Monthly Goals

My goals for October were:

Decide what credit card to get.  Done.  I decided on the Avion card and it's ready to go.

Plan E's Birthday party.  Done.  It was a success. 

Make a workout plan.  Done.  I've signed up for a Thursday evening class and Saturday morning class and they start next week.  It would be great to get a run in once a week but with the dark evenings I don't think that will happen very often. 

Organize our linen closet.  This did not happen, but I will try to get to it this weekend. 

Plan a Christmas budget.  Sort of done. Dave and I talked about what we wanted to spend on gifts so I will try to stick to that.  I usually do pretty well but then the week or so before Christmas I usually start buying last minute gifts that take me over the top.  If I can curb the urge to that this year, that would be great!

My goals for November are:

1. Flu shots for everyone.

2. Plan a reading list for next year.

3. Reorganize my closet.  I have limited space so I will need to be creative. 

4. Do our wills.

5. Plan out Christmas gifts and buy at least 50% of them.

What's Up Wednesday

What we're eating this week...

I must hit a wall at the end of the month because I find that I often have not done a meal plan on the weeks where I do this post.  This is what we have had so far:

Sunday - Hamburgers and wings at our friends' BBQ

Monday - Beef Stew

Tuesday - Chili 

Wednesday - Chicken, Potatoes, and Carrots

Thursday, Friday, Saturday - not sure yet

What I'm reminiscing about...

We had E's sixth birthday party on the weekend so I was reminiscing about all of the parties he has had.

What I'm loving...

I took some of Andrea's recommendations for children's books and picked up a couple for E's birthday.  He got There's a Giraffe in my Soup and Pocket Full of Colors.  They have lovely illustrations and good stories.  

What we've been up to...

We had E's birthday party on the weekend and Dave ran the marathon so those events took up a lot of our focus for awhile.  

What I'm dreading...

Slow drives home from work.  I am lucky that my drive can be fairly short, I go against the traffic, but when it starts getting dark, wet, and slippery out there the traffic slows way down and it can take awhile.  I don't always have to pick up the kids from school but I still want to make it home at a decent time.  I know for the next few months there will be slow rides home and I'm not looking forward to it. 

What I'm working on...

Believe it or not, my attention has already turned to Christmas, even though I usually don't think about it until after Halloween.  I have a Google Doc for Christmas plans that I've used for the past two years so I checked it out this weekend and started making a few plans. 

What I'm excited about...

Fall weather that seems to have arrived and the leaves changing.  I love coming home when it is dark and damp and getting cozy.

What I'm watching/reading...

We are watching Alias Grace, Ozark, and Walking Dead.  I am watching This is Us, and Will and Grace.  Dave is watching Breaking Bad (again), The Orville, and the new Star Trek.

I am reading The Best Kind of People, and next up is The Couple Next Door. 

What I'm listening to...

Podcasts, as usual.  This American Life, Jay and Dan, and Kaitlyn Bristowe.  

What I'm wearing...

I picked up this cute dress at anthropologie on Friday.  I was looking for a long sleeved dress and found this one, bonus it was 25% on the day I was in the store.  

I also found these cool hair elastics.  I like this style of realist now and the ones that I had from J. Crew had dwindled down to just one so I needed some new ones.  These ones are fancy so they definitely double as a bracelet.

What I'm doing this weekend...

I told E we could get off at the Museum subway station this weekend, so whether we actually go to the Royal Ontario Museum or do something else, we'll see.  On Sunday, Bloor West Village is hosting the annual St. Joe's Hospital Halloween Street Fest so we will hit that up after church. 

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

Bad Mom's Christmas night out with some of the moms from E's school, a night on the town with some high school friends, Remembrance Day (it's on a Saturday this year so we can attend a service together), and Christmas prep!

What else is new...

Our new car.  We traded in the good old Jetta and got the Volvo XC90.  It is not brand new, it's pre-owned, but it is practically new and much nicer than any other car we've had.  

Fare thee well Jetta, you were a good car!

What is my favourite Thanksgiving side dish...

