Those Bittersweet Moments

I took our oldest daughter, her two friends and our youngest daughter shopping for the day. Grace, who is 10 1/2 years old, loves to shop and thought it would be fun to go with her friends so we chose a day during the March Break. Jean, who is 6 years old, did not want to miss out.

The three older girls are good friends and very nice girls to be around. I couldn't be happier with her choice in friends. Normally three can be a crowd but it never seems that way when they are together. I wasn't exactly sure how the day would go but shortly after we arrived, I let them go off on their own. I tried to keep up with them but they were moving fast so I thought it best to give them parameters and time frames and we connected to wifi to stay in touch with Grace's iPod and my phone. Long gone are the days of asking the time from shopkeepers, like I used to do...I didn't always have a watch. 

Jean and I roamed the stores we chose but it isn't easy to shop with her. She felt we should only look for things for her. I didn't buy a darn thing for myself!  Her mind was on shoes, of which she already has a fetish for but the right ones were hard to find. We met up with the older girls and they were having a blast. They found things they liked but had to think on it (good shopping rules to have), they browsed through so many different items such as home decor, the Apple Store, high heel shoes, skin care...the list goes on. By the time we sat down for lunch, they were chatting away and exchanging photos that they took. Before we left the mall they went back to a couple more stores to make some purchases and we grabbed a treat and left. We made a quick stop to another show store for Jean and then came home. They had a great time. 

I did as well. One thing I didn't realize is how bittersweet it was and how emotional it made me. My girl is growing up way too fast. She is now enjoying activities that I remember loving to do as a preteen. I was basically the chauffeur for the day and other than paying for lunch and a pair of shoes, Grace and her friends were on their own and could do it all. The shopkeepers were so wonderful to the girls (I did my best to check in frequently) and it was a great learning experience for them.  The mall was filled with young girls with their moms trailing after them...I wasn't the only one and it felt very safe to be there. 

I love every stage of parenthood. Each age almost seems more fun than the last but this next stage for Grace is really going to be hard. It's going by way too fast; she still shows signs of being a young kid at times but they are fewer and farther in between. She goes away on her own more than ever - skiing with friends, sleepovers at family members and other activities that take just her away from us. 

I will just have to continue to take a deep breath and be here for her. It's all good!

Some Oldies but Goodies

I have the desire to just put random, wonderful photos in my blog tonight.  Nothing much needs to be said for each photo - they are just precious little memories for us.

Grace:  step dancing for a St. Patty's day party.

Jean:  Always dancing...

Jean:  Dress-up and dancing

Alex:  birthday boy

Jean:  more dress-up

Alex:  playing on the beach at Bon Echo park

Grace:  she loved to dress-up as well.

Grace and Alex:  a sweet moment

Blessings

I can't stop loving these photos... my wonderful friend, Gemma gemmarobillard.ca did the most amazing job taking snapshots of us last fall.  Our winter has been a whirlwind - all good stuff- but just looking at these pictures gives me a warm and fuzzy feeling all over.  I am so blessed.

By the way, I have more to share... but will save that for another day!

Warm Thoughts of Florida

We are in a deep freeze right now.  Maybe blogging about our vacation to Florida will warm me up.

This year our trip to Florida was filled with lots of beach time.  Laurderdale-by-the-Sea is special to Ian and I because we spent two vacations there before we had children, spent with some family and friends.  We had some good memories of warm weather and beautiful scenery.  The beach is beautiful and being on the ocean is amazing. 

Two Mermaids

 We spent five nights at a small Inn just a block from the ocean.  We were in walking distance of everything including the beach, grocery store, restaurants, playground and a farmers' market.  We spent a lot of time playing in the sand and water.  The waves were the most fun!

On Sunday morning we walked to the Farmers' Market.  We chatted with quite a few vendors and purchased some little souvenirs and some strawberries.

The pool area was small but nice.  

The next part of our vacation started with a tour across the everglades with a stop at Everglade Park, just outside of Miami.  We went on an airboat ride touring the everglades and we saw many alligators, turtles and birds.

This was funny... we got to watch a presentation on some of the creatures that live in the everglades and luckily we were sitting in the front row!  Grace got to experience a scorpion close up!

Next stop:  Grandma and Grandpa McGregor's Florida house... we spend many evenings playing dominoes.  Now that the kids are old enough, they can stay up with us and play.

Two weeks of relaxing and spending time together... I wait for this all year long and now it is over for another year.  Time to plan the next trip to Florida!

2015 New Years List (that's a boring name)

Is it really almost the end of January?  Seriously?

