Jeremy Is Having Way Too Much Fun

Tina and I talked with Jeremy yesterday - our third conversation with him since leaving him with my mom.

He is hilarious on the phone. He sounds like he is 10-years old. He has been going to park and playing with the kids their. Tag. Rounders. Even some pretend gun game with some older boys.

If you know Jeremy, you know that he can be friends with anyone. He loves to play.

He has been to McDonalds. He has been to the International Villages. He has been to Ivey's house next door. He has been to the other neighbour next door (they have a Wii). He has been playing in the pool. He even went to some place that has inflatable castles and slides.

Babcia spoils him.

He does miss us, his house, his room, his toys and his guinea pig, but seems content in hanging out with Babcia and Grandpa.

During a previous phone call, he pretended to be Babcia saying "Hi, this is Babcia" is a high pitched voiced. Today, he had fun joking about things he could paint in his room (I intend to paint his room this fall instead of during the summer).

We miss you buddy.

Posted by Adam

Childless, Finally

After Jeremy's soccer game Saturday morning we headed to Brantford for our annual "drop Corbin off at Camp Winston" weekend.

Corbin has been looking forward to Camp Winston for about two weeks now. How do we know? He talks about things he did at last year's camp.

We arrived late Saturday afternoon. Jeremy wanted to know if Ivey, the girl from next door was home. My mom said Ivey would be back Sunday. Corbin went straight into playing mode. We had perogies for supper.

On Sunday, Babcia joined us for our trek up to Sparrow Lake. The drive up was uneventful. Exactly one hour from Brantford to the 400/407 interchange (well worth the 10 dollar or so toll). In Orrillia, we stopped for late lunch at Boston Pizza. We arrived at Camp Winston at 2:20 pm.

Corbin immediately wanted to go fishing. Sorry buddy but here is your sleeping bag and your ruck sack. Headed over to Cabin 4 where Corbin showed us his version of unpacking - shoving the ruck sack into the bottom shelf. Okay.

Next, Corbin gave Babcia a tour of the camp under the watchful eye of Kerri, a camp counsellor. Tina headed over to unload the meds and I hung with Jeremy as he played.

About an hour later, we said our goodbyes and headed back to Brantford. Tina drove this segment. Traffic was much heavier due to all the Canada Day vacationers/cottagers returning to the Greater Toronto Area.

We had a quick bite to eat, gave Jeremy hugs and kisses and headed back to Windsor childless. The ride back was quiet - no kids saying they are hungry or need to go pee. What an whirlwind weekend.

Posted by Adam

Easter In Brantford 2009 Edition

Travelled to Brantford for the Easter weekend.

Headed up on Friday in the new Montana SV6 aka Tina's van. Plenty of cops along the way but travelling at under 120 kph seemed to be okay. The boys watched movies on their DVD players, I played games on my Nintendo DS and Tina drove the whole way.

The next two and a half days were okay for the most part. The boys got their Babcia time. Tina and I managed some time alone, but not as much as we planned for.

Saturday morning we headed to church for the blessing of Easter basket. Jeremy was grumpy but managed to make it through the 15-minute ceremony. Next it was to the cemetery where my mom planted a flower at my father's grave.

While my mom was praying, Jeremy asked some questions about my dad. Yes, he is dead and this is where his buried. Then, with a straight face, Jeremy asked if the purse and plastic bag hanging off the cross were my dad's. We tried to contain our laughter. My mom had to walk away to avoid bursting out loud. I explained to Jeremy that that was Babcia's purse. "Oh" he said. I'm sure my dad was chuckling too.

Next, we did some quick shopping at Sears - seems that the whole Szymczak family needed new socks - "Sock Crisis 2009" - followed by a very short trip to Future Shop.

Tina and I went out later to get some things from Shopper's Drug Mart for my mom and took a drive around Brantford. Supper was excellent as usual - not many leftovers. The boys played and played and played.

Sunday was much the same. We headed back to Windsor after dinner. I drove back. Traffic was usual and no police this time. A good time had by all.

