Hallowe'en Triptych

Pre-trick-or-treating. Little G's shirt is wet because he threw a fit when I tried to put a costume on him. Once he got used to the idea, though, he really got into the spirit of things. He actually went to more houses than Big C.

The Pumpkin. Big C asked me to make a "vampire pumpkin" to match his costume. There was a second pumpkin - a scary ghostie - but the candle broke in the high winds and it almost caught on fire.

Post-trick-or-treating. The boys decided it was much more fun to give out candy than to go get it. (Huh??? Not my children, obviously.) They sat on the porch for more than 45 minutes giving out candy. Big C complimented children on their costumes and Little G tried to give them only candy that he had eaten first.

Good times.

Family STAY-cation '09

I. Am. Exhausted.

I need a vacation.

Oh, wait. I just had one.

Mr Earth took some time off from work coinciding with Canada Day, so that we could do things as a family. We didn't have the money or the energy to go somewhere exotic and new, so we decided to check out all that the Big Smoke has to offer. Well, not all. Not half, really. But a couple of things.

Big C was so excited to take Mr Earth to the Science Centre. The boys and I have been there a couple of times, but never with Daddy so it was very! exciting!. Big C took him around in a mad panic trying to show him everything there was to see. Little G and I hung out. It was overwhelming for him and he was racing around screaming at everything, but he really, really liked the ball drop area. They had a lizard and snake exhibition. I saw the biggest snake I ever want to see when I'm only separated by a thin layer of glass. Shudder. I personally will not go back to the Science Centre until school is back in session. It was a madhouse. Mad. House.

You gotta love a boy with balls.

Next we went to the Big Zoo. We brought the stroller, but Little G walked almost the entire 3 hours. He was falling-down tired by the end. I'm not sure what he made of the live! animals! He looked bemused half the time. We checked out the Kids Zoo area for the first time, and it was pretty neat, actually. Big C was disappointed that there were no animals he could pet.

Now doesn't the sight of brothers holding hands just warm the heart?

This photo is for Kgirl. It's the closest we get to matching outfits here at Casa Earth.

Big C and the baby Alpaca. I just love this picture.

Finally, after much deliberation, we decided on the CN Tower for our last excursion. Did I mention that Mr Earth is deathly afraid of heights? Fun times. Little G and I loved the aerial views. Big C was a little more hesitant. (Mr Earth would say SMART.) I'm impressed that Mr Earth and Big C did make a special trip to see the glass floor (from a distance), and even go outside.

Little G and I danced on the glass floor. (See my toes? I really was there! Even if I'm not in any photos.)

What a view.


A great time was had by all. And now I am so tired, I can't speak. I wish Mr Earth could stay home every day. But then we really would have NO MONEY. I like money. So off to work he goes. We will miss him during the day, though.

Switched at Birth?

While at a dance party in support of a wicked cool new moms blog, Mr Earth snapped the following photo:

Now, when he's a teenager and he does something that exasperates me, I can't use the time-honoured maternal guilt trip: "The hospital must have sent me home with the wrong baby, because you are not behaving like any son of mine...!"

Oh well. Apple --> meet tree.

I guess the real question here is: does he look like an aging mom, or do I look like a cute little boy?

Happy Mother's Day! Rock on, peeps.

Mother's Day Gift List Dissected

When I married Mr Earth, I married into a family that does not like surprise gifts. There is no searching for the Perfect Present. There is telephoning the person the week before the event and saying, "Whaddya want?", and then you go out and get it. The upshot is, of course, you never get anything you don't want. The downside is, there's little point in wrapping the gift because you already know what it is.

Assuming that my sons will grow up in this glorious tradition, I thought I would make life easier for them by running through the common Mother's Day gifts so that when they're frantically shopping the day before (men!), they would have a handy reference guide.

