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crazycanuckj
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Name: J.S.
Country: Canada
State: British Columbia
Metro: Vancouver
Birthday: 12/31/1982
Gender: Male
Interests: being with my kids, work, Ice Hockey, Roller Hockey, Running, Skating, Guitar, Meeting new people, Music, Going to concerts, Lacrosse
Expertise: legal
Occupation: Government
Industry: Legal
Message: message meEmail: email me
Website: visit my website
AIM:  CrazyCanuckGuyJ
MSN: crazycanuckj@yahoo.ca
Yahoo:  crazycanuckj
Member Since:
5/4/2005
 True  Premium
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| 8 Years, 6 Years, 2 Years, 1 Month, 2 DaysWow, sorry about that Xangan friends, I didn't realize that it's been almost a whole month since I have written anything here. A lot has happened but I won't bore you with everything. Tim and Dougie loved the school in Nebraska. They did awesome and I think they learnt a lot about a different way of living. Eli did alright with it all, he was ok with the daycare but he went back to his old habits of clinging to me when I was around. We got back home last Sunday and actually ended up doing the hell drive in only 2 days. It was really great to see all my babies when we finally did get home. As much as I loved Nebraska and the work there, it was really great to get home and be with all of my family. Not sure if I mentioned or not but Dana and I decided to hire a nanny to look after the kids on the days I'm working and Dana's at school. Our new nanny Rose worked out really well while I was gone with Tim, Dougie & Eli. The other five kids got along really well with her and since we've been back these three love her too. Katie started school and she's doing awesome and loves it. Dana's back in school and doing amazing! She loves it and she's doing awesome, especially for having been out of the loop for a year, having 2 babies, and going back. I'm so proud of her :)
We went to my best friend Mitchy's house this evening to celebrate his baby girl Sammy's second birthday. It's so hard to believe that she and Eli are almost 2! Sammy is a really special little girl to me. Not only is she my goddaughter, but she's named after my brother Sammy. She was born on the same day he was killed, only 6 years later. That was back in some of the best years of my life when Mitchy, Sammy and I would spend every waking moment together. The three of us were best friends until Sammy was ripped out of our lives 8 years ago, September 23rd. I think Sammy would be proud of where Mitchy and I ended up. Or so I like to think.
So I just took an hour break here writing this... Eli was screaming and said he didn't feel good... held him for a minute and of course, he threw up all over me. I'm sure he'll be awake soon asking for something to eat so I'll keep this short. Here's a few pictures from the past month I really like the best.
Dougie looks like he's thinking really hard about something but I promise that isn't the case. He was just mad at me for some reason... can't remember what I did that time.
Marko being the little ham that he is
Tayo asleep
One of my all-time favourite Eli pictures. He decided he wanted to go swimming in Nebraska so he took a pot outside, stripped down and jumped in the completely empty pot. I also realized that I never really took any pictures of him not completely clothed. (Ha! He'll hate me for these when he's older!) I guess I've always been a little self-conscious of his scars for him. He did a pretty good job of covering himself up here, you can only kind of see one.
This is our wonderful new nanny Rose holding Jude & Lily.
What great timing, as I fully expected, Dana just picked up my screaming, starving little Eli. Hope you all enjoyed your weekends!
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| The Love and Hatred I Have for NebraskaHalf of me loves everything about working here in Nebraska, but at the same time the other half of me hates it here and can't wait to go home. I miss my wife and my 5 kids at home. That part of this is absolutely killing me. Even though I talk to Dana every day for probably 2-3 hours total, I hate it here and I miss her like none other. I'll be happy when I can leave here and have her in my arms again. She's my best friend and it's really hard being away from her for the 1 day I usually work... and it's been a week. One down three to go I suppose. Then the long drive back but it'll be worth it when I've got her and my babies back in my arms. I'm super excited about that part.
The physical demands of the job here are stressful but it's what I live for. I have my students up running every morning at 4am. The guys and ladies don't seem to like the hours too well but I (unfortunately?) am used to very little sleep having so many little ones running around and up all night at home. This is probably the most fun (job-wise) I've had in a really long time. After the run we have some classroom time then field time, more classroom time, more field time, and I usually keep them until about dinner time. I think they like it for the most part. I am probably pretty hard on them but I just want to make sure they are the best teams they can be. Gordie is having a blast getting to demonstrate with me. With me going through physical rehab and everything it's been rough on him having to sit in the office with me. I know my trainer at work would flip if he knew I was out running every morning. Yes, my knee does hurt like hell but it's so worth it. I missed running so much over the last year. I feel like I'm in super amazing shape but I really should not feel it. (Not to sound stereotypical or anything) but these Americans I'm working with are quite possibly the fattest, laziest bunch of people I've ever worked with. It's nice to see how far they've come in even a week. I think all of them have already lost a good deal of weight and they're eating better, drinking lots of water, and just overall healthier. So this really has a double bonus for them.
