Poor Em :(

I felt so bad for Emerson this week :( She's been so sick and has had to miss dance, ringette, choir and the long awaited choir performance at City Hall. She wasn't the biggest fan of choir but had the end in sight and was toughing it out so she could sing at City Hall and now she's had to miss it. Poor girl :( Thankfully she is on antibiotics now (ear infection) and is starting to feel better.

We're getting ready for Christmas. I've done a lot of online shopping and plan to finish up next week. Cal and I both had Friday off and our plan was to watch Em sing and then finish off the Christmas shopping but instead Cal worked and I stayed home with Em. We also plan to start our baking this week, which I always enjoy! The baking plan for this year includes, salted caramel pretzels, sugar cookies, peanut butter marshmallow squares, Christmas crack and butter tarts! And Cal will be making his cheesecakes :)

Talk to you soon!

~Tracy

An unusual E.R. visit

Well, we can now say we've had to visit the Stollery for one of the oddest reasons. Before I tell the story, can I just say that I am not surprised in the least that this occurred in our family!!!

On Sunday afternoon I washed the girls hair, as Blake had a late hockey game and I didn't want to keep them up any later than we needed to. When they got out of the bathtub, I decided to clean their earrings. And that is when I noticed that something was wrong with Reese's earrings. Upon further inspection, the back of her earrings had grown into her ear??  Not sure how to put it but I think you get the idea. She started to cry a little bit and ask what was wrong and I was pretty surprised but tried to play around with her ears a little bit to see if I could get the backs off. By holding the back and pulling on the front of one of her earrings, I was able to get the back off but on the other side it appeared to be more stuck or grown into the ear. I called Cal in to look and we weren't sure what to do but everyone was getting pretty 'excited' sort to speak ... so I cleared the bathroom and calmed Reese down before trying to pull the back off with tweezers.  I literally pulled as hard as I could and I couldn't get the back off. So off to the Stollery we went! My gosh, like how does this crap happen???!! I felt so bad for Reese, she was very upset but you want to know why she was most upset??  Because she would have to miss Blake's hockey game, miss playing with her bff Gioia and she was also upset that Em was going to the game and would get to play with Gioia!!  lol!!  She cried the whole way to the hospital and kept asking, "Will we be able to go to the game?" I told her maybe we'd make it, maybe if the wait was short. Of course the wait was super long and we didn't make the game :( But she calmed down a bit and was happy to enjoy a pop and 2 bags of chips during the 4 hour wait!!  The extraction was not pretty, when she saw the needle the dr. had to use to freeze her ear she was VERY upset. I tried to hold her down but she managed to get a hand free and the dr. had to remove the needle before her ear was entirely frozen. They tried emla gel but that did not numb the area enough so they tried another kind of topical gel, apparently way stronger than emla and that combined with the freezing was enough that she didn't scream out in pain while the dr. removed the earring back. It was still uncomfortable (and there was a lot of blood) but she managed. He used tweezers to slowly work it free, to protect the skin. We got home at 9:30pm and boy was I ever glad to be home! Poor Reese :( I don't know how that happened but she did tell me that she was scared to lose an earring (a few months ago she lost a favorite earring) so every day she pushed harder and harder on the backs so the earring would be in tight ... I'm guessing that combined with fairly new piercings contributed to the problem. Just another day in the adventures of our home!!

November

My Mom and Dad brought my Grandma Marg home with them from Tiffany's wedding!!  We're so glad she is able to do this, as she got to see all 3 kids play ringette and hockey and we got to spend some extra time with her :)

Reese got glasses!!! In September Reese told me that the board at school was blurry. I told her to maybe try sitting closer, as she had just had her eyes checked in August and all was well!! Then again in October she said the same thing. So we decided we better get her eyes checked again and sure enough, she needed glasses. Seeing as she's been wearing 'fashion' glasses off and on for a year, she had no problem accepting that she needed glasses ;) She picked out a super cute purple pair and has had no problem transitioning into wearing glasses!!  We will have to take her in to have her eyes checked every 6 months as the dr. thinks her prescription will change frequently for the first year or so and then hopefully stabilize. 

The glasses Reese picked out :)

We travelled to Jasper for a hockey tournament and had an absolute blast!!! We left Thursday afternoon after early dismissal and got home Sunday night. The Cougars played 5 games over 3 days and did quite well, although didn't bring home a medal. They had many close games and played really well together. We had a lot of fun with the team and the parents had a lot of fun in the evenings :) My Dad came for a night as well and took Em back to her ringette game on Saturday which was so awesome! Thank goodness she was able to go as they were down quite a few players. 

Team photo at Pyramid Lake

My favorite hockey players ;)

Cougars hockey mom's!!