So, my sons, much like Jor-El did for Kal-El, I impart my parental wisdom in these words:

Card I'm really not a card person at all. Unless you made it with your own two hands (in which case I will treasure it forever), then don't give the card companies your money. It's all a scam to make you feel bad for not buying a card.

Chocolate The people at Godiva will have you believing that no only should you get chocolate, but you should get the best chocolate (i.e. them). With all due respect Godiva, your chocolate is good but also very, very expensive. I prefer Laura Secord french mint or buttercreams.

Flowers I love flowers! Except daisies, chrysanthemums, carnations or any other "filler" flower. Which means you have to pay a lot of money to get the kind of flowers I really like. These days, I think it would be better to spend your money on annuals that can be planted in the garden. The flower that keeps on giving. Still, you can't go much wrong with flowers.

Bath stuff I've always thought that this was a present you get for people you don't know very well. Plus, I don't take baths. And, I like plain old Ivory soap.

Perfume I have a soft spot for perfume, but it's very expensive and I hardly ever wear it. Plus the Body Shop and Crabtree and Evelyn both got rid of their freesia perfume line, so I don't know what I'd choose.

Spa stuff Well, this I love. But, it's really a present that only Daddies can afford, and technically, they're not supposed to be buying presents for me. I'm not their Mommy. (That would be sick.)

Breakfast in bed My gluten intolerance makes this venture kind of pointless, unless you're a Super Cook like Beck. Plus, I like to go for a run first thing in the morning on weekends.

Brunch I always feel obliged to eat too much to "get my money's worth" at brunch. And I dislike crowds. So I end up cranky, with a belly ache.

Handmade craft This is something I would treasure. A+

Prepaid Coffee Card Now, who doesn't like coffee??? A++

Probably the thing I would like best on Mother's Day is to relax, enjoy a cup of coffee and read my book. And the chance to not be the one "in charge" for the day. That, my darling boys, is priceless.


***********************************************

If the stars align, we are going to take ourselves to the pre-Mother's Day Bunch Family Dance Party tomorrow afternoon. I could use a glam rockin' party and some of those grown-up drinks. And a chance to help celebrate the launch of Canada Moms Blog featuring some of my favourite writers...and good friends.

Truly, the best kind of Mother's Day flowers are these, right here.

Like Stealing Candy From a Baby

Big C was absurdly pleased to be faster than Little G at finding all the Easter eggs. We hid them so well (see white chairs). In his defense, Little G was more interested in the truck. He did get in the spirit of things later on. He found five eggs with the "help" of his big brother (who was being reminded to let his little brother find some eggs), and obediently put them in his basket.

Now I'm too busy stuffing my face with Laura Secord mini-chocolate eggs to type. Mr Earth bought 3 bags of eggs, and we hid the contents of 1. What can I say? We're good parents. And it was a very good Easter Egg Hump. (Big C's words, not mine..)

Hulky St Patrick's Day!

Worth a Thousand Words?

The only thing I can think of to do when words escape me...

Make photo slide shows at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Welcome Christmas, Bring Your Light

I've wanted to put up holiday lights ever since...well...ever since we bought a house. I think it makes a dark and dreary winter so much more festive. But, you see, I'm far too cheap (uh, "environmentally responsible") to spend the money to power said lights. Anyone else with me on this?? I mean, our bills in the winter are astronomical enough without adding lights into it.

So, you can imagine my excitement when Canadian Tire approached me with an offer to decorate our house for the holidays! Doubly excited too, because I am not a high-profile blogger or anything. Anyways, I looked through their catalogue and what to my amazement did I find but: solar-powered lights! [Cue Heavenly Music] What could be more perfect for the lowly blogger who is environmentally responsible??

I have a bit of a snowflake fetish, and I found these really lovely lawn stakes. They change colour every few seconds, and Big C is just mesmerized by them. He was so excited to have some "beautiful lights" on his house at last. (We've been admiring the displays of others on our walk home from daycare.) All the trouble of putting them up in a snowstorm was worth it to see the look on his face.

