Thankful Thursday - 201

This week I am thankful for...

1. David is published again! That shoot that was arguably the biggest one of his career so far? Yea. It went amazing. The article went live on Monday and the pictures look great! We're not allowed to publish any of the photos that they purchased for 90 days, and I don't have them on my computer, but here is a link to the article. So cool! It is an online magazine called Curbed, and it's for their "House Calls" section. Another bonus is that he is given credit at the top of the article, and his name links straight to his website. 

2. Sherlock is healthy. It's funny how you don't realize how valuable something is to you until you fear for their life. I've had a little too much of that this last month, but Mr. Sherman is healthy and happy and we're so grateful for it! (If you missed it, he was sick this weekend and we got scared about pancreatitis). 

3. Work Schedule. Work has been so wonderfully flexible. On Monday I was not feeling well at all, and the boss could see that. I made a mistake writing a cheque two times in a row. The same cheque had to be re-done twice... I'm a perfectionist so this was mortifying! Of course you have to photocopy your duds and send them to the book-keeper too, so they can see how pathetic you are haha! Anyway, that was the last straw for me that day. Obviously my brain was as sore as my throat and body, so it was time to go home! Yesterday I had to leave a little early as well because Dave had a shoot. I love Wednesdays. I go in to the office for 5 hours in the morning, and when I come home the kids have just gone to bed. It's like 5 hours of me-time doing something productive, followed by 2.5 hours of me-time to do whatever I want! Yesterday it was going through photos for Shutterfly stuff and typing up a blog or two!

Today we went to Tynehead and met up with Ashley, Isabelle and Oakley :)

Wish us luck with Halloween tonight! David is setting up our yard. Come check it out! I have low expectations for Trick or Treating, but hope to get the kids in their costumes for a picture at some point haha!

Lately

Well here I thought I was going to be good and pick back up with blogging. That didn't happen! Haha. This is what we've been up to the last week and a bit. I am still bad at taking pictures, but I tried!

The kids were both sick for a while, and I am now trying to get over this same illness. It's a weird one. Fever and sore throat are the only real symptoms. I forgot how gross fevers feel! So achy! I'll take this over the flu or a head cold any day though.

We had a couple friends over last Friday and reconnected after not seeing each other for many years. They moved back to town a few months ago, and we look forward to continuing to build a friendship and have them be a part of our lives!

Duck Tollers are made for Fall <3 He's so beautiful

Mr Sherlock here... he gave us a little scare this week. Saturday night he threw up his dinner. Sometimes he gets an upset tummy for a couple hours, so we didn't think much of it. When he continued to be unable to keep food down for 48 hours, we decided to call the vet. They asked us to bring him in as soon as possible. I was working, so David packed up both the kids and the dog and off they went! Sherlock had eaten a chunk (I'd say less than 1/3 cup) of Boursin cheese when we had our friends over on Friday. David mentioned this to the vet and they started talking about risks of pancreatitis and totally freaked us out. They recommended getting Sher on anti-nausea medications, doing an X-Ray to check for blockages, and doing bloodwork to rule out something more serious. In the stress of the moment (and having two kids who were showing signs of needing a nap asap), we decided to go for the whole lot. $700... $700 we don't have. Anywho. Good news is that Sherlock is all good! The meds seem to be working, there was no blockage, and his blood work came back normal! Yay! In hindsight I wish I had been able to pause and think and ask a few more questions before making a decision on our course of action, but we love our pup and were terrified something bad was going to happen!

After starving for 48+ hours, we had to skip his dinner the night after we went to the vet. How do you say no to this face?! He kept looking at us like we forgot about him all night haha.

What else... Emilia is getting good at puzzles! The kids are both super into puzzling right now, which is an awesome quiet activity until they start throwing the wooden pieces everywhere **cringing**.

You can see how red she is here. Woke up from her nap with a fever of 102 :(

Last Saturday Aunty Sonya invited me to Tynehead for a walk as she was heading that direction. I brought the kids along, and they walked lots through the trails! By the end everyone was a little hangry, but we made it, the weather was beautiful, and the kids had so much fun playing pooh sticks with Aunty Sonya haha.

We thought the salmon would be spawning, but I guess we missed them...

I love both their little heads poking through haha

Saturday was also the $1 clothing sale at church! I love second-hand things. I got Dom a nice warm GAP winter jacket for $1!!! Amazing. 

Dom's new jacket! Out for a test run

On Sunday after church there was a baby shower for the latest "batch" of new moms in the church. There were 6 of them. So many babies!!! I wish I had taken a second to actually look at this picture before putting my phone away. I hate taking selfies and always feel embarrassed, so I do it so quickly and then hide my phone like that makes a difference haha. Now I look and realize it's blurry! Boo.

David was busy in the afternoon, so I took the kids on a walk to the park. Emilia enjoyed checking out all the "Halloween guys" on the way home. Dominic, not so much. He says his favorite Halloween things are the spiders, and then very genuinely and sweetly asked me, "Mommy, what sorts of Halloween things do you like?" Why is he such a grown up!!

These houses. So tacky, but they're consistently tacky for Halloween and Christmas, so I've learned to appreciate/accept it haha!

I spent some time organizing and cleaning the kids' rooms, and actually opened their blinds for once. I forgot what a gorgeous view Dom has from his room. Emilia too, but Dom's is the best. 

