Two Roads diverged in a Yellow Wood ....

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,

And sorry I could not travel both

And be one traveler, long I stood

And looked down one as far as I could

To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,

And having perhaps the better claim,

Because it was grassy and wanted wear;

Though as for that the passing there,

Had worn them really about the same

And both that morning equally lay

In leaves no step had trodden black.

Oh, I kept the first for another day!

Yet knowing how way leads on to way,

I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh

Somewhere ages and ages hence:

Two roads diverged in a wood,

and I took the one less traveled by,

And that has made all the difference !

Robert Frost (1874–1963)





Ironically maybe, this is the only poem i remember word for word from my school days!! have a vague memory there bring a possibility of detention being the cause of that!!


but little did i know it would be so apt :)


What a year it has been! this time last year...... Canada was merely a thought, i hadn't set foot in the country yet! i just knew i was coming out here for an interview (free trip to Canada being the main appeal!!!)


Then the domino's started.... interview...job offer......will i/wont i.....pros/cons.....endless nights of tossing and turning.......... uprooting 3 kids and hitting to a country alone, where i knew no -one etc


its funny what convinced me to come here, is the one thing that didn't work out!


its been a rollercoaster..... of ups and downs, broken promises, tears and smiles... i don't know if i have completely made my mind up yet! its a good life, my kids smiles say it all, and I'm sooooo lucky in so many ways! But there are still buts....


I miss my friends, i miss my family, i miss down time, i miss home............ suppose I'm just lonely! a loneliness i have never known! i know i shouldn't complain, I'm supposed to pretend its all good, its all amazing, its all perfect! but as things at home are tough... which is better to have people around you that you love to help through tough times................. or be where its all supposed to be good and you have no-one, no-one to just tell you it will be ok, no-one to give you that much needed hug, sometimes just having a good job, some money etc isn't everything!


despite the complaining at how bad life is at home.... life is going on, nothing much has changed!! people are going to work or not! (ok so a little more are not) going for a couple of beers at the weekend, catching a rugby game! ok so its not like 2/3 years ago with 2 foreign holidays a year but that was only going to last so long either way. So salaries have dropped, but yet everyone i know who wants a job has one! and people who don't, just don't want a job bad enough :) its a perfect excuse to have some time off that you couldn't have justified any other time!! i know a lot who are using this to their advantage!!! maybe I'm missing something.... maybe I'm sick of people telling me how lucky i am to be here, and oh how fantastic life must be..... life has never been so hard, we are making the most of it, having fun whenever we can!! but is far from the perception! if the reality was known...............

was watching a movie (alone sitting on my couch again) last night which summed up so much......
50% of life is what you do with it.... the other 50% and the more important part is who you share it with!!!

Thank God for my one sanity in life, the one thing in life I'm truly proud off......... my kids. Thank you for sharing the ride with me!!





k my rant over for tonight.....

Winners vs. Losers
A Winner makes commitments;A Loser makes promises.
A Winner never quits;Loser always quits.
Winners have dreams;Loser have schemes.
Winners say,"I must do something";Losers say,"Something must be done."
Winners are a part of the team;Losers are apart from the team.
Winners see the gain; Losers see the pain.
Winners see possibilities;Losers see problems.
Winners believe in win/win; Losers believe for them to win someone has to lose.
Winners use hard arguments but soft words;Losers use soft arguments but hard words.
The Winner says, "I will do it";The Loser says, "Let me see what I can do";
The Winner is always part of the answer; The Loser is always part of the problem.
The Winner always has a plan; The Loser always has an excuse.
The Winner says,"Let me do it for you; The Loser says;" That is not my job."
The Winner sees an answer for every problem; The Loser sees a problem for every answer.
The Winner says," It may be difficult but it is possible"; The Loser says,"It may be possible but it is too difficult."
When a Winner makes a mistake, he says,"I was wrong";When a Loser makes a mistake, he says," It wasn't my fault."
Winners stand firm on values but compromise on petty things;Losers stand firm on petty things but compromise on values.
Winners follow the philosophy of empathy: "Don't do to others what you would, not want them to do to you";Losers follow the philosophy, "Do it to others before they do it to you."
Winners make it happen; Losers let it happen.

