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We're over here today!





Check out our candy review at The Dish!

Mi Familia

This weekend, Hubby, Little One and I made the 8~9 hour drive to Kingston from the Island. It was a really nice drive and we enjoyed ourselves. Of course, it helps that Little One is an easy and excellent traveler. She sleeps most of the drive and when she's awake, she likes to "chat" and play with her toys.

Some people complain about long trips, but I grew up going for long road trips (to Florida, New York, New Brunswick, Virginia, the Carolinas, etc...) with my family. Road trips were so much fun and such an adventure when I was a kid. What better way to "see" your country? I always loved passing through all the quaint little towns and all the big, bustling cities. I loved seeing how completely different things could be from one province or state to the next. To be honest, when we traveled to Florida, I always loved driving there rather than flying there. By driving, we got to pass through several states and visit different places. I always said that I'd love to offer that kind of experience to my children. Now that we have Little One and now that we live 9+ hours away from my family, road trips are pretty much inevitable. Either we make the drive a few times a year or we never see my family. Obviously, we choose to do the first of those two options.

Many people complain about how they hate long driving and say that with kids it's a pain to travel. I suppose can see where they are coming from. I mean, if you don't like long driving, you don't like long driving. With kids, it also makes it harder. It's not impossible, but it certainly can be more difficult than just traveler solo or with your partner.

Anyway, the reason for this trip down to Kingston was the baptism of Middle Bro's twin girls. Hubby managed to sneak away from the farm for just the weekend so we could celebrate this special day with my brother's family. Even if Hubby weren't able to make it, Little One and I would have gone anyway. I mean, these are Middle Bro's babies! It's their baptism! It's a special day...and we do anything for family. That's what family does.

Here's a photo of my uncle and aunt with the twins. They're fraternal, but they look pretty similar now! :) I can tell them apart if they're together. When they're not side by side, it's a bit more difficult! Here I am with the *Brookie and *Olala (*their nicknames). Brookie is my goddaughter. Aren't they the sweetest?! I love these girls!
Here's Little One with Mrs. Hollywood. Mrs. Hollywood was my maid of honour at our wedding and she is Little One's godmother. She was in the hospital room with us for the birth of Little One. She missed the birth by a few minutes when she went to move her car! She arrived just minutes after Little One's birth. I always knew even back when Mrs. Hollywood and I were kids that she would be my maid of honour and the godmother to my first born. She's like a sister to me.
Mrs. Hollywood is also Brookie's godmother :) She's a popular lady, Mrs. Hollywood!

Just SOME of the babies. Little One and her cousins. Yet another set of twins! Ozzie and Miss K! They are the youngest of our clan. They're 3 months old. "The Baby Factory" is now comprised of Kenny, Little One, The Twins (Brookie and Olala) and The Twins 2 (Ozzie and Miss K). How funny is it that in our family there were 5 babies born within months of each other? What are the chances of having two sets of twins born in the same family, just within months of each other? I don't know! Whatever is in the water, don't drink it! You might have twins too! :) It's so much fun to have all these babies so close in age. I love our big family!

Here's my 2 year old nephew playing with my cousin Jey's dog, Keys. So cute!
Oh, this next photo has got to be one of the funniest things I have ever seen! Jey is teaching little Miss K how to text, IM, FB, Tweet, and e-mail! Too funny!To end off the weekend, we stopped in Barrie on our way home so we could visit with Hubby's youngest sister. Little One was having fun jumping up and down on Auntie Sel's lap!

Mmmmmmmm!!! Kisses! Little One loves kisses!

Tiptoe Through the Garden

The Garden's Gate Restaurant, that is!

Yes, yet another trip to the Garden's Gate with friends! This will actually be the last post for the week since we're off to Kingston for The Twins' baptism. We'll be back in a few days.

Decisions, decisions. I've been a pretty boring girl lately with my choices of dishes. I always get the same thing when I'm at the GG. Why? I've tried almost everything on the menu, but pretty much get the same thing all the time because it's sooooo good! Actually, you'd be hard pressed to find something you don't like on the menu. Everything is delicious. Everything is prepared with care. You can't go wrong with anything you choose.

