Our Road Trip to Maryland (Wednesday)

Now there won't be a lot of text here because there isn't much to tell. We had a FANTASTIC visit and ate some wonderful food.

Marianne (of Fairfax, VA) picked up our friend Patty (of Phoenix, AZ). Diana (of Long Valley, NJ) had arrived at Stephanie's the night before. Lynnette (of Germantown, MD) drove herself! It was 6 friends sharing some delightful time together.

Marianne promised Patty her van would be easy to spot. Literally!!

There had to be champagne for everyone to celebrate!

As with any gathering of womyn who were once a part of a specific female-centred non-profit organization, there is always food!!!!

Then we chased the clouds away so that we could dine outdoors on Stephanie's deck.

And everyone was full of smiles!!

And the boys came to snuggle with their mom!

And their mom took time to pose with Stephanie because she was the best host ever!

And we started our drive home

through the mountains

and even with the dull, overcast skies

the colours were beautiful!

THANK YOU STEPHANIE, BOBBY, KATE, and BEN for welcoming my children and me into your home. You showed us a grace and courtesy that can not be rivaled. We truly appreciate your hospitality for the whole week.

What I forgot to mention

While at Target we saw some great Halloween and costume stuff. The boys found some cute long-sleeved T-shirts with Halloween-ish stuff on the front. Stephanie found a four-pack of glasses that resembled those she wore in the summer when dressed as Professor Trelawney for the launch of book seven in the HP series. She couldn't resist. She made the boys promise to bring two pair home with them (and we have been playing with and wearing them often since our return) if she bought them.

We KNOW we look COOL!!!!

So do our children!!!


I also forgot to tell you that when we got back Tuesday and Ben was home from school the boys elected (yes, I said ELECTED not were forced) to rake leaves so that they could play. When they finished they filled one brown paper lawn-waste bag and two big bins with their collection.



While I am at it, here is a shot of the dolphins from the Dolphin Show that I forgot to include.

Our Road Trip to Maryland (Sunday, Monday, Tuesday)

Sunday was a nice, slow-starting day. No one had anywhere to get to right away and we had time to hang out and relax. Bobby had scheduled a baseball practice for that afternoon but had timed it so that we would still have time to check out the local pool during the hours for recreational swimming.

Fergus was invited to join Bobby and Ben for baseball practice and while Quinn was initially excited about going, he quickly realised that he needed some time alone with his mommy. He and I hung behind and played a game of Battleship followed by a few hands of Crazy Eights. It was the quiet time we both needed.

I don't think that anyone showed up for baseball practice. I did hear that Steph had been recruited to play with them. I also heard that the practice was put on hold for a while when Bobby hit a ball into the rough and everyone had to pause to look for it. From what I understand the original hit was never recovered but while looking around for it, two other balls were located so they still came home with more than they had left with.

The local recreation facility has three pools. One is a shallow pool with a mushroom cap sprinkler and a variety of small and medium length slides for young children of all ages. The next is a medium depth pool used, while we were there, mostly for lane swimming. The last is the dive pool. It is over 13 feet deep and they had at least 5 different heights of diving platforms. Fergus and I tried out the bottom two levels but that is as far as we went.

There are also two LONG slides. You climb a set of stairs that is about three stories high. The slides wind around the facility before eventually emptying out in their own very small pool near the shallow pool. Both Steph and I tried the slides only a few times while our four children went up and down quite a lot.

This was a great way to wear everyone out. It was a quiet evening after that and while Kate and Ben worked on homework and went to bed in good time, Fergus, Quinn and I hung out and read some Artemis Fowl.

Monday we decided to go to a mall. That was one thing Fergus had been requesting we do. It was a lovely day and in retrospect it would have been perfect for our planned trip to the zoo but alas, we did not think of that. I was trying to do everything they boys wanted and Fergus wanted to go to a mall. We would do the zoo on Tuesday.
At the mall we found a toy store and were happily looking around when Quinn spied it! My card shark and UNO junkie saw the game he had asked for the previous year for Yule. UNO SPIN! Doug and I had looked EVERYWHERE for it but discovered that while the adverts for it were on Canadian television, it wasn't actually available here to buy. Guess what Quinn, Fergus and I pooled our resources to pick up??

We made a trip to Target as well and finished our outing with a lovely lunch at a great burger place beside the river. It was fun to watch the Canadian Geese as we ate.

We raced back to get Fiona (an after-school charge of Stephanie's and a good friend to Kate), Ben and Kate. Monday evening was filled with many games of UNO Spin. I am wondering if this new novelty item will ever wear out?

Tuesday we woke to rain and gloom. So much for our trip to the zoo. I was thankful that we had been to the Toronto Metro Zoo only a few weeks before so there wasn't TOO much sadness from Quinn. We also talked about planning a trip to Washington with Daddy in the coming years and arranging to put the zoo on that agenda. He seemed to be appeased.

Quinn was also happy because we decided to make a trip to the local library, where Stephanie is part of the "Friends of the Library" non-profit group. She had some work to do and we set off for the children's section to read.

After the library we went to Best Buy (to look for video games for Fergus and Quinn's home computer, a Mac and therefore one that is hard to find games for - except online). Steph and I then took the boys with us while we went grocery shopping at Whole Foods in preparation for our lunch the next day with friends from around the country. No rest for the weary! It was fun preparing food for everyone in advance of their arrival.
I even made a pumpkin cake with spelt flour that every loved! I say this because most of you know how it can be with children. If they don't know what the ingredients are, they are more willing to love something. Stephanie is eating wheat and dairy free. This cake met those requirements AND the kids inhaled the mini cake I had made for them to sample.

