Surviving Spring Break

Julian's preschool follows the same schedule as the schools within Vancouver, so this past week was Spring Break.  There was no way I could survive a full week of him bouncing off the walls at home, so I enrolled him into Roundhouse Community Centre's Little Trekkers Spring Camp.  He had a blast. Each day, he came home with a project - potted plant, bird feeder, large bumble bee, underwater collage, etc. It surpassed our expectations and we were relieved he loved it, considering he had different teachers and different kids to deal with. We'll definitely be registering for future camps at the Roundhouse Community Centre.

Melvin and I realized how beneficial having something for himself every day was, so after deliberating back and forth, we decided to bump up his days at preschool next fall to 5 mornings.  He'll be getting ready for kindergarten next year and I think it'll be better for him.  We're (I'm) excited, but at the same time, I can't believe how fast he's grown. I also realized how much I missed out being at work full day and with my travel schedule. Time does fly!

With Julian being in camp this week, I had the time to prepare for the Kids Yoga Workshop I taught today for parents & preschoolers.  I was petrified and did some major preparation. It surprised me that I was more nervous than for adult classes, but children are SO unpredictable!  Anyway, I think it was a success and it was fun too. It certainly helped that I had a preschooler at home - it was easier to think of triggers to get their attention back and to relate to the kids.  Fun stuff!

Belgian Restaurant Week

Tomorrow starts Belgian Restaurant Week in NYC and my mouth is absolutely watering thinking about it. If you have never had a Liege Waffle in your life, you haven't lived. In my opinion, it surpasses the traditional Belgian (aka Brussels) Waffle BY FAR. Just enough crisp on the outside with pearl sugar balls throughout, caramelizing the chewy goodness within...YUM...WHO NEEDS SYRUP?

Someone please, please go to one of the Belgian Restaurant Week events in NYC and report back to me. I want to relive my moments in Bruges, Belgium!

Luckily, we have Patisserie Le Beau in Vancouver to satisfy my Liege Waffle cravings!

LIEGE WAFFLE

Rough Week

This week was a bit rough...It was Week 3 of my 30-day challenge and I'm EXHAUSTED...not to mention that just because I'm working out, I feel I can eat anything in sight and thus, gaining weight in the process.  In hindsight, 30-day challenge didn't do me much good, but I will finish it off...only a week and a half left!

On top of that, both kids had colds = broken sleep, whining, moaning, crying...

On top of that, I got another contract job so trying to work in between...

On top of that, attempting to wean Amelie from breastfeeding, so dealing with that change and emotional baggage tied to it...

I'm also volunteering for this mum-run toddler group in Yaletown. Each week, we bring in speakers from the community covering topics from will/estate planning to sleep training. I'm going out tonight with some of the mothers, so that is a good thing...I think they are normal people, but you can never tell unless you get to know them.  One of them told me that if she had two kids, she thinks she'd be an alcoholic.  You gotta really love that.  Made me feel a bit like superwoman, so I figured they were cool enough :)

...off to get my vino at UVA.

Hiroshima in the Morning

My friend told me all about this new book and the controversy it has stirred in the U.S. It's called Hiroshima in the Morning and is a memoir about a woman that received a 6-month fellowship in Japan and during her stay there, decided she did not want to be a mother (she has 2 children) anymore. She proceeded to get a divorce and the children stayed with their father, while she pursued her career.  I'm #7 on the waiting list at the library (I'm also #230 for Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother, but that is another blog story...hopefully I'll get to read it this year!).

My immediate impression, without reading the book, is that this woman identified WAY too much with motherhood. It's a constant struggle for mothers - finding, losing, finding, losing our identities - but I don't believe it is healthy to identify with motherhood solely or our careers solely. Mothers are not just mothers and professionals are not just professionals...not healthy.

...and seriously, if you "never wanted to be a mother", why did you have TWO children?  It's not a fad and it's not an accessory to have a child. Children are forever...if you don't want them, it's called birth control!  Again, I have not read the book, but just my immediate impression.

Satsang

Today, Melvin and I attended a Satsang.

Satsang (Sanskrit sat=true, sanga=company) is in Indian philosophy that involves (1) the company of the "highest truth," (2) the company of a guru, or (3) company with an assembly of persons who listen to, talk about, and assimilate the truth. This typically involves listening to or reading scriptures, reflecting on, discussing and assimilating their meaning, meditating on the source of these words, and bringing their meaning into one’s daily life. Contemporary spiritual teachers in the West frequently come from the East but can come from any part of the world.

(1) the "highest truth" was about Spiritual Intimacy...about relationships and the awareness of our actions in them and how we evolve with our partners.

(2) the "guru" was my very spiritual and amazing yoga teacher: Shakti Mhi

(3) the "company" comprised of gay, straight, women, men and one dog

We did, indeed, meditate for 10 minutes, didn't read any scriptures but as usual, enjoyed the enlightening words of my yoga teacher and her partner, Pepe Danza, an amazing musician and artist. It promoted wonderful dinner conversation for Melvin and I and hopefully a reminder to be aware of what is needed in our growing and ever-changing relationship.

