Our Crazy Life

ALL STAR HOCKEY WEEKEND REPORT 2012

Hello again from the nation's capital !

Did you watch the all star fantasy draft on Thursday?  What did you think of the goonies in the audience?  We were not impressed.  Carter was impressed that Chara was a captain.  We were all happy to see Alfredson named the other captain.  It was no surprise he picked all the Sen's and for the most part the Swedish players.  Spezza certainly had no loss for words... he was pretty funny.  The best part was Chara picking Datzuk (sp?) first overall; he is deserving.  Whether we watch the game or not is another decision.  It was a pretty dull game last year.  Not many people we know will watch.  We will probably watch the skills competition. 

The weather is once again crazy with freezing temp's, then warm temp's with ice pellets, then rain, then freezing rain, then snow, then sun... etc.  Our driveway is a sheet of ice.  We shoveled the snow late yesterday afternoon.  It probably would have been safer with the snow than the ice.  We were hoping the warm temp's today will melt the ice.  Who knows.  Our eaves are filled with ice to about six inches above the roof line and there is still lots of snow up on the roof.  The rain has just built a huge ice dam at the bottom.  Oh well... what can you do?  At least it isn't -20C.  The rest of the country is probably in the same predicament.  Thank god we have a guy ploughing the end of the driveway.  The grader cleaned the street just after we finished shoveling and left a three foot ice ridge.  It would have taken three hours to shovel. 

Carter returned to school on Monday.  Paula drives him in the morning and Randy picks him up shortly after four o'clock.  He has always been accompanied by a class mate after school so he isn't by himself.  Randy ran into a couple of his teachers on Thursday and they advised that he hasn't missed much and is pretty much caught up on his homework...he does this in class.  He is a pretty good student.  We will find out soon enough as report cards are due soon.  

The pain in his leg has subsided considerably.  Thank god!  His outbursts have been minimized to the normal pre teenager rants.  He has become fairly independent: he can get out of bed himself, go to the w.c. himself, get up for a drink himself (but mostly asks) and puts on his own socks and shoes.  His follow up appointment with the doctor / surgeon is this week, February 1st.  They said it could be a four hour wait.  We are all anxious to see how the femur is healing.  We have been doing some research on our own and in some cases they advise no running or strenuous activity for up to a year.  That is a bit scary.  We are hoping and praying for the best.

We made it out to a couple of Carter's hockey teams games this week.  They did not fair so well.  They had one game in the bag until they began to think they had it in the bag.  The opposition scored two goals with 44 seconds in the third period to win.  It was heart breaking.  The team is in a tournament this weekend in Kanata.  They won the first game 4-0 but lost the second 7-2.  They play again at 5 and we will be in the crowd cheering them to victory.  They miss Carter but will survive with out him on the bench. 

Paula is out doing the grocery shopping.  Randy has the house clean and is working on the laundry.  Carter is playing a video game and Bob is scampering around probably looking for Paula.

We hope Marianne had a good week; again best wishes.  We hope you all had a good week and enjoy an even better one this week.

SUNNY JANUARY SUNDAY

Hello again from the nation's capital !

We are still in a deep freeze.  It warmed up to -8C the last couple of days but remains cold (-18C) in the night.  Our forecast is for warmer weather but also more snow and freezing rain.  Thank god we haven't had to shovel for a week.  Yahoo!

We were kept busy attending three Ranger games this week.  The boys beat the Ranger White team 4-1 on Thursday.  It was Carter's first outing.  It was a cold night and even colder sitting in the Handi-cap spot but he had fun cheering his team mates and friends.  They celebrated at the end of the game with big cookies and more presents and cards for Carter.  The team won the tournament in Rochester last weekend.  They were on a big high.  Carter was not alone as quite a few of his friends came to watch the game with him.  He has had lots of support and well wishes from the hockey community.  

We stayed home on Friday night and watched a movie "in-time".  There was no NHL hockey games on our stations.  Yesterday we ventured out to Leitrim to cheer on the team.  They played a very good game and were victorious with a 3-1 win.  We were all excited as the opposition are currently in first place.  We played them again today out in Carleton Place.  The boys didn't play as hard today and lost 6-2.  They did not play near their potential.  The coaches were not happy so it was a pretty quiet change room after the game.  Carter spent some time with them and tried to cheer them up a bit.  You can't win them all.  Carter had fun cheering from the boards.  We tried the new Arby's for lunch on Saturday...mmmm delicious.

Paula worked from home this week.  She has been doing a very good job of caring for Carter.  Carter is getting better every day; there are less and less pain killers required daily.  He is still a little tender.  He is also becoming more independant with moving his cast leg.  We rented him a wheel chair Thursday afternoon and he is much safer in it out in public than on his crutches.  He will also use it at school once we decide he should return.  Hopefully it will be this week sooner than later.  He must have quite a bit of work to catch up on.  

