PowerWings rock! (now with pictures)

We got Seb a PowerWing Scooter yesterday. It is the coolest thing since sliced bread. We are off to buy Kenzie one this morning. Too bad they don't make an adult version.

edited to add - they do make an adult version. Hmmmm and CJ's birthday is coming up....







and not to be left out, here's a pic of CJ off to go bike riding


and here's Koda, doing what she does best.

a much better week

I am happy to say that kenzie’s second week of camp went amazingly well. She was in a different group this wek (Science camp) and made a new “best friend” on Monday. It has made a world of difference and she is enjoying camp and CJ and I are SO happy and relieved about that.

It’s been another crazy week for us (things are never slow are they)? But it’s been a good week. Last weekend was a fun weekend. On Sunday I wanted to give CJ some peace so that he could catch up with some work stuff, so I took the kids to Bronte Park where we met up with Omi and Andrea and Chris. I took ‘big Seb’ along for the fun too. The park is great. They have a big old barn there that they’ve made into a bit of an indoor playground with lots of stuff to climb and jump off of. They also have a giant pool (more like a small lake) for swimming. Everyone had a good time – the kids went in the water (but we adults didn’t cause it was fairly cold). We stayed there for quite a while and picnic’d by the pool. After the park we headed to my mum’s for a picnic and playing in her backyard. Come 5:00 the kids were all starting to become a bit cranky (they were probably exhausted) so I packed them up and drove home. All three of my charges were asleep within 3 minutes of pulling out of mum’s driveway. It was a peaceful drive home. Here are some pictures:

In the barn

Big Seb and Kenzie jumping




Seb


Slide


Omi and Jordana


Andrea – I think this is a cute picture of her


Outside the barn


Walking to the pool


Isaac and Jordana (Kenzie and Seb’s counsins)


Jordana loved the water


Seb after his swim


Our picnic table


At Omi’s house








Then it was back to work. As previously mentioned, Kenzie had a great first day of Science Camp – WOOT. On Tuesday afternoon I headed out to New York. I had an all day meeting there on Wednesday. One of the guys I met with used to be the chief architect for the NY transit system. So he took us on a tour of the subway system and pointed out a bunch of really neat stuff (hey, I’m a transit engineer, I like this stuff!) so that was pretty cool. Even better was the fact that I was able to catch an earlier flight home and was home last night by 9:20! That was so great.

This morning I noticed that our flower gardens are looking so nice. I wanted to take some pictures so that I could look at them in 6 months time when I forget what being outside without a parka feels like. So here are a few.

from upstairs


Backyard – grass needs to be cut






The front of the house


Up closer


And closer




Our climby stuff


The models (with the bears I brought back from NY. They have come to expect a gift – even if I’m only gone one night).






Tonight Kenzie has swimming again. She is doing her two weeks of swimming right now and absolutely LOVING it. I’ll have to put her in for additional lessons later this summer. She is already doing front crawl with the side breaths. I am just so happy about it because last year she couldn’t swim and was kinda fearful of the water – so this is a big improvement for her. I love the fact that she loves swimming so much!

Dear God

Dear God,

Please be with Mackenzie today. On Tuesday, I picked her up from camp and she burst into tears as soon as she walked out the classroom door. She was practically inconsolable and couldn’t stop crying the whole way home. Finally, at home I heard about the experiences she had at camp over the last 2 days. She said that the kids in her group were excluding her and calling her names (“baby”, “boy”). She said that even though she was at Shutterbug camp, she only got to take 2 pictures because the other girls in her group wouldn’t share the camera with her. She explained how there was one specific girl who was the leader and who was convincing the other girls to be mean to her. How all the other girls knew each other from outside of camp. She told me that she went to the teacher (counselor) and told him what was going on. He told the “mean” kids that they would lose their computer time because of their behaviour - yet Kenzie was the one that didn’t get a turn on the computer when all the other kids did. I was so angry, so sad and so heartbroken on her behalf. I told her she wouldn’t have to go back to camp ever again.

Yesterday (Canada Day) was a much needed day off. But after talking to a number of friends and family I was convinced that it would be in Kenzie’s best interest to at least give it another shot and “not let the bullies win”. I convinced her to go back to camp, suggesting that maybe her grandmother would be allowed to sit in her class and be an observer. Finally she agreed to go with “Omi”.

This morning, we took her to camp and had a chat with the director. Unfortunately he said that Omi could not join them in class but that he would talk to the counselor and also have another teacher there keeping an eye on the situation. We relayed this to Kenzie and she said she didn’t want to go. She looked scared and upset. It took everything in my being to stop from scooping her up and taking her home. But instead I convinced her to be strong and to go back and face her fears. My little shy girl was so brave and strong and she agreed to go. She walked into the class and sat down by herself waiting for the counselor to take control and start the day’s activities. I couldn’t stay and watch. I had to leave her there to take care of herself. (I am sitting in my office and have tears streaming down my face).

My baby is only 6 years old. I can’t believe she is dealing with bullying. Isn’t bullying something that happens when kids are older – like in their teens? Why does it have to happen to Mackenzie who is so sweet and kind and wouldn’t hurt a fly. This is the girl that singings to her brother when he is sad. This is the girl that stands up for the little boy in her class who gets teased about his glasses. This is the girl who, when her baby brother was born, had not a single once of jealousy – all she wanted was to help take care of him. This is my baby who writes sweet notes and draws pictures for everyone she knows.

