When I heard the news last year that Toronto was getting its own Legoland Discovery Centre, I may have let out an audible squee. This was after we had visited the Legoland amusement park near Orlando for the first time, and I could just imagine how thrilled the kids would be to have something like that so [...]

I’m not really into imaginary things. I’m pretty practical. I don’t really mind if the kids stop believing in Santa or the Tooth Fairy or the Easter Bunny. I’m barely putting up the pretense. We don’t do God around here. I’m not the person who is going to put that Elf on the Shelf. Am [...]

I mentioned before that it’s my concentrated gift-giving season in the fall and winter. And it starts now, with Charlie’s first birthday. Followed by Callum’s fifth birthday, and then Christmas, and then Mark and Oliver’s birthday all before New Year’s Day. It can get a little expensive. This is why I actually like to pick [...]

And so passed the fastest/slowest year ever. The baby (and apparently I can always call him that, as I crowd-sourced recently) turned one. We had a low-key celebration. By low-key I mean it involved me, his brothers and a tray of brownies. He had a couple of presents and cards to open but mostly it [...]

We’re approaching birthday season in this house. Everyone except me is born in late fall/early winter. Throw in Christmas and it’s the most wonderful (sing it with me) and expensive time of the year. So I am already anticipating our upcoming toy purchases for the kids. What would they like? What do I think they [...]

“So what’d your husband and the kids get you for your birthday?” “A sausage stuffer.” “A…what? Sorry? How…um…thoughtful?” Get your mind out of the gutters, people. I wasn’t expecting a gift, so this was a nice surprise. The attachment set for my KitchenAid mixer was on my ‘nice to have one day’ list, so I [...]

This weekend it’s my grandparents’ 70th wedding anniversary. Seventy years. Pretty sure I won’t be able to find a standard anniversary greeting card with that many years on it – though you can get a greeting from the Queen (my uncle may have already arranged that one – he’s quite organized about that sort of [...]

Almost two weeks ago, there were half a dozen pirates running around my house, jumping and leaping and ‘arrrgh’-ing. And there was Oliver, giving them orders as to what was happening next. “Ok guys, guys, it’s time for cake now!” “Ok, everyone be quiet! I’m going to open my gifts!” His confidence in social situations [...]

There was a trending topic on twitter the other night, something like #2011in3words, and I briefly pondered using the hashtag and summarizing my own year in a few words. And then I realized it was totally impossible because just way, way too much stuff happened this year. We managed to cram a lot in. In [...]

(thanks, Tami, for the photo) I tried to pick you up the other night, after you fell asleep in your brother’s bed (as you often do). I could barely lift you. You are suddenly gargantuan; your newly minted extra-large size not actually caused by turning 4, but by the birth of your relatively minuscule baby [...]