New Addition

We are adopting an 8 month old Golden Doodle called Luka. We love him already but we cannot bring him home yet as he has not been neutered. His surgery is scheduled for Jan 12 so he should join us at home on January 13. He is such a bundle of fun and fuzz!

Season's Greetings!

Tonight I broke off a piece of my favourite treat and gave it to T1.
G said "remember to thank Mommy for sharing her most precious English chocolate with you"
T1 replied "but isn't the sharing part what's the most precious?"

Usually I'd be thinking 'yes yes yes' but on this occasion I am really torn........

Come back and visit in January

After many weeks of computer problems and of course the craziness of life blogging has been pushed to the back burner but I fully plan to be back after the holidays with VIDEOS wahooooooo.

Happy Holidays and best wishes for 2010!!!!

It found us...

Apparently T1 has H1N1. G is off to the Dr now - pretty sure he has it too. T2 and I are fine so far. I am nervous because T1 has a history of lung problems and G and I both have asthma (T1 does too). Mine is only triggered by illness but when it does - boy is it ever bad : (

Hoping we can all get through this relatively unscathed.

*update* G called - he does have it too

Finding a tiny piece of peace.....

I wanted a Dyson vacuum for a long time before I got one. There was nothing wrong with my Hoover so I couldn't justify buying one but boy was I tempted. I would drool over the majestic Dyson standing on display in stores and wonder when I could bring one home. A couple of years ago I got one and I swear it more than lived up to my expectations. I vacuumed my clean floor and area rugs and watched with both alarm and satisfaction as I saw the canister filling with dirt that my old vac had over looked. Upstairs on the carpet was even more horrifying and I thought it was clean already - it looked clean and still had the stripes my old vacuum had left hours earlier. OK enough about it's awesomeness

Fast forward to last week when my Dyson let me down. Something is stuck in there somewhere and even though G took it apart, he was unable to reach the offending piece that caused Dyson to be so sick. The hose part was still working so I continued to do the best job I could lugging the upright vacuum along while trying to suck up every fleck of glitter, dog hair and crumb. Walking around barefoot today I discovered that I was being unsuccessful as I could feel gritty dust underfoot. Reluctantly I grabbed my broom from the laundry room and swept through the house. Our new house has only hard floors thankfully.

As I was sweeping and marveling at the growing pile of dust and doggy hair I noticed how peaceful it was - no roaring vacuum motor, no sound of things clunking into the plastic canister. I could hear my laundry swishing, the dog snoring, the sound of T1 turning the pages of his book from the warmth of his bed prior to going to sleep, the rhythmic breathing of T2in dreamland. I was thrilled with the pile my trusty broom gathered, I felt a strange connection to a time before vacuums and other noisy gadgets - the simplicity of a wooden stick and a bunch of bristles with no parts to get clogged or malfunction - how could a broom let me down?

My Dyson will eventually be fixed and I am sure I will continue to use it but I must remember once in a while to pull out that broom and enjoy some peace while cleaning up the remnants of our day that have fallen to the floor.

The things kids say...

T2 asked me this week...

"Mommy when it's winter, can I have some snow headphones to keep my ears warm?"

She was thrilled when I found an old pair of ear muffs in with the hats and mitts and has worn them each day since!

Random interview with 4 year old

I decided to ask T2 a bunch of random questions....

What is your favourite colour? Pink and Purple
What is your favourite animal? Pigmy Marmoset
What is your favourite food? Pizza
What colour are your eyes? Greeny blue
What colour is your hair? Brown
What do you like to play with? my pony and stuffed animals
Who is your best friend? Kaitlyn Morgado
What does a donkey say? heeee honk
What does a cow eat? hay and so does a horse
Where do bananas come from? sometimes from the store and sometimes from trees I think
How do you make a sandwich? All you have to do is put something on the bread and then I put another piece of bread on top - that's how I make a sandwich
Where do worms live? Holes and in apples
How many feet do you have? 2
What letter does your name start with? tuh Teee
What does Mommy like to eat? salad
What does Mommy like to drink? club soda
Where does coffee come from? coffee stores like Tim Hortons
What do you want to be when you grow up? A fireman girl
How do you feel today? Good and I don't think I sneezed anymore

Getting there

After way more computer problems than I ever thought possible - it seems we are on our way to have both computers healthy once more. G still has to reinstall a bunch of things and locate files but everything seems to be working so far yayyyyyyyyyy

We've been busy around here settling into school - grade 4 for T1 and K for T2. Both seem very happy with their new school and teachers. Of course back to school has meant all kinds of things coming home with the kids - field trip forms, library books, mail, mail and more mail and of course germs and it has been snot central around here for a month but thankfully nothing serious.

Today we awoke to the first frost of the season - it looked so pretty outside with the grass glistening. I am excited to see what it's like in our new surroundings when we get snow - a pretty sight I am sure.

