Dancing Alien

Lucas enjoyed the Alien dancing song so much he decided to do his own version.

You can also watch the original version

Cheap entertainment

Nathan enjoys music a lot and likes to dance....

Daisy & the shoppers

Here is our new pet Daisy. She's been living mostly by the kitchen sink. Haven't seen her in a few days so I hope she hasn't ventured down the drain.


Nathan likes to sit in the shopping cart

He especially loves it when Lucas pushes him around.

New Do

Well, every time I try to grow my hair, I end up having a bad day and get totally fed up and get it all cut off. Well, here it is.....

Xmas spirit

This past weekend we spent Sunday getting all the xmas decorations out and putting them up. While everyone wants this to be special and meaningful and something the whole family will enjoy, most times it ends with tears.... (mine). This year went over pretty smooth I must say. Nothing got broken and no one got hurt. Here's a few pics with the decorations in the background.




Nathan loves to suck his thumb. In fact, it is so good, he often tries to share it with us. Here's daddy getting a turn.


I tried to get both kids to go under the xmas tree, but Lucas is too big and Nathan just wouldn't stay in place. Note the lack of decorations at the bottom of the tree...... there is a reason for this. I won't name any names but he's got his finger in his ear in the picture....

Too cute!

I can't help myself from posting movies of Nathan. He is walking more and more everyday and is just too cute and hilarious! Enjoy!

Dear Santa....

My dearest Santa,

It's been a whole long year since we've last seen each other. I do believe the last time was at the mall around this time last year. While I did not sit on you lap as I wouldn't do that to anyone I liked, I saw you look at me when Lucas was on your lap. I knew by the twinkle in your eye that you knew how I felt. At that time I was 8 months pregnant and pretty much fed up and cranky and sore and tired. When I woke up Christmas morning to find my stocking full of what I love most, I knew that you forgave me for being a bad girl some days.

Well that year is over and this has been a whole new year. I have been especially good this year and feel like I have already been rewarded so much. My home now includes 2 wonderful children who fill my heart with so much joy everyday, sometimes I feel it will burst. I also have the addition of a man in my house at last. After 8 years of begging, pleading, crying and throwing temper tantrums, I guess you finally gave in. Thank you Santa!

While I feel like I shouldn't be asking for anything because I already have everything I could possibly need, I'll just maybe jot a few things down and you can decide if I am deserving of them.

I just saw online today that Guns and Roses just released a new album called Chinese Democracy. Being a child of the 80's, how can I resist? OK, so Slash isn't part of GNR anymore, so it may not be the same, but hey, Axl Rose is still one of the hottest singers out there. There's something about those bad boys that is just so irresistable!

I love everything Chistmassy, especially if it is some kind of angel ornament. I love angels.

I need clothes since I am going back to work, especially since I haven't lost all the weight I wanted to this year, mostly due to laziness. So the clothes I wore before are just a tad bit too tight. While I wouldn't want you to pick out clothes for me, gift certificates to Reitmans would be appreciated, if you actually do gift certificates.

I would love a new book as well. I don't know which one, I haven't been in bookstores lately, but a good fiction or semi-non-fiction would be good. Mind you, I still haven't finished the book you were so kind to bring me last year. Perhaps I should start reading again.

We are getting a new bed, Queen sized, so I will need new bedding. I'm not sure what I want yet, but maybe you already know. Oh and new pillows as you seem to be in the routine of already bringing would still be good. I like the good ones that you brought me last year. Oh such wonderful sleep I've had on those!!

Well, I guess that's all I really need Santa, unless you pay oil bills and electric bills, or maybe gas bills?? If not, well it's ok too.

Above all else Santa, I would like to ask a few favours if you can..... I have 2 wonderful friends serving in Afghanistan right now and they will be spending Christmas over there. I would very much like for you to visit them and make sure they come home safely in the new year. Actually if all our soldiers could come home safely it would be even better.

