I don't like Mondays....But this one wasn't so bad...

I started the day with my usual 3:15am wake-up, to the sound of my annoying alarm clock.   Showered, headed into work, and a couple of hours later , my pictures began. 

You can't beat a beautiful sunrise over the Petitcodiac River.

It was a busy day at work..  Lots of news stories....The day ended and then it was home to nap(as I usually do on Mondays) 

Before I laid down,  I played with Nova, our newest family member....She is settling in very nicely.  Still very playful, and she manages to keep herself entertained but she loves when we throw the ball for her....And here's a picture with her best friends, the Monkey.....

There's no lack of love in our household for Nova, that's for sure...But the kids are still hoping for a dog later this year.  My husband is set on a greyhound, but there is a process you have to go through, and they won't adopt to families with children under the age of 5....So we have to wait until our son has his birthday...

This evening, some strange footprints were found on the deck....We sometimes have skunks, or raccoons go through our garbage on the side deck....That's usually during the summer months.  Tonight, I found the footprints of some type of bird......Could possibly be a crow I guess, but it's not something we see very often(near our garbage anyway...We have plenty of crows around though!!).....And it doesn't look like they pecked their way into any of the bags either.  I was thinking maybe a chicken....LOL   That thought is in connection to a news story my co-worker did earlier today... "An experimental chicken farm in Moncton has worked out so well, the idea could soon become a reality in the Hub City."  Here's the link if you're interested in reading more..

http://www.news919.com/news/local/article/325146--moncton-s-urban-chicken-farm-a-success

Oh, and I almost forgot, I took pictures of the footprints..

I chatted with my mom in Florida, and a girlfriend as well....and that is pretty much my day in a nutshell...Not much excitement there, but overall, it wasn't too bad of a day...Can't complain, life is too short to do that...

Now, off to bed!  3:15AM comes far too quickly...

I have a bone to pick with a certain department store.

Okay, I don't mean to groan and complain, but I need to vent a little.

I know they are closing,.....I know that an American store is taking over, and I know that some people are upset about it....But you know what, if Target is going to bring better Customer Service to this store, then so be it.    I can't speak for all Zellers stores.  The ones I have been at in Ontario seemed to get the job done, but in the six years I have lived here and have shopped at Zellers(which isn't very often)  I have received some of the worst Customer Service.  Perhaps it's because they know they are going to be closing....Perhaps it's because many of the employees know they could soon be out of a job...I don't know, but my goodness, show some appreciation.

Usually when you stand in a long lineup, and bring an item to the cash, and question the price it comes up at(which was a difference of $6 I might add) the Cashier calls for a price check......No, instead I was sent back to the department where it came from to have someone else check the price of the item for me....and then I had to ask to have my purchases totalled up elsewhere, or I would have had to return to the cash, to stand in line once again....

Okay, okay...I know some of you are saying, "SO what's the big deal...."  Maybe I am sweating the small stuff.....I just think that with the amount of competition that's out there department store wise, you'd think that there would be top notch Customer Service.  Maybe this is why Zellers is in the predicament they are in, being bought out by Target....Obviously they weren't bringing in the kind of money that they should.  I imagine that places like Wal-Mart have taken their share of customers away from this retailer.......I am not praising Wal-Mart...I do shop there more, but they have their share of flaws as well. But I just don't think that department stores, grocery stores or any other type of store can afford to let things slip in the Customer Service department....We have the choice of where we're going to shop......and many people don't have any problem taking their business elsewhere because of a bad experience...

Bad customer service in the Maritimes? That doesn't happen.....Does it?........Shocked?  Don't be......I hate to break it to you.....It happens here too........not quite as much as in some of the other provinces......But, it does happen sometimes...

Ahhhhh, I feel better now......

Looking for a snowblower? Check out this sale!

This sign caught my eye on the way by today...It's at the Home Depot in Moncton, New Brunswick.

Free snow blowers??!!  But they're only offering delivery until Saturday, so you better get yours fast!!  What a reduction!

I know, I know what they're really trying to say....The free part is for the delivery, but I think it caught my eye because of how they divided it up. "All snow blowers reduced.  Free.  Delivery til Sat."  That's how I read it at first, but not to worry, I am not blonde enough to actually think that they are giving away free snow blowers...(no comments from the peanut gallery please!) 

Moncton versus Baie-Comeau....QMJHL action!

We decided we would take the kids to the Moncton Wildcats hockey game tonight.  It's not something we do very often, but we thought it would be fun to get out and enjoy something different.  My daughter got a free ticket for herself from school from "Reading is Wild" week, and that also entitled my husband and I and our son discounted tickets.

Early on in the game, my daughter decided that the Wildcats were going to win......But her reasoning was, "If they are Wildcats, they must be very strong." 

Our Moncton Wildcats games are played at the Coliseum....I will say one thing.....When they finally decide to build the new Downtown Entertainment Centre with hockey rink, I hope they put in comfortable seats....The seats at the Coliseum are the most uncomfortable seats I have ever sat in..

