A Journey 'Home'.

After a particularly difficult week, my mom suggested that I take a break and bring the girls for a drive up to Bathurst for the weekend. This is where I was born, where a lot of my happy childhood memories come from, and where a good portion of my french side of the family still resides. I wasn't really feeling up for the trip knowing that it would be more exhausting than anything (chasing after the two girls the whole time) but I had my matantes to help me out and in the end, I was really happy I went.

It also happened to be 'la Fete des Acadiens' - a big celebration that recognizes Acadian culture and heritage. Everywhere you looked people were dressed in tricolour clothing (based on the Acadian flag) and I just loved the little handmade dresses so many of the little girls were wearing. It's sure tempted me to make a couple for Kaia and Sabine - I even got some perfect fabric for them given to me (free and recycled - love it!). Tons of people also decorate their houses with banners, flags, and other folksy, handmade art all in blue, white and red and at the end of the day, there is a big parade. Well, not really a parade I guess - mostly it consisted of people driving down the main stretch making noise and throwing candy (after which Kaia was quick to exclaim, "this is great!"). For whatever reason, I grew up thinking this was all rather tacky but this time I felt like I was seeing it with new eyes. After being in a marriage where nothing was mutually celebrated it gave me a great feeling to see so many people come together enjoying themselves and one another. I mean, just about every yard was filled with lawn chairs, family and friends. Good times.

Before our drive home the next afternoon we went to Beresford Beach. As a child, we (my family) used to have a cottage out there on the beach and I remember spending lots of time digging for artifacts and collecting shells. The whole beach has really been cleaned up since then -a small boardwalk and park were put in and I was told that there is always live music on Wednesday evenings and Sunday afternoons. I always feel drawn to water and still have dreams of a home and studio on the beach somewhere. The girls really loved it too.

Update

Hello everyone - it's been awhile. Without really intending to, I have taken quite a long break from writing this blog and now just about the whole summer has flown by us. The main reason for this - for anyone who doesn't yet know - is that Daniel and I have separated. Without getting into messy details, I'll just say that these past few months have been very, very sad. It's not really something that I want, and it's definately something I gave my all to avoid these past few years but at the end of the day, it's not only my decision and I'm left with no choice but to accept things as they are. I do believe though, that things happen for a reason and that there is likely some bigger and better plan in the works for me and my girls but the sense of loss I sometimes feel can be completely overwhelming.

The girls are taking the whole transition in stride. If there is one positive thing about all the time Daniel has spent away in the past it's that they are totally used to having him away for long bouts of time and well, so am I, so we'll just keep on as we do. Our day to day life is relatively unchanged and I think that will be the key to making this easier on them, and myself as well. Like I said, it's been sad, but at least not a whole lot is going to change in our lives. I try to be grateful, rather than resentful about that but some days are harder than others...

So here we are, just me and my girls...a new beginning? I can't help but wonder where this path will lead.

A rare photo of the three of us together.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY KAIA!

(she insisted on having all the candles on her cake and well, why not?)

At 3, Kaia loves...

icy drinks (slushies),
rainbow ice-cream,
building castles,
letters and numbers,
Dora the Explorer,
beaded jewelry, and
stickers.

Kaia does NOT love:

brushing her hair,
washing her hair,
loud noises or
eating supper.

Happy Birthday to Kaia!

Kaia's birthday is actually tomorrow, the 25th, but because that falls on a Monday we decided to do the birthday thing today. And well, what can I say? My Kaiaarahi Soleil is loved (and by that I mean spoiled - though I was asked to point out here that it was actually a birthday gift to both of the girls). She had been saying for weeks that she wanted a swing for her birthday and so her Nana and Papa said they would get her one only they didn't just get a swing - they decided on getting her the whole playground! Look at this and you'll see what I mean.Papa and Daniel spent, quite literally, the entire day putting this together. Kaia helped too - she just loves playing with tools. We had a little barbecue for lunch with cake and presents afterwards. Kaia absolutely loved her backpack I made for her (and I was so pleased with how it came out). She's been filling it with her toys and wearing it pretty much constantly which makes me happy. She's pretty proud to have a camera of her own too, though it'll take awhile for her to figure it out I think (there are quite a few buttons on it).
It was a great day overall and I know Kaia had a blast which is the most important thing. I think we'll be spending lots of time out here this summer.

