christmas is in the air

We have an unwritten rule that we don't put any Christmas decorations up until after big sis' birthday. We kinda broke the rule this year, just by a day though. The weather was good and the twins had been bugging us since their return from Florida.

So out came the lights, detangling cords after cords, checking out which set worked and which doesn't and putting them up on trees that keep getting bigger and bigger and require another trip to the store to purchase more. But when nightfall came and on came the lights, there was magic in the air. 

twelve years ago today

We became parents. It feels like yesterday, It feels like a lifetime ago.

After 6 years of marriage and just as many years of trying, my first pregnancy ended in a miscarriage at 15 weeks. We were devastated. Those were dark days in our marriage. We consulted specialists in the reproductive field, we had a multitude of tests done. The bottom line of all these knowleadgeable individulas: there is nothing we can do for you. We started thinking of a child-free life, a coping mechanism for sure.

Then a friend, also trying to conceive, asked me to go with her to this chinese herbalist/acupuncturist who specializes in infertility cases. We had a few common friends who had gone already and ended up with babies. She really believed this would work. Me, not really. With my trained scientific mind, I shrugged it all off as insanity but agreed to go with her to make her happy. He gave us a tea to drink and some pills for hubby. Lo and behold, we both got pregnant a few weeks apart.

I was ever so careful with this pregnancy, not rushing to tell everyone as we did the first time. Taking care of myself. Enjoying this purest miracle, with a little voice in the back of my mind thinking this could be the last time I'd ever live through this. Was a great pregnancy with just normal symptoms of heartburn and last trimester bloating. 40 weeks came and went. November 18th, the due date came and went. We were scheduled for an induction on the morning of the 28th of November.

The morning of the 27th, I woke up with mild cramping. They became more regular. We had breakfast in the dining room with the sun filtering through the windows. It was a beautiful sunny Sunday. At 10 am, I felt a pressure and rushed to the shower just in time for my waters breaking and gushing out. Hubby busied himself getting my bags ready and putting a plastic bag over my seat in the vehicle and we drove off smiling proudly at the thought of soon meeting our first born.

Our neighbour, my medical doctor, was outside putting some Christmas decorations. We stopped by to say hi and when she asked how we were, we said "we're great! we're on our way to meet our baby" She laughed and wished us well and was going to join us in a few hours as she was going to be our baby's doctor too.

Get to the hospital, settle in a room, start walking around, pausing for some panting. But then the pain intensified to the point of tears. I was having back labour and no position made me comfortable. Hubby started panicking and started getting things moving for me to get an epidural. Which I finally did. What a relief. Things progressed slowly and steadily and we started pushing. And we pushed. And pushed. And nothing happened. Finally my OB came in and declared that I was going to need a ceasarian. The baby was coming in face first (there's a medical term for this which I forget)and was stuck in the canal.

It became an emergency issue, I was rushed to the OR. Lights and machines were being flicked on as we came in. Hubby was gone to put some scrubs on. My epidural was wearing off. I was petrified with fear. I was alone on that hard cold operating table. People were rushing around me getting things ready, hooking up machines and waiting for the anaesthesiologist to come back from home.

Eventually he arrived, drugged me up and not very long after, our baby girl emerged at 8:30 pm and weighing in at 7 pounds. She had a huge crop of black hair halfway down her back (no wonder I had so much heartburn they said) and she was perfect. Hubby was crying with joy. I was trembling from a mixture of emotions and drugs. Outside, the first snowflakes of the season were falling and by the time hubby left the hospital to go back home, a full blown snowstorm was underway.

And our love affair with this child began.

So many firsts together. SO much joy. And now, I look at her, a young woman and wonder where my little girl has gone. We love her so much and just want the best for her. We want to shield her from the cruelties of this world and want to prepare her for it too. She's a great kid and we congratulate ourselves and count our blessings.

Happy Birthday my firstborn, my beautiful daughter and the best big sis ever.

change of direction

Well, the day started off as any other day, get up early, get dressed, make beds, prepare lunches, make sure big sis has her project ready, sign last minute forms for her, gather up garbage and bring to curb, get hubby out the door on time, last minute tidying up before cleaning ladies show up, get kids dressed and fed for school, drive them to school.

But we get there and baby girl informs me she is not feeling well, her tummy hurts and doesn't want to go in. Leave baby boy there, get her back home, open the front door and she throws up all over the carpet in the entrance. Oh NO! Here we go. So she's been home with me which really threw a curve on my day's schedule. She's lethargic, poor sweetie, and has been sick a few more times. Now, who else will be getting this? We have a jam-packed week-end coming up: all 3 kids off on PD days tomorrow, appointments at eye doctor, haircuts, parent-teacher interviews, baptism on Saturday, birthday party for big sis and my mom and big sis' godfather on Sunday. Yikes.

this or that

Quite a while back, my hubby received a gift certificate as a present from one of the companies he deals with. It entitles us to 2 Ticketmaster tickets. All of a sudden, we realized that there was an imminent expiry to it. We decided to give it to big sis and have her pick.

So the choices boiled down to (1) the Goo Goo Dolls or (2)the Nutcracker Ballet. Different genres wouldn't you say?

Guess what my nearly 12 year old daughter picked?

Number 2. Which kind of surprised me. Part of me wanted to go see the Goo Goo Dolls, would have been fun but on the other hand, I love the Nutcracker. Big sis still remembers playing the starring role as a 4 year old in a school Christmas pageant where she was the Plum Sugar Fairy, an enchanting part of the ballet. So this was her main reason for chosing one over the other.

