... funny things are everywhere

so yeah...

It's almost the end of January, and omg, I haven't been blogging much, have I?

Well, to tell you the truth, I haven't been doing much of anything besides the essentials. Walking the dog, grocery shopping, laundry, driving the boys around, teaching the odd aerobics class, working... working... and wasting a LOT of time commuting to and from the office in this nasty, nasty wintery weather. (Have I mentioned how much I HATE freezing rain?! grrrrr!)

Oh well. Enough belly-achin'.

I'm actually doing a LOT better than I was before Christmas. I've decided to take a more relaxed approach to a few things, and I'm trying to get to bed earlier... it's working not-too-bad.

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*James with Lego-Borg implants

It's insane, this Star Trek craze that James is in the midst of. I've been watching some of my favourite Star Trek: The Next Generation episodes with him, and he's totally hooked. He's watched the newest Star Trek movine (the one with the alternate timeline) three times already... and he's a total Spock freak.

oh yeah...

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Thomas is still doing his thing. Playing squash. Running "1-on-1 tag tournaments" during recess. Drawing comics. Making lists.

Favourite colours:
1. blue
2. red

Favourte animals:
1. giraffe
2. dog 

Favourite shoe company:
1. Adidas
2. Reebok

Favourite school subject:
1. math
2. science

Favourite fast food:
1. Time Horton's
2. Harvey's 

and so on... 

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He's still into cars. And creating story scenes. Take these strategy game pieces. They all got out of "Rush Hour" and got into a race. He's got an award podium for the first, second and third place finishers.

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So it's been pretty run-of-the-mill stuff going on here lately.

How's life where you are? :)

it's green and it's adidas...

Favourite new acquisition: a green adidas warm-up jacket, purchased one size too big so it'll last a couple of seasons. James was a very happy boy as we left Sport Chek yesterday. :)

Happy New Year!

Well, the holidays are over... for me, at least. It's the night before I head back to work, and I have to say that this has been the best Christmas break in a long time. No, we didn't do anything particularly special... but I took a real BREAK from it all. From work, from driving the kids around... from everything. And now, I'm ready to face the world again.

2012 is upon us. With the new year, I am resolving to... um, no way! Not doing it. No resolutions for me, thank you very much!

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My first scrapbook page of 2012. I'm hoping it'll be the first of many. But no promises. ;)

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Not much else to share. Sorry.

When I said I took a break, I really, really did. Other than the basics (laundry, groceries, etc.), I did precious little over the holidays. And I couldn't be happier.

Here's hoping 2012 brings many more bouts of lazing around and doing nothing. :)

(Ah, who am I kidding?! The insanity restarts next Monday when the kids go back to school and lessons start up again.)

Happy new year!

one last post...

... for 2011. It's hard to believe that the new year is almost upon us, but alas, it is true.

I don't know where the year went. Seriously. It's like it went by in a big, messy, disorganized blur. Maybe it was the early morning walks with the dog. Maybe it was the overcommitment to driving the kids all over the place for tennis and squash. Maybe it was all the appointments and whatnot for speech therapy, pyscho-educational assessments, orthodontics, etc. Or perhaps it was the out-of-town travel for tennis tournaments. Who knows!

No matter.

2011 is all but done. No looking back with regret. Just pride at our accomplishments as a family. :)

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Over the Christmas break, I cleaned off my desk (yay!), and I uncovered my desire to make things with my hands.

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Like I said, no regrets. Just a sense of pride. My boys and I, we're doing alright. And next year is gonna be even better. Happy new year, my friends!

 

a (few) thousand words

If a picture is worth a thousand words, my last post (pictureless) must've been missing something... like maybe several thousand words or something. But I'm back to make up for that right now.

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Random pics from my iPhone. Again. With notes of gratitude for a very rich, fulfilling life I lead.

I am so thankful I had a chance to visit my cousin's baby boy two weekends ago. Aiden is one week old in this picture, and he was tiny and sweet and perfect. I loved having a chance to hold him and coo at and speak baby talk to him. *sigh*

I am thankful that James and I had a chance to visit with my mom and dad and our other relatives that weekend. I took him down to Toronto to play in a tennis tournament (he got in off the waiting list at the VERY last minute), after which we hung out and did what Chinese people love to do - eat and shop. Oh, and the two of us got to stay in a luxurious hotel too, which was pretty awesome.

