Hooray for Storyland!!!

Wow, I am proud of myself in that I am staying true to my word and providing not only an update, but also pictures from the past week, including a wonderful day with the daycare at Storyland!

The past week in and of itself was fairly routine. On Wednesday evening, Gord went out to the gun club and did some skeet shooting. Erin and I decided to have an adventure at Zellers in Smiths Falls! An adventure at Zellers you ask? Why yes, every trip is an adventure with an almost-three-year-old!!! Erin and were doing some shopping in preparation for her big 3rd birthday party. I think we just about have everything in order now, short of the pinata (imagine the squiggly over the 'n'!!) and treats to go inside, and of course food for the party. We then decided to have some dinner at the restaurant in Zellers. I don't think I have eaten at a department store restaurant since I was a kid and used to go to the ones inside Woolworths or Kresgese. What memories!! Of course, they acutally serve you at a table now - no counter service anymore! Erin had a ball - who wouldn't with 4 mini pogos and pigtail fries!!

Thursday was a make-up swimming class for Erin, so we went to that and had dinner out once again - Boston Pizza this time. I don't think I have eaten out so much in the same week in ages! Erin has done really well with her swimming. Her last class was actually this morning. I have to register for group lessons for the fall next week. She also wants to take ballet lessons again, so I am going to try to balance that on the same day, since the two places are right across the road from each other!!

Friday of course was the big trip to Storyland. This week was certainly a week of walking down memory lane as I got to ride on a school bus for the first time since I got my licence! Everything in me said that I should convince Erin not to sit near the back of the bus, but I let her convince me. Yup, for those of you that remember, the back of the bus is still an adventure whenever you hit the big potholes that grace our Canadian roads!! The day itself could not have been better though. It was sunny and warm but not stinking hot like much of the summer has been! Erin had a great time and so did all of the other kids. I've posted a few pictures and I'm sure you can tell how much fun she had! For my pals with little ones reading this, if you get a chance, take your kids here. The place is really great and believe it or not, they actually don't try to gouge you, like most of the other North American family tourist attractions do!

So, here we are on Saturday now. Erin is actually snoozing away right now. Gord took her to swimming this morning and I cleaned the house - I'm sore right now (I'm also paying for the school bus ride!!). They got home shortly after noon and I whisked her away again to go and see a movie. We went to see 'Barnyard'. I think Erin now has a healthy fear of coyotes. I give the movie a 2 out of 5. I shouldn't complain because I had a gift card and it didn't cost anything, but it wasn't the best kids movie I've seen. Erin liked the animals at the start of the movie, but once the coyotes showed up, she didn't want to watch it anymore. Oh well, like I said, it didn't cost me anything. After the movie I took Erin to get a haircut. She was good as gold and can now see again! I can't believe how quickly those little bangs of hers grow! Gord is out right now, as he has been all afternoon escape-proofing our barnyard for Minnie. She is getting very large and is getting to be quite a nuisance. Her latest trick? Jumping up on the hood of cars. So now you understand the escape-proof analogy....

Enjoy the pics and until next time.....

Summer weekends are busy....

As we close in on 9:00pm, I thought I better publish a weekly update before I hear it from people!!!

I'm sitting back right now trying to recap the weekend and since it flew by, it feels like we didn't do much, but then again, it flew by so I know we were busy!

Erin had her weekly swimming lesson. I can't believe how well she is doing. She swam the entire length of the big pool at the Y on just a pool noodle. We had a pile of running around to do and top it off with a birthday party for Erin's beloved cousin Emily. I cannot believe Emily is 15!! It seems like yesterday when I met her, and she was just over a year old then!! We were also invited to a welcome party for Patricia and Ashley's little boy Malcolm, but we just couldn't swing it. I hope they had a great day and I can't wait to see that little cutie again soon!!

Erin continues to do well at her new daycare. In fact she got quite mad at me on Friday when I picked her up. You see, she was upset that she didn't get to come back to daycare on Saturday!! I think that is wonderful! She is very excited about Friday of this week. There is a field trip planned to Storyland in Renfrew through the daycare. I took the day off to volunteer and I'll be we have a ball! Erin and I looked up the place on the Internet and that got her even more excited. I'll take some pictures and post them next weekend - I think I'm overdue with posting some pics!!

