snow

We have had an incredible amount of snow this year.
Here is the accumulation. For some perspective, I placed Fynn in front
of the pile in our front year.

After the cold air, Fynn was ready for a nap and I got back to my newest read: The Thirteenth Tale...creepy.

fynn and baby massage

Fynn and I "graduated" from our 4 session Baby Massage course.
Yes, the little guy and I did it! Little Fynn came out of it smelling like
cold-pressed olive oil however. Actually it doesn't really smell too much.
The instructor prefers a natural vegetable oil vs. lotions, hence the olive oil.

In other news, I dropped off several of my red felt place mats that I used this past Christmas. They were an idea that I picked up from Real Simple magazine last year. After 2 seasons of use, the red felt had seen better days (you can't wash this particular kind). So off they went to Sophie's daycare. The teacher was happy -- apart from a few stains, the felt was in good shape and the children can fashion some Valentine crafts from them.

a snuggle day

Today we woke up to -17 degree celcius temps and more snow.
I opted for Sophie to stay home with Fynn and I. It certainly beats sending her out
to daycare on such a cold day.

At home we made brownies. She`s quite a little baker -- wanting to get involved with the melting of the chocolate squares and the butter. Very yummy results (thanks to Auntie Joanne`brownie book). The apron was a hand-me-across from Vic`s Aunt Pat.

Life can be very pared down and simple when you keep that perspective in mind. We baked, read stories, watched the original Sleeping Beauty video (on loan from daycare). No TV (other than Knowledge Network cartoons). We are off to the post office to return something I ordered that was of terrible quality considering the price -- scrapbooking trimmer (grrr) and then a visit with the neighbours later in the afternoon for some play time with her little boys.

Quote of the day: When Sophie and I were talking about grown ups and getting older, she announced, "I think Finnie and me are going to be little big kids forever." I wish.

Interesting link to some photos about trash.

sophie on ice

an update on our little skater:

she's really come a long way since the early days in October when she would cry through each lesson. at the time, i questionned whether we should have continued with them, but watching her now, i'm really glad that we did. she is doing great!

this and that

Happenings this weekend:

- these were on sale today!

- we are using these in our muffins tonight.

- and we had too much fun here this weekend!

how low can we go?

since we starting making an effort to turn down our thermostat, we've gone from 72, to 71 and now down to 70. the first few hours with lower heat, i do find it feels cool in the house. then your body just gets used to it -- you kind of acclimatize to the lower temperature. we are in a bit of a cold snap too here. it is supposed to be -14 degrees celcius tonight.

repair (instead of throw out)

Common sense would tell you that it might be worth it to repair an item before you throw it out. My winter coat died just before Christmas. The zipper was shot. I told Vic, "I need a new coat." But wait, why not see if I can get it fixed. Low and behold a $5.25 repair job (need a new zipper slide) saved me a bunch of money and didn't contribute to me buying "stuff."

I'm a skeptic when it comes to some of the natural health food claims. Yes I believe in eliminating trans fats and eating as natural as possible, but I get a bit crazy when people start claiming that everything causes cancer (like my beloved Diet Coke). Here is an interesting article from the American Cancer Society.

more on the cloth diapers (update at bottom)

When I was pregnant with Fynn, I started purchasing my little arsenal of cloth diapers. Since they are expensive (IMO), I would purchase one or two here and there.
We now have a small supply. Quite small. My goal is to diaper him in cloth 30-50% of the time.

After fooling around with the idea and using them very occasionally, I made a bigger step this morning: we are on to the second cloth diaper of the day, and I have not fainted from over-work or inconvenience. Fynn seems good too.

I found a little tub for his dirty diapers and sprinkled in some baking soda and now it sits in the laundry room awaiting to be laundered when I have enough to do. I think that was my biggest hold out: how do I store the dirty ones while I waited to do laundry.

Baby steps
****

update:
the Fuzzy Bunz kept Fynn much drier than the Kushies cloth diaper. He soaked through a Kushies, but the Fuzzy had no trouble keeping in #1 and #2.

who's got big blue eyes?

these two were haming it up today!

my kidlets

Sophie LOVES Fynn. She wants to hold him, pick him up all the time.
Here they are outside.

