Halloween 2012

Yup.  That was fun!

Despite the arrival of the not-so-Frankenstormish-Hurricane-Sandy, and the drab rain that sleeted through the UX today- Halloween didn't disappoint!  Rowan has been talking about tonight for 2 weeks...dressing up in his costume, having a Halloween party with his friends at school, making a Haunted House, carving pumpkins, and telling his sister all about Trick or Treating.  He.  Was.  Pumped. 

...and then it came (ready or not...I won the award for procrastination this year, picking up the last of the Halloween candy at about 3pm this afternoon!).  He was literally shaking with excitement, and popped out of bed this morning at 6:20am.  Funny enough- we didn't think Miss G would get as "into it" as she did this year, but one mention of the word "costume", and she was off like a hat to find her stuff.  Sweet.  Nothing like the energy of 2 kiddies to get into the spirit!

At Rowan's request, I made his Peter Pan costume (which, ironically, was often mistaken as Robin Hood...both characters do sorta wear the same stuff, only Robin Hood would have had a bow & arrow instead of a dagger...mental note for next year!).  Given I only taught myself how to sew a few weeks ago, I'm pretty stinkin' chuffed at how it turned out:

(OMG!  i hate that blogger automatically rotates my pics!)

Georgia was going as a super-cute owl costume...also homemade...but made it super warm in case we had a freezing cold Halloween night. So, Rowan got his wish, and had his little Tinkerbell sidekick for G's daytime costume at daycare (super sweet!  and thanks to Team Laba for the hand-me-down!):

Here's Georgia in her night costume- my sweet little owl:

I totally bootlegged the idea off a blogger's site (thanks to Lindsey from The Martin Family Times!), and I love, love how it turned out!  So easy...used a Poncho pattern that my Mom had from when we were kids instead of a cape- which proved to be much warmer (and more appropriate) for Ontario October weather!

Pumpkins turned out super cute, and got tons of raves from all the trick or treaters that came to the door:

(do I need to admit my Pinterest addiction here?  ...and subsequent idea steal for the Cookie Monster Pumpkin?  I can claim creative licence for the Elmo version!)  Ironically, I just went out to douse the lights in the pumpkins, and somehow all the cookies have disappears- must have been some hungry kiddies!

Finally, the family pic:

Happy Halloween Everyone!

They are (always) listening...

I read this today, and it hit me that I am too often not giving my kids the full attention they deserve.  I'm reminding myself to pick at least one of these each day- put a stop to "life" for a few minutes each day, and revel in my beautiful babes...

{19 Things we should say to our Children}1. I love you! There is nothing that will make me stop loving you. Nothing you could do or say or think will ever change that.



2. You are amazing! I look at you with wonder! Not just at what you can do, but who you are. There is no one like you. No one!



3. It’s all right to cry. People cry for all kinds of reasons: when they are hurt, sad, glad, or worried; when they are angry, afraid, or lonely. Big people cry too. I do.



4. You’ve made a mistake. That was wrong. People make mistakes. I do. Is it something we can fix? What can we do? It’s all over. You can start fresh. I know you are sorry. I forgive you.



5. You did the right thing. That was scary or hard. Even though it wasn’t easy, you did it. I am proud of you; you should be too.



6. I’m sorry. Forgive me. I made a mistake.



7. You can change your mind. It’s good to decide, but it is also fine to change.



8. What a great idea! You were really thinking! How did you come up with that? Tell me more. Your mind is clever!



9. That was kind. You did something helpful and thoughtful for that person. That must make you feel good inside. Thank you!



10. I have a surprise for you. It’s not your birthday. It’s for no reason at all. Just a surprise, a little one, but a surprise.



11. I can wait. We have time. You don’t have to hurry this time.



12. What would you like to do? It’s your turn to pick. You have great ideas. It’s important to follow your special interests.



13. Tell me about it. I’d like to hear more. And then what happened? I’ll listen.



14. I’m right here. I won’t leave without saying good-bye. I am watching you. I am listening to you.



15. Please and Thank You. These are important words. If I forget to use them, will you remind me?



16. I missed you. I think about you when we are not together!



17. Just try. A little bit. One taste, one step. You might like it. Let’s see. I’ll help you if you need it. I think you can do it.



18. I’ll help you. I heard you call me, here I am. How can I help you? If we both work together, we can get this done. I know you can do it by yourself, but I’m glad to help since you asked.



19. What do you wish for? Even if it’s not yet time for birthday candles and we don’t have a wishbone, it’s still fun to hear about what you wish for, hope for, and dream about.

AND...off we go!

We've been waiting for this for almost 2 years now...the trip of a lifetime!  Toronto-Paris-Mauritius!  (where's Mauritius?  check it out: http://www.mauritius.net/index.php).  No kiddies...just Glen and I for a much-needed couple "time out" from the real world!  2 full days' travel away from home-south of the equator (almost at The Tropic of Capricorn), and the other side of the Date line-  a little inundating with leaving Rowan & MIss G behind, but they are in great care with Oma & Pappy. 

