THANKSGIVING!

We spent the weekend celebrating Thanksgiving. With so much to be thankful for, it was easy to be in a celebratory mood.  We are truly blessed and we took the time this weekend to reflect on just how blessed we are! Life is good!!

Soooo, thankful for this little bundle of joy..and for my mom and sister, who helped me capture this photo!

Thankful for playful Mommies and Grandma's...all of them, close ones and far ones!

Thankful for the simple things, like crisp, fall days and leaves..lots and lots of leaves!

Thankful for fun Aunties, Uncles and cousins...all of them, far ones and close ones!

Thankful, for our health that enables us to work hard and play hard everyday!

Thankful for our jobs, even if they are not all as cool as being a Fire Fighter.

Thankful for Family, wish you ALL lived closer!!

Thankful for Daddies, Grampas, horsies, puppies, airplanes, trucks, choo choos, chocolate, opportunity, hugs, kisses, cell phones (to stay in touch) and sooo many other things!! 

Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!!

Merci, merci, merci!!!

Kiss your babies, count your blessings and thank the Good Lord for everything you've been blessed with!

ADIOS SEPTEMBER!

I say, "good riddence, September!" I am sooo over September! I am welcoming October with open arms, despite the arrival of snow today.  Even the crummy weather cannot dampen my excitement at September being over!  I survived the caos of the first month of school and am ready to settle into a routine!!

I've been soo caught up in surviving September that I realized, I have not had time to properly celebrate some of Ryder's big milestones!! He is now 1 and a half years old! He speaks a few 2 word sentences and the Day Home lade, Amanda, swears he has said, "where Mommy go?" more than once, though I can't picture him saying this.  Ryder has a lot of words and I wish I would have written at least his first few down. I always thought I would, but I guess I really believed I'd never forget them...now that he has soo many, it's hard to remember the first couple, besides, Dada. I know, "uppy, down, done, bus, woof and moo" were definately among the first. (Animal sounds count, right? LOL) 

Just last week, he started putting 2 words together. The first time I heard him do this, he said, "Bye, Daddy."  The next morning, he refused to say, bye to Daddy, but he did say, "Bye trucky." Ok, I know he is saying "trucky" but he doesn't say his "t" yet, so it comes out sounding a lot like "cookie" or "cocky." On the way to the day home yesterday, he saw a bus and actually said, "school bus!!" I was blown away!! He's been pointing out busses forever, he loves busses. I always, say, "yeah, school bus, city bus...." so I was thrilled that he identified the big yellow bus as a school bus!! YES, I am that proud, first time Mamma, thinkin' her son is sooo smart! Every first time Mom has that right, don't they?? :)

Ryder has started identifying poop. He knows all about "horsey poop, " and will continually repeat those two words all the way to the farm, once he knows that is where we are going.  He also points out when Scout poops, but looks at me like I am from Mars when I ask him, "Did you poop?" Apparently, he doesn't realize that he poops too...not ready for potty training yet!! Ha ha!! Actually, one of the ladies in our Baby group, said her boy (a couple weeks younger than Ryder) is obsessed with poop. He makes his stuffies, sit on the potty to poop and he wipes their bums!! I cannot imagine Ryder doing that!!!!  He did come to the door to meet me when I arrived to pick him up with a doll in his hand. He did point out to me that she was wearing a diaper, but he did not mention pooop.   yep, I just wrote a whole paragraph about poop.....

We are lucky enough to have a good friend with a son a couple years older than Ryder. She is constantly sending us boxes of "hand me downs," which we LOVE!!!  Here is a picture of Ryder in the cutest robe, curtesy of Jesse's hand me downs!!

Ryder loves vaccuming especially mostly naked!!

Fun fall morning at the park!

Kiss your babies, count your blessings and don't be afraid to talk about, "poop" every now and then, for some reason, it is always kinda funny!

LAST CAMPING TRIP OF THE SEASON

Our neighbours, their two dogs, Marty, Scout, Ryder and I shared back to back campsites for one last get away weekend in our RVs for the season.  Couldn't have asked for more beautiful weather!!!!

 Helping Dad park the trailer.

 Safety first!! Ryder loves his helmet. He wants to wear it all the time!!

 Driving trucks on the picnic table bench.

 Morning walks with Dad and Scout.

 Mornings were chilly, even if afternoons were warm.  Ryder did borrow my mitts. :)

This was the first time Ryder really got the hang of riding his "karma" bike! Thanks, Uncle Hoser!!!!

I HAVE TIME

It's Wednesday. I've made it through "hump day!"
I still havn't cleaned a thing in my house, and 10pm, my target bed time is rapidly approaching, however, I am taking the time to post some random pics because posting pics is way more fun than cleaning and sleeping!!

 Spagetti Dinner...still messy!

 He does this to himself. LOL

 Everytime I turn around, Ryder is snuggled up to Scout!

 Nearly naked finger painting! 

Ryder loves "horsey" magazines and his Auntie!

