Proud Moments

Tonight, I am the proudest Mom ever! Since the beginning of time, Cara-Li has been a very reserved, very quiet, very pensive little girl. Very often afraid of things or scared of trying something new. Now I was exactly like her as a child if not worse as I was incredibly shy. I know what's its like to be a prisoner within your own body. It took my until my adult life to shake my shyness and fears away. So of course, I do not want Cara-Li to be like that. Things changed somewhat when she became a big sister. The role of big sister made her feel more secure of herself. And when she started first grade at this new school that is no-nonsense, she gained yet more confidence.

A couple of weeks ago, there was talk of doing a gymnastics show for the end of year. Now, when Cara-Li is concerned, you must never use the word 'show' as it scares her to no end. When she was younger, we would talk about her Christmas show and she would not sleep for nights on end as she worried so much about it. And then on show day, she simply would not perform. So today, needless to say, I was pretty stressed due to our past experiences. And we were in the big gym with lots of people watching. OMG! Gord actually bet that she wouldn't do it. As you can see in this photo, she is not particularily thrilled.

But then it was time for her part of the show. They warmed up a bit while showing us some of their talents. And then it was the big moment. Their skit was to one of the songs from CATS and you guessed it, Cara-Li was one of the cats. They were all too cute! She was absolutely fabulous! I didn't even know she could do such perfect cartwheels until tonight. And for the grand finale, Cara-Li was pushed up to the top by some girls, you know, à la cheerleader style. Amazing! My little girl did it, did a 'show' and survived to talk about it. And she was so proud of herself. And so was her Mom!

Like Mommy, Like Daughter

Picture this:

Alexia has picked up one of my very worst habits and, at the age of 2 1/2, chews her nails and hang nails just like her Mom (which makes her Dad crazy!). So Alexia and I are watching In the Night Garden tonight and we are taking turns telling each not to chew our nails. It is hilarious!

Sent wirelessly from my BlackBerry.

Playing Catch Up

I haven't had any time to update my blog and frankly have been spending next to no time at my computer at home. With my new Blackberry, I can access all my e-mails and web sites from the comforts of my bed!

Anyway, I found some pictures from Mother's Day that I forgot to post. It was a terribly cold day on Mother's Day but we certainly tried to make the best of it. My younger brother

organized a lovely outing for all the Moms in our family including his wife's side of the family. We all went for brunch at the Golf Club where they got married. It was really great to just eat and eat and eat!

It is SOOOOOO easy to be a Mom to these two fabulous little girls. I am soooo lucky!

Last weekend was a long weekend for us Canadians, something about the 2 Queens' birthdays :) Anyway, we decided to head west down the 401 to visit Gord's family in Guelph, a little past Toronto. Besides the usual visits with his parents, we also got to spend quality time with the girls' two younger cousins, N & C. The 4 of them always have a grand old time together.

This year we went to the butterfly conservatory to check out the papillons. Funny that when we were driving home to Montreal (and doing Cara-Li's homework), we discovered that she was learning about the life cycle of a butterfly. Cool! We put what she was learning into practice!

We also spent a day and a half in Toronto. We had promised Cara-Li that we would visit the CN tower. Remember when she was asking about going to Paris and Italy to visit the Eiffel Tower and Pisa. Well, visiting the CN tower is much cheaper seeing that it is on the same continent as us! But first, Mamma was promised some shopping time. So we stopped at the Yorkdale Mall on our way and Lord behold, Gymboree was having a massive sale! Yes! My dream! We do not have Gymboree in Quebec so my visits are very few and far between. I usually place my orders by phone with a store in St. Louis that is attached to the hotel that Gord stays at or I order online and have it shipped to one of Gord's wonderful co-workers in St. Louis for him to bring back on his next trip. Now, stuff was already on sale and then there was an additional 30% off of everything! I made out like a bandit. However, I had spent so much time in that one store that it didn't leave me much time to hit my other favorites, Crate and Barrel, Pottery Barn and Williams-Sonoma. In fact, I was so spent from the one hour of intense shopping that I was unable to purchase anything from the other stores. Too much pressure! To round off our day, we stopped off in Chinatown for some quick buys and a lovely dinner. Gord got us a really nice room on the 34th floor at the Sheraton with a wonderful view of the tower.

