WOW

Things have been slowly getting into a routine here.  Saturday the kids have swimming lessons in High Prairie- which is 30 minutes away.  The first session they were back to back lessons, so we would have to keep Laura entertained while John was in the water for 45 minutes.  Then Matt and Laura would go in together.  Swimming is daddy's thing.   John would play dinosaurs with the other kids while Laura was swimming.  Now this session they are at the same time, which is awesome cause I have been taking them and Matt's been doing lots of yard work.  

Last weekend was beautiful, we managed to do 2 loads to the dump, 2 loads of junk to the burn pile- when we bought the house there was a playhouse here, we had to get a backhoe to dig the earth beside the one wall as it was starting to crumble, well then playhouse broke down (thank god then and not when the kids were playing!)  .  We also did a lot of burning, and actually had ice cream by the fire.  However this weekend is another story- It took me 45 minutes to get to swimming 1 hour to come back, the roads were horrible, there was like 2 feet of snow over night.  Last weekend was Easter, it was really weird just being the 4 of us.  

Sundays, we are usually doing something around the house or playing.  

Monday Laura has speech therapy for an hour.  She's STUBBORN, she does not take after her mom one bit....or her dad!! hahaha

Tuesdays- Wednesday and Thursday- John has playschool- I have to pick him up at noon, however we try to go to playgroup.  The library in Falher started a mom and tot time on Tuesdays and the one in McLennan on Thursdays.  We absolutely try to make them.  Girouxville has playtime also on Wednesdays we try to go there but not always.  Cafe Nord in Falher is also a good place to go play with little miss, and bonus, if the kids are good on the weekend we go Mondays or Fridays!! john likes to go..

Fridays- John's favorite day is pop day- If he's been good all week he can have pop with either dinner or a movie.  

At the end of March Gramma and Papa came over- Gramma was here for a week and Papa Friday to Tuesday.  It was great to have them here.  The boys started taking apart the bathroom, Matt ordered a one piece tub, however then they tried to put it in, it was TOO BIG.  So now we are totally renovating the bathroom, It's going to have a corner tub with jets (its in my living room right now!) We also decided to drywall the bathroom as it was a dark room since it doesn't have windows. 

I digress yet again. When Gramma was over she saw John's playschool, met his teacher, met a friend and her kids.  We went to Peace River and then the day before they left we went to Grande Prairie to swim with the dinosaurs, we went the weekend of my birthday in March and the kids loved it, we thought maybe the kids would love to go there with Gramma and Papa.  They got a hotel and the kids had PIZZA HUT!! (a huge treat as it has real pepperoni- around where we live the pizza has big pepperoni - its more like salami)

It was sad to see them go, however Gramma decided she couldn't wait till July to see us again that she is coming in May.!!!

So our schedule is as follows for the months to come

May- Gramma visits

June - My mom, Aunt and Grandma visit

July- drive to London, ON (Obviously cause we can't drive to England!)

August - we will be in sudbury for a week - and driving back to Alberta

September- Gramma and Papa will probably visit!

October- we are flying to London and going to my cousins wedding in Sudbury!

November- Nothing planned quite yet

December - FLORIDA 

If any of you want to come visit please do not hesitate to do so!!  Contact Matt or I! :)  heehee

Wow that was fast.

So when we were in Tillsonburg, Laura had gone for a speech assessment, however i had to tell our speech therapist that we were moving.  She found someone in the area- as i told her i was willing to drive up to an hour for Laura to have her therapy.  Well I just got the call this morning that we are starting next Monday- I am unsure how things work here right now but I will have better understanding on Monday.

We also got our health cards today!  Now we are officially Albertan!!!

We knew for a couple years now that we will be going to Florida for Christmas in 2012.  We have been saving up Aeroplan points and everything.  Well this weekend we booked our trip.  We were only going to go for 2 weeks however, as it works out staying for 3 weeks worked better for us. So we are going to three weeks.  Friends and family are more than welcome to come visit us if they want too!!

Now we just have to look at booking a house- we would like 2 side by side houses as the Dale's don't want to share a house with the 4 kids (who could really blame them! heeheee)

Our trip to Grande Prairie was actually exstended- Matt was staying there for 2 nights, however after my first day there I WAS NOT Staying a 2nd night, Laura had run off on me, refused to listen...you know all the stuff a 2 year old does.  However the 2nd day there the kids were amazing.  They listened real good...so their reward was staying a 2nd night.  They loved to pool, the hotel even had a waterslide.  Laura was swimming around with the waterwings and even jumping in like a big girl our 2nd night there!! They are definately growing up my kids.

