Busy, busy, busy

That's what life is like with 3 kids. Caleigh just turned 8 last weekend, and is now preparing for her First Communion. Brynna is just exploding with words, sentences, and imaginative play. Just the other week, she pretended to talk to Kevin on her toy cell phone to tell him that she found his sweater on her rocking horse and that I had to put it away for him. She may not know the words sister and brother, but she does refer to Caleigh and Aidan as "her Caleigh, yeah" and "her Aidan, yeah", lol.

The kids are doing well in school, except for some difficulty controlling/channelling emotional outbursts properly. I'm not sure how to help them figure this out, as I have trouble with the same issue myself.

Last fall, my father was diagnosed with cancer, and has, so far, received radiation and just started the 5th round of 6 chemo sessions. He's responding well as far as I know to the treatment. I hope that this continues.

I've recently joined the local weavers and spinners guild to try to get some time for myself to be out and around other adults. I'm hoping that I will also get a chance to learn how to properly use my spinning wheel and get at all of the fibre I have around the house.

School's Almost Here

The kids are set to start school on Tuesday!!! Usually, we've already gotten word from the school bus company about when/where the stop is(not that the kids are using the bus this year). I checked it out myself on the website, and looking at it, there's no way they can get to the school on time the way it's set up. We still don't have word on who Aidans' teacher will be this year either, which would be really nice to know, as there are going to be 2 JK/SK split classes this year. I'm going to assume that he will most likely have Mrs Young, but I could be wrong.

I've almost got everything the kids are going to need for the school year ready, I need to remember to have some $ on hand to pay for Caleighs' agenda the second day of school, and make sure to have a couple of cheques to pay for the milk program. In terms of buying things, I don't need to get them shoes this year, as their inside shoes from last year fit them for using to go to school, we got inside shoes while we were away in Vermont, but I do need to get page protectors for their new school-year control journals, which should hopefully make things go more smoothly during the school week, and get them clean, tidy rooms.

Surgery

So, I had my surgical consultation appointment this morning. I was nervous going in, and had a bit of trouble finding the place(although that's not much of a surprise, as I was looking for a completely incorrect street # that didn't exist, most likely my fault, as I heard 191, not 190). It went well. I asked the questions I wanted to(whether physio, chiro or RMT would help some), and he answered me honestly that, while it wouldn't hurt, it really won't give any relief. He based this on his research, my nerve conduction test results, and the fact that I don't have any chronic neck pain that would indicate a different cause for my hand problems. He also did a small test on my hand which resulted in mild numbness within a few seconds.

My surgery is scheduled for January 12th in the afternoon. I could have had it done sooner, but with the recovery time frame and the fact that Kevin is for sure going away for work in October/November, and then it's the holidays, January looked better.

5 Years

That's how old Aidan is now. I cannot believe that he's 5 years old already, it seems like not that long ago, he was a newborn. We had his party last weekend, hoping to have it outside, but due to the wind, clouds and cooler temperatures from the hurricane passing to the far south-east, we had to have most things indoors. 3 of Aidans' classmates were able to come, so that was a real boost for him. He got lots of car related toys, along with some clothes and money that he'll be able to either save or buy something he would really like(I think he wants to get a game for his Leapster). He asked for a fortress cake for his birthday, and that's what he got. I think it turned out pretty good. I had more than one person tell me that I really should go into the cake business, but I'm not so sure my cakes are worth charging people for.

Blog Title Change

I decided it was time to change the title of my blog, since we no longer have more than one cat. I've decided to keep with a similar title, but just change a word. So now, instead of Kids, Cats, and Life, it's Kids, Pets, and Life to reflect the change our house had gone through in the last few weeks.

Speaking of changes, today was the day that Brynna got her Big Girl Bed(aka a mattress on the floor). I spent a good chunk of the morning taking apart the crib for the last time, tidying up the room, placing the mattress and getting the cover and sheet on it. She looks so teeny tiny in it(it's a double), and I think she has the most comfortable bed in the house now.

The rest of this week will be spent getting ready for Aidan's 5th birthday party on Sunday. I've got cakes to make and decorate, pizza ingredients to prep, house to clean(in case of rain), patio and yard to tidy(in case of sun), and loot bags to put together(although so far we have only 2 of Aidan's classmates coming).

Crazy Vacation

We did so much during our week in Vermont that it seems like we never really stopped. Our first day, we drove down to St Johnsbury, had lunch at the Moore Reservoir, which was very pretty, then we went back to the house after picking up some groceries. Next up was Jay Peak, which included a ride up in the tram and a hike back down. Then we went to Ben & Jerry's, Green Mountain Coffee Company and then finally found the outlet mall in Essex(just outside of Burlington) and picked up shoes for all 3 kids and some attachments for the KitchenAide. We came back through the Smuggler's Notch Pass(I can see why that road is closed in the winter). On Thursday we went to Cabot Creamery, White River Junction and then finished up the day at the Quechee Gorge. Friday, we did another drive to St Johnsbury, taking a more scenic route, which resulted in us being able to see a blade for a windmill being trucked to the construction site just south of Barton.

Saturday came, we did our last minute clean up, closed up, took recycling to the depot, stopped at the Duty Free, then crossed into Quebec, where we headed to the lake after a quick stop to pick up some lunch food and a visit to the cemetery.

Family Vacation

Our vacation this year is going to be a shorter, less-time in the car affair this year. We're headed to Derby Line for a week starting on Sunday. We're bringing Patches with us, and hoping to have a quiet, uneventful border crossing with him(we have his health certificate from his vet, showing that his shots are all up to date and he's healthy). I'm hoping to make a day trip down to the Ben and Jerry's ice cream factory for a tour, and maybe to pick up some Green Mountain Coffee Company Kcups for my brewer. I also found a shop that's supposed to sell the KnitPicks knitting needles, so I hope that they might have the Options set available while I'm there, as I'd really like to replace my Boye set, as it really isn't good for the type of knitting patterns I'm working on these days because of the uneven joins(which snag yarn) and the super stiff cables. If not, I know that Knit Knackers here in Ottawa is listed as carrying KP needles.

Should be an interesting week, to say the least.