My beautiful children...

I brought the kids to get some professional pics done; these are scanned copies of some of the better proofs. We did another shoot with Tamaya and I am hoping the next batch is less shiny..lol, and we are going to do another shoot outdoors this spring/summer!

Still here...

For all you daily "checkers" I'm so sorry for not having blogged lately. I have been VERY busy trying to get Ty back to a secure place again. (We seem to be making some headway... but I may have another little therapy to do before he is back!!!) Between that burning me out and just normal day to day I feel like I haven't had a chance to sit down in weeks to just blog.. or I guess I could say I haven't made time, I am sure it would have felt pretty therapeutic to just write and vent.


Ty has been mourning his birth-family & Haiti in general. He regressed, has been reacting, not sleeping his nights, and all in all needing to feel secure. He has even been reacting at school and BITE an older student after the 5th grader "rejected" him. My poor little man.. I wish I could just take away all of his insecurities, take away his feelings of not belonging and make it all better for him!

It all started with a talk about a visit to Haiti... then I thought it would help him to help make his yearly birth family parcel. He is mourning his birth-family (especially his b-mom)...

Anyways I've got to run out and get my taxes done (keep your fingers crossed we get a big chunk back!), but I will make time to blog in the next couple days. Just wanted to let you all know we are alive..lol, but just going through some stuff.

Pictures, for real...

Enjoying their new shades.
Making Pizza
Steve's dog eaten pizza
Watching a movie with popcorn in the tent.

Love date!!! Part 1 & 2

We had a nice enjoyable love date, unfortunately Steve lost his pizza to the dog..lol

Ty's been up since 3:30am so it's been quite the day around here ;-)

Have a nice weekend!

Happy Valentine's day!!!...

Love date...

I decided to do something extra special for Valentines day! I am going to set up the kid tent so we can have a sleepin' over in the living room, blow up balloons, get the kids some special valentines day "love gifts" ( hubby is included in that "kid" category) Pop some corn, put on a movie and have a fun and exiting LOVE date with my family!

I told Ty about it and he is soooo excited, he is doing the countdown to valentines day! I will try and remember to take some pics to share.

I made some "art" for my room ;-)
Click the picture to enlarge

Tamaya made her bed, honesty she is too cute and sooo helpful!

I try and send Ty healthy-ish leftover lunches at school (each class has a microwave), sometimes I will also make him wraps & try and get creative, but sometimes I am at a loss and have NO CLUE what to send... so, I made some salmon pies today to freeze for those days we are sans left overs or out of ideas ;-)

Also made some little apple pie tarts, I had some pie shells left and apples in the fridge that probably won't last very much longer. They are YUMMY!!!

Tamaya grooving...

Sorry about the lighting!!! I wish I had half of my childrens energy ;-)

My princesses...

Check out the heals, the boy can walk better in heals than I can...

Another cancelled bus day!!!???...

It's 7:45am Steve's been gone to work for an hour and my 2 lovely children are still sleeping... WOW I have managed to have a cup of coffee uninterrupted! I can tell ya... that doesn't happen to often. I can almost guarantee Ty was up in the night. He never sleeps in like this.

I HAD an 9:00 appointment to get my van fixed up (they need to replace something with the power steering thingy) But low and behold it looks like it will be another house bound day. We have another bus cancellation day due to possible freezing rain. This is the 4th time in the last couple weeks that the buses have been cancelled in our area... CRAZY!!! I better think up something fun to do to keep the kids to keep them from going crazy (well, really myself)!!! I guess I can get the kids to work on Valentines day cards..lol

So my room... I AM IN LOVE - It does feel so nice to go into my nice fresh bedroom. I feel like an adult, like I have a place all to myself!