I have been meaning to write my New Year's list and just haven't gotten around to it yet. It feels like January has been a bit blurry but it's coming into focus now. It started off deep in holiday season with celebrations continuing until January 4. Reality didn't hit until the kids went back to school and even then it took a bit to get on track. I love lists (write them every day, sometimes twice a day) but I am not writing a list of resolutions for this year. I don't even think it is a list of goals but a list of thoughts and wishes for an happy 2015.
1.  Make time to be healthy.  This doesn't mean I cannot indulge in a few of my favourite things (red wine, chocolate, cheese) but I need to create a bit more balance in my diet and giving myself smaller portions will be helpful.  I have some goals in mind to help me along the way to feel better about myself and to be a healthy momma for years to come... I want to be active for the rest of my life.
2.  Continue to strive for balance.  I once read that there is no such thing and those that are trying to achieve it, never will and should give up on that notion.  That struck a chord with me - nothing will stop me from trying to balance my life:  in work, home, kids, marriage, me-time.  I have never "wanted it all" but I do want to look back and have no regrets.
3.  Eat more salads.
4.  Run my second 10K.  Oh and beat my time from last year.  I am definitely a competitive person, especially with myself.
5.  Travel somewhere I have not been before.
6.  Take time to snuggle with my children.  Oh my goodness they are growing up way too fast.  I don't have "little kids" anymore and it all happened in a blink of an eye.
7.  Swear a lot less.  Ian will be happy to hear that!  I think I might start a swear jar for the kids and hopefully they don't get rich off of it!
8.  Drink more water.
9.  Be more romantic because it is a lot of fun.  It amazes me how I have been married for over 10 years (13 years this coming summer) and I can honestly say we have been through A LOT together and our marriage is stronger than ever in every way.  If you asked me all those years ago if I knew it would be like this, I wouldn't have had a clue and I am pleasantly surprised.
10.  What can I say... be in the moment!

It Was a Happy Holiday

This blog post is going to be filled with pictures... all wonderful memories of our Christmas season 2014.  It was AMAZING.

All throughout December the kids asked to make gingerbread men.  We finally got around to it close to Christmas day.

Christmas Day supper at Grandma and Grandpa McGregor's.  

Every child is excited for Christmas morning but so are we even as parents.  The look on their faces as they open up that special gift (or two) is priceless.  This year the night before Christmas was the windiest night in a long time.  It was the first time Ian felt our house windows just might break - it was so windy and stormy.  Needless to say we didn't sleep well so getting up the next morning was difficult but we were downstairs by 7:15am and had lots of coffee.  It was a wonderful morning full of joy.  The BEST part was the gifts the kids each gave to each other and to us... they seemed even more excited about doing that.  It was so sweet and makes us so happy that they know how it feels to give.

We were really excited to give Grace her Ipad mini.  I love the picture I got of them!

Alex was totally surprised by getting a beebee gun.
He was wishing for one for his birthday but Santa wanted to bring it for him.  

The theme for Jean this year was anything "Frozen".
 I think almost every gift she received, little or big, was related to the movie.
 Her Elsa gown is magnificent.

This was another special gift - Sens jerseys and tickets to a NHL hockey game:  Senators vs. Pittsburg.
These two teams are Alex's favourite teams.  The girls got tickets to see Taylor Swift in concert in July.  

We spend much of our time with family and friends throughout the holiday.
It's two weeks of socializing... and by that I mean two weeks of eating, drinking, playing games,
and spending time together.  Here I am with Grace and my sister-in-law, Sarah.

Grandma Ann has Grace play the piano on Christmas day.

We went on a Boxing Day hike through the bush, stopping at the McLaren sugar shack, for a snack.
We walked through the woods and fields in just our boots; it was a beautiful day with not a lot of snow on the ground.

In all my years with the McGregor's, every Christmas consists of pond hockey and skating.
This year the ice was not ready for Christmas so on Boxing Day we played road hockey instead.  

Here are a couple of tired and bored fans... of road hockey.

Like I said, we do a lot of eating and drinking over the holidays.

The boys playing near the Christmas tree:  Alex, Ross and Noah.

After we celebrate with our McGregor family, we travel to southern Ontario to spend time with my family and some friends.  This year we left on New Year's Eve for 5 days away.

We spent New Year's Eve with our good friends and all their children.
It was relaxing and fun - kids were all asleep by 11pm and we stayed up playing games until 2:30am.
That was a late night!

Alex and Clare reading together.

I like this image despite the fact that it is a little blurry in places.
It shows the essence of Christmas at my mom's house.
Every part of the photo tells a story, especially if you were there.

We have a new addition to our family.  Until this past August, Alex was the only boy cousin on
 my side of the family but luckily he was joined by Victor
.Imagine being a little baby boy surrounded by girl cousins.  
 I love this photo.

It's Jenga time!  This might have been the tallest Jenga tower around and the longest game played.
I will admit that I ended up losing to Matt but it was a close one... 

We went skating at Storybook Gardens in London.  It was a beautiful day.

The sillies have come out!  Look at baby Victor!

There were so many sweet moments this past Christmas but this just might be one of my favourites.  I got to have so many snuggles with the best little gift of all... Victor started his little life with many struggles and the last time I saw him, he was still very tiny.  He is a strapping baby now, growing like a weed and giving his parents so much joy.  I am so happy for them.  

It was a happy, joyful Christmas season.