Weekend!!

I thought this weekend would never come!!

We had a very long week. Performance Reviews were due at work and I have been busting my ass to get them done, on top of numerous other things to do. I love my job, I really do, but man alive, I didn't think I'd have this much work to do. Everyone from other areas emails me the questions, errors, reports, etc. Hello - there are three others that you could share these emails with- why do they all come to me??

However I do have this slight compulsion and once they've been sent to me, I don't dare forward them to anyone else to do for fear they won't be completed and I'll look like the idiot.

So - my "to do" list is a mile long and I hope to tackle it tomorrow. (Yes- I work AGAIN on a Saturday!!)

The girls and I both had a stomach bug this week. Blech. The only thing worse than being sick, is being sick, the girls being sick and Allan being out of town. *groan*

Alas, it's Friday night. I didn't work today so I hosted a playdate and had a great time. It has been too long!! Once I get back to my evenings at work I will get back to hosting weekly playdates on Thursday mornings. So come one- come all!

I have been cleaning like mad. I don't know why everyone gets worked up with "Spring Cleaning", to me the "Fall Cleaning" is much more important.

a) Soon it will be cold outside, the house will be shut up, no more windows being open, no more fresh air being let in. It's time to get this house spotless before we're all caged in here like animals LOL!

b) We'll spend a lot more time indoors come winter so we need the room to do it. I am clearing out one of the storage rooms to make Madison her own private play area. She really needs some "me space".

c) It's the new school year. Allan starts school (his LAST year I might add!) Madison starts school (her FIRST year!!.) It's a new fiscal year at work (so much to do, so many new things I want to implement). So many clean slates and time to start fresh. I need an organized home to do it in!!!

So - today I cleaned upstairs and started the laundry. When I say laundry I mean all of the towels, bedding, etc. It's ALL getting cleaned. Tomorrow I will finish the laundry and pack Madison's bag for her trip to Granny's cottage. Sunday I will clean and vaccuum the basement and then all next week will be the *drum roll please* cleaning out the playrooms. SO much easier to do when Madison is out of town and won't declare every broken McDonald's toy as being "her absolute favourite-most important-won't ever put it down-I've been looking for this for years- toy in the world"!

Have a great weekend everyone!!!

Sarah

We're IN!!

All summer I've been worried about Madison and Kindergarten. At the Kindergarten orientation in April we requested afternoon kindergarten, however for some reason she was put in the mornings.

Because I work 2pm-10:30pm this was a huge deal to me. I wanted Madison in school in the afternoons so we'd still have all morning together.

Yesterday Madison's new princepal called me and told me that they would put Madison in afternoon Kindergarten.

WOOHOO!!

She starts September 6th 2006!

August 20th 2006

I cannot believe that it is already August 20th. This summer has gone by so quickly, and unfortunatly it hasn't felt like summer at all.

With Allan working in Saskatoon and me working daytime shifts at Reach, everything has been really hectic.

I wake up at 5:45am, get ready for work, wake the girls, get them ready, and we leave the house at 7:00. We walk to daycare and then I take a cab from daycare to work.

At 4:30 I take a bus to the daycare and then we walk home, we usually get in around 5:30-5:45. Time for dinner, baths, tidying up from the morning and bedtime.

I had visions weekends of trips to the beach and mornings playing at the park. Definitely not what the summer has brought us.

Fortunatly Allan is really enjoying his summer work at Stantec and it seems to be leading to a job in the future, so it should all pay off.

Next week Madison is going to stay at Granny & Grandpa's cabin in Manitou Beach. She'll come home with Daddy on September 2nd and then we can all start to get in a normal schedule, whatever normal is!

Hope everyone is having a great summer :)

Sarah

Let the fun begin!

Wow - I cannot believe that it is the end of July!!

This past week I registered Madison for dance. She will be in a combination Jazz/Tap/Ballet class at Royal Dance South. This is the same company she danced with her first year, but a different studio, that is much closer to us. Madison is very excited to try Tap dancing. Mom is putting off buying the shoes. Every day I can put it off, is one more day of silence in the house LOL!

I also started Back To School shopping! (Ok, start of school shopping for us!) and I cannot believe Madison will be in Kindergarten in less than a month. Wow!

Annika will continue in daycare, though we are considering switching her to a different center that is more flexible on the drop off times.

I hope everyone is having a great summer!

