This is the post that never ends ...

...it just goes on and on my friends...

So I've had that song in my head now for the past couple of days. You know the song that starts with "this is the song that never ends, it just goes on and on my friends" and then continues from there without ending. I can only remember the first couple of lines, but even that is enough to go around and around in my head without ending. So I guess it truly is the song that never ends... at least for a couple of days.

I'm sure the reason for the never-ending song in my head is that I've been thinking about putting together a blog post for a couple of days now and there is so much to tell that I feel like this post could go on and on and on. Sorry. I'll try to keep it brief. And my New Year's resolution for this year is to update my blog at least once per week so hopefully future posts will be shorter, and more timely. We'll see how long that resolution lasts. (In past years my resolutions have lasted about 3 days.)

So, lets start with the girls' fevers. About a month ago ago we went back to the Children's Hospital to see the Infectious Disease team, and (drum roll please...) it looks like the fevers are gone. I was convinced the doctors were wrong and the girls did not have Marshall's Syndrome but it looks like they did. They had their tonsils out on August 20th, and since then we haven't had what I consider to be a "real" fever. A had a really low fever for a day after she had her H1N1 vaccine, so I attributed the fever to that. And E had a low fever for a few hours, a couple of weeks back, which was accompanied by a runny nose, coughing and congestion. So, it looks like it was a flu bug. In both cases the fever was just over 100 degrees, and lasted only hours. It was a far cry from the 104/105 degree fevers that last four or five days that we'd become used to.

In other health news, I took the girls to our pediatrician's office for the regular flu shot a few weeks ago. E really doesn't like needles and before going I joked with DoT, laughing that there wasn't much E could do... it's not like she could get up and leave if she decided she didn't want to go through with it. Well, yeah, nice theory that. When I was sitting on the pediatrician's table, holding A while she got her shot, E announced that she didn't want the needle, opened the door to the office and left; in spite of me hollaring at her to "get back in here!". She went to the waiting room play area and hid. Luckily there aren't really that many great hiding spots in there and I found her pretty quickly.

B has now started at the same daycare the girls go to. He loves it. I'm back to work, and I love it considerably less. :-) I had been hoping to get many of the things on my to-do list done during my time away from work, but that didn't happen. Although, I did have all my Christmas shopping and decorating done before I went back, which was nice. A couple of weeks ago we pulled out the Christmas decorations and put them up. We have a small tree that we let the kids decorate themselves. Then they "helped" us decorate the big tree. Only a few ornaments were broken. Here are a couple of pics of the event...



And here is a short video that makes me laugh, of B trying to find the perfect spot for an ornament...



The only problem with B's starting daycare is that most days he is not napping. He has always been a really light sleeper, and there is just too much fun going on at the daycare, so he refuses to sleep. Which makes supper time and the evenings really unpleasant for all of us. I know it is hard to believe since B seems to be such a fun, easy-going kid, which he is for the most part, but he can also be really terrible. For him "the terrible twos" seem appropriately named; at least during the 5 p.m. to 6 p.m. timeslot.

We have lots of snow in Ottawa, which the kids are loving. But it now takes about 15 minutes to get all the kids into snow suits, hats, mitts and boots before getting out the door in the morning. And of course none of us wants to get up 15 minutes earlier in the morning, so we're kind of pressed for time these days.

DoT and I went to a parent/teacher interview several weeks ago. The girls' teacher told us that the girls "don't have a mean bone in their bodies" (mostly true), and that she loves having them in her class, and then launched into a running commentary on everything that is wrong with their participation in school. :-) Basically, on what I'll call the academic side, the girls are doing fine. They can both print their names now, with only minor mistakes, and can count to 30 or so, and recognize the numbers 1 to 10, and most of the letters of the alphabet. But, on the social side of things (which is what much of jr. kindergarten is about), they have some work to do. The biggest issue the teacher seems to have with them is that they like to play with each other, and don't interact as much with the other kids. This is especially the case with E. I have always wanted the girls to have a strong bond with each other, and it seems I've got my wish. The teacher recommended (again), that we seperate the girls into different classes next year. If at the end of the year there is still an issue with how the girls socialize with others, then we'll consider it.

Now the only other comment the teacher had was that the girls have trouble "keeping their hands and feet to themselves". Both DoT and I thought that meant they were hitting or kicking other kids. But no; it means they are too "huggy". They "like to give their friends hugs". So on the one hand we have them not playing with other friends, and on the other hand they are hugging the other kids when they shouldn't be. I guess that means they are just randomly running up to kids and hugging them. :-)

Around Remembrance Day, the girls homework entailed finishing the sentence "Peace is...", and colouring a picture of what they said. Later the teacher put together a book of what all the kids had said, and it rotated through the homes of the kids. When we got it, I took pictures of each page as a momento. Some of the sentences by the kids said things like 'giving hugs', or sharing candy or toys. E said peace is "when you say sorry". A, on the other hand, said peace is "keeping the streets clean". Huh? Overall, a really cute project. And, to Spencer, who said "peace is being with my babysitter", I would like to say "amen to that". :-)

Okay, I'm going to end here. I know I haven't talked about Christmas, and maybe that will be a post for another day. It certainly deserves a post of its own. But for now I'll just say the kids thoroughly enjoyed Christmas this year; and loved all the gifts they got from Santa and others. It was touch-and-go right up to the very end as to whether or not Santa would leave gifts or lumps of coal, but in the end the kids all got what they asked Santa for, so I guess they were good enough this year. :-)

Happy New Year everyone!



