I NEED this ;)

I need this Ganni skirt from ASOS! I don't really need it (maybe it needs me instead?), but it is nice to add to the imaginary shopping list in my head ;)

Tomorrow is a day off from school for the big boys so they will be going in with me to work for half a day. Oliver has a party at daycare and then, tomorrow night, is Hallowe'en! The boys are so excited! We'll be spending the evening with some good friends of ours so I am excited!

Happy evening to all! xox

Last rose

We're in the process of "closing" up our garden for the winter. What a lovely surprise to find this single rose! I am guessing that it is the last one of the season.... wow- last rose and I made the appointment with our mechanic to put our winter tires on our car.... Now I am getting depressed! Time for another season of complaining about the weather! Hope you can take it ;)

Have a cosy evening!

Early morning

For some reason, I ended up with the perfect traffic conditions this morning... no traffic! Amazing! Anyway, I ended up arriving at work a good 40 minutes before having to teach :) Walking to work, I noticed how much darker the mornings are now... it looked cosy but depressing at the same time. Winter is definitely on its way in :(

Here are some photos of Montreal during early morning rush hour... Hope you all had a great day!

Walking

Nicklas had a birthday party in our neighbourhood so we decided to walk there. Before having children, Andreas and I used to enjoy long, long walks every weekend. Then, after Alexander was born, we still took long, long walks but it was now mostly because that kid NEVER SLEPT... EVER! So, walking around for hours, with Alexander in his pram, was the only way that we could ever trick him into sleeping for a bit ;)
Now that the boys are getting bigger, I look forward to enjoying walks with them... but, at this time, who am I fooling? On the way back from dropping Nicka off, Alexander complained about how boring the walk was and Oliver insisted that I carry him on my shoulders all the way home... I can't say that the experience was either pleasant or relaxing ;)
Can't blame me for trying! In the mean time, I miss my long walks...

Happy Sunday (or what is left of it) to you all :)

So funny!

I honestly have no idea as to what he found to be so funny... but it made my day. There is nothing like a child belly laugh :)

May you all be having a relaxing and cosy weekend! xox

Seriously crazy...

This past week has been seriously crazy on multiple levels. In light of this, I can say that I am so happy and relieved to be home, kids bathed/fed and not having to do anything at all!!! Heaven!

Happy Friday evening to you all :)

Lately

Two days ago, a man killed a soldier in a small Quebec town called St. Jean sur Richelieu. He ran over this poor solider and a colleage with a car (the colleague survived).It was intentional. No one really knows why this happened but they figure it is because the RCMP deemed him a risk and removed his passport so that he could not fight with terrorist organizations in Iraq/Syria.
Today, another solider was killed outside our Parliament in Ottawa. An unnamed man shot him and then went into our government buildings, shooting away. He was killed too. No more information is available as of yet.

What on earth is going on?

My thoughts are with the family and friends of the poor soldiers. My thoughts are with our democracy. My thoughts are with my country and fellow citizens. My thoughts are also with the families of those individuals who did the shooting and are left to wonder why.... Unfortunately, this is Canada lately....

Lots of rain...

It has been very wet and grey lately. I have to admit that I don't mind it so much..... as long as it is NOT SNOW!!!! ;) Then you will all hear me complain! Bet you can't wait ;)

May you all have a nice and relaxing evening.... and a dry one!

