Happy New Year!

Having a family of four this year made for a quiet New Year's Eve.

We had a pretend countdown for the kids at 9pm, where we blew our horns and danced around. Once the kids were calm, we put them to bed and Ron and I enjoyed a quiet date night with movie and wine.

The movie ended just before the countdown - perfect timing! I was surprisingly shocked that I lasted until midnight to be honest... but was glad to ring in the new year with my hubby beside me.

Happy New Year to you all!! Wishing you a healthy, happy and prosperous 2014!

Happy Holidays!

I hope you all had a nice holiday this crazy Christmas storm year.

It was my side of the family this year, so we all headed out to my sister's house for our annual Christmas Eve get-together!

Fun family times! Merry Christmas y'all!

The Ice Storm of 2013!

I'm sure we all have our stories about the ice storm of 2013. In all my years here in Canada (which is most of my life to all you fob haters out there), I've never seen anything like this storm.

So many power outages, so many accidents... definitely one to remember.

Luckily for us, we were unaffected by this storm. For me, personally, it was a beautiful sight that I went out and had to take photos!

They're growing!

Our kids are growing... in size AND in numbers: we welcomed Jaina, Isaiah and Sunday this year!

We all got together for our annual Christmas baking day today (Saads and Samara couldn't make it this year unfortunately).

Last year, Di did most of the baking while the rest of us watched the kids. This year, however, the kids were able to help!

I wonder what's going to happen next year?!?

Dylan's 1st Birthday!

Ron woke up with the flu this morning so I made the trek to Playful Grounds by myself with both kids to celebrate Dylan's 1st Birthday!! It was a great party... for both the adults and the kids!

It's basically a café, and there's a small play area inside. It wasn't as hard as I thought it was going to be. Quel was there to help when I needed it, so everyone enjoyed themselves!

Happy Birthday Dylan... it still amazes me how quickly kids grow up!!

Punta Cana 2013!

Our first family trip as a foursome to Punta Cana!!

We were happy to celebrate Mark and Nancy's wedding nuptials with them, and it was even more fun that my highschool crew was there to celebrate with us!

It was like being back in highschool... except I have a husband and two kids now (eek!). Since I was the only one of my crew with kids, I wasn't able to do everything with them, but it was still fun being with my friends nonetheless. I even managed to stay out until 3am with them one night... we went clubbing!! haha.

The wedding was beautiful, and it rained shortly after they cut the cake at the reception, but it didn't last long and it actually made it more fun with the rain! Everyone just took off their shoes... danced in the rain and then the party ended up in the pool nearby!! It was so much fun! Good times!

Welcome baby Sunday Anesse!

Congratulations to Diana and Gerwyn on the birth of their second daughter: Sunday Anesse born on Sunday, October 13th at 9:01pm and weighing in at 4lbs 11oz.

Mommy and baby are doing ok, and Di has quite the story with the birth of this one... so ask her about it!!

I was able to visit with them for a bit and was shocked that I had a 'small' longing for another baby. She's absolutely adorable! I got home to my two kids, however, and was quickly brought back to the reality of being a mom of two (can't imagine a third!!).

Vacation booked!!

Our first family vacation as a foursome will happen in November when we all head to Punta Cana, Dominican Republic! :)

My friend Mark and his bride Nancy will be pledging their vows to each other for their wedding day there, so we will be sharing their special day with them as well.

A bunch of my highschool friends will be joining us as well so it should be FUN!! Now if only I can get this kid off my boob so I can partake in the all-you-can-drink festivities!!

Three birthdays in ONE day!

We celebrated Marley's 3rd, Eric's 4th and Maxwell's 1st birthday today! It was a busy day for the kids, but we're glad that we managed to go to both parties.

You ladies overdid yourselves as always... such cute desserts, yummy food and by the way - Ev MADE that piñata herself, as well as those four Avengers cakes you see in the photo. Way to make us all look bad Eb! :P

Making giveaways...

This is my kitchen the night before Jaina's baptism!! I was making these chocolate covered pretzels, and I actually really enjoyed it!

