"An invisible red thread connects those who are destined to meet regardless of time, place or circumstance. The thread may stretch or tangle but it will never break." -Chinese Proverb



30.5.10

Parts I don't like!



We've been spending a lot of time in the back yard....playing in water, playing on climbers, digging through gardens, having lots of fun.
Adrien woke up from nap yesterday with his limbs covered in blister looking welts.....panicked (because we don't have ANY medical history) I brought him to the ER. Thankfully it was EMPTY and our entire visit was an hour from arrival to departure. Anyways, the doctor was horrible.....I'm sure he passed his medical exams with flying colours and did well on his residency but COME ON PEOPLE....listen to patient parents when we try to give you information before you claim my son has RING WORM (which I thought he meant pin worm so I felt better {but not much} when the Dr tried telling me ring worm was EVERYWHERE). Well, I filled the prescription and headed home noticing the welts going down and disappearing from his arms. Within an hour (before application of medication) all the welts were gone....obviously NOT ring worm.....Why can't doctors be more thorough....it wouldn't have killed him to do a bit of research....WHATEVER....so I called the pharmacy and had a fabulous conversation with the pharmacist who gave me some great insight......I need to know what is happening to our medical care in this province....I know funding is being cut but why should that effect the quality of knowledge of our Doctors and nurses....My hubby has been trying to get help from our family doctor for an issue for the last three years and the doctor keeps putting him off....it's horrible....

UPDATE: rash came back during his Sunday nap....took tons of pictures of the rash, sent the pictures to our family doctor....went in to see the doctor....DX= HIVES!

24.5.10

Really

On Saturday, the squirt and I went to my dad's for a BBQ.....it was in celebration of a pseudo uncle recovering from a year of not great health. Which means my pseudo cousin, her husband and two girls were there, pseudo cousin's brother and wife were there, both my brothers and my brothers family was there, another pseudo cousin family was there including an aunt, her mother and one of her sons with his wife and 1 year old. Also in attendence was a cousin, his son and father in law, old neighbours, my SIL's parents and three close friends...you know, people that are FAMILY!!!!!....randomly, there was this couple there.....only my dad and brothers seemed to know them....which isn't uncommon as they frequently invite customers to these BBQs and because pseudo uncle is in construction, I assumed that they knew him as well.
WELL, as the story goes, told to me by my SIL (and I may be butchering it or embellishing it as my memory isn't the greatest) my brother was working with this woman (who is a kitchen designer). She casually asked my brother what his plans were for the long weekend....my brother responded that there wasn't much going on though there would be a BBQ at his dad's on Saturday. She quickly asked what time and then sighed saying she had something at 5 but would try to make it for a few hours. My brother is a VERY polite man (most of the time) and I can only imagine his face as he tried to hide the confusion and shock of this conversation, probably replaying it over and over in his mind trying to recall if he had invited her....... never the less, he didn't invite but she and her partner attended. So, the boy is playing with his cousins and the other children there, I'm chatting and catching up with pseudo cousins, SIL and bros and this woman is trying to get in on our conversations.....I don't know, I try to be polite but sometimes it doesn't work.....she cornered me asking me if Adrien was mine, when I responded yes, she asked me how far along I was.......My response to her was a very curt "I'm just fat" Now...I know I'm a BIG girl, I get it, but I'm pretty proportionate..... I have NEVER before been mistaken as pregnant....but there is a first for everything....so I go and scurry over to my SIL to tell her, laugh and lick my wounds....when she comes over AGAIN....and starts telling me how my SIL is doing right, being pregnant with her 4th and how the kids can keep each other occupied and that I need to get on it and have another one soon..... At this point I felt I had 2 choices. I could have told her that I was in fertile and couldn't get pregnant and adopted my son (which should have embarrassed her to no end) or do what I did, told her that a 2nd child was a work in progress and hopefully sooner than later there would be another one in our home. I realize that I'm probably maturing because normally I would have responded the first way. But then I thought, this woman is a stranger and I'm not sharing that we adopted our son, I didn't share the adoption out of shame but out of respect for Adrien's privacy. Anyways, there were MANY sighs of relief when she left and we all had a good laugh!

