On the countdown

till all the activities are over and the family starts to arrive. I am so excited for it all to happen. The older kids are super excited and can't wait for the big day. I need to go to Walmart one more time and Costco for the food and then I should be all done! WOOHOO! Yesterday was Jacie's Christmas concert. Her class played the recorder and the song was 'God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen'. She had been practicing all week and sounded pretty good. If she takes after me she'll join band and love it. Jacie is in the dark pink shirt behind the girl with the long blonde hair.

This layout is of Travis learning to ride his dirtbike. This was last year, as he didn't get even get on it this year. I am glad for that! I think they are too young for it. I used my handwriting plus rub-ons to journal some thoughts. I also embossed some gear stamps which is hard to see but noticeable once you know they are there. This layout was just done from my brain, as I am caught up with the Sketches blog.

I just love this picture of Jacie and the papers are awesome. I just added some rub-ons, butterfly stamp, stickers, and glimmermisted the chipboard bird. As simple as this one is I just love the way it turned out.

Here is another layout of Jacie when she was just about 3. I ripped a page out of a dictionary that had 'happy' on it and gesso-ed and painted over the words I didn't need.

Tonight is Travis' Christmas concert. Should be very cute as it is his very first one in Kindergarten.

Super cold out

and I am sure I am part bear as I don't want to go out in this weather at all. I am fine staying at home...it doesn't bother me at all...I think it is also partly because of Kael and Danika. It's just too cold for them and feel why put them through the freezing temps if I don't have to. Danika and Kael both have runny noses and not feeling 100%. Thankfully today Danika is getting better and Kael is in day 2 of the glazed face...Dani got it first.

One great thing about the weather is I have been scrapping more and more and oh I just love it. LUV IT!

This layout is of Travis learning how to ride a two wheeler. He was 4. I made those 2 flowers out of paper and used Glimmermist on the chipboard flower. I just love that ribbon...it is my fav right now! Here is Travis at his 4th birthday. It was such a great day and it was just with us. Jacie was 6, Kael was 9 months old and I was 4 months pregnant with Danika. We went to Okotoks, had lunch outside and spent the day at the river. It was one of my favourite birthdays to this date. I did the negative 4 in two spots on this layout. One is obvious...

Here is Jacie when she was almost 4 and Travis at around 1 1/2. I love his facial expression in the bottom picture. It makes me laugh. This layout is jammed packed full of stuff. I laid a stencil on top of the layout and used Stickles to add some dimension. Hopefully you can see all the details.

Tonight I met up with the ladies and we went to a jewelry/purse/scarf/glove party. It is so great to be apart of peoples lives...you want to feel needed, wanted, and to feel that you will be missed if you aren't there. I want to have an impact in people's lives-for the better-and hope that I leave a mark where ever I go. I want to really give myself to people and not hold back. That is my New Years Resolution! To give more of myself to my friends, to my family, strangers, etc. Yes strangers-you know when you are at the grocery store and your standing in line and somehow there you are chatting it up to someone waiting in line, the cashier, etc. People need people and even though I am part bear and like to hibernate, I need to make more of an effort to get involved and get out there.

Today is a sad day

because one week ago Dennis' step-brother had a massive heart attack and died. He was in his upper 40's and taken too young. He was a son, brother, husband, father and grandpa. They are all going to need a ton of support to get through this! Dennis flew out to Kelowna for the funeral today and will be back tomorrow. RIP Dean! No one knows God's plan and why things happen, but we have to trust Him even in dark times. This quote sums it up better "Faith is the bird that sings when the dawn is still dark." My heart goes out to them all.


On a lighter note I finished my girlie girl page on Danika. I hid some journaling under the white lace. It reads after the title (girlie girl?...'Time will tell, secretly I am hoping so, but if you like cars and animals, instead of dollies (like Jacie) that's OK too!











