This Week's Lesson

Monday started out all right and then went steadily downhill. School work wasn't working out. We couldn't even get our morning chores done without conflict requiring negotiators to resolve. By the time Brian came home for lunch at 10:30, I was angry, the kids were sullen and nothing was getting better. We drove Brian back to work and then I got a coffee and we went for a drive. I had the best intentions of starting fresh once we got home, but we all needed some down-time first.

So we did RECESS. I stopped at the new playground by the river and let the kids out. It was relaxing. I was sitting in the car, watching the kids play, appreciating Rai's health and Kori's loving big-sister-ness. I think I even considered that getting out of the car with the kids may have been the best choice. After all, fresh air and activity are the fastest ways to a more active life style and a better mood. At least, that's what I learned in Recreation 101. I even threw up there a 'O Lord, I wish I could find the extra energy..." I thought it was a bit of wishful thinking.

We went on with the day. A visit with the Grandparents, lunch, a visit with friends for garage-hockey. Then the day kicked into high gear. Get Brian from work. Pack food for the kids. Get them ready for Guides/Hockey. Drop Kori off with mom so they can get to Guides on time. Get Rai dressed and out on the ice. Here's where I usually sit with Bri in the stands and wait for the second heat to start.

But no...Today was Hockey Picture Day. Silly me, I took Rai's helmet up in the bleachers with me. So when he's done his pictures, I run it back to him. Run back up to sit with Brain. Run back to the boards to get the picture order form. Climb back up to Brian to decide on the photo package. Rush back to the boards to find out when to hand it in and who to pay. By this time, I'm a little miffed with Brian. After all, couldn't he come down to the boards with me and save me from all this running?!?

Then it occurs to me. Hadn't *I* been the one who wanted to find the opportunity to find the extra energy to add in a bit of movement to my usually sit-still day?! And, um, didn't this qualify as 'extra'??

Of course, you have to be careful what you ask for in this life. That is a lesson I learned early on. Because if you ask, you are likely to get. God knows I'm not the most motivated individual out there. I usually need a helping hand. I'd consider 6 trips across the hockey rink a helping hand, wouldn't you? And as soon as I realized how stupid I was to be blaming my frustration on Brian, guess who joined me at the boards to watch the end of Rai's practice?? My loving, very forgiving, overly tolerant husband.

I tell the kids that God is all around us; always watching; always listening; helping us to make good choices. I tell them that they can call that little voice in their head whatever they want (God, Jesus, their conscience) but they would do well to listen to it. And then sometimes God slaps me up the side of the head and tells me to quit making life more difficult than it really is. I really should pay attention to the things I tell the kids.

A Quick Update

Nothing too fancy folks.....just a quick update as it's been a few days.

I'm feeling the push to get ready for the holidays. I have learned to dig in my heels and fight it until Advent starts. Brian and I have done a lot of our Christmas shopping, but that's it. The kids are looking forward to baking. We've invited some friends over to make gingerbread houses. Kori's birthday parties fall in there somewhere and the regular bits of holiday visiting we do. Grandma Maddie will be visiting as well. Serendipitous that her trip to town lands on the only free days on our calendar!! So...

Last Friday the kids had a full day at the Museum. They enjoyed and did fine. Came home with lots of artwork. I enjoyed a surprise lunch date with Brian, Christmas shopping and a long, drawn-out coffee with a friend.

The weekend was busy-ish. We attended the local Santa Clause parade. It was somewhat disappointing. I can complain in detail later. I'm thinking of taking the kids out of town to an evening Parade of Lights this weekend to compensate. Took the kids skating on Sunday. Kori did very well on her new hockey skates. I think that weekend skating will become an enjoyable habit.

We jumped back into our casual pick-up-what's-interesting school habit this week. That included stopping by a friend's place for some garage-hockey for the kids on Monday. Interesting how little boys don't find doing the splits on cold concrete while wearing hockey pads uncomfortable. Yet they can't sit still for 15 on a warm, soft couch to read a book they picked out. I hung up the Canada map and a few postcards we received from around Canada from other homeschoolers. The kids dove right in to making our own postcards to send out. So, more work on that today. Picked some books up at the library last night - we've always got things for read aloud on hand.

