Time flies…

So, once again a lot of time has passed between updates.  I have serious doubts that anyone is even reading this blog anymore.  Let me know if you see this post, because if no one is reading anymore, I’m going to shut it down.

So, what’s new since the last update?

1.  A visit to the sugar shack.

In early April we visited a sugar shack not far from Ottawa.  We didn’t have a lot of time, and I would have liked to have spent a bit longer there, but we did manage to fit in the main things…

A ride on a horse-drawn carriage…

Saying ‘thank-you’ to the horses afterwards…

A visit with the farm mascot…

And the petting zoo….

2.  New Hair Cuts…

3.  Easter (and egg hunting)…

4.  B’s 4th birthday!

5.  Spring arrived…

And the kids are enjoying flip flop weather, and playing outside..

6.  Mennonite Relief Sale.

And finally, this weekend, we headed to New Hamburg for the annual Mennonite Relief Sale where we ran into old friends and ate lots of yummy food.

It didn’t rain, but it was overcast and threatening rain much of the day; so we put the kids in their rain suits.  I must have been asked at least a dozen times in the span of a couple of hours where we got the suits.  Everyone wanted one..

Okay, that’s it for now.  We are heading into a busy summer season.  My work is very busy, and I have a lot to get done over the summer, but we are still planning a few trips.  We want to get to the Toronto Zoo and Centre Island again this year.  We’re also heading to Newfoundland for a reunion of our China travel group from when we adopted the girls (we didn’t travel with a group when we got B), and hope to get to New Brunswick at some point.  We’re all also anxiously looking forward to our week at the cottage with my family.  I’ll try to find time to update this blog though throughout the summer, at least with some pictures.

Have a great spring!

K…

What have we missed?

Okay, so it has been a long time since I’ve posted anything so I’m sure there will be lots of stuff that I could be telling you about, but I’m not going to remember it.

A big part of the reason why there have been no updates lately is the DoT and I lost our camera.  It was missing for about 6 weeks, and then we finally figured it out and found it.  And without pictures, I know there is no point coming to this blog.  But, finally, the camera is back, and I’m going to try to be a bit more regular about updating here.  I know, I know… I’ve said that before. 

So here is some of what we have been up to…

1.  Chinese New Year

We celebrated at a friend and colleagues house, and I thought I would have had a picture of all three kids in their New Year’s outfits, but I don’t .  So here’s a shot of B.

All three kids got skates for Christmas and the host of the New Year’s celebration had a backyard rink.  It was fantastic.  The kids had a great time skating in the back yard and I had a great time watching them through the sliding glass doors, in the warmth of the kitchen, with a glass of wine in hand. 

2.  March Break

DoT and I both had to work, so the kids spent the days off of school at the caregiver’s house.  And they had way more fun there than they would have with DoT and I.  Every day was a theme day… space day, pool party day, pirate day, etc.   And one of my personal favourites… rock star day.

3.  Swimming Lessons

All three kids have been enrolled in swimming lessons for a few sessions now, and are starting to get really into it.  It took quite awhile for E to get to the point of being willing to put her face in the water.  But now they are all well beyond that.  A is able to do a front float for a fair while, and a back float for a few seconds too.  E is close on both counts and I expect it won’t be long before she’s doing it too.  B is a bit further behind, but he is two years younger after all. 

4.  Spring!

Yes, it looks like spring has arrived in Ottawa.  (When I first wrote that sentence I wrote `has finally arrived in Ottawa’, but since both sets of parents have had big dumps of snow in the last week or so, I thought I really shouldn’t complain.)  Anyhow, my spring bulbs are up, and the days are getting a bit warmer.  On the weekend DoT took the kids to the park for the first time…

Well, that’s it.  This blog post makes it seem like we haven’t been doing much for months, and in a way I guess that’s kind of true.  We’ve mostly hibernated for the winter.  We’re all very happy spring is here.

I promise to try to update more often. 

K…

A look back at 2010

It was a good year.

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Happy Halloween

Hi all, DoT here with an overdue update.  First Halloween:

 

 

Guess which kid was woken up for this photo? 

 

 

Plenty of visits by the Tooth Fairy:

A had 2 visits within 3 days (you can see her new teeth coming in already)

E was a little jealous until her own tooth fell out a few days later

Mr B insisted he be included in the pictures as well.

The kids decorate their own tree

   

Then start work on the big tree

A makes a gingerbread house with uncle J

New jammies from grandma …

E explores her artistic side… 

Happy butterfly

A shows off her Minnie glasses (her sister asked not to be included – not up for dealing with the paparazzi today)

Merry Christmas everyone, we’ll miss everyone out east this year…   

Once again I question why we live here…

So, as you may recall, when we came back from our trip to Mexico I spent the next couple of weeks trying to figure out a way to move my family and take up residence there.  Well, we’ve now just returned from a trip to Disney World, and again I’m questioning why we live where we do.  While in Florida, it was sunny and hovering around 30 degrees (Celsius) the whole week.  When we arrived back in Canada, the temperature was hovering around freezing, and it’s been raining ever since.  And the worst of it is that I know the miserable weather is just starting.  I hate winter.

