Ready to go!

The bags are packed and waiting by the door. Dishes and diapers are washed. Christmas tree got the boot to the back yard, car seat is out of the car, thermostat turned down, laundry done. Library books returned and Christmas cards delivered.  We are leaving for Ontario in the early morning... Woohoo!  Looking forward to see lots of friends and family soon. Unfortunately,  since we live so far away from both sides of our family, there are always people that we don't get to see over the holidays.. We will be thinking of the Claus family together in Northern BC! Safe holiday travels, everyone...

December days

Well, it's raining buckets outside and Bronwen is napping (probably not for much longer) so this is a good chance to get a little post in. I have to say, Newfoundland weather is just so.... unpredictable  Yesterday we had clear blue skies and a biting, bitter 70 km wind that would "freeze da arse right off ya". (yup, that's what they say). Today it is raining and 11 degrees.

I can't believe that it is already December 11. It's been fun to do little Christmasy things here and there. My friend Kara made me a gingerbread house, or at least the pieces for it.. she was making a batch using a new mold she got from Lee Valley. I gladly accepted one as last year I was struggling with cutting out stencils out of cereal boxes. This was a lot easier. After a little trip to the Bulk Barn (I love the Bulk Barn!) I was ready to put it together. I tried to make icing for it... but was trying to ignore the fact that it was supposed to have "stiff peaks". I learned my lesson. If something calls for stiff peaks and you are using it as 'glue', less-than-stiff peaks will mean a house that collapses. Luckily, Brian saved the day. And made excellent stiffly-peaked icing for me. Here is the finished product.

Also, our friends Brianne and Robert had a beautiful baby girl on Saturday night! Her name is Zoey, and she is very cute. On Friday Brianne spent the rainy afternoon here with Bronwen and I and we drank tea and ate cookies. The next day, she went into labour! (must have been the cookies.. haha, just kidding). I was very excited to receive a phone call from Brianne on Sunday morning.

Bronwen is 11 months old now! Time really does fly. She is taking little steps here and there and is very proud of herself for doing so. She is a big eater and loves to spend a good half hour picking at little bits of food on her high chair tray... which is nice when mother is trying to make supper.

Also, we discovered another play group in the city and it`s great! For those of you unfamiliar with the world of little kids these days.. often towns and cities have drop-in `playgroups`, where there are all sorts of toys and moms can pop in with their kids aged 0-5. It`s a great way to get out of the house, meet other moms, and just have a change of scenery in general. We found one that is just about a 10 minute walk away. They also have free coffee, and a snack for the kiddies half way through (cheese, fishy crackers, and fruit.. and everyone gets a sippy cup!). It`s nice to have some adult conversation as well and meet other stay at home moms.

Bronwen and her buddy Lyla

Christmas is coming!

In keeping with all the other blog posts about Christmas lately-- I thought I would show you what things look like around here these days! This is the story of how 309 Empire Ave got decorated for Christmas...

She has no idea what she is in for...

where are we going? 

Brian looking for the perfect tree

the ladies following behind

it's like our own personal Christmas tree farm

Found the perfect one! Sawing it down.

Warming up in Tim Horton's after... it was bitterly windy and cold! Bronwen is really, really enthusiastic about her cheese.

treats!

Awake from her nap... time to check out the this new addition to the living room.

it's... interesting, guys.

But I'm definitely more interested in the stuff you've got on this little table.

Sugar cookies!

With Bailey's-butter icing.. yum!! 

The next morning.. all is well as long as I can get to my favourite window spot

There it is!

Homemade garland.. boughs on the fireplace and berries from the neighbour's bush

Unity candle from our wedding! 

Family pic by the tree!

one more thing

Just had to brag a little... but to a limited audience. That's my husband!

