Life of Andrew

Hot

2011-07-21T14:59:00.000-07:00

Today is HOT. 120 f with the humidx...

His First Demonstration

2011-06-14T08:32:00.000-07:00

Andrew did his first karate demonstration on Sunday at the TTC (Toronto Transit Commission)... He even chose to do a kata all by himself *sniff*..

Happy Days

2011-05-24T08:54:00.000-07:00

With the warm weather comes great play. FINALLY the temperature is starting to climb. And so, Andrew is the happiest kid on the block. I LOVE LOVE LOVE going outside with him. He still has soooo much curiosity with the world, it really makes me appreciate the old things in a new way. Thank you Andrew Siddhartha <3 I love you soooo much.

We met up with Alexander and went to Highpark for an afternoon. They get along soooo well, I love seeing the two interacting. While we were there we went on a hike on a trail. There we saw lots of trees that were fallen, half fallen, partly fallen by beavers. So we decided to take a closer look at them and to see if we could see any turtles in the lake. At that point Andrew looked down and noticed the ants, TONS of ants. It was rather creepy. I swear to god that you couldn't see the ground through them all. ICK. So of course he starts panicking (I would have too if it weren't for me trying to be the strong mom and teach him to remain calm in these situations - har har). In the mince of his panic Alexander helped his poor little bro out and carried him out and swiped his pant legs for him to make sure there were none on him. Then we headed to the Japanese apple blossom trees that were in full flower. They were so beautiful.

Dandelion

2011-05-16T21:06:00.000-07:00

Andrew LOVES them. He thinks they are the most beautiful flower out there. He has never been told that they are weeds that everyone hates, I don't think I will ever tell him different. He see's beauty, I have to agree with him.

7 Yr Checkup

2011-05-05T18:39:00.000-07:00

So, that time of year again where the boy goes to the Dr. He now weighs 45lbs, and 3'10. He has 20/20 vision. Besides being on the light side he is healthy (YAY). He also got his CBC drawn, not too happy when they stuck the needle in but he did great in my opinion, he didn't even cry.

It's Heaven to be 7

2011-05-03T20:33:00.000-07:00

And that's what Sir Andrew turned today at exactly 4:33pm this afternoon.
It makes me sad that he's already almost half way to been an adult. Childhood is going way too fast. Everyday he brings fresh awe into our lives. I don't know how we ever did it without him in our lives. Thank you Andrew for bringing such joy to our lives. You truly are an amazing person. You're so compassionate. You're so creative. You're so loving. Last night before he went to bed we were all sitting on the couch and I lit some candles, he wanted to blow them out and make a wish for the last day of being six, he closed his eyes, and thought a moment and blew the candles out and looked at them and said, "I wish for the memory to last forever".... Not I want this, or that, nooo, the moment to last. Incredible if you ask me. He's going to have a pool party on Saturday with his friends. He's so excited about it too.

Anyway, HAPPY BIRTHDAY my little Siddhartha. Mommy and Daddy love you very much.

First Grading

2011-04-26T19:36:00.000-07:00

Andrew had his first karate grading last weekend (April i6th).. It went ok. He was more focused on staring at us watching him then the actual grading. (Must remember, unlike most kids his age that are in school and have preformed in plays and choirs etc, this is his FIRST time EVER doing any performance for us let along all the other ppl that came to see him and the other kids parents as well.) It was a full house. Actually he was the only kid there that kept being told by Sensei to focus, not only once either. He was also the only one that needed to go to the washroom half way thru. But besides that he did well. I asked his Sensei the next class afterwards about it and he said it was very normal for him to act that way for the first grading. Phew. His Nannie, Grandpa, Great Aunt Lydia, big brother Alexander and our friend Mike were also there the see him. Afterwards we all went to this REALLY GOOD East Indian restaurant and let me tell you they made the BEST curry chicken dinner I have EVER tasted.

Now for the pics.

Stuff and Such Randomness

2011-04-07T10:57:00.000-07:00

Is randomness even a word?

My personal computer with all "my" editing programs has been malfunctioned for about a month now.. Trying to fit time in to get it done, does anyone out there have any? So I have been stuck using a crappy laptop that has nothing on it. And a VERY annoying thing where whenever I put my hands on the mouse sensor thingy it puts my cursor somewhere else. And the letter L sometimes works, after a lot of pounding on it. /vent.

Stuff

2011-03-13T18:19:00.000-07:00

Again, not a whole lot to report on our doings. I am getting so sick of this cold, snowy, rainy, grey weather, this year it seems to be lasting FOREVER. I don't remember the last sunny day we had. So of course because of it we have been indoors wayyyy toooo many dayz.

OUCH

2011-03-05T18:41:00.000-08:00

When I was homeschooling Andrew on Wednesday I was bending over to reach something and the chair that I was sitting on slipped from under me landing me on the floor right onto my baby finger. I knew right away I messed it up. So off to the clinic we went, x-ray showed that I had 2 dislocated joints and a fracture. My Dr wouldn't touch it, so off to the ER we went. When we arrived they took me in right away. Looked at my x-ray, came in and told me that they were going to have to freeze my hand and relocate the bones, and I have 2 small fractures. For some reason I was VERY calm throughout the whole ordeal even when she came in the room with the 6 - 8 in syringe and NO I'm not kidding, wish i would have taken a picture of that. By the way i am having a really hard time typing this, i have to stop and take a break frequently. Ok where was i? Oh ya, so she froze my hand and then she pulled at my finger, yuck. She took another xray and it still wasn't in its proper place so she had to do it again. That one did the trick, so they splinted it up and sent me home. Now I have to wait until next Wed to see how its healing. Wish me luck.

Arggg

2011-03-01T11:04:00.000-08:00

I'm getting really lazy with this blog lately. (Sorry future Andrew, I will try and be better at keeping up to date)...

Ok, What have you been up to?

Word. Mario.

End of blog entry.///

Ok, just kidding, but really that's basically all you think of lately. Mario, Lugie (forgive my spelling), Princess Peach and Bowser. You sleep, breath and live for it. HELP.... It has gotten to the point where I had to limit your play time on them because you would be on it 24/7. The other day when you were playing you pleaded with me "MOMMY, PLEASE just let me save Princess Peach so that I can get on with my life". lol Good grief.

When you're not playing the game you're watching walkthroughs online. And if your not doing that then you are playing with the characters we bought you for Christmas and pretend you are in the video game and role playing the game with them.

Homeschooling is going well. Although you would much rather play then learn, so I have to come up with a way to make it more interesting for you so that you can enjoy learning rather then have it being a chore.

You are in your 5th week of Karate, that is going well too. You're learning how to count in Japanese and say other works as well. You seem to be really enjoying it.

Your favorite shows are still Scooby Doo. And some new ones as well. They are, Garfield, and The Winx Club, everything you get into you REALLY get into, like obsess into. You can watch them endlessly and still laugh.

Favorite food is still french fries. Mini pizza, chicken with chalet sauce or katchup. You are the fussiest eater on the planet.

Favorite color is still pink. What I like about you is that you DON'T care what other kids say about it either. It's what you like and that's it.

Health wise you are good. You've had a couple of head colds this winter but nothing major. You have yet to be put on any antibiotics in your life. YAY Andrew. Although I do pump you with vitamins because of your fussiness.

You're a great person to be around. Ya, like i'm not going to say that! haha. But seriously, you really are. I think that part of the reason is, is you're not picking up habits from peers. You love to be goofy.

All and all, you're just one small big FANTASTIC dude.

The Ick, Weeze Have It.

2011-02-08T15:22:00.000-08:00

Again.

Karate Kid

2011-01-26T11:40:00.001-08:00

Isn't he just sooooo adorable?

First Time Tobogganing

2011-01-26T11:26:00.000-08:00

My dad bought Andrew his first sled for Christmas so we brought him to a little hill in our court yard and he had a BLAST. The first time he came down he got off the sled and started squealing with pure joy in his heart. He kept repeating WOW, oh WOW, this is awesome, I don't ever want to grow up. It was priceless. We even managed to get Don down the hill a couple of times. :)

I'm Pathetic

2011-01-19T11:35:00.000-08:00

Or just too busy to post. Or too lazy. Or something. No excuses.

I will post later today on what has been going on in Andrewdoms world. Right now i have to take him to karate. :)

HAPPY NEWYEAR 2011

2011-01-03T18:33:00.000-08:00

Oh god, another year. It's going way too fast. Soon Andrew will be all grown up and out of the house. I'm not looking forward to that. I wish there were more months to a yr, more days in a month, more hrs in a day, more seconds in a min. The new year is supposed to be a time of new hope, challenges, love, money, health, yada yada. But to me it's just a sad reminder that Andrew is getting older and soon he'll not want to celebrate it with mom and dad but with his friends.

Ok, i'm jumping a bit, but because I have been lucky enough to have a second chance with having another child i KNOW how FASTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT childhood flies, so there.

