Busy Weekend = Lazy Week

Well, I have been just terrible with updating my blog! I realized today that I haven't taken any pictures in many days! That, plus I haven't felt motivated to fiddle around with any technology, so I guess all of that adds up to not updating the blog! I have missed it though, and will try and be more present!

Last weekend was a busy one, especially for us since we don't normally do much!

FRIDAY
Friday night we went bowling with Mike's work people. It was Mike's co-worker Sean's fiancee Tina's birthday (confusing much?). Sorry for the quality of the pics. Mike was the photographer for the night, and I was left with not much to work with!

Birthday Girl Tina with her nephew Colton (who may or may not be picking his nose), and Sean making a nice face!

Dave & the other Mike

Finally bowling!!

We had a really fun time...beer, bar food and 2 rounds of bowling, plus one episode of me almost falling on my face. That was ridiculously embarrassing!! I was about to bowl, and when taking the last step before throwing the ball, my foot seemed to catch, I threw the ball and took about 3 steps into the lane, bent over completely to try and stop myself from tripping. It was horrendous. I'm just lucky I was able to let go of the ball so as to not throw myself down the lane! Ugh.

SATURDAY
This was Lindsay's 29th birthday. We totally weren't up for going out again, but we ended up having a great time. We went to Crossroads Pub & Grill for dinner, and had a private room. Mike and I got 2 bottles of wine...that was quite lovely!! Again, sorry for the quality of pictures!!

So, Mike has been on holidays this week, but we haven't done much. Tomorrow we're off to Cora's for a yummy breakfast, and then Saturday afternoon we're going on a trip to Bayfield & Seaforth. Other than that, it's been business as usual. I will try and take more pictures this week so I hopefully will have more to blog about!

"Hey! It smells like banana muffins in here!"

That was my daughter's astute observation as we made Banana Chocolate Chip muffins together out of the slimy black bananas that I've nastily kept on the counter for just such a purpose! They are DELICIOUS, and only 4 points each, which I'm also excited about.

Today started off a tad depressing, but we have managed to remain cozy.
We woke up to this:

Really Mother Nature? REALLY?! It's spring...this is just cruel. We got 5 ish cms overnight, and are expected to get 10 more today, but I'm not sure if we will or not...although it has been snowing off and on all day. I don't even care anymore. It feels like summer is never going to come. It kind of reminds me of weight loss. It takes forever and a day to lose the weight (or melt the snow, as the case may be!) but you gain it back super fast (or you have one night of snow, and suddenly it's like the middle of January again).
So, we cleaned and vacuumed upstairs today, baked muffins and now we're hanging out reading books until nap time. We've been warm and cozy under a blanket, and that's the only nice thing about this weather.

Watching the yummy muffins bake!

Yum!

We have a busy weekend ahead of us, with two birthday parties to go to (sans Maisie), and I was looking forward to it, but now I'm not so sure. Although, one party is at a bowling alley and I haven't been bowling for 3 years, so that will be fun. We're both just so pooped, that the thought of going out two nights in a row is just exhausting. Yep, we're the oldest 31 and 32 year olds you'll ever meet!

Happy Spring!!

In honour of the first day of spring, we celebrated by flying a sweet little butterfly kite that Nana and Papa bought for Maisie!

We ran it up and down the sidewalk at the front of the house, and it actually flew pretty well if you ran with it!

We had a fun time, although she had a lot of moments (ie: when anyone else would "borrow" the kite to untangle it) where she looked like this:

But mostly, it was a good time!

Also, on her outing with Daddy this morning, they went to the car wash!

Daddy is very scared of the brushes in car washes, but he's trying to not pass on his fear to Maisie!

Clearly, it's working...there's no fear in her eyes at all!!

Hope everyone had a great weekend, or a great week off as the case may be!

Well, Hello Spring!

I'm blogging, watching Y&R, doing laundry and eating Mini Eggs. When did THIS become Friday night? I'm all alone too (besides Maisie up in bed), as Mike is out with some co-workers. I was supposed to go too, but I don't have a single stitch of anything to wear for a night out. And it wasn't for lack of trying. I just didn't find anything that I loved or would have felt comfortable in. So, here I sit!

