what the?

Ok… so it's April 28th and still bitterly cold outside.  In the past few days we've had freezing rain, hail and I had to take out my winter coat, mitts and hat.  Not impressed.  I've been successful at getting the kids on board with my hatred of this awful weather too.  This morning Ruby insisted on wearing her little black shoes instead of rubber boots and her reasoning was, "it's supposed to be summer Mommy."
Yes Ruby, indeed it is supposed to be summer.  Another reminder of how much kids really do absorb from their environment.

Both of our kids are doing amazing and life at the Grant household has been full of changes.  Spring officially came last month and despite the nasty weather, we have managed to get outside quite a bit.

" Yipee!  I don't have to wear snow pants today!! "

Park fun. 

Park fun again.

The biggest change to strike the Grant household has been my going back to work!  It all happened quite suddenly and we managed to arrange daycare for Leo within the family, so once again, it's been a huge blessing having such amazing grandparents who live close by.  I have to admit, I often dream about moving away… back to BC or to some amazing land with sun and mountains…. but in situations like this, we are so thankful and feel blessed to have our loving families close by.  What would we do without you?

I'm employed as a Constituency Assistant to an MLA in town.  Yes, politics.  Who knew, right?  Me either.  But, it's going very well and I enjoy every minute of it.  My boss, Mr. Chris Collins is quite something and I have high hopes that he'll win the election in September.  If that happens, I'll have a job for a while longer.  Fingers crossed. 

A wise and very dear friend said to me, "it takes all kinds of situations to make a family work" and so our crazy situation is this:  Leo stays with his grandparents in Sackville for Sunday and Monday night.  Ruby stays here and we get to spend some special time with her.  I've always felt somewhat guilty about having Leo so soon.  Ruby was only 21 months old (younger than Leo is today!) when he was born.  She was still a baby herself.  So… these two days with just Ryan, me and Ruby - it's pretty special.  I love it.  And…. at the same time, I miss Leo terribly.  I think about him all day long and hope he's doing ok.  I know he's fine and if I had sent him to daycare we would all be feeling even more guilt and longing.  It's a time for growth.  We're going with the flow.   Leo's will his Nana and Poppy who we know are taking the best ever care of him and that's all we can ask for.   We love him even more when he gets home on Tuesday after supper.   My mom is picking up Ruby from school every day (except Friday because I'm off - yes, long weekend every weekend!).  I was stressed that she would be stressed with having the two of them on Wednesday and Thursday because I know first hand how challenging it can be… but she assures me it's fine so far.  Unless I hear otherwise, we'll stick to this plan until September.  

My birthday.
Leo is 22 months.  Ruby is 3 and a half.
I'm 41.
I'm growing out my hair and it's painful.

So, there you have it.  Not much has happened in this past month, yet so much has changed.  Can't wait for the nice weather so I can get outside on my bike and running with the kids.  If anyone out there knows somebody who can make our winters shorter and summers longer, please let me know.  I'm pretty desperate.

P.S.  Here's a glimpse of what happened Easter morning.  It was the first time I actually had chocolate eggs and it will be the last for a while.  Neither kid ate any real food for the rest of the day.

It's a bit long but cute.  Ruby is especially excited and Leo, stuffed with chocolate, is his typical cool self.


Cheers and good night!
-L ox

sin city

The kids are growing up fast and I've been too busy globe trotting to write it all down!  Actually, I've only been on one trip but it feels like more for some strange reason.  Getting away for 5 days was good for my soul. 

I recently joined Ryan on a business trip to Las Vegas and had the time of my life.  The highlight was not "the strip" or all the glam and lights but rather the outskirts of the city.  Nevada landscape is beautiful.  The deserts and mountains and shear grandeur of it all was truly breathtaking.  I love and miss the mountains so.  People who get to experience them regularly are very fortunate indeed.  

I decided not to tote my big camera around with me on this trip and since I'm still the only person on the planet without a proper phone, I have no pictures of my amazing week.  I planted the images in my  head mentally and know that I'll never forget it.  I also borrowed some images from the internet for your viewing pleasure.  

