GillGazette

Weekending

2010-03-15T21:48:00.001-05:00

I had the shortest but most amazing weekend with the family. I am commuting weekly to Mexico right now for work and coming home on weekends. Typically I will fly out on Sunday am and home on Thursday night but due to customer meetings, I needed to stay until Saturday. My flight came in late and Adrian and the kids surprised me by meeting me at the gate...I could not have been happier or more surprised. The kids had drawn "Welcome Home Mama" signs and Owen brought me a rose...it really was the sweetest thing...thank you Adrian!

When we got home, I lay in our bed with the kids watching a new movie Ponyo and they fell asleep snuggled next to me...it was bliss! Then Adrian and I got caught up on each other's week.

On Sunday the kids and I spent the day together out of the house to give daddy a needed break and some time to work on his university work. We took Oliver for a nice long walk, went to McDonalds and they played in the playcenter and hooked up with the Taylor's for a trip to the bowling alley. I do not think I have bowled in a million years and we had the BEST time. Check out the kids cool moves:

We snuggled up again that night and then I left at 5am to come back...bittersweet leaving after such a short visit...but only 3 sleeps until I am home again.

Hello Morning

2010-03-12T08:30:00.000-05:00

With the thought of creating a specific scrapbook page, I set out a little while ago to capture a typical morning in our home. Here are the results:
Adrian takes Oliver for a walk while I get myself showered and dressed. Then while he gets organized for the day I wake up Owen, usually much more fun if Oliver jumps on the bed with me

Owen and I lie in his bed and sing I Got a Feeling (by Black Eyed Peas) sung by the Chipmunks. He loves this CD and especially loves this song, I printed the words so we can follow along. It is such a great song to start our day

Usually Bella wakes up and wanders in while we are singing, she jumps on the bed and joins in. Unlike Owen, she is not a "natural" cheerful morning person...takes her a few minutes to wake up and smile (on a side note - Isabelle no longer has a soother. On a recent trip to the dentist just before our Florida vacation, the dentist said the soother was affecting her teeth so that night the NUKie Fairy visited and she has not had a soother since...such a big girl!)

The kids each do "chores" in the morning and I have a chart to keep them on track. Isabelle is here checking her chart

Chore #1 - put NUKie away

Get dressed, brush teeth and hair - here she has put her own hair clips in

Make bed

Daddy shaving

Throw a load of laundry in

Vitamins - gummies for the kids

Make Owen's lunch: sandwich with crusts cut off and cut into triangles, juice, applesauce, multi-grain nacho chips, 2 cookies, granola bar <-- this is his typical lunch/snack bag for the day. On this particular day he requested a hot lunch, so macaroni and cheese in the thermos was substituted for the sandwich.

Make breakfast. Isabelle's current favourite is pancakes or "daddy cereal" (special K or rice krispies) and Owen's favourite is toast or "Nora eggs" (over easy, chopped up with pepper on top)

Eat breakfast

Kiss daddy goodbye as he leaves for work

High - five for the other one...not a big kisser and especially not in the am

Must have been a Monday because Owen is reviewing his dictee words (he has a French spelling test every Monday morning)

Pour juice for himself and his sister

Get dressed to take Owen to school. Right now that means: snowpants, boots, hat, scarf, mittens and jacket. It is quite a production and can take up to 15 minutes some days

Get Owen's backpack ready for school - check any papers that need signing, any money for trips etc...

Nora is a wonderful help in the morning and this is usually when she takes over and I leave for work

The 3 of them leave to walk Owen to school and Oliver gets his 2nd walk of the day

This was my favourite breakfast for a while - orange, whole wheat english muffin with nautral almond butter and bottle of water and diet coke...I would eat it in the car while driving to work

Do hair and makeup in the downstairs bathroom

Put on shoes and I am out the door

I am sure right now, as I am in Mexico and Adrian is running things at home in the morning, things look a little differently around our house. I am glad that I captured these pictures to have a glimpse of what worked for us for a time. What does your morning routine look like?

The New Bike

2010-03-10T12:15:00.001-05:00

Owen's school recently held a Read-A-Thon to raise money for MS. We did a video of Owen here, explaing what he learned about MS at school - he calls it MS Scars, because they explained it that MS leaves scars on the nerves that block messages from the brain getting to where they need to. It is quite cute.

Owen had a goal to read 300 minutes over the course of a few months - well our little reader did so much more than that - he read the most minutes in all of his class - YEAH!

There was also a draw for prizes, for every $10.00 raised, a ticket was placed into the draw. Owen raised $300 - so he had 30 tickets in the draw and won first prize - a bicycle!

His name was announced over the PA system in the school so everyone knew about his prize. When Adrian picked him up from school, he insisted on getting his bike right then. As he and daddy walked home with the bike he was very proud as people came over to congratulate him.

Thank you to all his grandparents for supporting him in his efforts. It has really meant a lot to him.

Here is a photo of the winner with his new bike!

Catching Up

2010-03-10T08:50:00.000-05:00

It seems I am always in catch up mode here...I go weeks without any posts and then when I do have a bit of time I do a whole bunch and catch up...I guess that is better than nothing.

I am currently commuting to Mexico for work every week and home on weekends, this is my first week here and the project is scheduled to last for several months. This is going to be tough on the family, but Adrian and I are doing our best to manage that and stay connected through phone calls and Skype. This is a great opportunity for me at work and I am so lucky to have a supportive husband, Nora and supportive extended family to make this happen for us.

It may mean, though, that there will be more regular blog posts - I have a few hours in the evening where my time is my own and so it would make good sense for me to try and stay caught up :)

Stay tuned for more...

Valentines Review

2010-03-10T08:44:00.000-05:00

Here are some of the craft projects and decorations we had around the house for Valentines Day.

Owen made these valentines for school. I got the idea from Becky Higgins site and had him draw a valentine on a piece of paper, then I scanned it, shrunk it down to size and printed many copies. This way, each person in his class got a Valentine with his writing and we did not have the typical battles around writing 25+ Valentines by hand...it was the perfect solution.

I took the kids to the Bulk Barn and let them choose which candies they wanted to include in their friend's Valentines. I filled candy bags (you could also use ziplock) with the candy - folded the scanned images over the top and stapled...voila! Here is Bella's. She is really into printing right now and loves to follow the dots - so I did "dots" here for Happy Valentines Day...she did her name all on her own.

I found a craft on Martha Stewart's site where you take crayon shavings and melt them between 2 pieces of wax paper and then cut them into heart shapes. Why is it that everything on Martha's site looks so easy and perfect? This craft was NOT FUN to do! Shaving the crayons took a few hours, they do not do well in a pencil sharpener, they do not do well in a crayon sharpener, I eventually used my Pampered Chef cheese grater. Then the cutting - not really great for the kids because the melted crayon made it hard to cut through. Anyway, we made a ton of hearts, some hung above the kitchen sink, most were on our seasonal tree. Despite the difficulties with the craft, I loved the results:

Owen made this beautiful card at school for his sister. Love the bond between those two!

This is a card Owen made for Nora one day at home. He made the part where her name was into a bit of a puzzle where she had to unscramble the letters...he loves word puzzles like that...I love that he is making his own...so creative!

This is a card that Isabelle made for Daddy. She started drawing hearts right after we did our crayon craft and I love them so much. She did all the printing herself, including spelling daddy backwards!

Owen had a Valentine's day party at school and we all pitched in and made cupcakes. The kids each had their own pan to decorate however they wanted. Those 2 love helping out in the kitchen...especially when there is icing, sprinkles and candy involved.

Overheard

2010-02-20T07:48:00.000-05:00

Recent conversations between the littles:

While watching the Olympics opening ceremonies, particularly the beginning with the snowboarder:
I: When I grow up, I am gonna be a doctor.
O: When I grow up, I am going to be a snowboarder in the Olympics and carry the flag.

While talking about our upcoming trip to Fort Meyers Beach Florida:
O: We are going to see dolphins.
I: I am going to ride on a dolphin.
O: The dolphin won't like that Bella, it won't let you.
I: Yes, I be nice. I say "Hi, I am Bella" and then he lets me ride on.
I: And I hold on really tight
O: But Isabelle, the dolphins go under the water, how are you going to breathe.
I: It is ok, I just do this: she puts her hands over her face. I be fine

Happy Valentines Day

2010-02-14T08:00:00.000-05:00

January 365

2010-02-05T08:00:00.000-05:00

Last year I started a 365 project, taking a photo a day to document our lives over the course of a year. And even though I took photos almost each and every day, I gave up documenting and printing in February. I have no regrets and love to look back on those few weeks that did get documented. So, I have taken on the project again and hope that I get further this year. Here is a glimpse of our lives in January:
Puzzle Girl:Artist Boy:

Last Summer

2010-02-04T22:49:00.002-05:00

Here is what the kids were up to in the summer. Click on the images to see them larger.

Tales from the Scales

2010-02-03T15:54:00.003-05:00

As many of you know, I have been doing the Weight Watchers program for over a year now and have had my ups and downs. I have lost a total of 60.6lbs to date and am feeling very proud of this accomplishment. I will be reporting my Tales from the Scales on a monthly basis here for a few reasons - to keep myself on track, to share my excitement and frankly to show off new slimmer pictures.

I am almost half way to my goal...stay tuned for updates.