Laura thinks she can go all day without napping, usually around dinner or right after she cuddles into me and falls asleep.  As much as i dont like that she does that - I LOVE IT!!  She's only young once and I love the cuddles.  She's gotta learn she's not quite there yet she still needs to nap.

Been A While

So we had Laura's birthday party with Jess and Jessica and the kids.  The cake turned out pretty awesome if i dare say so myself.  The weekend after the birthday was the Superbowl.  Well Matt invited everyone from work over- obviously not everyone came but we had a great turnout.  We managed to get the house in order the week before - all the boxes were emptied and well it was a great party- the kids played downstairs, where we set up the ping pong table.  I think they all had a good time.

John and Laura started swimming lessons on February 11th in High Prairie.   However this week Laura didn't get to go, she has been sick almost all week.  John had his first school trip with the playschool he attends.  They went to a carnival in St Isidore- which is a huge french festival.  Sounds like he had a great time- however we had a conversation as we were driving home from me picking him up from school.

"So John did you have soup and grilled cheese for lunch"
- I said no thank you but they still gave me soup.  And i didn't want a grilled cheese so I ate the lunch you sent me.
"OK - so what else did you do?"
-We played outside.
"Did you have maple syrup on snow?"
-The other kids did but I didn't mommy.
"why not John?"
-Because you tell me not to eat snow.
"But John mommy tells  you not to eat snow and you still do it, why didn't you try it? you love syrup"
-I don't know
"That was one of the treats mommy loved as i was your age"

And today i had to tell him to stop eating the snow and catch up with me.

Well Friday we went to Grande Prairie- we bought a Hyundai Elantra it's Red!!  It's Great!!  It's Matt's!!! Now we are going to sell the van and I get to drive the huge truck

Yesterday Laura managed to open doors with the round door knobs.  OH NO!!!  I also started trying to put her in big girl underwear- Within 10 minutes she had her first accident.  Yesterday I put a pull up on her for the first time- she insisted on underwear on top.

Today- the kids had lunch downstairs.  Laura came up NOTHING on her bottom half...So i go downstairs to find her diaper.  It was wet but that was it.  So i go to change her- Noticed POOP on her bum.... oh no.  So she must have pooped in the basement after she took off her diaper.  I gave Matt he option to change her or go find the poop....she must have been taking care of her doll- pooped and kept taking care of her babies.  She had traces of it going every which way in the toy room.

Happy

Well I am happy to announce that my van has started every day since last Friday.  John was able to start playschool this week.  He loves it, the teachers love him, the other kids love him....it's great

He leaves on the bus at around 8:05 am and he's a big boy and wants to wait for the bus by himself- its right in front of our house.  I have to pick him up at noon.  Well the first day- the teacher told me that there was another boy who started the previous week- he and John play really well together.  There is an autistic child in the class that won't play with other kids.  However, he wanted to play with John and the other boy.  At one point the teacher had to tell the autistic boy and John to stop running around, she said that as much as she had to say it she was so happy to see him play with someone.

The next day I pick him up and the teacher tells me that he's got alot of charisma- that the kids just flock to him and want to be friends with John.  You would have thought he was here all year and not just on his 2nd day there.

Thursday - I went to playgroup with little miss, as it starts at 10 and lasts all day- I figured if i went from 10 to 11:55 I could pick John up and go straight home.  It worked great as it's in the same town as John goes to school.  John was in a bad mood coming home (he was up at 6 am)  He started taking a fit when we didn't see the beginning of the train that was crossing the road.  He was MAD.  He managed to take a nap and he was in a good mood after that.  After dinner John and I went back to Falher.  The library had a special teddy bear story time.  John was great- he became the favourite of the librarian, at the end she even told me that if I ever needed a babysitter for this stellar boy she was available- I said You didn't meat my little girl though.... lol

At the library kids were asked to bring a teddy bear- he brought one he got from the Fisher's at Christmas.  He named it Scooby.  Well she asked a couple kids to come up and tell as story about their teddy.  After a couple kids John gets chosen - he goes up "This is Scooby, he's a dog, he knows everything about dogs."  Then they were reading stories, there were 2 bears on a cover of one story, he says LOUDLY "That little one is a honey bear" - The reader asks him "How do you know that" He replies "It is, because I am smart" - Well he had all the parents roaring.

