Mini Martha Stewart

This morning while I was making my green smoothie, Arabella got into the cabinet where all of the baking supplies are kept. She wanted to use the decorations and I told her that we couldn't do that unless we made cookies or cupcakes. So what does she proceed to say...."Mommy make cupcakes". There is no way that I could say no to that, so I looked in the cabinet to see if we had any mixes and the only one that we had was a lemon poppy seed mix. She also decided that she wanted to make pumpkin cupcakes (she has been obsessed with pumpkins since we put out some of the Fall decorations this week). So I pulled out the pan that I have that is in the shape of pumpkins and we got to work. She helped me mix the ingredients, which she really did all by herself. And then we poured the batter into the pan.







While they cooked, she colored in her playroom, in her princess dress no less. (Just another little obsession that she has this week, it was supposed to be her Halloween costume, but she has been wearing it out and I think it might be getting a little to small for her, so I think she is going to have to be something else for Halloween).





After they cooled and we got back from shopping, we frosted and decorated them. Actually, she decorated them - it was hard for me to just sit there and let her do it all by herself. But she wasn't going to allow me to help at all. She did a good job of spreading the frosting and then decorating with Halloween (I know it is early, but it is pretty cold up here) sprinkles. And I sure hope that Jay enjoys them since he will be the one eating them with her since they are not a part of my diet. They might be a little heavy in places, but she had fun and was so focused. I think she could be a mini Martha Stewart in the making!

Thursday's Thoughts

Hearing: Arabella talking to herself as she plays downstairs, it is the cutest thing ever!

Tasting: Actually, craving a spiced pumpkin latte from Starbucks - wonder if they have them up here in Canada???

Seeing: Lists of things that I need to get accomplished this Fall.

Smelling: The lemon poppy seed cupcakes that Arabella and I made this morning as they cool and wait to be frosted.

Feeling: Excited to see some other awesome moms tonight at the Wee Wiggles Moms Night Out!

Visiting The Dentist

Today, Arabella had her first dentist appointment. She did great! She smiled the whole time and even wanted to sit in the chair by herself. Her teeth are looking good, she has 20 teeth in and the dentist said "She has Beautiful Teeth". He also said that I must have had a good diet when I was pregnant with her because the proof is in the pudding (gotta love that line) and he could tell by just looking at her teeth. I guess that was one thing I was anal about when I was pregnant with her, eating well. I tried to eat as much natural and organic fruits, veggies and other nutritious food and stay away from the junk (I cheated every once in a while). I guess the red, orange and yellow bell peppers I craved and ate every day did do some good! One thing that we need to start to work on is getting rid of her didgy a/k/a pacifier. Right now it is not causing any damage to her palate, but it could and then she will have issues later on. We are trying to only give it to her at nap time and bed time, where it usually falls out, but sometimes she finds one around the house or in my purse and she just pops it in her mouth. Arabella, you did great! Mommy is so proud of you...now if only we can keep you unafraid of the dentist so you don't have nerves like I do when I visit the dentist!

Catching Up

Arabella and I had so much fun when we visited Connecticut for Labor Day weekend, actually it was 8 days, but who is counting?? Although, I think that I needed a vacation from the vacation when we got back since I was driving all over the state trying to fit in visits with as many family members and friends as possible. I also had to fit in some shopping and a doctor visit for me. Yes, everything is fine, it was just a routine doctor visit for me, since the wonderful Canadian/Quebec medical system is so overloaded I decided to make an appointment with my old OB/Gyn in Connecticut. Much easier, less stress and Arabella got to spend the day at the pool with Auntie Lori!

On Friday morning, I met a childhood friend in West Hartford Center for a late breakfast or early lunch. I was super excited to see Alana since it had been 10 years and I wanted her to meet Arabella. As soon as we saw each other, it was like we had just seen each other last week - it amazes me that it was like that since so much time has passed. We have grown up, gotten married, I had Arabella - but still it was as if we were back at the beach just hanging out. I guess that is a true mark of real friendship - that you can go years, decades without speaking and when you do reconnect, it is like that time didn't pass. We talked and laughed and got caught up. It was so much fun to see her and spend time with her. Arabella also had fun and I promise that when we are back in Connecticut, we will see each other again. Thanks for having a fun morning with us Alana, can't wait to see you again soon, only next time, maybe we can do some shopping like we used to!

