september thirty :: 67 weeks old

Mack is 67 weeks old today.

This morning Mack had swimming from 9:30 to 10 am. Somehow we managed to be 8 minutes late, only being in the water for 22 minutes. Not sure why I even bothered going into the pool at that point. I was just running late this morning. Still trying to figure out how to get out of the house with 2 kids.
I worked from home today and got a LOT accomplished. There was no call from the auberge. Wasn't really expecting one. I did sell our diaper champ to someone I actually knew, by via Craigslist. Even if we decide to have baby number 3 in the future, we've got a new system going with our kids current dirty diapers, and so we would never use the diaper champ again. Honestly the thing doesn't work that great, but this girl really wanted another one as baby number 2 is on the way. Our system is, the dirty diaper goes into a vanilla scented biodegradable bag, and straight outside to the huge garbage can. Outside = doesn't smell and there is no bag inside the diaper champ to clear out when full. (It used to make me gag). We haven't used it in months, we aired out out for months, I washed it and sold it. Never want to see another one again!

Sean had a visit today at school from both the police man and mail man. While the police man was a scheduled visit, the mail man was flagged down from outside. Sean wrote me a letter and put it in an envelope, and mailed it to me in his cubby (how cute) and the police man taught him to call 9-1-1 in an emergency. He kept repeating the whole night "I call 9-1-1 in an emergency". Next thing I need to teach him is his phone number. He knows his full name as well.

Tonight I had knit night (aka weekly therapy). It was a nice group tonight. I worked on Mack's best friend's blanket and sold the last of the chocolate bars. I cannot wait to hand in the money tomorrow and not have to see chocolate bars until next fall!

Wow, I can't believe tomorrow is October. Where has the year gone?

september twenty-nine

Last night I managed to find these cute high top shoes with laces. They took me over 20 minutes to get them on his feet. I plan on leaving them at daycare and bringing him to and from in velcro shoes that I don't mind putting them on and off. Though, I don't know how much longer these size 3's will fit him, I don't plan on actually going out of my way to buy more of these for daycare. I have a full shoe wardrobe from Sean for Mack to use, so until Mack gets to a size I don't have, I won't be buying him shoes that he really doesn't need. It's honestly a ridiculous request.

This morning we had music class.

Mack just loves this class. I have a good time as well. I am friends with two of the moms in this class. One of them, wanted to show me a picture she had on her camera, so she called me over. I was standing next to her when she found them. Pictures her son took. He had pulled down his pants and took pictures of his thing. He's 7 years old. She had a chuckle and was sure that her son had done it for shock value. She will be talking to her son about it, as it's not right that he did that. Has your child done this? Is it normal? Is this what I have coming with my kids?

After dropping off Mack at daycare (and his teacher being incredibly happy that I got him high top sneakers), I got some gas in the car and headed to work where I sold even more chocolates from that last remaining box. (Somehow on Friday when I asked for 1 more box for my sister to take Sean door-to-door in her neighborhood while she babysat, I ended up with 2 boxes - 100 bars).

When I got to work I asked Jamie if the manager from the auberge called him back about the jacuzzi not working. Well, no one called him Monday. So I called the place today. Here's the conversation.

Robyn: "Hi, I'm calling to find out why no one called me back yesterday about the jacuzzi not working in Studio 5 over the weekend. I only rented that room for the jacuzzi, so the fact that it didn't work is an issue. Is it possible to speak to your manager please?"
Manager comes on the phone: "Yes, can I help you?"
Robyn: "Someone was supposed to call me back regarding the non-functioning Jacuzzi in Studio 5 from this weekend. Did you look into it?"
Manager: "Yes it was looked into".
Robyn: "And?"
Manager: "It doesn't work"
Robyn: "Ok, so what are you going to do about it?"
Manager: "What do you want me to do about it?"
Robyn: "Well, since we took that room because of the jacuzzi, I'd like compensation for it not working".
Manager: "I'll have to speak to the owner, but I could probably get you 25% off your next stay."
Robyn: "I don't want 25% off my next stay, I don't think I'll ever be coming back. I want a partial credit applied back to my credit card"
Manager: "I'll have to speak to the owner, but he'll either give you 25% off your next stay or a credit".
Robyn: "I don't want 25% off my next stay, I won't be coming back. You speak to him tomorrow about my partial refund and call me back. You have my number?"
Manager: "It's...."
Robyn: "Yes, thank you".

WHAT THE.....!

