smile

you are on camera!


Kristians' dad celebrated his 68th birthday yesterday.

he has been fighting cancer the past few years.

he is looking much better than he did a year ago. he was already quite bald, so i was surprised at the difference it made when he completely lost his hair.

and apparently you are trusted with a HUGE knife when you are 68.

the grandsons were in awe.

maybe it was fear. hard to tell really.

and i have to leave you with a better view of play-doh than the last post!

did you notice i even made the frame pretty?

Aidan made a "cookie" today.

Kiara made a "mess". lol!

and i'm confident that the play-doh did not get digested on Saturday. Aidan found some of it in the office today.

i wonder where the other container went...

Kiara had a great nap today.

Aidan got lucky and watched some television. he also joined me and made a card for Daddy. he even got to stamp a picture on it! bonus!!

and me? wow! i finished the cards that we received at Girls Night Out. all of them. and i was able to replace some photos in the albums that had been pulled out. i ended up with 2 that did not have a spot.

so i even had time to pull together this layout with one of them! double wow. Kiara woke up just as i was putting the finishing touches on them...and even let me complete it while she was content to play.

(i finally used some of my Jenni Bowlin, Heather! but then i saw your most recent mini-album and the page where you used the JB.....so now i'm jealous. go check it out. but please don't come and look at mine afterwards! lol.)

and then we set another record.

yes TWO in one day!

Kiara rode in the jogging stroller CONTENTEDLY the entire 5 blocks to the playground.

that is a first.

and we were soooo happy!

doesn't she look small in this photo?

i also have to mention that she was a good passenger on the way home too. the kids only had one fight. i suppose it was a worthy cause. aren't they all?! yes, perhaps it depends on who you ask. and the mother might not be the one to ask.... ;-)

the weather is supposed to improve as the week progresses. at least the kids got to play for a little while before becoming frozen.

it is so cold and yet the snow continues to melt. you can feel the warmth of the sun...but it is the wind that chills the bones.

i think i'll post some Christmas layouts in honour of this bone chilling cold. maybe it will scare spring into actually arriving?

joys

of life....



i think Kristian is counting down the days until he can RIP the old garage to the ground. it really is an eyesore. but sadly it grows on you. it is probably as old as the house - built in 1949 - but never made it past the scratch coat for stucco. i'll have to add in a photo of it later. the concrete pad has a couple of HUGE cracks and they follow the movement of the frozen and thawing ground. isn't it crazy that the dump that it is, we actually have an automatic garage door? it was here when we moved in...we are thankful for it...but it seems rather odd.

so he has been enjoying the time spent planning it out. measuring everything. mapping. computer generating.

Aidan has also taken great delight in this as i mentioned earlier.

love this little scene in our living room yesterday.

he takes all this planning very seriously.

you can sort of make out what he is drawing. in a Dr. Seuss kind of way!

Kiara loves to be involved. she puts the needs of others ahead of herself. wink!

i wasn't fast enough to catch a photo of her wearing Aidan's hat. perhaps she knew the photo would be incriminating later?

thankfully Aidan is tolerant of much of the crazy stuff she does!

i still have some Christmas paper that hasn't been used. since the temperature dipped and we've had the odd snow flurry...i figured it couldn't hurt to put one page together. it was fun to add glimmer mist, rhinestones and glitter. yup...reminds me of snow and lights! tea rose glimmer mist on black paper....yes...very cool.


Kiara has been enthralled with play-doh lately. we all need a new hobby from time to time. lol!

yesterday i was busy with other stuff in the house. she brought me two containers of play-doh to open...the mini kind. i opened them. both. later i notice that the play-doh has disappeared. it isn't on the table. or the floor. or the box of play-doh stuff. then i remembered that she had tried to taste it the other day. is it possible that she ate two containers of play-doh?

then this morning she was playing with the play-doh again. i sat beside her. watching. waiting. it never came close to her mouth. not even once.

is it possible that she had eaten enough of it and was tired of the new "food"?

or will i end up finding the special doh somewhere in the house later?

i enjoyed my morning coffee and contemplated the mystery.

then a little hand hovered over my cup and i saw a splash.

