for such a time as this

Mitchell's birth by numbers web - LOAD212 - Day29

2012-02-29T19:54:00.001-05:00

Mitchell's birth by numbers web - LOAD212 - Day29
Originally uploaded by Alijoyc

I made it! 29 days of scrapbooking!

Hmm

2012-02-28T22:45:00.001-05:00

Hmm
Originally uploaded by Alijoyc

Marlee's birth by numbers (web) - LOAD212 - Day27

2012-02-27T23:36:00.001-05:00

Marlee's birth by numbers (web) - LOAD212 - Day27
Originally uploaded by Alijoyc

(Some details removed for privacy).

So....

2012-02-26T22:39:00.007-05:00

We have some more NEWS.

It may not be hard to guess.

Matthew guessed right away.

He and his sister are very happy.

Just in case, I'll give you some clues.

Our first blessing came in December 2002.

Then in August, 2004 we had another blessing.

Then we added another blessing to our family (April 2007).

And yet again in March 2010 we added our last blessing.

While we had thought another would be awesome,

we assumed our family was complete.

It appears that God has other plans.

Yey!

Due July 2012.

Stay tuned for more details.

(let's see which family member reads this first lol!)

Candy girl - LOAD212 - day 21

2012-02-26T00:14:00.001-05:00

Candy girl - LOAD212 - day 21
Originally uploaded by Alijoyc

Going back a few days...

2011 halloween text - web

2012-02-19T23:57:00.003-05:00

2011 halloween text - web
Originally uploaded by Alijoyc

2011 Halloween album - side B web

2012-02-19T23:57:00.001-05:00

2011 Halloween album - side B web
Originally uploaded by Alijoyc

We have a new arrival!

2012-02-18T00:02:00.005-05:00

Yes. I caved. We now have a dog.

This is Harvey. Yes he is ours.

Apparantely he met my stipulations of no longer being a puppy

and being trained

and being free.

Yippee me.

No seriously, we are on day 3 and so far so good.

Just one container has been a casualty and I was distracted by a house full of kids.

Details?

We got him on Valentine's Day. He is a yellow lab. He is 4 1/2 years old. His origianl owners are from Europe and needed to return. They would have had to quaranteen he and his sister for 6 months so they preferred to find new owners. They did but then just before they had to leave it didn't work out. They contacted their vet who is also the vet for a friend of ours. Our friend was willing to take them both until new owners could be found. We decided we could be those new owners. To one. But we know where his sister Hershey went so they can remain friends. Or siblings. Or however that works in dogland.

Anyway. We have a dog.

Matthew heart faves - LOAD212 - Day17

2012-02-18T00:00:00.001-05:00

Matthew heart faves - LOAD212 - Day17
Originally uploaded by Alijoyc

Matthew's turn for a favourites photo page...

2005 12 15 prof'l

2012-02-16T23:31:00.001-05:00

2005 12 15 prof'l
Originally uploaded by Alijoyc

And another addition for our professional photos album...

Childhood memory album S family - web

2012-02-16T23:30:00.001-05:00

Childhood memory album S family - web
Originally uploaded by Alijoyc

Prompted by the prompt of past people in our neighbourhood I finished another layout for my childhood neighbourhood album. Yey!

1997 Dec Drew, Alison & Melissa Amora

2012-02-15T22:47:00.001-05:00

1997 Dec Drew, Alison & Melissa Amora
Originally uploaded by Alijoyc

Post number 2 for this evening. A super quickie.

1997 Dec Drew & Alison Amora

2012-02-15T22:46:00.001-05:00

1997 Dec Drew & Alison Amora
Originally uploaded by Alijoyc

A quickie for the evening - adding to the "proper storage" of our professional photos.

Mitchell faves - heart - LOAD212 - Day14

2012-02-14T23:19:00.001-05:00

Mitchell faves - heart - LOAD212 - Day14
Originally uploaded by Alijoyc

Me in 1984 (Al) for web

2012-02-13T19:13:00.001-05:00

Me in 1984 (Al) for web
Originally uploaded by Alijoyc

Going back in time again. This was inspired by Day 9's LOAD prompt "Home Sweet Home", which of course always morphs to different areas.

Missing You - LOAD212 - Day10

2012-02-10T23:03:00.001-05:00

Missing You - LOAD212 - Day10
Originally uploaded by Alijoyc

Childhood home memories - LOAD212 - Day9

2012-02-09T23:57:00.001-05:00

Childhood home memories - LOAD212 - Day9
Originally uploaded by Alijoyc

click for details and journaling

Pine Tree on ... - LOAD212 - Day9

2012-02-09T23:56:00.001-05:00

Pine Tree on ... - LOAD212 - Day9
Originally uploaded by Alijoyc

The Ups and Downs of Life - Berkley - LOAD212 - Day8

2012-02-09T00:12:00.001-05:00

The Ups and Downs of Life - Berkley - LOAD212 - Day8
Originally uploaded by Alijoyc

Day 8 of LOAD

Inspirational - LOAD212 - Day6

2012-02-06T23:57:00.001-05:00

Inspirational - LOAD212 - Day6
Originally uploaded by Alijoyc

Yes, hello... I am in the middle of LOAD212 - here is Day 6...