This past month has been a really busy one. And painful. That's why I haven't been posting at all. For one, my breast have been too sore from the surgery to sit for too long in front of the computer. 2. Christmas. Enough said.

whoops

2010-12-05T21:01:00.000-08:00

Ack, just came on here and realized that i didn't have any entries in Nov... I will have to say that's because of my surgery that i had on the 16th. First getting ready for it and the healing. I'm still in much pain so this is all i'm going to write for today. Except to say Happy 26th Birthday Christina and Happy Birthday Nanny.

I'll be back soon. I get my stitches taken out tomorrow so maybe that will help with the pain.

Remembrance Day at the Zoo

2010-11-13T14:41:00.000-08:00

Nothing too much has been going on here on the home front. Basically just doing his homeschooling everyday. Andrew's really learning a lot of new words now. Thanks to phonics. He is enjoying his new book Geronimo Stilten being read to him every night. He's still into watching Scooby, now he also likes to watch Garfield and The Winx Club.

Thurs was Remembrance Day so we went to a Veterns ceremony at Toronto Zoo. Another mom that also homeschools and has 3 young boys picked us up at my place. After the ceremony we went and looks at some of the animals. Andrew REALLY wanted to see the giraffes the most but of course I forgot tcharge my camera battery the night before and by the time we got to them the camera was dead. It was a nice day.

Change

2010-11-01T19:32:00.000-07:00

I had to go back to a dark background... It's more me.

Happy Halloween.

2010-10-31T19:47:00.000-07:00

BRRRRRRRR it was soooo cold out there tonight.... Like REALLY ccccold. We even had our first snow fall of the year in Toronto today, albeit not much, but still it did come, marking the first snow fall of 2010.

Again we went out with Sue, Gerry, Ethan, Christine and Anika. Ethan was a little vampire and Anika was Hannah Montana, Andrew a ghost. The kids had a blast, i think 6/7 yr old is the magic number for tot'ing. They didn't seem to mind the cold one bit.

Unfortunately our camera is really starting to deteriate at a really fast rate and most of the pictures that i took came out really blurry looking :(

This is the family, i'm trying to look really scary but I only made my self look like i don't have lips - whoops.

They LOVE each other so much.

The goods... And at the rate he's going, I estimate he will be done with them in about 30secs flat...

Sneak Preview

2010-10-29T18:23:00.000-07:00

Wordless Wednesday

2010-10-27T18:23:00.001-07:00

{Watching out for daddy to come home}

And He Grew and He Grew

2010-10-23T13:36:00.000-07:00

Into a GIANT.

Wordless Wednesday

2010-10-20T15:44:00.000-07:00

So Cute and Funny

2010-10-17T20:15:00.000-07:00

Andrew lost another top tooth today. Making 2 at the top and 2 on the bottom missing right now. He sure does look
funny cute.

Death

2010-10-14T10:39:00.000-07:00

Ok so this post has nothing to do about Andrew. But then again someday I'm sure he will read all these posts and it may be enlightening to know my thoughts that i don't regularly talk about on a daily basis.

I was just looking through all the entries on this blog and labeling each entry. I came across the post of my last night with my cat Tabatha. I started missing her and told Don that i really miss her. He started saying that i was dis empowering myself by thinking of her.

So that got me thinking about death and time.

I have noticed that after so much time after a loved one dies know one really ever talks about them much anymore. In the beginning it's acceptable to speak of them because the lost is fresh in our hearts and minds. But then we have to move on in our lives and "live" . I guess people don't think you're living if your thinking death. And that REALLY upsets me the most with death. Why can't i talk about Tabatha or miss her? Why can't i talk about mom and miss her? WHY? It feels like it's an un-written rule that after a certain amount of time after your loved one dies they shouldn't really be spoken of because if you do then you're obsessing and that just feel unfair to the deceased and the loved ones that are alive. Why do i feel like it's taboo to talk about them? I remember talking with my sister before our mom died about just this, she reassured me that this won't happen, but it is, and it really bugs me.

Wordless Wednesday

2010-10-13T17:43:00.000-07:00

Happy Thanksgiving

2010-10-11T17:10:00.000-07:00

I have so much to be thankful for. Just way too many TO list. But i will give my top few.

I'm so thankful to have been in relatively great health for most of my 43. I am thankful that I live in a peaceful Country that is multicultural and recognizes the rights of gay people and allowing them to marry. I am thankful that we have free health care. I am thankful not live in fear of my life or be wondering if i can feed my kids. I am thankful to be blessed with a wonderful family, both biologic ones and non biologic. I am thankful that i was able to have 2 beautiful children. I am thankful that both of them are healthy. I am thankful to have met Don and i feel so much in love with him as much as the first day that i fell into love. (and putting up with my PMS, oh you poor dear). I am thankful that my family has been expanded with his equally wonderful children. I am thankful to have parents that loved me and sticking with me after having a child at 17, and for being there when I needed help ... I am thankful to have Dons parents that love me and except with open arms into their family. I am thankful to have the opportunity to stay at home with Andrew all day and be able to teach him at home. I am thankful to have my fur babies Reggy and Isis's unconditional love, they are always ready to greet me at the door or in the mornings after i come out of my slumber. I am thankful that i have friends that love me and are willing to listen to me when i need to vent about something (you guys deserve a metal ~ wink wink ~) .. I am blessed to have 2 sisters that have been there for me in my times of crisis, sharing hugs, laughter and a few drinks with every so often ;) , thank you Tammy and Lynn, i love you. Through thick and thin.

Ok that was a bit more then a few, but believe me there is a LOT more things that i am thankful for.

I am thankful to be alive.

Here is how my Thanksgiving weekend rolled.

Sat my dad picked Andrew, Anika and me up and brought me to the house for our family dinner. I got to meet my Great Niece Sophie for the first time :) She is perfect, she is gorgeous and she is sooooo tiny still.

The second time around mom with her new baby.

This is the new moms sister my niece Stacey with her boyfriend Steve holding Sophie, they will make great parents one day.

Christina (my baby) and baby Sophie.

The next day my sister Tammy, her daughter and son in law Tara and Geoff and their 2 kids Austin and Sophie, Andrew and Anika and i went to the pumpkin patch together. Unfortunately Austin got stung by a bee on his ear shorty after we arrived there so his parents took him home right away just in case he was allergic since he's never been bitten by one before. The poor little man was in so much pain. :(

Our Littlest Pumpkin.

The 3 muskateer's, Austin, Andrew and Anika. Actually with Andrew having 3 missing teeth he's looking a bit like a Jack-o-lantern himself :P

Absolutely beautiful. I give my sister Tammy credit for taking this picture!

Then Tammy insisted on paying for the kids to take a pony ride.

This was Andrew's first time on a pony.

Looking to see if he could find Austin going to the car :(

And then realization that he was really gone :( .. Andrew was pretty upset about that.

Anika looked like a natural on it.

Then it was photo shoot time! Muahaaaahaaaaaahaaaaa.

Andrew doing his "usual" pose these days.

Ummm you're going to have to push harder then that Andrew!

I don't think anyone could be more happier then that!

And then after the pumpkin patch my sister and dad drove us to Mississauga to celebrate Thanksgiving with Don's side of the family. Mmmmm, 2 turkey dinners in 2 days, heavenly. And being with those that i love, BLISS. We also got the privilege of celebrating Don's parents 60th wedding anniversary as well. Imagine being married for that long? Even tho they've been married for so long you can tell that their love for one another has never faded. They are truly 2 people to look up too and learn from. Another thing to be VERY thankful for.

Anika really likes hanging out with the girls!

Don's parent with his 2 aunt, Aunt Lydia who had hosted the dinner at her place and his Aunt Shirley that came all the way from California, they both made the very tasty dinner.

Aunt Shirley, Grandpa and Nanny.

Trying to get a group shot turned out to be barely possible. But I like it better this way anyways. It's more candid.Not to mention there were a LOT of peeps taking pictures at the time.

WHAT A GLORIOUS WAY TO END THE WEEKEND <3

Life of Andrew: Wordless Wednesday

2010-10-06T16:50:00.000-07:00

Life of Andrew: Wordless Wednesday

Wordless Wednesday

2010-10-06T16:45:00.001-07:00

Fillings

2010-10-06T12:46:00.000-07:00

Sir Andrew had his 1st filling done today and he did exceptionally well. The Dr said that you can tell that he's a well adjusted child because of the way he was. Yup, of course I'm going to brag about that. He has to go in again next week to have another filling done. Then hopefully that will be it for a LONG time. Damn those dentists make good money.

I went to the hospital today to see the heomotologist about my low white blood count. I hated it there. It brought back way too many memories of mom :( .. The Dr ordered more blood work. I will get the results tonight. She said that she's not too concerned about it cause they are not overly low. But wants me to get an ultrasound done on my spleen to see if it's swollen because of the pain I have been getting there. She also mentioned that she might have to get my bone marrow tested, but that depends of what my blood work looks like today. (keep fingers crossed that i won't have to get that done, she told me it's quite painful)..