My best friend growing up was really into ballet. As much as I would have loved to join in with her, I was deemed too tall :( But I attended all her recitals, often helping backstage in the early years, and then watched her in the Nutcracker quite a few times. Must have seen that ballet close to a dozen times at different venues. I remember getting a vinyl record (gasp) of The Best of Tchaikovsky as a kid and loving it. One of my wishes back then was to one day go with my own daughter to see this magical ballet.

So it seems my wish is coming true. And it will certainly put us in the Christmas mood.

cause to celebrate

 
 

Yesterday we had 5 of big sis' friends over for a delebration. She turns 12 on the 27th but this was the only day good for everyone. It was a great group of really nice young ladies: two she's known since kindergarten, two were from her previous school and one she just met.

They watched a movie while munching on popcorn and veggies and dip, played a few board games, ordered in pizza, bday cake and fruit, opened some presents, listened to music, played some piano. All in all an easy for me and fun for them celebration.

But the best part of the day was when hubby and the twins returned from their trip late in the evening. I couldn't stop hugging them all. They had an absolutely wonderful time and I'm sure the stories will be trickling in in the days to come. And the little ones didn't even mention my new hair!

Our househlod is back to its usual routine :) 

new me

Well, after a week of purging, cleaning up, re-organizing around the house, moving furniture and wall hangings and picture frames around, I was on a roll. I was in a "change" kinda of mood.

So, on a whim, when I sat in the hairdresser's chair yesterday morning I declared: let's go shorter and darker! So, off went 4-5 inches and I'm no longer a blonde with highlights but a brunette!! When I see myself, I feel like I have a wig on. So far I've had a few astonished looks. The true test will be tomorrow evening when my babies come back home :)

 

the fruit of my labour

I'm almost there! Should have seen how much stuff I had at the curb this morning! I'm dwindling down to some odd and ends, finally, I'm seeing the end of this task and the neat freak in me is relishing in the end result. The war against chaos and mayhem of stuff is being conquered. I should be good for a few years, I hope.

First in the family room, everything has been condensed into this shelving unit: top row french books, second row english books and top bottom rows, mostly board games and little games neatly concealed in bins and, yes, wipe boxes!



Then the front closet, it was jammed packed and when guests came there was absolutely no room for their coats. So now, I can actually see the back wall and the top shelf is home to puzzles and board games for the older crowd. Basically stuff I don't want opened and spread around without supervision ;)


And finally this shelving unit in the laundry room. When the twins were babies, it held all their clothes. Once that phase was over, it became a catch-all for everything and anything Now we'll have ALL crafty materials on the top 3 shelves, one shelf housing the 3 boxes for mitts/gloves, hats and splash pants and vests.



Yep, this calls for a treat...chocolate here I come:) 

i'm pooped

Since the little ones are gone, it was a perfect opportunity to organize certain areas of the house without curious busybodies around. But what a task. I'm physically and mentally exhausted. Spent two days in the den doing household related paperwork, shredding and filing. Then tackled my recipe corner and put all loose recipes in a binder. Went through all their books and centralized them in one area, adding some to the ongoing pile of things to be donated (mostly clothes so far). Today I started tackling the toys and craft supplies. Yikes, so much of it. What to keep, what to give. There are piles everywhere, here and there. I will need another full day to put everything away. One more day of constant work. I still want to go through bathroom cupboards and then the phenomenal task of putting pictures in albums. Sigh!!! But Friday I'll treat myself to a morning at the hairdresser, a little shopping and lunch out...ahhh!

rainy day meme

Will this rain ever end? And will my cold ever end? I've had it with this damp cold weather. I'm longing for the sun and a snot/dry cough/phlegm-free day. Yes, and my hubby and the twins have been going to the beach daily: 85F and sunny consistently. Oh well, at least they picked a good week to go there. Its crummy here and gorgeous there.

What's exciting here today? Getting my carpets cleaned, picking up big sis at school to run some errands and going out for supper at a friend's house.

Seems like a good day to do a meme (thanks Northern Mom and SCM and danigirl), to reflect on what I have and haven't done so far in my life and consider what else I'd like to do. So here goes, bold is what I did:

