I'm having problems with either my camera or with my rechargeable batteries.  I put freshly charged batteries in and after only a few shots, I'm told they are dead.  SUPER ANNOYING.   I REALLY HOPE I get a whole bunch on new ones from Santa. All that to say that there were a lot of cute moments that I didn't get to shoot this month so I have hardly any photos to show you.

• When he finds something funny, he yells “FUNNY!” and laughs (or not)
• When he runs around he says "RUNNING!" while he does it
• He wants both dogs to sit in the sofa chair with us at story time
• He sings along and does the actions to his favorite songs
• Can count to ten (you say one number, he says the next)
• Is an expert at using a spoon, and therefor only wants to use a fork... at which he is moderate. Thank god he doesn’t want a knife!
• Tries to dress/undress himself
• Lays down in the bathtub and kicks violently to splash me
• I left him naked in his room while I ran his bath and came back to him sitting in his man-chair reading a book with a giant turd in the middle of the floor.
• Can ‘read’ some of his books to you accurately
• Likes to do silly things to make people laugh
• Will lay down on anything squishy
• Refers to himself in the 3rd person
• Lip Synchs to songs when he isn’t sure of the words
• Knows when to say ‘please’ and ‘sorry’
• calls me out on my farts
• feeds the dogs (all over the floor)
• flushes the toilet (while I'm still peeing)
• tells the christmas tree and the candle that he loves them (but not his parent's... typical)
• is REALLY into Santa and I have NO IDEA how that happened.

Focused


Making a birthday card... luckily it washes off...

Sick day means dragon robe and no pants


Taking a nap


In this short film you will be wowed by Bobby's talking skills of about 3 weeks ago. He's much better/clearer now. He's playing with a car air freshening fan...  Let me know if you need a transcript.  SOmetimes I worry I can understand him only because I'm his mom. On this day: In 2008 - Bobby had Conan hair In 2007 - that was probably the last time I had chinese food... will do again when Brent is out of town next month (he's not a fan) In 2006 - venus rhymes with penis (unrelated to the posts linked here) In 2005 - I found some more last year and it was NOT GOOD.  Unfortunately I dont remember the brand I got the first time. In 2004 - worst. popcorn. ever.

I'm updating this list with more information. If you know of any more activities ANYWHERE IN THE CITY that involve free admission or free programs for children, speak up and I'll update the list.

• The Ottawa Public Library runs free programs (Babytime, Toddlertime, Storytime etc) at many (if not all) of the branches. You need to register but they are totally free and in my experience, really captivating. There is a mix of singing, reading, playing with musical instruments and interacting with puppets.
• Charlemagne Preschool Resource Center in Orleans offers a free drop-in playgroup every morning from 9-11 am and Mondays and Wednesdays from 1-3pm There are lots of toys and activities. It's mostly free play and there is a break for 'circle time' which is similar to the Library's program. Then there's snack time (bring your own) and more play. There are also some birds to look at
• La Coccinelle in Orleans offers a French language only playgroup on Friday mornings. I haven't been yet but plan to check it out so I can give more feedback at that time. They also host a variety of workshops.
• Boomerang Kids runs Strollercise year round (except for in the suburbs for the winter). Details at their website

• The animal barns at the Canadian Agriculture Museum are free from November 1st to February 28th

• The Canadian Museum of Nature has free admission on Saturdays from 9am to 12 pm and free admission at all times for children 3 and under. In addition, you can go to the library and take out the ‘nature card’ which allows for free general admission for a family if you wish to go on a day other than Saturday
• The Canadian War Museum offers free admission Thursdays from 4pm to 8pm, International Museum Day (Monday May 18th this year), Canada Day (July 1st) and Rememberance Day (November 11th). In addition, Canadian veterans and their guests (up to three) always get free admission as do members of the Canadian Forces (with ID)
• The National Gallery of Canada offers free admission to the permanent collection Thursdays after 5pm and free admission to children 12 and under for all exhibits.