A full week has passed since we went to Ottawa for Rai's appointment. On Monday, I got a call with our appointment times. On Tuesday, I got the letter with the testing procedures and directions. I am not looking forward to this. We've talked about the schedule of the day of the test with Raiden. But not the actual procedure. Last night on the way home he asked if we had the information on the test yet because he wanted to know "what he was up against". Super. He also said if there were needles, he wasn't doing it. Unfortunately, he will have to do it. That and much more. One way or the other (that is, whether the kidney is working well or not) he will have surgery to correct this. I'm hoping to put Rai off for a couple of more days before I have to explain catheters and IVs to him. I was really hoping to wait until after Christmas. But if Rai seems to think he wants to know now, so he has time to process, think and talk about it, then that's good too.

That's about all for now, I suppose. I'm off to get Kori out of bed and to start our reading.

Something Schoolish

We've been puttering along through our days, fitting in our school work and reading where we can.

We should finish Little House On The Prarie today. Raiden is not enjoying it except for bits and pieces here and there. He chose a book at the library that he'd like to read...it was an odd choice for him, but we'll try it. It's called Hoot.

I made a cuneiform tablet out of Model Magic yesterday while the kids were eating their lunch. Mostly for demonstration purposes. The kids did not want to try it out. Until, of course, I was ready to move on with something different for the afternoon. Then they pulled out the Model Magic and rolled tablets. They poured over the cuneiform alphabet for a while, trying to decide which figures would be the easiest to reproduce. They couldn't decide on an 'easy' word that made sense, so Kori used the stylus to mark in her name. In English letters. Gotta love independence.

We reviewed our chapter in SOTW while they coloured a map - that seemed popular. Today they will dictate a narrative to me about the chapter and I will type it for them, print it out and they will have it for their binders.

The pomanders Kori and I made are drying well!! They smell wonderfully spicey and 'holidayish'. The cloves are staying in the orange well and the spices are adhering to the orange. I had thought we were going to have cinnamon dust all over, but apparently not. They will definitely be ready early in Advent.

Speaking of Advent, I have signed just a couple of books out of the library in preparation for our Advent study. Last year I found a website that explores a different Christmas/Advent symbol every day of Advent. We stopped all school work and get ready for Christmas while studying a different symbol everyday. It worked really well. December is busy with activities and events to attend. Family visits, Kori's birthday. It's just a busy time. The kids get a kick out of decorating and making Christmas presents for our extended family...it's all time consuming. So, I am planning and preparing in my head for the coming season.

We're taking a week off of our lit. studies. We'll get back to them next week. In the meantime, we're talking about Candian art in preparation of the kids' Museum Day on Friday. They will attend 8 - 4 (long day for us!) and the theme is 'The Group of Seven'. Kori was refusing to go until she learned that it was all about art, painting and artists. Raiden wasn't going to go until he heard 2 of our fellow homeschooling friends are also attending. The schooled kids have a day off and the Museum is hosting a whole day program in light of that. Should be an interesting dynamic...usually is when we throw a couple of un-schooled kids into the mix. I really shouldn't be amused by that, but I am.

I should say that I'm feeling a little lost about Friday. I will have no kids 8 - 4. That's, like, a whole day. I have arranged to have coffee with a fellow homeschooling mom - we'll be dropping the kids at the Museum at the same time, so it's convienient. Then Brian will need lunch. But that still leaves me 6 hours. I will do some Christmas shopping here in town. That should use up some time. And since I'll be on my own, it may very well take me 6 hours. I'm sort of slow when I'm shopping on my own. I need to make a list....

...And We're Home...

It was very nice to come home to a couple of very thoughtful comments to this morning's post. As much as this blog is for my own personal meanderings, I had thought to keep family updated on current happenings and our own personal take on homeschooling. I'm not sure of how many make it over here to read up on us, but it's nice to know that I have virtual friends who make the time to do so. (...and that reminds me...perhaps I should produce some acedemic meanderings sometime soon...)

