Raising Flowers and Skids

Paris – Day 1

Posted on June 26, 2016 by Leah

We landed in Paris after our 7 hour flight feeling a little fuzzy and tired.

Of course, when you travel, you have to make use of every second, so we had a full day of sightseeing.

We made it to our hotel called, “Hotel Palais Bourbon” and luckily they allowed us to check in right away. We quickly changed, refreshed and headed out.

We stopped at the bakery/cheese store that’s right beside us and got some baguettes and cheese and then wandered down to the Tuleries gardens where we had our first picnic with nice views of the Eiffel Tower.

For the Euro games, they had a temporary ferris wheel, which we rode and had great views of the city.

We then wandered the park a bit more, picked up our museum passes and walked to our meeting stop for our first tour. Of course, along the way, we came across “Angeline’s” and took a macaroon and Mont Blanc to go.

Our tour was on a air conditioned coach (this wasn’t the part of the tour I was keen on, but we had to take is as the other tours were sold out) and it ended up being a great way to get an overview of the city, and catch up on a few winksJ

We then visited the Eiffel Tower (skipped the lines – the main reason I booked the tour) and that was awesome. The heat was pretty intense though, and the lines are everywhere, but we took in the views.

Next up was a cruise along the Seine, where we saw Paris by the water. But again, we were all a little tired so ended up having little snoozes:)

Finally, we walked to a great little restaurant that I read about: where they simply serve steak and frites. What an awesome meal it was.

We wandered back to the hotel (got side tracked with a street con that I won’t go into detail about…) and marveled at how lively the city was at dusk. Rob was on the phone on a daily call as he wandered with us, so still able to enjoy the view while working.

By night, we were all pooped – jet lag kicked in, wifi was spotty and but we caught up with some communications….

Here we go…

Posted on June 22, 2016 by Leah

It was around this age (8ish) when these two cuties decided where they wanted to go for their “15 trip” (It was a 16 trip, but we changed that to accommodate summer planning):

Zandra had her heart set on Paris and every night for months and months (and year and years) we would do our good night routine and then decide where we would meet in our dreams. Paris was a consistent meeting place for us. We talked of the food, the lights, the Eiffel tower, the shopping, the dream of Paris.

Zach was pretty clear he wanted to go to Berlin. A boy who identifies strongly with family, he wanted to explore where some of his family roots originated and catch a glimpse of perhaps where his organizational skills and directness comes from (because we pretty much know it’s heavily influenced by the Busing genes in him:)

They negotiated to go together several years later, and ensured that because they were together they would get a little extra time.

Hamburg (and Lubeck) was added, as that is the other German city where my beloved grandmother was born and spent most of her young years and I couldn’t pass up the chance to see where it all started.

And of course, Prague was added because I always like to add a “little extra” to everything:)) See – good policy, “Do more to get a four” has always been our mantra for school work, and I like to practice what I preach. Always a little more….

And TODAY is the day.

I love to plan for trips and we always have some simmering away. But when the day actually comes, I marvel at how quickly it got there and how I can’t believe we are leaving. TODAY!

When we chose these spots, the kids would be DOUBLE the age they were when they chose, so it seemed like it would be forever until it would happen. The days are really long, and the years are really short, because in a blink we are here.

Finalizing our carry on bags. Packing our snacks. Checking that we haven’t forgotten anything. We head out to the airport later this afternoon, and I know from there the camera will come out so I can document every moment to help solidify all those incredible memories I know we will be making….

See you in Paris!

Happy Birthday Robbie!

Posted on June 16, 2016 by Leah

I can’t let this day pass without saying Happy Birthday to the most amazing husband in the universe!

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Life has been pretty crazy around here. Rob has been working a ton with his new job – although it is all good as it is challenging and rewarding and he is feeling that there is work to be done, and he’s ready to tackle it.

The kids are in the midst of exams and end of school stuff, (with two having their last exam today, and one with a few more to go, and the littles who have the rest of the month to get through — although Josh has a fun school trip next week). Then of course, throw soccer into the mix….

Work has been pretty hectic for me too, and of course, planning for the upcoming “15 trip”, which we are all super excited about, but I think we will only feel that it is real when we are sitting in that airport!

We all got up early this morning to wish Robbie a happy birthday and shower him with some gifts. The celebrations were cut a bit short as the three older guys had to race out for their exams. Rob and I were on our own tonight and went for dinner, and brought home some cake to eat while we fold some laundry (the glamourous life we lead!). This weekend we will do a nice big supper with all the kids and have a real cake to blow out the candles:)

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But what can I say about Rob that I haven’t already said a million times? I was thinking the other day about how awesome it is that our 4 boys have such an incredible role model in him. He is such a mix of kindness and firmness; fun and intellect; logic and compassion. He is our stable rock around here, the voice of reason, and the calmness that keeps us grounded. He can also be a little obsessive, but we even love that about him. He certainly is the kind of man I hope our boys aspire to be, and the kind of man I hope that Alexandra finds one day.