• The Canada Science and Technology Museum offers free admission on International Museum Day ( Monday May 18th this year) and on Canada Day (July 1st) in addition to free admission for children under the age of 4.

• Park-ticipate is a free program at public parks that runs weekdays and is for children aged 4 to 10. City recreation staff lead children in sport, crafts and games following the week’s theme. Info currently on the site is for summer 2008 so keep looking back for this summer’s update.

• There are many wading pools across the city that are supervised and host daily activities and special events which includes a Water Play Program aimed at introducing swimming skills and water safety to children. They are free to use and a fun way to cool off in the summer. There’s one right by my work! They are not open all day long so check the site for locations and hours.

• Katimavik Preschool Resource Centre offers drop ins every weekday for children 0 to 6 years of age and their parents and caregivers from Kanata, West Carleton, and Bells Corners
  • Monday, Tuesday, Thursday (caregivers only) and Friday: 9am-11am
  • Wednesday: 11am-12:30pm and 1pm-2:30pm
• The Ottawa Catholic School Board has four locations for drop-ins. They are open every weekday and as far as I know, there is no limit to how often you can attend per week. They are for children aged 0-6 and a ‘light nutritious snack’ is given.
  • Divine Infant - 8100 Jeanne D’Arc Blvd. Orleans 9:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.
  • Our Lady of Mount Carmel - 675 Gardenvale Rd. Ottawa 9:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.
  • Prince of Peace - 1620 Heatherington Rd. Ottawa 9:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.
  • St. Elizabeth - 1366 Coldrey Ave. Ottawa - 8:15 a.m. – 12:15 p.m.
• The Children's Welcome Centre in Blackburn Hamlet hosts Monday and Wednesday Playgroups from 9:30-11:30 am. They ask for $1 for each child over 18 months to help fund their program.

On this day: In 2008 - Bobby's first hair cut In 2007 - Like being on ANTM but without the part where I'm told to sell myself short In 2006 - work potluck - f-locked In 2005 - another antm reference

So I just found out that as a paid LiveJournal member, I have 10 coupons that I can send out to free account holders. These coupons are for $10 off a paid account (for one year). If you have a free account and you want one, let me know! On this day: In 2008 - My BFF turns 21! In 2007 - A wish for free flowers In 2006 - Tremblant recap In 2005 - My mom and her gross make out habits

After asking Jeff what mooncake tastes like, he offered me one to try. Originally we had discussed passing it around to various bloggers to get a variety of opinions. After 2 failed attempts to pass it on, I decided to just share it with my coworkers.


Here is is being sneaky amongst 2 of my 3 office plants.



It came with this fancy knife.


Does anyone know what it says? I'm guessing it says "This is a mooncake, it is filled with lotus seed paste and two salted duck-egg yolks" I could be wrong.

Here it is sliced open.


I went first. It smelled really good!


It did not taste how it smelled!


The yolk part was VERY SALTY!!!! and the paste part was mild and yummy. If the yolks weren't there I probably wouldn't have shared it with anybody. But it would have taken me a while to eat it because it is very rich, heavy and filling. So I shared it!



Some people liked it more than others. Most people described it as 'interesting'. One guy just ate a quarter of it and was all like "Yup, that's a flavour".

So there you have it. Craving salty AND sweet? Try a mooncake!

On this day:

In 2008 -
In 2007 - the beginning of the end
In 2006 - what type of life leads to an 'early' death
In 2005 - I wonder what ever happened to that unicorn...

Once again Brent has taken Bobby out on a man-venture to allow me to work on my paintings. I'm doing that right not but I'm at the point were I need certain parts to dry (or mostly dry) before I can do the next part. I decided to kill paint drying time by singing along to music and checking my twitter feed.

Let me just say this:

My taste in music is ACES! Everything I like, I like because it emotes. It makes me feel something. There are a lot of good songs in the world, but if it doesn't make me FEEL something deep within mah bellay then I'm not interested in hearing more than maybe 2 times.

