11 Months and No Teeth

Today (sorry, yesterday) my little Grace turned 11 months old!

And she still has the cutest little toothless grin.

This month her personality is completely blooming.
She is a lover of shoes, purses, painted nails, and any jewelery.
She also loves music and was enthralled when her aunt demonstrated her skills at the Tenor Sax.

She also has a wicked scream that comes out when she feels we aren't paying enough attention to her.
AND she's mastered the art of crying with her lower lip to get her way.... like if I use the word "no."
What a cute little manipulator.... :P

11 Month Milestones include:

-Standing on her own, without support, and without pulling herself up. She'll even "sit" in squat position and then stand. I'm really impressed, even though I'm fearful of the walking stage. Monkey walked when he was 11 months, and I'm in no hurry for Grace to move around faster than she already is.

-Crawling like she's in a race. She learned to crawl over a month ago, but she keeps getting faster! She crawls with one knee down, and one foot down. And when the bathroom door is open, she'll get there in seconds, no matter where she was previously.

-Climbing the stairs!! One day I was downstairs playing with Monkey and Grace, and I guess I was paying more attention to him than her, so she made a break for the stairs. She was on the first step before I could stop her, so I followed her and she climbed both sets of stairs by herself! She's getting faster at the stairs too, although I definitely stay close behind her because she'll stop mid-climb and turn around or sit down... Silly girl.

-Eating like a horse! She even out-eats her brother some meals! She loves pasta, shrimp, cold cooked potatoes (eeeeww...) crusts of bread, and she even devoured the red pepper soup I made the other night. I love that she's so independent with eating. I've got to help both kids eat supper (Monkey sucks at using utensils) and I would like to eat food myself, so it's nice that I don't need to spoon feed Grace every single bite.

-Using a sippy cup and a bottle!! I know that some babies take a bottle from birth, but this girl has refused. I don't mind, because I'm still nursing her, but I had her with a babysitter for S3 days (job interviews... they didn't pan out, so I'm still at home!) and she wouldn't eat from a bottle on the first day, the second day she ate a bit, and the third day she was finally using the bottle. It gave me some independence that I've been craving, and made me feel like I can actually do things now outside the home.


I haven't taken miss Grace to the doctor lately, so I don't know what she weighs, but she's in 12 month sleepers and some 12 month clothes, so I know she's growing normally. She's a beautiful, happy, friendly little girl, and she completely fits her name. She is a wonderful example of the grace God has for us.

I can't believe next month she'll be ONE!! I guess I better start planning a birthday celebration!

~A

September Randoms

So, Monkey pulled his sister out of her crib today. He brought her all the way across the basement and onto his bed.

Without dropping her.

And without her crying.

And most importantly, without me even knowing he'd done it.

Scary.

---

I asked Monkey what he would like for his birthday (which is coming up next month).

Monkey: Ummm... a plastic spoon.

Me: ? Are you sure?

Monkey: Yes. Not two, just one. And (sister) can have one for her birthday.

---

Umm so I guess I've got this birthday thing covered. Shopping: DONE.

Speaking of birthdays, I've got some cake decorating books, and Monkey's been going through them telling me which cakes I can make for myself, for Grandpa, for him, for his sister.... He's got quite a list of cakes that I'll be making. I guess I should start working now!

---

Monkey started school this month, and he loves it.
He goes full day, every day. He's got a teacher in the morning, and an ECE in the afternoon, and both of them are wonderful.
Today he came home with a song to sing us about counting.

"One, two, three, four, five
I caught a butterfly.
Six, seven, eight, nine, ten
I let him go again.
Guess what he said to me,
He said he wanted to be free
Which way did he go?
He flew to Mexico."

I'm really glad that he's got one with numbers because his counting goes something like:
one-two-three-four-six-seven-eight-nine-four-six-seven-eight-nine-four.....

He's still forgetting 10 every time, but hopefully he'll get that one soon...

Happy September everyone! Sorry I've been gone so long!

~A

I took the pictures off the wall

How did I get to the point where I'm only 20 days away from leaving such an amazing town?
I've still got so much I want to do here! So many things I haven't explored or exposed my kids to...

I've still got restaurants to visit (Chez Piggy and The Works specifically) or to revisit (Wooden Heads, Mia Gelato...)

