Its seriously been almost a YEAR since I last blogged?!?!?
and it looks like it may make it there cuz as I typed that sentence I heard my littlest let out a squawk ( took FOUR times to type that word out before it looked right sheesh) of annoyed warning - as in " mother, i am getting hungry....."
or maybe not. I no longer hear noise.
Its a rare thing these days to have any time to myself. When I do have it I am either reading my bible, scanning the pinterest and internet world for recipes that are gluten free AND weight watchers friendly AND freezer friendly, finding ways to entertain my totally different children and raising a newborn and two toddlers. Oh yes and making sure hubbie and i still get to have adult conversation that doesnt include spelling to be cryptic ( although, honestly there are some things we always seem to spell regardless of whether the children are present such as "fry", "down" ( referring to down stairs where there is a tornado of toys that used to serve as tv room/playroom but really is just a mess of toys now with a tv on the wall) and McDonalds - aka MCD's cuz thats how tired parents roll)
That was a really long sentence and probably written incorrectly.
So in the last year there have been a lot of changes. Mainly the addition of a newborn to the mix. Since I have been reading so many people's blogs, Ive realized I should probably be a little more censored in my writing about the children. So If you don't know my newest addition's name, and you should know it then you can facebook me cuz thats the only way people who know me are going to get his address ;)
I could start my return by sharing her entertaining birth story. Lets see how far I get and lets go back to the begining.
( Not the VERY beginning cuz thats just a bit awkward)
So last July I started feeling ridiculously tired- like someone had been spiking my water with copious amounts of melatonin or something. I also felt a bit ill like all the time. I finally braved up taking a pregnancy test. I moaned about how tired I was and informed hubbie that I was not going to attend small group that night but insisted that he go. Im kinda like a rabbit -you know how they have that special poo that no one sees and they hide it and eat it when no one is looking? ( seriously google it if you dont believe. I almost lost my mind when my friend told me this happens but shes very smart and doesnt make jokes like this) When i do a pregnancy test I hide from everyone, including hubbie and dont tell him im doing it til after. We needed milk which was a score so I went and got milk and a pregnancy test and hid the box from him with the bag of milk. Sneaky me. Naturally however I somehow forgot that my husband is extremely particular about milk being refridgerated without any ( and i mean any) delay. So the two seconds I left the milk bag alone he found the test.
So i did it while the girls were eating dinner and watching Dora
and as usually i smuggled it out of the bathroom for hubbie to read because this is how I do pregnancy tests.
and it was positive
and the girls were watching the Dora episode where she tells boots shes going to be a big sister.
who says God doesnt have a sense of humour?
Anyway the next several months went by. When December hit I also got hit with a wonderful condition called Symphysis pubis dysfunction - also known as pelvic girdle pain - which in my opinion is a much better name for it because it involves EVERYTHING. To make that long painful story short I have to say as horrible as it was, God blessed me so much through it - showing his provision when I had to quit work early, practically live at my chiropractors office and somehow Hubbie had the energy and perserverence he needed to keep going when he came home at the end of the day to do basically everything because I was pretty much useless by the time he arrived. I learned a lot about throwing off the expectations and opinions of others, gained a lot more empathy for others who appear to not have any problems ( even more with this than with my mysterious condition that appears to be fibromyalgia but the rheumatologist refused to say i have it, and refused to say I dont so you tell me) and learned to rely on God way more and trust God way more......all in all it was a rotten experience but Im thankful for it. Even though my lovely one was born in march, I am still having some residual issues but it is increasingly improving.
Anyhow, I was CONVINCED in my mind that this child was going to be very early. Im not sure how I came to that conclusion but I was sure. Except she didnt. She didn't arrive on time either. I was distraught about some circumstances surrounding the birth - giving birth with this condition can be hairy - certain positions can actually cause post birth damage that takes longer to recover from - and I was determined that that wasnt going to happen cuz having 3 kids 3 and under is no picnic and one needs to be able to move! ( let me just state that I in no way am saying that people in wheelchairs or with physical disabilites should not have children - it just makes it a heck of a lot easier to be able to chase the rascals)
I was wrong about that and I was wrong about birth.
Finally, in the wee hours of March 17th my water broke. The hilarious thing about this was that my cousin had been visiting that weekend previous and we were discussing the act of the water breaking. As I hadnt experienced it and she had she informed me how .....unappealing it is. Since she is a little more squirmy than I am, I just thought she was exaggerating.
Oh she was not.
Supposedly there is a litre of fluid. I think thats a lie. I think its more like 5.
So anyway my water broke in the wee hours of the morning. I woke up Josh and heres how that conversation went
Me: Uhm honey...I think my water broke.
Josh:are you sure you didnt pee yourself?
Me: yes
Josh: My leg is wet
You know how they say labour picks up when your water breaks?
Ya not always.
Nothing happened. We called the midwife and she said go back to bed. So we did. Well sorta....seeing as how the events described had just happened. The nice thing about my water breaking was that I was able to walk around a little easier wtihout that extra weight making my pelvis scream.
Highlights from the birth :
Since I had an induction I accepted the epidural. Which was awesome. It was the first time in like years I had absolutely no pain. Good times. I did some crocheting, some texting ( normally my texting spelling is horrid because I go at it so fast and auto correct makes all sorts of fun substitutes -but it was REALLY bad and i did A LOT of texting) We made the nurse laugh a lot. Apparently we were amusing. Even before the epidural.
When the anesthetist arrived he applied the disinfectant ALL OVER my entire back. Josh said it was like he was painting a barn. It felt like he was slapping it all over. So it was inserted and Josh had his head down the entire time...and I thought he was praying.
I was wrong
The nurse shouted " DAD'S GOING DOWN!", grabbed Josh with one hand, a chair with another, slid it over, shoved Josh down onto it and yelled for the "student" to get a wet cloth. Josh looked so bewildered and said " I just got...really hot....all of a sudden". The student brough the cloth, the nurse slapped it onto his forehead and ordered the student ( Brianna was her name) to hold it on his head. It was such a hilarious sight. Josh asked " Do I really look that bad?" The student looked uncomfortable and confused. I just laughed. slightly drug induced laugh. I had no idea an epidural could cloud your senses. It was only my third time getting one.....
Since I had an induction, I also had a transfer of care so my midwife wasn't around and the OB who was to deliver was working over time. He wasnt seen much. When he had checked me apparently baby had some time to make way down so I figured it would take a while. Anyway, i suddenly realized my body was pushing and I was SURE the catheter was falling out. Josh asked if we should ring the nurse and I said "oh no theres still lots of time" I think he usurped me, or the nurse just happened to walk in and check me and declared that it was time to have a baby. So our little unknown sexed baby came within 4 pushes ( and thankfully the doctor decided to come to me first out of the three women on the floor who were ready to push) and we saw that we had another girl. Finally an undramatic birth with a super healthy no drama baby.
The other two women i had previous mentioned both gave birth within the next half hour. It was a crazy day to be born at that particular hospital.
Anyway this is the story of little E's birth. She didn't have a name for a while but I started thinking about it while texting my friend at midnight and a name I had read a while ago and thought was kinda cute popped into my head so i had her look up the name for me ( internet doesnt work in that hospital....you can text but no internet and no calling. totally weird).
My cousin came to visit and they didnt even kick her out when she was there an hour after visiting hours was over. Her and my mom had made a list of names and brought them, the nurse from labour and delivery made a list too ....it was a crazy affair.
