Gratitude

On Monday morning, I snuck out of the kitchen, while the boys were working on their math lesson, to clean up my room. Have I told you how amazing these two boys have been this week as we jump back into our homeschooling routine? It is nothing short of a miracle, but anyhoo . . . I was dusting off the top of my dresser, when all of a sudden I had this overwhelming feeling of gratitude overcome me, and I began to cry. Looking at all the pictures and the various crafts the kids have made me over the years that adorn the top of my dresser, I thought to myself:

I can't believe they are all mine. I have been given so much!

Zoe, my beautiful young woman, who inspires me and who makes me strive to do better each and every day. 

Elliot, my tender-hearted boy, who has taught me more than anyone else and who has made me the mom I am today.

Avery, my baby boy, who fills my life with smiles, joy and laughter.

And Thing 4, my bonus baby, who is a constant reminder to me that God lives, that He knows me, that He answers prayers, and that He loves me.

I am so truly blessed!

I wonder if these two kids could have ever imagined nineteen years ago, when this photo was taken, just how amazing their life together was going to turn out?

I can honestly say they had no clue, but they had hope, and they worked awfully hard to get to where they are today.

Thank you, Heavenly Father. Thank you.

Hodge Podge

So, forgive me today if I am all over the place with my thoughts, but I have so many ideas swimming in my head right now that I have this overwhelming need to share them, all of them.

First of all, homeschooling is going phenomenal so far. I can't believe it! I really thought we were in for a doozy of a day yesterday since it was day two and also because our school day had to be interrupted for a doctor's appointment, but much to my shock, that was not the case. As soon as we arrived home and even after the boys got to eat copious amounts of treats and play a ton of video games at their Grammie's most of the afternoon thanks to my second flat tire this month (grrrrrr!), they got right to work and didn't even complain. Then, today, both the boys finished all of their work an hour early . . . craziness!  Even Elliot has noticed how remarkably different this year is going, and after he finished his math in record time (and received a B+ on it to boot), he exclaimed:

Mom, I think this is our best homeschooling year so far!

To which I full-heartedly agreed and then gave him one ginormous hug to thank him for being so awesome these past three days. Who knows, we may just survive this school year after all?

After school each day, the boys have gone out to shoot crab apples off of our hill using their golf clubs. Their goal is to shoot one into the river, but I have not seen it happen  . . . yet! Last night, though, they grew tired of this game and decided to have an all-out crab apple war. Thankfully, they put their protective gear on . . . I love these two!

As you know, last week I took Baby Girl to the IWK for another check-up and I am pleased to announce, according to her doctor, she is doing amazingly well! Her blood work is perfect and he thinks we may finally have this colitis thing under control . . . for now. Keep your fingers crossed. What you may not know is that after our appointment we participated in a study the IWK is doing between the correlation of a  child's family dynamics and the degree of pain they experience and how they manage it. Zoe and I had a blast doing helping out with this study! First, she had to put her hand in FREEZING cold water, while I watched her endure the discomfort. We were left in a room all by ourselves and videotaped. Of course, we could not stop laughing and cracking jokes. I guess this is just how we deal with things at Shenanigans Inc. Then we had to fill out a ton of questionnaires about our family and how we get along. Afterwards, we had to choose two topics that Zoe and I have recently argued over and we had to sit in a room together and come up with a solution to these problems, all the while being videotaped. It was so funny! We didn't do as much laughing during these two sessions because these points are hot topics between the two of us, but we did come up with solutions. In the end, we were each given $15 for our time (oh, the things we will do for a bit of cash . . . tee hee!), and Zoe received a Junior Scientist Certificate, of which she is very proud!

As we were leaving the IWK, Zoe and I laughed at the fact that someday she could be sitting in an auditorium during one of her med school lectures and have to see these videos of us, but then again, maybe not, since we also fear they will disqualify our results on the basis that we are both clearly crazy . . . tee hee!