Our Road Trip to Maryland

What was I thinking? No, seriously, it wasn't that bad. I knew I wanted to take Fergus and Quinn into Washington to see the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum. I also knew that Stephanie and Kate had a bridal shower to go to so that meant we would be on our own for the afternoon. Fergus, Quinn and Ben seemed to be getting along famously so it seemed a natural suggestion to add Ben to my immediate family for the day and went ventured into town on the Metro.

Once we found the museum there was lots to see. We were there for about three hours and managed to explore the planets, fly the first airplane, walk through a space shuttle and design a shuttle for launch. The biggest hit of the place was the Museum store though. Two days in a row where I spent more time than I had ever imagined looking through "stuff" that I could buy.

After the Air and Space museum we walked through the National Mall and along to the Old Post Office. Apparently this is a well-kept secret about D.C.
It is a wonderfully, well-preserved building that was once the post office. It now houses several international fast food places, some souvenir shops, a platform for entertainers AND a chance to ride to the top of the tower to get a phenomenal 360* view of the entire city. This ride up the tower is free. We were 10 minutes too late to ride up the tower but we sat below it and watched people going up (perhaps we should have taken the ride before we ate, oh well) and decided that it would have to go on a list to do next time we made this trip to see our friends.
We walked back to the Metro line and rode back to Germantown. We arrived home before Steph and Kate and so it was my pleasure to start dinner for everyone. It can be hard to be a guest in someone's home for so long because often you don't feel comfortable helping yourself to things or making your way around the kitchen and such. Not with Stephanie. I felt very welcomed and comfortable helping out by starting dinner.
We finished the perfect day off with a hot tub outside in their back yard. What bliss!

Our Road Trip to Maryland (Thursday and Friday)

It was an unbelievably foggy morning when Fergus, Quinn and I set out on our adventure. We were driving from home to Germantown, MD (a Washington, D.C. suburb) so that I could see a friend and eventually so that I could see some friends. My very good friend, Stephanie, live in Germantown, MD and she has a 9 year-old boy, Ben. Her daughter, Kate, is 11 and so is still young enough to be willing to hang out with all of us sometimes. Other friends of both Stephanie and me were to be in the D.C. area on the 24th of October so I decided to take a road trip to be able to see them all.
One friend, who had previously only been an on-line connection, was flying to Washington from her home in Phoenix, AZ. I was very excited to meet her IRL.
Anyway, it was, as I have written, a foggy morning. We set off at 6:00 a.m. in order to get there before dinner time.
The boys were AMAZING! They never asked how much longer, they happily played their computer games part of the way, looked at scenery part of the way, and listened to music with me. The whole trip was 11 hours, including two breaks for food. It was their longest car ride ever and I was astounded by how well they managed it.
The sun was shining almost the whole time we drove and we even had the air conditioning on. Apparently the weather in the US was to be as hot as it was in Ontario. It stayed quite warm the whole time we were visiting in Maryland.
Thursday night we went to watch Ben play baseball. Bobby, Ben's dad, is his baseball coach and they have a GREAT team. It is hardball/fastball so the pitching was slightly different than what we saw at Ferg's games in the summer but otherwise it felt very familiar to be sitting on the sidelines watching young boys play ball.
Friday was a rainy day. What could we do? Kate and Ben had a day off school and so were available to tag along with us. We chose the National Aquarium in Baltimore, MD. The only catch was how we would transport the lot of us? Both Stephanie and I have vehicles to seat 5 and we were 6.

We priced rental vans but they were prohibitively expensive. I joked that it would be great to take a van out for a "test drive" for the day and laughed that the only catch would be that we would have to have the sales associate from the dealership with us so it would have to be someone fun. I got this idea from a commercial on the radio here over the summer wherein a sales associate was calling his office to "check in" and the womyn answering the phone claimed he had been out on this "test drive" for two days already.

Stephanie took the proverbial ball and ran with it. Both she and Bobby have purchased their vehicles, and a previous vehicle, from one sales associate in a neighbouring town. She called him up to put this idea to him. He offered us a Saturn Outlook (?) -- I could be wrong with the name -- and we happily jumped in to head off to Baltimore.

The kids had a great time at the Aquarium. There were loads of living ocean creatures as well as exhibits of fish, water-mammals, reptiles, and more from around the world. We finished our trip off with a Dolphin Show! The boys sat right up close in a hope to get themselves wet. It didn't happen but they wished hard anyway.

It was a long day but it was GREAT! The ride home was certainly more quiet that the ride there.

Pumpkin carving after the farm

Saturday was a blustery day around here. It was a day with weather that finally reflected the date. October 13th and we would actually have to consider turning the furnace on for the first time since last spring. I think this is the latest we've ever been before cranking up the heat.

We met our friends (Kelly and Chris) at Chudleigh's farm. We had originally planned to go apple picking but upon arriving realised that we wanted to be in more enclosed areas and out of the wind. We bought pre-picked apples instead.

We also picked up a couple of little pumpkins for the boys to carve. If you are a Facebook reader/addict then you will have seen a copy of last year's pumpkins flanked by their respective artists in the form of Fergus and Quinn.

A BIT OF A HISTORY LESSON

Why do we carve pumpkins? As a Wiccan I already know but wondered how many others have given any thought to the process we undertake on an annual basis.

Let's start with the history. Carved vegetables or fruit were used to light the path of the spirits of our deceased loved one at Samhain (North American Halloween). Turnips, pears or gourds were hollowed out with a piece of burning coal placed in the centre and they were set on porches and in windows. This was to welcome the spirits of loved ones and guide their way and to protect people from evil and malevolent spirits. With time, the coal was replaced by lit candles for the light.

