Settling in...

Life goes on for the Taverners! After what seems like a whirlwind week, well one week tomorrow, life continues on for all of us. Tim headed back to work in TO yesterday, bright and early, the kids have finished day 3 of their new school (day 2 for Delsin), & I've been out and about looking at cars, narrowing down houses to look at next week and running errands, as you do. :o) Delsin is attending full days on Monday and Wednesdays and alternate Fridays so today was his first day on the big yellow school bus...and he was so freaking out excited this morning...LOL Because my parents live way back in the "boondocks", 10km from the main road, there is a local man (Bill) who is contracted to pick up 2 other local kids, and now ours, and he transports them to the main highway where the bus picks them up and takes them to the catchment school. My folks are just over the border in the next township so the kids have rather a long journey each day but it doesn't seem to phase them, even Connor seems cool with everything. :o) My Mom volunteered at the big school book fair today, she was 30 years as a teacher librarian, and she had the opportunity to see each of the kids which seemed to be a big hit and I'm sure the school appreciated the help. :o)

Today was lovely for me, I had a real "me" day after spending a very hectic day yesterday looking at cars with my Dad...ugh. I headed off to the chiropractor who is sorting out my destroyed back, I popped in on a local friend I've known from years ago when we would spend time here, and then I headed off to meet a friend, Karen, who I have known for 5 years but have never met...isn't the internet great?? :o) I was spoiled with lunch and yummy dessert and it was just nice to have some girly time chatting and relaxing. Karen is fab and her kids are just gorgeous, plus there is another one on the way next month...**rub rub** for that gorgeous belly!

My folks are off to a family wedding tomorrow, Tim comes back from TO and before you know it the weekend will be upon us. Sheesh, the time flies by!! I'm off to TO for a househunting trip next week so Mom and Dad will take over the brood. What would I do without my folks?? Life is ticking along here in Ontario.

In other news...hehe...we DID finally "exchange contracts" on our house sale in England yesterday and we have a completion date set for 5th June. YAY! Only 3 months later than originally planned. :o) I can now breathe a sigh of relief and start to seriously look at houses now. Lots to choose from and I know the perfect one is out there with our name on it. :o) I can't wait to find our Casa Taverner.

Hope all is well in your part of the world. Love to all,
Laura XO

Do me a favour everyone...I'm such a loser...

In my rush to leave and the chaos of the associated move, I wasn't using my brains very well!! I had my computer packed up because I knew Timmy had a laptop for me to use and I didn't even think about exporting my mailbox...sheesh. Now I don't have any email addresses to ping my friends. **bashing head on table** Please send me an e so that I can add you to my mailbox on the laptop, I just don't want anyone to think I've forgotten about them or I'm deliberately ignoring them...hehe. If you don't have my private address, ping me on tavcanada@hotmail.com

Thanks everyone!
Dumb-a$$ Laura :o)

We're HOME!

Good morning from Buck Lake! You wouldn't believe my view as I type this, even if it is just temporary. ;o) (I'll post some pics later once I get iPhoto loaded on my laptop) Just thought I'd do a quick update to let you know that the family Taverner has come to the end of their "Expat Adventures" and we have arrived safely in Ontario. Connor and Cameron arrived first on Monday with Grandpa and then me, Tim, Mae and Delsin arrived on Thursday...later than we had anticipated after some unexpected delays during our travel! It feels great to be HOME. I loved my four years in England and I experienced my toughest goodbyes on Thursday in my seven years abroad. I felt dehydrated from all the tears I shed. I always manage to find true "kindred spirits" wherever I go, I'm a lucky lady. :o)

Anyhoo, life is a bit of a whirlwind right now as we settle in trying to carve enough space for six extra people at my folks' place! The kids start at the local school on Monday so lets hope the jetlag has sorted itself out by then! The kids have already been enjoying the lake (brrrrrrrrr!) with Delsin being the only voice of dissent! We'll try to get him in today but that means Mommy will have to take the plunge. EEK. The lake is like a millpond right now and you can feel the stress flow from the body just by looking at it. Life is good.

