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

Any Guesses

Here is the start of Darryl's latest project.





Any guesses?

Till Tommorrow

Jenn

Time Change

Yawn.....yawn.....yawn

There was a time change this weekend, and although we gained an hour Lucas has not realized he can sleep in. So this morning we were up at 5:30, and although we waited an hour hoping he would go back to sleep, there was no avail.

Yawn....yawn...

Heading to bed.

Jenn

Variety Show

I just loaded a bunch of pictures into my computer so I thought I'd share some and tell their stories.


Lucas has taken to watch Emma eat. Emma of course is not very fond of this, but as long as Lucas doesn't interupt her or I don't lower my voice with Lucas she continues to tolerate it. We'v been very lucky with Emma that she is not overly protective over her food.


This picture is Lucas and I talking on our 'fake" cell phones. It always amazed me the power of observation. I never showed him how to play with a phone, but from watching Darryl and I do it, he knows.



These are two amazing pictures of our animals. Torin is perhaps the most photogenic cat I've ever met. Emma on the other hand hates having her picture taken. So when we get good ones I'm always pleased.

Till Monday.

Jenn

Pop

Lucas has come to recognized and say the name of the first person who lives outside this house. His Pop. Although it usually sounds like pap. He saw some picture of him today on my computer and was pointing pap, pap, pap. So we played the little video and he smiled while watching Pop smile back at him. On Monday we went to Grandma and Pop's house and he was saying pap, pap, pap. The whole time. I'm sure Pap has an advantage on most others, he has lots of fans in his house, which Lucas is crazy about. I'll have to take a good picture of the two of them and post it in here. But someone loves their Pap. Which is great, becuase Pop loves Lucas so much as well. I think they will always have a special relationship. A boy and his grandpa.

I also wanted to blog about the woman who gave birth to conjoined twins yesterday. What a difficult time this woman and her family are going through. She will have to make some hard descions about her babies, but now having a child I do know the love a mother has for a child is like no other and I wish her well in the descions she has to make.

Till Tommorrow

Jenn

Rock Hard

One of the good habits I've started in the last year is to donate more money to charity. I have chose a few charities to give money to and say yes every time they phone or send a letter. This comes with many advantages. One is that many charities send stickers. Lucas is at an age where he is starting to love stickers. The more colorful the better. But even if they have my name attached to them that is great. The best stickers we have gotten is from one charity I donate to Stars Air Ambulance. I work with alot of the people with Stars, and am amazed at their commitment, so it's something I donate to. This year they gave stickers with helicopters on it. Lucas loves them as they are better then the flower stickers the Heart and Stoke Foundation gives.

Today I got a request in the mail for the Firefighters Burn Unit at the Foothills Hospital. This is another charity I fell strongly about because as a child I spent time in a burn unit. I'm sure I benefited greatly from the care and the medicine provided on that unit.

Later this evening the door bell rang, which made Emma bark, and I'm sure the person at the door say "oh crap". Lucas and I answered the door and there was a kid who proceeded to tell us about the Treehouse Foundation, which gives toys, books etc. to underprivileged kids in the city. They were selling cookies, which is one of my weakness. So for 12 dollars I bought a book of cookies, thinking more of the cause rather then the price. I am now cuddled up with my cup of tea and had two of these cookies and they are ROCK HARD, I feel kind of annoyed. 12 dollars for cookies and they are not even good. Oh well, think of the toys for kids.

The last new charity thing I have heard of recently that I wanted to mention was World Vison. I'm sure you've all seen the half and hour shows with Alex Trebek and the poor children, but I thought there new idea is a great one. You can buy sheep or chickens or medical supplies or lots of other things for families in Africa. You can do this for Christmas or at anytime of the year.

Till Tomorrow

Jenn

How To Charm Me

As an instructor we have a saying called CASE, I guess that's not really a saying, nor is it a philoshopy necessairly, just something we use. Basically it mean Copy And Steal Everything. If another instructor has a great idea use it. I use this philosphy in teaching alot and have found lots of good resources for free. If you are an instrutor and would like a free copy of a jeapordy or crossword puzzles let me know and I would be glad to share.

I have decided to use this as well with my blog. Many of the good ideas I get come from other blogs, especially Dooce. With the addition of "Labels" in Blogger I've started to use some of the same labels Dooce uses, one of those labels I've CASEd is How to Charm Me.

Today I traveled in a car fo 6 hours with a co-worker who I don't really know. She is a wonderful lady and very interesting to talk to. One of the things that happens when introducing yourself to a new peson (especially over 6 hours) is I told her different things that charm or annoy me. Here are some types of people that charm me:

1. People who take feedback well. I give feedback all day long. I like it when people are receptive to it.

2. People who are not materialistic, especially when it comes to Christmas. It's about who you are rather then what you have or what your title is.

3. People who are not gossipy. This co-workers philosphy is I won't say anything about another person I wouldn't say directly to them. A great philoshpy I think I will adopt.

4. People who travel the world. Traveling expands your character and your outlook on life. It helps you to appriciate what you have.

Till Tommorrow

Jenn

Caaaaaars

Notice Emma in the back looking out the window when I say "Do you see". She's looking for what's outside.

Enjoy

Till Tommorrow

Jenn

Blast From the Past Part Two

It's amazing how having a cold can make a person turn into a baby. I know I am whiny and sleepy when I have a cold and the same goes for Lucas. All weekend he hasn't been feeling very well, he can't quite tell us what's wrong, but we figure everything. His nose has been running like a tap and he has thrown up a couple of times. He is very lethargic and doesn't have much of an appetite. We did put him to bed quite early last night becuase he has been feeling so ill. So a couple of hours after he went down he woke up again crying. I went in and replaced his sucky and that helped for about 30 seconds. So I went back in (I hadn't even reached my bed yet) and picked him up and snuggled him. It didn't take too long and he feel asleep in my arms. It really reminded me of when he was a little baby and he use to fall asleep in our arms all the time. There is such a peacefullness about watching a baby sleep. Eyes closed, breathing in and breathing out. It's the only sound you hear and it is such a calming noise. I took a few extra minutes to enjoy this peaceful time with my baby boy, who like to play with cars and throw things around.

Till Tommorrow

Jenn

New Name and Laser Tag

As many of you have noticed I have finally changed the name of the blog. Lucas has been older then the "First Year" for a couple of months now. I chose this name for a couple of reasons. First of, love the Barenaked Ladies and this is the name of one of my favorite songs of theirs. I also have this saying lasered in the back of my ipod. I figure my computer is like my nutshell, and here I am telling you about my life. My life in a nutshell. I would eventaully like to have my own website called My Life in A Nutshell, but I'm having trouble justifying paying for something that is usally free. Someday......

The other thing I wanted to blog about today was a new great toy. Well as most great toys start out it's not really meant as a toy. But the cats have gone crazy with it in the past. So when Darryl bought a laser light this week, the orginal intent was for the cats. The added bonus is that Lucas quite enjoys chasing the laser as well. He is amazed that he can never catch it, and that he has never seen anything like it before.

Till Monday

Jenn