I had a lot of student nurses this time. Brianna as previously mentioned
was fantastic. I also had a young man who really did not want to end up
on a maternity floor. He lectured me about why formula feeding is bad,
among other things and his way of educating was....well I had grace on
him. It was funny. Especially since I had JUST told him I was on my
third kid and had production issues. At least he didnt point out my
stretch marks with great surprise like the student I had with bigger E. It reminded me of when I was a student on a maternity floor and I felt like an idiot having to educate women on how to breastfeed cuz I had no idea what I was doing and thought someone who did should probably help them since they seemed to think I knew what I was talking about and I suspected it wasn't as simple as making a c around your boob ( which i was right about when I actually did it lol)
The most annoying part of it all was that i couldnt walk much at all afterwards. My pelvis was kinda a mess as it tends to be for most women but even more so due to my condition. I told my nurse that, and naturally she had never heard of it. i asked if i could be wheeled out and she looked mad and acted like it was ridiculous request. I ended up having to wheel myself out of the hospital. Three nurses sitting at the station complaining about how labour and delivery didnt fill out crib cards.
................................
however. this is it. no more. the OB declared that he would be there to deliver my fourth baby ( he also delivered bigger E as she also had to be a transfer of care at the last minute) but i assured him that he was off the hook.
This took two days to write.
Monday 8 June 2015
Saturday 5 July 2014
Yummy, I Like Cake.
So my friend, Steve Warburton has challenged me to write a blog with this title. I am 2 days late. This is because I have 2 toddlers and we recently transitioned one to a big girl bed and sleep has been lacking. As has an overall feeling of sanity.
Oh and our car was deemed unsafe.
All on the day this was due.
Bah!
Anyhow. Steve and I met so many years ago I can't even remember. Online, naturally. We met on a site called Christian Cafe. Its a dating site. I don't recommend it. Even though I met my amazing wonderful husband on it. Other than Josh and Steve, the other men I met were weird and creepy. Except for this one other very sweet guy who poured out his heart in his first ever message. Anyhow. The one time Steve and I met was at a pizza place called Tomasso's in Trenton Ontario. I was 45 minutes late due to many factors and he did not have a cell phone. I felt bad. I felt even worse how I greeted him when I arrived. I thre w my purse in the booth, apologized for my lateness and announced that I had to pee.
I make amazing first impressions.
The pizza was incredible. Steve did card tricks and taught me the real meaning behind "she bop" as it was playing and I was yammering on about it. He began to talk about Kurt Vonnegut and I was lost but glad that he wasn't talking about south park or some other related show.
Anyhow.
On my 23rd birthday I went to a restaurant with some friends to celebrate. During this celebration I was brough a piece of chocolate birthday cake. It was incredible...one might even say....."yummy" Somebody captured a picture of the cake and I and it became ( and, I believe, is currently) my MSN picture. Steve very much enjoyed this picture because I look so excited. I was actually quite depressed as my ex and I had broken up.
That night my friend Dan who had been missing for a while, making trips and around the continent had come. Wearing glasses that weren't his. It rained that night. He got into a car accident on his way to my house. In his parents car. I was pretty upset. Thankfully he was fine.
It was a fun night. My cousin Af cream pied me and I had to take a shower and leave all my friends to watch Lost in my living room with my mom.
Elisa turned one in January and discovered that she really liked cupcakes. Her grandma made a bunch and she and Josh decorated them. Elisa ate a cookie monster cupcake and thoroughly enjoyed it. Sophia doesn't really like cake. I'm sure she will come to love it in time though. If not, that is ok with me.
I made my grandma a cake from scratch when I was 12. It was terrible. Everyone pretended to like it. I was touched because I knew my grandpa would pretend to like it, but I didn't think grandma would.
The first birthday that Josh and I were together I made him a pie. I carted it from Peterborough, all the way to his school in Toronto, near Jane and Finch ( which incidentally, I visited when Sophia was about 10 months old and I was vastly pregnant with Elisa. I went to the mall there. I got a lot of weird stares. Until I got to dollarama. I was looking for headphones for my friend who was in the hospital near there. It was no scary. It was also 10am). This was a very long bus/subway/bus ride. It took me several hours to get there. I was there to watch the school concert. He was cranky with the students because they were being impertinent. One girl marched up to him and asked if he had eaten his lunch that day. He said yes. She looked thoughtful and walked away. I laughed heartily because he is often viciously cranky when he skips lunch, which is almost never now, thanks to moi. Once we finally got back to his apartment, the smile of the happy face I had drawn in the pie looked like it was drooling.
Our wedding cake had amazingly yummy icing. It was made by my best friends parents and sister. They made several cakes I was told. I unfortunately did not get to see this and paid them a ridiculously tiny amount of money. It was very pretty and I didn't get to finish my piece and was very very sad. We had a hunk left for our first anniversary though. It was a cream cheese icing. Mmmmmm.
Yummy, I Like Cake.
Oh and our car was deemed unsafe.
All on the day this was due.
Bah!
Anyhow. Steve and I met so many years ago I can't even remember. Online, naturally. We met on a site called Christian Cafe. Its a dating site. I don't recommend it. Even though I met my amazing wonderful husband on it. Other than Josh and Steve, the other men I met were weird and creepy. Except for this one other very sweet guy who poured out his heart in his first ever message. Anyhow. The one time Steve and I met was at a pizza place called Tomasso's in Trenton Ontario. I was 45 minutes late due to many factors and he did not have a cell phone. I felt bad. I felt even worse how I greeted him when I arrived. I thre w my purse in the booth, apologized for my lateness and announced that I had to pee.
I make amazing first impressions.
The pizza was incredible. Steve did card tricks and taught me the real meaning behind "she bop" as it was playing and I was yammering on about it. He began to talk about Kurt Vonnegut and I was lost but glad that he wasn't talking about south park or some other related show.
Anyhow.
On my 23rd birthday I went to a restaurant with some friends to celebrate. During this celebration I was brough a piece of chocolate birthday cake. It was incredible...one might even say....."yummy" Somebody captured a picture of the cake and I and it became ( and, I believe, is currently) my MSN picture. Steve very much enjoyed this picture because I look so excited. I was actually quite depressed as my ex and I had broken up.
That night my friend Dan who had been missing for a while, making trips and around the continent had come. Wearing glasses that weren't his. It rained that night. He got into a car accident on his way to my house. In his parents car. I was pretty upset. Thankfully he was fine.
It was a fun night. My cousin Af cream pied me and I had to take a shower and leave all my friends to watch Lost in my living room with my mom.
Elisa turned one in January and discovered that she really liked cupcakes. Her grandma made a bunch and she and Josh decorated them. Elisa ate a cookie monster cupcake and thoroughly enjoyed it. Sophia doesn't really like cake. I'm sure she will come to love it in time though. If not, that is ok with me.
I made my grandma a cake from scratch when I was 12. It was terrible. Everyone pretended to like it. I was touched because I knew my grandpa would pretend to like it, but I didn't think grandma would.
The first birthday that Josh and I were together I made him a pie. I carted it from Peterborough, all the way to his school in Toronto, near Jane and Finch ( which incidentally, I visited when Sophia was about 10 months old and I was vastly pregnant with Elisa. I went to the mall there. I got a lot of weird stares. Until I got to dollarama. I was looking for headphones for my friend who was in the hospital near there. It was no scary. It was also 10am). This was a very long bus/subway/bus ride. It took me several hours to get there. I was there to watch the school concert. He was cranky with the students because they were being impertinent. One girl marched up to him and asked if he had eaten his lunch that day. He said yes. She looked thoughtful and walked away. I laughed heartily because he is often viciously cranky when he skips lunch, which is almost never now, thanks to moi. Once we finally got back to his apartment, the smile of the happy face I had drawn in the pie looked like it was drooling.
Our wedding cake had amazingly yummy icing. It was made by my best friends parents and sister. They made several cakes I was told. I unfortunately did not get to see this and paid them a ridiculously tiny amount of money. It was very pretty and I didn't get to finish my piece and was very very sad. We had a hunk left for our first anniversary though. It was a cream cheese icing. Mmmmmm.
