Thursday, December 17, 2009

OMG!!!!



Yep, that's right! I am pregnant!

We decided a little while ago that we were ready to have another baby in our family - and it didn't take us very long to make that happen!

I am due on August 29, 2010!
I was quite shocked when I took the test, I really didn't think it would happen so quickly! We are both extremely happy and excited. We can't wait to meet our newest addition!

We plan on keeping it quite for another few weeks - we will probably be ready to tell everyon at the end of next month. So, this won't be posted until then!

Olympic torch

On Sunday morning, the torch came through Kanata.  Julien happened to be awake, so he and I, along with mom, went to Hazeldean road to await the run.  It was such a wonderful experience (cold, but still fun)

Here are a few pictures


My great aunt and uncle came for a visit (they live in BC). It's been a few years since we have seen them, and we really enjoyed it. Julien took  a shine to Aunt Billie right away


Sunday, December 6, 2009

100th post!

This is my 100th post!

Today is about Upper Canada Village. My mom and I headed there on Friday night with Julien and my niece. From November 28th to January 3rd, they have what they call "alight at night". They decorate the village in thousands of Christmas lights. It is absolutely beautiful.

We took a wagon ride around the town, and also a train ride along the grounds. We walked around the village and sang Christmas carols in the church. We all had fun, but seeing the wonderment in Julien's eyes, and how much fun he had with Alana - that is what made the trip for me.

I highly recommend that anyone near Morrisburg head over there to check it out.







Tuesday, December 1, 2009

christmas time fun

Last week Julien and I made tree ornaments. Today, we painted them. He had such a good time (got really messy, but that's part of the fun!)




Friday, November 27, 2009

The Christmas season is here

well, for me it is.

Today marks the start of a tradition my mom and I have.  I spend the weekend at her house, and we get as much of our Christmas baking done as we can.  All of our cookies, and a good start on our squares as well.

It doesn't go quite the same now with a toddler in tow, but we manage to work around him.  He loves to taste all of the goodies, and he manages to create quite the mess too - but it's fun.

Thursday, November 26, 2009

I won!

totally random and pointless post

I requested a song on the radio at lunch today. They have a contest with the lunchour show, and everyday they draw a winning name. Apparently, it was me today!

So, I will be picking up a $50.00 gift certificate to a local sports store!

Thank you Bob FM!

"ool", "ool"

That is how Julien says school.  I was filling out the paperwork to register him for nursery school last night, and he was curious as to what Iwas doing. So, I told him it was to get him signed up for nursery school.

He got really excited, yelling "ool", "ool", backpack, "ool", bus, backpack.  I had to tell him he wouldn't be taking a bus, but yes he would get to take his backpack with him when he went to nursery school. Little does he know that I will not be staying with him at school.....

Thursday, November 5, 2009

mmm- a little taste of heaven

who doesn't like gingerbread cookies? They are one of my all time favs - and so when I discovered the gingerbread latte I had to try it. Seriously, it's like liquid gingerbread cookie - I was amazed when I tried it, because I honestly thought it would be gross......

Sigh, if only Julien was awake I could go and get one now.......

It's a bird - It's a plane - no it's

Super Julien!

Jules was superman for halloween - he was so cute. He had a blast, wore his costume for most of the day too. We went to a play class in the morning, then to the local mall for some indoor trick or treating.  Came home, he napped (in his costume!) then  up and played for awhile. J went to the hockey game; so I took Julien to a few houses, but was back in time to hand out candy. When J got home, he took Julien up our street - I figured 15-20 minutes -nope, they were gone for an hour.

He had a blast; and he figured out where we hid his bag, so I had to change spots!

I will post pictures as soon as they are uploaded!




Wednesday, October 28, 2009

Race-car

Hubby came home with a racecar bed for Julien on Saturday. He was hoping that it might solve our bedtime drama.

It has helped a little - Julien now sleeps in his bed! He will fall asleep in there as long as I promise to rub his back. However, he still wakes up and crawls into bed with me in the middle of the night (I say me since J works nights right now)

Half the battle has been won - now on to getting him to start STTN again.....

Thursday, October 22, 2009

little people no longer

I withdrew Julien from his little people mornings class - I couldn't bear to take him another week. This week he spent probably 90% of the class crying - just not worth it to me since he isn't enjoying it.