The short story is that Raiden's left kidney is in poor shape. It is not going to get better. The question to answer now is: How much function does it have? Once we can answer that, we can determine the course of action. We haven't yet told Rai what that will entail, so I will save the "S" word for another day. Rai can only just handle one step at a time, so that is how we'll take it. He was near tears for the hour drive to the hospital and as soon as the day was done and we were headed home, he was asleep in the car. Totally overstimulated.

I was so thankful that Brian came. He's like a big kid a lot of times (and I say that with the most loving appreciation possible: he is full of humour and knows how to have a good time) but when it really counts, he's the git-er-done guy. Our consultation with the doctor was great. He showed us the problem, explained everything and took us through all of the "what if's" so we know what to do in case Rai gets sick again. It was very comforting to know that Dr. Leonard is on-board. Noone touches Rai without his consent at this point.

So, we're back on anti-biotics and waiting to hear from CHEO. We will do a semi-invasive diagnostic test next. In the meantime, I'll be diving in to a few areas...not the least of which will be how to improve our immune systems and keep them strong. I need a very healthy little boy asap.

And I can't forget the toystore. I have never seen such a collection of Playmobil and Lego under one roof. Rai picked out Kori's birthday gift and Santa may have even picked up something for under the tree. I think I impressed Brian with my stealthy gift buying techniques. And apparently the clerk at the store is used to such manoevours as there were thick, black garbage bags just waiting for such a purpose behind the counter.

I will leave my poor navigating skills story for another day.

We're Off For The Day

Well, today is the day. We have a clinic appointment at CHEO for Raiden. I have all the paperwork together, directions ready, childcare arranged and a map to the toystore from the hospital. Rai is feeling well although he's not excited to see the doctor. He is looking forward to lunch with Brian and I and Christmas shopping at the toystore that we're going to check out: over 14,000 square feet of independently owned toys - all brands we love. I'll let you know what it's like once we're back.

I'm hoping for a doctor who is gentle and considerate. I hope I can be outspoken enough to speak up for Rai if need be. I'm glad Brian is able to come with us. He's very level headed at times like this. He'll remember to ask things that we need to know, but that I would totally forget to ask. All prayers, vibes and other good thoughts are shamelessly accepted.

Is It Ever Going To Stop Raining??!??

It has been raining for weeks. Hallowe'en was a clear day...but the only one in that week. It's still raining. The landscaper was by. He said in October there were only 3 clear working days for him. That's crazy.

I thought I'd rake up the leaves around the yard. Then, I thought I'd wait until it dried up a bit. At this rate, I'll be shovelling them out from under a snowbank.

The kids are wrangy. Not enough large muscle activity. Even going out to play in the rain has lost it's novelty. The dog is wrangy. She doesn't like to get her feet wet. She stalks around waiting for something fun to happen. She's a little high strung as it is, so it's like living with a jack-in-the-box.

So with all that in the house, as well as the grounded helicopters....everyone's getitng bored and cabin fevered. That usually doesn't hit us until February. Great. Something I acomplished ahead of time.

Lazy Wednesday Evenings...

We have no activities to run off to on Wednesday evenings. Once Brian comes home around 4, everyone has some down time. Dinner is usually a little later and sometimes more elaborate. Tonight is roasted potatoes - the only way Kori will eat them - and salmon. Raiden's been asking for salmon for a week now.

How do you make salmon fillets from frozen so that they actually taste good? The kids won't eat spicy or creamy. So I guess it's a little lemon, butter and dill. Not terribly exciting in my opinion.

Had a bit of a blip on the 'productivity' front today. I spent too much time on the computer. I let the kids spend too much time on things they wanted to do before the things we needed to do were done. However, instead of stressing about it too much, I made sure that the basics were done. Morning chores were done and we were presentable to answer the door. Brian's lunch was ready when he came home. We did our reading and school work and all that is left is dinner and showers for the kids.

