according.to.kim

Day 7 - Carolyn & Eric's Wedding

Saturday, August 8, we:

• went to the breakfast room for the complimentary continental breakfast. It was nice that my relatives happened to get there about the same time.
• took the girls swimming right after breakfast, as it was our only opportunity.
• went out to explore Beausejour for a bit (driving). We stopped at Prairie Scrapbooking and all four of us girls enjoyed picking out a couple things to take home. We all picked stickers and rub-ons, except Georgia; she chose an American Crafts mini-album and some metal arrow-shaped photo turns that she calls "keys" (of course she has no idea what they really are). She is so excited about these things, it's pretty funny --and cute!
• looked for lunch and found ourselves in The Copper Pot, which, frankly, did not look great outside or in, but the food was pretty good. I had a bowl of corn and ham chowder that was quite a bit like the corn chowder my mom made when I was growing up.
• rushed back to our hotel and got ready for my cousin's wedding which started at 2:30 p.m.
• attended Carolyn and Eric's wedding ceremony which was held in a small country church at Lydiatt, 1/2 mile from their acreage. We sat upstairs on the balcony so the kids could move around a bit and that worked well. They were able to stand where they had a good view. The ceremony was very nice and I loved seeing and hearing my cousin, Jayne, sing again (she also sang out our wedding 10 years ago!).
• met up with my brother and his family at the Beausejour Dairy Bar; a nice place with a big front veranda and lots of flowers. It was fun to visit with them there as we hadn't seen them for quite awhile.
• attended the cocktail hour and wedding reception in a tent on the bride and groom's acreage. They have a beautiful property and the kids really enjoyed looking around and playing outside for a large part of the evening. There were quite a few children there.
• enjoyed the supper very much which was catered by Smokin Jim's BBQ. So good! And for dessert, there were homemade apple, strawberry, and peach pies made by the groom's mother. I had peach; a favourite of mine! I would have loved to try them all.
• enjoyed the rest of the reception, too. The speakers were entertaining, and there were many wonderful details such as wooden boxes (that held potted flowers on each table) and anise cookies made by the bride's father and mother, respectively. I love that we were able to take one of the boxes home. Lovely wedding! I'm glad we could be there.
• headed back to our hotel in Beausejour about 10:45 p.m. after some dancing and wedding cake (the kids were very eager for the cake to be cut) so we all could get enough sleep before our drive home the next day.

The tent where the wedding reception was held.

Madeline was very interested in the wedding cake!

Change of plans

Today did not go as expected...

Georgia started vomiting at 7:30 a.m. and it lasted for a couple hours. Although fairly frequent, she didn't cry at all, and barely spoke a word the whole time (which is unusual for her); however, by noon, she was back to normal and you would never guess that she'd been sick. She was happy and chatty all afternoon, and by suppertime, had a huge appetite.

Also, we were planning to go to Yellow Grass today and have supper with my parents, then to Weyburn to visit my Aunt Colleen and Grandma this evening. We planned to stay overnight in YG and then go for a horse-drawn sleigh ride Sunday afternoon. Unfortunately, the weather had other ideas. The windchill today was severe (-45C) and highway travel wasn't recommended. Furthermore, the forecast was just as bad for Sunday, so we decided to postpone the trip. Grandma was relieved we wouldn't be traveling today.

We may still go tomorrow if the weather shapes up (the forecast is improving) -- AND no one else comes down with the stomach bug. Fingers crossed! If we can't go tomorrow, it'll be at least a month before we can all get together for a sleigh ride on a weekend afternoon. The girls were very excited about it, and very disappointed when we decided not to go.

***
Why does Sick Kids have to advertise on Teletoon Retro? I know it's a very worthy cause, but I kind of wish they wouldn't. I'm just not sure children need to learn about sick and dying children while watching The Smurfs. (Are they supposed to pester their parents to make a donation?) The commercials are very sad. Sophia doesn't like seeing them and I can't blame her; one of the ads (about a baby girl with a heart condition who couldn't be saved) made me cry a couple weeks ago. I encourage the girls to leave the room or turn the channel when those ads come on, but they don't bother, and Teletoon Retro is one of their favourite channels so they see them fairly often. (Hmmm, maybe they should watch less television... yes, but it's been so bloody cold outside for the past month!)

