spring break....

This past week was spring break for our kids. We went to Calgary for a few days for a little break. We stayed in a very nice suite in a hotel close to Ron's office. We played, relaxed, and swam and swam some more. I spent some time in the hot tub. Read a good book. It's so great that the kids are old enough now that if I need to run to the lobby for some ice or a paper, they can stay for a few minutes on their own with no disasters. I am so proud of them too, because, despite the 4 year age difference, these two little people play together and get along so well. I am not saying that they never fight, but for the most part, I think they have a connection which is very real. My cousin Jill took us to the Chinook Centre Mall for some browsing at Pottery Barn and Williams Sonoma. Calgary has a newly opened Cora's Restaurant, but we didn't make it there-maybe next time.

vertigo...

This word didn't mean very much to me a few weeks ago, but it has come to mean something suddenly. A week ago today I had the life scared out of me. Ron came home from a week of travel feeling a little achy...maybe a touch of the flu. Sunday morning he rose early to get Tyler to hockey for 8:30. Hunter and I were still in bed....it being 'spring forward' time change and all.
Suddenly, the phone rang. It was a parent from the arena calling to tell me that Ron was throwing up and dizzy and could I come pick him up and take him to the hospital. I said I would be there in 10 minutes. I quickly pulled on some clothes and told Hunter to get up and get dressed. I could feel my heart beating in my chest. I called my neighbour Dan to ask if he could take the kids for me because I had to take Ron to the hospital. Then I ran for the car. As I was backing out of the garage, I saw Dan running out of his garage. He wanted to know if he could follow me to the arena to get the kids. I said sure and took off. When I arrived at the arena, a hockey parent was standing outside with Ron propped against the side of the arena, throwing up. I pulled up and we put him in the backseat. Dan pulled up behind me and took Hunter and went inside to get Tyler off the ice. I drove to the hospital and Ron threw up the whole way. I was trying to keep calm, but I had a lot of thoughts running through my head.... aneurysm??? heart attack??? I pulled up to the emerge door. Ron said he couldn't walk, so I ran for a wheelchair. I pushed him inside and he was "triaged" fairly quickly. The doctor who came to see Ron was the only doctor I happen to know in this city. His children attend the same school as our children. I have also heard that he is an excellent doctor. He diagnosed Ron with an inner ear infection, which causes the mixed up signals to the brain, resulting in the vertigo and vomiting. So after they gave him some anti-nauseau medication, they sent us home about 3 hours later. After the medication took effect, he could at least walk and talk. I got him home and put him to bed. An inner ear infection is not something that is treated with antibiotics. It resolves itself over time with rest and reduced activity and it can take anywhere from a few days to weeks for full recovery. So Ron took the week off and he was pretty much flat on his back for 4 days. He is feeling better and is thinking of going back to work tomorrow. We are feeling very lucky and grateful that it was not something more serious. We have heard of people who are off work for 2 months with this viral infection. Later in the week, Tyler came down with a touch of the flu. So I spent the week sleeping on the sofa with very little restful sleep and the week passed by in the blink of an eye. But everyone seems on the mend now. It's times like this that we miss having family around, but we are grateful for wonderful friends like Dan who came to help us immediately.

reading....

"Documenting life's milestones and passages through photographs, and assembling them in albums or scrapbooking them creates a treasure that has lasting meaning. We send a message to our children that they matter, that their experiences are important, and that we love them. We teach them to cherish the people and moments in their lives when we cherish them in theirs."

~ Sandra Magsamen in Living Artfully

meet "stickzilla"...

See the thing above that looks like a stick? It's a stick bug. A grade one teacher at school who has been so nice to us since we moved here gave Tyler a "stick" bug today for a pet. I thought he was going to explode with excitement. She told him yesterday that he could pick up his stick bug today, so we had to go out and look for some type of home for the stick bug. All I have been hearing about since yesterday is the stick bug. Stick bug this & stick bug that...what the stick bug needs (a stick to climb on), what the stick bug eats (lettuce) and where the stick buy will sleep ( in his bedroom). He decided that he would call the stick bug "Stickzilla". Madame gave Tyler a female, so this bug will lay eggs and have babies. I really fear for a pet in this house that looks like something that should be vacumed with the vacum cleaner and thrown out with the garbage. Tyler has even asked if we could take Stickzilla to Grandma & Grandpa's house. I said that I am not sure how Grandma & Grandpa will feel about a "grandstick", but we could ask.

hurricane on the bayou....

