Poor little Zachary...

So... my child fell and hurt himself pretty badly and I wasn't even there.  There are so many questions surrounding the event that I can't answer because I wasn't present.  I got a call on my lunch break on Thursday telling me that Zachary had been crying for over 1.5 hours and they were starting to be worried that he may have broken something.  I call work to advise I couldn't go back, rush over to daycare, try to get as much info as possible before rushing the the ER to see if my little baby boy had broken something.  We were seen pretty quickly even though the waiting room was pretty full.  Zachary was not crying at that point because he was just so exhausted.  The moment they put us in a room he fell asleep on me and was out for about an hour which was great because the doctor came in about 30 minutes later.  We were sent to get some X-Rays fearing a broken collarbone.  Thankfully the x-rays showed nothing fractured but he obviously hurt himself pretty badly because I can't even pick him up by his arm pits he cries out in pain.  The doctor was asking me so many questions and I couldn't answer all of them making me feel like the worst mother for not getting more details from his daycare worker.  She said he fell while playing on the rocks.  I don't even know if the rocks were pebbles or boulders! Quite a difference!  The next morning, his eyes are all swollen and it leads me to believe that he hurt himself worse than we thought although their is naught a scratch on the kid!  Then we notice his ankle is all bruised and battered... WTH happened to my little fella??  He stayed home with my in-laws on Friday because we didn't want him to aggravate anything... Our conclusion is that he fell off a medium sized rock and tried to brace himself and pulled (tore) a muscle.  He's been a trooper though!  Plays as much as he can while making sure to favor his better side... poor little dude!  We might have to consult a physio if we see him continuing to favor his right side as we wouldn't want him to always be scared to use his left arm.  Today's update :  his eyes are no longer swollen, he seems to be less sore than he's been so I think he's recovering as well as the doctor told us he would.  We have decided to send him to daycare tomorrow since he seems to know his limits of play.  I just hope no one accidentally pushes him and he hurts himself again.  I guess that's just a chance we take everyday.  I in no way blame his daycare providers.  As we know, toddlers are crazy little humans and it only takes 2 seconds for something to happen so it's just a unfortunate event.  I still cringe and my heart breaks a little every time he winces in pain... 

We had such a great weekend!  Yesterday morning we went to Aberdeen Center to listen to DJ Bones as he went through a plethora of French music for my summer students.  The boys loved it as the center has a great big play yard.  They danced a little, were amazed by the fountains and played forever in the daycare play yard.  After that we took a little tour of the Mosaic Festival that was happening downtown.  We sucked on slushies, ate some Hungarian Nutella treat, they jumped on the bouncy castle (even Zachary attempted it once... but once only... limits!), walked around all the booths and ran into a few friends.  It was great.  They were zonked out when we got home and we all went down like logs!  They had a great nap!  We then got up, drove to Shediac to visit with my family, played in my mom's kiddie pool, had supper, played tag (their new favorite game) and brought home so pretty exhausted little boys who went to sleep without too much fuss!

Today we woke up lazily, took some time to get going with the day and waited for Pépére to get here so that he and Gab could go build me a platform for the gazebo.  I brought the boys out back to watch and play and they did sooooo good!  They stayed away when asked, played really well together; I think I only intervened twice in 2.5 hours!  Once when Zachary and Samuel were hitting each other with play shovels and once when Jacob pressed down on their Tonka truck causing sand to fly up all over Sam's face including IN his mouth.  He had so much in there... I tried to show him how to gurgle and spit but he just swallowed and spit the remnants.... I'm pretty sure he swallowed most of the sand I couldn't get out... It'll make for some pretty sandpaper like poop tomorrow I'm sure!  

What a fantastic weekend we had!  I love my family and I can't wait to see what else this life has for us! Have a great week my friends! xxx

My summer camp kids!  Look at how excited they are to learn French!

Thank you Kelly for being my gym buddy!

My poor little dude passed out on Maman... I have to say that I LOVE these cuddles!

Eating pizza in their underwear like true men... all they need is a beer!

Aberdeen Center

My students listening to DJ Bones rock the francophone music

The boys insisted Gab sit in the little play house

SO MUCH NOISE!

Break Time!

Almost all complete!  All that is needed now is a nice stain job, put the nice outdoor carpet we bought and actually set it all up!  Will show updates later this summer!

Back to my roots...