We also have strings of solar-powered lights in our cedars, but the only pictures that turned out decently on our crappy camera were the snowflakes. Behold! (These pictures do not do them justice.)

Our house, and the environment, are smiling. Good times.

I'll have a Blue Christmas

One of my very favourite things about Christmas is the tree - by a longshot. I have never grown up or out of the wonder, the magic, of the decorated tree. I love to see it lit up at night. I love walking downstairs in the morning and smelling the piney scent. I love to walk around and look at the decorations. No designer tree for me - ours is decorated with love and memories. And eventhough the actual put up and take down always seem to me an insurmountable chore, I love unwrapping the tissue and seeing my old friends:

I bought this the year we bought our house - which was also the year we got married. It looks nothing like our house. It looks homey, though, doesn't it?

This one I got in PEI this summer at the gift shop for the most famous lobster dinner on the Island. It's so famous I forgot the name. But the lobster was very good.

He doesn't look very Christmassy, does he? I love him though - he reminds me of Merlin. I am crazy for the Arthurian legend. Both Big C (middle name) and Little G (first name) were named after knights of the Round Table - who happen to be brothers.

When I first got this ornament as a gift, I thought he looked kind of creepy. He's grown on me. He's so festive! He is always placed near the front of the tree so that I can see him when I pass by. He makes me smile and do a little jig. (Okay, not really, but I do smile..)

My glass ornaments are very precious to me. I have no idea why someone gave me a teapot. I'm really more of a coffee drinker. I like this though, because it reminds me of Beauty and the Beast, and I always break out in a chorus of "Be Our Guest". And then I can't get it out of my head for a week.

Big C made this at daycare last year. Isn't he full of Christmas joy? Good times.

My mom made this in one of the Crafty Phases of her youth. Big C loves it. Little G will love it. I love it. And her.

I simply must have doves on my tree. This one is from a set of felt ornaments from the 70's. They have graced my tree for years.

My parents bought this for me in 1977. They bought us a decoration to commemorate each year and I am trying to follow that tradition. She usually hangs upside down in her swing. I have no idea how I managed to make her sit upright for the photo. It's a Christmas Miracle.

This is my Absolute Favourite. This was the first present I ever remember receiving. I was in kindergarten, and it was a Christmas present from one of the boys I went to daycare with after school. It's technically not an ornament at all. The tail is faded. The mane has been loved off. It is my Skin Horse. I would be devastated if it was lost.

This is the first year that Big C actually "helped" me to decorate the tree. Every time he unwrapped an ornament, he shouted "HOLY MOLEY" at the top of his lungs. It was enchanting. I will be sad when we have to take the tree down. It's the physical representation of holiday joy to me. What's yours?

I just can't seem to watch this enough

So tell me...which one are YOU??

Let your Heart be Light

No news on the sleeping front. We remain ever wakeful.

We've got a couple leads regarding care for the Little Guy in January, but it's mostly nannies. I don't know why I continue to feel this way, but I just don't feel that a nanny is a good fit for us. Maybe I just haven't met the right one...?

I still hold out hope that things will just magically work out. A Christmas Miracle. (Mr Earth's new and much overused phrase).

But YAY! Christmas is almost here! In the spirit of holiday cheer and good times, I will share with you 7 Random Things About Nomo's Christmas:

