Friday, September 28, 2018

Friday Favourites



I picked up this little crow at Michael's the other day, it was already 50% off, so about $3.00.  A good addition to our fall decorations. 

E did an amazing job at his first art class this week.   The inspiration was Tom Thomson in Algonquin Park.  He really enjoyed it so I'm glad we signed him up for it. 

The other day I walked across the street at work to get some cough drops and decided to also pick up a steeped tea from Tim Horton's.  I used to drink tea exclusively so the taste and smell brought me back to my younger days particularly at law school when we would walk up the hill to Tim's between classes.


On Wednesday night I had to go to a networking event after work so I brought some to eat for supper so I wouldn't need to eat whatever snacks they had at the event (which turned out to be not that great so the soup was a good call).  The recipe is here and it was so tasty!  I made it without the quinoa and also left out the cayenne pepper, but I'm sure both would be good.


I posted about Q for his 2nd birthday in yesterday's post.  His birthday is actually tomorrow so this afternoon and tonight we will be preparing for his party and then celebrating tomorrow.  

Also some exciting things happening this weekend that we are looking forward to - the Raptors first (pre-season) game and the Ryder Cup (golf).  #sportsfan

Other posts I did this week - Why I love Seinfeld and What's Up Wednesday.

Happy last weekend of September!! 






Thursday, September 27, 2018

Happy 2nd Birthday Q!

We are celebrating Q's 2nd birthday on Saturday with a Baby Shark party, some brunch and cake, and little friends.   Our little Q is just the cutest guy.  I know we are biased but other people say it too!

He is pretty good-natured but is also reaching that stage where he has set ideas of what he wants to do, but cannot communicate them well enough so he gets frustrated.  He can lay on the floor and throw a fit for a few minutes, but then will brighten right up and get distracted by something else.   

He still loves sleeping and very rarely puts up a fuss when it is nap time or bed time; he seems almost relieved that he gets to go in his bed with his soother and his guy (his stuffy that he sleeps with).  And he knows they are to be left in his bed when it is time to get up.  He eats fairly well but has some quirky habits - he has to have yoghurt first thing every morning, he only licks or chews the jam off the top of the bread, but leaves most of the bread, will demand ketchup if he sees the bottle, and will eat a fig cookie and/or morning round pita anytime.  We still keep putting all of the food on his plate at supper and eventually he will learn to like it all.

He likes reading books and playing with toys.  He plays with E's toys, the small Legos, the Playmobil vehicles, and other cars, but it doesn't seem to matter that they are supposed to be for older kids.  He loves doing whatever E is doing and copies him all of the time.  He loves going outside and eagerly waits for help with his shoes and jacket.  He likes to clean up and put things away too.  

He is such a joy!



















I usually do a birthday quiz with E but since Q can't really answer these questions, I am doing a condensed version just to keep a record of his current favourites:

Colour - Orange, we think.  He seems to prefer an orange cup or plate.

Stuffed Animal - His "guy", the head of an elephant on a blanket

Thing to sleep with - Guy, soother, and water

Fruit - He goes through stages where he will eat a fruit and then refuse it days later.  His current favourite is cantaloupe.

Thing to eat for breakfast - Yoghurt, for sure.  Sometimes that's all he wants, but he must have it first thing!

Lunch - a morning round pita

Supper - Meatballs with ketchup

Dessert - Ice Cream

Drink - Water, he gulps it down 


SongBaby Shark

TV Show - Paw Patrol.  He sits on the couch and asks for it.

Best Friend - Everett

Wednesday, September 26, 2018

What's up Wednesday



What we're eating this week...
Sunday - Spaghetti squash with tomato sauce and turkey meatballs
Monday - Salmon with mango salsa
Tuesday - Cajun shrimp and quinoa casserole
Wednesday - Fall vegetable stew
Thursday - Tuna with Avocado
Friday - Salad Bowl
Saturday - Out 

What I'm reminiscing about...
Q is turning 2 this weekend so I have looked back at some photos of the past year for tomorrow's post.  He has grown so much, and yet he's still a baby in lots of ways.

What I'm loving...
Lighting some candles in the living room in the evening. Candle holders always form part of my seasonal decor but I never seem to enjoy them. This season I decided to make a point of lighting the votives when it starts getting dark.

What we've been up to...
Dave has been fighting the critters in our backyard, E is doing a lot of running at school training for his cross country meet next week, Q is playing with all of the Paw Patrol toys, and I feel like I just prep food all of the time, but we are eating lots of healthy and yummy things so it's worth it!


What I'm dreading...
I'm not looking forward to the food at Disney World.  I am hoping I will be pleasantly surprised, but right now I'm expecting lots of mediocre pizza, fries, and chicken fingers.  That all being said, I'm going to be on vacation so it can't be that bad!

What I'm working on...
Cleaning stuff up.  Our church has a yard sale coming up and I want to go through the toys and get rid of the baby ones.  I also need to go through Q's drawers.  Now that he's back into pants and long sleeved shirts,  I need to weed out the things that are too small now.  I also went through the stuff on my dresser and threw out a few old things that were just collecting dust. Also on the list is are cleaning the chandeliers.

What I'm excited about...
The fall leaves to change colour, it was so hot into September that the colours are slow to start, but I can see they are changing now.  Also the salmon run in the Humber.  We went down there last week and although we saw lots of fish (dead and alive) we didn't see any try to make the jump up the water fall so hopefully we can see some soon.

