Friday

Do you ever have those perfect days? For me something always goes wrong somehow, but last Friday we had a great day. Five friends of mine and their kids all met up in Wingham at the splash pad. (if you've never been you should go). The day started off cool and windy, and all of us weren't sure if the kids would be able to enjoy the water. It turned out to be perfect. For most of the morning we had the park to ourselves and all the kids played great together.

Days like these I treasure. It's so nice to get together with good friends and not have kids fighting and complaining they're bored. I guess the only downfall to the day was I had to have my kids at swimming by 1:00 so we had to leave after our picnic.

I hope we can do it again before the summers over girls!

Love ya,

Michelle

Parenting

(In the train on our way to Toronto last fall)

Life is so funny. Nine years ago when we had Travis I really didn't know anything about babies. Having gone through it now four times I feel like a pro. I also now know that the babies are very easy compared to life with children who become their own little people. Whenever I see a pregnant woman I find myself smiling and remembering back. I think about how this little baby is going to change their lives forever. It's like once you've had a baby you now belong on the other side with the group - parents. It's something that no one could have prepared me for. Yes I knew it would be work - diapers, sleepless nights, crying, laundry and all that. I wasn't prepared though for the emotional part that went with it. It seems my days now are constantly trying to figure out how to deal with situations and just when I think I have it figured out it changes again. With four kids these "situations" come and go continuously. Today I'm being the mean parent and forcing Travis to go to swimming lessons everyday for two weeks....Should I be forcing him or should I just accept the fact that he doesn't like water???I've been debating this in my head now for a year and I still don't know that that "right answer" is. Dan has just taken him kicking and screaming.

With Kaitlin I always worry about her self esteem. Am I hurting it (some days I think so when I'm out of patience) I worry about her friends and what other influences are effecting her. Dawson is just a bundle of energy that doesn't listen. There are days when he's wonderful don't get me wrong but overall he has this complete boy personality - rough and tough. He thinks everything in life is funny and will gladly entertain anyone who is around.

There are times when I'm not sure if what they're doing is just a stage/phase or if this is part of their personality. Kortney is also very much her own little person. The cute baby stage is leaving and she knows what she wants and doesn't want. She tries very hard to keep up with the rest of the crew.

So ya, when these four were babies it was definitely easier for me. Feed them, wash them, play, put them to sleep. Done. Now there's all this extra stuff to be worrying about. Should I do or not do certain things, am I spoiling them too much, am I expecting to much from them for their age. The list could go on. It is never ending and I'm thinking it's only going to get worse. Travis is not that far from his teenage years.

I know I'll get responses telling me I'm worrying too much and my kids are great. I hope I can keep handling the daily frustrations and challenges without losing it!

Just had to vent today!!

Michelle

A day with Angelle

Angelle is one of my closest friends. We've known each other now for about 5 years and have become great friends. This spring Angelle and her husband Jay decided to put their house up for sale and move. I have to admit I was really hoping they'd find something in the area but as it turned out they bought a house in Bothwell. Needless to say I'm not very happy about it! I hate the thought of her being so far away. There won't be anymore last minute calls from her to go out for a drink at night. I'm really going to miss her.

Friday I invited some of Angelle's friends over to the pond to have a chance to say goodbye before she leaves. The day was great. It started out rainy but it wasn't long before the sun came out. The kids, all 19 of them had a blast. The girls of course bugged the boys and the boys had their own "no girls allowed fort". All of them played great together. The day was awesome. I know I won't be the only one missing Angelle when she moves. We promised each other to keep in touch and meet up in London to get together. I'm hoping we can still do our girl nights out it will just have to be planned. I know we will keep in touch but it doesn't make her moving any easier. After this blog I'm going back to trying not to think about it. I keep telling myself she'll only be a phone call/email away.....

Fireworks!

I just love fireworks. It's a treat that we usually only get to see twice a year. This weekend we were lucky enough to see them two nights in a row. On Sunday we watched them in Wiarton over the lake and on Monday we watched them in Wingham with friends of ours. Both nights were great. Travis was too funny, he thought the fireworks looked better through his telescope. He had a comment after each one went off. Kaitlin had to try to guess what colour would come next. Dawson who usually is very scared of them actually watched them (minus the time it took to pee on a rock. Kortney wasn't scared of all. She kept saying bang bang and wasn't bothered by the noise at all.

If we're lucky then they'll be one more time to watch them coming up in Stratford.

One more thing I love about summer!

Up North

Here's the tower we all climbed! The above picture is the view from the top.

We are very lucky that my mom and Carl live up north for us to visit. (LionsHead) Their house is right in a bush so the kids have so much fun they never want to come home.

This past weekend we ventured up with Dan if you can believe it! I can't remember a Canada Day weekend when he hasn't been doing hay. This year they got it done early!

It was extra nice since by brother and his girlfriend Heather were able to come stay for the weekend with us. My kids think uncle Marc is very cool. He's able to help them get past levels on their GameCub games and he is an animator. They look up to him and are always thrilled when they get to spend time with him. Heather taught Kaitlin chopsticks on the piano so she's being practising like crazy now.

The weekend went by so fast. We spent time at the beach, went to Tobermory, hiked, watched the parade and fireworks and spend time with my grandma. It was a nice holiday away from home. I hate how fast the summer always seems to go. There's never quite enough days in the week to fit in all we want to do. It just all just goes by too fast.