Sum-sum-summertime!

To my faithful readers (all 6 of you! lol) my apologies! I have been very absent from my blog since Alice finished school. But I have a good excuse! We've been busy! And I have the pictures to prove it. I live for the summer, and we practically live outdoors for the 4 glorious, sun filled months that we get. Since July 1st I would estimate that we have ridden our bikes over 200 kms, visited every park in the city, hiked many a trail and swam so much we are growing gills!

There's so much I could write about, and so many posts in my head that I've been dying to write, but unfortunately they will have to wait. We're off on yet another adventure tomorrow. A weekend in Toronto (staying at the lovely Chateau R. Gifford), beginning with a stop at Canada's Wonderland tomorrow, Centre Island on Sunday and maybe Kensington Market on Sunday before returning home. Stories will certainly follow!

For now I'm going to let the pictures tell the story of our last month. Enjoy and see you on the flip side!

Canada Day, 2007 - Brad and Jack on the bike, and Alice in the trailer, and me trailing along behind. We rode to the other side of the city on some wonderful bike trails, stopped at a couple of parks along the way, ending at Springbank park for a picnic. We definitely burned the KFC off on the way home.

Alice and her daddy went fishing on his holidays. Alice baited her own hooks and was hillarious with the worms. "You're a cute little worm right now, but in a minute you're FISH FOOD!". Her and daddy each caught a couple of little perch. She wanted to bring them home and, ".... clean them up and eat 'em for dinner!". Daddy tossed them back though.

We were given a quick set pool by a friend this summer (thanks Lisa!) and Alice has become quite the little fish. It doesn't matter what the temperature is outside, she wants in the pool. I told her today, "The water is cold, buddy. You won't like it." Alice declared, "It's never too cold for Alice!". So, we opened the cover, cleaned it out and she hopped in. She was out in 5 minutes. Apparently 72 f is too cold for Alice... Jack makes a wonderful pool boy, but isn't fond of any temperature less than 82 f.

Alice and I went strawberry picking. The berries were small, but sooooo ripe and sweet. We came home and made 15 jars of strawberry jam. I still have more berries left, so will make another batch when we get home.

That's all for now, folks! Check back soon!!!

Peace,

Jo

Jack be nimble, Jack be quick...

... Jack jumped over his crib rail... Ick!

Oh boy. It's upon us, and I'm not ready.




This morning I heard a little "thump" and looked around to see what it was. The cat was lying on the floor by me, so I deduced that it wasn't all 30 lbs of him jumping down from something. Alice was still sawing logs in her bed, and I didn't hear any tears so assumed it wasn't a child falling out of bed. And I was partially right. Nobody fell out of their bed. He JUMPED!



*rattle, rattle, rattle* went the doorknob on Jack's bedroom door. I opened it and saw my little man standing there on the other side with a huge smile on his face. He pointed to the crib and exclaimed, "Aye-ya!" (his usual word for, well, just about anything!).



"You little monkey!", I thought to myself.




As I see it we have two options: 1) Change his name to Harry (as in Houdini, because with his short legs, I'm not sure how my little escape artist got out of his crib to begin with!), or 2) take down the crib and set up the "big boy bed". I'm voting for the former right now, as I'm so not ready to put him in a bed yet.




Putting him in a bed means that he's turning into more of a boy and less of 'my baby'. And it means no rest for mommy! Alice took to her bed like a pro and once she was in there, she wanted to stay in there for the night (yeah, that's changed now at 4.5, but it was great for the first few years!). Jack, however, will be out of that bed and socializing at every possible opportunity.


Yay.


He's just 17 months. I'm not ready for this! Perhaps we'll give it a little time and see if this turns into a regular occurrence. I think I already know my answer to that one though. Jack is the type of boy that once he has figured something out, he will master it and won't stop until he does. This is going to be the first of many escape attempts, and for his own safety I know what we are going to have to do.


Jack, you're growing up too fast, my boy! Slow down. Mommy wants to hold on to your babyness for just a little longer...

Sweet, smart girl...

I think kids have a natural sixth sense. I know Alice does, and I pray she never loses it. For her, her sixth sense seems to guide her compassion. She knows and understands things that many children her age don't.

We haven't talked to her very much about my dad and his condition. At four years old, we assumed she wouldn't understand or grasp the concept of sickness and death. It turns out that she grasps it more than we realized.

Last Saturday night when I was putting Alice to bed, she decided she wanted to have a little heart to heart talk about Grandpa.

