We had a party at our house, with a Transformers theme cake and 300 water balloons that I filled myself.  We chose to have a water fight for the gang of boys, as well as a pinata.  We set up the inflatable pool in the back yard, as well as several rubbermaid containers full of water where they could refill their water guns.  The party was a smashing (and wet) success.

As you can see by some of the photos, our fence was in progress. It’s since been finished, and the hounds are most pleased to have all that room to run. It was very handy in July, when kids and dogs were free to come and go out the back door as often as they pleased.

In July we took the kids to their first drive-in movie! Guelph still has an old fashioned drive-in theater, and so I made them a nest of blankets in the back of the van and we took them to see Ice Age: Dawn Of The Dinosaurs. It was my first drive-in movie as well, and we greatly enjoyed the experience. We had popcorn from the concession, and watched from inside the van. By the time the first movie was over, the kids were pretty tired. They curled up together and fell asleep in the back while Jay and I watched Night At The Museum: Battle Of The Smithsonian.

Jay also took a few days off mid-month, when we had planned to go camping, but unfortunately I came down with the flu and we ended up spending the time at home.

At the end of July we began planning for our trip out west to visit family when Jay’s Aunty Reta passed away suddenly and unexpectedly. All of our plans changed and we decided to drive out immediately, as a family, in order for all of us to attend the funeral (rather than the kids and I coming out ahead of time and then having Jay join us mid-August). We left Ontario on July 27th and arrived in Edmonton late on July 29th. We drove through the states, only stopping to sleep or to let kids and dogs stretch their legs or grab something to eat.

I will save tales from our Alberta vacation for after we get home, but it’s been a good trip. We are leaving for Ontario on August 27th, and plan to arrive back in Guelph on the 31st. The kids start back to school on September 1st.

My apologies for the delay. Summer is always such a crazy time. There will be photos and stories from our trip coming up in September.

Sydnie celebrated her birthday with friends the weekend after our family celebration.  We invited over a bunch of little girls from her class and they had a fun party.  The first activity we planned involved each of them decorating a straw hat with flowers and ribbons.  We also made them each a pearl necklace.  They were going to have a tea party you see and we felt that each of them should have a pretty hat and necklace to wear for it.  All of the hats turned out so cute, as you can see in the photos. You can click on any of the following to see them larger (when they open in another window, click on ‘All Sizes’ above the photo).

We also had a pinata for them, and of course, a Cinderella cake which was created by Ronnie, Sarah, and I.

It was a really great afternoon for everyone!

The kids have both been enjoying soccer, and we have certainly enjoyed watching them play. Lincoln is #5 on his team, and Sydnie is #7 on her team.

Aunty Moe was recently out to visit and we greatly enjoyed having her out here. We took her to Niagara Falls and to some of the other tourist attractions around here, but for the most part the kids monopolized her time, which I don’t think she minded at all

We were fortunate to have good weather most of the time she was visiting, which made it easy to see and do a lot of things that are difficult to manage in the colder months.

I’m not sure how many of you regularly check the dog blog, but while Aunty was out here Jay and I decided to adopt a second greyhound from the GRA. You can see details and photos of him if you click here. His name is Shadow.  Perhaps we are a bit crazy to have TWO big dogs, but Joe is a lot happier now that he has a friend, and Shadow has fit into our home like he’s been waiting for us his whole life.

Lincoln’s birthday is fast approaching, as is Ronnie’s moving day, back to Calgary.  We are going to be sad to see her go, but this is a great opportunity for her and naturally we just want the best for her.  It just won’t be the same without her though.

I will have photos of Lincoln’s party to put up after his party on the 27th.  He wants a Transformers cake, and I’m not certain how that’s going to work out but I’m sure even if it’s not pretty it’ll be delicious!

Sydnie celebrated her 5th birthday on Friday. We’re not having her ‘friends over’ party until the 23rd, but we had a little family celebration for her on Friday. We asked her what she wanted to have for birthday dinner, and told her that she could pick any place she wanted. Do you think she chose McDonald’s? Dairy Queen? Chuck E Cheese?

Nope, my daughter said “Lets go to that Japanese place that we haven’t been to in a long time”. She wanted sushi, and so that’s what we did.

