The Aftermath

Our streets have been cleared since I took this photo on Monday, but it is snowing again and well, I am not hopeful that the plow will come again. I am so thankful our truck is AWD. I never in my life thought I would need it or the snow tires, but even if it is only for this winter, it is so worth it.
The one good thing about the snow not ending is that there is not enough time for the snow to get dirty. Everything is beautiful, clean and white. But, man oh man it is cold today.
Opa arrived last night and the fun has yet to stop. J is happy as a clam and Apple has been giving him lots of smiles. We are thrilled to have him and if it weren't for the snow and cold we might have been able to convince him to stay longer. Note: they are playing in the new room!!! See my treadmill. How I love my treadmill :).

Lunch with Grandpa

My Dad, bless his heart, will be 70 in a couple of weeks and is still going strong at work. He was hit with a triple whammy this past couple of weeks. My eldest Sister went back to Regina. Then, my Mom went to Regina to watch her three kids while she went to Las Vegas with her hubby to a conference (which I would have been doing last week with my Hubby had we not just had Apple, next year) apparently at my suggestion. And of course youngest Sister left last weekend.

When youngest Sister left, she left more than just the house. She was his extra 'man' on the job for the last two months. So this week he has had to work extra to make up for her leaving. We keep inviting him to dinner, but with the great weather he has been working until 8 or 9 at night, much past our suppertime.

To make up for all this aloneness (if that is even a word) today, J and I decided to take lunch to him. We picked up some Harvey's (hambergers, "a beautiful thing") burgers and fries, chicken strips and onion rings for J and headed out to his job. We offered to bring his other partner some Harvey's too, but he opted for his home-cooked lunch by his wife. Since my Dad had made his own sandwich today (a shock to all of us) he was more than happy to opt for the burgers.

J, Apple and I arrived with lunch in tow and had a great visit. If only we could do this everyday, it would help pass his day at work and ours too for that matter. Hopefully this will be his last winter on the job and he can officially retire next summer. Somehow, I doubt he will ever officially retire, but when he asked J if he was going to work for Grandpa one day, like his Mom did, J replied "no thanks Grandpa, I won't make a good worker". I laughed and said, "Dad if you are still working in another five or more years, there will be more to worry about than giving J a job."

Cheers Grandpa, hope you enjoyed your visit at lunch today!

*photo of Dad with Baby Neice, from Regina the morning they left.

Another Tearful Goodbye

Littlest Sister left for Charlotte on Saturday. I don't usually cry when she leaves knowing that Charlotte is where she loves to be. But, this time I just couldn't help myself. Call it hormones, call it sappy, call it what you will but I miss her terribly when she is not here and wish that we had what it is that she loves about Charlotte right here in Ottawa. She will be back at Christmas after a trip to Israel. She does travel that girl.

Our playdate last Thursday went really well. J and his new friend have so much in common and they get along so well that J was comfortable to play upstairs without me. I was shocked, but it was good. Their house, which is the same layout as ours, is also decorated similarly. Ok, not in decor perse, but in the arrangement of the furniture and such. It was pretty neat to be in the same house but with different furniture. I foresee a few more playdates together.

We went to the orchard on Sunday, Apple Hill Berry Farm (sorry no link) , just up the street from us really on Jockvale Road. I wanted apples to bake some apple pie and instead of just stopping for some pre-pick, we decided to pick our own. It didn't take very long, but we had a nice time and J finally knows where apples come from now.

J got right in there picking them. He was so fast that I couldn't see what he was grabbing, but he did very well. I showed him how to make a pocket with his sweater so he could carry them to the basket. They fell a few times, but he enjoyed it and it was really cute.

Now, all I have to do is get off the computer and make some pie!

Opa has Arrived!!

Sorry Silver Creek Mom, but the Baby will not be sharing your birthday!

The great news is that Opa has finally arrived!! Since we thought he would miss the big day, he was very surprised to see us at the airport. I tried almost everything yesterday. I vacuumed, I did loads and loads and loads of laundry. I am not even sure how we had so much last week, but it just kept going and going. I stayed on my feet almost all day, but all I got was a lot of aches and pains.

