Summer's Ending!!

Summer is almost over and I'm actually sad!! Last year I was doing a happy dance on the first day of school...probably because her last day of school in OK was May 6th and her first day of school here in NB was Sept 9!! Yikes!! But this year it's different!! We've had such a nice summer that's I'm sad it's over! I watched one of Maddy's friends and that kept Maddy entertained almost everyday! Here's a couple of end of the summer pictures of the girls!!

Our Big Girl!!

Our tiny Sarah has moved into a real big girl bed! She loves it! We were worried about how this whole real bed thing would work...Sarah is busy, so say the least. We weren't certain how she would do when completely surrounded by toys laying in a bed she can get out of on her own...but no need to worry!! I really think she doesn't realize she can get out of the bed without permission. She just sits on the bed and cries and when we come in the room, she holds up her arms for us to pick her up out of the bed!! If only using the potty came so easily!! LOL

Misc. Cute Pictures

Just wanted to add some cute pictures! There are pictures of our new "fireplace" for Mom. She requested a photo and here it is!! We are actually proud of that bargain fireplace!! (note: we were watching our favorite show while this picture was taken...Two and a Half Men) Jeffy and I were killing time while Maddy and Allie were at Vacation Bible School at our church in Fredericton. We were walking around Canadian Tire and found this fireplace on clearance. It is last years model...gasp...can you believe we stooped so low as to get last years model! Okay LOL anyone who knows me is fully aware if it's a bargain it's mine!! Just let me tell you about my $5 yard sale snowblower in KY!! It was less than half price and I really like the way the lighter marble brightens up the room! The next set of pictures are Fergus and his new girlfriend Phoebe. Pheobe is a weimeraner. She belongs to our friends Mike and Ivonne. They are the new American exchange family...and they are lovely! We are starting a dog sitting coop...it's so much easier to take a little trip without worrying about dog responsibilities!! Phoebe and Fergus have a quiet love for each other! They were like an old married couple...they ignored each other most of the day, but at night you would catch them cuddling up on the pillow together!! That is when Sarah didn't push both of them off and spread her blanket down and relax her little self on the DOG pillow!!

Sarah's 2nd birthday!!

We celebrated Sarah's 2nd birthday at McDonalds this afternoon! Okay, so it was a week late, but she didn't notice! LOL Actually our friend Mike and Ivonne had us over for supper last weekend and threw Sarah a little birthday party on her proper birthday...and then we came home and Webcammed Mom and Dad and they got to sing happy birthday with us and watch her eat her cake and open the presents from them. I love that webcam...best thing since sliced bread!! Today we had 7 little girls for a party at McDonalds. Sarah loved it!! She loves to play in the playland and her favorite food is french fries...just ask Pa!! The McDonalds staff let Maddy and Sarah make their own ice cream and that was super exciting for Maddy! All in all it was a great afternoon!! And they cleaned up!!

Sarah's ponytails...

Just had to add this one...mind you, the ponies only lasted all of ten minutes...but man were they ever cute for those ten minutes!!!

Sarah in a basket

Here's a couple of pictures of Sarah in her toy basket...I had to post them because the look on her face is sooooo totally Sarah!!

Canada Day

Here's a couple of pictures of Maddy on Canada Day. We went to spend the day with Janis and watch the parade from her driveway which is right on the parade route. The kids loved it!! Then we walked down to the park by the river and went to the small town fair...a very lovely way to spend the day!!

Change of Command

Jeffy not only got promoted but he took over command of a battery. That is super exciting for him!! At the change of command the girls certainly made their presence known!! Sarah didn't like Jeff's loud voice when he was yelling commands at the battery so she started yelling too...No! Daddy No! Then when Jeff was giving his speech he thanked his wife and two little girls...Maddy looked like an Olympic gymnast...I seriously thought she was going to stand up and take a bow!! Gotta love having kids attend those kinda things!! LOL We didn't take too many photos, but here's one!!

Congratulations Major Dad!!

Yeah!!! Jeffy got promoted to Major!! We are all sooooo proud of him!! Sooooo many people told him over and over and OVER again that he would never be promoted...he was too old...we went took a US posting...ect. ect. ect. So needless to say when we got word Jeffy would be promoted we were over the moon!! He deserves it!! And to make things even more super special his Dad and brother Wes flew in for the ceremony!! It couldn't have been a better day!!