We read yesterday's paper to understand the election results. Kori's math was based on that today. She also did some work on Ch.4 of her novel study. She completed some Guiding badge work and got her repot ready for badge testing next week. Both kids did a colouring page while we reviewed our history lesson from yesterday: the origins of writing; cuniform in Mesopotamia and hieroglyphics in Egypt. Rai did some math facts and I reminded him about carrying numbers in addition. Most facts he does in his head, but I know he needs to be able to work out problems on paper. He will do anything to get out of printing, so I guess mental multi-digit addition helps with that. Rai finished his printing work from his Literature Study book we read yesterday and we read the next book. His author this Fall is Robert Munsch. He can read the books but he prefers not to. Not a pleasure reader, that one.

Onwards and upwards to tomorrow. An early morning for Rai's appointment at the lab and then to the hospital to pick up his ultrasound films in preparation for next week's appointment at CHEO. Perhaps a few groceries and school work in the afternoon. Our postcards arrived today - very beautiful postcards that I do not really want to send away - so we will start our postcard exchange for the homeschool forum.

That's all for tonight. I am off to finish the evening and then spend some time with Bri. We're out of movies to watch...I wonder if he wants to watch me ....

Ok, This Stuff Is Weird

I've been blog-hopping, as I tend to do. There seems to be a trend to learning wierd things about people. I will spare you my list of wierd things for a couple of reasons.

But here's one for you. I was reading over at Thoughts from the Home Front about lining up Smarties/Skittles/M&Ms into colour groups before eating them. Who knew that many people did that??!? I do that!!! You line them up, eat the extras, make a rainbow and then eat the treat.
So here I was thinking about this the last few days when what do I see?? Yup. That's Kori. Lining up her Smarties. Where does she get this stuff?? Genetics?? **sorry, missing picture**


Poor Rai's treat was interrupted. Rather rudely. He had just opened a lollypop. He was sitting beside Kori on the couch. The dog was sleeping on the other side of Kori. You see where this is going, don't you? The dog wakes up, contorts herself just enough to stretch her neck across Kori's lap and licks Rai's treat. Who does that?!? Apparently my dog, the sneak. I won't tell you who taught her to lick lollies. I couldn't betray Brian like that.

And for your mindless Entertainment News update. It appears that OJ Simpson is giving a TV interview (and launching his new book). It is titled "If I Did It." Essentially he'll tell us how he would have killed his wife, if he had done it. In two evenings of viewing pleasure, no less. Two questions pop into my head. Is it just me or does he do something every few years to keep his name in the news?? And, is there really any point to this type of thing? It just seems so useless. I am so glad that we have chosen not to have tv in the house. Oh wait....is that a wierd thing??

Election Thoughts

A confession of sorts. Until yesterday, I had never voted. I understand that it is my right and duty. Normally, I follow the election races. In general, I like to know the candidates' platforms. The kids and I follow all these things and talk about the popular issues and the sticking points. The kids know the difference between the Federal and Municipal governments. For this past election, they could rattle off most of the candidates and the offices that they were running for. But, until yesterday, I had never actually voted. I should say that I am ashamed. I am a proud Canadian. So yesterday's voting was educational. But I think God was sending me a message of sorts with the results.

First, He was telling me that voting is a democratic process and the voice of the people ( in the collective sense) will be heard. Just because I actually made it to the polls doesn't mean I am Queen High And Mighty Local Political Master Know It All Chooser Of Candidates.

Second, He was affirming that I must take the road less travelled. I just can't conform. Obviously. The candidate I chose for mayor didn't win. It's sort of ok as the winning candidate is in most ways of the same mindset as my favorite. However, I didn't vote for Mr. Winner as I have seen his parenting practices in person. If one can't control one's own child in a public setting, how is he to demand the respect of, and lead to better times, or community? If rude and violent behaviour escapes his notice, exactly what else are they going to slip past him?? Apparently we've got four years to see. Didn't fair too well on the counsellor selection either. The two I didn't want to see in in our ward succeeded. The new guy I voted for won, though. That was the only bright light on my ballot.

Rai accompanied me when I filled out my ballot. And the ladies were careful to explain the ballot counting machine to him. They told him what to watch for and he understood when the machine accepted my ballot. So that was a good thing.

I will say that I will vote in all other elections that come my way. It is a good example of exercising our freedoms and doing our part for this great country. And as the boys at Beavers learned tonight, people died fighting for this (among other freedoms). The least I can do is this one little thing.

