Live it!

Ice Skating

After hockey practice yesterday and this morning for Keaton, we decided to head back to the rink for a 3rd time this weekend so that Chloe could start learning how to skate. She is a brave kid and really had a great time...even though she fell many times :) When she first started she used the 'chair' to get comfy on the ice but soon grew tired of it so Shaune took her to middle ice where she learned out how get up on her own and was really excited to take a few skate steps before falling on her little butt.

Keaton love the ice and really loves the chance to zoom around the rink without al l the heavy hockey equipment on. He is a speedy guy and skated by himself most of the 1 1/2 hours ... although he skated with me a few times...and asked Daddy to race a few times too.

We ran into Christina and Greg with their kidlets there. You can always count on running into someone you know in our little town. Mason (their son) was learning how to skate too... at 2 1/2.

Whew, skating is good exercise. The kids are zonked and I am too!

For the first time...

in a long time I am not attending CHA. It has been 3 yrs I think since I started attending the trade shows with Autumn Leaves. I decided to take this trip off but I will miss the girls I work with. I can already imagine all the fun they will be having... think of me girls and don't have TOO much fun ;)

On other news, thanks for the emails. We booked our cruise and I'm pretty excited about it. Shaune and I haven't been to the Caribbean in about 7 years. I miss it so much. We will be doing the Eastern itinerary and we've never been to either St. Thomas or St. Maarten so that will be something new and fun. If anyone has done these ports of call and have any advice on stuff to do as a family (our kids will be 4&6 at the time) I'd love to hear from you. Most of the cruiseline excursions are for 8yrs and up. Mostly I'm thinking beach time and teach Keaton to snorkel and maybe help Chloe bury Daddy in the sand... she'll like doing that ;)  I would like to see a bit of the islands we visit though and do something memorable for the kids.

Shaune's Aunt Shirley passed away on Friday. Very sad. I know the whole family will miss her very much. She was such a wonderful lady and I'll never forget the absolutely beautiful wedding shower she threw for us in Ancaster way back when. It was so thoughtful of her... and that is just how Shirley was - very thoughtful and loving.

Shaune started his new job with Hastings County last Monday. Exciting to have him working so close to home. He must be giddy about that...it has been 7years of commuting over an hour each way to work. Now (he says) it takes 16 minutes each way.

Shaune is full-on into school right now. He is almost finished his Masters and I am really proud of him. On top of working a fulltime job and helping tremendously with our 2 children... he has been going to school for his Masters for over 2 years. I know he is anxious to be finished and honestly, so am I.

Me, I'm just busy with the kids and all that fun stuff. Looking forward to an upcoming Barenaked Ladies concert in Toronto. Now I'm torn because I would really like to go see Billy Joel when he comes in April but man, I'm supposed to be saving money so I think I'm going to resist. Plus Shaune heard a rumour that the Police are going to be touring... and if that happens... you know I'll be first in line for those tickets. Me love me some STing! Especially with the Police.

Cruising?

We are trying to decide on a family vacation on either Princess or Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines.

I'd love an email (my email is [email protected] )from anyone who has been on either with children. We figure a cruise is a great way to get away for a week somewhere tropical and still vacation with the kids. The kids will both be in the Kids Clubs and my kids are very social, so I suspect Shaune and I will get some R&R on the trip too - bonus!

Anyhow, looking for any advice. Western (Jamaica, Grand Cayman, Cozumel, Bahamas) or EAstern CAribbean (Peurto Rico, St. Thomas, St. Maarten, Bahamas) ? Which cruise line is best for young kids.

Thanks in advance :)

A new look

A haircut gone wrong led to Keaton having the messy spiky 'do' of his dreams. I about cried when I met shaune and  him at the hairdressers and she interpretted my short on the sides and tossled long up top to mean a choppy cut that looked like she'd used a lawnmower to cut it. He said to me "It looks hideous!" HA.

Ack... anyhow, all turned out fine because we stopped at the store and bought him some Dippity Do gel... he has been smiling ever since. The next day he put gel in his hair 4 x. He thinks he is a rockstar. I think he is one cool kid.

(ps: Note the shiner on his one eye... starting to fade. He isn't even sure where he got it. WILD times!)

(pss: Yes, the fact that he looks 2 years older now hasn't escaped me. I want his floppy hairdo back, just to keep tricking  myself into thinking he is still a baby)

Snow day!!!

1st of the season. Odd to have some white stuff FINALLY. about 1 month too late - i mostly love the snow for Christmas and that didn't happen.

Keaton was happy for a snowday... playing outside til his mother was so cold she begged to stop and go make them hot chocolate. (It worked!) After that I'll admit it was a lazy day in PJ's and lots of playing and Playstation. ack.

I laugh at that bottom right photo of chloe running in the snow. Chasing after Henry but as you can see... he is long gone. I circled him in the photo. He was crazy happy running in that snow. He ran laps around us over and over and over again.

Chloe had the hardest time keeping her toque from covering her eyes. A little big I guess.

NYE Day

It was like Spring. The sun was gloriously bright and we took the warm temps and the sunshine as a hint to bathe Henry. He is just getting filthy outside now with full run of the property b/c of the invisible fencing. The weird warm weather is making our yard muddy big time where the landscaping hasn't been done yet around our fenced pool area. So... he is one dirty dog.

You can see from the photos that he is  not crazy about getting a bath. He stands there and tolerates it... but as you can see from his sad face - it isn't his cup of tea. The funniest part was once Shaune bathed him and dried him all off he let him loose in the fenced pool area to dry off... Henry ran right for the (future) flower beds and needed to have a 2nd bath right away.

Sarah,Aaron and baby Adah came for supper that night. I made another turkey supper (now that I know how I will be making it more...Shaune's favourite meal!) and we called them last minute to join us since we didn't want to 'waste' a good meal on just us (nice, huh? but its true... you go to all that bother - you need to have someone there to share it with ).

So that was nice. Adah is a doll and she looked so cute wearing the Hanna dress we had gotten her for Christmas. She looks so pretty in pink. The kids always love seeing Aaron and Sarah and now that baby Adah comes with the package... I think they wish they would come every night. Supper was good (if i do say so myself) and a nice way to wrap up a busy and wonderful holiday season.

happy new year

I can't believe it has been 2 wks since New Years. Crazy.

Nevertheless, it was a fun NYE.

We ended up having a house full of friends over for a casual kid-friendly party. Lots of good finger foods, shifts in the hot tub... kids first, moms next (we got freezing rain dumped on us), then the dads. Guitar hero, and a few drinks... it was fun. Reminded me that we need to have a house full more often.

Our niece...

cutest kid. She is beyond pretty. Soft and feminine and a hint of red in her hair and eyebrows. They don't come much cuter!

I took some photos of her for my Sis-in-law Sarah... for a Christmas present - so, now that she has them - I can share them here too.