We are here :)

Hello from warm and sunny Florida! Actually its a little cloudy this morning but VERY warm :) Such a nice change to all that cold and snow :)

So, yesterday was quite the experience...we woke up at 3am and left the house just after 4am....At the airport we grabbed coffee and bagels before checking in to our flight.....to go to the US you have to clear US Customs and Immigration in Canada before you leave....so we had to go through endless line ups and security checks...but they didn't even ask us about the childrens different name or for a notorized letter from my Ex...after all that worry! The security check was different from the last time I flew to the US...we had to take our shoes off! Even in NY I didn't have to do that!

The first flight to Minneapolis was fine...really quick and easy.....we spent 4 hours at Minneapolis which was ok because they ahve a play area for kids and then we took the children to a deli style restaurant for a healthier lunch to the burger/ fast food alternative.....

The second flight to Orlando was a NIGHTMARE...the turbulence was just horrible and it is VERY hard to reassure a 9 year old that the plane is not going to crash when you aren't sure yourself.....if you are worried about the flight look to the flight attendants right????? Wrong! They were old miserable and VERY camp male attendants who were strapped into their seats tightly too :( So yes I was worried and the turbulence was for most of the trip :( I never want to fly again....which is a bit of a problem when I have to take two flights next week......and I actually like flying normally but it was NOT a good flight :( I was very very glad to touch down in Orlando.

We arrived in Orlando around 8pm and stepping outside of the airport was like walking into a rainforest.......rain was falling in sheets and it was so hot.....WONDERFUL!!! All around us were tropical plants and trees and it was just a great effect...the children were thrilled that we had to run across the street to the parking lot through the heavy rains.......after getting our hire car (I'm a minivan Mom again for 2 weeks!) we drove over to our Villa via the 7-11 for a few groceries....

The Villa was easy to find and it is GORGEOUS! It's absolutely HUGE and decorated so nicely! 5 big bedrooms and 3 of them have ensuites......the pool is wonderful and the deck area and hot tub great too :) We ordered pizza to be delivered as we were all hungry and while that was being delivered I unpacked all the cases and gave the children all their clothes to put away....they went off to explore the house then...the big games room with pool, fooseball, air hockey, darts and a selection of balls and pool toys....the playstation and selection of games and the selection of cd's and dvd's....

I think we eventually went to bed around 11:30pm Florida time.....

This morning we slept in and will be leaving in a short while for Florida Mall...we plan to do some shopping and then on the way home grab some groceries..then the rest of the evening will be spent relaxing here by the pool :) Basically catching up after our very busy day yesterday......then tomorrow - DISNEY :) We drove past one of the Disney Parks last night when we merged on to I-4......the children were thrilled :)

We have no coffee here!!! Only tea!!! So I am feeling a bit lost without my caffeine jolt this morning!


Anyway, we are here in Orlando, safe (thankfully!) and well and OMG I love the heat and the humidity :) I LOVE it...I may well just stay here next week and let Lloyd go back to Alberta :) I am DONE with cold and snow and long winters.....I think maybe we should move here - who cares about hurricanes and alligators.....

Actually the one thing that worries me is the spiders..do they get big spiders here? its hot and humid so probably! Yikes..haven't really seen a spider for over 4 years!

Oh and our bedroom is VAST and has this HUGE and very HIGH four poster bed in it :) Sam climbs off..well kind of falls off...with a big THUD but thinks its funny!

Bye for now :)

Time for bed.....

Everything is done, everything is packed and in the car ready to go - except for one case that we have to put toothbrushes and last minute things in tomorrow.....everyones clothes are laid out ready.....everyone is showered or bathed.....the last of the laundry is in the drier so there is NO dirty laundry....house is as tidy as it is going to get....far from perfect but the bathrooms and kitchen are clean and so are the floors....the kids rooms are tidy - so they say - although not what I consider tidy lol!

Christie phoned me to calm me down (thank you Christie!!!) and I have had two HUGE mugs of soothing tea.....children are all in bed though not asleep....

Next time I blog will hopefully be from FLORIDA Yay!!!!! :)

Goodnight!!!

1 more sleep and stressed as hell!

It's Sunday....and what a day!!! I phoned Mum and asked her to call us tomorrow morning at 3am.......and with three alarm clocks too we shouldn't oversleep. The dogs are now at the kennels....I never take them because it would break my heart to leave them there....

We went to West Ed Mall and bought a suitcase as we couldn't find the keys to our hard case and we need one for the cameras etc......while there Lloyd exchanged the clothes we needed to take back at Zellers.....I went to Regis there and had my hair cut AGAIN.....It really wasn't short enough last time and I couldn't do anything with it...so the salon manager there cut it VERY short and I love it now - very easy to deal with each day :)

We called in to Christies house afterwards to give her the keys and everything.....I got to meet Sugar - their new dog! OMG she is such a sweetheart - what a friendly sweet natured dog! Beautiful too!

