Signs of Spring

Even though it has been cold and windy here, the longer and sunnier days sure are a welcome change. We took advantage of the longer days yesterday and took a walk after dinner. It was still cold enough where we had to bundle up...hats, gloves, snow pants, boots....but it was nice to get some fresh air and let Arabella wear hearself out before bed. The following pictures are signs of spring for me...what about you?

You can finally see patches of grass!

Arabella's swing is usable again!

You can finally see the patio furniture and the covered boxwood!

And the snowman has melted!

Words For Thought

Recently, I was going through some paperwork and came across the following. I wish I knew who wrote it so I could give credit where credit is due. I know that I probably clipped it out of the Columbus Dispatch since it is from 2008 and that is where we were living at the time. I hope that it gives you as much to think about as it did me.

Blooms are frozen in time.

But the plant - which should have lived only the summer - had already

far exceeded expectations, thanks to a pocket kept warm by stone,

concrete and marble. As we being 2008, I can gather inspiration from the snapdragon.

The lessons?

You don't need a lot to live well.

Ignore those who say you can't succeed.

Hang tough through the worst of times; the situation is bound to improve.

Beautiful things can result from powerful struggles.

Life might not always be easy, but it's always colorful.

And last: Live fiercely all your days, however many you have.

Silly Girl

I am getting new snow tires installed on my car today, silly, I know, it is the end of March, but it has been cold and we have been getting snow flurries the past two days, so we can't rule it out that we might get some more accumulation. Putting that aside, when Jay brought the tires up from the basement last night, he left them in the mud room and our little monkey found them. It took her no time at all to climb up them and then into them. She totally thought that they were for her to play on...

Butterflies Go Free

Today, Arabella and I joined a a group of our friends for a trip to the Montreal Botanical Gardens to see the Butterflies Go Free exhibit. It was amazing to see so many butterflies flying around and Arabella was in awe. The warmth in the greenhouse was also a welcome change from the cold and snow that was falling outside. Arabella would find a butterfly and say "Look Mommy, Look!" and then another one would fly by and she would say the same thing. She was so gentle and loved looking at them and trying to find the ones that were hiding. The butterflies were in all shapes, sizes and colors. It was such a beautiful sight to see. If you were lucky, one might even land on you! Our friend, Carrie, had one land on her leg and it stayed there for a while as she walked around. After checking out the exhibit, we all had lunch together and then it was time to hit the road. All of the kids had a great time and were totally worn out by the time we left.
Look Mommy!

This one landed on Arabella's sweater!
Not sure what to make out of this one...

Arabella and Gigi checking out the butterflies.





This one landed on my stomach...Arabella was so curious about it.







Thanks for organizing this Laura! It was the perfect way to spend a snowy, March day!

Happy 1st Birthday Sweet Sofia

Today was a very special day. We helped Sofia celebrate her 1st Birthday! We had so fun celebrating with Sofia, Christa and Joe at Zig Zag Zoo! We enjoyed lunch and yummy cupcakes. Sofia was so adorable digging into the cake and going to town on the frosting, it was so cute. Christa let the older kids blow out the candle on Sofia's cake and they also helped to open Sofia's presents. All of the kids had a fun time climbing and running around and were all worn out by the time we left. I swear all of them fell asleep in our cars on the way home...a sure sign of a great party! We are so happy that we could help Sofia celebrate her 1st Birthday! Happy Birthday, Sweet Sofia! We love you!


All the kids helping to blow out Sofia's candle!




Arabella and Cristina helping Christa open Sofia's gifts

Worn out from her party!

Tea Party Fun

We had a lot of fun on Sunday at the tea party for Christa and we decided to do a few silly group shots of all of us minus Sheila, unfortunately she had to leave early. I love this amazing group of women! You are all my saving grace(s) here in Montreal!

Spring Snow

Yes, we live in Canada. Yes, it is March. Yes, it is the first full day of Spring. Yes, it snowed today and is still snowing. And I am sure this is not the last time it will snow this Winter. I wonder when we are going to see the grass again. Anyone want to make a friendly wager? End of April, May...

Saying Goodbye To Our Jersey Girl

Beautiful Christa!


Yesterday, on the first day of Spring, I hosted a tea party in honor of our friend Christa, who is moving back to New Jersey in a few weeks. In order to get her to my house, without knowing that we were throwing a party for her, we planned to have a Spring Clothing Swap. The idea for the tea party came about when we decided that we should all get dressed up and do something fancy since most of use live in jeans and leggings! Christa also loves tea...she and I have become addicted to David's Tea (a loose tea store at our local mall)...there could be worse things to be addicted to, right?!? I also thought having a beautiful tea party on the first day of Spring was fitting for this type of occasion. We spent the afternoon enjoyed wonderful food, tea and celebrating friendship. Christa was surprised and overcome with emotion but enjoyed her celebration.

The tea table with beautiful china tea cups.


She arrives and still has no idea.

Carrie explaining to her the meaning behind the gift we gave her.
This photos is so perfect, it shows her raw emotion and how overwhelmed she is with the surprise.

We each did a few scrapbook pages and put them into this beautiful album.

Two of my scrapbook pages. I am very happy with how they came out and I am not usually into scrapbooking!

It is hard for me to believe that I have only known Christa since September, honestly, she is one of those people that I had an instant connection with and I feel like we grew up together. We are both East Coast girls from Italian families so we get the same things. Case in point, she calls pasta sauce gravy, just like my family does. She has such a silly sense of humor and can make me laugh at the drop of a hat. We have daily phone calls or sometimes 2 or 3. We see each other at least twice a week and she (was) one of my Bikram yoga buddies. She is so honest, kind, caring, genuine and full of grace and I am truly blessed to have her as part of my life. Christa is one of those people that will be a part of my life for a very long time to come and I am honored to call her my friend. I am going to miss you, Arabella will miss Sofia and Jay will miss Joe. Our door is open anytime you want to make a trip back to Montreal. You have touched my heart and soul in more ways that you will ever know, I love you Christa.

Everyone Loves A Parade

Yesterday was the perfect day for a parade and we met up with friends to enjoy the Hudson St. Patrick's Day parade. We met a group of our friends at Allyson, Laura and Richard's house and walked down to the parade route. Arabella was very excited to go to the parade and she had a lot of fun watching all the floats, fire trucks and even her friend Emma, who was in the parade. She and Allyson got to enjoy a front row seat to the parade from the comfort of the wagon. It was a lot of fun and the perfect way to spend a sunny, if brisk, March afternoon. Afterwards, we went back the Laura's place and had pizza and relaxed before heading home. It was a very nice afternoon and I know Arabella really enjoyed herself since she was asking if she could see another parade this morning!
Arabella and Allyson enjoying the parade.

Arabella trying out her rugby skills!



Laura and I being silly!
There is Emma!


Jay and Richard enjoying their "coffee"...yeah right!