Oh, and if you are not a friend of Mr. Level-Headed's on facebook then you missed out on this tidbit of information: he has decided to enter his first body building competition, The New Brunswick Championships, which is only nine weeks away. If you are any good at math, you will also realize that his competition is only two weeks before Thing 4 is due to arrive; therefore, we figure we may need to seek out separate living arrangements at this time since we will both be feeling a little surly and uncooperative . . . tee hee! But for now, we will continue to share our living quarters and fight over the bedroom mirror each night oogling over how big our bodies are getting. If you ask me, though, it is far more fun and a whole lot easier for me to get bigger. :)

The third trimester bump (or week 28)!

Also, I learnt yesterday at my doctor's appointment that I actually lost a half of a pound over the last three weeks, which is perfectly okay according to the doctor, but I found it shocking!  Especially since it was just last week that I went on a four day poutine binge  . . . craziness . . . and yes, very gross. I should be disgusted with myself, but heh, I'm not.

And as promised, albeit a day late, here are some pictures from our Back to School Feast and Festivities. Might I just add, we had so much fun! The food was delicious. In fact, the kids and I could barely move afterwards because we ate so much, but Mr. Level-Headed, or Mr. Discipline as I should call him from now on, stuck with his broccoli and chicken and seemed to enjoy himself too. This year, I decided to serve the appetizer while the chicken wings were cooking, which gave us a full forty-five minutes to sit around the table and talk. And just so you don't go fool yourself into thinking that life here a ferry crossing away is somehow magical and perfect, let me assure you, while I talked all about the importance of pursuing as much education as possible in your lifetime, the kids discussed everything from bodily functions, bodily noises, to soccer. Oh, and I am pretty sure they were making those bodily noises as well . . . tee hee!

Mmmm . . . Skor Cake!

And our goals for this upcoming school year . . . that Thing 4 is so gosh darn considerate . . . tee hee!

There . . . I got it all out, and I feel so much better now. Thanks for listening! :)

The First Day Back

Okay, so I know I said I would not be blogging this week, but I am on such a high right now that I can not help myself. We had the BEST first day of school EVER! I mean it, and I am not talking about just for us, but I am talking about the best first day back to school for all of humanity. It was truly amazing! I don't know if it was due to the fact that this is our third year of homeschooling and perhaps I have finally figured it all out. I don't know if it is because Elliot, after three years, has finally caught the vision, and I don't know if Hell has finally frozen over, but whatever it is, whatever guardian angel was sent to smooth things out for us today, I will take it, and I am forever grateful for it. Seriously, I was expecting all kinds of awful, but none of that happened. I had two, cooperative, albeit not impressed that summer vacation was over, boys who worked their butts off. Sure there was a time out for pushing, a time out for a change in attitude, and a time when the mama had to raise her voice in order to reign in her hoodlums and stop them from jumping on the couch, but heck, that is nothing! There were no tantrums thrown, there were no tears, there were no shut-downs and there were no mutinies. Yep, I can safely declare this to be the best first day back to school ever!

The day began at 7am, and much to my shock, although the boys were exhausted from our Back to to School Feast and Festivities the night prior (more on this tomorrow), they got out of bed and went straight to work doing their morning routine. No big deal, right? WRONG! This was a huge deal because it was just last night that I informed Elliot that he no longer gets a half an hour of screen time before school starts for getting up out of bed on time and performing his routine within the allotted time. The even crazier thing is that when I first informed him of this new change to the routine, which I thought alone could bring upon the apocalypse, he rolled his eyes and simply walked away. 

What no screaming? No accusing me of being the worst mother on the face of the earth?  No cry for an end to this cruel and unusual punishment inflicted upon innocent and deserving children?

I guess not. The alarm went off this morning, and he was ready to start the day by 8am. It was kind of anti-climatic.

Then, he worked his hardest all day long. I heard him chuckle while reading his new novel, The Indian in the Cupboard. He got really into a project we did for our study of Ancient China, where the boys decorated our bulletin board with illustrations and facts about the animals of China. He took notes in Science, wrote out his spelling words in both cursive and print, and he did his math warm up of 80 multiplication facts in the blink of an eye AND with only one mistake. Folks, I don't know where my son is, but if you find him, there is no need to return him. I am quite happy with this impostor . . . tee hee!

