A decade old dog

Chloe Joanne Hoden turned 10 today! Her birthday snuck up on us this year, but we kept with tradition and took her to Pet Smart and let her pick out a couple of toys and some treats:) When I told Ivy we were letting her pick out some toys for her birthday she told me that Chloe was a dog and couldn't pick out presents. But then she also made sure to note that her birthday was coming up and she could pick out presents for herself! This was our first time in Pet Smart in Edmonton and the kids really enjoyed it. There were quite a few other dogs in the store and they had some cats in cages that you could buy that they liked. Ivy wanted to take one home of course, but we quickly distracted her!



When we got home we all had ice cream and sang happy birthday to Chloe. I made her some dog safe ice cream and she licked the bowl clean! It was 1 ripe banana, 1 cup peanut butter, 2 cups natural plain yogurt and 2 Tablespoons of honey. Even though the kids (minus Mya) would have loved the ice cream I made for Chloe they thought it was sooooo gross because it was for a dog! I took a few bites and then told the kids it was full of dog food, mashed up chicken, pieces of bone, etc. and they were just laughing so hard:)


Everyone enjoying their bedtime birthday snack:)


Now for a little update on Chloe! She is basically the same as last year, but just a little more gray in her face:) Her favorite thing to do is still riding along when we go places in the car. She loves to stick her head out the window and when we're waiting in line to pick up Max and Mya she loves when people notice her and give her attention. She is still a major lover of swimming. We found a dog park in Edmonton right on the river and she loved it. In the past she wasn't all about dog parks, but this one was so big and had the water that she didn't even notice the other dogs very much. Even though our backyard is fenced, she prefers to hang out in the front yard and I'm sure it's because there is so much more action. She likes to see the cars go by, the people walking by, etc. She has wandered down the street a few times, but doesn't go too far.



She can still rip up a toy in 10 seconds flat if it has a squeaker inside, still sheds A TON, still licks the plates in the dishwasher, still drinks water out of the toilet if her bowl is empty, still makes a gigantic mess every time she takes a drink, still digs in the yard, still tracks in dirt, still hates it when Chris wrestles the kids, still takes food out of the kids' hands if they're not paying attention, still paws at you if you stop petting her, still takes food off of the table if it's close enough to the edge, still stops if I don't take the long way on our walks, and is still the most loyal, loving, gentle dog in the world.

She is quickly becoming the kids' dog. Max and Mya feed her, get her water and let her in and out whenever we ask. (We said no more dogs if they don't start helping out and I'll tell you what, that did the trick!) Max is a total softie when it comes to his pup and is well aware of her age and what could happen to her in the next few years. For the longest time all he wanted was for Chloe to sleep in his room and it's almost like she heard him because now that's where she sleeps every night! Every once in awhile you can even catch her up on his bed which he absolutely loves.




Even though I complain about her almost daily, she really has been a wonderful dog for our family and I'm so glad we were able to find a house we could rent that would let us have a dog. Here's hoping for many more birthdays for our furry friend:)

What Canada does right/wrong

We've been in Canada 4 1/2 months. I jotted down a few of my most recent thoughts!

Some things Canada/Edmonton does right:

Maternity leave aka "mat leave". It's amazing. Moms get a full year off with 55% of their pay and a guaranteed job back after a year at their same level. It may be a slightly different job, but it will not be a demotion. Some employers offer a "top off" (I think that's what it's called) where they supplement your pay so it equals 100% for part of the mat leave. Someone I talked to today said she got "topped off" for 17 weeks. Chris and I have had many discussions on this. For one, I probably never would have quit teaching had this been offered to me back home. By the time Mya got to be a year old, I feel like I had my life put together, kids were sleeping through the night, etc. Of course it's easy for me to say that now, but you never know. I've also heard Chris's side of it as an employer of women who are taking a year off...it makes it really tough on the people left behind to fill in for them. We've decided we know what's best for both countries. 6 months of maternity leave at 75% of the pay and all benefits:) I'd love to see the breastfeeding numbers between the two countries. It seems like it would be a lot easier to give it a shot when you know you have a whole year off verse 6-12 weeks like most people.

Coffee. Seriously these Canadians love their coffee. You can find a coffee shop on every single corner and three more in between. Tim Hortons is their national claim to coffee fame. About a month ago it was bought out by Burger King and everyone here was in uproar about it. It's really good coffee and at a fraction of the price of Starbucks.