01. bought everyone in the bar a drink
02. swam with wild dolphins
03. climbed a mountain --on foot, here and in Europe
04. taken a ferrari for a test drive
05. been inside the great pyramid
06. held a tarantula
07. taken a candlelit bath with someone
08. said "i love you" and meant it
09. hugged a tree
10. bungee jumped--no thanks
11. visited paris --oh oui!
12. watched a lightning storm at sea
13. stayed up all night long and saw the sun rise--as a teenager and as a new mom;)
14. seen the northern lights
15. gone to a huge sports game
16. walked the stairs to the top of the leaning tower of pisa
17. grown and eaten your own vegetables--every year since a kid
18. touched an iceberg--in Newfoundland
19. slept under the stars
20. changed a baby's diaper
21. taken a trip in a hot air balloon --but one landed in our front yard!
22. watched a meteor shower--every year for my birthday
23. gotten drunk on champagne
24. given more than you can afford to charity
25. looked up at the night sky through a telescope
26. had an uncontrollable giggling fit at the worst possible moment--at a wedding
27. had a food fight
28. bet on a winning horse
29. asked out a stranger
30. had a snowball fight--every winter
31. screamed as loudly as you possibly can (very therapeutic. I recommend in the car, alone--totally agree with you danigirl))
32. held a lamb
33. seen a total eclipse
34. ridden a roller coaster
35. hit a home run
36. danced like a fool and not cared who was looking (see #23 above)
37. adopted an accent for an entire day
38. actually felt happy about your life, even for just a moment (for a moment? Often!)
39. had two hard drives for your computer
40. visited all 50 states
41. taken care of someone who was drunk
42. had amazing friends--and still do
43. danced with a stranger in a foreign country
44. watched whales
45. stolen a sign
46. backpacked in europe
47. taken a road-trip
48. gone rock climbing
49. midnight walk on the beach
50. gone sky diving
51. visited ireland
52. been heartbroken longer than you were actually in love
53. in a restaurant, sat at a stranger's table and had a meal with them
54. visited japan
55. milked a cow
56. alphabetized your cds
57. pretended to be a superhero
58. sung karaoke
59. lounged around in bed all day
60. played touch football
61. gone scuba diving
62. kissed in the rain
63. played in the mud
64. played in the rain
65. gone to a drive-in theater
66. visited the great wall of china
67. started a business
68. fallen in love and not had your heart broken--married for 20 years!
69. toured ancient sites
70. taken a martial arts class
71. played d&d for more than 6 hours straight
72. gotten married
73. been in a movie--as a kid
74. crashed a party
75. gotten divorced
76. gone without food for 5 days
77. made cookies from scratch
78. won first prize in a costume contest
79. ridden a gondola in venice
80. gotten a tattoo
81. rafted the snake river
82. been on television news programs as an "expert"
83. gotten flowers for no reason
84. performed on stage
85. been to las vegas
86. recorded music
87. eaten shark
88. kissed on the first date--with my hubby
89. gone to thailand
90. bought a house
91. been in a combat zone
92. buried one/both of your parents
93. been on a cruise ship
94. spoken more than one language fluently
95. performed in rocky horror
96. raised children--ongoing
97. followed your favorite band/singer on tour
98. passed out cold
99. taken an exotic bicycle tour in a foreign country
100. picked up and moved to another city to just start over
101. walked the golden gate bridge
102. sang loudly in the car, and didn't stop when you knew someone was looking
103. had plastic surgery--laser eye surgery count?
104. survived an accident that you shouldn't have survived
105. wrote articles for a large publication--scientific journals
106. lost over 100 pounds--over the years, for sure
107. held someone while they were having a flashback
108. piloted an airplane
109. touched a stingray--at Stinray City in the Grand Cayman
110. broken someone's heart
111. helped an animal give birth--a cat, a cow
112. won money on a t.v. game show
113. broken a bone
114. gone on an african photo safari
115. had a facial part pierced other than your ears
116. fired a rifle, shotgun, or pistol
117. eaten mushrooms that were gathered in the wild
sidenote where is 118?
119. had major surgery--C-section?
120. had a snake as a pet
121. hiked to the bottom of the grand canyon
122. slept for more than 30 hours over the course of 48 hours
123. visited more foreign countries than u.s. states
124. visited all 7 continents
125. taken a canoe trip that lasted more than 2 days
126. eaten kangaroo meat
127. eaten sushi
128. had your picture in the newspaper
129. changed someone's mind about something you care deeply about --part of my job!
130. gone back to school
131. parasailed--in Turks and Caicos
132. touched a cockroach--hate those buggers
133. eaten fried green tomatoes
134. read The Iliad
135. selected one "important" author who you missed in school, and read
136. killed and prepared an animal for eating
137. skipped all your school reunions
138. communicated with someone without sharing a common spoken language
139. been elected to public office
140. written your own computer language
141. thought to yourself that you're living your dream--daily
142. had to put someone you love into hospice care
143. built your own PC from parts
144. sold your own artwork to someone who didn't know you
145. had a booth at a street fair
146. dyed your hair--for years, damn white hair
147. been a dj
148. shaved your head
149. caused a car accident
150. saved someone's life--at work

Have a great day everyone!

la canadienne

To mimick nancy and dani and Northen Mom and even SCM

You are 100% Canuck!

You rock, you are an almighty Canadian through and through. You have proven your worthiness and have won the elite prize of living in a country as awesome as Canada. Yes I know other countries think they are better, but we let them have that cuz we know better than they do, eh?

How Canadian Are You?
Quiz Created on GoToQuiz

Even though I wasn't born in Canada, immigrated when I was 3 yrs old and a bit and still have my French citizenship. But I still remember the day in 1972, I was 11 years old, when my parents and I went to this very official meeting to be sworn in as Canadian citizens.

And that's what my European relatives call me: "la canadienne" because truly I am, even as a first generation one and really aren't mostly all Canadians immigrants at one point or other in their family history?

3 down, 7 to go

Sleeps that is.

My hubby and the twins are in Florida right now. It's 24C and sunny at 10am as opposed to 4C and cloudy here :( Hubby had a week holiday and instead of hanging around here at this miserable time of year, in between golf and ski season that is, he thought of going to Florida. Taking the twins is no problem, but taking big sis out of school at this time of year was. She didn't want to stay back here alone, even with her grandparents. So, here I am with big sis and there he is with baby girl and baby boy and, of course, managed to get his parents to go too to help him out.

The twins were SO excited to go. They were so looking forward to the beach and swimming in the pool and going to all their favorite places. It will be a great experience for them as trips always are. And I'm sure an eye opener for hubby who will suddenly be thrown in charge of everything ;)

Meanwhile, we've been really busy here and barely home. Friday, while big sis was in school, I went to an all day course with my professional colleagues. A step back into my previous life. Part of me really misses it but I know I'm still not ready to go back. Another year and we'll see. Then we went out for supper and went to play badminton.

