15 Years,,,where have the years gone?

Yesterday was our 15th wedding anniversary, I can't believe that we have been married for that long. I feel so incredibily blessed that I have been fortunate enough to find someone that loves me and the girls unconditionally and spoils me like crazy.
Unfortunately we were not able to spend our anniversary together, I was at a conference in Toronto, so I will have to make it up to my dear sweet husband this weekend. Emily and Madalyn already have some big ideas for Father's Day - rock climbing, Funworx, Marineland...to name a few. They seem to think that their Daddy would especially like to go the McDonald's for lunch and Funworx in the afternoon. Did I mention that Funworx is a giant indoor play area for KIDS??? We will have to see what activity is decided upon for Father's Day.

I did it!!

I have finally received the official confirmation in the mail from Ryerson - I will be graduating on Thursday June 10th with my BScN - yeah!! It feels like I have been working on closing this chapter of my life forever. Emily is so excited - she can't wait to see me in my gown. I am afraid that it might be a bit of a disappointment for her, I think she is expecting an Oscar style ball gown...we'll see.
I had a wonderful week off, away from work. I spent Wednesday at the pottery studio - all day, something I could totally get used to. It is so relaxing and gives me the opportunity to focus on one thing at a time. Thursday Mady and I spent the day together - reading books, planting some annuals, and doing laundry. Friday we spent most of the day playing outside - the weather has been fabulous - slightly too hot for a couple of days but overall sunny and breezy.

Happy Victoria Day!

Today marks the end of the first official long weekend of the summer. Normally this weekend is cold, rainy, and miserable - not this one. The weather this weekend was fabulous, and possibily even a little bit too hot. Yes - I did manage to get a sunburn :) This is so typical of me, make sure that the kids are slathered in SPF 55 (much too high for me - kidding), and then forget to put any sunscreen on myself.
Norb and I spent the day in Buffalo on Saturday doing two of my most favourite things - shopping and scrapbooking. My mom watched the girls and managed to keep them busy. Sunday we travelled up to Hepworth to visit Aunt AnnaLee and to tour the barn and visit John to watch the cows being milked. I think it is a toss up about what the highlight of the day was - sitting on a tractor or holding some relatively new baby cats. It is probably the kittens, we are still hearing about them. The milking, the horses, feeding a calf don't have a chance of being a highlight when you are able to hold a kitten that is just slightly bigger than a zhu zhu pet.
Today we visited a few garden centers, pulled some (lots of) weeds, planted some annuals, visited Norb's parents, and went to the park. It is hard to say who is more tired.

All Done!

Well it is official - I have finally completed all of the requirements for my Post-Diploma BScN! To say that it feels fantastic would be a huge understatement. My children will finally have their mom - no homework - for a while anyway :) I have told myself, my friends, my family, and my boss that I will not consider taking any courses for at least 2 years. I need a break.
Yesterday we took Mady for a follow-up appointment at KidsAbility to reassess her speech. The SLP asked how concerned we were with her speech, Norb responded 'minimally', and I responded 4/10. Well - Mady has made tremendous progress since her last group therapy speech class - she now reached the developmental milestone expected for a child her age. YEAH!!! We are thrilled - we have decided that Mady will still attend 4 private sessions to ensure that we are on the right track and continue encouraging her appropriately.
Emily is busy growing...we can always tell when a growth spurt is upon us because her appetite increases and her need for sleep goes up as well. Last night she ate one piece of oven baked sole, 1/2 of my chicken breast, rice, peas, and an ice cream cone. That was at 6 pm, and by 8 pm she was looking for her bedtime snack and decided that she would eat the other chicken breast leftover from dinner. I think that we should start practicing basketball - at this rate Em will be 6' before her 13th birthday :)

Almost there!

Well there is less than one week until I can officially say that I have finished all of the requirements to complete my BScN - I hope :) I have had this nagging feeling that I am going to show up for my graduation only to find out that I am not eligible for graduation and there are still more courses to take. I have sent several emails requesting Ryerson review my transcript to reassure me that this LONG & PAINFUL journey is over. So far my emails have gone unanswered - so I am hoping that no news is good news. I am pretty sure there is a good chance that I will never finish my degree if I find out that I need to take another course.
Today Norb surprised me with a brand new, huge, shiny laptop as a graduation gift - another reason to keep my fingers crossed that I have actually finished all of the requirements.

Michelle

WHY, WHY, WHY????

Well, I just finished speaking to a representative for my bank who informed me that my account has been compromised - AGAIN! Why does this keep happening to me? This is the third time that our accounts have been frozen due to suspicious activity. I am not sure where or how this continues to happen. Generally I am very careful about where I use my debit card. The most frustrating part is that a cheque has been deposited - money withdrawn - and now I am left having to prove that it wasn't me or my husband that made the deposit and subsequent withdrawals. Our account is frozen until I go to the bank and try to sort out this disaster. I suppose that I should be thankful that the bank reacted so quickly and stopped access to our account - but the hassle to sort everything out is next.
WHY WHY WHY????
Anyway, on a more positive note - I have just completed another assignment for my final course! Only 2 more to go and I will be FINISHED! I can hardly wait. I have been dreaming about this day from the moment that I embarked on this process.
Michelle

It is COLD out there!

Ok, I have said it before when I have heard people complain about the weather - We live in Canada, it's January, and it is cold - deal with it! But after the warmish weather that we have had I am finding it particularly difficult to deal with this cold snap. The low for tonight is -16 with wind chills the temperature will feel more like -24. That is just too darn cold. This morning the snow was blowing and drifting to the point that I thought that the buses might be canceled and Emily would experience her first 'snow day' of 2010. To say that Emily was thrilled at this prospect would be an understatement. So you can imagine her disappointment when I told her that the buses were indeed operating and she had to go to school!
Emily participates in a program at school called 'Rocket Readers', the goal of this program is to encourage kids to read by rewarding their efforts with stickers for every 10 books that they read. Emily is now reading level B books which I find pretty impressive given the fact that she is only 5 years old. I am sure that I wasn't reading books at this level until at least grade 2. Kindergarten has certainly changed.
Mady continues to try everyone's patience - the 'terrible' twos can't pass soon enough! Her speech is evolving very well. Last week her response to any direction given was 'oday', this week she has added 'alred' (alright). Emily is now known as 'Onolie' - which I think is an improvement from 'dar', Norb is now 'Dada', Grandma is now 'Ma', and I am now 'Mum', 'Mama', or 'Mommy'. I don't remember feeling as excited when Emily first called me 'mommy' - I think because I assumed that speech was a normal developmental progression that every child would have. But seeing the pride in Mady's eyes when she is able to produce a sound that has meaning is so wonderful - I am sure that there will be days that I will need to remind myself of these moments when she won't stop talking :) Don't get me wrong - I absolutely loved hearing Emily call me mom for the first time, it is just different this time. I still love opening the door after a busy day at work and hearing Emily shout "Mom!". I wouldn't trade these moments for anything.