Posted by Adam

Cleaning the House Via Brantford

Tina made a proposition I could not refuse: take the boys to Brantford and she would clean up the house, crawl space included.

By 4:00 pm I was out on the road and Tina was starting her cleaning project. I told her that any garbage can go in the garage and that I would take care of it.

So I spent the weekend in Brantford, where Babcia entertained the boys for a couple of days and I did nothing. Not a bad deal.

I came back to a pile of crap in the garage (yeah) and a very clean and tidy house (double yeah).

Happy Valentines Day sweety.

Posted by Adam

A Wet Christmas in Brantford

After the boys opened their Santa presents and we (including Guinea) all emptied our stockings, we packed the van and head down the 401 and 403 to spend a few days with Babcia and Grandpa in Brantford.

The drive was uneventful. Next to no trucks but lots of cars. No police to be seen.

We had a wonderful turkey dinner and then we opened presents. Babcia naturally had presents for everyone - even Tina and myself. The boys opened their presents with eagerness and excitement.

Corbin loved the new WWE Smackdown Vs Raw DS game and Jeremy loved his Hot Wheels 10 in 1 racing track and Kung Fu Panda DS game.

Babcia was amazed with her Samsug Q1 mp3 player and Grandpa quickly stowed his Tim Hortons Gift Card.

On Friday, Tina and I headed out for some browsing and shopping (Jeremy's race track needed batteries - doh). The stores did not seem that busy. The Christmas section at Canadian Tire was full of stock - there were plenty of lights. I don't think retailers did that well this year. We maximized our time away from the boys, returning after a three hour trip.

Saturday was "Babcia and Jeremy Day". We drove over to Walmart so that Jeremy could pick out his birthday presents from Babcia. Corbin and I checked out the electronic section. We didn't spend too much time at Walmart.

Then we headed over to Future Shop to look for a DVD Jeremy wanted. While the store was busy, we were able to find everything we wanted. I suggested to my mom that she pay at the digital camera counter, thereby avoiding the long line at the front of the store. My mom appreciated that.

The rest of the afternoon was spent relaxing watching TV, playing games or just hanging out. Jeremy chose Boston Pizza (after some campaigning on my part) for his Birthday supper. Corbin, Tina and I split a Great White North Pizza, Jeremy had the grilled cheese, Alex had the Ribber and Babcia had the Chicken Parm. After dinner, the staff came out and sang happy birthday to Jeremy and gave him a desert. He seemed to enjoy himself.

After a quick breakfast Sunday, we packed up and headed back to Windsor. The drive was okay save for the winds. The van was not driving in a straight line.

Our four Christmases went well this year. No one went to the hospital and the outbursts and breakdowns were minimal. Woo hoo.

Posted by Adam

Windsor-Brantford Courier Service

I promised my mother that I would deliver her large purchases from Bronner's in two weeks. Two weeks happened to be this weekend.

Jeremy and I left early Friday afternoon (it was a PD day at school). We arrived in Brantford around 4:00 PM. Jeremy was very excited and wanted to play with Babcia right away. However, she was preparing dinner - pork cutlets and mashed potatoes - and told Jeremy that she would play with him after dinner. Supper was excellent.

Jeremy and Babcia played all evening.

Saturday morning, Babcia, Jeremy and myself headed out to find Jeremy a winter coat. At Bonnie Togs, Jeremy picked out his coat (that came with matching snow pants). The size 5 seemed a little to tight, so we settled for a size 6. Babcia also bought Jeremy two shirts, socks, and some mitts. Did some more shopping at Shoppers and headed back home.

It was a strange weather day. Sunny. Cloudy. Rainy. Repeat. Jeremy and Babcia managed some outside time. Jeremy was looking for his friend, Ivey (next door neighbour's daughter). I watched Planet Earth on my mom's 32-inch LCD TV. I was blow away.

Sunday was more of the same. Eat. Play. Relax. Can't complain.

The drive back to Windsor was uneventful. Stopped at Wendy's in London for a quick supper and managed to miss the rain/snow showers. Got some cheaper gas at the Pilot in Tilbury before.

