Wednesday, February 26th, 2003
It's been 2 months and I missed the anniversary of my page!!!
I just cannot believe that it has been more than 2 months since I last updated! Time just flies by these days. I had a few weeks there where I was ready to just give it all up! We’re still a bit in crazy world, but it’s slowing coming to an end. Come April we’ll have a bit of a break.
Let’s see…Christmas was nice. The kids were absolutely SPOILED
rotten. I’m finding it increasingly
difficult to keep the whole Santa Claus myth going. Kelsey has started to question, but when it comes right down to
it she still believes. Tyler just
doesn’t even question. I guess I’m not
much on Christmas spirit because several times over the holidays I wanted to
just spout out “I AM Santa! So behave or you’ll get nothing!” Heehee.
I have to admit though, hearing them running around in the morning was
absolutely priceless – they were so excited. We bought them a 6 ft air hockey
table and set it up thinking they could amuse themselves until we got out of
bed. I think it was 5 am and they were
playing Air Hockey – who knew it was so loud?
We all had a full week off over the holidays so it was quite enjoyable.
On January 8th, we welcomed a new member to our extended family. Ethan James Flanagan arrived a whole lot bigger than any of us guessed. (We thought maybe 7 lbs tops and he turned in 9lbs4.5oz!) Colin and Lisa are the proud parents. Ethan and I have already chatted about how I’m going to be his favourite Aunt. (Sorry Tania and Laura) Tony and I went to visit Ethan and Mommy in the hospital and we were quite taken with him. I’ve only had one other opportunity to spend time with him, but he really is sweet. I look forward to watching him grow.
So here’s a play by play on each of us,
starting with the youngest…
For the winter season Tyler is continuing with
hockey and has started a new round of swimming lessons. He is afraid of the water and I think it’s
going to be a while for him in Level 4.
His fear gets the better of him.
He won’t go where he can’t touch, even though he can actually swim. It would help if we could find the time to
take the kids to public swimming.
Hockey is coming to a close. In fact tonight is possibly their last
game. We’re in the playoffs and tonight
is a do or die game for us. If they
lose, we’re done for the season. If
they win, we have at least another 5 games.
I don’t think it matters much to Ty; he’s pretty ready to be done. He likes hockey but I think a break will do
him good. He hasn’t had a break from it
since he started in 2001 since he played summer hockey last year. This year he would like to play lacrosse –
interesting choice – and soccer again.
No rest for the wicked this summer.
In school he is doing ok. He gets decent marks and stays pretty much
out of trouble. Lately he’s been a bit
reluctant to do homework, which scares me because we have had SO much trouble
with Kelsey and school that I can’t bear the thought of doing it with both of
them. J
He’s growing – as kids will do – matching
Kelsey centimetre to centimetre. He’s
such a broad kid. People are always
telling me how big he is but the reality is he’s pretty much average
height. Many of the girls in his class
are taller than he is. He’s missing a
few dozen teeth – or so it seems – so he’s looking pretty funny these days.
Kelsey is continuing with her drama lessons,
although she hasn’t been able to go for the last two weeks. She really enjoys that, but I’m still trying
to find something that she will be passionate about. She’s quite the spirited little thing and we are going to have
BIG problems with her in the coming years if we don’t find something to keep
her grounded. She is also taking
swimming lessons, which she really likes.
She’s doing pretty well and will (finally) jump off the diving board and
swim in the deep end. They have to do
the front crawl in this level and she’s struggling with that, but she puts a
pretty good effort in overall.
She had to do a speech this year. Her subject: Why hockey stinks.
Always the drama queen! It’s was
actually fairly well done and as a former “little hockey sister”, I can
appreciate where she is coming from. I
can also appreciate that it was great fun to complain about having to go to
hockey, but I actually liked it…and so does she. She doesn’t watch the games, but she gets free reign of the
community centre and there are 5 or 6 other sisters her age so I think it’s a
pretty good deal.
Like Tyler, Kelsey is missing pretty much all
of her teeth. A couple of weeks ago she
lost 4 teeth in 2 days. It was actually
kind of disgusting – teeth falling out everywhere! Heehee. At least hers are
pretty much molars now so she doesn’t have gaping holes when she smiles.
School is a never-ending battle with
Kelsey. She goes in spurts. I’m convinced her hormones are kicking in
and wreaking havoc. Sometimes she’s as
sweet as pie, sometimes she’s fragile and other times she’s just
miserable! Take Monday for example. She got caught passing notes in class and
her punishment was to write a “Think Page”.
A Think Page is a sheet designed by her school that kids have to fill in
when they get in trouble. It forces
them to identify what they did wrong, whom it hurt and what they could do
differently in the future. For “what can you do differently”, Kelsey wrote
“I could stop passing notes in class, but I WON’T. (Among other gems). When her teacher read it, she asked Kelsey
to redo it. Kelsey took another paper
and wrote…exactly the same thing. Then
she proceeded to tell her teacher that she wasn’t bringing it (or the math test
that she got 4 out of 16 on) home to us and that her teacher couldn’t make
her. OH…MY…GOD!!! I can’t even begin to tell you how a) angry;
b) embarrassed; c) flabbergast; d) exasperated I was! What to do, what to do?
She is very interested in French Immersion. In our school board it’s called Extended French and it starts in
Grade 5. We’re in the process of
applying but she needs approval from her teachers and at this point I’m not
entirely convinced they are going to think it’s a good idea. They warn that the children in the program
have to be well organized and motivated – not Kelsey’s strengths, but she still
really wants to do it and I, of course, am a big proponent of learning a second
language. I guess we’ll see how it
works. Worst case, if she gets in and
isn’t cutting it, she goes back to her old school. Kelsey only began having trouble when we moved to Mississauga –
maybe a new school and a fresh start will do her good?
I worry about Kelsey. She’s beautiful and smart and witty and pensive and insightful,
but she doesn’t care about anything.
I really worry that she’ll be impossible to keep on the straight and
narrow. She’s forever testing her
limits and often goes just a bit too far.
Because she doesn’t have any particular desires, she is very difficult
to reward and even more difficult to punish.
She’s unlike any child I know.
Here is a bit from Kelsey in response to her father’s “bad behaviour” –
a result of day 2 of quitting smoking.
He was very ill tempered all morning and had just got out the car
muttering about something stupid and as he got out I sighed. She says – and I quote -, “Well Mom, if you
look on the positive side of things, I guess it’s better to have a grouchy Dad
than a dead Dad. I guess it’s worth
being patient for a little while.” What
9-year old thinks like that?
Tony
Tony is still working at Pumptronics.
I think it’s wearing on him a bit these days, but that’s pretty typical
for Tony in February. It’s always been
a tough time of year for him. Maybe
it’s the Vitamin D deficiency. J He’s sticking it out though. Still playing hockey and though it pains me
GREATLY to say it, he’s a better hockey player than I am. He might not look as pretty doing it, but he
gets the job done. (Oh, the pain!! My ego...it’s dissipating!)
Over Christmas, Tony had “one last surgery” on his ankle. It was outpatient, quick and easy. They took all the screws and plates
out. It seems to be much better. He has a lot more flexibility and a lot less
pain. I won’t say back to normal, but a
whole lot better than it was. After 3 surgeries using the same incision site,
it’s pretty ugly looking though! I
suppose given time it will eventually heal.