Artists currently driving me are:

-Metric
-Sondre Lerche (favorite song right now is "My Hands are Shaking" SERIOUSLY AWESOME)
-Immaculate Machine

And more but those are the last three that came up on random.

So anyway, there I was singing along to great songs and checking my twits and then Torrie posted this link and I just soared. I feel like if I read that EVERY MORNING nothing bad can happen in my life and I will always feel full of spirit and artistic motivation. I don't even know how else to describe that link. Please PLEASE read it and let me know what you think. Do you even find it interesting?

I find sometimes things that change me mean less than dirt to others. I can see it. I know I feel nothing for things that drive others. Good thing there's lots of stuff out there for all the different kind of people.

On this day:

In 2008 -
In 2007 -
In 2006 - ruh roh! I didn't want to eat!!! Trouble in the henhouse.
In 2005 - I'm not irresponsible, but I try to have fun in everything I go.

Going to the gym is working out very well for me. I find my overall fitness level to be much improved. For example, today I sprinted to the bus stop, and was not winded!

I alternate cardio and weight training days. I'm writing now to ask you THE INTERNET for advice for my arms. Basically I want them to look like this:



and not like this:



So what do I do?

To be clear, I'm not looking for specific exercises. For instance, should I do 3 sets of 10 reps at the highest weight I can handle or do I do 3 sets of 20 reps at a bit of a lower weight?


On this day:

In 2008 - the feeling did not change, I'm fantastic
In 2007 - typing was a lot of work
In 2006 -
In 2005 - I started paying for my LJ account for improved features

At lunch on Friday, Brent called me to ask if I would go to dinner with his dad that night. Pressed for time I said yes and that I'd talk to him about it in more detail when I got back from lunch. At that time, I found out that Brent's mom couldn't attend and his dad needed a replacement 'date' to the Vimy Award Gala Reception and Dinner. It's a black tie event, he'd be wearing a tux.... I had nothing fancy enough.

I had enough banked time to take the afternoon off work and head over to the mall where I bought a dress, shoes, clutch and got my hair done in an updo.



As usual, my camera batteries died. This was the best shot I could get with my webcam.

These be the shoes


The even was held at the War Museum. Their staff has been on strike for some time now and that night they were in a picket line blocking the parking garage. There is limited street parking and pretty much nowhere else to park around there so there was a big line of cars waiting to get in. They were letting in about 5 cars every 5 minutes so it seemed we'd be in within about 25 minutes. When we were the 7th car away (and very close to the start time for the event) they started only letting in 1 car at a time and that's when it got annoying. I was fine with the first one, we were advised of that, but the switch up just seemed malicious.

We shimmied out of the line up to try and find street parking and MIRACULOUSLY someone was just pulling out as we were driving along. I got out of the car only to be ATTACKED by wind and rain. My updo survived.

My father in law knew a lot of people and whenever he would talk to a couple, the woman would give me SEVERE EYE DARTS until he introduced me as his daughter in law, at which point they said something like "OOOOHHHHH! Nice to meet you"

Obviously they thought I was some gold digger or grave robber or something.

The event itself was pretty neat. I've never been to a military event/dinner. We started it off by singing the national anthem! There were a bunch of speeches with inside jokes I didn't get, mostly about Mike Duffy (seriously, I don't get it). I talked with the Navy Guy next to me and said such gems as "What are these all about?" pointing to his medals and when he explained that they are recognition for years of service or for certain tasks I said "Like girl scout badges!" It's true. Why deny it?

I wish there was dancing. It seems like a celebration for someone should have some dancing, especially when everyone is dressed so fancy. There was no dancing to be had and some of the old timers mocked me, in a fun-not-mean way.

All in all it was a good life experience. I got to see Adrienne Clarkson at a not-as-prestigeous-as-mine table and I got to see photos from war zones unlike any I had seen before. They showed it from the aspect of the soldier, in a way that made it obvious that this is where they LIVE. Their home is right there on the side of the road as they take a nap in the sun using their pack as a pillow.