Jeremy and I enjoyed our weekend.

Posted by Adam

Brantford Via London . . . and Best Buy

It was time to take Bev back home. Fortunately, Gerry was able to meet us in London. We let the hostage, er, Bev go and said our goodbyes.

We had dinner at Swiss Chalet. It wasn't too bad, but the waitress, who appeared to be new and overwhelmed, forgot part of Tina's meal.

Next we headed over Best Buy where I bought my mom a flat panel LCD TV for her bedroom. They had them in stock and I was in and out in about 10 minutes.

The drive to Brantford was uneventful.

While my mom played with the boys, I decided to setup the new TV. I really wanted to see what this thing was capable of.

It was well packaged in the box and was very easy to set up. I went through the setup menu and in no time had the channels automatically programmed. I drove out to Canadian Tire to pick a component cable for the combo DVD/VCR player. The DVD picture was sharp. The analog TV signal was acceptable.

The next day, I realized that only the DVD player uses the component output, so Tina and I went Wal-Mart and bought some stereo and video cables to hook up the VCR side. We stopped by the chip wagon to get some french fries and drove around Brantford. We stopped in at Lowes and Future Shop before going back to my mom's.

I hooked up the additional cables and revised the 'watching' instructions for my mom. She was in awe of the TV. She couldn't believe how big the picture was.

Jeremy and Corbin played with their Babcia all weekend.

It was a very relaxing weekend. Not a single fight or complaint.

Posted by Adam

Kid #1

After a quick clean of the bathtub and a quick vacuum (and a cool off period), Tina and I left Windsor around 3:00 PM to Brantford to reunite with Jeremy.

The trip up was smooth. We made good time and managed to pull into Babcia's house before 6:00 PM. Jeremy was very excited to see us - no puking this year.

We hugged and kissed him till he got tired of it. Then he went over to play with his friends. Seems that someone had a great time.

Posted by Adam

Babcia Camp, Here We Come

It was that time of year where Jeremy heads off to Babcia Camp. He has been talking about all week. I think he is excited.

Instead of driving, I decided to take the train to make Babcia Camp 2008 a memorable experience. Jeremy could not stop talking about going on a 'big train'.

Tina dropped us of at the station and we said our good byes. We didn't have to wait long to board, but it did start to rain. Fortunately, we got on the train before the downpour. A few minutes later we were moving.

Jeremy handed our tickets to the VIA staff member who handed back the other half. Jeremy held on to the stubs for at least 20 minutes.

The first hour of the trip was full of question after question. What is this button? What is this thing for? What are these? What is that bag for? What was that sound? On and on. Jeremy had a drink and a fruit snack before heading off to the washroom. He was unsure at first but got the hang of it. He liked pressing the button that opened the flap and gushed in new water.

The second hour we spent playing toys. I let him play LEGO Indiana Jones on my Nintendo DS. Unfortunately, Jeremy saved over my game. Lesson learnt. Another trip to the washroom.

The final hour was a little more touchy. He was getting fidgety. But I pulled out he fishy crackers and all was well again. We got our stuff ready and walked to the front of the car. The motion of the car did not sit well with Jeremy because he was very quiet when Babcia gave him a big hug.

When asked if he liked the train ride, Jeremy responded with a reserved "yes".

Posted by Adam

Weekend Away: Brantford

This weekend, Tina and I went our separate ways.

I travelled down the 401 and 403 in the Wave to Brantford to help my mom with whatever help she needed. Tina had the van and headed up to Goderich with the boys and Bev.

The drive on the 401 and 403 was uneventful. I arrived in Brantford around 5:00 PM. Because of Alex's surgery, the vegetable garden and flowerbeds had yet to be planted.

So we headed out to buy plants. I said lets go to Lowe's - my mom had never been. She bought plenty of plants and some soil - enough to fill the back of the wave. We also stopped at Canadian Tire.

The next day the real work began. After an excellent breakfast, my mom and I attacked the great outdoors.

