Someone is ready for Jamaica...

It was an itsy bitsy, teenie weenie, yellow polka-dot bikini ....

Ohhh but it's too cold to go outside with my bikini ... look at all the snow!!

I found this cute little bikini for Alexa.... isn't it just so cute?! She loved running around in it and laughing...

That is about as cute of a face as I have seen in a really long time!!!

Now- if I could only wear something like that.... haha yah right!

Narrow escape

I think it is time I get a hands free set for my cell phone. I just can't seem to go anywhere when I 'need' to call someone. It is now illegal to drive while talking in Nova Scotia.... and well, I got caught yesterday.

Halifax has police officers standing on street corners, one will see you, the other stops you a few blocks away.... SUCKS!! So, although I thought I was being discreet, I was caught. But, with my sweet charm and a little smile for the police officer I convinced him to give me a warning.... good thing... it would have otherwise been a $200 bill - Yikes!

Ok, so I learned my lesson, sorry everyone, no calls while driving until I get with the times here...
and of course, just because I 'can't' , I know I am going to want to be on the phone all the time while driving.

Oh well... safety first!!

so MUCH fun!!

Well, we have had some time to be outside the last few days... it has been nice out, so Shaun has had fun being outside. He is pretty excited about all the snow!!!

We made a tunnel for him today- we didn't quite make it all the way through, but we will finish it tomorrow- Shaun was pretty excited when he came home from Heathers!
Shaun is a little more brave about sliding down our big banks!

This is the 'mountain' of snow the town has made from clearing out the fire hydrant... it looks bigger than it is, but it is still a lot of fun for Shaun!

Doesn't Savannah look tiny at the top of the 'mountain' ?? :)

So I can't resist....

I know I told you I wouldn't keep talking about the snow, but this one I have to share! we did get our 'weather bomb'... it is just a really big blizzard! It started in the middle of the night, and I don't know the official number, but I think we got about a foot of snow, and lots of wind. So here is what our yard looks like now... :)

This was after the snowplow had been through- and buried the car... that is not much fun to have to shovel.
Almost covered...

Shaun is about 43" tall, and I think that is probably what we now have in the whole yard ,and then a few little mountains where the snowblower blew the rest...

Andy shoveling through the snow drift (no wonder I don't mind all this snow- I don't have to shovel!!)

Sure nobody wants to come and visit??

Could be an interesting day

Well, I don't know how the rest of the day is going to turn out.
I thought I was doing well this morning as I made apple sauce for the kids. Apparently I was still half asleep,as I put it on the stove, and came downstairs... played with the kids, watched a show with Shaun- and all of a sudden realized I never heard the timer go off (well actually I didn't press start) .... Ran upstairs, and well, I think I saved our kitchen from catching fire at least!! It was burnt to a crisp on the bottom!!

At least the pot of soup (yummy ham cheddar chowder) I made did not burn!

I have learned a lot about different weather systems since living on the coast. Tonight might be our new 'event'. They are telling us to prepare for a 'weather bomb'.... yes, you read it right! I didn't know what that was, I told Shaun and he got really scared until I told him it really only means A LOT of snow.... two storms colliding- one from the west, one from the south. Could be interesting- I will let you know how we make out- probably tomorrow, after it hits us tonight!!

It is beautiful right now, so Shaun and I are going to head out when Alexa has her nap to build some forts, that hopefully we can add to with this new snow we should be receiving. He (and I ) love being able to play in the snow!!

Blog blahs

Well, as you may have noticed, I have had writters block. I don't really know what to write about- I wonder how sick everyone is hearing about the kids, or about how much snow we have (yes, we did get more yesterday :)... so what else can I write about???

Something that may interest some of you... I have been receiving emails from a group I took a day workshop from, which reminded me of the experience. The organization is called Safe and Sound (http://safeandsound.ca/). I was priviledged a few years ago to attend a personal safety day. The owner of the company is a former police officer, and she talks about how to protect ourselves in violent situations, and how to prevent attacks from occuring. It was a VERY empowering day and is a great confidence booster, that really, we can make the choice to be safe, and once we set our mind to it, we would likely be in the group of people who survive a violent attack. It was one of the most empowering days of my life.

I won't go on about it, but I would really encourage anyone to attend a course, or to have them present at your child's school. The website outlines all of their courses.

If any of you attend, let me know how you found the experience!!

Poor babies

Our two little babies (well not so little anymore) are sick. Shaun has (another) ear infection and Alexa has had a really bad runny nose for the past few days. I hate to see them sick.

I did a little research, as it seems Shaun is going to have troubles with his ears. His last infection was at the end of Oct 08, but he has had a few others since then. I looked it up, and the Mayo Clinic says to not treat them with antibiotics, that most of the time they are viral... has anyone heard of this? I would hate to 'wait and see' for 72 hrs as suggested to see if it improves on its own, but I hate for him to be on antibiotics so much too... Just curious if anyone else has ever heard this?

Hopefully we will all sleep a little better tonight, and that the kids get better soon!