After a very short vacation, I went back to work this week.  It was really great to get a brand new set of kids in front of me; especially kids who actually want to learn!  Most of my students actually chose to be there and WANT to learn French!  How cool is that?  The last time I taught French to a bunch of 15 year olds I mostly got "But why do we need to learn French?" and "I'm never going to work for the government and I plan on living in an English only community for the rest of my life so this French stuff is stupid and useless".  This week when I asked for participation, they participated and when I asked them if they wanted to play a game, I got ZERO eye rolls!! WHAT??  This makes me realize how much I love being a teacher, I just hate the babysitting aspect that comes along with it!  I had a really good week, laughed many times with my students and my colleagues are really stellar gals!  So all in all, so far no regrets at all about giving up a whole month of vacation!

It's been a pretty uneventful week as far as my children go but what a weekend we had!  My LeBlanc family has been holding this huge family reunion for years now and I have never been able to make it to one yet and I've been SO looking forward to going!  So we packed up the kids and apparently enough stuff to survive an apocalypse and set off to Campbellton.  We tried to plan it so that the boys would nap on the drive but of course, anytime you plan anything, you should know that it'll just go to shit if you have toddlers.  The boys fell asleep thirty minutes in and slept for only an hour at maximum and then didn't sleep again for the whole ride there.  Oh well... Thankfully we had my mom with us on the ride up and she was a great babysitter!  Thanks MOM!! Although the boys weren't really all that bad.  They needed snacks and laughter and did amazing.  We were, of course, the hit of the party when we got there and the boys ran straight for the little toy jeeps that were all over the yard.  It was amazing to see so many people I love but never get to see all in one place.  It was the same people I saw a few weekends ago PLUS so many more!  There was play, booze, amazing conversation, games for kids, food and amazing music (mostly lead by my amazing musician of a husband that I hardly ever get to hear play anymore!).  The boys had so much fun!  They only went to bed at 11!!!!!!!!  WHAT?? I know right?? We thought they'd fall asleep on us but no luck, there was too much excitement!  So we let them take it all in, up to the fireworks (which Zachary only liked once he was in the safety of the van but was completely in awe once he felt safe).  Jacob missed it all though because minutes before they were set to go off, he pulled his hood completely over his face and snuggled into my sister and went right to sleep.  As for Samuel, he hated the noise but loved all the lights.  So with this late bedtime (which went quick due to their super crazy tired little bodies, you'd think they'd sleep in a bit right?  NOPE!  Sleeping in is no longer a thing for my boys.  They were up at 5:45 and ready to party again!  So we chilled at my aunt's house for a bit and then went back to the party for some amazing breakfast and left at about 11:30am.  The boys were OUT within minutes and slept for 1.5 hours solid.  I joined them in their slumber.  I can't help it, we could be driving to Shediac and I'd still want to fall asleep in the car.  I think it's because I can't read in cars because it makes me super sick so I found something else to do.   Sleep makes all long trips shorter and since I'm not the hugest fan of traveling, it's win win!  The boys were great until they started getting sick and tired of the travelling.  We had to pull over 3 times to solve problem after problem that my mom took care of on the drive there until we finally gave in to Jacob's crazy antics.  We had to put Samuel in the back with Zachary, bring Jacob to the middle row and have Gab sit beside him while I take over the driving.  It took a lot of cajoling and phone playing to get Jacob to calm down and many jokes with the two clowns in the back to get us home sane.  We were home for just a bit when our saviors (my in laws) showed up with supper!  Bedtime was just as crappy as normal but they are sleeping and that's what's important!

And now it's time for me to complete the many other things I need to do before I can go to bed!  Have a great week y'all!

Got my ass to the gym four times this week! GO ME!

Here we go!!

Picking some wild strawberries during our picnic pit stop!

Samuel participating in an awesome game my cousins put together for the kids.

Pig Roast!

The theme of the weekend for Easter so the boys had an Easter Egg Hunt!

The boys are starting to entertain!

My amazing family!

This woman who gave birth to 12 kids made all of this possible.  She is amazing!

My BIL Eric pushing around the boys in the battery less jeeps!

Gabe found some comrades in my musician cousins 

My niece Alexie was loving it all! 

An amazing picture daycare took this week.

I LOVE IT!!!!!!!!!!

Have a good week y'all!!

What's truly important?

