celebrating

i picked up some glittery embossing powder on Friday. Ancient Gold and Enchanted Gold. can't go wrong with names like that!

i was anxious to give them a try...




my little princess loves to get dirty. she  loves to stamp. i also discovered {after my yellow stamp pad now appears blue} that she loves to blend and mix colours. despite staining my light coloured pads...she did get some neat effects from this blended stamping.

note to self: buy a rubber roller for her to blend colours on.

there is something about heat embossing. the kids are drawn to it. watching the powders melt and become shiny and glittery. mesmerizing.



our annual Kids Helping Kids art and card sale was scheduled for Sunday. so was the Christmas party hosted by Kristian's company. this year i sent a flyer with Kris to work. the owner of the company suggested that the kids set up a table at the party.

great idea! i would never thought of asking that myself.

in discussion with my friend and collaborator {ha! at times} Gloria, we decided the kids should not split up our time or cards between the two sites. instead put out their display and cards at just the kids' party.

i was hoping the kids would raise at least $100 towards the whole fundraiser. it wasn't part of the advertising for the party. most of the people were parents with young kids. i did wonder about the interest it may generate among the kids and create some inspiration for what they can do for others. seriously i am always impressed with my kids' desire to help others, and have a good attitude about it. i think it will always be meaningful for them to look back and see that they used their talents to help people they did not know when they were only toddlers and preschoolers. if they can make a difference at that age...think of what is possible for them as a teenager...adult.

i am thankful for the Stollery. i am thankful for healthy children and pray that we don't have to know the greatness of the hospital firsthand. my kids don't have a great understanding that some kids just spend too many days fighting illness and disease and have to spend Christmas in the hospital.

the owner {of the company Kris works for}, his wife, and their boys know differently. they are thankful for the care and medical expertise. their son had to have a heart transplant at 6 months old. he is now a teenager and doing well. 

one of the kids joined the art sale after having lost his sister suddenly a few months ago. he was happy to help.

many thanks to one of my bosses', Pat for donating the biggest box of paper and scrapbooking goodies my kids had ever seen. we split it up among all the kids {much to Aidans' dismay....he did get first picks despite wanting the entire box to himself!}. much thanks as well to Urban Scrapbook for lending me some display stands too.

here is more info about Kelley and the fundraiser she began:

ctv news, Edmonton, 2009

Special Event Rentals (past sponsor)

this is our little display. it is our third year being part of the fundraiser. it definitely felt weird to not be with the others!

however it turned out great. you see, Santa also attended the party. never hurts to get a word in with the man in red!

well. my expectations were far surpassed. my kids raised $785 for the Stollery Children's Hospital. donated by parents of young children. and a few grandparents. my kids don't know the difference yet between $10 and $100. they were just happy that people liked their cards well enough to buy them. it was important for them to leave the party with fewer cards than they brought. they knew that one card would make a difference.

combined with the sale at Gloria's house, it looks like the kids raised nearly $2500 for the Stollery Children's Hospital.

well done kids!!


and our two darlings were able to have a chat with the man in the red suit....


Aidan wants a good Beyblade and for Santa to surprise him.
Kiara wants a pink nutcracker. (after seeing one at HomeSense last week.)

they crack me up!

i don't have a photo of Kiara with Santa. missed the chance when she ran up to hug him when he entered the room. missed it again when she budded in front of 40 children, sneaking between the elves to an empty lap. not even when she sat on his lap after Aidan to try and get another gift. she is quite the girl!

catching up

it has just been one of those seasons!

i remember laying in bed one morning a few years ago and thinking that soon enough my mornings would not be off to a slow start.

i'm not a morning person. it was a treat to not HAVE to get out of my pj's every day. sometimes it was nice to cuddle with my babies and read books in bed. or talk about teddy bears and dreams. or just lay in bed quietly while i could hear the kids rustle around. {i knew i was okay as long as i could hear them....it was when it was quiet i knew i was in trouble!}

after the kids had their breakfast and diapers changed i'd take care of myself. they would be fed, rested and happy. i had coffee and some breakfast, my laptop or magazine or television. and i could slowly come to life.

there were many days these past few months when i wished myself back to those days....

