wish i had thought of that!

check out this project from Hillary at Wee Wonderfuls....
check out her post and look at more detailed photos of this adorable quilt.

time

just keeps ticking away.

why do the fun moments speed by so quick? while the not-so-fun times take their sweet time?

i love those fun days with my family, like we had today. i was having a rough morning getting myself organized for the fall. it didn't help when princess kiara decided to host a royal tantrum at the public library. {seriously...every time i have gone to the library this summer, someone has been crying. no joke.} then i met up with some friends at a splash park. huge improvement. came home and had great community time with our neighbors.

our yard has now been titled "craft yard". just because the kids end up doing some kind of project when they visit! it started out with Aidan and his buddy making a transformer out of a cardboard box. Kiara and her friend painted a mural on another box. their mom and i visited and enjoyed the slow pace. now they know i have paint. and they ask for it. like today. the boys had been wanting to build a second transformer for a few weeks now. i finally replenished my paint supply. in total i had TEN children painting at one time. i know! {at least i'm getting smart with the clean-up!} i'm not sure if i should be more surprised over the number of kids in our yard at one time, or over the fact that i actually had enough paintbrushes and such to provide the opportunity. wow.





i cannot get over how much this boy has grown this year. he will soon be FIVE. one of those memorable years.

next week he and i will spend a few hours in his classroom learning his new routines. have i mentioned how thrilled i am with his teacher? i used to be one of her regular subs before Aidan was born. she IS amazing. I learned a lot from her! so. thrilled.

my only mama-sadness-reality moment is that he will be taking the yellow school bus. he is excited. i am excited for him. but hoping that he gets off at the right stop! which really should not be a concern because his sense of direction is already better than his own daddys'. i guess it is a mommy thing.



then there is little miss sunshine. she really is a barrel of fun most of the time. communication and understanding still have huge gaps for her. there are daily arguments over minor decisions. only because she sometimes confuses words like: open/close, up/down, in/out..... sigh. the THREE's are a pain at times.

yet i know that my baby girl will be so mature by this time next year. i'll miss those little disagreements over prepositions. last night she did her typical routine....coming out of her room with her list of excuses. finally she fell asleep. i didn't check on her until i went to bed. i found her in one of her princess gowns, sleeping. which was definitely not what we put her in to wear to bed. interesting. i would have left it one her, but she still has the odd night-time accident....and this was a brand new dress.

another night, i was chatting with a friend when i realized that she was in the bathroom. i opened the door to find her legs smothered in lotion. i was speechless. she looked at me, then closed the door slowly and politely. i hung up {after a shared chuckle}, opened the door again and carried her to her bed. what is a non-attentive mom to say? "well, Kiara, i think your legs will be very smooth in the morning." smart. she went right to sleep and slept soundly unti morning.

she will be in playschool. after two years of dragging her out of Aidan's classroom, she finally gets to stay. there is no exaggeration in that sentence. trust me.



yesterday they had their first official playdate without me. it was just a few doors down the path. Kiara got to play with another friend and do girly stuff. Aidan got to do his boy stuff....lego, video games, shoot 'em. they came home so happy. i think we should try and do this once a month. it makes more mess for one mom, while the other one gets a break {if you call cleaning and laundry a break?!}. however the kids are totally happy.

overnight guest

our two darlings woke up to a sweet surprise one morning this week.....






Cadbury came for a sleep over!






earlier this spring we stayed at a friends' house. Kiara was DELIGHTED that their eldest daughter had a pet bunny. she gave that bunny more attention than he had become accustomed to! my friend had told me that she needed to find a new home for him. i knew Kiara would adore a pet like this. yet, i also knew that it would mean we would need to find a new home for Kristian! we had a pet cat for several years, and each year Kristian's asthma became more difficult to manage. a lesson we don't care to repeat.









Aidan was trying to formulate plans of how we could keep the bunny at our house as a pet.

i was most impressed with his creativity!

we all have the best of both worlds these days. we are surrounded by neighbors who have child-friendly dogs. the kids get to cuddle and enjoy. the bonus being that i don't have any of the work associated with the pets!! as an added bonus, the kids often stop people walking dogs to ask if they could pet them. it kind of feels like we have a moving pet shop.... the best part is that Kristian is not suffering from the allergens.

as for Cadbury {is that not the cutest name for a bunny?!} he was just an overnight guest at our home. his new home is with my SIL and BIL. a new life for the little guy, but i'm sure he'll enjoy his new country home.

already missing this

today did not feel like summer. yesterday did feel like summer. i am crossing my fingers and toes that we still have many more of those kinds of days left.

i am doing some experimenting with increasing my photo sizes. whoa! these are big babies!! i'll find a happy medium. eventually.



speaking of summer....



any guesses what has these two jelly beans jumping?


and counting their money?


