It’s your birthday

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY LITTLEST BEAR.  ELEVEN TODAY.

Huffle and I were woken by footsteps in the loft.  He thought it was a very big mouse or raccoon but I knew it was Small looking for wrapping paper to wrap his little brothers birthday present in.

When we got up, Smallest opened his cards.  He had eight altogether, mainly through the post.  He thought it was funny that some of them were addressed to ‘Master’.  In his eyes, a Master was Yoda!

Next he opened his presents.  He loves glow sticks and we bought him enough to last him 36 days.  He likes to hang a different one each day.  I made him a succulent pot and decorated it with animals and windmills and a mushroom.  He was very surprised with it but he loves it.   He had a solar frog for his garden, some LEGO mini figures, sunflower seeds, a tee shirt and chocolate.  He asked for a watch but it hasn’t been delivered yet.  He had a huge LEGO set from Grandma which he helped to buy and they also bought him some Stoke goodies which I will bring home with me.  Moo bought him a remote control helicopter and Small gave him a mug cake and his wooden ‘eleven’ numbers.  Aunt Pear gave him money and he is thinking what to spend it on.

For breakfast he requested croissants and pain au chocolat.  I told him we hadn’t made the cake yet and we had to make it this morning, he wasn't sure but he didn’t really believe me and we presented it to him mid morning with a chorus of Happy Birthday.  Grandma and Grandad Facetimed him and sang a very strange version of Happy Birthday and showed him his Stoke goodies.  HB also sent him a weird rendition of Happy Birthday.  He had a multitude of messages from friends, family and acquaintances.

He built his mini figures and started his mammoth LEGO while Huffle and I made a pass the parcel.  We also finished our Wizard game that has been going on for three days now.  Smallest won.

For lunch we had a slice of cake and then we all went out for several games of Pool (Smallest’s idea).

Today we had two tables and played each other.  I won overall with four games.  Smallest and Small won three games each and Huffle won nothing.  He says he was too busy coaching but.............

On the way home we popped to a friend of mine who lives nearby.  Small is going to cut her grass for her and we wanted to introduce them and see what needed to be done.  It seems he might have some extra work there too with some tidying up of Winter stuff and raking.  She has already decided Smallest can take over from Small once he is old enough.  Perfect!

Back home, Small’s pizza dough he made earlier had risen well and while Smallest had a brithday bath, we made the pizzas for tea which we ate in front of TheGreatBritishBakeOff.

Afterwards we played Pass the Parcel.  Very funny.  We took it in turns to stop the music.  Forfeits included laughing like MrsChristmas, shouting I Love You Cowboy Kev, cuddle the birthday boy (which Smallest got), wearing Smallest's pants on our head, sweeping kitchen, making a drink, singing, patting tummy and head.  We all won mini eggs and Smallest won a frog on a bike for his garden.

Another lovely day.  Weekend now and Monday off.

Pots-a-plenty

It’s been a busy week.  Mainly football for Smallest, totalling three practices on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday.  On the Tuesday he did a TorontoFCAcademy session.  Smallest said it was really bad and he was given a pair of too big shorts and promised a shirt for future sessions.  He was not impressed with it at all.  Smallest was given two pairs of boots this week by OldCoach.  It seems OldCoach’s son was being talked about by the boys in the first team saying he wasn’t good enough.  OldCoach heard apparently.  Whoops!

I spent a lot of my week driving backwards and forwards to Pottery to see if my pieces were ready.  Each day I would come back with a few more.  The first time I was really disappointed and by Saturday I was feeling better.  I have far too many pots that are exactly the same size and similar shape.  I’m thinking of taking them with me to England and leaving them as gifts with the various people I am staying with.  Ha ha, there’s a treat!

Small had his last referee pre-course before his big day of referee learning in about two weeks.  His last game was Saturday before the play-offs.  It was quite entertaining as usual.  His team won 3-0.

Huffle has had trouble with his back and went to the doctors.  He had an XRay the next morning with Canada’s answer to JoBrand (same hair, same shape and similar comedic humour) and has a follow up appointment with our doctor in a couple of weeks.  In the meantime he is to keep exercising and not lifting anything too heavy.  Damn, I was going to enter us in the husband and wife piggy back races!!!

This week we went to meet Small’s teachers.  Two were absent so we met his Geography teacher who did not know that Small was English (arrrgggghhhh he puts on such a good accent at school). I pointed out that his first test, scoring just a 60%, may have had something to do with the fact we have only been here six years.  He understood completely and said he would bear it in mind in future geographical quizzes.  He seemed very nice and talked to us a little about his grandparents who were British.  Small said he isn’t quite that nice in lessons but he is still a good teacher.  We also saw his Music Teacher who said he was an excellent Tuba player, in fact so good that she would like him to move up a year next year and do music Grade 11 (and miss Grade 10). Wow!  I knew he was good at music (MrsPiano says he’s a natural) but I didn’t know he was that good.  We are so very proud.  It will be tougher and he will have to study theory more but she is willing to help and MrsPiano is going to teach him some theory too.  Fabulous.

I had to go to the Walk-in doctors this week too as I had a swollen elbow that was painful to touch and was red hot!  It turns out I had Bursitis and had anti-inflammatories but it seems to have gone now.  They drew a circle around the swelling and said I had to go straight to emergency if it got any bigger, but it didn’t so all is well.  Weird thing is, I didn’t fall or hit it, it just appeared.  I still managed my two exercise classes with some things changed due to coccyx (which does seem much better) and elbow.

Saturday we painted pots as Smallest got to paint a tile for free for his birthday (next week) and he painted an egg cup while I painted something else (secret shhhhhh).  Huffle and Small watched and passed paint as they didn’t want to do any.  We had a meal lakeside which wasn’t very good and then a wander along the beach which was cold in the wind but beautiful sat on the rocks in the sunshine.

There must be a pickle down there!

Well we have had a long March Break and the boys are sniping at each other and everyone is getting tetchy.  Back to routine PLEASE!

We haven't done a lot really after our trip to Canada Blooms on Wednesday.  Thursday I went to pottery and glazed all my pots and we had a pot luck.  I took a big bloomer bread and flapjack.  Both went down very well.  I left the boys with several loads of washing to sort, wash, dry and fold and apart from my hand knit socks being put in the drier (must be more specific) they did a good job.

On Friday the boys and I attempted to go to the cinema to use Smallest's gift card to watch Peter Rabbit but when we got there the show was fully booked (another 12 seater no doubt).  I had asked Small and Huffle if we should book first but both said there was no need.  Since they have changed all the big cinemas to new swanky reclining seats, all cinemas seem to book up quicker.  Well that's taught us a lesson.  We had a power cut just as I was putting a bread in the oven and thinking about making dinner.  We had to eat out instead.

Small had a football match on Saturday and Huffle coached.  Unfortunately only four players from each side turned up.  They still played and Smalls team won.  It was very entertaining for Smallest and I.

the whole team

We didn't do much today.  Watched football (LCFC loss), made lego fidget cubes, watched TV, went for a Hamlet walk, ate and Facetimed Grandma and Grandad (with Happy Birthday renditions on Tuba and Ukulele).

Our resident Woodpecker

frozen pipe

sumacs and the blue sky

.....and last but not least.........