Red Light Camera

Did you know that a Red Light Camera ticket is $325???? Yup, that's right $325!!!

Imagine my shock, when I opened the mail last week, to find 3 pictures of MY van driving through a red light...Yes, I knew I had done this. NO I did not know there was a camera!

I felt sick all day. $325.

So, off I went to Provincial Offences Court to pay my ticket and hope to get it reduced.

I had 3 choices.

1. Plead guilty and pay the fine (while the woman at the desk was shaking her NO!)
2. Plead guilty and ask for a reduction in the fine.

3. Plead Not guilty and go to court.

So I chose option #2. Imagine my shock when I was walked into the Judges office immediately.

I was not at all prepared for that!

First question. Why did you run the red light? Ummmm.....because I wasn't paying attention.

Then proceeded to inform me of the danger or driving recklessly.

Chatted for a bit.

Then asked. Why are you here? Ummmm....to get a reduction in the fine?

Pause....

Next and last question. What do you do for a living? I think he knew the answer to this already.

I quickly told him that I was home with the kids. Also added that this was a bad time for a huge ticket as it was all 3 of my girls' birthday, not to mention Christmas.

He looked up at me and said. You seem like a reasonable and responsible person to me. Here's what I'm going to do for you. Long pause. He wrote something on a piece of paper, handed it to me and said "Merry Christmas, now you've got an extra $225 for Christmas.

My fine: $95.

Phew. Easier to swallow.

Apparently this WAS my lucky day, as the judge had been sending people back with a $325 fine for this all day.

4...REALLY?

My little Jaida is FOUR...oh my!

She was waiting and waiting for her birthday to come.

She woke up in the morning, ran into our room. When I asked who it was, she said

"It's the cutie, tootie birthday girl!"

She dressed up in the birthday dress, and birthday hat.

Wore it ALL day!

Never stopped smiling!

I just wanted to eat her up!

She is fun.

She is silly.

She really is a little monkey.

She is the funniest little girl.

The big SIX!!!

Natasha turned 6 yesterday!

She went to bed, the eve of her birthday with a great big smile on her face.

She woke up, gave a big bright smile, popped out of bed and was on a mission.

She knew just what she was going to wear.

Last year's birthday dress. her sparkling headband, pretty jacket and party shoes.

oh yeah, and she took her party hat too!

And, off to school.

There was no walking. Hopping, skipping, running all the way.

Again, still smiling.

ALL DAY LONG.

When Natasha is happy, you can't help but smile.

She bobs around, hops, skips and dances.

Runs by and gives you a pat, a hug or a random "I love you".

Sometime I just watch her play, and resist my urge to just squeeze her.

I often give in.

I will never forget the day she was born.

She loved to cuddle up, from the second she was born. (She still does, pretty much every day!)

Her tiny little face and big brown eyes staring up at me while I was holding her.

As I put her to bed last night, she cuddled up beside me, with her head on my shoulder.

Those big bright eyes staring up at me.

She still is my little baby.

Maybe, just a wee bit older.

Lunch time

I picked up the big girls for lunch today. I try and do this once a week, we only have about 45 min.

While I was making Quesadillas, Maya and Natasha picked up the skipping rope and were skipping together. Lots of bumps, trips, but the constant sound of giggles.

After lunch they cuddled on the couch and started trading silly bandz.

We even had time to drop off a teeny tiny birthday present to some special girls.

It was a great lunch.

I just wanted to squeeze them, watching how nicely they were playing together and listening to their giggles. Time well spent.

What do you do?

Last week, after a long bike ride on a hot day, we went to my mom's to go for a swim.

We had a quick snack and Jaida asked her usual question.

"Amma, did you remember to bring my floaties?"

As I reached into the swim bag, I remembered that I had left the floaties on our back deck to dry.

So, what do you do if you are Jaida?

You learn to swim!

By the end of our swim she was able to swim about 10 feet.

That's what you get when you have no fear.

Hintonburg Run

We ran a great neighborhood race this morning., with lots of friends.

The big kids ran 5km, and Jaida ran the 1km with her friends. They were super cute.

Here are some photos:

My running partner and I:

Jaida and friends cheering for 5km runners:

Natasha and friends, at the start:

Jaida and friends walking to the start:

Jaida and Vivi running along. I'm pretty sure they were smiling the whole time they were running.

Big boys M and S, finished in 29:15. I am so proud of them. (they are just 7 and 8 and don't train!)