Also, i am scheduled to have a breast reduction done on Nov 16th, YAY, no more back pain.

Sophie And Austin

2010-10-02T11:26:00.000-07:00

My baby niece is so gorgeous. I still have not been able to meet her yet tho :( Just getting pics. But i know i already love her.

The 2 siblings. I can see the love.

Wordless Wednesday

2010-09-29T17:58:00.000-07:00

Stuff

2010-09-27T18:06:00.000-07:00

Appointment #2 at the dentist office was today and it went great! Yay, well i won't say that it may be because he only got his teeth cleaned. Nope.

Home schooling is going wonderful. Andrew is learning to read phonically and is doing super amazing. I will sound out words and get him to write how he thinks it's spelled. He's usually right on. Math, he's learning to add still, but now with bigger numbers. Subtract. Greater and lesser. The ones the tenths place. He can count by 10's and 5's. And patterns. He's learning about how to use a map (Geography). Some science. And LOTS of art. I want to get him into swimming lessons and some sort of self defense class but i haven't figured out which one to go with yet. As for music i hope to get him into some local choir soon.

Health wise he's good. Still a fussy eater but were working on that still, sigh.

Don has had a very sore leg for about 2 months now. He went in to see the Dr about it. He ordered an Xray and ultrasound. He had the xray about 2 weeks ago, and the U/S last Fri. The tech girl said that she seen a cyst under both knee caps but the one that is really sore could quite possibly be sore because it looks like it may have erupted. We won't know anything more until our Dr gets back from his mini leave in the beginning of Aug. (his wife had a baby)...

Me.. Well, not so great. But not bad, i hope. I have been having this horrible on and off again pain in my left side for some time now. Dr did blood work and some of the stuff came back not that great. My white blood cell are low and some other crap but i forget. He told me to get it re-checked in 2 mths, if it was still low he would send me to a specialist. I got it re-checked and it was lower then before and i have become anemic. So he has set me up to see a Oncologist/hematologist on Oct 6th at our local hospital. I just hope it's not cancer.

Well that's about it.

Dentist

2010-09-21T18:18:00.000-07:00

Well, first off the appointment wasn't on Monday, it was today. And it didn't go great. Andrew was really great for the dentist but we found out that he has about 4 cavities that NEED to get filled :( And the estimated cost? Around $700.00. Not much more to say about that. So here's the pics :)

But NO more candies. And to think, this kid doesn't even drink juice, pop or milk, only water! Arggg.

So there ya have it folks!

Welcome to the World Sophie!

2010-09-20T07:20:00.000-07:00

Sophie entered the world as expected at 8:30am, 6Ibs 10oz and 19in long. Still don't know how her mommy is doing but i'm sure she's floating in a bubble of pure Joy and Bliss. Congratuaion Tara and Geoff and big brother Austin, to my sister and brother inlaw Tammy and Carm. I can't wait to meet her later this week.

Some facts of the day thus far.

Even tho i haven't met you yet i already know that i love you. Love Aunty.

Very Sunny day.
Temperature is 13c.

September 20, 2010

If You Were Born Today, September 20: You seek security and harmony in your life, preferring to keep the peace than to deal with too much conflict. You have a gentle, peaceable manner. Intelligent and analytical, your opinions are strong although rarely forced upon others. Although generally quiet and likeable, you have strength of character that others sense. Idealistic in love, it can take some time before you see a partner clearly. Famous people born today: Sophia Loren, Upton Sinclair, Alexander the Great.

Daily Horoscope for Virgo

The people in your life need you to keep it positive today — but that shouldn’t be a problem for you! Constructive criticism is one of your specialties, so let them know what’s working out well.

Chinese Zodiac - Tiger

Personality

Occupying the 3rd position on the Chinese Zodiac, the Tiger symbolizes such character traits as bravery, competitiveness and unpredictability. Tigers love to be challenged and will accept any challenge if it means protecting a loved one or protecting their honor. They don’t worry about the outcome because they know they’ll always land on their feet. Don’t let their calm appearance fool you though; Tigers will pounce when they feel it’s necessary.

Born to lead, Tigers can be stubborn if they realize they’re not in charge. They have a slight tendency to be selfish but overall, Tigers are extremely generous. They’re very intelligent and they’re always on alert. Tigers are very charming and are well-liked by others. They are not motivated by money or power.

Health

As they do their enemies, Tigers have a tendency to pounce on their work. Afterwards, they’re left feeling exhausted. Although they’ll soon bounce right back, over time this approach can cause problems with their health. Tigers need to develop a more balanced approach to life so they can utilize their energy more efficiently.

Career

Tigers have a continual need to be challenged which may explain why they jump from job to job. This isn’t necessarily a problem because they’re smart and able to quickly master new subjects. The best jobs for Tigers are those that will lead them towards positions of leadership. Some suitable careers for Tigers include: advertising agent, office manager, travel agent, actor, writer, artist, pilot, flight attendant, musician, comedian and chauffeur.

Relationships

Creative in their passion, Tigers will never bore their partners. They’re expressive, polite and trustworthy, but watch out. Tigers tend to dominate their relationships. This tendency is instinctive and when monitored closely, such behavior can be kept under control. Partners need to be equally active to keep up with the Tiger’s sense of adventure.
Tigers and the 5 elements

Metal Tiger – Years 1950 and 2010

Assertive, competitive and sharp, once Metal Tigers set their sights on their goals there’s no stopping them. They’ll always do what’s necessary to remain at the center of attention. Metal Tigers tend to jump to conclusions; a behavior they need to work at improving.

Busy Busy Busy

2010-09-19T21:19:00.000-07:00

Last Thursday Andrew's big brother came over for his dad's famous taco dinner. I made him a carrot cake, he just turned 25. It was a good night. Thanks James for coming over. You should do it more often :)

Last week Andrew lost another bottom tooth. His forth one so far. He's also got a top one loose.

Saturday his eldest brother Alexander came for a wee visit as well, we were supposed to have his Grandparents (Don's side) and Aunt over as too but Andrew came down with a cold and i didn't want to risk getting his Nannie sick because she is still recovering from a recent knee replacement operation. Perhaps this coming week they can come.

Talking of sickness Andrew's starting to sound like a seal when he coughs so i think he may be coming down with croup, although if it is that, it's not really bringing him down in anyway, he's still pretty active. I will take that as a good thing ;)

Tomorrow he has an appointment with his dentist for a regular checkup, i don't know if they will want him coming in with a cough, so i will give them a call before hand.. Oh and since it's 12:35am right now as i type so i guess i should be saying today.

But the BIGGEST news is, I am going to be a great Aunt (2nd time) at 8am today :) My niece Tara will be having her 2nd baby via a scheduled C section to a baby girl. More on that later today and HOPEFULLY with pics. I can't wait, i'm so excited.

To be continued......................

I am SOOO lazy lately

2010-09-17T21:25:00.001-07:00

And there is NOO excuse. Well, ok, except we have been pretty busy with home schooling and all.

I will update this blog (hopefully) this weekend.

Wordless Wednesday

2010-09-09T10:49:00.001-07:00

Mr Tude

2010-08-26T13:01:00.000-07:00

Or should that be titled Mr Rebel?

In either case, he's the cutest one I've ever met.

Happy Birthday Daddy

2010-08-26T12:22:00.000-07:00

This message is from Andrew.

Dear daddy

I love you so much, i could cry.
I love all the stuff you do for me.

Happy Birthday Daddy.

Trains and Showers

2010-08-09T11:47:00.000-07:00

This past weekend Andrew and I went to Kitchener for my niece Tara's baby shower, she will be having her second child Sophie on Sept 20th, making Austin a big brother.

First we took a train to Milton (about 1 hr away) and then my sister Tammy and my dad picked us up at the station and took us the other half of the way. Andrew was so excited to be able to go on a train. He couldn't wait.

Waiting ever so ~~patiently~~ for the train to arrive.

And yes he does have pink streaks in his hair. And yes, pink is his favorite color. And yes, it's not permanent.

Finally on the train, waiting for the departure.

The 2 boys in the "mans" room at my niece Stacey's and Steve's new apartment while the shower was being held in the livingroom.

Mother, son and dauther/sister to be.

3 sisters rejoicing.

3 generations. 3 girls. 3 lives. 1 family. LOVE forever.

Andrew's First Post

2010-08-09T11:29:00.000-07:00

Today is a very special night because there's going to be a new Scooby doo episode (episode 5). I think my dad will be so happy for me because I'm happy. And usually when i'm happy he's happy.

THat's it.

Oh and i love my mom and my dad and my cats and my fishes.

That's it.

Signed Andrew.

15 Years

2010-08-03T18:27:00.000-07:00

Today Don and i have been together for 15 yrs. Wow, 15 yrs seems like such a long time to be with someone. I love this man so much. Happy Anniversary Don.

