Happy New Year!!

Hard to believe that we're once again at the end of another year!  It's been one that has seen a lot of change for me personally and I plan to continue that into the new year.  We've had some wonderful times as family and have some big things coming this year as well in terms of change for sure. 

As a result of the craziness that may ensue this year along with all the everyday stuff, I'm hoping to complete Project Life this year.  The idea is that you take a picture a day for a year and document it with journaling as well.  I'm not going to stress about this and just fill days I miss with suff of the kids, but I think might be a fun project for us since I haven't been scrapping as much lately (though I plan to do more of that in 2011 as well!).

This has been the big change for me personally.  I got tired of being tired and worrying about my health, so I did something about it.  I went back to Weight Watchers in July and have lost almost 60lbs since going back (though have put a few back on over the holidays!).  Need to get back at it because I plan on losing more in 2011 and I'd love to get to goal!  I know it'll be hard work, but I'm looking forward to the challenge to be honest.  And nothing can replace how much better I already feel, so bring on 2011!

As for our family...

- George continued working for the city and is doing very well there with a possible promotion in 2011
- I'm still taking care of Sophia and Matthew, but it changed to 5 days a week as of September this year when Tracy got a new job
- also working at the store and teaching a lot of classes!  Fun stuff!
- Kyle started Grade 2 and had 2 new teachers as well as being in a 2/3 split
- Nathan continued at the preschool and is doing well
- we thoroughly enjoyed the Olympics earlier this year and George volunteered!
- I was lucky enough to see one of the Olympic speedskating events since Tracy and Brian won an Olympics package!
- continued on the PAC at Kyle's school as the Emergency Preparedness rep
- celebrated my 40th birthday in May!

- we had an amazing birthday/retirement party for dad!
- the boys opened bank accounts

- Kyle started karate and has laready passed his first grading and has a new belt

- poor Nathan spent the last few months of the year sick with everything from bronchitis to ear infections (though we think he's thankfully finally feeling better now!)
- We went to see The Wiggles again with Tracy, Brian, Sophia and Matthew as well!

- enjoyed many wonderful family get togethers!  Above picture is from Easter.
- it was a year of Star Wars and Lego (or both combined!) in our house this year!

We've had a fun year full of wonderful of wonderful memories.  The boys are growing so quickly that I sometimes want to be abe to slow time and just enjoy every single moment and while I can't do that, I can take the time to appreciate what is - right now! 

Here's to an amazing 2011 everyone!  Happy New Year!



Cheers,

Merry Christmas Everyone!

Good Morning!  Merry Christmas!

Yes, it's a little after 7am here and the tree is all done and we're busy building Star Wars Lego.  OK, the boys are doing that and I'm sitting here with my coffee! 

Kyle was first up at 3:30am this morning wanting to do the tree and we managed to hold him off until 6am.  I'm not sure that he actually slept any more, but at least we weren't up then.  I don't think I slept much after about 4:30-5ish since I had the boys in my bed rolling around and trying to sleep.  Nathan actually slept more after coming in, but Kyle didn't.  George went and slept in Nathan's bed for a bit!

Kyle was so excited when I told him that we could get up!  I asked him to go wake George and he did, but then he went flying into the living room - without us!  No pictures!  hee hee  I got him to come back since Nathan wasn't even awake yet.  Once Nathan was awake, he did the same thing as Kyle and went shooting into the living room without us.  Once again, no pictures!  I know, it's not that big a deal, but it's just funny for me. 

We all went in and opened stockings first.  Santa did a wonderful job of finding lots of little things we needed.  I even got a Build-A-Bear card for the Rudolph I wanted!  Yes, I wanted one!  After stockings, I went and popped in the Overnight Apple Cinnamon French Toast casserole I made last night.  I hope it's good and it sure smells good right now!

