Prima Ballerina

The other night we had the pleasure of watching an original Juliet ballet performance. It was marvelous. Here is a clip from the performance. For the full 4 minute version click here.

The Pretend Birthday

For the past 2 years we've had Sam's real birthday & his pretend birthday. His real birthday falls during the summer holidays and it's sometimes difficult to round up a group of his buddies so we celebrate with family in the summer & have another party with his friends once the school year starts. Yesterday was the 'pretend' birthday.

Rise 'n Shine!

It is not unusual to walk into Juliet's room to something worth taking a picture of...

We had an ultrasound yesterday. It was fabulous. I've never felt so connected by an ultrasound as I did yesterday. She is beautiful. Yes... another girl.  It was like I could see her... right there in my stomach. She didn't look like an image... she looked like a baby. My baby... all 8 ounces of her. She was so busy kicking. I could see her little body in it's entirety, and how she was perfectly bundled up inside. I saw her bum... it was perfect.  I am so excited.

Holy Weekend Batman

It's no wonder I have a headache. Although I feel like I did a lot of nothing this weekend... my body (& the back yard) say otherwise. My tolerance for my children is dwindling. It must be Sunday night.

Sam is on a bender of not listening. It's almost less tolerable then a 2 year old. A few days ago (Thursday I think) he lost his "cool computer games" privilege because he wouldn't get up in the morning & get dressed for school after numerous requests. I told him he needed 5 stickers before he could have it back... and would get a sticker every time he listened the FIRST time. He has yet to get a sticker. AND... yesterday after being sent to his room he told me he hated me (a first) and that he was going to eat candy whenever he wanted to. Apparently for a 6 year old that is a threat.

It wasn't all bad. I played in the back yard like I said I would and for the first little while the kids were a big help. We moved a HUGE pile of logs, complete with wood-eating ants, slugs, millipedes, worms and spiders. The best part was when I carried a log all the way across the yard with a palm sized spider on it, only to notice it when I put the log down and he scurried off. Awesome.

And So It Begins...

We've decided to do a few renos on the house.... switch out the window in the dining room for a sliding door, switch the kitchen window for a bigger one & open up the kitchen by knocking out the wall to the dining room. We started with the door & hopefully the rest will be done by halloween. Stay tuned.

Project #2 was the front garden. It's something I've struggled with since we moved in. I hated it.. so I decided finally that I was going to just dig the whole damn thing up & re-do it. Yesterday was that day...















I think we did a fabulous job. Now I just have to tackle the back yard and hope I'm as successful.

what is this cow saying to you??

This is a photo that was taken this summer at a fair by Roxanne Ross. Have you ever seen a cow with such expression?? Rox and I have our own ideas of what this cow is thinking but I'd like to know what the cow is saying to you. Post your ideas in the comments section for a good laugh....

Par-tay!

We... the kids & I, spent the weekend in Montreal. It was fabulous. We stayed at one of my best friend's wonderful NDG pads & celebrated her daughter's 6th birthday. I love it there. I off and on wish we too lived in Montreal... but I'm not thrilled about the idea of raising kids in the city. Nevertheless, every time I'm there I get a bit nostalgic.

So our oldest kids are exactly 4 weeks apart, both turning six this year. This weekend was Lyric's 6th birthday party. I'll let the pics do most of the talking. Who said you can't have a pony in the city?

Pigs on Wheels

Driving along the highway today we passed 2 transporters full of pigs. Looked a little something like this ---------------->

"Sam, Juliet look, there's pigs in that truck"

SAM: "They're on their way to the farm!"

I almost didn't have the heart... but reality's reality.

"No... I think they're on the way to get turned into bacon"

SAM: "Who kills them?"

"People"

SAM: "How?"

"I don't know... with a knife"

JULIET: "That's because they were bad pigs."

Walking the Dog

I had nothing but good intentions this morning. I put the kids on the bus and decided that because it wasn't hot nor raining, I would take Dallas for a walk. When I quit my job one of the things I told myself was that I would walk the dog more... and I haven't exactly been doing that. But it's been hot & muggy out and I hate walking in that heat. So hopefully I will get in a lot more dog walks this fall.

