Hockey. Is. OVER!

Hockey. Is. OVER.  Yes, you heard it right...hockey is over. Over. Over. Over!  Yesterday marked the end of DH's hockey school for the season.  We DH has been in full hockey mode since about November and to put this in perspective, #TeamA & #TeamO are just learning how to skate so he is running a hockey school for other people's children.  DH spent much of his paternity leave organizing the behind the scenes aspects of the school in between parenting our two amigos.

This was the first time that balancing home and work life has really been a challenge as now we were both back to our full time jobs and we had two amigos.  There were many days that although I was putting up a brave & positive face, I was crumbling and melting down on the inside because I just could do it anymore.  I couldn't parent and I couldn't teach; both were demanding so much more of me than I was able to offer.

Throughout all this, our home looked much like a sports store with equipment & apparel strewn all over.  Throw in a curious little monkey in #TeamO and you've got yourself a part-time job trying to keep a lid on things.

It was 4 months of single parenting on nights and weekends when DH was out running practices, convening tournaments and coaching games when he had a chance.  I will admit that on more than one occasion I hit up the McD's drive-thru just so that my children would actually eat the meal I put in front of them without coaxing and bribes.

All in all, I hope that the players and parents that participated in some and any capacity this year understand the sacrifice and dedication that not only DH puts into the hockey school but as well as our entire family.  While he was out coaching other people's children he was missing many "firsts" of his own children, quirky comments around the dinner table and the endless cuddles on weekend mornings while we all watched cartoons in the big bed.

Over the next 5 months we will all settle in and enjoy being a family of 4 again so that come November, we will be prepared to lose DH again for another hockey season.

Until then, it will be sunshine & happiness in our house!

Stephanie :)

Spring Fever

With just one week until spring is officially upon us, I have jumped ahead and started our spring-cleaning around the house. Now, I haven’t started the traditional cleaning chores like washing windows, scrubbing floors & cleaning out the disaster zone also referred to as the garage, but I have attacked closets and cupboards in every corner of this house. I’m sure the garbage-man thought that there was a street competition of who can put the most garbage out this week because it looks like the fever has hit quite a few on the street. I ended up with 7 bags of garbage and 2 huge boxes of cardboard recycle. I didn’t let one closet or cupboard go unnoticed from the bedrooms, to the office, bathrooms & even the kitchen. I took the attitude of I can always get a new one or a fresh bottle when looking at items deep in the bowels of the closed door spaces. I tossed all the expired products and sorted through what we just didn’t want anymore. I have a bag of toiletries that I need to donate somewhere and took two bags of food to the food bank donation box of food that isn’t on our pallet anymore. It feels really good to open a cupboard and be able to see exactly what we have and what we don’t need to buy more of. For the record, we don’t need to buy pasta, crackers, cookie mix or peanut butter for A LONG TIME!!! It has also allowed me to think of easy meals that I can prepare after school using just what we have in the cupboard and a fresh piece of meat. Our goal is to just buy fresh foods (fruits, vegetables & meats) until we have cleared out everything else in the cupboard.

It’s been a busy time around here besides spring-cleaning. Marc is knee deep in his hockey school tournaments that start next month & I’ve been teaching all-day, everyday for the past month or so. I have secured my LTO until the end of the school year so that brings me a little relief. I love my job so much that I didn’t want to loose it mid way through the year. I’ve also been supply teaching every morning for teachers in my school on workshops or that are under the weather. I love this part of my job too because I get to see what everyone else is doing and to teach all the other students in the school.

With just another 3 days of break, I’m going to continue my spring-cleaning trend by sorting through clothes & shoes and then take some time for myself and maybe scrapbook or curl up on the couch for a movie & good book.

I now know why there’s a March Break built into the school year, because without it I’d still be living in an over-stuffed house wondering what I’m going to make for supper!