Now for a bit of a downer to this post, the house is STILL not sorted out. I didn't hear back from my solictor yesterday, quelle surprise, so I don't know if we have even exchanged contracts yet. Our buyers have left on holiday now so nothing will happen until they get back on June 5th. Sigh. I know it's all going to happen but what an unbelievable nightmare process it has been. Every time I hit another wall in this process it makes me shake my head to believe that this country was once an empire that ruled the world. Seriously.

Okay, must "carpe diem" now, only Mae has emerged so far and it's looking like another glorious day on Buck Lake. Thankfully the heat broke last night as it was a bit too sticky for my liking. We arrived on Thursday to the first heatwave of the season...37 degrees! The heat broke overnight and it feels much more civilized this morning...phew.

So much for a quick post. Just call me verbal-diarrhea girl. :o) Pics to come soon.

Love to all, especially my wonderful friends in the U.K.
Laura :o)

SENATORS ROCK....WOOOOO HOOOOOO....

We're going to the CUP, we're going to the CUP, we're going to the CUP....holy crap I'm so freaking excited!! Thank you for not breaking my heart after giving me a heart attack in game 4...LOL And best of all, I'm going to be home to watch you go all the way boys...WOO HOO!! **happy dance** My kids think I'm nuts as I run around my house hooting and hollering, pumping my fists in the air!! They need some serious hockey reeducation when we get back on home soil! ;o)

Okay, there's my frivolous post for today...LMAO! WOOOOO HOOOOOOO!

Dancing Laura :o) XO

What are the odds??

So what do you figure are the odds that Delsin can pick up a stomach virus (it's doing the rounds in town) on the eve of me selling my freaking washing machine???? I didn't want to let the machine go until next week but what can I say to the lady taking it, and the dryer, off my hands? I've just done round one of vomit covered sheets...bleurgh. I had the lads pack up all the linens today thinking "of course, we won't need anything other than what's on our beds now". So here I was tonight tracking down and cracking open an already-packed box to dig out clean sheets. Sigh. What are the freaking odds???? Damnit!

The little darling is sleeping like a baby now but I'm sure we are in for a night of fun. Great. It's impossible to be upset at his little sick face though, poor little guy. Tim cannot deal, of course, so it's left to Mommy to deal with barf. I'm always amazed at what DOESN'T freak me out after having four kids. LOL At least my washing machine will get one last workout before heading off to a new home. If only they knew what I'm washing in it right now...yuck! :o)

Just needed to add: GO SENS GO!! I'm going to try streaming it on the laptop for my Dad to watch. Let's go boys, all the way to the CUP...WOO HOO!

Glad I got that out of my system! Nighty night,
Laura :o)

Flowers don't "do" stress...

Yesterday as I was running around with my "hair on fire" as usual trying to get ready for the packers I suddenly caught a burst of colour out of the corner of my eye. My lilies, which I had bought last week and had not yet opened, were suddenly a mass of pink. I didn't even realize they were pink until they opened. I LOVE pink. It made me stop in my tracks and just take it in. Flowers don't "do" stress. They just exist, live their short time, and then fade away. In that process they bring such beauty to the world and they must have known that I needed to pause, even just for a few moments, to settle down and take a few moments' breather. As I walked to the kitchen after admiring my pink friends, I caught another burst of colour in the back garden. I'm most definitely not a "green thumb" and whatever is out there is due to the efforts of past owners of this house. My climbing clematis (cool, I actually KNOW a plant word..hehe) which I had just taken pity on a few weeks ago and tied up so that it wasn't wallowing on the ground had also burst open into a single purple blossom. I LOVE purple, even more than pink. I again paused and just admired. Even if only for a few moments. Thank you flowers!