Thomas played in a squash tournament at our home club this past weekend. It was a LONG day for him, but I think he played well. It's the same deal as with James' tennis. The more experience he racks up, the better off he'll be. I hope he'll stick with it for years to come and learn to love competing.

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One last one.

She's the cutest puppy in the world, right?

How can I not be thankful that we found her this summer?! Even though I'm not 100% happy with walking her in the dark in the morning these days, I still love the lovely Lemon to bits, and I wouldn't trade her for anything.

blogging from my phone

I've gotta get better at this. Blogging from the mobile platform on my iPhone. Otherwise you may never hear from me again.

So it's December already... Yikes! I don't know how the first eleven months of 2011 flew by like that. Hmmmm...

Come to think of it, I suppose I do know where the past three months have gone... I've spent pretty much all my so-called free time driving the kids to and from the club, hitting tennis balls with The Boy -usually at some crazy hour of the morning on the weekends- (and also with a Wednesday night group)... and driving to out-of-town tournaments with The Boy.

Oh, and somewhere in there, I walk the dog, do the laundry and groceries, make lunches, take the kids to appointments... and I work a day job too.

But you know what? I wouldn't trade it for anything. I love that the kids are active and excelling at their sports. I really do. :)

What else can I tell you?

Almost a year after I took that spin workshop at the Y, I'm finally teaching my first class this weekend. I'm totally nervous but trying to block it out. I've taken my playlist for several test runs, and I'm sure it'll be fine. I just have to do it already.

Finally, we're expecting snow again overnight. This'll be the third snowfall of the year. It's been so mild, though, that it doesn't last. Lemon LOVES it though and goes a little crazy every time. So funny!

And that's all the news there is from here. Well, not all of it, but I've run out of thumb-typing steam here.

43 things

Ummmm, let's see. I turned 43 this past weekend. It was a rather ordinary day, filled with all the things I love best. I played tennis with the boys; we ate take-out food and cupcakes; and we watched the final Harry Potter movie together.

In honour of my 43rd birthday, here's a list of 43 things that are going on in our lives these days.

-1- I'm still getting up before sunrise every morning to walk the dog. I love that puppy to bits and wish I had more time to devote to training her. She is so willing to learn but we just don't seem to be able to fit doggy obedience school into our schedule right now. Gah!

-2- Despite her lack of formal training, she's still pretty darned good. She sits and stays so well that we can do this to her.

-3- The boys brought their progress report home last week. No formal marks but lots of feedback nonetheless. As expected, Thomas could stand to improve his organizational skills, and James... well, he's doing fine but could participate more in class.

-4- Parent-teacher interviews are later this week. I wonder what else I'll find out...

-5- I took James to southern Ontario for a tennis tournament at the end of October. It was a real learning experience for both of us. He played three matches in total... when he played a tough opponent, he did well... when he played someone he should have beaten, he dropped his game down to their level and couldn't cobble together enough points in a row to win. Gaaaah! Like I said, it was a learning experience...

-6- Then the week after the tournament, his focus and hard work fell apart, leaving his coach and I terribly frustrated. *sigh*

-7- But now he's back on track. Hopefully to stay. I warned him that these lapses in concentration were going to cost him. Already we've missed getting into a tournament in Markham because I wanted to see a week of solid training before signing him up, and now the draw is full.

-8- Thomas played in his first squash tournament last weekend. It was held in Gatineau, just a 25 minute drive from home, but it was a very big adventure even then. He lost two and won four matches... I thought it was pretty good for his first time out, but he seemed to have different expectations of himself. Maybe this will motivate him to work harder during his lessons.

-9- Halloween. The boys made their own costumes this year. I thought that was kinda cool.

-10- Thomas' costume looked good but wasn't very practical. (Oh, and don't tell him I photoshopped that face on the pillow case... I really think that would have been a nice touch.)

-11- James is a total Spock fanatic now. Fascinating...

-12- We got our winter tires put on the car the first week of November, but wow, it's been sooooooo warm since then. We've reached high temperatures in the mid-teens (degrees Celcius), which makes it feel more like September than November.

-13- I've all but given up on the notion of ever having time to scrapbook again, but I am still downloading digital scrapbook supplies in the hopes that I'll be able to digiscrap to fill my memory-keeping cravings.

