Sleepy little girl....

I am having a quiet afternoon by myself today. Miss Erin is sawing logs on the couch after our big day! I'll back up and run through the week....

Remember, the daycare is closed for holidays for two weeks, so Monday brought Emily out to look after Erin for the week! Erin was bouncing off the walls, she was so excited. I think Emily must have really tired her out though, because Erin was darn cranky when I got home Monday afternoon, and fell asleep on the way home from dropping Emily off!!! She did not wake up until the next morning! Yeah for Emily!!! She was a bit better on Tuesday, but still fell asleep again. She did wake up after sleeping for a couple of hours and was, yes you guessed it.... cranky!!! My, my the girl has her moments!!!! Emily had to play soccer on Wednesday, so I came home early. Erin and I took advantage of the wonderful weather we were having (all week!!) and played in the pool for a little over an hour. Thursday came and my angel was wonderful!! We had a nice quiet Friday at home this week. It was stinking hot outside, so we did some crafts, watched a little Dora the Explorer, then went for a swim a little later in the day. Gord and a few of his siblings have been spending a lot of time with their mother since Thursday. She is not well, but he says she is not in any pain.

So Saturday has rolled on into the picture and Erin and I decided to take a little adventure to Valleyview Little Animal Farm in Ottawa. Of course we picked a rainy day to go! It really wasn't too bad. It was raining pretty hard when we got there, but we just ducked into the little animal barn where Erin was wildly entertained by feeding the couple dozen goats. Yes, this is where the love affair with goats began for Erin. By the time the feeding frenzy was over, the rain stopped and we walked around until Erin declared she had to go pee! We took care of that business, then decided to have a little snack before the puppet show began. We were the only people in the audience for the puppet show. Erin was delighted by the 10 minute show about working on the farm!! Next we went on the tractor / train ride around the field, then went to feed the sheep. The grocery store was our only other stop where Erin was super-social girl today!! She was hooting and hollering and laughing away while we shopped! The expressions on some peoples' faces are priceless! I always find it sad when people can't muster a smile for a little girl who is singing and laughing away. It must be tough living like that......

And here I am now. We don't have any other plans for the weekend other than maybe a walk and some swimming in the pool. I really love having nothing to do on the weekends occassionally!

We are NOT getting a pig....

The weekend is winding down on a beautiful Sunday evening. Today was a marvellous day, one of those days you wish you could have all year round.

I think I last checked in on Thursday after returning from Erin's daycare field trip to the Museum of Civilization. Friday started out on an interesting note. We had no water. Of course it was pouring rain outside, so we could have showered outside!! Gord got hold of a plumber who came out right away. It would appear that lightning struck our well and burned out a control box. It could have been worse!! I think Gord will be happy to get that bill opposed to the one we were expecting to get!! Because of the water problem, we missed story time at the library this week. We will catch up next week. Emily came over to babysit Erin for the afternoon. I got away for a bit of shopping in Ottawa, then I met up with some of my pals from my former workplace for a late lunch. I also had one of them sign as a guarantor for Erin's passport. All in all a great afternoon of shopping, food, and lots of laughs!

Erin was exhausted when I came home. We drove Emily home and the little darlin' fell asleep in the car. Yup, another early night to bed! She is really transitioning out of the nap time and any day that she is wild (well more than usual) she crashed pretty hard. Saturday brought a quiet day at home. Erin ended up going out to help daddy work on an enclosure for the well (so it doesn't get hit by lightning again) while I mowed the lawn. I haven't mowed the lawn for a while so I am always surpised when it takes me over 2 hours to mow. The day was fantastic in terms of weather. I don't think anyone was sorry to see the 2 days of miserable rainy weather leave us.

That brings us to today. We decided that since Erin didn't get a chance to go to Upper Canada Village with her daycare, that if she was good, we would take her. That's exactly what we did today! We started out bright and early and went out for breakfast then made our way there. Erin absolutely fell in love with a piglet who flopped down and fell asleep next to her while she was petting it. It put me in mind of Charlotte's Web. It warmed my heart to watch her beam and talk lovingly to this little pig. Then I looked at the tiny pig's mother. Yes, those cute little babies get big. This will not turn into the adventures of Erin, Minnie and Wilbur!!!!

