photo

frenzy


just having fun taking some photos.


it was a big surprise to download my photos tonight and actually have only 38 photos. a few of only 4 "scenes". and i just cropped these. no touch ups. yes i believe that is a record. and i should celebrate.


Aidan is fascinated by dandilions. the yellow ones. and the "fluffy" ones. i managed to snag a photo of this one before it was blown to smithereens. (is that even a word?) a part of me is repulsed by dandilions because they are an annoying weed. but there is a part of me that is amazed by them. they are the first flower in springtime....other than tulips that is!

and since "bug" as my lovely babies named it got some attention....these dutiful and hardworking ants should have their moment of fame too. again, i have a love-hate relationship with these creatures. as long as they don't ruin my garden and stay out of my house, they can stay. and i have a special place in my heart for those that eat aphids. saves me the time and trouble.

and this was the scene inside and outside of my kitchen yesterday. as Aidan calls them, "the worker mens" were here. these two were entertained by two fellows digging a big hole just under the window. then they were just as delighted to see the "digger machine" make the hole even deeper and larger. they came just in time for me to make supper. and i wish they would come every day at that time. free babysitting. sort of! it was the first night i have made supper without being bothered. Kiara had her moments of boredom and got curious about all kinds of things around the sink that she had never seen before....but the view outside of the window still ended up being more interesting all around. there were a few groups or teams of workers that came during various stages. they seemed to all enjoy the extra attention they recieved. i caught one of them smiling at Kiara and jumping up and down on our deck. and of course Kiara trying to imitate him. you get the idea that most of these guys were pretty rough and could care less about children...but then you have an experience like this. rough guy jumping up and down to make a little girl giggle....not the picture that i had in mind!

just a great example that appearances are not always as they seem. good life lesson! i read another similar story yesterday on this blog. well not quite. it was much deeper!

today we had the second part of the gasline job completed. the hole was dug yesterday. today they moved our meter and lines from the basement to the outside of our house. so yes more excitement for the kids. fortunately they were able to delay the work until after gymnastics. but the unfortunate part was that it took longer than they expected and the kids missed a birthday party. thankfully they checked all of our gas lines. and found a line we had closed off---it was connected to an archaic heater in the basement which we removed a few years ago. they put a "cap" on the end. apparently it is code and was somehow missed by the company we hired to close off the line. just one of those things...if the gas line were to leak, or the valve turned....the house would have blown up...potentially. not liking to hear that! this house is so old. codes have changed a lot. everytime we get some work done we learn more about how dangerous the situation was. but we also hear that they see homes a lot worse. it is a miracle that so many of them are still standing!

tomorrow Kris and his brother are ripping down our old garage. i'm sure that someone could create a list of broken rules with that garage! like the integrity of the structure when they installed the automatic garage door for starters. i'm so glad that i just get to watch...have i ever mentioned how much i dread home renovations. no? i used to watch the home improvement shows and get tired. and go figure we buy a home that has needed home renos. i've survived so far....

and last night someone ran into our garbage bin shed. pulled it away from the fence. last summer someone backed into our fence. it's a pretty good guess who was responsible for both incidents. and a huge relief to learn that they are moving tomorrow. happy dancing.....

Wednesday musings

middle of the week.

went to a double baby shower last night. two babies only about a month old. and more cuddling than they knew what to do with! i still remember coming home after baby showers with Aidan. after the first one i remember both of us having difficulty getting to sleep! i think the second won was easier for us...don't remember having sleep issues anyways!

so never took miss Kiara to the doctor yesterday. no troublesome cough. no fever. phew! she took her last dose of medicine today. one down...two more of us to go! can we do it?? yes we can!! and as 'Muck' always adds....i think so. ugh, always annoys me to hear that part....

thinking of my lil sis Kathryn today. she has had one of those awful weeks. lots of prayers for her and her family right now. we'll leave it at that. i haven't talked to her yet to know what she wants to share.

appears that the garage will actually get torn down this weekend. we live in an old neighborhood where the gas meters are still in the basement. Atco is moving all of them to the outside of the houses. this also happens to be getting done the same year as we re-build our garage. crazy coincidence! we had anticipated having to pay more money for the contractors to move or sleeve or something! our gas line. given what we knew of where the line to be, our new garage would sit on top of it. but it is looking like we still have a foot of space between the edge of the garage and the gas line. Kris will stake it out tonight. they have flagged the line itself earlier today. so we'll see what ends up happening! will we have to pay extra or will be get a break?!

the kids have had an exciting morning. library. "worker mans" in the yard. mailman delivered mail. life doesn't get much more exciting when you are one and three years old.


a few days ago we had a homemade tent in our living room. so peaceful. little book readers....means some quiet noise. and after a week of being sick and stuck inside....a certain mother required a certain level of quietness!

the results of another day of work on the playhouse. already the kids are anxious to move in. hopefully in six more weeks they will!