Not much else to tell – Tony holds the fort at this time of year as I
have a million and one things going on so he doesn’t get a lot of time for
himself.
ME
WOW, I need to do this more often – it’s turning into a novel! Well this is arguably the craziest time of
year for me. I’m working 2 nights a
week for Weight Watchers. I’m skating once
a week; hockey once a week; coaching twice a week and judging practically every
weekend. It’s nuts. I thought I was going to lose it a few weeks
ago. The problem is that I really enjoy
everything that I do and I don’t know what to give up! Skating is done at the end of March so is my
hockey. The coaching could be done
tonight –see Tyler above – and the judging is pretty much done now too. I should have some time to breathe for a
bit. I’m not volunteering with ANY
sports this summer, so I just have to worry about WW and being a parent/taxi
driver.
Hockey and coaching is going well.
I enjoy the hockey. I finally
learned how to raise the puck, which was a big accomplishment for me since half
my little guys can do it. J I still sort of suck though. Hehe. The
coaching experience has been extremely rewarding. Our guys have improved SO much over the year. I’m so proud of them! It would be really nice if they won tonight
and made it the round robin part of the finals! I’ll be cheering loudly from the bench tonight for sure! I will miss my hockey players!
I tried 2 dance tests at the end of January –and failed them both. Boy was I TICKED! It never really occurred to me that I might not pass. I just assumed that I would. Turns out the Evaluator and I disagreed.
*Grin* According to him, both dances required more “Attack and expression” to
pass. So now I’m back to practice –
working on speed and power and a bit of attitude. Swallowing the bitter pill of my ego took a bit of work but now
I’m looking forward to trying them again at the end of March.
I finished my Juvenile promotion for judging pairs and singles – very
excited about that! I know that means
nothing to most of you, but it represents a year of sitting in cold arenas
watching umpteen little kids toe pick around the ice. Even though it’s time
consuming, I like the judging. I would
like to get out and do some evaluating but so far haven’t found the time. (judging versus evaluating is competition
versus tests)
Weight Watchers is fine. I work
two nights a week and I’ve gone back to my own class as a member – with the
aerobics afterwards. I was hoping it
would help get me motivated to get rid of the 10 lbs I accumulated over the
year, but so far I haven’t had much luck.
I know what to do and how to do it; it’s just actually DOING it that
seems to be the problem. At least I’m
maintaining.
Probably the biggest news…I started a new job in February. It’s with a company called AstraZeneca. It’s closer to home and it’s unlike any company I’ve ever worked
for. First of all there are over 900
employees at the site I work at and over 1400 in Canada. The benefits are
really good. We get an extra day off
every stat holiday. So for example at
Easter I get the Friday AND the Monday – sweet! Medical and Dental are really good. Pension plan. Matched
RRSP. 100% reimbursement for
education. And the people I work with
are really nice. Oddly I’m one of the
older ones in my department. How weird
is that? The actual job is Bilingual
Technical Support, which is pretty interesting. I have ZERO French vocabulary when it comes to technical stuff,
but I’m managing and slowly getting accustomed to the terms. Most of the French-speaking population
speaks some English as well so it helps. Right now it’s more about
self-confidence than anything else. If
I let myself get flustered, the words leave me completely and I’m a stuttering
idiot. J
Well I guess that’s about it!
(and more than enough!!!)
Renée
Monday, December 9th, 2002
Merry Christmas!
Hard to believe it's almost Christmas already. I just don't know where the time goes. I saw my parents yesterday for the first time since August!! You'd think they live in another province instead of 60 minutes down the road!
So what have we been doing? Well Tyler has been occupied with hockey. His team hasn't done very well in the standings but they are constantly improving and are having a great time! I think we've finally managed to get them to defend in their own zone which is a HUGE step forward - now we just have to get them to produce scoring chances for themselves. The kids are a lot of fun and I really love being out on the ice with them. I would never have guessed!
Kelsey has just celebrated her 9th birthday. She's also just wrapping up her drama classes for the holidays. She really enjoyed the classes and will go again in January. She is really growing up quickly - to my delight and dismay all at the same time. :)
Both kids have finished swimming lessons and will start Level 4 in January. I'm happy to say they can both make it across the width of the pool now. I have a feeling it's going to take Tyler a while to get Level 4 because it's the first "deep water" level. Kelsey on the other hand has really picked it up this year and should do fine.
Tony is still working - wow that's quite the record now! He enjoys his work and although he finds it very taxing, he is doing well. He's still really struggling with fatigue and pain, but so far is coping. He's going in for testing to try and determine the cause of the muscle pain (other than the ankle which is obvious) and the fatigue. There are times when he can't get out of a chair because his body is numb. It's concerning, but then what about Tony isn't?? ;P He's going in for one last surgery on his ankle on December 20th and will once again spend Christmas on crutches. *sigh* Hopefully this surgery will alleviate the problems he's having with his ankle. And still....Tony has managed to get out for some hockey and has found that he really likes it! He even scored a goal in his second season game! He improves every time out! We haven't had much luck getting to our games in Nov/Dec what with Christmas parties and the like, but hopefully he'll be able to get back to it in January. And just for good measure, our team is in first place! Yippee!
hmmm, what else...I had my first ever car accident a few weeks ago. It wasn't a big one, but the other vehicle that I collided with was a big GMC truck so unfortunately even though it wasn't much more than a tap, my whole front end was smushed and there was over $4000 in damage. I wasn't at fault so it didn't cost me anthing but a whole lot of inconvenience. In fact I JUST got my car back this past Thursday!!
Still working for WW and still skating once a week. I was supposed to try two tests this week, but I'm putting it off until January. Too many factors against me. I have 6 dances left to get so I DO want to get on with it, but December is sort of a bad time. It's also big time competition season so I've been doing a bit of judging. Then of course I have hockey with Tony and hockey with Giffels both of which I enjoy immensely. Of course you've seen the picture above. It's been a year since I reached my WW goal. I had intended to try to get down another 10lbs, but my willpower had other ideas. I'm actually a bit above my goal, but not out of control. I'm still ok with where I am.
Not much else to tell. Looking forward to visiting friends and family over the Christmas holidays. Hope everyone is doing well!
Lots of love,
Autumn...the best time of the year!
Well here it is October 7th already! We’re back into full swing. Here’s what’s going on:
The kids are back to school of course.
So what am I up to? Nothing much really. OK…whatever.
I’m working twice a week for Weight Watchers right now – Monday and
Tuesday night. (In addition to my full time job of course) I’m
playing hockey with my work team and in the Adult Rec league with
I guess that’s about it for now. Maybe I’ll actually get around to updating more regularly – and then again maybe I won’t – time will tell!
Lots of love,
Thursday, August 22nd, 2002
An update...about time eh!
Wow, the summer has really flown by! It’s hard to believe that the kids will go back to school in less than two weeks! So what have we been up to? The kids will finish hockey and soccer this week. Kelsey has decided that she will not do either ever again. She pretty much hated hockey and soccer wasn’t far behind. Tyler (being the kind of kid he is) liked them both and is looking forward to the winter hockey season. He had a great game last week – played awesome. Kelsey has decided to take a theatre arts class in the fall. She is extremely excited about it and if you know Kelsey at all, you know that it’s pretty rare for her to be excited about anything. I’m hoping it lives up to her expectations. I love theatre and I think that Kelsey will be great at it, she has a flair for the dramatic….just don’t know where she gets that from!