I've been batch cooking and stocking up the freezer, planning for upcoming festivities - Halloween and of course December celebrations. We just enjoyed Thanksgiving weekend here with a trip to a conservation area Thanksgiving festival which was so much fun - pics to follow.

Today after I had completed some of the chores on my never ending list, I wrapped up warm and sat out on the deck. It was so nice out there - bright and sunny, cool and crisp - soon it will be too cold to be outside more than is necessary so I need to remind myself to make the most of it while it's pleasant outside.

As soon as my photo software is reinstalled I will add some pictures of what we have been up to lately.

Where am I today?

I posted over at Mom's Marbles today. I hope to be back here next week : )

grrrrrr

I have one computer in the shop and another that will only work on safe mode. I can't upload pictures or access my stored pictures and it is driving me crazy. I haven't been able to share anything because of this. I believe my sickest computer will be discharged from the 'puter hospital in the next day or two - yayyyyy then I can show you our fun day at the apple farm : ) and a few other things we have done recently.

Happy Fall

Where am I today?

I'm over at Mom's Marbles. It's great place for tips, ideas, sanity savers and more - stop by and say hi : )

9/11

I'm holding my family a little closer and thinking of all those who lost family 8 years ago today.

It's a day we'll never forget. On that fateful day we were living in a hotel in NY awaiting the completion of our house build. We were about 30 miles from NYC. G and I happened to be in the hotel that morning and for some strange reason turned on the TV which we never did at that time of day. We were watching the footage and trying to figure out what was going on and saw the second plane hit live. I knew several people in NYC that day and not being able to make contact was agonizing.

The days that followed provided endless reminders of the horror of that day. We had no way of communicating via phone/email. The hotel filled with bewildered people denied access to their NYC apartments. The constant news and updates on TV. The silent sky.The fear.The endless stream of emergency and construction site vehicles heading towards NYC. Road blocks everywhere. The shocked and despairing look on every face around us. The need for everyone to talk to anyone about it just to work through it.

The sight of so many stars and stripes in the weeks that followed was so utterly moving. To feel and see so many people pulling together offering help in all ways possible. The combined hope that maybe a pocket of survivors would be found even though it slowly dwindled to the hope of even a single survivor. A miracle.

We paid our respects at Ground Zero while it was still burning (and several times since). The silence was erie. The magnitude more real when there in person and seeing the aftermath.

We were lucky that we didn't lose any loved ones but like so many others I lost a little piece of myself that day and will never forget.

I totally forgot to mention.....

Huds the dog, who left a few weeks ago for phase two of his dog guide training, was released from the program and into our home forever. During a routine eye exam it was discovered that Huds has cataracts in one eye and therefore could not continue with the program. It's a shame for the organization but we were so happy to officially adopt him and bring him home to stay. He was so excited to see us again and went absolutely crazy, squealing and loving on us. He's been back for a while now and it's like he never left, other than the shedding which I didn't miss! So we are officially a family of five with the fifth being the hairy one!

Welcome home Hudsy (who only gets called Hudson when he does something naughty - which is almost never)

T2 quote

"this is the most ruinous day ever.....can we still go in the hot tub?"

It's all about girl drama around here!

More MOM Time

More Mom time doesn't only apply to being a Mom. Although I am trying to give more of myself to my kids, I am also trying to give more of myself to myself and have been working on some projects. One - a skirt for T2 is complete but the quilt for my itty bitty Niece still needs some work. I've never made a quilt before but I'm pretty pleased with it so far.

Another reason why I love Summer

Locally grown produce at the Farmer's Market

Face paints - not just for faces!

Last week the kids and I had fun with some face paints that T2 received as a Birthday gift. T2 wanted her face painted but then we moved on from faces to...





Face painting - not just for kids!

BOO!

Birthday reflections

T2 had a great Birthday, spending the day at the beach, Birthday cards in the mail and packages to open at dinner time. As with Tobin's Birthday, I wrapped her gifts in plain paper and wrote words describing her on each one.



She also enjoyed a party with her friends at our place with pizza and cupcakes.



loot 'bags'

Welcome new followers

I'd love to get to know you : )

Quoting T1

"I don't know if I even know the words to describe how much I love living here".

Ditto kiddo. There's nothing quite like validation from a very happy kid. Moving away from familiarity was a gamble. T1 doesn't handle change well (all part of Asperger Syndrome) we knew this could be really tough on him even though we knew in the long run it could be great for our family. To hear him spontaneously share that he's happy here is more than I could ever have wished for. I told him that I thought it was the best thing we ever did, moving here. He agreed - he actually agreed with me lol!!!