January 2012 Wrap-up

2012-02-01T00:02:00.001-05:00

January 2012

It’s that time again! Another month has passed us by and it is time for a wrap-up. So why do I do this? First of all my memory is terrible and often find myself wondering when such and such happened. Second of all I love lists and information. Third of all I believe I am a type A personality. Let's just say that I like to see my life all wrapped up, nice and tidy with a bow. Enough said.

Here's a look at our month:

Entertainment – what we’re looking at , listening to and going to!
Books, Magazines, Blogs read:
Book of Awesome – I finally finished this! It was a really good easy –pickup/put down read but I am glad to have completed it. It definitely brought some ah ha moments and some good laughs. I added several new things to my list of awesome.
I don’t think I really read any magazines this month and the blogs I perused were the usuals – ones I receive through email and some from my favourite 10. This list is changing as my time available and interests continue to change. I will probably have to update it for 2012.
The Mailbox by Mary Beth Whalen – a nice easy to read Christian fiction. I ordered this through interlibrary loan. It has questions at the end for discussion. I’ve read the author’s blog off and on and she does devotions for Proberbs31 Ministries.
TV, Movies, Live Entertainment: We watched lots this month – we must have been on holiday or something!
TV – Bones, iCarly (Netflix)
Movies – Julie and Julia; Free Willy 4; Margaret’s Museum; Nanny McPhee Returns; Superman 1,2,3; Mars Needs Moms
Live – The girls all went to see Mary Poppins in Toronto. We really enjoyed it although I have to say that Mary’s voice was so different from Julie Andrews it was hard to get used to. It was much more operish than I had anticipated. The sets and the dancing were incredible and the girls were very glad to be able to have snacks in the theatre. On a down side note, I left my favourite black hat there.
Daily Happenings & Special Events:
Jan 4- Toronto for Mary Poppins and Hockey Hall of Fame for the boys and Poppa
Jan 5 – Marlee to M’s spa birthday party (crafts- stamping and scrapbooking supplies)
Jan 13 – Cierra’s ELP with everyone
Jan 20-21 – Drew at church leaders retreat
Jan 26 – Drew and Matt to Colt’s game with D & B H
Jan 27 – Marlee to C slumber birthday party ($25 Toys R Us gift card, candy)
Jan 28 – W cousins up for visit
Other – Barrielicious x3 places; family dinners and small group all got together
Travel (1 hr plus): n/a
Financial/ changes to the house etc.: (gifts, renos, big purchases, household purchases)
Treadmill and elliptical serviced
New table for kitchen (8 seater)
Health/Development/ Exercise/ Extra Curricular Activities:

Drew: basketball, running, skiing; council
Alison: walking, elliptical, *
Cierra: swimming, bowling
Matt: hockey, skiing
Marlee: lost her left top incisor (#11)(15th); skiing

Mitchell: Mitchell had a really good month. He is truly a pleasure to spend time with. His sleep is slowly progressing to less and less nursing and waking. He is spending more time in his own bed. He is still not speaking much but certainly gets his needs known and met. He did use a few signs this month. EC is going really well - a 3 week roll of no poop misses! He is enjoying the outdoors (and bit of snow we have) but hates to put on his mitts. He is nursing less and drinking independently from a cup or sippee. He separates easily.
Accomplishments/ Disappointments (Goals - Gotta Do’s, Wanna do’s; OLW, projects)
Gotta Do’s officially finished although I still haven’t “concluded” it; reading about Clutter Challenge with a Christian perspective; Started Twelve and Move More, Eat Less; 2012 goals going really well; got 2011 year end photos up

All Around Us/ Other (News, Trends, Births, Deaths, World Events, City News Etc):

Sean and Sam separated

In with the New

2012-01-04T00:48:00.002-05:00

Again, welcome 2012! What a year it is going to be!

Phew. Take a deep breath! On we go!

First up is that I have chosen to use the word LESS as my One Little Word. I had seriously thought I was going to use the word REFUSE but towards the end of November I was really feeling that it is more negative than I want to take on. Then I remembered that when I participated in the BPC Big Idea Festival, Peppermint Granberg presented an interesting layout featuring the word LESS. It resonated with me and I have continued to think of it off and on until now. Now I think that in many ways LESS will be an exciting word to explore for the year.

I am hoping to explore less in the following areas (subject to change of course)
· Less stuff (I still feel that I need to find closure with my 2010 word SIMPLIFY and we seriously have major things to purge)
· Less sitting - more action (increase my running and exercise) {might equal less weight!}
· Less plastic (here is where Refuse comes in – less plastic bags, less plastic purchases, less things we don’t need and more purchases of reused items)
· Less processed foods – more homemade – I began the journey of exploring eating more healthy last year and hope to continue to gain more insight into this
· Less foreign foods more local
· Less water (regarding tooth brushing – I really want to kick this habit!!!)
· Less yelling – more listening (always a good one)
· Less waste - more intention (be more sensible financially)
· Less junk in the evening
Less debt – more financial freedom (focus more on putting money on our debt and less on frivolous purchases)
As you can see, less also equals more. More goodness. We shall see.