I've got activities to do (glow in the dark mini putt, go carting)

I've got softball games to play, water parks to take the kids to, strawberry patches to explore, picnics, beaches, walking trails....


I'm not done yet.


But I've got less than 3 weeks to pack as much Kingston into me as I can before we pack our lives into a 14 foot truck and drive away.

I cried for the first time tonight because I finally realized that I really will be saying goodbye.

There are babies who I haven't met yet who will show up here this summer.

There are friends who I haven't hugged enough.

There are so many memories that I wanted to make.


But since I took the pictures off the wall, I know that no matter how many days I've got left here, there will always be more that I want to do. And I guess that means I'll have to visit.

~A

Countdown to a New Life!

Six weeks from now I'll be a single mom for 6 months.

It's not permanent, and it's not sad news, rather this news is exciting, as it means my husband has come to a point in his career where he actually has a career!

Let me explain:

Last August, my husband began his application to join the Canadian military. Paperwork, hurdles, clearance forms, security checks, and interviews ensued.... and last week Monday we received a phone call which resulted in a job offer and the news that my husband will be starting basic training in less than 6 weeks!

My mom asked how I was feeling (excited, scared, happy, sad?) and I just said yes. I'm feeling all those things and more, so much so that I don't really think this next stage of life will make sense until we're in the midst of it.

There are many life changes that are going to happen in the next few months.

   -I'll be an army wife, and my hubby will be the 4th man in my family in the army.

   -We'll be packing up and leaving to stay with my parents so I'll have help taking care of the kids

   -I will have to find a new school for Monkey to attend, as he'll be starting JK in the fall

This is a big change, and I'm sure there will be hard times, tears, and plenty of fears... but I also know that it's a blessing, and there will be joys and lots of great things will come.

It's amazing what can happen in only 6 week!

~A

Who Am I (link up)

Today I'm taking part in a linkup from Neely at A Complete Waste of Makeup





Hi! My name is Angela.

I am mother to two amazing little ones. Monkey (my son) is three years old and keeps me on my toes. Grace (my daughter) is 3 months old and she keeps the peace in my life

I've been married for 4.5 years to an amazing man named Ben

I started writing Adventures of Chef Mom to talk about making my way through culinary school while trying to take care of my son. I graduated in May of 2011 (4.5 months pregnant with my daughter) so I wasn't able to take over the culinary world, but I hope to work from home making other peoples lives sweeter one dessert at a time...

I write about anything and everything that has to do with our lives (food, family, holidays, crafting, funny things the kids do or say)

I adore baking anything sweet, especially cupcakes and pastries (in culinary school, one of my teachers called me the pastry queen)

I'm blessed to be able to stay home with my two little ones while my Hubby works. We live in Ontario (Canada) between Toronto and Ottawa.

I love NCIS, Bones, and the Biggest Loser

I love Earl Grey tea, cottage cheese, and homemade pizza.

I love road trips, camping, and experiencing the world by bicycle. We've got 2 kids bike seats, so this summer we'll be able to take both kids with us.

I love singing, playing piano, and watching silly movies like Robin Hood Men in Tights.

I love learning about different countries and travelling. The first 8 months of marriage, Hubby and I lived in Sweden, so that country has a huge soft spot in my heart.

I am a big fan of coupons, free stuff, and clearance sales at Old Navy.

I joined Weight Watchers back in December (right before Christmas. Am I crazy?) and so far I've lost 10 lbs. I've got a ways to go until I'm back to pre-baby #1 weight, but I'll get there.

Thanks for letting me share about me!

~A

Last-Minute Valentines

This year I got an early start on Valentines Day projects. I even had Monkey make cards to send to friends and family (however I forgot to mail them last week, so they will be late).

The one downside to being done early is that I've seen so many other cute projects that I want to do all of them and I've already made our Valentines... but really, that's not a bad thing.

Anyways, the projects we did complete are actually from my post last year about Valentines day.

Heart-Shaped Crayons

I tried to make each crayon out of its own colour group instead of mixing all the colours together.

I used a silicon heart shaped muffin pan from the dollar store because I didn't want to ruin one of my good muffin tins.

I broke the pieces into about 1/4 inch pieces and tried to mix the different tones evenly between the muffin cups.

