Saturday, December 25, 2010

Merry Christmas!


The moment of truth....




Jack was so excited about getting a Pez dispenser in his stocking!





Grandpa Paul made these little adirondack chairs for the boys -very cute!


At the Livingstons house on Christmas Eve.


Kristen's little baby girl, Addison -not even 7 weeks old, and Super Grandma



My mom's side of the family


Tuesday, December 21, 2010

The obligatory Santa visit.



Sigh. This went significantly worse than last year's attempt.

Two things:

1) Rory really could be falling off the face of the earth and, so long as Jack is focussed on getting presents, it will more or less go un-noticed.

2) Am I bad mother for going ahead with this picture anyway? Perhaps. But it felt like a rite of passage that needed to be observed.

Visit to Santa Claus:

Saturday, December 11, 2010

Our visiting elf

This is Cody. He is a little elf that shows up at our house every year at the start of the Christmas season. He's a sneaky little elf who appears in a different part of the house every morning... It's a lot of fun for both Rory and Jack to find him! Cody the elf stays for the day and keeps a close watch on the boys, because every night he magically returns to the North Pole to update Santa on whether Jack and Rory have been naughty or nice.

He's pretty sneaky! This morning he was hiding with Mommy's cook books!

Sunday, October 31, 2010

Saturday, October 30, 2010

Sunday, October 17, 2010

Falling leaves.

We are having a wonderful October. The weather has been great and we have been spending lots of time outside. Here are a few pictures of the boys from this weekend.




Monday, October 11, 2010

Happy Thanksgiving!


I should have taken better pictures of Thanksgiving. I'm really kind of impressed with myself at how well the actual food turned out... I've never had a major turkey-fail, but am secretly terrified every year that *this* will be the year it either burns or gets dropped on the floor. It was delicious though! I had intended on taking pictures to document, but... well, we just ate it too quickly.

We had a great day, with dinner at our place with Paul, my parents, Grandma R. , Wayne and Sylvie, and SARAH! It was so great to see her- her first trip back home from University!

Rory: Full and ready for bed!

Saturday, October 02, 2010

Growing up.

There are days when I feel like no one else can possibly understand the amount of effort raising two children takes. And I know, in the rational part of my brain, that people do know- because, after all, they likely have raised a child or two or three themselves.


Sometimes it is all consuming though. The negotiations over what the three year old will or will not eat for dinner; the 16 month old who awakens, screaming, in the night for 3 hours for no apparent reason... it's all a bit much at times.


And then there are days like today. When Jack, who will be four years old in January, tells me that he can't go to sleep without Mooey. Initially, this seems like a typical stalling tactic to delay going to bed. But then I realize, Jack is growing up.


Let me offer some context.


I have been trying to get Jack to attach himself to a "cuddle toy" from the day we brought him home from the hospital. I had this image of a little boy sleeping, curled up with a stuffed animal that was indespensible to him. When I was pregnant with Jack, I knit him a stuffed penguin that I brought to the hospital in my labour and delivery bag, with this idea that he would somehow bond with it and cling to it throughout his developing years, knowing, subliminally, that his mom loves him.


Not my kid.


Jack has never, ever, wanted a cuddle toy in his bed. I eventually gave up on the penguin (who, incidentally, I had named "Bob") and offered a puppy, a turtle, a strange luminescent bug puppet, all of which have since been shelved.


Fast-forward to tonight. Both kids in bed, Ben on a bit of a field trip to Home Depot, and Jack calls out from upstairs: "MO-OOOOOOM! Where's Mooey?"


Mooey is a cow. More importantly, Mooey is a cow that Jack made at one of those "Build-A-Bear" workshops that his daycare teacher took him to. Since bringing him into existance, Jack has kept close tabs on Mooey at all times. He brings him to daycare, props him up on the table during breakfast, positions him on the bathroom counter while taking a bath- you get the idea. They're tight.


Jack's close relationship with Mooey has given me pause. Why has he taken to this stuffed animal, who really, isn't anything special to look at, when he has had a plethora of other cuddly toys that have been at his beck and call since time, as far as he's concerned, began?


Because he made him. He decided to choose a cow at that build-a-bear workshop, decided how much fill to put in his little velcro-sealed body, and then named him himself. Mooey is, essentially, created entirely by Jack.