1. I love Christmas Carols. I never get tired of hearing them. Really! And you know what? When I hear them in a store, they really DO make me want to buy more. Go figure.
2. I can't stand blinking holiday lights. They make me crazy. If you want to see me go ballistic, stick me in a room with blinking holiday lights and come back in an hour and watch me go. It's some kind of weird Pavlovian-like response. (Or maybe I was abducted, hypnotized and sent back out into the world to wreak havoc...it could happen)
3. The only tree topper allowed in Casa Earth is a star. With apologies to you angel lovers out there, I just don't get it. Having a pine branch stuck up your butt all season just looks painful, and it makes me uncomfortable. But what do I know? Maybe the angel loves a prickly goose.
4. Christmas presents are opened on Christmas morning, NOT Christmas Eve. For those of you who open them on the Eve, whatever do you do the next morning? [Caveat: We open one present on the Eve, and one only - pyjamas to wear that night so everyone is decent for pictures in the morning.]
5. We must have a real tree. End of discussion. And, yes, I am still sweeping up pine needles from last year.
6. Much to Mr Earth's dismay, I find that Christmas is just not Christmas without Boney M.
7. When not screaming at me because they haven't slept long enough (Little G), or fake puking because I forced them to taste the sweet potato (Big C), my kids can actually be quite pleasant to be around. Sometimes they are even...adorable:

Photography by Tangerine. Winning message for this year's card is the title of this post.

I haven't been around much to your blogs due to lack of sleep, and desperate last-minute Christmas shopping. If anyone is struggling with presents for kids (yours or others), stop by Playdate today and read about the cool toys I found for the kidlets on my list. I got some rockin' deals! Nothing over sixty dollars!!

And now I sound like a used car salesperson.

Merry Christmas everyone. I am missing you greatly.

It's beginning to look a lot like...oh crap.

After mocking people for starting Christmas way too early, I'm starting to get a bit freaked out about it myself. Maybe it's the unexpected carols in local paper store, or the 3 AISLES of Christmas decorations already up in the superstore, but my pulse is starting to race just a bit at the thought of all the things that I have to get done before December 25th. Christmas cards! Bridal shower! Holiday parties! Gift exchanges! Oh yeah, and going back to work on Monday. It's too much.

The Boy and I have been pouring over the toy flyers that have been mysteriously showing up at our door (how do they know where we live??), trying to find gift ideas for the multitude of children that are on my shopping list. Our evenings go something like this:

flip-flip-flip
"Oh, mummy, can I have this?"
flip-flip-flip
"This is my very favourite thing!"
flip-flip-flip
"Can I get this, pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeasssssssssssse?"

We're not materialistic at all.

Everything is too expensive, has too many flashing lights and loud sounds, or is just too old or too...much. And I've got a serious hate on for all things branded with movie or tv characters (yes, Disney, that means you too - eventhough my sister-in-law is a bigwig at your company). And I love the handmade, wooden, environmentally-friendly, politically-correct toys but WOWSERS do they cost some big bucks! We're on a budget, people! But Christmas is for the kids, and it's a BIG DEAL around Casa Earth. I want to see the magic in their eyes when they walk downstairs and see what has appeared beneath the tree overnight. And I don't want to spend a gazillion dollars.

So I'm trying to think back to all the Christmas mornings and birthdays that I've had over the years, and to the toys or gifts that really stood out for me. I've compiled a list of my favourite toys that you can read over at Playdate. Go and have a read if you have a moment. Who knows - you may be inspired yourself. And for the love of Pete, if you have any really good ideas for gifts in the 4-year-old or 1-year-old range, please let me know in the comments here or at Playdate. I need help!

And so it begins..

I was walking the boys home in the stroller, and in between neighbouring pumpkins, ghosties and ghoulies, one lone house was stripped of Hallowe'en. In its stead was the merry twinkling of Christmas lights. It had the effect of simultaneously making the undead outdated and also making itself seem rather too precipitous.

Similarly, I was in a store earlier day getting more supplies for the handmade invitations that should have gone out last week for the bridal shower I'm hosting. The wedding is on New Year's Eve. I'm sure I will have NO PROBLEM finding a babysitter. Yeeaaahh. Anyways, as I was paying the exhorbitant amount of money they charged for sturdy cardstock, I recognized one of the tunes playing in the background as a Christmas carol. Here's how the ensuing conversation played out:

Inside Voice: "Freaks. It's barely November."
Outside Voice: "Omigoodness! That's a Christmas carol! Wow! Already. I wasn't prepared for that."

