The Wonder Amid the Chaos

Our Maritimes Road Trip - The Cabot Trail Part 1

2014-10-07T21:52:00.001-04:00

After such a relaxed evening in our little cottage, we had a relaxed start to the morning, with a bacon and egg home cooked breakfast, hubby taking the girls down to the shore line and a complete repacking of the car. So it was around 10 am that we hit the road.

Our first stop today was at the Visitor Information centre at the beginning of the Cabot Trail just north of Cheticamp. Armed with a map complete with suggestions for the best child friendly walking spots we headed off.

Our first stop was at Le Buttereau, a 30 min walking loop along one of the roads that linked the inhabitants of Le Buttereau with Cheticamp. We enjoyed (or at least 3 of us did) a short wander up the hill to a beautiful vista down along the coast back towards Cheticamp. We spotted squirrels, chipmunks and a couple of garter snakes. The Youngest decided that as this was the first walk of the day it was probably time to announce that her legs were already tired and she would require carrying for the remainder of the day.

Hopping back in the car, and the drive up the coast provided us with stunning views, that our photos just don't do enough justice to. It was an incredibly beautiful drive all the way along, including once we headed inland. Sadly, despite being told that along this stretch was a high chance of seeing moose, they avoided us and none were to be seen. We would also have loved to have stopped and done the skyline trail, but with two small children, the 7km loop was beyond us.

Our second walking stop for the day was at a place called 'The French Mountain Bog', 410m above sea level, a typical highland wetland. This walk was on a boardwalk that lasted roughly 15 mins. Which was a lovely stroll for Hubby and The Eldest, and an exercise for me in how not to let The Youngest find as many ways as possible to end up in the water lodged marshlands. 'I promise I won't fall in' she repeated the entire way around, whilst trying to balance on the boardwalk edges with all the finesse of an amateur gymnast. And again, sadly, no moose.

As we continued driving, we had stunning views across the mountains, and glimpses of the ocean as we descended into Pleasant bay.

Our next stop was at Lone Shieling, an area with 350 year old maple trees, the largest old hardwood forest in the maritimes. There is also an old shepherd's hut here that was built to commemorate the Scottish heritage of Pleasant Bay. We had a great time wandering along the tracks, exploring the hut, the streams and practising how to 'be large' in the event that we came across some coyotes.

The fall colours continued to impress us, every mountain and valley full of glorious hues of red, orange and yellow, as we headed towards Beulach Ban Waterfall, where the girls had their first up close encounter with a waterfall.

Halfway through the Cabot Trail!
More to come in part 2
(off to bed - everyone else is asleep)
Jen x

Our Maritimes Road Trip - Prince Edward Island to Cape Breton Island

2014-10-06T21:07:00.000-04:00

Today was an early start. The girls reluctantly said goodbye to the 'best hotel room ever' (christened as such because of the little cupboard that doubled as a cubby house) and we drove for an hour down to Wood Island to catch the 9:30am ferry across to Pictou, Nova Scotia.

The ferry saved us a couple of hundred kms and had us well on our way towards todays destination - Cheticamp on the West side of Cape Breton Island. We had a brief stop in Antigonish to stock up on dinner and breakfast supplies, and then drove straight through to our first stop on Cape Breton at Mabou. Once again, we were greeted with the beautiful fall colours that had not been so evident on PEI. It was another stunning drive, even if in somewhat dismal, weather.

To get to Mabou, we travelled along the 'Ceilidh Trail' which runs from causeway across to Cape Breton and up the South West corner of the Island. We stopped at Mabou and enjoyed the luncheon fare of the Red Shoe Pub. By the time we finished lunch, the sun had come out, and we saw blue sky for the first time in days. We arrived at Cheticamp somewhere around mid afternoon.

I have to admit, we were taken aback (not in a good way) with the look of our accommodations, and after checking in at the office that was in no way tidy or clean, I was convinced that we were going to have to go in search of somewhere else to stay. However, it turned out that the cottage that we (ok, actually I had booked), while looking pretty dismal on the outside, was actually very pleasant and functional and suitable for our needs for one evening. We had no one around us, the girls could make as much noise as they wanted, it was clean (!), tidy (!) and quite comfortable. And although the wind was blowing a gale and had a real chilling bite to it, the view was stunning and we saw one of the more glorious sunsets we had seen in a while.

The girls had their own room, an early night and Hubby and I actually watched a whole movie (King Kong) for the first time in forever, without falling asleep, and without interruption. It was a great evening.

Our Maritimes Road Trip - Prince Edward Island

2014-10-06T20:50:00.004-04:00

We woke this morning, to an overcast, gloomy day, totally at odds with the weather that I wanted to enjoy for our Prince Edward Island experience. So, to brighten our spirits, we wandered down into Charlottetown for a cup of the best coffee we have had in a while, and a perusal of the Anne of Green Gables store. Pepped up with caffeine, we began our drive to the Cavendish area of Prince Edward Island, the area where Lucy Maud Montgomery grew up and where the Anne books are all set.

Our first stop along the way was at Dalvey shore, our first glimpse of the ocean for the day. It the biting wind, I stood on the red sand beach and got my photo and from then on, was reasonably content to take my photos of the rolling green landscape and cows from the warmth and wind-free comfort of the car.

We arrived at Green Gables house at the same time as two coach loads of anne-loving tourists, so it was busy. Last night, we watched the first half of Anne of Green Gables, which meant Hubby and both girls, had some faint understanding of what it meant to be visiting Green Gables. Both girls were excited to be visiting Anne's house - although, much to our amusement, The Youngest seems incapable of saying the name 'Anne', constantly referring to our beloved red haired heroine as 'Arn'. Hubby, marvellous man that he is, promptly went to the butter churn cafe and came back bearing both carrot cake and 'Raspberry cordial' - as he now holds that important knowledge of what Raspberry cordial means to all Anne fans. Scored himself a few points with that one!

After battling to get a photo free of coach travelling tourists, we did our tour of Green Gables, seeing Anne's room, Marilla's room, Matthew's room and the kitchen and sitting rooms. It was something of an achievement for me to have visited one of my childhood storybook loves and I just loved it - even if it was busy.

Then we headed off for our wander through the haunted wood. This was a beautiful wander through the woods, (if you don't include the complaints of The Youngest, who quite simply wanted to go back to Arn's house and thereby go back to the car, which thereby would mean a return to the hotel).

We made it to the ruins of the house where L. M. Montgomery grew up, visited a book store at that location (which had not only Anne of Green Gables materials, but also interesting books in other genres)

before heading back to green gables through the misty, windy weather. We completed our time at Green Gables with a wander down lovers lane, where I got my much coveted 'walking down the lane with my daughters' shot (even if it was not the actual lane from the movie) before the tantrum throwing antics of our three year old, ensured a swift return to the car and a quest for some much needed lunch.

The Youngest promptly fell asleep as soon as she was in the car, meaning that our lunch at the Fisherman's Wharf Lobster Supper was enjoyable for the three awake members of the family, and some delicious seafood chowder, one PEI freshly caught lobster and a bowl of PEI blue mussels were consumed in peace and with great joy.

Feeling pleasantly full, and not quite ready to say goodbye to Green Gables territory, we did a drive to where I though we could see the Lake of Shining Waters. Instead, we found ourselves at a beautiful spot on the coast, where we spent a fabulous hour exploring rocks, and enjoying a very beautiful spot on the island.

We headed back to Charlottetown with enough time on our hands to wander down to the waterfront, follow the antics of Eckhart the mouse (we found 4 of 9 statues), before heading back to our BnB to wash and pack and get ready for an early departure tomorrow morning in order to catch the ferry to Nova Scotia.