To be different, this time I chose the Tomato Pesto Chicken Crepe with a garden salad. A delightful, thin homemade crepe stuffed with creamy cheese, tomato, pesto and chicken. The perfect lunchtime meal! I really enjoyed and savoured the light crepe and rich filling. Perfect, perfect, perfect! The salad with choice of three homemade dressings was the perfect accompaniment.

The Student chose the House Burger. The burger is 6 oz of local Manitoulin Beef from Burt Farms. It's topped with grilled portobello mushroom, Monterrey Jack cheese, lettuce and tomato (on a homemade bun). The Student had freshly cut fries with his burger and said he really enjoyed it. In fact, he said it was one of the best burgers he has ever had!

M had the salad with beef. A generous portion of salad topped with loads of tender beef slices. M really enjoyed the salad and said it was nice and spicy. She was surprised at how much beef there was on top of the salad! She was very pleased with her choice. In fact, I think she even used the word "divine" to describe it!

L had the Chicken Breast on a bun. The chicken breast was dipped in special seasonings, grilled and served on a homemade sesame seed bun with lettuce and mayonnaise. L chose a salad au lieu of fries to go with her meal.

We were all stuffed, but it was funny how as soon as the dessert menu came, we all of a sudden had room for dessert! ;)

I could have chosen something different, but I ended up going with my favourite...KEY LIME PIE!!! Since I moved up to the Island, I've tried almost all of the items on the dessert menu at GG. I must say that EVERYTHING on the dessert menu is DELICIOUS! You won't be disappointed with whatever you choose. I almost ordered the Pineapple Banana Cream Cheese Torte. However, the big winner (in my opinion) is the Key Lime Pie! The pie crust is double baked and the filling is creamy and smooth with the perfect amount of tartness. The lime zest adds a beautiful zing to the dessert. YUM!

L and M also got the Key Lime Pie, but The Student chose to be different. He ended up getting the Pecan Pie. He described it as "sort of like eating a big butter tart!". He said it was sweet and rich. He gave it two thumbs up.

Honourable mentions (though we did not order them this time) were the Pineapple Banana Cream Cheese Torte, Mad About Chocolate Cheesecake and the Hawaiian Tropic Cheesecake.

Well, we're off on another road trip to visit my gorgeous four month old twin nieces and my precious two year old nephew! See you in a few days!

Exciting New Discoveries

It hit me the other day that my baby is seven months old. SEVEN months old! She's over half a year old! Where have all the months gone? What just happened? It's almost as if I blinked once and all of a sudden she's half a year old!

Those first two months of her life spent in the NICU (at Mount Sinai Hospital) seem so distant in my memory. Sometimes it doesn't even feel like we were in Toronto at all. Distant memories. My reality back then was a lot different from the one I know now.

To be honest, it sometimes makes me feel sad. I know I should be happy and treasure all these wonderful moments with her. It's just that I wish she could stay a baby for longer. Oh, don't get me wrong. I love watching her discover the world around her and become more self-aware. I love all the funny things she does and I love how she gets this shocked expression on her face sometimes when she's surprised and then starts to laugh like crazy. I love that.

It's just that soon she will be all over the place always on the go and non-stop into everything very mobile. I just want to savour each moment I have with her as a baby right now. Is that terribly wrong of me?

Our Little One just discovered her feet today. It's the funniest thing ever to see the look of amazement in her eyes. "Whoa!! What are these?! I've got feet?!?!"

She makes me laugh, our Little One. Whenever she hears the voice on the GPS prompting us to turn, she always gets startled...and then laughs like crazy! It's so funny to see and hear her do that...Every single time. She kind of jumps, her eyes get really big, she looks for where the sound is coming from, and then she smiles and laughs. She also laughs whenever she hears the phone ring too. Such a funny baby!

The photo of Little One playing with her feet was taken this afternoon. She seems thoroughly pleased with herself. Now diaper changes have become really interesting with her rolling over AND wanting to play with her feet all the time!