~jen~

BEFORE 2007:

FEBRUARY 2009 - reaching my 10% goal:
APRIL 2009:
SEPTEMBER 2009 5K for Terry Fox:
DEC 2009:

2009 Review

2010-01-31T09:09:00.005-05:00

I am having a hard time these days finding time to scrapbook, but I can always find a few minutes to put together a quick digital page. Here are 2 I did this morning. I love that I can use the same template and make layouts that look very different. I love that I do not have to pull out my glue and paper cutter and the rest of the supplies. I love that there is virtually no cleanup. I love that in the span of 30 minutes (after choosing photos) I can have 2 layouts done, blogged and uploaded to costco for printing. I love digital scrapbooking in a way that I never thought possible...thanks mom.

Overheard

2010-01-29T10:27:00.004-05:00

As he lay in bed this morning, alternately stretching and then pulling the blankets up over his head to shield out the light, "Today is a good day. Today is free-time-Friday at school. Today is pizza day, for lunch & dinner AND Today is swimming. Today is my best day ever." Then he came out from under the blankets, threw his arms around me and gave me the warmest, biggest hug and said, "Thank you for taking me swimming today mama, I love you."

Gotta say...that was the very best start to the day for this mama. He has such a zest for life and has such a great way of looking at things. Love this boy.

10 Things : January 2010

2010-01-25T08:00:00.000-05:00

:two teeth lost in two days. He created scavenger hunts for the tooth fairy to figure out to find his teeth, and she created scavenger hunts for him to solve to find his money...fun!

:home
:star wars lego
:family "chill" time after dinner and before the bedtime battles begin
:relaxing watching tv in jammies on weekend mornings...and lying on Auntie's quilt...xo
:homework time after dinner most nights...love the intensity
:skating
:this boy
:this girl
:these two battling it out on star wars lego wii So many little things to notice and record that make up our lives right now.

Update

2010-01-17T21:27:00.004-05:00

In the past 3 months...
we have sprinkled reindeer food on Christmas Eve
written letters to Santa on Christmas Eve
played with toys on Christmas morning
had a $3000 operation for Oliver who swallowed a random piece of crap on the ground
and built many lego Star Wars ships.
More updates coming soon...Love to you all...The Gills

Dad

2009-11-05T06:00:00.000-05:00

Happy Birthday Dad!

Happy Birthday Papa!

We love you!

xoxo

Weekending

2009-10-28T06:00:00.000-05:00

We went to Pingles Farm on the weekend with the family and we all had a great time. We fed chickens, goats and 5 day old bunnies...we watched pumpkins get launched from a cannon...we rode around a track...we played in the sand...we watched a puppet show...we found a really fuzzy caterpillar...we took countless photos in cardboard cutouts...we all had a really great time!

Surprise!

2009-10-27T06:00:00.000-05:00

NANA TURNS 70!

Alison & Steve, Adrian & I planned a surprise party for Carole for her 70th birthday. It worked - she was surprised. The kids loved hiding and yelling "Surprise Nana".

Then the boys occupied themselves by playing shuffleboard.
And the girls danced.

Happy Birthday to you

Happy Birthday dear Nana

Happy Birthday to you

We love you - Happy 70th Birthday!

xoxo

Bella's Lip

2009-10-26T06:00:00.000-05:00

This is what happens when an almost 3 year old is running around a trampoline and loses balance and hurtles into the mesh...poor Bella!

Justin is 8

2009-10-25T06:30:00.000-05:00

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DEAR JUSTIN

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU

Cannot believe that my first nephew turns 8 today.

Here he is last year on his birthday...

And here is when he turned 6...

Such a sweetie!

Love you Justin!

Auntie Jen, Uncle Adrian, Owen, Isabelle & Oliver the dog.

Auntie K & Bella

2009-10-25T06:00:00.000-05:00

My sister & my daughter...Auntie K & Bella...
they have a special bond
they have fun
1...2...3...
Wheeeeee...

Thanksgiving at the Cottage

2009-10-22T06:00:00.000-05:00

Again, seriously behind on blog posts...trying to get caught up.

Here are some of my favourite shots from our Thanksgiving weekend at the cottage.

After demanding to be allowed to jump in the lake for several hours, Daddy suggested that Owen just test the water first...that was all it took..."too cold for me dad, but you can go in if you want to."

After a very busy day, Bella chills on the couch with doggie, wolfie, blanket (on her head) and NUKie. :)
We too long treks in the woods:
Tended to the fire:
With Papa:
Wearing the ultra-latest in smoke protection gear:

Oliver had fun:

We saw some cool wildlife:

And played a great game of "Hello Harry" and we all ended up with spots on our faces.
Kaitlin and I were the most "decorated". She ended up as a 5 spot:

And somehow I ended up as a 6 spot...and everyone decided it was more fun to call me clown...which I really did not understand until I saw these pics (thank you Justin for the rather large spots :)

Happy Thanksgiving!

Wednesdays are for Skating

2009-10-21T06:00:00.000-05:00

Let's Go Blue Jays...Let's Go

2009-10-08T06:00:00.001-05:00

At the end of the T-Ball season, each child was given a ticket to a Toronto Blue Jays game. A few weekends ago, Adrian took Owen and Jackson to a game.

They took the train in to the city and after the novelty of that wore off (5 minutes) they played Nintendo DS games.

The boys were all about the big foam #1 fingers. Go Jays Go!
Relaxing with feet up.
Pizza...popcorn...licorice...lots of yummy snacks
A fun day was had by all!

The big boy room

2009-10-07T06:00:00.000-05:00

For about one year now, I have been planning on updating Owen's room as part of his 6th birthday celebrations. His room still had a lot of baby things and a mish-mash of big boy things. I saw these wonderful photos of a boy's bedroom room online and just fell in love.

I started collecting things: mobile of the solar system on ebay, mosaic photo of R2D2 on etsy, robot ABC poster on etsy, stars from IKEA....and on and on and on.

After school on Friday, Adrian took both kids to our friends house to play and I got started on the room with the help of my friends and my mom...thanks guys...could not have done it without you! When Owen came home that night we video-taped his reaction...priceless!

He was speechless, wandered around the room, eyes wide open, looking at everything. He would run up to a poster, touch it and say "this is new!"

and then run to the lamp, turn it off and on and say "and this is new!"

After a while he started to notice things that were missing..."Um, mama? I like my new room...but where is my bank and all my money?" "And I do not see my Ben 10 poster mama."

I told him that I still had everything and we would make room for whatever he wanted back in the room the next day. Once he felt confident that all his treasures were safe, he grabbed the camera and started taking photos...he is such a budding photographer!

Then he and Bella played Great Wolf Lodge. He sat in his new swing rocket chair from IKEA, she sat on the red star-lit tree skirt (acting as an area rug) from IKEA and he read his sister a book.

Owen fell asleep quickly that night in his new Big Boy Room.

My Beautiful Kids

2009-10-06T06:00:00.000-05:00

I took these pictures of the kids early in the morning on Owen's birthday. I had them sit on the family room table and look out the window. I love how the room is dark and the look of the natural light on their sweet faces. I also love their expressions - such a little glimpse of who they are.

Owen is my serious one - he loves science experiments, loves to figure out how things work, loves to read and is currently reading the first Harry Potter novel with me, loves to play video games, loves gymnastics, swimming and tennis, worries sometimes. Owen: my sweet serious boy!

Isabelle is my happy one - she always has a smile on her face and generally brings out the cheese face whenever she sees a camera, she loves to play games, adores her big brother and is a big Dora fan. For her birthday party she has specified the following "I like it to have Baby Riley and Sydney and Paigey and Skylar and all de girls. All everybody have fairy wings on and all everybody have fairy wands and all everybody have fancy shoes and all everybody wear pink clothes. I like it to have pink plates and all de girls eating pink cake and balloons are pink and pink and pink. Bella: my sweet happy girl!

Love these two kids so much! xoxoxo

He is 6

2009-10-04T23:59:00.000-05:00

Owen's Birthday

A diary of the day Oct.4.2009.

12:06am: exactly 6 years after he was born
8:00am: Opening cards with Mama, Daddy & Isabelle
8:14am: the excited face "but I can't do it any more mom cause it hurts too much"
9:12am: new Ben 10 costume. It was worn for the whole day. We think he likes it ;) Going Hero!
9:28am: "OK Mama, one more time, and then that's it!" (mama trying to get an artsy shot of him showing his age - and happy with the results :)
9:30am: a little breakfast - Frosted Flakes with Corn Flakes, eggs, applesauce, granola bar (ok a lot of breakfast!)

10:00am-11:00am: A little DS break for the Hero and the Fairy
11:15am: snacks!

12:45pm: Nana Carole arrived and brought the coolest Ben 10 book. It was an instant hit!
1:00pm: Grandma arrives and brings a Star Wars volcano (super cool!) but no pic...sorry!
1:30pm: squeeze in a little healthy food (one bite of sandwich, one gummy worm)...it is his birthday after all!

2:00pm: the party starts, friends arrive, kids make wands, general chaos in the house

2:30pm: Nana and Grandma take care of Oliver during the party - outside for his business, a couple of short walks...thank you both so much!!!
2:45pm: magic show! The Magician and his assistant
3:45pm: the last trick of the show. Needle through the balloon!

