clumsy clover

i heart faces - week 24

2009-06-22T09:56:00.002-04:00

This week, the theme over at iHeartFaces is "Let's Hear It For The Boys". Since I have two boys, it was pretty easy for me to find a photo as my entry!

Get Your Creative On

2009-06-19T18:33:00.003-04:00

My friend Angie (I hope she doesn't mind me calling her a friend) has a great website. It's called The Creative Mama, and each Friday she invites her readers to share some sort of creative thing that they do.

I finally managed to get my act together! Here's my contribution to this weeks' GYCO Party!

Making a good-luck card.

Step 1

Find a clover patch.

Step 2

Find a 4-leaf clover.

Step 3

Get a blank business card-sized piece of card and write a saying on it (if you wish).

Step 4

Take some clear plastic coating stuff, and laminate your card, front and back.

Step 5

Send the good-luck card to someone who needs some luck!

Go take a hike!

2009-05-25T11:07:00.002-04:00

I took the boys on a little hike yesterday. The weather was perfect, not too hot, with a wonderful blue sky. We had a little picnic. I love that there are places like this to go to in the middle of the city.

Craigslist + Swedish Berries = Funny

2009-05-20T20:52:00.004-04:00

I love Craigslist. I found this ad this evening while browsing.

Date: 2009-05-20, 3:55PM EDT

I'm moving out of my place and found an unopened package of Swedish Berries in my cupboard. It weighs approximately 355 grams and I assume was imported from Sweden. It's a resealable package so you can open it up, have some and then reseal the package. The front label says the berries are made with real fruit, and the ingredients list 'concentrated pear juice' so I guess there is some real fruit in them. They're less than a year old, I don't think gummi goes bad.

If you're interested let me know and you could pick them up sometime.

My newest addiction - Blip.fm

2009-05-07T14:39:00.001-04:00

I'm so addicted to this site. It's like a free giant juke box. I'm discovering so much new music, and re-discovering some old favourites.

www.blip.fm

Cute hats!

2009-05-07T14:37:00.000-04:00

A fellow photographer is celebrating her Etsy store opening with a great giveaway - Check it out www.bugshugz.blogspot.com to enter. Her hats are just too cute!

WTH??

2009-04-20T11:49:00.003-04:00

I came across this site today. Some funny/confusing and generally WTH-type photos and videos. This video is probably one of the strangest things I have ever seen.

The Littles Heroes Project

2009-03-26T15:50:00.003-04:00

I recently heard about an amazing organization called "The Littlest Heroes Project".

The Littlest Heroes Project is a non-profit based organization founded in January 2008, made up of professional photographers nationwide that provide free photo sessions to our nations Littlest Heroes. This is our way of giving back and taking a stand for these children who sometimes feel forgotten because of their illnesses. We are here to let them know that they are heroes to many, and to share their inspirational stories and photos with the world.

For a while now I've been thinking of how I could somehow help people with my photography. After visiting the website I applied, and was accepted to be a volunteer photographer for the Toronto/GTA region.

This is seems like such a wonderful organization, and I hope that you'll help me spread the word about it so that families who could benifit from it know about it.

Finn turns FOUR!

2009-03-11T22:17:00.002-04:00

Finn turned 4 years old today! He was pretty flippin' excited! He begged for a birthday cake with a garbage truck, so I had the store make a "Cars" one but without the Cars toys, and I just stuck the garbage trucks and can on top. He was very pleased!

And just to show you how much he's grown, here he was 4 years ago, the day after he was born, ready to go home for the first time!

Crochet Wonders

2009-03-07T14:17:00.002-05:00

I'm not sure how I found these, but a few months ago I came across some crochet sites. I think I was probably in a weird mood or something, but I was howling with laughter at some of these. They're funny, but not nearly as funny as they were when I first saw them.

Did people actually make and wear these in the 70's?

And then there are these beautiful pieces that would look lovely in any home.

And then for this link, with religious-themed patterns. Now I have nothing against Christianity , but really, would you want a 36" x 57" crocheted Jesus wall-hanging?

Squirrel a la Slow Cooker

2009-02-04T13:07:00.003-05:00

I'm currently looking on allrecipes.com for a yummy-sounding potato recipe. This recipe came up in the search results. Who knew that 2 squirrels could yield 6 servings?

Ingredients:

2 squirrels - skinned, gutted, and cut into

pieces

4 large potatoes, quartered

1 pound carrots, chopped

1 green bell pepper, chopped

4 onions, sliced

2 cups water

1/4 medium head cabbage

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon ground black pepper

Directions:

1.	In a slow cooker, place the squirrel meat, potatoes, carrots, green bell pepper, onions, water, cabbage, salt and ground black pepper.
2.	Cover and cook on low setting for 8 hours.

Best friends

2009-02-04T12:46:00.002-05:00

Finn and Spencer are getting to the point where they are having so much fun with each other. Spencer is starting to "talk" more and more, and Finn encouraging him so much, and is constantly trying to teach him things. Like the alphabet, counting, and getting him to say all of the characters from In The Night Garden.

It's truly a joy to watch them interact and play together. I do hope their friendship lasts a lifetime.

Shoes and PJs

2009-01-25T11:23:00.004-05:00

Spencer came clomping down the hallway a few minutes ago, wearing his pajamas and my shoes. He was pretty pleased with himself, and it reminded me of a picture that I'd taken of Finn a couple of years ago.

Here is Spencer.
Here is Finn, wearing pajamas and Greg's shoes!

Stuck in Vancouver

2009-01-13T16:59:00.004-05:00

I am currently sitting in the Vancouver airport. I've been here for just over 2 1/2 hours. I was expecting a layover, however my connecting flight as to have left half an hour ago. It was then delayed until 2:00, and an Air Canada employee has just announced another delay.

I've travelled quite a bit in my life, and realize that delays are to be expected. However, my flightbis not the only one that has been delayed. Since I've been in the waiting area, three flights have been cancelled. One due to a fueling problem, onebecause they couldn't get the seats back in properly, and one because of weather (can't really blame Air Canada foe that though). But get this, there has just been an annoucement that went something like this "attention passengers of flight 123 to Castlegar. The weather in Castlegar is not quite as good as we'd like it to be. There is only a 50/50 chance that the plane will be able to land. We will be boarding shortly. However, we will be stopping en route at XYZ airport to refuel. Then we will attemp to land. If we are unable to land in Castlegar, well turn the plane around and return to Vancouver."

Seriously, folks. Would you get on that plane? I think that just has more frustration and angry passengers written all over it.

Meanwhile, I'm still waiting for my plane. A tow trick is supposed to be bringing it from the hangar.

Forgetfulness and vomit

2009-01-04T20:31:00.002-05:00

I had to drive downtown today to pick up a picture from the photolab. I decided to take my camera with me, in hopes of taking a photograph or two that I could use from my photo-a-day blog. I get to my destination, pick up my picture, and then start taking a few shots. I try to review them, and suddenly see the message "No CF card". Crud. So I head home and sulk.

Fast forward to dinner time. Finn is happily eating his mac'n'cheese and hotdog. Spencer on the other hand, is slowly picking at it. He eats a few pieces of hotdog, and a little bit of macaroni. He suddenly stops, and a look slowly appears on his face. I know that look. I've seen it many times on Finn before. I quickly stand up and lift him out of his high chair. Unfortunately, I'm not fast enough to even get him out of the kitchen. Projectile vomit all over my chair and on the floor, under the table and a bit in the hallway.

He then looks up at me, and smiles and asks for a banana!! Hopefully he'll be ok for the rest of the night.

Another one bites the dust.

2009-01-02T21:55:00.006-05:00

I was able to strike one of my bucket list items off my list yesterday. I did the deed and shaved my hair. It's about 1/4 of an inch long now, and it feels really weird. I doubt I'll ever do it again, but it'll be an interesting experience!

New Years resolution and my bucket list

2008-12-29T08:40:00.004-05:00

It's the end of December. Time to start thinking about resolutions. They never seem to go very well for me. Last year I vowed to start flossing more often. I did well for about 2 weeks. I'm better than I used to be, but I've let my dentist down.

