That fall Holiday

This is Kian's 'scarecrow' outfit. I threw it together at 6:45 am this morning. He wouldn't keep the straw hat on. There is also a red/blue plaid patch on his knee. Brown eye shadow makes good "dirt". He also wouldn't hold still long enough for me to get a decent picture. I was harassed by everyone until I got him some kind of costume for daycare and their parade and party. Ahh, peer pressure.

He loved trying to cut and scoop the pumpkin

Kissing the pumpkin:

Halloween

I am very curious what other people think about Halloween and how they celebrate it, if at all. When I was very young, we attended a church that did not celebrate Halloween and pretty much prohibited it. As I got older and realized the other kids dressed up and went around getting candy! on this unusual holiday, I was intrigued. We did do some trick or treating as we got older, but then I wasn't really into it anyway. The fact that we lived on an isolated, rural road with house few and far between only added to the misery.

Now, Kevin and I are (both) just not into dressing up, or making a big deal about Halloween. Last year we sat on our porch and handed out candy, while Kian (in his baseball outfit) played and slept. I also am opposed to the junk, I mean candy, that is handed out and inhaled by the handful. It's horrible for the teeth. Ugh. Besides that, I'm just a Halloween grinch, I can't exactly afford "good" candy and really don't see why I should hand out candy to people I don't even know. It's a strain on my budget. It just seems to me, it's an exaggerated "holiday" egged on by the retailers to pad their bottom line by getting those kids to "have to have Dora, Batman, Elmo" costumes, as well as 5 lbs of candy.

People don't even know what they are "celebrating". It's not even about the roots of the day, it's so commercialized it's unrecognizable. As a white Christian I celebrate meaningful holidays-Easter, Christmas, Thanksgiving-and even those secular, but meaningful ones-mother's/father's day, military days, etc. For an explanation and definition of Halloween click HERE. I know we're not all Irish, and that we Americans aren't celebrating Halloween because of our recent harvest and worries about evil, dead spirits haunting and hurting our crops. I just don't think there's a purpose to (Americanized) Halloween-it's solely a greed-induced night, in my eyes.

So, all the crankiness aside. Kian is still small and has no understanding of this so-called "holiday". He's not aware of any commercialized personas, save Elmo, and has no desire for all things Halloween--yet. I think this year we might go out and do something instead of sitting home, waiting for the craziness to being, being drained of $20 or more to fill unknown children's candy bags. But, there will come a time he may want to actually "participate" in this weirdness, and what will we do then?

Okay, lay it on me.

Ch-ch-changes

Not only are we dealing with the visual and physical changes of seasons before our eyes, watching leaves turn red and drop to the ground, but a lot of other changes unseen as well. Some changes are easy, some are difficult. But, to be honest, most change is difficult for me. I don't particularly like change. Some I am excited about, even though I am nervous about the unknown. (Having a baby was one of those nerve-wracking but so wanted, loved changes.)

There are always small changes we are trying to make in the house, in regards to chores, finances, etc. And of course, keeping up with Kian, his ever developing, ever growing curiosity and exploration forces us to make changes weekly for his safety as well as learning. (Poor Kevin did not like the change of having to move the foosball table from our family room and into the basement. But, I could not, would not let it stay as those handles were just waiting to begin jabbing eyes out!)

Friday, at work, we were informed of more changes headed our way. Big changes, changes we didn't see coming. It's an awkward situation at this time. In one respect, it means the way things are/were will be over, and we will now have to relearn some things. We will have to adjust to another personality and style and abide by that. But, yet on the other hand, I wonder what this means for our program and how a different person might help it flourish in another way. (sorry to be so vague, but I have to keep my mouth shut on specifics for a little longer) The good thing is that the 4 of us (out of the 6) have bonded well, are very similar in personalities, likes/dislikes, etc. and can count on each other, vent to each other and push each other as well as encourage each other in the job, as well as personally. We will rely on that bond to get through more changes and come out on top. Although, I think because of this major change the hiring of another person is on hold, which means I still have my own office for awhile! woo hoo!

Oddly enough, even though I don't care for change, I do like the changing of seasons. I hate to stay in one season too long though, especially winter. I love mild fall days, warm spring sunshine with new green blossoms. I don't care for extreme temps, not super hot, nor freezing, I don't do well with extremes. I just love to see the various colors, plants and animals that come and go with the seasons fading into the next.