4:00pm: pizza arrives and there is a fleeting moment of silence
4:10pm: silence is over and chaos resumes
4:30pm: MONEY CAKE!!! Grandma made a Harry Potter money cake...it was awesome!
4:35pm: Happy Birthday to you...Happy Birthday to you...Happy Birthday dear Owen...Happy Birthday to you! Make a wish and blow out those candles!
5:00pm: parents arrive, kids leave, calmness returns to the Gill household
6:00pm: dinner

7:00pm: jammies, play with new games, open and assemble toys

8:00pm: start the bedtime routine

8:30pm: Bella is OUT! (no nap today so she was TIRED!)

9:00pm-11:00pm: lots of recapping of the day, stories told of the day he was born, many requests for more water, lights on / off, tickles, jammies on / jammies off, 1 more story, "but daddy, I am just too excited to sleep" was heard more than a few times...until finally....
11:00pm: finally asleep after a very wonderfully full birthday!
11:35pm: Mama takes a bunch of after party photos. Want to remember how great this day was. The wall of cards:

6 is big!

6 is all day school.

6 is riding bikes with no training wheels.

6 is crossing the road all by yourself.

6 is calling on friends on the street without mama and daddy watching out the window.

6 is reading chapter books.

6 is using 2 hands to count your age.

6 is making your own bed.

6 is less meltdowns, more ability to control your emotions and use words to express yourself.

6 is walking the dog.

6 is reading books to your younger sister.

6 is still little too!

6 is still kissing and hugging mama and daddy in front of everyone before school.

6 is still needing a snuggle first thing in the morning.

6 is still loving stories read to you before bed.

6 is still wanting to be first; washing hands, getting up the stairs, in line at school...

6 is still liking being walked to school even though you could go on your own.

6 is still holding hands on walks in the neighbourhood.

6 is wonderful!

Owen, today you turned 6 and I still cannot believe that 6 years have passed since you were born a tiny wriggling 7lb baby. You are a funny, smart, serious, amazing boy and I am so happy that you are my son. You are the best big brother and Isabelle adores you. Daddy and I are so proud of you and love you so much. Happy 6th Birthday Owen! xoxoxoxoxo

Ice Skating

2009-10-01T08:00:00.001-05:00

The kids winter activities are in full swing now. Ice skating on Wednesdays, swimming lessons on Fridays and gymnastics on Saturdays. It is nice that they are both happy to do the same activities right now and that we were able to schedule their lessons at the same time. Could not imagine having to shuffle 2 kids to different activities in one night.

Here are some pics of them at skating last night. My camera battery died before Bella got on the ice...but I will get some next week for sure. She is all decked out in new gear - helmet with cage, new pink mittens, pink fleecy sweater, pink long johns, pink splash pants and pink skates...that is right folks...pink skates! Thank you daddy for picking those up! She did amazing! Fell quite a few times and cried a little cause her bum hurt, but kept on going. She has incredible balance and the teacher could not believe that she had never been on single blade skates before. Despite the sore tushy, she is excited for her next skating lessons.

Owen picked up where he left off in the spring. Skated right onto the ice, gliding a little, walking a little. He skated the width of the ice several times without falling down at all. He is in the hour long class this session which is more advanced than last year and so far it is not a stretch for him to be there. He loves skating lessons and even mentioned that he might want to play hockey. I am sure daddy and Papa would love to see that.

10 Things

2009-09-30T06:00:00.001-05:00

Using a wonderful template from the one and only Scrapbooking Genius Ali Edwards I whipped up these 5 layouts in only a few hours this week. It is a little glimpse into our lives right now, what we are doing, what we love, what we hate...10 Things Right Now for each member of the Gill Family...enjoy! (click on each image to see a larger version)

Owen:
Isabelle:
Adrian:

Jennifer:

Oliver:

Kiah is 3

2009-09-29T06:00:00.000-05:00

Happy Birthday to you

Happy Birthday sweet Kiah

Happy Birthday to you

Kiah on her 2nd birthday:

Kiah at 1 year old:

We all hope you have a wonderful day!

Love,

Auntie Jen, Uncle Adrian, Owen & Isabelle

Welcome Oliver

2009-09-24T20:23:00.004-05:00

We have added a family member today.

He is an 8-week old ShihPoo (Shit-Zu - Poodle cross) and is adorable.
Owen loves to pick him up and pet him and love him and Oliver is soaking it all in.
Isabelle is a little less hands on she likes to throw toys in his direction and pet him with help.
He is a little ball of fluff and we all fell in love with him right away.

Welcome Oliver. Welcome to your new home. Welcome to snuggles. Welcome to kisses. Welcome to smothering hugs. Welcome to the Gill Family. Welcome Oliver. We love you already.

This Man

2009-09-19T06:00:00.000-05:00

This man...who is the best dad to our two children.

This man...who has the best sense of humor and makes me laugh every day.

This man...who had never been north of the city before he met me and has grown to love "the north" as much as I do.
This man...who loves to spend time with our boy.
This man...whose passion is soccer.
This man...who loves to go on long walks with our family and will happily carry children on his shoulders when they get tired.
This man...who organizes date nights and takes me to dinner and a chick-flick.
This man...whose little girl has him wrapped around her little finger.
This man...turns 39 today.

Happy Birthday Adrian!
We love you.
Jennifer, Owen & Isabelle

Happy Birthday to Me

2009-09-17T06:00:00.000-05:00

Today I turn 36. This past year has been wonderful for me personally. I joined Weight Watchers in November 2008, shortly after this photo was taken:
This is another "before" shot that was taken in Nov.07 on Isabelle's first birthday.
Here is a photo of me earning my 10% charm at Weight Watchers:
And a recent photos from this past weekend doing the 5K for Terry Fox:
I feel wonderful! I am almost 70lbs lighter than I was last year at this time and I know that next year, when I turn 37 I will be feeling fantastic.

Happy Birthday to Me!
xoxo

Grade One

2009-09-16T08:00:00.000-05:00

GRADE ONE

He had his current favourite breakfast to start the day: Corn Flakes, Mama Muffin, Applesauce & Chocolate Almond Milk
He posed on the stairs with his sister
He has a new backpack, lunchbox and shoes
He walked to school in the morning
He said hello to friends
He hugged his sister goodbye
He walked into the school

He forgot that he was supposed to come home for lunch and we waited and waited and waited. Finally we discovered that he was sitting with all the other kids who stay for lunch and was eating applesauce (his afternoon snack).

Owen: Mama, why did you only pack me applesauce for lunch

Mama: The applesauce is your afternoon snack. You wanted to come home for lunch remember?

Owen: Oh Yeah.

(thinking)

Owen: Mama, how come I did not have 3 recesses?

Mama: Because school is not over yet, you are going back after lunch and you will have another recess in the afternoon

Owen: OK But when do I have my afternoon snack? And what will I have?

Mama: Your teacher will let you know when snack time is and I will pack you another snack

Owen: This grade one stuff is pretty confusing!

She was upset that she forgot about her backpack and demanded to go back to school with it on
She walked and walked and walked with her backpack on

He rode his bike to school for the afternoon session (after lunch)
He left school very happy!
We visited with my Grandma Beryl
He took photos
We played by the beach in Barrie
With Madison
And with Cameron
He swam with his friends in Lake Simcoe
Cameron posed for the camera with glow bracelets on
Madi twirled with her glow necklaces and bracelets on
He posed
I attempted to get all 4 kids to look at the camera
And this is as close as I came "Make a funny face for me!"
I love our tradition of celebrating the first day of school with our friends in Barrie; having a final swim in water outdoors, playing in sand, having a last picnic before the weather gets too cold. The kids had a great time playing and the mama's had a bit of time to chat.

A more perfect first day of school could not be found!

Jackson is 6!

2009-09-14T08:00:00.002-05:00

Happy birthday to you

Happy birthday dear Jackson

Happy birthday to you

Jackson is all about Ben Ten and Pokemon right now:

And like my very own boy, he loves to make faces for the camera:

Thank you for sharing your birthday with us - it was so nice to be able to celebrate with you on your very special day. Happy 6th Birthday Jackson!

We love you!

Jennifer, Adrian, Owen & Isabelle

Weekending

2009-09-14T06:00:00.002-05:00

Shadow Photographs

Church Picnic Scavenger Hunts
Cotton Candy
Water slides at The Stephen's
T-Ball Trophy Day
Girls with sparkly hairbands

Terry Fox Walk
and oh so much more...

Terry Fox

2009-09-13T21:46:00.000-05:00

This was our 5th year participating in the Terry Fox 5k walk at the Ajax Waterfront. Owen was 11 months old the first year and I was pregnant with Isabelle the 3rd year. It is exciting to continue to do this walk as a family. Here are the highlights of the day.

The kids got Terry Fox '09 tattoos before we even started:

They started strong on their scooters:

We had some family photos taken:

We all did some running:

And the kids ended the alternating between Mommy and Daddy's shoulders:
And finally resting their tired bones in the wagon:
We talked a lot about Terry Fox and why he started his walk and why we were walking. It was great hearing Owen tell us about things he remembered from last year. Overall it was a fantastic day.

The first sleepover...