Then, it was on to opening the presents under the tree and it was a whirlwind.  Of course, with Kyle leading the show, all went smoothly, but he was whipping through his presents!  Kyle kept handing presents to Nathan to open and poor Nathan couldn't keep up.  Kyle had stuff ripped open, ooohed and aahed and moved on to the next one.  And they were both seriously spoiled as usual.  Santa was good enough to bring them the Star Wars Lego they asked for and that's what they're working on now.  Thinking it'll be a bit of a long project.  Kyle is also dying to play the online Lego Universe game we got them, but that'll have to wait for now since it had to be loaded on the computer and everything. 

George and I got spoiled this year too!  I got Old Navy gift cards since almost none of my clothes fit anymore, some bath stuff, a small box of chocolates and an iPod Touch!  How cool is that?!  Lovin' it!  I can't wait to have some time to play with it!!  I broke down and got George the XBox 360 he wanted and Santa brought him a router since the one he had was broken.  He got some other odds and ends too, but those were the big things.  All of us spoiled for sure!  Once again!

It's funny watching the boys because it's like they can't concentrate on any one thing for more than a minute.  They played with Lego for a bit.  Then Nathan had his Dinosaur Train toys out and all talking to each other.  Kyle pulled out the hot air popcorn maker and put it together.  Now they're trying to figure out the walkie talkies that Tracy and Brian got them.  No attention span whatsoever here!

Well, better go check on breakfast and see if I can play with my iPod for a bit!  Need to make my candied yams as well and then we'll be going to Uncle Steve and Auntie Laura's for dinner to everyone.  I feel like I need a nap already!

Hope everyone is spending the day with family and friends!  Enjoy!
Wishing you a very Merry Christmas!
Cheers,

Sketches in Thyme Guest Designer!

I'm very proud to say that I was the guest designer today for Sketches in Thyme!  The card above was my submission for the sketch challenge and I had a lot of fun doing this!  Check out the link and see all the other fabulous work by the design team!

Cheers,

More Snow!

Yes, this is what our deck currently looks like and, as you can see in the picture, the rain is still coming down!  I went to best just before 1am (up late working on last minute stuff for a new class!) and it was just starting then.  It wasn't too too bad when we got up, but it's been snowing all day and not getting any better.  The roads are really slick!  It's supossed to turn to rain at some point, but I'm thinkin' right now that it doesn't look like anytime soon.  Hmmm...  have to see about work tonight!

I know this is my first post in a couple of days.  I was doing so well with my daily blogging for NaBloMoPo, and then had a late night a couple of night ago and forgot until I was in bed and looked at the clock at 12:01am!  I probably would have even gotten up if it wasn't too late!  I'm like that!  It's been a couple of crazy days though and a crazy week generally to be honest. 

I had my regular day with the kids Tuesday and then had to run a couple of errands before heading off to our monthly PAC meeting.  It was sooooo cold outisde that we drove to take Kyle to school so that Matthew wouldn't cry all the way there and back, but that didn't stop the kids from wanting to play outside for a bit!

The PAC meeting was a late one because we were working on budget decisions, so I didn't even get home until about 9:45.  Finished some prep for my class on Wed night while I watched Glee and then called it a night.  Glee was really good and it was fun to see Carol Burnett on there! 

Yesterday morning at about 5:40am, George came in and told me he had to take the car to work because something was wrong with the truck.  Not that big a deal because we weren't going far anyway during the day, but we had to sort out the evening because I was teaching and George had to be at preschool with Nathan for Special Person's night.  They get to take someone to preschool for the evening with them that wouldn't normally get to go and it's sort of the Christmas kick-off at preschool.  They do crafts, sing, have a snack and read a special story.  The kids love it! 

Anyway, the problem was how to get us all where we needed to be.  George wanted the car, so he decided to take me to work.  He came home and got changed and then we headed out!  They dropped me off at work first and I even got there a little earlier than usual, which was nice because I had a full class of 18 last night!  George then dropped off Kyle at Tracy and Brian's on the way and then it was off to preschool for their special night.  Once they were done there, it was the whole thing in reverse.  The kids were up a little later than normal, but it turned out OK in the end and we all got where we needed to go!

This morning, of course, we woke up to a layer of white, so I decided that we were walking rather than me having to drive the van (which is not mine!).  It really has warmed up and Matthew was fine in the stroller all covered with his blankie and the plastic cover to keep him dry.  The kids had a fun walk and it was just nice to be out walking a bit to be honest.  I miss our daily walk when we drive like we have the last couple of days. 

