7 for Maddie.

My first-born baby girl celebrated her 7th birthday a few days before the hustle of Christmas and now that things have settled down a bit, and I have BlogPress back on my iPhone, I would like to share...

7 Things I Love About my Pony-Girl!




1) Great Big Sister: Jamie and Colie are lucky to have Maddie for their sister. She is pretty darn patient with her not-so-tidy middle sister and she is pretty much head over heels for her baby sister. She even let Colie take her brand-new for Christmas "Furreal Friend" and drool all over it. And you have to understand that Maddie cannot stand drool! But, she let her have it just because she knew how much Colie wanted to play with it. Now, that's a sweetie!

2) Neat. Not just in the "such a neat kid" kinda' way (although she is), but also in a "likes to keep her things tidy" kinda' way. And, aren't I lucky to be the mom of a neat girl?!

3) Earnest. Everything Maddie does she tries very hard to do well. This trait used to tip over into "perfectionism" when she was younger and it kept her from enjoying things that she couldn't immediately master. But now she just tries very hard, she is less likely to give up, and she is able to have more fun. I think that is wonderful.

4) Beautiful. I know all Moms are biased, but when Maddie was born I really thought she was the most beautiful baby ever and still now I will catch myself looking at her and thinking, "My Gawd...so pretty". Of course, pretty is as pretty does, and she is definitely beautiful inside and out. And those blue eyes! Oh, how I would love to have eyes like that.

5) Goofball. I think Maddie is beginning to give her Dad a run for the money as the biggest Goofball in the house. Sometimes this just causes me to roll my eyes, but mostly I'm just so glad she has become such a happy, giggley, 7 year old.

6) Creative. Maddie is quite smart and does very well in school (which is great), but I'm also blown away by her creative abilities. The stories she writes, and the drawings she makes, are so much more impressive than what I could have ever done at her age. She often says she wants to be "an artist" or "a designer" when she grows up and I must admit I love that. I hope she always holds onto, and nurtures, her creative side.

7) Loving. Jamie already presents me with the top of her head (that is where I am allowed to kiss her) when it's time to say "Goodnight", but Maddie will still come running with open arms. She loves her Mom and Dad and loves to show it. She writes me little notes and leaves me little cards that she has made just to say, "Love You, Mommy". So adorable. I know that probably won't last much longer, so I'll cherish it while I can.

Just as I cherish you, my little Pony-Girl.




Happy Birthday.
Xoxo,
Mom.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

From November 15th

The video hook-up is finally working on BlogPress!! And not only THAT, but I have BlogPress back on my iPhone (Jamie accidentally erased it awhile ago...that's partly why I haven't posted in awhile. I'm never on my computer anymore! Just my iPhone).

So, I am VERY excited to share this video with you that was actually taken back in November when my little Colie CoCo was still just 9 months old.
:)

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Merry Christmas.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Festivus!

Yesterday was a busy, busy, day. But, it was also a great, great, day!

Yesterday was the first annual "Festivus" cookie exchange held at my place. I just called it "Festivus" to be funny...not cuz' i'm a real scrooge or anything. The party was a lot of work to get ready for. I mean, in addition to baking the 6 dozen cookies in my awful oven (i am 100% serious when i tell you that i will preheat it to 350 and about 4 minutes into baking the temperature will shoot up past 450 on my oven thermometer...ya...makes baking a breezey fun time), I also had to clean up the house from top to bottom. Okay, I guess I didn't really have to clean out all under my bathroom cabinets, buy new storage bins to coral all our bath products, sterilize the inside of the microwave, clean off the top of the fridge, clean out the living room cupboard, organize my photos...ha ha ha! I'm still not kidding! Once I know people are coming over I go a little wacko and feel like every. single. thing. needs to be organized. Did anyone look at the top of my fridge? Look in my bathroom cupboards? Ask to see if my photos were organized? no.

dammit.

ha ha.

But, anyway...
I was pretty much exhausted by the time the party started, but once everyone got here I was all perked up again. So many ladies took the time to prepare, bake all the cookies, package everything up, get into their best Festivus outfits, and come out to my place. And, you know, that is really kinda' humbling. I am very lucky to have so many great girls in my life.

I should also give a shout out to the great guy in my life. The one who helped me clean all week, kept running out to the stores to fill my need for more butter and more storage bins. The one who even bought me a new storage chest for the kitchen! The day of the party he got up early, got the girls ready, drove them all over to his Mom's place, came back home, helped me do all the final cleaning (vacuuming, windows, floors, polishing, etc.) and then when it was almost party time...he high-tailed it out of here so us girls could have a couple of hours to ourselves.

Now, that's a pretty terrific guy. Thanks Davey.

