Taste of Montreal

A few weeks ago while shopping at Trader Joe's, I came across this...

I had to give it a try. Poutine is one of my guilty pleasures and one of the food items that I grew to love while we lived in Montreal. It didn't matter if you were in a diner or a high end restaurant, more often than not Poutine was on the menu. The even sell the cheese curds in Wal-Mart by the caissier! Jay was a bit leery of how good they would be and I was on the fence. I mean after all we were spoiled with the good stuff. I have to say they were half way decent...and they filled a void that we have had. Thanks Trader Joe's for making us feel like we are at home again!

Auntie Rocks

Auntie Lori surprised Arabella and Max earlier this week. Arabella had fun helping Max unwrap his gift - an adorable Little People dump truck that he loves!

But the best part, was seeing the look on her face when she opened the Princess Palace Pets she had been wanting. Can you tell she was excited...

She loves her new Princess Palace Pets and she has made them at home with the others that she has. Thanks Auntie for the surprise!!!

Max On The Move

Now that Max has totally gotten the hang of walking, he is all over the place. He loves to pull a helicopter, that was Arabella's when she was little, all over the house. Most of the time he also takes a blanket with him - he is like a mini-Linus from the Peanuts. He moves so quick that it is hard to catch him in the act.

And look where I caught the little stinker. He was standing on a chair in Arabella's closet. He proceeded to empty out her sock bin of every pair of socks - he threw them into a pile on her bedroom floor!

Go Canada!!!

Last Sunday, we watched the Canadian men's hockey team in the gold medal match of the Olympics. It was much easier for Arabella to cheer for Canada during this game. (When the US women played to Canadian women, she was torn...while she was super exited that Canada won, she was sad to see the Americans crying when they lost.) It was fun to watch the game. And I loved seeing her cheer them on. She was jumping up and down and Max even got in on it. He had to cheer for his birth country!

Upscale Wee Sale - Take 2

Back in October, I pull together a bunch of fall/winter clothes that Arabella and Max had outgrown. It was a lot of work to do so, but totally worth it. And I just dropped off my second round of clothes for spring/summer. Again, I waited until the last minute to get things in order...I am such a procrastinator...but I got it done. Everything was hung, pressed, tagged and ready for me to drop off last Saturday. It makes me sad to see some of these clothes go, Jay on the other hand, loves that I am cleaning out. I am trying to not be attached to them, after all they are just clothing. I think it is hard because it really hits you that they are going up so very fast. Anyway, I hope that I make a decent amount of money again. With my volunteering that I am doing at the sale, I get to shop the pre-sale - which will be fun...I am looking to score some great deals on some boutique pieces (I want to do family photos this spring, and I'd like Max and Arabella to have something that matches!) Anyway, here are some pics of everything that will hopefully be sold and make me some money! I figure if I break even between what I sell and what I buy, then I am good.

Is All This Sugar Necessary?!?!?!

I get that one of the main ingredients of Valentine's Day is candy, which is loaded with sugar. But what ever happened to just exchanging Valentine's Day cards? Is it really necessary to add all this junk and sugar to them?? I think almost every card that Arabella received at school this year had some sort of candy or chocolate attached to it...and to think, we still have a few pieces of Halloween candy stashed in the back of the pantry. I guess we will just add this to it...

Arabella's Sweet Valentine

It has taken me a few days to figure out how to write this post without crying. I still am amazed at how much Montreal is a part of us. The time we spent there flew and in the grand scheme of things, 3 1/2 years is not that long, but it will always be a part of us. The friendships we made will last a lifetime and I miss them so much. I know that Arabella does too. Every so often, she will get quiet and I know what will come next..."Mommy I miss Montreal, I miss (_________) (which is fills in with the name of whomever she is missing at the moment. One friend that has truly captured a part of her heart was Jack, and vice versa. The went to preschool together for 2 years and the bond they created is quite evident, at least to me. She still talks about him like she was playing on the playground with him yesterday. In the beginning she gravitated towards him, they had never met before preschool and in the beginning he was so shy and would hide behind his mom, Nat. But over the course of 2 years, they became fast friends. After school, they would play on the playground together, they played at the pool together over the Summer, they sat next to each other during snack and when they had lunch at school. She just loved him. And on her last day of school, you could see how much they were going to miss each other. They hugged the door and I am so happy I was able to snap a picture of it. He also gave her a framed picture that Nat had taken of them the Spring of their 1st preschool year. She has proudly put it on her book shelf, front and center.

Over the past 10 months, they have written each other notes, cards and exchanged birthday gifts. She asked me recently if we could FaceTime and I need to get on that...she would love to see him. And this Summer when we visit, seeing Jack (and Nat) is on the top of our list. But most recently, she received a small padded envelope from Jack. She was excited to open it and it melted her heart. Inside was a Valentine's Day card and a cute Hello Kitty beaded necklace (which she has worn everyday since receiving it!).

I have to say, this is the sweetest note/card that she has received. She couldn't believe that he remembered her on Valentine's Day. Thanks Jack (and Nat) for making her month. We miss you both so very much.