Toronto Part 1: Air Travel

We're back, and we're a little grumpy.

We took a late flight last night to maximize our time out east.

Now, we're paying for it.

I'd pay this price a million times for the visits we had. 

{More on that later.}

It started out a little rough with a 2 hour flight delay.

But, as my Mom {the optimist} said, at least we weren't sitting on the plane.

We set up camp next to this little play area.

It was a complete hit with Fiona.

She split her time between sliding, lego and watching the planes with Gram.

Cedric slept.

I have many friends that fight for the roomy front seat when flying with kids.

I, on the other hand, have found it easiest to take the babes to the back of the plane.

Because {a}less people sit back there 

{b}close proximity to the bathroom with the change table 

{c}close to the wonderful flight attendants

{d}I feel no need to rush off the plane when it lands.

We grabbed our row 22 seats and brought out the toddler entertainment.

Honestly, I don't know why I bother.

Fiona was glued to Treehouse on the little screen {sans sound} until she fell asleep.

At one point I had 2 sleeping kids.

{My Mom took visual evidence.}

Neither of the kids seemed bothered by the change of pressure.

I tried to feed Cedric as we went up but my little snacker was done long before we hit the air.

We had some water handy for Fiona and she used it on takeoff but not landing.

I thought maybe the noise would scare Fiona {on her first flight sitting in her own seat}.

But the fact that we listened to the planes roar from the airport I think made her more comfortable.

In Fionglish:

"Sa hairplane say roar and go upa, sa people can't reach us.

Get a cookie...two cookie, put a seatbelt on, watch a Toopy and Binoo."

The way back was a little later so Fiona was definitely over tired.

{I was also tired which explains the lack of pics.}

She took a long time to settle but still barely made a peep.

I was full of pride when, at the end of the flight someone said "you wouldn't even know there were 2 kids back here."

That folks, is what you call a success.

See You Next Week

We've got a busy day ahead.

Today we sign all the papers to lease the 3 pieces of equipment that we have been after.

We actually have to do this by conference call so we do it right.

This is serious folks!

When that's done it's time to pack.

I'm taking the kids to Toronto this weekend to visit my grandparents.

Fiona has met them but most of her interactions have been through Facetime.

Yes, you heard that right, my grandparents on Facetime.

{I'm so proud.}

This will, however, be Cedric's first visit.  

I'm feeling guilty that he hasn't met them in his first 6 months.

{Don't even get me started on Jeff's Papa who won't have the pleasure until almost 10 months.}

It's as my friend Amber said in her recent post.

 "You have to enjoy the time you have with loved ones and listen to their stories of when they were young and what things used to be like.
 It is our family tree and we need to preserve those branches that are starting to crack."

We need more time and travel points.

Liebster Blog Award

Finally!

I have been wanting to do this post for a while.

{I'm talking months.}

My beautiful friend Charmian from Stone of Joy honoured me with the Liebster Blog Award in May.
{May people!}
Well since then I have been on the hunt for great small blogs.
The deal was that I was to pass this on to 5 small {less than 200 followers} blogs that I love.
I have since done some research and quickly realized that the rules have changed.
Now to accept this award you are to:
{a} Answer 11 questions posed to you {I escaped this part}.
{b} Tell 11 things about yourself
{c} Pass the award on to small blogs you love {how many is unclear, I'm sticking with 5}.
{d} Ask each of these bloggers to answer 11 questions.

I was going to ignore these new rules but didn't want to anger the blog gods.
So here we go.

My tidbits are...
1. I live in a 100 year old house.
2. My husband still thinks it's crazy that we live in a 100 year old house.
3. I treated my dogs like my babies until I had real babies.
4. I dream of having a house full of kids.
5. I love doing domestic things.
6. I don't often have the patience for them so end up doing my own quick version.
7. I used to want to be an accountant.
8. I almost failed grade 9 social studies but got 90+ in math.
9. I lived in Red Deer from ages 11-14.
10. I want backyard chickens.
11. I am addicted to blogging.

Sorry Congratulations to...

The Making of a Happy Life
Amber does beautiful things for her family and has a great way with words.
This one is super new and I can't wait to read more.

Itsy Bitsy Teeny Weeny Yellow Polka Dot Bikini
Kristie has been blogging for a while but took a hiatus.
She is honest and hilarious.

Flaird
Julie also took a small hiatus but is back!
She takes beautiful pics and writes beautifully about her family and herself.

Anne-Marie Merle
I think Kirsten might have more than 200 followers but I'm bending the rules.
I love the way she speaks of her mom (the namesake) and how she still influences her every day.
Especially now as a Mom herself.