***
Today I'm thankful for:

• shelter from the cold
• hot running water
• all the medical advances that do save children

Holiday/celebration recap

{I wasn't going to take the time to write this, but then I thought, someday I'm going to want to know what we did for Christmas in 2008 and I will be disappointed in myself if I look here and find nothing. To that end, I have written this lengthy recap for me and my family primarily, but of course you're welcome to read it if you're interested!}

Sunday, December 21: My side of the family (my parents and my brother and his family) came to our house for Christmas dinner. Turkey and all the fixings. (My favourite!) It was great to see everyone. We hadn't been all together since September. The girls were very excited to see their cousins and open a few Christmas gifts early. (I like spreading out the gifts too.)

Monday, December 22: As soon as I got home from work, we went to visit (Neil's) Grandma Louise at her suite in The Bentley. We stayed for two hours. The girls filled up on cookies, candy, and juice. They also enjoyed receiving gifts and playing in the hallway. Neil and I enjoyed some Bailey's and looking at old photographs with Grandma. I was happy to get some pictures of the girls with their Great Grandma.

Tuesday, December 23: Neil brought the girls down to the mall that's attached to my office building. During my lunch break, we showed them the big glamorous Christmas tree in the centre of the mall. They admired the chandelier at the top of the tree and took a quick look at Santa. (So glad they didn't insist on sitting on his knee; no time for that.) We shopped at Claire's for a few minutes as Sophia had some money remaining on the gift card she had received in early November. Their Christmas money from Grandma Louise was burning a hole in their pocket too, so they each bought a Webkinz. After sharing a couple of flat-baked pita pizzas in the food court, I took them all up to my office so they could see where I spend so much time. Sophia was delighted to see the Christmas "JOY" wall hanging she made in grade one hanging in my office.

Wednesday, December 24: We all spent the day at home together. It was nice not to have anything pressing to do, other than ensuring the living room was tidy for Christmas morning. Sophia was especially interested in checking Santa's location throughout the day on the NORAD website. Georgia's nose incident added a little unwanted excitement to our afternoon. Otherwise, the girls were all very excited about Christmas being here soon. After an early supper, we went over to (Neil's) Aunt Glenys's for a Christmas party. They had a beautiful spread of foods to munch on. The girls immediately started playing with another little girl (the only other child there). Unfortunately, I started feeling ill and we had to leave sooner than everyone wanted (but not much earlier than we had planned to leave anyway). We were home at 8:30. I felt too sick to do anything but go to bed, so Neil put all the girls to bed. Fortunately, I was able to get up a few hours later and help Neil do some last minute Christmas stuff. I didn't feel well through the night, but it could have been much worse (my stomach was turning and cramping, but that's all). I'm very thankful it wasn't a bad stomach bug.

Thursday, December 25: Sophia and Madeline went to the bathroom at 5:30 a.m. I called out, "get back to bed!" and, thankfully, they did. They didn't go back to sleep though! At 7:00 a.m. sharp, they ran to the living room. It was great to hear their excitement. Sophia's gift from Santa wasn't wrapped, so she knew what it was right away. He gave her a real electric guitar! Can you believe that?! Madeline was equally delighted with her Chipmunk Webkinz. It was exactly what she wanted. Then Sophia and Madeline ran to get Georgia. Sophia carried her out to the living room. She did not want to be awake yet! She put her forehead on the floor and wrapped her arms around her head while the other two tried to make her open her Santa gift. They started tearing the paper for her and finally Georgia perked up when they announced it was a Dora game.

We all proceeded to open the gifts under our tree. We did open one gift at a time, so we could all watch and see what the others received. The only exceptions were gifts from us to the kids that were identical, so we had them open those at the same time. The stockings were opened last and they revealed many little surprises for the girls. They were all thrilled with their gifts. (I was thrilled with mine too! I received everything I wanted and much more. Highlights included a 50mm camera lens from Neil and girls, a gorgeous ring from Laurel, and a very cute camera strap cover from/made by Shauna.)

