1.12.11

This morning after the boys left to daycare, and as Quentin was still napping, I headed down to my home office. I step in and notice my computer is on, but my monitor is a black screen (of death!) I was horrified. I screamed out "OH NOT MY PICTURES! My Files! My knitting PDFs!" I had done a back-up of December, but January was only 12 days in (actually 11, because I had just woke up and didn't take any pictures that were dumped on my computer today at that point). I panicked and thought "Oh no, not another one!" (our bedroom computer that we use for our PVR crashed as well due to what turns out a windows update). And then I calmed. I tried to reboot. That didn't work. I shut down the computer from the back (I think it's the power supply button that I turned off) and then rebooted my computer. My monitor still worked, cuz I got the "ASUS" logo nice and bright, so I knew it wasn't a dead monitor. I luckily was able to get myself into Windows Safe Mode, and then from there, I did a system restore back to Monday (the last available re-store date). I'm thinking now, that it was probably the same windows update that crashed my home office computer.

Had I lost my pictures of January from my computer, it would not have been a big deal. I keep my jpgs on a very large memory card in my camera and I back-up that as well as what I've dumped to my PC at the end of every month. So had I lost all of them I'd dumped from January first to yesterday, at least I still had them on my camera. I never fill my 8 gig card on my camera in a month's time. But my other files!? (They've now been back-up, after this morning's little scare). You'd think being in computers since 1992 (when my dad opened his first computer store), I'd know better to back-up more often. I've seen so many people come in with crashed hardrives and they'll tell us on how they didn't back up anything and they've lost their baby's first year worth of photos, etc... I'm going to be backing up more often... let me tell you.

At lunch we met up with a friend of mine who had a baby boy 3 weeks after Quentin was born. His first little friend. Today was Quentin's first outing with his first friend. Both boys were excellent and slept right through lunch. It was nice catching up with my friend.

This afternoon I ran a bunch of errands and now I know why I keep a shoe box full of instruction booklets for everything that we own that came with one. You never know when you're going to go into Canadian Tire (or any store for that matter for any product) to buy a replacement filter for your water cooler & they no longer sell them. With the part number from the instruction booklet ('cuz it would be too easy for Greenway to put it on the water cooler), I was able to order filters online, with free shipping to boot. I feel so lost right now without our water cooler working in the kitchen. I realized how much I actually use it when it's not functioning. My products are coming from Guelph, Ontario, so I am hoping I get it by Friday.

It's rare that Quentin is this wide awake, so when he is, I take advantage of hanging out with him. He still sleeps an awful lot of the time. There's another cute shot of Quentin on Project 365 today.

12.21.10 :: 3 weeks old

Quentin is 3 weeks old today.

Today for dinner I prepared a recipe (Chicken Cannelloni) from Jessica Seinfeld's new cookbook, Double Delicious. The only change I made was that I used broccoli puree instead of cauliflower puree inside (so you see green). When I saw the price of cauliflower at 4$ for one, and then next to it saw broccoli for .97 cents, I made the decision to substitute the vegetable. I used whole wheat lasagna noodles and low fat ricotta cheese (as the recipe calls for), and made this delicious healthy meal for my family. Kids - not so impress. Hubby - asked to make it again. I was inspired to make something from her cookbook after watching the episode of Oprah that she was on. She's such a cutie (Jessica Seinfeld) and really funny too. I guess she has to be - married to Jerry after all!

So many things I want to do - but I am not going to brave them the week of Xmas. But then again, do I really want to brave them the week of Boxing Week Sales? My to-do list keeps getting things added to it - but hey, life goes on. I'll see what I can get done, and keep my sanity in check. It's not even Xmas stuff that I have to do, but I don't really want to get stuck shoving my way through last minute shoppers, and fight for parking. Ah, yes, parking. The fight for that this time of the year.

I interviewed Sean recently (got this a while back from someone else's blog I think):

What is something Mommy always says to you? Can you pick this up please.
What makes Mommy happy? When I behave.
What makes Mommy sad? When I don't behave.
How does Mommy make you laugh? When she does something funny.
What was Mommy like as a child? Small like me.
How old is Mommy? 25.
How tall is Mommy? Tall like this (lifts arms into air).
What is Mommy's favorite thing to watch on TV? Big Brother.
What does Mommy do when you're not around? Work.
What is Mommy really good at? Going on your computer.
What is Mommy not very good at? Hockey.
What does Mommy do for her job? Go on your computer.
What is Mommy's favorite food? Everything. But also strawberries because I like strawberries.
What makes you proud of Mommy? She does a good job cleaning up.
If mommy were a cartoon, who would she be? Hockey Player one.
What do you and Mommy do together? We be together, I love you.
How are you and Mommy the same? We have matching skin.
How are you and Mommy different? You really need to teach me to drive a car.
How do you know Mommy loves you? We be together.
What does Mommy like most about Daddy? Because we love daddy.
Where is Mommy's favourite place to go? Sewing class or to knitting.

This kid cracks me up. I can't believe he's turning 4 in a week.

12.18.10

Sean had his last skating lesson of the current session today. The kids were allowed to bring their hockey sticks on ice today, and Sean had an absolute blast. He's been looking forward all week to being able to bring his hockey stick on ice!