Interesting & Not Really Relevant Links

My not sleeping gets you access to these wonderful links that I have come across. Don't you feel lucky?

First, a relevant survey for you homeschoolers. I hope you take the time to complete it - it doesn't take long. I found the link to the survey at one of my favorite homeschooling blogs to read: lightingthefires.

Home organization has been in the forefront of my mind for a while now. I stumbled across Lori Seaborg's blog. She calls it 'Keeping the Home' and there is a lot to read and get into. If it interests you, get a snack and a drink and set up camp at your computer table for a while. I was particularly interested in her thoughts on setting up an household notebook, but I'll have to poke around her site to find exactly where I saw it.
(As an aside to this, the kids and I have stumbled across a system of reminders that might work for us. It's not as in-your-face as FlyLady, but it should help the kids understand what we need to accomplish in the course of the day. I can incorportate a list of homeschoolish activites that we agree they should be working on throughout the week - an attractive feature for us. We're going to try it out this week, and hopefully longer, and we'll let you know how it goes.)

And for my daring and bold explorer of natural hair care friend...here's one for you! How to go No Shampoo. If you try it, I might.

Other favorites I poke around at if I have the time: BabyBlues, FBOFW, Maple Leaf Used Curriculum (check out //welovebooks.com for an explanation), and the Waikiki Beach cam for the days when you wish you could get away.

Pomanders And Present Going Ons

Kori and I have made some pomanders. I suppose I should say that it has been a family affair as Raiden likes to stab the orange with a toothpick and insert the cloves. And Brian chauffeured us around town, finally finding orris root powder himself in the health food store. I hope they work. We have 3 completed, covered in spices and drying. Various sources have said it take 4 - 6 weeks to have a nicely dried pomander. So I'm hoping that we have them ready at Christmas time. If they work out ok, I'll plan to make some as gifts/ornaments next year. This year, I think they will stay here and decorate my house. Better safe than sorry, you know.

The birthday boy is another year older. We had a good day, I think. He is happy with his gifts and I was able to surprise him. Which is a feat in itself. I suppose I should share...might make some sense of the prevcious confusing post below.

The kids and I thought it would be nice to surprise Brian with a birthday gift of a remote car starter. He gets up for work early each day and has a forty mile walk from the parking lot to the building. (k, not 40, but it's uphill both ways, in steel toe boots and driving snow....) We are usually snug in bed when he leaves...and this is a man who loves his sleep. Anyway, we thought it would be nice for him to be able to start the car up as he was getting ready for work, without having to go out and scrape the ice off the car in the wind. At lucnch, he doesn't really have time to scrape the car off, come home to eat and then drive back, either. So the kids and I went shopping. We picked one up. Took it to the shop to make sure they could install it. Yup. No problem. Left it there and booked myself in for 11am the next day to have it installed.

The kids and I arrive at the shop at 11am the next day. It is so busy that I take the kids into the back office to wait. Mom and dad are crazy busy with customers. Even my brother is out in the shop working. We wait. 11:30. My brother grabs the kids and they run across to the parts shop across the street to get a part. They come back. Rai is bleeding. Brad hasn't got his part, the phone is ringing off the hook, customers are waiting, cars are blocking the bays. I take the kids home. There is no starter on my car. Mom calls later. Bring it right over, it's not so busy now. I pack up the kids and off we go. The car is in the bay and torn apart. There is a mechanic embedded in the underworkings of the dash, working away. Suddenly this one hour job is more like a two hour job. I check the clock. It's Friday, Bri usually tries to wrap up his week earlier than his normal 4pm finish time.. Best case scenario: they'll be done around 3:30. I turn off my cell phone and hope for the best. 3:30 rolls around. The mechanic starts putting the car back together. The starter isn't working properly. Brad is on the phone with the starter tech-support line. The best I can do is bring it back Monday morning and they'll finish it up. I coach the kids on why it's not really lying if we don't tell Daddy what we did all afternoon.