Shopkeeper: "Oh, it's just one of the songs on a mixed CD we have. We play that all the time."

Inside Voice: "Yeah right. Do you play that mixed CD that just happens to have a Christmas carol on it in the middle of July? Boo-yah!"
Outside Voice: "Huh."

See how interesting my life is?

Oh, and if you're already planning your holiday shopping, or - god forbid - are actually so organized that you're already shopping for the holidays (damn you and your crafty organizational skills!), then be sure to check out my latest post at Playdate. I have a recommendation for the awesomenest TV on DVD boxed set that not many people have heard about. If you like to laugh, then this show should be at the top of your list.

Don't tell me you don't like to laugh. Go. Read.

The Time Warp

I'm finding it difficult to believe that this time last year, I was pregnant. AND little beknownst to me, I was about to give birth - NOT in three weeks as calculated by doctors and ultrasounds. Due dates, schmue dates. This year has gone by extremely fast, and ridiculously slowly. I'm finding it hard to be coherent when all I feel is schmaltzy, so behold some of the (very few) Hallowe'en pictures that are (sort of) in focus:


The Not-So-Spooky Jack-O-Lantern Pizza. Rule #1: Nobody gets to eat Hallowe'en candy unless they eat dinner first. (Best thing about being a parent? Making up crazy rules.) This pizza may become the new tradition at Casa Earth.

My lovely, sweet "Ninja" Turtle Boy. He refused to wear the mask, so that makes him a...turtle. Sans ninja. That worked out perfectly. Look at his poor cheek! His hand-holding partner in the daycare's Hallowe'en parade took a tumble, and the Boy came tumbling after. Apparently, he was very brave. He cried a bit, and then made sure that his friend was ok.

This is the last first holiday for my baby. My Little Guy is not so little anymore. Sniff. Excuse me while I get all googly...

Happy Hallowe'en from Casa Earth!

The Pumpkins, The Plan, and the Product

Little known fact: I'm just not that into Hallowe'en.

You'd think that a holiday centered around dressing up in costume and getting candy would be right up my alley (don't say it, Crazymumma). But I get my fill of costumes from the stage, and although the candy is great, I tend to eat waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay too much, and then I just feel guilty. Add to that having to closely monitor the amount of candy the Boy consumes before bedtime (he is my son, after all), keeping the Little Guy up later than he would like, having to stand outside in the cold almost begging kids to come and take our candy (What's with that? Don't kids want candy? Am I frightening them away with my desperate cry of "Candy! I have candy! Please come and take it"!?), and the whole thing kind of makes me go... Meh.

I do love dressing up the kids, though. And I LOVE carving the pumpkin. I don't know what's gotten into me. I don't recall ever carving a pumpkin before we bought a house. Seriously. And now I'm all Pumpkin Competitor #1. So behold..

The Pumpkins

Poor $2.99 pumpkins from Loblaws. They don't know the seriousness of their fate. I spent a week trying to figure out how I would get two pumpkins, two kids and a stroller home from the Village, and I finally gave up. I snagged these while I was getting samosas for our regular Tuesday night Indian cusine. The backs are all flat and scarred, but don't the fronts look nice? It's all about appearances.

The Plan

I have this freakish new tendency to carve the pumpkins to echo the kids costumes. I may have created a whole new category of fetish. Moving on.

The Little Guy is going to be Cookie Monster. I created this design freehand based on a retro t-shirt that I found online.

The boy is determined to be a Teenaged Mutant Ninja Turtle. I didn't even know he knew who they were. And aren't they passé, anyways? Fashion-forward does not describe our family. Anyway, we compromised by buying him a turtle costume, and borrowing a blue mask from a work colleague of Mr Earth's. I'm hoping that the mask gets "lost" and he gets to be the cute plush turtle that suits his personality much better.

