Another Busy Saturday

Well, hockey is done for this weekend. J's team tried really hard but they were just outplayed by every team they faced in this tournament. J scored the team's one lone goal in their last game and earned himself player of the game. They gave him an adult size L t-shirt as his prize. Even though it is huge on him he proudly wore it home.

I'm really proud of him and the other kids on his team. They kept trying even when it was clear they had no hope of winning. But more importantly, they are good teammates to each other. A couple of kids got hurt during the game (they were fine) but the other kids took the time to check on them and make sure everyone was okay. They also made sure to let their goalies know it was okay after the other team scored goals. They may not win any games but they are definitely winning in the good sportsmanship category.

Hockey pretty much took up the whole day today. This morning I managed to get time to print out my final clue for my Outlander MKAL but I had no time to work on it. I'll be working on it after the kids are off to bed. Tomorrow I get my first clue for my Game of Thrones MKAL. Normally for an MKAL you have a general idea of what you're making -  a shawl, a hat, etc. For this MKAL I have no clue what we're making. All I know is that it takes three skeins of yarn and a size 10.5 circular needle. I'm thinking maybe a cowl but I won't know for sure until the clue comes out tomorrow. Hopefully it will be something easy enough to work on while I'm watching GoT.

GoT is one of the only shows we watch that hasn't ended it's season yet. We watch The Americans and Vikings and both shows have had their season finale. I watch Once Upon A Time but C doesn't, and I still have a few episodes of that left. We've watched the entire first season of DareDevil already. It was excellent! I can't wait for the second season so Netflix, hurry up and get it made! I'm behind on Outlander (again, C doesn't really watch it) so I have a few episodes of that on the DVR waiting for me. We'll have to do some searching around tonight to find something to watch because there isn't even a Caps hockey game on to watch - it was an afternoon game and the boneheads lost. Ah well, the next game will be in DC so hopefully they will win!

Tomorrow is suppose to be a beautiful day so I hope we can get out and do something fun. J has discovered that a bunch of his friends just live across the big road and S had a bunch of friends on the street so we may not end up going anywhere but outside into the neighbour's yard. We do need to go to the pet store and pick up a fist for S's tank that I finally got set up. J wants to go along - I think he thinks we'll get a dog there but this pet store doesn't sell dogs. I think he just wants to see all the animals. S says she wants a betta fish or possibly a goldfish. I don't think she really knows and will decide when we get there tomorrow. Any bets on which she'll get?

Happy May Day!

Today felt like a Saturday even though I know it is Friday. The kids didn't have school today because it was a PD day (professional development) for teachers. I got to sleep in a bit and the kids were already up when I got up so that, combined with the fact that we had hockey today, made it feel like a Saturday.

J had game 2 of his tournament today. They tried really hard again and managed to score three goals but unfortunately the other team scored more. J played really well again and got two assists which made him happy. Right now their team is in last place for the tournament but that could change if they get a win or two in tomorrow's games.

I was supposed to have a dentist appointment today to start working on the night splint to keep me from grinding my teeth at night. But shortly before 10 o'clock this morning I got a call from the dentist's office letting me know the dentist was sick and they had to reschedule. So now I don't go in until the end of the month which throws off all the other appointments I was suppose to have. I'll have to get in touch with them next week to see about moving all the other appointments. At least these appointments are easy - no needles, no drilling, no yanking teeth out of my mouth.

S had a good day today. She got to play with her friend across the street who just got back from months in the States. Her father plays professional hockey and they were down in North Carolina for the season. They got back home Wednesday and S has been waiting anxiously to have a play date with her friend. They played over here for a bit and over there for a bit. I expect there will be lots of house/yard jumping this summer since all the girls are around the same age and love playing together.

