A Little Snow

Last week, we had just a wee bit of snow. Arabella was still on preschool break and we needed some fresh air so we bundled up and decided to go for a walk...well I walked and she rode in her too small sled! It was pretty cold out, but it was nice to see everything covered in the fresh snow. It is strange to see so little snow on the ground and each time we get even the slightest bit, we try to get out in it.
She was tired before we even got out the door from getting bundled up and plopped down on the floor!
They are predicting snow for tomorrow...possibly 5 to 8 inches...we are keeping our fingers crossed as it is much better to get the snow now than in April or dare I say May!

Letters

Arabella has been practicing writing her letters. When we wrote our Christmas thank you notes, she decided to practice her letters instead of drawing pictures. She did a great job, keep up the great work!

Bedtime Stories With Grammie

For the past 2 nights, Arabella has read stories with Grammie at bedtime. One of the books that she loves to read is "Birds In My Drawer" - a fun rhyming ABC book - that was mine when I was little. She knows all the rhymes that correspond with each letter and when she reads them at the end of each rhyme, she says "That's silly Grammie" and laughs! I am amazed that she knows almost every word to each rhyme. Way to go, Little Bean. I loved listening to her and Grammie talking, reading and singing to each other tonight - good thing we have speakerphone - Arabella was even teaching Grammie words in French tonight!

I Can Fix It

Yesterday, the faucet on one of the sinks in Arabella's bathroom sprung a leak. So after dinner she and Jay decided they would try and fix it. It wasn't long before they figured out the problem and had the faucet back in working order. Great job Dad and Arabella!

Shades of Winter???

Once again, when I woke up this morning and looked outside, not much had changed. It was partly sunny and the snow patches on the grass and ice on the driveway looked more like March 4th (or in our case in Canada April or May 4th!) than January 4th.

It has been bitter cold out, almost too cold to go outside and then there is not too much to do since there isn't snow...but today I had had enough of being house bound. Arabella is still on school break this week and I needed some fresh air (hopefully it might help kick this cold I have). So after the 15 minute process of getting suited up to brave the cold, we finally made it outside. It was cold, the type of cold where the inside of your nose freezes, but we (or rather I) decided we were going to at least take a walk or play around on the ice rink that is our driveway!

We made it to the park and Arabella was excited to see that there were hockey players on the rink. We watched for a few minutes then she played on another little ice rink. She wanted to skate but I didn't bring her skates or hockey helmet...oops...I just really wanted to go for a walk. I think we may do that tomorrow morning. She did have fun playing or rather slipping around on the ice and then we played on the playground for a little bit before coming home for lunch.


At least we both got some fresh air and she is napping now. Trying to get her back on her schedule has been tough to say the least - I am scared for what next week will bring when she goes back to school! And now looking outside, I see little tiny snow flakes falling...I am keeping my fingers crossed that it adds up to more than a little dusting - it is January after all! But it also makes me think about what Mother Nature has hiding up her sleeve!

Vision Board

Instead of creating New Year's Resolution, I have decided to call the things that I could like to accomplish: Transformation. I've never really like the idea of Resolutions and they always seem to be something that get broken or fall to the wayside by February 1st. Instead, a transformation is more of a process, something that is worked on over time. It also seems happy, hopeful and not restrictive. That way if a Resolution is not completed, I don't see it as a failure, but rather a step in the right direction. As part of my 2012 transformation, I created a vision board with pictures and sayings that have meaning to me. For those of you not familiar with what a vision board is, the idea is simple. It is usually a poster board on which you paste or collage images and sayings that you’ve torn out from various magazines, found online or photos you have taken yourself. It really is easy.

The premise behind a vision board is that when you surround yourself with images of who you want to become, what you want to have, where you want to live, what you would like for a job or where you want to go on holiday, your life changes to match those images and those desires. I know, some of you might think this sounds crazy, but I believe it works. So I think it is worth a try.

Here is my finished version:


I'll keep you posted throughout the year on the progress of my Transformation! I can't wait to see what happens, can you?

Happy New Year - Welcome 2012!!!!

"We will open the book. Its pages are blank. We are going to put words on them ourselves. The book is called Opportunity and its first chapter is New Year's Day.” -- Edith Lovejoy Pierce


Last night we were supposed to attend a party (with kids) at a friends house, but due to sickness all around, it was cancelled so we spent a low key evening at home. Arabella decided she was tired and went to bed early, but later than normal, but she still couldn't sleep. So I got her out of bed and let her watch Dick Clark's Rockin New Year's Eve with me on the couch. She asked to go to Times Square - and speaking from experience - she has to wait at least 15 more years to go. (Jay and I went on New Years Eve 2005 and it was such an amazing experience - the energy is magnetic and as much as I would do it again, I can also say been there, done that!) Arabella loved seeing Lady Gaga on the show and danced all over the living room

And then after the countdown and ball drop, we went up to bed! As much as we would have loved to be with friends, there is something nice about spending New Years Eve at home. I don't think we would have changed a thing!

We hope that everyone had a healthy, happy and prosperous 2012!! May this New Year bring about transformation and opportunity! I look forward to what 2012 holds for me and my family.

PS - Happy Birthday Uncle Bill! I wish we could be there to celebrate with you, enjoy your day!