Winter...Real Winter... Canadian Style!

I have to admit it was always something that caused knots in my stomach over the last few months.... a growing dread and fear of the famous Canadian winter!

hailing from a country that rarely drops below 0 Degrees, and being able to count on my hand the amount of times i have seen snow!! Ontario and Winter were words that = fear!!

so with apprehension each week i checked the forecast... it was like a ticking time bomb.... as we skipped into October, trudged through Nov.. still all clear!! the knot growing each day........

so we had December and the days which we were previously watching became an hourly watch!!

As my kids woke each morning........ going 'is it snowing yet??' the excitement building by the day!

Finally it happened (and if I'm honest i think i was just as excited as the kids!!) we woke one morning to a winter wonderland............ it was just WHITE! and beautiful!!

the world in which we had gone to bed in was gone and replaced by a beautiful sheet of snow!

Now a month later, we are old pros at tobogganing, we have embraced the ski slopes and most importantly we have survived -20's ......... and life has just carried on as normal!!

well normal might be a bit much................ being the hypothermic person i am at the best of times!! i have discovered a new talent :) its called the 'how much clothes can you get on together' game :) i have a wardrobe of hoodies in sizes S, M and L (so i can wear them all together)

i can't remember the last time i put on a pair of jeans without the old faithful long johns!!

So to the Canadian winter......... i say 'Whoo hoo' :) keep it coming!!

Full photos : http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=150377&id=537051734&l=7e14d7d21b

Life .... across an ocean!

being in a very contemplative mood....... its funny how a set of quotes i stumbled across can be soooo apt to match the mood :)

" Distance is just a test to see how far love can travel. "

.....distance is not for the fearful, it is for the bold.... It's for those who are willing to spend a lot of time alone in exchange for a little time with the one they love... ...it's for those knowing a good thing when they see it, even if they don't see it nearly enough....

"Distance means so little when someone means so much."

"I don't want to dream of you anymore. I want you for real."

"When two people are meant for each other, no time is too long, no distance is too far, and no one can ever tear them apart."

"Love always finds a way."

Right i think i may need sleep or something :) i'm starting to get all soppy and soft in my old age!!!!

Mums Taxi :)

Location: Guelph Ontario
Time: 9am Saturday morning
Mission: to survive the day with all 3 kids in one piece by the end of it!! and not having a nervous breakdown :)
Avoid: Guelph General Hospital and/or any form of required medical care!
--------------------------------------------------------------------
...mummy wheres my skates........... mum wheres my swimming togs................. what time is it.............. i can't find my bag.......... welcome to Saturday morning in my house!! at the same time i have a naked 3 year old boy using the stairs to toboggan and a 3 year old girl dressing herself in the most fabulous combination of clothes including a 'pretty dress' (its -18 outside and she can't understand why i object!!)

we finally make it out of the house, half dressed children, half washed faces, unbrushed hair, and the mandatory 2 returns for forgotten items.........and another pounding headache for mummy and its only 10.30am on a Sat morning!!!! Let the fun begin!!

First Stop..... Ice- skating @ exhibition park

http://www.guelphskating.ca/

All 3 kids are skating in the Canskate Program

http://www.skatecanada.ca/en/skate_for_life/programs/canskate/

I have watched them wobble their way onto the ice in October, being securely propped by two skaters... to kissing me goodbye and taking off like old pros in the space of 6 months oblivious to the skates on their feet!!

Now as they learn to twist turn, do spirals and bubbles!!!!! i have learnt to stop watching from between my fingers and clenched jaw! i have the arnica ready at the end of each session for damage limitation :) There is pride with each bruise and we have the bruise comparison competition each week.... to who is the proud owner of the 'coolest' one!

I'm now the proud mum of 3 kids who can skate :) now i just have to get them to teach me!!... so i can earn me some pretty cool bruises too!