Catch up time!!

Time to catch up on my blogging...okay, so I'm not really going to write a whole lot, but I'm going to post some recent pictures!! Hope everyone enjoys!!!
XXXOO Melissa

Enjoying a lovely spring afternoon!

Here are a few pictures of the girls enjoying our absolutely lovely spring afternoon!! The temperature actually hit around 75 degrees and the sun was shining! Friday's are half days at school (don't get me started!!!!!) so the girls had a great afternoon of planting a plant at the MFRC and then we went through the drive through of McDonalds and got ice cream cones, and finally a whole afternoon playing in the yard...what could be better!! The first series is Sarah thoroughly enjoying her very own cone...and Fergus waiting patiently for his turn! He didn't have to wait long...it was one lick for Sarah, one lick for Fergus...and when she was all done he cleaned her right up! Hey...saves us money on wet wipes! LOL The last picture is Maddy and Allie and the lovely hopscotch board they drew on the driveway!! I'll tell you what, you don't realize how much you miss out on not having a sidewalk or driveway (last summer we were without both until November!)...but we are quickly making up for it this year!!The 1st lick is always so delicious!!


Hey...wait a second...Sarah has an ice cream cone...could be my lucky day!!

AAAHHHH!!! And it is!!

Don't worry, I'll earn my keep and clean up!

Oh how fun sidewalk chalk is!! And in case you know my husband...yes, it does drive Jeffy crazy to have the driveway all chalked up!! But he can deal!! LOL

Hope you are all enjoying some Spring Fun!! XXOO

The Sugar Bush

Well today I did something very informative and very Canadian...I went along on Maddy's field trip to the sugar bush. I was very lacking in my sugar bush knowledge, but now I'm an expert!! LOL We drove and drove and drove some more until finally we arrived at the sugar bush. A sugar bush is a place where the whole process of making maple syrup takes place...from tapping the trees to boiling the sap to bottling the syrup. This sugar bush was really nothing more than a little store, a bunch of trees, enough picnic tables for 150 kids and one port a potty. I would really like to thank Brian and Dianna for making certain we made a stop at Tim Hortons before we got on the road...that ensured I was forced to endure a port a potty experience...and let me tell you it was charming...especially after the 30 young boys went before me! At the sugar bush there was one man who amazingly somewhat kept the attention of most of the children while he described how a sugar bush was run. (side note: the gentleman was missing lots of teeth...I thought that would have been the perfect opportunity to explain how maple syrup effects your dental hygiene...but they didn't go that route) The man took us on a little trip into the trees and showed us how to tap a tree. It was really cool. Then he answered lots of kiddy questions. Here's where the real fun began...the eating. All the kids sat down to eat their lunches. As they were eating Maddy's teacher Mr. Roy and another parent were discussing how funny it was that I had never been or even heard of a sugar bush. First, I am American. I was raised in middle America...there aren't a lot of sugar bushes (is that a word?) where I come from. And second and most importantly I HATE maple syrup. I think it's sickly sweet and just gross...so I've never really been interested in learning how it is made...call me crazy!! LOL But Mr. Roy found this very intriguing. So he decided to volunteer me to help make maple syrup taffy pops for the kids. He felt I needed to be a part of the whole sugar bush experience...so I did. It was really cool how they did it. They brought out these big trays full of snow and they poured steaming hot maple syrup on the snow in lines. After a minute or so the syrup had hardened enough that we volunteers could take a Popsicle stick and roll up the taffy to make a maple taffy pop. There was also another station that dipped big marshmallows on sticks in maple syrup. Silly me, I assumed the kids were supposed to pick one or the other...oh no...the kids were allowed to have as many as they wanted. Yikes. They went nutso!! There was one little boy who ate 12 taffy pops. Once again...yikes. I made lots of pops and then went back to find Sarah who had been under Maddy's supervision had a marshmallow pop in one hand and a taffy pop in the other. Let me just say she was loving the sugar bush! I do not envy any of the teachers who had to ride that hour back to school the sugar hyped up kids!! So after a long day at the sugar bush I feel very Canadian! I still don't like maple syrup, but I certainly have a new appreciation for how much effort goes into making it!!

