Summer lovin

Summer 2012 Snapshots - Part I

100th Calgary Stampede

Self-photo on the gondola ride

Smoked turkey leg. Sooo good!

Amazing fireworks we watched from my sister's roof! See the "100"?

Fireworks happened in all quadrants of the visible so could be seen from everywhere.

Family vacay in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho

The first real roller coaster Lucy rode (Silverwood Amusement Park)

Garfield taking off with Ainsley!!

              Good to go... at least for Lu

Proudly wearing the Minnie ears she bought with her spending money

We got to relax on a boat cruise and even enjoyed a couple drinks while the kids played under the table in the shade

Me and my beauties

Checking out the lake front

Sun sisters

Feeling the sand under my toes and the cool water surround my feet

Family love

Reeling

Ok. I am on stimulation overload!! Working, new job, visitors, house guests, home projects... AHHHH!!!!!!

I am excited and apprehensive to start my new job as a Psychometrist. I will be working in the same Addiction Centre where I currently work (as an admin assistant), just one floor below. My new job will have much more responsibility, such as administering psychological tests to patients, then scoring them, entering data, creating reports and working on a number of other research and evaluation projects. Lots to learn! Super excited about it, but also nervous. The new union I'll be with offers an awesome education fund so I'm also considering starting my Master of Counseling Psychology next September. The course content can be done online (aside from practicums of course) and I would probably take 5 years or so to do it (it's a 2 year program but I would do it slowly). Lots to process!

We have had many visitors come stay again this year. Fantastic to see and spend time with everyone. Love the type of visits you have with people when you wake up in the morning together, have coffee, take it easy... it's really special. It makes me feel like I still get to see some of the people I love in Vancouver, so I don't miss them so much. It also means a lot of socializing for this introvert. I love to be social and relationships are vital to my life, but as an introvert, my energy levels get restored from downtime (extraverts get revitalized from being with people). So after a week of camping with about 20 people, followed by 2 weekends of BC visitors along with Maria living with us, my emotional centre is taking a bit of a hit! I think we will temporarily close our doors until Maria & Pino have found their own place. Then once we've reestablished our family life, our doors and arms will be wide open again.

The last few weeks have been so busy (including me working full-time in order to appease the doctor I've been working for who was very disappointed that I am leaving already) that I only just unpacked my last suitcase from our vacation! We finished painting our main floor and stairway, and still haven't had time to hang our pictures up; our plan to stain the deck before summer is still waiting; I've been wanting to install a closet organizer to our walk-in closet which is a disaster; we need to continue replacing brass door handles & lighting fixtures; Lucy's fluorescent green room (I'm not kidding!) needs to be painted, along with our bedroom & ensuite (not fluorescent green); and then there's building a foundation in the backyard for our new hot tub (which is underway)! Those on top of just the regular house cleaning and organizing stuff (will the empties ever be sorted and returned??), and I start freaking out!

That's life sometimes, I know. I'm just a bit overwhelmed right now, trying to keep my head above water. Writing helps me sort out my thoughts, put things in perspective, and hopefully find some coping strategies. Breathe.

Changes and more changes!

I have two big pieces of news to share. First of all... I was offered and accepted a job with Alberta Health Services!! I will be providing administrative & research support to the head of Addiction Services in the Psychiatry department at one of the big hospitals. They offered a great wage (Calgary seems to pay much more than Vancouver) and say they are very flexible with me taking days off to volunteer at school for the kids and other such things. However, I am still trying to negotiate a 0.8 position. It's just that they want me there Mon-Fri when the head of the department is in town, which is why they said 4 days a week won't work. He does travel a lot though, so what I'm proposing is 6-hour days Mon-Fri when he's in the office, and 4 8-hour days when's he's away. I probably won't know on this til Monday.

I'm looking forward to it in many ways... I like being up and out of the house in the morning with a purpose... I crave the mental stimulation of work as opposed to the monotony that I've been feeling at home lately... and we will enjoy the extra money. And then I have moments when I worry if I'm doing the right thing! Will Ainsley be okay in a dayhome for one year? The nanny solution with my friend will only work over the summer, so I'm interviewing dayhomes now - we have found one we really like and Ainsley has already asked to go there, but who knows when it comes to every day. Also, how will we adjust to dinnertime prep after both working all day, as well as working in some quality time to connect with the kids? I'm guessing we'll have to be uber-prepared! Then there will be the laundry and general house clean-up that we'll be doing in the evenings - we are going to get a house-cleaner every couple weeks for the big clean. So I worry that it may affect the quality of our family life. I'm hoping once we get into a rhythm, it will work out. If it doesn't, I can always quit! I am staying on as casual with LD so I could always go back to working a couple days a week there.