We came home and he went to bed really well...it was nice to have some mommy and John bonding time.  Once the kids were in bed- Matt and I worked on the floor in the what will be now the exercises room I think.  We put in  like 150 tiles.  seems like a million.  I also managed to bake mini cupcakes for Matt's work and baked a teddy bear cake for Laura's birthday - however when I follow the directions on the package to the T- first off the batter didn't go in all the nooks and crannies in the pan like it should have, then i had to cut off the part of the cake that went up well after i cut to let it cool on a wire rack the head fell off on both sides....so I sure hope i can use skears to hold it up...The recipe for the cake was the longest one i ever made to date.

Frustrated!!!

Alright so as you might know- I got my van Tuesday night- The kids and I had a great day on Tuesday- We went to High Prairie to the pool, lunch and did a little bit of groceries.  The pool there is pretty awesome!!!  The kids loved it and so did Mommy.  I can't wait to go with daddy! John did the waterside quite a few times...and its pretty big!!The best part?  When i got home i had a hubby- not a sick man anymore!!

My van was on the car hauler and wouldn't start, Matt gave it a boost with his truck and they got it off.  He then went to fill it up with gas.    Let it run for a bit and stuff....I booked it in for a out of province inspection on Thursday.  Well I need to get paperwork for that....So come the next morning (Wednesday) the bus called to say it was cancelled - but the van won't start.  Shit i can't go get the paperwork needed, so I called the auto shop and rescheduled for Friday.  This morning Matt boosted my van before he left so I can go to Falher and get the stuff i needed so we can bring it to the shop Friday.  Well he left at 7- the licence office doesn't open till 9! So I let it run....when we got in the van it was nice and toasty.  Got there fine no problems whatsoever. Decided to stop by the shop to see if they could still take it today.  He said Sure!!  It will be about an hour and a half.  (That was at 10 am)  It is now 2pm and I am still waiting for him to call me to tell me it's ready- I wanna go finish the paperwork.  I thought he would call the second Laura went to sleep but he hasn't yet.  What is up with this?  I wanna go to Falher today!! (I was supposed to clean all day - totally finish upstairs and then do the van stuff tomorrow)\

Well I am also waiting on the electrician- 2 weeks ago he said  I will be there next week (meaning last week) when he didn't show up we called him Friday and he said probably Tuesday Wednesday.  It is now Thursday- My goal was to have the house all done and set up before Laura's birthday which is next weekend- which doenst seem like its happening.  I am so frustrated with this Alberta time...that's what i have been calling it since it just seems to take so long to do anything- I know i should just relax, but I am tired of relaxing, i want thing to be done so i can actually do crafts with the kids, play with the kids, read with the kids (other than the few books that are in John's room- but you can only read Scaredy Squirrel so many times!)

Van Van get here please

So my van was supposed to get here yesterday- we got a message saying it wont be here till Monday- Tuesday now- Then we just got a message saying Tuesday-Wednesday- they did however offer to pay for a car rental- which is great!!!  I think we are going to take them up on the offer as John starts playschool on Tuesday and I do need to go get him, and what if they can't get it here till Friday? 

I love my kids- but today they broke me!!  I had a great day planned, we were going to High Prairie, I needed to buy a couple things, go to the grocery store, then we were to go out for lunch and go to the Pool.  It looks like its awesome. 

So we get there, John was being demanding of everything in the stores we went in.  I want that I want that, I told him when he made money or if he brought money he can have it.  "but mommy i am a good boy." yes you are being good but your reward is going to the pool today "Oh yeah OK mommy." That was it. 

We get to the restaurant, we order our food, Laura KD and fruit, John a pizza and fries and myself a wrap and soup.  Well the food gets there, the kids get awful.  They barely ate, I told them if they were slow we wouldn't be able to go swimming as it started at 12:15 till 1:45....  Well i think after telling John countless times to stop bothering ppl around us (which i don't blame him as one of them was a cop in uniform, John wanted to ask him ALOT of questions)  telling him to eat his pizza to have strength swimming and her to eat.  The tipping point was when Laura grabbed my water and spilled it on the table.  I got their coats on, the food to go and told them NO swimming.  Came back home, on the way back the kids both were asleep. I had a feeling John was tired, that's why he was acting out.

Well he was in his room for a while after, he sorted his toys and cleaned it pretty good. 

Now I am watching Baby Geniuses with the kids as I wont let him watch what he wants to (backyardigans, iron man, max and ruby, barnyard)

Tomorrow I am finishing unpacking (maybe part of Sunday also)...however on a great note- the kitchen cupboards are up and it looks a million times better than it did before...however i am not sure if Matt took some before pictures...lolit was BAD

Jasper- where is the ski hill!!??

On:e thing i cannot get used to is the time frame....like yesterday our contractor said they would be there  at 8:15.  We left the house this morning at 8:50 and the contractors still weren't there!!  That's gonna take some getting used to as Matt said it's happened to him at work or when he was here the 2 weeks before us, when ppl said to be there at a certain time..i think its a ballpark figure .  Usually before noon means before 2!!!

