We live in Harmony!

Rite of passage

noreply@blogger.com (Josee) — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 21:53:00 +0000

It is official, Sarah has her beginners licence. It only took 2 1/2 hours at dept of motor vehicles. What a pathetic set up for writing beginners test. But she did it and is very excited. Congrats Sarah.

Avoidance

noreply@blogger.com (Josee) — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 11:17:00 +0000

Yes, I have been avoiding blogging. Why? Because, if I blogged I would have to post about Sarah's birthday on June 12th. And if I blogged about that then I would have to come to terms with the fact that she turned 16! I cannot believe it. Now she is ready (or thinks she is ready) to drive a car. We will try and go get her beginners license this week. I know we all say how fast time goes, but this time it really has passed too quickly. She is such an amazing young woman, who has so much to offer and share with the world.

I can't believe how lucky we are to have her for our daughter.

Thank you Sarah for just being you.

Yes, another cake made by Sara Bates.

(not sure why everything is underlined and can't get rid of it)

13th Birthday weekend!

noreply@blogger.com (Josee) — Mon, 25 May 2009 11:46:00 +0000

Well, it was Connor's 13th b'day on Friday. Hard to believe. We had 5 games of hockey this weekend and a dance recital too. Here is how our weekend unfolded. I am working 7-3 on Fri, and have to drive Jeff's truck (aka: bucket of bolts) to work. Jeff takes Connor to the city for his game in the morning. After the game Connor spends the day with Bradley from his team in Halifax, and Jeff drives home and stops in Kentville to switch vehicles with me.I get off work at three and head into the city for Connor's game at 6. Jeff takes Sarah to dance class from 4-5, then chores. Connor and I head home after his game. Sat morning Sarah, Connor and I head to the city for a game at 1. Game is late starting and Connor's friend Brad gets hurt, has to go to IWK to have wrist xrayed, don't think it is broken bad sprain but will have to have it re-xrayed later in week. Connor takes a bad hit from behind and goes into boards head first, mom has a fit in the stands and yells at ref, could not help it, he is okay and back on for next shift. Connor finally gets a goal, hard to do as a defenceman, we all scream like crazy people, but they lose their third game in a row. Game done at 315, have to be in Wolfville for dance at 5. Connor was supposed to stay with Brad again, but he is at IWK, Hunter's family says he can go with them, great, we all go check in to hotel, Sarah gets ready for dance recital, we head to Wolfville and get there at 510. Dance recital cost $12 to get in, won't let you video your kids dance (cause Jeff can't go), he is driving in for Connor's next game at 640, cause I don't like him there without one of us in case he gets hurt as this checking thing is really out of control. So, they will let you order a dvd of the entire show for only $30 &*&#$$#@$ dollars. Please I know how much dvd's cost. Want a program, no problem they will sell you one for only $3. The kids are supposed to stay right till the end of the 3-4 hour show, (this is only 1/2 the show there was one in the afternoon) but I told Sarah we would leave right after her second dance as we had to go back to the city, cause Connor would be in the hotel room alone. I loved Sarah's dances, she did modern this year and did a great job. Would have been nice if I had taken a pic of her but who has time for that. Get back to city at 930, Connor not back yet as their game was late starting, ordered pizza for all for supper and it came just after he got back from another loss. Eat, shower, all in bed by 1100. Game on Sun at 930, Jeff drives up again, lose again, go to Dartmouth crossing for lunch, spend $80 at Montana's for lunch, not sure what the hell we ate for that but will never go there again, go to golf town to return a golf club, Michael's, and the shoe factory, head home. Get home at 4, call Sara to go pick up Connor's b'day cake as the family is coming for 7pm to celebrate the poor kids birthday from Fri. Cake is amazing, Connor did not want to cut it, but his cousins did. Cake not looking so good now. Today, I feel like I ma

y actually have stepped of the roller coaster except we have something again every night this week. But, when I stop and think that in 2 years Sarah will be on her way to university and in 5 years Connor will be, I think the weekend was not so bad

Connor's Family

noreply@blogger.com (Josee) — Sun, 17 May 2009 17:18:00 +0000

The baby's are about three weeks old. So cute and fast. This morning one jumped out when he was feeding them and Jeff, Connor and I spent almost two hours trying to get the baby from under the shed. Connor had to crawl right under and eventually he caught it in his hands. All are safe for now. Anyone want to buy one??

Time for a couple of recent pics

noreply@blogger.com (Josee) — Mon, 11 May 2009 13:11:00 +0000

The weirdest feeling ever!

noreply@blogger.com (Josee) — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 09:52:00 +0000

Well, we are still blending away. Tomorrow is Sarah's checkup in Halifax. It will be two weeks on Thurs. I really (REALLY) hope they put loose enough elastics on so she can can something in her mouth like pasta. This diet is getting old for her very fast. She has lost about 6lbs. Had to make a new hole in her belt because her pants were falling down. The swelling is really going down. Now she looks like someone who just got their wisdom teeth out, and the bruising is almost gone. Yesterday, Connor was harrowing (sp?) a field for Jeff. He was driving the big John Deere cab tractor. I can't believe he can drive that, but the field was flat, so he was having a blast. The weird feeling??? When I went to pick him up, Sarah came with me and I let her drive down the dirt road to the field to pick him up. He was not quite done when we got there, so I let her drive up and down a few times. Okay, so sitting in the passenger seat when your kid is in the drivers seat.....that is the weirdest feeling ever. She did really well, did not go too fast, just wanted her to get used to what the truck feels like. She was so excited, it was kind of nice to see a smile (as close as she can smile right now) on her face again. Neither one of us is ready for the open road yet, but that will come soon enough. If anyone can figure out how to slow time down a little I would love to know, cause I don't care for how quickly my two kids are growing up.

