like riding a bike

So we finally bit the bullet this winter and decided to outfit the entire family with all new ski gear.
All I can say to that is, Cha-Ching $$$.
Ouch.
Who knew how much things had gone up in price since the nineties?
Anyhow we have been hymning and hawing about it for a few years now so I'm glad we finally got around to purchasing new skis and all the cute accessories that go with them.
And I have to say it was worth every penny.



But in all fairness Lulu really hasn't expressed any interest in hitting the slopes (save for tobogganing) until this year.
We tried last year but she just wasn't ready.
I don't think big daddy or I started skiing until we were both around 9 or 10 years old, so she's already got a head start on us.
Then again I saw a ton of little mini people (as in 3 years old) on the hills.
They were all so cute and SO Fearless!
Lulu is much more cautious, and that's completely okay by me.
I never like to push her into anything until she is ready.
With the exception of bed time. I'm ruthless when it comes to that.
It's non-negotiable around our house.
Some nights I practically push her into bed. Literally.

So we ended up going up north for the weekend, stayed at The Westin which is always fun.
They are even dog friendly so the whole family got to enjoy.
I could have completely done without the minus frickin' 25 degree weather though.
I had hot shots in my boots and mitts and was pretty close to shoving a few down the back of my ski pants.
Why is it that the older you get, the colder you get?
I totally don't remember ever being that cold when skiing as a teenager.
Then again, that might have to do with the wine skin stashed under my bright Kelly green Ispo Ski Jacket.
Oh I looked cool people...so very cool....;
It was all fun and games until "someone" fell and broke their ski horizontally at the binding.
Not mentioning any names or anything...
Lesson learned.
Nothing but hot chocolate while hitting the slopes from now on.

Anyhow it was super fun and a great way to spend the weekend.
Lulu and big daddy even took a dip in the outdoor pool and hot tub.
I chickened out and opted to sit by the fire with Chelsea and read my book instead.
I love that Lulu is finally at an age where we all get to do things as a family that is fun for everyone.
I LOVE six.
Six rocks.
I just wish she could stay this age forever.

And did I mention how happy we are that she is totally over playing princess?
If I had to wear one more tiara I might have gone off the deep end.
Then again I did like it when she dubbed me "Queen Mommy."
I kind of miss that part actually.
Either way I'm pretty proud of my little princess and how great she was, especially for her first time on skis.

heavy heart

I've been debating whether to write about this or not, but I feel like I just need to.
It's certainly not what I would have liked my first post of 2012 to be about.

Unfortunately during the holidays one of Lulu's classmate's mother was killed.
It is tragic and absolutely terrible.
She was a loving mother of three children. Our class parent and an overall good person.
It's a complete shock to our entire community.
I see all her emails in my inbox and I can't even imagine hitting delete.
Her life has been snuffed out.
Three children no longer have a mother.
The worst part is the manner in which it all happened.
Horrible tragedy is an understatement.

Lulu knows that her classmates mommy died.
I've kept the main details from her.
Regardless of all the news trucks in the neighbourhood.
We've kept the T.V. and Newspapers out of her sight where ever possible.
She made this classmate a card and said that she feels so sad for him and his sisters.
I'm not really sure what else to say or do.
Definitely not something I've ever experienced before.

The really sad part is that the week before all this happened, the mom emailed me to say that her and the kids made special cookies and that they each were allowed to pick one person in the class who is always nice to them to give one to.
Lulu was really impressed and thrilled with the special treat and to be chosen as "the special friend".
I'm not sure what compelled me to take a photo of it before she decided to eat it.
But I'm so glad I did.....

farewell 2011

As I look back at 2011 the word that comes to mind is pretty clear.
Mom.
Or more accurately "momma."
My life has pretty much become all about Lulu. At least for the most part.
And although I never thought it would happen to me, I'm completely okay with that.
Being a SAH mom is really such a blessing.
Geez, it only took me 6 years to completely embrace this...
Ironic, considering that I'm going to try to work more this year now that Lulu is in school full time.
Better late than never I suppose.

I love that I've been able to go on all Lulu's school trips and volunteer in her class and to always be so available for her.
Especially during these early "foundation" years.
I wouldn't trade any of that for the coolest photo job opportunity.

I also enjoy having her little friends over for lunch and play dates now that they are a bit older.
5 & 6 year olds are so sweet and much easier to handle.
Especially when they give me rave reviews on my cooking.
Lulu loves to tell all her friends what a good cook her momma is and every day they all come up and hug me asking when they can come to our place.
Is there anything better than that?

I completely love walking her to & from school each day.
I'm tryng to savour these moments as much as I can, as I know they are fleeting.
Especially when I see a group of kids maybe 6 or 7 years older than she is now, that wouldn't be caught dead walking with their mom to school.
Don't even think about holding hands!
Puhlease.

I've never missed a baseball game, a dance lesson or piano lesson.
I have been able to take her to camps and other fun activities around town.
So glad I can watch Lulu experience new places and meet new friends and help to nurture that.


