Thursday, Friday, Saturday.

Thursday night: 

We had clubs right after school.  The treasure hunt club girls decided to take a break from treasure-hunting and started to prepare a flash mob to some weird song about a fox.  Phil is the club coordinator and got to pop-in to see some of the action.  Then he had basketball.  Steve came over to watch X Factor after practice and I almost made it through the whole episode without falling asleep!

Friday:

We started the day with a lovely drive to what we like to call "Mahboula Oblongata".  It's 20 minutes away from our part of the country which seems not-so-far in Canadian terms, but is REALLY DARN FAR in Kuwaiti terms.  We aren't used to road trips like this one.  Yes, I declare this 20 minute journey a ROAD TRIP.  We met our friend Colleen for breakfast muffins (SHE IS THE BEST BAKER!) and we enjoyed catching up after months without seeing her (because she lives so far away...).

Playing in the kid's room at Colleen's apartment complex!

In the afternoon, Phil had a basketball friend over for lunch.  They talked sports.  Nory and I visited Grandma Cathy, ate lunch, and had a nap.  In the evening, we watched some more X Factor and an episode of Parenthood.  I went to bed earlier (as usual), while Phil stayed up to watch Survivor.

Saturday:

I had to work this morning and then the three of us headed to a U14 girls soccer game at 11 o'clock.  We went for coffee afterwards and picked up groceries before heading home to do meal prep for the week.  Unfortunately, our plans to cook went out the window when the oven decided to break mid-pasta/cookie/vegetable-cooking.  After a momentary freak-out, we blared the Christmas music and had a family dance party in the living room.  That made everything SIGNIFICANTLY superior :)  We are supposed to have maintenance men coming to fix the oven tomorrow.  The superintendent of the building believes the oven is a GONE-ER....

At Costa Coffee.  The happiest little chicken around :)

Nory is now asleep and we are chilling on the couch.  This week is going to be a long one at school, with parent-teacher conferences Wednesday night and Thursday.  Always an exhausting couple of days when you teach 80+ students!        

Hope your weekend is moving along HAPPILY!  XOXO

AY AY AY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

While studying biology.......

Me:  List some differences between mitosis and meiosis.

Student:  In my opinion....

Me:  (interrupts) NO.  It's not an opinion.  You've got to tell me the facts.

Student:  Okay, sorry Miss.  In my facts........

I'm doing a new bulletin board for parent-teacher conferences....

It's going to feature pictures from three of the labs we've done so far.  The goal is to showcase what we've been up to in science class.

I got a good start on the lettering yesterday.  When I unlocked my cupboard with craft supplies, the strangest thing happened to me:  red paper and green glitter jumped out at me!  I'm not really sure what else to say other than, WHAT A COINCIDENCE?!

P.S.  Shout-out to TOTES for the most delicious muffins of all time! xo

Another interesting coincidence happened today too.  We had coffee.  From Caribou.  And it was served in Christmas cups to go!  (I swear I didn't even call ahead of time to place a special request!)  I think it's safe to say that the FALLIDAYS are gone and the HOLIDAYS are here!  Our tree hasn't yet made it's 2013 debut, but every day I wake up an "optimistic new mom" and I feel the decorating session getting closer and closer.......

42 DAYS!

Monkeying Around ;)

Although we have a zoo ten minutes away from our new house in Lakefield, the only two zoos that Nory has been to are the ones in Detroit and Kuwait.  This is especially strange considering the fact that the Peterborough Zoo is TOP NOTCH (it's free, has a train, and the best playground evaaaa)!  I suppose we have to save the best one for last ;)

Anyways, THREE WEEKENDS ago, we went to the Kuwait Zoo for a little family outing.  Round two of "Nory Goes to the Zoo" was much more successful than round one.  Nory was LEGITIMATELY interested in the animals!  She was so curious and engaged - taking a serious interest in energetic monkeys of all sorts. 

Here are a few pictures from this wonderful morning.  Keep in mind that while I was taking photos, other zoo visitors were requesting to take pictures of Nory.  Phil was kind enough to say yes, but at one point I almost screamed out "SHE IS NOT AN ANIMAL!!!!!!!" Haha, there's a mama bear in the best of us ;)

SURPRISE!  Daddy brought Minnie Mouse bubbles for our rest in the shade :)

Checking out some monkeys.  They were really fun to watch until they got into a massive brawl and the noises coming from the cage were just not nice.

In the desert, you find green space wherever you can!  This family of three is making do here :)

Princess (Lindsay).