Well we drove to Jasper,  I packed us a lunch and we ate it on route.  It took us till 1 to get into Jasper park, but as we were driving up to the mountains I was like wowed!!!  (so was Matt!)  Laura was sleeping and John was trying to nap as he couldn't go swimming if he didn't nap!  So once we got into the National Park, we saw something on the road....I go man that looks like an elephant but it can't be...lol  it was 3 mountain goats, on the road, they wouldn't move!  Matt took a couple pictures and drove right beside- he could have petted them if he opened his window...- we woke the kids up at that point - they were excited.  We were surrounded by mountains....well if the speed limit was 80 Matt was going just that, letting the cars pass us....it was really amazing.  We turned a corner, iturned my head and saw lots of other goats on the side of the road, Matt did a U-turn to get some pics of them.  Some Rams were in there also!  (made me think of Lisa - isn't the school your at the Rams?)

So we got to the hotel- I can't see the ski hill....this confuses me- however we go swimming and then I managed to convince the kids to go for a walk...figuring i can see the ski hill!  Well we start our walk, we get the stroller, John decides once we leave the hotel parking lot that he doesn't want to walk so Matt pushes the 2 kids in the single stroller!! heehee  We find "down town" it's pretty nice!  However we are still looking for a ski hill...Matt told me this morning that it's not all open but only 76 runs are....so it's not a small hill!!    We stopped for hot chocolate and cookies...still no sighting.  I was thinking it was like Whistler where all the shops are at the bottom of the hill, or at Blue Mountain where its it's own resort with lots of shops....  So needless to say I think we are going for a drive tomorrow to find this ski hill even though we aren't going to ski.  It's just not what i expected!!

Tomorrow we will be going to the community centre for the kids to swim and then I am going for a massage and a pedicure! WOOT  Looking for forward to it.

rain and ice go away

It rained again last night- but i didn't hear it.  So we were supposed to build a snow fort, yet the snow (well what was left) was too hard.  We walked to the post office and the grocery store- the kids in the sled, me wishing i had skates on.  We managed to get what we needed- I needed some cold meat and buns for our trip to Jasper tomorrow- figured it would be easier to eat on the drive than stop wherever- if there is anywhere on route!  I don't know since i have never been....

Well on the way back they were fighting who gets to drive the GT.  Laura cried louder so she won.  But that wasn't good enough they wanted to walk- well Laura kept falling, then John wanted to pull the sled, Laura of course wanted to pull it also. What John does she always wants to do.  Well her mitts wouldn't let her hold it properly - she was angry...i managed to put her on the sled- let John walk and what would have taken 15 minutes in the ice took us 45 minutes - with her crying and john slipping and sliding at will.  He had fun..i didn't! But i didn't fall....yesterday i did and the kids thought it was the funniest thing ever.

The boys are here doing the last sanding of the drywall and working on the ceiling, tomorrow will be priming, since they didn't come yesterday.  They were originally hoping to be done today but the icy roads prevented them to come yesterday. 

So yeah- we are leaving for Jasper once we get up in the morning, going to go swimming and Mommy gets a massage and pedicure while there!! What a lucky girl I am!

Yesterday the contractors came over to put the 3rd coat of mudding on the walls in the basement and to cut the baseboards.  The Telus guy came over to hook up the TV to Satelite.  We have only 1 receiver at the moment and the TV is on the ground in our living room that doesn't have much room for anything...however we did manage to get the couch and chaise out and a couple toys. 

The kids and I also went to Peace River- I needed to pick up a couple things at Walmart- John picked out a shower curtain with dolphins for the upstairs shower- then i needed a toilet seat cover and i was getting a plain white one- low and behold there is one with dolphins on it and sand and seashells in the seat- of course John wanted that one- he won.  Matt asked why that seat when i got back....i said John picked the theme. 

Yesterday afternoon I was trying to put their GT's together.  I took one out of the box and started and John's like well can't you put Laura's together too at the same time.  I said I couldn't.  He looks at me and says "too bad your not an octopus"  i laughed and put it away it wasn't working for me.  We (by we i mean Matt) put both sleds together after supper last night.

It started raining last night when i left Peace River and It's 9:30 am and it finally stopped! WOohoo i can't wait to go for a walk today- i actually bought some boots yesterday!  However John wants to spend most of the day in PJ's.  Not all day Mommy but most of it please

Christmas Catch- up

Alright so I left you off after Great Wolf Lodge- We have been pretty busy so it's catch up time.  On the 23rd we had our Christmas dinner with Matt's side of the family.It's always great getting together with the nephews and Matt's sister and brother-in-law.  Matt's mom made a dish we all wanted.  Yummy! 