In other ways, I embrace change: my weight loss and new body image! I continue to keep working on maintaining my weight and toning what's left. I love that change! Even though I gained too much during my pregnancy, the weight loss after giving birth and breastfeeding, with some jogging workouts snuck in, does wonders for my body. I tried to convince Kevin that having another one will make me lose even more weight! He didn't quite buy it. But, no matter what, I am happy with myself physically for the first time in a very long, long time. The only time I was "fat" per se was when I was pregnant. Ugh. I was never a lot overweight, but it was always in the wrong places. (read: having a huge size C chest in 6th grade while the rest of the class was still in training bras? devastating!) So, appreciating what my body can do (house, grow, birth and nurture a baby) and how it looks now, how I feel, how I worked to get it where it's at, feels great. This is one change I want to keep on changing!

There's not a lot of other specific things right now, but just in the last year there has been a lot of changes in my relationships with family in friends. Some good, some bad, some indifferent. I am not always sure how to deal with this, as I am looking at it through adult eyes now, instead of a child's eyes as I had previously. Sometimes, I admit, I just ignore it and hope it all goes away. We all know that doesn't work. But, in looking at the big picture and realizing my first priorities are my little family now, and myself, I don't feel as guilty "pushing" these things towards the back of the line at times.

No matter that changes, one thing remains-Thanksgiving at grandma's is filled with tons of food. Oh wait, you thought I was going to say something inspirational like love remains, God is faithful, I can count on myself always, I can only change myself, I need to be the change I want to see in others, I can always count on God to listen, etc. ? Well, of course, I was going to say all that! I just got carried away thinking about the Holiday changes and how many pies I have to bake this year-12 I think... But, love it or despise it, change is always going to be around, and we have to learn how to deal with each change as it comes, and recognize in our self how to adapt and thrive, despite these changes. I think I am on my way.

Glued

This picture doesn't do the gash, and the huge lump, on Kian's head justice. Once again, my child has bashed, gashed, split, and bled. It happened at daycare. According to Kevin, according to the teacher (like I don't feel guilty enough I didn't get there first!) Kian got up from the snack table and ran and tripped on the only corner in the entire room. Straight on, right onto his forehead. His nose seems to have bled a bit and his lip is swollen and bled a bit also, I think. Kevin said the teacher's pants were covered in blood, as were Kian's clothes. Wonderful, isn't it?

I called the pediatrician, whose office was closed. I called the after hours number, which gave me the on-call doctor's number. I called that, but it was the on-call doctor's answering service. I was then given a 4th number to call that doctor directly. I just wanted to know if I should bring him to the ER for stitches or what. She had us come to her office, in Henrietta, after dinner, and she glued him up. Which, I think is best, because that means no worrying about stitches being tugged on, having to be snipped off, we didn't have to endure any numbing needles or screaming while being stitched. Plus, this should leave the smallest scar possible. So, we didn't even get home until after 8 o'clock tonight. Whew!

I don't quite understand how this kid can be so accident prone. Granted, he seems a little impulsive like his father. I do worry about his feet, very flat, and his ankles turn in some. The ped told me not to worry about it yet, but I can't help wondering if this is why he falls so much. I know that he's only been walking for just under 3 months and that's not much, but still...

Hopefully it heals nicely and doesn't leave any scars! Say a little prayer for my poor baby! I still have to bring him to daycare tomorrow as I have a surprise, mandatory, intense staff meeting where we will find out some information that is being kept secret about staff, etc. Oh the joys of drama filled days! Here's praying the weekend is quiet and calm!

Wordless Wednesday

*yep that's a tomato

Fall food ramblings

I love fall. The foods. The colors. The smells. The sights. The feel, the crisp coolness. The sounds, the crunchy leaves, the wind. And the foods, did I mention the foods?

So far we've picked apples and pumpkins. We grew a pumpkin and some butternut squash. I've made an apple pie and applesauce will be next, followed by apple crisp. We've had squash a few times for dinner. I've made pumpkin muffins, pancakes and bread. Mmmm.

Pot roasts and roast chicken are another fall fave, followed by Sunday Football Chili!

