Productive Day!

Love days when you feel like you get a lot accomplished!  Got inspired early and started cleaning...
- kitchen dishes and floor
- vacuumed living room, hallway and bedrooms
- did laundry
- made beds
- cleaned up my creative space!!!  A BIG challenge!

And as I was heading out to work, one of Kyle's friends arrived for our first sleep over!  George was all good with boys night and when I got home from work, Kyle and his friend were asleep in the living room and Nathan was awake!  George had to move him so the other boys could sleep!  Too funny!

Well, better be off to bed myself!
Cheers,

PS For LSNED, Today I learnt just how important a good night's sleep is to me!

Date Day!

Yes, I had a date today - with Kyle!  It was really wonderful to be able to do something with just him today since it doesn't happen a lot.  I told him that I'd take him to a movie some time as partof his birthday present, so he picked Kung Fu Panda II!

OK, so it's not the best picture, but it's what I got using George's little camera inside the theatre!  You get the idea anyway and we had a great time!

Afterwards, we ran some errands:  stopped and got fruit and veggies at the "veggie store" and picked up pictures at the "picture store".  Love how these names the kids used to use when they were small have just stuck!  I had a bunch of pictures developed so that I can hopefully start some of my own scrapbooking again.

George also blew up the pool again so the kids could spend some time in there this week.  It's finally warmed up a bit, so they might really get the chance.  Nathan was in and out all day and went through 5 changes of clothes I think.  Kyle went in when we got back too and then went for a "bike ride" down the street.  Still trying to get him more confident and thinking we might have to get him into Pedalheads this summer since I've heard good things!

Going to be a quiet week here I think since Sophia and Matthew won't be here and we don't have a car for the week...  Putter around here and take it easy sounds good to me!

Cheers,

PS Anyone local and interested in a card class Wednesday night can check out my previous post!  Lots of extra goodies to take home too - in class or take out kit!

Project Life - Week 3!

Wow!  Hard to believe we're already 3 weeks into 2011!  Where does the time go?

Take a look at all the Project Life inspiration at The Mom Creative.  It's time to update with my pictures from this week again... 

January 15th

This was the first time Kyle had used his debit card and he was pretty excited about it.  he got a new Lego game called Ninjago.  I was really proud of him!

January 16th

OK now, this isn't the best pictureof me, but I love it because of the wonderful woman in the picture with me - my grandma!  This was a special day as the family all got together at my aunt and uncle's to celebrate my grandma's 95th birthday! 

She's a truly amazing woman... 

January 17th

What a day!  We were up early (5:40am!) to get ourselves ready and out the door to be downtown by 7am for Kyle's dental surgery.  What he was actually having done was having 5 teeth pulled!  It was supposed to be 6, but one of them fell out when we were at my grandma's birthday celebration. 

He was a real trooper though and thankfully they put him under for it.  The freezing was about the worst part for him since he'd never had it before.  I gave him one dose of Tylenol in the morning when we got home and then he didn't even want/need anymore after that.  It was a take it easy day and he slept a lot in the morning.  By about midday the same day, he had perked right up and though he was on soft foods, he was pretty much back to normal!  Amazing how fast kids can bounce back! 

There was a letter for the Tooth Fairy and she left him a $20!!

January 18th

OK, sooooooo totally excited about these boxes!  We went shopping on the weekend for a new kitchen table and chairs and they arrived today!  We had looked before Christmas and didn't find anything we liked, but we sure did this time.  Now it'll just be a matter of when they're all put together!

January 19th

Yes, Daddy has started to put some of the new table and chairs together, so you decided that you wanted to build a tent with the big box.  And what could be better than a tent to play in?  A tent to sleep in!  I was actually kind of surprised that you really did sleep in there all night!  Adorable! 

Who needs toys when you have cardboard boxes?

January 20th

There was a big assembly at my son's school for the official opening of the new playground.  I was actually asked to come up and accept something on behalf of the PAC that did a lot of fundraising and made a big donation for the playground.

January 21st

Going to cheat with this one and take a picture later!  It was my son's PJ Spirit Day at school and I forgot to get a picture, so I'm planning on taking one this weekend of him in the same jammies he wore to school that day and adding it here!

Well, better go upload these pictures for printing while I'm thinking about it too.  Matthew is still sick, so he's not here today, but George went back to work today after being off sick with a fever yesterday.  I have some cold symptoms, but am taking Cold FX and ignoring them as best I can!

Have a good one!