Supper is going to be a kid favourite since Dennis is not home...hot dogs in buns, with mac n cheese! Have you ever had Superstore version of KD? It is in a white and blue box and it is so good. Luv it!
We watched Up on Sunday night as the kids didn't have school. It is a really good movie. The kids and I howled in parts. Another movie that is a fav of ours is Journey to the Center of the Earth...with Brendan Fraser.
Before I go, to those who watch Grey's Anatomy what the heck is up with them having their Christmas show two weeks ago!! That is an outrage! Puh-shaw! Just had to get that off my chest!
Gotta go, the kids are playing Guitar Hero right now and I am off to make supper. Take care.

Danika is now 1

and we celebrated just with the family. She had her first ever cake and she really enjoyed it. I like this picture of all the kids blowing out her one candle and Danika looking all concerned. :)

Do you like my new do? Jacie and I went and got our hair cuts earlier in the day with Colleen, who did a fab job. It was fun to have a girls day together. We went to DQ for lunch afterwards and then did a bit of Christmas shopping then home to spend the rest of the day with the family. Danika is crawling and standing up while holding on to things, but no where near walking which is just fine by me. I am in no hurry for that.

Here in Langdon we have an awesome consignment store. I am getting so cheap that I won't even buy anything unless it is on sale! They had a pink and blue tag sale which was any of those 2 colours the clothes were $2 each. So I got the snow suit and the other 3 items for $8.40! What a great deal!

Dennis got home safe and sound from his trip...no injuries, so that is good. Before he was gone till just about 3 days ago I was sleeping on the couch downstairs to a never ending cough that was worse at night. It was brutal. It is so good to be back in my bed again!

I got some layouts done all from the Blog Sketches. That site rules.

This is when Jacie was 2 (almost 3) years old. I don't like the blue around the paper so I painted it and tried to cut some of it off to make it better. I am working on a layout with Danika and I. It is all pink and lady like...I am hoping to have one daughter that is a girly-girl and that is what the layout is going to say.

Well it is movie night with the kids...we are going to watch Up.

Solo-me-o

till Sunday as Den and (I say this with love) his loser friends have gone to BC to go dirt biking. They plan a trip 2 times a year. What-evah, I say. Two times a year? What is wrong with that picture. I get away one time a year with the ladies (although I spend the same amount on one trip that he spends on both-but that is not the point!) AND this time they left a day early too, so that gets him 7 days away this year...hmmm I get 3...we will have words when he gets home, me thinks!

Before he left, on Tues, Danika was possessed by a demon. I got her up from her night time sleep around 6ish and she was livid. Her hands were flailing, scratching, arching her back...right pissed off. I was like who the hell are you? So I said 'what-evah' and got some bottle in her and put her back to bed. She was also running a fever. I was going to go on the treadmill, but just as I was going to put on my shoes I heard her through the monitor and thought okay, she will be happy now...nope..the demon was still in her. So I loaded up her and Kael and off to the walk-in clinic we go. That sounds easy but they we were all in our jammies and trying to get a possessed baby changed and dressed is not for the faint of heart. Anyway we made it to the walk-in clinic -which I can't figure out why they call it 'walk-in' as you always wait at least a half of an hour just to get in the room, then you got to wait some more! It should be called 'if your lucky you'll be out within an hour'. I know it is too long of a name, but at least people will know what to expect!

So Danika ended up having a double ear infection and I am happy to say the demon has left my baby and she is back to her happy self. Yeehaw! Her fever is gone now as well. She is such a little thing...we weighed her and she came out at 8.96 kilos which is just under 20 pounds. She is by far our smallest baby (she'll be a year on Nov 21st).

I made a recipe called Sweet N Sassy meatballs on Monday. They were really good (I served it with rice). The big kids didn't like it at all, but the babies loved it. If I was to make this again I would make the meatballs smaller and serve them with toothpicks for appy's. I won't be making this again as a meal. Too me the meatballs tasted great, but didn't make a great meal for us.