I can't say the party went off without a hitch (not too many of us got the "you need to bring a big enough container to bring all your cookies HOME in...not just the container(s) that you bring all the cookies to the party in...part), but that's okay. At least we all know what we are supposed to do for next year. And, I definitely will host Festivus again next year. After all...the top of my fridge is already cleaned off. ;-)

(p.s. After Festivus the party continued on at The Fairy Blogmother's place, where the girls showed the boys how you do Pictionary right).

(p.p.s. I'll have Festivus pics to share soon. For the rest of today, though, I'll be planting my buttocks firmly in a chair and watching the Food Network).

The Pox

So, as some of you may know, last week...this was Maddie. Yep, The Pox (the poultry sort) is going through her school like gang-busters. I had decided not to get the girls vaccinated for this because, as otherwise perfectly healthy little girls, I came to the opinion that there were more risks than benefits associated with getting the needle. From what I've read, the immunization doesn't actually even protect your child for life from getting the Chicken Pox...the only thing that can do that is...getting the Chicken Pox {please remember these are my opinions based on my research and nothing more. I totally understand that this vaccine is very helpful and important to the preventative health care of other children}.So, anywho, was there a part of me that was pretty much hoping they would get the Chicken Pox? Yes. I mean, I did not purposely expose my girls to the virus (and I had the chance to do that a couple of times. Once when my brother's kids got it, and then another time when my friend's little girl got it). I just couldn't bring myself to give them a disease. But, I was hoping...in a way...that they would get it...while they were young. Of course, I also wanted them to have no complications from having the disease...have a nice, easy-peasy, time of it...and then have life-long immunity. So, fortunately, that went right according to plan for Maddie. She got the Pox, and got over it, like a Champ. She didn't even really feel sick! And now, right on schedule...10 days later...It's Jamie's turn.
And, thankfully, she is dealing with it just fine, too. Of course...she likes to play it up a bit. This is the only time she gets to have Ginger Ale. Poor baby. So sick...do you need a little bit of Ginger Ale? I really, really, really, really, hope that if Colie catches this...10 days from now...she has as easy a time of it as her big sisters. So many hard decisions to make as a Mom.
-- Post From My iPhone

Knowing You - Knowing Me: December.

Oh dear...time once again for that monthly interview project started by my girl, The Fairy Blogmother. I say, "Oh dear" not because I don't enjoy it (I do!), but because this means I know I will now be back to work in 3 months. eww. But, let's not think about that right now...

1. Are you an egg nog fan?

You know, I used to be but I haven't had it in so long...who knows? I'll be serving it at Festivus, so we'll see. And, btw, why didn't you vote Shanny??? I didn't know you thought it was vile, or I would have said I'd do the cranberry punch, instead!!! :( {sorry}.

2. What is your favourite at Christmas treat?

Oh, I know! Quality Street chocolates. Is that lame? My mom always buys me a tin and now Dave does, too, so I usually have lots of cankers from all the cheapo chocolate by January...but those strawberry ones are just soooo yummy.

3. How is your tree decorated? A theme like red and gold? Or does it have a more eclectic slant?

We are still working on this. We don't have a bunch of "beloved" ornaments or anything like that, so we've been just throwing crap from the dollar store at our ugly plastic tree for the past few years. This year we will have a real tree and we'll have to start working on our own family collection of loved ornaments for my girls.

4. What's your favourite Christmas movie?

Oh, I love the Grinch (the real one, not the overly maniacal Jim Carrey version), and I love Charlie Brown (especially the scene with Linus quoting from the bible. I'm not a religious girl, but I just think Linus sounds so cute in that scene. It's so peaceful and sweet)...but, my favourite is probably National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation. The scene with the squirrel makes me cry laughing every time I see it.

It wouldn't be the Christmas season if the stores were any less hootered than they are.

5. New jammies on Christmas Eve?

No, but looking back on the last few year's Christmas pictures...I can see why this is a popular Christmas tradition! One year Jamie is opening all her presents in just her under pants and a ratty ol' t-shirt. That's okay, though...it's us...ratty t-shirts and all.

P57 Arms and Abs

So, I've been feeling like quite the unhealthy slug lately. During the spring (oops. I mean "summer". I guess that was our summer) I was out taking nice long walks with the baby everyday. Just walking and using my butt for something more than sitting felt so good. Then winter (I mean, "fall") set in and it became too cold for me to venture outdoors. So that was that. No more exercise.

Well, no exercise is something I can live with for...well...about 3 months, apparently...before I actually go bonkers. So, yesterday was The Day! I got back on the ol' exercise mat and did a Physique 57 work-out.





I decided to just do a 30 minute DVD (I bought all 3) since I am such a slacker, and I realized about 2 minutes into the work-out that I had never actually done this one before! It was the "Arms and Abs" one and it started off great with a little warm-up standing on the floor, then moved into the arm work which I love! Warning--they just tell you to have a "light set of weights" and a "heavy set of weights" available and, basically all of the arm work is done with your "heavy set". I don't know about you, but I can use much heavier weights for biceps than I can for triceps...so you may want to switch up your weight choices as it goes along.

