Thanksgiving Weekend in Photos

Better late than never right?

OMSI - From Polar Bears to Penguins Exhibit



Thomas "Being" A Penguin


Feeding the Ducks - Thanksgiving Morning

The Duck feed is a mix of wholegrain rice (uncooked) and unpopped corn - park approved duck feed.


A photo of me? How did that get in there?




The last leaf barely holding on - sigh! Winter is here.


Llamas



Thomas Running From The Baby Llama. He didn't spend much time at ground level.




And I love this one - looks like the Llama is smiling at me. :)


And this is beautiful


A random one from Sunday


We have plans to drive into the Gorge tomorrow but it looks like the weather is going to be pretty nasty. They are expecting snow and ice so off to buy some snow tires tonight. The good news is that we won't have to stray far from the freeway so we should be OK. Wish us luck! If all goes well I should have some fun pics to share on Monday - and a Xmas tree in my living room. So exciting!

Have a great weekend everyone.
Nicole

Thanksgiving Recap (Sans Photos)

Alas, I have no photos to share from Thanksgiving weekend. Not that I don't have any (I took a LOT) but just too lazy to download them from my camera. Hope to have some posted tomorrow.

I can share a recap for now - as exciting as it is. :)

Wednesday
My regular day off work which works perfectly for picking up our take-out Turkey dinner from Marco's Cafe. As luck would have it, the Cafe is right near a really cute Toy store which happened to have the gift Kei wanted to get Thomas for Xmas. I won't share what it is yet, but I can say that my idea of a play kitchen has gone by the wayside.

Met Kei at OMSI for an afternoon of Science fun and then home for dinner. A fun day.

Thursday
Decided to visit the Rhodedendrun Gardens in the morning to feed the (very hungry) ducks. False start at first as Thomas fell asleep in the car as soon as we left the house. Turned around to take him home for a nap. As soon as I put him to bed he woke up and asked to feed the ducks. Got back in the car. Made it to the gardens. Fed the ducks. Took LOTS of pictures. Thomas passed out in the car on the way home and slept for two hours.

Heated up lunch around 2pm and ate till we couldn't eat any more.

8pm - couldn't resist another helping of turney dinner.

Friday
Visited the Llamas - yes, the Llamas. Kei works with someone who lives on a Llama farm. Hung out with the Llamas for a couple of hours and then stopped at Burgerville for lunch on the way home. Thomas pased out in the car shortly after.

PM - Thomas VERY cranky. Kei and I wonder where our happy little boy has gone and cross our fingers that this is not the beginnning of the REALLY terrible twos. Everything is a struggle and little things send Thomas into a whiny, crying mess. Hungry but doesn't want to eat. Wants Daddy - wants Mummy. Want's this toy - wants that toy. Doesn't want to get in the bath - doesn't want to get out of the bath. Wants to watch the Wiggles - NOW!!! Doesn't want to go to bed. Finally falls asleep and Kei and I consider the possibility of another 12 months of a grouchy, whiny, difficult Thomas. Too exhausting to contemplate.

Watch Fast Food nation and seriously rethink our Burgerville lunch. Then quickly decide that Burgerville is OK but Wendy's and McDonalds are definitely out.

Saturday
Kei plays golf with a friend who is experiencing his last days of pre-parenthood. The baby is due this week and I think this game was being viewed as a last hurrah. Thomas and I head downtown to do a spot of Xmas shopping and my happy, fun little boy is back. Whoever it was that took over his personality on Friday can stay away.

Buy a gift from Anthropologie for a digi friend, some books from Powells (the BEST bookstore in the entire universe) and then have rotating Sushi for lunch. Thomas and I have a great time together shopping and reading. Soon after lunch we ride the train to the Pioneer Square to see the Xmas tree. Thomas falls asleep in the stroller just before the tree comes into view. Do some more browsing and a little more shopping before Kei picks us up at around 2pm, almost the same time that Thomas wakes from his nap in the stroller.

Head home with a happy little boy who laughs and plays and runs around the house like his old self - quietly hope that this is the norm and not the exception.

Thomas is put to bed and Kei and I watch Who the ?$##? is Jackson Pollock? Fun little documentary about a female truck driver trying to prove that her $10 thrift store find is actually a $50 million piece of artwork. I'm convinced that it is the real thing and vow to start looking more closely in Thrift Stores.

Sunday
Otherwise known as the day before the end of vacation (sigh). Kei and I finish in fine form with an argument that basically ruins the entire day. The good news is that my little boy is in good spirits (maybe this is the norm) and we end up having a fun day while getting some stuff done before the week begins - Grocery shopping, Laundry, Raking leaves. Kei plays golf (enough said about that).

Evening ends with some TV viewing - Amazing Race (LOVE that show - if I were a US citizen I think I would sign up) and Desperate Housewives. So the day was not a total loss.

Monday
Kei heads to Seattle for two days so it is just Thomas and me. I think we'll have Sushi for dinner tonight (the cooked kind of course for the preggo woman). Fingers crossed that he is still his happy self when I pick him up from daycare tonight.

So overall a fun weekend (apart from the small hiccup on Sunday). I feel like I actually had a break but already looking forward to the next one. Just four weeks until Xmas after all. Hope your weekend was a good one too.