The weather has been gorgeous for three whole days in a row. It's been so awesome to get outside and play...and today it was all done without coats on!

After nap yesterday, I opened up Maisie's bedroom window to let some fresh air in. It was windy, so the blinds were banging against the window. Maisie wanted to sit on her dresser and look out the window to "watch the wind". We sat there for a good half hour...Maisie in her "window seat", me on the rocking chair...just talking about wind, cars, snow melting, the sky.

Today was a busy day. Lots of errands to run, and we went to Toys R Us, the mall and the grocery store. I got her the Little People airport, because she loves airplanes, and a truck. My little princess is also a tomboy!

And, although two days early, we would like to officially welcome Spring into our world!! Finally!

Now, let's hope this isn't a tease and Mother Nature lets her stay!

Road Trip & Retail Therapy

So we took a trip to the States yesterday to do some shopping. I needed some spring/summer clothes for the little lady, and wanted to hit up Kohls for some wonderful sales, and they never disappoint...but more on that later.

I brought a backpack full of toys, books and snacks, but it appears as though all I needed to bring was the portable DVD player with about 10 episodes of Caillou.

Please excuse the picture quality, as it was taken with my phone

The girl didn't make a peep the whole way (just over an hour), plus a 35 minute wait at the border. We didn't hear a word out of her until her little flirtations with the border guard. One would assume that she would be ignored by a stoic person being paid to guard the borders of our neighbouring countries. Not so when you're Maisie, apparently!!

I knew she was going to say hello to the guard, because she says hello to everyone, and I was worried that her feelings would be hurt if she went ignored. But the American border guard spoke to her directly, and even used her name. She loved it, and when she said goodbye and waved, he smiled and waved back at her and said "Bye Maisie". Never in my life have I ever seen anything like it! It was precious. Warms the heart, really. She's such a social little butterfly. Wants to be everyone's friend.

Next stop was Olive Garden for lunch, where we met up with Kathy and Lindsay who had spent the morning shopping. We had a bit of a wait for our table, but it was a gorgeous day so we all waited outside where Maisie enjoyed a little frolic in the rock garden.

Once seated, she was even excellent through lunch (which was a tad slow moving). By this point, it was about 2:00 which is already an hour past the time she would normally be in bed...and we hadn't even started shopping yet. But she was still going strong...ate chicken fingers, broccoli and two apple juices for lunch, and did a lot of colouring.

Then, it was off to Kohls. I got about 12 adorable outfits for her, ranging from skirts to shorts to capris, all with cute little tops...everything 50% off. Mom bought her a couple of outfits and a ladybug dress. Not to mention the little singing camera. I still have to get a picture of her with that. She says "Just like Mommy!"...guess Mommy has the camera in front of her face a lot lately!

As we were paying, it appeared as though Miss M was starting to fade, and I think we got out just in time. But once cozy in her seat again with her soosie and her Caillou DVD, all was well again. She was all chill and fine during our 15 minute wait at the Canadian border, and when we got up there, the window of the booth opened to a stern looking woman. I was in the back with Maisie and thought "Ok...here's where she gets ignored". Then Maisie said hello and started laughing. Well, guess what...the formerly stern customs lady cracked a smile and said hi to her and then said "Well, doesn't that just make your day...a cute little girl laughing. You just can't not smile". She said she was so cute, and I said to Maisie "Are you cute?" to which she replied "Yes" and started laughing again. Then the guard said "That's right Maisie...own it", and she let us go. It was amazing...twice in one day! It's nice to see your little girl bringing the same joy to others that she brings to us daily.

So, since it was way past nap time, I figured she might have one in the car. And she did. About 15 minutes before we got home.

By the time we got everything unloaded, and got her in the house the poor thing was pretty ticked off. And she worked a pretty short fuse for the rest of the afternoon. So we went outside. I figured there was more room for her tantrums out there than in here!

Today is another beautiful day, so we spent the morning outside. Amazing how great of a nap that leads to! Speaking of which, it sounds like I am being beckoned from upstairs, but before I go, I wanted to share this picture from this morning...

This was her first time tackling her cereal by herself, at her little table. She did a great job!

