Halloween AM and PM

“And above all, watch with glittering eyes the whole world around you because the greatest secrets are always hidden in the most unlikely places. Those who don't believe in magic will never find it.” 
― Roald Dahl

^^ alabaster skin ^^

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Some pics from our 2 hour trick or treating session. Thank you Vancouver weather for NOT RAINING and giving us that window to enjoy this experience. We ended up with lots and lots of candies that we're slowing munching on (no Caramilk this year for some reason (!!!)). Can't wait for next year! 

^^ not sure what this face meant but all his indoor shots had this face lol ^^

^^ so many people got a kick out of this giant hand for candies, and for Max's sake, kept a comfortable distance from strangers while we were trick or treating ^^ 

^^ police escort ^^

^^ boo! ^^

Until next year! 

Macabre Movies To (Not) Watch

When Max wasn't in my life, I really got into the spirit of AMC Fear Fest before Halloween. I love immersing my TV time in the classic horror movies that were essentially on 24/7. Halloween, Friday the 13th, Nightmare on Elm Street, Hellraiser, Chucky, Pumpkinhead, the Omen etc....so tolerable! The movies were just lame enough (about 2/10, and highly respectable for their production era compared to macabre level of now) in intensity to work me up to the REALLY scary ones that were going to be televised on the 31st. I'm by no means a horror flick buff, in fact I'm actually a huge huge huge chicken and can barely muster any of the new ones today (still, escapism is fun sometimes).  If a modern one, say from the last 9 years or so was televised on the tube, id have to mute so many parts or cover my eyes with a pillow or just change the channel altogether because I JUST CAN'T HANDLE THEM! But every now and then, a movie comes out that isn't just blood and guts from the beginning. There's some character development and story build up, and I'm not as scared (but still traumatized at the end). Here are this years most memorable flicks so far in my life...watched while Max was either sleeping or I at work; because hey censorship is necessary (duh with kids) and of course, WATCHED IN THE DAY TIME!! 

1) The Descent 

Have you heard of this movie before? I hadn't either and i thought it was just a movie more mystery/documentary than horror, but I was wrong. I liked this movie a lot because there were no A-list actors and subsequently no typecasting roles. As much as I love looking at those "50 places to see before you die" links on my Facebook feed, I am ok with taking exploring foreign caves outside of an overpriced tourist excursion off of my bucket list. 

2) The Hills Have Eyes

I have to admit that I watched this movie because I felt like watching a horror movie. I didn't know what this movie was fully about, but got an idea from the title. And like above, just take driving in the Nevada Valley, outside of the outskirts of cellphone reception, off of my bucket list.  This movie just scared me more because it was an innocent family taking a vacation; I've been there as a kid in the car. 

3) Cabin In the Woods

I watched this one at work and had to finish via downloaded edition at home. From the title and the poster picture, I thought it was something in the realm of Annabelle and its prequel and offsprings, but thankfully it's not. Just a whole premise that I didn't expect! There were some times where it seemed a little ridiculous, but it is a movie after all. Fresh change from the norm of scary movies. 

And that's it for 2014! 

If you're wondering which type of horror movies I refuse to watch, it would be anything that would remind me of my home setting and daily life like Paranormal Activity and it's offsprings. I also can't do religious horror flicks and possession, like The Exorcist, to which id like to think I'm desensitized, but i only need to hear the VOICE to regress back to being afraid of my feet being exposed in the dark as I fall asleep...

and because this is a mamma blog...

some pics from Max's week at art school 

So Sleepy!

I'm so tired lately that i'm needing about 12 hours a night of sleep just to maintain baseline energy levels.  I remember the times when I would just bounce back after a work set, caffeine free! Now, I'm always on the hunt for that kick and love that feeling i get once the caffeine has hit my system...it's like the cloud of fatigue has been erased from behind my eyes and the gas tank has been refilled. So far, I've been pretty good about not drinking caffeinated drinks when i'm off work so I can crash at bedtime (930pm!!), but when I'm working; want it need it. 

^^ you got that right Rick Mercer ^^

My currently lack of quality sleep has also something to do with being obsessed about certain subjects every now and then as of late, and subsequently then have to endlessly research the topic online to an arbitrary yet sufficient level. The biggest no-no i've discovered is bringing the laptop into Max's room because once he sleeps, I'm on it like jam on toast. Going online before bed, reduces melatonin and revs up my brain, and because i'm no longer sleepy, i just stay up until whenever i think is a 'safe time' to maintain functionality the next day. Last week, i stayed up until 1am, this lightweight is still paying for it now! Even though i established this no-computer-in-the-bedroom rule for myself months ago, I still seem to continue on with it whenever I get comfortable and the feeling of needing to readjust has past my system. Anyone else have this poor habit? 

After a few hours of getting off of my night shift (home 8am, out again 10am), I took Max to art class. You're probably wondering why my husband didn't just take him so I can sleep?  i don't know why either but the man drove us to class, stayed in the neighbourhood and joined us in the latter half, collected his brood and we then had lunch. i do recall that i volunteered to never miss a class if I can help it, so I guess he's doing me a favour by allowing me to keep me true to my word :os. About 2 hours after getting home, I went to Metro as Max slept in the stroller. I had my first pumpkin spice latte of the year (1/2 caf!) and enjoyed some quiet downtime for myself...even if it's circling that huge mall, trying to resist buying anything with a half-functioning mindset, and doing all possible to keep Max asleep for 2 hours.  Success! We got a pick up directly at the mall, and had some greasy yet satisfying dinner...it was not a wasted day-off. By 9pm, I crashed. 4 more days off to go...life of a shift worker :op

^^ canvas from last class was ready for some snowflakes ^^

^^ he's a righty ^^

^^ another project! this time with clay ^^

^^ truthfully Max was more interested in pretending the slab of clay was a sandwich instead of making the planned project. he just kept pretending to bite it and say, 'mmm sandwich' lol ^^

eventually the clay turned into mice and sent off to the kiln. painting with glaze next week!

