Happy Birthday Boo...

 

 

My Dearest Emily,

Your determination to strive for the stars is impeccable.

Your artistic ability and creativity is amazing, although sometimes being a perfectionist is mind blowing to me because I see creativity in every doodle and craft you make. Always remember that others won't see your error or know its not exactly what you wanted it to look like and always know that your time, effort and detail never goes unnoticed.
 

Your pizzazz to add to your outfit - yes even soccer is such a lovely touch.

Your love for people and animals makes my heart so full...and your chitchat at bedtime drives me nuts but that's when we have our BEST talks....

 

I wish at your age GIRLS  weren't so competitive and it didn't matter if you could do a cart wheel or know all the words to a song or wear the prettiest clothes and shoes to school or even pierce your ears because everyone is doing it. . I wish you wouldn't care about those things and not let them bother you - But unfortunately it's just part of growing up!

 

You've played on a Hockey team and have been such a star, yes playing with all boys! But this year playing on an all girls Soccer team has brought you so much joy! Love it! and I love to see you smile, run and be happy and okay fine.....and be an AWESOME goalie.....(what is with you kids??)

 

You are smart and beautiful....inside and out....So smart you tell me and others that you're going to the University of Guelph to become a Veterinarian and you're just going into Gr 4! Do you know how far Guelph is??

 

No matter what you want, I'll always be there to support you. Even if its PINK, SPARKLY, MUDDY or playing Hockey with the boys!!

 

My sweet girl....remember one thing.....Always skate like a girl..the boys will soon catch up!!

 

Happy 9th Birthday to one of the most amazing little girls that I know!

 

You'll always be our Boo!

 

 

How long will I love you......Forever and Always....

It's hard to believe in a blink of an eye its been 13 years....

Where has the time gone?

 

 

Always remember these 13 things...

1) We will always drive each other crazy
2) No matter what happens, I'll be standing right next to you
3) I'm usually right
4) Our kids like my pancakes more than yours because they are bigger
5) My hummus is better
6) I'll always remind you its garbage day, one day ahead
7) You are NOT a soccer dad, no matter how much you try
8) You're an amazing SAHD (do you know what that means? lol)
9) I'll never use the lawn mower or climb on the roof
10) You're the best coach our kids will ever have.
11) You're my best friend
12) That I love you more

AND

13) By now, you should know I don't like lace unless of course it's a tablecloth....

 

Happy 13th Anniversary Babe!
 

This ones for you.....

How long will I love you?

Forever and Always....

 

https://youtu.be/an4ySOlsUMY

 

 

It's Your Day.....

I'll be the Goalie!!

 

My dearest Andrew, if I could write a book about you one day I will.....

I haven't been inspired to write lately....but you, my sweet boy give me that.....

My inspiration....

Your amazing love for the outdoors and nature amazes me every day. 

Your curiosity for all things science, your determination to build, compassion for others and your fight to always sit near me is incredible! Your drive and determination to play sports is unbelievable and your love and spirit for the game is incredible...please don't ever be a goalie! I say that with a bit of selfishness and kid around...Be who you want to be.....

You have such an old soul and are always the first child to say "I'll do it, or I'll try it!" You will be the one that comes to me first to tell me you're going "sky diving or something completely insane!" and I will hold my breathe and try not to have a heart attack.....

I am so blessed to call you my son. You were such a teeny babe when you were born and now you stick out a head taller in a crowd with your mop of curls. Don't ever change who you are my love...I think somehow you've learned something from me...If you don't expect, you'll never be disappointed. Always takes disappointment with such grace.....

Some days I wish I could write down all the things you say so I never forget what a smart boy and funny kid you are...

To the child who notices everything from a clean house to something yummy cooking in the oven or that I did something different to my hair....to the hugs when you pass me by in the hall at school......Always remember that I love you to the moon and back again...

Happy 7th Birthday Andrew! 

Always have Courage and be kind...

Love Mom

The Grinches Take on Christmas!

It's that time of year again where the Grinch gives you her take on Christmas!

1) Lego Dimensions - Seems a bit like Skylanders, how many characters and portals will I have to buy?

