First, I want to note that the reason I’m allowing myself to complain on my blog is that I rarely do (I think). But I’m allowing myself an exception today:

• I was hit by an outburst of stomach flu while at work today. (And there’s a nightmare scenario come true… I think I got through it tolerably well – except for those minutes I was lying down on the hallway floor. Yay for nice partners who work at the same office we do and can drive us back home!)
• I have chills, nausea, backache from being in bed all afternoon, and headache.
• Orléane came back from daycare with fever.
• Xavier and Orléane are congested.
• Orléane has a big cough.
• Xavier seems to have a touch of stomach flu.
• My parents are gone on a trip South, Frank’s parents have health issues to deal with of their own (ie. no external help available).

But right now, the kids are asleep, I’m a bit better because I was sick earlier, aspirin is working for me a little, and Frank is here and healthy.

The things we’re grateful for, sometimes…

Halloween is half costumes and half candy. Sorry I can’t be sending candy your way; those were our costumes.

Maki-Émilie Sushi

(…with my good friend Amélie! – Photo taken by her boyfriend Nicolas.)

Temaki-François Sushi

My friends Tigger and P… Piglet!

Halloween 2008!

PS. Forgot to mention… Frank won an orange iPod at work, by combining his costume and mine. Those are home-made sushi, you know!

I’ll list our menu for the trip in NY real soon and will upload photos of our Halloween costumes, too, but meanwhile, let’s mix it up with something different…

Frank had the week off, after our trip, so we used that time off for a short trip to Quebec city’s Aquarium. It’s not the greatest aquarium out there (too much local fauna, we thought… and the St.Lawrence river doesn’t have colourful fish!), but we still recommend it for a family visit. They have seals, polar bears and walruses on site, so this part (outside) was real nice. We loved the walruses, which tank had a glass side for observation. There weren’t many visitors when we went, either, which was great.

So here are two walrus (and Xavier) videos. There’s also pictures in the album with our summer activities 2008 (not the right season, I know, but there’s one too many albums in our Picasaweb space, I’m trying to group stuff). It starts with the picture below. Happy viewing!

From Été 2008 – Vacances et sorties

As promised, here is my advice for managing house cleaning, in case it helps out at your place, too.

A place for every thing, everything in its place
I’m allowing myself to use this cliché expression because it is crucial to overcoming clutter. Take some time to think about storage and the activities and chores happening in your house.

• Store things where you use them, including cleaning products, etc. (Ex. I have two bottles of bathroom cleaning product, one for each bathroom, so I don’t have to carry the same one over two floors; it’s more practical this way, and saves me time in the stairway.)
• Identify zones where clutter usually arises and plan storage accordingly. (Ex. I installed hanging shelves in my foyer wardrobe, to put away mittens, hats and scarves that inevitably found themselves in a heap on the top shelf, out of reach. I also added plastic storage for shoes… especially Xavier’s, which easily got lost through our own footwear!)
• Get rid of knicknacks you don’t feel attached to. It will save you time on dusting (no need to move them around), and will give your room a look that’s more zen. It’s just in our head but, if there’s less stuff in a room, it looks more neat. It’s also less daunting at cleaning time.

A passion for lists
I love lists. (Frank hates them, but oh well… to each his method, like I said earlier.) Noting an item on a list allows me to stop thinking about it as it assures me that I won’t forget it. It’s my preferred method of managing weekly cleaning. Here’s how my list works:

• My sheet lists every chore with, on the right, 5 columns of check boxes. I use one column per week, for a month.
• I don’t do all the chores each week, but I use the list to follow up when I alternate certain chores.
• My list is laminated and magnetized on the fridge. I use an erasable marker to check items. (Hello environment!)
• My list is quite long. I prefer separating certain chores in many items, to get chores that are quicker to finish; that way, even if I don’t have much time available, I am encouraged to get rid of a small chore. Let me explain that: instead of noting “clean up bathroom”, for example, I listed “clean up vanity and toilet”, “clean shower” and “clean bath”. It’s less daunting this way. Here’s my list:
  1. Put away clutter
  2. Clean the counters
  3. Big clean up of high chair and Xavier’s booster seat
  4. Dusting first floor
  5. Dusting basement
  6. Glass and mirrors
  7. Clean shower
  8. Clean bath
  9. Vanity/toilet first floor
  10. Vanity/toilet basement
  11. Vacuum first floor
  12. Vacuum basement
  13. Wash floor first floor
  14. Wash floor basement
  15. Mow the lawn
  16. Get out garbage
  17. Litter box Tuesday (and Thursday, and weekend)
  18. Water the plants
  19. Feed the fish (many times… mostly to remind myself, I tend to forget!)
  20. Laundry

Here was my advice. It focuses mostly on creating a good list (and planning storage). Good luck!

When I was a young professional, after I finished school and before I became a mom, I had huge amounts of free time. Long evenings and entire weekends at my complete disposal.

I have no idea what I did with all this free time.

I had some personal projects to realize, but not legions of them. I would put off many of them until later. I was doing so-so at house keeping; my house was clean enough for company, but just barely so. Frank and I avoided the kitchen often enough by eating out, or getting take out we would eat in front of the t.v. in the basement. Long story short, we were sort of lazy.

Now that Xavier, then Orléane, are born, my available time is greatly reduced. Strangely, though, I have become more efficient in cleaning and cooking. I use my free time to work on small projects. I avoid putting things off. I still watch a little t.v. during fall-winter, but not that many movies. We eat at the dinner table, and the kitchen is the brains of our home.

I recently developed some tricks to keep the house in order. (It helps that I’m on maternity leave and Xavier is spending a couple days a week at daycare, but oh well… cleanliness is even more necessary these days, with a baby crawling on the floor and two kids in diapers.) It’s nothing amazing, but it helps me a lot for keeping on top of things. I even end up doing more than I used too!

What’s crucial is finding a method that works for you, but I’ll share my little tips in tomorrow’s article, in case they might be right for you, too.

To be continued…

Transl. “Family summer”

Xavier the trucker

Xavier is trying out professions. How does he look as a trucker?

We’ve been to the fair with friends and toddlers this weekend. There were two kinds of rides: the ones Xavier cried and refused to get INTO, and the ones Xavier cried and refused to get OUT of. Despite how it sounds, the outing was a lot of fun.

Album with comments is here:

Été 2008 – Vacances et sorties

Autopsy of a family picture

From Famille – Pet…

Here’s a family picture we managed tonight, thanks to uncle Christian. If you’re wondering why I’m using the word “manage”, you’ve never tried to take a picture with multiple kids on it. For a vague idea, view the album w/comments.

PS. Yup, I summered up the blog. Have a sunny 2008!