smiles

who ever said being two was boring???

not sure if it is the expression or the combination of the expression and the "props" that makes me smile....

funny

the kids have enjoyed our trips to Fort Edmonton this year.


on this last trip, they were excited to see the chickens.


and even more excited to see the "big chickens"....

seriously, turkeys are not the brightest of creatures. yet they aren't totally dumb.

these turkeys all walk together in a pack. very interesting. and we totally thought we heard them laughing....

so tempting to buy a few of these novelty hats....

you can understand.

they also had a moose and a bison hat. and yes they even fit adult heads!

first

time for a big girl birthday party.

Aidan still talks about his second birthday party. i'll never forget the smiles he shared that day. Kiara was only a month old and i nearly abandoned the idea of addition work. now i'm so happy that i put the work into it.

at the time he loved Bob the Builder. i found some plastic hard hats at a party store, so when the kids arrived they each added foam stickers to their own hat and wore it for the party. i had made yellow and orange play dough and they moved onto that activity. a few of them moved on to other toys. i had also set out a few Bob the Builder puzzles.

then we had a paper bag lunch on a blanket in the living room. they were so cute. i think they all had their hard hats on, and ate their lunches so happily. i had put in drinking boxes and some other fun lunch treats; but their moms made the sandwhiches to their liking.

and of course the cake continued with a construction scene.

their goody bags had some Bob themed stickers, the playdough they played with and some other typical goody bag stuff. but the goody bags were also paper bags. really it was a simple party and quite inexpensive to put on. construction is a good theme for little boys!

we gave him a train set shortly after Kiara's arrival....though it was actually his birthday present. a few of the vehicles were perfect for the cake! i need to go through those photos...i took a lot and only developed a few. i should do something with them that Aidan would like to look at.

i'm not sure if we encouraged Aidan more to enjoy a favourite character. it just seemed so common at the time. maybe we could have encouraged Kiara to "like" Dora?

whatever.

after Easter Micheals' had some leftover pink pails that looked adorable for goody bags. complete with feathery trim!

i found some tinkerbell party stuff on cheap sale at Superstore one day. i figured that would be a good theme. lol. caring mother. or maybe smart mother?

a trip to the dollar store did not help us find more tinkerbell. but we found princess stuff. and fun treasures for the goody bags. done!

Aidan found number candles.

then we had to start the party list.

given the princess theme, it limited it to girls only. and it was meant for Aidan to also have disappeared. as it was he had to stay home, but certainly enjoyed all the estrogen in the air!

so the party was planned. with a weeks' notice. yup!

and if you've been following, you'll have noticed that this past week was rather crazy for me. i don't think i mentioned my lower oven element burning out. or the ruined meatballs that had to be cooked under the broiler. or discovering that our BBQ is out of propane. why not?! for some reason it didn't register in my brain that i would need a working oven to bake a birthday cake. hmmm...

off we went Saturday morning looking for something that would be special for a little girl birthday bash. first stop - closed. ugh! second stop - that is the price? kicking myself for not ordering something ahead of time...but still wondering where i would have found the time...i swallowed hard and paid the bill with my eyes closed!


yeah. they were cute cupcakes. and tasted as good as they looked too!

one of the little girl apparently does not like cupcakes. she had two.

and before you get all "wow", i have to confess that the little girls had mini-cupcakes. Aidan was our resident boy...so he had a "big" one. and made himself a cake-hero in their little eyes!

they were nut free too. i'm reminding myself to be safety conscious....could not guarantee that in my kitchen....okay, i peeked at the bill a tiny bit.

i wondered what little girls do. Kiara loves to cuddle teddy bears and baby's them. and she loves to play whatever interests Aidan. i suppose that will change. i love three of the girls in their dresses...playing Rescue Heroes with Aidan. sigh.

love this photo.

can't wait to do a layout with it!

got my photos from Costco today. two boxes. wow. must be more intentional to stay caught up.

we made it!

and we had a chance to enjoy the fall season...with great weather too!

it has been a busy week.

so glad that we have survived. so far.