Today my girlfriend is bringing some spicy Thai food in hopes to get things moving, so we will see how that goes.

Oh yes, back to Opa. He lives in Vancouver and we miss him terribly when he is not here. The last two years he made two visits, one in the Spring and one in the Fall. This year we only have this one visit, so it has been a long wait for him to arrive. J is over the moon that he has arrived. It was nearly impossible to get him to bed last night. And today they are heading out to pick out his birthday present so J is very excited.

Thank you all for watching my non-labour and delivery so closely. The actual due date is Tuesday, the 28th. But J was early and even my midwives thought she would have been here by now. There is no such thing as a small baby in our family, so I am prepared for a big little girl. If I could do a jumping jack I so would, but I fear my knees would give out from holding all this weight and that just wouldn't be good for actual delivery so alas, I have not done any jumping jacks. I will definately keep you all posted, but for right this moment, absolutely nothing is happening.

Sisterly Visit

My Sister, the one who loves to take self-portraits and who lives in Charlotte, NC and travels the Globe at whim, is here for a visit. The first visit since the "Blue Goose" (the 15 passenger van my Sister drove up for Christmastime) flew north. See us all crammed into that van... Mom, Four daughters and all their kids.... in the hands of a twenty two year old driver. It was fun, but scarey at the same time.

Yes, back to the visit. My littlest Sister graced us with her presence, naturally she 'had' to come home to keep up her health insurance and to get her car etested (the fact that it made it back was a sheer miracle) but, we are happy all the same as she will be here for a few weeks and we can all catch up and hang out.

For the first time in many summers, I actually have a darker tan than she does (photo of us from last summer at the beach), which is amazing considering she just spent a week in Charleston SC on the beach. She stopped in NYC on her way up, dropping off a friend in the Bronx. Her first visit since she was a year old, and she loved it. She even managed to pick us up a few little treats, which is always so cute.

This has been the fun for the last two days. Waiting for her to arrive and playing catch up. She is off with Dad for a few days, but will be back to hang out with us for the next couple of weeks. She better not miss the arrival of my newest little family member, I will be truly sad if she came all this way and wasn't here to meet her first thing.

**Edited to note: Apparently I forgot that my Sister was here for her birthday in February! See, time flies when you are having fun.

Another Weekend and nope, no Baby.

Another weekend passed and although I initially thought Friday would be the day, the weekend passed without the arrival.

J did get his room painted, but since it is only put back together tonight and just in time for bedtime, I will have to share photos of it tomorrow. It looks great and J is so thrilled to have it done. I, however, was thinking at certain points throughout the weekend, 'If I go into labour the midwives aren't going to notice my clean room all they will see is J's room spread throughout the loft'. J slept in the baby's room on Saturday night and pronounced it comfy and good. So we are all set there.

Saturday was spent, not only painting, but at J2's birthday party. J was so excited to celebrate his cousin's 4th he could hardly wait until 4pm. At 3pm he started the count down carrying the clock around asking how many more minutes. It was darling and cute, but a tad annoying at the same time. It is funny how some of the same presents that were opened on Saturday will be opened again this Saturday for J's birthday. My only hope is that Baby arrives either two days before or the day after. J will be devistated if his party doesn't go off on Saturday.

Sunday was spent at a BBQ with the inlaws. Many cousins were there and it was good to catch up again, as we don't see them very often. Then we rested for Sunday night.

Today I played around with my camera at my Mom's. She finally got her special fence that she has been asking my Dad for so she wanted the kids to come and play worry free in her backyard. The kids wanted all of us out there, so we went and I took photos of her hydrangeas. I will say that peonies have long been my favourite flower, but the hydrangea is surely gaining ground. If only they smelled as beautiful I would make the switch.

Tomorrow brings my Sister from North Carolina for a few weeks, so we are excited and looking forward to the visit.

And yes, I stocked up on Diet Pepsi, it is sooooo good.

A Conversation with Hubby

Hubby:"I can't wait until we hit the beach."

Me: "Yes, me too, the sun, sand, surf."