Our old TV stand is in his room. It's mostly just there because we have nowhere else to put it, but it's a good play surface, and it has 3 drawers which are good for hiding things like little toys and wipes! That firehouse was given to us by a generous neighbor boy. It is played with pretty much every single day. 

Since I cleaned it, Dom wanted to play in there. He and Emilia played happily for 30 MINUTES! I folded laundry and tidied my bedroom. I came in to this, but whatever haha. Stuffed animals and books are easy to clean up! I'd do that any time for 30 minutes of them playing!

Daytime view from his window

Sunset view from his window. Seriously. These sunsets are something else!!

Monday evening we had Scott & Ashleigh over and did our pumpkin carving. I dislike carving pumpkins. A bit of a party pooper. However, I did it! I always manage to screw it up, and I did, but at least I did it! Haha. There aren't many things I'd really rather not do. Carving pumpkins and washing lettuce are two random ones though. 

Can you sense our theme? Haha. Except the middle one. Ashleigh did that one for Dom. Dom LOVES it. He always excitedly calls it "Dom's little yellow pumpkin!"

At the risk of being repetitive... I am LOVING these Fall colors this year. I don't love the colder, shorter days, but I do love the vibrant colors.

I have a black thumb. Or whatever the opposite of a green thumb is. However, that succulent is from Scott & Ashleigh's wedding almost 3 months ago and it's thriving! (Probably because I don't have to water it). This beautiful flower is from the Women's Breakfast over a month ago and check it out! I've never had a potted flower last so long haha. Either it's really resilient, or I'm just doing a good job this time. 

Soggy Yet Beautiful!

I feel like we had a super dry, mild summer, and now we're having a wetter Fall than average. I can't get over the colors this year. Is this year a more beautiful Fall than usual, too?!

Here's what we did to beat & embrace the rain this weekend. 

Saturday was super soggy, and we were all going stir crazy by the end of the day. We packed up and went to the Langley Library for about an hour. We'd been there before, but their kids section is amazing. A big firetruck, a big reading area, lots of puzzles, board books, and other little games for kids. We both got to browse the grown up section in shifts, too. I am a grandma and took out two books with crochet patterns. I now know how to make a little stuffed pig haha!

Oh me and my crappy photos. Cool firetruck though!

Miss independent

And then this... I didn't get a chance to read them, but they kind of made me chuckle in a curious kind of way. Can't judge a book by its cover, but can I just a book by its title?

*I am not pro or anti feminism, I just thought it was funny to have a book geared towards toddlers about it*

Cutie Patootie

We had Scott & Ashleigh over for some Battle of Hogwarts (Harry Potter board game) in the evening and the game beat us horribly. If you like Harry Potter and board games, but haven't tried this one, we HIGHLY recommend. It is sooo cool, with so many levels, and there was an incredible amount of thought that went into the details and game-play. It's different every time, and we sometimes win, sometimes don't. 

Stock internet photo because I suck at taking pictures haha

Sunday we went to church, and then came home for naps. After nap time we were off to the annual Holmes Team Pumpkin Patch Event. Last year it was a gorgeous Fall day; this year it was soggy. This gave me an excuse to pull out Dom's old muddy buddy for Emilia though. Bless my heart; something so ridiculously cute about this tiny bundled up person. 

Aw. A picture with Daddy!

Oh Dom. I am sorry for the lack and quality of pictures of you this post. I'll have to make up for it when you're feeling better!

I spy a cheese thief! She was obsessed with the spiced cheese. (Not spicy, just with spices in it)

Dom is less than pleased about trudging through the mud.

Emilia looking a little unsure, but mostly just going with the flow!

Dom really wanted to ride the tractor, so while the boys hauled the pumpkins, we went for a ride.

And then through the corn maze

And when I thought we were done, we came to the petting zoo and play area and stayed for another 45 minutes!

Thank you Aunty Ashleigh for playing firetruck with Dom and his new friend!

Emilia made me laugh so hard in the petting zoo. Dom has always been a little cautious of the animals, and didn't want to be put down at her age. She just marches up, opens the gates, and giggles as she walks around the animals. She had no fear. She didn't touch any, but went and watched them, laughed at them, and copied their noises.

Yesterday I worked during the day, and needed to blow off some steam when I got home so I took Sherlock for a walk in the rain. Nothing like a rainy walk to cheer you up/refresh you! Again... the colors this year are breathtaking. 

Gonna have to get David out with his camera to get some pictures of the colors before the leaves all fly away. Below are some photos someone else in our neighbourhood posted. Not the greatest quality, but you'll get the idea. 

The whole world is a rainbow during this season! <3

Last night was also the election! The Liberals won a minority government, and I'm curious to see if they will remain a minority or if they will form a coalition with one of the other parties. As a progressive thinker myself, I'm pleased with the results of this election!

This morning we got up and were thinking about visiting Bo Bo Moma. I noticed Dom's cough sounded kind of wet, and within an hour of getting up he had spiked a fever. Oh no... Now he has been asleep for 3 hours (it's not even 2:00 yet), and he hasn't eaten anything since breakfast. He wouldn't even eat the peanut butter toast and pears I made him for lunch! That means he must be feeling really shitty! Ahh Fall... there is one thing to dislike about you. Cold & flu season. We have our flu shots booked already for all four of us, and hopefully we can avoid it until then!