I could go on and on...or I could post some of my recipes for some of these soon... But, you know my problem, I don't follow recipes and I estimate everything.

Apple pie is the easiest. I use PW's perfect pie crust. I use 9 inch deep dish, because I like a deep, thick pie. About 6-8 apples, depending on size. I hate overly sweet apple pies, like the prepared/canned filling. It's just sugar, no apples. So, I cut my apples in thick slices, add 1/2 cup brown sugar, 2 tsp cinnamon and 1 tsp cloves. I love spices, so the more the merrier. I throw in about a tsp of cornstarch and mix that all together. Top the pie dish with another crust, bake at 375 for an hour, and voila, the bestest apple pie ever. Well, unless you make one with a crumble top....ooh now that is good.

Another thing I love is to sprinkle nutmeg on squash before serving. Gives it a slightly refreshing but mild zing.

Sometimes if I need a quick apple pie fix I'll core an apple, fill the cored out part with cinnamon and brown sugar and microwave it for a few minutes until soft. Now, that's easy.

For the pumpkin pancakes I made a "pumpkin cream syrup" of sorts by mixing equal parts pumpkin puree and plain yogurt and (real) maple syrup. It was really good! Kian ate it by the spoonful.

And for easy fall meals you cannot beat a crock pot! Those things do wonders. Throw in a beef shoulder cut with potatoes, carrots, celery and onions. Add 1-2 cups water, seasoned salt, pepper, some Worcestershire sauce, leave it for 4 hours and you have an amazing meal. (Sometimes I take the "juice" boil it with a tiny bit of cornstarch and make a nice gravy for it too!)

Well, my pie has now run over, onto the bottom of the oven. That means for the next 2 weeks every time i turn the oven on my house will smell like apple pie-not such a bad thing! Guess I'd better take it out now!

A lil Sunday football

Kian and I went to Kenny's (pee wee? junior?) football game today. It was in Honeoye Falls, which I thought would be closer than going all the way to Whitman. Guess what? It was only about 15 minutes closer believe it or not. Kenny's team won-24-6 or something, I don't remember! He's a speedy little thing when they let him play. Kiara was cheering, but she was the third game in the lineup and we (Kian and I) weren't up for braving the cold for 3 more hours, plus he needed a nap.

Here's Kian sporting his cool new Old Navy gear. (Can we say sales?! 'Cause you all know I wouldn't be paying full price just for his clothes to say Old Navy.)




And with his little pumpkins on our steps. Does he look like his mama, like a McKnight, here or what?




The bleachers were tons of fun, they made lots of noise and were great table/chair combo for little bodies.





Kian and Gramps, watching the game, having a snuggle.





Kenny, focusing on the coach after his game.





Chain link fences are great entertainment as well as interesting backdrops.





Kian very intrigued with Kenny's gear.





And trying on the Wildcat helmet. Someday? Maybe, as long as it's not track I have to sit through, I'm up for any sport he wants to play.





Tough boy.






What IS that thing in your mouth?

Then we came home to roast chicken and squash and have hot chocolate and naps with daddy, followed by lots more football. Yeah, that's an overload of football this weekend.

Saturday Morning Post

We've had a rather eventful and unusual week. Monday I took Columbus day off, we don't get that off from work, so I used some vacation time. Kian and I spent the day apple picking with my mom, Kiara and Kenny. Unfortunately, my digital was in Kevin's Blazer so I had to use the Nikon film camera. Which takes great pictures, especially of faces and I do love it. But, it will just be a few days before the pictures come back-but I love that Kodak will put them on a CD for you too. Then I can post them quickly when I get them.

Here's Kian calling for the naughty cats who escaped the house.



Smelling mama's flowers



Not that thrilled I put him in the huge mum plant


And making a huge mess while I made dinner, but he helped clean up.




Driving dada's car




Wednesday, I again took the day off to spend time with friends. Steph and Anna and I were "suite mates" then we were in the same townhouse for a while our senior year at Roberts. Jessica ditched us and didn't see us as planned, but we still had fun...until Cooper got sick all over Anna.

Connor and Kian playing on the wood stove and hearth.