does play-doh dissolve? has become my new train of thought.....

i'm thinking it is now entirely logical that i may find a lump of hardened play-doh in a really strange place.

life is not dull. that is a certainty.

i love watching these two play. the concentration. the strategy.

yeah. it warms my heart too.

tea

time!

i am not your tea connoisseur. but i had me some really nice tea last night. (keep in mind that i am a coffee drinker. so this is high praise.) some of the girls... well some of the coolest girls in our neighborhood! shhh.... where was I? oh yeah we have a girls night out on the town. we have been trying for once a month. last night we tried felicitea tea lounge. lots of loose tea leaves to choose from. served in a teapot of your size choice. and then the cutest little glass cups. there was nothing "victorian" about it. i now have another cool place on my list of places to take people. thanks Jenny! and besides the tea, we had great conversation. maybe a laugh or two. maybe. we were all thrilled to be out of our houses and could act like people do when kids are not around!

Kiara had her latest immunization yesterday morning. she was quite amazing all day. i give them tylenol on these needle days as part of the routine! they don't have adverse reactions. but they get achy and short-tempered and a little warm and i am guessing maybe a headache. poor Aidan....i used to wait until he showed signs of needing some pain killer after the needle. when i realized he always ended up with tylenol anyway....well, why postpone the inevitable! i think Kiara may have started to get a headache later in the day. just in time for gymnastics. she is normally so happy at the gym. not this time. but after 13 hours of sleep, she woke up totally cheerful! so all of us are happy too.

here was the scene on Easter Sunday at our house. a typical scene for most mornings.

kids eating.

mom drinking coffee.

usually dad is heading to work....so it is fitting that he is behind the camera here!

sometimes Kiara has quite the sense of humour.

and other times....

let's just say that i was really glad her clothes were wet and drying.

clean up was much more fun this way.

Aidan has been dreaming about the blue bullet at the mall for months now. it has been under repair since last summer. it is his favourite water slide.

the plans are underway to build a new garage on our lot. Kristian has explained to Aidan that before they build the garage, they have to draw a plan. a trip to the building centre. some books. i get the idea that Aidan thinks it might be made by just stacking wood. i am quite certain that he will expect to be very involved in this project too. i may need to buy more lego. or something.

combine the desire to ride the blue bullet and the fun of planning for a new garage. using his doodle-pro, Aidan drew plans for his own home-made blue bullet. we were impressed.

to end on an exciting note....

i have been checking out these blog sites by Iron Orchid Designs and Prima Hybrid, both by Prima.

okay i am soooo hooked.

first, their how-to videos are extra funny.

second, i am not a stamper. but this has got me dreaming. oh wow. no one ever would have guessed.

third, you don't have to be an artist---they say---and the possibilities are incredible.

i am very impressed.

if i don't write for a few days....you know where i am!!! lol!!

sunshine

and play

just seem to go together.

like coffee and muffin. peanut butter and jam.

both of the kids have a tiny cold. it seems like there has been a never ending cold this year. i keep saying that May cannot get here soon enough. it seems like those warm days just help. i'm sure the longer days with lots of sunshine is part of the good medicine.

they just make me chuckle so much these days. either belly laughs or that nervous-now-what-do-i-do kind of laugh.

Kiara is still just a little pint. it seems like she still needs us to protect and coddle her. she seems so delicate and too young to know how to handle herself. but then i watch her and she knows her capabilities. she can wrestle with Aidan and knows exactly what she needs to do to tackle him. but if the play gets a little too rough, she pulls out the pout and demands assistance. so i get reminded from time to time that she is growing up and is looking for that typical toddler independence.

