Happy Birthday Jake!

Happy Birthday To You

Happy Birthday TO YOU

Happy BIRTHDAY dear JAAAAA-AAAAAKE

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOUUUUUU!!

I love you, Honey.
Happy 33rd.

September Activities

A couple weekends ago my dad and us went to Fielding Park to feed the ducks and walk around and play on some playground stuff. And that's almost exactly what we did. Here we are walking.

Sage is 'feeding' the ducks. And by 'feeding' I mean throwing chips and crackers and cheerios into the lake and having the ducks ignore us. Turns out ducks are snobs and only eat fluffy white bread. Which they were full of because of the group of kids who were there just as we got there, throwing the good stuff in.
Pretty.

Don't let's let any of us fall in!
Including YOU Tilly!
Daddy/Grampa/Boppa and Pretty
Walking the family and dogs down the lane.

Different ducks, just as snobby. They're all swimming away to that same group of kids with the white bread. Note all the ignored stuff we threw in.

So we gave up and went to the playground! Here's an action shot of Tilly sliding down the slide.

Action shot of Hayden sliding down the slide.

Climbers
Sage's first Big Slide! He looks pretty excited.

Yep! It was fun!
Climbing the equipment.
"Hey I thought we were going to slide down side-by-side!"r
Teeter Totter Tots and Daddy/Grampa/Boppa

My pea plants are STILL flowering and making big peas, even though we've already had at least one frost. Next year I'll definitely start them ON TIME.
Both the kids and I luurve fresh peas.
I had to fend off many hands in order to take this picture.

This picture was from a week or so ago. Since then the plants have become so top-heavy that my flimsy little dowels that I gave them have all broken or popped out of the ground and the whole thing is now sprawled on the ground. Next year I will have a MUCH weightier support system for the peas.
My watermellon flowered.. a couple days before the first frost. LOL I don't think I'll be getting a watermellon this year.
My tomatos! I've since harvested them and have a gazillion green ones and 3 or so red or turning-red ones. I have one for breakfast every day. They are SO tastey!
PUMPKIN!! I had two but the other one isn't growing very well. I have mildew and didn't catch it in time to save the life of the pumpkin. I thought it was dirt. Next year I will know better.

HHHHH

Ever since Saturday night, Hayden has had yet another set of ear infections. He ran a fever on Sunday night 3am of 103.2 degrees farenheight. I worried. I wondered what the temperature was that you were supposed to panic and run off to the hospital. I gave the poor guy kid's ibuprofin and wiped him down with a warm wet cloth. He was so drowsy and out of it he wanted the heavy quilt on him up to his ears. I had to fight him to get him to only have the sheet up to his waist. I took all his clothes off except his diaper (which he still wears overnight) and dabbed him with the cloth. At first he didn't want it, and wimpered pathetically, but after a few dabs and wipes he was offering me his arms to keep wiping. The fever broke and he slept beside me.

Tuesday I stayed home from work and kept the kids home from daycare. When Jake got home we went to the clinic and saw awesome Dr David Joyce. He spent time with us, and even though the clinic was busy, took care of all our needs. He even recruited us for a study that his daytime job was conducting with regard to children's development. Its purpose is to compare kids' doctor's notes on their development with their actual development. Development development development. I'm saying that a lot here. Anyway someone would come to our house and assess both kids thoroughly with regard to language, fine motor skills, the other motor skills that I can't think of the name but the big ones, and other things. Then compare to our dr's notes. Seemed like an interesting study.

Anyway the dr also looked into Hayden's ears and said yes, both ears were quite infected. Also to my horror, Hayden's left ear drum has a hole in it, caused by the infection. He said definitely if Hayden's not feeling better in two days to come back and see the dr again. I have appointments for both kids to see our regular pediatrician Dr Catherine Pluta on Monday, and from there probably get a referral to see an ear nose and throat specialist. We are concerned because especially this time around, Hayden's hearing is decreased. I am hoping that it is just temporary, caused by the infection. It's pretty bad though. We're making sure to enunciate clearly and speak loudly so he can hear us. The kids went back to daycare today and Jake let them know his hearing is low right now, so they'd be aware.

Lame joke: instead of Triple H, he's Quintuple H: Hard of Hearing Hayden Huxley Huss.... but just till his ears clear up. I don't know if holes in eardrums heal. I don't want to look it up, in case they don't. I want to be ignorant on that for a bit. Just in case it's bad news. When he told us, I forgot completely about asking if it healed or what it would mean or anything. He said "I see a hole in his eardrum." then he stood up. Then he said "Wait, maybe it was a bubble. Sometimes that happens." he looked again "nope, it's a hole." And we were like "a hole.. ok a hole."

