I took an unplanned hiatus last week for so many reasons.  Opa arrived last Monday for his annual visit.  We have been having lots and lots of fun. Swimming, fishing, going to the SuperEx, hanging out on Parliament Hill, going to Museums, birthday dinners and walks in parks.  Packing it all into ten days.  He leaves tomorrow morning, we are sad to see him go and only wish that he would make Ottawa his home again or at the very least a semi-annual home.

I also had a crazy pumpkin hat order.  My biggest one yet.  I had an order for twelve hats and they were to be delivered in two weeks.  It was a challenge so I knit my way through the last two weeks, every spare moment I had including driving in the car to all these awesome places.  As much as I enjoy knitting, it was a bit much. So I may not do another order quite that big, but we will see I am always up for a challenge.

 I have also been busy photographing fabulous families.  I do love my job and am happy that I am getting busier and able to share with others.

Although I am not looking forward to J returning to school it will mean that we will have a return to some normalcy around here. Our summer has been chalk full of visiting and mini-vacations with those visitors.  We need to get back to eating right, proper bedtimes and organization.  My house feels like it is a mess and everything is upside down.  What I would really love is a two week extension on summer vacation just to hang out with my kids and do nothing.  What are my chances?

Sometimes when I arrive she is disoriented and confused. I start by getting her up from bed, telling her about the weather, sharing a story of my children.  I get her to the bathroom to start her morning routine.

As we move through our routine she is sometimes concerned that she will be late for class.  You see thirty years ago she taught English at High School.  She was always prompt and expected the same from her students.  These days are hard, I talk to her about her retirement, how she now can enjoy the quiet life.  I remind her that she is 86 years old.

She is always a little shocked at her age.  She still feels like she is 21, despite the fact that she can no longer drive or go out alone. Always 21.

By this time we are getting into the shower.  As the warm water washes over her you can see a transformation starting.  She picks up her soap and carries through her routine, the same routine she did several times a day after swimming practice.  She was a Mermaid after all.  Synchronized swimming kept her agile and graceful for many years.

As we continue along I get out the shampoo and wash her hair.  As she tilts her head back into the water for a rinse the transformation is almost complete.  I won’t say for a minute that she remembers everything, but she is no longer disoriented, no longer confused.  It is like the water washing over her brings her back to today or almost today at the very least.

By the time we are finished and into fresh pyjamas we are chatting easily about her former students or my children and how they too love to swim.  Brushing out her hair she thanks me again and again for helping her with her shower so she could be ready for breakfast.

And every time I take her down to breakfast I am thankful for the warm water that washes over her and brings her back to us for another day.

Happy Mother’s Day!!  And if you would like a chance to win a spot in my Spring Mini-Sessions on May 15th, head on over to Kids in the Capital and enter the draw.  They are hosting their first Giveaway for Mother’s Day. Don’t miss out!

Saturday we celebrated another year married!  And for the first time in quite a few years we actually had a real date night.

Our original plan was to have dinner at Merlot restaurant, since that was where we got engaged twelve years ago and it is rumored that it will be closing for private functions only later on this year.  Since neither of us were smart enough to call for reservations until Saturday morning we missed out.  The website didn’t say that the dinner was sold out, but apparently it was.  So we went on to plan B, C, and eventually D which had us having an early dinner at Stella Osteria, walking around the market and browsing Chapters without children, and on to a movie at the Cineplex.

We saw Date Night, so appropriate for a wedding anniversary.  We found it surprisingly hilarious.  I say surprisingly because we thought they showed all the good parts in the trailer but, they didn’t! Steve Carroll never disappoints and Tina Fey was perfect for in her role.

We ate too much food, laughed a little too hard then collected the kids from the Grandparents (totally asleep, thank goodness it is warmer out).  All around a perfect evening for the two of us.  Eleven years doesn’t seem like that long some days and seems like eternity others.  Onward to another year.

 On Sunday, I am leaving on an airplane and flying South.  I am attending Workshop on the Waterfront with The Savvy Photographer in St.Michael’s Maryland. This is a really big deal.  Not only because I am going to be surrounded by wonderful women who are photographers but, because I will be leaving these three gorgeous people behind.

I have left Hubby alone before, but never the children.  This is my first time being away from either of the kids.  Twice I have been away from J overnight but both of those situations were less than 8 hours.  I am having anxiety attacks and have cried at least once a day.  I do know this will be good for all of us, but it is really, really hard.  The only thing keeping me going is knowing I will come back with all this knowledge that I can use and share.

I can do it!!  Cheers welcome!

Today I kept J home from school and we took half of our family and half of my Sister’s family to the Canal for a skate and some Beavertails.

Do I feel bad for skipping school?  You bet.  Did I lie to the school about it?  Not at all, I told his teacher two weeks ago that he might miss some school this week.  And I told the office this morning that we were taking time to visit with family.  I think J learned more today than he would have at school.

I should also admit that a few tears were shed and a voice or two were raised, but in the end the smiles and dancing (yes, both my niece and nephew were break dancing on the Canal for us) made the trip well worth it.  J isn’t quite an accomplished skater yet and we didn’t have Apple and her stroller to hang on to so it was a little extra work.  But the reward at the end was well worth it.