I was able to scrap a layout using a sketch over at Pencil Lines. This is of my dad and Travis going down a slide at the Calgary Stampede this year. I am glad to finally scrap pictures of the kids with their grandparents. I have another layout almost done...I am just letting my eyes rest from it and will judge it tomorrow to see if it is good the way it is.

Oct 31st was a busy day

that first started with Jacie's 8th birthday party with her friends. She had 5 friends over from 11am-2pm. They had fun. Of course Jacie was just thrilled to get this kitty cat from her best friend Paige. Jacie loves stuffies. She named it Orangie...I know very original. She got some money from her Granny and a Walmart gift card from one of her friends, so yesterday we went to Walmart (just her and I) and she bought herself a DS game called Petz Horses. She loves animals and I am glad for that.

Okay back to the 31st...after supper, around 6pm we headed out the door, with our good friends, for Halloween fun. Travis was Batman, Jacie was a witch, and Kael was an orangatang. Danika was bundled nice and warm in the stroller. Travis lasted longer than he did last year (which doesn't mean much as he did 1/2 a block last year). Kael was on fire.., until he crapped his pants (around 7:30pm) and Dennis took him and the baby home for bed. Then I was pulling Travis in the wagon and Jacie was working the houses. It was quite chilly out that night and we finally quit around 8:30pm. Then as a tradition we dump all the good in one big pile and separate it into chips, chocolate, candy and yucky. Jacie seemed in a mood that night...not sure what the problem was, but hopefully they all had a good memorable Halloween.

This past week has been cold central here but I'll take it over what else is going around. So far the little ones are worse off as they aren't old enough to get 'blow your nose,' so it just runs down their face. The old saying glazed donut comes to mind! :)

On Friday it was my birthday, so we ordered in Pizza from a new pizza joint here in town and it was good. We ordered WAY too much in regards to sizing. Who knew a 16" pizza is SO big and we ordered 2 plus a 10" cheese for the kids (it was only $4.99 for the 10"). We have been eating ever since...Dennis says he is so sick of it and had so much that he is going to crap out a pizza pocket! HAHAHAHA

Last night I met the ladies for supper and it was so good. The food, the drinks, the friends...to get out and enjoy ourselves sans kids and hubbies was well needed! I love these times. After the supper we went to a movie called 'The Box'. Well to put it nicely it is 2 hours of my life gone. The movie was so weird, boring, bad music, so poorly done. It isn't even a renter. Don't waste your time! This is our second dud movie with the group...our luck has to change!!

I finally finished this layout a few days ago. Seemed time wasn't on my side to just work on it or I chose quiet time to snuggle with Travis and chill.

I had planned to have chicken fajitas for supper, but haven't gone out to get the chicken...we'll see.

We jumped

last night and got the H1N1 vaccination. It took us just under 3 hours to get it. The kids were pretty good but near the end we had all had enough. It was around 8pm when we got out of there and we were all hungry and tired. I took us to McDonalds for a reward and then came home. We all had showers and then to bed. I wanted everyone clean after that ordeal.

When I picked Travis up from school this morning I was talking to another mom and as I was talking to her another mom came and heard that I had taken my family to get the shot. She then proceeded to say that she 'will be waiting to see how many people die from this shot before I make up my mind.' WTF?! I felt like a knife stabbed me in the heart. How cruel and heartless can someone be to say such a thing. I was so dumbfounded that I couldn't even move. Then the two moms started saying that there was a show on 60 Minutes of how the Swine Flu of 1976 killed more people than saved...and on and on and on they went. I gathered Travis up when he came outside and went to the van when the wave of emotion hit me. I am still tearing up writing this and thinking about how I wish I would have gathered my jaw and heart off the ground and said something back to her about how what she said was totally uncalled for. I did the research too and there is so much conflicting information and the pros for me outweighed the cons. I didn't make the choice lightly.