Saturday we slept in, breakie, shower, got all dolled up, went shopping, got our nails done, went to a ceramic place and made some Xmas presents, came back home for a night of girly movie and popcorn. Kinda of weird in a way spending so much time one on one with her. Totally out of the ordinary. Its a bit like reacquainting each other. We can talk about whatever and not get interrupted.

Today, we are meeting some of her girlfriends and their moms for a movie.

BUT the house is really quiet. Yes, I miss them. I will hug them like crazy when they get back. But I also have a gazillion little projects I want to do while they are not around and I bet I'll only get half of them done :)

still here

Busy week, little time for blogging.



A week ago today, we celebrated a fifth anniversary. Our family of 3 became a family of 5. It was a pivotal moment in all our lives. Things changed. A lot of things. But it was a good thing.



After years and years of dreaming about it, with lots of ups and downs and kinks in the road along the way, two little miracles entered our lives. Their little personalities evident from the start: baby girl pushed her way out first (she still always has to be first to sit down and eat, get her teeth brushed first, her pjs on first, etc) and then baby boy, with all the extra room, decided to flip around so twelve minutes later he emerged feet first and the cord wrapped around his neck. And he's still the one to do things upsy turvy and get tangled up in things! But all with a most endearing smile.

I couldn't even write about this a week ago. My heart was too swollen with emotions. It's a definite cliché, but, I do love them so much that it hurts.



So there were ballons and party decorations and cake and candles and we sang happy birthday and there were gifts and laughter and joy and hugs.

Definitely a great celebration worthy of such a grand anniversary.

a mother's pride and joy

This afternoon was the first parent-teacher interview for big sis at her new school. I met with six separate teachers. When I presented myself as big sis's mom, the reaction was always the same: "ah, big sis, what a great kid", said with a warm smile. Followed by a commonality of adjectives: always happy and willing to participate and help, gets along well with everyone, has integrated exceptionally well in her new setting, inquisitive, organized and meticulous(what? don't really see that here), attentive, etc. and ending with "it is a true pleasure to have her as a student".

Needless to say, I left the school with a swelled up heart. True mother's pride. I metaphorically patted myself on the shoulder for a job well done but also counted my blessings on having such a lovely human being as my child.

While driving back home, when I do most of my deep thinking, I was pondering on what just transpired that afternoon and also on the fact that 5 years ago today I was in labour for my twins. Just thinking about how miraculous they are and the joy they bring to us daily got me all misty eyed. Even now, I get all chocked up on how blessed I am. My babies will be 5 years old tomorrow. A week-end of celebration is planned. Another bittersweet mommy moment.

the morning after

What fun it was! The weather was perfect. The kids went trick or treating with a whole bunch of friends, close to 20 of us going from house to house. They laughed and laughed, stopping to look at all the decorations, some of the little ones holding hands. So cute. This was baby boy's first time (refused to go the last two years) and it certainly didn't take him long to "get it". He was first at every door! And baby girl ended up with so much stuff, she would go twice at each house and in the confusion of it all, no one really noticed. After 30-40 minutes, the little ones were getting tired and thirsty so back home we went to watch the hockey game and answer the door bell. A full hour later, big sis made it back. And that's when the loot distribution and sorting started. They each got a shoebox to keep their stuff and all chips and the like became communal. Having a peanut allergic kid means some things get put aside. Looks like I'll be getting my fix of Oh Henry's ;)
Even our betta Pita got into the Halloween spirit!
Look at all the loot they got! Candy and chocolate and chips and cookies and stickers and notebooks and pencils and playdoh too. Love the way they sorted it all out and baby boy was very quick in adding a sign declaring this area to officially be "Candyland"!
I'm sure we'll be finding a few of these lying around in the days to come. 

saying no

October 28th is Oxi day for Greeks. "Oxi" (pronounced ohi means simply "no"). It's basically the day when during WWII, the Greeks said no to Mussolini's request to join forces with them and thereby became a resistance force against them. Now try to explain this to pre-schoolers. We simplified it by saying that Oxi Day is the day when the Greeks told the bad guys that they weren't going to play with them. They told them "No". They were going to play with the good guys only.

So last Saturday, October 28th, we had some good friends of ours over who are quite British as in they never miss an episode of Coronation Street ;) They wanted a Greek feast and coincidentally our respective schedules seemed to be free on this national greek holiday. We served lots of different greek foods and wine, played greek music and had greek flags here and there. At one point during the meal, conversation shifted towards the meaning of this day. To which baby boy announced: "today is the day we say NO to the bullies!" Baby girl starts chanting: "no to the bullies, no the bullies" and big sis adds "So Oxi Day is an anti-bullying day"

Gotta love how the mind of kids work!

my commute

Everyday as I drive the kids back and forth to their pre-school (third year now) I am in awe on how beautiful my commute is. NO lights, NO traffic. For years and years I was subjected to that crazy rat race. Now I get to relish a tranquil meandering road with certain landmarks that invite daily conversations from my little ones and some great learning opportunities. So a couple of weeks ago, on a warm sunny day when the fall colors were in their glory, camera in hand, I retraced our daily ten minute route to commit it to posterity.

Leaving home:

"Look at all those colors mom!" To which I add, let's say them in all the languages we know!

"Hello cows! Are you going to make us some yummy milk today?"

Our local John Deere dealership which elicits diatribes on motors and mowers and other assorted machinery. And on other days, we've actually seen real deer along the way!

Yep, no traffic!

And how many commuters get to see this sign?

More cows!

No traffic lights either!

Daily major slow-down here every day to see momma and babe: "look mom, they put coats on today, they were cold!"

