I Believe...

Its about 4pm right now and its already getting dark outside... although the storm clouds moving in may be the cause of it. Kinda depressing when daylight is short lived, but that is winter for you! We finally had a break in the rain today, although it was still a tad windy. I walked Ariel to ballet class, the last one before the big parent show next week! Eek! I am so excited I may burst!!!

After class, I took both kids to have their picture taken with Santa. An annual tradition in late November to a) avoid the craziness of December and a long line up and b) to tie it in with St Nicholas day.


I grew up with Santa, as did Ken, and we have mixed ideas on the subject. Ken is really against the materialism that has come with the idea of Santa. I love the magic of pretend and imagination that comes with Santa. I was always a very matter of fact kid that totally knew the 'meat and potatoes' truth, but I loved the fun in believing. Sooooooo, much like Halloween, we came to the idea - make it what we want it to be.

Christmas to us is the celebration of Jesus' birth, it will always be the focus. To have a bit of Santa in the mix, we have embraced 'St Nicholas Day'. That happens on December 6th, and then on that day we do something for someone else, much like the original St Nicholas did. It is something we want to really invest in as our kids grow and have them involved. The giving back, since it is so important, and I look forward to when they are old enough to do so. I am still deciding what we will do this year, so stay tuned.

Then on Christmas day, there will be one simple gift under the tree as the 'St Nicholas' gift, usually something practical, like clothes, shoes etc. That way I get to keep my joy of Santa and yet build it in a new way that we both love.... because I will always believe. Hey, I am a huge kid, what did you expect?!

Flashing back to Saturday, I took Xander in the snuggly and went off to the 3 bazaars in the area. The one at the church had frozen pies I was eager to snag, haha. Xander was making friends with people in the line up and grinning away, especially the fellow with these huge glasses. I got 6 pies, 4 apple and 2 strawberry & rhubarb. Yummy! They are so great to have on hand for last minute desserts, and the money helps out the church, so bonus! Then I went to the seniors craft sale and found a little crayon holder which I will be honest, I bought just so I could figure out how they made it so I could do them for birthday gifts for friends. Lastly I went to the museum craft event and got some cute knit booties for Xander. I had gotten the same pair for Ariel in pink when she was a baby, so I was hoping to find some in blue for my boy. Success! *YAY from Xander*


On the way home we walked past the craft shop and I ducked in when I saw something that caught my eye in the window. These little wooden advent calendars! I had been searching for something the kids could have in their rooms and these were perfect, and might I add, super cheap!!! I brought them home and personalized them with the kid's initials on the star, ta da!


Later that afternoon, Ken wanted to do some personal shopping for my stocking, so he went to Costco and left me at the mall so I could walk around since I wanted my exercise and it was dumping rain outside. The mall was packed! Since I usually only go there first thing in the morning, I am not use to so many people. Ack, claustrophobic!!! We met up again, had a late lunch and came home.

Sunday was church and hanging out together, which was nice. I spent as much time as I could painting the picture for Xander's room. I did a quick wash to start it off...


... and then got down to business. It is almost done. Just the ground and trees left to finish, yay!


Monday came and back to routine. I dropped Ariel off at school and took Xander in for his 2 month appointment with the doctor which was already like 3 weeks overdue, oops. I was expecting him to get his shots, since I asked if they did them there, but sadly was mistaken, er, their front end staff was mistaken more like it. Blah! So I need to book an appointment at the health unit soon... note to self!

Other than that, Xander's appointment was great. My 14lb little man is doing well, and the doctor was pleased with him development wise and wowed by his size... and his hair, haha.


I am loving my morning wake up greeting from him. He is always grinning and excited to see me. Gosh it gets me every time, love you big boy! Hee! My growing boy was sadly lacking some sleepers that fit. We had some in every size we got as gifts, except in the 3-6 month size, weird! So I got 2 pairs of fuzzy ones and Xander was pleased and I love to snuggle him in them.


In completely non-related news, my hair is falling out. I lost lots of hair after having Ariel, and after having Xander nothing fell out so I thought it wasn't going to happen this time... haha, wrong! I am feeling like a giant hairball, and have to keep my hair tied back at all times to avoid it being everywhere. Ugh, can't wait till its over. Blah.

Ok, dinner time is drawing near and Ariel should be coming out of playing in her room in search of food, haha. I want to leave you with this funny picture. Upon first glance, its just my slipper with some bears shoved in, but I was quickly corrected by my princess that it is in fact a tent. Yes, her bears are camping in my footwear... ah the joy of imagination.

What is in a name?

