look who we found in the mall...

We went to the local Santa Claus parade on the weekend and Jillian really wanted to visit Santa in the mall afterwards.  But as expected once the parade ended everyone else had the same idea so the lineup was too long.  I did promise her a visit soon and figured we may as well go now before the crowds start, and sure enough we walked right on in for our visit without any waiting.  They have a new setup at the mall this year with a fun playhouse for the kids.

And here's some closeups I took of the kids which I really like...I'm considering using the Santa picture along with the closeups as a collage for our Christmas card

music...what a difference between the first and third

When Kyle was a preschooler we had all the best kids cds...the home and car stereo played a constant stream of Sharon, Lois & Bram and many other childhood favourites.  We sang those songs over and over again, I'm pretty sure I was singing them in my sleep. 

Along came Jillian.  When Jillian was born Kyle was 3.5.  So he was still into children's music.  As Jillian got older we moved into some popular music so her preschool years were spent listening to a mix of classic children's songs along with some High School Musical and other modern favourites thrown in the mix.  I even started listening to *gasp* my music on the radio the odd time.

And now we have Leah.  I don't believe she has ever heard our Sharon, Lois & Bram cd.  In fact, I couldn't even tell you where it is!  We still have a few children's cds which get played...Snacktime by Barenaked Ladies is still played once in a while, there's a Raffi cd we all like and Jillian has a few Disney Princess cds which get a lot of play.  And we all still enjoy a little HSM3 once in a while.  But for the most part our driving time is spent listening to the radio, or the mixed cd I made from my ipod list (all current music which is free from bad language...there's quite a few songs which I consider inappropriate for my 9 and 5 year olds to repeat). 

I hadn't really thought about all this until yesterday.  Leah and I were on our way to her parent and tot gymnastics class.  I had the mixed CD playing and we were listening to 'I'm Gonna Go Crazy If I Don't Go Crazy Tonight' by U2.  Leah commented that she likes this song and bopped along like she usually does.  She's even really good at remembering the chorus and singing along by the end of a song.  When it was finished Leah had a request...'Wavin' Flag' by K'naan.  Yes, my 2 year old is well versed in current music and has personal favourites.  There isn't an itsy bitsy spider in the bunch!

So yeah, there's a big difference between the first and third kids.

painting

I've been meaning to repaint the living room/office for quite some time.  The dark red has been on the walls for many years and I was definately ready for something lighter and neutral.

I finally took the room apart and prepped the walls for painting.  I managed to get some edging done while the kids were eating dinner (Jeff was out of town on business).  And afterwards they wanted to get in on the action so I let them each paint their initial onto the wall.  Later, once they were in bed I was able to finish including a second coat.  The room is almost all put back together now, I'm just waiting to find the right artwork to hang over the couch.

Earings are now on Jillian's Chistmas list

Jillian has been asking for a few months now about getting her ears pierced.  I finally talked to a friend (who works at a salon) and made an appt to take Jillian there last Friday evening.  There was some second thoughts at one point, but in the end Jillian was determined to come home with pierced ears. 

Jillian picked these for her first earings, but is anxiously awaiting Christmas when she is allowed to change them (and when she hopes to find some fancy new earings under the tree on Christmas morning!).