We braved Walmart on a Saturday - the week before Christmas. Call us crazy... I know. I needed more newborn diapers, and to get Emla cream for Quentin's circumcision. I was going to buy it yesterday at a pharmacy I was at, but when I was told the price, my mouth dropped. I remember having paid less than half that at Walmart when I picked it up for both Sean & Mackenzie's bris' in 2007 (Sean's was at 16 days old) and 2008 (Mack's was at 8 days old). I was right, the cream (which is a topical anesthetic) was half the price at Walmart's pharmacy, than it was at the pharmacy I was at yesterday. While at Walmart we ran into one of Mack's teachers and Mack was weirded out that his teacher was there. He was like "What are you doing here? You're supposed to be at school". It was cute.

After Walmart, Sean & Mack played together, while Quentin napped and I "closed my eyes on the couch". I really needed to get a bit of shut-eye - which was nice. Late afternoon, Sean & Mack went to my parents house, where they are having a sleepover, and then Jamie & I headed out to dinner with our employees. We took them out for dinner for Christmas to a restaurant near work. Quentin came with us, and slept the entire time we were there. My manager's girlfriend is expecting a baby next summer, and he's really hoping for a boy (he has a 5 year old daughter). I told him if he has a boy, I have a ton of stuff for him! (Plus they sold everything after their daughter outgrew stuff, so they have nothing baby left). I have so much stuff I am not sure what I am going to do with after Quentin outgrows it that it would be my pleasure to give him stuff. Plus, Jamie really wants to see the stuff that Quentin outgrows, gone out of here. No more stuff in storage, since we will not be having any more kids. I know it will be absolutely hard for me to part with everything, but I'll make sure that I keep all my absolutely favorite outfits, in a memory box. There are a few outfits that I'll have to keep. Have you passed on stuff that your children outgrow? Did you find it hard? What did you do to make it easy? I really am trying to savor every moment with Quentin, since he'll be my last newborn.

After dinner I popped in to see Tara and got to see Kate too at the same time. They both wanted to meet Quentin, and I happened to be next to their neighborhood, and wanted to see them as well. Tara worked on some secret christmas sock knitting, and I got to crochet a bit on some more bookmarks. It was a nice visit, much needed.

Quentin was completely chill the entire time I was there, and got passed around from adult to adult, slept the entire time, and then chilled in my lap while I did some crochet.

Now I'm home, Quentin's eaten & sleeping, I've got some chocolate, some red wine & I'm going to go pass out in front of the TV until Jamie gets home from the rest of the "Christmas Party" with the guys from work. (They went back to the store to play video games. Not my cup of tea).

12.08.10

Quentin and I decided to venture out today for a bit with my mom. (I won't be able to drive for a while - hoping to be back in my car by the end of the year though - we'll see how I feel). Quentin looks soooo cozy in his car seat, all bundled up. And of course, he's been wearing his Twist Hat a lot. I think he'll be wearing it until it no longer fits him. I didn't get all the errands I wanted to accomplished today, so I think we'll head out a little bit more tomorrow. I hate having to rely on a ride, which is a downfall to having a Csection.

I promised Rhoda a photo of Quentin wearing the outfit she sent him. He fits into it perfectly right now and he doesn't have too much to wear, since he's swimming in most newborn outfits. He's a tiny little 5 lb baby. He will have plenty to wear once he actually grows in size - but until then... he's limited on his preemie wardrobe. (And it's so hard to find in stores too).

I can't seem to keep my eyes open past 10 pm these days. I find myself falling asleep on the couch or in bed, while trying to watch tv. I've been trying organized since getting home from the hospital. Unfinished business from before my water broke, things I wanted to organize or clean. I can't do too much at once, because of my Csection, so slowly things are getting done. I am getting enough sleep though - Quentin is a very good sleeper. He does get up every 3 hours to eat, but it's usually 11pm (which I am still up) and then in the middle of the night it's just 2 am and 5 am (ish). Then the next feeding is in the morning when I'm already up with Sean & Mack for the day. Sleep is good though! I'm certainly not complaining.

He's still not eating as much as I'd like him to be - and I'm hoping that he has been gaining weight. I hope to get him weighed by the end of the week, if not I'll wait until the free clinic at the local CLSC on Tuesday to get him weighed - but I kind of which I knew how he was doing in that department. It's the one scary thing about having a tiny newborn.

Today's Link Love:
- Love this felt cookie tutorial.
- Love this crochet triangle garland!
- Love this doily garland too!

11.14.10

I used to tackle Costco during the week, when it's quieter there. However, now, at 34 weeks pregnant I can't go on my own. I can't lift, bend, or push the cart when it gets too heavy. So we've been going on the weekend when we need to go. The parking lot is ALWAYS a zoo. However, (knock on wood), I always seem to get a fantastic parking spot. It's like the person's spot whom we get, knows I'm very pregnant and can't walk far. You know? Inside... even more so of a zoo. It was as if 4-5 people came out of every car in the jam packed parking lot. I took this funny picture of the boys while at Costco today - Mack was making sounds with his hands/lips and Sean didn't want to hear any of it, so he was blocking Mack out. It was too funny. While it was indeed a zoo there today, we went in with no rush feeling, had no set time to be anywhere, and took our time. That's how to go to Costco and not get frustrated. And now I'm stocked on toilet paper and kleenex until 2011. Found a few new items today, we'll see how they are. (Coffee Crisp, Rolo & After Eight Hot Chocolate? Heaven in a cup - I've tried both the Coffee Crisp & After Eight ones already. I don't see it lasting too long in this house - especially now that the weather has cooled off).