Happy Valentines Day everyone... :)

The new 'game'

So as many of you will know, there is a little game happening on Facebook. Basically, you tell everyone 25 random things about you, and then get everyone to do the same, in an attempt to get to know one another better. I would do this on Facebook, but frankly, there are people on my 'friend list' that I haven't spoken to in years, and I am a little paranoid about how much stuff about me gets out... not that I have anything to hide... :) So I will keep this list for my favorite friends and family who read my blog- here it goes... :)

1) It is 930 pm, and I'm ready for bed. 6 am is too early to wake up to a little girl saying 'mama' in all kids of different tones and voices! (although it makes me smile)
2)I am going to Halifax... again... tomorrow. The drive is boring, but the city is beautiful.
3) I can tolerate a lot of things- seeing someone vomit is not one of them (God help me when the stomach flu hits our house!)
4)I am easily adaptable to new situations.
5) I have a mild obsession with cleaning.
6) The gym is not my friend, although I am trying to force myself into a lifelong relationship with it.
7) My favorite thing to witness is a sunset, it brings me a sense of peace.
8) Fall is my favorite season.
9) I always wanted to have boys for children, I don't know what I would do without my little girl now that she is here. I'm thankful I have one of each.
10) I love learning, I hate writing tests
11) I remember a lot of useless things about people, which I usually don't share because everyone would think I was weird.
12) I love animals, but I don't think I will own a pet in the future (after Mason of course!)
13) I love the sound of the ocean. It also brings me a sense of peace.
14) I believe in One God
15) I love to travel, and experience other cultures. Cultural differences fascinate me.
16) I'm slowly learning the differences between men/ women (some are hard to understand!!)
17) I love big bear hugs from everyone, but especially from Shaun and Alexa (and Andrew too!)
18) I have been tricked twice at work (people lying) and it burns me up inside to know people can be so deceitful. (I will make it to 'the bar' one day.... and look her in the face!)
19) I love snow
20) I didn't love shovelling 2 feet of snow last week (Thankfully there are snowblowers and this only happens once a year!)
21) I love hearing the phone ring and guessing who might be calling (friends... family!)
22) I have been married for (almost) 6 years... it does not feel like it has been that long
23) I love knowing Andrew is home everynight, and not away with work.
24) I miss my Nanna, and think of her often- she gives me a lot of my strength and courage
25) Andrew surprised me today with roses for Valentines Day.... very thoughtful considering he does not condone such 'holidays'!! Thank you Andrew!!

The best $20 I have spent in a LONG time!

So I got home safe and sound... only to find we were pretty much buried here over night in snow!

I came home to a hole carved out of our driveway the size of our car, and a tiny little foot path that lead from the house to the car.

I started to shovel, and then realized what a HUGE project this would be to shovel over 2 feet of snow (ok- I don't even know how much it was- it was up to my waist, that's all I know!)
Luckily, I saw one of my now favorite tractors down the street with the big snow plow on the back... you know the ones I told you all about earlier in the season..... I hopped in the truck as fast as I could and flagged him down... $20 and it was done in 3 minutes ... phewf! Thank God for snowblowers in times like these!!


Poor Mason is going to have to find a new place for himself.... :) I don't think he can jump that bank!!

This is what Andrew woke up to.... I feel horrible I was not here to help Andrew out. He got up at 430 am when he heard the snow plows to dig out a bit before going back to bed for a while. :(

yes, that is our car.... :) Nothing like a Maritime winter... and yes, there is still snow in the forecast... :) Anyone want to come visit?!?!?!

You know the horrible thing is... when I look at these pictures, all I can do is laugh out loud... this is so ridiculous!!!!

Stuck in Halifax

Ok- so the picture above is NOT from this storm, but I thought it would get your attention... :)

I came to Halifax yesterday, for meetings planned today. Yes, they were predicting a big snow storm for today, but I have become a little cynical the past few weeks, as they don't seem to be all that accurate with their weather predictions.

Anyway, their prediction, of course, came true today. It was snowing by 10 am, by 1 pm when I left my first appointment it was snowing heavily, and I had to be in 4 wheel drive or else I was fish tailing all over the place, and by 3 pm it was starting to accumulate even more and I did not know if I could make it up a residential hill, even in the truck... With the prediction of the snow to turn to freezing rain, I opted to stay put instead of driving 2.5 hours in horrible driving conditions.

Alright, so the weatherman does know what he's talking about... sometimes!

Now I am in my hotel room, and missing my baby and boys.... Hope everything settles down over night so I can't get back home for hugs and kisses... :)

Love you dear... sorry I won't be there to help shovel out in the morning :( Good luck!

Kids update

Shaun decided yesterday that rolling down his little hill in the front yard was the way to go, instead of using the toboggan. He had a lot of fun!

Although we haven't really had any big storms lately, the snow is piling up. They were saying we could get 30 -40 cm tomorrow, but I think that has now changed to a little snow and a little rain :( I guess we won't get snowed in afterall!

Alexa officially has enough hair for ... pig-tails!!! Her hair seems to be growing very fast these days, so now we are a little closer to a ponytail too... :)