Last night we vegged in front of the H.N.I.C. (less D.C.) broadcast (sure different than our favorite TSN broadcast).  We were in bed very early after a long day of traveling, chores and the cold.  We watched the end of the Caps vs Penquins game.  Randy got lots of points in the hockey pool thanks to Ovie and Malkin.  The second half of the football game just started so best get back to the boob tube.

We continue to pray for Marianne wishing she is feeling better each day.  We have been envious of Ron and Carol for the last three weeks but wish them a safe return trip, probably at home by now.  We also hope it warms up a bit in the West... this cold is abominable.  Have a great time at the Dunes this week M&D and Ruth and Larry have fun with the grand kids.  Thanks Roberta for the box of goodies for Carter.  Since they are not on his healthy diet R&C have been enjoyng plenty of candy - just kidding.  We make Carter get up off the couch and walk thru the dining room to get his own treats.  He was fortune this week as one of the neighbor ladies brought him two dozen chocolate chip cookies and a big jar of delicious vegetable soup.

Have a great week.

WINTER WEATHER HAS ARRIVED

Hello again from the nation's capital !

It turned bitterly cold today.  It is -17C and falling.  Apparently it will stay this way for a few days.  Winter weather has arrived.  The last couple of days we received rain, freezing rain, ice pellets and lots and lots of snow.  So much so that we shoveled four times on Friday just to get into the house.  The same for Thursday.  Randy returned home to a foot of snow that had blown into the driveway.  He got lots of exercise.  Luckily on Friday afternoon and guy with a blade on the front of his truck passed by and signalled if he could clean the snow paths plough.  Randy hired him on the spot and asked if he could do it every time he was in the neighborhood.  He did an awesome job and returned after dark as the snow plough had also returned to re-clean the streets.  Bob had a blast running around the neighborhood while Randy shoveled the snow.  He is a good dog and returns home on command... well ususally.

Today we were lucky and received no snow, just the cold.  Bob had no interest in spending more than a couple of minutes outside.  He quickly did his business then rushed back into the house.  We all enjoyed a nice sleep last night.  We all slept in late other than a freaky experience at 6am when Carter realized he was sleeping on his stomach.  Paula was a good mother and awoke fast and repaired the situation.  There were more than enough chores to keep us busy in the house.  Carter had a nice visit with his grandparents on the telephone.  He is so used to facebook and texting that talking on the phone is new to him.  Soon we will all have to be on the facebook.

You should all now know about Carter.  "Thank you for all your well wishes."  He is safe and sound at home.  He rests on the couch in the family room in front of the tv and ps3 station.  There is not much more he can do.  He is currently pacing around the living room - kitchen and family room for exercise.  He is still on med's for the pain.  Hopefully that will cease in the coming week.  He has had quite a few visitors to keep him company...hopefully they will return.  He misses his friends and hockey etc.  He is normally a very active guy.  He has his sketch book and reading books to also keep him occupied.  Other than Hockey & Lacrosse games, Sports Central and the History channel he watches very little tv.  Toronto and Buffalo are currently in a heated lacrosse match.

Paula has researched a diet for him as recommended for patients in his condition.  Low fat, no wheat, lots of greens, no red meat etc foods that help in the healing of the bones.  Maybe we will all lose a little weight.  Although Carter can not lose any weight or he will disappear.  The house is compatible for his crutches other than removing area rugs etc.  We purchased a dining tray to fit under the couch and a bath stool.  He hasn't had a shower since Tuesday morning.  There are a lot of things we must learn.  Thank god for the internet.

His stay in the hospital was an experience.  We are thankful he has been fixed and we can continue to look after his needs at home.  It will be three weeks until we return to the clinic for an X-ray.  It is likely that the ankle to top of the leg red cast will stay on for 6 to 8 weeks.  He will then have to wear a splint with minimal foot pressure.  We found (on the internet) some really cool gear to aid his walking without putting pressure on his foot.  Paula has pay pal so you never know what may show up on our door step.  The surgeon advised up to six months without physical activity.  Carter can not accept this...he thinks he is returning for spring AAA hockey.  He was so excited to be asked to play.  We will take it one day at a time.  

His hockey team is in a tournament in Rochester N.Y. this weekend.  We were all excited about the trip.  The weather played a real damper for the team.  A few families made it to Watertown last night.  The I81 was closed after dark.  A few families that left before noon actually made it to Rochester.  The ladies wanted to shop Saturday morning and no snow storm was going to stop them.  The Rangers tied there first game 1 to 1 and they don't play again until Saturday at 3:50pm.  There is ample time for shopping between games.  Paula is sad about this.  We hope they play good and have fun.  Carter keeps busy texting them on the facebook.

