aboutaluvofmine

Playa Del Carmen

2010-05-10T08:45:00.014-06:00

is where Den and I went by ourselves for 10 days. My parents looked after the kids while we were away. We stayed at The Royal all inclusive resort. This by far has been the best all inclusive we have ever been to. The staff were incredible, kind, and polite. The place was spotless inside and out and the food was great! I gained a whopping 8 pounds to prove it! HA

This is where we spent the first 4 days of our holiday...at the beach drinking. My fav's were the banana mama's and the peach combers. Den's fav's were the mango tangos and rye and coke. We liked the beach cause the breeze off of the ocean...we tried to lounge at the pool, but I couldn't take it...it was too hot. Once we got back to the ocean it was much better. The beach was great, there was no vendors, no people bugging you and it was patrolled all day by security and there was a lifeguard on duty as well. They whistled at people who took drinks into the ocean...that is not allowed. We never got whistled cause the drinks never lasted long enough to take in the ocean! HA

We went on a snorkeling tour on Thursday, which was so lame, but we met a couple from Calgary on it and hung out with them that evening. We walked 5th Ave to a small pub right beside Senior Frogs that made the BEST pina coladas ever and everything was 2 for 1! Then we headed over to Senior Frogs (where I am in this picture) and had a drink there, danced and just hung out. It was fun.

Friday and Saturday we rented this cute car and went to Chichen-itza which is now a 7th wonder of the world. It was over a 3 hour drive to get there, but boy was it worth

it. We had an excellent tour guide named Rafael, who was Mayan and his family was from the area.

Here is the pyramid (which you can't climb anymore) but who cares, it was amazing. They are finding more and more ruins there and I am so glad we made the effort to go.

Saturday we drove to Coba to see more ruins. It was so hot there and no breeze. We were dripping in sweat and once we were done we went back to the resort and headed straight for the bar downed a few blended drinks and headed straight for the ocean.

Sunday we took the 11am ferry to Cozumel and rented a jeep and toured the island by ourselves. This was my favourite day. We got a map and headed out. On the way we stopped at various places to watch the huge waves. After a bit I was dying for some taco's and a pina colada, so we stopped at a place and had a great lunch -we split it as I was too cheap knowing we get all the food we want at our resort-and off we went again. The next place we stopped was where we rented a snorkel set for $5 each and snorkeled and wow was it awesome there. Way better than that lame-o tour we went on. We snorkeled for about an hour and headed back to the car rental joint and took the jeep back. We were a little early so we went for more pina coladas-Den had Sol-and waited for the guy to come back. We did some shopping there where I got a dress for Danika, and 2 masks-one for Travis and one for his friend Ryan. Then we took the 6pm ferry back to Playa and got ready for supper.

This is how we came to our room the very last night and they did the rose petals when we arrived and one more time in between. I told them we were celebrating our 11th anniversary and each night they had a turn down service included in our package. It was so nice. They did up some animals during our stay as well. I can't recommend this hotel enough!! The best part about it was knowing Den and I still have fun together and the love we have for each other is still strong.

The past few weeks

2010-04-09T17:17:00.009-06:00

have been busy. We had Den's mom fly in for a quick visit, which was great to have her, but the little kids were sick and to top it off our main sink wasn't draining and was backed up. So I felt bad for his mom as the kids were grumpy and Den was busy for almost 2 days trying to fix it. Thankfully he did get it fixed without calling a plumber, but it sure ate up the time Doreen was here. When she comes back in June (for my Whitefish trip) I hope it goes a lot better! :)
Two weeks ago we went to Black Rock, just north of Cochrane and spent the afternoon there. Dennis wanted to go for a quick ride and while he was gone the kids and I played at the river. Nothing beats rocks, sand and water! We packed a cooler full of buns, pop, milk, turkey luncheon meat, wieners, etc. Thankfully we had the turkey, as we weren't sure if we were allowed to have an open fire to roast weenies, so we didn't. We sure were craving it though! Here is Dennis taking off for his ride. He ended up going for just under an hour. He sure liked that I snapped a picture of him.

When we left to come back home Travis, Danika and Kael all fell asleep in the back of the truck. Amazing how fresh air can wear the kids out! :)

Kael now climbs in and out of his crib and being that Danika is in the same room as him, he likes to load up her crib with books, toys and whatever else is around. She is so easy going that she just is like s-weet. I had to get this picture as it is funny, but can't let him know that or he will be constantly doing it.

Here are a few layouts that I have completed. I have been out of my scrap room for over a week and probably won't get back into it for the rest of April. My parents are set to roll in on Wednesday from Arizona. They have been gone for almost 6 months! Time sure flies. They are busy closing up their place there and heading here to see the kids and of course look after them while Den and I go away for 9 days to Playa Del Carmen, Mexico! I can't believe we leave a week on Sat! Yippeee!

Happy Anniversary

2010-03-24T16:27:00.005-06:00

to us. We celebrated our 11 year anniversary on March 12th and Dennis gave me the best card ever and on top of that he got me a necklace with a cross on it. I have been wanting one of those for so long. He really shocked me as usually it is just a card (which is totally fine by me). I didn't get him anything...oops. I booked a sitter though and on Sat night we went to the Keg for supper. It was so nice to go and have a hot meal and a few drinks by ourselves. The waitress was going to sit us away from the fire and Den spoke up and said could we have the table right in front of the fire...he was reading my mind!! After supper we met our friends for a movie - The Green Zone. It is full of action and was a good movie. I would give it 8/10. I love going to the movies and it was good to be there with friends.

I have been slacking in the scrapbooking/art department lately as I have been busy around the house. Even though you can't tell as with 4 kids, nothing stays put for long. But at least I know what I am doing and that is all that matters. This layout is of Travis and Jacie when they went to the Calgary Stampede with my parents. I love Travis' face as he was not sure about those crows. Mom had told me about it, but when I saw the picture I knew exactly what he was feeling.

This layout is of Jacie when we were living in the first rental house and I just love it. She is just doing her thing (can't remember what she was doing) and she has no idea I am behind her taking this picture. I love these kind of pictures. This rental house was nasty too. The only thing that saved us was it had a great backyard and because it was spring/summer while we lived there we spent it all outside. I shudder when I think of this rental!

Here is my little girl looking out the window in our house. She is growing up so fast...and then there is trouble (Kael).

He is so full of life this one. He got into my ink pads and markers and had a great time covering up with them. I was busy doing something else when he came down the stairs and showed me his hands. He was so proud. I put him in the tub right away and it all came off except the marker on the forehead. That lasted a few days! :)

You can see we are in the process of patching up our walls (in the picture with Kael). I will get to that story another time!

The sun was out

2010-03-10T16:08:00.002-07:00

last week and we enjoyed every ounce of it. Kael was never so happy, as he loves being outside, and he was just thrilled. I set up the lounge chairs on the driveway and watched the kids play. The neighbours would come out as well and our kids would play together while we had some adult time. I already have a slight sunglasses tan...even after I put sunscreen on. Go figure. Then Monday came and it is cool out again, but while the sun was here I took advantage of it.

This layout was done from the Sketches blog. I added cardboard to it to give it some texture. Dennis buried the kids in snow while he was snow blowing the drive way...If you look close behind Travis you can see the neighbours driveway and how much snow we had. The kids loved that!

This is an art journal page that I did for myself, so I didn't put it in the kids art journal book. Instead I made it on a 12x12 page. I look forward to the prompts on the blog A Year in the Life of an Art Journal. It is good to get out the thoughts and feelings I have and it is a healthy way to do it.

Last Tuesday I started a group exercise class. Tuesday is Xtreme kicks, Wednesday is a circuit of weights, Thursday is spinning and weights and Friday is Xtreme kicks again. Last week I went Tues, Wed, and Thursday. I loathe spinning, but did try it...I think I lasted 2 minutes and went back to weights for the rest of the class. Let me tell you it took me Friday, Sat, Sun, and Monday to recover. It took all my strength on Friday and Saturday to roll over in bed, to do the stairs in the house, to squat down to go to the bathroom, etc. Sun was a bit better and Monday I was pretty much back to normal. This week I am only going Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday. Spinning sucks! For those that can actually do it, I tip my hat off to you!

Surprise!

2010-02-27T22:29:00.003-07:00

Last Saturday Dennis and I met up with our friends to surprise Rochelle for her 40th birthday. We all met at the bowling alley and waited for her arrival. It was great to truly surprise someone. She had no idea and I love that! After bowling we went out for supper. We had a great time and it was fun to have the babysitter come and have a night out with our friends.

This layout was inspired from a persons page on the Sketches blog. I love looking at someones page, get ideas and add my own touches to it. This is Travis when he was almost 2 years old. I love looking back at Jacie and Travis and see them at Danika and Kael's age right now. It's kinda surreal!
This is another art journal page that is the book for the kids. I am so thrilled to be doing this and get down on paper what I think is important. I hope they like it. I just painted this, used stickers for the titles and modge podged the journaling and then once that dried went over some of the words with a golden yellow paint.
Last night I went out with the girls for supper and then a movie-Valentines Day, as it was Pam's birthday. The movie was good and so happy to say we have broken the bad movie streak. Woohoo! It is a gorgeous +6'C out right now and look forward to getting outside a little bit later to enjoy the rest of the afternoon!

February is a great

2010-02-23T10:34:00.004-07:00

month for getting together with my family, friends and having fun. I got Dennis to call over to my aunt and uncle's house and we invited ourselves over, as my grandma and aunts were in town. I haven't seen them since my dad's 60th birthday party in Sept, and it was great to see them again. We had a blast. It was so much fun. They even fed us a great supper of ribs, baby potatoes, and baked beans! YUM.
My grandma can talk about anything and she loves to tell stories. There is nothing off limits! Next time though, we will have to plan it better as I never got to see my one aunt and uncle and my cousin. They all got together the night before, but because that was a 'school night' we couldn't go because we couldn't get a sitter. Here is Dennis with my two uncles. There is truly nothing better than being close with your family and extended family.

This layout I did was just for fun. I used the papers, transparency and the cut flower from a kit from Created with Paper. The chipboard letters and the rest of the embellies is from random stuff I already have. I like the 'my work is done here' tag as it is true of babies, but NOT true with all the work we have ahead of ourselves. lol

Here is my second Art Journal page. This Art Journal book will be passed down to the children one day. This book is made just for them and I hope they use it to enforce our faith, values, and beliefs. I hope it helps them when they are struggling or if they just want to feel close to me when I can not be there in person. I hope they appreciate it and most of all that they use it throughout their lives. This prompt was from A year in the Life of an Art Journal http://oneyearartjournal.blogspot.com/ .

Stranded at home

2010-02-12T08:23:00.006-07:00

as my husband took my van key to work with him for the second day in a row! He used the key to open my van to take out a cupboard door that I picked up for him (yesterday) and then he forgot to bring it in with him. It is in the front seat of his truck. :( BOO! So here I sit, when I could be at Walmart with Carrie. Double BOO!

I was inspired to do this layout once again from Pencil Lines Blog, but of course added my own ideas to it...The big flying bird represents the grandparents and the little ones represent Jacie and Travis. This one is simple but I really like the way it turned out. I hope my parents like it. Full of Wonder was inspired from a persons layout on OLW (One Little Word) Blog. This blog is no longer active, but they left up the blog to inspire, which I am thankful.

Here is my first ever Art Journal page. I have been wanting to start this for a long time now. I may need to do two, as I want to pass one along to the kids as kind of a life lesson guide which will reinforce our values, and I hope they will use as a 'go to' to look to for guidance, strength, etc. The other one will be for me and my struggles, what I have learned, life lessons, etc...just a good place to go and create in a different area. Here is the blog where this idea came from http://oneyearartjournal.blogspot.com/. The word they used was 'Hope' which was picked by my cousin as she is guesting there. How awesome is that! Great job Glenda!

Ps. Dennis changed the lightbulb in Kael's room the night I went to Costco (which was the same day I posted about it)...I guess trying to put the kids in their jammies, diapers, etc is a little tough when it is pitch dark out and don't have a light to do it with! HAHA.