Delsin doesn't "do" stress either...LOL An xbox controller, PB & J, cup of juice and life is grand! :o) He cracked me up on Monday as we arrived at school. It had been raining for 10 DAYS now, this does not make Laura a happy camper. However for a 4 year old wearing his "splash boots" nothing could be better. He was happily jumping in puddles and he declared, "Mom, I LOVE PUDDLES" (pronounced "puddoos", of course LOL) "You can splash in them, you can kick the water, you can run in the water" (pronounced "woooooter" with his cute little English accent LOL) So for Delsin rain is great. Too bad Mommy doesn't feel the same way. I went for a hack out on Sunday and it pissed down on us...yuck. I know rain is good and necessary but not for 10 freaking days in a row...ugh.

Connor took this pic of me on Monday (surfing a new blog I found, damn you Pioneer Woman, I have stuff to be doing ya know...LOL), note large bags under Mommy's eyes...ugh. I've spent the last week getting ready for the packing crew who arrived today...woo hoo. That's the good news. The bad news is that we STILL have not exchanged contracts on our house. Technically that means the whole deal could collapse but I refuse to dwell on that possibility. Everyone "says" that they are still looking to complete things on the 23rd. Bottom line is that there is nothing I can do about any of it now, the moving process has begun for us and there's no turning back!! So we just have to trust that this will happen as planned. Worst case we have to sell an empty house. Stay tuned!

The packing crew is blowing through the house so I'm glad I was able to get prepared as well as I did...EEK. The kids rooms are fully packed except for their beds, the dining room and conservatory are fully packed too. Not that I'm complaining about efficiency! We just had another chuckle with one of the lads, courtesy of our little comedian Delsin. Del came upstairs as we were chatting before they left for the day and Delsin gave the lad a "thumbs up". He said that Delsin had given him "10 superstars" so far today **snort**. We asked Del why he had given so many "superstars" to the man and he said, "Because you are really GOOD". This kids cracks me up on a daily basis. Forget therapy, just have a happy-go-lucky 4 year old in your midst! Can't wait to hear the corkers he'll come out with as we take him on an airplane for the first time next week!! Our tickets are booked, we fly out on Thursday morning bright and early. Connor and Cameron leave with Dad, who arrived yesterday, on Monday. I can't wait now! It will just be nice to go "home".

Okay, onwards and upwards. **I will get through this, I will get through this**

Laura :o)

Once a bride, never a bridesmaid...

Until NOW that is...forgot to mention in my last post that my bestest friend, Sandz, called me this week and asked me to stand by her as she marries the love of her life next year. To say I was honoured is a huge understatement. She has picked out a beautiful, classic, elegant dress for us, four ladies in total, and I can happily report that she evidently bears no grudge towards me for the lavender number I put her in almost 16 years ago...LMAO! My only excuse is: 1991. 'Nuff said. I will dig out one of my pics, scan it in & post it. While I hold my hands up to the outfits, I will not, however, take any responsibility for the "blonde-ambition" hair thing Sandz had going on! :o)

Thank you, thank you, thank you, Sandz for including me in your "big day". You totally made my day, week, month & year! Hope to see you soon.

Love and hugs,
ME XO

P.S. Just had to add a "shout out" to the Sens...woo hoo, GO boys GO! I must find a way to access the games for my Dad while he's here...LOL In your honour Sens, and just so there's no confusion as to my loyalty when I move to the GTA:

And just because I really need to laugh after another stressful week, I found this while looking for a wedding picture to post:

And the medication I should consider to get me through the rest of this move:

Okay, I reeeeeeeally need to go to bed now. :o) Nighty night all,

Laura :o)

The week in review

Another week flies by, action packed as usual! Last Friday I was "helper Mom" at Delsin's school which basically meant I stood around like a bump on a log not really helping at all! It was nice to see him "in action" and interesting to watch how the kids interact and what they like and don't like. Del was mighty proud to have his Mom there and kept pointing me out to everyone in his class...hehe, little darling.