Don, Andrew and I went to the Beach yesterday. It was really nice. Andrew LOVES the water, i thought it was too cold though so i just put my feet in. I really have to get him into swimming lessons soon, he's becoming more and more not afraid of water and that makes me scared. Note to self.

After we spent the afternoon there we decided it was time to leave. We walked down one of our favorite streets in Toronto (the Beaches on Queen) for a bit. And since we had an all day family transit pass we decided to hop on the Street Car and head down to Nathan Phillips Square for the boys favorite french fries from the fries truck. Then we walk down the street to one of my favorite summer spots (Dundas Square) before heading home. When at home we watched a family movie together (Nannie McFie?). It was another great day in the life of Andrew, Don and Sandra. Thank you Universe.

The Tooth Fairy

2010-08-01T11:05:00.000-07:00

Andrew lost another tooth on Friday. One of the bottom ones beside the 2 front ones. When he went to bed that night i ask him if he put his tooth under his pillow and he said no. So he did and then as we were falling asleep he said told me that he kind of wanted to not put his tooth under the pillow because then he wouldn't see it ever again. He really seemed to be in distraught, so after quiet thought within myself i concluded it was time to tell him the truth that i'm the tooth fairy. I could feel the relief on his emotions as i told him. He was really happy to hear that he will never have to depart from this teeth ever again. He is so his dads son. :P

My Boy

2010-07-29T13:18:00.000-07:00

Just wants to have fun.

And drive...

And getting wet..

Riding the street car...

Playing with friends...

He loves flowers and is not ashamed to show it.

Having fun comes so natural to him...

My boy six yrs old. He is a blast. He is growing up too fast.

Happy Sad

2010-07-27T18:45:00.001-07:00

I'm happy that Andrew is all over his Hand, Foot and Mouth disease.

I'm sad that he may still be contagious so i won't be able to visit with my sister Lynn and family that are visiting here from Florida because he might still be contagious... BUMMER. I miss them so much. Last year when they came i had a head cold and was so miserable so i had to go home after only visiting her for 2 days. :(

Finally

2010-07-19T11:49:00.001-07:00

Andrew is starting to get better :) He still has a few sores in his mouth but not as bad and he's getting his energy back. Wooohooo.

This Upsets Me

2010-07-17T12:24:00.000-07:00

Seriously, you would think in the year 2010 people would have the basics of good hygiene mastered. There should be NO way a child should have to suffer from this stupid virus if they are taught to wash their hands EACH AND EVERY TIME after they have gone to the washroom. This is the responsibility of the parent/caretaker. And pretty gross to think that the bacteria that causes Coxsackie A virus, POOP. Some kid poops, doesn't wash their hands after wards, touches things, my child touches the same thing infected child touched and boom, he's now sick. If said child had parents or caregivers that INSISTED the child to wash up then my child would NOT be sick right now. SIMPLE...

I live in part of the world where we really only get 2 good month of nice weather. We enjoy being out in it everyday because we know it's short lived. Now my poor son has to stay in for a whole week. Nice eh? My sister is arriving here in 2 days with her family from Florida and i might not be able to see them. I'm mad.

PEOPLE, WASH YOUR HANDS AND MAKE SURE YOUR KIDS DO AS WELL.

Just Saw Another Dr.

2010-07-16T18:11:00.000-07:00

This Dr is 100% sure that it is hand, foot and mouth disease also known as Coxsackie virus. Told me to stop giving him the antibiotics.

Update

2010-07-16T09:20:00.000-07:00

I am pretty sure that he has Hand, Foot and Mouth disease. Poor guy. He's still pretty sick, can hardly talk or eat but his fever has broke so that's good.

I got the results of his blood work that he had done the other day and everything looks good except for his iron level is slightly low, which doesn't surprise me since he's such a picky eater. How do i get his iron levels up when he refuses to eat beef and beans? He's a puzzle.

Little Man is Sick

2010-07-15T17:49:00.000-07:00

Andrew started telling me yesterday that his tongue hurts. I didn't think much of it. Last night he wouldn't eat his dinner. He said his throat hurt. Then he started getting hot. I checked his temp and it was 102.5. Gave him some tylonal, repeat, till i was able to get him into the Dr's. As we were in the waiting room i noticed that he was starting to break out in hives all over his feet. Dr checked him over and told me he has strep throat. :( ... Gave him a VERY expensive script and told us to bring him back if he isn't getting better. Poor little guy is so sick. This is the first time he's ever been put on antibiotics. I hope it treats him kindly.

I love you Andrew. Get better fast.. <3

Andrew's First X-Ray

2010-07-13T20:14:00.000-07:00

For the past 2 months or so Andrew has been complaining that he has a sore leg. The pain has awoken him in his sleep quite a few times. I give him tylonal and that seems to help. He also gets a sore leg (always the right leg) hours after he's been jumping off of things. I thinks it's just growing pains but thought i should ask the Dr what he thinks. So today he had an appointment and i discussed it with him and he seemed concerned that it is waking him up throughout the night so he had him get an x-ray of it and a complete blood count workup. Let's hope it's nothing serious.

The Past Weekend

2010-07-12T09:22:00.000-07:00

Oh dear where do i start?

On Thursday my dad came to visit with us for a night. He arrived at 11am. Then he wanted to go to a mall. While there i got him a wheel chair (he has a bad back) and then him and Andrew wanted to eat. They had some McDonald's (a very rare treat for Andrew) and i had a coffee. After that we walked some more, then my dad bought Andrew 2 pairs of shorts and a shirt from The Children's Place. Soooo adorable.

We then went back home. I made dinner, and after that we watched some movies. My dad LOVES watching movies.

On Friday dad, Andrew and I went to get Anika from daycare, her mom was going to a concert so i got the pleasure to watch her. And Andrew absolutely loves her. From there my dad wanted to pick up some Kentucky Fried Chicken for an early dinner. The kids played games, my dad took a nap and then i thought it would be good to get the kids out of the apartment and take dad out as well. So we headed to Don Mills shopping center to watch a free outdoor jazz concert. Of course Andrew and Anika had a blast, they always do. My dad didn't really like the band. Don took the kids for a wee walk around the grounds. Took some pictures and then headed back home.

The cutey heads getting belted in. Doesn't Don look so thrilled? haha, NOT.

Once we arrived there before i even got out of dad's truck the kids were already in the back of it.

And getting them to make a nice pose for the camera is next to impossible, good thing i like candid photo's better then posed ones.

Then it was time to go back home, we watched another movie with dad, and went to bed.

Saturday morning my dad had to go because my niece Stacey and her boyfriend Steve needed his truck because they were moving into their 1st place together. First time they both have ever moved out of home as well.

After he left Anika and Andrew played games and watched cartoons for a bit and then Don decided to take them out for a hike down in the valley. I decided to stay home alone while he did that with them for some me time. After their hike i met them at the water park across the street and stayed there with them while Don went to the grocery store.

We didn't know that they were going to the water park until after the hike so that's why they're not wearing their bathing suits. But in a kids world that's not a problem.

Oh, this is before they went on the hike down in our court yard. Anika threw the frisbie onto a high tree branch and thought they could get it down by climbing onto a chair and shaking a branch... But the branch was still about 10 feet away and wasn't even attached to the branch it was on.. But they wouldn't believe me that it was impossible so they had to try.. Another lesson learned in a world of a six yr old.

Then they started fighting over a stick, and that was time for Don to take their minds off of that so onward they went.

And now for the park pics... Again, it's nearly impossible to get good pics of children running a 100 mph. But i did manage to get some.

After about 2 hrs of hardcore play, they were hungry and wanted to go home, and i was tired just watching them in a constant state of movement. So homeward bound we went.... Well until they saw this. Then i knew i was doomed for another long wait. But how could i say no? sigh.

When we did finally make it back home i made them dinner, showered them, put a movie on and they both fell asleep before 9pm.

I think i will start a new entry for Sunday's adventure!

Canada Day

2010-07-11T17:39:00.000-07:00

Well it's not actually today, but i have not had the time to post about it still now.

For all you American's reading this, Canada Day is on July 1st.

Hmmm let me jog my memory. After all that was 11 days ago now... Far away in Sandra's brain!

First things first, i had to find something to fasten the flags onto the kids shirts (Anika and Andrew) so that they could have capes and be Super Canadian's.

And then we went to some radio family picnic event that was being held downtown at the CNE grounds. They had live music and dancers from India. We watched that for a bit but it was too loud for the kids so we left after they stuffed their mouths with candy floss.

After that we hopped onto a street car and went to the Harbour Front. While there we saw a few of these.

And the kids enjoyed playing in the sand. But of course they wouldn't have nothing to do with the camera and the pictures that i did get of them are all way too blurry for me to post because they move way too fast for my old camera (or my dexterity - haha)... So this is the best i could do for the sand shot.

And being the patriotic girl that i am (although i wish they would unify the whole world into one Country) i had to take a picture of them standing and looking at a Canadian icon. For you American's out there can you guess what it is? By the way, to get this picture and several like this, i had to lie down on the pavement and look like a quack so that i could get the whole tower in. Yes, i looked like a crazy woman. No i did not care.

