Seven Year Itch

Michael and I celebrated our 7th Anniversary on Monday, Sept 21. I cannot believe 7 years have gone by. I cannot believe we have a child in kindergarten. I cannot believe another is in her first year of preschool. SEVEN YEARS. Wow.

We brought in our 7th year together with Madison sleeping in between us. We celebrated with a romantic dinner...for 4...at Cafe Veloce, a local family-owned restaurant that we have driven by several times but never considered eating at. Surprisingly, it was quite good.

It's been a great 7 years even with all of its challenges, whether it be dealing with aging parents or young preschoolers, making ends meet, praising small steps, celebrating accomplishments, enjoying our travels or simply watching our favourite TV shows together. Life is good.

Thank you, Michael, for the 7 years. It's been a fun ride! (I love roller coasters much more than the Merry-Go-Round.)

September Updates

I have been so negligent in updating my blog. I have become a slacker! Well, two kid comments of recent:
1) Madison to me: "Hey, you are fat. You are very fat. You are like a big piggy." OUCH! Only out of the mouth of a babe. Coincidentally, I have been feeling fat lately. I think I am 10 lbs heavier than the spring. I am definitely out of shape, my clothes are tighter. I gotta get back on the treadmill! And then a few days after that comment she said again but in another way, "Mommy, you are having a baby. You have a big tummy."

Now I can receive the fat comment once but a second time in the same week???? Come on, does this child show no grace? I guess it would be unreasonable for me to expect diplomacy from a 3-year old. Well, at least, I know where I stand. I am overweight. Or to put it nicely...I am just right but with a few extra pounds. Now there is diplomacy.

2) Jaclyn yesterday: "Mommy, can I go to school tomorrow." "There is no school tomorrow." "But I can't wait to go to school. I want to go NOW!"
The update on Jaclyn and kindergarten: After two weeks of reviewing the pros & cons of Frost (public) and Overlake, we decided to send her to Overlake. It was so hard because both options were good for different reasons, and Jaclyn would have excelled at either. But after this past week at Overlake, I am soooooooooo happy we switched Jaclyn. The projects she brings home are so much more interesting and challenging. She seems happier, not that she wasn't happy at Frost, but there is an excitement in her eyes which I didn't see when she was going to Frost (except for waiting for the school bus). Teacher Tami, her teacher from Pre-K last year, is absolutely amazing. Before school even started, she gave us a monthly calendar, a weekly schedule, a daily schedule, and a 9-week progress report check-list. I got zero from the public school. I had no clue what Jaclyn was learning there. A couple of times she was bringing home colouring sheets which I thought was a joke.
Once I stopped thinking about the cost of Overlake, and that it is an "investment", it was so much easier to make the decision.
And just hearing Jaclyn make that above comment about wanting to go to school NOW, affirms that I made the right choice.

Summer is Gone and School is Here

It's been over two months since my last blog entry. We have had a fun and exciting summer. We travelled to Portland & Great Wolf Lodge. Whistler. Vancouver (a few times). And the best of all, 2 weeks in New York State. The kids have been in swim lessons, gym classes and gym camp, and Vacation Bible Schools. We have had playdates at parks, beaches and shopping malls. We have visited family, relatives and friends. We celebrated Madison's 3rd birthday at Chuck E. Cheese.

And now today, Jaclyn went to her first day of kindergarten at Frost Elementary. She was super excited to go. SUPER. There was no anxiety at all. Just pure excitement and joy. For me on the hand, I had mixed emotions. A bit of sadness that my Jaclyn has so willingly flown from the nest.

Wow...first day of kindergarten. Where did the time go? How come there are days that seem long and years that seem to have past so quickly?