day out

left the big city.

for a day!


just me and the kids. in the car. together.


thank you daddy!

he had the foresight to make sure we had these.

i'll share more later. this was the purpose of the trip. RCMP dog training facility near Bowden.

very cool presentation. so happy the kids got to see what "bad guys" had to look forward to. they train those dogs for LOTS of jobs. one of which is to have a good and strong bite. full mouth. can you say, OUCH! i hope it taught the kids to have more respect for dogs.

it was fun.

today we are off to meet some of Aidan's playschool friends at a playground. and we're late. big surprise.

living out loud

my day started with a headache. and a certain young gal who decided to wake up too early for my liking. the headache grew into a migraine. not something that is great to have with two loud and active kids in house. i ended up in bed with orders to not bother me, be quiet and let me rest while i waited {and hoped} for the meds to kick in.

thankfully by 11:30 life was much happier. for everyone!

driven by mommy-guilt. {honestly....is that not the worst thing on the planet?} i thought i should take the munchkins out for lunch. Tim Hortons came to mind. then i remembered a Timmy's near Kristians' office. perfect! and daddy was even able to meet us.

the first person to come into the place after us, looked at my kids disapprovingly. getting judgemental....this looked seemed permanent on her. i warned you! judgemental. and the kids were behaving very well at that moment. Aidan chose a table. quietly! Kiara found a high chair and wanted in! happily! the woman mutters, "this isn't a day care". i'm not sure it was meant for me to hear or not. i chose to ignore the comment and chalk her up to being out in public for the first time in 40 years.

they weren't too bad during the meal. fairly delightful actually. they both ate all their food with little complaint. except for the tomatoes. and the lettuce. we are actually trying to raise mini carnivores....so that is okay.

after the meal, Kristian gives Aidan some money and encourages him to join the line -- by himself -- and order a box of "donut balls". {yes he came up with that one on his own!}

the kid looked ready to burst with joy!!

until mommy came over and asked if he knew what "donut balls" he wanted.

at that moment he ran over to the shelf to point to his choices...but slipped on the newly mopped tile floor. his pride was shattered and he had to give in to tears. he wasn't hurt badly. but bad enough to not avoid tears.

in the end he didn't get his "donut balls"...which is another story....with boring discipline and whiny behavior involved. but i was disappointed that the response from the staff was so cold. no apologies to him. or us. just a "what do you want?". and later a "can you pick up your box of donuts now?"

"donut balls" {love saying that phrase for some reason....} will have to be ordered another day. we'll try it again. at a different Timmy's. and we'll definitely be looking for a wet tile floor to avoid.

why do they mop during lunch hour? why not even a sign?


after a great deal of tears and frustration we got home. Kiara fell asleep quickly. Aidan watched Shrek the Third and i napped on the couch.

and it was hot outside!

nice to play outside for a bit. more chalk drawings. bike ride. teddy got to ride in a stroller.

and another miracle happened during supper. both kids were amazingly quiet. they ate quite well. Kris and i nearly died from shock.

Kris was doing some more work on the garage. i decided to drive the kids to a park in the river valley. we had gone there yesterday for a picnic supper. but got rained out.

and did they ever have energy!!!!!

glad i took them.
Kiara is big sister to her teddy bear. she had to bring "te-ber" with us. and his stroller! {i left it in the car....i wanted to take photos, not carry a stroller}

this was new. i have never seen them do this outside. i wonder what they are learning on tv?

typical. Kiara with bear securely under her arm.

notice the new footwear. Kiara is in between sizes or something. i haven't been able to find footwear that fits without socks. last week she got a blister from her sandals. i decided i needed to spend the cash on something that fit. and glad i bought Aidan a pair. saved some tears. so hard to know when they actually notice stuff like that and care.

yes. he is all boy. i got poked with that stick later.

so all the photos were only cropped...but just the edges. no other fixing or adjusting. it was a great evening to take photos.

