the bulleted post

• smiling busy SAHM trying to keep up with it all and wondering where the last 2 weeks went
  
• smiling for my quick trip to Montreal to meet up with some special girlfriends and replenish my soul
• smiling for my new found love of chocolate martinis ;)
• smiling with my new MGW t-shirt and new scarf
• smiling at the fun nature walk I had with SCM this week
  
• smiling for the Senators hockey game we attended last week where we saw the son of very good friends stand with the hockey players on the ice during the national anthem
  
• smiling for baby boy who is progressing so rapidly in his hockey skills, he's a joy to watch
• smiling for baby girl who participated in her first Ontario Development Program for gymnasts and did great and had loads of fun
• smiling at the fact that the twins and I have joined a ski club
  
• smiling (widely) for the twins who turned 6 and had a fun and noisy b day party with all their friends and a quiet intimate celebration at home
• smiling at the fact that I've now organized 18 birthday parties and am working on the 19th
  
• smiling for big sis who spent Career Day working at the Montessori school she went to so many years ago and absolutely loved it and the kids have all been asking for her to come back
• smiling for big sis who started working on the school's radio station
• frowning at the amount of projects big sis has
• smiling that I'm able to help with all these projects and that she accepts my help willingly
• frowning that it's parent-teacher meetings for big sis again, hate those
• frowning at the thought that I have a cardiologist appointment coming up and will be on a monitor for 24 hours
  
• smiling for the great news that my friend just received: the lump in her breast is benign
• frowning for the wait we are enduring to find out about the lump in MIL's breast
• frowning for the results we just found out: baby girl is allergic to peanuts as well, as allergic as her brother
• frowning at the amount of money I'm spending on epi-pens
• smiling ate the positive results for my shoulder, nothing serious, will just need tons of physio, sigh
• frowning at having to deal with ALL these health issues
• smiling at the thought of the big ass 40th bday party we are going to this coming week-end
  

• frowning at the fact that hubby and the twins are in Florida for the week
• smiling knowing that they are having a good time and that the weather is good
• smiling at having spent so much one on one time with big sis and doing girlie things together
  
• smiling at the amount of organizing I've done around the house while they were gone
• smiling looking at close to 40 picture albums I filled over the past 3 days
• smiling knowing my babies are coming back home in 2 sleeps

Good thing there's a whole lot more to smile about than frown about/

Happy Halloween!

Looks like it'll be yet another warm day for our trick or treaters. A global warming perk? Big sis spent hours fine tuning her "corpse bride" outfit and make-up as they are having a dance today at school (such an important event in a pre-teens life) and going trick-or-treating with her friends. Baby girl and baby boy where disappointed that they couldn't wear their Halloween outfits at school this year. Such is their policy. But they are looking forward to tonight. The pumpkin is carved and awaiting to be lit. The bags are ready for our special guests. The spiderman and pink bunny rabbit outfits are ready to go.

Be safe!

week-ends

This past Thanksgiving week-end was simply spectacular. We had some excellent family time, re-connecting with each other while engaging in some out of the ordinary activities. No schedules, no activities. Lots of free time to sit back and relax and enjoy the magnificence of a Canadian fall. All in all great for the soul. I'll let the pictures elaborate. And stay tuned for details of this upcoming week-end. Another special one ;)

hard decisions

Last Friday, hubby and I went to a meeting. Not a really fun one. But a necessary one.

We are redoing our wills.

Our original ones were done up when we first got married, when life in a sense was much simpler. No assets of any kind. We were young and picking guardians and executors was easy: our parents.

