The Long "Long Weekend"

Have you ever had house guests that just wouldn't leave??? That's what happened this past weekend, you know, the LONG WEEKEND that just went by.
It began with Sunday.... Dad & Cathy (and Douglas of course) came up from Cottam for church - just like they do every week. We attended church together and everyone came back to our place afterward. Mike had done some shopping while he was in New York last week so he was eager to show off his treasures - who says shopping is a woman's sport? Hahaha. Al and Dad were just as eager to see what he bought.... especially since it was all hunting related..... there was alot of oohhing and ahhing going on. The men were happy all afternoon, Mike is good about sharing his toys.
Look at how nicely they play together. They sure are happy little Bucks!
I wish I had a hidden camera for when these guys are up north hunting..... I bet we'd have some great "Funniest Home Video" footage. They sure do have a great time together ~ never a dull moment.


So anyway..... since we were having "Family Dinner" at Al & Cherie's place the next day (Monday) we invited Dad & Cathy to spend the night instead of driving home than driving back to Chatham the next day - with gas prices the way they are it only makes sense to look for economical ways to do things. All the kids were excited about having a family sleepover - so were the adults!
"Family Dinners" began in 2002 as a way to stay connected as a family. Douglas (my little brother) was the newest addition to the family and because my sisters and I were so much older than him, we wanted to be able to develop a close relationship with him as he grew up.
Life is busy and we all wanted some way to maintain the closeness we always had growing up and stay up to date on what was happening in each other's lives. Our relationships with each other have grown considerably over the past six years. I think we are closer than we've ever been. Once a month we all come together for "Family Dinner." Dad & Cathy and Douglas, my own family, and both my sisters and their families. The location of our dinners changes each month as we each take turns hosting the event. We celebrate anything that merits celebrating for that month - birthday's, anniversaries, holidays, and personal victories. Sometimes we have theme dinners (like the one we hosted as an Indian event prior to our trip to India - everyone dressed in saris and lungis and ate Indian cuisine with their hands), sometimes we plan an activity (we all went apple picking at Chatham orchards one time when Al & Cherie were hosting the dinner) - regardless of what we eat or who is hosting the dinner, the main purpose is to connect with each other and celebrate being a family. We are all so busy with our own individual families and some months seem busier than others, but we always manage to get together for family dinner. Even when it looks like our schedules aren't going to synchronize - we make time for each other. Family dinner is a priority for us - we schedule other events and appointments around it - so nothing will interfere (as much as possible) because our relationships with each other are so important - and the only way to build and strengthen relationships is to purposefully spend time together. I am happy that our children look forward to family dinners as much as the adults do. All the kids have close relationships with their cousins - friends come and go, but family is always there.... it's who you're a part of.
I really recommend all families try to incorporate some kind of regular gathering to maintain relationships.... it's so important. It works for us.

So, like I was saying..... Dad and Cathy slept over Sunday night and we all went to Al & Cherie's the next day for family dinner. It was a good time. Al Barbecued for us and Cherie demonstrated some new skills she's acquired at her exercise classes :)

Because of the size of our herd, Mike rode to Al & Cherie's in Dad & Cathy's vehicle while I drove our van load. At the end of the evening, Dad & Cathy drove Mike back to our place and the driveway deliberations began...... it seems the engine light was on in Cathy's van and the headlights were dimming. Was it too risky to drive to Cottam? Should they chance it? Should they spend the night at our place again? *Douglas was missing home and wanted to risk having to sleep on the side of the road..... either that or he was tired of my "strict" rules :)
(He's an only child - you get the idea. Hahaha)
It was eventually decided that they would spend the night and have the van looked at in the morning.


We have plenty of bed space so Cathy slept in the bunk bed in Baby G3's room and Dad and Douglas slept in G2's room (G2 slept in the top bunk in G1's room.)


