Light

It's 8:45 and it's still light out. It makes it very hard to put the kids to bed when its still light. I'm exhausted and it's been a long day. I'm off to clean out the car though so Drew can take it and a few of the council members tomorrow to St. Catherines for the Clergy/Lay conference. It's going to be a long few days without him.

I remember when we lived downtown and we would put the kids to bed at night after washing them up. They would get so dirty down at the playground. Then they would lay in bed and listen to the kids still outside playing. We no longer have that issue. it's very quiet when they go to bed but it's still light out. I love the long summer days though so I can't complain. However, it was only 11 degrees today and it was cold. My friend told me it snowed today at her trailer up north. Huh.

Grande Finale

Places everyone!

Mazie had her rhythmic gymnastics end of the year show today. She began last summer and took classes all through the Fall, Winter, and Spring and was really excited about the show. Unfortunately they chose to do it on a Sunday morning so Drew wasn't able to make it. However, Aunt Paige was able to be there and I know it meant the world to Mazie. Paige and Jason got home late last night. I am not sure what runs through Drew's head in the middle of the night. We heard the dog going crazy and Drew suggested I go up there and say hello to them. I was like, "Um, I don't really want to say hello at 1 am." He says, "well you should at least go up and make sure it's them!" It was them and I didn't need to check.

So we had the show and the entire time Leo just complained how he was hungry. I swear that's all this kid thinks about. I tried to get some good shots but I was so far away. However, I had lots more showings at home so I managed to get a few more. LOL

I even got a shot of our kitty Emily watching from above.

Oops I did it again....

I forgot to bring my camera to Leo's first game. The look on his face when he put on his uniform was priceless. In my defense, I get home at 5:30 after an hour on the 401 and have 45 minutes to get the family fed and out the door to soccer. Fortunately, Drew had dinner ready and we ate some yummy spaghetti but we were still rushed. Leo is number 2 and looks stunning in his uniform. They lost 4-6 but had a great come back in the 2nd half. Leo played a lot and was extremely excited just to be in the game. He was high fiveing his teammates and had a huge smile on his face the entire time - well, except the time the kid on the other team took a ball to the face. He was genuinely concerned then.

I on the other hand am going to have to figure out a way to be more tolerant or I'm not going to have any fun. I asked God to help me with this but I did not see any fast moving miracles. There was a guy who was telling his son to not be an idiot, a guy yelling at the coach to put in the subs and the rest had random comments that really showed they had no idea how to play the game. One guy came and set his chairs directly in front of us. Nice huh? He also happened to be right on the sideline. I mean actually on it. Duh! There's more but I'll spare you the details. So, I'm not sure how to get through this season while having an enjoyable time myself. If you have any ideas please share. Oh, I may actually have to stay home anyway given Mazie's severe watery eyes the entire time. We need to find a good medication for her stat. The Claritin isn't doing squat. She did mention she wants to play soccer. It's too late for summer but maybe I can find a fall league. I'm all over that.

Carrasauga

I am suffering from jet lag from my travels over the weekend so this post will be short but I did manage to post a few pics.

Mazie with her lay at the Greek pavilion. She made her hat earlier in the day at the Serbian pavilion. She was on the floor any chance it was clear of performers.

Mazie at Ukraine. Mom and Mazie dancing at Germany. We're trying to waltz. Leo says he knows how to waltz, after all Troy taught Gabriella in HSM 3.

Mazie sitting with the girls before their performance at Hawaii. She could have sat there for hours.

My belly dancer.

Last year versus this year

The family in Hawaii. This was my top 3rd choice due to the wonderful dancers. I did get a $3.50 pina colada so Mazie could have the umbrella after all.