But now, 21 years later, our lives are at a whole different level. Many more assets and 3 kids makes drawing up a will so much more complicated. Discussing what would happen if one of us would die is gruesome but required. Taking care of the monetary aspect is one thing but how do you decide whats best for your kids if you are not around. Who would take care of them with as much love as we have? Who would have their utmost best interest at heart? Who would be well enough and committed enough to take care of that? Hard decisions to make. We have some serious thinking to do.

sports

Just how many of those can we fit in one long week-end? And how much equipment does one need to participate in all of them? Answers: many and lots and lots

It started off with skating. yes, indoor ice skating. You see, baby boy is starting hockey this season and is actually having try-outs next week-end. SO, we wanted to make sure he was still able to skate, which he is of course, but more so skate with all his new equipment. I swear, he looks like a linebacker on skates :)

We packed the hockey bag: 5 pairs of skates, all of his hockey paraphernalia and other gloves, helmets and long pants and such. Very weird to go skating when its warm and sunny outside and we 're all wearing shorts. So off we went for an hour skate. By the time we were done, we were sweating and hot and even more hot when we got outside so the minute we got home we all literally plunged in the pool. So then we swam for over an hour. The day was still beautiful, so we decided to go golfing, just a little 9 holes. Off to pack 5 sets of golf clubs and dress everyone accordingly. The twins had a blast in the golf carts and kept score for mom and dad and big sis.

Next day, started off with some roller blading. So on came the elbow pads, knee pads, wrist guards and all. A good hour of that. Of course, everyone was warm afterwards so in the pool again. Followed by some kite flying, basketball hoop contest and then some biking (helmets and guards back on). They actually learned how to start on their own now too.

Following day, met up with a few families and had a fun impromptu game of soccer, kids versus parents. What a hoot! Then some more swimming followed by a drive to the local tennis courts for an hour of ball whacking.

Phew, all that exercise helped to compensate for the all the food and alcohol intake;)

this morning

everyone left me

by bus

by motorcycle

and all I have left with me

are knots in my stomach

hope you are having a great first day back at school...

last few days of summer

The days are getting shorter. The days are getting cooler. We are all enjoying our last days of summer lounging around in the morning. Next week the routine of making lunches and sending kids off to school will start again.

Soccer season has ended for the little ones, they both did so well and were so pleased to receive their trophies after their tournament day. Big sis' turn this coming Sunday.

Its the twins last gymnastics lesson today. They have been in the pre-competitive level all summer. Baby girl will keep going in the fall but I had to pull out baby boy as he will be starting hockey instead. Kind of breaks my heart to pull him out as he is doing really well, but there are only so many extra-curricular activities we can juggle :(

We had a High School Musical kind of week-end. The second one had its world premiere last Friday night. A whole bunch of kids got together to view it a friend's house complete with lots of snacks. Of course, we had to watch the first one before that. And now, we are all humming the songs from the movie!

We went out and bought big sis a new computer. Got really tired of finding her on mine all the time. Its an early b day and x mas gift :)

Spent all of Saturday at Greekfest, (some amazing pics on that site)watching big sis dance in her group as well as other troupes who came from Montreal. All 3 kids had fun volunteering at the kids' tent. Met so many people we know there. Ate way too many loukoumades. Looking forward to next year already!

The twins are so happy with their new feat: they can start swinging on their own and jump off when the swing is up high in the air. They've been out there in our park doing it for hours.

Big sis went to school yesterday for a half-day orientation: got her schedule, her locker and found out who was and wasn't in her class. Luckily, most of all her best friends are in her class, one of the most important things!

Yesterday, we went along with 20 other kids and their moms down to Morrisburg:
Prehistoric World in the morning, picnic lunch in a park by the St Lawrence and an afternoon at Upper Canada Village. I hadn't been there since I was in 5th grade. Oh what fun for all! But boy was I pooped last night!

All right, enough procrastination, time to hit some bills now, yuk. Will post pics later!

the good, the bad and the ugly...the pics

Thanks guys for all your comments!!!

Yes, the good will prevail forever as that is what I caught on film, uhhh on digital card I guess is more the proper term now?. The bad and especially the ugly will get relegated to the depths of our memory banks.

Here are a few moments for your enjoyment:

the good, the bad and the ugly...part 3

And now for the ugly:

Before we left, we had extensive discussions with the kids about what to eat and not eat, what to drink and not drink, washing teeth with bottled water, about washing hands frequently and all. Mostly because of baby boy's peanut allergies and also because of the dreaded "tourista".