Hubby: "Sun, Sand, Surf? I can't wait for all the food. Grotto's pizza, beach fries, hamburgers..."

Me: " I love you honey, and you and my Dad could be separated at birth."

Hubby: "What?"

Me: "You sound just like Dad."

Hubby: "I guess we both think alike."

Me: "As long as you don't eat alike then we are all good."

Hubby: "I suppose, but I run and your Dad doesn't"

Me: "Yep, he used to say that when he was your age too."

Hubby: "Oh, ok. Well, it's just a week and vacation."

Me: "This is true, but he used to say that too."

Hubby: "I guess we are alike."

Me: "More than you will ever know."

Home Again

Four airports, three airplanes, lots of waiting, and many amazed passengers and airline attendants later we made it home. Amazed you ask? Yes amazed. You see J is a seasoned air traveller and I am very proud to say that he is well behaved and doesn't cause too much trouble for anyone. Made especially easy with the new tv's on Air Canada planes, not that they worked on every flight but the longest one allowed J to watch a few shows. And the children's selection is a little on the light side, but it worked all the same.

All of the twenty or so pilots that J asked, "Do you have a gun?" and "Do you live in Ottawa too?" were really nice and didn't mind a little three year old asking so many questions. One gave him a sticker of some wings and another let him into the cockpit (after landing of course). Another passenger in First Class gave J his cookies, shocked I am sure that this kid wasn't kicking his seat for the entire flight. Other passengers made comments as they walked off the plane and we waited to deboard until they were all gone. All of which were positive and made me very proud of our little guy.
Coming home is so bitter sweet. We had so much fun. Although I had to mediate for my sometimes whiny son, for the most part the kids played like gems. And unlike the week in Regina the tv is back on here with no one to play with but me. So, yes the bittersweet. I am so glad to be home, but at the same time, so sad to leave my Sister and her family. We do have so much fun, which wouldn't last if I lived in her basement, and the kids play so well. And at this point it doesn't look like they will be leaving Regina anytime soon. I can only put in my prayers that they will be directed back to Ottawa so we can all hang out together on a regualr basis again.One of the hardest things about leaving so early in the morning is that we didn't get one finaly goodbye and last morning hug. Then again, I had enough tears just hugging my Sister goodbye, couldn't imagine squeezing all the kids to death too. And my BIL got short changedd, I thought I would see him in the morning but did not, so I didn't really get to say goodbye, hope he is ok with that and will reserve it for the next meeting.

Baby neice was doing much better by the time we were packing up and heading home. She is sucha bundle of cuddles and although she has always snuggled with me, she really would cuddle into my belly and cuddle close. I kept joking that it was like snuggling with Grandpa and his belly, but either way it was really cute.

And LJ is such a ham, but hates his picture taken, so I have a few shots with him in them, but mostly they are blurry and he is running away from the camera. Too funny that little guy.

We started our week hot and sunny and it ended the exact same way. Saturday was sunny and 30 degrees, so we went downtown to the farmers market, to Cathedral Village for ice cream and back home for running in the sprinkler pool. Of which I have no photos because I left my camera in the van and BIL went out for a few things. When he got back we went to the greenhouse for plants and by the time we got back it was dinner! I did get over 150 photos though and just shared a smidgen with you all.

Another great visit but yes, it is glad to be home. Hubby set up our pool and cleaned the house so much all I can smell is a mix of chemicals and fresh paint. Even though we painted a few weeks ago. Now, back to the regular scheduled programming. With a little rain, that I think I have already lived through.

Winding down

Our time here in Regina is coming to an end. But not without a little drama, some good fun, and meeting a new person. I still can't find a usb cable around here to download all my photos, so I have them locked in my camera until we arrive home on Sunday.

Drama, baby neice has had a cold since we got here and I knew that J would get it due to circumstances beyond our control (grabbed sippy cups). So, yesterday as baby neice was getting worse and worse and breaking out in fever, J's nose was running more and more. Thankfully, he seems to only have a very runny nose... so far. Unfortunately baby neice had to go to the hospital in the wee hours of the morning today as her fever was so high that she was starting to get febrile. Thankfully, I was here and both my Sis and BIL were able to go together. It turned out that she has an ear infection (same as other baby neice back home) afer a little antibiotics she was almost back to her old self by this afternoon.

