When time stands still

December has been flying by.  That is until last weekend when it came to screeching halt.  Our world was turned upside down on Saturday night.  My Dad suffered a heart attack.  You never think this type of thing will happen to you or to your people.  It was very scary but the good news is, he was very close to the hospital and was treated extremely quickly.  If we can take any positives from this situation, it is that.  3 stents later, 3 blockages cleared and Dad is home and feeling quite well.  We're so incredibly thankful for our health care system and wonderful dr's and nurses.  Dad received great care and I still can't quite wrap my head around what happened but the bottom line is that he has minimal damage to his heart, is in the best care now and will be back to himself very soon and possibly feeling even better than before!!  We are extra thankful for our health and family this Christmas.  And we love you Dad, so very, very, very much.

Demonstration of Learning

We had a very eventful Demo of Learning on the 2nd!!  First up was Reese's class :)  This was Reese's first demo of learning and unlike her brother and sister, she was very shy!  The main thing she wanted to show me in her classroom was the nativity scene ... apparently this is her most favorite part of school.  I am not surprised, as she also loves our nativity scene at home.  In fact, we have 3 nativity scenes and she is known to hoard all the Mary, Joseph and baby Jesus statues.  lol!  In her Santa letter she also asked for, "a manger and baby Jesus with his Mom and Dad."  I pointed out that we already have 3 of those and she said, "yeah but I want one to play with all year."  Alrighty then, Reese!!  She also showed me some of her school work and the various centres around the classroom.  We tried hard to get her to speak French and did get a little bit out of her!  As I said, she was quite shy and almost whispered most of her answers when I or Mme. Sina asked her a question.  But Mme. Sina says she is doing well and is coming out of her shell a little bit :)  She's made friends and doesn't complain about going to school!   

Next up was Emerson's grade 1 class.  Emerson was super-duper-excited to show us her classroom and the centres they had set up for demo night.  It was really great to hear her reading in French!  She's very excited to start her home reading program!  She's very strong in all her subjects and absorbs every single second of school.  Mme. Khair says Emerson is her go-to person in class.  She always knows the answer and is always raising her hand to answer ;)  Mme. Khair only speaks to the class in French and if someone doesn't understand something, she will ask a student to translate.  That student is usually Em! 

And last but not least, we visited Blake's grade 3 classroom.  Blake was very excited and official.  We had to follow the instructions laid out by his teacher ... step by step, minute by minute!  The pattern of progression from centre to centre could not veer off track ;)  Blake is doing really, has very high marks but as we know, sometimes need to concentrate on his work a little more!  He still sometimes complains of being bored and does not apply himself 100% because "it's too easy."  Oy!  Sounds familiar to someone I met back in 1996 ;)  But when it comes to testing and assignments, he rocks!! 

We're so proud of all 3 kids and their unique personalities and learning styles and are grateful for wonderful teachers!  Demo night is one of my favorites, as we get to see them in their classroom, leading us through their learning centres.  This year was a bit chaotic with juggling the 3 appointment times but we did it ;)

~Tracy

Playing catchup!!

I haven't blogged in awhile ... I've attempted to many times but have been uninspired ;)

So here's a little catch up:

Our weekends are jam-packed, much like our weekdays.  Saturdays seem to be our most low-key day, with a hockey practice for Blake and Cal's Bauer 1st Shift program.  Usually that is all although typically one of the kids also has a birthday party (or two) on Saturdays!  I swear, we might need to take out a loan for all these birthday parties ... lol!  Sundays are super ... super busy and super fun!!!  They always include a hockey game for Blake, Church, a ringette practice for Reese and a ringette practice for Emerson.  If we're lucky we can fit all 4 into our day ;)  We're usually gone for the entire day and Sunday evenings are very relaxed. 

Our new babysitter is working out fantastically and we've been using her a lot.  My Mom covered our butts one night though, as it seems I forgot to book the babysitter.  Thanks Mom!!  Cal and I attended a fundraiser for a charity called Generously Giving Back.  A friend of ours is on the board and this is their big fundraiser for the year.  It was at a restaurant in China town and the meal was 'authentic' ... the first course was jelly fish (which I did not care for!!)!  It was an interesting meal (I can say I really enjoyed 3 of the courses!!) and a fun night out with friends.  Our babysitter is babysitting for us this weekend, as we head to a pub night in support of our friends hockey team :)

Other than work, school, extra curricular activities and volunteering here, there and everywhere, not much else is new around here!!  I don't know if I blogged about Blake having pneumonia but he did and he's now over it.  A cough hung on for a loooong time (or so it felt) but is gone now (knock on wood).  I have to take him in for an asthma test as his pediatrician was questioning if he has asthma or not but the test results were not clear, due to his pneumonia.  Reese has had a cough off and on, more on than off.  I haven't taken them in for their flu shots yet, as they need to be 100% before they can get them.  I feel like Em and Blake could get them now but I'm not sure about Reese.  I had mine at work and Cal still needs his!  I might take Em and Blake in tomorrow.

We're looking forward to Demo of Learning at the kids school on Dec 2nd, first year for us with all 3 kids in the same school!!  It will be a jam-packed few hours ;)  Demo of Learning is always a fun night.  It's great to see their school work and especially awesome to see how proud they are of their classrooms and work :)

Hopefully I'll be motivated/inspired to update the blog a little more regularly ;)

~Tracy 

Happy 5th Birthday, Miss Reese!!

Reese turned the big 5 on the 19th!!  It's hard to believe our youngest is 5 years old already!  Reese had a few days of celebrations ;)  On the 19th we enjoyed cupcakes before hockey practice.  Reese decorated them that morning and they were delicious :)  On the 20th my parents and my sister and her family came over to celebrate with us.  We had Reese's favorite dinner, spaghetti and meatballs!!  It was a fun evening!  Then on the 21st, we all had a great afternoon at her 4 Cats Art Studio Birthday Party.  She had a blast and the kids loved their art projects!!  I'll share some photo's below!

