time)

Leo is almost 29 months old.  That's 2 years and 5 months.  Today marks his first day as a big boy in full time daycare.  (Technically, he had a prelude at a small, private daycare for 5 days while his spot was cleared at the Y - which was a perfect introduction).  But today it is for real.

It was awesome!  Everyone was excited to get out the door this morning and I only had to stay for about 20 minutes before I made my great escape.  I called a few hours later to see how  he was doing and the report was totally positive.  He was doing great.  No tears.  Just pure curiosity.  He ate all of his lunch except for the mashed potatoes, which is exactly what I would expect.  Neither of my kids likes mashed potatoes.

If today represents an accurate portrayal of what most days will be like….. Hallelujia!!   I like having two kids in daycare!  I had the most amazing welcome when I got there to pick them up.  Nobody tried to run away when we got home.  The television wasn't turned on while I got supper ready.  They ate all their supper (mostly) at the table.  It was like a dream.  Let's see if we can do this again tomorrow, shall we!

This was the scene before leaving for the day.
Brushing teeth on the go… 

I wish I had had my camera out for the amazing greeting when I arrived to get them after work.  The kids had all just come in from playing outside and Ruby was putting on her indoor shoes….. Leo ran up to me and screamed "Mommy!  I had FUN!!!"   I tried to capture his enthusiasm when we got home.  

 Fingers crossed that tomorrow is just as good.
Cheers!

so surreal

I just attended my first meeting for my soon-to-be Kindergartener.  Well, technically Kindergarten is a whole 11 months away, but the 'how to get your kid prepared' meeting was held tonight.  It was kind of a waste of time in some respects… but it was nice to see all the moms that I already know and others that I will inevitably meet and know for many years as our kids grow up and attend school together.  I can hardly believe this is happening.

First of all, I went to that school!!  I started Bessborough in grade 2, when my family moved to NB from Ontario.  I remember my first teacher, Mrs. Steeves.  I remember all of my teachers quite vividly in fact and have several fond memories of that playground (the old version).   Today, thirty years later,  both of my kids love that playground and fondly refer to it as Bessborough School Park.

Where has the time gone?

No pictures to share but will find some Halloween shots soon.

better than Christmas

This weekend has proven to me, once and for all, that Thanksgiving is definitely better than Christmas. 

Here are five reasons why I think so: 

1.  The Weather. 

Fresh, cool and crisp in the morning.  Afternoon highs ranging from mid-teens to mid-twenties. Sweaters and jeans.  Brisk evening walks without the need for a shower afterwards.  The best.  

Annual after dinner walk.
 I really didn't need that toque.  It was beautiful outside!  

Same after dinner walk.... the sun was so bright it blinded us!  

2.  The Beauty 

What can possibly compare to clear blue skies with contrasting red, yellow, orange, and green trees?   It is truly a spectacle for the eyes and we are so fortunate to bare witness year after year.  People travel long distances in hopes of getting a glimpse.  We're surrounded by it for an entire month... or more.  I wish those beautiful leaves stayed up there all winter.  

Taking a break from catching leaves at Centennial Park.
They were falling out of the trees onto us!

3.  The pressure is off. 

At Thanksgiving, there's no pressure to give gifts.  The holiday is based on being thankful for the blessings in your life.  Uncomplicated.  Like.  

Ruby's gift to me was her making efforts to zip up her own coat!  

4.  No Snow pants or winter boots.   (need I say more?)

Hats, mitts and sneakers.   Done.  

5.  Turkey and Pumpkin Pie.

Pumpkin pie is my favourite dessert and I only get it once a year.  Another reason why it's my fave.

So, there you have it.  Another year of blessings and thankfulness.  

Happy Best Holiday of the Year Everyone!  

-L ox

songs

The other day, I took Leo to the park for, as he calls it, "a hike in the woods".   The term was coined by Ruby when she was his age so it's become a tradition and we use the term often.  It's actually more like a very slow meandering on a trail in a park that's somewhat wooded, but, in any case, as tradition would have it, before we even hit the trail out comes the tune...  "A hiking we will go".  Leo's become quite a little singer these days and often falls asleep singing.  Last night, he serenaded us with his version of "Frere Jacque"… for about an hour past his bedtime!   One day on the way to visit Papa and Nanlynn in Saint John he fell asleep in the middle of the Alphabet song.  I think he dozed off at QRS..... Fourty-five minutes later he woke up and mumbled "now I know my ABC's....  It was hilarious.  I love hearing him sing and hope that he continues his love of music and song forever and ever.  I personally, have been neglecting music as of late.  To assist in the matter, I brought my guitar upstairs and gave it a new home in the living room for anyone and everyone to play at their leisure.  The junk room is no place for such a beautiful instrument.

Here are some shots of what else we've been up to around here…

Miss Ruby out for dinner at our favourite - Calactus!  

Monkeying around!!  

On our little hike… getting ready to feed the squirrels. 

Close up with the squirrel.

Having a tea party in Grandma's tub. 

Riding a tractor at Sobey's.

someday….