He is however having a BLAST at tiny hoppers. We go to play classes there 4 times a week, and he really enjoys it.....hopefully this will help smooth the transition to nursery school come January!

Thursday, October 15, 2009

chick peas and chocolate chips - who woulda thought...

...it would actually taste good?

I bought Jessica Seinfeld's book - deceptively delicious - last year. I tried a few recipes and was NOT impressed (at all).

But, since Jules is a cookie monster, I thought I would give her choc. chip cookies a try. Not so much to get the extra fibre/protein into him - more so that if he is eating a cookie, it's at least somewhat "healthy".
So, tonight after his bath (bad timing - he was a mess) we gave them a try. Very easy to make (same amount of work as my regular recipe) and I was very pleasantly surprised.

The chick peas almost turn into a nutty texture/taste, so you barely notice them. The cookies themselves are not all that sweet either.

Wednesday, October 14, 2009

35 years of marriage!

Aunt Gail arriving solo


Uncle Bill arriving

Watching the slideshow
Dancing to their song





Tuesday, October 13, 2009

thanksgiving weekend

This weekend was interesting. Friday night my cousin threw a surprise anniversary party for her parents (35 years!). We had a great time. Also on friday, my mom found out that she fractured her foot - this actually happened about 3.5 weeks ago, she was just to stubborn to have it checked out. So, 5pm friday night my brother was driving around to places trying to find one open to give her an aircast. But, the cast didn't stop her from hitting the dance floor with her sisters!



Saturday, we spent the afternoon at the emergency room. Hubby sliced open his hand and needed stitches. Finding ways to entertain yourself can be quite the feat, but when you have a 2 year old in tow, it makes it so much worse. Julien and I spent the majority of time outside running in the trees - poor hubby, who hates needles, had to wait all by himself and was alone when the doc stitched him up.....

Sunday, J was not feeling to great - he decided to skip thanksgiving dinner at my moms. Dinner was great, the kids played outside in the leaves for ages.....

Monday - was a good day. J, Jules and I headed to the arboretum at the experimental farm. We walked around, took a stroll along the canal to the locks at Carleton U. Then headed to a chip wagon and home we came. Julien played on the laneway for a while (he was sweeping leaves under my car- I think he was trying to make a bed for tessa, the neighbours cat - we often find her sleeping under there)








Monday, September 28, 2009

house makeover

A few weeks ago I decided to redo our powder room, here are some pics:
Before (boardwalk from benjamin moore)


After ( grey mirrage from benjamin moore)












Project: bbb - update

so, project big boy bed is not going so well. He refuses to sleep in it, and has taken to sleeping on the floor of his room. I have put the transition on hold for now, and since he is staying in his room (with 3-5 walk backs from me) will leave it a little while longer.

I actually lay in his bed this morning and he ran over and cuddled with me, so this might be my next approach. Lie with him for 5 minutes (as I do now, but in the bed) and then when I would normally leave, hope he stays there...)

Monday, September 14, 2009

First class

His first play class (without me) was this morning. I dropped him off and waited in the lobby - 7minutes in I hear him screaming his head off - for 25 min. The instructor came out and told me, but said just to leave him (I know seeing me would make it worse) After that, he was fine. He was excited when he came out, but I could tell he was looking for me. When he saw me, he pulled me into the class because he wanted me to play with him.....We went outside and played on the structure for a little while, and then came home and he had a 2 hr nap.

Sunday, September 13, 2009

Little People Mornings

Julien starts his little people mornings class tomorrow. I am so excited for him. I take him to the community centre and drop him off (although I will stay in the lobby) and then he has an hour long play class with a group of kiddies his age and an instructor. I am really hoping it goes well - he has been going through seperation anxiety again - so I am starting to get a little nervous.


Wish us luck!

Thursday, September 10, 2009

p:bbb night 3

so last night he was up at 1am - and it took 2 hours of going back and forth every 15-20 minutes before he finally went back to bed....then up at 630 happy as can be!

Night 3:

bedtime routine starts, he follows as I go to turn off light. Tonight I was sitting just beyond the threshold of his door. 8 walkbacks, and 5 minutes of crying. He settles down, I slip into our room and go on computer. I hear him playing with his toothbrush (battery operated) then I hear another noise.....I walk down the hall, look in his room and his TB is on his bed, but he's not in his room - I hear the noise again, look in the bathroom - BUSTED- he is playing with his bath toys. Walk back, cry, out, walk back - I sit in the hall, he fusses, grabs book, moves to bed. a few minutes go by, I go back to computer - 10 minutes, out.....So, a little bit of a regression tonight (40 minutes in total) but not too bad.