Why would anyone want to welcome the spirits of loved ones?? Well, Samhain is a festival of Celtic origin and is celebrated from sunset October 31st to sunset November 1st. This festival is a time to honour the dead and our deceased friends and loved ones. It is believed by Wiccans and Pagans alike that the veil between the world of the living and the dead is the most thin on this date and so by lighting the door all night we may allow those we have loved and lost to come home again to feel our love. It is a time to celebrate their lives and to be excited about the next part of the journey they will embark upon.

It wasn't all joy however. Pagans and Wiccans alike have long been threatened by Christians who did not understand our religion. Despite Christians adopting almost every single holiday from the Pagan calendar, many still believe that Wiccans/witches are evil. According to Starhawk, "Circles of worshippers met deep in the woods far away from other people. [T]he Pagans lit candles inside carved vegetables to scare away their persecutors."

Samhain also marks the end of the harvest season and with it, the end of the year. Samhain is our New Year's Eve. This is why there are candies and sweets involved with Halloween today. What most people do not know or realise is that "when they give candy to children on this day, they bless the birth of the new year and the sweetness of life." When you open your door to pass out candy you are, for a few minutes, playing the role of a Pagan.

As to why we now use pumpkins instead of other fruits or vegetables . . . When the Irish came to North America they came upon pumpkins and found them much easier to carve and hollow out. Their use quickly replaced the turnips, pears, and gourds of old and a new tradition was born.

A thought to ponder

A friend of mine (Robin) recently asked: "So how do we help our young ladies (and young men, too) realize their potential? What kinds of things do you do to help your own children?"

Great question. Thought provoking. She was inspired to ask us this after having read an article in the NY Times which outlined the lack of confidence in the female authors (or potential authors) that the narrator was meeting in Minnesota. Robin is the mother of three daughters and so I presume that how she read the article was skewed to reflect her own reality which is so different from my own.

I enjoyed the article. I am in agreement with VERLYN KLINKENBORG (the person who wrote the article) that many female children are reared to expect to have to behave differently than their peers. I have heard from many parents, over time, about how they want their daughters to believe they can be anything and do anything but also hear them make comments like: "You may have a hard time if you act too aggressively" or "Some people may not take you seriously if you dress like . . ." Curious.

As a mother I hope my approach is different. I was strongly entrenched in the world of WOMYN before I was a parent and, quite honestly, didn't think I would ever be able to mother a boy. I can and I am. I was surprised by the subtle differences. I am MORE surprised by the similarities between the feelings boys have and the feelings I remember having as a child.

Take my eldest. He wears his heart on his sleeve. The stereotype of strong boys who exude self-confidence is not him. His self-confidence is building. It waxes and wanes as he moves through the pathways of life. He is getting better about being able to shrug off a comment made to him by someone he doesn't know but is finding it increasingly easy to lose himself in the worry and sadness that comes when someone he loves speaks to him in a way (or says things in a way) that he deems to be critical.

The fact that he is homeschooled means that he is open to a lot of comments which other children would not necessarily hear (although they may). When someone he doesn't know asks him about his reading or maths abilities he shrugs it off and answers with a monosyllabic response and lets it go. When people he loves (myself included -- although it really only seems to bother him when there are other people around for whom he is expected to "perform." **I'll come back to that later) quiz him in an effort to have him prove what he knows, he takes offense. It may not show up right away but it will present. He has been known to lay in bed at night worrying about what his loved ones think about him because he feels they are often quizzing him.

I have worked so hard at helping him approach learning in a way that works for him and instills self-confidence -- which he exudes while he is home, learning and putting that new knowledge to use -- but I still come up against a lack of confidence that continuously resides below the surface.

Is that the thing to focus on then?? If I can't rid him totally of the esteem issue he seems to have, should I try instead to simply learn how to make it work for him? And if so, how do I make that happen?

When he feels safe he lets all inhibitions go and he is a remarkable and open person who loves to learn, loves to share, loves to take part. It's getting him to the place where he can feel safe.

**Back to the issue of ME having him perform. What am I teaching him about my own issues around esteem and confidence if I am asking him to perform his skills for others? If I can't exude the same virtues I want him to possess, how can he trust that he should have them himself?

Quinn on the other hand is a different kettle of fish. He appears confident and eager right from the outset. This is only when he knows there are people nearby, preferably within arms reach, to rescue him if he needs it. He will ultimately try anything (and I mean anything) if the right person is there with him to help him feel safe. He is also my introvert. He is less concerned what others think, even other loved ones, as long as he and I are okay.

So, back to Robin's original question: "how do we help our young ladies (and young men, too) realize their potential? What kinds of things do you do to help your own children?"

I guess we just tell them how amazing they are. We let them try new things, even without having finished the old thing if necessary, so that they have a chance to explore as many of life's avenues as possible and can get a true sense of what it is that feeds their passion.

As for the kinds of things we can do to help our own children, well, I think that varies dramatically from child to child. Each one, if given the safe place to share, will ultimately tell us what they need from us. Maybe it is our physical presence. Perhaps they need some financial assistance -- harder for some than others. Maybe they need to know that they can take their time and allow a path to come to them.

Well, what have I decided at the end of this long, drawn-out reflection?? That I don't know anything. I have more questions than answers. That I hope I will be able to be exactly what each of my children need me to be to allow them to become the best people they could possibly be. (I don't think I am unique in wanting this)

Happy Canadian Thanksgiving (part ONE)

It was a great weekend (except for the fact that Fergus has had a head cold for most of it.)