I have enjoyed Prince Edward Island, and would dearly love to spend more time here. It is much bigger than I realised and we saw such a small fraction of it. At least I have achieved something off my bucket list in visiting Green Gables. If the girls had of been older, we may have visited the Avonlea village as well. However, I am content with what we managed to see and am delighted that I have introduced both my daughters and my husband to the magic that is Anne of Green Gables.

Our Maritimes Road Trip - Fredericton to Prince Edward Island

2014-09-29T20:45:00.003-04:00

We awoke today to a much colder world than we had yesterday. Where we had been sweltering in t-shirts just 12 hours earlier, we were now bundling up in jackets and sweaters, trying to protect ourselves from the chilling wind blowing blustering around us.

We had intended on exploring Fredericton before heading off towards Prince Edward Island, but after hurriedly making our way to a cafe for breakfast, we decided just to take a couple of photos and hit the road. It was just too darn cold for wandering around. Before we left Fredericton we stopped in at a small store that sold tea and coffee, to purchase some take away drinks. The owner of the store had his beautiful giant schnauzer 'Cooper' in the store, and the girls were just captivated and delighted with him. He was gorgeous.

Our first stop this morning was two hours down the road at Moncton. Once again, the drive proved spectacular, with the landscape vibrant with fall colour. We planned to arrive in time for the Tidal Bore - this is a Phenomenon caused by the Bay of Fundy tides, where you see the tide rolling in along the Petitcodiac River. We arrived by luck, just a few minutes before the tidal bore occurred. So we only spent less than a minute in the freezing wind waiting for it to come rolling up the river. It was pretty impressive to watch.

From Moncton, we travelled half an hour down the road to Shediac, the Lobster capital of the world. It is pretty much the end of the summer season, and many business are now closed that would normally be bustling with the summer crowds. However we managed to see the Big Lobster and find somewhere to get our serving of Shediac lobster - an absolutely delicious lobster roll. We didn't make it to any of Shediac's beaches, and although we drove down the waterfront at Pointe-du-Chêne, it was a case of 2 second photos before high tailing back to the car out of the wind.

It was a further 2 hour drive from Shediac to Charlottetown on Prince Edward Island. My whole life I have dreamed of visiting Prince Edward Island and seeing the beautiful landscapes where Anne of Green of Gables was set. So I was very excited that we were finally on our way. The trip to Prince Edward Island is across the Confederation Bridge - a 13km engineering marvel. It looks glorious from a distance and was quite incredible to cross.

A further 40 min drive took us through rolling green country side, laced with red dirt, with glimpses of ocean through the pine trees and autumn colours. We arrived in Charlottetown, at our beautiful BnB, late in the afternoon. We strolled through Charlottetown to have dinner in a local pub - more lobster, PEI oysters and scallops, then braving the cold back to our lovely warm room.

The children are delighted with our accommodations as there is a little child size inbuilt closet that they have already turned into their cubby house. I am delighted as we have access to a range of DVD's - one of which is Anne of Green Gables - we are watching it as I type. The girls have not yet gone to sleep - captivated as they are by Anne. Hubby is delighted that he gets to watch this classic movie for the first time. His comment so far 'what a terrible time to live in - doilies everywhere'. Hahaha. I am sure he will love our Green gables excursion tomorrow!

Jen x

Our Maritimes Road Trip - Riviere Du Loup to Fredericton

2014-09-28T20:35:00.000-04:00

I love phernergan. The Youngest slept well, and all traces of her stomach bug had disappeared by this morning. She was ravenous on waking and like all good parents, we filled her up with goldfish crackers and Tim Hortons timbits (little donut balls).

We left our hotel at 8am, and headed south from Riviere du Loup for an hour to Edmundston. Words just cannot describe the drive. The colours on the trees are exploding everywhere and every turn in the road provides yet another spectacular vista. It does not look real and my constant exclamations at the colour brought forth the comment from The Eldest - 'Mum - you sound just like Grandma!'

(Grandma - it was in reference to my constant stream of 'Oh my god, look at that, is that for real, it can't be real, look at that, can you see that' which I think The Eldest remembers from the cottage visit! Don't worry - I took this as a compliment!!!)

Photos cannot ever ever do it justice but here are a few so that hopefully you get some understanding of just how beautiful our drive was today.

We have definitely chosen a great time for this road trip - colour was what we wanted, and colour is what we are getting.

We noticed many of the beware of the moose crossing signs and the fences up to keep the moose from the roads. I never realised just how big a Canadian moose is - but this sign made it quite clear. Big right? Happy to be driving during the daytime that's for sure!

After crossing into New Brunswick, we stopped at the New Brunswick Botanical Gardens - originally to have brunch, but although the website said their cafe was open for Sunday brunch through to October, actually that meant that they closed at the end of August and open for one week in October. Still, we managed to have a great walk through the gardens, stretching our legs and enjoying a very unseasonably warm Fall day.

From Edmundston, we travelled another 40 mins to Grand Sault / Grand Falls. There were no guided tours on offer, and with the day getting quite hot, we did a mini walk around the first part of the guided tour track. The water level was very low, so not much waterfall activity, but the gorge looked pretty and we could imagine how impressive it must be in Spring with all the snow melt.

And it's nice to see my children embracing the touristy thing and collecting their guides to read. Forget that the guides were for Miramichi, where we are not heading to(!) or that they were upside down - at least they are getting into the spirit of the road trip.

From Grand Falls, we drove to Hartland to see the world's longest covered bridge - it was closed to traffic, but we had a quick look see and took a couple of photos.

Then we headed on down to Fredericton, our overnight stay for tonight. We were exhausted by the time we arrived, so it was a lovely family swim, dinner in the sports bar, and lights out for all. It was a great road tripping day! Bring on more of the same tomorrow!

Jen x

Our Maritimes Trip - Quebec #2

2014-09-28T07:15:00.001-04:00

We awoke this morning, to the beautiful stone walls of our hotel room, and instant reminder that we were in Old Quebec. After a breakfast of croissant and fruit, we checked out of the hotel and headed back into the streets of Lower town.

The streets were still relatively empty, despite it being 9am, and we enjoyed a leisurely stroll through the streets to the funicular railway that links the lower town to the upper town. As we are still the parents carting everything around in a stroller, including at times 'The Youngest', it was an almost impossible task to fold down the stroller and cart all our belongings into the funicular, so whilst the girls and I took the ride to the top, poor hubby took the long way around, pushing the stroller up the winding hill to meet us at the top.

The view from up here of the St Laurent river was beautiful, as was Le Chateau Frontenac towering impressively over us in the background. Well, at least 3 of us thought so. The Youngest, who is suitably un-impressed with her parents love of travel, loves to vocalise her immediate desire to return home 'right now', frequently and with great volume. Nevertheless, we persist in dragging her around with us, in the hope she will wear herself out and fall asleep for oh, I don't know - at least a couple of hours...

So, part of our wearing out strategy was to make her walk the 312 steps up along the Governors Boulevarde, taking us from Upper town up to the Plains of Abraham and the Citadel. This lovely walk gave us even more impressive views of the St Laurent River and Quebec city. However, as we are still the parents carting everything around in a stroller, we had left the stroller at the beginning of the Governors boulevarde (you would think consulting a map would have had us realise the importance of taking it with us) so I had the delightful experience of re-walking this gorgeous walk, collecting the pram and taking the long way around, pushing the stroller up the winding hill to meet my family at the top who were basking in the sunshine eating ice creams..

One of our prime objectives for the day was to visit the Citadel and do the 1 hour guided tour (the only way you can visit as it is still an active military base). This was well worth the effort and very enjoyable as The Youngest did fall asleep halfway through and The Eldest contented herself with collection flower petals and stones, while us parents actually had a 'cultural experience' that is rare when in the company of our children.

We celebrated by having lunch back in the lower town in a lovely Italian restaurant that not only served us great Pizza, but much needed beer and wine to go with it. By this time, the crowds had arrived and it became apparent that for us anyway, Old Quebec is much much more magical with no-one around. So we did some souvenir shopping, admired some much desired but too expensive artwork and headed back to our car. A two hour drive ahead of us to Riviere du Loup for our overnight stay before heading into New Brunswick tomorrow.

