Nine

That's how old my baby boy is.

And it boggles my mind.

Time has gone by sooo fast.

For his birthday he decided he wanted to have a movie day,

and watch movies all day.

:)

This was absolutely okay with Mommy.

Sounded awesome in fact.

So, we had a lazy movie watching day.

(Well, besides cooking all the meals, baking a cake, doing dishes, feeding animals... but you get the picture.)

And no, I did not get dressed all day.

Love those days.

So, tradition in our family is the Birthday kid gets to pick his favourite supper meal.

Nate's pick?

Spaghetti with meatballs.

He made it clear,

"Not meat in the sauce Mom, but meat BALLS.  Balls of meat."

And dessert?

Chocolate cake with chocolate icing.

I said I could make a caesar salad to go with the meal.

He looked at me like I had two heads.

"Salad?  I don't want salad!"

Okay then.

For those of you who don't know my Dad,

this meal would be his pick exactly.

Same.

Genetics are a funny thing.

So here he is,

enjoying his special meal.

This is actually half of what he usually eats.

But we had a lot of snacks with the movie.

He ate a whole bag of chips.

Present time!

Card from Grandma and Grandpa.

"Now I can buy some more Lego!"

And then his present from the family.

Please don't judge me on the wrapping paper.

I was out.

I asked him if I could wrap it in a garbage bag.

His response?

"I don't care, as long as I get to rip it."

Rip on, man.

Rip on.

Ripping was actually harder than he thought it was going to be....

Uuhhhhhh.....

Finally got it open.

Remote control Transformer.

It transforms by remote too.

The deal of the century.

Stopped in with Mom at Canadian Tire just after Christmas,

'cause she was getting something.

I wasn't shopping,

I was broke.

Saw this,

Regularly $86 on clearance for $24.

Seriously!?

And I nearly didn't get it,

'cause as I said before I was broke.

But I did get it.....

And I'm so happy I did.

'Cause it made him so happy.

He loves it.

Way more than his face shows in this pic.

Ava enjoyed the meal too.

That's chocolate in her neck.

Not dirt.

Trying it out.

He's already killed the batteries.....

They lasted one day, at least.

CAKE!

Of all my kids,

he's the most like his Dad.

In looks and personality.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY NATHAN!

Don't tell anyone,

but you're my favourite 9 yr. old boy.

In other news.....

My kids are funny.

They were having a conversation at lunch time about the human body.

I hear Quin say,

"There's a muscle in your chest that helps you breathe, called a diagram."

Close.

Emma bounced into the kitchen while I was cooking supper.

(Sidenote.  The child never walks.  She skips, hops, cartwheels, anything but walk.)

She's says,

"Mom, how did you learn to speak Aladdin?"

"What?"

"How did you learn Aladdin?"

I look blankly at her, trying to fathom what she is talking about, and drawing a total blank.

I can't even say anything, 'cause my brain is working too hard.

She must have noticed the smoke coming out my ears,

'cause she clarified.

"You know, you're e-mail.  It's in Aladdin."

Well, I laugh so hard I cry,

with her laughing right along,

and explain, "No honey.  It's in Latin.  LA-TIN."

Quinlan also told me today that a song was "Groovy."

Groovy?

"Yeah.  I like it.  It's groovy."

Oooookay.

Final story.

Nathan.

Comes down from bed,

leans on my,

I tell him to go back to bed.

(Nice, eh?)

He says,

"My nose is stuffy and it's bugging me."

I tell him he'll be fine, and to go to sleep.

Next he says,

"Mom, is nail polish remover poisonous?"

"Well, not really.  But yeah, I guess."

(Nothing like clarity.)

"Like if you drink it you'll die?"

"Well, yes. You would certainly get sick."

He's sniffing and awfully quiet and morose.

"Mom, Emma got into the nail polish remover today."

I look him in his eye and say,

"Nate, did you DRINK the nail polish remover?!"

Tears well up in his eyes.

"No, but some splashed up my nose, and now it's all stuffy and I can't breathe!"

And I realize he's worrying about that nail polish remover.

Guilt, it eats away at a person...

I explained that he was fine, it wasn't going to hurt him, and a good sleep would help him feel fine.

We had an impromptu dance meet after supper.

All of us, dancin' around, acting crazy.

Laughing, squealing, kids eyes shining in pure joy as we shook our booty's.

It was fun.

And I was reminded again how huge my dog is.

He was excited 'cause we were acting crazy,

so the kids said,

"Dance with Cyrus!"

So I grabbed his two front feet to dance with him.....

and I was looking directly into his eyes.

That dog is as tall as me.

Freaky.