As I said, hubby was a little tense and strung out for the first little while. So we had him book himself a scuba diving excursion on the 3rd day and a golf game on the fourth. Gets up to go diving and tells me his stomach is feeling funny. Off he goes. When he returns a few hours later, I can tell he's not well. I figured it was the boat that made him seasick. He spends the rest of the day in bed. Next morning, he can't go golfing. He's been vomiting all night. He's got diarrhea and severe stomach cramps. We send him off to the hotel's doctor. They want to send him to the nearest hospital, but he settles for over $US200 of medications. He ends up spending the rest of his holidays in the room, lying down. He couldn't keep anything down. He had moments were he felt a bit better and would come out with us for a little walk or lie in the shade on the beach but that's it.

I felt so bad for him. The main reason I booked this holiday was for him. It was a lot more than we intended to spend on a summer holiday but I really felt he needed to really get away instead of just staying home. I had to argue with him to get him to agree to finally go. Plus the weather here had been so-so and wanted him to get some sunshine. And now this :(

Damn.

So I basically spent the whole time with the kids on the beach and him in the room.

On the last day, we were slated to get picked up by the bus to bring us to the airport at 8:30 a.m. I packed everything on my own, dragged all the luggage to the lobby. Upon checking out, they tell us the plane is delayed by 5 hours!!! At that point, I think he's going to loose it. All he wants is to go back home. He decides to follow the doctor's advice and gets a taxi to drive him to the local hospital. Meanwhile, I go back to the room with the kids and we spend another day, albeit guiltily, on the beach. I keep abreast of how he's doing with the hotel's doctor who calls the hospital regularly for updates. Mid-afternoon, we get in a taxi (kids and luggage and all) and meet him at the hospital. He's been getting IV meds for the past 4 hours and is feeling much better. Good enough to travel anyways. Thank God that we have private insurance and thank God that I know enough Spanish to understand everything that's going on. They check him out and drive us to the airport in ambulance no less. Of course, the kids, who've been absolutely tremendous through this whole ordeal, think its pretty cool. Specifically when the driver puts the siren on to get us through traffic!

We get to the airport, only to find out the plane is delayed for another 2 hours...7 hours total. I find him a quiet spot and get him to lie down while I keep the kids busy. We finally fly back and make it into Montreal at midnight (instead of 5 pm) and make it home at 3 a.m. Upon waking up in the morning, he drives himself to the hospital where he spends the day getting tests. We are still awaiting results.

He lost 10 pounds, we spent all this money for him to get sick and spend his week off in a hotel room AND the weather was apparently great here while we were gone. Dammit. I doubt he'll ever want to go back there and will hold me responsible for this unfortunate turn of events. But for myself, and especially the kids, it was a great get-away. The kids did really have a blast and getting exposed to another culture was so enriching for them. They picked up quite a few Spanish words and bought the CD of the music they played there and listen to it constantly.

Every trip is an adventure.

This one a bit more so though.

Oh yeah, and aunt Flo had to make its nasty appearance right in the middle of the week. Oie vey!

the good, the bad and the ugly...part 2

today: the bad...

So our annual summer vacation brought us first to Montreal for a few days where we usually stay at the in-laws. Its a smaller home with not all that much for the kids to do. Thank god for a local park to let them burn some steam off. Except when it pours rain... all day. Then there's not much to do and they can get all fidgety and rambunctious. So we had to come up with outings to get them out of the house.

We had promised them we'd go to La Ronde. We woke up that first day to major clouds and a forecast of heavy rains for the afternoon. Darn. We decided to go anyways. We arrived right at 10:30 when the doors opened. Because of the ugly weather, not many people showed up so there were absolutely no lineups. We got to go on so many rides! First it was drizzling but by the end it was cold and POURING. By the time we went back home we were all soaking wet and freezing. The next day, the torrential rains continued. So we all went to to this exhibit. Again, because of the rain, loads of people decided to go to this indoor activity. So we had close to a 3 hour wait to get in. We had lunch, checked out the other attractions at the Science Center. The exhibit, as controversial as it is, proved to be totally fascinating.