February is a busy month

2010-02-08T09:05:00.007-07:00

and for a month that is already short in days, how can so much be jammed packed into it? This past week Dennis had to work out of town. He was gone from Wednesday and back around 7pm on Saturday. It seems strange to me that it is almost easier without him here-as much as I miss him- the meals are less work, I run my own schedule, and I know it is just me, where if he is home and something is going on with the kids, or supper, or whatever he isn't usually quick to help/respond so that adds to my stress level and makes me grumpy. I can't fault him too much as he works hard and when he comes home he is tired, I get that, but oh I wish I had the quick to help, and do things (when they needed to be done) kinda of guy. Here is an example, right now, Kael's light bulb in his room is burnt out and has been since Friday. I asked Dennis to change it when he got home on Sat...it is still burnt out...I keep you posted on when that gets changed. :)
This layout is of Kael (Wuza) of when he was just a little guy. Jacie hung him with that nickname (wuh-zah) and I just love it. So we all still call him that. The layout design for Wuza and Us Girls came from the Pencil Lines blog and Stampede Fun was just one that I came up with on my own. It is too bad the Stampede Fun came out a little blurry, as the girl in the bottom right picture is hilarious. Mom was taking the picture of the kids and my dad and this girl (who we don't know) is smiling and waving at her as she must know she is going to be in the picture...I just couldn't crop her out...I would have regretted it as I would have told the story to people who looked at this page and would have said 'I wish I didn't crop her out'. So I didn't!

Here is a layout of me and Jacie. Look at my cheekbones! I wonder if I will ever get those back! HA
Every weekend is booked now till March! It is a nice feeling actually as it is booked up with date nights, friends and a birthday night out with the girls-dinner and a movie..I wonder what Pam will pick to see?! Us girls (there is about 6 of us) have been on a bad movie cycle for a long time now...I hope we actually pick a good one this time. :)
Last night I made a turkey with all the fixings...with homemade perogies. YUM!

Sitter is coming tonight

2010-01-30T14:56:00.006-07:00

so that Dennis and I can go to the trailer show (in peace) and then for a late supper afterwards (with friends). This is so exciting. We have two babysitters that live close to us and they really like babysitting!! How awesome is that?! S-weet!
The Perfect Day and So Young are the two layouts I did at the same time. I am trying to use up the rest of the birthday pictures of Travis' 4th birthday party, which if I could truly pick the perfect day, that one would be it. We just celebrated his birthday with just us. No friends, etc. We got up, went to church, then headed to Okotoks, got some subs at Quizno's and had a picnic lunch by the river and spent the whole afternoon there. I was pregnant with Danika at the time, and Kael just loved sitting in the river chewing on rocks! HA The kids had a blast playing in the river and we were almost the last to leave there. We came home and Travis opened his gifts and then it was bedtime. It was just a great family day! All three of these layouts were from sketches over at the Pencil Lines Blog.
Look how young Den and I were. No kids...just us. I don't even know if we bought our first house yet or not here. I have NO idea how old we are here!
I had a lot of fun with this layout, using paint, Glimmermist, stamps, ripping paper, etc.

Well baby is sleeping, so I am going to go start another layout and then get ready for date night! YEEHAW!

Finally a layout

2010-01-26T19:00:00.002-07:00

was completed and here it is. I used a stamp from Stampin' Up (the long grass) which I just love. I can think of endless possibilities for that one!
I started two layouts today which I have never done before. Usually I complete one layout before I start another one, but because I used paint on one, I had to let it dry, so I started another one!! Woohoo.

Tonight I made a new recipe called Chicken Cordon Bleu 11 from All Recipes. It is a keeper as it has this great creamy wine sauce that is to die for. I made pasta with it and put the sauce over that too. I know the chicken is buried in sauce so you can't really see it, but oh man was it good. The kids ate it all up as well.

***Avatar***
We went to the movie Avatar on Saturday night with our two oldest kids and friends of ours and their kids. It was playing in 3D. This movie is the best movie I have ever seen and I am telling you to go out and not miss this experience. The movie theater is the best place to see this movie and it must also be seen in 3D! The technology is AMAZING! This is a movie experience you don't want to miss. It is just that good. PLEASE please go see it!! I am hoping to go and see it again at the Imax! I just can't say enough great things about it! How about you? Have you seen it? What did you think?

The end of the cookbook testing

2010-01-24T10:25:00.009-07:00

for Art Smith is here and I had three chicken breasts to use up, so I made Red Pepper Jelly Chicken breasts. The Red Pepper Jelly is from Epicure and is very tasty with pork as well-especially ribs! It makes a sticky glaze over the meat and is very good. BUT in this case I over cooked the chicken and it was very dry...I can't stand it when I do this. What a waste. The kids ate all of theirs, which was nice, and we ate about 3/4 of ours. That was too bad. We had it with macaroni and cheese and corn.

I also made buns for the very first time and after supper Jacie and I finished making them. I started them too late to have for supper, which was maddening, but at least I could pack them in the kids lunches for Friday. The buns were very good and will try to make them every couple of weeks. YUM

With some of the dough I made cinnamon buns because I wasn't thrilled with the first batch. Dennis liked the first batch better, but I liked these better as I don't care for the caramel glaze the other ones had...so I will keep trying new recipes for cinnamon buns.

Friday, Carrie came over and we made homemade perogies. It was my second time and I was a little intimidated, but with her help we pumped out many dozen...I didn't count exactly how many, but maybe 8-10 dozen? Not sure...We had them for supper with fried onions and farmer sausage. SOOO GOOD! Kael alone eats at least 6. Danika doesn't like them yet...same with bananas...it is a texture thing.

To sum up the cookbook, I think it is a great cookbook that offers wholesome, pretty easy recipes, and uses ingredients that you can find at your local grocery store-which is super important when you have a busy household (and a large family) when one stop shopping is ideal.

Last night

2010-01-21T10:07:00.006-07:00

we had Chinese Curried Noodles with Chicken and Vegetables. It turned out really well. I didn't have egg noodles, but did have Angle Hair pasta, so I used that instead. When I make this again I will add an onion along with the green onions. I also didn't have celery that it called for. The whole family ate this one up.

Here is the finished supper. Yum.

During the afternoon I got an urge to make Cinnamon Buns for the first time. This recipe was from All Recipes and it is called Ooey-Gooey Cinnamon Buns. They turned out okay for me. My husband ate 4 last night and just loves them. I think for me it isn't the recipe of my FAV cinnamon buns, so I will keep exploring...but for a first attempt, can't complain.

Now, what to make for lunch? Still haven't gotten around to figuring that out yet...the weekly lunch menu.

After supper, I put on the tunes while the kids and I cleaned up supper. Music soothes the soul and gets me in a better mood to tackle any clean up. I don't know about you but I loath cleaning... so anything to help ease that pain is much appreciated...and music does that!

One of these days I am going to get back to my other love...scrapbooking. :)

Okay a day late!

2010-01-18T20:42:00.006-07:00

Last night we packed up the kids and went to Swiss Chalet for supper. This is the first venture out with all of us in a family restaurant in about a year. We brought both of our booster chairs for Danika and Kael and got a big booth and strapped them in and prayed for the best. Over all it went very well and so glad we did it. It was great to get out as a family and enjoy a sit down meal. Swiss Chalet is so good too as they have a great kids menu and really good meals for the whole family. I recommend it to everyone. YUM!

Tonight I finally made the Flank Steak with Red Wine Butter Sauce. I really really like this cookbook. I like how you just have a few ingredients and the recipes are straightforward and easy to do, with so far good results (the parsnips was my fault as I guess on the bigger ones there is a bitter core that needs to be cut out-lesson learned!). This recipe was good but I screwed up the sauce, as the flank steak was pretty rare so I put it back in the sauce to cook a bit more, but the juices made the sauce watery again after I had a nice reduction...oh well it still tasted good.

Here is a side called Creamed Spinach. This one had mixed results and Danika ate it up like crazy, Kael had about 4 good size bites, Jacie gagged (with her nose plugged) but got it down with a piece of steak to mask it and Travis gagged about 4 times and with teary eyes I said he could spit it in the garbage. Oh man I laughed at him after. I know, nice mom eh?! But they all have to try it no matter what! I also made Two Potato Mash with Yams and Yukon potatoes. This was VERY good and will be made a lot. It is by far the best side I have made in a long time! 5 out of 5 here!! Here is the final product.

Lastely, this afternoon I made Carrotcake Muffins with a creamcheese icing. The kids got to eat them after supper and they liked them, so they are a hit! YEAH!!

I am off to watch some TV as I have been in the kitchen from 2pm and finished cleaning up supper after 7:30pm. My feet are throbbing!

Rummoli anyone?

2010-01-17T12:37:00.003-07:00

Yesterday I was feeling blah all day and feeling sorry for myself, as Dennis was at work, yet again on a Saturday-and as much as I should be thankful that he is busy still in this economy, I was down because I miss him. He worked late quite a bit over the last two weeks, which just sucks for him and us. At the end of this month, he is going to be gone a full week working out of town, so it is all just building up. The kids miss him when he is gone; so do I-which is a good thing, as if I didn't I would be writing on a whole different topic. So missing him and my stomach bothering me (I have a doctors appointment on Monday morning), there has been a lot on my mind.
Anyway, when Den finally got home I wanted to go out for supper, so as we were getting ready I turned on the music and I immediately phoned our friends-who conveniently live across the street-and invited them over for a games night instead. The music got me pumped for company! We had a great time. It was what I needed to pull me out of the dumps. The game we played was Rummoli, which is a great great game! I think we quit playing around 2:30am??? and then we chatted until 4:30ish.
Tonight I will post again as I am making 3 new recipes for supper.

Day 3

2010-01-15T23:03:00.003-07:00

Today I was suppose to make a dish (from the same cookbook) using the left over tenderloin from last night...but I could make excuse after excuse as to why I didn't go out today, but the plain truth is that I didn't want to load up 3 kids and head to the grocery store for the 3 items I was missing. I know, lazy eh?! The funny thing is that I may have to load up all 4 kids tomorrow instead as we need milk yet again. I would love to get delivery to the door for milk...I need to check into that! :)

BUT I did make my own dish instead. I used black bean sauce, hoisin sauce, Epicure Oriental Stir-fry seasoning (which if you do a lot of stir fry's is a must), and you'll see the rest of the ingredients from the picture. Looking at this I should have cut the tenderloin in smaller pieces (this is Dennis' bowl) but whatever it was really good. I love stir fry's. They are quick and easy and I feel that they are good for you as well.

After supper and after Danika and Kael went to bed we watched The Water Horse for family movie night. It was a great movie. Finally a good family movie! That one gets 5 out of 5 stars from me!

In regards to what Dennis thought of the side dish from yesterday (the diesel mash)...he said it was okay and turned and looked at me and said 'what was in that anyway, parsnips?' Yeah I looked at him and was like how the heck do you know what parsnips are?! I have never made them or bought them before in my life...and the most gourmet thing he made while he was a bachelor was pork chops in cream of mushroom soup! MEN!

Day 2

2010-01-14T18:29:00.006-07:00

Tonight I made Roast Pork Tenderloin with Asian Glaze. Again, pretty simple ingredients-the sesame oil was the most 'exotic' ingredient. I paired this meal with Mashed Cauliflower and Parsnips which I was super excited to try. I made corn as well to give some sweetness to the Asian sauce.

Here is the finished product and yes the pork loin tasted as good as it looks. It was very good. I would definitely make this again! The Mashed Cauliflower and Parsnips on the other hand looked good, but tasted horrible. Something went really wrong here. My first bite I wanted to spit it out! My first thought that came to my mind was it tasted like diesel or gas...I think the parsnips were extremely bitter?! I have no idea why this didn't turn out and I am so sad that it didn't work, cause I wanted to pass it off as mashed potatoes! BOO! Oh well, I will google how to peel a parsnip and make sure that I didn't leave too much 'outside' on it...I just took out my carrot peeler and peeled it like a carrot. Is this right? I dunno, but will check it out, as I don't ever want to taste that taste again!

As far as the family test, the kids loved the pork and corn...I didn't let them eat more than the one bite of the side dish, for obvious reasons! Dennis is not home yet, so I will post his thoughts tomorrow...and yes I gave him a good amount of the side for not coming home on time and I'll just see what he thinks of it all on his own!! Bahahahhahaa! Think evil laugh! Bahahaha!

