Tag and Nana

None of the kids have spent as much time with Nana as Tag does. Of course it helps that she is retired now and is home a lot more, but I like to think that there is a special little bond there.

They go for walks together.

They have lunch together occasionally.

Nana plays 'house' with Tag when no one else wants to.

This day they collected fall leaves for a special project. This definitely is a special connection .... and a blessed one. And for that we are thankful.

Thanks Nana!

Field trip

Today, I joined Taggart and his kindergarten class on their first field trip.

Where do all kindergarten classes go in mid-October?

Why to the pumpkin patch, of course.

We woke up early this morning to the sound of rain pouring down outside. The notice said "rain or shine" so I knew that we would be up to our boots in mud in only a couple of short hours.

Tag was excited. It was his first ride on a school bus. It was funny how that excitement wore off only minutes into the ride when he discovered that 50 little five year old's on a bus, on a rainy day, quickly fogs up every window and you can't see outside or past the back of the seat in front of you. He also pointed out to me that the little friend beside him "would not stop talking, even for a minute". (His words, not mine)

The patch was cold, windy, rainy and muddy, but the hot chocolate was warm. And we did manage to find two pretty decent pumpkins.

So no great fall photos of Tag in the patch with a background of orange. Instead only a couple quick ones which I managed to get, even though my camera was wrapped in a plastic bag to protect it from the rain.

We were both happy to get home, change out of our muddy clothes and have a hot cup of tea.

Oh ya, and about half an hour after we got home the sun came out and shone beautifully for the rest of the day.

"Stupid Health Program"

I just got back from picking Reagan up at school. I went to Hudson's class to pick up his homework for the weekend and also his hot lunch which was served today and I had already paid for.

He sat down to eat it as soon as I got home.

A juice box

Carrot sticks and dip

2 donut holes

A hot dog on a whole wheat bun

Now some kids might complain about a whole wheat hot dog bun but I knew that Hudson wouldn't mind because he quite likes whole wheat.

He unwraps the hot dog and immediately says:

"Why is my hot dog on this?"

I say: "I don't know buddy, I guess because it's better for you."

"Stupid health program." and then proceeds to polish it off.

It just really made me laugh and I thought it was worthy of a post. I guess when you're already sick, getting a whole wheat hot dog bun is just too much.

For Today : October 21st

Inspired by The Simple Woman's Day Book

Outside my window... lots of the red and yellow leaves have fallen off the branches and have been raked into a pile - perfect for jumping.

I am thinking... how no fun it is to be sick or to have sick kids. Lots of germs in our house this week.

I am thankful for...the fact that Reagan is still healthy and seems to be staying that way. She has a very busy weekend, none of which she will want to miss. I am thankful for good friends who are there to help or just talk when you need it. I am thankful that it is not raining today and we could walk to school without umbrellas. I am thankful that tomorrow is a Pro-D day so that we have a 3-day weekend to get healthy.

From the kitchen... leftover enchiladas and leftover split pea soup, from earlier in the week. And lots of jonagold apples, straight from the farm.

I am wearing... jeans, a navy t-shirt, a tan cardigan and my pink slippers - always my slippers.

I am creating... some BOOing bags for our neighbors. We got BOOed last night and now we have to pass on the love. I am new to this BOOing thing but after checking on the web, apparently it has become quite the new thing. Lots of fun for the kids. I also plan on sitting at my table some today to finish a layout I was working on.

I am going... nowhere today. Except to pick up kids at school. Yesterday I spent most of the day running around doing errands and Cooper wasn't too happy with me for leaving him alone while he was sick. So today I promised him I would be home for the day.

I am reading... The Girl From Junchow. The second book to The Russian Concubine. Really enjoyed both of these books.

I am hoping... that everyone is healthy by the end of the weekend. This is becoming a theme here but this is really on my mind today, especially with all the talk about H1N1 flu.

I am hearing... lots of sneezes coming from Cooper who is lying on the couch. Otherwise it is quiet. Both of the boys have now turned of the TV - after a whole day of it yesterday they are tired of it.

Around the house... there is laundry. Waiting to be put away, waiting to be folded, waited to be washed. Always.

One of my favorite things... having time to scrapbook. More of that lately as school is in full

swing.

A few plans for the rest of the week... two birthday parties for Taggart, two parties for Reagan, and a weekend full of skipping camp for Reagan. Maybe, the BC Women's show on Saturday with a friend if all is well.

A picture to share...

This smiling face is something I see so much of. Reagan just seems to be a perpetually happy soul. She is so cool.

Are cupcakes Canadian?

Cooper has a friend.

This friend is from Korea and was living here all of last year to learn english while his family stayed in Korea.

He wanted to stay longer so his Mom, his brother and his sister moved to Canada as well, for one more year.

Somehow, their family met our family.

She is a sweet Mom and really looking for 'Canadian friends'.

We are trying to do what we can.

Conversation is pretty good but exhausting. They were here for about 4 hours one afternoon. Her kids didn't want to leave.

Tony brought her a DVD player one night and hooked it up for her. He was served some juice that knocked him out for about 14 hours. This is actually a really funny story that some have heard already.

She brings us Korean food all the time. Our kids are not too keen on it.

I don't have the heart to tell her that, so I anticipate that she will bring more.