Poof! Just like that, another week is by us

Erin and I have recently arrived home from the big daycare field trip. She is sleeping. That should be an indication of how much fun she had today!! I'm trying to figure out why I'm not sleeping, because I am exhausted! We were scheduled to go to Upper Canada Village, but thunderstorms and the threat of rain all day prompted the field trip planners to go to plan b. Plan b was a trip to the Museum of Civilization, where we spent a few hours 'hammering' through the Children's museum. Erin has been there before, and had a great time. Remember, I said she was sleeping!!! Erin is now off for 3 weeks! I can only imagine what a bear she will be when she goes back!!

So, I guess my last post was Friday the 13th. That day held true to it's infamy, and I am glad it is over. Saturday brought us out to Dhiren and Deepa's for a party to meet their new baby boy. You really forget how little they are!! We had a great time. Erin got to play with Varya, Aidan, and Cole until about 10:00pm, and she just had a ball ramming around. I guess all of my cravings for Indian food while I was pregnant rubbed off on Erin a bit, as she couldn't get enough naan bread into her that night!

Saturday also meant 1st birthday wishes to Malcolm!! Hope you had a great day little guy!!

Sunday was a much quieter day. Erin and I pretty much hung out at home while Gord was out shooting.

The week was insanely busy at work for me. When you try to fit a week into three days, I guess that's what you can expect! I have to admit, that I was pretty happy when Wednesday afternoon came and went, knowing I would be off for an extra long weekend.

Tomorrow we have story time to look forward to, then Emily is babysitting for the afternoon while I go into Ottawa to have lunch with some former co-workers. I haven't seen a couple of them in ages, so I am looking forward to the visit. The weekend looks pretty quiet, although Erin was really disappointed about not getting to go to Upper Canada Village, so depending on the weather, I may look into taking her with Gord and I. Next week is a week with Emily, as the daycare is closed. Erin is really looking forward to that, as you can imagine!

Anyway, I better think about whipping something up for dinner. Until next time....

Two in one day???

I am procrastinating a bit right now. I have been doing a bit of cleaning, but have just spent the past 10 minutes watching Erin make cards. You have to imagine coloured construction paper strewn all over the living room and her just chatting away about who she is giving her precious treasures to!!! I think she just made some for Aunt Elaine!!! (I'll put them aside for you Elaine!!) Just watching her reminds me how lucky I am. Erin has grounded me in a way no other person has been able to do. She is a solace for me in an otherwise chaotic world. No matter what rhetoric or hypocrasy is going on around me, I just have to look at her and nothing else is really important.....

I wish everyone I know, care about, and love, has their own Erin to remind them about what is really important in life!!!!!

Yeah!!! It's Friday!!!!

So here we are on Friday morning. I have just returned from an early morning bike ride. Gord is in the shower and Miss Erin is sawing logs!! She really loves to sleep in!! Just like her dad!!

This morning we will head into the library to see what wonderful stories Mary Kate will read about today. We are also on a mission to pick up a present for Dhiren and Deepa's new baby boy! Erin wants to get him a train set, but I told her that might be a better gift when he is a bit older!!! Maybe we can find a plush train for him!!!

Anyway, have a great day and weekend!

The week is nearly done....

It's Wednesday and Miss Erin is sitting in her evening bubble bath. She is singing away right now... 'Bah bah black sheep...' is drifting out of the bathroom! The week is flying by as they always seem to.

Backing up, we had a great day on Sunday with Jo, Chris, Aidan, and Cole. The rain threatened, but held off for the afternoon so the kids got to ram around. It was a bit cool so there was no swimming, but lots of swinging, driving of the Hummer, and bouncing on the trampoline!

Tuesday brought Gord's mother to be admitted to the hospital. On a positive note, she seems to be doing a bit better being in the hospital. Of course, this is very difficult on Gord and his family, but the goal now is of course to ensure Jean has some pain-free quality of life in the days to come.