Made it to school, here's where they play, play, play!

mom's away

Ever since the twins were mere babes, I've made a point of going away once a year in the fall, by myself, for a week-end. Something for a busy mom to look forward to every year. A well earned reprieve. It seems the nature and quality of my getaways has evolved over the past 5 years.

The first year, I went with one girlfriend to a spa nestled in the countryside. It was pure pampering. Two uninterrupted nights of sleep and 3 days of treatments. No TV, no computer, no phone, no shopping. I lounged around in my robe all day. Total bliss for a new mom of twins. It rejuvenated me for weeks.

The second year, went with 2 girlfriends to another spa close to a small town with a nightlife and some shopping but I ended up being sick as a dog with a cold/flu and basically stayed in bed the whole time. One exhausted and totally run down mom.

The following year, I invited a couple of friends, very special friends, to my little mountainside getaway. I'll admit to being a little nervous about the whole affair at first, meeting some people for the first time and not knowing how the interpersonal dynamics would pan out for such a large group. But there was instant chemistry. We talked and drank and ate chocolate and talked about our kids and ate chips and nuts, and shopped and went for a spa treatment and talked some more and laughed till our bellies hurt and exchanged gifts and even went out dancing. We had such a blast that we started an annual tradition.

The following year, we upped it up a notch and went to Montreal. Same activities: talking, drinking, walking all over town, pedicure, shopping, gift exchanges and more talking. A great time again.

This past week-end, we met in Toronto. We upped it up again a whole other notch. No wonder my blog has been idle. Too busy getting ready to go and settling back upon my return. This time I flew there. What an absolute treat to be flying without my usual entourage. I read the onboard magazine uninterrupted from cover-to-cover! And then the party started: martinis, great food at some great restaurants, great shopping, lots and lots of talking about our kids and our lives as moms, hottub at nightime on the hotel's rooftop with a most incredible view of the city all around us, manicure and pedicure treat, a few hours at the Ontario Art Gallery, some time alone taking the subway and walking down the streets with coffee in hand, the most hilarious gift exchanges and the most therapeutic belly laughs. I left exhausted, physically (a total opposite to my first getaway) but my heart all warmed up from the company of so many fun-loving women. Some I will not see for a while but they always remain close to my heart.

supermoms

In my books, ALL moms are supermoms. All in varying degrees.

Today, I want to honor a few. It just so happens that I've met them all at the twin's preschool which is not "just a school" but a community. A lot of moms have sat on that bench watching their kids play. A lot of stories, some happy, some sad have been shared there. Here are a few of their stories.

Yesterday, a new baby boy was born. The fourth child to a mom who is a full-time high school math teacher. Her other children are 5, 3 and 2. So yesterday morning at 6:30 am she had her first contraction. Less than an hour later, she gave birth in the front seat of the family's vehicle. They were on their way to the hospital and ended up pulling over in a gas station. And today, she came to pick up her other kids from the school! I just had to give her one big hug!!


This other mom obtained her law degree while having kids. She now has a 10, 8, 6 and 4 year old and a 6 month old baby boy who was born a few weeks before they moved to their new house. She just started a two years Master's degree in a university in an other city! She commutes back and forth, 3-4 days here and 3-4 days there. AND her baby boy is still solely breast fed. Yep, she pumps between classes in her car. What stamina. I wish her luck and give her a big hug each time I see her.

Then there is the other mom who had to abruptly leave her husband. He was abusing their daughter, a fact that just a select few know. With nowhere to go, one of the other mom's invited her over to live with them. This mom whose life has been turned upside down doesn't have a job. The husband is giving her zilch. She doesn't have the money to keep her child in this pre-school. The director of the school, concerned for the welfare of this child and not wanting to disrupt her life any further, has agreed to keep her on at no cost. And a few of us moms sent out a letter asking to anonymously provide cash donations. Helping others in time of need demonstrates compassion. We wish her all well.

If only compassion was a universal theme. If only our global village showed a sense of community. If only supermoms ruled. Ahh, the things that would be accomplished!

we made it back

What a whirlwind of a week-end! A lot of time spent in the car but ultimately it was really worth it. Our relatives in Detroit and Windsor are just awesome. Warm and welcoming and loving. We did a lot of eating. We did a lot of talking. The weather was incredible. The best was definitely seeing the kids spend some time with their cousins.

Our kids did great in the car. Thanks to our portable DVD player and a few new movies. I also got them lap tables and were thus able to draw, write, color and snack more easily.

They loved staying at a hotel the first night. It was the cutest sight seeing them drag their little suitcases across the lobby and into the elevator. In the morning, a little swim in the hotel's pool burnt off some energy before finishing our trek.

In Windsor, we first went to our uncle and aunt's place. They have a huge backyard with apple and pear tress. So the kids went a pickin! Then off to our cousins' place where we stayed for the next 3 nights. Their house is right on St Clair lake. Hundreds of sailboats to see!

In between eating we went for walks, to local parks, sightseeing. On Sunday we crossed the border into Detroit to attend the baptism followed by a big great feast. The food was awesome, the chocolate fountain at the end a real hit with the kids! And everyone danced a lot too. Opa!

It was sad when it was time to leave. Wished they all lived closer. But what great family memories we created.

happy Thanksgiving

What a glorious morning. Took that picture on our way to the twins school. Along with a gazillion other ones. The morning light playing on the colorful trees'foliage was breathtaking.

