Happy Halloween!

Heading to Tasha's Halloween party: theme gothic! I am going as a TARDIS because a TARDIS fits anywhere in any theme in any style in all of space and time! So HA!

Bad Cat

So it is official! Kismet has been renamed Bad Cat! ;-) He looks all sweet and innocent but he wont stop peeing on the kids stuff. Okay, to be fair, Dorian's stuff. And no matter how many times he gets chased away, he STILL won't leave poor Onyx alone. Under that cuteness lays a heart of mischief!

The title of this blog post was almost And Thank You Again Michele :-D

Twins!

Every so often (about twice a year) I plan out a "personal day" for my kids. You know those days that you wake up, and you aren't sick but you feel like BLEH and you just decide not to go into work? Well, I give that to my kids occasionally. This one was planned a little in advance, seeing as how it is Rowan's birthday in just a few days. We ate Eggos together, watched some Lego Friends on Netflix then headed off to Payless where Rowan chose her birthday gift! BOOTS! (she cant actually do them up on her own which is a little troublesome for her ;-) ) Then we went to Walmart where Rowan went up and down the toy isles oohing and awwing over everything and off to McDonalds for lunch! Back home in time for Rowan to get a complete manicure and pedicure including the foot soak in water laced with essential oils, the foot scrub and massage, foot lotion, nail bed shaping and cuticle cleaning and a pretty black and sparkle polish! A good day was had by all!

"C" is for Cuteness!

And that is good enough for me! Spent the morning with Erin and Pippin. Erin made us an awesome breakfast and then we watched B5 while Pippin had a nap on my lap! He is so full of the cuteness!

Rowan and Julia

Starting in September, Rowan started seeing a tutor three times a week, every other week (thank you again Nicole!!!) and she loves it. She relishes in the one on one attention she gets from Julia, and it is showing a remarkable improvement in her French reading. Rowan is so happy! And so am I! Thank you Julia!

Falling for Fall

The leaves are still bright and beautiful but give it a few weeks and everything will look dark and dead. I hate the upcoming time of year. So dreary and depressing without even snow to make everything pretty. Did I just wish for snow?!

Love

Tonight was family dance night! The kids and I had pizza, pop and rocked out to some great music! Of course, they are starting to get to the age that dancing with Mom isn't so cool anymore. That's why I had to dance CRAZY! Home to watch Despicable Me and then bed! Great Day!

Dough... Nutters!

Took Rowan out for a quick doughnut while we finished up her birthday invitations... My baby is almost 9! How did that happen?!

Sports Man

Had to drop something off at the office when Dorian came by to collect the sports balls for recess. So handsome in that orange safety vest!

Thoughts and Prayers

Today I watched the news on my computer in horror as a gunman shot and killed a soldier standing guard at Canada's War Memorial and then proceeded to Parliament Hill and was fatally shot himself. For hours the entire downtown core was shut down, including my moms work, with a lockdown as the police tried to ascertain whether he was a lone gunman or if there was a group. It was terrifying, horrifying, and watching the news was worse. I have watched a few devastating news stories in the past while and always felt horrible over what had happened, but it always seemed just a little bit distant from me. From my life. I could empathize with what the people were going through, but it was almost like it was happening in a fictional world far, far away. Watching the fall out from the shootings, seeing the places I walk so often as possible gunman hiding spots, seeing places I had taken my children, it was all hammered home. Yes, Canada is wonderful and awesome and I love it. But we are not exempt from the terrors of the world that stalk freedom every day.

My thoughts and prayers go out to the soldier and his family who was shot and killed and for the family of the gunman. May they rest in peace.

Katie and I

Tuesdays are my days with the Chan's. I cannot express how much my heart is filled with love for this entire family, and so grateful for the way they have opened their arms and hearts for me. Sending out all my love!

Mine

All these books are belong to me!

Remains of the Day

Family thanksgiving dinner accomplished! Time to make delicious turkey stock for delicious soups!

Inside Voices

Come inside where you can pet me!

Dead Tree.... IN SPACE!

I have taken what would normally be a depressing picture of a dead tree and made it a depressing picture of a dead tree... IN SPACE!

As a side note, computer still not fixed and doing two weeks of posts right now! YAY!

Jedi In A Row

Dorian has really started back into Star Wars and the Clone Wars tv show on Netflix. And no, I do not know why Anakin Skywalker is wearing a Clone helmet...

Quiet Time

A little quiet time with the whole family reading. Peacefulness.

Penguins

It is a pajama sort of day today.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Last weekend the kids and I had a talk about the origins of Thanksgiving. About how the Europeans were starving and that the Native Americans stepped in and taught them about the land and the food and there was peace for a moment, a feast. Then it was over and the Europeans went back to wholesale slaughter of the original indigenous humans of North America. Also, turns out that explaining pox infested blankets is actually difficult.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

Maple Leaves

Rowan's new favorite thing. Also her number one currency right now. Maple leaf candy! Now if I could stop sneaking them and eating them, that would be awesome.

Fail Fudge

Never try and make fudge without a candy thermometer.... Thank you to the Chan's for the wonderful inclusion to your awesome Thanksgiving and letting me bring a caramel maple dip instead of fudge.

Outlander

Nicole came over for Outlander sleep over night. I forced her to sit and listen to parts of the book that I thought the show hadn't done the book particular justice. She was a good sport about it too ;-) Sam Heughan is a hottie! And has a really nice looking butt! We attempted to watch Gladiator ("He's not wearing a head!") but we kept falling asleep on the couch.

Broken Wires

Yesterday morning my ortho wire snapped while I was brushing my teeth. Painful! Off to the dentist and he removes the broken pieces and for the first time in almost twenty years I can feel the naked backs of my bottom teeth. When it was put in when I was sixteen, my dentist told me that it would have to stay in for two years. Several years later, I was told it was to never, ever be removed. Time to schedule an appointment and get the damn thing put back in :-(

Tree Time

Just doing a final fall trim of the shrubs around the house and noticed how pretty these little red berries are on my evergreen.

Tallest Woman Alive

Playing with shadows.

Blazing Trails

Golden yellow leaves.

Autopsy Time

A present from last year at Christmas, Dorian decided to finally break open his Alien Autopsy Candy Kit. Can you say yuck?!

Burning Leaves

Autumn used to be my favorite time of year. I loved watching all the colours of the leaves turn, the smell of dampness and decay in the air, the feeling that snow is just around the corner. Fall has turned, instead, into a time of self-inspection and a reminder that all things come to an end. Everything dies eventually.

Eye See You

Just a throw away pic. Tried playing with focal colouring but turns out, my eye colour is too close to being grey to actually make it look like anything other than black and white.

Tree Work Ahead

This year there has been a disproportionate number of trees that have been cut down. On the way back from walking the kids from school I decided to count: 7. Why are so many getting cut down this year?!

Graphic Novel Win

So with Rowan's tutoring at the library (which is going AWESOME btw) Dorian has really gotten into graphic novels. I always wanted to raise readers, and I think I have done a good job with that.