Last hours of 2019

In these last few hours of 2019, I am reminded of all that I am thankful for from this past year: my beautiful boys, my always entertaining husband, the family I knew, the family I am getting to know, my beautiful friends that I see on a regular basis, my beautiful friends that I don't often see but think of regularly, the opportunities that I have been lucky to have taken up and the opportunities that I have been offered but had to decline.

I am also thankful for being able to share my day to day with you all. See you in 2020! 😘❤

Merry Christmas!

I just wanted to wish you all a very Merry Christmas or Happy Holiday depending on what you celebrate! Yesterday evening and brunch today were family get-togethers and, now, we are home again and relaxing over a dinner of leftovers. Andreas and I went on a post-too-much-food walk with the dogs so we could take a look at all the lights that decorate our neighbours' homes. So bright and festive! Tomorrow we might venture out to the mall but that will totally depend on how much coffee I have in the morning... and how badly the boys actually want to go out. I have to say how much I appreciate not having to go out ;) That is my best Christmas present ;)

xox to you all!

Happy day after the 4th of Advent

Hello there! I know that yesterday was the 4th of Advent but, by the time I had a few minutes to get here, it was already past my bedtime. I love you all but I also love my bed 😉 I knew that you would understand 😉
Today, the temperature reached 7 degrees C. Please note that I did not write minus 7. It was actually really nice and warm. Sorry for all you white Christmas types but I was loving it... Andreas and I went for a walk because, honestly, who knows the next time we will actually have sun and warm temperatures on the same day!
Tomorrow is Christmas Eve already. Guess Santa has to get organized and start wrapping 😉
Wishing you all a very relaxing evening... see you tomorrow! xox

Happy 3rd Advent!

This coming week will be the last before the Christmas break. Needless to say, I cannot wait! The thought of being able to spend the day in my pajamas is so appealing right now ;)

Wishing you all a Happy 3rd Advent! May this week fly by xox

A little bit of Sunday cosiness

Happy 3rd Avent!

Happy 2nd Advent... the teenager edition ;)

Sometimes I feel guilty that most of my blog pictures are now of Oliver. Truth is that the other 2 are just not interested... I either get a funny face or a hand. Anyway, I appreciate that they still keep the tradition of decorating gingerbread houses, even if it is for the sole purpose of putting more sugar on their "cookie" that they eat in milliseconds after finishing their creation 😉 They will also happily consume (more like inhale) their advent treats... getting pictures of them is another challenge. To make sure that my children are all represented here, you will now get the photos of Alexander and Nicklas that I usually end up with... hands, funny faces and all 😉

Hope you had a good 2nd Advent! xox

The famous hand....

... and the face of gratitude... I mean attitude ;)

It looks like the big, bad wolf got a hold of this house ;) It did not have a chance ;)

Nicka's only lasted a few minutes more ;)

Oliver just strategically ate the candies from the roof ;)

Celebrating 15 years

And this time the celebration is not for Alexander's birthday but for our wedding anniversary! Fifteen years brings a lot of history and water under the bridge. I couldn't think of anyone else who I would have preferred to have as a partner on this life voyage. Here is to many, many more! xox

Yes, this is a long time ago and, no, he is not trying to bite my face ;)

Happy First Advent!

Hello! Yes, it is me again ;)

Happy First Advent to you all! We did a little celebrating this morning (= opening their Advent presents). I know the bags look a bit big but we bought the older boys NFL bedding, which is probably as much for me as it is for them ;) Their rooms needed a refresh so... new bedding! Oliver got a toy that he has been bugging me for and some clothes that he needed. The presents today came with a warning that all other Advent presents will be small... and probably sugar filled ;)

I am really looking forward to the holidays this year. Maybe because it has been an especially busy fall... or because winter seemed to arrive really early this year... or because I am really looking forward to a few days of doing nothing... or because my social life has been particularly ignored... In any case, I am looking forward to Christmas music, a warm blanket, new pajamas and a glass of red wine ;) Ahhhhh..... To my friends, I will resurface soon ;)

Hope you are all having a good Sunday. We are now rushing off to take Alexander for a football testing session... it really never ends ;) xox

They only got to open presents AFTER I took a picture so that is why they are so co-operative ;)

Happy 15th!