I wish I could say the rest of the evening was uneventful. Having had a lovely restaurant meal for lunch, we opted for sandwiches from Subway for dinner, which would have been great, had The Youngest not vomited on our feet at the cash register in Subway.

All I can say now, is Thankyou Mum for bringing over the Phenergan in March. It has helped to settle The Youngest stomach so far. Tomorrow's blog will either begin with me saying how much I love Phernegan or adopting The Youngest chant 'I want to go home - right now".

Who travels with kids????

Jen x

Our Maritimes Road Trip - Quebec #1

2014-09-27T21:32:00.001-04:00

A few months ago, we began planning the first of our significant Canadian trips. A road trip out to New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island and Nova Scotia returning through Maine, New Hapmshire and Vermont. We chose this time of year, as Hubby and I both have a love of fall colours, and so we hope, that as we make our way we will see some of the best foliage that the Maritimes and the North Eastern States of the US can offer. We must be mad, taking two small children on a 4000km road trip with 15 nights in hotels. It'll either be great or ...not. But it will be an adventure!

I don't know about anyone else, but I always find packing to go away one of the most intensely chaotic experiences. I write dozens of lists, find myself moving from one task to next like some mad blowfly buzzing around the room. Preparing for a two week road trip has left me feeling exhausted and frantic, and I am still yet to determine if I actually forgot anything. In order to pack for both of the girls, I had to go through a 'try this on and see if it fits' regime for every genre of their clothing. These children of mine respond to sunshine like they are weeds, and I swear they have both grown another 5 cm over the summer break.

I barely slept on Thursday night with excitement. But not for the trip. No, instead I was excited for the imminent birth of my beautiful sisters 2nd child - another little princess for the family. So, Friday dawned with me thoroughly exhausted (but so very delighted with the news) and with half of what we needed packed. The other half was packed in my head but not reality. The saving grace was that both girls have school on a Friday, so I was able to frantically do most of the packing and cleaning of the house before Hubby arrived home with the hire car.

All things considered, we were only 45 mins late for our 2pm departure, but it did mean we ran into this:

which ended up not being anywhere near as bad as it could have been. We made good time, with only needing one stop for dinner (which I am loathe to admit was Mcdonalds and can only state it was with desperation not desire) we arrived in Quebec City 6 hours after leaving Ottawa.

Our hotel was in a fantastic location in Old Quebec, and despite the late hour, with a need to stretch our legs we headed out into the old town for a look around. It was a balmy evening, with only a few people around. Old Quebec is over 400 years old, and with its labyrinth of cobblestone lanes, stone buildings, alfresco dining, hanging pots and shuttered windows, it is like stepping into a European city. It was charming and magical and I am so glad we took the time to walk around such a beautiful location in the evening and not waited until the morning.

Jen x

'Fall'ing back into my blogging...

2014-09-24T14:34:00.003-04:00

It has been a few months since I last posted. It seems that I don't have the inspiration to write when the weather is beautiful. I find myself longing to be outdoors with my girls, exploring the playgrounds and parks and doing summery activities. Inside time devoted to puzzles and reading and Kindergarten writing. Study and cooking. My poor blog has been neglected.

Mostly I guess it is because I am so incredibly content in this life we have made for ourselves over here, that it almost feels like I am too content to share it.

Ottawa in the spring / summer is a glorious, beautiful place to live. Most days have hovered pleasantly in the mid 20's, and with the humidity and frequent rain showers, it almost feels like we are living in the tropics. The rain showers never tend to last for long, and serve to freshen up our little world here and maintain the presence of green.

Green. Not the brown, burnt landscape of home. But green. Everywhere. It's soothing, it's tranquil, it's contentment.

The last few months have seen us falling in love with Ottawa, with Canada, and although we won't be, we would dearly love to emigrate to this part of the world on a more permanent basis. It is hard to explain why, especially when we have always called Australia home. But living where we live right now, the opportunities it presents for our family and the lifestyle we have here, we are the most settled and content that we have ever been as a family.

We live in a neighbourhood in the centre of town. A neighbourhood that is very pedestrian. Everything I need is within walking distance or a short 5 minute drive / bus trip away. We are a one car family, and it is rare that I need the car for the day, spending my days walking to our various activities all located around us. We have two playground across the road from us. One playground is completely fenced in, full of donated outdoor toys that no-one ever steals, a wonderful play structure and is a worry free play environment for our children. We have made wonderful friends there and it is like an extension of our backyard.

The other playground has a city run wading pool, that during the summer is open 6 days a week, free and supervised by 6 life guards. There is a great play structure, grass fields, basketball court, baseball fields. Every day the pool is filled up, supervised and then emptied in the evening. A situation one would never find in Australia, but then here in Ottawa, I don't think they would ever hear the words 'water restrictions' such is the abundance of water where we live.

I was fortunate enough to spend 11 weeks on Summer break with my two beautiful daughters, basking in their presence, watching as they develop the wonderful relationship that only sisters can have. I have loved watching as they have become each others best friends, using their burgeoning imaginations to create the most elaborate of games. The 'Aunty Jen' game still leaves me slightly bemused, as 'Aunty Jen' forms a pivotal role in some unending game involving Aunty Jen, a variety of children and numerous child care facilities...

Sadly though Summer has official come to an end. The children are back at school, the days have the crispness of Fall and the leaves are beginning to change colour. Pumpkins are appearing, we are bundling up in 'Australian winter coats' that serve as our Fall apparel and we are beginning to anticipate Thanksgiving and Halloween. Apple picking time is upon us and the kitchen is full of the aroma of apple pies and roast dinners. I have 3 days a week to myself, to study. Yet knocking around the house by myself, after the summer break seems somewhat lonely. I am sure, as the months progress, I will get used to the solitude and quiet time.

So whilst I am still in the midst of all the reading and writing that come with my studies, I am finding myself thinking about my blog and getting back to posting our about Canadian life and the experiences we are having as a family in this wonderful country that we are lucky enough to call home for a little while to come.

So keep an eye out - the blogging has re-begun! And possibly, as the snow returns and I am dreaming of summer, some retrospective spring / summer posting may occur as well :)

Jen x

The wonder of Winterlude 2014

2014-04-03T19:53:00.002-04:00

Back in February, a lifetime ago, we headed out to Winterlude - Ottawa's wonderful winter festival. We had a beautiful day - cold - but the sun was shining, and we got to see some wonderful sights. I have been meaning to post these pictures for two months now, so it's probably best that I do before the snow melts away completely!

We first headed over the Ottawa River to Jacques-Cartier Park in Gatineaux. The following photos show the ice slides and some of the snow sculptures.

As we walked back to where we parked our car, we took some photos of the Parliament Building back on the other side of the frozen Ottawa River.

Although the kids were tired, we still had more to see. We headed back into the centre of town. Crossing the Rideau Canal at the city end was way more chaotic that 3 km south where we live. It was a bit busy with skaters, people buying coffees, hot chocolate and beaver tails, and crossing over to Confederation Park.

Across the canal, a magnificent display of ice sculptures awaited us. I have no idea how the sculptors created these beautiful works of art. They were truly incredible to behold for their creativity and level of extraordinary detail.

It truly was wonderful, in the middle of such a cold and brutal winter, to experience some of the stunning beauty that winter can show. What a wonderful winterlude it was.

Jen x

It's been a while...

2014-04-03T18:05:00.000-04:00

So, it turns out, that a couple of months have sailed by between posts. Um? Where exactly did that time go? All of sudden we are in the 4th month of this year and it seems a bit unreal that February and March just flew by the way they did.

