Hello girls,
Well, I must tell you, I had a first-time experience today!!!! And it was great!!! Some of you will laugh their head off, especially Carolyn and Angie I suspect... but today I had my first pedicure!

:D:D

Geez, my feet have never been so soft nor looked so good!

My beautician is almost a friend, we get along so well, and she's extremely meticulous, so she did an amazing job. Now all I have to do is hydrate my feet every day and remove the hard spots every week (not sure of the verb I should use here, oops) and my feet will stay that healthy. Wow.
Angie,
Hiya girl! Nah, we don't have a short pet name version for Richard in French. It's just Richard, so no pun here!

And no, I didn't ask for your vote silly!

Like Carolyn and Lee said, I know the right name will just be obvious once we see him and get to know him. It might very well be a name that's not on our list, happened to lots of people I know. It just reassures me to have a few names in mind...

Oh, and thanks for asking about DH; he's doing better!!!! He's been off his painkillers for two days and he's doing great!!! YAHOO! Sorry to hear that work is still so hectic but hey... there's a good side to this; summer will be here before you know it! squeeeeeee!
Lee, our hero foster mom!
Geez, those two toddlers sound like a handful! Have they settled a little bit after a day or two with you? I know you've heard it a lot, but kudos to you dear, I really admire what you're doing for those kids. You have a huge heart! THanks for sharing your personal experience with that my dear, it's very touching. Keep us posted about your girly, and have FUN in London!!!! Lucky girl!!!! Anything exciting planned during your stay?
Miracle,
You asked about maternity leave. Since 2006, the law changed in Quebec and we've been experiencing a mini baby-boom since. The new law is absolutely amazing. There are two types of leaves, the maternity leave (depends on your employer) and the parental leave (new law). The hospital will manage that I get 93% of my income for the first 21 weeks I have off (no matter when the baby is born); the amount they give me will vary depending on what the new law gives me. The new law will give me 70% of my income from the moment the baby is born, for 6 months. After that, I'll have 55% of my income for another 6 months. My husband, with the new law, will also have 5 weeks at 70% of his income that he can take at any moment during the 12 months following the birth. He could also choose to share 7 of my weeks at 70% of his salary if he wanted, but we won't do that. So the plan is I'll take 1 month off before my due date (April 3rd officially, but I'll stop working on March 31st and take the rest of the week as overtime, my boss is amazing for that). When the baby is born, DH will take the 5 days his workplace gives him, plus a week from the 5 weeks given by the new law. I'll go back to work on April 6th 2010, but my husband will take his remaining 4 weeks at that time, so that way the transition is smoother for me; I'll leave my baby to my husband, and not to a stranger at a daycare center. So as you can see, we have incredible conditions here, we're quite spoiled, hence the baby boom. My only interrogation is that those percentages are calculated on raw income, before taxes... and nobody can tell me how much money will actually land in my account after all the deductions. So we'll see.
On another note, are you having a little rush before Spring break? I hope you're not having too many exams or papers to prepare. Any improvement with your friend? *hugs*
Carolyn,
Hi there sweetheart! Thanks for asking about DH! He's doing much better! Looks we both have silky legs now, tee hee hee!

And to answer your question, I'll stop working on March 31st... and time really doesn't fly, unfortunately!

But at least, with the momentary hectic schedule at work, it seems it passes a bit faster all the same, so no complaints! Anything exciting planned for the weekend sweetie?
Okay, I'm starving, gotta go. Take care ladies!
Kisses,
Sophie xxox