This is a little belated for us up here in Canada.  I would say my favourite is mashed potatoes.  I love whipping them with lots of butter and some milk (warmed up before adding it) and then putting gravy and more butter on top.  Sometimes we make them loaded mashed potatoes and add cheese, bacon and green onion, but the gravy is still welcome.

Happy Wednesday!!

Show and Tell Tuesday

Linking up with Andrea for Show and Tell Tuesday.

Today we are talking about our Favourite Holiday.  I love Christmas, don't get me wrong, but my true favourite holiday is Easter.  There are so many things about it that make it extra special to me.

Easter is really the central story of the Christian faith.  Sure the birth of Christ is important, but that He died for our sins and then rose on the third day is the true miracle.  I really do get chills when I think about Mary going to the tomb and finding it empty, and then being on the road and finally recognizing the stranger as her friend that she thought had died.  This is truly where my faith is based.

Easter also means that spring is here (or on its way).  I'm not trying to wish away fall and winter yet since we have barely experienced any cool weather yet, but by the time Easter rolls around (rolls...a little tomb humour anyone?...anyone...?) I am ready for spring.

My other reasons for naming Easter as my favourite holiday all sort of are in comparison to Christmas. It's a fun holiday with lots of traditions, but everything is on the lighter side.  Only a few small gifts, one day of special food, a couple of traditions, and some church time, but nothing as big as Christmas.  Perhaps I like it more because it is less involved but still so important.

If you want to look back on my various Easter posts, click here.

Weekend Recap

We had a pretty crazy weekend but it was fun!  On Friday I was out of office for the entire day so I was able to walk up and pick up E and Q from school.  We played for a bit at the school, it was such a nice afternoon!  Q loving the new turf field.

Then we walked over to Queen Margherita Pizza for E's birthday supper.  He posed for a few photos before Dave and his parents showed up to meet us.

We decided to open family presents on Friday night even though E's birthday was on Saturday because we knew Saturday would be busy with his party.

The next morning I made pancakes for breakfast, and made E's extra special with whipped cream and sprinkles.  

Dave went out to pick up the balloons and cake and I started getting things organized for the party.  We like to have our parties at home and we try to keep things fairly simple.  This year E invited about 17 kids but we ended up with 12 total after a few people had to cancel.  The them was Superheroes/Avengers.  Kids were invited to wear a costume.  We planned for a craft, a few games, pizza and cake, free time to play, and gift opening. 

The craft all set up, it was a design your own mask.  I found some plain white masks from Michael's and then supplied foam stickers, pompoms, glitter pens, and regular markers.  

Pin the star on the Captain America shield

Our favours were bags of Super Kid popcorn from Kernels with a helium balloon.

My mom and I had made these comic book signs

Q dressed in his Batman onesie to keep with the theme

Kids working on their masks

Cake from the Superstore.

A few of the kids posing with their costumes.  Some of the others were downstairs playing hockey.

Opening presents.  

Monkeys dancing in the window 

The party was so much fun!! It was loud and chaotic but I loved it.  We won't have these moments of little kids in our house forever, so I will enjoy it while we can.  I only had to yell a couple of times ("stay downstairs, there is a baby sleeping upstairs!" and "stop slamming the door!!") but the kids were all very good and I think they enjoyed themselves.  We were sorry to miss the ones that were sick and otherwise busy.

Although it would have been great to rest for the rest of the day, instead I took a walk up the street to get a few vegetables, and then Q and I played in the backyard before I made supper.

On Sunday morning Dave and his dad headed out for the Toronto Scotiabank Marathon.  Dave's dad did the half marathon and Dave was attempting his first full marathon.  

Looking ready!

I drove them down for the start.  Then the rest of us took the subway down to meet them at the finish line.  We waited at Richmond and Bay and arrived about 10 minutes before Dave's dad ran by so good timing!  We made signs.  Although my sign is sincere it is also a reference to this Seinfeld scene. I also reused some of the stars from the birthday party.

Then we walked over to Nathan Phillips Square to meet him, and then waited around for a little while for Dave. 

Dave's time was 3:55 which is pretty impressive for a first full marathon, and Dave's dad ran his half in 1:49.   What a great day!!