The Big 4 - 2

So today is my birthday. I'm 42 and happy about it! Really... life only begins now. I am in the best shape I have ever been, I feel great, I am blessed with 2 wonderful daughters and a great husband. Really. What more does one want or need? So off I go to supper with my 2 girls while Gord is in Toronto. We will have a celebratory dinner followed by cartoons in bed. What a day!

Various

We finally are going ahead with our plans to build an extension to our cottage which will accomodate my dream mudroom... the mudroom that I have been thinking about and designing forever. So needless to say, I am more than thrilled that this will begin in October to be ready for the ski season! Along with this addition, we have also decided to change all the siding and the windows and doors of the cottage. Not a small project but a really good one. Anyway, now that this dream will soon be a reality, I went off to Ikea a couple of weeks to buy my PAX wardrobe, a wonderful system that will house all our winter ski stuff etc.





This mudroom will have room for 2 PAX of 5 feet long which equals LOTs of storage. Also, I need to mention at this point that the mudroom dimensions were based on the PAX. Anyway, part of the system I wanted has more than likely been discontinued so I will have to modify things slightly and since I was afraid that the rest would also be discontinued I ordered it immediately eventhough construction has yet to begin. Fast forward to last night as I lay in bed watching TV (and was nearly asleep), I saw a commercial for Ikea and their newest promotion. 20% off all PAX! What? I just spent oodles of money last week and now there's a sale. Well, this AM I was on the phone with them ready to pick a fight but lo and behold, they said that all I had to do was to go back with the bill and they would refund. Thank goodness!

Other news, I just signed up for yoga classes for the fall as well as get this.... piano lessons for myself! I've always wanted to play and this week when Cara-Li was trying to pull the wool over my eyes, I decided the only way to combat this was to actually take lessons myself. And really, why not?

First Day of School, Take 2

This morning, I made the journey once again, down Ballantyne Street. This morning's destination... pre-school. That's right... it was Alexia's first day of pre-school at the same school that Cara-Li attended for 4 years. It was a walk that I had not made in one year and I had to choke back the tears when I looked down and saw my little baby holding by hand so thrilled to be going to the BIG school. With her backpack and all... so cute!

Since it was the first day, parents had to stay. Alexia is such an independant little girl that she was easily whisked away by one of the teachers to play with the other kids. On the occasion she would look up to see if we were still there. And smile. Alexia will be going every day this week as it is initiation week but as of next week, she will be going 2 mornings a week. Knowing her, she'd probably want to go every day!

A Very Special Day

Two years ago, a very special little girl was placed in our arms in Nanchang, Jiangxi, China at app. 4:30PM. Our lives changed forever once again at that particular moment. Gord and I became parents for a second time while Cara-Li became Jie Jie for the very first time. Our little Guang Yun Xia changed us all. She graced us with her presence after a very long wait (we won't discuss that for those who are still waiting) and we couldn't have been more estatic. Cara-Li took her new role as big sister extremely seriously and is still, 2 years later, the BEST Jie Jie one could ever have! Alexia, better known as Xia Xia, has blossomed over that last 2 years and has integrated into our family so well that we can't even remember life without her. She is such a special little girl with her very own mind and will stand her ground. She is definitely a force to reckon with but we knew this going in. And we are happy about it! What is unbelievable is that it has been 2 years since we were in China and I swear it feels like it was yesterday. Every moment, every feeling is so extremely vivid in my mind. My hope is that I can hang on to these memories forever and ever seeing they are certainly the most happiest times of my life!

Happy Forever Family Day, Alexia Yun Xia!

THEN

NOW

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!