Our flight was leaving from Montreal at 7 am. We had to get up at 3 am to make it to the airport at 4 am. Made for a long day of traveling and some pretty tired people. When we arrived, the heat and humidity hit you like a ton of bricks which didn't help with the grumpiness. As soon as you arrive, the quest for your almighty American dollars starts. They take a picture of you (which they will sell for 8$US upon your return), if you go to the bathroom, there's a lady there expecting a tip. Some porter grabbed our bags before we had a chance to say no and had to tip him too. When we finally made it to the hotel, of course our room wasn't ready. Happens often and I was prepared, hence why I packed my bathing suit and the kids' in my carry-on. Big sis and hubby didn't. Well, we got changed, grabbed a lunch and went to the beach right away. They sat in the lobby moping.

I knew hubby was tired and needed to relax. But often when you're that tired, it takes a while to unwind. So for the first 3 days, he was tense and abrupt and complaining about this and that and made me secretly hope he wasn't around as he was ruining everyone's mood. I just ignored him, had fun with the kids and kept ordering "cervezas" for myself ;)

Big sis wanted to go on a banana boat ride: she didn't want to go alone and hubby was in a pissy mood, so I volunteered. It was nuts. She had a blast, I was petrified. During the last turn, her and I were ejected into the ocean which hit me hard on the left side of head. I ended up with a black eye. Looked like someone punched me so I got quite a few stares over the week. Its now at that yellow stage.

Big sis has been to a few horseback riding camps over the years. So I promised her we'd go to this excursion where you get to ride horses on the beach. We get the information, we pay up. We meet the person we've been talking to at the lobby and they get us on a bus which already has a few other people on it. Its an open back kind of bus and the driver is enclosed in a cab up front. They told us it was a 15 minute ride, which by Dominican time I was expecting to be 30 minutes. Next thing we know, the other people with us get dropped off at some other hotel and then its just big sis and I. This guy is going fast. We have no clue where he is going. We can't talk to him. He's on his cell phone in the enclosed cab, big sis and I can barely hear each other talk cause of the noise of the wind. We are driving through little villages filled with colorful little homes were the chickens roam free. We are traveling through pastures with goats and sheep and cows and huge mountains in the background. As beautiful as it is, I'm starting to get a bit worried. Especially when an hour later he turns onto this really bumpy dirt road in what seems like a godforsaken place. My adrenaline is surging, I'm getting ready to fight or flight. But after a few minutes, we see the ranch and all the horses. BIG sigh of relief. The people there are really friendly. They get us acclimatized to our horses (poor things big sis says, not as well fed as our horses back home) and we start riding with 3 other people. We go through a bit of a tropical forest and end up on the beach where the horses, ecstatic for sure to get here, start going really fast. I'm hanging on (last time I did this was well over 25 years ago) but am also taking in the sound of the horse's breathing, the feel and the smell of the salt water splashing on me, the turquoise ocean and the sun setting. Its absolutely beautiful. Afterwards, they take us through a local village. A great learning experience for big sis. She got to see how local families live in little homes, with outdoor showers and all. A real eye opener for her. The cutest little kids waving at us. She just wanted to go over and hug them all.

And the humidity, the humidity. Everything feels wet here. All the time. Books, money, bedsheets, everything always feels damp. And everything in the room has that faint musty/moldy smell to it. By the time we had to repack, some of our suitcases had a light coating of mold on them, ewwww. No wonder I've been washing for the pst 2 days just to get rid of taht smell which is on everything we brought.

the good, the bad and the ugly...part 1

home sweet home

we are back home

going away is great but nothing beats coming back to the comforts of home, especially my bed which is the only place I seem to be able to sleep properly and soundly

as I look back at the past 2 weeks, that Ennio Morricone song from that Clint Eastwood movie comes to mind (a song which I performed ages ago in front of a whole auditorium with other fellow music school students)

thank God there was more good than bad and more bad than ugly

today: the good...

no cooking, no cleaning, no laundry, no schedules for mom for the whole time away...now that was worth it!