Yes, I am the type of mom who lets her baby go around au naturel when we're at home. She seems happy to be garment-free and without her diaper on, she gets to "air out" a bit during the day! ;)

Rock On!

When I was in high school, I was a big fan of the big hair bands. You know, the glam metal bands like Warrant, Poison, Mr. Big, Aerosmith, Skid Row, Winger, Mötley Crüe, L.A. Guns, Slaughter and Cinderella.

How fitting that Little One totally rocks her awesome Poison onesie from JetBaby!

I cannot tell you how many onesies Little One goes through in a day. When we're at home, she practically lives in them. She's happiest in her onesies and prefers to be as garment-free as possible. I think onesies are a good compromise :) This particular onesie from JetBaby comes from SOURPUSS CLOTHING's line of baby clothes! The black and light pink Poison
"Talk Baby To Me" onesie is made of cotton. The quality is really good too. Some onesies Little One has are not always sewn very neatly or the colours bleed when washing. The Sourpuss onesies are awesome. Isn't this the coolest? How about this? Or this?

For the coolest and hippest baby and kid clothing, make sure to check out JetBaby! Oh, and JetBaby not only carries the coolest kids' clothes! You can also find all sorts of retro toys like the Snoopy Sno-Cone Machine, as well as John Deere toy sets for the tiniest of farmers (like Little One)!

So, what are you waiting for? Jet-Set-Go...to JetBaby in Oakville, Ontario! The next time we're in the area, I'm getting Little One a Bob Marley onesie! We be jammin'!

Jet Baby

77 Lakeshore Rd. West

Oakville, Ontario

Canada

L6K 1C9

(905) 849-7575

Royal Michael's Bay Golf and Country Club

For Daddy's first Father's Day, we took him and Grampy to Royal Michael's Bay Golf and Country Club. Actually, it is now known as the Royal Michael's Bay Steakhouse.Located on beautiful Michael's Bay, you'll find that the scenery is absolutely breathtaking. While you're there, take a walk and enjoy the sights. It's so peaceful by the water!

The restaurant itself is beautiful. It looks like a big log house. It's one of Lola's (my gradma's) favourite places to dine on the Island.

Happy first Father's Day as my Grampy, Grampy! Grampy gets hip waders from me for Father's Day because he loves going fishing! Dad gets a GPS from Mom and me! Don't tell anyone, but I think Mom secretly got Dad a GPS more for her benefit than for Dad's! Tee hee! It was either a GPS or a new BBQ, but we're off to K-town on the weekend for The Twins' baptism. I think a GPS is a good idea! ; )

Oh, Dad! What should we order? Decisions, decisions! Everything on the menu looks so good!
While we wait, how about some drinks?

Mom had a Strawberry Daiquiri with no alcohol (because I'm still nursing) and Lola had a Margarita. Lola said that her Margarita was too strong, but The Student tried it and said he couldn't taste any alcohol in it.

The Student ordered wings and ribs with rice.

Grampy ordered wings and ribs with fries.
Mom and Lola ordered wings and ribs with mashed potatoes, and Dad ordered BBQ chicken.
I know. It's pretty lame that everyone ordered pretty much the same thing, but the wings and ribs were really good (or so the adults tell me)! Each dish also came with a side of mixed veggies and some sweet potato. Everyone was surprised by the silky smooth. The Student, Lola and Mom said they hinted a bit of coconut in the sweet potato. It was definitely a pleasant surprise.

The mashed potatoes had lovely crispy onion as a garnish. Mom really enjoyed the sweetness of the onions and she liked the veggies as well. Mom doesn't like mushy veggies, so these were done perfectly.

If Mom didn't have a craving for wings and ribs, she would have probably ordered the Capaletti or the Seafood Pasta. The Honey and Ginger Salmon Salad sounded good too, but Mom cooks a lot of salmon at home and wanted something different. This said, the ribs and the wings were delicious. The perfect mix of tangy sweetness with a hint of heat.