Wednesday, September 9, 2009

P:BBB night 2

so last night he woke up twice. Both times when he saw me he got back in bed himself.!!!

Night 2:
bedtime routine, kiss goodnight he follows me as I get up to turn on the light. Walk him back to bed. He follows me again - walk him back again.I sat on the threshold of the door this time, and it took about 10 minutes and he was out. I was amazed, no crying, no fussing or complaining. He chatted to himself a while and then out.!!!!!

Tuesday, September 8, 2009

night 1

Julien is in bed - asleep.

We started a bedtime routine tonight - snack/pj's/teeth/bed/book - goodnight kiss.

After the kiss, when I got up to leave the room, he followed. I walked him back to bed. I sat in front of his door (open) with my back to him. He cried/fussed for 7-8 minutes. Then he tossed/turned for 7-10 min. I waited a few minutes, then left the room - he followed. As soon as I turned around, he walked back and got into bed. I sat in front of the door again, waited 6 minutes and he is still asleep in bed!!!!

I am not naive enough to believe it will be like this tomorrow....he may even wake up and take more to get back to bed tonight.....we will see.

Tomorrow night, I will be moving a few feet and sitting on the other side of the (open) doorway.

Project:

Big Boy Bed.

Tonight will be the first night that Julien sleeps in his big boy bed at home. I turned his crib into a toddler/day bed today - and now am anxiously awaiting bedtime. I have no idea what to expect. I have decided to use the supernanny technique if he won't stay in bed (constantly walking him back to his bed - no eye contact or talking) - I really hope it goes smoothy, but I am not working this week so decided it was the time to try it. That way, if I have a few sleepless nights, it won't really matter.

Please wish me luck - I will update in the morning.

Thursday, September 3, 2009

Congratulations

to my BFF (Jenn) and her hubby (Shawn) -

I am so excited that they are having a BABY!!!! The little one will be joining the world sometime in April!

YAY!!!

Congratulations!

Tuesday, September 1, 2009

pics from the past few weeks

hunting for pine cones with aunt bev
making s'mores

with uncle alan


cuddles with daddy



sleeping in his big boy bed (naptime)




cottage fun

Last week were able to join Aunt Bev at her cottage for a few days. Julien had loads of fun playing on the beach, around the cottage and he even learned something new: how to escape from his playpen.

His sleeping was uneventful the first night, and he slept through (thank goodness). For his nap the next day however, he realized that he could climb out of the playpen. This meant that he did not nap, got overtired and needed a car-ride at bedtime that night. I slept in the room and locked the door to make sure he didn't wander away from the cottage.

When we returned home, he learned how to climb out of his crib (at my moms place) so we promptly changed it to a toddler bed. This, however, makes nap/bed time quite difficult. He likes to fight sleep, and since he can escape (we made sure the room is toddler proofed) he tends to not go to sleep.....The crib we have at home is a much different style, and much more depth between the mattress and top rail - so he has not yet been able to make progress on it - but I have the bed rail all ready to go for when he does.

Pictures to come soon

Thursday, August 20, 2009

Thanks Mom!

My mom's the best - she really is such a terrific woman - I just love her to bits.

But right now, she is definitely at the top of my list! I have a horrible cold, an ear infection and just feel like crap.

She was watching Jules yesterday because I was supposed to work - but I just couldn't make it in. She did however still keep him so I could get some much needed rest. I went back last night and she told me to stay there (since hubby is working nights) so that she could help with Jules.

thanks mommy!

Tuesday, August 18, 2009

Monday, August 17, 2009

I've created a monster

a back-rub monster that is!

A few weeks ago, Julien was cutting a molar, and having a rough time at night. As any parent with a child teething knows, you'll do pretty much anything to get them to sleep. So, I started giving him back-rubs to get him down at night (and back down if he woke during the night). Well, it has now become a problem. He is no longer content with the 30sec - 1minute rub - one night last week it took over 15 minutes. I had started using the excuse "mommy needs a drink of water, I'll be right back" and then he would fall asleep - that quickly stopped working.

