halloween 2012

this year halloween has been pretty low key.  partly due to our little wee elephant and partly due to the weather.  we didn't even carve our pumpkins because they frozen.  this would've been liam's first year going out door to door but unfortunately mother nature didn't co-operate.  it was minus 7 degrees celsius and wind chill.  no thank you.  so instead we opted for the un-traditional trick or treating at the mall in the morning.  seems a bunch of moms had the same idea, it was packed.

even though it wasn't "real" trick or treating it was perfect for our little dragon.  kind of eased him into this whole halloween/candy/trick or treat thing and it meant not wearing a snowsuit.   once he got going he was all smiles and totally excited for his candy.  i think it helped that we were with some of our friends too.

maybe next year the mother nature will be more inclined to have fall weather

instead of bringing us an early winter.

here's a look at halloween 2011.

don't eat the paint

as the weather begins to change ... or rather sudden changes into a winter wonderland, i've attempted to make sure that liam and i are doing more than watching movies and playing cars.  this is pretty easy when the kid loves to play with playdough and would paint all day if i let him.  as much as i'd love to let him run around outside in the snowy mud pit we have for a yard, don't see that happening.  we do try to get out of the house at least once a day, for a walk, to get groceries (um yeah this one is fun huh), or a play date.  but that only takes up so much of the day.  i've quickly learned that if liam is busy and i'm as involved as i can be with an almost two month old, then we've far less tantrums or time-outs.  seriously this is awesome.  i think we have gone from two time-outs a day to maybe one every couple days.  i knew things would get easier.  i knew it!

so the other day liam and i were having one of our afternoon craft sessions.  this time he decided to paint of course.  he gets beyond excited every time i bring out the paints.  he starts flapping his arms and giggles and absolutely must help get every thing out.  it makes me unbelievably happy to see him so excited about something.  anyways i always remind him that we don't eat paint.  because what two year old doesn't contemplate the idea of eating paint?  "okay mommy."  so we paint.  i'm sitting right beside him painting him a picture and didn't really realize that it was amazingly quiet.  look up and where is the paint brush?  in liam's mouth with a mixture of paint and saliva drooling down is chin.  "mommy i eat paint" and smiles.  good news:  paint we're using is soy based and all natural.  at first i did the mom thing  "liam we don't eat paint!", got a cloth and wiped out his mouth, that he was now realizing didn't taste very good.  then i had a good laugh.  he's two.  maybe he was curious about why we don't eat paint.  maybe mommy doesn't know what she's talking about.  he's gotta' check this out for himself.  whatever.  what a guy, i love this kid.  : )

life {lately} according to iphone ~ v.3

so apparently i'm only going to blog a couple times a week and it'll be about food or pictures from my iphone.  pretty sucky i know.  but to be fair we've been under the weather here, on two accounts.  first, ummmm what the hell mother nature??  it's still october and we're looking more like the middle of january.  it's been snowing pretty much everyday for the last week.  what happened to fall?  second, both liam and i got slammed with a nasty flu bug.  liam had the full version of the virus.  fever leading to puking leading to snotty nose and bad ass cough.  i had the light version which consisted of fever and puking for twenty-four hours.  lovely i know.  i do have a bunch of posts that are sort of half finished.  we'll get to them eventually, but for now we're hibernating and focusing on getting healthy.

our thoughts and prayers go out to everyone

on the east coast braving the storm.

for the love of fall ~ pumpkin chocolate chip brownies

it's definitely no secret that fall is my favourite season.  unfortunately for us it seems to have been cut a little short this year.  we got our first major dump of snow this week.  i'm pretty sure that mother nature got her dates wrong because usually this doesn't show up until mid november.  it's really looking like we'll have a snowy halloween this year.  oh well, i have refused to let the snow take away my love of fall.  there is still an abundance of pumpkin in our house so i took advantage of it and whipped up a batch of these brownies.  found the recipe on pinterest and they are delicious.  pumpkin? chocolate?  how could this be a bad combination??

i am proud to say that i am finally starting to make, bake and create some of the things i've pinned.  i find all of these things i want to try and until now, being on maternity leave, haven't really had time to do.  as an added bonus, liam loves to to be in the kitchen and "help mommy make." so this is a no brainer.  we've had some pretty good dinners and baked goodies lately thanks to pinterest.   and looking to many many more.  i can't wait until the chirstmas season arrives.

these were gone in a matter of days.

ended up make another double batch as a result.

enjoy.

life {lately} according to iphone ~ v.2

um, okay so i didn't really mean to have a blog break but i guess that's what happens when you've got two little ones occupying all your time.   we've been doing our thing over the last couple weeks.  here's  a quick look at life lately.

happy monday

favourite things ~ first month

getting prepared for baby number two was quite a bit easier than it was for baby number one.  namely because we've been there done that.  and let's face it, things get easier with experience.  having gone through the "first month" before, i knew that there were definitely a few things that made life just a little easier for both me and baby.

blanket in the nursery ~ this is a must for those late night nursing sessions.  i usually try to throw on a sweater but sometimes it's missed in my sleepy walk to the nursery.  i found a super soft throw blanket at bouclair and love it.

