Link Loves aka: What I found while avoiding homework...

Let's start with the cutest little crochet bomber jacket pattern that I want to buy and make in every size so my boy can wear one until he's 4 years old! and I want to make one for me... and for B....

This is such a great idea for people who have only a little space for a baby, or maybe for people who are looking for new space for a second baby. I'm in love with this nursery-within-a-nursery.

I've also found some really great kitchens for kids made (inexpensively) (and not so inexpensively) from furniture from IKEA! I love both kitchens and really wish I had tools to make one and a place to put something like this in our apartment.

On the topic of kids and kitchens, if you're looking for toy food to fill the toy kitchen, LoooLoo Textiles has some awesome Play food that's organic and looks delicious. (Mind you it is $37.99 for the bagel, but doesn't it look awesome?)

And then there's the fantastic hamburger...

On those days when it feels like my knight has tarnished armour, here's a less than glamourous look at marriage at Im Gonna Kill Him...

Hopefully tomorrow will be a much more productive studying day!

~A

That's why they call it "Buyers Remorse"

Less than 24 hours from when my husband told me he wanted to spend less time on the computer and more time "unplugged", I forgot completely about the whole conversation and we purchased a Wii AND a TV...

And now the regret is sinking in.

Questions are running through my head:

Why did I really get the Wii? Was it for him, or was it because I've wanted one for so long?

Did we really need to get a new TV? Why didn't we check Kijiji first?

Should we bring them both back? Or should we just bring back the TV?

Why did we waste so many hours tonight shopping for a TV?

Can't we just keep them both? It would be so much easier...

So many questions, yet the answer that keeps coming is "You silly, silly girl. Things will never satisfy you when what you're really longing for is closeness with me."

So tomorrow we're returning the TV. I'm still weighing the pros and cons of keeping the Wii. I had mentioned it to our babysitter, and since her family has been dreaming of a flat screen TV for Christmas, she offered her old TV to us if they get a new one. A free TV is much better on the pocketbook than one we have to pay off over a few months...

I've learned some lessons from this:

1. I've always wondered what it would be like to be more impulsive and how I would feel if I could just spend whatever money I wanted... Now I know that I feel much better when all my purchases are planned and needed. Impulsivity is not an attribute I want to emulate.

2. Just because a gift would be a really nice and fun thing for my family (and just because I've wanted it for a while) doesn't mean that I need to get it at the first chance it's on sale.

3. I'm really glad that my husband and I can talk about everything. Even if it means that I can never keep a surprise...

4. My 2 year old is not the only one who throws temper tantrums...Even if I'm not crying and throwing myself on the floor, I can behave in the same selfish manner.

And as my husband said tonight, "That's why they call it 'buyers remorse'. "

~A

Birthday Week and Christmas Countdown!

Today is B's birthday! Last year was the "quarter-century" milestone, but we forgot to celebrate with a quarter of a cake and all those other fun quarter-themed decorations. I'm going to go big next year when I hit that milestone...

Anyways, this week we celebrated my birthday AND B's birthday, and we had a really good time and didn't go present-crazy.

My birthday was Wednesday, but I got my first card from a friend on Tuesday. Wednesday was my crazy 11-hours-of-labs-with-no-breaks-day.... But other than coming home with sore feet, I had a fantastic day. My classmates in the AM sang happy birthday to me, and in my PM class I got to go home early without cleaning up... Top that off with all the yummy food I got to take home (TONS of hors d'oeuvres from a retirement party we catered), and it was a great day.

I also received birthday cards from C and 2 of his friends from daycare (really sweet drawings of cakes...) and I got phone calls from my sister and from B's aunt.

Yesterday (Friday) B and I got cards in the mail from B's mom and aunt, and MIL sent us some $$, so we decided to celebrate as a family by eating out.

Dinner was great (we went to Swiss Chalet, nothing super fancy), the service was great, and when B went to take C to the potty, I snuck in a request for B's favourite dessert (carrot cake) with a candle....

the boys came back from the washroom...

the servers started singing...

B said to me "oh, it's someone's birthday"...

and then they stopped at our table, and he started to laugh...

He hadn't expected dessert, so I got him good.

Tonight we're celebrating with some friends and family. I'm making pizza and carrot cake (and cookies for national cookie day) and we're going to play board games and have some nice wine and pie (made by my dad).

For presents, we didn't go really big. B got me nice flowers and a book on decorating cupcakes(well to be honest, I bought it and told him it was his gift to me), and I got him the newMumford and Sons CD (and he bought himself Civ5).

It's starting to feel more like Christmas is coming. I've got Christmas presents for my mom and dad, and we're partly done buying for my immediate family and B's mom, but we still have presents for the North Bay family's gift exchange, and also for each other and for C... so I guess I have more shopping left than I thought I did.

We've put the tree up. I was hoping to do an advent calendar with an ornament a day, but I'm a little behind. we've got a red bead garland and round red ornaments up, and I'm hoping to make a few ornaments with C, (like this and this and this) but I might do that in a week or so when exams are over. (I just realized that this is my last pre-Christmas exam period EVER! I would cheer if I wasn't trying to get a grumpy 2-year old to sleep right now)

How is your holiday decorating going? Any suggestions on kid-friendly holiday decor?

~A

Top Ten: Things I Love About December

December...what a wonderful month! I think it's my favourite month of the year.

There are so many things I love about December, but I'll try to narrow them down to the best ten.

10. Snow! I love snow best on 2 days. December 1st (so I have snow for my birthday) and December 24 (so we can have a white Christmas)

9. Christmas decorations! Hubby usually makes me wait until my birthday to decorate (but I snuck our tree up on November 29 this year)

8. Craft Shows! This weekend is an AMAZING show that I've been looking forward to for weeks!

7. Food! According to Family Crafts at About.com, December has national days for such foods as Pie (1), Fritters (2), Cookies (4), Cotton Candy (7), Brownies (8), Cocoa (13), Maple Syrup (17), Oatmeal Muffins (19), Egg Nog (24), Pumpkin Pie (25) and Chocolate (28)... no wonder we pack on the pounds if we have to celebrate each one!

6. Vacation time! Since I've been in school for 83% of my life, December is synonymous with Christmas vacation. This year I've got almost 3 weeks off.

5. Sunlight! The days have been getting darker and darker, and we still have a few weeks where it will be getting dark earlier, but then the days will start getting longer. We rejoice that our God is in control of the sun and the moon and the changing of seasons.

4. Family! We are so blessed to celebrate the holidays with B's mom, grandma, and aunt and uncle in North Bay, and also to celebrate with my cousins, aunts, uncles (and whoever else wants to come) in Bowmanville, and ALSO to celebrate with my immediate family in Cobourg. We're going to have a busy week, but what joy and memories we'll have too.

3. Parents! My parents celebrate their wedding anniversary in December. What a blessing to have both my parents together after all this time. I love you mom and dad.

2. Birthdays! My mom said that we had a cake-a-week in December. My birthday is the 1st, brothers birthdays on the 9th and 15th, sister-in-law on the 16th, Aunts on the 13th and 19th... and my Husband's birthday is on the 4th. What a busy month!

1. Christ's Birth! December is the month that we celebrate the best event anyone could possibly imagine. God loved us all so much that he sent his son to be born to rescue us from sin and death. I don't have words enough to give thanks for the amazing gift that was given to us on that first Christmas morning. No other gift on heaven or on earth can ever compare to the grace that I have through Christ Jesus. Thank you.

~A