Every little thing is gonna be alright :)

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My phone died with all the pictures I wanted to share on it.

So, instead of posting what I intended to (Halloween stuff), I share with you a pretty song that is helping me get through this rainy, gloomy Wednesday:

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kVtkOUJhpcA

If It's the Beaches - The Avett Brothers

 

I'll be back later today once I have access to my photos.

 

xo, Vicky

 

 

What to read...

Simon, Quinn and I are at home today. 

We decided to take a family mental health day. 

On today's agenda: relaxing, helping Quinn practice standing and walking and carving the million pumpkins we bought. Check in tomorrow for the results!

Now on to the subject of this post.

Having just finished up The Night Circus, I am desperate for a good read. 

So I turned to the internet and here's what I found:

http://www.whatshouldireadnext.com/

You simply enter the last book or author you just read and it gives you suggestions for what to read next. This is good for people who want to read something similar to what they just finished. Not so good if you want something completely different.

 Give it a try if you are suffering for a major book hangover.

When I entered in The Night Circus it suggested a whole list of books. Among them was this one which I thought looked promising:

"Quentin Coldwater is brillant but miserable. He's a senior in high school, and a certifiable genius, but he's still secretly obsessed with a series of fantasy novels he read as a kid, about the adventures of five children in a magical land called Fillory. Compared to that, anything in his real life just seems gray and colorless.

Everything changes when Quentin finds himself unexpectedly admitted to a very secret, very exclusive college of magic in upstate New York, where he receives a thorough and rigorous education in the practice of modern sorcery. He also discovers all the other things people learn in college: friendship, love, sex, booze, and boredom. But something is still missing. Magic doesn't bring Quentin the happiness and adventure he though it would.

Then, after graduation, he and his friends make a stunning discovery: Fillory is real."

via Good Reads

Interesting... sounds kind of like a modern day, real-life Harry Potter?

Since I've made reference to Good Reads several times on the blog, this seems like an apt time to give it kudos. If you've never been over to Good Reads and you like to read good books, stop everything you are doing and go there NOW. Its free to sign up, you check off what genre of books you like and it suggests books of those genres for you to read. Straightforward and awesome. Good Reads also suggested I read The Magicians. 

Well, I guess the universe has spoken.

Downloaded to Kobo. 

Let's hope Quinn has a nice, long morning nap. 

xo, Vicky

Our weekend :)

Whew, that was a busy but amazing weekend!

Friday night, we packed Quinn up and sent her over to G-Ma and Grumpa's house while Simon and I headed over to my friend Heather's place to celebrate her birthday.

This was no ordinary party though.

It was a plaid party!

SO FUN :)

Photo cred - Ms. A. Alter

Saturday morning was an extra-special occassion.

Simon and I slept in until 10 am!

Lets all take a moment to be thankful for grandparents...

Saturday afternoon, we picked up our little nugget and headed to the place everyone else in Ottawa apparently goes to on Saturdays.

Ikea.

 

"Hey, look. There's an adorable child for sale at Ikea."

SOLD.

Quinn loves shopping at Ikea.

 It makes her want to dance.

Saturday night, we all headed to Kanata for our friends, Nasso and Melissa's Halloween party. Quinn actually stayed asleep in her playpen the whole night (something that doesn't always happen) and the rest of us snacked on delicious goodies and played Werewolves (yesss!)

A socket and a plug. How romantic.

Sunday morning, we went out for breakfast with the rest of the party-goers from the night before. Since Quinn went right to bed when we arrived at the party, no one saw her costume so obviously we made sure she wore it to breakfast :) 

Before we left for breakfast, Simon made sure that Quinn was good and hyper...

 I couldn't love these two more

Sunday night, something HUGE happened.

Dun, dun, DUN...

Well, actually two HUGE things happened.

Dun, dun, DUN...

First, Quinn decided to stand on her own!

Then after some practice standing,

Quinn took her first steps!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It happened so fast I didn't get it on video but I don't think i'll ever forget it.

Well, that about does it for me.

I hope you all had wonderful weekends too.

xo Vicky

Mommy fail

First of all...

YAY !!!

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 There are some days when I just couldn't give a 'hoot'. 

Yesterday was that kind of day. Simon had class (he's working towards a Masters in Sociology) so we were rushed and I just didn't have the energy to put together an acceptable meal. 

If hotdogs are so bad for you, why do they taste so damn good?

Simon ended up eating my leftover Thai from lunch and a grilled cheese sandwich. We ran out of bread so Quinn and I had boiled hotdogs, cheese, baby carrots and orange slices. Gourmet, I know. 

Maybe I'll get my act together and make something decent tomorrow...

I was still feeling lazy after dinner so I threw on a couple animal videos on the laptop. 

It's days like this that I am thankful for YouTube and Baby Einstein.

