Bonne Fete Romy!

Hi Romy, I hope you enjoyed a wonderful day today. I know your party will be on Saturday but I hope you enjoyed your real birthday today with your family.

These are a couple of pictures of Romy with the family from 2 years ago when she came to Penticton for a visit. Can you believe how fast time goes by. 2 years! Romy... you are due for another visit soon!

It's midnight and I'm still awake. I love not working! I'm going to bed LATER than James. That never happens. And I got to watch the season finale of 24. I haven't been watching it religiously this year because it's on at 10pm and that used to be too late for me to watch and go to bed at 11pm and then be at work the next morning at 6:30. HAHAHA but now I can stay up late!! YEAH!!! I know that the girls will wake me early tomorrow but I have the luxury of taking a nap when they do tomorrow afternoon. Now that I'm bragging that I can stay up late and then take a nap tomorrow, I've probably cursed myself and the girls won't nap at the same time tomorrow or something like that and I'll be tired all day. Oh well, it was worth it I guess to watch Jack Bauer tonight on TV. I don't know if I love the show 24 like I used to. It's getting a little ridiculous and very hard to believe. But I am still a JB fan.

I've just finished organizing 'stuff' in our house today. One thing that is certain is that the work is never ending when you stay at home. I mean you spend all day cleaning the kitchen, washing clothes, folding clothes, ironing clothes, picking up toys, etc....and then the next morning everything is messy once again. It's really endless. But I get to stay up late when I want to. Yeah!!!!!!

Windy Sunday

The weather here has been weird. It rained almost all day long yesterday. Really heavy rain. And then it was sunny again in the late afternoon. This morning was absolutely beautiful so I promised the girls that we would go to the beach after lunch. By the time they woke up from their nap and we headed out the door, it was really windy.

But it was still warm so we headed out to Lake Okanagan at the other end of town. We wanted to go to this Mexican restaurant but when we got down there it was so full. I like tourists and all but when they start intruding on our quiet lifestyle I don't like them as much. Does that sound so mean, or what? So we decided to get some takeout sandwiches and eat at the beach, which was really fun.

But it was extremely windy and our hats kept blowing off in the wind.
Aren't these birds beautiful. I don't know what they are called but I love watching bird families.

On other news, it doesn't look like we will be moving into our house any time soon. We were so disappointed when we went to see it this weekend. They haven't done anything inside the house at all in 10 days!!!!! The place was suppose to be painted almost 2 weeks ago now. It's no where near this stage. The dry wall is all in but it still needs to be taped and sanded. So basically it is definite that we will have to look for another place to live for the month of July (and hopefully not for the month of August). The problem is that the place we are renting right now is already rented out from July 1st to the end of the summer. And guess how much people are paying for this place. Over $2000 a week!!!! So we have to move out by the end of June. We started looking around and asking people if they knew of any rentals that we could take. But it is quite expensive for the month of July. This one place wanted $600 a week - for a basement suite! So I came up with this great plan that I would take the girls to Montreal to stay with my family for 2 to 3 weeks and James would stay with Silvano & Angela. At first, James thought it was a terrible idea since he would miss us too much. But after looking into prices and what's available right now my plan is looking pretty good. We will find out more this coming week what the details will be after talking to the contractor.

The girls are feeling much better but their noses are still running!!! What's up with that?!

So we are back at Ed's place for the afternoon, all cozy inside from the windy weather outside. Have a good evening everyone.

Friday Afternoon Before a Long Weekend

The weather is beautiful here today. It is warm and sunny and the lake is glistening. And it feels like a long weekend because there are so many more cars in town! We went to meet James for lunch today and it took me almost 20 minutes to get to the restaurant. That is unheard of in Penticton where everything takes about 5 to 10 minutes to get to. So lot's of people from out of town here to enjoy the weather. We discovered that we have air-conditioning in our rental. YEAH! After a few sweltering nights here, James got a brilliant plan to check around the house to see if there was an air conditioning unit and there was one! Can you believe it? So he turned it on and now we have central air. Phew...because life feels so much better when it's nice and cool in the house.

May 18th, 2006

Hello my friend, Shannon, has started her own blog. The address is www.mumbomusings.blogspot.com Check it out and leave tons of annoying anonymous comments on it. She'll love it.

May 17th, 2006

Here are a few pictures of Kaili. I had to take them because she looked so beautiful this afternoon.

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

The Good is that I got to spend the entire day snuggling my kids. This morning the girls and I made these awesome guitars. It was so much fun. We made a huge mess cutting up scrap paper, gluing things together and just being creative together. The silver one is Alex's creation. And the colorful one is Rachel's.

