And speaking of being back in the saddle, I have neglected posting pictures of, well, anything lately. So to catch up…

We went to the zoo where we spent hours playing at the zoo playground…

…mostly with the leaves on the ground. Because why else would you go to the zoo?

It was a beautiful day.

Just me and my babies.

And then it was Easter. We dyed eggs and that was entertaining for about 3 minutes.

And then we did the traditional Easter egg hunt for baskets and chocolates, etc. That was entertaining for much longer.

We also spent some time working on renovating the first of our three bathrooms (all of which need a fairly significant facelift). And by we, of course, I mean the hubby. So this…

…was turned into this.

And then we went on a short trip to visit my best friend who happened to be visiting a few hours from us. It was fantastic. And isn’t her hair awesome?

Our kids got to meet each other for the first time and we had the chance to enjoy each others’ company and drink good wine and it was fantastic.

Our hubbies are comically different in stature but very similar in personality. I love it.

And so that is a little of what has been going on with me. There’s been more, of course. There always is. Stay tuned.

catch up, picture post | 2 Comments »

Once again, it’s been many days without an update. Renos continue to be the consuming thing in my life. But we continue to make progress. We have spent a couple of nights staying up way later than is healthy. The man has this amazing stamina. I don’t know where it comes from but if you could bottle it and sell it as an energy drink you’d be rich in short order. I tap out and he keeps going for hours. So here are some pictures to show you what we’ve been up to.

Our first breakfast actually sitting at a table, in the house! Up until that point we’d been sitting on the floor. The dirty, dirty floor. Please avert your eyes.

Newly laid tile floor and brand new bannister for the stairs. Cleaned up just for the picture.

My sex-ay kitchen. We just finished the grout on the backsplash yesterday! I am in love with it!

Jen inspired me with this post to take a break from renos and spend some time getting my craft on making this Christmas wreath. I love it and I want to make one for every single season and holiday.

Let’s see…what else is going on? Mostly unpacking and a total lack of order and cleanliness. Don’t be fooled by the pictures. We are just a hair above living in complete and utter squalor. The bathrooms have colonies of new life growing in the sinks and toilets.  I have vowed to do something about this before the week is out.

Also, I have booked a holiday. A holiday just for me. The first trip I have taken since Kieran was born over three years ago. How did three years pass without me spending a single night away from mah baybee? I don’t know. Actually I do know. We moved. Three times. Starting when Kieran was still a baby. But here I am finally going away for several days in a row! To visit my best friend and her baby who was born last spring.

I have been spending every waking moment planning and dreaming about sitting on a plane for hours with no one to entertain or be responsible for except myself! Imagine that! And then getting to spend some time snuggling my pseudo-nephew! I am a happy woman!

I apologize for the lack of posting. Unfortunately I can’t yet promise that it will improve right away, but the blog is not forgotten. I’m constantly thinking I *should* post about various things and then the next thing I know it’s days weeks later and the great idea is forgotten. Thanks for hanging in there everyone!

catch up, renovations | 6 Comments »

I have learned a few things since we began the renovation process several weeks ago and I am here to share my wisdom with you:

• There is more dust inside the walls and floors of your house than you ever imagined possible. You can’t possibly prepare for it. So don’t even try.
• There is no excuse for painting anything flesh-coloured (as in Caucasian flesh, other skin colours are much classier choices for paint).
• Sleeping on air mattresses gets old really quickly. But remembering to pump it up with a little extra air every few days goes a long way. If you are wondering why you are so damn uncomfortable…it could be because your mattress is only at 25% capacity.
• Renovations make me bitchy cranky.
• My husband and father-in-law have a bottomless fountain of energy from which to draw. It must be genetic. I don’t know how they do it but they have been working on the house 20 hours a day without stopping for 10 days now. My father-in-law is taking vacation time to come and help us, which is incredibly generous. However – WORST. VACATION. EVER. Sleeping on an air mattress and working til you drop every day is not my idea of a holiday. Just sayin’.