We love you so much, Reesey!  You bring so much joy into our lives, with the world's best hugs and your adorable smile.  You are so kind and have such a huge heart!  You don't like to make people sad or mad and will go out of your way to make someone smile or laugh.  You have a funny, quirky personality and do the oddest things to make us break out in giggles!!!  Your singing and dancing is so darn entertaining, I hope you keep it up over the years ;)  Love ya, Reese!

Ready to open gifts from the family on the morning of her 5th birthday!

Reese and her new Auora doll :)

She's 5!!  And ready to head to school, on her birthday :)

Cupcake time on the 19th!

Blowing out candles on the 20th (and ready to enjoy Grandma's famous carrot cake!!)!!

4 Cats Art Studio birthday party

Blowing out her candles!! (she chose this cupcake cake at Sobey's, right down to the icing colors and piping!)

The crew with their finished artwork!!  Such a fun party!

Happy Birthday to Me!!

The 14th was the big 3-5 for me ... funny how I feel like the year 2000 was just a few years ago and I can't believe that I was 20 then and here I am, 35 in 2015?!  Man, time flies.  I like to joke that sometimes I feel 20 and other times I feel 65 ;)  I think age is just a number but when I REALLY think about it, I panic a little!!  35 isn't old by any means but each year passes faster and faster and the thought of that has my heart beating a little quicker!! 

I had a great birthday night out with my Mom and Sister on the 13th!  We went for dinner and to the Wynonna Judd concert at the River Cree Casino.  Dinner was delicious and the concert was good!  She sang some of the old classics, which I loved!  She is a bit of a comedian, which was funny but I think we may have had the most giggles while looking around at the diverse crowd!!  Thank you so much to my Mom and Sister for treating me to a fun night :)

Saturday was busy with hockey and a birthday party and so we did dinner and cake on Sunday!  The kids would never let us get away without having a proper birthday celebration (aka dinner and cake)!!  My Dad joined us and it was a nice evening!

Here's to my 35th year ... I will do my best to make it a great one!!

Cheers,

Tracy

Reese's 1st Kindergarten field trip!

Reese and I went to Fort Edmonton Park today with her class!  It was her 1st kindergarten field trip and I am so happy I was able to arrange my schedule in order to go on her field trip with her :)  We had fun and she was so happy to have me ;)  The other novelty was that I was able to pick her up from kindergarten, instead of her dayhome!  We were lead on a tour by a guide and enjoyed baking sugar cookies, making a Christmas ornament and partaking in a Christmas Story play!  The kids had so much fun but it was a long day for some of them, there were a few students asleep on the bus on the way home!!

Happy Halloween!!

As I've said in the past, Halloween is one of my most favorite holidays :)  I think this is one of the reasons I love the month of October SO much - our anniversary, Thanksgiving and Halloween!! 

The kids didn't have too much difficulty deciding on their costumes this year and we were some-what organized and purchased them quite awhile before the 31st.  I say somewhat because at 10 pm on the 30th I was looking for black hair dye and green face paint ...

Reese was her favorite princess - Princess Aurora.  Emerson was a pirate - argh ;) And Blake was the Hulk.  This choice surprised as he's never really mentioned the Hulk before! 

I made a mistake this year and did not buy pumpkins when I saw them at the grocery store.  Never again!!  Apparently there was a pumpkin shortage this year.  I called everywhere, looking for pumpkins.  There were none to be found - none in Edmonton, none in the surrounding areas!!  Thankfully my mom is one connected lady and she found us a pumpkin!!  It was HUGE and although it was only 1 pumpkin, the kids were thrilled and thought it was pretty cool to have a pumpkin that big.  We looked up ideas on Pinterest and all settled on one pumpkin design ;)

The 30th was celebration day at school!  Because Reese is in a.m. kindergarten, she got to wear her costume to school and parade around the school in the morning.  I stayed in her class for awhile, before heading to work.  All the kinder kids were adorable and so excited!!

Blake and Emerson had to bring their costumes to school, as their celebrations were in the afternoon.  I sprayed Blake's hair and painted his face before school and sent green face paint with him, for touch-ups!  I was working on the northend that afternoon and was able to meet Reese and her dayhome at the school for the afternoon Halloween parade!!  Cal also met us!  This is one of my favorite parts of Halloween!  So much fun watching the students parade around the gym and ooo'ing and ahhh'ing over all the fabulous costumes!

On the 31st my Mom and Dad stopped by to see the kids all dressed up, then we put our bowl of candy on our step and headed over to my Aunt and Uncle's to see my Grandma, who was handing out candy at their house.  Their neighbourhood was so awesome!  Most homes were decorated and not just 1 or 2 lawn or house ornaments - they went all out!!  We did some trick-or-treating on their block before heading back to our own neighbourhood to meet the Parenteau's.  Blake had an early morning hockey practice that morning and so we didn't stay out as late as we have in the past, which was fine by Cal and I ;)  Less candy and less tired the next day!!

I hope you also had a spooktacular Halloween :)

~Tracy

de-gutting the giant pumpkin!

pumpkin guts!!!

Ree

executing the carving!

finished product :)

snack bags for school!

Reese's Kindergarten class

Some of Blake's class at the Halloween parade - Blake is the Hulk in the back left hand corner :)

don't mess with these two ;)

thanks for stopping by, Grandma and Grandpa!

love them so much!!

visiting with Great Grandma Kelley!

trick-or-treating in Greisbach

BEST house ever!!!  Zombie family, live in person ;) And the decorations were amazing!

ready for bed ... after a few more treats ;)