-14- I'm not teaching much at the OAC these days... just subbing, but that's perfectly okay with me. I am, however, still teaching the 11:30 Cardio class at my workplace gym every Monday. I love the participants there, which is why I keep going back week after week. 

-15- Tennis. I would LOVE to play more tennis myself, but there's just no time. I hit once a week with a group of girls, and James and I usually play once on the weekend.

-16- James, on the other hand, is on court six times a week.

-17- My parents are coming up to Toronto to visit my mom's sisters, one of whom will be in town from Hong Kong for the birth of her first grandbaby. :)

-18- That was the weekend that James was going to play a tournament... the one that's now full. *sigh*

-19- I am slowly but surely turning into one of those crazy tennis parents, obsessed with getting as many matches under James' belt as quickly as possible. The reason for this is that it'll take a certain amount of experience (and likely, a certain number of losses) before he starts to feel comfortable and (hopefully!) start winning. See? Crazy!

-20- This is me with my Aunt May. James took this picture when we met up with her for dim sum after his tournament last month.

-21- I love that pink floral scarf so much. It's one of my favourite Old Navy purchases ever.

-22- I buy a LOT of stuff from Old Navy, in store and online. And today, I discovered that they have tall sizes for men. I hope the stuff I ordered for Mike fits him. If it does, I'll be one happy shopper!

-23- I drink far too much coffee. I love the taste of it though.

-24- I don't get enough sleep. That's why I need the coffee. Good thing I like it so much.

-25- I never drink coffee after 3:00 pm.

-26- I attended the Remembrance Day assembly at James' school on Friday. It was beautifully put together, and the students were so attentive and respectful. I love that school... the staff and kids are second to none.

-27- I wish I didn't still feel pain in my left Achilles tendon after I run. But I do. No matter how much I stretch and massage it. 

-28- I spin in the empty spin studio when my kids are in their squash or tennis lessons. I still want to start teaching spinning, but I am a big chicken for trying new things.

-29- I am a big chicken and need to be pushed to do certain things. Like public speaking. In the past month, I've given two presentations at international conferences. I liked having a reason to put on fancy clothes, and the presentations went well... so it was a good thing.

-30- I need new tennis shoes. My coach is always on my case for dragging my right toe (because he tells me I'm not allowed to step forward on my forehand)... so I've worn through the toe to my Barricades. Yikes!

-31- James loves Lego. James also loves Star Trek. This is the result:

-32- I'm not sure how much longer I'll be able to keep up this blog. There doesn't seem to be a good way to post from my iPhone, and I'm not often able to carve out time in my day to sit at my computer to blog. Hmmm...

-33- I've become addicted to a few kiddie games on my iPhone. I play them when I ride the bus. Right now, James has me hooked on SkyBurger. Ummm, yah...

-34- Gotta make better use of my time. Like I try to get James to. This is him, doing his homework in the lobby of the OAC while he's waiting for his lesson to start.

-35- My favourite breakfast these days... frozen berries (thawed out first, though) with yogurt and granola. And a coffee.

-36- I also love me a Montreal style bagel, toasted with butter. Yum. Carbs.

-37- Mike is busy with school but doing well. Uh, except for that mustache he's growing for Movember. Yuck. That, I could do without.

-38- Did I mention that I couldn't find anyone to take my place as school council co-chair? So I am doing that job for the 6th year running. I'll have to start looking for a replacement earlier next time...

-39- The boys did a great job carving the pumpkins this year. Very cool creations.

-40- For the first time ever, we let the kids keep their candy and chips this year. All of it. We didn't ration it or hide it or anything.

-41- It's surprising how fast a kid can eat his way through a pillow-case full of junk food!

-42- Life is very busy for us. But it's of our choosing, so I have no complaints.

-43- Well, maybe one complaint. There aren't enough hours in the day for me to take pictures and tell the stories about how rich and full our lives are. :)

random images from my iPhone

As the autumn days go by, I realize how my blog has been neglected and my *real* camera has been collecting dust.

* photo taken with iPhone camera :)

I have to admit that I miss the outings where I'd lug my dSLR along and the boys would willingly let me snap photos of them... and then I'd go home and create a scrapbook layout or two, scan my work and share on my blog. I guess my new reality - mother of very busy preteen boys - just doesn't fit that pattern any longer.