I open with a picture my sister forwarded to me in an email last week. She wanted to know if I would consider exploiting our own turkey in this same fashion. What kind of a manipulative and controlling Thanksgiving cook did she take me for?? Of COURSE I would try it. The challenge was I didn't think I was comfortable having her (the obviously female turkey) cook on her back. You know, you want the front down so that she doesn't dry out. I think I figured it out. The next post will show you how I remedied our situation.

So, the rest of the weekend found Doug and I doing some MAJOR cleaning in the upstairs office and the boys' bedroom. Several months ago Doug's mom suggested Doug move his office downstairs into the empty bedroom at her place. She thought the boys would each like their own rooms. They prefer to stay together though so for that and a couple of other reasons we said no.

The first was that Jennifer was talking about moving back to Ontario and we wanted to be sure that there was a room for her. The other is that we have never wanted to take advantage of Christena like that. She didn't feel it was taking advantage (especially since she suggested the move in the first place) but it was still her space and we wanted it to be hers.

What's changed then? Jennifer is no longer talking about moving back here (at least not in the near future). As much as we desperately miss her we are trying to understand that she needs to be where she is right now. We just want her to be happy and it looks as though Calgary is where she is happiest right now.

What else? We still want the apartment to be Christena's. We would never want to take away her space. The boys are growing though and had no room to play that wasn't uber crowded. She was willing to move some furniture and have Doug move his office downstairs. I think she was happy to have a way to help us.

She was much more enthusiastic about the move at the beginning of the changes then she was at the end. I think the reality of what his moving downstairs meant really hit her hard. This has been an EXTREMELY difficult year (let alone past few months) and then to see the additional room (for which she held many expectations) actually be used by Doug was hard. There were many tears this past weekend.

Christena is creating a support network for herself here though. She has found another womyn (Mary) here in Georgetown whose own husband has Alzheimer's. Mary is experiencing a new separation from him (after 57 years of marriage) by having had him placed in a long-term care facility. Mary called and invited Christena over on Saturday and that gave her someone to talk to about what she was feeling about missing Henry.

Yesterday my parents, sister and BIL were here for dinner. Christena joined us and for an evening everything was right in our world. We have so much to be thankful for. Family is just the tip of the iceburg.

Happy Canadian Thanksgiving!!

Happy Canadian Thanksgiving (part two)

I wanted to finish my post before I even start because I am still having a hard time figuring out how to paste pictures here in the order that I want them to appear.

In any case, you can't show the front side of a turkey in a bikini without showing what she would look after having flipped over to finish bronzing. Undoubtedly this headless beauty would want to undo her top (fewer lines you understand) so we only see the lines of her bottoms.

Hope you had a GREAT Thanksgiving!!

What siblings do (part four - finally)

This last post is about today. I have been craving home-baked bread for a while. There is something familiar and seasonal about the smell of freshly baked bread wafting through the house.

I found a GREAT recipe online and so when Liam (Quinn's friend) arrived this morning I used baking bread as a way to get him inside. Quinn and Liam helped with putting the original ingredients together and the first kneading of the dough. Then they'd had enough!

We were to punch it down every twenty minutes over the next two hours and Fergus delighted in rubbing his knuckles with olive oil and knocking the air out. Once it had finished rising he and I cut it up and prepared it for baking. He learned how to braid bread today (he knows how to braid hair already). It was a lot of fun.

This last picture is a shot of the two regularly shaped loaves that we made for sandwiches and four little braided loaves to share. I dropped one off a Liam's house when I was out this afternoon. I wanted him to be able to taste his work.

What a great life we lead!

What siblings do (part three)

Well, yesterday found us getting ready for a trip to the zoo. I haven't been in about 30 years and so it was going to be an adventure for all of us. In fact, the boys went with Rhonda and Chris a couple of years ago so they had a better idea of what we should see than I did.

I was at this same zoo MANY years ago with my dad's sister, Emily. I don't know what was happening that she took Rhonda and I there but we went. Perhaps she just wanted to spend some time with her nieces as my sister just wanted to spend some time with her nephews when they took the boys. I was wondering yesterday if it was about the time Nathan was born but I seem to think it was after that. In any case I don't have a memory of the zoo itself and even if I did, it has probably changed somewhat.

It was fun walking through with the boys, Ferg's best buddy, Adam and his mom/my friend Steph. The boys were energetic and excited at all there was to see. We read about different animals and shared stories about what we knew before going in.

It was neat to see some of the African animals like the ones in the pictures Nani and Papa had sent from their place in South Africa. It made the pictures we'd had emailed seem much more real.

What siblings do (part two)

The second part is about my sister and I and there aren't any pictures to show you. She and I took part, with my friends Janice and Karen, in the CIBC Run For the Cure where 170, 000 participants across Canada raised $26.5 million for Breast Cancer Research.

This event was a 5km run/walk, of which we did both. We participated in Guelph, Ontario as it is close to where I live and was not as likely to be a HUGE throng of people. We wanted it to be a smaller, more intimate venue.

The pre-run announcements were inspiring and uplifting, if not somewhat scary. It was hard to hold it together when listening to some of these people speak. To see them standing strong and proud made it easier though.

The four of us went out for brunch at a lovely little vegetarian restaurant afterwards and just enjoyed one another's company. It was a lovely day for a worthwhile yet devastating cause.

I am grateful that my sister is willing to take part in things like this with me. She and I often seem to hold similar causes close to our hearts though so I guess that makes it easier to support one another.

What siblings do (Part One)

Well, since I don't know how to manipulate the pictures on my blog anymore, I am just going to write about the images each as a separate entry.