So I start my new job on July 3rd, the same day that someone else will be starting her new job... at the same hospital... none other that my mother-in-law Maria! Yep, Jose's parents are moving to Calgary!! She was offered a job at Alberta Health Services (AHS) that pays a lot more than she's currently making, and it's actually one level less than her current job. So less responsibility but more money! Maria is currently a food services manager at a hospital - since BC privatized things, her wages were cut and she's been working 50-60+ hours a week!! Not exaggerating. This is so wrong, especially at this time of her life when she should be winding down a bit. Her job in Calgary will be a food service supervisor, but they have already talked about making her a manager down the road. At AHS, they value work-life balance and say they rarely work beyond their required hours. I expect this is true, from what I've heard so far about other people who work for AHS. We hope this is a great change for them and a big improvement on their current work and financial situation.

Maria & Pino will drive here over the July long weekend, and then Pino will fly home and leave the car with Maria, who of course will stay with us. He needs to sell the house they bought with Jorge & Keri and also the pasta business. Once all that's taken care of, they'll be able to look for their own place here. It will be great to have them living here - we are really excited about it - and the girls will be ecstatic!! They don't know yet... Maria & Pino are going to Skype with them this weekend to give them the good news.

Crazy huh?? But all crazy good :D

View from our bedroom balcony.
You can see the tops of the Rockies behind the houses, but unfortunately not in this picture.

Changes

So we are back to being single home owners... our Ladner home is sold! I feel really good about it. Liberated. Settled. That house has been a huge financial burden over the last year and a half, with the tenants breaking their lease early and some costly maintenance. Jose was offered a permanent position with the City of Calgary at the beginning of the year (he had originally signed a 2 year contract) which we accepted without hesitation. We are very happy here and ready to call Calgary home, at least for the next few years. After that, who knows! We've always talked about moving to Europe for a couple years (we both have citizenship there so could work), so the timing may just be right when the girls are a few years older. Or there could be an opportunity to return back to Vancouver.

Back to our Ladner home... the new owners are none other than our wonderful friends Nick & April! They had hinted to us when we saw them in February, that they regretted not buying our house last year and asked for a heads up next time we listed. We put it on the market but gave them first choice, and they moved on it fast... sold their house within days and committed to buy ours!! Couldn't be happier to be selling it to such a lovely family. And thrilled I will still be able to see our old home when we visit - we made many great memories there.

View of our beautiful backyard in Ladner. I will miss this.

The other big change is that I'm looking for almost full-time work (4 days/week). I had a telephone interview last week and have an in-person interview this Friday for a job with Alberta Health Services where I'd be providing administrative and research support to 2 psychiatrists. It sounds really great; the only problem is, its full-time. I figured I'll go for the interview anyways, and see if there's any chance it could be a 0.8 position. You never know! If it's meant to be, it'll be. I feel like now is the right time for me to go back to work... Lucy will be in all-day school in September, and Ainsley is a bit older, and I could use the mental stimulation!! My friend has hired a live-in nanny who has agreed to babysit Ainsley, so that would work out rather well. While I'd love to work as a doula again, we can't afford the childcare when the income isn't consistent. Perhaps when the girls are both in school... I'll see. 

So those are my big updates for now. I have weaned myself off Crackbook Facebook and plan to write and post pictures on my blog more. Whoever still reads this, I'd love if you could leave me a comment. xo

- All things in life are not meant to last. Things change and people do too. You can never hold on to something forever, so learn to live and let go. (Author unknown)

Kananaskis

Kananaskis country is about a 45 minute drive from us and is home to 9 provincial parks, an ecological reserve, lakes and several recreation areas (hiking, biking, fishing, white water rafting, cross country skiing, golfing), including a world class ski resort! It borders Banff National Park and the town of Canmore. Haven't heard of it? Neither had we!! We finally got to check it out last weekend... and it was stunning! Claire & Gerry booking a camping spot there for the weekend (they have a fifth wheel) and we joined them for Saturday night (sans kids!!) We felt like we'd stepped into Switzerland or somewhere, and we were not far from our own backyard. Living in Calgary has been full of wonderful surprises. Here are some photos taken from my iPhone mainly from the car so they're not great, but hopefully they capture some of the beauty we saw.

Claire & Gerry

Sun kissed mountains

Crossing the creek

Check out the colour of that lake!

Banff

After living in Calgary for over 1.5 years, we FINALLY went to Banff!! We've wanted to go for a while so decided that we'd go with Fio & Joel who came to stay for the Easter weekend in April. We dropped the girls off at my awesome sister's house for the day and hit the road! The drive was about 1 hour, heading into the Rockies. We hit the Greek restaurant "Balkan" that Kelly Ripa ate at when she did her show up there in March (it was yummy), wandered around the town, then took the gondola up the mountain. It was cloudy, but still goregous. I love that we're so close to the mountains.

Breakfast with Aunty Fio

Catching up: Ainsley

This was Ainsley petting a sheep that was at our church a few months ago. Doesn't she have the sweetest smile? We here that from so many people. She is such an easy-going little girl, which came in very handy on our trip to Disneyland, when there were rides she wasn't quite big enough to go on!! She can get pretty feisty though, but it doesn't usually last long.