Change of plans...

2010-01-13T20:22:00.009-07:00

I started the meals tonight from this cookbook (this was also where I got the meatloaf recipe was from).

First up I made Salmon with Scallions, Tarragon and Lemon. Here is all the ingredients that I needed to make it. Not too much at all eh?! It calls for low sodium chicken broth, but I just used water with Epicure Chicken bullion (which I have to say is one of my favourite products!).

Here is the side I made with the salmon, called Corn and Rice Pilaf. I was going to add the red peppers and carrot (which was NOT in the recipe) but decided after to leave it out as I wanted to stay true to the recipe. It was so good and I am glad I didn't add any other veg to it. Next time I make it, I will not hesitate to add those extra veggies, but for a first time I think it is important to stay true to the recipe. The sauce over the salmon was spot on! SO GOOD...it was very tasty. So the true test...how did the family rate it...

Dennis said it was awesome, he just loved it. Kael and Danika ate half of what I gave them. Travis ate all of it, he really liked it and Jacie ate half of it. She didn't care for the salmon...but it was her first attempt at salmon and I don't know if it was it her mind that was telling her before she even had it that she wouldn't like it, or if she truly didn't like it?! But too bad she will be getting more of it throughout her years! HA

Here is Kael in his training aka swim pants. Couldn't resist this picture!

8 days

2010-01-12T15:33:00.002-07:00

ago I started potty training Kael and on day 5 and 6 he had NO pee messes at all. He would feel the urge to go and come and whine to get his 'swim' pants off and then go in the potty. I was feeling so great that we have come so far in such a short time. We would go out and come home 2 to 3 hours later and he would be dry, we went to church and came home and he was dry. I was like YES we did it (for pee only)...he even wears his training pants at bedtime now and has waken up for 3 nights straight DRY...then Monday morning hit. He had his wake-up pee in the potty and then after that he has been having accidents since-both pee and poop. I guess my luck has run out. I was busy Monday cleaning the house all morning, and not really paying much attention to the potty duties, as he was so good with telling me when he had to go or just going on his own and needless to say he had many accidents in the morning and not really willing to sit on the potty anymore on his own. This had caused me to do about 8 loads of full laundry to keep up to having some training pants clean and ready for him. Thankfully after his nap I kept after him and he only had one pee accident for the rest of the afternoon. Today I have been on him all day and he has only had 2 pee accidents so far. I hope we are on the road to success again!

Today I have planned out our suppers for the week of Jan 18th - 24th. I have pulled all the recipes from the cookbook Kitchen Life by Art Smith. I am very excited to try more recipes from him, as so far I have had the mini meatloaves with really good gravy and yes it was really good.

Here is that recipe:
1 1/3 ponds of meat loaf mix (pork, beef, and veal)
1/3 C plus 2 tbsp ketchup
1/3 C dried bread crumbs
1 large egg, beaten
1 tbsp Dijon mustard
2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp fresh ground pepper

GRAVY
3 tbsp unsalted butter
1/4 C all-purpose flour
2 C canned reduced-sodium beef broth
salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

1. Position rack in center of oven and preheat the oven to 350'F. Lightly oil a 13x9 inch metal baking dish.
2. Combine the meat loaf mix, 1/3 C ketchup, bread crumbs, egg, mustard, Worcestershire sauce, salt, and pepper in a large bowl (your hands work best). In the baking dish, shape the meat mixture into six 3-inch-wide mounds. Poke your finger into the middle of each mound to make a hole.
3. Bake until an instant-read thermometer inserted in a meat loaf reads 165'F, about 40 minutes. During the last 5 minutes of baking, spread the remaining 2 tbsp ketchup over the tops of the meat loaves. Transfer them to a platter and tent with aluminum foil to keep warm.
4. Tilt the baking dish and spoon out the clear fat, leaving 1 tbsp juice in the pan. Place over 2 burners on medium heat. Add the butter and melt it. Sprinkle with the flour and whisk well. Whisk in the broth and bring to a simmer. Reduce the heat to low and simmer, whisking often, until the gravy is smooth and thick, about 3 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
5. Serve the meat loaves hot with the gravy passed on the side. ENJOY!

I have pulled 10 recipes all together-5 suppers; 3 sides; 2 desserts. As I make the recipes I will take pictures of the meal, write about how it turned out and how difficult (or not) they were to make, etc. The kids are eating what we eat, so I will also give the kids an opinion of thumbs up or down...should be very interesting! :) Wish me luck!!

Now, the next thing I have to do it plan out our lunches for Travis, Kael, Danika and I. We need a plan so we eat just as good/healthy at lunchtime as well as at supper. It isn't going to be extravagant--but it has to be nutritious and semi-easy.

Potty Training AGAIN

2010-01-07T08:49:00.006-07:00

Well it is that time, Kael is exactly 2 years and 3 months old today, so 2 days ago I started potty training. No diapers (except for bedtime), just training pants and at nap it is a pull-up. First it was a battle trying to get him to wear the training pants, so one time I called them swim pants (as he loves to go swimming) and whola...he lets me put them on now. Battle 1-mommy wins. For the past 2 days have been spent in his room, living room, basement with the potty attached to my hip. We have a deal...if he wants a show (which has never been offered to him until 2 days ago) then he has to sit on the pot to watch. So far that gives me a break from the never ending books required to keep him on the pot...ohhh I am sooo exhausted from that. I mostly make him run around naked from the waist down and close all the doors so he can't pee on the carpet. Everywhere else is either hardwood or tile, so that is easy to clean up. Carpet-not so much. He helicopters once in awhile with the pee...he will start to go and then I am screaming "just wait, just wait" and as I am saying this, he is spinning watching my whirlwind of movement to find and get his potty seat to him - hence the helicopter motion. So, so far battle 2-which is the most important-going on the potty-Kael is winning...he doesn't tell me when he has to go and just goes when I put his training pants on...oh well, at least he is willing to sit on the pot.

Christmas was a great time with my family and was so happy to have them here. The time sure went fast and was glad for it all. Dennis had taken 5 days off, which was great. It was nice to have him around. Dennis' sister, Tracy, even flew in for a few days and it was great to have her here as well. We took the kids, along with my parents and Tracy swimming...we were there for 3 hours. It was so great to have the extra hands with the little ones. It was a great time.

Here is my dad and Dennis cleaning the dust off of our fan. It was quite comical!

Well I am off to the city to do some errands! Wish me luck and success with potty training!!

On the countdown

2009-12-17T16:53:00.007-07:00

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

2009-12-08T10:51:00.008-07:00

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

2009-12-01T16:08:00.006-07:00

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

2009-11-29T19:40:00.009-07:00

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

2009-11-12T16:29:00.004-07:00

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

2009-11-08T14:15:00.006-07:00

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

2009-10-29T15:37:00.006-06:00

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

2009-10-28T15:02:00.004-06:00

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

2009-10-18T17:04:00.008-06:00

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

2009-09-27T16:17:00.004-06:00

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

2009-09-24T09:11:00.008-06:00

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

2009-09-14T22:50:00.006-06:00

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???

2009-08-31T11:44:00.010-06:00

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...

2009-08-14T08:36:00.005-06:00

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

2009-07-08T16:53:00.009-06:00

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...

2009-06-26T17:47:00.003-06:00

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...

2009-06-13T07:48:00.006-06:00

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

2009-06-03T14:28:00.004-06:00

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!

Yeehaw to

2009-05-30T11:06:00.004-06:00

summer weather arriving! What a difference it makes. Camping, the sun warming your skin, kids playing outside, chatting outside with the neighbours...it all makes me feel human again. I bought a 3 kid slip N slide from Walmart yesterday and it lasted 3 minutes before it got a rip...so I will have to take it back today and get a one kid one. I think it would be more durable than the 3 kid one. It is too bad, as it was a good idea...
I did this layout for a challenge over at How Much is Too Much...it was a tough challenge but I really enjoyed it. I used everything from Just Cre8 May kit except 'bennett' 'family'. It is great to get back in my scrap room. I admit I have been in a funk lately and just didn't have the energy to go down stairs and scrapp. I would rather read, watch tv, be on the computer...which is really weird for me.

I brought up my, now filled up, binder of my layouts for Dennis to look at. He thinks will be so good for the kids when they get older and I think he really appreciates what I do now and sees it more than just a hobby of mine...which makes me happy.

For supper we had soft taco's which we haven't had in a long time but man are they yum-o! Kael inhaled them and the big kids were made to eat them. They liked them too...after the initial shock of it. KIDS!! HA After the 2 little ones went to bed we tried to watch Harry Potter 2 last night (with Jacieand Travis) but the disc was scratched up and froze up too much to watch it..of course this all happened an hour into the movie...just when you get into it! Oh well...we'll have to rent it sometime to finish it, as we haven't seen it before. I would like to have a movie night with Dennis tonight...but we'll see. Tonight is steak, mushrooms and potatoes.

Sitting here relaxing

2009-05-26T13:32:00.006-06:00

while Kael and Danika are sleeping. I am ready for a nap as well, but I wanted to post Travis' birthday cards I made this morning...they are very simple but I wanted to get them done. Travis' birthday is in July but I am thinking of having his 'friends' birthday in June so it is easier to hand out invitations and also the kids are still around...but we'll see.

Last night it was our monthly Stampin' Up! get together...all the gals were all able to attend and it was great to see everybody. The kids had soccer last night as well, so I got Dennis to take Kael with them and I took Danika with me. After I got home and put Danika to bed I watched the Jon and Kate Plus 8 premier and Prison Break finale (and final show as they are off air now). I stayed up way too late but I wanted to watch those shows. It is amazing the difference between Jon and Kate since the finale to the premier! I am sad that they are only together for the kids...my mouth dropped a few times and I feel so sad for them. I hope they can find their way back to one another. Prison Break is over and it was one I watched faithfully, but it was over the top...and pretty unrealistic, but I still watched it. The way they ended it was a jaw dropper as well and can't believe they ended it the way they did...I can't decide if it was brilliant (from a writers perspective) or a rip-off (because I like happy endings).

Tonight is steak, shrooms, onions, and pasta & sauce for supper...can hardly wait! I am starving already...

ps. we watched Body of Lies with Leonardo and Russell Crowe sometime last week...it was a really good show.

Blessed all around

2009-05-22T14:42:00.005-06:00

to have a husband that loves me, children that are healthy, friends to call, a house to live in, a beautiful day to enjoy, freedom to make decisions, etc...I just had to say those things as sometimes I can go through a day and forget what it is all about. So yeehaw and thanks be to God for all that He provides for us! Hmmm did I make any of you out there uncomfortable with that last statement???

Okay, so last night I started a layout based on a challenge over at DesignX, where they want you to write about something you miss...well this one was SO easy for me and it felt great to journal my feelings...although I don't like my hand writing, I wrote it anyway. Everything, except the black and white flower page and key stamp is from JustCre8 May 2009 kit. I also used a sketch from the Pencil Lines Blog for my inspiration. Love both those blogs! While I was working on that the kids did their own project and I am so happy that Jacie decided to do her very first 'real' scrapbook page. I am not sure if you can read her writing but it is SOOO funny and very cute. I am proud of her and hope she keeps it up. Travis did a page as well, but it was on printing...which is just fine by me! We spent over 1.5 hours together in the craft room...just the three of us...it was time very well spent!

Here is Danika today...can you believe she is 6 months old already!

I have hit a road block

2009-05-20T13:22:00.004-06:00

but will get back into my scrapp room real soon. I have been quite tired lately and have gotten into reading, so my scrapping has come to a screaming hault! Also, the finale's for the TV shows are either here or are over, so that has kept me out of my scrap room. But I will get back to it asap!!

My name was picked over at GutterGirlz blog and I won some scrapp supplies!! S-weet! I will post the goodies when it arrives in the mail. I feel so honoured when I get picked, as I honestly never expect it...even on random draws. I never take it for granted!

This past long weekend we went camping with a bunch of friends. We had a real good time. I loved spending time at the 'pond' with Kael and the kids while they sat and threw rocks in it. It was time well spent with our friends and family. Thankfully the weather was really nice as well.