Definitely won't be going back there, and I bet you, I won't get a call back tomorrow.

On my way home I actually remembered to pick up cat food, or my cat wasn't going to have anything from breakfast tomorrow morning. (Oh, well there is emergency cans of tuna in the house, but it was Jazz our late cat that preferred the tuna than Zeus does). Picked up the kids, and spent the evening with them as Jamie had hockey tonight, and it's not Monday. Seems like his hockey schedule is changing..! He did tell me that it wouldn't interfere with knit nights, as there isn't any wednesday night games. Phew!

Off to go watch some tv and work on some projects, both knit and crochet.

september twenty-eight :: 33 Months Old

Sean is 33 months old today.
I can't believe in 3 short months he'll be 3.
That's a lot of 3's! 33 months, and in 3 months he'll be 3.
Freaky!

This morning I dropped the kids off at daycare. At Sean's drop off, Sean's daycare coordinator was happy to see that I sold (with the help of my sister solely) another entire case of chocolates. I told her to give me another few days, and the rest will be sold, for sure. (Bringing Sean to a total of 4 boxes sold). I wonder if there is a prize for the most chocolates sold?

I worked from home today, getting the Montreal Knitting Guild's newsletter done as well. (I'm the editor). It's a fun little job, and I like doing it. I also got a lot of the never ending laundry done. Yes, it just never ends.

I did some groceries before picking up the kids from daycare. It's just easier to do them before picking them up. If I take Sean he wants to just touch everything and buy everything. It's not fun grocery shopping with him anymore. Or there was that one time he starting throwing everything out of my basket out of the basket onto the floor as we were shopping. Not fun.

Sean had a good day at daycare today. I like to hear that. And when I got to Mack's daycare, they asked me to buy him high-top sneakers with laces. Yeah, you read the correctly. High-tops with laces. Kids & laces just don't go...! Velcro is the way to go. Laces are just a pain in the arse if you ask me. And kids take off their shoes anyhow, so it's easier to throw them back on their feet with velcro rather than laces. I am going to look in the house to see if I have any size 3 baby shoes that are high top and laces.. but if I dont.... well then, I'm honestly not going to go out and buy new ones... they can deal.

This evening I made tomato soup from scratch. It was so delicious. We had some with our fish for dinner. I am so impressed with myself, making it from scratch. Jamie's not a huge tomato soup fan, and he even enjoyed it.

After dinner, we bathed the kids, we put them to bed. We ploped ourselves onto the couch for our regular monday night line-up. Heroes, Big Bang Theory, and then after that I watched House and Hoarders. After watching Hoarders tonight, it made me want to go clean my entire house and throw things out. I kid you not. Maybe this will be the kick in the ass to get organized. I worked on a bit of Mack's best friends gift, as well as my nephew's birthday socks while watching Tv.

Here is progress on my nephew's birthday socks.
They're coming along!

september twenty-seven :: 143 Weeks Old

Sean is 143 Weeks Old Today.

This morning we got up at our own leisure, and headed down over to the dinning room for breakfast. We were in the suites which were not attached to the Auberge, so we had to walk outside in the rain, unfortunately. Breakfast wasn't great at all, and we were very disappointed. After breakfast we walked over to the front desk to talk to the girl about the jacuzzi. The manager wasn't in, so we explained to the girl behind the desk about the situation. Apparently they are aware that there is an issue with all the jacuzzi's in the suites. So why didn't they tell us? Were they hoping that we would spend the extra money on the suite and not use the jacuzzi? The only reason we took the room was for the fact that it had a jacuzzi in it. She will speak to the manager and he will call us Monday, since he's not in today.

We chilled in our room until it was time to head back to Montreal.

I worked on my nephew's birthday socks on the car drive home.

I got word that Mackenzie locked both Sean & Harley in the dog cage. How funny!

We chilled at home a bit before going to my parents house for dinner. I worked a bit more on Mack's Best Friend's Birthday gift.
Dinner was nice, and it was good to see the boys again. They got brand new habs shirts from my brother & sister - Mack doesn't fit into his size yet, but I am sure it'll fit him well shortly.

Mack says a bunch of words right now. They include in random order:
- juice
- shoes
- peekaboo
- elmo
- dada
- mama
- Abc

And that's pretty much it for now. We're working on pronouncing things out with him.... hoping he gets more words soon. He does babble a lot, so he's definitely saying what's on his mind. Too bad we just don't understand it...!

september twenty-six

Sean had swimming class first thing this morning. Today, we realized that one of Sean's friends from daycare was in his swim class. Though only a month older, this kid is in the class older than Sean due to space in the classrooms. It was actually Sean and his friend who recognized each other, otherwise, I would have had no idea....