I'll keep you posted.

On another note, Sage said to me on Tuesday: "I want apple juice, in this cup, now mommy!" A very long and demanding sentence! Of course, to the untrained ear it might've sounded more like this: "Ah wah bapp jooss, ih dih cup NOW MOMMY"

And yet another note Hayden stood on the scale at the clinic yesterday and he finally made it to 40 lbs!!! YAY!! That's a milestone because NOW he can graduate from the harness carseat to the booster with seatbelt! It only took 2 years to put 3 pounds on him. I never thought he'd get up to 40 lbs! He's been 37 lbs since he was 2 years old. Sage is about 33 lbs.

ta ta for now!

Killarney Retreat Photos

Our luxurious travel mode: school bus. We did not sing. But we made fun of the short people who you couldn't see over the extra tall seat backs, heightened for childrens' safety. This photo Cindy, Annan, Sylvie.

Teri Mai, Lisette, and the top of Christine G's head.
Helen's back and Gisele's peek-a-boo.

Arriving at the meeting room. Jim is pensive in the foreground. Denny and Derek discuss something midground. Gisele Teri Mai and Cindy walk up in the background.
Annan stopped to let me take his picture, and Helen thought she was quick enough to escape my shutter. Not so! :)
I don't know why I was standing at the door while everyone arrived, but I did. This is Nursing Manager Colleen and Sylvie.
The group! 21 of us. The flash went off and it wasn't strong enough.
Without the flash was better.

me!
My room. COMFY bed. Oh my goodness. It was like sleeping in a hug.
Team Building Exercise. We had the choice of picking kayaking, hiking or sailing. Sailing was least strenuous, therefore that was my choice :)
Me sitting on the little raised part of the stern. Linda MacDonald sat back here with me. She would later save my life several times.

Gisele has a fear of water. This was a great step for her.

We were still at the dock, Teri Mai and some others came by to say goodbye while on their way to Kayaking.
Still docked... Angie in yellow, Annan, and Brenda beside him.
David the Sailor Man shows us how to wear the lifejackets if we wanted to wear one. Gisele did.
Sailing!! We toured around Killarney bay and Eileen there in the white hat and her husband David told us all about the land and old buildings and stuff.

Gisele was showing off her comfort level by removing her lifejacket and then even standing up. I pushed her one step further and said she should stand on one leg. Which she did. Very obliging lady :)
Sailing Wing and Wing: both sails open in opposite directions in order to maximize the wind directly behind us.
Cute little lighthouse in front of the quartz rock mountains.

30 years ago the water was at the level you can see on this rock. People are concerned.

Homes on these islands can cost $1 M to build, not including cost of the materials.

Gisele was given the oportunity to DRIVE the boat! She was good at it. Didn't crash us or anything.

Can you see the old indian face profiled in these rocks?
The indian face from straight on.
Leaving the face.
So relaxed is Linda, with her warm cup of coffee.

Posing.
Natural pose.
I wanted to capture how angled the deck was when we got going faster. This was not even as tilty as we were going to be.
We have recovered from almost sliding right off the deck. We banked so steeply I swear the deck was at a 45 degree angle. We went into it so suddenly that Linda and I were sliding and seriously almost fell in. I was trying to get my foot against the little lip on the edge of the deck, but I got a rope instead. Linda saved my life by taking my camera from me so I could use both hands to get to a safer place. Even then, you can see me here holding onto my only handle, that little lip.
Angie and Gisele had the best seats during the extremly tilty time.

Gisele never saw a gas pump on a dock before and made me take this picture.
A spare tire on the tracker, a spare boat on this yacht. I thought it was funny.
Party Thursday night. Teri Mai is "rolling down the river" with Tina Turner.
Jim and Lisette rock out.

Karaoke and fun in the boy's Chalet. We didn't know how many mice were here too until Denny felt one on his back at 4am in his bed. YIKES.
After the Karaoke, the guitar sing-a-long. Complete with songbooks!

Yves from Ottawa and Christine B singing so nicely.
No no no! You can't move the King like that!

YES. That is a legal move.
Derek having a hang-over.
Did we dwink too much wast night Dewek?
Captain Morgan and Colleen laughing.
Pretty little petunias. The flowers were about the size of a dime.

Day Two and our mascot was discovered taking a nap in the window. Gisele, Cindy, Teri Mai, and Lisette investigate.
He was named Bloody the Bat.
All 21 of us, just after we finished all the work. I asked some guy to take this picture. I love Jim's Michael Jackson pose.
A more serious picture. YAY! What a great two days!!