BOOGIE WOOGIE CHOO CHOO TRAIN...

Matt had the night off so I was able to stay with Trinity tonight and video tape her dance classes. Their dances are looking really good but I was so impressed and proud at how well she did with her new advanced tap class. This class she was only able to dance it in the dance show BUT tonight Kim her teacher came to me and offered Trinity the chance to join the other girls in the Millennium Competition that will be held in Halifax in May. So you bet Trinity will be joining them. She is so happy to be able to go....I wish you could see the excitement but instead I will let you watch her dance. (she is on the left side with her hair in a bun, wearing her long sleeve black body suit and black shorts with purple stripe at her waist)

Trinity's official tap exam certificate!

A MEETING WITH THE SCHOOL PRINCIPAL AND OTHER UPDATES

I took the kids to school this morning and got to meet with the principal to talk about the fighting issue with Jay at the school. I would say that he wasn't aware at that point of the whole story because after he asked Jay to tell him what happened then talked to me when I told him about Jay having in school suspension and not being able to play the basketball game he was speachless and said that none of what went on yesterday in dealing with the issue should have happened to Jay and that this Brandon kid is still going to be dealt with. I felt so bad that Jay sat in the school office for almost two hours crying for nothing. Tomorrow I go back to meet with the principal and the other kids mother (and the two boys) to dicuss this matter. Hopefully things will be resolved tomorrow but I am still hoping that maybe Brandon will be taken off the school basketball team for the rest of the season. One of the team rules is to keep their grades up and no bullying or fighting. So we will see what comes of this. The most important thing is that Jay will feel more comfortable going to school from here on out. I have also put in a request for Jay to speak with the school guidance councellor, just to leave the door open for him to talk about anything that is bothering him, just to talk in general. The good thing about this councellor is that he will have her again next year at the Junior High School and this will give her a chance to get to know Jay.

One more day then the kids will have 3 days off from school. It will be a nice break!

Oh yeah, I guess I should mention that today the kids brought home their second term report cards. Everyone did really good and I beleive they all showed some improvements. Jay knows that he can still do better and work harder and is determined to show himself , us and his teacher how well he can do on his last report before going into Junior High. I think with Jay going through what he has the last couple of days and seeing how great his teacher has been and given him more repect for her. She really felt for Jay and I could see that it was hurting her as well to see Jay so upset. She might be considered a bitch (excuss my language) of a teacher but she is always there for Jay.

Matt has a visit from his district manager tomorrow so he is at work for a bit getting things cleaned up. This is the first time that I sat down to relax today but I think I am going to shut down the laptop and head off to bed. Matt just called and he's on his way home. Lucky for him I already made the kids lunches. It will be an even earlier morning for everyone so that I can get Matt to work before 7:00am. Trinity has he long night of dance classes tomorrow and should be all set with her new jazz shoes. Hopefully she won't grow out of these ones as fast. They aren't cheap...Jay had a great night at guitar and learned to play Happy Birthday, he can't wait until Trin's party to play.

Oh and more great news. We got our income taxes done yesterday and went shopping with some of the money from our return...guess what we all got?..............................................................................................................................................................

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NEW SOCKS AND UNDIES!

It was so funny! The kids were so excited that it almost felt like Christmas morning. Jay even went on tried on and modeled his new boxers and the kids were comparing what color bottoms that had on their socks. It was hilarious!

Ok I guess that is enough updating for now. No one else has been sick but I think the flu bug will show it ugliness in this house again. :0(

see ya soon!

UNFAIR INSCHOOL SUSPENSION....:0(

There is nothing worse than getting a phone call from the kids school only to find out that Jay was given an in school suspension for fighting. After talking to the Vice Principal and with Jay on the phone we realized that we needed to go to the school and look into things. Sure enough Jay didn't start the fight. What happened was that he tripped over a bench and ran into (accidentally) another boy and before he could apologize he was jumped on from another boy out of no where. Jay tried to do everything he could to walk away once he got him off but he kept coming back for more. Jay's teacher is very protective of Jay with the bullying issues and questioned the class on the matter and it happened exactly like Jay said. But because of the school rules anyone involved in a fight is to be punished by the guidelines. How is this fair. Jay not only had in school suspension for the day but he wasn't allowed to participate in the school basketball game after school today. Now isn't that punishment enough. Well guess what the kid that caused all the trouble got? The exact same punishment as Jay. I didn't agree with this and neither did the teachers and the vice principal but he had to follow the guidelines. OMG I was almost crying (again) at this point and to see Jay in tears the whole time was killing me and his teacher. After almost 2 hours of talking to the vice principal with Jay he felt that what Jay was getting for punishment was unfair so we were told we could appeal his decision for discipline until the principal who knows Jays bullying history was back at the school (tomorrow). After confirming that Jay was only defending himself (not hitting just blocking the punches) we appealed and Jay decided to stay at school with his teacher and continue on with the day instead of coming home and he will be able to participate in his basketball game today.