Speaking of new places.
We took some pretty fun trips this years as well.
Nothing too exotic, and always visiting with family, but that in itself was also a great experience.
Especially for Lulu.
L.A. in the spring
Connecticut and New York in the summer.
Some weekends spent up north and down in Niagara.
I'm thinking 2012 might involve some new and exciting destinations with just the three of us.
Stay tuned for that.


As much as parenting has been at the top of my personal list this year, big daddy & I managed to get out a bit more for some one on one time.
It's great to finally have a roster of good babysitters.
We still need to do some work in the marriage department (then again tell me one couple who doesn't after being together for 14 years!)
But I'm in it for the long haul, so I'll keep on booking those sitters and calling in Grandma & Grandpa more often.
Speaking of which, our families are all healthy (big sigh of relief..) and for once, this year wasn't filled with too much drama.
Love that.

Went to a bunch of great restaurants. All casual, which is much more the kind of meal I like to have these days anyways.
I'm so over rich reductions, foam and pretentious wanna-be-actor-waiters not to mention ridiculous wine prices.
But truth be told, I find I enjoy eating at home more and more, and I would much rather have friends over than eat out too often.
That being said it is nice to get a break from time to time.


I managed to stay relatively healthy and am feeling more fit than I did 10 years ago.
Worked out quite a bit and finally seeing some results.
But this is another area I want to change, I recently read that if you get stressed trying to fit in things that are supposed to help you de-stress, then it's time for a change.
Some of my favourite classes at the gym are really not conducive to my schedule, especially since I will be working a bit more in 2012.
And throw in some chronic pain to areas that I think I am over working, I'd say it's time for a work-out change.
Change is good.
So I have a few new ideas that will keep me in shape, but hopefully keep me in check as well.

2011 has also been filled with good friends, some fun parties and get togethers.
Big daddy & I hope to maybe get some of our friends together for a party of our own.
who knows, we'll have to see about that.
Could be fun.

Of course the big addition to our family is Chelsea aka "the chelster" . She was probably the most excitement of 2011 for us.
She has been a welcome addition I might add.
Who knew you could love a small, snorty, sometimes smelly creature so much?


But otherwise a fairly uneventful year.
It flew by faster than I care to think about actually.
I can't believe it's soon to be 2012. Crazy.

2011 was for the most part filled with happiness, good healthy (with the exception of the last 8 weeks gah!!) , good friends, and family and the world's sweetest daughter.
I only hope 2012 is as good to me.
Happy New Year!!

merry christmas eve

Never worry about the size of your Christmas tree. In the eyes of children, they are all 30 feet tall.
~Larry Wilde

Wishing everyone a very Merry Christmas...
xo

elf on my shelf

I'm so running out of hiding places.
glad that christmas is in 4 more days..

dreaming of a green christmas

It's hard to believe it's already the middle of December and it's still pretty green outside.
As much as fluffy flakes get me in the the Christmas mood, I'll take 10+ degree temperatures mid Dec. any day.
It makes running around doing errands that much easier.
It also makes the winter seem that much shorter.
I think last year we had already had a few major snow storms by this time.

I do wish I had more interesting things to write about other than the weather (once again) , but (once again) my mind is drawing a blank.
I've been so sick & tired these days (once again) that I've got nothin'.
Last week we were out every night, which was fun, but unfortunately as a result, I'm having a hard time getting over a lovely sinus infection.
wah wah..
Jeez, I'm sure no one wants to read about me and my never ending bouts of colds & flus, but the only reason I write about them is so that I can some day (hopefully) look back and remember that it was just a phase.
And it's part of having young kids in school and that just like teething, potty training and sleepless nights, it too shall pass.

Besides I'm pretty sure no one really reads this blog anymore.
And if you are going to complain and whine, it might as well be on a blog and not at all the holiday parties we still have to go to.
oh and on the up side, who knew that cold medicine gave you such a weird buzz?
who needs run & eggnog..
always a silver lining I suppose..

I'm also hoping that by the time Christmas rolls around, I will have had some down time to sit and contemplate 2011 and what it meant to me.
Aside from being sick 60% of the time.
And more importantly what I would like 2012 be like.
Hopefully virus free.

on the first day of christmas

For some reason this year I'm finding myself totally getting into the spirit of Christmas.
Maybe it's having a 6 year old that is doing it?
Or maybe the arrival of the first flakes of the white stuff yesterday that has me humming holiday tunes.
Whatever it is though, I'm liking it.
Having never been a big fan of the Christmas season, I like my new outlook on things.
It's so much more fun than being a bah-humbug.
Bonus that I already have a big chunk of my Christmas shopping finished already.
As in Santa.
Love Mastermind Toys.
One stop shopping at it's best.
I also love that Lulu asked for a few small and simple things.
Hex bugs- check
lego- check
micro phone with stand- lord help me- check
magic set-check
new art supplies- check

10 drummers drumming...

spilling the beans

It's hard to believe it's already the end of November!
I'm still sneaking Lulu's Halloween stash after she's gone to bed each night..
Must throw that crap out once and for all.
Time to make room for the candy cane ice cream and Christmas cookies.