Yummy, I Like Cake.
Saturday 3 May 2014
So I guess never got around to finishing writing about March break but oh well......
I forget now.
Other than the horrible snowstorm that inspird he title of the last march break blog.
Anyhow. Not much to write about in particular. Some highlights from the last month and a half
Josh and I went on a date night a few Saturdays ago. We ended up going to a store before having dinner. This place is a sort of grocery place. So we are walking around. W get to the back of the store where they're are freezers and such. So ok standing facing josh and we are discussing chicken or fish or something when suddenly this ancient air conditioner comes on (it was not hot btw) it was quite powerful considering its age and blew my hair straight out.
The closest ill ever come to modelling....
So naturally me being me, I begin to pretend( mildly however) that I'm on a vogue shoot or something and toss my head back and forth, laughing hysterically the whole time while josh looks on with amusement.
Then. I look to my right.
I see....much to my horror (initially that is)
A video camera,
It's he type of place that the boss probably does watch the cameras too. I pointed and showed josh and he Just shook his head. I laughed uproariously and then skewed addled.
Then we went on to dinner. This Indian restaurant that we love. W had saved up our points for it too, we usually get a dinner for two that is wonderful f and yummy this time we decided to do the he Buffett.
Mistake number 1
Now, when we do buffet's wits practically an art, I attribute this to my father in law. You stuff in as much as possible so yu you have to take long breaks between plates. Back in the day (aka before weight watchers) this took a very long time. Especially since I'd eat one plate and then a dessert plate and do josh would just be finishing plate one. So this was the first buffet since ww . Things we're initially going well but I made...
Mistake number 2
Naan.
Now a bit of back story, two weeks before I had decided to go hard after giving Up wheat. It seemed to be going well but I wasn't noticing a huge difference (it's mainly for my joint pain issues. Wheat seems to aggravate them). Well I ate naan. Then I ate too much buffet.
Mistake number 3
Sitting too long before getting buffet pserving#2
The waiters thought we we're leaving so hugely cleared the table. We returned to our table with no utensils, drinks or naan. It was.....humorous and embarrassing. .
By the end of huge dinner I was bloated and gassy and we were both mourning the fact that we had waivers from our usual choice and decided buffets are not a good choice.
The next THREE days I was bloated and gassy and mourning the fact that I had had naan.
TMI ALERT!!!!!!!!!! WARNING THIS MAY BE TOO DIFFICULT FOR SOME rEADERS TO READ
I had weighed in on our normal day, the day after the Indian food disaster and had gained 2lbs. Then was bloated and gassy. Then after the gas and bloat faded much bowel movements occurred. Then my pants felt loose so I weighed myself early.
I had crapped out 6lbs. Or at least that's my best assumption for having lost 6 lbs in 4 days.
TMI ALERT OVER
So the bottom line is, wheat and I are no longer friends. We are like star crossed forbidden lovers that I am choosing to avoid having affairs with.
Today I am at work. My client is sleeping soundly. On my way here, I was listening to armin van buuren and thinking about why amazing worship music he would write if he became a Christian.
Then I went through a red light. Pretty sure I did anyway. Oops.
Can't really think of anything else to mention at the moment. I need to do some serious editing when I'm on a desktop next. My iPad auto correct hates me as much as my phones auto correct does.
Xo
I forget now.
Other than the horrible snowstorm that inspird he title of the last march break blog.
Anyhow. Not much to write about in particular. Some highlights from the last month and a half
Josh and I went on a date night a few Saturdays ago. We ended up going to a store before having dinner. This place is a sort of grocery place. So we are walking around. W get to the back of the store where they're are freezers and such. So ok standing facing josh and we are discussing chicken or fish or something when suddenly this ancient air conditioner comes on (it was not hot btw) it was quite powerful considering its age and blew my hair straight out.
The closest ill ever come to modelling....
So naturally me being me, I begin to pretend( mildly however) that I'm on a vogue shoot or something and toss my head back and forth, laughing hysterically the whole time while josh looks on with amusement.
Then. I look to my right.
I see....much to my horror (initially that is)
A video camera,
It's he type of place that the boss probably does watch the cameras too. I pointed and showed josh and he Just shook his head. I laughed uproariously and then skewed addled.
Then we went on to dinner. This Indian restaurant that we love. W had saved up our points for it too, we usually get a dinner for two that is wonderful f and yummy this time we decided to do the he Buffett.
Mistake number 1
Now, when we do buffet's wits practically an art, I attribute this to my father in law. You stuff in as much as possible so yu you have to take long breaks between plates. Back in the day (aka before weight watchers) this took a very long time. Especially since I'd eat one plate and then a dessert plate and do josh would just be finishing plate one. So this was the first buffet since ww . Things we're initially going well but I made...
Mistake number 2
Naan.
Now a bit of back story, two weeks before I had decided to go hard after giving Up wheat. It seemed to be going well but I wasn't noticing a huge difference (it's mainly for my joint pain issues. Wheat seems to aggravate them). Well I ate naan. Then I ate too much buffet.
Mistake number 3
Sitting too long before getting buffet pserving#2
The waiters thought we we're leaving so hugely cleared the table. We returned to our table with no utensils, drinks or naan. It was.....humorous and embarrassing. .
By the end of huge dinner I was bloated and gassy and we were both mourning the fact that we had waivers from our usual choice and decided buffets are not a good choice.
The next THREE days I was bloated and gassy and mourning the fact that I had had naan.
TMI ALERT!!!!!!!!!! WARNING THIS MAY BE TOO DIFFICULT FOR SOME rEADERS TO READ
I had weighed in on our normal day, the day after the Indian food disaster and had gained 2lbs. Then was bloated and gassy. Then after the gas and bloat faded much bowel movements occurred. Then my pants felt loose so I weighed myself early.
I had crapped out 6lbs. Or at least that's my best assumption for having lost 6 lbs in 4 days.
TMI ALERT OVER
So the bottom line is, wheat and I are no longer friends. We are like star crossed forbidden lovers that I am choosing to avoid having affairs with.
Today I am at work. My client is sleeping soundly. On my way here, I was listening to armin van buuren and thinking about why amazing worship music he would write if he became a Christian.
Then I went through a red light. Pretty sure I did anyway. Oops.
Can't really think of anything else to mention at the moment. I need to do some serious editing when I'm on a desktop next. My iPad auto correct hates me as much as my phones auto correct does.
Xo
Thursday 27 March 2014
It's always winter, and never Christmas. Part 1
Freedom , freedom, march break hurrah!!!!!!
Can you tell this week has been march break?
So it all started last Friday. Because of the teacher deal and unpaid days, I got hubbie home for Friday. We decided to go on a date!
Oh lone star. Can you say deep fried avocados with some amazing "mystery sauce"
Oh. My. Goodness.
Über wow.
Side note: how cute! It automatically made the umlaut over my u!
We also went for glow in the dark mini golf. I managed to only be behind Josh by 8.
So. Since we were gone til 630, that meant the girls were being put down by the babysitter.
I'd just like to say that I love our babysitter. She is fabulous. For her safety sake, Im not stating her name. So she shall be called the babysitter. That sounds so cold and unrelational, but....yeah. Im not sure my mom would have been thrilled that someone was blogging about me babysitting when I was a teenager. Except people didnt blog so much then. I also didn't babysit so much then. Like maybe yearly. Usually because kids never listened to me.
Not much has changed since then.
Anyway, our babysitter, put Sophia to bed early.
Not half an hour early.
Not an hour early.
Not even an houor and a half early.
2 hours early.
Apparently she was falling asleep on her feet.
She woke up at 330 the next morning.