2009-09-06T08:00:00.000-05:00

I have such fond memories of my childhood sleepovers; staying up late, laughing, playing Barbies, staying up late, eating different snacks, telling stories, staying up late, watching movies, reading books and most importantly staying up late.
Jackson arrived here last night with his jammies, Bear and pillow...prepared and ready to spend a night at our home. I am so thankful for these friends (we love you Taylor family) in our lives who put their trust in us and allow their son to come and stay with us for the night.
There were some similarities between the sleepovers of my youth and Owen's last night...and there were some differences. They did stay up late! The also watched Ben 10 episodes in a nest on the floor, they ate yummy snacks, played Star Wars on Wii, played DS games, laughed, wrestled, giggled, had an old fashioned pillow fight and started off the night in Owen's bed. In the middle of the night Owen woke up with a sore belly and after some water and Gravol came in to bed with us...poor boy!
They woke up this morning WAY to early, but are in good moods and still the very best of friends. This first sleepover was a SUCCESS!

Check It Out

2009-09-02T09:15:00.002-05:00

charity water

born in september

this boy

2009-08-31T08:00:00.000-05:00

This boy...who enunciates every syllable and even puts in a few new ones.

This boy...who loves Ben 10 and Ben 10 Alien Force and knows the differences between the two.

This boy...who loves to read.

This boy...who can ride his two wheeler and even fix the chain when it comes off.

This boy...who makes his own bed almost every morning

This boy....who completely has his own style...and loves it!

This boy...who will not eat any fruit, but loves all flavours of applesauce

This boy...who is going to French Immersion Grade 1 in only two weeks

This boy...who loves ants and spiders and snails and all sorts of bugs

This boy...who listens to Christmas music in the middle of June to put himself to sleep

This boy...who chubs ears

This boy...who helps his sister up onto the green box

This boy...who loves to go on dates with his mama

This boy...who makes faces whenever the camera is pointed in his direction.
This boy...my own Sam Safety...who would put the sparkler out in the bucket long before it was done sparking..."just in case mom, I don't want to get burned hands."

This boy...who loves to play his Nintendo DS

This boy...who happily gives away his belongings to his friends if they seem interested in them

This boy...who loves to be naked

This boy...who hates posing for photos but indulges his mama from time to time.

This boy...who at almost 6 still loves to snuggle

This boy...who still likes to hold hands while we walk

This boy...who has yet to figure out that it is not cool to kiss mama and daddy goodbye

This boy...who says "Sometimes I don't like to go to something (like soccer or gymnastics) but I do like it when I get there."

This boy...who is shy and sensitive and so loving

This boy....is my boy.

Sydney is 3!

2009-08-25T08:00:00.000-05:00

Happy Birthday to you

Happy Birthday dear Sydney

Happy Birthday to you

This sweet little button is 3 today. Happy Birthday...we love you!

Jennifer, Adrian, Owen & Ibbitybo

This Girl...

2009-08-24T08:00:00.000-05:00

This girl...who is always smiling

This girl...who has her daddy wrapped around her little finger

This girl...who plays Polly Pockets and Barbies

This girl...who loves her babies

This girl...who will play legos and pirates for hours just to have the chance to play with her big brother

This girl...who runs and give huge hugs and kisses to whomever walks in the door

This girl...who can turn on the charm or the tears depending on what the situation needs

This girl...who loves her nukies and bear and doggie and bunny and blanket

This girl...who steals my heart every time she smiles

This girl...who says CHEESE with such vigor and gusto it looks like it hurts
This girl...who loves Dora and Yo Gabba Gabba and Toopy and Binoo

This girl...who loves to play charades and CandyLand and Cranium Cariboo
This girl...who watches herself in the mirror as I do her hair and declares I so booful

This girl...who insists on wearing a princess dress almost every day
This girl...who loves her brother and wants to do everything he does

This girl...who introduces her family to strangers in the grocery store Hi, my am Issy and dis is my frien mama.

This girl...who wants to grow up today so she can play tball and go to camp like her big brother

This girl...who is happiest when she is outside

This girl...who says I did a pee-pee when she needs to use the bathroom

This girl...who at 2 1/2 years old is fully toilet trained even through the night

This girl...who is a complete bandaid addict

This girl...who loves yogurt and grapes and chicken and strawberries and noodles

This girl...who says Mama, I neeeeeed you

This girl...who I carried for 9 months

This girl...is my girl!

My Sister...

2009-08-17T08:00:00.000-05:00

...is gorgeous
...is smart
...is the BEST Auntie KK around
...is playful
...is sweet and kind and wonderful
...is silly
...is likely going to kill me for posting these pics...but I am OK with that...cause I just love her!

Thank God for SISTERS! Love you Kaitlin! xoxoxo

The Boys

2009-08-16T08:00:00.000-05:00

The boys also played well together. Owen and Isaac are only 6 months apart...it is so nice that the cousins are so close.

Justin:

Isaac:

Owen:
Tobin:

Owen and Isaac fishing. "Do you see any fishies?"
"Three cheers for team White Shirts. Hip Hip Horray - Hip Hip Horray - Hip Hip Horray!"

It was these three against Adrian, Kiah & Isabelle...I think team White Shirts won 3 games in a row.
The after goal group hug:
Owen and Isaac working together on the kayak

The Girls

2009-08-15T08:00:00.000-05:00

Jason, Bridget and the kids (Justin, Isaac, Kiah and Tobin) spent a week at the cottage in July. We went up for two days and took about a million pics. The girls are so close in age and really got along so well. Isabelle kept saying "This is my friend Kiah" "Hi my friend Kiah" ... so cute! Here are some of my favourites:

cn tower

2009-08-14T08:00:00.000-05:00

CN TOWER
We spent a great day with Nora and the kids at the CN Tower...they were most amazed by the glass floor in the elevator and in the observation area. I was not brave enough to stand on it...but the kids were all over it!

They really were so cute together:
And no fear of pressing right up against the glass:

Even though it was a cloudy day, we got to see a lot through the viewers. Owen loved looking at how small the people were.

Some wonderful group shots:

Canada Day

2009-08-13T08:00:00.000-05:00

On Canada Day we had a wonderful street party hosted by our friends The Taylors...thanks so much Leslie & Todd!!! Here are some photos from the day.

Could these two girls be having any more fun???
All snuggled up with blankets to watch the festivities:
Sparklers
"I be berry fareful mama" Good Bella - you be careful :)
Owen
Ruby
William
Jackson
Sydney
Isabelle

Lots of fun was had by all!

Overheard

2009-08-12T05:19:00.002-05:00

Last night, I took Owen to karate - a local club as a 2 week trial in order to get an idea if this is something that will work going forward. As I was putting Owen to bed we had the following conversation:

M: Owen, I know you were nervous tonight, karate is brand new for you and you went and did your best. Daddy and I are very proud of you.

O: Thanks (smiling)

M: You are welcome buddy!

O: Mama, know what?

M: what?

O: If I was the daddy and you were the girl and I took you to karate tonight, my heart would be breaking apart with so much proudness and loveness for you. I love you so much mama and I love daddy so much too. And I love Isabelle too.

Man, I love this boy!

kindergarten grad

2009-08-10T03:29:00.005-05:00

Finally getting around to doing a round up of the goings on in the Gill Family for the past few months. This is my favourite shot of the day, he looks so sweet in his graduation cap:
Getting his certificate from Mrs. Fraser. When he opened it later that day he declared in a disappointed voice "it's not a pirate treasure map"
He sat so well during the long ceremony. Our hearts were bursting with pride!

Here are the kids running to the school on the last day:
Hugging Donna, the best crossing guard in Ajax:
Handing out gifts to teachers:
This is our standard start/end of school shot on the front steps:
As I was looking for our first day of school pics, I relized that he was wearing the same shirt...love that...here is a link back to first day of school.

Another photo re-do

2009-06-02T09:04:00.005-05:00

I cannot say enough about Picasa. Here is another 5 minute photo makeover. The old:

A little warmify, a little brighten and the result is (in my opinion) a much better pic. Here is the new:

Number 10

2009-05-31T08:00:00.001-05:00

As promised, here are some more photos of our t-ball superstar.

During practice...catch the ball and touch the base:

During the game he caught the ball and ran and touched the runner before he got to first...way to go Owen:

Taking a little break from the action of the game to dig in the dirt. He likes to make piles:Getting ready to bat:
Getting a hit and running the bases:

Shaking hands at the end of the game:

Cheese

2009-05-30T08:00:00.000-05:00

Bella is all about the cheese face right now.
You know the one. Eyes squinty or closed. Face scrunched. Big toothy smile. "CHEEEEESE" being yelled at the top of her lungs.
It is the face that kids of a certain age put on as soon as they see a camera. It is a face you never see unless there is a camera in sight.
I love this face, cheese and all!

Photos & Picasa

2009-05-29T08:00:00.000-05:00

Can you believe how grown up Isabelle is? She is 2 1/2 years old; although don't tell her that...she thinks she is a 5 year old just like her brother. Here is a photo of her from the park last week:
Now look at this picture before I edited it:

Do you know about Picasa? Definitely old news to you who are a little more seasoned with photography. But something I definitely felt like mentioning today because it just may change your life. Okay, that's a strong statement. But if you don't know what the heck I'm talking about, read on.

I am not ... I repeat NOT ... a good resource for technical questions. Seriously. Don't ask. I just need to be sure you know that. But a friend at work recently convinced me to install Picasa and I have never loved software like I love this little gem.

It took me less than a minute to take this photo from a mundane OK photo to WOW. It was a little dark, so I adjusted the lighting (fill light), I used Warmify (yup, that is what they call it) to adjust the skintone and Sharpen to make it just perfect.

If you have not tried Picasa yet, click here, it is free to download and definately worth it!