Stories of a Prairie Girl
I'm hoping this gets Diana to start blogging again.
She started this while out of the country but since being back has fallen off the blog wagon.
She is an amazing and inspiring person and the world would do good to have more Diana.

Your questions are...
1.Why did you start a blog?
2. What's your favourite thing to write about?
3. What's your own favourite post?
4. What's your favourite Edmonton festival?
5. What website do you visit every day?
6. How long do you spend online every day?
7. Where would you move?
8. What type of business would you start?
9. What's your favourite thing about Fall?
10. What's the most domestic thing about you?
11. What's the least domestic thing about you?

Ok, job done.
I will now display this badge proudly.

TBH

A {much younger} friend of mine mentioned yesterday that she was getting behind on her acronyms.

She {laughingly} called herself old when she didn't know the meaning of TBH.

If she's old I must really be over the hill.

BTW {see what I did there}, why is "it's all downhill from here" a bad thing?

Most of us who train for running on hills would consider that phrase a pure positive.

Back to my original train of thought.

TBH: To be honest.

When someone starts a sentence this way I usually prepare for the worst.

It should be a good thing, honesty that is.

We want the truth, we say we want the truth but {as Jack pointed out} can we handle it?

Sometimes admitting something or putting it in writing makes it somehow more real.

When Jeff and I started talking about writing a blog we committed to telling the truth.

We wanted to give insight into our lives {struggles and all}.

Owning a business has been difficult, that's the truth.

Another truth is that Jeff has never been more satisfied by a job and that makes it all worthwhile.

I recently reconnected with a great friend, Rachel, from my Denver days.

She is, in her own words, the last person not on Facebook, so it was great to catch up.

She also said, I quote:

"Your blog is so honest and real though and I loved it.  I’m sure it must be stressful being a business owner.  I often think about that and how I’m just employed by someone.  But we are a small firm (only four of us) and so it keeps it more in the forefront of my mind what my bosses sacrifice to give me a job.  I am grateful for it every day."

Thanks Rach.

This is exactly what I was hoping to communicate.

As our business grows it can be tough on us.

We take pride though in the fact that we're providing jobs for others.

And adding more all the time.

To be honest, we wouldn't have it any other way.

Excuse Me While I Pep Talk

I need a little encouragement.

It's so quiet in this home today.

I actually miss the constant stream of "why, Mommy, why?".

There's a part of me that wants to race back and pick my little girl up.

I almost didn't leave my post outside the door to her classroom.

I set up camp after I left her crying.

I fought back tears as I listened to her scream "where Mommy going?"

{Yep, still crying at the drop of a hat.}

I was so grateful for the stranger who provided some kind words.

When her cries subsided, I took a deep breath and walked away.

It felt {almost} like one of the final steps in her transformation from baby to "big girl".

It felt {a lot} like one of my first steps in letting her grow on her own.

Weekend at the Lake {aka: A Farewell to Summer}

Did you miss me?

I took the kids out of town on Wednesday last week.

We hate to leave Daddy behind but Feefs was itching to see her BFF Charlie.

{I must admit though, she wasn't the only one missing a friend.}

Luckily, we were able to tear Jeff away from the shop for a couple days and spend some time at our own lake.

It was such a beautiful weekend but there were many hints of cooler times a comin'.

We watched neighbours bring in their docks and collect firewood.

This is cabin closing time for many.

{We, however, are the crazy type that head up in -40C. 

I swear it's really cozy with the fire roaring.}

The Canadian Geese flew overhead in that telltale formation.

The tree that still provides us with shade shed the first of the leaves that will soon blanket our lawn.

Fiona asked "what's that" when I produced a visible breath.

I was trying to demonstrate that the morning air was too cold for playing in the pool.

I can hardly believe that summer is over.

Time is flying by.

My little man turned 6 months a few days ago.

He must have decided that he needed to celebrate by hitting some milestones.

I watched him get up on hands and knees and sit unassisted.

I decided I needed to take action and make this kid seem more baby.

Bathing him in something small did the trick.

{Whew.}

 I realized this weekend that I will in fact miss summer.

The abundance of wasps, however, pushed me to long for that first frost.

2024 Olympics Here We Come

What?  I'm shooting high.

Fiona started gymnastics yesterday and it was a hit.

She was jumping, balancing, hanging and swinging like a pro.

{Toddler pro that is.}

She talked about it all day.

Her favorite part was...

The trampoline?

The balance beam?

{I know the suspense is killing you.}

The bar?

The foam pit?

{C'mon already, right?}

None of the above.

It was the stamp on her hand for being a good listener.

Rewarding good behaviour, it IS all it's cracked up to be.