June .. no, you mean January!

What a JUNE!! Cold, rainy, dull .. if I wanted to live in England, I'd move there. Granted, today is a sunny morning so far but it's also the first day we've seen seen sun since last week. Early last week at that!
So, what has June brought thus far? Not much of anything really. Slight flooding in the back yard. Yay for being the same level as the pond back there (*sarcasm*) .. That makes mowing the grass a tad difficult since I have to wait for the lawn to dry up.
It's hard to believe the first week of June is over. I am loving how fast the time is going by because I have many more months to go before Jon gets home but for now Rianne and I are managing solo.
The kittens are growing and will most likely have to be spayed and neutered this Summer. Not looking forward to that. Last time we had cats fixed they sent one of them back home with us while they were still out like a light. The waking up/drunk phase is hard on the nerves!
Rianne is doing great. I was planning on getting her into a preschool in the Fall but I don't think finances are going to allow it. It's crazy expensive even to go part-time (twice a week).

Right now I am looking forward to the big Canada Day parade here in town (July 1st) and then the next thing will be Halloween. I love Halloween and I can't wait to decorate the front porch. Four more months!!

Weight loss is going okay. Could be better if I was more active though. I'm not getting the big weekly numbers that I was getting in the beginning. Right now I'm happy with a 1 lb loss where before I was getting 4 or 5 lb losses. I have to find something to challenge myself with. The Wii Fit isn't doing it for me anymore. The 30 minute free step is the only thing I like but that's because I turn the music channels on and go at my own pace and I get in about 3500 steps in 30 minutes on average. Sometimes I sabotage that number by doing leg lifts during the routine just for an extra calorie burn and a better workout. My goal is to do at least 30 minutes every evening and maybe up to 60 minutes or more depending on Rianne's behaviour. She is sometimes too high spirited and too demanding which interferes but the good thing is the Wii has a pause button that I can engage, deal with her and then get back to it without losing my progress. The obvious thing would be to workout after she goes to bed but she hears the Wii and refuses to settle so I get the workout in after cartoons go off at 6 PM. Lots of time to get in a good calorie burn before she goes to bed between 8:00 and 8:30.
I have a $600 Halifax shopping spree riding on the loss of another 25 lbs (total loss of 50 lbs by October 1st).

There's always room at the Inn for kitties

Yesterday was kitten day. Originally it was only going to be ONE kitten but Jon decided when he went to pick it up that maybe it would need a playmate. So, here we are, our little family of 3 expanded to welcome 2 kittens.

GILBERT




TABATHA

Here's hoping Jon is correct with the genders because getting Rianne to budge on the names would be like pulling teeth out of a hen.

They are wonderful little kittens and I'm glad he brought home two because they make great companions for one another and it probably cut down on the separation anxiety a lot. They didn't meow all night long which is great! They aren't shy at all. They didn't hide when they arrived. They sit beside you or on your lap and sleep. Very social for being young.

Oh to be 4 again!

Rianne won't officially be four until tomorrow but we had her party on the 10th (Saturday). On Friday her and her dad went to pick up grandpa and grandma Keachie at the airport. It was supposed to be a quick trip there and back. Low and behold there were delays and diversions and they didn't get back here to the house until after 1 AM!! Seriously! Rianne was asleep when Jon carried her into the house and he put her right to bed. I thought for sure she was going to be a little miss cranky pants the next day for her party but she managed to sleep in until after 9 AM so the party mood was a good one. Whew!

The house was full of good food and good friends. It would have been great if we had the seating to accommodate everyone. A lot of people were standing but that's just something we will improve on next year :)
All in all, she had a fabulous birthday, received some wonderful gifts.

It's hard to believe she's 4 years old. Seems like yesterday she was an infant but now she's a very independent pre-schooler. One m ore year until I'll be dropping her off for her first day of school. A whole new chapter in our lives will begin :)

P.S. This was the first party we have hosted in our house .. yay!!

Easter Events

We opted to do Easter for Rianne in March when we were in Cape Breton. I threw together a basket and my mom put her basket of goodies together. It consisted of almost every Breyer/Saddle Club horse from the Sears catalog.