I had planned to make this Ham and Egg Brunch recipe the night before, but wasn't able to do that, so Neil made it in the morning after the gifts were opened. It worked out fine. It was baked just in time for Laurel's arrival mid-morning, and was delicious. Everyone in my family loved it (which is pretty rare!). Laurel brought her laptop and set up a video chat with Donna and Lou in Texas. It was nice to see them on Christmas day, and the girls enjoyed showing them some of their gifts.

The middle part of the day was a bit crazy. The girls flitted from one gift to another, spreading the contents of several craft kits and games all over the living and dining room. Much too messy and chaotic for my liking, but what can you do? In hindsight, it would have been nice to scoop up some of those things (before the box was opened) and put them away for another day; however, I doubt that effort would have gone unnoticed (i.e., without a great deal of crying). Anyway, I escaped for an hour and took a much needed nap.

About 4:00 p.m., we went over to Neil's cousin's house for a potluck Christmas dinner. Rhonda, Laurel, G. Louise, and Ali's parents were there too. Dinner (turkey :-)) and dessert were delicious. (I was very happy to be feeling well enough to eat a full meal.) After supper, we had fun playing charades with Sophia's new Kids Charades game. Sophia was pretty good at acting out many things, and it's great that she could read the cards herself; she just needed a little help figuring out what would be effective sometimes. Madeline was so funny; she preferred to act out a whole scenario she had thought of, rather than something from a card. On our way home, we took Grandma Louise back to her place.

Friday, December 26: We stayed home all day, mostly doing things in the kitchen and playing with the girls and their Christmas gifts. I baked a chocolate cake for Neil's birthday, then helped Sophia (in her new chef's jacket) make Blueberry Buckle -- a recipe from the kids recipe box she received from us for Christmas. It was very yummy! (All three girls received a chef's jacket and recipe box from us.) Later Madeline helped me make frosting for the birthday cake. We also played Georgia's Dora ABC game and Sophia's Trouble game with all the girls. I printed and retrieved photos for Madeline to put in her new scrapbook, and worked on a mosaic craft with Sophia. The girls also watched Wall-E and Sleeping Beauty off and on throughout the day.

For his birthday, Neil just wanted to watch the World Junior hockey game at 6:00 p.m., so we ate supper before that -- ribs from Montana's and the rest of the meal (rice and vegetables) from our kitchen. We sang happy birthday, ate cake, and then Neil headed downstairs for the hockey game and we left him alone to enjoy it in peace.

Saturday, December 27: After a lazy morning, we went out to a music store to pick up a strap, case, picks, and tuner for Sophia's guitar, then we headed over to L&B's. Bronwyn had wanted to be present when the girls opened their Christmas gifts from L&B, so today was the day (she returned from Calgary late Friday). The girls were delighted to open more gifts (their sixth batch!) and very excited to play with Bronwyn after not seeing her for a whole week which is a long time in their world! With Bronwyn on drums (from Santa) and Sophia on her new guitar, they finally started the band they'd been planning! And now Madeline is begging for a keyboard! (We went back to the music store later in the afternoon and learned more about keyboards but didn't purchase one yet. We also picked up my Irish dance hard shoes at Ceili Surprise. They had my size in stock -- yay!)

We were scheduled to supervise the heated skating shack at an outdoor rink from 5:30-7:30 p.m. -- as long as the wind chill was not colder than -25C. Well, it was -23 at 5:00 p.m., so we went to fulfill our commitment (part of fund raising for a new play structure at the girls' school). I sure hoped it would be warmer today, but it wasn't unbearably cold and we had fun. We were all dressed appropriately and the shack was plenty warm enough (the only drawback to the shack was it smelled of beer and cigarette smoke -- blech!). Only Georgia's hands got a little too cold, so I let her put her hands inside my coat under my arms and she liked that. We all skated on and off over the two hours, and the girls also enjoyed the nearby slide, swings, and teeter-totter. We took hot chocolate in thermoses and marshmallows which added to the fun. Just a few other skaters used the rink while we were there.

***
Well, that was a quite a week. Fun, but awfully busy. I'm very happy that Sunday, December 28 is totally free of scheduled activities; however, I will be taking down the tree and putting away all things to do with Christmas. I'm ready to move on!