Canada Post. Yes this will also be a part of my "what canada does wrong" side of this blog, but first I'll share something they do right. All post offices are open on Saturdays, Sundays and holidays. (At least the one at the local grocery store was open on Thanksgiving day, not sure about the rest) There is no mail delivery on Saturday or Sunday but you can still do business at the post office. It's really nice to be able to take care of mailing a package or whatever else on the weekend. They're still saving lots of money by not delivering the mail, but also continuing to make money by having the windows open for service. And I have not missed Saturday delivery one bit.

Thanksgiving on the 2nd Monday in October. Sure it didn't really feel like Thanksgiving to me, but what was so nice about it was that it didn't feel like Christmas at all either! The Christmas stuff is not out in most stores, no one is really talking about Christmas lists, no one's house is lit up, the weather is really nice, etc. It was nice just to concentrate on eating good food and being thankful for all that we have:) Oh and maybe another reason I loved it was because I didn't have to run after eating!

No cell phone use while driving. I love this law and I was one who talked on the phone a lot while driving back home. There's a pretty big fine ($300) if you get caught so it's not something I'm willing to risk. I have found that after just 4+ months, it feels really weird to me to talk while driving. The other night I was driving Chris's car and didn't have bluetooth hooked up in his car. I had to drive across a parking lot from one place to the other and needed to call him. So without really thinking I dialed him up and put the phone to my ear. As I pulled out of my spot, I immediately felt like something was wrong and I figured out it was because I was on my phone. You never see people talking while they're driving and if you do, you can bet other people are cursing at them to get off the phone! I know some states have this law implemented, but it definitely should be everywhere.

Some things Canada/Edmonton does wrong:

Target. It's a crying shame that they can't figure out how to get full target trucks up here! Total first world problems here...I know my sister in Japan and my sister in law in Decorah would love a Target close by..even if it was only half full! But seriously I LOVE target and have only gone here a handful of times. I get the ad in the paper and then when I go to the store for the deal, they never have the item! When I ask about it they just say the trucks never make it here with the product before the ad goes to print.



Mail. It's a total guess as to when something will get here! My mom sent the kids each a letter in the mail on the same day. Ivy got hers on a Wednesday and the other two came the following Thursday. Also, the prices for shipping. It's ridiculous. Canadians just stand with their jaws dropped when I tell them how cheap/fast shipping is in the US. The whole amazon prime free 2-day shipping thing is usually the kicker for them.

Speed cameras. Sure, this is for our safety, but it's a big pain in the butt! Chris and I were commenting on how we never see police have cars pulled over. But then a few weeks ago we figured out why. We got a nice little $80 ticket in the mail with a picture of Chris's car, the time, and his speed. (to be fair..we don't know who was driving. It was 6:20 on a Friday night so one of us was going to pick up Mya from gymnastics, but we can't remember who!) Basically a camera picked it up and then charged us. He (or I) was going 72 km/h in a 60 km/h zone. 12 km/h converts to 7.4 mph. Typically you would not be pulled over for that in the States, but here anything over 10 km/h could get you a ticket whether or not you see a police officer! Pretty sure the only reason we haven't gotten any tickets in our Acadia yet is because we haven't switched to Alberta license plates yet! Oops...don't tell anyone.



What I'm still up in the air about:

Healthcare. There are definitely some pros and cons to the system here. While it's nice that everyone has access to free (I use the term free loosely...nothing is ever really free) it does make it difficult to get in to see a specialist if you need. My neighbor's dad got diagnosed with prostate cancer at an early stage. He got diagnosed at the beginning of September. The first he can get in for surgery is January. Another friend of mine here hurt her knee and waited 5 months for an MRI only to find out she had a torn ACL. So who knows...maybe someday we will get this whole healthcare thing worked out and take the good from one place, combine it with the good from another and everything will be perfect! Yeah right:)

Get ready for some randomness....

Max and Mya wanted to sleep together one night in Max's bedroom. When I went to check on them I found them in bed playing the iPad. I thought it was cute enough to snap a pic, but then had to be the mean mom and take it away because it was so late!


Last spring Chris's mom gave Mya a grass hula skirt that she got when she was in Hawaii a number of years ago and Mya thinks it's so cool. She had to disguise a turkey (today is Thanksgiving in Canada so that's the reason for the turkey activities in early October:) at school and wanted to disguise it as a hula girl. Last week when I was at school I noticed the teacher hung them up and that Mya had written a description of her turkey. Apparently she thinks her grandma used to be a hula dancer! And now the teacher thinks so as well:)





Max's orthodontic care has begun! He got his expander in last Thursday and is doing really well with it. He has to brush his teeth quite often and use the special tools to get food out of his expander, but he is taking it all in stride. We have to "expand" it every other day (it moves .25mm each time) for a month or so and then they will check to see the progress. I'm sure we will be doing it a few times throughout the next 8 months. This is only step 1 in "operation fix Max's jaw/teeth" so stay tuned!