The plan was, that after I got home from work ( yes I was working that morning) that we would head to Peterborough to celebrate my birthday with my mom. I was getting, shall we say, ornery as the morning went on and was VERY, shall we say, ornery when I was leaving the house later than usual.
Then my phone rang.
It was buried in my purse so I considered not answering it, as it was a another barrier to me getting out of the house. Good thing I answered it because my shift was cancelled. Imagine how great that would've been to drive all the way to work only to find out there was no one there....hah!
So it was good to have the morning to prepare for travelling. The previous week had been the free mcdonalds coffees....we had gotten...many...and so had saved up our stickers to get free drinks. On the way we stopped at mcdonalds to get drinks. I asked if the free drink included the chai latte and they said no. I had originally wanted a smoothie, which I discussed with Josh in the car but didnt ask about.
So Josh ordered...some kind of coffee with chocolate and I ordered a hot chocolate with the toasted marshmallow on top. We got to the window and waited........and then the girl comes over and says they have no chocolate syrup and if we rea`lly want it, it will be a ten minute wait. So we had to order something else. Josh chose and I couldnt choose.....when I said I don't really like coffee that much, they said I could get whatever I wanted. Including a smoothie. The look Josh gave me was a mixture of hilarious and pitiful. I got a smoothie.
It
was
GIGANTIC.
I got another indescribable look from Josh. I got a flavour I thouoght he might enjoy so we could share it but he didnt end up wanting much LOL.
We had my birthday dinner at moms. She made this broccoli casserole that I actually loved as a child. At my request. SHe also made a humongous cherry cheesecake. We watched a movie and i ate half the piece of cake at the begining of the movie and the rest at the end. Phew. So good though. I got this awesome nail stamping kit with jewels and etc from mom. Its one of those things you apparently have to experiment with a bit because the stamp is a bit smooth and shiny. Ive done some research though and apparently nail filing it works ( it does) unfortunatly I havent had as much time as Id like to play around with it.
My birthday was sunday the next day. I got to have a soak in the tub in water that was actually hot ( our hot water tank kind of sucks. Im not complaining, because we do have hot water, but by the time our tub fills up the water is ice cold coming from the tap) and I got to facebook chat with my seester since it was sunday. My dad called a little later and the conversation went something like this:
(after singing happy birthday to me)
Dad: I wasn't sure if you were going to chapel or not so I thought I'd call before
Me: (glancing at clock: 10:15) uh...if we were going to church we'd have to leave now.....
Dad: its only 915!
Me: no...its 10:15, we had the time change last night
Dad: WHAT?! No, i think you are mistaken
Me: no seriously
Dad: I'll have to check on the tv.....*turns on tv* Oh...you are right! well.....
Heh.
We talked to Momma G and Jeremy as well. Later that night I went out for dinner with a few people and we had the restaurant to ourselves basically. It was nice to feel like Christina for a few hours. It was hilarious though because the waitress at one point changed the songs and "Closing Time " came on. We wondered if it was a hint. I laughed uproariously of course. The waitress realized shortly after we did and ran over to change it. She said it wasn't on purpose...but it actually was closing time LOL. I got a free apple crisp for supper which I tried to share but the crust was so hard that it just made everything ooze out everywhere.
Turning 30 wasn't so bad :)
The next day some family came to visit which was nice. They had some humongous cheesecake too. Then the girls napped and we headed home. They were getting a bit cabin feverish and my moms house, as a childless house should be, is not the most childproof.
I will end part one here.
Can you tell this week has been march break?
So it all started last Friday. Because of the teacher deal and unpaid days, I got hubbie home for Friday. We decided to go on a date!
Oh lone star. Can you say deep fried avocados with some amazing "mystery sauce"
Oh. My. Goodness.
Über wow.
Side note: how cute! It automatically made the umlaut over my u!
We also went for glow in the dark mini golf. I managed to only be behind Josh by 8.
So. Since we were gone til 630, that meant the girls were being put down by the babysitter.
I'd just like to say that I love our babysitter. She is fabulous. For her safety sake, Im not stating her name. So she shall be called the babysitter. That sounds so cold and unrelational, but....yeah. Im not sure my mom would have been thrilled that someone was blogging about me babysitting when I was a teenager. Except people didnt blog so much then. I also didn't babysit so much then. Like maybe yearly. Usually because kids never listened to me.
Not much has changed since then.
Anyway, our babysitter, put Sophia to bed early.
Not half an hour early.
Not an hour early.
Not even an houor and a half early.
2 hours early.
Apparently she was falling asleep on her feet.
She woke up at 330 the next morning.
The plan was, that after I got home from work ( yes I was working that morning) that we would head to Peterborough to celebrate my birthday with my mom. I was getting, shall we say, ornery as the morning went on and was VERY, shall we say, ornery when I was leaving the house later than usual.
Then my phone rang.
It was buried in my purse so I considered not answering it, as it was a another barrier to me getting out of the house. Good thing I answered it because my shift was cancelled. Imagine how great that would've been to drive all the way to work only to find out there was no one there....hah!
So it was good to have the morning to prepare for travelling. The previous week had been the free mcdonalds coffees....we had gotten...many...and so had saved up our stickers to get free drinks. On the way we stopped at mcdonalds to get drinks. I asked if the free drink included the chai latte and they said no. I had originally wanted a smoothie, which I discussed with Josh in the car but didnt ask about.
So Josh ordered...some kind of coffee with chocolate and I ordered a hot chocolate with the toasted marshmallow on top. We got to the window and waited........and then the girl comes over and says they have no chocolate syrup and if we rea`lly want it, it will be a ten minute wait. So we had to order something else. Josh chose and I couldnt choose.....when I said I don't really like coffee that much, they said I could get whatever I wanted. Including a smoothie. The look Josh gave me was a mixture of hilarious and pitiful. I got a smoothie.
It
was
GIGANTIC.
I got another indescribable look from Josh. I got a flavour I thouoght he might enjoy so we could share it but he didnt end up wanting much LOL.
We had my birthday dinner at moms. She made this broccoli casserole that I actually loved as a child. At my request. SHe also made a humongous cherry cheesecake. We watched a movie and i ate half the piece of cake at the begining of the movie and the rest at the end. Phew. So good though. I got this awesome nail stamping kit with jewels and etc from mom. Its one of those things you apparently have to experiment with a bit because the stamp is a bit smooth and shiny. Ive done some research though and apparently nail filing it works ( it does) unfortunatly I havent had as much time as Id like to play around with it.
My birthday was sunday the next day. I got to have a soak in the tub in water that was actually hot ( our hot water tank kind of sucks. Im not complaining, because we do have hot water, but by the time our tub fills up the water is ice cold coming from the tap) and I got to facebook chat with my seester since it was sunday. My dad called a little later and the conversation went something like this:
(after singing happy birthday to me)
Dad: I wasn't sure if you were going to chapel or not so I thought I'd call before
Me: (glancing at clock: 10:15) uh...if we were going to church we'd have to leave now.....
Dad: its only 915!
Me: no...its 10:15, we had the time change last night
Dad: WHAT?! No, i think you are mistaken
Me: no seriously
Dad: I'll have to check on the tv.....*turns on tv* Oh...you are right! well.....
Heh.
We talked to Momma G and Jeremy as well. Later that night I went out for dinner with a few people and we had the restaurant to ourselves basically. It was nice to feel like Christina for a few hours. It was hilarious though because the waitress at one point changed the songs and "Closing Time " came on. We wondered if it was a hint. I laughed uproariously of course. The waitress realized shortly after we did and ran over to change it. She said it wasn't on purpose...but it actually was closing time LOL. I got a free apple crisp for supper which I tried to share but the crust was so hard that it just made everything ooze out everywhere.