My second complaint with the DVD was that there was absolutely no stretching done after working the different muscle groups. This lead to me getting a cramp in one of my arms midway through the arm work and then feeling a bit grumpy-wumpy about the whole gig.

The DVD then leads into ab work on the floor using the playground ball to dig awkwardly into your back. There was also a lot of pilates style work with the ball clenched in between your legs. There was a "beginner" girl who you could follow but she did stuff I only aspire to be able to do...so that was just discouraging.

I love Kelly Rippa and I know she thinks this work-out is a ton of fun but, personally I am not thinking, "Gee! I can't wait to do that one again!". It's more like, "What a bunch of show-offs. Hrrumf".

Of course, this is my perspective as a quite admittedly out of shape, 40 year old, mother of 3. Maybe i'll have a better opinion of it next time I try it...but...that's gonna be awhile from now! I'm going to find my Jari Love DVDs to do tomorrow!



-- Post From My iPhone

The 5th Day of Christmas

It's less than a week now until "Festivus", the cookie exchange party I'm hosting with a bunch of my girlfriends. And, knowing how much my oven truly sucks it is imperative that I get in a few practice rounds of cookie making before the real deal. That's why I was pretty glad that Noelle, our Christmas Fairy, suggested we make Christmas cookies together today.




The girls had fun getting all the ingredients together and they are even enjoying some of the cookies. I mean, if my oven didn't spontaneously jump from 350 to 450 halfway through baking (yes, it was well preheated. So, what the?!?!) then the middles would probably have had a better chance of getting baked before the bottoms got burnt, but whatever.




I still had fun with my girls.
And that's what Festivus is all about.



-- Post From My iPhone

The Fourth Day of Christmas

Our family fun activity for the fourth day of Christmas: Charades!



This idea was our favourite so far. It is free, includes the whole family, and was a ton of fun.



I wrote down the Christmas themed items on slips of paper that we folded up and placed into our special charades can (which was recently filled with nummy treats from my girl, The Blogmother. Thank-you, B!!). Each of us took turns picking out a slip and then acting out the item.


We had titles such as "The Grinch", "Gingerbread Man", "Candy Cane", "Stockings", and "Christmas Tree". All the rest of us would guess what that player was trying to act out.



We didn't have teams. We didn't keep score. But, we did laugh a lot.


It was great fun! So much so that I'm kind of hoping that Noelle the Christmas fairy may suggest this activity again.


-- Post From My iPhone

On the 3rd Day of Christmas...

Our Christmas fairy left for us...
A note to read a Christmas Fairy bo-ook.
(or, at least a couple chapters...)



Thanks to The Blogmother for the festive book loan (which has fit in so nicely with our 25 Days of Christmas), and to Noelle, our very own Christmas fairy, for another great family fun idea.



-- Post From My iPhone

The Second Day of Christmas

So, Noelle the Christmas fairy did end up visiting our house again last night! The girls are finding her visits very exciting. So exciting that they are waking me up at the crack of dawn to share her notes with me! ;-)

Noelle's plan for us today was to do a Christmas craft. We decided to make paper snowflakes. The girls were pretty darn good and created some beautiful decorations for our windows!




Great idea, Noelle!




I wonder what cool plan she'll have for us tomorrow.


-- Post From My iPhone

Design Your Life.

I soooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo want to take this class.

Is that craziness? It starts after Jamie's birthday, after Maddies' birthday, after Christmas...it will end just before I have to go back to work. It will give me a huge kick in the pants to actually get some of these gajillion digital pixels I have into scrapbooks. You know, something someone can actually look at, and love, and cherish. If I don't do it...will I ever get up the gumption to actually get 'er done?

But, it's $99 dollars. U.S. dollars.
Our dollar is pretty good right now.

I'm on mat. leave.
Money is tight.
I tried to win a spot in the class.
I didn't win it.

I sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo want to take that class.

Advice?

Welcome Christmas, Come This Way.

So, that little box in the girls' room...it had a note in it. Not just any note, but a note from Noelle the Christmas Fairy! Can you believe that?! She said in her note that she will be back every night to help us celebrate the 25 Days of Christmas (started over at A Peek Inside the Fishbowl). And, it gets even weirder! I think, somehow, she over-heard what the hubs and I were talking about last night, because she put that in her note, too!

We had discussed starting off the Christmas season with a showing of "The Grinch that Stole Christmas" and the fairy told the girls in her note that we would watch a movie and have some cookies and hot chocolate. So, I tried to make some cookies...



My recipe needs some work.

And, I tried to make some hot chocolate...



But, we discovered there have been some mice getting at our stash of cocoa!

Still, the movie was great!



We love the Grinch.