First snowfall

This was the scene here at 7:45 p.m. We had just gotten home from our big family supper after the celebration of Great Aunt Elsie's life, and the girls were extremely eager to play in the fresh wet snow. They were allowed to go out for only five minutes, so they just grabbed mittens, a hat, and slightly more appropriate footwear than they had been wearing, and headed out to make snow balls. Bare legs kept them from arguing too much when their five minutes were up!

No highlights tonight. I'm beat. Hopefully tomorrow.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Rest In Peace Aunt Elsie

Great Aunt Elsie passed away September 26, 2008 at the age of 86 (one week before her 87th birthday). She was a kind, loving, and compassionate woman, and always greeted me warmly by taking my hands in her hands. She was like another grandma in Neil's family. She loved animals and sports, and of course her family. She knitted some wonderful things for my girls -- most recently a pair of mittens for Georgia, just a few months ago, because she had heard that Georgia was upset when her sisters got some mittens from a craft sale and she didn't. (Photo taken in October 2004.)

Things I haven't mentioned

1. We were invited to three weddings in Alberta this summer, and I regret that we can't attend any of them. They are all for Neil's cousins. I really like family weddings and would love to go, but I don't have any extra vacation days to spare and it would be too difficult to do the trip to AB and back (Okotoks X 2 and Fort Saskatchewan) with the kids on a three-day weekend. Plus, there's the expense of fuel (especially with the prices these days) and accommodations. We just can't do that right before our trip to Victoria that we've been planning all year. And with that trip, we'll be doing enough driving this summer!
   ***
2. We didn't sign the kids up for any activities this spring or summer. We'll have Sparks until mid-May and dance until mid-June and then we're free! Quite awhile ago when it was nearing time to register for soccer, softball, etc., we just decided the girls had had enough activities this school year (with skating and swimming as well) and it would be nice to have a break from organized activities. We'll just do our own thing, such as introducing throwing and catching with ball gloves, as I mentioned last week.
   ***
   
3. I injured myself in dance class this month. It started three weeks ago with just a bit of pain, and then it became much more of a problem last weekend (I didn't go two weeks ago because I was sick). I don't know what to call this injury. When I lift my left leg up to a certain point, say 90 degrees, there's a clicking or catching of something (like a tendon?) along the bikini line in the front when my leg is on its way down. It doesn't hurt on the way up; just down. Well, this is definitely a problem in Irish dancing. Legs need to go up and down a lot! It's also a problem when I'm putting on, or taking off, pants and socks. Otherwise, it doesn't hurt at all. So weird. Anyway, I have to get this fixed! I tried dancing today and it was not good. I need to book physio therapy or massage ASAP.
   ***
4. Since I have been getting sick so much lately, I decided to start taking more vitamins. Perhaps I should have been taking more before, but I guess I was resisting because I don't like taking pills all that much. I had been taking two Cold-FX daily for the past couple months, but now I'm also taking 1000mg C, a timed- release B50 Complex, and 4x500mg Evening Primrose Oil (hoping it will help my skin too) each day. So far, since Monday, I feel really good. Dare I say, better than usual? Could they have kicked in that quickly? Maybe it's just that I'm completely over that nasty cold, and I feel much better by comparison.
   ***
5. I'm at a hair crossroads. This happens to me every two or three years. If my hair is long, I want it short; if it's short, I want it long. I have gone back and forth like that my whole life. It's been two years since I last went from long to short, so this is right on schedule, but this time, I seem to be having more trouble deciding what to do. I think it's because I would like to stick with short hair, but I really can't stand making the appointment, and going (it takes time!), and forking over $40 every three months or so. I just hate that. (This is also why I have never coloured my hair before. Ever.) So now it's been five months since I last had my hair cut and I have to make a decision. Because if I'm going to stick with short hair, there's no point in suffering through this growing out length any longer than necessary! I like it short-short or shoulder length, and I'm not crazy about the in-between stages. Here are a couple of pictures of me with "good" hair (incidentally, I was pregnant with Georgia in the first photo, and that's her on my lap in the second):

Anyone have an opinion about what I should do? If so, I'd love to hear it. I like my hair both ways, so I'll agree with you no matter what you say!