The Snow is MELTING!!!

Let me go ahead and start with a rousing THANK YOU GOD!!!! The snow in Oromocto is finally melting and the sun is shining!! It is amazing just how much happier everyone is when Mr. Golden Sun shows his face! I didn't even mind all of the clean up that many feet of melting snow causes! I am here to tell you that a melted snowman carcass does not look pretty come spring...it looks like a bunch of dirty scarves and sticks with a few rotten grapes thrown in for good measure!! It amazes me how much crap was unearthed during this spring melt!! But as I said before...I don't mind cleaning up even one little bit!!

I don't have tons to pass along, but I thought I'd post some cute pictures! I snuck up on Sarah and Maddy sharing some quality sister time...eating popcorn in bed...what could be better!! The second is a group of neighborhood girls that all came over last week on a no PD school day...I know shocking a day without school in New Brunswick, lol...and we made monkey bread. The final picture is Sarah riding Maddy's horse. Maddy got that horse a couple of years ago at Christmas and Sarah loves it!! She kisses it and pets it and is constantly calling her horsey!

Hope you like the pictures and I hope spring has sprung in your neck of the woods!! A huge birthday Hug to Uncle Cotton...we wish we could be there to celebrate with you!! We love you!!

"Tapey" the Dinosaur

Today I became a real parent...I mean the parent of a school kid. You would think that all of the hours I have spent worrying about her education, the many homework sessions I have supervised, or all of the numerous walks to the bus stop would make me feel like a certified (certified, not certifiable...) school Mom...but nope, it took Tapey to do that. This morning at 6:50am Maddy flew into the bedroom to remind me that she had a project due today. Needless to say I had totally forgotten that we needed to construct a dinosaur from various shapes found around the house. Luckily we had already picked all of our supplies...four toilet paper tubes, a paper towel tube, a cake mix box, and a jello box. I had intended to buy contact paper over the weekend as I figured self adhesive contact paper would have been far easier than construction paper when trying to cover various sized boxes and tubes...and let me just say...it really would have helped!!...but since I forgot to get the contact paper we were stuck taping blue construction paper on all of the various shapes at 7am this morning. We used the remainder of a roll of masking tape, 1/4 roll of packing tape and almost an entire fresh roll of scotch tape. While all of the frantic taping was taking place Jeff was trying to get out the door to leave for a business trip and Sarah was carrying around a bowl of animal cookies and orange slices...the only thing Mommy could manage while taping. Fear not, even with all of the craziness we did finish our dinosaur and he was lovely...I'm guessing you can all figure out how he got his name Tapey, huh? All that really matters is he was complete and Maddy was on the bus by 8am! I now feel like a real Mom...I've earned my title, thanks to Tapey!

PS Photos of Maddy and Tapey will be added once he is returned to our family from Mr. Roy!

Cute Kiddos

Well...not too much to tell, but I sure do have some cute girlys!! So I thought I'd post some pictures of them! Picture number one is my "big"girl Maddy sound asleep with Horton. Gigi and Pa sent the girls a stuffed Horton with 2 Horton books. Maddy hasn't let go of him since his arrival...so much for sharing!! I love this picture because even though she talks like a small adult and seems to be growing up while I blink...I can look and this and see she's still my little girl snuggling her favorite stuffy! The second picture is a shot of the two chefs in our house this afternoon. Allie's Daddy's birthday is tomorrow so she requested we make him a chocolate cake this afternoon...of course we did! Looks like there is more batter on the girls than in the bowl!! The final two are Sarah Beara covered in chocolate as well...I mean seriously she needed a spoon to lick too!!

Once again...not too much else going on here...still @$%&(@*^ snowing! We are suppose get another storm today or tomorrow...I really need for this winter to be OVER!!!!! Have a great afternoon and enjoy the pictures!!

Snow Days...

Why is that snow days bring on such totally different emotions now as compared to when I was a child??? I remember as a child hearing of a snow storm on the way and waiting with baited breath for the first flake to fall, convinced that would definitely cancel school the following day...okay and in reality...I grew up in Kentucky and one or two flakes really did cancel school!! (okay it took a half inch or so...) Snow days were so much fun...we got to sleep late, watch TV, and my favorite of all bake cookies!! In fact my most infamous snow day memory is standing in the kitchen taking chocolate chip cookies off of a cookie sheet and Mom saying to look up that the space shuttle was getting ready to take off. I looked up just as the space shuttle separated and the whole world watched all the space shuttle astronauts and the teacher on board crash. Not super happy, but one of those seconds in time that will forever be burned into my brain.