I hope to actually be able to keep my resolution for 2009, which is to take a picture each day AND to blog about. I've started a new blog just for this resolution. It's called iampunch365, and can be found HERE. I hope to be able to stick to this plan, and I think it will be a lot of fun. I'm also hoping that my photography skills improve by doing this.

Now on to my Bucket List. If you've never heard of the term, it's basically a list of things you'd like to do before you "kick the bucket". Last year a movie called The Bucket List staring Morgan Freeman and Jack Nicholson came out. It was good. My bucket list is now on the right-hand side.

Each year, around the start of a new year, I start debating on whether or not to shave my head (which is on my bucket list). It's something that has fascinated me for over a decade. It's not to make a statement against society. It's not because I'm a Neo-Nazi. It's just something that I've wanted to do. I'd like to know what it feels like to shave my head. It's as simple as that. And besides, hair grows back. It may be interesting to rediscover my natural hair colour. And January 1st just seems like the appropriate day to do this. As someone pointed out to me, January in Canada may not be the best time of the year to do it, as it gets pretty cold, however, if I do it now, I'd have some hair cover for the summer so that a sunburned head would no be as much of a problem!

I still have a few days to decide. The only thing I worry about is what my customers would think. It bothers me to think that people would chose another photographer over me just because of the state of my hair. But, people are fickle. Maybe this can be a test as to whether or not my talent will overcome peoples' attitudes about shaved heads? Perhaps if I'd done this as a fundraiser, it would be more acceptable? I'm not sure. Maybe I'll use that as an excuse if i don't go through with it this year.

Natural light

2008-12-27T17:02:00.001-05:00

I'd forgotten just how nice natural light could be.

Golly

2008-12-27T14:17:00.003-05:00

Another Christmas has come and gone. It was a good one. You know those shoes I was coveting about a month ago? Greg got them for me!!!! I was more than surprised, and they are wonderful. I will be posting a picture of them soon. The boys had fun, and Finn was so excited about everything. This morning he looked at me and said "mommy, I'm sad" I asked him why, and he said "because it's not Christmastime anymore."

The pictures are in the wrong order but I don't feel like fixing them!

Let it snow!

2008-12-08T22:18:00.005-05:00

It snowed today. And snowed, and snowed and snowed. The boys loved it. I didn't, because I had to drive in it! However, I did snap a couple of pictures, and I just wanted to share! (click to enlarge).

Phone books and straws

2008-12-08T15:34:00.002-05:00

Seriously, why do we need three different Yellowpages-style phone books?

I don't like having ice cubes in my beverages unless I have a straw. We were out of straws, and I forgot to pick up a box at Wal-Mart while I was there this morning. So, I grabbed some while I was at Costco. While I was driving home, I noticed that there I bought 2000 STRAWS. The plastic is going to break down before I have a change to use them all! What was I thinking?

3 years 8 months 21 days

2008-12-01T21:37:00.003-05:00

Today, Finn was in a pretty good mood all day, and while Spencer was having his afternoon nap, I took a few pictures of Finn.

He will be 4 in March, so that makes him 3 years, 8 months and 21 days old (hence the title of this post). However, he just SEEMS so much older in this picture. Of course, maybe it's just me.

I guess I'm having a hard time believe that just a few years ago he was so SMALL. I guess it's true that time does fly. And that you should enjoy every minute with your children while they are still young.

Mika vs. doorknob

2008-11-29T07:58:00.007-05:00

Ealier this month, my wonderful dad flew here and stayed with us for almost 2 weeks. As per usual, we put him to work. He painted our living room, organized our garage, and refinished the stairs. Greg helped with the stairs when he could (when he was taking a break from his full-time job and his part-time job!)

During this time, Mika was relegated to either being in Greg's office while he was working, or he was locked up in his crate, which is located in the workshop (Mika, not Greg was in the crate).

Anyway, Mika, being the intelligent, stubborn, strong dog that he is, managed to escape his crate, buy using brute force. Since he knows that doorknobs are used to open doors, he proceeded to bite and claw at the doorknob of the workshop. And guess what? He OPENED it. Here is Mika, with said doorknob.
And here are a couple of close-ups of the doorknob. None of his teeth were damaged, and notice the other half of the doorknob...see how smooth and round it is?
Here are a few before and after shots of the stairs and living room. Here is the before shot of the front hallway. And the after shot. Please note the we WILL be painting the trim at some point, and the ugly ligt fixtures will be replaced with nice, sensible pot lights! I am still waiting for my canvas wrap to be ready, which will be hung between the two doorways on the right hand side. The living room before...don't you just love the nice orange/peach colour???
And after. Looks a little darker in this picture than it actually is. The next shot shows the colour more accurately. And as soon as we get some curtain rods, we will be hanging some drapes.

I want, I want, I want

2008-11-22T10:02:00.002-05:00

Greg and I went and saw the new James Bond movie last night. It was good, but Casino Royale was far superior in my books. In one of the last scenes, Olga Kurylenko's character is seen wearing these awesome shoes (she was actually wearing the gold colour, but I prefer the brown). As soon as the movie was over I mentioned to Greg that I loved the shoes, and he, of course had absolutely NO idea what shoes I was talking about.

I did some research this morning, and found them. Unfortunately they are expensive, and they're not availabe (as far as I can tell) outside of Great Britain. While I could easily have them sent to some people I know in England, and they could ship them to me, I am having a hard time trying to convince Greg that these are an absolute necessity to my wardrobe!

The dentist

2008-11-17T15:03:00.003-05:00

I received a call today from the receptionist at the dental office I used to go to.

Dr. C. is a nice guy, and a good dentist. He's gentle and never told me I had to get any work done that wasn't absolutely essential.

I had one problem though. He would ALWAYS reschedule my appointments. Say I'd have an appointment for Monday at 1:00. His receptionist would call me on the Saturday before my appointment to confirm. She'd then ask me if it would be ok if I came in at 1:30. Ok, fine. Not a big deal.

Then, on Monday morning, she'd call again and ask if I could come in at 12:15 instead. Um, ok.

The first time this happened, it didn't really bother me. But it happened each, and every time I had an appointment. So I found another dentist. He's great, and he was there for my scheduled time.

Now Greg still goes to see Dr. C. for all of his dental needs. He has never had a problem with his appointment times, so does not feel the need to change dentists.

Fast-forward to 10 minutes ago. The receptionist calls and says that I am WAY overdue for a cleaning. I told her that I'm extremely busy at this time of year and can't make an appointment. She says she'll call back in the new year.

So how do I break up with my dentist? I feel like I'm cheating on him!

Bzz ing about eggs!

2008-11-16T08:07:00.002-05:00

I'm a Bzz Agent. This means I'm a word-of-mouth marketer. It's free, and it's fun. I heard about this website from some MM moms that were participating. It didn't seem possible that it would be open to Canadian residents, but lo and behold, it IS! So I signed up, and have had fun since.

Being a Bzz Agent isn't hard. You have to answer some questions about yourself, your likes, interests, members of your household, etc., and then the Bzz Agent people will contact you periodically to see if you would be interested in participating in a particular campaign. You'll then receive some free stuff in the mail (or coupons to get a product for free) and you try out it, talk it over with people (family, coworkers, etc.) and write a report about it.

I am Bzzing about eggs today. I've always been a fan of wonderful, delicious and versitile egg. Of course I always had some on hand for use in recipes and Sunday morning breakfast, but lately I've been eating a lot more of them. According to the literature that was supplied with this campaign, eggs are not a concern when it comes to managing cholesteral, and have NO trans fats and have only 70 calories. Not bad for something that it so simple, tasty and versitile.

I've been eating a lot more eggs recently. I've rediscovered my love for egg salad sandwiches, Karen (our nanny) has proven herself to be a pro at preparing perfect over-easy eggs, and both of the boys LOVE eggs.

The Bzz Agent people send me a handful of booklets with egg receipes (the pancake recipe is super yummy), so if anyone wants one, just let me know and I'll send it out to you.

The only thing don't recommend is eating a soft-boiled egg with toast while at your computer. I just tried it, and it got a little messy. Bits of shell have fallen between my keyboard keys! But it was certainly tasty!!