After coming in from swimming class, I got the kids organized to spend the night at my sister's house. After getting them organized, I packed up the car (was leaving my car with the kids and my sister as well) and dropped them off there. Crossing my fingers that they don't cause too many problems at my sister's place for the night.

I headed back to my house, got my stuff organized for our night away. On our way to lunch, we ran a few errands, and then had lunch at our fave local greek joint. And then we headed up north.

We arrived at our destination late afternoon. It's a nice little area, about an hour from Montreal, give or take. We had a view of the lake from our room.

After we were settled into our room, we headed up to Jamie's family's country house to see the exact state that it was in. It hasn't really been used in the last few years, as it's slowly been falling apart. I would say for the first few years of our relationship Jamie and I used to spend not only Victoria Day and Labor Day weekend up at the country house, but numerous weekends during those two weekends all summer. Until the plumbing stopped functioning.. until it just started to fall apart. The home was owned my Jamie's late grandparents and now it was left to Jamie's mom, and her 2 brothers.

As you can see, to the left, the ceiling fell off.. and to the right, mold, which is ALL over the ceiling. What you see in the picture is not even half of the mold.

In the front facing the lake, the floor fell through right above the basement door. If someone realy wanted, they could pry it open and probably get into the house that way. Gross, but possible.

Windows were shot to pieces.

It's sad. Jamie used to spend time here every summer, Jewish Holidays, etc. He grew up coming here every summer throughout all of his childhood and some of his adulthood. The only way to fix this would be to tear it down and re-build, and because of new bylaws with zoning, that is not even possible. Maybe there is a loop hole with leaving one part of the foundation standing so it would pass, but we'd have to look into it. However, that's if we win the lottery. There are so many things we want to do in our own home first, before we'd even fix up the country house. Plus, it's not even ours right now to fix up. It still belongs to Jamie's mom & her 2 brothers.

So upsetting.

This is our room and our defective jacuzzi. Pissed about that one... tell you more about that in a few minutes. Jamie and I already said that we would never come back here again...

Got an update that my kids are good and had a good time today playing with some of my sister's friends kids. Apparently Sean has a thing for older girls!

Awww, he's still holding her hand!

Anyhow, on our way back to the room, we picked up some groceries at the local store, so we could have some cheese & crackers with our wine. We chilled for a bit, had wine, cheese & crackers and eventually got ready to go out for supper. We went to this really tiny Italian restaurant in the area, actually, it was the only Italian restaurant in the area. The food was decent, they actually had whole wheat pizza on the menu (impressed me!) and the service was not bad. It seemed to be family ran, including the wait staff.

After dinner we tried to use the jacuzzi back in our room, and it lasted for maybe 4 and a half minutes before stopping. We couldn't get it to work again. And of course, there was no one at the front desk any longer when we called. They were closed for the night. We only got this room because of the jacuzzi and now it doesn't work. They'll be hearing from us in the morning...!

So I stayed in the tub a little longer, but Jamie didn't care to be in there if the jets didn't work, and once I got out, we hung out and watched some tv for a bit. I am going to shut down and and go back and cuddle. After all, we're up north to celebrate our anniversary. Too bad it's too cold and we can't sit out on the patio... next year we'll have to go earlier in the season to celebrate our anniversary. Unfortunately this year, our anniversary happened to fall on a Jewish Holiday. (Actually, I think next year it does as well...)

september twenty-five

My dad stopped by this morning with some snow suits from his best friend's wife. They wanted to get Mack something practical for his birthday, something that he needed. It's really hard for people to gift someone who is a 2nd child, and a 2nd boy. It's rare that I need something for Mack, that I didn't already have from Sean... (though, Mack does get brand new stuff, it wouldn't be right for him to get just hand-me-downs, though the new stuff is the "off season" stuff.... as Sean is a winter baby and Mack's a summer baby). In any case, the hunt for a snow suit for Mack is becoming an issue. I didn't realize that size 18 months was impossible to find. She was able to get me a size 12 months as well as a 24 month one. Oddly, the size 24 month is the SAME size as Sean's 3 year size snowsuit that he will be wearing this upcoming winter. (Got it on liquidation after last winter - best time to buy!) The 12 month size is too small for Mack. He's tall. I really need 18 month size.

