He dances as smoothly as his parents

See that rhythm? See those coordinated well thought out moves? No? Yeah, he comes by that honestly!

Back to normal - whatever it is that we call normal

The boys are both back to school today and full of energy.
Big C has been doing very well and put himself to bed last night - a first.
Monkey had a really good sleepover at grandma and grandpa's with lots of TLC. Thank you so much for taking good care of him.

Home with the boys

Both boys were low on energy and patience this morning, yet high on congestion and puppy-dogs eyes. Daddy decided to stay home today since my exams aren't being written by my students until tomorrow. Here are the boys getting some lunch - super yummy/healthy zucchini muffins and chicken noodle soup. Here's hoping that they'll both be better tomorrow (and mommy too!)

Drip....drip......drip

When I went to put windshield washer fluid in the car this morning I noticed that there was moisture on the hood of my car. Odd.
Then I heard it.
Drip.
Drip.
Drip.
Looking up I saw the water was coming from the centre of the ceiling in the garage. Argh.
I took a quick moment and removed all of the ice and snow from the roof of the garage, hoping to see if that had somehow caused the problem. Then I realized that the odds of it coming through the shingles or backwards from the front of the house was unlikely. It did give me a chance to gain a little composure and think things through. I grabbed my phone and called 'my guy'.
My guy is awesome. Paul knows how to build or fix just about anything. And he answered the phone at 7:10 on a Monday morning, which makes him about the best person in the entire universe.
He asked if the ensuite was anywhere nearby.
Nope. (and phew!)
Then he said that it was likely coming from where the house meets the singles directly above that point. There's a bedroom window there and ample opportunity for something to create a leak. He also suggested that I cut a hole in the drywall ceiling to see if the culprit could be found.
I didn't get a shot of the moldy drywall (about a 6" diameter around a drywall screw), but here are some shots of what I could do:
The first hole. Thankfully there wasn't a bathtub-worth of water hiding out up there. It just kept dripping water.
Then I made the hole larger so that I could feel and see what was going on up there.
Here is what I could see. There was a spot directly above the drip where water seems to be leaking in. It trails along the Tyvek wrapping (or whatever brand plastic wrap this is) down the drip point. The 2x4 at the bottom allowed that to escape to the left and to the right a little, but not much.
Here is a shot to the left. A little more damage, but not much.
Here is a shot to the right. Things seem to be pretty isolated.
With the hole open and it still raining, I feel that there is little I can do now but wait for a dry moment.
Oh, that and pray that any repairs will be inexpensive. Feel free to join me.

How could this not be a blog post

Here are the boys...photos taken 3 minutes ago:

The Canal is Open

and daddy, Big C and some friends of ours were off to start skating.
Big C has been skating for 4 months or so now at the local arena and improving his skills. We got ourselves bundled up and hopped into our friends van and were off.
The girls were really excited to get things going. Here is a 'before' photo of everyone putting on their skates and getting ready to go. Monkey was busy at the ski hill with grandma, so he'll have to join us next time.

Big C was game to give it a go. Here he is on the ice and taking his first few strides. He noted right away that there is no zamboni to smooth the ice on the canal. While it increased the level of difficulty it didn't deter him from getting a skate in.

He did a few good hundred feet or so and then the kids all took turns in the toboggan riding behind the grown ups. Here's a few shots of when we tried with all 3 in the sled.
After some good honest effort it was time for a reward.
What else would you get on the canal on a cold day?
Beavertails.
We were thinking of you mommy as Big C had his first one on the canal in the winter. Here's the first in slow motion:
I'm not so sure:
Chocolate on a donut you say?
Hmmmm.....
Time to swallow it and let it tickle the taste buds:
This is AWESOME!!
Our friends decided to share theirs in their own way:
and all too soon we were headed back towards the car. We stopped at 'the tunnel' for a quick moment and a photo op:

and then headed home with a very tired and somewhat cold little guy. Hot chocolate and an early bedtime made things a little better.
See you on the canal soon!

Monkey's birthday party~kids version

Monkey had a whole pack of his buddies over for his birthday party. He wanted to do a Magic School Bus party again just like last year. No problem!! One MSB party coming right up!!!The kids had an absolute blast and it was fun for the adults too.




l

This is my house tonight

This is a little portal into our house on January 18, 2010.


No other explanation required.

Monkey's birthday party

Monkey's birthday started off with snuggles and a new (to him) Leapster video game. Then we had a bunch of our local family over to celebrate with him.He had a fabulous time and especially loved the globe that Grandpa got him...I mean, the box that it came in : )

Hangin' with baby Indy

I was given the opportunity last weekend to go to L-town for a brief stay. Given the chance I jumped at it.

My first stop?

Getting some baby-time with little Indy.

It was soooo nice to have a little girl to snuggle up to (the boys are beyond that stage when you pick them up) and hold her until she was ready for bedtime.

Here's a shot of her and I as she was starting to lose steam and get ready for her night time routine.

Sweet dreams.

We found it!! We found it!!!

She found the iTouch!

and it WASN'T in a snowbank!!


This little green friend of ours was hiding under the bed. Saje's scream of elation shook the whole house as she saw what looked like a green lid under our bed.

Here's our little friend recharging in his proper home.

Batman

Big C went with grandma and grandpa tonight to the Chinese buffet. While there, he received this mask. He also received a yellow lollipop. After getting it he very politely whispered into grandma's ear "Next time we come can we ask the lady for a green one?'
What a cutie.

Thanks E, J and K

The gifts have arrived from London and ohhhh my gooodness, did someone hit the nail on the head. The boys were overjoyed to be able to open the 'mystery package' with their names on it. Here they are tearing into the box and seeing what lies inside:
Monkey was very excited about his 'Where the Wild Things are book' and the game that they could play together:
I think however that the trump card was played with Big C. The camera didn't do justice to his excitement when he opened up 'Mater Saves Christmas'. We read it twice that night and it has become THE book for bedtime stories.
Thank you so much. See you guys soon.