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three for them, some for him, one for me

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Me: “Hey, Munchkin! Look!  I put the new calendar up.”
M: “Is it September already?”
Me: “Yep.”
M: “And there’s where I start school.” (pointing to the 7th)
Me: “How many days?”

Munchkin counts the days and I have to explain that you don’t count today and her final answer: “6!”

It was an excited “6!”

I’m excited that she’s excited.  It’s still so hard to believe that my little girl is going into Grade 1. 

Back to school also means back to swimming lessons, choir practices, Home and School meetings, youth group…back to our routine.

This year I’m throwing a few new things in the mix… Sparks and another choir practice.

I signed Munchkin up for Sparks.  For those who aren’t familiar with Girl Guides, Sparks is the branch for girls who are 5 and 6 years old.  Munchkin doesn’t quiet understand why I’m so excited for her, but I hope she loves it as much as I did.

My life in Guides spans 12 years.  I started Brownies when I was 6 (they didn’t have Sparks back then) and I worked my way through Girl Guides, Pathfinders and ended as a Ranger when I was 18.  Between the events with my troops (winter camping, hiking, volunteer work, etc) and my summers at Doe Lake Girl Guide camp, I have so many fond memories and amazing experiences that helped to make me who I am today. This is my hope for Munchkin, and one day Peanut.

Waterfront In Trainting (WITs) July 1992

Now the other choir practice is for me.  Yep.  I’m joining the choir at church. Finally.  I’ve been singing since I was little. Starting in junior choir at church, then at elementary school, high school and senior choir at church.  But that was the church I grew up in.  Since then, I’ve gone to university in Peterborough, move to Toronto, moved to Brampton, moved to Oakville. BigDaddy and I never really settled in a church. Until now. We’ve been at our church for 3 years now and we really love it.  With the kids older and more dependent and our schedules are finally becoming more regular, it’s time for me to do something for myself.  So starting sometime in September (probably within the first 2 weeks), a few hours every Thursday night will be mine.  I’m really looking forward to this.

There are activities every night of the week! 

After hearing so much about kids being over-scheduled, I started to worry about what I’m doing to the girls.  But I’m not doing anything.  They are going to a few activities that they enjoy.  As they grow and become more involved, I want them to make a good, well-rounded group of friends.  Long term goal is to keep them out of trouble.  If they have a good support network, there is no need to go elsewhere. Who knows what they’d find?!?  I could make a few educated guesses but lets keep this positive.

So there you have it…one crazy, full schedule of fun and friends!  And hopefully lots to blog about!

great long weekend with a few bumps and bruises

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We had a great weekend!  Munchkin? Maybe not so much….but she’s one tough cookie.

We got invited up to a friend’s cottage for the weekend.  BigDaddy and I had gone to the cottage many times in the past, but for one reason or another, we hadn’t had been in touch with our friend, Sheri.  Through the magic of Facebook we reconnected and found ourselves at the cottage.

It was the famous “Chemongadong” weekend where family and friends invade the cottage for the weekend with lots of fun, laughs and booze. We brought our trailer and camped outside as there were to be 20 plus people including kids.  That’s a lot of people to try to sleep in one cottage.

campter

I took the afternoon off on Friday so that we could try to get up to the cottage without being stuck in a lot of traffic. No such luck. Westbound 401 through Durham region was bumper to bumper.  Once we hit the 115 we were flying.  After a quick dinner in Peterborough we landed at the cottage around 6 and were all set up within the hour.  The girls had already made friends and were off playing.  Our evening was spent mingling with Sheri’s brother and friend, Andrew. Sheri didn’t arrive until 10:30pm, just in time for us to say good night and head to the trailer. The girls crashed immediately and were out for the night.

eyeSaturday morning we awoke to find Munchkin’s eye all puffed up. With the kids being in and out of the forest yesterday we chalked it up to some allergy, gave her a bit of Benedryl and sent her on her way playing again.

We had a leisurely morning with a big bacon-and-egg breakfast. The kids headed off to the lake with Andrew to play in the sand and fish off the dock.

Munchkin had no intention what so ever of leaving so we left her with Andrew while BigDaddy, Peanut and I headed into Peterborough to check out the Farmer’s Market and Costco. When we got back, Munchkin slipped on the deck and fell. She scraped and bruised both legs and her arm in 2 places. A quick clean up and a band aid and she was off and running again.

