First Cut

I made my first cut today! I was a little nervous, but did a great job measuring, slicing to make it even, and then cutting! First cut with a quilting mat, a rotary cutter and a rotary cutting ruler. It was very exciting & a lot of fun. Project info to come!

Halloween 2011

My boys, Halloween morning 2011.
(Getting all 3 to look & smile…. impossible. At least they’re all looking!)

While the boys were in daycare, I took my little froggy to run some errands, including picking up some last minute candy for trick-or-treaters. Quentin of course flirted with all the ladies in the stores. He's such a little flirt.

And while my little froggy napped, I prepared good “boo” bags for anyone who rings our bell (in costume, of course!)

What are your kids dressing up as this year? I’ve got 2 batmans and maybe a Frog (or maybe a dragon? Or maybe a giraffe)… you’ll have to wait until tomorrow to find out what Quentin ended up going as… he has options!

Though, all 3 boys have gotten use of the awesome frog costume. Here is Mackenzie for Purim (Jewish “Halloween” in spring) 2009 and Sean for his first Halloween on October 31, 2007.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Be safe!

Monday Morning Link Love

- Love this vintage window table.
- Love these crazy awesome shoes (but would never wear something that high).
- Love these awesome frame bookshelves.
- A fun crochet hanger tutorial.
- A cute crochet necklace!
- CD racks to control the (fabric) stash - smart.
- I really want a yarn bowl. This one is awesome.
- Love this needle organizer.
- Wow!
- Love these piercings.
- I love this earring organizer!
- I miss dancing. (I used to do pointes!)
-So cute!
- I love these tattle monsters!
- First Dance Lyrics. Awesome!
- For my love of scrabble... ornaments!
- Cute mug decorating idea.
- Love this bracelet!
- Love this kid pant tutorial.
- Love this tutorial for monster mittens!
- Love these apple cozies!
- 365 Crock Pot recipes - no repeats!
- Stuffed zucchini is making me miss summer & my vegetable garden.
- Love this fabric alphabet.
- I love that Canadian Living Magazine puts in knitted items into the issue! Recently, there were these booties. Very 60's/70's inspired!
- Love this scale/clock. What a genius way to put a clock in the bathroom!
- Slick nails!

And then there were 4

Quentin's 2 bottom teeth, have multiplied. He now has 4 teeth!
(Oct 4th, 2011, the first top tooth cracked through on (your) top left).

By October 6th, 2011, just 2 days later, both top teeth had cracked through the gums.

And now, (picture taken October 25, 2011), Quentin has 4 chompers almost fully grown in, ready to use, to eat. We've been slowly introducing him foods that are more solid than purée. He's certainly enjoying that more, and actually chews his food quite well now. He'll be eating the same meals as us in no time.

Dinner Song

Mackenzie has implemented new dinner rules at our house. We sing a song before dinner every night now. Here's the dinner song caught on video!

Apple Picking

Last week I went apple picking with Sean & Mackenzie & their classes.

My mom came with to help.

Did you know that you have to pull an apple upwards to remove it from the tree?

Thank goodness the apples were delicious, this field trip was expensive!

Sean had a good time picking the apples.

Mackenzie had fun putting the apples in the bag (that he made other people pick off the tree). This is Mack's first time apple picking - last year he wasn't old enough to go with daycare.

And he enjoying eating a few apples off the tree!

As did Sean!

And myself too - I think I had 3 right off the tree. We picked Ida Red this year, and they were beyond delicious. I have now 3 bags of apples, and I'll give one to my step-mother-in-law to bake with and the other 2... please give me some ideas, only so many apple cakes I can make (to freeze). I think I might try my hand at apple sauce too! But I need some other apple recipe ideas please! What are your faves?

It was a great morning, and we were so lucky. We made it back on the bus and just as we did, the rain came down and it started to pour! Talk about good timing... The fresh air was nice, and it was nice to be able to attend this field trip with the boys.

