grand opening of Place de la cité

Can YOU do this?? (picture above)



Today was the grand opening of a neighborhood gathering spot. This winter, it was a skating rink, and this summer, it will be a community, cultural gathering area.

There was actually not much publicity regarding this event so not many people attended. The city rented 4 blown up tents for the kids to play in so it was GREAT! Maelie, Tristan and Adamo had them almost all to themselves for quite a while.



We even had a bunch of aspiring jugglers perform for us!



There was a musical group - 18 people if I remember well! The music was nice and lively.



The sun was out all afternoon! It was great! Maelie is completely exhausted now!

Don't you love Queen Victoria?

I love anyone who allows you to have a paid day off! Today is Victoria Day.
Maelie and I went to the wave pool and had a great time! We spent 2 and a half hours riding the waves and swimming! How exhausting! Maelie also went down the big slide !

I must honestly say, as an overweight person, a lot of times, people stare when I walk around in a bathing suit. Good thing I am comfortable with who I am! One thing I remind myself when I see parents sitting at the side of the pool staring while I am in the pool with Maelie is that... at least I am making an effort and I am active with my child. I could sit at the edge of the pool and be self conscious and not participate, but I know that these memories will stay with Maelie and if she is ever teased about having an overweight parent, well I was always very involved in her life and she was never deprived because of my weight. This is a message I would love for all overweight people to understand. Don't let society drag you down! Be active, be involved, prove to yourself that you can do anything!

Moving on... I couldn't take any pictures of our fun afternoon because we were not allowed cameras in the pool area! But I did take a picture of Maelie by the river. We stopped on our way through Rockcliffe Parkway.



What a BEAUTIFUL day off!!

Craft storage!

I've always had a problem with my storage. I enjoy having lots of room to put my craft material, but I also like when it is handy (as in not in the far corner of the basement). Since I prefer crafting at the kitchen table since it is convenient and bright, I decided to have Bill put up some pantries. One pantry is for food and recipe books, and the 2 others are for crafting.



They fit perfectly beside the guineas and our table is small enough to not feel cluttered.

Fair and Tulip festival again

This week, the weather was so nice one day that I picked Maelie up at school (with Tristan)and we headed off to the Victoria Day fair (not just on Victoria Day .. it lasts 10 days). It's just a small area of rides and shows right at Dow's Lake. So of course we did a few rides, got cotton candy and then went to visit the tulips again!









You might be able to tell... i LOVE the beauty of spring !!

another favorite

I really like this card that I made this weekend while crafting with Jacinthe.

Just a little bonus picture of Maelie today.

Happy Mother's Day & visit to Omega Park

This tree looks like it is running away.
Happy Mother's Day to all the lovely moms in the world. None of us would exist if it weren't for mothers!

Today we decided to head out to Omega Park in Montebello for a nice visit. We left with a few lbs of apples and about 30 lbs of carrots, and some cracked corn. We had a blast! See pictures below to see how fun it was.

Tulip Festival

Anyone who enjoys pictures definitely needs to come to the Tulip Festival in Ottawa.

I enjoy going yearly now. We went on Saturday with my friend Jacinthe (from my college days) who was visiting this weekend. Some of the tulips were not in bloom yet so we may have to go back before the end of the festival to get more pictures in other areas!

my absolute favorite card

The beads are made of glass, the butterfly has glitter and it's adaptable to any occasion.

The picture doesn't do it justice at all!

out of guilt and sympathy

As some may know, Bebe lapin was roomates with Guinoo. They were together since we got them at the pet store 15 months ago. After Bebe lapin's passing, every time i walked pass Guinoo I started crying. I felt horribly guilty for him lonliness and confusion. He was also mourning the loss of a companion.

In order to make things easier for Maelie and Guinoo, we headed off to the same pet store to see if they had guineas to keep Guinoo company. We needed a male of course as we would prefer NO BABIES!

Well, surprise surprise, we found a brother! a twin brother! only much much smaller.



I was also praying that the 2 would get along...because the whole point was for
Guinoo to have a companion. If he hated the companion, it would be much harder that I thought.

Turns out, Guinoo is in love. I mean, look at the little thing... spitting image of him!



Mini-guinea, as Maelie calls him, cannot take away the pain from losing Bebe lapin, but he can raise our spirits a little.

My heart still breaks at every thought of him. Every picture I see breaks my heart. I honestly must say I have never loved a pet so much before.

Rest in peace Bébé lapin

well, the mystery is over. Bébé lapin was found in the house, and he had passed away.

Yesterday we removed all the furniture from Maelie's room and put it in our room., to put new floating floors. When I moved Maelie's mattress, i let it fall on the floor when I got in my bedroom. Unfortunately, the rabbit was under the mattress. We didn't know this at the time.

Bill finished the floor and so we started moving furniture back in this afternoon. When I moved the bed, there was Bebe lapin. My heart broke at that moment.

Goodbye our dear friend.

Sad household

Well, we don't have much good news this weekend... Bébé lapin ran away from home. I am not sure exactly when it happened, but I suspect it was at around 3 pm Saturday when I brought the groceries inside. We have walked around the neighborhood many times, even at 4 am when I was unable to sleep, to no avail.

We put up a few posters and I left a message at the local SPCA.

Hopefully he is safe, or if he has passed away, that he didn't suffer.

We only have wonderful memories of Bebe lapin being part of our family. He brought so much joy into our lives!

here is his baby picture:


We'll miss you Bebe!

Scrapbooking layout 6X6

I got this idea from Tracie yesterday. I thought it was the most adorable scrapbook layout ever! I had to change a couple of things due to the lack of similar tools... but it turned out great. The picture is a bit worn at the top (has had push pins inserted into it!) but I love it anyway. It's one of my favorite professional baby pics.

Playing with beads & upcoming weekend

Yesterday i finally was able to try out a few cards with a few added beads! If you look closely, the circles on the white part of the cards are beads.



(pardon the little fingers in the bee picture! Maelie couldn't help herself.



If ever I send you a card with beads, please save it for at least a month! It took me quite a long time to thread them in! haha

On another note.... we just woke up and the sun is shining very bright! It's going to be a wonderful weekend. Maelie has 2 birthday parties to attend. It's also the tulip festival which has got me all excited! I can't wait to take pictures of Maelie with the flowers. Of course, i have yet to get complete cooperation when it comes to pictures! But I am determined to try. We will be heading out to Dow's Lake area this time around. When I drove by yesterday however, not all the tulips were in bloom. Hopefully with this sun, they will all bloom today!!