Red, White and GREEN Mom

The kid sleeps

2012-04-16T15:32:00.004-04:00

I waited until it had been a few nights in a row to say this, for fear I might jinx it. I guess I was also a little skeptical. I keep expecting things to change or revert at any moment. They might still. But for now, it’s true. I have proof he can do it. The 2 year old has slept through the night for the last 5 nights in a row! Let’s be clear. When I say he slept, I mean he may have

It's done!

2012-04-14T11:41:00.000-04:00

I did it. It’s done. It’s official. As of 4:00pm yesterday, Friday the 13th, I am self-employed. Let it sink in. Yesterday I said goodbye to a company I have worked at for nearly 10 years. It’s a lifetime really. In many ways I feel like I grew up there. My kids knew it as the “cool” place to hang out when we were downtown. I’ve met lots of great people there and developed many

I think I freaked out my son

2012-03-27T01:00:00.002-04:00

Have you ever had one of those conversations with your kid(s) where halfway through you realize it's becoming a train wreck but you can't turn back, you have to keep going and hope to salvage whatever you can? That's what happened to us not too long ago. We were on our way home, chatting away, and I think I freaked out my 4 year old. Ummm... Correction. I think I totally freaked out my almost

M.I.A.

2012-02-18T17:19:00.000-05:00

It's been a while. I needed a break from a lot of things... but I promise I'll be back soon with a real post.

Tea update # 2

2012-01-18T12:40:00.002-05:00

About a year ago now I was inspired to review my tea stash and I realised I had some old teas that really never get used. My count was a whooping 33 different kinds of teas. Fast forward to today and here is an updated look at my tea collection. Instead of weeding out the old ones I've added some new teas (Bah!). I now count 44 different teas (from boxes, cans, or bags of loose leaves).

Paparazzi

2012-01-16T16:08:00.002-05:00

Ever since I gave each of the boys their own camera the house has become somewhat photo crazy. Although, the 2 year old's camera doesn't really take any photos, but the flash works so he "thinks" he's taking photos. I know it's a trick, but it keeps him happy and I don't have to worry about him damaging yet another camera [he smashed one up by violently throwing it to the ground and then giggled

Why didn't I do this sooner?

2012-01-11T11:37:00.000-05:00

I know many will read this and say, "Yea, I did that!", but it really never dawned on me to try making a tent until this past weekend. I've seen different variations at friends' houses or in other blogs but I still didn't think about doing it at home. It just kept slipping my mind. But last weekend we were housebound [because EJ, the 2 year old, has a strong cold] and I had exhausted our home

This is what working from home looks like

2012-01-10T13:07:00.000-05:00

Last week was extra quiet at work. In fact, the office was like a ghost town and I could hear the tumbleweed rolling in the empty hallways. After I made the mistake of actually going in to work [what was I thinking?], I quickly packed up and headed back home and decided to work from home the entire rest of the week. I saved about $32 a day in parking, lunches and snacks (or lack

A small gesture

2012-01-05T01:26:00.000-05:00

[This isn't didn't start off as a real post in that I was writing more to be able to remember my thoughts than to really create a well thought out blog post. But it got longer than I expected.] As I was getting ready for bed I was thinking back on the day that passed, as I always do, and I remembered a magical little moment the 4 year old and I shared as he headed to bed a few hours earlier. I

Self Portraits

2012-01-03T01:27:00.000-05:00

This is what happens when you give the 4 year old a digital camera and tell him he can do whatever he wants with it. There were 354 pictures and each one was more awesome than the next [Yes, I am biased]. We also ended up with great pictures like the one I posted yesterday. It's fascinating to see the world through his eyes, even if it means I have to tolerate a few pictures of me

My word for 2012

2012-01-01T23:57:00.002-05:00

"You must be the change you wish to see in the world." ~ Gandhi I just finished reading an inspirational blogpost over at Almost all the truth where Brenna discusses her word for the year, one word that represents her hopes and dreams for the new year. Here's a snippet of her post: "So, my word of the year this year is: fight. I will fight for what is right.I will fight for what is true.I

A proper New Year's drink

2012-01-01T00:00:00.000-05:00

My drink of choice for the countdown... Cheers to new beginnings and to an amazing 2012!!!