Monday night Den and I watched the movie Valkyrie with Tom Cruise. We thought it was really good. It is based on a true story too...which I love. It has been so long since we have been able to watch a movie together...which I really miss, as we love to watch movies.

Tonight we are going to watch the American Idol Finale! I hope Adam wins! I wish the finale would have been between Danny and Adam, instead of Adam and Kris. I LOVE Danny and was sad to see him go!

I am making Shake and Bake pork chops for supper with pasta and sauce and peas for supper...yum-o!

Feels so good to get

2009-05-12T15:26:00.007-06:00

a layout done. I did this for How Much is Too Much challenge, One Little Word plus it fit into Just Cre8's monthly challenge...except on the latter I had to hand draw the 2 as you can only use what is in their monthly kit to qualify. After I took the picture I stuck a foam 2 over what I hand drew and took this picture. It is so dreary and it is pouring out, so once again this isn't the best picture...the journaling is hard to see so I took a closer up picture of it so it is readable.

I am going to start another challenge soon, as I truly missed scrapping and feels good to get back at it. I also started another book called The Mephisto Club by Tess Gerritsen. This is like book 6 or so in the series...I enjoy this series...then again I love books with the same characters in each book. Feels real and that you get to know them (even though it is fiction!) :)

Well Dennis is out riding this afternoon and I am going to make a picnic supper for the kids and they are going to go and watch Spiderwick Chronicles -which is what we watched for Family movie night last Friday...Den said no to Marley and Me! HA

I am looking forward to Biggest Loser-Couples tonight. I will PVR Idol and we will watch both episodes tomorrow as Den and I watch it together...it is one of the few shows we like together.

Jacie and Travis had soccer last night. I only got pictures of Jacie as Travis played out of town and we had to split up so she would get to her practice on time. Jacie, Danika and I walked to the field and Den, Travis and Kael met us there after Travis' game. It got cold and Danika started fussing so I left a bit early and walked home with her. We all got home at the same time.

A person wrote this on Facebook in their status and got a good chuckle over it... So and So thinks that her imaginary friends are making fun of her...but it's okay...I'm giving them the silent treatment until they apologize.

The saga ended

2009-05-09T16:13:00.005-06:00

this afternoon...just finished book #4 (of the Twilight series) this afternoon and I am sad it is over. For those who have only seen the movie...the book is WAY better. Of course Robert Pattinson (Edward) was Yum-O, but the movie left out way too much details...well now at least I can get into my scrap room.

This is me with all my packages from our trip to Whitefish! Love that we can shop with no kids saying 'I'm bored', 'Can we go now', etc. We ate when we wanted, slept in, shopped till we literally dropped...another great time was had.
This is me and my Edward bookmark! I looked at it every night before bed! HAHA

This is the contents of our fridge...alcohol, pop, chocolate and milk...our 4 basic food groups! HA

We got our sod down Friday night as the rain in the forecast scared us. We had some soggy spots from the rain the previous days, but hopefully it all takes without sink holes! As we got started our wonderful neighbours came out to help us. They just came over and went to work without even being asked!! What great people eh?!! We are pretty stiff and sore today and Den's back is shot now...so hopefully he recovers fast. He is tilted to one side when he walks and swears every couple of steps...

We are having movie night with Jacie and Travis...I think we are going to watch Marley and Me...not too sure yet.

Hope your weekend is going great!

Twilight has consumed

2009-05-05T19:56:00.003-06:00

my life. I started the first book out of 4 last week and now I am half way done book #4. LOVE IT! For all you that have read it, I love Edward! Sorry Jacob, but I have to stand by MY Edward. He is so madly in love with Bella and the way he honestly worships her makes my heart happy!

Last Thursday evening the gals and I (6 of us in total) left for Whitefish, Montana. We took two vehicles, as us ladies know how to shop and there is no way that all of us, plus our luggage, bags and new purchases would ever fit into one vehicle. This is our first years photo when there was only 4 of us!! I will post current pictures when I get them!! We came home Sunday and my nail marks are left all over at the border as they had to drag me back across! It wasn't long enough, as it was very nice to get away and hang with friends!

Well I don't have much to post as I haven't scrapped anything since I started the Twilight Saga!! I need to get back in the scrapp room soon, as I do miss it!!

Not very motivated today

2009-04-21T14:15:00.003-06:00

to do much of anything-except scrapp! Considering Danika had her first ever 12 hour sleep (I got 6) I should be more than rested, but I am not!! At least not today. *YAWN*

I have been wanting to scrapp this picture for a long time and had such a hard time coming up with a title...so there it sat...until I saw the challenge on the Dream Girls Challenge Blog. They wanted you to use a movie quote, along with chipboard and jounaling. I love how it turned out, but I am not liking the way the layouts look after I crop them, etc. They use to come out bright and clear and now I can hardly read the journaling and they look dull. I may have to get out the tripod and work some magic, as the lighting or something is off...

Well I am excited for American Idol tonight! Love that show! I am rooting for Danny, Matt, Chris and of course ADAM! The girls don't come close to these boys!

Anyway, steak, sauteed mushrooms, onions, corn and baked beans tonight for supper! YUM-O!!

A good day

2009-04-19T21:29:00.003-06:00

was had by all today. It was a beautiful day-especially in the morning and we spent it outside pulling weeds and doing up some yard work. After the weed pulling, I chatted with the neighbours and the kids played all around. Kael was in his glory as he is an outdoor boy and loved playing with his ride-em toys and bouncing/kicking the ball around. I love chatting it up with our neighbours and getting in some adult time! Around 1pm we headed into the city have lunch at Quizno's, take a load to the dump, and then we went to Canadian Tire. On the way to the city, Den got a speeding ticket going 108 in an 80 zone. Ugh! I just finished telling him we were in no hurry and to enjoy our leisurely Sunday afternoon...$166 later we were on the road again. Geesh! So I had to rub it in that I have never gotten a ticket EVER and I am 34 years old-yes I am quite proud-and Den responded by saying that I am boring! HA! That made me laugh. When I mentioned it later he put his hand to his mouth and pretended to yawn (once again to let me know I am boring)! :) Oh well, at least we have humour, as it could have wrecked our day!
After we fed the kids supper and got Kael and Danika to bed we finished watching Harry Potter. We started last night but had to stop it as it is 2.5 hours long. The show isn't my cup of tea, but the kids liked it. A few scary parts for them, but all in all it was a hit. Friday night the kids and I watched Bedtime stories with Adam Sandler. It was really good. I highly recommend that one.
I did this layout for two challenges...one was for Letters to Scrap by...theirs was to use the colour orange...I love the colour orange and have Glimmermist in Tiger Lily and another shade of orange...I used the Tiger Lily in the top left side of the page and the other shade on the white paper where I mounted the 3 pictures. The other one was a sketch challenge at Pencil Lines. I love that sketch site. Everything is from the Created with Paper kit except the solid orange 12x12 paper, the stamps, buttons and white paint. I used the rub-ons on the buttons-which I have never done before.
Well I am going to finish my night by watching some TV.

Another busy week

2009-04-17T08:17:00.004-06:00

around here. Wednesday I met with my doctor and got the go ahead for surgery to get this dermoid cyst off...actually the Dr. is going to take out the whole left ovary and be done with it. At first he wanted to observe it, send me for ultrasounds every 3 months to see if it grows, etc. Ugh no, that is too much work and hassle. It would eventually have to come out one day down the road and just knowing this thing is inside and growing creeps me out. So thankfully when I said lets just take it out, he was more than fine with that!

Thursday Jacie had her two upper teeth (beside her adult front ones) pulled and I had a cleaning. Frick cleanings suck. I swear they should do that to prisoners to get confessions out of them. They would talk in 5 seconds flat! Oh and Jacie did so good with getting her teeth pulled. She really is a trooper! Of course what kept her going was the thought of what the Tooth fairy was going to bring her. Once again she did not fail! :)

I will be doing an overhaul today on the inside of the house with a friend of mine. I seemed to have let the house get the best of me and I am needing some help getting back to where I come in and be relaxed...not stressed out! I can't wait. I will take before and after pictures...

I did this layout for a GutterGirlz challenge. I have never scrapped without a picture before! It is almost like a big journaling page. I am longing for getting a journal to do this kind of thoughts in, but have yet to go hunting for one that would work...maybe Amazon might have one? Any suggestions out there?

Been a busy few weeks

2009-04-13T16:29:00.011-06:00

around here. I have been having battles with Jacie again...well when did it ever stop!? After 5 years of butting heads it gets old fast and I feel exhausted and miserable. This isn't the way I envisioned motherhood. Do you ever think back to how you thought you would be as a mother? I think about that all the time and boy are things different to what I had thought up in my mind. I had such unrealistic expectations and if I could go back to when Jacie was born I would change a lot of things. One of them would be to have NO expectations and to realize a lot of stuff that she went through (biting, temper tantrums, etc) was normal part of growing up and that she wasn't this beast of a child. I think back to when she was little and how I always treated her older than she was because she was so big for her age...so again, for some reason, I expected more out of her. What a burden I gave to her and frankly I feel a lot of guilt for it. I wish I could go back and reclaim those times and start over. I say over and over again 'tomorrow is a new day, and things will be different' but they aren't. It isn't fun to fight with your child and I am sick of it. Thankfully camping season is here and we can get outside and be together as a whole family. I love those times!

On April 1st my grandpa passed away. He was 87 years old and he was in an old age home. His quality of life wasn't there for some time and sometimes I'd think 'why does God keep him around and people like him around when it seems there is no quality of life?' but I soon came to realize that we don't have all the answers and to have faith that things happen for a reason. My grandpa had 11 brothers and sisters in his family and one of his brothers had a son Mike (who we never met-not even my mom). Mike saw my grandpa's obituary in the paper and gave my mom a call. He said he wanted to come to the viewing and that it is about time we get our families reconnected. After the viewing he joined us for lunch where my mom and him talked about stories and got updates about the rest of that side of the family. Mike is such a nice guy and we immediately bonded with him and were so thankfully that he did reach out to us. A few days later it hit me...maybe Mike wouldn't have been ready to reconnect with us if grandpa was taken any sooner and that God took him when He knew Mike was ready to reach out to us. We don't know the 'why's of the world but I take comfort in that thought.

This is a layout that I was working on before we left for Moose Jaw. I missed the challenge dead line, but oh well. Maybe it will qualify for a different challenge down the road. While we were in Moose Jaw we went swimming, bowling and had a lot of fun under the circumstances. I am so glad we all went. We even did a casual family picture...it turned out really well! Yes I am in my PJ's! I was hoping the front row would have covered that part up...oh well!

Yeah, Danika

2009-03-31T14:47:00.004-06:00

She was 6 ounces short of gaining a full pound in one week! That is such a relief...now I know that she isn't getting enough from just me. I have supplemented her for a week now, along with nursing, coupled with rice cereal which I am going to continue to do. Just before her nap she had a nice big poop, so all I have to say is thank the Lord! Things are great in Danika's world! :)

After the doctors appointment we had McD's for lunch and then we went to the Consignment store, in Langdon, where I came out these items. The bill was $43.60 and I had a $42.47 credit, so I had to fork over $3.31! Good deal.

Now I need to scrapp something...

First taste

2009-03-27T22:44:00.005-06:00

of whole grain rice cereal was on March 26th. As you can see it wasn't a great hit, but she did finish most of the bowl. I am now giving her at least one bottle a day and have noticed her diapers are far more wetter-which is a good thing. She took to a bottle no problem-which was shocking as she has only had 3 since she was born-but I am so glad!

I was in the kitchen and came out and saw Danika on her tummy (she was laying on her playmate). That is the second time she has rolled over. She is growing up so fast...as they all do. She still has bright blue eyes...I hope they don't change.

I noticed Travis' eyes seem to have a green hue to them and aren't truly blue anymore. Here he is in his 'man cave' playing with an 'electrode' which is a calculator. I love when the kids use their imagination! I am taking Travis to the doctor on Tuesday to get his feet checked...they are cracked under his big toe and flaky all around his toes. Those cracked areas look so sore...I feel bad for him. I hope there is something we can do for his skin.

