Phew! I made it!!!!!

I've been unable to log in to my blogger account for weeks now, and had so much to tell and chat about. I'm glad I finally got in!


So, the BIGGEST news I have is that I'm going to be an Auntie!!!!!! Yipee!

Yes, my dear and only brother, Ashley, and his honey Virginia (see pic below with baby Hannah) are expecting a wee bundle in october. The month of all great things of course (heh-hem, my birthday is in that fabulous month!). And I am so excited! When friends of mine have been pregnant, I'm thinking about my friend, not the baby. Yeah babies are cute, but c'mon, seen one seen 'em all. And so my focus has always been on the adults invovled. This is different. Who gives a hooey about my brother and Virginia, SHOW ME MY LITTLE NEICE OR NEPHEW!!!!!! Who's a pretty baby? Who's a sweet little thing?? Yeah, I think I'm infected with Grandma virus, and it's gonna drive my brother nuts. But I don't care. I'm the Auntie!!!!!!




Okay, now that that is taken care of, let's move on to me. How am I? Wel, I'm alive at least. But man oh man does my body hurt. See, my running pal and general partner in motherhood survival erin rae and I have been training together for the race. We were up to a lovely 4-5K together, so we kicked it up a notch to 7K. Did great, felt proud. Then Ivy started teething = less sleep for me. And we kept running. And I slept even less, but realy feel so good about running so we kept at it. Now, I'm hurtin'. My collarbone hurts for goodness sake! I'm guessing that's from running with such huge boobs? I don't know. But it hurts. Today is a day-off of running (we run 3 times a week) and I hope I feel great tomorrow. Right now I feel lie I've had my knees stomped on by Jimmy The Chin or whomever. Ow!!!!!


But, I'm eating very well. :) I've signed up for a bunch of cooking classes, taught by my friend and fellow mother Chef Heidi Fink. She is GOOD!!!!!! I've done a Thai class and an Indian class. And yesterday (after the killer run) I made butter chicken, homemade naan bread, basmati rice and tomato onion chutney, and oh my god!!!! It was FANTASTIC!!!! Kit and I scarfed. The kids tried it, and Leif joined in the scarfing. I am now down with terms like Tamarind and sambal oelek and urad dahl . . made my own garamasala for heaven's sakes! This week is another Indian class, then next month it's great grains, and in June it's veggie summer appetisers. I figure if you're gonna play the June Cleaver role for awhile, why not do it like a star? ;)

Okay, children. They just keep getting better and funnier. Makes me want to have more of them. But not *that* much. So Hannah is most excited as she's started soccer classes, like her big bro. As you can see, her level of concentration is palpable:




As for Leif, he is, as usual, excelling in all things he tries. Soccer, swimming, lego building . . . . he takes his role as big brother seriously, always waking Ivy with his game face on. If I could capture a picture of this face I'm telling you about, you'd understand. He plasters a big grin on his face, opens his eyes wide and raises his eyebrows. He embodies a 'happy' look for the baby. And Hannah copies this look also. So they end up looking like Stepford children. Ivy loves it.

I can finally exhibit a wee bit of my own art. I'm thinking I'll get a small wallet-size shot laminated, and when people ask me what I've been up to, I can just show them this:



Kind of like a business card. Though I'm not offering my services or anything. :)


Okay, a family jam pic:



And finally, Ivy's 'big moment'. Right on schedule, just like leif and Hannah, Ivy has developed the skill and inclination to grab the Octopus' leg. You go girl!




Happy spring my lovelies!


Big C


Coming soon: Melissa's new baby (due early May) and Shona & Ryan's new baby (due late May). Lookout world, two more Gemini's join the ranks.