Mantra = listen

Yantra = see

Tantra = feel

Before Kids...

A few weeks ago, I was cooking in the kitchen with one child hanging onto each leg and yelled out to Melvin asking him a question..."Hey! Do you remember what we used to do with our time before we had the kids?" His response, "I have no idea."


It's funny how kids consume your time. Even with all their naps and their 10-12 hours of sleep per night, how on Earth could we possibly still feel exhausted, right?  My response, "I have no idea!!"


Well, tonight, I was sifting through old pictures just because and I realized...Wow, we really traveled...thank goodness!!


Lesson of the Day: Travel and see the world before you have the kids!  It just gets more expensive and more difficult after they come along! 


Oh...and we used to work out and sleep a lot more, as well :) Love the little munchkins, but man, those were the days!

First Steps

Julian has been "coaching" Amelie on how to walk...his technique: pulling the front of their toy shopping cart while she struggles to keep up and "walk" by hanging onto back.  It's been really cute and fun watching them interact in this way.

Well, I guess all the "practice" paid off because Amelie took her first 5 steps yesterday!

Meanwhile, Julian gets home from his swim lesson today and we have this funny conversation.

Julian: Mommy, mommy, I put my head in the water!
Me: Really?  That's wonderful!  How long did you do it for?
Julian: 10 weeks!!!


My, how fast they are growing up!

Krispy Kreme "Beignets"

I was walking back from my Power Yoga class (4th day-check!) and stopped for a sandwich shop for lunch...Out of the corner of my eye, I see stacks and stacks of Krispy Kreme boxes at the shop across the way!

I ordered my sandwich and then made a beeline for the shop. Turns out they are fundraising for a local dance company and their upcoming tour. One dozen, please....

Then, I looked down at the box and it said "Product du Canada"....huh??  So I came home and googled it and turns out Krispy Kreme was created in North Carolina...Why did I think it was from NYC?  I guess I think everything started there...LOL

YRide

I started the YYoga's (Studio Chain in Vancouver) 30-day Challenge this month, which means I need to try and go to a class every day for the month of March. Just because I've been teaching yoga does not mean I've been diligent practicing it, so I figured this would be a great motivator for me (since I paid for it) to get back into it. I think Melvin is totally ecstatic because he knows when I'm in my "Yoga Zone", I'm in a better mood, more patient and don't fall asleep at 9:00pm every night, since I have more energy. Yoga really is amazing.

So my first class of the month was called YRide, which was a spinning class and a 15-min stretch at the end (weird for a yoga studio, I know). Mind you, I haven't taken a spinning class since pre-Amelie (or maybe pre-Julian), so my bum was like WTF. 

Luckily, I went back to my yoga teachings and remembered to: Just breathe...

When you separate yourself from the pain and recognize it is just "the moment", it passes really quick and it's like it was nothing.  Remember that next time you're at the gym...or in labor.

Home Buying Process

...in Vancouver / Canada is really different from the US!

- financing can happen in 3 days, instead of 40!
- "closing day" is really 15-30 minutes in the lawyer's office signing papers
- the lawyer really does all the work, so you actually feel good about the fee
- "picking up the keys" really means "picking up the keys"...simple as that
- a "final walk-thru" is not the norm here, we had to request it

Today, we got the apartment keys in our hands and I had 4 potential tenant appointments. Of course, a movie was being filmed in all of the common amenity areas, which meant I couldn't show the tenants the best part of the building....SO ANNOYING! No news yet on "that perfect tenant"; however, we are in no rush.  We're hoping to enjoy the views from the 42nd floor lounge this weekend.

Most Livable City in the World

For the 5th year in a row, Vancouver makes #1 again on the Economist Intelligence Unit list.

Our building is right behind that bridge!

Check out the article!

Vancouver took top spot with a score of 98 per cent based on rankings including health care, infrastructure, culture, environment and education. The Economist surveyed 140 cities.

After living here with 2 kids, I couldn't agree more!

Visitors

Our visitors from Philadelphia just left...waahhh...we love having visitors and showing people around our new city. It started off a bit rainy (big surprise), but was followed by 4 solid days of sunshine! As always, it was wonderful catching up and spending quality time with great friends. 

Whistler involved snowshoeing, snowboarding, grilling, spa-ing, hot-tubbing, shopping and of course, EATING.  Julian went to Whistler Kids Snow School, which is an AWESOME program. It runs from 8:30am-3:30am and includes lunch, 2 snacks and ski lesson!  It was tough leaving him and there were some tears during drop-off, but at the end of the day, he really enjoyed it and wants to do it again!