I did this layout for a few challenges...Method Playground which wanted a monochromatic layout and for Cafe Mojo which wanted embossing on the layout. I LOVE the way the birds turned out. I used Versamark and white embossing powder and Voila! Everything was from the Just Cre8 kit which also let me put it in their monthly March challenge. Yeehaw!

Jacie was almost 3 years old and Travis was almost 15 months here! Travis is just a few months younger than Kael is now in these pictures! Hard to believe.

4 month vaccinations

2009-03-25T13:27:00.005-06:00

were yesterday for Danika. She had 3 needles-2 in one leg and 1 in the other. She of course cried but was easily comforted. She is 25 inches long and weighs 13 lbs, 12 ounces which means she didn't gain any weight over the past 2 months which is very alarming! The nurse and I talked and we think maybe she isn't getting enough from me only. That is why we could also be having the less frequent BM's. I felt so bad as this never even crossed my mind as she is a happy baby and when I burp her she usually spits up a bit. Needless to say when I got home she had a bottle and thankfully had no issues with taking the bottle. She drank about 2 ounces from that and off to bed she went. By the time she was ready for her next feed I had plenty to offer her as missing one feeding let my milk supply build in volume. The nurse wants me to bring her in once a week to weigh her now and make an appointment with my doctor to have her looked at. Now that I know to supplement her I am not as alarmed as I was last night. To boot she had a nice poop for me before her nap. I am also going to start her on rice cereal soon...as I think she is ready...I feel so guilty, but by no means is she dehydrated, gaunt, etc. She is a plump, pink and a happy little baby...I will be more watchful to make sure she is gaining a half pound a week from now on!

I finished this layout yesterday. All of it was from Just Cre8 March 09 kit...except I used Glimmermist on the keys and the lock. I wrote UN by the lock...but it is hard to see. This layout was inspired by two things...1. a fight between me and Dennis...long story but the short of it is he went out Friday night without calling to let me know that he was going out...how rude! and the 2nd is the Letters to Scrap By challenge to use the colour magenta. So the upside to the fight is it produced a layout about me again! HAHA

Last Saturday I took Jacie and Danika and us girls went shopping all day. We ended by going to the movie "the race to witch mountain". I was so nervous taking Danika but thankfully she did really well. It was so loud though, but she was good sitting in my lap and she actually fell asleep for a bit. It was nice to spend the day with my daughters! We will have to do that again soon.

Real

2009-03-16T16:54:00.004-06:00

is the word on the challenge posted at One Little Word. It gave me an opportunity to scrap a little something about me again. I used most of the products from the Created With Paper kit...I embellished with Crate die cuts and cut out the dictionary word for 'real'...which still feels like I am breaking the law when I tear out a page from a book!

I am trying to find a long stapler so that I can staple up to 6 inches on every side. I can only find standard sizes...anyone know where I can find the longer ones???

On Saturday we had our Stampin' Up! club where we decorated plain metal boxes into recipe boxes. I am happy with the way it turned out and glad we did it. I just have to finish up the inside...when I do, I will post pictures.

10 years and counting...

2009-03-15T20:22:00.004-06:00

It was our anniversary on March 12th. It was 10 years ago that we got married in Las Vegas with 52 of our family and friends. It was such a good time and so glad we did it the way we did it. We planned our wedding for 15 months...we were together for 5 years before we got married. It is hard to believe we have 15 years behind us...in that time we have had 4 children and truly have grown closer-especially this past year.

So that night he came home early from work with this arrangement of 3 big ass flowers with pussy willows, greenery, and small pink flowers. It was very beautiful, but I would have been happy with a slurpee and some extra money to order some more scrap supplies! I am not a high maintenance girl. I am going to tell him that for the future. The thought was very nice and I was thrilled but flowers die too quick and are a lot of money. We ordered pizza for supper as well...yum-o!

On Friday, Jacie went to the dentist and got 3 fillings and 2 baby teeth pulled to make room for the adult teeth that are coming in. It was her bottom eye teeth that were pulled. I felt so bad for her, but she did so good. The dentist we go to are so amazing-especially with children. I swear she still doesn't know she got needles (as she is terrified of them). At 7 years old she is braver than me! So that night the tooth fairy brought her a DS game-SimAnimals and a twoony. She must have been exhausted hauling that over here! :)

Today we headed out to Elbow falls for a little hike and to get out of the house. I love road trips. We then went to McLean Creek and had a fire in a fire pit and had lunch there. We did hot dogs with fresh bakery buns! YUM!

Brrrrr it's cold outside...

2009-03-09T17:28:00.005-06:00

I can't wait for spring and warmer weather. This -34'C needs to go away!! On Sat I went to the post office and picked up my RAK...it finally arrived!! :) I won a random draw for a layout, on the blog Letters to Scrap By, back in Oct and this is what I picked out. How wonderful!!

I am expecting one more RAK to arrive shortly from another random draw over at Creative Therapy. It is exciting to see what goodies will come. Over at Just Cre8 I won a random draw on the sketch challenge they have. It will arrive with my monthly kit. YEEHAW!

I finished a layout today for a challenge over at Scrapping Across the Universe and Pencil Lines-which is a sketch challenge. I stamped the paper with cardboard to get those lines. Everything is from the Just Cre8 Feb 09 kit except the butterfly, paperclip an the oval date.

I am loving stocked up kits and hunting around for more...eek! I want to stay Canadian...and love those sites that offer free shipping over a certain amount of $$. I loath paying for shipping...I know we have to, but I don't like it!

I tried that cake in a mug and it is no where near as good as homemade cake. I wouldn't make it again...take the extra time and make a whole one...it is well worth the extra time.

Well tonight I am recording Dancing with the Stars. I really like that show. Dennis wants me to learn the program AutoCadd so I can draw up his cabinets on the computer. I am actually looking forward to learning this program. I printed out the 22 page tutorial...now to do it!!

It's a cold and windy day today,

2009-03-05T14:58:00.005-07:00

so after my morning chores and the little ones down for their nap...it was time to scrapp!! I have been waiting to scrap these photo's for a long time and while I was going through my stuff (trying to organize) I came across this kit from Created with Paper. It feels good to use materials from past kits...heck knows I have a lot of them.

Kael has a cold -just came yesterday-so he is a little 'glazy' due to the nose running. Danika is sleeping like crazy today...will have to wake her up after this to feed her...she's been down for over 4 hours...don't know if it is a growth spurt or if she is fighting off something.

I did this layout for a sketch challenge over at Pencil Lines. This is my first time over at that site, and I like it!! I used everything from a kit from Just Cre8. I am not sure which month it is from though.

I really liked the way it turned out and that is was on me for a change. This is my first layout on me and it is important to have these ones to leave my legacy and who I am for the kids. I will be doing more of these!

The flower used to be white and I used Glimmer Mist to change the colour to blue and finished it off with spraying it with the colour graphite (for extra sparkle).

If you try this recipe please let me know how it turned out!! I have been dying to try it...but have no vanilla ice cream...when I get some though I am trying it!!!

5 MINUTE CHOCOLATE MUG CAKE

4 tablespoons flour
4 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons cocoa
1 egg
3 tablespoons milk
3 tablespoons oil
3 tablespoons chocolate chips (optional)
A small splash of vanilla extract
1 large coffee mug

Add dry ingredients to mug, and mix well. Add the egg and mix thoroughly.
Pour in the milk and oil and mix well.
Add the chocolate chips (if using) and vanilla extract, and mix again. Put your mug in the microwave and cook for 3 minutes at 1000 watts.
The cake will rise over the top of the mug, but don't be alarmed!
Allow to cool a little, and tip out onto a plate if desired.EAT! (this can serve 2 if you want to feel slightly more virtuous).
And why is this the most dangerous cake recipe in the world ? Because now we are all only 5 minutes away from chocolate cake at any time. the day or night!

God is testing me

2009-03-01T17:36:00.004-07:00

and I am failing miserably. One of the fruits of the spirit is patience and I am flawed in that area. The kids are fighting more and more with each other, coupled with the nah nah nah nah voice, well this and that, NO to us, I'm bored, etc I am losing my mind. We think it all stems from the Wii and video games, so that is turned off for at least a week to see if any improvements are made. Back to one movie at quiet time and that is it for TV, computer, etc. Play with your toys and be grateful for what you have. Kids don't seem to be grateful for what they have these days-speaking about mine here-they just take for granted what they have and how lucky they are. This is going to change. They should feel like saying Thank You to us for suppers, clean clothes, toys, and each other. I am going to start too, by taking some extra time to play with them, instead of always being busy with other things...in part I need to get off this computer as well. A lesson learned by all.

The layout I did used some glittermist on the May circle and the chipboard corner that I turned by the title. I used a new technique, to me, which I ripped out a page in my old school dictionary (felt totally wrong when I did it), applied Gesso to it and let it dry. Then I stamped on it and drew a rectangle around the word Play and sport. This technique I will be using more and more!

Stand by your man

2009-02-25T20:43:00.003-07:00

was the lyrics chosen for the Scrapping the Music challenge. I really had fun with this layout and like the way it turned out. I really wish I had better handwriting though! I typically type out what I have to say, but this time I thought it would be better to have it written out. Again all the items used were from the Feb 09 Just Cre8 kit. LUV IT!

Danika chuckled for the first time today. She has been giving more of half screeches as her laugh for the past few weeks, but today she finally let 'er go. I have been longing to hear that! She is getting so strong these days.

Well it is American Idol time! Have a good night!!

Monday has been

2009-02-23T17:32:00.004-07:00

busy and productive this morning. So, when Danika and Kael went down for their nap, this afternoon, I was able to start and finish this layout. Yeehaw! I love it when that happens!! All of the items I used was from the Feb 09 kit from Just Cre8...except the scalloped circle paper-which is from Stampin' Up.

I made ham, homemade scalloped potatoes and corn for supper tonight. I can't wait to eat! I am starving!

The routine starts again

2009-02-22T14:13:00.003-07:00

tomorrow. Jacie was off school all last week, but Travis wasn't. He still had preschool on just the Wednesday, as Monday was a holiday.

I finished this layout today using all items from the Just Cre8 February kit. The stamp is from Stampin' Up! I am thinking I don't like the outline I did in black marker, but it is too late now. I was trying to step out of my clean cut linear box...other than that I am happy with the way it turned out.

I am recording The Academy Awards tonight, as Dennis doesn't like those shows. This also allows me to fast forward through the commercials and other parts of the show I don't want to watch.

Dennis went to a fundraiser for Hugh and Tanya last night. Hugh is our friend that almost lost his life when he rode his quad without a helmet and lost control of it. He is still in the hospital with a head injury, but is making progress everyday. The fundraiser has brought in over $18,000 so far! It is just amazing how people come together to help out and rally for others.

On a roll

2009-02-19T17:28:00.002-07:00

I have been poking around the Just Cre8 forum and found a bunch of challenges that they have on their site. I wish I would have found this forum a long time ago...I just use to go on the website to order their scrapbooking items and of course I subscribe to their monthly kits as they rock!! Now that I am aware of these challenges, etc I will definitely be poking around their more often. :)

This is from a sketch on their website. I love making layouts from sketches! I was able to start and finish this in just over 2 hours! YEAH! I am happy with the way it turned out. I love these pictures of Kael. He is so CUTE!

Oprah has a organizing show on right now and I would LOVE for that crew to come to my house. By no means is mine as messy as the ones they show on tv...but I love the organizing bins, etc.

I am going to make the kids supper and Den and I are going to have Chinese food after the kids go to bed...it is a date night tonight and since we have no sitter we are going to bring it in here. :)

Wednesday Already???

2009-02-18T18:44:00.002-07:00

Wow, has this week gone by fast! Considering I have all 4 kids home this week (except for Travis going to preschool today) the week has been going pretty smoothly! I guess keeping busy is the key. This morning, after I dropped Travis off at preschool, the rest of the kids and I went to Superstore and got most of the groceries -except fresh, bakery and meat as we ran out of time as I had my physical this morning as well. UGH! It was for my 6 week postpartum but they are so busy I didn't get in till now...Danika is 11 1/2 weeks old!

I just finished this layout for a challenge at How Much Is Too Much. I used the Jan 09 kit from Just Cre8...the chipboard heart, flower, eyelets and clips aren't from the kit (the Sparkles on the chipboard heart came with the kit though). After I finished it, the little ones were still sleeping so we watched the movie Enchanted. It was good and was family appropriate. The kids EWWed when their was smooching, but it wasn't make out kissing which was good.