My room used to be the hang out spot. The kids would go in and play, watch the TV, jump on the bed (not that that was permitted, but they still did it!) When I was taking the room apart I found some spiderman dudes between my mattress and box-spring, I also found a few cars under the bed!!! But not no more. I have decided my room is now only open by invitation only ;-) ....But because I did that, I also had to make another "hang out" upstairs - you know, for those time I need to cook, clean etc. and still have the kids close enough so they are still in ears reach!
I had been reluctant to put a TV in my family room. I didn't want it to take away from the quiet, cozy atmosphere. When I added the TV from my room it looked so silly and bulky and I wasn't going to have it - until I had a vision of a flat screen on my fireplace mantle... and that changed everything. We are not big TV watchers, but I love music (the bell express view galaxy music channels). I love it for background noise and I especially find it motivating when I have to get my butt in gear so I NEEDED an upstairs TV. So off I went shopping and added a new piece to my "cozy" living room!!!

Tamaya GROOVING ;-) (and the new TV)

Ty with his yogurt mustache

Tamaya striking a pose?!?

Playing with Jake - (Don't mind her lovely attire of pj's and pink socks..lol!)

The mustache...again!

pretty girl - eating her breakfast yesterday
Right on!!!
My new bedroom curtains - Can you beleive it, I payed $10 for each panel and even got another $5 off - $15 for curtains!!! WOW
My mother in law bought me this for Christmas. I just love it! translated from French it says... A mothers love is filled with happiness and tenderness.

And the winner is....

Patricia with her submission of T 'n T!!!

As the winner of the blog title contest Patrica will receive personal Valentine's day cards from no other than T 'n T!