I "baked" the broken pieces in the oven for about 5-7 minutes at 300 degrees C. If you bake them longer or shake the pan too much when you take it out, all the colours tend to mix together and you don't have different tones/colours, you just have one kind of muddy colour.

Then I let them cool. You can tell they're ready to be removed when the crayon has come away from the side of the silicon pan (or if you are using mini aluminum tart shells, when it has separated from the tin).

Sorry that there is no picture of the final product with the cardstock. They are pasted with double-sided tape to cardstock reading "You Colour My World!"

These were simple, and I've still got enough broken and used crayons to do about a decade more Valentines for the entire class...

The biggest time consuming part was peeling the paper from the crayons. I found that the no name crayons were much easier to peel than the Crayola brand, and since I did about 24 of these, I had quite a bit of crayon under my nails after this.

I would also recommend getting 2 muffin tins so you can do 12 crayons at a time, because I'm not big on patience, and I had a hard time stopping myself from taking the crayons out of the tin before they were ready...

Needed:
Muffin Tin: $1 at the dollar store
Crayons: already on hand
Cardstock: already on hand

The next Valentines Day craft I did was also low cost and quick to put together.

Chocolate Roses

Needed:
Bag of Kisses: $2.99 for a small package that will make about 18 roses (I would recommend red, pink, or silver because the cellophane is transparent)
Stem for the flowers: $1 for 10
Coloured cellophane: I had some on hand (the stuff used to wrap gift baskets)
Florists tape: $4 for 3 rolls. I made about 30 roses and only used 1 roll.

I started by cutting squares of the cellophane. I didn't have an exact measure, If you want one, I'd go with about 4 inches square. You want the square to be long enough to cover the kisses and still be able to attach more to the pencil. Extra is fine, you'll be covering it with the tape.

Next, tape the kisses together with double sided tape (or just hold them together like I did). You want to make sure that both kisses are held together and that the cellophane is holding them tightly in place if they aren't taped together.

Next, take the pencil, and place it under the bottom kiss. This part is the most particular. I find that if I had a third hand, it would be very useful for this step.

Next, you need to start wrapping the tape around both the pencil and the cellophane. Stretch the tape as you wrap it tightly so that it will stick to itself. Wrap it a few extra times around at the beginning to make sure the kisses are secure.

Keep stretching and overlapping the tape as you tape down the whole pencil. If you wrap at an angle, it will naturally overlap and stay smooth.

When you get to the tip of the pencil, overlap the tape a few times and pinch it tightly to keep it secure.

There you are! Beautiful roses that are a perfect gift for students (if you're a teacher), for classmates, or just for fun!

Happy Valentines Day, and happy crafting!

~A

For my best sister.

Happy Birthday Emily!
I can't believe it's been 15 years already since I finally had a sister. I am so thankful that you're here and that I'm not alone among all the boys. You have matured into a beautiful, sensitive, and thoughtful woman.
I'm glad for your sense of humor, your personal style, your modesty, and your faith. I know you will do great things.

This weekend we celebrated 15 years of YOU, and I got to make dinner and cupcakes.

Listening to the giggling of 5 teenage girls made me smile and brought me back to my high school years. I'm so glad you are close with your classmates, and I hope you can all grow together in faith and in strong, encouraging friendship.

Emily, you are so loved, and I hope that this year is filled with amazing blessing.

Love you.
~A

According to a Toddler...

Verb conjugation:

"I cried her." (I made my sister cry)

"I squeeked her" (I stepped on the dog and she squeeked)



Other phrases:

"Look at my dressing!" (Look at my nice clothes!)

(I say something about students) "That's a bad word!"

Santa asked: "What would you like me to bring you for Christmas?"
Monkey replied: "Candy!"

Holiday Challenge: Day Ten

Today is the last day of the Holiday Challenge with Amber and Neely, and the topic is New Years Memories.

I've never gone to fancy parties on New Years, but I do have some fun memories.

A tradition we had when I was a kid was ordering Kentucky Fried Chicken (so mom didn't have to cook) and playing the board game Clue.

Every time I play that game I remember New Years with my family.

