Ho Ho Ho!

As close as Ginny would get.

With the exception of the Roughrider game, we had a great weekend.  Julie and I were able to attend my Christmas party and the new sitter did great.  Even though (surprise, surprise) our middle child pulled some fast stuff at bedtime and CeCe was a bit unsettled later on, we were still able to stay out until midnight.  The supper was great and the dessert table was to die for.  The entertainment was a game show and it was fun for a while, just went on a bit too long.  That was followed by a dance and Karaoke.  I sang 'Sweet Caroline' and was waiting for my Waylon song to come when the phone rang.  CeCe was awake and not settling.  Oh well, it was good while it lasted.  We arrived home to find all quiet, the sitter rocking CeCe and trying to get her back to sleep.  Did I mention I was impressed with her?

I want a doll house...



I'll stare you down old man.



Sunday evening brought the kids' party.  The girls were beside themselves all day long.  We were barely home from church and they were asking if it was time yet.  It was held at the Fun Factory and the girls did have a blast.  There is this whole jungle gym set-up with slides, tunnels, ball pits.   Ginny turned out to be a bit short for a couple of spots.  There was this one spot where a slide came down into a ball pit and then there was this tunnel to crawl out of.  The only problem was that she couldn't get up into the tunnel.  So when I came to check on her, here she was stuck in this ball pit dead end.  Poor thing.  This meant that I had to go in though.  I managed to get through the tunnel and fish her out and gave her strict instructions not to head that way again.  "Why not?" was the response I got.  Good question.  We had supper and then Santa came.  Ginny was  having nothing to with him.  I'm proud to say we had the only child that freaked out and screamed when trying to be coerced into sitting on Santa's lap.  Even CeCe did good.  She tried to stare him down, didn't crack a smile, but there were no tears.  The gifts they got were awesome too.

  

The other day I was wearing a Tshirt with the Superman symbol on the front.  I have had the shirt for a long time, just hadn't worn it in forever.  I don't think Ginny had ever seen it.  (This is another one of those examples of how doomed I am, being the only guy in the house.)  I was trying to explain to Ginny what it was - the S for Superman.  She just didn't get it.  The next day she told me that she like my jewel shirt.  Need I say more.

Jorja has informed us that everything she knows she has learned 'from Kindergarten and commercials.'  The more time we spend in the toy aisles before Christmas the more I am inclined to believe her.  They always love to push all the buttons on everything and see what wondrous noises things make.  When something doesn't work, she says, "Batteries not included."  Later.

Christmas parties

This is the weekend of Christmas parties.  Tonight is my work party and Sunday is the kids' Christmas party put on by my employer.  Julie and I are pumped for tonight, and the girls are pumped for Sunday.  I guess when the organizers were putting this together, they didn't think Saskatchewan would be in the Grey Cup.  Now it turns out Santa is scheduled to arrive right at opening kick-off.  Oh well, we should be home by the time the first quarter is over.  We are trying a new sitter tonight, so hopefully we're not home by 7:00.  I broke the news to Jorja last night and she seemed all right with it, so we'll see.  It's also the first time we've had a sitter for all three, so here's hoping the new girl does all right.

Jorja and I were talking about Santa last night before bed.  I told her she was going to see him on Sunday and that I had been talking to him that afternoon.  I told her he came to visit me at work.  Little does she know, Santa has a day job.  Anyway, I asked her what she would tell him of he asked her what she wants for Christmas.  She said, "I want a doll house with a grey elevator."  It's good to be specific I guess.  There's no point dropping subtle hints (with men regarding presents), you may as just spell out what you want so that you're not disappointed.  Then I asked her what she would say if she had been a good girl.  She looked at me and sheepishly whispered, "What should I say Daddy?"  I told her she could probably say yes.

Ginny was awake at 6:300 this morning, and I managed to convince her that it wasn't morning yet.  By the time she was back asleep CeCe was awake and not going back.  So much for sleeping in.  Jorja is up now too, and Ginny is the only one sleeping.  How does that work?  Oh well, time to put the coffee on.  Later.

Runnin' back to Saskatoon

To be honest, I'm feeling a little bummed out today.  We were supposed to go to Tofield and visit my parents this weekend.  The added bonus to that was my brother and sister-in-law had a baby girl a couple of days ago and we would have been able to see them too.  Why are we still in Saskatoon then?  It started early Friday morning with some retching.  It appears Jorja has a stomach flu.  She threw up a bit Friday morning and didn't feel very good at all.  Given her history with throwing up, we weren't sure if it would just be the once and then she would feel fine, or if she was actually sick.  She had a nap (should have been our first clue she was sick) and then seemed a little perkier after that.  We decided we would still set out, a little later than planned.  We got to Borden and decided to turn around.  She was getting greener and greener and then she ended up with a fever last night and more throwing up during the night.  Not exactly what you want when travelling.  She seems a little better this morning - actually asked to eat something, so we'll see if that sits all right.