Celebrate the tiny victories!

noreply@blogger.com (Josee) — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 15:12:00 +0000

We found a way to make instant potatoes and put them in a syringe and Sarah can squirt them thru her teeth. Sound yummy! She sure thinks so right now. Poor kid she was so hungry this morning when she woke up. The scale said she was 99.4 and she is normally 105. I was starting to panic about this. She is eating them now and says her belly feels better, not so empty. I'm trying to figure out how to get my own jaw wired shut, cause I think that is really the answer.

Plugging away....should I say blending away.

noreply@blogger.com (Josee) — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 10:11:00 +0000

Do you know how limiting a liquid diet is? Especially for a kid who is not crazy about smoothies. I don't get how you can not love smoothies. Sarah says it's the bubbles?? I think she panics whenever she hears the blender. Her swelling is starting to go down and the bruises are turning green/yellow, not quite as pretty as the purple was. We went for a walk together yesterday, to try and get her some fresh air. She was tired when we got back and had a little nap. I told her that was normal, as it takes days for the anaesthetic to get out of your system. We thought of a few more things to try to drink, so I will get them this morning. I will have to get her to step on the scale, worried about how much she is losing, funny I worry about the opposite when I step on the scale. Last night we got the computerized phone call from the school saying she missed more than one class....duh...I will have to call and remind them yet again that she had surgery, don't want that call every night for two weeks.

Recovey time

noreply@blogger.com (Josee) — Sat, 18 Apr 2009 18:31:00 +0000

Well, now it is all about recovering and healing. Sarah was a trooper and came thru her surgery really well. The hardest thing I did was have to let her go to a total stranger and make her way around that corner and lose control of my daughter. We were hugging each other so tight and I know she told me at least five times in jus

t a few seconds she loved me. She had an IV where she got antibiotics and steroids (for swelling) for the first 24 hours. Morphine by needle for the first 12 hours or so and then pain is manageable with just extra strength Tylenol (liquid). The swelling and bruising is harder for her to deal with. She is embarrassed at how she looks, the first thing she said when she saw herself was that she had a double chin. She said she will make sure she is never obese because she knows now what she would look like. (like that could happen) Today I do not think she is anymore swollen than yesterday, so maybe this is the worst, they said the peak would be at 72 hrs. She had x-rays yesterday, and what a difference in the before and after, she wanted copies but they can't do that so I took pics of the screen. The xrays are the only pics she will let me pot, and I understand that. Have a look a

t the front teeth, that is where you really see the difference. Now, the real challenge of keeping her from losing too much weight while her mouth is elasticized shut for 4 weeks. Kind of freak us both out when the give you the scissors in a sterile package to carry around with you in case of and emergency to open her mouth (ie:

choking) Here's the pics.

This is the before:

Here is the after:

She is much cuter in person!

Today is the day!

noreply@blogger.com (Josee) — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 08:10:00 +0000

Today, we are on our way to Halifax for Sarah's jaw surgery. Sarah and I are both very nervous. She will be elasticized shut for four weeks. That is four weeks of liquid diet. I bought a juicer last night, so hopefully between the blender and juicer I can keep her from fading away. I wish it was me not her!

Undefeated!

noreply@blogger.com (Josee) — Sun, 08 Mar 2009 20:14:00 +0000

Connor's hockey team was in the Mainland tournament this weekend to decide who goes to Provincials for Peewee AAA. Their team went 4-0. They played great hockey. Now we have to spend three nights in Pictou next weekend. Yahoo! Life has just been busy with work, hockey, school, winter. So tired of winter. Sarah is having her jaw surgery April 16. She wants it over with and I can't blame her for that. I really do not have anything exciting to talk about so I will just post a few pics of the last ice storm.

Annie turns.............41!!!!!!!

noreply@blogger.com (Josee) — Fri, 13 Feb 2009 13:37:00 +0000

Wednesday was Annie's b'day. So Annie, Mom and I went to the city for a day of retail therapy. (Sorry Tracey, we had you there in spirit) Really Annie took the day off because she hates where she works so much. Had lots of laughs, went to Dartmouth crossing, MicMac and managed to fill a cart at Costco. Met, Rita and Patti, who Annie used to work with for lunch at East Side Mario's. Did not have to say a word cause Patti did all the talking. Here's a few pics from the day.