Then they wanted to join in on my madness. But they looked much cuter.

We walked on the board walk for awhile, but had to stop for many breaks. Every.thing.that.catches.their.attention must be looked at and talked about or played with, or jumped on, or touched, you name it, they are always on the go, even if they are sitting still.

I wonder what they were talking about.

In Canada we first learn to sail on cement ;)

We then found our way to the bandstand and watched this amazing band play for about 4 songs until the kids got antzi. The woman in the band sounded amazing, she sounds like a cross between Mazzy Starr and Enya. Wish i could have gotten her name. The picture didn't turn out that great.

We then decided that is was time to head home, we didn't want to be in the rush with all the people that were staying behind to watch the fireworks, done that before, and never again.

BUT
On our way out, not even 30 steps away they saw this. (an outdoor skating rink that isn't made from ice), and of course they had to just check it out. Until they got kicked off because there is the "NO SHOES" on rink policy that's not written anywhere.

So once again were headed home, i'm pretty tired, Don's pretty tired, but lo and behold, there right in front of them is a pile of ICE inviting any 6 yr old child that just so happens to pass by. And how could they not refuse? Sigh.

After about 10 mins of that, we really thought we were going to leave, well first i had to go to the washroom, and decided to take Andrew with me since he told me about 30 mins prior that he "REALLY" needed to go. But he insisted that he didn't have to go (because he wanted to keep playing on the ice-cubes). But he did and it was the longest pee that i think anyone one has ever had (perhaps he should go into the Guinness book of records for having the largest bladder in the Universe). But of course i didn't take a picture of that :P

No, it wasn't in our cards to leave quite yet, why? because of course they had to have a clown act you know, and they weren't going to want to leave while some girl was throwing numerous things into the air, one of which was a fire act! OF COURSE NOT. So we stayed.

And that was our Canada Day. It was fun. It was full of adventure. It was sunny and warm. It was free. It was purely Canadian. The only way it could have been better is if we were celebrating the "REAL" planet Earth Day where there is no borders, and only one nation.

We did make it home..... Eventually.

This and That

2010-06-24T13:56:00.000-07:00

The boys on fathers day.

With big sister Lisa.

Andrew decided it would be funny to pack a bunch of toys on his grandfather.

It's been really hot outside lately. Not that i don't mind hot but i hate humidity and it's been VERY humid lately.

So then what have we been up to?

Last Saturday we went downtown to get computer parts, while Don was doing that Andrew and I went to Kensinton Market playground. I forgot my camera tho, actually since having to give back my sister Tammy's super duper SLR canon camera i haven't been really wanting to take pictures lately, i guess i got spoiled. So where was i? Oh ya, our downtown trip. As always it was lots of fun. After Don was finished getting what he needed we headed to Queen St to get their favorite home fries. I on the other hand watched them while they devoured them because i was on a 10 day fast. After they finished that we walk over to Dundas Square because i heard there was some kind of music festival going on but i totally did not expect to see Iggy Pop there. Now that totally freaked me out.. Free and everything. But it was PACKED and VERY loud. So Don took Andrew to a book store and I decided to be stupid and tried to get a close up view. BAD MISTAKE. All i can say is one word, SQUISH. I love Toronto. And i love Iggy Pop.

Sunday was fathers day and Don's parents, Aunt Lydia and Lisa came for a visit. It was a nice visit, his parents bought 2 pizza's from my favorite pizza place so that was really hard and tempting but i didn't have one bite. And i survived. Lisa bought her dad some red wine and a bottle of his favorite rum. He was happy about that. Andrew bought him some pens and a heart shaped posted note.

SO that's about it. Besides the usual of going out to the park and such, not much else to really write about.

OH except for the "big" earth quake he had. I was sitting at my desk and talking to my sister Tammy on the phone and i felt something, i thought that maybe one of the cats were doing something behind my chair but then looked over at the fish tank and the water was moving back and forth, and that's when i knew something wasn't right. Don and Andrew felt it too. Being on the 38th floor of a building kind of makes you have all these thoughts on what could it have been. So we quickly left the building just in case. Once we got downstairs and outside we heard what it had been. Phew.

Toronto is hosting the G8/20 summit this year and that will start today. Quite a bit of the downtown core has been fenced in making it a ghost town. People that work there are working from home. People that live within have to wear a security badge saying that they are residents within the boundry of the summit. It's crazy crazy. I think i might stay away from that. The protesters are out in full force. I wonder if they actually are going to be heard or is it just for publicity... Tomorrow i want to go back to Dundas Square because they are having some sort setup where artist can sell their art, and a live concert. But i first have to find out if there are going to be protesters there cause i don't want to put Andrew in harms way.

So anyhoo, that's about it. Hopefully as the summer moves along i will have more to post about...

Out of the Mouths of Babes

2010-06-12T20:39:00.000-07:00

Andrew and Anika are having a sleepover over tonight. They are both watching Super Mario games together. They went and sat on a chair, Andrew put his arms around Anika. I brought it to Don's attention and said he reminds me so much of him. I told Don that is a good thing because i feel he's an awesome man. Andrew speaks up and said i know who else is awesome, i said oh ya? And he looks at Anika and says i'm awesome too right Anika? She said Ya,, and then Andrew looks at her and says you're awesome too Anika, she looks at him and said not as awesome as you are tho. Aweeeee. It was a cute moment. But i think they are all awesome. So how's that for awesomeness?

To be Continued

2010-06-12T12:05:00.000-07:00

Sorry. It's to be continued. Please check back by middle of next week for an update. :P

Something BIG is about to Happen Today

2010-06-11T12:03:00.001-07:00

Or we hope. Stay tuned. I will post all about it later today.. Can you guess what it is?

Wonderland

2010-06-08T19:43:00.000-07:00

Thanks to my wonderful sister Tammy, Andrew and I were able to go to Wonderland for the day. We went with Tammy, my niece Natyya, her friend Melody and Tammy's grandson Austin. It was a perfect day to go too because the weather wasn't too hot nor too cold. No crazy line ups, this time of yr is PERFECT. Natyya and Melody went on the big rides while Tammy and i took the little ones on the small kid rides. They had a blast. I on the other hand received a nasty sunburn on my arms, even after putting sunblock on. (stupid sun)..

My Great Nephew Austin. Isn't he soo cute?

Andrew's first "real" roller coaster, and boy did he ever LOVE it, he wanted to go back on it constantly. This kid is going to be a hard core amusement park thrill seeker.

Andrew in his natural state :P

Thanks so much Tammy, you're an awesome sister! I LOVE you so much.

Yikes

2010-06-03T21:47:00.000-07:00

It's June 4th already? Ok, there is NO excuse as to why i haven't been posting lately but one thing, it's SUMMER... Ok, technically it's not SUMMER until June 21st but believe me, it's been soooo nice outside lately and well who wants to stay in after all long cold winters day? err season...

So outside we have been. Playing, walking, hiking, playing, playing, playing and more playing. Andrew's loving it.

So ya wanna see some hardcore play pics?????

Ok, twist my arm...

Ahhh the life...

A is for Andrew of course!

This is some serious work here.

Imagine playing so hard that you just pass out cold on a very small chair from pure exhaustion!

I CAN'T STAND IT ANYMORE

2010-05-17T11:57:00.000-07:00

He is just way tooooo flipping cute.

How can anyone stand it?

I don't think he can even stand it.

Happy Mothers Day

2010-05-09T11:04:00.001-07:00

We went to see Nannie and Grandpa's new place on Mothers day. It's beautiful.

Andrew and his Nannie.

Mother and Son.

Yearly Checkup

2010-05-04T19:16:00.000-07:00

Andrew had his yrly checkup today. He also got a vaccination and didn't cry, cringe or budge. After it was over he said it didn't hurt one bit. What a brave little dude. He weighs 42 Ibs, up 10 Ibs from last year. And is 47 inches tall, up 5 inches from last yr. So all and all things are going good. I mentioned his eating habits and how he won't eat any sort of veggy and few fruits. He said as long as he's taking a vitamin daily everything is good.

Happy Birthday Little Man

2010-05-03T19:10:00.001-07:00

WOW i am in disbelief. I can't believe it that you are already six yrs old. +sniff+ .. It's happening way too fast.

Yup, I made that cake...

Him in his new extra cute outfit that Christine and Anika bought him. Thanks guys :)

Him with his new DSi XL... He's wanted this forever! He can't stop thanking us.

Happy Birthday little man. I love you forever.

Busy Times

2010-05-02T19:35:00.000-07:00

Whooa.. Where do i start? So much has been going on this past week. Some of it i was able to capture on my camera. Sadly there are some that i wasn't able to because my damn battery died. (pssst Alexander, if you took any pics of the 2 of you at the park please send them my way?)