Cheers,

Project Life - Week 1!

Yes, this is the first actual week of my Project Life and I had soooo much fun doing it.  Everyone in the family seems to like the idea of this and both Kyle and George read all the journaling for the week once it was done.  I think this is simply awesome!

With all the classes I'm prepping for at work, I find my own scrapping seems to get left.  I love doing it, but I don't always have time.  This is a way top document what's going on in our lives without any stress.  I'm still planning doing some scrapping, but I can do it when I have time and not worry about being caught up. 

I'm doing it as a picture a day, but also not stressing if I miss the odd one and will simply fill it with another picture related to the week or our family in some way.  I've decided to try and do the journaling before bed daily to keep it fresh in my mind.  I am using OhLife daily as well which e-mails you a generic question about your day.  You just hit reply, add your response and send it and that is added to an online (private) journal.  Sometimes I actually write and other days, it's just point form of a few things.  Whatever it is, it's something to this point!

Had a bit of a crazy day today.  Got up early and got the boys dressed and ready so that we could head out to the clinic and get an appt for Kyle.  Next Monday, Kyle is having 6 teeth pulled. and they're putting him out for it, so that means a need a form filled out by the doctor saying that he all good and healthy - check up basically.  We were up there before 7:30 (not long after they opened) and were told to come back at 11:30!  This is what happens when your doctor has been away for a week and everyone loves him!  

My plans were done at that point because I was hoping that since Matthew and Sophia weren't here first thing this morning that I could have Kyle in and out before they got here (after swimming).  I also thought Kyle would be in and out before school - no go there!  Instead, all 5 of us were up there and waited more than an hour.  I'm truly lucky they're all so good because other than asking more than once when we were going in, they were really good.  It was almost 1pm before we got out though, so I popped into Burger King and got 2 kids meals for the kids to share and then added some fruit and other things.  Amazing that one kid could actually eat all those fries anyway!

Took Kyle up to school and just missed the bell, so we walked him in.  Came home and put Matthew to bed.  A friend was nice enough to bring Kyle home so that Matthew could sleep a little longer.  Brian had left money for hot chocolate for the kids and because it was so late after the doctor, we didn't go then, but went up to Starbucks once Matthew woke up.  Had fun and someone commented on how well behaved they were - the second time today with the first being at the doctor's!

Well making a Stroganoff WW recipe tonight, so I'd better go get at it!

It's Bachelor night tonight, so I'll be watching that and the weather network to figure out what's going on with the snow!  Have to prep my Wednesday class too and just hope that I can get there.

Well, better go get some cooking done for real!  I'm out of here!  Have a good one!

Cheers,

What a fun day!

What a wonderful Saturday! First of all, I wasn't working or teaching today, so that was a very welcome break. Went to my WW meeting this morning for the 16th week and got my clapping hands - "Stay and Succeed". I was a little unsure of my weigh in as I'd had a little more in the carb dept this week, but tracked everything and was very happily down another 1.6lbs (42.8 total now).  A very good start to the day!

I stopped at Starbucks for my coffee and breakfast sandwich before heading home. Got Kyle ready for karate and went there before running errands with Nathan. Came home for a quick bite and then headed out for some fun for me.

Instead of teaching today, I was taking a Christmas card class from one of my fellow teachers, Alexis, and had a great time! It was fun to be on the playing end rather than the teaching side for a change.  Thanks Alexis!  Was also supposed to go for coffee before that with a friend, but her DH got called to work unfortunately (so no one to watch the kids - another time!).

Came home and got all my guys and we headed out to iHop for dinner.  Stopped at the new "super" Walmart near here to check out the craziness and it sure was busy.  I stood in line and got a couple of things while the boys got an ice cream.  Kyle was halfway through his when he said his other top front tooth had fallen out!!  Exciting!  Guess the Tooth Fairy will be making a stop here tonight! 

We've rented movies, so the boys are watching Toy Story 3 right now and George and I are going to watch Robin Hood later. I also got Predator for him, but so not interested in that! Think I'll go watch some of the Canucks game right now too!

Great day all the way around!
“Enjoy the little things, for one day you may look back and realize they were the big things.”
~ Robert Brault

Hope everyone else enjoyed their Saturday!
Cheers,

Preschool Halloween Party

Just thought I'd post a couple of pictures from Nathan's preschool Halloween party before I forget.  This was last Wednesday and they wore black, orange or purple to school and then made hats and had a special snack.  They got to decorate the preschool and then "trick or treat" and get a special something from the teachers.  The parents got to go back early and hang out for the last half hour of the party and we all had a good time!  Nathan loved it!

