Monday, February 20, 2012

Tears (51/365)

Today is 'Family Day' here. I don't have the holiday, so Hubby took the day to care for Petite; her daycare was closed.

So today Petite spent the day with Daddy. The hope was to spend the afternoon in the nearby park, on a sled and enjoying the crisp winter weather, as

He tried his best to get her to go out with him.

This was the result.


Apparently the intended jaunt to the park was replaced by a drive to get an ice cream cone.

"Some days are diamonds," as my mom would say!

Sunday, February 19, 2012

Birthday Party (50/365)

Today, Petite and I went to a birthday party for my friend's son who just turned three.

The kids had a blast!



Saturday, February 18, 2012

Friday, February 17, 2012

Movie Night (48/365)

I was reading status updates on Facebook today. One of my girlfriends mentioned "Mommy and Kids Movie Night."

The kids cuddle in Mommy's room, with her on the king-sized bed and have popcorn and watch a movie with her.

I LOVE this idea. So we started doing it right away. Petite was excited!


Thursday, February 16, 2012

Weekly Tasks (47/365)

On Thursday every week we get the flyers; a bunch of circulars from grocery stores, furniture stores, electronics shops, etc. is dropped in my mailbox.

And every week, I sit down with the flyers to look at the home improvement stores and dream about upgrading the house. But in reality, the task that I do with the flyers every week is much more mundane than that...




I use the flyers to plan a weekly or two-week schedule of meals.




The flyers help me comparison shop and determine the menu for our family for the next two weeks. I print out a copy of the menu and post it on the fridge. Below the menu, I make a list of food that we need to buy (and where to buy it on sale!) to make sure the meals are done on time and on budget.




Such is my task. It's not fun. But it helps us organize our weeks and it permits me to schedule planned events or special meals. It also helps because Hubby works nights so it's usually just me and Petite; by doing this menu plan, Hubby can determine if he can prep something for me beforehand. Or I can see just how often we have fish on the menu. Things like that.




Doing this is just one of the little things that helps our household run more smoothly.

Monday, February 13, 2012

Snoozin (44/365)

Shadow, taking a snooze on the bed with me last night. I'm not sure where his brother Smudge was at the time, but it was nice to cuddle with Shadow for a few minutes. My boys don't get as much cuddle time with me since Petite arrived and they are rather jealous of her. They are 16 years old; I brought them back to Canada from Japan in 1995. And I love to bury my face into their soft fur. They're my furbabies and I love them so much!



Sunday, February 12, 2012

Sticker Shock (43/365)

Petite has a huge Dora sticker book. On Sunday evening, Hubby walked in the living room to find this:



He said, "No no Petite. You'll ruin your stickers on the couch," and took the book away from her. (He can be a little heavy handed sometimes. I have to remind him that she is a little girl and she is doing normal, little girl things.) She promptly started to cry and came running to me, sniffling, "Mommy, Mommy, Daddy took my sticker book." I scooped her up in my arms, eager for any reason to have a cuddle. I said, "You're putting your stickers on the couch. Are you being silly?" attempting to inject some levity into the situation. She immediately snuggled against my neck, and replied, "No. I being sad."

Made me giggle. How can you not!

Saturday, February 11, 2012

Dinner Out! (42/365)

Photo will be forthcoming; it's on the camera and I need to download it. (*Updated on Tuesday, Feb. 14.)

But we went out to celebrate my stepson's 16th birthday. I can't believe how big he's grown. Yikes!


This is my friend's daughter K, and my stepson, J. It's crazy to watch them grow!

Friday, February 10, 2012

Nugget (41/365)

The neighbour's cat loves to say hello when we get home in the evening.




*Apologies for not posting in a timely fashion; I'm exhausted. At the end of the two-week cycle that hubby works and so I've had 12 days with very little break from the work-all-day, baby-all-night routine. Colour me pooped.

Thursday, February 9, 2012

Sledding Fun (40/365)

As I picked her up from daycare today, I drove up to see this. The caregiver was out front with them. And they were loving it!