And Wow!  I made it to the Canal twice this year already and we aren’t even finished with Winter yet.

On Saturday we surprised J with a visit from his Western Cousins (and my Sister of course).  It was all I could do to keep it a secret from him for two weeks, but I didn’t want to live through two weeks of him not focusing and asking a million times when they were getting here.  I think these photos say it all.

And that progression of silliness pretty much sums up my Saturday and Sunday. And we have a whole week to go…

As I was setting the table last night, I had a moment.  One that I didn’t think I would ever have, but it happened so I can’t ignore it.

Growing up my Mom cooked dinner every single night, well except when we went out for supper, but that rarely happened so basically she cooked every single night.  And it was our job as the kids to set the table.  Every night, Mom would call one or all of us to come set the table for dinner.  My Sister and I would fight over it until the younger ones were old enough then, we let them have it.

Dad may have been late for dinner, but for the most part we all ate together every single night.  Something that Hubby and I have been doing too since we have been together.  Dinner time around the family table is very important to us.  For the most part the tv is off and we share in our day with each other. Even when A is here he knows that is it family time at the table and you have to share.

Hubby and I had been talking about getting a new table for a while. Our old one we bought before we were married from the grocery store, it was inexpensive, but served it’s purpose.  Now that Apple is no longer sitting in her clip on chair, it had become increasingly obvious that we needed a larger table to seat our whole family.  We have been on  a search for one, but nothing we saw suited us nor met our needs.

Before Christmas my Mom and Dad finally decided it was time to get a new kitchen table.  The one they had they bought before they were married.  It had been used and abused and refinished and just didn’t match their kitchen.  Mom and Dad, knowing we were looking for a bigger table, asked us if we wanted it.  At first, we were a little reluctant, it’s old (43 years), a different colour than ours, funky chairs.  But, we decided it would make do until we found the table we were looking for.

Last night as my daughter was helping me set the table, which without its extra leaves is still larger than our old one, I realized that for most of my life, I have eaten at this very table.  I had my first birthday at this table, my first day of school, middle school, high school.  My first date sat and got grilled from my Dad at this table.  My friends would gather around this table after school for snacks, I have done homework at this table I have cried at this table.  This is the Family table.  After it sat in our kitchen for a couple of days, Hubby and I both realized how well it matched the cabinets and even with it’s funky chairs, we love it.  It is entirely possible that we will not continue our search for a new table, because the this table, the one that has now been passed down to me from my Parent is all we need.

We have been doing a lot of nothing around here this holiday season.  This is the first year that Hubby really didn’t have to work between Christmas and New Years.  He did go in for a couple of hours one day, but that was it.  I on the other hand have been filling in for my Dad and Sister with our elderly friends, so every day around noon I head over and make sure all is well at their house. They have been doing quite well and have enjoyed the company.  Today, I even brought the whole family which always lights them up when they see the kids playing in their backyard and running around their kitchen.

One thing that we have been doing is some tobogganing.  Unless it was too cold we would bundle up the kids and head over to the park across the street and zip down some hills.

This one early evening I brought my camera along.  It was late afternoon so I was able to catch some of that wonderful blue light that sets in when the sun goes down.  It was lightly snowing and not too cold.  I was no good on the hills with my bum ankle anyway, so why not grab some fun shots.

Even the big boys had a little fun rolling down the hill.

I can’t believe I am going to say this but, I am really not looking forward to school starting on Monday.  It means back to work and back to the grind.  I have really enjoyed having the family around this past couple of weeks.  Which is a huge accomplishment because normally if the whole family is home, I go a little wonky and wonder why we aren’t away somewhere on vacation instead of home. But, not this time, it has been a wonderful break in the school year and I am already looking forward to March Break when we can do it all again… without the toboggans… hopefully.

Husband, Father, Grandfather, Great-Grandfather

Brother, Uncle, Great-Uncle

Electrician, Actor

Which ever had he wore he wore it well.

Today, on this glorious sunny day, a rare one this Fall, my Father lost his older Brother. It was time, if there is such a thing, for him to go. He has been with us all these many years, but this past one has been a bit harder for him.

Uncle Doug was the funny guy. An electrician by trade but an Actor by love he was always hamming it up for us. Giving all of us cousins something to laugh about. Whether it be a story from his childhood or a tale from one of his shows she always kept us in stitches.

On their 50th Wedding Anniversary 5 1/2 years ago.

His love for his Children, Grandchildren (Great-Grandchildren), Neices, Nephews was amazing. He, along with my Aunt, made sure to make the trip from Montréal to visit with a new Great-Neice or Nephew if we took too long to go and see them.

Great-Uncle Doug holding sweet Apple at 2 months old.

In addition to all of his activities in the Theatre and with friends, he always made time to be the Family Historian. Tracking down our ancestry so we could all know where we came from. We were not just descendants from Indiana and Montréal but, from so much more. Our roots go back to Europe, we have race car drivers in our family, Barrons, farmers and well, Housewives in Ottawa. Uncle Doug researched everything the old fashioned way and I only hope his filing system was as good as my Dad’s so we can all benefit from all of his research.

We will miss you Uncle Doug. From all of us in this great big family that you have been a blessing to, We Love You.

Some of the clan at the 50th Anniversary.