Random stuff I’ve been wanting to tell the internets:

• Elementary school in Boston was guarded like the freaking White House. Picking up a child from school was practically a secret service mission, what with no entrance to the school without filling out visitor forms. School here is like a free-for-all. They don’t care how the kids get to their classrooms, so long as they get there. They don’t care who picks them up or where they go after the bell rings! The teacher’s first parent letter indicated her goal for the children this year is independence. I fully endorse this goal but after the red tape, overprotective atmosphere over kindergarten I’m getting whiplash just dealing with it all!
• Everyone keeps saying Saskatoon has had no mosquitoes until September. Remarkably, when we arrived in town. The mosquitoes waited for me to show up and then moved in to feast. I am undone. Really, just covered in bites!
• I have never been so aware of the easygoing Canadian attitude before. After being away for a while it has never been so apparent. I like it!
• All moving companies are, without exception, completely corrupt and out to rob you of every last penny.
• Things have been rocky with our moving company, or can you tell?
• They charged us the equivalent of several mortgage payments extra for “packing services” because we ended up putting a lot more on the truck than we originally intended (because we bought our kitchen for the new house in the states and brought it back with us). But the kitchen was all in boxes. It required no extra packing. Loading yes. Packing no. Loading charges did not change. The cost of the Lose Weight Exercise changed, which is fair. The cost of the packing changed, which is not fair. We will contest this.
• We were told our belongings would be delivered no later than September 10. They are arriving tomorrow, September 14. Why yes, that is smoke coming out of my ears! Thanks for noticing!
• It is really refreshing to make such a big move and already know where everything in the city is and how to go about getting settled. Really refreshing! We know where the grocery stores and schools and parks are. We know which events to look forward to. We know which friends we can call and beg to help us with our home renos…. Ahem.
• My Massachusetts driver’s licence broke the computer system of the local licence provider. I went to switch back to a SK licence and they had it all printed out but realized they hadn’t entered it correctly so they could create a new photo id. So they tore it up and started over. And then they started over again. And then they called the help desk. Five times. And I waited for a full hour (which I know doesn’t seem like much to those of you in big cities, but for Saskatoon if you have to wait five minutes it’s a HUGE FREAKING DEAL). And then they told me to go do what I needed to do and they would call and let me know when I could come back. And then they called and said my Massachusetts licence broke their whole system and it will be a week before they can get the bug fixed so I should come back then. Awesome.
• A large percent of people here can’t pronounce Massachusetts. You would think that anyone who can pronounce “Saskatoon, Saskatchewan” without any problems would already have the linguistic dexterity necessary to pronounce MASS-AH-CHEW-SETS. Most common mispronounciations: Mass-a-two-shits and Mass-a-two-sits. It amuses me.

Ok, I think we’re done. Hopefully the blog is working and you can all read this. I’ve been experiencing technical difficulties recently so if you’ve been seeing nothing past August 22 and now suddenly see several new posts, it’s not you, it’s me.

America, Canada, catch up, Massachusetts, moving, renovations, Saskatchewan | 4 Comments »

Oh gosh. I’m clearly failing to update regularly and I promise it won’t be like this forever. But for now, here’s the one word phrase summary of the many things going on in my life:

1. Visitors: too many to count!

2. Trip to Saskatoon:  exhausting and not as much accomplished as we had hoped.

3. Plane trip with a 5 and 3 year old: SO MUCH BETTER THAN FLYING WITH AN INFANT (OR YOUNG TODDLER)! OMG I CAN’T EVEN SAY HOW MUCH!!!

4. Jobs for the hubby: In progress.

5. Movers: Hired.

6. Packing services: Because we’re loaded lazy.

7. Schools for Avery in Saskatoon: being researched.

8. Buying a house: we came, we saw, we left – maybe we are too picky. Checking out some other possibilities (ie. renovating an older house like cuh-RAZY).

9. Summer weather in New England: continues to suck the big one.

10. Kids: Overcome with cabin fever and BOUNCING OFF THE FREAKING WALLS LIKE MONKEYS ON ACID.

11. Avery’s dance recital waaaaay back in mid-June: Cutest. Bee. Ever.

12. Birthday: The hubby’s bike was stolen on my birthday.  Crap.

13. Final drive back to Saskatchewan: Kind of looking forward to it – I know, I’m batshit crazy.

14. Avery’s birthday: Next weekend. There will be no Taj Mahal birthday cake this year – we have something a little simpler in mind.

