Annual Stocking Photo

Nicholas posing with his stocking at Poppa's house is now a tradition for us.

Christmas 2011 (4 months old):

                    Could he have been any cuter? Or balder?


Christmas 2012 (16 months old):

                              Still cute and definitely not bald!


What is your Christmas tradition?

xo,
Meg  
                

Is it Christmas Yet?

I saw this picture on a blog that I read so I thought I would share it!

This coming week at work is going to be nutty and full of fun! The kids have been through the roof for a while now so I can just imagine what they will be like this week.

After hearing about the horrific events in Connecticut yesterday, I think we all just want to spend time with our families and hug our kids even tighter this Christmas.

xo,
Meg 

Bye October! Bye November!

I completely forgot to do my monthly recap for October so here is a double whammy.

What we did in October:

• We went to Kingston for Thanksgiving and got to visit with some friends and meet a little baby while we were there.
• I went to a girl's night at a friend's house and we had delicious cupcakes from the Cake Box.
• Indoor soccer began!
• I went to my first Arbonne party.
• Nick celebrated his friend Cooper turning 1!
• We had our first monthly playdate at our house, costumes and all!
• We hosted a board game night here with friends. 
• I went out for Indian food with a few ladies.
• Nick and I were both sick. Head cold for me, flu bug for Nick.
• We celebrated Halloween. Nick dressed up as a chicken! We had 51 trick-or-treaters. Not as many as we had hoped for.

And in November:

• The clocks fell back. Made for an early morning. Thank goodness we had an impromptu playdate with friends! 
• Poppa and Gram came to visit. We spent the afternoon in St. Jacobs
• Monthly playdate at Cooper's house.
• We had friends over for dinner. They asked us to be their little lady's godparents :)
• We took Nick to his first Santa Claus parade!
• Nick had his 15 month weigh in and shots. 
• I took a personal day and took Nick swimming and shopping.
• I saw the final Twilight movie!
• I had a Christmas crafting afternoon with a friend. Right up my alley!
• I got most of my Christmas shopping done!
• Nick got an eye infection. Damn daycare!

 

xo,
Meg 

Boxed in

I fell in a box and I can't get out! And I am not happy about it! (And Mommy is mean for taking this photo!)

xo,
Meg

Nick's 1st Santa Claus Parade!

What a sunny day we had for the Santa Claus Parade!  Here Nicholas is bundled up waiting for the parade to start.

We watched the floats (and pathetic attempts at floats) go by with his pal Cooper. They just stared in awe at everything. 

It's Frosty!

It's a giant beaver!

It's a dancing Christmas tree!
 

It's Santa!  

Once Santa got a little closer, Nick waved at him. It melted my heart! 

xo,
Meg

LEGO!

Poppa and Gram came to visit this weekend so we spent Saturday afternoon in St. Jacobs. Nick especially loved the Lego outlet store. It was the first time we had to carry him out of a store! I think we will see a lego table in his future...Poppa has already started the hunt for one!

Hope everyone had a great weekend!

xo,
Meg 


 

It arrived!

Look what arrived yesterday!

This book is written by a blogging couple that I love to follow on Young House Love. It is filled with simple and cheap ways to improve your home. They took a simple IKEA table and turned it into a book shelf, a hanging wall shelf and a headboard. How creative is that?!

I went to bed late last night because I was up reading this...

xo,
Meg  

Happy Halloween!

Well this Halloween sure was memorable! 

Nick dressed up as a chicken! He went trick or treating at daycare and apparently loved it. He lasted in his costume all morning which is longer than some of my Kindergarten students. 

We took Nicholas trick-or-treating at Dan's work and he was definitely being a chicken. Pun intended. Little did we know what would happen at home that evening. We came home, carved our pumpkin, and then Nick started throwing up all over the kitchen floor. Not one, but FOUR times. Poor kid. This was often happening with trick-or-treaters at the door! I have also had a horrible head cold all week. I stayed home Tuesday, managed to get through Halloween yesterday and then I am home today. Nick is home with me as well.

Check out a neat treat one of my students brought in:

They are "zombie boogers." (AKA caramel popcorn with green food colouring.) Too fun! 