2)Skylanders Superchargers - oh look another portal!!

3) Air Hogs - Once they crash a few times, they don't seem to work! Oh wait, you can't take them outside either, because they'll go into places unknown!!

4) Frozen Toys/Games/Stuffies
Can we just forget about Frozen? I've managed to keep the batteries out of my daughter's Elsa piggy bank for over 6 months or else I would have thrown it against the wall!

5) Yu-ghi-o cards - yup, you're constantly playing 52 pick up!!!

6) Sticky Mosaic Crafts - I think they actually use "crazy glue" have you ever tried peeling these tiles off your wooden floor?

7) Qixels's - just another thing to vaccuum, just like Rainbow loom!

8) Lego - we've invested in this toy for over 8 yrs....who the heck has a house big enough to keep them all together! I'm done with that investment...

9) Shopkins - these just seem like a knockoff of Trashies and that's really where they belong - the TRASH!

10) Monster High Dolls - the ugliest knock off of Barbies

A few items I have seen that look great are:

Street Hockey - Goalie equipment for kids to play outdoor/indoor Hockey

Boogie Board Writing Tablet - for the doodling artist

A new Tree Swing - so they can jump into the mound of snow the city leaves on our lawn

Books, books and more books!

DVD's Inside Out - Any chance Hotel Transylvania 2 be out, so we can watch it 1000 times??

And somehow I need to find a Pink Sparkly Binder so my daughter can organize all her note books at school?? Is this even needed in Gr 3?

Best gift that's been asked for is a "Word Search" by my 6 year old!!!

Oh and the Guinea Pig will be staying at school as their class pet where they all can take care of it and it belongs to the TEACHER!!!

So that it folks! Until next year, when the Grinch reaches out to you once again!!

Happy shopping!

Listen, Skate Hard and Have Fun!

All good things must come to an end....I only say this because it's been a LONG Winter!! But an exciting one....

My kids Hockey House league is coming to an end this weekend and all THREE of them are playing in the final games!

My youngest child's team was pretty much last all year BUT these kids turned around and have developed into such great players! Let's not forget they're only 5 and 6 years old though. Last weekend was the first time I saw my youngest son come off the ice with the saddest face - it broke my heart. He said "mom, we're not going to get a trophy." He usually gets off the ice and says "do I get a treat? I listened to my coaches, I skated so hard and it was so much fun!"

Those are the THREE things I tell each of my kids before each game.

1) Listen to your coaches
2) Skate Hard
3) Have fun!

And that'll never change...

To the parents that tell their kids how great or terrible the team their up against I have to ask "what's wrong with you?" Don't you remember walking into your first interview or competing in a race feeling like you were going to lose and not get the job?

Just let these kids have fun and enjoy the experience and after the fact say "you played a great game, they were a tough team BUT you played your hardest and you did so well!" Putting fear or negativity into them isn't going to make them work harder, its going to make them give up easier!

This I have to say was the hardest year as a parent when it came to organized sports and having our kids all in hockey and both on two teams. We endured players with poor sportsmanship, parents who weren't happy with coaching, teams being stacked with all the best players, kids being granted goals/assists that they didn't get, kids that didn't play fairly and a lot of BAD attitude. Wondering where a lot of this stems from? The apple doesn't fall far from the tree...

But this year we also got the opportunity to have fantastic coaches that VOLUNTEER their time, which means they take their own time to teach your kid how to play fair, skate hard, meet new parents, go away to a tournament all the way to OSHAWA as a family, my kid got a ride in a limo to her game, a medal for being "player of the game". We also won a tournament and a HUGE trophy on my husband's Birthday!!I think secretly he was the happiest kid on the team. We've had parents open their restaurant doors to our kids and families, mom's who went out frantically to buy gifts for the team and I have to say we've eaten a whole lot of crappy food in a frenzy to get to the next game while our kids fell asleep on the way to their games!!

I think the best part of this year was watching my kids skate outside of the arena on a beautiful rink built by "just dad's" having fun and doing something for their kids and their community. Half the time we weren't in an arena this winter, my kids were skating...just having fun....