Sure, I am going on and on about Elliot, but Avery had a great day too. Yes, he was the one who had the two time outs and he was the one who instigated the mid-school break of rough-housing in the living room, but he aced everything he did! At one point, he was doing his math, his grade four math (I can't believe he is in grade four!), and he turned to me and exclaimed:

This math is soooo easy, and you were afraid that summer vacation would rot my brain . . .  wrong!

. . .  tee hee!

I love that kid!

Yep, the day was pretty spectacular, and it even ended on a good note. Elliot did his homework without complaint (he completes his corrections from that day as homework now in preparation for high school,which is only two years away . . . eeek!). We had no where to go and so the boys spent the evening golfing with crab apples in our backyard (again, I have the funniest kids!), which allowed me to tackle one job on my chore list. Baby Girl did a fashion show for me with all the clothes her Grammie bought for her today during their girls-day-out, and we had leftovers for supper (no fuss, no muss, and more importantly, no mess!) Pinch me, I must dreaming! And now for the proof:

Our jam-packed lesson plan, which was way too much because we did not finish it all until 4pm, but no one complained!

Two hard working boys:

Our Animals of China bulletin board:

One of Elliot's drawings. I had to laugh when I noticed that he was putting funny captions alongside each of his animals. This one is of the Takin, who we learnt is considered the rarest animal in the world; therefore Elliot wrote: "The zookeeper says I'm special!" . . . tee hee!

Here is Avery's camel. Avery LOVES to draw and so he took this assignment very seriously. I love how he coloured the camel in two tones of brown, and he included the fact that camels do NOT carry water in their humps. This fact blew his mind! I swear he found this even more shocking than the Santa Secret, which he also just figured out today. It's a long story, but let's just put it this way, he handled it much better than his brother . . . tee hee! 

The very yummy, and definitely not nutritious in any way shape or form, lunch that Grammie delivered to the boys when she picked up Zoe for their lunch and shopping date. They were in heaven, and I lost track of how many times they exclaimed: "Grammie is the best!"

Yep, this indeed was the best first day back to school ever!

And now I am preparing myself for the inevitable crash that I like to call "day two" . . . tee hee! Come on, let's be realistic here. This was just one of those cosmic irregularities, which will never come along again in my lifetime . . . but I can hope.

Wish me luck!

Eleven Days Worth of Nonsense

You are going to have to forgive me, but I am about to cram a whole lot of nonsense into today's post because this will be the last one for awhile. We are taking a quick jaunt up to Halifax tomorrow for Baby Girl's appointment at the IWK, then we are rushing home to begin our whirlwind weekend of soccer, soccer and more soccer. Go Hampton U16AA girls!  On Sunday, we are going to church (as long as a certain someone's head remains lice-free . . . keep praying for us), and then we are having our annual Back to School Feast 

Our theme this year is "Seek Learning", and we will be reading this article to inspire and encourage the Wee Websters and Mr. Level-Headed in their upcoming year of studies. I know . . . I am such a geek! I don't even know when I am going to have a chance to make all the food we have planned.

Then, it is showtime: Monday morning the boys and I will be waking up bright and early to kick off our first day of school . . . eeeeek! Where did the summer go? I am taking the first week of school off from the blog because I foresee having to channel all of my energy into motivating, consoling, and prodding my boys of summer back into a routine. Ugh! This is not going to be easy.  . . . again, keep me in your prayers.

Anyhoo . . . 

11 days worth of Shenanigans Inc. is about to commence in 3 . . . 2 . . . 1 . . .

This week marks my 27th week of being pregnant. I am really enjoying this pregnancy, but I am reaching the point now where all I want to do is to meet my baby. People always ask me what I think I am having, and in all honesty, I don't have a clue. Sure, some books say that mom's have a keen intuition about the gender of their baby, but that has never been the case with me. For Zoe, I thought I was having a boy. For both Elliot and Avery, I thought I was having girls. Clearly, I am not a reliable source, and since I have never had success with my past guesses, I haven't even tried to make a prediction for this little one. Some days, Thing 4 is a Leif and some days, Thing 4 is a Harriet. Even my dreams seem to be confused!