Not that I am complaining. Finally it appears we are coming to the end of this insane Canadian winter. Word on the street is that it is the harshest winter Ottawa has had in 20 years or more. Luck had it happen when we arrived! To be honest, it was everything we were expecting. Those ridiculously low temperatures, the snow, the ice. The actual reality though, has been exhausting.

For five months we have endured not being able to be outside for play, or even to really enjoy the snow sports - it has just been too darn cold. When you have frostbite warnings, that 10 minutes of outside exposure will lead to frostbite, you just can't take little kids out sledding, or skating or skiing. February and March were really wearing on all of us - especially the kids. Pleas for being able to go to the playground, reluctance to put on snow gear, a realisation that we have had two winters in a row and no spring since November 2012, and a fear that spring may never appear just had us all feeling down. I felt uninspired to write and so my blog has laid silent and still, waiting for winter to pass.

Never ending winter. 12th March '14.

Here in Canada, going away on a break from winter is a big deal - and almost everyone, as some stage flies south for a break from the cold. And so, desperate for warmth, we flew down to Florida for a week's vacation. Never have we looked forward to warm vacation weather they way we looked forward to this. And it was reinforced by the squeals of delight from my children at 3am in the morning (yes 3am) as we exited Orlando airport to the vision of flowers and grass outside the arrivals area. We craved sunlight and warmth and slip on shoes and the lack of need for jackets. And we got it.

And then we came back to Ottawa last Saturday and woke up on Sunday to another 15cm of snow. Seriously? Thoughts of an eternal winter crossed our minds and Florida suddenly much more distant than just the day before.

Yet! 5 days later and suddenly the temperatures are steadily hitting digits above zero, and the 10 day forecast predicts some double digit days. So now, ever hopeful, we are really looking forward to basking in the colour green, the smell of flowers, t-shirts, slip on shoes, playground action and moving jackets and boots into the basement.

I have never looked forward to spring as much as I am this year and finally, it really does look like it's arrived.

Finally - grass! April 3rd '14

Jen x

The end of the Thaw and FMS Photo A Day Week 3

2014-01-21T21:26:00.000-05:00

The mid-winter thaw is well and truly over and we are back to the unbelievably cold weather. -27 degrees today with a wind chill of -34. It just is a ridiculously silly kind of cold. On arrival at The Youngest's school this morning, I unwound my scarf to discover the outside of it was covered in ice.
Like I said. Ridiculous. And yet, there I am everyday, walking two kids to and from school, rugging up and rugging down several times a day. Ridiculous.

It has become obvious, that the scarf was not invented as a stylish neckwear fashion item. Someone living in Canada, way back when, worked out that if you have a really long piece of material - preferably woollen, and wrap it twenty times around your noggin, you have some chance of still having a nose and maybe also some lips by the time you get home.
It's the kind of cold where after just a couple of minutes, you have prickles running up and down your legs, your eyelashes freeze together, your nose runs non stop, you feel like you are breathing in icicles.

And yet - it is very invigorating and there is no way you leave the house feeling like you haven't woken up yet! Fortunately, the girls are well kitted out and have finally (in the case of The Youngest) accepted the current clothing situation. It's still shite trying to get into all the outerwear every morning, but slowly, ever so slowly, we are getting the hang of it.

I love this photo of The Eldest. She is my little pink ninja! Rugged up and warm, she is enjoying walking home with me in the snow. As I lamented to her how cold it was, and how I couldn't feel my face, she turned to me and smiled (well I think she smiled under that neck warmer) and said 'But, Mum. This is Canada. It just is this way.' Ah so true, little one. So true.

And so, on to this week's set of photo's.

15/365: Black and White

This photos was not taken this week. I took this photo in December on our trip through New York State.
After leaving New York City, we decided to drive through Sleepy Hollow.
It was late morning when we arrived. It was the perfect day - foggy, misty, quiet. There was hardly any traffic and we saw no people.
This statue was on the main road and pretty much sums it all up - the headless horsemen and his jack-o-lantern head.

16/365: Sun

I couldn't choose between 3 pictures for this one - so three pictures you shall have.

You can't tell in this photo, but it was starting to snow. We had just walked up to a friends place, and although the sun was trying to shine through, the snow won.

This photo was taken on the Rideau Canal. It has reopened after the thaw, and The Youngest was desperate to go ice skating. She only lasted 5 minutes, but even though she couldn't manage any shuffles, she did get to the point of being able to stand up and balance.
I decided to put her back in the Chariot and skate for 5 minutes while she ate her lunch. But then she fell asleep in her little cocoon, under the weather shield and blankets. Despite how cold it was, I skated on for half an hour, before having to go home and recover feeling to all parts of my body.

Cold as I was, I was struck, as I always am, but just how beautiful this frozen canal is.

On the way home from school each day, the sun is in the process of starting to set, such are the short days of winter. Even though the days are starting to get longer, you can see how close to sunset this is at 3:45pm.

17/365: Tiny

A tiny piece of colour in amongst the snow.

18/365: Happy Place

For The Youngest, one of her happy places is playgroup with her two little buddies, Master L and Master N.

It is also one of my happiest places - coffee and chat with my girls.

19/365: Breakfast

Coffee. No breakfast is complete without one.
We have had to learn to settle for Nespresso, which in the scheme of things, we are lucky to have. Anyone who knows us well, knows that we are really really missing coffee from home.
It is hard to understand the Canadian obsession with Tim Horton's coffee (and I apologise profusely if I offend) because although it is not quite as bad as 'squirrel wee' as it has been described by a fellow Australian, it is not far off the mark.

Oh, for a Bertoni's coffee right now.

*sigh*.

20/365: To do list

Uni. Uni. Uni.

This is a constant to do list in my head. I can't quite fathom how incredibly difficult it is for me to
a) get any study done with two children at home with me
b) get any study done with one child at home with me
c) get any study done with no children at home with me
d) get any study done.

Really, I just like reading the books.

21/365: Blue

I found this one a challenge, until I was walking down our main street and noticed these lights above one of the stores. I have never noticed them before, but here they are. 4 blue lights.

Funny how having a daily prompt, encourages you to see things you would never really see.

And that folks, is it in a nutshell from me.
I hope all in Oz are coping ok with the heat, and all you Northern Hemisphere residents are keeping warm in the cold.

J x

FMS Photo A Day Week 2

2014-01-14T21:25:00.001-05:00

So here are the snappy happies from FMS Photo a Day week 2.

8/365: Lucky Number:
These are NOT my lucky numbers. I don't know that they are anybody's lucky numbers. This photo was taken back in December, before our current heat wave (above zero people!) that is causing a midwinter thaw and the feeling that we should all be out in our t-shirts grabbing a tan.

9/365: Natural:
This photo was taken on Christmas eve. We opened the blinds in The Youngest's room, only to discover the most beautiful set of enormous icicles hanging from the roof. Unfortunately, our midwinter thaw has reduced them to nothingness.

10/365: Manmade:
This beautiful Christmas bauble is hand painted, and was bought for my by Hubby a few years ago, when he was on a work trip to Canada, not knowing that the future held the opportunity to live here for two years.

11/365: Looking Down:
I had to add 4 photos for this one! These photos are from our December trip to Lake Placid. These are the Olympic ski jumps. It is unbelieveable how high these jumps are, and how far the skiers fly through the air. Looking down the jump makes the ground seem a lot closer than it really is.

12/365: Colourful
These Babuska dolls are painted in an alley a block from our house. A lovely splash of colour in a world of white and grey.

13/365: Makes me smile
Yes, we do own furniture - and quite comfortable furniture at that. But apparently, not nearly as appealing as watching the ipad in a box.

14/365: 3 Things
I saw these three roses on the outside window sill of a local florist. So lovely to see flowers in the middle of winter.