I feel so bad for Jay that it's just killing me here but I can only do so much unfortunately. I will talk it over with the principal tomorrow to see what a fair punishment for Jay would be, if they had it there way he wouldn't get punished for this.

I will keep you undated!

WEEKEND UPDATES...

I have to laugh at Jay and how stubborn he can be....Friday night he went to the church youth group sleep over and stayed up pretty much most of the night. They made their own pizzas, played games, watched movies, had pillow fights in the morning, got a little sleep fit in there somewhere, had breakfast then I picked him up at 9:00am. You would think that for most people being up all night that you would want to go to bed and get some sleep but not Jay there was no way he was going to sleep. So I told him that was fine but he would have to go to bed by 7:00pm that night. He rolled his eyes at me at said " I don't think so" I just let it go....sure enough he was in bed by 7:00 but not willing to turn of his tv at that point but before 7:30 he was sleeping! I knew he was tired....

So after Kohl being sick he woke up the next morning feeling fine and full of energy and ready to eat. What a trooper he is! He never cried or complained about being sick and I didn't even know that he was sick throughout the night...he handled himself and curled back up in his bed. He was able to attend his friends birthday party at McDonald's then home and was off to bed early.

This morning I was woken up by the sound of Blake being sick. So I guess today will be his turn....flu bug #2! He is definitely not a trooper like his brother. He is crying and whining and is just disgusted with the whole concept of the flu....We are curled up on the couch watching a dinosaur movie and Matt will pick the kids up at school later today! I guess this is when the laptop really comes in handy. I can work on the computer and still cuddle with my sick little boy!

I am sure that he will be feeling better by morning just in time for the next one....

THE FLU BUG HAS JUST HIT THIS HOUSE....

I don't know where this bug came from but boy did it hit fast. After taking Matt to lunch at McDonald's he drove us home so we wouldn't have to go back out at supper time to pick him up. Just a few minutes from home Kohl threw up all over himself and the van. What a mess! He spent the rest of the day in bed watching movies but isn't feeling any better and he is white and looks awful (picture shows it well) Matt is up there with him right now building his new pirate lego to try to cheer him up. The worst part about it all for him I think is that he was invited to his first school birthday party and it is tomorrow at 4:00pm. I don't think he will be able to go. See what tomorrow brings but I doubt it :0( If you want to read more about his incident in the van click here to read my other post about it.

Now we will have to wait to see who is next...
Hope everyone there is feeling ok!

See you soon for March Break! (well some of ya lol)

TAKING THE NEXT STEP

Yesterday we stopped into Family Windows and Doors to talk about new windows for the house (not all the windows...). We had an estimate done a few weeks back fromthem but wasn't sure what or when we were going to have it done. While we were there we decided to look into the financing that they offered and would go from there. They called us this morning telling us that the financing part is done and we can start deciding on what we want done for windows and framing in the garage door. We are hoping that early next week we can get in to place the order and get a date on when the work can be done. Finally we will be able to finish the family room.

THE JUBILEE JAGUARS WIN THE GAME...

Matt was able to take some time off work to watch Jay's basketball game. Today was their second game but today they got their new uniforms. It was so worth the money. The boys looked so proud and happy to have these uniforms. It was a great game as they took the lead early on in the game but tired themselves out towards the end. The other team started getting more baskets and the score was looking like it could go either way. I had to leave at this point to get Trinity to dance and Matt back to work but when I got home his smile said it all...they won the game! I am so proud of him and the team, they played very hard and won in the end. Jay's number again this year is #6 (who would have guessed)

UPDATE OF THE WEEK...

