Firefighter?

Feel the power!!

The firefighters at Station #53 in Orleans were kind enough to allow us into their home/office to show us around.

It was good fun trying on a profession for a few hours. 

And thanks to all our friends who came with us.

MOTY

You know you're not winning the Mother of the Year Award when:

1. Your son tells you he can't wait to tell his therapist about today.
2. You try to justify your use of the phrase, "Just shove it".

Anyone have any parenting gems they'd like to share?

Little Brown Bat

Cute little fella isn't he.

I didn't think that when he flew over my bed last night while I was reading.

I woke M up and told him he needed to get on the situation.

We searched all the rooms upstairs and the main floor .... twice. Nothing.

It was at that point M calmly suggested maybe I had been mistaken.

And then I not calmly at all suggested he take a flying leap!!!

What exactly did he think I had seen fly over my head?!?!?!?!?

With that encouragement he went to the basement and at the bottom of the stairs saw our little furry friend hanging on the door.

Caught and released at the park down the street. Story over right?

Nope.

Around noon A noticed that he had strange marks on his leg.

In two locations he has two little round dots about a centimetre apart.  We googled ... apparently bites/scratches can easily go undetected because of their needle like teeth. And when we had searched their room the night before he was lying with no blankets in boxers on his bed ... legs exposed.

PANIC!!!!  Straight to the hospital.

The resident assured us that there had been no broken skin and guidelines say that rabies shots are not needed. What a day. We're exhausted ... and scared of bats.

This That and the Other

This probably won't come as a huge shock to everyone ....

we've been doing some work on the basement.

So now standing at the top of the stairs looks a lot different.

We painted the existing paneling. Replaced the carpet and the baseboards.
Installed laminate on the landing.

Look what made it downstairs ... the wii and our t.v.

Where there was once a 5th bedroom(?) there is now more play space and toy storage.
And we have learned that my hubby is a master drywaller.

There was a 1st experience this Saturday.
First 'friend sleep over at our house'.

They all bunked in one room and we moved a t.v. in there so they could watch a pre-sleep movie.

But they didn't forget their dear mom.
They were up this morning to give me hugs and cuddles and a card.
And my sweey hubby was up with my french toast breakfast in bed!
I can't even believe sometimes that I am the lucky parent that gets to spend time with these kids. And thanks to my husband who makes it possible for me to 'be a mom' as my profession.

Take Me Out

Swing batter batter batter!

That's how it's done. Head for home.

Thanks to the mom organizing baseball.

Obi Wan Says

smart or slick?

clever or shrewd?

persistent or unrelenting?

 

"Why do you have to put a quarter in the cart mom?"

"It stops people from stealing the carts guys."

Then E, "I think I could get the quarters out of the cart. Can I try?"

I didn't think he could do it .... I mean .... Wouldn't they have thought of that when building the carts?

Apparently they didn't think of E. In about two minutes he had both quarters free.

Oh my. I really hope he uses his formidable powers for good!

Wheels Down



It doesn't take many days of sunshine for us to get our bikes on the road.

On Monday Grnny came to watch the boys while I went to an appointment.

She said she wanted to come to our house because they needed to do some school and at her house they will often get distracted. Five minutes after she arrived this is where they were.

Ten minutes after she arrived they had loaded up the bikes and taken off for the park.

Distractions?? They're everywhere.

Church Choir Presentation

 The show was fantastic. The kids were so enthusiastic and they knew their stuff.

They had spent hours practicing. E had a couple of solo parts. One involving a cupcake.





The whole show had us on the edge of our seats.

At the end of the show our star shared some hot chocolate with his cousins.

So nice to have us all together.



When Kids Rock!

Well, tonight was a very difficult evening for the Bfoot family. After receiving confirmation last week that M was posted to Toronto for 11 months next year, we had to break it to the kids.  We knew it was going to be difficult for them, especially with the fantastic network of family and friends we have here in Ottawa.

They were surprised ... and sad ... and there were tears. They don't want to leave their friends, or their programs, or their neighbours or their family or their house.

We agreed that all those things rock and leaving them will suck. But the alternative is for M to be away .... for 11 months.

After the initial shock wore off they had the following to say:

1) this is going to suck
2) it's going to be hard on everyone else too
3) 11 months after we get there ... we will do this all again to come back; sad summers back to back
...................................................HOWEVER .....(and here's where they amazed us).............................
4) there will be many great adventures to have
5) what a great opportunity this is for M
6) how M must be good at his job to get this posting AND two medals last year
7) the option of M leaving for 11 months without us was NOT an option

So while it was horrible to see their little hearts breaking it was awesome to see them be so insightful, thoughtful and caring when considering the situation. 
How many other 7 and 9 year olds would be able to process the news like that?
They truly are amazing boys and we love them dearly.

I guess this will make us Barefoot-in-the-BigCity??

This Might Take a While

-------Tuesday-------

 

This picture was taken when we went to a daytime cheap Tuesday movie last week. Luckily we were able to meet some friends there.
Look at those giggly faces.

 

 

 

-------Thursday-------

Though I completely forgot until the night before .... we had tickets to a great show at the NAC for Thursday. And to our pleasant surprise .... we found the Nlson boys there with their school. 

And since we were downtown we decided to 'do as the urbanites do' and eat at the downtown market.

How chic are we??

(For the record, the sushi was nowhere near as good as the sushi I had at Steak.)

 

-------Friday-------

The best part of Friday is hanging out with my guy A.

This week we did a little bit of what was on his list ... biking.

And a little bit of what was on my list ... home store.

 

-------Saturday-------

Up and at 'em for tree planting this morning.

A pancake breakfast gave them the energy to get started.

-------Later Saturday-------

What do you call it when homeschoolers work on the weekend?

Maybe homework?

Their projects were ready for the next step ... colour.