Aidan just can't wait to grow up one minute. and the next he wants to be little again. sigh. i guess i'm undecided on that point as well. he seems to become more focused each day. he is so proud of what he can accomplish. even when he was a baby i knew he was soaking life in. and now we see the evidence of it. at times it seems like he was ignoring the "important stuff" we tell him. and then a day later, or even a month later he repeats back what he was told. the cute part is that in the retelling, he often takes all the credit.

this is all a beautiful part of their age. i know i will miss these moments.

i love how they play together. each have their own role. and it is so much better this way! the two of them get quite frustrated if the other comes in and "messes up" the original play. i know they'll get it figured out eventually. but for now, i love these moments when there is peace between them.

there is our big girl. out on her own. we can't believe that she is tall enough to make this thing move.

she is the messiest kid. i was laughing as i watched her put her hand in a puddle. at first it didn't bother her. 30 seconds later she wanted her hand clean again. she handled it well. no crying. just held her hand out and said "hep pease". awwwww.

so they are cute kids.

but take them out!

they were awesome at Urban today. they both played in the toy room. it was the longest Kiara had ever been in there. i was wishing i had given myself time to shop. because you know the opposite will happen when i do need to spend time shopping.

took them next door to the fabric store. these were not my kids. i nearly left and tried to find the ones i had lost. a fabric store and a 3 year old is just trouble. then add a 1 year old. scary. i am surprised they don't have some kind of toy area. every store where mothers shop should have a toy area. really. the clerk insisted that she has seen worse. i believe it. i was so glad that Aidan apologized for the terror he thrust upon the store!

then we had to take a break. lunch. naps. let mom forget the behaviour of her angels. hope that the kids remember how they are supposed to behave.

yes, let's go to the library. and it was great. until it was time to go.

smart mother gave her 3 year old the library card. this is the usual routine. sometimes the 1 year old gets it. i have never had a problem with them "helping" the librarian and mommy. Aidan had to walk 5 metres to the counter. he did. as i was putting the books on the counter he ran away. i needed that card. he came back and said that he lost it. you. have. got. to. be. kidding. so sure enough he thought it would be fun to hide the card between books on a shelf. the question was which shelf and which books. it is gone. the 3 year old and a defeated mother searched.

sometimes i have trouble with librarians. they aren't so helpful to crazed mothers and energized children. but God sent us an angel librarian. without delay she gave me a new card and complimented me on how well i handled the situation. i was exasperated. for sure. i was kicking my butt for thinking that Aidan could handle the responsibility. i kept reminding myself that he was only three. this did not happen all the time. in public! he had intentions to make his tired mommy laugh. i didn't strangle him. i didn't yell at him. i told him i was disappointed and explained that it would be awhile before he would get to touch the card again. i really wasn't sure if i should be angry with him, angry with me or wonder that i was handling the situation too lightly.

but i was complimented on my parenting. wow. from a librarian. how did she know that i needed a compliment today.

another librarian. i mean another angel librarian even invited us to come for the preschool storytime. she wanted my card-hiding-preschooler and my just-let-me-roam-toddler to come back to the library. and not just come back anytime. come back when she was leading a story time. and she gave them each a sticker.

i did not know that we were going to recieve a lesson in grace at the library.

what a treat.

so yes the kids have their moments. the sweet-wish-this-will-never-end moments. and the when-are-they-ever-going-to-learn moments.

i am so thankful for the librarians reminding us that this was just a moment. it will pass. another day is coming. don't sweat the small stuff.

yes the public library is an educational experience. for everyone. even if you are just checking out picture books!

sorry this post was rather long. i just had to share my lesson for the day.

and head over to the projects blog for your alcohol ink lesson in the next few days. sure you can drink. just don't drink the ink. not yummy.

winter winter

go away!

come again another day.....just please let it be months from now....

the kids are making the best of it. they have their options of grass (although it is far from green!), snow, ice, water or mud.

only in Alberta!

i enjoy how the pioneer woman posts her pictures and makes comments. i took some photos this weekend that will work great with that kind of commentary. i think. bear with me. the photos are not nearly as good as hers. and the writing. well. let me enjoy my personal happiness. regardless of the quality of the following words....try to enjoy the photos...they are cute in the least!

i wonder what Aidan is up to?

sand toys are still frozen in the snow.

the sand is muddy.

oh he found some ice.

imagine my surprise.

hmmm....

that's my boy!

he figured out that the ice is just on the top.

the water gets dumped out and now he is going to marvel at the structure and question why there is just ice on the top.

did i mention how smart he is?

wait a minute.

why isn't he studying the ice?

oh.

what?!

okay.