Wednesday Andrew's brother Alexander and his Nannie and Grandpa S and Great Aunt Lydia popped by for a late afternoon lunch. I made some yummy wraps stuffed with seasoned basmati rice, spicy fried chicken, and veggies. It was tasty. And everyone else seemed to enjoy it as well. Phew. lol. After lunch Alexander and Andrew decided it was time to catch ghosts, first they went around the apartment and then they broadened there search to across the street at the park. I wish i had pics of that. This is the first time they ever did anything together alone. Andrew is still talking about it. But sadly they had to all leave shortly after they got back from their adventures. He won't be able to see him again until after the summer because Alexander is going to B.C and other various places for the summer. Lucky guy!

I got a call Thurs afternoon from Christina. She was downtown Toronto with her friend Rob for the afternoon and wanted Andrew and I to meet them in Kensinton Market. So that's what we did :) ... And Andrew REALLY like that idea because for 1 he got to see his sister and 2 he wanted to buy himself a toy from one of the computer stores there from the money that his Nannie and Grandpa S gave him for his birthday. Christina even bought him one. After that we walk around and window shopped and then sat outside at a restaurant, while there i noticed an alley way and decided it would be a great place to take pictures. It was fun.

Playing with the bubbles.

Some pictures of Andrew and I acting goofy, why not? life is too short not to.

And Christina and Andrew goofing around!

Can you see him?

Friday, we met up with his friends Anika and Ethan at the park for a bit. There were a lot of people there that i haven't seen since last summer, some moms with new babies. Kids have grown taller, some talking more. Fun fun fun.

See no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil.

Saturday, Andrews sister Lisa came for a visit with her cute dog Daffy. She took me to the pet store to get Reggy and Isis some cat food and litter. Andrew was really quite when she first arrived but as soon as she started tickling him and playing with him and Daffy on the floor he returned to his ole hyper self. She bought him and adorable outfit, pants and a shirt and a Scooby key chain. She showed us some pictures of some of the recent shows she's been in (horse jumping). Hopefully we'll all be able to visit her at the stables soon to see her jump.

Andrew was suffering from his allergies when these pics were taken so they didn't turn out to be the best of him. I would have taken a lot of more from my camera that day but i was using both my camera and her camera to take pics. So Lisa if you are reading this and you have some good ones please send them. :)

Lots of goofness in this family :)

A Daffy moment.

And then today i went downtown with my friend Christine (Anika's mom) downtown. She had to return clothes that she bought and she bought Andrew the cutest shorts and shirt for his birthday.. I can't wait to see them on him. While i was there Don gave me a call and told me that my sister Tammy. 2 nieces Tara and Natyya, Geoff and Austin were there... That was totally shocking since Tammy said that she was going to come tomorrow instead of today. But she forgot about that conversation (i love you Tammy ;) ) and came today like originally planned. So i came home as quick as possible so that i could spend time with them (thank god i left Andrew at home, so that he could spend time with Austin). I met them all at the park across the street at the school. We then departed and went to Tim Horten's. After that we went back home but they didn't stay because it was getting late and they had a 2 hr drive back home. Natyya gave him a Scooby Doo back pack. Tara, Geoff and Austin gave him games and crayola cars coloring thingy (forget the name of it). Tammy, Carmen and Grandpa G gave him some money to go towards his Ontario Place summer membership. Again, no pics were taken when they were here because i didn't know they were coming and i met them at the park and from Tim Horten's they left. :(

Now here i am, it's 10:30pm and i am bushed. After Tammy and the family left Andrew came upstairs and passed out cold on the livingroom rug while playing a Scooby game. It was only 7pm (ahhhhh)... So i went to the store to get some bread and milk and cake ingredients stuff for his cake that i'm making him tomorrow.

I can't believe that he's already going to be 6 yrs old. It just seems like its such a big number compared to 5, my boy is growing up way toooooooo fast. Slow down time...

WOW Angela your babbles are contagious ;)

Aweeeee

2010-04-26T11:43:00.000-07:00

I asked Andrew if he remembers what his milk taste like (nursing). He said of course i do mom. Oh ya Andrew, what then?

Love mommy, it tasted like love.

*sniff*

New Residents

2010-04-26T11:37:00.000-07:00

We have new residents now living in Toronto.

Welcome Grandpa and Nannie S. Andrew's pretty excited!

Childhood

2010-04-15T19:46:00.001-07:00

Twirling.

Jumping.

Climbing.

Watching.

Swinging.

Playing.

Thinking.

Sleeping, dreaming, recharging for another day.

Childhood.

Ahhh Haaaa

2010-04-14T11:44:00.001-07:00

Andrew: Mommy, the people who made this video game (Scooby Doo) must be scientists.

Me: why is that?

Andrew: because it's ingenious.

Have i mentioned how much he LOVE Scooby? lol

The Facts

2010-04-12T17:32:00.001-07:00

Fact: I swear that Andrew has to be the most cutest boy in the Universe (no i'm not biased).

Fact: Six yrs ago on this very day i was expecting his imminent birth in less then a month and i was totally excited and kept looking out the window from my office and stared at the hospital where i was to meet him for the first time outside of the womb.

Fact: Andrew still LOVES Scooby Doo, 3 yrs strong.

Fact: He is very smart.

Fact: He loves drawing monsters and is quite good at it.

Fact: He loves being a monster and scaring me and then solving the mystery of who the monster was that was trying to scare me.

Fact: He loves playing his Scooby Doo game over and over and over times infinity.

Fact: He HATES veggies.

Fact: He could live on just eating french fries IF i permitted him to.

Fact: He is being home schooled now, and always until he goes to University. Enough said.

Fact: You don't have to be a teacher to teach your child. Learning comes naturally and the world is full of education. HE WILL LEARN.

Fact: He's going to be a pack rat just like his dad, seriously, i can't even throw out the boxes that his new toys came in.

Fact: He knows how to defeat the big boss all by himself on his Scooby game and is quite proud of himself.

Fact: He is probably the most fussiest eater that i have ever met.

Fact: He is also the most lovingest child there is around.

Fact: He hates cleaning up after himself.

Fact: He becoming a whiner and there is NO way i will tolerate whining.

Fact: He loves animals. Isis being his favorite.

Fact: He could watch TV all day if i would let him.

Fact: His favorite color is still pink.

Fact: His best friends are still Ethan and Anika and Austin.

Fact: He is very articulate and love using big words.

Fact: More facts to come your way, stay tuned.

He's an Incredible Kid

2010-04-09T11:15:00.000-07:00

Andrew lost his second tooth 2 days ago, bottom front left.
The first night he forgot to put it under the pillow so of course the Tooth Fairy didn't come. Last night he reminded me to put the tooth under it so she would come. As i was putting it in the envelope i asked him if he wanted to see it one last time. When he was looking at it i was telling him about how that was his first tooth that came in (well one of the first 2), he was only 4 months old, and so on. Then i asked him if he would like to just forget about the tooth fairy and just keep it so that he can show his kids his first tooth and the story of when his first grew in and fell out. (ya i could just keep it and give it to him when he's older and know longer believes in the tooth fairy, but i wanted to see what his choice would be, instant gratification for a couple of dollars or a long term decision that will only come in fruitation when he has his kids) He chose the latter. I must say that's pretty incredible for a 5 yr old to make a choice like that! Later on before we went to bed i ended up giving him a toonie to put into his bank.

Easter

2010-04-06T11:03:00.001-07:00

Andrew and I went to Kitchener for Easter. Tammy and Dad picked us up on Friday. We went to the "BIG HOUSE" as the boys call it. Tammy and Carman had a fire, Stacey and Steve came out to visit with their favorite Auntie. Then we went to Tammy's place and slept there for the night. Sat we had an Easter Egg hunt and dinner at the big house. Lots of great company and the food was delicious. The weather was very nice. Lots of little boys for Andrew to play with. He had a GREAT time. Steve bought Tammy and I beautiful flowers and the two of them made up a BEAUTIFUL basket for ALL of the kids there, there were 8 all together. It was so nice seeing family and being in Kitchener as well. I haven't been there since last summer.

After dinner and socializing Andrew and I went to my dads for the night. It felt like too short of a visit tho. Andrew was getting cranky and missing his daddy, so Sunday Tammy and Dad drove us back home. Thanks guys for the beautiful memory. I LOVE you all so much.

Now for the hunt. Andrew has been talking about this hunt for over a month now, talking to me and telling strangers everywhere we went about it. I wish i could have video taped him collecting them, i swear he was the most excited kid there.

His Nannie and Grandpa S sent him a nice card with $10 in it. He was pretty excited about that as well.

Some pics of the back yard.

And from the front yard.

Two Years and still Blogging

2010-03-20T16:07:00.000-07:00

I don't know what's been wrong with me lately but i just haven't been wanting to write lately. Sorry future Andrew.

What have you been up to?

We have been going to the science center quite a bit, they have lots of workshops. His favorite one so far was the magic workshop. He now has some neat tricks up his sleeve. We went to a magic store after that to see what they are like, everywhere we stood we were bombarded with magicians wanting to try their newest tricks on us. It was fun. But everything was so expensive.