Pats game and budding photographer

Madeline took this photo at the Brandt Centre on Saturday. I like the angle. She used our little camera to take almost a hundred photos over the weekend at various places. It's pretty funny what a five-year old will photograph! (And odd -- there are several photos of an unknown lady at this same location.)

Neil decided to take Sophia and Madeline to a Pats hockey game last week. It was going to be their first live hockey game (of course they've had many opportunities to see NHL hockey on TV). On Thursday, he got tickets for the three of them to see a playoff game on Saturday night.

Unfortunately, when Saturday came along, Sophia had come down with a fever and couldn't go. She was disappointed, but handled it fairly well (a sign she's growing up, for sure). So, Neil called his cousin's nine-year old son and he agreed to go to the game with Neil and Madeline. By coincidence, my brother and his family also had tickets for the same game (but in a different section) and by chance they saw each other before the game as they were entering the Brandt Centre. As for the game, Madeline was ready to go home within the first period, but I understand she was pretty good throughout.

Daily scan: 31 Oct 2000

Back when I did not have children to dress up for Halloween! I had dressed up for work, along with three co-workers who went as the scarecrow, the lion, and Dorothy from The Wizard of Oz. After work, I popped over to Laurel's to see my niece in her li'l pumpkin costume. Bronwyn was four months old, and I was six months pregnant at the time.

Daily scan: 09 Jul 2000

The perfect tiny fingers of my niece, Bronwyn, at nine days.

Daily scan: 01 May 1987

Neil with his Grandpa Watson on the day of his high school graduation. The photo was taken at his grandparents' house.

Dad's birthday

On Saturday, after dance classes and skating lessons, we went to YG to celebrate my dad's birthday. The highway was not great (poor visibility) for about half the trip, then was fine when we changed direction. We decided to stay overnight rather than drive back in the dark and blowing snow with the minus 48 wind chill. As always, we had a great time with my family in YG. Lots of laughs! I'm very glad we ventured out, despite the weather. It's too bad my brother couldn't be there due to work. We drove back to Regina this morning and went straight to the girls' swimming lessons. We were prepared!

Daily scan: 03 Jan 1998

This is the New York New York Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas where my brother got married in January 1998. We stayed at the Excalibur and this is the view from near the beginning of the catwalk between the two hotels. We had a great time at Rob and Robyn's wedding! Many other family and friends were there too. I'd like to go back to Vegas someday. (I went on the roller coaster in this photo!)

Daily scan: 25 Dec 2003

A wonderful discovery! I love this photo, but did not remember it specifically. This is Madeline at 11 months with my Grandma Mantay at my parents' house.

Daily scan: 30 Jul 2000

The Mantay Family Reunion (for my mom's mom and her descendants; about 30 people) was held at Cypress Hills in the summer of 2000. Some of my cousins participated in a park- planned relay race one afternoon. I think they had to run, swim, cycle, and canoe. (I did not participate and I don't recall even considering it; perhaps because I was expecting my first baby, but most likely because I'm not much of a runner, swimmer, cyclist, or canoeist!) So, cousins, when should we get together again? 2010? It's not easy because there are some great distances involved. Let's see... B.C., Alberta(?), Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, Texas, and Australia. Some of my cousins have moved home from China, so that's good!

Daily scan: 20 Apr 2003

This was taken at the farm near Avonlea. It was probably the first time Sophia and Bronwyn were on the trampoline together because Sophia was only 26 months old -- practically the same age Georgia is now. Can you see the resemblance between Sophia and Georgia? If it wasn't for their different hair (and, obviously, the context in a photo like this), I'm not sure I could tell them apart!

My nephew and photo fun

This is my nephew, Rian. He's eight months old. Shauna (Neil's sister), Cole, and Rian were in Regina this week, and we went to over to Laurel and Bronwyn's house last evening to visit again before they leave. It was nice to have them at the girls' party on Sunday too! We hadn't seen them since October.