Gotta love that spider hat!

I love the icing from their cookie snack on his chin in this one!

They had the chance to paint their faces too and Sophia was all over that.  Nathan wanted nothing to do with it.  The funniest part is that she went around all day with her face painted so she could show Mummy and Daddy when she went home!

And how about these for comparison...

Kyle doing the same thing 3 years earlier!  Cookie snack in his mouth!

And almost the same shot as one I have of Nathan!  Crazy how time flies!

Well, need to finish getting ready for a class I'm teaching tomorrow night, so I'd better get a move on.  For anyone local, there weren't kits for this, but I'm making a few extra if you want one and can't make it.  Call the store!

Have a wonderful Wednesday everyone!

Cheers,

Preschool Pumpkin Art!

What a day!  It has been so crazy here weather wise!  Windy and blustery to say the least.  Good news is that I still managed to get out for a walk even today. 

Was sort of a funny one with George being off and then me being on preschool duty (helping out), but without Nathan there!  He still hadn't been on antibiotics long enough for the bronchitis to come today, so I just took Sophia.  We had a fun morning and then I came home to the news that the meeting I was going to have in the afternoon was cancelled, so I wasn't exactly upset about that.

Puttered around here with the kids this afternoon while George went and did the groceries for the week!  I then went and got Kyle from school and dropped him off and kept going for my walk.  Planning on a fairly relaxing evening and some class prep for later in the week!

One of the things we did do this afternoon though was pumpkin art!  Nathan's preschool teachers were kind enough to not only let me bring home art for Nathan, but sent one for Kyle too!

This was what I spent part of the morning at the preschool doing - helping kids paint and make Jack O Lanterns, but with "sparkles" (aka glitter) of course!  Messy and fun!  Kyle had as much fun as Nathan!

Oh they're crazy!  And I love them to bits!

Hope everyone here is staying warm and dry!

Cheers,

Happy October!

OK, so a little late, but better than never?!  I really don't know (*once again) where last month went.  We just seem to be so busy these days what with school, preschool, Matthew and Sophia being here 5 days a week, karate, Beavers starting, etc, etc that I can't keep track.  One day just seems to blend into the next...

So this past week has been one of those where everyone seems on the verge of a cold, but I'm good so far.  I made sure I got lots of sleep last night.  Slept through my alarm and was woken up by Kyle this morning at 7:30 after sleeping 10 hours last night!  Mum arrived shortly after with Matthew and Sophia and the craziness was on.  Nathan slept until about 7:45 too, so it was a little rushed this morning, but we all got where we needed to be on time and now I'm relaxing with a Starbucks iced coffee and Matthew is playing.  Quiet...

It was nice having mum here yesterday.  She was in helping Trace since Brian was out of town last night and then she helped me since I needed to take Kyle to the orthodontist - yes, already!  He has some issues that the dentist recommended be looked at by someone else, so that's what we did.  I basically walked out having spent about $1000 and he's only 7 and that wasn't any braces!  He needs a full orthondontic workup and then he'll probably need about 6 teeth pulled and a special thing put on one of his back teeth to help it come in straight rather than into one of his other molars.  He's missing 2 adult teeth (hereditary and I'm missing one), but that will be dealt with later.  Fun times!

Kyle and Nathan also asked if I'd take "special" pictures of them, so here they are...

Nice eh?!

Cool kid!

I have a very full class to teach tonight - 18 people!  Well, there are 4 people that aren't actually going to be there because they asked for kits, but it still means 14, so it should be fun.  This is the second time I've taugh this class and all was good last time, so we'll have to hope for the same!  It's a fun Christmas card class called Snow Much Fun.

It's going to be a busy weekend too!  Work Friday night, dinner at mum and dad's Sat night, going to see The Wiggles (again!) on Sunday and then we're hosting George's family for dinner here on Monday!  A crazy fun-filled family weekend!  And we can only hope the weather is as gorgeous as it is today.  Beautiful...

We're also thinking about Opi today...  Hard to believe it's been a year since we lost him. 

Well, a million things to do and not enough hours in a day as usual, so I'd better get moving.  Have a fabulous week!