Mya is doing really well at gymnastics. She has only gone once a week thus far, but starting next week will go twice per week. I hope it's not too much for her.


I've mentioned it before, but it has been a beautiful fall here. I've been able to take Chloe on lots of walks and we snapped a few pics of the kids in our neighborhood.




One of our neighbors is Italian so he's been teaching me about Italian cooking and recently his wife took me to the Italian grocery store to teach me the ropes. I'm sure glad I had her because I wouldn't have had a clue! Basil and pine nuts are two of the things that are actually cheap here (I know...something that is cheap here...new concept) so we made an awesome batch of pesto one night! We've also been making lots of yummy apple treats and the kids love to help with the apple peeler/slicer.



And lastly, my sis in law Amanda sent me a pic of Grady (11 months) climbing up on the dishwasher! It reminded me of Max at that age:)

Fall Fun in Edmonton

Awhile ago a co-worker of Chris's sent him a link to a blog with 100 things to do with your kids in Edmonton. We've made it our mission to check off as many of the suggestions as possible over the next couple of years! We hit up a couple spots recently.

Last Sunday we went with our neighbors to the Edmonton Corn Maze. I was telling my kids it was a pumpkin patch (because I assumed they would have pumpkins and my kids are very familiar with pumpkin patches) but come to find out, they had no pumpkins! They had everything else a typical fall festival would have...a bouncy trampoline type pillow, lots of animals to feed/pet, a spud gun, hay bale slides, an awesome corn maze with trivia to help guide you through, giant pedal cars, and of course kettle corn and hot chocolate! It was too warm for the hot chocolate, but it's never too warm for kettle corn:)




Today we spent the morning at the Jurassic Forest which is about an hour north of our house. Tomorrow is the last day it is opened for the season so we figured we better go take a look! It was a pretty cool place. They had lifelike dinosaurs all over the forest that moved and made noises. The kids had a great time running through the trails looking at all of the dinosaurs and trying to pronounce their names. You'd think after the number of Dinosaur Train episodes they've seen they would be better! Ivy was a little scared, but did fine if she was being held. They also had a dino dig where the kids got to uncover fossils in the giant sandbox. I know I definitely learned a lot so hopefully the kids did too!

Mya/Mommy afternoon

Mya has been asking to do something "just me and you" so last Sunday we headed to Starbucks for some girl time and then grocery shopping. When it was time to leave she came marching down the steps with her sassy hat, her purse and her baby. She asked if she could bring them and I said of course! Then she asked if people would think it was weird and I assured her they would not and that she should totally take advantage of bringing them because there are lots of times it doesn't work to bring that stuff along!

I pretended along with her the whole time because I remember how fun it was to pretend to be big. I let her "lock" the car with her keys, talked about how cold it probably was for her baby, etc. She just ate it up. She ordered a kid sized hot chocolate and a banana chocolate chip muffin and we had a nice time chatting. Well, we chatted a little bit and the rest of the time Mya spent people watching...one of her favorite things to do! I've said it before on here, but this 6 year old cannot wait to be a mom. Not sure if this is right or wrong, but when she doesn't want to go to school in the morning I tell her that if she doesn't go to school, she won't be able to get into college, meet her husband and have kids. Then the other day when Ivy was throwing a fit about not wanting to take the kids to school (you know..the usual) Mya was trying to tell her that she wouldn't be able to be a mom if she didn't go to school! I feel a little bad about making her think that, but for now it works and it's sorta true;)

After Starbucks we went grocery shopping and she put her baby in the cart and was reading my list and pretending it was her that we were grocery shopping for. It was pretty cute. I snapped a few pictures of her along the way.


notice her holding the "keys" so she's ready to unlock the doors in the pic below:)


And lastly...the other night when we were getting the kids to bed, Ivy and Mya decided to do a pull-up dance party. It was hilarious and I had to take some photos! The pic in the center of the collage where they're both looking at each other is my favorite:)

September one-photo-a-day

Happy October everyone! Even though I thought winter was coming in early September, we ended up having a pretty nice month! But now that it's October it's time for pumpkins, apples and everything in between. Here's a little glimpse into what September looked like around here.