Don't get me wrong. Life is very good here. Just different.

Lemon and Thomas have developed a very close relationship. I love it!

He comes home after school and spends some time playing with her before settling down to his chores and homework. It's been working okay... not perfectly, but way better than I thought it would. We are fine-tuning the rule-making and -following by moving to a checklist. Keep your fingers crossed for us!

I still get up every morning around 6:00 (sometimes earlier but, these days, mostly a bit later) to walk the dog. We usually do a 2 km loop around the neighbourhood, and many days, we see at least one other dog. And there are always friendly people at the bus stops who'll give Lemon a little pat on the head and tell me how pretty and/or well-behaved she is. *beaming with puppy mommy pride*

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Last weekend, we had my sweet friend, Cynthia, and her family over to our place for dinner. We parked the boys in front of some screens (iPad with new game + Wii) so the adults could enjoy some quiet conversation in the other room. Actually, it was a great evening for all eight of us. You know the kids had fun because, at the end of the night, James A didn't want to leave.

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My 9 year old is still doing amazing things on the tennis court (go Jamesie!), and when he's not hitting, he's either reading, drawing or creating his next work of 3-D art.

Or maybe he's playing Jetpack Joyride.

But really, I'm thinking our time might best be spent going to the barber shop!

* Chewie and James: twins separated at birth?

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As I mentioned earlier, I don't have a lot of time to play with paper and glue these days, but whenever the opportunity arises, I try to take advantage of it. James is attending a birthday party in a couple of days, so I made this for his friend.

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And that's all that's interesting on my iPhone. :)

snapshot of a nine year old

James - October 2011

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Loves: tennis, Star Trek (especially Mr. Spock), Lego, riding his bike to school, playing soccer at recess, reading, Harry Potter, raspberries, fruit creme cookies

Hates: taking a shower, being reminded to flush the toilet and/or wash his hands, bananas

Last book he finished reading: probably some Bad Kitty book that Thomas lent him; before that, The Son of Neptune by Rick Riordan

If he could spend all day doing anything: (just guessing here...) play Wii or watch back-to-back episodes of the original Star Trek series

On his To Do list this weekend: school project on an animal habitat; he's chosen to study a coral reef. :)

giving thanks...

It was Thanksgiving today up north of the 49th parallel... I know all my US friends have more than a month to go before they celebrate with turkey and pumpkin pie, but today was our day. The day for a family dinner with turkey, stuffing and pumpkin pie. Yum!

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When the kids were younger, I'd ask them what they were most thankful for, and I'd get some pretty awesome answers. The sweetness and honesty used to make me giggle and warm my heart. Well, now that they are 9 and 11... well, to tell the truth, their answers were still sweet and from the heart. It just took a bit more coaxing to get them to talk. ;)

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Thomas: I'm thankful for the fact that you created me and helped me out along the way. That we have a dog. That I'm going to middle school. I'm thankful that I've come so far already. Thankful that you spent time with me on field trip. Thankful teachers who helped me with my education and social skills. Kathleen for helping me with social skills and my speech. Thankful for Lemon for being my playmate. Thankful for friends who play tennis with me. Thankful for grandma for making turkey tonight. Thankful that you're letting me play on the computer.  

James: I'm thankful for my books, my food and my life. Playing soccer with friends, hanging out with Jimmy, fruit creme cookies, turkey with stuffing, tennis, having parents, shelter, clothes, pencils and erasers, for the chance to draw comics, my new desk. I'm thankful Mr. Spock because he's so awesome. For Lemon. For hot chocolate. 

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As for me, I'm thankful for so much.

A husband who's an equal partner in keeping the house running and the kids in line and/or on time.

Kids who, for the most part, are good kids. You know, the kind of kids who do well at school, enjoy their sports, love to read, tell funny jokes and (usually) get along okay with one another.

A job that allows me to do meaningful work and also pay for the little extras in life.

A tennis coach who's incredibly patient but also very able to push my sometimes unfocused kid to achieve great things on court. It's a tough balancing act.

Long distance phone calls to family to reconnect and to ground myself for the coming week of busyness.

The peaceful feeling I get after my daily early morning walks with Lemon. 

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Life is good. Happy Thanksgiving!