The first is a shot of Fergus and Quinn outside at our place. Fergus received a green bike, complete with shocks and hand brakes, from Doug's mom when he was 3. It was WAY too big for him then but he had training wheels so we didn't really pay attention to *how* big it was. Once the training wheels were off of it we could see that it was a good thing he was tall for his age.

By the time Quinn was wanting a bike we had decided to go to one that was better sized for a 3 year-old. He had a little yellow and black number that sported training wheels until early this summer. Once they were off he couldn't be stopped. He loved his new-found freedom, even though he had really outgrown his bike by at least a year.

You've seen what I mean when I say he had outgrown it. It wasn't so much that his knees were by his ears (which seems to be the "in" thing these days for teenage boys) but rather that the wheels were so small that his legs had to go 90 miles an hour just to propel him forward. It was painful (not to mention exhausting) to watch.

Despite his ability to ride on two wheels, he was wary of Fergus' green bike. He loved the idea of having shocks (not that he rides on rough terrain but he wanted them all the same) but was worried about managing that big, heavy bike. Finally this past Saturday Fergus convinced him to just TRY the green bike. Fergus promised to hold the back and not let Quinn fall.

**Sidenote: It is AMAZING and INCREDIBLE to watch sibling interaction. Fergus LOVES Quinn so much and Quinn ADORES Fergus so the trust was easy for Fergus to establish. **

Anyway, Quinn agreed to try in the back garden on the grass. He wanted to make sure that he had somewhere safe to fall if he needed it. Fergus stayed true to his word though and didn't let him fall. Fergus says he knew Quinn just needed to try it and to believe he would not get hurt.

After some time Fergus persuaded Quinn to try out front of our house on the road (which is a very quiet street). A couple of nervous trips back and forth and he's gone again! They are both so proud of Quinn and Doug and I are, in turn, so proud of them both!

They're home!!!

Doug and the boys are home. They are a little more tanned than when they left but otherwise they look the same as they did before they walked out the door Friday at noon. Doug and his boys went camping as a Father/Sons affair this weekend. They borrowed my parent's Kombi and went to MacGregor Point on Lake Huron for two nights. This is an annual event for the three of them to spend time alone and away from friends and family and they have been planning it for weeks.

Speaking of planning, this weekend was all about talking about the plans we have and friends have in the coming months. I spent Friday night with my sister. We spoke a little bit about the plans we have for our Run/Walk next weekend to raise money for Breast Cancer research.

***** If you would like to sponsor me for this event then just click here and make a donation to sponsor me. I am running/walking in Guelph, Ontario. *****

Other plans she and I discussed included the wedding she and Chris are planning for next year. They have booked a location (other than their house, in case of inclimate weather) and now have to contact an officiant. I asked if she knew what she was going to wear so that I could plan my wardrobe but she does not know as yet.

My friend Amy and I talked about our plans for family vacations next year. I thought we were the only ones planning to go to Disney World with the boys. Her Mom and Dad surprised the whole family with a trip to Florida for next spring. We are not going until next winter (2008) AND IT IS a **HUGE** SURPRISE for the boys so PLEASE do not say anything. We will not be able to afford to take any vacation time until then (although Doug isn't really eligible for vacation time until next June with his new contract) but that's okay because it will take us until then to save for our trip.

We are SO excited!! We have wanted to take the boys on a major vacation for a long time and this opportunity presented itself so we are going to jump at it. Maybe the year after we will be able to save to go to Calgary if Jennifer and Nino are still living out there. I would love for the boys to see the western part of Canada. It is so different than here and I know they would have fun. Cross your fingers for Calgary, Alberta, Summer 2009.

I am taking the boys to Maryland next month. A friend is traveling from Phoenix, AZ to Washington, DC. Another friend is going to be in DC from her home in NJ. Another friend from PA is talking about joining us. All of us have a couple of friends in VA. So, Fergus, Quinn and I are going to drive to Germantown, MD to stay with a friend and her family. It is going to be a great reunion for many of us. We are also hopeful that our friend from IA is able to join us but she hasn't committed yet. What travelers we are!!

Other that the run next weekend and MD next month we don't have any other major plans around here. Doug is working crazy hours so he and I might plan a date in the next couple of weeks, IF he can spare the time for hanging out with his wife.

What are your plans in the next few months???

It looked funny so . . .

1. YOUR ROCK STAR NAME: (first pet & current car) - Blackie Rabbit

2. YOUR GANGSTA NAME: (favorite ice cream flavor, favorite cookie) - Moose Tracks Oatmeal

3. YOUR "FLY Guy/Girl" NAME: (first initial of first name, first three letters of your last name) SLee

4. YOUR DETECTIVE NAME: (favorite color, favorite animal) - Orange Whale

5. YOUR SOAP OPERA NAME: (middle name, city where you were born) - Marie Fergus

6. YOUR STAR WARS NAME: (the first 3 letters of your last name, first 2 letters of your first) - LeeSa

7. SUPERHERO NAME: (2nd favorite color, favorite drink, put "The") - The Brown G&T

8. NASCAR NAME: (the first names of your grandfathers) - Sam James

9. STRIPPER NAME: (the name of your favorite perfume/cologne, favorite candy) - Soap Lego

10.WITNESS PROTECTION NAME: (mother's & father's middle names) - Elizabeth James

As I look at it I realise it doesn't read as entertainingly as it did for my friend. Oh well. It *is* still fun.

Good Monday to you

Well, I need suggestions. I have just found out that my hours at the hospital are about to be cut . . . AGAIN! I love, love, love what I do and what I teach. I get a HUGE rush out of speaking in front of large groups. I love being able to take time with each group to get to know some of them a bit to be able to answer their individual questions about birth.