I remember swearing that no child of mine would watch tv, especially not young, impressionable babies/toddlers. I also swore I would not feed my kids crappy food. 

How opinions change when life with kids become a reality.

For that matter, everything changes when kids enter the scene.

Like any attempt at keeping a tidy home...

I have resolved myself to the fact that my livingroom will always look like a toy tornado ripped through it.

C'est la vie.

We have a busy upcoming weekend. Tonight, Simon and I are going to my friend Heather's birthday party (cowboy/girl theme) and Saturday we are going to a Halloween party.

Here's our costumes:

Happy weekend!!!

xo Vicky

My new routine

Before having Quinn my days were free to do whatever I wanted.

Sure I had to put in time at work, but my mornings, evenings and weekends were all mine.

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I could go out for drinks with friends after work and not come home until late at night. I could come home and slowly make dinner and enjoy a glass (or five) of wine. I could have a long bath if I had a rough day. On weekends, I could go out with girlfriends for dinner or drinks. I could get really into a book and not put it down all day. Simon and I could drop everything and head to the States for outlet shopping.

I could do anything I wanted, whenever I wanted.

Now, post-baby, if I can get an hour a night to myself its a small miracle.

Yet, as much as I kick myself now for taking my free time pre-baby for granted, I wouldn't change how my life has turned out.

While talking to my friend yesterday about returing to work after her honeymoon, I jokingly told her that we need bad days to appreciate the really good ones. 

Before Quinn I had so much spare time, I longed for something to fill it. By having so much I lost sight of how good it was.

Although I wouldn't call my busy nights and weekends with Quinn bad, they certainly put the small sliver of downtime of I have in better perspective.

Let me give you a peak into a typical day in my life.

• 5:20am: Begrudgingly wake up, shower and get ready
• 6:00am: Head downstairs for breakfast with the dogs
• 6:20am: Let dogs out and leave for work
• 7:00am-3:00pm: Work
• 3:30pm: Pick up Quinn from daycare
• 3:45pm: Take Quinn and dogs for walk and park time
• 5:00pm: Get dinner ready / chase Quinn around
• 6:00pm: Dinner time
• 6:30-7:00pm: Playtime with Quinn
• 7:00pm: Bathtime
• 7:30pm: Storytime then bedtime for Quinn
• 7:45pm - 9:00pm: Clean up dinner dishes, pack lunch for the next day, get Quinn's clothes/daycare bag packed, laundry, general house tidy, (insert miscellaneous other household tasks), watch Coronation Street (yes, its our guilty pleasure)
• 9:00pm: Head up to bed, read or watch T.V. or have a bath
• 10:00pm: BED
• 2:00am: Quinn normally wakes up and needs a cuddle
• 2:30/3:00 am: Back to bed
• 5:20am: Repeat.

My favorite time of the day is our walk/park time. Quinn LOVES the park by our house. She LOVES swinging, LOVES the slide and LOVES playing with the woodchips that surround the park (aka the bain of my existence).

Little Q walking to the park

Swingin' away

Woodchips = worst idea ever City of Ottawa

They get stuck to everything!

Park butt

In the tunnel

Throwing woodchips 

More woodchip fun

(At least the kids like them...)

Ahhhh

By the way, the photo above is a fairly accurate picture of what our house looks like on a regular basis.

Happy Thursday!

xo Vicky

Pretty Eyes

When I was a little girl, my mother taught me a very important trick called 'Pretty Eyes'.

I would bat my lashes and get my father (or anyone else for that matter) to do anything I asked.

Now that I have a daughter of my own, I knew 'Pretty Eyes' needed to be added to her repetoire of tricks. Maybe 'tricks' is the wrong word - perhaps skill is better? 

Anyways, my mother and I have been trying to teach Quinn 'Pretty Eyes' for some time.

Last night she got it. :)

Enjoy...

xo Vicky

My sweet girl

Since I don't have anything particularly interesting to talk about today, I will share with you some pictures of the little girl that has stolen my heart.

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I swear this child gets sweeter with each day that passes. I take so much pleasure in watching her discover the beauty of ordinary, everyday things.

Yesterday we went for our regular after work/daycare walk around the neighbourhood. She was in a cranky mood and wouldn't crack a smile no matter how hard I tried.

As we walked by the park, I noticed some wildflowers along the path. I stopped, picked one and handed it to Quinn.

Immediately her mood shifted.

It looked like I had handed her a cheque for a million dollars.

For the rest of the walk she held on to that little flower and smiled.

(he loves me, he loves me not, he loves me...)

 Man, I love this kid.

xo Vicky

Our weekend :)

I love weekends. 

I love sleeping in. I love making big elaborate breakfasts. I love wearing my pyjamas until noon (or all day). I love spending time with family and friends. 

This past weekend included all of those things. 