Spaghetti Squash

Last week I made spaghetti squash for the first time. It was a spaghetti squash from our garden this summer. We only got 2 squash this year, once Sean took to school for his class vegetable soup and this one was all mine! (Jamie & the kids won't eat spaghetti squash - well maybe Quentin would... I will let him try it next time I make some). First I halved it. (That was quite the job too - until I found the right knife).

Then I brushed olive oil around the sides and sprinkled on pepper & salt for taste. I then flipped them over (cut side down) and baked it at 350°F for 45 minutes.

Once it came out of the oven, I scooped out the seeds (you can do this before you bake it as well - it's up to you).

And I then scooped out all the spaghetti squash. I was unsure at first, but it was pretty fun actually.

And voila - a huge bowl of spaghetti squash!

Topped it off with some spaghetti sauce, some Parmesan, had a friend over for lunch, and the entire thing was gobbled up! It's super light on the calories, and extremely tasty. I will definitely be making this again!

Fabric

So, as promised, this is the fabric roll (8 fat quarters) that I got for 2$ in Boston. The price tag read 10$, on sale from 10.97$ (Not that big of a sale to begin with) But when I looked at my bill when I got to the car (I bought other stuff, so I didn't notice the price until after) I was only charged 2$. I wish I would have realized, I might have bought more fabric! Not sure what I'll make yet with these fat quarters, but it will get used.

This is the 2nd roll I bought, another 8 fat quarters.

From this roll, the stripes and the squares ones (2 middle fabrics) are my fave. I'm not entirely a fan of the "animal print" one on the right, but I am sure I can use it to make someone else something.

Right now, these are the 6 fat quarters I chose (the green on the right is not actually a fat quarter, it was from my stash of fabric (yes, I have a stash of fabric as well as yarn!) and I am not sure about the floral green one next to the tonal green one (far right), so I will be going fabric shopping this week, as I have to get background material as well. I started a class recently, (will tell you more about that soon), and this is for the mystery project we're doing. I'm super excited.

Different Options

So the boys have requested new hats (knit by mommy, of course). So I've settled on a pattern (the same one for both boys) - details to come shortly, but the pattern calls for 2 colors, and I can't decide on which colors to use for each boy.

Sean's options:

Blue & apple green?

Blue & Lime Sherbet? (These 2 were used for Sean's original Roar Hat, which Mack still sometimes wears). Does Lime Sherbet go better with the jacket?

Can't decide which green goes better? Green apple (right) or lime sherbet (right)?

What do you think? The last option is I can do the apple green (top right) with black. I realized after this would be a great option too - but Sean's jacket is with him at daycare, so I can't photograph that option too... but I think if the green apple does go, then it would look great with black too - and I have more black cascade 220 superwash (which is the yarn I'll be using) for this hat.

Mack's options:

Black & red? (Though, Mack's original Roar Hat was done in black & red. Do I make him another hat in these colors?)

Or blue & red? (Spiderman's actual colors!)

Or blue & yellow?

Or yellow & black?

Decisions... decisions... decisions...

What do you think? Opinions please!

Pumpkin Carving

We carved pumpkins a few weeks ago when my SIL & nephew were in town. All the kids got to pick out a pumpkin at the market. When we got home, they got started right away.

Sean really got into it! (Mack didn't want to get dirty).

And we waited until that night to light them up with tea lights. The boys was super excited! They thought it was pretty cool. They are super excited for Halloween! And now I just pray that they'll wear their costumes when the time comes. (I hope they do too - I'm very excited!) We still have the last few Halloween decorations to put up. I better get started on that!

Now, I better go roast those seeds before they are no good anymore. Mmm! Pumpkin seeds!