I had the girl I've been working with back home for the last couple months here. As those of you who actually know me outside of Xanga may know, she's been a huge problem for me. She rarely listens to me and she's ALWAYS late to everything because she "needs a few extra minutes for her hair". So after about half the week I decided to give her that extra time and sent her home for good. I've had it with her and she's not going to be a good match for K9 program, or us in general. I gave her as much patience as I possibly could but gave up on her when she showed up an hour late for the run because she had a little blister on her toe. So now the interview process begins all over again. My boss was impressed I made her last as long as I did. This time they're actually letting me interview the applicants they think will be good matches for me after so I don't get stuck with another ditz. I look forward to meeting whoever I'll get to work with and train.
I have to say I really do like the job I'm doing down here. I'm living
with a few other families in the instructors' house. There's a guy
from Michigan, a guy from Oklahoma, and a woman from Nevada. The guy
from Michigan has 2 kids here, one a little younger than Dougie and one
a little younger than Eli so it's nice for them to have someone to play
with. The woman from Nevada is here with her family as well and she's
got a daughter that was born on the same day as Tim. He likes hanging
out with her and they're in the same class and everything. Tim and Dougie really love school here. Tim is doing great but he's already gotten himself into trouble once. He corrected his teacher when she tried to correct his speech in French class. I'm shocked that he's learning French at all, I'd think if anything they'd be teaching him Spanish. The point here is that he got frustrated with his teacher trying to teach him "correct" pronunciation in French but he was actually right. She had no idea that French is one of his two first languages and she has a horrible American accent when trying to speak French. He apologized to her for talking back and being a brat so that's resolved. During that hour or whatever a day when Tim has French, Dougie actually comes and joins his class since they don't teach French to the grade 1 kids. Eli really likes the daycare here for the little kids. He has a bit of trouble when I leave him in the morning but he warms up to the daycare providers and the other kids really well. I think it's a really great experience for all 3 boys I've got here to meet the American kids here and learn about cultures other than our own. I hope they remember this when they get older too.
So, back at home, tomorrow Dana starts back to school and Katie starts
preschool! I'm really excited for both of them. I know Dana will do
great but it'll be a challenge for her going through med school and
having a family at the same time. We hired a nanny to help her out
while she's in classes and working on school work while I'm gone and
when I get back the nanny will be there when I need her and while I'm
at work. Dana and I both really liked her out of everyone we met with
and the kids all seemed to get along well with her as well. Her
references had only wonderful things to say about her. She asked for
hardly any money at all but we're paying her a little more than she
asked for. She was a nanny for a family with 7 boys for the last 15
years until the last one turned 15. I think she'll work out great for
our family, she seems like a good person on top of being great with
kids.
I'm sorry to say I've only got a couple pictures for this post. Dana texted me a picture of the babies this afternoon while I was out in the field. I have to say it was damn hard to concentrate and not think about how much I miss all of them back at home.
Dougie on his first day of school in Nebraska
Dana sent me this picture of Marko riding his tricycle
The picture of Jude & Lily that Dana texted to me. How much cuter could they get?
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| Where did the separation of Church & State go?I don't want to go too far into politics here since I have differing views of many of my friends. I don't want politics to get in the way of any friendships and I don't want comments tearing my views apart. I am entitled to mine just the same as you are entitled to yours.
As I write here I am currently in the United States watching the Democratic National Convention's final evening waiting to see Obama speak on CNN. I have the evening off so I have the chance to watch it. I didn't get a chance to watch any of the Convention the last 3 nights because of work but I wish I could have.
First off, I would like to congratulate Barack Obama as the first African American to receive the Democratic nomination. I think he should be congratulated not for being an African American, but for being a strong candidate that has come a long way to where he is.
Although I am not a citizen or even a resident, I sincerely hope Barack Obama will be the next President of the United States. I am, however, quite outraged at what I just saw. I understand the United States to be a place that keeps the separation of church and state. Several former republican candidate hopefuls wanted to bring Christianity into the country. What happened to religious freedom and the separation of church and state? I am slightly concerned that there was an invocation tonight as Rabbi David Saperstein said a prayer over basically everything.
As a side note, I will say I was raised in a Jewish home, am married to a Jewish woman, and am raising my children as secular Jews. I am not big on religion and that's my personal opinion. I am entitled to mine exactly the same as you are entitled to yours.
I feel it was in poor judgment for Obama's campaign to allow Rabbi Saperstein to say a prayer as his speech. I think mixing in any type of religion, no matter what the religion is, is completely wrong in every way.
If you're watching (or watched) the DNC and saw this speech prayer, what are your thoughts on separation of church, the Democrats bringing religion into a political event, and state and Rabbi Saperstein's choice of words?