Aidan found a really interesting beetle in his sandbox yesterday.

those of you who know me well...know that the above phrase was difficult for me! i have been proud of myself thus far. i don't think either of them know how i detest insects. it helps when i have the camera and an excuse to keep my hands busy.

i don't know how they can stand to touch the creatures! Aidan stated that "bug" had an interesting face. indeed. yes.

i was sneaky...they didn't know i was behind them.

oops! they caught me.

this is a rare moment when they are sitting still for this length of time. i just love moments like this. for several reasons.

and how could i forget to share that the mini album class i'm teaching is now half-filled?! and it is still nearly 3 weeks away. i am ecstatic. i picked up the materials for the kits after our library excursion. (if you were at the library while we were there...you may have declared it something else....why did my library card have to expire at the same time as my kids?!)

and i also found another article about the Stephen Curtis Chapman family on Jody Ferlaaks' blog. all i can think is....wow.

welcome to my rollercoaster

happy days. sad days. sick days. healthy days.


yikes!


could we have some stability here?



i'm hoping to not have to take Kiara to the pediatrician tomorrow. she is still finishing her medicine....and it is obvious she is more than ready to be done with it if i believe the drama she shows when it is "medicine time". thank goodness some smart pharmacist thought to make the medicine spoons look like crocodiles! but she had a fever again tonight. and she started a weird cough last night. by bedtime - and now - she seems well. do i dare hope that it will stay that way?



don't know if you read my "scrapbooking" blog....maybe you didn't know i had one. sometimes i put scrapbook stuff here too. i decided to keep crafts and family sort of separate. i go into details on the scrapbooking blog that not everyone is interested in. (either they don't care or i would bore those that taught me and now i make them read it again!) at the time it made perfect sense....LOL! there's some trivia you maybe didn't need to know today.


anyways yesterday and today i shared happy stories about me and my scrapbooking.

today i posted info and details about the class i'm going to teach at Urban in a few days. (so excited about that...can hardly contain myself!)

yesterday i had a happy posting at SIStv. very cool for me. and shocked me!



i like happy stuff. keep it coming!!




oh and i think i have a prize decided. it will be made by me. and it will be awesome. (of course that is my opinion!) i'll share more about that this week. maybe even photos?!

still sad about

this.

i haven't listened to Stephen Curtis Chapman for a long time. odd how that happens. but i remember listening to his "Great Adventure" album on cassette. still very sad to hear some sad news about their family over the weekend.

they have three children by birth. they adopted three girls from China. they actually started an organization called Shaohannah's Hope when they first started the adoption process. the youngest of their girls, Maria, had just turned five, and was killed last Wednesday in an accident at their home.

you can read about it on the family website.

or you can go to the new website they set up to commemorate Maria.

i think this kind of news hits me harder now that i'm a mother. i think of the number of near misses that we have....so thankful that it has just been that. it has been tough this week with myself and the kids being sick. but i'm so thankful that it is just a week. and that it is curable! when i hear such tragic news i am even more thankful for my own family.

i'm keeping the Chapmans in my prayers.

photos

at last!


i've always loved spring blossoms. and then i started getting allergies. my love for spring blossoms is now bitter-sweet.

this will be the last year our spring blossoms will have our run down garage as a backdrop.

rather sad. it is so shabby that it has an odd appeal about it!

the old original apple tree is closest, on the right. the pear tree is on the left into the distance. the siberian larch is in the middle, straight ahead. the year we moved in, the top of the tree could barely be seen above the fence.

this is what you see when you come around the corner of our house. the maple tree on the left hides the new playhouse quite nicely.

here you can see the top of the siberan larch. well....barely!

the blossoms on the new apple tree. some are still needing to get to full bloom.

the rain has put some bruises on these blossoms....

interesting how apple blossoms kind of curl up and pear blossoms spread out.

today a swift breeze blew, and you could see the blossoms in the breeze...like out of place snowflakes...one of those times you wish you had a camera....knowing if you ran for it, then you would miss the photo and the sight for your eyes...

the needles on our siberian larch are nearly grown now. last year for you buddy....

i cannot believe how awesome this vine is! tons of new shoots. ready to bloom already. was it only a few weeks ago i noticed the first leaf?

pretty soon we'll have irises and daylilies. they always bloom right before Father's Day. i used to have a gorgeous red oriental poppy. i plan to add one or two of these when i get the chance. it took a few years to get to a good size, but i think it is a sensitive plant....we did some rearranging one spring, added better soil and raised the flower bed it was in...it never forgave us.

the shed/playhouse is getting there. this is what it looked like before the weekend. the boys were busy at work today, so now it has osb walls!

the gable will have a little window eventually.

isn't it adorable? maybe Kris will have to quit his day job and just make playhouses?! hahaha many, many years ago - maybe ten years - his brother was involved in a competition for Kid's Cottage i think. there were three or four teams of apprentices that designed and built a kids playhouse. then there were competitions for specific aspects like the colours, overall design, etc.
i think they were auctioned off with the money going to support Kid's Cottage. and i think John's team came in second. they were all so cute! lucky kids that got to play in those.