A quick hi/ bye to Christie and we rushed home...Lloyd took the dogs and then had to drive Chris to Walmart because Sam broke his glasses this morning (nice one Sam!) so they got those fixed and ran to Chris's friends house to pick up the watch he left there last week......

Now we are home....we have taken the garbage down to the road.....vacuumed, packed three cases (we will buy another one there to bring everything back in) and now I am sat eating a donut (don't tell Debbie lol) and drinking a Tims double double......

I have to wash the main floors....and I want to dust....I have to write out some addresses for postcards...then I can soak in the bath and relax (because thankfully we now have a big water tank so we can ALL shower or bath without running out of hot water!

So....is there anything we have forgotten to do???? Forgotten to pack?????? I pack a certain way just in case a case goes missing...we pack something for everyone in each case so if we lose one or two cases, then at least we all have underwear and clothes in the one we didn't lose.......

So thats everything under control right???? I can relax right????????

siiiggghhhhh

:(

I have a sore throat...I hope I am not getting a cold!!! I have had 2 cloves of raw garlic and several Cold FX tablets....so hopefully that will stop it in its tracks......I can't have the garlic tomorrow though or I won't be too popular on the plane ;)

I will NOT have a cold for this holiday...my sister phoned earlier to wish us Bon Voyage! It was midnight her time so I have no idea why she was still up!

Lloyd is making the children toasted sandwiches but I am not hungry.....

I finally found some pants (trousers) that fit me length-wise!!! In Walmart!!!! So I bought 2 pairs, a new bra and a little nightie type thing - a slip???? Not sure what you would call it..ot's a nice red shade that matches my robe and slippers :)

I'd post a pic of me kitted out in all my red but I might scare you all away from my blog lol!

stressing out

I am stressing out now...my sister told me to stop worrying or I will give myself a migraine, but Im expecting a migraine on Monday night anyway.......I am worrying about everything....from packing everything to whether they will let us on the plane, to whether we will get our connecting flight to whether the plane will crash to the house while we are away, to poor Charlie who will get so depressed on her own so much.......and then if I didn't have enough to worry about, Lloyd thought to mention that HE is worrying that we will oversleep on Monday and wake up too late to get to the airport...so that gives me even more to worry about.......

We are setting 3 alarms.....if anyone is awake at 3am on Monday morning feel free to call us :) make sure we are awake!!!! In fact I may call Mum tomorrow and ask her to call us at 10am their time to wake us up! Now THATS a plan!!!

Travelling with 5 children is no mean feat.....there just seems to be so much to think about....and because we are a blended (grooooaaaan) family we have those issues to deal with too......passport-wise and leaving the country-wise.......

At the end of the day the only thing that matters is the passports - and the letter giving permission.......everything else we can do without and buy in the US if necessary.......nothing is irreplacable these days - you don't even get 'tickets' these days do you?

So I am sure all will be fine and by Monday evening I will be sat by the pool with a nice cup of tea and an Imitrex ;)

But right now I could do with some VALIUM......anyone???????? I'm not even allowed to drink atm so I can't even mellow out tonight with a glass of wine :(

On the bright side....Lloyd says he's bought my birthday gift...he won't tell me what it is and he's taking it with us to Florida...although he says he doesn't need to hide it (??????) so I am clueless and excited! He says I'll love it.....

2 more sleeps......2 more days of panic!

The ice carvings.......

Here are the ice carvings from this years competition.....I don't know if it is because the sun wasn't shining or the light was bad or the carvings just weren't very 'polished' but they didn't come out well in the pictures at all......but then again I was practicing with a new camera - getting ready to use it on holiday - so maybe it was just the camera (or the photographer lol)

a few more pics

The children in (and beside) the ice castle.......

Slip slidin' away............

The children enjoyed the smaller ice slides at Ice on Whyte...I'm glad we got to go before we left for Florida.......we have been to them all.....the last 4 years.....

Ice on Whyte....

So, did any of you go along to Ice on Whyte over the last few days? We took the children today for a while. I wasn't very impressed this year....there were very few carvings and some of them were not very impressive....The turtle one was good and so was the serpent one.....there were two small kiddy slides that Abigail enjoyed but the boys wanted to go on the bigger slide and were not allowed because you had to be over 16!!!!!! How ridiculous is that?????

Still, it was nice to be out on such a lovely day...it was about -5c while we were there but with no wind it was lovely and I didn't need gloves or even to do my coat up.....

We persuaded Chris to have a go on the kiddy slide and the picture I got of him is really funny :)

Susannah loved the ice castle and Abigail went on that slide several times and liked the big throne......

We go every year so I am pleased we went but it didn't compare to the last couple of years at all....I hope next year is better.....

Yes!!!

http://www.hillaryclinton.com/

She's IN!!!! But do you think she will win????????? I hope so but the American public always surprise me with the way they vote...I think she would make a wonderful President BUT I am not sure the American public are ready to take that step. :( I hope they are!

blowing raspberries..........

Some pictures of Sam and Susannah playing this afternoon............Sam was blowing raspberries on Susies tummy and they both found it hysterically funny!