No turkey for us this week-end. At least I don't think so. We are leaving this afternoon for Detroit. We are attending a cousin's baby girl's baptism. A big fat greek party. Should be fun. The kids are excited at the prospect of sleeping in a hotel in Toronto tonight and then seeing their little cousins over the week-end. I'm a little apprehensive about spending all those hours driving with them. The longest for them so far. Yes, we've been on planes for much longer but seems to me that's easier as you can get up and walk and there's more things to do. Oh well, I did a tour at the local dollar store yesterday and have a couple of surprises for along the way.

Better go pack. Yes, I'm in charge of it all. Gotta get the truck all loaded up and then will go pick up the kids at their respective schools and hubby at work. We're planning to beat the traffic (Senators game tonight) and having super around Kingston and checking into the hotel at bedtime.

So happy Thanksgiving to you all :)

not much change

To reciprocate nancy's last two posts, yes, life has been busy around here, so much so that I've become a silent blogger. Add we've been battling germs of all kinds: bacteria in my kids ears and viruses in my computer (sigh).

All that I can attempt today is this little quiz that shows that I haven't changed much. Good ole' steady and dependable me. The scary part is that picture, it SO totally looks like me in elementary school. The hairstyle. THE GLASSES! But I should comment that I've been working really hard at chucking all my OLD clothes and trying to be MORE hip. And needless to say, I'm not totally an antique having my own blog ;)

You've Changed 8% in 10 Years

You've hardly changed in ten years, from your lifestyle to those very retro clothes. And unless you were really ahead of your time, you probably need to acquaint yourself with the modern world!

How Much Have You Changed in 10 Years?

Stay tuned, I will be back, some day...

one down, another to go

So I spent the whole day at home with baby boy yesterday. He's much better once the antibiotics kicked in. Very strange to be home with only ONE child. Doesn't happen often. It was so nice to spend some one on one time with him. We played board games. We cuddled and watched TV. He helped with laundry. It was pleasant and quiet.

At suppertime, the twins often have this ongoing conversation about what they will do when they grow up. Baby boy has always said he will become a dentist (!). Now he adds he will be a dentist during the winter and a zookeeper during the summer! Baby girl never falters: she wants to work at Farm Boy where there is a lot of good food! As for big sis, they always tell her that she has to work hard at school to get a good job or else she'll end up being a garbage collector to which a lot of "poooey, that stinks" and hysterical laughs ensue. Now yesterday, baby boy looks at me seriously and asks: "what about you mom? what are you going to do when WE are all grown up?" Good question sweetie. As I'm pondering an answer he adds " I know! you'd be very good at drawing pictures for kids' books!!" NO IDEA where he got that from. But so cute!

Talking about big sis, last week I attended the first parent information night at her new school. There I was sitting in this cafeteria with HUNDREDS of other parents. I'm looking around. I don't know anyone. Quite disconcerting. Then we met the teachers for 15 minute blocks of time. And then the knots in my stomach appeared. What a big school. So much change. No longer are they "babied" like in elementary. Their independence and self-organization are primordial now.

Just as I was half-heartedly expecting, baby girl started complaining of an earache last night. One down, another to go. Hit her with all the meds and by midnigth she was finally asleep. She's still sleeping now and I'm keeping my fingers crossed that she will be OK today. Especially since I have a LONG overdue hairdresser appointment that I would hate to cancel.

Blogger finally is cooperating. Added a picture of my breakfast table to yesterday post. I should have taken it after all the food, glasses, cups and saucers where layed out. Oh well. And below, some flowers one of the guests brought me. Blue roses. Cool!

just another day

To start where I left off last post, picked up baby boy from school with a high fever. A little Advil and he eventually got better. Both his sisters were lethargic so we skipped their first dance class. No big deal.

Put them all to bed early and I started to get things ready for the next morning. It would be my friend's birthday the next day. Her 45th birthday and her first one without her mom who passed away a few months ago. So as a present to her and in hopes of cheering her up, I organized a breakfast/get-together for a group of common women/moms acquaintances. Most of them are from our Church's community. Every once in a while, one will throw such a breakfast/get-together. I had attended a few and now it was my long overdue turn to host one.

Now these get-togethers tend to be a little fancy-schmancy. Kind of a nice treat for the moms actually. So the house got a full tidy over. Then out came the fine china, silverware and fancy napkins and I even became creative with table decorations.



Freshly squeezed orange juice was served in tall champagne flutes with dried cranberries at the bottom of the glass, I made two kinds of quiches, lots of crepe suzette served with fresh fruit and maple syrup, cheese platter, home made apple tarts (thanks to my dad) and a huge fruit salad. And of course, lots of freshly ground and brewed coffee.

So I got everything that I could get ready the night before and finally went to bed. It was of course quite late by then. And isn't it one of Murphy's Law that when mom goes to bed late, something is bound to happen that will interupt her sleep. especially when there's something important going on the next day! Before long, I was up with baby boy, his fever had resurfaced and complaining of an earache. More advil. Finally resettled him and back to bed. Up again with baby sis. She was thirsty. Got her some water. Back to bed. Up again with big sis. She was in a daze, incoherent, finally dragged her to the bathroom for a pee and resettled her. 6 am was there before I knew it and I was bushed. Of course, when the kids got up, they were all fine. Got them off to school and did my last minute preparations.

The breakfast was awesome. The chitchat great for our souls. Did I mention there were NO kids! Moms only! A rare treat for us all. Seeing the joy on my friends face made me SO happy and made all the fussing and preparations so worth it.