Turning 30 wasn't so bad :)
The next day some family came to visit which was nice. They had some humongous cheesecake too. Then the girls napped and we headed home. They were getting a bit cabin feverish and my moms house, as a childless house should be, is not the most childproof.
I will end part one here.
Wednesday 26 March 2014
Mini Getaway for the big 3-0
Im going to be a bit backward here.
Not in a bad way - in a confusing way. Which is just natural when it comes to me really.
Im a big fan of writing in chronological order. Actually I'm kind of an annoying stickler for it. But today Im going to veer from that a bit because this blog will be much shorter than the blog Im going to write about the march break.
So first of all, it was my 30th this year. Im not sure if this mini getaway was initiaed by my mother in law or hubbie and I, but regardless it was much needed.
I decided that I was going to be particular for once. I asked hubbie if I could be selfish and he said yes. My criteria for a place to stay was as follows:
- A jacuzzi ( or whiirlpool tub? I dont know the difference)
- A Fireplace
- A full english breakfast ( for hubbie mostly)
-A comfortable bed
We talked about a few possibilites and set upon Niagara on the lake.
So I searched and found a B&B that looked awesome ( it has a kitchenette as well!) and comfortable and had all of the musts on the above list. Very excited. It was nice to have that to look forward to as well.
Anyway, my inlaws arrived friday night so that we would be able to leave early on saturday and still get a bit of a visit. We tried to play it like Josh was leaving for a normal school day and I'd slip out after to minimize trauma.
Blessing #1 - There were no tears when we left ( that we heard anyway)
We ended up stopping for lunch at a mall i remember my grandma talking about shopping at back in the day. That was a little weird. I mean, obviously its likely totally completely different than back then but it was still a little weird. A little sad. A little neat though too.
WE had virtually zero traffic and arrived fairly quickly. We decided to go to Queenston because my history loving hubbie wanted to go see the monument.
OKAY
That thing is absolutely huge! Like I cannot believe how massive it is. How did they ever manage that?! If he were on the ground, I swear he'd be about three or four times the size of a real person! We took a picture but it totally did not do it justice. That was basically my entire contribution to that stop.
We also drove into the little town of Queenston where Laura Secords house is ( closed of course, like many things that aren't stores in the area) Seriously creepy experience. The old houses were really cool. Its obviously a lived in town...but there were no people outside, the school ( well one of them) was closed and boarded up and also kind of creepy looking. We saw one other car the whole time we were there, it came from the lake and not the town. It was just plain eerie.
Anyway, we had lots of time to browse the shops and just relax and meander. It was a cold, but beautiful and sunny afternoon.
There are so many cool shops. Honestly, the biggest pull to choosing Niagara on the lake was the scottish loft. My friend Lisa had found the thistle china pattern im in love with ( and discovered on our honeymoon in Scotland nearly 4 years ago) there last summer and told me about it. Ever since Ive been itching to go and get a teapot. During out time there we discovered that these chocolate biscuits I love, called penguins, have been banned from being imported to Canada.
Because the package states that they have added calcium.
But genetically modified, over sugared, over preserved, one ingredient away from being plastic crap we eat on a daily basis is totally acceptable.
Added Calcium. Seriously. Poor Canada.
Anyway, I also discovered there that the set has not been discontinued as I had read a while ago on a website so I can chill and easily collect the tea set I want without having to shell out money when we don't have it. As it was the teapot was 85$ plus tax but I had birthday money so it was perfect timing.
Some other note worthy shops ( Ooooh its like a travel blog!!!)
Taste - ( at least thats what I think it was called)
Excellent shop. They sell a bunch of sauces and specialty oils and etc. You can try absolutely everything they have in the store for free. Most of it is locally made too which is pretty cool. Unfortunately the pear glaze I loved was 15$ for maybe 200 mLs so we skipped that, but it was a really fun experience and the lady was so helpful and nice and when we left without buying anything she was still friendly when we thanked her and told her to have a nice day.
Cheese Secrets - ( this was neat because we both wanted to try to find a cheese shop. We ended up parking in a green P that had we not gone all the way the end to, would not have seen the cheese shop at all because it was tucked in behind the main street. Blessing #.....Ive lost count really)
They didnt have a huge selection but what they did have was varying (cow, sheep, goat milk) and they were generous with taste tests. We got a 2 yr old raw cows milk cheese from PEI and an aged gouda. Both very tasty.
A fudge shop.
I forget the name.
They had lots of homemade fudge, canadian maple syrup and dutch licorice. Unfortunately nothing fun for my mother in law who is half dutch. Im glad I was with Josh because I swore he said she liked dutch licorice candies and he was emphatic that she doesnt. So that was a good thing to avoid. They let us have taste tests as well. We got a chocolate peanut butter and cookies and cream fudge. My only problem with that place was they only sold by half bricks and full bricks when we wanted less, but oh well.
Another shop I forget the name of.
This place was full of sauces, jams, chutneys, dip additives etc etc etc. There were about 12 taste test areas for all sorts of different things. It was really cool. Again we didnt buy anything but it was a fun experience.
We stopped for a snack ( more like a meal) at the Irish tea room.
Oh
My
Gosh.
I had decided last week that I need to go back to avoiding gluten.
This place blew that resolve out of the water.
We had a GIGANTIC scone complete with strawberries, jam and clotted cream. We had to eat it with a fork and knife, very carefully, because it was so so huge.
But so. so. oh so good.
We also had tea of course and a shamrock shortbread cookie. It was a nice atmosphere and the people were really friendly. Our waiter was not Irish. He was from Manchester. But oh well.
After the tea room we went back to get my teapot and to the cheese shop. I began to feel.....funny. Tipsy. Like Id had a couple glasses of wine. Except I didn't. Gluten? Sugar? Hm.......It sort of sucked. I was dizzy for a good 2 hours. Me thinks I should get to a nutritionist or something of the sort.
Anyway, we then checked into our B&B - 627 on King.
Absolutely amazing. Totally blew my expectations out of the water.
The owner was so friendly ( and English interestingly enough) and we had a little kitchenette with a fridge, tons of tea, a kettle, french press ( which hubbie was ecstatic about :D ), snacks, a fruit plate, even dishes and a knife and cutting board ( perfect for our newly purchased cheese). We chilled before dinner since I was all dizzy and had a terrible time figuring out where to eat. Once we finally decided, I was starting to feel a bit better.
We chose a pub. We are so predictable. We had wanted to try some place nicer but any of the places had no selection on the menus and it was mostly things I wouldn't eat, naturally. So we went to the pub. "The Irish Harp" Excellent atmosphere, nice waitress, food was pretty good. The fries were nothing special at all. The Guinness mayo was though.
Oh
My
Gosh
I actually neglected the ketchup completely. I even considered dipping my fish in the Guinness mayo. It tasted nothing like Guinness to me....more like hickory and something else. Regardless it was fantastic. They had a taster beer menu that Josh totally didnt see before ordering his Guinness. Poor guy. I had a glass of a Jackson Triggs chardonay that was ridiculously good. I mention this because it comes in to play later.
After dinner we returned to the B&B and poured over the mitt full of wine tasting vouchers the owner gave us. We tried to pick the most reasonable ones distance wise and leave the rest for other people. He had a drawer full of them though. It was kind of funny. I passed out around 930 as per usual.
I woke up about 6 times before morning, but they were very brief wake ups. It was nice to be in bed for 8 hours straight. I was wide awake by 5 which sucked but at least I got to relax. We had ordered breakfast for 830 so we ate our fruit plate since we were both up by 630. It was so nice to just chill and talk and relax and take our time. Time by the way went by ridiculously slowly which was very nice.