In addition to theatre and hockey, both kids will be taking swimming lessons and Kelsey wants to take skating again. Tony and I are joining an Oldtimers Co-ed hockey league and I would like to continue with my dances in figure skating. So we find ourselves extremely busy (again) and with a financial dilemna, so just to make sure that I don’t have a single moment to breathe, starting September I’m working two nights a week for Weight Watchers and I’m considering teaching skating with the City of Mississauga on Saturday mornings. Maybe I’m crazy, but you know what they say about idle hands…best to keep busy.
The kids have had a very productive summer as far as growing goes this year. Kelsey has grown almost 4 inches over the summer – and 3 of those happened in less than 2 weeks – it was almost as if you could see her getting taller. She is becoming quite beautiful (no motherly bias here). She has a way of carrying herself that is going to be the death of me in a few years. LOL Already she rushes to her room to change and fix her hair when the 16 year old boy across the street comes to babysit. Can’t blame her really – he’s a cutie! (Just kidding!) It’s funny to see though – she’s not even 9 yet! I stressed for a couple of weeks about how and when I would talk to her about puberty. I took her with me to a skating competition last weekend and thought I would take advantage of the long car ride to spill it. Imagine my surprise when I got halfway through my spiel and she said “you’re talking about getting my period right? I know about that already” OK, when I was 9 I had NO idea!!! And where did she get this information? A cartoon. Yes indeed, a cartoon. So the conversation wasn’t nearly as hard as I thought it would be. I’m not convinced she completely understands but on the other hand she has a few years to figure it out still.
Just for fun…a transcript of a conversation between Kelsey and Tony:
Tony: You know, you are a very smart little girl for your age.
Kelsey: I know. I get it from my Mom.
Tony: Well you know, I’m pretty smart too!
Kelsey: Really?? I would have never guessed!
HA HA HA HA HA HA – that’s my girl!!
Tyler is really into Yu-Gi-Oh right now – carries these (very expensive) cards around with him EVERYWHERE. He too is growing quite a bit – staying pretty much even with his sister. He is looking forward to going back to school. I don’t worry about Tyler – he’s a very natural kid. He’s easy going, easy to get along with, nothing bothers him, likes everything. He still doesn’t live in the same reality as the rest of us though. Half the time he tells me something and it takes me half the conversation to realize he’s talking about a video game or a TV show. He will be turning 7 next week!
What else…Tony is still working at Pumptronics – that’s 3 months now! Yay Tony! He had a few days off a couple of weeks ago – home sick with pneumonia, but otherwise is making out fine. I’m still at Giffels – I like my job, can’t complain. I would love to go back to school and do an MCSE and take web design, but who has the time or the money for that matter!
Not much else to tell. In general we’re all healthy and happy and looking forward to fall!
Talk to y’all soon!
Love Renee
Monday, July 15th, 2002
The Dog Days of Summer are finally here!
What started as once a week is turning into once a month…oh well, life happens you know?
So what’s new with the Jansen family???
Tony is still working – going on 2 months now – pretty good! Kelsey and Tyler have finished school and are at the sitter’s for the summer. It’s pretty boring for them, but they manage. Another few years and they’ll be able to stay home by themselves. We just returned from our week-long vacation in New Brunswick. It was a fantastic week! We got to see a lot of people and the weather was absolutely beautiful! I didn’t take any pictures but my Dad did, so when he gets them back, I’ll ask him to scan a few.
I tried my Starlight and Blues before we left for vacation. I passed them both – yay! It was very exciting. I had completely forgotten what it was like to take a test. I was pretty nervous, but true to form I was also running in at the last minute so I didn’t really have time to get myself too worked up. I haven’t decided yet what I will do come the winter season. I would like to finish the rest of my dances, but as always, cost is an issue. I’ve looked into Adult rec hockey as well and that is definitely something I would like to do this winter. Tony said he would come too which would be fun!
The Weight Watcher thing – not so good lately. I gained 7 lbs on my holidays and I’m really struggling to get it off again. It’s all mental for sure, but I haven’t been able to keep my head in the right place for more than a couple days in a row. Must figure it out though because I definitely don’t want to go up any more. I haven’t been working for WW this summer either so it’s been easy to slack. Today I’m having a good day – hopefully I can keep it going. Usually if I can get a whole week of behaving under me, I’m fine – it’s that first week. Time to go search for some motivation –and where better than at weightwatchers.com.
S’all for now folks.
P.S. I have other very exciting news, but I don’t know that it should be posted on the Internet – not really my news to share like that, but if you’re curious, e-mail me and I might just tell you! ;)
Renee
Tuesday, June 4th, 2002
I can't believe it's June already!!!
I guess May must have been a crazy month, because here it is June 4th and I haven’t updated my site since April 30.
Here’s an update by family member:
Tony
Let’s see…Tony has been doing well. He started a new job two weeks ago. (do any of you realize just how often I say that?!?) So far so good. It’s a full time welding position with Pumptronics Inc in Oakville. The shop is only 15 minutes from our house so I can drive him in the morning and then he either bikes or takes the GO train home. It’s a bit early to say if it is finally going to be something he can stay with.
No broken bones, cut off appendages, strokes, heart attacks, sprains or burns lately. Not even a common cold – knock on wood! He’s playing ball with a bar league on Sundays for fun – thought for sure he would get hurt there. He did have to get a pinch runner at one point – his ankle is not quite ready for sprinting – and he did get dinged in the head with a ball on a throw to First, but it barely left a mark and he was still walking when we left the park, so all-in-all pretty successful I’d say. *wink, wink*
Not much else going on with Tony.
Kelsey
Kelsey finished her EQAO testing in May. She quite enjoyed the experience. They didn’t have any homework during the testing. When they finished a portion of a test, they had free time until the others finished. To her, the testing was like a week long vacation from real school. Who knows how she did. We won’t get results until half way through next year.
She has started soccer. The team she is playing on has girls in grade 2 or 3. Remarkably she’s actually not that much smaller than most of the kids. There aren’t any really huge girls. She does better than she used to, but she’s still quite a non-aggressive player. She’s much more interested in chatting with her teammates on the field. It’s all in fun anyway – we just feel it’s good for her to get outside and do something that resembles exercise. Who knows, she may eventually find some desire to play. Personally, I find soccer dreadfully boring – to watch and to play – but it’s good for her.
Kelsey has also started her first adventure in hockey. She is playing on Tyler’s team – at Tyler’s age level. It was a decision we made so as not to discourage her from continuing. We felt that in her own age group she would be left behind. It was a good decision. She follows the puck and will swat at it if it comes close, but she can’t carry it and even if she could, she doesn’t skate quickly enough to get away from the other players. It’s all part of that aggression thing. She’s actually quite a capable skater, but she doesn’t have the drive and the fearlessness to push herself. She was ok with playing on Tyler’s team at first but after 2 games she is now saying that she’s ready to go to her own level because Tyler’s level is too easy. We haven’t figured out how to tell her that she needs to stay where she is without tromping on her ego. She really has no perception of what constitutes a good player. Right now she’s playing because she thinks Tyler gets more attention for being a “hockey player”; it’ll be interesting to see if she still wants to play this winter.