It was over before I knew it. As they were leaving, school called. Baby boy is crying in pain. Go pick him up. He's clutching his ear and his fever is up again. Call the ped. He can see us in a few hours. It was a long afternoon for him. The Advil and Tylenol not doing anything. Poor kid. I felt horrible seeing him suffering so. Pick up both girls from their schools and head over to the peds. BOTH ears have a massive infection. Gives us a prescription. Go to one pharmacy, tells me it will be ready in 15 minutes. Arghh. Go back and tells me, sorry, we don't have that antibiotic here. I'm fuming. Off to another pharmacy to fill it. Finally get back home, he has to take it with food. Kid doesn't want to eat. By then its past supper time. Emergency solution. Open up a can of chicken noodle soup. Hubby gets home and declares: "what? is that all we are having for supper?" He got THE look. And leftovers from that morning.

Just another day in a busy mom's world ;)

the catch up post

Ok. So this is crazy. All 3 kids are in school all day and I still don't seem to have enough time to do anything. Blogging has definitely become more and more difficult to get to.

So I've been going to the gym every morning after dropping off the kids and walking/ultralight jogging every day I'm not. Two weeks now. Results? Re-energized during the day and proud to do something for myself. BUT. Not a single pound lost. Everything is sore. I realize how out of shape and unflexible I've become, arghhh. I'm more hungry afterwards, wtf?. Its time consuming (driving there and back and chitchatting with people I know and run into--like, hem, I can't be rude and ignore them-- and the gym is in a grocery store, very smart concept, so there's always something and then some to shop for afterwards, sigh). I fall asleep earlier than before out of shear exhaustion. Getting up at 6 am with this new schedule is not helping either BUT I will persevere. It has to become easier and I should get some tangible results one day, right?

September is turning out to be quite the expensive month: school supplies, more school supplies, new shoes, new clothes, new raingear, new rainboots, cheques for special lunches and Scholastic and extra-curricular activites and special school events, I've literally run out of cheques, gotta order some more.

Even fundraising has started. Two days into school and big sis comes home with a huge box of chocolates to sell to raise funds for a special outing at the end of the month. I've never let her go from house to house selling anything for school. I ususally just give a cheque for a certain amount from ourselves. BUT this time, she wanted to do the door to door thing. She practiced her speech and set off after supper with her little sister in tow. I was quite surprised when she sold nearly the whole thing off. How could anyone resist chocolate and two cute girls? It was actually a great learning experience for her.

Gotta run. All 3 kids are starting dance lessons tonight. Not sure how that will turn out :~)

Edited to add: School just called. Baby boy has a fever and fell asleep in class. Great. So much for dancing tonight. Poor kid :(

another pet peeve

This happened last week. A beautiful sunny morning. The birds chirping. The kids are playing quietly after breakfast in the family room. I decide to go drink my second cup of coffee outside in the backyard. I open the door, coffee in hand, anticipating a few stolen moments of peace and quiet and contemplative relaxation when it hits me.

The smell.

DAMN.

They did it again.

The neighbours had their lawn sprayed with pesticides. It stinks. And I'm mad. That peaceful moment I was anticipating is ruined by this noxious chemical smell.



Now you have to understand, around here everyone has about TWO acres of land AND we are all on well water. The thought of those pesticides trickling down to our water source infuriates me.

So look at their lawn. Yep, it's green.





So is ours.





All right, theirs is mostly grass.





Ours is mostly clover.





So what, Green is green. We're in a rural area for God's sake. We don't need to have that perfect suburban lawn.


And yes, his is more grassy. But he also has to mow it more often, which is a two hour minimum job around here.

Good thing the kids have the sniffles, I kept them indoors away from that crap.

All right, feel better now. Pet peeve and venting over.

new routines

It's amazing how much you can tell about your kids' personality with how they react to change.

Big sis has been going to her new school for over a week now and so far so good. She's loving it. Made some new friends, joined the school's running club, keeping herself organized and on top of all her work. Hope this keeps up! And can you tell how very proud I am of her? Not only is she adaptable but a gogether too.

The twins started 3 days ago. This is their third and final year at this pre-school. Next year they go into Grade 1 at another school. So they are the oldest and know their way around. They get to stay all day now. They were SO excited to go back. They've been getting up way too early every morning filled with anticipation. They literally run into the school every morning without even a good-bye to ole' mom. What a change from 2 years ago when they had to be pried off my legs on those first days and I would then go sit in my car and ball my eyes out.

Baby boy's best friend didn't come back (a surprise to me) but he's OK with that. He just told me that he'll just have to play with other kids. A very easy-going young boy. Baby sis still has her best friend there. Which is a good thing, otherwise she wouldn't talk at all. Even though she talks a lot at home and is actually the dominating one out of the two, she's been getting quieter and quieter in social situations. She even tells me ahead of time before we go somewhere that she won't talk to anyone. So at school, she only talks to this one girl. Which is not really a good thing. Makes me sick with worry on what will happen next year when she goes to a new school with new people. Ah well, let's hope one extra year will give way to extra maturity.

And me? Well, as I said all along, when they would be back to school, I would start to take care of myself. So I've been making a conscious effort to eat better, plan our meals more and have been going to the gym every morning after dropping the twins off. Yep, every single muscle of mine is sore today. But its a good thing. And after the gym, I've allowed myself to go visit a few new stores in the area or have a leisurely coffee with myself and a book before heading back home to laundry, dishes, ya know, housework. I have a gazillion little projects in mind. Of course, there will never be enough time to do it all.