Natasha and Madz running to the finish line. They finished in 39:05!!

Maya at the finish line, 39:59

Kids enjoying some cake after the race:

Maya at home. She was really really hot, her tummy wasn't feeling very good after the run.

A little bit of water poured over her head, and some cold cold Gatorade is all we needed.

It was a crazy hot day. 31 degrees by 10am.

Looking forward to it again next year!

Week #1 of Summer Vacation

The first week of summer vacation was very busy.

It started with Canada Day. We lazed around the house for the better part of the day, then biked downtown after dinner. Had a nice walkabout, then ran into a road blockage! That's right, we saw WILL and KATE drive by!!

The girls got painted up and hit the town:

Maya talking to Sofia
downtown on wellington, ready to PARTY!

We biked to Victoria Island, where we coincidentally met my sister and family, to watch the fireworks.

kids playing card, while waiting for the fireworks to start:

It was great, and the bike ride home, Maya on her own bike and the girls on trail-a-bikes, was an adventure at 10:45pm! No one fell asleep, there was only a few moments of dozing for Tasha!

Saturday I biked to Perth with Meg, we stopped in at a friends cottage to cool down with a dip in the Lake, before heading off to watch Grant, Kevin, John and Dave run the Perth Kilt Run. It was a very very windy ride, but in some sense it was good, as it kept us from feeling the heat!

Sunday/Monday we were off to another cottage, this time we spent the night. It was a beautiful lake. The girls kayaked, jumped in and out, picnicked on the raft. It was completely relaxing. Jaida is fearless, and was one with the fish and frogs, Natasha and Maya kayaked around the lake while Grant and I could sit on the dock and watch.

It was very peaceful and relaxing!

Tuesday/Wed/Thurs/Fri was back to reality and LAUNDRY!! But with the great weather it was easy enough to spend time hanging out at the pool and with friends.

Oh, did I mention, I had a house full of kids on Wed and Thursday? I topped out at 8 kids on Wednesday, 7 kids on Thursday! It was fun, but I won't lie. I was TIRED!!!

Friday we were just 4 kids. It seemed so quiet. We enjoyed some Strawberry picking and some pool time at the park.

It was a very busy and tiring week, but all in all it was a great start to summer vacation.

Great weather, fun and happy kids. What more could you ask for?

stay tuned for this week's adventures.

School's out for Summer!!

Hard to believe the school year is over already. It has been a great year!

Maya finished Grade 2...she absolutely loved school this year. She had a fabulous teacher, who she adored. She was super young, 25! and fun loving, easy going and very very nice.

Maya and Molly on her last day of Grade 2:

Maya with her friends (Alex and Clare) and teacher:

Natasha also loved school this year. She had a wonderful teacher, learned so much French, and she even occasionally shows an interest in reading! Some friends and her formed a "Book Club" We are not sure what it entails, but we do know she really enjoyed their 'meetings'.

Natasha on her last day of SK:

We celebrated the end of school with a pool party and pizza picnic at the park with 30 friends. It was great!

Full of questions

Maya has been full of questions these days. We have had some very interesting and lengthy conversations about so many things.

Two questions in particular made me laugh last week.

1. Why would you need to get your stomach pumped.
2. Is Steven Harper child friendly.

#2 was particularly hard to answer.

She is a super fun kid.

What to do when Royals visit.

While have dinner one night last week I was talking about Will and Kate's upcoming Canada Day visit.

Natasha jumped up from out of her seat and said "We need to buy them a present!!"

I wondered what one would buy the royal couple.

Natasha quickly said "We should by her a crown and maybe a wand."

What about Prince William I wondered.

She thought for a few seconds and stated "a cape of course!"

My Dad

9 years ago, yesterday, my life changed.

So many people have not had the opportunity to have known my dad. I am lucky to have so many memories. He was such a harder worker and very very generous.

He built our first house. He didn't take a single day off work, and only hired excavators and an electrician, the rest was just him.

When we were kids we 'had' to do groceries with my parents on Friday nights, but it was always capped off with Ice Cream at Baskin Robbins.

Once my mom was away in India, and left my Dad in charge of her prised plants in the house, with strict instructions on watering. The plants were flourishing until I said I would water them while he was away for a week.(I had a choice, he was going to ask the neighbours) I didn't water them...oops. Half of them died, and he took the blame. He never mentioned that he was away and left me in charge.

