Golden Moments...

Hello my friends! It has been far, far, FAR too long since my last post....my apologies!! There is no good excuse really, other than we have been busy and after a long day at work, by the time I pick up miss M, get home, get dinner ready, get M ready for bed...the last thing I want to do is look at the computer let alone turn it on and use it!! So, I apologize for my delinquency and now that things are starting to become routine, hopefully I will be able to make time to update this thing more regularily! Here's to hoping...

It's been a little more than a month since my last post...hard to believe that much time has passed that quickly...Crazy!

The single most exciting thing that has occured over the course of the month began on Saturday, January 30....and no, I am NOT referring to the god-awful stomach flu bug that visited our house that weekend...Miss M got up and walked across the livingroom!! Even though I felt as though I had been hit by a truck, I couldn't help but jump up and yell with excitement....which was perhaps a little loud...it scared her and she sat down and cried...OOPS! Anyways, we are so excited that she is wal...err..running now. However, it is kind of one of those bittersweet moments again...you know, like when she cut her first tooth. It is so fun to play with her and watch her run around, but at the same time, it seems like she went from a little baby to a toddler over night...They REALLY aren't kidding when they say that time really flies when you have kids. The more Maddie moves from baby to a little person, I am really beginning to appreciate the importance of enjoying the moments....before she becomes a teenager and decides she hates hanging out with her mama.

I am still really enjoying being back to work. It is a BUSY job, but I like to be busy so it's all good. And, Miss M LOVES daycare! She has never cried, she has made friends easily and she is really excited to see me at the end of the day. So, it makes being away from her easier knowing that she is having a blast! It's kind of funny though...she has NEVER cried when I have let her at daycare. But when I pick her up at night, then that is Maddie and mommy time.....Do NOT leave her with anyone else. It doesn't matter who we have tried to leave her with after being at daycare for the day...she just screams! I feel kind of bad for her grandparents when she does this, but selfishly, I can't help but be a little happy that she doesn't want to hang out with anyone but me after being away for the day! Is that bad?

Now, I am sure that nobody wants to hear anymore about the Olympics, however, since I have been up until 1 am every night for the last 17 days watching pretty much every event there was to watch, I feel as though I am entitled to talk about them for at least a few minutes anyways!

Despite a number of small mishaps to begin the games...there are a lot of negative nellies out there that will only remember that the snow melted and the one of the pillars failed to ascend during the openning ceremonies. HELLO! Vancouver is a temperate climate...even in February...those people who voted for it are in no position to complain about the rain and lack of snow...situated on the water, Vancouver never has much for snow...and so what if the openning ceremonies weren't perfect...I kind of liked that it wasn't perfect. Amongst the lipsynching and lightshows, the mishap proved that there were humans behind the scenes running the show...is that a bad thing?

I know this sounds cliché, but I can honestly say that I have never been more proud to be Canadian than I have been over the past 17 days. Canadians joined forces to support our athletes and handled both victory and defeat with the utmost respect and class. When most people would have given up on athletes "failing to own the podium," Canadians rallied behind the competitors and whether they won a medal or finished dead last, every athlete got the same cheers and encouragement. It makes me a little sad that Miss M will be too little to remember this great event in Canadian sports history. In the end, we may not have finished with the most medals, but the entire nation has pulled together with a new sense of national pride...that coupled with an exceptional number of medals including the record number of GOLD medals, I would say we had a fantastic winter games as hosts, as participants and as a nation. The icing on the cake? How about a gold medal in OUR sport....eh boys?

Just to finish up, I thought I would quickly recap my top five highlights of the games:

1. Alex Bilodeau winning the gold medal...his win was great, but even better was his brother Frederic's reaction! Maybe it is the mommy in me, but the picture of him hugging his brother after his win chokes me up every time.

2. Marianne St Gelais....She is just my favourite Olympian in general. She was SOOO excited to win her silver medal and she was SOO excited for her boyfriend, Charles Hamelin to win his gold. I could watch the video of her cheering for Charles over and over and over again...talk about enthusiasm!!

3. Scott Moir & Tessa Virtue's reaction to hearing they had won...nothing like a bit of a practical joke to ease the tension...Scott told Tessa they were second and did it with a straight face...awesome!! One of the best reactions ever.

4. Joannie Rochette's brave and heartfelt performances....it takes a lot of guts to do what that girl did. She pulled herself together and gave two of the best skates of her life because she knew her late mom would have wanted her to just that. Hats off to her, she is truly an inspiration and totally deserving as the flag bearer in the closing ceremonies.

5. Jon Montgomery's winning walk through Whistler...yes, the one where he infamously chugged the beer right from the pitcher. If this was NOT a Canadian moment, then I don't know what is. Jon is the epitomy of all things Canadian. He is just a laidback, nice country guy who loves his sport and has fun doing it. So what if he chugged a beer when he was done...I am positive that most of the people criticizing his actions have had their share of celebratory drinks....if they haven't, maybe they need to quit raining on other people's parade and get a hobby!

Anyways, sorry for the novel, but with more than a month to catch up on...it was bound to be a LONG one!

As I say in every post, I will do my best not to let so much time pass before my next post!

Until next time...and of course....We're up 2-1....GO CANADA GO!!!