Summer is on it's way!

With the warm weather fast approaching (and a few beautiful sunny days so far), I decided to make the girls each a nice summer sundress. I had some fabric lying around and for some reason I have been in the mood to sew lately, and I also saw this tutorial online which inspired me to create these. So easy and super cute. I made some modifications to the pattern - I used leftover fabric rather than buying bandanas, and I added two loops instead of one to the back for the ribbon tie as well as adding on some found embellishment afterwards. Everything I used was upcycled so to speak so the best part of it all? Besides all of the contrast-y goodness (I can't help it. I love things that don't match), it only cost me $2.50 to make both of them! (I had to buy some of that no-roll elastic). Adorable.

My Birthday Girl!

We had a little birthday party for Sabine this weekend since her birthday was on Thursday and it pretty much passed by as a regular day. Kaia, Sabine and I went over to Nana and Papa's house for our first barbecue of the year (yay for that!) where Sabine had her cake and opened a little present I made for her. She did quite well with her cake - grabbing it with both hands as soon as it was put in front of her.

A Year in Review.

Mud Pies and Runny Noses.

The weather is slowly warming up. There have been a few days now when we've been able to go outside sans coats. The ground is getting drier but it's still quite muddy in our yard and of course, Kaia just loves this. And so I've learned to make sure she's got old pants on every time we go out because she will, without a doubt, get wet up to her knees (at the very least). On this day, she decided to make mud pies in her wet sandbox. Kaia makes 'pies' out of everything these days - supper pies, juice pies, cheese and berry pies, ice cream cone pies... She does this by laying something like a towel over whatever she is eating. Such a silly girl.Sabine wanted so badly to get into the mud too but I think she's been a bit sick so I tried to keep her occupied in her stroller. And look! She's got enough hair for pony-tails now!

Poor baby.

Sabine is such an active baby. She will not remain still for any length of time. Most everyday, we go for a walk with Sabine and Maeve (the little baby girl I look after) in the wagon and Kaia exploring alongside. Lately though, every time I glance around to check on the little ones, Sabine is getting up and wanting to try and stand in the wagon, or at the very least she's leaning precariously over the edge. Earlier today, Sabine was sitting in the wagon watching as I helped Kaia with her tricycle - she's trying hard to get the pedalling thing figured out - and I looked back just in time to see Sabine tumble out of the wagon! The poor thing fell head first right onto the road! She's a tough cookie though. I think the whole episode was harder on me than her but she's got one wicked bump and scrape to show for it. Just in time for her first birthday too.

A sure sign of Spring.

Today Kaia and I tried out her sidewalk chalk on the road outside. She seemed to enjoy it but was preoccupied most of the time by watching for cars. Our road is super quiet, especially during the work day but I guess she is finally learning to be concious of the traffic, which is a good thing. So in the end, it was mostly me drawing what Kaia told me to draw and her yelling "Mommy, car coming!" every now and then. She loved seeing her name on the street but got upset when a car drove over it.

A crafty afternoon.

Kaia was being especially rambunctious this afternoon so I needed to find something to keep her hands busy for even just a little while. I had seen this tutorial online earlier in the day on one of the blogs I follow so I decided to give it a go. It was really great as it was an 'eco-friendly' project that required materials I had lying around as well as giving me an opportunity to talk to Kaia about recycling, though I don't think she quite grasped the concept of it all just yet. These bracelets were made using twisted up plastic grocery bags and leftover yarn. Kind of cute, right?

A day in the kitchen.

Kaia loves baking. She's always talking about making cookies, cakes, and cupcakes. I think she likes the mixing, baking, and decorating more than she likes eating them though since she'll pretty much just stick her fingers into the icing and then a little while later I'll find a crumbled up cookie or cupcake in the window sill, on the floor, or somewhere equally inappropriate. Today we made waffles. I think she thought the waffle maker was pretty cool, though she didn't like not being able to eat the batter as we were making them (it just wasn't the same as a chocolate cake!)

Finally! A nice day.

Today was a long awaited nice, sunny day. Hopefully it will be one of the last few that we'll need snowsuits to play outside with. Kaia and Sabine are enjoying the snow while it's here.