Kris has had one of those crazy weeks. a job that was supposed to just mean a long day last Friday...turned into all weekend....then all week long days....and now another weekend. ugh.

it is intended to end on Sunday. i'll believe it when i see it!

this company has been good to all of us. but this is probably the second time since May that we've had a crazy spell.

so nice to let loose a little!

the kids have done fairly well adjusting to all the changes. i know it has been hard on them having both of us away for long periods at the same time.

it was also one of my busier weeks.

i had my very first contract signing with the school board. i thought i was going to sign just a couple of papers...ten minutes and out of there. hmmm. at least we only have to ever do this once. apparently after this first "outing" our contracts can just get truck mailed to us!

and i can't forget "Meet the Creature Night". otherwise commonly known as "Meet the Teacher Night".

the kids were cared for by others during the morning. then i had to hire our babysitter to come in two evenings this week. we joked that she was at our house more than her own this week. if we didn't count sleeping hours. we love her. last night i came home...exhausted...and she surprised me by cleaning the main floor of the house. she admitted that she was just about to start on the basement when i got home. shoot!

Aidan is in playschool three afternoons a week. has that ever worked well with me working mornings. i'm so glad that he doesn't have to miss. or that i don't have to arrange for transportation for him too. he loves it. today the school had a pirate day. his teacher shared some of her pirate tattoos with the kids. he loves the program and his teachers. and they love him....and it's obvious. so glad that they are all happy. it is hard when the story is not like this.

he was up early today too. by the time playschool time came he was pretty tired. he had a tantrum. not a big surprise. when he calmed down he said, "mom, i want to go to school and see what they have for snack!" last year he ate pretty much the same thing every day....it was packed by me. i had no idea that a new snack each day would be so exciting. he did go. but later on he commented - not sure to who - "playschool tires me out!" i wonder where he heard that from?! the first day of school he was so tired that he barely had energy to eat supper. which was expecially noteworthy because it was a burger and french fries....it was also the first time i noticed how much he and Kris look alike when they're tired.

if anyone has seen the area where i have all my scrapping stash you would have an idea about the amount of paper i have. Aidan gets the rejects and leftovers. he is well stocked. another cute comment after school one day, "they have A LOT of paper at school." i like that they encourage the kids to participate in a crafty activity each day. and there is an area that has a lot of materials for them to create their own art. i love it when he makes a picture or something. it's kind of like i shared in his day. on the same day he noticed the amount of paper...he made a picture for me. he wrote his name. and he wrote mine. which suspiciously looks a lot like his! haha i'm so proud of it and i've got it hanging in the classroom at work.

and this one is adding to the extra work. we went to my favourite restaurant for her birthday. Aidan suggested it. Kiara still hasn't learned that she has power to suggest things like this! i liked his suggestion. i'll have to see if my photo turned out with the "smoking" ice cream volcano. one of the kids meals is a teriyaki salmon and noodles and brocoli. for the first time Aidan was actually interested in the choices on the menu. he chose the salmon over a burger, chicken strips, pizza....and he loved it! i dressed Kiara up in a cute pink dress. i'm not sure if she even realized it was HER birthday. even after singing to her.

tomorrow she has a few of her little friends coming over to eat cake with her. we'll see how 4 two year olds in one house make out! i have to go out and pick up a birthday cake for her too. a few days ago my oven element literally burned out and there hasn't been a moment to replace it. divine intervention?

i was exhausted by lunch today. well, even before lunch. we all were.

i had heard that our pleasant fall weather may not be lasting for very long. and i still hadn't painted the playhouse! i knew it would frustrate me to look out during the winter and be reminded of the craziness.

i am still in shock at how i managed it. perhaps some more divine intervention? Aidan was at playschool. Kiara was napping. i had a three hour window. if i was lucky.