My dad played with the boys this morning while I got ready for the day. It's rare that I get to get ready without a kid hanging onto my leg. It's rare that I even get to go to the bathroom alone. I treasure it when I can.

I worked from home for a bit this morning, I had a few things to take care of from home. I ran some errands on my way to work, and then worked in my office all afternoon. At pick-up today, I was told that Sean didn't listen very well at all today. Ah, the terrible twos are really trying. And some people tell me that the three's are worse. Some say they are better. I guess we'll wait to see... as we approach the age of three in almost 3 months.

Tonight we went out for some Chinese Food. Oh, it was delicious. I hadn't had Chinese Food for months until recently. Now that my metabolism is working in full gear.... it's just wonderful. I am slowly re-introducing foods I used to eat, but in absolute moderation. That's the key.

After the kids were in bed tonight, I ran out to see if a local shop had any more size 2/3 pants for Sean. I had picked up a pair there, and now when I absolutely needed to get more for him, there weren't any left. This in-between size thing sucks. Size 3 is really too big... and size 2 or size 24 months are just too small. He's also in the 75th percentile for height, like Mack, so they're both tall. They need length. But they've both got no waist... so pants don't stay up. I'm going to be on the hunt for size 2/3... Really, someone should invent size 2.5 (two and a half). There really are kids who are that size! Anyhow, while out I did manage to find a gift for Jamie's cousin's daughter's first birthday party, which we'll have in November. I'm in the middle of putting together a gift basket for her.

Tonight we watched Hung, Survivor, and Big Bang Theory, catching up on this week's shows. I worked on some crochet while we watched. I know... I'm crocheting! Really! It's kinda... addictive.

september twenty-four

This morning the boys went to daycare just for the morning. I worked at home until it was time to go and pick them up. After picking them up I picked up my mother who was coming with me to the doctor's appointment today. The doctor's appointment was for me as well, so I wanted my mom to watch the boys in the waiting room while it was my turn with the doctor. Since our doctor has only a week or two left before she goes on her maternity leave, I wanted to make sure that I was seen before she was on her leave.

Sean is now 32 lbs, and is the 75th percentile for height and 50th percentile for weight. He has knock knee, which she explained to us is seen in children ages 2-5 years old, and corrects itself naturally by the age of 5 in almost all cases as the child grows. She told me I had nothing to worry about, and that it would be checked again at his next birthday. I had asked her to look at his legs, as I noticed they weren't 100% straight. But because Sean is VERY active with sports, there is nothing to worry about. If he had trouble walking and was a couch potato, she would be worried. But that's not the case with Sean. He's very much active.

Mackenzie got his 2 shots that he was due for today, as this is his 15 month check-up. He just turned 15 months old last week. He is now 21 lbs 13 oz, and is still in the 75th percentile for height and 10th percentile for weight. On his own growth curve, still in the same spot. She isn't worried about him being in the 10th percentile as that's where he's always been. If he would have dropped in the chart that would have been another story, but he's still on his own curve.

She recommends the H1N1 shot. She thinks the flu shot will be eliminated this year due to it. I am not sure that I am going to get it, but it's something to consider. We'll see. I don't usually get the flu shot, so we'll see if I will go out of my way to get the H1N1 shot.

My blood pressure was low today, but other than that my physical was great. She is happy with the weight I am now, and that I did a good job to lose it. She is wondering if I should maybe see a dermatologist for the small infection on my face, since the antibiotics I am taking isn't 100% clearly up the breakouts. She gave me a referral to someone who does walk-ins, so we'll see at the end of the script that I've filled on how my chin looks upon finishing it. I'm hoping that I don't have to go see more doctors. I am really hoping though that it's something that can be cleared and my body doesn't think I'm a 13 year old girl starting puberty or something. I've never had this in my life, always had clear skin, which is why she was pretty sure it was a bacterial infection and not acne. I guess if the antibiotics doesn't clear it up, I will have to go see a dermatologist to see if there is anything else I can do for it.

While out I really had to go to the bathroom. My mom asked Sean if they should give me a diaper since I said I couldn't hold it in any longer, and we were no where near a bathroom. Sean said "No, Mommy wears underwear". I'm impressed he knows what it is. I hope that means he'll want to wear some too soon, and we can finally get the show on the road for potty training... but we unfortunately have to wait until his bladder is ready...