This is the Wildcat inflatable that the team enters through.  The kids thought it was pretty neat!

They were pretty excited when they got to the game.  My son had ants in his pants and couldn't sit still.  My daughter asked a lot of questions.

 Can you spot Wildcat Willie?

 By the end of the second period, my son was pretty much done for the night.

The Wildcats won 2-1, snapping a two game losing streak.

I should have become the inventor of children's toys...I could've made millions!

I remember when I was a child, I used to play with Smurfs...The man who came up with the concept of a small blue elf like person, who lived in a Toadstool type home, and ate smurf berries, was a genius.....And now it has come full circle, because once the movie was made, The Smurfs were all the rage again.  My mom hung onto all of the Smurfs I had when I was a kid.....Roughly 125 of them to be exact.....So my children have inherited them.....The only problem is, we had to wait until my son got past the stage of putting things in his mouth, because back then there was lead in all of the paint they used on toys....As we know, that's a no-no by today's standards....

We always thought the Smurfs might be worth money someday.  I imagine some of the rare ones might be......

I also have my little Strawberry Shortcake characters from when I was small.  They are the ones that smelled liked strawberries, apples and blueberries, depending on the character.  Strawberry Shortcake has also made a comeback, but she has changed since I was a kid.  She is much more hip now, with cooler clothes, and an up to date hairstyle....

The latest thing I find kicking around our house, is the Littlest Pet Shop toys...Wow, what a concept....Here is another toy, that just about anyone could have come up with....Small animals, with colourful homes, that have swings, and places to play.....and an animal hospital where you can care for them.  The person who invented these is laughing all the way to the bank....

I remember when the Littlest Pet Shop toys first came out years ago...They made them with little magnets in their feet, and their homes had magnets as well, so the animals could stick in place.  But they ran into problems when those little magnets starting falling out and children were accidentally swallowing them..So there was a major recall on the toys...Now they just make them with a little hole in the bottom of their feet and it attaches to a little notch that holds the animals in place...

Who knows how long this one will last?

I've seen a lot of toys come full circle in the past year..The Smurfs, as I mentioned before, Alvin and the Chipmunks are back, and my daughter wanted an Etch a Sketch for Christmas this past year...I still haven`t figured that one out...I don`t remember the Etch a Sketch doing much else but drawing straight lines....According to the Cashier at Toys R Us though, they were making a comeback...I remember when the Slinky started showing up in stores again years ago....and I can't remember what it was called....something like the lemon skip or something?.....Ladies, remember that one?  You put it around your ankle, and you moved your leg so it went in circles and you skipped over it as it went around?  It had a lemon on the end....

Music is another one....A lot of the newer are redoing 80's tunes...and it's funny because us parents know all the words, and our kids can't figure out why...They think it's not possible, that parents could possibly be hip enough to know the words to the songs on the radio.....If only they knew, we were listening to those songs long before they were even around...

I know there are many more toys that are making the comeback, but I just can't think of them off hand...I guess it just proves..what was good for us, can be good for our kids as well....They often just need a bit of a makeover, so they adapt to the current trends and styles.....

Look at how long Barbie has been around!  She has certainly come a long way from when she was first invented...Back then, she was just a beautiful skinny blonde who dated Ken....Now she's a mom, a Veterinarian, a Doctor, Teacher, Lifeguard, Architect, Chef....etc!  You name it, she has probably taken it on!

Family Literacy Day at Queen Elizabeth School

I had the pleasure of taking part in Family Literacy Day at my daughter's school today.  It's a great event.  The parents and children in Kindergarten thru to Grade 2, gather in the gym, and have a picnic style lunch and read to each other over the lunch hour.  It`s to promote reading for kids, which is something we don`t do enough of these days.  I remember when I was a child, I read all of the time.  Nowadays I don`t seem to make the time for it, and I should!  My children have tons and tons of books to read at home,and they both enjoy books a lot.  My daughter is reading at a grade level above her own, and my son is already reading some words at the age of 4.....He loves to just look at books on his own, at home and at pre-school.   


If I may quote an article I found in the National Post newspaper from February of 2011..It said, "According to the Canadian Council on Learning, New Brunswick has the lowest literacy rates among Canadian provinces and fewer than half the province’s adults met the international standards “required to cope in a modern society” when it came to reading, understanding charts and graphs, numeracy and problem-solving."


It's a shame to hear that so many adults have made it through life without learning to read....Many slip through the school system without the ability...How does this happen??? 

  

My daughter reading Winnie the Pooh...Is there any other?  She decided against her pony chapter book for this lunch hour.

This is my daughter's best friend, her dad and another classmate enjoying a book.

A shocking part in the book perhaps?

I encourage all parents to read to their kids, and encourage your children to read to themselves as well.  Computers have somewhat taken over in this day and age, but it's not the same as curling up with a book..Books can sweep you off into another time and place....They stimulate the senses, and get the creative juices flowing....and they inspire imagination, which is something every child should have.....Books can take you away, if only for a few minutes.  They can brighten up your day, and put a huge smile on your face.  They can excite, frighten, or bring tears or any other of the many emotions... Reading may be exactly what you need after a long day at work, or a stressful day at home........