And the night was fabulous. Because the Christmas season will always be...



Just as long as we have we.

-- Post From My iPhone

Small Packages

It's about 11:00. I just went to check on my big girls before heading off to bed myself and I spotted this in their bedroom! I wonder what it is? I wonder who it's from?? I can't wait until they find it in the morning and then we can all find out!



The 25 Days of Christmas starts tomorrow! Are you ready? :)

-- Post From My iPhone

Wordless Wednesday

Christmas is in the air (and on my cup).


Oh ya, it's Thursday. Oops. ;-)

-- Post From My iPhone

Five for Jamie.

My Little Jamie James just recently turned 5. We had a little family party on the actual day and then a class friend's party later on. I've been pretty busy with that and a couple of photo shoots, etc., etc., but I didn't want to forget to list...

Five Things that I LOVE about my Jamie...
in honour of her 5th Birthday.

1) Sense of Humour: Jamie is the funniest little kid I've ever met. She has such a great sense of humour and she loves to make people laugh. She tells jokes, makes funny faces, does her patented "funny run" (this little run, wiggle, thing that only she can do...and it makes me burst out laughing every time she does it). It is pretty much impossible to be in a bad mood when Jamie is around. I love that about her.

2) Kindness: Jamie is also the most sensitive kid I've ever met and every time I see her go up to some other child who is upset, or hurt, and put her arm around them, it makes my heart swell with pride. She does this totally without being self-aware. It is not something she does because she thinks she should or to get "points", it is completely automatic. She genuinely cares about other people. She has a huge heart. I love that about her.

3) Intelligence: Jamie is as smart as a whip. I'm not even just saying that because I am biased (which, of course, I am). I just got Jamie's report card yesterday and while the teacher's don't give out A's or B's or C's anymore (they are still letters...but they are different...and it's kind of confusing...they're like...X's and Y's and T's...??) let me just say that she got the equivalent of Straight A's! Her teacher told me that she has "absolutely no concerns about Jamie". She said that she is a "joy" to teach and that Jamie always comes to school with such enthusiasm and she is very quick to learn new things. She told me that she is "amazed" by Jamie's reading ability and that she has often seen Jamie pick up a book that they've never read before and she will listen to Jamie read the whole thing all by herself...sounding out the words and getting them all right. She was so amazed by Jamie's reading that she sent her over to another classroom of older kids and had her read a book to their class. They were all impressed, too! Then she went on to mention how kind Jamie is and how she is always helping out the other students and she is a friend to everyone. So, of course, I nearly started to cry right there and then in the middle of the classroom. I'm just so proud of her.

4) Beauty: is it okay if I throw this one in there? I mean, she is just so pretty and she has the biggest, bluest, eyes in the whole wide world. I would still love her if she wasn't so darn adorable, of course, but I just can't help but mention that she is. You know. So. Darn. Adorable.

5) Five. My Jamie is Five. I love that she is five because five is the age at which I can best remember me as being me. I don't remember 4 or 3 or certainly not 2...but I can remember five. And now Jamie is there, too. At the age where her memories will remain clear...forever. Knowing this I want to make doubly sure that those memories are good ones. I want to give her lots of things to be excited about. Lots of things to laugh about. Lots of things to learn, and see, and do. Because she is my Jamie. And that is my most favourite thing about her.

I'm so lucky that she is mine.

I love you, Jamie James.
(times 5 Hundred Gabillion).

Wordless Wednesday

From my new most favouritist book in the world, "Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus" by Mo Willems.




You can follow his ~Tweets~ @the_pigeon

-- Post From My iPhone

Cookie Exchange, 09

Ahhh...Sunday morning was soooo nice. The kids (well, the two bigger ones) had slept over at their Grandma's house and the little one even slept in until about 7:30! When she did wake up, the hubs went to get her and give her some breakfast and her bottle and change her...leaving me to just lay. in. bed. Ahhhhh. No, it doesn't stop there! He even went out to get me a coffee. And I just stayed. in. bed. waiting for him to get back. And when he did? I stayed. in. bed. some more! I drank my coffee and followed all the interesting tweet-links I found and just read, and read, and read. It was heaven.

One of the most fun and interesting links I came across was this one for the Yummy Mummy Club. The thing that specifically caught my eye was this post on hosting a Cookie Exchange. I have wanted to do one of these for awhile now, but I wasn't sure exactly how it would work. Lisa's fun post cleared that all up and gave me lots of great ideas. I was so excited about the whole thing that I decided to plan my own Cookie Exchange right there and then (well, after I was done my coffee...and finally got my butt out of bed).

So I headed on over to my Facebook page and updated my status with the question of "Who is down for a Cookie Exchange?". I got a couple of nibbles (so to speak) right away so I went ahead and started a group for it and then invited just about every female Facebook friend I have. Like Lisa says in her post, "it’s the perfect opportunity to hang with your girlfriends before the hectic holiday season takes off".