Good Fun, since yesterday was the nose running like a tap day and the beginning of the cold, J was very whiny and playing was a little difficult. Many tears were shed and feelings hurt and Mommy was losing her patience rapidly. Today, however, saw a sleep in until 7:50am!!!! Can you believe it?? Me neither. So there were well rested children and even with the rough start of the hospital we had an afternoon of fun and Sis and I were able to just sit and chat instead of mediate. It was great. The fun afternoon went into the early evening when great BIL sent us girls off to a movie and put all four kids to bed. Brave, brave man.

And yesterday I got to meet a fellow blogger!! We met through SAJ and have exchanged emails a few times. We were going to go to a park with my Sister and the kids, but due to baby neice not feeling well, then J starting to bawl because I was taking him away from his cousins and the rain that started pouring down, I went by myself. Anna from McLean Family Chronicles and A Mommy's Ramblings was such a gracious host and the chatting, oh it was wonderful. I got to chat uninterrupted. We shared a coffee and lots of wonderful stories. Her two beautiful children welcomed me into the home with many shy smiles and were great for our entire visit. Anna's hubby even made an appearance, so I got to meet the whole family. So much fun. I do have a photo of us, but it is stuck on my camera so you will have to click over to the McLean Family Chronicles to see one. It was great to meet and get together and chat in real life. Thank you Anna for having me over.

Tomorrow will be final wind down day for the kiddies, as we leave at 6am on Sunday. I will have to pack up after the Sens play and get us all prepared for the journey home. We have two stops this time, one in Winnipeg (it will be my first time back since I left there in '92) where we will probobly not even leave the airport lounge and the other in Toronto where we will simply change planes and head home. I am hoping for another smooth trip. It will be bittersweet, as I will be happy to be home, but missing my Sister and her family too. Until our next visit I suppose. And who knows, I may have got her a little bit interested in the blogging thing, we could see something from her at some point.

Ahh... the playing is unbelievable...

We have been here since late Saturday night and the kids have not stopped playing yet. I have tried to post three times, but each time I get a few words written I have to run away.

Today was a great sleep in day. J slept until 7:10am!!! He has slept past all of his at home wake up times every day so it makes me feel better to know 100% that yes it is my neighbours waking him up. Even though I know it, I still stop and wonder some days. But, this confirmation just makes it all the more worth while that they will be gone in less than a month. Hooray!!

Anyhow, I am here to talk of fun and travels here in Regina. Our flights were ok, the first one to Toronto was short but annoying. An older plane with armrests that didn't move made for a very uncomfortable ride for a pregnant lady. J made fast friends with Holly, a wonderful lady sitting beside him at the window. He told her all about Star Wars and she told him all about her book she had just started to read. She was so sweet and her kids were 18,19 &20 so she claimed to miss chatting with a 3.5 year old. And I should add that she looked younger than me, so I was shocked to hear of her kids ages.

The second flight from Toronto to Regina was starting off to be not so great as we were in a teeny tiny (to me) airplane. However, it ended up being a wonderful flight. They had tv's for each seat (just like Westjet) and there were only two seats in our row, so J couldn't disturb anybody. Within an hour J was asleep and I was able to catch a few winks too.

My Sister had a limo meet us at the airport as they were at a Gala for the night. The short ride seemed silly, but it was nice to not have to try to flag a cab. I sent the babysitter home and my neice was up and gave us the run down of all things Regina.

Sunday was busy, we went to Church where J attended Sunday school and loved it. From Church we sped off to GR's (my neice) ballet recital. J and his cousin were dancing along with the dancers trying to figure out what story they were trying to tell. It was wonderful to watch them (the boys). GR did a wonderful dance, she was a pink butterfly. It was great to see how well she is doing since our first time watching her in ballet three years ago (back home).