Ok, I am having a 'mommy moment'! Look at my little girl's signature! Yes, she is writing her name and I am sooooo impressed. Ariel has been really into writing 'letters' to people like Grammy. Basically the sheet consists of scribbles that in her mind are a real letter and she is very proud of them. This then lead to her interest in writing her name, but she only felt confident in doing 'A's. Then this week we slowly took time to practice letters and then tonight she put it all together! Way to go Ariel!!!


On Wednesday Ken was off work for Remembrance Day. It was a sunny day, which is always nice when you have to stand outside for the ceremony. Ariel was excited for the parade and was sporting her poppy on her dress coat.


Me and the kids. Xander stayed awake for a bit before dozing off.


Ariel still is a bit young to stand through the whole ceremony, so she made friends with a little boy and they played in the field. At the end, we took her up to leave her poppy behind.


We came home for lunch and a lazy day of laundry and hanging out until Mike and Jo came over to join us for dinner. I got some painting done on the ornaments Ariel and I started a few days ago. Yay, little snowmen!


For dinnerI made ribs in the slow cooker, twice baked potatoes and baked asparagus. Yummy! Ken even went out and got a bottle of wine. I didn't eat too much, but it was hard not to, the food was soooooooo good. Xander passed out from all the fun. What can I say, my boy loves to sleep. We had a nice visit and after they went home we got the kids in bed and watched a new episode of Glee, loved it!


Today was a fun shopping day. The kids and I dropped off the car for its oil change and to get a new brake light that had just gone out. Then Stella picked us up and we went out to buy flannel for our annual Christmas pjs. I found some really cute red snowman print fabric, but they didn't have much, so Ariel and I will have our tops with it, and a different red print for the little shorts. Both me and my girl don't like to get overheated and its a fun change from the regular long look we have done the past few years. Ken and Xander will get the same material but in the blue version for their pj pants, and white tops. It will be very cute and I am excited. I also can finish Xander's stocking now since I will use some of his blue flannel for the backing, so he will always have a piece of it to look back from his first Christmas. I did the same with Ariel, hee.


I also got some fabric for a new red tablecloth. Seriously, if you ever want a nice tablecloth, go to the fabric store, buy the amount you need and then you just have to finish the edge. Much cheaper than store bought ones and just as nice. I can't wait to see how Nana's china will look on it, so pretty. I also got some cute cotton prints to make some placemats. I made everyone placemats last year for gifts, but I never got to make any for us, so its our turn. Yay!

We had lunch at Pizza Hut and came home to a call that the car was ready, and everything was good. I thought maybe the muffler was going, but its fine, so that is good news.

In other crafting news, I got the painting done for our card, just need to scan it and get it ready for printing. Ken had a moment to final sketch up a picture for Xander's room that I need to paint now. Our poor son has no art on his wall, and I want him to move into his room soon from our room, but not until he has something on the wall, haha. Yes, lame I know, but I refuse to make him fall into the second child syndrome. Here it is prior to painting... stay tuned for a final product.


I can't believe its Friday tomorrow! Lots coming up in the next little bit, another bazaar this weekend, this one has frozen pies - so Ken is very excited! Next week is my heart echo at the hospital, so everyone keep us in your thoughts and prayers that it will look good. I am not sure if I will hear the results until I see the cardiologist again in May, or if they will tell me then. We shall see. Ok, gonna go paint a bit before bed, good night!

Tea for Three

Here we are starting a new week. I must say the weekend went fast, and was some what draining, but it was still good overall. Friday morning was coffee party and I got to see Stella who was back from her trip to Hawaii. Ariel was thrilled to see her and Kara who came along too. I always look forward to coffee group just for visiting purposes... and food, hee. Ariel was very good, polished off a plate and spent most of her time drawing in the kitchen. Xander, he pretty much slept through the morning while getting cuddled.

As we were picking the location of the next coffee party, I stepped in and offered to host it. Yay! I haven't in ages and since Christmas is my favorite time of year I look forward to it! Ariel is pumped and all the way home talked about all the things we could do for the 'ladies'. Haha.

That morning the kids were sporting their 'big sister' and 'little brother' shirts, so I had to snap a picture. The angle sadly wasn't too flattering for Xander who looks like his head is gonna pop, haha. Its still hard to prop him up to sit, maybe I should look into a bumbo chair?


My little man is just oozing cuteness! His grin just gets me every time.


Saturday rolled around and we were off to the annual bazaar for tea and goodies. It was bittersweet of course since it was my first one without Nana. Ken graciously came along with me, of course the promise of food is always a big draw, haha. I always look forward to my sandwiches, and boy they were as yummy as ever.