Spencer and the potty

2008-11-09T08:27:00.002-05:00

Spencer will be 2 in February. Last week, he decided that he wanted to go poop on the potty. He stood at my feet, pointed to his bum, and said "poo, poo" so I brought him upstairs, sat him on the potty, and voila...he did his business on there.

Then 2 days ago he asked again. And again, he did it. Last night he went on the potty before going to bed, and woke up dry this morning. He asked me to take his diaper off, I did, and he went pee.

After struggling with Finn for so long, it's quite a surprise the Spencer took the initiative himself.

It would be nice to have Spencer out of diapers by his second birthday. I'm not going to hold my breath, but here's to hoping!!

Spring in November

2008-11-05T09:23:00.000-05:00

It's November 5th today. It feels more like April 5th. I am on the
train right now, heading downtown, and I wish I'd brought my camera.
I can't think of a better way to spend a nice day than taking pjotos.
But that'll just have to wait because, well I didn't bring my camera!

I don't usually take to GO train during the daytime, so it's
interesting to be inboard with the mix of people that I'm currently
riding with. I have the hoity-tooth woman across the way from me,
reading her free newspaper, the teenager a few seats down from me who
is sleeping with her mouth wide open, and the 30-something businessman
with the slick-backed hair listening to music on iPhone. I wonder
what's in his playlist?

Bob the Builder and a puppy

2008-11-01T11:09:00.003-04:00

So yesterday was Halloween. I was a bad mom this year...no pumpkin carving or crazy decorations. However, both of the boys did have costumes and each got a bucketful of treats.

I wasn't sure that Spencer was going to participate since he screamed bloody murder the first time we put on his costume. Fortunately, he was a trooper last night and absolutely LOVED trick-or-treating. His limited vocabulary prevented him from actually saying "trick or treat" so he'd just yell out "MORE" when someone answered the door and then he enthusiastically dug his hands into the candy dish and tried to help himself. He eventually got the hang of it and let people put candy into his bucket.

Finn was into it from the get-go. I thought he'd shy out but as soon has he got his first candy hand-out he loudly proclaimed "I LOVE THIS" and marched on to the next house. After about 20 houses he said that he'd had enough of this and wanted to go home to eat some of his treats.

Same stump, different year...again

2008-10-15T20:32:00.004-04:00

Today was the day for our annual trip up to get some fall photos taken. It was Finn's 4th time up there, and Spencer's 2nd. The weather was wonderful, and the boys cooperated (for the most part).

No matter how many times I go there, it always takes my breath away. Unfortunately, I'm not a good enough photographer to convey just how absolutely BEAUTIFUL this place is. The leaves were on fire. My timing was impeccable this year!
Here is Finn by the stump. If you'll take a look at this blog entry from a year ago, you can see the shots from previous years (please exuse the horrible formatting of that post...what was I thinking?) This not the greatest photo, but you get the idea!I just love this shot. It would be perfect if only Spencer's face wasn't so squished!And here they are romping in the leaves. The had a blast, and it was fun to see them running around. Spencer could barely keep up, but he certainly tried!This picture cracks me up when I look at it. I'm not sure what it is about his look, but it makes me laugh.
Finn and his leaf.

Thanksgiving comparison shot

2008-10-12T21:53:00.004-04:00

It's been a while since I did one of these. Yesterday I remembered a photo that I'd taken of Finn two years ago. I dressed Spencer up in the same clothes that he was wearing, and drove on over to the house that we used to live in (thank goodness it's still in the family or else it would be been very strange to knock on the door and ask the new owners if I could borrow their steps!)

Finn was actually a month younger then Spencer currently is, but I think Spencer has much more of a baby look than Finn did, and he's much smaller too.

And here is Finn today. He INSISTED that I take his picture too! (And no, I did NOT instruct him to pose like that!

Lessons learned

2008-10-09T20:24:00.003-04:00

Today I learned a few important lessons.

1) always wear proper footwear when playing basketball. You WILL get hurt if you don't
2) never believe what a Fido employee tells you
3) be sure that your 3 1/2 year old goes pee BEFORE heading out to the stores, or he WILL pee his pants at the checkout counter and leave a huge pee puddle on the floor

Another WTH kind of moment

2008-10-07T20:14:00.003-04:00

So there I was this evening. Roaming the aisles of Value Vilage, when what do I see? A winter jacket, sized 2T. What struck me was not the bright yellow of its' material, but rather the image of the MACHINE GUN on the front of it. Seriously, WTH were they thinking when they picked this little gem of a drawing/caption and stuck it on the front of a toddler jacket?

iPhone 2 blog test

2008-10-07T11:22:00.000-04:00

My "last" dollar from the U.S.

What's wrong with this picture?

2008-10-05T22:38:00.004-04:00

Yesterday, the boys and I headed out to the fair. We had a grand time. It was a bit chilly, but fun. Spencer went on his first ride. He LOVED the merry-go-round, alth0ugh he was a little unsure if it until it actually started moving). I think we went on it 3 times. He had a huge smile on his face throughout the ride, and I actually had to break his grip from the rail after the last time around. The two carnies were laughing at the site of me trying to get my child to loosen his grip!Finn was old enough this year to go on a few rides by himself. He too loved the merry-go-round, but I think the car ride beat it out. He also won a stuffed Scooby-Doo at one of the games on the midway (I may have helped him out a bit).
And here is the photograph that inspired the title of this post. WTH??? In case you can't read the sign, it says "Our Goal Is To Have A Smoke Free Environment For Our Children's Well Being" And as you can see, she's pushing a stroller and taking a HUGE drag of a smoke. Sheesh!

Quick update

2008-10-01T16:17:00.003-04:00

I guess I didn't quite keep up with the updates like I was hoping for. However, I should be able to be a little more diligent about it now, because....our nanny starts tomorrow!!! I'm so excited. A bit nervous, but I'm sure it'll all be good.

Business is going well. I've had 2 sessions this week, with 2 more booked and possibly one more on the weekend. Next week is starting to fill up too, and I there are a few more bookings for later on in the month.

Greg got his new car today. He's pretty excited. It's nice, and it smells so nice. I love the new car smell.

Still no iPhone for me. I'm still crossing my fingers that UPS will show up at the door tomorrow before 5:00 pm. If they don't, I'm off to raise a little hell at the Fido store at the mall.

Mika got skunked last night. Lovely. He smells a bit better. 1/4 cup baking soda, tsp of dishsoap and 1 Litre of hydrogen peroxide. Works like a charm. You may need two applications, but it gets rid of a lot of the stench.

That's all for now. Spencer is crying, and the episode of the Wonder Pets that Finn is watching is almost over.

Road trip: day 11

2008-09-21T20:50:00.000-04:00

After a looooong day of driving, we're finally at our hotel in Pennsylvania for the night. The boys are ready for bed, and so am I!

Will post more tomorrow.

Road trip: day 10

2008-09-20T21:01:00.004-04:00

We didn't get as early a start as we'd hoped this morning. Greg's alarm went off at 6:00am, but he pressed the snooze button for 50 minutes, so that set us back a little bit. I wasn't going to complain too much though, because I thought it was too early to begin with!

We eventually got the house tidied, and the rest of the stuff put into the van (well, Greg did all of the packing). We stopped for lunch at Ruby Tuesday's. I had the most amazing shrimp dish, and the fries that the boys and Greg had were out of this world! I'm really sad that they don't have this chain in Canada. But, when we do cross the boarder and find one, it'll be a special treat!

We stopped at a Wawa gas station to fill up before continuing on our way. There is a tiny little town in Ontario called Wawa. It's in the middle of nowhere, but has fantastic chicken wings at one of the motels. It turns out there is also a Wawa, PA, which is where this gas station chain has its origins. I learned today that "wawa" is the Ojibwe word for Canada goose, which would explain the corporate logo.