So today is Wednesday. Erin and I came home to find her trampoline turned over. Gord is working on repairing it and putting it back together as I type. It looks like he has just about got the main part of the trampoline back together. Erin was pretty upset about it when she saw it, but she feels better knowing Daddy is working on fixing it!

Tomorrow is my last day of work. It has been a long and busy week in preparing for an upcoming arbitration hearing. I actually enjoy that part of the job quite a lot (yes, people do call me a masochist!!) but I have to admit that I am looking forward to Friday.

This weekend we will be visiting friends in Ottawa to meet their new little boy! I'll get some pics to post. Other than that, the weekend looks pretty quiet - yeah!!!!!

Well, I better scoop my little water bug up and get her into pj's.

It's raining. It must be the weekend....

When you average out all of the summer weekends, I'm sure the sunny ones come out ahead, but it always seems like it starts to rain at the end of the week when you are actually living it.

Despite the rain, we have had a great weekend thus far. Friday started with our usual trip to the library for story time. This week was all about summer. Mary Kate, the librarian, is wonderful. There just seems to be something in the blood of librarians that just make them suited for the job! Next, we came home and anxiously awaited our visitors. Patricia and Malcolm came to visit us for a few hours! It is hard to believe that the little fella is going to be one in a few days. He is getting big and is moving around so much now! Erin was great, sharing all of her toys, even her coveted lamby! Patricia, I feel for ya heading back to work!!! In the end, we all make the right decision for our families and ourselves.

Yesterday was the 1st annual Ice Cream Social in the village. It was a fundraiser for the day care and the community youth centre. I was supposed to be painting faces, but was promoted to running the fish pond!! The weather looked like it was going to cooperate, but late morning, it started to pour. Fortunately it didn't last long. There was a great crowd out and I really hope they raised a lot of money. Gord brought Erin and Erika and once Erin finally was awake enough (she fell asleep just after I left to help with setting up) she had a ball! She had a lovely heart and rainbow painted on either cheek! There was of course a lot of ice cream to be had!!! All in all a good day. The evening brought more rain, so it was pizza and some T.V. for the evening as Erin nodded off.

And that is where she is right now. We have Jo and Chris and the kids coming out this afternoon. Yes, it is raining right now, but I'm hoping it holds out for a couple of hours so the kids can run around and burn off some energy. It would have been nice if they could go in the pool. We will wait and see. You know how kids are. A cool pool never stopped them!!!

I'll get some pics of the kids this afternoon and post them in the next day or so. No, I didn't have my camera at the ice cream social because I was volunteering. Sorry.....

I'm Bored...

I am working from home today. There is no water at the site today, so when my boss told me I had the option of working from home.... well, like I would turn that offer down!!! I have managed to get quite a bit done. It's impressive how much my cell phone still rings when I am not at work!! I have however reached a point where I have no concentration. I mean absolutely none. That is a sure sign for me to take a break, right??!!

All is well with Miss Erin. She did have a bit of a rough go upon returning to daycare yesterday morning. Of course she has been away for 4 days of non-stop, fun filled action!! This will be a very short week for her though, only having to go for 3 days - yeah for me too!!! I took her in this morning and it was quite uneventful. Things are just shaken up a bit at the daycare, with new kids, bigger kids, and summer camps running. Erin is much better with rolling with the punches and dealing with change, but the little break away and returning to the change seemed to have thrown her off a bit. When I picked her up she was no worse for wear. In fact, she insisted that I wait for her to finish colouring her picture!!

She has been going through an interesting phase these days. She is really starting to 'stick it' to people. It's all about one-upsmanship. I've talked to a bunch of people about it, and everyone has said, 'been there, done that...' so I'm not overly worried. We have just been trying to stress that humility and sharing are very important!! I sometimes have to stop and remember that she is only 3, and is being exposed to lots of different kids. Humility is hard for adults to demonstrate consistently, let alone a 3-year old who doesn't understand the notion!! How many adults does everyone know (sometimes even themselves!!) who often and overly concern themselves with the number of toys they have relative to others. Yes, regrettably, adults can be shallow much more often and of course overtly compared to kids. Hmmm..... for my inability to concentrate, I'm really getting philosophically preachy, aren't I?!!!

