Comedy Central

Nothing much new and exciting around the ole campsite this past week..... except for two moments of slapstick comedy......... 

Sir Steve gets up VERY early to go to work....like 5am early. We usually sit outside watching the sun rise while we drink our coffee. One morning last week I was following him out the door of the trailer..... he was carrying his breakfast and his beloved cup of coffee.  He opened the big glass sliding door and stepped forward running smack into the screen door...... beloved coffee hitting the screen first and spilling outwards to the deck ... inwards onto the carpet .... and all over the screen.

Sir Steve was shocked and indignant and demanded to know WHO had shut the screen door.  I am standing behind him trying ohhhhhhhhh so hard not to laugh... then realized the question was pointed at ME?!!  innocent angelic ME??!!  

I smiled sweetly and reminded him that he brought the dog in before bed the night before... not me.......... maybe the dog shut the screen door?!  (sweet angelic smile)

Morning coffee was a rather quiet affair.......... and I suppressed my giggles until he left............ (seemed the smartest move considering........)

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Then on Friday when Sir Steve got home from work we were sitting on the deck enjoying our Friday treat of iced cappuccinos from Tim Hortons..... he's rubbing the dog's belly (the blissful Norman Rockwell type painting of the Start of the Weekend) when he suddenly stiffens and asks 'what's this?' 

He's parting  the dog's fur and I'm looking over his shoulder to see a tiny lump on her chest.  I asked the dreaded question "is it a tick?"  He gets closer and nods ..... we need to do something like NOW!!  but we don't have a tick remover --- don't even have tweezers here.    Sir Steve goes to visit friends down the road and see if they have a tick remover........ nope they didn't 

So we decide he will go to town in the morning to the pet store and buy a tick remover.  

Fast forward an hour or so and we're sitting by our fire... the dog lying on her bed beside us....... and his ex-mother in law (grandmother of the lil one) comes roaring onto our site with essential oils, witch hazel and  tweezers in hand.  We all gather round the dog -- I am holding the flashlight -- MIL is down on her knees mixing her potions and pouring them on the lump.  Then she grabs the tweezers and starts to try and find the tick to pull it out. She says 'my god that thing has buried itself deep under her skin'.  She perseveres.  The dog is being patient -- but yelped at one point.  The MIL looks up at us and says 'you're sure this is a tick and not a nipple?' We point out how big her nipples are..... and say 'yes it has to be a tick'.  She resumes trying to dislodge this tick from the dog's body.

After a little bit - she stops and apologizes that she cannot get it out.  We decide to take the dog to a vet on Saturday morning.

Bright and early Saturday morning Sir Steve is on the phone with a vet that comes with high recommendations.  He loads the dog into the car and off they go.  My heart is pounding...... I am so worried the dog will have lyme disease... I am wondering why the tick medicine didn't work....... I am worrying cause I do worry really well!!!

An hour or so passes and my phone rings..... Sir Steve calling to tell me the dog does NOT have a tick -- but she does have an irritated nipple!!  Turns out (what do we know!) that the top nipples on both sides are usually smaller then the others.  

The dog has forgiven us!

Life is good when you have comedic moments that leave you giggling for days....

We're homeeeeeeeeee

Didja miss us?

What a whirlwind holiday it was !!!  Left here Friday after lunch and drove almost 4 hours to check into our hotel.......... the lil one was in awe of the hotel -- and loved the idea we would all sleep in the same room -- AND -- we could watch TV in bed!!!

Saturday we took the train into downtown Toronto (driving and parking is a nightmare!!)  We emerged from the station to tall buildings... crowds of people and noisy cars.  ( I was ready to head home - grinning)   

We took something called the skywalk to Ripley's Aquarium.  Neither Sir Steve or the lil one had ever been - it was my 3rd trip.  It really is well worth the money........ I don't know of any aquarium where you walk through the aquarium and the fish swim all around you and over you...........

 We spent the whole afternoon exploring all the fish and then caught the train back to our hotel.  We were exhausted - having walked over 8000steps .... AND we still had Lego land to visit the next day!!

Sunday morning both Sir Steve and I were doing an inventory of body aches....... dear god I felt old!! BUT we packed up the car like good sports and headed off an hour drive north of Toronto to visit Lego land. I have to be honest I  had no idea what it was gonna be like -- but we were all so impressed!!  Everything of course is built out of lego....... there were 2 rides and a 4D movie theater besides all sorts of challenges to do.  We easily spent over 3 hours doing all the activities........... 

the Toronto Skyline out of legos

waiting for the 4D movie to start

 Then it was time to hop in the car for the almost 5 hour drive home. 