The most difficult decision for the adults seemed to be...

What to get for dessert!!! Lola and Dad love Crème brûlée and were going to order it, but the waiter highly recommended the **Profetta Roll (also known as Profita Roll). The waiter said it's his favourite dessert on the menu, so that is what the adults ordered.

The Profetta Roll: A very light and airy puff pastry with vanilla ice cream, a hazelnut chocolate sauce and caramel, sprinkled with pralines. Strawberries and raspberries added a splash of colour.

The verdict? The adults said it was a light, fluffy dessert...but next time, Dad and Lola will order their Crème Brulee. They cannot resist the decadent, rich custard-type dessert that is flavoured with Tahitian vanilla beans and served with toasted Almond Biscotti. The Student said it was good, but pretty ordinary. Mom was more generous, and said that the presentation was beautiful. The crispy, crunchy pralines were a nice touch, as were the fresh raspberries. The puff pastry itself was light and Mom liked that it wasn't too sweet. The caramel and hazelnut chocolate were sweet enough. Anything more would have been overkill. The serving is pretty generous, so the adults ordered two and shared.

Mom is hoping that Canine, Bert and TC make it to the Island next summer so we can take them to Royal Michael's.

Little One xoxo

**Kudos to Canine for noticing that little gaff with the "profetta roll"! It's actually called "profiterole". I can't believe I didn't notice that little faux pas! I knew it sounded odd! Weird thing is that I know what a profiterole is...but this didn't really look like one! Too funny! After Canine pointed it out, I laughed myself silly. Funny, how unrefined that sounds now!

Happy Daddy's Day!

To all the wonderful daddies out there, hope you have a fantastic day!

Happy first Father's Day, Hubby!

We love you!

C and Little One xoxo

Life's Most Serious Conversations Begin At The Dinner Table

In between bites of Shepherd's Pie and swigs of Crystal Light (yes, I appear to have been lulled in by the Crystal Light ads on the sidebar of my blog! Thanks, BlogHer ads! LOL!), Hubby, The Student and I discussed some of life's ever so important topics.

Politics.

The environment.

Alternative engergy.

Wildlife.

Hockey.

The greatest movie actors of all time.

Yes, you heard right! We debated and deliberated for the longest time about who we thought were the best male and best female movie actors. I'm tellin' ya, there was some serious disagreeing going on! It may sound strange, but my opinions on politics and the environment came much easier than my top five actors and actresses.

In my younger years, I think I would have said Brad Pitt, Richard Gere, Matt Dillon, and Tom Cruise. Now that I'm older, I realize I think that I liked them for their screen presence and their looks. I hope I don't offend anyone (I probably will offend either way) I don't really think Brad's a great actor. Richard was at his best in An Officer and a Gentleman. I just liked the 'bad boy' image of Matt Dillon. Tom Cruise? What was I thinking?

If I had to choose who I think are the best actors now, I'd have to say Sean Connery, Robert Redford, Al Pacino...and??? I don't know. It's so hard to choose! I like Wil Smith and think he's proved that he can play more serious roles now. I don't know if he's a great actor though. I like him. I can't stand Leonardo Di Caprio for some reason. The only movies I liked him in was What's Eating Gilbert Grape? and Catch Me If You Can. I cannot stand Nicholas Cage for some reason. I don't know why, but his presence just annoys me. He just annoys me - the same way Horatio does on CSI Miami. Gah! Know what I mean?

As for female choices? When I was younger, I LOVED Drew Barrymore, Juliette Binoche, Julia Ormond, Ashley Judd, Julia Roberts, Julianne Moore, and Nicole Kidman.

Now? I think I'd have to say Meryl Streep, Sigourney Weaver, Susan Sarandon, Kate Hudson, Anne Hathaway, Cate Blanchett, Emma Thompson, and maybe Kate Beckinsale.

Who do you choose as your top five actors? Top five actresses?

