October to November 2023

It's nearly Christmas - nearly......but in all honesty, Christmas just doesn't cut it anymore. 

You see, living out here in the centre of North America, Christmas comes a very poor 2nd or maybe even 3rd or 4th best on the list of celebrated holidays. It IS an actual holiday I suppose and people get days off work to celebrate, but he biggest celebration happens just ...about..... today.....Halloween is definitely the number 1.

Halloween itself on October 31st is just really the culmination of more than a month's worth of craziness. There have been multiple parties for the kids, Halloween gifts, candy and decorations have been the main focus in so many stores for the last 4 to 6 weeks and there have been huge boxes of Pumpkins available outside every supermarket. 

One of the best things about Halloween though is the crazy decorations and nights out, just to see and get involved in the Halloween feeling. This is the 4th year we have spent multiple evenings driving around the local neighbourhoods with the kids in the car like I explained a few posts ago, searching out the biggest and craziest Halloween decorations in people's front yards, on the boulevard and quite often on the roof!

There is even a full Winnipeg Halloween map on Google Maps which lists the hundreds of amazing shows put on outside houses all over the city. Now these are just the people who bother to add their display to the map - Every time we go out to see one or two of these, we normally see another 10 or 15 crazy houses on the way! It really is insane but also a lot of fun!

 

Before the snow started last week, we found one yard with a full mini-fun fair complete with Ferris wheel and games all played by skeletons. It's just mental. 

Buffy and I also had a night out to celebrate the occasion - to a place called 'Heebie Jeebies'. It a temporary attraction built on farmland just outside the city -but it was amazing. Its a multi-million dollar locally run scare house - But with nearly 200 actors in professionally made costumes and masks that are actually made by real film and tv costume makers. 

The premise is that there are 6 'mazes' that you walk through and get 'scared' by the actors wearing the costumes and masks. We only managed to get through 4 of the mazes as we had to get home for the babysitter, but it was still a great night out. 

The atmosphere and the level of detail in the mazes is just amazing. From the maze where you carry a torch through dark tight wedged pathways to the 'military' maze where we got shot at by a zombie after crashing in through a broken elevator. There was also a really eerie maze where there were , mist-filled rooms, with a green laser light around my hip height, which meant you could not see the floor. In this maze, there were trees and bushes and it felt like being in a haunted Mississippi bayou, especially with the loud background noises and music. It really messed with your senses. 

You aren't allowed to take videos or even photos in the mazes, but outside the mazes is an open area where some of the crazier costumed actors roam around chasing people! Here's a quick peek at that part.

We were also lucky enough to see a little glint of the Northen Lights as we left to drive home. In the next few months we are expecting a lot more northern lights as there is apparently a very high predicted winter for them this year, but this was a nice start and a good surprise. 

Just a few days later it was Halloween for real - It was pretty chilly this year, but the kids still had a lot of fun wandering the neighbourhood. We were out for about 90 minutes and the kids got cold and asked to go home to eat candy! We still have a huge box of it left in the basement now!

We also took a while making pumpkins into a Unicorn for Hannah and some kid of car for Ollie, they ended up pretty good!

At the start of November we had a lovely weekend away with friends. We went to a little 2-bed cabin in St malo, just 45 minutes south of Winnipeg with Adam, Alena, Joel and Byron staying in 2 other cabins right next door. We shared a hot tub and a sauna too, so in the evening we could relax with a drink in the warmth while the kids slept soundly in the cabins.  

It was a really nice weekend, with good food and good friends along with a trip to the indoor pool at Steinbach where everyone enjoyed even more water based fun and the kids all loved the big slide. 

Back at the cabins, there was a 'yellow submarine' for some reason that the kids loved climbing all over as well as being spun around on the chairs and walking round with bags on their heads! Idiots!

 

For some reason, Ollie also really liked the kid-level microwave!! He could watch that for hours.

A surprise this month has been the addition of a new puppy to the family. 

'Indigo' is now in residence at Grandma and Grandpa's house and although apprehensive, we are hoping that Indigo will be a good opportunity for us and Hannah to get to know a dog from the beginning and be part of its life as it grows up. We welcome Indigo and really hope that with proper supervision and training for Indigo and for us, he could really help relieve some of the stresses we feel about being around dogs. We all want to spend time with him and it's really nice to see Ollie and Hannah have fun with him - albeit under supervision and mainly through the bars of his cage. It's the many other dog-related incidents that really stress me out.   

I'll be open and honest and say that the last few weeks have been pretty stressful for us all in relation to Hannah's bite and injury. We have had to retain the services of a lawyer to assist with the injury claim and that has meant going over the incident itself, the plastic surgery operations and the multiple occasions that bring back the feelings of trauma and stress. Everywhere we turn there seems to be a new dog or a new puppy and there has also been one recent incident where we feel like a dog's happiness over a couple of hours was given much higher precedence than Hannah's and our mental well-being. I'll not go into details apart from saying that Hannah and I were basically sent to a different room while a dog was allowed to wander free around the house so IT didn't get upset. Sorry, but that won't happen again. It's not just about feeling safe at that moment but also about our overall level of stress and its effect on our lives in general. We suffer for hours and even days afterwards when we or Hannah are stressed and upset and it's not fair. After putting up with people just not listening or taking note of our obvious clues, I have gotten to the end of my tether and the next time someone wants to put their dog first I will just leave. I am not being sent to another room again so that a dog can feel happy. I want my kids and myself to not be stressed and upset. 

If your child was being bullied, would you let the bully or the bully's family just wander around? Would you tell the child, 'it's ok, he's a big softy really, he won't hurt you'? No you fucking well wouldn't. You would make sure that the bully was kept well away from your child and would do anything A.N.Y.T.H.I.N.G to protect your child. 

Well, that's why I sometimes spend hours up at night, seething through my teeth, thinking and rethinking about episodes or planned get-togethers and planning on how I can make sure I am ready for the next time I see Hannah jump in fright as someone tells her it's just a 'friendly puppy'.

I'll be honest, I am pretty sure I have PTSD about the incident. I think we all do to an extent. 

If you doubt me, then read this description of what PTSD is - 

People with PTSD have intense, disturbing thoughts and feelings related to their experience that last long after the traumatic event has ended. They may relive the event through flashbacks or nightmares; they may feel sadness, fear or anger; and they may feel detached or estranged from other people.

Yep - that pretty much sums me up. 

Disturbing thoughts and feelings - Yep. 

Reliving the event through flashbacks and nightmares - Yep. 

Feeling sadness fear and anger and detached and estranged from other people? Yep.

Especially if your hairy fucking animal is let loose around my children.

 

When someone tells me that their dog is harmless and a big softy, it may well be true, but in my mind, all I see are the dog's teeth and then you can guess where my mind goes.  These thoughts can last for hours and sometimes longer after being around a dog. So, from now on, if you don't listen to me I will pick up my kids and leave. End of. 

We often get through days and sometimes weeks without any kind of memories or stress, and feel quite normal, but it is really easy for all that to be spoiled. Please listen to us and don't be the person that spoils it. 

I think I a done with this blog entry for now. For obvious reasons, I don't feel in the right frame of mind at the moment to continue writing funny things about us or the kids. 

See ya soon.