On Thursday I had Halloween. On Friday I lost my second front tooth. But, most importantly of all, on Saturday, Daddy came home!

He said

I am home! After twenty-one days away, Saturday morning at 4:00 am in the morning the alarm went off and that meant it was time to start the process of getting home. As much as that was way too early in the morning — especially after having one last evening together with my classmates over a beer or three – it was a welcome wakeup call. The ten hour trip home was a weary one, but the moment I walked through the gate at the airport in London and saw Danielle and Emelia there, I immediately had more energy. And in twenty short minutes we were back at the house to a plethora of familiar sites, sounds and smells… and it was bliss.

The last week of class was pretty fantastic. We continued to go out in the evenings together as a group and the bond we had as classmates definitely turned to what feels more like lifelong friendships. We hit up some of our favourite restaurants from the first few weeks — most notably a Korean BBQ place that while I have no idea what we ordered, I do know that I loved everything I ate there, both times!

The in-class experiences this week were also amazing. We learned the more hands-on side of being a genius taking apart and working on pretty much the entire lineup of computers we service, getting deep inside them, into every nook and cranny. It was a real learning experience, and to be honest, quite nerdy.

The week culminated with our hardware exam which like last week, was a little bit nerve-wracking. This one posed to be a little harder and had two sections we absolutely had to pass, or we’d fail the entire exam no matter whether you got a passing grade or not. The passing grade was 85% again, just like last week. But, in the end, I managed 94% which while lower than last week’s grade, given that this exam was harder and more important to pass, I was thoroughly pleased with.

The only last phase to the training was our last ‘on-stage’ appointment in which we had to take a bar appointment where our instructor was the customer, and our class were onlookers – grading our performance. It was also a bit daunting, but in the end, mine went well and I got some amazing and positive feedback as well as some great insight on how I perform.

And with that, ended my three weeks of training… every last one of us ready to be home!

The best part about arriving home was the two girls there waiting for me at the gate. There is no better feeling than arriving at your physical home with the people who make it feel more that way. Especially when one of them snuggles up to you in her bed after you read her bedtime story and says, to you “I really, really missed you Daddy, I am glad you’re home!” just before drifting off to sleep.

Tonight we are getting to this post very late because we literally just rolled in from Toronto where we were to see a live taping of CBC’s Battle of the Blades with Emelia. We had an amazing time, and Emelia was over the moon seeing the figure skaters doing their thing. But in the interest, of us getting to bed, I will save that story for Danielle to tell.

I am just going to enjoy sleeping in our bed, and being home.

She said

What an incredible week and wow a busy one at that! Monday was a normal day (although insanely stressful day with the daycare kids with terrible behaviour by a few) but starting Tuesday forward it was go-go-go. Tuesday as soon as the last little one left I was off for a bit of me time.

The weekend before I had tried and failed to get a pedicure and much needed quiet pampering so Greg and Testza offered generously to take Emelia right after school and bring her to their place give her supper and start the pumpkin carving festivities. I enjoyed a rare quiet dinner and got a couple things done before leaving to salon. It was heaven, someone brought ME a drink, after catering to demands of 6 children it was so wonderful for someone to ask me what I wanted. A hot cup of green tea while getting pampered made me feel relaxed.

After wrapping up I made my way over to Greg and Testza’s where they along with Emelia and Vaughan were making their pumpkin masterpieces. Emelia was having a ball and we even got to sneak in a FaceTime visit with John so he could be part of the action. Far after her bedtime we made our way home and off to bed for both of us. I was exhausted after fighting for going on the second week this strange chest thing I had going on. I took Nyquil and off to bed I went.

Wednesday it was more of the same… Finally over to Helen and Doug’s for dinner, a visit and more pumpkin carving. This one was even more special because Emelia and Doug were carving the pumpkin they had grown from seed to full size pumpkin. Emelia was so proud and so was Poppa. It was a great night and once again after her bedtime we were home and asleep in short order.

Then the highlight of the week to this point, Halloween. The weather turned nasty in the morning and it unfortunately continued into the evening. Although the temperatures were on the warmer side compared to the week before it was poring and pouring. We all looked liked drowned rats by the end. But did that stop our fun, especially the kids? Nope. Shortly after 5:30 we received our text from Susan that Anna, Grace and Lydia were all ready and wanting to get going.

So we got dressed quickly, added the layers to warm ourselves and stay dry and we were off. We made our way down the street picking up Marin and Gracyn on the way and the 6 excited girls ranging from 2-7 were off. The pouring rain didn’t stop them, they were dripping with rain but laughing the entire time. We went further this year than ever and before we knew it were had been out for well over an hour and a huge loot bag was full. I finally convinced Emelia that we needed to dry off a bit and then make our way over to visit Poppa and Grandma. The promise of more candy and trick or treating with Poppa made the choice pretty easy for Miss E. Once we arrived Emelia went out again but the skies opened up again and they quickly returned. After a warm shower, dried pjs and a bit of helping handing out the candy with Poppa we made our way home with a very tired but happy little girl.

We now came to Friday, a day that I was counting down to. It had been one of the longest in a while with the daycare kids. One that just wore me out and made me wonder some days why I still do this. But then I think of the kids, think of Emelia and I keep going. So Friday I wanted it to be about her, our last mommy and daughter night before daddy returned. Emelia wanted to go shopping for Halloween costumes at the post halloween sales and we made out VERY well. Three costumes that would have been about $90 new we bought for just over $20. Emelia was in heaven! After having dinner out we made our way home for bed and snuggles.

Finally we come to Saturday, the day we had been counting down for since the day John flew out. But he wasn’t going to be home until after dinner so I still had a day to fill. Greg had asked earlier in the week if he could take Emelia to the reptile show at the Western Fair. I was originally going to go with them but opted to send Emelia and take advantage of being able to get a ton of errands done, cleaning and basically getting ready for John to come home. So with an afternoon to myself I got some Christmas shopping done for Emelia, some shopping done for me with a gift certificate I got for my birthday and basically tons done without a 6 year old at my side.

With the afternoon coming to a close Emelia and I got home and after dinner we headed over to pick up John. Emelia was over the moon excited. And the look on her face when she saw him through the glass as he walked through the gates was one I won’t forget anytime soon. She missed him so much and was quickly glued to his side since. So all is right in the world with all of us back together under one roof. After Emelia was in bed we enjoyed some wine and time together. All in all a perfect night.

And now today, we puttered around lazily having a typical Sunday morning, breakfast, cleaning and crafting. Just a quiet morning with the three of us. It was bliss. Once we had things squared away we were off. A quick visit with Helen and Doug and we were Toronto bound. Emelia could barely contain herself, we were off to see Battle of the Blades. And what little girly girl wouldn’t be in heaven. We were second row to seeing a live figure skating show. She smiled from ear to ear the entire show and was so sad when the show ended. She instantly asked if we could get ticket for next weeks show. She wasn’t overly impressed when I told her we would have wait until potentially next season but getting the autographs of many of the skaters certainly made up for it. I would say it was just about perfect for our little girl.

So as I finish this we are past midnight and John and I both have early starts to tomorrow so I am signing off until next week.