Flash-monkey says THANks for the PYJAmas heaTHER

...as he runs laps around the house. We tried to get the best shots that we could...maybe the new camera will help. Flash-monkey is here one minute and gone the next

There he goes...

Ahhh, here we are!

Christmas with the Grandma and Grandpa

In our family we have one set of grandparents who live here in Ottawa and the other set that lives away. They tend to spend Christmas with their family who is also away and then come to see us after Christmas. They arrived this year and came with lots and lots of Christmas presents.

Big C and Monkey now have all sorts of things that make lots and lots of noise. Big C also has accumulated quite a collection of construction vehicles, he couldn't be happier!!

Thanks everyone!

Thomas the fish thank, the third

Way back in August I was walking down the road and I found a free fish tank for a beta fish. This seemed like a lovely idea and kicked off our adventures as pet owners. Thomas the fish tank was a lovely fish. He stayed at home until Monkey got bored of him, then he went to Mommy's work. Right before the Christmas holidays Monkey noticed that he was gone and asked to have him home. He came back home.

As it turns out, in the winter, those little beta tanks don't hold heat and the fish get cold. When they get cold they don't eat. When they don't eat...well, you can figure that out.

So Thomas the fish tank went belly up. On Christmas Eve. We had some tears.

Aunt Heather to the rescue. She was driving byt he fish store on her way to our house and was more than happy to pick up a fish for her little guy.

Enter Thomas the fish tank the second. Thomas the fish tank the second didn't make it long. Such a short time in fact that there are not any photos of him. He too didn't eat, he too suffered the consequences of this type of behaviour. More tears.

Heather emails over the receipt for the fish and off I go to the store to trade in my dead fish for a new fish and to ask questions about why these fish wont eat. They explained about the whole water too cold, fish don't eat thing. Then they tried to sell me all sorts of bigger tanks.

No thanks. The WBs are all set up. We have been dragging a great big fish tank and all of the accessories for the last 10 years. Dave has continually asked why this big empty tank is coming with us and never being used. I kept telling him that the day would come, the day would come. Well, the day is here.

Betas tend to live in tiny little containers. Well, not our fish. He has an entire enormous tank all to himself. And, this morning, he ate breakfast-phew!!

DPoD December 28th - Part II Goofing around in the Snowcovered Yard

So the indoors has become a little too cabin-like and thus we headed out into the yard. I had to some digging first to make a big path for the 'black train' to get around and to also free up the swings. Big C had a fabulous time in the swings - about half an hour's worth - and Monkey took to the little toboggan hill that I made. Both boys had a super time burning off a little of that energy they have and then we went inside for a little wind down and lunch. We're looking forward to grandma and grandpa W's arrival this afternoon to continue the outdoor fun!

DPoD December 28th - Part I Puzzles and the Sharing Brothers

Big C is having an adventurous day, as is his older brother mind you.

He went right at the puzzles of the vehicles today and went to putting them together. I was blown away by his ability to put all of the front halves of the vehicles with the matching rear halves. Monkey was more than willing to help out, however Big C held his own and made sure that he had a dozen matches. He was particularly adept with the police car, the ambulance and the fire truck - no surprise. Thanks Aunt H and Uncle Big Monkey!

Then we had a little snack before our morning activity. We had a fruit salad of melon, blueberries and blackberries. I was shocked by 2 events. First, Big C went for the melon before the berries. I've never seen that before but will now keep melon stocked in the house on a more regular basis. Second, Big C shared a lot of his blackberries with Monkey. He offered them up of his own free will and shared them with his big brother. He received lots of praise for being a 'good sharer' and a 'wonderful little brother'. Keeping his food issued in mind I was overjoyed when he then went on to finish his fruit and then a good deal of french toast.

What little angels!

The WBs head to the happiest place on earth

We are heading to Disney!!!  None of us have ever been so we are really excited. We are staying at a hotel right on Disney and flying in from Rochester NY. Yipeeee. Silly mouse ear hats here we come!!!

The trip minus food will cost around $2000.  If anyone is interested in booking a trip, either at the same time as us or a different time, let me know if you want to save some money.

DPoD December 27th - It took a few chomocolate chips but...