Jen x

The Wonder of the Blue Day

2014-01-09T13:04:00.000-05:00

This week started off with the temperature rising above 0 degrees C - which sounds, in theory quite lovely. Above 0 translates into feeling like there is no need for jackets, or hats, or scarves - lets get out there in our t-shirts kinda weather.

Except for the following. It is a law of nature that frozen water unfreezes when encountering above 0 degrees temperatures. And then when the temperature plummets again just a few hours later, the unfrozen frozen water does what nature dictates and freezes again. Only this time, not as lovely crunchy white snow, but as ice. Horrible, treacherous, dangerous ice.

So, here all of us parents were, incredible excited that the 6th of January had finally made it's way around and school was back in session. Only to awaken on the morning of the 6th to discover the world covered in ice. The sidewalks glistened, beckoning the brave and unfortunate to come try out their walking skills - only to have them slip, slide and wipe out with every step.

Fortunately, due to a consistently failing car battery and a need to get it replaced, I had our car which meant after taking hubby to work (slowly and very very carefully), I was able to not only take my child to school with minimal sidewalk skating, but also help a friend get her child to school and then get us to playgroup.
[We love our wonderfully warm homes, but after such incredible cold days and being stuck inside, we were desperate to get out of the house and take our kids to school].

The temperatures for the rest of this week have stayed reasonably ok - hovering around the -15 degree mark - which I know sounds really cold, and it is, but you can still get out and do stuff! Like ice skate!

We bought ice skates for me and the girls on Monday, so this week saw me back on the ice for the first time in years. I was so excited. We live about 250 steps from the Rideau Canal (yes I counted!), which becomes the worlds largest ice skating rink during winter. It opened up for skating last week and is just a gloriously beautiful place to go.

I went on Tuesday by myself, and had such a wonderful time, that today, my two dear friends Dina and Emma came with me, while our toddlers and big girls were all at school. It was a beautiful blue day, no wind. We skated from 5th Ave entrance down to Dow's lake, had a coffee and a cinnamon and sugar beaver tail and skated back. There is something so incredibly magical about gliding on the ice for 5km's, on such a beautiful day, with such wonderful friends. So great to be outside soaking up the magic that winter can offer when it gets it's act together.

Today was a memory that I shall treasure forever (and a memory I hope to repeat numerous times over the coming weeks).

Jen x

FMS Photo A Day Week 1

2014-01-07T22:46:00.001-05:00

One of my new year resolutions (not that I really make them) is to make a concerted effort to participate in the FMS Photo a Day challenge. This is a challenge to take a photo every day for a month, based on the prompt for the day.

Apparently it takes 21 days to make something a habit, so here we are with the 1st 7 photos. Let's see how we go staying on track! Hopefully another way of me sharing our day to day life here in Ottawa.

Here we go!

1/365: Lunch

Being at home for lunch everyday means I make my lunch every day.
I love home made rice paper rolls.

2/365: Begins with G

Growing up.

I look at my girls, and cannot believe how fast time is flying by. Who knew this was the age they would both want to start doing 'homework' after school.

3/365: My town

Is cold and oh so beautiful after a snowfall.

4/365: Words to live by

I wish this for you as much as I wish this for me and my family.

There has been so much more joy and laughter in my living since meeting my Husband and having my children.

They bring a wealth of joy and laughter to my life.

5/365: Found

A photo taken when we first moved into our new neighbouhood.

We have been blessed by the wonderful friends we 'found' at the playground.

6/365: Happens everyday

Every school day involves loading the girls into the Chariot and walking them along the sidewalk, past the banks of snow, to get to school and home again.

7/365: Upside Down

A white christmas was very upside down for this antipodean family and we loved it.

Jen x

Blue Days

2014-01-02T21:36:00.001-05:00

If you are in the Southern Hemisphere right now, I want you do something for me. Right now, I want you to go outside, sit in the sun. Close your eyes and soak in the gorgeous feeling of sunlight and vitamin D soaking into your skin. Soak it up and then send it my way.

I really miss the warmth of the sun. The sun shines here at lot. It is bright and glare-y when it shines, and the sky is a beautiful blue and when you look out the window and see that beautiful blue sky and the sun shining you ache to be outside. It is an incredibly strong compulsion. I must go outside.

Except you don't. Because to go outside involves making sure you have at least 3 long sleeve layers - one of which must be a warm warm jumper. You need to wrap a very long scarf strategically around your neck, in such as way as to enable quick coverage of your mouth and nose. You need a took (beanie) and good gloves or mitts. You need to make sure you have thermal leg wear, or at least tights under your jeans. Warm socks. Then it's time for the -40 degree rated jacket and boots. By the time you have done all of this, you are sweating from heat, as this must all be accomplished while still inside your lovely insulated warm house.

Oh I forgot the part about having gone through all of these steps with each child, one of which frequently removes each piece of outerwear as quickly as it goes on, usually with a very loud 'I don like this'.

So three hours after having decided to go outside, you finally step out into that beautiful blue day, only to be blown away by how freaking cold it is. You see, the beautiful blue days are the really really cold days. The -27 but feels like -38 degree days. To this Australian who loves blue days and the feel of the sun on my skin, it is deception at its worst. It is the ultimate betrayal.

Your eyes start watering, and your eyelashes start freezing. Your nose runs excepts you don't know it, because you lost your face as soon as you left the house. It is cold unlike anything, anything I have ever felt in my life. It is cold beyond all ridiculousness.

And as much as we want to make the most of the outdoorsy stuff available when it snows, it is not enjoyable when it is that cold. For anyone.

So we are hibernating, living vicariously through the summer adventures of friends on Facebook.

And hoping for a bit of warmth. On Sunday is will only (only) be minus 5. Bring it on!

J x

The Elf

2013-12-16T11:56:00.001-05:00

We did it. We succumbed. We bought into the whole Elf on the Shelf thing. I was excited.

I fully and freely admit that I am a parent who happily lies to her children. I tell them Santa is real. I tell them to believe in fairy dust and reindeer's that fly and that an Elf can live on our shelf in December and report back to Santa about the comings and goings in our house.

I tell them to believe in magic.

So excitedly, one evening a couple of weeks ago, the night before we went away on a holiday, I put on the Elf on the Shelf DVD while the girls ate dinner. They watched, their brows furrowed. Clearly this was not Dora, Umizoomi's, Banana's, Mickey Mouse, Bubble Guppies, Barbie, Princesses. This was unfamiliar.

"Um Mum? What is this?" (The Eldest)
"Don like it" (The Youngest)

After dinner, I encouraged them into the lounge room where the Elf on the Shelf box was prominently and prettily displayed next to the TV. They didn't even notice. My children who can spot a 5cm high picture of Dora at a hundred paces, paid not attention whatsoever to the box.

"Oh look!" I exclaim. "Our own Elf on the Shelf!".

Silence. Bewildered looks. Brows furrowed.

"Why?" they ask.

This was not quite going to plan. Nevertheless, I pushed on, pulling out the Elf, reading the book. We eventually got to the point of naming her Sparkles (we managed to bypass the poo-head suggestion from The Youngest) and placed her on the shelf.

Cue massive tantrum from The Youngest who wanted to hold (poo-head) Sparkles and another tantrum from The Eldest who was adamant it needed to be on the shelf.

Cue pouring the first glass of wine.

Then proceeded half an hour of rigorous interrogation from The Eldest.

how does she fly?
how does have magic?
why can't I touch her?
why won't she talk to me?
Chip was alive in the movie but she looks like a toy to me. Why?
Why does she go back to Santa?
How does she know where Santa lives?
Why is at my house?
Do other children have elves?
What are their elves names?
Can I watch her fly?
Can she take me to Santa's house?
and on and on and on.

This did not the slightest bit magical and I wanted the magic. This felt torturous. I was not sure the Elf would be allowed to stay.

The following evening we left Ottawa on a week's holiday. The Elf came along, sitting in the front of the car, in a little nook. 4 hours of driving involved this conversation on high repeat.