Remember, we're talking about great acting and not just physical appeal :)

I Really Wanted To

...attend BlogHer '09 in Chicago this year. KarenMEG is going. She's one of the coolest gals around. She's so funny! In person she is even more hilarious than on her blog...and she's pretty darn funny on her blog! Momisodes is going. So many fabulous bloggers are going.

I had my heart set on going, but with a new-ish baby it isn't gonna happen. This said, I'm doing this instead!


It's not going to be the same as actually being at BlogHer in the flesh, but it's the next best thing. Thanks to the gals @ http://www.blogherathome.com for coming up with this fab idea for all of us who won't be able to make it to the event!

This Is Dedicated To The One I Love

It's hard to believe that three years ago, Hubby and I were wed. The day before our wedding, it poured! We I planned on was set on having a beach wedding, so we didn't really have a Plan B. Through some miracle, the day of the wedding it was BEAUTIFUL! The weather was perfect. The day after the wedding??? Well, you guessed it! It poured again!

Hubby is the type of person who will drop what he's doing to help other people. He's patient and kind. He listens more than he speaks (*ahem* Quite the opposite of yours truly!). He thinks things over before he acts or reacts (Again, totally opposite of me!).

Hubby is "country". I'm "city". Hubby is very White Anglo-Saxon Protestant (his words, not mine!). My family lineage is more of a "mixed salada", as my Japanese students call it. Hubby is also a very practical person. His gifts are not so much on the romantic and frivolous side, but more on the practical/every-gift-has-its-purpose-and-use side. Occasionally, he'll surprise me though!

I grew up with big family parties and lots and lots of entertaining of friends and family all the time. My family spent a lot of time together and traveled together. Summer vacations spent camping and winter vacations in Florida or Trinidad and Tobago were the norm for us. Hubby's family...not so much.

In many ways, Hubby balances me out. We're so different in so many ways, but we seem to work well together. It's always an adventure with Hubby!

Three years ago, we were wed on the beach at Carter's Bay. Today, we have a beautiful, healthy baby girl. Life is pretty darn good!

This has got to be THE WORST photo of us...EVER!!! This was taken the day before Little One made her surprise entrance into the world! November 11th, 2008 will forever be etched in my memory! While I was in Toronto on hospital bed rest and with the baby in the NICU for two months, Hubby drove back and forth between the Island and Toronto to visit us every two weeks. Six hours each way was pretty exhausting for him, but he wanted to be with his girls.

He loved her from the first moment he saw her. This tender moment makes me cry.

He's so good with Little One. She loves her Daddy!

Here we are. Our little family of three (give or take a few feline babies, a canine baby and a bunch of bovines)! We really are lucky.

I love you, Hubby! HAPPY ANNIVERSARY!!!!

Just as I Suspected!!!

Do You Want a Vamp or a Scamp? Your Result: You Are A Vamp Girl   You are a vampire kind of girl who digs stony skin, and loves to see it sparkle in the sun. You are probably a cat lover, and may not like the smell of sexy fur rippling over muscle. You long to hear the Cullen boys go bump in the night.
You Are A Wolf Girl
Do You Want a Vamp or a Scamp? Quiz Created on GoToQuiz

Can't say that this surprised me! I luuuuuuuuv Edward Cullen! Okay, and I luv RobPattz too! Thanks for the quiz, Jeanna! You're the best...even if you prefer werewolves over vampires. That's a flaw I can live with. ; )

Adventures in Cloth Diapering

Hooray! At her last weigh-in, Little One tipped the scales at a whopping 10 lbs, 2 oz. Considering that she was only 2 lbs, 3 oz at birth, 10 lbs, 2 oz is HUGE! :) That was two weeks ago though, so I'm sure she's much heavier than that now.

*Giggles* I was at the store the other day when someone looked at Little One and said, "She's only 10 lbs, 2 oz?!? My first weighed that much at birth!!!" As you can tell, these kinds of comments are starting to get on my nerves, so I retorted with, "Wow! I'm sure he wasn't born at 28 weeks gestation and had to do a huge chunk of his growing and developing outside the womb, right?". Don't worry. I didn't use 'the' tone when I said that. She probably didn't know I was being sarcastic anyway.