Last week I had a very vivid dream, where I was taking Thing 4 to the doctor because he or she had a diaper rash. When the doctor took off Thing 4's diaper to see the rash, this little penis popped up. I was shocked and exclaimed:

You're a boy?! I thought you were a girl.

Then I picked up my baby and held him close to my face. I whispered:

Really? You are my Leif and not my Harriet.

I could not get over the shock, but I was pleased nonetheless. When I awoke from that dream, I was convinced that Thing 4 is a boy.

Then . . .

A couple of nights ago, I had another dream. I do not remember the premise of this dream, but I do remember Mr. Level-Headed sitting in a big, comfy chair, talking to our baby girl, Harriet, who at this point was a toddler. She had a head full of curly, brown hair and was asking him a million and one questions. When I awoke from this dream, I started thinking that perhaps we are having a girl . . . tee hee!

Ultimately, I guess we will have to wait another 12 weeks before we know for certain, but I am having a lot of fun speculating on who this little person I am carrying actually is.

27 week bump

 But there is one thing I know for certain, and that is that this craving for poutine has got to stop. I am not even going to tell you how many poutines I have had since Friday night, but know this, it is more than two and less than four . . . tee hee! Oh, and for the record, Costco makes a ridiculously good poutine and it is super huge and it is super cheap. Costco, you just keep getting better and better in my eyes . . . 

Look at those cheese curds! Some of them were as big as the french fries . . .  Heaven!

Yesterday, was a big day here at Shenanigans Inc. Not only did I discover Costco poutine, but Elliot finished a honk'n huge novel that he actually started during the school year. It took him 30 minutes a day/ five days a week for about three months, but he got through it and more importantly, he enjoyed it! In fact, he has already picked up the second book in the series and asked if he could read it just for fun.

Ummmmmm. . . YES!

How long have I waited to hear those words being uttered from one of my children's mouths? Far too long if you ask me.

The book is called the Beyonders and the third one just came out.

Funny, Elliot. Very funny!

Oh, and since we are talking about books, Baby Girl ACTUALLY read a book this summer. A big kid's book, nonetheless, and it was fiction . . . gasp! This may come as a shock to you, but as smart as that girl is, she is not a reader. Sure, she has a stack of non-fiction books, fact books, and Baby Mouse graphic novels by her bed at all times, but she is not one to sit and read a novel. Well, that all changed this summer and I am giddy about it. Perhaps we need to start up our very own mother-daughter book club . . . only kidding Baby Girl. I promise to take it slow . . . tee hee!

And that is all, folks. I hope you had your fill of us. See you in September!

The 2013 Soccer Champs

Last night's soccer game was probably one of the best games I have ever watched. It was so intense! Our U12AA Kingston boys' team definitely went into this game as the underdog, and who doesn't love to see the underdog come out on top, for at least a bit, or give the Alpha Male a really good scare. By the time I arrived at the game, Fundy was winning 2 - 1, and having seen our boys play against them before, I kind of thought I knew how this game was going to go down. 

The back story:

Kingston Soccer is a small club. We are situated in a small, rural area, with just a handful of kids to choose from each year to make up our teams. I say choose, but honestly, I don't think we have ever cut anyone from a team because we need all the bodies we can get. Every year it is a struggle to field the AA teams, and sadly, this year we were only able to put together a boys U12 and a boys U16 team, which is why Baby Girl had to jump ship last year and join a neighbouring soccer club, Hampton.  Most years, our teams are comprised of kids with varying levels of skills and experience and with a wide range in age; for instance, this was the first year our goalie had ever played on a AA soccer team. In fact, I believe he just started to play soccer this past winter during Kingston's indoor program. We also have a handful of kids who technically should be playing on a U10 team, but we needed them to join us in order to put a team together, which is why Avery, who is only 9, plays alongside his big brother who is 12. Not to mention, our young players, since they have always played with the older kids, are very, very, strong soccer players. 

Fundy Soccer Club, on the other hand, is situated in an affluent suburb, only fifteen minutes (and a ferry ride) away from Kingston. Their club is comprised of literally hundreds, if not a thousand, kids, and they are able to field teams of all kinds: house, AA and premier. The kids who are on their competitive teams have been playing soccer since they were little and have gone through all the various training camps, workshops and winter programs the club has to offer. 