I remember in high school I threw a slumber party for a few of my close friends. Since my birthday is the first day of December, the party was kind of to celebrate that.

memories of that night include:

-my dad offering alcohol to my friends, and one of them being really upset because we were all underage

-staying up most of the night talking

-having BOYS sleep over at my parents house

One other memory is of the big deal that was made in 1999 about how technology was going to stop working when it turned midnight. I remember sitting by the TV waiting for all the power to go out and being so disappointed that nothing even happened.

Every year since we've been married, I always have a New Years kiss with my husband. My best memory of New Years since we've been married was our year in Sweden. Our flight got back on New Years Eve, and the runway was really slippery. We all applauded our pilot for landing safely. When we got back to our little flat, we were exhausted and had forgotten that what day it was, so when people started shooting off fireworks outside, we had to really think hard about what was going on.

This year we don't have any plans (which is normal) but I do hope we can have a cheese fondue, make some oliebollen (a dutch treat) and play Clue!

-A

photo credits: clue game, fireworks in Sweden, oliebollen

Holiday Challenge: Day Nine

Today is day nine of the Blog Holiday Challenge with Amber and Neely, and it's all about our goals for 2012.

I don't normally have resolutions because I have a hard time sticking with them, but I think my problem is shooting a little too high.

Things like:
-lose (blank) number of pounds this year
-stop using our car and take public transportation and my bike everywhere!
-cut out caffeine and chocolate completely!
-do a picture/post/craft a day... or a week
-read the whole Bible cover to cover...
(and so on and so on...)
are not things I can really accomplish. I do want to lose weight, drive less, reduce my caffeine intake and take pictures of the kids regularly, but sticking with strict goals like those is not something I've found to work personally.

HOWEVER, there are a few things I really want to accomplish in 2012.

1. I want to actually celebrate my anniversary with my husband. It will be 5 years of marriage in August 2012, and we haven't taken a vacation together EVER. Not even a honeymoon (it got cancelled on account of the death of my uncle). I'm glad our anniversary is in the summer, because my mom is a teacher, and she has taken Monkey for a week each summer, so hopefully she can take both kids and Hubby and I can have a weekend together...

2. I want to make myself a priority. This does not mean I want to be the centre of the universe, just that I know I've been putting myself on the back burner and putting everyone (kids, friends, hubby, church obligations...) in front of myself. I realized that I spend HUGE amounts of time making sure the kids eat well, dress nicely and have fun things to enjoy each day, but I haven't watched what I eat, exercised, even showered daily, and FORGET about doing my hair or makeup... I need to take care of myself so I can continue to take care of others.

3. I want to get rid of the credit cards once and for all. Last year when we got our tax rebate, we paid off our credit cards completely. We then bought a bed (on credit and paid it off in 2 months), we bought a TV (on credit and paid it off in 3 months) and we made other purchases and didn't pay them off, so now we've got some not-so-nice balances on our cards (one is Hubby's, one is mine). I hate getting the bill each month and seeing that the interest is putting back on money that I just paid off! Credit cards are good for online purchases and for reserving hotels or flights... but since we almost never do either of those things, we should have NOTHING on the cards... this years rebate is going to eliminate them FOR GOOD! And then all we need to do is spend the next decade getting rid of our student debt....blah....

4. I want to work from home. I LOVE staying home with my kids. I never thought I would, but it is such a blessing to be present when Monkey learns something new, or says something that makes me wonder "what planet did you come from?!" So I want to keep staying home. I have an opportunity to teach cooking and crafting classes in my community, but since I've just had Annika, I haven't looked for any clients to teach. I love the idea of teaching these classes, but I have to do the hard work of networking. I also have been told that my cupcakes are great, so I'm hoping to have some people order cakes/cupcakes from me to bring in a few extra dollars a month. Every little bit helps us get out from the student debt monster, and towards the giant house-buying-mortgage monster...

5. I want to volunteer. There are so many places in the Kingston area that I would love to help with. Kingston Pregnancy Crisis Centre, the Salvation Army, Martha's Kitchen, Grow a Row, Big Sisters, my church nursery.... but I haven't made it a priority, so I haven't done it. This year I want to help. Even if it's once a month for only a couple hours, I want to be the hands and feet of Christ to someone other than my own family. I don't want credit, I just want to respond to the push I've been feeling for much too long.