After dinner we came home for cake and presents. Since I’m pulling out all the stops concerning the cake for her big party on the 23rd, I let her pick out a cake at the grocery store rather than making it. She selected a red velvet cake, which was actually really good.

By the way, I’ll be sure to post pictures of the birthday cake I make her, as I’ve decided to create a white ‘pumpkin coach’ with all the trimmings for her. She wanted a Cinderella theme, and I found the perfect sphere cake pan for it. Like this picture, except the coach will be made out of cake itself, and we’re going to get some white plastic horses to pull it, and the harness will be made out of fondant, along with the other details. We’re going to perch the whole thing on top of a regular square cake.  I think she’s going to be really pleased.

On Saturday Joe turned 2.  We didn’t do anything really grand for it, but he got a birthday dinner of chicken and beef cuts in gravy.  He seemed pleased at any rate.

Speaking of Joe, I decided that to save many of you from having to read through miles of my dog-related rambles, I would put all things Joe-related on a separate page.  That way people who are really interested in how he’s doing and seeing my excessive photos of him, can go over there to look.  Also I participate in a discussion group of other people who also adopted dogs from the placewhere we got Joe.  We all love to share pictures and stories about our dogs, so I created it to share with them as well.  You can go see it here:

Year Of The Hound

Speaking of dogs, I just today found out that Guelph is hosting a fundraiser called The Wiggle Waggle Walkathon, to raise money for the Guelph Humane Society, and to help homeless animals in our area.  I can do the walk with Joe, and so I’ve decided to collect pledges, even though the event is only a week away.  If any of you would like to pledge me for the walk, please call or e-mail and let me know.  Donations of $20 or more can be claimed on your taxes (you will be issues a receipt).  If you’d like to mail your pledge to me it takes 4 days by regular mail to arrive.  Even $5 would be awesome, as it’s for a good cause, and it’ll be a lot of fun for Joe and I.

Tomorrow we’re hoping it’ll be nice enough for us to take the kids to the beach.  I won’t forget my camera if we end up going   I really hope the weather is right for it.

Lincoln started soccer on Wednesday, and he really loves it already.  His team color is navy blue, and his coach seems like a really nice lady.  It rained the evening of their first practice/game but fortunately I’d remembered umbrellas.  Jay and Joe and I sat on one of the dogs blankets, as the field didn’t have bleachers, and the big umbrella kept us all relatively dry.  Sydnie ran into a friend of hers there, and took off to play (small umbrella in hand, although I don’t think she actually used it much).  Even though it was wet, it wasn’t too cold, which was a relief.

He did pretty well, considering he’s never really played before.  He’s certainly enthusiastic.  I didn’t get any pictures due to the showers, but I’ll make sure I take my camera to every practice and keep you posted on how he’s doing with it.  Sydnie’s team should be starting up soon as well.  Unfortunately they are both going to have to miss their last few games and the end-of-season parties because we’ll be in Alberta, but it can’t really be helped.

Our trip seems to be coming up fast.  Time just flies when you keep busy.  It feels as though the months pass by more quickly every year.  Sydnie turned 5 and before I know it Lincoln will be turning 7.  Sometimes it’s scary how fast they are growing!

I know I certainly did   Jay and the kids spoiled me completely.  I got a Dyson vacuum cleaner, and a new BBQ!  Jay was so eager to test out the new Dyson that I think he vacuumed most of the house.  While he was busy with that, Ronnie and I put the BBQ together.  Fortunately it was mostly pre-assembled, but we were still outside for over an hour, getting it all set up.  You can see images of the gifts if you click on the links above.

We had steak and corn for supper, done on the new grill, and it works so much better than the old BBQ.  It was a really nice Mother’s Day!

In other news, I would not have believed that this was possible, had I not seen it for myself:

The kid who was SO scared of dogs has finally met her perfect pet. He’s so docile, she’s become very comfortable around him. She walked him to school with me this afternoon and she really likes helping me hold his leash, and reassuring him when he gets nervous (lots of running and yelling kids made him a little anxious). It’s so cute, she really adores him, which has been a huge relief to Jay and I. We wondered how it was going to work out, and how long it was going to take her to get used to him, so this has been a brilliant surprise.

He’s had two accidents in the house, both of which were our fault. I didn’t wait outside with him long enough for him to do his thing, mainly because it was chilly. Jay caught him in the act the second time and gently scolded him, and he was so embarrassed that he hid in his crate. I have a feeling it won’t happen again unless he goes too long without being taken outside and can’t help himself.