On a more pleasant note, we had a great time in Florida.  Although there really weren’t a lot of things for the kids to do in Disney World – partly because they are too short, the rides/shows were too scary, or one adult was not allowed to accompany more than one kid on a ride at the same time.   But we met a whole bunch of characters (Mickey included!), who the kids didn’t know ahead of time but with whom they insisted we get their pictures. 

Unfortunately, while at Disney my camera batteries died and I hadn’t brought any extras with me.  So, I don’t have pictures of the kids with Mickey, Minnie or Goofy.  But I got the Disney Photo Pass and so there are pictures on the Disney site.  If you want to see them, let me know and I’ll send you the account into and password.  I may end up buying some of them, even though they are pretty expensive ($14.95 for one photo!)  If I do, I’ll put them up later.

And for those of you wondering how I kept track of three kids at Disney on my own – I rented a double stroller and then made all three kids sit in it.  It was a lifesaver.

If I were to do it again, I’d probably buy fewer passes for Disney and spend more time at the resort.  The kids had a great time swimming in the numerous pools at the resort…

Since getting back, we’ve been taking it easy.  Yesterday we decided to go get pumpkins so we can make jack-o-lanterns this week.  Keeping with tradition, we took the kids to the pumpkin field to pick their own.  It was a cold, rainy day, and the mud was pretty slippery in the field, but the kids had fun anyhow…

Back to work tomorrow.  :-(

K…

I love this…

I have never heard of 8th Continent, but if I knew where to pick up some of their soymilk, I’d run right out and get some (in spite of the fact that none of my family members like soymilk).  It is just so refreshing to see a mom depicted in a commercial who is not perfect….

The company’s website includes the following:  “We know it’s not easy being a mom. That’s why we salute momhood for what it is: doing your best every day, and trying not to screw up too much. ”  What a great motto.

School (and everything else) starts…

So, another school year has started and once again, B is not happy about being left behind by his sisters.  This year I don’t have a picture of him wailing at the bus stop.  You’ll just have to visualize it.   Actually, it was when we dropped him of at the caregiver, but the expression was pretty much the same.  :-)  Don’t worry, he got over it pretty quickly.

This week is the first full week of the girls going to full-day kindergarten.  All of the kids’ activities started last weekend too – swimming (for all three kids), piano lessons and Chinese school (for the girls only).  So, naturally this week everyone is a little bit on edge and there have been lots of time-outs and melt-downs late in the day.

Keeping with tradition, I captured the girls on their first day of school…

The first day of school we had some issues with the bus, and the girls ended up not being dropped off at the caregivers’ house.  But I think we have it all sorted out now.  Also on that day, we discovered that the girls have been separated this year into two different classes.  Not a big deal, but it might have been nice to know that a bit in advance so I could have prepared them … especially E who is not crazy about the idea.   And I have sneaking suspicion that the main reason the girls were separated was to make it easier for their teachers to tell them apart, and not for their benefit.  But, whatever, it will probably be good for the girls too. 

Finally, for the last year or so, I’ve been struggling with the girls who always want “wild hair” – i.e., no barrettes or pony-tails, etc.  But I can’t stand seeing their hair in their eyes all the time.   Last Saturday we had an appointment to get their hair trimmed, and on a whim we all decided that bangs were the way to go.  Here are before and after pictures, all taken within a couple of hours of each other… (sorry for the quality of the first shot… it was taken by DoT on his cell phone)

Finally, for those of you still having difficulties telling the girls apart, your troubles may soon end.  We had both girls to the eye doctor on Friday, and it looks like at least one of them may need glasses.  (Of course, I guess if they both end up with glasses, you could still have problems.)  We go back at the end of the month, to further assess them, and we’ll see then.  I broached the subject of glasses with them, and unlike my experience (oh so many years ago, when glasses were absolutely not  desirable), both girls want to have glasses.

Finally, I wanted to put up a picture of the kids in their new Chinese outfits from Auntie P and Uncle J.  (Thanks so much, J&P!)  The outfits are fantastic.  My pictures really don’t do them justice. 

I had to take a lot of pictures to get this one decent one (with them all looking at the camera and smiling).  Here’s one of the failed attempts, but I still love this picture…

Okay, so I think we’re now up-to-date (for anyone who hasn’t already seen it, I put up a post a couple of days ago.  Scroll down if you missed it.) 

K…