Parsnippy Times

I keep meaning to update, but the days just slip by. Plus, it's a lot easier to type when Bronwen is napping rather than trying to stick her fingers in the computer's power bar. ;)

www.healthforthewholeself.com- image credit

We are doing well. Just enjoying everyday life. We had a nice little weekend- had some people over for games and chocolate pudding cake (made it in the slow cooker, yum!). Also, on Sunday afternoon we harvested the last of our garden goodness- beautiful parsnips! (Those of you who are not into gardening might not understand how I feel about this, but that's okay). The parsnips have been growing in our garden right from the beginning.. but take about 6 months to reach maturity. They also need a frost to sweeten up a bit. So after our frost on Saturday night, we spent Sunday after church digging in the dirt and pulling them up. Parsnips look kind of like pale white carrots. I don't think that I had ever had one until a few years ago. Pulling them up and seeing how big they are is kind of like a treasure hunt. Alas, I didn't take any pictures as a) I didn't bring my camera, and b)my hands were too cold anyway, and covered in dirt.

Christmas is slowly coming around the corner. I really enjoy this time of year but also don't want it to be too crowded out with events, shopping, and all those other things that tend to make it kind if hectic. We are going to keep it simple this year- not that it's any change from last year really, but it is something that Brian and I value as family. Not really into the big extravagant gifts. Just something special and well thought out. The mall here is extremely busy at this time of year and I'd rather not set foot in there anyway!

We are going to go cut down a tree in a couple of weeks, and put up the Christmas lights and maybe some boughs across the mantelpiece. In Newfoundland there is definitely no shortage of evergreen trees, particularly small stunted ones that are the perfect size for indoors. On December 23 we are flying to Ontario and really looking forward to seeing lots of family and friends. And, making oliebollen for the Dutch citizens of Grimsby on New Year's Eve-Day.. :)

Rainy November

photo credit: www.sarahbessey.com (my favourite blog!)

After my last post about the October sunshine, it has certainly been very gloomy and rainy. It must be November. I found the above picture on a blog that I read frequently. Pretty much sums up my feelings about sunshine from now until next summer, as winter sunshine can also be hard to come by on the coast. If it's sunny out, I will try my hardest to get outside!

little skunk making a getaway

Bronwen's first Halloween was fun! It started off on Tuesday with our playgroup babies getting all dressed up. Though, that party was over pretty quickly when someone puked all over the carpet. It seemed like the affected child had a nasty stomach bug, so everyone went home pretty quickly to avoid cross-contamination. Which happens pretty quickly when there's a lot of "I'll lick this toy- now you can eat it too" going on. I think Bronwen might have gotten a cold as a souvenir of that outing.. but thankfully, no stomach issues.

playing with Jake

found a package of Kleenex

Can you spot: 2 lions, Batman, skunk with the Kleenex, a sick owl, and Superman drinking milk?

I have to admit, I was pretty excited to take the little lady out trick or treating. I know that she doesn't really understand it.. for her, it just involves her mum taking her in and out of the stroller far too many times and having strangers pinch her cheeks (I would turn my face away too! haha). We did get a nice little bucket of candy... tasty for the parents!

It seems to me that trick or treating is a bit of a dying art these days. Though, maybe it depends on your neighbourhood. We got a total of one kid at the door. But, we live on a fairly busy street, and there is a park across the road- meaning, kids who come up our street have half the number of houses for treat options. And, every house on our street is up a little hill, meaning steep driveways and steps to the front door. Also, there aren't many kids in our neighbourhood.

That's my list of excuses, but I think the real reason is a lot of people don't seem to let their kids go to strangers' houses anymore asking for candy. Or the parents like to drive them around to relatives' houses, where they get a big bag full of treats in one go instead of a few candies for each house.

But overall, I think that trick or treating in the neighbourhood is a good activity. It's nice to say hi to the neighbours that you do know, and meet some of the ones you don't. I took Bronwen over to our elderly neighbours next door before supper and had a lovely tea with them, and I think that it pretty much made their week. You know when they bring pets to the hospital for pet therapy visits? I think that babies have sort of the same effect. ;) Also, I met the neighbours who live right behind us, and learned that they are expecting a baby next spring. More little friends- hurray!

even skunks need a cookie break

the next morning.. sleepy eyes!

October

out in the sun last week

I can hardly believe that tomorrow is the last day of October. It's actually been a really nice fall here in St. John's. Although we have still had the usual foggy, dreary, and just plain wet days, there has been a lot of sun too. Those beautiful crisp days where the sky and the ocean are just so blue! Also, there are quite a few yellow leaves around- I miss the bright reds of the sugar maples, but bright yellow is still nice!