"Mommy, is Grandpa dying?" she asked.

Me, a little taken aback replied, "Yes, honey... he is...".

"Is he going to die soon?", she probed.

"I'm not sure honey. Grandpa is very sick, and it's possible that he could die at any time. Or, we might be lucky enough to have him around for a while. We just don't know.", I explained.

"And you'll be sad, right mommy?".

"Yes, honey. I'll be sad."

She thought for a moment and said, "Do you love your daddy, mommy?". "Yes, honey. Very much so." I said. "I love him too. And I won't be shy of him anymore, because I may not see him for much longer." she proclaimed.

My eyes welled up with tears at this point, and my throat began to tighten. How smart she had become in the blink of an eye. I was amazed at her understanding of the situation. The next day she did exactly what she said she was going to do the night before. Instead of shying away when she saw Grandpa, she picked a flower for him, took it to him and gave him a big hug and kiss. "I love you Grandpa." she said. I saw my dad's eyes swell with tears as he looked at me, then leaned over to hug Alice and said, "I love you too sweetheart."

I have a feeling Alice is going to be a great source of strength for me when "the time comes". She already is now. I am amazed by her compassionate and understanding heart, and how quickly she is growing up. I don't know what I did in my life to deserve her, but it must have been something really good. :o)

Bittersweet Father's Day

Dad, August 2006

This is how my dad looked not even a year ago. To look at him in this photo, you wouldn't guess he was battling lung cancer, and losing the battle at that.

The dad I saw this past weekend is a shadow of this man, physically. I could hardly believe I was looking at the same person. Even in just a few short weeks since I last saw him, he has deteriorated considerably.

For four years we have been told that dad "has 6 months to live". For 4 years dad has defied that prognosis. With nothing to lose, he tried every treatment they could offer him in an attempt to prolong his life. Sadly, nothing worked and his cancer continues to grow at an alarming rate. I think I took it for granted each time 6 months passed and dad was still with us. He seemed invincible.

I was in denial.

That was obvious to me for the first time on Father's Day. Reality hit me like a tonne of bricks this weekend. And my heart has been breaking since. So this is what they warned me about. This is what they meant when they said I would 'know' the end was near. It's been sneaking up on me, and I was doing very well ignoring the reality of it all. But now I know I can't ignore it any longer. My dad is dying. I think he knows the end is coming too. Last week I called him and he seemed to be in unusually good spirits. I asked him what he was up to and he said, "Just working on my will.", with a 'song' in his voice.

Our Father's Day visit with him was bittersweet. Throughout the day I felt grateful that I had this one more special day with him. However, all the while I was realizing that this was going to be my last Father's Day to celebrate with my dad. I refused to dwell on that fact and made the best of our visit, but it was hard. Dad was "off", not totally with it and at times unresponsive to conversation. A morphine induced haze, I'm guessing. I just can't imagine...

This has been the longest four years of my life. When my mum died, we were blindsided. One day here, the next day gone. The pain we felt at her loss was incredible, but it was not sustained like the pain of losing my dad is. It's never easy to lose someone you love, but I am starting to think it is "easier" to lose someone suddenly than to watch them slowly and painfully die.

More than hurting for myself and my impending loss, I am hurting for my dad. To watch him suffer like this - I can't put in to words how horrible it feels. I know he is hanging on only for us, when really what he would like to do is lay down and let his body have it's eternal sleep. And I can't help but wish that for him right now.

I feel so helpless.

Dad, Father's Day 2007

I won!!!

"Oh, this is the big one! You hear that, Elizabeth? I'm comin' to join ya, honey!" ~ Fred Sandford's 'heart attack response' in the television show "Sandford and Son".

That was my reaction on Wednesday evening as the Lotto 6/49 numbers were announced one by one.

"Two"

check

"Ten"

no...

"Nineteen"

hmm...check

"Thirty-six"

check!

"Fourty"

oh my goodness! check!

"And fourty-eight. Bonus, 18"

ack!

My ticket held 4 out of 6 of the numbers, the kicker being a 49 instead of 48 - one number off $100,000! That's the biggest win I've had on any lottery ticket purchase. Thursday morning I excitedly checked the OLG site to see what fortune I had won!

$70.60!

Meh, it's not the millions but it's better than a kick in the pants!

Let's see your Lotto 6/49 happy dance!