Are you hosting or going to a Cookie Exchange this year? If so, I'd love to hear all about it! And, I'll be sure to post lots of pictures from my gig once it's over. I've put up the call for gaudy get-ups.

It should be Sweet!

(sorry).

Mr. Pitiful

So, as some of you already know...we've had a cat in our house for the past week.

Now, I am ~absolutely~ not a cat person. I mean, I love kittens. Adorable, adorable, little things. And I've even met many very cool cats. When I go to someone else's house, and they have a cat, well, I'll be all over the furry kid. But, do I want one in my house? No. No, no, and no. It is my belief (and I am really hoping to be proven wrong on this one) that if you have a cat, you have pee in your house. I have never known a cat that did not pee in the house. If the litter box isn't completely clean, if it isn't in the right spot, if there aren't enough litter boxes around, if the cat gets spooked, if they cat isn't feeling well, if the cat woke up on the wrong side of the bed...it pees in your house. It'll even pee directly on your clothes or your pillow, if he is really pissed...no pun intended. Would a dog do this? No. A dog will not pee on your pillow because he is cranky. So, I'm a dog person. It's not much of a contest.

We will never have a cat in this house.

I've said those words to my daughter (who has been begging for a cat for, I think, pretty much all of her 7 years. I think her first words were, "Can I have a cat?"). Well, never say never...right?

Enter Mr. Pitiful. Literally.

Last weekend we found Mr. Pitiful in the ditch at the side of the (80 km/hr) road. I thought he was just a baby because he looked so tiny. Hubby pulled over to check him out and he came right up to him, meowing away. Dave brought him into the truck so I could check him out and, I suppose, "assess" the situation (I'm a professional veterinary technician, but I don't play one on t.v.). Well, kitty was actually about 7 or 8 months old. Not neutered. No collar. Ear mites, "walking dandruff", and probably a wide variety of intestinal parasites. He was severely malnourished with his hip bones clearly visible. And, he had a pretty awful upper respiratory infection. So, now, I guess I have a cat.

Well, I couldn't just leave him there.

Right?

(Just kidding).

Poor little guy. He really is a very sweet cat. I mean, most cats hate being in a car, but he just started purring and kneading his feet as soon as we touched him. It was like he was so thankful and relieved that someone picked him up.

We brought him home and got him set up with a litter box (a spare from my rabbit) and some fresh water, a blanket, and the only food we had to offer him...a can of sardines. Wow. He went to TOWN on those. We've also had him checked out by the vet and he has been treated for all his worms and mites and parasites (oh my!) and he was going to be vaccinated but, sadly, he was too sick to risk the vaccines. He is still very underweight (despite eating like a crazy cat for the past week) and he is still congested (he is blowing snot all over my house, people!!). All kidding aside, he really is a very sick little guy and we actually had to get him tested for Feline Leukemia and FIV. We don't have those results back, yet.

Mr. Pitiful is so happy here in the house and he has completely tolerated being dragged around the house like a rag-doll by Jamie. Maddie and Jamie both are head over heels in love with him. I'm letting him sleep with them at night so the two girls have been sharing the bottom bunk (so he doesn't have to jump too high to visit Maddie). I went in the other night to say "Good-night" to the girls and sing them their songs. Maddie was reading him a book!! He was lying in bed, right between the two of them, with just his head poking up above the covers to see the story. It was the sweetest, most adorable, thing ever!

I just hope Mr. Pitiful doesn't pee in my house.

And, we hope Mr. Pitiful will be okay.

Knowing Me - Knowing You: November Edition.

It's that time once again... time for that monthly interview project started by my friend Shan over at Tales from The Fairy Blogmother - Knowing Me, Knowing You.

1. What's your strategy for gift giving this Christmas?
I think this year (with me coming to the end of my mat. leave and, therefore, our savings coming to the end of...uh...existence) we will really, really, need to set a budget and stick to it. The hubs is super big on the girls having "lots and lots" of shiny packages waiting under the tree for them on Christmas morning and I think it is very sweet that he thinks that...but I think we should really make the day more about our family and togetherness this year. I think if we discuss this with the girls in advance, let them know that we only have so much to spend on presents but, because Mommy won't have to work Christmas day this year, we can spend the whole day together, as a family, doing lots of fun stuff. Really, the unwrapping lasts only about 2.5 minutes anyway...regardless of the number of presents!

2. How do you feel about the holiday newsletter?
I'd love to get one! I'd even like to write one. But, really, who would i send it to? The people I care about already know everything there is to know about me and my family...and the people I don't care about...well, I don't think they want my newsletter.