This first photo is straight out of the camera. I had set the camera to ISO 1600 so I could capture Rian without a flash in the middle of the house in the evening (i.e., with no natural light at all). It's a bit grainy because that's what ISO 1600 does, but I quite like it. How else could you get a photo that's not either totally washed out from the flash or quite blurry under those conditions? And without red eyes? I wouldn't want a flash to go off in a baby's eyes at that close range anyway.

You know I can't leave well enough alone. That green ball behind Rian's head bugged me, so I removed it. A bit finnicky to do, but worth it. I also applied Auto Levels (in PSE 4) and bumped up the exposure just a touch. Not bad, huh?

And then, just for fun, I applied a filter called Poster Edges. (It' s easier to see the effect if you click the photo to enlarge.)

By the way, this is not the "project" I referred to on Thursday. That will be later -- sometime after dance and skating lessons!

Birthday party no. 3

We had a great party at the Science Centre this afternoon!
First, our guests signed Sophia and Madeline's lab coats... 

then Science Centre staff conducted several experiments...

and made ice cream using liquid nitrogen to freeze it quickly (I'm sure the kids weren't as bored as they look in this one)...

so we could have cake and ice cream to celebrate Sophia and Madeline's birthdays! It was good cake (from Sobey's, I think).

The girls received many lovely gifts. They sure are lucky kids! (The gift part is rather chaotic when the party is for two.)

When the party ended (and our guests went home with their cool Science Centre goody bags), we visited the Powerhouse of Discovery for another hour -- which is not enough time, but we'll go again soon. We bought a family membership this year.

Georgia loved it too! This was by far the easiest party for me (aside from the stress of who to invite) and I think everyone enjoyed it. I'm glad we did this. I'm also very happy our crazy birthday season is over for another year! Ahhhhhhh!

Marathon weekend

This may have been our craziest weekend ever. And I suppose it was self-inflicted. Lots of fun, but challenging too, and frankly, I'm glad it's over!

{This is a long post! One of my all-time favourite quotes is very apt: "I have made this letter longer than usual, only because I have not had the time to make it shorter." by Blaise Pascal. So, for those who don't have the time or inclination to read all of the details, here is a quick summary; the Cole's Notes version, if you will... Friday: preschool pajama party > kindergarten registration > shopping > party invitations > housework > Saturday: packing > dance classes > party prep/ skating classes > watersliding > birthday party > bedtime blues > Sunday: swimming lessons > lunch > friend's birthday party/ play date/ shopping > supper > kids to bed early > total exhaustion.}

Friday

First thing, I iced some birthday cupcakes (that the girls and I made Thursday evening) for Madeline's preschool class. I was also a parent helper that day and they were having a pajama party. We both went in our pajamas and had a good time. I'm glad I took the day off work so I could be there on Madeline's birthday. After preschool, I took Madeline to the babysitter where Georgia already was. In the early afternoon, Neil and I went to back to the school to meet with the principal for Madeline's kindergarten registration. From there, we made a quick shopping trip to buy birthday gifts for two children in Madeline's class. I spent the rest of the afternoon preparing invitations for next weekend's party. After picking up the girls from the babysitter, we delivered a bunch of invitations. Sophia and Madeline insisted on going up to the door for each one. We chose not to take the invitations to school (which would have been far easier) because we're not inviting everyone in the girls' classes.* After supper, Neil went to get groceries for Saturday. And after the kids went to bed, I worked for a couple hours getting some chores done because I knew there would be no time on Saturday.

Saturday

In the morning, I worked hard to get all of our stuff packed for our overnight stay at the Travelodge. Then Madeline and I were off to our Irish dance classes. As soon as I finished my class, we hurried out of there and went straight home for Neil to take Sophia and Madeline to their skating classes. (Madeline didn't even get out of the van.) Meanwhile, Georgia napped and I re-decorated the leftover cake I had put in the freezer last Sunday. (I used the buttercream icing that remained after I iced the cupcakes on Friday.) As soon as that was done, I turned my attention to packing the food and dishes, etc. for supper. I finished just in time for Neil, Sophia, and Madeline to return from skating. We quickly transferred everything to the van (Sophia and Madeline didn't even get out) and were off to the hotel.