I ran some errands with my mom on the way home from the doctor's office. Though, the kids were getting a little cranky and it was time for a nap so I dropped my mother off at home. Mack feel asleep on the way home in the car - what else is new. He was able to go right into his crib. Sean on the other hand, fought taking a nap, just like on the weekends. And while I was outside doing a mini photo shoot with his new blanket for daycare.....


... he locked me out on the patio. Yep. You read that correctly. He locked me out. It took me 10 minutes to convince him to turn the lock and let me back into the house. I am not even sure he realized that he locked me out. He was freaking out in my bedroom and I was freaking out on my patio. Let me tell you, I will be changing those locks soon so he cannot lock me out of my house. If I would have had the house phone or my cell phone on me, I could have called my mother who lives a few streets away to come in through my garage and unlock the bedroom door, but I didn't even have that on me!

Oh, that'll teach me from doing that again!

Then when I got back in the house, after Mack woke up from his nap, Sean closed the closet door in my bedroom on Mack's baby finger. OUCH! Mack was hysterically crying. There was a bit of blood and I ran Mack's finger under cold water for about 10 minutes. He stopped crying not too long after it happened, and was using his hand, so I don't think it's broken or anything. Just a little purple. For some reason I don't think this will be the last of sibling accidents, nor the last of blood being shed. With two boys, I feel like there will be interesting times ahead.

Jamie brought home Tutti Giorni for supper. They have whole wheat pasta on their menu and I absolutely love their Vongoli sauce. So delicious. So tonight I had dinner at home before heading out for knit night.

Tonight at knit night, Melanie came out to surprise us. She was baby-less too! She managed to sneak out of the house right after a feeding to come join us for some knitting. Hope you come back soon Melanie!

I started Mack's Best Friend's Birthday present tonight. Along with some other stuff I got him, I am making him a blanket that matches his room. His mom knows I'm making him something, she just doesn't know what or if I am crocheting or knitting it. I won't tell her! I hope they like it. (When I was over there last I didn't see anything special that he slept with in his crib, so I had to make him something). His party is the weekend I'm at Rhinebeck, I won't be going, but the kids will be going to the birthday party.

september twenty-three :: 66 weeks old

Mack is 66 weeks old today.

Mack had his first swimming lesson today. We don't know anyone in the class, and this class everyone seems to keep to themselves. Very quiet class. Small class too. Sean's class on the weekend is over packed, and Mack's is just right, with a handful of people. I like it better that way, you can actually hear the teacher talk. The swim coordinator was there this morning and noticed my weight loss. Her compliment made me feel good.

I love this photo of Mackenzie from this morning after his swim class. This sweater is just too cute on him. It's by Joe Fresh. I really like his line of clothing. (Found here at Loblaws or Maxi).

After swim class I dropped Mack off at daycare and then my car off at Acura for a servicing. My mother was supposed to meet me there to bring me home, since they needed my car for a few hours, and I don't exactly live within walking distance. I couldn't find her, she wasn't home and her cell phone was off, so I took their car service home. Boy, what an awkward car ride. While I was around the corner from my house, my mother called my cell. She didn't realize her cell was off and she was next door to Acura doing an errand. I had no idea that she was next door. Didn't even see her car there. Anyhow, she met me back at my place as she wanted to show me something, and then headed on her way.

I worked at home all day. An hour before having to go pick up my car and get the boys from daycare, I ran on the treadmill. I couldn't understand why I was sweating like there is no tomorrow. Ok, yeah, I run on the treadmill, I sweat. But I usually don't drip buckets. So I went after my run to investigate.

My house was 79 degrees!
No wonder!

Today in the mail I received Bea's sock from my Single Sock Swap Round 2. She knit me the first sock in the Dolomite Pattern by Anne Hanson and used Madeleine Tosh Sock Yarn in Moss. It's so yummy. Thank you Bea for the package! I can't wait to finish some other projects to be able to cast on this sock. (I also need to do the second sock from the first round of Single Sock Swap...! I'm a tad behind!)

Today when I went to pick up Sean from daycare I was talking to one of his teachers. She mentioned that there was 11 boys out of the 16 in her class and all the boys have been really rowdy lately, not listening and ganging up with each other. He hasn't been listening in school, but he has been napping. He needs to work on listening to his teachers. Also, he is still not sitting at the table properly at lunch time. He doesn't sit straight and he doesn't sit for very long. She told me not to worry yet though, as he's still young. Hopefully this will improve with time.