Just along for the ride

When we had only Alexander, participating in activites was pretty easy: we decided what might be fun for him, we tried it, saw if he liked it or not and then either stuck with it or tried something new. Whe Nicka came along, the boys were close enough in age that they could do the same kinds of activities. Nicka was usually one age category down from Alexander and then Andreas and I would split up to take the boys to their event of the day. I will start the next point by saying that I was the one who wanted 3 children. This is the family size that I had always wished for and wanted! Now, getting back to my original point..... having 3 kids, especially with this age difference, makes taking the boys to different activities/sports much more complicated :P Andreas and I can no longer "just divide the task between us" because there are now 3 boys! While Alexander and Nicka still are relatively close in age with respect to their sports/activities, they have left Oliver WAY behind them (3.5 years betweeen Nicka and Oliver and 5.5 years between Alexander and Oliver). What does all this mean? Well, a lot of the time, at least one of them is just along for the ride. Usually it is Oliver that gets dragged to Alexander/Nicka activites but, this weekend, it was the opposite. Since I was alone due to Andreas' own activity (which involved men, coffee and fishing), I had to drag the 2 older boys to Oliver's swim class. Despite initial protest, it all worked out. Anyway, all I have to say is I LOVE TABLETS!!! ;)
Hope you all had a great weekend! We had lots of tablet time... so the boys were happy ;)

We're not bored... anymore ;)

My big brothers are cramping my style!!!!! ;)

Saturday

Alexander and Nicka started their basketball season again today so part of the day was spent getting them to their practices. Andreas and I also had some work that we needed to get done (Andreas has to present our results at a conference next week). Despite all this, we managed to get some cosy-home time in. I actually got to lie down in bed and listen to the radio for about half of an uninterrupted hour of CBC* geekdom!! Heaven ;) Now I am preparing dinner and enjoying a nice glass of wine... oh yeah, and some chocolate :) Hope you are all having a great weekend so far xox

*For those of you who are not familiar with Canadian radio.... CBC stands for the Canadian Broadcast Corporation, which is our public radio. The weekends are filled with great radio documentaries and talk shows. I told you that I was a geek ;)

YUM! My fave :)

Appreciating the little things...

It is midterm exam time.... so that means that it is just about as busy for the profs as it is for the students...even if they don't realize it ;) Among the craziness, I have to stop and appreciate some of the little things that make autumn special... things like a fresh crisp apple (picked by Oliver himself), colourful leaves, a good shot of espresso from our local Italian bakery and some warm weather, despite the rain!
Hope you are all having a good week xox

Trip to the zoo

Yesterday, we used our holiday day off to go to the zoo. Nicka and Oliver were very excited to go. Alexander, not so much. He complained that it would be the MOST BORING TRIP EVER because, of course, he is almost 10 and that is what almost 10 year olds say ALL THE TIME ;) Andreas and I were excited to go; it was a beautiful, warm fall day and going to the zoo = no tablet all day long!

Anyway, we had a great time. Even Alexander forgot his early proclamation and had said that it was really fun. The zoo had even made it into a Hallowe'en theme and a lot of people came dressed up so it was really sweet. I think that the animals all appreciated the autumn sun so we actually got to see a whole bunch of animals that are normally hiding.

Now it is back to another crazy week..... :S Have a good one xox

Petting the stingrays

On the way home... it was a fun day!

Happy Canadian Thanksgiving!

Today is the day that we celebrate Thanksgiving here in Canada! Not as much football as in the U.S.A. but probably just as much good food ;) We spent the afternoon at my sister's house, with my side of the family (Andreas' will be in town in November). The boys (my 3 and my sister's 2) are always happy to see each other and cause maximum damage.. more hurricanes ;) There were lots of deserts so, according to them, it was a good day!

Happy Thanksgiving to you all! xox

Artwork by Nicka... Thank you for all that you do for me.

Back again...

I told you that it was a super fast trip ;) I am back again and we spent some time outside, enjoying a bit of sun before the grey clouds started to roll in again... Now the boys have some friends over, doing a mass YouTube party. They enjoy watching other people play video games.... can't say that I get that concept ;) Oh well! They are quiet and not fighting... that is always worth something :)
Happy Saturday to you all! xox

Bye bye, Toronto!

Hello, Montreal!

Now I am back to play with Oliver......

..... and Nicka......

....... and way-too-cool Alexander.......

Beautiful day!

On an airplane

I went to Toronto today for a very short work related conference. This means that I get my own room at the hotel (well, actually, a funky B&B) and all the trashy TV that Andreas never wants to watch ;) Back to reality tomorrow morning!