                                                   …. a book by Alison Meghee and Peter H. Reynolds

One day I counted your fingers and kissed each one.
One day the first snowflakes fell, and I held you up and watched them melt on your baby skin.
One day we crossed the street, and you held my hand tight.
Then, you were my baby, and now you are my child.

Sometimes, when you sleep, I watch you dream, and I dream too…..
That someday you will dive into the cool, clear water of a lake.
Someday you will walk into a deep wood.
Someday your eyes will be filled with a joy so deep that they shine.
Someday you will run so fast and so far your heart will feel like fire.
Someday you will swing high - so high, higher than you ever dared to swing.
Someday you will hear something so sad that you will fold up with sorrow.
Someday you will call a song to the wind, and the wind will carry your song away.
Someday I will stand on this porch and watch your arms waving to me until I no longer see you.
Someday you will look at this house and wonder how something that feels so big can look so small.
Someday you will feel a small weight against your strong back.
Someday I will watch you brushing your child's hair.
Someday, a long time from now, you own hair will glow silver in the sun.
And when that day comes, love, you will remember me.

   ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~           ~ ~ ~ ~ ~            ~ ~ ~ ~ ~         ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~        ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~           ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

As I read these words to Ruby last night I was drawn to tears.  My emotion was palpable.  Her reaction to this was precious and a testament to how innocent and loving she is.  Through a shaky voice and teary eyes, I tried to continue.  Ruby pushed back, looked at me and said, "what's the matter mommy?"  what are you doing, crying?".  You could tell that she really didn't get it.  Why on earth did my mom break down in tears right now?  She was clearly perplexed but before I could answer she put her arm around me with a squeeze, kissed me so gently on the cheek and said, "it's ok mommy".  This of course brought on more tears and a little laughter as I tried to brush off my silly little breakdown.  Or, was it silly?  The words in that book touched me.  The truth is,  I find myself very often these days just trying to survive from one day to the next.  We've made it successfully though the parental death march of sippy cups and diapers, but we have so much further to go.  In that moment last night, I was reminded how important these early days are.  I want to make the most of them and not waste time being resentful for all the times I had wanted to go to the gym and couldn't.  All the runs and bike rides I missed.  For all the dates we didn't have.  All the places we couldn't go.  We're working on a very big project here and only get one kick at the can.  This isn't a dress rehearsal after all.  When Ruby sits down on her porch someday, wearing a pink scarf with the wind blowing her silver hair, how will she remember me?  

Happy Birthday my love.
You make me very proud.
I hope to return the favour.
ox

park it!

It's official - our kids like to park it.  And, now that they're getting older, taking them to parks is less stressful on the adults than it used to be, so we go a lot.  Almost every weekend, in fact.  You might say we're kind of on a mission to find new, awesome parks.  

The new park at Magnetic Hill Zoo is the best park in town, without a doubt.  Besides the fact that it costs $28 to get into the zoo to use the park, it's a very fun experience for everyone.   Technically, it's a bit advanced for Leo, but he did great.  No fear.  He's a climber and loves the big slides.  I love watching their faces on the way down.  So proud.  So happy.  

There are surprisingly a lot of pretty great parks around here and I guess we better suck up all the parking we can before, dare I say…. winter arrives.  

No.. winter's not coming for a long, long, long time.  We have quite a bit more parks to find before hanging up our sneakers.  I look forward to the next trip.  

the final days…. of summer?

Does it seem to anyone else that as soon as the calendar flipped from July to August the weather turned cool and poof - summer was over?  We've had a few warm days here and there, but seriously… August has been crap.   Mental note - ALWAYS take vacation in June or July.  

Even though the weather hasn't been very summery, the Grants have been soaking up what's left of the summer vibe, or trying to at least.  In between all the cranky-waking-up-too-earlies and the cranky-I-refuse-to-eat-anything-but-lollipops….. we try to keep busy.  (Yes, there seems to be a cranky theme going on here.  I won't dwell on it.  I'm praying that it's just a phase and I'll make it out alive.)

On a positive note, Ruby's really enjoying her new daycare at the YMCA.  The staff and program is super and she's exhausted every day when I pick her up.  Some days she tells me I should have come earlier but other days she tells me I should wait until after gym to pick her up!  Go figure.  Will I ever get it right?  

Leo seems to have adjusted to his glasses at this point.  He's pretty good at wearing them but a pattern has developed when he gets, you guessed it, cranky.  When the crankies arrive, Leo pulls the glasses off.  He's done.  I think it's his way of telling us he is in control and we have none.  Little does he know that we basically feel out of control 80% of the time.  

At least we are in control of taking pictures…. so here's a glimpse of what we've been up to lately…. 

Ruby got her face painted at Crystal Palace.

Camping at Fundy.   Leo is LOVING his milk. 

Hike at Fundy Park

Playing at a random park.  I have no clue where… it's hard to keep track. 

We go to a LOT of parks… a new one every weekend.

This is our local hang-out.  Bessborough School Park.  

Ryan's birthday dinner in Sackville. 

Water fight.

Ryan's birthday dinner and family gathering. 