Winter fun in the backyard

2011-12-30T23:33:00.000-05:00

When we were looking for a house we were very picky about the fact that it had to have a backyard large enough so the kids could play outside. I've raved about our weathered deck this past summer since the boys and I practically lived there 24/7 but I'm not one for outdoor living in winter. However, I know the kids will go stir crazy if they spend too much time indoors (and so will we). So I'm

Christmas highlights

2011-12-28T00:03:00.000-05:00

One of the highlights this Christmas is a bookshelf my dad built for us. The boys have a lot of books and we never had a good place to put them. I basically used a small rolling rack thing and all the books were piled up in a huge mess. Then we went to Edmonton back in May and I saw a great built-in bookshelf at Uncle J's and Aunt A's new house and I knew it was exactly what we needed [I've been

Our "out of the box" Christmas tree

2011-12-24T08:59:00.001-05:00

This year I decided we'd finally get a Christmas tree, but I had no idea what to get. Real? Fake? Both have their own Pros and Cons. Though, it seems the consensus would be that real trees are far better for the environment [and your own health] overall. But I didn't grow up with a real Christmas tree and the thought of having to clean up all the falling needles really did not appeal to me. So,

Tell me about yourself

2011-12-24T01:12:00.000-05:00

Sorry I've been M.I.A. lately. It's been torturously busy at work and the kids must have sensed my stress so they were all over me at night. Which means, no time for me. Like, none-at-all! But I plan to get back on track starting now... There's something about being asked to write about myself that makes me procrastinate endlessly. I have a really hard time writing a post all about me, which is

Fire! Fire!

2011-12-14T12:52:00.000-05:00

Having kids means being part of some really great and unexpected conversations. Like this one that came about as I was rushing to get the kids ready and out the door one morning [so pretty much status quo for us EVERY SINGLE DAY! *sigh*]. Me: "Ok guys. Let's hurry up. We need to go". {silence... crickets... then sounds of toys clanking around} Me: "J! EJ! Come eat your breakfast. We really

He's two

2011-12-12T15:37:00.000-05:00

My little boy is two today and he's no longer a baby. Sigh. He runs around the house finding new and inventive ways to amuse himself, creating tornado like chaos in his path. I never realized how emotional birth days are for mothers. But they are. So take this as a warning, it's going to get sappy! A year ago today I wrote this: "At 3:37 pm on December 12th, 2009 EJ was born. He was serene

Things that make me go WTF?

2011-12-08T18:03:00.000-05:00

I know that if I had money I'd likely be a little more inclined to spend it on items we don't really need. But there are some things that just leave me wondering what the Flock were they thinking and who the heck buys these things? Like this rather unsightly item that recently made waves on facebook: http://themonki.com/design/louis-vuitton-68-condom/ It's a Louis Vuitton condom. That's

Alone with my thoughts

2011-12-05T23:39:00.000-05:00

Sometimes life gets so busy that days, weeks, and months pass by in a flash. It's already December and the year is almost over. How the heck did that happen? Brings to mind a quote from one of my favourite movies: "Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it." I love taking walks. Unfortunately it isn't something I get to do much of anymore. But

Parenting means being flexible

2011-12-04T12:48:00.000-05:00

I had hoped to spend some time with friends today but when kids are involved plans are never set in stone. Especially when your 4 year old wakes up complaining about feeling tired and then you find him like this... He started off curled up on the chair and I was really worried he would fall off, but then he does have a tendency of falling asleep in odd positions. When I went to check up on

Do you want to hear about my dream?

2011-12-02T11:44:00.000-05:00

This morning as I groggily woke up from yet another not so restful night, my 4 year old leans next to me and whispers in my ear: "Mommy, do you want to hear about my dream?" I was in a rush [I'm always in a rush] but I couldn't possibly resist such a sweet offer. "I dreamt that we were in an elevator and then you got out and the door closed and I lost you..." It wasn't a dream after all. It

How old do you feel?

2011-12-01T14:40:00.001-05:00

This year I turned 38. It's a good age, I guess... I'm not too sure to be honest. See, that's kind of the point. My physical age is 38, but that's meaningless to me because I don't feel 38. Normally I struggle to remember how old I am when people ask me and it's not because I'm trying to be evasive. Far from it. It's because I feel 16 [ish] most days, but wiser and less rebellious [ok,

Is it over yet?

2011-11-30T12:33:00.000-05:00

As the hubby looked over yesterday's post, his comment to me was "You are soooo running out of ideas, aren't you!!!". To which my instinct was to reply with a GROWWWLLLL! But I laughed instead. Mainly because it's true [and because he added a "but, nice pictures" after his comment]. I am sooooo running out of ideas. But it's ok, because today is the last day for NaBloPoMo. And

The magic of lights

2011-11-29T22:39:00.000-05:00

I love everything about Christmas lights. There's just something magical about them and that's why we've made a tradition out of driving around on Christmas eve searching for the best lit houses. For me this has very little to do with religion. It's more about the beauty of the lights themselves. So every night when I leave work and see the downtown core all lit up it just makes me smile and the