We stopped at a Walmart in Charlottesville, VA, where are staying the night. We found the White Cloud toilet paper, and I couldn't resist taking a picture of Finn holding a package. I tried telling him that the baby on the packaging was him, but he didn't really seem to get it!
We also went to the Sam's Club next door to look around. We meant to get a membership before we left Toronto, but didn't get around to it. So, we got one today. The only problem is that they couldn't properly sign us up because there computer system wouldn't let them put in a postal code with letters. After about 30 minutes of trying to figure out what to do, they ended up using the store's address, and we got our cards. The people were friendly and very helpful.

Greg and I are very much in love with Virginia, and have come to the conclusion that if we ever decide to move to the U.S., Virginia will be at the top of our list.

Our motel room is cheap and clean, but unfortunately smells like cat urine. It's half of the price of the hotel we were going to stay at, and it has internet, so we're trying not to breathe too deeply in here!
Finn's hives have returned. To a lesser extent, but they're still around. He still hasn't complained about them being itchy, which is good, but they look horrible. Hopefully they will all dissapear for good soon.

Road trip: day 9 (part 2)

2008-09-19T13:00:00.007-04:00

Guess what? Greg found his bathing suit! LOL. He was walking to the beach, and there it was, with one clothes pin still attached. It was wedged in between a couple of bushes not too far from our place!

I went down to the beach for a few minutes. The water level is extremely high. Here are a few shots. Compare them to photo in the title banner at the top of the page.And how about this sky? It was the most amazing colour of blue. Finn took this one. Greg and I on our laptops. We loved having wifi access while on vacation. Life is good. I've been playing with textures in PS lately, so I messed around with this one a bit.

Road trip: day 9 (part 1)

2008-09-18T23:28:00.002-04:00

At 5:00 am this morning I woke up to a shaky bed. It finally dawned on me that the entire house was shaking due to the extremely strong winds! I could not believe how windy it was. I had some some stuff hanging on the clothes line, and went outside on the deck to take it down. Sadly, Greg's bathing suit did not survive the night, and is now probably in someone's pool or something a few houses down!

Finn woke up this morning with his legs covered in hives. They soon spread to his torso. He doesn't seem to be bothered by them, but I'm sending Greg to the pharmacy to get some Benadryl just in case.

Well, isn't that odd?

2008-09-18T23:28:00.000-04:00

I tried installing a different template while using Firefox instead of Chrome. And guess what? It worked. So, tomorrow, I'll be trying to make a new banner. Woo hoo!

Road trip: day 8

2008-09-18T19:47:00.000-04:00

Sunny, but VERY windy again. Good for the mosquito situation, but bad for the beach. We did go down to the water, unfortunately there was another mini wind storm going on, so the boys didn't get to play in the sand.

We did however venture out into the waves, which were very rough. Finn once again had a blast and cried when it was time to go back in.

We had supper, the boys watched Shrek, and then they played with some toys for a little while. Finn surprised both of us by coming up to us and saying "I'm tired, please, I want to go to bed." Both he and Spencer were rubbing their eyes. This was at about 7:30. I just hope that they're REALLY tired and that they manage to sleep in a little later than 6:50am. I can't wait until they both know what "sleeping in" means!

As you can see, my new layout is as wonderful as I'd hoped. I tried a few different templates but nothing seemed to be working. I'll keep trying though!

coming soon...

2008-09-18T11:14:00.000-04:00

...a new look. I've just moved my blog over to another email address (once I get my iPhone I hope to do a little mobile blogging). Unfortunately, in the process of moving it over, I lost all of the comments, and my banner, and poll. But, hopefully during the boys' nap time I'll be able make it look good again. Not much I can do about the comments though.

Road trip: day 7

2008-09-17T14:30:00.000-04:00

I can't believe our trip started a week ago. It's already Wednesday, and we leave on Saturday. Time does indeed fly when you're having fun.

I noticed on the fridge that there was an envelope, and on the front it said "your house was cleaned by Darlene and Sandy". I have no idea how much to tip them. I mean the place was nice and clean when we arrived, but I mean, isn't it their job?? Let me know what you think would be appropriate.

Not too much happening today. We attempted a visit to the beach, but it's really windy today and the it felt like there was a mini sand storm on the beach. The boys were really upset that they couldn't play outside. They were both crying and screaming on the beach as we were packing up their toys. I don't know what upset them more though...the sand that was being blown into their eyes, or the fact that they weren't allowed to play. Either way, it was quite the ordeal!

There was quite a nice sand wall/ledge near the water. Looks pretty cool, don't you think?

We saw a few people doing this board-kiting or what ever it's called. Looks fun as heck, and the next time we come down here Greg and I are both going to give it a go. Hopefully we'll have a nanny in tow so she can look after the boys!We haven't had much luck finding pretty seashells on the sea shore, however there is a big jar of them in the living room. I borrowed a few and took some pictures while the boys were napping.

Road trip: day 6

2008-09-17T07:14:00.000-04:00

Oops. I'm not sure why I didn't get around to posting yesterday. Other than a quick trip to the beach to fly a kite, we didn't actually do too much. Finn had a wonderful time, and although Spencer also enjoyed the kite, after watching it for a little while he started digging in the sand again! If you look up, way up, you'll see the kite. It was an el-cheapo kite, so we were surprised taht it lasted more than 10 minutes in the sky! Greg and I actually wondered weather the kite would fall apart first, or fly away due to Finn letting go. Thankfully, neither happened!
Then something appeared on the beach that was much more exciting than kites, sand or the ocean. It was a pick-up truck. Good grief, you'd think they'd never seen a pick-up truck before! I guess one driving on the beach was a rare sight though.

Road trip: day 5

2008-09-15T19:46:00.000-04:00

What a difference 24 hours makes. Yesterday, Finn was terrified of the water. Today, completely different boy. He was begging to go in, and cried when we had to go. He figured out how to cover is mouth when a big wave was approaching, and didn't freak out when his face got wet. Spencer enjoyed the water, as usual. He got completely soaked by a huge wave. He swallowed a lot of salt water, but recovered quickly.Big waves. If only I'd had some sort of waterproof cover for my camera and lens, I could have been more creative in my composition! Two happy, wet, sun-soaked boys.
Our house for the week. It's actually one of the smaller ones in the area!

On the pathway to the beach.
Some seagulls and a sandpiper just hanging around.
Greg playing in the waves. This wave tossed him around quite a bit. I think he quit for the day after this one!
We went for a little walk along the pier. Lots of people fishing off it, and a few birds hanging out, hoping for a free lunch. As you can tell by this picture, the pier was pretty lop-sided. Our house is somewhere in this photo.

Road trip: day 4 (part 2)

2008-09-14T21:37:00.000-04:00

Just a quick update with one picture and the video.

Here's the view from our back balcony. The beach is just a short walk down the pathway and over the hill. And here is the video. The beginning has a panaromic view from our balcony, and then we have Spencer and myself enjoying the waves (it was his very first time in the ocean!)

Road trip: day 4 (part 1)

2008-09-14T14:05:00.000-04:00

My internal alarm clock once again woke me up at 6:54 am. Although it seems a bit early to me, once I saw the sun coming through the windows, I was awake pretty quickly! Finn woke up pretty quickly, but Spencer staying sleeping until about 7:30, which was great, because he obviously needed the sleep!

After we all woke up, we headed over to the grocery store to stock up. It's a little hard to feed 4 people with half a glass of chocolate milk at crackers. After spending way too much at store, we headed back to the house for breakfast. After that, it was BEACH time!
Although Finn had a lot of fun at the hotel pool a few nights ago, he wanted NOTHING to do with the ocean. He screamed and cried and ran away from the water. Bribery. Threats. Promises. Nothing worked. So, he stayed on the beach and played instead. He would not help Spencer and Greg build the sand castle though. They were too close to the water and he refused to go that close. I'm not sure who had more fun building the castle: Greg or Spencer. I'm pretty sure it was Greg, because he even said that he'd like to stop at a store to try to get a rectangular pail for building!
We couldn't forget Paddington. It kind of looks like he's trying to ski down a sand dune, but I didn't want to take too much time positioning him. There were some young Quebecers next to us on the beach, and they were giving me strange looks. What sort of 30-year old woman poses a stuffed bear on a beach and then takes a picture of him with a big SLR camera?Finn, my cute little water-fearing beach bum.Spencer loved chasing these "burs" around. He'd point and run after them. I think they're sandpipers, but I'm not sure.And here is Greg playing in the waves with Spencer. Unlike Finn, Spencer LOVES the water and would have run in if we'd let him. He laughed and played for a long time. Greg is currently uploading a video to YouTube, so I'll include a link to that in my evening update!