He is an amazing little creature, this fellow Jack. He wants to conquer the world and is frustrated when he can't. He butts heads with me in ways that make me cringe and smile at the same time, because I recognize myself in him and I know that he wants to do it all, and he wants to do it right now.


I can't wait to see who he becomes.

Truckapalooza.

A local nursery school held a fundraiser this weekend, where they had every truck you could think of for kids to climb up on and get an up close and personal experience with. This is probably the definition of Jack's perfect day.

Not happy at all.








Checking out a garbage truck.



Inside a fire truck!


Saturday, September 18, 2010

Busy busy busy.

I'm afraid I've been letting the blog slide a bit over the past few weeks. Back to school has been busy, but also really good. I'm teaching grade 10 English this semester, which I absolutely love. I'm also teaching two grade 9 French classes, and all of my students are really great kids. Some more academically inclined than others, but all really nice kids. I'm lucky! I've also started a Glee Club with a friend at work, and that has taken off completely. We had over 70 kids show up for our first practice! It's great to have kids interested in singing again, even if it is only because of a silly tv show...

Jack and Rory are both enjoying being back with their friends at daycare. Jack's vocabulary astounds me at times. He is turning into such a big boy and peppers everyone he meets with questions. He went to the fire station with his daycare and spent the entire time asking questions about all of the different functions of the fire truck. It's very cute. Rory is changing everyday and is now very much a toddler. He took his time learning how to walk (at 15 1/2 months instead of the 10 months that Jack took) but in the last week he has really started moving. He seems very proud of himself and it's such a relief to finally (more or less) be out of the crawling / putting-everything-he finds-on-the-floor-into-his-mouth stage.

Ben is doing well too. Work is very busy, and there are always lots of projects to do around the house, and never enough hours in the day to chainsaw to his heart's content. He has been out mountain biking a few times this fall, and hopefully will get a few more rides in before it gets too cold.

I've been trying to upload a video of Rory walking, but so far, no luck. I'll get Ben to figure it out and post it soon.

Saturday, August 28, 2010

Last minute memories

Today was a beautiful late-summer Saturday, the very best kind. Not too hot, nice and breezy, trees just starting to turn colours. We had been talking about going for a hike up Calabogie (a "mountain-ish" hill west of Ottawa) and asked Sarah to come a long with us. Sarah is moving to Halifax on Friday to attend Dalhousie University, so we are trying to get in as much "Auntie Sarah" time as we can over the next week.


We hiked all the way to the top and then had a picnic lunch. Jack did really well- he walked the whole way up and only needed a bit of help on the way down. Sarah hardly needed any help at all! ;)

We saw lots of frogs in the puddles.





Friday, August 27, 2010

Summer's End



Jack and Grandpa driving the boat. This was actually a really funny moment (for us anyway.... in retrospect, I suppose it was less funny for the other boat involved) because we had just heard the coast guard come over the radio, discussing a fire on a boat (far away. Like really far away). Jack became completely fixated on the idea of a fire on a boat and kept asking Jim where the fire was. Jim would say "Far away Jack." But then Jack would say "Left or right?" And Jim would try to reason with him that it was really quite far away, and that it couldn't really be explained by left or right... "But left or right, Grandpa?" (I told Jim to just make something up. Jack seemed satisfied with his response.)


We have been having lots of fun with Finnegan and Molly. (It turns out that Molly is, in fact, a Molly and not a Moe.) Riley (our 100 lb. German Shepherd / Lab mix) is so patient with them. I guess he hasn't ever lived in a house without cats, so they really don't bother him much at all. Even when they play ping-pong with his tail and chew on his ears.

It turns out that you really don't need kitten toys when you have kid's toys!


Our first pie pumpkin, picked straight from the garden, ready to be sacrificed for pumpkin muffins.



Jack, giving his approval of the pumpkin muffins.




Thursday, August 19, 2010

Visit to the boat

We went to my parent's boat for the day on Saturday. We got there mid-morning and then went for a ride to Colonel By Island where we had lunch and went for a hike around the island. After lunch we anchored in a little bay and Jack and Ben floated in the raft before Jack went swimming with Grandma. It was a great way to spend a Saturday!