So, I think it is fair to say that we, Kingston, were definitely going into this game as the underdog. In fact, we ranked fifth in the league and they ranked first, and we only secured a spot in the play-offs after we beat the fourth place team on Saturday in St. Stephen. I also think it is fair to say that Fundy went into this game pretty confident that they were going to win it hands down, and why wouldn't they? The first time we played them, they beat our team 10 - 2! In fact, one of our parents overheard one of the Fundy kids exclaim: "Why are WE playing this team, the fifth place team?!" . . . tee hee!

Anyhoo . . . 

When I arrived and heard we were losing by one goal in the middle of the first half, I really did think the game was over. I expected to see an onslaught of Fundy goals heading our way because that is what typically has happened in the past, and although our team has beaten teams that have beaten Fundy, we can not seem to get it into their heads, that they are just as good, if not better, than them. Our players seem to have a mental block when it comes to Fundy: "Oh, they are the best and we can not possibly beat them!". Nonetheless, I quickly sat on the bench, and started yelling words of encouragement to our players. Then out of nowhere, Elliot, who has become an insane goal scorer this season, blasted out from the pack of Fundy players on top of  him, with the ball at his feet and sent it clear into the upper left-hand corner of the net. It was beautiful! Our bench erupted in cheers and applause!  Then he scored another one to bring the score up to 3 - 2 for Kingston. This really made everyone sit and take notice. Judging from the look on their faces, you could tell that the Fundy players were feeling a little shaken up. Their world was being rocked and they did not know what to do about it. 

By the second half, Fundy had Elliot's number and they shut him down before he could even touch the ball. Then they scored two goals to bring it up to 4 - 3 Kingston. By this time, the game was uber intense. I was clutching my seat and whispering: "please, please, please! Just let them score another goal!" And then it came. Cameron, one of our defensive players, with an amazing kick on him, sent the ball flying into the net and tied up the game. We lost it! Our bench was in full celebration mode. Kingston maintained the tie for the remainder of the half, which meant we were going into overtime. The only thing worse than overtime is a shoot-out. Ugh! They are so painful to watch because, in my mind, at this point, everyone is a winner, but heading into provincials, there could only be one winning team.

I should mention that poor Mr. Level-Headed, who has coached this team for the past two years, could not be at the game because he had to be in class, and was getting all the play by play from me via text. Finally, I texted him that the score was 4 - 4 and that we were heading into overtime, and his reply was:

I am enroute!

ha, ha! 

It was killing him to not be there, and during his break, he went up to the professor to apologize for spending so much time checking his phone during class. After he explained why he was doing this, the professor exclaimed:

Why are you even here? Get going! Your team needs you. I will email you the notes.

And so in record time, Mr. Level-Headed showed up at the field and was able to see the second half of overtime. Unfortunately, by then Fundy had scored a goal, Elliot was being completely shut out of any scoring opportunities, and we just could not catch any breaks. 

The game ended 5 - 4. Fundy celebrated their victory, and in true Kingston fashion, our boys congratulated them. In fact, many of our players, my boys included, told Fundy they would show up to cheer them on during the finals on Wednesday night. After seeing this, I knew without a shadow of a doubt that we, the U12AA Kingston boys team are indeed the true winners of the 2013 soccer season. We may not have a gold medal, but instead, we have thirteen boys (two were absent from this game) who grew over the course of the summer. Not only did they learn how to play soccer, but they learnt how to work as a team, how to support one another in their weaknesses, how to face difficult situations and to still give 100%, and how to smile and encourage others even when things are not going their way. And so, may I present the best all-round soccer team in the Southern Region Soccer League of New Brunswick:

The Kingston U12AA Boys:

Woohoo!

Okay . . . so if you look closely, Elliot is definitely not smiling, but everyone else is . . . tee hee!

Elliot taking a corner kick!

You can try all you want, but my boy is getting there first!