And then in the afternoon I gave them both pedicures. The full meal deal. I sat them down and soaked their feet in warm water & massaged their small perfect feet. The funny thing is as soon as their feet were in the warm bowl, they both had a funny look on their face and then told me oh oh I have to go pee pee. Anyhow after that incident I finished their pampering.

The Bad is that both my girls are sick today. So I have been snuggling them all day long.
Rachel has a very runny nose today and Alex has had a fever and has thrown up twice. So not good news there. Kaili came by this afternoon to say goodbye since she is leaving for Langley tomorrow morning. But we didn't even get to hug/kiss her goodbye. We just waved because we don't want Kaili and baby to get sick.


The Ugly is this spider! There are sooooooo many spiders on our windows outside of the house. They look huge, plump and vicious. They have spun these large webs and all these bugs get caught in there and we see the spiders racing towards their prey.

Does anyone know what type of spider this is? There is an interesting mark on the spider's back if you look really closely. Do they bite humans?! I know I'm paranoid but this spider looks huge.

Well I hope that the girls feel better soon so we can go back to enjoying the outdoors and the beautiful warm weather.

Beautiful Day!

So I'm slowly getting used to being home all the time. I think I've got to slow down a bit. I've been so excited that I'm at home that I've been trying to clean everything up all at once. I've done about 12 loads of laundry this weekend. I've cleaned pratically every shirt, every dishcloth, every pillow case, etc... in the house. And ironed so many shirts that I've lost count. I think James will be shocked to see how many shirts are hanging in his closet ready to be worn. I've also brought tons of clothes to charity(all work clothes :), and I've boxed another box and sent it off to my sisters (also work clothes :). So now my closet is work clothes free, yeah! And I threw away lot's of work shoes that I didn't really like all that much. So just sandals for me from now on.

Wow was it ever HOT today. I think I heard that it went to 34 degrees today. The girls and I went to the park for about an hour today. I would have just left if it was just us but I was meeting a girlfriend there with her little one so we toughed it out. But it was HOT!!!!!! It's 7pm right now and it's still super warm outside. The girls and I just drove to the corner store to buy some popsicles and lemonade for a great after dinner treat to cool off. If the weather is like this tomorrow I think it's time to take a jump into the lake.

One thing that I really enjoy about not working is that I don't have to go to bed early and get up at 5am! So I'm hoping that this change in my schedule will make the girls wake up a little later too. Today we all woke up at 7:15! You got to like that! Talk to you soon.

Happy Mother's Day Halmonie!

Hi Mom! I just wanted to wish you a Special Day and to let you know that I will be thinking about you and missing you. I wish I could be there today to spend the day with you! Or better yet, you be here with us in the Okanagan Sunshine. Like Rachel & Alex always say....Halmonie....mama's best friend.

Love you lot's & lot's for always & always.

Sundae Party!

Alex and Rachel had the best dessert EVER. Vanilla Sundaes with all the toppings galore. Thanks to Shannon & Jeff. We were all spoiled to delicious food, good drinks (just ask James how the rum was) and really fun dessert (oh ya and a rum soaked chocolate cake!). This was the first time that the girls made up their own sundaes and they enjoyed every minute of it. So let's recap what they put on their sundaes....sprinkles, smarties, caramel sauce, chocolate sauce, nuts, whipped cream and cherries!











We all had a great time. I thought for sure that the girls would have trouble going to sleep tonight but they were so tired from their busy day that they fell fast asleep soon after we got home. Now that was a fun Sundae Party! Thanks guys.

Come backkkkkkkkkkkkkk!!!!!!!!!

Would it have been weird if I ran after Kaili's car down the driveway, down the street today, yelling come bacckkkkkkk? I miss her already and it's been only a couple of minutes since she left. She'll be back tomorrow but I won't get to see her. The girls are going to sleep over at Kaili's tomorrow night so she will be gone by the time I get home from work. So I knew that this would be the last afternoon that I would see her at my house for a while. And I didn't want her to leave.

I mean it's silly to feel this sad because logically I know that I will see Kaili many many more times. But it just feels like this chapter of my life is coming to an end. Like the way you feel when you finish a school year...and you know that you won't have the same classmates or teacher again. Even though you will see most of them again in your class in the fall, there is something sad about leaving them in the spring.