i read recently to take a photo with the light source facing the subject and also the camera. hmmm....kind of tricky. it did help my brain as i remembered to try to not put my shadow over them, or have the sun behind them....there wasn't a whole lot of areas for reflecting the light....but i think i did quite well. especially for a point and shoot.

any advice on cameras to buy or avoid? we're thinking cannon eos. it has has good reviews. nikon is also good. we were thinking d60 with a really good lens. right now we have a sony cybershot with carl zeiss lens. i would love to stick with sony....but the reviews on the sony SLRs haven't been great.

and you may have noticed that i'm doing very well for someone who started her day with a migraine. yay for that! one of the side effects is a burst of energy hours later. it is sometimes handy. before i took the meds i would be in bed the entire day, but still feel exhausted from the pain. and i was sometimes in bed for nearly two full days. not fun. and definitely not an option with young kids running around and needing me either. now really, someone needs to make a pill for parents that bottles the energy their children have. if i could only have this much energy at the end of every day. well...even most of the days! anyways i'm just grateful that there is a pill that i can take. i cannot believe i went for so many years not even aware that something was available to help.

more fun

thinking back to what i did this week.

and what i did not do.

that stinkin' cold took too much time and life from us....i have decided. we're still not totally over it. at least we have our energy and enthusiasm for life back.

Aidan has been crawling into our bed during the night. don't hear or feel him come and join us. but wake up to have him right there! i guess we're good company? seems like it is me that has been waking up first and having to carry him back to bed. thursday night - or early friday morning - i could not get back to sleep after carrying the sleeping boy into his own bed. of course i was exhausted by morning. and you can picture me trying to drink my coffee and wake up. and convince myself that it will be a good day....yeah we've all had those!

so friday morning i was on my third cup and still not fully awake. successfully managed to knock my full cup onto my lap...and allowing my laptop to catch some of the spill as well. it was HOT!!! the kids had been playing nicely....until i jumped up and screamed. that stopped play really fast. Aidan took one quick look at me and saw my now coffee coloured nightgown....legs...floor....laptop....and he starts to cry. i believe that i woke up suddenly at this point. can't figure out why.

well. the ol' laptop seems to have survived. i hope that it isn't leading me on. i have my files backed up. just in case.

i think friday was one of those never ending days.

at least it ended much better than it began.

Kris' parents ate supper and watched the kids for us friday night. we have been able to get out once a week for a date night this past month. we still find that we are trying to recover from his previous job. we are just thankful that his current job is much better, and that they understand Kristian is only human and that there are only 24 hours in a day....truly that statement is not an exaggeration as it sounds. if you only knew....

saturday was much better. not that it was difficult to top!


the kids were happy to see grandpa again. funny...Kiara was hoping to see uncle John too. she has already figured out that when there is work to be done he should be around too.

this is one of Aidan's photos. his perspective. the two of them did get the large automatic garage door installed (minus the electricity!) by the end of the day.

this was funny when i came across it. oh Aidan. my budding photographer.

i guess this is how i look in the morning. at least i showered!

last night we had a friend-neighbour party at "the other Aiden's" house. yes we have an Aiden H. and an Aidan O. Aidan also took photos at the party. he was responsible for this photo of Erin's flower. i was impressed. i had just taught him why and when and how to use the macro setting. wish i learned stuff this quick!

and here is little Marcella. her mom is Jenny (on the left). Eliza is on the right. this is where pictures get frustrating. Eliza was making Marcella laugh....you can see that Marcella is watching and ready for the next giggle.

Kiara had a blast! i think this was her third popsicle? oh well. she did have a few chips to eat too.

this is Aiden H. and his daddy, Hamish. he just loves his boys. and all of the kids loved him! he was the official popsicle patrol.

can't see it. but Oliver is eating a popsicle. it looks like Erin is trying to see if he'll share?! and Jen has a hopeful look too. poor kid...having to face such pressure! we also have two Olivers. Oliver H. and Oliver L. Oliver L. is sitting on his daddy's lap. definitely daddy's boy!
there is a negative to Aidan "borrowing" my camera. like you hadn't guessed. i think he has touched my lens. there were a few cute photos but a little blurry. like this one. isn't this adorble of Oliver H. and his mom, Erin?

here is one of the group shots.
and the other side of the deck.

perfect size for hanging out. so fun to just walk over. kids got to play. adults got to enjoy ourselves. it was a win-win.

although i think any playdates will now have to be at Erins.....and i'm only half joking. man it was a kids' paradise!