then i realized that those "quiet" mornings were really only an hour in length.

i had forgotten the toy clean-up duty. diaper duty. missed the toilet duties. not napping grumpies. or just plain ol' grumpies.

but if i could just turn back the clock to enjoy that one hour again....

i enjoyed having babies and toddlers more than i ever thought i would. here my kids are today with plans and thoughts all their own. no more short stubby legs. no more big diaper bums.

as much as i have fond memories of those days, i am thankful for where we are today. they are older. more independent. make me laugh. cry. scream. but i don't have to worry as much about leaving stuff laying around. {note i said 'as much'. yes.}

one activity i heard about last year was Rainbow Pancakes. as it happened it was shared on another mom's blog. a blog who happened to have a lot of readers. some with some very vocal opinions! she got a major backlash from some who could not believe she fed her kids food with food colouring. it was quite the event!

the day after Halloween, Aidan did not have school. once Kiara was home from preschool i suggested rainbow pancakes as a lunch idea. it came up after Aidan asked me if i would eat green eggs and ham. see? life gets interesting as they get older!




i can't remember how the blogger did it. {can't recall which one she was...sorry! but i did find her link on a post on NittyGritty Jody's blog}

for my method, i mixed the batter up first. then separated it into bowls.

added a few drops of food colouring to each one. you really only need a few drops. then stir.



you can see they got golden brown on the sides. but the colour is still apparent. we each got one pancake of each colour.



some syrup and chocolate milk kept us happy and flying high the rest of the day. not really. but we enjoyed them and made some great memories. Kiara was determined to eat ALL of hers. not sure where she found the space!


we also had a pleasant surprise that week.



yup.
first tooth is outa' there!
i do believe that it was the first tooth that grew in too. it took nearly as long to grow into place as it did to loosen enough to pop out. it popped out at the end of the school day. as he was walking to meet me. after i cried, i shook my head at the thought. we had just checked the tooth the night before and figured it still had a few days or weeks of life left!

today was another school holiday. a good day to remember the freedom that was fought for us.

the community school had a great presentation yesterday. the kids made wreaths as a class and hung them in the gymnasium. i have video but no photos. each child traced and cut out their handprint from green construction paper. then they made poppies and glued them on top. there were different variations of the wreaths. Aidan was thrilled to be able to read a poem with his classmates.

we had a somewhat quiet day. the kids spent several hours making cards for their upcoming fundraiser. can you believe it is their third year an a row doing this? Kiara surprised me that first year when she joined in. she needed a lot of assistance, but did very well. she loved glitter glue. ha!

after each card Aidan will come to me and ask, "do you think i need to stop here?" it's really funny. he has been saying a lot of funny things lately. last night he prayed that God would keep ALL his teddy bears on his bed, beside him, all night long. too too too cute! he said something else today, but it has slipped my mind already.

i am not sure if life is slowing down, or if i am getting used to the busy-ness. there is still a long list of 'to-do's. i've reached that point where i am ready to paint some walls and make some decisions on picture placement. considering it took us several years - without children - to take action on that in our last home....i guess we aren't doing too bad. painting that house would have been delayed too, i'm sure. but those cotton candy pink walls had us crazy the day we moved in!

for now i remind myself {when i can} that the walls and laundry and cleaning will ALWAYS be here. but this special age of my kids will not. some days are free enough to sweep up the dust bunnies. other days, we'll just have to ignore the hand streaks on the bathroom mirror. {among the list of many things you find in a lived-in home.} such is life.

round the corner

we have a lovely woodland trail near our home. a favourite of ours. it is usually quiet. there are a few spots where you go around a corner and the trail disappears behind you. we have Aidan trained now to ride only as far as he can see us, then to wait until he spots us or ride back to where we are. the first few times we took the path and he disappeared were a little frightening. it is quite the dilemma to be thrilled on one hand that he has reached this level of independence. but it is also scary to realize that we have a little less control!

the little trail has us fooled into thinking that we are so removed from streets and roads. there are logs and thick bushes to explore. wild strawberries and the largest wild raspberry patch i've ever seen.