Overheard

2009-05-28T08:00:00.001-05:00

We are surrounded by chaos right now as the winter activities wind down and the summer activities ramp up - we have a lot of cross over and it has made for some busy, busy weeks!
Here is a wee peek into our week right now:
Mon: 6:30-7:00pm Owen swimming (Bella comes with me to watch)
Tues: 6:15-7:15pm Owen T-Ball (Bella comes with us to watch and play at park)
Wed: 5:30-6:00pm Owen skating lessons (Bella comes to watch - see a trend here?)
Thurs: free
Fri: 7:00-8:00om Family Swim time at the local community center
Sat: 10:30-12:00 Owen Gymnastics (Bella stays at home with Daddy)
Sun: free
Last week Isabelle and I had the following conversation while watching Owen skate.
Bella: I only watching Owen skating
Me: Yes, we are watching Owen skate
Bella: I only watching Owen baseball
Me: Owen played T-Ball last night, tonight is skating
Bella: No Mama! I only watching Owen skating, I only watching Owen baseball, I only watching Owen swimming. I no having turns. Is not fair!
Oh the guilt! It is tough on the 2nd child, at least it is in our home. We have learned through parenting Owen, that signing kids up for activities before they are ready is no fun for anyone. That age was about 4 for Owen...I am starting to think it will be earlier for Bella. We have a plan for September where she will be in gymnastics at the same time as him and we are looking for another activity for her. I find myself struggling with the balance - for so long she was a baby and then a toddler, tagged along wherever we took her, good natured, always happy...now she is becoming her own person and I have to remember to treat her as such. Bella, I love the person you are and I will do my very best as your mama to remember that you are not a baby and to give you the same opportunities as your brother. I am excited to see you skate and swim and play tball...for right now though you and I will have to tough it out on the sidelines of your brother's games; playing hide and seek at the hockey rink, running to and from the playground beside the ball park and lots of hand games like this little piggie at the pool...at least until September.

Documenting the Kids

2009-05-27T08:00:00.003-05:00

Owen @ 5 1/2 years

totally into Ben 10, the TV show -likes to "play" Ben 10 "Mom - you be Gwen and I will be Ben"
when 'calling' it, must say the following "I'm Ben 10 - called it - lock it in my pocket"
working on the behaviour required to earn DS play time
learned to ride a 2-wheeler without any adult help and has not looked back once
learned how to fix the chain on his 2-wheeler when it falls off from going too fast
gaining a bit of freedom in the neighbourhood, can cross the street on his own and go to Jackson's without adult supervision (mama still watches from the window though)
is super helpful and sweet with Isabelle - most of the time :)
has decided that toast is his favourite food and has eaten 8 pieces for breakfast two days in a row in the last week
favourite saying "Prove It". Here is a conversation we had on the way home from TBall last night:

Owen: Can we get a donut from Tim Hortons please?

Me: You played great tonight buddy! Sure, you can have a donut or you can have the Kit Kat you bought at the snack bar. But only 1 - you have to choose.

Owen: Donut please!

Me: OK. You will have to eat it in the car on the way home. Bella has a sore belly and I am not going to get her one. Please do not tell her that we went to Timmys.

Owen: Why not?

Me: Because it will hurt her feelings.

Owen: Prove It!

Isabelle @ 2 1/2 years

remembering to use the toilet most of the time - only wears pull-ups to bed now
likes to wear a "princess dress" every day
says "I not a buddy! I a girl" when I say "Hi my little buddy"
is doing the same puzzles that Owen did at this age: 20-40 pieces. Now we have 2 puzzle masters in the house
can recognize most of the letters in the alphabet and has an association for each one: O is for Owen, I is for Isabelle, M is for Mama, D is for Dada, G is for Grandma, P is for Papa, N is for Nora and Nana, U is for ung-brella, V is for guitar (and then mimics a person playing a violin while singing plinky-plinky-plink)
enjoys playing games with Owen; enjoys doing anything with Owen - she idolizes her older brother
loves to tell knock knock jokes that she hears Owen telling. Most recent favourite"

Bella: Knock Knock

Me: Who's there?

Bella: Boo

Me: Boo who?

Bella: (laughing) I don't peek owl.

(The original joke was made up by Owen and is quite clever: Knock Knock Who's There? WhoWho Who? Sorry, I don't speak owl. He does another joke about a ghost which is where the Boo comes in - Bella has just combined them into her own joke - gotta love that!)

T-Ball

2009-05-26T09:22:00.003-05:00

Owen played T-Ball last night and played 1 inning as the back catcher. This had to be the game where I did not bring my camera - DOH! But I did have my handy-dandy camera phone. The photos are not great quality and are pretty tiny...but I wanted to share them here. I will post more t-ball action shots tomorrow...from the good camera.

Fireworks

2009-05-23T08:00:00.000-05:00

Monday, May 18, 2009 - Victoria Day. The first day of the year we do fireworks. It was pretty chilly outside and we typically save the big fireworks for Canada Day in July. We got together with our friends on the street and set the kids up with some sparklers.

Isabelle:
Sydney:
Owen:
Jackson:
The girls were so cute standing across from one another, twirling and waving their sparklers around.

And at the end of the day, there were two angels fast asleep in our house. One in her crib:

The other in a makeshift bed on the floor so he could fall asleep watching the fireworks out his bedroom window:

The view from in here

2009-05-22T08:00:00.001-05:00

Reading a recent post on Simple Kids I was reminded of the fun of building forts on rainy days. Last weekend we had a super-duper rainy day on Saturday, the perfect kind of day for building such a fort.
So we pulled out our trusty box of Crazy Forts, all the blankets the kids could find and set about building the bestest fort ever in Owen's words and a pretty princess castle in Isabelle's. Gotta love that one fort satisfied both of their needs all at once, that rarely happens and even more rarely on a house-bound rainy day. I love the forts of my youth, made with all the chairs and blankets in the house, and we often make those. But sometimes a special fort is called for. The wonderful system of sticks and balls work together to make a sturdy fort that lasts longer than the traditional chair/blanket system.

Here are a few photos of the fort during construction:

The kids played in this fort for most of the day. Had picnics inside, read books and pretended to sleep.

Togetherness

2009-05-21T20:18:00.006-05:00

I love watching the "togetherness" of the kids...it is not there every moment, every hour or even every day...but when I catch a glimpse it warms my heart like nothing else.
Last week I left work a little early and took the kids to a new park. They insisted on wearing arm bands in the car on the way over, the new park was close to the public pool and for them that was enough of an excuse to put on the water wings.

As they ran down the path towards the park, Isabelle grabbed Owen's hand and said "Owie brover, I so eh-cited" He held her hand just as tightly and told her "Me too Isabelle, we are going to have F-U-N"
Even going down the double slide they held hands.
They did have moments on their own...climbing

and sliding

But when all the swinging and climbing and jumping and sliding was done...they ran together back to the car. These are the moments I want to remember and cherish!

Have Done

2009-05-15T12:00:00.006-05:00

I am a list girl!
I make to-do lists at the end of every day so I can hit the ground running in the morning.
I make packing lists for weekends away.
I make grocery lists.
I make wish lists.
I make lists of things I want to do in my life.
I make weekend plans lists.
BUT….I have never, ever made a Have Done list. I was reading a wonderful blog this morning written by a woman who is starting a Do Less Revolution. Her theory is that we all do a lot, too much sometimes and we do not give ourselves credit for what we have accomplished in a day, a year, a lifetime. I think perhaps, that we are wired to be always looking forward, always yearning for more, always moving on to the next project. It is what pushes us to be better people…but just for kicks and giggles I decided to do a list this morning.

Here is my day from 6:10-7:39 – 1 hour and 29 minutes...

6:10am Wake up. Delight that Bella has slept in her own bed all night and only cried once, settling herself back to sleep. Review in head last nights bedtime routine and commit it to memory – hoping it will work again tonight. Sit with Bella as she tries to pee on potty – sing songs, read 1 book. Talk with her about how big girls pee on the toilet. No pee. Hope that there is not an accident this morning on the floor. Get Bella dressed, read 2 books, count her jumping on her bed naked inbetween putting on each article of clothing. Change 2 of her drawers over from winter to summer clothing. Check time:
6:44am – gotta get a move on, want to leave work early today, so I have to get to work early. Open blinds in Bella’s room, straighten her bed. Open blinds in Owen’s room, open window – take a moment to breathe in the wonderful warmish spring air. Help Owen make his bed. Kick self for not getting my clothing out last night and for not showering last night. Wash hair in sink – wrap in towel. Chat with Adrian about his plans for tonight. Wash face, brush teeth, put cream on face. Kiss Adrian goodbye. Make bed. Turn on TV to check weather, 19 today, rainy tomorrow. Urge Owen to get dressed in warmer clothes than he has chosen (shorts and tshirt). Get clothes for today. Look at pants that are still too small and hope that they will fit in June. Smile at how my clothes today feel and look. Beat self up about food yesterday – vow to drink lots of water today to flush out system. Choose jewelry. Sing to Bella, play Push Kids Down on freshly made bed while getting dressed. Delight in their laughter and remind myself that moments like this are more important than having a beautiful bed. Remake bed. Check time:
7:08am – wow, where does the time go...really late now! Talk with Owen about how he has a 4 day weekend, mommy has a 3 day weekend and daddy has a 2 day weekend. Demonstrate this with fingers. Not really sure he gets it. Make Owen breakfast (over easy eggs and toast). Make Isabelle breakfast (1/2 banana and porridge). Make Owen porridge, Bella’s must have looked yummy. Take Belle to potty – listen while she pees – WOO HOO – celebration! Clean out potty, be thankful for Lysol wipes – wash hands. Make my breakfast (special K + All Bran + ½ banana + 1% milk). Eat. Read 3 headlines in newspaper while eating. Take towel out of hair and dry hair – not a good hair day. OOPS...forgot the vitamins. Let kids choose their colour today, gulp my 3 vitamins with too little water...yuck! Listen to Owen read sentences from work brought home from school yesterday. Play shoe game with Isabelle (she tries on all the family shoes and I have to guess who she is). Chat with Nora about her weekend plans and make plan to be home by 2:30 today so she can get to GO train on time. Remember to pull out new scavenger hunt lists that I made yesterday and attach to clipboards for the kids trip to park today. Brush teeth again. Throw load of clothes in washing machine. Open window in laundry room cause it smells like poo. Make a mental note to buy draino – sure that poo smell is coming from sink – likely due to a toilet training accident. Remember to pack snack of fruit for work. Call mom to check on her from last night (her car broke down at our house and had to be towed and I drove her home – wanted to be sure she found a way to work). Hugs and kisses to both kids. Put on shoes, grab purse and laptop. Get in car. Check time:
7:39am