Connor, pre-vomit. =)



Before the final goodbyes we got a few shots of Tristan and Kian, they were the easiest to plunk down and make stay still. Tristan is 8 months, Kian is 15.5, but they're about the same size! Too funny.

After our friends left, we met Kevin at Black Creek for some fishing and running around.

Black Creek in Churchville
The colors were just amazing.

Thursday and Friday were more work days. Catching up from my days off, phone calls to return, paperwork to complete, the usual. Kevin had/has workshop/trainings this weekend, so it will be me and Kian alone mostly. We will probably head to the Zoo for the Halloween festivities...if this possible fever doesn't come to fruition. Of course there are always plenty of leaves to rake...

WWWaT: Capturing the light




I wasn't going to participate, mostly because I haven't taken many pictures lately. Also because I have a point and shoot that doesn't really do much I want it to and capturing light, is definitely not one of it's strengths. But, in reviewing some of my pictures today I found some I thought I'd share.

Yes, you've seen this before. But, I'd say my camera did a decent job of capturing some awesome skyline and light in Toronto

I was really trying not to capture any light in this one, but the sun was so bright that day. It actually give him an angelic hue I think.

I took this today at Black Creek in Churchville. The water just reflected the colors and autumn sky beautifully. Incidentally, I also "captured" Kevin's fishing rod too. Oops.





Reflections

Yesterday, I had several things on my "to do" list. I has hosting a Partylite candle party at 7 pm. That meant all the regular weekend "things" had to be done and cleaned up by that time. I had gone to Wegmans Friday night, so groceries were out of the way. The van needed an oil change and I wanted it done as early in the day as possible. Mostly, so that I could guarantee to be home for lunch and Kian's nap. Funny how we try to plan things, right?

The earliest I could get in for the oil change was at 10 am. I was there by 10, on the dot. The young, sort of scruffy automotive guy was very friendly, verging on flirty with me. Even with my child in the stroller. It was flattering, to be honest. He told me it'd be about an hour. That was fine, I planned on walking around the farmer's market and dollar store, etc. While at the market we bought some tomatoes (Kian called them apples) and pears (also called apples). The tomato man complimented on how well Kian sat in the stroller and how calm he was. He was being his typical self, observing, saying hi here and there; he's always "good".

Shortly before the hour was up, we made our way back to Monro. I was told that the van was 'almost ready'. I should have known then and there. Kian sat in the stroller for a bit and was fine talking to me and looking around. Then, they told me I should have the air filter replaced, yada yada, this is the price, and so on. I said fine, just do it. Of course that will take a bit longer. I let Kian out of the stroller in the tiny waiting room. There was a coffee maker, some magazines, and 4 chairs. A man was reading and waiting there also. Kian went right up to him to make friends. He said hi, was showing him his shoes, and who knows what else. I didn't want Kian to bother him, but the man said he was fine, entertaining and it had been awhile since he's been around young ones. I found some Field & Stream magazines to keep Kian entertained, because they're full of animals of course! But, Kian thought it was more fun to show the man all the moose and deer and bears. He was great and talked with Kian on which one had big antlers, etc.

But, that gets old after awhile too. An older woman came in and complimented us on how cute Kian was, how sweet, and how 'good' and smart he was. He talked to her for a bit as well. Now, by this time it's well after 11 am. It's his nap time and he's hungry for lunch, since breakfast was at 8 am. He's starting to wear out. Another older couple came in and were waiting and talking to the automotive guys. I was starting to go through my invisible list of gadgets and tricks to keep Kian entertained. The keys were boring. Oh, but the pen, that was fun. Good thing there was plenty of real estate brochures for him to write on. But, when the pen started going on the furniture, table, wall, it had to go back in the purse. That was the first "upset" we had so far that morning.

I remembered the pears we just bought. But they might be dirty right? While no one was looking I spit on it and wiped it with my sleeve. That should help a bit, shouldn't it? The pear was a big hit. I'm sure you know as well as I do, that once you're a parent, caring about what other think, and, at times dignity, goes out the window. I was pointing out lots of random objects and drawing silly things for Kian to be entertained by. The older couple was on the way out the door when the gentleman stopped next to me and said "You have a patient child, and a patient child always means a patient mother and it is such a pleasure to see". It took me a second to sink it and caught me by surprise, but made me feel so good. I just said my thanks and he went on out the door.