These are my goals. I don't think they will change any time soon. These goals are the foundation of a life I want to live, and I want to start living it now. January 1, 2012 is just a date. It isn't more or less special than any other day of the year.

I want to make a change, and the calendar shouldn't determine when that change starts. Now that I've written these down, hopefully I'll look back often to keep myself accountable. And to remind myself of the goal. Not "size 4" or "book enthusiast" or "100 time blood donor" but that I want to be living each day passionately as an act of worship to the one who created me on this Earth.

-A

Holiday Challenge: Day Seven

Today with Amber and Neely, the challenge topic is How Do You Celebrate the Holidays (Christmas, Hannukah, Kwanzaa...)

My family celebrates Christmas. We celebrate the birth of Jesus and think that Christmas cannot exist without the Christ child.

We don't do Santa, and I've never believed in him, but I have told my son about him. Not the whole "He'll give you everything you ask for" Santa, but the story of St. Nicholas about giving gifts to the poor.

One story about Santa in my house growing up was that he always forgot our house so he had to come while we were in church. Of course we all knew that the person sneaking those presents under the tree was my mom, but I still joke that Santa came to our house after everyone else.

We always put up the tree, and put up the stockings (which were the only things in the house we could open on Christmas morning).

The past few years my siblings and husband and I have been drawing names to decide who buys gifts for who. The names start out as secrets, but they can never stay that way.

Hubby's family has three different parts:

1. Hubby's Mom celebrates Christmas with the great big French Catholic family, and since we live far away, we do that Christmas every other year. Lots of food, lots of drinking, lots of french.... it's loud and happy.

2. Hubby's dad and his wife live close to my parents (45 minutes away) so we visit them in their apartment and open gifts. It's a quiet get together with just Hubby, myself, and the kids.

3. Hubby's Aunt and Uncle live in the same town as Mother-in-Law, and we have gone over there for an afternoon (because their house is more geared for adults). They have taken us out for dinner before as well.

We have the tendency to stay the longest with my parents because their house is the most child-proof, and they have enough room for all of us to sleep.

I love the holidays, and I love my family. I can't wait to celebrate with them this year!

-A

Holiday Challenge: Favourite Recipe

My first married year (or 8 months) was spent in Sweden, and since returning to Canada, I've wanted to go back. I especially want to go back around the Christmas holidays.

When I was thinking of my favourite recipe for today's challenge with Amber and Neely, I immediately thought of any of the Swedish traditions that I miss.

There are the delicious Pepparkakor (or Ginger snaps) in their traditional shapes of pigs, stars, men and ladies. Eating lots of ginger cookies is said to give you a kind demeanor... plus they taste amazing.

And THEN there is Glogg. The name doesn't give any hint to the deliciousness of this mulled wine. This would easily be my favourite holiday recipe, and it is simple to prepare. I have a few recipes for either an alcoholic or non-alcoholic version. Hubby and I came home for the holidays, and we brought 3 bottles of the stuff home with us.

I've used an alcoholic version and a non-alcoholic version in the past. The portion sizes when you drink it are small, so it's not something you're meant to get drunk from.

Glogg was originally made by adding all kinds of spices to cover up the bad taste of the alcohol, but now there are many different variations of non-alcoholic and alcoholic glogg.

Non-alcoholic Glogg:

10 whole cloves

7 cardamom pods, crushed

2 cinnamon sticks

1/2 inch piece of ginger root

2 gallons apple juice or cider

1/3 cup sugar

sliced almonds

Put cloves, cardamom pods, cinnamon sticks and ginger into a piece of cheesecloth and tie it together.

Pour the juice or cider into a slow cooker, then add spices.

Cook on low for 4 hours, or high for 2 hours and serve with the sliced almonds.

I can't wait to make this again!

-A

Christmas DIY Overload

I'm not on Pinterest.

I waste too much time with facebook to find another website to get lost in.

However, I have managed to come accross enough ideas on my own to get overwhelmed with inspiration. So far, my list includes:

-Make your own Advent calendar (I'm a little behind, but I think I can make up lost time)

-Make Christmas ornaments

-Put together photo album/calendar for the grandparents

-Make Christmas cards (well on my way to completing this one)

-Make and send Birth announcements (EXTREMELY behind on this one)

-Make Christmas presents:

-scarf for mom is 90% done

-knight outfit for Monkey is 5% done
-scarf and hat for sister is completely done, but it turns out she doesn't like the colours...

