Monday 29 April 2013

Happy Birthday Evie!!


Well the little lady that started it all turned seven today.  Evie our first born, our first baby is now a big ol' seven year old.  I know it's cliche to mention how fast time goes, but it's so true.  It doesn't seem like that long ago that I was preparing myself to become a father.  I was terrified.  I remember asking Lex, "What if she doesn't like me?  What if I'm just no good at being a dad?"


I remember spending quite a bit of time beside Lex, talking to her bump, telling Evie all about life on the outside.  When Evie was born, the nurses took Evie and almost immediately started doing their assessment while Lex was being tended to.  Evie was crying as they put her under the heating lamp.  I went to her, leaned down close to her, slipped my finger into her hand which she gripped, and spoke gently to her, "It's me, Daddy, the voice.  I'm here..."  She stopped crying.  I don't think I'll ever forget that moment nor how I felt.

Evie's getting big now and truly growing into her own person.  But she still needs me, from time to time, to give her a cuddle and remind her that I'm here for her.  That's something that I hope she never forgets.


Happy Birthday Sweetie Pie!




Wednesday 24 April 2013

What a wonderful weekend...BARF!!



What a week this has been!

My parents, two nephews and niece were here on the weekend.  We had Evie's Birthday party on Saturday at the Humane Society - I know, at first you're probably like, "You did what?!"  But guess what, it was awesome!!  In fact it seemed like a perfect day until about 5 o'clock or so.

That's when we had all the kids bathed and upstairs, settled in to watch Star Wars before bedtime.  The adults were chillin' in the livin' room having some tea when my nephew and niece appeared in the doorway.  Slightly puzzled at their presence I asked, "Don't you want to watch Star Wars?"  Their reply was simple and direct.

"Evie's puking."

Was she ever.  I got upstairs to find a puddle of puke nicely marinating the mattress through the sheets on the bed.  And she was just getting warmed up. She woke up pretty much every hour through the long dark night.  I grateful to see the break of dawn.  The physical manifestations of the flu subsided the next day but the illness took its toll on her.  I'd say she only started to seem her healthy self again yesterday night.

Sunday was a great day despite the previous night's drama.  My dad and I took the kids (minus Evie and Mimi who was/is teething and didn't really sleep either) to church.  Then after church Lex, my Dad and me took Mimi, my nephews and niece to Mud Lake where we met my in-laws and their kids to embark on a nature walk.  It was wonderful.

Then on Monday the flu advanced to claim my wife and I - albeit not as badly as Evie.  Nevertheless it is incredibly draining.  I missed work yesterday but went in today despite feeling like a sack of garbage.    Lex is feeling like a sack of something worse than garbage as well so it really has been quite the trying week.  I think we're on the mend but could use a decent night's sleep or two (or a month of sleep).

Oh, and our phone and internet were once again on the fritz, completely gone!!  AGAIN!!

I know our complaints are minor in the grand scheme of things.  We're pretty fortunate that our biggest issues are a nagging minor malady and sleep deprivation.  This too will pass - we'll get through it and eventually be healthy and rested again.   Perspective is important, however even with the proper perspective, we're still dog-gone tired!

This weekend I'll post some pics from the Humane Society party and the nature walk too.

For now...good night.

Friday 19 April 2013

Great Expectations (part deux)

The Americans - celebrating their well earned gold medal victory.


Earlier this week, my wife shared her excitement and subsequent disappointment over taking the girls to the World Women's Hockey Championship gold medal game.  Here is the other half of the story from my point of view.

As you know the plan was for my wife to take our two oldest girls to the game for an awesome Mommy-Daughters memory making extravaganza.  As you also know it didn't go exactly according to plan as Noli came down with a fever at the game and they had to leave.

So there I was at home spending time with Mimi our 15 month old.  It's not too often that I get time alone with Mimi and I was really looking forward to doing so throughout the day.  Plus I was especially beat this day from throwing around boxes of files all day.

Mimi and I started our Daddy-Daughter night with a nice walk during which Mimi fell asleep. While she was catching zees in the stroller never far from my reach, I tidied the driveway and then lounged on the porch and read a book until she woke up.  Upon which we went inside and played with some toys until it was bath time.  I was so reminded of the amount of time I used to spend with Evie doing similar things at the end of the day and I counted myself blessed to have this time.  We got out of the bath, got our jammies on and settled into bed with a couple of books.  I got through about half of one and that's when the difficulties started.

Mimi got cranky as she fought the slumber that so desperately wanted to overtake her.  So I tried giving her a bottle, then rocking her, then singing to her (if you were familiar with my singing voice you wouldn't be surprised that this only made her cry louder) and then finally all three at the same time.  Nothing doing.  So I got up and walked with her back and forth and still she wouldn't stop.  Finally she went and got her booties, stood at the back door, looked at me with those sad little eyes and cried.  And I got it!   I said, "Do you want to go for another walk?"  And she grunted affirmatively.  So out we went again.

