Tuesday, October 31, 2017

Weekend Recap

On Friday I left work a little early so I could join Q's class for their Halloween party.  I love seeing the kids dressed up, and he was so happy to see me and hang out with me in "his" space.  



While we were at the party, Dave and E went to the Ski Show.  There was a lot of fun activities for E and they also got him his own skis, poles, and boots, which was the purpose of the trip.  

Trying out the skateboard obstacles





On Saturday morning E and I got on the subway for a little adventure downtown.


Every time we go downtown on the subway E asks if we can get off at Museum Station but we are always going somewhere else so we don't.  I promised that we could go on the subway and get off at this station sometime so that's what we did on Saturday.   It is a pretty cool station. 





Outside of the ROM they were giving a sneak peak of their upcoming Viking exhibit so we stopped in to learn a little about Thor, Viking ships, and helmets and swords.  

We stopped in at Sephora and the Gap and then onto Indigo which was the real purpose of our trip, so E could use his birthday gift card and money.

Any trip to Indigo includes a treat at Starbucks, including my first pumpkin spice latte of the year! (and probably last, the Christmas drinks will be out soon)

E picked out a big Lego set and I used my own gift card to buy a cozy blanket.   We stopped in at Pi Co. for a margharita pizza before going home.  This is a great little place, $9 for a pizza that we shared, and it's right next door to Bay Station. 


As soon as we got home, he went right downstairs to start building.


While he built Lego, Q napped, and Dave cleaned out the shed, I sat with a yummy beer, my new cozy blanket, and This is Us.  

I got groceries after that and we made macaroni and cheese for supper.  Then we watched an episode of Stranger Things Season 2 and then went to bed at a good time. 

On Sunday morning we went to church where our choir performed Bach's 79th Cantata complete with a few instruments.  It was a real treat to hear the live music.  Afterwards we rushed right home so the boys could get into their costumes and we could go to the St. Joseph's Halloween Festival in Bloor West Village.  Unfortunately we missed all of our neighbours who went up but we still had a good time.

Shark and Optimus Prime



Someone couldn't make it.

E was doing some colouring but I actually took this photo so I could copy this angel craft for Christmas. 

Life sized Operation game

Ace was there!


And the Raptors and Maple Leafs dressing room trailers were there too



When we got home E went back down to work on his Lego and then I put on ET.  Q was tired after only napping for less than an hour in his stroller, but he made it.

After a simple supper of sausages on the BBQ and roasted sweet potatoes, E designed our pumpkin carvings on paper and then we set about carving them.  E's goal was for people to see our pumpkins and then say, "I wish we had done that for our pumpkins!".  



Our audience

And the finished products



One of them has carvings all the way around, it's the real showstopper! Ghosts, witch hats, Frankenstein, and a BOO!


We are ready for Halloween!

Monday, October 30, 2017

Saying Thank You

After E's birthday party I sent an email to each of the parents thanking their children for coming and for their gifts.  For some I included a line about how well behaved their children were, because they really were, and it was really a pleasure to have them at our house.  I think people really appreciated getting the notes, and mostly everyone responded.  It took me all of ten minutes to write them, something simple but nice.



I also thought I'd start tweeting at people more if I like something they have done or if they made me laugh.  I know that celebrities get a lot of tweets directed at them, including a lot of nice ones, but I figured I'd just pile on to the good ones.  No one would say, gee I wish I didn't get so many nice things said about me.  And it's nice of course when they retweet you or reply but it's really not about that.  I know they can't all get back to me but I'll still try to spread the love.  Check out one day when Ben Mulroney tweeted back at me.  I wrote the tweet because they were talking about spirit animals on the show, and I seriously meant it.  Ben and I have more in common than I ever thought.



We're getting in the holiday season when people are extra busy and get annoyed easily.  If you can take the time to say a quick thank you, write a note (handwritten or email), or just spread some love on Twitter, do it!  You may brighten someone's day more than you realize.  After all Christmas isn't an easy time for people so something simple may make all the difference.  I'm going to try and make it a daily habit.

Friday, October 27, 2017

Friday Favourites

Linking up with AndreaErika, and Narci for Friday Favourites.


E got a few new board games for his birthday and a few nights this week after supper we played them.  It is nice to spend some time playing a game now that he is a little older.  He got Quirkle, Ker-Plunk and Stoopido.  So far my favourite is Quirkle, although we are still figuring out how to keep score.


I posted about these hair elastics on Wednesday's post but it bears repeating since I really love them. The patterns are so pretty!

Our busy weeks and weekends are continuing but it's fine with me!  I love being busy because it makes me feel more productive and then the down times are so much more deserved.  We E already has swimming and choir on Thursdays and after Halloween we are adding indoor soccer on Tuesdays, and then I have a workout class scheduled for both Thursday nights and Saturday mornings.  I am looking forward to it all though.  Bring it on!

I picked up one of these collapsible colander a couple of weeks ago and I use it almost everyday.  Mine is red. The bottom pushes out so it becomes a bowl.  I am always rinsing off just a handful of berries or fruit and instead of using my hand (and dropping some in the sink or having no place to put them afterwards) I have found this be very useful. 

I'm always a fan of Rick Mercer and I loved his "rant" about Gord Downie this week.  What a neat story!


Speaking of Gord Downie, two of my favourite microbreweries Boxing Rock and Garrison (does Garrison count as a microbrewery anymore) are collaborating on a special edition brew to commemorate Gord Downie.  I'm hoping my mom can get her hands on one or two to bring up on her next visit...

Happy Friday!