Okay moving on as I am too emotional to keep talking about that. This afternoon I did a layout from Sketches again. I am not submitting these, just doing them for fun. The paper clips up top spell out SCARY and I had fun with rub-ons, stamping and getting back to doing what I love to do. The writing says Grandma & Grandpa took Travis and Jacie to the Calgary Stampede on July 3rd, 2009. This was the first time ever for the kids.

I did this layout a long time ago, but never posted it. This is of Kael around 6 to 7 months old I think.

Anyway, time to make supper...tonight it is soft taco's! YUM!

What do you do when you

just don't know. When you are on the fence and don't know which side to jump on. With this H1N1 vaccination there are a lot of questions floating around and to try to decipher through it all is just maddening. I found myself getting frustrated with those who say dumb things like 'it is just like the flu, get over it.' I am sure if someone they loved died (from cancer, flu, car accident, etc) they would no longer say 'get over it'. From what I read the mercury levels are only like eating 1/4 of a can of tuna, it is the other things in it that scare me, especially for Danika and Kael who are 11 months and 2 years old. I think for everyone else in my family it is okay to give them, I just am nervous about the little ones. We actaully went once to get the vaccination, but the line up was too long, so we came home. When we go back, I am going to request the little ones be given the serum that pregnant ladies get...if they say no I need to know if we are comfortable giving them the other serum. Until then, I will keep reading and watching.

This past weekend the ladies and I met up for our Christmas Stamp-a-stack. We met at 11am and stopped around 5pm. We had a potluck lunch and had a great time. It was nice to get away for the day. After I left I went to Walmart and bought what I needed for the week, along with Travis' costume-Batman, Halloween treats for the kids. This year I bought chocolate bars and nibs! YUM

Tonight for supper is soft taco's. I have been craving them something fierce! I can't wait.

This picture of Danika doing downward dog in Yoga terms is so cute. I love how mom has pictures of me doing them same thing. So cute.

Here is Dennis and Kael. Until next time take care!

2 layouts are done

can you believe it?! I completed one today using the blog Sketches-which I just love! Feels good to get back into it. I have missed it. Now that winter is arriving I think I will have more time to do it. One good thing about winter! :)

My parents came for a visit last Wednesday and left this morning to go down South for the winter. They have officially become Snow Birds! This year Christmas is at our house so they will fly in for that. We had a hectic visit, but I'll take it. Mom, dad, Danika, Kael and I went and got our flu shots yesterday. It was a busy place...thankfully it went okay and the little ones didn't get cranky waiting! The should have an express line for people with children to get them in and out!

My arm is a bit stiff in the injection site, but it was a piece of cake. Nothing to freak out about.

Tonight I am making Turkey fried rice for supper (we had a turkey on Sunday as we were out of town for Thanksgiving). I can't wait for it...yum-o! I am starving.

On Oct 7th Kael turned 2! I made a homemade chocolate cake for him and had a little birthday celebration for him with just us. I just love the picture of him waiting for his cake and then of course he is trying to blow out his two candles. He is such a ham!

1st Annual Block Party

was on Sat and was a lot of fun. The kids had a bike parade which was very cute and then we mingled and when it was time for supper, I help grill up the burgers and hot dogs-which by the way I thouroughly enjoyed. Brought me back to my McDonald days! Then I ate some great food...don't think though in the back of my mind I wasn't thinking 'please let the people who made the salad use good hygene practices when making this'!! lol Those of you who know me know that I am a bit of a freak when it comes to germs and other people touching things I am going to be putting in my mouth!! BUT I sucked it up and ate lots. *shudder* LOL

Today we went to church and then came home, had lunch and watched Transformers 2. We were all excited to watch it as we didn't get to finish it yesterday because of the block party. It was good and finally nice to watch a movie again with the whole family. It has been a long time!

The budget is going great! I love it! For those who aren't on one, I highly, highly recommend it! It is wonderful. This week is going to be tight because the kids had their teeth cleaned (Jacie and Travis) and it came to $220-which I didn't save up for as we just started this budget, so instead of living on $380 for the week, we will live on $160! We can do it! eek...I am planning out our weeks worth of meals...so when I go get some groceries I will just get what we need for the meals. So far on the list is Beef Stew (which I already have all the ingredients for) and Easy Cheeseburger Pie (again, I have all the ingredients for)....so, so far so good!