Tyler
Tyler is also playing soccer and hockey. He had quite a spectacular week actually. He scored a goal in soccer on Wednesday and then scored a goal in hockey on Friday. I didn’t see his soccer goal, but the hockey goal was a good one. Of course, once he scored, he had absolutely no interest in playing the rest of the game. There is no way to describe the frustration of watching your child misbehave and not be able to correct the behaviour. I’m sitting in the stands and he is flitting around the ice, not paying attention, “accidentally” dropping his gloves on the ice, switching seats on the bench so he doesn’t have to go on the ice, falling and taking 30 seconds to get back up…need I go on. We got back to the dressing room and he says “Mom! Did you see me score?!” I said, “yes I did Tyler and it was a very nice goal, but after that you stopped playing hockey” He didn’t really deny it, just gave me a “but I…well I, and then I…” We tried to explain the importance of team and perseverance even when you’re tired or not really feeling up to playing. We’ll see what happens this week.
Renee
As for me…what’s new with me? I’m still taking skating lessons. I hope to try my Blues and Starlight at the end of July. We’ve had some difficulty getting partners in to practice, so I didn’t get quite as much done as I would have liked. This week is the last week of my spring session. I also skated with Team Xtreme last week. I SO do not miss synchro skating. Don’t get me wrong, the session was fantastic, but the whole team dynamics there have shifted so that I just feel OLD. Most of the women that I skated with for years have moved on. I’m glad I quit when I did. There are another two sessions – haven’t decided yet if I will go to them or not.
So I turned 30 in May. It was a relatively painless experience. My friend Kelly and Tony organized a “surprise” party for me. (I had a notion it was happening) It was fun. Thank you to all those who came out. It was good to see all of you. For those who didn’t come– SHAME ON YOU! I missed you. I’m sure you ALL have very good excuses – I’d like them in writing in my email no later than June 10 please. (hehe) Thank you so much to Kelly for taking the time to organize despite the fact that she’s mid-MBA at the moment. Thank you to Tony who I know HATES doing that sort of thing. Thanks to my family for driving all the way to Mississauga.
I finished my Weight Watchers training and am now a full-fledged Weight Watchers employee. So now I have a full-time job, a part-time job, 2 kids in 2 sports, 3 sports of my own and a husband that doesn’t drive. Ah the fun! If you wanted to see me this summer, better call now! Monday to Friday is a total bust. Saturday and Sunday are rarely without commitments. Thank God for Tatyana – our Housekeeper and Grocery Gateway.com! I don’t know how people with more than 2 kids manage! Course, you know that I like it like this and wouldn’t have it any other way, but it is still overwhelming at times.
Ride for Heart
As most of you know, (because I sent you a guilt inducing solicitous email asking for pledges) Tony the kids and I did the Ride for Heart this past weekend for the Heart and Stroke Foundation. We had a lot of fun. It was a 10 km in-line skate down the Gardiner Expressway in Toronto. I wasn’t sure that the kids would actually be able to make it, but they were troopers. We were a little less than half way when Kelsey said “You know the good thing Mommy? My legs are all shaky!” (She had been warned about making any kind of negative, complaining comments) But she made it to the end. It took us an hour and 15 minutes – almost twice as long as it normally takes me to do 20km, but I was very, very proud of my little roller bladers. They did request that next year we ride bikes instead. Haha As a family we raised $275, which was pretty good. It was a good experience for them overall and a very good teaching opportunity. They learned a bit more about Tony’s disabilities, they learned about research and charities and they got a much better concept of just how far 10 km is!
Phew! Well that is really long but I think it about sums up the last month or so. I’ll try to stay on top of things a little better!
Love to you all! Hope to see you soon! The BBQ is always open!
Renee
Tuesday, April 30, 2002
Did you miss me?
A couple of weeks have passed with no word from me. Did you miss me? I bet you did! C’mon you missed me! *giggles* So, what’s happened over the last two weeks? Not a whole heck of a lot. I started my Weight Watchers training. So far so good. It’ll keep me honest at the very least. I also started skating again – dance lessons. It’s a lot of fun – I really enjoy being out on the ice again. Hopefully I can take 2 or 3 tests by the end of the spring session. I have total of 8 dance tests to complete which I’d like to do over the next year or two. Then…who knows? Maybe by then I’ll be ready to hang’em up completely. I took a judging/evaluator clinic this past weekend so I can get going further into the judging world. It’s a big process and I won’t be judging any National level competitions for quite a while.
Tony is not working at the moment. Enjoying some time off. The kids are also on a break of sorts. Hockey and figure skating are done and summer hockey and soccer don’t start for another couple of weeks so they haven’t had any commitments to worry about. Kelsey is of course in grade three and will therefore start the EQAO testing next week. I don’t know how much they have prepared them for it, but I can guarantee that she will not like the tests and will not do well on them. She doesn’t test well. We’ve tried to teach her test-taking strategies, but she doesn’t seem to care to read the question before answering it. Not that it matters. For us, and for Kelsey, the tests are basically meaningless. They don’t affect anything. If she ends up below the standard, it doesn’t mean she doesn’t pass Grade 3. It doesn’t even mean that her report card will be substandard. It’s basically a waste of time from my point of view. But it won’t hurt her any. Maybe it’ll do her some good to feel a little stressed about it. I highly doubt she will though. She doesn’t seem to care much about pursuing educational excellence.
Tyler has a new girlfriend. Her name is Jacqueline. She’s a cute little thing and she sends him love notes addressed to “Lover Boy”. Hehehehe If one child on the phone wasn’t bad enough, now the phone rings every 15 minutes for Tyler. I think we’ve managed to reign that in and impress upon both the children that they are not to use the phone without permission. That’ll work for a few more years, but not indefinitely.
This Friday, Tony is taking me to see “Stars on Ice” at the Air Canada Centre. The tickets were a Valentine’s day present. I’m very excited about it! I can hardly wait. I’ve been to the ACC to watch a Raptors game, but never for an ice event. The tickets are pretty good too. Fun, fun!
The birthday season is upon us. It started on April 11th with my brother Colin’s birthday. Then it was Tony’s sister Julie on the 13th, my brother-in-law David on the 198th and my niece Jessica turned 6 on the 19th. May starts with my Dad on the 7th, my friend Kelly on the 10th, Mother’s Day on the 12th, Tony’s birthday on the 18th, mine on the 19th (did I mention I’m turning 30!!!), Tony’s mom’s on the 26th and to end it off our 11th wedding anniversary on June 1st. Phew. June is a busy birthday month too…but I’m getting ahead of myself.
Tony’s life story is coming along slowly but surely! I can hardly wait to get it up live! Stay tuned!
Friday, April 12, 2002
Yahoo! It's getting warmer!
Another week gone by – where does the time go? We had a very busy weekend last week. On Friday night, the kids had a dress rehearsal for there skating carnival which took place on Saturday. After their dress rehearsal, Tony and I jumped in the car and headed off to Stratford for a little high school reunion/get-together. It’s truly amazing how many people I could not dig out of my memory. I’ve always been pretty good with names and faces but there were several people who eluded me completely. I found the men especially difficult to identify. Didn’t see a ton of people that I knew, but it was fun nonetheless.
