One day last week I needed to get something from the storage area in the basement. It had been a few weeks since I had been back there, so when I opened the door I was not prepared for what I saw.
I will start off by telling you that my hubby likes to decorate for Halloween. As the kids have gotten older, he has gotten more excited because we can get spookier decorations. I must say, I was very surprised when he started getting into Halloween. When we were first dating, he would sit in the basement at his parents while they answered the door to trick or treaters.
When we first moved out, he would stay in the tv room (which is upstairs) and get annoyed by all the doorbell ringing while I handled giving out the candy. Once Mr. J came along, he was excited by the prospect of taking him trick or treating, and the enthusiasm for Halloween has grown more and more every year.
As soon as he found out Spirit Halloween was open, he and Mr. J went to check out what they had. A week or so later, they went through all the stuff we had from previous years, and what they had purchased this year as well.
So, on the day I went into the storage room, as I said above, I just wasn't prepared for what was waiting on the other side
This life sized witch on a swing, hanging from a shelf. It is immediately in front of the door, so the first thing you see when you open it. I screamed and probably lost 10 years of my life when it happened.
I know I keep saying how much fun we had this summer, but it is true. We had a great time together and did so much fun stuff. I have a lot of photos from the summer break, and I decided to do a picture post to share some of my favourites!
Our first week of Summer kicked off with a Canada Day bbq and fireworks with neighbours. Next up was Mr. J's birthday party. We continued into the week with strawberry picking and a stay at The Brookstreet Hotel.
Middle of the summer had the 21st anniversary of my fathers death (which meant a trip to the graveyard and ice cream), a visit to the Canadian Museum of Nature, mini putting and another bbq with neighbours.
We spent an awful lot of time at the pool this summer. These are just a few of the shots I took during our many visits.
End of summer brought Mr. K's birthday and an Ottawa Fury FC game, we took a trip to Upper Canada Village and I bought a new car!
These aren't the only memories or pictures, but they are some of my favourites.
The first week of school is behind us, and we are starting to settle into a routine. Last week was pretty busy, so I haven't quite felt the difference of being at home without the kids. They are both really enjoying their classes and being back with their friends everyday.
Now that September is here, my cherry tomatoes are really starting to come in. They are coming much faster than we can possibly eat them. Last year I discovered that they work well in home made salsa.
I like quick and easy, so cooking the salsa is not for me. Immediate gratification is what I want. I also don't like really chunky salsa, so using the blender or food processor works well.
Want to try your own? It's pretty easy
What you need:
Blender or medium sized food processor
20-25 cherry tomatoes
1/4 of a small onion, cut in chunks (I have used spanish, red and sweet - just depends what I have on hand)
1 garlic clove, cut in half
1 Jalapeno, cut in 4 (seeded and de-veined for mild, leave them in for spicier)
1 tbsp dried cilantro (fresh would be great, but I used what I have)
1/2 lime (just the juice)
Put everything in the food processor in the order listed, and then pulse a few times. Since I don't like mine chunky, I hold down the button for about 7 seconds and then check the texture and do it again. If you like it super chunky, then you probably only need 3-4 quick pulses.
The salsa I made today I did in two batches. The first I made mild (1 Jar), and the second I made medium (2 jars).
I use it for dipping nacho chips in and have also used it spread onto a tortilla with cream cheese - delicious!
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The Malibu is my fourth vehicle purchase. My first vehicle I was 19, my mom and I made a spur of the moment stop in to a dealership and walked out after signing papers on a used car. At that point in time, I knew nothing about car buying. I had no idea that the interest rate on used cars is so high - I could have purchased a brand new vehicle that was $8,000 more and had the same vehicle payment. It was a lesson learned.
My next vehicle was 4 years later. I was 23 and I knew I was ready to get rid of my 8 year old vehicle. There wasn't really anything WRONG with it, but it wasn't good on gas and I was ready for a different colour - sea-foam green just wasn't me.
A photo posted by Ashley Picco (@talesofmommyhood) on
I was fairly certain I wanted a toyota, so my aunt made me an appointment at the dealer she always used, and I again walked out having signed the papers. I LOVED my 2004 Toyota Corolla. The sales guy was really nice, I test drove it, checked out the Camry's but knew that it was out of the budget. The Corolla was a little more than I wanted to spend, but I knew it would be much better on gas, and I was just ready for something new.
This was back when 0% interest was pretty unheard of, but the interest rate for 5 years wasn't too bad. I got a small amount for my trade in and a week later picked it up. It was the best car. We brought Mr. J home from the hospital in that car. I had zero issues with it in the 6 years I owned it. When I was pregnant with Mr. K we decided we wanted a little more space, and got the Jeep.
That car buying experience was probably the most strange I had out of all 4 purchases. I wrote about it before, so you can read it here. I loved the Jeep at the beginning. Being up higher was great, and I never had to worry about driving in the winter. After a couple of years though, we started having major issues and I really regretted trading in my Corolla.
This time when we were looking at vehicles, I REALLY wanted to go back to Toyota. However, the Corolla was a little smaller than I wanted, and the Camry was out of our price range. Toyota also did not have 0% financing at the time we were looking. So, we went to the Chevy dealer that my hubby's family has dealt with for the last 30 years or so (might be longer than that even).
When we went in, the experience was great. Just like my 2nd vehicle experience. They spoke to me, asked me questions and pretty much ignored hubby (knowing that it was my vehicle being traded in and I would be the owner/driver of the new one).
So, you all know that I purchased a new car last week. With that comes the new car smell, and the cleanliness that goes along with it as well. The problem is, cleaning and organizing are not easy for me. They really just do NOT come naturally.
I am happy surrounded by clutter, and seeing an empty plastic bag or 3 ball caps on the floor of the car doesn't seem weird at all. Junk mail and receipts cluttering the console - oh well, get them another time. Crumbs from the kids bagels, crushed up goldfish? Oops - I guess the car needs a vacuum at some point.
Now that I have this brand new clean car though, I am really liking the space and emptiness of it. I am *hoping* that I can keep it somewhat clean. My goal is to not let the kids eat in the vehicle, and they are only going to be allowed water to drink. I am not really sure how long that will last, but I hope it will continue.
One mistake with the JEEP was that I never did buy rubber floor mats, so all the snow, dirt and rocks ended up stuck deep into the carpeting. I will be purchasing some new floor mats VERY soon to help keep things clean.
Is your vehicle clean or more "lived in"? Please tell me I am not the only one.
At the beginning of summer, the kids and I sat down and created our summer bucket list. The list of things we were hoping to do over the summer. We may not get to everything on the list, but it just gives us an idea of things to do.