i have to confess that the back side is not painted. it's close to the fence and we have junk stashed behind it. that is another frustration. but i won't get into that now. i am not sure if i want to paint the railings on the veranda white or leave them as is. i'm not sure how the roof and such will be finished either. Kris built those out of cedar. so i don't want to paint them unless i know for sure. at least there isn't a rush for that.

i was not sure about the colour in the beginning. i was looking for something that would look a lot like weathered cedar. in colour. i've told Kris that planks of cedar or cedar shakes would be my preference for the siding. it's on "THE LIST". yeah. i think most of us have one of those.

all that to say....this is what i accomplished in three hours. and i don't intend to do more this year. i even had time to bathe and wash the paint off my body. hang out with Kiara and have a snack before it was time to get Aidan.

and how could i forget the last extra event that happened that we didn't need this week. our phone service went bonkers. honestly could we have packed more into five days? shudder at the thought. it really wasn't too much of a surprise when i forgot about the phone repair and made alternate plans. then got that "where are you" phone call from the company and had to quickly alter the plans!

i'm glad it is the weekend.

but i'm truly living for Monday. maybe it will be a more "normal" week.

one can dream.

happy birthday number two

hard to believe she is two. already. sigh.




Kiara is the one who keeps us laughing.


running.


shaking our heads.


wondering...

this look says it all.

birthdays in our house are a big deal. {except when it is the husband and father....and his birthday is on the wrong day! we'll make it up to you, honey!!}

the birthday person wakes up to balloons and streamers. lots of them. the presents usually wait until the end of the day when we are all together.

except this year.

Kiara did get the balloons and streamers. although it confused her i think. but her present was done differently.

Kiara LOVES stuffed animals. she pours the love on them like you wouldn't believe. we do think that she will one day learn how to use those stuffies to make others happy. it's either that, or we find a room devoted to these quiet pets. we took her to Build-A-Bear at the mall.

she got to choose her stuffy.

thank goodness it was a dark colour! she chose a black lab.

... "stuff" her puppy.

then her puppy was given a heart.

and a kiss. so cute!

they could also "fluff" the fur.

as you can see Aidan also got a puppy. i think it was more fun for Kiara that way.

and here is the newest teddy bear family.

yes the puppies go everywhere with them. i hope it will be something Kiara will remember.

she is a little confused about her birthday. she does remember daddy's birthday. whenever we refer to today being Kiara's birthday, she always says, "birthday. daddy. daddy birthday."

cute!

big day

tomorrow.....

that we know well.

someone who can be very

yes. Kiara

where has the time gone???

so thankful to celebrate

another year

with this wild one.

whir!

wow.

not quite sure how this week went so quickly. seems like i said that last week too.

definitely feeling better about the work side of things. the prep work is different than what i am accustomed to. there is no marking. but i have to remember details a little differently. a different kind of challenge. but i'm working it out.

i had hoped to have completed my photo picking and have them printed by now.

and from that list of photos i had hoped to generate a second grouping for a couple of mini-albums. along with that the plan was to put together a couple of projects that could be for classes at Urban.

hmmmm....

now i find myself instead thinking of the bulletin board display or a possible craft for the class.

on thursday i had a HUGE brainwave. it was like i had suddenly finished a race and had that chance to catch my breath..... so now i have a plan for crafting ideas for the kids - who are interested - and to take care of that bulletin board problem. my TA's - Dymphna and Erna - hadn't heard me talk crazy before, so i think i scared them. but they're on board and excited too. they were maybe worried that i was going to implode...or worse, explode and they'd have to clean up! who can blame them?!

i LOVE our class. i've been working in classes like this since 2002, and i know that there are very few classes that are as amazing as this one. not that we're getting it easy or anything. but they are interested and excited. how can you not enjoy being around kids like that? D and E and i make a great classroom team. i love that we respect each other, listen to each other, and feel comfortable enough to speak up if it is called for. again i know how rare that is.

i have been taking photos of the kids in class. but i can't share them here. i played catch up with Kiara and Aidan this weekend in the photo department. i'll try to work on those photos soon and share our happenings before next week is over!

that brain wave has also brought me back to my photo and scrapbooking goals. so happy about that!