So as this season comes to an end, all I can say is don't forget to Thank all your coaches for their time, team spirit, sportsmanship, teaching our kids to play as a team, respect for others and teaching them that its not all about winning but having fun and working together as a team to excel, develop and become a better team player.

I know I'll be the mom that'll be sitting in an arena for 3 back to back games this weekend cheering ALL my kids and YOURS because no matter the outcome you guys have come so far and you should be proud of yourself!!!

Skate Hard, Play Hard and have fun!!

March Break Madness!

Its March Break! Kids are so excited how about you? OMG! There isn't a bottle of wine in sight to sit and relax after a fun-filled day of playdates, riding bikes, scooting, playing tennis and Hockey games! Yes, we did all those thing in ONE day!
We started of on Monday deciding to check out the local malls camp it was FREE! Yes it was FREE! To see Reptiles...got there 20 minutes early and my kids got front row seats and one of them sat with an old classmate he hasn't played with in a while!

This eventually led to a playdate the next day and mom even got to hang out with his mom! Fun times!

Day 2 of the March Break the weather went up to 9 degrees! Kids were buzzing outside all day and the garage became a disaster as they wanted to play with everything from the basketball to their scooters!

Day 3 came in with a blast of Wintery weather and frigid temperatures but that didn't stop my kids from seeing their friends....so much snow we got stuck, but mommy reversed almost half a block down the street and took the back roads and made it to their friends house on time! Never thought I'd be a taxi driver!!!

Day 4 - the morning was filled with yet another play date and our afternoon with another FREE adventure of Magic at our local library!!

can't rotate!! (oops)

Last day of March Break was spent with the entire family! Even daddy took a break and drove us all to Bruce's Mill...walked the trail, checked out every bucket on the trees!

NO SYRUP!....hold onto to your wallet because its going to be expensive Sunday morning breakfast with that syrup! We had pancakes and Peameal Sandwiches for lunch, oh and a shot of Maple Syrup.

Went for a wagon ride and the kids pet every furry creature at the petting zoo!


We even got our once a year photo op!! Love it!!

Best part of the day was NAPTIME when we got home....silence for 2 hours!

How about you? Was it March Break madness and you lost your mind? or like it was for me....all around a GREAT time. We still have the weekend ahead of us but at least daddy's home to referee...looking forward to routine...I love Mondays!
Cheers
C

The Grinch talks about Top Toys for 2013

I recently read through a Top 10 Toys List for 2013 and this is my take on the Toys out there from a mother's perspective....

Rainbow Loom - Looks fun and creative for a while BUT I can wait to suck up all those elastics in my vacuum cleaner!!

Minecraft Game - First you come out with a free app where your child builds stuff for hours and then we ask them to come to the table to eat...the kids goes back to his or her beautiful design of their ultimate dream home that has a big beautiful library, huge swimming pool, beautiful flowers and bedroom that only a child could dream of and the design is GONE!!!! Their dream house is DELETED!!! So then you buy the app because you feel so terrible and NOW you come out with a Video game for a console?

Beanie Ballz - Feel free to purchase if you want more dust collectors in your house. They are stuffed animals, they don't do anything - except collect dust

Aquabots - They look awesome - maybe for bath time! How long does the battery last to keep it in the tank? Nothing like your kid waking up to the morning to a fish laying on it's side!

Lego - I LOVE Lego, don't get me wrong....but seriously WHY is it so over priced? There should be a warning label on the product - Have you even stepped on it in the middle of the night?

Furby - REALLY!!!?!!! I worked in retail and we decided to open one to show the customers....this is WORSE than a colicky newborn...I'm hungry, I'm sleepy - I'm AWAKE at 4am!! Perfect gift for soon-to-be parents....

Skylanders - money grab.....something new each year and isn't compatible with last years edition

Snowtime Anytime - get your a$$ outside and play with your kids! Really? Indoor snowballs?

Every year I seem to have to purchase a toy that's on someone's list and say "Hmmmm....I wonder how long this is going to last!" But is it worth seeing your kid unhappy? What are your nightmare gifts that your kids are asking for this year?