I was on my own for a large part of the week which was also part of the magic.  I haven't had so much time alone since becoming a mother almost 4 years ago!  I slept in after Ryan went to work and headed to the pool for a daily swim when they finally opened at 10 a.m….. where I was the only person around.  I discovered people don't go to Vegas to get up early and exercise, but I did.  Our hotel was right across the street from New York New York and the roller coaster attracted me instantly.  That was my first stop Monday morning.  So Much Fun.  I had butterflies.  

The view from our hotel  - New York New York Casino and roller coaster.  

Later that day when Ryan resurfaced from his laptop, we took a trip to the Hoover Dam.  That thing is big.  Super cool too.  Highly recommended by yours truly.  

Hoover Dam and the recently added highway bridge.
Ryan and I walked out to the middle of the bridge for an epic view.

Since I was with Ryan for this adventure, he had his iPhone and we got a few pictures of us.  (to be added soon). 

Friends of ours (and a colleague of Ryan's) moved to Vegas two years ago.  Troy isn't working at the moment so he was my tour guide when I wasn't entertaining myself in Sin City.  First stop Tuesday was a place called Red Rock Canyon.  Just 10 minutes outside of downtown and everything changes to wilderness.  We saw wild burros (or donkeys) and extremely beautiful terrain.  

Went for a hike in between mountains like this.  

These are the red rocks.  Gorgeous.  Very, very big! 

The next day we went to Mt. Charleston, a small-ish 70's style ski resort.  There were a few million dollar log homes thrown around, but mostly simple, old ski chalets.  From there we headed a bit further out into the desert and drove until we saw wild horses!  They walk in packs of about 10 - 15 and we saw several packs.  This was the highlight of my trip.  

Mount Charleston, Nevada.

One of the mansions mentioned earlier.  

Most of the homes looked like this.  

Like I said, none of these are my photos, but they could be.  This is exactly what I saw.  I was just bedazzled.  It was a gorgeous sunny day like this too.

Wild Horses.  

The horses I saw were walking, not running.  But they could have been.  

I almost forgot to mention the Cirque de Soleil show!  The entire group went to see Michael Jackson One.  It was the most amazing show I've ever seen.  Definitely the icing on the cake to end off an fabulous week away.

I'm not sure if it was the sun, the lights, the 'me' time I have been lacking, the horses, the mountains, or a combination of all of it, but I had a an amazing vacation.  I came home feeling completely satisfied.  And, I found the most amazing nachos in the world.  (Little did I know that Twin Peaks was a Hooters restaurant, but after an hour of walking the strip, starving, in search of a place I could eat lunch by myself and feel comfortable, I didn't notice the boobs until I actually sat down to order.  The boobs were big.  The nachos delicious.  And, the beer fantastic!!)  

There was a flip side to the awesomeness of the trip - our kids were home sick with a very tired and stressed out grandma.  Leo was the first to get sick and his fever spiked to 40 degrees for two days.  Ruby was next.  Bad timing is all I can say.  

Everyone is better and things are finally back to normal now, or at least as normal as they get around here.  

I want to move to Las Vegas.  No kidding.  And, after just getting whopped with 40 cm of snow on the 27th of March…. I really want to move to Las Vegas.

P.S.  A very BIG Thank you to Ryan for inviting me along on this trip and making it happen.  It was nice to spend time alone with you, too.   And finally, to Grandma - Sorry the kids got sick and didn't sleep and you didn't sleep and nobody could go outside and the stupid hospital was so crowded….. Thank you for taking such good care of my babies.  We all love you so much.  

-L

"taking care of Christmas!"

It's March Break and we're keeping busy.  Poor Leo has a gastrointestinal issue but it's under control.  The weather is chilly so doing things indoors is best anyway…. 