Blog Banner

noreply@blogger.com (Josee) — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 12:50:00 +0000

Found this blog and wondered why no one ever updates it, then remembered it was mine! Oops. The banner says "Harmony" in Chinese. Anyone know how to make the banner pic smaller so it actually fits better. I think I am still in the January fog, even though it is Feb. I will upload some pics later today and actually post.

Happy Birthday Mom!

noreply@blogger.com (Josee) — Mon, 15 Dec 2008 10:30:00 +0000

Sat was my mom's birthday. She is 61, still young! We had her up for supper and Elysia and Graham stayed over night because Annie and Mike were partying it up in Halifax. Mom's little dog Sophie kept us entertained. She gets away with way more bad stuff than we ever did. Happy Birthday Mom, you really are the BEST!

noreply@blogger.com (Josee) — Sat, 13 Dec 2008 20:57:00 +0000

This is not the only Kal art I will own, but I cannot share right now.! Here is her blog, check her out!

http:www.lovelife.typepad.com

Her work is very empowering to women.

Look what I got today!

noreply@blogger.com (Josee) — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 02:46:00 +0000

For anyone who scrapbooks, you will know who Kal is.

I love her artwork.

noreply@blogger.com (Josee) — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 17:12:00 +0000

Wanted to share a pic of Sarah and her great smile!

December 1: Love to set the table with the Christmas dishes.... To celebrate the beginning of the crazy season....I think we should eat by candle light all the time. I always wanted dishes that were just for Christmas so a couple of years ago I bought some. We use them just for December and it is so fun. This morning, Connor even lite the candles for breakfast.

Here is a link to our "Elf Dance" for 2008:

http://elfyourself.jibjab.com/view/morWNqwhMPA3Y4JxdTph

Dog Sitting

noreply@blogger.com (Josee) — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 12:12:00 +0000

We are looking after Sophie while my Mom is in BC visiting Tracey and the girls. She is a really good little dog. As you can see in the photo, her and Connor have really bonded. Don't worry Mom, I'm sure she will switch back to Montreal when you get home.

A quickie!!

noreply@blogger.com (Josee) — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 16:51:00 +0000

Tons has gone on since the first day of school, will have to try and get caught up soon. Yesterday we had about 200 Canada Geese in one of our fields. It was way cool and took tons of pictures with the new lens I got for my birthday. Here's a few photos. Heading out, later!

Grade 7!

noreply@blogger.com (Josee) — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 23:33:00 +0000

The first day of grade 7. He would only allow me to take three pictures of him. (I think it's going to start costing me money again for photos). It is hard to get a picture of him with his eyes open because as soon as he sees the camera he starts blinking at warp speed. You can see from the pics where he had a few teeth pulled this summer, to make room. You can also see how foggy it was here this morning. I took two more hours of vacation time this morning so I could be home to see my boy off. Today was my first day back to work after 22 days vacation, and man was it tough. Connor weighed his back pack, it weighed 17 pounds!

GRADE 10!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

noreply@blogger.com (Josee) — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 12:16:00 +0000

A few tears again when Sarah got on the bus this morning. She thinks I am ridiculous, but I can't help it. It is grade 10 after all. When I think I only have her home for three more years, I could start crying on the spot. I feel for you Paulette. She still has not realized what a great person she is and that she has so much to offer the world. Anyone who comes in contact with her during their lives will be better for it. (okay, so I may be a little biased). Connor does not start back till tomorrow....teachers needed an inservice today. (sorry to my teacher friends) but being the first day does look bad. Sarah did let me take these pictures, but I had to make sure I was way out of sight when the bus came. Apparently I am embarrassing. What's up with that?

She'd had enough by the time I took this one!

At the Ex!

noreply@blogger.com (Josee) — Sat, 16 Aug 2008 14:16:00 +0000

A little photo of how Jeff is enjoying the Ex........too much excitement for him..........actually, too much work for him between going back and forth to the farm and the ex.

Busy Summer

noreply@blogger.com (Josee) — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 11:47:00 +0000

Hello Blogger World. Just a quick post to let you know we are still alive and well, just have been crazy busy. This week we are at the Valley Ex in Lawrencetown. A crazy and tiring week for all. Last week my sister and her girls, Kaylie and Hannah were home. We had a great week together, but time goes buy way too fast. Tracey managed to get to a soccer game for all four of the Nova Scotia cousins. Trace, Mom and I went to Grand Pre winery for lunch, (Annie had to work), but we had a glass of wine for her. Sarah and Connor had 4H Achievement days in there too, just to keep things busy. Next time she comes home, we are taking the time off from all activities, so we can just hang and do things together. Here are some pics from her visit. I will try and get back in the swing of things next week. I am now on vacation until Sept 4 so that should allow me to get control of my life again...........I hope.

Giving it his all...........

noreply@blogger.com (Josee) — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 08:56:00 +0000

On a Sunday morning..........

noreply@blogger.com (Josee) — Sun, 06 Jul 2008 18:42:00 +0000

.............when the rest of the world is sleeping in at their cottage or going to Church, farming families are in the hayfield, making hay while the sun shines. Here are some photos of Connor driving the John Deere cab tractor with the round baler on back. It was a nice flat field so he and his father assured me it was safe. And I think the last photo says it all!