Popular Tree

As the girls and I walk to daycare, we pass many different trees. Madison pointed to one and asked "Mommy, what kind of tree is that?". Now, not being very plant savvy, I had no idea. I told Madison that I didn't know what type of tree it was.

Madison paused for a minute and then said "I know, it's a popular tree!". I thought this was humerous and mentioned the story to our babysitter, Merina. Merina then said "Oh, a Poplar tree! Yes, I pointed that out to her."

I guess Madison knows more about trees than I give her credit for!

*~* CLICK *~*

I went and saw the movie Click last night with some girlfriends. Good movie!! It really makes you think about how you spend your day and where your priorities lie.

I told Allan he needs to see it because in the movie Adam Sandler is an Architect and in his office he has these chairs that Allan just *adores*. It was funny to see them in the movie!

Allan came home for the weekend and the girls were thrilled to see him. (As was I!) We went out to Mongo's Grill for dinner - yummy!

Allan's Mom will be coming tomorrow to stay with us for the week and watch the girls while I'm at work. Thanks again Joan :)

TGIF ... or maybe not!

With Allan's first official week at Stantec under wrap, he started the drive back to Winnipeg late Friday afternoon. Because I had to work Saturday, 9-5:30, Allan had to get back to be with the girls.

Friday night, 12:30pm, the phone rings - the caller id reads "MTS Payphone" and before answering I know this can't be good.

Allan is calling, he is in Russell Manitoba, at a payphone. Five kilomters outside of town the tire blew. Thankfully a police officer picked him up and drove him into town. However, until a tow truck & Auto Repair Shop could be found at 9:00am, Allan was stranded.

So, Allan found a hotel, okay motel .. at best. It's called the Jolly Lodger ;) and I emailed my boss on his blackberry to tell him I was without a babysitter for the girls ...

Saturday morning the girls and I head to my office. Unfortunatly nobody could cover for me and the girls were about to enter the working world. Thankfully 10 minutes after our arrival my good friend Anita was home and offered to watch the girls. My boss graciously offered to drive us to Anita's and all was well.

I admit - I really panicked when Allan couldn't get home in time. I didn't know what to do! However I have realized that even though we don't have any family in Winnipeg, we have a lot of really great and supportive friends. So if you're reading this - I thank you for that.

After dinner, the girls, Allan and I went to BDI for ice cream. MMM, yummy!

Have a great weekend all!

~Sarah

I Won!!!

When we were at the Exhibition 2 weeks ago I bought a ticket for the Kinsmen Car Raffle because I was in love with one of the cars on display. Well, I didn't win the car but I did win the 2nd prize, $2500!! YIPEE!! Lululemon, here I come :)

Allan is in S'toon now. He had his first "official" day of work today and it went well. He learned about some projects that he will be working on, found out the company has a 37 hour work week, and you basically work whenever you want, totally 37 hours, and that there is a lot of opportunity for growth. I am already researching Saskatoon neighbourhoods!

The girls had a blast at daycare today. They have so many summer events planned. Today was swimming pool & sprinkler day. They also had a McDonald's lunch. Lucky girls!! Tomorrow they are going to a pony farm to ride ponies!!

Well I have to be up at 7am so I need to pack it in. I couldn't sleep last night so I watched Oprah's 20th Anniversary episode until 2:00am. Since when are Oprah reruns on at 1:00am?????

Goodnight :)

Sarah

Happy Canada Day

Happy Canada Day everyone! I hope you are all having a wonderful weekend :)

Allan, the girls and I went to Assiniboine Park yesterday afternoon. We also went to the Zoo. Every year on Canada Day, admission is free. It was very crowded, but still fun.

We came home and tinkered around the house while Annika had a nap. Then at 8:00 we headed out to The Forks. They just opened a new Skateboard park there and Allan wanted to check it out. So we took a peek at the park, watched some bands and watched the Fireworks show. Annika slept through the fireworks and Madison was scared to death. I'm sure glad we hung out at the park for 3 hours for that ;)

Today we're getting ready for Allan to leave. He drives to Saskatoon Tuesday morning and comes home Friday night. Next week he'll be gone Sunday night to Friday afternoon.

Please post comments so I know how you are doing too :)

Great Weekend

We had a great weekend here in The 'Peg.

Laura and her boyfriend Kevin came to visit for the weekend. They arrived late Thursday night.

Friday afternoon we all went shopping at Polo Park. I bought some new bath bombs from Lush, pants from Lululemon and a new purse from Le Chateau. (Happy Early Birthday to me!)