Yesterday - after a decent night's sleep in our own beds.... we spent a quiet morning vegging and chillin' then it was time to head off to the city for the lil one's audition at the dance school.  She was bubbling with excitement and when we picked her up afterwards (we weren't allowed to stay and watch - see me sulk??) She announced to anyone who would listen "THAT WAS SO MUCH FUN!!"  nothing seems to phase this child - not even dancing on stage in front of strangers.  We won't hear anything for 2 weeks apparently.   BUT her confidence and enthusiasm must count for something!!

Sir Steve headed back to work this morning -- and while I am banging out this post the lil one is writing about her holiday adventures in her journal.  

Life is good when you make fun family memories.............

Sunday Sentiments

A BIG Summer Adventure

Tomorrow we are all heading off to the BIG city for an end of summer family holiday.  Sir Steve managed to get Friday and Monday off work (it's their busy season so we are counting ourselves very lucky!)

The lil one has never been on a family vacation.  'Cause like when you spend all sorts of money on a seasonal campsite with a two bedroom trailer there just doesn't seem much point in going away ya know?  

BUT seriously the experiences we are gonna have -- gonna share with the lil one!! We live in a small town and are heading to Toronto which is a BIG city.  We are gonna stay in a hotel.  We are gonna take a train.  We are gonna go to the Ripley's Aquarium.  We are gonna go to Legoland.  We are gonna eat in restaurants.  We are gonna watch TV lying on our big beds in the hotel room.  We are gonna swim in the salt water indoor pool.  We are gonna make wonderful memories!!  

Life is good when you create wonderful family memories........... 

A Summer of Growth

I arrived unannounced and unexpected in the lil one's life 3 summers ago.  Back then she was about 18 months behind in social development.  I remember shaking my head and thinking 'we've got a lot of work cut out for us'.  

I think I went into 'teacher mode'...... working with her and her father.   I set the bar high and we worked to reach it -- even surpass it. I am a hard task master - my girls will tell you....... all the kiddies I taught will tell you ... AND their parents!  I was labelled the hard teacher - the tough teacher ... and I like to think the loving teacher as well.  

I would ask all my kids "is this the best work you can do?"  and if it was (honestly was) then I would tell them to pat themselves on the back - literally and figuratively.  I wanted them to internalize the learning process - internalize the successes - not look for gratification from outside but strive to find it inside of themselves.

Over the last almost 3 years with the lil one -- we have had our " not your best work is it?" times..... and we've had the "that is GREAT work - pat yourself on the back" times.  It's been quite a time of growth.

This summer though I have seen the most growth in the lil one...... and watched as her confidence has rocketed!  She learned to ride her two wheeler without training wheels - watched as she mastered riding her new mountain bike.... virtually by herself!  "No Daddy - I don't want help - I will do it myself!" Watched her swim in the pool - face in the water - no fear!  Worked with her on her writing in her journal every morning and saw the sentence structure improve and the entries get longer.  

I have seen her back straighten and watched her hold her head high - literally!!  I have watched her pat herself on the back!!  without any prompting.... I have heard her say "I am proud of........ (fill in the blanks)......... 

Last night Sir Steve received a phone call from the lil one's dance school.  September is just around the corner and it's time to start registering for classes.  Only thing is...... they phoned to invite the lil one to audition for the competitive dance class.  We were gob smacked.  My initial response was a resounding NO.  I honestly believe there is more than enough competition in a child's life -- I wanted dance to be something fun.......... no stress.  But then while I thought about it -- and we got more information about it (like how many classes per week -- how many competitions per year etc) I started to rethink my stand.  Sir Steve and I decided it was time to have a family meeting and talk it out.  He went down to mother's trailer and brought the lil one back with him.   We talked -- she processed (god does she process - EVERYTHING!)  and she said 'yes she wanted to be on the dance competition team'.  I explained just cause she got invited to audition did not mean she would make the team.   AND if she didn't make the team it didn't mean she had failed - it simply meant she needed more experience (she's only been dancing for one year after all!)  

So it's decided Sir Steve and I and the lil one will be going to the auditions on Monday night.......... and we'll see how she does.   (though truthfully I have a feeling she'll ace it - do I sound like a proud mom?) 

Life is good when a plan comes together and we have growth and accomplishment!