Reading also promotes time spent with your children, and part of parenthood is the joy of watching a child learn new things each and every day.

Where did the snow go?

So, just two days ago, we had snow on the ground.  Enough that, if you have been following my blog, you saw that we were able to pull the kids around the backyard in the toboggan.  After our 10 degree temperatures yesterday, and rainfall....This is what it looks like now.

It's amazing that the snowman leaning up against the pedestal in front of our house hasn't melted yet!(Ha Ha!  I know, I know, don't quit your day job Tara..)

But.....Old Man Winter is not done yet.  Despite the predictions for February, that call for more wacky weather, and more mild temperatures.....Friday's forecast could bring snow to New Brunswick.  20 centimetres of it.   We'll have to wait and see where that snow will fall.  It would be great to be able to do just one Storm Centre morning newscast this winter!  We haven't had a single one yet. 

New appliances sometimes come with an additional price.....

I put my husband to work this past weekend...well it didn't take too much coaxing.....He played musical light fixtures in 4 rooms.....so now we need to purchase one more light fixture for our computer room...and he also replaced our dishwasher.  It has been acting up a lot lately, and our friends,  the Weir's,  had recently purchased a new one, so they sold us their old one...Big improvement...

So, the struggle began on Sunday afternoon...My husband, trying to get the old dishwasher out...His first question was, "How in the world did I get this in, in the first place?"

Those pictures were taken after he managed to get it out somewhat.....He had to take the door off though which meant taking it all apart....

Taking out the dishwasher comes with a price though...

Now, that crack was first made when we put the dishwasher in...But it's worse now..So......not sure how much it is going to cost to replace the countertop....but it may be something we have to consider..or save up for...

There's the new(err...new to us) dishwasher now in place...Ran the first cycle tonight...Waiting for the dishes to dry...I'll have to get back to you on whether or not they are cleaner than when we washed dishes with our old machine.

Applause to my husband for all of his hard work!

Since we met, he has really tried a lot of new things renovation wise.  And he has learned a lot about electrical and plumbing jobs from his workplace, so it comes in very handy around the house...He has become a real DIY'er!  (do-it yourselfer)  We recently completed our first ceramic tiling job in our Mud Room.  I laid most of the tile, but he finished the bottom step, and then grouted, and for the most part, it looks pretty good..My husband has also laid laminate flooring in four rooms in our house, he changes light fixtures, has repaired leaky pipes....AND.....he cuts the lawn and snowplows the driveway when needed!  Who could ask for anything more!  LOL

Oh and I should mention...on top of being a wonderful husband, he is also a phenomenal dad...

Ten years of marriage this August......and I haven't driven him crazy yet!!!!

Karaoke fun

I have to post just one more tonight, because I am a proud mom.  The quality of this video isn't great, but I'm sure you'll enjoy just the same...  We purchased a karaoke machine recently and my 4 year old son just adores Winnie the Pooh...This video proves it!

A chilly Sunday afternoon...but it didn't seem to bother the birds....

Another one of the beautiful sights in our backyard....The mourning dove....

They symbolize a message of life, hope, renewal and peace.....which is good news for us, because there are plenty of them in our backyard...

I think our new kitten Nova was feeling the effects of the "mourning doves"  when I snapped her pic this afternoon...

She has been with us just over a week now...and she has really made herself at home.  I think she is liking her new home and family.

We decided to spend a little bit of time outdoors this afternoon...Who knows how much longer this snow is going to be around.  We have rain in the forecast again tomorrow and, once again, the temperatures are expected to climb to around 9 degrees on Tuesday.   So we decided to get out and enjoy a bit...

Super slide!

Mommy gets a turn pulling the toboggan.

What a workout!

I think we killed the toboggan!!!!

It's starting to get dark, time to go in.

We do a lot as a family....My kids have seen me as the serious parent....but also silly as well.   My kids have probably seen a side of me that a lot of others haven't.  Dancing around the room, acting silly, rolling around wrestling, acting half my age.  But that's the great thing about having kids.. They keep you young....I've always wanted to raise my kids like my sister and her husband have...Their family is very close...and their kids are very close as well.  My kids have the same kind of relationship.  They are both best friends and brother and sister at the same time.  They spend quite a bit of time together, and play very well together at home.  There's the odd fight here and there..."She hit me.  He hit me....She won't play with me"  But within five minutes they've usually made up, and are off playing again....My hope is that we'll stay very close for the many years to come.  I want my daughter and son to be able to talk to me when they're older.  If they have a problem, I hope they'll choose to come to their mom and dad to chat about it, and will feel comfortable doing it...

I realised today that this blog hasn't turned out exactly as I had first hoped, with a new picture each day...But I'm really enjoying this so far.  It's nice to get my thoughts down......I used to write a lot as a child, but I just don't do it as much anymore, and this gives me the chance...

.I hope you are enjoying it too.

Til Tomorrow!  Have a great Monday!