Happy 52nd Anniversary Mom and Dad!

52 years ago today, my mom and dad tied the knot....and if that's not an inspiration to all married couples out there, I don't know what is!  LOL  (just kidding!)

Anyone who knows my mom and dad, knows that they fight occasionally(as all couples do), and they don't always see eye to eye....They come from different backgrounds...My father raised on a farm in  Meadowbank, PEI, and my mom from Charlottetown, PEI...But they love each other very much, and would do anything for each other...

They've battled the good times and the hard times.....They've raised 3 beautiful daughters, and have 8 wonderful grandchildren, and 3 terrific great grandchildren....

They`ve travelled together...made many life decisions together....through sickness and in health....they`ve always made it through.

They`ve built many homes together, and shared many adventures and dreams together...

But most of all, they`ve shared great love and happiness....

You are an inspiration to your children and to the many others who know you.

Happy 52nd Wedding Anniversary Mom and Dad!   Here`s to the many more to come!

XOXOXO

J-TAD Day...What is it? I'm still learning....

We had a new co-worker join our team in January, and with him he brought something called J-TAD Day.  It was something he created when he worked at our sister station in Saint John.  There, they take it to a whole other level with games, and food, and I would imagine a few celebratory pops after work...But it was our first year celebrating, so we started out small..

A few tasty treats for our indulgence...It wasn't mandatory, but a few of us brought in some munchies..
The day was apparently created due to the fact that New Brunswick does not have a February holiday...so instead of a day off, there is a day for festivites instead. The name J-TAD was created using the initials of the employees who worked at our sister station when the day was established..

Some of the participants for the 2012 festivities in Moncton were.....

The Creator of J-TAD Day(The lei's were an added touch....Although, I think the employees in the rest of the building thought we were crazy!)

Creator and a soon to be departed member of our Sales Team(who is relocating to our sister station in Saint John)

Saleswoman extraordinaire

Our hard working Producer

One of two of our dedicated Reporters(the other is in Cuba)

Another skilled Salesperson

And I saved the best for last...She doesn't always look like this...Honestly....Just a tad grumpy, and still under the weather after being off sick for two days...She is normally the one wearing a smile....But unfortunately for this yhear's J-TAD Day she was just getting by....Next year she'll have the chance to enjoy.

So that is J-TAD day in a nutshell....Perhaps with a little exposure, maybe the next step is a Wikipedia page, and who knows?  The whole concept could catch on, and New Brunswickers across the province will start celebrating it on an annual basis.....or at least until the Alward government finally decides to give us a February holiday......

Guess we'll just have to keep celebrating J-TAD Day eh?

In bed for the last two days, but now back at it....

I apologize to those of you who have been following my blog.  I have been MIA blog wise for the past two days, because I got some type of flu bug or something like it....It wasn't your typical flu bug with vomiting, but it had all of the other symptoms attachment...Chills, congestion, sneezing, coughing and others..I was very tired, so I was sent to my room and quarantined for two days....It's an awful feeling..  But I'm back at it now, thank goodness, just in time to go back to work tomorrow(FIGURES!!!!)  Not much of a weekend for me.

I wanted to write about my son's assessment results...They came back early, as we were told we probably wouldn't get them until March.  They normally show results in red, yellow or green.  Red,  had difficulty, yellow,  had some difficulty, and green,  no problems..

Here is what my son got.,...

I called the District to enquire as to what happened to the reds, greens and yellows......Turns out, he got two reds, a yellow and a green, and she said that the reason they didn't send it out that way, is because sometimes it is very overwhelming for a parent.    I don't know, I think the assessments as a whole are overwhelming PERIOD....For first time parents, as I was with my daughter, it was worrisome, because we always think it's our fault, that we did something wrong, didn't educate them well enough...When my daughter had her assessment, she got three greens and a yellow, and I panicked....Can you imagine how I was when I got the report about my son?....Now I know, they say that boys are slower learners, and he is what they call  "a late baby"...What they mean by that is, children are able to go into Kindergarten as long as they turn 5 in that school year, whether it is in January of that year or in December.....My son was born in November, so technically when he starts school, he is only 4, and his maturity level and the amount he has learned is different than that of a boy who has turned 5 in January, because they are almost a year older than him...

So, what they do is give parents the option of holding their child back..If the child is born in September through December, they have the option of holding the child back for another year.  Some say this is the right thing to do, because of the way the school system is these days...They don't retain children...what I mean is, they don't fail them anymore...So if your child isn't up to the same level as all the other kids, they just fall further and further behind....That's why they do these assessments to begin with, so parents know what their kids should know when they start Kindergarten...and if they don't know all of these things, then they are technically already behind when they start out...Some children catch up, while others don't....