At the sight of his collar & leash Dallas is ecstatic. I donned a pair of shoes that would inevitably give me blisters (why I don't choose a pair that I know won't give me blisters is beyond me) and off we went.  I decided that I would walk up to the conservation area where I could let him run off leash and no one would bother me. I must admit, that even if the chances are slim to none, the very thought of walking through the woods or in a fairly deserted place like the conservation area automatically triggers the thought of being attacked by some crazy (thanks, no doubt, to too much TV). I've always felt that these areas are perfect for attacks & body dumps. I guess that applies mostly to those who live in crime ridden areas and thankfully my city is considered one of the safest in the country. In spite of this the thought still crosses my mind but I only think about it... not worry. After all, I do have my ferocious pit bull to protect me. I love to walk in the peacefulness of the forest & wildlife, even if I have these thoughts and even if the sign at the entry to the path says "All dogs must be kept on a leash" and "If you see a crime call 911". What kind of crimes do you see in the woods other than attacks & body dumps?? A+ for positive reinforcement.

We marched along side the road looking for a break in the fence so we could enter the area. Usually these breaks in the fence are accompanied by pathways into the conservation area, however the break we found didn't seem to have a path leading anywhere. I knew there was a big path parallel to the road so I decided that if we walked into the bush a little bit we'd probably stumble across another path that would link us to it. Wishful thinking. There was no path. Even my dog looked up at me like "where the hell are we going? I can't run in this."

Vintage Cars Through My Lens... A Photographic Adventure.

As some of you may know, photography is a passion of mine & I LOVE taking photos of vintage cars. So tonight as I watched Rango with my kids for the 3rd time in 24 hours I decided that I would multi-task and play with some of the photos I took this summer at a car show in Prescott, ON. I was there for a good couple of hours and could have easily been there longer if we weren't with the kids. Here are some of my faves...

The 16 Week Rant

Because I am going through such a wonderful period in my life right now I thought that I should share my joy with everyone. Let's start with a little trivia.

Pregnancy is....

A) A miracle

B) An amazing journey & experience where one human creates another

C) A never ending battle of emotions & hormones, severe fatigue, loss of energy, painful bloating, constant heartburn & continuous weight gain.

I pick C. If I'm not so tired that even relaxing is draining, my bowels are pinching my nerves from the inside, my stomach acids are burning away at my esophagus, or my painfully bloated stomach needs its own support system. Oh joy.

So we made it through the first week of school. It was smooth sailing. Juliet is ecstatic about going to & from school on the bus... I think it makes her feel like a big girl. Way cool.

Today she brought home some of her first maternelle pieces of art.

Samuel came home with a notice "Manquement aux règles de la tenue vestimentaire". Apparently his brand new school shoes that I bought him aren't all black so it's a breach of the code. Seriously?

They are entirely black, except for the soles & the gray lines that form the chic plaid style are greatly exaggerated in this photo... they aren't nearly as bright. Ridiculous.

The Emergency Room... An Embarassing Adventure?

So it's five past 8. Kids are on the bus (I so love that!). I've been up since 4. Why? Well first of all because Sam woke me up wanting to get into bed with me. Second of all, because I then began having wicked, wicked stomach cramps and couldn't get back to sleep. I could barely move. The pain was in the "lower left quadrant" of my abdomen and it was debilitating. I couldn't really find any position that felt good or made it go away... and when I got up to go to the bathroom I got hot flashes & felt like I was going to throw up or pass right out. I thought at first it must be gas pains but then I was like... since when do gas pains make you want to pass out? And the area was concentrated to one specific spot... so it was weird. I had a gut feeling that everything was okay with the baby and that perhaps this had nothing to do with that but I was a bit worried nonetheless and kept checking for signs of a problem. There were no such signs other than the severe pain and nothing seemed to be making it go away. Yes, I even passed gas, but nothing seemed to help.

Back to School!

So today was the big day. Although Sam went off to grade 1 on Monday, Juliet started maternelle (kindergarten) today. We were up bright & early & Juliet dressed herself in her uniform. We ate breakfast and packed her sac-a-dos with all the necessities... lunch, glucometrer, a change of clothes and sparkly black shoes.

 

Yay team!!

As for me on my first day as the parent of 2 school-agers... I read my book, fell asleep, had a late breakfast, gathered up enough energy to go to the store, came home & ate a tub of Haagen Dazs.

Mmmmmmm... Haagen Dazs.