First we spent a few days in Montreal One of those days was spent at La Ronde, an amusement park I hadn't gone to in 25 years! So many memories there of my childhood and rowdy teenage years ;). Was great to see my own kids enjoying themselves . There were rides for everyone and lots of laughter too!

We finally headed to the airport for our flight to Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic. The kids were buzzing with excitement and me too. Nothing like going somewhere new to get me all tingled up!

The flight went great, kids got cool toys and we saw Blades of Glory, what a hoot! Upon our arrival, we were greeted by locals dressed in national outfits and a band playing local music. Talk about putting you in the mood. Right away we were surrounded with the flowing language of Spanish around us. A short ride in a mini bus saw us to our sumptuous hotel. We hadn't done an all-inclusive package holiday for a very long time and I was looking forward to it. Its great with kids cause whenever they're hungry or thirsty, there's something available for them.

The beach turned out to be absolutely beautiful: white sand going on forever, turquoise water, little waves, swaying palm trees, comfortable lounge chairs with cushions and towels, absolutely idyllic. There was a Kids Club where the kids went for an hour one day but they much preferred to stay with us. And there was so much to keep them busy: building sand castles, going in the super humongous pool complete with jacuzzi s, getting a drink at the swim up bar, Spanish lessons, pool aerobics, introduction to scuba diving, archery (where good old mom proved to be unbelievable), rock climbing wall, several games of indoor bowling, beach and pool volleyball, beach soccer, snorkelling, beach bocce ball competition (where yours truly won first prize...a bottle of rum!), pool tables, nightly shows, foosball, got the girls hair braided and big sis got a henna dolphin tattoo. We basically took advantage of everything available.

We added a few extras: bartering with the locals at shops right on the beach, hubby went scuba diving (one of his most favorite activities); big sis and I went on a banana boat ride (completely nuts) as well as an excursion to a nearby ranch where we got to go horseback riding on a beach at sunset...absolutely phenomenal!

I was in heaven. Lounging by the pool or the beach while the kids would entertain themselves and go get themselves drinks at the bar or food at the cafeteria. I actually got to read two whole books, usually unheard of on holidays. And it was so wonderful to hear a multitude of languages around us. The hotel was filled to capacity which surprised me. The vacationers were mostly Puerto Ricans, other Dominicans, Spanish speaking Floridians, Europeans from Spain and France and Italy and Germany and a very few Canadians and Americans. I really got to practice my Spanish which was awesome. Our French proved useful too as a lot of the workers there come from nearby Haiti. And baby boy was quite taken by the Europeans habit of going topless on the beach;)

the canada day week-end

Canada day week-end 22 years ago: hubby popped a ring and THE question at a camping trip near Lake Placid, in a tent while it was pouring rain outside ;)

Canada day week-end 21 years ago: our very own big fat Greek wedding followed by 2 weeks in Barbados. Last year we celebrated our 20th with a las Vegas trip. Did we do anything special to celebrate this year? Not really, we just felt like staying home with the kids. No cards, no presents and that's OK. I guess after so many years we are confident in our love towards each other.

Canada Day week-end 12 years ago: we baptized our first born and had a huge pool party/catered BBQ here at home to celebrate. It was a glorious day and all present vowed to return to our home every year thereafter for Canada Day. And amazingly, over the years, it has always happened plus or minus a few people.

Canada day week-end this year: a house full of people, relatives mostly, busy with picking strawberries (yes again), made more jam and a Canada day cake, decorated the house with balloons and flags and some body parts with little Canadian flag tattoos, lots of swimming, trampolining, street hockey, soccer games (the kids' and FIFA U20 on TV), board games, flying kites, eating, talking, drinking, doing dishes, eating again, watching the Snowbirds fly over the house(they do that every year, real cool)and finally some fireworks at Petrie island. The cool weather didn't put a damper on our mood and the occasional shower made for some gorgeous rainbows :))

strawberry fields

We are lucky enough to have just down the road from us this great place called Proulx Farms. We headed there yesterday for their strawberry festival. Inexpensive pure fun. Tents were set up where local merchants had some of their fares set up for us to taste. Face painters left kids with cute strawberries drawn on their cheeks. A little petting zoo raised lots of oohs and ahhs over a variety of farm animals. Mazes made with bails of hay and giant slides needing potato sacks had the kids giggling uncontrollably.

