proud moments

Aren't they what life is all about?  The proud moments when you feel so pleased and satisfied and content that life is running along smoothly.  All is good in my world right now.   The dusting of snow we just received seems to have given Miss Ruby a new independent attitude.  She came home from school, told me she was hungry and sat right up in her chair waiting for lunch!  (Those of you who have been around lately know that this is a far cry from a typical mealtime).  

Playing outside in the snow was her mission so after lunch she waited for me to put Leo down for his nap, then appeared in the kitchen with her snow pants on!  They were backwards… but they were on!  She's outside playing by herself right now…. waiting for me but I secretly intend to procrastinate until she's bored or too cold or just wants to come in.  Shhh…. let's keep that between you and I, shall we.  

Another proud moment was yesterday at Ruby's last Ballet class of the season.  She was so beautiful and happy it made my heart swell up with pride.  

My beautiful Ballerina!

A very happy little girl.  

P.S.  I also had a not-so-proud moment today at the gym.  I dropped my iPod into the toilet.  

Santa…. have I been good this year?  

Cheerio! 

  

i want to be a cow….

Yes.  That's correct.  A cow.  Not a cowboy or a cowgirl.  A cow.  Ruby has somewhat of a fascination with cows.  I first discovered it when written on the whiteboard outside of her classroom where the teachers make notes for the parents that Ruby's favourite animal was a cow.  Cute, I thought.

She and I were doing crafts today while Leo was sleeping.  Here are some of her first drawings.  

Very impressive I think! 

Mommy

Daddy

Mommy

She was so involved with the drawing that I took a little break and went to check my email.  That's when I noticed the silence.  After a few minutes, I went to check on her and sure enough, she was painting her fingers and hands all up with her new markers.  She was having so much fun and they're washable so I thought, what the heck.  Why not?  

It was quiet for a little while longer and I said, "I hope you're not marking up the table, Ruby."

"I'm not Mommy.  Don't worry", she said.  

This is what I found when I went in.

Me:          "What are you doing, Ruby!?".

Ruby:      "I want to be a cow.  A cow with purple hands and a purple bum and purple belly…… "

Oh boy! 

She really has quite the imagination these days.  In fact, she's been dreaming at night and often has dreams that wake her up.  Not happy dreams all of them.  Crazy dreams in fact.  One she remembers vividly and still tells us about is the one where Leo was a cow and he sneezed and it woke Ruby up and scared her.   

Notice that the main character of the dream was a cow?  Coincidence?  I think not.  

MOOOOO!  

to all my fans….

I know it's bad when people comment on how long it's been since my last blog entry.  In fact, someone even sent me an email telling me that my one-month anniversary since my last entry has come and gone.  I'm so thankful for my adoring fans.  What would life be without you?  So to all my fans, young and old, this one's for you.  

Now, where to begin?  A lot of things happen in one month!  We've had Thanksgiving, lots of parks, Halloween, sleepovers, marathons and an entire change of seasons. 

When the weather was still warm, (last month…. around the time of my last entry)….. we were hunting down new parks every weekend.  We've found some really good ones.  My goodness gracious, (that's Ruby's favourite saying at the moment) playgrounds certainly have evolved since I was little.  The playgrounds of my youth were made solely of wood, nuts and bolts.    From an environmental standpoint, yes, that's good I suppose.  But, they were the simplest of structures.  Today, there are pianos, horns, mazes, enormous figures to climb on, …. not to mention water parks!  

Eating rocks in the gigantic hippopotamus.

Walking along the boarder.  Evading departure time.

Oh my goodness gracious!!  I just had a thought that would totally contradict the entire last paragraph…. Back then, I remember playing on the playground in my neighbourhood for hours.  Climbing, falling, swinging, balancing, singing, laughing, pretending I was someone else.  It was very physical and I was using my imagination.  Maybe these new parks are too elaborate and don't allow kids to use their imaginations because it's all there for them.  Oh man.  I better move on to Thanksgiving.  

As always, we enjoyed two very fun Thanksgiving dinners this year.  The weather was beautiful for both and we spent lots of time outdoors.  While inside, Ruby enjoys doing her hair and putting on shows.  

Ruby's latest obsession - hair clipping.
She also likes to sing and dance.  

Taking time away from the camp fire to smile for the camera.

Happy!

Happy!

Happy!  

Very, very happy!! 

Then came race day.  Ryan singed up to run 5km in the Legs for Literacy marathon this year and the kids and I went down (in the rain at 8 a.m.) to watch him cross the finish line.  I was right there at the finish line, snapping shots like he was famous…. and he didn't even notice me.  That's focused.  :)  Way to go Ryan.  His time was 26:32 which isn't bad for a guy who hasn't run in about 3 years.  

Way to go Ryan!!

(Look at they eyes - I'm ten feet away and he doesn't notice me.  )

Leo was introduced to baking on October 18, 2013.  He really loved it and Ruby was a great help.  

I guess technically, Leo should have been her assistant, but it sort of worked the other way around.  Standing on two chairs like that was terribly dangerous and I'm thankful nobody got hurt.  I may have been slapped in the face trying to convince Leo it was time to clean up the baking, but I can't be entirely sure.  It's sort of a blur.  I do know that Leo does not like the word 'no' and he's becoming very strong willed.  

We clearly need a kid-sized baking station.

Onto Halloween.  I have to tell the story about their costumes….

Ruby and I were talking one day about what she wanted to be for Halloween.  I never imagined that she would come up with a pumpkin, but that's exactly what she wanted to be.  A few minutes later I asked her what Leo should be and without skipping a beat, she say boisterously, "A little pumpkin!"

So, here they are:  my Big Pumpkin and my little pumpkin.

I decided to get dressed up at the last minute.  It was fun.  Think I'll make it a tradition.

So, there you have it, an entire month of our lives.

Oh, I almost forgot.  Ryan's parents took the kids for the entire weekend last weekend and Ryan and I stayed home to clean up the garage/shed/backyard.  We worked long and hard and are very proud of ourselves!  I was also quite proud of my jack-p-lanterns this year so we took pictures.

One more thought:  There are an awful lot of tattoos at the gym.  Will tattoos make me cool?  I'm feeling a dip in my cool factor lately.

Until next time…..
Soon.  I promise.