Ariel of course was fast to polish off her plate. I know Nana would be laughing about it still, she never got tired of watching Ariel eat.


On the way home I had to stop at the bank to change my bank card pin number. I got a call on Thursday that my card had been 'comprised.' Apparently I used it somewhere that was now in a police investigation, most likely someone changing a debit machine to steal info. ACK! Sooooooooo, after talking with the lady at the bank, turns out they didn't steal anything, thank heavens, but they locked my account until I could change my pin. I was kinda sad, I had been using the same pin since I had my first account, so nearly 20 years! Crazy. So things are working again and I have a new pin I need to remember... so far so good.

That night Ken went to see a late showing of 'Where the wild things are'. I stayed home working on crafts and watching SNL. It was pretty funny, who knew Taylor Swift could do comedy pretty well? I must say I haven't watched SNL in ages, but was curious to see this one. Ken got home and we watched the rest together and had a good laugh.

Sadly, I wasn't laughing much after that. Xander decided he was hungry... REALLY hungry. He nursed on and off for 3 hours straight!!! The morning came too fast and we slept in and missed church. I was so tired and knew we had a memorial service to attend later that day so I needed strength for that.

The service was really nice and I held it together as well as I could. It was packed full of people and just getting to hear the wonderful stories was fulfilling, such a lovely woman... we will miss her.

Afterwards we picked up some laundry and went to Dad and Rita's to do a load of sheets. It was a nice change of scenery and Ariel drew a nice picture for them when they get home. Lazy evening, what can I say.

Today was a rainy, cold morning. I dropped Ariel at school and took Xander off for an adventure to the office supply store. Whee! I had seen a sale on Christmas stationary and wanted some paper to print our annual letter on and ended up going in Pier One and Michaels just for kicks since they were beside the office store. Both places had all their Christmas stuff up and I just LOVE walking down the aisles looking at all the pretty things. I found some little treats for coffee party, so that was cool.

I picked Ariel up and on the drive home went down a street that had been roped off on Sunday and I wanted to see why... sadly it was a shock! There had been a terrible fire that had destroyed 3 of the businesses. The fire truck was still there today I guess collecting info. My mouth just hung open, I had just been there on the Saturday morning after the bazaar.... its just shocking. I found some video that was shot showing the damage.



This afternoon was a craft day, and Ariel and I worked on some ornaments. Here is phase one of them... stay tuned for the final result. Maybe you remember these from last year... here is a hint: frosty.


Speaking of crafts, we got our annual Christmas card drawn and I started painting it. Yay! Its exciting to add Xander this year, and since he was our Christmas surprise last year and we couldn't incorporate him into the design, we had to come up with something very special. Needless to say, I love it. Can't wait to share it on here.

Well, time to start getting princess bathed ready for bed, a big day of ballet tomorrow morning. Wednesday is Remembrance day, and Ken is home so we will go to the ceremony in the morning and then will be having Mike and Jo over for dinner, yay. Lots to look forward to this week.

Funny Faces

I had to do a little mid-week post just to share some funny faces from Xander! I remember doing this with Ariel around this time as her personality started emerging. My little guy is cooing up a storm and loves to give some silly looks for the camera. He has gotten use to it and is more willing to smile with me holding it, yay!

I call this one 'duh' or the future teenager deer in headlights look...


Mr smiley! This grin is so gonna charm the ladies one day, haha.


Blah... I totally understand little dude.


Eh... so coy. This is the look he usually gives if he isn't impressed


Smirk... or the 'you are gonna love the present I have in my diaper' look


Ariel has been learning about dinosaurs at school and today when I picked her up I got an 'Ariel-a-saurus' instead. Roar, chomp, chomp!


Speaking of school, here is the new picture! Isn't it like a 100% better!!! I am so happy, as is Ariel. She keeps wanting to see the old one then the new one, I guess its a good lesson in opposites.


Not much else to report so far this week. Just good school days and a good ballet class. Getting closer to her performance, I am so excited! I watch her practice a bit at home and its so cute. Will post her performance up here when it finally happens... a few more weeks. Eek!!!

I spent this afternoon cleaning out my hutch and I have a box of old stuff that I either don't use or just held on to because I liked it... but the new rule is that I keep only what I use, so out it goes. The good news is, with the free space I was able to fit both my Nana's good china and my Mom's tea set in my hutch! Its been stored in rubbermaid bins in the closet and I never used it since it was difficult to get to, not anymore. Yay!

Ok, Ken is home, time for a visit. I shall leave you with the 'Gerber' baby. Hee.