But of course we came here to head towards the strawberry fields. armed with our baskets, we climbed aboard a tractor pulled wagon which led us into the fields. And the fun began. Running around trying to find the biggest strawberry. Eating freshly picked fruit, ymmm. The temperature was perfect and the strawberries plump and juicy.

Got some ice cream on the way home and feasted on a great dessert at supper time;) Looks like I'll be making some jam today!

a yay day

Love that term dani!!
I for one, definitely had one.

Went with the twins to their last field trip of the year to the Experimental farm. The kids had been studying farm animals for weeks and even witnessed chicks hatching in their own classroom. So they were psyched. And so was I :)

From boarding the big yellow school bus and singing all the way there, following our guide around from here to there and marveling at the beauty of baby animals, having moments of intense mother's pride when MY little ones would ask smart well-thought out questions or blowing us away with their answers AND having warm little hands holding mine all the time. It was wonderful. All of it. Moments to cherish.





In the evening, went to big sis first soccer game of the season (a mixed team of 12-13 year olds). Hubby is coaching so the twins and I sit on the sidelines. Couldn't get over how much the girls have grown over the past year! Big sis looked like a giant out there compared to the younger girls. Was a great game, great plays, great weather. A blissful suburban evening at the park followed by ice cream treats :)

Looking forward to many more days like this. They're the ones that make the gloomy ones vanish into thin air.

cornucopia of thoughts

Sunday morning, we're still all in our jammies the kids are watching cartoons, hubby is off golfing (yep, another season of being a golf widow has started), a few minutes to myself and maybe I can jot down this myriad of thoughts I've been wanting to blog about. So here goes, in no particular order.

The Senators won last night, yoo hoo! The excitement in this city is just rising. Same in our household as evidenced by hubby's new purchase...



Bought the kids a fancy ass basketball net. Took a few hours to put together (arghh) but oh so worth it. Loads of fun for us all. Next, we are getting a trampoline from Costco have a spot set aside for it. It'll be their end of school year present and should ensure hours of enjoyment over the summer months. Doesn't seem like we're going anywhere this summer, so convinced hubby to use this as an alternative. And we are working on getting the twins to ride their bikes on two wheels only. Will keep ya posted!

Soccer season is just around the corner. Hubby is the head coach of big sis team and has already been busy with several meetings and coaching clinics. Baby boy just can't wait to get started, he wears either his soccer uniform or Sens jersey DAILY and is hooked to the sports net channel. Too funny. So apart form soccer and all the activities around the house, am also working on other activities for the kids for the upcoming summer. Am keeping the twins in their gymnastics and they are actually "graduating" from recreational to pre-competitive level. Big sis wants to pursue some horseback riding as in the past and am encouraging her to register for her Bronze Star in swimming. AND, hubby has finally agreed to let her go to a sleepover camp. She's been to this same one with school last fall and will be going with a friend of hers whom we really like. I think it'll be an awesome experience for her, 6 days and 5 nights in the outdoors, canoing, pitching a tent, rock climbing and such and NO screens of any type and NO mom to pick up after her.

Have been involved with several of big sis school projects lately. We are deep in the story of Tecumseh and the War of 1812 and the life cycle of butterflies. She has to hand in a written report and do a class presentation. And boy have times changed. Whereas I had a manual Smith Corona with the "a" not really working and having to use white-out for typing errors and leafing endlessly through the dictionary, we are now in the world of computer and word processors and spell checks and googling for texts and images and automatically translating some texts. And her presentation? All in PowerPoint. Had to buy her the software along with a 2GB USB Flash Drive last week as all the other kids seem to have it. And this is only 7th grade. I shudder to think what's up at the university level now.