Danika is fully crawling now and trying to pull herself up. She is babbling lots and I swear she is spitting out words. She is 10 months old now. She is eating her baby food way better and of course still loves her mush. I need to get another highchair that sits on our regular chairs...I am having a hard time finding the green Fisher Price one that I have already...I will have to phone around as the one they replaced it with at Walmart is crap looking compared to this one. GRRR

Danika is also on her last can of formula!! WOOHOO! I have been making her bottles this past week with 2/3 formula and 1/3 milk. Sometime this week or next I will make it half and half. This is to get them use to the flavour of milk and so far it is going good. I have tried just giving her milk before when we were out doing errands and she was fussing and she didn't like it straight up...

I think I am going to actually make a scrapbook page...man it has been months since I have touched any of my scrappy stuff. I hope to get my mojo back and get back to it. Wish me luck and a burst of energy...boy has it been a busy month!

Update

is finally here. We went camping last weekend and although we had fun there was too many wasps and it made it really unbearable to be outside. I got stung and Travis got stung in the hand. He is such a tough kid...he yelled owe, but never cried and never came running over to me. He just kept on playing with the kids. We were camping up in a mountain and boy did it get cold at night. Sunday morning we woke up to rain which then turned into heavy wet sleet. Here is Kael playing out in it...

Kael also went on his first dirtbike ride with Dennis...he loved it!

This week I have been a single mom as Den is working up in Crossfield. He leaves early and comes home later...sucks. We haven't ate as a family since Sunday and it is taking its toll. Tonight I think he is going riding, so that is another family time lost. Grrrrr

Thankfully I have helpers to keep the house in order. :)

Anyway I have been busy going through the kids clothes and taking the small stuff to the consignment store. I toook in a full rubbermaid on Tuesday. Travis was low on pants, so I picked up 2 pairs while I was there. I love our consignment store and they know my well. :)

Danika is fully crawling now and is doing a upside down V with her body. She is trying to pull herself up now which is quite funny to watch. She looks so little still which I love. I want to just take it all in as she is our last and they grow up so fast!

Last night I made chicken fajitas for supper. I love that supper. Too bad my avocado's to make the Guac dip were not ready (and I think one was bad)...so I had to just use sour cream...not near as good, but still so good.

SURPRISE

was yelled when Dennis walked into the house on Sat afternoon. His real birthday isn't till Dec, but I wanted to have the party while the weather is still nice out and this way he wouldn't suspect anything. He is turning 40 this year! Old fart! Just under 30 people came in and out throughout the day/night and it went so well. We have such great friends and family and they sure made Den's party a great time!

The next day we gathered with our neighbours/good friends and lawn chairs and relaxed all afternoon with them. Den fell asleep with his party hat on and we couldn't resist the urge and had to take a picture of him! LOL

The weekend before this we went to my dad's 60th birthday party and ripped it up with my family. We had such a great time and it is sure nice to party and get the whole family and all their friends together for a festive time. What a concept to gather all the family together for a happy occasion then just at funerals. We need to have more gatherings, it was sooooo much fun.

At the party I got up and roasted my dad. I was scared out of my mind and was SO nervous, but so glad I did it. My mom got a picture of me up there...

After all the speeches were done we danced the night away. Here is a picture of our 2 oldest kids hugging grandpa while he was cutting his cake. They just love him! He is such a good grandpa.

Tonight I met with my ladies for our monthly stamping club. Again good times...I got real tired near the end though, but it was so good to go and get out of the house with out the kidlets. I can't believe I am still up...Den is snoring on the other couch.

On that note I need to get to bed!! Be safe, Lori

What's New???

Well there are a few things...

