Jamie Chew's Web Log: Vol. 3 No. 4

2009-09-01 24:00 (John) Realising that summer has ended for Ottawa-area students, and there was no further hope of cousins visiting, we made last-minute arrangements to drive to Orleans this afternoon on a whirlwind surprise trip. Kristen took the boys to Hakobune in the morning, I got the house ready for our absence and packed the cars and picked them up. After the traditional visit to Starbucks, we hit the road at 14:00. Jamie fell asleep after an hour, without benefit of Benedryl, so we appear to have determined that carsickness# makes him sleepy, which isn't a terrible thing. He slept through Liam's pit-stop at 15:30, but woke up at around 17:00 when Liam next needed to stop, needing to both pee and eat. The boys enjoyed a rare treat: cheeseburgers and fries. Despite moderately heavy traffic, we made it to Grammi's house at 19:00. Everyone was pleasantly surprised. The boys chased Owen around the house until bedtime, I drove the cousins home, the boys quieted down watching videos and then taking a bath, and Grammi told them bedtime stories until they fell asleep. We're heading back home the day after tomorrow, and apologize in advance to the many people in Ottawa that we usually call on but may not get a chance to this trip.

2009-09-02 24:00 (Kristen) The boys were up early this morning, and I think that Grammie fed them something for breakfast. Jamie was very excited about going to the mall to play in the playpark there, and the boys happily did that after some lunch in the foodcourt. They played for about an hour and a half, I guess, and refueled with water and Timbits (Auntie Jen and I had coffee). John was running around doing this and that, and picked us up on the way back home around when school let out for the day. We played at home, and the boys particularly liked Grammie's hammock in the back yard. Both boys spent a good deal of time in it today, asking someone or another to swing them back and forth in it. They did their usual things, some homework, and my dad came by to give Liam his birthday present. Dinner was with Jen, Grammie, Anna, and Becky (Owen had tae kwan do, and homework at home with his dad), and Liam had a great time colouring purple princesses that Becky drew for him. He also copied out his name, after Bcky wrote it down for him. The first time! Yay! The boys played together a good deal, and it's so funny to see how closely Liam imitates Jamie. He parrots what Jamie says, laughs when he does, and never takes his eyes off his brother. Jamie, for his part, takes it all in his stride and goodnaturedly, as he has a willing and able playmate and audience for whatever goofiness he has planned. The boys fell asleep instantly, surprising my mom and I, until we looked at the time and realized that it was 10:30. No wonder!

2009-09-03 38:36 (Kristen) It was a whirlwind tour, but today we needed to come home. In the morning, Liam went for a walk around Grammie's front garden, and now can identify Grammie's begonias when asked. He was very interested. There was more play in the backyard, and a few mosquito bites (unfortunately). Yay, Benadril spray. We went out for breakfast with Grammie, Poppy, and Auntie Jen, then went home to pack and head home. We stopped three times for food, pee breaks, and drinks, and Jamie slept for about an hour very soon after we left for Toronto. The boys were royally bored by the time we got home, however, and Jamie in particular was finding the trip a bit of a trial. We made it home in one piece, however, and some fun was had with Gary. After the bath, Liam was running around with his towel and saying "My a bat!" A little later, his towel fell off, and he said, mournfully, "My cape fell off. My was a vampire. Now my a monkey." I need to illustrate that somehow, somewhere. It was pretty funny. Liam fell asleep quickly, but Jamie didn't fall asleep until 11:00.

2009-09-04 47:10 (Kristen) Today was Jamie's last day at Hakobune, and he was surprised that he felt sad in the end. He definitely was getting too old to be there, and it was time, but he wasn't as happy as he thought that he was going to be. He was quite thoughtful, and needed a cuddle or two, and reassurances that he'd see his teachers again and that they wouldn't forget him. I am pretty sure that Jamie would be hard to forget. John and I picked up Jamie and Liam, said our thank yous, and took the boys home. The day was pretty standard after that, with a dinner at Browning. Liam hadn't seen Tom in a little while, and didn't leave his side very much at all the whole night. Jamie got very involved with creating levels on a Super Mario 63 online game, and was very hard to peel away. It was way too late, really, when we got the boys home, and there were minor crises galore, but we made it and put them to bed. I fell asleep with Liam, and didn't wake up until the next morning, myself.

2009-09-05 23:14 (Kristen) We're going to have to teach Liam not to gloat. He's so cheerful and pure about it--he's not trying to hurt feelings--but his rejoicing when he gets his own way can't but grate on his older brother a little bit. Tonight's reason for gloating was that he'd asked first to play Super Mario Galaxy, and Jamie had to wait. Glee, and arm pumping as he ran around in a big circle. John explained that when the big hand (which was on the 6) reached the 9, it was Jamie's turn, and that when the big hand reached the 12, it was bedtime. And then Liam piped up, "and when it reaches the 10, it's Liam's turn again!" Um, no. But a good try.

We took the boys to the St. Lawrence Market today, and I worked in a nearby Starbucks while John took the boys around shopping. Afterwards, he took them to the splashpad nearby (they all close after Labour Day Monday) for one last splash, and then we took them home. They did work, and played, and watched television, and ate dinner. Jamie had a very hard time falling asleep again. He's been having trouble lately, and tonight he wasn't asleep until almost 11:00, despite exercise and proper food. I hope that going back to school deals with this problem, and quickly.

2009-09-06 47:39 (Kristen) Today we took the boys, and Daniel and Ross as well, to the Coffee Mill in Yorkville for our annual "hooray, school's over!" lunch. It was more of a "well, school's over and just about to start again" lunch, but the tradition was honoured, and the kids appreciated it. Jamie liked his raspberry float, but Liam decided that he didn't like his and had to have Dad's ginger ale float, because that was the proper kind to have. Poor John. Eventually, lunch concluded as we were chased off by a particularly aggressive hornet (we were on the patio), and went to watch jets from the airshow from the big rock in the Yorkville park. The boys had a great time playing tag and running until they were ragged. The boys and John (Daniel and Ross went home) played a bit later in the Jackman playground while I got some groceries. Dinner was quiet, and the evening was as well.

2009-09-07 23:42 (Kristen) Today, being the last day of summer, was celebrated by Jamie finishing off his Japanese homework for the summer. As a reward, he received the second DS game that John brought back from Japan, and is delighted. Otherwise, he spent almost every waking moment playing Super Mario 63, which is a flash game on the Internet, as it allows him to build new levels, his favourite thing. Liam watched television, did his own work, and at one point jumped up from the table where he was working with John, and announced that he was going to work. He jumped onto his little yellow car, and drove into the living room, parked, and declared that work was playing Mercury Meltdown ("Mercury Downmelt"). Na na na. His imagination is definitely in full bloom. Tomorrow, he'll go to Hakobune without Jamie, and I wonder how much he'll miss him. Jamie is, of course, very anxious about starting Grade 1, and was full of worries and concerns. John and I tried to walk him through the day as much as we could, but it took him a long time to fall asleep nonetheless. Funny moment of the day was when John and Ross were trying to solve the Speedy Comet run on the Gold Leaf Galaxy in Super Mario Galaxy at Browning. After the two of them were trying for quite some time, John offered the controllers to Jamie, who did it the very first time. Na na na, as Liam would say.

* For the benefit of Scrabble players, words that are not in the Scrabble dictionary are marked with an asterisk.

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