A Rushed Weekend

This past weekend Jamie and I were supposed to have a relaxing weekend away in Boston, without the kids (!!!) in honor of my friends wedding. However our weekend, didn't go as planned (though we did manage to get away). We were supposed to leave at noon on Friday, drive down, have dinner, and then meet up with the soon-to-be Bride for drinks at the hotel bar. Friday morning, Jamie got a call that one of our two stores that we own got robbed the night before and he had to take care of that (with police & insurance) and getting our store back up & running before we even thought about taking off for the weekend. The burglars took all our merchandise - though were nice and didn't kick over counters or ruin anything else (except for the safe). They had cut the alarm wire, and entered into the lot next to ours, (which was empty being renovated for the soon-to-be new tenants) and got into our store through the wall! It must have been professionals, because they knew what they were doing. It's absolutely sad that we live in a world with people like this.

Jamie finally got home from work, it was well after 9pm. We decided what the heck, let's go to Boston now instead of going to bed, waking up early, sitting in a car for 6+ hours to not feel relaxed at the wedding that night. We finally got on the road it was LATE! My parents already had the kids. My mom had Quentin since 11 am Friday morning. We were supposed to leave around noon, had our day gone as planned. My mom was to put Quentin down for an early nap after feeding him lunch, and then pick up the older 2 boys and take all 3 to their mid-afternoon swimming lesson (I have all 3 at the same time - miraculously!) My mom still went on her day as planned, and as the afternoon unfolded, we just didn't know what was going on, so I told my mom to keep the kids just in case we decided to leave tonight. (And my hair was already done for the wedding (blow dried straight)... no way I was going to go swimming in the afternoon!)

At one point on Friday, I seriously walked around my house and said "Now what?" The dishes were done, the laundry was done, folded & put away... there was nothing to do. I didn't know what to do with myself! I did some photo editing from pictures from the last few weeks (I had fallen behind), and watched some TV and even did a bit of knitting.

We had a very smooth ride. We had my dad's Lexus (not sure the model) - which is a really nice car. It parks itself! You can even set the cruise control to slow down 1, 2 or 3 car lengths when there is a car in front, it's sick. When border control asked who the car belonged to and Jamie said it was his father-in-laws car, he asked "he just let you take his car?" Jamie then said "we traded 3 kids and a mini van for this car" and the guy laughed and said "what a good trade, welcome to America." He was in a good mood for pretty much midnight on a Friday night/Saturday morning.

We got into Boston after 4 am. Jamie drove the entire way. I kept passing out in the passengers seat (which was mighty comfortable if you ask me). I kept asking him if he wanted me to take over and drive, though I'm not sure I would have been able to keep awake. We got into the hotel, and both of us caught a second wind. We finally fell asleep and woke up about 4 hours later to have breakfast. Then we came back to the room and took a nap. In the afternoon we ended up at Walmart (I needed pantyhose for the wedding) and I picked up some fat quarters as well. To my surprise, one packet of fat quarters was on serious liquidation. (I only noticed after we left Walmart, and I was looking at my receipt). If I had realized, I might have bought more from that company in different colors. (8 fat quarters for 2$!!!) (Photographs to come).

(The room we stayed in was GORGEOUS). We had a nice King size bed and it was clean & stylish. I definitely would stay at the Quincy Marriott again.

I did not make it to Faneuil Hall. I wanted to go there for lunch on Saturday, but it just didn't work out. I wanted to go see this artist whom we have artwork from in our house - to update a picture that we have of our family, with Quentin in it. Oh well - next time. We have 2 pieces from this artist - one of Jamie & I with our wedding date on it (dressed up in wedding gear) and another one of our family of 4, before Quentin was in the picture. Both are pieces my parents have gotten for us. It's really cute, they're cartoon pictures. I also wanted to go to JoAnn Fabric, Target, Michaels, and Snow Goose Yarns. (All carefully planned out last week). None of that happened either.

Chilling at the hotel waiting for Jamie to get ready. I was cold, hence my sweater over my dress.

Jamie and I at the wedding.

With the Bride & Groom!

Beautiful New England drive home. (We drove across, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Vermont and Quebec). The drive home was beautiful - it's my favorite time of the year with the leaves falling. I started the drive home & Jamie took over and I got to knit - the first time all weekend. I'm now about 2.5" of 5" into my Linen Stitch Scarf.