Enjoy the new name and the new look!

~~~

I got it...

I called the furniture store a few days ago to ask if they were on schedule building me my bedroom suite and she said "actually we are just about done"... WOOOHOOO! We made a delivery day - Friday (today).

I went to look at it yesterday (WOW) and pay the remainder of my bill and was informed that we were expecting a huge storm Friday and that it probably wouldn't be delivered until Monday. :-( But when the boss came to talk to me, he asked what I was doing that afternoon and that they could deliver it in a few hours!!!

So the logical thing to do would have been to go straight home and empty my room right? Nope, not me - logic went right out the window long ago... I went shopping for room accessories. I found some GORGEOUS throw pillows, a throw for the end of my bed, some new chocolate brown sheets, some bamboo type place-mats, some baskets for inside the armoire! I was very pleased with my purchases! I came home with an hour to spair to empty & vacuum my room. LOTS of time..hahaha

So the only problems with the new set - I love it so much I keep opening my bedroom door to peek at it, which is soooo unproductive :-)

The bed and nightstands - for some reason the flash from the camera is changing the true color of the stain - it's actually more of an espresso.

My cool pillows ;-)

The dresser
My armoire
My nick-nacks/place-mats

My living room with my old room in it - lovely!!! ( I have to tackle that today!!!) Wish me luck!!!

My relationship with Haiti...

I have always had mixed feelings about Haiti…

I watched a video that is posted on another blog and it evoked so many emotions. It reminded me of everything I love and dislike about my other country. (I will post the link for the video below)

I love the sound of Creole and how I have come to understand it, I love how despite most circumstances Haitians have such a “joy de vive” and are so beautiful. I love Haitian music; I love the crisp mountain air. I love the fact that Haiti is forever going to be part of our family.

But… Haiti scares the crap out of me, it does. My last trip was much less frightening – maybe because I actually had to “live” there, and it was relatively safe at the time (and well, I was staying at the Montana).
I am scared of all the potential foreign diseases, malaria, hep, parasites, food born illnesses etc. I am afraid of potential violence, especially in a foreign country. I am afraid of the lack of accountability, how many people with any “power” thinks they own the country. I hate that my “extended family” have to live day-by-day lacking essentials.

Although I have conflicting feelings about “my other country”, I have been careful in trying to portrait Haiti in a positive light to my children. I have not sugar coated some of the hardships many Haitian face on a daily basis, but I have always encouraged my children to be proud to be Haitian-Canadian and to talk about all the beauty Haiti has to offer!

A trip to Haiti with Ty has been in the talking stage, I am thinking that within the next couple of years I would love to take a trip with him and have him reacquaint himself with his original roots (maybe even meet his Biological mother – if we can find her by then). I would love for my children to know their other country first hand, for them to feel it, smell it, hear it… I don’t want to wait until they are in their late teens to re-introduce them and have them feel like they may have missed out… On the other hand, I want to protect my children and keep them safe in my little “Canadian bubble”.

Video link

Fajita or Faita...

I came home from the grocery store yesterday and Steve asked if I bought the stuff to make "fajitas" (he pronounced the j) I laughed at him and told him he needed to learn to "spell" and that I even noticed he spelled it wrong on the list... He told me he was right and we jokingly argued about for a few minutes until we decided to make a bet about it.
I was soooo convinced I was right, and said whatever bet we made had to be a GOOD one. We came to the agreement that the loser had to do dishes for a full week. Next time I will do my homework 'cause I obviously lost and will have dish hands for a while :-(
I hate when I am convinced I am right and I am so wrong...lol

***

Great days...

Beautiful Tamaya

The pirate...

Ty very seriously trying to "win"

Oh man - That was TOO FUNNY.

The little bugger flew right into the....

Dog dish ;-)

We have been having such great days around here. This weekend was so nice and relaxing. I got to spend some nice one on one with the kids. We played with Ty's magnetics, a few games of pop up pirate and Steve and Ty even played with Ty's soldiers. It was too cute to see Steve get all flustered with Ty "touching" his display..lol I had to remind Steve who's toys they were and that he was the adult... :-)

Saturday night Steve and I went to a nice supper with friends of ours. It was a nice evening and just what I needed... a night with ADULTS!!!

On Sunday afternoon we all huddled in my room, the kids and Steve played on the ground and I watched my family in admiration. A few times I caught myself feeling happy tears coming! Awwww what a life :-)

My dear son...

A few days ago Ty got off the bus . He was acting funny. When I ask him how his day went he told me he had a great day at. I told how how happy and proud I was of him and to keep up the good work.

We got home and he proceeded to tell me....

"I asked a girl on my bus if she wanted to be my girlfriend and if she wanted to have a date."

I'm sure I looked stunned - 'cause I was feeling pretty speechless. I did manage to get over myself and asked him what the girl said...

"mom, she said no, she is to young to date"

"How did that make you feel bud?"

" A little sad mom, but that's ok. I'm going to ask another girl tomorrow."

"Ugh, NO... Ty you are also to young to date and have a girlfriend"

"When can I have girls in my room then?"

"Ugh... NEVER - Once you are married, maybe!"

