Happy Birthday Mike

Dear Michael -
I am not too sure what you will think about this blog post, but I am going to do it anyway...


Happy Birthday! It is so hard for me to believe that we are both in our 30's. Boy, time sure does fly. I can remember the night that you were born, Grandma on Monroe Street was taking care of me and I remember getting ready for bed and being very excited, I think that is my earliest memory. I don't remember you coming home from the hospital, but I remember that night. And I was so happy to be getting a brother! I know that we have not always gotten along and that is OK, but I am glad that we are close now. I honestly don't know what I would do without you. You talk sense into me when I am not thinking clearly - case in point last Saturday morning when I called you in hysterics...one hour later, I was calmer and I saw things differently. You are one of my biggest cheerleaders, you have stuck by me through thick and thin, and for that I thank you.

All of my favorite childhood memories include you. It is funny to think back on some of the silly and stupid things we did growing up, I am surprised we are still alive. Remember the banana peel incident at the beach or the flying sunroof?? I know that at the time we didn't think much of it, but just look at how the spending our summer's at the beach house(and sometimes a visit in the winter) in Westbrook have influenced us and it is now rubbing off on Arabella. We were beach babies and so is she.


And speaking of Arabella, I never could have imagined that you would be such a caring and nurturing Uncle. She adores you and loves you so much. As soon as I knew I was pregnant, I knew that no matter what we were having, be it a boy or a girl, that my baby's middle name would be an nod to you, because you are so important to me and I knew you would play an important role in their life. So when I knew my Little Bean was going to be a little girl, there was no question about her middle name, Michaela was what it was going to be.



Just look at how proud you are...the first time you held your little nugget!

I guess what I am trying to say is THANK YOU! I don't know what life would have been like without you and I am so happy to call you my brother. No matter where we live or where life takes us, you will always hold a special place in my heart. And I can only hope that you know how important you are to me. I will always be here for you. For all that you have done and continue to do, know that I am forever grateful. No matter what, you can't get rid of me and are stuck with me, your older sister, till the end.

I love you, Mike.



Love, Shana

And just for good measure, here are a few more of my favorite pics of us growing up!

Express Pedicure

After Arabella's nap this afternoon, she wanted to have her nails painted. She did one foot and I did the other. Then she wanted her finger nails painted. She is all about doing things herself and normally I would let her do whatever it is she wants to try and do, but with painting her finger nails, I needed to make a deal with her. If she let me paint her finger nails, I would let her paint my toe nails. And I have to say, it was the best deal I have ever made. She was so careful and focused. She was so proud of herself when she finished and when she was done she proudly proclaimed "TA DA"!! I love my toes and I love you, Arabella and you can paint them anytime you want!

Thursday's Thoughts

Hearing: The ticking of the clock in my office. For some it is an annoying sound, but I find it relaxing...odd, I know.

Tasting: Organic Raspberry Nectar tea from David's Tea...YUM!http://http://www.davidstea.com/rooibos/raspberry-nectar

Seeing: Snow melting. Spring is almost here, but I think it is going to be a while before we see grass.

Smelling: The sweet smell of French Macaroons. I made them yesterday and the faint raspberry. almond and sugar smell still lingers in the kitchen.


Feeling: Sore feet. I wore my new Franco Sarto clogs today. They are comfortable, but I can't remember the last time I wore heels so now the balls of my feet are on fire. But it was worth it, I love the shoes, they were marked down so much they were almost free, and they look great with jeans and I love how it feels to wear them. They may be my new favorite shoes!

Happy St. Patrick's Day

I really like St. Patrick's Day, not so much for the food, beer or wearing of green, but because it is the half-way point of March which mean we are one step closer to Spring! And I think my status on Facebook today, which I snagged from Alana (thanks again), says it perfectly. It is a quote from Adrienne Cook - "St. Patrick's Day is an enchanted time - a day to begin transforming winter's dreams into summer's magic.”

We may not be Irish, but I decided to put a little bit of "leprechaun magic" into our day bright and early this morning. When I was getting Arabella her breakfast, I told her that the leprechauns turned the milk green...