have i mentioned before that he is still young? that he loves to throw things?

that he loves to crush things with his every growing feet?

he's all boy.

thanks for humouring me. it isn't everyday that i am able to take photos and use them later to tell a story. often only one or two of them come out clearly enough. and somehow the story is only enjoyable to me.

there was more Easter celebrating yesterday. Kiara drank chocolate milk out of a little glass that gwamma olsen had. she drank the first glass expertly. it was the second, third, fourth....that were not as well done. she managed to land some of the milk on the fridge door that was about 2 metres away, without any drops on the floor. i guess that takes talent?

the surprise of the day was when Kristian told me how smart he thought i was. not that it should suprise anybody. lol! he then continues to say that it was a cool idea to leave baskets out on the deck in our backyard. i had no clue what he was talking about! we have two sweet neighbors who live just north of us. they love to spoil the four of us. they filled these cute baskets with chocolate eggs and strawberries, and left them beside the kids lawn chairs. we took the opportunity to fill the kids' minds with myth and fiction and told them it was from the easter bunny.

good

friday....


a happy afternoon for the kids. chocolate treats from Gwamma Steeves.

do you wonder what they are thinking? why are they all looking in different directions?

hmmmm.....maybe this is the reason......(see next photo)

Lauren enjoyed the chocolate treats. a lot.

i think Hannah and Kora and Kiara are working on a strategy to keep their chocolate away from Lauren.

and Gwamma? she is probably thinking,

"it's okay. gramma can just go and buy more. eat your little hearts out!"

here is another "what are they thinking" photo.

that is Jaeden in the background. Lauren is playing with his prized motorbike. she is being careful. but i don't think that is making Jaeden feel better about the situation....

maybe the other girls had a reason to worry about the safety of their chocolate?

actually i just made all of this up. Lauren is a sweet girl. and the other girls all adore her. these photos are not reality. i just manipulated them to make them more interesting. oh well. it was fun for me as i was writing.....

everywhere you look, you can see bunnies, baby chicks, coloured eggs, chocolate and jelly beans.

it is interesting that Easter is more about the stuff that can't be seen. the kind of stuff that you need to rely on faith to believe.

i remember the first Christmas we shared with Aidan. there is a song called "Mary Did You Know?" that is often heard at that time of year. i spent some time wondering if Mary did know when Jesus was born all that he would need to endure. it is so easy to think about the great things that you hope and dream your children will accomplish. it is hard to think that as they walk the road to "great accomplishments" it may be littered with hardships. i sure don't want to compare our kids to Jesus....but as a mother of any child.....i wonder how much she really knew.

so Good Friday is the time for me to be reminded about the sorrow that was faced on the cross. it must have felt like a never ending day.

thankfully....Sunday is coming! and i am looking forward to celebrating.

the story of Easter is starting to make some sense to Aidan. for now it is great that he associates this holiday with things that are exciting like bunnies and eggs. it is a time to celebrate life. and as he grows older he will grow in his understanding of eternal life.

we pulled out some egg decorating kits this week.

i hard boiled some eggs. we were ready.

the last egg Aidan dyed slipped and fell onto the paper towel and broke.

and then i realized that i had grabbed the bowl with the uncooked eggs.

that was a close one!

not as close as when i left the eggs on the table next to my mini album project and laptop. and Kiara, just awake from her nap, decided to come check out this new and exciting tray on the table. and it wasn't good enough just to look at them. she picked up at least five of the eggs and laid them out in a row on the table. did i mention i left them on the same table as the albums and the laptop? yeah. did i mention that i am a totally brilliant mother? no. oh. maybe i'll mention that another day when i have some proof of the fact.

he really did a fantastic job on them.

i just hope he likes hard boiled eggs!

i'm sure Kiara is already counting down the days until next year when she will be allowed to help with the decorating. and when her mother will be even more intelligent and use the cooked eggs. and clear the table completely of any expensive and meaningful objects.

this week i tried out alcohol inks.

very fun.

read more about it on my projects blog.

getting ready for

spring!!!!!

