january twenty-four :: Palm Beach Zoo

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This afternoon we made it to the Palm Beach Zoo.

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I can’t even begin to explain how cool it was there.

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Mack had a good time, and was all smiles for the most part of today.

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And Sean had the most amazing time ever. He was so intrigued by a lot of the animals, and was just really excited to keep seeing more animals. He even got to pet a snake (2nd to last picture on your right above).

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We went on a carousel ride, I rode with Mack and Amy rode with Sean. We had a great afternoon. We wanted to let the kids run around a fountain area in their bathing suits, however by the time we got to the end, it had already closed. Our map of the zoo said it closed at 4:30pm and it was 4:10pm when we got there. There was a new sign up stating that it now closed at 4pm. If we would have realized, we would have let the kids run in the fountain earlier, and then finished the last section of the zoo afterwards as the zoo was opened until 5pm. Bummer!

If you want to see the photos in larger, you can click on any of the “View Full Album” links. This is my first time trying out this feature, so I hope it works. If thought this would be a better way of displaying the images as I had so many I wanted to post.

And of course, the long day the boys had, they were out cold in the car on the way back. We tried to find the beach, but couldn’t find where to park. We decided we’ll try to find the beach tomorrow (weather providing). We stopped for dinner at Muddy Waters, which is around the corner from my grandmother’s condo. We ate there last year, but feel that their menu changed a bit, and prices were definitely inflated since last year. The boys shared a kid’s meal as Mack hasn’t been eating his full meals lately and food has gone either to the garbage or sitting in the fridge here. There isn’t too many days left on this trip for the kids to eat the leftovers, so I figured tonight they could share, and it’s a good thing they did.

This evening was the first evening that I had problems putting Mack to sleep. He just didn’t want to go to bed. At first he wanted to play. He was climbing all over me on the air mattress. Then he heard my mother’s voice, so we went out of the room for a bit, since he got out of bed himself. We put him in the booster seat we brought for him for a while, and he had a tiny snack and then my mom & I tried to put him to bed together. It took both of us lying on either side of him to get him to sleep tonight. What a little bugger. He’s sleeping soundly next to me right now, and is beyond adorable.

I’ve been working on my mom’s cowl, and should have it done tomorrow. I’ve been working on it whenever I have either my hands free in the condo, or we’re driving in the car (when the kids are strapped in and have no where to go), otherwise I don’t get any knitting time. I am making my mom’s cowl a little longer than the normal size A Neck Warmer for Coreen should be, but that’s because it’s my mother’s request for length. I picked up 2 buttons for it while here in Florida. I really hope that it works out nicely with the Cadena yarn.

Alright, I can no longer keep my eyes open tonight, I am off to bed.

january twenty-four :: the morning

This morning, while I stayed back at my grandmother’s condo, doing load number 4 of this trip (the laundry seriously never ends), Sean went out for a walk with my mother & sister.

He got to climb in trees, which he found very cool.

I stayed back and gave Mack a bath. Since he’s still tiny, he got it in the sink again, just like last year. Though, this year’s trip, will most likely be the last time he’ll be getting a bath in the sink.

It took us forever to get out of the condo today, as my grandmother was doing some laundry as well. I had to do a load unfortunately, because Mack woke up in the middle of the night this morning (somewhere around 3:30 am or so) soaking wet. I changed him (clothes & diaper) and had to put down a towel under us, so that we could go to bed. If it were morning, I would have been able to take off the sheet and do laundry, but not this morning. There was still plenty of time to sleep before morning. I’m glad I was able to get him back to sleep without having to make him another bottle. I am also really happy that the way he was when he woke up soaked didn’t get any of the blankets wet. If those got wet, there was no more blankets for us to use, as they were all being used up in the condo.

We’re on our way shortly to the zoo. Finally we’re doing something “touristy”! Maybe we’ll even get to the beach before we leave, if there is time. We’re thinking either today after the zoo, or tomorrow.

january twenty :: 83 weeks old

We’re here in Deerfield Beach, Florida.

Wearing some cute shoes I picked up at Wal-Mart last night. They’re the exact same ones (creature of habit), as my black ones that I got last year here at the same Wal-Mart. They’re by Faded Glory (which Wal-Mart in Canada, or rather Wal-Mart in Quebec does not carry), that I’ve seen. I was hoping that I would be able to get myself another pair of solid black ones, but I had no luck. These are cute as well. I wore these today because they match my tank top.

It was such a nice day that we decided we’d go to the pool today.

