Friday Favourites/Monthly Musings

 

Linking up with Patty and Holly for Monthly Musings - a day late, but I'm here!

1. How do you decorate for fall/Halloween?

Mostly with simple touches around the house, orange and red colours, a few Halloween things, but mostly for fall.  

2. Do you decorate inside? Outside? Or both?

Both.

3.When do you do your fall decorating?

Usually between now and Thanksgiving (October 10th this year).  I bought some mums yesterday so this weekend I will get out the fall decorations. 

4. How do you decorate with pumpkins?

I usually buy some of those decorative gourds and mini-pumpkins for inside, and then three or four for outside to carve for Halloween night. We don't buy them until just a couple of days before Halloween otherwise the squirrels eat them.

5. Do you add lights to your decorating?

No.

6. Do you do anything special for Halloween dinner?

Yes, we usually have baked chicken tacos for Halloween dinner.  I have also made stuffed peppers with carved jack o'lantern faces, or pumpkin mac and cheese. 

7. Favourite Halloween candy?

Wunderbar

8. Full or fun sized chocolate bars?

We just give out the small size treats.

9. Best fall decor tips?

Don't buy too many pumpkins, it's just a waste. Get a few to carve and that's enough.

10. Pumpkin spice, yes or no?

I usually have about one pumpkin spice latte per year and I've already had it this time. And I will make one pumpkin pie for Thanksgiving and that's the extent of my pumpkin spice items. 

Since it's Friday, I'm sharing a few things from our week.

On Thursday it was Q's 6th birthday so we had some birthday fun on that day.

I was working that morning at the office so I although I didn't have time to make birthday waffles, I did pick up some chocolate croissants.  (See CNN in the background as we caught up with the Hurricane Ian devastation, horrible!)

Presents after supper.  He got a new watch and Transformer, among other things. 

We had dinner at our favourite plate, Queen Margherita Pizza.

It was also photo day at school on Thursday so the boys were spiffied up for that.  They wanted to wear their blazers and Q opted for a bow tie as well.

A few other things to mention - the boys will be wearing orange to school for the National Day of Truth and Reconciliation today, both kids will be running in the cross-country meet next week, I've been listening to Coolio and other great 90s rap following news of his death, Dave and I are watching Welcome to Wrexham, and I'm excited that the Blue Jays have clinched the Wild Card spot.

I love summer, but I'm also glad fall is filled with so many fun things.

Linking up with Andrea and Erika for Friday Favourites. 

Happy 6th Birthday Q!

It's Q's 6th birthday!!  He's not really our little Quinn anymore, he is growing all the time and his legs are stretching out.  He is a sweet boy who likes to snuggle and be warm and cozy.  He can be a bit dramatic about certain things, and some things can really bother him, but once he understands what is going on, he's usually able to go along with what we need to do.  For example, recently he never wants to go to bed, but it isn't long before he says "okay fine" and gets all ready for bed without (more) complaining.  

His personality shines through too and he likes to make us laugh.  He is competitive when it comes to sports and yells things like "Let's go!!".  

His interests are varied and he tends to zero in on something for a week or so and then moves on.  In the summer he made a ton of paper airplanes one week, he likes to play Legos and it's not so much building as it is playing with the little figurines and setting up action scenes.  His teacher has set him up on Lalilo, an app for reading, and we had to drag him away from it so we could watch a show on Monday, and on Tuesday he started playing it on his own after he got home from school. He enjoys school and always has lots to tell us. 

He is lucky to have his older brother E to keep up with.  They are great friends and it means Q gets exposed to different games and shows that he wouldn't necessarily see if he was the oldest.

Here are some photos from the past year with the annual birthday quiz to follow.

(my comments in italics)

Favourite Colour

Yellow

Favourite Stuffed Animal

Guy

Favourite Thing to Sleep With

Guy

Favourite Fruit

Melon

Favourite Thing to Eat for Breakfast

Cereal

Favourite Thing to Eat for Lunch

Peanut Butter and Jam Sandwich

Favourite Thing to Eat with Supper

Pizza

 
Favourite Dessert

Cake

Favourite Drink

Milk

Favourite Animal

Squirrel..I mean chipmunk

Favourite Book

Ninjago

Favourite Song

Sonic

(which is the song Boom from the movie Sonic the Hedgehog)

Favourite Game

Balloons TD6

(...no clue, I guess it's what he plays on the iPad)

Favourite Sport

Baseball

Favourite TV Show

Ninjago

Favourite Movie

Sing

Favourite Thing to do Outside

Play baseball

Best Friend
Wesley

What do you want to be when you grow up?

I don't know, I haven't figured that out yet.  Last year you said fireman. *Shrug*

Anything else to share?

No

What's Up Wednesday

 

What we're eating this week...

Sunday - Salad bowls

Monday - Lettuce Wraps

Tuesday - Pumpkin and Sausage Mac and Cheese

Wednesday - Red Lentil Curry

Thursday - Queen Margherita Pizza for Q's Birthday

Friday and Saturday - not planned yet

What I'm reminiscing about...