His friend Anika has been coming over more often and she's slept over a few times. They are so cute together.

This week we had a few great weather days, plus 16c. So we took his bike out and sand toys and played for hrs at a time at the park. It's a good thing we were able to do that for the coming week is going to be cold again. I can't wait for summer..

Good news, Andrew's grandparents sold their condo in Ottawa and they will be moving here (Mississauga) some time in the middle of May. It will be nice for Andrew to be able to see them more often, and he's looking forward to it.

Here' are some pics from the past mth.

Andrew running threw a puddle, his favorite thing to do...

The urban gardens.

Hopefully he'll never be too old to kiss me in public.

Or stop wanting to look at the birds with me.

Meeting his daddy @ the Park.

Friends since they were babies.

Kidney Stone

2010-03-07T11:13:00.000-08:00

Apparently i have kidney stones. That's all i know right now. I hope it doesn't hurt to pass. I'm scared.

SORRY

2010-03-04T18:23:00.000-08:00

I'm sorry for the huge gap between entries. We have being doing things but i'm really not feeling well these days. I so tired, all the time. Getting that figured out with tests tho. One test is showing protein in my urine. Apparently pee'ing protein is not a good thing. I have been also getting pain in my upper left side ab, i don't know if the two are related or i'm just having muscle pains. To be figured out. In the mean time i will try to catch up. Right now i'm just too tired to.

OHHHH YAAAA

2010-02-28T14:57:00.000-08:00

CANADA WINS GOLD IN MEN'S HOCKEY... 3-2.

My Favorite Pic of the Week.

2010-02-11T16:55:00.000-08:00

Ok so this is an old pic, taken last year. But i still like it.

What's Up?

2010-02-08T18:52:00.001-08:00

Well not a whole lot lately... It's been so cold outside, i rarely even want to step out. Thank goodness we need food or else i don't know if i would ever get out there.

Andrew's been doing his homeschooling everyday. Right now he's doing a unit on Winter. Last week he had a math test and got 100% on it. Not bad considering it's for a grade 1 student and he's still only in kindergarten. He's asking a lot of questions about how things work and where people originally came from and why the dinosaurs and humans didn't live together at the same period. Pretty deep kid. We only made it to the science center once last week, they had a buildings and structures workshop. It wasn't that great. I think they under estimate the abilities of kids brains there sometimes. All they had were blocks, and asked them how big they could make them. So the kids were more interested in that part then learning how buildings actually stand. He got to see his 2 friends Anika and Ethan. Anika lost her 1st tooth the same day and Andrew did (and then she lost another one a few days later). They are exactly 2 weeks apart in age. Ethan, Andrew, Sue and i went downtown to Nathan Phillip Square for the last weekend of WinterFest. They had some really amazing shows there. One from France, called Cosmogonia. If you ever get a chance to see them i HIGHLY recommend seeing them. It was amazing. Even the sound system was out of this world. Cosmogonia is a succession of 12 scenes, the book of Genesis is recounted, played, and danced on a background of projected images portraying the Elements, cascading water and fire. (pics below)... It was very cold out so we didn't stay too long, just long enough to see the show and then we sat in a warming tent and then headed home.

Here's some of my favorite pics from the past week.

Andrew and Anika and their missing teeth.

Goofing around.

Angel of the Apocalypse
Flaming Lotus Girls (from the Burning-man artists. This was amazing.

Andrew and Ethan

This are actual balloons. They were HUGE, this was at the Science Center.

Here are some pics taken of him throughout the week that i like.

Looking intently at a computer game he's been playing all week, called Pajama Sam.

This is his favorite pose when i take pictures of him.. No matter what, he's gotta make this face.

Pure LOVE...

The End.

The Magic of Boys

2010-01-27T17:29:00.001-08:00

There is a time from age 5 to perhaps 10 that is perhaps particularly endowed with the Victorian mythology which however false it may be, tugs on the hearts of every parent just a little bit. And then we can move on to the more modern mythology of Steven Speilberg but that’s another day…

Lost Tooth

2010-01-26T19:57:00.000-08:00

Well it's official, my baby is growing. He has lost his first tooth today. He's so excited about it. Me? not so much. It's just another reminder that he's not going to stay young forever. sniff.

WOW

2010-01-25T21:35:00.000-08:00

Whoops, sorry for taking so long to post.

Compared to last month everything is pretty quiet. No visitors. No Christmas shopping. No wrapping either. No tree taking over the view. No fancy lights or decor. That's all gone for another year.

Sigh.

So then, what have we been doing?

We've been going to the Science center quite a lot. They have workshops for young children during the week. So i have been implementing that with Andrew's homeschooling. On the 7th, they had a work shop on Healthy Foods. Now Andrew will eat granola cereal with yogurt (i have only been trying to get him to eat that for years now), but oh well, at least now he'll eat it. Another thing to add to his VERY small list of things he'll eat. On the 8th they had a Optical Illusions workshop. On the 15th they had a Magnets workshop. On the 26th they had a Dinosaurs workshop. He really LOVED that one. He is starting to talk a lot and is very articulate in his speech. He'll talk for hrs about dinosaurs and Scooby Doo. He's actually got many of the workers there calling him by name now. They all really like him, you can really tell. He's got quite the magnetic appeal.

We've been doing more and more school work this month. He can count to 100. Printed his first sentence (by memory). I will post a picture of that. Learning how to read small sentences. He doesn't really like reading a whole lot so i think i will go slower on that and try not to push it, he'll be ready when he's ready. I don't want him to hate it. He's been learning about dinosaurs (since he likes them so much), i can't get over how much he already knows on them. He knows what a herbivore, meat eaters and omnivores are and which dinosaur eat what. And he knows almost all of the dinosaurs names. For science he is learning all about sound.

Art, he absolutely LOVES drawing. Everyday he sketches pictures of monsters and ghosts. And he's pretty good at it.

One night last week while we were lying in bed before he fell asleep he asked me, mommy, how long did it take for me to come out of my egg? I'm like what??????? Then it dawned on me that he thought he was hatched out of an egg like dinosaurs did.. LOL, too cute.

He's got his first loose tooth. And WON'T stop wiggling it. Another excitement for Andrew.

All in all, he's still the greatest kid in the universe.

Always trying to scare me:

His first sentence... I spoke the words out loud and he wrote what i was saying.

His first loose tooth.

Blog Has Been Made Private

2010-01-05T15:52:00.000-08:00

I have decided to make this blog private. Only those i invite will be allowed to view it. Sorry if this has made it more inconvenient for you but i feel that this blog is about Andrew and i don't know if he will appreciate strangers from around the world glimpsing into his life. So for now i think i will wait until he's old enough to make that decision on his own.. It also creeps me out that there are so many people out there that i don't even know looking at his blog..

Sandra

2010

2010-01-01T11:46:00.000-08:00

So my the time we hit the next decade Andrew will be 15yrs old. I will be 52 and Don will be 65. Yikes. That sounds so old. lol. Ewww yuck..

So today is the first day of 2010. I think we'll watch the movie 2010, how fitting.

Last night we just stayed home and had a little party, just the 3 of us.. It was good. We played games, and watched a movie.

Today we went to the ROM (royal ont museum).. It was half price today. Then we went and got Andrew's and Don's favorite fries at the chip wagon on Queen St, by Nathan Phillips Square. It was CCCCCCCCOLD out side. Brrrr. It seems like the older i get the colder it feels.. Yuck again.

Thanks for the gift (you know who you are).. You gave us a nice family day.

Anyhoo, i will post some pics from the ROM and then i'm going to watch 2010.

Happy New Years.

This is the subway stop at the museum, it's awesome.

This picture freaks me on 2 levels. One, we are looking at someone that was has been dead for over 2000 yrs and somewhat well preserved. Two, Andrew's reflexion as he looks down at him. Andrew was in front of me, that's his hand there, but his head looks like it's behind the mummies head.

A mummified cat.

An older mummified woman, she's lived about 3000 yrs ago. This is before mummification became well advanced.

I love the new addition to the ROM, they have done a fantastic job on the architect.

And then came the dinosaurs,,, I must admit, i really enjoyed seeing that exhibit.

And then Andrew bacame a paliantalist for a wee while.

And then he got knighted.

And the ROM has some of the nicest rocks and minerals i have ever seen. This was the last exhibit we went into, and by then Andrew was getting tired and cranky. I really wished i could have stayed there longer but oh well, next time i will know to go there first.

What a great start for what's going to become the best year thus far...

It's Christmas Eve

2009-12-24T18:24:00.000-08:00

(pitures will be added later)

And all through the house, not a creature is stirring not even a mouse. Well that's because the cats ate them for the pre-Christmas dinner. They wanted to share but.... Ok, let me change that... It's the night before Christmas and all through the house it's totally chaotic. The stockings are hung in our make shift wall unit. But oh how they hang so longing to be filled. Andrew's not dreaming of sugarplum but is running high on and over dose of sugar from the cookies he made for Santa, hopefully the big fat jolly guy will get at least one of them... hmmm but maybe not, cause the other guy that eats them could stand to loose a few pounds.