He would try and get home from work first so that my mom wouldn't have to make dinner.

I talked to him almost everyday when I was away at Universtiy. He would call me from work if more than a day went by. His message would often just say "HI"

Once I noticed new bowls in the house, I was talking about how much I liked them. A few days later he gave them to us, along with dinner plates he had ordered.

Grant drove him to the airport for a business trip, as he left he turned to Grant and passed him $50 and said "You should buy a better hammer."

My wedding dress. My dad did he would help because he claimed my mom couldn't see the details properly. He knew every milimetre of that dress. A simple dress turns out to be pretty special.

My cousins would come over and he filled up a little container of chocolate chips and they would sit at the dinner table and talk while they ate.

There are so many more little things

I think of him everyday, sad that my girls have not been able to experience the wonder of being around a man who silently did so much to please those around him.

Also it makes me so sad that he did so much for us, and wasn't able to enjoy the wonder of being with his grandchildren.

Imagine what a great grandfather he would have been to my girls.

Preview of Summer Holidays

The girls had a PD day on Friday.
We took some friends and headed to Gatineau Park.
7 kids running in all directions, on and off the path.
2 adults just enjoying the outdoors and laughing at the happy kids.
We saw turtles, fish, toads, frogs and tonnes of caterpillars.
A few scrapes and bruises, lot of bug bites and 7 dirty dirty kids.
No one fell in the lake!

Saturday we played outside ALL day!
Cousins and family over for dinner.
Only came inside to watch the Canucks win!

Sunday Bike Day!
First time in 8 years we`ve biked with NO stroller.
Maya and Tasha rode our own bikes, I pulled Jaida on the trail-a-bike,
We did 10km, stopped to play by the river.
Only ONE fall, but no tears.

We pretty much spent the whole week-end outside.
I went to bed last night thinking of how great the week-end was.
Looking forward to summer holidays.

My first Half Marathon

I did it!

For years we have been watching the runners on Ottawa Race Week-end. We've proudly cheered Grant, Steve, Kev, and other friends.

Every year I watch these amazing people work hard at accomplishing a goal they set out for, always thinking "Wouldn't it be great to do this one day?"

Let me tell you, it WAS great, but it ain't so easy!

When I signed up, my goal was to finish in about 2hrs 15min. After 6 or 7 weeks of running, I started feeling as though I could get under 2hrs 10min.
I had lots of good training runs, so race week I decided that I was going to push to finish under 2hrs.

I've run more in the last 20 weeks than I have the past 20 years!

20 weeks of running and 426km.

I paced myself well for the first 5km.
Got excited to be 'home' from kilometers 5-9.
Saw so SO many friends.
Saw my neighbours.
Saw my family.
Got my kisses and high fives.
Ran MY fastest 10km ever, 53:30.
My halfway split was 55:08
Suffered through kilometers 11 to 14.
Re-fueled.
Felt good from kilometer 14-17.
Was really REALLY tired of running.
New found respect for Marathon runners...
Convention Centre took for EVER to come.
Pretoria Bridge is REALLY far from the Convention Centre.
Got pumped on the final stretch, thanks to some wonderful friends!
Managed to get a little sprint to the finish.
My time: 1:57:59.4 - it was done.

My legs were really sore, I was lightheaded, but man did it feel good!

I have to say, there is no way I could have done this without Grant's support, and my girls happily asking "Are you going for a run?".

I have great running partners, with and without strollers. Always happy to run.

A wonderfully inspiring woman who smiles while pushing her twin baby girls through the snow and ice! No excuse for me to bail on running.

My best training partner, who sat through hours of running in the stroller, munching on snacks and asking me to "Go Faster". Jaida is my absolute favorite little-est girl!


You know how you get the goosebumps watching the amazing runners? Well, you get goosebumps running with them too!

3 more sleeps

A year ago, pushing the stroller and running, required me to think twice before lacing up, most often I did NOT lace up.

In September running 5km seemed like a LONG run.

I signed up for the 1/2 marathon and pushed myself to train for it, it was made much easier, as I have wonderful friends to run with.

Today the stroller seemed easier than it used to.

I finished my last training run for Sunday's Half Marathon. Ahhhh! What have I signed up for? I'm excited and nervous.

I am pumped about running through my 'hood, seeing friends, neighbours, and kids from school.

I think I picked a good year to give this a try.

3 more sleeps to go.