Pure Toddler Joy

I try and find a little bit of beauty in every day. And really, that's not hard when I live with such a gorgeous little girl. But it's not just how she looks, it's how she is. Toddlers have this remarkable ability to find joy and beauty in almost anything (I say almost, because it's amazing how irritated they get over the smallest things...but for the point of this entry, let's just go with it).

We borrowed a 50mm lens from a friend who works with Mike, so I took it for a spin outside today. It was great...I got some awesome pics of my favourite subject. But because I'm still a camera spaz, I'm not sure why or how they're better or different. They just are.

I love how she knits her little brows together when she's talking or concerned about something.

After discovering some extreme muddy dirt in the garden, and insisting on playing with it, I made her change her coat (seriously, who makes toddler clothes WHITE?! Oh well, it cost $11 on sale).

We made a teeny, tiny snowman

Not that she would ever grow tired of digging in the dirt and snow, but I brought out bubbles to mix it up a bit anyway. There's a quote from the movie "Knocked Up" that says "I wish I liked anything as much as my kids love bubbles." It's so true! These pictures certainly embody that and the true definition of pure toddler joy. I couldn't decide which ones to use, so I'm putting them all in. And if these pictures don't at least make you crack a tiny smile, then there's no hope for you.

I often realize that I can't believe I lived for 30 years in a world without this precious little girl in it.

After bath tonight, we were watching some Caillou while she drank her milk, and she said "Want to cuddle with Mommy for a minute", so she climbed up on my knee, rested her sweet shampoo-smelling head on my shoulder and said "Love you so much Mommy". It's moments like that that make me forget when my world is topsy turvy. I forget all of my insecurities and pain. And I know that someone loves me honestly and truly, and for all that I am...despite my faults. Despite the fact that I'm not always patient and I can't always meet all of her needs. But my love for her is pure, and the road goes both ways. Her faults mean nothing to me either. I love Maisie for all that she is, and for all that she will be. And the bond we have is unbreakable. She will know that I am always here for her...that she always has a safe place to land. Sometimes I can't believe that this little being who grew inside of me, has turned into this amazing little person, who learns something new, and continues to love us more every day.

At the risk of being super cheesy, one of my favourite songs is "Beauty" by Shaye. The lyrics to that song have somehow fit in with anything I have gone through in the past six years, good or bad. And no matter what kind of mood I am in when I start listening to it, I will always cry at a certain spot in the song when I hear it...and at various times they have been both good and bad tears. Today they were good ones when it came on my iTunes shuffle.

But here is the particular lyric that made me write this entry:
And the day that you spin
From your little cocoon
Well, you can't be prepared
For the beauty you'll find there
And you'll find beauty
In the toughest of places
And I will be thinking of you out there

At the Sugar "Bushes"

We finally made it out to the Sugar Bush (or Sugar "Bushes" as Maisie calls it)! It was a damp chilly day, and the place was fairly busy, and Maisie has been grumpy all day, but we still had a fun time!

The pancakes were so delicious! There's nothing like pure, fresh maple syrup. Maisie was saddled with the plate on the left, and she looks totally overwhelmed. Kids menu involved 2 ginormous pancakes and 3 sausages. She did pretty well!!

Next it was into the store for testers of maple syrup and maple butter (TO. DIE. FOR.) I am a maple maven...I think I must have been an Indian or pioneer back in the day...or at least, definitely a Canadian! Give me some maple ANYTHING, and I'm a happy girl. I love me a maple leaf!

Outside, they also had hay rides with two gigantic Clydesdale horses. They were so sweet. You could pet their noses and they loved it...so well trained.

We didn't end up riding on the hay ride, as Maisie was becoming displeased with the whole experience. But we had a great time. We came home stuffed, and had some berries and cheese and she was off to nap.

This is the end of another weekend again, and we lost an hour of sleep! Even though it's only an hour, why does it hurt so much! I remember the year Maisie was born, and I wasn't sleeping 8 hours a night, wondering how I was going to survive yet ANOTHER hour of precious sleep!

Hope you had a great weekend, and if you're lucky enough to be looking at a week of Spring Break, enjoy!