The stairs are still too scary for him. I generally carry him up and down, although today he went up and down some concrete stairs at the school without any hesitation, so I’m hopeful that he’ll get used to them before long.

He’s also doing very well at night. Right now he sleeps on the floor next to my side of the bed, because being alone makes him nervous and he barks and cries. We’re working on the alone-training, and eventually he’ll be moved into his own room. For the time being getting a good sleep is more important to me than having him in his own space.

Besides, who doesn’t love waking up to a wet nose in the eyeball? Especially half an hour before your alarm is set to go off.

I drove down to the rescue at 8am this morning.  It was breakfast time when I arrived, but Joe hadn’t been fed yet, which was probably for the best as he had an hour in the car to look forward to.  Bill handed me an envelope of paperwork, including a clean bill of health and ownership information that will be important if we even travel into the US.  He also let me pick out a collar and lead (I chose red for Joe) and then sent us on our way with one final warning to ‘watch out for open doors and windows’.

Originally I had planned for Joe to ride in the cargo area of the Nitro, but after some thought I decided it might be less stressful for him if he could be closer to me.  I spread out his blanket on the back seat, and then realised that he has no idea how to get in or out of the vehicle.  As I’d never picked him up before, I put his muzzle on him, and then scooped him up in my arms and put him on the seat.  He was somewhat confused, and the first 20 minutes of the trip were a bit nerve-wracking, but then he settled in on the seat and had a nap.

We got to the house and I led him into the back yard to go to the bathroom.  It was raining, so we didn’t linger long before going inside.  The first order of business was showing him that windows are solid objects.  We kept him on the leash while he explored the house.  He was understandably nervous, but not overly anxious.

Then it was time to try the stairs.  He hesitated, and we only managed it with quite a bit of coaxing and pulling, but we got him up to the second floor to show him his kennel.  He sniffed around, went in and out of his crate a few times, and then I again coaxed him up to our room.  The stairs are still a source of anxiety, and he flatly refused to try going down them, and so I carried him.  We’re going to work on it gently over the next week, and with a little patience and determination, he’ll learn.  He’s become totally accustomed to the stairs outside, from the deck and the front porch, so that helps.

After taking a good look around, we decided to take his leash and hound collar off and let him wander on his own.  Fortunately it didn’t take long for him to settle down for a ton of petting and spoiling.

He’s certainly enjoying being a lazy house-dog, and I can understand now why people recommend them as pets. They act as though they were bred to lounge about and sleep, as opposed to aerodynamic athletes.

The kids have adjusted to his presence remarkably well. Sydnie in particular has amazed us all with her willingness to approach him on her own. Presently he is lying at my feet and she is touching his toes. He seems to enjoy the presence of the children, and doesn’t bat an eye when they bounce around, as kids are wont to do. He’s particularly good natured, even his veterinarian remarked on his casual demeanor. He didn’t even flinch today when his blood was taken or when they inserted his microchip (which involves a needle of considerable size).

Speaking of his trip to the vet, she was very pleased with his condition. He weighs just over 58 lbs, and she says he’s just right. Yes, he looks thin, but that’s the natural healthy build for his breed it seems.

He hasn’t had any accidents in the house, and he’s done his business outside every time I’ve taken him into the yard. He’s also very attached to me, and follows me from room to room, only laying down if I am sitting nearby. When I get up and leave the room, he gets up as well to keep me in sight. This is common for greys, particularly when they are initially separated from other dogs. He’s still very social with everyone else in the house, which is a good sign, he just likes to ‘dog my heels’ as it were Eventually, once he knows for certain that I will not abandon him should I leave the room, he’ll mellow out and do his own thing more. Until then I’m going to have to get used to having him underfoot.

As small as he is for a male, he seems huge now that he’s in the house. It was easy to see him as tiny when he was standing in his kennel, amongst plenty of much larger boys.

You’ve never seen such a lazy dog in your life. As long as I’m sitting down, he’s sleeping. I’m certain he’s on at least his 6th nap since we got him home.

The next few days will prove interesting I am sure, but we’re all very glad to have him here with us, and I just know that he’s going to be a perfect fit for us!