Hope everyone had a great Halloween!

xo,
Meg    

Take your kid to work (every) day

This week I was offered a spot in the daycare at my school. It is also an Owl daycare (same daycare Nicholas is already in) just a different location. It's a bit newer and it's in the same building as me.

Dan was all for it but he knew I needed to fully decide. So I made a pros and cons list:

Pros:

1. I get to drive to ONE place. 
2. I can go and check in with him whenever I like.
3. The facility is newer than his current one.
4. We will save money because he will be going into a toddler room a few months early rather than staying in an infant room.

Cons:

1. During the summer months, or if I was to take another mat leave before he starts Kindergarten, this new location is further out of my way.
2. If I was sick and Dan needed to drive him, again it is very much out of his way.
3. He may be a little too close for comfort given that my classroom is attached to the daycare.
4. He would be sleeping in a cot. 
5. If I want to go to the gym or shopping after work before picking him up, I have to leave work and then go back to work. It seems weird.

Even though the con list is technically longer than the pro list, we still went for it. The pros are so important: saving money AND getting to take my baby to work with me.

I tell ya... daycare dilemmas trump any stress from the newborn days!

xo,
Meg

Ps: The picture is from his pal's birthday party. Nick loves him some cupcake.

The many uses of a body mural

It was "week of the child" at Nick's daycare this week. One of the activities was making body murals. The teachers taped large white paper on the floor, traced the children and then stripped them to their diaper and let them go nuts with markers. I decided to frame a piece in our art work frame in our hallway since it hadn't be changed since our finger painting adventure on Father's Day.

I also used some to wrap a birthday gift for one of Nick's pals. AND I still have some left over. Too fun!

xo,
Meg

Confirmed Donation

Back in September I donated 8.5 inches of my hair to help make a wig for a woman battling cancer. You can read about that here. On Monday, I got my letter confirming that Pantene Beautiful Lengths had received my hair and that it met specifications. Whew! 

 I feel good about this donation. Having my hair this short has grown on me (pun intended!) What can I do next?!

xo,
Meg

This is how I roll.. I mean stack

The stacking ring tower is Nick's favourite toy. It was a hand me down from his cousins. Nicholas likes to do things his way...

xo,
Meg

Excited Face!

Nick is a little ham. He loves to entertain anyone that he comes into contact with. He has an excited face that is just too funny not to share. He does it so much that if Dan says "eyebrows!" he does this face:

Keep making us laugh little man!

xo,
Meg

Gobble Gobble

This week we made paper bag turkeys for Thanksgiving. I thought I would outline the steps for all those Daycare-Kindergarten-Grade 1 teachers out there! It's also a fun craft for the stay at home mommies with kids to entertain!

Step 1: Fill a paper bag with crumpled up newspapers. We used medium bags and they required 2-3 balls of crumpled paper. You can imagine how much the kids enjoyed this step.

Step 2: Tie the bag up using an elastic band. It makes a cute tail for the turkey as you lie the bag on it's side.

Step 3: Have the kids pick feathers and glue them on the back. (We had them pre-cut). I found this step tricky as white glue and glue sticks didn't always work. We reinforced everything with hot glue. Some kids wanted curled feathers, others wanted plain feathers and some had frayed feathers.

Step 4: Have the kids draw eyes on plastic spoon (this will be the face.) Googly eyes would be fun too! Then they cut a beak out of scrap paper and glue it on the spoon. Hot glue is required for the spoon.

Step 5: Have the kids cut out triangular feet. We used bristol board as it is much stronger. Hot glue was required for this as well.

Step 6: We tied a ribbon around the spoon to act as a wattle/bow tie. Double knot it!

Totally cute as a center piece for Thanksgiving dinner! 

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

xo,
Meg

Fences and Freezers

We have some new things going on at Casa Circelli. Check it out:

 We bought a small chest freezer so that we could stock up on things like pasta sauce and chili. (Ignore the ugly wood paneling!)

Dan and his Dad also re-built the fence on two sides of our yard as well as put in new gates. They did a fantastic job considering Dan was sick with a head cold and the weather was up and down!

I love making progress on the house! Next up: hardwood floor in our front room (aiming for November) and purchasing a dining room table set. 

xo,
Meg
 

Where did September go?