Aidan is outside wearing his rubber boots and mittens and shoveling snow and mud into a cardboard box. apparently it is a rescue heroes mission. very important stuff.

this morning both kids wore their spring coats and rubber boots. yay!

Kiara was not pleased with her cute little pink boots that i found at Old Navy last year for $1.99.


these are her friend, Christopher's boots. not pink. (this is where Chris breathes a sigh of relief!)

she put them on all by herself.

sigh.

maybe she will start to like her cute little pink ones...

because how often can a mother find cute ones at an amazing price?!

i spent yesterday on the computer (no, not all day) looking at photos for Kiara's next baby page. and today i'll need to do some more photoshopping. good word.

i do actually (well....some of the time) plan ahead and sketch out the sizes of photos i want. inevitably i can never find the sketch when i actually put the page together. yes it would make sense to have a little book - or something! - to keep all the sketches. but that is too easy.

i have a few envelopes of developed photos that are duplicates or just left-overs from pages and projects. sometimes i will put a page together using some of these. so handy when i just want to do a page and try something without pressure of it fitting any theme. if that statement makes any sense! i came across some photos of my nephew, Malachi last night. (he is in the photos from blog pages in February.) he is now a 2 year old.

i especially love this photo. i was about as pregnant with Kiara as Malachi was weeks old. it was also the same time that i had some complications and wondered if i may miscarry her. thankfully all went well after that and Malachi and Kiara have met and played and fought and found trouble together... so cool since i didn't realize that all this would happen at the time this photo was taken.

this is a sneak peak of the next project i'm planning.

this morning we made magnets (or coasters) with stone tile, rubber stamps, staz-on ink and chalks. so simple. and they look awesome. and now i realize i forgot to take a photo of the masterpieces.

happy st. patty's day

this was always a fun day when i was in school. and i still enjoyed this day when i was teaching. the kids had more spring in their step on special days like this.

so i think i feel more caught up on my sleep from Saturday. i had energy to do some scrapbooking...so that is good! the girl's night out was so inspiring.

i just bought crackle paint and gimmer mist last week. and i am terrible sometimes at remembering to use some things. i did remember to try out the new edge distresser. and i remembered to use the glimmer mist after the page was assembled. i think it worked out better that way, actually.


here is the close-up photo of the glimmer mist on my flowers. it gives a bit of a sparkle....or glimmer! it is a spray. it curled my flowers a bit. but i like the effect of it all. so great when things work out well.

if you want to see more photos just head over to the projects page. it is with the baby album pages. i'm also posting it on SIS and 2Peas.

Aidan is going crazy doing his crafts. he asked me for a wallet yesterday. he has no money. more than likely it is a case of "you and Daddy have one....why shouldn't i?". i saw one made out of foam, ribbon and velcro in martha stewards good things for kids. we'll try it out. maybe i can convince him that all crafts do not need tape?!

goody

for me!

last night i went out to a scrapbooking event. read here for more details. the photo above is a hint of the good times.

had a blast!

i was showing the kids what i had made and the neat stuff i had gotten. Aidan kept saying wow. neat. and then he says...

"Daddy will be soooo happy at all the stuff you bought from the store."

because Kristian does care a lot about what i buy at the store. lol! (or get as an added bonus at a girls event!)

how do you explain to a 3 year old about things like goodie bags? and bonuses?

today is a lazy day. catching up on missed sleep from yesterday.

Aidan and i sorted out some rescue heroes i bought yesterday. they were sold for a bargain of $2 per figure. i hadn't counted them out, but i had guessed that there were about a dozen of them....just wasn't sure if they had all the contraptions that went with them. well....there were 20 figures, and about 15 of them all had their gear. only a few parts missing that we could tell. i got the entire box for $25.

and now he wants to do some crafts. and some sledding. and some eating. not sure if we'll have time for all of it today! we might have to do some of this tomorrow. but goals are good.

happy lazy Sunday to you.

spoil me

please!


the kids enjoyed another day with another grandma. and another grandma enjoyed a day with the kids. so fortunate they have been. my mom spent tuesday with them and Kristians' mom was with them today. Aidan just understood that he has two grandmas. and is thrilled about it! so fun watching him piece this kind of stuf together.