In a community where the population is in a steady rise, there are fewer people taking prenatal classes or wanting to. Some are vying for the few spaces in the free classes offered by the region. Most however, just do not.

What should I do now? I am having some thoughts (especially as I try to prepare to re-apply for school this winter) that perhaps I should do something small and local. Some of my other thoughts suggest I try to follow my desire to do more public speaking. I wouldn't even know where to begin to step into that role. I would love to write more. (Or start writing again.) I know writing wouldn't be a paying gig (as much as that would be lovely) but it may the catharsis I need.

The boys don't know how stressed I am about this. I am keeping it pretty mum at the moment as Fergus would really worry if he knew something was bothering me. I have hardly spoken to Doug about it because this is the car photographer's busy season. They are out until all hours every day shooting pictures of the new cars coming out.

I should tell you, because I think it is incredibly funny the idea of it all, that "they" (Toyota) will bring vehicles in on truck under the cover of night and drive them into the studio at Toyota. Bill, Doug et al. get a few days to take all of the pictures Toyota needs for their advertising and then they load the trucks back up with the vehicles and away they go.

If they have to take shots on location and the vehicle image has not been released to the public as yet, the trucks take them to the location site for shooting and then load them up again. Neat for Doug. He has had a chance to drive some really nice Toyota and Lexus products that aren't even on the market yet. Seems hilarious to me though (who could care less about the new vehicles coming out) that there is all of this secrecy.

Anyway, I guess that's my humour at the end of a more sobering message. Please send your career suggestions to me as soon as possible!!!!

A neat quiz

I was sent a link to a neat quiz in which you choose the topics that are important to you and prioritize them relative to the upcoming American election. (It is an American site) I have now determined (or at least the computer has) who I would vote for IF I was an American and IF I wanted to vote in their election.

My Results were as follows:
Ohio Representative Dennis Kucinich (D)- 95.24% match
Former Alaska Senator Mike Gravel (D) - 77.78%
Illinois Senator Barack Obama (D) - 76.98%
New York Senator Hillary Clinton (D) - 73.02%
Former North Carolina Senator John Edwards (D) - 69.84%
New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson (D) - 68.25%
Connecticut Senator Christopher Dodd (D) - 66.67%
Delaware Senator Joseph Biden (D) - 65.08%
Businessman John Cox (R) - 46.03%
Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani (R) - 38.89%
Wisconsin Governor Tommy Thompson (R) - 32.54%
Texas Representative Ron Paul (R) - 30.16%
Former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee (R) - 28.57%
Kansas Senator Sam Brownback (R) - 19.05%

If you want to check this quiz out for yourself or try it yourself then click here.

What's new here??

Not a lot and yet . . . so much.

The world around us has returned to "normal." The schoolyard behind our house is full of screaming children again as they are back to school. The boys are busy trying to decide what clubs and sports groups they want to participate in. We are back to going to the library on a regular basis. We also need to find some great fieldtrips to plan since Fergus is not returning to Shady Grove this year.

We celebrated the last long weekend of the summer by traveling to my BIL's mom's place. She, Liz, lives between North Bay and Huntsville so is about a three hour drive north from here. They live on a small body of water, Eagle Lake, and while it is inhabited by cottages and houses on one side, it is crown land on the other. That means that it can't be developed any further and will stay nice and quiet. There aren't many watercraft on the lake other than a couple of boats and some people out skulling.

At night, once dark, you can hear the wildlife across the water on the crown land. Some of it is really easy to identify and some of the noises we heard were unrecognizable.

We were invited to a lake party while we were there too. The boys had a chance to play with other kids instead of hanging out with adults all weekend. They weren't too sad to be with adults though. The adults took them fishing, swimming, out of the ATV's, etc. You know, stuff only parents can do and activities we don't have access to here.

We came home on the Sunday evening. Doug had a lot of work to do for Horvath so we came home to allow him all of Monday to work on it. It was going to be a smooth ride straight home since we didn't leave Liz's place until after 9:00 Sunday night. We were going to be ahead of the long weekend traffic.

Wow! Were we wrong! We had a tire go flat as we traveled at 120 km/hour on the highway. Two sleeping children in the back seat. 11:30 at night. What would we do? Find ourselves grateful for the 24hr roadside assistance that comes with our new cars is what. I called Volkswagen and they sent someone to help us change our tire while the boys slept on. Thank goddess for the full-size spare in the boot of the car. This meant we could drive more than 50 km. on the tire. We were still more than 50 km. from home.

After that adventure we were glad that the rest of the week was totally smooth. We did go raspberry picking on Tuesday but otherwise, nothing really exciting.

Last night we had company. Friends, Dan and Catharine, whom we haven't seen in MANY years, live in Orangeville (about 35 minutes from Georgetown). They came by with their 5 year old daughter and had coffee and dessert. Doug and Dan were friends when they were in grade school. We haven't seen them since we all left the Collingwood area just after we got married.

What on tap for this week?? I don't know. Hopefully I will make myself spend time sitting down and working on the Grade 12 Biology course I need for my school application.

Where has the time gone?

My brother, Nathan, just arrived and already he is getting ready to leave tomorrow. Tomorrow evening, August 31st, he will fly out of Toronto and between the distance and the International Date Line he will arrive home in Taichung, Taiwan on Sunday, September 02nd. How's that for crazy.

He was here last night for the night and I will see him again tomorrow before he leaves. It was fun to watch him with my boys today. Fergus is such a Lego-nut, just like his Uncle Nath. Quinn likes it too but mostly because Fergus loves it and he loves whatever Fergus loves.