Cameron - the other goal scorer of the night

Oh, and you know you played a good season of soccer when your cleat falls apart in the last few minutes of your last game:

For further explanation as to how Avery's cleat fell apart, read what Coach Blee had to say:

And another thing... down 5-4, with about no seconds left in overtime, after playing nearly the entire 70 minute game because we were short on subs, 9 year old Avery wins the ball on the touchline and beats two 12 year old players by doing a Maradonna that leaves them standing there looking at their feet and wondering what just happened. No wonder Avery's cleats fell apart by the end of the game. Imagine how the older boys felt trying to keep up with him...

 . . . tee hee! Way to go, Avery!

I am so sad to see the soccer season come to a close. It's been a great one, and I love nothing more than to watch my little munchkins play the game they love so much.  Luckily, Baby Girl's team came second in their division and are playing in the Provincials this weekend. She plays Friday night and three games on Saturday . .. eeek! Wish her luck!

Phew . . . Does anyone else need a kleenex after this one? Or is it just me and those darn pregnancy hormornes?

Have a great day!

My Weekend Full of Unexpected Events

Every Sunday afternoon, I sit down and plan for the upcoming week. My schedule is very detailed and includes meals, chores, a budget, who is going where and who is taking them. It may sound over-the-top, but it is the only way I can keep this ship afloat. Sure, there are always a few tweaks and changes, but for the most part, everything flows nicely once the schedule is in place. Then sometimes, for some unknown reason, the cosmos decides to throw me a couple of curve balls just to keep me on my toes and just to keep life interesting. And, oh, what an interesting weekend it turned out to be . . . tee hee!

On Friday, those of you who regularly read my blog will know, that I was giddy about spending an entire Friday evening and Saturday alone at home with just my hubby. I envisioned a relaxing and rejuvenating weekend, one that I desperately needed since craziness in the form of homeschooling and the arrival of Thing 4 is just around the corner for us (eeeek! Just 7 days till school starts). We had plans to bring supper in and to curl up on the couch to watch Anna Karenina. We were going to wake up early on Saturday morning, eat breakfast together and then peruse a local baby yard sale with my sister. We would then go in town, have lunch together and do a few errands before we returned home to wait for the return of our beloved munchkins. It was going to be heavenly, but . . . it never happened. Instead, this is what our weekend had in store for us:

It started Friday morning when I received an email from a friend that our boys' soccer team had secured a position in the play-offs. This was completely unexpected since the only way that could happen was if one particular team, who besides one tie this season had lost all their other games, beat a pretty tough team in the league. Well, as fate would have it they did beat them, which meant our soccer season was not finished. Although I knew this meant my Saturday plans would be changing, I could not help but feel happy for the boys. They worked very hard this season and an opportunity to play in the play-offs was a huge deal for them. As it just so happened, my boys had two of their friends from soccer spend the night at our house the evening before, which made for four times the celebration!

At 3pm, when their friends had been picked up by their mom, the boys and I began to pack for their next adventure, a night at another friend's camp. They were a little disappointed that since they were in the play-offs we would have to pick them up in the morning to make what we expected to be an afternoon game, but they quickly shook it off. We then jumped in the van and headed to the Superstore to meet the two brave dads who were going to chaperon this much anticipated "boys night" with six hooligan friends. As soon as I pulled up into the parking lot, Mr. Level-Headed called to tell me that our game was scheduled for 10 am in St. Stephen (an hour and a half away from our house).

WHAT?!?!?

This really threw a wrench in our plans. After lots of negotiating between parents and kids, we decided to pick the boys up at 10 pm that night. The boys and I were very disappointed to see our "plans" change, but that is life. I kissed them goodbye, warned them they better behave or else, and then I headed home to meet up with Mr. Level-Headed. Well, it turns out that Mr. Level-Headed had lots of unexpected appointments pop up that day and it looked like he would not be home until later. So, refusing to get down over something as stupid as a date night gone south, I decided to pick up some poutine at Reid's Point Pub and dine not alone, but with my favourite pooch, Scout.

By the way, Scout thinks Reid's Point Pub makes the best poutine ever! 