After the second nice walk of the evening, I took her inside, put on a Baby Einstein video, laid on the couch with her on my chest and lo' and behold she settled in and was well on her way to dreamland.

That's when I hear someone or something at the door.  The doorknob starts to turn, I look up in horror thinking it was my in-laws stopping by to see how things were going.  Now that sounds bad I realise and I want to assure you that 99% of the time I am more than pleased to have them pop in - on this night however after spending about an hour just to get Mimi to settle down and thinking that maybe I would get to sleep early myself I was hoping ti was the wind.  But it wasn't.  So I raise index finger to my lips as the door opens and in rushes my wife...my wife?!  What?  But the game can't possible be over?  Not even half way?  What's going on?  What happened?  AHHHHH!!!!

Thankfully before I had a chance to ask even one of the many questions that were swirling around my groggy little brain in that moment, Alexis said, "Noli sick...she got a fever at the game.  Get up quick, you have to take Evie back right now!"

"Okay."  I get up, put a shirt on, shake the cobwebs from my head and run out the door to the still running car.  I look at Evie and say, "Ready babe?"  Evie anxiously nods her head and says, "Drive fast Daddy."  And did I ever...fast but safely.

We flew back to the arena ignoring the gas light that came on shortly before making it to the arena and all other nuisances.  I whip into a parking space at the far end of the lot and hop out of the car.  Evie gets out too and we start booking it to the game.  I grab Evie and throw her onto my shoulders and run as quickly as I can as Evie laughs and bounces all the way there.  We made it right at the 10 minute mark of the second period and got to watch the second half of the game.

What a game!  What a finish! And hats off to Team U.S.A. for coming onto our ice and taking that gold medal.  They deserve the win and all we can say is, "We'll get it next time...hopefully."  On the way out Evie said to me, "I had fun Daddy...but I'm a little disappointed [that Canada didn't win]."  I nodded in agreement and replied, "Me too...but we can't win 'em all.  You know, it's a good lesson.  Sometimes regardless of the effort we put in, no matter how much we want something or how hard we try for it, we don't always get the desired result. We don't always get what we want.  Doesn't mean we shouldn't do our best and try to win them all - but remember there will be times we are disappointed.  Learn from it and try again."

Evie looked at me and asked, "When's the next gold medal game?"  I told her that I thought it was next year and she replied, "Maybe we'll win that one...do you think we'll win it?"

"Maybe, I hope so," I reply.

"Me too."



Tuesday 16 April 2013

Happy (Belated) Birthday and Anniversary!!

I have a confession.  It was my Mom's birthday and my parents' anniversary last Friday and I didn't even acknowledge it in this spot.  Rest assured I remembered, sent flowers and called on their special day.  However I failed to write something here.

My Mom is an amazing woman.  Now I know many of you probably think the same thing, perhaps about your moms too.  But let me tell you why I think so.  Growing up my mom was on of my heroes and still an inspiration to me.  When I was in grade 5 or so, she went back to school to pursue a career in nursing, a dream of hers.  And she did it.  She did it while taking care of three kids and a household. Now no doubt my Dad was integral in supporting and enabling this endeavour and should not be overlooked.  But the determination and courage that my Mom demonstrated in setting a goal, pursuing and achieving it is something that was formative for me and still inspires me.  I think it is because of her example that I still have faith that I can accomplish some of my as of yet unrealised dreams.

Beyond that she is an excellent Mom and Mummu to my kids and we love her dearly.

And my parent's marriage - well, as the above example demonstrates, they make one heck of a team.  They have always put family first and instilled that sense of duty for family - even when pursuing dreams the family's the priority.  Their example of marital union and parenthood is truly a gift that I cherish and one that I hope I can pass down to my kids and grandkids.

So Happy Birthday to my Mommy!   I love you <----------------------------------------------------------------------------------> this much!!

And Happy Anniversary!!  Here's to many more!

And as my Mom's example above proves, this might be late, but it's never too late.


Sunday 14 April 2013

Great Expectations (a Mamma blog)

Ryan has graciously let me have a crack at telling the night our family had a few days ago, as we thought it worked better as told in the first person.

We had decided to finish off our great women's hockey extravaganza season with tickets for myself and the two older girls to the World Women's Hockey Championship gold medal game.   I would be bringing them to the Scotia Bank Place without the baby (a big deal for weird attachment parents like me). My excitement was brewing about our upcoming event. I just knew it would be the most perfect memory building night that would absolutely be talked about for decades and decades. My grandchildren would know how wonderful this night went, thats how epic it was going to be!