3. What's your favourite board game?
I really like pictionary. I fancy myself as an artist which makes me love this game. However, I fancy myself an artist which makes me truly suck at this game. I mean, I want to do all kinds of shading and shadowing and I like to work on dimension and perspective...kinda' makes the ol' time run out before I've finished anything recognizable. ha ha! But, really, I think a game night would be fun. I'm hoping to get an invite to Shan's "Night at the Bal-derdash". ;-) {subtle hint?}

4. What's your favourite cold weather comfort dish?
Hmmm...Oh! SOUP! Davey's soup! He makes some really, really, fabulous soups! He made one last year that had sweet potato and curry and I don't know what else. It was soooooo good. I've been begging him for more ever since, but he can't even remember exactly how he made it. He needs to start writing his recipes down. Then I could turn them into a book. And you'd wanna' buy it! And I'd get rich! Really, he's very good at making soup.

5. What is your favourite new show this season?
Are there any new shows on this season? What about the old ones! I'm still waiting for American Idol to come on! What's the hold up? And, what happened to Rescue Me?! I waited forEVER for that show to come back on and they gave me, what, like 8 kinda' stupid episodes (sorry, Tommy...I mean Denis...but, really, it was not the best season. Not. Even. Close). At least I still have Dexter. Man, that show is good...but I really, really, wish they didn't kill off Lundy. sigh. I've also, finally, discovered The Office. Steve Carrell is adorable. He reminds me of a male me. We are very similar people, I think. Is that bad?

Thanks for the fun again this month Shan...
although each one of these reminds me of how little time I have left off work with my baby.
(barf).
But, still...fun.

If you'd like to join in head on over to the home of the Fairy Blogmother right HErE!

Scraptastic!

Hi everyone!!

Did you have a fabulous Halloween? Was it as quiet around your place as it was mine? I'd say we probably had about 60% of the kids we had last year! Crazy. And, we even bought extra chocolate this year so we wouldn't run out. I swear, my butt is getting bigger just thinking about all the chocolate we have lying around this place. I saw on someone's Tweet (I'm really sorry...I forget who said it now) that they buy their kid's chocolates from them. The kids can then use the money to buy a toy, instead. Well, isn't that brilliant! We asked the kids what they thought about that and they thought it was a great idea, so we will totally be doing that next year. But, what do we do with all their junk? Suggestions??


Anyway, despite fewer kids we still had a fabulous time. My family went Trick or Treating with The Fairy Blogmother's family. She and her hubby were so funny to walk around with. I mean, you just had to be there to watch them doing the choreography from "Thriller" in the middle of the road. Priceless! {One of our neighbours sets out a massive stereo system every year and cranks up the theme music. It makes things so festive on our little street!}. You can read more about the night and see one pic. of all the kids (who were able to make it...poor Maya was home sick) right HERE. I'm waiting for my MIL to send me some pics (we just used her camera...) and when she does I'll give you some cold, hard, evidence of how incredibly cute my little girlies were. ;-)


Until then...
I just wanted to say that....
Gawd Help Me
I have decided to take the plunge into scrapbooking. Do I have time for this? No. Not at all. I still have photos to process, a Photo Blog to update, a Photo Website to create (I bought the thing a few weeks ago now, and haven't even looked at it), and two more photo-shoots to do. I mean, don't get me wrong...I'm so thrilled and really, really, um...what's the word? Shocked? Surprised? Happy? Honoured? to have people ask me to photograph their kids...without even having ever advertised my services...but I just wish I could get some block of time to get that whole biz. thing organized. I kind of feel like my horses have gone running out of the barn...or...uh...what is that saying? Well, I haven't started my business, yet...but it's going ahead almost without me!! :-0 What a thing to complain about, huh? Yeah...that and "my wallet is too small for my fifties and my diamond shoes are too tight".

Sooooo...to make a long story (a bit) short-er...I am still going ahead with the scrapbooking thing.


WHY?! you ask?


Well, as the Blogmother will tell you...
my horrible, shameful, secret is...I have picture frames hanging on my walls that contain pictures of other people's kids and dogs in them. I hung them up to see how they would look, fully intending to put, you know, our pictures in them- but I haven't yet!! Isn't that ridiculously awful? And, despite having three gorgeous babies and a burgeoning photography business, I have next to no pictures of them anywhere! No albums, no frames, no canvases...nothing.


So I am officially kicking myself in the pants. And it all starts HERE




(FANTASTIC book my Stacy Julian which has totally helped me with a plan of attack for organizing my stuff so I can get going)


and HERE




(4-Drawer Storage Cube...part of Stacy's "Library of Memories" System)


and HERE




(my very first "I'm a Scrapbooker" purchase - a 3" square craft punch...also to help implement Stacy's system)


and HERE


(Ali Edwards "December Daily" Project. I'm hoping this will be my first paper scrapbooking success. I hope you'll pop over to the link, read all about it, and join the fun. If you do...please let me know so I can check out your progress, too.)