I suspect that many of your mornings were just like this, filled with mini-decisions, rushing around and brain-activity far beyond what it should be in a pre-caffiene state. Give yourself a pat on the back the next time you think "I just didn't get anything done" and make a Have Done list documenting how much you actually did get done.

Happy Friday!
~jen~

Hello

2009-05-12T08:00:00.002-05:00

Hello from the *new park*.

Last night, on the way to swimming class, Owen and I went to a new park just to exlpore something new and fun. I love watching him in a new place, the way he runs from one thing to the next,
what he chooses to do first,
what he does over and over again,

how much more careful and cautious he is on stairs since he fell and knocked the wind out of him last summer,

how he stopped moving for one brief moment to read the graffiti (thankfully it was *clean*)
and how he still loves to stand on any surface and declare "I am the King of the Castle and you are a Dirty Rascal"
We decided last week, after another such adventure, that every week before swimming, we would explore a new park. It is fun for Owen to have new and different challenges and fun for me to get to run around trying to capture that excitement in photos.

Happy Mother's Day

2009-05-10T06:36:00.001-05:00

Have a wonderful day!

xoxo

Skylar is 3

2009-05-09T07:17:00.004-05:00

Happy Birthday to you

Happy Birthday to you

Happy Birthday dear Skylar

Happy Birthday to you

We hope you have a wonderful day today!

We love you!

Auntie Jen, Uncle Adrian,

Owen & Isabelle

Overheard

2009-05-08T07:40:00.002-05:00

Last night Grandma and Bella were walking around the school yard as Adrian, Owen and I played T-Ball. They found some damaged tulips and picked one of the flowers up off the ground. Bella brought it over to me and Grandma asked her "Do you remember what it is called?"

With a big smile she said:

"Lellow Lips"

Milkshake

2009-05-08T06:00:00.001-05:00

The latest after school snack around here...milkshakes!

1 part vanilla soy ice cream

1 part almond chocolate milk

blend

top with whipped cream & sprinklesThe kids love them and I feel good about serving them.
YUMM!

She Sleeps

2009-05-07T06:00:00.000-05:00

I have a "thing" for taking photos of the kids when they are sleeping. Perhaps it is because they don't put on the CHEESE face, perhaps it is because they look so peaceful, perhaps it is because they lie so still...but whatever the reason, I will continue to take these photos...how can I possibly ever stop?

2 Wheeler

2009-05-06T04:09:00.004-05:00

We arrived home last night to find that Owen had passed through yet another phase into big boyhood...he is riding a 2 wheeler...no training wheels...no running behind the bike for hours and days on end...no scraped knees...no tears. We borrowed a bike from our friends a few weeks ago and it has sat in the garage. Every weekend I would ask Owen if he wanted to try it, but the glow of the new scooter had not worn off. Today, Nora took the kids to the park and Owen decided to take his new bike. In his words "only one try mommy and I didn't even fall off". My sweet angel boy is growing up...

Isaac is 6

2009-04-25T08:00:00.002-05:00

This year, he got his face painted:
This year, he lost a tooth:
Isaac...one year ago...

Happy Birthday Isaac!
We love you and miss you!
xoxoxo

Happy Earth Day

2009-04-22T07:28:00.004-05:00

Here are some wonderful images I collected through Google images for today...EARTH DAY!

I believe every day is Earth Day...but let's all do something extra special today to honor our planet...keep the lights off as long as possible, walk or ride your bike to the store, bring reusable bags when you shop today, switch your lightbulbs to CFLs, wash your laundry in cold instead of warm or hot...there are a million things we can do to preserve our planet...lets focus today and do a few.

Happy Birthday Grandma

2009-04-19T08:00:00.001-05:00

We love you!
xoxoxo

Project 365: Week 9

2009-03-09T10:29:00.001-05:00

Trying a new thing this week with the Project 365 post. I am going to post each photo individually and the journalling that goes with it and at the end I will post the scrapbook layout. Let me know what you think...

Game nights continue strong this week. Tonight Owen and Isabelle worked together on a few puzzles. Owen is a self-proclaimed puzzle master and Isabelle is starting to hold her own. She chose this Diego puzzle; he put the pieces in place and she ‘tapped’ them down...it was so sweet to watch how they figured out a way for them both to enjoy the activity. As soon as all the pieces were in place, Isabelle would take the board, flip it over and say “more doing puzzle”...Owen would look at me, roll his eyes and say “OK Bella, I would LOVE to do this puzzle again.” Gotta love those moments

My desk at work. I like to keep it clean and neat and clutter free. I have a photo frame that the kids bought for my birthday filled with pics of them and a family one of all of us. My favourite red water bottle to remind me to keep drinking water. A can of diet coke. My Mickey Mouse mug was a gift from a student when I was practice teaching for Montessori last year, I drink 2-3 mugs of green-peppermint tea every day. The seed art was done by my sister Kaitlin when she was 6 years old, it has been on my desk ever since. A potted Elephant Palm plant from IKEA. These are the things that make me happy at work.
This is just one of those shots that I felt compelled to take, although it is blurry it tells such a story. Beside his head you can see Owen’s calendar - he crosses off the days as they happen and knows what is coming up. His snack is on the dresser - applesauce tonight. His dream-catcher is above his head to make sure he has no more nightmares. His bed is scattered with all the books he was reading before falling asleep. His CD player is on the dresser and is belting out the Barenaked Ladies Snacktime CD tonight. He is sleeping in a Mickey Mouse sleeping bag tonight, he and Bella were playing with them today.

Project 365: Week 8

2009-03-02T08:00:00.001-05:00

I am going to target every Monday for a new 365 Project post. I structure all my pages from Monday-Sunday, I like to keep the weekend all on one page - so it makes sense to do the whole week post here on Monday's. Here is my layout from 2 weeks ago...
Feb 16-22:(click on the images to see larger more readable versions)

12 Months Ago

2009-02-27T08:00:00.005-05:00

And if 6 months ago is good...then 12 months is better. (like that logic?)

1 year ago Isabelle still had the biggest blue eyes on the planet, now they are changing and turning to a soft green colour.

1 year ago Owen started eating green beans, they are now his most favourite vegetable.

1 year ago my nephew Tobin was born, and I finally got to meet him at the beginning of the month.

1 year ago Owen started reading, sounding out letters and reading whole words, now he can read entire Dr. Seuss books and Magic Tree house chapter books.

1 year ago Isabelle did not have enough hair to put a single clip in it, now she has wild blond locks, still not very long, but require clips every day.

1 year ago we planned our first trip to Great Wolf Lodge and have been back a few times since. Last night we booked our next trip in April.

1 year ago I read Time Traveller's Wife for the first time and just re-read it for my book club.

1 year ago Owen and Isabelle attended Blaisdale Montessori school, now Owen is in Senior Kindergarten at Cadarackque (across the screet from us) and Isabelle is at home with Nora.

1 year ago I had been back at work for 2 months and was attending night school, now I am back at work and am happy here.

1 year ago, Isabelle was sitting in a highchair for all her meals, now she sits on a big chair...truth be told, she rarely sits at all.

1 year ago, Owen was taking hip hop lessons at school and loved to pose for us.

6 Months Ago

2009-02-26T08:00:00.007-05:00

Working on Project 365 has made me think about the year that has just passed and I found myself re-looking at our summer photos...if it is interesting to me, then I will share it with you. This is especially fitting today because it feels like spring...for the first time in months we have temps above the freezing line...it is +6C outside (which translates to 42F)...spring is in the air today and I am just drinking it in! Here is a little walk down memory lane...a look back at August 2008...

In August we went swimming in Nana's pool..
In August, the trampoline was still shiny & new & exciting

In August, neither Adrian or I did any travelling
In August, we spent one week at the cottage...

In August, we took family bike rides to the big park

In August we went to the zoo 4 times...

In August we visited my Grandma and felt the warmth of the sun on our faces...

In August, we had a great picnic with our friends in Barrie at the waterfront park...

In August, Isabelle wore lots of dresses and Owen caught lots of bugs...

