December....at a glance

First snow.

A fun overnight with sweet M, little I, Auntie J and Uncle D...and the furry guys.

A birthday party at a terrific play place for BBF Big T!

Tree decorating x's 2, cookie baking

A party with Aunti Sumi and Uncle Kris.  fun with friends and mama got to go shopping alone for 2 hours!

A chocolate party on Potter!

A lovely visit with Auntie Kristen, Dre and sweet Baby Eva!  More gifts!  And kisses!

Schools out!

More snow!

Sickness that very day..

Repeat the snow.

Repeat the illness.

Over and over again for 14 mama days...

Christmas!  Joy!  Fun!  

And fever.  Really Really High Fever.

Throw in a whole lot of blanket time on the (brand new lovely leather) couch with popsicles.

and cuddle time anywhere he could get it.

Various doctors and prescriptions and more doctors and different prescriptions.

Lovely gifts.

Time with friends who live here...but avoiding others who really don't want lung infections and green ooze flowing from their eyes... like nana and grandpa, Auntie J and  Uncle S and the cousins.

Lots of playtime.

No eating at all really.  Him, not me.  In fact the dude is down over 2 pounds in just 2 weeks.  The up side being we don't need a new secondary car seat for Auntie Carol's car just yet...he has a few pounds to go ;)

Lots of TV and mama feeling thankful that Disney Junior is on preview until mid January.

Two mama days left.  We are going to try a playdate tomorrow evening.  Our first indoor friend time since the 22nd.

And maybe a few pictures of him happy and healthy for the last 48 hours of holiday time.

And mama, just happy to be healthy through it all.

But a wee bit tired.

From the absurd to thought provoking...quotes by Little b

Mama, why can people say "Shut the door," and they can say "Go up the stairs," but if I put shut and up together it is a bad word?

Followed by...

And Mama, if you take part of shut and the new word I learned today, it, you can make another even more terrible word?  That's what Abdul told me.

And you love the word fun, mama, and you love the sun but you really don't love the word (he spells this part of course) G.U.N.  Why mama?

****  Theme change****Same commute****will this 35 minutes NEVER end?

Mama, you took me to nounou Lien (the orphanage nanny) and left me there.  Didn't you mama.  My Vietnam mom and dad didn't.  you did.

Me: No sweetie.  I didn't.  Why do you think that.

In my blue book mama.  I'm up on the balcony and you are waving goodbye to me.  You left me there.

Me, lightbulb moment:  Oh sweetie!  I got to meet you for the very first time on (what day of the week was that again?) but Nounou Lien needed a bit more time to cuddle you and tickle you and love you so I had to leave you there for one more night.  I waved goodbye to you.  And then, on (whatever the next days name was) I hurried back to nounou Lien, we dressed you up nice and warm and very handsome, just like Nounou Lien wanted, and you came with me forever and ever.

Oh!  I get it now!

***Theme change***Again***

Mama, I've been wondering.  What happens when two tornados morph together?  Can a double power tornado pick up a cow?  And a truck?  And a house?  All at the same time?

And can we move to a place near a big sea so I can see a hurricane?  A super sized one?  I think that would be so interesting.

Acutally, mama, I'd like to see a tornado, a hurricane and the eruption of a gigantic lava flowing volcano all at the same time.  Can a double sized tornado pick up molton lava?  Will the hurricane make the lava turn to rock faster?

***at this point I put on the music.  Loud.  Really, really loud***With his permission of course***

Yikes! Nearly a month!

And the best I can do is a photo post.

From the Halloween self created "taped crusader"
to Diwali dressed to the nines by Aunti Sumi
and a pre-christmas visit with Santa
(an Baby Eva...the love of Ben's life).

Wow!  Busy!  No wonder I have no time to post!

Enjoy

October? We owe you NOTHING!

October has been a tad challenging.

Not in the usual ways...
first off I've been sick-ish.
Better since mid month but not completely well.
Coughing through the night, tired during the day.
Sort of "Eh"

Then there is the whole being a teacher in Ontario right now...
"Eh"

Then last week the biggie...
Auntie Sumi, caregiver extrodinaire, took an emergency trip to India.
You know the babysitter who has not been unwell for one single day in 3 full years?
The Auntie that, if she was unwell,
would make her husband take the day off to help out
but would never ever cancel?

Yeah.
India.
But ben and I made it through 6 Sumi-less days
due to the kindness of others...
dude was with me in the mornings until the bell
(oh hour and fourty five minutes of quiet planning time how I have missed you)
and then at 11:30 each day
one saviour or another came rushing to our aid
to provide afternoon care.
Tammy, Bill, Carol, Kristen and Dre.

Something different and somewhat unpredictable
every.single.day?
Dude was off a bit.  Such is life.

Thursday night we stayed over
at Baby Eva's house...cuteness extraordinaire.

And then yesterday dude took the day off school
and went out and about
with Auntie Kristen, Dre and baby Eva
to investigate aboriginals.

His only response to "So, what did you learn?"
Mama, I am sooooo glad I live now
and not in ancient times!
I would NOT want to sleep on DEAD animals...
night after night after night.
Sooooo, gross.

And then?
Mama weekend.
Always starts with popcorn and hot chocolate
and then lots of storybooks in bed on Friday evening.
The one night each week that dude gets to cuddle sleep with mama
(and mama in turn gets to go to sleep at 8 ;)
Love it!

Today was wonderful in a cold windy rainy nasty weather sort of way.
An early morning goodbye to Auntie Carol and Uncle Bill
who are at this moment driving straight into a hurricane
on their way to Myrtle Beach.
16 Ben chosen books in bed
interspersed with energetic pillow fighting.

A light breakfast.
A bit of tidying.
Some structure building by the fire.
A bit of an art moment.

An impromptu trip to a local town for a pirate show at the library.

A lovely lunch out.

A couple of hours at the bookstore.
A Starbucks chai tea for mama
and a cold white kids milk for the wee one.
And TV...lots and lots of "boy shows"
4 x 30 minute shows in a row...he was THRILLED!
And finally the announcement that
"This was the very best mama day ever!"

Almost time for bed.
and I've decided not to ruin this day with report card writing...
even though I should.

Tomorrow?
More of the same.
And a Birthday Costume Party invite!

so sick...

I was...soooo sick.
13 days of horrible.
Seems to be over now.
Dude seems all set to start
his own version of the plague.

Down but not out...
We enjoyed a shortened visit up north for thanksgiving.

Mama just could not get warm.
At all.
Morning til night.
I spent some time searching for sunshine.

But I still got a few lovely shots.

Ben still had some cousin fun.

Mostly I sat and drank neocitran.

This weekend we spent a couple of nights visiting sweet Macy and her mama Ellie.
A rainy cold Pumpkin Fest.
Or Candyfest as Ben calls it.

Two 4 year olds that play together so well
with each of them wanting to make all of the decisions for the other.
All. The. Time.

Fun to watch actually.

A busy couple of weeks coming up.
Then November.

Yikes!  Where has fall gone already?