Saturday I spent the ENTIRE day at the Port Credit Arena. It’s a cold and dismal place and by the time we left there Saturday night at 10 p.m. I thought I would fall over in my chair. The carnival was cute…and looooong. The kids had a great time, but for their 30 seconds of glory I think I’ll save my money next time. What a CASH COW this thing was!! I paid $50 per child for the “privilege” of participating in the carnival. I paid $15 per ticket for the privilege of watching my children for 30 seconds. I took off work 2 hours early, 2 days in a row to get them to practice on time. I spent 6 hours Thursday, 6 hours Friday and 9 hours Saturday volunteering my time as a dressing room mom. At the carnival I paid $2 for a program, they wanted $3.00 for a flower (I refused this purchase much Kelsey’s dismay), $20 each child if I wanted their pictures, $35 to buy the video. (again, I decided against these purchases). All told, if I wanted the whole experience, it would have cost $213 and 21 hours of my time to watch my kids for 30 seconds each. Compare this to hockey….Tyler is currently playing in a tournament. It cost $40 to enter. For $40 he gets to play 4 games (which guarantees him a full hour of ice), he got a loot bag with all sorts of little “stuff”, a medal, a t-shirt and after each game each player gets Timbits and a drink. After the final game, they get a pizza party. Hmmm…$40…$213…30 seconds of ice….1 hour of ice.
So Ty’s team lost the first game of their tournament. The first game was the Sunday morning after the Carnival. Time change and all, Ty got about 6 hours of sleep – he looked like he was just going to collapse on the ice. The rest of his team didn’t look much better. They redeemed themselves in the second game though. The third game will take place on Sunday. One more after that then we have a three-week break before Soccer and summer Hockey start. Phew!
I started my WW training this week. So far so good. I think I’ll like it. Tony is finally finished at the cement plant. Looks like he will be off for at least two weeks before the next job. I guess he’ll get some much needed rest.
This week I start my skating lessons. After being “hockey chick” all winter, I’m looking forward to putting my figure skates on. It’s been a really long time since I took dance, I wonder if the steps will come back to me. The judging that I did this winter will certainly help, but I didn’t do much judging at the level I will be skating. Mostly I judge Preliminary and Jr. Bronze stuff. (Yup, I know – most of you are thinking – and that means???) I’m playing in a hockey tournament next Friday and then I’m done for the season. Trampoline is still for another 8 weeks, Jazz finished on Monday. I’m looking forward to getting out for some outdoor activity! Come on SUN!
S’all for now! Talk at you soon!
Thursday, April 4, 2002
New Links Page!
Easter has come and gone and the amount of chocolate sitting in my belly is atrocious. It certainly was yummy though! Easter was a whirlwind weekend and I found mself back at work on Monday wondering where my long weekend went. Tony is STILL working at the cement plant. The job has ended up lasting much longer than we thought it would and he hasn’t had a day off in 18 days. I guess it’s a good thing, but I would like to see my spouse awake one of these days.
Nothing much to tell about this week. All the winter activities are coming to a close and it’ll be a few more weeks before the Spring/Summer activities start up. And I actually don’t have anything to rant about. So instead of wasting my time writing about nothing, I made my “Links” page. Click here to see my favourite web pages and then click on any of the images to visit my favs!
Later!
Wednesday, March 27, 2002
One year smoke free...yay me!
Today marks one full year of no smoking! Hooray! I can safely say that I no longer have any desire to smoke. It’s a habit that is gone forever. The day I quit smoking is also the day I took control of my own physical well being. So cheers to a whole year of active, healthy living! Has it been worth it? You’d better believe it! I put a new “Before and After” picture on my Weight page, click here to have a look. Now to work on Tony…*wink, wink TB*
As Spring arrives, most of our Winter activities are coming to an end. At skating the kids have finished with lessons and are now working on their little carnival routines. Kelsey got chosen to be the leader of her group and she’s loving the “power”. She’s taking the responsibility very, very seriously. Tyler’s group are “Rock Stars” and based on what I saw last week, they are going to skate really fast around the ice and then stand in the middle and dance for a bit, then skate really fast again. I guess it’s appropriate because they are all little boys and all they want to do is go fast. It’s still pretty cute. I got rooked into being a dressing room mom – whatever the heck that is. The carnival is the first weekend in April and then skating is done for the year.
Tyler played his final league hockey game on Sunday. Click here to see pictures. His team did quite well this year. I think they only lost two games all season and tied another two. Tyler has really improved this year – hard to believe that when I put him on the ice for the first time in September one of the coaches had to come and carry him to his group on the ice. For his final game, he played with the middle level and he even scored a goal! It’s amazing how emotionally involved you become. When he scored, Tony and I cheered like lunatics. His team registered for a Pre-tyke tournament, so he still gets to play four more games and participate in a skills competition. Then a little break until the summer league starts in May.
Tony is still working his contract job at the cement plant. It was only supposed to be a week and he’s going on the 10th straight day. He’s working 5 pm to 3 am so we haven’t seen much of him for the last week and a half. He’s starting to look pretty drained so hopefully this shift won’t last too much longer.
I had an interview with Weight Watchers this week and I am going to become a leader. I start training in 2 weeks. I’m really excited about it – I think it’s something I’ll be good at and a little extra $$ doesn’t hurt either. Hopefully I will get my own meeting right away.
Easter weekend approaches! No big plans. We’re going to Woodstock on Sunday to have Easter with my family – looking forward to that –I don’t think we’ve been since January. Otherwise a quiet weekend – won’t that be nice! Oh and I figure out the 40 days of Lent thing. Apparently it’s 40 days from Ash Wednesday to Easter Sunday, but Sundays don’t count. Got the info. from here. Little good it does me now though…chocolate in 4 days!
Later!
Wednesday, March 20, 2002
Murphy’s Law says…if a brick is going to fall from the sky, it’s going to hit Tony in the head
Murphy who? This is Tony’s Law. In fact, I should have said when not if because last night, that is precisely what happened. My latest web project is to write Tony’s life story for his section and as I’m writing this incredibly lengthy story, I realize that there are tons of examples of Tony’s life being just screwy that I can’t even remember. Here is a perfect example: He’s doing a short Ironworking contract with a cement plant near home right now. He went to work last night and at some point as he’s working a brick falls from 15 ft above him and clocks him in the side of the head behind the ear. He’s working midnights so when I get up this morning, there’s a note for me in the bathroom sink. I paraphrase: “A brick fell and hit me in the head last night. I feel okay now, but it sent me reeling - almost out cold. Can you make sure that you can wake me when you get up and if you can’t, call 911. Love Tony” Only in Tony’s life do you find little love notes that read like this. LOL So I go to wake him up this morning and there’s a big, swollen scrape on the side of his head behind the ear that looks just nasty, but he’s conscious and coherent. (well, as coherent as one can be at 6:30 in the morning on 2.5 hours of sleep) And so he’s fine, but who in the heck gets hit by falling bricks??!! Tony, that’s who.
In other news…I have been relatively lax about exercise in the last months and I finally managed to get my butt in gear this week. I’ve started Trampoline lessons again. I stopped going because my ability had reached a level where it had surpassed my fear tolerance. That is to say, in order to learn new things I had to get past being absolutely terrified. I’m sorry, but after seeing Tony’s leg on backwards (I know, Tony’s law only applies to Tony, but still), I have no desire to do some of the things they want to teach me. What sane person jumps 15 ft in the air and does a superman dive to a second trampoline 10 ft away, only to tuck into a full 360 at the last minute and land on their back – not this chick! I value my life. And so…I have agreed with my coach that we will turn my lessons into a conditioning session. He set a 60 minute program for me last night. For one of the moves he told me to try to do it for 5 minutes consecutively. He said “you probably won’t be able to today, but you can work up to it”. To which I arrogantly responded “No, no, I can easily do 5 minutes – we’d better make it 10.” Three minutes in I thought my stomach muscles were going to explode and I had to stop – heehee – so I guess I’ll work up to 5 minutes for that one. I’m a bit stiff today, but it feels good.