My brother and two of his children (Ethan and Jordyn) arrived at the hotel a few minutes after we did. Unfortunately, my youngest niece Kacy was sick with a stomach bug on Saturday, so she and my sister-in-law had to stay home. We checked into our room and then all got ready to go to the pool. We enjoyed the pool, waterslide, and hot tub for a good hour and a half. I think the Travelodge has a great waterslide for children. It's long and you won't go very fast unless you want to. The water wasn't too cold either, so we could keep going for quite awhile. I took Georgia down the waterslide several times and she couldn't get enough of it! She also loved the hot tub which wasn't scorching hot (it was okay for a little one to stay in for a few minutes). All three of our girls and our nephew and niece wore life jackets the whole time and the older four went down the waterslide by themselves a gazillion times. I like having them wear life jackets so we don't have to worry too much. And they feel confident when they hit the pool at the bottom of the waterslide. My mom and dad also joined us at the pool when they arrived at the hotel.

We headed up to our rooms about 5:30 and got ready for birthday party number two. Once dressed, we all went to mom and dad's room because their room was more spacious with one bed rather than two. We brought veggies and dip, a few varieties of sausage, cheese, and crackers, and potato chips (party food!). Just a bunch of easy transportable stuff that we could eat in the room, and things the kids enjoy. I didn't feel like ordering in and going to a restaurant with the five kids would have been... undesirable, to say the least. We ate supper and then the girls opened gifts from their cousins. My grandma and aunt Gloria also popped in for a short visit (they're still in town to be with my aunt in the hospital), and after they arrived, we sang to the girls and ate birthday cake. It was just the right amount of cake and I'm glad I didn't make or buy another one.

By that time, it was getting close to the kids bedtime and they had had a full day. Once I had everything packed up again, we retired to our room and Neil headed home for a short while to let the dog out. After such a big day, I was hoping the girls would fall asleep easily, but no such luck! They were totally wired and didn't fall asleep until almost eleven -- to our dismay. There was some misbehavin' going on too and Sophia managed to lose a week of computer privileges. Oh, the joy. Also, in the middle of the night, Sophia complained of a sore stomach. Her complaining continued for 20 or 30 minutes, so Neil walked to Shopper's across the street and bought a remedy for indigestion. (I wished I had brought her Ovol; lesson learned). When he returned, she was asleep and didn't wake again until morning. It figures, but I'm glad it didn't get worse!

Sunday

Thankfully, everyone slept until eight (although Georgia had a fussy, fitful sleep and therefore, so did I). We ate breakfast in our room (leftover cheese and crackers), got ready for the day, packed up, and checked out... just in time to go straight to the University for the girls' first swimming lessons of the season. Madeline's lesson started at ten and Sophia's was at 10:30. (I regret that due to the lessons, we didn't have another opportunity to go to the Travelodge pool. Next time I plan a hotel/watersliding excursion, I'll ensure we have more time to enjoy it!) Their lessons went well. I was pleased that Madeline didn't insist that I sit directly behind her near the pool (like she had in the fall). As we left the university, the girls asked for A&W for lunch and that sounded pretty good! We did not feel like making lunch at that point.

As soon as the table was cleared, it was time to get ready for Madeline's classmate's birthday party. I helped her make a card and she helped me wrap the gift. Just as we were leaving, a friend of Sophia's called to ask her to come over to play. Perfect timing! I dropped Madeline off at Q.C. Gymnastics, then Sophia off at her friend's house, delivered a couple more invitations, and headed to Walmart to pick up a few things. (A sad as this may sound, it is a real treat for me to be in Walmart all by myself! I could actually look at things. I could think.) I dropped off my purchases at home, then made the rounds to pick up Madeline from the party, then Sophia. Meanwhile, Georgia had a three-hour nap and Neil worked on laundry all afternoon... At suppertime, Madeline could barely stay awake. She was asleep for the night at 7:00 p.m. Sophia went to sleep at 8:30 p.m. (which is early for her), and Georgia stayed up a little later due to her long nap. I turned in a bit earlier than usual too -- relieved that we survived this crazy marathon weekend!