Aidan and Ethan totally loved this racetrack. i never knew car racing could be so funny! they both shared quite well....still amazed....and each had a car. they took turns....again, totally amazing....and were shocked every time the car flew through the loop. i'm not surprised about these two boys specifically getting along...both good kids....but they are still preschoolers....

cute.

they had a rollercoaster track and a train track. i'd never seen anything like it. as you can see the boys loved it.

that is Ben in the background. he has an adorable and infectious laugh.

this is the one laugh i got from Kiara while she was riding it. she had a blast. even without popsicles or chips in her hand!

we may need to contribute to the battery fund......

another one of Aidan's photos. i think the blur here is due to a shaky hand. or a moving subject. i like this simply because it is a photo of Aiden taken by Aidan. did you catch that?!

the only person missing is Connor. crazy. he is so sweet and perfect for photos. i thought i got some of him with Kiara. (Kiara adores him and he is always very kind to her.)

so nice to have neighbors who are fun. and we all have kids the same age. love it!! it is so difficult to get all of us together at once. but we do manage to meet at the park or on the sidewalk. or even plan time to meet!

and maybe i'll take better photos next time. actualy have everyone. get the whole face. have a clean camera....just to name a few!

this is Aidan. watching.

yeah. who would have guessed?!

Kristian is anxious to get the shingles on the garage. and the doors and windows installed. my desire is to have a fence again. i hope that is near the top of the list....

well. i have a little girl who is grumpier than anything and refuses to nap today. and a son who is also tired but insistent on "helping" his daddy. and another trip to Costco needed.

our friend, Ray, is here giving Kris a hand with the shingles. i'm thinking they may be able to finish one side of the roof today. that would be great. Aidan also loves Ray. i can hear him talking to both of the guys like he's one of them....very cute. for awhile.

i wonder if i dare take both of them to Costco? the kids get cookies as a treat. i wish they had something for the adults. can you tell i'm "excited" about just the thought of the shopping trip?

i think i'll make a margarita and think about it some more. and if you're in the neighborhood {wink}....stop by and join me. and bring your kids. just keep them away from the margaritas!

excellent

scrapbooking material....


if only they knew!!


Friday evening it was a beautiful night. finally! we sat outside on the deck after supper and the kids had their chair set up on the lawn nearby. they spent some time playing in the yard and the sandbox. picking some "flowers" and filling the toy dump truck with their treasures.

at one point they had some snacks. very cute. they each had a water bottle. and a plate of animal crackers and dried cranberries.


we could hear the kids talking.

Aidan says, "i'm the daddy and you're the mommy."
Kiara says, "okay." {common response....her other common response is "no!"}
Aidan takes the dump truck and announces to Kiara, "i'm going to go find some kids now."

okay. soooo hard to not laugh in front of them.....


the next morning the kids were playing in the living room. Kris and i were not exactly "awake" at the same time they felt the day needed to start.... and often these days, Kiara is working out how to play nicely with others. at this point in her young life she tries to get away with smacking people on the head. joy. this particular morning, Kiara again felt the need to smack Aidan. frustration? boredom? if we only knew. after the dreaded smack, Aidan came into the bedroom to get some cuddling and comfort from me. as we're cuddling he says, "i want to send Kiara back. i want a new sister. she isn't good anymore. let's go get a new sister for me. okay?"

what do you say to that?