Thanks to the ladies and cute little girls who have been great company and motivation over the last several months!

I will be the dark brown girl, but not at the front of the pack! :)

If you are around, come cheer. Not just for me, but for the thousands of amazing runners.

Kids talk about death

Tonight's snack time conversation.

Maya: Amma, did your Dad die when you were just a kid?
Me: No, I was 25.
Maya: So, that was a long time ago, right?
Me: Well, it was just the year before you were born.
Maya: It would have been good if he were alive for another year at least.
pause
Maya: I know something whose grandmother is 100
Me: oh yeah? who's that?
Maya: I don't know.
Me: I thought you said you knew someone?
Maya: Well, I don't know who.
Me: Great Grampy is almost 100. And Danny's mom is going to be 100 in Sept
Natasha: So, she might die in just a few days.
Me: Oh Natasha, we don't want that.
Natasha: Well, when Daddy dies you might be alive for a few more years.
Me: Maybe, hopefully neither of us will die anytime soon.
Natasha: You might die, well, when Maya is around 10 or something.
Me: Natasha, I don't want to die for a long long time. Generally, we don't want people to die.
Maya: Wouldn't it be good if pollution dies?

odd conversations.

Big Girl

Natasha picked up a new skill over the week-end!
Turns out Grant has that special touch.



She is already excited for family rides along the river!

Grandma's

Today's snack time conversation.
Natasha to me.

Natasha: "When I'm an adult, you're going to be a Grandma."

me: "Well, I hope to be a grandma. What do you think makes someone a Grandma?"

Natasha: "Well, you grow to an adult and then start shrinking a little, that makes you a Grandma."

me: "Well, kind of"

Natasha: "Well, you never really know when you are going to start shrinking, so you don't really know when you are going to be a Grandma."

me: "That is sort of true!"

Vitamins

Yesterday I bought a new brand of Vitamins.
Natasha asked why I didn't buy our regular ones, so I told her that these ones had no artificial flavours, so they would be better for your body.

Natasha: "What is artificial flavour?"
to which I said "They are basically chemicals"

Natasha: Why are chemicals bad?
I said: A lot of chemicals make it harder for our bodies to work properly, we should try and avoid them when we can.

After eating one of these 'new' vitamins. Natasha says: Next time can you buy the Vitamins with artificial flavours? The chemicals are really better.

Snowshoeing

It was my second time snowshoeing today. I went with Maya's class on a field trip.

I learned a few things today:

1. Going up a steep hill is harder than it would seem.
2. Going down hill, is easier than I thought.
3. Keeping up with 7 and 8 year olds is not that easy.
4. Running in snowshoes...much MUCH harder than I thought!
5. ALL of these while giving a three and a half year old a piggy back ride... HARD!

Change of plans...

A friend and I have been planning a pedicure morning for a few months now. We finally went this morning.

This was our plan. Q, N, and J could hang out and get some nails done if they wanted. We would get our pedicure, then pick up the 3 girls from school and have lunch at their house.

Here is what happened. Q, N and J got their nails done. We went home, packed a lunch, picked up the 3 girls from school and took THEM to get their nails done over their lunch hour!

6 kids hands done. ZERO mom's feet.

Oh what fun it is to be a kid!!

January Wrap-up

Time flies when you are having fun.

January has been a great month. I've stuck to my 'back to me' promise.

I've run 3 times a week. Spin Class and hockey.
My body IS tired, but feeling good.

I've got to dinner on 3 separate occasions with friends, myself, no Grant, no kids. no guilt! I'm over budget, but needed to start somewhere. February is a short month.

Grant and I ran together for the first time in years. I wasn't slow. He said it was a good pace for him! It felt great! I'm thinking we should do it more often.



Here are some random photos from the month:

Grant's birthday fun:



Girls and their chocolate facial masks:


Maya and Natasha on the Canal:


Beavertails:

Cottage Party!

This past week-end we went up to the neighbours cottage to celebrate the birthdays of K and C.

There were 19 of us.

There was rum and coke, wine, more wine and Baileys.

Impromptu dance party. The kids had the BEST moves!

Grant pulled out the moon walk!

Boys relaxed in the sauna. There were snow angels to cool down!

Headaches in the morning.

So much fun!

Oh yeah, there was birthday cake!!

Not sure who had more fun, kids or adults.

Quotes

Here are a few quotes to describe my girls...