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I marvel that I have been so blessed to be married to such a guy. He truly inspires me and makes me want to be a better person. He also tolerates and spoils me, so what more can a gal ask for? I could name way more than 45 things (as I usually do on these birthday posts), but this year I will keep it simple.

He rocks.

I love this man.

I am so grateful for him and proud to be his wife. And I know the kids are proud to call him Dad and StepDad.

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All my love,

Meski

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Monthly Snaps of Life

Posted on June 14, 2016 by Leah

It seems I can barely get a blog post written! Here’s a few snaps of what has happened around here:

Lots of Reggie Cuddle time ^^^

Not as much Mom time, but forced to sit and make some plans for our European adventure ^^^

Please take me for a walk ^^^

Project time… he thought it was supposed to be 10 feet. Something was wrong…it seemed longer than 10 feet. We had a good chuckle. (It was supposed to be 10 metres (phew)) ^^^

Reggie watching some TV ^^^

Is the TV on, the computer on, and you are on your phone??? ^^^ Reggie is the only one focusing on the TV!

Apparently “they cleaned the kitchen”. Whhaatt??? ^^^

Church shenanigans ^^^

Josh with blonde hair ^^^

On Montreal trip… pretty much the phones dominated. We enjoyed Gigi’s pizza and subs though ^^^

Montreal with our friends ^^^

Walk by the lake with my girl ^^^

Visiting our old stomping grounds at McGill. Both Rob and I went there but different years ^^^

Sam the man ^^^

Love these cuties ^^^

We love our poutine! ^^^

Church at Gran’s (Kirkland ward!) ^^^

Ste Anne’s picnic ^^^

Out for some good old fashioned fun ^^^

Entertaining himself at Gran’s house (aftering gorging on all the homemade desserts!! )^^^

One more McGill pic ^^^

Traditional Victoria Day celebration. Only Sam to hang out with us this year:( Others were all in the crowds with friends ^^^

Oops missed these Montreal ones – Sam was the only one to brave the pool (although this was the jacuzzi part!) ^^^

Sam at the school folk dance festival! ^^^

Way to go Sam!! ^^^

Winning the West Rouge Cup Tournament ^^^

Captain giving out medals ^^^

First day on the job! ^^^

The Davidson Stand ^^^

Looks like he’s going to pull out a card!!?? ^^^

School Athletic Banquet ^^^

Sam’s sleepover for his upcoming Birthday ^^^

Josh in Ottawa for a soccer game ^^^

Stopping for dinner on the way home from the day trip to Ottawa ^^^

The weary parents ^^^ Love my travel buddy, Christine!

That’s it for now! Figure I need to clear off my phone to make way for our upcoming European adventure with Zach and Zandra! Yah!

Gabe’s Prom

Posted on May 22, 2016 by Leah

Gabe had prom the other night and I was able to capture a few pictures of him and his date before they went for the the full night celebrations:

The box was a little tricky to open ^^^

A little shadowy:( I was hoping to take some pics in front of our home garden, but we went to the hours that was hosting the pre-prom party, so had to make do!

Zach’s soccer tournament

Posted on May 21, 2016 by Leah

And let the tournaments begin!

(Well, actually they began at the end of March when Josh was in Tremblant, but I wasn’t able to attend that one.)

This was Zach’s first one this year.

His team had some changes this year because of some challenges his coach had with his soccer club. As a result, the team changed clubs. Most players stuck around, but a few left. They still did awesome and won the tournament in their division! Hopefully off to a good start this year!

It was FREEZING cold – hailing during one of the games! We were wrapped up in blankets and jackets and still cold! I snapped a few pics, but my fingers were numb. Luckily, a Dad of one of the boys on the team took a ton of pictures and posted them for us all. He got some great ones. Forgive me or posting so many, but they do tell a good story:)

Then there is this whole series that makes me cringe worrying about concussions:

It was a little cold. They laugh at my Spiderman blankets. There was a time when they BEGGED me to buy them and wanted to use them all the time…and they were begging to use them to stay warm near the end of the game too!

This was too close for comfort:

Zandra’s Dance Show

Posted on May 20, 2016 by Leah

Every year Zandra has a dance show that happens for a two full weekends. It is a lot of work and very tiring (as she has shows in the evenings on Thursday and Friday and then 2-3 shows on each weekend day!), but she loves it and she is great! She takes hip hop and lyrical all year and she is awesome at both!

Here are the pictures I snapped for her Hip hop routine:

Then came the lyrical number. I loved the lighting and the simple costume… (don’t get me started on the costumes – I love it when they do simple and elegant like this one – it adds to the performance as opposed to detracts from it!)

Love this girl.