"Daddy. I can't see the Elf." Hubby shines phone light on Elf. The Eldest is pacified for 2 mins.

Hubby was ready to throw the Elf out the window. However, the Elf made in to Syracuse, the Philadelphia and the New York City. Every night she would appear in a different part of the hotel room. The girls had warmed up to the concept of the Elf, excitedly waking up to see where the Elf was every morning. The magic had finally arrived. Sparkles even followed us to Macy's when we went to see Santa, hiding in the Christmas display.

The magic lasted until approximately midday on the 5th December, as we drove out of New York City and up towards Lake Placid, and I shouted out without thinking '#$%!! We left the Elf in the hotel room!".

Calmly from the back of the car came the voice of pure innocence.

'Don't worry Mumma. The elf can fly. She'll be at our next hotel'.

Um. Yep. Well. I hope so. I say as I frantically call the hotel and as surreptitiously as I can, organise for the Elf to be posted safely back to Ottawa.

So it was a tremendous and terrible surprise when on arriving at Lake Placid, we received a phone call from Santa, saying Sparkles got hit by a gust of wind and blew into a tree hurting her arm. She would need to spend 5 days in Elf hospital but would be back soon (fingers crossed). (Thankfully in the Elf on the Shelf DVD Chippie ends up in Elf hospital, so this (lie) situation was well received by the small folk in the room).

The elf did return within 5 days, bringing a letter from Santa and Christmas books with her for the little girls who missed her so much. Complete with bandage on the injured arm.

And as my hubby said, maybe it was a blessing in disguise that Sparkles got 'hurt'. The wonder and excitement in my girls eyes when they saw Sparkles had returned, was the magic I had wanted from the start.

Sometimes you just have to wait a little while for it to appear.

J xxx

[Disclaimer: I lie about lots of other things too. The park is closed today. Children aren't allowed at the supermarket today. There is no chocolate in the house. Just to name a few. There are people who say they never lie to their children. I think they are lying to themselves.]

Friends

2013-12-16T10:25:00.001-05:00

I have been lucky over the years to count so many wonderful women as my friends.

I learnt the true meaning of friendship back in year 8, when the girls in my 'friendship' group decided to 'exclude' me several times just for the fun of it. The result of which led me to a new group of friends, that lasted well beyond school and many of which I still stay in contact with and hold dear to my heart.

There are the friends who I met at work and have become so much more than colleagues.
The friends I met through other friends and the mutual friendship grew into our friendship.
The friends I met while travelling as we shared explored new places together.
The friends I met through my mothers groups and the bond that grows as your children grow together.

Each one of you has made a difference in my life and even though I am far away from so many of you, I know when I do see you again, it will be like no time has passed and the conversation will flow as we catch up and share our stories.

I was watching tv a number of years ago, and the comedian Dave Hughes made the comment (and forgive the political incorrectness) that his wife loved her mothers group the way fat people love cake.

And that is exactly how I feel about my friends. My life would be so much less of a life without you, my friends in it.

And my reason for writing this down, is that as I sit here reflecting on the life we have been building in Ottawa since August, I am incredibly thankful for three amazing women.

Emma, Dina and Olivia. You have become my 'family', my 'go to girls', my 'rocks'. I am so incredibly lucky to be able to count the three of you as friends, to have you in my life here. I would be so incredibly homesick without you. You are amazing women, with huge hearts and open arms, that have embraced me and my girls and given us the support and friendship we needed to find our feet in a foreign country.

Christmas is not the same without family around, and I am so happy that I get to spend Christmas with the three of you and your families. You are my Canadian family. Thankyou for your friendship, the laughs, the chats, the coffee and the playdates.

J xxx

What would you want to say to your child in 50 years time?

2013-11-11T23:52:00.000-05:00

Recently, The Eldest brought home a time capsule, donated to each student at her school, for us to fill and return to school. The time capsule, then, would be stored in a new build in Ottawa, to be returned to the student and opened in 50 years time.

50 years time. Which, when one works out the math...hurts.

In 50 years time, The Eldest will be 54. The Youngest will be 52. Hubby and I will be 89, well past current life expectancy for both men and women, and therefore unlikely to still be here. And so I cried. A lot. And it made working out what to put into the time capsule incredibly hard.

What do you say to your children, 50 years down the track, not knowing the turns in their lives and what words they should receive / want to receive / need to receive from their (potentially deceased) parents.

Thankfully, The Eldest had some of her own ideas. She was insistent that we included some of her hair, so she could see what colour her hair was when she was four. So, into the time capsule, went two locks of hair, one for The Eldest and one for The Youngest, brown and straight, blonde and curly. Soft as silk.

In went a picture of her family under a rainbow, painstakingly drawn and coloured in.

Space, however was an issue. The time capsule was small. Very briefly, I contemplated putting in a USB drive with files on it, but considering how rapidly technology is changing, it could be rendered useless and therefore immensely disappointing. Whereas the written word can always be read (as long as the ink hasn't faded!!!).

Folded paper takes up a lot of space, so after a lot of thought, in to the time capsule went messages from their grandparents (what treasure!), a few photos of themselves, our dog and us as a family.

In went the blog posts I wrote to both girls for their birthdays this year A letter to the Eldest and A letter to the Youngest.

And lastly, a letter from us to them, parents to children, across half a century. What do you say to your children, 50 years down the track?

In the end, after starting the letter off with personal, pertinent, what their personalities and lives are like right now, I finished off with the following:

"We want you to know that we love you both more than words could possibly say. You have made our lives rich beyond words. Everyday is brighter because you are both in it. You both amaze us with your intelligence, your kindness, your generosity, your laughter, your observations of the world. There are never enough hours in the day for the time we want to spend with you watching you both grow. Time is flying by all to quickly and we wish we could freeze time, and keep you as you are now, gorgeous, cute, delightful, a wonder to behold. But if we did that, we would miss all the wonder that is to come. Watching you grow into beautiful young women with the world at your feet.

If you are reading this, 50 years will have passed. Fifty years of joy, sadness, happiness, pain, adventure, excitement. There will have been good times and hard times. We hope that regardless of what has happened, you will have been there for each other. Our greatest wishes for you are that you are happy, that you are close to each other and can rely on each other. We hope that you are surrounded by loving family, working in a job you love and finding time to enjoy life. We hope we developed in you a love of travel, of adventure. That you walk through this life with dignity, respect and honour. That you find time to laugh – a lot!

We may or may not still be with you physically, but we will always be with you in spirit. We are in the whisper of leaves as you walk down the street. We are in the gentle caress of wind on your cheek. We are in the smell of foods you remember, flowers you pick, the outdoors after it has rained. We are in the sound of rain as it gently falls and the colours of the rainbow. We were your first loves, your first friends and not time nor space can separate us.

We love you to the moon and back, our baby girls.

Always,

Mum and Dad xxx"

I hope with all my heart, that in fifty years time, life has been good to my girls. That they are happy. That they love, and are loved in return.

(I hope the paper wasn't too tear stained).

Will they ever actually get the time capsule? I hope so. And if they do, I hope they see it as something special, and that the words within give them joy as well as comfort. I hope I am still around, and with enough mental faculty left to share it with them. And if not, I hope I am there in spirit.

And mostly, I want my words not to be new words. I want them to be words they heard from me a hundred thousand times over the next 50 years and that when they read my letter, it will be affirmation of how much we loved them, how beautiful, special and loved they are. That if they don't get the time capsule, they know those words anyway.

And just to be safe, I have kept a copy, to pass on to them, in 50 years time regardless.

Jen xxx

*What would you write to your children?

*some inspiration for what I wrote in the final paragraph of my letter, came from a link on Facebook, that began with "your Mother is always with you'. It was credited 'Unknown".