Girls table :) So awesome the girls have friends to play with at hockey!!

I celebrated my 37th birthday! We had my favorite - Mt. Fugi and chocolate cake ;) Hard to believe I'm only a few years away from 40!!  

And we also celebrated Reese turning 7!!!  (see Reese's birthday post!!)

We're getting excited for December and the holiday season!!  Can't wait to get the house decorated and all the Christmas fun!!

xo

Tracy

Happy 7th Birthday, Reese!!

We had a wonderful time celebrating our little Reesey!!! I'm not so sure how long we'll be able to call her our 'little Reesey' but I'm sticking with it as long as I can ;) Reese is such a sweet girl! She's an awesome little sister, daughter and friend. She loves to draw and sing and loves playing ringette! She aksed me the other day if she can play basketball ;) She also loves her piano lessons and her big brother and sister. She never tires of playing with them but it doesn't always work both ways! She should probably be an actress, as she turns on the waterworks quite easily in my opinion, lol! She's sensitive to others feelings and some what emotional as well. She loves to cuddle and has a heart of gold! We can't imagine life without her and are so glad we decided to 'have one more', she completes our family :)

Reese had her birthday party at the American Girl doll store in West Edmonton Mall Chapters. She invited 4 friends to join her in a spa date for their dolls, followed by dinner and cake at BP's bourbon street. I think I've often said this in the past but this was such an awesome birthday party!!  The girls had a blast, the whole experience at AG was awesome. The AG staff are amazing and made the girls feel so special! Reese had a great time :) Her party was on the 18th and then on the 19th she had quite the day - a ringette practice, followed by a team builder at Jump 360, followed by dinner and cake with my Mom and Dad, the Stecyk cousins and Auntie Lindsay and the Stony Plain Cameron's! Thank you to everyone who made Reese's 7th birthday so amazing!!

Ready for her party at the American Girl store!

Their dolls have been pampered and are almost ready to go for dinner ;) 

So cute!

Love this scrunchy face :)

Happy Birthday, Reese!

Jump 360 with her ringette team!

Birthday dinner with cousins!

October and Thanksgiving

October started off with Em's first ringette game of the season! She was so excited and had a great game :) She's pretty excited to also be affiliated to a Step 3 team! We're so proud of her :)

On the 9th we celebrated Thanksgiving and it was also our 13th wedding anniversary! We had dinner at Mom and Dad's and took some quick family photo's, which turned out awesome!!

On the 14th it was double date night with Lindsay and Jeremy :) We went to Japanese Village and then to the Oilers game! It was a great night!! While we were watching the Oilers lose, Emerson was at a WAM game with her ringette team! She had so much fun! They went to the game and then the BP's.

Reese had her first ringette practice on the 15th! She was SOOOOO excited, it was awesome to see :) She had so much fun and was very happy that her friend Ava is on her team this year! She is all smiles at the ringette, it's awesome :)

On the weekend of the 29th we travelled to Tisdale, SK for my cousins wedding. We had such a great weekend, I'm so glad we were able to go! We missed 3 ringette practices, 1 ringette game and a hockey practice but it was worth it :) We got to visit with all my aunts and uncles and cousins and cousins kids, my grandma and grandpa and saw my mom's sister and 1 of her daughters! We rented a 2 bedroom condo in my grandma's building and it was perfect! We hadn't been to visit my grandpa since he moved into a long term care centre so it was really nice to be able to do that. Tiffany's wedding was fun, the girls enjoyed tearing up the dance floor!!

Grandma Marg with most of her great grandchildren!

Where did September go?!

It's already October and I can't believe how fast September went. It feels like it was tumultuous month. I miss Heidi so much I can't even think about her without my heart aching. But in way we haven't had a lot of time to sit and think about her, which maybe is a good thing? I miss her the most in the evenings and when I walk in the door after a long day :(

Blake's hockey team was formed at the beginning of the month. He made an Atom AA team. His team is the KC Cougars this year and Cal was selected to coach! I volunteered to be a co-manager, so we're busy, busy as usual ;) We all love it though and the girls are super happy their friend Gioia's brother is on the same team as Blake again this year! They just love spending time together and lucky for Cal and I, they look forward to hockey because they get to play with Gioia! So we've had a bottle drive already, tons of practices and an exhibition game and we hosted a tournament! First time for Cal and I but with the help of tons of volunteers, we pulled it off!! It was an absolutely exhausting weekend but we actually had fun and felt quite successful after the last game was played ;) The Cougars brought home a bronze medal, which was awesome!! Tiring but fun weekend :) The Cougars mom's (we're going to have fun with this, this year - lol!) had a fun night out on the 29th and got to know each other a little better!