15. Business: We’re buying a business in Sasktoon – if you need new tiresor rims or wheel/rim repair, let me know. I can hook you up.

16. July 4th: I realize it’s waaay past, but it was cool. Americans are obsessed with fireworks and that is awesome. We can see several miles of shoreline from our yard and there were constant fireworks along the entire coast for hours.

17. Summer Vacation: It’s awesome not to have to get the kids out the door first thing every morning to drop Avery off at school.

18. Neighbours: I have the best neighbours ever. They babysit my kids. AWE-SOME.

19. New pictures: Awww….

20. OMG WE’RE MOVING IN LESS THAN A MONTH!!!

catch up | 7 Comments »

Well hello there! You’re still here? I’m flattered you’re still hanging on after the lack of posting around here! Life has gotten kind of crazy around here. We’ve had a constant stream of visitors and more coming soon which is awesome. We are also in the midst of planning our move back to Canada.

Yes, that’s right, by the end of the summer we will be back in Saskatchewan, breathing in the dry prairie air and being consumed by mosquitoes, one bite at a time! I am really excited to be going home but we are attempting to enjoy our final months on the beach and in the wonderful city of Boston that we have actually grown to really appreciate in the past year.  Of course moving does demand a lot of time and attention and there will be a lot of that going on in the coming weeks, too. I will attempt to post something more interesting soon, but just so all two of you know what’s been going on here and why the lack of content, that’s it.

catch up | 6 Comments »

Another bullet post because I am nothing if not repetitive concise:

• The Aporkalypse (or Hamthrax as I hear some of my Canadian friends are calling it) has hit our school district. One child in our school district has a confirmed case of H1N1 and although everyone is putting on a calm and sensible demeanor, I have this feeling that there is PANIC lurking behind the facade.  The four phone calls we’ve received from the superintendent of our district seems to be evidence of the barely concealed alarm. Each one was nearly exactly the same: ”There is no reason to be concerned. We are following the directions of the state health board in regards to dealing with this tiny little problem that’s really not even a problem. Also, if your child has a fever they must be kept out of a school for seven days, regardless of whether they test positive or negative for Hamthrax. But really! We’re not panicking!  If more cases show up in our district – although we’re positive they won’t – but IF they did, we will follow state directives on whether or not our schools need to be closed.  Please do not worry! Everything is under control!!!! PS- If your child shows symptoms like fever, runny nose, coughing, purple spots, melting flesh, or barking like a dog, please see your family physician. Thank you.”
   
• I am becoming a true Bostonian. You can tell because when I drive I now honk at the slightest hesitation at a green light or at people who cut me off or people who drives cars I don’t like. Pretty much anything. Call it cultural acclimation.
   
• After almost three long years I no longer have to isolate my son from peanut products! I have two children without peanut allergies! Huzzah! We celebrated by eating a chocolate-chip-peanut-m&m cookie. Peanuts and peanut butter are found in all the most fattening delicious foods. However, my days of eating all of Kieran’s peanut-laden Halloween candy are finished. Sigh. All silver linings have a cloud.
   
• Another reason I now feel like a Bostonian: tourists are driving me crazy! We have spent so much time in Boston, going all through the fall and winter. But now that tourist season is here I am so annoyed with all the tourists invading MY space. Wait, that’s not entirely true. I’m annoyed with tourists who dawdle and who are completely unaware of what’s going on around them. People who are walking along at a good pace and then just stop in the middle of the sidewalk, right in my path. I was raised to be aware of people around me and to step out of the way if I need to stop. So this rude behaviour is frustrating to me. 
   
• I believe my washing machine has some kind of vendetta against my children’s clothes. We have now lost five shirts to the washer because they came out with black/brown streaks on them that I couldn’t get out. All signs (ok google) point to ball bearings wearing out which may or may not be covered under the warranty. It’s not technically our responsibility as our landlord owns our appliances. But I don’t want to be afraid to wash clothes! How to appease the washing machine gods???