Friday evening Merina came over to babysit the girls and Allan, Laura, Kevin and I went to the Blue Bomber game. It was CanWest night and I got the tickets free courtesy of work. We had a good time, and the Bombers won. After the game they had fireworks and we joked that they were better than the fireworks on Canada Day in Regina.

Saturday we all went to the Ex. It was a great time. Annika went on three rides. The swings, the Carosoul (Sp??) and the HUGE inflatable slides. Madison went on tons of rides, most with Auntie Laura.

We went home for dinner and then Vanessa came over to babysit the girls while Laura, Allan, Kevin and I went back to the Ex. I loved having someone to go on the *scary* rides with, since Allan's a big chicken. Allan loved having someone to be a chicken with, and him and Kevin enjoyed the bumper cars. ;)

Sunday we all went to Grand Prix Amusements where we all played Mini Golf and then Laura, Kevin, Madison and I went on the Bumper Boats. Allan, Laura and Kevin raced on the race track as well.

It was a great weekend. Laura & Kevin- you're welcome back anytime :)

Allan has a new job!!

Allan was hired at Stantec in Saskatoon for a Summer Architect position.

He will be working in Saskatoon this summer designing many projects.

Stantec is a very large organization with companies all over North America, the opportunities are endless!

Another great thing is that Stantec does a lot of different work, including Architecture and Landscape Architecture, therefor Allan can utilize both of his degrees.

We are very excited about this job opportunity and while it will be a pain having Allan in Saskatoon all summer, it will be well worth the doors that this will open for us.

The Guests

Madison's 5th Birthday party was Sunday, June 11th. She hosted 8 little girls at our house and had a Princess Party. The party was a real hit and everyone had a blast.

Madison is now 5 years old!! Soccer and Dancing both just came to an end this week.

Kindergarten begins in the fall :)

Happy Birthday Madison!!!

Madison Funny

Yesterday our friends Matthew, Emmy & Joshua came over for a pool playdate with their Mom, Anita.

Anita asked Madison if she wanted a brother, and Madison said "No, I have a boyfriend."
Anita asked "Who is your boyfriend?" and Madison said "He is an adult." (She had me a bit worried at this point ;)) she then said "and his name is Kevin."

Kevin is Madison's Auntie Laura's boyfriend. Madison just *adores* him.

Annika's 2 Year Checkup

Annika had her 2 year checkup yesterday. As predicted, she is huge LOL!

Annika weighs 30 pounds and is 37 3/4 inches long.

There is a calculation that if you take a child's height at age 2, and double it, that will be their adult height.

According to this, Annika will be 6'4. Lets hope not LOL!

At 2 years old, Madison was 32 inches tall.

Video

Here are a few videos taken at Annika's Party!!

http://www.dropshots.com/rosnes

Pictures!

Annika's 2nd Birthday

Annika turned 2 on Friday!! I can't believe she's two already :)

Her Dora the Explorer Birthday Party was today and she had a blast. Above are a few pictures taken at the party!

Mommy was exhausted because I spent Saturday shopping in Fargo, but thankfully I had a long nap once the party was over.

Happy Anniversary

Friday was Allan and I's 5th Wedding Anniversary!! Wow- I cannot believe it has been 5 years already. What a wonderful five years it has been.

Allan surprised me with this diamond and sapphire ring. Sapphire is the stone for 5 years.

Madison at her first soccer game!!

Happy Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day to all of you Mom's out there :) I hope your day is everything you want it to be!! Personally, I am hoping to sleep in. ;)

The girls and I had a wonderful vacation in Regina. We didn't get to see as many people as we would have liked, but even 6 days is not enough when you're only back twice a year.

Madison was lucky enough to go to Chuck E Cheese twice (thanks Auntie Laura!) and she is addicted. She is already asking to go back.

Now that we're home, we're getting back into the swing of things. It's hard to return to work when you've been off for a week! I was getting used to an early bedtime!

Madison has started playing soccer. Her team consists of 4 & 5 year olds and they play twice a week. She really enjoys it, and is actually quite good. She has already scored her first goal (at her second game) and she is fast on the field.

Annika turns 2 in a few weeks!! You'd never know it by looking at her though, everyone guesses she is turning 3! We're celebrating with a Dora the Explorer Birthday Party!

Not too much to update today. It's cold and dreary in Winnipeg and we're hoping for some sunshine so we can start playing in the flower garden.

~Sarah