Here are even more holiday ideas that I don't NEED, but my obsessive personality clung to when I saw the pictures.

-The Peaceful Mom. She has links for Candy Cane bath salt, Peppermint Cocoa, and other DIY gifts and links for a stress-free Christmas

-La Casa de Sweets amazing gingerbread cupcakes that I'm DROOLING to make...

-Confessions of a Homeschooler has a 12 Days of Christmas post, and these Monogram ornaments look simple and fun. I've got a jar of Mod Podge just waiting to get used up...

So even without Pinterest to fill my time, I've already overloaded my plate...

Any other exhausted crafters in the house?

-A

Holiday Challenge: Favourite Holiday Tradition

Today in the Holiday Challenge with Amber and Neely, the topic is my favourite holiday tradition new or old.
This year is the first time we're not going to be making a crazy sport of travelling all over the province to see every family member at Christmas, and I'm really looking forward to having a quiet(er) holiday season.

That being said, since I've got a large extended family, I've got a lot of traditions.

My immediate family (siblings and parents) has a tradition of going to church Christmas day, and opening presents after we got back and ate lunch. As a child, I hated the waiting, but now I really like that we were forced to remember the real point of the day, and I think I'm going to continue this tradition, but with a slight change. Since hubby and I go to a church that doesn't do Christmas Day services, we're hoping to read the Christmas story from Luke to the kids in the morning, and then open presents after having a really great meal.

My extended family always gets together the day after Christmas (boxing day here in Canada) and since we're so large, we've had to rent a school for the past few years to host the event. This is the one time of the year that we ALL get together. There is a camping trip in the summer, but lately more and more people have had to miss it for many different reasons. At this Christmas get-together, we have a giant meal, we play games and sports (since there is a gym) and we watch the little ones open presents. It's an awesome day of family, fun and food, and I don't think it would feel like Christmas without it.

There are other traditions I've missed, especially the ones from hubby's family, but I'll save those for next week when I get to talk about how we celebrate the holiday season.

~A

Holiday Challenge: Favourite Gift Received

This is the first year I've been out of school in 2 decades, and since I've been home with my two kids, I've got all kinds of time to think about getting ready for Christmas.

I'm participating in the Holiday Challenge hosted by A Complete Waste of Makeup and Brunch with Amber. Each day I'm going to be posting about the topic they have chosen. Today is about my favourite gift I've ever received.

In thinking about this, I remember many gifts over the years that my parents have spoiled me with. The best Christmas present I've ever received has to be from last year.

I was in my last year of Culinary school, and I have always done a lot of baking, so I would always drool over the KitchenAid equipment my school had. I knew that even the most basic KitchenAid mixer was normally over $200, so I thought it was a crazy item to put on my list, however, come Christmas day there was a heavy box with my name on it, and before I even opened the wrapping paper, I knew that my mom had spoiled me more than ever before.

Now I may be a bit obsessed about baking (I've already admitted that cookbooks are my bedtime reading material), but this present tops anything I could ever ask for. I would be Popeye because of all the buttercream icing I make if I didn't have this machine.

Basically, after my kids, this would be the one thing I'd grab if my house was on fire...

And I think the only gift that could ever top that machine is the gift that Christmas is all about, the little baby boy born 2000 years ago in a stable.

~A

It's not December, but it's Christmas Season already!

I can post about Christmas now, right? I mean once American Thanksgiving is over the Christmas season is in full swing...

We put up our tree on Thursday. My husband works for an American company that's here in Ontario, so they were closed. Bummer for the paycheck, but Yay!! for the help cleaning the house.

My little monkey was so thrilled with the tree that he hugged (and kissed) it goodnight. He keeps grabbing the ornaments and moving them around to different branches (we have all child-friendly ornaments on the tree so no worries about break-age.) His favourite is a snowman made from bells that he takes and shakes and sings "Jingle Bells, all the way. Jingle Bells, all the way..." until we tell him to stop.