I asked the woman at the School District, "So what about those children who are held back and then a few years down the road, they catch up maturity wise, and they become bored?"  She said, 'It is easier for the education system to add work for a child who is bored, than to try and assist a child who has fallen behind." 

So they give you until September to decide what you'd like to do....Send them off to school or keep them home for another year....My son is a very smart boy, but the School District says it is not about intelligence that leaves a child behind, it is their maturity level..If they are unable to do things independently, then they will not succeed....

It's hard to believe....Sometimes I think it's a lot of of pressure to put on these kids...They're five years old.....

Well, he's only 4 right now, but look at him..He's still wearing the chocolate ice cream on his face from supper...

To be completely honest, it's really not the kids who suffer the pressure..unless as parents we make apply the pressure on them to do well in school, to be the perfect kids....He doesn't know how his assessment went....As far as he is concerned, he did the best he could..But how do you hold a child back from  Kindergarten, who can't wait to go to school in September?  What would a parent tell them?  How do you explain that to them?

I've had a couple of people tell me that I should hold him back....and others who have said, "Send him...He'll be fine."   My husband and I want to send him, and hope for the best, but there's always that little part of me who worries, what if he does fall behind?  What if he's not ready?  How do you explain it to your child when they end up having difficulty in school because they weren't ready to begin with? 

Seems to me, we're kind of damned if we do, damned if we don't.....Guess we just have to make a decision and hope for the best...

This was his latest purchase...He was excited to find this one.....An oldie, but a goodie...I loved it too!

It's winter....and there's no one around....

Ever wonder what some of your favourite tourist destinations look like in the winter?  My kids and I took a drive up to Magnetic Hill today to take some pics....Everything is closed up for the winter....even the zoo..Some of the animals are still there, but you can't get it to see them....Even some of the access roads to the tourist attractions are closed off, because they haven't been plowed...

This is Magic Mountain....and as you may have figured out, it is a water park in the summer..This is one of the many slides that often has a long lineup of eager watersliders just waiting to take the plunge..

Later this year, I'll take a few more pics....when the attractions are open, and there will be so much more to see... 

Casino New Brunswick, and the Hotel alongside it....which is not closed in the winter...It is open almost 24 hours a day as a matter of fact....and I don't think the parking lot is ever empty...This was taken from on the Hill on Front Mountain Road..

Moncton is busy pretty much all year round, but especially in the summer....We have a lot of tourists stop in to see the sights, and these are just a few of the reasons they come.... 

It's Roll up the Rim to Win time!

It's the time of year when the lineups at Tim Horton's get longer.....Roll up the Rim to win time....I bought my first tea this morning, with the potential to win...

Here in Atlantic Canada, there are six 2012 Toyota Camry Hybrids being given away...or at least there are six winning cups here in Atlantic Canada somewhere...There are twelve Panasonic 3D TV packages, 121 Coleman Camping packages, 603 Panasonic digital cameras and 3,016 $100 Tim`s cards...

My first roll up the rim cup for 2012.....

Hey, I don't need the top prize.....Now, don't get me wrong, I wouldn't refuse the car if I won it, but I'd be just fine with the 3D TV package, or even the Coleman camping package....

But with my luck, I doubt I'll see too many winning cups.....Considering I buy the lotto tickets for work, and all last weekends purchase amounted to was $8 and a free ticket....Guess it was better than  nothing....but it certainly isn't enough to let me retire early.

Oh, and on another topic...Today was Shrove Tuesday, and we had pancakes for supper....Yummy!  My co-worker had me craving them this morning with this picture on his facebook....

My sick husband even crawled off the couch to make them for us tonight....The kids had sprinkles in theirs!  Added some extra colour!  And Aunt Jemima syrup to go with them.(not as good as real maple syrup, but I can't complain)  Delicious!

And after getting into their pj's, my two kids, who look so cute together, climbed up into my chair and surfed the net...

I love my kids......Look at those faces...How can I not?

The dollhouse...

You may have read one of my previous posts about my Smurfs.....I have another post about something that has been handed down to my children from my childhood....

My mom hung onto my dollhouse, the one I got for Christmas when I was about 13 years old...In 2010, we decided that my daughter was old enough to have it.....
That would make this dollhouse about 29 years old...

When you look at the decor, you can tell that the dollhouse is quite a few years old....And the clothes that that mom and dad are wearing!  Whoah!  Mom is in a skirt, your "Leave it to Beaver" type mom, and Dad is really stylish(back in the 80's maybe!)  The furniture as well.....a yellow fridge and stove...green toilet...and the couch and chair, a lovely choice...back then anyway...

