The New House

More to follow, but here is a glimpse:

The Move

The countdown to the Move:

Monday:

4 days to go! I write these words while sitting in the boardroom at the buyer's Notary. I was most anxious about today. And so nauseous that I opted to forego breakfast. These were some of the thoughts that went through my head and lead to some insomnia over the last few nights:
-what if the buyer's changed their minds?
-what if the notary didn't show up
-what if we were late?

In the end, here we are a good thirty minutes in advance. We didn't get stuck on the subway. We braved -17C weather and opted for public transit...Here is hoping the rest of the day goes as planned...

Tuesday: 3 days left!

Everything went as planned yesterday. The notary appointment was quick and painless. We got quite a bit of packing done as well. And a lot of recycling and giving away...it's amazing how many things we accumulated over 6 years in our small condo! I write these words from an indoor playground. I am here with all three girls while Papa stays back to pack unencumbered...

Wednesday: 2 more days. The girls bid adieu to the condo. We dropped S1 and S2 off at Grandma's so that we could finish packing. I write these words as Baby falls asleep...I wish I could do the same. The baby woke up often last night. And with all the anxiety of the recent days I find myself exhausted...

Thursday: 1 more day!!!

We went to the notary this morning, signed some papers, and got the keys to our new house! We spent the next few hours meeting with two very important people: the baby proofer, and my uncle. The baby proofer got to work after we toured the house together for nearly an hour. She erected gates, placed latches, and installed a few more things to make our home safer for the girls. As for my uncle, he will be painting most of the walls, and tearing down one non-load-bearing wall between the kitchen and the family room. He will return tomorrow with the crew to get started...
We left the new home far later than planned, and as I write these words we still haven't finished packing, and the movers arrive in 8 hours. Lucky for me I had to take a break and feed the baby, and put her to sleep. Thus a few moments to add to my blog entry!

Friday:
We did it. We moved! It took much longer than anticipated, but it's done! I am not as excited as I thought I would be at the prospect of unpacking...

The Girls Celebrate Papa's Birthday

Papa's birthday falls on Saint-Patrick's Day, and this Monday, the Girls helped him celebrate in a low key way...

They had recently been to their cousin's birthday party and requested that I make a similar cake, covered in Smarties and bordered with Kitkat. I looked it up on Pinterest, and it seemed simple enough. After breakfast, we baked the cake. Less than an hour later, it was out of the oven, and cooling on a rack. The Girls were anxious to decorate, and it was difficult to explain that we needed to let it sit for a while...

The rest of the day was uneventful...Before lunch we went out to play in the snow while the sleeping baby stayed back with Papa, who incidentally, was working from home. Later on in the afternoon, while our toddler napped, our preschooler coloured two birthday cards: one for Papa, and a larger one for herself!

After dinner, we decorated the cake together, and what fun we had! First we placed 40 individual Kitkat sticks around the cake onto some sticky icing. Next, we poured two large containers of Smarties on top. We didn't have any candles, so we simply sang him Happy Birthday, then dug into a very tasty and very sweet cake!

5 minutes after digging in!

How to pack with the kids

With moving day looming, I am starting to get a little nervous. I have been slowly packing for several weeks, but progress is slower than anticipated. 

I would be a lot more efficient were it not got the kids...but alas, that is rarely the case. Here is my formula for packing the house up with the kids:

Step 1. Put the baby to sleep. Or have someone watch the baby.

Step 2. Give the older girls some boxes to colour or play with.

Step 3. Pack a few boxes quickly before the baby needs you, or the girls tire of the boxes...

So you see why progress us slow...

the girls try Winter Ice Cream

The girls love ice cream, especially in the hot summer months. I came across an interesting recipe for what I like to call winter ice cream. The girls were very excited, and helped their Mama prepare the winter ice cream.

We placed six cones in mini-muffin tins. We then filled them 2/3 of the way with cake batter (any will do). Next, we baked them for 20 minutes at 350F. The girls enjoyed watching them rise, and our toddler mentioned that one had overflowed by saying the "ice cream was dripping".

After letting the cones cool for 5 minutes, we added the icing. As we used white icing, the end result actually looked like ice cream. The girls eagerly decorated them with sprinkles.

I would say that winter ice cream was a hit. Even though the only one to finish his entire cone was Papa. The girls gobbled down the icing and were part way through the cones when they tired...

The Girls attend their first Mini-Olympics

Posing at the entrance

I did not know quite how to explain it to them...Last Thursday we headed towards the aquatic centre where the girls attend swimming lessons. But rather than going to the swimming pool as we usually do on Tuesdays, we were heading for the gym to attend a special activity set up by volunteers. The girls had never heard the term "Olympics" before, but they quickly picked up on the fun. There was the opening ceremony, followed by a number of sports including ski-jumping and curling; and it ended with an awards ceremony. All in a non-competitive environment geared towards 3-6 year olds. Thankfully they allowed our two year-old to tag along!

Opening Ceremonies

Ski Jumping

Snowboarding

Snowboarding

Alpine Skiing

Curling

Curling

Hockey

Bobsleigh

Figure Skating

Receiving their Medals 

Showing off their certificates of participation

Our Preschooler Turns Four!

Barely a week after her sister's 2nd birthday, our pre-schooler turned four. This was the first year that she seemed to understand the concept of a birthday. In fact, she asked for a few very specific gifts: a new tennis racket, some tennis balls, and roller skates. She also picked out her own cake:

 And just before bed on the eve of her fourth birthday, she requested pancakes. As I was all alone with the three girls on her actual birthday, I made two things ahead of time: the cake minus the icing, and the pancakes, which I froze.

On the morning of her birthday, we wished her a Happy Birthday.  She asked "how many years did I grow?", to which she herself proudly answered "1-2-3-4!".

 After a sweet breakfast of wholewheat pancakes topped with maple syrup, we decide to head outside to the local farmer's market. While still below 0, the weather was rapidly improving. The baby and toddler sat in the double stroller, while my pre-schooler walked next to me. The girls enjoyed some fresh croissants as a mid-morning snack while their younger sister slept soundly.

 On the way home, we stopped to play in the snow. It was a good thing they had thought to pack their shovels!

Back at home the rest of the day flew by. While my toddler slept, my four-year old enjoyed some arts and crafts. When Papa arrived home from work, he took care of the baby while the two older girls and I decorated the cake. Here is the final product...not quite like the photo, but our toddler was none-the-less pleased.

After dinner, she huffed and puffed and blew her candle out on the fourth attempt. The cones were in the way!

 Next up, they opened some gifts which they played with the rest of the evening.

And before bed, our pre-schooler asked "when will it be my birthday again?"