We made it back to Montreal (and sat in traffic on the bridge, hence why I was able to get such a great shot of our skyline) just after the boys were fed dinner. Quentin was super excited to see me, Sean was practically waiting by the door with his jacket on to go home (though he had a great time at my parents house this weekend, my brother even took him to hockey practice both days) and Mackenzie.... he didn't want to leave my parents house & threw a fit! He seriously didnt want to go home. He just loves his Bubbie & Papa (my parents).

While we got to get away... the entire weekend felt rushed and not very relaxing. I told Jamie I need to go away with him on a one week all inclusive (if my parents will take all 3 boys for a week??) and actually relax, with no plans, no where to be, nothing to do but relax and read a book, swim, tan, etc... One day... For now, I'll keep dreaming. (We figure maybe next year, once Quentin is walking/easier to manage and 100% sleeping through the night - because he's still not).

Monday Morning Link Love

- Love this tummy warmer pattern - a must knit for the next baby girl I need a gift for!
- Love this new mom hospital survival kit idea.
- Grandma at the dinner table!
- Love these tie bibs!
- Love this crochet vase.
- We're done having kids, but I'm a scrabble freak, and I love this image. (And I never did maternity pictures, since I didn't love my body during pregnancy).
- Love this crochet apron! (Non-ravelry link here)
- Love this t-shirt.
- Love this marble race idea!
- I need this for my house!
- I love these road trip clips.
- Rice heating pad tutorial.
- Love this caterpillar idea! (Sew it onto a onesie!)
- Quilted patchwork bibs tutorial!
- Love this kid's book!
- Ruffle butt onesie tutorial!
- Love this strip square block.
- Love this framed pincushion.
- These hot plates look so easy to make!
- Love this crochet wreath (tutorial)!
- This is not in English, but this is a great math learning idea.
- Love this little crochet basket!
- No, I'm not old.
- Very cute lamp idea.
- I heart cherries.
- Funky DIY toothbrush bracelets.
- A cute teacher gift idea (plant).
- I need to figure out where locally I can get fun (inexpensive) silicone trays to make fun crayons. We've been saving our crayon bits...
- Love this wall plug - it's ideal!
- Genius organization idea for cords.
- Love this sky scarf idea. Maybe I'll try this in 2012!
- What a great way to re-purpose a crib. I can't sell my crib anymore, as it's illegal (it's got a pull-down bar, which is now illegal for a baby to use - though ours is broken, so it actually doesn't pull down anymore, but that's another story), so I'm thinking maybe I'll re-purpose our crib once Quentin no longer needs it once he's in a big boy bed.

Our Visitors

The other day Jamie called me downstairs to see something. There was a cat at our backyard door. Just sitting there. Checking out what was inside our house.

Later that day, the cat (I’m assuming now it’s the mommy cat) was hanging out on our patio chair, taking a nap. After that, we didn’t see her again until a few days later.

That weekend, we decided to do a huge clean-up in our backyard to prepare for winter. In one area, when we ripped up some plants (not my vegetable garden area) we discovered a kitten – maybe a month old (?). It was soooooo unbelievably cute. I had to knock sense into me and tell myself we were not taking this kitten in, and we do not need any pets in our life at this point in time.

Isn’t he or she adorable?? I had to pick him up to move him from where he was. The kids thought that kitten was adorable. We gave it a bowl of water (I had nothing in the house to feed him though – since we no longer have a cat, we no longer have cat food in the house) but he or she wasn’t interestd in water.

And later that afternoon, we discovered two baby kittens in our backyard. They found somewhere else to hide. They eventually ran off together. Sean & Mack were terrorizing trying to get their attention. A bit after they ran off, their mom came back to see them, to discover that we ripped up our garden. (As we’re going to extend our patio next spring anyhow). I heard her meowing for a bit in our backyard. I feel bad. I hope they’ve found each other since.