*This has been the most stressful part of this big birthday month for me, especially since the girls' classmates always seem to invite their entire class (or at least all the girls). I don't know if it was the right decision or not. But, we would not be going to the Science Centre for just one of them. The jealousy would have been unbearable. And we certainly wouldn't be going there twice in a couple weeks. And even if we didn't go to the Science Centre, I wasn't prepared this year to have two kid parties with a dozen classmates each. And what about the girls' other friends -- the ones who aren't in their school classes? We wanted to invite them too, but that didn't leave a lot of room for other guests. We decided Sophia and Madeline could each invite four classmates at the most. Narrowing it down was difficult and I think I feel worse than anybody about it. Sophia couldn't resist telling some of her classmates about the party (despite us repeatedly asking her not to) and so we're inviting at least one little girl mostly because Sophia told her about it. All of this is painful!

The girls' family party

A few things I'd like to remember about this party:

(1) How the cake came to be... Saturday evening, we baked two 9x13 cakes (chocolate and rainbow bit, from mixes) and made four cups of vanilla buttercream icing. All went into the fridge for the night. On Sunday, when I started working on the cake, my only plan was to have some green icing -- because that's Sophia and Madeline's favourite colour right now. I tinted 1.5 cups of the icing green and left 2.5 cups white. I spread a thin layer of the white buttercream on top of one cake, set the other cake on top, and then quickly realized I would have no where near enough icing. I managed to cover the top with a thin layer, but it didn't look great and I had none for the sides. Fortunately, I had asked Neil to buy 500 ml of whipping cream two days earlier because at that point I hadn't decided what type of frosting to make. I was also lucky to have some whipping cream stabilizer in the cupboard. Neil quickly whipped all of the cream for me. It was perfect. I was able to cover the entire cake with nice white whipped cream. Phew! Then, onto the decorating. I went for the standard border around the bottom and top edge. At that point, I had a nice blank canvas to work with, but no plan in mind. What to do? what to do? Sophia suggested flowers. So I started making flowers. And I made one really ugly flower with four uneven petals. My family said "it's fine!" but I didn't like it. So I stared at it for half a minute and noticed a butterfly shape. I added a few dark chocolate discs and voila! we had a butterfly, and it actually looked pretty good. Done!

(2) What we served, besides cake... Fresh fruit, fruit dips, coffee, and tea. The fruit: Moro blood and Cara Cara pink oranges, pineapple, blackberries, watermelon, red and green grapes, bananas, and Fuji apples. The dips: Lemon Chiffon, Maple Spice, and Summer Berry. I sure enjoyed this fruity menu and I think others did too. The kids even ate a bunch of fruit before we had cake. That was a bonus.

(3) What Georgia did before and during the party... We wanted Georgia to have a nap before the party, but when Neil put her in bed, she was not at all interested in staying there. Not surprising since it was still early (before 1:00 p.m.) and she had slept 12 hours overnight. He put her back in bed a few times, but she kept coming out so we gave up on the nap knowing that Georgia would be probably be fine anyway; she's not the type of kid to have major meltdowns. Well, wouldn't you know it, but a little while later, Georgia crawled into Madeline's bed and went to sleep! All on her own. We were quite surprised because she's never done that before.

During the party, Georgia was very excited about blowing out candles. Her candles were first and she got to blow them out a couple of times. Then, unexpectedly, in the middle of singing to Madeline, Georgia popped up from her seat and blew out Madeline's candles too. It was cute!

(4) Who attended the party... On my side, Grandma Mantay, Mom, Aunt Val, and Aunt Bev; on Neil's side, Laurel and Bronwyn, Grandma Louise, Uncle Ron and Aunt Carol, Aunt Glenys and her grandson, Jacob. The family members on my side were in Regina because my Aunt Colleen had had major surgery on Friday and was recovering in hospital. It was nice to have everyone over for the afternoon. The kids were funny. They just went and played in Sophia and Madeline's room and then in the basement while the adults visited in the living room. We had to call them up for presents and cake.

(5) We didn't need that much cake... Oh well. I put about 2/3 of the remaining cake into the freezer for later, and we still had plenty leftover to enjoy the following day.

All in all, it was a good celebration!

Birthday party snapshot

The second the girls knew we were finished singing and blowing out candles (after the third time), they reached for those candles. The party went well! I could write much more, but really must go to bed instead.