October Round Up

I just read over September Roundup to see how this month went and I see October was so much better then September.  My balance of work/home life was better, Lucas got better in school and the weather still stayed beautiful.

Things for Lucas have really improved over the month as well.  He was struggling with getting his work done in class.  We met with the teacher and we both suspected it was more of a confidence issue then a focus issue, as he's never had issues with being distracted before.  We worked at home with him trying to get him to write french words and Nathan and I would distract him or we would put the TV on and he'd still have to write a certain number of words in a certain amount of time.  I would make the time quite long to be sure he was always done in the time frame, again to boost his confidence.   Things at school have been steadily improving for him as well.  We have gotten a couple of notes home from the teacher when he has a really good day or writes quickly.  Even last week he put his hand up and answered questions in french.  Darryl had volunteered in the class the week before and commented on how Lucas didn't really participate.  But it's good to see that is improving as well.  We have also been working on speaking lots of french at home and he is reading to us in french.  He has learned so much and I am so so so so proud of him.  He has done a hard thing and came through it with really positive results. 

We did have Thanksgiving this year, but it was kind of a weird weekend.  I usually LOVE Thanksgiving.  It's my favorite holiday.  It has the good food like Christmas but not the commercialism.  And it reminds you to be thankful for all the wonderful things in life.  Well this year there was no turkey and most people went away.   It was fun to have a weekend alone with my sister and Auntie Karen came to have dinner with us too, but it just wasn't the same as having a house full of people and Darryl making turkey.   Although like I said I do treasure the weekends when my sister is down and I get her all to myself, so that was fun. 

We have been enjoying some fun family time too.  The boys are in a good age that we don't need naps anymore so we can go out and do something for most of the day.  Sometimes it's hiking or swimming.  One weekend this month it was Heritage Park.   Where I got some fun pictures of the boys.  We ate from the bakery.  Rode the train, fed the animals, played with the leaves, ran in the field and went on the rides.  It was fun. 

 Last night was Halloween and that was (as usual) really fun too.  The boys both dressed up as ninja's and I was a lion.  With my hair that's pretty easy to pull off.  The boys got lots of candy and there were quite a few kids here too.

 




Hope everyone else is enjoying fall too. 

Till next time

Jenn

Happy Halloween

Hope yours was a fun one. Ours here was good. The weather wasn't too cold which was great. And although Nathan got quite scared part of the way through it was still a fun night. One of the houses we went to had a hand in the bowl and when you put your hand in to get a candy, the fake hand came down on you. That totally spooked Nathan, he was not reaching into any bowls after that. =)

Here is my scary ninja dinosaur.





Till Tomorrow

Jenn

Pumpkin Carving

I can tell the boys are getting older. For the last couple of years we have just gotten one pumpkin and carved it. Neither of the boys want to get their hands dirty, and they get bored of the pumpkin carving pretty quickly. But this year the boys are getting older and we got pumpkins for all of us. They still didn't want to get their hands dirty (a la Darryl) but they had a lot of fun colouring the pumpkins. Here are our works of art.

Darryl's work of art. He takes pumpkin carving to a new level

All of the pumpkins
The shirtless boys and the pumpkins.

Till Tomorrow

Jenn

Thanksgiving/Nathan's 2 1/2 Birthday Party

This weekend we celebrated Thanksgiving. Oma and Opa were here and Auntie Karen and our best friends. Darryl made a delicious turkey (as usual) and I made a couple of delicious pies. It was a great meal with great people, my favorite kind of day.



Nathan was also excited for the party. It's been hard for Nathan because Darryl, Lucas and myself have our birthdays close together and Nathan's is 6 months before and after. He forgets about his birthday and really wants to have his birthday. So when he heard we were having a party and lots of people over he thought it was for his birthday. Well I couldn't insist that it wasn't his birthday when it didn't hurt to put a candle in the pies and sing Happy Birthday to him. So we did and he loved it. Even when we modified the words to "Happy Half Birthday To You".


It was a great end to a fun weekend.

Till Tomorrow

Jenn

Thanksgiving Weekend was filled with lots of fun, family and good food. I have an amazing husband who put the whole turkey dinner together. I have a great family which I am very thankful for. And two super kids who continue to remind me about what is important in life.

And we have lots of fun together!



Till Tomorrow

Jenn

Happy Hallowe'en

Well today was just as much fun as I thought it was going to be. We headed our for a Hallowe'en party at lunch time. Then home and Lucas had a nap before a fun evening. He was great for trick or treating. With having that nap we were out for almost 2 hours. He collect about 250 peices of Candy. I was surprised at how many houses had their lights off though and that the trick or treating didn't really pick up until 7pm. But Lucas said his trick or treat and thank yous very well. Hopefully he won't have any nightmares about "the hand that grabs you when you try to reach for a candy" candy bowl. We had quite a few comments on his beautiful butterfly homeade costume. Nathan was falling asleep after the first ten houses so Darryl took him home, but all in all I think both boys had a fun Hallowe'en.

