At the W's Cottage

We had the great fortune to be invited to a family friend's cottage for the Family Day holiday. We certainly said yes, however mommy wasn't able to join us.
When we arrived the boys headed almost immediately to the toboggan hill and spent about an hour there. A quick lunch later and more of our friends had arrived. We had all brought snowshoes so we decided to head out for a good long hike. Daddy brought the toboggan just in case Big C got tired, but he was such a trooper that it almost wasn't needed. Here's the group of us early on:However E-man's Dada couldn't be in the photo. So he took a self-portrait.
Sha-la-la-la was really into the outdoors and just loving it. She even went further than the boys had energy for.
Though she paid for it later (and maybe tomorrow too).
Here are some general photos of the boys on their travels.







and here's a little message from the boys:

Bathtime

Our guest

Tonight the WBs are host to a sweet little guest.Her parents are at the Ottawa Senators game and she needed a place to crash.
Her parents put her to bed when they arrived but shortly after they left I just didn't think that she was feeling it. So I got her back up and set her loose with the boys.
They got all up in her face and made her laugh like crazy.
She had much more fun hanging with them than being in bed ; )

Story time with the boys. (Thanks for the awesome book Jeff B)
She was eventually tired out. A great night all around! She's welcome back any time.

Brothers

Big C the big Chef

After our escapades on the bus and the O-train Big C and I were hungry.
Daddy: "Big C, what would you like to have'
Big C : "Ummm,daddy....can we make Rice Crispy Squares?"
(Note: he'd been asking this question every school day for weeks...he'd been so patient)
Daddy:'Of course'
Big C: (inhaling deeply)"Huuuuuuuuh!"
So here he is doing all of the work. He did a phenomenal job.
Step 1: Prepare the butter
Step 2: Open the marshmallows

rather unconventionally, but effective overall
Step 3: Do a little quality assurance on the marshmallows
and then fill the bowl
Step 4: Measure out the rice Crispies
Step 5: Add the marshmallows to the butter
Step 6: Heat and stir
Step 7: add the heated mixture into a container to cool
Step 8: Admire your work

Step 9: Dig in

With mommy helping people learn how to install car seats safely and Monkey still on a sleepover at grandma and grandpa's house, Big C and I had the day to ourselves.
What're a couple of guys to do?
When I asked Big C the answer was very clear.
Can we take the O-Train?
Can we take a bus to the O-train?
Can we take a bus to the O-train and go through the big tunnel?

Yes.

Yes we can.

Here are some shots of the two of us out and about.
Waiting for the bus in the bitter cold:
Being silly (who me?)
Getting some prime seats on the O-train.
The seats right above the heater that is:


Checking out the really cold, really fast water:
Going through the tunnel:
Seeing the other O-Train:

My work Christmas Party

The boys loved coming to mommy's work and getting a gift from Santa. Santa had been shopping on usedottawa and managed to score them some great Playmobil items second hand. Hey, they don't care if it is new or not-they werethrilled!

Here comes Santa Clause!

Okay, so this post is slightly late...I just got the photos today : )

On the mend

Last night I was dead tired but just couldn't get settled to go to sleep. Suddenly, from down the hall I hear THAT sound-someone is throwing up. I guess my mommy instincts just knew.
It was Monkey. He is such a good little puker! He was in the bathroom, almost over the bowl. Close enough!!!! He got kudos from me. He started at 11:30 and was done by about quarter to 5. Dave managed to sleep through it, which is good because he couldn't miss work today-it is the first day of the new term.Monkey is feeling much better and is on the couch watching movies. Apparently another boy from the birthday party he went to on Saturday was up throwing up last night too.

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.