I am starting to think about Sophie's birthday in February. We will be doing a cake / ice cream party with her little cousins in Oliver on the weekend prior to her actual birthday. For her real birthday, I'll bring a cake into her daycare, but that is it. Last year was the big Junglemania birthday, invitations, goodies, etc. Too much pressure -- on me, the daycare, and the other parents to buy gifts/reciprocate. Want to keep it easy. Have my eye on a Barbie camping set that I think she would like. That girl loves her Barbies. Yes, it's made it China, but that's a topic that is just too complicated to adequately do a 180 degree turn around. I don't believe in junky toys, but I do believe kids should have fun and use their imagination. Sophie's toys seem to be living up to that.

my words

There seem to be a lot of people who are choosing a word to focus on for 2008.

My words are intention, boundaries and detachment (from the work environment).

I am giving this time away from all of that as my gift to myself and my family.

dressing up

When I picked Sophie up yesterday at 3pm from daycare, she had lots of indoor play time at home. Out came the dress up chest that she got from her Uncle Scott and Auntie Joanne. She loves it.

Luckily Fynn was spared.

Yesterday was crazy busy. After running a few errands it was home for dinner and then back out again for a daycare Board meeting. I'm the back up secretary, so I was into minute taking mode last night and then needed to whip them out on my laptop as soon as I got home (otherwise it just wouldn't get done).

today we are off to baby massage, then home to relax in the afternoon.

old friends

This weekend, we had a chance to visit with some old friends. Paul and Louise - friends that we have known for years. Vic went to high school with Paul. We got a chance to visit and see their cute family. Sophie took a little bit to warm up, but then she was right into the dominos too.

some eye candy

My creation
Originally uploaded by Sheriberry

inspiration

1. cork board + back door, 2. blackboard orders, 3. Fresca, 4. Organizing the stash, 5. Sarah's Socks, 6. what's a half birthday celebration..., 7. 035 : 365 dec 28 pause., 8. Day 2 - Denim Christmas trees, 9. AND HERE IT IS! THE BEST PACKAGE EVER!!!

greener in baby steps

We are trying to become more "green". For us, that means baby steps. Some of the things we've done:

- recycling cans, newspapers, plastics, tin cans, mixed paper at our local depot.
- I am taking part in this challenge and turned the thermostat down from 72 degrees to 71 degrees. Compared to some of the folks on this challenge, this seems positively balmy,but it is a start for us.
- Vic is figuring out a compost system
- Fynn is getting in on the act too. Right now we are using Seventh Generation non-chlorine diapers. We are also piloting some cloth diapers. Here he is wearing one of his cloth diapers for the first time.

(and here is a pic of me -- nothing to do with green)

hectic mondays

Mondays are my hectic days. Actually, it is Monday afternoon.

After Fynn's nap and my lunch, we drive over to Baby Talk at our local health unit. Yesterday the discussion was about car seats. It was information that I had heard before and I didn't find the speaker very interesting or too informative. She didn't have children and had never installed a car seat. Argh!

We then head over to Sophie's daycare and pick her up at 3pm and bring her home. Snacks and a bit of TV, then it's off to go to skating lessons. Dad and Fynn also come along. My little girl made me so proud today when she did the whole lesson without needing me to come out on the ice with her. Sophie's little friend Hunter was also there, so that really helped. Sophie's attitude has come a long way with skating. Considering the tears and "I cant's" that she went through earlier in the fall.

When get home about 5pm and then I quickly get changed and nurse Fynn and then it's my turn for some exercise at the gym.

Back home for dinner with the family. After dinner Sophie plays for a bit and gets ready for her bath. Usually around then Vic is heading out for his time at the gym for a run on the treadmill.

I always feel extremely productive after a Monday, but they are busy and chock a block full.

stuff i'm into

Some stuff I'm into these days (post holiday and all):

- this site is the best if you are a reader. I am officially hooked.

- enjoying Fynn and all of his cute babyness

- the fact that Sophie is settling back into a routine after the rush of Christmas

- the satisfaction in having completed my first knitted project (a scarf). Thanks for the help mom.

- the bright sunny snow days we've been having lately

happy 2008 and there is no place like home

We are back home now after being down in Oliver and Penticton and Osoyoos (all towns/cities in the south Okanagan of BC)visiting friends and our family.

While I LOVE hanging out with my family at Christmas, it is good to be home. Back to our own stuff, our own routines.

I did more than my share of reading, a little scrapbooking, some knitting, walking, eating (of course)and only a touch of shopping.

It's also my dad's 76th birthday today. Happy b'day Dad!

Some pics of the last week: