Happy 7th Birthday Q!!

Happy Birthday to our Quinny! I have been noticing lately that is more of a big boy rather than a little boy; he is getting taller every day.  Q is very clever, always figuring things out, trying to be funny, and tattling on/one upping his big brother. He is competitive and wants to get better at baseball, soccer, and skiing. He is pretty well behaved and is learning what is appropriate behaviour and language for different situations. When he was littler, we would really need to work with him to calm down if he got upset, and although there are sometimes glimpses of it when he gets overwhelmed or frustrated now, he has really grown up in this area and it's a bit easier to reason with him.  He gets his emotional side from his dad ;)

This year he is walking to school with E, which is such a great opportunity for learning some independence. He has always been the little kid on the street, but now they are meeting up with some of some younger kids and Q has embraced being the "big kid" in those interactions.  He still goes to the YMCA after school and can always be found playing with a bunch of friends. He also went to overnight camp for a week this past year and is keen to go back for two weeks next year. 

Q loves his family very much and likes to snuggle and be cozy.  He likes to help out with chores and other things, and he also likes to play video games, like his older brother.  

He is such a sweet boy and growing up so fast. 

Here are a few photos of Q from the year, with the annual birthday quiz below.

(My comments in italics)

Favourite Colour
Yellow

Favourite Stuffed Animal
Guy

Favourite Things to Sleep With
Guy

Favourite Fruit
Pear

Favourite Thing to Eat for Breakfast
Rainbow Loop Cereal (Froot Loops)

Favourite Thing to Eat for Lunch
Pasta

Favourite Thing to Eat for Supper
Pasta!

Favourite Dessert
Ice Cream, vanilla

Favourite Drink
Sprite

Favourite Animal
I have like 20,000 favourites! Top 2 - Cheetah and Lion

Favourite Book
Crayons (The Day the Crayons Quit)

Favourite Song
Sonic (Boom Boom Boom)

Favourite Game
Fortnite (You don't play Fortnite! I know but I like it!), Mario Kart, and the Lego one with the Avengers

Favourite Sport
Soccer

Favourite TV Show
Baking ones, Is it Cake? Snack vs. Chef

Favourite Movie
Sonic

Favourite Thing to do Outside
Play baseball, soccer and play some games

Best Friend
James

Favourite F1 Driver (a new question)
Max Verstappen!

What do you want to be when you grow up?
Baseball player for the Blue Jays

Anything else to share?
No.

Monthly Musings

 

1. Favourite fall traditions.

Back to school, watching the salmon jump in the Humber River, and enjoying the foliage. We often have a trip planned, I think fall is one of the best times to travel.

2. How do you celebrate Halloween?

We carve pumpkins, the kids dress up for school, they go trick-or-treating, and we give out candy at our house.

3. Favourite fall recipes - please share links.

French Onion Soup, Pumpkin Mac and Cheese, and Meatball Stuff Acorn Squash

4. Favourite fall fashion pieces.

You can see a post I did about some fall finds here. Some pants from Mango and sweaters Aritzia

5. How do you decorate for fall?

I'm not decorating this year, but here is a link to what I put up a couple of years ago. 

6. Pumpkin Spice? Oh yes or over it? 

It's fine but I don't seek it out.  I will probably have one pumpkin spice latte when the weather turns cooler, and I enjoy pumpkin pie at Thanksgiving.

7. Thoughts on candy corn?
I don't think I've ever had a piece of candy corn in my life. I think this was more of an American candy and only recently made an apperance here in Canada so it missed my youth.  Now I only eat candy that I really like, like swedish berries or red nibs.

8. Favourite fall/Halloween movie?

Hocus Pocus, The Addams Family and ET.

9. Apple pie, pumpkin pie, or cider doughnut?

  I always have time for apple pie and pumpkin pie and will usually take a bit of each at Thanksgiving. Like the candy corn, a cider doughnut is not as common here, so I don't know if I've ever had one.

10. Bonfire, hayride or haunted house?

Bonfire. I love it any time of year, but especially when it is darker and cooler in the evenings. 

Linking up with Holly and Patty.

What's Up Wednesday

 

What we're eating this week...

Sunday - Salmon burgers

Monday - Sweet Potato Turkey Chili

Tuesday - Chicken Shawarma

Wednesday and Thursday - Leftovers

Friday - Out for Q's Birthday

Saturday - Pizza at Q's Birthday Party

What I'm reminiscing about...

Earlier this month I took a trip to Nova Scotia. I got to visit with family and one of my best friends from when I was growing up.  Lots of memories shared :)

What I'm loving...

We have been having a great September for weather. I like the cooler temperatures in the morning but it's always quite pleasant during the day.

What we've been up to...

Helping Q with his reading, encouraging E to practice his guitar, and getting them both ready for their cross-country race next week.

What I'm dreading...
As part of our renovations, we have decided to replace our old radiators with new ones and get a new boiler.  This means some of the work needs to come down to the basement where we are living to remove piping and make connections to the new rads. I am wondering how that will all work out with us being down there.  Dave is hoping they can get a bunch done while we are away next month.

What I'm working on...

Getting those last minute things done for Q's birthday party this weekend.  We are actually doing a joint party with one of his buddies so the moms are sharing the burden which has been nice.  On my list this week is preparing some fruit and vegetables and pre-ordering the pizza. Favour bags, drinks, and cake was on the other mom's list :)

What I'm excited about...

We have been doing a good job of eating well, not drinking, and not snacking at night.  That said, I am excited to go out on Friday night for Q's birthday and treating ourselves to pizza and beer.

What I'm watching/reading...

Dave and I are watching Dopesick and The Morning Show, and we are watching The Office with E.  Amazing Race starts this week so we will be watching that one as a family. 

My books for September will be shared on Monday. 

What I'm listening to...

No change from last month, '90s-'00s Hip Hop and Chris Stapleton.

What I'm wearing...

A few fall finds I wrote about last week.

What I'm doing this weekend...

Celebrating Q's 7th birthday.

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

Thanksgiving, Halloween, E's birthday, and DISNEY!! (and Universal)

What else is new...

I had a fall cold last week and I took a different approach of powering through with revolving doses of Advil Cold and Sinus.  Although I certainly did not feel 100%, my symptoms were pretty contained. Not sure if this is the best way to do things, but I'm on the other side of it now.

Linking up with Shay

Weekend Recap

 I started out my Friday in a fun way, on the golf course! It was a bit of a networking thing with some people I know in the insurance industry.  We golfed at Lambton Golf Club on their 9 hole course.

One of my best shots was on No. 2.  This was my tee shot on this par 3.

I worked for the rest of the day at home, and then went to pick up Q from school.  He was not eager to leave. 

After supper we finally watched the season finale for Amazing Race Canada. 

On Saturday morning Dave golfed.  E went for a run.  And then Q and I headed to High Park for his last soccer game.  Coach Dave joined us shortly thereafter.  But E stayed at home because he was being picked up for golf before we were set to get home.  

Everyone gets a medal but these boys did win. 

Q got an popsicle and we watched a bit of a t-ball game.

I went to the grocery store when we got home. I posted about what I picked up yesterday.

E was home for just a short time before he had to go out golfing again with Dave for a Night Golf event at their golf club.  Glow in the dark balls, cups, and lots of glow sticks.

Meanwhile Q and I went for a walk for some ice cream, and then we watched Ultimate Beastmaster.

After the boys got home we watched the new Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie, it was great! It was made by the same people that made Mitchells vs. the Machines so it was humour I appreciated.

With the Japanese Grand Prix happening in the middle of the night for us, we got up at 6:30 watch the recording on Sunday morning. 

Dave headed off to the golf club for his Fall Classic tournament, and the boys and I went to church.  We were recognizing Orange Shirt Day on this day.

After church we went to see about getting some new shoes for both boys.  E was successful in finding new sneakers,  but we couldn't find any indoor soccer shoes for Q.  We all had some screen time when we got home, but then Q went to find a friend and we walked to the park to play for a little bit. 

We made supper, cleaned up, and got ready for the week.  

Weekly Groceries

I always love seeing what people are buying at the grocery store so this weekend I took some pictures of what I bought to show you.  I was just at regular old Loblaws, no fancy Trader Joe's for me ;)

I do like to do orders for pick up, but sometimes I have to actually go to the store and shop.  This was a pretty typical grocery week for us.

Starting with bread products - mini muffins for breakfast (typically I would make muffins but we are without an oven at the moment), brioche buns for burgers and smaller ones for the kids' lunches, pitas for shawarma, microwave rice, Oreo minis for the kids' lunches, and Ryvita crackers for me. 

Pantry items - Tide pods, crispy onions for salad toppings, Tostitos for our chili, honey for hot lemon drinks, chick peas and lentils for a salad, chilli peppers and tomatoes for chilli, and Advil

Produce - The kids like cucumbers, pears, and melons for their lunches, Dave likes bananas for his shakes, I like avocado and radishes for breakfast, lemons for lemon water, and the other things are for chilli (green pepper, jalapeño, green onions, and garlic)

Dairy/Meat/Freezer - Small milk and cream to fit in our small fridge, waffles, frozen vegetables, ham for sandwiches, ground turkey for chilli, chicken thighs for shawarma, plain yoghurt, tzatziki, and salmon burgers.  I also got eggs but they didn't seem to have made it into the photo!

Friday Favourites

 

We had a big week of sports related favourites.

E and Dave went for a run on Tuesday morning before school.  E is practicing the 3K he needs to do for cross country.  He got to wear Dave's Apple Watch.

E also got in a round of golf with some friends.

Q started his off season baseball training. He will do a 6 week session for the fall, and then we hope to get him signed up for the winter session too.

Dave was one of the co-captains for his golf club's mens' league, and his team won the league!

I had a celebrity sighting this week - Jillian Harris was at Alobar Downtown when I was there for lunch on Tuesday. She is just as tiny and pretty as you think she will be! I did not talk to her.  She was in town for her new cookbook promotion with her co-author Tori.

On Thursday I gave an update on our renovations, not much progress, but some.

I also talked about my experience with Invisalign.

More sports ahead this weekend.  I'm golfing this morning. Dave has two golf games planned, one with E, and Q has his last soccer game on Saturday.

Linking up with Andrea and Erika.