Thursday, January 24, 2013

Liebster award

One of my blogging friend Elizabeth at http://www.myadoptionjourney2011.blogspot.ca/ has nominated me for a Liebster award. I am going to copy and paste her description of this award. It was so nice of her to think of me and our little blog. I also follow her blog and fully recommend checking her out. A very strong and introspective woman. I hope she is united with a child very soon as that little one will have a wonderful mother indeed!




The Liebster Award
This award is given to new or up and coming bloggers who have less than 200 followers. The award is then passed along to other bloggers in the same category to help spread the word and support one another. If you receive the award, there are a few rules to follow.

Each blogger nominated must post 11 things about themselves.
Then you have to answer the 11 questions the tagger has asked.
The blogger must then create 11 questions of their own to ask the bloggers they decide to nominate.
They must choose 11 ( or less if you can't do 11) bloggers with less than 200 followers to nominate and link them on their blog post.
Bloggers must be notified of their award.
No tag backs!

11 things about me:

1. I was born in London, UK and moved to Canada when I was 5.

2. My mom is London Irish and my grandparents were from Dublin. My dad is half Scottish and half Canadian (Newfoundland). I spent a good chunk of my childhood summers in Ireland and Scotland visiting family.

3. I am a lawyer and practice mostly family law (although my first love is immigration/refugee).

4. I lived for 2 years in London in my early 20's and Japan for 2 years right after law school.

5. I have done a lot of traveling and it is a passion. I've been through much of Europe, a chunk of Asia and Kenya (will go back to Africa one day to see more).

6. Plan on taking a year off of work when the kids are older so that we can live in Korea and Vietnam then travel a bit.

7. I am a voracious reader and also enjoy writing fiction (I have been writing since I was a child) and non-fiction (articles).

8. My favourite TV show is Sherlock. I am also an avid watcher of CBC and love our Canadian programming.

9. I LOVE hockey. Love love love. I watch as much as I can and I am a die hard Leafs fan. I also play and I am a goalie.

10. I love horses and have worked with horses at various points in my life. I have taught lessons in the past and have ridden on and off for years. I got my love from my Irish grandmother.

11. I am a left winger and am proud of it (politically and sometimes hockey lol). I wish Jack Layton was still with us.

That's a bit about me. Here are the answers to Elizabeth's questions:

1) What is your favourite book/author?

Kafka on the Shore by Haruki Murakami

2) Do you have any pets? If yes, info (type and name) and pictures if you are willing. If no, would you like one and what kind.

Two cats and a dog. Huxley cat is a 16 year old ginger male, Pepper cat is a 7 year old black and white short hair and Chibi is 7.5 year old Boston Terrier.

3) Name one place you would like to visit.

India, hands down!

4) Do you have a favourite app (phone, ipad, or if you don't have anything "i", an edible appitizer)?

Facebook, Twitter, CBC, Hockey Night in Canada.

5) Tell about a surprise in your life.

Our 2 referrals.

6) What was your favourite childhood activity?

Reading.

7) Tell about something you have learned, anything from anytime.

People are pretty much the same everywhere in the world. Culture shock is a state of mind.

8) What stresses you out?

My kids lol. Seriously, practically the only thing.

9) What are three words would your family and friend use to describe you?

Passionate (maybe too much lol), intelligent (these are from Pat), worldly.

10) White wine or red wine?

Red. Not a white drinker at all.

11) A wish you have

I want my boys to grow up happy, healthy and well adjusted (a wish most parents have I suspect)

Thanks Elizabeth! I promise to pay this forward as soon as I get a chance!

Friday, January 11, 2013

The holidays

Well again I have let too much time pass in between posts. Having two children definitely makes a difference with regards to keeping up with the blog. It is just really hard to get the pictures sorted out lol.

Our holidays were good. Van is finally at an age where he can appreciate the whole Santa thing. Gerad had no idea what was going on but he has certainly enjoyed his presents (and Van's too lol). All in all it was a success.

Gerad is doing better and better and I feel like he is beginning to fully attach to us. He no longer cries when he's put to bed and he is able to accept behavioural correction without having a full tantrum (which we believe was related to his insecurity. Now he's realizing that just because we say no it does not mean we don't love him or will be leaving him). I think being able to understand our langauge now has also made a huge difference. I think he is basically fluent in his understanding and can follow directions. It's incredible how quickly he has adjusted. He and Van are getting along as brothers should. Hugs, fights, etc.

Here are some pictures from the past month:

Santa's cookies and milk:



Xmas day:








Visiting day:








First haricut in Canada:




Enjoying the snow:








Experimental farm:


Gerad's room finally fully decorated: