if only i had known....

if only i had known what to do, but it's not in the books, or the blogs, or the forums.

for two nights we have been up crying, playing, screaming, crying some more, the ear infection has been a nightmare for all parties involved.

finally after watching freestyle skiing for an hour at 3 am, he found the place he wanted to be.

a place i never would have placed him in a million years.

he flipped and he flopped and squirmed his way out of my arms, down to my feet, where he nuzzled himself into the crook of my foot. where he finally strung together 3 hours of sleep.

if only i had known thats where he wanted to be... i would have made it happen earlier

us vs. them

In the spirit of the upcoming Olympics, I would like to share with you my thoughts on the way Canadians do two very important things.

The first is cross country skiing.
This picture was taken just over a week ago. We went for a cross country ski and although I fell on my arse two times, I still managed a smile.

I did not take a picture of my experience cross country skiing today because there was no smile involved. There were lots of hills and sprightly Canadians whizzing around me. I would have none of that! So like a true competitor, I took of my skis and walked back to the car. They can't be better if I'm not even trying! Ha!

The second is sledding. Good old-fashioned, no rules, let's get tossed around, when I say "bail" bail, knock people down who are standing in our way sledding.
How are you supposed to do that when your sledding hill looks like this...

Once back on VT soil we took the new sled over to the Round Church hill.


And did some whizzing around of our own.


See Canada!

A picture buffet and proving me wrong.

I hope you pronounced buffet as boofay. It's more fun that way.

There was life before THE bug, I am sure. I just forgot what with all that whoopsin'. Here is some evidence.

I spy an Emah sandwich.


The Whelans steal a quiet moment.


I call this "The Chairlift".


This way Xave!


"Xavey I am TRYING to watch BABE".


"Ok. I forgive you."


Cousins give Bri a massage.




Post Note which is really a pre-note... but later.
Did you see all that embracing, canoodle, snuggling? Might we be huggers?

I Now Know Why

Today was a bit hectic. But I'm glad to say that right now, at 11:32pm I now know a few more things than I did this morning.

* After a good long soak in the hot tub, chased with a jaunt to the steam room, and a hop to the sauna (in lieu of working out this evening at the gym) - I now know why Susie speaks so highly of the tri-bathalon. I think I won it.

* This evening, I watched out the windows as Declan skied and skied and skied under the spotlights (!) in our backyard, down a wee-slope I can hardly call a hill, well after sunset. And, I now know why Damien spent countless hours (and the good Lord knows how much money) working a few weeks ago on "outdoor lighting" while my insides boiled over because he wasn't addressing the real issues with this crazy little Happy House that has more quirks than you can shake a stick at. The outside lights weren't even close to making it on the "needs attention list".

* After driving home from the tri-bathalon with a pit-stop/sista' chat fest - at Emah's, I can honestly say - I now know why I tell any and everyone that I'm so lucky to have family who live close by.