I cast on last night for Twist Hat for my hospital bag. I am hoping it's not too tiny. I am loving the subtle hints of color in the hall blue Colinette Jitterbug Velvet Damson colorway. (Using leftovers). It's to match Cache Coeur. I had plenty of leftovers from Cache Coeur's Dream in Color Smooshy Romeo Blue, however, I found it too "solid" for this hat. I have taken Cache Coeur off the blocking boards, but have not yet been able to find buttons in my stash that I want to use for it. (I will keep looking).

Hoping Twist is a fast knit, as I have so much more to knit.

This week I have to get over my anxiety over the mess in the nursery and tackle that room once & for all. It's such a disaster in there, I don't even know where to start. You see, I had neatly put away all the clothes Sean outgrew after he outgrew them into boxes that were all organized, labeled, etc. I got pregnant with Mack when Sean was around 9 months old. So things were easy to find after when I needed them for Mackenzie. After Mackenzie, my hubby wasn't having any more kids. (He always wanted 2 kids, I wanted 3, I won)! Anyhow, after Mackenzie outgrew stuff, I kind of got distracted (ok, ok, lazy), and shoved things into boxes, nothing was organized, sizes were all mixed up, and it went into storage, didn't want to get rid of my stuff yet, but didn't know what to do with it either. I always had hope there would be one more kid. Anyhow, now that I'm 34 weeks pregnant with another boy, all our stuff is getting used yet again! (Most people are lucky if they get 2x usage out of baby clothes, and here I am getting 3x usage). Some of the stuff will have to go after baby 3 uses it... as I'm sure by then it'll be either too stained, or too worn out (I did keep some stained stuff - for wear around the house - I don't care and I don't think Baby 3 will care either). There have been a few outfits, that I put away in Sean's baby box, and Mackenzie's baby box, as it was "their" outfit. Or it had their name embroidered on it. Or it was just toooo darn cute, I had to keep it for them, and will not get used by baby 3, nor get passed on. And since money does not grow on trees, as soon as baby 3 is done with certain stuff, I do plan on selling stuff on Craigslist, so I can get stuff that is age appropriate with the money, etc. There won't be a 4th child, I don't think I can take another high risk pregnancy. And after this baby, one of the two of us will most likely get "sterilized". Either I will go back in to get my tubes tied if I do have a successful Vbac this time and don't require surgery to deliver baby 3, (if I was having a Csection, I was going to get my tubes tied on the spot)... or maybe I'll send the hubster in for sterilization. We'lll see when we cross that bridge. There is stuff though that will have to go after baby 3, and I won't be able to sell - like my Graco stroller/bucket.... as they have "expiry dates" for safety reasons. My baby swing is on it's last leg (I'm actually looking to replace it 2nd hand or borrow one). (I must get one though, the one we've had has been a life saver for both boys). Anyhow... back to the nursery... it's jam packed right now with stuff. All baby stuff. Even the exercauser & jumperoo is in there. Boxes of clothing ranging from preemie size to 2T is in there too (as Mack's in 3T now and Sean in 4T). Ahhhhh.... that room gives me anxiety. I walk in, and seriously just turn around and walk out... I need to tackle that room once and for all. I WILL DO IT!!

And I'm seriously not packing my hospital bag just yet. Both times I packed it when pregnant with Sean & Mackenzie, my water broke the very next day. Same "overnight" bag too. Using it again this time. But waiting until I am closer to term to physically pack it... Baby boy still needs to grow a bit more before arriving. Stuff that I need for my hospital bag is indeed making it's way into a pile next to said hospital bag. But not exactly putting it in there just yet. I need to pull out my list of items I took when I packed it the last 2 time so that I am not forgetting anything. And I'm packing preemie stuff as well as newborn size - you know - just in case.

There are a few things around our house that we're noticing are nice to do now that the cat is no longer living here. I no longer have to shut my office door. The boys are old enough now to respect my office. (Heck, Jamie's office in our basement is wide open and they don't touch the stuff on his desk, nor his "figurines" still sealed in boxes. They're quite respectful. I now no longer have to make sure the top lid of the toilet seat is down, in fear the cat will go into it. And garbage!? Ah garbage... no more fear that the cat will get into it...

... oh and I slept sooooo good last night, with no cat jumping on me 50 times a night trying to literally sleep on me. Bliss.

Speaking of sleeping, and night time... Sean has now had 2 nights waking up dry. I started going out of my way to actually take him to the bathroom sometime in the wee hours of the middle of the night, and so far, it's working. For a few days there, I was doing laundry every morning and it's not so much fun.

09.10.10

Picture from last night :: We tried to get all 4 cousins (yes, all boys!) to stay next to each other for a picture, but unfortunately, it just didn't work out that way. Maybe by next even we're all together we'll be able to get them all to look at the camera & stay put. Not sure what the next family shindig is - but I might have another boy to add to the cousins photo.