Live from the field

Last night when I got home from work the kids were both asleep in preparation for the late night at Carrasauga. We began the night at the Greece pavilion with the kids coloring Greek flags and writing their names in Greek. Then we headed to Cyprus where they fed us tons of food including some fried cheese which was the best cheese I've ever tasted. Mazie watched and fell in love with the belly dancer and I am afraid to say we are going to be having our 5 year old mimicking this belly dancer for a long time to come. What can I say? There is nothing I could have done honestly. Because they gave us tons of food and the kids had already had their souvlaki, they weren't hungry. Drew was fasting so who had to eat all that pork? You guessed it. Drew called it taking one for the team. Unfortunately, I forgot my camera so I have no pics of Mazie belly dancing. We also went to the Phillipines, India, and Egypt. It was late and Leo complained of his brain hurting so we didn't do much dancing. We did buy Leo a light up sword however. We came home with a plate full of fried lady fingers. Sorry, I can't remember the Greek name but they have walnuts in the middle and are dripping w/ honey. Daktila? Not really sure.
We tried to sleep upstairs to keep Kuma company and hopefully get a better night sleep but at midnight the kids weren't doing so well in the same bed and the giggles weren't stopping so we had to go back downstairs. We thought the late night might encourage sleeping in but Leo is one for sticking to a schedule and demanded breakfast early this morning. You guessed it - a fried egg which I told him I would only make for him on the weekends. Then we shlept (Is that right?0ut for garage sale hunting. It is sunny and warm and they were out in full force. We discovered that on this side of the tracks people are stingy (a childs bike with a hole in the seat for $80! and books at .25 each). On the other side books are only .10 each. So, here is a list of our find:

• 3 Mickey Mouse glasses from 2000. We had 1 we bought in NYC at Burger King. It was our favorite glass so we decided to get them all and now we have the complete set.
• A Barbie bus ($3.00) We passed on the Barbie suitcase filled with tons of small accoutrements
• 2 Gap sweatshirts for Leo
• snow pants for Leo for next winter
• 2 sets of new golf balls - why I have no idea
• Books for the kids (Judy Blume for when Mazie learns to read)
• Squirters (not guns but you fill em with a bucket and they squirt)
• Some Superheros and little hand held video game thingy's
• Batman lunch box with thermos
  We did pass on the tv trays that Drew had growing up and he said were great for forts as well as some retro chairs that were really sweet.

Now we're getting ready to head back to Serbia, Hawaii, Mexico and Greece. We hope to hit Germany and Canada tomorrow. Unfortunately the face painting has left Mazie with a severe rash on her face. I'm hoping the Benadryl doesn't put a cramp in our style. I brought it in case Leo ate something and had a reaction but it turns out these days its Mazie we worry about. There's a ban on pesticides in our city and the dandelions are in full force and she seems to be severly allergic to them. We weren't able to go to the park across from the street sale we found which had a rock wall. Too bad.

Phenom

Soccer on Tuesday night was phenomenal! Leo left saying he wanted to go back the next night and said it was fantastic. He was running around the field and you could tell he was very happy and confident and even met lots of kids on his team. Drew says this confidence happened to spill over onto the playground the next day and to top it off, he was actually pretty good at it. He is once again the littlest guy out there but had some skills. Mazie had a good time playing with another little girl and going to the playground. I enjoyed sitting on the sidelines and watching even if I had to have a blanket wrapped around me due to the wind. Unfortunately I forgot my camera but I'll bring it next week when he's all dressed in his sky blue uniform.

We are now having a warm spell. It's supposed to be 30 degrees today. Luckily the basement stays very cool and has a natural AC. Drew was even able to have a pizza picnic with Mazie outside yesterday. They weren't able to go to Lowe's to get the stuff to start building my garden to Mazie's car sickness. I am not sure if I'll even get to plant a garden this year. We never seem to have the time. This weekend is Carrasauga which is a festival of cultures in MIssissauga. Our church runs the Greek Pavilion which won first place last year. We'll be spending a great deal of time there this year due to Deacon Drew's new position. This is fine - they have the best food and dancing. Mazie was disappointed to learn that there will be no Scottland this year. She's enjoyed the Scottish dancing of her heritage for the past 2 years. There will however be Germany which Drew will be happy about because we all know how much he loves to speak German. Oh, and drink beer. I suppose they might have some of that as well. Look for lots of pictures next week.

The Start of Something New

Tonight is Leo's first night of soccer. Remember way back in December when I had to front $250 for this soccer registration which begins in May? Well, it's here! I was told he has an excellent coach who is a "real soccer player." That's a fantastic start. The free cletes we got back in December still fit him so that's another plus. We picked up some shin guards and Leo tried them on and didn't have any major objections. We'll see how it goes when he actually wears them tonight. The shin guards were the entire reason Mazie opted out of this whole soccer business. LOL Practice is from 6:30 -7 and then games are from 7-8. I was a little disappointed to learn that it's 5 on 5 instead of an actual real game but I suppose it will be just fine. It's very close which is so nice after having to drive an hour to choir all year. I am looking forward to bringing our beach chairs and sitting on this side lines and watching although the coach knows that I used to play and that I've coached before so I might be called upon to help out. However, the coach doesn't know that I am way out of shape and not the same soccer goddess that I used to be. LOL Leo is excited which is the best and has only expressed the slightest apprehension about being shy around new kids. I hope he knows some kids. Maybe next year Mazie will want to join too.