I also would love for every child in the world to get a little something, especially those who maybe don't have a mom or dad or even a home. May their wishes come true and may they all be safe, warm, fed and happy.

I love you Santa and I still think you are the greatest person ever. I will leave you snacks and a drink before I go to bed Christmas Eve. Eat as much as you can, no need to watch your weight or cholesterol. You are perfect just the way you are!

See you soon!
Johanne
(formerly on the naughty list)

Common Sense

Just so you know, the following is me venting. No names will be used to protect the innocence of the guilty......

What is common sense? Well, Wikipedia describes it as:
Common sense consists of what people in common would agree on: that which they "sense" (in common) as their common natural understanding. Some people[who?](such as the authors of Merriam-Webster Online) use the phrase to refer to beliefs or propositions that — in their opinion — most people would consider prudent and of sound judgment, without reliance on esoteric knowledge or study or research, but based upon what they see as knowledge held by people "in common". Thus "common sense" (in this view) equates to the knowledge and experience which most people allegedly have, or which the person using the term believes that they do or should have.

OK, so my definition of common sense is basically not doing something that most people would consider completely stupid. While in my past I have sometimes lacked sound judgement myself, I do believe that as I mature, my common sense matures with me. So why is it that in some people it never matures or sometimes actually degenerates? If we put all these people who lack in the common sense gene on a deserted island, what would happen? Hmmmm..... that could be a new reality show: Survivior : The non-commense sense version.

I wonder if people are just born that way, or do they lack the proper experiences in life that give them the common sense to do or not do something.

I also wonder if, like compassion, common sense is a quality that was handed out more freely to women when the earth was being born. Men were just too busy hoarding the musles and testosterone I guess and when they got to the checkout there was no more room for common sense. To all my male readers out there, I apologize as I know some of you do have common sense.... maybe you were born with it, maybe it was instilled in you by your mother at an early age, or by your wife in later years.....

My venting is done for today, thank you for putting up with me.

A few more steps.....

Here is Nathan taking a few more steps all on his own....

It's beginning to look a lot like.....

....pomegranate season.....





While at this time of year, I usually mourn the passing of a summer I barely saw go by, this year I was quite happy to see summer come to an end. It was a very busy summer, filled with good times and other times where I just wanted to pull my hair out!
As we start looking towards Christmas and snow and cold weather, oh and expensive oil bills it can get rather depressing.. However in all of this there are two little things that bring me pleasure beyond belief and give me the strength and courage to make it through to the new year. While you may all think I am talking about my kids, I must say I am not. The two things I love at this time of year are the pomegranate and clementines.
If you have never tasted a pomegranate, you have not lived! It is by far my very favourite fruit! Oh those little red beads filled with yummy juices and just a little crunch..... the joy of filling my face with one make up for the annoyance of taking it apart.
And clementines.... mmmmmm..... I just bought my first crate of the year today and I must say they are mouth watering. I think I have had about 6 in the last 30 minutes, and will likely have more..... thankfully they are fruit and raw and fat free!! But even if they were full of fat, I think I would still indulge!

Well, i hear Nathan crying, so I will stop fantasising about my favourite fruits and go get him. Here is a picture of mama's little helper. Everytime I open the dishwasher, he comes over as fast as his little legs will take him and helps me unload. OK so maybe he licks a few spoons and tries to bite the plates, but it's the thought that counts! Keep it up little bud, you'll make your wife very happy some day!

Baby Steps

Here is Nathan taking a few steps this morning. He started this yesterday at 9 1/2 months! He's a keener! Watch out now he'll be into everything!!

Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween everyone.....

Meet Lucas the Ninja and Nathan the skeleton


Oh, and Nathan the lion too....
He had 2 costumes....

Got water??

Nathan sometimes gets thirsty and since he can't yet ask for a drink, he has found a way to quench his thirst all on his own.