Both boys stayed home today from daycare. Mack has a bit of a head cold (no fever though) and well there was no convincing Sean to go to school since Mack was home. My mom was a great help this morning and came to help me give the boys a bath (since I can't bend into the tub to bathe them) and later on after lunch she came with me to run an errand with the boys. It was a leisure day hanging out with my boys. By 5pm I was exhausted though. I enjoyed the late afternoon cartoons cuddling on the couch with both kids.

I've got yet another free 20 point code for Pampers Gifts to Grow or for .com as well: GIFTS2GROWBONUS

Today’s Link Love:
- This girl is too freakin’ cute.
- I am a HUGE elephant lover. I love this silver pendant, and of course the matching earrings.
- These glasses pendant is wicked neat. I actually have it in black, I love wearing that necklace!This Gummy Bear Kissing Necklace is just too cute.
- These Rose Garden Mary Jane booties.
- Love this funky necklace.
- Watched I Love You, Man tonight, what a cute movie. It was just the kind of romantic comedy I needed. I'm a huge Paul Rudd fan as well as Jason Segel.

I've made some progress on my de-clutter blog. My recent progress is posted here. I've finally hit the 300+ mark. I told you I hadn't forgotten about it. Just have been wicked busy lately, even on "modified activity". There's always still things to do - even while resting. And so much I can still get done while off my feet. I even can now see my desk again! Up until today it was hidden by mess.

Off to go read a bit more in the book I'm currently reading. It's pretty good so far. I do have a review of the other book coming you're way possibly over the weekend. I'm in the middle of organizing my thoughts so I can put together a proper review. Stay tuned.

07.19.10 :: 185 weeks old

Sean is 185 weeks old today.

Sean had to stay home today. He has to be free of tempra/fever for 24 hours before he can go back to daycare. Jut when I thought it was gone, it came back at dinner tonight. Poor guy. It’s stayed all evening too. So he’ll have to stay home tomorrow again, though, I might take him into work with me for a bit, to see if there is anything that is urgent on my desk that needs to be taken care of.


After dropping off Mack at daycare today, I did a few errands with Sean. One of our stops was to Omer De Serres. I had a ridiculously large gift certificate that I got for my birthday to the store, and wanted to see what they had. Sean picked out a few items that he wanted, but settled on some tools for his playdoh. I fell in love with this Amy Butler Creativity Bag. While it’s meant for Scrapbooking, it’s a PERFECT knitting bag. Even has a pocket that I can keep my knitting patterns in without them getting ruined or crumbled. (It’s meant for scrapbooking paper). The tote was on a sale and even at that price had I not had the gift card, I would not have bought it.

I just love it. The pattern and colors are awesome.

I found a few other treasures today at the same store, that I probably would never have bought had I not had a gift card. I probably would not even have gone in there today had it not been for the birthday gift. I love that store, but they’re not exactly cheap (even with their sales).

I realized today that is sucks to be alone with a child in a store when they have to go to the bathroom. I was with Sean (who is fully in underwear now – and didn’t have a single accident today! I am so proud of him!) Anyhow, we were at Costco. I did a return. Sean asked for a hot dog from their restaurant for lunch. So we got out food. Sat down to eat. Started eating. And then, after a few bites, he says “Mommy, I have to go to the bathroom”. Uhh….! We weren’t at a restaurant that we could just get up, leave our food, go to the bathroom and then come back and continue. We were in Costco. So I packed up the food, back on the tray, and carried it with us to the bathroom. And of course, when I got to the bathroom, there was absolutely no where to put the tray down. Except the floor. I had no choice. Thankfully I had the tray. Sean did his business, we washed our hands good, brought the tray back to the table, took our stuff off of the tray and ditched the tray by the garbage cans as it had been on the floor in the bathroom. So gross. I had no other choice though. And to make my morning worse, Jamie had my Costco receipt, and my Costco card was on my desk at home. Luckily they were able to give me a temporary card (Toy Story vitamins were on sale), and were able to do my refund by looking up my bill from my card number. The lady was so super nice, which helped make my not so good start to my morning better.

Sean actually got a bit of shut eye this afternoon. Rare, but normal when he’s not feeling good. Poor guy, I really hope he feels better soon. Not only does he have fever again, but he says his head still hurts him.

When we went to go pick up Mack from daycare today, this is how I found Sean after I asked him to put on his shoes. He decided he felt like wearing his flip flops. Over his socks. I really need to teach him some fashion sense… Boys!

This evening was a really relaxing one.
We had leftovers for dinner and a salad with veggies from the garden (see below).

Mackie asked for his picture taken.
He also had a new thing for sticking out his tongue for pictures.

Before dinner I went out into the garden to see what was there.

The spaghetti squashes are growing nicely.

We even have some strawberries on the strawberry planter.
Very excited to see how many we actually get this summer.

