Level 201

I have a love/hate relationship with Candy Crush.

Attack of the 50 foot woman

These mini cones make me feel like a giant! ;)

One more story from Phoenix

This didn't really fit into my "vacation recap" posts, but it was a funny story that I wanted to share, nonetheless.  Sorry Mom!

One day in Phoenix my mom and I were in Walmart picking up a few things, including some booze ('cuz you can get that at Walmart in the States - classy).  My mom was paying for everything, yet the cashier insisted on seeing my ID (insert confidence boost here - it's been a while since I've been asked that).  It was so weird though - even after my mom said that it was her buying the booze, not me, the cashier still insisted, saying that I was with her.  So, what - if I was underage, my mom wouldn't have been allowed to drink?  Good thing we didn't have Annika or Emmett with us!

Size doesn't matter

You know what's great about kids' clothes?  Shorts. 

Kids can wear the same pair of shorts forever.  Last summer Annika was still wearing a pair that were size 18m (and she was just over 3).  Sure, they were a bit shorter on her than at 18m (I think they started out as capris and ended up as shorts), but they still fit perfectly in the waist and bum.  Emmett (who is now 18 months) is currently wearing the same shorts that he wore last summer.  The pair he had on yesterday was a pair that I had originally bought for Annika's first summer.  Can anyone guess what size they are???

They are almost a bit snug, because baby got back with his big cloth diaper bum, but they still do fit.  So do you think you know what size they are??  Scroll down and see!

Were you right??? 
Make sure you leave a comment and let me know if you guessed correctly!

Can you believe that?  Size 3 months and he's wearing them at 18 months.  Granted, they are huge for an actual 3 month old.  Like I said, I bought them for Annika's first summer (she was 3 months in mid-July) and she never wore them that year because they would've fallen off her (this was before I started using cloth diapers - they might have stayed on with a cloth diaper).  But thankfully I didn't put them in the giveaway bin just because she was older than the number on the tag.  They've gotten a lot of wear since then! 

Hmmm, I wonder if I could still squeeze Annika into them now.....  ;)

Guilty pleasure

Okay, I'm going to admit one of my guilty pleasures....
I love the song "Dynamite" by Taio Cruz. 
You know the one -

I throw my hands up in the air sometimes

Saying a-yo

Gotta let go

I wanna celebrate and live my life

Saying a-yo

Baby, let's go

I have to admit, though, that I actually had to google the name and artist of the song right now.  I just know that when I'm listening to the radio in the car (that's the only place I listen to the radio anyway), if I hear it, I gotta crank it up and sing along (and of course, throw my hands up in the air - or at least one of them, while I'm driving).  And I will also admit that most of the time I will sing "a-yo, galileo" (it totally sounds like he says galileo, don't you think??).  Anyways, I heard it the other day, and it's been in my head since then, and I guess I've been singing it around the house.  Perhaps a little too much.  Today I heard Annika singing about "hands in the air" and "a-yo, gotta lego".  I had to laugh - that's my girl. :)

Coming soon to the Olympics??

Brother-sister box-sledding!

A walk around the block

I try to take the kids out for a walk each afternoon to get some fresh air and exercise.  We don't go very far, but it takes quite a while with an inquisitive 3 year old.  I took my camera along for yesterday's walk, to document some of the things that happen on our walks.

Of course we have to start out with jumping in a few puddles...

then pick a dandelion...

inspect a caterpillar...

and see if the caterpillar wants to smell the dandelion.

Then there are flowers to examine...

have to see what this tree feels like...

and what sound it makes to drop pebbles down the drain.

then it's over the "rainbow trail" (aka the shortcut path) and back to home.

And we can't forget about Emmett, who, despite the "stink eye" in this picture, really enjoys going for walks too!

So that's a glimpse of what happens when we go for a walk! :)

Go, Jets, go!

So the NHL is officially back in Winnipeg.  I may not be the biggest hockey fan, and I will definitely not be at Portage and Main today partying it up, but I have to say that I'm excited about it.  My dad had season tickets for the Jets when we were growing up, and going to games with him is one of my favorite childhood memories.  I'm not one for watching sports on TV, but going to live games is a different thing, especially for a kid - the excitement of the crowd, the arena food, getting to stay up late.  Plus, it was a special thing to get to have a "date" with my dad.  As a kid, my favorite player was Randy Carlyle, because I could always tell which one he was on the ice (he didn't wear a helmet - can you imagine that now?).  I remember when the Jets left, I donated $15 to the "Save the Jets" cause.  I believe I was in grade 7 at the time, so that was a lot of money!

Anyway, I'm excited that we'll have a team again (I hope they call them the Jets, but I'm not holding my breath).  I doubt that we'll get season tickets, but we'll likely go to a few games.  And perhaps one day Annika will look back and fondly remember going to hockey games with her daddy too. :)

Prime real estate

I love where I live.  I love the area, I love our street.  I love our yard and I love our house.  And apparently, I'm not the only one.  We got some little friends who also seem to think we've got a little piece of heaven here.  This past week, I've had the windows open occasionally, and whenever I leave an upstairs window open, a bird starts building a nest there.  It will only be open for a few hours, and there will be evidence of someone trying to move in.  And these are determined little ones - check out their hard work...



Our bedroom




Kids' bathroom




Laundry room
(this is actually a second attempt - I knocked down the first nest yesterday)

So I guess we'll need to keep the windows closed (and turn on the AC!) at least for the next little while, until the birds find a more appropriate place to call home.  This one is taken.

Spring is in the hair - I mean air

Around our place, we watch for a different sign of spring.  Sure, we watch as the snow melts, the tulips poke up through the ground, and the trees start to bud, but there is another sign that signals the season change -- it's the return of mullet man.  "Mullet man", as we have nicknamed him, is a gentleman (probably in his late 30s or early 40s) who lives down our street, and sports the most amazing curly mullet.  I'm assuming it's natural, but I guess it could be a perm (which would make it even more awesome).  I wish I had a picture to share with you.  You'd definitely be in awe of this mullet.  During the warmer months, we often see him walking past our house, I'm assuming to the bus stop at the end of the street.  I'm not sure what he does in winter, but we rarely see him until the weather warms up (or perhaps we just don't notice him because it's dark earlier during winter).  Anyway, I saw him today, which means that spring is definitely on its way!

My confession

Okay, I'm going to admit it - I love to dress my kids to match me (or each other).  Sometimes Annika will see what I'm wearing and pick out a similar outfit herself, but often I do it for her.  Sometimes I don't even realize that I'm doing it, but most of the time I do it on purpose (and then pretend that it wasn't intentional).  ;)  I know it's kind of corny, but I think it's cute. 

Don't you agree?