All for now! Gotta go set up my Storage Cube!!!

Fix-it-Friday: iPhone edition.

It's Fix-it-Friday at I ♥ Faces. I'd like to play along on my iPhone. I don't know if that's allowed, but there may be some people wondering what the different photo apps can do...so I'm going to go ahead and play. I'm not sure yet whether I'll link up. I'll try to check with Angie and Amy (the I Heart Faces founders) and see what they think...

So, anywho...
This week I'm going to just use Photogene. This app. allows you to fine tune your photos with cropping, straightening, sharpening, and exposure tools. You can also add "speech bubbles" and vignettes and frames. It is definitely one of my favourite iPhone photo apps. A must have.

So playing with the photo supplied by Carebear at the Two Under Two. Whew! blog and I ♥ Faces here is my before...



And after...



I decided to put more emphasis on this little guy's happy face with a tight crop that eliminates some of the distracting hot spots. I thought the glowing green goo was pretty cool (enough to make any boy happy!) so I also made my crop so that it put his hands more in a position of interest. I also used Photogene to bump up the exposure a bit and warm the overall colour up a bit. Finally, I added a vignette (I can hardly ever resist adding a vignette!) and a Polaroid-style frame. And, that's it! I mean, it's doesn't work the kind of magic you can work with PS, but it sure is fun and a pretty cool way to jazz up your little iPhone photos and then e-mail them on...with just an added touch of fabulousness. ;-)

Hope you like it. And...if you have an iPhone maybe you'd like to share your app-processing with me! Head over to I ♥ Faces. Grab the photo. And let's see what you would do!

-- Post From My iPhone

You Capture: Technology

The challenge this week over at I Should Be Folding Laundry is "Technology". I'm going to participate using my iPhone and I'm just sticking to one single form of technology...my laptop!

Ahhh...my poor laptop. You are so neglected ever since I got Pinky (my iPhone. Yes. I named her). But, I still love you. See...















Showin' the love.




-- Post From My iPhone

Cute. Noted.

When I got home from swim lessons with the girls I noticed this tiny sign on their door.


(Welcome to Maddie's and Jamie's room!).

Cute.

Then I noticed the girls made a little sign for their baby sister's door, too.


(Welcome to Colie's Room. I love Nicole).

So stinkin' cute.
I love my girlies.

Knowing Me - Knowing You / October.

Time once again for that monthly interview project started by my friend Shan, over at Tales from the Fairy Blogmother. Why don't you join us, answer the questions yourself and then head on over to Shan's blog to link up? It's fun!

1. Crunchy peanut butter or smooth?

I'm not much of a peanut butter fan, myself...although I do get cravings for it once in awhile, usually when I'm sick and always with a cup of coffee. We get the smooth type and only the all-natural peanut butter. The kids balked at that at first...but then I started getting the kind that still has the "Bears" on the label, but the ingredient list is: "Peanuts". Seriously. That's it. I found out some of the other kinds are just filled with sugar and I have a thing against foods with super unnecessarily long ingredients lists. So, anyway, they eat the natural stuff now. It's actually really good. And, it has the "Bears" on it...so they are fine with that. LOL. Kids!

2. Do you do any volunteer work? (No judgment, just curious. I'm always on the look out for new ways to get involved.... like I have time for more stuff.)

I used to. I used to volunteer with the Humane Society as a dog walker and kitty-cat player-with. I also fostered for the humane society and I had a couple of dogs living with me as they recovered from surgery. I'm not good at that, as I tried to adopt both. I get really attached. I was crying my eyes out at work the day I had to hand one of the dogs (who had been adopted out) back over. So very professional. The other one I did adopt. I was well on my way to being "that crazy dog lady".

I also used to volunteer for the neighbourhood school. It was really fun volunteering there because I actually spent most of the day in the classroom. I got to help the little kindergarten kids do their work - basically explaining what they needed to do and helping them to do it as the teacher couldn't be everywhere at once. It was fantastically fun for me. I also helped some kids whose first language wasn't english in a special enrichment class (just them and me) once a week. And, I helped some older kids (one on one) who were having trouble with reading once a week, as well.

Anyway...
now I find I really, really, don't have time for anything extra. Between the older girls, and their activities, and trying to start a business, and having a little baby who is with me all the time...
well, I just don't feel available anymore. :-/

3. What's your favourite cold weather drink?

Hmmm...those sorts of questions are so hard. It is always mood/situation/time of day dependent. A nice cold Stella in the summer is a lovely thing. I also get cravings for Caesar's once in awhile. Oh, and there's always a nice, cold, can of Coke. I'd like to say that my favourite thing is water, but I'd be blatantly lying to you. I have so much trouble drinking as much water as I know I should. It's a problem.