So far, we've been to the library, had a sleepover at Nana and Poppy's, been to the Y twice and took a long drive (both kids napped and I almost fell asleep myself). We've also been doing a lot of dancing.  I turned the radio channel on television yesterday.  "Galaxy Party" it was called.  During a very energetic game of musical chairs, I ran upstairs to get something… a snack probably.  When I came down, Ruby was dancing around with no shirt on singing "taking care of Christmas!"  The real version, Taking Care of Business by Bachman Turner Overdrive was playing in the background.  It was hysterical.  At that moment I was reminded of how innocent she is.  How young she still is.  I sometimes forget she's only three and a half.  I think she forgets too…. 

Leo's growing up as well.  He's talking.  I think he learns a new word or saying about every two days.  

He's not feeling well, like I mentioned, and when he's having pain he pats his stomach and says, "belly" with a sad voice.  Poor Leo.  I hope he's feeling better soon. 

Ryan and I are heading to Las Vegas on Sunday.  I'm quite excited to be going for the first (and likely last) time.  He'll be in a business workshop for 3 days while I find things to do on a very limited budget.    As long as the sun is out I'm happy.  A little break away from the routine is always welcome.  

There are no pictures of our March Break adventures yet, but stay tuned.  

… to be continued.  

a new era

Remember your first broken heart?  That feeling of sadness and intense emotional pain.  Maybe you even felt physically hurt or broken.  I can't pinpoint the exact moment it happened for me but I know I've been there, many times over.  I'm banking on the fact that our kids are too young to remember this, but I know for a fact that both of them experienced a broken heart on February 15, 2014. 

Many of you won't understand the depth of what happened in our family this weekend, but to those of you who can empathize, let me just say - it was traumatic.  We said goodbye to our soothers.  Forever.  

Day one was comparable to a thousand heart breaks.  Both Ruby and Leo were forced to deal with emotions they had no idea how to handle or what they were for that matter.  Grief.  Loss.  Remorse.  Regret.  It was not only heart breaking for them, but for Ryan and I to be a part of.  I can honestly say it was the most traumatic experience I've ever witnessed.  

But…. we had a fun day in the snow today and night two was 200 times better than the first.  

Fingers crossed.  

Still pretty stormy out at 9:30 this morning!  

Having more fun later in the afternoon.  

Love and Hugs. 

-L

P.S.  Who invented the soother anyway?  What a jerk.  

out!!

Leo's been somewhat hesitant all winter about heading outside in the snow.  I wondered if his boots were too small, uncomfortable, or if his coat was too warm or too cold.  It's impossible to really know.  He has been talking much more lately and I can actually get information out of him so I've gathered that it was none of the above.  I'm not clear on when his attitude changed, but he wants to go out all the time now.  OUT!! he says.

The two of us went out yesterday while Ruby was visiting my parents.  The wind was strong but Leo was determined to walk down the street.  God, how I love watching his little body waddle.  I convinced him to come with me into the backyard, hoping for a little relief from the - 27 wind chill and we ended up building the cutest, smallest little snow man.  I didn't get any pictures but did snap these shots before we went around back:

Here we are making cards for Ryan who is in Austria at the moment:

Come home soon! 

Love, Big L, little r and little l

ox

Costa Rica

From my perspective, the year 2014 came in like a lion!  It started with a wild night in on NYE when Ryan and I celebrated our 5th wedding anniversary eating Chinese and playing backgammon.  We stayed up well past midnight too.  Our Skype call to Matthew lasted for almost two hours.  Like I said, a wild and crazy night (of which the details cannot be shared with the masses).  

A few days later we packed up and headed to Costa Rica for a much anticipated event (3 years to be exact) - Matt and Esther's wedding.  The journey to get there was a little more than we had originally planned for but it was all worth it.  The week was spectacular!  The weather unbeatable.  The wedding was perfect.  The ceremony took place during sunset on the beach and there was not a dry eye in the house.  All nineteen of us danced and danced and sang our hearts out for hours.  I honestly don't think I've ever been to a better wedding or wedding reception.  Everything about it was perfect, well, except for the fact that we all had to say good-bye a few days later with a huge question mark on the reunion date.