Aidan loves to ride the trail as fast as he can. Kiara loves to take in every detail. and i am caught in the middle trying to accommodate both of their desires.




this is the point where we all know the winding trail is over. this is also the only point of the trip where we must take it together. unity. once we cross the road the trail changes. no more gravel. it is an easy and quick trip. the destination is visible. they know that the playground and bike track are soon to be reached.






winter is so dismal. this year we weren't even allowed to enjoy the yellows, golds and reds of the changing seasons. the past few years were rich in the autumn colours and we were blessed.

i love to see the spring buds. even the weeds make me smile at this point!

i am thankful that there is more than one kind of tree. spring would be so boring if we only had spruce or cedar or elm trees.




the park is much more fun without snow suits and heavy winter boots.

i was looking at old photos a few weeks ago and saw baby photos of the kids when we played at the park. they have grown so much. they love to hear stories of what they were like when they were "little". they are great kids. so different from one another. but yet so very similar. it is interesting how they are a mix of us, as well as having some aspects completely different from us.


here is a recipe for Baked Alaska desert:

allrecipes.com

you can also watch Gordon Ramsey make one here.





i did not follow either recipe exactly.

for the cake i used the cupcake tops. then i added one scoop of the ice cream on top of them.

i did follow the meringue recipe for egg whites, sugar and cream of tartar.

i don't own a cooking torch. besides i am sure i would never be allowed to own one! have you seen me with fire? ha! besides it was much more fun to put the desert into the oven and really make a show out of it all.

i was thrilled to learn that you can make them ahead and freeze them for a few days. just be sure to encase the entire desert in the meringue. it is actually a fun science lesson too.

a weekend of events

the highlight of the weekend was the long awaited AWANA car race.


starting in January the kids were each given a package that contained a block of wood and a set of wheels. they set out to design their own race car.

both of our kids wanted to do their own design. Kristian helped with the cutting and carving of the wood. tricky with the limited wood working tools he has. i helped with the painting and finishing touches.


Aidan's design was a blue truck with red flames. i also found some red, black and clear gems that worked well for his lights.

Kiara's was pink and pink. definitely her own! she is totally into layering paint and stickers.




as you can see, not all kids did all the work on their own. in some cases it was completely a parent project! but pretty cool designs over all.

the youngest kids went first. they had about 4 races in all and the time sped by.



they would get called to sit in the "on deck" area and be given their car.




when it was their turn, they placed their car in the appropriate track.



ran down to the other end of the track and waited for their car to finish. Aidan's car was in the "red" lane.



the race officials would then pass the cars on to the kids. it was quite cool because they had the race connected to a computer that kept track of their speeds and placement. Aidan came in second in this heat.

later the results were tabulated and awards handed out.

they had a category for every possible design. each racer was given a certificate and their car returned on a wooden base. Aidan came in 3rd for best Indy car. Kiara came in 3rd for best special effects.

Kiara waited and waited. we could tell she was getting impatient as she watched everyone else take the podium.



she showed her true colours when it was her turn! and brought a lot of laughter as well.

she was the only racer to get her prize and raise it in the air like this. love that belly button and toes pose! we can only guess that it was a combination of the olympics and reward days at gymnastics that made her do this. she is one of a kind!

it was a great event. well planned. enjoyable. busy! as it turns out this is the first year our church has started an AWANA club. seriously, it is so well done that you would never know this.

more on this later, but we finished our day by finding a new computer. still learning how to use it! fun times.

operation christmas child

the boxes have been packed and are ready to be shipped!




a moment of healthy pride...


we made sure we had everything and it all fit. they each included one of their cards. Kiara drew a picture...and added stickers.




Aidan added a note.


then we drove to a local church and dropped them off. they were so happy to be able to put their boxes into one of the larger shipping boxes. AND see the large stack of boxes ready to go!

we may go back on Saturday because they have a special showing of a new VeggieTale Christmas movie.

i try to take every opportunity to encourage our kids to help others. i am thankful that OCC makes it so simple to be involved. it was fun doing the shopping this year, with the kids old enough to pick their own gifts for the boxes!

Celebrating Kids Helping Kids

we are sooooo PROUD of our kids!!