Ugh. Please God. Be with her and take care of her. Please help her to have a good day. Please help things to go in her favor and let her be strong and make new “good” friends. Please hold her hand and help her to know she is not alone. Help her to overcome this obstacle and come out of it stronger and kinder (knowing how hurtful mean people can be). Her report card said that she was a leader… Please help her to use this experience as a learning experience so that she can be a strong solid and compassionate leader in the future. Be with her today. Please.

its starting to feel a lot like summer!!!

So it’s time for another update. The past three days have been crazy. Let me start by saying that I have been working like a dog lately – at least for me. I am kinda used to not over-working myself :) But the last 3 or 4 months I have been working like crazy. I REALLY like what I’m doing right now and I am personally interested in a lot of the stuff that is going on in my industry locally and throughout Canada, so on top of my regular job duties I have been trying to stay up to speed on what’s going on and do some business development as well. Needless to say I am unable to keep up a crazy pace for a long time (unlike CJ who is amazing at working 15 hours a day continuously for over a year).

In any case I ended up having a small breakdown at work on Friday. I was tired and worn out and someone senior (ok – the president) made a comment to me that I took as criticism and I way over reacted and got really upset and started to cry in his office. Then because I was so ticked off at my total lack of self control I cried even harder. I was just a mess. He was really good about everything and told me that I needed to cut back on work and spend more time with my family – which was such a sweet comment that I cried even harder. Ha ha ha. Ugh. I am now totally embarrassed about the whole ordeal but I guess I just need to move on. So that was Friday. By the time I got myself under control and finished up some critical work things, it was 3:00 – so I left the office and decided to give myself an hour to recuperate. I went and got a manicure and pedicure by myself and it was just LUXURY!

CJ had a baseball game that night and I was going to go and watch and then we were going to go out on a date. But when Rachel (and Brian) came over to babysit, I was still feeling rather “delicate” and didn’t want to be around a ton of people, so I took Koda for a walk. We were walking by Bev’s house and we saw Coco outside. So we went to say hello. Bev came out and said that she and Sof would join us for a walk. It was actually just what I needed. We went for a really long walk and of course Bev heard all about my “fabulous” day. By the time I got home I was feeling so much better. Bev and sof stayed for a visit and CJ came home and we all just hung out on the front patio and chatted till it was time for bed.

On Saturday we had my company’s summer picnic. It was at a local park and when we arrived the kids were thrilled to see this set up on the grass.


As you can imagine – the kids had a BLAST running through that thing with all the other kids for about 3 hours! There was also a mini put course set up  here are some pics.





I love this pic and just want to kiss his cheeks.






The cake (appetizing eh?)



So after all that playing we headed home ~ 3:00. CJ had another baseball game (it was a tournament weekend) so we were in separate cars. Both kids were asleep before we left the park. I was able to successful carry them from the car to their beds when we got home and they continued to sleep for a couple hours. Meanwhile, Helen called and asked if we wanted to go to Dave’s parents’ house for swimming and barbeque. So when the kids woke up from their naps they couldn’t believe their luck. Not only did they have a fun time at the picnic but they got to go swimming too. We arrived at about 5;30 and the kids played/swam hard the whole time except for about 10 minutes when they jumped out to eat a burger or hot dog. CJ joined us there at about 6:00 which was nice. At 9:00 we dragged the kids away… they weren’t very willing so we bribed them with a sleepover. So instead of taking our two kids home – we took 4 kids home with us. Luckily all the kiddos were absolutely exhausted from the days events that all 4 were asleep in Seb’s room by 10:00. WOOT!

Yesterday was a beautiful day. It was warm and sunny the whole day. The kids had fun playing together. We hit the park, went for a walk, and played in the sprinkler.











While the kids were playing, I was able to get some gardening done. I realized that our garden needed A LOT more colour. The grass is coming in nicely (from the bare spots from the sandbox and pool last year). But this is how it looks now… pretty sparse.



Guess where the dog pees.


After lunch, Helen came by to pick up Seb and Sophie. Kenzie had a birthday party in the afternoon so we had to run out and get a present. On the way home I was drawn to Home Depot to buy some flowers.

Here’s a pic of the Boo


We bought a ton of stuff – hanging baskets, more clematis for the front, some geraniums, petunias and marigolds (I don’t particularly like them so much but they keep the mosquitoes and wasps away) for planters on the balcony, some sort of red bush (can’t remember the name). In any case, when we got home, Seb was napping and Kenzie decided to lie down for a few minutes before her party started. I got right into my gardening and had a blast! There is something so therapeutic about gardening. In any case, the garden already looks better but this has just given me a taste. Now I am anxious to put a real physical border (either stone or that black plastic stuff) around the two flower beds, get and plant some more bushes and I really want to buy a couple small wood and wrought iron benches to put in the backyard to sit on.

Okay – now I am totally babbling… so to end my novel. After gardening I took a shower, CJ picked up Kenzie, the Woocks came over for a barbeque and we had a fun evening. Today it’s back to work and I am having a hard time getting motivated.