Tonight is all about American Idol! I am rooting for Danny Goeky to win. I think he has an awesome, unique voice. Go Danny Go!!

Today is all about

2009-02-15T20:56:00.004-07:00

Danika. She was Baptised this morning at the same church that we had our other three children Baptised in. Danika did so good too. She didn't fuss or cry - even when the Minister put the water on her forehead.

The only *eek* thing was the nursery was closed because they are having a hard time finding volunteers, so we had to keep Kael with us. I was pretty worried about it at first, but after I was like there is nothing we can do, so it is what it is. Thankfully there is a second balcony, so after the baptism was done we headed up there where he could motor around a bit. He got fussy right near the end-but all in all it was good.

We were planning on taking the C-train downtown to the church, but it was just too cold to wait for the train, so we just drove. After the service we hit drive-thru and headed home. As you can see, the boys slept on the way home... tired from a busy weekend. :)

Scrapping the Music

2009-02-13T16:59:00.002-07:00

challenge this week was a song called Lullaby by the Dixie Chicks. This was my take on it. I never heard this song before, but I really like it. Everything in this layout (except the leaf paper-which is Stampin' Up, thickers and 'in a') is from Just Cre8 monthly kit. They have great scrappy kits loaded with stuff.

I found out today I won the random draw on the Creative Therapy Blog for the layout called All Nighter. That was a sweet surprise! My hobby is finally paying off! lol

The end of the week has been extremely busy with driving Jacie to and from school. My friend, who goes above and beyond to help me out picks Jacie up everyday from school and drives her to school 3 times a week, went on holidays. I tell you I appreciate all the help because driving sucks for me with the two little ones. It never fails when it is time to go that the baby needs to be woken up. So I must tell her more often how grateful I am. Great neighbours turned out to be great friends! We are very lucky!

We live for Summer

2009-02-10T15:45:00.004-07:00

is a good layout for a day like today. We have had off and on flurries all day. Thankfully the sun is shining right now and the snow has stopped. I wish our summers were longer than our winters but that isn't the way it is here in Canada!

We got spikes put in where the pigeons were roosting and now they found a new place to roost, so we are getting Randy-the bird guy-back to put spikes under our deck in the back yard. These pigeons have probably aged me 10 years!

Den took the kids skiing on Saturday and they loved it. Jacie took to it no problem and Travis had a bit of trouble with snow plowing. After their lessons Dennis took them and Travis got the snow plowing down so they went up the chair lift which they thought was great. I had my Stampin' Up card making with the ladies on the same day, so I had to take Kael and Danika with me. She was a fussier than normal...which made it hard to make cards and enjoy myself fully, but oh well, I still had fun. Kael was good for just mulling around for 3 hours.

Today I mopped the floors and played the Wii with Travis. We are loving the tank game on the Wii Play game disc. I am making ribs, corn and homemade fries for supper...I am soooo hungry too. YUM!

When was the last time

2009-02-07T10:24:00.002-07:00

you were up all night? That was the theme over at Creative Therapy. For me that was easy, as it was when I had Danika. I literally had no sleep the night I was in labour and all the next day-due to sharing a room at the hospital. I swear that no woman who has just had a baby should have to share a room. It is just not right. A woman needs her sleep and privacy. I could not wait to get the heck out of there. I was discharged 16 hours later at my request...it would have been sooner but we had to wait for her first bowel movement and after that we were cleared to go. I was so happy to get home.

I made chicken and rice last night (in the same pot) from the America's Test Kitchen recipe. It was really good. Had a Spanish flare and some nice flavours. It wasn't plain at all. Yum-o!

Good family night

2009-02-03T19:56:00.005-07:00

tonight. I was going to go to a Norwex Party (sounds like a flu virus but it is personal and household cleaning products without chemicals), but first of all it was too busy to leave as we were still eating supper around 6pm-which is what time the party started. By the time I cleaned up, bathed Danika, got her ready for bed it was already 6:30pm. So Den and I played Sorry with the kids. It was a good family night and we haven't had game night in quite awhile, so I decided to stay home. I love it when Den is home and we all connect like that. I wouldn't trade in those memories right now.

The layout was for a challenge at Gettin' Sketchy. This sketch worked really well for me and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

I am still using the Bohemia Kit! LOVE IT!

We are going to hopefully watch American Idol right away! I love that show! Bring on snack mountain and good TV shows and I am happy...nope I am not high maintenance! :)

It's just me and my

2009-01-31T13:14:00.004-07:00

daddy...was the layout I created for Scrapping the Music challenge. I just love taking pictures of people from behind, as it captures the true moment. Isn't that dragonfly cute (which was cut out from the middle of the light blue paper. I covered the hole with the pictures). I am still using the Bohemia Kit from Created with Paper. I just fell in love with this line. The thickers, ribbon, rub-on and Adore card was not from the kit.

Good news...Hugh was moved from the ICU to the Neurological unit last night. He is still has a long way to go but he made it! Now it is just going to take a lot of time to see how much of a brain injury he has.

Not doing much today...I should have went and got groceries this morning, but didn't. I still might do that later...we'll see. I am hoping to stay awake long enough to watch a movie tonight, but will be happy just to watch Thursday's American Idol on the PVR. Last night I was asleep by 9:15pm! I have been so tired at night that I don't last long after the kids go to bed.

How Much is Too Much

2009-01-27T15:08:00.002-07:00

challenge was to use at least 10 stars and one picture of yourself. Finding a picture of me was hard! I must make Dennis or Jacie take more of me in the future! It is usually the mom that isn't in the pictures because we are the ones taking them! I stamped the big flower with white craft ink. I love that stamp.

Dennis is up at the hospital visiting with Tanya. I will have an update when he gets home. The good news is he is out of the coma but they are still keeping him on the ventilator and sedated.

Tonight is left over night! We have a mish-mash of things to eat from prime rib roast, homemade pizza and chicken pot pie. I get dips on the pot pie!!

Where to begin...

2009-01-24T07:37:00.006-07:00

On Wednesday I took Danika in for her 2 month Vaccinations. She weighs 13 pounds now. She did well considering she had to get 3 needles. So far she has had no reactions and hasn't been that cranky. So that is good.

I did a layout for Scrap Schemes Challenge...it was nice to focus on that...looking at it now I forgot to put the ribbon on it that I had laid out for it...oh well.

This week has been hard on a lot of people. Our friend was riding his quad when he lost control of it and has been fighting for his life ever since. He made a bad decision of not wearing his helmet,as they were just going for a "quick rip" and of course this is why he is fighting for his life. He definitely has a brain injury and until he wakes up no one knows how bad it will be. So if you can say a prayer for Hugh and his family it would be greatly appreciated!

Using Glimmer Mist

2009-01-21T14:50:00.005-07:00

as part of the Method Playground challenge was SOOOO much fun. I love this technique. I used the mist from Tattered Angels in Dewberry and Bubblegum. On this layout I sprayed the big chipboard heart in bubblegum colour and then put a small heart on it and sprayed it with Dewberry which gave it the dual colour scheme. I also put the clear letters on the brown paper where I put the title LOVED and sprayed it with dewberry and removed the letters. I then placed the letters back on the brown paper but put them on just beside the where I sprayed it to give it a shadowed look. Finally I sprayed the journalling with the bubblegum colour mist. The paper and flower transparencies were from the Bohemia Kit from Created with Paper. I will definitely be using this technique again!!

A little bit of

2009-01-19T13:04:00.004-07:00

WHIT WOO on a Monday morning! After my errands for Dennis this morning I had enough time to stop by Scrapbooker's Paradise...now taking in a 15 month old and a baby is pretty difficult, but it was worth it. I held Kael and left Danika (in the bucket) by the front till while I shopped. I renewed my membership which allowed me to get 30% off each item! So I just HAD to get those big punches and the white box is for when the ladies and I do the recipes for our Stampin' UP! stuff. BTW, that box retailed for $6.00 girls! I picked up some glitter mist that is for a challenge (not sure if I am too late for it or not) and can't wait to experiment with it! Can you believe Danika can hold herself up in the Jumperoo? She is 8 weeks old now and getting so strong. It is hard to believe how fast they really do grow! She, as of today, is in size 2 diapers...we finally used up all the size 1's! After the size 2's are gone I am moving her up to size 3's!

Okay, I am going to try to start a new layout now! Have a good day!

The weekend has arrived

2009-01-17T10:08:00.003-07:00

and Den is at work. I sure wish he was off every weekend. It would be nice for a change. I try not to be envious of those that have their spouses around, but it is hard not to be. I just want us to be together more...so I guess that is a good thing...means I still like him! HAHA That is why the Dreamgirls challenge was a good fit for me...the title had to be I'M NOT....and I am not good at being without my family. I function best when Den is around. I am thankful, though, that he has work...I just wish he didn't have to work Saturdays. The paper I used was from the Bohemian Kit from Created with Paper, along with the transparency behind the flower.

Anyway, I made a turkey with all the fixings yesterday for supper. I made the stuffing in the crock pot, as I don't like putting it in the bird. This was my first attempt at stuffing in the crock pot and it was amazing. I will do it this way from now on.

Embrace

2009-01-15T13:40:00.005-07:00

is the word for the OLW challenge. I am not liking the E and the R in the title...they are clear and I stamped them to match the frame around Travis, but it doesn't show up as much as I would have liked it to. Other than that I am happy with the way it turned out. Any comments/suggestions are more than welcome!! :)

It is a balmy +7'C outside right now! I wish I could get up the energy to walk and pick up Jacie from school, but that would mean "wearing" Danika, pulling Kael on a sled (which who knows if he would sit on it the whole way there and back) and we have way too much snow to push

him in a stroller...maybe I'll get Den to dig out the chariot stroller as then Danika and Kael would both go in that...hmmm it is tempting me though!

I couldn't resist this picture of Danika. I took it last night while she was having a tub. She LOVES tub and is starting to splash and kick the water all over. It is amazing that she is 8 weeks old tomorrow (but a month old on the 21st).

Anyone watching Idol? I missed Tuesdays but PVR'd it last night and watched it. I really like the guy with glasses that lost his wife...he had a very unique and wonderful voice. Oh, I also loved Anoop dog! HAHA

FINALLY...a layout

2009-01-12T19:48:00.003-07:00

was finished last night! I was inspired to do this layout from the How Much is Too Much challenge where you have to use 9 circles in the layout. I am hoping they count the buttons in the flowers as circles...it is great to use stamps on my layouts as I find it hard to incorporate them in sometimes. I will do another layout which will focus on the details of her delivery, etc another time.

More good news...Dennis put the table up behind our couch in the basement, so now I can scrap there when I want to watch TV! YEEHAW!

Danika sure did a number on me today...I have been spit-up on, pooped on-she shot me on the hand (which hit my watch as well), and sprayed up on my pants and my shirt! It was like someone aimed the mustard bottle at me and squeezed! To end the night, after her bath she peed on me! She got me good eh! HA

While I was away

2009-01-10T18:46:00.005-07:00

at my Stampin' Up card get together, my neighbour took this picture of Dennis trying to spray the kids with snow from the snow blower. I love this picture! The look on Jacie's face and Travis' body waiting to run is priceless!! We finally had a great day of weather and the kids took advantage of it!

After I got home, and after supper, Dennis took Jacie skating. They are still gone. Travis thinks he doesn't like skating, as he falls down and doesn't like that. I think we are just going to have to make Travis go again, as he loved it last year...

I had to include this picture of the little peanut.

She is sound asleep right now in the bassinet, as she had a busy day with the ladies and not a solid nap. I will get her up a bit later to feed, bath and get her in her jammies and hopefully she will go down for at least 5 hours tonight...heck maybe Den and I will try to watch a movie...I am sure that won't happen though! HA

I have started a layout and am hoping I get time to finish it soon! I started it during quiet time and sacrificed some sleep as I am really missing scrapbooking. We have our old kitchen table in the garage and I mentioned to Den about my idea and he is all for it! YEEHAW! I thought I would get some resistance, but luckily (for him) he went with it...maybe tomorrow he'll bring it in for me!

