FOR SALE!

Today is a big happy/sad day for me! The FOR SALE sign went up on our front lawn today. As happy as I am to be going "home" to Ontario, we have made Nova Scotia "home" for the past three years and am sad to leave. So many wonderful memories were made here...our first home, where our children were born...and the people are just so friendly!



BUT we are ecstatic to be closer to family and friends (and shopping, restaurants, etc.) I am dreading having to keep the house "show" clean for God knows how long?!? Hopefully it sells quickly! We haven't received our official posting message yet so the house is up "conditionally" until then.


I can't imagine someone else living in the house WE built and designed! Don't really want to imagine it! Argh! I hate change!!!!

Happy Day!

Today was just a happy day!
*Woke up from a great nights sleep...no babies yelling for me at 3 in the morning now that everyone is healthy!
*had time to pick up Tim Horton's hot chocolate (thanks Mary for getting me hooked) and muffin on my way to work;
*had a wonderful morning with my class;
*ate McDonald's for lunch (yum!);
*had a super afternoon working with my friend and Math Mentor Jill;
*had fun chats with Donna after work;
*went out for supper with the family to Pasta Jax;
*found out my friend Kelly won the Director's Award. (the highest honour given within my old School Board) YAY! RED! lol!
Just an all around happy day! And it's Steve's birthday too! Fun Fun Fun!

On The Mend...

We're all better!!! Well, Michael and Abbey still have a little bit of a runny nose and cough but we are 98% there! Crazy how having sick kids can turn everything upside down?!? Lack of sleep is killer too!! I must admit that I loved all the extra cuddles and how they only wanted "Maman" to soothe them back to sleep at night. I know Steve liked that part too! lol!

Just finished watching Gwen Stefani on American Idol...my good God she's cool... and she's a Mom! If they don't vote that Sanjaya kid off soon I swear I'll tune out. It's Blake all the way! How pathetic! I sound like I don't have a life! (I'm a Mom of twins...so I really don't!!!)

Today...

Another day, another trip to the hospital! FOR THE LOVE!!! Now Michael is on a antibiotic for an ear infection too. I swear our family is being taken over by germs! Yuck!!! I got myself checked out again and sadly, they still said that what I had was viral so unfortunately... no drugs! Sucks to be me! Just put Abbey and Michael down for the night after a nice warm bath (amazing the stuff that you can get out of their noses when in the tub...disgusting!!!!)
Steve and I are done all the "chores" and we will soon settle in for Amazing Race although it won't be half as good now that Rob and Amber are kicked off. They are so fun to watch!
Here's hoping this week is a little better...it couldn't possibly get any worse!?!

Time for a Dip...

Abbey and I were sitting on the front porch this afternoon...first time out basically since we got back from Florida. It was a beautiful Spring day so we thought we'd try to "get the sick out" and head out for a family walk. Anyway, while Steve and Michael got the Schwinn stroller ready, Abbey and I were chatting away. First she says "neige partie maman" (snow all gone), then "grand-maman, grand-papa partie, (self-explanatory) and then "piscine Abbey saute splash partie" (she misses jumping in the pool in Florida). You've got to wonder what goes through their minds eh?!? First hot weather, then cold again, grand-parents coming and going...so confusing I'm sure. Here's a picture of Abbey and Michael getting ready for an afternoon dip in Florida. I am already anxious for next year!

3 In A Bed!

There were three in the bed and the "big" one said...roll over I'm crowded!!! Who knew that such little people could take up so much space in a bed. It's 3:59 and I'm STILL awake! Argh! All three of us are in the spare bedroom bed and only two of us are getting sleep! Guess which two?!?

Okay enough is enough I'm going to attempt the transition back to their beds right now...I want to go back to sleeping with my 6'6 husband who takes WAY less space in a bed then my little Abigail!!!

On a different note..wasn't Grey's Anatomy great! Man I love that show! Poor poor George!

Happy Thoughts!

Enough with the downer blog entries! I need to write something happy! Here's a picture that says a thousand words. Steve, Abbey and Michael playing in the ocean! What a fantastic trip!

I'm just coming home from my Parent Teacher meetings. I've now totally lost my voice but I'm getting a supply teacher for tomorrow to catch up on sleep and hopefully kick this nasty bug. See I'm trying to think positive lol!

Michael and Abbey are still not feeling great either but I'm sure that whatever they have will soon have run it's course. Here's hoping anyway! I'll keep you posted!

OYE!