For all you Nay Sayers

2009-12-19T14:06:00.000-08:00

I knew it... The evidence is in :)

The whole research article can be found here.

Socialization not a Problem

But of most importance are these numbers.

When measured against the average Canadians ages 15 to 34 years old, home-educated Canadian adults ages 15 to 34 were more socially engaged (69 percent participated in organized activities at least once per week, compared with 48 percent of the comparable population). Average income for homeschoolers also was higher, but perhaps more significantly, while 11 percent of Canadians ages 15 to 34 rely on welfare, there were no cases of government support as the primary source of income for homeschoolers. Homeschoolers also were happier; 67.3 percent described themselves as very happy, compared with 43.8 percent of the comparable population. Almost all of the homeschoolers—96 percent—thought homeschooling had prepared them well for life.

Santa Claus is here in our Town

2009-12-13T12:52:00.000-08:00

And here is the proof :)

And it's that time of year that Toronto's Eaton Center displays their amazing window Christmas displays.

And free outdoor awesome concerts at Nathan Phillip Square while you skate outdoors on their illuminated rink. (Picture is crappy...)

Finishing the evening with SPECTACULAR fireworks with equally amazing music to go with it... Toronto is great.

His New Cut

2009-12-03T19:31:00.000-08:00

Here he is with his new cut... I don't like it as much :(

Christmas Pics and Hair

2009-12-02T16:47:00.001-08:00

First, Andrew cut a HUGE chunk of his hair off the other day, Don was on daddy duty while i was out. I thought i might be able to work with it but it proved to be unworkable :( ... So i had to cut it last night to make both sides look the same, i also had to cut the back of it because if not he would have had a mullet. NO THANKS. I must admit that i think i did a pretty good job fixing it and he is still as cute as ever.

Pictures, oh good grief, it's a heck of a lot easier to get pictures of my cat Reggy then it is to get of Andrew. I will post the one good pic i got of him (out of hundreds) but i do want to get another one where more of his face if showing. And the lighting is softer. This is before his new hair cut.

On the Mend

2009-11-24T15:45:00.000-08:00

Today Andrew is feeling much better :)

The other day when i was putting our folded laundry away in our bedroom Andrew decided to play dress up. This is what met my eyes when i came into the living room. He has such a great personality and is so funny at time. Almost everyday he draws me a picture or wraps present for me, it's usually a shell or rock or one of his fav toys. I hope he will always stay this way. He's growing up so fast. It makes me sad when i think that someday he will be out in that world doing his own things on his own. (Even tho he says he will never leave home). Andrew I love you so much. I am so happy you are in my life. Thanks for all the smiles you put on my face. Thanks for all of the love you have given me.

Andrew's Sick and Other Little Updates

2009-11-20T20:30:00.000-08:00

Yup, my poor little guy has been fevered all day. Not eating. And very clingy. I will take him in to one of the emergency walk in flu clinic tomorrow to see if he's got H1N1. I'm pretty sure i have been fighting with it all week, it started Tuesday morning, all day Wed, most of Thursday, today i have actually been feeling much better. And thank goodness because i don't know how i would have been able to hold him all day if i were sick like i was.

Here are some pictures from last Sunday. Because of me being so sick i couldn't get to it till today. And other random pictures from the week :)Yup, my poor little guy has been fevered all day. Not eating. And very clingy. I will take him in to one of the emergency walk in flu clinic tomorrow to see if he's got H1N1. I'm pretty sure i have been fighting with it all week, it started Tuesday morning, all day Wed, most of Thursday, today i have actually been feeling much better. And thank goodness because i don't know how i would have been able to hold him all day if i were sick like i was.

Royal Canadian Agricultural Show

How are these for size?

Now you must admit this is cute. They didn't even know eachother.

Sleeping Babe

2009-11-10T21:32:00.000-08:00

Andrew right now. He actually fell asleep at a reasonable hour tonight... Pic is bad quality because i took it from my phone.

Homeschooling Weekly Gathering

2009-11-09T15:06:00.000-08:00

This morning Don, Andrew and I were sitting at the kitchen table eating breakfast. Every Monday some of the homeschoolers in Toronto meet up at a community center. This week Don decided to join us just to see what it is all about. Andrew looked up at Don and said Daddy there are 2 categories at the meet up place. Don says oh ya, and Andrew replied, yup, one side is where all the kids play and the other side is where all the old ladies sit... I was so shocked...

Happy Halloween

2009-10-31T13:31:00.000-07:00

Wow the robot costume was a great hit. EVERYONE loved it.

Friday night Don, Andrew and i went to the Science Center for some science fun. When we got there they had all the children so up to the second floor so that they could introduce each child and their costume one at a time while going down the escalator (think red carpet)... When it came to Andrew's time to go down the announcer looked down at them and secretly told him his costume was her favorite. When he came down he received a standing ovation (the only kid that did)... I felt bad for the other kids tho :( ... Everyone there came up to him and asked me if they could take a picture of him. Andrew on the other hand was getting tired of all the attention and wanted me to take it off of him. (guess stardom is not in his future) ... But since i was the one that made it, it boosted my ego... lol

Now on to Halloween night.

He went out with his 2 friends Anika and Ethan. And once again he was getting every ones attention. And once again i felt bad for the other kids. Almost every house hold asked to take a picture of him. But i guess he was fine with that because he was getting the goods to go along with it... Many of the houses also gave him extras for having the best costume of the night.

The robot consisted of 2 boxes, 1 for the body, 1 for the head. A voice changer to make him sound like a real robot. A flashing red round light it the top of the head. 1 light inside of the head hidden at the back of this head so the inside of the looked like it lit up. Dryer vinyl duct vent for the legs and arms. Duct tape and lots of silver paint. And other do dads.

Now for the pics and LOTZ of them :) Notice that the second night (Halloween) we added more to it. Including a Pentium chip ;)

The only picture of him and i, turned out blurry.

Awesome pumpkin carvings.

My boys walking home together.

Halloween Night of totting.

Anika (Princess), Andrew and Ethan (Darth)

Pretty Princess (this is Anika's and Andrew's 4th yr totting together)

Daddy and Andrew

See the expression on that ladies face? That's what it was like all night.

Here i am getting his candies for him, near the end, it was very tiring going up and down the stairs while wearing that costume. So i gave him a little break in exchange for some of his candies ;)

Cute little Ethan

Christine, Anika, Ethan and Sue

Haha, Andrew getting tired and being taxied.

My Ex.

Gerry and Ethan and Andrew

Silly Don playing around with the kids.

Group Shots.

And it's a Canadian must thing to do after treak or treating, going to the Tim Horten's eh!

And some nice Autumn halloween pics along our journey.

Our Little Buddy

2009-10-20T18:31:00.000-07:00

We went back today...

Fever

2009-10-19T12:03:00.000-07:00

Andrew has been breaking out with a fever for 2 night in a roll now, it's got me stumped, night time fevers, but during the day he seems fine. No coughing, runny nose, sore throat. Where is Dr House when you need him?

Autumn Is Here

2009-10-19T10:51:00.000-07:00

And we went on a nature walk on Fri. One thing i noticed that i haven't before is the trees on the outside of a forest change colors before the inside. It was interesting.

This squirrel came right up to me, he was crawling on my lap and then Andrew noticed him and came running to us and scared the bejevous out of him... He did end up coming to us again later. I have a video i will post of him. Does it look like he's begging me for some food here?

It's a good thing i brought along his winter coat because he needed it.. I can't believe it's that cold out already... It's going to be a very long winter.

Time with Nannie and Grandpa

2009-10-15T21:06:00.000-07:00

On Monday was Thanksgiving, we were supposed to go to Aunt Lydia's place for dinner but like i said in my previous post we were all too sick to go. So Andrew's grandparents came over after they dropped off Alexander with some left over turkey dinner. They are so sweet and such loving parents and grandparents. They went out of their way for us. Not the first time either. Nannies sister Shirley from California was visiting Aunt Lydia's place for a week and got them to bring some books she brought with her for Andrew. One of the books are from her granddaughter, Scooby doo book,he's been getting us to read it to him ever since.

Here some picture of Andrew with his grandparents.

Happy Thanksgiving NOT

2009-10-12T13:53:00.000-07:00

We were supposed to go to Andrew's aunt's place for Thanksgiving dinner today but Don, Andrew and I have come down with a nasty virus. Sore throat, nausea, cough and general over all ickiness. So here we are stuck at home :(

On another note, Andrew is still wearing his clown outfit... He actually allowed me to wash it last night...

My Clown

2009-10-11T12:15:00.000-07:00

No this is not his Halloween costume. This is just Andrew wearing an outfit that makes him happy. Yes people look at him while wearing it outdoors, but no he does not see the stares.Yes he is pure kid!