Saucy has a blog that i enjoy visiting every now and then. she writes regularly, so i sometimes get behind. she is from Saskatoon. that city is like an oasis in the desert. truly.

since i don't have any photos of my own to share....go here and check out the photos that Saucy gathered from Flicker of her hometown.

my mom lived most of her childhood in a very old house a walk from the river. one of those three story, early 1900 homes. 923 - 7th avenue north. i think she figured out once that Farley Mowat must have lived in the same neighborhood....not sure how she learned that one. once a year - usually, but sometimes twice - we drove the 8 hour trip from "the farm" to "the city". if it was a Christmas trip then it was always dark when we got to grandma and grandpa's house. it was quite a sight for a country kid to see how the city lights lit up the night sky from a long distance away. i remember staring toward the glow and watching it get larger...knowing we were getting close. the other fun part about traveling that time of year was seeing homes along the highway (and city) all lit up with Christmas lights.

it was fun looking at the photos and remembering the few places that we saw.

we always went for a "walk around the block".

a treat was to go to the corner store and buy candy. the only time we ever got candy outside of Halloween.

watching the city buses whiz past the house...sitting in the veranda, of course. this was always fun at night when the inside of the busses were all lit up!

better yet, getting to ride a city bus. our destination? the Army and Navy store downtown. hoping to eat crinkle fries and drink pop at the A&N cafeteria....which was designed to look like a ship. very cool to a kid. and we fought over who would get to pull the cord and make the bell ding. apparently i was really excited to do this once and pulled it several bus stops in advance. i remember having to walk a long way home and feeling tired that day....i wonder why that decision was made?

a few times we were taken to the Mendel Art Gallery. they had a greenhouse with walking paths and rivers filled with money.

Kinsmen park had a carousel, ferris wheel and a mini train. maybe it had more stuff, but it wasn't important to me at the time. we always went for a train ride. i loved the tunnel. and the ride was always too short. my favourite was the horse carousel. i remember being sad when we didn't go to this park during a visit. i think that may have been the first time i ate cotton candy.

it was fun to see the photos. and amazing how a photo brought back memories!

i wonder what i would think of some of these places now as an adult? would my own kids enjoy them as much as i did? crazy to think of the progress made in kids play places in the last thirty years....

remember when a playground with a tire swing or merry-go-round was the best?

happy birthday number one

my one and only had a birthday yesterday.

i have to confess that i married a younger man. lol. now he is my age!!



he has always had the short shaft of the stick when it comes to his birthday.

one year it snowed. he always says that the weather is never nice on the day of his birthday. {i remind him that at least he doesn't have to worry about frostbite. mine is in January!} he remembers getting a terrible mark in his penmanship in grade five on his birthday.

then he marries a teacher. and if you know any teachers, you'll know that they are busy 10 months of the year, but September and June are the busiest and most frantic.

yeah, you figured that out.

after work - on his birthday - i took the kids to a few stores and bought birthday stuff. then we went out to a restaurant that he chose. {Aidan thought we should have "yellow noodles" - aka kraft dinner - for supper....hmmmm....that would be at the bottom of Kris' list of favourites!}

so the poor guy went off to work with a couple of rushed happy birthdays. but when he came home we had balloons and presents.

to Aidan's great dismay. no exaggeration on dismay. we did not have a birthday cake for daddy. never mind that we kept telling him that there will be one...just later with Daddy's friends. Aidan has a birthday in just over a month. he may be worried about his own birthday cake being in jeopardy!

i have to start planning now....i know October will be here far too soon.

i am still trying to adjust to our "hot" summer ending.

sigh.

and another

first day of school

this afternoon it was Aidan's turn to have a first day of school.


i was more prepared for this first day this year and wanted to make it more special. the two of us went out last night and bought a brand new pair of shoes. {although he was disappointed today to learn that they would have to stay at school!} i also made sure he had pants that fit and a shirt that was clean before we left the house! that must count for some points.


he was excited.

and i was not one of the parents crying as i left the school!