I know this is a cheesy group pic, but we forgot to ask someone to take our picture outside and so we had to settle with the one the clerk took in Plimptons!

Arabella and Alana having fun!

Arabella and I were also invited to Laureen, Mark and Brandon's BBQ on Sunday. It was the first time that I have seen Laureen since her baby shower and I was looking forward to meeting her new bundle of joy, Brandon! He is such a little cutie and such a good baby. And who can resist those big blue eyes?? Arabella was so gentle with him, it was adorable to watch her with him. It was such a fun time and we were able to relax, spend time outside and catch up on everything that has gone on over the past few months. Thanks for inviting us, the food was excellent (Teddy even enjoyed some of the corn on the cob) and we had a blast!











We also were able to spend a ton of time with Dad, Aunt Margo and Uncle Bill! Arabella had fun playing with bubbles with Uncle Bill. She also had fun at Grampy's/Dad's playing with all the animals. She and Aston has so much fun lounging around together and watching TV. I was amazed at how good he is with her, he would let her climb all over him and she would give him big hugs! Arabella also had fun chasing the cats around Grampy's house too. I bet the cats were happy to see us leave so they could get some peace and quiet again.







Arabella even had her first cannoli - she is a little Italian girl through and through. She opted for chocolate, not my favorite, but maybe as she grows, she will become partial to the ricotta one like me...one can hope right?





Arabella had fun with Grampy and was able to sweet talk him into giving her money for her piggy bank - each and every dollar or cent that was given to her has been deposited into them! You can see the money in her hand in the pictures below. Thanks Grampy!







Time went by too quickly like it always does. It was so hard to fit in visits with everyone and we are sad that we couldn't see you, but rest assured, on the next go around, we will see you.

Fabulous Finds

I have been meaning to blog about 2 Fabulous Finds that Arabella received from Grammie when she was visiting last month.

My favorite is a book entitled Fletcher and the Falling Leaves. It is a wonderful story about a little fox and the changing of the seasons. Arabella loves Fletcher and the storyline holds her attention and is just the right length. The illustrations are beautiful and help to explain the wonders of the world around us.





Our second Fabulous Find is ring flash cards by Mudpuppy. Grammie purchased the "N is for Nature" alphabet flash cards for Arabella. They are amazing. There are 26 cards and each card is double sided. One side has the both the upper and lowercase letter in addition to words beginning with the letter that are found in nature. The opposite side has the uppercase letter and an nature image. What is great about these flash cards is that they do not have the usual words that you would find on alphabet flash cards. For example, Uca is one of the words on the "U" card. What is a Uca...it is a type of crab, who knew?? Arabella loves the cards - she can tell you what letter is on each card, even if you ask her out of order, and she even knows that when you come to the kangaroo card, that a joey is in the mom's pouch! I don't think that I would have know to teach her that without the help of these cards. Since she has had so much fun with them and loves to look at them, I researched Mudpuppy and found that they have a handful of other flash cards and they are sold on Amazon. So I have ordered her 2 more sets - Opposites and Words in English and French (since we are supposed to be learning French, it might just help me too!). There is also an English/Spanish set, that would be more up my ally since I had so many years of Spanish, we might try that one at a later date. Anyway, if you are looking for a great gift or something fun to teach with, you need to check these flash cards out!

Dog Days of Summer

It feels like it has been forever since I blogged, but I guess that is what happens when you travel and are having too much fun to check email, Facebook or your blog! So I should start with our last "Summer" Wee Wiggles outing. I say it is our last Summer one since it has been a little cool here and I am not sure that we will get the Indian Summers that we are used to back in the States. On the last day of August, we spent the late morning at a Splash Pad in a park off the island and Arabella had so much fun! It was a very warm day and this was just what we needed to cool down and for her to take a good nap so that I could finish up packing for our road trip.

Climbing

Tonight while cleaning up the kitchen, I turned around and this is what I saw...



Scared the crap out of me and I am not sure how I would explain a broken refrigerator door!