Posing on the hill in the school yard

Playing in the sand
Very intently concentrating on making a clay frog!
Being his normal gorgeous self once back at home

Monday was a "bank holiday" in the U.K. so we got a blissful day off to rest and relax...ahhhhh. Tuesday was Connor's next, and last in the U.K., trip to the orthodontist to get his wires put on the brace brackets that were cemented to his teeth the week before. (I made Tim do this appointment and I headed off to the hairdresser for a couple of hours of pampering...I'm now a sultry redhead...again...hee hee) Connor was, again, an absolute star and has handled this with such grace. Gold star for my boy!

Still smiling with his cool red and black braces!
Del and Connor goofing around...is Connor trying to eat Del's head??
Delsin loves his big bruvver!

I had another wonderful soul-restoring ride out on Wednesday and was pleased to be given my fave boy Max this time! I had my best ride yet this year and a stonking canter...woo hoo. My confidence is coming back up...slowly. I really want to make sure I keep this up when we get back home, I need to keep doing things that make me feel great and this is definitely one of those things! The weather held for us in the morning despite the grey and gloom but by the time Mae arrived after school for her regular lesson it was tipping it down...yuck. And so the trend continued...yuck again.

Cam had a good week, his last in preparation for his SAT tests next week. He doesn't seem stressed at all, in fact he seems to LIKE tests! I'm sure he'll do well and it will be great to have those results for his new school in September. He finally lost his loose tooth today after taunting us all week with wiggling, twisting, lifting, poking, etc. **shudder**. Good thing he is so damn cute!

Mae has had a bit of a rough week emotionally, the realization of the move is starting to wear on her and we've had a few tears and a call from the school today to say she's been upset a few times over the last few days. Ugh. The truth is that we are breaking our daughter's heart by taking her away from England and that sucks. She was quizzing me in the car on Wednesday about whether or not I have liked living here. I told her that of course I would be upset when I had to say goodbye to people that have meant a lot for me and that led to her tearfully asking, "then why do we have to go if you'll be sad too?". Double UGH. I know she'll be fine but my Mommy heart hurts to know that she is hurting. She is my gorgeous girl, tears and all.

And...here's what happens when I try to take a picture of Tim a.k.a. "the incredible shrinking man"...he is now down 45lbs since January!

He is such a wanker...LOL

I must admit that I always feel a bit smug living in England as spring dawns several months earlier than at home. Being cocky, I stocked up on lovely quarter pound burgers and they had to be cooked up yesterday, no matter what, so I was forced to fire up the BBQ. Here is where the cocky part backfired on me...the weather had taken a turn on Wednesday and is much more typically "English" now...yuck. Rain or no rain the burgers must be cooked. No self respecting Canadian is going to let a bit of rain keep them from delicious BBQ'ed burgers so I had to improvise a bit!

Rain is no match for my fishing umbrella!
Chief helper Connor prepared with wet cloth over nose and mouth...hehe
Soggy BBQ chef Mommy!

But DAMN did those burgers taste good!! Our neighbours must think we are absolutely nuts, only Canadians would be out cooking in the pissing down rain or the dead of winter! :o)

We did NOT exchange contracts on the house sale today as promised by all the agents...bastards. A bank has apparently screwed up and delayed everything until Tuesday. We went ahead and booked the moving company last week on everyone's "word"...which apparently, in our experience, means nothing in this country. In any event we have to just keep fingers crossed and hope that we are completing our house sale on 23 May as the date everyone has agreed to. The moving crew arrives Wednesday to start packing us up regardless and we WILL be back in Canada at the end of May, hopefully with the house sale completed. Trying to stay positive. I'm having a night out on Thursday with all the lovely ladies that have befriended me over the last three years in Bicester. Chinese, beer/wine and wonderful company will be just the tonic I need after the first two days of my house being put into boxes! My Dad arrives on Tuesday to lend a hand and he'll take Con and Cam back with him on 21 May and then Tim and I will follow with Mae and Del once the house deal is completed. Thats the plan anyway. Hopefully NOT subject to change.

Counting down the days to the end of our "expat adventures" abroad.

Laura :o)

Oscar meets the Cocamoo!