Today we spent the morning in the back yard, I have finished cleaning up the garden and backyard and we know have some tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers and onions in the garden. Next week I will be planting beans and peas. Anyways, the neighbour came over with her daughter, we filled up the pool, watched the kids play, ate lunch and had freezes....what a great morning!

23.5.10

He's 2.....my baby is 2

Our baby is a 2 year old.....entering into the stage where he starts to discover who he is, what parental buttons to push, who he wants to play with, what he likes and doesn't like.....where he becomes a little more risky is exploring his environment, protesting his parents' wishes and testing limits.
If you told me a year ago that I would love this person this much, I would have laughed at you......now my heart is so full it feels like bursting....sometimes when I look at him, I can't catch my breath....

24 month update
* still waiting on his last four teeth
* he may need boosters or shots at 24 months, but I'll be honest, I have no idea!
* we suspect he may suffer seasonal allergies and will find out more
* I laugh when he calls to me "Neeshe (trying to say my name), where are you?" or calls from the slide "Catch you...."
* his vocabulary is exploding, he saying words that I know I've never taught...like tiger....his words are more clear

Can't wait to spend the summer with him and his daddy exploring the city, swimming, playing in the back yard, gardening (hey, how did that get in there), going to parks.....driving to New Brunswick and back (ugh!) I love this age....and can't wait to start the adoption process all over again....sooner than later (we hope!)

18.5.10

The Aftermath of the Flood

During a tornado warning, we put the boys on a futon in the bathroom
A car after the flood, you can see the different level of drying
the water got as high as the mud line
this parkette floated away from a store
still flooded, two days later
someone's belongings outside drying....camo stuff on ground too

mud slide at my mom's

17.5.10

Euro Grill

When my mom and sister first moved to Nashville, my mom volunteered to help Bosnian refugees find jobs and housing. All of the refugees have done very well for themselves and families. One of them opened a Bosnian resturant serving authentic Bosnian food and drink. We had a fabulous time there and closed the place....it was amazing seeing all the kids running around and playing while the parents and other adults watched the kids and ate fantastic food....it reminded me so much of my childhood....I loved it there








Helping Hands

We were at the Euro Grill and the kids were playing on the hill when Adrien's cousin fell and couldn't get up......here is Adrien and his friend trying to get his cousin back on his feet.......lol



Boys gone wild

There were times when Adrien and his cousins got along fantastically, they shared and played so well together. Then there were times when they couldn't stand to be around each other. My sister got pictures of them wrestling, practicing for the times they wouldn't be getting along....



Opry Land Mall (before the flood)

This picture was taken outside the indoor reef that had a HUGE restarant aquarium and a "petting" zoo. There were hundreds of different water creatures living there, including sharks, piranhas and stingrays.....they survived the flood though.
on the carosuel

wanting to get off the carosuel already

watching his cousin ride the carosuel.....I guess the 1 ride ticket we had left is no good anymore considering the mall won't be open for the rest of this year!

Radio Head

My sister has two boys and loves cool t-shirts with pictures and things on them. Adrien has aquired quite the tshirt collection due to her.....thank you Seca!
aLSO, she is a wonderful photographer who has taken many of our Nashville pictures that I am posting. This is Adrien playing in her playroom and posing for the camera...what a ham!



heartbreaker.....

is it wrong that i'm totally and utterly in love with my kid?



Ernie







Snippets

I talked about being the only one to cut Adrien's hair until he got older but he wouldn't sit for me and cry and cry and cry....so while on vacation, we went to a place that specialized in kids haircuts and after some lollipops and lots of cooing...the hair cut was done!
Bribing Adrien with lollipops to sit while he gets his hair cut!