Art Class 101

^^ just playing with a Halloween editor lol ^^

we finished our first week of art class at the local 4cats shop. there were a total of 5 kids that were Max's age accompanied by their parent. not sure whether it's a good thing or bad thing, but Max isn't the type to want to get down and get dirty with paints. he is not a dip-your-hands-in-paint-and-smear-it- all-over-the-canvas-kid. give him a brush and he's content. when he did get paint on his hands, he was confused that i was saying, 'no big deal' and 'wipe it off on your shirt,' which in hindsight probably affected his creative energy release. but alas, there is a time and a place and what is allowed in art class are no-no's at home.  hopefully the differences in when it's ok will sink in by the end of 5 weeks. at the moment though, heck no i am not buying him an easel and finger paints for home use lol. 

^^ i have paint on my hand mama! *confused as to what to do about it ^^

^^ one kid got down and dirty ^^

^^ base color! more layers to follow ^^

^^ im sticky mamma! ^^

4 more weeks until the finished take home product! I'm excited as it's actually something id love to hang on our wall and super cute. I saw last season's project and i love that one too, I've marked it on my calendar to enrol him in 2015 Fall class just so we can make one for our home. until next time!

How's Your Fall 2014 So Far?

hello!

how's your October been so far?
I know, I've been terrible at keeping up with this blog *blowing dust off of the keyboard* ;o)

I recently and finally bit the bullet and got a smartphone! Have you noticed i've been posting on instagram more frequently? yay! And with that, I've also noticed that I'm one of those people that get updates on my phone and then be done with the information. I see what I need to see on various feeds, take pictures that I want to take with the mobile, and this laptop has since then been gathering dust because it's just another thing to whip open and take up my free time. My etiquette for email 'conversations' have also taken an apathetic turn. Do I really need to reply to everything? Can't I just wait until someone steps up and make a decision (tell me what to do!) and i'll do my best to make it work or not?  Also, all my 'ideas' come to me before I go to sleep and i'm lucky if I can remember those ideas in the morning, let alone remember I had a good idea to begin with haha. First world problems. 

Did you participate in the Terry Fox Run recently? If you live in BC, it was super later because of the teacher's strike, instead of September 14th, it happened a couple of days ago. Max ran with his Strong Start group this year for the first time. So cute but no pictures as there were way too many other kids to be able to take pictures safely. While the kids (I mean the Kindergardener's) ran around half the school grounds once, Max ran around the course three times on his own accord "beating" not only his age group but some of the kids older than him too. Not that I'm keen on comparing kids in any way, but i'm really happy that our commitment to physical literacy and outdoor play is making an impact on his health and fitness. 

Do you like donuts? i'm not really a sweets type of person (more salty...mmm...chips...) but i've recently been 'obsessed' with these Boston Whip Creamed donuts from none other than 7-eleven. I recall I had a sweet craving during my PMS week and bought one. So.frickin.good. Not too sweet, perfectly puffy, no surge of oil when I take a bite, perfectly dense whipped cream inside vs. the nasty thick filling most Boston Creams are known for. It's probably oh a 1000 calories per donut with absolutely no health benefits, but man I hope this is just a PMS thing because I can eat one a week it's just that good (which I haven't, but I have to talk myself out of it). Try it!

My favourite app on my new phone is SONGZA. i'm willing to drain 10% of battery life an hour to have this streaming at various times throughout my day. Im also excited to share it with Max because a girl can only handle Michael Jackson songs a few hours a week! (if you didn't know, it's his favourite CD). Truthfully though, I love that the songs are curated and you the app has music that's already been curated and you can choose the genre of music based on the mood you want to create. Yes! oh and it's FREE!! ding ding ding! (i'm annoyed that I need to justify this, but yes i found this app On My OWN).

Speaking of music, I wanted to get Max into a music class this fall but totally missed the registration date at our local community centre because I 1) was dilly dallying on absolutely useless things and 2) I didn't think it was so competitive and would sell out lightning fast. Do I really need to wake up at 8am to register for a music class around here? Maybe. As an alternative activity, but really not a consolation because I think it's equally as cool and fun, he's now in a 4cats art class for little kittens. He's not really into colouring with me right now, and even though i pinterest all these ideas...i don't really do many crafts. I hope a focused group with other kids of his age will wake up his little crafty side. Im wanting to take home 1 (!!) thing to post on the wall, is that too much to ask? lol

^^ something like this really speaks to me ^^

I've also been really bothered about my clothes shopping habit ever since ever. Same old shpiel too many clothes, nothing to wear. I'm taking this new season as a fresh start to get my 1) savings to grow by not buying crappy things because they're trendy and instead 2) buying quality things that will last more than 2 wash cycles, so I can wear them through multiple seasons and years. I came across this blog that helps you create a capsule wardrobe of 37 items per season. a lot of my free time lately, when I do decide to chill at home, is trying to figure out my own personal capsule. I don't think it's too late to work on Fall still, but it's definitely not easy as I love everything that has to do with clothing and generating warmth this season. I also love that I can wear BLACK again. Safe, slimming, reliable, neutral B.L.A.C.K! 

Finally, my little Max is again ever changing..
Context: they just ate some fries at the golden arches. I, just coming home from work, famished.
Me: Where's my fries Max? Did you save me some?
Max: no mamma, i ate it all. Next time you come with me.
(ok, as my jaw dropped from this very logical sentence from a 2 year old)