The kids were happy to see their grandparents again.  Lincoln in particular has missed our family in Alberta a great deal.  Sometimes it’s very hard to explain to him why we’re all the way out here, and why we can’t just move back to Calgary.

Fortunately it won’t be long until Aunty Moe arrives for her visit!  We’re counting down the days to May 28th, when she’ll arrive for a 12-day stay with us.  The kids are really looking forward to it, as are Jay and I.  We’re planning to take her to Niagara Falls, and wine country, and into Toronto.  I know we’re going to have a great visit

We also happen to be counting down the days until Little Joe comes home.  I took the kids to visit him on Monday night, and Bill told us that Joe will be ready to leave the kennel first thing this Saturday!  Only 3 days to go until we can pick him up

It was very difficult to get him to hold still for photos, due to his excitement, so forgive the bad photography.

I’ve been keeping myself occupied to help the time pass more quickly by getting the house ready for a larger dog.  We’ve cleaned out the craft room so that his kennel can go in there, along with his toys and dog bed, etc.  I’ve also made him another blanket.

He’s going to be a bit spoiled, but the way I see it, I’ve waited for 7 years to get a dog, so I’m entitled to be a little over-the-top now that we’re finally getting one.

Sydnie’s birthday is coming up shortly, so I’ll be certain to take photos of the party to share with everyone.  We’re also hoping to go camping for May long weekend, and I’ll be sure to take my camera!

All of the greyhounds on Bill’s farm come from American racetracks.  Greys that are too slow to make it in racing, or who are retired and not selected for a breeding program, are routinely euthanized, usually via a bullet, and dumped like so much garbage.  Up to 20,000 of them are disposed of annually, despite the best efforts of rescues, who can only find homes for so many dogs per year.  The average greyhound lives to be 12-15 years old, and their racing careers never last beyond their 5th birthday, so most of the dogs available for adoption are still quite young.

This is one of the reasons we decided to adopt a greyhound.  If you could have been there today, and seen all of those sad puppy eyes, waiting so hopefully for someone to choose them, you would know exactly what I’m talking about.  It’s actually a wonder that we only adopted ONE dog, as I wanted very badly to take them all.

We selected a little brindle male named Calypso Joe.  For one thing, he was one of the few not barking when we came into the barn, and for another he’s very small for a boy.  So small in fact that his racing career never got off the ground.  In greyhound racing each dog has 5 novice races in which to prove themselves, and if they don’t make the grade, they never race again.  Information on his life before being rescued is available online, and so we know now that he was one of three puppies in his litter.  His birthday is May 16th, the day after Sydnie’s.  He’ll be two years old this May, he’s still practically a puppy.  He’s also missing part of one toe, which according to Bill was likely amputated after it was broken or dislocated (a very common injury for racing hounds).  I suspect his tail may have also been broken at some point, as it’s a bit on the crooked side.

After his initial excitement at being let out of his kennel, he settled down some in the yard and we were able to spend some time getting to know him.  Sydnie, for all her fear of dogs, took to him in record time.  She even allowed him to lick her on the face.  Lincoln wasn’t so easily won over.  He was under the impression that we were getting a small dog, and didn’t especially like Joe off the hop.  He wasn’t really afraid of him, he just didn’t think Joe was the right dog for us, but after some discussion he has agreed that he will love “Little Joe” along with the rest of us.  Here are some photos that the GRA took of him that I thought you guys might like to see:

Little Joe has a fairly mellow personality, and he’s apparently sometimes shy around new people.  We didn’t get to take him home today because the GRA has all adopted dogs neutered, de-wormed, given their shots, had their teeth cleaned, and toenails trimmed before you get to pick them up.  Unfortunately Bill has had so many adoptions recently there is a back-log waiting to go to the vet, so it’ll likely be around three weeks before we get to bring Little Joe home.  We’re planning to use the preparation time to gather all of the necessary supplies, and dog-proof our house.  The fence should be finished (or close to it) before he arrives, which will be a bonus.