bouncy chair ~ this is super handy to have around, especially for those moments when you need to put baby down for a minute so you can actually go pee.  we have this version, given to us by friends and it's awesome.  liam loves playing with it too.  he turns the music on and off for averie, to "help baby sleep."

swing ~  having a swing on our main floor is an absolute must for us.  averie usually has her afternoon snooze in it and liam was exactly the same.  it is also one of the few things that helps to calm her down if she's being fussy (in combination with her soother).  both of my children love motion.  they instantly fall asleep in the car and it's the same in the swing.  love the fisher price ocean waters swing.

sling ~  this is how i wear my baby.  i tried a variety of slings and wraps when liam was a baby, but the hotsling was the best fit for me.  it grows with baby and within the first two weeks, averie was big enough to fit in it.  we took it for a test drive this week when we went grocery shopping ... just the two of us.  she slept through the entire trip.

nursing pads ~  i never needed these with liam, although i did buy them just in case.  with averie it's a whole different story.  my milk will often "let down" if i even think about feeding her.  so getting some good nursing pads was a definite must.  it's never okay to walk around town with two wet circles on your t-shirt.

lansinoh cream ~  this literally saved my nipples and my ability to breast feed with averie.  she did not latch very well at the beginning and i had two very sore and very cracked nipples.  even after we fixed our latch issue they were still very very excruciatingly painful for a few days.  not a fun experience.  however, using lansinoh helped to heal them quickly and provided some relief.  an absolute must for nursing mamas.  

sleep is also a very important part of the first month.  take it when you can.  it was something i didn't do very well when i was at home with liam, but this time 'round i'm all over the naps.  

show & tell ~ what if

monday again already?!?  today is thanksgiving for us here in canada, so it means eating us some turkey and having a long weekend.  love that we get another day with rob at home.  we've been making more progress on getting the house into a more organized state of affairs.  it's a slow process when you have a one month old and a toddler.  but we'll get there ... eventually.

decided to do becky's show and tell again this week.  who doesn't like playing the 'if game?'

1. if you could relive any memory in your life, what would it be, and what/if anything you would change about it?

i would have to say that it would have to be our honeymoon.  we spent ten days (including christmas and new years) in the maldives and then three days in singapore.  we were on a tiny island in the indian ocean with a bungalow to call home.  we spent our days lounging, scuba diving , snorkeling and sailing.  best vacation i've ever been on ... not to mention it was with my best friend.  wouldn't change anything.  

2.  if you could be any celebrity, show who you would be.

 

3.  if you won the lottery, would you take the lump sum or take the money over time, would you continue working or quit right away, would you reveal who you are, and what are some of the first things you would spend with your money?

i think i would take the lump sum ... in canada you don't have to pay tax on lottery winnings.  i would probably quit teaching so i could spend more time with my children and would most likely follow my other passion, interior design.  not sure if i would reveal who i was.  one of the first things i would spend the money on would be a vacation with our families and then travel, lots and lots of travel.  perhaps pack up the family and live abroad.

4.  if you could live anywhere, show where it would be and tell why.

paris.  i absolutely adore this city.  we spent four days here while backpacking through europe and i've had a desire to live there ever since.  the fashion, the coffee, the pastries, the museums, the food, the wine, the people.  everything.  j'adore paris.

5.  if you could have one magic power, what would it be and what would you do with it?

i think i'd want to slow time down.  enjoy all the moments in life ... well maybe not temper tantrums, but everything else.  things just move too quickly these days.

happy monday

one month new

our little girl is one month old.  i remember how fast things seemed to go with liam, but this passed month has really flown by quickly.  i feel like we just brought her home and yet i feel like she's been here always.  i love this girl to bits.  she has really made me feel like our family is now complete.

how are things around here?  well they are starting to get a little easier.  averie is starting to move towards some sort of predictable schedule.  we know that she gets fussy at night, particularly between seven and ten.  but this has been helped by the introduction of a soother.  this was life changing.  both of us went from crying messes because we couldn't help each other figure things out to complete calmness.  never occurred to me to give her a soother because liam flat out refused them.  she's started to show more of her personality, she's stubborn just like me.  and she's awake more during the day, this has made nights better.  we do a feed around eleven and around two and again around five-ish.

how's liam doing?  well he has his moments.  there are days i feel like i'm living with dr. jekyll and mr. hyde sometimes.  one minute he's totally fine and we're playing ... the next he's in complete meltdown mode.  i know it's just a phase and that this will eventually pass, but wow, does it ever make for long long long days.  we were hoping to transition him into his big boy bed this month, we may postpone it just to get him a little more settled into our new routine.  it's been a lot of change for our little dude.

month one highlights

week one

averie made her appearance; 7 lbs. 21"

first car ride home

met her older brother

met her grandparents and cousins

made it back to her birth weight by day five, she's a good eater

week two

first trip to the zoo

two week check up, already up to 7 lbs. 10 oz.