Today, this kid turns 15 years old. Time flies. Although he is taller, more expensive in the grocery department, a bit stinkier and with a bit of an attitude, he is still my baby boy,

Happy birthday! We love you xox

The scent of winter

Hello there!

Since my last post where Oliver and I decorated for Hallowe'en, we have been shot out of the cannon into winter... 😕 The light is whiter, the air is crisper and it smells like winter... We also had the bizarre situation of Hallowe'en being cancelled/not cancelled/cancelled because of the weather. On the 31st, it was pouring rain. We also expected an intense windstorm with winds reaching 100 km/h (this is where the first cancelled comes from... it came from the city... not me). Then, on the actual day, the winds didn't happen (the rain did) so a lot of people ended up going out (back on). The local city administrations recommended going out for Trick or Treat on November 1, which ended up being the super windy day (so cancelled again). Honestly, it was insane. Our electricity, roof shingles and basketball nets all fell victim to the nasty wind. By the way, can anyone recommend a good local roofer? 😉
Since then, the temperatures have plummeted and snow has made its appearance. Yah.... and if you have ever read my blogs, you know how much I LOVE the winter (not!). I feel hibernation coming on 😉

Wishing you all a happy weekend ahead! We will be spending lots of time around football fields so stay tuned for some sports spam 😉

xox

Better late than never ;)

After this past weekend, only Nicklas' football team is still at practice. Alexander's team lost in the playoffs so their season is now over. Am I sad about it? For him, yes. Absolutely. For me... maybe I am a little less sad ;) We are now down to 3 practices a week instead of 5... and able to actually do some stuff at home again ;) Things like decorating for Hallowe'en, which Oliver has been reminding us of every day SINCE SUMMER!!! Seriously!
So, this evening, Oliver and I went out to decorate... Here is our effort... now we are back inside, eating the chocolates that we were supposed to give out ;)

Boo!

It is back!!!!

Elon Musk is forgiven... Fortnite is back and now on version 2. Oliver is even reconsidering his Tesla boycott ;)

Harmony is restored in his universe... Andreas and I, on the other hand, are secretly wishing that Elon Musk had actually pulled the plug ;) Now we are thanking our ability to shut off the internet at home ;)

Happy Wednesday xox

PS: It turns out that Elon Musk never had anything to do with the black hole of Fortnite... for the record... and not to propagate fake news ;)

Stupid Elon Musk!

Oliver is mad at Elon Musk... I mean really mad. Randomly (but often), the words "Stupid Elon Musk!" come out of his mouth. Oliver claims he hates him... really hates him. Why? you might ask... well, apparently (or as rumour has it), he bought Fortnite with the sole purpose of deleting the game. So, this morning, Fortnite is seemingly no more. At first, I had no idea what he was ranting about so I had to check this out for myself (you can too in this Guardian article). Where Fortnite used to be is now a big black hole... with some bizarre and cryptic numbers... and no more...

So my youngest is now detoxing... it is rough but he is managing ;) I am sure that, however, is no longer wanting to buy a Tesla when he grows up ;) On the other hand, Andreas and I are thinking it is totally worth going into debt to support Mr. Musk ;)

Happy week to you all! xox

Stupid Elon Musk!!!

Happy (Canadian) Thanksgiving!

I took a few moments today to think about all the things that I am thankful for and felt blessed because of all what came to mind. To add icing on the cake, the sun was warm and leaves were beautiful... Can't ask for more...

May you all have a long list of things that you are thankful for xox

How Canadian ;) I bet this goose is happy that he is not a turkey ;)

Postcards from Montreal... the frazzled fall edition ;)

... and, suddenly, it has been just about a month since I touched this blog! My bad! ;)

The boys have been very busy at football still... seriously, every night of the week, either Nicklas or Alexander is at football (or both). Luckily, Oliver is now done so that is one less kid to rush out the door ;) I wonder who the heck thought it was a good idea to have them play football... oh yeah... that was the very parents who have now become full time chauffeurs because of it ;) Anyway, the boys love it and soon enough it will be over until February. Maybe I can reclaim a bit of my sanity before then? Nah- who I am kidding? ;) That will never happen ;)

It is Canadian Thanksgiving on Sunday and I am so happy to get a long weekend. It will still be busy but we will get an extra day to be busy in ;) Hopefully the sun will stay out and we can have a few good days of autumn weather. I really love this time of year... more so when I pretend that winter is not coming up next ;)