Sean wanted sunglasses, and I’d left his back in Montreal, so we headed out to the strip mall near where my grandmother lives to get him a pair. I was hoping to find him a pair at Dollar Tree or something.

Monkey see Monkey Do (with the hat).

While out, we went into a few shops. I picked up a few things at the Dollar Tree (though, they had no kids’ sunglasses at this time, I was able to find him an adult’s pair that sort of fits him, so they’ll do for now). We went into Payless and I had both kids feet measured. Sean, whom I thought was a size 7 is now almost in a size 9. (Somewhere between 8.5 and 9 Toddler). So I got him 2 new pairs of shoes, (got to love BOGO!), one pair for school and one pair for home. (It’s winter, and I hate transporting shoes back and forth since he wears boots there and back). Mack, whom I thought was in a size 4, is actually size 6. Now, American sizes are the exact same as Canadian shoe sizes, so I’m not sure what this foot growth business is all about. The sandals that both Sean & Mack are currently wearing here, (which are matching shoes), clearly fit each kid. Mack’s in size 4 sandals and Sean’s in size 7. But, the foot sizer at Payless clearly shows that Sean’s in a size 9 and Mack’s a size 6. Hmph! Well, I got Mack 2 new pairs of shoes as well, in size 6, since all of Sean’s old size 6 shoes are all worn out. (Sean started to walk in size 5 shoes, so all shoes after size 5, I didn’t keep unless they were barely worn).

While out I picked out the neatest thing. A Crust & Sandwich cutter.

You see, Sean doesn’t eat crust. This is the neatest thing ever.

Sean loved his perfect triangles. I picked up this cutter for a few of my mommy friends back home. Because honestly, it’s the neatest thing ever, and not too many kids like crust on sandwiches.

This afternoon we went to the pool as it was gorgeous out.

I picked up these floaties yesterday and they were worth the investment. (They were so inexpensive, I’m thinking about picking up another 2 to bring back to Montreal (non-flated) for the pool at home. Sean’s is aimed at ages 3-6 years old, though, he’s not standing properly in it in this picture, and the one that Mack is in, has a seat and is aimed at ages 1-2. They were perfect. Of course, we didn’t have a pump. So I spent a good half hour inflating these 2 floaties and one very large beach ball (see below). Thank heavens that losing weight pretty much made my (mild) asthma go away, as I wouldn’t have been able to blow it up otherwise. And the pump that we have for the blow up mattress that I am sleeping on, doesn’t fit tiny valves.

We played pass the ball.

Even Mack was fantastic at throwing the ball!

Mack is 83 weeks old today.

We had a good time at the pool today.


We went to the clubhouse after the kids were dry, to get a better internet signal.
The one at my grandmother’s place is quite weak, but we are able to connect.

We went for dinner tonight at Ruby Tuesday’s (again). My great-uncle has a limited menu that he eats, and this is one place that he can eat at. Sean above is examining the receipt after the waitress brought it. We told him that he was paying for dinner, and told him that if he didn’t have enough money, that he could was the dishes. He laughed.

I forgot to mention yesterday, that Mack said his first sentence! “I want cookie”. It was too cute. He said it in the car on the way to my grandmother’s condo from the airport. Shocked all of us. He usually doesn’t say much.

The sleeping arrangements are that Sean is sharing a bed with my sister in my grandmother’s bedroom. I’m on the floor sleeping on a blow up mattress, sharing it with Mr. Mack. Last night, he cuddled almost the entire night. It was nice, because he’s not my cuddler, Sean is. So this was really nice for me. We’ll see how tonight goes, and how he sleeps. I brought my old discman, with their Baby Einstein Classical Lullaby Cd to put on while they are going to sleep. Sean’s used to it every night before bed, and some nights he plays is on repeat the entire night.

Tonight I finished knitting my Mara Shawl. I love it. I can’t wait to weave in the last bits and photograph it tomorrow. The casting off was tedious. Very long. It was over 650+ stitches at this point. Just insane. I’ll give you all the details of the shawl tomorrow with the finished object post. I love it.

I leave you tonight from Deerfield Beach, Florida, with this image of the sun setting tonight.

january twenty :: 31 weeks old

Mack is 31 weeks old today.

This morning when trying to figure out how to pack Elmo to bring him home, we joked around about me wearing Elmo at the airport, and taking him onto the plane. I decided to try him on. Sean got a kick out of that. Elmo fits perfectly in the Snugli.

So Sean decided he wanted to wear Elmo too. However, the sling is rather large on Sean. It was cute anyhow! My funny little boy!