The kids wanting to play at the water, put their bathing suits on and that’s when we noticed the perfectly round welts on Munchkin’s leg and ankle. They had been under her shorts. So the swelling of her eye and now the ones on her legs must have been caused by a bug bite of some sort. They weren’t bugging her (no pun intended) so we left them alone.

A nice long afternoon at the dock with snacks and drinks was followed by dinner and campfire. The kids roasted marshmallows and as the sun went down the tunes went up. It was awesome. Great conversation and lots of laughs.  Around 11pm we headed to bed, and again, the kids crashed.

Sunday morning we had yet another awesome eggs and bacon breakfast. While we were cleaning up, the kids went outside to play on the swing set. Next thing I know, Munchkin is crying. One of the kids had started swinging and twisting and kicked her in the leg.  Yep, another scrape and bruise.  She just could not catch a break.

Then came the Chemongadong Minute to Win It challenge. We played a bunch of games and had lots of fun.

One of the events was Sandcastle building. We didn’t win, but we had a lot of fun trying.

When things slowed down, BigDaddy and I packed up the trailer and made sure we were already to go.  This way we could just relax for the afternoon and leave after dinner. Sheri and Sue got back from shopping and we all headed down to the dock to sit and relax.  It was a beautiful day.

Andrew was helping the kids fish off the dock when Tyler caught a fish. Tyler wanted to throw it back in, but when Andrew went to hand it to him, the fish ended up flopping all over the dock.  Rachel freaked out and ended up sitting on my lap. She said that the fish slapped her foot and Andrew came over to wipe it. When she said “no, it’s the other foot,” we stopped laughing because she really did get slapped by the fin and it scrapped her foot.

After a bit more relaxing, it was 7pm. No one was really hungry as we had been snacking all day so BigDaddy and I decided that we should just head out.

The girls put their jammies on and climbed in to the truck.  Less than 20 minutes down the road and they were out.  We headed straight home and arrived around 10pm.  Once the girls were put into their beds, BigDaddy and I followed suit.

It was a great weekend.  Hopefully next time we go up to the cottage, Munchkin will come away with a few less welts, scrapes, bruises and fish-slaps.

rain, rain, go away!

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No, seriously.  GO AWAY!

Tomorrow we have over 100 people coming to our house for our annual BBQ and the weather people are calling for thunder showers in the afternoon.

rain sucks

I really would like the weather people to be wrong this time.

Today was busy with cleaning, organizing, shopping and, oh ya, dealing with my car.

Yesterday on my way to work on the the QEW, I got a flat tire.  Ends up that it’s not repairable so I now have 2 new tires.  Yay me. Oh and I have a new front sensor becuase it was telling my car that my brakes need servicing but my brakes are fine.  Cars and all their technology are great…until they stop working.  At least I know that I’m safe in my van.

BigDaddy is getting the music ready for tomorrow.  I have a few more dishes to do.  And if any of you out there know any no-rain dance or something, please do it.  Please.  Pretty please with a cherry on top.

loooooong weekend & peanut-isms

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Last Thursday was Canada Day so BigDaddy and I took Friday off to make it a super long weekend.

Thursday
 Happy Birthday and Canada Day!

Thursday was BigDaddy’s birthday and he was woken up by the girls with cards and presents in hand.  After opening his gifts, we had breakfast and got the girls ready to go.  My mom was picking them up later that morning so that BigDaddy and I could have a date-night for his birthday. 

Once Mom arrived and the girls’ stuff was all packed in her van, we got hugs and kisses.  I had to run back in the house to grab something, and Peanut says to my mom, “I’m gonna miss those guys”.  She’s just too cute.

Once they were gone, BigDaddy and I looked at each other… “Now what?”  LOL.  It’s weird to have your kids just drive away like that.  We had a list of things that we wanted to get done…mowed the lawn, cleaned up the kitchen, did some laundry.

PhotobucketFor dinner that night we went to Tucker’s Marketplace and had a nice leisurely dinner. After we went and say the movie Grown Ups.  It was very funny but it had a nice story line as well.  I totally recommend it for parents but don’t take your kids.  It’s not for them even though it is about them.

BigDaddy didn’t want to see the fireworks for his birthday (thank you Canada for doing that for him) so we relaxed in the hot tub for a bit and then finished our packing.

Friday

Friday morning we packed up the truck and out the door we went.  Due to a few oversights by me, we had to come back to the house 3 times to get something I forgot…not the best part of our day. But once we were finally on the road, it was smooth sailing.  Stopped for some shopping in Barrie and then we were at the campground by 3pm.  The girls were very happy to see us.