In August we could head outdoors every day with nothing more than sunscreen and a hat...no boots, no coats, no snowpants, no scarves, no hats, no mittens, no hassle...only 6 months away...

Project 365

2009-02-25T08:00:00.000-05:00

January 1st I started a new scrapbook project...Project 365. When I first read about Project 365 of Becky Higgin's blog, I wasn't sure I wanted to take on something so daunting. A picture every day doesn't sound like a lot, but multiply that by 365 days during the year, and it is pretty significant. I looked at my December Daily album (almost finished) and just love how it is turning out, such a great record of our family for one month. Finally, I decided to take the plunge and commit to Project 365. Although I don't expect it to be easy, I think at the end of the year, it will be wonderful to have a photograph and some notes for every day in our lives for a year. I expect it to be a mixture of the people, places and things that mean the most to us, make us laugh, and make us reflect and appreciate our everyday lives. I'm sure that some days it will be more challenging than others to take the 'right' photograph, but that will be part of the journey; looking a little more closely at what surrounds us to see what really defines our family. I hope that another side benefit will be a refinement in my photography skills. I have dabbled in photography for a while now and think this will be a great opportunity to hone those skills. So, even though it won't always be easy (and a lot of things worth doing are not easy) I know there is much to be gained by participating in this project. Ready, aim, shoot - 1,2,3,4,5,..365!
Week 1:
Week 2:

Week 3:

Week 4:

Week 5:

Week 6:

Week 7:

1 week ago today...Valentines Day

2009-02-21T08:00:00.001-05:00

Saturday, February 14th...Valentine's Day

So much love in our lives right now, so much to be thankful for, so much to celebrate.
So much surprise at the wonderful roses Adrian sent to me on Friday...thanks sweetie!
So much fun baking cupcakes for Owen's class.

So much fun licking the beaters.

So many sprinkles.
I had this great idea to do mini valentines books for the kids for Valentines day. And like so many ideas...the idea was wonderful, the execution not so wonderful. The books are not yet done, but the photo shoot turned out great. We went to my friend Leslie's house and she took some great shots of me and the kids...here are my favourites:

I especially like this one she shot of me. Every photo of me looks the same, I have a "pose" that I learned and have perfected over the years...the head tilts slightly to the right, the neck sticks out to minimize any double-chins, the smile shows just enough teeth, the eyes are big and wide...I love they way I look in those photos...but this one is just different and that makes it great. Thanks Les for taking such wonderful pics and getting me out of my comfort zone.

photo wall

2009-02-20T08:00:00.000-05:00

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. That statement is no more true than when shopping for art. We have many unadorned walls in our home due to our individual interpretation of beauty...well, that and budget :) We have a lovely fireplace in the family room and the space above that spent many months empty while we searched for and tried out several different art pieces before finally deciding on a mirror. We have a king sized bed and spent over 3 years searching for artwork for above it before finding one we could agree on. This brings us to the 'other' wall in the bedroom, the one we lie in bed and look at first thing in the morning, the one we can peek at over our books as we lie in bed at night...the (until last week) big empty wall that was screaming for something to make it pretty.

Now it is glorius and adorned with our favourite photos. All converted to black and white. The shelf is from IKEA and comes in white, black and in many different lengths. The frames also came from IKEA and come in 9 different sizes from 4x6 all the way up to 20x27. I converted the photos to black & white using photoshop and printed them online at Costco. I think the entire project cost less than $50...certainly money well spent. Our shelf is 6" long and the frames range in size from 4x6 up to 15x20; we have 16 prints in total on display. Sorry for the crummy pictures - it is our bedroom light you see making the yellow spots on some of the photos.
I wake up in the morning and the first thing I see are the faces of my family...now what could be better than that?
Here are some closeups:

Making muffins

2009-02-19T08:00:00.003-05:00

Tuesday night we baked muffins. We spent Family Day Monday at our friend's home in Uxbridge and they had just baked the most wonderful muffins that the kids gobbled up. I have a recipe I have used over the years that used to be a hit...but for some reason it has fallen out of favour. Seeing them much on these muffins so happily got me in the baking mood again. Off to the grocery store to get the needed ingredients on the way home and we baked the yummiest muffins...thanks for the recipe Jarka. Even the batter was yummy as Isabelle proved here by licking every inch of the beaters:

Sneaky Healthy Chocolate Chip Muffins
4 mashed bananas (the riper the better) (you can also substitute 4 eggs, but bananas are better)
1 can pumpkin puree or pumpkin pie filling (the pie filling has sugar adds a bit more sweetness and a little extra spice)
1 box Silken soft tofu
3/4 cup Blue Agave liquid sweetner (found in health food aisle or speciality health stores) (you could also use 1 1/2 cups of sugar...I was going for a healthier version here)
-cream in large bowl-
3 1/2 cups flour (I used Whole Spelt Flour)
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg
pinch cloves
1 cup chooclate chips
-sift together and add to wet-stir or mix-
Bake at 400 for 20-25 minutes
Makes 24 muffins or 18 regular and 12 minis.

Auntie Jen in Phoenix

2009-02-18T22:36:00.001-05:00

At the beginning of this month I had a work conference to go to in San Antonio, Texas and I figured why not tack on a few days of vacation and visit my brother and his family in Arizona - it is almost right next door...right? (obviously geography is not my stong suit...but they are pretty close as it turns out).
I spent 4 days and 4 nights at my brother's home.
I finally met my youngest nephew Tobin for the first time, he turned 1 six days after I left.
I spent time playing baseball with my older nephews Justin & Isaac.
I read countless books to Kiah.
I was treated to a trip to the Phoenix Zoo which is a truly awesome place...hard to believe, but I think it is even better than our local Toronto Zoo.
I learned to play 3 new board games which were so much fun; Blokus, Sequence and Carcassonne.
I tripped playing backyard baseball and ran into a wall with my face ending up with a black eye, horribly bruised leg and scrapes on my arm from wrist to elbow.
I made the kids yummy Auntie Jen fruit fondue face dessert.
I had a wonderful trip and miss them all so very much.
Tobin: Kiah:
Isaac:
Justin:

Auntie Jen plays baseball

2009-02-18T10:35:00.001-05:00

...although there is no photographic proof, the hazzard of always being behind the camera I guess.

Justin and Isaac love baseball...I mean they really LOVE baseball. We played countless games in the backyard. (They grey cement block wall is where my eye received the lovely purple and green hue that still persists almost 2 weeks later)

We walked to the park one day and came across a baseball diamond, so of course we played there too. And on the last day we all went again...Tobin hung out in the stroller, quite happily watching, Kiah took turns batting, pitching and running with Auntie Jen, Mommy and Daddy. Justin & Isaac were superstars! They were on 1 team and the adults were on another team. I think at last count, they beat us eleventy-teen to four. :)

stephens on weekend

2009-02-17T23:43:00.002-05:00

Happy Birthday Tobin

2009-02-13T08:00:00.002-05:00

Happy Birthday to you
Happy Birthday to you
Happy Birthday dear Tobin
Happy Birthday to you

Recent Pic:
6 Months Ago: And only 1 year ago, this little sweetie was born:

Winterfest

2009-02-12T08:00:00.001-05:00

Our little town had a wonderful Winterfest Festival this past weekend. We went with our friends whose kids are the same ages as Owen and Isabelle...they all had a blast! The weather was perfect - cool but not too cold and sunny with blue skies. It was nice to spend some time outside doing fun, family things. Here are my favourite pics of our day.
There was a giant bouncy-castle slide:
A standard bouncy-castle for bouncing:
Batting practice with a floating ball - kids thought this was super cool:
Other outdoor activities included dog sledding, spray painting the snow with coloured water, hockey, ice skating, horse-drawn carriage rides and watching an ice sculpturer in action:There were also a ton of indoor activities, crafts to make and face painting:

Conversation with a 2 year old

2009-02-11T08:00:00.002-05:00

Me "Time to get dressed"
Isabelle "No like my dressed"
Me "Please take off your jammies"
Isabelle "My like it my jammies"
Me "Isabelle, Mommy has to get ready for work. Please take your pajamas off"
Isabelle (runs to bed and starts jumping) "I jumping"
Me "I am going to count to 5. Get off the bed and take your pajamas off." "1...2..."
Isabelle (still jumping with wild crazy hair flying) "free...five...eleven...six...seven..."
Me (laughing) "OK. Mommy is going to get dressed and then it will be Bella's turn"
Isabelle "No like my dressed" "I jumping"

The theatre came to me last night

2009-02-09T22:11:00.008-05:00

No getting swindled on ticket prices by Ticketmaster, no spending a fortune on a babysitter, no need to get showered and all dolled up...the theatre came to me last night. The kids treated me to a wonderfully original puppet show last night. We have had these 2 dragon puppets forever and they are finally getting some use. Owen started our evening off with a wonderful little Snow Miser & Heat Miser number (inspired by his favourite Christmas this year). The blue one was Snowy and the orange one was Hotey. They sang songs, had a little fight and were told to behave by their mom (Mother Nature) who was not "in" the play in person - just in voice. I love that he thought this whole idea up on his own, so original, so creative. Here the brothers are either in the midst of a fight or are making up...I cannot honestly remember:
Then Isabelle went behind the blanket and put on her own show. We are assuming she held the puppets up, but we could not see them. She made some noises, played the piano a little and then came out from underneath and clapped. It was too sweet. Notice her feet below the puppet theatre:We had a lot of laughs, took tons of photos and just had a wonderfully simple creative night...my favourite!