And our loot from the garden today. 2 cucumbers, 1 Kohlrabi, 2 large tomatoes & a handful of cherry tomatoes. Cucumber and tomatoes became a cucumber/tomato salad. Spiced it up with some oregano, parsley, garlic powder, onion powder, and pepper. Tossed on some oil & vinegar – and voila, a tasty cucumber tomato salad. My fave. Both kids don’t eat tomatoes (unless in a sauce), so it was just Jamie & I eating it – the kids had cucumber slices instead with their dinner. Kohl Rabi - unsure what to do with.

I looked up Kohlrabi today. I wasn’t sure what to do with it, but we had one that was absolutely ready to pick (see above). I found it interesting to know that they have an “Approximate weight of 150g and has a good standing ability for up to 30 days after maturity.” Mine however, (just weighed it) weighs 298g. Damn! Did I let it grow too big in my garden? I also didn’t realize that it was a German Turnip. I like turnip – cooked. Apparently it taste a lot like broccoli stems. (Which I am not a fan of broccoli stems). However, I have eaten Kohlrabi once, when a knitting friend brought some over. I’m trying to find a good Kohlrabi recipe – how do you eat your Kohlrabi? These Kohlrabi & Squash Empanadas look delicious. I actually think I might print out the recipe and try this one out tomorrow. Hmm, after reading that pattern fully, maybe not. I’m ready to pick spinach tomorrow too – I even got a recipe written down tonight from Jamie’s mom. I will make that tomorrow for dinner and share that with you tomorrow.

Today’s de-clutter progress is here. I did very well today – 25 items!

Today’s Link Love:
- I love this image. This one too. Oh and this one too.
- I would like to hang something like this in Zoe’s room. I actually have a few pairs of Pointe shoes from when I use to do ballet on pointes, and I think this would make lovely decoration in her room once we paint it.
- Love this trivet idea. I have a few corks, I wonder if I have enough to make one.

It’s late now, later than I have been going to bed as of lately, but I still think I’m not that tired. I am sure after a couple of pages in the book I’m currently reading, my eyes will get heavy and I’ll fall asleep. I did manage to knit a bit on Zoe’s Spring Shirt while watching a few episodes of How I Met Your Mother. Jamie and I just started watching it last night, and it’s just too funny. Do you watch that show? There’s already 5 seasons that have aired, season 6 will be starting up (I assume this fall).

07.09.10

Today, Mack stayed in from school, his last day home. He’s feeling better, so he’ll be going back on Monday. My day did not go as planned. I was supposed to go to Pre-Natal Aqua this morning. First Sean threw a fit when he overheard that Mack was going to go to my mother’s house while he was in school and I went to aqua. Then just as we were about to leave the house, Sean decided that’s when he HAD to use the toilet do do this business. He sat on the toilet for 20 minutes. I missed aqua. Not my morning.

So I decided to just take both kids out with me on all my errands today. Some points of my day were better than others. I managed. Especially in the pissing rain. Our first stop was to do a return to Reno. It was easier just to go myself to do it than to wait for Jamie to get around to it. Then it was close to lunch, so we made a pit stop at McDonalds. Everything was going fine until we got our food and walking to the ketchup/straw/napkin counter and Mack and Sean both collided into me and the tray went flying. Most of our food was salvaged as their happy meals were in bags. A nice man who worked there helped me out and replace my drink that had spilled all over the floor. Ah, what a morning. Mack actually ate lunch today – which I am really happy about. He hasn’t eaten lunch all week because he hasn’t been feeling well. Dinners also haven‘t been that fantastic for him. Finally got some food into him.

After lunch we made it to the grocery store before it started to pour (rather just as we walked into the store, it started to come down). I had 6 bags of cans that were piling up in the garage. Jamie had given me the “get rid of them or I’m putting them out on garbage day ultimatum. The boys had fun taking turns putting the cans into the machine. A great activity for a rainy day. And I walked out with almost 25$ from the returns. I couldn’t believe how many there were. After returning the cans, we got some groceries and then waited a bit until the rain stopped pouring down and made a mad dash for the car.

I ran home, put some groceries away, picked up some shorts for Sean (some how he managed to fill his pull-up (even though he’s been using the potty/toilet) and leak through. I am so happy the I had just put in a Piddle Pad on his seat. Mack already has one that came with his car seat, but Sean didn’t. I am so happy that I remembered to put it in his seat when we left the house this morning, because I just washed his car seat yesterday! I would have been very upset had I had to wash it again. After changing Sean and putting the spare Piddle Pad I had in his seat, we left to a local bead shop to see if they had 2 items in stock. Neither were found there, so we left to go to Pointe Claire shopping center. I wanted to go to stores. First to an LYS in there, and then to a hobby shop. At the LYS I picked out some buttons for Zoe’s February Baby Sweater (see below). One of the ladies who works there, was entering my last name into the computer and asked me if I was related to (my dad’s brother). I asked her how she knew him, and she even mentioned she knew my dad. Apparently her sons growing up were good friends with my cousins. They’re the same ages. The older boys didn't remain friends, but the younger 2 are still best friends and she was telling me that my cousin slept over at her house last night. Small world.

Back in the car, Mack fell asleep.
I drove around trying to do one other errand but the shop was closed.
I let him sleep until we got to Chapters.

I had promised they could come here to play a bit after a long day of running errands. Now Sean wants a train set. I told him to start saving in his piggy bank or to put it on his birthday wish list. I think there are sets that aren’t brand name (like Thomas the Train) that are cheaper, but this set is ridiculously over priced (and that price doesn’t even include the table).