Boston, bullets, catch up, school drama | 2 Comments »

Oh yay! It’s a bullet post! I know you’re all thrilled. Random things I feel the need to say to the internets:

• This morning my kids were screaming for me because there was A WORM! A WORM!!!!! in the living room. I told Avery to get a kleenex and kill it. She wailed frantically firmly declined. So off I went to kill the little worm.  When the kids showed it to me I practically had a seizure. There was an effing SIX INCH LONG BLACK WORM IN. MY. HOUSE!!!!! I then maintained my composure and disposed of the creature joined my offspring in hopping around and shrieking OMG A WORM!!! A WOOOOORM!!!! How did such a gigantic creepy crawly infiltrate my home without detection? And sweet sister mercy, what if there are more of them? 
• My son has hit the gun phase. The gun phase being the stage of life when every stick or cardboard tube or really just about any random object becomes an imaginary gun which he shoots at everything and everyone yelling “Kiw! Kiw! (Kill, Kill)”. It doesn’t matter that we have no toys guns or that we consistently tell him that guns can hurt people and we never shoot people and that it isn’t nice to play at killing, he nods his head compliantly while planning his next sniper attack. It’s not something I expect we’ll be able to reason him out of. Generations of my pacifist Mennonite relatives are turning over in their graves. 
• Someone told me today that I looked too young to have two kids. I almost made out with her on the spot. It’s nice to hear that when you’re seeing the sharp rays of 30 glimmering on the horizon.
• OMG A WORM! A WORM! A WOOOOOORRRMMMM!!!
• I was recently possessed by the spirity of Betty Crocker or something and baked about 10 dozen muffins and and probably the same number of cookies. Many went into the freezer to bring out in the weather when turning on the oven seems like cruel and unusual punishment.  But I need to make something that’s not sugary and dessert-ish. Any suggestions for food that’s meal quality and freezes well in individual portions? I’ve made a bunch of hamburgers but I am feeling the need to store food as though we’re preparing for armageddon and we’ll be hiding underground for months on end. Don’t ask me why. It’s just the crazy manifesting itself. There are worse ways to demonstrate your lack of sanity so I’m just going with it.
• FYI: Homemade popsicles = best scam ever. Kids don’t care about the difference (at least not yet) and I’m not the sucker buying $3 popsicles for my kids every day after school! (Yes, that bastard is once again parking his/her ice cream truck with it’s siren’s call right in front of the school each day.)
• My best friend had a baby last week and I’m pretty much climbing the walls with wondering how it’s going and wanting to snuggle the cutest baby I’ve seen in a long time and NOT BEING ABLE TO because we live 5000km (3000mi) from each other. Despite the word getting “smaller”, it’s not yet small enough to let me skip over to munch on chubby newborn limbs and be home for dinner and for that, I will never forgive the universe.
• My lack of posting has been due to the fact that we crossed the border to Canada for the first time since we entered America last June. It was a whirlwind weekend and we had a good time. More to come on that once I get my pictures uploaded and edited.
• DID I MENTION THE WORM????

catch up | 8 Comments »

Here I am, catching up once again. We have been so lucky to have many friends visit us here in Boston this year and when they show up I pretty much forget about everything to do with my normal life in favour of basking in easy relationships, eating crap, and a general sense of well-being.  It does wonders for my attitude. And reminds me that I’m so not 18 anymore and staying up late night after night after night leaves me feeling like I was hit by a truck. Several times. 

In other news we’re hurtling downhill towards the sugar coma that commences tomorrow. Today I’m making Easter bread which is about 20% whipping cream, 20% eggs, 50% sugar and 10% flour. Then we cover it with icing and jelly beans. God Bless my German heritage and the string of artery clogging recipes that have been handed down from generation to generation of delightfully plump women (except my mom who is somehow exempt from her genetic heritage). 