Let's see what we did this month:

• I returned to work
• All of our outdoor soccer leagues ended
• I turned 31 and we went to Golf's for dinner
• We traveled to Courtice for our niece's 2nd birthday party
• We had friends over a few times
• My inlaws came for 5 nights for some fence building fun
• Tina came for a sleepover :)
• We hosted a PTC soccer potluck
• Indoor soccer started for Dan
• We went the The Works with friends 
• We picked up our new van!

And the most exciting change was that our cleaning lady started!! 

xo,
Meg

Ps: Dad- our list has definitely gotten smaller since school began!

I love Fall!

I am not a hot weather gal. I like wearing sweaters and pants and mittens. Fall is the best time of the year! The leaves turn colours and decorations are bright and cheerful! This past weekend I did a little decorating around here. The mums were a birthday gift from the hubby. 

The candle holders were a gift from my sister-in-law several years ago. I change the decor inside them every season. The candles are left over from our wedding.

 A glimpse of our mantle:

I like to do a little decorating but I also keep in mind that Nicholas will touch EVERYTHING. I tend to pick where I put things wisely so that I am not constantly having to scold him for touching everything. In teaching we call that setting someone up for success!

xo,
Meg

Chop for Cancer

I have always wanted to chop my hair for Cancer research but I have never had enough guts to actually do it. Until today. My mother-in-law played hair dresser for me. I chopped a total of 8.5 inches off. I needed 8 inches to donate to Pantene Beautiful Lengths. We cut slightly more just in case we were off on our measurements.


Before:

After:

Ponytails 

It was scary cutting this much hair off. It's the shortest I have every gone but it was for an extremely important cause!

xo,
Meg

Wacky Hair Day

Today was Wacky Hair Day at Nick's daycare. His hair has finally starting to grow in and is definitely showing a bit of curl. I didn't want to use any product in his hair so I gave him a suntan lotion mohawk! His daycare teachers loved it. He was not amused while I was creating the mohawk but he still managed to smile for the camera!

xo,
Meg

My Mom-Mobile

We have finally bought a van! After plenty of research (you know how Dan is) we settled on a 2012 Dodge Caravan. It has all the bells and whistles with the exception of leather and navigation. It has a dvd player, back up camera, power seats, power doors, power hatch, complete stow n go seats and much more!

Most people I know groan when they have to get a van. Not me! I am loving it! 
 

xo,
Meg

A Local Author

One of Nicholas' daycare teachers has published a book! It is a make your own adventure book. How cool is that? I bought one for my classroom and can't wait to share it with the kids. 

If anyone is interested in supporting her by buying one let me know! It's $25 for a soft cover and $30 for a hardcover!

xo,
Meg

August in a nutshell

What did we do this month? Let's see!

• Family fish fry (without fish lol!)
• Visited with some friends and their 4 wonderful kids :)
• Dinner out with friends at Days on Front.
• Went to a cottage on Kasshabog Lake with the Circelli clan for 5 nights.
• Nicholas turned 1!
• We had friends over for a pre-birthday lunch for Nick
• Dan turned 31!
• We had Nick's 1st Birthday party with friends and family
• Nick had his 1 year shots and weigh in
• We attended a friend's wedding
• I set up my classroom
• We car/van shopped some more!
• We had a beach day at Belwood Lake
• We helped Tina pack up for her move back to Kingston :( 
• We went out for two good-bye dinners for Tina.
• We attended a water project party at Nick's daycare

 And the most exciting thing....Nicholas learned to walk!

xo,
Meg 

Water Project Party!

I love Nick's daycare! 

They have been doing a unit all about water and yesterday was their project party. When we arrived, there was a documentation wall with pictures and write ups. Apparently Nicholas likes to fill shoes with water and then pour them out. He also likes to play with wet paper towels. One of his teachers also makes a learning cube for each of the kids. 

I was worried that Nicholas would cling to us instead of playing with his friends. Boy was I wrong! He walked over, hugged us, and then went to play in the water with his pals. He would smile at us and wander around taking us on a "tour" of the outdoor space. 

I am so impressed that the daycare is run like a school. They follow the interests of the children and take lots of pictures and write anecdotal comments to share with the parents.

xo,
Meg

Ps: I am back to work on Tuesday. Ahh!