It's beginning to look a lot like...

...that time of year when kids start being completely insane. Santa-mania has hit the HigginJacks household big-time.

Here's the letter Evy dictated to me. She's hilarious. I shall transcribe for you in case you can't read it on the photo.

Dear Santa Claus,

I love you. I love toys. I love Christmas.
I'd like toys and to set up my Christmas tree.
I'd like a princess table. Rudolph has a best friend
with a bow in her hair. I'd love a teapot and an Ariel
doll for Henry. I'd like a teddy bear and a reindeer
with a rudolph nose.

When you come to visit we will leave cheese and
toast and macaroni and cheese.

My best friends are Maia and Ethan and Santa Claus.
Also, Henry would like a big grown up Snowman. And
I'd like a pink car and a hippo and my own computer.

love, Evy

Little gymnast

Evy had her first gymnastics class last night. It was awesome and she was hilarious, especially when she got mixed up and tried to join a class of big girls on the parallel bars.

Here we come 2024 Olympics!

Yore

Look at this amazing photo. It's my grandpa's family (he's the puffy-haired rebel with the leather jacket and the moody gaze). Also in the photo are his mom and dad, and his 2 sisters and 2 brothers.



I have been staring at this photo for many long minutes today. The fashions, the facial expressions (maybe it wasn't cool to smile back then?). I'm so glad we have photos like this - looking at the faces is amazing to see shades of brother Ben, my sisters, my mom and even me.

Am definitely putting a copy of this one on the photo wall.

Fall fun roundup

Ah, what fun the weekend was. Complete Faux-vember, with warm temperatures and lots of sunshine. Evy, Henry and I had an abundance of fun, despite the fact that Rob was off on his annual 'mannymoon' with his boyfriends, Greg and Dennis.

Afternoon sun and an early moon

On Saturday, the neighbours took pity on me and entertained us with a smashing Guy Fawkes bonfire and a delicious supper.

Henry appreciating the bonfire. He tried to eat some foliage.
Ingest that healthy dirt and bacteria, boy!

Evy and her BFF Maia topped the night off with some disco dancing. (Dancing is ALWAYS better in your pyjamas, don't you know?)

Strutting their stuff. Evy is seriously coveting the disco light.
(Ok, maybe I am too).

Then on Sunday the Higgy Clan descended on Millbrook for lunch and some outdoor fun. Here we are up at the Old School.

A motley crew

Evy and Sam playing 'Choo-choo'
One is the engine and one is the caboose,
but I think this train went off the rails!

Aunt Mary (aka Patron Saint of Unruly Children) and the kids

And the grown ups prove they can have fun too
(Lee realizes it's hard to give your man-brother an underdog)

It was a lovely weekend, and a lovelier still because it doesn't feel like November! I know the flurries will fly soon, but I'm happy to stay in denial just a bit longer.

Sunset o'er the pond

Scarface and dirty face

I have so many photos to sort through from the fun and frolic this weekend, so while I tackle that project, here are a few from last week. I hereby dub these two chimps 'Scarface' and 'Barfface'.

Here's Madame E with her stitches. You would have been proud of squeamish me, taking them out this weekend. I didn't even faint or anything. Super-mom! It's healing quite nicely and the scab fell off yesterday at some point, possibly while she was eating lasagna, but let's not dwell on that revolting thought. (True recycling, non?!)







And here is the wee monsieur, enjoying his supper (scab free, I hope). He's in the delightful 'spoon grabbing and food mashing' phase right now. The only way to properly clean his chair and the counter would be to use a sandblaster. But he's definitely enjoying his food. Except for green beans, which he has informed me are vile and evil.




Hope everyone had a great weekend!

My favourite accent

The almost-3 years that we lived in England were incredibly happy times. Lots of travel, adventures, and sleep (oh, god, the uninterrupted sleep of the childless!). During our travels in the UK, I decided that the Yorkshire accent is my favourite. Which is convenient because one of the best friends I made while living there is the lovely Yorkshire Liz.

We haven't seen Liz since Ev and I were in England in 2008, when Evy was 5 months old. So it was high time for a reunion and I was delighted when Liz decided to zoom into Millbrook for a few days.

As with all good friendships, Liz and I picked up right where we left off. Which means drinking lots of port and lemonade, and laughing ourselves senseless. We had a great time and the kids loved her. The visit went by far too quickly.

Here are a few photos from our visit to the Zoo on Tuesday.

"Hmm, never heard an accent like THAT before."

Liz, Ev and Henry take in the Otonabee River

Liz, braving the famous super-slide

Evy, showing how it's done

The girls walking and talking

Come back soon, Lizzie. We miss you already!!

Girls just wanna have fun

Had a very fun girl's weekend get-away a few weeks ago. The gang travelled to Niagara on the Lake, which is a beautiful spot. We rented a lovely house around the corner from the main street and had a great time getting caught up and laughing ourselves silly.

Henry was the only man allowed, and he quite enjoyed having six mommies to tend to his every need and whim. He was a good boy and behaved himself and didn't cramp our style too much as we stayed close to the house mostly, for banner games of 'Drinking Operation' (much more challenging than the original), Bananagrams (and awesome game that I'd highly recommend for you word-nerds) and some top-quality dancing, complete with lampshades on heads.

A great time was had by all, and I can't wait for our next weekend. Dare I say, next time there may be no babies joining us? Bring on the fun, ladies! And we're already planning our 2015 NYC extravaganza to celebrate our 40th birthdays in a few years. Woot woot! The big apple won't know what hit it! BYOL (Bring your own lampshade!)

The lovely house we rented
With 4 bedrooms and 4 bathrooms would be great for
a family or New Years Eve party

Out for a stroll with Henry
(and a statue of George Bernard Shaw)

It's all fun and games until the lampshades come out

Posing for a group shot mid-boogie

Henry checks the living room for damages

after a night of partying

I can't recommend the property managers enough. Here's the house we rented: http://www.governorswalk.ca. We ate lunch at this pub and it was fantastic, and had a great time strolling the streets, having coffee, gelato, and doing some shopping. A great weekend indeed. Now the sad work of waiting another year before our next getaway!

A happy day

Once upon a time there was a maiden fair:

Who found her prince charming:

Well, ok, he's only somewhat charming and
can get a bit blotchy and weepy during
emotional situations. Maybe we'll call him
Prince Crybaby but I digress:

It was a beautiful wedding for a beautiful couple.
And their chosen representatives were pretty
awesome too:

Congratulations Lee & Chris on
9 years of wedded bliss!
oxoxoxo

7 months (and 1 day)

My beautiful blue-eyed boy is 7 months old! How did that happen? He is a lovely, happy, smiley, and very handsome wee man. The only complaint? He's still pretty sure he's a newborn baby and needs to eat every 3 hours overnight. One look at his hefty thighs tells me that he's not wasting away, so I shall live in hope that this trend will come to an end. Soon.


Lucky for him that he's so darn cute, otherwise, he'd be sleeping out in Rob's workshop in a pile of wood shavings. 7 months! Onwards to walking, talking, and crazy shenanigans!