I set out with the girls and bravely waved goodbye to the baby who obviously could not care less about being left behind despite my ridiculous repetitive goodbyes and "last nummies" for the evening.  I was off onto the highway and soon enough was turning into the parking lot and making our way into the stadium with the hordes of fellow fans. We found our seats way up in the rafters easily and settled into what I thought would be a great exciting game.

I had noticed earlier in the day that Noli our middlest had a bit of the sniffles, but as we have had every illness apart from the plague this year I did not think much of it, and she seemed to be enjoying herself. The game started and it was truly a great treat to see Hayley Wickenheiser skate around with the Canadians. I have admired her since I was a young girl.

I looked over to Noli and noticed she was looking a little bit pale and sort of sleepy. Okay I thought to myself, it's late, she's little and maybe a little chilly, no big deal, she's going to be fine. A few more minutes pass and I check Noli again near the middle of the first period. Noli now has an obvious fever developing. Alright, a small fever but not an emergency, she can probably hang on until the game is over (I'm not sure I believed this but that's what I told myself). Towards the end of the first period Noli's fever starts to feel pretty high...then still higher. Hmmm, I say to myself, what now?

I asked Evie who was having the time of her life and could not care less at this present time if Noli was on fire, if she would be very upset if we have to leave early. Immediate panic comes over Evie's face "I can't leave without seeing the medals!" She says this as a fact like she literally cannot leave without seeing the medals, or she will explode.

Just as the Canadian team scored the first goal I convince Evie that if we leave fast and drive Noli home she can come straight back and watch the rest of the game with Daddy. I pick up both kids and drag them out of the arena and race to the car. I speed back to our house (just 15 minutes away) and carry Noli inside. I quickly explain the situation to Ryan and he hops back into the car, still running, and back to the game. Luckily for Evie they got to see most of the game and of course the medals.

We do not have a TV so I listened to the rest of the game on the radio with my sick little Noli. Sadly the Canadians did not win gold, but it seemed a fitting end to a very imperfect night. And although my plans of being the world's best and coolest mom came crashing down (as they often do) I think I did the right thing in the end, even if it makes one or all of my kids think I'm lame. I am happy to fulfill that role when necessary.

Evie in her glory just before the game.

Noli feeling good...for now.

I'm just chillin'.  

And so it begins!

Making memories!

Noli still feeling okay.

Uh oh..."I don't feel so good."

Going down hill. 

"Houston, we've got a problem."

Noli had enough.

The game must go on.




Sunday 7 April 2013

Ode to Women's Hockey

 Well we had quite the exciting weekend of hockey.  We were able to take in 3 games this weekend and we thoroughly enjoyed the experience.  In fact we enjoyed it so much that we got the girls tickets to the gold medal game on Tuesday night.  After the Suomi (Finland) vs. Canada game on Friday night drew a record (and boisterous crowd) on Friday night, I would expect the arena to be electric for the gold medal game.  That's assuming the Canadians take care of business against the Russians tomorrow night.

I'm pretty excited for the girls and my wife who is planning on taking the girls - that is assuming Mimi our youngest is sufficiently recovered from her bout with an ear infection which has turned her into a bit of a Mommy-suck this week.  I'm especially excited for my wife who played hockey competitively right through her college years.  It'll be nice for her to have a chance to see the best women hockey players in the world do their thing.  Here's hoping Hayley Wickenheiser is healthy enough to play - that'd be a real treat as I've heard time and again how she's pretty well the greatest women's hockey player ever.  It'd be akin to the time I got to watch Brett Favre play  in Lambeau in 2004 when I thought he was on the verge of retirement.  Of course now I know that I actually had years left to see him play...


In the other semi-final game tomorrow Finland gets another shot to try to knock off the Americans.  They'll be in for some tough sleddin'.  As the son of a Finlander (my mom was born in Alajarvi and spent her first 9 years there) I can't help but cheer for the Finns (I even wore my Teemu Selanne Finnish national jersey to the Canadian game).  However I acknowledge they have an up-hill battle.  One thing seemed to clear to me as I watched the two European teams battle against our North American women.  Team Canada and team U.S.A. just seemed
a step ahead of their European counter-parts.  This is not to knock individual skill or athletic levels - to be sure they are all elite athletes.  Nor do I think it is a matter of heart or effort.  As a team though, the North Americans were simply more aggressive when it came to taking shots on net.  I felt bad for the Finnish and Swiss goalies.  They were outshot something like 3:1 and 6:1 respectively.




Now I know from talking to my brother-in-law, who was a stand-out goalie for the Royal Military College back in his day, that it sometimes pays to be patient, move the puck around and wait for the right shot - like on a power play.  But when that's not working and when the dump and chase strategy fails to yield quality or quantity shots, I say let 'em rip.  Take the shot and crash the net - hope for a rebound, a loose puck or a funny bounce.  Give the puck a chance to get in the net.  Often it is the shots that you do not take that you end up regretting.  The shots you do take, well...while they may not be perfect and the results may be unpredictable just steel your mind to the fact that you can and will deal with the consequences.