Next Stop........ Gymnastics :) Ah gymnastics is an old favourite, saoirse has been doing gymnastics since she was 3! so i have had 6 1/2 years of practice with this one!!!!!! i am used to seeing her upside down more often that the vertically correct way :) there are always legs, arms and general body parts flying randomly around the sitting room! since coming to Canada... she has joined http://guelphsaultos.ca/ and is in the extended program! ( that just means double time for mum!! )

the bigger concern is finding the concealed leotard on alannah who was adamant she was going too today as apparently 'i got big in my sleep mummy, so i can go now to gymaskics'!! we compromised with some impromptu tumbles around the viewing area in her 'leotard' :) as she copied the big girls!!
Final Stop for today...... University of Guelph 'red pool' Waterpolo! We are soooooooooooo lucky to live just down the road from the university which as absolutely every single sport you can imagine ... and then some (underwater hockey championships coming up!!!!) The place is an athletics dream!
So Waterpolo has been the chose sport.... suppose she didn't pick that up from the street! Its cool though, in Ireland it would be another 10 years before she could give it a shot!

Mission accomplished :) another Saturday complete.... 3 dirty faced, tired kids! 1 exhausted mum...... one sanity required trip to Pizza Pizza to feed the troops!
There is only one catch....... as i check on the 3 sleeping angels all tucked up tight in their beds!! I know i don't need to set the alarm clock...... as tomorrow morning at roughly about 8am i will be woken to the sounds of........ mummy wheres my cheerleading shoes.......... i can't find my swimming togs....... as we start all over again...............

Sunday = 3 1/2 hours of cheerleading...... go Rays :)

Monday = two rounds of Swimiming... Twins at 6pm - 630pm/ saoirse 6pm - 7pm
Tuesday = Cheerleading....5.30pm - 7pm

Wednesday = Swimming 6pm - 7pm / Gymnastics 7pm - 9pm

Thursday= Ice-skating x3 6pm-7pm

Friday= crash and burn :)

and start the whole process again ........................................ with lots of 'whoo hoos', 'good job' 'super' 'high fives' and did you see me mummy............... mummy did you see my jump.........mummy was i fast.................

Perks of the job......... The smiles, the gushing tales to be told immediately after each activities, the puffed up chests as they finally master a new technique!!!CANT wait to do it all again this week........ the super proud mum role is just MAGIC :)

Latest midlife crisis!!!

So once again....... i have had another mid-life crisis :) :) i wonder how many i can actually get away with having!!! At 30 i have had a few already!!!!!!!!

its funny never had a huge love of Tattoos!! but my skin may say differently!!

However i really really thought i was done with them after my last one! but recently a good mate mentioned her latest tattoo ideas and having one of those days at work i started browsing........ never ever a good idea!!

so i stumbled across some old arabic sayings, and the rest as they say is history! the idea stuck, i have fought it for a few weeks, but just couldn't get it out of my head......

it just seemed perfect! the translation means 'strenght', something i need alot of :)

Backtrack Blog 2: Ripleys Wax Hands!!

Backtrack Blog 2: there are so many things in the last couple of months which warant a backtracking!!!

Ripleys Believe it or not - Niagara Falls Wax zone is one of them!

Discovered by Mammy Curley on one of our first visits to Niagara.... when off on one of her famous wanders, she returned with my daughter proudly holding a neon pink wax model of her hand!

I just had to check it out......... and it was exactly that!

Her hand dipped in Wax to have for all prosterity!

Hand after hand i have seen done it never ceases to amaze me!

Step 1 - Dip into Wax
Step 2 - Dip into Cold Water

Step 3 - Dip into Coloured Wax

Step 4 - Remove hand
Step 5 - Volia!! one Wax hand!! simple as that

The basic had was spectular enough.... however then they started joining hands (for the lovebirds)

and even joined all 3 of my monkies hands together!!

This is not somewhere you normally hear about when people talk about Niagara Falls, you don't normally read about it in any guide book! but its somewhere i will be heading everytime i happen to be there!

i think i will need a new shelf soon for next years hands updates :) :) :)

http://ripleysniagara.com/ripleys-niagara/

http://www.cliftonhill.com/niagara_falls_attractions/ripleys_believe_it_or_not/

4983 Clifton Hill, Niagara Falls

Backtrack Blog 1: Welcome to the Jungle!!