Monday was a trip to Chuck E. Cheese! J's request was to go for supper, but we went for lunch instead. We were the first ones at the restaurant, which meant we got all the free tickets from the machines that were newly emptied, and there was no one there to squeeze the kids off the games. They ran, they played, they ate pizza and salad and three and a half hours later we left. On to the grocery store for some food stuff and the mall for some Booster Juice. The kids played outside until supper and crashed early for bed.

Tuesday took us to the Science museum. And OH. MY. WORD. that is a science museum. Of course we happened to arrive on the first day of the Lego Exhibit, J was tickled pink. There was just so much for them to do. A whole half a floor dedicated to hockey where the kids could take shots at a screen. An area that is set up like roads and there are usually cars for them to drive (they were away yesterday), and two more floors dedicated to all things science for the kids. They made big huge bubbles played with sound waves, made a drum beat like their heart and used brain waves to move a ball. If only our Science museum was as great we would go every week.

Sadly the kids were exhausted and grumpy for much of the afternoon so we instituted a movie afternoon to avoid arguments. Then it was to bed and lots of sleep for all of them.

My Sister and I have been having fun, the two of us sitting here with our laptops, her with her gorgeous Macbook and I with my Dell. We have been to Starbucks, without kids, and we watched a movie last night. Which was hilarious just to watch Hugh Grant dance and sing. Truly hilarious. Oh yes and we watched the Sens game, my first game all season. Wasn't a great game, will see tonight how they do.

Photos to follow, I forgot my usb cable so I need to dig for one here in their house.

Eight Years

ago today, I was sitting around my Mom's house waiting for four o'clock so I could get married! Having been awaken at 5am by some kids staying at my Mom's it was the longest day ever. I actually think my Sister's and Maid of Honour took longer to get ready than I did. So, I sat around waiting... and waiting... and waiting.

It was a gorgeous May 1st. A little bit nicer than today. Actually, the May 1st the previous year was just as gorgeous (that was when we got engaged). Both were close to 30 degrees celcius, bright and sunny. And we have not had another May 1st since.

We got married at a Golf course, which is ironic considering neither of us really golfed at the time, but have since taken it up and love it! We had a tent set up outside for the ceremony, which went beautifully, except that I was so hot that I was worried that people could see the sweat bead running down my back as I said my vows. Then refreshments (read, lots of booze) was served to our families and friends who lounged and took in some sun while we had photos taken. Then it was inside for a delicious dinner of roast beef, some mingling and a little bit of dancing. We couldn't have asked for a better day and night.

Then it was off to Cancun (Oh Mexico, how I miss you so) for a week of booze, sun, surf and basic honeymoon stuff. When I was looking through the photos of our honeymoon, the first thoughts that crossed my mind were, "look how skinny I was", "why did I think I was so fat and hid behind Hubby?", "oh how I miss being so tanned year round", and "why oh why are we not at the beach right this minute".

I think I will be framing some of these photos for post baby to remind myself that it is indeed possible to get back to where you were.

Happy Anniversary Hubby, I love you!

Seven Songs For the Rest of my Life

I was going to write a post today about how awesome my Dad is. Why you ask? Because my Dad didn't even blink when he was searched at the airport after borrowing my travelling golf bag. Apparently my golf bag, which had been stored in our garage at the old house, was covered in chemicals. Chemicals that set off all the alarms and bells. It was just fertilizer or limestone for the grass, but apparently those are pretty popular for creating things that explode.

Poor Dad doesn't even golf, he borrowed the bag so that he could bring an odd shaped box containing a Barbie castle to Regina for my neices 6th birthday. What a trooper. I have thanked him over and over again because who would be the next person to travel with golf clubs? Me. And do you think I would have wanted to be searched and had strange peoples gloved hands down my pants? NO THANKS.

So, on to the Seven Songs Meme. Undercover Angel tagged anyone that read her post. And I just feel obliged when I get a tag like that, plus it will be fun to see what my seven songs would be. They are to be seven songs that I would listen to, if I could only listen to seven songs for the rest of my life. So here it goes...