The vegetable garden had to be rototilled. While my mom picked out weeds, I got the rototiller down and filled it with a mixture of gas and oil. It took a few pulls but eventually the tiller started up and I began tilling away.

My mom's vegetable garden has about 30 or so years of work. The soil broke up very easily. Not like the clay soil here in Windsor. In about an hour or so, the garden was tilled. Good thing because it was getting hot.

Later we headed out to a few stores for some more plants. We stopped by the cemetery to plant some flowers at my father's grave. Then we had supper at Red Lobster (I had the arctic char and my mom had the salmon).

I relaxed by reading the newspaper and playing my Nintendo DS.

After yet another good breakfast, I loaded the car with my stuff and the rototiller, and headed back to Windsor. I stopped in London to checkout some things at the local Canadian Tire. The drive was uneventful. There seemed to be fewer vehicles on the 401. Looks like gas prices are having an effect.

Posted by Adam

The Mouse Is In The House

Being gluttons for punishment, we travelled to Brantford for the Easter weekend. We left Friday morning arriving just before noon. Traffic was good until we go east of Ingersoll, where the volume picked up. Amazing for a Good Friday.

We arrived to a snow covered Brantford. Snow banks were at least three to four feet high and there was still plenty of snow on the ground. Most of it had turned to a icy snow - the boys could walk across the front yard without falling into the snow. I haven't seen this much snow in Brantford for decades. They had more snow than London or Goderich.

Friday evening, we spent some time in the basement. Then out of the corner of my eye I saw something run along the wall and behind the TV. Tina saw the same thing.

It was a mouse.

Great. Jeremy was scared and Corbin wanted to catch and release it.

We told Grandpa and Babcia about it. Apparently Corbin had seen it earlier, but thought it was his imagination. Grandpa set up a trap with cheese, but that didn't work. The little bugger got the cheese. I suggested they use Peanut Butter. The next day, Grandpa set up some more traps with peanut butter.

Babcia, Tina, Corbin and Jeremy headed to church Saturday morning for the traditional blessing of the basket. Back home we learned that one mouse was caught, but we decided to leave the traps out in case there was more than one mouse.

The boys spent some time outside with Babcia. At one point Jeremy was all alone in the backyard - an important moment in child development.

Tina and I did some shopping and grabbed lunch at Pizza Hut.

Sunday we had a great lunch and then we headed out in good weather to London to pickup Tina's mom.

Posted by Adam

Return To Windsor

The weekend went well. No major problems for the rest of the weekend.

On Saturday, Corbin, Jeremy, Babcia and myself played outside in the snow for almost two hours. the boys had way too much fun - all bundled up in snow pants, gloves and toques.

Later the boys played with Babcia while I worked on the laptop, un-installing and installing software and cleaning up the hard drive.

Sunday was a relaxing day. I packed our stuff and brought it up to the front of the house. The kids played with Babcia while I read the newspaper.

The trip back to Windsor was uneventful. Weather was good for the most part. We stopped in London to grab a bite to eat.

We came back to a garage full of garbage and recycling and a crawl space that was cleared out for the boys to play in. A job well done Tina.

Posted by Adam

Brantford or Bust

I decided to take the boys to Brantford to give Tina a break and so that she could clean up the crawlspace without interruption.

The drive to Brantford was uneventful and we arrived early enough so that I could be some chips at the chip wagon. Yum. Babcia was excited to see the boys. They played and played and played.

Things were going okay until I told Corbin to change into his pyjamas and to change them in my room, not Babcia's. Things went badly very quick. Corbin became totally non-compliant and went into a loud and long tirade. I had to call Tina to see if she could calm him down - and he did.

Later Corbin and I talked about what happened and had a really good discussion.

Posted by Adam

Christmas Returns

Unlike previous years, we had a few misses with Christmas presents this year.

Tina's dance mat for Dance Dance Revolution didn't work right. Corbin's Headbangers Soccer toy was missing a few items and had some incorrect parts and his guitar stand broke during assembly. The two portable DVD player carry bags we bought did not work so well in the van.