The girls were beyond excited and frankly, I was too as I was dying to try out the perfect sleeper bed with all its glorious bedding and pouffy pillows. We decided not to bring up Alexia's crib for the night as we decided that she could sleep in Cara-Li's blow-up Hello Kitty sleeping bag. Can we say excited? OMG! She went in it at 9PM and did not stop moving until 11PM when I threatened her. I slept with Cara-Li and for whatever reason, she did not stop moving either. I was hit by every one of her flying limbs and needless to say, I did not sleep a wink. So much for those perfect sleeper beds!!! Gord, however, slept in his own bed and woke up in the morning fresh as a daisy. Good thing they had Starbucks coffee in the room otherwise I would not have been able to start my day. We had a lovely buffet breakfast followed by a dip in the pool (Cara-Li loves hotels and must swim in all the pools). And then we were off to tackle that tower. Of course, by the time we got there, Alexia had fallen asleep. As a joke, I said to Cara-Li that sleeping babies do not have to pay to go up the tower. Now, we were at the highest point when Alexia woke up. You should have seen Cara-Li's face! She had this look of guilt and exclaimed that we hadn't paid for Alexia because she was sleeping. But now that she was up, she wanted to know how we would go about paying for her. Too cute! I explained that I was being silly but that in fact Alexia did not have to pay because she was under 4.

Here the girls are lying down on the glass floor that is 113 floors up! There is nothing below them. It is quite something to stand on that floor... I, personally, had a hard time.

And now I iclude the following two pictures because I thought they were pretty cool. Too bad I am not taking a photography class at this time :(

Stress on Different Levels

Besides the fact that the price of gas is ridiculous, so is the service. Anyone who knows me knows that I will do everything to NOT pump my own gas. If it isn't Gord doing it then I will be sure to find a service station that will do it for me. I just don't pump gas, simple as that. But service stations are far and few between and add to that that it must be an Esso station (reduced price with company card), it is really hard to get gas should I really need it. Now, picture this. This AM, I really needed gas. No time to run out of gas on the highway (as has been done in the past). So I grin and bear it and go to an Esso station where I must pump my own gas. Pump #1 did not accept the discount card. Pump #2 did not actually have a hose in it. Pump #3 and #4 had OUT OF ORDER signs and pump #5 once again did not accept my card. There are 8 pumps at this station and only 3 work but I cannot get to them as they were either busy or non-accessible! I finally got gas which in total took 15 minutes! Now do you see why I HATE getting gas!

On another note, Cara-Li was doing her homework yesterday when she asked me to sit and do her reading with her. And so she begins. I usually sit there and listen to her to make sure she pronounces everything correctly but I do not necessarily always pay attention to the content. So these are the key words I hear. Mom, love, other side of the world, darker skin, black hair, belly. At this point, I catch on. It was a story about us. The daughter asks her Mom if she loves her eventhough she comes from the other side of the world, did not come out of her belly, has darker skin, has straight black hair and looks nothing like her. OK. It was well written and really showed how this Mom really loved her daughter despite all these differences. It ended with the daughter saying, '' I love you, Mom. MY MOM.'' So once I made sure that Cara-Li understand it properly (as it was in French), we discussed it. To which she exclaimed that it was a story about us, to which she followed up with a huge hug and a kiss and an I love you! What's amazing was that she didn't seem to be disturbed by all this and actually seemed quite sure of herself. What concerned me a little is that this was read in the class as it is in their reader. While I have no problems with adoption being discussed in class, I just hope it was done properly. Luckily, Cara-Li is not the only adoptee in her class, so she was not alone. When I asked her about it, she did not seem to be concerned. But the kids today, especially in our circle, are used to seeing blended families and therefore, they just see it as normal. Little bit stressful, though.

Hmmm....

Got a workout outfit from the husband and kids today for Mother's Day. Not sure what to make of that... At least it was from Lululemon.

The Most Special Day of the Year

Happy Mother's Day to all the Moms out there.

Have a great day!

I LOVE Springtime!

While I absolutely love the fall (as I am a fall baby), there is nothing better than a Spring weekend in Montreal! Us Montrealers have been cooped up way to long indoors through what is usually a loooong winter to miss out on a ray of sunshine. This weekend was a perfect example. While it wasn't the warmest weekend, it sure was a beautifully sunny weekend! Let me describe what our weekend was like.

It started off with a fabulous Open House Happy Hour at our dear friends house. They had officially, just hours earlier, purchased a new home and decided to invite anyone and everyone to visit it and, of course, have a drink (or two)! So that was our Friday evening. Mamma didn't have to cook. The Hostess planned for some munchies (lots of them) and that was dinner. Thanks MC! My two girls had a blast running through their old new house and we did not see them until 11PM when we finally decided to head home.