Burger Love is now over so when we went out for supper tonight it was easy to get a table at the restaurant up the street. I am curious to see which burger won the most loved burger. I heard from a lot of people that they loved the one burger that I did not like. Considering they sold over 5000 of them, they probably have a good chance of winning but it's definitely not a burger for me. There were some burgers I wanted to try but didn't get to but that's okay. I ended up having 9 burgers for the month and that was a lot for me. There was one woman who has been dubbed the "Queen of Beef" because she had 65 burgers for April. Now, considering there were only 30 days in April that means she had at least 2 burgers a day. I cannot imagine what that does to one's body having 65 burgers in 30 days, especially when some of those burgers were huge. It is crazy! They will announce the winner next week as well as announce if they managed to set a new world record.

Since it's finally May, it should be time to put away winter coats, right? In most places yes but not here! Today it was a high of 3C/38F. Yup, on May 1. Our tulips are coming up and I swear they have to be some extra-hearty strain of tulips because they continue to grow even though it is still cold out there. By Monday it's suppose to be up to 15C/59F which is going to feel downright hot after all the cold weather we've been having. It may be time to break out the self-tanning lotion so I don't get mistaken for a snowman if I need to put on capris/shorts on Monday. :-)

Back to Rink

J is playing spring hockey and today was the first day of their first tournament. They have been having practices for a while and they had played one game as a team before today. We all headed to the rink this evening to watch his game. The teams are grouped by birth year, broken up into blue and white teams. J's team is the white team and they were playing the blue team of the same birth year.

They had a rough start to the game, giving up a few goals pretty quickly. The kids on the blue team are typically AAA/AA kids while the white team is more of a development team so it's usually AA/A kids. But J's team didn't let the fact that they were down a few goals stop them. They played really hard and by the end of the first period you could see they were really starting to figure each other out and come together as a team. They continued to play hard through the rest of the game and managed to score a goal but ultimately they lost.

I was really proud of J and the way he played. He seems like such a different player from the winter season. He's finally doing all the things that we've been waiting for him to do all year. He was scrapping in the corners, back checking, keeping his skates moving, and doing well overall. It's good to see him growing as a player.

We've also seen positive changes in him outside of hockey. I got a wonderful note from his teacher letting me know he has been doing really well in school. She used to have to tell him to stay in his seat and get his work done and even then he would struggle to get things done on time. She said that she hasn't had to speak to him about this in a long time and that he's been getting his work done and being very helpful in the classroom. It was really nice to hear that the talk we had with him about the importance of focusing at school sunk in and he's trying hard.

He was such a sweet big brother tonight. After hockey both kids were hungry for a snack. J wanted to make himself some toast with Nutella and of course S wanted some too. J made the snack for both of them, even giving her extra Nutella. He also helped S wash her face afterwards (her loose front tooth results in a messy face after every meal). It was really cute to listen to the two of them talking when they didn't realize we could hear them. They can be really sweet with each other when they want to.

I really hope all these positive changes in J continue. I don't know what has sparked all this - perhaps being 10 or being team captain or some combination of those - but it's really wonderful to see.

I'm A Winner!

As part of the whole Burger Love month, the people running it give away prizes each week. Some of the winners are randomly chosen from the people who rate their burger on the Burger Love website. Those people have a chance of winning gift cards for restaurants or gift packs from a beer company that has glasses, a t-shirt, and coasters. It would have been cool to win one of those, but that's not what I won.

On Fridays, if you tweet a picture of a burger with fries and tag it with #fryday, you get entered into a drawing for prizes. I've been tweeting pictures of my burgers, so I made sure last Friday to include the hashtag. It was a lucky burger I guess, because last night I received a direct message on twitter letting me know that I was a Fryday winner. Once I contacted them I found out that I won an I heart PEI Potatoes apron and a potato peeler. It's silly and fun and I typically don't win things so I was a little excited. I was worried for a bit that I had won the 50 lbs of potatoes. What I would do with 50 lbs of potatoes, I don't know. I'd probably start going to different neighbours and just leaving them potatoes on their doorstep.

That was my big excitement for the day. The rest of the day was pretty typical. I am on a quest for new silverware so I went to our Bed, Bath, and Beyond store. They had some nice sets but I'm persnickety about my silverware so nothing was quite right. I'm not sure what other places on the island sell nice silverware - possibly Sears. I'm sure Walmart sells silverware, but I don't have high hopes of finding something I like there. I might have to make a trip over to the closest city off island or possibly even take a trip down to Halifax. I'm sure I'll find more places there where I can look.