Jaida, such a silly monkey.
"I don't have any kisses for you, I only have ONE kiss left. It is for Daddy!"
She loves her daddy so so much.

Natasha to Grant, two nights before he went to Fredericton.
"Daddy, I don't ever want you to leave me, ever, for the rest of my life ok? Well, except for, you know..." and Grant says "except for what?" "Well, you know, going to Fredericton this week-end."
At dinner the day after he came back, Natasha turned to Grant and said "Ok Daddy, you can go away again next year."

Maya after tasting my new healthy muffins
"I like them" so I ask "Would you like me to make them again Maya?"
"Yeah, but I would only eat them if there was nothing else in the house to eat!"
so diplomatic...

Maya after the Christmas Holidays. I tucked her into bed, we had a little chat and I said "Maya I love you, I had lots of fun with you over the holidays. You are such a fun girl" She gave me a kiss and said "I love you Amma, you are a fun girl too!" She IS my pal...

Sometimes they are so sweet I just want to eat them up...

What`s up for 2011?

I'm not one to make New Year's Resolutions, but this year, I did decide to change a few things...

This is going to be the start of getting back to ME. It occurred to me that I'm going to be 35 this year. Now, I don't think that 35 is old, I do think as we get older our bodies change, and it becomes more and more important to take good care of it.

I used to be the person who would get up at 4:00am, go to rowing practice, bike to work, get a good 1.5 hour workout in, and bike home. When I wasn't rowing, I would head to the gym at 5:30am then get to work by 7am...and played ultimate 2 to 3 times a week. No problem, it was routine, just a regular day.

Now? Well, I can't say I'm not active, but I'm not as active as I used to be. I run at least once a week, up to 3 times. Spring, Summer and Fall, I walk between 6-10 miles everyday. (To school and back 3 times and walk for groceries) To me, this walking is not exactly exercise, but it is 16 Km a day!! In the winter, I suck. The girls take the bus one way from school, so I only walk to school once a day, sometimes twice. This reduces my 'activity' level quite a bit. I still walk for groceries, and general getting around. Running in winter? I don't like the cold. I know, I can walk outside, but not run, I too, don't get it!! :)

I walk for many reasons, but the best reason of them, is that it had taught the kids to not rely on the vehicle as a mode of transportation, and, they are getting some exercise everyday.

Back to my point...

This year I have decided to prioritize 'my' activity. Hopefully now that I've written it here, I will actually do it!!! So, I'm counting on you, my 5 readers, to help with stick to it!! :)

I'm going to run regularly.
I'm taking Spin Classes - which will hopefully help us NOT be the last crew at each stop. I do think I was the weaker of the two parents last year! :)
I am also playing pick-up hockey with the ladies at our local rink.

So far, so good!

Week #1 - 3 runs, hockey and spin class...
Week #2 - is off to a good start. Hockey and a run so far. I am supposed to be running right now...Oops!

Well, there you have it. I have written it here. I hope to stick to it!!!

2010 Wrap Up

Long overdue. Here are just some of our 2010 highlights:

- Quinzhee Building and Backyard winter camping.
- Skating on the Canal, or `Going for Beavertails`as the kids would call it
- Montreal - Biodome
- Niagara Falls - visit with my 2 aunts from India!!
- New Brunswick - Grampy`s Farm and Fundy National Park
- North Carolina - relaxing, YES I said relaxing, vacation, visiting my favorite cousins, uncle and aunt.
- MS Rona Bike Tour - I think we were the slowest group, but we had fun!!!
- CIBC Run for the Cure - the girls` first experience running in an event. GREAT!

I am sure there was so much more, but those are the things that come to mind.

We had a great year, fantastic summer vacation and a smooth transition back to school...Looking forward to a great 2011...!!!

Curling for Cancer!

This is just a quick plea to let you know that I am participating in a Curling for Cancer fundraiser that takes place in my home town of Fredericton, N.B. this upcoming Saturday, January 22.

I, along with three others, will be driving from Ottawa to Fredericton and back just to take part. This is the event’s fourth year and it will be my second time participating. That's our team from last year. No, we're not curlers, the reason we drive all that way is because the event is organized by my friend’s father, whose wife passed away from cancer in 2007.

It takes place in Fredericton but all money raised goes to the Canadian Cancer Society. Here’s the link to my fundraising page, from there you can follow the “Support me” link: http://convio.cancer.ca/goto/grantl

Thank you for your support, any amount is greatly appreciated,
Grant