Here's the link to the playlist we were dancing too...

it's pretty good.

At first Emma thought it was "lame",

but it grew on her.

It's mostly classic rock.

Actually pretty good.

Have a listen.

It's "Groovy."

http://www.playlist.com/playlist/20750395147

My day in song

Music below

Sittin' in the morning sun,

I'll be sittin' when the evening come.

Watching the children swim,

and I'll watch them go back home again...

I'm sittin' at the YMCA,

watching the daaaay melt away.

I'm just sittin' at the YMCA

wastin' time.

I left my home in Walton,

headed for the Goderich Bay

'Cause I have a daughter in dance,

and I had to give her the chance.

So, I'm just gonna sit at the YMCA

watching the daaaay melt away.

I'm just sittin' at the YMCA

wastin' time.

Looks like nothings gonna change,

everything still remains the same.

I gotta do,

what Dance Teacher tells me to do,

So I guess I'll not complain.

Sittin' here resting my bones,

and this boredom won't leave me alone,

2,000 miles I roam,

just to make this Y my home,

I'm sittin' at the YMCA,

watching the daaaay melt away.

I'm just sittin' at the YMCA

wastin' time.

Some pics from the day...

Whew.

So.

Today was a different day.

First of all, we totally played hookie.

Well, not totally....

We were invited to go to Granny's house and watch a movie,

about the greatest race-horse that ever lived,

(Secretariat)

and so we had a very busy morning getting chores and school done.

But we did it in time,

and spent a wonderful lazy afternoon watching a movie.

About the greatest racehorse that has ever been.

I console myself with the fact that it was a true story....

set in the 70's, so that's history, right?

Then it was a rush to get to hockey.

And, got a phone call that Dad wanted to take the boys to the Culliton game.

See, we live not to far from Stratford,

home of the Stratford Cullitons,

Junior B team,

and most of the hockey players from our area that have gone to play for the NHL have played for the Cullitons first.

It's where my boys hope to be someday.

Quins got 5 years.

Anyway,

it was a last minute decision that I would go too.

One of the rare times I had supper cooking at home, to be ready when hockey was done,

and I had to speed home and shut it off so I could make it to the game! 

And thanks to Linda, who watched the girls on very short notice,

and is now sleeping in a peed bed,

thanks to my youngest curly haired daughter!

Aunts are awesome.

Anyway.

So I went too.

And I fulfilled my role as photographer of the event.

Two happy boys.

Hockey and no sisters.

See, we have a connection on the Cullitons.

This guy, standing against the boards.

He played soccer this year with Daddy,

and he's our neighbour.

Go Cullitons!

The goalie Daddy knew as well.

He worked for the family,

constructing barns.

Nate, enjoying the game.

Cullitons, up 1-0!

Second intermission,

bumping gloves with the players.

Happy boys.

You might wanna cosy up to my boys,

'cause look what their Daddy has a chance at....

notice..... 13 people!

So, between the 2nd and 3rd,

the zamboni broke down.

Of course.

'Cause my girls need to be picked up,

and we have a crazy busy day tomorrow...

So I took pictures while we waited.

A very long time.

I originally thought it was half an hour,

but it may have been more.

The very old Aldman Arena,

where the Cullitons still have their games.

Here you can see where the Zamboni hit, and where it missed.

Quin.

Having some Sprite.

He had to pee like twice during the 3rd.

Poor kid has his Momma's bladder.

"Thanks Dad for the Birthday present."

"Now gimme some of your drink!"

Almost 9.

Can't believe it.

When Nathan hit's Pewee...

a montage.

Wha??!

"Ooooh.  Nathan, you're silly."

Yes, he is.

Bring on the hockey!!!

We waited so long for the Zamboni,

I took pictures of my boots.

Yes I did,

And finally,

the Zamboni appeared!!!

Loudest the crowd cheered all night!

This is a crappy pic,

but I had to show you.

This dude was rockin' it out in the stands.

Totally guitar hero-ing it.

To  "Enter Sandman."

Metallica.

Hil-ar-ious.

This chick was across the arena,

and was dancing back as hard as she could.

Quin was taking the downtime to read,

as per usual.

See who he found?

Our Neighbour!

One of the best defense-men  that played.

 How'd the game go?

Well, this happened late in the third.....

(Cullitons two men down)

And they ended up losing 3-1.

Most of the players stomped off to the change room without stopping for the kids lined up.

And I can understand.

They lost.

That makes boys crabby.

But this guy stopped.

The Captain.

He signed stuff for the little guys.

I thought that was a class act.

 \

Only other guy who stopped was our neighbour.

He even agreed to a pic.