I had to redo the slide show apparently for some reason it wasn't working.... Not much happening here this week. Kohl finished his 100 days of school project and it turned out fantastic. Everyone loves seeing the pictures of him. I managed to print off 100 pictures for Trinity also, she was so surprise and I got the biggest hug ever. Matt did his fair share to help me get it done for her and after I save all 100 pictures he printed them off. It took from 9:00pm t'ill 1:00am. I broke down (so did my sneakers...) and I to buy myself new sneakers yesterday and returned Blake's click start computer (found it boring) and bought him a v-smile pocket which he loves! Jay made out really well at his guitar lesson on Tuesday and is learning Odd to Joy. He will have to remember to bring his guitar when we visit for March Break. Today after school Jay and his team will be playing their second game then from there Trinity will have her long night of dance classes. So it's just the same everyday stuff happening here and hopefully tomorrow my new laptop will be here. Matt is installing the wireless internet as I sit here and type so Jay will finally have internet in his bedroom. So that was his purchase for yesterday and Trinity finally decided on which pair of glasses she is going with so we went to Walmart last night and bought the frames (fast seller and a long wait when odered) we were lucky and got the last pair. So her eye exam (free of charge!) is March 3rd then we will get the younger boys checked since there is no charge for kids 9 and under. No renovation projects under way but we are looking into getting the garage window done soon. Just waiting for the call for the financing...fingers crossed. Well I guess that's about it. I will post some pictures of Jay's game soon.

Ski Ben Eoin

TRINITY SHARES OUR LUCK :0)

Not only did Trinity win a cake at school on Valentine's Day but today when I went into the school to pick her up she came running to me with great excitement and told me that she won the fire safety draw for her class. The prize bag had lots of great things including chips, juice box, fireman teddy bear and other goodies and stickers along with $10 McDonald Gift certifates! She was pretty proud to have won and plans on taking her daddy out for supper some night soon :0)

VALENTINE'S GALA...

I am so glad that someone reads the newpaper around here LOL. Jay brought this home from school today and very proud to show us...(he reads the newspaper everyday at school and everyday he comes home and sometime throughout the night will say " Today in the newspaper I read that...." I just look at him and laugh and he says " I know mom at least someone reads the paper LOL"

So this how we ended up going to the Hospitals Valentine's Gala...Matt (Zellers) gave a $7000 donation to the hospital and return Rochelle (in the middle- used to work for Matt) gave us two tickets to the gala. Zellers was a major sponsor for the foundation's valentine's gala. We had a great time and the meal was delicious! We purchased to prize balloons for $10 each and later redeemed our prized where Matt won $10 Tim Horton Certificates and I won a 19" flat screen tv with a built in DVD player! What more could I have asked for...ok the $3000 travel voucher would have been nice too but I did get the second biggest prize :0) The kids had a great evening with Heidi our sitter and watched movies and of course played dance revolution. It was definitely a busy day with skiing all day and being at the gala most of the evening but it was nice to finally get out and I had a great time with Jay , we shared some great times and lots of talks throughout the day. I was really nice and to see him so happy and was well worth me going with him!

THE MOM SONG - To all you moms out there I'm sure you can relate to this!

(I had to turn my blog music off for this one...)

I came across this video on my friends blog and thought I would share this with all of you. This sounds like me on most days! LOL

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ROBIN

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU...

HAPPY SWEET 16 DEAR ROBIN...
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU!

Sorry we can't be there to help you celebrate your sweet 16 Robin but remember this is a day that you will remember for ever...make the most of it and enjoy your party! We will see you soon.

Love from Carrie, Matt, Jay , Trinity, Kohl and Blake r

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!

Finally home from Jay's basketball game and Trinity's dance classes and everyone is off to bed....

Even though it was pretty quiet around here today there were still the little things around the house to remind me of how special this day was! The kids had some Valentine's cards that they had made for us in school and a few valentine's left over from their school cards so Matt and I each got some extra cards from the kids. As I sit here at my computer I am reminded of Matt everytime I look at the roses he bought me and along with them there was a note telling me that I had something very special coming in the mail and to be patient as it is on its way....I couldn't beleive it....a LAPTOP! This is going to make my work so much easier :0) Best of all my laptop will be pink! He is the best isn't he!!!!!!!!

Today the kids had a Valentine's Party at school and Trinity won a chocolate cake! Yummy! Jay's basketball team lost their first game :0( but were in the lead right up to the end. The kids got Valentine's cards from Grandma and Grandpa in Amherst which are now placed on their dressers! Matt is working tonight and will be home around 10:00pm then we will order out Chinese Food! So all in all it turned out to be a great day but not a lot of time at the computer which means I didn't make a whole lot of money today....there is always tomorrow!

SCHOOL PROJECTS...