Breakfast was awesome. He serves it in your room ( I forgot to mention the little dinette set). He also serves it on the small placemats that we saw all over the B&B's on our honeymoon which was fun for nostalgic sake. Our first part included porridge wtih maple syrup and cream. I dont think i have ever seen Josh eat so fast. Usually i suck back food like a vacuum and hes not even half finished. Our next course was the english breakfast ( without beans but thats just because whenever he puts them out people usually leave them) So so good. We talked with the owner for a while during breakfast and shortly after, at checkout time. Turns out he teaches part time at the university in York ( England) Apparently they are having issues with the students getting drunk, falling in the river and dying. 3 died last year. Its become a serious part of orientation. Crazy!
After checkout we went to walk around Fort Mississauga. There isnt much there so its open to the public. You have to walk through a golf course to get there. So even though the wind was bitter cold walking there, it was probably better to be there when balls weren't flying around. Honestly, I would have been hit or narrowly missed getting hit, had there been golfers there. Some kids have used parts of it to hang out and do who knows what. I found reading the plaques kind of interesting.
Then began our wine tasting experience.....
First we went to Peller Estates. Absolutely gigantic, beautiful building. Very classy atmosphere. We spent longer there probably than intended. The lady was very helpful and informative about the different wines and etc. I didnt realize how generous they are wtih these wine tastings. We each got to try three types of wine and shared an ice wine and an extra dessert wine.
For free.
The ice wine was....oh man. As was this other oak aged dessert wine that we tried. It was 60$. We left without buying anything, but it was a very enjoyable experience.
Next we went to Jackson Triggs which was in a weird looking warehouse, blasting country music. It felt kind of like going to a huge LCBO with wine tasting. The contrast between the two places was bizarre.
One of the reasons we went to Jackson Triggs was because I wanted to try to find the chardonnay I had had the night before. I tried the only two they had in store ( you see, they save the top stuff to sell at the winery and the rest goes to the LCBO....the lady running the testing guessed that they either had an older version or it was a special restaurant version because they didn't have the one the pub owner said it was.
Or something.
Regardless she didnt include my chardonnay tastings as the free tastes so that was nice. We bought a bottle of gewurztraminer and a small bottle of ice wine that tastes like strawberry jam.
After that we had lunch at swanky McDonalds and checked out a store beside it that sounded a lot more interesting than it was....and then went to a beer making place. I forget the name. its relatively new. They gave us a range of beers to try. A lot of beer. All of which I despised of course. Josh didnt like it too much either so we slipped out, leaving lots of beer behind feeling slightly bad. Friendly people and atmosphere but too bitter and Josh was disappointed that it was only 3 years old. He likes the super old reciped beer. Or something like that.
So anyway, that was our last stop home. We had very little traffic and I slept off and on on the way home. It was a very very nice relaxing weekend.
We got home and the kids exclaimed "daddy!" Mommy was totally an afterthought. But thats ok. :)
Momma G made me an enchillada lasanga of sorts with corn tortillas. Very. Very. Very good. Luckily there was some leftover for supper the next day too. Later on we had yummy carrot cake with cream cheese icing too and got to visit with my inlaws for a bit. They stayed for a bit on monday to babysit while I went to the doctors. Earlier in the day momma G suggested we try to take the girls out for a walk because they had been cooped up forever. It was cold. But Sophia walked the whole way to the park and neither girl wanted to get out of the swings. Can you say tempers? Seriously, in minus "who knows what" weather with freezing wind chill and they STILL want to swing.
They didn't get this from me. I had a scarf wrapped entirely around the majority of my head.
Anyhow, Sophia finally had a good nap for the first time in days.
Come Spring! Fast!!!
This only took me two days to write.
Thank you sesame street for being so entertaining.
xo
Not in a bad way - in a confusing way. Which is just natural when it comes to me really.
Im a big fan of writing in chronological order. Actually I'm kind of an annoying stickler for it. But today Im going to veer from that a bit because this blog will be much shorter than the blog Im going to write about the march break.
So first of all, it was my 30th this year. Im not sure if this mini getaway was initiaed by my mother in law or hubbie and I, but regardless it was much needed.
I decided that I was going to be particular for once. I asked hubbie if I could be selfish and he said yes. My criteria for a place to stay was as follows:
- A jacuzzi ( or whiirlpool tub? I dont know the difference)
- A Fireplace
- A full english breakfast ( for hubbie mostly)
-A comfortable bed
We talked about a few possibilites and set upon Niagara on the lake.
So I searched and found a B&B that looked awesome ( it has a kitchenette as well!) and comfortable and had all of the musts on the above list. Very excited. It was nice to have that to look forward to as well.
Anyway, my inlaws arrived friday night so that we would be able to leave early on saturday and still get a bit of a visit. We tried to play it like Josh was leaving for a normal school day and I'd slip out after to minimize trauma.
Blessing #1 - There were no tears when we left ( that we heard anyway)
We ended up stopping for lunch at a mall i remember my grandma talking about shopping at back in the day. That was a little weird. I mean, obviously its likely totally completely different than back then but it was still a little weird. A little sad. A little neat though too.
WE had virtually zero traffic and arrived fairly quickly. We decided to go to Queenston because my history loving hubbie wanted to go see the monument.
OKAY
That thing is absolutely huge! Like I cannot believe how massive it is. How did they ever manage that?! If he were on the ground, I swear he'd be about three or four times the size of a real person! We took a picture but it totally did not do it justice. That was basically my entire contribution to that stop.
We also drove into the little town of Queenston where Laura Secords house is ( closed of course, like many things that aren't stores in the area) Seriously creepy experience. The old houses were really cool. Its obviously a lived in town...but there were no people outside, the school ( well one of them) was closed and boarded up and also kind of creepy looking. We saw one other car the whole time we were there, it came from the lake and not the town. It was just plain eerie.
Anyway, we had lots of time to browse the shops and just relax and meander. It was a cold, but beautiful and sunny afternoon.
There are so many cool shops. Honestly, the biggest pull to choosing Niagara on the lake was the scottish loft. My friend Lisa had found the thistle china pattern im in love with ( and discovered on our honeymoon in Scotland nearly 4 years ago) there last summer and told me about it. Ever since Ive been itching to go and get a teapot. During out time there we discovered that these chocolate biscuits I love, called penguins, have been banned from being imported to Canada.
Because the package states that they have added calcium.
But genetically modified, over sugared, over preserved, one ingredient away from being plastic crap we eat on a daily basis is totally acceptable.
Added Calcium. Seriously. Poor Canada.
Anyway, I also discovered there that the set has not been discontinued as I had read a while ago on a website so I can chill and easily collect the tea set I want without having to shell out money when we don't have it. As it was the teapot was 85$ plus tax but I had birthday money so it was perfect timing.
Some other note worthy shops ( Ooooh its like a travel blog!!!)
Taste - ( at least thats what I think it was called)
Excellent shop. They sell a bunch of sauces and specialty oils and etc. You can try absolutely everything they have in the store for free. Most of it is locally made too which is pretty cool. Unfortunately the pear glaze I loved was 15$ for maybe 200 mLs so we skipped that, but it was a really fun experience and the lady was so helpful and nice and when we left without buying anything she was still friendly when we thanked her and told her to have a nice day.
Cheese Secrets - ( this was neat because we both wanted to try to find a cheese shop. We ended up parking in a green P that had we not gone all the way the end to, would not have seen the cheese shop at all because it was tucked in behind the main street. Blessing #.....Ive lost count really)
They didnt have a huge selection but what they did have was varying (cow, sheep, goat milk) and they were generous with taste tests. We got a 2 yr old raw cows milk cheese from PEI and an aged gouda. Both very tasty.
A fudge shop.
I forget the name.
