new blog

So I've started a new public blog called Journal of a Young Mother. It's about being a mom, having kids and the funny things they do, and all the stuff in between. Check it out here:
http://www.journalofayoungmother.blogspot.com/
I've started this new blog so I can encourage myself to write something little every day. My goal is to post every day (or maybe every weekday). So please, check it out, comment, become a follower, tell people about it and enjoy the stories of my life. The more followers I have the more my writing can get noticed and it could be a gateway into getting some of my other writing published.
This is a public blog and I am keeping it separate from this blog. I am not using pictures of my kids or any names. So when you do comment, please don't use my real name.

Freckle

Gabe has a big freckle on the back of his leg just below his calf. Every time I change his diaper I think he has a spot of poop on his leg. It’s just the right colour. Even though I know it’s not poop, there’s always a startling moment, a brief instant where my heart jumps and my brain calculates where else the poop might be, like all down his legs or on my hands. Then it registers. That’s not poop, it’s a freckle. This all happens in a fraction of a fraction of a millisecond. Every time! Why am I fooled by a freckle several times a day? So I remind myself that Gabe has a poop-like freckle and I will not be fooled next time around. No sir. And then next time I change his diaper, “Aww crap (literally)! Not again. Wait. It’s his freckle.”

Halloween

Lizzy's Kindergarten class had a Halloween party. They got to wear their costumes after lunch, play games, eat snacks, and enjoy the overall Halloween revelry.

Here she is in her Simba costume at school. The hood is down and sadly that is the only picture I have of her in this costume.

Here's Gabe on Halloween in his tiger costume.

Lizzy decided to be a princess for Halloween. Here I am curling her hair into "princess curls."

Our little tiger.

The princess curls are finished! And they lasted about15 minutes. I think it took longer to actually curl her hair.

Getting ready to go out the door. You may have noticed that Lizzy changed her princess dress. She decided that this one was prettier. Her curls are already starting to fall.

They had a lot of fun trick-or-treating. Adam and I took the kids out after supper. Gabe was done at the end of the block, so I took him home while Adam and Lizzy continued on for some more loot. Gabe helped me hand out candy at home and had a blast.

It was a fun Halloween.

Once there was a snowman

In October we had the first snowfall of the season. The snow stayed for a few days before disappearing and we capitalized on that and played outside in our snowsuits.

Lizzy absolutely loved it and built a snowman right away.

Look how happy she is.

Gabe wasn't as happy, but he had a lot of fun. I love his touque.

Every snowman needs a good carrot for a nose.

The finished product. Look, they're best friends already!

Biking

We got Lizzy a new bike this fall. She absolutely loves riding it. She uses the training wheels, but Adam spent a little time teaching her to ride without them. She hasn't quite mastered it yet, but still loves to ride.

She's working so hard.

Family bike ride. I was riding behind Lizzy, pulling Gabe in the trailer and taking pictures at the same time.

I am so talented.

Another day. This is near our house on the way to the park.

Gabe in the swing at the park. It was a really beautiful day.

The Real First Day of School

This is painfully overdue. Lizzy started kindergarten in September and is loving it. She is so friendly and outgoing and is making tonnes of friends already.

Lizzy was counting down the days for school to start. It was getting closer, and I thought, "I better call the school and double check if the kindergarten class starts the same day as the rest of the school." So I called the school and the secretary assured me that Lizzy would be starting school with the rest of the classes on the first day of school.

The morning of the first day arrived. Lizzy was so excited. She picked out our favourite (new at the time) red dress to wear. We had a good breakfast, did her hair and headed off to school.

We get to the school, find her name on the boot rack and head to the class room. We see the teacher and she says hello, asks Lizzy's name and then says, "Oh. Are you a kindie? You don't start today. You start on Monday." It was Wednesday.

Lizzy started bawling. "I want to go to school!" I had to explain to her that school didn't start until 5 more sleeps. (She has Monday and Wednesday classes). Needless to to say, she was pretty upset. I felt a little upset too. I had all these emotions of sending her off to school. I felt mentally and emotionally prepared for it, and then they tell me she's not going yet. I was surprised at my reaction. Also the secretary told me to bring Lizzy for that day. I specifically asked her if the kindergarten kids started a different day than the rest of the kids. I found out later that she was new... if that's any consolation.

Anyway, after 5 sleeps, we repeated the first day of school process. Even with the same outfit.

Here's Lizzy sitting at her table on the real first day of school. I am so glad that she is doing well and loving school.

Bellybutton Surprise

Today I was changing Gabe's diaper. He was wearing a onesie, so I unbuttoned and lifted it up over his belly, and there resting snugly inside his bellybutton was a cheerio.