school...say what!

Little Miss L.'s first day of prep school.

I need to freeze time just for a little while. Why, might you ask? Well, these last few weeks have been very busy. We are making some big decisions in our household, one being where we will be sending Little Miss L. to school this coming fall. We are fortunate we live in a location that allows us the choice of five different schools.

We have been to open houses, we have sat through presentations, and explored the grounds. Each school provides pros and cons. Like most parents, we want the best for our little girl and with that comes some hard choices. Questions like: How long will the bus ride be? Will she make friends easily? Do they provide a program I can see our little girl fitting into? Do they have extracurricular activities? Can she handle an all french school, or is french immersion a better alternative? If you ask Little Miss L. whats she likes, her answer is the one with the toys that grabbed her attention upon arrival.

For some reason, I am still having a hard time wrapping my head around the fact she will be attending school this fall. I know she is ready for the next chapter to begin but I think this process is harder for the parents.

Well, this week is registration so we need to come to a decision soon. I always love feedback, so please let me know how you decided what school would best suit your child.

In preparation for school, Little Miss L. is currently taking a prep course for school. For weeks, she said she would not go and even shed some tears. The first day broke my heart as she would not eat a single thing and as we drove down the road towards school she begged me not to take her there. I am happy to say that once she arrived and saw her cubby along with sea of smiling faces ready to play, she quickly left mommy's side. It has been over a week now and each day I arrive to pick up a smiling little girl who tells me how much she loves school. The rest of the evening is spent listening to all of the fun activities she participated in at school that day.

Please, I need to freeze time just a little... my baby girl is growing up too fast!

what i am digging at 17 months

Hey everyone!

Today, mom asked me to do a little guest post on things I am loving these days. Well, I just turned 17 months not to long ago and I must say I am loving life. My parents keep telling me I am a little firecracker. I must agree I have lots of energy and I love love love to climb. There are so many things I like to do in a day but I cut this list down to a few of my favourite activities that keep me occupied for more than a minute:

1. Building Blocks - I love building forts with my blocks and knocking them down the minute I'm finished.

2. Jump-o-lene - I love my Uncle Brady! Yep, for Christmas, he got us this awesome Jump-o-lene. I love to bounce around in it for hours. My mom even gets in from time-to-time for some good ol' fun.

3. Dinosaurs - I love anything that has to do with those awesome creatures. One of my favourite things to do in the afternoon is to pull out my felt board of Dino-land and let my imagination run wild.

4. Cupboards and doors - I absolutely love opening cupboards, doors, pantries, and garbage cans. I love the element of surprise. I never know what I might find. For some reason, mom always seems to have an annoyed look on her face when she comes around the corner and I have reorganized.

5. Trucks and tractors - I love me some big machines! Yellow trucks and tractors seem to be my favourite these days. I love going for a car ride and pointing out the ones I see on the road. I was lucky because on my birthday I received this cool ride. I love to zip around the house on this bad boy.

6. Books - I wasn't the biggest fan of books at first. No way would I sit more than 30 seconds to look at a book. I guess I am maturing as I find them more interesting these days. I love finding a good one to read to my parents or even my great-grandma.

7. Playground - Okay, I will admit it- I am not one who enjoys the cold weather outdoors. My parents must have got the hint as one morning I woke up to this awesome contraption. I loved it the minute I laid eyes on it. I spend a lot of time climbing and sliding without freezing.

happy friday!

Hoping everyone is enjoying their Friday thus far! Our house is a little crazy today but loving every minute of it. There has been a lot of singing, dancing, and even a Cheerio balancing competition. Happy Friday!

dyi race car shadowbox

Oh, bare wall, what shall we do with you? When we found out we were welcoming our first child, we were off to the store to decorate the perfect room for our new bundle of joy. We wanted a room that was perfect to welcome our new addition. I would like to say that we were equally ambitious when we found out we were expecting number two but that was not the case... this momma has been slacking in the deco department for Baby D's room.

Let's just say that Baby D's room has had little transformation. I started off with one theme in mind but it quickly changed to something else, which turned into leaving it as is. I have finally started to get back into some DIY yourself projects around the home and thought Baby D's room would be the first place to get a face lift.

As you walk into Baby D's room there is a small wall that faces you. I had searched several stores and never quite found what I was looking for to fill that space. I knew it was time to take matters into my own hands, hence my next DIY project.

Baby D is a huge fan of small toy cars and I knew I had to create something that incorporated them. I finally decided on a shadowbox with Baby D's initials as a race car track with bright little cars racing around the track. This was a fast and easy project that was completed in less an hour. It fit perfectly on the wall and gave the room a bit of colour. If you would like to make your own race car shadowbox, all you need is the following:

• shadowbox
• cardboard 
• toy cars
• acrylic paint
• hot glue gun

Directions

Cut cardboard to fit into shadowbox. Trace out initials. Paint initials with desired colour of paint, black with white or yellow stripes for that race track look. Let paint dry. Hot glue toy cars onto the race track. Place in shadowbox and your finished! How easy was that?!?!

Baby D loves his new artwork. He loves to point out the cars as soon as he enters the room. This shadowbox can be adapted to fit any of your child's interests. You could add colourful beads, baseball cards, foam letters... the possibilities are endless!

The finished product!

hello mr.dino

I am going to simply come out and say it - I don't enjoy shopping for gifts. It's just not my thing. I always feel that a gift should be meaningful and I stress out way too much trying to find that perfect gift. I start to overthink it and then in the end, I am left with a mediocre gift that I am not crazy about. This year for Christmas, the hubby and I decided instead of going out and picking up more toys that will someday take over our home from top to bottom, we would take the kids on a few outings.