We plan on bringing him with us to Alberta this summer, so that everyone can meet him, and because three weeks is too long to leave him at a kennel.  It should prove interesting travelling with him, as greys are really unlike other dogs.  He can never, ever be allowed off-leash unless he’s in a secure and fenced area.  He’s also an indoor dog (greyhounds have thin skin and practically no hair) so I hope that everyone we will be staying with this summer is willing to welcome him, along with us.  I promise he won’t poo in your house

Little Joe has never been inside of a house before.  All he’s ever known is a kennel.  Ex-racing greyhounds can’t even climb stairs, nor have they ever seen a window, or a shiny hardwood floor, so his first days at home should be an adventure.  Apparently they settle into home life fairly quickly, but I’ll keep you posted.

After Mum D found my sewing machine in the garage (after I spent hours looking for it) I decided to get a little crafty and make some things for our ‘slightly used dog’ out of ‘slightly used jeans and flannel’.

The dog blanket is made from pairs of our old jeans, and a flannel sheet I found at a thrift store. There’s a layer of fleece in between for added warmth. The ‘dogfish’ is made from used jeans, and is stuffed with socks that were missing their mates or had holes.  If any of you are going through your closets and have old jeans or flannel sheets or old blankets that you don’t want to keep, I’ll gladly take them off your hands.  Old sweatshirts too.  I’ve shared pictures of the dog blanket with a local greyhound group and people have expressed interest in buying them, so I can certainly use more materials (keep me in mind between now and summer, because I can collect your contributions while I’m out).

Greyhounds LOVE stuffed animals, as does Sydnie, so we need to provide him with plenty of his own in order to keep him away from hers. They also like anything that squeaks.  Since the blanket and the dogfish, I’ve also made him a big denim stuffed bone, and Lincoln helped me to make it as I thought having him involved in getting ready for Joe would improve his feelings towards this dog business.  It seems to be working and now he can’t wait for Joe to get here and play with his new stuff.

The dog aside, the kids are really loving their visit with Grandma and Grandpa Desjarlais.  They spent the weekend helping to build stairs down to the yard from the deck and playing in the back yard.  Here are a couple of shots of them having a picnic lunch during a hard day or playing…err, working

In no particular order:

• Lincoln finished SK and began Grade 1.  He complains frequently that it requires ‘too much work’ and there is ‘too little play time’.  Oh my son, it’s only going to get worse from here.
• Sydnie began JK (Junior Kindergarten).  She goes to school for a full day, on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and occasional Fridays.  She absolutely loves school, and her teacher, Mrs. Matteise is perhaps the kindest and gentlest woman you’ll ever meet.
• Our hamster, Charlie, died quite suddenly on Mother’s Day last year.  As it turns out, she was an older hamster when we ended up with her.  Her cage is now home to Mama, a gerbil that I got for free from a local veterinarian who needed to find homes for a dozen of them.  Mama is not a cuddly pet, and I’m generally the only one who can hold her, but the kids enjoy feeding her treats and watching her run around.
• I took a job at GoodLife, as a paid employee.  I generally only work Monday and Tuesday mornings.
• Over the summer, my best friend Veronica moved in with us.  She’s been such a wonderful help to me, particularly with getting things unpacked and sorted.  Unfortunately for us (but fortunately for her) she was accepted to college in Calgary for Fall 2009, and will be moving back out west this July.  We will all miss her very much, but I’m sure we can still coax her out to visit once in a while.
• Jay, Veronica, and myself went to GreyCup in Montreal, November 2008.  It was the first time Veronica and I had been there, and what a beautiful city.  I would be tempted to move there, if only I could read a little French in order to get by, ha ha.  We ate poutine and smoked meat sandwiches, and it’s true that they do taste MUCH better there.  We also made good friends with Denise and JP, a really nice couple who showed us a few of the sights and helped us get around the city.  I’m hopeful that they will come and visit us someday so that we can show them around Guelph and Toronto.
• I cut off my dreadlocks, and am currently wearing my hair quite short, and generally colored some shade of red.  Sydnie cried when she saw that I had cut them, and so I’ve promised her that someday I’ll have dreads again.  I do miss them sometimes, but short hair is SO MUCH EASIER!  Eventually I suspect I will grow it long, but not until I’m bored of having it short.
• We got a fish, his name is Leopold, and he lives in a vase on the kitchen counter.  I’m sure I’ll post photos of him at some point.
• I took up hand drumming (think African drumming) and Jay bought me a really special drum called a pony drum.  You can see a picture of it here.  I want to take regular lessons, but there hasn’t been the time for it as of yet.
• Lincoln lost his first tooth (and a couple more of them since then).
• We all turned another year older

I know it’s just the ‘Reader’s Digest Condensed Version’ but it does cover all of the significant highlights I haven’t posted about during my hiatus.