November really was a bit of a blur.
So much happening, so little time to sit down and blog.

But all is well and life is good.
Lulu had her first official report card and we were pretty pleased with her teacher's comments and her over all results in school.
Shockingly there were no comments about her being too talkative (like her dad & I were) in class.
On the contrary, she puts up her hand and is always eager to please the teacher.
So much so that she has a very strong sense of justice.
She likes to play by the rules and gets very frustrated when her peers do not.
Sometimes a bit too frustrated.
Lord let this continue though her teens..

She also keeps me up to speed on who's doing what and who got in trouble each day.
Which of course I completely encourage.
As long as it's not her, I'm happy.

So yesterday, while walking home from school, her and another girl from the neighbourhood were clowning around as her mom and I made small talk while trying to get them to get a move on so we could get home.
They were playing with some sticks they found on the ground.
Eventually we got home and Lulu decided to tell me something that this girl had said to her.
Apparently she whispered to Lulu "let's scratch the cars parked on the street with our sticks" and "let's spit on our moms"
I did hear Lulu say "no we'll get in big trouble."
And that's when we parted ways.

So when she told me about it, I thanked her for being so honest and told her that it wasn't acceptable behaviour in the least.
Even if they didn't actually do it, even joking about it is wrong and not funny at all.
She agreed and said that's why she decided to tell me in the first place.
I'm glad she gets that.

Now if Lulu said something like that I'd want to know about it.
No question.
So today I ran into this girls mother and told her what Lulu had told me and her reaction was well.....complete denial.
I was a bit taken aback actually.
She basically said that there was no way her daughter would say something like that and practically accused Lulu of lying.
I was pretty pissed.
If someone came to me and casually said you might want to know something that Lulu said out of your ear shot, my reaction would be "really? I'm floored that she would say something like that, it's a bit out of character but I will definitely be speaking to her about it later." and "thanks so much for letting me know."
Then I would go home and have a pity party and wonder what I've done wrong to have my daughter thinking that spitting on me would be remotely funny.
But that's just me.
And for the record, I'm 99.9% sure Lulu would never say or do anything like that.
She's not perfect, but she is a pretty respectful kid.
This girl on the other hand is a bit on the unpredictable side, so quite frankly I wasn't surprised at all.

But now I kind of regret telling her mother about it.
I didn't make a big deal out of it and tried to be as nonchalant as possible, but still.
Like I said, I'd want to know.
I am so annoyed by her reaction.
Should I have said nothing?
what would you have done?

11.11.11

"We often take for granted the very things that most deserve our gratitude." -Cynthia Ozick

ahchoo

Honestly I hate to post about being sick, feeling sick or looking after a sick kid and sick puppy yet again.
But unfortunately that's been my reality these past several weeks (or maybe it's months) but whose counting?
It's been nothing major, just the usual annoying colds and flu making the endless rounds.
What drives me crazy is that I feel like it's only us that seems to get sick all the time.
Us as in Lulu & I (and now Chelsea)
I just don't understand why.
I am a complete clean freak and germ-a-phobe so I don't get it.
We have one of the healthiest diets I know of.
Laurens favourite meal is Quinoa, tofu and kale.
Need I say more?
I've been using my juicer every day making vitamin rich concoctions like carrot, beet apple ginger juice or Orange, pineapple, carrot ginger just to name a few.
Not to mention all the healthy meals I've been making.
Seriously healthy.
Very little alcohol happening around here either. sniff sniff.
Trying my best to get 8 hours of sleep a night. Lulu gets 10-11 hours.
I practically have hand sanitizer on a holster.
Exercise is a regular part of my week- it's like breathing for me.
Of course I haven't been able to get to the gym as much as I would like to with all this nursing everyone back to health business.
I could be a spokes person for Natural Health Magazine.
So I just don't get it.
why us?
Is this normal?
Are we the only ones who seem to be fighting off viruses on a weekly basis since the beginning of school?
Maybe I should just run to the nearest Walmart and lick the escalator hand rail and then go use the bank machine and put my fingers in my eye right after pushing all the buttons?
Heck maybe I should be really crazy and go outside without a coat on?
Or maybe I should fill up our car with gas (not full serve) and wipe my hands on my mouth after touching the hand pump.
Oh and then I should go stand in line at the nearest walk-in clinic and just breathe in all the coughs and sneezes.
We should just go to McDonald's for all of our meals from now on. Hmmm I wonder if they have tofu Mc Nuggets?
Okay so I'm rambling...I suppose I've been cooped up too long.
What I'm really trying to say is that I'm super frustrated that there is nothing I can do (or so it appears) to prevent from getting sick.
I'm doing all that I can, but it just doesn't seem to work.
Maybe I'm missing something though.
am I?
Anyone out there have any fool proof tips for staying healthy at this time of year, aside from surrounding ourselves with a giant plastic bubble?