: )

Happy Birthday to my sweet and special girl. I can't believe this time 4 years ago, I had no idea today would be the day I would finally meet her scrunched up red little face and my life would be changed forever just as it was over 9 years ago when T1 arrived. She was so eager to embrace the world that I didn't even need to push her out, one grunt and there she was (if only the rest of the labour had been that easy lol!). In the early weeks she cried and cried, if only I had known she was simply hungry even though all I seemed to do was feed her. It took a while and what felt like constant nursing to get her back to her birth weight but eventually we made it. before long we were rewarded with smiles meant only for us - a reminder that all the tears of the early weeks - both hers and mine were worth it.
Now, she is readying for Kindergarten in just a few short weeks, her back pack and lunch bag already purchased. She's ready. I am not. She's funny, cheeky, full of drama and has fully mastered the art of whining and sulking, she loves my company and wants us to chat all the time. She has created 2 new words "Betwards" and "Benext", both seem to mean in close proximity to but are clearly to be used in different situations. She loves pink and purple, friends, animals both real and the toy kind, she misses Huds the dog a lot. She seems to worry a lot that she doesn't yet know what she wants to be when she grows up.
T1 has a lisp. When we named her, my Mum loved the name but voiced that she hoped she disn't have a lisp as there's an s in it. Sure enough this wriggly red faced baby was a tongue thruster and continues to be. Nearly every picture of her as a baby has her little tongue poking out at the top of her mouth. This will be addressed when school starts - in some ways if it stops, I will miss it - it is part of her.
Long gone are the days of nursing (she quit of her own accord the week she turned one - when offered one day, she looked at me as if to say "what are you doing, put it away" and that was that), diapers, nap time diapers, naps, crib, stroller, soothers, crawling, baby steps, pureed food (that at all times had to contain sweet potatoes, even though she was turning orange), highchair, baby swing, infant car seat, chubby thighs and wrists, red teething cheeks, drool and on the shoulder burps. One thing still remains and that is her pink blankie, bought by Grandma when we went to Disneyworld when she was 4 months old - a pack of pretty receiving blankets but she only ever wanted the pink one. It's still intact and 'she' (apparently!) sleeps with T2 every night.
The pink blankie has been joined by long complicated conversations,imaginary games, chosen friends, a love of chili (but not many other foods and she wouldn't even taste sweet potato now), terms of endearment towards her (she 'owns' the name sweet pea - my fave flower- and doesn't like anyone else to be called it), terms of endearment from her - she has taken to calling me things like "my sweet lov-e-lyyyy", "sweet heart" and "my special girl". She's both highly independent and needy. When she wants something, she wants it that second. She doesn't want to be grow up fast or be taller and wants to stay little. If only it were possible to slow down time but all there is to do is savour these moments while she is little and to try and remember them when she's a challenging teenager!

I knew my life would be changed when she arrived - I just didn't realize how much.

Happy 4th Birthday Sweet Pea. xoxox

Super easy beach game for 2 or more people

Build a sandcastle or sand mound, Place a shell or rock on the top in the middle, take turn slicing the sand vertically with a small shovel or stick - can be a thin slice but must go all the way through the castle/mound - try not to be the one to make the rock/shell tumble down. Can also be done at home in a sand box or indoors using a glass of flour, and a button slicing with a blunt knife.









UH OH!



Grandma 1 - T1 nil

Oh, how I love summer

Small town livin'














Introducing Huds the puppy to the lake

So much rain

We've had a lot of rain here lately, heavy, noisy powerful rain with thunder - so cool. It does rather limit our outdoor fun but the best part is when it finally stops and the sun pops out....









Unfortunately our street just got resurfaced and we no longer have deep puddles : (

Easiest mess free sunny activity ever

All you need are: construction paper
few interestingly shaped items
sunshine
Possibly rocks to stop the paper blowing away.

Gather supplies, head outside, arrange items on paper, place rocks in each corner to hold it steady. Forget about it for an hour while the sun kisses the paper. Remove items, oooh and ahh. Can be used as a matching game afterwards

Happy Canada Day!

Project patio hole...

The people who lived here before us had a very odd looking water feature in their backyard. It was an ugly head spouting water from his mouth, set in the stone work patio. they took the feature with them (thankfully) but that left a hole with a piece of wood over it. When we lifted the wood we found stagnant water and hundreds of dead worms

Step 1 - shop-vac the water out



Step 2 - fill with dirt





Step 3 - with Grandad's help, position plant (Clematis brought from old house)



Step 4 - sweep up dirt



Step 5 - add obelisk,water plants



Step 6 - water dog also

Return of the Huds

We were so sorry to say goodbye to Hudson when he left us recently to be assessed for his potential to be a seizure response dog. We were very excited when the organization called and asked if we would like him to come and stay for 3 weeks. He was not selected for seizure response but is now being considered for the seeing eye dog program but the trainer is not available for 3 weeks. G drove the 4 hour round trip to collect him shortly after the surprise phone call. He was so pleased to see us that he was squealing and making Scooby-Doo sounds.

We're so happy to have him home with us again



I think he's pretty happy too