Day 244: Our blender starting smoking one morning and it wasn't the first time. So Chris decided an engineering lesson would follow with "how a blender works 101" with Max and Mya.
Day 245: 1st Day of 1st and 2nd grade!
Day 246: On this day Maxwell turned 7 1/2. I picked them up for lunch and we went out for lunch to celebrate!
Day 247: Some serious bey blades before bed. My kids used to take their shirts/pants off during the night if they got hot, but eventually they just went to sleep in their undies to save the hassle. Can't really blame them:)



Day 248: I finished this book...awesome read if anyone is looking for something and you haven't seen the movie yet!
Day 249: The gym had a family picnic so the kids had a great time running all over and using the equipment.
Day 250: 1st day of the NFL season for the Vikes! We caved and bought the NFL ticket so we could catch all of the Vikings games. Too bad we won't be sporting our #28 jerseys anytime soon...or ever.
Day 251: On this day we woke up to flurries and my car read 36 degrees and flashed this ice warning on my dash! It was September 8th. Not cool Canada, not cool.



Day 252: Our new tradition when Chris is gone is to all (Max, Mya and me) sleep in our big bed that we got when we moved here. In Dubuque I let one kid sleep with me each night he was gone, but here we can all fit. Ivy doesn't know about this yet, but when she figures it out, we may be in trouble:)
Day 253: One of my favorite parts of the day is seeing these two come running to the car. Unfortunately for them, they have to run a long way because I refuse to be at pick up any earlier than I have to be. In order to get a decent spot, I'd have to sit there for 30 minutes plus. Maybe on a -40 degree day I will, but for now they can run!
Day 254: My family is here!! Ivy was pretty excited to see everyone;)
Day 255: Max was showing Quinn his lego guys...thought she would like them I guess!



Day 256: Family card night. My friend Emily posted a comment on instagram "shirts vs skins?" That definitely should have been the caption for this photo!
Day 257: Mya takes the term "mother's helper" to a whole new level.
Day 258: A quick little couch photo shoot with baby Quinn in her cute horse outfit!
Day 259: A little post-bath TV time for these 4:)



Day 260: Had to say good-bye to Tara and Quinn on this day. I was so proud of my sis for making that long trek on her own and doing so well! If you'd like to read about her adventure you can read it here.
Day 261: Max decided Mya wasn't running fast enough to the car so he carried her backpack for her! I'd say mission accomplished because she made it to the car first!
Day 262: Ivy tasting some peanut butter bars we whipped up!
Day 263: In Edmonton, every neighborhood is a part of a community league that consists of 3-4 other neighborhoods in your area. The kids do their sports through the community league..so you play soccer, hockey, etc. within your community league. This day they had a big family day for us all and the kids had a great time eating cotton candy, snow cones and popcorn!



Day 264: Chloe was loving this 81 degree day in the sun!
Day 265: Max's first orthodontist visit. His jaw is going to cost us big bucks, but it will be worth it:)
Day 266: On this night Ivy was sick of M and M reading to her so she decided to take over the duties and was reading to Mya.
Day 267: Ivy's first day of Kindermusik. I enjoyed the class, but it definitely wasn't the same without all of my Dubuque friends! I kept waiting for someone to say "come over for coffee after this!"



Day 268: I had to wake this sweet girl up to take the kids to school AND I had to wake her up from her nap to go get them this day!
Day 269: Max and his buddies who sang O Canada
Day 270: This day was a great day to use every spare blanket in our house to build a giant fort and watch movies.
Day 271: Mya wanted some one-on-one time so we went to Starbucks and then grocery shopped! I loved that she wanted to bring her baby, wear a hat and carry a purse, but I hated that she asked me if I thought people would think she was weird. I don't like that she's starting to care what others think.



Day 272: Well, I guess if Chloe won't use it, Ivy might as well read her books in her bed.
Day 273: Mya and Ivy doing a little "light" reading in the ortho waiting room while Max had his appointment.

O Canada

Just like in the States, the students in Canada start their day off with a pledge/anthem type thing. During the 2nd week of school, they started letting students sing the anthem during the morning announcements. Sometimes it's on video and sometimes it's on the intercom. Since the first time Max saw students do it, he has been begging to do it. So we had a conference with his teacher on Tuesday and he mentioned that he wanted to sing the anthem. The next day his teacher made it happen. He had to sing it to the principal and then she told him he would be doing it Friday! We practiced a little at home to make sure he had the correct words. I help with the reading program in Mya's room every morning for 15 minutes with other parents so I got to hear him sing today. He ended up singing with 2 other classmates and they did a wonderful job. I was hoping it would be a tv day, but it wasn't so I couldn't see him, but we heard him just fine! Afterwards, the principal gave Max a shout out for being from the States and getting the Canadian anthem memorized so quickly and being so brave to sing to the school! Mya's teacher also commented to her class letting everyone know that it was Mya's brother who was singing today:)Here's a link to the video I took in Mya's classroom on you tube.