Yesterday Emily and I went to the salon together.  I had a mani/pedi, eyebrow threading and then a LUXURIOUS HAIR WASH.  A mani/pedi is always enjoyable and I am up for one anytime.  Eyebrow threading makes my eyes water and I ask the ladies to do that first so I can get it over with.  But this hair washing business.  MY GOSH.  It's the BEE'S KNEES, the CAT'S PAJAMAS, and THE BOMB all wrapped into one.  Let's talk about how they spent TEN MINUTES (legitimately, TEN MINUTES!) washing my hair.  And they don't just wash it - they give you a head massage, use three different kinds of soaps/conditioner and then blow dry it.  I was in heaven - especially since the water in our building leaves hair oily and gross because it is incapable of removing shampoo on its own.... 

Anyways, I'm here to report that 24 hours after-the-fact:  I STILL feel like a princess.  In my own bias opinion, my hair looks DAMN AMAZING and I haven't even ran a brush through it today.  It seems there is a big difference between greasy hair and clean hair and I have now realized that it's time to take advantage of these desert SALOONS for reasons such as this one.  Princess hair.  Paid for in a couple of minutes of tutoring.  I'll take it!

Signing off,
The Princess
x 

P.S.  At this time, I would also like to report that a "Barbie Salon" is opening here soon!  AHHHH!  I follow them on Instagram and I CANNOT WAIT until they open their doors for business!!!

Stumbling across summer memories.....

I haven't connected my memory card to the computer in AGES. The Nikon has over 500 photos on it and my iPhone has almost 2000 photos......(I know, I know).  But - what better day than a HOLIDAY to go through these memory cards of mine?!  Here are a few photos from a cool, summer day this past August.  A day that my Mom and Nan came to visit us at our new house in Lakefield! 

You should see the green space behind our house!  There's a play structure, a big field, a path along the water.....it's beautiful. 

The colour purple reminds me of my Nan.  She was with us during this walk :)

No fishing!  The marina is for ice cream eating, Tim Horton's drinking and big-boat-viewing ONLY!

I love skies like this one.  SO BLUE!

Tai chi in the park!

My guy & my gal.  I love seeing them bundled up together :)

It was a great day - minus the need to wear fleece!  We walked the town and enjoyed grilled cheese and soup on the back deck.  I can't wait to have more days like this one next summer :)   

OUR INSPIRATION.

I haven't blogged about this in the past, but during the summer a dear friend of ours got into a serious car accident that left him paralyzed.  The news was shocking.  We had just seen him a few weeks prior and the event just didn't seem like a possible one.  There's no way it could have happened.  He had just come to the house for lunch and he was fine.  He STILL had to be fine.  Right?  It's the only thing that made sense.

Sadly, reality was masked by the first stage of grief and I refused to accept what was the truth.  Our friend was paralyzed.  The car accident DID happen.  It was sickeningly real.  I wondered how things like this happen to people like HIM.  How do they happen to GOOD PEOPLE?  Kind-hearted, honest, loving people?  Daddy's?  Men who have little ones at home?  Little kids that want to cling to your legs and run around in the backyard with you?  How do they happen?

Our friend has been in a rehabilitation center since the accident - working hard to regain movement in different parts of his body.  I remember trying to get in touch with him for the very first time, not really knowing when an appropriate time was to call.  Not really knowing what to say if the call went through.  We were both (Phil and I) one big ball of nerves.  Did he want us to call to begin with?  Did he need more time?  Did he know that we had been thinking of him?  Should we act like ourselves and just try to make him laugh?  Was it okay to show our sadness?  How do you ask someone in this situation how they are doing?  It was really hard to know what the right answer was.  When Phil finally got the correct number to his room and somebody picked up on the other end, I thought I was going to vomit.  I looked at Phil and told him that I couldn't do it.  I waved my arms and said I couldn't talk that day.  I was too scared.  I was already crying as it was - watching Phil nod and chat and keep it together the best he could.  I just couldn't do it.

After Phil hung up the phone that day, I remember him welling up with tears and telling me that our friend was going to be okay.  He said with a tremble, "Linds, he told me that if he is going to be a quadriplegic, then he is going to be the best quadriplegic around!"

Then we both started to cry.  And I felt so stupid.  So selfish.  I couldn't believe that after all my friend had gone through, I WAS THE ONE that was scared to get on the phone and talk.  I'm even embarrassed to tell you this story...

The next time we called him, I took a deep breath and said "HELLO!" in my usual Lindsay way.  We talked about babies and school and science and eventually.....HIM.  In the start of the latter part, I did my best to stay strong and hold back my tears.  I was really keeping it together.  But then, at one point during the conversation, I just decided to be myself and I started to cry.  The same way I cried when he came busting into my room after a parent attacked me at school.  The same way I cried when I requested a personal day from him after the doctor said I might not be able to have kids.  Yep, I cried.  I cried and I told him how cowardly I was the previous call and the real reason I wasn't able to talk was because I was afraid.  And I wasn't actually preoccupied with anything, I was sitting smack down near Phil's feet, quietly sobbing while Phil was on the phone with him.  I told him that I was sorry and embarrassed and it was not okay.