Aidan and Kiara have a good friend, Kelley, who had a fabulous idea 3 years ago. she wanted to sell her art to help make money that she could donate to the Stollery Children's Hospital Foundation. with some help organizing the event, she got busy and dirty making as much art as she could. they hosted the sale in their living room. she raised about $1500 that year. on her own. last year, she did it again. but bigger. she asked several friends to help create art too. then she added a special tea. together they raised just over $3000. this year, they did it again! more friends created art. this time the focus was on the art and even included an area where guests could create art of their own.





Dr. Patch Up, the official Stollery Bear was also in attendance. he took the time to pose with the amazing artisits.


and he even brought them a treat!


Kelley is a lively girl. one of her greatest strengths (aside from her art) is her heart. it is big and humble. she is grateful to have the support of her friends. she also spent some time before the sale started to look at each table and commented on cards or pictures she liked.


you can see here that Kelley was more interested in what her friends were doing, than in the tv camera behind her. love that!!!!!


CTV news captured some footage of a few artists hard at work.

she also added a table to celebrate a special life. Mathew was a frequent patient at the Stollery Children's Hospital, but sadly died two years ago. since then, butterflies have been a way that reminds his mom and dad about the good things he brought to everyone. we noticed that we actually have had a lot of butterflies, so we devoted a table just for them! Kelley named it "The Butterfly Kiss Gallery".



this is his mom who was just getting ready for her interview. none of us had met Mathew. but we are so grateful for his life and his example.


i did take photos of the tables. there were some amazing cards and art. amazing.
here is the art on my kids' table.


we were fortunate to have some scrapbook supplies donated by Treasured Memories. they made about 100 cards with the supplies i bought them. with the help from the store, they made almoste another 100. i should add that 100% of the proceeds go to the Stollery Children's Hospital Foundation. the supplies we purchase for the art, or the display is part of the donation from our families. we also are grateful for a few other small companies who helped donate supplies or display items. perhaps you know of a company who would like to get involved next year?


Aidan grows more creative each year. here are a few of my favourites he made. seriously sooo hard to not keep them all myself!


he took photos on our holiday this summer. on his own. we narrowed down the best to 52 photos in total. so we definitely have 3 photographers in our family.


Kiara worked so hard! she surprised me last year. this year, there was more thought put into each design. my favourite was one that had about 20 butterflies glued on individually.

each year, we have more kids involved. we want more kids to join us! do you know of some kids who would love the opportunity next year?

thanks for reading and sharing in our excitement. i think i will post some photos of a few cards remaining. if you would like to donate, send me an e-mail or leave a comment here. we'd be happy to mail out cards as well. the kids made Christmas cards and all occasion cards.

check back later this week for more details!

card making blitz

last year the kids were involved in a fundraiser that involved lots of their creativity.
you may remember me sharing this story last year at this time.

again we are participating and the kids are sooooo excited!!

i love the free spirit the kids take to this project. it is totally theirs. i am learning to embrace their creativity and enjoy praising their creativity.

one afternoon it was just Kiara and i, so i thought she might enjoy some stamping. we did some experimenting and she loved embossing with my heat gun.



her favourite of all time is the glitter glue. i am amazed there is even any of it left!




the smile of pride in her work is wonderful, isn't it?

notice the dirty arms? yup, she gets really involved. at todays count, they have made 42 cards. Kiara has made the most, while Aidan is being super careful with his and taking his time to get them just right. i am impressed with this choice of his and totally amazed at how awesome they are looking.

i'll share more photos of their projects as the month goes on. thirteen days from now they will be using them to raise money for the Stollery Children's Hospital. yay!! there are some amazing things happening with this event too. can't wait to share them with you.

these are the days

i am being reminded daily in little ways that God takes care of us. even the little things He cares about! even those little things that we initially thought were problems have turned into blessings. who'da thunk it?!

i spent nearly an entire morning trying to figure out a school for Aidan for ONE YEAR....until the brand new one opens. closed doors. or should i say closed enrollment? reluctantly i went to visit the designated school. and was happily impressed! he should be attending with several of his new neighbors. the school environment is well planned and positive. and his teacher-to-be? i could not be happier. the two years before we had Aidan, i actually had a short-term subbing position for her. so i am fully aware of what his daily schedule and expectations will be like. in fact, if i were to be in a kindergarten teaching position myself....i would have organized the classroom very much how she does it. hmmmm....maybe i will end up being his sub one day?! anyways, she was one of my favourite teachers to sub for back in those days.