1. Boys of Summer - Don Henley. This is my all time favorite song and has been since I was fifteen.

2. Minutes to Memories - John Mellencamp. Not sure how this ended up being my favorite John Mellencamp song. I do love them all, but this one just makes me really happy. An oldie but a goodie. JCM is also my favorite artist of all time.

3. Cuts like a Knife - Bryan Adams. Need a little Canadiana in there.

4. Pride in the Name of Love - U2. Have been a fan for almost 25 and this song is one I can hear over and over again. U2 is my favorite band, so I have to include one from them.

5. Good Vibrations - Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch. Aka. Mark Walberg. Something about that song just gets me going.

6. Summer Girls - LFO. This was a one hit wonder, but it always makes me think of summer whenever I hear it.

7. Life is a Highway - Tom Cochran. Ok, will add another Canadian in there. I just love Tom Cochran, and I loved it when he played with Red Rider. I can listen to his music anytime. And seeing him in concert is awesome.

There you go, not so hard after all, actually I could have probobly added a few more, but those will do. For now.

What Inspires Me?

There was a photo contest over at An Island Life asking you to post a photo of what inspires you. Apparently I am a day late, but I took this photo yesterday with the intention of entering. I am posting it anyway because this photo represents exactly what inspires my days right now.

J has truly been the sunshine of my life right now. If it weren't for him, I would have most likely given up on having children after all the grief of the last two years and would not be sitting here pregnant right now. If I did not know the joy of having him in my life and knowing how wonderful it is to be a Mom I would have surely given up a long time ago.

It is starting to feel more like Spring

With the grass poking through in my backyard and the sun shining it is really starting to feel like Spring might arrive very soon. I don't even mind if we get another cold snap, as we usually do, but I would really, really love the snow to melt in the backyard. Although Hubby did a doggy bomb clean up last weekend, as the snow melts more appear. We did great picking up almost every day, then got hit with a couple of storms so I am leary leaving the kids out to play. J is also asking if the snow is gone yet? Soon. I say if the weather keeps up we will have mostly grass in the back by next week.

A decided he was well enough to come over on Saturday. J was very happy. Today, J woke up with a cough and runny nose. Guess I shouldn't have let A play Lego.

On a fun note, my personal trainer is available once again to train me!!!! She has taken a hiatus from her other job until her daughter goes to school. She specializes in training pregnant women. And I am pregnant, so I am thrilled!!! We are going to start next week, so I have a week to find something to wear and psych myself up. YAY!

What do you do...

... when your 3.5 year old is bawling his eyes out because his big brother is too sick to come over tonight? I just don't know. It is making me cry myself.

Happy Happy, Joy Joy!

We had a wonderful surprise visit from my Youngest Sister this weekend. The group she works with sent her and her friend/colleauge up to our wonderful city to attend a conference and promote the conference they are planning in Nashville.

As we don't usually get to see her between Christmas and summer it was a wonderful surprise. Her birthday is on Friday so we even got to have a pre-Birthday celebration for her complete with cake and Birthday hat (or flowers if you will). We did have to change our initial plans to go to the canal and skate but we can always do that next weekend. Instead we went downtown for a wonderful lunch on Saturday, and had our party on Sunday.

We just dropped them off at the airport to head back to warmer climates. Her girlfriend is from California and although she has mittens that she wears in North Carolina once in a while, she definately wasn't prepared for the frosty temperatures that greeted her this morning. The -21 before the windchill was definately the coldest she has ever been. It was fun to share with her our wonderful weather.

Although Youngest Sister is now on the airplane getting ready for take-off (oh, I hear it now going over the house! Yep, that was her plane) we already miss her and hope she will get sent up our way for conferences a little more often. At the same time we are thankful she made it up for a little taste of the family.

Winter is here and life on the couch.

I have been trying to write this post since Monday, when Winter finally arrived. After much anticipation and wonder as to whether winter would make an appearance or not it reared its ugly head in the form of snow and freezing temperatures (we are talking a 35 degree difference from a week ago). Whether it is Global Warming, El Nino or God telling us never to expect the same thing year after year it arrived. And for some of us we could have gladly done without it, for others it means saving their livelyhoods or putting their new bought winter toys to good use.