I received an email from Mom today showing me Oscar's latest adventure...he got to meet the Cocamoo for the first time! For those of you who are totally confused, the Cocamoo is Mom and Dad's boat! It is named after the three grandchildren who existed when said boat was purchased: CO: Connor, CA: Cameron, MOO: Maeghan...her nickname was "Miss Moo" when she was a baby...awwwwwww. :o) Delsin came along much later so, unfortunately, he is not immortalized on Buck Lake! We'll include him in the next boat! As you can imagine, Mom and Dad are excited at the prospect of us finally heading for the homeland! I can hardly believe that we may be living at the lake by the end of May...woo hoo!

Check out these great pictures of our lovely boy enjoying his first outing on the surface of the lake. Here is what Mom said in her email:

"Hi, darling,
As you can see, we got the Cocamoo this morning. Dad brought it across the lake from the boat launch on Perth Road. After I drove back to the house I took Oscar down to the dock with me to see it. He went aboard as soon as I opened the gate on the side. He looked so relaxed we decided to take a short ride. He was totally cool about it all even at high speed, unlike poor old Sparky.
As you can see, the maple and ironwood trees are just starting to come into leaf. The oaks are just budding and the ash haven't even started to bud yet. We saw our first trillium yesterday.
Thinking of you as you begin the final countdown. love, Mom"

Looking rather comfy sitting by Captain Grandpa!

Enjoying the wind in his face! The view as they arrive back at the dock...note all those stairs...EEK!Oscar having a good old pant on the dreaded stairs...hehe.

In other news, apparently my traumatized cat did finally venture outdoors, just for a quick explore and sniff on the deck! I figured the spring smells would eventually lure her out again. Schat was a "wild" cat that we rescued from a stand of trees in Belgium so I think it's in her DNA to be outdoors! Good girl, Schatje, hopefully not long before Mommy will be back again to give you some scratches and loves. :o)

Happy Friday,
Laura :o)

YEEHAW....

Mae flying over the 2 foot course, clear on her first try!!

My little one, Mae, (aka "adrenaline junkie" or AJ for short) enjoyed a "clear round" in-house jumping show at her riding stables yesterday in Marsh Gibbon. She was riding a wonderful little boy named Sparky and what a champ he was for her yesterday! Mae has ridden him before in shows and this was definitely the best ride on him yet! I was amazed to see how much she has improved over the last year and she definitely "took no prisoners" on the courses. She went clear on 1'3" on her second try, and wowed me by going clear on her first round at 2 foot despite some scary looking "fillers" on jump 8! Everyone did really well and lots of rosettes were taken home by proud riders. It was lovely to see some of the "mature" (or "geriatric jumpers" as Fizz calls them...LOL) riders going over the course too, way to go ladies! So Mae has 3 lovely rosettes (one is an IOU as they ran out after two shows in two weeks..hehe) to add to her collection and that will be her last show at Marsh Stables...boo hoo. Fizz & Bez did a great job as usual and a great time was had by all. The weather was perfect, after a very cold and grey start to the day, and it was lovely to end the day sitting in the sunshine watching my girl. Sorry that some of the pics are a bit bright as I was shooting into the sun...must figure out this "photoshop" stuff one of these days..hehe.

Mae on her handsome boy Sparky

Completing her clear round on the 1'3" course

A huge practice jump (be still Mommy's heart!)

Starting the 2' course

Finishing the 2' course

Fizz presenting Mae with a photo book made by Jan to remember her time at the stables and with her best buddy Sophie, Jan's daughter. Cue crying from Mommy!!

My little jumping star :o)

If I dare to say it out loud....we are looking at exchanging contracts on our house sale next Friday, the 11th, and hopefully completing on May 24th...WOO HOO! My Dad is looking at flights over to help out and to take the two big boys back on May 22nd and the rest of us will follow on the weekend. Please let this all go through, I don't think I can handle any more disappointment. Seriously.

Another week almost finished, scary how fast the time flies by. Monday is a "bank holiday" in the UK which means no school for the kids so a nice long weekend to look forward to. Have a lovely weekend.

Laura :o)

Just call me "Jaws"..hehe...