I am an avid cook, some times I have have hits and some times I have misses...I am hoping more hits than misses! BUT as some of you know it is hard to come up with meals 3 times a day that:

Satisfy the family

Is wholesome

fun to make and eat

and of course the best is to hear the kids say mmmmm, yummy and eat with out the scowl, complaining and the FIGHT and to know what they are eating is good for them! I made a spaghetti the other night using just tomato sauce and Epicure's Bolognese Seasoning...I was out of veggies so I thought this would be a great time to try this seasoning...well to my shock the kids actually said 'this is really good, can I have this tomorrow, mmmmmmmmmmmmmm, so good' etc. At first I was like 'okay okay, quit sucking up' but they ate it all up and the next day Jacie ate it again for supper (she is like me and typically doesn't like leftovers). Only then did I truly believe she liked it! HAHA

So I am going to make an extra effort in preparing the best meals I can for my family and have decided to order "A Healthier You, feel better in just 28 days" through Epicure Selections. I have become a consultant through Epicure Selections because I loved their spices and have bought them over and over again for over 5 years. So I finally joined the company. I should get package/order in about 3 business days and then I am going to start journaling the recipes etc and give my honest opinion about this new journey I am doing with the family. This is NOT a diet, it is a better way to eat with great spices, seasonings, with little to no sodium, pure ingredients...which I am into...no diet for me. Here is a link to the brochure for more information...

http://www.epicureselections.com/Products/Categories.aspx?id=5

Also, here is my Facebook Group to keep updated on specials, promotions, etc

http://www.facebook.com/home.php?ref=home#/group.php?gid=107156004047

We went camping this past weekend, with friends, and had a great time. We had great weather and camped right along the Sheep River...there truly is nothing better for the kids than camping and being in the outdoors! Jacie caught her first fish all by herself. Dennis typically catches the fish and lets the kids reel it in, but this time she did it all on her own. I grabbed the camera and took pictures! We were so excited for her.

Danika and Kael had their first bath together and thought they were so cute! I can't believe how big our babies are getting. She cut 4 teeth all at the same time and all in all was in good spirits. She is a great addition to the family and a joy to have. Kael is still FULL of energy but has such a great personality. He makes me laugh. He is sure talking up a storm these days and learns new words each day. My fav thing he says right now is 'bike ride' because it sounds so cute. He is now 22 months, Danika is 9 months.

Another thing that is new is that I am going to get us on a budget. To get a better grasp on that I have taped many episodes of Till Debt do us Part...and have a financial planner coming to our house on Wed. night. I hope to have things in place and know what I am doing by Sept 15th.

I'm back...

I can't believe how long it has been since I last posted anything. I have only scrapped one layout in that time and then let it sit on my desk (where it still is) and didn't even have the strength to take a picture of it and enter it into the challenge it was for. I think I was just down right depressed and in a serious funk...life threw some curve balls at me and they hit me hard. I stayed down a long time but I am starting to get back up now!

First I had my surgery which went well and I am fully recovered from (Thank God)! I have made my appointment to go in for the results, but I feel no news is good news! Then, I had both my grandpa's pass away within 6 weeks of each other, so we had two trips to my home town of Moose Jaw...and the on going of people in our lives getting divorced...I am not sure how divorce is affecting people in your lives, but for us it has been the year of divorces. It just seems friends and family are throwing in the towel and moving on. Most of them have caught us off guard and I guess I let that affect me too much as well...even people I don't know like Jon and Kate Plus 8! I mean really, why let it affect me?! I just think it is all around sad and makes me question things. I take things so personal and it gets me down. The hardest for me is Den's sister and her husband are also lined up to get a divorce...it sucks as it is hardest to tell the kids. Jacie is understanding it more and more these days as it seems I am always having to tell her 'so and so' aren't together anymore.