I had never met Esther's family before and it was indeed my pleasure to have finally done so.  They have all made deep impressions upon my heart and I am truly enamoured by her two sisters in particular.  I hope to see them again soon but I hope to see Matt and Esther sooner.  I hate being so far away and having humungous pieces of my life completely unknown to them.  It makes me very sad.  In a perfect world we would all live close to our loved ones.  But for now, we cherish the times we do get to spend with them and sob uncontrollably when it's time to say good-bye.  Some of us may also inhale helium before making a wedding speech.  I have no idea who would do such a thing, but I've heard this may have happened at least once in recent history.

Here are some pieces of our trip to Guanacaste, Costa Rica, January 8-15, 2014.

The Wedding Tree.

The Happy Couple. 

The Boys.  

Two families joined together.  

Me, my brother and his lovely wife.  

Matthew and I having one of the best times EVER! 

The infamous bum dance is alive and thriving! 

Bohemian Rhapsody in full swing. 

Footnotes

1.  Just in case somebody didn't get it, there are no wild and sorted details to share about our New Years Eve.  I was being sarcastic.  It was however a lovely night, thoroughly enjoyable, spent with two of favourite men on the planet.  

2.  The journey to Costa Rica went something like this:  First flight to Toronto cancelled.  Two hour drive from Moncton to Fredericton in hopes of catching flight #2 to Toronto.  Flight #2 cancelled.  Took a flight from Fredericton to Montreal in hopes of catching flight #3 to Toronto.  Flight #3 cancelled.  Really wanted to get to Toronto.  Rented a car and drove for 5.5 hours from Montreal to Toronto arriving with an empty tank of gas at 2:30 in the morning.  Slept in hotel for 2.5 hours.  Caught flight from Toronto to Costa Rica on schedule.

3.  Ryan and I didn't tote the camera around with us for most of the trip.  Here are some shots of 'our' little vacation:

A selfie, taken after a short hike over a very dry hill
to a private beach down from our resort.
It was 42 degrees celsius almost every day.  

The view from our room.

The kids on a private boat tour.

One of my little friends.  

My baby went surfing!  

Ryan on the left.  The waves were actually big.  :)

an unforgettable Christmas

Ice on power lines caused a big chunk of Canada's East Coast to lose power this Christmas and we were among them.  Santa had already been here to eat the cookies and drink the milk, so Ryan and I were in bed when we noticed the power go out shortly after midnight.  It was still out at 6 a.m. when we were awakened by our little boy, Leo.

Having Christmas morning without power was actually really special.  I think I'll remember it for a long, long time.

I may have mentioned before that Ruby was really into Christmas this year.  It's her fourth Christmas on the planet but the first that she'll actually recollect.  People started asking her what was on her "list to Santa" back in November and since the very first inquiry she was adamant that she wanted a scooter.  I'm happy that she kept the list short (the scooter was her sole request to old Saint Nick) and I think I'm going to keep this a tradition for both kids.  One special request from Santa.  That's enough.  They have six grandparents to fill any gift void there may be, although I'm sure that's quite impossible.

Ruby's reaction to the scooter was priceless.  After running into the living room, she exclaimed,
"It is!!!  My scooter!!!!  I've always wanted a scooter!!!!!"

Riding her new prized possession. 

I think Christmas would have been complete just after that moment but we had much, much more to do. We were in Sackville for Christmas Eve this year and the kids both got some BIG wheels! 

Leo's Big Wheel is bigger than he is!

It looks like Ryan was pretty excited about whatever her was opening too. 

We headed over to my parent's house Christmas morning a little earlier than planned because we were hungry and getting cold. Thank goodness there was enough hot water to shower and the sun illuminated things by 8 a.m.   So, the rest of the day went something like this….

Can't seem to get a serious family photo. 

He's really loving Christmas. 

Once we started opening presents, Leo ran around the room saying, "More, more" and signing the word as well.  It's the only sign language he learned and it's served him well.

Snacking on cookies before turkey dinner. 

Two amigos, all bundled up.

Leo officially turned 18 months on Dec.24th.  He's getting big and smart and even more handsome, if that's possible.  He and Ruby are beginning to play really well together and it's a joy to watch them in action.  Here's to a crazy 2013 and an even crazier 2014!!  Bring it on!