What's Up Wednesday: November 2022

Is it just me or is this year flying by? I cannot believe it's already November. As it's the last Wednesday of the month, I'm linking up with Shay at Mix and Match Mama and Sheaffer at Sheaffer Told Me To for What's Up Wednesday. Read on to see what we've been up to lately...

image from here

What we're eating this week... Honestly, we've been eating a bit randomly around here. Too much eating out because of too many things going on and too many quick and easy meals other times. I feel like I haven't cooked a proper meal in ages -- unless you count the soup I made on Sunday. I am very excited though because I found my favourite cheese Advent calendar again so starting tomorrow I'll be eating a lot of very good cheese!

What I'm reminiscing about... We got our family photos taken recently, and I'm finally catching up on some picture printing, so I've been thinking about our family photos throughout the years. Are you okay if I do some family photo sharing?

 

2014, Sam is four, Rachel is two 

 

2015

 

2016

 

2017  

 

2018, Rachel is seven and Sam is nine 

 

2019

2020, the year we all spent too much time together!

2021, how did our kids get so big?!?!?!

What I'm loving... Well, after all the reminiscing, how can I not love this year's family photos!!! None of these are the ones we used on our cards but here are a few I really love!

 

What we've been up to... November has been full of lots of good things. Dance viewing (and practices) for Rachel...

...high school visits with Sam...

...lots of cozy Hallmark movie watching...

 ...getting our yard ready for winter...

 

...and just lots of enjoying life.

What I'm dreading... School and work go until December 23 this year. WHYYYYYY?!?!?! So I am dreading having to work until the day before Christmas Eve. It does mean we get a nice long break after New Years but that last week is going to feel like a loooooong one.

What I'm working on... Well, in the course of a week we got family photos taken, we got our cards ordered, and I went through all the pictures from this past year and made our yearly calendars. I'm so glad all that work is done and now I'm going to relax! Maybe I'll work on some puzzles in December :)

What I'm excited about... For the past number of years, we've gotten matching family pajamas from one particular place. However, we didn't like their options for this year so we went to Old Navy. While our pajamas aren't matching this year, they are coordinating and I am so excited about them!!! I think we'll pull them out on Friday night for our holiday card addressing marathon! Even Dave caved and got a pair this year!

 

What I'm watching/reading... We've been watching a lot of Hallmark Christmas movies. Other than that I've been watching Rachel at dance and watching for information on high school visits for Sam. Oh, and watching the delivery times for all the things I've ordered -- our cards, our calendars, our photos!

In terms of reading, it's the same old, same old. Here's hoping 2023 kick starts my reading into a different gear. Until then, I'll continue to read all the In Death books by JD Robb and whatever book my book club is reading.

 

What I'm listening to... Achy Breaky Heart -- hahaha!!! The gym classes at my school are learning dancing and this song plays about five times a day! I'm remembering what it's like to be 20 again and line dancing to this at the bar! Hahaha!!!

What I'm wearing... Our weather has been flip flopping between cold and cool so I've been wearing my fall/spring jacket and my lighter winter jacket. I never know how to dress to go outside these days. Some days I'm bundled up and some days I'm throwing my toque in my bag because I'm too warm. And don't get me started on foot wear!

What I'm doing this weekend... Friday night is our holiday card addressing, Hallmark movie watching, cranberry tea drinking, Applesauce Jumble eating, new pajama wearing evening! It's going to be so fun!!! Rachel, especially, is really looking forward to it!

Our card addressing evening last year

What I'm looking forward to next month... Rachel is in eight different performances of two different dance shows in eight days so I'm looking forward to seeing her dance in a few different venues, including on stage, live, with our symphony! I'm also looking forward to celebrating Channukah and celebrating Christmas with my parents! December usually brings a lot to look forward to :)

What else is new... I think I've covered it all.

Thanks for reading about what's been up with us lately. I love documenting our months this way and I'm so honoured that you take a few minutes from your day to catch up with us.