This week I am going crazy with all the school projects the kids are coming home with. Jay had a science project on Mercury that was due today and tomorrow he as a french project on Polar Bear due (only 2 days notice...eeeks). Kohl had a bit of notice to get his done and of course I put it off to long so now it will be rushed. It's on the 100 day of school! So I came up with a great idea and to do something different I am getting together 100 pictures of him from birth until now and printing them off and he will glue them onto a project board. To make things harder I am editing the photos through picnik.com then I will burn them onto a CD slideshow for his class presentation to make it easier for his class to see. Wow I think I got myself in over my head. This project is due on Monday...then Trinity comes home and tells me that her class is also doing the 100 days of school project and she wants me to do pictures of her...Sorry sweetie that just isn't going to happen. I'm only half way there with her brothers. Once this week is over I am hoping things will slow down. It's a lot of hard work but it will be great when finished.

MAKING MORE PROGRESS IN THE FAMILY ROOM...

HE'S EATING AGAIN....

Since we've moved here in July Blake wouldn't eat any meat, chicken or fish. Nothing we did would convince him that it tasted good so getting him to eat has been a never ending battle and I was always worried that he was getting enough to eat let alone the protein. Well the other day he decided he didn't want to sit in his baby car seat anymore but I told him that he had to start eating so that he would get big enough to use the booster seat. It worked ever since he slowly started eating chicken nuggets and he was surprised that he liked them and a little bit more every day he would take another bit or two. He will now eat his chicken and yesterday tried hotdogs and came back asking for a second. It helped that I cut them into pieces and gave him a toothpick to use as a fork. He thought this was great! Today I made the kids bacon and eggs and Blake tried 2 tiny bites of bacon but said that was it...I am so proud of him and he is actually putting on weight and is able to be in his booster seat. What a big boy he is becoming :0)

SLIDING AT SEAVIEW GOLF COURSE

Saturday (feb 9) we were invited to go along sliding with Nadine and Lisa (new friends of ours) and their kids. It was a beautiful day outside so we headed off to Seaview Golf Course which is only 10 minutes from here and has lots of really good hills for sliding. We spent about 2 hours sliding and to see the kids having so much fun was well worth the time. The main hill we were at was a bit steep for Blake so we ventured off to a smaller one from time to time but he was content playing in the snow and watching the kids when not going down with one of us. Kohl our little dare devil hit the big jump from time to time (on purpose) and to our surprise landed the jumps and didn't get hurt. He had all of nervous but came home without injuries. I think we will be considering getting him a helmet... On Saturday I will be going down hill skiing with Jay and the Church youth group so wish me luck...I'm sure it will be a challenge for me to keep up with the kids!

LOTS OF SNOW!

Before I am ready to say goodbye to winter I need to see one good snow storm and that is what we got when we woke up this morning. The kids have the day off school and Matt is working his way out the driveway to go to work. Jay and Trinity are helping him shovel and I will clean out the rest later on today before he comes home. I don't think I will get them out slidding today with the high winds but we will see what this afternoon brings.

I am hoping to get pictures of the kids sliding on Saturday and more renovation progress put on later (depending on what I can accomplish with the kids home).

Hope everyone is staying warm!

Tonight Trinity has a dance class and tomorrow Jay has guitar lessons. He has been practicing hard on learning his chords which is a challenge but he is determined to learn them. Thursday will be Jay's first school basketball game and Trinity's long night of dance classes which will then bring us to Friday for more dance classes for her and Kohl then I get to chance my luck with Jay on the ski hills Saturday then finishing off the night at a Valentine's Gala. Sounds like a busy week and we will be looking forward to relaxing on Sunday while watching the first NASCAR race of the year!

2 WEEKS AFTER GUITAR LESSONS....

Tonight will be Jay's 3rd guitar lesson and he has already learned quite a bit and I am getting the hang of it as well. Jay has learned to play twinkle twinkle little star and mary had a little lamb to go along with hot cross buns from his first week. Jay seems to be picking it up quick and is looking forward to his lesson later on tonight. I think this week he will be learning ABC and some classics...I will let you know later on. (I'm not sure how well this will work with the music on my blog...I might have to turn it off for a few days so you can here him play)

Enjoy Jay playing Twinkle Twinkle!

HAPPY 3rd BIRTHDAY JAZLYN!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DEAR JAZLYN!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU!

Love from Uncle Matt, Aunt Carrie, Jay, Trinity, Kohl and Blake

THE CHANGES WE'VE MADE IN OUR GARAGE/FAMILY ROOM TRANSFORMATION...