we want to make our playhouse look similar to a cabin we stayed in two years ago. we'll see how well the ocean look will transfer to our prairie playhouse! we looked up some old photos today to remind ourselves of specifics we had forgotten. it was tough to stay focused. i was pregnant with Kiara. very pregnant! and Aidan was sooo little. we had some videos too. those were fun. i just wish they had been longer. he was just a little older than Kiara at the time. he enjoyed watching himself too. a good reminder to keep taking regular photos and documenting these fast growing lives.

i've also been doing some top secret research...trying to come up with a little something for Father's Day. if you have ideas for me. or if you want to take advantage of my ideas, leave a comment. or e-mail me! i have one idea at the moment that i'm trying to "tweak" in my head....hopefully it will work out as well in real life?!

new

baby!


my sister Sarah went into labour on her own on Friday. and by the end of the afternoon baby Violet Renelle was born. yay!! nine pounds five ounces and twenty inches long. 6 days overdue. and i may be in big trouble if i report my sisters' size.....



and an update for us. Aidan woke up with a fever yesterday morning. he's had sniffles and coughs for a few days already. fortunately we were able to catch an appointment with our pediatrician. so now both of the kids and myself are on medicine. Kristian has managed to stay healthy despite all the germs being passed around. Aidan had his first throat swab - in case of strep...and he handled it very well. (and it did too...thanks for asking!) of course we have to be so sick during the few months that we are without our health benefits.


and a fun update for me. my class at Urban is now scheduled for June 14 at 2pm. you can go here to see my class listed and a couple of others that are going on too. i am very excited about this!!


and did you check out "webisode" #70 at ScrapInStyletv? i asked - ummm, i mean, forced - Kristian to watch it.


i got this one on facebook this week.

improvements

so last post was a bit on the whiny side. can't blame myself. a horrible way to spend a beautiful long weekend... thankfully i am feeling better. still coughing. no more headache or other icky stuff. just a cough now and then and a bit of a stuffy nose. i can deal with that. so thankful for antibiotics! Kiara is now sick too. she's had a fever and cough and plugged nose. and she's miserable. she is a good cuddler. but she needs more cuddles when she feels the ick. so nice to not have anything urgent so that i can cuddle with her. antibiotics should get her healing fast too now. so far Aidan and Kristian are healthy. Aidan has a bit of it, but no fever. phew!

the laptop had serious problem yesterday. i got "stuck" on a web page. then when i used the "end program" feature, everything truly ended. i thought for sure my genius husband could fix it. and i mean that with no sarcasm. but it was no match for him. that was how i knew it was serious. we had to have a chuckle too....one of they guys he works with got an urgent call from his wife just before the end of the day. she needed help because her computer screen was blank. and you can guess what some of the solutions her hubby came up with. of course for the eavesdroppers in the office it was funny from their perspective. good thing Kris had a good laugh....because he had to spend a great deal of time on hold with the computer company. so hopefully by Saturday it will be repaired. at least my files should be safe. i was kicking myself because i haven't done any back up for a few months. and i was just thinking last week that i should get that task done.

in the midst of Kristians list of duties this weekend, he misplaced his phone. this is a frequent occurance. the last significant time it was found in a snow bank beside our house. so while he is on the phone with the computer company, he asks me to call our cell phone company to get the phone disabled. out of gratitude i comply! then they company disables my phone too. i think Kris is like the majority of husbands out there when it comes to "looking" for things. i'm pretty sure it is just a home thing. he finds stuff at the electronic and computer stores quite easily. i checked the garage, backyard and the car i usually drive. then i checked his pockets of clothes in the laundry basket. Aidan loves to put rocks, sticks, nails, toys.....in his pockets. and apparently he gets it from his father. {wink} i wonder how often people misplace a cell phone for 3 days. then disable and enable it on the same hour? sigh.

the garage has also been put on hold for one more week. we have had a ton of rain here. and there is still a list of stuff that has to get done before it comes down.

we have been waiting for my niece to get born. Sarah's due date was just Sunday, but she has been hoping for "labour day" to have happened for the last month. she's just a tiny woman. she doesn't have that many places to keep a baby. and this is her second birth. and her son was a big baby. the compassionate doctor scheduled an induction for her on Saturday. this baby is a stubborn one already! we've been praying for this baby girl to get born soon! and for a safe delivery for everyone. hopefully i can post some news by Sunday.

in the meantime...it is my scrapbooking night. and i feel withdrawl...i'm not going to the store. boohoo....i'll stay at home here and work on some projects. i do need pop dots and glue dots (hmmm....there's a theme!) but i know i'll get waylaid by their Prima display. i haven't seen it yet. and yes it has been killing me. but i should probably be strong when i do see it.


Wilna posted a neat video of herself riding on the back of an elephant in Africa last fall. Very cool! Check it out.

and since i haven't been at the computer much to see what is out there today on my usual stops...that is where it will have to end today! at least i should have some projects to post next week. and have something figured out for that give away. yahoo!