Quote of the Week

Posted on May 16, 2016 by Leah

“When everything seems to be going against you, remember that the airplane takes off against the wind, not with it” Henry Ford.

Robbie sent this one to me the other day, and I loved it as I always want to be taking off in airplanes:)

I’m not always fond of the wind against you, though.

We haven’t had any particular challenging situations (and I’m not complaining) recently, just the normal stuff of life. Which that in itself, can be enough!

Rob changed jobs a couple of months ago so is on a steep learning curve which can be stressful and tiring, me just dealing with some new clients and there’s a learning curve with that. Then, the kids are all growing up and having to deal with school work and challenges, growth in relationships and figuring them out, looking towards future – short term, longer term, jobs, volunteer, and then all the sports stuff in between. Life can just naturally cause lots of wind!

But, it is those things that make up your life and make you soar! The “little things” make up your life, so don’t dismiss them too quickly. You never know when the “little thing” will become the “big thing”. And those little things can create a lot wind that can help you soar to higher places than you ever imagined!

Mother’s Day Wrap Up

Posted on May 15, 2016 by Leah

Mother’s Day is pretty much one of my favourite days of the year. I get to force my boys to spend some good quality time with me. So it definitely deserves its own blog post – a week late.

I know, pathetic that you have to have a day in a year where you have to “force” your kids to spend time with you, but I figure that’s only for a few years. When they were little, they couldn’t get enough of me, and when they will be older, they will realize just what an awesome, spectacular, cool Mom I am – and always was (I think just writing that makes me uncool now – but whatev…) and they will be clamouring to spend more time with me.

For now, I will take what I can get.

Started with some lay around in my bed in the morning with mumbled “Happy-Mother’s-Day-I-am-so-tired-do-we-have-to-go-to-church-today-and-what-are-we-doing-after” kind of love. Followed by some nice cards, a new pair of shoes, an awesome photo and poem, and chocolate milk and blueberry banana pancakes. It was followed by a little talking to about having a nicer, more appreciative attitude on Mother’s Day….(hmmpf).

We headed to church and they had a nice service and then a Mother’s Day lunch (which saved my family from having to come up with a nice lunch. Ha. Thank you. Yet another reason for them to go to church:))

Our usual tradition is to head out on a bike ride on Mother’s Day, but it was pouring rain:( We ended up going to plan B (which I usually sneak in there in the evening anyway) of watching a movie of my choice (which I try my best to make sure it is one that they would NEVER watch with me otherwise). And, they totally love it every time! (Ok, love is strong…)

After our film fest, the sun was out! Yah! We got to do our traditional bike ride.

^^^(This is the cool Mom doing her snapchat face)

Of course since Zach and Josh are totally competitive, most of the ride is them trying to pass each other, go faster and knock each other over, with me yelling “Stop it!” in the background.

We made it to a little park, where we did some swinging:

^^^There we are, having a good time, then this inevitably happens:

It never stops.

Off to the teeter totter, where it starts out fun but then gets painful as they think it’s funny to “bump” me:

When we returned, Gabe, Zandra and Sam had returned from spending the day with their Mom. We had our traditional Mother’s Day dinner (we order from the same Italian place year after year – which I love and want to do year after year), the kids had some nice little gifts, and Rob made a yummy cake. We just chilled for the rest of the day.

It was a pretty great day. I love my pretty great people. I’m so glad they give me the chance to be a pretty great mom.

Quote of the Week

Posted on May 10, 2016 by Leah

“Do you cheer up a room when entering it, or when leaving it?”

Have you ever thought about that? What effect do you have on the energy of a room? Do people smile when you enter, or roll their eyes and find an excuse to leave the room.

I have always told Zandra she is a “sunny person.” When she walks in a room, it’s as if the sun comes out. She is bright and cheery and makes everyone feel good. I compare that to those who are “cloudy” or even “stormy” people. When they walk in, you literally feel the energy being sucked right out of the room and it brings the happiness barometer down a couple of levels. Everyone feels it.

I work with people who have communication problems, and one of the things we often need to work on is their metacognitive skills. Their ability to “think about their thinking”. I also teach them that they need to “think about their communication exchanges”. Meaning, after they interact with someone, they need to ask themselves how they did. Did they complain a lot? Did they talk too much? Did they make the other person feel bad or good? Did they build the other person up, or tear them down?

The main question I want them to ask whether the other person walked away from the interaction thinking they want to communicate more with you in the future, or less? Did they leave feeling invigorated or did they leave feeling depleted?

Although we can choose who to interact with sometimes, we can’t always. So that means sometimes we are forced to interact with a stormy person. I think even with stormy people, we can help be a little silver lining for them, if we choose.

But, we have absolute control over the kind of person we choose to be. Sunny or stormy? We can energize, enlighten and invigorate; or we can drain, deplete and discourage.

Who do you want to be?