Rested, Relaxed and Ready for Christmas...almost

This past weekend was amazing!!! 3 of my girlfriends and I went to the Banff Springs for the weekend and spent most of our time at the spa there - it was perfect! I have never been to a spa so beautiful!! I felt like royalty - lunch was brought to us while we rested in huge individual couches with warm blankets, we had our own private pool that was in the spa. There were 2 different kinds of saunas - one was a normal one and the other was a eucalyptus sauna (great for sinuses). I had a Hot Stone Massage and then a Pedicure in the afternoon....ahhhh!

We did some shopping, lots of eating and a lot of "spa-ing" - could not have asked for a more relaxing weekend. I was so happy to come home to my 3 boys though - I sure missed them all!

Ben was at my mom and dad's house tonight and Dave was out working, so I had the house to myself. I have a Christmas bake exchange this Friday at my house, so I thought I'd decorate a bit and start my baking. There are going to be 9 ladies, including myself, and we each need to bake 9 dozen of one thing. How it works is everyone shows up, has some drinks, talks, listens to Christmas music and basically gets a night "out" and then we all pass out our baking... everyone ends up with 1 dozen of everything that was brought.... Christmas baking done and December hasn't even started! I think it will be a lot of fun. As you can see, I made 9 dozen Butter Tarts tonight.... very tedious!!!

While they were baking, I made a quick Christmas banner to hang over the fireplace - nothing fancy, just something quick and festive (I added some "bling" to make it sparkle - you can't really tell from the picture)

All in all, it was a nice evening!

Swimming, Trees and Treats

This past weekend was a great one! Friday, Ben had swimming and Gram and Auntie Carrie came to watch... Ben was a bit grumpy and being a "mama's boy".. so at times it made it hard for Dave to keep him in the water and not wanting me. We got through it and then went to Montana's for dinner with Gram and Grandad. We were there for 2 hours and Ben was such a good boy! Gram and I sat and entertained him at our end of the table. We colored, read book and played with cars on the table, while Grandad and Dave talked. At the end of the meal, they brought us the bill and some suckers...Ben's eyes lit up (he has never had a sucker before). I did not think it was the smartest thing to give a 20 month old, but I told him to suck it and NO biting.... he listened so well. He licked the sucker the WHOLE way home, not once taking a bite! When we got home, the first thing he did was take the stick to the garbage - he is very tidy!

We had a nice visit with Gram and Grandad that night - it was late, so they could not stay long... Ben and Grandad were dancing like the Wiggles and Gram and him were playing hide and seek! I wish I had my camera that night.... next time!

Saturday we put up the Christmas tree! I know it is early, but I do not have a free weekend until December and wanted to get it up. I will not turn on the lights until December 1st, but at least it is up.... I love my tree!

Sunday was my mom's birthday. I made a cake and cupcakes and we had the Keg for dinner. Yum! It was a nice evening... hope mom had a good day!

This weekend was a great "family" one! We have not had a weekend where Dave has no jobs to go to and can just be at home! There needs to be more weekends like this past one!

If anyone is wondering.... I will not be showing photos of our decorated tree until December 1st when we turn its lights on....maybe a few days sooner if I get too impatient (like that will ever happen) ;)

Banana Bread and Lights

Last week seemed to fly by! Last Sunday, Ben and I spent the day inside while Dave worked outside. I did not know what to do with Ben... he seemed tired of playing with toys and I just could not bring myself to read "Peter the Cruise Ship from Alaska" one more time! My uncle - aka Great Uncle Booga, decided to get Ben a book when they were on their cruise with my parents a few months ago. When he was in Edmonton, he gave it to Ben and Ben was not too sure about either the book or Great Uncle Booga. It didn't take long before Uncle Booga and "Benny Terry" were buds... and the book has been one of his favorite ever since. We sometimes read it 5 times a day! I feel like a bad mom, but some days I "hide" it, so I get a break from good old Peter and his friends Push and Gulp the tug boats - oh, you can't forget his eagle friend, Baldie.... ;) Anyway, I have gotten off track....

I was sure the next thing he would want to do was get out the "Book", so I decided to see if he wanted to make Banana Bread instead... he raced into the kitchen and pushed the stool over to the counter (that's his spot for baking). He is getting so good... I read out the ingredients one at a time and how much we need. He watches me go and get the ingredients and then he helps me put everything into the bowl. His favorite part is turning on the mixer AND beating the eggs in a bowl..... what a cutie - he takes his time and is so determined. It is great, because he listens great and is so calm - a nice and relaxing activity AND we get baking out of it! He crouches down by the glass of the oven and watches his creations bake....love it!

I went outside after we were done to check on Dave and he was working away, putting up Christmas lights.... what a great guy! I can't wait until we get to turn them on!!!

I HAD to throw this photo in.... this was Ben after his new haircut... a Mohawk!

Halloween 2009


(a little blurry, but our only family shot of the night)

We had such a great day yesterday with Ben. This was his second Halloween, but the first one where he actually knew what was going on. He was so excited to get into his costume this year. We first stopped at a few of his friends' houses to drop off some goodies. We made cupcakes and little treats for everyone. We then went to Gram and Grandad's house and Auntie Carrie was there too! Ben got to see them for a bit before we went off trick or treating. He stocked up on some treats from their house and then we stopped at Uncle Jon's house - he was waiting for us all dressed up! It was funny, because Ben was a little unsure at first and didn't want his picture with him... When we were leaving we tried again, and we got a great photo of Mr. Penguin and Captain America - very cute!

Then it was on to Granny and Boompa's house, where we also got to see uncle Richard all dressed up and waiting for Ben. Ben loved that costume - a big Puppy! We all ate dinner and went off trick or treating. Richard and Ben would go up to the doors and get their candy... the first house Ben did not understand what to do, but by the end, he was running up to the doors and opening his bag himself(with a bit of help. We all had a blast...It was nice that the boys dressed up for him AND let me take their pictures! I think Rich and Ben had fun trick or treating together. I know I had fun "testing" Ben's candy to make sure it was all safe! ;)

Happy Halloween!



Captain America and Mr. Penguin



let the fun begin!



a puppy and a penguin



checking out the loot



after a hard night's work



sampling the goods

Before and After




Lately, Hudson has been shedding so much. I don't know why this year is the worst, but it is!!! There are clumps of hair all around the house and any free minute I have is spent vacuuming them up. It is starting to drive me crazy! I decided to take him to Fabulous Furballs to get trimmed and brushed. They shampooed, conditioned, blow dried, clipped nails, raked the heck out of his hair and gave him a nice "puppy cut". Before we left, I took a photo of him. Ben got quite mad that I was not taking His photo, so I had to take his too...

I was so impressed with this "salon"... all of the groomers were in smocks with "bling" on the backs of them (there names were done in Swarovsky crystals). Everyone there was quite trendy... lots of guys with tattoos and piercings and the women were all quite funky. The salon was beautiful... chandelier on the ceiling and great decor... quite out of place for a grooming shop - I liked it! Anyway, we picked Hudson up later on that day and WHAT a difference! He looked so much younger and less "frizzy".... When we got home, I took an "After" photo of him and again, Ben started to fuss. I asked him if he wanted his photo taken, and he quickly stopped whining and posed for a shot - what a funny guy!



This was Hudson's "before"


This was Benjamin's "before"


This was Hudson's "after"


This was Benjamin's "after"