Do-Over!

Ok so labour day weekend is coming to a close (unless of course you're stuck in cottage country traffic still, then you're weekend will likely continue long into the night...) and it's time to unofficially say goodbye to summer. :( School starts for kids, the leaves are starting to change colour (I kid you not... I saw a tree turning orange near the top of our street), people are returning from vacations, the air feels a bit crisper in the evenings, a bunch of new moms are heading back to work after being off on maternity leave and Tetas everywhere are moving into their new apartments (see below)! So what better time to have a do-over then now when everyone seems to be getting a fresh start?!? For me, my do-over is to get my life back in order. Although I do feel in control still of my life in some ways, there are many other ways in which I don't. So for me, tomorrow marks the first day of my do-over. So what does my do-over mean?!? It means that:

1. I'm going to get on the healthy kick again. I want to lose a significant amount of weight... the exact amount is between me and my scale. Basically I want to stop looking longingly at my maternity pants that are packed away in the chest because my pants are all too tight! :)


2. I'm going to start taking more time for myself. This means I'm going to read a bit more (I still have to finish re-reading Harry Potter books #5 and #6 before I venture into #7 - and I don't think Stephanie can hold off on talking to me about what happens much longer...), I'm going to work on scrapbooking a bit more (don't worry Marvin, I won't go over board and buy up all of Michaels), and I'm going to take more time to enjoy life in general.


3. I'm going to clean the house from top to bottom and finally purge of all those things that I'm hanging on to "just in case" (you know, the "I can't get rid of that size 6 pants because I will eventually fit back into them"... or the "I don't want to get rid of those accounting books from university because I may someday use them" - yeah right!).


4. And finally, I'm going to pay more attention to my teeth and my posture. Ok so those ones probably sound a bit stupid to many of you but I swear every time I go to the dentist or the massage therapist I come out promising that I'll floss more and do my stretches every day.

So if anyone out there has been putting off something that they really would like to get around to doing, I hope you'll also use this time for your own personal do-over! And of course, if you'd like to share what your do-over is or how you're doing with it, please let me know!

I know, I know... enough about me, let's get back to Maja! Today Maja, Marvin & I had a fun filled day together. The morning started off with Teta Linda coming over for breakfast (pancakes (some with chocolate chips, some without), eggs, toast and juice) and then the four of us heading downtown to check out Teta's new condo! Yup, Teta has her own pad now and is anxiously awaiting (just as much as Marvin & I are dreading) the day that Maja calls her up and says "Teta, do mind if I crash at your place tonight? I'm heading out for a night on the town with a couple of friends and will probably be trashed by the end of the night and I don't really want to face my dad like that"! Yikes! Congrats again Teta - we already miss having you around here (and just for your information Lin, when you do get that call, the proper response is "No Maja, I can't do that... you need to be a responsible adult and take ownership of your own actions. I can not be an accessory after the fact)! After we checked out Teta's place, Maja, Marvin & I headed to Harbourfront and walked around for a while. Maja was getting a bit antsy in the stroller so we took her out so she could walk around a bit on her own. Here's a shot of her pushing her own stroller (please note, Maja is wearing her new jeans (complete with belt), new Pumas and new vest she got for her birthday)... Then Maja got a bit peckish and thought she'd see what the stroller Grandma & Grandpa got her last year tasted like...
Then after all that partying, it was time to snooze in the car on the way back (please note that Miss Maja is now facing the front, much to Bakica's delight)...
This past Friday, Maja & I had our friends Amy & Deanna over for a visit. I used to work with Amy and Deanna & Maja go way back (ok so they never met each other, but they acted like they were old friends, what with all the hugs and kisses they kept giving each other). Here is a shot of Amy & Deanna eating some chocolate chip pancakes (noticing a trend here?!?) out in the backyard looking ever-so-cute in their matching outfits (it's almost like they knew their photo would be taken)... Then as a special treat for Deanna, Amy painted her toe nails for her (I think there was to be some finger nail painting but that got put on hold because Maja woke up from her nap)...
A shot of Maja showing off her new talent of playing the flute (and this time it's a real flute, not the magic-black-spoon-flute from a while back)...
A shot of the girls hanging out on the blankets (and Maja looking as though she's eating the bus driver like a piece of corn on the cob)...
And finally, not to be out-done by Maja and her flute, Deanna wanted to do a somersault for us. Here she is in stage one... And presto - a complete somersault...
Later that afternoon when Marvin came home from work, the three of us headed off to the park. This is probably the first time Maja has been able to walk around the park all on her own. And although she does walk well around the house, as you can tell by the wood chips on her back in the photo below, walking on the park grounds is a completely different story...
Apparently, Maja is turning into quite the little climber (she gets that from her boyfriend, Liam, I think). Here's a shot of her climbing her way up the "ladder" to get to me at the top...
Last night, we had our friends, Doug & Anna and their daughter Emily, over for dinner. Well, actually we had them over and they made us dinner! What a great trick that was! Thanks again for a delicious dinner guys! Anyhow, here is a shot of Maja & Emily in their matching "big girl high-chairs" toasting to friendship and sippy cups...
Maja so loved the new high-chair that Doug & Anna got her for her birthday that it proved to be quite the entertainment for her after dinner. Here is a shot of her after she managed to climb her way into the chair all by herself (she definitely doesn't have my posture... see do-over #4 above)... Then after waiting the mandatory 30 minutes after eating before playing soccer (or is that swimming?!?), Emily was up and running around working on her fancy footwork with Anna...

All in all, we had a great long weekend and hope all of you did too!