Forgive me for being snarky. From now on, I think I'll do what some of the doctors, nurses and Infant Development have told me to do. When strangers ask me how old Little One is, I think I'm just going to use her corrected age to save all the hassle of having to explain that she's a preemie.

Anyway...

She's finally filled out enough to wear her cloth diapers! Yippee!!! Her wonderful cloth diapers have a waterproof outer layer and are secured by Velcro tabs. I was so happy to think that I would only use disposables when traveling or when on an outing and use the cloth diapers at home. Hooray for less landfill space filled with diapers! Hooray for not having to pay an arm and a leg on disposables!

Boo for all the mess it makes! ; ) Little One woke up from her nap SOAKING WET! She was DRENCHED! Not only was the diaper soaking wet, but her dress and 'knickers' were wet...and so was all the bedding in her crib!

I'm all for cloth diapering and I knew it would be a bit more work for me, but I was shocked when I had to wash EVERYTHING! Her diaper, clothes, crib sheet, blanket...Gah!

As if I don't already have my hands full with all the things that need to get done around here. Oh, no. This will not deter me. I am determined to do the cloth diapering with Little One.
D-E-T-E-R-M-I-N-E-D!

Fancy, Green on the Rock, and any other cloth diapering moms out there, do you have any tips for this cloth diapering newbie?

Life As We Know It

Around here, life is pretty sweet. We live on a beautiful island (which is now being bombarded with tourists! You can tell Summer is here by the ferry traffic!). We have a farm and live a healthy lifestyle. We have a precious little miracle who goes by the name (at least here on the blog) of Little One. We've got a really sweet pooch named Chance. We live near several beaches. We have a roof over our heads and we'll never go hungry. Yes, life is pretty good.

I suppose living on a farm and living so far away from friends and family sometimes gets to me though. I know I have a million and one things to be thankful for, but sometimes I wish we could just pick up and leave for vacation on a whim...even if it's just for a few days.

Mount Sinai Hospital had their annual Preemie Picnic yesterday and I had my heart set on going. Mount Sinai, the doctors, NICU nurses, and fellow parents were like family for the first two months of Little One's life. Everyone there helped me survive the first few months while Little One was in the NICU. I really wanted to see everyone again.

I kept hanging on to a little thread of hope that Hubby would be able to get away from the farm and we could make the drive down to Toronto at the last minute. Wishful thinking. We ended up spending the weekend on the farm. I guess this is something I'm going to have to get used to. You'd think that after three years of this, I'd have "adapted" already. I wish I could just accept that this is the life of a farming family. I just feel a bit down when I miss out on all the family parties, birthdays, holidays, and special occasions back in Toronto and Montreal. Hubby's got family here, but it's not the same as with my family. My family is really close (as in so close they get together all the time for family get-togethers and dinners on a regular basis). I grew up with that and I miss that. I suppose if I really wanted to, I could travel without Hubby. It'll be just Little One and me. It wouldn't be the same without Hubby though.

Now that MiddleBro and my SIL have twin baby girls and a two year old, it makes me sad that Little One won't be able to spend as much time with her cousins as MiddleBro, BabyBro and I did with ours. That makes me really sad.

Our Sunday was spent by going to church in the morning and then having lunch at a local restaurant. Little One slept through the entire service (as always). Hubby went back to work on the farm, The Student did a few loads of laundry for himself, I got a few chores done around the house, and Little One actually napped for a few hours!
Conversations with Dad. "Yes, yes. I know this is a serious conversation, Dad. No grabbing the dog while he's eating. No pulling the cats' tails. Watch out for where I'm stepping when walking in the fields. Oh, and never stand behind a cow. Okay. Got it."

Little One thinks her Mama is really funny! I love that toothless, gummy, drool-filled smile! I love the way she laughs when she thinks something is funny.

Little One decked out in one of her pretty Summer dresses. It's getting pretty hot out now! Hooray for Summer!

Our shiny, happy, little baby girl :)