Top all this off with Dennis working like a mad man, as usual, which I can't fault him for at all, but makes me feel like a single mom is just too much...if it takes him working this much to maintain this house and our lifestyle then it isn't worth it! So we will need to sit down and have a chat about what we need to do...it sucks as I have made a great friend here and the kids are settled in and it is a great place for the kids, but something needs to change here as I don't want us drifting apart (as I still like him!) :)

These pictures are from our camping holiday we took this year in the Golden area. We hook up with his mom every year camping and we all had a great time.

So this is the day...today is a new day...I am going to dust myself off and start living again...happily-dammit!

My laptop died last week

so I took it in to Laptop Depot and they wanted $300 to replace the hard drive and get it up and running again. So I was like okay, not as bad as I thought, but as I turned my head I saw an Acer computer with 3 GB, 250 GB, 2.16 GHz with a dual core processor on sale from $899 to $699...so in my mind I am thinking...well for an extra $400 I could get a brand new one...so then they said they would fix my old one, back up all the data on discs and get it up and running for only $99, instead of $300 (if I bought the Acer)! So I was like okay because this gives me two laptops for $1000 (time you add on extended warranty and taxes). SOLD! Now the kids can use the 'old' one and with Jacie entering Grade 3, she will need it more and more...I am just so happy to get them off my laptop...even Dennis is showing more interest and we were having to share my other one...I KNOW...Share?...no more of that now! So happy!

I haven't made a scrappy page in so long I think I forget how! I need to get my butt back down there and get into my zone! I miss it!

We are still under a tornado watch and it freaks me out. One of my biggest fears is tornados!

The kids are in VBS this week and the theme is Truth Trek. VBS is a summer Bible camp that runs for one week from 9am-12pm. The kids just love it and it is so good for them! After VBS on Friday we are leaving to go camping till Monday of Tuesday...just the 6 of us! I can't wait. Money Mountain here we come! The pictures below are from when I took the kids camping solo mee-oh (by myself). We had a lot of fun...can't wait till Friday to go back there!

I made stew tonight for supper. I forgot to do it in the crockpot, so it was stove top method and it turned out really good.

I should be...

making supper but ehhh...I am too tired. I will get to it later. I am listening the the thudding of the TV in the basement as I sit on the main level typing...Kael is bugging them so he is crying off and on down there. I really should go get him, but again I am too tired. I had a busy day of errands and the daily stuff, so here I sit wishing I was having a bath listening to Spa music and just letting my mind drift. Ohhh wouldn't that be nice!
The kids soccer is now over, which Jacie is sad and Travis is happy. Near the end he didn't want to go at all. I thought about how to keep him motivated to go and came up with 'you joined a team and when a team player, like you, doesn't show up it hurts the team. You don't want to do that right?!' I have no idea if he got it, but at least he went. Dennis said soccer wasn't his thing...he said Travis would run along and then get unfocused and look around and say oh, daddy what a beautiful butterfly/bird/airplane. LOL Next year we will put him in tee-ball.


My surgery went well. It took about a week for everything to get back to normal and to get off Tylenol 3's...LOVE THOSE! The only bad thing is the Codeine making a person constipated...yes folks, constipated! Be prepared to shit a brick if you take it for that long! Totally worth it though...I sometimes want to take one just for the heck of it...they made me kinda out of it and put me in a constant state of happiness! While daydreaming about taking some, I would glance ahead and see myself on Oprah as one of those moms addicted to prescription drugs and there I would be in the big yellow chair saying ' it started with Tylenol 3's, and once those didn't do it for me anymore I went to...'

Danika is sleeping and I really should get her up if I want to get her back down at a decent time tonight. The kids are staying up WAY too late these days -even Kael- and it is not like them. I used to have them in bed sleeping by 8:30pm at the latest. These days I am lucky if it 10pm! It isn't like they are running around here...they are upstairs in their rooms by 8:30pm and then let the games begin...I'm hungry, I'm thirsty, I'm not tired, I'm bored, I'm sure I already slept and it is morning out-so can I come down (it doesn't get dark here until 10ish!)! Good Grief! I think this is when I start to daydream about taking T3's! :)

Mom will be here soon...