I totally stole this design from my favourite pumpkin carving pattern site, Zombie Pumpkins. They rock, but I refuse to pay money to buy a pattern when I can just copy it from the online site. So I look at the pattern they created and draw it freehand. But, one of their "new" designs for 2008 is Count von Count from Sesame Street, and I did that exact pumpkin two years ago, so maybe they're stealing from me..? Probably not. But it's nice to dream that I have some claim to fame.

The Product

They probably won't last till Hallowe'en, so I had to photograph them all lit up today. I highly recommend that you don't carve your pumpkins untill the day of, if possible, especially if they are intricate or delicate. They tend to wilt. However, with two small kids in the house, carve ye pumpkins while ye may. Babies don't nap for very long. At least, mine don't.

Frost Wind Made Moan

The family and I went to the Eaton Centre on Saturday to find clothes for Mr Earth's new head shot. He's getting them done on Wednesday, and like me, all his clothes are either completely inappropriate or threadbare - having chosen to spend all our money on the kids. Someday soon they will realize that they are better dressed than us and that we are completely "out of it", but what they won't realize is that it is their fault. So nyah.

Anyways, we're going up the escalator in Sears because the Boy was tired of shopping for things that weren't for him and he wanted to see the toys (Toys, Mummy! I want to see the toys! Can we see the toys?! But I HAVE to see the toys now! NOW!), and smack dab in the centre of the first floor was a little square of Christmas. Trees, decorations, nutcracker dolls - the works. Nowhere else was remotely decorated.

My first thought was - GAH! - commercialism. Not even Hallowe'en yet, and they're already pushing consumers to Buy!Buy!Buy! I felt like Charlie Brown, only taller. And more hair. Then I thought that it looked kind of sad, like someone had forgotten to put away this small patch of Christmas from last year. I wanted to take my blankie and wrap it around the section and perk things up a bit.

My third thought was - GAH! - it's almost Christmas! Christmas is almost upon us! I started twitching, wondering how I was going to get everything done. How has the year gone by? I remember thinking last Christmas how fun it would be this year, with an almost-4-year-old and an already-1-year-old. Christmas last year was a bit of a washout. We were so newborn-tired that it was difficult to muster up the energy to celebrate. Luckily, I don't think the Boy noticed.

You see, Christmas is VERY IMPORTANT to me. It trumps any and every celebration of the year - birthdays included. Yes, a day that is All About Me is LESS important than a day that is mostly for the kids. And it's not the presents either. It's the feeling of the season. Everyone being a little bit nicer. Everybody going that extra mile. And everyone is celebrating something sometime in the season: Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, etc. But I swear, I get simultaneously giddy and misty when I hear Christmas carols. Mr Earth has shouted at me for singing Sleigh Ride in July (you have to admit, it's catchy).

So eventhough Hallowe'en is still two weeks away, and I mocked the Christmas section in the Eaton Centre, I'm already looking ahead to this year's festivities. Every year, we do a Christmas card with a picture of the kids which, of course, has to be shot in November in order to get it out in time. And here is where I need your help... I always use a well-known quote from the season. So far, I've used:

1. Tidings of Great Joy (it was a Christmas Card and a pseudo-birth announcement for the Boy)
2. Tis the Season (the picture was of the Boy looking very merry)
3. The Greatest Gifts (Christmas Card and pseudo-birth announcement for the Little Guy - a play on the line that the best gifts come in small packages)

But I'm stumped for this year. Here's some I'm considering - all lines from some of my favourite carols:

1. Eyes all aglow (The Christmas Song)
2. Two Birds of a Feather (Sleigh Ride)
3. Let Your Heart Be Light (Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas)
4. Give My Heart (In the Bleak Midwinter)
5. Hold the Hands I Love (Song for a Winter's Night)

Yeah, it's cheesy. Yeah, I don't care. If ever there was a place for cheese in my life and in my heart, it's during the holiday season. Do you like any of those? Do you have a favourite holiday sentiment that is child-friendly (as the photo will be of the kids only) and not overtly Christmassy (as we have family that are Jewish)? Serve 'em up. I'm all ears.