blessing.

in so many ways.

and the moving details. wow!

some things just can't be planned better.

for now.....we are enjoying being here. still sad about leaving. but excited and anxious to get to know our new digs! i am very grateful for that. i know it would be miserable if we were going somewhere that didn't "feel right". we love the fact that our new community doesn't "feel like" a brand new, sterile community. we have lots of mature trees that have not been bulldozed. safe paths for little feet. we will miss our lovely neighbors and our park-size backyard. (we won't miss taking care of it! but we will miss the space and privacy.)

little K has enjoyed finding "ladybuggies". she also picks every dandilion flower in her path. a few days ago we were on a bike ride. her first. she immediately stopped to pick dandilions and poke them into her handlebars. too funny. i remembered doing the same thing when i was little.

here she is showing her faves to her big bro:

he does well. i think he is interested just because he knows she likes it. he's totally a boy! loves the space to run. throw balls. and he has discovered how to high center his bike training wheels so that he can ride stationary and FAST!

blessed.

it is so fun to discover these little parts about their personalities as they are growing. it seems like something new pops out each week! they have a zest for life and wake up happy each day. {and they stay happy....just as long as we feed them and protect them from shopping trips!}

today

woke up to snow on the ground and falling. and Kiara up bright and early with the birds. i didn't not love that.


ironic to hear birds chirping and see snow on the ground.



Kristian back at work today. so happy to have him around the entire long weekend. sad kids to not have him at home again today. love that.



everyone is healthy. i think "the cold" has finally left our house.



i love that my little babies are now at the age where they use their imagination in their play.



i love that they are not perfect. i love that they are not what i expected.



everyday Aidan has his list of what he wants to do. and it is ALWAYS more than can be accomplished in a day! i can't help but wonder if he will continue to have these high goals for each day. and then i wonder how that will impact our family. i think he will keep our days interesting and full of zest!



Kiara usually starts her day by being by herself. she may very well be the ONLY morning person in our family. presently she has not really shared what she likes to do. although we know that certain activities are more fun for her than others. she is learning a lot these days. most of it is from her hero, her big brother.

after i had just started dating Kristian i was in my own happy world. love truly is a drug! as i was walking home one afternoon i quickly found myself daydreaming about this neat guy. which really should not be a problem....but i was in such a state that i ended up walking across a street with the little hand blaring red. i did not realize this until halfway across the street. it was just my luck that it was a quiet street and vacant from cars.

reality sometimes sucks! especially when the sidewalk is busy and when you "wake up" you are suddenly aware of other people and their stares. and quite possibly their shouts of warning which i do not recall hearing. maybe they were frozen in silence? no hiding who the dummy was that time!!

last night while i was watching the news i listened to this story. isn't it a shame that this kind of story is not more common. so common that to hear it told it really isn't a "news story". HOWEVER, i am glad that this story IS being shared. maybe it will be an inspiration or a motivation for other churches. other people. you.

it makes me ask the question,

"what are you doing to make a difference in the lives of others? in the lives of your family?"

an EXCELLENT reminder.

i still have a list of things to do before the move. they can wait. today we took time to hang out together and enjoy each other. this i love.

days of our lives

Monday.



it's don't sit and stop until it's done day.



so very happy that i could leave the house WITHOUT making the beds and dusting my floor!!



gymnastics.



volunteer for a field trip with Aidan's playschool class. transportation on a yellow bus. to a destination with a million and a half other children. counting to 7 {the number of kids in my group} repeatedly after each step. keep all kids from talking, clapping or otherwise noise-making during an hour of Mozart. listening to the kids compare Mozart to Baby Einstein. THAT was the hilight!! keep the same group of kids moving, with one child slumped fast asleep over my shoulder.



seriously.



the nice thing about preschoolers on a bus is that they have no idea how bad they can be! which is very different from field trips in the days when i taught grade six children. i grew up taking the yellow bus to school. when i mentioned this to Aidan, he looked at me like i was the most amazing mother on the planet.



no kidding.