Thanksgiving Weekend

This was a fun filled Thanksgiving weekend. We went to pick pumpkins and apples and had a nice walk in a trial and a drive along the beach. Here are a few glimpses into our great weekend!

Nathan discovered leaves....

Lucas rode his bike while we walked....

We decorated our house for halloween....

Oh, wait a sec...... those aren't my decorations..... oh and this is not my house...... damn..... I guess I was still dreaming!

But we did go pick pumpkins in a pumkin patch!

Then off to a nice trail in Stanhope,.....

Mr. Strongman here uprooted a tree....

We stopped to admire the beautiful Island coastline....

Then on Monday we went to pick apples, but not before Nathan fixed his hair for the pictures

Mama and her boys......

Nathan`s first pictures in apples trees.....

oh and can`t forget about daddy!

Pineapple Surprise

Last night I looked through some Raw recipe books and this one caught my attention. A Pineapple chocolate cake. OK, so it's not really like Julie's decadent cake, but it's a raw version.


The cake part is made with pecans, dates and cocoa. The icing is cashews and pineapple and the middle part is just sliced banana and a bit of cinamon. The top is sprinkled with coconut and pineapple pieces.

It was fairly easy to make. Trust me, if it wasn't I wouldn't be making it. I don't like anything complicated.

Now while it is surprisingly good, it is a tad bit sweet, even for me. So if I were to make it again, I might add strawberries in the middle and pour strawberry coulis all over the top. Raspberries might work too as they are a bit more tart and would offset the sweetness. I may go get some berries today just for this purpose.

Next up is Hazelnut Coconut cookies this afternoon. stay tuned.....

HMCS Charlottetown

Yesterday we had the pleasure of touring the HMCS Charlottetown which was in town for a visit. I don't know who was more excited, Lucas to be on a "war ship" or mommy to be surrounded by men in uniform!



Although Lucas was quite impressed with all the machine guns and rockets, he said he would not want to be in the navy if it meant going to war cause he hates war. And I breathed a big sigh of relief! Although I have the greatest respect for what soldiers do, and I would be very proud of Lucas if he did decide to join, I don't ever want my babies to go to war and risk getting killed.

He looks a little too comfortable behind that machine gun I must say....

Anyway, it was fun to visit a real frigatte. Lucas came home with his arms full of posters and tattoos and dvds and whatever else he could grab at the kiosk. Woo hoo.... free stuff!! Let's take everything!! And then get home and pile it on the kitchen table cause there's nowhere else to put it! yay!

Rawness

Well, after a free for all summer where food is concerned, I am now officially back on raw. I love being on raw foods, I like the idea of it, I like trying new things and I like knowing that it is good for my health. Being that I eat almost all day, I never feel like I'm on a diet. That's a good thing cause I can never stay on a diet. Yesterday I thought I'd start making desserts again, I hadn't made any in a long time, so here is a picture of my frozen grape pie.

I had frozen some grapes when I got them on sale a while back, so I thought I'd make good use of them. I stuck them in the food processor with a banana and put it on top of the almond/date crust. It was really good. Even Lucas enjoyed it.

I'll probably be posting more pics of my raw creations as I make them. Stay tuned.

Nathan's 8 month pictures

Bath Time

I put bubbles in the tub this morning for Nathan, it was so cute to see just his little head popping out. How I would love to still be able to sit up in the tub and have water up to my neck!




Little rooster!

Message from Nathan

Nathan would like to address all of you this morning.....

Randoms

Nathan loves flowers! Not looking at them and smelling them, but ripping them apart.....



My little baby is getting so big! He'll be walking before I know it!!



This past weekend was open farm day. Instead of going to the regular farms that have cows, horses and pigs, we chose a lavender farm......

ahhhh, the sweet smell of lavender....

then there was a bee farm.....

Lucas is looking for the queen bee in the hive

We learned how honey and beeswax is made, it was quite interesting.