It has been kept in very good shape, and so far my daughter has maintained it....I loved that dollhouse..I played with it for hours on end when I was a child...Times haven't changed , girls are still playing with dollhouses...Just maybe the decor and the look of some of the dollhouses is a bit different...and I don't know that you could find one of this quality anymore..The ones you get these days, I don't think keep as long.

If you look closely at that second picture, there is also an uninvited visitor.....

It's amazing what a cat can squeeze through!

One of the things I observed over the weekend......I've seen the pictures...Perhaps you have too..  The ones where a cat manages to squeeze its head into a tall glass or a bottle.....I think it might actually be possible...My kids have a Little People farm....And our cat decided she wanted to take a shortcut...Never mind walking around it...

She went right through it!

When she first glanced through it, I didn't think there was any way she could do it....But she proved me wrong...and she did it over and over again after that.   So I guess it is true...Cats can squeeze through small places...Maybe she came from a farm before we adopted her, and this made her feel right at home?   

No holiday for us here in New Brunswick...

I was unable to post yesterday....I have come down with some sort of eye infection...similar to a clogged tear duct, or something to that effect.  My eyeball is fine, but my eyelid and the corner of my eye are very swollen and red.  I went to the doctor yesterday and they said antibiotics weren't the answer, just warm and cold compresses to get the swelling down.....and baby shampoo cleanses the eye...So I have spent the day doing just that....Some of the swelling has gone down, but it is still very red and still a bit sore...and very itchy!  I'll have to see how it goes and if it doesn't get any better, I'll have to head back to the doctor I guess...

Now that I have updated you on my situation, I must point out that today is a holiday is many of the Canadian provinces, but not here in New Brunswick...In Alberta, Ontario and Saskatchewan it is called Family Day...In Manitoba, Louise Riel Day, and in Prince Edward Island, it is called Islander Day....British Columbia will add the February holiday in 2013, and it will be called Family Day. 

 

The calendar I have hasn't even been updated to include the Prince Edward Island holiday..It was established in 2009.

New Brunswick residents have been trying to push for a February holiday as well...In 2010, former NB Premier Shawn Graham promised to establish a Family Day if he was re-elected.....But he wasn't brought to power again...and the new Conservative government hasn't visited the issue...

It's a long stretch without a holiday.  January 1st is the last one, and then we go until April 6th, which is Good Friday....The kids get March break, and a few other PD days in between...but for those who work, there isn't a holiday, unless you use one of your own...for those that have them through their workplace..Some people are forced to take a day off without pay if they need a day off....

I think the provincial Conservative should consider adding a Family Day in this province as well....Of course, they have so many other things to think about like reducing the deficit..and that's priority....but maybe with all of the additional costs taxpayers are potentially faced with...maybe a day off is what they all need....a bit of a stress reliever.....another long weekend....a day to spend with family......which is what should be important in most peoples lives......After all, if you get sick with cancer, is your workplace going to be there for you?  Chances are, they might be briefly......But eventually, as you are going through your treatment, they'll have to fill your role.....The business world  must go on.....But hopefully your family and friends will be there the whole time to support you.....

A February holiday also might make workers perform better as well.....Think about the number of days we spend at work each year...The number of of years we spending working in our lifetime.....One less day isn't going to impact the work world that much is it?  But the impact it could have on a family, could mean a lot....

My son's sledding "Mis"adventure!

So, my son went sledding with his pre-school yesterday....and he was really looking forward to it.   Going to Centennial Park with the kids in his class......That was at 9am yesterday morning...

We got a call at 12:15 that he was throwing up....so we assumed that maybe he was coming down with something...  So we rushed over to pick him up...When my hubby got there, he learned of the "mis"adventure.   Turns out, when my son got to the hill, he was so excited that he jumped on a toboggan with another little boy and decided to go down the hill by themselves....My son, of course, got the worst of it.   Getting the story second hand is always harder...It's like playing the game of telephone, when the story goes from one person, to the next, to the next...and then by the end the story isn't as it was supposed to be.(Do you remember that game?  I used to play it at Girl Guides, in a circle...and usually we would just do a camping list and had to try to remember everything on the list as we whispered it in the next person's ear......and the list was never the same in the end.)  Anyway, there I go, off rambling again.....

SO...back to my story.....from what I am told, the toboggan was going down the hill, and the kids fell off, one landing on top of my son....and when he got up, he asked Teacher Jaime, "Teacher?  Does the snow bleed?"    (which of course makes us giggle a bit....Kids say the darnedest things!)  Turns out the blood was from his face and wrist...