So Monday morning rolls around, Rai and I hit the shop with the car earlier than is decent. We leave the car, take my moms, pick up fresh birthday pie as it appears that those who work at the grocery store are up at that hour. Return to the shop to find that the starter is working!!! Grab coffee on the way home and all is good. We were quiet about the starter until Bri got his keys on his way to renerw the licence plate stickers later in the morning. He found the remote on his keychain and was all excited. So, a good surprise, well taken by the guy that you're not supposed to surprise 'cause he hates surprises. I'm not sure if he's more surprised by the gift, or the fact that we surprised him...jury's still out on that one.

Today was the day to drop off Rai's second sample at the lab. A week and 2 days he's been off his medicine and no fever so far. This is good news, however, there are niggling worries in the back of my head. The antibiotics were much stronger than his first round. I can't help but think that it's just going to take longer for his system to get rid of the stronger drugs and then we'll be back to square one. The past two days have been bad days as far as his tummy pains are concerned, but no fever.

I should probably let everyone know how lessons and such are going. We are reading every day. Our present selections are Little House On The Prarie and The Dawntreader by C.S.Lewis. The kids couldn't decide together on a read-aloud, so I started reading both of their choices. I have to say that Rai is holding up through "the girl book" very well. So far we have read about exploring and building, wolves and fires and he says it's not that bad. He says he might even like it when we get to the part with the Indians. The Dawntreader is pretty fantastical - even more so than the first two of the Narnia series that we've read. It seems there is a seperate adventure in each chapter. Our attention is held; it will be interesting to see how it all turns out.

There is much unstructured learning going on. Kori is working on a creative writing story and Rai is helping with ideas, plot, characters and such. They disappear for large chunks of time to work on it. Kori is discovering Lego with Rai. I am beginning to get a picture of our Advent activities in my mind. I see some more structured time for lessons creeping up behind me again. The kids were doing very well keeping busy. But the last week or so, I see less and less of the 'interesting' things keeping them busy. There's no excuse, either, as they both lost any sort of video games for a week. Even Brian noticed that they were rushing through their required things, doing a less than stellar job, in order to turn the game-box on. Brian made short work of that. We are practicing doing a thoughough job the first time we do things - chores, helping mom, taking care of themselves, etc. I suppose I can count that as some sort of 'lesson', can't I??

Was thinking about Rememberance Day and who was going to lay the wreath in Ottawa for my Grandpa this year. Usually Dad goes up and does it. But I haven't heard any plan for that this year. Its funny, when you think about not having your dad any more. (or when you think about your dad not having his dad anymore...) Whether they're taken from us too early or if they've had a full life, it always seems to me that those left behind are too alone in the world. It's sad thinking about the little ones who won't know their Grandpa, not really, at least, not like we knew them. I know the stories I tell the kids about my Grandpa don't do him justice. I suppose that's just one of those life lessons that you have to learn. Sometimes learning isn't so fun...

May I Be Confusing For A Moment??

So I have this blog...which I have invited the family to share in. So that they may see what homeschooling for our family is like. So that I can share whats going on with them, etc.

I know we are not the easiest family to deal with. But doesn't every family have their own quirks? I have decided to follow my husband's lead in a bunch of areas and that may be seen by some as 'giving in' or 'being oppressed' or whatever. I sort of see it as trying to find my place as a good wife and mother in my own family - you know, doing the whole 'what works for us' thing?? Brian brings up some very good points regarding support and respect that I really benefit from.

I can be reasonably certain that most of the family doesn't come here to check in. But that doesn't give me the right to go on and on about them or be critical. That would be disrespectful. (See?! I'm listening...) So why have this silly webpage if the family that I am supposed to be keeping up to date couldn't be bothered? That's rhetorical, by the way.

Might I just share this: my family (not the ones I chose or birthed) is frustrating me. I really really apreciate their help...I know and understand the sacrifice they take on to provide for me. It is obviously not my place to demand the same considerations they would give others. It just seems to me that if they would extend those same courtesies, even though I may not deserve them, entire projects would go more smoothly. Instead, I get frustrated, the kids get shafted, Brian gets frustrated and wants to rescue me by 'fixing' things...which I won't let him do...so I end up telling him only part of the story. See how it just gets out of control? And so goes the weekend for me...stressing, worrying, sitting around in my p.j.s avoiding things until 3pm on a Saturday.