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| A Quick UpdateI bring you updates tonight from... uhh... hmm.... uhh... somewhere in
Washington State. I drove about 5 hours to get a bit of a jump on
rush-hour traffic around home and populated areas of Washington. I
think I planned it out well enough that if we get out of here around 5
tomorrow morning then we won't hit a single city around rush hour
times. And yes, I did say we. Dana and I tried our best to talk Tim
out of coming with me and staying home to be the man of the house and
everything but he couldn't handle it. It was going to be WAY too much
stress on both him, Dana, and the other kids, especially once school
starts up for Dana and the kids. I'll leave him back home next time
when I think it's reasonable for my family to deal with. I do go on
weekend trips quite often so I'll leave him back on one of those. I
would like to thank all of you who helped me come to the decision and
gave your input. I took it all into consideration and decided there is
no right answer. I hope the boys can make this a learning experience
and see how others live, make some new friends, and just learn
something from this.
I had enough room to take 3 kids with
me so Tim, obviously, is with me, Eli - my cling-on - is with me, and
Dougie came along as well. He's got really bad sleeping habits and
Dana doesn't need that struggle over bedtime with him. Also, I would
like to keep him and Tim together school-wise so they at least know 1
other person and neither boy is completely alone. I considered
bringing Marko & Tayo but they're newly potty trained
and I didn't have the time or energy to stop every 5 minutes for them
to try to go.
I got too tired to keep driving and I only got 5 hours of road time
today. We stopped for the night in a nice hotel... well... nice
compared to what we usually stay in when the bill is on me rather than
work travel expenses. Possibly the best part of this place (even
better than free wireless internet!!) is that I don't have to sleep
with either Tim or Dougie tonight! They both get pretty jumpy just
like any little kid and they're that perfect height to aim down low
where they shouldn't. Oh the bad memories!! Sleeping is a dangerous
sport in which a cup should be worn AT ALL TIMES when children are
around. Too dangerous to take chances with. I suppose it's their way
of asking to be an only child. So the boys get their own bed so they
can kick each other all night long as much as they like.
We're going to try to get out extra early tomorrow morning so I'm going to bed now and enjoying some sleep.
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| I NEED HELP!!! PLEASE, XANGA!!!Did you ever have one of those days you wished like hell you could be anyone but yourself? Well, today was one of those days in the life of me. Marko & Tayo were at it with each other all day, Katie didn't nap at all so she was a wreck, Eli hardly napped because Katie kept him up in the next room so he was extra clingy, Dougie was fed up with all of them all day, and Tim... here's my story on Tim and I need advice please!
Possibly the worst part of the day is that it's for sure I have to go to nowheresville, Nebraska for 4 weeks. I leave Friday afternoon and it's about a 22 hour drive so I'll split it into 3 days and I start work there Monday morning. It's for work but it's my favourite pieces of my job set into a camp I'm working at for newbies and I have to say I'm really excited for it except for the fact it's 4 weeks away from my family. I'm mostly excited because I get to be one of the instructors and Gordie and I get extra training time together with GREAT pay that we need to work on putting the kids through college when they get a little older. It's a place set up so that newbies and trainers can come and stay for extended periods of time. I'll have my own place on the camp to live, there is free child care, a school for older kids, and pretty much it's own little town based around this camp. Also, passports and visas are not an issue, my whole family can go but we aren't all going. Dana and the kids all start school on September 2nd & 3rd.
So, here is my problem:
My oldest son's mother left us when he was less than a week old. Since then he and I have had a really special bond... we spent 4 years just the two of us - no girlfriends, no siblings, no one but us two. We have a policy of honesty and loyalty that not a lot of people share. I try to be as neutral about his mother as I possibly can but he hates her like none else for leaving the two of us. I have the same fear of losing people since she left us as well. I've tried my best not to pass it onto him but he obviously has the same fear.
Tim found out about all of this and he wants to go with me. The longest we've been apart was a week and a half a year ago when he stayed with Dana in Edmonton to finish the school year while I moved out to Thunder Bay to start work. That was hell for him and he had a really tough time worrying I was leaving him too. The kid is absolutely terrified that I'm leaving him for good this time when I go to Nebraska. He asked to go with me and I said no, he'll miss too much school, including his first day and all. Tim, the same kid that made me promise him back in May when we moved here that we would never move again and he would never have to switch schools and start all over again, wants to come with me and go to the school down there for the month and everything. He pulled the "my mother left me, don't do the same" card on me tonight and I just can't say no. But, at the same time I can't let him miss that much school here.
So here are my 2 options:
1. Let him come with me, go to the school in Nebraska
Pros: Tim trusts me, he'll make new friends there, it may be a growing experience for him, he
doesn't get hurt
Cons: This sets a bad precedent, he learns manipulation is acceptable
2. Make him stay home and not let him come with me
Pros: This sets a good precedent that he cannot manipulate me easily
Cons: I have to figure out how to say no, he is emotionally hurt, he may be a nervous wreck and not
function well at school when he starts here
My wife isn't being very helpful here, she agrees with both sides and says she'll back me up with whatever decision I come to but she refuses to help me make it. I just can't decide what's more important here... I can't decide if it's worth risking him learning to manipulate me or if it's worth risking his trust in me and his fears of being left. What would you do? Please I need some ideas here either comments or messages or anything. I'm not saying I'll do whatever all of you decide but I just need some ideas to point me in a general direction.
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