***{EDIT}***
okay this must be the day of videos or something...
go check out webisode #70 (the most recent one) at SIStv.
it has nothing to do with scrapbooking. well maybe it does. sort of. in a far off sort of way.....if you have never followed any of my links before....make sure you do follow this one....it will make your week.....for real!

bad

luck?

Kristian had 2 extra days off to enjoy this long weekend.

we had perfect weather.

he managed to get the garage permit. we we are one step closer on that project.

still waiting on more information regarding the gas line situation. that is way too complicated to explain....

the plan for this long weekend? build a shed/playhouse. yes that one.

the luck? just over two weeks ago we all came down the same cold. i was feeling not too bad. i didn't seem to get it as badly as everyone else. but mine hung around for almost a week longer than everyone else. in the middle of the long weekend shenanigans (i think that is a word!) i feel worse than i have felt in years. i couldn't remember the last time i was this sick. fever. headache. exhauseted. the works. bad enough to go to the medicentre.

that is bad.

we are lucky to have one that is only a few blocks away. i've gone when i've had strep throat. i've taken the kids. everytime they pronounce us healthy. only to see our own doctors when the weekend is over and to be told that yes we were sick and meds are necessary to heal.

i decided to try a new clinic. i just couldn't wait another 24 hours.

and these people actually know that when you come to a medicentre on a weekend - like a long weekend - you might actually be sick.

so yes i now have a sinus infection. figured something like that. but i also had the beginning stages of bronchitis. that was a surprise. and they gave me antibiotics too. phew!

why is it that the majority of illnesses occur after office hours?

Aidan had a field trip to the John Janzen Nature Centre today. i was bummed that i didn't get a chance to help. but it took all my energy to drive him there and back again.

this is so crazy.

this is the first time in two days i even sat at the computer --- except to check my e-mail and inform the teacher i couldn't help. oh and i did try last night to check some stuff, but didn't get past updating my facebook status. pathetic.

we're doing an awesome craft at our mom's group tomorrow morning. and i have to miss it.

blah.

and the shed/playhouse? Kristian put in a call to his dad. the plan was for him to stop by for an hour or so to assist with the roof. it ended up being the entire day. i think carpenter dad was a little over-optimistic of his non-carpenter son's carpentry skills. (could that be a tongue-twister?) between the two of them...and a little three year old carpenter want-to-be....the roof is now on. i was out of commission. fortunately grandma came along and hung out with the kids. gave me a chance to go to the dr. and get some sleep. if they hadn't come by, the building would be substantially behind. building, taking care of a one year old and three year old, feeding everyone, napping the one year old, taking care of sick wife, etc....just a little much for one man to do alone. thank goodness i had done laundry....clean, just not put away!

i got a few pictures one day. i can't remember what day it was. i saw Ruth with her camera yesterday. i'll have to bum the photos from her. it would be fun to make a mini album of the playhouse for the kids to enjoy. i hadn't anticipated the involvement they would want. right down to drawing on the wood....using the scrap wood to build stuff....can't wait for Kris to share more stuff that i missed out on. (the fact that i'm even thinking of this is good....little jump for joy!)

the plan is to tear down the garage this coming weekend. and there is major stuff to prepare beforehand. and i'm really helpful--NOT!

yeah frustrating.

before this "ick" set in i even managed to complete Kiara's twelve month layout for her scrapbook album. but no energy to take photos and download them. sad.

i'm feeling better - slightly - today than yesterday. as you can tell that i've said a lot. so i'm hoping for more improvement in the next 24 hours.

the long winded post may also be due to the fact that i have not been able to do much talking for about 3 days. yeah, that is like death itself for me.

another bummer. can you believe there is another one?

a long time friend of Kristians' was up for a visit this weekend. Brent was a groomsman at our wedding. they've known each other since they were in grade five. he is also quiet. like my man. and both of these guys married women who are natural talkers! that is a big surprise. they have had a rough time of things for about the past 18 months. we haven't had a chance to share much of it with them. and instead of hanging out with them, we had to cancel. the last thing they need in their life is a bug like i've got. if i could have stayed upright long enough to talk....

well....naptime for a certain one year old. i think a movie for a three year old. i hope he picks a really long one! and naptime for mommy.

poor Kristian. works hard all day. then he comes home and can't get a break until bedtime. and a huge building project to worry about as well. i think it's a toss up between who has it worse....mommy or daddy....

hopefully July will be here and all building will be over. and we have great summer weather. we're healthy. and the kids get a lot of park/playground time. and Aidan will put in lots of time riding his new bike. that's the dream....well....part of it!

still waiting

for those answers!!!


any idea how difficult it is to get macro photos on a windy day? possible. but a little more tricky. or maybe it is just me?

here is our huge Siberian Larch. the needles come in brand new and soft in the spring. really not a nice tree to look at during the winter months...but it redeems itself in the spring.