Coming up with a new

2009-01-08T17:16:00.007-07:00

plan to get me able to scrapbook at night. I am going to put a table behind our couch in the basement so I can scrapp while I watch TV at night. I am going through major withdrawl and I am beyond frustrated. I will brainstorm in my craft room and once I know which direction I am going to go on a layout then I will gather my supplies and take it to the table behind the couch and go to it. Anything I need is right in the next room, so it will work!! Now to get the table!!

On a happier note my order from Amazon came in! That was nice to receive that. First thing out of Den's mouth is "How much did that cost?" CHA...typical for him now these days with the economy the way it is.

Wreck this Journal will be a challenge for me, but once I get in the groove I think it will help me grow and maybe it will be the building block for me to do a mini album!! We'll see!

Dankia is my little peanut. She is growing and just starting to get a bit of a personality. The outfit she has on in this picture is the first and last time she will wear it. Her little budha belly was hanging out, so that ends that. I try to get pictures of her in every outfit for this reason!! As always it goes way too fast.

Back to the routine

2009-01-04T17:09:00.005-07:00

tomorrow! The holidays have gone by so fast, but it is good to get the kids back to school as I think we are were getting cabin fever. I haven't had a moment to do any scrapping, which bums me out, but hopefully I can get back to it soon.

Danika was not sleeping very well, so I went and reread the book "The Secrets of the Baby Whisperer" by Tracy Hogg and boy has that helped me out a lot. I have a routine set out now and so far it has worked great. She is sleeping longer and I am getting some freedom back as well. I highly recommend that book to anyone you know who is having a baby or has a baby. I went online to the website and to my shock I found out that Tracy Hogg died on Nov 25, 2004 from melanoma. She had published 3 books total before she passed away. I am not sure how old she was...

Tonight I am determined to watch a movie...last night putting the little ones down was insane. Kael was wound up and wanted no part of bed. By 9pm that was enough...we finally just had to let him cry it out, as he was just inconsolable and wanted no part of bed. I gave him Advil to see if that would help him. One eye tooth has finally made its way though and the other 3 are coming in as well. Ugh! Poor guy. Danika finally went down for the night around 10pm, which is later than usual for her. She woke up at 3am for her feed and then again at 6am. So needless to say when the little ones finally fell asleep, we weren't far behind them!

Wish me luck!!!

Merry Christmas and

2008-12-28T11:06:00.006-07:00

a happy New Year! Christmas was great and was enjoyed by all. On Christmas Eve we all went to church and after we got back Den's sister and her husband arrived, along with my mother in-law's boyfriend. We had chili and bread for supper and had a nice visit before getting the kids off to bed.

Jacie got up around 6am Christmas morning and once coffee was made and some prep work for breakfast (I fried up the sausage and bacon and put it in the oven on warm) we headed downstairs and did the stockings, followed by presents. I love watching the kids rip open their gifts and getting them to hand out presents.

I sure miss the extra help now that my in-laws are gone. It was nice having them here and did I mention all the extra help!

I sure wish our parents were closer for obvious reasons...to my thrilled surprise my parents are on their way up as I write this. They decided to come up for a quick visit! I am so glad!

This layout I did for the Dreamgirls challenge. I am so glad I was able to finish it. I honestly thought I was going to be SOL, as it is so hard to find the time during the day to do it. At night I would rather watch TV (as I need the break and need to relax)...I wish I could see our big TV from my craft room, as then I would get a lot more layouts done. Oh well...

I went on Amazon.ca this morning and ordered $73 worth of books...What is so amazing about Grace, Jesus I never knew, Twilight, New Moon, The Bone Garden (Tess Gerritsen), Wreck This Journal-which I will have a very hard time doing as it is so out side of my 'perfectionism box', and Rape of Nanking (which my sister in-law told me about)...and it all gets shipped for free...love that!

Ok, time to eat leftovers before Danika wakes up from her morning nap! Take care everyone!

Travis' preschool party was

2008-12-16T16:36:00.009-07:00

a lot of fun. I won't lie though, it was a lot of work being there with three out of four kids by myself. Kael is the hardest right now, as he just wants to motor around and add the screaming to his list...he is a handful. I was really hoping Dennis would come, but he didn't. :(

First there was a concert, followed by snacks and juice and then Santa arrived and handed out gifts. The parents were asked to supply the wrapped gifts for each child attending. Travis was excited to see Santa and wanted to chat his ear off. If any of you know Travis, you know he is a talker and will talk to anyone followed by a hundred questions.

Kael was more interested in who this person was and why he was on his lap. Kael didn't make strange or anything...he was just more curious!

When it was Danika's turn I woke her up and placed her on his lap. She wasn't impressed with being woke up, but she didn't cry.

We got our Christmas tree up on Sunday and it was nice that we were all around to do that. Kael loved the lights when they were on.

I am off tonight to hopefully finish up all the gifts, stocking stuffers, etc!! Let's hope anyway!

We are heading out for a Christmas

2008-12-13T16:38:00.003-07:00

party supper with the people from our church tonight. The six of us will be there and ready to eat and have a good time. The party starts at 6pm and I have Jacie and Travis in the tub right now, I am showered, Kael is wondering around (not in his party clothes), Danika is sleeping (not in her party clothes), Dennis isn't home from work yet and we need to leave in one hour! So, what the heck am I doing on the computer??? EEK! I just checked the weather on the computer and it is -36'C with the windchill, so we need to dress extra warm tonight!

I actually got a layout done for How Much is Too Much challenge! I can't believe it! The reason is for the last two days Kael has taken a morning nap, so HALLELUJAH I could have some scrap time! Again my lighting sucks, but I am too impatient to wait until tomorrows morning sunlight to take a better picture.

Well I need to get my party clothes and face on, so I best be doing it while Danika is sleeping...cause as soon as she wakes up you know what she wants...the milk trucks!

Snowy and cold

2008-12-11T08:30:00.004-07:00

weather has finally hit here. It is going to get extremely cold by the weekend...-22'C without the windchill factor. I may head out this morning to stock up some groceries, but we'll see. I may wait until tonight and go with just the baby.

This weekend is my goal to set up the Christmas tree and decorate the house...if Dennis isn't working on Saturday. Otherwise we will have to wait until after church on Sunday.

Kael was already in bed when I took this picture. I will try to get a picture of the four of them! It is too bad Kael is missing from the picture. Maybe tonight I will make an effort to get them all.

I finally was able to order the pictures I had taken, since Danika was born, from Future shop as Walmart kept giving me an error and wouldn't let me get to the shopping cart to finalize my order. It was very frustrating. Anyway, through Future Shop they will deliver it right to me for only $2.99 shipping...which I am like SWEET! That is so worth it to me as then I am not hauling the kids in and out of the van, etc.

I went to our local consignment store yesterday with the three kids, while Jacie was at school and got Kael some sleepers and Danika some clothes for when she hits the 6 month mark. I got really good deals and was happy we went there!

I have yet to start another layout. Kael is only napping in the afternoon, so it is too hard to try to scrap with him in my office, etc. I use to scrap when he went down in the morning, as by the afternoon I need a nap! Oh well, maybe once Danika sleeps longer through the night I will be able to get my energy back. Speaking of the darling, she is just waking up! Gotta fly!

Faith

2008-12-06T14:00:00.005-07:00

is the topic I chose to do for the Dreamgirls challenge. I am thinking I should have added some journaling to the layout as to why I can't live without Faith and why it is so important to me. I just would have to figure out a way to incorporate it when there isn't a whole lot of room left. Maybe that will have to be for another layout...

Danika had her baby doctor appointment on Wednesday and she is 9 pounds even, so the doctor was happy that she gained all her birth weight back and then some. She is a small 9 pounds and love that she is like a newborn baby size, as all the other children came out looking like they were 3 months old.

I love this picture! Look how relaxed she is. It even seems she has a little smile on her face as she sleeps with daddy. I have yet to get pictures developed of the Danika, but it is priority #1! I can't wait to scrap some pages of her.

Den is on his way home with milk and slurpee's! Yes, the essentials! HA. Yum-O! It was Den's birthday yesterday, so we ordered in Chinese food and after the kids went to bed we both fell asleep early on the couch...I fell asleep scrolling through the TV Guide, looking for something to watch...lame eh! Dennis is still fighting a cough which has kept him up at night...I sleep in the basement, so he doesn't wake us all up and also so he doesn't get us sick! What is it with guys and not taking med's. We have cough medicine but he won't take it...I don't get it! Why not take it and see if it at least helps settle the cough down...weird!

Well not much else to report for now...

Just in the nick of time

2008-11-30T16:17:00.006-07:00

I finished this layout for the Design Experiment. Feels good to get a layout done and again, wouldn't have thought of it without the help of the challenges.

Today was very busy! First was to get out the door by 10:15am to go to church. After church I dropped off the family, except the baby, and headed to the grocery store. Danika was hungry time we got home, so while I fed her, Den brought in all the groceries...which was a great help. Then after he was done unloading all the groceries, he took Jacie and Travis swimming. Danika is sleeping now and Kael is playing by himself, so I am just eating my lunch (at 4:23pm)...so my supper now. Geesh! Where does the time go!

Danika sleeps well and eats well. We had her baby doctor appointment on Wednesday and she weighed 8lbs, 5 ozs so she lost 9 ounces and gained back 4 of them. The doctor wants to see her this Wednesday to see if she gained back all the weight she lost. For those who don't know babies typically lose weight for the first few days after being born until the milk supply comes in (for those who exclusively nurse). Danika fell in the acceptable range and there is no worries. Now that my milk has come in full force she will have no problem gaining weight now! Last night she slept from 8:30pm-2am!! That was awesome, as I slept from 9pm-2am! That made me feel human again!

Also, we had three suppers delivered to us last week from 3 different ladies from our church! How nice was that. It is nice to be thought of and we really appreciated it. Also, my neighbour, and friend, has really helped out with driving my daughter to and from school last week-I usually drive mornings and she picks up after school. It is so awesome to have people help out and again it is very appreciated.

It's a girl

2008-11-23T14:46:00.005-07:00

Danika Rayne was born Friday Nov 21st, at 2:11am. She weighed in at 8 pounds, 10 ounces and was 19.5 inches long. We were eating supper late Thursday night when my water broke (just after 9pm). Thankfully I have a great neighbour and friend who immediately came over and sent us to the hospital. Almost 5 hours later Danika arrived. I had a roomate in my post-partem room, so needless to say I wanted to get the heck out of there...so after my parents arrived from Saskatchewan early Friday evening I got discharged from the hospital (about 17 hours after I arrived). I was so glad to get home!

This picture was taken last night. She is a good eater and thankfully a good sleeper. She is, so far, an easy going baby that doesn't mind noise!

Thankfully I finished this layout Thursday afternoon for the OLW challenge. I just posted it today. Back to babies, diapers, and kids! Love it! :)

Roads are bad

2008-11-19T10:12:00.004-07:00

to travel on so I kept Travis home from preschool (as I take him to a different town then where we live) and I had to cancel my baby doctor appointment. Dennis called me and said the highways were really icy and that he had to put the truck in 4x4 to stop sliding all over. That was enough for me to stay home!

I worked on this layout yesterday for the Design Experiment challenge and also entered it into Letters to Scrap By challenge - I am not sure if that is okay to do, but it fit both challenges, so why not?!

Well back to the house duties...I need to get something out for supper and clean the whole basement today...then I can relax at quiet time with my mind at ease that I got my chores done!

Sunday card making day

2008-11-17T12:11:00.012-07:00

was a good time. I got together with the gals and we made cards from 11am to almost 5pm. We all brought some sort of food and ate and stamped away. It was a nice break for me away and good to see everyone.

The weather here has took a turn for the worse...we woke up on Sunday to snow and it snowed for most of the morning. The highways were in okay shape and was glad to make it home safe...as I came home in the dark. I don't like driving on the highway at night.

Anyone having a hard time finding Christmas decorations? I went out today to Canadian Tire and Walmart with no luck finding LED Christmas lights (in the larger bulb) and lawn decorations. It is very frustrating to come home with nothing...seems like a waste of time. I will keep checking around.

This is the gift card. The Merry Christmas was too big as I found out after I stamped it, but oh well. Live and learn! Other than that I like it.