To be sure I'm no hockey expert (nor even a player) and my style of play (if I have a style of play) is gritty, messy and probably unorthodox.  So I'm not one to be dishing out advice as if I know.  So take my observations with a pound of salt.

I do hope the Finns can pull off an upset and I'll tell you why - because it goes beyond patriotic pride in my mother's land.  I understand that there was debate regarding the future of women's hockey in the  Olympics due to the lack of competition. That honestly is the dumbest thing the Olympic committee could do.  What incentive would these women and      the thousands of girls playing hockey have to get better if there isn't something shoot for?  These women are elite athletes and deserve to have a stage to compete on.

Admittedly, there is presently a noticeable gap in the competition but this is still a young sport and I have no doubt that the other nations will narrow that gap and eventually close it altogether.  If the Finns could make it to the gold medal game then perhaps that would be an indicator that competition is alive and well and still developing.  What if the Finns do make the gold medal game?  Well I love the underdog story and would be ecstatic if they won, I just can't bring myself to cheer against our women, on home ice no less (which is why I can't hope for the Russians to make it to the gold medal game).  I do think it'd be amazing for the game of hockey if the Finns surprised everyone by making it past the Americans and then beating clearly the best players in the world in their own backyard, thought that would certainly sting as a proud Canadian.
The lack of competition argument could really be used to nullify the whole point of the Olympics on a macro-level.  Do you realise that since 2000, the top three countries in regards to total medals won has always been U.S.A., China and Germany?  And since 1998 (when women's hockey was first included in the Olympics) the top team country has always been Germany or the U.S.A. with these countries being 1-2 for the past three Olympics!?  But no one's saying we should do away with the Olympics (well maybe they are but those people cite more eco-political reasons I believe - like the gross commercialisation of the games) because that'd just be crazy!!

I digress...I love women and I dig hockey - more specifically I love my lil' women who like hockey, and I now love women's hockey.   I'm looking forward to watching the game grow and my girls along with it.


Keep your stick on the ice!

Wednesday 3 April 2013

Los geht's Deutschland, kämpfen und siegen!

              
 

This past weekend Evie had the privilege of skating with Germany's women's national hockey team.  Team Germany is in town for the Women's World Hockey Championship and made accommodations to provide an extraordinary experience for a number of local girls hockey teams.  Prior to an exhibition game between the Carleton Ravens and Team Germany the local teams got to play a game against another local team before skating with the women's teams, watching them warm-up from their benches, and then taking part in the opening ceremony and puck drop.  The girls were ecstatic.



I think it's awesome for Evie to get to see and experience this on so many levels.  First it's just a fantastic memory for her.  It was fun and exciting and even if she never plays another minute of hockey she will have that memory.




It is also a great way to expand her horizons in an aspirational sense and geographically.  I want to provide my girls with examples of strong women besides their mother (aunts and grandmas) demonstrating what they can accomplish if they so choose.  I don't want them to fall into a trap of thinking that all that's possible is only what can be seen in their immediate surroundings.  I'd like them to dream big (not necessarily in hockey) and think outside of conventionality, then work to achieve their dreams.



I also want my girls to have an idea of what lies beyond the borders of Canada.  Evie is becoming more aware and knowledgeable about other countries.  She knows her Mummu is from Finland which is across the ocean.  She knows mommy's best friend lives in London, England, which is also across the ocean.  And she knows that her favourite dog, the German Shepherd has its origins in Germany.  Now she has a deeper, more meaningful connection with Germany that goes beyond head knowledge.  The wonderful ambassadors that were the women's hockey team have given such a positive perception of Germany to the young hockey players.  I believe the girls will hang onto that memory and perception for years to come.



My girls were so excited to raise their German flags at the game and Noli was so proud that the German team took time to wave and say, "Hi" to her before the game as she walked through the lobby with the flag waving (we were there pretty early so we got to see the team warming-up outside).  They asked me to take them to see another German hockey game - alas we already got our tickets to see Finland vs. Canada (which they're equally excited to see).

It's safe to say that team Germany has gained at least five new fans this past weekend and we will be cheering you on during the Women's World Hockey Championship (along with team Canada and Finland).

So to Team Germany I say a big thank you - Danke!!  

Steh auf, wenn du fur Deutschland bist!!






Monday 1 April 2013

One Sappy Post



Up at six each morning checking the sap buckets.
Now that's sappy.




Collecting the sap.




MMMmaple Syrup!


My nephew - involved in the process from sap to syrup.

Like father...
like daughter.
                      


Noli and Mimi hitching a ride on the Ma and Pop express.


Just chillin'.  






Jason teaching Evie the finer points of  cattail fighting.


Bedtime ... finally.