"sorry, son. she is here to stay. there isn't a return policy. we have to accept her and help her to grow. and treat others nicely."

on this particular morning....this response was not happily heard!

we did learn two things from Aidan. we believe that he thinks you can just go out and pick sisters. like at Costco. and if they don't work out, he apparently thinks that they can just be returned and exchanged.

both of these points are good to know!

now look at this sweetheart here.
does she not look innocent? smart? a great pal?
aaaawwww.....look at those two. gaining new knowledge from the local newspaper.

and actually, since the comment of getting a new sister, the two of them have had some amazing moments.

this morning, they played hide and seek.

they chased each other around the house.

and then they had a snack. my eyeballs nearly popped from their sockets after i realized Aidan had poured a bowl of raisin bran, and added milk....on his own....from a FULL 4 litre bottle!!! with very little spillage. deep breaths helped at this point.

they both sat so nicely. eating their "second breakfast". apparently i have birthed hobbits.

then the phone rang. and i talked for awhile. probably too long. definitely in a different room. {their chatter was distracting. and loud!}

need i say more?

no. but i will.

both were involved here. i know recall laughing. hmmmm.

and it was at this exact moment that Kristian stopped by to pick up something he forgot.

and i was still on the phone.

so glad that tomorrow is a new day. amen.

another day

to work on the garage project.

the weather has not been that suitable for outdoor work this week. we were very thankful that the sun was shining today. and for no wind!

one goal was to finish the sheathing of the roof.

by supper there was just a narrow strip along the top of both sides. that is Kris discussing the next step with his dad. at least that is what i think they were talking about. they might have been betting on the weather. who really knows....

the goal was accomplished. i just don't have photos of the completed roof. you'll just have to take my word for it.

the second goal was to replace the shingles (and the door....which we had been given the wrong one!)

no one out there offered their advice on the state of our design. so i guess there really isn't anyone to offend?! haha maybe next time you'll helpl me out. i know the photos were pretty poor....not like there was a huge difference between the colours anyway....

we knew that the mis-matched red shingles were out. the charcoal grey ones were in. that was the only thing we knew for sure when we woke up this morning.

our most favourite of all the colour options was sage. maybe if we really loved it and couldn't live without it...we do like the richer colours. so not our "dream colour". not that the shingles fit that bill either. my gosh! we are nuts. favourite shingle? what have we become?!

anyways. we stuck with white.

boring.

sigh.

one day. when we can pick our dream shingles, siding...or maybe not siding! this really is not our dream house. somewhere on some shore island. or some forest near the rockies.

for now. white works.

so the second goal for the day was to load, exchange, pick up and unload the shingles before the alley was impassable! they started on our alley yesterday. not that Kris couldn't have moved them to the front....but nice to save some work when we could!

or perhaps it is becoming a problem for me. watching Kris exercise his muscles as he lifts and carries heavy items.....guilt is not the word that comes to mind.

okay on to other topics....


Aidan was given a project of his own.

John used his truck to transport the shingles and the door. Kris needed to be there for exchange purposes.

Kiara and i drove in another vehicle to get in line to order the correct shingles and door...maybe save time? we hoped. besides i had other errands to do as well.

Aidan decided to stay back with Grandpa. and so they built a garage for Aidan's stuff. so no cute pictures of the two of them working. maybe that was part of the plan....hmmmm....we had some paint. so Aidan put on the first coat just before supper.

both kids woke up quite cranky today. sure enough they both have colds. tylenol and nasal spray were their bedtime friends. i'm feeling a sore throat coming on too. our summers are too short. colds and other illnesses should be outlawed! i can hear one of my aunts' voice: "we don't have time for this!" not that there ever is a "good" time anyway.....

so i believe that the next step is to add shingles. then the doors. i can't wait until the doors are on! if the kids knew what the doors meant for them....they would be begging daddy, gwampa and unca john to work fast -- and bothering them all a lot less too.

the other step that i can't wait for is getting our fence put back. and then maybe the piles of dirt and debris removed....

i totally forgot to share photos of our daytrip to watch the capital ex parade. another day.

must go. have a date with some tylenol too.

never

a dull moment...

let's start with yesterday. i arranged for a baby sitter. date night.

it took me a while...but i learned that traffic to my babysitters' house is really bad at 6pm. so we left an hour early and played at a park near her house. i think it helped to wear off some of their energy for her. i think?