We are also planning a fall trip to Maine. Gord wants to go the sporting centre at LL Bean in Freeport, so we are going to make a long weekend of it. It should be fun. It has been ages since I have been to Maine. I was showing Erin some of the things we can do there and she has announced she wants to go on a seal watching boat adventure! Of course I will like the outlet shopping myself, but I'm sure the seal watching will be fun too!!

Anyway, it seems like a ho-hum weekly update to me so I should sign off. Check back for a detailed publish on Erin's adventure at Storyland next week!!

Until next time....

Everyone's still asleep....

Except me! That's normal though!

Well it's a bright and sunny Sunday morning. I woke to discover to my utter shock and disappointment that we did not win the $42 million 6-49 draw last night. It's a good thing I love my job!!!

We ended up capping off the week in fine style as Erin is back to her splendid self! All of the regression we saw over the past month is behind us now (hopefully for good). It was funny, on Friday I dropped her off at daycare because I took the day off to study for my final and she wasn't too bad. Erin put on a bit of a show, but it's becoming obvious that she is starting to really enjoy the new daycare! When I went to pick her up that afternoon, she made me wait for her to finish colouring her picture before she would even think about leaving! That's pretty awesome if you ask me! All weekend she has been telling us that she wants to go to daycare! Wow, that's a nice transition considering what we have struggled with for the past while.

My final exam went very well. I can't believe I am finished the program! I am writing one more challenge exam in November because I can't stand the thought of taking a course in finance and accounting, so because I need it for my professional designation, I will opt for the easy route - cram in a couple of days and write an exam!

Erin had a brilliant day on Saturday. Gord took her to swimming and she was amazing again. I am so happy that she enjoys the water so much. I ended up getting home before them, but when they did get home, Erin had a full belly from eating up her lunch and was ready for a nap. While she was napping a fellow (and friend of ours!) from Gord's work, Rowan dropped by with his 9-month old little boy Rys for a visit. This is the first time I have met Rys in person and what a cutie he is! Erin slept for part of his visit and we pulled out a bunch of her toys for him to play with. Erin woke up and was really good. She is excellent at sharing her toys and she even brought more out to him! After Rowan and Rys left, it was off to the Merrickville Fair. Erin has been so excited about going since we mentioned it a couple of weeks back. She rode a bunch of the rides and Gord won a couple of stuffed toys for her and she tasted her first Slush Puppy and ate her first cotton candy - or fluffy stuff as she calls it! We also had a look at some of the cows and tractors, but we had missed most of the shows - either on earlier or later. We spent about an hour or so there, and that was about right for her.

So it's Sunday now and there are no plans! Gord is going skeet shooting this morning, so Erin and I will likely play outside and do some colouring. Sounds like a great day to me!

Until next time.....

Wow! A mid-week post!!

It's Wednesday evening and Gord and Erin are out for a tractor ride to the back fields, so it's a quiet moment for me, so I thought I would publish a mid-week post!

The long weekend was just great! We had a bit of a struggle with Erin and the regression with potty training, but by Monday she seemed to be back on track. Erin and Gord got me a great birthday gift - a very cool built-in beverage fridge. We have been talking about it for a while, so Gord found a really nice one, popped out a set of cupboards next to the big fridge and voila - a new spot to store drinks! The big fridge looks empty now - I can't believe how much water we kept in it! My dad came down on Sunday afternoon and we went out for a nice casual dinner at the 'Goose' in town. The weather was amazing all weekend, so we enjoyed dinner on the patio. When we came home, Erin serendaded me with a marvellous version of 'Happy Birthday'! Monday morning we all went out for breakfast and my dad picked up a gift for me - a 'skeetervac'. Yeah, I know funny sounding gift, but it's one of those propane mosquito-ridding machines. I have had a few people rave about them, so I figured that would be a good gift - the chance to enjoy our patio at home more often without being chased away by the evening onslaught of mosquitos!