Ainsley & I have been doing gymnastics together for the past few months and she loves it! Her coach says she listens well and is well coordinated for her age. She wants to keep on going so I've registered her in the next session... unfortunately this one is not parent participation. I am sad about that. I love doing these activities with the girls, and can't believe this may have been one of the last ones. She on the other hand is very excited to be doing a big girl class without Mummy, and while I'm sad to not be involved, I am excited for her at the same time.

Photos on the last day.

Balance beam queen :)

Our Ainsley is a sleepy bear... she doesn't nap anymore but probably would if she could! If we're out about in the afternoon, she usually falls asleep in the car. If I take her for a walk in the stroller... zonk, she's out! Sometimes she'll cuddle with me on the couch in the afternoon and crash. The other day Jose was playing Rock Band with the girls and Ainsley asked to lay on the couch with a blanket next to them, and fell asleep, music and all!!! She has always loved her sleep and probably always will.

Ainsley will be starting soccer soon, and we'll probably try out dance in the fall. She has been going to preschool 2 days a week and likes it. She is already printing her name and is quite the little artist! I sat in on her 'show & share day' and she chatted about her teddy in front of her classmates, beaming with pride. She can also be quite the chatterbox, and injects much expression into her stories, with wide eyes and hand movements. Perhaps the Italian in her? She loves to play with her sister and they get along very well. I feel proud and blessed to be a momma to two special little girls.

Catching up: Lucia

Since it's been 1/2 year since my last posts, I'm going to try and highlight what the girls have been up to.

This is picture from Lucy's school at her student-led parent conference. She got her first report and is doing very well. Her one area for improvement is talking to much with her friends, although the teacher says she usually only has to ask her once and she stops. Little Miss Chatterbox!! Lucy loves her school and her teacher. Her interests recently include cooking, reading, colouring, drawing, Irish Dance and singing. We are going to put her in a girls choir in the Fall and start her in piano lessons. She likes playing Rock Band with Daddy and definitely has an ear for music and rhythm.

I enrolled Lucy in a gymnastics session after about a years break. She liked it and did well, but I think it'll be the last class she does. I don't want to over-schedule her and she is more interested in dance and music and singing, and will be trying soccer out soon. Gymnastics gave her a great foundation for strength, flexibility and coordination, and gave her skills she'll use in dance and sports.

Gym sisters! They were in different classes at the same time and on the last day, they got to go through all the stations together, with me :) It was a fun day - they were proud to show me their gymnastics and excited to be together.

Lucy's greatest passion right now is Irish Dance! She was going once a week and was asked by her teacher to come an extra day a week because she's quite good. We talked to her about it and she immediately said yes! Her teacher Sally is lovely... an older Irish lady who just loves the kids. She has told us numerous times how fast a learner Lucy is, and that she's a great dancer. She is the youngest dancer in the new extra class, so I feel pretty proud of her. She concentrates so intently, and picks things up so fast, and has a lot of fun. Sally asked her a few other girls from her regular class to dance at Eau Claire Market (like Granville Island) for St. Patrick's Day

so she did it. Another very proud moment that brought tears to my eyes to see her dance in front of so many people with such courage. I would have been nervous!! She was a little, but it didn't get the best of her. They did 2 dances and the little girl in the middle wouldn't do the second one, so just Lucy and the girl on the left danced.

Five has been a fantastic age and I really really enjoy spending time with Lucy. Recently I had two comments from Moms in her class... one told me that her twins who take the bus with Lucy say that she is the kindest person on the whole bus! The other told me her daughter told her after a playdate that Lucy is the kindest person she knows. Wow - what wonderful things to hear about your child!! I couldn't be prouder!

Catching up: Spring Break

What a difference a year makes!! Last Spring Break was hard... I didn't know too many people, the weather was colder and the girls were more demanding. This Spring Break was great and I did not want it to end!! We spent some time at Bowness Park with our friends, spent a day with Aunty Claire & cousin Jess, and Lucy learnt how to cook! Now that she's reading I thought it would be the perfect thing, since she's expressed interest in cooking and always wants to help in the kitchen. Meals cooked so far...

- scrambled eggs: she cracked the eggs, whisked them, chopped a green onion and added it in, then turned on the element and poured in the eggs and stirred them while they cooked

- cheese cake

- sushi rolls!!!

- meatballs

She picked the recipes and we shopped together then cooked together. It was fun! Maybe she got the cooking genes from her Grandma Frasca & Aunty Fio :-)

Just before Spring Break we had our good friends the Cavaliers come and stay for 4 days! It was a fun visit with lots of action... Drumheller, Lucy's first Irish Dance performance at Eau Claire Market, seeing the Lorax, St. Paddy's day drinks and

lots of great talks and laughs. Fortunately the weather was good so the kids were able to spend lots of time outside on the tramp. We miss our friends a lot and enjoy these visits so much.