Not much new with the kiddies. We took them to a roller skating rink on Sunday. They have been begging for roller blades and I wanted them to try before I fork out the cash for them. They liked it. Tyler was actually quite good. He’s definitely more natural on roller blades than he is on hockey skates. Kelsey did quite well too, but was, as always, very “girly-girl” about the whole thing. Who’s daughter is she anyway? Wouldn’t want to do anything to mess up her hair or look “uncool” you know. Her and I have been batting heads a lot lately. It’s pretty frustrating that I let an 8 year old get to me. Thank God there are two parents because I don’t think I’ll be able to deal with her as a teenager. :) Of course, as Tony will tell you, when it comes to attitude and drama, she’s exactly like me. Mom...Dad…I am SO sorry. Good news is look how well I turned out. *winks*
So that’s all folks….oh BTW, 11 days to chocolate…ciao!
Wednesday, March 13, 2002
18 days to chocolate...
How time flies! It’s been almost 2 weeks since I changed my “what’s new” section. So what’s new? Nothing incredibly exciting for the week ahead. The kids are on March Break and are headed to their Aunt and Uncles for a couple of days. (my brother Colin and his wife Lisa) Lisa’s a third grade teacher and Kelsey thinks she is just the best so they are really looking forward to their visit. As for me, I’m grateful they have something interesting to do on their holiday. I would have liked to take some time off, but I only get so much vacation and I’d rather take it in the summertime.
Kelsey has decided she wants to try Hockey, so we’re putting both of them in a summer league. It’s relatively inexpensive and she can share Ty’s equipment. I’m completely unconvinced that she’ll actually like it, so this is a good way for her to give it a try for a limited period of time – it’s only 10 weeks – at limited cost to us. And for Tyler, he has to go up to Novice this year, so it’s a good opportunity for him to improve his skills. He really likes hockey – I’m so glad, because I love watching him play!
So bigger news…Tony quit his job yesterday. It wasn’t working out. Definitely not a healthy environment. So back to the drawing board. I have all the faith in the world that he will eventually find the perfect job in the perfect location. I’m patient – most of the time anyway. It does get frustrating for him though – things just don’t want to go his way. Eventually something has to. No stresses for now though – it’s just another day.
So last time I said I was going to schmooze my way to Laval to watch the Adult Synchro Nationals – well turns out it’s the same weekend as Tyler’s playoffs for hockey. Wouldn’t miss that for the world, so no nationals for me! Definitely need a road trip soon though, I’m antsy. I’ll have to think of somewhere to take the family for a weekend or something.
In other news…I gave up chocolate for Lent. It turns out that I eat a lot of chocolate. (You think I’d have known that – wouldn’t you?) I find myself counting down the days – it’s quite pathetic actually. Hot chocolate, chocolate bars, chocolate chip cookies, chocolate covered ANYTHING…it’s driving me to obsession!! I’m apparently not a very good Catholic either, because it seems to me that Lent is 40 days. Well beginning on Ash Wednesday and continuing through to Easter Sunday…that’s 47 days. And believe me – those extra 7 days will be horrific. OK, I’ll be honest the whole idea was extremely self-serving – I knew that Iwas eating way to much chocolate and Lent was a good excuse to try and curb the desire. And of course, stubborn as I am, now I’m committed. Look out when it’s over!!! I think the whole idea may have backfired on me.
That’s all for today, scroll to the bottom and sign my guestbook! It’s quite pathetic right now – it’s embarrassing! Go ahead – post twice!
Bye, bye, for now!
Thursday, February 28, 2002
Nothing to say today...ok, whatever!
I sat down at the computer to update my “What’s Happening” section and I thought – gee, I have nothing to say. Then I realized, no, there is not even a small possibility that I have nothing to say.
So what’s going on in the Jansen family this week? Kelsey is sick – presumably with Strep throat again. I suppose we should take her to the Dr. to confirm. The winter sports season is almost over. Tyler only has four more games of hockey – plus a tournament. Both of them will be participating in our skating club’s Carnival on April 6th. (If you would like to come and watch – give me a shout and I will give you details) Kelsey will be a “Golden Butterfly” and Tyler is going to be a “Rock Star”. For the summer, they are both signed up for soccer and Tyler has expressed an interest in Lacrosse, so schedule permitting he will do that as well. And of course, probably swimming lessons.
Tony’s job is going quite well. He seems to enjoy what he’s doing, even if it is a bit stressful and I’m sure overwhelming at times. He’s handling it well – not overtired and miserable or anything. I’m very proud of him!
This weekend, Tony and I are going to see CATS – the musical. I am very, very excited. I’ve wanted to see it since I was 12 years old. It will be an effort not to sing along, but I promise to stiffle it. *grin* I’m also going to Synchro Canadians on Friday night – as a spectator. It will be the first time since 1995 that I am not competing in this competition. Of course, since they moved Adult to Festival Canadians this year, even if I was skating, I wouldn’t be competing there. I went to watch my old teammates practice last night and not for a moment could I imagine myself out on that ice. It will be fun to watch on the weekend nonetheless. The Adult Nationals are at the end of March in Laval – I’d like to go up to watch that too, but I have some schmoozing to do at home first. *wink, wink*
That’s about it. Life is pretty even keeled these days – no drama to report. My friends tell me this should be a welcomed moment in my life – long overdue. Personally, I can’t help but feel it’s just the calm before the storm. Things just don’t run this way for Tony and I. Not to be pessimistic or anything, I just learned long ago to expect the unexpected – so much so that it’s almost not even unexpected anymore. Maybe that’s the key – maybe now that I expect something weird to happen, it won’t – who knows? For now I’m riding the peaceful waves, enjoying my marriage, the kids and my work.
Monday, February 18, 2002
Olympics, Olympics and the Jansen family in Review
Today I’m ranting about skating! (Oh come now, in light of the past weeks events, did you really think I would rant about anything else???) (Click here to skip the skating part and go to this weeks news.) So what do I have to say for my sport? *shakes head* This whole judging fiasco is as old as skating itself. Although it’s nice to think that maybe they will find a better way, I’m less than optimistic. I watched Jamie and David in awe on Monday night – to have a perfect skate at the Olympics!! What more can one ask for? (except of course to be rewarded for it) They were absolutely spellbinding and I, along with millions of others, had declared them winners before they even finished the program. When I saw them come up in second, I felt sick. Imagine how they must have felt. Of course that was just the beginning. I feel terrible for this endearing couple and what they have had to deal with for the past week. The fatigue was clear on their faces last night at the presentation of their gold medals – ones I’m sure they’d just as soon not have received, tainted as it is. And then of course there’s Elena and Anton – they are victims too. Their win was cheapened and their skate (which was also incredible!) was questioned. And in the end, the ISU picks the French judge as designated scapegoat – hangs her out to dry as if she acted alone, hands out a second set of gold medals to appeal the public and brushes the whole nasty mess under the carpet. One would hope that the whole fiasco would make the judges extra super conscious of the placings they deal in the dance event, but after last night’s OD where Fusar-Poli and Margaglio received technical marks of 5.9 for the shoddy performance they gave, it’s clear that not even the magnitude of the pairs scandal will change the age old corruption. If Maurizio ever learns to keep up with Barbara watch out, but as it stands, they should not even be top 6. Nothing has changed. Same bullshit, different day. But at least Jamie and David walk away with the right hardware. Love them!!!