Oye! It's the only way to truly describe the last few days! Where to begin?!? Let's start with Monday...the departure day. We left my parents Siesta Key condo at 5 am for the Sarasota Airport and flew to Atlanta where we had a two hour wait for our connecting flight to Bangor Maine. We were in the truck by 2pm and optimistic for the 8 hour drive ahead of us. (okay well not really... both Abbey and Michael were running fevers and had runny noses but what could we do, we had to get home?!?)
Anyway, the trip was okay although that's easy for me to say since I only drove for a hour and a half. We stopped to eat at the BIG STOP (a far cry from Steve and I's last dinner in Florida at Fleming's, a 5* steak house lol!) just outside Fredericton and finally pulled into or driveway at around 11:30pm. I've never been so excited to see my bed. Sadly I wasn't in it long because Abbey and Michael were up all night with chills, coughs, and runny noses. So so sad! I remember my parents telling me "I wish we could be sick for you" and now I TOTALLY know what they meant. It's heartbreaking to watch your children be sick!
I stupidly went to work the next day with not even close to enough hours of sleep but played the part pretty well if I can say so myself. I called home a few times to see how the kids were doing and unfortunately they weren't doing any better (Steve stayed home with them and of course our SuperNanny Barb was there too).
After work we headed to the hospital. Abbey ended up having a double ear infection (can you believe she never complained?!?) and well Michael they weren't sure about, so they gave him a chest x-ray and we had to provide a urine sample (not a simple task for a 2 year old) and we are still awaiting results. I, too, am feeling under the weather with what I swear is Strep Throat but the Dr. said it was viral and it would pass. She didn't take a swab so I guess I'll never know but I would really LOVE some good hard codeine filled drugs (that sounds pretty bad eh?!?)
We are pumping Abbey and Michael with Children's Tylenol to keep the fevers under control and a cough suppressant to help their sore throat. They are both coughing like 80 year old men! Abbey is on some type of penicillin so hopefully that is helping too. The minute they see the syringes they say "Non Maman". Again, so so sad!
Now to top it all off...tomorrow is my Parent Report Card Meeting night. SUPER TIMING!!!
The only good part is that tonight is a special Survivor because it was cancelled last week. Instead of my usual Coke, popcorn and Wunderbar Survivor snack, I will be having a Ginger Ale and two Tylenol. You know I'm sick when I can't eat my beloved Wunderbars eh!?!
I'm off to bed right after because who knows how long Michael and Abbey will be asleep for?!?
Keep us in your prayers...we need it!!!

All good things...

All good things come to an end. Just finished up packing the last of our things...a whole LOT more then what we arrived with! Gotta love all the great shopping here!!! What a wonderful holiday! 10 days was perfect! A week just leaves you wanting more and 2 weeks is a little too long but 10 days is PERFECT! It's kinda like golf...9 holes isn't enough, 18 holes makes me delirious and 13 would be great lol! Anyway, my parents spoiled us rotten (and we loved every minute of it!) We are already excited about next year. We leave tomorrow or late tonight depending on how you look at it?!? We have a travelling day from hell so hopefully it'll go smoothly. I've started praying already!!! lol!

Paradise part deux...

We had another great day yesterday. The sun, sand and surf...it just doesn't get any better! Last night the gang (all 21 of us!!!) went out to this restaurant that was having an "All-You-Can-Eat" Rib Feast!!! OMG! You've never seen such mass consumption of meat! They certainly didn't make too much money off of us! We all left with smiles on our faces, full bellies and messy clothes! lol!
This morning we went for our usual walk and spotted dolphins playing in the water! Abbey and Michael were in awe. They were quite close to the shore...like 10 feet away so you could see them clear as day. Dolphins are my favourite animal. When Steve and I went to the Mayan Riviera a few years ago we went swimming with the dolphins. A dream of a lifetime for me! Sadly the pictures turned out not so great. I was so excited that I'm giving the gummiest smile in all of them! Not attractive! Anyway all this to say that it was really nice to see the dolphins this morning! Made me happy!
Steve's golfing AGAIN!!!! It's a perfect day for it though! Sunny but with a nice breeze (by the ocean anyway!) The more he golfs, the more I get to shop!!! So I really don't mind! hee!hee!

I wish I could post pictures but I didn't bring the right attachments...bummer!!!

PARADISE!!!

Just came in for lunch and thought I'd update everyone. We are having a BLAST! The weather has been amazing!!! 81 today!!! We have settled into a nice routine. At the beach early (by 8:30) chasing birds and finding treasures (seashells lol!), then back home for breakfast and swimsuit changes, for our second trip to the beach..but this time to build sand castles!!! We usually come in for lunch around 12:30 and then it's NAP TIME from 1:30 - 3:30. After nap it's snack and pool time! That's the best! Abbey and Michael "think" they can swim so you have to be on your toes. The pool water is much warmer then the ocean so Mommy does the pool and Daddy does the ocean! Great deal eh?!? After supper we head down to watch the sunset. It's quite spectacular! The kids have met lots of little buddies...including a little boy named Carter who calls Abbey "ABBA"...it's too cute!!! I can't believe we have a full week left! YAY!!!