Unfortunately the weekend also included fever and puke...

On Thursday Quinn woke up in the middle of the night feeling unusually warm. I gave her a half dose of Tylenol and put her back to bed. Friday she was off and didn't eat much at daycare. When I picked her up after work she didn't seem like her happy self and by bedtime she was worse. About an hour after we put her to bed she woke up very feverish and had a scary glazed over look about her. She ended up throwing up all over me as I rocked her. It scared the pants off me. This was the first time she'd ever been really sick. 

We quickly consulted The Baby Book which told us that fevers are a normal part of childhood and that what she had was most likely due to teething. The book also told us to give her Tylenol and strip her down to try and get the fever down. So we did and thank goodness, it worked.

 By the morning she was back to her usual happy self. :) 

The moral of the story = teething sucks.

We started off Saturday morning with a breakfast of champions. 

I made a potato, onion, pepper and cheese scramble and I must say, it was delicious. 

Shortly after breakfast, Simon's dad came over with a present:

A lovely bird feeder! 

Living in a new neighbourhood has many perks like new homes, new parks and new friends. 

On the flip side it lacks things like wildlife. 

Hopefully this new bird feeder will help attract some animal friends (of the non-racoon/skunk variety). 

I'm dreaming of painting it a bright colour (like turquoise) and adding some cute shingles.

I smell a project!

Saturday night we headed over to my friend Shelley's place to celebrate her birthday.

 It's funny how much can change in a couple years. Two years ago, birthdays were all about going out, getting drunk and having dance parties.

 Now it's all about babies, wine and games.

I think its safe to say, Quinn is smitten with Shelley's daugher Lyla.

Speaking of games, we played Werewolves of Miller's Hollow. SO FUN.

I highly suggest this for your next big gathering. The more people the better.

Sunday started off much the same as Saturday. I reheated the extra scramble I made the day before and it was just as delicious. While getting breakfast ready I looked over to where I had parked Quinn and of course she was no longer there.

This is where I found here:

She managed to crawl under the chairs and had trapped herself under our breakfast table. Little monkey.

After breakfast we got dressed and headed over to my aunt Heather's condo to see the renovations she had done. Everything looked awesome. She picked some really nice finishes. After some tea and chocolate cake, we headed out for a lovely dog walk.

Later Sunday afternoon I headed over to my parent's place for the usual Sunday dinner. I was cranky and ended up freaking on my sister. Oops. Hopefully she forgives me. :)

Overall our weekend was amazing even though I decided to be a brat and end it on a bad note. :)

To end this post, I would like to share the many looks Quinn rocked this weekend:

1) Princess Quinn

2) Smurf Quinn

3) Pope Quinn

4) Lasagna-face Quinn

5) Happy messy kid Quinn

Have a happy Monday!

xo Vicky

Dreams

Sometimes I have weird dreams.

Sometimes those dreams are so realistic, when I wake up I have a hard time realizing they aren't true.

I'm sure many of you can relate.

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Given the dream I had last night, I sincerely hope this isn't true.

Let me explain...

The dream started quite nicely with my sister and I going to a spa.

It started to go downhill when I threw a fit and got kicked out.

Next, Simon and I decided it would be fun to sneak into random houses without the homeowners noticing. I should note that Quinn came along too.

At one particular home, we walked in the front door, managed to sneak past the woman in the front room, went upstairs and jumped on a bed. Again, Quinn was with us. We got tired of our game and decided to leave. The problem is, we got caught by the man of the house who chased us out.

We thought, "wow - what a close call", and vowed to never do it again.

The next day we see a new group on Facebook. Plastered all over the group are pictures of Simon and I and a message to warn local homeowners of us.

I freak out.

 I think about how our reputations, careers, friendships, etc. will be ruined.

It is awful.

Simon remains calm while he explains what we could be charged with if police find us.

I decide I can't stand the guilt and decide to call the homeowners and explain.

When he answers the phone I start to cry and tell him about our game and how we never wanted to cause anyone harm. He seems to be sympathetic, but his wife is not.

The dream ends with me pleading with the wife, in person, not lay charges and suddenly she turns into a wilted flower.

I'll leave you to ponder the hidden meanings and messages of that doozy.

Have a great weekend!

xo Vicky

Book Obsession

G'day!

I am having issues uploading some sidebar titles so please excuse the mess! 

In other news, I have to share my latest book obsession:

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 The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

It is phenomenal.

If you like books with a little magic and mystery, look no further! If you are into audio books, the one narrated by Jim Dale = awesome. I listened to part of it on a long drive home from Niagara Falls and it did not disappoint.

Here is the synopsis via Good Reads:

"The circus arrives without warning. No announcements precede it. It is simply there, when yesterday it was not. Within the black-and-white striped canvas tents is an utterly unique experience full of breathtaking amazements. It is called Le Cirque des Rêves, and it is only open at night.

