My First Pumpkin

Matthew and I carved his first pumpkin this year! He thought it was quite funny to see all of the guts come out of the inside, but wouldn't come near it when I offered that he could stick his hand inside!

At first he was mildly interested in the whole carving thing... but mostly wanted to play with the carving tools or the little chunks of pumpkin eyes. He has learned the word pumpkin though, and can point one out to you wherever we go!



Trying to get a 1 year old, black cat and a pumpkin to stay in the same picture was not an easy task....

If you can help.....

.... me find a way to get my little man to brush his teeth, I would be oh, so grateful! You see, I've tried every single thing I can possibly think of to convince/beg/trick/force him to brush his teeth, but nothing works.

Sometimes, if I'm lucky, I get this far. He'll put a toothbrush in his mouth and lick off the toothpaste.




Here, I can just see him mocking me .... "see Mom... I
ammmmmmm brushing my teeth...."



On this particular day, he was in a good mood.. but most days lots of kicking and screaming are involved.



So, if you have any suggestions, gosh, I'd love to hear them. I fear we'll be giving a 2 year old fillings if we can't nip this brushing thing in the bud soon!

What goes through their minds!

Today before supper, Matthew opened the freezer and pulled out a bag of frozen, dried, bread cubes.... "those aren't for eating" Mommy said... But Matthew insisted that I open the bag for him to see inside.

"Do you want some bread?" Mommy asks. "Yes!" Says Matthew. So, we open up the bag and take out a nice fresh piece of bread. He holds it in his hand and then says "no!"... and continues to point to the bag of frozen bread. "bread" he says. So Mommy opens the bag, he reaches in and pulls himself out a nice big piece of dried up frozen bread.... "mmmmmmmm" he says and takes a big bite.

"Yucky!" Mommy says. "Don't you want some nice new fresh bread? We can even put butter on it?" He takes a bite of the bread cube again... "mmmmmm" and takes a big swig of milk.

Whatever makes them happy I guess :O)

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Matthew being silly: (Click on the picture to view it bigger)

Live, Learn and Pass it On

Sing in the shower.

Treat everyone you meet like you want to be treated.

Watch a sunrise at least once a year.

Leave the toilet seat in the down position.

Never refuse homemade brownies.

Strive for excellence, not perfection.

Plant a tree on your birthday.

Learn 3 clean jokes.

Return borrowed vehicles with the gas tank full.

Compliment 3 people every day.

Never waste an opportunity to tell someone you love them.

Leave everything a little better than you found it.

Keep it simple.

Think big thoughts but relish small pleasures.

Become the most positive and enthusiastic person you know.

Floss your teeth.

Ask for a raise when you think you’ve earned it.

Overtip breakfast waitresses.

Be forgiving of yourself and others.

Say, “Thank you” a lot.

Say, “Please” a lot.

Avoid negative people.

Buy whatever kids are selling on card tables in their front yards.

Wear polished shoes.

Remember other people’s birthdays.

Commit yourself to constant improvement.

Carry jumper cables in your truck.

Have a firm handshake.

Look people in the eye.

Be the first to say hello.

Use the good silver.

Return all things you borrow.

Make new friends, but cherish the old ones.

Keep a few secrets.

Sing in a choir.

Plant flowers every spring.

Have a dog.

Always accept an outstretched hand.

Stop blaming others.

Take responsibility for every area of your life.

Wave at kids on school buses.

Be there when people need you.

Feed a stranger’s expired parking meter.

Don’t expect life to be fair.

Never underestimate the power of love.

Live your life as an exclamation, not an explanation.

Don’t be afraid to say, “I made a mistake.”

Don’t be afraid to say, “I don’t know.”

Compliment even small improvements.

Keep your promises no matter what.

Marry for love.

Rekindle old friendships.

Count your blessings.

Oh Shitty....

Tonight Matthew went to bed like an angel.. Just 10 minutes after his bedtime.. no crying... played for a few minutes and fell right asleep.

Then, Darren went in to turn off his light night and whispered .... "he pooped".. oh Shitty... (pardon the pun)...

So what do you do? I can't leave him for 12 hours in a poopy diaper?! Guess we have to wake him up!

So, we did just that. Changed his diaper quick, in the dark, hoping he wouldn't really wake up.

But, he woke up, and now, he currently is screaming and does not want to go back to sleep.

So much for doing the dishes.

On the mend

Today is the first day I actually feel a bit better... since October 12. I had to take two more days off work because the doctor finally said I wasn't going to get better unless I stayed in bed for a few days.

Thank goodness my mom is here to help out. A few 3 hour naps in the afternoon and some 12 hour sleeps at night where I'm actually sleeping now and I think I'll get rid of this thing.