I also bought a new tablecloth and placemats. I like my table to reflect the seasons - darker colours for fall/winter and lighter colours for spring/summer. I was brave (or possibly crazy) and bought a white everyday tablecloth. With two messy kids. But it is the kind of tablecloth that is suppose to be stain resistant. My kids will put that to the test I'm sure. The placemats are different shades of blue with white stripes. When I saw them they had a summer, beachy look.

Of course, buying new linens for my table means I do need to clean some stuff out. My linen closet and the drawer where I keep the table linens have gotten out of control. I have things in them that I don't use anymore. Since my dentist appointment for tomorrow morning got canceled (not by me, by the dentist!), I will use that time to clean out and clean up that closet and drawer. With spring coming I'm feeling the urge to do some spring cleaning. Time to move out the things that haven't been used in a while and let someone else use them. There is a donation center in town that I will be paying a visit to soon, I think.

Since it was Wednesday, S had her Girl Guides meeting tonight and J had spring hockey. I took S to her meeting, which was at the library. The librarian read them a story and gave them a quick tour of the library. Then they moved into the activity room and did an art project with the resident art teacher. It was a very cute project - they made a fox - but to me it seemed a bit over their heads. They ended up needed a lot of parent help. I was one of the only parents that stayed tonight besides the group leaders so I ended up helping a bunch of kids. One of the girls was getting very impatient with me because I wasn't helping her fast enough. I did have to speak to her a little sternly when she started getting snippy with me about not getting her fox done first. But the foxes turned out nicely and the girls had fun but I am tired now!

C said that J is doing exceptionally well at hockey. He said that J is working very hard on the ice, harder than he did during his winter season. Maybe it's the new program and/or the new coaches or maybe it's the 'C' on his jersey for the spring, but he's really playing very well. They have a game on Saturday and I hope I can get over to watch it. S is invited to a birthday party and the game falls right in the middle of the party. Hopefully it's a drop-off party so I can zip over and watch his game. If not, I'm sure I'll have other chances to see him this spring season. Either way, I'm glad he's having fun with this team.

Spring is Slowly Coming

Spring is slowly coming and that is good. It is still light out at almost 7:30 at night. I like the extra light now but as it stays lighter later, it does make it harder to convince the kids they have to go to bed on time. Once school is done in a few months they can stay up late, but for now they need to keep to school hours.

I saw other signs of spring today when we were out for a drive. The geese have started to come back to the island. I'm sure they are thinking WTF is all this snow still doing here, why did we come back already. Don't worry geese, soon the snow will be gone. At least that is my hope! We also saw places where streams and rivers that had been frozen over are thawing out and the water is running again. The ice in the harbour is definitely thinning out too. I'm just waiting for the day the cormorants come back. That's how we'll really know it's spring because they leave in late fall and don't come back until spring is here.

The temperatures are slowly creeping up, although today seemed chillier than the past few days. The temperature is suppose to go up and down this week, which I expect in spring. And with the increase in temperatures, there is more snow melting. And with snow melt we get mud. Lots of mud. The kids snow clothes (yeah, they still have to wear them) are going to start coming home muddy as the snow on the playground melts into puddles of mud. Joy! Spring here on the island can be quite messy. Last year we were introduced to 'splash pants', which are lighter weight than snow pants but still add warmth while keeping their pants clean. I have a feeling they are going to need them a lot this year.

With spring, we get a new round of sports. S began her spring session of soccer tonight. She had a great time and was happy to see the coach she's had all year was back for the last session. She wants to do summer soccer which we'll go ahead and do. It is once a week on a weekday, so it shouldn't interfere with weekend plans. We'd like to do things like visit other provinces and go camping this summer. Last year J's baseball schedule made it difficult for us to do that. We're trying to get J to skip baseball this year and spend the summer having fun.