But behind the scenes, a fierce competition is underway—a duel between two young magicians, Celia and Marco, who have been trained since childhood expressly for this purpose by their mercurial instructors. Unbeknownst to them, this is a game in which only one can be left standing, and the circus is but the stage for a remarkable battle of imagination and will. Despite themselves, however, Celia and Marco tumble headfirst into love—a deep, magical love that makes the lights flicker and the room grow warm whenever they so much as brush hands.

True love or not, the game must play out, and the fates of everyone involved, from the cast of extraordinary circus per­formers to the patrons, hang in the balance, suspended as precariously as the daring acrobats overhead.

Written in rich, seductive prose, this spell-casting novel is a feast for the senses and the heart."

If you are looking for a new book to read that isn't too heavy, I wholeheartedly recommend picking up a copy of The Night Circus.

xo, Vicky

This and that

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 You may have noticed a few 'upgrades'.

I've been playing around with fonts, page settings and have just added a new navigation bar! Sorry to anyone who has had trouble viewing anything over the past day or two. I'll be adding more features this week so bear with me. I promise it will be worth it :)

With the housekeeping message out of the way, on to my ramblings...

The view from my office is not what you would call picturesque. I face out onto a parking lot and have views of office buildings, a shopping mall and shabby little houses. I'm not complaining though. The parking lot offers many opportunities to people watch. I try to guess which car someone is walking to or which parking spot a car will pull into.

What can I say, I'm easily entertained.

But this morning this I saw this:

I'm afraid of heights. I get that vertigo feeling if I look over railings at shopping malls.

 Yet, a part of me has always really wanted to go on a hot air balloon ride. I mean, if a man can jump from the edge of frigging space from a balloon, I'm pretty sure I can go on a leisurely ride over Ottawa in one.

One day...

xo Vicky

Birthday Celebrations: Part Two - PARTY!

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We did it! We celebrated Quinn’s first birthday this past Saturday and it was SO MUCH FUN. It took the combined effort of many people to pull off, but in my humble opinion, it was a success :) Thank you to our families for helping us with last minute preparations – we seriously could not have done it without you!
I had been planning Quinn's first birthday for, ohhhhh twelve months. No joke I've had a Pinterest board with all sorts of ideas since this kid was born.

I decided on a rainbow themed because I wanted Quinn's first birthday to be bright, cheerful and happy. What's happier than a rainbow? The dollar store has so many cheap colorful party supplies, plus babies love colours so what better theme than rainbow!
 
Without further ado, I give you the highlights of Quinn's first birthday:

Apparently throwing a party for fifty guests requires a fair bit of preparation? Lesson learned. Here I am just minutes before guests arrived trying desperately to finish icing the cupcakes.
 

My aunt Heather ended up taking over and did a marvelous job!

It’s a cupcake rainbow (if you hadn’t guessed already)!

 

 

My brother Mitch and Heather helped to decorate the place and it looked great! THANK YOU! (This picture is a pretty good representation of the wall color.)

 Special mentions to both my mom and  mother-in-law, Shari. My mom did a bang-up job chopping all the veggies, fruit and cheese and kept me sane during those last few minutes before people came. Shari saved the day by picking up our balloon order and getting it back to our place just in time for the party to start!

Miss Q watching everyone pile into our house :)

 

Guests started to arrive around one and by twenty-after we had a full house! Simon was on drink duty and made sure guests had a beverage as soon as they walked in. We figured people would forget about the cramped quarters if they had a couple drinks in them. I think it worked. :)

 

Speaking of drinks, I must mention that Simon whipped up a seriously delish batch of red wine sangria that did not disappoint party-goers. Great work babe!

 

For around an hour, guests mingled and snacked on meatballs, deviled eggs, veggies, fruit, chips and some wicked homemade tarts that Simon’s cousin Tara brought. While everyone was downstairs partying, I was frantically editing Quinn’s First Year video upstairs. Although I could have spent a few more hours making everything perfect, we ended up playing the video for everyone in a semi-edited state and I think it did the job. One day I’ll get around to fine tuning everything and post it to YouTube for y’all to see.

After the video, it was time for presents! Before I show you some pictures, I want to take a minute to tell you how amazing our friends and families are. Even before Quinn was born, they have supported, spoiled and loved our little girl. I can’t tell you how much it means to Simon and I to know that Quinn is loved unconditionally by so many. Looking around the room at all the people who took the time to come and celebrate our baby girl’s birthday was amazing. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

 

 

A very special copy of Where the Wild Things Are <3

 

Yay for presents!

Once all the presents were opened, it was time for cupcakes and cake!
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It was a wonderful day filled with laughter, happy tears, presents, cake and the best people in the world. Thank you all again :)

 

xo Vicky