apparently the family farm had a larch or tamarack. {the family farm was not something that had been passed down from generation to generation. my grandpa had sold his tractor business and moved his nearly grown family north.} along the east side of the home property were a row of conifers. by the time i came along these trees were monstrous. and within this row of pine trees grew a larch or tamarack tree. so all winter the tree must have stood out like a sore thumb. before it had a chance to redeem itself my grandpa chopped it down thinking it was dead. keep in mind that the majority of his life was spent in southern Alberta. where a tree is rare. and apparently not a place to grow these special conifers. i never did hear the part of the story where he learned what kind of tree it actually was. given it was a small farming community....it was probably coffee news that week at the community store.

and our Golden Spice Pear tree. the year we moved in (planted by the previous owners) it had about a dozen blooms. now it is covered in blooms each spring. and actually produces a large quantity of pears. not very large. but in time we've learned more about when to pick these pears and when to start eating them. they aren't worth using for cooking....unless you have A LOT of free time!!

and our little newest apple tree Kris and Aidan planted last spring. hmmm...wonder what name it has? can't believe that i can't remember that. add that to my 'to do' list.

we do have an old apple tree. but we think it is at the end of it's life. it has had some issues with its health the past few years. last year it grew apples, but dropped them all. in the past we've had more than enough apples for us and lots to share with friends and family. they are great for cooking and juice. but visitors have enjoyed eating them fresh as well.


so the date is nearing for our garage to be torn down.

still amazed that the original owners never put a stucco on it.

i was on a walk with Kiara last night and noticed another garage built recently in our neighborood. like in the last twenty years. and it has also never had siding or stucco on it either. it is still covered with OSB. and i would bet it will still be like that in another twenty years.

little itty bitty garage. can just fit a single vehicle. and then a few yard and bike stuff. we still chuckle at the shabbiness of it....and it has these pristine automatic garage door. ironic. of course the red paint was added just after Aidan was born. it still looks great. thanks Benjamin Moore!

so the new garage just over twice as wide. wow we'll be able to fit both of our cars inside! and off the street away from those punks that get bored at 2 a.m. see the wacky sidewalk in our backyard. that will also be gone. the new garage will end at about where the sidewalk is. did that make sense? hmmmm..... anyways. new fence. new sidewalk. new garage. and yes we bought siding with the package. no way we're going to allow it to sit for fifty years naked! oh yes and a concrete parking pad behind the garage. and it means our siberian larch has to go as well. but the fruit trees will be saved. even old man apple. he may be saved this year....but his time is coming!

i am so glad that i'm not doing any of this labour. Kris has his brother and dad lined up to help. the plan is to get it completed over the course of three weekends. compared to the house his brother just built, this will be like a cracker box project.

we did have a slight problem. our garage has a lot of stuff in it that we don't want to leave in the backyard. like my bike. lawnmower. shovels. saws. anything that may get stolen or injure kids.

the idea of a small shed was born. so for the month that it takes to build the new building, we'll have a shed to hold the small stuff.

then when the garage is done....back it all goes.

and the small shed?

it gets turned into a playhouse for the kids!

the boys {aka Daddy and Aidan} have been hard at work this weekend. hammers. saws. the works! Aidan is in heaven. i think Kristian is somewhere not too far behind.....

blowing away

where did this wind come from?

and why is it still blowing?

and i think it is doing weird stuff to my mind!

it also reminded me of a song we sang when i was in elementary school with Mr. Wilson...

"the answer, my friend, is blowin' in the wind....."

always wondered why it was BLOWIN' not BLOWING. ahhh.... those days when a kid has time to ponder such deep grammatical thoughts.... Mr. Wilson wore wood and leather clogs every time he came to our school. and he always had a big smile. and his left foot always tapped as he played the piano. he taught us a great deal of high quality songs. our class won the local award for our perfomance of "Drunken Sailor". vocals and ukelele. chords and strumming. we made our parents proud. kids don't sing high quality songs like that anymore. ahhhh....the seventies.....not just great clothes, but great music too.



well....these days it isn't answers that are blowing in the wind. it's any light object in our yard! or the neighbors yard....

to distract myself...i spent time on my digi-scrapping class....

making paper! and then i got distracted some more seeing what else i can do....

yeah. it was fun.

maybe the answer is blowin in the wind after all....

it's all about

recycling....


we were lucky to have been given a tricycle and a little "bug" for the kids to ride on when Aidan just learned to walk. and i have spent last summer and this spring trying to track down a used bike for Aidan now that he's growing. i was quite surprised what people have been asking for rusted chains and worn back tires.....that will need to be replaced....and bring it up to the same cost as buying a brand new bike. too crazy.

we were double lucky that i came across this add when i did.....brand-new bike, never used.....

which i prepared myself could mean all sorts of things. the worst being that the bike was difficult to ride and thus was never ridden. and that would mean time out of my day i'd never get back.....yes i think about this a lot! not to mention telling my little guy that we'd have to keep looking for "the one". that would be the hardest.

as you can see the kids love biking. definitely lots of their daddy....