Florida!!!

We've arrived!!! YAY! After a 9 hour drive and 2 flights we are finally here! The drive was a piece of cake...the roads were clear and the kids were angels (big thanks to Grandma & Grandpa and the portable DVD player they bought at Christmas!) We stayed in Bangor, Maine at the Sheraton attached to the airport and we were on the plane by 5:30 am. We left Maine and it was -39 with the windchill and after a quick transfer in Cincinnati we arrived in Sarasota at 11:15 to a balmy 79 degrees. We took full advantage of our first day (as exhausted as we were!), swimming in the ocean, the pool and building sand castles. So much fun! I'm off to bed (very early) but tomorrow's another fun filled day!

The Eagle has Landed...

I'm DONE! My report cards are DONE! Printed and handed in!
That's all the energy I have to write. I'm going to watch Amazing Race!
Without any guilt!!! (haven't watched TV without the feeling that I
should be working on reports in weeks!)

It's all good!

Steve is back and all is good in the McAlpine household. He finally arrived at 1:30 this afternoon. He called when he was about 10minutes away so the kids and I were waiting outside on the porch when he arrived. He started honking his horn about 5 houses away which sent Abbey and Michael into an absolute frenzy! The were jumping up and down yelling "Daddy! Daddy!" Steve jumped out of the car and they ran to him to give big hugs and kisses. We were all teary eyed. I swear it was a scene from a Disney movie!

Abbey wasted no time in telling Daddy the day's events. Especially the fact that Michael bonked her on the nose. Her exact words were "Momo frappe Abbey nez bobo Abbey". It was so funny...although not when it happened! (Momo is what Abbey calls Michael.)

Steve came back with presents for everyone! Abbey and Michael got new toys and new beach towels and sunglasses for Florida. They each got two new outfits for Florida as well. They are so cute...although you can tell Steve's not the one that does the laundry around here because he bought Michael linen pants...FOR THE LOVE! I'll just be ironing them in all my spare time! lol!

I was spoiled too! I received 2 new shirts, new pj bottoms and a workout outfit (he knows it won't be used for that since he's been married to me 5 years but at least if the urge strikes I'll look the part!) Maybe I'll just stroll the beach in it looking at my watch pretending I'm timing my run! ha!ha!

We had a wonderful steak dinner this evening...first time we've had red meat since he left last week. It was DELICIOUS! It must have given me brain power and energy because I completed my Language, Learning Skills and some of my Discovery comments. Math I will tackle tomorrow but that should be easier because you can either do it or not do it! No grey there...it's black or white!

God help us if Steve ever gets deployed! I swear I'm moving back home!
It's almost midnight and I'm off to bed. Sweet dreams everyone!

P.S. Steve's team won the silver medal! They were beat out my Petawawa. :-(

In like a lion...

In like a lion, that's for sure! We have a severe weather warning in effect here tonight...it's the same storm that hit Ontario on Thursday night and that's now moving East towards ME!!! Steve is STILL not home! Can you believe it!?! His flight that was supposed to come in Thursday night got CANCELLED, his flight that was supposed to arrive tonight CANCELLED. They are hoping to get out tomorrow morning and be here by early afternoon. I'm keeping my fingers crossed because all of these cancellations mean BAD NEWS for my report cards!!!! Argh!!!

On a more positive note, I am now in possession of our passports!!! YAY! I arrived at the Halifax Passport office at around 10am (after an hour and a half drive) and left at 3pm (don't feel too bad for me...I did some shopping in between!lol!) They told me on the phone that I just had to drop in to pick them up...should have known better that it's never that easy when you're dealing with a government agency! It's all good now though and my toes will be in the sand before you know it! All I have to do now is start my week off with my new student teacher, plan for a supply (I took 3 days without pay to spend more time in FL!), do laundry, pack, get a pedicure/waxing, clean the house OYE! let's stop there... I'm stressing myself out! Thank God Steve is coming home!

The kids are really missing their Daddy too. The other day we were out for a walk and they saw a neighbour of ours (who's also a pilot) from a far getting out of his car to get the mail. He had his flight suit on and the kids yelled out "Daddy!". It was cute and sad at the same time! Less then 24 hours now and we'll be a complete family again! Can't wait!