I wasn't planning on taking the kids to preschool either, but Maria very kindly offered since she was going by here.  I'm thinking poor Kyle won't be going to karate either even though this is his last night to practice before his grading tomorrow night.  They're saying it should change to rain sometime later today/this evening, but it's a mess out there now until it does.  And, even then, the slush won't be fun either!  Yuck!  Me no likey the snow when I need to get somewhere!  I'm sorry, but the warmer weather and rain over the next couple of days will be welcome!

Well, this is a long one, so I'd better sign off there.  Will try and post some more cards/layouts soon!
Cheers,

Crazy Cold Weather!

Wow!  Is it ever cold out there!  I was in and out today, and knew it was cold, but when you hear that it never even got out of the minus range today, you know it's cold! 

George was home this morning, so he walked Kyle to school, but I needed to go get him with the other kids.  I bundled everyone up well and put Matthew in the stroller with a blanket as well.  He complained on the way to school of being cold, but by the time we were coming home, he was crying.  He cried all the way home poor thing!  The worst part is that it's supposed to be even colder tomorrow, so I think I might have to break down and pack the kids in the van and drive Kyle to school even though it's only a couple of blocks.  They're saying it'll be -8 for the morning commute and a high of -5 for the day!!  Crazy!

I was on duty at preschool this morning and we had fun.  I stopped and got the kids lunch on the way home and then popped out quickly for a successful shopping trip before coming home so that George could run errands.  After our cold trip home, the kids were picked up, we had dinner and then all of us went out and did our weekly grocery shopping.  It was fun!  A quick stop on the way home for hot chocolate and coffees was in order and then it was all the usual bedtime stuff!  A night nice...

Better go do some class prep or just call it a night and get under the warm covers!  Maybe I'll have a hot bath and then call it a night!  Ahhh...warmth!
Cheers,

Hit of the Night

Yes, this was the hit of the night while the boys watched some of the AMA Awards with us!  The boys are really into music these days and Nathan loves the Black Eyed Peas, so when will.i.am showed up wearing this Lego hat, it was all that much better!  Everything in our house these days seemingly revolves around Lego, so this was a huge hit!

And I'd totally be lying if I said I wasn't waiting to see this!  hee hee  Not bad considering they're not teenagers anymore!

Busy day with work and a bit of Christmas shopping!  George's parents came over for a visit tonight too and after watching a bit of TV, it suddenly it seemed like the night was done!

Hope you all had a great weekend!  Here's to a fab week!

Cheers,

Crazy Day!

Wow!  Here it is after 11pm and I left the house this morning at about 8:30am!  I had an awful drive home last night after work because of the snow and was worried what I'd wake up to this morning since I was teaching today.  George got called in to work doing snow removal at 4am this morning and I was, of course teaching at 10:30! 

The boys got up and ready with me this morning.  We headed out to my WW meeting this morning (down a total of 49lbs now!) and then it was out to work.  I was thankful the roads were good this morning!  The plan was for them to come with me and George would get them there since he could work a little longer if he did that.  We stopped at Stabucks on the way out for hot chocolates and a coffee for me.  They were so good this morning that I got them a doughnut to share too.  I started getting ready for class and George was there a little after 10, so it all worked out well. 

I taught my two classes and then the plan was for all of us staff to crop together at work which we manage to do a couple of times a year.  I was done a little before 5pm after my clean-up after teaching my 2 classes, so since it wasn't busy, one of my co-workers clocked out a little early and we went shopping!  Went to Children's Place and got some great stuff for the boys and a gift for Sophia for Christmas.  Pauline and I stopped at Red Robin to relax and have a cold drink and then went back to work.

It was a really fun night and there was lots of laughter for sure!  I managed to prep most of my Wednesday night Frosty Fun class.  I wanted to do something I didn't have to think about since I can chat then too and since it had to be done anyway, it was perfect!  A Starbucks run was a nice was to end the evening before we all packed up and headed home.  The only thing is that I'm back again first thing in the morning, so I'd better go get some sleep!