Early in the morning, G1 took my camera up to the bedrooms and snapped this sweet photo. Papa is pretty in pink :)



The van got into the garage right away and was roadworthy by 3 pm. Dad & Cathy were anxious to get home. They said they just had alot to do but I think it's due to mental exhaustion. They put up with alot while they were here. For instance: G2 really has a way of making your head swim.... While sitting at the breakfast table, G2 asked Cathy what happens if you take off your wedding ring? Cathy asked her what she meant and G2 said "Well, does it mean that you aren't married anymore?" Hahaha. Later that same day G2 asked Dad & Cathy "why they were BOTH wearing watches? Can't one of them tell the other what time it is - why do they BOTH have to wear a watch?" Hahaha.
By 4 pm they were on the road and headed home - vowing to not overstay their welcome this coming weekend. *Dad & Cathy.... you did NOT overstay your welcome. You're welcome to invade our home anytime :) We had a great time having you here and look forward to doing it again sometime.
I am still in the process of posting old pictures on my Face book account and have come across a few more that merit an honorable mention:
This is a picture of my mom, Mary. This is NOT a happy memory...... it was very painful for us three girls .... mom was learning to play the electric organ (self-taught by the way) and we used to hide, or unplug it, or try to make more noise than she made..... by singing loudly. We knew all the popular electric organ songs too.... we could sing all the words to "I Shot the Sheriff", "Hang on Sloopy" (we thought it was a song about Snoopy - from Charlie Brown), and all the Kenny Rogers Greatest All Time Hits!!!! When mom wasn't around we used to use the organ when we played "Church" (ya, I know - we weren't normal.) We would flatten a few pieces of white bread with a rolling pin and use a cup to cut out circles of flattened bread to be the host's (Roman Catholic Church), we'd pour juice into a couple of wine glasses and set it up on a table. Then one of us would read from a Dr. Seuss book while another would be the organist at mom's electric organ and the other would be a congregation member sitting on a chair facing the "priest" who was reading from Dr. Seuss. We would all take turns being each "pretend person" so each one of us could have a chance to take communion and each one would have a chance to serve it - and of course we ALL wanted a chance to play the organ. This picture just brought back alot of memories...... so did the next one:

This is a picture of Kim, Cherie, and myself (and my aunt Roni's head.) Taken probably around 1980 or so. This was Christmas morning at Grandma and Pipi's house. We lived there at the time and had been anticipating Christmas for months!!! As the day approached, we got sneaky and decided to snoop for presents. We had heard a rumour that santa clause was NOT REAL and that parents bought presents and hid them in their closets.... so we just had to check it out for ourselves. Sure enough, there were presents in the closet! We were shocked and disheartened. There really was no santa. Our heartache didn't last too long once we got a good look at the presents and even bickered over which present was purchased for which kid. I saw that yellow stuffed dog (I am sitting on in the picture) and KNEW it was mine! I loved dogs and my parents knew that. Cherie was a cat lover so she was certain that the pink cat was hers. We left the closet swearing not to tell a soul about our discovery ~ but someone snitched (I am not even sure to this day who did it) and we got into big trouble. Mom said she should just take all the presents back to the store since we already saw them and ruined the surprise.... we were certain there would be NOTHING under the tree for us on Christmas morning. What a surprise we found on Christmas morning when we came downstairs.... we got our gifts but the fun of wondering "what was in the gift wrap" just wasn't the same. We learned pretty quickly that snooping just wasn't worth it - it's better to be surprised.
A friend of mine came by for coffee yesterday while all the kids were at school. Two moms sharing a coffee and chatting about ..... kids & housework! Imagine that. Why do we DO that? The subject of clutter came up and I mentioned that I didn't like clutter. A person's home (or personal pace) represents (or maybe "reflects" is a better word) what's going on inside that person. Most times, you can walk into a person's house and get a pretty good idea of what's going on in their world. My goal is to stay stress-free and "un cluttered" in my head. I don't like things "out of place" and strewn all over the place. I like neat and orderly - not in an obsessive way (although I'm sure there are people in my family who would jokingly say otherwise) but just in a way that makes me feel in control (as opposed to "out of control" and over whelmed.)
Anyway... today I was searching for something and happened to look under my bed and was horrified at the massive collection of "dirt" - dust, cobwebs, dog hair all rolled together - DUST BUNNIES! I was amazed at how quickly this "stuff" (what the heck is it really anyway?) accumulated under my bed. I got the broom out and swept it clean. It's a good thing I did. A little while later I laid the baby on our bedroom floor and went to the living room to get some toys for her to play with. On the way I decided to have a quick washroom break (it only took a minute.) As I headed back to my bedroom with an armload of toys I heard a muffled squealing noise.. yup, it sure sounded like the baby – but where was she? I laid her down right here …….. I looked at the end of the bed and discovered her head peeking out from under the bed! She only goes in reverse, she cannot move forward yet – so apparently she backed herself up all the way under the bed! It was a kodak moment for sure :)