isn't this cool?
and this. {he wore his spiderman shirt...how appropriate!}
love the focus on this photo. just too bad i cut off part of his forehead....
and Aidan took some more photos too.
not too many shots of this girl. a sign she loved the park!

and then this morning. thunder. hail. and monsoon type rain drops.
you can sort of see the hail as it lands on the deck.

they are moving along the alley working on the water lines. this rain trapped them in vehicles for a good hour, i think. i had to run and get something from the backyard...and smelled natural gas...uh oh...i don't think it has been a good day for these guys. just yesterday...or the day before?...they had to quit around noon due to the torrential rain. never mind having to work in mud, they have large puddles to contend with as well.

getting back on track with talking about date nights. last night we had supper. SO NICE not to have to worry about grumpy kids, loud kids, messy kids....haha then we went to some hardware stores. seriously it is a royal pain to take the kids to those places. they see the ladders for stocking/unloading shelves and they HAVE TO CLIMB. inevitably we spend half the time pulling them off the steps crying. and at least once - the normally non-existant staff - remind us that children are not allowed on the steps. honestly....yes off topic!...if you want help....take the kids because you will actually end up with a staff person nearby. it is nearly impossible to make a decision with the kids there....but at least you can find help!

some background....we bought our house with red shingles and grey-ish stucco. neither of us was a big fan. but all of it was old, and needed a change. so the day came to replace the shingles. can you believe that the red colour shingle "grew" on us. we pick red. earlier we chose white siding because none of the options at that time coordinated with red shingles. and we could not live in a house that was mis-matched. we have always gone on the assumption that we wanted something we could quickly sell as-is. so that was our theory.

then we decide to build a garage. at the time of all the decisions, life was crazy for me. i could not think about colour. kris and i need each other for these petty decisions. we decided to just match the garage to the house.

which looks like this. all the trim is also white. except for our screen doors. they match the roof.

then i took a peek at the shingles waiting to be put on our roof. they're in the driveway. and discovered that they are a little different. great. did it not occur to me earlier that i had a sample of our house shingles? Kris could have taken it to the store and done a match. sooo....they were special order. another problem. special orders have re-stocking fees. 25% a small price to pay for shingles that are different enough to be noticed. our new theory is that if the shingles are going to be different....they may as well be very different...and match our taste better.

honestly, our choices are still not my favourite.

but we need to make the best choice with what we have.

another thing? the siding is from another company. same colour, but different texture. more detailed.

remember we built a playhouse? our inspiration came from some homes we have seen along the coast. cedar siding. white trim. and our shingles....sort of a dark grey.

here is one of the shingles from the playhouse. our choices are sitting on top of it.

you can see our present house colour on the far left.

the new siding on the far right.

and some siding options in the middle.

soooo....

option one: keep the mis-matched red shingles

option two: replace the red shingles with the same as the playhouse and keep the siding white.

option three: replace the red shingles with the same as the playhouse and change the siding. maybe change the trim to black

there has always been the thought that we would re-build this house. we love darker and more earthy colours of siding and darker shingles and trim. it is trendy these days. the red shingles suit this house. but if we went larger or added a second story....we're not so sure.

oh and another thing. there is a cool new siding option available now. it is not vinyl. and it really looks like REAL WOOD. but no repainting and upkeep necessary. we love it. but not the price tag. WOW!!!! unless we are totally mistaken on how they priced it....it looks like it is over ten times the cost of vinyl.

TELL ME what do you think we should do!!!!

we're leaning toward option three. but our cardboard packages have been out in the rain since they were delivered. {who would have guessed we'd change our minds....vinyl can get wet....didn't concern us that the cardboard was ruined....until now!} we also wonder if the hardware store even cares about this.

silly

or

maybe crazy?!


busy days. hot days. rainy days. lazy days.

i suppose if the kids knew what they were talking about...this morning would probably be called a spa day?