Oh. Before I go, I should tell about the hockey game we went to last night. First, I am glad they were free tickets. The boys certainly haven't found their groove on the ice yet. There are at lest 10 new drafted players in from the States. The mother in my feels like I should bake a pie for all of them. Anyway, so they're out there playing their little 17-year-old hearts out. Behind us is a row of very vocal, very rude people. So much so that Brian and I picked up the kids in the third period and left to watch the rest of the game rink-side by the snack bar. I explained to the kids that we do not want the kids exposed to such inappropriate behaviour. It is fine to shout and cheer and get excited at a hockey game. It's hard not to. However, it is not appropriate to be heckling, shouting and keeping up such a tirade that the entire section is commenting on it.

Now, the very, very unfortunate thing is that the people we had to move away from were the 'responsible adults' in charge of a couple of kids that Kori and Rai really like to watch the games with. It was an exercise in irony to hear the kids reprimanded for heckling and carrying on when they were only copying what they had hear from Auntie and Grandpa. We won't be sitting there anymore. Which is saying a lot as Brian is a sit-in-the-same-seats-every-time kind of guy. Oh well, maybe the kids will be able to visit inbetween periods. That is, if the Braves improve their playing style this season. It was a pretty painful game.

In other home-town hockey-game news...the lady sitting in front a couple rows down is back together with her boyfriend. They had broken up a few months back. She had told him to 'get out and take all yer stuff when you go!' So he did. He took everything. Including the newly installed stick-on laminate flooring. I know, I know...there's no humour in such vindictive behaviour...but I wonder if he stuck it back on when he moved back in???

Puttering Along

Ok, a quick catch up to let you all know that I'm still alive. Day #5 with the new schedule firmly in mind and it's going well. I am not sweating the small stuff. It will all get sorted out. We have 3 chunks of schooling planned throughout the day and we always hit two. That's pretty good for me. I'm starting to feel a little more balanced. However, that novelty may wear off. Ok...on to what's been going on.

Lovely program at the local Museum last Friday. I may have already mentioned that. Pics to follow...some day.

Hallowe'en was great. A gloomy and drizzly day turned into a clear and balmy (for the end of October) evening. We went over to the neighbourhood where Brian grew up and did two streets. The kids got two huge bags of loot each...we've got enough to keep us in chocolate, chips and treats until June, I'm sure. We could easily skip Easter treats and be ok.

Rai finished up his meds the other evening. I am monitoring his temp as I fully expect him to crash within the week. I am continuing his ColdFX and enzymes - which seem to ward off any digestive upset. The sore tummy has not disappeared, but it is easier for him to recognize and describe. Which says to me the general discomfort is gone and the specific complaint is apparent. Dropped off his first sample at the lab this morning: Dr.W is also wanting to monitor him until we see the specialist on the 21st.

Enjoyed a nice afternoon at the Y yesterday as the guests of friends. The Y is trying to be more 'family friendly' and has tried to open up it's schedule, services and equipment to families with 'youth'. I even got a nice walk in on the treadmill with my girlfriend as we did not have to be tied to the kids. Nice.

Looks like we'll be taking in a Sens game this weekend. Very nice surprise as we are being given tickets. At first, just Brian and Rai were going to go, but now it loks like there are extra tickets so it's turned into a family outing. My kids will have been to 2 NHL games in the space of a year. Pretty decadent. Come to think of it, we were given tickets to the local Braves game for Friday night as well. And that birthday surprise I was thinking about for Brian looks like it will work out. And the car is able to be paid off as soon as we make the call. How blessed are we? It's funny how good things pop up when you're not looking. We are busy trying to make good changes. Focusing our energy on doing better with what we have. And these nice extras just jump out and slam into you. Funny how that happens, eh?

I am off to do lunch and school work with the kids for the afternoon. We were so productive this morning, I'm almost afraid to. Errands, schoolwork, housework and computer time?!?!? Brian's going to start taking my temperature....