Road trip: day 4

2008-09-13T21:09:00.000-04:00

We are finally here. After almost 1700 km (just over 1050 miles) we pulled into our new house (for the week). It is nice and big and clean. We forgot to bring a baby gate to put on the stairs, but Spencer knows how to navigate stairs pretty well, so hopefully it'll be ok. Because the sun had already set before we arrived, we haven't been able to truly appreciate our view yet, but tomorrow morning we'll take a better look.

We did hit the outlet mall this morning. It was hot. Really hot and humid. Greg actually enjoyed shopping (don't believe him if he tells you differently) and he bought more stuff than I did. Since we wanted to get going, I didn't get to as many shops as I would have liked to, but being the nice guy that he is, he promised that we'd stop at another one on the way home. Further north. Where it's not so hot. And then I can really do some damage!

Going over a bridge heading into Norfolk, VA. If you squint, you can sort of see the outline of the ship.

Woo hoo! We finally reached our destination state.
Over the bridge towards the Outer Banks.
This is the view from our deck. I can't wait to see what it looks like in the morning!
The boys also went to sleep at a fairly reasonable hour tonight. They are sharing a room, and I can only hope that they will sleep in until at least 7:30am!

I am now off to bed.

Road trip: day 3

2008-09-12T22:08:00.000-04:00

Becuase we arrived in Hershey so late the previous day, we had to postpone our trip to Chocolate World until this morning. It was fun, and Finn LOVED the Disney-esque ride through the "factory" at the museum.

Our uber-cheesy touristy photo in front of Chocolate World.

Paddington, along with Maggie (our Magellan GPS). He was very bored today, seeing as that I forgot to bring him into Chocolate World with us. After getting stuck in Harrisburg due to some really wacky detour signs, and then fighting traffic for a couple of hours, we decided to take a brake and stopped by a Target. We do not have Target stores in Canada, so it was a nice treat! Here is Finn pole dancing at the entrance, and Spencer attempting to roll the concrete ball.

Spencer was very excited that we found Chick Hicks from the Cars movie.
And thank goodness for headphones. player in the car. I'm not sure that I could stand to hear the Mighty Machines theme song more than once on the trip.
Virginia was also an extremely beautiful state. There was more traffic than we'd expected, which delayed our arrival in Williamsburg, however we didn't mind too much since we had some nice scenery to look at!That's about all for today. Spencer doesn't seem to like hotels, and is notgoing to sleep. I'm hoping that I can convince him that it's bed time!

Road trip: day 2 (part 2)

2008-09-11T23:31:00.000-04:00

After much crying, screaming, playing and drinking of water, both boys are finally asleep. 11pm ended up being the magic bedtime. I really hope it shifts back to 8pm from now on.

Since I'm still awake, I figured I'd post the pictures and tell you a little about today.

The alarm went off at 6am this morning. This was early. Very early. Three things happened that don't usually happen in the morning.

Greg actually woke up and got ready in a respectable amount of time
I was awake BEFORE the boys were
I managed to catch the tail-end of the sunrise on camera

Finn starting off his day with a cup of coffee. Kidding. It was milk. But he was pretty excited to have a mug to drink from "like daddy does."

We were on the road at about 7:30, and drove to until we stopped for an early lunch at about 11. Thought we'd stop at a bank to convert some of our CAD to USD. Guess what? They don't do that here. Anywhere. We went to a total of 4 banks. Not one would do it.

Paddington waiting for Greg at the bank. After lunch, we got back in the van, and noticed that the A/C was not working as well as it should have been. Greg did a few checks, but everything seemed to be ok. We drove to Scranton, and ended up finding a dealer who fixed us up. We were back on the road in just under 2 hours. Thankfully the dealership had a waiting room with a tv and cartoons!

Can you believe there is a Mifflin Avenue in Scranton? How cool is that? (only those of you that watch The Office will get it).

Overall, we were very impressed with PA. Scranton was a bit of a let-down. As fans of The Office, we were hoping for big, but at least the people were nice. We didn't realize that PA was so mountainous.

We arrived in Hershey, PA much later than we'd originally hoped, which meant we were too late to visit the Chocolate Museum. We did drive around the town for a little while. Both Greg and I agreed that it is one of the cutest towns we'd ever been too. Some of the main street names were chocolate-themed, and the street lights were Hershey's Kisses!

We ate supper, and then returned to our hotel for some swimming. Both of the boys were SO hyper and had a blast in the pool. Unfortunately, rather than wearing them down before bed, it seemed to have energized them even more (thus the late bedtime). They were wonderful at the restaurant though and two people came over to our table and commented on how well-behaved our kids were. Yay us!!

One other thing. On our way from Toronto to Kingston, we noticed that at every overpass, there were lots of people dressed in red, holding Canadian flags. It finally dawned on us that there was a convoy on its way from Trenton with a dead soldier.

(On 24 August 2007, the Ministry of Transportation (MTO) announced that the stretch of Highway 401 from Glen Miller Road in Trenton, Ontario to Don Valley Parkway/Highway 404 in Toronto would bear the additional name "Highway of Heroes" in honour of Canada's fallen soldiers, notably those who have died on duty in Afghanistan. This stretch of the freeway is often travelled by a convoy of vehicles carrying a fallen soldier's body with his or her family from CFB
Trenton to the coroner's office in Toronto, at the Centre for Forensic Sciences.)

It saddened us, and I could hardly hold back the tears as we drove underneath each overpass. It touched me so much that people came out like this to honour our fallen soldiers.

Off to bed. I'm the last one up, which doesn't happen too often. I hope tomorrow goes well. There is an outlet mall involved!

Road trip: day 2 (part 1)

2008-09-11T22:01:00.000-04:00

After a really long day, we're in Hershey, PA. I have lots of pictures to post, but it's 10 pm and the boys are still awake. Spencer is crying and Finn is just not sleeping. I hope to post more tomorrow. Hopefully they'll sleep better tomorrow night.

Road trip: day 1

2008-09-10T23:06:00.000-04:00

Short day today. Drove for a whopping 3 hours to just past Kingston. Staying the night at Greg's parents' house. We're hoping to get up early and be on the road by 7am. Hahaha. Not likely (for people that know Greg!!)

Finn and Spencer loved the new DVD player, and were thrilled to watch Toy Story after napping. After supper, I took the boys down to the water front in the backyard. Both daredevils/rock climbers enjoyed the terrain. Me, not so much. I really didn't want to have to jump in the water after them!

Just a few pictures from today.

The boys with our travelling companion; Paddington. We're hoping to start a new family tradition of bringing him along with us for vacations.

Greg hard @ work

2008-08-16T17:27:00.000-04:00

Greg is working hard...playing a VIDEO GAME. No wonder he moved his office down to the basement!

Test

2008-08-16T16:32:00.000-04:00

Just a test.

What the heck is wrong with this country?

2008-07-18T21:03:00.000-04:00

I don't get it. As much as I love being a Canadian and living in Canada, we are a nation of push-overs.

It just doesn't make sense to me that a convicted terrorist who was ordered to be deported in 1988 is still living here, but the college-graduate whom we'd like to hire as a nanny for our two boys may be denied a work permit due to the fact that she hasn't worked full-time for 1 year as a caregiver. I don't get it.

Vote for Spencer (only if you want to)

2008-07-07T21:41:00.000-04:00

I've entered Spencer in to a local photo contest. He's not doing very well in the vote department. If you want to go and help him out, please feel free. However, it's one of those annoying sites that requires you to register in order to vote. You can opt out of receiving emails from them, but if you don't want to sign-up, then I completely understand!

Here's the picture I've entered, so scroll down and down and down until you find him! Click here if you're game!

Artist or Criminal?

2008-07-04T17:56:00.000-04:00

I completely forgot about these photos. I found them today while I was looking for something else. A few months ago, I was getting ready to renew my roll of white seemless paper because it was getting dirty and slightly torn.