A day at Wonderland

Despite my allergies and my swollen and crusty eyes, I am delighted that Doug was able to take Tuesday off work and spend the day with us. We spent the day at Canada's Wonderland and although Quinn is not fussy on crowds, he managed to have the time of his life. Fergus too! We waited to go to this amusement park, located about 40 minutes from our place, until both boys were old enough to ride on some of the bigger rides.

Fergus has decided he isn't as fussy on the roller coasters as his father and brother. I, on the other hand, like both feet planted firmly on the ground.

I will post a few pictures here but am planning to add quite a few to my Facebook account for those of you who are on Facebook.

My brother is coming here for a visit tonight and my mom will pick him up tomorrow. Rhonda and I are planning to meet mom, dad and Nath before he goes to the airport on Friday to head back to Taiwan. Here's hoping that he is only there for one more year. It's nice to have him on Canadian soil again. I really don't like it when family is so far flung.

Take care

Pictures I wanted to post

to show some summer fun in the sun! These are taken at the cottage of our dear friends, Stephanie and Bart. We were able to spend time with them and other wonderful friends from Georgetown! We are so blessed to have such an incredible group of friends here in our community.

It is well and truly ALLERGY season!

This lovely image is what my face looks like these days. It is how I seem to be handling ragweed and goldenrod this year. They do finally start to open around noon or so. Can you imagine what they would be like if I didn't make sure to take the Claritin, Benedryl, Dristan AND Opticrom everyday???

It must be the weekend

Life has become crazy again.

The boys finished their swimming lessons for the summer and Fergus is thrilled that he earned not one but two swimming badges. He had been in a class with his best friend and his instructor was having Fergus do the same skills as Adam (who had moved a level ahead this summer while taking lessons that Fergus wasn't around for).

Quinn didn't get his badge but he is swimming like a big boy now. He needs a little more skill with adding his breathing to his front crawl stroke but again, I am astounded at how much he has progressed this year. He was working on his dives yesterday at the end of class.

Last night my client called to let me know she was being induced that evening (as her cervix was dilating without contractions and her first labour was two hours) so I had an idea what I would be doing through the night. There was only one catch. My brother was flying in this morning and I was to be fetching him from the airport.

My brother, Nathan (aka: Nate, Nath), in case I haven't mentioned this before, has been living in Taiwan since January 2004. He hasn't been home since then and I was the one to pick him up. How we managed to have a baby and STILL get me to the airport on time is beyond me. My dad was going to fill in for me if I couldn't get Nath on time but I was to call him by 3:30 this morning to give him enough time. The baby arrived at 3:20. Could she have cooperated any better if I'd asked??

My boys are over-the-moon that Uncle Nath is here. The first thing Quinn wanted to know was whether or not his Uncle Nath would be interested in playing Wii with him. What? Video games and Uncle Nath?? How fast could he get into my room to find the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles game???

We have both only had a few hours sleep but are glad that he is here and are having a great time catching up.

and it will be LAVERNE????

Your Score: Penny Marshall

Your film will be 60% romantic, 41% comedy, 31% complex plot, and a $ 41 million budget.

Your romantic comedy-drama of a life is now in the hands of Laverne. We almost put Ron Howard in this spot, but we figured you wouldn't want the part of your dad played by Ron's little brother Clint (who's in EVERY one of his films). Penny will hire Squiggy, instead. She directed A League Of Their Own, Big, Awakenings, and Riding In Cars With Boys among few others.

Link: The Director Who Films Your Life Test written by on OkCupid Free Online Dating, home of the The Dating Persona Test

I am LOVE

You are The Lovers

Motive, power, and action, arising from Inspiration and Impulse.

The Lovers represents intuition and inspiration. Very often a choice needs to be made.

Originally, this card was called just LOVE. And that's actually more apt than "Lovers." Love follows in this sequence of growth and maturity. And, coming after the Emperor, who is about control, it is a radical change in perspective. LOVE is a force that makes you choose and decide for reasons you often can't understand; it makes you surrender control to a higher power. And that is what this card is all about. Finding something or someone who is so much a part of yourself, so perfectly attuned to you and you to them, that you cannot, dare not resist. This card indicates that the you have or will come across a person, career, challenge or thing that you will fall in love with. You will know instinctively that you must have this, even if it means diverging from your chosen path. No matter the difficulties, without it you will never be complete.

What Tarot Card are You?
Take the Test to Find Out.

40 years wed

No . . . not Doug and I, silly. My parents. Today marks their 40th wedding anniversary. An extremely auspicious day in our family, as you can well imagine. It also happens that today is my brother's 31st birthday (Nathan) and it is the birthday of a very dear friend of mine (Karen) from here in Georgetown.

Add that to the fact that Doug celebrated his birthday 13 short days ago and I would seem to have surrounded myself by a large number of Leos. Curiouser and curiouser. I don't know what that means but I do know that they each hold very special places in my heart. My SIL - Chantel, my UD, our friend Matthew and my friend Diana are in there too. The list is endless of special Leos that I know.

But I digress. Yes, today is the 40th anniversary of my parental units, Don and Colleen and to celebrate we invited their siblings (two of whom were able to join us -- Aunt Dorothy {and Uncle Des, who hosted} and Aunt Eleanor {with her husband Eion}), cousins, and friends of the past 40 years to join us as we raised a glass to toast the happy couple. It's kind of cool to see them so happy and so obviously in love after all of this time. They make it look so easy. I am sure it isn't but it gives one food for hopeful thought.