I wish I had some fun things to share about playing in the snow or doing some fun winter activity, but nope. I have nothing but tales from the couch. J seems to be taking my relaxing in stride so I am happy about that. I had been having two good mornings where I was able to get off my couch and clean up the disaster our house has turned into. Tuesday I tidied and vacuumed the main level, something that gets done every other day normally hadn't been done in a week and a half almost! My carpets were driving me crazy. Wednesday I tackled the upstairs bathrooms. Oh the excitement, let me tell you. Then. All of a sudden, after cleanning the bathrooms, my back gave out. I can barely walk. Thankfully yesterday my Mom and Sister came to my aide and kept me company. And today, although feeling a bit better, I can't do much I had my Sister drop of J2 so J would be kept company and you know what? They are playing happily together in the 'good' living room as though I am not even here. I should have gone in there myself and enjoyed a different view and a softer couch with a cozier blanket, but because I was already established in the family room, they left me. I am good with it, I can hear them and they are doing great.

It is with mixed emotion that I am posting of the passing of our family friend who was 104 last summer. And I say with mixed emotion as she was 104 1/2 almost and she lived a full and wonderful life. Made even better these last two years since she has been living with my Aunt and Uncle. Who at 104 1/2 is still living in a house, next door to her own house complete with homemade food, loving care and attention 24 hours a day? On the other hand, I feel the loss for my Aunt and Uncle who have cared for her all these years. For my cousins who thought of her as a Grandma. Our own mutual Grandmother passed away in 1976, so this woman was kind of like our replacement Grandma. Although I only saw her once a year, she did make a few treks north with my Aunt and she will be missed by all of us. The worst part is that I won't be able to go to the service to support my family as I can't make the drive through the mountains at this time of year. I mean, I can, but would be terrified to hit a blizzard or get caught in a storm with J in the car, all by myself. It never mattered before I was a Mom, I would drive through anything, but now, I just don't take my chances. She will be missed and my prayers are with my Aunt and Uncle now, who have to sort through her house and settle up all her affairs. She did not have kids so there is only my family and a few neices and nephews who never came to see her but are waiting to see what she left to them.

Festivies are almost over

The last of the visitors are heading home tomorrow, it will be a sad day around here. J and J2 have had constant extra companions for two plus weeks. And my extra Sister time sure has been great.

They will all be missed. Must start planning trip to Regina, I guess that could be #7 on my list of things to do.

**Oh yes, and Sister number three who left on Boxing Day has already taken the Blue Goose to Charlotte, NC, Kansas, Kansas and is now sitting on the beach in SAN DIEGO, California!!! Oh to be 23!

The Blue Goose, and other tales from the last few days

My youngest Sister arrived last Saturday night from Charlotte, North Carolina in "The Blue Goose". It is a fifteen seat passenger van. The group she works for has several of these vans and allowed her to bring one home so she could move the rest of her stuff back down to Charlotte. On one hand it is great, on the other it is sad to realize that she is moving down there and chances of her moving back home here are slim, very slim. All the vans have been given names and this one is The Blue Goose, there is also the Ox and the Feather, I think. Younger Sister's dream was to pile all us girls and the kids and Mom into the Goose for a trip to the Market on Friday morning. Not only did all the kids and their car seats fit (you can't see two of the kids hiding and the two front seats in the photo) but all us girls fit too. If the back row had been in we could have included all the boys too, but that would have been just a little too crazy and we would not have had room for all the strollers. We set off for a morning on the market, but we didn't realize that it was going to be cold. The wind chill was crazy, at least crazy considering how warm it was the day before. So we walked around for two minutes then headed into a restaurant for lunch. The poor waitress at "Zak's" did not know what hit her. There was eleven of us in total and we took up two rather large booths. For us it worked out perfectly as Youngest and childless sister sat with all the kids and let us grown up Sister's sit with Mom and eat our food. It was great.