The first outing we chose was to the Nature Museum. It is one of Little Miss L.'s favourites and it is sad to say, but we had not been in months. Little Miss L. has been throwing out the hints left and right about how much she would love to go back to the museum.

So, we bundled up (literally, as it was minus 40 out that day) and headed downtown to check out the new exhibits. Baby D had only been once before and he was passed out in a milk coma the whole time. We were excited to see his reaction to the dinosaurs as he has started taken a liking to them. Baby D sure did not disappoint - the moment he saw the large creatures, his face lit up, the squeals came out, and he pointed excitedly to the big guys. I absolutely loved walking throughout the museum watching their little faces light up when something peaked their interest.

We went to the musuem on the perfect day as they were having a reptile show. Baby D decided he could not sit still, so Little Miss L. and I attended the show. I am not a huge fan of some of those creepy crawly creatures and I thought Little Miss L. was on the same page - I don't know what took over her that day but she was thrilled to get a front row seat and even touched most of the reptiles including some HUGE snakes! I stayed as far away as I could.

It was a wonderful afternoon spent with my family. While I love watching my children get excited over a new toy, providing them with an opportunity to experience new adventures is more rewarding in the end.

Look, it's a dinosaur mommy! 

I love these three.

Look momma, that's a big one!

Posing with the dinos.

Yeah, that's right, I touched that snake...

...and this little guy.

Wow, that looks like the one who stole my crackers on the beach this past summer!

20 free (inexpensive) winter activites

Are you looking for something to do with the family this weekend? Why don't you hop on over to KnowBrockville or check out the web version of their January issue for my list of 20 free (or close to it) winter activities.

Have a great weekend everyone!

sometimes you need your girls

Sometimes, you just need a girls' day. Well, last weekend, my girl April ventured down our way which gave me the perfect reason to leave the kiddos at home with daddy as I joined my girls for brunch. As much as I didn't want to leave those kiddos for the day, it felt good to get out of the house. We caught up, we laughed, we ate great food, we sang, and even cried... it was just what I needed. I cherish each and every one of you. Often times, we forget to tell our girlfriends just how much they mean to us. Thank you girls for being you!

My girl April and I.

The youngest member to join the group. Guess all the girl talk tired Baby E out.

Look at these beauties!

christmas

I am going to let the pictures do most of the talking today (because there are a million) but our Christmas went something like this:

• Woke up with two excited little kiddos.
• Rushed out to see if Santa had arrived.
• Baby D notices right away that Santa left him a set of his favourite building blocks. He runs and knocks them to the ground.
• Wrapping paper is flying.
• Kids are ripping into boxes.
• Kids check out all their new goodies.
• Quickly get ready and head over to our in-laws.
• Yummy lunch with family.
• More gift opening.
• Get ready and head to my parents.
• Arrive to see that Santa and his elf have arrived for a visit before heading back to the North Pole.
• Little Miss L. screams in excitement.
• Santa comes in with his bag full of goodies. 
• Little Miss L. is happy to chat him up.
• Baby D is not impressed with Santa's arrival and the crying and screaming begins.
• Santa leaves and we sit down for a scrumptious meal.
• More gift opening.
• Time to head back home with really full bellies.
• Kids and ourselves are passed out within minutes once home.

I would say it was a successful day. It was a wonderful day spent with family. Thank you to everyone for all the awesome gifts and amazing food. We are still recovering from the holiday madness!

Still half asleep but still managing to open her presents.

Mommy and her girl on Christmas morning.

The kiddos reading to daddy. They love all the books they received.

Christmas madness. It's hard work being a kid. Little Miss L. worked up a sweat, so the pj's came off.

Playing with one of her new favourite toys.

Opening presents at grandma and Biba's house.

Look who showed up for a visit!

Baby D - oh no, is that who I think it is?

Santa, I have been a good girl.

Little Miss L. hanging out with the guy in red.

Santa did read my letter. He brought me my pink dolly!

Seriously, enough with this guy already!

I don't like him!!!!

Group shot with Santa and his elf.

I see a little girl happy as can be.

The girls :) Thanks to my parents who always know how to put a smile on their grandchildren's face.

Baby D checking out his new gift. Thanks Aunt Joan and cousin Glenda.

Mr. Toby getting into the Christmas spirit.

Dinner time. Baby D dug right in.

By the end of the day, this is how it looked. They were all sugared up and had a ton of energy!

christmas eve

I am finally getting back into the swing of things around here. It was a nice break away from it all but now, back to reality.

I can't go without sharing a bit of our holidays with all of you. For Christmas eve, we were invited for a night filled with scrumptious food and holiday cheer at my sister- and brother-in-law's home.

The kids were being kids, running around yelling, laughing, and crying - you know how it goes - while the adults stuffed their faces with all the good stuff.

The kiddos opened their Christmas pj's, made sure they left the chocolate chip cookies and milk for Santa, then crawled into bed all cuddled in their new attire hoping that Santa would arrive during the night.

As the kids slept tight, it was time for the elves to get to work while sipping on some egg nog. I have to give myself a pat on the back as this year we were not scrambling around wrapping all the gifts to put under the tree on Christmas eve. We headed off to bed after we quickly placed nicely pre-wrapped gifts under the tree and filled their stocking to the brim.

It was a wonderful evening with family and friends - thanks Anna and Eric!

Baby D loves all his cousins toys. Maybe next year Santa will bring him a tool bench.

Little Miss L. is smitten with this fellow.

Reading with grandma.

Time to open my gift.

Yippee! My comfy pj's!