I've been telling everyone around me how much I'm going to miss Kaili. I'm going to miss my Okanagan sister. Ever since the first day I've always felt like I connected with Kaili. Even though we are very different in many ways, our personalities are very similar. We are both very quiet but love to joke around together. We used to take hour long walks everyday with the girls in the baby stroller. Walking along the lake or on the KVR pathway, just talking and talking...about everything and about nothing. Just bonding. But I think the thing that we bonded over the most was the love for Alex and Rachel. I mean how can you not love someone who thinks and feels so much about your kids? I'm going to miss the comfort of knowing that I will see you week in and week out. And having you know every little thing about my two kids. Like the way, Rachel likes to touch her top lip, how big Alex's eyes get when she does the coo coo thing, how scared they are when Mighty Machines comes on the TV, their favorite foods, favorite clothes - Alex's pretty little dresses, Rachel's constant need to change her clothes, how they love to do their Dora puzzle, their new Princess toothbrushes, Mermaid bikes, etc..... But even though you will no longer be here to witness the daily changes in our lives, you will always be a part of our lives. We all love you very much and are going to miss you like crazy when you are in Langley. Sheesh, this pregnancy seems likes it's been very slow but funny this day seems to have come up too soon.

Isn't she Lovely....Isn't she Wonderful....

We celebrated Kaili and her beautiful baby last night in Summerland at Carleen and Shalane's house. Everyone had so much fun. There was delicious food, more delicious food, and good company. Thank you guys for letting me be a part of this special night. Kaili...you truly GLOW from this pregnancy. You are really lovely and wonderful. Love you lots and lots.

(Shalane...like how I stole your photo?)

Sunday Pics

Here are just a few pictures that we took today. We went to NkMip Winery this morning for a breakfast wine tasting. NkMip is the first aboriginal winery in Canada and the building and setting was just spectacular. Kind of different to have 4 glasses of different wines at 9:30 in the morning but it was definitely delicious and fun. The wines were accompanied by cheese, bread and some different meats. Not your typical breakfast but I guess bacon and eggs don't really go with Pinot Noir. I actually held back my drinking because I knew that I would be so sleepy this afternoon. I'm assuming my buddy Shannon is having a great snooze just about now....lucky girl! The Spring wine festival is really wonderful and it was great to get out yet again!

This afternoon the whole family went to a nursery again to buy some herbs: sweet basil, thai basil, mint, and rosemary. So we are all excited to pot these herbs and grow them all summer long and make delicious meals with them. We also picked up some bird seeds and a bird feeder so we can set it up and watch all those beautiful birds come and feed. The pictures of the girls were taken just outside the nursery by the pond with the big goldfish.

I guess you can say that we are really enjoying living at Ed's place on the lake and we are looking forward to the birds coming, flowers blooming and herbs growing in the next couple of weeks.

Planting our Planter

We made our planter yesterday afternoon. Which is typical of me. When I get interested in something I want to do more more more now now now. So the family went to Zellers to pick up the pot, more soil, and I had already picked up the flowers earlier. So we got back and while James was BBQing yummy steaks in the backyard, the girls and I got our hands dirty.


Here Joyce, here's my planter that I had made earlier in the day with my girlfriends. Sorry guys, but I don't know the names of the flowers. When the lady was explaining all the flowers it sounded all logical and stuff but when James asked me what was planted all I could come up with was the flowers will be yellow and deep purple and there will be this viny thing flowing over the edge.



And this is the planter that the girls and I made. It was actually a kit for dummies. The flowers came in a six pack all ready to go. The colors all go together and the mix is suppose to be beautiful. So how can you go wrong with that, eh?

So here it is. I can't wait to email you more pictures in the next coming weeks.

On a totally different topic, it's 7am in the morning and Tobi is just staring at me. The days that I don't rush off to work, I usually take him for a walk in the morning and let him run around Skaha park. Tobi and I both love these walks. I love it because there is no one at the park and I can just enjoy the trees, lake and mountains privately. Which is exactly the same reason that James doesn't want us to go this morning. Because there is this escaped convict that has been seen and almost apprehended at SKAHA PARK on Thursday!!! Can you believe it? The police approached him because they were suspicious and saw this stolen car, but he was still able to escape on foot. When they finger printed the car the fingerprints matched this convicted murdered that has been on the loose from the US. So he' s on the loose and he's around Penticton. Scary. Sorry Tobi but it doesn't look like I'm taking you there this morning.

Saturday Afternoon at Hawthorne Mountain Vineyard

I have to write this blog before the nice buzz of the wine wears off. I spent the afternoon with my girlfriends up at Hawthorne vineyards in OK Falls. Drinking wine and making a planter. It was a wine festival event and it was REALLY fun. I have never gotten my hands dirty in soil to make a planter before. We got instructions on how to make this planter with a diagram and everything. Which was really good for a beginner like me. The only thing that I felt uncomfortable about it finding a worm in the soil. When one of the ladies overheard me asking my friends if this was possible, she laughed and said...oh dear... there are NO worms when the soil comes out of a bag....except if you are extrememly unlucky.

I think she was just kidding but I was still really careful. Anyhow I got really into the dirt and it was super fun. My planter looks pretty good if I do say so myself. Now I have to remember to water it often and watch it grow.