What I'm watching/reading...
We are watching The Good Place and The Great Canadian Baking Show.  We need to start season 2 of Ozark, but haven't found time yet.


I just finished Crazy Rich Asians and the went to see the movie.  Both were great.  I like reading books like this every once in awhile that are light and full of pop culture and brand references (although the couture references in this book went over my head).  I know there are sequels to this and I will be picking those up as well. 


What I'm listening to...
The Serial Podcast.  There are only two episodes out so far but I devoured them.  Although I preferred the format of the first two seasons, this one is still very interesting.  I love stuff about the justice system.

What I'm wearing...
Jeans! I never wear jeans in the summer, I hate being hot and uncomfortable, so I'm glad to get my jeans out again.  I have just three pairs that I wear on rotation, so I may seek out another pair soon.  We have a Nordstrom Rack near my office so I will try there first.

What I'm doing this weekend...
We are having a birthday party for Q and then out for supper.

What I'm looking forward to next month...
Our trip to Disney World!! And E's birthday, and Halloween.


What else is new...
We got Q's Nexus card this week so when we go to Florida, we can all go in the Nexus line.  Then we need to renew the rest of our cards. Even though we don't travel a lot, the card has been more than worth it the times we are at the airport.

What is my favourite way to enjoy pumpkin...
I don't go too crazy with the pumpkin around here, I will mostly just buy one or two cans.  I like making pasta and cheese with it and a batch of muffins.  I saw this recipe that I am dying to try. 

Tuesday, September 25, 2018

Weekend Recap

A pretty easy weekend around here, which was great.  Our Friday night started out with Dave's offensive version the raccoons and skunks.  We got sod put in last fall so this was our first year with a real backyard.  Dave has worked hard all summer to keep it looking good and patching holes made by the squirrels, et al.  But it has really gotten bad over the past few weeks so Dave decided to get some fencing to lay down over the grass at night time to protect the new seeds.  He takes it up the during the day so the grass doesn't get tamped down. 

We were up early on Saturday morning for E's last two soccer games at High Park.  It was a little chillier than the day before but the sun was out and it was a lovely morning. 

Into the game!

I took Q over to the playground for part of the first game.  He's saying "Cheese".

In nets.


The team gathering to thank the coaches.

Getting his medal

We came home for lunch and Q's nap.  And then we found out we had a visitor on our front porch. This racoon had been there all morning and we hadn't noticed.  He seemed to just be sleeping and we figured he was too afraid to leave in the daylight so we just let him be.  He was still there at supper so we called the city and they sent an animal control person to get him.  She tried poking him and getting him to run away but he didn't want to run, and he seemed to be limping, so she collected him and took him away.  Very exciting Saturday evening!

Aside from that we just did stuff around the house, watched the golf, and went to the playground.  In the evening I went to see Crazy Rich Asians with some of the ladies in the neighbourhood. 

On Sunday morning Dave went for a very early run.  I tried playing the piano for a few minutes but Q elbowed me out of the way so he could "play" instead. 

We went to church and the boys had some "Welcome Back" cake afterwards.

I prepared food all afternoon.  Dave and E went for a walk and Dave did some more work on the raccoon/skunk campaign - closing off openings to our yard and spreading out some cayenne pepper and other deterrents. 

We also watched the golf, and I can honestly say I was rooting for Tiger.  I was hoping Rory could have given him a little more competition but it was okay.

I ended my evening with candlelight yoga and a hot lemon, ginger, and honey drink. 

Monday, September 24, 2018

Why I...Love Seinfeld

I have loved Seinfeld for many many years.  I can recall watching episodes in high school (is it possible that they were showing reruns even while they were making new shows?) and there was something about it that drew me in.  I sometimes wonder if I am who I am because of Seinfeld or I like Seinfeld because of who I am.  Perhaps it's a little bit of both.


The obvious reason I like the show is that I appreciate the sense of humour; Jerry's sarcasm and his timing is my type of comedy.  The other characters are even better than him.  


Not that I don't like people and I'm not a unsocial person, but people are just the worst sometimes and I can appreciate Jerry et al's disdain for them.

Since I've seen all of the episodes multiple times and since they are about "nothing" I find that something from the show comes up in some form everyday.  This has helped sustain my appreciation for the show over the years.

Now if only Netflix could get all of the episodes I wouldn't have to get my DVDs out to watch the entire series all over again...






Friday, September 21, 2018

Friday Favourites




Happy Birthday to my mom today!! She is my most loyal reader so she deserves a shout out!  

I golfed on Monday, probably my last round of the year, and it was such a beautiful day out on the course.

E's got a new haircut this week, finally.  He said he wanted more of a mohawk but I'm sure we can use some gel and spike it up a bit.

I finally finished watching The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society.  It is rare that the movie is better than the book, but I think that was the case here.  The book was very good when I read it a few years ago, but it was made up of a collection of letters and articles; the movie of course is just a telling of the story, with some flashbacks, and I liked it very much.  Plus half the case of Downton Abbey is in it, so that was good too.

I posted on Wednesday about our fall decorations, including my favourite ghost.

Linking up with AndreaErika, and Narci for Friday Favourites
and The Blended Blog for Friday Loves.