Here’s a current family picture so you can see how big the kids are getting.

I’m planning to take plenty of photos during the time that Mum & Dad Desjarlais are here, and I’ll be sure I get around to actually posting them this time

That’s how long it’s been since my last update, the day we got the keys to our new house.

We’ve lived here over a year now, and we’re mostly settled in.

You’ve probably noticed the change of scenery around here.  I made the adjustment for two reasons:

1) The wider format allows me to post larger pictures.  Unfortunately this means having to go back and adjust all previously posted photos manually, a project I’m going to work on over time.

2) It’s a cleaner, fresher look, which I prefer.

There have been a number of times during the past 418 days, particularly in the past 200 or so, when I felt like I should update this site.  Then I would feel awkward that it had been so long, and would anyone even care to read it anymore, now that there has been such a delay.  So I didn’t update and didn’t update and all but forgot about this blog entirely.

Then I went to Las Vegas with some friends and a lawn gnome, and I created The Global Gnome travel site, which many of you have seen.  That got me thinking that I miss writing and that I should just stop being such a silly girl and write an update here.  Despite the fact that it’s been a year and almost two months, and I can’t go back and fill in all that time, I think we still have family and friends who would like to know what we are up to, even if I’m not the most consistent about updating

I have a lot to catch up on of course, but for now I just want to let everyone know that we are well, and currently anticipating a visit from Jay’s parents, who are arriving on Thursday.

On Sunday we are taking them, and the kids, to a local greyhound rescue society, to pick out a family dog.  Or rather, meet dogs and hope that one of them picks us to be his family.  More on that (with photos) to come!

For now, I apologise for being lapse in keeping everyone informed.  Now that life has slowed some, I should be able to stay on top of this writing thing a little better!

The keys should be released to us within the hour. The house is finally going to be ours!

The walk through yesterday went very well. There were a number of outstanding issues that were being taken care of later yesterday or early today. They ordered us the wrong shower door, so we may have to wait a few days on that. Some of the screens needed to be put into the windows. Paint needed touching up, and the garage floor needed to be poured.

Those things aside, the house is amazing. I’m feeling more excited, and less resentful of what a horrible experience the build was. We will never build with Reid Homes again, nor will we recommend them to anyone we know, but at the end of the day the house is pretty much exactly what we wanted.

I took some photos at the walk through yesterday, and I promise more photos of the painting this weekend and next week. Click on any image to see it larger:

I hope you enjoy the photos! Sarah and I are hoping to start taping this afternoon and tomorrow, and then begin the painting tomorrow evening and continue through the weekend. It’s going to be very nice to have her help with this project, and in exchange, I am going to help her tile her bathroom and re-paint some of her apartment. Seems like a great trade off for both of us.

Lincoln is home from school today with a bit of a cold, but I didn’t think it would matter much if we took them to the new place for a bit. I’ll plan to take the portable DVD player perhaps, so that they can watch movies while we haul in the paint supplies and the light fixtures.

The builder was supposed to put up the light fixtures we purchased on our own, but no one called us to bring them over and then they claimed that was our responsibility. So, I picked up a book on basic wiring at the hardware store, and I’m going to put them up myself. None of them are ceiling fans, so it should be pretty simple. Two connections and a ground, nothing complicated. Our site supervisor showed me where the master breaker switch is, which kills power to the entire house, so that way I don’t have to worry about isolating specific switches. We will just shut off the entire house and do all of the fixtures in one swoop during daylight.

Tomorrow morning the water softener people are coming to install our water softener and reverse osmosis system in the house. Jay is certainly looking forward to that, since the seriously hard water in the rental here has caused his eczema to flare up like crazy. I think it’s gotten so bad he might start driving over to the new place to shower in the morning before work (OK not seriously, but I know he can’t wait to move).

I think I’ll just be happy to get out of this cramped little townhouse and back into a space large enough for us to actually unpack more than a few boxes.

The phone call should be coming any time now, so I’m going to get the kids rounded up so we can go over and pick up the keys immediately! Wish me luck this weekend with the painting. I’ll try to get updated photos posted early next week