It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year!

I keep hearing that Staples jingle when I think that all the kids are finally back in school! Cara-Li started 2nd grade today and from what I heard, all went well. She likes her new teacher and there are many new faces in her class. And she had spaghetti and chocolate ice cream for lunch. It doesn't get better than that! The bus ride was not an issue since she is no longer the youngest on the bus.

My baby is growing up!

Hi There!

It has been so long since my last post. Summer sort of got in the way!

Let's see... what have we been up to this month of August.

Well, Cara-Li finished her day camp the first week of August although she did continue on with her swimming lessons (which end today). What a difference 9 weeks of daily lessons will make! She can really swim now and is super confident in the water, not like her dear old Mom that can't float if her life depended on it :)

Alexia also finished her day camp (one morning a week) last week. She, too, spent almost everyday at the pool though not in actual lessons. Alexia we must worry about. She has no qualms about jumping into the pool ...

We took the 2nd week of August off for our yearly summer vacay at the cottage. But with the weather we were having, we were less than thrilled. Turns out we had the best weather ever and we accomplished nothing as we were too busy lying on the dock or swimming in the lake. Best summer cottage vacation in many, many years!

Gord and I did split up for the first weekend of our vacation. Our niece, K, was getting married in Guelph, Ontario so Gord attended the wedding. We, the girls, were unable to make it as it also fell on Alexia's Chinese group reunion and since I was the organiser, felt that I should have been there. K's wedding was held in the evening and since we could not have the girls babysat, I would have ended up spending the evening in a hotel room. Too bad... would have loved to see our oldest niece get married. Congrats K and A and to their boys C and C!

The reunion... well, that went well. Auntie Loula joined us for this trip seeing that she did travel with us to China. It is the second time that we go to this little place near Trois-Rivières. Each family has their own little condo facing a beautiful lake. It is really a pleasant family-run place that are there to please. We decided to leave right after lunch on Friday seeing that t was a nice day and although check-in was at 4PM, we lounged around on the property. Families began to arrive and we soon began our usual 'Wine and Cheese' fest which carried on until the wee hours of the night. Much wine was consumed (and cheese too!). A couple of families were unable to attend but hey, everyone makes a huge effort to be there. It is so great to see all the little ones again! Each condo is equipped with a complete kitchen (though tiny!) but we opted for the meal plan which included Saturday night dinner and Sunday brunch. As usual, the weekend always comes to an end far too quickly but these wonderful moments spent together watching our little ones interact will keep us till we meet again next year!

Once our weekends were over, we all met back at the house to unload and reload the cars for our week at the cottage. I had strategically packed separate suitcases for each part of our vacation (Gord was on his own) but it was such a fabulous week (did I mention this yet?) that we never cracked open the second, larger suitcase. Which means we managed with the clothes that I had packed for the weekend. Which means we must have worn bathsuits the entire time :) Poor us! Here are some pics from our vacation though there aren't many as I didn't pick up the camera much. Signs of a good holiday...

So here we are on the eve of back-to-school. Cara-Li begins 2nd grade tomorrow while Alexia still has a couple of weeks to go before she begins 2 mornings a week at nursery school. All school supplies are purchased, books have been covered, uniforms and shoes checked. All that needs to be done now... Mom needs to come to terms that her baby will be in 2nd grade in less than 12 hours!

South Beach...

No, we're not headed to South Beach (I wish, with the weather we are having!). We have been on the South Beach Diet for almost 3 weeks. Things are going pretty well. The first few days were a little tough with the no sugar, no carbs and no alcohol but I did manage to lose 4.5 lbs. in the first 2 weeks. This week we are in Phase 2 where we introduced some fruit, some carbs and some alcohol. Thus we are in better spirits :) And I lost 1 lb. Therefore, in total I've lost 5.5 lbs. on South Beach and and 3 on the crazy diet (well, it was actually 5 but then gained 2 back) for a total of 8.5 lbs. I now have 3.5 lbs. left to lose to be at my target (realistic) weight and 8.5 lbs to get to my dream (not so realistic) weight. I continue to walk but have slowed down on the gym. My knee has been hurting and I am not sure what it is caused by. Must check it out. In the meantime, we continue to plug away on this diet and are very happy with the results. you should see Gord. He has lost so much weight, he is hardly recognizable!