(i wonder if blogger will allow me to insert separate paragraphs, or if it will cram these words into one huge paragraph?)






our little house used to have a pretty amazing lawn. and yard. until we built the garage. between the bobcat and the lumber, it was quite torn up.



love garage sale deals.

i had to laugh when i realized that they were playing golf for real. yes. for. real.

there is a hole left in the ground from one of the stakes in our garage building process. perfect for a game of golf. bet we won't be so lucky in our new house!!

aren't they great kids?!

joy

of cooking!

i wish every thing we did resulted in this kind of a response from these two.

but so glad that i have a camera to record these great memories.

we were hanging out in IKEA last week. we stoppped and hung out in one of their display kitchen/dining room combo. after all we needed to find a place where one of the kids could break something....and learned what ornament NOT to buy for our tree! ugh. back to the story....so we're hanging out and admiring. there was a kids table set up with activities. and a dining table. and a tree. and a full kitchen with attached pantry. i was admiring the extra large kitchen island.

and Aidan suddenly says,

"Mommy we should get this kitchen. Look there is room for all of us to watch you cook now!!! Wouldn't that be good?"

yes, Aidan. i think you are on to something.

we walked through a few brand new show homes back in September. almost every one of the master bedrooms in these homes had walk-in closets. most were larger than or as large as our present kitchen. {and one was the size of both kids' bedrooms combined.} hmmm.... and we won't start talking about their kitchens....especially when our comparison of size relates our kitchen to a closet!

well, Aidan. what do you think we should do?

for my kids

i just posted a story that combined our kids and art on my other blog:

Projects With All My Heart


there are photos. stories.

check it out.



resting up for one last busy week! catch you up when i can!!

lil' crafters

i am impressed with my kids!


Aidan was excited to help his friend, Kelley, make cards and art to raise money towards helping sick kids. Kiara also got excited to help....although she is missing the purpose of the activity! lol!!

we spent a morning looking around town for supplies that would make some amazing cards. then we spent that afternoon {and much of our days since then!} making the cards.

it ends up being a big mess on our table, so we've found creative places around the house to eat. {no reason to clean up the mess, only to re-create it minutes later!}


not much extra space here.

i've learned to not put out EVERYTHING at once. we've been focusing on one kind of card and making several before we move on to the next design.


Aidan is now at 25 cards. that took him 3 days. incredible! i told him last night that he is making our Christmas cards this year! judging by the look he gave me, we may need to pay him....

Kiara is at 10 cards. not sure how many of the 10 will be sale-able....but still she has created a few that are remarkable. for a two year old.

Kiara's designs. she loves glue. especially if it has sparkles and snowflakes in it. see the card in the centre with the star and 3 squares? i did not help. {other than to provide the materials} isn't that amazing?!

these are the ones Aidan has made so far.

i pre-cut some papers. and helped come up with some of his designs. as you know how four year olds can be, that design gets re-worked! but i love how he has put the design into it. in the last photo, see the two cards with the circles? the one on the right has a circle cut out of the front, with another circle glued inside? i cut the circles, but the entire card was his design. down to the idea to have a cut-out in the front. you can't see them in the photo, but he wanted to go around the entire circle with gems....hmmm....he had to settle for ten of them....since it would take an entire package to finish the trim. but i do agree it would have looked very cool.

buttons are his latest favourite.

let me know if you want to purchase any of their cards or make a donation to the Stollery Children's Hospital. the proceeds will benefit the Critical Care Step Down Unit. each card will be sold for $5 minimum.

this Saturday Kelley and her friends are having the sale. there will be more cards made by other kids. also wrapping paper and art {some framed}. in the afternoon, she has organized a very unique tea party. read this poster for more details {click on the image to enlarge it and make it easier to read!}

we are going back to making more cards....and hopefully some art. i'll keep you posted with more of the work.

let me know if you want me to save a card or two for you and make a donation to the Stollery. Kelley is getting interviewed by CTV news today, so watch for her story tonight!

kids

helping kids....

***note***click on the poster to read it more easily!!

Aidan has really been into crafts and art lately. which means Kiara has also been doing her share.

which got me thinking....maybe they could use their craftiness for the good of others!





how about your kids? do they need an opportunity to see the small difference they can make in the lives of other kids?