I wrote that first paragraph this morning, and it is now evening and since then Julie has succumbed to the same bug Jorja had.  I feel I may not be far behind either.  That's unfortunate.  I really hate throwing up.  Like really hate it.  Kids always seem so resilient - puke one minute, smile the next.  I don't know how they do it.  I guess the long and short of it is that it's a good thing we stayed home this weekend.

We had our first parent-teacher-student three way conference on Thursday.  I guess they don't just have parent-teacher interviews anymore.  It turns our our child is brilliant.  Well, maybe I'm bragging a bit, but she is doing great.  She showed us how to use the 'smart board' (apparently blackboards are out now to) and all the other stuff she can do.  There were several stations that we went through before we got to the teacher where she had little activities to do.  Pretty basic stuff - letters, numbers, shapes, colours.  Just the basic shapes and colours though - it's a wonder she doesn't get bored with some of that stuff.  She wasn't even three yet and she could tell you what a turquoise parallelogram was.  The teacher had no concerns with Jorja either, so that was good.  She was impressed by how much Jorja can read already.  Jorja loves her teacher too.  I think Kindergarten teachers are a special breed of people - how you can be that kind and loving and patient day after day is beyond me.  I had a great Kindergarten teacher and it looks like Jorja will have similar fond memories to look back onto.

I took the youngest two kids to Walmart this afternoon to get a few things.  What was I thinking on Saturday afternoon?  It was a zoo in there.  Ginny was remarkably well behaved though and we survived relatively unscathed.  I left Jorja home to look after Julie, a task which she took to heart.  Jorja was on the upswing this afternoon, so she felt confident in that role.  She is quite the little mother hen that one.  It breaks her heart when someone else in the family isn't feeling well.  She really mother Ginny when she doesn't feel well.

I guess we will be home for the Rider game tomorrow, instead of on the road like the last game.  I can get the girls to watch it on TV, but listening to it on the radio is a bit of a stretch.  Jorja and Ginny are taking quite the interest in the Roughriders this year, well as much interest as they can manage for something that isn't animated with catchy music.  At least they don't ask to turn it off.   

Work is going good, but I'm back to the day shift this week, so we'll see how everyone else fares.  Hopefully alright.  Later.

Long weekend

Our long weekend was filled with Kleenex, cough drops, Vicks, and a whole lot of snot. It all started Thursday night already. Now I was fully expecting rounds of sicknesses to come through the house after Kindergarten started, but not on the first day. I don't really think that it came from school that fast, but it is a pretty good coincidence. Poor CeCe has been doing the worst I think. It's so hard when they're that age, they lay there in bed and choke on their mucous, cough and sputter, and don't sleep well at all. She wants to suck on her soother, but then she can't breathe. It's a no win situation. She has spent a fair bit of time sleeping while being held just to keep her somewhat upright so she can breathe. Yes, it's been a restful long weekend. I think the girls are all on the upswing now (hopefully), but Julie and I are getting it now. Ah, the circle of life.

Jorja's second day of Kindergarten went better than the first. She still isn't super bubbly after, but you could tell that things went better. Hopefully she's not too sick and has to miss on the first whole week.

By Saturday afternoon, we were all getting sick of being sick and needed an outing. Jorja had a Toys 'R' Us gift certificate to use from her birthday, so we thought we would go there. Julie's brother and his wife have started doing that for the girls and they love it. It's such a thrill to go into the toy store with your own money and buy what you want. At one point, Jorja was looking at the princess dress-up dresses. They were all hanging on a circular rack, and she was standing there with one hand on her hip, head cocked to the side, and flipping through them. She could have been a teenager the way she looked. "Jorja, what are you doing?" "Just looking at dresses Dad." We are so doomed.

By the time we were done shopping, it was getting late, so we decided to go out for supper. We ended up at Boston Pizza, after a failed attempt to try Chili's. We went there, were seated, and then apparently forgotten about. Over 15 minutes we sat there without anyone coming by. So Julie wrote a note for the manger, gave it to the hostess on the way out and we went to BP's. (On a side note, the manager e-mailed, and said how sorry she was and that if we wanted to give them another try, let her know when, she would reserve a table and the meal would be on her. That was pretty cool.) So now we're at BP's, where we get drinks almost immediately. Sometimes now, we let the girls get pop for a treat, and we did on this occasion. Ginny got her drink, took a good pull on the straw, looked up with watery eyes and said, "Sprite makes me happy!" Then back for another drink.

There were several TVs visible from our table, all showing sports. There was a tennis match on one, which Jorja took an interest in. "I'm cheering for that boy," she says. Julie asks her why. "I like his outfit better." Have I mentioned yet that we are in trouble?

So yesterday and today have been pretty low-key days. We watched the Riders win yesterday (I made the girls endure it, and tried having a chat about some of the rules and player with Jorja, but to no avail. She does know who the Roughriders are though.) Here's hoping to getting some sleep tonight. Hope you all had a good weekend. Later.