Michael Moore's "Sicko" makes London, Ontario debut

The one and only Michael Moore brought his movie "Sicko" to London last week for a special advanced screening. London is featured fairly predominantly in the movie, which is why he chose here to kick off a few special premiers he is doing, the next being in Michigan this Saturday, June 16th. The movie opens to wide release on June 29th.

A friend and I ventured out to catch the "red carpet" ceremony, which hinted at the possibility of stars arriving to catch an early glimpse of the film. However, the carpet was short - literally - and adorned only by four public figures: the Mayor of London, Anne Marie De Cicco-Best, the Mayor of Sarnia, Mike Bradley who was featured in Moore's film "Bowling for Columbine", actress Shirley Douglas, daughter of Tommy Douglas aka: the father of public medicare in Canada, and mum to Kiefer Sutherland, and last but not least the big guy himself, Michael Moore.

While it was nice to be able to catch a glimpse of Mr. Moore, it would have been nicer to have had the opportunity to see the film. A handful of tickets were given out through the newspaper and a local radio station, and that was it. The rest were by invite only. From out view point outside, they didn't appear to have a full house for the screening (more people went in for birthday parties than they did to see "Sicko"), so I wonder why the film distributors and 'Mike' didn't hand out any tickets to the fans who came to cheer him on. Yes, I was a little disappointed.

I was happy to be able to say I saw Mr. Moore in the flesh, who I admire for his film making and educated and informed opinions. But a peek at the movie would have been that much nicer. I look forward to seeing it when it is released, and seeing the picture he paints of the Canadian Health Care system. While we do have a great system, and I am extremely thankful for it, I wonder if Mr. Moore makes it out to be more "wine and roses" than it really is. It definitely has it's problems - a shortage of Doctors to crisis proportions to name just one - but overall we are blessed in Canada to have the universal coverage that we enjoy.

What I would like to see 'Mike' bring to the forefront in the United States next is the lack of interest in children and families on the part of the US Government. Particular focus should be made on the lack of time new parents are able to spend with their babies after they are born. Most women take only 6-12 weeks after birth - hardly time to heal from the process! - as they cannot afford, or are not allowed, to take anymore. Despicable. Another reason I am proud to be a Canadian. My country values my family, and realizes that the first year of a child's life is crucial.

I feel that we are overtaxed in Canada, and those taxes are greatly misused by our Government (another post for another time), however I realize that compared to the United States we have the greenest grass on the block. Read here to see just how "good" we really do have it. So yup. I'll suck it up and drag myself into the Urgent Care centre or walk-in clinic when I am ill, and I'll quit sniveling about not having a family doctor, although that would be nice. I'm just thankful that I can see a doctor and not worry that I have to sell a limb to do so.

Be proud, and be thankful.

Peace.

Lock down at the school!

What an interesting day we had today!

My husband called at 2:30 and asked if I could go get Alice, as he would be getting off work a little later and wouldn't make it in time. At 3:00 I woke Jack and we headed off to the school. The sky was looking quite stormy and the wind was starting to pick up. As we drove by the park around the corner, a tree branch began to snap and jutted out over the road. The wind changed and took it the other way, bringing the falling branch to a landing on the sidewalk. I breathed a huge sigh of relief.

As we continued on our way, the sky became greenish looking and the rain started to fall. I ran into the school with Jack in my arms and told the teacher that the weather was looking a little eery, so to be careful driving home. Suddenly, the principal came over the loud speaker saying the school was on immediate lock down. Nobody was to exit the school as a tornado had been sighted in the immediate area, and until the all clear was given we were to sit in the halls in the "tornado position" - back to the wall, knees up and heads on our knees.

Several groups of children joined us within minutes in the hallway outside of Alice's classroom. Many of them were terrified and in tears. Alice was a trooper and not really frightened at all. Jack was enthralled by all the kids who were paying attention to him. Nobody assumed the "tornado position" but instead chatted and socialized with their friends, and 30 minutes later we were finally released to go.

Brad said the drive home from work was a little dodgy, and he watched as the wind twisted a tree right at it's trunk and pulled it roots and all from the ground. He put his foot on the gas and prayed he wasn't next to take flight.

I'm not sure if a tornado touched down in the area or not, but I wouldn't be surprised. Quite an interesting day! I've never experienced anything like that before, but definitely felt more comfortable being in the hall at school with no windows and strong walls then I would have at home.

The adventurer in me still wants to catch a picture of a twister one of these days though. Preferably with a very long zoom lens.