I figured it would make a great canvas for Finn to fingerpaint on, so we took out his paints and I set him free. He had a great time, and after he was finished, I attempted to get a shot of him holding out his hands so they would be in focus and the rest of him would be blurry. The only problem is that it kind of looks like he has blood on his hands!

Canada turns 141

2008-07-02T15:03:00.000-04:00

Yesterday was Canada's 141st birthday. The boys celebrated, along with thousands of others at a local park. The weather was perfect, and the boys had fun.
I finally managed to do something that I'd wanted to do for a long time. I've never taken pictures of fireworks before, so last night I loaded my camera and tripod into the car, and headed out. It took me a long time to find a parking spot, and my trek to the site was also very time-consuming. Thankfully I found a great spot to set up.
Here are some of the results.

1,000,000 pennies

2008-06-10T18:42:00.000-04:00

I think I will picking up pennies more often now when I see them on the sidewalk. You never know when something like this will happen again.

http://www.thestar.com/News/GTA/article/440598

Holy Genetically Modified Food, Batman!

2008-06-05T15:32:00.000-04:00

Costco is a big store. They sell a lot of stuff. And most of their stuff come in big containers. Huge boxes of cereal, giant containers of mayo, etc. Lately I've notice the individual specimens of food are larger than normal as well. Big steaks, large bananas, and huge strawberries and potatoes.

Just look at these things. This potato was enormous. Seriously, I only had to peel this one and one other potato for a meal, and we had leftover. For reference, I've taken a photo of it next to my shoe. I wear a ladies 8.

And then there is this strawberry. It was delicious, but Greg and I were a little afraid to eat it. What the heck did they inject it with? Some sort of steroid or growth hormone? Thought I'd take a picture of it in a carton of extra-large eggs. 18 pack. From Costco.

Time to invest in some sliding shorts

2008-06-04T08:57:00.000-04:00

Yesterday's double-header was not so good. Unfortunately, we lost both games, but at least the first one wasn't a complete blow-out. We where mercied in the second, as the score was 15-1 by the 3rd inning.

The first game was a lot of fun though. We got a few runs, and I made some good plays at third base. I also hit quite well, but never managed to make it past first base. I attempted to get on second, however my uber-graceful slide just wasn't enough. So I was out, and all I have to show for it is a scratched up lower leg and a whole lot of skin missing from my upper thigh/butt area. It was really hard to sleep last night, and I have no idea how I'm going to make it through the day with pants on. I'd post a photo, but I don't think people really want to see a bad case of road rash on a big, swollen leg!

I am, however, very happy with this self-portrait I took yesterday. I was not very happy with the current one that I have on my photography site, so I tried to take a few more. This was the best of the bunch. It really shows my wrinkles though. Maybe I shouldn't have sharpened it so much in Photoshop!!

Basketball

2008-05-29T16:10:00.000-04:00

Greg finally has his basketball net set up in the driveway. On his lunchbreaks he's been heading outside to shoot a few hoops. I joined him today, and he said that I was better than he thought I'd be. I don't know whether or not to take that as a compliment or an insult!

I love this picture for some reason. I was holding up the post while he was assembling the net, and I looked down and saw this. I told him he'd have to hold on while I went and grabbed the camera. He rolled his eyes and told me to hurry up!!

I found a few more 4-leaf clovers yesterday while I was outside with the boys. Numbers 4 and 5 of the season. I'm happy that I still haven't lost my touch!

Wheels!!

2008-05-29T09:48:00.000-04:00

We are so happy that spring is finally here. It is so nice to be able to get outside everyday. Finn has been riding his bike everyday, and has finally gotten the hang of it. He is so proud of himself, and Greg and I are proud of him too!He's also pretty good on his rollerblades. He tried them on for the first time yesterday, and I was impressed at how well he did.

I almost forgot about Spencer! This tractor was a gift from Grandpa to Finley 2 Christmases ago. Spencer now LOVES it, and won't let Finn go on it anymore (which is kind of good as it is now too small for Finn!)

A few hours at a beach

2008-05-18T09:33:00.000-04:00

Greg showed me a cool feature on Google maps the other day. People can now submit photos that they've taken at various locations and put them on the map. I was looking at some photos taken in my local area, and found a neat-looking beach.

On Friday I loaded the boys in the van, and we went. There was a very cute marina, a nice waterfront and a great playground! Of course I took my camera, and both boys were someone willing to have their photos taken. Finn was obsessed with throwing rocks into the water, and Spencer found quite a few cigarette butts, dirt and rocks to taste.

It was a tad chilly out, but we had a great time and will be going back soon!

Cookies, tulips and a happy boy.

2008-05-07T21:54:00.000-04:00

I tried another recipe a few days ago. Its rating on allrecipes.com, was 4.5/5 star with 3,859 reviews. I was expecting heaven. Unfortunately, I was disappointed. They were much greasier than I would have liked, and they were WAY too sweet. I may try it again, but I'd cut back on the butter, chocolate chips, and pudding mix.
We have tulips in our backyard. Greg pointed them out to me today, and it was a pleasant surprise, as we weren't here last year at this time. While the boys were napping I grabbed the camera and attempted a little photoshoot with the flowers.

Spencer is once again happy. After his latest episode of teething (which saw 4 new teeth come in at the same time), he's once again a happy, smiling boy. Here's my happy boy!

It's BEER, mom

2008-05-05T18:52:00.000-04:00

Today, Finn came up to me holding a sippy cup, and had a sour look on his face.

Finn: Mom, what's in here?

Me (seeing the look on his face): Oh, probably sour milk

Finn: No, it's beer.

Me: I highly doubt it's beer Finn.

Finn (handing me the cup): It's BEER, mom.

I open up the lid and sniff it. Well, it wasn't beer, but it was fermented apple juice. Which smelled a LOT like wine, which I guess in the mind of a 3 year old is the same thing as beer. I wonder if I should be concerned that he knows what beer is?

In other news, Spencer is officially walking (thanks, Dorie!). He's been puttering around for the last couple of weeks...a few steps here, a couple of steps there. But a few days ago I was finally able to catch him in the act. Here's a little clip:

I'm now proud to say that he's on two feet most of the time, and tying to keep up with his older brother!

Yes, I've changed it again.

2008-04-30T23:48:00.000-04:00

I was bored this evening. Greg took over the tv because he bought Grand Theft Auto 4 (which I'll admit is actually fun to watch). So, I attempted to make a new banner. Then after the new banner was done, I had to change the colours.

Voila. It looks different!

Faster. FASTER!

2008-04-27T22:08:00.000-04:00

We received this bicycle wagon last year as a gift from Greg's coworkers. I finally set it up today and took the boys for a spin. They LOVED it. Well, ok. Finn loved it. Spencer was so-so. Since my bike is still not in working order, I had to use Greg's bike with has the most uncomfortable seat EVER. We didn't go far, but Finn had a taste of speed and was going crazy, yelling "faster mommy, FASTER" and when I wanted to coast for a few seconds so that I could catch my breath, he yelled "no, keep pedalling." So I did. "Ok, that's better. Good girl."

Needless to say I am dreadfully out of shape. Greg expressed interest in coming out each evening for a bike ride, so that means I either have to get my bike fixed (which I'd prefer) or I have to get a new one. However I wouldn't mind spending some $$ if it means that Greg will get off his a$$ and away from his computer for a little while each day!

And yes, Spencer's knees really are that dirty. Crawling in the dirt will do that to knees.

Best. Meatloaf. Ever.

2008-04-21T07:58:00.000-04:00

This is a wonderful recipe. I found it on allrecipes.com. The only change I made was that instead of using bread, I used 1 cup of breadcrumbs.

INGREDIENTS
1/2 cup ketchup
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup lemon juice, divided
1 teaspoon mustard powder
2 pounds ground beef
3 slices bread, broken up into small pieces (or 1 cup breadcrumbs)
1/4 cup chopped onion
1 egg, beaten
1 teaspoon beef bouillon granules

DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
In a small bowl, combine the ketchup, brown sugar, 1 tablespoon lemon juice and mustard powder.
In a separate large bowl, combine the ground beef, bread, onion, egg, bouillon, remaining lemon juice and 1/3 of the ketchup mixture from the small bowl. Mix this well and place in a 5x9 inch loaf pan.
Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 1 hour, drain any excess fat, coat with remaining ketchup mixture and bake for 10 more minutes.