It sounds like Ron and Carol are having the experience of a lifetime.  We have been checking the weather network just to see the temperatures... awesome for a holiday in Perth.  It seems the western Canadian provinces are returning to a deep freeze tomorrow.  You will be unpacking the winter woolies soon.  Hopefully you get some snow as well.  If it were up to us we would send you lots.

Have a wonderful week.

JANUARY BLUES

Hello again from the nation's capital !

It has been cold, windy, snowy, melting, sunny and cloudy.  The full moon last night brought wind and cold.  One day it is extremely cold and the next it is not so bad.  Two mornings this week Randy had to get up early to clear the driveway from snow.  Yesterday it rained most of the day.  It was -8C and raining.  There was no snow to shovel thank god but the roads were crazy.  It is enough to drive anyone crazy.  

It was a pretty quiet week in Ottawa.  Carter and Paula spent the week chillaxing and sleeping in every day.  Carter had a couple of hockey practises and spent Friday ski-ing.  He had a good time but was a bit tired and grumpy when he got home.  Come to think of it he has been grumpy all week.  We think he needs to get back into the routine of school etc.  He spent yesterday afternoon at a friends house playing video games and happily playing shinny at the rink behind their house.  His friend ditched him at the rink so we picked him up and brought him home for dinner.  Some kids would rather be in the house playing video games...Carter would rather exist at the rink.  He spent a considerable amount of time playing shinny this week.  jOne afternoon he went to the mall with friends.  All by themselves.  He did stay home one day just to rest and relax.  

We watched a bit of hockey this week.  The NHL entertained us more than the WJHL.  We were glad to watch the Swede's win the final.  Canada got a bronze.  Isn't that wonderful.  We spent most nights watching hockey this week and weekend other than the skins curling when some of us enjoyed a nice snooze.

Carter played hockey today for the first time in 2012.  He had a good game.  The team tied Kanata 3-3.  They beat us the last time we played in November.  The coach shook up the lines and defense pairing much to the chagrin of the parents but it all worked out in the end.  One player is still on holiday...hopefully somewhere warm.  

Carter also went to the first indoor Lacrosse practise this morning.  It is hard to believe that it is starting up again.  Maybe the warm spring weather will soon follow.

We hope you all have a great week and we look forward to reading your reports. 

HAPPY NEW YEAR 2012

Hello again from the nation's capital !

HAPPY NEW YEAR 2012

We celebrated the new year at home.  The Lucas family joined us for the evening.  Paula made lots of munchies which we ate over the course of the evening.  Besides eating and visiting we managed to watch two hockey games and enjoyed a couple of card games (blackjack and Texas Hold'em).  Carter and Liam played mini-sticks and video games down stairs coming upstairs when they were hungry or thirsty.  We had a lovely evening topped off with champagne at midnight.  The boys entertained us with popping the corks off the bottles.  We will share the video on the email or youtube.  We stayed up way to late.  Carter returned home with the Lucas's for a sleep over.  Paula and Randy enjoyed a very quiet day reading in front of the fireplace.  Carter spent the afternoon at the outdoor rink then spent the evening with the Lucas family.  He is finally at home, showered and spending the afternoon relaxing.  It is to warm outside for skating (the ice is melting).

Our holiday last week was short but nice.  We slept in every day and spent alot of time chilaxing in our pj's.  We went to see the new Sherlock Holmes movie.  It was pretty good - highly recommended.  Carter and Randy also ventured out to a few hockey games; Bell Capital Cup (we were not in this year).   Carter purchased new shin pads (14") and a pair of used hockey skates (for the outdoor rink) with his Xmas cash - thanks both grand parents.  We also spring cleaned and organized the house. We watched pretty much all of the World Junior hockey games on TSN and look forward to getting back at them tonight.  Carter walked to the outdoor rink every day (sometimes twice) to see if the ice was ready.  It was finally ready on New Year's Eve.  He and his buddies spent a few hours playing hockey.  He came home frozen to the bone.  A hot shower got him ready for our celebration.  We did not partake in any big sales this week.  We heard the malls and stores were crazy busy.  Just going out to the grocery store was a chore with traffic etc.  

Nice to hear Ron and Carol have safely arrived and are enjoying the start of a wonderful adventure.  We are glad to hear the rest of the family enjoyed a good holiday and good weather.  It is now time to settle back into the routine and get back to work.  Paula and Carter have next week off so are still on holiday.

Randy spent the morning shoveling snow and taking down the outside Christmas decorations.  They have all been hauled down stairs and in storage until next Christmas.  We had to take advantage of today's nice weather and get 'er done.  Paula and Carter just need to undress the tree and we are Christmas decoration free.  We are anxiously awaiting the Winter Classic.  Apparently it doesn't start until 3:00pm.  Carter has a two hour hockey practise at six tonight: we are back in the swing of things.

Happy New Year !