Wednesday, February 8, 2012

Ribbit (39/365)

When out shopping the other day, we were looking for some Valentine's chocolate for the kids and my girlfriend. There were tons of things available of course. And a boatload of soft plush toys as well.

Petite got a ton of chocolate for Christmas; we're still doling it out to her. So I was going to get her a plush toy or something else for Valentine's this year. When we passed the big, cuddly bears, she plucked out a bright red one and snuggled him close. But that was quickly jettisoned in favour of this little guy.

This morning, before we went out the door to daycare, she rode him like a pony. And she's named him Ribbit. Poor thing. Never knew what hit him!

(NOTE: Our Internet and phone connection was down for a few days. While I took these photos, I was unable to post. So today, Wednesday February 8, I'm uploading a few posts at the same time. Hope that's okay.)

Tuesday, February 7, 2012

First Fat Lip (38/365)

I went to pick her up at daycare on Tuesday. Her caregiver met me with, "Petite, did you tell Mommy you got a bo-bo today?" (Never words you truly want to hear, are they?)

She looked up at me and her fat, cut lip and scraped chin told the story. She fell on the ice outside playing and her tooth cut her lip. It's blue and bruised. Poor girl. You can see the swelling a bit in this picture but most of the blue colour is on the inside of her gums. She's doing a fair bit of pouting so she can look at it in the mirror, so I gather she's going to live.

Still, it ain't pretty lookin', that's for sure.


(NOTE: Our Internet and phone connection was down for a few days. While I took these photos, I was unable to post. So today, Wednesday February 8, I'm uploading a few posts at the same time. Hope that's okay.)

Monday, February 6, 2012

Shopping! (37/365)

Out for a jaunt, looking for some size 3 clothing, as her size 2 stuff is now too short. I think she's grown about 3" in the last month or so.

Where does the time go?


(NOTE: Our Internet and phone connection was down for a few days. While I took these photos, I was unable to post. So today, Wednesday February 8, I'm uploading a few posts at the same time. Hope that's okay.)

Sunday, February 5, 2012

The Tax Man Cometh (36/365)

I'm behind. Only by one year, but I'm behind.

In 2009, Petite was born. I was off on maternity leave and I simply never got around to doing my taxes until sometime in 2010. I had to pay in; not a huge amount, but I had to pay in.

That done, I knew I had to file for 2010 as well... and I still haven't done that. I suspect I'll have to pay in for 2010 as well, so I've let it slide a bit. Money's been tight with Hubby finding his footing in a new career.

I just picked up the software for the 2011 tax year. I hoped to file 2010 and 2011 together, with the expectation that what I owed in 2010 will be paid by what I expect to get back in 2011. Alas, Revenue Canada is now on my ass and has delivered a registered letter asking me to file in the next 30 days for 2010. Bugger.

I'd best get a move on. Now where are those T4s for 2011?
(NOTE: Our Internet and phone connection was down for a few days. While I took these photos, I was unable to post. So today, Wednesday February 8, I'm uploading a few posts at the same time. Hope that's okay.)

Saturday, February 4, 2012

Winter Fun (35/365)

Posting this from my iPhone as our Internet and phone connections aren't working at the moment and are being upgraded as I type.

I will upload the photo later but I can tell you that the pic today is of Petite out enjoying the snow. The city holds a wonderful festival called Winterlude each year and this is the first weekend of Winterlude. Lots of tourists in the downtown core and beautiful sunny weather too. So I took Petite out to go sledding and to play in the park. We had sooo much fun!

Friday, February 3, 2012

Daycare's Done! (34/365)

Taken as I arrived to pick her up from daycare. She was having fun in the snow with her caregiver, but as soon as she saw my car, she started running towards me, "Mommy, Mommy! Go home see Daddy?"

So sweet. I love my girl.

Thursday, February 2, 2012

My Favourite Book (33/365)

Nana read her favourite book before she left.

I give you, Nana... reading "Fox in Socks" by Dr. Seuss.

Wednesday, February 1, 2012

Jump on Poppy's Bed! (32/365)

Horsing around with Poppy and Nana.

It's wonderful to see my parents enjoy their granddaughter so very much. I am blessed.