K...

The Difference Between E and A

People often ask us whether the girls are very different. My typical response is that the are very similar in a lot of ways, but that they do have there own unique personalities. The are similar in that they like the same things, and act very much alike. However, personality-wise, they are quite different. And nothing illustrates this difference more than their reactions to the snow we had last night. When I was driving home with them and pointed out that it was snowing, they both were very excited. A (or as she likes to call herself these days "super martian robot girl" - I have no idea where that comes from!), immediately said "I'm going to make a snowman". E, on the other hand, said "I hope we don't get stuck."

K..

Happy Hallowe'en

I forgot to take a picture of the kids on their way out of the house, but I made them put their costumes back on later in the evening (when all they wanted to be doing was eating their candy) so I could get a picture...



We also tried to carve the pumpkins we picked up last weekend. Turns out no one in this household has any talent whatsoever when it comes to pumpkin carving. These were the kids' pumpkins...


B's is on the left, E's is in the middle, and A's is on the right. B didn't actually draw a face, so DoT improvised for his. E and A both drew the eyes and noses, but had just a line for the mouths, so again we had to improvise a bit. (And the eyes and noses are bigger than they were drawn. If we wanted any candle light to come through we needed to make them a bit bigger.)

This was the pumpkin made by the babysitter (with the kids) on Friday night. She has more talent than all of us put together...



Hope you all had a fun Hallowe'en night, and got lots of goodies!

Livin' the good life

Hi again all,

Well, we've been so busy lately we haven't had a chance to update this blog. So we have lots to tell you. And lots of pictures to go with it.

Firstly, the big news around here is that we are now able to eat tomatoes. You have no idea how happy we all are about that. All of the kids are pasta lovers, and it's tough to make any kind of pasta (or pizza for that matter) without tomato sauce, particularly since we're still off dairy so that takes out all the cream sauces. We've been making due with butter, or oil and garlic, but we're all thrilled to be able to get back to tomato sauces.

To celebrate, one of the first nights after we introduced tomatoes back into our diets we made our own pizzas. It was really fun watching them make their own pizzas. Their personalities came shining through... E was very methodical about it, carefully spreading out the ingredients to have an equal distance between each piece. A on the other hand was much more a grab-and-scatter kind of gal. B wasn't quite sure what to make of it. And all three of them ate many of the ingredients off their pizzas before the pizzas ever made it into the oven. I guess they were hungry.



This past weekend we made our annual trek to the Proulx Family Farm to pick out our pumpkins. (Incidentally, we need to find a new pumpkin farm... Proulx is just getting too expensive.) The kids had great fun picking a pumpkin. There was only one rule... whatever pumpkin they picked they had to be able to carry themselves. As you can see from the pictures, they had a great time running through the fields looking for the perfect pumpkin.



In the end these were their choices..



They all ended up picking fairly small pumpkins, but they still had fun climbing around in the bigger ones...



Of course you can't visit the Proulx farm without also participating in the other activities at the farm...

And, of course, we took our pictures next to the "How Tall This Fall?" sign, as we have every year.


(They haven't really shot up since last year, have they?)



Okay, I've now spent most of the day trying to also upload a short video for you, but blogger doesn't seem to want to let me do it. So I'll end here. If I'm able, I'll add the video in the coming days.

Have a happy Hallowe'en everyone!

Thanksgiving Update

Greetings DoT here - I couldn't miss out on a rare chance to write something in English (I am entering my 7th month of full-time French training -I will need English training when I am done). This past weekend we travelled to visit Grandma and Grandpa G. It was a busy weekend as you can see below. We had a family Thanksgiving get-together/karaoke party (see photos below).

We also went to see each of our nephews play hockey. The girls found the arena too loud and held their hands over their ears for most of the two games. This despite the fact that they scream like banshees at our house and don't even seem aware that they are doing it. In spite of the noise, they were always excited to see cousin M or J on the ice and A screamed their names when they played a shift. E also told me she wants to be a referee (they watch games with me on tv now, just to see how many referees they can spot - I think they are fascinated by the man in black and white giving "time-outs" to adults for being naughty). I'm not sure how she thinks she can signal the penalties (time-outs) with her hands over her ears, but I'm sure she'll figure something out.

On the way back to Grandma's from one of the games, I managed to run over a speed bump a little too quickly. Mom and E thought this was funny and laughed. This was, however, quickly followed by a grouchy comment from the backseat "Super A is not laffin'!" Apparently superheroes who need to get around in minivans have high expectations of their drivers...