I won this trip as a Sales Incentive with my company in 2010/11 (known at Medtroinc as the "President's Club Trip") when I was preggers with G- declined attendance at last year's locale, as Georgia was only 4 months old, and definitely too young to leave with anyone for an extended period of time.  The next 9 days are going to be amazing...overnight flight to Paris, followed by a 10-hour tour of the world's most romantic city, then a 12-hour flight to Mauritius for 6 days on one of the Top-10 beaches in the world.  It is also a big surfing mecca, the 5 star resort has paddleboards for us to play on in the Indian Ocean, and Medtronic International has organized a 1/2 day catamoran tour, 1/2 day jeep 4x4 tour through the rainforests of the island, and some time to ourselves to just relax and enjoy the island.

Can't freakin' wait...

Bragging Shots

We attended the wedding of a great couple last weekend in Timmins- and were blessed with the company of some amazing friends!  Here's a photo recap of my beautiful family...

now...can anyone show me how to rotate longitudinal pictures in Blogger????

THE BEACH!

Hands-down, apart from some less-than-perfect weather, this was one of the best trips to Hatteras yet.  The kids are at an age where they lived and breathed the beach!  From sandcastles, eating the grainy stuff, hunting for pirate treasure, kite flying...you name it.  This was THEIR vacation.  Here's the best shots of the kids, with more to come!



The Bribe

Rowan just completed his second-to-last "big boy" swimming lesson.  And by "big boy", I mean going in the pool by himself with the instructors.  Its been truly unbelieveable the transformation we have seen in just 9 weeks of lessons.

To our surprise, he was that kid at swimming lessons who threw himself down on the pool deck, kicking and screaming that he wasn't.  going.  in.  the.  pool.  period.  It wasn't pretty- in fact, it was downright embarassing, catching the attention of people even behind the glass in the viewing area.  A few weeks went by, and it really didn't seem like it was getting any better.  There was a 2:1 ratio of teachers in Rowan's class- 4 kids, 2 teachers, and good gawd, they had a run for their money with him!  The amount of coaxing that they tried...I tried...Glen tried...

Then, the light went on.  Revisit potty training incentives...and gave him a "special package" that he could open if he went the WHOLE swimming lesson without crying.  Unbelieveable.  It was like he was a whole new kid.  4 weeks and counting (and 4 new engines later...)- not a tear shed, and he's actually asking when it's Tuesday so he can go to swimming lessons. 

Today, he did everything his teachers asked him, wore the lifejacket like all the other kiddies, did front float, back float, put his face in the water to dive for rings, and participated in all the games.  They told me, with surprise, "I think we are actually going to pass him".  (love that they said that with both a question and disbelief tones in their voices!)

I know its flat-out bribery, but it works.  And I much prefer to call it reward-based learning.

Food Issues

We have food issues in our house.

Miss G is about as picky as they come.  It took some time to get her onto purees, and when we was little, we had only a short (1 month- maybe!) honeymoon stage of her eating pretty much anything we spooned into her mouth.  She had a gag reflex that just wouldn't go away.  And meat?  We've had to hide it in other food since day 1. 

Fast forward to now- just turned 1 year old, and we're on 6 straight weeks of eating nothing but bananas, muffins (or some sort of close bread family friend) and, on the odd occasion, greek yogurt.  Yup- thats it. 

We present options- every meal, she's offered a smogasboard of what the rest of the family is eating- and she just sits there.  Staring at us.  And eventually, starts to yell and point across the kitchen at the bananas, or yell again long enough until we dropped some toast infront of her. 

I've stooped low enough to start baking Miss G "Custom" Muffins...my latest batch were Applesauce/Bran/Prune/Carrot.  Trying to sneak in whatever possible nutrients I can.  We also started giving her a multivitamin- trying desperately to cover the basics that she is clearly too picky to get in via food.

She eats nothing from a spoon.  Her daycare provider manages to get her to eat the yogurt- me, I have to mix it with milk and throw it in a sippy cup to get her to drink it down.

And this week- we ended up in the ER at Uxbridge Cottage Hospital with a baby with a bloated stomach to the point that I couldn't even zip up her sweatshirt.  After a visit with the ER doc and a few xrays- lo and behold!  She was backed up right to the ascending colon- over 400% more fecal matter in her bowel than the average baby her age!  I guess I shouldn't have been surprised- 6 weeks of bananas and bread products will do that to you.  So, we're now on daily suppositories and stool softners to fix the problem.  Whilst still breeding our way straight back to this issue, as she's still only eating the culprits that put us in this mess.

And where do we go from here?  Suggestions welcome...please!