{apparently he can count....just not money. good thing he has some support in this area!}

our neighbor started the jumping thing. it was really funny the first time the ice cream truck came down the block. he gets soooo excited over ice cream. and freezies. and water. and kids. just the kind of boy that is fun to have around.


this is the fourth time the ice cream cart has come by our house.

the first time we were running out the door to a soccer practice. to our surprise he turned around and stopped the cart in front of our house. perfect timing. too bad i had no cash after all that trouble.

the second time we joined our littlest neighbor. hence the start of the jumping.

the third time my children and some friends a few doors down could hear the ice cream music for at least an hour. which meant that they kept running to the front of the house....in case they missed it. it was a long hour. three out of four of the kids bought a "spiderman with gumball eyes". one of the took a taste and said, "yuck!". the other two couldn't finish. which would be mine.

and now it is the fourth round. all ice cream customers gobbled their treats completely and quickly. the sun will do that to you! {and i have to recommend the Mango...but no guarantees it will be available again...the choices are always changing}

he claims this one tasted like coffee. but he didn't share. not that i would have given him my mango treat.

some kind of sour thing. looked disgusting. however, Kiara loved it. again, there was no way i was going to give her mine....


no sugary treat would be complete without a rush of sugar in the bloodstream.

it gave me a chance to test some new settings on my camera. try different effects. thankfully neither me nor my camera were injured.

this was earlier this week. they were like little piggies! splashed in the water. rolled in the sand. splased through the water. rolled and rolled and rolled in the sand. they were happy little piggies. not a complaint from any of us over the crazy fun they were having.

it was like cement! it wasn't until late afternoon that they were ready to get rid of the sand from their bodies. the air had cooled. the water temperature in the hose was not helpful. the sand was glued on. crazy! fun like that cannot be organized.

see? i need more days like this. lots of them. one can only hope that we have a beautiful fall. a very mild winter. followed by an early spring. surely summer will be longer and hotter next year?


at supper tonight, Aidan states, "i think Jesus forgot that he told us the weather was going to be hot today." ahhh. so cute.

cool stuff

back to school shopping gets more intense each year. wow! most years i have a huge stock of extra clothing for the kids that i've snagged at second hand sales. this year has not been so helpful. moving put a damper on that! it didn't seem like a great plan to buy more stuff that i had to pack. and then i spent so much time unpacking that i never had time to get out and find second hand stuff. hmmm... funny how that works.


Aidan was thrilled because he found a "Star Wars shirt all by himself". he can't wait to wear it. really. so far he's doing well with his patience.


Kiara, it turns out, loves to shop. it will be necessary for her to have a good paying job one day. she knows what she likes and doesn't like. all very interesting.


thankfully, my kids are not on to my deceptive methods yet. i agree to almost whatever item they choose. then some of those items get "left behind" on the way to check out.


i would like to know how a four year old boy can turn a perfectly good and whole pair of jeans into a useless pile of material in a day. i swear that a huge tear happens in minutes. too fast for my eyes to focus. it seems we all have our own deceptions.


i like to shop. i also like to window shop and dream. thank goodness for that!



for me. i have been eyeing these straps for awhile. this one by sugarpopcreactions even has a pocket for the lens cap. nice. wish i had thought of that one!

okay this one isn't for me. now that Kiara is actually growing hair i've been eyeing any kind of hair candy. this hair clip by louloudesigns would look so awesome with some of her new clothes. can you believe that she is wearing colours other than pink and purple? true! oh, one of our stops this week was at Clair's. it was so cute to watch Kiara! thankfully i found some elastics to get her to hold....slowed her down taking other stuff off the hooks. i think it is time to get her some jewelry. bracelets seem to be a favourite right now.

again, wish i had thought of this. mamamade is on to something. i would need at least a dozen. all in cute fabric.

which reminds me....