We survived the trip back home (even though Mr. B was a tad edgy from having missed 4 naps this past weekend and didn't want anyone else singing or talking along with Dora in the van).

Last night we had a cake for me (I turned the big 4-0 yesterday). The girls sang Happy Birthday but E then informed me with a pout that she would blow out the candles (we ended up sharing that responsibility).

You'll see below some heartwarming pics of the girls feeding their younger brother - until you realize they are doing it to get rid of the food in their bowls (not big breakfast eaters). If you can't have a dog, you need a younger brother.

Finally tonight the kids were playing at McDonald's Playland and we sat back and watched as the girls helped pull B up each level and then we saw A guiding B onto the big slide so that they could come down together (screaming and laughing) - there may be hope for my kids yet. All in all, a good week with plenty to be thankful for.

Pics below:

23 days 'til Hallowe'en

We're starting to get excited about Hallowe'en...



K... (who is really looking forward to the girls going back to daycare next week)

School Hat Day

Today is Hat Day at the girls' school (otherwise known as "Spirit Day"). So, here is our morning photo. Not to be outdone by his sisters, B got into the action too...

Not much new happening

Well, we're in our second full week of school for the girls this week, and B has gotten over the injustice of the fact that he's not allowed to go on the bus in the mornings. I know that given half a chance he'd be on the bus before I could stop him, but we hold onto him pretty tightly when the bus pulls up, and for the most part he accepts it.

So far school seems to be going pretty well, although it's hard to say really since the girls are pretty tight-lipped about it. But we've received a couple of emails from the teacher (sent out to all the parents) and it sounds like things are going fairly well.

In other big news, we are in the midst of having hardwood floors installed on our main floor. It should be done tomorrow, and I'll try to take a picture then and post it. (No pictures today because our camera is buried somewhere on the island, underneath everything I took out of the cabinets, to keep things from getting broken when the floor guys are moving furniture all around.)

Finally, I once again have all three kids home with me. Our caregiver went into the hospital today and it is very unlikely that she'll be able to take the kids again until next week.

That's it for now. Have a good week everyone.

K...

*** Edited to add: If anyone is interested in purchasing an Entertainment Book, let me know. The girls are selling them for a school fundraiser. (If you don't know what an Entertainment Book is, then you're probably from a location that doesn't have them. So, don't worry about it. That means you, mom.)

First day on the bus

I had planned on putting a post up yesterday with pictures of the first time the girls got on the school bus. But, unfortunately, we missed the bus. Not because we were late, which I know you were all thinking, but because the bus was much earlier than we had been told it would come. We had arrived at the stop 10 minutes earlier than I expected the bus. So, we waited at the bus stop for about 30 minutes, along with another family who arrived at the stop after us and was waiting for the same bus. They took this picture of us to mark the occasion...



And here's one of just the girls (both with their eyes closed, oops)...



So today we headed out to catch the bus about 10 minutes earlier than yesterday, and we were still only at the stop about 2 minutes before the bus came. I wanted to get pictures of both girls getting on the bus, but A got on so quickly (while I was talking to the driver, confirming that they were supposed to be on this bus), that I missed her entrance. Here's a pic of E as she got on...



Good thing she's had all that practice rock climbing - those steps are pretty big for her. :-)

And here is one of B, when we grabbed him and wouldn't let him follow the girls on to the bus. I'm sorry, it's terrible to admit, but this just makes me laugh...



Poor guy. Heehee.

K

End of Summer

This week DoT's family rented a cottage near Ottawa, and we've been catching up with them, and enjoying the great weather.

The beach at the cottage doesn't have any sand, but the kids have had great fun throwing rocks... mostly into the water, but occasionally one lands remarkably close to a sibling. So far, no one has been hit... we're not sure if they have good aims, or poor ones. Actually, B did get hit by a stone; but since he'd launched it straight up into the air and it came back down on him, he had no one to blame but himself.

Here are a few pics of the fun at the beach...



Splashing is fun...


And apparently dumping water on your head is fun too. (So why is it such a tragedy when DoT or I accidentally dump a bit of water on their faces when we're washing their hair in the bath tub?)...





Fun with frogs...


Other pics from the weekend...







The other big news of the week is the A and E started Jr. Kindergarten this week. A went to school on Tuesday, and E went today (Wednesday). Now neither one goes again until next week when they both will go full time (2.5 hours per day). This week I drove them to school and picked them up afterwards, but starting next week they will take the bus. Hopefully.

When I asked each of them how school was, they both said "good". And that was pretty much all I could get out of them. For all I know they spent their school days eating candy and running around screaming; since those two things would constitute a good day in their opinions. :-)

Here are the mandatory first-day-of-school pics...





And one final one of A giving her sister a good luck hug this morning before we headed out the door (or is she trying to put a choke hold on her? One never knows) ...