We started watching Christmas movies and reading Christmas books this week as well.
I've got about 25 books that are winter or Christmas themed, and the PLAN was to wrap them each up, and then unwrap one a day to read, but when we took the tree out of our storage closet, the bag of (unwrapped) books came too, and Monkey immediately pulled them out and started looking at them. I gave up trying to take them away, so now they're sitting in a basket under the tree.

We've also started Christmas crafts.
So far we have finished some cards (that I'll post about when we've mailed them) and we've made a garland for the tree from construction paper. I've done a few other things on my own, but I'll post those pictures later.

The one thing that made it really seem like the Christmas season is started is the snow we got on Wednesday morning. Monkey woke up with a bad dream at about 4am, but when I saw the snow on the ground, I held him up to the window to look before I put him back to bed.
The first snow is always magical.

I'm excited for all the rest of the Christmas activities we are hoping to do this year! I'm still working on an advent calendar (hoping to finish before Thursday!), and hopefully we'll be able to do lots of fun things as a family in December!

happy crafting!
~A

I'm Blank Because....

Found this cute post on Little Moments Like This (and she got it from Little Miss Momma)



I'm weird because...

-I hate the smell of baby powder, but love the smell of my baby's head.
-I like to organize my things alphabetically or by colour.
-I don't like my pencils and pens to live together.
-Dull pencil crayons drive me crazy.
-I use cookbooks as bedime reading.
-I know ALL the words to "The Lip Song" from VeggieTales, and met one of my best friends by singing that song.
-I check the mailbox multiple times daily, even after I get the mail.
-I own only 4 pairs of shoes: runners, winter boots, Crocs, and heels.
-I find folding laundry to be relaxing.
-I love making cakes and cupcakes, but don't like eating them.
-I've had dreams entirely in french (and understood every word).
-I have a pattern inventory of crocheted hats of almost 100, but I haven't made a single one.
-I can't sleep with my sheets untucked (and my husband can't sleep with them tucked in).
-When anyone says they are going to get a haircut, I immediately say "and a real job."
-I'm afraid of the movie Pinnochio.
-I listen to movies like people listen to CDs (but only ones I've seen before).
-My favourite number in french is 99, but in english it's 3,5,8,11, and 15 (and don't make me choose just one).
-I don't wear makeup or jewelery. EVER. Not even my wedding rings.


I'm a bad friend because...
-I will read emails, come up with a response, but not reply for a week (or more).
-I get jealous of things my friends have done or received (lost weight, bought a house, started a new business...)
-I go days or weeks without replying to messages, and then expect my friends to reply to me instantly.
-I forget birthdays.
-I'm one of those annoying facebook friends who sends game requests...


I'm a good friend because...
-I am a good listener and I keep conversations confidential.
-I encourage and build up my friends when they're down.
-I look for the good in my friends and want only the best for them.
-I laugh with them or cry with them.
-I forgive easily.
-I make awesome baked goods (if I remember birthdays).


I'm sad because...
-I've got a lot of weight to lose before I'm happy with my body.
-I yell at my son too often.
-I use the TV as a babysitter.
-I live far away from my best friends.
-I've barely taken any pictures of my daughter, and she's already a month old.
-My marriage is nowhere near as good as it looks on the outside.
-My husband has a problem that causes me more pain and stress than I can put into words.


I'm happy because...
-My daughter smiles at me and knows my face.
-My son will come up to me and say "I love you." or "I missed you." after I've only been gone a few minutes.
-People have told me that my cupcakes are better than the ones they bought at our local cupcake store.
-I have two amazing children who are happy and healthy.
-I have awesome friends who support me and pray for my family when we're in tough times.
-My mother has become one of my best friends and my biggest cheerleader.
-I have a business opportunity to teach cooking classes, which will let me stay home with the kids.
-I'm already down 30 pounds since baby girl was born (even though most of the weight was from her).
-My husband still shows me he loves me even when I'm a royal pain in the rear.


I'm excited for...
-Christmas baking
-Making and sending Christmas cards
-Getting Christmas cards in the mail!
-Seeing my brother who moved out east
-My birthday (happens on Thursday!!)
-The Good Lovelies concert in Kingston on December 14!
-Decorating the house for Christmas.
-Making a trip to North Bay (hopefully next week!)
-Introducing my little girl to my extended family on Boxing Day!