Halloween Fun

Wow, with Halloween out of the way now, we are now in November! Crazy stuff... not to mention that there are Christmas decorations up at one of the local shopping malls here in town. Eek! Lets have Remembrance Day first people! I also have to wait till 'American Thanksgiving' till I pull out my decor... at least here is hoping that happens. I may choose an earlier day if it works with Ariel being in school. Haha.

Well, we had a great time this past week with lots of fun events. Ariel got good use out of her costume, and that makes me happy since I spent a good amount of time sewing them, haha. On Thursday night we went to the family pumpkin fest and boy was that a blast! Here is Ariel and Xander's official photo from the night, they had a photographer there doing this for free! So cool.


The nice part was that most of the event was inside at the seniors center, which is good when its somewhat cold and raining. The kids trick or treated down the hall with the seniors dressed up at each door. They got a sticker and at the end showed their sticker sheet and got a bag of goodies. Then in the gym they had the photo area set up and a crafting area. Ariel really liked the crafts.


Bat puppet! Eek!


Then in the next room they had the ladies from the library doing a kids story time. Lots of songs, puppets and 2 cute stories. Ariel was totally engrossed.


Then we had some dinner, they had food packages for $5 which included either a hot dog or hamburger, chips, cookie and a pop. Ariel and I shared a meal which was perfect. Then we went to the Boys and Girls club next door where they had games set up. Woot!


Then we road the hayride which went around the block of the high school, whee!


After all of that, it had been 2 hours of fun and Xander was just waking up so we headed home for a warm bath and pjs. We were disappointed Ken missed all the fun, but not much we can do about it, maybe next time.

Then Friday was a quiet day and a sad one. We got the news that Gwen from our church family had passed away. She had a long, hard battle with cancer and it was just heartbreaking that it was over. Her kids are pretty much the same age my brother and I were when we lost our mom, so in a way it takes you back to that time and those emotions. I hope to connect with them as much as I can, because only someone who has walked this road knows what they are feeling. I think back to how we always said positive things come from tragic events in our lives... if losing my own mom has given me the chance to help others who are now facing the same fate, then its truly God's plan... the bigger picture. Wow... say a little prayer for them all, its a long road ahead.

Later that night we got word also that Ken's Yaya was in the hospital with a bad reaction to some medication and was fighting for her life. She has been slowly improving and we are praying she can bounce back like all the times she had before. We would love her to meet Xander, but that isn't till the summer... just hoping and praying it works out. Love you Yaya!

Saturday was Halloween and we made the most of the day, especially when the sun came out. We went up to a local mall for their event, some candy collecting and crafts. Daddy was with us this time, so it was great!


I loved the alien costumes from the Simpsons, haha.


Then we came home briefly and then headed out again for trick or treating! We went down Dad and Rita's street first since we always have gone there and even though they are away, we wanted to continue the tradition. Then we went over to Brenda's place for more fun! Ariel and Brian were buddies for the night, they were so cute!


Ariel managed to score 2 full plastic bags of candy! Gack, not good for my healthy living diet, trying to be good... but its sooooooooooooo hard.


We had a great night with our friends and came home and turned the clocks back for daylight savings, yay for extra sleep... although that means nothing when you have a baby.

Sunday morning was hard as we as a Church family dealt with the passing of Gwen. Lots of tears, and I was having a hard time. Brenda invited us over for leftover pizza for lunch, so that was nice. Later that afternoon we came home where I then proceeded to leave Ken with the kids so I could go to the movies alone!!!

Yes, I got to go have a few hours to myself and it was heaven. I went to see the Michael Jackson movie and it was packed! It was really a great show, the concert would have been amazing. Regardless of what you think of the guy, his music was great. It was the first time I have ever been in a show where everyone clapped at the end. Crazy!

Today the rain finally showed up! I got Ariel to school and went to Ikea with Xander for some walking and to pick up some new plastic dishes Ariel uses. Hers are slowly disappearing and the plates are pretty chewed up looking. At lunch we met up with Aunty Deborah and went out together. It was so nice to have a visit with her, especially since at the dedication she was very sick.

So its been a busy few days and this week is getting full fast. I still need to book Xander in for his 2 month visit with the doctor... by the time I get around to it he will be 3 months, gack! Mommy's little goober!


Ok, I am going to try and ignore the candy... try being the main word... hmmm candy.

And the rain came...

... its pouring rain outside, and most likely will be raining for the festivities coming up this week, bah! Still hoping it might lighten up, we shall see. Since it was such a beautiful day yesterday, I decided to dress the kids up to take some pictures. I wanted to practice curling Ariel's hair since I had never done it before. Doesn't she look cute with the rollers?