I think why I'm so proud of Max for doing this is because it's not something I would have done in a million years. I just go through life trying not to stick out or putting myself in situations where things could go very wrong. Could be his age or his personality, but those kinds of things don't even cross his mind. Sometimes I'm not sure if he's 7 or 37. The other night we were eating at our very favorite restaurant, The Keg. We've been there two other times on special occasions, but last week we went just because Max really wanted to. When the waiter was taking our order Max had two choices (the hamburger sliders or the roast beef sliders) and so he asked the waiter which one he would prefer. Then after he got done placing his order, he said to the waiter, "excuse me, I didn't catch your name?" The waiter looked at Chris and me as if to say, Is this kid for real?

Last night during our dinner prayer he said something along the lines of thank you god for letting us come to Canada. I wasn't sure those words would ever come out of his mouth. I know if I told him we were moving back home, he would jump for joy and would be facetiming Sam and Owen and William in about .5 seconds, but the fact that he is happy and comfortable here makes me so so happy. He has definitely had a few moments the last few weeks that make me think he's starting to test the limits a bit with things he is saying, with what he's doing to his sisters, the signs that are going on his door, etc. but there are times when he still melts my heart. Like last night we were walking home from the neighbors house and Ivy fell off of her bike. He ran ahead, picked her up and started walking home with her. (I was pretty sure she was faking the injury so that's why I didn't drop everything and run, but I wasn't going to stop Max:)

Visitors and more!

The last time I posted, I wrote that we were getting some very special visitors. Hard to believe they've already come and gone! We had the very best time having my parents, sister and niece here last week! It was hard to see them go for sure, but we're so thankful that they were here. Here's a little rundown of what we did!

Ivy and I picked everyone up at the airport around 11:00am on Thursday. It was so fun for Ivy to get to run to Grandma and Grandpa! She was headed straight for my mom and then saw she was holding baby Quinn so she veered off without missing a step right into Grandpa's arms. We barely got everything into the car because I shipped a bunch of stuff to my parents to have them bring for us:)



The rest of the day was spent getting everyone settled, showing them around the house, picking up kids from school, and catching up! We loved spending some extra time with Quinn. She is changing so much these days. The kids (mostly the girls) loved holding her, helping with her, etc.



Chris flew in Friday from a work trip so he met us and the kids for lunch and then took my dad around the factory to show him what he has been up to for the last 6 months. Friday after school Mya had gymnastics so we took turns watching her and then had a nice evening of pizza, wine and cards!



Saturday we did some shopping with Q while my dad, Chris and the kids went for a bike ride to their favorite store (Macs) and then to the park to drink their slurpies! We watched some of the Iowa/Iowa State game and then went to another park to let the kids burn off a little more energy! Saturday night we just hung out, ate dinner and played more cards!



Sunday morning Chris and I played tennis with my dad and we had to say good-bye to my parents who had to be back for work on Monday morning. It will be hard to say bye every time, but this time was especially hard because of Quinn. They are so thankful they got to spend so many weeks with her, but that makes it even tougher to say goodbye! Thankfully, my parents had an easy time getting home. They left Edmonton at 3:30 central time, flew into Minneapolis and were home to Decorah by 8:30. Not bad! Too bad the flights are so dang expensive or we would be seeing grandparents once a month!

Tara left on Wednesday so the next few days were spent doing a few things around here (Tara is the purge queen so she helped me out with some stuff that should have been done before we moved here, going for walks, and spoiling Quinn! Wednesday morning Chris stayed home from work to help with the kids and getting Tara all packed up and to the airport. Around 8am he took Max and Mya to school (normally a 10 min drive in the morning) and at 8:20 he called and said he was barely out of our neighborhood. Apparently there was a terrible accident and it had traffic backed up all over the city. So he plugged along and at 9:15 when he wasn't even close to being at school, he turned around an came home with the kids. We didn't think he could make it to school and back home in time to take Tara to the airport. I could have taken her in Chris's car, but the car seat and stroller were with him! Thankfully, we all got to the airport on time, Tara had smooth flights (she was a rockstar) I got the kids to school around 11:00 and the rest of the day went on without a problem. Tara made it home the next morning at 6am our time. She (Tara) slept 1 hour the entire trip, but gave Quinn an A+!