{edited} Thinking of making some sock puppets tonight...might be a fun craft to do, get the kids sewing on buttons for eyes, practicing with scissors to cut out felt ears...look for more on that tomorrow hopefully.

Simple Kids Blog

2009-02-08T08:50:00.000-05:00

I had to post this...it is a wonderful blog that just started and I adore it! They are having a giveaway right now that is simply wonderful. Click on the link and enter to win the wonderful prizes.
http://simplekids.net/giveaway-hearth-song-exclusive-triplet/comment-page-1/#comment-95

Responsibility

2009-01-22T10:49:00.004-05:00

We, the parents, have been thinking a lot about responsibility recently. Our kids lead a pretty cushy life and neither of us want them to end up spoiled or never knowing how great it feels when you do a hard job and you do it well. I noticed over the Christmas break that Owen, and to some extent Isabelle, were content to spend hours in front of the TV, often choosing that over going outside to play, or even playing board games...this was a shocker for us and I sadly realized that I have let this happen...I, the parent, am responsible. Making the kids responsible for things around the house has never been our strong suit...they both put their clothes in the hamper...sometimes, they hang up their coats and put away their boots after playing outside...sometimes, Owen puts his dishes in the dishwasher after meals...rarely, they clean up their own toys...sometimes. It has not been something that we have focused on, but all that is behind us. A while ago I talked about New Year's Resolutions and one of mine is to focus on raising the kids the way we want to...not just going with the flow and letting things happen...to be purposeful and deliberate in our parenting choices. For me, that means - more outside - less inside...more creative play - less tv/video games...more board games and card games - less "mama is busy, we'll do that later"...more earning tv / video time - less hours spent mindlessly watching.

So, in that vein, I have created a Chore Chart for Owen. He is 5 years old and has 5 things to do in the morning before school, 5 things to do after school and 5 things to do before bed at night, also there is a Daily Extra - one for each day of the week. I presented this idea to Owen last night and it was met with excietment, this is a good thing. He read through the list and was thrilled to be responsible for getting the mail and packing his own snack. He was less than thrilled about cleaning the toilet (plugged his nose and made a funny face) but we talked about how mommy always has to clean up his 'dribbles' and how this will be a good way for him to learn to do it himself.
We started today with 5 checkmarks before I left for work this am - good start! We will check in in a week or so and update you on our progress.

The last of the flashbacks...onwards to 2009

2009-01-19T13:06:00.010-05:00

There are so many great things happening around here right now and I have not blogged them because in my mind, I had to complete my December flashback posts before moving on. I really wanted to do a comprehensive review of December...it was fantastic...but I am letting that go. Here is the last 'flashback' post I am going to do - December 21,24-25 and that will be it. After this we are moving forward...to 2009.

Christmas Day
Adrian and I both said that Christmas Day this year was exactly what we wanted it to be. Full of fun for the kids, very low key, minimal time spent cooking the big dinner, more time playing with the kids, time for quiet reflection...really just a perfect day. Here are some of my favourite shots:Owen reading the letter Santa left. I love this shot because he is really reading, I am amazed at how advanced his reading has become over the past few months - he is now reading at a Grade 2 level!
Isabelle eating her Chocolate "B"...Owen figured that Santa couldn't find an "I" for Isabelle, so he got a "B" for Bella. She ate that chocolate B all day on and off...dropping it on the floor when she had enough and picking it up a little later.
These are presents that Owen picked out for me - a purple flashlight because it would match my shirt and a fire starter so I would not burn myself anymore. Side Story: a few weeks prior to this I was lighting a fire and when striking the match, the flame-lit end fell off the match and landed on my pj's burning a hole in them and burning my leg a little. Adrian took Owen shopping and he picked these out himself...my sweet thoughtful boys...thank you!
Adrian and Owen putting a new toy together. We made a point of putting things together right away rather than just moving from one gift to the next. It was nice to take breaks to play.
Isabelle wanted to have a "fleep" in her new doll house.

Santa got tricky with a few gifts, Owen had to follow the arrows to see who this gift was for.
Owen is wearing his Superhero cape from Grandma and holding up a new I SPY book.

This is a new game Owen got for Christmas (wonder pets Trouble) and I do not think a day has gone by where it has not been played at least once. Here he is taking a quick break from the game to wish Nana a Merry Christmas.
Breakfast happened around 10am...chocolate chip pankakes...yummy! (notice the game is being played)

Adrian putting together King Arthur's Castle - this was a tricky one...28 pages of directions...he spent hours and hours putting it together...what a great dad!
Isabelle playing Polly Pockets which she lovingly calls "Lolly Pocklets"
The kids got some new bath stuff from Santa - bath tints and foam soap...so of course we had to have bathtime mid-way through the day.

Mom came over mid-day and was the only one dressed - we all stayed in Jammies all day. Here she is holding up a present from Nora. And helping Isabelle feed her new baby. And opening up a button Christmas Tree that Owen had made for her.

Owen in Isabelle's new fairy wings...I am not sure they are supposed to give the wearer super lightning-fast speed...but that is what they did for this Spider Man.Here is Bella in the same fairy wings...looking like such a little fairy of the forsest flitting around the room in her wings and diaper.
Grandma always gets the coolest books...here are some shots of us reading the new 3D books.
Arian reading Jungle Animals
Grandma reading Dinosaurs
Owen and I reading Ocean Animals

A really great Christmas was had by all!

Christmas Eve

2009-01-19T12:49:00.004-05:00

Dec 24
Ever since Owen was a baby, it has been a tradition in our family to open up 1 gift on Christmas Eve, and that gift is always new pajamas. I won't lie - I started it because of the Christmas day photos...I really wanted us all to match and look great. But what started off as a silly little photo 'necessity' has grown. Owen was so excited this year to see his new jammies and even helped me pick out Isabelle's and Daddy's. It is nice to have traditions.

And we also sprinkle reindeer food so that they can find their way to our house.

December 21

2009-01-19T11:50:00.014-05:00

December 21
Christmas with Nana, Papa and Auntie KaitlinWhen Owen was a baby, we decided as a family, that we would not travel on Christmas day. We did this for lots of reasons; 1 - he was a terrible traveller as an infant, 2 - we wanted to start our own family traditions, 3 - we really wanted to always be in our home on Christmas and starting that when he was born felt like the right thing to do. That year we started to celebrate Christmas with Dad, Barb and Kaitlin at our place on Christmas Eve. This tradition as evolved over the years, they have moved up north and now we celebrate it on the Sunday before Christmas. Both Dad and Barb's families have big family parties on the Saturday, the 3 of them sleep at our house on the Saturday night and we celebrate on the Sunday...it really works well.

Auntie K got the kids some wonderful gifts:
Isabelle and her Little Pet Shop treehouse
Owen a Light Bright & a Yellow Speed Racer car

Owen made a button tree for Nana
Owen also made some pom-pom decorations for their tree
Papa and Bella looking at pictures - "this one is Owie, this one is Mama, this one is Bella, this one is Daddy"...she could go on all day...
Isabelle playing with her new necklace - not really sure what is going on in this picture?? After breakfast and opening all the gifs, Auntie K and the kids made a gingerbread train. Nana and Isabelle had a peanut butter and apple snackIt was a really wonderful family day!

Dec 26, 27, 28

2009-01-06T05:03:00.015-05:00

Friday, December 26, 2008
Snow Day - Boxing Day - Christmas with the Gills Day - Perfect Day

Here are some of my favourite shots of this busy, wonderful day

Building Igloo

Playing countless games of Trouble with Nana and Daddy

The Kids

Where are the presents?

Reading books
Saturday, December 27, 2008
Adrian and I strive to teach Owen about the world, to care about others less fortunate, to understand why we recycle and compost, to value nature and love animals and to protect and nurture this wonderful world we live in. I was so thrilled to see this amazing globe while shopping in Toys R Us, it is hollow plastic with sponge continents. Owen and I spread on chia seeds and then fill the world with water and watch it grow. We rotate the globe so it gets even sunlight, mist it to keep it moist and delight when the first seeds start to sprout. So very glad to see these kind of meaningful toys alongside the trains and dolls and commercialism.

Sunday, December 28, 2008
It has been a long tradition in the Gill Family to see a pantomime at Christmastime. Last year, the boys Owen and Logan were old enough to attend and had such fun...a new phase of the tradition was started. This year was Cinderella and Ross Petty did not disappoint. Lots of laughs, lots of sillyness, lots of audience interaction, perfect pantomime. My favourite parts of the day though, was seeing the boys delight in the excitement of new and different experiences. Walking along a high wall, riding the escalator, having fun with a light up wand and looking in the Christmas windows of the Bay. It was a truly perfect day.

The photos you get when you ask 2 five year olds to pose nicely in front of a Christmas tree:

Dec 30 - Visit with Auntie Kaitlin

2009-01-03T08:00:00.002-05:00

December 30: I have a confession to make: I have a wonderful sister and I got to spend a whole afternoon, evening and morning with her. She is extremely busy and when she is home from university there are so many among her family and friends vying for her time and I got a huge chunk...lucky me! She came over to play with the kids, help me bathe them and put them to bed, and then we went out for dinner - just the two of us. It was wonderful. We watched a video at home and spent the morning with the kids. Magical Auntie K. The kids love her, Adrian loves her, I love her and I think she loves us too.