They had lots of homemade fudge, canadian maple syrup and dutch licorice. Unfortunately nothing fun for my mother in law who is half dutch. Im glad I was with Josh because I swore he said she liked dutch licorice candies and he was emphatic that she doesnt. So that was a good thing to avoid. They let us have taste tests as well. We got a chocolate peanut butter and cookies and cream fudge. My only problem with that place was they only sold by half bricks and full bricks when we wanted less, but oh well.
Another shop I forget the name of.
This place was full of sauces, jams, chutneys, dip additives etc etc etc. There were about 12 taste test areas for all sorts of different things. It was really cool. Again we didnt buy anything but it was a fun experience.
We stopped for a snack ( more like a meal) at the Irish tea room.
Oh
My
Gosh.
I had decided last week that I need to go back to avoiding gluten.
This place blew that resolve out of the water.
We had a GIGANTIC scone complete with strawberries, jam and clotted cream. We had to eat it with a fork and knife, very carefully, because it was so so huge.
But so. so. oh so good.
We also had tea of course and a shamrock shortbread cookie. It was a nice atmosphere and the people were really friendly. Our waiter was not Irish. He was from Manchester. But oh well.
After the tea room we went back to get my teapot and to the cheese shop. I began to feel.....funny. Tipsy. Like Id had a couple glasses of wine. Except I didn't. Gluten? Sugar? Hm.......It sort of sucked. I was dizzy for a good 2 hours. Me thinks I should get to a nutritionist or something of the sort.
Anyway, we then checked into our B&B - 627 on King.
Absolutely amazing. Totally blew my expectations out of the water.
The owner was so friendly ( and English interestingly enough) and we had a little kitchenette with a fridge, tons of tea, a kettle, french press ( which hubbie was ecstatic about :D ), snacks, a fruit plate, even dishes and a knife and cutting board ( perfect for our newly purchased cheese). We chilled before dinner since I was all dizzy and had a terrible time figuring out where to eat. Once we finally decided, I was starting to feel a bit better.
We chose a pub. We are so predictable. We had wanted to try some place nicer but any of the places had no selection on the menus and it was mostly things I wouldn't eat, naturally. So we went to the pub. "The Irish Harp" Excellent atmosphere, nice waitress, food was pretty good. The fries were nothing special at all. The Guinness mayo was though.
Oh
My
Gosh
I actually neglected the ketchup completely. I even considered dipping my fish in the Guinness mayo. It tasted nothing like Guinness to me....more like hickory and something else. Regardless it was fantastic. They had a taster beer menu that Josh totally didnt see before ordering his Guinness. Poor guy. I had a glass of a Jackson Triggs chardonay that was ridiculously good. I mention this because it comes in to play later.
After dinner we returned to the B&B and poured over the mitt full of wine tasting vouchers the owner gave us. We tried to pick the most reasonable ones distance wise and leave the rest for other people. He had a drawer full of them though. It was kind of funny. I passed out around 930 as per usual.
I woke up about 6 times before morning, but they were very brief wake ups. It was nice to be in bed for 8 hours straight. I was wide awake by 5 which sucked but at least I got to relax. We had ordered breakfast for 830 so we ate our fruit plate since we were both up by 630. It was so nice to just chill and talk and relax and take our time. Time by the way went by ridiculously slowly which was very nice.
Breakfast was awesome. He serves it in your room ( I forgot to mention the little dinette set). He also serves it on the small placemats that we saw all over the B&B's on our honeymoon which was fun for nostalgic sake. Our first part included porridge wtih maple syrup and cream. I dont think i have ever seen Josh eat so fast. Usually i suck back food like a vacuum and hes not even half finished. Our next course was the english breakfast ( without beans but thats just because whenever he puts them out people usually leave them) So so good. We talked with the owner for a while during breakfast and shortly after, at checkout time. Turns out he teaches part time at the university in York ( England) Apparently they are having issues with the students getting drunk, falling in the river and dying. 3 died last year. Its become a serious part of orientation. Crazy!
After checkout we went to walk around Fort Mississauga. There isnt much there so its open to the public. You have to walk through a golf course to get there. So even though the wind was bitter cold walking there, it was probably better to be there when balls weren't flying around. Honestly, I would have been hit or narrowly missed getting hit, had there been golfers there. Some kids have used parts of it to hang out and do who knows what. I found reading the plaques kind of interesting.
Then began our wine tasting experience.....
First we went to Peller Estates. Absolutely gigantic, beautiful building. Very classy atmosphere. We spent longer there probably than intended. The lady was very helpful and informative about the different wines and etc. I didnt realize how generous they are wtih these wine tastings. We each got to try three types of wine and shared an ice wine and an extra dessert wine.
For free.
The ice wine was....oh man. As was this other oak aged dessert wine that we tried. It was 60$. We left without buying anything, but it was a very enjoyable experience.
Next we went to Jackson Triggs which was in a weird looking warehouse, blasting country music. It felt kind of like going to a huge LCBO with wine tasting. The contrast between the two places was bizarre.
One of the reasons we went to Jackson Triggs was because I wanted to try to find the chardonnay I had had the night before. I tried the only two they had in store ( you see, they save the top stuff to sell at the winery and the rest goes to the LCBO....the lady running the testing guessed that they either had an older version or it was a special restaurant version because they didn't have the one the pub owner said it was.
Or something.
Regardless she didnt include my chardonnay tastings as the free tastes so that was nice. We bought a bottle of gewurztraminer and a small bottle of ice wine that tastes like strawberry jam.
After that we had lunch at swanky McDonalds and checked out a store beside it that sounded a lot more interesting than it was....and then went to a beer making place. I forget the name. its relatively new. They gave us a range of beers to try. A lot of beer. All of which I despised of course. Josh didnt like it too much either so we slipped out, leaving lots of beer behind feeling slightly bad. Friendly people and atmosphere but too bitter and Josh was disappointed that it was only 3 years old. He likes the super old reciped beer. Or something like that.
So anyway, that was our last stop home. We had very little traffic and I slept off and on on the way home. It was a very very nice relaxing weekend.
We got home and the kids exclaimed "daddy!" Mommy was totally an afterthought. But thats ok. :)
Momma G made me an enchillada lasanga of sorts with corn tortillas. Very. Very. Very good. Luckily there was some leftover for supper the next day too. Later on we had yummy carrot cake with cream cheese icing too and got to visit with my inlaws for a bit. They stayed for a bit on monday to babysit while I went to the doctors. Earlier in the day momma G suggested we try to take the girls out for a walk because they had been cooped up forever. It was cold. But Sophia walked the whole way to the park and neither girl wanted to get out of the swings. Can you say tempers? Seriously, in minus "who knows what" weather with freezing wind chill and they STILL want to swing.
They didn't get this from me. I had a scarf wrapped entirely around the majority of my head.
Anyhow, Sophia finally had a good nap for the first time in days.
Come Spring! Fast!!!
This only took me two days to write.
Thank you sesame street for being so entertaining.
xo
Wednesday 5 March 2014
Goodbye facebook...its been nice
Alright. Folks. Here we go.
So I have been thinking about, and praying about what to give up for lent this year. Usually I give up chocolate or desserts. You know yummy things. Partially because the last two years Ive been trying to lose pregnancy weight at that point and because its kind of a sacrifice. I enjoy these things for sure. This year I decided that really, yummy food isn't the biggest sacrifice I could make.
Facebook.
I am on it way too much. It distracts from my children, husband and God too. I mean really there are things I read on facebook that send me into a flying rage, and not for good reasons. Sometimes because I am indignant over in justices but sometimes because things people say that just really frustrate and upset me. So I have decided that aside from a once a week check ( sundays....being the off days) will be all I do.
Pray for me because this will be difficult. I do a lot of communicating through facebook.