It was DELICIOUS, and both Finn and Spencer had seconds. Which is very unusual (especially from Spencer because he has been super picky lately).

Nothing much

2008-04-17T08:35:00.000-04:00

Today Greg and I are going shopping for a used minivan. Much to Greg's dismay, we will soon be the proud owners of a true family vehicle!

If we weren't expecting to get an au pair, then we wouldn't need a van, however as soon as we turn Spencer around to front-facing, even the slimmest of au pairs would not be able to wedge herself in between the two carseats in the Volvo.

It was such a beautiful day out yesterday. I popped Spencer in the backpack carrier and raked the front lawn. It looks much better, although the grass is still quite brown. There were a few flowers out and it really reinforced the fact that SPRING is finally here! Finn played with his trucks outside while I raked, and he also helped me out a bit. Spencer then went down for a nap, and I let Finn watch Thomas the Tank Engine. Either Finn found this very boring, or he was just pooped from being outside. This is how I found him about 20 minutes later (and he only ever falls asleep in his bed or in the car).

And here is Sumsy, from Bob the Builder. He looked so cute sitting on the floor yesterday morning. Yes, I know it's just a toy, but it's like he was just waiting for Finn to play with him!

Spencer visits the ER

2008-04-16T11:54:00.000-04:00

Saturday evening Spencer started feeling really warm. On Sunday morning he woke up red and irritable and cranky and really warm. He responded well to Advil and Tylenol, but the fever just kept returning. On Sunday and Monday his fever was between 104 and 106. Then on Monday night I heard him whimpering and shaking and he just didn't like "right." I gave him some Advil and then took him to the hospital where we waited. And waited. And waited.

We were finally seen by a doctor, and wouldn't you know it, the Advil had kicked in and he was good as new! There was no sign of ear infection, or chest infection. He's now on the mend. Still a little crabby, but feeling better.

Not the best pics because they were taken with my cell phone. I kept it turned off most of time, but I couldn't help but break the rules a few times because he just looked so cute!

He was feeling better at this point. He kept putting his money in his teeth, smiling and shaking it around. This cracked him up. I felt a little silly having a laughing, smiley boy in the ER!

Still Looking

2008-03-30T16:11:00.000-04:00

Well, the au pair from France that we were in contact can't come to Canada until February 2009. Which is a bit later than we were wanting, so we have to start looking again. We're now with an agency, so hopefully they will be able to the grunt work for us, and we can just yay or nay the candidates.

I am really looking forward to having some help, as I've been spoiled for the last two weeks because my mom has been here visiting. It's amazing what I can get done when I don't have to worry about whether Spencer is getting into trouble or Finn is making a huge mess somewhere!

Arg...when will the sickness end?

2008-03-13T22:32:00.000-04:00

It's been crazy here. Spencer was sick with a cold, and then Finn caught a flu bug or something that didn't agree with this stomach. He threw up almost non-stop for about 12 hours, and then on and off for 3 days. He lost 2 lbs, which is a lot for someone who weighs 34 lbs! During this time I was sick with digestive issues of my own, and then Finn caught Spencer's cold. It's not pleasant to have a 3 year old with a constant stream of bright green boogers coming out of his nose. Thankfully he knows enough to let me know, and he rarely wiped it on his sleeve. Greg was also sick for 3 days. He's not a pleasant person to be around when he's sick, and he hates throwing up. Thank goodness he's feeling better now. Finally, I have caught the cold that Finn and Spencer had. I hope once this is over with it'll be it for the season. NO MORE COLDS OR SNOW until November.

On a more positive note, my dad made it in to town safely, and has been working non-stop at fixing up the guest room. In August or September it will become the au pair's room. We are currently looking for a French-speaking nanny to join our family. We have been in contact with someone from France. She will be making her decision at the end of the month, and I really am hoping that she picks us! I feel like this is a compition between us and the 3 or 4 other families she has been considering.

The party we are having to celebrate Spencer's 1st and Finn's 3rd birthdays happens on Saturday. I still haven't decided what to serve. I'm thinking chili and samosas and pizza. And Tums/Rolaids for dessert!! Finn picked out a wonderful-looking construction site cake, and hopefully he'll like it. He was quite dissappointed when we went to the store to order it, but couldn't take it home with us. He just didn't get it!

Here is a picture of my dad and Spencer from today. This is one of my new favourite shots of them. I did attempt to take some of him older both Finn and Spencer, but it was hard to get them all looking at the camera at the same time. I will try again before he leaves on Sunday.

My Little Pony

2008-03-12T17:10:00.000-04:00

My Little Ponies are back (or maybe they never really left?) Anyway, I bought one as a birthday gift the other day. As I was wrapping it, I looked at the back, and noticed there are 4 different Ponies in this series. Their names are Triple Treat, Strawberry Swirl, Tropical Surprise, and Royal Bouquet.

Now is it just me, or do the names Triple Treat and Tropical Surprise sound like stripper names?

A bit behind

2008-03-11T21:27:00.000-04:00

Ok, so maybe it's more than a bit, but I will catch up. Once the weather improves, I'll start doing some more photo project work. I miss doing it, so maybe I'll do two per week starting soon.

Finn turns 3

2008-03-11T20:42:00.000-04:00

Today was Finn's 3rd birthday. We didn't have a party for him today (it's on Saturday) but he did get a few gifts.

Here he is in his new Chris Bosh jersey, and also with his button (thanks Cassie!)

Happy Birthday, Spencer!

2008-02-12T11:16:00.000-05:00

At 7:43 am this morning, Spencer officially turned one year old!

Unfortunately I didn't get one done right after he was born, and I was away in June and the couch was packed up in July because we were moving, but you get the idea!

And here are a few shots from his official one year birthday shoot that I did yesterday with him. He started to get a little tired of it all!

I love my camera

2008-02-08T21:39:00.000-05:00

I love my camera. I really do. I still don't "know" it like I should, but I'm learning. Or at least I'm trying too. I've been shooting a lot recently. Different things to see what I can do. Here are a few (ok, a lot) of recent shots.

Finn and Spencer. Nothing short of a bribe of chocolate or some other forbidden treat will get Finn to pose!

I set up my tripod today and opened the window. Thankfully it was pretty warm out (hence the melting icicles). It harder than I thought it would be to catch the drops as they fell! I have wanted a pair of these boots for quite some time. They arrived today! I'm so excited, but can't really wear them yet because it's too icky and slushy outside. I've been wearing them around the house though, and they are soooo comfortable!
This is for Julie! I'm a bit late with the picture, but I hope you like it! And last but not least, my two attempts at a moody self-portrait.

Word 5 - Abundance

2008-02-04T16:28:00.000-05:00

Once again, I didn't have to go far for this weeks' word. Mother Nature reminded us that there it is still winter. Thank goodness for the snowblower. It would have taken us hours to shovel the driveway by hand!

Cute little quarter back

2008-01-29T11:04:00.000-05:00

I just love this picture of Spencer. He's on the go so much these days (not walking yet though) and by giving him the football, I was actually able to get him to stay in one place long enough that I could take his picture!

Word 4 - Innocence

2008-01-29T08:58:00.000-05:00

I've struggled a bith with a word this week (thus my being two days late). I've been feeling uninspired and unhappy with my selection of photos to choose from.

This is the closest I could find to portray innocence. A child colouring with crayons from a brand new box!

Dr. Phil's secret identity & an interview with Mr. Cheese

2008-01-22T19:44:00.000-05:00

Dr. Phil has a secret. Aparently, Dr. Phil really isn't who he says he is. Finn is convinced that he is none other than Farmer Pickles from Bob the Builder!He (Finn, not Dr. Phil) has been working his best "cheese" face for the camera. So now, instead of running away from me when I want to take his picture, he gives me this face:

And last but not least, here is an interview with Mr. Cheese! And yes, I will admit, I do bribe him with treats and chocolate at times!!