After lunch we went for a quick tour of the Rideau Center and I would like to appologize to Tania Albert (in case you google yourself). I know we haven't seen each other since probobly high school, but I was racing through the crowds to rejoin the other nine people waiting for me to direct them back to the van with as little difficulty as possible. I hope my sincere "Merry Christmas" and huge smile was enough to let you know I was thrilled to see you. But, to weave through the hundreds of people to get to you while the rest of the family was waiting for me and wondering why I wasn't on the elevator (I took the stroller on the escalator!) was going to be very difficult. I hope that the next time we run into each other I have time to stop and chat properly.

The rest of the day had us navigating the Blue Goose through the downtown, now busy streets to get us home. As much as my Mom gave my sister a hard time, she did a great job getting us around in the Goose and it will be a tale we will tell for years to come. And now our Blue van has been rechristened the Blue Pigeon (as it is much smaller than the Goose).

Saturday saw us hit a few stores, very early in order to avoid the rush. We also remembered that the Pigeon, which my father has been driving needed to be E-tested and licenced as it was Hubby's birthday. So off we went to the garage with the Pigeon (which did not pass by the way and I have said that it wouldn't since September, but alas, I may be driving Dad to work next week). Then we had a small party for Hubby who is now 39. 39 you say, WOW! Yes, wow indeed, even better that he thought he was turning 40 this year, so he gained back a year of his life, whoot whooot!! It was just family, minus one Brother-in-Law who wasn't feeling well, but it was lots of fun. Us adults even got to sit in the 'good' living room while the kids played in the family room. Finally after two years we had a gathering where people migrated to the other living room, it was all worth it.

And now here we are on Christmas Eve. Hubby is driving A to his other Grandparents, we had Christmas this morning with J & A and will have Christmas with my family tomorrow at my Mom's. I feel blessed as I received a video camera, after all my tears last week, Hubby knew just what I needed to keep the memories alive. He also threw in a few other treats to help my writing career two books on writing, that I know will be put to great use after Christmas. J loved that Santa came early so A could be part of the fun. Tomorrow will be the big day with all his cousins. I look forward to it.

Then, the Blue Goose will be taking flight early Boxing Day morning, so I will have to say good-bye to youngest Sister and enjoy the rest of the week with Oldest Sister. Us two middle Sister's are trying to soak in as much of them as we can. Many a photo has been taken, and now to add video to the mix will just make me cry all the time.

To all my bloggy friends and visitors, may you all have a wonderful Christmas, may you relish in the time with your family and may all your wishes come true. Ours certainly have here.

Merry Christmas.

Memories of years gone by

I wish I had a way of putting some photos from the 8mm film I have been watching on here, but alas, there is no way.

My mother had a box of old films from her Mother. It has sat in the garage at my parents house for the last eight or nine years. And before that in storage in Montréal. This past summer, my cousin in Calgary was telling my Mom how he just watched her wedding. Her wedding! She did not even know a move existed from that fabulous day. She asked me to ask my cousin to send it out. I kept forgetting, then I remembered, I thought it would be a great Christmas present.

The movies finally arrived. My cousin, bless his heart, did not know which reel it was on so he sent me all of them. All fifteen of them. I thought last night would be a good night to go through the movies. I started with the ones my Mom had and cried when I saw my Grandma dancing on the sidewalk at Niagra Falls. Then I cried when I saw a beautiful younger version of my Mom laughing with her boyfriend, a very handsome younger version of my Dad. There was even one from 1985 with all of us. A baby sister, younger sister and older sister and of course Mom, Dad and Grandma. My StepGrandfather and the only Grandfather I ever met took the film, so I only got to see him once for just a little second.

There were movies of New York City, a skyline without the towers. But, you could see the Empire State building, the Statue of Liberty and The Upper East Side. It was amazing. There were also movies of Newbraska and Delaware and Maine. I had a wonderful night of crying, laughing and remembering. I just felt terrible that I was not sharing with my sister's and parents at the time, their turn will come. Hopefully one of the last three reels will have the coveted wedding I am looking for. I simply cannot wait to show these movies at Christmastime. Then, straight to DVD so we can keep them for a long time to come.