i asked him what he learned from his "gwammas". he listed off a number of things. among the list - that i understood - was that when you are at gwamma's house, you have to listen to gwamma. when gwamma asks you to go to bed, you have to put your pajamies on if you want to play games or have treats. i'm not sure if this was stuff his grandmas told him, or if he is repeating stuff i told him he would need to do if he spent time with grandma.

happy days.

i took some time to play around with photoshop tonight. nothing stressful, just seeing what i can do. i thought i would share my attempts with you.


i probably could have cropped this one more. i have used the "quick fix" option a lot lately. then i often adjust the colour to the skin colour. if you have other suggestions on what i could do, let me know. i sure don't profess to know exactly what i'm doing....but it is fun trying things out. so much to learn...


i majorly cropped this one. our camera is a good one for point and shoot, but not super high quality. all things considered we're happy at this point...did a little doctoring with photoshop and it came out like this.

like i said, i have A LOT to learn about this program (and even more about knowing what looks good -- really).

i try to pick up tips when i can. if you have ever tried to read the manual to the program (i say "tried to read" because i cannot believe that most of us ever have), you would agree that it is not the most helpful to us regular folk.

as far as talent. hmmmm.... still looking for a simple solution to that one!

back home again

and happy

my parents dropped off the kids tonight. i think they are equally tired. but they all seemed to have developed a closer bond with each other.

not long after they left i saw them pull in front of the house again. the gwamparents and the momma did the most horrible thing ever. i called Aidan to finish getting his pj's on and come to the window because grandma and grandpa just drove up again. then my dad dropped off an item they forgot and left. well.....by the time Aidan was ready, he ran into the living room and burst into tears when he saw that they were driving away without both of them coming in and talking to him. i felt badly for him that he didn't understand the situation....

at least everyone enjoyed the time.

i think Aidan will share more stories about the time away in the coming days. as i tucked him in bed tonight he said,
"i stayed a gwamma and gwampas house a LONG time didn't i?"

i replied that he certainly did. and then i asked if he wanted to have stayed longer.

he simply said,
"yes." in the most tired voice you can imagine!

and so i work again tomorrow and the kids have another grandma coming to hang out.

do you think they will get spoiled?!

what will they do when it is just mommy to hang out with again. next week will be a total letdown for them.


i love this page of Kiara's. it is from her baby album. and it is part of a two page layout. check out the other page here.

first time

both kids have a sleep over with "gamma" and "gampa".

Aidan was so excited about today. in fact we couldn't leave the house soon enough.

i was able to get some subbing days this week, and have shared our kids with their grandparents for a few days. i have not worked much since January, so it will be a nice change for all of us. but this is the first night i have been away from both of our kids. i'm doing well. both of them were so happy when i said good-bye. the house is VERY QUIET. i miss seeing them while they are sleeping too....those peaceful expressions. but it is one night. and who am i to stand in the way of happiness between children and their grandparents?!

the only damper on the whole affair has been Kiara's health. i know it is not a good thing when it appears that a toddler has nearly gotten over a cold, but not quite, and a new cold begins, improves and then takes a downward spiral. not fun. my active toddler wanted to sit on my lap and be held for most of yesterdy. nothing showed up in the trip to the medi-centre yesterday. thankfully she was able to see one of the pediatricians early this morning. sure enough. i was right. so she now has an antibiotic. one dose of it and she woke up feeling and looking more like the Kiara i know this afternoon. i was so afraid of my parents having to take care of a sick baby and make a trip to the hospital middle of the night. mostly i'm just happy that both of the kids were feeling well and enjoying this special trip. i wish they were both totally healthy....

little ones armed with paintbrushes....

