Goodbye Brunch...and Dinner

The Friday before we left Montreal, we had a brunch with some friends.  It was a lot of fun and I miss the breakfast/brunch at Cafe Campagne in St. Lazare.  Jay was able to join us which was nice since he had never been to brunch there before.  (He wasn't the only guy, Mike joined us for it too!)  It was a lot of fun, but was so very hard to say goodbye to my girlfriends.  I hate saying goodbye and I am no good at it.  I am welling up just thinking about it and I miss them so much.  They were such an amazing support for me.  We had so may good times and our get togethers were always so much fun.  We are so very close and they are like the sisters I never had.  We have watched our kids grow up together and have such a bond.  I miss you ladies more than you know...and if I haven't been in touch it is because I am not ready to make that call...I will be crying mess.  I need a bit more time to heal...I hope you understand. 

Our breakfast turned into an impromptu dinner at June's house.  It was just 4 couples, but we had so much fun.  We laughed, Seb & Laura cooked a delicious dinner and the kids had a ton of fun playing one last time.  MY only regret is that we didn't do dinners like this more often.  It was a great evening and a good way to say goodbye. 

 The most amazing mango tapanade ever!!

 Arabella and G had fun playing in the snow!

More yumminess...fresh feta, olives and oregano!

Happy Mother's Day

Today was a beautiful day!  It was nice to sleep in a bit, have coffee & Greek yogurt in bed, and be given the best homemade card ever made.  I am so blessed to have 2 beautiful children and have this opportunity to be their mom.  Thank you for the special day Jay, Arabella & Maxton!

 I am so very thankful for my Mom.  She has always been there for me and has been such a wonderful role model.  She has taught me to be caring, compassionate, generous and loving.  She has been there for me in good times and bad and has been my biggest cheerleader.  She is a wonderful Grammie and I am so lucky to call her my Mom.  Thank you for all you have done for me and continue to do for me Mom.  I love you so very much. 

The weather was perfect.  We spent a lot of time out on the patio and Arabella loved playing in the hose and her play house that we just set up today!  It is nice to be able to get out and enjoy the warm and sunny weather!

We also put together Arabella's play gym today for Max.  He is getting so big and strong and needs something that hold his attention for a period of time.  He seems to like it so far and Arabella had fun showing him how everything worked.  Such a great big sister!

4 Month Checkup

Yesterday, I took Max to our new pediatrician for his 4 month checkup.  He is doing great!  The doctor had nothing but good things to say about him and his development.  He is eating up a storm and growing up a storm too.  He is up to 13 pound, 6 ounces, is 24 3/4 inches long and his head circumference is 41.5 centimeters. 

Got Maple Syrup???

One of the things we had to bring back to the States with us was Quebec maple syrup.  100% pure, nothing but maple syrup in the can.  Arabella is a maple syrup monster and Jay loves it too.  So we packed up a case of it...wonder how long it will last...

Last Day of Magic Circle Preschool

Arabella's teachers asked me to come into class on her last day.  It was so sweet and thoughtful of them to ask me to join in her last day even though it wasn't her special day.  It was the Thursday before Easter/Easter break so all of the kids were very excited.  Arabella was especially excited for me to come in and have fun with her and the class.  The kids had a blast finger painting with chocolate pudding...

Then we went to the gym and did a Easter egg crazy run.  All the kids went wild chasing after the Easter eggs and tried to get them back in the basket before the teachers could throw them all back out.  I loved hearing all the laughter from the kids!

After the gym, we went back to her classroom for a special treat and some dancing to the chicken dance song. 

At the end of class, everyone gave her a hug goodbye at the door.  It was the sweetest thing and made me cry.  She sure had some great friends at school, and she tells me on an almost daily basis that she misses her friends even though she has started a new preschool and has made some new friends. 

Her friend Dylan gave her a special going away present...an adorable stuffed deer...she has slept with it every single night since. 

When it was time to say goodbye to Madame Carmela and Mrs. Fitzgerald, it was tough.  Arabella was a bit sad and her teachers were upset as was I.  They have seen her grown these past 2 years and she loved going to school.  They taught her so much and encouraged her love of learning.  We are so lucky and thankful to have found such a great preschool for her and for her dedicated teachers. 

This was a tough post for me.  I am now crying.  These updates are going to take me awhile to do...

The Chaos of Moving

Our move from Montreal to Charlotte has not been the easiest.  For me it has been the hardest move.  I thought my first move from Connecticut to Ohio was hard - I left the place where I grew up and an amazing job - it took a while to adjust...but that move has nothing on this one.  I am not sure it has fully sunk in yet...

The movers were at our house in Montreal bright and early on a Tuesday morning.  I wasn't totally ready for them, but then again, who really is.  It takes no time at all for the place to become a sea of boxes and packing material.  It always amazes me how quick things get packed up.  It was so overwhelming to see everything going into boxes.  And even after 3 moves, I still feel unsettled when all your belongings are packed into a truck and they are now in someones else' hands.  We had a ton of boxes this time around because our things were supposed to go into storage.  When that happens every thing needed to be emptied - all the drawers in dressers, Arabella's toy bins, etc.  Fortunately, our things didn't go to storage, unfortunately, everything has had to be put back in it place...more work for me.  Before long, all the rooms in our house had boxes filling up the rooms.

After 2 days of packing, they finally started loading everything onto the truck.  I hate that part.  Seeing everything go onto the truck.  It was pretty hard to watch.  But in no time our house was empty and the truck was pulling away. 

We watched the truck pull away at the end of a long week.  You can see how tired we were in these pictures...UGH! (I can't believe I even put this picture on here!)

So away our things went, next stop Charlotte!

Prince Max

Arabella loves to dress up and one day she decided that Max had to be in on the action.  Like a good little brother, he went along with it...wonder how long that is going to last???