One big change in all these new routines is that I have to get up early. As in earlier than used to for quite a while. Have to get up at 6:30 to get breakie and lunch ready for big sis who leaves at 7:10. Then hubby comes down for his breakie and leaves by 8 and then its the twins turn and we are out of here by 8:30. And then evening routines all had to be altered. Earlier bedtimes for everyone, including myself or else I can't cope come 4 o'clock.

All in all, just new routines for our family. Just a matter of getting used to them.

what kind are you

What kind of whistler are you?

Can you carry a tune?

I can, a little. Hubby can't. He can only do that really loud two-fingers-from-each-hand-in-corner-of-mouth kind of attention-getter whistle. I can't do that one.

My dad is a good whistler. He'll be working away, like puttering in the garden, and whistle a tune. Hearing him whistle gives me warm fuzzies. And he's always had, as long as I can remember, this two note special whistle just for me. Just a few weeks ago, I was shopping at the mall by myself and I heard THAT whistle. I turned around and sure enough, there he was a 100 ft or so behind me.

And now, all of a sudden, baby boy has started whistling. He'll be playing with his Lego castle and dragons (his current absolutely favorite toy) and whistle away. It. Is. So. Cute. Or he'll be in the car and whistle along to Jack Johnson (which is the only thing we are allowed to listen to when in the car with the twins).

I'm so in love with my nearly 5 year old whistler ;)

another family first

Yep it happened last night. For the first time. We all went out together and did it. We had a blast. The twins did surprisingly well too despite the length of it all.

We went golfing. Not mini-putting. A real golf course. We played 9 holes.

So hubby has been a golfer for a while. His interest in it became such that he joined a private golf course close by. He goes there a lot. And I'm fine with that. He needs it as a stress release and he gets his exercise walking all those miles. Being athletic by nature, he keeps improving and I joke that he can one day join the Seniors PGA TOUR and we can travel North America together!

Not one to be golf widowed at such a young age, I caddied him for a while, then tried it out, took a few (as in 2) lessons. When preggo with the twins, I played my best games ever. Something about the hormones loosening up muscles and the big belly shifting the center of gravity. Haven't played much since they arrived. Maybe one or two rounds a season. And it is like riding a bike. Kind of all comes back to you and after a few swings, I'm right back where I left off.

Big sis has taken a few lessons over the years and she can wallop it good when she concentrates. As for the twins, they've been "playing" on the front lawn for a while. We just have to work on baby boy's swing: he kind of uses his golf club like a hockey stick!



So last night was the night. And the weather was perfect. Hubby made arrangements at his course to get us two carts and we teed off late so as not to have too many people before or after us. We had none. Hubby and I played for real and big sis played from the 150ft marker and we let the twins do some putting at every other hole. They enjoyed so much watching us play. They cheered us on. Learned a bit more about golf etiquette (like when to be QUIET). They kept score. They had little drinks and snacks in the cart. We let big sis drive the cart too. And after 9 holes we all went for supper at the clubhouse. We were famished. And hubby was beaming. He had his whole family with him and we were sharing our very first golf stories.

Hoping for many more of these times.

little bankers

With big sis off to school, the twins are now getting antsy about starting too. They have all their things ready and keep asking me "are we going to school today?" and baby boy even starts crying if I tell him "no". Seems I have to work on finding things for them to do more now. Guess big sis was good at that ;)

So over the past two days we embarked on a big project. We played bank. I pulled out a HUGE container full of coins, coin sorters and coin wrappers. I installed them on the family room floor with some music playing in the background and they spent hours sorting, lining up, making up stories, etc. They found American coins and put them in a special "Florida" pile, they found a few Euros and those went in a "for Greece" pile, they kept aside a whole variety of commemorative quarters and nickels and dimes. When all was said and done, we had close to $110 in rolled coins. Then we brought them to the bank where we got "paper money" which we used to go shopping and bought their special indoor shoes for school and a little treat each.



Now, what should today's project be?

a new friend

There are a few horsebackriding places in our area. For years, big sis asked us to go for lessons. So last summer, she went for a week and loved it. She just finished a two week camp and loved it even mmore. Looks like we are looking at 3 weeks next summer!

Like Marla said in her post, there's something about girls and horses. We don't come from a family knowledgeable in horses. I think I rode twice in my life. Yet despite the flies and the smell and having to clean up stalls, big sis really fell in love with horses. She was ready, even making her lunch, early in the morning so she could be the first one there. She went to the library to get books on horses. She surfed the web for even more info. She got to ride the same horse for the past two years: Oliver, a sweet gentle giant. His photos are all over her room. On the last day of camp, they put on a show for the parents. The horses were groomed. Big sis even braided Oliver's mane. She started doing some small jumps and my heart just about jumped out of my chest. To see such a small girl in control of such a big creature was formidable. And little sis is just as infatuated. She couldn't wait to go pick up her sister every day so she could go see the horses, pet them, talk to them and feed them carrots!

There's a new house being built near here and they've added an enclosure with a lovely stable in the back for a mare and her foal. Of course, each time we drive by we have to slow down to admire them. Now both sisters are pressuring us to get Santa to bring them a horse!

back to school

That's it, another big step in big sis' life. Yesterday was her first day in her new school. She walked in confidently with her backpack and all her school supplies, waved to the FEW people she knew (just one girl from her previous school and a few soccer teammates). It was an orientation morning for all the 7th graders. All 460 of them! That's how many students were in her whole elementary school!! And the kids all looked so, well, like, older ;)

Her biggest concern is where and with whom to sit on the bus next week :) My biggest concern is getting her on the bus at 7:15 a.m., yikes!

Good luck sweetie! I'm looking forward to experiencing this new stage of your life right along with you.