I felt well enough to look through a few of the photos we took on our weekend. Sometimes I get lucky. This one is a keeper.

Almost Recovered

So, we had a nice weekend away.. although I had to spend almost all of it in bed... and no, not what you're thinking ;o( This torturous cold virus thingy that I had just would not go away and I actually found myself getting worse throughout the weekend. To the point that my Mom made me go to the doctor when I got home and I was diagnosed with strept throat and told by the doctor "well, duh, you're not going to get better because you've got yellow stuff on your tonsils.. you need antibiotics." Great.

So, 2 days later, I actually feel like I have an eensy teensy bit of energy (I have somehow managed to go to work the past 2 days though), and a little bit better.

Hope to be better for the trip to Edmonton this weekend! I am taking my mom to see her favourite singer, Celine Dion. It should be fun!

In the meantime, Matthew is having fun getting spoiled rotten by Grandpa and Grandma!

Uggh....

Sorry for the lack of posts this week. It appears our house has been infected with one of those icky viruses. So far, Darren has been the only one to escape!

First Matthew... then Mommy.. then the cat!

Anyhow, My Mommy is here to take care of us for a while now (Mom close your ears)... this means I don't have to cook for a week!! he he ....

Darren and I are off to Banff today for a teeny tiny getaway.. our first without the little man in tow.

Will report back when we get home.

Have a good weekend!

Thanksgiving.....

...well, today was marked by 8 or so hours in the kitchen... (totally by choice though, I can't complain!)

I took the lazy route in terms of turkey today. I highly recommend Lilydale Roast and Boast if you're not feeling like dealing with the whole turkey thing. Although it was a bit over-seasoned for my liking (the actual meat wasn't that bad though)... it reminded me of a Swiss Chalet Dinner. Not quite homemade, but a good second. Suprisingly the stuffing was also quite good inside. Again, a bit overseasoned. Would I buy it again? Maybe. If I have another "I don't feel like doing a turkey, but I want a turkey" holiday.

So being that it's Thanksgiving, I thought I should share some of the things I'm thankful for.....

~ my two guys, well that's a given. But how could I have gotten so lucky?

~ having parents who care so much. It is always comforting knowing you have someone you can count on.

~ my job. I got lucky and found a company that (so far) recognizes my needs to balance being a mom and being a career person.

~ living in Calgary. Some would say it's too big of a city, but I like that we live in a "small town feel" neighbourhood on the edge of town, yet I'm minutes away to anything I could need.

~ True Lemon... I swear, if you hate drinking water like me, this stuff is a lifesaver.

~ PVR's. Way easier than VCR's. The only way I will ever get a chance to watch TV these days.

~ Grey's Anatomy, Private Practice and Brother's and Sisters. Get my fix of wishy washy drama each week, er well once a month or so when I actually get to sit down and watch.

~ living in Canada. Sure, we have the poorest-excuse-for-an-election you could find, but I'd still rather live here than down south.

~ foodsaver bags. Wouldn't be able to cook and freeze the way I do without them.

~ great neighbours. Lucky to live in a cul-de-sac where I've made a lot of friends.

~ blogs. Since I was never good at writing in a journal, it's the next best thing.

~ girlfriends. Some live near and some live far, but it's nice to know you have someone you can talk to or laugh with or cry with, wherever they may be.

~ memories. Times goes so fast, thank God we can at least remember them.

So how about you?

Friday Flashback....Baby of Mine....

Dat - Tu!

The cutest thing that has come out of Matthew's mouth lately is "dat-tu", which translates to "thank-you"!, but only when you give him something that he really likes... like a cookie, or some grapes or a frozen yogurt popsicle!

We were so fortunate to have some fun last Friday with Matthew at the lake. It made me realize how easily you can get caught up in the hussle and bussle of every day and forget to take time for the little things...

Happy Fall!

Finally....

For a while now, Matthew has been saying "ma"... at first, I was quite sure he was asking for milk because he said it when he went to the fridge. But then, he started to say it other places and I thought, "I wonder if he's saying "Mom" instead?"... but he never really said it directly to me, so I still doubted he was saying Mommy..

Then last night he was up about 1am and couldn't sleep... I went in his room and sang and talked to him for a while... then I stayed quite for a few seconds to see if he was sleeping. I heard a little "ma? ma?" and I knew that he didn't want milk.. he was asking if I was still there! He's been saying Mommy all along and I didn't even know it!

As a side note, I also realized that he is taking after his Uncle Mark. When Uncle Mark was a baby, I recall, as a 6 year old, spending lots of evenings sitting by his crib and rubbing his back so that he would fall asleep... well, last night, I sat by Matthew's crib and put my hand just by him so that he knew I was there, and what did he do? He reached for my hand and placed it on his back... uh oh... what have I started!?!