Aidan was totally prepared. as you can see.

how thrilled i was when this bike was in the shape they told me it was in. and that it was obviously a good beginner bike.

and the happiest.....

a great day for Kiara to have a long nap.....

he rode up and down the sidewalk......for nearly two hours....

what a happy boy!

phew!!!!

and a happy momma that didn't have to replace any parts.

yesterday he (and his classmates) went searching for treasure in the class sandbox. this was his first find. i'm sure he is thinking he's on a roll with his luck!

i've noticed a great theme in scrapbooking lately.

recycling.

check out these ideas on "one little word".

and check out this contest at Prima. check out some of the ideas.

not to mention lots of the pages out there that use vintage items.

i think that "scrap" is coming back to scrapbooking.

it will be interesting to see where this will lead.

check out this winning project.

what better excuse does a person need to start scrapbooking.....



and i'm trying to think of something cool to do now that i've had 1000 views on my blog. i'm thinking of some kind of give-away. thinking about recycling....good recycling....not doing any purging at this stage of my scrapbooking....maybe a project that involves recycling....i'll decide by the end of the weekend.


in the meantime....so excited to be signed up for the "Siblings" class at Urban Scrapbook! if i can just find my supply list.....i know i got one....sigh.....it is time to "adjust the paper piles" again....already.... cool new technique....can't wait to try it out...

mommy

day

they both looked so cute this morning. too grown up for their ages.

i didn't have time to take a photo before church. so wish i had.

after church (and lunch) their appearance and attitudes weren't the same. a little tired. a little dirty. and the hair without the same sparkle. haha...i guess you could say the same about me!

but here they are. making me proud to be their mommy.

i miss those days when they were so small and could be carried everywhere easily. i told them yesterday that they used to fit inside a little blanket. to which they looked shocked! who wouldn't?!

even though i miss those days....i wouldn't give up these for anything. really. look at those smiles. every time they see the camera, they say "cheese" as loudly as they can. their eyes squint. not sure how it fits, but they sometimes look away from the camera too. can't figure that one out.

i put that last photo onto a digital layout. you can see it here.

enjoy your special day.

happy

mother's day!



at my mom's group on Wednesday, Aidan gave me a coffee filter flower and a basket. they must have discussed this special day. later that afternoon, he came up to me and said "happy mother's day!" just melted my heart.

after playschool on Thursday he presented me with an adorable card and a decorated coffee mug and plant. later that afternoon he said, "Sunday is a special day. it's mother's day."

aaaawwwww that so adorable!

this was taken nearly 10 months ago on his first day of playschool.

there are moments (sometimes days!) when...well....us moms know what those times are like.

and there are other moments when you just want to squeeze them and smother them with hugs and kisses.

i guess we wouldn't know how good the good days can be if we didn't have the bad days. kind of like not knowing you were on a mountain if you never saw the valleys below your feet.

hope you all are having a great mother's day weekend. Kristian has one more night left on this crazy rotation.....but at least he'll be home to pamper ME tomorrow! hehehe

crazy

weather!

at least this time it has worked to our advantage. yesterday was a cool and breezy morning. not promising in the least.

Aidan had playschool. Kris was sleeping....yes another night shift. i knew i should probably stay away from the house so that Kris could sleep. and wasn't sure what to do...get the maintenance done on the car...go shopping....walk the mall...all of those fun things to do with wild and wacky Kiara. i needed coffee. bad. ended up going through the drive-thru at Second Cup and had Seana Collins (think she still works at GlobalTV) serve me a cup of coffee. Now that was a surprise!

so i then called my friend Ingrid and told her my glorious news. she only lives a few blocks from the coffee shop...and thought she may want somewhere interesting to stop as well if she had to go out. i ended up planning in impromtu visit with her at her house. something much talked about...never done. until now!

so her two girls and Kiara played. definitely a girl morning. and i realized that it is a rare thing for Kiara to have just girls around. hmmm....

a trip to Costco with Aidan rounded out the first part of the day nicely. i found some cool copper planters. and they met with metal-man-Kris' approval too. love that! once the flowers start to fill out, i'll share photos. and we made it home in time for Kiara's nap. gave Aidan and myself a quiet time while Kris finished sleeping.


by the time Kiara was awake, the weather was much improved.

isn't that crazy too?

we signed Aidan up for little kids' soccer this spring. he started last week. when it snowed. that was a bummer. little guy was so excited to play soccer. and i was really hoping that we would actually end up meeting this week. so i was thrilled when the weather turned so much better. not totally great, but a huge improvement all the same.

they each got their own jersey. he's number sixteen.

he gets the "listen to the teacher/coach" lecture every time he starts something new. he knows it so well that he repeats it back to me regularly now.

but that good listening paid off!

he now knows what part of the foot to use when kicking the ball and what it means to trap the ball. and now i know too! have i ever mentioned how much i detested teaching that part of the elementary curriculum. you know you are outclassed when 11 year olds could do a better job teaching the sport than the qualified teacher. give me a fun game to teach...or some obscure skill....but don't tell me to teach a game that involves a referee. because i suck. so all these active things we're doing with our kids is really helping me. wouldn't we all die of hard laughter when i end up coaching a junior high sports team? truly. but when you're all dead...you'll have no idea how awesome i am. crazy rambling mother....get back to talking about your angel son...

love this:

even Kiara wanted to get in on the action. she fulfilled every stereotypical girl move in the book.