I continued on my antics and entertainment, as they then told me they accidentally broke my headlight and would be replacing it. It would be just a bit longer and I'd be set to go. Of course the replacement was free! Kian might have almost called China on my cell phone, I might have had to take him outside to run on the sidewalk for a few minutes before it was all over, but he didn't have a meltdown. There was no blood-curdling screams, no throwing his head on the cement floors. So, he did fine and we survived.

On the drive home I kept thinking about what the older gentleman had said to me. Seeing all the families, parental units I see at work each day, I know there are not many patient parents, there are not many empathetic parents, there are lots of tired parents, and uneducated parents as well. Maybe I was the first he'd seen that day? But, no, I think he's old enough to have seen a multitude of parents with young children in his day. He was genuinely complimenting me and impressed by me, my actions and my child.

It made me feel good. To know that someone else could see what I strive for each day, each minute. To not just see it, but to let me know and boost my confidence. My child isn't old enough to tell me he appreciates me, he tries in his little way to let me know though. And I think about how much I worry about my child being a "sponge", soaking up everything Kevin and I do. I make sure we speak properly, limit the bodily functions (mainly Kevin's) use good manners, etc. I've been obsessing about him soaking up the bad things, that I've forgotten sponges can soak up the good things too! And, not only can he be a sponge, but he can be a mirror and reflect our good morals, values, manners, etc. Bless that man for being a blessing to me.

My weird, wacky day

So...this is when working in the city gets weird, not quite dangerous, but always making you wonder.

The day starts well, I'm actually on time for work. I do some paperwork in my office before leaving again for a meeting with a family. I return to my office after this meeting. Just as I try to pull into the parking lot there's a women stumbling(?) down the road. Hmm. "Is she drunk, does she have a limp/impairment, what?" I'm think. She stops in the entry of the parking lot, turns around and notices I am waiting to pull in the lot. She slurs "come on in" (did she hiccup or was that my imagination?) and starts to walk out of my way. She stumbles and misses the curb and falls down in the middle of the lane. Wonderful.

My car is in the middle of the road. But, I stay there because now I am protecting her from being hit by cars. I roll down my window and say "are you okay?". She's mumbling incoherently and trying to get up, but can't seem to. A coworker is watching this whole thing and asks if the woman is drunk. To which I reply, "she seems pretty intoxicated". She calls the police to let them know about the drunk woman stumbling down the road. I pull into the parking spot to get out of the road. By this time the woman has gets up and resumes wobbling down the city streets.

On the way to the door I meet a (cute!) cable guy and the building maintenance man. The cable guy says they witnessed the entire event. He wants to make sure the woman isn't saying I hit her. He says she might try to pull a scam. The maintenance guy says he also saw her stumbling down the sidewalk.

Sigh.

I make my way the half block to the entrance to my office. Parked in the street next to the door is this little, red, pimped out car. There is music blasting from inside, with the driver's door open. A small, thin, dark man with a fedora, is dancing in the open door. He's swaying slowly with his arms in the air. I glance at him quickly. He caught me. He smiles big and says "May I have this dance ma'am." Something between a giggle and a gasp escapes my throat, I can only shake my head. I open the door and walk into the building. The pharmacist had been watching the whole thing. He looks at me and says "welcome to the city".

Indeed.

Big sigh.

Mind you, it's only 10:20 am.

On a Thursday.

Welcome to Rochester, indeed.

*PS-This morning, Friday morning, I pulled into my spot in the parking lot and 2 rows ahead of me is the fenced in AC unit. There is a (homeless?) man urinating into the fence. What?. Christmas list: mace, knife, taser.*

A meme about me!

Wow! I was tagged by Telling Mom for a meme! I’d never thought I’d see this day, I just want to thank the academy… oh right, it’s just a survey thing, not an award. So, here goes:

Favorite person (outside family)? Hmm, not family? Jon then.

Favorite food? Food group-fruit! Or just chicken.

Quirks about you? I am obsessed about everything having a place, even if it’s not IN it’s space, even though it should be. I am obsessed with what goes IN my child, but not so worried about his spills, falls, split lips, etc. I only like chocolate once a month and even then it has to be mixed with mint or peanut butter. I only write with blue pens. I do things to save the most time, save the most miles, it has to be efficient or I’ll make it be efficient. Gosh, I have a lot!