Susannah................

A picture of Susannah this afternoon......

The Seven Deadly Sins........

Before I go and soak in the bath and read more of 'The Glass Castle', I wanted to write about something I had been thinking about earlier....I can't remember why it came to mind...but it did....

The Seven Deadly Sins and which are a part of my life!!!

Lust: I'm not one to lust after anyone famous or anything....but I guess I lusted after a Kitchen Aid Mixer for years! But I can't say I lust after people.....

Gluttony: Hhhmmmmm greed.....I am greedy where chocolate is concerned...I don't like to share at all...and have been known to hide in my room to enjoy a bar so no one asks for a bite....I would feel bad saying no but worse to say yes lol...so I am greedy about things like that.

I am also greedy when it comes to Lloyd......I don't like to share him with anyone.....I don't like anyone to have his attention :)

Sloth Ha!!! I am TERRIBLY lazy......I love my bed...love sleeping, love curling up to read.....love relaxing in the bath for hours.....love not having to cook dinner.....I love having nothing to do :)

Wrath: I have a nasty temper...I have Mars in Aries in my birth chart...my temper can flare very easily and very fast.....but often calm down quickly afterwards....a bath helps :) When I get mad just leave me alone and I will calm down.....the more you push the longer it will take!

Envy: Ooooh envy! I envy Heather (Hello Heather - I've missed your comments!!) her moose and her American passport!!! (one day...one day!!!)We get the occasional moose here but its a common occurence at Heathers home!

I can't think that I envy anything else or anyone else........

I have lost a friendship through envy though.....not so much because of the friend but because of her husband and his issues with envy......but then they were very much 'keeping up with the joneses' types so maybe that was for the best. Although it hasn't done them any favours as they have terrible debt! Envy can do terrible things!

pride: Pride....hmmmm not sure about this one......I'm not too proud to apologise if I've made a mistake - not that I EVER make mistakes (lol) - I get that from my Mother ;) I am confident and assertive but I don't think I'm arrogant.....I hope not.....I'm proud to be British, but I'm also happy not to be living there! I am proud of my family and my home and how far we have come together over the last few years......I am VERY proud of Lloyd and how well he has done in his career!! Not bad for someone who didn't go to college!!! And I'm proud that we have been friends for 18 years. I don't think I'm overly proud though....oh maybe I am sometimes....but I am very grateful for all we have (emotionally, physically as well as materially)- gratitude is important to me. I also like to see gratitude in others - I don't like people to take things (or me) for granted......(yes I am STILL miffed over the thank you that I did not get last year). Pride is a confusing subject because its a very personal thing as to how you perceive it.....even if I don't mean to be overly proud some people may see it as arrogance....who knows...but then people choose to feel the way they feel so thats their problem really......as my ex was always telling me lol

you choose to feel that way - and you can choose NOT to!

I'm rambling :) So the seven deadly sins......what part do they play in your life?

Edited to add : Gluttony....well I just spent a divine evening soaking ina deep hot bath, reading a wonderful book and eating FAAAAAAAAARRR too many mini eggs....so um need I say more?????? ;)

40th birthday ideas....

My friend Samantha turns 40 in a few weeks and we are going to her birthday bash......what can I get her for her birthday - it could be something from Florida or something from here....

Samantha is LOVELY......she is so much fun but she is also always there for you.....she is one of those really special people who does so much for other people and is ALWAYS on the go.....her job with preschoolers, voluntary work, sports with her boys.....salsa dancing and quiz nights......she never stops! Anmd she always seems to ring when I really need cheering up - its like she KNOWS!

Sam is from England - in fact we lived in the same town near Manchester.....She's been here for about 4 years....

So, what to get her? It has to be something just for HER......I was thinking of jelly baths BUT I'd like it to be something she can keep.

Any ideas?????

Back from town...

I'm back from town, back from the Doctors (gggrr the waiting room was EMPTY but they STILL kept me waiting 30 minutes and then put me in the room and then left me another 15 minutes before the doctor came in!!! Yet if you are more than 5 minutes late for your appt they cancel it and you have to rearrange!!!! ggggrrrr)

Laurie and I went to Zellers and bought him new runners - found the boys some gorgeous Chino's but Chris's are too small so I have to change them tomorrow. They are going to look so good!

I bought a carry-on bag for the plane......was tempted by the $75. air canada one but was good and got the cheaper $27 one lol! Its still a crazy prce for a bag that won't get much use though! I bought some colouring books and a magazines for the children to read on the plane.

Then I got home and remembered I had forgotten to hand in the rest of the school registration forms so we got back in the car and rushed to the school before they closed...

So now I am home and having a cuppa and some two-bite cinnamon scones (from Sobeys YUM - my favourite store for bakery goods!!!!Their mini jam tarts are incredible too!)

Now I plan to relax in the bath until Lloyd gets home...then we can have the cottage pie and then relax for the evening.....Friday is here!!! Lloyd is off work for TWO weeks YAY!!!