KC Atom AA Cougars - successful bottle drive!!

Em's ringette team is also now formed and she is playing on a U10, Step 2 team this year! Their name is the Ice Queens :) They've had a few practices and have their first game on October 8! She's super excited for the season and happy to be playing with a few of her teammates from last year! And Emerson and Cal had a father/daughter date night on the 25th, taking in a pre-season Oilers game!!

We're all getting back in to the swing of things and Reese is looking forward to her first ice time on October 15th :)

~Tracy

Heidi Anne Cameron

We said so long to our beloved Heidi on Sunday, September 10th. This was one of the hardest days of my life thus far. I need to write this all out, it's sort of part therapeutic/part I don't want to forget even though it is horrible to think about.

When I woke up on Sunday morning I didn't see Heidi right away. I asked the kids and Cal where she was and Cal said he let her outside. I opened the back door and called for her. She didn't come. I spotted her laying in the grass and called, "Heidi want a treat?" This ALWAYS has her running!!!  She loved her food and treats ;) She didn't move. My heart sank. I literally felt my heart drop to my stomach. I ran out to her and she was just laying in the grass, kind of panting. I knew immediately that something was wrong :( I picked her up and brought her inside. She couldn't really walk. She'd stand and stumble a few steps and then sit again. She eventually made her way downstairs and laid on the tile by the fireplace. I watched her and tried to bring her food and water but she wouldn't eat or drink anything. She seemed to be uncomfortable. It was so sad. I sat on the floor near her and she laid her head in my lap. I was torn as to what to do. Our vet isn't open on Sundays, we had hockey practice and a hockey meeting coming up. But I knew I had to take her in, I could not leave her at home alone like this. So after driving around somewhat in distress with Heidi in the passengers seat, I finally found a vet that was open. I was worried about her suffering, worried about the vet cost, worried about being the team manager and missing the hockey meeting, worried about the kids because they weren't supposed to be at the meeting and Cal was the head coach, etc, etc. I walked in the vet carrying Heidi and couldn't even talk, I was a blubbering mess. Thankfully the waiting room was full and a sweet lady volunteered to fill out the paperwork for me. Heidi was uncomfortable and didn't want to sit in my lap, so I laid her on the floor. I knew she was very sick because she didn't even budge with all the other dogs in there. Typically she would be chomping at the bit to run up to them and greet them. She was taken to the back to be examined and then I was called into a room to talk to the dr. That's when he told me that she was very sick. She was full of blood inside, bleeding internally and most likely had a mass on her spleen or liver. He said he could perform surgery but nothing was certain. She was in shock and severely dehydrated. I knew we had to put her down, as much as I loved her, I knew we really didn't have a choice. The vet started an IV line and gave her fluids and pain medication. She was brought into the room with me and was feeling a little better which was really nice. I called Cal and the kids and they came in to see her. We hugged her, kissed her, the kids held her and I took a pic (of course. you know me!). We didn't think the kids should see her falling asleep so after hugs and some tears, they left. I spent more time with her. She laid in my lap and I talked to her. I've never seen an animal put to sleep before but it was actually very peaceful. I continued to hold her for some time after she fell asleep. I know a dog is just a dog but if you have a pet or have had a pet in the past, you know this is only partially true. A dog is a family member, not 'just' a dog. I loved Heidi so much. She was like a child in a way. Having the sick sense of humour I sometimes have, I would joke that she was my handicapped grade 1'er. Sorry, these are my memories so just being honest, not trying to offend anyone. She was my faithful side kick, always under my feet and by my side. I think she really got me. I'm not much of a cuddler and she gave me my space but was always close by. Every time I'd move, she'd look up at me. In the kitchen she literally was always under my feet but at those times she was more after the scraps I would throw her than anything else ;) Heidi was so cute. We always remarked at how she never lost her puppy cuteness!! You know how some dogs grow up and just aren't quite what they were when they were puppies?!  Heidi never did that! She was a best friend and probably saw more tears from me than anyone else in my life. The kids arrived after Heidi and she took to them like a champ! Never once did she chew on a baby toy or act aggressive to a toddler. And they sure loved her! I think Emerson more than the other three but Em seems to be our animal gal! All 3 love animals but Em seems to just a little bit more! Em recently started walking Heidi for us. They would walk around the block :) Reese often joining them as well. I couldn't even think about Heidi for a few weeks after she passed, it just hurt too much. It's a bit easier now but still so strange not to feed her, lift her up on to our bed at night time, let her out, etc, etc. So many daily routines we carried out with Heidi. I miss her greeting us at the door and hearing her bark as soon as the garage door opened! Miss her so much but am so thankful we had her in our lives. Love your forever, Heidi Anne Cameron!