Then we went to an apple orchard, we picked some lovely organic apples and were treated to a wagon ride. Although it was a grey cold day, we enjoyed our farm tour!

The Shack

After reading about it on Leslie's site, I immediately ordered the book The Shack. I read it within 1 day and am blown away by the power of it. The book is about a man whose daughter is abducted and killed. The man receives a letter from God inviting him to go back to the shack where the young girl was killed. Yes this book is about God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit. But it is in a way that you would never imagine. This experience (minus the child getting killed) should happen to all of us!
I strongly urge all of you to purchase this book and read it. It has certainly changed my outlook on a lot of things.

One thing in the book that particularily stood out for me was when the man and Jesus were talking about relationships and how expectations kill relationships, whether it be between friends, spouses, or boss to employee or even with children. How many of us at the beginning of a relationship are all happy and in love and think this person is perfect? Then all of a sudden, we begin having expectations, we expect the person to call us, we expect the person to bring us flowers, we expect them to rescue us, we just expect and expect and expect and when the person does not meet up to our expectations then we are disappointed and hurt and the whole relationship changes or ends and then the person we thought was perfect, is suddenly a jerk.
I am definitely guilty of this one. I have always had expectations of people and have been disappointed and hurt so many times, over time, my heart has hardened and in my eyes all men are jerks. Well, what if from the start I had had no expectations? Then I never would have gotten hurt.

In the book, God appears to this man as a big black woman. I found this amusing as to me those big black women from the south are the ones who have such a zeal for life and for Jesus, they go around singing their hearts out and crying in church at the thought that Jesus loves them and they are not afraid to say it or feel it or live it.

What has happened to the rest of us who barely speak about God for fear of people thinking we are "bible thumpers" or religious freaks. I am certainly guilty of that as well. It seems faith and religion has become a personal private matter kept somewhere deep inside of us not to be mentionned out loud unless you are in church, where not too much of us go anymore anyway.

The book also mentions that we should not be putting God on a pedestal or at the top of our priorities, we should put God at the centre of everything in our lives. While I understand this, how do we put it in practice? That's the part I am struggling with right now, how do we do this?
How does one bring God in all our relationships without freaking others out?

The book is also centred on the healing power of forgiveness. This I can say from experience is so true. Holding a grudge against someone only binds our own heart, once we are able to forgive, what a release it is....Forgiving someone who has harmed us is indeed a difficult thing to do, but in the book, God tells the man to just say it out loud a few times everyday and little by little you will mean it more and more, until one day, you will be completely free of it.

I still like to think of God as the big black woman, there is something about those big black women that is so beautiful and comforting, like if being in their arms resting your head on their chest as they sing "Jesus loves me" to you would somehow make everything ok.

The book also addresses the topic of judgement and how we judge people all the time. They are to fat, too thin, to ugly, too tall, too short, too clumsy, too stupid, etc, etc, ..... We also judge God when something bad happens in our lives, we accuse God of causing bad things to happen, when in reality in the beginning of time, we chose to have our independance from God, and he is honouring that request. But leaving us to have our independance does not mean God is not right there with us. God is always there loving us, even in times when we don't love ourselves.

Anyway, I will leave it at that for now. Read the book and tell me what you think of it. You may discover something you never dreamed of....

Crawling

Nathan has started mastering the art of getting himself from point A to point "plant" all through the house. He loves to massacre plants and especially make them fall over and look at all the soil the pot can hold. I think he is actually testing how much soil my vacuum can suck up before it clogs.

Relaxing

Yesterday was a beautiful day for just sitting out in the sun. I even fell asleep in the chair and woke up sunburnt!


Nathan thinks it's hilarious to sneeze and always laughs after, I was able to capture the look on his face after sneezing. Note his 2 little teeth!

Nathan is a very busy little man and likes to touch everything and go everywhere,here he tried to grab a hold of the pool but ended up in it instead!

In the News....

I think Nathan may take after his uncle Bill and enjoy reading the paper....