maple and scone

It was a picturesque trip. We took the  back roads  for hours. Going through small villages, fields, herds of sheep and cows. We stopped and picnicked by a river. By this description, you would think it was perfect. Not so much... We decided to cheap out on our hotel for this road trip...and it showed. We slept in our clothes, left the hotel as soon as we woke up -6:30 am and showered the second we got home. EKK! The last leg of our trip was full of twists and steep hills and poor little A. couldn't handle it from the backseat. He threw up his whole breakfast all over the car and his brand new car-seat. And to top off our first road trip was accidentally extended by over an hour because someone misread directions (ahem.. that would of been me, oups) in pouring rain, in a stinky puky car, a cranky child that wanted out of this disgusting car seat and two snappy adults that desperately wanted to shower. So folks, the pictures were pure perfection,...

Change is challenging for little ones.  photo credit: teepeelearning A. has been a trooper through all of this. Skipping naps, eating on the go and sleeping on air mattresses, on cots, in playpen's and even in bed with us. Through it all, he's been amazing, but we've noticed a lot of questioning and anxiety in his behaviour Having to always know where we are: Where's Maman? Where's Dada? Asking where certain things are: Where's Maman's red car? Is this Dada's blue car? Where's home? These are legitimate good questions, but they are difficult to answer twenty thousand times a day. We tried to explain things best we could in terms he understood. The red car is at Opa's. We are going to pick up the keys to the new house. All your toys are in this big truck. photo credit: teepeelearning A. was in charge of the keys from the rental office to the house. He was in charge of exploring the house first. We also promised we would unpack h...

Living in bags for 30 days gets long.  It's exciting at first, no cleaning, no cooking, no household responsibilities.  Then, reality sets in…  You are never alone, the limited toys you brought with you are not as attractive anymore . Restaurant food gets old. Everyone has to go to bed at 7:00 pm... unless you are lucky enough to have a hotel suite. I'm not usually the complaining  type, but   it's been challenging. Little A. hasn't been sleeping well and we are  so  over lumpy beds.  I've figured a few tricks to surviving life in hotels with toddlers.  Make sure the hotel has a pool and utilize it as much as possible Make friends with other couples with kids in the hotel.. (Trade toys, books and they  can play together while mum and dad eat or have a drink) Buy fresh food at the local grocery store and have picnics                        ...

Packing and moving can be a stressful time for anyone. Knowing an amazing adventure is awaiting reminds you that a sweet reward will come from all of this chaos.  The movers packed, boxed, wrapped and moved our entire lives and memories into one lonely container. Now this container is making its journey across the Atlantic to our new home. In the meantime, we wait anxiously... Now, bare of our possessions, we go and say our goodbyes to our loved ones.  Not an easy task! We spent the long weekend in the Muskokas enjoying the pinery nature, some Kayaking and wood fire pizzas ( a family tradition). We celebrated Canada day with family and ate our fair-share of ketchup chips, butter tarts, maple walnut ice cream and drank a few delicious Canadian Caesars.  We felt extra patriotic this year and I know we will miss any little Canadian things, sayings and traditions, but we are so excited to discover new things in the United Kingston.  Saying Goodbye...