Went to an open house at one of the twin's potential schools for next fall last week. As I walked around and saw all the projects displayed, it dawned on me how I'm still in a honeymoon type of phase with them. The visualization of endless hours pouring over homework and school projects with 3 kids hit me hard. As well as the anxious feeling of still not knowing a 100% where to send them next year. I'll just keep agonizing :(

My mom, who is 83, has been under the weather lately. Nothing specific, just an amalgamation of many little symptoms. She's loosing her general will to live it seems. I don't deal well with that. I try to get the kids to cheer her up with little drawings and phone calls. Being an only child, the weight of my parental responsibility is getting heavier. As compassionate as I am in my nature, I don't deal well with old age for some reason. I worry endlessly of loosing one parent and seeing the other one alone as they are together ALL the time and have a very small circle of friends and NO relatives. Ah well, one day at a time. Springtime will cheer her up some I'm sure.

As for me, I'm still going to the gym at least twice a week and walking or biking when I can. I'm definitely stronger and can feel that my endurance has increased as well as my energy levels and am sleeping much better. However, I have to admit being discouraged with how slowly my body is changing its shape. I just can't seem to get rid of my midriff bulge and its driving me nuts. The trainer is not motivating me much lately either. I really have to concentrate on my diet as its obviously the major culprit. I'm going to have to be more radical in my choices, not an easy feat and my will power wavers like the wind.

i'm back!

WOW! Nearly 2 months since I've been here. Where has the time gone? Since some of you asked and even anonymous people were concerned with my relative disappearance, I finally put some time aside today to get here.

I've been a victim of life in general, nothing bad really, just trying to keep up with it all.

My last post saw us on the verge of our trip to Florida. Seems like eons ago already. It was a most wonderful family getaway filled with loads of warm memories. Started off with four days at Disney (Magic Kingdom, Epcot, MGM and Cape Canaveral. Highlights? The rides, the parades, the fireworks, the magic, watching kids in awe, new experiences, learning new things, everyone getting along, great weather, meeting up with friends (6 adults and 10 kids), glad that the twins were old enough to appreciate and remember and have the stamina to keep going. Downfalls? the crowds, the lines, the expenses, being a prisoner of Disney, kids getting lost (scary for all), camera battery dying on me. After 4 days we all definitely had enough and looked forward to the rest of our trip away from the crowds quietly and leisurely filling our days with swimming, biking, tennis, beach, favorite restaurants and a chance to see our hockey home team play and win. Baby boy at one point summed it really well for us: "I wish you and dad both stopped getting older so that I could catch up to you and we can keep doing lots of fun things together"

But then it was back home and the vortex of everyday life sucked me right back. Took a week to put things away from the trip and then all of a sudden Easter was upon us with all the preparations that entailed including relatives staying over. Then tax time crept up and having to deal with a new accountant who had me searching for all sorts of info in the depths of my banker boxes. We also put our mountain condo up for sale so more frantic search for documentation. Throw in there weekly sessions at the physical therapist for a shoulder injury, meeting my trainer weekly and trying to keep up with my exercise routines. Add to that a half dozen birthdays to attend, field trips, school projects, parent-teacher interviews, trips to the library, getting new couches for the family room, getting started on soccer season, doctor's appointments, putting away winter stuff, taking out summer stuff, cleaning the yard, watching playoff hockey games and lets not forget the usual cornucopia of household chores. And there you have it. Life of a busy mom just trying to keep it all together. I'm indeed just hanging in there.

sun and nuts

Little surprise on our back deck this morning : peanuts, some chewed up, some whole. Half a dozen or so.

No big deal really, unless you have a son with peanut allergies!!!!! Those da*n chipmunks!! We must have a neighbor who feeds them, great. The war is on, they will have to vacate our premises!! The chipmunks that is.

I'm off to bed, exhausted after a day of packing. We are flying to Florida tomorrow and now they are calling for freezing rain , lovely!!

So tune back in 2 weeks time :)

that mouse thing

See that little ticker in the corner? 4 days till Florida, 4 days till we hit Disney, first time ever with the kids. Last time hubby and I were there was 20 years ago, on a sweltering August Day, waiting in line trying not to collapse from heat exhaustion.