On this day:

In 2008 -
In 2007 - I had bowel problems
In 2006 -
In 2005 - The story of how I met Brent

Posting a day late due to life

new words:
arm
sock
song - he just yells the word when he wants you to sing to him, or turn on the iPod
cracker
juice
fart
fork
food

OK OK... this is one day’s worth of new words and he’s talking so much that I just can’t keep track anymore. He speaks in small sentences and is a good communicator.

plays hide and seek with his penis and towel after a bath
does the actions to “The wheels on the bus”
Plays chase and peek a boo games.
Trick or treated 3 whole houses and ate one piece of candy.
Asks for a cloth to clean up... actual efficacy of cleaning up... not so awesome.
Plays with his boy doll and calls it his baby.
Calls all small children babies and seems a little obsessed with them
Meows at Percy
Has ‘hiding spots’ where he goes for alone time (Tyrone’s bed, the shelf of our kitchen island, behind his crib)
Comes and hugs my legs while I’m standing at the sink
Tickles people
Has spatial understanding (behind, up, down etc)
Can identify known objects in books
Can identify most body parts

Photos from Bobby's b-day that my sister just sent me recently:

Ethan leading Melodie


Opening Gifts


Cake Face


Jamie


You. Yes, you!


Water Balls



And now onto the recent stuff!

Coordinated


Discussing shapes


King of Blocks


Watching the game with Dad


How do I look?



Toy Stash


Learning to Cook


What's in there?


Maybe I'd better close it?


Sharing a milkshake


Giraffe Costume sans Feet


Sneeky Giraffe is Sneeking


Sharing a..... muffin?


Story time for Crocodile


Gymnast


When Giraffes Attack





On this day:

In 2008 - The Blogger's Breakfast took place
In 2007 - there was a snowstorm
In 2006 - I got a WICKED hair cut and I was not a vegetarian
In 2005 - Brent worked his last day of retail

Yesterday I went to Jeff's place for a super-fun Cranium party. I was very excited because I LOVE playing Cranium and I'm also very competitive and love WINNING Cranium. I showed up to win.

Unfortunately for me, hardly anyone else there was very proficient at this particular game. Which is ok, it's definitely still fun. I'm just used to playing with Brent as my partner and absolutely killing all the other teams at a swift pace. The whole point of this is not to rag on my team mates though (however, I DID get asked if Marie Curie was one person or two) but to discuss the following;

I pulled a card where I had to get my team to guess that I was Jian Ghomeshi (no one guessed it) and then I was wondering... Does Jian play Cranium? What if he pulled that card? Would he just say... "I'm me"?

Do famous people play board games? Can you be considered famous when somebody says "I'm the host of Q on CBC Radio and the former drummer of Moxy Früvous" and two random guys have no clue who you are?

On this day:

In 2008 -
In 2007 - I love re-reading my angry posts
In 2006 - haha! Another angry work post!
In 2005 - I do not remember the log-in to reactivate my old photobucket account

 I have a really hard time with getting people gift certificates as gifts.  I want to prove to them that I've put a lot of thought into their gift and chosen something they will like.  Of course that way I run the risk of failing miserably.

On the other hand, I LOVE receiving gift certificates.  I'm very picky when it comes to my stuff so I think it's probably just better for everyone this way.  Although I still do REALLY REALLY appreciate thoughtful handpicked gifts, I don't feel offended when I get gift certificates and I often wish for them so I can get myself things that I've wanted for some time but haven't splurged on.

Here's my gift certificate greed list;

SHOES

Town Shoes
Browns
Aldo
Joneve
Stance

WORKOUT

Lululemon
Sports Experts

BODY

Loft
Living Colour

HOME

EQ3
Phillip Van Leeuwen
IKEA
Structube

CLOTHES

Allegro
Banana Republic
Roots
RW&CO
Urban Trade
Shad

LEISURE

Wallack's
Chapters


On this day:

In 2008 - 
In 2007 - 
In 2006 - a bit of this and that
In 2005 - Brent's new job