Thanks for stopping by.
Nicole

Random Stuff

The one that didn't make it
I found it very difficult to get started in the Stand Up contest. The result was at least two or three designs for the first few LOs before I was happy with the result. Most of them went into the recycle bin on my computer, except this one. I actually really like it and may have to lift the design for another page. The challenge was to use at least three patterned papers on the page.

Credits: Lisa Whitney Chalked Papers and stitching (Scrapartist), Dani Mogstad Say It Journal Strips (Design by Dani).

Blech!
I am sick. I began coming down with a cold on the weekend and this one just won't let go. The worst part is the cough at night that not only keeps me awake but seems to wake the rest of the household as well. You really don't appreciate the cold and flu drugs until you are unable to use them. Just one of the downsides of being pregnant.

So I haven't felt like scrapping (again) but I was on a little bit of a roll before I got sick so I'm hoping my Mojo returns.

Christmas Mode
I know Thanksgiving is just around the corner but I am already geared up for Christmas. This is going to be the first year we have had our own Xmas tree in almost nine years of marriage. It will also be Thomas' first Xmas at home so I am really excited. We went to Ikea yesterday to get some Xmas decor - lots of candles (I love candles) and some other decorations. I have been collecting ornaments for the last few years in post Xmas sales so I should have enough to decorate a tree but I won't know until it's all put together.

I am really looking forward to starting our own traditions so I am doing some research. I am also thinking about Xmas dinner - I want it to be special but not too much trouble since there will only be three of us (and Thomas only counts for half). Tradition in Australia is to have turkey but since we have Thanksgiving just next week I was thinking about prime rib. I am a little undecided but I do plan to cook.... at least right now I do.

But first Thanksgiving...
I am not American so Thanksgiving is a relatively new holiday for me. Although I try to continue some of the traditions, I like to make Thanksgiving a very laid back and relaxed holiday with just Hubby and Thomas. No traveling and take out Turkey dinner. Believe me - it is delicious! And I make sure I order enough for plenty of leftovers.

I created this little page to commemorate our Thanksgiving tradition. Almost everything is from a Tara Sroka/Heather Milano Collab available from Tara's Store. Click on image for full credits.

So that's just about enough randomness for today. Have a great Thursday and thanks for stopping by.

Nicole

Incognito

I forgot to post my SUAS alter ego. One fun, unexpected part of the contest was to create a fun avatar. Since we were all in diguise then obviously we couldn't include our own photo.

Here was mine - I was actually very proud of it, not for the quality of the image but for the concept. :)

Oh, and I received no points at all during the contest. Zero. Nada. I'm not upset about it - just realize that the judges were not looking for LOs with my style. I give myself top points for completion. :)

Nicole

The Big Reveal

All six LOs from the Stand Up and Scrap Competition. Not thrilled with all of them but they do look better as a package. I think week two was my favourite. Vibrant and fun and something I will put in Thomas' album. I like week five too - just because he's so cute!


I will upload them all in my MSA gallery with credits etc. over the next couple of days. For now you can view them in my Sweet Shoppe and Little Dreamer Galleries (I am 16148A).

Until next time

Nicole

Validation

Sometimes you need to know you're getting through. When Thomas decided to put his duck in time out (for a very good reason - refusing to put his shoes away) we knew that on some level he understood.

When he left the duck in time out for over 6 hours, well, that may be cause for concern. :)

On a scrapbooking related note... Stand up and Scrap is now over. No surprises that I didn't win - or even once make the top ten. When I look at the winner galleries it seems they were looking for more works of art/collage-type layouts and that's not why I scrap. So no real surprises - although making the top ten for one week would have been nice.

I'll post my LOs here over the next few days - even the ones I'm not very proud of. ;)

Have a great day
Nicole

Spooktacular!

Halloween has come and gone for another year. But this time it had a different spin thanks to the fact that we nw have a child who will Trick or Treat - AND it was actually the very first time I have been trick or treating. OK, the treats are more likely to end up in our bellys than Thomas’ but the act of trick of treating can only be done by an adorable 2 year old in a dinosaur costume.

Kei stayed home to hand out the treats (including toothbrushes for the daycare group) while Thomas and I joined a group of kids from the street (and his daycare) to knock on doors. We pretty much know everyone in our street now so we were definitely trick or treating the safe way. Our street was buzzing! So many kids walking around - definitely more than last year. The weather was good this year and not too cold so I’m sure that had something to do with it.

And here’s my little contribution to the evening. Two perfectly carved pumpkins. Kei said they received a lot of compliments as people were walking up the path. I did use a stencil but I think it’s a pretty good effort.

Oh, and I scrapped this week (yippee!)- Well actually last week but I can post this week. Another fabulous Dani kit. Seriously, she blows me away with every creation. This one is called Winter Thrill and will be available from the Sweet Shoppe this weekend along with a whole buch of Xmas goodies.

A lot of fun stuff happening this weekend in digiland thanks to Digital Scrapbooking Day on Saturday. I have a busy weekend but hope to stop by a few stores - The Lilypad, Jen Wilson Designs, OScraps, Sweet Shoppe and of course Tara's brand new store which opens tomorrow. Should be fun!

Have a great weekend

Nicole