the end of summer

Summer isn't officially over, but all the signs are pointing in that direction.

The town pool in Oliver is now closed. We went to visit my mom and dad this weekend, and were hoping for a swim but found out the season was over.

The sunflowers are out. And there are lots of Halloween directions at Michael's! Speaking of Halloween, my mom and I made good progress on Fynn's costume this weekend.

Here are some photos of Fynn, Sophie and their little cousin Jackson.

where do the days go?

I've had a busy, busy week.

After work today Vic and I headed down to the daycare for the annual summer BBQ. We were a bit late as we had to drive out of our way to buy a decent watermelon which we said we'd bring. It was a fun time - the kids got to play, we had some dinner and everyone was pooped when we got home.

Fynn NEEDED to ride his little play bike (not a real bike) for a bit and Sophie was anxiously waiting to see if our neighbour Maggie would be home so she could play with her. By now it was about 7:30pm and while I was running Fynn's bath, Sophie had located Maggie and they were playing outside with their Webkins.

Before long Maggie and Sophie wanted to come in and play Barbies. By then we were pushing 8pm and getting close to bath time. They got in some play time and just after 8, Maggie had to go home. It is nice to see her play with someone who lives so close by. She's a little older than Sophie (going into Grade 1), but they seem to have bridged the age difference.

Chores to do, sleep, then I have a presentation tomorrow at 8:30am in Sorrento. Off to Grandma and Grandpa's tomorrow afternoon.

Running around like a crazy woman, reminds me of this quote:

Life should not be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in an attractive and well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, champagne in one hand - strawberries in the other, body thoroughly used up, totally worn out and screaming: WOO HOO, WHAT A RIDE!

amen.

tonight: a guest blogger

I'm handing the reigns over to Vic so he can write about his bike trip.

But, first a photo of Sophie and her buddy Mikayla at tonight's final Wednesday on the Wharf concert series.

Tour de Kootenay. Myself and three friends have had a yearly cycling trip in mind for few years now. While Doc A and Paulo have gone before, this is the first time that all four of us have managed time off at the same time. This is no small feat as Rob, Roger, and myself all have young families. The four compadres consist of myself (aka Vincenzo), Rob A (aka Roberto or Lance), Roger P(Contador), and Paul S (aka Paulo). We headed out early on Sunday morning for Hylcon Hot Springs in the West Kootaneys.

The trip took just over 2.5 hours and includes a 30 minute ferry ride across Arrow Lake. This part of the Kootaneys is amazing. A huge, crystal clear lake, towering mountain ranges on either side of the lake (Monashee and Selkirks), and hundreds of kilometers of well paved VERY lightly traveled roads.

It took us mere minutes upon arriving to check-in, throw our gear in the cabin, and saddle up. Thanks to Paulo and Rob (the two stronger riders - Paul is a freak of nature. An amazing cycling talent and he's the old guy at 59) we were off like a shot back to the ferry then north towards Revelstoke. The highway towards Revy is challenging. At apx. 50k out I decide to turn back and head for home. Roger joined me and the two seasoned vets continued on for another 10kms or so. That night was...interesting as my body settled into the affects of a hard ride. The accomodation was very good for an isolated back-water and the hot pools were outstanding and much appreciated.

Monday we decided to take it easier and headed for Nakusp, 35k due south. There were a couple of interesting decents, a waterfall were we stopped for a look around and converse with some of the local colour. Nakusp is a tranquil little town. After a coffee break it was off to Needles. Roger and I once again made an early turn and came home with about 80kms. Our final day of cycling took us from Nakusp to Fauquier and back. It was a good ride of varied terrain(120kms.).

The great part about the trip was the ability to completely unwind. No schedule, no kids, no demands, no cell phone coverage!!! (yippee) It's nice to come home, though. Fynn came right over, sat in my lap, and showed me his latest toy car he borrowed from day care. Sophie had to get in on the Dad action and promptly piled herself on top of both of us. Off to the salt mines tomorrow.

10 for Tuesday

1. My buddy Paula and I had lunch together today. A rare treat, since most days I gobble down a sandwich at my desk. We went to Table 24 and had the spinach salad. Yum.

2. Vic is back home tomorrow! While we managed okay, we missed him and it is very nice to have that extra pair of hands with the kids.