Backyard Camping


As summer winds down, we have been doing some fun activities closer to home. Ben and Jack decided on the spur of the moment to camp in our backyard. Jack was very excited about sleeping outside. They cooked their food on the camping stove, made smores, read their books by a camping lantern.... the whole deal. Our house is in a great location for things like this- they really felt like they were in the woods but they were close enough for Jack to run inside to get his forgotten cuddle toy. Once I put Rory to bed I snuck out onto the back deck to eavesdrop on them talking in the tent. It was very cute. Jack was quite concerned about whether or not coyotes could open zippers.

Monday, August 09, 2010

Food, Glorious Food...

We are encountering resistance at supper time. Lots and lots of resistance. It's particularly frustrating because as babies, I always prided myself on the fact that my children were such great eaters. I took so much time to seek out recipes for home made baby food, cooked more than I ever had, and pureed everything. I served things like "Pork with Prunes and Apples", "Chicken with Red Pepper and Corn" and "Pumpkin and Chickpea Stew". And they ate it! They couldn't get enough of those little cubes of organic goodness that I prepared, froze and then defrosted for them. It never occurred to me that we would be here, several months and years later, in the land of peanut butter and kraft dinner.



Jack refuses to eat meat. Flat out refuses. I have tried sneaking it into things, but what can I say? The kid knows his food groups. I have spoken with our doctor about it and she isn't concerned- her theory is that as long as we continue to provide him with healthy choices, he will eat what he needs. Eventually. Rory isn't quite as picky, but I can see him watching his older brother and deciding that maybe he doesn't want those carrots afterall, thank you very much.



For the most part, we have tried to not make a big deal about it. We have followed the doctor's advice and offered healthy options. But kids can't live on peanut butter, whole wheat bread, hummus, KD and yoghurt alone, can they?



Tonight we came to an impass. We were eating what we thought was a pretty good supper. Pork roast, roasted potatoes and corn on the cob, entirely done on the BBQ. We thought Jack should *try* it. Just to taste. Just take one thank you bite, and then we'll give you your PB & J. Please. Please Jack. Try it. You might like it. How do you know you don't like it? But how do you know? But you've never tried it. But you knew you would like marshmallows before you tried them, so maybe this is the same! Please Jack. Please.



That was at 5:45 pm. Since then, Rory has gone to bed, we have finished dinner, tidied up our dishes, and retired to the living room.



Jack is still sitting at the table, and it is 7:00 pm.



Kids are hard.

Thursday, August 05, 2010

What to do with a freezer full of zucchini?

Lemon-Zucchini-Cornmeal Cookies
Ingredients:

1/2 cup unsalted butter
1 cup confectioners' sugar
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
1 teaspoon coarse salt
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup fine cornmeal
1 cup grated zucchini

Directions:

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. In a large bowl, mix butter and sugar until pale and fluffy. Stir in vanilla, lemon zest, and salt. Add flour and cornmeal and mix until mixture is crumbly. Add zucchini and stir until a thick dough forms.

Drop dough by rounded tablespoons, 2-inches apart onto two parchment lined baking sheets. Bake until cookies are light golden brown at the edges, 25-30 minutes, rotating sheets halfway through. Let cool completely on wire racks.

Wednesday, August 04, 2010

Oh, the zucchini...

You would think that if you left a garden with no zucchini on the vines, you wouldn't come back to this:
Lots and lots of zucchini bread. Lots.

Tuesday, August 03, 2010

The pitter patter of little paws....


Many of you know that we lost Mugs and Gus, our cats of many years, this past spring. Right from the day that we told Jack that Mugs wasn't coming home, he was asking "Who will be our cats now?"

May we introduce to you the newest of the Britton clan... Finnegan (orange) and Molly (grey)! They are siblings and we are 80% sure that we know their genders. So their names might change. Molly might be a Moe. We'll find out at their check up later in the week.

They are only 7 weeks old, and so we are sloooooowly integrating them into our crazy brood. They are in a little safe room right now, so as not to completely overwhelm them with a busy toddler, a rambunctious preschooler and a 100 lb. german shepherd. Hopefully they will start coming out into the main house later in the week. I'm looking around though and realizing that there are a lot of places for kittens to hide in this house... the last time we had kittens we were in a tiny apartment! Much easier!

They are pretty cute though, eh?