So why is it now that the words snow day now make only one thought come to mind...how desperately I need Prozac??? I think maybe it's because I'm almost certain the children haven't had a full week of school since before Christmas...and in fact missed an entire week just last week! Now I stress about how to entertain the kids all day, how much education they are missing and how in the world will they ever catch up, and my favorite...will Sarah ever take a nap with two other girls screaming around the house?? Oh yeah and to add insult to injury...I gave up sugar at the beginning of the year so chocolate chip cookies are out!

I do try to put on a happy face and squeal and hug Maddy when I tell her there's no school. I try to come up with crafts and fun things to occupy the day and even last week I broke down and made real live chocolate chip cookies with the girls. (that was after my two sugar free recipes just didn't seem to make the cut!!) I do all of this with the best smile I can muster because I want my kids to have the same happy memories of snow days as I do. That however does not stop me from praying in every free second for spring to arrive ASAP!!

PS and in case you were wondering...yes today is another snow day!!!

Locks of Love

Yesterday was the big day!! Maddy has had long hair as long as I can remember and a few months ago she decided she wanted to donate her hair to locks of love. A little boy in the neighborhood is growing his hair to donate and Maddy asked why he had long hair. I explained that he was giving his hair to other children (and adults) who are sick and the only medicine that can make them better sometimes makes their hair fall out. I said they were sick and then after losing their hair they were sad and embarassed, so nice people like Nigel donated their hair to make wigs. We talked a little more about it and she decided she wanted to donate her hair too. I should have been really proud...and I was...but I really didn't want her to cut her hair! I couldn't imagine my little girl without her braids or pony tail. I, of course, gave in and made the appointment. We went in and the hairstylist put her hair into pony tails and cut off the pony tails...I seriously just about cried. She got the royal treatment and had a haircut and style and even lipgloss!! Everyone in the salon told her how thoughtful she was and she just loved every second!! She is even more adorable with her short hair and I am very proud!! After the salon we headed over to the mall and treated her to two scoops of ice cream in a waffle cone! And as the cherry on top of the day there were a couple of lil kinz on half price at the card store and we let her pick one. It was a really special day!! When we got home Gigi and Pa called on the computer and Maddy got to show off her new 'do to them as well!

The New Year is Up and Running

Well let me first say I'm sorry for the terribly long time since I last blogged. I wish I could come up with a reasonable excuse, but I can not. I simply slacked off during the holidays and haven't been able to get back in the groove! No better time than the present to get moving right??

Speaking of getting moving...Sarah has sure done that! She's gone from crawling to running now. However, her coordination is still lacking. She currently has a huge bruise on one of her adorable little cheeks and Mommy is afraid to take her out in public for fear someone will call social services on us! She still doesn't talk a lot, but I think that comes from having Maddy doting on her all the time. She just grunts and points and she's got whatever it is she had her eye on! But just as soon as Maddy gets it to her, Sarah grabs a handful of hair and Maddy's screaming...oh the joys of parenthood! God made her so cute for a reason!!

Maddy's doing just great! She is absolutely loving the Canadian winter! She has quickly gotten used to suiting up in all the winter gear...Mommy, still hates that it takes ten minutes just to get ready to walk to the bus stop every morning. Oh well... Maddy is ice skating with school and she's actually getting the hang of it!! I bundle up Sarah and go to the rink to watch and help tie skates. It's fun. Maddy's french is coming a long great and we are working hard to keep her english up to par at home. She may need some additional tutoring, but we'll have to wait and see!

Jeffy and I are busy beating the winter blues by planning our next Disney cruise. We have decided to set sail again in January of 09. That may seem like a long time, but right now focusing on cruising in the Carribean sun, sure makes shoveling the Canadian snow a lot less painful!! We'll keep you updated on our plans!!

Again...sorry for the delay...hope all is well in your neck of the woods!! Now that I'm back, I'm certain I'll be much more current in my blogs...I hope!!