Mom to the Rescue

Being the mom of kids of such varying ages means that I am constantly having to change hats since being the mother of a six-year-old is very different from being the mother of a 19-year-old. Yet no matter how old they are, there is nothing like the distress call to put you into full "Mom" mode.

Today I got the distress call from Sam, who had run out of gas in a busy intersection in Reston just as rush hour was getting underway. I could hear the horns honking as she called me. That's when you go into the mode of just focusing on one thing at a time: get the gas can, get in the car, get to the gas station, etc., and trying NOT to think about her being in danger.

So, all's well that ends well and I managed to get her some gas in a timely fashion. A little more adventure than I was expecting on a Friday afternoon, but it's good to know that I haven't gotten too rusty in the "rescue department" - even though I am slowly but surely being replaced by significant others. That's life.

Obsessing Over Ballet

I have no clue why I have spent so much time obsessing over whether or not to move the girls from the former ballet school to a new one. Now that I've made the decision, it seems so obvious that this is the way things should have gone from the start.

The old school was great while the girls were small and they had three great years there. The perfect place for getting dressed up in princess outfits and learning ballet from someone as kind and compassionate as "The Sainted" Miss Barbara.

Now, however, I know it's time to move on and I've been just tickled with our new ballet "home" - Classical Ballet Academy. The summer classes have gone just amazingly well and the girls are really adjusting and getting a lot out of them.

Today I went and handed in the paperwork for the fall and I was truly touched when the office manager seemed truly excited about having Claire and Sydney there. She had told me that the school's director had been talking nonstop about Claire and that she "never does that." I can tell that she sees potential in Claire by the way she gives her a little extra attention during class. It doesn't hurt that Claire is just so into it and tries so hard at everything. I just have a great feeling knowing that she may take Claire under her wing and challenge her more than she's been challenged in the past. I am really looking forward to the fall.

A Little Validation

It's no secret to my family and friends that I am a certified photography freak. I enjoy taking pictures so much and I get such a thrill from taking a good one.

A few weeks ago I took part in The Washington's Post "First Day of Summer Photo Contest." It came at a great time because I was obsessing over medical issues (since resolved) and focusing on taking one good photo on June 20th was just the distraction I needed.

While in Canada, I was notified that my photo of Sydney (above) washing the car was named a semifinalist and it was just such a fantastic feeling. During the long (11 hour) drive home on Sunday, I got an email from Barb saying that my photo was in the print version of the paper that day. After that, we just couldn't get home fast enough for me to see my photo in The Post. A huge thrill for me.

Saint-Jean-sur-Richlieu

Today was the big day for Tara and Philippe and we were all so excited to be there and to be a part of it. Tony was truly honored to walk Tara down the aisle and to step in for her dad, who passed away a year ago. Even Claire and Sydney were called into service to escort Rachelle down the aisle. They were absolutely thrilled to be part of the service and it was such a nice thought by Tara and Rachelle to include them.

The wedding was just beautiful and the reception was at a gorgeous outdoor facility - full of flowers and sunshine and was just a perfect venue for the launch of a marriage between two people with such a bright future together.

The most difficult part of the day was having to say goodbye to everyone - as we were leaving in the early morning the following day. I have to admit I got more than a little teary having to leave - everyone had been just so amazingly kind and thoughtful. It was just a great trip all around.

Montreal - Friday

Just an absolutely beautiful day. We set out after our wonderful Embassy Suites buffet breakfast to Mont Real - the mountain for which the city is named. We tried two different vistas - the second being the most spectacular, but involved a bit of walking.

We enjoyed the views as well as the exploits of two daredevil unicyclists before heading back down to Lac aux Castors - I was only able to translate that as "Beaver Lake" because of my run-in with the Beaver Tail dessert a few evenings prior.

We had lunch in a building next to the lake and I was delighted when we were asked to move out of the Bistro area and back into the Cafeteria area - thrilled because we were asked in French and I was able to understand reasonably well. I'm sure my delight confused the poor waiter who asked us to move.

In the afternoon, Rachelle came to hang out with us again and we did more exploring in Vieux Montreal - including a horse-drawn carriage ride (at Claire's request) and then stopped briefly by the Montreal Jazz Festival. Sydney's highlight was the flower-shaped mango on a stick.

Dinner out and a walk along the river at sunset concluded our day. We are really loving this city.

The only oddity of the day was the realization from time to time that we were "missing" all the 4th of July celebrations back home. I guess it's one of the few days it's better not to be in another country.

Montreal - Thursday

Thursday dawned very rainy, so we decided to hit all of the inside venues.
Our first stop was the Biodome de Montreal - a place we had been once before with Joe and Sam. It's a great place, but the only downside was that it was being visited by about 45,000 (at least it seemed like it) school camps. At times I would literally have to pull either Claire or Sydney out of a throng of kids. They each chose a stuffed animal - Claire chose a penguin and named him Guy (must be pronounced as French version for full effect) and Sydney got a polar bear, whose name keeps evolving.

After lunch, we headed to the Insectarium. The girls really enjoyed it there and learned lots about all sorts of insects. Not always pretty.

After some downtime at the hotel, we made our first foray to visit the full family in Brossard. We arrived at Tita Baby's house where we got to see Tara, Rachelle, Tita Baby, Tita Edna, Tita Josie, and Nai Nai. Most of us went to dinner at a very nice restaurant in the huge outdoor mall that's near Brossard. The weather had cleared so we took a walk all around after dinner.

Arrival in Montreal

After another five or so hours on the road - and a bit of time at the Canadian border - we finally arrived at our lovely Embassy Suites (brand new) on Rue Saint Antoine in Vieux (Old) Montreal. The hotel was truly gorgeous and everything was brand spanking new and sparkly. The decorations were unbelievable and Claire immediately announced that she wanted to live there.

We were starved and quickly made our way by foot down to the water to find an outside restaurant. No problem - and we had a delightful lunch near one of the Quays.

After lunch we explored a bit more around Vieux Montreal, which is absolutely beautiful. A bit later we ventured a few blocks over to Chinatown. It was such a kick for me to be in a place where both Chinese and French are employed at the same time. Since I've tried so hard to learn a little of each - and it's nearly nonexistent for them to be together.

After a brief nap for the girls (who were truly pooped) we hit the hotel's Manager's Reception (aka: free drinks) to pass a little time until Tara and Rachelle were to appear for dinner at 7. The reunion with Claire and Sydney was wonderful to behold (see photo above). The little girls and the big girls were just thrilled to ALL be together for the first time.

We had a great dinner, in one of Rachelle's favorite restaurants, which overlooked the waterfront. Afterwards, we did more wandering - looking at the gorgeously lit buildings. Then we headed to "Queues de Castor" - where they serve "Beaver Tail" - basically a big slab of fried dough with various dessert-type toppings. The girls loved it. Later, Philippe came and met us for what was supposed to be fireworks. Apparently, though, the entire supply had been used up the day before for Canada Day so no fireworks were had.

A great day.

Northward Ho!

This afternoon we packed up the car and began our very long journey to Montreal for Tara and Philippe's wedding. We hit horrendous traffic right off the bat, which was a bit discouraging, but things picked up and we made it just south of Albany before we found a hotel for the night.

Our destination for the day ended up being Kingston, NY where we found a servicable Holiday Inn. Definitely not a good night's sleep for any of us - between Tony's snoring and Claire's flailing, but we still managed to get a decent start the next day.