3. I had to drop the kids at Shelley's our sitters at 7pm tonight. It was one of those disjointed evenings where we got home from work/daycare, had a quick bite to eat, got Fynn in his bath, and then went out again. I had a work presentation to our Board of Directors that I needed to do. Luckily it was fairly short so I got them home at a decent hour.

4. My little 4 year old nephew Travis had one of his colouring drawings featured in Chirp magazine. Neat to see his name in the back of the magazine with his little rocket ship drawing.

5. I'm itching to get started on Fynn's Halloween costume. I'll be dragging my sewing supplies down to my mom's this weekend!

6. Sophie and Fynn are gobbling these up like crazy!

7. Sophie's kindergarten welcome letter came today. Things have really changed in Kindergarten since when I was little. Not surprising, I guess. She got a welcome letter addressed to her from her teacher. Each parent gets a 15 minute appointment with the teacher on the first week of school. Her first day - albeit only 45 minutes is on September 9th. I'll stay with her. She then goes the next day for about the same length of time and then has the Friday off (likely due to the teacher doing the remainder of the parent meetings).

8. I need to pick her up another pair of indoors shoes, a painting smock, a water bottle (no juice boxes for snack) and she needs to bring a photo of herself for the first day so the kids can get to know each other. The school has obviously put a lot of work into the whole logistics of the first week or so of school.

9. I picked up this t-shirt on sale this week. The brand is a good one and doesn't shrink like so many other cotton tees. I've had one of their t-shirts for about 4 years and it still looks pretty good.

10. G'night....

a deal

Vic is over on a guys' bike / road trip to the Halcyon Hot Springs area. I've been doing my best to keep these two entertained today. We hit the playground, had lunch and then wandered over to see if any of the downtown merchants were open. Sunday is not a great shopping day in Salmon Arm.

The Baby Barn (my favourite consignment store) was open and while Fynn and Sophie played with the Thomas the Train set, I found a very close to brand new Please Mum winter jacket for Fynn. For $10.99 I thought that was quite a deal on something that appears to have been worn barely at all. The new Please Mum little boy jackets are about $69.00 according to their website!

The Enchanted Forest

The odd time we've driven to Revelstoke, we've commented (usually something mildly snarky) about the Enchanted Forest.
We decided it was time to check it out as we have friends that just took their kids there who are about the same age as Sophie and Fynn.

For $26 all 4 of us got in (Fynn was free). It took about an hour to walk around and look at all of the attractions. There are quite a few in a kind of Storybook/Fairytale/Nursey Rhyme theme. You can go inside the 3 Little Pigs houses, slide down Mother Goose's shoe, etc. There is a 3 story tree house that is pretty neat. The displays, particularly the figurines are very old. I think the park opened in 1960 and it shows. It did look like they were adding some new stuff like the Pirate's ship, so maybe one day they will give the whole thing a facelift. Fynn got a kick out of walking into the little houses and poking about. Sophie had her eye on the zip line that was in the neighbouring park. She was bugging us to take her there. Maybe next summer.

My foot is feeling a lot better after my cortisone injection. I took a Zumba class this morning at the gym and it didn't give me any grief - very nice for a change. Zumba is a blast - if you get a chance to try it, check it out.

Off the Cute-O-Meter

These two got new PJs tonight.

It was time. Fynn has outgrown his and with the cooler weather coming in the next couple of weeks, it seemed like a good excuse.

They are a couple of hams. Fynn really loved the Shrek book we borrowed from the library and took it to bed with him. Sometimes I see him cuddling his books in bed more than his stuffies.

my aching feet

I have been having the weird sensation of having a rock or marble at the bottom of my foot for a few months. This has been coupled with soreness and a "twang" feeling whenever I lift off from my foot.

I kind of self-diagnosed it has a nerve condition called Morton's Neuroma, and when I went to my doctor today she confirmed it. It's basically a nerve problem. I've only been able to wear my Birkenstocks and my Dansko shoes (goes to show that decent shores are worth the money, esp if you have foot issues) which makes getting dressed for work a challenge.

I asked if she could give me a cortisone injection since it has been proven to alleviate the pain and reduce the swelling of the nerve. She injected my foot (on the top) with a local pain reliever and then followed that with the cortisone shot. It is one of those shots that the doctor puts in very slowly and then withdraws it very slowly. Very weird feeling.

I happily had a numb lower foot for most of the afternoon and was still able to go to my aerobics class. So far, my foot is just sore from the shot and the neuroma hasn't seemed to flare up.