Paige and Jason have left for Phoenix for 2 weeks leaving the children to care for Kuma. Mazie commented that for the next 2 weeks Kuma is all hers! She has been spending lots of time with the dog and caring for her. I am not so sure the dog is too happy about this. Remember that cartoon that featured Myra the little girl that terrorized all the animals? Yep. I wish I had batteries for my camera because I would take a picture of their living room. Good thing they aren't expected any time soon. I'm trying to explain to her that there is a reason that the food and water dish go in the kitchen but she isn't having it. She's trying to make some sort of pet spa for the dog, including lots of various candles surrounding the dog bed, pillows and blankets. I keep removing them explaining why it isn't such a good idea but she so desperately wants to have this clubhouse for the dog. Sigh!

Saturday was the first Saturday in forever that I think we had absolutely nothing to do. It sounds good in theory and Leo was thrilled that he could stay home all day and watch tv and play but that quickly wears off and the children begin to tease each other for entertainment and enjoy driving their parents crazy. I made breakfast in the morning - who knew Leo would become addicted to egg sandwiches? He told me yesterday "you are just like grandma." I guess I have managed to perfect the egg sandwich! We headed to the grocey store and I screwed up royally when I promised leo a hotwheel. See, they cost about $1.50 which is no biggie. However, there is nothing equivalent for girls and Mazie wanted a barbie. i remembered that I saw some in the past for about $5. Unfortunately it wasn't at this store. She threw a fit when we couldnt' find one that was reasonably priced. This was all my fault so luckily I saved the day when I found $4 flip flops that were sparkly pink. she needed flip flops anyway so we all won. Mazie didn't eat the corned beef dinner that I made which I don't understand at all. She was starving before bed since I made the dinner early. I took off the afternoon and didn't make lunch. Normally the rule is nothing before bed if you don't eat your dinner. Well, I felt really bad for her so I made her sign a contract and gave her cereal before bed with a promise she will eat her dinner tonight. I hope she likes teriyaki chicken on the grill! I've never made it but can you really go wrong with teriyaki chicken? Back to the corned beef - this was the first time I've made it on the stove in a pot. Afterwards I baked it with a glaze tha twas to die for! This was a keeper and I'll definately be doing this again for St. Paddy's day.

Drew is at church all day today working and since there is no Sunday school (tomorrow is a holiday - Victoria Day) we opted to stay home. We went to the park to ride bikes. Mazie has finally learned to ride a 2 wheeler - albeit a bit shaky. I had a blast watching her run after her brother while acting like a cat and thinking she could actually chase him on his bike. All the while pulling up her pants becuase they are 2 sizes too big but she thinks she fashionable. She looked like the biggest goof but what can you do? Then Leo busted his balls when he tried to slide down the pole. He was in a lot of pain and we headed home. After putting Mazie in time out because she screamed at me when I insisted her socks were wet (remenber the clubhouse for the dog upstairs and the water dish?), we walked to the mall for some McDonald's. I was afraid Mazie wouldnt' make it because she was obviously tired. However we had a good time. On the way we were discussing retirement and Leo said it is so lucky that grandma and grandpa are retired so they can do fun things all day like watch tv. Sigh. Then he said I should become a grandma so I could do that too. I informed him that would involve that he have a baby and under his breath he said something like, "darn it, I'm not havin' a baby." Too funny. When we got home we did an hour of quiet time. I am quite impressed with myself. Leo read books for an hour in his room and I had a nap. Thankfully Mazie is still sleeping.

Tomorrow we have friends coming over for a bbq. Hopefully the weather will be much warmer than today. The wind is freezing!

A Few of My Favorite Things

My parents left today after having been with us for the last week and a half so rather than recap our entire visit together, I thought I would post the things the kids shared at dinner tonight. I asked them what their favorite part of having Grandma and Grandpa visit and this is what they said:

Going to the Nascar speedpark

Going to Mandarin for dinner

Going to Ottawa and having time to look at the flowers together

Them watching us while mom and dad went out with their friends in Ottawa

Grandpa making me paper airplanes

Not having to go to school in the morning with Leo since Grandma could watch me

Grandma doing dishes, mopping the floor, doing laundry and changing Leo's sheets (Leo says she is the Queen of nice)

Grandpa fixing everything like the hole in our wall and our fence and cleaning out the garage with daddy.