With the destruction Hurricane Fiona on the East Coast of Canada, I am thinking back to Hurricane Juan.  It was late September in 2003 and I was living in Halifax.  We knew a hurricane was on its way and I was even working that night at Salty's, which is directly on the waterfront, all we really thought to do was move the patio furniture towards the back of the patio. But it was a pretty big storm and caused lots of damage.  We had no power for about 5 days and Dave's house had no power for 9 days. We had lots of fun stories from those days, but we were young and didn't have any real worries at that time. 

What I'm loving...

I've been an Armchair Expert podcast fan for a few years now but I am especially enjoying their new show "Armchair Anonymous" where people submit stories based on a theme and then tell the story to Dax and Monica.  I am often gasping and laughing out loud when I'm listening, even when I'm on the subway. This week the prompt was encounters with wild animals and there was a story from Alberta that was pretty amazing. 

What we've been up to...

Getting settled into the school routine.  Have I mentioned how happy I am that we are back in school full time and in person?  I know that is how we ended last year too but I'm just mindful of our good fortune. 

What I'm dreading...

I know with the colder weather coming that seasonal colds (and maybe even COVID) are on the horizon.  I bought a couple of things from Saje in anticipation of that.  Kids' cold medicine is so rare in Ontario now that we now need a prescription to get it.  Fortunately we have a bottle or two in our cabinet just in case.  I also need to get the humidifiers out and clean them. 

What I'm working on...

September and October are always busy months to us with all of the regular fall things, but throw in two birthday parties, and then this year some work trips for both Dave and me, and we have a lot going on.  I'm working on getting birthday gifts purchased, cakes made, parties planned, and then also plan for Thanksgiving and Halloween. 

What I'm excited about...

That Adnan Syed was released from prison. I know it's always possible that the State of Maryland will decide to try him again, but I think it's doubtful.  I was very invested in Serial when it came out and listened to it three times in total over the years, along with the Undisclosed podcast that goes even farther into the details of the case.  I've never been 100% sure of his guilt or innocence but I am 100% sure he never should have been convicted, there was a mountain of reasonable doubt.  Not only was it a fascinating case, Adnan and Hae were my age when she was murdered and I think about all I've done since then and the things that they were denied. 

 What I'm wearing...

Sweaters.  I bought a couple at Nordstrom Rack and one on Amazon.

What I'm watching/reading...

We have been watching a lot of the Blue Jays, only a few games left to see where we shake out for the playoffs.  We are also watching The Amazing Race and Andor as a family.  Dave and I are watching Handmaid's Tale, but we need more shows to watch. 

I've read a few books this month and I'll write about them on Monday.  Right now, reading another Sally Hepworth book. 

What I'm listening to...

I've been enjoying these fall songs along with some '90s acoustic, with Pearl Jam touring lately, I sometimes click on Yellow Ledbetter and then just listen to what Spotify suggests that are similar.

What I'm doing this weekend...

We are celebrating Q's birthday!  And then it's World Communion Sunday.  I haven't had communion with people for a couple of years now so I'm excited about that.  I have joined in at home via our church's YouTube channel with my own little bread and glass of wine but it will be special to have it in person. 

What I'm looking forward to next month...

A work trip to Timmins, Thanksgiving, E's birthday, and Halloween.  

What else is new...

I corrected some spelling on The Royal Family's instagram account and now I have all these new followers who seem to be actual real people, not bots.  (The account actually fixed the mistake after I commented, see below.)

Linking up with Shay.

Weekend Recap

 Not too many photos of the weekend, despite the fact we had a few things going on.  On Friday night Q had skating and then we came home for pizza night.  I had picked up these pretty flowers earlier in the day as a nice touch of fall.  This is the same bouquet, just different sides. 

On Saturday morning E had baseball tryouts so we tagged along for that.  It was a great fall day - cool and warm. 

I tried out my new sweater with leggings.  I had ordered this in a pink as well but thought it was too big, but in the grey, I don't mind the size.  It was nice and cozy and I needed it in the shade, but not in the sunshine. 

Then Q went to a birthday party for one of his friends. 

Dave was golfing in a tournament and he stayed at the Club for supper but came home shortly afterwards so we could watch a movie.  E wanted me to take his photo, I don't know what he is supposed to be doing.

It was calling for rain on Sunday but Dave managed to get his golf round in before the heavy rain started, thanks to his 7:30 am tee time. 

We went to church. I was there early for choir practice and Q did some colouring while E helped set up for coffee hour.  We were welcoming our new minister on Sunday so we also had cake. 

In the afternoon E had a junior tournament and then Dave took Q over the club to hit a few balls too.  I was doing some grocery shopping, watching the Jays, and maybe taking a little nap ;)

We had some great salad bowls for supper and then watched a mediocre movie, Paws of Fury.  

Baby Photos

 People are always saying that our kids either look like me or Dave and it varies depending on how old they are, but really, I haven't really seen any similarities.  So I thought I would do some comparisons and see what you thought.  I did pictures of us all as babies, toddlers, and school age.  

Me

Dave

E

Q

Me

Dave

E

Q

Me

Dave

E

Q

I don't know - maybe they look like their grandparents...?