Aidan and Kristian built this little playhouse a while back. Sunday afternoon was a perfect time to be decorators. stripped down the little tikes and set them to work. i was amazed at how neat they were. there was one near miss with our cream coloured sofa. and some paint ended up on feet. but a bubble bath and more playtime got everything back in order. Aidan even thought to paint the floor on the inside. impressive. today they added stickers. surprising they kind of held back. we have tons of stickers, so they could have wallpapered the whole thing and we'd still have lots left. oh well, maybe it will interest them next week.

i also have one thought to think on....Aidan helped "gamma" with supper. he helped make gravy. good boy! but when it came to eating it, he was adamant that the stuff was not going in his mouth. hmmmm..... doesn't it make you wonder why he would not eat something he helped make? i can't help but wonder what those two did to the gravy? we may never know the whole story... (too funny)

beauty

is all around us

love this time of life when Kiara watches me get ready. when she spies me taking out the basket of make-up, she hops up onto the toilet seat and copies me. Aidan used to enjoy this as well (although we encouraged him to copy daddy and shave the hair off his face!), but he didn't ever catch on to the details of the make-up process. Kiara knows what brush to use on her eyes and where to get the colour to do it! it is amazing what she is already noticing.

translated: i am in trouble!!!

it is also fun now as Kiara's hair is getting some length and thickness to it. i'm trying to get up the courage to do her first hair cut. it isn't the worry about doing it right, or keeping her still long enough to finish the job. it is all about the courage to cut that first strand of baby hair. once you make the first cut...you are committed...no turning back...no chance for a second chance at the first haircut...and sad to see the hair she was born with cut away... for now my challenge is to put in the pig tails and keep them. which she is improving on.

i got to go out this afternoon to a community ladies event that Ingrid invited me to. for a $15 entry fee you could get a massage, manicure, foot treatment, reflexology, hair styled, talk to nutritionist, etc. so for 3 hours we were pampered and spoiled. it was great! at the end there were door prizes and i think most of the ladies got something.

i got this basket of goodies from a store called the Painted Porch. so cool! my friends got a gift certificate and bag from Curves (ladies gym) and a 30 minute massage. how happy were we!! and it is always nice when everyone you came with gets something. i remember waiting after fun runs when they did the draws. and hoping for a pair of socks - at least! i think i have as much (if not more!) fun in the winning than the prize itself. this is probably good to know. you see my face in the crowd, know there will be a draw, get my name, and award me with a prize of something like the poster advertising the event! or some old lipstick you had in your purse! well...you get the idea! there must be some psychology behind all of this. right? okay now i'm getting scared! hehe and speaking of winning i have to interrupt myself. was i ever thrilled to have Leica post my spring layouts and a photo of mine on her blog yesterday. she had a contest or random draw. and before you get the idea that i won (which i did not), but she posted a few things from all of us that sent her something. is that not sweet?! see i was happy and didn't even have to win anything!

i got to have a glass of wine while i was pampered. so i chose to have a parafin treatment on my feet, get my feet analyzed - and my feet are normal! yahoo!! then i had a manicure. chose red polish to match my sweater (or my wine). i just had a haircut yesterday and today i confess that all i did was do the wash, blowdry and go before i went to this event. how happy was i when i also got to have my hair styled.

see how cute it looked!

i just never would have tried this on my own. and now i have a new challenge.

at this point i ate a brownie, drank some starbucks coffee, spoke with the nutritionists (who are probably in the same class as Roslyn, one of the amazing urban girls). then i had some reflexology done on a foot. drank some lemongrass tea. yummy! visited with my friends and some other super nice ladies. and ended the afternoon by winning a prize!

i also have to mention how much fun it is coming home after being gone for a length of time. i'm like a celebrity. they run and say hi. i get hugs. i get oohs and aahs. they listen to me as if i am about to share some amazing word. that goes for Kristian too! (yeah he is a sweetie)

Kristian had wanted to get out and take the kids to the local bike store, so we did that when i returned home. then he drove off in the opposite direction of home.

a few blocks later, Aidan askes, "where are we going now?"

i replied, "i don't know. Daddy hasn't told me either."

Kristian solves the mystery. "Aidan when you are married and your wife comes home looking amazing, you make sure you take her somewhere special to eat supper."

ahhhh....sigh. is that all i have to do?! this is good to know.

now a perfect ending to this day is to work on some scrapbooking. especially since the kids are sound asleep. and Kristian is enjoying some alone time as well. (our desks are in the same room beside each other, so it is fun to chat while we do our own thing. it reminds me of when we were dating and used to do our homework together...good times.)