Up close and personal

2008-01-20T20:10:00.000-05:00

Kids can be a challenge to photograph. Flowers, on the other hand, are wonderful. Especially when they're indoors! I've discovered that I love to photograph flowers. Someday I would love to get a proper macro lens, however I will have to make do with that I have for the time being! I'm looking forward to spring and summer so that I don't have to go and buy flowers.

On the move and standing still

2008-01-20T17:20:00.000-05:00

For a very long time, Spencer was doing the army shuffle. He refused to crawl like a real baby. Instead, he'd basically scoot on his stomach to wherever he wanted to go.

Finally a few weeks ago, he started to crawl on his hands and knees. Now instead of his entire front getting dirty and dusty, only his knees show signs of dirt. Hooray!

He's also begun to stand on his own. His record so far is about 10 seconds (he was quite proud of himself).

Mika

2008-01-18T20:20:00.000-05:00

Mika.

You bark too much.

You're great with the boys.

You protect us and our house.

As much as you annoy me, you're wonderful.

Word 3 - Serenity

2008-01-18T16:23:00.000-05:00

Care to guess what this is??

Nothing like a roll of masking tape and a medicine dropper full of water to create the picture of serenity, is there?

Word 2 - Confusion

2008-01-13T20:58:00.000-05:00

Even though the weather has been a little warm for this time of year, it's still not condusive to going out and about. So, this weeks' photo was also taken at home.

Here is Greg, in a confused state. To save money, he decided to install his satellite radio himself. He pulled off some of the dashboard and had to wire some sort of device into it. This photo was taken just before he took the cover off of the stereo. Thankfully, he was able to do it properly and everything works!

Have $2000 to spare?

2008-01-10T21:06:00.000-05:00

I saw this bed today at Costco. I so badly want to buy two of them. I'm not sure where we'd store them until the boys could use them, but I'd be willing to lose a bit of living space just so that we could have them.

The problem is, that they're $839.00 each. :-(

Come join the Dunder Mifflin Infinity Waterloo Branch

2008-01-09T15:57:00.000-05:00

Why wait until new episodes of The Office are available? Don't let striking writers get you down. Come joing us at DMI Waterloo.

http://www.dundermifflininfinity.com/

Click on Apply Now and select the Waterloo, IA branch.

Do it.

Now.

Please.

Word 1 - Beauty

2008-01-06T22:06:00.000-05:00

This may seem like an odd choice for the "beauty" theme. I, however chose this because it is indeed a beautiful tomato. Seriously, this was the tastiest tomato I'd ever eaten. If you like tomatoes, try to find a store that sells these. You won't be disappointed!

To learn more about the Ugly Ripe Tomato from Santa Sweets, click here.

It's almost time!

2007-12-31T11:51:00.000-05:00

I'm pretty excited! Thank you to everyone who posted and emailed me your suggestions. I now have a wonderfully long list of words to choose from. And I get to start tomorrow...stay tuned...

Christmas went well. The boys had fun, and Finn was pretty excited. We put out some milk and cookies for Santa, and of course the next morning they were gone. All Finn could talk about for the next few days was that Santa ate the cookies and drank the milk! The magic of Christmas has started, and I'm hoping he and Spencer will believe for quite a few years to come. It's so much fun!

Can you think of a word?

2007-12-18T21:28:00.000-05:00

I'm planning a photo project for 2008, and I need your help. I need suggestions on what to photograph...so if you could give me ideas, that would be great. They should be one-word ideas...such as "love" or "fear", "pink" or "small."

I'd like to do at least a picture per week, and that means I need a lot of words. I'm planning a January 1st start date, so start suggesting! Each photograph will be posted on this blog, so if you want to see if your word has been photographed, be sure to check back often!

Please leave me a comment with your suggestion. Don't worry about leaving your name if you don't want to...but I'd really appreciate your help.

Thank you!

It's snowing!!

2007-12-16T09:02:00.000-05:00

Yikes! It's been a while. Over a month. Yes, I am a slacker.

It's snowing here. We had a mini-snowstorm a few weekends ago, and the snow never left. Which is unusual for here. They are calling for 20-25 cm here, and though I doubted them yesterday, looking at it outside now, I believe them.

This being the month of December, Greg and I have attempted to get into the Christmas spirit by decorating the house. Greg had the lucky task of putting the lights on the exterior of the house. He actually ended up doing it twice because the hooks he used the first time sucked and the entire string of lights fell down one night!

Finn and I put up and decortate the tree. Both he and Spencer love the lights, and they're both leaving the tree alone, which is nothing short of a miracle!

Mid-November?

2007-11-12T22:36:00.000-05:00

Can you believe it's almost the middle of November already? Lately the time has just been flying by. I can't believe we've been in this house for 5 months already. And I'm STILL using a 2-burner hotplate, microwave, and large toaster oven to cook.

I can't wait until it's done. Greg has been working non-stop. I know he's getting burnt out. I feel so bad for him, because he's been working at his "real" job as well as doing the kitchen (and he's been doing a great job too).

On a side-note, here's a picture I took today. It was foggy and raining, and as much as I dislike spiders, their webs can be beautiful.

Itchy bum?

2007-11-06T15:11:00.000-05:00

Spencer is odd. I love him dearly, but he is still odd! He has a new favourite toy. The batteries are almost dead (thank goodness) but he doesn't really care. I'm not sure if he has an itch or if he's working out by using it as a piece of gym equipment!

Yay!

2007-11-02T21:23:00.000-04:00

Yesterday was the deadline for the seller to respond to my claim regarding the cell phone. He did not response by yesterday, and so this evening, I received a nice email from PayPal.

We have concluded our investigation into your case and have decided in your favor

Yay!! I won. I won. I won! I've received a partial credit so far, and I should receive the rest within 5 business days. Let's hope they are able to recover the rest soon.

Trick or Treat

2007-10-31T21:11:00.000-04:00

Yay, it's Halloween!

I took Finley and Spencer to the office today. It was good fun, and Finn left there with chocolate on his face, his pockets stuffed with treat-sized boxes of goodies, and more in my diaper bag.

Needless to say, he didn't nap much today. I did finally convince him to sleep by saying that if he didn't nap he wouldn't be going trick-or-treating!

He did much better than I thought he'd do. It took a little prompting for him to actually say "trick or treat" but he said it at each house, and he even said "thank you" each time too. After the first house he couldn't belive his luck...CANDY. People were giving him stuff. We went to about 8 houses, and then headed home. Unfortunately, since Greg and I both went with him, we missed the rush of kids coming to our place, and now we have way too many leftovers (not that Greg minds at all).

Ebay

2007-10-24T19:05:00.000-04:00

Well, I'm still waiting to see what if the good people at PayPal will decide in my favour or what. From the last note on the claim file I'm (causiously) starting to think that maybe they will tell the seller to either send me a new phone or refund my money. He has until November 1st to make a decision. If he doesn't reply by then, PayPal will rule in my favour.

I did send him an email apologizing for making it seem like I was blaming him. I guess things didn't come out correctly when I first sent him a message. Really though, can you blame me? I'd just received an EMPTY box in the mail. What was I supposed to do? Be nice and understanding about it?

Speaking of ebay, I found this video the other day. I've been a Weird "Al" Yankovic fan for a long time (call me strange), but his parodies have made made me laugh.

Stickers and a Garbage Truck

2007-10-21T11:31:00.000-04:00

Finally. After months and months and months of frustration, Finn actually sat on his potty, and peed in it. Yesterday morning, his diaper was dry when he woke up. So, I put him on the potty, and lo and behold, he went. Woo hoo!

About a month ago, I'd promised him a fire truck the first time he had potty success. So, after his gymnastic class, we drove to Toys R Us and he picked out a truck. He opted for a garbage truck instead of a fire truck, and he loves it. I picked up some stickers for next time. I figured it could get a little expensive and time consuming to be picking up a new truck he time he pees!

This morning the same thing happened. I really hope this continues. It may very well be two fluke mornings in a row, but at this point I'll celebrate any victory!