I hurt someone I care about last week with words that meant no offense but to her were nonetheless hurtful.  This person has been going through hell with family illnesses and fearing the uncertainty of things that are out of her control.  She has been very fragile and I should have been more sensitive to her situation.  This has been weighing on my mind as she saw me as someone she could rely on and now I'm not even sure that our budding friendship will ever be what it was.  This is never something I thought I would ever have to deal with again because I see it on a daily basis in my classes.  I see how mean some people can be and how fragile state of minds can affect how a simple joking comment can be made to seem so insensitive.  I don't consider myself a mean person but I know that I can sometimes be sarcastic and maybe I need to take a step back and consider who my sarcasm is directed towards.  If you are reading this, please know that I am deeply sorry.

In a world full of hate and judgement, it's hard to be someone who is without faults.  I won't pretend to be this perfect person that has no judgement because I have plenty.  I won't pretend that I will change into this person who doesn't gossip because that's just not me, I think we all need it every once in a while.  I also won't pretend I like everyone because I surely don't.  What I can say is that since I've had the boys my take on what's important has changed quite a bit.  I used to believe that everyone had to like me.  I used to believe that everyone talked about me every time I left a room.  I used to believe I had no real friends.  I used to be so highly sensitive to the people around me that I would have panic attacks if I didn't feel like I was liked.  I care much less now.  I now have my family.  My children have become the reason I live and not the people around me.  Sure I still care if my friends like me, that'll never change.  I just choose to not focus on the petty things anymore.  My family is my focus; they are who matter and who will always be in my life.  I've taken a step back to observe who treats me the way I deserve to be treated and I've started paying attention to those things that just matter less.  I've started liking myself more and wondering if I'm good enough less.  I have friends who deeply care about me and those are all I need.  I have an amazing family who will be there when my friends aren't and that is what I need to remember.  I've been trying to just be kind to the people around me and although sometimes I slip (as per my first paragraph), I think I'm doing quite well.  I use to repeat Ellen's exit words to my students every day : "Just be kind to one another" and honestly, I need to repeat to myself quite often and I will try to instill it in my children.  I hope I succeed.  Of course, a little humour never killed anyone as long as you don't directly hurt anyone in the process.

This was my last week at work and it felt good to say goodbye to another year.   I start work again tomorrow and I'm actually super nervous but really excited at the same time.  I will be teaching post intensive French to a group of kids who have decided to go to French Camp.  I'm going to love those kids!! When I used to teach French at school, 75% of my students thought French was useless and stupid so it'll be a nice change to teach French to a class where 90% hopefully see the beauty in learning another language! I say 90% because I'm pretty sure 10% are there by the grace of the force of their parents haha!

We had a really great long weekend with the boys!  They let us sleep in until 6h30 two mornings in a row and that was a welcome change!  Seeing a 6 on the alarm instead of a 5 was awesome!  We had a great Canada Day that started with fun at the park and in the splash pad in Dieppe then an afternoon/early evening spent at Léa and Tom's beachfront house where the boys played on the beach for about 2 hours.  On Saturday morning we spent in Shédiac at my mother's and played in our Muddy Buddies due to the rain and the boys went to the mall for the afternoon with my in laws while Gab and I did the groceries.  Today we started the morning with a bike ride in Mapleton Park (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hqBoU3bmUGw) followed by a play date with Kelly P and her boys and an inside play afternoon while Papa went to a mud bog with a friend.

We started the initial process of learning how to play hide and go seek.  I would count to ten and then go find them but of course they were never hidden.  They were just too excited for me to find them.  They really loved the game though!

Bed time hasn't really changed.  We're just going through the motions and accepting little by little that this is going to be what it's going to be for now.  It's just another phase but we are consistent in what we ask so we know that eventually they will know the routine.  It's always hard because we have lost 1.5 hours of "us" time but it is what it is and we just have to adjust to a new normal.

RHS Staff's yearly washer toss tournament

The second year in a row winners

With Hilary and Shawna at the Tide and Boar

All done! 

Could they be any closer?

Helping me with my selfies! 

Sam and mommy Thursday morning date! 

Hipster haircut

What a cool dude!

This is "what did I just do" face!  I'm actually quite excited for this!! Time to get my health back on track!

On our way to the beach!

Loving the sand filled pool on the beach!

Came up with a new triple stroller idea!

Hanging out with Pappy and our Muddy Buddies in Saturday morning's rain

Always a good time with our friends! 

Have a great week y'all!!!

BE KIND TO ONE ANOTHER!