It took until dinner time on Friday for me cry.  See Friday was 5 years since my Dad passed away.  We were on our way to order pizza (there’s a pizzeria at the campground), something my Mom and Dad would do every Friday when they were at that campground, and my mom found a bird’s feather.  My Dad was there.  The minister who officiated my Dad’s funeral talked about being a feather in the breeze.  We know my Dad is there when we find one.  And they do show up at just the right times.

Saturday

Saturday we spent in Barrie at Kempenfelt Bay.  The girls played at the park near the beach, we walked through the street festival, had ice cream and rode on the midway rides.  It was a lot of fun!

That night had a campfire.  Since my days as a Girl Guild/Pathfinder/Ranger, I’ve been the one who starts the fire.  BigDaddy says to me, “Be careful.”  Peanut follows it up with her newest Peanut-ism —  

“Yes, Mommy, be careful so you don’t get fired.”  

Gosh she’s funny.

Sunday

The campground had a pancake breakfast which was really yummy.  Afterward we went swimming and then had to get ready to go.  We didn’t want to get stuck in too much traffic so we left just before lunch.

We tried to distract the girls by telling them about the fun things that Grandma had planned for their afternoon (mini golf, crafts and more swimming).  It worked for Munchkin, but not Peanut.  Her shoulders slumped and her lower lip quivered… “I’m going to miss you” followed by the biggest, tightest hug.  They headed back to the site and we drove away. 

We got home, had dinner and relaxed in the hot tub for a bit.  We watch TV and read the newspaper.  These are things that we usually do after the girls are in bed so they weren’t new, but strange to do without having to worry if the girls are going to sleep through the night and/or stay in their own beds.

Monday

And here we are.  Both of us are back at work.  The girls will be at our house when we get home from work.  It will be great to hear their stories of what they did after we left.

What a great loooong weekend!  It’s be a while since we had 5 days off in a row.  Now to figure out when we can do that again?


How did you all spend your long weekend?
For some of you it was Canada Day and other is was the 4th of July!
Share your fun weekend stories!

fixing up a camp for some very special kids

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At the end of the build at Camp Couchiching last year, we were all introduced to Camp Winston, the recipient of our services for the 2010 Build.
They showed us this video.  Please stop and watch the movie. You will truly understand why we were so inspired to do this build.
At the end of the video, we all cheered!  A lot of us were in tears.

Volunteer Builders is a not-for-profit organization that devotes one weekend each year to build a “closed-in shell that includes siding, roofing, windows and doors at a children’s camp. At times, they have also provided electricity, decking and some interior work, such as staircases and bunk beds.”  BigDaddy and I are so excited to be a part of something so magical.  BigDaddy is on the PR/Marketing team and does all the print graphics for VB.  I just like to get my hands dirty.

From Big Daddy Kreativ

While at Camp Winston last weekend, I learned so much about the amazing things that they do for the kids.

Here is what is on their site:

“Camp Winston provides inspiring recreational opportunities for kids with complex neurological disorders who need highly specialized support. Located on beautiful Sparrow Lake in the Muskoka region of Ontario, we operate a summer camp, weekend retreats and week-long retreats throughout the year.

Camp Winston’s primary focus is to set our children up for success. We operate four, two-week summer sessions attended by a total of 120 campers aged 6 – 17 years from across Canada. In most cases, this is the first time in their lives they feel welcome and secure enough to participate without being rejected or alienated by their peers.

Campers have a complex combination of neurological disorders which include:

  • Autism Spectrum Disorders
  • Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder
  • Tourette’s Disorder
  • Learning Disabilities
  • Obsessive Compulsive Disorder
  • Oppositional Defiant Disorder

Campers are encouraged and supported as they participate; often for the first time – in various recreational activities including various sports, swimming, tubing, kayak and canoeing, crafts, theatre, ropes courses, nature studies and canoe trips. While having fun, they learn vital social and gross motor skills specific to their needs.”

Rendering of the building – designed by Jonathon Sprawson from DQI

I’m so glad that the kids now have a safer place to be this summer.  We were able to give them new decks on the maintenance building, new stairs to the boat dock, a safer newly-painted play structure and a new building for their medical staff.  Also, through a very generous donation, we were able to install solar panels on one of the buildings.  This will put energy back into the grid and help to make money for the camp.  It’s truly awesome!

From Camp Winston on Facebook
From Camp Winston on Facebook
From Camp Winston on Facebook
From Camp Winston on Facebook
From Big Daddy Kreativ

Please read more about Volunteer Builders and Camp Winston.

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