I am also being referred to an orthopedic surgeon to (hopefully) have surgery on my baby toes to straighten them out. They have been curved since I was a child and they have caused me more and more problems as I get older....painful calluses on the outside edge of my foot, nail issues, and my feet have gotten wider. I'm hopeful something can be done -- possible releasing the tendon that causes them to curl/rotate the way they do.

But for now, I've got my feet up.

Balance

There is a quote I like that goes something like this, "Life should NOT be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in an attractive and
well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, Champagne in
one hand - strawberries in the other, body thoroughly used up,
totally worn out and screaming 'WOO HOO - What a Ride!' "
— Mavis Leyrer

I have a feeling when I'm old and grey my kids are going to ask me what the hardest thing was about working full-time and being their mom. I think I will say it is trying to do the right thing, finding balance, getting stuff done, living with intention and trying to make sure they got the attention they deserve.

Today Vic and I ducked out of work at 4:30pm so we could go for a 30 minute run together and then be home just after 5pm so I could pick Sophie and Fynn up from daycare and have a nice meal -- all 4 of us.

I feel that there are so many interesting things I still want to do and hobbies and other stuff I'd like to explore and there are just not enough hours in the day. Not when you have laundry, making lunches, paying bills, etc at night. I'm not complaining. Vic and I knew what we were getting into when we made the choices we have. It just can be a little overwhelming some days.

Today we started the ritual of getting Sophie into a 10 minute homework habit. I don't think (I hope not anyway) that homework will be much of an issue in Kindergarten, but we thought we should get into the habit of having her do a bit of structured time after dinner. Tonight she worked on spelling her name. She can spell it, but she often makes the 's' backwards.

Anyway, tomorrow is another day. I have a 9am presntation to do, so must get some sleep!

this n' that

We took a trip down to Vernon today.

Needed to get a few supplies at Superstore. Even with the price of gas, it's still cheaper to buy some of our groceries there.
We like Motts applesauce for the kids' lunches and we buy them in bulk. The single serving size is very convenient.

I also stopped at Fabric Land and picked up the pattern and supplies for this little costume. Never too early to think about Halloween. Vic wanted Fynn to be the skunk (since he's a stinky little guy), but the problem with that is that I don't think Fynn is aware of what a skunk is. He'd spend all of Halloween having an identity crisis.

Busy day, but just hanging out now.

Kids' Consignment Stores

About a year ago a new children's consignment store opened up in our town. I'd never really had much to do with consignment before, but once I started, I'm a big fan.

I've successfully sold our Baby Bjorn carrier, kids' shoes, and clothing.

Today I got a call from them saying that they had a few t-shirts that hadn't sold so I needed to pick them up, plus I had a cheque for $34. That made my day!

I picked up a cute little Old Navy t-shirt for Fynn for $3.00 and got my cheque.

The trick with having your stuff sell is making sure it is clean, in good shape, no stains (at all), and "brand" names like Gap, Old Navy, Mexx, Roots, Gymboree, etc really help too. I have sold stuff that isn't necessarily brand name, too. Provided it is in good shape there is often someone who will need it. If it doesn't sell I take it to the Salvation Army or pass it along to someone who needs it.

You won't make a ton of money, but it is certainly better than nothing and it helps with paying for some of the little extras that come with having kids (like Sophie's endless string of birthday parties that she is asked to attend).

"In Spring, at the end of the day, you should smell like dirt."

Said Margaret Atwood.

It might not be spring, but Fynn smells like dirt and mud.

I wanted to take a few photos of our flowers and he followed me.

Naturally he got into the mud and made his own connection to nature. He is very curious and does not mind getting dirty.

He had a nice bath afterwards and then tried on a few hand me downs from his cousin Cairo (thank you!). He seems very excited about the Cars slippers :)

moving back to Blogger

After 14 days at Typepad, I'm back at my old Blog. I find that this is easier to use with respect to uploading and formatting photos. Too bad, since I liked some of the design features of Typepad.

We are back from vacation. It was a good vacation. We spent 2 weeks travelling from Salmon Arm, to Vancouver Island, on to Parksville, with a day trip to Nanaimo, then on to Victoria for a couple of days. Then back to the mainland and into the Interior of the province where we stayed in Oliver for several days with day trips to Penticton, Osoyoos and Greenwood (for great cinnamon buns).

Back to our old routine, but first laundry, sorting, putting away new treasures, ordering photos, and restocking the fridge. A bit of a shock to the system.