Next was soccer for Cara-Li early Saturday morning. After a late night, it took some coaxing to get everyone up. I, on the otherhand, have spring fever, so I was up early and mentally blowing out walls and redoing the entire front of our house. But for what I have in mind, I would a pile of money sooo.... we went to play soccer instead. Cara-Li needed a bit of a push and some convincing to play soccer. I personally want her to play as it is a social hour for me :) I get to chit-chat with our fellow neighbours. What??? I'm not allowed to be selfish? She's having fun... In fact, it turns out she did have fun. Yayyy! Apparently, she now likes soccer because she likes the uniform. Who knew I had a fashionista as a daughter. Anyway, after I dropped off Cara-Lu and Gord at the soccer fiels, Alexia nd I headed off to the huge neighbourhood garagre sale. I had a $100 to spend so I was ready! So a bunch of books later I came across a printer that I so desparately needed for work. I was quite pleased with myself with my $5 purchase most especially since a friend that happened to be going by was going to deliver it to me. But at the same vendor as the printer I see this:

I had completely forgotten that this was on my WANT list. I always set out to garage sales with a WANT and NEED list. Otherwise I tend to get sidetracked. Anyway, there it was. I did manage to get it down to $30 and for whatever reason I was waflling. Should I get it or not? In the end I did since my printer was leaving and thought I should probably add this bike to his load. You should have seen Cara-Li's face when she saw it. Pure joy! It is now installed in the back of my bike (which I have not ridden in 15 years! Mental note: go buy a helmet) and Alexia is in a baby seat on the back of Gord's bike. The Farrells can finally bike as a family!

Needless to say that Cara-Li and I biked all around town which brings me to the next topic of converation. (Can you tell I am having a glass (or 2) of wine as I type this?) Anyhoo. We biked in a part of town that we normally don't visit too much by foot. And there it is. The most amazing house! For sale!

So we biked by it one way. And then the other way. Rushed home to find it on the internet and sent Gord off to see it. We love it. We make an appointment to see it the next day.

Just to end off a most wonderful day, we, along with some very great friends,C, P and G, (who could be our neighbours should we buy said house) head off to dine at a Korean BBQ restaurant. Can you say yummy! It is now the flavour of the month. It is my new favourite cuisine. Perfect end to a perfect day. But when I get home, I find a Tweet from MM about bowling with the girls in the AM. Fabulous. A plan for the next day!

Cara-Li and I headed off to the bowling alley on Sunday AM (this is after Cara-Li asks about when she will do her homework. Mental note: Must get to that before sundown) while Alexia and Gord go grocery shopping. We meet up with MM and MD and their 2 wonderful daughters, Dumpling and BB. We had a fabulous time bowling (well the girls bowled while the parents caught up with stuff). And after bowling, we had a grand reunion at the grocery about 40 seconds later! You should have seen the girls in the parking lot. It was like they had never seen each other!

Now, here is the big moment. Will we be moving or not? We have an appointment to see this grand house in Mo-West. It is an old house built in 1890 (good for me as I love old houses) that has been completely renovated (great for Gord as he would prefer to not do so much work). We visit and we look. And for some reason, it doesn't speak to me. It is a beautiful home, don't get me wrong. But it is not right for us. The basement (while it is not finished) is most difficult to get to with its very narrow and steep stairwells. Same with the master bedroom on the 3rd floor. Gord announces that he would never sleep up there due to this. Well,with the 3rd floor not usable and the basement either, we are left with less space than our current house... much less space. In fact, our house is fine. All I wanted out of a another house is that old character that I find our house is lacking but I would not want to compromise any of the good things about our house. Our newly renovated basement and master bath. Our fabulous family room. It is our house and our home and we love it. We staying!

Next on tap was a quick bite to eat at a local spot (gotta love Mo-West!) and then off we went to the Lachine canal. Gord and C jogged while Cara-Li and I (along with P and G) biked along the canal (with a stop at the ice cream joint of course). What a great way to spend a Sunday afternoon! Wait. It did not end there. We went back to C and P's for a dip in the hot tub (by the way, did I mention we're geting a hot tub for the cottage AND town?) No. No. It did not end there. Cara-Li and Alexia went to J's house for a playdate while Mom went home to make dinner. Which is where I'm at. I prepared dinner (very quickly) and am now blogging with a glass of wine. I must say that this is the way to do it. Sorry about any typos that may have occured but there you go. I must now go tend to my dinner and continue to make plans to better this house! Where is that cheque book.....

PS: Any weekend that starts with Happy Hour and ends with Happy Hour is a great weekend exect when your daughter has to do homework before Monday Am..... (sigh!!!!)