Then he proved his awesomeness all over again when he told me THANK YOU.  Thank you for caring about him so much.  He told me how much he appreciated our phone calls and valued our friendship.  It was unbelievable how he responded to my blubbering and you know what?  Things stopped being awkward.  We talked for at least twenty minutes more about the science behind his injury and how hard he was working in rehab.  Then we carried on about everyday things - like jet lag and solid foods and sleeping patterns and cradle cap.  Similar conversations have happened in other phone calls since.   

Tonight Phil had a chance to catch up with him again.  When he got off the phone, he told me that our friend will be sending us a video showing off some of the movement he's regained in his legs.  I couldn't help but get emotional.  Our friend is a fighter and his spirit has shined so brightly through this tragedy.  What Phil told me after the first phone call sums up his personality perfectly.  There's nobody else like him - nobody else that would embrace a life change like this one with such grace and optimism.  I admire him to no end.  How lucky we are to have this man in our lives.

Thank you for all of the life lessons you have taught us, SJ.  We are becoming better people because of you.  Sending nothing but LOVE and POSITIVE THOUGHTS across the Atlantic!  We love you!

XOXO

TRICK OR TREAT!!!!!!

Nory's first Halloween was a big success.  She got to dress up in THREE DIFFERENT "Halloween" outfits:  she was Dorothy at the autumn fair, sported orange and black on Halloween morning, and went trick or treating as Kuwait's cutest pumpkin!  Here are some pictures of the last holiday before Christmas (yes, I feel the need to sneak reminders in wherever I can):

We really celebrated the holiday ALL DAY LONG.  This picture was taken at 5 a.m.  The outfit is courtesy of Grandma and Grumps!

We managed to capture a smile, but she wasn't the biggest fan of this costume.  Playing Dorothy was much more fun.....(not so ridiculous OR hot)...

Going door to door with a REAL pumpkin and a PRETEND pumpkin!  What gives?!  Haha, Nory visited two sets of neighbours and was spoiled with goodies from each house!

Parkinson family photo!  Costumes weren't allowed at work, but we were asked to wear red/pink in support of breast cancer.  Coincidentally, the two of us matched ;)

I have a feeling Nory is going to fall in love with Christmas.  And NOT because she has someone at home brainwashing her, but because it is legitimately THE BEST holiday around ;)

It's RHOBH Eve!

My guilty pleasure.  My pre-Juan-Pablo-on-the-Bachelor reality show fix.  Fingers crossed for a JUICIER-THAN-REAL-LIFE season ;)

GYM(NASIUM) RAT.

I don't mean to be bias, but sometimes I REALLY DO feel like we have the best baby ever.  THE BEST, BEST.  I mean.....she just goes with the flow and finds happiness in whatever we seem to get up to.  Yesterday we left the house at 9 a.m. and didn't return until 6 p.m.  She was at the IHOP for breakfast, shopped around the mall, and then spent 6 hours at the school watching a volleyball tournament.  She was AS. GOOD. AS. GOLD.  So many people think we're crazy toting her around everywhere (don't even get us started on traveling with her at Christmas!), but what they don't realize is how much she loves to get out and PEOPLE WATCH.  She's a bit like me in the sense that she gets bored easily and needs a new source of stimulation every....5 minutes?  Haha.

Anyways, you should see her at these sporting events she goes to.  She dances to the pre-game music, visits with all sorts of students and teachers, sleeps through the game sounds, crawls around on gym mats, and chases the players who are warming up for the next game.  At points where I was getting bored, I thought to myself, "when is Nory going to want to go home?!"  But she seemed quite content being where all the action was!  I wonder if this behaviour has anything to do with those 16 basketball games in her first 14 days of life.......

So - today we have a P.D. Day and then we have two days off for the new year holiday!  I didn't get around to decking the halls this weekend (because we weren't exactly home ever), so I'm hoping to do it in the next coming days.  And to all of you grinches that are scrunching up your noses at the very thought of a too-early celebration, the Starbucks RED CUPS are BACK!!!!!!!  It seems the CEO is on my side in terms of a November 1st holiday premiere ;)  It's too bad that I didn't find www.countdowntoredcups.com until this morning.  (Next year I will follow it religiously!)

Also - whilst shopping at the mall yesterday, we saw a "winter garden" at the store LUSH and Harvey Nichols had Christmas trees in the window!  THIS IS COMING FROM THE DESERT, PEOPLE!  Haha.

BRING ON THE HOLIDAY SEASON!  (Yes, I still have to blog about Halloween. But once that's over with, it's ON!)

Have a great Sunday! xoxo