Final product is on bottom right photo (front and back). They're yummy... and I made extra's so that I could munch on them during the week!

The CNE one more time!

Before end of summer, my family and I headed to the CNE one last time!

This time, I tried the Nutella sweet potato fries...yum (but VERY sweet!!). The kids had a great time with their cousins!

Fax Expo 2013!

Since we were at Centre Island all day for Ron's birthday yesterday, today was all about him!

We took Jaina with us and left Jacen with my parents, and headed downtown!

It was pretty packed for a Friday, but it was fun! Lots to see (ie. batmobile, Kitt), some freebies... and I got to see some celebs:

Dean Cain, Carrie Fisher, Jason Priestly, Luke Perry, Hulk Hogan,(can't remember), James Hong, Alice Cooper, David Hasselhof, Eric Bischoff, Stan Lee, George Takei, Linda Hamilton, Sean 'The Punisher' Pierson, and James Reimer.

And we bumped into Raju, with his co-stars Steve Tilley and Victor Lucas! All in all a great day!

Food at the EX!

Ah the food at the CNE... that's one of the main reasons we go every year!

This year Ron tried the Krispy Kreme burger... what a guy. I had a bite of it and I have to admit - not bad! I was searching for the Nutella Sweet Potato Fries, but did not find it. I'll have to go back before the summer ends!!

MelandNorm's new crib!

The gang headed over to Mel and Norm's new house today, where she served her 'southern' theme food: fried chicken and waffles! SO good!

I also fell inlove with her new kitchen....gorgeous!

The Package Tour: Boyz II Men, 98 degrees and NKOTB!

Ron and I met up with Diana and Crystal for dinner at Marché before heading out to the concert. And then we walked over to the Air Canada Centre after our yummy desserts. We were a bit late so we missed a couple of Boyz II Men songs, who were great! They sound exactly the same as their cd's and we all agreed that their part should have been longer. 

98 degrees came out next... I only knew a few songs that they sang though. And then it was the main event - NKOTB. Again, I didn't know their recent songs, but when they sang their older more popular songs, you can bet that I was on my feet singing and dancing along! The group definitely looks 'older' in their years, but I guess so has their crowd. Apparently it's been 25 years... which I couldn't believe! We're OLD!!! All in all a good night with the hubby.... like we were back in the days before having kids. hehe

Here's a sample of NKOTB.... I only had my phone camera to use (which sucks) so the quality isn't very good:

Thanks to my sister Sarah and niece Aleenah, who watched our kids so we could have a great night out!! You guys are the best!

Trying the McLobster...

On my way to my parents' house today, both kids ended up falling asleep during the ride, so..... I went through a McDonald's drive-thru and ordered me a McLobster!

Since I used to work at McDonald's, I still feel the need to try the new things on their menu... especially a lobster!

I parked myself on my parents' driveway and ate my McLobster combo while the kids remained asleep in the back.

How does it taste you ask? Not good. The sandwich had so much celery (which I hate) and green onions inside it.... that's ALL I could taste!! And the whole combo cost me $10!! Ah well... I had to try it!

4 years!

4 years (and 2 kids later)... happy anniversary Ron!

It was waaaaaay too hot outside, and since the kids and I had been out all day, we decided to just order in and I treated myself to a glass of wine (Jackson Triggs of course) with dinner.

Food Fest!

YUM YUM YUM! We headed out to the Food Fest today, and of course, I find my entire family there!! We bumped into my cousins there as well... only my family! Love it!

Tea time!

I took my little girl to high tea with me for the first time today. My sis Sarah took me for my birthday so we took Jaina along.

It was yummy, and because Sarah's so good with Jaina, I was able to enjoy my high tea!

I can't wait to take Jaina when she's older! Yay!!

Birthday girl!

This year's birthday was pretty good! I had brunch with Ron and the kids, got a pedicure, and then Ron and I went out for dinner at the Keg - just the two of us... which was AWESOME!