Tuesday marked the return to daycare for Erin. She was very brave and was a very big girl all day - the potty training is right back on track now!!! She was happy to see me yesterday when I picked her up (it's so nice to be loved!!!), but was a little weary. She had a tougher go of it this morning, but when I picked her up she came running up to me and said "Mummy! I had a great day!!!" How good is that! I guess the day wasn't without tears, but I think that getting into a routine will help her settle soon. I expect this for the next couple of weeks, then she will be in her groove.

I guess that's about it. Pretty dull eh?!!! I only have one more day at work this week - I am off Friday to study for a final exam I write on Saturday morning. This is the last course of my HR management program!! Yeah!!!!! I'll start to work on the certification next, but I don't have anything more to do until November, so I am looking forward to the break. After that, we are going to take Erin to the Merrickville fair for a while. I'm sure she will have fun on the rides and seeing all of the animals!

Anyway, wish me luck on my exam and I'll check in again on the weekend.

Erin the Princess

Ahhh, a princess indeed!!

Ya Gotta love long weekends......

It's Saturday August 5th and Gord and Erin are off picking up a surprise for me. For those who don't know, tomorrow is my 38th birthday. We have no exciting plans other than relaxing and enjoying the day. My dad is coming down - aka North Bay Grandpa!! - so we'll do a couple of things while he is down. Other than that, it's just sit back and enjoy the 3-day weekend!

Erin is doing great. We have been seeing a bit of regressing over the past week. Wow this has been a rough month or so for that little gal! Now her last molars are popping through with avengence. I just have to remember to be patient and give her all the love she needs and she'll get through this too. To top things off, it will be back to the new daycare on Tuesday morning. I have no doubts she will adapt, but I have a feeling it will be a tough week. I will be so happy to get some routine of this under her belt over the next few weeks!

She did have a great time with Emily though over the past 2 weeks. I really think both of them enjoyed the time. Emily is amazing with her and really gets a charge out of the wicked sense of humour Erin is developing! Her lastest is to refer to her cousin Alex as 'that little bugger'! I don't know where she picked that up, but it seems to a favourite these days!

We got great reports back from Erin's day with Aunt Elaine. I guess Erin went downtown to visit Daddy at work, then got to go and meet some of the folks at Aunt Elaine's work. She even got to ride an Ottawa bus! Jeepers, I've never even had that honour! Erin was so tired by the end of the day (no nap.....) that when Gord went to pick her up, they stopped for dinner (take out Old McDonald's) just down the road from Elaine's place, then as Gord got onto the Queensway, she was out like a light. I guess this was around 6:30pm. When they got home around 7:30pm, he brought her in the house, layed her down on the couch and she continued to sleep like a log. At 9:00pm we decided we better get her into pj's. Nope, still no waking up despite being manhandled out of clothes then back into them! The girl didn't wake up until just before I left the next morning at 6:20am!!! Oh how I would love to sleep that long some days!

Let's see, what else has been going on.... Erin starts a new round of swimming lessons. She was supposed to go today, but her instructor is sick, so next week it is. This past Wednesday, I went into Ottawa and got to meet Malcolm, Patricia and Ashley's beautiful baby boy! He is adorable! Patricia looks great and is positively beaming at being a new mom. I continue to be so excited for them!! I managed not to cry when I was holding him. I can't believe the memories it brings back when you hold a newborn. Every early memory of holding Erin when she was born came rushing back. In a month, she is going to be 3-years old.... time flies. I know Patricia and Ashley will love every moment they have with Malcolm.

Last night we were invited to Emma and Erika's joint birthday party. Emma is turing 8 and Erika is turning 5. They had a great time! Their pool is all finished now and the girls were putting on quite a show going down the slide! I can't believe the speed they can get on that thing!

Minnie continues to be quite a goat. Her latest trick is to in a single leap, hop up on to the patio table. I will have to try to get a picture of that and post it. We scold her for doing it, but man is it ever funny!

Well, I best sign off. I have posted a few new pictures of Erin. Shelley was kind enough to send some of Shyra's old fancy dresses that no longer fit her to Erin. In the dresses, Erin becomes the princess she deep down inside knows she is!!

By the way, Erin's teeth and big bruise are much better. She is even braving chewing her food!!

Until next time....