Tonight I made a pasta dinner and ate with the two kids. Jamie had pizza with the guys. There were 11 guys in my den tonight, for Jamie's annual hockey pool. Boy were they rowdy. And of course, Sean wouldn't go to bed until they were all gone. He didn't want to miss out on any of the action. I really hope that he gets up for school tomorrow.

I did manage to sell the rest of the chocolates for Sean's daycare! Jamie's buddies bought them all up. Gonzo! Feels good ot have them gone. I wonder if we're the ones whom have sold the most chocolates? I think we've sold 2 full cases (100 bars).

I did manage to weave in the last ends to Sean's daycare blanket tonight. I have a finished project to share with you tonight! Sean loves it - that's all that matters!

Specs:
Pattern: Easy Ripple Afghan by SusanB (Ravelry Link)
For: Sean
Yarn: Cascade 220 Superwash in Denim & White. (5 skeins of denim & 1.5 skeins of white)
Hook: 5.5 mm (I)
Size: Toddler Length. Finished size is 33 inches by 37 inches. 9 blue sections, of 6 rows per section. 8 white sections, of 2 rows per section. It’s 130 stitches wide.
Timeline: September 13th, 2009 - September 22nd, 2009
Modifications: Followed pattern as published to my own desired length.
Opinion: Love it. Sean loves it. That's all that matters.
His toes won't be uncovered at daycare during nap time anymore!

Sean helping me measure it.

september twenty-two

Sean went into daycare this morning with no issues. Hopefully we're back on track now, and the mornings with crying are long behind us again. He comes home every day saying he's had a good time, that's why I don't understand why he got off track for a bit there. Here's to hoping.

It was raining this morning, so I didn't walk with my friend Dara to our mom & tot class that we're taking together. Though, we had plans to walk and meet up where we would meet up if walking from home. Like last week, we met halfway and I parked my car there, as I work on Tuesdays after the mom & tot class. But today it's raining. Maybe we'll get to walk next week, if the weather doesn't get too cold. We're already the end of September!

Class was fun this morning. It's half an hour in the gym & then half an hour of music.

The mom sitting down with her son joined us today. Though, all the children in the class are way older then her son, and I think she felt kind of out of place. I know her from before this class, but I don't think she'll be coming back next week. While most of the kids are 14 months + (the class is for 14-24 months old), her son is almost 7 months old. That's a huge developmental difference. Most of the kids in the class are walking, while her son is just learning to sit.

Mack & his best friend (on the left).

After class I dropped Mack off at daycare, and headed to work. I'm in the middle of cleaning up a huge pile of harddrives. We are trying to figure out which ones are covered by the supplier and which ones need to be sent back to the manufacturer, and it's a huge mess (from before I started working there). Slowly but surely it's coming along at work. I hope to have my office organized and clean within the next few weeks. I can dream, right?

After work I picked up Sean from daycare first. I do this so that Sean sees that Mack really goes to daycare, I think I've mentioned this before. Anyhow, our conversation on the way to picking up Mack was too cute not to share.

Sean: "My brother's name is Mackenzie Riley".
Robyn: "Yes it is".
Sean: "The Cookie Monster told me so".

Apparently the Cookie Monster has been telling Sean a lot of things lately, including teaching him French.

I was told at Mack's pick up that he had a bit of a rough day today. Whenever another kid cired, he did too. It makes me upset/sad that he is like this, but I don't have a choice but to bring him to daycare. He's only been here for 3 weeks now, I'm hoping it'll get easier. I'm sure it'll get easier.

I came home tonight to my Swap on a Budget package being on my front step.
I love everything that I received!

I got a lovely skein of Cherry Tree Hill Sock Yarn.

And a skein of Sophie's Toes Sock Yarn, a brand I've never heard of before.
I love discovering new things!

This evening Jamie & I took the kids to go meet his friend Larry's new son. He's adorable. We spoiled him with lots of cute outfits, and we had cake & coffee. Another mutual friend was there with his girlfriend and we had to unfortunately cut the evening short as soon as Mackenzie demanded to be put to bed. Sean used to go to bed whenever he wanted (a learning experience for us, let me tell you) but, Mackenzie, like clockwork goes to bed at the same time every night. We felt bad to cut the evening short, but we had to get the boys to bed.

september twenty-one

Getting Sean to daycare today was a challenge. It's almost the end of the month of September and Sean decided that he wanted to wear his sandals without socks to school today. Honestly, some battles are not worth fighting, and I let him win this one. I did however pack his sneakers & socks and put them in his cubby when we got to school. This way, if his teachers needed him to have them, they were there for him.