Ever seen "The Spy Who Loved Me"/"Moonraker"?

My big brave Connor got the brackets for his braces yesterday and will return next week for the wires and bands (he's chosen red & black, just call him my little Sith Lord...LOL)! He was such a star during the process and kept giving me and Tim the "thumbs up". It couldn't have been that pleasant to have this big plastic thing holding your lips back and another rubber piece inside your mouth for 15 minutes, so hats off to my boy!! He was feeling a bit uncomfortable yesterday as his mouth had to get used to these pieces of metal stuck to his teeth so we did keep him home but back to school today, mean old Mom and Dad..hehe. Another positive out of the move delays is that we were able to get this done now and not have to go through the whole process of dentist, referral to orthodontist, blah blah blah, once we got back home. Dad has arranged an appointment with their dentist in early June (please let us be home by then!) as he needs an adjustment 6 weeks after the wires go in. We did manage to pull one of the brackets off last night when we were removing the "brace-eze" gel stuff that helps to stop the metal from rubbing on the inside of his mouth...ooops! I called but was told "no worries" and they would cement it back on next week when we go for the wires. I'm sure this won't be the last mishap...LOL

Cam isn't feeling well today, bad head and tummy, so he is home lying in my bed. Jan's daughter Sophie is home today too and Cam's teacher said she had four off yesterday...EEK. "lurgies" in year 6! :o) I'm sure he'll be back in fighting form tomorrow. Good thing about kids when they feel sick is that they just shut down and sleep it off, unlike us old folks! Delsin had a great day at school, as usual, and came home with a sticker which he proudly announced he had earned because "he knew stuff"...LOL Little darling.

Despite the fact that I should be taking it easy because my back is a bit "dodgy" (I'm pretty sure it's my sciatic nerve being pinched...again), I had a nice ride this morning on "Seb" and bit the bullet and tried a few jumps...woo hoo. Okay, okay, so you won't see me on the Canadian equestrian team but it was an accomplishment for me! :o) I had a couple of much better canters as well and I'm finding my "seat" now. Why is it so much harder to make every part of your body work at the same time when you are older?? Not fair! :o) Mae makes it look like a breeze! She is very happy to be back on a pony today after me not letting her ride at the end of last week because of the ballet exam. She will ride in a little show at the stables tomorrow trying to "go clear" on her chosen pony. Should be lots of fun!

Tim has decided, after clearing it with the bosses, that he will hang around here until the 13th and then he must go back to "in person" work. Poor guy, this messing around is not easy on him. He is still the incredible shrinking man as he diligently continues on his exercise & healthy eating regime. It's amazing to see how his clothes are fitting so much better, some of his stuff is positively baggy on him now! I've ordered him to buy some jeans that fit when he gets back to TO, he looks like "Timmy from the 'hood" right now...yo, yo, yo. Showing off your boxers and butt crack is so NOT a good look! :o)

A bit of news on the house sale today, it appears that not only are we still waiting for the mortgage valuation results, which was supposed to be done today, but the actual mortgage OFFER is not even in place for the buyers at the bottom. Aarrgghh. Someone has not been doing their job, I believe the term "lazy" was used by the estate agent representing these clients. Good thing is that this agent is as sick of all this as I am and is staying on everyone's a$$ so he can get this over and done with. Wow, a proactive estate agent, be still my heart. Taking lots of deep cleansing yoga breaths again today. **good air in** **bad air out**

Mom should be back safely by now, I bet she will be glad for the peace and quiet after living with this crew! Oscar is still having a ball and was chasing wild turkeys yesterday and enjoyed lying in Dad's pile of peat moss in the garden making himself into a bloody mess ! He loves to lie in the dirt! The cats are still hissing at each other and have a little swiping match at breakfast time, guess they won't be best friends no matter what. Schat seems to be scared to go outside still, poor little thing, hehe. I miss my pets so much and can't wait to see them again.

Guess that's all the news that's new around here, another exciting week chez Taverner. :o) Hope you are all well,
Laura :o)