Since we had to pick the boys up at 10pm, Mr. Level-Headed and I decided to go out to the movies instead because if we stayed home we would probably end up falling asleep on the couch and miss the pick up. As soon as he got home from his appointments, we dashed to the the theatre and made it just in time to see Elysium. What was I thinking with this movie? It was far too intense for me. I spent most of the time plugging my ears, holding my belly (to protect Thing 4) and closing my eyes tightly. Ugh! When it finally finished, I felt like I was suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder. Note to self: do not watch sci-fi thrillers when I am suffering from pregnancy anxiety. The two do not mix! 

Then we rushed out to pick up our boys. For the first time ever, we had a quiet drive home. The boys were exhausted and I was still suffering from shell-shock. When we arrived home, we all went straight to bed. Okay, one of us could not wait until we got home to fall sleep . . . awwwww!

The next morning I woke up early to pack for the soccer game. As I was packing, it occurred to me that we had an entire afternoon off and since we were going to be in the same neck of the woods as New River Beach and since Saturday was their annual sand sculpture contest, I wheeled and dealed with Mr. Level-Headed, who is not a fan of the beach, and came out the victor. 

After a 5-2 win over St. Stephen (4 of which were scored by Elliot . . . the league's second top goal scorer . . .  woohoo!), we headed to the beach for a couple of hours. Mr. Level-Headed and Elliot spent most of the time resting on the blanket, while Avery and I  made several trips around to see the sculptures and dove in the frigid Bay of Fundy waters to collect sand dollars. At one point, we had 17 sand dollars in our hands, but since they were all still alive, we put them back. I have said it a thousand times before, but New River Beach is my favourite spot in the entire world!

At this point, I was really enjoying our spur-of-the-moment weekend, and so when we were discussing with the other parents of the youth who attended the conference in Quebec about who would pick the girls up later that day, I jumped on the opportunity. We were already out and about, our evening was clear, and I really wanted to hear all about Baby Girl's trip while she was still hopped up on the conference buzz.

So after New River Beach, we headed to Fredericton. Sure, we were all tired, sure my weekend budget had been, at this point, obliterated, but we were enjoying a carefree, beautiful summer Saturday all together. What more could we ask for?

Well, as much as I did not expect it, the afternoon got even better! As soon as we saw the bus pull into the chapel parking lot, I got out of the car and began walking towards it. Mr. Level-Headed warned me that Baby Girl would not think it was cool if the first person everyone saw as they walked down the stairs was her mom, but I just laughed him off and kept making a beeline for the bus. I missed my Baby Girl and I needed to see her. Much to my complete and utter shock, Baby Girl was just as excited to see me as I was her and she threw herself into my arms and squealed: "Mom!" as I squealed: "Girlie!". It was the best reunion ever! She had an awesome time in Quebec, and she even introduced me to a young a man that she may or may not have a little crush on, who just so happens to be a supreme cutie . . . tee hee!

The whole way home, Zoe, Hannah, and Min Ju laughed and shared stories about their trip (You can learn lots from listening to three teenage girls chat). There is nothing better for a mama than to see one of her children so happy and so excited. It really warmed my heart, and as we were driving home, I thought to myself: 

Man, this has been one amazing summer!

On Sunday morning, I awoke feeling refreshed and eager to start our day. Although our weekend had completely derailed from the schedule, it turned out awesome and I could not have asked for a better weekend. Mr. Level-Headed was up and out early that morning because he had a church meeting to attend in Moncton. The kids and I got dressed, ate breakfast and still had a half an hour to spare before we had to leave for church. With the sun shining and an entire afternoon home with nothing but rest and relaxation with all my kiddos planned, I thought to myself:

This is the perfect end to a perfect weekend.

Then . . . .

Elliot started scratching his head. Not a little scratch, but a deep, long scratch. I froze. The last time he scratched like that was last fall when he had lice for the first time. 

Elliot, why are you scratching?

My head is super itchy!

Ugh! Come here. Let me check your head in the sunlight.

And sure enough, I found one. Then two, and then some eggs.

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

So, my relaxing Sunday turned into a day of vacuuming, laundry, changing bedding, checking heads, treating one head, and shaving two boys' heads. 

Okay, so sometimes straying from the schedule can really suck . . . tee hee! 

Wish me luck this week!