LITTLE WONDERS

Somedays we look at them and wonder

What have we done to be so lucky

These wonderful little ones

Bring so much joy

Their individuality, sometimes frustrating

Ultimately is what makes us love them so dearly

For they are themselves the challenge for us,

Remember to let them be little

To let them be themselves

Show them respect for who they are

Express Joy and Disappointment

Encourage them when they fail

Praise them in their success

Most of all be their friendSo they will trust in us

Allow us to hold them up when they need us most

Like footprints in the sand,

as our Father carries us through times of trouble.

Our responsibility to Little Wonders!

~Matt Smith~

HAPPY BIRTHDAY CONNOR!

Today Connor is celebrating his 6th birthday!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DEAR CONNOR!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU!

We hope you have a great birthday Connor, we will be thinking of you and have a gift here for you that we will bring on our next visit!

Love from Uncle Matt, Aunt Carrie, Jay, Trinity, Kohl and Blake

I MISS DADDY!

DADDY'S BOY!

Even though Matt is only out of town for the day Kohl is having a hard time dealing with the fact that he's not close by. He will be arriving home just after supper tonight. Kohl was just talking about how much he misses him and misses his morning cuddle. This is something they do every morning. When Kohl wakes up he crawls in bed with his daddy. He said " Mommy, I missed my morning cuddle with daddy. He is so warm to cuddle with isn't he?...I am assuming that you do cuddle with him!" That was just too funny but that is Kohl, I wouldn't expect anything different. Kids say the cutest things!

Last Sunday the snow was falling, the wind was blowing and we were enjoying the snow! We couldn't take being in the house any longer so we bundled up and headed to the hill. It was a 15 minute walk but well worth it when we got there. The kids really enjoyed their time and took advantage of the hour and a half of sliding.

1ST GUITAR LESSON

I can play..."Hot Cross Buns"

(don't laugh I'm just starting)

Now it's Jay's turn to be in the spotlight. He had his very first guitar lesson last night. This went really well and he has an instructor that he really connected with. He was so excited and learned so much in just a half hour session. He had a smile from ear to ear when he came out of class and his face just lit up. At first I wasn't sure how interested he really was in learning to play but I think he has found something he loves (along with basketball) and is a natural at it. I think learning the guitar will come easy for him. He can't wait to do a video to show you what he has learned already. I will try to get it on this week. I guess he likes to perform like his sister but in a different way!

Keep up the hard work Jay...it will definitely pay off :0)

TAP EXAM REPORT !

Junior 1 tap exam...

Way to go Trinity! I am so proud of her. She has been working so hard on her dancing and all the hard work paid off. Monday night after her Jazz class she was given her exam report. The assessments were given from pass, pass plus, commended, commended plus, highly commended and highly commended plus. Trinity received HIGHLY COMMENDED! Now she can concentrate on her dance choreography getting ready for competition in May. Next year she will be taking her exam for Jazz 2.

WEEKEND UPDATE...

We woke up this morning as the snow began to fall. We are only expecting to get 5 cm of snow this afternoon then sunny again tomorrow. Not a whole lot going on here today, Matt is working and the kids are all home for the day. Now as for yesterday that is a different story... Matt went to work late yesterday afternoon so that I wouldn't have to take the boys to the Dance School while Trinity took her tap exam, that went very well and she should get her marks back by Thursdays dance class. She was so excited that is all she talked about all day! After that it was a pretty quiet day in the Smith home. We set back and enjoyed a movie "Everyone's Hero". Then it was time to get ready for bed...let me tell you this was the most eventful part of the day. While blow drying miss Trinity's hair, I blew a few upstairs...I forgot I can't run my hair dryer along with the fireplace...ooops! So I ran down to the basement to flick the switch only I didn't know which one it was? OK I figured that one out then ran back upstairs where I saw a puddle of blood on the hallway floor and Blake standing there with his hand over his mouth....(thinking the same thing I was....TEETH?) all teeth were accounted for but he did make a good mess of his lip. Apparently he triped in Kohl's room and hit the box spring mattress on his bed. Ouch.... Got him cleaned up and Trinity's hair dryed and put them all to bed. By this time it's 9:00pm and way past there bed time anyway. Finally the house was quiet and time for a nice hot bath! AHHH how relaxing! NOT....no hot water. I give up LOL So I curled up in bed and watched TV while waiting for Matt to get home. ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ!

I forgot to mention the reason why I was drying Trinity's hair last night. I promised her that after she did her dance exam that I would trim her hair and put in her hair color that she got for Christmas. A promise is a promise! I did this while we were watching the movie. She loves her hair, both the cut and the color. It will soon be time to get her in for her Birthday Pictures at Walmart. It's hard to beleive that she is going to be 8 years old :0)