4. What is your favourite holiday?

I would like to say Christmas but I think for the last few years Christmas has been a bit stressful, really. I seem to be on maternity leave a lot. LOL. Seems I'm always on mat. leave around Christmas...which means I'm bringing in about half my normal income. Dave and I haven't been buying presents for each other...but we still want to make sure the girls have lots of "stuff", but then I stress about what a waste that all is (I mean...they love the "stuff"...lots of shiny packages...and all that...but they really don't need one more toy! They have a
whole room full of just their toys. Its crazy!). So, I find it stressful. The whole thing.

I like Halloween. I love dressing up the girls and going trick-or-treating. They always look so cute! But, then, there is that huge bag full of junk that I don't really want them to even eat. Oh, do I sound like a humbug now, or what?

Can I say "Thanksgiving" then? I usually get to go to my MIL's for a delicious dinner, see my brother and sister-in-law (who I love catching up with), chit-chat, just have a nice time. A time that doesn't involve the spending (wasting?) of hundreds of dollars or the devouring of pounds and pounds of sugar. It's nice.

5. Okay quick - you gotta hop a plane right now, to anywhere with anyone - where do you go and with who?

Okay. My very quick answer was "Back to Jamaica with my husband. Only this time we wouldn't be getting married...so we could just relax and enjoy all our time lying around on the beach together". But, then I read Shan's answer and that sounds fairly wicked, too. ;-)

So, what would you do??

My Favourites #iPhone #Photo ;-)

The theme for this week at I ♥ Faces is "My Favourite Things" (I'm Canadian...so I have to put the "u" in the word "favourite". It's the law.) and since this week is not being judged...well, I'll get to share a bonus favourite thing!!

So now,

in no particular order,

here are a few of my favourite things!!

My baby girl.

My sweet, adorable, baby girl.

And all her sweet, adorable, little parts.

A favourite time of the day for me is when she is getting her bottle. Then I can just sit and stare at her. It is such a peaceful, quiet, lovely time in the day...when I can just love her up!

I also love to love this kiddo up. My silly girl. This picture is her. To a T. That look on her face. That's her. Funny. Full of Beans. Lovin' Life.

Pony-girl. She is a bit more serious. She takes life a bit more seriously.

She is always trying very, very, hard to do her best. But, she definitely has her goofy side, too.

I'm so lucky to have all my girls. They really are best kids you could ever want. Three big favourites!

Then there's The Man.

He is the best, too. A hard worker, smart, funny, a great daddy...just an all around great guy. This picture is not him to a T, though. He looks very serious in this picture. He's generally a bit more goofy than that. Something a bit more like this...

Yep. That's him. And, I love him. He's a definite favourite. ;-)

Another favourite are pink roses! Like this one!

The Man bought me this one, and 11 more just like it, just a couple of weeks ago. Ahhh. So nice, huh? He also bought me these three little pigs that I just love.

Aren't they cute? He got me these because he knows I have a "thing" about pigs.

I love them! Well, I love lots of animals (like my doggie, for example).

But, my girls will tell you that I also love elephants, and skunks, and goats, and ferrets, and cows. I love cows. I swear, one of these days I'm gonna' get rear-ended because I have to keep pulling over to stare at all the cows that live around me. I don't know what it is. But, they are a favourite.

Another favourite that comes to mind right now is summer! I love summer! I love being warm and being able to go for long walks around the neighbourhood with my family.

I love hanging out at the park with my girls.

I love this...(the morning glories that climb up my number post in the summer)

NOT this...(the changing of the leaves. It's 9 degrees outside. In the middle of the afternoon!)

Ah well,

at least it does make one other favourite thing even more enjoyable....

Mmmmm....Timmies....

I love Tim Hortons coffee. And, now that it is colder outside...I can drink even more of it!

Another definite fav.

Okay. That's a lot of favourites, already.

Time for just one more?

Here it is.........

My iPhone!!!

"Pinky" (as I like to call her) is my newest favourite. I LOVE my iPhone and I don't really know how I got on without one before. I think my very favourite thing about my iPhone is the iPhone camera (and all the cool iPhone camera apps. you can get).

Like Chase Jarvis says, "The Best Camera...is the One That's With You. All The Time".

I love that I can have this camera with me...all the time. It's great for capturing the little day-to-day tidbits of our lives that I would otherwise miss because, let's face it, I'm not always going to lug a SLR around with me. And you know what...it's 3 mega pixels! That's not too shabby. Not like the camera-phones of yester-minute...this one takes shots that are good enough to print.

So, it may not win ya' any challenges over at I Heart Faces (then again...maybe it might! You never know! Chase Jarvis could probably enter a few iPhone shots and do alright for himself!)...

but it is still one of My Favourites!!!

So, thanks for the great theme Angie and Amy! It was so much fun to share all these iPhone Photo Favourites!

For more favourites...or favorites...be sure to head on over to the I Heart Faces site by clicking right HERE or on the button below!

Thanks!!