MAN, OH MAN, OH MAN, OH MAN, OH MAN!!!!!!

*****

Who is Sue...

You know...I have been feeling like a mom, yes, a mom. I love being a mom, but I am so much more than that! I am Sue. I couldn't have dreamt up such a wonderful life for myself. I adore my hubby and my children, but occasionally I find myself on a road to self discovery. I sometimes question who I really am. I go through spurts of wanting a change in life. Something that is exclusively mine - something I can excel at. I find it hard to find that special something... and it seems that once I do find something of interest I get bored with it and want to move on to something else... I like to dab in all sort of things I guess.

I took on a project for my sister (actually I am doing an essay for one of her classes..sssshhhhh!) I thought this would be a great way for me to feel like I was doing something "intelligent", and have a challenge.. yeah well... it's freaken HARD! I barely came out of high school with passing grades (apparently you actually have to show up to classes to do good!) and now I take on this university essay?!? Yup, DUMB A$$. But I have to admit - I kind of feel like I'm doing something for me. (even though it's for her!)

I still wonder and think of what I would like to do when I grow up... I thought about maybe taking some on-line college courses?!? Some that would amount to an actual career once the kids are both in school full time. But again I find myself in a situation of being afraid of committing to something and getting bored with it, wasting both my time and money.

That was my deep thoughts for today.. have a great weekend ;-)

Vote for your favorite...

To the left are the names in the running. Pick to vote for your favorite and it will become the new name for the blog!!!

Happy voting!!!

Name change...

Edited this morning
Are you all thinking?, I've had 40+ views since this post... nobody has anything...c'mon don't be shy???

I have been racking my brain trying to come up with a new blog name.
The current name is so... last year ;-)

I thought it would be fun to have a little reader contest!!!

Think of a cool new name -Leave your suggestions in the comment section.

*** If your name suggestion is chosen you will received a little somffin-somffin ;-) ***

(if you know us personally please no use of any identifying info)

Happy thinking and good luck!!!

Long update...

I feel like I have REALLY neglected the blog... Ooopsy - maybe now that life is somewhat back to normal I will back to blogging regularly.

So for a long overdue update, here it is...

We got through Christmas..lol I was actually nice to go back home and spend some much needed time away with loved ones. I love going home and spending time with family. I really wish we lived closer sometimes. It would be nice to go to my parents and in-laws for Sunday dinners and have "built-in" babysitter..lol When we travel I never feel like I have enough time to spend with everyone. It's hustle and bustle, from one house to the other. The kids get out of their routine and it's chaos... so coming home was nice too!!!

Everyone bought tooo much for the kids. I spent 2 days in the playroom re-organising/throwing out broken toys.. but alas it is good to go now!!!
Us parents were actually SPOILED as well. Steve got a snow-blower (thanks to his parents !!!) and I, a bedroom suite (thanks to hubby!). I finally, finally found one! I am getting a custom set made. Dresser w/ mirror, an armoire, a couple of end tables and a headboard/Foot-board bed frame. It's all solid pine. I am getting it stained in a dark espresso. It should be ready the first week of Feb, I will be sure to post pics once I get it.

Steve was off for over 3 weeks and I must admit it was soooo nice to spend time as a family. We really needed it. Since the arrival of our newest addition life was busy and stressful, but with our family time we seemed to have bonded at a deeper level.

Steve and Tamaya had a few good bonding moments. She is getting better at letting him be her father :-) Which has in turn helped me refresh! Steve and Ty had a few good snowmobiles rides and Steve and I had some much needed relationship time. We enjoyed quiet evenings watching movies, talking and just being a couple. It felt like it had been so long. On new years eve we opted to stay in and have a date night! We had a delicious fondue sans kids (we waited until we put them to bed)! It was nice!

I have really started to fall deeply in love with Tamaya!!!! I have had a whole lot of OH MY GOSH I LOVE HER moments. My heart is all goo goo for my toutou. I decided to let some of my "training mode" go and just appreciate her. She is SUCH a good girl. Honestly I am so blessed to have the honor to parent such an angel. It's a work in progress and I am so happy it's going in the right direction!

My Ty seems to have grown up a whole lot in the last little while. Being a big bro & being a school boy actually changed him & he has matured a whole lot. He is taking his "job" very seriously. Before Tamaya's homecoming I had these daydreams/nightmares of what I was in for. I couldn't of been so wrong. Ty is so thoughtful. He is always thinking about her and making sure that she is "hooked up". Even at school, if the teacher has a colouring page for them to bring home he will insist that he needs one for Tamaya! He got some gift bags from his teachers for Christmas and he shared them with Tamaya as well. I am really amazed at how much he respects and adores her.

Besides all that, in general life is going really good, I'm not feeling overwhelmed or stressed..lol. I am just enjoying being me, I kind of feel like the "old" me is coming back and I must admit it feels mighty nice!

DIVA...

Happy New Year!!! We have spent a very pleasant few weeks together as a family. Ty goes back to school on Monday and hubby is returning Thursday - life I as know it will get back to "normal" and I will be back then to update you all on the past few GREAT weeks we have spent together ;-)