it's all about

recycling....


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

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

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

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

Aidan was totally prepared. as you can see.

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

and the happiest.....

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

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

what a happy boy!

phew!!!!

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

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

i've noticed a great theme in scrapbooking lately.

recycling.

check out these ideas on "one little word".

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

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

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

it will be interesting to see where this will lead.

check out this winning project.

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



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


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

yay

for me!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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


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


amazing what two days can do!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

or sleep. that actually might be a smart choice.

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

sigh. babies are so nice.

can it really be

Sunday ?


a long week for our family. a very long week. in like a lion and out like a lamb. oh wait that phrase belongs to the month of March! not anymore.



Friday was Kristians last day of work with the "super-secret-company". he worked A LOT of hours and we missed him very much. and apparently he missed us. tantrums and all! Aidan is still in shock that Daddy has been staying home with us all day and we keep telling him that tomorrow will be the same. at this point you are saying....but Roxy....that is only three days.... and my response? exactly. crazy, huh? he has a couple of weeks before he starts work with a different company. so we are on holiday mode. love it because it will be a year before he gets to take advantage of his holiday time. so this is it for awhile. we are looking at the bright side as much as we can. we will be together for 95% of evenings and weekends. who knew that would be a bonus?! feels like a holiday just given that change.



HALLELUJAH! (i think this song says it enough times....and these 4 guys are all Norwegian....Kurt Nilsen won the World Idol a few years ago)




yesterday the sun was out and there was no icy wind. yup it seemed miraculous to me too. a fun day for everyone. the "outgrown it" sales have started again. and i came out very well on this second round. not so much for Aidan. but Kiara will be one well dressed young lady. even in her "sand box" clothes! while i was away they had a visit from uncle Cam and cousin Kai. then Aidan and i took off for a birthday party while Kiara napped and Daddy got some peace. Connor turned 4 and there was some pirate booty to be had. can you believe i forgot to take my camera? yeah. at least i remembered the gift! and my son. haha. so no photos of the little pirates. so have you guessed the party theme yet? what a great day it was. we spent a long time outside. a record for 2008. soooooooo glad Kristian built the sandbox and play area. aside from some rocks finding new homes in the grass, it has afforded us with some peace while the kids hang out together. then a walk to pick up pizza. the stroller was handy to carry the pizza, since the kids both decided to walk. even Kiara walked several blocks. (it was also a lucky day for Aidan and i to have pizza for both meals!)




and today has had sun and cloud. but a wind came out of nowhere. not great. the "boys" have gone to help uncle John work on his house. they are putting the siding on. Aidan was thrilled to be a part of the action. and i think Kris was happy to have some company on the drive. the house has really taken a great deal of John's time the past 10 months-- built it himself, with help from his dad and friends. i'll have to post, or link to photos. that is when it pays to be a carpenter and know what you are doing. it shows. cool to have control over how some of the details are put together. and us "girls"? we're holding down the home place. Kiara had another great nap. while i got to do some scrapbooking and watch a movie. undisturbed. the next part of our plan is to take a walk and get some more sunshine. and of course continue our bonding. does she ever like to giggle! every day her language skills improve. kind of crazy. seems like a new word each day. and it has been fun for her to play on her own. like right now while i type. sometimes she and Aidan have differences of how their play should go...and who should get what toy...typical kid stuff. love the company of each other ...mostly. she does love to play with his race track. but doesn't know how to play without pulling it apart. i still remember Aidan destroying other kids stuff at this age. we are amazed at his tolerance level for her. except for his race track. and his lego.




okay and that is just a summary of the last 3 days of our lives. there is still so much that is not being said. scary to think!

yeah. it has been an adventure.

we are working on the plans for the next few weeks. i can not wait. i was teasing Kristian that it will just be more scrapbooking time for me.



and tomorrow is my weekly dose of Jon and Kate plus 8. i just read that they have a book coming out soon.


this is from the amazon site. have no idea if i'm allowed to do this. but i didn't see a copyright. and i figured the photo is not going to hinder sales!

i was bummed because i missed their appearance on Oprah a few months ago. so i wait for the re-run.

they do talk about the challenge of their life. but it is cool to see their acceptance of this crazy life too. hats off to them!

well....off to end the day. still...has it only been three days?

can't wait

to get this copy of computer tricks for scrapbookers 2. i don't know if i'm allowed to post this photo here....but no one is paying me to advertise...and i'm just super excited. (and this photo helps to explain what i'm talking about...you know the 'great communicator' i am)

i picked up the first one a year ago and it has some super cool photoshop tricks inside. the most simple projects are at the beginning and then get more complicated as you read. i love how she organized the magazine....starts with photos, then text, and then combinations....i still refer to it lots. thanks Jessica!!

i had found some help on various online sites before i was shown the first computer tricks for scrapbookers. they were good too. it's nice that helpful info is out there. forget reading the adobe manual...unfortunately it has not been helpful for what i use it for! and i learned that most fridays, you can also check here for more photoshop help.

it is suppposed to be out in the next couple of weeks...can't wait!