Halloween

2013-11-07T20:45:00.001-05:00

It has taken me a while to write this post. Apparently I am not immune to the bugs over here and have been hit hard with a chest infection and a double bout of gastro. I am learning the the more effective treatment methods involve not only antibiotics but also lots and lots of TV. But also, it has taken me a while to think about how to write about this post.

Halloween.

As an Australian, living in North America, we have been incredibly excited about Halloween. I am aware that a lot of my readers are Australian, and I saw a lot of Australians Hate Halloween posts on FB and I have been mulling over the term Hate, and what a horrible word that is, and the strong emotion it evokes. I understand that Halloween is not an Australian tradition, but Hate? I guess, for me, with things like that, I just ignore if I don't want to be involved. No one asks you to dress up, buy candy, carve a pumpkin. And if kids in your neighbourhood annoy you with the door knocking, go out for the night.

So, opening myself up for criticism, I am going to state it - we LOVED our Halloween experience. For the past month, as we walk to and from school, and around our neighbourhood, we have delighted in the appearance of scarecrows (to celebrate Harvest) and pumpkins, both carved and uncarved. Squeals of delight and frantically pointed fingers frequently explode from inside the chariot, as both The Eldest and The Youngest point out the pumpkins, the scarecrows and the houses decorated for Halloween.

Some houses were 'scarier' than others. Not to the point of nightmares for my kids, but enough for us to generate a conversation as we walked about what we saw, and what that made us feel and why we might have felt that way. I don't believe for one minute that seeing a witch hanging from a porch railing, or a skull decorating someone's lawn is going to turn my children into pagan devil worshippers. I do believe that it taught the youngest how to overcome a 'scary' situation and choose bravery and courage in facing her fear of touching a headless horseman. Her delighted 'I touched it! I'm not scared', warmed my soul. May she find the strength within her as she grows to continue to face her fears head on - even if it is holding someone else's hand while she does.

I didn't go mad with the 'commercialism' of the event. I bought a $2 ghost for my door, cut out some bats and printed off a sign.

Just like Christmas though, there are people who go all out to make the event special for the spectators.

And we are incredibly proud of our new found pumpkin carving skills and created what we consider the traditional Jack-O-lantern complete with electric candles.

See, in case you didn't know, there is Halloween etiquette. If you welcome trick or treaters to your house, you put a lit up pumpkin out, turn on your porch light and wait for the eager, dressed up youth of the neighbourhood to knock of your door and gleefully accept handfuls of treats.

No light, no pumpkin, no knock.

The Eldest and The Youngest, unfazed by the rainy weather, dressed in their princess dress (The Eldest) and Minnie Mouse dress (the Youngest) and their raincoats, danced along the sidewalk in the dark, excitedly looking out for the houses with the pumpkins and porch lights. Together, they knocked on doors or rang door bells, and with all the bravery their 2 and 4 year old selves could muster, sang out 'trick or treat' clearly to the host of the house, holding out their baskets, scoring a bundle of candy and confidence at each house we visited. It was magical.

So, we may be Australian, but we LOVE Halloween. And if you had seen the sparkle in my girls eyes this month, and the sound of my 2 year old saying trick or treat, you would fall in love with Halloween too.

Jen x

Thanksgivings

2013-10-17T20:14:00.002-04:00

This past weekend in Canada was Thanksgiving. Being Australian, we haven't sat down with a turkey in October specifically cooked to enable us to give thanks. But, given that Hubby is the paid worker of the household, we were thankful enough for the long weekend and so I found myself cooking a turkey.

Last year, when I cooked the turkey for Christmas I was super organised. As per Jamie Oliver's instructions I had made my gravy the week before. I had every possible ingredients. I even found somewhere that sold clementines in Summer. It was a success.

This turkey cooking event was somewhat more relaxed. Thankfully my oven has a cooking timer on it, so although I did still get up at 5am to put the turkey in the oven, I was up for all of 2 mins.

I was missing a few ingredients and I didn't make the gravy a week before. Thankfully, Jamie Oliver is wrong, and I was not stressed out by making my (packet) gravy 5 mins before serving. It was a success.

Well, the food was. Not so much the company of our littlest child.

The Youngest had a major 2 year old meltdown just before lunch was served. One of those horrible two year old tantrums they usually reserve for packed public places (maybe the glamour of my meal tricked her into thinking we were in a fancy restaurant??) and it was with a great deal of thanks that we were not out in public, and therefore able to put her to bed and have lunch without her.

Proud of my (fancy restaurant) table decorations bought for 80% off, a turkey well cooked, crispy baked potatoes, the opportunity to drink red wine at lunchtime, and apple crumble in the oven, we sat down to eat.

The Eldest, calmly pushing food around her plate, enquires "is this Thanksgiving?"

Us: Yes.

The Eldest: Ok, well let's do our thanks. Daddy what are your thanks?

Hubby: That your sister is asleep and not screaming anymore. Oh, and that the Eagles got up yesterday.

The Eldest: Oh. (with a shake of her head - obviously the football comment was being brushed aside). Mummy, what are your thanks?

What are my thanks? I have so many it would be impossible to write them all down. There are the obvious ones: family, friends, health. Right now, I feel pretty darn thankful for everything. But here are a few at the top of my list at this moment...

I am thankful for my Phil and Ted's Double Explorer Stroller and for all of its hard work over the past ten weeks. I appreciated you back in Australia, but my love and appreciation for you has quadrupled over the past few months. You gave me the freedom to leave a 2 bedroom apartment, in a foreign city, catch the bus and get around all while carrying my 2 children, their assorted out and about paraphanalia and my handbag. I could not have gotten The Eldest to school without you, as the service you provide in enabling me to harness the wanderings of The Youngest is invaluable. Do not worry about the new chariot in the garage. When it snows, you will understand why it is taking the children out and about.

I am thankful for the inventor of penicillin Alexander Fleming, and it's wonderful antibiotic ability to take away horrible horrible tonsillitis and bring me back to functional living.

I am thankful for my nespresso machine. Before we received a shipment of pods, I was thankful for Starbucks. Really, I am just thankful for coffee in general. I just wish coffee over here was as good as it is at home.

I am thankful for the amazingly generous parents that I have back in Oz and the home they have suddenly had to give to my puppy. I have been so worried about him over the past few weeks, and miss him so much. I am thankful he is in a place with two people who love him and will care for him for the next 22 months.

I am thankful for the Indian Summer that we are having, and that it is not cold cold cold yet!

I am thankful for my wonderful new friends here in Ottawa, who have made me feel at home here, and who without them, I would feel homesick and lonely. For their wonderful friendship, children and laughs, I am truly truly thankful.

And I am truly thankful for that gorgeous hubby of mine and my two nutbag children. For every and all reasons.

So many many many other things I could say thankyou for.

My answer to The Eldest? That I am sitting here in Ottawa, eating Thanksgiving dinner with you.

And so the conversation went on. The Eldest dragged a great deal of thanks out of us, as we sat there, wondering where this grown up four old came from, and whatever happened to that little child we birthed 4 years ago. It was one of those lovely meals, where without the up and down from the table antics of The Youngest, we were able to sit still and talk, thankful indeed that our tantrum throwing 2 year old was blissfully asleep.

I do have lots of thanks to give, but just now I am going to go and eat apple crumble and say thanks for butter, brown sugar and cinnamon.

Happy Thanksgiving

Jen xx

The Wonder of Pumpkins

2013-10-13T20:32:00.001-04:00

You have to hand it to the Canadians. They know how to celebrate each season as it arrives. The shops here are decked out in fall colours and decorations and everyone is celebrating the pumpkin.
Pumpkins everywhere - pumpkin pie, pumpkin spice, pumpkin spice latte, pumpkin chai. We have bought our lovely big pumpkin and are going to start researching how exactly to carve it for Halloween.

Yep. The mighty pumpkin is well loved over here.