 

 Yep, it's messier and it takes longer and sometimes I get distracted and screw it up, but baking with Ryder is an experience guaranteed to provide a few laughs!

Ryder's favorite toy is a bus, my Oncle Terry gave him for Christmas.  Seriously, he is obsessed with the bus!!

 Mom took Nic and I to Cavallia. Incredible show!! Thank you, Mom!! (yep, Nic, I cut you out of this pic, believe me, you would have wanted to be... :)  )

Sharing the magic of horses with Mom and Nic!

Balance!!!

Sorry, I have not been writing lately.  I've been busy, drowning! September has been a crazy, strong under currant gripping my ankles, tugging so that it's all I can do to keep my head above the water!!

Starting back at work after two glorious months of summer is always challenging, however this year it has been even more so for me as I decided to implement a whole new French Program.  This new program utilizes gestures along with vocabulary. In fact, every single word the Teacher speaks is accompanied by a gesture.  It's kind of like sign language, but it's not, so while I am completely bilingual, I am not familiar with the gestures, so I've had to spend at least an hour every evening, studying just to say one step ahead of the kids.  Being only one step ahead is both exhausting and stressful!
Leaving Ryder at the day home has actually gone without incident, however he has spent the month (at least it feels like it's been a month) getting his molars. He has been miserable! MISERABLE!!! He's been clingy, whiny, tantrummy and angry (he's even tried hitting me a few times! Like, what???) 
Scout and Dirt Face are on my mind constantly and just knowing they are not getting all the attention they deserve nags at me constantly...feeling guilty all the time is exhausting!!!
Speaking of feeling guilty...finding time for fitness has been super challenging. Lately the best I can manage is a long dog walk with Scout in the evenings.
 House cleaning?! Ha!! Laundry? Ha ha!! Grocery shopping? Ha ha ha!
Don't even talk to me about making time for my hubby!!!!
I've really been doing a crappy job finding balance and time for all of this! 
 Today, I decided for my own sanity, for my own health, for my family, I have to let go. Not of house cleaning...that I have no problem "letting go of," but of trying to do it all!!  I can't always be there to pick up Ryder at exactly 4pm every afternoon. I can't always spend every minute with him until he goes to bed and still have time for all the other responsibilities and hobbies I have (like when do I get to check Facebook??? Blog??).  I love being with Ryder all the time, but I have to remember, Ryder has a Daddy. A good one!  A Daddy who can pick him up from the Day Home every now and then. A Daddy who can play in the sandbox with him, a Daddy who can do tubby time and read stories before bed, a Daddy who can walk Scout and a Daddy who can wash dishes.  It's time I let, Marty help me. I have been a baby hog. I have refused help, because I love doing it all, but I cannot do it anymore!! 
Today, Marty picked Ryder up and I went grocery shopping after school. I made it home by 5pm and had time to put the groceries away and have dinner with my boys. I still got to go to the park with them after supper and then, I took Ryder up to the tub, while Marty did dishes.  I got to walk Scout, had time to "study" and now I even have a few minutes to blog.
Ryder's molars are in...I hope, I am a few days ahead on learning my gestures for French class, the fridge is stocked and the sun is shining! Here's to finding a balance!!

WINGS

Ryder and I attended a birthday party Monday for a little girl, turning 2. As party favors her Mom haded out lady bug wings! Sooo adorable!!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

Tomorrow is the first day of school with kids. As Teachers, we've been back for 4 days already, but tomorrow, the kids will join us in our classrooms. I consider this to be "New Years." For me, this is really like the start of a new year. New kids, new subjects (gr.1 Health,) no "Music" classes, thank God, new schedules, new supervision and new friends! I usually try to make a few "resolutions" just as normal people do Jan.1st.  This year, I am resolving to find a better balance between being a mom, being a teacher, being healthier, making time to exercise and being a wife. I am pretty good at being a Mom, but the rest, I'll admit I have kinda let slide.  I am excited to see all of the kids, but I am really sad summer is over.

I have not made time to Blog lately. We decided to spend the long weekend at home, doing nothing. I explained to Marty, that I needed time to get ready for school. He thought I meant I was going to be at school all weekend, preparing. What I actually meant was that I needed time to rest. Time to do NOTHING, so I can start tomorrow fresh and full of energy.  I'd say, "mission accomplished!"

I spent some time loving my boy, Dirt.

Ryder spent some time loving this stuffie someone left at the barn for us.  He is convinced it is a horsey, magic horn or not! :)

 We did some shaving cream painting.

I tried to read stories to Ryder. He actually crawled off my lap, and went to read with Scout. 

 

 

We played with Scout in the park.

 Ryder climbs on everything like it's a "horsey." Good thing Scout is a good sport. 

We went to a birthday party and shared our party favor (the wings) with Scout.

And now, we are both ready for tomorrow.  Bring it on!!

Count your blessings. Kiss your babies and take a day to do nothing!!