Cooper was invited for a sleepover this weekend.

He was a little nervous about what (food) that might bring.

We suggested he make a snack that he could bring with him to share.

We made cupcakes.

I happened to talk to her (the Mom) the day of the sleepover and she asked if Cooper would prefer a Korean or Canadian breakfast.

I (politely) said Canadian.

Cooper had a good time.

Canadian breakfast (in Korea) consists of hard-boiled eggs, hotdogs, and garlic toast.

Next week, his friend is coming to stay the night here.

I wonder what he will go and tell his Mom about the strange foods that we eat.

'Leave it all out there'

This is what Tony always says to the boys before a race. Meaning - you should have nothing left when you're done, give it all you've got.
Hudson definitely did that today.
Third and final race.
#16 and a ribbon.
So very proud!!

Thankful...

...for healthy kids ...for the sunshine outside - I know the rain is coming

...for a quiet house for a couple hours to scrapbook (tea and chocolate is a must)

...for an evening of visiting with family and a table full of good food (Happy Turkey Day)

...for good neighbors all around us where our kids are always welcome to play

...for Taggart learning how to ride his two-wheeler and wanting to spend all day outside on it

...for warm cranberry muffins right out of the oven

...for a hug from Tony

...for a stack of good books to read

...for flowers still blooming in the front garden

Sometimes, when life gets hard, it's really healthy for the soul to look around and see all the things in your life that are good. Because, there really are plenty.

Happy Thanksgiving to all my friends and family - those who make my life good.

Even Spiderman needs his sleep

A few hours earlier.....

The Fort Langley Cranberry Festival.

We met Mary, Jake and Rochelle and spent a good part of the day here.The weather was perfect. There were a ton of people and lots to see.

Big, big pimpkins.

A candy store - she is just about to devour that big gummy bug.

The cranberry bog. I bought a pound of fresh cranberries that will be turned into muffins are some other treat tomorrow.

And face painting.

Since Cooper and Hudson spent most of their day wandering around with Jake, they didn't make it into the camera lens much.

It was all enough to make even a superhero conk out in the backseat.

Race #2 for Hudson

Before:

Looking ready to run.

During:

He found this one a hard one. He got a side ache right at the beginning and had to push through. That face says it all. I tried not to make eye contact with him for fear of him 'seeing Mom' and the emotions that can sometimes bring. I felt bad for him and proud of him all at the same time.

Tag was waiting on the side of the trail waiting to cheer him on as he made his second loop.After:
No photos of after, I didn't think Hudson would appreciate it. He so wants to do well and is very hard on himself when he does less than he thinks is good. He placed 24th out of at lesat 70 boys which I think is great. I know he really wants a ribbon (top 20) so I will try to help him get there this week by pushing him to do more training. Next week is his last race.
He did get to eat his dinner on the couch while watching TV so that sort of made up for it. :)

Who let the dogs out

My attempt at clearing things off my to-do list started with Tag's Birthday party this Saturday. Yes, I know that his birthday was actually in August but having his party well after the fact just stretches out the fun, don't you think.

So anyway, 6 of his little friends (5 girls and one boy) showed up on Saturday afternoon for a couple hours of doggy heaven. We had doggy cupcakes, made dog tags, painted doggy faces, played find the dogbone and feed the doggy games, and last but not least, a doggy pinata.This little doggy had a great time.

And then, since I was tackling my to-do list, we finally took 'first day of school' photos. The kids were all so eager to get to school, to meet their new teachers, see their friends. Just look at those bright shiny faces. Okay, okay, - but really they were all very good sports about getting spiffied up and wearing their backpacks on a Sunday morning.Thank-you to four (fairly) willing and very lovely subjects. We just couldn't have a school year without these.

FPOTM - September

My only first day of school photo. So very disappointed in myself. Is it now too late?? Please tell me no.

Girls night

Some friends and I went to the Jason Mraz concert last night and had a great time. A girls night out was much needed and we even had a limo rented for the event. A little more costly but it sure was nice not having to worry about traffic. We all enjoyed appy's and mojitos on the ride down.

These are my beautiful neighbors/friends Stephanie, (me), Janie and Jackie. Tanya had to cancel at the last minute so we quickly invited my lovely friend Mindy who pulled off getting ready and finding a place for her two kids in about ten minutes. We picked her up later so unfortunately she didn't make it into the photo.

The concert was fantastic and we had a lot of fun. Our tickets were on the floor, which gave us all a good laugh as the 'floor crowd' is a lot younger than those in the seats. We all felt very old but didn't let that damper our spirits. Being on the floor where everyone is pushing and shoving for space is a really great place to discover your mean streak, something I probably would have been much more afraid of when I was younger. The five of us held our ground well, even though it did take a bit of elbow jabbing.

While I was out grooving with the girls, life still goes on at home. Tony came home early to take care of things for me. He got the kids from school, got them their snacks, got Reagan to skipping, went to watch Cooper's cross country race (he beat his time by 20 seconds and moved up 20 places -wish I could have been there), went and picked up Hudson's buddy Duncan so Mindy (his Mom) could come with us, got them all dinner and happily put them to bed. Thanks Tony, I appreciate it.

FPOTM - September - coming later today.
Happy October!!