We got to the airport early as we had to have the car rental back for for 1:00pm, but only had a 4:15 pm flight. My mom ran around with Sean in the airport, he couldn't sit still. She took him on walks, and kept him entertained. Amy & I were happy to find free wifi at the airport. That helped us pass a bit of time.

Our flight left on time, which is good. It was supposed to leave early, and then there was a major traffic jam for the run way (apparently it was rush hour at the airport) and we got into the air.

It was a long flight home. Sean couldn't sit still in his seat and he didn't nap today. He decided to play the "Let's see how loud I can scream" game. Fun. And my 2 kids were the only 2 kids on the flight. So they knew where it was coming from. Sean also wanted to turn off and on the light above our seat. They turned off the lights half way through the flight, so he got to see that there were lights above our seats. In order for him to reach it, he had to stand on top of the arm rests of the seat. Argh! That was a disaster. Amy & I on numerous occasions had to sing different versions of "the wheels on the bus" over and over again to Sean, to get him distracted from what he was complaining/screaming/whining about.

We had 2 blonde stewardesses on this flight and they were really good to Sean. He flirted with them of course. What else is new, he likes blondes. at one point we had to get the stewardess to tell Sean that the light was broken, so that he wouldn't play with it anymore.

I got to knit 2 rows on the plane. That's all I was able to get done.... hoping to have more knitting time once I get home! Traveling with 2 kids = no knitting time!

We got home in record time, the flight ended up being under 3 hours, but since we were the last off the plane, and until we went through customs and then til we got our luggage, it was almost 9 pm by the time we got home. What a long day!

Sean crashed hard on the way home from the airport - knew it! He was snoring as we transferred him into his pj's with a clean diaper and into his bed. Mack also fell asleep and was an easy transfer to his crib.

I don't even want to think about pre-vacation laundry (I came home with all clean laundry) or unpacking my suitcases tonight. Going to go hang out with Jamie and have a glass of red wine.



ps- I've located some Munchkin Single Serve Formula Dispensers, and shipped them to a friend's house in the USA (couldn't find a single place online that would ship to Canada). I should have them soon! YEY!

january nineteen

This morning we kind of just lounged around the condo. My mom and sister went to the grocery store to pick up some stuff that we needed for lunch and anything else for the rest of our trip (our flight home is tomorrow).

My grandmother took Sean for a long walk, and Mackenzie fell asleep after a bottle. So while he napped, I got some much deserved me time. I neded it. I found a spot in my grandmother's solarium that I got wifi. Since it was in the air, I had to create this contraption to use my laptop:

3 telephone books on a stool on a chair. Bingo - wifi station that works! LOL. Amy thought it was too funny when she got back so she had to take a picture of this! Thanks Ames!

After lunch we finally got to go to the beach. Our first time near water this trip. With the weather in the 50's to 70's it really has not been swim weather. Today was actually one of the few nice days we had. No bathing suits were worn to the beach, but I wanted the boys to have the opportunity to play in the sand at least once while we were in Florida.

YEY THE BEACH!

Sean checking things out!

Playing in the sand.

Mackie enjoying the fresh air!

Mackie checkin' out the sand.

My Mr. Blue Eyes!

Putting our feet in the water.

Enjoying the beach.

Knittin' on the beach (didn't get much done, but still, it came out to play!) The colors of the yarn were muted for this picture, since the pattern/yarn is a surprise for something - you'll find out soon!

And how could I go to the beach without Habs Gear (I'm also wearing a Habs hat!) I picked up this Habs beach towel before we left Montreal. GO HABS GO!

Deerfield Beach, Florida

Our shadows in the sand.

We were going to take a walk on the boardwalk, but after rinsing off all the sand off both boys, and diaper changed them as well, we decided to head straight for dinner. My mother had wanted to try a restaurant called Too Jay’s. My grandmother had eaten there once before said it was good. What a horrible experience we had. Basically, they screwed up on four out of the five meals. The only one that came correctly was Sean's kid's meal. My mother asked for Broccoli instead of the aspargus with her meal, and they brought it out with asparagus. My grandmother asked for light cheese on her lasagna, and they took it as in "diet/low fat (light) cheese" and not go "light" on the cheese instead of piling it on heavy... They forgot my cheese blintzes all together (eventually I did get them about 10-15 minutes after we reminded him about them). And Amy's meal.... all together was a huge disaster. Because she has stomach problems, she usually orders pasta with sauce on the side. This time, instead of plain pasta, she asked for a chicken pasta dish with sauce on the side with none of the herbs that were supposed to come with it. The first time it came right, just with the sauce on it. So she sent it back. The 2nd time it came with the sauce on the side, but they left the mushrooms she didn't want plus the herbs on it. Well, the herbs didn't sit well with Amy and she got sick. The waiter blamed it on the kitchen, and I bet the kitchen blamed it on the waiter, who was new. The guy wrote it down, how could they screw up, and Amy was 150% clear on what she wanted.