We discovered an event, in its 2nd year, called Pumpkinferno held at historic Upper Canada Village, an hour south of Ottawa.

Upper Canada Village: Pumpkinferno

Now to set the scene - these are not real pumpkins. Real pumpkins would have decayed way before the display was set up. So it was 6,000 realistic, artificial pumpkins that were hand carved by a group of young artists here in Ontario, over the past 15 months.

We arrived at 5pm, thinking we could have a look through the village before Pumpkinferno began at 7pm. We were wrong. However, we were not wrong to arrive that early. We lined up at 6pm, with roughly 30 people in front of us. We entered at 6:45, and by the time we left at 7:45, there would have been a few hundred people lined up to enter, plus another few hundred cars lined up along the highway to enter.

It was pretty wow. I am just glad that we got there early!!
Here are some photos of some of what we saw, plus a video at the end.

Enjoy the wonder of the pumpkin!
Jen x

The Wonder of Apples

2013-10-13T09:52:00.004-04:00

So, my little blog has been neglected for the past few weeks. I wish I could say it's because we have living the jetsetting lifestyle: visiting NY City, the Rockies and a quick trip across to Europe.
Alas, it was because of none of those and because I had 3000 words to write for uni. 3000 words that sucked every ounce of the desire to write out of me. I have had uni assignment hangover. That, and the need to catch up on three weeks worth of housework - I reckon I am still 2 weeks short - but at least everyone has clean clothes, folded, and in their wardrobe. I even ironed some of hubby's work shirts!

Even though I was busy with assignments and keeping the household semi ticking over, we have still managed some great family activities.

A couple of weekends ago, we drove out to the Orleans Fruit Farm to do our very own apple picking. Equipped with our own apple picking tool, and a plastic bag, we wandered through the orchard, plucking fresh McIntosh apples off the trees. We managed to load ourselves up with quite a large bag, which has resulted in my learning how to make apple hand pies.

YUM!

Jen xxx

A Wonder in Montreal

2013-09-16T10:34:00.000-04:00

This past weekend, we took the opportunity to drive up to Montreal for a couple of days. We did not have much planned, other than going to the Parc Mont-Royal, The biodome and the Botanical Gardens.

We were very unprepared for what we came across at the Botanical Gardens. At the moment it is hosting the Montral International Mosaicultures 2013 Show Exhibition. http://www.mosaiculturesinternationales.ca/en/

I am not going to write much about it - instead I am going to let the photos tell an inadequate version of what we saw. Suffice it to say, I am in awe: that someone, somewhere, had the vision for this, and the follow through to get it up and running, and that someone, somewhere had the skill and desire to create these amazing works of art, is mind blowing to me.

Enjoy a small part of the wonder that we saw.

Jen x

Big Moments

2013-09-13T11:03:00.000-04:00

It has been a big week for this Aussie family in Ottawa. Big moments for little people and the resolution of bureaucratic red tape for the big people.

The Youngest has started pre-school, two mornings a week and loves it. Mind you, it seems we are paying a lot of money every month for her to either paint or spend most of her time washing her hands. Still, she loves her 'school' and has had no issues separating from me, and pretty much doesn't want to leave when it's time to go.

The Youngest's desire for independence grows daily, and many battles are fought when we leave the house, as to whether she goes in the stroller, or whether she walks. As I am rarely in a rush these days, she wins the battle for walking independence. The trade off being, she has to wear the monkey backpack.

I know some people have an issue with these backpacks. I have had people comment to me 'nice dog', 'I like your dog'. I say choice words in my head to those people. They obviously have never walked busy streets with a strong willed, highly independent, stubborn toddler. It's not a leash. It's an anti wandering device. It works. This clip of Cam and Mitchell on Modern Family makes me laugh - the whole episode is worth watching, especially seeing Mitchell come to an appreciation of the "leash".

The Eldest has also started school - full time, 5 days a week. She was so excited to start school, especially after her new playground friends all started school a week earlier. I loved her positive attitude as she got ready.

"I must eat all of my breakfast, so my brain can work hard at school today. I have a lot to learn".

"Today is the best day. I am going to make lots of new friends."

This morning was not quite as positive:

"I am going to wear my barbie top to school today."When told she had to wear her uniform, the foot stamped, and the ensuring comment "School is so unfair!", followed by a difficult morning of getting ready for school.

Still, she skipped along the footpath all the way to school, excited to be heading back to her teacher (who knows EVERYTHING in the whole wide world) and the new friends she made yesterday. She looks so grown up. She is so ready for this new experience. She is desperate to learn and soaks up knowledge like a sponge. I am not quite so ready - still coming to terms with my little girl growing up so big...

It has taken a loooong time for us to get through the red tape of getting Canadian ID, licences, car registration and insurance. We frequently use the Little Britain term "computer says no". It has been endless frustration. BUT!! We now have everything sorted out, and we have all our ID and most importantly, we can drive our car. This has meant we were able to go and do some serious shopping (yay!) and also venture out of our neighbourhood to see some 'Canadian Stuff'. Both of us have mastered driving on the left side of the road and getting a geographical sense of our new city. To celebrate our new found freedom, we headed out to Gatineaux Park in Quebec, to a place called 'Pink Lake'. It's not actually pink (much to the disappointment of The Eldest) but beautiful nevertheless. It has boardwalk around the lake, and whilst we didn't walk all the way around, The Youngest climbed A LOT of steps and wore herself out completely. It was a great family day out.

So, that's our big week. Little girls growing up big, and big people conquering driving on the other side of the road.

*Big moments*

Jen xxx

Don’t magic my sister

2013-09-01T18:22:00.003-04:00

We have moved into our new house, our home for the next two years. It is a regular looking townhouse, red brick, 3 stories and a basement. Hubby and I are happy – it is a lovely house, in a good location, in a good neighbourhood.

For our girls, it is like a castle, and they are living a magical life. They are loving being in Ottawa – and what four and two year old wouldn’t.

Because, besides other wonderful things (like Mumma being a SAHM), they live directly opposite a playground that is perfect for the 0-6 child .

The magical playground as I like to think of it.

It is magical playground, where we have met wonderful children and wonderful parents. The Eldest has two new best friends, both also 4, beautiful girls who play so well together and love each others company. It is like The Eldest has known them all her life.

In the magical playground, the two new best friends, have wonderful Mums – one Canadian, one Australian, who have become my new best friends. Lovely ladies to chat with, share stories with, find my Canadian feet with, who have helped to keep any homesickness at bay, who I am enjoying getting to know and become friends with.

The magical playground has made The Eldest braver. 'What's your name?', 'Will you play with me?'. A willingness to make new friends without holding Mum's hand. Friendships that last an hour or two. Or develop into longer term, like weeks.

The magical playground has made The Youngest overcome her tactile issues with walking on sand and getting dirty. She climbs, and runs, and swings and slides, wearing herself out so that the afternoon nap has stretched from one hour to almost two. The magical playground is enclosed so I can’t lose The Youngest. Magical.

The magical playground has toys that people have donated, that nobody steals, that the children love to play with. Ride on cars and bikes that they fly down the mini hill on, using barefeet as brakes. Buckets and shovels and kitchens and shopping carts. A drinking fountain provides water, essential for the making of mud pies and other magical playground treats.

The magical playground is giving my children the opportunity to live childhood the way it should be. Outdoors, endless play, getting dirty, friendship, fun.

In the magical playground squirrels frolic in the trees, and sticks are magic wands. It is a place where The Eldest looks out for her little sister. As magic was flying around, changing children into different animals and places, The Eldest very clearly said to her new best friends:

“Don’t magic my sister. She is too little.”

Followed by “Mum, don’t worry. No one is going to magic [The Youngest]. I promise she will be ok. I am looking out for her.”

Ah yes, the magical playground. It even builds sisterly love, family bonds and protective behaviours.

A magical existence indeed.

Jen x