She loved everything she got from her Nanny. As for the basket from the "Easter Bunny" ... not so much, lol.
On the actual Easter weekend we went back to Cape Breton where Rianne participated in her first ever Easter Egg Hunt:

Next year we're just going to make it a family event, start planning it in February and just have all the kids get together and do their own thing. Not that the public hunt was a disaster (it was well thought out in spite of the lack of advertising), I just want something on a smaller scale.

Easter Sunday found us at Two Rivers Wildlife Park and it was an absolutely beautiful day. There was another egg hunt there in the afternoon but we didn't stay for it. We saw the animals, Rianne played in the playground and then we made our way back to Inverness and got packed up for the drive to Westville.

Now the plans are in the works for someone's big 4th birthday party coming up on Saturday, thought her actual birthday is on the 13th. It's shaping up to be a big gathering .. whether or not everyone will show up is another story. I'll make a point to post more about it after things have calmed down a bit.

Desperate Housewife

Can someone tell me where all the laundry comes from? I am so thankful that we have new machines. They've been getting a good workout since they arrived.
My day consisted of housework for the most part. Gave Rianne a bath and while she was playing in the tub I cleaned her room (it's right outside the bathroom door, no worries ;)
Then I started the laundry this morning and just finished not that terribly long ago. For real! Almost ALL DAY doing laundry and the same yesterday and we are only a family of THREE!!
Then I tidied up the main floor. I took down Rianne's IKEA Igloo tent. I just put it up last week thinking she'd love it and play in it but she didn't so it's gone again. I'm glad it was an easy set up and take down.
Then I mopped the floors and wiped down the stairs (by hand) and got in between the spindles.

I've been keeping my food intake in check as well as the water. I have a deep dish chicken pie in the oven at the moment for supper so there's 500 calories just in 1/4 size serving. I'm glad I refrained from snacking today! I won't have very many calories left over this evening for my snack while watching Ghost Hunters.

Adios January

It's hard to believe that it's the 27th of January and Rianne and I were at the park this afternoon and we weren't bundled up like an Eskimo. It is +2 Celsius here today and all the rain we had yesterday really ate away at the snow.
She had an absolute blast going through the puddles with her rain boots on. It was fabulous to get out for some fresh air and exercise. I wasn't about to let a beautiful day go to waste. The housework will still be here to tackle later ... get out and burn off some energy!! We walked the trails in the park and then Rianne went to the playground. She was on the slide and I sat on the swing and watched her ... then she noticed a big mud puddle and that was the end of the slide.
As soon as we got home I stripped her down and threw her clothes right into the washing machine. Not sure now white her socks are going to be anymore.

I started dieting last week. Well working out on the Wii Fit and eating better (portion control) and keeping a food diary.
Here's my progress so far:

MyFitnessPal - Free Calorie Counter

It's a work in progress but so far so good. I hope I can keep it up this time and not fall off the wagon like I did a couple of years ago.

Ahhhh the house is starting to become a home. We're still adding our personal touches to the place. We have a long way to go but that takes time and money. We have the time, just not the latter.

One week until Christmas!

Wowzers ... time is flying!!
Our house is perfect for us and after the small renovations (kitchen, bathroom and sun porch) it will be 110% fabulous!!
I can't believe it's Christmas next week. Where did the time go? I'm looking forward to seeing Rianne's face on Christmas morning. Living through the eyes of a child is so special.


Rianne got her very first letter from Santa yesterday and she was so excited. Here she is "reading" it.

Sooooo sweet!!!!!

Anyway, all she is asking Santa for is a friend for Amanda. Amanda is the name of one of her stuffed horses. She LOVES horses and has a lot of them.
If we wake up Christmas morning to a real horse in the back yard, Santa and I are going to have a little chin wag :)

*******

As for the home renovations. We are hoping to have the kitchen and bathroom done before the Spring. They are minor things. Bathroom, taking out the big pedestal sink and putting in a smaller vanity, putting down new flooring and painting the space. The kitchen we are adding an island for more counter space and storage .. not to mention eating space since we don't have a table and chairs.
We'll get to the renovation of the sun porch in the Fall when Jon comes home from Alberta. It needs a new roof (the current one leaks like crazy. New flooring and new windows. The structure needs to be reinforced as well. We will be moving the washer and dryer to the sun porch as well because they are way too nice to be hiding out in the dungeon!
I will update here when we get things rolling.