So what’s new with the Jansen family? Well Tony started his new job last Monday. Yay, Tony! He is working about 10 minutes from my office as a Supervisor in a welding shop. So far so good. He’s right into it. (A bit to my chagrin, I’ll admit – he’s a bit obsessed with the whole thing right now, but I’m sure it will wear off soon enough – hehe) It’s relatively convenient for us to drive together too, which is nice.
I spent the whole week last week on my butt watching Olympics. I’m a junkie really – skating, curling, hockey, speed skating, short track, cross country, snowboarding – I’m taking it all in. I’ll be glad when the 21st rolls around and I can get some sleep again!
Kelsey and Tyler are fine. I’ve calmed down significantly since last week. We decided that we need to spend more time with them, so we have been making a conscious effort to do something with the kids each night. Funny what you find out. Tyler – reminding you he’s 6 – asked Tony to play chess the other night. Tony said sure, thinking, uh huh, I’m going to have to be patient. To our surprise, not only does he know how to play, but he actually beat Tony! (with a little help on the closing) Who knew? After speaking with Kelsey’s teacher just prior to last weeks rant, I went home and asked Kelsey what the problem was, to which she responded “I just don’t feel that I am very appreciated!” GOOD GRIEF! Melodrama at its best – I wonder where she gets that from…hmmmm. *wink*
I went to an Adult public skate by myself Saturday evening, just to get in a bit of exercise. It felt really good. I couldn’t tear around as much as I’d have like because there were a few too many people, but what I could do was fantastic! I intend to take dance lessons in the spring and after my skate Saturday, I’m looking forward to that more than ever. Funny – I don’t miss Synchro at all, but I do really miss skating.
That’s about it this week. Check in again soon! I’m hoping to work on my “Renee” page this week!
Thursday, February 7, 2002
Don't you just HATE February?
Each and every night my children come home with homework they a) don’t want to do b) have no idea how to do and/or c) don’t have time to do. Ty had a project to do for 100 day at school this week. So we buy some supplies for the little project (for the record I spent over $20), we sit Ty down and 3 hours later we have the finished product. Granted it didn’t have to be done all at once but I’m not organized enough to help 30 minutes at a time and I certainly don’t think Tyler is old enough to figure out how to manage his time. What was the purpose of this project? To try to teach the concept of 100. Tyler chose to display 100 hockey cards. Did it teach him anything? Not likely. Getting Kelsey to do homework is a constant battle. She cries. She pouts. She whimpers. She stalls. She whines. She outright refuses. And then when she FINALLY manages to work a little, she does a lousy job and has to redo it. She insists that she’s done even though her homework book tells us she isn’t. She even resorted last week to writing “No homework today” in her little book and forged her teacher’s initials. Good grief! I have teachers calling me at work and at home. To me this means that there is something really wrong with my kids! And yet, when I express these concerns to the school, I get answers like “well she’s not doing poorly, I’m just concerned because she isn’t reaching her potential” or “he isn’t a problem child, I just wish he would show a little more respect”. I have these same concerns, but it’s like these professionals are calling me to give them the magical key to understanding my kids or at the very least to find a place to lay blame. If I had the key I would have used it long ago. I don’t. Is it my fault? Are we doing the wrong things? Certainly the tremendous amount of guilt I feel whenever I have someone from the school on the phone would indicate that the blame must lie with me. But what am I supposed to do about it? I can’t answer that either. If I find the answer, I’ll let you know.
Monday, February 4, 2002
It's February already??
So what’s new this week? Nothing incredibly exciting. We’ve decided to take a family vacation to New Brunswick this summer which I’m very excited about. (Of course anyone who is actually reading this probably belongs to my family and is coming so this is not news – hehe) Just in case some of my friends actually bother to come and check up on me though, we are going in July the whole fam damily – my mom and dad, my brothers and their wives and all the kiddies. It has been almost 8 years since I last visited my relatives. None of the kids have ever met their great-grandparents. It will be a nice holiday. The plan is to rent a cottage and stay together. I love having something to look forward to.
Tyler is doing quite well with Hockey. He has a new found desire to score a goal so it is really pushing him to try his very best. Unfortunately half the time it’s his own team that gets in the way of his scoring attempts – but what do you expect they’re 4, 5 and 6 after all. His skating has improved tremendously over the season. When I first signed him up for hockey I was scared because I wasn’t sure he would be able to stand on his own on the ice. Now he tears around like crazy.
Both of the kids are practicing to try out for their school talent show. Tyler is singing “Spiderman” – the Moxy Fruvous version. It’s quite cute and with the exception of a few words here and there I think he has it down. He can carry a tune and his bass voice is endearing. Kelsey is singing “Reflections” from Mulan. She is quite the little actress and her facial expressions and her passion are priceless. The singing part however…well let’s just say we’re trying to convince her it would be much better if she said it like a poem. She loves to sing though so she’s not buying it. All the power to her. One of these days she’ll figure it out.
Tony is busy on the job hunt. Looks like by this time next week I’ll be talking about his new job. Enough said for now – I don’t want to jinx it.
As for me, pretty much same old, same old. Nothing new and exciting this week. I have to come up with something interesting for Valentine’s Day. Any ideas out there? I don’t know if Tony ever comes to read this stuff (bad enough he has to listen to me all the time forget having to then come and read it – heehee), but if you’re reading this Honey – I would like to go for dinner and to see “Sam I am” and I would like you to call the babysitter. Wink, wink. Which still leaves me absolutely NO idea what to do for him. I hate having to be creative!!
OK, I’m done now. See y’all next week! Oh and click on my picture to see the beginning of the “Renee” page. It’s just started – more to come. I’ll have to get some new pictures of Tony – he’s actually sporting hair these days.
Thursday, January 24, 2002
The Week in Review
Another week gone by. Today I am going to rant about…Parenting. True enough, nobody ever said that parenting would be easy, but boy our kiddies are sure testing my patience lately. My most recent example…This year we entrusted the children with the responsibility of walking themselves the two blocks to and from school. The privilege came with strict warnings to stay together, go directly to school, come directly home after school and of course NEVER speak to strangers. It seemed harmless enough and they welcomed the new responsibility and at first were quite respectful of the rules that came with it. Then this week…Monday Kelsey decides that she’s going to stop at a friends house on the way home, sending Tyler on ahead without her. When we finally round her up and ask her why on earth she thought it was ok to not come home first, her response was this: “Well, it was very tempting to play with my friend, I just couldn’t say no. I knew if I went home to ask first the answer would be no because I had homework.” I asked her if she knew she would be in trouble to which she answered “yeah, but I really wanted to play, so I decided I would just take the punishment when I got home”. BIG SIGH from me! You can’t argue with that – she knew the consequences and decided they were worth it. And still we’re sitting at home frantically wondering what has happened to her. She’s promised never to do that again….until next time anyways. Apparently Kelsey’s forray into disobedience on Monday spurred Tyler to take a field trip of his own on Tuesday. He went to a classmates home and when he got there, the parent asked him his phone number so she could let us know he was there. His response “I forget my phone number and I don’t know my address”. So the parent calls the school secretary and eventually Tony, Tyler and the classmates mother meet at the school. Tony gets a strip torn off of him for letting a 6 yr old walk home by himself and for obviously not teaching him the basics of safety – the kid doesn’t even know his own phone number for goodness sake. Later that evening: Mommy – “Tyler what’s your phone number” Tyler – “905-823-6031” Mommy – “Why didn’t you tell David’s mommy your phone number?” Tyler – “Because then she would have called Daddy and I would have to go home and I’d be in trouble!” Ummm. Yeah. So – the kiddies lose their new responsibility and Tony goes to pick them up after school now. We end up looking like the worst parents on the face of the earth – maybe we are. How on earth do you guarantee that your kids grow up to be happy, healthy contributing members of society with solid morals and a good work ethic? OK, strike that – how do you guarantee that your kids grow up? Man – they aren’t even teenagers yet! All you guys out there with babies – just you wait – they look innocent now!