All in all a memorable night for my soon to be 9 yr old!

And now my fire is going,

and I am going to bed.

Goodnight.

D-man

Every Thursday I get company.

A wee little man.

My nephew,

who's a year and a half.

His official name is Deklan,

but he gets Duckie, Duck-man, D-man, L'il man, and I call him Monkey as well.

Poor guy.

He is so incredibly fun.

It's hard to have a bad day when he is here.

He makes me miss my little boys.... who are all grown up.

He loves the big boys, dogs, being outside.

He likes sticks, pencils, and pulling out anything that's in.

Such as pots, silverware, books, papers, etc...

He likes dancing, and shakes his booty like nobody's business.

He's really very easy to care for.

Not a needy child.

You can tell his parents love him very much, and he feels secure.

He cuddles in the morning,

when I sit in my chair by the fire and read my Bible,

and he cuddles after lunch.

Other than that he's off playing, having a blast.

He can be a picky eater, but he LOVES baked goods.

He hates getting dressed.

He kills me, because he wants it over as fast as possible, and shoves his arms in the holes, and pushes his feet through his pants, and holds his feet out for socks.  He could basically dress himself, although he probably wouldn't take the time to do it.

It amazes me how much I love my nieces and nephews.

All of them.

It's cool that you can give so much love,

but instead of diminishing, love just grows.

There's always more.

Anyway,

I did try to take some pics of Duck-man,

but my camera does not like the indoors,

even in the day time.

None of them turned out.

But you can go here,

to his Mother's blog,

where he is featured quite prominently.

And that's it for today.

Oh, except I lost my finger brace.

And can you guess who this is?

Poor girl.

She's got her Momma's wild and crazy hair.

Okay

Dad?

I may be a little too real here sometimes,

but I would NEVER post a picture of my dogs parts on my blog.

But, you're other guess was correct.

YOGRYNCH WINS!!

Mystery picture is of my finger...

gross, eh?

And another thing, Dad.

Why do you only comment on my blog when there is a competition?

Even if only for bragging rights?

You only ever comment if there is a chance to WIN!!

Maybe that's where I get my competitiveness from, hmmmm?

Ok.

Funny story.

The other night,

when it was -29,

the kids and I sat under blankets on the couch and watched Tranformers 2.

That's not the funny part.

After tucking them in I bundles up, and headed out to the barn.

Stepped outside 

and heard

Tranformers!

Seriously, dude.

There was that humming buzzing electric metallic sound every where.

I tell myself I'm crazy, and continue out to the barn.....

Get there, and there is more than one "voice."  

It's coming from different directions,

some low pitch, some high pitch.

I try to tell myself it's nothing,

but Pax is spooked.

He hears it too.

He's flighty, and nervous, and won't even settle down to eat his grain, till I shut the barn doors.

I say, "Let it be Optimus Prime, or Bumble Bee.  Please not Megatron.  Or The Fallen!!!"

Pax is still very jumpy, and I try to settle him down,

even though I'm imagining an alien robot invasion.

Finally, I get brave enough to head for the house.

Cyrus is waiting for me, and he doesn't seem too upset.

And, I figure if there was an alien invasion going on, he's be upset.

So, I take the time to investigate.

You know what it was?

Every electrical wire was humming.

The electric fence was a higher pitched buzzing,

the wires at the road were deep almost throbbing, and very loud,

and the ones going to the house were humming, also loud.

So very weird.

So I looked up to try to find out what effect extreme cold has on wires,

but all I found was information on how to wire for extreme cold.

Any one else know?

It was loud, and I'd never heard it before.

Loud and weird enough to spook my horse.

Please assure me it wasn't an alien robot invasion....

And in recent news with Ava:

While sitting on the toilet (her, not me) , she had this conversation with me.

"Mom, tan we do (o as in go) to a tampfire and do(same o as in go) swimmin?" 

"You mean go camping at Auntie Adeena's?"

"Yes.  Please, please, please?"

"Well Ava, it's pretty cold outside.  There's lots of snow.  We'd freeze."

"Well, we tould pour water on da snow, and it will do (again, o as in go) away."

" But the water would just turn to ice.  'Cause it's so cold."

She looks at me, brushes her hand in a dismissive gesture, and says,

"Dat's no problem.  We tan slide on our bellies."

A problem solver, that's what she is.

In other news,

the deep freeze is finally over.

Heading out to do chores today it was a balmy -9

and I actually said to myself,

"It's warm today!"

It actually heated up to -3, and I was ready to break out the shorts.

Almost.

Tonight there is a LOW of -9.

Hallelujah.

Only a couple more weeks till spring.