The kids had no school last Friday, so we had the chance to go to the Imax to see this film. It was about Hurricane Katrina, but from the perspective of what happened to the wetlands and the wildlife when this hurricane lashed down on Louisianna. Tyler was fascinated by the impact on the crocodiles and how many croc babies were simply blown away by the hurricane.

and here's a project I made..

when I attended the scrapbook event. This was a fun project to make. It is built around two small canvases that are first painted. Then a tiny accordian fold booklet is adhered on top and embellished. Wonderful new Creative Imaginations product.

meeting my favorite scrapbooker....

Two Saturdays ago, I had the opportunity to attend a two day scrapbooking event where I had the chance to meet my favorite scrapbooker-Becky Higgins. I have been following her work in Creating Keepsakes magazines since 1999 and I own ALL of her books on scrapbooking. My current favorite is "Our Family Scrapbooks". Love this book. I have met Becky on two other occasions-at Creating Keepsakes University in Florida in 2003 and Creating Keepsakes University in Boston in 2004, but this time I was smart enough to take my copies of her books for her to sign. Loved chatting with her and hearing her ideas. She has a new sketches book coming out in September and I can't wait. Her sketch books helped get me out of a serious scrapbook rut. Right now, I am working on a book for Hunter about our trip to American Girl Place in Chicago last summer. It's in pink and black and I love that color scheme.

the apple dumpling gang.

"If we meet again in that big roundup in the sky sometime, I'm gonna spread my blanket 'side of yours, just the same as always."

~Amos to Theodore in the Apple Dumpling Gang

Remember this movie? 1975. Walt Disney production. I remember watching it as a kid. We rented it recently for the kids and it was one of our best family movie nights ever. The kids thought it was hilarious. How could you not laugh at a pair up of these two men? The facial expressions and the eyes. Kids don't get that in the movies made today. Some of the movies produced for kids today don't even have a consistant plot . Take "Winn Dixie" for instance. Great book. Bad movie. But this was pure delight to watch for silly fun.

yippee.... it's march

I am so very happy that March is here and spring is not far off. February went by in a blur. 5 days after we got home from Chilliwack, we were up at 5am on Saturday morning to leave for a skating competition for Camrose. We went as a family, and it was so nice for Hunter & I to NOT have to travel on the dreaded bus again. Hunter's team had a great skate and I was very busy. Two moms on the Adult team asked me if I could watch their babies while they had practice ice. I had looked after 3 month old Lauren when we were in Chilliwack, but I had not looked after the other two boys before. I had a Lauren, plus a 9 month old and a 4 year old. The 4 year old boy was a handful. I realized quite quickly that he didn't listen or cooperate very well. So I had Lauren on one arm, left Hunter pushing the 9 month old in his stroller, while I was chasing after this little boy. He wanted to run/climb up and down the bleachers, which were exceptionally steep and dangerous. Finally, Ron took over for me and made him sit in one spot with Tyler. Where was the father of these two boys? I'm not sure. Ron just gave me the "look" which means that I have a problem saying "NO" to people. Looking after Lauren would have been just fine. She was easy and Melissa had called me the night before to ask if I could help her with Lauren.
I love Melissa and would do anything for her. But next time, I will be more careful. Babes in strollers are fine, but not busy little people with a mind of their own.

The day after the Camrose competition was Tyler's birthday. We had his party at Chuck E. Cheese's at 5p-6:30pm and the kids had a blast. We had pizza, cake, presents, a visit from Chuck E. Cheese and then the kids were let loose with their "tokens" for the many games. Ron and I loved that there was no mess for us to clean up afterwards. We went home to a nice, clean house and a quiet bedtime. Unfortunately, I forget to take the digital, so I have no pics of the actual party to share.