I laughed when I came home and saw the snow in our yard as compared to the neighbour who doesn't have kids.  Hers yeard all pristinely covered with driven snow and ours looks like 2 little boys were out playing in it all day - churned up and played in!
Enjoy your Sunday!
Cheers,

Snow? Really?

Yes, this is what we woke up to this morning.  Now, granted, it's not a lot, but it's cold and they're saying there's more coming!  Not liking this idea at all!  Especially not this ealry in the season.  I know they said it was going to be a bad winter, but snow in the middle of November is not a good omen for us I don't think...  Wait and see!

I'm working tonight as usual, so hoping it doesn't last.  They said it could be rain/snow mixed, so let's just hope it doesn't feeze either.  I teach all day tomorrow and then work again on Sunday too.   Theoretically, we also have a staff crop at work, so hoping all is good weather wise so that I can stay!

Well, better go get a few things ready for class and get some chores done.  Had a great morning walking the kids to Kyle's school since they were so excited about the snow that was falling.  Went and ran a quick bank errand and then stopped for hot chocolate and muffin for the kids on the way home!  Fun!

Have a great weekend and let's hop for sunny skies!
Cheers,

A long day...

with a sick boy AGAIN!  Yes, I did take Nathan to the dr. on Monday for a follow-up and we were told things were getting much better.  The day after that, Tuesday, Nathan told me his ear hurt, but I figured it would just clear on its own, so I gave him some Tylenol and mentally moved on.  He said something that night and again in the morning on Wednesday, but I was sure it wasn't possible that he could really be sick again!

Oh yes he could!  Last night was awful!  He was up the better part of the night and was crying and in pain.  We gave him some Tylenol again and he slept with me in my bed and George slept in Nathan's to get some sleep for work.  What that meant was that since Nathan didn't get much sleep, neither did I!  Poor little munchkin - hate it when they're sick like that and there's really nothing you can do.

Off to the dr it was again this morning at the crack of dawn!  Went in and said hi "again"!  He said that not only did Nathan have one ear infected, but that both were!  Because I'd already left it a couple of days and it wasn't clearing on its own and he was clearly very sick, it meant putting him back on anitbiotics (after him being on them not quite a month ago for the bronchitis).  Not my fav thing to do (or the doctor's thankfully), but there comes a point when you don't have a choice.  He'll be on it for 10 days (once a day) and then the dr asked me to bring him in again to check him out and make sure everything is all good and that he's in the clear since he's been so darn sick this past month or so!

I was also lucky enough to have some amazing help today as well.  Allison picked up Kyle and brought him home as well as doing the same for Sophia for preschool.  Maria also went and got Nathan's prescription filled for me this morning since he was so bad that I couldn't even take him out - simply miserable.  Thanks ladies!

I did get a few minutes while Nathan napped this afternoon as well as Matthew and while Sophia was at preschool to try one of the challenges on Pat's new scrapping site called "The Moments".  It was this fun little bag/box thing for a gift and I really enjoyed the few creative minutes I got to play!  Fun and quick once you know what you're doing!  Another stash project too, so even better! 

Well, it's time for bed for me after the long night last night and not knowing what tonight will bring!  Here's to your good health...
Cheers,

PS  I'm ignoring the bit of snow that didn't stick this afternoon as well as the supposed forecast for what could be more overnight!

I won!!!

I entered a blog draw thing on the SRM blog for a new Marvy Border Punch.  I generally read all that stuff on my Google Reader, but apparently never got to it this morning or it didn't come through or something.  Susan McShirley was kind enough to contact me and let me know and I found out when I got home from a long meeting tonight that I'd won!!!

OK, so how excited am I?  I use border punches all the time and haven't even seen this one never mind have the chance to play with it and call it mine!  Sooo cool! 

So maybe I didn't win the Canucks tickets at the raffle at the meeting tonight, but I'll have more goodies to play with now!! And they'll be around for ages!
Cheers,

Another Page!