I have started back with a little CIO - I give him 3-5 minutes and if he is still screaming, I will head back in for another 2-3 minute back rub, and then out I go again. So far, it's working - I'm hoping to get back to the quick good night back rub - wish me luck

Friday, August 14, 2009

Summer Days

I ran into Kelly at bayshore today; she was heading over to her parents place for the afternoon, so told us to stop by after Jule's nap for a swim.

So, when he got up we headed over and spent the afternoon by the pool - it was awesome. I haven't had an afternoon like that since high school.

Thursday, August 13, 2009

tired mama

This mama decided that she would wait up until midnight to register Julien for his little people morning class (registration opens August 13). I managed to stay awake (barely) and headed online - only to find the server to busy for my request. Luckily, I did manage to get it done over the phone - and now off to bed.

good night

Tuesday, August 11, 2009

wonderful afternoon in the sun






This afternoon, after Julien woke up from his (very) short nap - I decided it would be nice to get outside. So, I got him dressed in his swimsuit, and into the backyard we went. I had filled his pool in the morning so that the sun would warm the water by the time he was using it; and I also hooked up his sprinkler (he never used it last year because it scared him) . We made a waterslide from his playstructure into the pool, and that seemed to be the biggest hit of the day. Unfortunately, we had to cut our afternoon play short since we had a quick rainstorm










sand on your feet

one of the many joys of having a sandbox on our deck is that our floor is constantly covered in sand. No matter how often I vaccuum (although, I admit, I don't as often as I should) it just seems to always be there - so, be warned - should you be a visitor in my house, either keep your shoes on, or be prepared for the grit.

Monday, August 10, 2009

trip to the "zoo"


We headed out to saunders country critters today with a friend and her 2 children. Here he is all ready to leave

and patiently waiting in the car on the drive


With one of the sheep at the zoo

We had a snack when we finished walking around, and then headed back home. Jules fell asleep about half way home, and is now napping quite peacefully!























Friday, August 7, 2009

the last few weeks

The last few weeks have been pretty busy, we had a play date with Lara and Marcus (swimming did not go so well again)


We had a wicked storm (lots of flooding in some areas - thankfully not ours) and ate our dinner in the garage so we could watch the rain/lightning - Julien enjoyed his dessert

....and playing in a bucket of rainwater/bubbles


My cousin Tyler and his family came up to visit for a few weeks; here is a picture of his 2 little girls with Julien at valleyview animal farm...they seemed to enjoy themselves!



His oldest daughter turned 2, and one of her presents was a fairy costume - which Julien wanted - here he is with the tiara and wand!
The next few weeks don't seem to be as busy as the past few. We are heading out to Saunders Critters next week with a friend and her 2 children, so that should be enjoyable.....and we are in the midst of getting quotes to have our laneway redone.....hopefully we can get it done in September.




Tuesday, July 21, 2009

14 years

Today marks the 14th anniversary of my fathers death. I can't believe it's been that long - I still remember in vivid detail the events that occurred on that day.

Julien, my mom and I went out to visit his grave this morning. It's such a peaceful and beautiful location - I really enjoy going out there.

Saturday, July 11, 2009

Julien's birthday cake

I am quite pleased with how the cake turned out - here is a picture:

ETA: I ended up making the red icing, it just took a LOT of food color

Friday, July 10, 2009

latest cake

My cousin is hosting a bachelorette party for a friend of hers, and asked if I could make a cake for it. So, here is the final result.


It's a chocolate cake with Kahlua filling:


Saturday, July 4, 2009

Happy birthday Julien!

I can't believe that 2 years have gone by already. It seems like just yesterday - they really do grow up in the blink of an eye.

Julien received 2 early birthday presents this week. A shape sorting clock from Betty Ann and David; and a geotrax set from Shawn and Jenn. Thank you all so much! He really enjoys his play time. I have a few pictures that are not uploaded yet, but I will post when they are.

Jules is having a short nap before the birthday celebration begins. Our families are coming by in about an hour for coffee and cake - and a rare occurence, Julien gets to see his Godfather!

Sunday, June 28, 2009

adventures in cake making/decorating

I have decided to make Julien a fire truck for his 2nd birthday cake. However, I am having no luck creating a red frosting. Everthing I try is ending up gross looking.....ahhhh


I have decided to resort to buying premade tinted frosting from artistic (well, hopefully - the website says they sell it....I will check tomorrow)


This is what I am aiming for