Cheers,

New Passion

Now, some of you that pop by once in a while might remember that Kyle was doing Hip Hop last year.  Well, during spring break, we tried a one week karate class partly for something to do and partly because Kyle had been talking about karate.  This was an inexpensive way to try it out and not have to get a gi or anything.  Well, he loved it and it's all I've heard about since. 

We talked about doing it over the summer, but we were so busy that it didn't happen.  Finally after hearing about it multiple times a day for weeks, I registered him a couple of weeks ago and he's loving it!  He's already asked about belts and how long he has to practice before he can be tested.  We registered him for a month to get going, but I don't think that'll be the end of it by any means.  He can go 3 times a week, but only needs to go twice; however, we've been there 3 times a week since he started!  I'm glad he's found something he's enjoying.  It's unfortunately the same nights as dance though, so we've dropped that for now. 

Of course, Nathan had to get in on the pictures even if he's not taking karate!  I asked if he was interested in trying it, but not yet at least.  I want to find him something that he'll enjoy.  We need to get him registered for swimming soon for sure!

Well, that's it for right now.  Better go think about getting the kids an early lunch as they have preschool this afternoon!

Cheers,

Summer Vacation Begins...

Yes, today was offically our first real day of summer vacation and it's been pretty darn good I'd say!  Let me qualify that by saying it could have been better if Kyle hadn't woken me up at 5:57am to open the pieces of his new Star Wars Lego!  I opened them, sent him to his room and promptly went back to sleep for an hour!

I did manage to get a few minutes to play with my happy mail I mentioned yesterday.  I decided to try the sketch from Cardabilities since it seemed a little different than my usual style.  I used a stamp from TPC Studios and a couple of punches along with all the goodies in my Key Ingredients box and there you have it...

I had Sophia and Matthew today since Sophia seemed to be feeling better.  They stayed in their jammies for a while and just played.  Finally around 10am, I managed to convince everyone to get dressed so that I could go pay our taxes (fun times!) and pop over to Tracy's for a bit.  Stopped and got us coffee and the kids had an hour or so to play before we headed back here for lunch.

Everyone had lunch, the kids played inside and out, and Matthew napped.  I finally kicked Kyle outside at one point to get some fresh air and to get him doing something other than building Lego! 

Now, not only did Matthew nap, but Nathan is having one right now.  I let him play Wii for a bit this afternoon since he hadn't played in a few days and one minute we was playing and the next, he was sleeping!  He was up late last night and then I think he heard Kyle early this morning too, so I'll leave him for a few more minutes and then I have the uneviable task of trying to wake up that little bear!

Think it'll be a relaxing evening at home and then George has the next 5 days off.  I don't have my niece and nephew during that time either though I do have a couple of shifts at the store.  Looking forward to the break and to Canada Day festivities tomorrow!  Enjoy...

Cheers,

Happy Birthday Kyle!!

Yes, it's very hard to believe, but my "baby" is 7 today!  And this was the best of about a dozen shots if you can believe it!  hee hee

He had sort of a funny day because he had an hour and a half of school and it was essentially an assembly for the Grade 7 "graduation".  Usually, the Kindergarten kids give roses to the Grade 7s, but there weren't enough, so Kyle and a couple of kids in his class got to help as well.  The kids played a little while after school and then we were done there for the year!  Crazy!

Sophia is sick today, so I have Matthew, but not her.  Tracy wanted some ginger ale and Gravol for her, so the boys and I went and got a few things to take over there.  We didn't stay, but headed back here for lunch instead.  Matthew is napping and Kyle is waiting for me to finish so he can play computer while Nathan plays with the new Star Wars toys that Kyle got for his birthday!

This is the card I gave Kyle's teacher with her end of the year present which was a gift card for Staples and the following...

This was a card organizer that I saw online and used this fun Piggy Tales Thumbelina paper for.  I have seen a few tutorials and videos for this, so check them out and try it!  I alternated patterned paper and cardstock pages in mine.  Such a great gift and quite easy after the first one! Another great Bind It All project too!  The first tutorial link has the calendar pages I used inside it as well!

Well, think that's about it!  Oh I had a wonderful mail day yesterday...

I didn't have time to play with it yesterday, but I got my first Taylored Expressions Key Ingredients package and a few extra goodies I ordered as well (like the bag of buttons!)!  Check out the link to see all the goodies and why I'm so excited!  Yeah! 

Hope to play a little tonight with any luck though we're going out for dinner to Denny's  - at Kyle's request!  And then we're having George's parents over for cake and presents as well.  Maybe after everyone's in bed...

Cheers,