J starts spring hockey this week. Looking at his schedule, it's going to be busy. There are some nights where they have practice for close to two hours and go as late as 8:30. He is going to be tired but hopefully he will get a lot out of it. He is trying a new spring program this year, so we have no experience with them but everyone has good things to say about it. I guess we'll see.

Spring is slowly creeping in. Last year at this time it was snowing. I know this because when I opened up Facebook this morning, it showed me a picture from exactly a year ago. It was snowing and there was snow on the ground. My caption was 'Spring is broken'. The picture made me laugh because there was maybe a foot of snow on the ground, if that. Compared to now, when we still have around 5 feet of snow on the ground, last year seems like nothing. Of course, on April 1 of last year we got hit with a blizzard and 2 feet of snow, but still, that is nothing compared to this year. Last year, everyone told us it was the worst winter they had seen in 40 years. They told us the same thing this year. If they tell us that again next year, I'm going to start think they are messing with the Americans. :-)

Knitting and Hockey and Cartoons

As usual, today was a busy but fun day. It started out with some errands that included the whole family. After we were finished it was time to head downtown to our favourite place for curry. J actually skipped the curry today and went for a cheeseburger. That boy and his cheeseburgers! I think if he could he would have a cheeseburger every day of the week. S had her usual grilled cheese (I'm so glad she will eat those!). I really wish I had the recipe for the curry because I would love to have it more often.

After we came home the kids and C spent some time playing MineCraft while I finished up working on my newest Snow Queen shawl clue. As you can see in the picture below, it's getting quite big. I've finished transitioning from the colour 6 to colour 5. I didn't really notice the differences in the skeins until I looked at the picture. It's going to be really neat when it's done.

C then spotted the neighbours out on their rink and sent J out to get some skating time before his game tonight. I took S over and she was thrilled to see her friends over on the ice. S and her buddy S (yes, they have the same name) spent the whole time skating. J skated until his buddies showed up. That's when he took off his skates and joined all the other boys walking along the top of a 6 foot fence. The snow is so high on either side of the fence that it ends up being about a 6 inch fence. The girls eventually took off their skates and joined the boys walking on the "fence". I use quotes because I have a hard time thinking of it as a fence right now.

After skating time it was off to hockey for J. C took him because it was a late game and S is tired. She is still recovering from the nasty cold she had so I'm surprised she still awake. She and I had a fun evening sitting on the sofa watching Phineas and Ferb and eating lots of fruits, cheese, and crackers. 

If you've never watching P&F you should. We love it in this house - the kids love it in general and I love that they throw in things for the parents. Any cartoon that makes reference to The Rockey Horror Picture Show gets high marks in my book. The actor who was RiffRaff in RHPS does the voice of Mr. Fletcher in the cartoon. Of course the kids have never seen that movie but I have and it just cracks me up that he's in a kids show now. I have been known to turn on P&F when the kids aren't home. The show makes me laugh.

Just got an update from the hockey rink. According to C, J's team is up 4-1 at the end of the second period. He said that J is playing really well and scrapping for the puck with a kid who towers over him. My little hockey player! We have so much hockey coming up it's crazy. We're trying to make up for all the games we missed because of the effing snow (can you tell I'm done with snow?). There was a game Friday night, a game tonight (Saturday), a game Sunday, and a game Monday. Then thankfully there's not another game until Friday, which happens to be S's birthday. She's not too excited about being at the rink for her birthday but we'll make the day fun. The games this weekend are all far away too - Friday and Sunday are an hour and a half away; Saturday's is an hour. I'm glad that Friday's game is just down the road at our local rink.

Unless J's team decides to take a nap, they should be able to hold onto their lead and win this game. The more wins they get in the upcoming game will put them higher in the standings. Playoffs are coming up in a few weeks. Then winter hockey will finally be done! We'll get like a week and a half off before it's time for spring hockey. At least most of spring hockey is on island this year. Last year J was in a different spring program and we spent most of our weekends off island, plus practices at the rink that is 1 1/2 hours away. I'll be glad that practices are just 15 minutes down the road this spring. I am looking forward to a break from hockey though. It's been a long season!