The essence of Fall in Ontario

Mutant sunflower

There is something weird happening to one of my sunflowers...

Fish can swim!

I think my toddler is on his way to becoming a fish!

I've been taking him to the pool since he was 6 months old, but mostly in the summer. Now he's just over two, and it's been about a year since he's been in a pool.

At first we walked in and used the shallow steps. We also walked up and down the ramp but the teenie lifeguard said that we can't do that anymore.

Didn't ask why.

I get irritated when young kids tell me what to do, or not to do, for so-called "safety" reasons. Safety issues have become a topic I shun because I happen to disagree with most, but that's another day's rant.

Yes, I realize they're qualified life guards but walking up the down the ramp with a toddler? What is unsafe about that?

Anyway. I'll rant about it another time.

Then we saw some boys we met at babyclub over a year ago, and they were jumping from the ledge into their mother's arms.

I kept waiting for some young lifeguard to say "can't do that" but they didn't, so I went over to say hi and Ben wanted to copy Aiden and Cooper. (sorry, ranted again)

He jumped and jumped and I was almost glad when the whistle went for everyone to get out and go home. Lugging pregnancy and toddler around is hard work!

But the jumping...it's cool! He dropped his apprehension and trusted me completely to catch him.

No wings.
No life vest.
Water in the eyes.
And up his nose.

No crying. Only "more" and "again"!

We'll see what the rest of the summer brings. I definitely want him to be a swimmer, so it looks like we're on our way.

Spring in Toronto

Today it feels more like fall. I'm wearing a fleece jacket. Yet yesterday we were feeling heat and humidity. Ben was in diaper and t-shirt. Go figure.

Ramblings

Every night I sink into bed with the sombering thought that tomorrow I'll get to the stuff I didn't get to today.

This morning I got to some stuff I didn't think about last night but has accumulated in the back corner of my mind reserved for the never-ending to-do list.

Like washing the outside windows. Well, washing...it was more like take the hose and spray it down and water the front garden while you're at it kind of thing.

* * *

We got a new vacuum cleaner. A Miele S4000 and it has an airtight HEPA filter. The old one was a Beaumark brand without a filter and it was noisy and heavy. Did I mention it didn't have a filter?

The dog hair was/is still driving me mental.

This new toy, my special, little, new, quiet, filtered vaccuum cleaner is sitting in the middle of the livingroom floor beckoning me to start sucking.

Except there is so much clutter and crap everywhere I can't possibly begin. Why bother...it won't to any good anyway.

And with the nice weather we've been having, I have not felt like staying indoors and putting away clutter.

* * *

Right now, I'm staring at a steaming hot cup of coffee and waiting for the tape to finish taping. I want to watch last night's Y&R which is playing today on another channel. It's my one little guilty pleasure. Sit, drink coffee, watch Y&R and relax for a bit. I think I deserve it considering I had a toddler helping me spray the windows (among other things) all morning.

Did I mention he's on his third outfit, and it's only naptime??

Can't wait for the permanent summer weather to stick around so I can dress him in less.

Laundry

Ok. I'm doing laundry today. But only because the sun is shining and I can hang it out to dry.

We try to do that as often as possible. It gets us out, it gets us moving (bending down and stretching upwards toward the line counts as exercise), AND, it costs 60% less to use major electrical appliances on weekends.

Not that I can get by without doing laundry during the week. But I can keep the big stuff, like sheets and towels, until the weekend.

So today, despite the risks, I am doing winter clothes laundry. Ben's hats and mittens and scarfs. I kept a hat out just in case, but the rest of it I want to get packed away. F.i.n.a.l.l.y.

Ben woke up at 5:55 am today. Even before hubby had to get to the airport for his flight. For some reason, he couldn't WAIT to get outside. By 7:30 am I could not keep him indoors any longer. He was bringing me shoes, his jackets, so I had to don one myself over my PJs, and head out to pick up dog poop, with coffee in hand, so the child could play outside.

Anyway. We walked and walked from about 9:30 till noon, down to the village to run errands. He's napping now. Maybe we'll make it to the birthday BBQ next door by 3 pm or so.

I wish I could take a nap now...

Winter

Today we had to wear these.









Then we did some of this...









...but also some of this...

...Winter has arrived!