One of our favourite places since we came to Canada to visit has been the Rainforest cafe :) http://www.rainforestcafe.com/

it had to be worth a couple of words here on my latest rants!!!!!!!!!
the first time i ever entered the 'rainforest' was in Disneyland Paris!! and it was love at first sight!!! mist rising, waterfalls, tropical fishtanks, gorillas, elephants, snakes, parrots and frogs! what more could you want for an atmospheric dinner setting!! the middle of the jungle :) Magic

I think we are currently running at a trip total of 10 :) and we have been in Canada 9 months!! and it has been magic every time!!

We have become regulars in the Yorkdale Shopping Centre, and now every trip to Niagara has been completed at the Rainforest cafe there!!

Its not just for kids, the menu is superb!! i have to admit, i have been a couple of times for 'grown up' meals too!! Even one business lunch!!

(Cha-Cha the Red Eyed Frog is one of the mascot animals!!)

Am just waiting for Birthday time to roll around again as there is nowhere better to head for a birthday!!!

Have done 3 birthdays there now! and its a perfect excuse for the absolutely sinfully delightful..... Vollllllllllllllllllllllllllll Cannnnnnnnnnnn Ooooooooooooooooooo

(Laurs 30th Birthday!! Complete with mandatory Volcano!! ) and clappetty Happy birthday song!!!

Heres to many more trips to the jungle :)

Day on the slopes

so today was a big day!! we all had our first skiing lesson and day on the slopes!

with lots of excitment and apprenshion we loaded up this morning!! with Jen as my extra pair of hands (bless her i would have never pulled it off otherwise!!)

We are sooo lucky we are only 20 mins from http://www.discoverchicopee.com/

On recommendation for their fab selection of 'bunny' runs that was our destination :)

Once suited and booted, we first learnt to the funny ski walk!! you can't walk normally in ski boots!!

The twins had a Private Discover Skiing lesson which was only $79! That was for the one-to-one lesson, equipment rental for the day, ski lift passes for the day and a $5 food voucher :)

It gets better myself and Saoirse was the same (but in a group lesson) for only $59!!!

We fell down, we laughed, we shivered, we had fun and most importantly we learnt to stop!!!

after an hour! Saoirse was flying down the first slope and was bored and ventured off with jen to exlpore bigger hills!!

the twins were clearing the run in one go, you would swear they had been born with skis on their feet!!!!!!

so now home, rosey cheeked, battered bodies, exhausted tired children (and mum) but an absolutely fabulous day!

one that is going to become a weekly event for the rest of winter :) :) :)

Winter Fun

here there are two choices....... hypothermia :) or embracing and having fun!!!

so we opted for fun! today we ventured into the world of snow sleding!! we purchased some funny looking plastic items, including what i only know as a boogie board (but its for snow!!)

and we found us some hills to lauch ourselves down!! The final destination was Riverside park in Guelph! as they also have an outdoor ice skating rink which was plan B, we never made it today! Tobogganing/ Sleding won all round!!

it was -12 today, with a windchill factor making it -26............ and i have never had so much fun!! nearly pee'd myself laughing :) :)

however the removal of gloves to take pictures i'm sure caused frostbite, for every picture it took a good 20 mins for the pain of the cold to stop in my fingers!! so snow pictures may be limited!!

3 years old to 30 years old.......... we had an absolute blast!!

Nagara in the winter

Pure MAGIC!!!!!!!

The Maid of the Mist Boats docked for the winter and a serenity that is unbelievable.

if ya cant beat 'em join em' :)

right, finally decided to give this a shot!!! Start of the new year and all of that!! and i'm gettin old now!! so i need to write stuff down!!
THe last year has been CRAZY, having emigrated to Guelph, Ontario, Canada from a recession plagued Ireland, i had the chance to relocate with my 3 kids on a whole new adventure!! I kinda jumped straight into the deep end and we are still on the rollercoaster.....
I also turned 30, so all round a big year!!
so now and today is the start of 2010.......... and things are going to change even more........ this year is going to ROCK!!

Right i need to figure out how all this works and will be back then! when i have something to blog about!