Big C got a haircut today. He was pretty compliant so long as the train of chomocolate (part of the 'mo' food group) kept flowing in. He certainly was intrigues by the humming noise that kept wrirring around his head. He even let me do a little trimming with the scissors at the end. All in all it was a good experience followed by a shower - where yes, he did try to hide under me the whole time - and a change of clothes for the day. We even made sure that the kair was kissable after the cut.

Grandma, we hope that you're feeling better soon. Get some rest today and relax. We hope that this flu passes quickly for you.

Twas the Night before Christmas (and morning of)

Who wants to make cookies for Santa???

We started to get the boys ready for bed by having them help to make the cookies for Santa. This is something that daddy has wanted to do for a long time and was very excited about. Aunt H and Mommy were in charge of making sure that the boys added the proper amounts of each ingredient. The whole family had a great time pitching in.

Monkey provides a little quality control

You have to try a couple just to make sure that you've followed the recipe correctly. I think that everyone helped out with quality control, even Big C. There was a whole round of handwashing and facewashing to make sure that the house didn't get coated in chocolate.

The final project is complete and left out for Santa

A small plate was assembled and left out for Jolly St. Nick. Monkey and Big C were both off to bed on time so that they could get some sleep for Christmas Day. Monkey was out within half an hour or so, eager to make sure that he followed the poem from school that outlined' Santa only comes when little boys and girls are sleeping'. Thanks JK teacher!

Monkey was absolutely overjoyed the next morning and came out of the kitchen screaming 'Santa was here. I know. He ate all the cookies and drank the milk!!'. That was really heartwarming.

Early Christmas morning, 7 am which isn't too early by our standards, Monkey was up alongside Big C checking out the really big garage and helping grandpa with items under the tree.
He was even in there distributing the gifts and helping people to unwrap them. Monkey was really into Christmas this year and had a very exciting day. We all know that he'll sleep very well tonight.

All daddies need beards quote of the day

Monkey and I were at a restaurant together and he looks over and says to me:

"mommy, that daddy doesn't have a beard"

"not all daddies have beards monkey, yours doesn't"

"No, but grandpa does"

"No he doesn't"

"Yes, it is on top of his mouth"

stiffling laughter "monkey, that is called a mustache"

"Oh, well that daddy doesn't have one of those either"

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Big C's clean bill of health

Big C went to see his specialist for what was the last time yesterday. Mommy took him in since daddy was home with the flu and everything went swimmingly. His weight is in the 50th percentile and he's 75% for height. He ate very well for the specialist (blueberries and yogurt, great idea mommy) and was generally in good spirits. We hope that this now becomes a memory for him and for us. Mommy in particular has worked so hard to make sure that this has gone as smoothly as possible for him and we really pray that this is the end.

Here is a quick look back at where he was so many months ago

and where he is now.

DPoD December 19th - Firemonkey!

Monkey suddenly took to being an imaginative little firefighter today. Cousin K would be proud! He put on his fire fighter's hat from the dress-up bin and got into his red 'engine'. He then went around the basement going 'woo woo' doing laps around the climber. He stopped briefly to put a bucket on his head, though he couldn't explain how it would be helpful, then continued on making noises and putting out imaginary fires. It was quite the site to see. Bic C put on his 'cheese' face once he saw that the camera was out.

I'm soooo looking forward to having these 2 home all day come Saturday. They certainly are a barrel of fun right now!

Would someone please buy this kid a garage?

Today while I'm making my lunch Monkey asks me if I can help him with something in the other room. I head into the living room to find that Monkey's imagination has run wild. He's made a little garage out of the baby bumper pads that we had sitting on the back of one of the chairs. He says that he needs the string tied so that he can close the doors. I oblige and told him that this should go on the blog. He responds with 'please don't just put it on our computer, you should put it on everyone's computer'. God bless the internet.
...and by the way, mommy had already acquired the mother of all garages for the boys for Christmas. Good thinking mommy.

DPoD December 17th - Big C's Adventures in his room part II

Big C has been rather taken with his closet recently. Thus, the little lock on the door was installed to keep him out of 'trouble' - please see here .

Well, today I tried to change his pants, which is a journey in itself, and had to leave for a moment to flush his little 'gift' for me. When I return I notice that I had indeed left the closet door open. This is what I found:

To make the cute factor increase was the fact that he was singing 'row, row, row your boat' at the time.

What am I going to do with these kids?