Amanda Soule has another book released. i will have to add that to my Christmas list....i loved her first book. mostly because it made me feel good. turns out i am doing some things right in terms of creativity with my kids. at least according to Amanda! hence the knitting adventures with Aidan and the painting escapes (or near misses) with Kiara.

off to do more dream shopping....

and

another weekend over.


this photo tells it all!!

{it also reminds me of how crazy my little girl can be. love days like this.}

rainy day

i was impressed with my planning abilities. until this morning.


before i crawled in to bed i made a list of things i needed and hoped to accomplish today. most of them involved a sunny summer day. rain was not a helpful participant. i guess i'm ready for next week?!

we're enjoying a lazy day. so far. we spent a few hours this morning making perler bead animals. good fine motor project. for mommy. now the kiddos are playing some creative and imaginative game upstairs. it is all quite peaceful. i can hear their laughter and yells every once in awhile. i have peaked in on them....very quietly....didn't want to disturb happy children! all is well.


since i am able to be by myself i thought i'd add some photos that i had wanted to add much earlier....



when i was nineteen, i moved to Canmore, Alberta to work at these cabins. Rundle Ridge Chalets. have you ever stayed there?! do tell. it was a tough job, but an overal great experience. the last time i stopped in to say hello was in 1999. TEN years ago! we stayed in one of the cabins that time. a little odd to sleep in a place that my only association previously was to clean it.

these cabins - TWENTY years ago! - were very rustic. mostly all cedar walls on the inside. little kitchens and bathrooms. each one unique.

so sad to see a "for sale" sign on the front of the property. Canmore has probably tripled in size and population since i lived there. there are resorts and huge new hotels. i'm sure the competition is tough. most likely these little cabins will be gone next time we drive by. i will miss the change in scenery.


we let Aidan use the Sony during our trip. he was THRILLED.

turns out he has a pretty good photographers eye. yes. this is one of his.

and this.

his composition is remarkable in most of the photos. like this one.

i think we need to print out his work. we learned something new about him too. he took photos of rocks. campers. people. flowers. trees. license plates. when we asked him why he took 10 photos of RV's that we drove past in a parking lot....his explaination:

"i want to remember those things."

hmmm....that sounds like a phrase i have used a lot since he was born. not that it is possible to influence your children by your own actions.....thankfully this was not a bad thing to learn and digital prints are optional.

this was at home. Kiara sees art in a different way. she also enjoys a good mess. here is proof of that!

what are some great ways to waste time on a rainy day?

gratitude in the everyday

busy week!


the grasshoppers are everywhere. i have never LOVED the creatures. which puts them on a level playing field with all bugs. but they are fascinating to look at. my smart boy reminded me that they like to eat plants. so we shoooed it away!

last weekend, we visited my in laws. brought home some yummy fresh garden goodness. peas. carrots. potatoes. swiss chard. zucchini. onions. i'm told that there is more to come!

this is a miniature version of our former sandbox. the design is being carefully guided by our resident "bumble-bee" and "pink piggy".

they keep us on the up and up.

literally!

they took a break and went to day camp together last week. which got Kiara singing all types of tunes about "daycamp". they also let their anniversary-celebrating parents have a few days - and a night! - to themselves. life is a party for these two.

i also announced some amazing news on my scrapbooking blog. i will have a layout published in Canadian Scrapbooker in December. i've had some good friends (and a certain husband of mine) bugging me for a few years now to send in some of my work....but i kept telling them that my stuff was not magazine worthy. annoying friends (and husband)....they didn't get off my case!! sooo apparently i also have to admit that THEY WERE RIGHT, AND I WAS WRONG!! oddly, that fact does not upset me...Kristian is doing the happy dance with me. and also chanting, "i told you so" repeatedly. it is a rough and tough life i lead.....

14 years

14 years.

5, 114 days.

122, 736 hours.

7, 364, 160 minutes.

THRILLED that this clock has not stopped......and continues to tick away....

happy anniversary to my one and only sweetheart!!!

soooo to celebrate....we took our little darlings out to Chuck E. Cheese tonight! i think it did help to show them that this is something important to celebrate.

no worries....because i'm sure you are thinking we are insane....haha....we also plan to celebrate by ourselves...maybe even have an entire night away from our little darlings. we'll see how life goes.