first shopping trip with mommy

moved into her crib in her own room

grabs liam's fingers and holds on, he just loves this 

week three

starting to wear "real" clothes, not just her jammies

she's awake more during the day and sleeping a little better at night

she no longer looks like a newborn, starting to look like a baby

averie coos and squeaks all the time, it's super cute
we learned that she likes soothers, what a difference its made

week four
attended her first wedding
had her first "camping" trip (we spent one night in the trailer)
wore her first dress
weighed in at 8 lbs. 5 oz. at her four week appointment
moved into size one diapers
saw her first snow storm (yup you read that one right, we got snow this week!)
tons and tons of smiles that are not gas induced
definitely more awake these days
went four hours between night time feeds this week (woo hoo)

for as hard as it can be sometimes, i keep reminding myself that i will never get these days back.
so enjoy them.
all of them.
even the sleep deprived and not so good ones.

life {lately} according to iphone ~ v.1

a few shots of life lately ... 

happy friday

quality time

i've been trying very hard to make sure i spend quality time with liam.  yes of course we play cars and watch movies together, but i really want to make sure that we try and do something "special" every day.  whether it's painting pictures of the fall leaves, playing with playdough and smashing everything mommy makes or spending time baking.  the latter is one of liam's favourite things to do.  he loves being in the kitchen.  and why wouldn't he.  this is one place where it is perfectly acceptable to be messy.  so when i suggested we make these cookies, he was all over it.  grabbed a chair, pushed it up to the island and situated himself, finn mc-missle and race car.   i've made these cookies before, but for some reason this time was a lot more fun.

i love spending time with my little dude.  these are some of the best moments of my day!!

show and tell ~ my favourites

i have been wanting to participate in one of becky's show and tell mondays for awhile.  just couldn't find the time to do it.  thankfully both of my lovely children are down for naps at the same time.  this is not a regular occurrence so don't mind me while i relish in my hour of freedom.  and of course, instead of doing the many productive things i need to do, i choose to blog.  meh.  the laundry will get folded and put away eventually.  i really like reading these and it's just fun to think about things other than all the day to day stuff.  so here we go ......


1.  tell us about your five favourite memories in your life.

first ~ the day my husband proposed.  we were backpacking through europe for the summer in 2006.  on my birthday we happened to be in paris and decided to do a day trip to versailles.  little did i know, he had my engagement ring in his pocket.  we had a wicked awesome day and the last thing we did was rent a row boat and row around the ponds starring at the gorgeous palace.  next thing i knew, rob was down on one knee (in the boat) asking me to be his wife.  best birthday ever, not to mention it was the official "beginning" of our life together.

second ~ the day we found out we were pregnant with our son liam.  we had been trying to get pregnant for a couple of months.  for some reason i just felt like i was pregnant the day i took the test.  i quickly went to the drug store to buy a pee stick and took the test right when i got home.  rob was on skype with his brother in copenhagen when i got the results.  i remember trying to convince him to call his brother back because "this is something very important."  (rob didn't know i had taken then test)  he came downstairs, slightly annoyed, but when he realized why i called him down he was beyond happy.  we called his brother back to share the news.  even to this day i smile every time i think about it.

third ~ the day liam was born.  he was almost three weeks early and was either going to come on his own or i was going to be induced as a result of high bp.  and on his own he came.  born at 7:30 in the morning, perfectly healthy.  this was the day our lives changed forever and forever better.

fourth ~ the day averie was born, not too long ago.  she showed up fashionably late and certainly made an entrance.  i only laboured for four hours and pushed her out in less than two minutes.  she was ready to make her entrance.  this was the day our family became complete.  i never knew i could have so much love (i know, i know super cheese-fest but totally true)

fifth ~  this one is a tie.  both memories are from trips rob and i have done together and involve scuba diving.  one would be my first open water dive while we were in the maldives.  and the other is diving with schools of hammerhead sharks in the galapagos islands.  both of these memories are pretty rad.


2.  show us three of your favourite beauty products.

first ~ l'oreal highlighting primer.  this stuff is amazing.  i generally don't wear a lot of makeup and with this primer i don't really have to.  its super lightweight and gives my face a nice "glow."

second ~ nars sheer lipstick in "damage."  this was recommended to me by one of my girlfriends.  i remember her saying that it was often the only makeup she would put on when running out of the house with two kids and she always felt awesome.  i totally agree, i love love love this lipstick.

third ~ mac eyeshadow in "motif."  by far my favourite.  although i haven't been wearing much in the makeup department over the last couple weeks, this is one of my staples when i'm working.


3.  tell us what your favourite tv shows are to watch.

in no particular order:  glee, sarah's house (on hgtv), saturday night live, boardwalk empire, what not to wear and top gear (the british version).


4.  show us two of your favourite pictures.

5.  tell us your favourite things to do during "me time."

me time?  i can dream right?  in a month or so i'm hoping that i'll have some time to hang out with my girlfriends, go on a date with my husband (i do count this as part of me time), drink a latte on my deck in peace and quite while actually reading a book that is not called the Prince's Bedtime (although it is a pretty good story), and maybe just maybe i can have an uninterrupted bath with a glass of wine.