After dropping the kids off at daycare I went to go meet Kadi for lunch and some knitting at one of the Java U's in the city. I had a fabulous salad for lunch. I worked more on Sean's daycare blanket as we chatted & caught up.

On my way home I ran some errands, picking up groceries for dinner. I enjoy fresh fish over frozen, so I made sure to pick up some fresh fish for dinner tonight. It's so much better fresh. Some usually ends up in our freezer anyhow, as sometimes there's more in a package than we end up baking for supper. Usually it sits in the freezer until it gets freezer burn, and then unfortunately it goes into the garbage. I hate wasting food. I am going to try to be better and not do this anymore.

Jamie had hockey tonight, so I chilled on the couch, worked more on Sean's daycare blanket and watched the 2 hour season premiere of House. Oh was it good! I won't spoil it in case you haven't watched it yet - but I do have to say that it was a fabulous episode. I can't wait for next week. I also watched tonight's A&E episode of Hoarders (which made me want to throw out more things) and I watched some Law & Order Criminal Intent as well. Catch up tv night on the couch with my crochet project. I like!

september twenty :: 142 weeks old

Sean is 142 weeks old today.

Today we had Jamie's mom and her wife over for Rosh Hashanah lunch. Since no one on Jamie's mom's side was making anything, we decided to invite his mom & her wife over to see the kids. We made a small lunch, and it was very simple, but very appreciated nonetheless. We don't see Jamie's mom and her wife often, but it's good for them to see the kids once in a while. While they were over, I showed Jamie's mom how to knit in the round. She's knit and crochet before, but just didn't know how to knit in the round. I gave her some DPNs and some yarn to make my nephew some simple socks for his birthday, as per his request. That's what he wanted. I think I am going to make him a pair too.. Maybe some tube socks or something. I should have time to do them before his party in November (need to find out the exact date of his birthday party though).

This afternoon my dad & Jamie finished putting together the swing set. Sean's already in love with it. It made his day I'm sure. I can see this swing set getting a lot of use.

Tonight we went to my Aunt & Uncle's house for Rosh Hashanah dinner. As of tonight, we've covered all sides of all our families. I love this new picture of my 2 boys with my parents. Such a gorgeous photo. Definitely frame worthy.

Mack behaved himself and was a good boy all evening.

Sean had fun with Jakob (Jenn's son) jumping on my cousin Aaron's bed. I had no idea of this until I saw the pictures afterwards. I wonder who started the jumping - Sean or Jakob?

I sold even more chocolates to my family here, and Sean is on a roll selling out his first box thisw weekend. Maybe we'll take another box to sell when I bring back the money from the first box sold tomorrow. We'll see if they even have anymore boxes.

september nineteen

This morning I picked up Sean to go to his swimming class, while leaving Mackenzie at my parents house. Today was our first swimming class. It's unfortunate that they've changed the rules at the pool. It used to be that if you were ready, you'd advance to the next level, unless you were really too young. Now, they have it by age.

Starfish - 4 months - 12 months old
Duck - 13 months - 24 months old
Sea Turtle - 25 months to 36 months old
Salamander - 3 years - 4 years old

Sean was in Salamander because he's excellent in the water. Fearless. This past summer he was jumping off the diving board at my parents house, swimming in the deep end. With a life jacket of course. Anyhow because they have it by age now, he's back in Sea Turtle, as registration online wouldn't let me register him in anything else due to his birth date. When I questioned them today about it - I was told it was new rules.

This class is WAY too easy for Sean. It's unfortunate, but we're stuck in it until January. January he can go back into Salamander, since he'll be 3 this Xmas. His 2 teachers told me that they would give me harder stuff for him to do, if we find it too boring. At least they're accommodating.

We had fun regardless, and we realized that my cousin's cousin and her son are in the class, so at least we know someone. Another kid looked familiar, but I couldn't place him. Maybe next week I'll ask the mom where we know them from. Maybe a mom & tot class. Who knows.

After swimming we went to pick up Mack back at my parents house. It was nice to be back with the boys, even though we did enjoy a nice evening of peace & quiet last night after we got home.

This afternoon my dad came over to help Jamie start putting together our new swing set. The instructions say it's a 2 man job, and 4-8 hours to put together. Well, they worked on it for at least 4 hours today - and it's no where near done. We'll see how long it actually does take them, but my guess is at least 8 hours, if not more! It's too bad it's getting colder, they won't get to enjoy it for very long before it's winter. Next summer!

