Another Lesson Over

Maddy passed his Level 3 Stroke Development swimming lessons last night - YAY!!!!!! We weren't going to let him take the last lesson because of his cold/flu, but since the pool wasn't too cold, and he had his full body swimsuit on, we thought he would be ok ... and he was!!

They were tested on various swimming strokes, glides and kicks as well as water safety rules. Susan, his instructor said that she was not able to push him as much as she would have liked and that he will find level 4 more challenging.

Anyway, Maddy is taking a break from swimming, and will be playing Basketball during the Winter. He will have one training a week and one game in the weekend with two of his friends from school.

(I just hope I can refrain myself from yelling when I'm on the sideline, watching him get pushed (unintentionally) on the court LOL)

Just a Reminder ...

Popcorn sales for the Cub Scouts end November 7th so hurry on up and fill your order/s before it's too late :) These make wonderful Christmas gifts for family and friends!!!

If you have ordered online, please send me a copy of the order so Maddy gets credit for the sale/s. (Batgran, did you manage ok?)

A big THANK YOU to family and friends who have already done this and for those who have had the popcorn sent to our place, I will send them off as soon as I receive them (Sachi, we have to replace one of your tins because *cough* two big mice ate the chocolate one LOL).

For those who placed their order and paid through me (manually), the popcorn tins will be distributed to me on December 6th and then I'll send them to you.

Thanks once again and we appreciate your contributions towards Maddy's fundraising activities.

Alofa Atu xxx

Not Feeling Well

Maddy is home today with a nasty cough. He picked up a cold last Friday and hasn't been right ever since. He woke up at 3.30am very thirsty and feverish. I was able to cool him down after an hour or so, applied Vicks to the bottom of his feet and covered them with socks, to help suppress his cough so he could go back to sleep - An old wives tale I've been told, but it definitely works.

When he awoke at 7.30am the coughing started again (sounded worse too) so I called the school and left a message that he wasn't coming in today. He wasn't happy about missing school, nor is he happy about missing the Tiger Cub Den meeting tonight because they are going on a visit to the local Fire Station. Oh well, we will have to complete that elective in our own time.

He is now lying on the couch, (sort of) watching a movie called "The Waterhorse," drinking juice and water and ordering mommy to get this and that LOL.

Hopefully by tommorrow he will be ok to go back to school.

Museum of Natural History

Matt, Maddy and Melody spent yesterday afternoon at the new and improved Museum of Natural History. This link gives more detail on the current exhibitions on display. http://www.mnh.si.edu/exhibits/current.html . Here are a few pictures of what they saw :)

Merrifield Fall Festival

Watching a show

Melody climbing the wall

Getting ready to throw baseballs

Maddy in action

Painting Pumpkins

Maddy's Pumpkin

Bobcat Badge

Maddy receiving his Bobcat Badge

What A Busy Week!

Maddy received his 1st quarter interim report and is progressing well in all academic areas and developing satisfactory social skills and work habits. His teacher commented that "he loves to read, and everytime he finishes his work early, he is the first to pick up a book." She also states "he has a very positive attitude and is a kind friend." Good job Maddy!


Tuesday afternoon was spent at Annie's place with Michael on a playdate. They had fun on the trampoline and playing games. He came home all sweaty and stinky haha!

On Wednesday night, he went with his Dad to a cub scout meeting. They went on a short hike and spent time learning the cub scout promise and other core requirements to receive his Bobcat badge. It will be presented to him on Friday at the Pack meeting. As part of that ceremony there is a tradition where the boys are held upside down to receive their badges. LOL I feel for Daddy because Maddy weighs 65 pounds. I'll take pictures and photos and post them this weekend.

Last night he had swimming lessons. Maddy had to swim several lengths of the pool and I'm proud to say he did a really good job. Last week his lesson was cancelled because of a "code brown." Someone had pooped in the pool so they closed it down.

Today afterschool, Maddy joins the school sports program where they get to run around and play all sorts of sports for an hour. Tonight is the Cub Scouts Pack meeting where Maddy will receive his Bobcat badge.

Tommorrow he is going to Gregory's birthday from 12-2pm and on Sunday he has been invited to Danny's birthday from 5.30-7.30pm. It's going to be at 'Ajax Amusements', which is a private party zone featuring classic arcade games, pool table, air hockey, skee ball, bubble hockey, basketball, dance machine, pinball, Xbox, Play station games, WII and many more. Sounds like just the place for boys haha. I'm buggered just thinking about it LOL

Monday is a holiday and I'm sleeping in!

Maddy the Fireman

Home Depot held another free kids workshop today where Maddy made a firetruck. Three local Fireman also came in a real Fire Truck for all the kids to see. Maddy had fun putting together his kit and enjoyed climbing in and out of the truck. They also got given a plastic firehat, a goodie bag and information about fire and safety.

Search, Discover, Share, 'Roar' ...

...is the Tiger Cub Motto for Maddy's Den. He had his first meeting tonight with his Dad and 6 other cub scouts and their parents at Stenwood Elementary Cafeteria.

The Den started off with learning the Cub Scout Motto and Cub Scout Salute. Then they were asked if they knew the Pledge of Allegiance, and Maddy put up his hand and when asked to come to the front to demonstrate in front of the class, he quickly said "Oh, ... I forgot." This happened a few times throughout the meeting and when Matt asked him on their way home what happened, he said 'he was too shy'. Hopefully in time he will gain more confidence and not be shy to show and tell the class what he knows.

They also played several games of Quiet Ball (http://www.cbv.ns.ca/sstudies/activities/games/game4.html) and Maddy won, one out of the three games played.

Their homework before the next meeting is to think of one chore they can do with their adult partner, complete it together and discuss certain character connections and responsibilities that come with doing the chores. These family activities are taken from their Tiger Cub Handbook.

At the next Den meeting, they will be going on a short hike and along the way collecting leaves for leaf rubbings (http://herbarium.desu.edu/project_1/page29/page30/page31/page31.html) .
Maddy came home excited and full of energy and said he had a fun night and didn't want it to end.