Thursday, January 17, 2002
The Week in Review
Hey it’s only my third week and I almost forgot to change my little commentary! So what to say today. Well firstly and most importantly, last night I achieved Lifetime status with Weight Watchers. I could not have been more excited. Never again will I have to pay to step on a scale!! Plus I got to get up in front the group and give my two cents worth about the weight loss journey – if you know me at all, you KNOW I loved that! My 2 minutes in the spotlight. It was glorious. I’m contemplating becoming a leader – I think I would be good at it. Not that I need another hobby, but at least I’d get paid for this one.
My friend Tricia had a baby girl on Monday, January 14th. Her and David named her Sidney – very cute. Tricia is living in the booming Metropolis of Regina, Saskatchewan these days, so I will not have an opportunity to see the little one until March. Seems like everyone I know is pregnant these days. Must be the age. I had a fleeting desire to have another baby but I think I’d have to be a lunatic to have a baby now that my little ones are not so little anymore. Plus there’s that small problem of a father…*snicker, snicker*….sorry Tony. I guess I’ll get my infant fix from everyone else.
I find myself silently wondering if anybody is actually reading this…anybody out there?
OK, so what else happened this week? I went to see some of the Canadian Championships – Ice Dance Free and the Parade of Champions. (A Xmas gift from Trish – Thank you Trish!) It was fantastic! Really enjoyed every second of it. Can’t wait for the Olympics!!
This weekend I am going to watch Team Xtreme in their first ever competition without yours truly. I always thought it would be a sad moment but honestly I am thrilled that I get to go watch and don’t have to skate! I could not possibly miss skating any less. Correction – I do miss skating, I don’t miss synchro. Looking forward to getting out on my skates and finishing my dances – maybe in the spring.
Alright – no more to say today. Sheesh – that was boring! Sorry guys, I’ll do better next time!
Thursday, January 10, 2002
The Week in Review
I have nothing to rant about in particular so for this week, I bring you the Jansen family week in review. Let’s see…Friday, Tony and I actually managed to sneak out of the house for an hour without the kiddies. We went and had dessert at Demetres – just what we both needed. On Saturday, I spent the whole day judging the Winter Glitters skating competition in Thornhill. It was an interesting day. I just love watching the little ones skate. I also saw an event I have never seen before – Family Dance. In this event, a parent and child skate a dance together. Of course I was thrilled with this concept ! How much fun is that? I can hardly wait until Kelsey is far enough along to compete a dance. There were even Dads in hockey skates out there. It was very endearing to watch. I managed to drag my sorry butt back to the gym on Tuesday and Wednesday. I got a little lax over the Christmas holidays and as difficult as it was to go back, I felt a million times better after my workouts. Tonight we are meeting with a Social Worker from the school to discuss our delinquent son. Tyler has developed quite the ability to tell stories and we’re a bit concerned it’s out of control. He’s a difficult child to discipline because physically he looks really innocent and he has absolutely no conscience so he never looks guilty. Plus often I find the lies he’s told are amusing. (Shame on me) For example, he told the school administration that we had moved – so convincingly so that they called for our new address. He told his teacher that I had had a new baby. She found out that wasn’t true after asking Kelsey about the new baby. His fibs don’t appear to have any purpose but he’s beginning to develop a reputation among his peers at school for being a liar – not an acceptable situation. It’ll be interesting to see if the Social Worker has any suggestions to offer. Kelsey continues to get older and mouthier. After being yelled at this morning by Tony for leaving a half-full cup of juice on the floor of the toy room, she asked him if he had quit smoking. When he indicated that he was trying, she responded with a knowing nod and said “Mmmhmm, Mom said you would get really grumpy for a while if you quit smoking.” *snicker* Tony quit smoking on Saturday. Who knows if he is actually not smoking. He’s been relatively pleasant with the exception of Sunday, so I’m not entirely convinced that he isn’t sneaking a puff when I’m not around. Hopefully he’ll be successful this time around. Time will tell. Pretty dull week over all. We have lots of plans this weekend – we’re going to see the Ice Dogs on Friday, Ty has hockey Sat and Sun, I have a girl party on Saturday evening and on Sunday I’m going to watch the Canadian Championship in Hamilton – hopefully I’ll have something more interesting to tell next week! One of my best friends – Tricia – is due to have a baby any day now – looking forward to hearing about that! Oh! And click into Kelseys page and have a look at Kelsey with the stars! Bye for now!
Thursday, January 3, 2002
The Year 2001 in Review
So the older I get the more quickly time seems to fly. Hard to believe that another year has gone by. What did 2001 bring? Not until I paused to think about it did I realize how many things have happened in 2001. In early March, I collected my second National title with Team Xtreme – an exciting and satisfying accomplishment. I quit smoking at the end of March and nine smoke-free months later I’m confident that it was a feat that I will never again have to face in my life. I lost 44 lbs and reached a ten year low on my scale – an accomplishment I’m very proud of (and one you can read about in more detail through the "Renee" link below – once I finish it that is). Tony and I joined a trampoline club and learned the freedom of flying – right up until Tony broke his leg and spent 6 months in a cast on crutches that is. Tyler played his first ever game of baseball and later in the year his first ever hockey game. Kelsey enjoyed Gymnastics in a "real" club and has begun to show a definite interest in the sport close to my own heart – Figure Skating. Tony and I celebrated our 10th Wedding Anniversary. Kelsey celebrated her First Communion. We lost our family dog – Hannibul and gained his offspring – Davidson. We got a kitty cat – Harley. We had a new niece arrive in January (Marlies). We sold our home in Port Hope. (although we never actually lived there in 2001). Tony turned 30 – an event I would love to torture him about except for the fact that my own 30th birthday is imminent. My parents celebrated their 35th Anniversary. I took dance lessons. We joined a gym. I retired from competitive skating and embarked on a new skating adventure in Judging. My baby started full time school. My first born refused to go in public with me unless I changed out of my lovely white sweat pants (a momentous moment for me as a mom – she was right – no one should go out in public in white 80’s sweat pants). I learned to skate in Hockey skates and found out I actually LIKE to play hockey. I learned that I’m really lousy at baseball, but that I still enjoy playing. It was a good year. I can’t complain. I wonder what’s in store for us in 2002?