Kiara wasn't happy. how dare i show her this great place and then drag her away. but she should hopefully sleep and forget about the fun her big bro is having without her.

i have a list to take care of. so this afternoon could take forever and i won't mind.


if one of the sad parents heard that they would probably think i'm the meanest mother ever.....haha! it is hard on him to have to be quiet in the afternoon while Kiara tries to sleep. and he misses his playmate. now 3 days of the week he will at least get to enjoy himself. it's good all around. and we all like winning situations.


{and by the way, my first day at school with kids was great. only a few parents near tears. hopefully they took my advice and went out to enjoy themselves.}

whoa!

i was trying to think if i could have packed more into this week. considering that last week at this time i was not working nor had any thoughts of work!

Tuesday was day one of work. which continued into the afternoon. then a playschool meeting after supper. and a migraine tablet completed the day!

yesterday was day two. got my hair done in the afternoon. and then a meeting for the mom's group i help organize. and another migraine!

today was day three. and i had an early one to boot. later today i would like to take advantage of a sale at Payless and hopefully get Aidan some school shoes. but right now is the first moment in a long time i've had to myself.

and then tomorrow it's Friday!!! and a second first day of school. it is the first day that the kids will be at the school.

which means Aidan starts playschool. another first day of school.

did you ever see "Groundhog Day"? the movie with Bill Murray where he lives the same day over and over again....kind of feels like my week. in one sense.

thankfully the transition to work is going as well as i could think possible. the kids have been very cooperative - so far! - with the early mornings and getting ready. one to two days a week they do get a break and get to stay here. but still i'm glad that they are also doing well. we'll get some kind of routine going. and then the contract will be over, so we'll have to start a new routine...

the one amazing change that has come about is that Kiara will get to play with a girl her age twice a week. her first regular playmate that is her same sex and age!

Aidan has done well for friends at his young age. he has a few that he sees regularly these days. this is one of those happy moments for him.

looking forward to what these next few years have in store for this one!

they both made new friends a few weeks ago. friends of the furry variety. furry creatures, teddy bear or real always grab a kids' attention. fortunately a teddy bear does not care how you hold them...which does not offer any comfort to the live furry friends....

and man! we have three birthdays coming up to plan. this could be very interesting.

i'm also trying to carve out time to finish sorting and printing photos....that goal got pushed back.
then i need to do something scrapbook related with those photos....

it will work. it always does.

our official

mouse count....


is now at 8 babies.

Aidan came upstairs this morning to announce that he "saw a mouse. it was running along the wall. i saw all the body parts. eyes. ears. and the tail!"




according to Yahoo!Answers....the accurate source of all information, i'm sure. there are 5 to 10 mice per litter.

will we find 2 more?



i'm giving the photo of the baby mouse to Kayla. she can treasure it forever.
we do think that she has probably had her winner for "most exciting babysitting experience, ever". somehow i don't think that kind of incident is part of a babysitting course. we should probably give her a reward.



since i am now "going back to school" myself, i had some shopping to do. one has been on my list for awhile. but i figured i'd better make time for it now. bra shopping. it really is not my favourite. it ranks up their with swimsuit. i really do not know what it has to do with underwear....but they had plastic, bath bubble filled, mice heads. $1. the kids will be thrilled.



kind of funny. i'm not even sure what to bring to my first day of work. a suppose a pen and a pad of paper will be helpful? coffee mug for sure. i am excited that i'll be able to have pictures of my family on my very own desk. and it will be nice to be the one who plans the day.


i have been trying to prep Aidan for lots of early morning, going to work and babysitting routine. it's a tough way to start the day for all of us. tonight i asked him if he could take mommy to work tomorrow. his response? "mommy, i can't drive a car." good point. dumb question.


that boy has had a lot of interesting statements lately.



{i made the mistake to go to Children's Place today. spent as much time in line as i did shopping. and the line got even longer as time went on. so glad that neither of the kids came with me. lucky for them too.}