I just added some green food coloring. And they also got their hands on her pancakes (just green sanding sugar for cookie decorating...

She thought was pretty amazed by it and seemed to have fun at breakfast, she even ate more than she normally would. Maybe I need to switch things up and do this more often??

After breakfast, Arabella had her second dentist appointment. She was very excited and did great. No issues at all, except the dentist told me it is time to get rid of her didgy...easier said than done, but we are working on it. She usually only gets it when she is overtired and napping or at bedtime. Hopefully, the next time we got back, we can report that the didgy is no longer around. Stay tuned on this, since I am sure it will be a very tough habit to break! Her teeth are looking great and he is very impressed with them. She is a really good brusher, with our help to get all the "sugar boogers" out of the back teeth. She loves when I tell her that they are so sparkly when she is done. However, he now wants us to start flossing her teeth in the very back...we will see how this goes.




After the dentist, we met Christa and Sofia at the mall for some lunch and some power shopping. Christa and I were both on missions and knew what we wanted so we didn't have to waste time and push the nap time envelope with the kiddos! Both Sofia and Christa tried new food today...
Hard to believe that she has been here for a year and hasn't had poutine until today!

As much as I enjoy shopping and the mall, this trip was really not so much about what I needed to buy but rather about spending some time with one of my friends who is moving back to New Jersey in the very near future. It was a fun afternoon, and I know you already know this Christa, but Arabella and I are really going to miss you and Sofia.

Please Don't Complain

I have been seeing a lot of my friends post on Facebook how expensive gas is. Now as we all know, this happens over time, the price of gas increases and then decreases depending on what is happening around the globe. We get sticker shock, so to speak, then we get over it. We pay the price of the gas because we have to get places and driving is the easiest way to get around. But, really if I hear anymore of my American friends complaining about paying $3.50 a gallon, I am going to scream!
Now you may look at this picture and say: "Wow, only $1.37 for gas"...but really that is $1.37 per liter. And in a gallon there are 3.78541178 liters, so we pay roughly $5.50 a gallon! With that said, the picture below shows how much it cost to ALMOST fill up my tank....

Yes, that is correct....$120.50! and it would have cost more and the car would have taken more gas, but they have this really neat feature on the pumps that only allows you to fill up to $120 when you use your debit card, nice right?!?!

Seriously, I know it is expensive in the States, but until you pay what we pay here in Montreal or other parts of Canada or even Europe, please stop complaining!

And thanks for listening to my rant for the day!

Happy 3rd Birthday Giacomo!

This afternoon, we went to Infinity and Beyond at Gigi's Toy Story themed 3rd birthday party! The party was at Petite Gym. It was a lot of fun for the kids as well as the adults. All of the kids were able to play on the equipment and they also did organized games. They played a game of floor hockey and worked up an appetite for some great food. Gigi was so happy to have all of his friends with him to share this special day. It was so cute to hear all the kids singing Happy Birthday and to see the huge smile on Gigi's face when the cupcakes came out. It was adorable! Gigi even let all of the other kids help him open his gifts, it was so sweet. While the kids enjoyed cupcakes they even got to watch Toy Story 2. Thank you to Cynthia, Seb and Gigi for a wonderful afternoon and we are so glad that we were able to celebrate with you!
Arabella enjoys the cupcakes!
Having fun on the air-track!
Everyone helping with the present opening.
Here come the cupcakes!
Sofia wanting in on the air track action.


Gigi a/k/a Woody the goal keeper!


Gigi taking it all in - Happy Birthday!
Emma and Arabella


Thanks to Laura for taking the following 2 photos, they came out great!

Home Depot Workshop

Our Home Depot stores do a monthly Kids Workshop. Classes fill up fast, are free and are "Hand's On" where kids build, learn and create. Yesterday, Jay took her to her first workshop. They had a good time building the Home Depot #20 Race Car despite going to the "wrong" store location. They were supposed to meet a group of our friends at a different location than the one they went to. Despite the mix-up, they still had fun hammering away and making the toy car. She was very excited when she got home to show me what she made. I know that we will be going to more of these workshops in the future!