Thank Heaven for Little Boys

Happy Thanksgiving from Casa Earth!

Bring Your Good Times..

Happy Canada Day from Casa Earth!

I Heart Motherbumper!

Have you seen the new widget on my sidebar?? It's wicked awesome. Motherbumper made it for me to have a cool way to update readers on any new post of mine over at MBT. It's also pretty frakin' amazing that she made in the midst of sleep deprivation. She rocks. I wish I had half her talent.

Yes, in case you're wondering, it is February 14th and I'm posting about my lovin' for a fellow bloggy friend. Valentine's Day has been kind of sucky so far. After making 20 pretty neat (even if I do say so myself) Valentine's presents for the Boy's daycare friends, I got to the daycare Monday morning, only to find a note in his cubby stating that I need 36 presents, not 20 (due to the part-timers). Half the crafty stuff for the presents had been bought weeks ago, and were now sold out. So I spent the better part of this winter-forsaken-wonderland running around town trying to find substitutes.

As I was making these 16 extra Valentines last night, Mr Earth turns to me and asks "Do you want me to buy you something for Valentine's Day?" Ah, can you feel the love? Ten years in and we still have the spark.

Have I mentioned how much I hate winter yet? The car got stuck this morning - half in traffic and half out. Thank god my neighbour was there to help dig me out. It also got stuck as I was trying to park it again. More digging. More fun! Between that, being trapped in the house more days than I would like due to the snowy snow and the windy wind, almost having a car accident eventhough I was driving 20km per hour, and people who don't shovel their sidewalks, I'm pretty much done with winter. It can go now, thank you.

But just to prove that I do still believe in happy endings, check out the Boy's love story below:

Memories of 2007

Sounds like a President's Choice marinade, no? Although I'm 3 days late (No, I'm not pregnant. Ew! Way too soon for that..) to usher in the new year, I thought the passing of the old into new should be marked somehow. Many bloggers are posting their first sentences from each month of the last year, or linking to their best post or just giving a summary of what went on in 2007. Well, I don't want to bore you (any more than I already do), so that's out for me. Instead, I thought I would post a few samplings of the Boy's loquaciousness.

The Boy, when not given over to tantrums as is the norm these days, can be most charming and funny. Here are a few of my faves...

1. On seeing a Santa decoration on a porch or in a window...

Boy: "A Santa, Mummy! A Santa! Look, mama, a Santa!"

Nomo: Oh, hi Santa!

Boy: (with disdain) "Nooo, he can't talk, he's a decoration."

Apparently, I'm not the sharpest tool in the shed.


2. Just ask him what the Cracker Man (read: the Nutcracker) says...

"I broke my peanut!!"

Let me just say that it took us a long time to figure out he was saying peanut. We thought it was something entirely differently...and rather painful.


3. Heard at least once every morning, afternoon and evening...

"Can I paint now? I want to paint!! Can I draw now, please??"

He knows the way to my heart, that one.


4. When asked what his favourite show is..

"Sweeney Todd"

This pleased his father overmuch.


5. When put in the stroller over the holidays...

"Which coffee store we going to? Second Cup? Starbucks?? What are you going to have at the coffee store? Where's the coffee store? I can't see it, mummy."

Maybe we go for coffee too much.


6. When talking to anyone on the phone:

"Wanna come to my house?"


7. My favourite bedtime ritual...

Boy: This is our secret cave. No one can come in.

Nomo: Goodnight, Boy. I love you. I'll see you in the morning.

Boy: No, I'll see you in the morning!

Nomo: No, I'll see you in the morning!

Boy: No, I'll see you in the morning!!

This can go on forever..


8. To his father - without prompting...

"You are my best friend in the whole world."

Well, now we're sunk. How can we deny him anything??