The rest of the day will be egg decorating and eating a fridge full of leftovers from a week of eating out. My body just might recover from this week and the upcoming Easter chocolate binge just about in time for Christmas. Excellent.

catch up, Easter | 2 Comments »

Just popping my head in to say “hi” and I promise there will be some content again before too long. The hubby is working about eleventy-five hours a day this month and I’m finding myself incapable of expressing coherent thought by the end of the day. Not much exciting to update you on but just so you won’t feel the trip was wasted…

• If you were wondering, my hand is totally still sore from my visit to the den of torture lab last week. For those who are counting, that’s nine days ago. Still sore. OW. 
• My kids had their first dental cleaning today. I know, bad mom for not having my five year old already going twice a year. What did I learn from the experience? My 2 year old is a pro and dealt with the whole thing like an exciting new experience? My daughter was anxious and nervous and although she didn’t cry or scream, she wanted to.  She is also exactly like me in that she gags easily, and generally hated every moment of sitting in the dentist’s chair, despite my best efforts to keep the atmosphere light-hearted! cheerful! isn’t this fun!!! SO! VERY! COOL! Yeah. Epic fail.
• I don’t know if I dare say it out loud but I think spring may actually have arrived here on the seashore. And we are very happy to welcome back warmer weather with open arms. Hell, who am I kidding? I would totally make out with the crocuses growing in my flower bed if I thought it wouldn’t end badly with me rolling in the dirt.
• I have no fourth bullet but it seems like there should be one more. As you were. 

catch up, kids, medical, spring | 4 Comments »

So, as I mentioned, things were busy this past week. Some of our activities were more fun (read: less insane) than others. 

For example, going to the Boston Children’s Museum the week of winter vacation? Not smart. It seems that all of New England came out to visit the museum the same day we did and I have to say that I have a hard time enjoying these places when other peoples’ obnoxious kids are tearing around shrieking loud enough to shatter glass. Still, it’s a cool place and the kids had tonnes of fun, despite my bad attitude.

As a side note, I’ve decided that I need to chill the hell out and stop being so uptight when it comes to bubbles. In the past the kids are so excited about bubble blowing but I’ve been the bubble bottle nazi, holding the bottle for them and trying to keep them from getting soaked with soapy water. Because OMG SOAPY WATER ON THEIR CLOTHES!?!?!?! THE HORROR!!! I know, right? What kind of mother is so completely anal about soap??? This summer I’m going to complete the first in an ongoing series of de-anal-izing Lose Weight Exercises and make a huge tub of bubble water and let them go crazy with it outside. Because seriously? They could have stayed in the bubble room at the children’s museum all freaking day and if it would entertain them for a fraction of that time this summer, it would be worth it!

I also mentioned that we made the trek to the closest Rainforest Cafe with the kids last week. What I didn’t realize is that, like the children’s museum, the Rainforest Cafe is the destination du jour around here during vacation week. We arrived at the mall a couple of hours before lunch and spent some time shopping. When we finally got around to the restaurant we were told the wait was TWO AND HALF HOURS, which, I’m sorry, is just too long to wait with kids who are already tired and hungry. But the result of telling a tired and hungry 5 year old that her patience, which had been garnered only with promises of an exciting lunch-time experience, was all for naught, was…well…heartbreaking. She is such a good girl, my daughter. She didn’t throw a tantrum. There was no screaming or throwing herself to the floor. But the tears welled up and her disappointment was just so genuine. I totally understood her feelings and I can’t even say how incredibly stupid I felt for not putting our name on the damn list the second we walked INTO the mall, several hours before. We ended up eating elsewhere and promising to come back another time.

The other major destination of the week was Disney on Ice which was performing in Boston, again, over the school break. After our foray into the children’s museum I was a bit concerned about being confined to a seat for several hours, surrounded by other people’s annoying children, all hyped up on sugar and whipped into a trademarked-character-inspired frenzy. But fate was kind to us and we had pretty good seats and were surrounded by reasonably well-behaved children and parents. Watching my kids experience a show like this for the first time was truly magical and I enjoyed every minute. Seeing the show from their perspective, and their uncomplicated delight at each unexpected costume change or flying character. Misdirection totally fulfills its potential when the audience is mostly children and not cynical adults. 

So that’s what we’ve been up to. Now that we’re all caught up, tell me what you did last week.

Boston, catch up, kids | 2 Comments »