Then we were all treated to wine and appetizers. So we sat outside in the fresh air and drank, ate and laughed. It was awesome. It's so beautiful there.






Then when my friend Shannon drove me home, we pulled into the driveway to see the girls and James in the driveway. They were pretty impressed with my planter. And I bought another little kit so that I could make another planter with my girls at home today. Is this the start of another hobby, hmmmmm?

We Share EVERYTHING

It's really funny watching Alex and Rachel play. Tonight we went back outside after dinner. We blew bubbles, we filled our plastic pail with water from the lake to water the tulips, we drew with chalk on the ground and we rode our tricyles. But it was funny how they started to play with their bikes in a totally different way. They didn't think it was fun anymore to ride it normally anymore but to stand on the back of it and push the trike around by pushing off with their feet. Mama....I'm riding a scooter! Which was pretty funny to watch since their flip flops kept flying off their feet.

They didn't want to come inside. I told them that they could have popsicles in the bath and they were inside and naked soooooo fast. Good trick, eh? Anyhow, Alex eats her popsicles a lot faster than Rachel. So while Alex is stuck sucking on an empty stick, Rachel still has most of her popsicle left. Alex kept asking Rachel if she could have a bite. To which Rachel would respond...later. So Alex was watching Rachel have her popsicle hoping that she would get a taste soon. But to both their surprise, the last part of Rachel's popsicle fell into the bath....and by the time Rachel managed to scoop it out with her hands, it had melted and was teeny tiny. She then offered this piece to Alex. Alex ate it and was happy. Isn't that hilarious? Then Rachel took the 2 empty sticks and stuck it in her mouth like little fangs. She turned to me and said...look mama...I'm Dr. Potamus (a hippopotamus from one of her story books). Alex thought it was so funny so she had a turn and then they fought back and forth for a little while on whose turn it was to have the sticks in their mouths. So these 2 girls share EVERYTHING. They are so lucky to have each other and I feel so lucky to be with both of them. They make me laugh constantly.

Thursday, May 4th, 2006

This is a photo of Rachel taking a picture with her Dora camera of the family of geese. Just after she took some pictures the camera fell into the lake but luckily Tobi and I were able to save it.

What another beautiful day today in the Okanagan. I came home this afternoon to find Kaili, Alex and Rachel enjoying the sunshine out in the backyard. After saying my hellos and getting my hugs and kisses, we saw a family of geese swim by. We've all seen this family before but the babies have grown up so much. Just in a matter of days! There are 6 of them in total. So cute....so I ran inside to grab my camera. Rachel ran in to and got her Dora camera and started to take some pictures too.


So only about 1 1/2 weeks more of work for me at Wood Gundy. I'm extremely happy with my decision to stay at home and can't wait until I don't have to get up early and leave the house. So I'm looking forward to May the 12th but at the same time dreading it. Because it is also the day that Kaili will be leaving us. Everyday that I get home from work these days I want to just hang out with Kaili and I don't want her to leave. We were joking that next Friday we won't even look at each other or say one word to each other because we know that we will both be crying and the girls will probably be freaked out.

So the plan is that I will honk when I get home and walk slowly to the front door and Kaili will be ready to leave at that exact same moment and leave out the back door so we avoid seeing each other altogether. And of course, we will plan a BBQ or something like that that same weekend so we will see each other but that would be different because we won't be at my house and it will be a totally different environment.


Don't you just love this picture of Kaili with Alex, Rachel and TOBI! We are ALL going to miss you. But don't worry we will see you so often because I'll drive to Summerland to bug you all the time! And I want another ice Americano that Robin made me yesterday afternoon at the Beanery. It was really good!

Well hope everyone is having a good day. It's Friday tomorrow, then the weekend!

The Gang

This is a picture that was taken of the gang on Sunday at Cindy's house. We're missing Harlene in the picture though :(. So from left to right, it's me, Lori (my soul sister who I have a history of sharing clothes with), Shannon (who moved here from the Cayman Islands and who is an awesome cook), Cindy (who is also known as coo coo Cindy by my kids and who is the go to person/big sister to talk through ANY problem) and Kristy (who I have known for 6 1/2 years and have remained friends with throughout). I'm going to miss seeing you guys on a daily basis. You better keep in touch with me or else....

Shannon and Kristy both gave me pictures from the party and they are pretty hilarious. But I didn't really want to post the others since I'm half dressed on the massage table. These photos are hilarious since the girls are handing me my champagne/orange juice or feeding me grapes and strawberries. But not only am I half dressed....I look really old and out of shape. Is that the reality of being almost 36? Yikes. I need to start exercising right away!

Anyhow, enough complaining about me. I had a WONDERFUL time. Thanks again guys.