I also discovered that the sweeper I bought for my Mom was on sale at Canadian Tire. 20 bucks is 20 bucks.

We carried the dance mat and DVD carry bags around with us on our recent tour of Goderich and Brantford, hoping to avoid the crazy returns lines in Windsor (Tina reported that the line at Toys R' Us wrapped around the first section of the store).

In Goderich, we returned the DVD player carry bags to the Canadian Tire store with not wait and no fuss.

In Brantford, I got the price difference plus tax less Canadian Tire money. I had to wait about 15 minutes, but it wasn't too bad - Tina got a chance to wonder around the store. We walked in and right out of the Future Shop when we saw how long the line was. The dance mat was returning with us to Windsor.

Today, I decided to return the Headbangers Soccer toy and Guitar Stand to Toys R' Us and the Dance Mat to Future Shop. I took Jeremy with me - he wanted to go to Best Buy and look for a movie. The line at Toys R' Us wasn't too bad - they had two people processing returns. No questions or problems and Jeremy got a chance to look at some toys.

Over at Future Shop the line was a little longer and did take longer. They had two people working the Customer Service counter, but one customer was taking a long time. Jeremy got a chance to play with video cameras and cell phones. Then he helped me move the dance mat as we progressed up the line. The return was promptly processed and off to Best Buy it was (which had a line that was three times longer than Future Shop).

Overall, good experience returning items this past Christmas. Now I just have to find a good guitar stand for Corbin's acoustic guitar. As to replacing the toy, will give Corbin a choice as to what he wants.

Anyone have any suggestions for good portable dvd players carry bags?

Posted by Adam

Christmas Travel Time - Brantford

We departed Goderich around 4:00 pm Sunday afternoon. The weather was overcast and no snow was called for.

I decided to avoid Highway 8 - too many towns, too much traffic and possibly too many police - and take the back roads. The back road was clear and mostly traffic free. We made good time, arriving in Woodstock in little under two hours. The rest of the drive was on the 401 and 403 and we arrived in Brantford shortly after 6:30 pm.

One thing we did notice that about 15 minutes southeast of Goderich was the amount of snow still on the ground. As we got closer to Woodstock and Brantford, the amount increased. In a reversal, Brantford had much more snow than Goderich. Very strange.

We settled in. Corbin and Jeremy gave Babcia and Grandpa their presents. Next, it was all about playing with Babcia until bedtime.

Monday was Jeremy's birthday - more in the post below - so the day was mostly focused around Jeremy. Tina and I did manage to get out to do some browsing at the local stores. The Canadian Tire was confusing as it is being expanded. I stopped by Staples to pick up another USB thumb drive. Next was the new Lowes. It's not as big as the ones found in larger cities, but it has an excellent appliance section and a good selection of kitchen and bath items. A nice store overall.

Jeremy and Corbin continued to play with Babcia, with Corbin taking breaks to play his NintendoDS. Jeremy was a non-stop ball of energy.

We woke up to new snow Tuesday morning. Not as much as two weeks ago. This was perfect snowman snow - very wet. The van was loaded up and we said our good byes. My mom and Alex were naturally worried about the driving conditions. Once we got on the main road, the roads were clear.

The only rough spot on the entire trip was a snow squall around Chatham. Not usually a problem but with the temperature hovering around zero, the squall consisted mostly of sleet, which collected on the highway. By the time we got to Tilbury, all was clear and we arrived safe and sound in Windsor - which had received about an inch or so of wet snow.

Posted by Adam

Happy Birthday Jeremy

It's the last day of the year, so that means it is Jeremy's birthday.

The big boy turned four today.

Jeremy has been talking about birthday number four since my birthday at the end of November. So he finally got to celebrate it today.

He opened his presents from Tina and I. Later he opened his present from Corbin. Babcia took Jeremy to the store and picked his present - Jeremy was very excited by this.

Tina made Jeremy a Crown telling the world he is four today. Later, we all went out to Red Lobster for dinner, where Jeremy was serenaded by staff. He was all smiles.