Hello Monday! This Might Be A Tradition Now

I might as well keep the "Hello Monday!" tradition I've started for November going, right?!?! So I'm once again linking up with Holly, who blogs at Pink Lady, and Sarah, who blogs at Sunshine And Books. It was a very full weekend of getting some things done and celebrating!

I am slightly addicted to anything fun and festive during this time of year. Well, during any time of year, really! Sam accused me of wanting to live in a Hallmark movie a couple of days ago, and well, he's not wrong :) So when I saw "Jingle Bell Rock" was an option for what I thought would be a fun evening, I signed us all up.

The kids decorated cookies, we roasted s'mores, and we enjoyed the lights. It really was a fun evening! Rachel and I would definitely go again next year! Sam and Dave might grudgingly join us :) I'll write a separate blog post about it because it was memorable!

On Saturday morning, Sam had his first badminton lesson so I walked him over to it. Then I walked home, hoping to run a few errands but ended up being unsuccessful in those but very successful in random catch ups with friends. I love walking in our neighbourhood! Then I came home and enjoyed a plate of nachos for lunch.

Rachel and I took advantage of the gorgeous day and did some outdoor decorating. I let her do one of the window boxes on her own and she had fun.

Then we took the LRT to go pick up her dance costumes. Sam was at a games' cafe with his youth mentor and Dave went grocery shopping.

Rachel modelled her costumes for me! She will be the cutest penguin ever! And I don't know how easy it will be to dance her snowball fight in Uggs, but I guess we'll see.

 

I didn't realize until Sunday that Saturday was "Small Business Saturday" so it was serendipitous that I asked Dave to stop at one of our favourite small shops to pick up this puzzle. Then I got to work on it!

Dave bought bacon to grill outside and I ended up having to make the pancakes after making them in the frying pan proved a little tricky for Rachel.

Then Dave and I walked to the university where a young adult I've know since forever was performing in a play. The play was called "Everybody" and it was AMAZING! You should check out the premise because it's very unique.

By the time we got home, I'd walked 18.76 kilometeres (11.6 miles) and I was more than ready to collapse into bed!

Sunday morning, we woke up, I worked on the puzzle some more, and then we headed off to church. I caught up with friends and was really grateful for our First Advent service. It was so beautiful. I dropped Rachel off at dance, came back to church to pick up Sam and Dave, and we headed home for lunch. I finished the puzzle and Sam and I made soup for supper.

It's always nice when supper is mostly finished by 1:48pm!

I went upstairs, but my plans for a nap were stymied by all the laundry on the bed. So I folded laundry instead. On the plus side, we once again ended the weekend with empty laundry baskets which is always a win!

 

We ended the day by celebrating my aunt's 80th birthday with her and getting to see some cousins. It was so great to be able to celebrate my aunt!

 

We got home late, ate supper, and collapsed into bed (yes, again!). Rachel was so tired, she even went to bed without supper.

 

So while it wasn't the cozy, relaxing weekend, we had last weekend (you can read about that one here), it was a weekend very full of fun and celebrating. Now we need a quiet week to recuperate. Haha!

10 On The 10th: November 2022

Welcome to "10 On The 10th" for November. November 10th was insane. I worked late so Dave and the kids picked me up at work on the way to dance. Rachel had two hours of dance class and it was parent viewing week.

First up was a bit of ballet in one studio...

Then some more ballet in a second studio. Rachel's dance bestie was watching while she waited for her turn at the barre.

Then there was some stretching for jazz...

And more stretching for jazz at the barre.

Sorry, I don't have more exciting photos from dance but I try not to show other kids on the blog, without their parents' permission. However, it was fun to watch what Rachel has been working on at the dance studio this year.

Dave and Sam left during the second hour of dance viewing to grab supper for all of us because half an hour after Rachel's dance ended, we had a high school visit for Sam on the other end of town. Yes, we are already at that point.

 

Sam enjoyed visiting this school and we'll see which one he ends up choosing. He is trying to decide  between three right now.

 

After being away from home for almost fourteen hours this day, I was very happy to crawl into bed at the end of it! Hopefully December 10th will be a little less insane :)