Maybe today, after quiet time, I will start on another scrapbook layout for another challenge...

Having a bad day today and

2008-11-15T10:47:00.003-07:00

yesterday...ever have those?? UGH! Nothing seems to be going right with me and the kids for the past 2 days...it is like aliens abducted them and replaced them with no ears for listening and no thinking skills. I hope they return to normal soon!

I did this layout for The Design Experiment challenge. I used most of the product from the Smitten collection from Created with Paper...except the rub-ons, buttons, flowers and heart chipboard.

Dennis is home today and he is doing his "honey do list" around the house which is awesome!! It is nice to have him around too instead of working all the time.

Baby is head down...

2008-11-11T11:32:00.003-07:00

which is great news. I had my u/s yesterday and the tech said baby is measuring 38 weeks (I am 37 weeks right now), baby estimated weight is 7 pounds, 11 ounces and there is lots of fluid around him/her. All great news. I have my baby doctor appointment tomorrow and I am looking forward to that.

I did this layout today for the OLW (One Little Word) challenge-the word they picked was Listen. It took me forever to come up with what the heck I was going to write about. I almost gave up...thankfully I stuck with it! It is really overcast today, so I couldn't get good light to take this picture...hopefully it isn't too grainy.

Oh more good news from yesterday...my layout was picked (from random draw) on the Letters to Scrap By challenge. I think my jaw hit the floor when I read I was the winner!! Yeehaw!

Dennis is working, as usual, so it is just me and the tribe. I am trying to get out and get milk, but they are playing so nicely and it is getting close to Kael's nap time, so maybe after quiet time we can get out...

The kids asked me what Remembrance Day was about, so I explained and we took a few minutes to think about how lucky we are and what today is all about. It is nice to talk to them about things and I try to answer their questions as honestly as possible, on any subject they come to me about. I think it is important that they get the real answers from us and our values as much as possible (to their age level). I want to have that open and honest relationship with them and hope they feel like they can come to us anytime they want/need to. Jacie came up to me the last day of grade 1 and asked me if I knew what the F word was...I was like yes can you spell it for me and she did and to my horror it was the real F word. I asked her where she heard it and she said school (She goes to K-grade 8). That is the drawbacks to older kids around younger kids. I was very calm and said to her that is was a bad word and that we should never say it and thanked her for coming to me and telling me what she heard. Last week she asked me if I knew what "the bird" was...I think I am going to home school the kids!!

Date night was a

2008-11-08T15:51:00.005-07:00

success! I managed to get a babysitter that lives right across the street and the kids absolutely loved her. I had her come an hour before we left and let her and the kids play before we headed out. We went to a Italian restaurant right here in our small town, so there was no big city rat race or hustle and bustle. The food is real (not packaged) and was prepared by a real gourmet chef! It was YUM-O and my kind of place! I had the veal scallopini Lemone with brushetta to start and Dennis had the pork tenderloin medallions with tiger prawn shrimp to start-both came with fresh linguine alfredo pasta! I am going to try to get the babysitter once a month! It was a great time.

This layout was for a challenge at Gettin Sketchy that I started and finished today. This is my first ever 'sketch' challenge and I really enjoyed it. I used a pin (which is hard to see) through the lace and the blue ribbon and crinkled brown card stock paper behind the chipboard hearts.

Tonight I am making pork cutlets for supper with pasta and corn. I am so hungry already...so I am going to start it right after I am done posting. The homemade cream of veg soup I made the other night started out as a potato leek soup but while I was sauteing the leeks in olive oil I added carrot, celery, broccoli, potatoes, 2 cartons of chicken broth, a bay leaf, dried thyme, salt and pepper and let it simmer gently until the carrots were tender. Took out the bay leaf and then I got out my hand held blender and pureed most of it (I

left some chunks it in though). Then I added some milk and Voila! I would thicken it with cornstarch next time though. Oh when I put it into our bowls I added a mound of grated cheese on top! YUM-O! Serve with bread, fresh buns, crackers, etc.

I always love to know what people are eating and I am famous for asking "what's for lunch/supper?" Feel free to let me know!

Happy Birthday to me...

2008-11-06T11:31:00.002-07:00

Well I turned the big 34 today. I am going to try to line up a babysitter for tomorrow night, so Den and I can enjoy a sit down supper and maybe even a movie. Yum-O!

I did my first challenge for Design Experiment on what makes me laugh. This one was easy for me, as all 3 kids make me laugh in their own way, but since I had these funny faces of Travis, I thought it was perfect for their challenge.

I just put Kael to bed and I am exhausted. I snore so bad now that I wake myself up at night, plus with all the bathroom trips I am getting no real deep sleep. Thankfully the snoring and the heart burn disappear after baby comes out.

Well I am going to search for another challenge to do...after my nap that is!!

Seeing Circles

2008-11-01T16:32:00.006-06:00

I did a layout for a Scrap Schemes challenge where the inspiration was a piece of wall art that had straight lines up that branched off into circles (looks like flowers with stems, but instead of flowers it was circles). This is what I came up with. I have never done anything like this before and it took me about 5 hours from start to finish (over the course of 2 days, that is!)

Again, I love these challenges as it really gets me scrapping and doing things I would have never thought of!

Halloween was a blast with the kids. I was out for over 2.5 hours waddling around the blocks. I am super sore today, as I over did it, but I couldn't say no lets go back home. It was a beautiful night and Jacie was pumped to keep going. I LOVE these time with kids and making great memories for them. Jacie was a dragon, Travis was a firefighter and Kael was a bear.

D (Denim)

2008-10-30T16:43:00.002-06:00

was the letter challenge for Letters to Scrap By

and this is the layout I did for it. I had a lot of fun thinking up this design and of course looking at pictures of Kael, just under 7 months old, was a bonus too!

I had my baby doctor appointment yesterday...I am 1 cm dialated, but that honestly doesn't mean anything in regards to labour. I was 3 cm with Kael for weeks and he was 8 days late (I had to be induced). But it is exciting to know things are happening. I am just over 35 weeks along right now. The baby's heartbeat was 150 bpm.

Tonight after Den drops Jacie off at Kids Club, he will go straight to the school for parent teacher interviews (for Jacie)...she is in grade 2. I will be staying home with the boys. I have met the teacher a few times and Dennis really wants to go to meet the teacher and see how she is doing, which is great.

Imagine

2008-10-27T12:44:00.006-06:00

was the word challenge from OLW blog and this is the layout I came up with. I used everything from the Homemade Collection kit from Created With Paper except the Dream Big banner, distress ink and the flower.

This layout and challenge got me thinking and thinking-which is always a good thing-about how important journaling is as it leaves a bit of 'me' and my thoughts for them to read in the future. I am going to try harder to journal what I think is important for them to learn and one day (hopefully) take with them as values, life lessons, etc.

I survived 5 girls

2008-10-25T08:56:00.005-06:00

for Jacie's birthday party. She turned 7 yesterday! Hard to believe how fast life flies when you have children. I tell people all the time if they want their life to go fast to have children. I am not sure why it goes so fast when they are young...is it true when they get older? Into their teen age years?? I don't know yet, but I will find out one day.

I finished a layout challenge for Scrap Schemes where they put a picture of white dishes with black leaves going up the sides of it. Their challenge is to do an interpretation of it...here is what I came up with.

All I dream about now

2008-10-21T09:45:00.008-06:00

is scrapping! I swear I was consumed by it last night and couldn't wait to try out a new technique (for me anyway). I got cardboard and ripped off the outer edge and was left with the 'ripples' and painted it and used it like a stamp on my paper ( I seen it on a few of my cousins layouts and it got me motivated! Thanks Glenda). This layout is for a challenge at The Story Matters. I finished it this morning! The side writing says "Now just a minute mister, You think because you have an older brother and an older sister you have to hurry and grow up? I want you to slow down and stay a baby as long as possible...do you hear me?! Keep babbling and drooling and leave the grown up stuff to us!"

The next layout I did was for Letters to Scrap By. Their challenge is you must use the colour cranberry on your layout. This is what I came up with.

Entering another challenge

2008-10-17T14:53:00.003-06:00

as we speak. I am so glad to be doing these challenges...this layout is for Method Playground. On this layout you are only to use rub-ons. I found this very hard, as I really don't have a lot of rub-ons even though I love them. Anyway's this is what I came up with...

Tonight I am meeting the ladies for our card making class and get together! Iam very excited as we talk, eat, hang out and make great cards. I look forward to seeing them as much as possible! I tried to get in to get a hair cut somewhere before the meeting, but as usual I leave it till the last minute and everyone is booked up. Oh well, next time! HA

Making Jacie's Birthday Invitation Cards...

2008-10-14T15:47:00.007-06:00

After quiet time, and a short nap due to some f^&*er ringing the door bell (at least Kael slept through it) I started making Jacie's invitations for her birthday party. I am half way done and here is what I made. Purple on purples. I lifted a similar design from Splitcoast stampers, but changed it up a bit to make it my own. I am not good at making cards and usually I don't like the ones I make, but this one I am happy with!
After supper I am going to vote! I hope all Canadians out there will do the same!

I entered my first ever scrap challenge

2008-10-13T15:40:00.003-06:00

OMG! Well I did it! I just finished linking my layout for a scrap challenge at One Little Word. The word was Keep and this is the layout I did for it.

I am not looking for a win at all (I have a long way to go for that), but these challenges really do get your mind going and keep you scrapping. I find a lot of times I don't know what to call a layout, but I don't have to worry about that part if I am doing a challenge! Anyway the main thing is it was fun!

Hope everyone's Thanksgiving was fun great. We had our big supper on Thursday, as the weekends are just too busy and I wanted to be with the the family instead of in the kitchen as it was just us. I baked a lot this weekend...gingersnap cookies, peanut butter chocolate chunk cookies, haystacks and oatmeal coconut cookies (which I took to church). Everything turned out good and can you believe the only cookies we have left are the haystacks! Geesh!

Dennis and Travis are outside packing down the yard (getting all the outdoor toys put away, tarping the air conditioners, etc). Jacie has a friend over and Kael and I are hanging out. I am still in my PJ's, but oh well...it is one of those days where I just cleaned the kitchen including the fridge and ouside cupboard doors, etc...yes I am nesting big time! My dad told me on Sat that it is only 52 days till due date! I am hoping my mom comes the week before the due date and we can organize and clean like crazy. I am trying to do a bit each day, but I am not good at organizing!

Tootles!

Our baby turned one!!!

2008-10-09T11:06:00.021-06:00

Happy Birthday Kael! It is hard to believe you are a year old already...
where did the time go?! You had your first piece of chocolate cake and loved it. It was cute to watch you muck around with it first until you actually put your fingers in your mouth and tasted it. After that it was game over and you inhaled it!

This picture is when Kael was all done his cake and ready for a bath. He isn't as messy as I thought he would have been.

I finished the "Rock Hound" layout a couple days ago. It was taken when we were camping in June. The kids love it outside and Kael is no exception...especially with the buffet of rocks to choose from!

This layout I did this morning while Kael was down for his morning nap and Travis was playing on the computer. When I asked Travis what he thought of it he said "it is lovely". Where does he pick up those words from? I don't recall us using "lovely" too often when we speak! HA I thought what he said though was very sweet.

Well I am going to rally up the kids and go get milk and bread...and while I am out I might as well get a slurpee! :)

Happy Sunday

2008-10-05T15:40:00.008-06:00

I was able to take pictures of my other layouts this morning before heading off to church with the crew. Jacie went to a birthday party this morning and enjoyed the outing. Den is winterizing the trailer and the lines for the underground sprinklers. I am supervising Kael's nap. :) Yesterday Den was insulating the garage where he is going to get a furnace put in...then he will OSB board it when he is done.
Den got up with the kids both Sat and Sun (without being asked...so nice) as I was up again through the night with Kael. I sure hope he can kick this cold soon as it sure is whooping his butt. Kael is also cutting two molars on the bottom and one tooth on the top, so he is a mess.

I am into clustering an area...not sure if that is the right lingo or not but on the layout "Summer Fun" the circle, the tag, the name plate and the flowers is my clustering of objects.

Well that is it for now. This weekend just flew by as it usually does. Later dudes.