1. run after the ball, catch it and then try to keep it away from the kid using it

2. pick up and rearrange all the markers

3. pick the most interesting blades of grass and hand them out

4. dance and get people laughing

5. cry when the ball is taken from you

well....two years....she'll be in Aidan's shoes and kicking the ball around too. i'm sure Aidan will teach her a thing or two in the meantime.

they have a fun coach. love it when that happens. and he happens to be a teacher. who is fully capable of teaching 11 year olds i'm sure! at the end of the hour, they all did a cheer.

and i found out that our neighborhood teams have a real name. kind of rounds out the learning experience.

and there are two Aidans on the team. big surprise! i think it was the second top name for boys the year he was born.

today was a gymnastics day. sporty 24 hours for us!

Aidan is the youngest in his class. he actually should still be in a parented class. but he is quite responsible and a good learner, so they let me advance him. considering that, i am amazed at how well he does. again the teacher in me....i continue to remind him that just because others aren't listening or goofing around or being loud does not make it okay for him to do the same. some of the older kids have provided him practice in this area! and Kiara. well, she has been joining Aidan's classes - as an observer - since she was 5 months old. first in the infant car seat. then in a baby bjorn. then as a sitter. and most recently as a runner and climber. so she acts as if she owns the place at times. attentive Aidan and crazy Kiara ride on....

again it helped to have somewhere to be so that Kris could sleep in a quiet house.

then we went bike shopping. cannot believe the prices on kids bikes. a fellow at one store was buying one for his nephew. he commented that he was surprised they were so cheap. that is what we need....a rich and single uncle. and most likely no cousins either. i suppose it makes sense. rich uncle....no kids to hang out with...needs lots of toys. and our situation....lots of kids to play with....forget the toys. okay enough of that. i was amazed that they even design bikes for these 4 to 6 year olds that have shocks (my cycling expert hubby is not nearby to inform me of the correct terminology...please forgive my ignorance on this subject as well). not sure what this age group needs that for. so i let the kids try out some bikes. quickly realising that helmets would have been an asset. one of the bikes that Aidan seemed the most comfortable on was a Tonka bike. with shocks under the seat of course! but i was impressed with the heavy duty training wheels.

a treat for lunch was a trip to McD's. ugh. we ate the food at the park. why do i bother to buy anything more than just fries? really. and wouldn't you know it...another Aidan at the park. i do think this is making my Aidan feel like a celebrity. he's still not talking about it. but you just have to wonder what those brain cells are thinking.

i am so hoping this will be the last of the night shifts. he may need to work one more night. so far he has worked 62.5 hours this week. i'm trying to decide for him which day to take off next week. heehee. a girl can dream. i know he'll get a day. two days of single parenting for 24 hours is my maximum. i should have known. next time i'll plan and book a sitter or something. being with the kids without help is tough in that all questions and needs have to be met by me all of the time. that is exhausting. makes me just want to be by myself. and being without Kris' company at some point of the day - even with him being quiet! is lonely without other comfortable adult conversation. which makes me want to get together with friends. and there i sit. wanting to be by myself and hang out with friends. can it get more ironic than that? no wonder it has left me feeling a little bonkers! i'm sure i'll look back on my posts this week and truly wonder where my mind was. and sadly i'll know. and unfortunately you've had to put up with the rambling.

and before you go...oh, i didn't realize it was like that. keep in mind that i did not lock myself in the house with the two kids and force us to be together. we were out and about, doing the stuff that had to get done. it just meant business as usual in the day. but no "coffee break" at the end of the day like i'm accustomed. and i did get together with friends. i did get out. i think it was just one of those ironic things...no simple solution.

well...maybe one. it's called a babysitter. and that, my friends, is the final lesson of the week! that is a choice i should have taken this week. get the babysitter to feed my kids supper. just one to two hours for 2 or 3 of the days. i think i'll start to call it "health money" in our budget. for the mental health of all of us....

and tomorrow. breakfast at IKEA. with our without the daddy. all three of us are really hoping that there will be a table of four needed.....

yay

for me!

i am so excited because i will be teaching my first class at my favourite scrapbook store. so happy!! the date is not set yet. but i posted some pics of the project on my projects blog. that kept me busy last week!

still weird this week. tonight is the third night that Kris has worked from 4pm to 4am. kids and i are handling it surprisingly well. i'm sure his previous job prepared us for this. he sleeps during the morning and then is awake for part of the afternoon. not much time to spend with him. i'm hoping he'll be feeling more rested tomorrow. he slept until about 2:30pm today, so we only got to see him for an hour before he left. two or three more nights of this and then back to daytime hours. and some time off in lieu will help. this is just part of a rotation he's doing with the new company. thankfully this won't be a regular thing! at least this is what he's been told.

and we're still sick with this spring cold. it seems like everyone managed to get it. hopefully a few more days and then the coughing can stop! except for me. i have spring allergies. and they are always preceded by a cold. once July is here, i'm feeling much better. all the more reason for summer to get here quickly!