May Calendar page



Yeah, my little promise to myself!  I wanted to get working on the calendar for my in-laws again for Christmas.  They don't have internet (hard to believe I know!), so they won't see this and I'm safe posting the pages!  I managed to get the pictures printed a few days ago, so that was a good start.

With this one, I had originally done it with other pictures and then realized they were a year too old!  lol  The pages are from exactly a year previous, but when I first did this page, I had pictures of 2009 rather than 2010 on it!  I was thinking, "the year previous", but that means the pictures are this year since it's a 2011 calendar!!  These pictures don't look too bad on here anyway since the colours weren't too crazy.

And the best part is that I used scraps and bits for this!  Love using stash for sure.  I have a but of trouble with my calendar pages because they need to be a little flatter than a lot of stuff I normally use, but my in-laws love this gift and they don't care about the product!

As I mentioned in my post last night, we didn't have heat!  The guy was scheduled to come today from 3:30 to 5pm and I thought that was perfect because I could get Kyle from school first.  It would mean no karate for him, but we'd have heat!  At 2:30, there's a ding dong at the door and it's him!  I'm thinking "Ahhhhh.... have to get Kyle!", but he said he'd have a quick look and see if it could be done quickly.  Literally, about 15-20 minutes later, I was writing him a cheque for $190!  lol  Oh well, I quickly found out there's no price that I wouldn't pay for heat!  And George paid anyway!!

So, we're madly getting ready for karate, so I'd better get going here.  Hope everyone had a wonderful Tuesday and here's to a great night!

Cheers,

Cool Night...

Well, it's going to be a short one here tonight as I want to go get tucked in bed ASAP!  We had someone out a month or so ago to check our furnace and deal with a pilot light that was out.  It apparently got fixed then, but George noticed it was out again this morning when he got it!  It's been a chilly day, so I had a hot bath tonight and  I was tucked on the sofa with blankets for the evening and was fine.  I'm now off to get tucked in bed and hoping that the guy coming late afternoon tomorrow can fix it!!!

Cheers,

Thankful...

My list for today is...
 - my wonderful family
 - being healthy
 - fabulous friends
 - people in my life I can count on and trust
 - a job I love and have fun with (all 3 of them actually!)
 - being able to stay home with my boys
 - a home we can call ours
 - creativity and the time to play!

The list goes on, but there you have it for today!

"As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them."

- John F. Kennedy

Cheers,

A Successful Day!

Well, it was nice to come home last night and know that I wasn't getting up for work in the morinng!  Now, that didn't mean I was sleeping in too late as I had my WW meeting to go to this morning, but that was the beginning of my successful day as I was down another 1.6lbs (same as last week) for a total of 44.4lbs lost.  The goal is to be down 50lbs by Christmas!  We'll see...  Not going to beat myself up if I don't get there, but that's the goal!

I came home and got some thing done here.  The house was quiet for a bit as George had taken the boys to get a haircut.  My plan was to relax and chill since the house was empty, but I couldn't for very long.  I enjoyed my Starbucks coffee (non fat latte with peppermint and white mocha flavouring - YUM!) and then puttered with laundry, cleaning the kitchen and sorting some things.  I'm sort of in purge mode again, but there aren't enough hours in a day!

I decided I'd better go check out a couple of places for tops again for George's Christmas party since it's only a couple of weeks away (early this year!).  I went and managed to actually find something I liked that didn't cost the earth.  Actually ran into Tracy shopping too, but she left before I found the top I got.  It sure wasn't what I was thinking of when I went, but I like it.  The description is "Lace shirred blouse with satin ribbon detail - Full of femininity! You'll love this all over lace blouse. Sheer and pretty, this button down short sleeve shirt with front satin ribbon and rushching detail is sure to be a hit this holiday."  It definitely needs a cami under it so I went and got one of those too and now I just need to have my pants altered and I'm in business!  Should be a nice evening out with the kids staying at mum and dad's that night.

This was what I came home to today after shopping!  Kyle was busy playing computer and the other 2 were having a good nap.  George was good enough to make dinner and then we went out for a bit of a drive.  A nice day for sure!!

Here's to a wonderful Sunday!
Cheers,

Something a little different...