If you still drop by here, thank you! I appreciate it and I will really try to do better... I hope that a few postcards from Montreal can make up for it xox

First day of school, part 2

Last Wednesday, all the boys finally went back to school and the autumn routine started again... the lunches, the homework, the curriculum nights, the back to school shopping, the after school activities rush and the "it is no longer summer so you have to go to bed at a reasonable time" arguments ;) I am happy that I can now throw $5 at 2/3 boys when I don't feel like making lunch (the high school has a cafeteria). Oliver is pretty simple because all he likes to eat for lunch are salami sandwiches with cucumbers on the side or pepperoni sticks with cucumbers on the side (do you see a trend?) ;) I think that I finally am (relatively) organized for my own semester... but I am pretty sure that I am wrong and something will come up next week. This period is always extremely chaotic but I think that we are now settling in...

Hope your transition to the autumn routine is going well xox

First day of school, part 1

Today is the first day of school for Oliver and Nicklas. Oliver is now in grade 4 and, for Nicklas, it is the first day of high school! Unfortunately, it was absolutely pouring out so all of the usual rituals- both at home and at school- were scrapped in order to avoid a soggy start to the year ;) Especially at elementary school, all the kids usually line up in their previous grade lines and their new teachers will come out with a list of their students and bring their students into their new classroom. This year, the kids just ran into the school, trying to keep their new supplies dry ;) With Nicklas, I drove him to his new school but just dropped him off in the herd of other parents doing the same thing. Clutching his new lock and combination, as well as his schedule, I am sure that he regretted the move to high school. I am also sure that this feeling will change by the end of the day ;) Alexander starts on Tuesday so, at least next week, Nicklas will have a relatively friendly (?) face around.

I have absolutely no idea where the summer went to. Andreas has been in Denmark for work (coming home tomorrow) so the last 2 weeks seem like a blur of driving to football, buying groceries, trying to get organized for school, getting all the last minute doctor appointments in and trying to get my own work done. I suddenly went from getting the boys ready each morning for swimming lessons to making lunches for school... argh! What happened?

Anyway, the routine is coming back and the evenings are starting to get darker and cooler. I like the return to autumn... as long as I forget all about winter. I remind the boys that the start of each school year is fun, exciting and a new page (yes, I get dirty looks and eye rolls when I say that).

Happy first day of school (part 1)!!! Wishing you all a great year ahead xox

First day of school

First day of grade 4

First day of high school (grade 7)

Life with a Gecko

Do you remember that Oliver got a gecko for his birthday? His name is Camo and he is really cute. If you didn't read about it yet, you can get caught up on the story here.

Anyway, just thought that I would give you an update on life with a gecko in the house: The gecko itself is really cute. He has grown a lot and likes to peak his head out of his little "cave". He is, indeed, much more lively than our hermit crabs (that wasn't really hard, though) and, although he doesn't really like being picked up, he tolerates it. I say "he" but we don't really know for sure. Also, when we got him, the pet store person wasn't sure if Camo was a regular sized or giant gecko... we are starting to realize we hit the jackpot (?!?) with the giant version ;)

Oliver started off being a very responsible gecko feeder. Unfortunately, one of the crickets jumped on him and it freaked him out so now Andreas and I have taken over the task. At one point, I would have considered trying to eat cricket based food as an alternative protein source (yes, for me... they even sell it at Provigo) but I have solidly changed my mind ;) Actually, speaking of the crickets, they are much more work than the actual gecko. It has become pretty routine in the house to pick up errant crickets from the floor or to hear them chirping from behind the radiators. They make me think that we are in a permanent state of camping... and you know how much I love camping ;) Anyway, I have to change their cricket house way more often than the gecko itself.... and they need special food and water and things where they can hide under and.... anyway, you get the idea... gecko = little work.... crickets = a ton of work ;) I am starting to wonder if geckos like take out instead ;)

Anyway, here is a little Camo photo spam. Maybe he can start selling insurance soon ;) xox

"Hurry up and take the picture!"

Camo

Camo is almost more hyper than Oliver is ;)

Our cricket colony (and yes, they are in a plastic container and not just hanging out on our table top!)