Aidan and Kiara "did" my hair today.

then Aidan took a photo of Kiara and i....and the new hair-dos.

yup. still in pajamas. this was just taken. this photo is literally hot off the press....as in right now. okay. i think you get it! don't mind me....i have had to repeat myself to the kids half-a-million times this week.

he took a couple of good photos. the LCD display sure helped...i think. anyways....

for the record....i think we will encourage his photography skills more and less of his hairdressing skills. i think this is proof.

i'll pop in later with other news and exciting updates.

and the excitement

keeps building! {literally}


it started with the playhyouse. (being used as a shed for now!)

then they moved our natural gas meter from our basement to the exterior of the house.

then we knocked down the old icky garage.

then we started to build the new much improved garage.

we also can't forget the number of deliveries the kids have been entertained by. backhoes....dumpsters (yeah those are fun!)....gravel....lumber and mesh....garage package....more garage package...

and now....

they are replacing our water pipes. the kids have front row seats for this. cheap babysitting is also what i call it!

it is actually a neat operation to watch. i think i've enjoyed it nearly as much as the kids. friday afternoon Aidan perched himself on the railing of our front steps and watched all the action. one of the supervisors even came to our door and asked if Aidan wanted a closer look. so the little guy even got to sit in the seat of one of the trackhoes. he was totally thrilled.

so the concrete got poured on Canada Day. saturday they started on the walls.

see Aidan here. i'm sure he is overwhelmed with excitement!

Kristian is anyway. this shot was taken near the end of the day. i'm amazed he had strength to smile. he and his dad were exhausted...to put it mildly. with just the two of them, they were able to get 3 walls in place

and today there was more progress. they finished the fourth wall. and got the trusses up and one row of sheeting.

the package came with nails. the kind you need a standard hammer for. we're taking them back. thankfully we have a nail gun. Kris is getting more the hang of using it. and his dad is thankful for that! ....a few of the nails missed the stud (they were nailing the OSB from the outside, into the studs) and went right through the OSB. thankfully the walls were on the ground during these misses. we are all grateful that Kris will not quit his day job!!

and this is what it looks like after the weekend. i guess another half day and the roof will be completed. another day to shingle. another day to install doors and windows. another day to put the siding on. i'm learning that another day does not always mean one day or work. slowly that part is making sense.


so lots of building excitement in our lives. Kiara probably thinks this is normal. next summer should be boring for her. unless they repave the front street!

i found this cute stroller at a garage sale this weekend. it even has an infant carrier. she has logged a number of hours pushing "Teddy" in it already.

this morning Aidan went to play with his friends Kelley and Christopher. Kiara, Teddy and i went to the zoo. sometimes Teddy was in her stroller. sometimes he was carried. wherever he was he was shown to the animals. all very cute. our last stop on our visit was getting her face air brush painted. unfortunately i forgot to take a photo. that was weird. she loved it and sat so still. CTV had some cameras roving around. she might have been on TV tonight, but we missed it.

and the excitement just continued....

Uncle John brought Auntie Arlene and cousins with him. bike riding, park time, stomp rockets with a neighbor, sand box, toys, movie.....they were busy!

and so was Auntie!

both these past few days my excitement was cooking. as it has always been on these crazy work days! i cannot believe how much food gets cooked and quickly eaten. too quick even for pictures! and dishes. usually i BBQ. we've had steak, hamburgers, chicken and salmon. lots of baked potatoes. i cooked a roast today. i wasn't sure who would be here for supper, so i put a frozen one in the slow cooker this morning. it is very motivating to cook when you have that yummy smell permeating the house. then we had mashed potatoes. and rice. and corn. and hot wings. and jalapeno cheese sticks. and no dessert! it was a filling meal. but apple pie and ice cream really would have finished it off nicely....yesterday i made raspberry almond blondies from the martha stewart cookie book. they didn't last either.

i know i'm going to sound like a farmer. i guess i can get away with it. i grew up on a farm. but...what is with the weather?! this past week had been so weird. my neighbors have an amazing garden every year. hail really hurt them on tuesday. feels weird to put on sunscreen and then wear a raincoat.....

well off to rest for whatever excitement comes our way this week. after i unload the dishwasher, then load it for the second load!