Our pumpkin




The boys in their costumes





Lucas and his loot

Till Tomorrow

Jenn

It Looking Alot Like Hallowe'en

So this week has been very Hallowe'en theme. Here is a craft we did, that I love. The instructions are here.


The other thing we did was make Hallowe'en cupcakes. Chocolate cupcakes and then we added yellow and red food coloring to white icing and made orange icing.


Stay tuned tomorrow for the other "craft" we did which was making Lucas's costume.... a butterfly.

Till Tomorrow

Jenn

Pond

One of the nice things about living in a new community is that they put in things like ponds and parks all over. We live about three houses away from a great pond. We have been walking around the pond quite a bit lately and love to look for the heron that lives there.

There have also been lots of geese and other ducks there, which Emma loves, although she hasn't jumped in after any recently. =) I live a great life when so much time can be spent outside enjoying nature.



Till Tomorrow

Jenn

Hallowe'en

Well Lucas and I had a great Hallowe'en, he did sleep in a little later then Monday, so we both woke up in good moods. I invited Mom over for some bacon and eggs for breakfast. It was delicious and fun to have a good breakfast at the beginning of the day. I think breakfast may be my favorite meal of the day. Although dinner is up there as well, espeically if dinner is something great like lamb and if it has wine to go with it. Anyway, after a great breakfast Lucas and I carved the pumkin. It has been a couple of years since I've carved a pumpkin and I forgot how gooey they are inside. I think Lucas may be like his dad in this regard, becuase he didn't like getting his hands too gooey, he prefered to use the spoon.





After using a very sharp knife around a child we headed off to have lunch with Auntie Karen at Applebee's. Applebee's was closed for lunch today so we went to Boston Pizza and lunch took forever. But Lucas was in a good mood and the company was great, so it wasn't so bad. Afterwards we headed to Walmart to get candy and it was a zoo. Oblviously everyone has the same idea, don't buy candy till the last day.



This evening we dolled Lucas up in his pumpkin costume and dressed Emma up as a ghost (which she hated). I took him up the street and everyone loved him. Lucas on the other hand was a little stunned at the evening. Flashing pumpkins, people dressed up, knocking on strangers doors. I'm sure it was all a little overwhelming for a toddler. One of the cool things was the fire truck rode up the street and was handing out candy to the kids. Lucas didn't care too much about the candy, but was loving the lights on the fire truck.





Once we got home he was numi, numi numi and he wanted his loot, but we only gave him a few treats. All in all a successful Hallowe'en.

Till Tommorrow

Jenn

Happy Turkey Day

Well today is the start of a long weekend. I spent most of my Friday working on resci-annie. So if anyone chokes on turkey dinner this weekend I'll be in perfect shape to do abdominal thrusts. I am greatful to have a job where you get trained for these emergency situations, as it makes me feel better prepared for...life.

Well it is the start of a long weekend and 4 days off. Yipee. Tommorrow Darryl and I decide the interiors of the house, the most fun part. There are a couple of other minor things to be done after that but then the waiting game begins. Like most things in life it is hurry up and wait. I know we are defintly doing hardwood floors in the new place, so I am looking forward to that. Although I'm worried the house is going to look like a big brown cave. Brown walls, brown floor, maybe I'll have to find some splashs of color. But it should be really fun tommorrow, I'm defintly looking forward to it.

Thanksgiving is probably my favorite holiday. It has all the good parts of Christmas without the bad (gift giving). I shouldn't say that, there are a couple more good things about Christmas that Thanskgiving doesn't have, but Thanksgiving has all the essentials. Good turkey dinners, getting together with families and friends and taking a moment to appriciate all the wonderful things in life. I really have so much to be thankful for. I live a wonderful life, that I love. And even on days when it seems hard, it is still miles and miles better then many people in this world. I have a wonderful husband who is so kind and loving. I was so lucky to have found him at an early age. I have a child who I love more then anything and who makes me want so many more children to have that extra joy in life. I live in a great house and have a great job. Really there is nothing more I could ask for. Thank you to all who read this and enjoy it. You have all become (or always were) part of my life that I am greatful for.

I hope everyone has delicious turkey.

Till Tuesday!

Jenn

Fall

This weekend it is fall in Calgary. That may sound crazy, but it's true. Fall here only last for a week or so. It is one of the things I really miss about Ontario. Today Lucas and I were playing in the leaves, leaves smell amazing. It is so distinct like the smell of fresh cut grass or tomatoes. The colors are also so beautiful.

Till Tommorrow

Jenn