I let them play for a good 20 minutes. (Yes, Mack’s not wearing any shorts and just a diaper). We had another diaper accident when we got to Chapters. (Not our day, let me tell you).

And I managed to get a few rows knit on Zoe’s FBS.

Tonight while watching TV with Jamie, I cast off the last stitches on the sweater. All I have left to do is seam up the sleeves and sew on the buttons. The buttons however, I have no idea which to use. It’s between 2. (See below).

I bought round pink ones, that have little white lines in them (hard to see in this photo) and oval pearl type ones that are sparkly. I really can’t decide which to use. What do you think?Hopefully I can make a decision soon.

I’ve been eating our snow peas right off the plant. Yum. I love summer. And they taste so awesome. Tasty and fresh. I am so glad that we decided to plant the snow peas this year. They’re definitely a huge hit. I think we are going to try steaming them and see how they are steamed as well.

Mack’s black sandals are missing. They’re Spiderman ones, that light up. He was wearing them on Tuesday when we got home from work. He napped in the car, while I sat in the car in the driveway until he woke up. We came in. Not sure what happened to them after that. Luckily he has brown ones too, that he’s been wearing. Phew. I just don’t get where they disappeared to. I noticed they were missing when we had to go to the doctor on Wednesday and they were no where to be found. I didn’t even realize that I still kept Sean’s brown ones from last summer until Wednesday night, and put Mack in socks and sneakers in this damn heat we’ve been having because his sandals were no where to be found. I’ve asked him numerous times where he stashed them – with no luck. I’ve seriously looked everywhere. I guess they’ll turn up when I am not looking for them? I just don’t get how things go missing. I’ve been searching for them now for 2 and a half days (since Wednesday lunch).

5.12.10 :: 99 weeks old

Mack is 99 weeks old today.

Today my mom & I took the boys for a quick drive to Ottawa.
First we stopped at Denny’s for lunch, to meet up with my husband’s cousin & her daughter.
It was nice to see them.

We did a few errands.
(I wanted one store in specific for some items for Mackenzie’s 2nd birthday party).
The boys got some lollypops from the CHEO bear when we donated some money to the hospital.

The boys napped on the way home.
No big surprise.

My mom drove both ways. She said it was easier for her to drive than to have to turn around a million times for the kids. They kept asking for stuff. They kept dropping things. My mom gets nauseas in the car, so I sat in the passengers seat, and she drive. Needles to say I got no knitting at all done because the kids were constantly having me turn around. Except while they dozed off for like 30 minutes each on the way home. Though, I was so tired I didn’t bother pulling out my knitting. Tomorrow there shall be knitting.

What else has been going on? I certainly don't find it funny that Mackenzie keeps putting stuff in the garbage. Stuff that shouldn't be in there... like his bunny. Like some of the kids' toys. Do I need to lock the garbage cans? And the toilets too? (Found bunny and one of his shoes in the toilet a few days ago). Do your kids do this too? Sean went through a phase. I once found my husband’s PJ pants in the toilet.

Tonight I actually watched the Habs game but that didn’t bring them any bad luck at all. They won tonight, killing the Penguins 5-2. Onto the next round for my Habs! GO HABS GO! I can’t believe it! What a game.

Now I’m heading to bed and want to read a bit more in the book I’m currently reading :: The Yoga Mamas. I think I’m about 9 chapters in, so far it’s not bad.

04.03.10

Today was absolutely gorgeous. We decided to go outside in the backyard to eat breakfast & then play. I spent time to put the new stroller together. I had chucked one of my umbrella strollers as it was broken, and wanted something with a tall handle/lightweight/has a basket for my next trip. I got one just recently at Walmart (matches my duvet cover!) and so far, I love it.

This afternoon I ran some errands with Mack, while Jamie took Sean to the driving range.

This kid makes me smile.

Late afternoon we had a playdate with Jamie’s friend & his wife who are visiting from Calgary. Jamie went to elementary school & high school with this friend, and they come in every year for the holidays. Their daughter is 7 & their son just turned 4. Our 4 kids played very well together today. It was gorgeous out today, a high of 25°C (77°F). I just checked online, and here were the highest temperatures for the last 4 years on April 3rd:

2006: 12.5°C
2007: 9.9°C
2008: 7.5°C
2009: 17.3°C

I’m just shocked that last year was even that high. I don’t recall. Though, today’s high of 25°C. Tomorrow, they’re calling for a high of 16°C. Last year, the high was 9.6°C. Mother nature is not sure what’s going on. It’s okay though, I like this beautiful weather!

Sean even got a story in his bed from their daughter.
I had no idea they were in his room, at all.
I just so happen to have had my camera with me when I found them.
I think he likes having older girls in his bed.
I think I’ll have to keep my eye open very widely!