Not only will I be giving up facebook, but because of that, I will giving up on some of my coupon opportunities. I started couponing earlier in 2013. I really enjoy it. At one point I realized though that I was actually trusting the coupons more to save us money than trusting God to provide for us. Sounds silly? Well we all have something right? :) Anyway, I am mostly beyond that though lately God has been teaching me more and more to trust Him more and more with everything. So the past week or two as I have been wondering what to give up, facebook kept popping up in my mind. Its a greater sacrifice than chocolate.
Why am I participating in lent? Traditionally this has been a catholic tradition and I am not catholic.
The truth is that many christians participate in lent now. One description (im sure it varies)is as follows:
Lent is a time when many Christians prepare for Easter by observing a period of fasting,repentance, moderation and spiritual discipline. The purpose is to set aside time for reflection on Jesus Christ - his suffering and his sacrifice, his life, death, burial and resurrection.
Now while I don't believe that participating in lent is in anyway a means of obtaining some kind of special observance by God that has anything to do with my salvation or standing with God, I think this is an excellent opportunity to throw off things that hinder our relationship and developing intimacy with our saviour. This is why I choose to observe it. This year I feel prompted to be more intentional about giving up something difficult. Example : God has called me, at this time in my life, to primarily be a wife and mom ( NOT ditching my career, but at this point FB doesnt interfere with that). So when I could be spending time pouring into my babies' lives and my husband's life but am wasting chunks of time on my phone facebooking for whatever reason, im neglecting, in a sense that calling.
Now friends don't get all up in arms. Facebook isnt evil. I am just spending way too much time on it. So really, why shouldn't a follower or Jesus, regardless of denomination embrace Lent if they so choose?
Today would have been my grandpa's 95th birthday. I can't believe that it has been 6 years since he passed away. I miss him, and my grandmother very much.
Then the children choose to both wake up at the same time shrieking.
The end...you may see me more often for the next few weeks.
So I have been thinking about, and praying about what to give up for lent this year. Usually I give up chocolate or desserts. You know yummy things. Partially because the last two years Ive been trying to lose pregnancy weight at that point and because its kind of a sacrifice. I enjoy these things for sure. This year I decided that really, yummy food isn't the biggest sacrifice I could make.
Facebook.
I am on it way too much. It distracts from my children, husband and God too. I mean really there are things I read on facebook that send me into a flying rage, and not for good reasons. Sometimes because I am indignant over in justices but sometimes because things people say that just really frustrate and upset me. So I have decided that aside from a once a week check ( sundays....being the off days) will be all I do.
Pray for me because this will be difficult. I do a lot of communicating through facebook.
Not only will I be giving up facebook, but because of that, I will giving up on some of my coupon opportunities. I started couponing earlier in 2013. I really enjoy it. At one point I realized though that I was actually trusting the coupons more to save us money than trusting God to provide for us. Sounds silly? Well we all have something right? :) Anyway, I am mostly beyond that though lately God has been teaching me more and more to trust Him more and more with everything. So the past week or two as I have been wondering what to give up, facebook kept popping up in my mind. Its a greater sacrifice than chocolate.
Why am I participating in lent? Traditionally this has been a catholic tradition and I am not catholic.
The truth is that many christians participate in lent now. One description (im sure it varies)is as follows:
Lent is a time when many Christians prepare for Easter by observing a period of fasting,repentance, moderation and spiritual discipline. The purpose is to set aside time for reflection on Jesus Christ - his suffering and his sacrifice, his life, death, burial and resurrection.
Now while I don't believe that participating in lent is in anyway a means of obtaining some kind of special observance by God that has anything to do with my salvation or standing with God, I think this is an excellent opportunity to throw off things that hinder our relationship and developing intimacy with our saviour. This is why I choose to observe it. This year I feel prompted to be more intentional about giving up something difficult. Example : God has called me, at this time in my life, to primarily be a wife and mom ( NOT ditching my career, but at this point FB doesnt interfere with that). So when I could be spending time pouring into my babies' lives and my husband's life but am wasting chunks of time on my phone facebooking for whatever reason, im neglecting, in a sense that calling.
Now friends don't get all up in arms. Facebook isnt evil. I am just spending way too much time on it. So really, why shouldn't a follower or Jesus, regardless of denomination embrace Lent if they so choose?
Today would have been my grandpa's 95th birthday. I can't believe that it has been 6 years since he passed away. I miss him, and my grandmother very much.
Then the children choose to both wake up at the same time shrieking.
The end...you may see me more often for the next few weeks.
Thursday 13 February 2014
Ode to figure skating.
Oh the winter olympics.
No other sports broadcast gives me such chills and a sense of anticipation.
Why this year especially have I been so excited?
I will tell you.
1. This year they decided to make DOUBLE the figure skating. I had no idea the team event was happening and when I realized that there would be extra figure skating, I was over the moon
2. Full event replay. Cuz I have no time to sit and be engrossed in figure skating at 10am when both babies are awake and demanding things like....clean bums, food and love and attention.
3. Evgeny Plushenko.
I had an evening to myself last week to watch figure skating. When I saw him I understood the girls in old footage from beatles concerts. You know the ones where the girls are just beside themselves, screaming and trying to put lipstick on but it ends up all over their forehead because they are shaking so bad?
Inside, last thursday night, I had a beatles girl inside.
I firmly told myself that a adult married woman should not be wanting to shriek over the presence of a cocky brat figure skater.
Hehehe.
Esther, one of my oldest and dearest friends used to call him bird man. Because of his nose. But I didnt care about his looks. I just cared that he beat Alexei Yagudin ( I came to love his skating a short time later. When he stopped giving interviews about how he was the best. And learned more english so he didnt sound so stuck up).
Its just nice to see someone from the old days....you know? Except when they talk about his age. Then I remember Im not 17 anymore.
Anyway. Super excited to see the individual competitions. I got to see some pairs last night. Totally sad for the canadians who bombed, and totally happy for the canadians that didnt. Hoping theres a "magic" performance for someone at some point. I just love those moments....Like Jamie and David's love story in salt lake city.
Yes Im a geek.
Meema woke up and woke up the children in the process and now shes going back to sleep. Hmph.
Well at least it shut up my pathetic ode to figure skating. Yes thats what I shall call this.
xo
No other sports broadcast gives me such chills and a sense of anticipation.
Why this year especially have I been so excited?
I will tell you.
1. This year they decided to make DOUBLE the figure skating. I had no idea the team event was happening and when I realized that there would be extra figure skating, I was over the moon
2. Full event replay. Cuz I have no time to sit and be engrossed in figure skating at 10am when both babies are awake and demanding things like....clean bums, food and love and attention.
3. Evgeny Plushenko.
I had an evening to myself last week to watch figure skating. When I saw him I understood the girls in old footage from beatles concerts. You know the ones where the girls are just beside themselves, screaming and trying to put lipstick on but it ends up all over their forehead because they are shaking so bad?
Inside, last thursday night, I had a beatles girl inside.
I firmly told myself that a adult married woman should not be wanting to shriek over the presence of a cocky brat figure skater.
Hehehe.
Esther, one of my oldest and dearest friends used to call him bird man. Because of his nose. But I didnt care about his looks. I just cared that he beat Alexei Yagudin ( I came to love his skating a short time later. When he stopped giving interviews about how he was the best. And learned more english so he didnt sound so stuck up).
Its just nice to see someone from the old days....you know? Except when they talk about his age. Then I remember Im not 17 anymore.
Anyway. Super excited to see the individual competitions. I got to see some pairs last night. Totally sad for the canadians who bombed, and totally happy for the canadians that didnt. Hoping theres a "magic" performance for someone at some point. I just love those moments....Like Jamie and David's love story in salt lake city.
Yes Im a geek.
Meema woke up and woke up the children in the process and now shes going back to sleep. Hmph.
Well at least it shut up my pathetic ode to figure skating. Yes thats what I shall call this.
xo
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