Happy Fall!

Fall is my favourite season. I love the changing of the leaves, the yummy foods and the bright colours of pumpkins and fall flowers. I have always wanted to do a fall display at the front door and have always had to settle for just a few pumpkins. This year I have more time for such things ;) and so the kids and I had some fun today setting up our front step. Delaney insisted on getting these two scarecrows, one for her and one for Dav, and setting them up this way. They're holding hands. :)

make a wish

Dav's latest routine is to gather a bouquet of "wish flowers" on our way out the driveway to meet Laney when she gets off the bus. I love the little chubby hand clutching the precious stems. Sometimes he saves them for Delaney but mostly he keeps the wishes for himself. :)

We are both excited when we see the bus finally coming down the road, and she's home!

yummy stuff

During the summer I meant to share some of our favourite easy summer recipes but didn't get to it I guess. Here is one that I love and you can make it many different ways - You cook chicken along with your choice of veggie - (some combinations I like are green pepper/mushrooms or zucchini/tomato - as long as you add the tomatoes at the last minute so they don't get mushy) and your choice of pasta (here I used spaghettini but you could use any kind) and then add Olivieri Garlic and Olive Oil Pesto - amazing! You don't even have to heat the Olivieri, you just toss it with your cooked pasta and meat/veggie. It's so good and better than any pesto I could make (um, a little faster too!)

As well, Dav and I have continued our muffin making extravaganza and our latest kind is Blueberry Banana - mmm. After searching for a recipe I used this one because it was easy and quick.

Run for the Cure

I've been asked by several people if I had any goals for this year, being on leave. At first I thought not really because my main purpose is just to be home with the kids. But it became clear over the summer and especially during the first week of school that I wanted to really accomplish some things this year. I've made a list of goals that continues to grow, maybe I'll share that later. One of them is to be more healthy and active. As some of you know ;) I've been talking about running for quite a while now and wanting to try a 5k run. When I heard about the Run for the Cure it just made perfect sense. This cause is obviously very meaningful to me and I am excited that it combines a tribute to my mom along with working toward my goals of fitness.

Who am I running for? I am running for my mom and also my daughter, who I hope could grow up in a world without breast cancer.

To visit my personal donation page click here

Below is the 2008 Run for the cure video.
You can also view it here

rainy morning fun

After we got Delaney on the bus this morning we had a little bit of rainy day puddle jumping. Dav had a great time mucking around as I snapped away. Not sure if he understood me telling him that it's only okay to do this if Mommy says so. I guess we'll see, next time we're headed out somewhere and he decides to head for the puddles. ;)

been thinking about...

I've been thinking a lot this summer about the food we eat and where it comes from. In August I read this book, The 100 Mile Diet which tells the "adventures of a Canadian couple who make a year-long attempt to eat foods grown and produced within a 100-mile radius of their apartment". They "learned that the average ingredient in a North American meal travels 1,500 miles from farm to plate, they decided to launch a simple experiment to reconnect with the people and places that produced what they ate."

This makes a lot of sense to me. While I think our family eats a fairly healthy diet, we really don't know where a lot of our food comes from. I have been noticing where various foods come from at the grocery store and was surprised, for example, that the garlic is from China. China? In the middle of summer?

While I'm not willing or able to eat locally 100%, I am interested in making small changes where I can. It relates to making our family more "green" as well.

I remember my mom wanting to learn more about organic food and heading down to the local farmer's market. She went to the same farmer each week to buy fresh food.

So after we put Delaney on the bus the other day Dav and I headed down to the market. Lots of great locally grown and produced food and beautiful flowers too! Lots of farmers from the County. We bought a few things (gotta remember to bring CASH! no debit machines here! :)

And yes, we also bought some garlic. :)

what a difference a year makes!

Last year






















This year

first day!

Delaney has been a little anxious about starting school but woke up this morning very excited and ready to go. Yesterday she made cards for her teacher and bus driver and I think that helped calm her nerves. I can't wait to hear all about her day!

I told Davin he could help me put her on the bus and he was thrilled but a little nervous too. When the bus pulled away he burst into tears and was devastated that she was gone!

It's very weird for me to be home on the first day of school. I kept having panicked moments this weekend thinking I hadn't gotten anything ready for my classroom yet, and then remembered I didn't have to. :)

Dav and I went on some adventures of our own this morning. More about that later.

labour day weekend

A few photos from our adventures at the cottage this weekend...

cottage smores

One of the highlights this summer for the kids at the cottage was making simple smores before bed. We used those "celebration" cookies that are a cookie with a chocolate topping, and then a roasted marshmellow on top. (Thanks to B&T for this idea!)

Also I have been trying all summer to get a picture of Davin's summer freckles. They sprinkle across his nose and are so cute. The bottom photo is the best one I've got so far, too bad he's got smore all over his mouth! :) (click it to see bigger)

for real!

This kid is so funny. He often sleeps like this with his hands behind his head. On this day he was calling me from behind the gate on his door (instead of napping). Apparently I took too long to come because when I checked on him he was sleeping like this just inside the door. :)