After a lovely dinner, they eventually headed home & I finished up some red and worked on babette. I also worked on the sock for a swap pal. I’m already on sock number 2. I wish I had this much motivation to work on socks for myself, I have a ton of single socks that need my attention, as well as a pair on the needles for Jamie. (I will get those done soon. It’s in the plans.)

march thirteen

This morning we headed out the door to be at soccer registration for 10 am. I’m officially a soccer mom! (Where’s my mini van?) Sean starts soccer this June until August for 1 hour every Saturday morning. He has one (maybe two – waiting to find out) friends on his team (ok, their mommy is my friend), so that’ll be nice. The league provides us with the uniform (shirt, shorts & socks) and we need to provide the sneakers (does not have to be cleats at this age) and the shin guards (if we could find in the child’s size – which we did this morning while running errands). I can’t wait for Sean to play soccer. He needs this outlet to release his energy!

After running our errands we decided to try Boston Pizza for lunch. Sean’s fever was gone when he woke up this morning, so we chanced it. I was worried if we pushed it too much that his fever might come back late afternoon (fever usually likes to come out to play around 5pm).

We all really enjoyed Boston Pizza. A lot. They have Whole Wheat Pizza on the menu, which I had NO idea! My new fave place & guess what? They deliver!!! This news totally made my day. (Doesn’t take much!) Until tomorrow kids eat free with the purchase of an adult meal, which was kind of a bonus. Not only was it free, but it came with a drink, a dessert & a surprise gift! (Sean chose a top & Mack chose a little ball with a happy face on it).

This afternoon I did some work while Mack napped. Sean refused to nap, as usual. Though, he really does become super cranky when he doesn’t nap on weekends and I really need to come up with another solution so that come late afternoon I don’t have a cranky child on my hands.

This evening Jamie had hockey so I had some friends over for some more Sangria. (I think my friends are using me for my tasty alcoholic drink expertise). I finally got up the courage to finish working on the logo for Sean’s Team Canada Jersey Sweater, and it actually looks fantastic. I started knitting the front tonight and got the point just before the chart color work tonight. I’ll continue working further on it tomorrow. Once the front is done I just have the sleeves to do and the neck ribbing to join the back & front together. I cannot wait to see Sean’s face when it’s all done and he can finally wear it. He’ll freak in excitement, I just know it.

This week I really need to take a chill week. Catch up on some tv shows on my PVR, read some more, just hang out. I’ve been running around so much lately, and it’s time to chill back & relax. It’s just about what the doctor ordered. Sound good?

march three :: 89 weeks old

Mack is 89 weeks old today.

I kept both kids home today from daycare. Mack had his 2nd dose of flu shot today, so I spent the day with both boys. It was really nice. We coloured and watched some tv, and ran some errands.



One of the errands was to return bottle cans to the grocery store. Each can is about .05¢, unless you put in a beer can, it’s a little bit more (we had one beer can in there, which someone drank & left at our house – we’re not huge beer drinkers). Sean had a field day putting in all the cans into the machine. It gives you a green light to enter them (like green for go) and a red light while it’s processing the can. Sean was excited playing the red light/green light game. I should remember this for next time. I swear, it’s an activity to keep him occupied. Good to remember. The basket height was tall enough for him to stay seated in the child section of the basket, and put the cans in. I would have broken my back if I had to hold him up for 12$ worth of cans at .05¢ a piece. (I’ve been having some back pains in my lower middle back for about 2 weeks now… trying to fix it and figure out where it started from). Some days are really painful to sit/drive. There was a day last week that I am not sure how I made it home from work. I was in that much pain.



After getting some groceries, dropping off some parcels at UPS for work and all that fun stuff, it was time to go home. The kids were getting restless, as they hadn’t napped today at all. Next time, mental note, do NOT schedule a vaccine or doctor’s appointment during Mack’s naptime. He didn’t nap today, and he’s usually a good napper, so this just threw him off completely. Cranky children are not fun at dinner time. Food gets thrown, not eaten. Thank heavens my house is getting cleaned tomorrow. It looks as though a tornado hit my house.

The roofer came by today to check things out. There is absolutely NOTHING wrong with me roof. This is fantastic news. However, there is a ton of things that needs repairing in my attic, that the contractor didn’t even know about, so we’ll have to take care of that, and it looks like it will cost us a bit more than it would have if it were just the roof and the attic needing the repairs we were already aware about… but we need to take care of this as soon as possible. Apparently we’re losing a lot of heat and once this is fixed, we should definitely notice our heating bill to reduce drastically over the next year. The water in the attic which caused the mould (which is NOT anywhere as bad as we thought it was) is due to escaping heat and it forming into ice on our roof and something else about condensation. He explained it to me but with the 2 kids running around the house sitting on each other, I didn’t catch everything he was trying to explain to me. In any case, he wrote down names of guys in case I needed it if my contractor is unable to do any part of the work that we need done. We also discovered that the plumbing stack (for the plumbing for the entire house) should be vented outside, but whomever did work up there broke the stack and now it’s venting in our attic. (Which equals even more condensation). We’re going to be getting this all fixed. As soon as possible. There’s also a hole in the attic, which had insulation thrown over it (to hide it probably) and that hole in the floor of the attic looks right into our furnace room which is in the basement (4 floors below). Fun. This is also letting heat escape. The guy went up there and took a picture of what was in my furnace room, to show me that he can see right down there.

This evening I hung out with Jamie and worked on Sean’s sweater. It’s coming along nicely. It’s my first time working from a chart and it’s my own design, so that’s fun too. Though I’m not too fond of all the pencil that is rubbing off on my hand. I think I’m going to make a photocopy of the page just so I can mark it up how I want, and not have to worry about pencil smearing all over my hand. I usually write out everything from the chart, before I start to knit, but this time, I’m using the chart. I kind of like that though. It’s interesting, but I am able to keep my place. I’ll show you progress of the sweater tomorrow.

I have a book that I am looking for. If anyone has it and are done with it, can you please let me know, maybe we can work out a swap or something? Or I could just borrow it. It’s not available from my 2 local places I order from (Amazon.ca & Chapters.ca) and my local library doesn’t have it either.  The book title is:- The Go-To Girl by Louise Bagshawe.

This cleansing in my life is starting to make me feel a lot better about life. I’m starting to feel a huge weight lifted off my shoulder. It’s coming all together now, and I’m not sure why I didn’t wake up a long time ago. I think in order to really come full circle I’m going to cut out a lot of things that I’ve been doing as well, just to bring me back to a calm & peaceful place. All the running around I’ve been doing, has really caught up to me and has made me really exhausted. I need to take a step back & relax. Bring life back to a place where it was more simple. It’s only what’s best for my health.

january twenty-three

This morning while we were waiting for everyone to get their stuff together to leave, Sean had my grandmother play some bowling with him. My grandmother’s arm is doing a lot better. It’s not stinging her anymore, which is really good. And I’m so glad she’s not mad at me for Mack spilling the coffee on her, as it was a complete accident.

When we finally had our act together, we piled in the car. Since it was supposed to rain today (and it actually looked like rain), we decided to take care of some errands, and get them over with. Our first stop was Michaels. We don’t have Michaels in Montreal. I picked up a few things there to bring back home with me, as I just love some of the stuff they had there. And no, I didn’t buy any yarn (Michaels doesn’t have much stuff that doesn’t have acrylic in it anyhow). I did touch the Lion Brand Thick & Quick, as I was curious as to how acrylic-y it felt, but since it’s 80% acrylic, it felt a little too “plastic-y” to me. I did pick up the latest Vogue Magazine, which I didn’t have yet.

After Michaels, I sat in the car with the boys while some errand were done that I didn’t want to go and do.

Mack showed off his beautiful smile.

Then he decided to see if he could get his feet above his head.

Then Sean tried to do the same too.

This woman walked by us. My mouth dropped on how she was wearing her baby in the carrier. Her baby was bouncing up and down around her crotch area. I am not a babywearing expert, but I can tell you that I own a few different slings and baby carriers, and you do NOT wear your child down by your crotch area. I swear, I thought her baby was going to fall to the ground.

I cast on my mom’s cowl while we were in the car.

I am knitting another Neck Warmer for Coreen, in Knitpicks Cadena in Coal (Blank). I’m knitting it double stranded, as Cadena is a bulky weight and my pattern calls for a super bulky. It’s knitting up quite nicely double stranded. I’ll take a progress picture tomorrow, so you can see it better.

We came back to my grandmother’s condo for lunch. After a quick bite, Amy & I took the kids out back to let them run around for a bit. They have had a lot of excess energy on this trip. Giving them time to run around is a good thing.

They played soccer for a bit.

They soaked up some sun.

They were just too cute together.

I love it.

Late afternoon we went back to the flea market as my mom had an exchange to do, and I had something I was looking for. I did find, it, and bought it. It’s a table cloth, for a round table, that hugs the table like a shower cap. This is a genius idea, and we’d heard a lady talking about it as we were leaving the flea market yesterday. This is great for my glass table in my kitchen, no more dirty finger prints, nor my children pulling the table cloth off the table. The one I got fits tables 36” to 48” wide, so I’m hoping that it’ll fit my table without me being there to measure it. Though, the lady showed me the maximum size of the table that is fits on, and I’m pretty sure my table it that size or a tad smaller. She asked me how many it seated (4 people) and said that I shouldn’t have a problem with it. My grandmother bought one for her table at home as well. If I like it, they have a website, so I could always order myself another one. But just in case, I only bought one. (Or my grandmother is in Florida until the spring, so I could always get her to pick up another one for me when she goes back to the Flea Market again, if I really wanted/needed). What a neat idea! I’ve never heard of these before.

Florida may be making my hair frizzy and not so easy to style, but the weather has completely healed my hands. No more cracked skin. I love it. I don’t want to return back home to the cold so that I don’t have to get cracked fingers again… I wish! Too bad I have to get back to work.

This evening we went to Olive Garden for dinner, and I got my fix. I love the Olive Garden, another restaurant that we don’t have at home. I love the Olive Garden. Their unlimited salad is awesome and tonight I tried their Ziti pasta dish, and it was so delicious. It’s really too bad we don’t have this restaurant in Montreal. Yum!

By the time we got back to the condo it was way past both the kids bedtimes, so I put Mack to sleep first, as I’ve been doing every night, and then finally got Sean into bed. Both of them have been quite active, but regardless, they’ve been pretty good. I again really hope that my grandmother isn’t mad at me for Mackenzie’s accident with spilling the hot coffee. I really truly feel horrible. I hope her arm heels fast.