~A

We've been 4 for one month!

It's been one month since our precious little girl joined our family (technically it was one month on Sunday) and I can't believe how fast time has gone by!

We had a checkup today, and Annika Charlotte (named after my grandma and Hubby's grandma) now weighs 10 lbs 5 ounces. She's up 2 lbs 1 ounce since birth.

We've already made many trips with our little one, including Trick-or-Treating with her big brother. Of course, she slept through the whole thing, and she didn't get to eat any candy.

We all went to the Santa Clause Parade on November 19. Again she slept through most of it, and she didn't see Santa at all, but Monkey really enjoyed the parade! He climbed out of the stroller so he could dance to every marching band and float that had music.

The biggest trip was a weekend (Girls only) trip to Toronto to watch my sister's volleyball tournements. Once again, our little snoozer enjoyed the trip her own way.

But she did get to have her picture taken with the champions.

We love how peaceful you are little one. It's such a great change from the ball of energy your brother is. I know you're still small, but I can't believe how much you've already grown.

I love you.

~A

Love - Multiplied

It's been a few months, but I'm linking up with Jamie again for What I Love Wednesday

1. I love that the weather lately has been more like September than November. I can barely tell that it's less than SIX weeks from Christmas. The grass is still green, and I can take the kids for walks without worrying about scarves, hats and mitts... It's wonderful!

2. I love all the little smiles that my girl has been giving me. She'll be 4 weeks old tomorrow, but she's been smiling for over a week now. This week she's started cooing, and those sounds make all the crying and sleepless nights seem like nothing.

3. I love the grammar of toddlers. My little Monkey has a way with words that makes me laugh. He said the other day that he didn't want daddy to forget his lunch. Or rather he told him to "forNOTget" it. He also told me that he didn't want to behave. He said "I want to beNOThave mommy." I'm not going to pick on it, he'll learn soon enough, and those little quirks make me laugh.

4. I love family, especially my sister and mother who I just got to spend the weekend with in Toronto. We enjoyed my sister's vollyeball tournament and her team won their first medal (Silver! Go Breakers!). We stayed at a hotel in Toronto and had fun with just the girls while my hubby spent the weekend with Monkey.

5. I love my TWO little ones. I love how they stare at each other, and I'm so glad that Monkey already adores his little sister. He says that she's a gecko (and he is either a monkey or an elephant). This morning he started calling her "Kiki" but I don't know if that's a nickname, or just a made up word.

6. Everyday I choose to love this man. And today I love that he writes me love notes and calls in the middle of the day to see how things are at home. He's really stepped up around the house now that my attention is separated between the two kids, and I don't thank him nearly enough.

Today and everyday I choose you.

~A

Adventures in October

Some pictures of some of the fun we had in the last month.

Grandpa S. came for a visit to meet his new grand-daughter (and to celebrate Monkey's birthday)

Look at how proud he is!

Grandpa S. ALWAYS gives the best presents. Last year Monkey got a riding dump truck that makes noise, this year he got a giant car racing kit (you know, the noisy ones that send cars flying across the house...) Daddy had as much fun with this kit as Monkey did.

Cleaning out the pumpkin before the traditional "put our baby in a giant gourd" picture. Neither one of our kids has been a fan of this photo, but that hasn't stopped me and my mom from trying. I guess if we have any other kids, the only way they can avoid this picture is to be born in the spring or summer...

Monkey in a pumpkin (October 2008)

Baby Girl in a pumpkin (October 2011)

Coffee Break had a clothing exchange, so my mother and I went through all Monkey's old clothes to find items I wanted to donate. Of course, this meant that Monkey had to put on clothes as we were sorting them.

Splash pants, a golf hat and cowboy boot slippers make a perfectly acceptable outfit, right? And I'm not the only mom who takes pictures of the crazy outfits my kid comes up with...

My husband and kids on Halloween night. Monkey loved knocking on doors and saying "Trick-or-Treat!" And his basket was so small, he could only make it to 2 or 3 houses before emptying it. This made it really easy to prevent him from eating candy before we got back home.
October was an amazing month. We were blessed with great weather, fun visits from family, and of course, a wonderful little girl.

Here's hoping November brings even more smiles!

~A