I should be ecstatic, right? Actually its stressing me out. I'm not a big fan of theme parks, or big thrill rides or cutesy Disney characters. Neither is hubby. I'm not a big fan of huge crowds. I'm dreading long line-ups. I'm dreading whiny tired hungry kids. I'm dreading having to negotiate where to go and when, in order to satisfy everyone's needs and desires while in the park. The hotel room looks pathetic for what we are paying. But its the only one we could get for a family of five on the resort itself without dishing out tons of our savings. Family of five are considered abnormal in Disney world , a family of four is normal. I just bought our entrance tickets for the 5 of us for 3 days...its a total rip-off. 9 year olds and over are considered adults. No wonder people save forever to come here. We've already spent more on 4 days here than we usually do for a whole 2 weeks away. And we haven't even arrived yet! We usually stay places where we are in control of what we eat, as in having our own little kitchen. But not here. We will be trapped in the land of the outrageously overpriced and nutritiously questionable sustenance for 4 days. And then big sis asks: "what happens if it rains while we are there?" Well, we still have to go, its already payed for. Amazing how we have to pay for everything ahead of time. What a gimmick. There's something about the whole commercialism of this whole thing that's bothering me. Who knows, maybe I'll think otherwise afterwards. But for now, I'm quite skeptical. I'm waiting for that infamous Disney magic to do its thing.

Ah well, this IS for the kids. Hope they enjoy it. I will just have to take lots of deep breaths and hope we don't loose each other. I figure our true vacation, hubby and I, will start once we are out of the reach of that little mouse with the funny ears.

an old new game

Usually when hubby goes away, even for a week-end, he'll feel compelled to bring something back for the kids. After having exhausted all possibilities of trinkets from airports, I've had to tell him to stop this practice. The first few times, i even got stuff from the dollar store which he "gave" them. But on his last trip, he brought something back, kinda for me:

A book on Chinese Jump Rope, by Klutz.

He said it caught his eye as he was walking past a store in the airport and he knew how much I loved playing this as a child. I was so excited to get this! Leafing through teh pages, all those moves done a gazillion million times so many years ago, came flooding back. I played this game ALL THE TIME. I was neighborhood champ. And having a mom working in a clothing manufacture, I always had quite a few sets of elastics. I played till it got dark out,every day. If we didn't have enough players, we would improvise and use a chair or a reticent grown-up or a lamppost. Talk about being in shape, pure aerobics ;)

I am so glad someone thought of immortalizing this game in a book. And with spring now in the air, I can't wait to introduce this to my girls!

a perfect week-end, part 2

We just got back from skiing. I'm pooped. I asked big sis if she can look after her siblings for a bit while I take a nap. Look closely, that's me on the couch!! So she makes up this game. She always makes up games. She has tons of creative juices. And lately we've been fortunate to be in a really good place in the tween-nearly-teen roller coaster of emotions/moods. She grabbed my camera and after taking a picture of herself in the mirror, she proceeded to take close to 25 pictures of all sorts of little things around the condo. Then with a timer in hand, she would show her siblings a picture on the viewer and they had to walk around the condo to find what she took a picture of and report back to her and she would write down how long it took them to find it. Brilliant!!! They had a blast and I had a well deserved siesta. What a great big sis she is. I will always remember the day hubby and I told her that we were expecting. She responded with all the seriousness that a nearly seven year old can muster "well, its about time!" And when we told her it was twins, she exclaimed with utter joy "All right! We are finally going to be a real family!!"

Another funny thing happened last week-end. The twins, after some deliberation, came up to us and asked if they could sleep together. Usually the sisters sleep together in one bed, hubby and I and baby boy in the other (with me more often than not ending on the couch in the middle of the night due to constant kicking from baby boy, his legs never stop even when sleeping). So of course, we let them. SO CUTE. Them getting ready for bed, and cuddling together and talking till Hypnos came to get them. What a special bond they have.

All right, off to finish unpacking! Funny how a 2 day family getaway means 2 days of preparation and 2 days of unpacking for mom ;~/