We spent the weekend at AD and UD's house helping to prepare for and then clean up from the party. Fergus and Quinn were SO excited to see their cousins at this celebration too. My cousin Melissa, her husband Luke and their two children (Adia and Thomas) came to share in the festivities. Quinn knew they were coming and must have asked me 10 times when "my cousins" would arrive. I love that he loves them so much. It reminds me of the amazing and connected relationship my siblings and I shared with Melissa and her brother, Chris as we grew up.

It was a great weekend! Again I feel as though I am walking in a haze though as I hope against hope that life will slow down a bit. I am happy though. It was a great way to spend time.

We're off!

This Sunday my parents will celebrate 40 years of wedded bliss. My maternal aunt (AD) and uncle (UD) have planned a "surprise" party for my parents (which they know about and have helped to plan) and have enlisted the help of my sister and I. She is putting together cold cuts and I am responsible for fruit. Seems an uneven distribution of work, doesn't it?? I mean cutting up fruit can take hours. Just kidding. The fruit thing will be a breeze and she has to collect and put together all that meat. Hmmm.

We are going to travel north today to stake out a good place to set up camp at AD and UD's since it is taking place tomorrow and some of the friends (of my parents and of AD and UD) are planning to spend tomorrow night. If we wait until tomorrow to arrive then all of the good spots may be taken. Nah! They have a big property and the boys are planning to go today so they can hang out in the pool. Sounds good to me. (Did I mention AD and UD have a puppy to play with and a LONG driveway to bikeride on? Oh yeah, and all that property makes great hunting grounds when you are having "Nerf" wars.)

Next weekend we will celebrate Mom and Dad's 40th a little more privately with them. When they had their 35th we had a small (just Rhonda, Chris, Nathan, Doug and I with my parents) family dinner in a restaurant of mom and dad's choosing . This time we will postpone it a week in order to let the chaos of the past few weeks settle a bit and then will all get together next weekend for a similar feast.

Have a great and sunny Saturday and Sunday!

Finish to the long weekend

Yesterday was the Monday of the long weekend and we were determined to spend some time together as a family. After the hustle and bustle of Friday, Saturday and Sunday we needed some down time or time to reconnect. Jen and Nino had left Sunday evening and the house was back to the usual chaos and volume levels.

We started the day by Fergus and I reading some more in Harry Potter while Quinn played cars in his room. Once we were finished our reading and everyone was ready we piled into the car and went out to enjoy brunch together.

After brunch the boys wanted to go to Toys 'R Us to look for more Nerf gun ammo. They found what they were looking for and we were finished! Now what to do? As much as we would have loved to have been in Thornbury or Collingwood to be able to enjoy the large body of water -- it was pretty hot and humid here yesterday -- we did not have any desire to drive for two hours.

Then an idea dawned on me! We stopped at the mall in Georgetown and I grabbed two bags of balloons! The boys had no idea what we had planned. I locked myself in the bathroom and began filling the latex bombs with water.

In the interim I had spoken with friends of ours (Karen and Larry) to invite them to our home that evening for drinks. She had turned it around to invite us to theirs as they have a pool. Okay, that would work for us and the boys would be happy to have that wet activity to enjoy.

I called Karen again while I was in the bathroom. By the end of the call it was all set up. We would take the water balloons to their place and have a war in their front yard. It was GREAT! Sure, there was a mess to clean up afterwards but it was fun while it lasted. Two of their four teenagers were home and took part with us. It was a lot of fun!

We relaxed after dinner and played some cards while sipping scotch. It was the perfect end to a wonderful and yet difficult weekend. This weekend worked to remind us how blessed we are with our friends and family.

Life to return to normal??

When I crawled out of bed this morning to the sounds of AM 740 blasting from the radio outside, I knew things were on their way back to normal. I had been sleeping in the boys' room as my return to home at 3:00 a.m. (after a birth) meant that Fergus and Quinn were snuggled in with Doug.

This week has been busy, to say the least. I have been waiting for my client (B) to deliver as she was due last week, July 24. In the interim, client (C) delivered early (was due August 09) last Tuesday. I taught Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday evenings and we worked to ready our house and our minds for Saturday's memorial/celebration of Henry's life. B was the client to deliver last night, or early this morning rather.

Jennifer and Nino arrived on Thursday evening, I picked them up on the way home. It has been great to have her back in town and to have some more time with him. We don't know him well but the boys have been enjoying their time in his company (admittedly they have seen more of him than I have since I don't play Wii as much as he does). It will be VERY hard to see her go home to Calgary again this afternoon.

My sister-in-law from Taiwan stopped by yesterday. I know, I know . . . that sounds almost impossible, doesn't it? She has been in Toronto for the month of July to taking a yoga course (she is a yoga instructor). She and her mom hosted a dinner this past Friday evening but we were unable to attend and I really believed I would not be able to see her while she was in Canada this time. She surprised all of us by stopping by here for a few minutes on her way to the airport and we managed to squeeze in a quick visit and a couple of hugs. That should hold me over for a while.

The memorial was lovely. Two of Christena's siblings arrived with their spouses and it was great to see them again. There was a car full from Christena's old church in Collingwood as well as a few womyn from her church here in Georgetown. My sister, Chris, my parents, Aunt Dorothy, Uncle Des, Aunt Eleanor and Uncle Eion also stopped by from my family to offer their support and share the celebration of Henry's life. We even had friends both from town and from Kitchener come by and spend some time with us. I don't know that we will ever be able to thank everyone adequately for their support and love over these last several months, weeks and days.

Douglas put together an amazing slideshow of photographs taken of Henry through his life. We played a lovely bag-piped rendition of "Amazing Grace" and took a few minutes to just stop and think about the impact Henry had on our lives. That was the most difficult part of the whole day but we did it while we had only family and close friends around and we had our little cry and went back to the celebration.