While out in the backyard, I noticed that there was some activity going on in my garden! The cauliflower, which seems to be a cold weather plant, is finally growing! Hoping it grows nice and tastes yummy. I'm not really sure when to tell if it's fully grown, but I know right now it's not yet anywhere near that stage.

While the guys worked in the backyard on the swing set and Mackie took his afternoon nap (like clockwork), I took Sean out for a bit to do some errands. We needed more dirty diaper bags (aka dog poop and scoop bags that are vanilla scented and biodegradable) and a bathing cap for both boys for their swimming lessons. Sean loves to run errands with me, but I don't take him often anymore because he likes to touch everything. But I had to do these errands and he was touching everything in our backyard driving Jamie and my dad nuts because they were trying to keep all the pieces organized to put the swing set together, and Sean was just causing it to be hectic out there, so I took him out for a bit. Staying home he wanted to be outside where they were, so I knew that it would be a good idea to get him out.

Tonight we went to my in-laws (Jamie's dad & Step-mom's) house for Rosh Hashanah dinner. It was really nice and small tonight, the 4 of us, plus my in-laws, plus Jamies' step-sister, her husband & our step-niece, and 2 of Jamie's step-aunt's and one step-uncle. Nice & cozy and comfortable. While there, Sean sold some more chocolates for his daycare fundraiser. Family always buys chocolates for school. They rock.

Tonight, my in-laws gave Jamie & I the most awesomest anniversary gift ever:

A signed Carey Price (Habs Goalie) T-shirt

Here's the close-up with his autograph.

And a Habs hat signed by the entire 2008-2009 Habs team. (Last year's team)!

Boy is it super hard to photograph red, even in natural daylight (average day)...! It's just impossible! I took a LOT of photos and these 2 were the best ones. Jamie and I are going to get a tshirt frame and a keepsake hat box (see through for paraphenalia) to store these 2 items in.

I just love these 2 items. They're freakin' awesome. I thanked them over and over again for winning them in the silent auction that they got them from. What a nice gift! We love it!

Tonight after getting home, and putting the kids to bed, Jamie and I watched 2 episodes of Dexter. Then I watched an episode of Bones. I really can't keep my eyes open much longer, so I'm going to go hop into bed.

september eighteen :: 4 year anniversary

Dropping off Sean this morning was brutal. He wanted to go to my parent's house "now". He didn't want to wait until dinner - since it's Rosh Hashanah. He wanted to go at 9 am. I'm still trying to work on "time" with him, but he is still not understanding the difference between 5 minutes and an hour.

This morning I had breakfast with my friend Dara and her son, Mack's best friend. Dara thought I was coming alone, but I surprised her by taking Mack to daycare late that morning. Breakfast was delicious, and I tried a Spelt Crêpe for the first time.

I worked this afternoon, and got a lot of things accomplished. My office is starting to get cleaned up, and a lot of things are getting out to where they belong. Once I'm on top of everything in my office, things will go a lot more smoothly. Almost there. While at work today I booked a little getaway for Jamie & I for our anniversary. I'm very excited to get away for a little bit. It'll be nice. Today, is our actual anniversary, we were married 4 years ago.

Tonight we went over to my parents house for Rosh Hashanah dinner. We celebrated with my entire family which was nice. We even had a nice anniversary cake from my parents.

The boys helped us blow out the candle. Mack was super fascinated by the flame! We actually left the boys over at my parents house (Mack went to bed before we were even done dessert) and had a quiet evening at home after we left my parents house. Opened up a bottle of wine, watched some tv and just relaxed. It was nice. Exactly what we needed/wanted.

Mack this evening was walking all over my parents basement. I think the crawling days are over. In a matter of time, he'll be running. It's over!

Tonight at my parents house Sean sold his first few chocolates for his fundraiser for school. We took one case (50 bars) we'll see how long it'll take to sell them. Last year they used the money from the sales to buy more books for the library but this year, I don't know what they will be using it for.

Tonight we had stopped by the Pharmacy on the way home from my parents house to pick up a prescription and since Jamie didn't want to be empty handed he got me a gift card to Chapters (have to decide what books I want now!) and a cute pair of earrings that I was looking at while he picked up his prescription. That was really nice of him, he really shouldn't have. He already paid of the difference on my Nikon D60 (difference from what I sold my Canon Rebel for). I really didn't need anything more. Thanks hun!

Progress of Sean's daycare blanket. Coming along!