DVoD December 15th - Monkey's Christmas Concert Song

This is my first attempt at the 'Daddy's Video of the Day'. Monkey did such a great job of singing his heart out at his Christmas concert on Friday and thanks to mommy's taping skills we'd like to share this with all of you. So here goes

The aftermath of an MVA

You know, before any of this ever started, my vision of an MVA (motor vehicle accident) was that you had insurance, it fixed the car and if there were any injuries than a quick couple of rounds of physio and everyone is back to being hunky dory. Even better, you probably got a little extra money for "pain and suffering" to boot. A little MVA gratuity in my mind, a bonus for your trouble.



I was so wrong. A year and 8 months after my original MVA, this week I was in another one and am feeling like I am right back where I started. I am in pain, alone, and swimming in a sea of appointments, and time away from being able to enjoy my family. Time that no one is going to compensate me for. Not financially, not in time back, nothing. I just get to suck it up. Meanwhile, the idiot who ran the red light on Wednesday is down in Australia getting married and isn't outside helping my husband shovel the driveway.



I am feeling really sad right in this moment. It is one of those things that no one can change, but it still feels awful. Dave has been outside for an hour now shovelling the driveway, he is not even half done. While any of you reading this blog know that Dave and I are not big on shovelling the driveway, eventually, it gets done. Today, as over a foot of snow falls, looking up and down the street you can see people shovelling their driveways in pairs. Spouses, partners, working together to dig themselves out of the snow.



Not us. Dave had to wait until the kids were in bed (since putting them to bed involves lifting and wrestling which I can't do), then he went outside, by himself and is working so hard to clear the snow all by himself since I can't do it with him. I am angry since I should be out there helping him.



So now when I think of the aftermath of an MVA, I don't just think about the pain that I am in, and bullshit that I have to endure. I think about Dave, with his head down, working really hard, without his partner by his side, taking it without complaining. Since, even if he did want to complain, he doesn't want to complain to me, so there isn't anyone there to listen to him and there isn't anything that anyone can do.



And that all burns that much more since neither collision was caused by me, yet our family has been sucking it up for the better part of two years.

DPoD December 16th - Oh the weather outside is frightful

Here's what our street looks like today at noon. Notice that the poeple in this picture are infact wearing skis to go down the sidewalks.

And yes, as a matter of fact I still did take the boys to church in the toboggan today. They had a great time.

DPoD December 15th - What Big C Does now instread of Nap

At first it looks innocent as he quietly plays with one of his Thomas toys along the top of the gate. Then with closer inspection you notice that he has gone into his closet and removed the shelves that contain his diapers and his clothes. Not only has he taken all of the stuff out, but he's conveniently 'reorganized' them on his bedroom floor.

After this game wore out (read daddy put a lock on his closet) and his electric guitar toy was taken away, the afternoon nap has returned with great success. Long live early sleeps as soon as we put him down at night.

Mommy update

Mommy has had a long, long week. After the collision on Wednesday and the pain and aggrevation that has followed mommy has the flu. She was up most of last night and is now resting quietly, but alone and without her boys today. She misses them dearly, as well as all the friends and family she was scheduled to see today.
Get better soon mommy. We love you.

So, what actually happened?

With time to reflect and lots of people asking, here is an explanation of what happened as depicted by the Discovery Toys game Rush Hour.

So we are the blue (or is it turquoise) car in these pictures. The red car is a Honda Accord and the Purple car is an Audi. This is where we all started.

In this picture I have added thumb tacks to show the colour of the lights that we all had. We are turning left.
The red car advances into the intersection to go straight (you'll note he has a green). We advance and wait as we are turning left and the red car has the right of way. The driver of our car says "oh my gosh, the purple car isn't stopping." I look over and sure enough, the purple car runs the red light and hits the red car.
With no where else to go and nothing we can do, we sit and the red car ricochets into the front of our car.
Instantly my old injuries start to flare up and by the time I got home (4 hours after the collision) I had already called and made an appointment with my chiropractor for today.

I iced my back, shoulder and neck last night and this morning and it is still incredibly sore. I am really upset, frustrated and annoyed. I had just spoken yesterday with both my chiro and my insurance adjuster about how well I was doing from the last collision and how pleased we all were with my recovery.

My chiropractor (who is awesome) said to me last night that since I was doing so well he thinks that I should bounce back quickly this time. I sure hope so.

I stayed home from work today and am having a bit of a pity party.