The day was topped off by a birthday cake.

Happy Birthday Jeremy.

Posted by Adam

Well That Was Fun

A major snowstorm hit southern Ontario Saturday and Sunday. It dumped about 20 cm of snow from Windsor to Brantford.

The storm finally let up around 4:00 pm, so I rallied the troops and we were off. My mom cried - she is always worried. We left my mom's at 4:30 or so.

The 403 was not bad - one lane with most vehicles driving between 70 and 80 km/h. The 401 in Woodstock was marginally better. We travelled at around 80 km/h except when we had to slow down to 30 or so for snowploughs.

We pulled off in London to grab a bite to eat. 20 or so minutes later, we were back on the 401

West of London, there it was very gusty and lots of blowing snow. Driving wasn't that bad until we stopped dead in our tracks about 3 km east of Tilbury. 40 minutes later we were moving very slowly - good thing I filled up with gas on Saturday. It took one hour to move 7 km - to just west of Tilbury. Two travel lanes were available and we arrived in snow covered Windsor around 10:30 pm.

Six hours for a trip that normally takes three hours. Not too bad. Saw plenty of vehicles including tractor trailers in the median and the side of the road. Jeremy was oblivious to the conditions around us and Corbin was too busy playing his Nintendo before changing to watching some movies on the DVD player.

Glad to be home safe and sound.

Posted by Adam

Boys Weekend in Brantford

Tina need some away time from us to do some jobs around the house and to do some scrapbooking with Jen and Steph, so I made plans to spend the weekend with my Mom in Brantford.

We headed out Friday afternoon, arriving in Brantford around 8 pm. The drive wasn't too bad. The only slowdown was just before the 401-403 split in Woodstock. The boys naturally ran up to Babcia giving her big hugs. They stayed up late, but both boys eventually fell asleep.

Saturday morning we had an excellent breakfast. We headed out with Babcia to IKEA in Burlington. We browsed - Adam was looking to buy a chair for the master bedroom and take a look at some furniture. Babcia found a few things here and there. We had lunch in the store - managing to beat a rush of people. I had the swedish meatballs, Babcia had some roasted chicken, Jeremy ate his mac and cheese and Corbin had meatballs with fries.

Before leaving Burlington, we drove over to the Costco to buy Corbin a Nintendo DS Lite - a gift from his Babcia. Tina and I decided that it would be best if we bought it with Babcia around so that Corbin could connect the present with Babcia. To that end, we told Corbin to bring his old Gameboy games. He had no idea why he was bringing them.

He kept asking why he brought them. To avoid an ugly situation in IKEA, I finally told Corbin what was going to happen. He understood (therefore no problem at IKEA). Corbin and I walked in to Costco and picked out a black Nintendo DS Lite that came with two games and a basic case. Corbin was very very excited. He thanked Babcia and gave her a big hug and kiss.

Back in Brantford, we charged up the game but Corbin showed no interest at first. He wanted to play the Nintendo 64. I said, fine, but I was not going to help him play the games. Eventually, he gave up the N64 and played, non-stop, on the Nintendo DS. Babcia was amazed.

Jeremy and Babcia went out to play in the park late in the afternoon. Babcia was amazed with his level of energy. Jeremy did manage to fall asleep very quickly that night.

Sunday was a take it easy day. No rush to get back. Another excellent breakfast. On our way out, I stopped by the Chip Wagon - can't go to Brantford and NOT get the chips. The drive back to Windsor was quick and uneventful. The boys had their DVD players and I had my CDs.

Posted by Adam

Babcia Camp 2007

We headed up to Brantford tonight, to drop Jeremy at my Mom's for the week aka 'Babcia Camp'. The drive took longer than usual as Jeremy had some bathroom issues.

Eventually, we made it. Jeremy gave Babcia and Grandpa some birthday presents. Both Jeremy and Babcia had special t-shirts with Babcia Camp 2007 iron-ons made by Tina.

Posted by Adam