Anyway, enough of that crap.

Despite the fact that it is now raining out and that I am at home, I am really looking forward to having some extended holidays. I did however find out that my holiday plans have been somewhat thrwarted by work - nothing like having to attend an arbitration hearing right smack dab in the middle of your holidays! Oh well. At least it's not when we are going to Canada's Wonderland!

So, I guess I am officially procrastinating now, judging by the content of this post. That means I better sign off and get back to work!

Until next time....

More Canada Day Pics!!!

Who could forget about Minnie???!!!!!

Erin spent another 2 hours sleeping after I published the blog entry yesterday. when she woke up, she very quickly asked where the trampoline was and announced that she was going to stay awake to watch the fireworks in town.

Her eyes completely lit up when she saw the trampoline!!!

She also stayed up for the fireworks. She had to wake Gord up though!!!! Believe it or not, but those were the first fireworks I have seen in Merrickville. They did a great job!! So we got home just after 10:30pm, and Erin finally crashed at 11:00pm. Both she and Gord are still sleeping (surprise, surprise!!).

The sun is shining, and I know it's going to be a fabulous day!!!

Enjoy the pics!

Erin's Canada Day Cake - looks yummy!!!!

Happy Canada Day!!!

It's hard to believe it, but we have officially entered a new month. One would expect that July 1st would be nice and hot, but there we were at the Canada Day parade in Merrickville, wearing our coats!!

I appear to have created some expectation with the amount of posting I have been doing of late. Next thing you know, a week has slipped by us. All in all the week was pretty uneventful. Erin is her usual wonderful self (except for the odd tantrum she exhibits as she is asserting her independence more and more - man is she stubborn - I don't know who she gets that from.... must be Gord!!). I think we got all of our hot weather this past week. Erin's pool has been like bath water (not today though), with temperatures well into the 80's. Even I will go into that! Isn't it funny how wussy you get as an adult? I can remember jumping into the frigid waters of Eagle Lake where our cottage was, when we opened it each spring on Victoria Day weekend. Man, you do some stupid things when you are young!!!

Erin and I had a great Friday off once again. This week at the library, we read books about being in the bath. Erin is also signed up for the library's '150 books' challenge over the summer. We didn't do much else that day other than some groceries. Then she very uncharacteristically took a very long nap. I really didn't know what to do with myself!!

Saturday took Richinda and I to Stittsville where we took a wire wrapping jewelry making class. It was a hoot!! Check out my project (sorry for the blurry pic - it does look better live, honest!!)! Who would have thought working with wire and beads would be so much fun! Erin spent the morning with Dad running errands.

So here we are on Sunday. This morning as I mentioned earlier, we went into town for the Merrickville Canada Day parade. We had lunch with the neighbours at the chip stand in town, then came home to wait for Daddy to come back home from skeet shooting. Why were we waiting you ask? Well, we were off to pick up a trampoline for Miss Erin! This is her early birthday present (read: on sale now....) and she was so excited... she..... had to take a nap!!!! Gord is putting it together right now. She should be 'bouncing' off the walls when she wakes up (sorry, I couldn't resist the pun!!). We are going to try to stay awake for the fireworks in town tonight, but we'll have to play it by ear to see if Erin can stay awake until 9:30 - 10:00!

We are all off again tomorrow, with no plans other than to have the neighbours over for a play. I think the little gals down the road are almost as excited as Erin is about the trampoline!

There is little going on this week, other than our plans to get together with Patricia and Malcolm - who believe it or not is going to be 1 in a couple of weeks!! My how time flies!! Speaking of little ones, our congratulations goes out to Dhiren, Deepa and big sister Varya on the safe arrival of their new little boy. We don't know the name yet - they have to wait 13 days after the birth before naming their child. We have plans to meet this new little bundle of joy in a couple of weeks!

Hope everyone has a safe and happy Canada Day!!