We had breakfast with Matt's parents on the 24th and then moved out of there.  It was a great 3 weeks, way better than being alone that's for sure!  We left for Sudbury that morning.  We managed to get there around 3:30.  My parents were having my mom's side over for dinner and a gift stealing game.  There were lots of great presents to choose from this year, but I came back with what I went with- Epicure spices to make the extraordinary cheese dip. Yum!  I went to church with my mom and grandma- sat with some of my dad's side of the family.  My mom was being so silly- at one point she had me laughing so hard  (Creme Femme!)  that I had tears in my eyes from trying so hard to keep it in- My grandma thought i was crying cause I was leaving for Alberta which made me laugh even more.  And every time i would look up my mom would lick her lips and cause me to convulse some more.

Christmas day was great- the kids slept in a little it was 8 am before they got up.  My grandma, and my sister's boyfriend came over for the gift opening that morning also.  Laura opened her first gift a Dora mini putt set and that was it- She wanted to play with that and only that- who cares about the rest.  John got a LeapPad that he didn't want to put down (aunt Sophie liked it too :) The kids did get spoiled rotten. 

That night we had dinner at my aunt and uncle's place.  It was a great meal.  We opened more presents there - we were all spoiled yet again.  Laura slept over however John didn't want to.  So mommy and daddy left the games we were playing to bring him home.

The next morning (26th) my dad's family gets together at my grandma's place and we play a ball hockey tournament- there are 4 teams (of just family) and we do a round robin and then a final game.  Well when the teams were announced i was with my dad, my cousin, my uncle and 2 aunts.  Well other teams had bigger names.  I was jealous! hahaha  I thought 2 of the teams were stacked.  Well we played pretty good.  My aunt who never scored did her first goal.  I scored 3 goals.  However one of the goals was the winning goal in the final game!  I am so awesome! lol  My team won!!!  the 2 teams i thought were stacked came in 3rd and 4th!

We always have dinner at my aunt's in Coniston - John had a great time with my cousin's kids.  Laura loved being the only girl there and being centre of attention.  Matt- being the great husband and daddy that he is took the kids home so I could spend time with my family- we had a great time playing games after they left.

On the 27th we had dinner at my Aunt and Uncle in Sudbury.  It was a great meal yet again.  It's bittersweet though- as my Uncle is not well and I don't know when I will see him next. He did give Laura a Christmas ornament to remember him by- that i hung in her room.

The 28th I went out with my cousin RJ for dinner and a movie.We saw Breaking Dawn part 1.  It was awesome hanging out with her.

The 29th after i put the kids to bed we had a games night with my cousin, aunt, mom, dad, Matt, and My sisters boyfriend's mom.  We played a couple games, however Quelph was pretty awesome.  We laughed so hard!  It was hilarious- there were so many stupid things to do.  One rule card my dad had was he had to quack every time someone picked up a card.  the boyfriend's mom had to do a dance and tell us what kind of dance it is and stuff...it was hilarious.

The 30th was a kids morning, we went to Chapters and then to McDonald's so they could play.  We had a cheese plate for dinner- YUM I finished packing and went to bed early.  As we were leaving the next day for Alberta with the kids.

The 31st, my mom, dad, grandma, aunt, and sister came to the airport with us to say goodbye!  The kids were great on the first flight, we ate at a Casey's in the airport in Toronto - Matt said it's one of the best Salmon dish's he's ever had. We then boarded the plane  However one of the flight attendants didn't show up for work so they had to find another one.  So they only boarded part of the plane as regulations won't allow more people.  So I think it was 1.5 hours on the plane waiting for the rest of the ppl to get on before we finally took off.  We had less time in Edmonton then.  Oh well...We found a restaurant near our gate Laura did not want to sit down, so after we ate i went walking with her.  Matt's meal got screwed up so he had to wait. After John finished eating we walked the other way and found an Indoor playground- Awesome. ...we didn't get to play much there but we will know for next time! the kids loved it.

We got here at 10:30 Alberta time (2 hours behind Ontario time) We opened the gifts from Matt's parents and Santa.  got the kids to bed and well as Matt said he didnt' see 11 pm! I unpacked the 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms and the kitchen in the 2 days we have been here.  however we are painting kitchen cupboards so we don't have them on the doors just yet. 

Well I think that is enough for now.  The kids and I are going to get dressed and ready to go for a walk