Brian and I had a nice weekend, and spent most of Sunday afternoon in the kitchen which was quite relaxing. He made pulled pork (for sandwiches this week) and a delicious apple pie. I made oatmeal raisin cookies. Then, we had a lovely pie dessert with our friends at their place just up the road. I must brag a little and say that my husband makes amazing pies. I don't think I ever need to bother even trying to make them, he's got it down. And pie making is really an art. I guess that's what happens when your mom is the Baker Extraordinaire! He learned from the best.

This morning I am going with Bronwen to one of our (two) playgroups, where we are having a little Halloween party. I'll take a picture and post it later so then you can see what her costume is..

Updates

Just a note: Please excuse the slightly cross-eyed background and layout, I am undertaking some blog renovations! And, is this font too hard to read?

Well, we are halfway through October and I am back here in St. Johns after a pretty eventful couple of weeks!

Another note: this is the third time I have tried to write this post. Hard to focus between nap times, crawling, standing and nice fall weather! :)

The big event was of course travelling to Grande Prairie to see Lindi and Russel get married. It was a beautiful wedding and the happy couple sure put a lot of work into making everything come together! Their rustic theme was so creative and really cute. I wish that I had taken some (any!) pictures, but I was trying to keep Bronwen occupied and agreeable for much of our time there... I think that I was fairly successful. ;) It was pretty neat to see another one of the 'Pink Flamingos' get married. Now 'the originals' are all married off. If Steph and Lynda can take 2013 and 2014, we'll have hit 5 years running! Haha.

It was fun to meet Russel as well.... seeing as I had never met this guy who received such glowing reviews from Lindi! He is a wonderful guy and I'm excited for the two of them as they start this journey of marriage together. I am looking forward to having Brian and I, Zach and Lisa and Russel and Lindi all together at Christmas for a triple date. This was one of the things we dreamed about during our university days... "They better all get along!"

Fall has arrived in St. John's... nice crisp blue-sky days interspersed with some really damp cold ones, really wet humid ones, and some warm breezes. Weather on the coast is pretty susceptible to whatever blows up from the south (or down from the north!). This past Sunday we pulled up the remaining carrots, beets and beans from our garden- all that is left now are the parsnips. They need a frost to be fully ready. I really enjoyed the garden this year.. in the middle of winter Brian and I plan to pore over the seed catalogues and decide what to grow next summer. It's very fun, and delicious too. Sadly, my attempts at marigolds on our front porch failed miserably so I think I will stick to vegetables. They're more useful anyway.

Another fun item is that we have started a mom's group at church, aptly named Mosaic Mamas. Though our little church started off as mostly a student church, it is now moving in the direction of having quite a few young families! Not bad for being only 4 years old and having about 30-50 people on any given Sunday. Our little mommy group meets once a week on Thursdays, and we have started to rotate among people's houses. There are usually 2-6 of us there, plus all the babies (2 more coming in December!). It's fun to chat with these friends and a nice chance to get out of the house as well. Not that I feel really cooped up yet, but I definitely look forward to some social time!

Bronwen is pulling herself up to stand on everything these days (legs, laundry hamper, couch, coffee table, etc!). More about that on her little blog.. see the top sidebar!

Have a nice weekend everyone!

almost exactly one year ago... 29 weeks with 'Button', Oct 14, 2012

It's been a while since I posted, and tomorrow we are on the move again. Bronwen and I are leaving early tomorrow morning for Grande Prairie, Alberta, for Lindi and Russel's wedding! I am pretty excited to see one of my dear friends tie the knot with the man she loves. I haven't met him yet, but I've heard good things.

Brian was gone last week to a conference in Southampton, UK. Since I am going to be gone this week, we decided that we needed some quality family time on Saturday. We did an awesome hike on the East Coast trail between Bay Bulls and Witless Bay. Sometimes I still can't get over how great it is to have these hikes so close by! It was probably a 25 minute drive, which is by far not even the closest hike to our house, yet there we were on the edge of the ocean. So beautiful!

The day Brian left for England... we had a picnic lunch on Signal Hill

our hike on Saturday! Note the happy little hiker.

interesting

tropical North Atlantic?

Tour boats

the Baboul Rocks

Our lunch spot