We are "considering" going camping one more time before the cold weather sets in.  Are we crazy?  Yes.  But I think you basically have to be crazy to have kids at our age.  I, for one,  admit that I am insane.  Probably always have been but I think the kids made it worse.  Just sayin'. 

Good night.  :)

summer is fun

You haven't heard from me in a while (again!!) but I'm finally here to report on the Grant's recent inaugural 5-night camping trip.  At a campground.  In a tent.  Four people in one tent.  Five days and five nights.  Three meals (and snacks) per day.  Yes… we did.

We packed the minivan, quite literally to capacity and headed over the big bridge to PEI for a fun-filled week tenting with friends.  Twin Shores campground here we come!

There - Full to capacity.  Organized and jam packed.

Back - Leo slept for the entire drive home.
Van is still full but quite unorganized. 

The weather during the week was perfect.  Once Ryan and I realized that camping bedtime was inevitably going to be much later than regular bedtime, the rest of it was perfect too.  Well... maybe perfect is too strong a word.  Manageable. Tolerable.  Fun.  Not bad.  All of these words work for me.

Chilling out on our first night. 

Leo and his best girlfriend, Sunny.  

First campfire of the season.  What a feeling. 

First roasted marshmallow of his life!  Wow.  History is made. 

The girls playing some kind of game with their feet.  

Ruby and Leo in a quite moment…. it was sweet.
(Did anyone notice he's wearing two hats?)

Distracted troops while the adults made supper. 

In true Leo style, our little guy woke up at 5:30 a.m. on the first morning there.  That was after just getting to sleep at 10 p.m. the night before.   The second day was better.  If I recall, it was 5:40 a.m.  The third day was MUCH better - a beautiful 6:30 a.m. start!   Our champ Ruby slept-in nicely every morning and I was the lucky one who got to sleep with her after Ryan fled the campground with Leo every morning as to not wake the rest of the many campers.  They drove to a nearby town every morning for breakfast, playgrounds, and even some vehicle maintenance.  Looking back, I think Ryan will always remember it as quite a nice bonding time with his little boy.  Right Ryan?

We really did have fun and having two other families with us made it even more awesome.  It was touch and go at times…. for example, by day two both kids were asking if it was another beach day... to which I replied "hell ya!".  (not really, I was thinking 'hell ya' but I actually probably said something gentle like, 'hm... you had fun at the beach yesterday, didn't you?'..... then I changed the subject and tricked them into going to the beach a couple hours later.)  In retrospect, the beach vacation was more for Ryan and I.  We've always loved the beach but the kids will need some more brainwashing... I mean maturity, before they grow to love the beach as much as their folks do.  In their defense, the water was much cooler than it is in NB.  I didn't even dunk and frolic once, which is strange for me.  I was planning on sneaking in a bit of swim training for the triathlon I intend to do later in August. The water was just too cold and I am just too wimpy for that nonsense.  I did manage to steal away for a run on the beach with Katherine and my new best dog friend Finnegan, which was definitely a highlight of the trip.

Among some other highlights was Ruby's swimming for the first time ever!  I will never forget the moment that she realized she wasn't touching hands or feet.  So proud.  Both of us.

Our spot for five days!  Perfect. 

By beautiful boy.  

Ruby surfing and swimming!

I got several nice shots like this.  Nice.

With the van maxed out we didn't have room for our bikes.  That's a definite must for next year.


Can't wait!  It was so much fun we're doing it again.

I LOVE SUMMER!! SUMMER IS FUN!!

dear Leo, happy belated birthday my love

It's difficult to put into words just how much we love you, Leo.
I guess putting 'love' into words is just plain difficult so I'll try to capture some of the ways that you brighten my days and make each one special in some way...

You are a great hugger.  I hope you never stop hugging me... even when you're all grown up.  On graduation night, on prom night, after a big game... and in front of your friends.

I love it when you call me 'mom'.

You are a terrific shopping partner.  Sometimes I take you out just to pass time.   I enjoy watching you flirt with the ladies and it gives me pleasure to see how much joy you bring to random strangers with your friendly smile and sweet 'hello'.  Those dimples are going to take you very far young man.

You are almost potty trained.  Keep it up.

You're doing a great job wearing your glasses and I'm so proud of  you.  I know it must be a huge adjustment for someone so small.  I hope you don't get too many Skittles or Smarties as a result.

You are the most polite little young man I have ever come across and I thank you for that.  It makes me feel like I've done something right.

I could go on and on, but last, I want to tell you how much I adore you and look forward to growing up with you by my side.  You're a good friend.

Your second birthday was amazing.  You were, as usual, a perfect gentlemen and everyone had a terrific time.

Happy Birthday my Love.
-oxoxoxox mom.

these pictures are slightly out of order, but here you go….

Just like Dad. 

Helping me water the plants. 

Birthday Fire Truck Driver

His party with Papa and Nanlynn

Happy Canada Day 2014

Cutest bum on the planet. 

Canada Day pool time. 

Loving the sprinkler fun. 

Glasses.  Lollipop.  

First beach weekend of the year.