I love my kids, but it was great to actually sit down and eat a warm meal, have a drink and actually enjoy my food without having to worry about a kid!

Thanks to my sis and niece who babysat for us while we enjoyed ourselves.. happy birthday to ME! :)

Happy Mother's Day!

Happy Mother's Day to all my fellow mamma's out there! Hope you all had a good one.

As for mine - well... it was ... memorable. I've already told the stories to those I've talked to, but it included a trip to the hospital emergency!! Oh boy!

Let's hope next year's won't be so eventful...geesh!

I'm hooked!

I had been hearing great reviews about Homeland, but never knew when it was on.

Ron had gotten seasons 1 and 2 of the show and watched the first season. He told me that he really enjoyed it!

So I started watching it... and I was hooked! I watched it when the kids napped during the day and when they went to bed at night.

I just finished the last episode of season 2, and now I have to wait until September for the next season! Man!

Happy Birthday Sista!

My oldest sister Sarah's birthday was last weekend, but she was out of town so I decided to take her out for brunch this weekend.

Of course, as soon as my other siblings heard, they decided to come along as well!

So off we went to The Sister (I thought it was fitting for the occasion) for some brunch. It was good! My sister loved the Oatmeal pancakes they served. It was a beautiful day out, so we decided to go for a walk along Queen Street to walk off some of the calories we consumed.

We ended up in the Glory Hole Doughnuts store, which I had been hearing a lot about.... and a dozen doughnuts later.... well... I can see why it's talked about so much. There were many different and some were 'odd' flavours (jalapeno and bacon?) but definitely yummy! I think my favourite of the ones I tried was Salted Caramel with Spicy Pecan.

Skyrobics!

I had my first workout today since giving birth to Jaina. I thought since it was my first workout, it should be different, yet fun!

Quel and I headed out to Skyzone, where they offered Skyrobics. Basically, it's aerobics on the trampolines. And it was FUN! I felt like a kid again jumping around like that... and I was completely sweating by the end of it!

After our workout, we decided to treat ourselves to Five Guys (burgers and fries). We've both heard such great things about it, and neither of us had tried it so we went. Well - there goes our workout. It was yummy and to top it off, we decided to go for dessert and coffee after as well! Haahaha!

Eaton Centre with the kids!

I took the kids on the subway today to head down to the Eaton Centre.

I got some looks from a few passengers because my stroller took up quite a bit of space on the train. Thank goodness it wasn't during rush hour, or momma may have needed to get 'tough'. hehe

We met up with Rox, Dylan and Quel and we all had lunch together at Green Jeans. The waitress told me how well-behaved Jacen was and I was shocked.

And when we passed by the Chapters/Indigo, there were quite a bit of people crowded there and it turns out Paul Anka was there signing autographs for his new book and album (which I recently got btw... I like him!). It was a fun outing... thanks ladies!

Meeting Dylan!

I met up with Quel and Rox this morning for brunch at the Gladstone Hotel.

It was also the first time meeting Rox's new baby boy Dylan! He's 2 months older than Jaina so we're excited to have future play dates with them! Yay!

As for the buffet brunch at Gladstone - it was ok but I wouldn't recommend it. I was expecting more of a selection, but all they had were your basics: eggs, bacon, sausages, home fries, and yogurt with granola. The chocolate chip cookies were yummy though!

Do you WASHI?

I didn't know or have even heard of Washi Tape. Have you? But upon heading to the One-of-a-Kind show today... I came across a booth that was selling it.

For some reason, I ended up buying 3 rolls of it with thoughts of the 'possibilities' with what I could do with it (being as crafty as I am)! ;)

Then I looked online, and it seems to be a pretty big thing! So now, I have even more ideas of what I could do with my 3 rolls. Be on the lookout peeps! Washi here I come!

Dinner + Dessert

Since having Jaina, it's been difficult to cook meals let alone bake! I can usually do one or the other during the day, but today was a good day... I was able to plan ahead and get dinner started and even have time to bake some cookies for dessert (all before Ron came home from work!). Yes, I'm patting myself on the back as I type this. This is very rare for me so I thought I'd blog about it!! :)

Dinner was baby back ribs with kale chips, and for dessert - chocolate chip and Skor cookies!

