We have a winner!

Congratulations to sweetpepper, the winner of my contest.

I very scientifically wrote each entrant's name on a scrap of paper, folded them and placed them in the back of Matthew's dump truck.  My lovely assistant Charlotte drew the winning name.

Thanks for playing, everyone!

We inerrupt this blog to bring you a brief message from a sponsor.....

I was given the opportunity to try Iams dog food with our Lucy today.  They have changed their formula to add prebiotics to help support intestinal health and aid in your dog or cat's immunity.

Click here to find out more about Iams line of pet food.


I have no idea if those claims will prove to be true, but as soon as I opened the bag and poured some into a dish, Lucy, who is usually rather indifferent about dry dog food, gobbled up what I placed in front of her.  The only other time I have seen her that enthusiastic about a bowl of kibble was when I poured bacon drippings over it.

Iams also wants my loyal readers to have a chance to try their new formula.  If you are Canadian, leave a comment at the end of this post and I will put your name into a draw for a coupon good for a FREE full-sized bag of Iams dog food. (In my city, that is a $22 value for a 17 kg bag of food.)  I will make the drawing at the end of the week.

Inside Emmett's head.

I finally remembered to remind Richard to ask for copies of Emmett's MRI pictures before his last appointment.  I found no fewer than 20 different slices of my boy's head in my email inbox yesterday.  I sifted through them, my Anatomy and Physiology knowledge very fuzzy in the back of my own brain.

It is both very cool and and a little creepy to have pictures of your baby, inside and out.  Seeing Emmett's cyst with my own eyes still kind of stops my heart, even though I know he is doing so well and that he will continue to do well even while carrying it around in his head.

 

You can see the cyst quite clearly in this picture behind the left eye, which is on your right.

Here is a cross-section of my boy's head.

I am pretty sure Emmett's cyst is the mass you see where his eye was in the previous picture, but I am not a doctor and have NO training reading these images.

What did you do this weekend?

Richard and Emmett and Charlotte headed off to the Big City on Friday.  Emmett's annual MRI was today

I was fighting a chest cold last week and just wanted to stay home.  So, Matthew and I hunkered down together for the weekend.

Thankfully there are four good playgrounds and a shopping center within walking distance of our house, so we spent the mornings playing outside and the afternoons napping and playing inside. I visited with a friend and my Grandmother so I wasn't starved for adult conversation.  A kind friend picked us up and took us out this morning so I wouldn't be home alone fretting while waiting for Richard to phone.  I am grateful for that!

There was a distinct theme to our inside games.

I couldn't escape the trains!  In this picture I am actually standing at the stove, in my pjs, stirring a pot of oatmeal.

On one of our walks we found a little spring by the playground.

I snuck in some "me" time too.

Having only one child to look after was positively relaxing.  I got caught up on the laundry, cooked food I love and got to laze around at naptime watching bad tv instead of breaking up wrestling matches.  I did get tired of the endless train games.  I will be happy to say "Go!  Play with your brother and sister!" tonight.  It will also be nice to have another adult to share the couch with. 

Oh, and Emmett did very well with his scan and the results were very positive.  We don't have to go back next year, and a verbal check in with the neurosurgeon will suffice.

Another Sign of Spring.....

We look forward to using our clothesline again after a long cold winter!

Spring Crafting

Yeah, yeah, Spring is usually the time for another "C" word...ahem, cleaning....but the only real Spring Cleaning I do is more vacuuming because the sunlight streaming through my patio doors highlights the cereal crumbs on the floor so well.

I was recently inspired by a post by the lovely and super crafty Soule Mama.  She has personalized napkin rings for every member of her family.  Now, she lives in Maine.  Maine is crawling with awesome antique shops and swap meets (I am sure you might even run into a roving Martha or one of her minions if you have your timing right)  I do not have access to these things, so I decided to dive into my considerable stash of beads, and with the help of Charlotte, we got to work.

These are not as elegant as SouleMama's, but they are fun and funky, and double as fashion accessories when Charlotte's mood and outfit decide that.

In another fit of crafting I grabbed a pair of ripped jeans that have been laying around my house and turned them into a cute new summery skirt for my fashionista girl.

What does Spring mean to you?  More cleaning?  More crafting? 

Just another day in Suburbia.

We live very close to the river that runs through our city now.  At the end of our street is a fairly untouched forest area where beavers and deer and all manner of critters live.  We see the deer walking down our street at night sometimes.  There are a lot more birds and squirrels and things  here, in our new neighbourhood than there were on our old inner-city street.

Matthew saw a squirrel on our deck this morning.  He was so excited he ran out and scared the bejeebers out of it.  The squirrel got almost nose-to-nose with him before deciding on an escape route.  I really don't know who was more startled when the little critter made a run at Matthew.  He hightailed it back inside while the squirrel hightailed it for a tree.

I put some whole peanuts out on the deck to lure the squirrel back so we could look some more.

Matthew went back outside and shouted at the trees:  "Querl, querl, ea!  ea!! "  (That is Matthlish for "Come here, Squirrel, Eat!  Eat!!")

After Charlotte got home from school I told her about our adventure so she got some more peanuts and made a neat line of them on the deck.  She then went outside and shouted at the trees "Come here Squirrels!  I have some peanuts for you!" 

She got really mad when they didn't come.