Kiara has been changing so much these past few months. it is amazing to see what she is actually comprehending these days. Aidan is quite a verbal kid. but Kiara kicks his but with talking. and singing. she is already trying to recite the alphabet. and she knows her animal sounds! Aidan would never cooperate when we asked him to tell us what cows say. and we never even attempted to have Kiara do it. nope, she just did it on her own.

she also has this amazing power to make a shopping trip an entirely delightful experience. or an incredibly awful one. speaking of shopping....i realized this week that they are both ready for more responsibility on our grocery days. i had them load grocery bags. the help was awesome. and Kiara didn't try to climb out of the cart. and Aidan was too busy to figure out new ways to annoy everyone.

lots of side notes here....man my brain is having trouble sticking to one topic!

last week, on a trip to the "W" store...hadn't gone in months. she squirmed her way out of the seatbelt. their new carts are dual leveled. she decided to sit on the upper level. great. nearly fell out twice. gave a couple of the clerks near heart attacks one of the times. on the other hand, she put herself into greater danger squirming out of the seat she was supposed to be in. i could not get that belt tighter. who designs these things anyway?! so that little princess somehow forgot where she was or something....ended up falling and fortunately landing on the lower level of the cart. on the diaper bag. miracle. one of those moments where you are unsure whether to cry, scream or fall to your knees in gratitude that she is not hurt.

she is starting to have more moments where she stays close to us when we let her have freedom. and i'm saying more moments. not every moment.

stopped by PayLess to get running shoes for Aidan. ($7 for one of them!) by the time we left, i think the manager/?owner was ready to pay us to leave. Aidan was great. Kiara had other plans. and to make the trip even more enjoyable. i had to change a diaper. yes. one of those. and i had changed one just before we left the house. can she not do it all at once?! then she wanted to run up and down the aisles. that was when i saw the manager/owner guy get a little antsy. well a lot antsy. he made a comment about the "number of children who have injured themselves on the merchandise hooks." hmmm.... apparently he was unaware of the good luck that seems to follow this girl. i'm just hoping her luck does not run out. [the day before she thought the wire racks at Urban looked fun to climb....eeeeek! thank goodness i happened to be right beside her when she took that first test step. i could just picture all the racks going down like dominoes...and my daughter on top of the pile - if she was lucky.]

so days when you are left wondering why you bothered....you come across a scene like this...

notice the correct hand position on the mouse? notice her hands are no where near my screen? nothing is getting thrown? yeah. why can't those moments last all day? all week? all month?


so spring seems to have arrived. although the afternoon sure turned ugly fast. i snapped these while the sun was still shining. after we had our lunch in the backyard. for the second time this week.


amazing what two days can do!

and the spider has not been seen for two days. but the buds are sure opening. i predict we could have some blooms in a week. this is the apple tree that Kris and Aidan planted last year.

and the larch. not a pretty tree during the winter. spring is so unique. those needles are so soft. and stay soft all winter. then they turn colour in the fall. i hope i have photos of that season. this tree will be gone in a month. at the most.

and the pear tree. aren't those buds crazy?!

and the clematis. two days ago i saw no signs of this. if you need a vine that takes care of itself, get one of these. it never needs to be cut down. pruned, nope! it literally takes care of itself. and it is gorgeous. kind of makes me feel guilty. it is probably the one plant that i get the most compliments on...and i've totally done nothing to it. just planted it. okay maybe admiration counts for something. but i admire my irises....and no compliments.

oh the psychology of plants. certainly not a career for me! i took one botany class at university. my one science option for my degree. i think i would have flunked if my lab partner had not been a science major.

and yes i was raised on a farm. a grain farm. and we had a garden. somehow the green thumb didn't stick to me.

now maybe had they had me make paper from the dead plants.....there's a life lesson!

yup. definitely time to go back to my corner and do something not related to green. or people. and perhaps i should stay a safe distance from journalling for awhile too.

or sleep. that actually might be a smart choice.

in the meantime still waiting for my fat...oops!...i mean prego sister to have her baby! {wink} it is still over a week. but this girl seems to be liking the present nest. she is hearing things now. she may be hearing stuff her big brother is up to....really makes you wonder. two friends just gave birth to girls a few weeks ago. seems to be the season to have a daughter.

sigh. babies are so nice.