Vancouver involved sightseeing, walking, driving, boating, shopping and of course, EATING.  We also dined at a fabulous French bistro called Salade de Fruits Cafe.  It was actually a wonderful surprise, as I didn't expect much, but it was truly....FABULOUS. It is really hard to find an authentic French bistro, but this place was truly authentic, French server and all...the fries were awesome and the moules portion was huge!  We will be going back really soon.

We really hope our visitors enjoyed everything as much as we did!

Valentine's Day Lesson

...never eat 2 baskets of Chipotle Powdered Fry Bread...

...and then rub your eyes...

Here's to another yummy dinner at Gastown's Cobre!

Hmmm...Rugelach!

Wednesday night, Melvin and I went to that symposium about Camel's Milk, which I mentioned in a previous post has amazing benefits to the human body. I won't go too much into it, but I don't understand why this stuff is not in North America.  I know for sure that Julian would no longer be allergic to peanuts if we had him drinking this stuff for a week.  The studies that have been done since 2005 show this. Also, studies have shown that it'd cure or stabilize people's diabetes, since the milk naturally has insulin in it.  I will spare you of my insight and you can click on the link below if you're truly interested.

CAMEL MILK FOR HEALTH

Moving on, the point of this post is that the keynote speaker of the symposium was Professor Yagil of Ben Gurion University in Beer Sheva, Israel.  Naturally, the Jewish Community welcomed him to Vancouver and the symposium was hosted by the Congregation of Schara Tzedeck.  Well, all I have got to say is...

Man, do I miss Rugelach!!! 

Refreshments were served at the Temple during the symposium and I snagged a plateful of Chocolate Rugelach, ignored Melvin's face of embarrassment by the mound of goodness on my plate, and savored every minute.

Missing

me: julian, have you seen my watch

julian: julian & amelie threw it

me: can you tell me where? i won't get mad

julian: i don't know, somewhere over there; we can find it later

ARGH!! i still can't find it.

Bidding War

Woodwards Building

So it appears the Vancouver real estate market is still pretty hot, despite the post-Olympics era, as we just beat out 3 other offers on an apartment!  Yes, that's right, we are now a bit more vested in Canada and got an apartment, but not for us....it's a 1-bedroom unit, which we'll rent out and use as an investment property.  It is located in Gastown.

Rooftop Deck

Gastown is a warehouse district, similar to Meatpacking in NYC and Docklands in London. We're hoping it'll be an area that blows up and we can use this apartment as our own later on in life. If we play the cards right, it'll be one to choose from as we're traveling the world (haha, in our dreams, I know)...Or, if our children are good, we will let them use it :)

43rd Floor Fitness Centre

There were three other offers on it, so we were at the seller's mercy unfortunately ...however, as Melvin said, if you really want something, you gotta put your best foot forward and that's it...Take it or leave it.  There are still some outstanding steps before the keys are in our hands, but here's a glimpse.  Now we just have to look for tenants!!

Dim Sum in Vancouver

My search for NYC Chinatown quality Dim Sum in Vancouver lives on...

As usual, to celebrate Chinese New Year, we would out for Dim Sum and checked out Imperial Restaurant, which is located close to Canada Place in downtown Vancouver.  It was recommended to us by Chinese people, as "the best Dim Sum" in Vancouver, so you would figure it would be up to par with NYC Dim Sum at the very least.  Nope...it was fine, don't get me wrong, but I wouldn't say "the best".

Anyway, we might have to give in and venture out to Richmond, B.C. (close to Vancouver Airport) for some dim sum, as it is 45% Chinese. Maybe next year!

One dish that didn't disappoint was my all-time favorite Egg Tarts.  Yummmm!

Snowmaggedon

We had been considering Chicago as one of our cities to move to prior to finalizing Vancouver.

Lakeshore Drive - Chicago 2011 Blizzard

Let's just say we are SO glad we opted for Vancouver!!


On another note, Kung Hai Fat Choy or Happy New Year! 新年快樂
Let's see what this year of the Rabbit will bring us.  I know it will bring me some Dim Sum this weekend!!

Julian trying to be brown(er)...

So we found this wonderful babysitter that charges us $4 per hour for our date nights (which we totally pay her more, because that is so cheap it must be against the law)....she gets along so well with Julian, it has been great!  Last month, she taped one of their conversations (below).

Before you watch it, I should mention that she is an Indian girl and regularly tries to make Julian laugh by reprimanding him in an Indian accent.  Hilarious.

Winter Ride

Today, we had some glorious sunshine with temps in the 40s (Fahrenheit)...so we went for a "winter" bike ride on the seawall. Everyone was out with their dogs, kids, etc. which is most common once the sun shows itself during the winter. VITAMIN D rocks!


We rented one of those 2-seater kid trailers and it was the perfect solution...


...EXCEPT:
Amélie screamed most of the way (only child that doesn't like motion)
Julian kept saying he was hungry
Julian kept screaming, Stop! Amélie is crying!
I kept screaming, Julian share the Cheerios! Don't step on her feet!


We made it to English Bay and then headed back...


I think we'll be riding during nap time next time!