Any regrets in life? Honestly, I can’t think of anything that really sticks out, sure little small ones, but nothing big.

Favorite Charity/Cause? I prefer March of Dimes and any ASPCA/animal ones!

Favorite Blog recently? A favorite huh? Recently? How about my longest- Pioneer Woman.

Worst job you’ve ever had? Well the one I was the worst at was being a waitress. And it was at a small family diner, and I still was awful! I couldn’t keep anything straight.

What job would you pay NOT to have? Something that involved spiders. Ugh. Excuse me while I freak out. And I couldn’t handle adult diapers, so count me out of the nursing home.

If you could be a fly on the wall, where? At Kian’s daycare and Kevin’s gym. Just to see what they do all day when I’m not with them.

Guilty Pleasure? Surfing the Internet. House (Tuesdays at 8 pm on FOX, be there!) Long showers.

Got any confessions? I did not enter one single note for work in September and therefore had to complete the entire month’s notes in the first few days of October. I’ll be friendly but I don’t always like to be friends with people (in real life) if it seems like they won’t be around long, they’re too needy, too dramatic, I’m very picky about who I choose to spend my precious time with.

If you HAD to spend $1,000 on YOURSELF, how would you spend it? Ohhh I’d have to get a few new clothes in my new size, then I’d pay of Kevin’s blazer—oh wait on myself… buy a Nikon digital…and throw in a facial peel.

Favorite thing about your house? That it’s been repainted/redone to my specifications, the hot tub out back.

Least favorite thing about your house? It’s split level. Which isn’t bad, but it makes for noise bouncing around a lot more than if it was a 2 story house.

One thing you are bad at? Singing, sewing in straight lines, mowing in straight lines, putting away folded laundry,

One thing you’re good at? I sew…like an old lady, but make good pj pants! Doodling, I get compliments from my coworkers, haha. Organizing, creating documents for efficiency.

If you could change something about your circumstances, what? Have those school loans gone.

Who would you like to meet someday? Living or dead? Hmmm. Jesus/God, Dolly-John Madison’s wife, yes the early President

What makes you feel sexy? Showing a little cleavage, anything that clings and shows my waist without making my hips look big!

Who is your real life hero? Hmm, good question, I don’t believe I have one. Women who work hard.

What is the hardest part of your job? My home job or my work job? Work-deadlines, paperwork, parents demanding everything and my boss. Home? Never enough time to get things done, balancing chores with ‘play’ time.

When are you most relaxed? After dinner, snuggling with Kian reading books, watching Wheel of Fortune with Kevin

What stresses you out? Bills, work, trying to balance home and work and chores

What can you not live without? Water…oh my I love me some water and my baby boy.

Do you agree or disagree with the recent article that reported that blogs are authored by narcissists? No, I think some are, but mostly people just want to keep in contact with family, or share their knowledge…

Why do you blog? Express my self, to allow family to see what’s going on in our lives…

Okay - rules:
1. Answer the questions
2. Link back to whoever tagged you
3. Tag eight bloggers to do the same, 2 from each category.

• New/newer bloggers- Jon is the only new blogger I know, so I'll try to make him do it.

• Bloggy friends — like ones I know in real life? cuz there's only 3 and Jon already took up one spot so that leaves Rachel American Mum and Christy at Life of the newly married

• Bloggers you’d like to get to know better – whoever else wants to do it!

• Bloggers you are not sure will respond, but you hope will— Tulip Girl

baby outfit

I forgot to mention the reason I posted those pictures. Kenny is now 8 1/2 years old! Yes, I kept a few things from Kenny & Kiara as babies that were extra nice or I liked a lot. That is why it's so funny to see those pictures.

2 babies, 1 outfit

Kenny 11 -12 months ?



Kian 15 months

Random

I thought I'd blog something spectacular today, but then I got tired. But, then I typed for 7 straight hours at work, catching up on my September progress notes and records. Yes, I am painfully aware it is October 6th already. Yes, I realize my September records are late. Oh. Well.

But, then I realized, trying to keep up with the big dog blogs is never going to happen. I realized it's kind of dumb to have "blog envy" and feel bad when I don't write amazing blogs. When I don't have incredible stories to tell or pictures to share. When I don't use big, intelligent words and fancy graphics. So, I decided to just be happy with my random little blog, with pictures of my happy but random little family and self. And so i share that with the rest of my random family scattered about the country. And decided that, in the words of PW, I'm keepin' it real. And to be honest, I don't have the time, energy or ambition to have such a fan-stinkin-tastic blog that I need to outdo myself daily and meet high expectations from the blogland fan readers. Yeah, I'm happy with my little blog.

I don't have glamorous clothes, I don't have fancy cars-heck I drive a minivan (there, I finally admitted it!) and it's dirty! I have a house, it's nothing special, but it's mine. I know this because of the hefty mortgage bill I pay each month. And I realize because of that mortgage bill I cannot afford a fancy Nikon SLR camera, photoshop, my Pontiac G6, brand name clothes for me or my child, fancy jewelery, getting my nails done, trips around the world, a romantic cruise with my husband, I have to work right now and my child is in daycare, whatever the case may be. And, I am okay with that. It doesn't mean that I don't sometimes wish I had one or all of those things (who doesn't?--but I don't have credit card debt, so that's cool!).

But, in the scheme of things, in the grand picture of life, I love my life. I like where it's going. I'm not sure where it's going but it feels good. I've got my wonderful boys, my family, my wild cats, my JCPenney's sales rack clothes, my dusty minivan and my draining job with a crazy boss, oh and Jon, (*snort*), who could ask for anything more?

Playtime with daddy and cats

I know that you all (cuz there's so many of you reading) would rather see pictures of my cute boy instead of reading my random ramblings...so without further ado:

*this was before bed the only reason for the pacifier!

Toronto Trip Pics-phase IV

After leaving Toronto we headed to Niagara Falls. On the way over the river we saw this monstrosity, it appeared to be some kind of coal-burning, energy...thing? Anyone? Anyone? Bueller?

Kevin drove. I? I got hungry, so I ate some trail mix. then, I got bored. So...I did this:

Mouse


Funky face



Bunny? Reindeer? Then this happened:




And this is how I looked after that happened:



This is me annoying Kevin while driving:



So, then I created a few more things-Christmas tree



Duck, swan, goose?




Driving over the falls:
(I always am afraid those people are going to all walk/jump/fall off that lookout! Like lemmings, oop over they go. It is tilting a bit, see? Okay back to the more normal un-normalcy.)



Then we stopped at Seneca Niagara Casino:



We played poker for a bit, I lost, Kevin kept playing. So, I decided to take a walk down to the falls. This is the street up to the casino "Old Falls Road".



Ahh, peace.



This feisty little guy wanted to fight me. I said no, thanks and kept walking. But, only after naming him Adrian.



For some reason I accidentally made these picture small.







Finally, this is more of me entertaining myself in the car on the ride home:



Last, but not least, Jessica's favorite face, she's terrified of it: THE PLATYPUS


This (finally) concludes my Toronto pictures. I know you are all ever so glad! Until next time..

Toronto Trip Pics-phase III

Toronto at night.
Now, I only brought my little digital camera. I would have liked to bring the Nikon, but didn't want to look that touristy. So, these pictures aren't that great. But it was cool to see the city at night, after the game. We walked to the stadium and back, about a mile each way. Good exercise too right?

So here's the CN tower, it changed colors every so many seconds.

I tried using regular shoot and then the night portrait setting. Apparently, while using the night portrait setting you must be stiller than roadkill to get a good shot. I, obviously breathed during this shot of the stadium.



City lights.



I think this was without the night portrait setting, just on 'auto'. It came out better.



And Kevin, enjoying our king size bed!




The next morning we took a walk to Eaton Centre. But, first, just outside our hotel was this, yep, right in the heart of Chinatown:



So many signs!




Leaving Toronto, on the side of the highway, there were at least 6 of these "signs". I'm not sure what to call them. They were well-manicured, landscaped "garden advertising". The white area was small rocks, formed with landscape edging, then the rest filled in with green plants and grass.





I know you're all waiting with baited breath for my next installment... coming up we have our stop in Niagara Falls, at the Seneca Niagara Casino, and "what happens when Krysten is bored in the car". Excited aren't you?