Mackie got to sit in a booster seat for a bit during dinner tonight.
He was too cute and looks like such a big boy!

Tomorrow's going to be a long day. I better get some sleep!

january eighteen :: 107 weeks old

Today Sean is 107 weeks old.

Me & my boys.

Sean & Mack

My sister got Sean this Harley Davidson outfit when she went to Port Dover for Friday the 13th. Sean fit right into it, it's a summer outfit (comes with orange shorts). Sean was 6-9 months over the summer of 2007. Mack, a summer born baby, will be 12 months old at the start of summer this summer. I had one opportunity for him to wear it - this trip. He's 7 months old now. (It's a 6-9 month size outfit, which Mack's fitting into now). It's super cute.

Come on, look at this face.

It comes with a biker hat and all! Too bad it was a little chilly for him to wear the matching shorts. So today we wore pants with it.

I found this bib while in Florida (along with a ton of other cute bibs (like one I posted yesterday of Mack wearing). Today's reads "I'm The Little Brother". How perfect?!

This morning after getting up and getting ready, we headed to Walmart as I needed Formula for Mack as I wouldn't be able to make it until tonight. I found a small container, 400g for $8.44 (pricey in my eyes with the exchange rate). That should be enough to make it back to Montreal. It's a half can. I have plenty more formula at home as I am pretty sure I stocked up before leaving. I ended up picking up some more pacifiers by MAM which is by Sassy. Mack likes those and I've never seen them at home. Mack likes the 0-6 month size, probably because he's small for his age and his mouth is still tiny. His weight (and head size too) is still in the 10th percentile. I hope when we go back in February for an extra check up, he's grown from the 10th percentile, I'm hoping for the 25th percentile (which he's been in before). (Born in the 10th percentile he was in the 25th percentil by 4 months old and now is back in the 10th percentile).

After Walmart, I checked out both Walgreen's & CVS as they were across the street and I'm still looking for those Munchkin Single Serve formula dispensers. I had no luck, though I did find at Walgreens was a package of 2 No Throws. These are perfect for my 2 boys who like to throw things. (Like their sippy cups/bottles). I see it being very useful. I've never seen these before, but they're only distributed at Walgreens in the USA.

We then got back to Century Cemetary Village and headed over to my great Aunt & Uncle's condo down the street from my grandmother's condo. They live on the same street within the community. They were having a brunch for about 12 of us (family that were in the area + my grandmother's boyfriend, and her best friend and her boyfriend). We had Einstein's Bros. Bagels, which are pretty good but still don't compare to Montreal bagels. (We just have the best bagels in the world).

We stayed there for a couple of house then came back ot my grandmother's condo. Sean finally went down for a nap, but boy was that hard getting him to get to sleep. Mack also took a short nap as well.

I got another load of laundry done while the boys napped, I really needed to get that done. I wasn't anticipating cold weather in Florida while we'd be here, so I didn't bring as many pairs of long pants. I even bought Sean 2 pairs of track pants while here, but he's been leaking through his diapers so much that I've had to constantly change him and wash the laundry. (Plus I really don't want to go home with pee smelling clothing in my suitcase - Not fun).

Sean finally got his first real nap of the trip. So we let him sleep until he finally got up around 7pm on his own. I wasn't waking him up. By then we'd decided that my mom and sister would go out and get Sean McDonalds and next door was Ruby Tuesday's. So they picked up from there as well. I love the Avocado Turkey Burger, it's just sooooo good. (And on whole wheat buns! Served with brown rice!)

It was nice & relaxing tonight. Just what we needed, a swe're all pooped from this week. I did some organization of our stuff, the boys stuff got unpacked and is in the wall unit in my grandmother's bedroom (where we're sleeping) and I'm living out of my suitcase since we got here, but there was stuff every where. Cleaning up was a good idea.

This evening we all sat down to watch Desperate Housewives, the only TV we watched all week. Sean has watched some TV (kids shows) but that's been minimal as well. The TV has been on for the weather channel too though.