Well, one of my friends/co-workers has also been doing WW and doing an amazing job.  She's been a real support and inspiration for me along the way.  It's been fun even going to some of our meetings together if I'm teaching on Saturdays.  I thought she deserved a little reminder of the amazing job she's done, so I'll be leaving this for her tonight at work and she'll get it in the morning.  (**Let's just hope she doesn't see this post before that!) 

The was done a while ago actually for a card sketch challenge and I just never got it posted so I'm afraid I couldn't tell you which one! I also used a new set of Taylored Expressions stamps that I just got so it was fun to play with them and I look forward to more of that since I have a lot of people in my life on this journey to a healthier self right now!  I posted about my latest update already and will be going again tomorrow!

Not much going on today thought it's been quite a good one!  We had a nice visit this morning with a friend and her daughter who also goes to preschool with Nathan and Sophia.  Nathan still has the cough, but it seems to be less often with the medication at least!  I'm just doing a bit of laundry and a few chores and then we'll need to go get Kyle after school.  I work tonight, but Fridays are always fun and it's nice being closed at 10:30pm now rather than 11:30 for sure!

Well, have a fabulous weekend everyone and stay warm!
Cheers,

Lest We Forget...

Today is one of those days that it's so very important to be thankful for the country we live in and the freedom we have.  I think what a lot of people often forget is the sacrifice of the men and women of our country both now and in the past.  I'm not a proponent of war, but also a realist.  I understand the complexities of the world we live in and am thankful that there are men and women willing to serve in the military for Canada.

I'm also very proud to say that my dad served overseas as a UN peacekeeper.  He walked in the parade today and I wish I'd been there to see him decked out in his new blazer with his medals.  Maybe next year when Nathan isn't sick!  I think this day means more to our family as the boys get older and we're able to talk about this a little more as well.  I'm really proud of the members of our family who have served.

This was probably one of the most emotional days of my teen years and you can read about it in a post I did a couple of years ago.  I'm reminded of this moment in time and my grandfather every year on this day...

In Flanders fields the poppies blow.
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.


We are the Dead.
Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn,
saw sunset glow,
Loved, and were loved,
and now we lie
In Flanders fields.


Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.

Here's to the men and women representing us right now as well as their families.    Thank you...

Another Christmas Card!

I was puttering around online yesterday when I saw the cutest card that Allison Cope had done, so I decided I was going to lift copy it!  Such a cute card though I didn't do all the stamping and colouring she did - quick and easy for me for sure!  This one came together so quickly because I'd just bought more of this paper and the matching chipboard sheet from Crate Paper.  I also got the twine at work since we got a ton of colours of this lately and it's fun to play with.  Didn't know what I was going to use it for when I got it, but here's a start!  The label shape was one of the new Spellbinders I got and it was on my table precut, so no work there...  A fun and quick card for sure!

I spent the morning getting Nathan in to the doctor AGAIN!  This is his third bug in as many weeks though he's not the only one in his class either.  He sounded like he was getting the beginning of the bronchitis he had a couple of weeks ago and that got quite bad, so I wanted to get him checked earlier this time.  The Dr. said there's some wheezing when he breathes and he does has a bad cough and the sniffles for sure.  He's not got a strong cough medicine with some decongestant too.  As well as that, he has an inhaler that we're doing 2X a day to try and get rid of the wheezing and then we'll take him back on Monday and get him checked again!  I sure hope this isn't the beginning of a loooong winter!

Also finished getting my stuff together for class tonight.  I'm doing a class with the Jovial line from Basic Grey and there are 7 cards.  There's a whole pad of 6X6 paper and full package (4 sheets) of chipboard as well!  It's a fun one for sure and I always enjoy going to teach...  It'll be a nicer drive if the weather stays sunny like this too!

Not much else going on tonight.  Have Survivor on PVR to watch when I get home and then I'm hoping the boys sleep a little later tomorrow since we're all off for Remembrance Day, of course.  Thinking of taking the boys to the local ceremony, but we'll have to see how Nathan is.

Not much else planned for tomorrow and happy about it!

Cheers,