She didn't seem to mind at all, but then I let her watch tv when I did it. Haha. I finished and she was still absorbed in Yo Yo Gabba, hehe.


So I took the kids out to the little grassy area with the leaves and snapped some pictures. Here is Ariel my Little Bo Peep!


Not to be outdone by little Xander the sheep.


Oh my gosh, I am just gushing over this shot. I love it to pieces, my cuties!


Its so funny that I am having fun dressing up the kids since I was not a fan of Halloween as a kid at all. Ken is more into it than I am, frankly I am more into the whole idea of harvest rather than scary stuff. I had a talk with a friend a few years ago about my feelings on the subject and how it related to my faith. She too being a Christian gave me some words that have stuck with me, 'make it what you want it to be.' So I make it about fun dress up and pretend, my daughter is a huge fan of that, and I don't want to ruin that part of it for her. We don't hang up scary decorations, we only have 'harvest style' things around our home (pumpkins, turkeys, leaves etc). We trick or treat with friends from church and gather for a fun time after wards with food and fellowship. The kids all play and its fun to just hang out with others. I take the kids to the community event that is aimed at younger kids and isn't scary. I want them to enjoy the wonderful town we live in and how special it is that we have events like this in a safe setting, others aren't so lucky. So that is my thoughts on it, I know others have different views and that is cool, but I thought I'd share my own since I don't think I have before.

Last night we also carved our family pumpkins. Ken sketched some ideas and came up with with a cute concept.


Ariel helped me scoop some pumpkin guts.


Xander was pretty excited by the whole event... um, yeah. Haha.


He did eventually wake up and gave us some cute smiles. Gosh he is cute!


Ariel trying to recreate the face on her pumpkin, haha.


My little pumpkins!


When the pumpkins were finished, we lit them to see how they looked... perfect. The little Xander pumpkin has the best face, haha.


Today was a rough start. I was up at 6am to feed Xander and went back to sleep... only to have Ariel wake me up... at 10 to 9am! It was a school day!!!!! Ack!!!!!!! I threw on some clothes, handed her a quick breakfast to eat in the car, made up her snack and got us out the door and at the school within 10 minutes! I was a little out of breath but we did it.

After that Xander and I went off to pick up the special putty Ken needed for his class tomorrow night. Since my little man was sleeping soundly, I took my time and once getting the putty spent a long time in this super cute toy store up in Tsawwassen. I wanted to get a jack in the box for Xander and they had a darling one that was a sock monkey.

During the afternoon while Ariel was playing and Xander slept, I finished up the pillows for Ariel's room. The list of things I made up to do is pretty much done! I have some new ideas of things to do, so I might make a new list. I am just happy these things are getting done. Ariel was thrilled!


Going back to the beginning of the week, Xander turned 2 months on Monday!!! Wow, I can't believe it. My little guy is sure starting to become his own little person. He is smiling more and more, and at other people now, not just us. I have to book his visit to the doctor, but I haven't decided if I will get her to do his shots or go through the health unit. I am also waiting till his sniffles finish up. My little guy is also very solid! Such a change compared to the light weight Ariel. He is good for my upper body workout, haha. Love this picture of him, its like he is saying 'eh!' My good Canadian boy. Hee.


That morning was Ariel's photo retakes for school and THANK HEAVENS it was a huge improvement! The photographer was so much better, he was also good with kids and was very warm to her. She sat on the block and gave the best smile. I can't wait to share it since its like night and day compared to the other picture. I am glad Ken pushed me to get retakes, I was afraid of a repeat of last time, can you blame me? Ariel was so proud of herself, she couldn't wait to tell Daddy how brave she was and how she smiled big for him. That's my girl!

Monday was also Ariel's first field trip with her class. We went to a local farm and although it was muddy and cold, thankfully the rain held off. Dad and Rita were able to watch Xander at the last minutes so I didn't have to have him outside the whole time with us.


On Tuesday, Ariel went to ballet class and had a blast as usual. We are getting closer to her performance, and I am very excited to see it. After class, we went to Dad's and got to go out for lunch with him and Rita. They were getting ready to leave on their trip to Mexico and it was nice for the kids to see them before they left since it be awhile till they got home. We went to White Spot and Ariel polished off a pirate pak in no time. She must be getting ready for another growth spurt, the girl is eating big time again. After we got home from lunch, she wanted a sandwich, apple and cheese. Dang!

Well, my hubby just got home, so gonna go visit with him. Have a good night and a big congrats to my friend and blog buddy Kristin and her family. They welcomed a new baby boy named Jeriah Ross. Yay!