Target Canada!

A bunch of Target stores opened today, including the one near me, so I decided to go and check it out!

It looked like the ones in the U.S... same brands and look. It was a bit difficult to shop with both kids though, so I wasn't there for too long. I bought Jaina a cute summer dress, with sunglasses and hair clips to match.. and got Jacen new swimming trunks!

I'll have to head back without the kids next time to really have a look!

Mommy movie!

I met up with Lesley and Harrison today to watch The Great and Powerful Oz. It was Jaina's first movie date! She slept through most of the movie, however, decided to poo big time during one of the quiet periods during the movie, and everyone heard her 'poo noises'. haha!

It was fun nonetheless! Thanks for coming out Lesley and Harrison, and for Jaina's cute gift!

Scarlett turns TWO!

We headed to Ev & Stu's place today to celebrate Scarlett's 2nd Birthday. It was a Princess theme, which was very cute.

Jacen enjoyed the crafts he made - which Ron is proudly showing off in the photo. 

It was great to see everyone again. Thanks for the party Ev!

Happy Birthday Jaylene!

My niece turns 13 this year... yikes! We headed over to my sister's place to celebrate the occasion. It was also the first time a lot of my aunts and uncles met Jaina!

Jaylene had some of her girlfriends there as well. It reminded me of when I was that age - and then I realized... I couldn't remember that age!!

Welcome to your 'teen' years Jay... enjoy. I 'think' I enjoyed thirteen. hehe

NKOTB + 98 + B II M

I'm excited to blog about the fact that I just bought New Kids on the Block concert tickets, with 98 Degrees and Boyz II Men as well! You can all judge me, I don't care - I enjoy the music of all three groups - there, I said it! AND, I will be accompanied by my hubby to the concert on Sunday, July 28th! And no, I'm not forcing him to go (he's a closet fan of all three groups... I think he knows the words to more of their songs than I do, actually!). haha. That's my man!

Since the concert's not until July, we decided it could be our 'anniversary date night'. I booked our babysitter already so we should be good to go! Yay!! Oh oh uh-hoooh....the Right Stuff!

Superbowl Sunday!

We headed out to D+G's place today for Superbowl Sunday! I'm not a huge fan of football, but I enjoyed watching the half time show with Beyonce.

It was great for them to finally meet Jaina as well. Thanks for the good times!

Mirror, mirror...

I looked in the mirror today (I mean really looked), and I noticed I had a LOT more grey hair... AND I have really dark circles under my eyes!

WTF?!?

It's definitely more tiring having a second kid. If I'm not occupied with one... it's the other! Ron's been off for two weeks and it's been great having him around. We've been tag-teaming so that one of us is always with a child. But he goes back to work tomorrow... we'll see what happens on my own! (expect more grey hairs and darker circles....)

NBA Wannabe's!

For Christmas, my sister got her hubby a 2-hour rental of the gym at their community center so that he could invite his friends and family for some basketball!

So we headed out to Ajax today, and I got me some babysitters! It was great to be out, and have a meal and actually be able to sit down and eat it while other people watched my kids! hehe

I went to the gym to watch the boys play for a bit while my sister Sarah stayed and watched Jaina. Jacen enjoyed chasing after the basketball and I managed to see Ron score a couple points while I was there! Good family fun!

My new favourite show!

Ron has many TV shows in our media player to watch. I've never heard of a lot of them, but I came upon a show called 'Suits' that I decided to try. And I'm glad that I did!! I was hooked. After the first show, I ended up watching another... and another... and another.

I kept wanting to watch more, but sleepiness finally hit me, and I had to save the rest of the shows for another day.

I've just finished Season 2, and I believe the next Season starts in a couple of weeks. I felt the need to share this as it's so rare for me to find a show I really like these days (without it being cancelled). Hope someone out there enjoys it too!