She flies in today at noon for a week. I have my surgery (to get my left ovary out) on Monday. I am getting nervous about it already, but hopefully everything will go smoothly and I have a speedy recovery.

This week has been a super busy week...Monday I got a much needed hair cut. I just love it. Travis took this picture of me after he got home from soccer. I typically get my hair cut at Beaners out of convenience because the kids can play around while I can get my hair cut stress free...for those of you that don't know Beaners specialize in kids hair cuts...they have the jeeps, etc for the kids to sit on (while they get their hair cut), plus the ball pit to play in so it just makes sense. BUT this time I went to a newly acquired friends place that has her salon in the basement of her home. I had to take 3 kids with me, but whatever, I got a great hair cut. Man it feels good to have a hair style again. Tuesday I stayed home and cleaned the basement up for my mom. Did the whole works. Wednesday and Thursday was more errands for Dennis. Geesh he had me running all over the city this week, but hey at least he is busy! Good news! Friday I stayed home and didn't leave the house! I am super tired from this week.

Some exciting news...I joined up to be an Epicure Consultant! I love their spices and products, so I thought why not! I am not looking to do party's after party's right now, I am just wanting to let friends and family know and if they want to order they can place it through me. Their website is www.epicureselections.com .

I did this layout for the Gettin Sketchy challenge yesterday. I used everything, except for the cardboard piece, from Created with Paper June kit. I love this kit. This is the first time I used that bling and I love it! The tricky part is you have to make sure not to get any of it on your paper while you try to place it...good luck trying to unstick it! I took the picture outside and it is a bit shadowed from the sun rising...but I am tired of the layouts looking blurry and dull.

For family movie night we watched Marley and Me with Jennifer Aniston and Owen Wilson. It was really good. Way better then I expected. Even Dennis, who said NO to watching it, stayed up and watched the whole thing. It had some good funny parts. Totally worth the watch!

Tonight it is steak, mushrooms, and veggie pack...yum-o! Ps. Happy Birthday goes out to my friend Loryssa and my nephew Jayden!

Another wonderful weather day

today. Dennis went riding last night so I had Jacie and Travis' friends over for supper. When they were done that I loaded them up with chocolate milk and goodies and sent them downstairs to watch a movie while I stayed upstairs and tended to the little ones. It was a fun night for the kids and myself as well. I was glad to do it (and it was a rare thing to do-as it was a school night) for the kids.

I started and finished a layout yesterday as well. It was a sketch challenge from the blog Pencil Lines. The layout also qualifies for a challenge over at The Creative Type. I ran out of e's so I used 3's and turned them upside down. Everything from this layout was from Created with Paper Pocket Full of Posies kit. I just altered the white letters with Glimmermist to make it match the colours in this layout. I also received my prize from Lara over at Gutter Girlz...my name was picked and let me say look at all that goodness! WOW! Thank you Lara!!

The kids and their friends are playing on the slip n slip right now. They are giggling and having fun. Love that they are outside a lot...it wears them out and best of all they are having so much fun. Tonight they have soccer. On Monday Jacie had to come home early from soccer as she was having trouble breathing. I felt bad for her because she didn't want to miss out. She was pretty upset, crying and saying how she missed the goal cause she had to slow down and then someone kicked the ball away. Break my heart!! I will now pack her inhalers with her, so she can take it if needed and then play again. I grew up with asthma since I was about 5, so I can relate to how much in can hinder a person. The embarrassment of having to take it in front of people and suffering when you forget the inhaler at home...and it never fails that those were the times when you would have an asthma attack. I hope Jacie doesn't get in near as bad as I had it. When I was pregnant with Jacie my asthma improved and with each baby after. It improved so much that I would say I don't have it anymore. :) I hope she will grow out of it!

I didn't take anything out for supper...d'oh! It will be an easy supper anyways as the kids need to eat something quick and get their hine-ees to soccer!