Just some minor scrapes and cuts.....But the other child?  Of course came out unscathed....Does that surprise me?  Not at all, because I have come to the conclusion that my son is accident prone....The things he has been through....He is your typical boy in many ways!

Now as to why he threw up his lunch, we're not sure.....I immediately thought, "Possible concussion"  as many moms would...But after a thorough examination, it doesn't appear that he hit his head....He says he didn't....We kept a close eye last night and he seems fine this morning....So whether he was in shock, and threw up, I'm not sure...Maybe the cucumber went down the wrong way?  The teacher said he was fine at the sledding hill for the rest of the morning and had a great time, sledding with the rest of the kids....So, we move on....and I guess just keep an eye for any strange behaviour....

He's a pretty tough kid....And we all know he's had his share of bumps and bruises.....This is just another "mis"adventure to add to the list...

The Nova update....our new kitten!

As you may have read, we adopted a new kitten in early January, and it is amazing how quickly they grow.  She is still quite the playful thing(we all have the scratches to prove it!)  but I thought I'd post a couple of pics for those who might be interested.

She looks a bit like a demon cat in this second one, but I wasn't able to fix it..

She is fitting in well and the kids just love her.  I think she was the perfect choice!  Thanks Moncton SPCA!

Attack of the Smurfs!!!

When I was a child, I was a little bit spoiled........Okay, I admit...I was a lot spoiled.  The Smurfs were a big fixture in my life when I was about 11 or 12 years old.  Believe it or not, I looked up some of the history, and the Smurfs were actually first introduced in a series of comic strips by a Belgian cartoonist Peyo.  I pulled a little more info from The Smurfs Wikipedia site.   http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Smurfs

"The Smurfs (French: Les Schtroumpfs) is a comic and television franchise centered on a group of small blue fictional creatures called Smurfs, created and first introduced as a series of comic strips by the Belgian cartoonist Peyo (pen name of Pierre Culliford) on October 23, 1958. The original term and the accompanying language came during a meal Peyo was having with his colleague and friend André Franquin at the Belgian Coast. Having momentarily forgotten the word "salt", Peyo asked him (in French) to pass the schtroumpf. Franquin jokingly replied: "Here's the Schtroumpf—when you are done schtroumpfing, schtroumpf it back..." and the two spent the rest of that weekend speaking in "schtroumpf language".^[3] The name was later translated into Dutch as Smurf, which was adopted in English."

Hmmmm...I didn't know that before, but it is interesting to read exactly where the name "Smurf"  came from.   Maybe you didn't know that either.... It's amazing what you can learn when you read blogs eh!    Anyway, back to my original point.   I was lacking in the topic department tonight for a blog idea, so I decided to have a little fun with the kids.  This gets me back my original point of being spoiled......Yes, believe it or not, I did have a point...I had a large collection of Smurfs as a child.   About 125 of them to be exact.  You know, those little blue figurines they sold back in the 80's when the little blue characters were popular......I used to have the little toadstool houses to go with them.  And my Aunt Gail Scott even made me a ceramic one as well that I used in my Smurf Village.   Well, the toadstools are long gone, but my mom held onto the Smurfs, thinking that maybe someday they would be worth something....Who would've thought they would make a comeback?  Now that they have, my children have inherited the little blue guys...

We counted them....There are 116 in the pictures.....The others, are around the house somewhere....

Every so often, my giant children decide to overtake the Smurfs.....as you can see in the photo below....

But the Smurfs always get their revenge.....This time, it wasn't on the children....They took their anger out on the adults!     Attack!!!!

We think the really angry Smurf, who had apparently been playing in black mud or something, was behind the attack....You'll see him in the picture below...

I think Daddy will recover..The kids rescued him and the Smurfs are now safely away in their box in the cupboard again......Or are they?   Hmmmmmm...I wonder if they have their own little village in there...

If Nova could talk, the stories I'm sure she'd tell........

:)

The Petitcodiac River on a cold and foggy day...Chilling!

This morning, because of the colder weather, we had some thick fog roll in over the Petiticodiac River, and it made for some amazing shots....It was almost as though there was a wall of fog...

  

I'm lucky that my workplace overlooks the river, and I have the chance to see these types of things on a daily basis.... 

I also took some pics yesterday morning, when the temperature was about minus 23...and the windchill made it feel like around minus 34....Brrrrrrrrrr!!!!!!!

Things are going to warm up here a little bit tomorrow...We'll escape the deep freeze, and according to the Weather Network there may be more snow on the way for Friday......but that is still days away, so who knows whether it will snow or not...