How do I intend to tackle this? Given my past year of, shall we say that I may have an issue with follow-through? My 101 things in 1001 days is quickly coming to a close with, shall we say a huge bit of overachievement associated with it. That seems to becoming quite apparent in my life. Lots of lists. Lots of goals. Not so much accomplished. I have so many unfinished projects I can’t count them. Classes and videos purchased but no time to do them. Piles of books to read. To do lists galore. Classic. The few things that I did complete this last year were the three LOAD contests as well as my One Little Word Class. As I mentioned previously, I found that having regular reminders really helped keep these thoughts and goals at the forefront of my mind.

Sooo, I signed up again for One Little Word. I have also signed up for 2 other year long classes that will (hopefully) help with these goals. They are Twelve (sorry link is over) through BPC and Move More Eat Well through BPC. Twelve is for keeping scrapping memories doable and the other is for the healthy side of my goals. Here’s hoping. I also have regular emails coming in from a variety of sources that focus on health, movement, simplifying and happiness. All things I continue to strive for.

One other task that I would really like to work on is to revive my project 365. I thought about it off and on so many times last year but didn’t have a plan and my type A personality prevented me from just starting it wherever I was. I’m thinking that doing a digital template and uploading it weekly might be an easier format. Then I’ll also have templates that are easier to put into a printable book than a blog book. Last year I probably took a photo a day but with no plan it – just-fell-through. But I missed it. Again we shall see. I also like the 12 on the 12th plan. And the 52 weeks plan. (And the dilemma goes on LOL!) Less Alison Less!

In writing this it seems that I am far from LESS. I hope that this is not so. I am open to flexibility but I also know that I work better with concrete goals and plans. A lot of these are measurable goals and I work better with that. I also know from this past year that these ideas have been mulling around in my head and partly in action for a while now. Now it is time for action. The most important thing however, that I should probably focus on is LESS STRESS. What is done is done. I recognize that I can only do so much and I need to concentrate on what I feel is most important. And realize that what I feel is important at one point in time can change too. How’s that for a sermon? Enough said. Time to move on. Welcome to 2012. I’m excited as usual to see what the year brings. What changes will be introduced and to see how we as individuals and as a family will grow. Fun stuff. Onward and upward.

Out with the Old

2012-01-04T00:45:00.000-05:00

Happy New Year!

Wow what a year.

Out with the old. The year has come to a close and it is time to recap how it went. I just found my goal and idea list for 2011. Hah! Here goes.

· My One Little Word was Joy. I think that this was my most successful “goal” or intention in a long time. I found this word to be perfect for this year. What really helped this to be a success though was that I took Ali Edward’s OLW class. Each month we were presented with meaningful prompts which kept the word active in my life and at the forefront of my thinking. She prompted us to examine our word through definitions and thoughts, through the use of pictures, through music, through art and more. From these activities I was able to see that joy for me is closely related to getting exercise, getting enough sleep, meditating on scripture, doing things for me, seeing visual reminders of the word and receiving daily or periodic reminders of what joy is (ie emails with happiness quotes, reading discussions on happiness studies etc.).

Interestingly, Drew didn’t feel that I got a whole lot out of this year, as he pointed out that I A) still answer the phone in a less-than-pleasing tone and B) don’t necessarily seem any happier. This may seem true to him but it emphasizes to me that I need to continuously work at having and showing joy. It isn’t something that comes easy to me but I do know that it is something that I can obtain and want to. I therefore do not see this as a failure but as a definite positive learning experience. I’m glad that this word was used.

My other goals for the year were the following:
· Journal once a month using journal prompts [not done at all];
· Continue on 2010 goals. Again a laugh that my word was SIMPLIFY. I don’t feel like I got a handle on this. I was able to finish most of this list. In my TO READ category I still have a few to go. I was able to do 4 out of my 5 items under TO DO: declutter, eat at 5 new restaurants, a blog book, and slides to photos. I was able to do all of my items under TO CREATE (52 layouts in the year, 10 digital layouts and at least 5 started projects. Under TO LEARN, well I really need to take that Sillouette out of the box. That would be a good first step. I haven’t taken 2 digital classes but I have certainly excelled in this area. I don’t know that I have completed 2 online courses but I have certainly done lots of parts of some! And finally, I’m making slow progress in the camera/ photography department.
· Gotta do goals [ummmm – hopelessly behind. Total overachievement bit on my part. Since I have a few short weeks left to complete this list LOL I will follow up on this later]
· Make yogurt [nope, didn’t happen – I like too many flavours and it is too convenient. I would still like to try it some day though].
· My final goal was to research a CSA and join if possible [this didn’t end up being too important – I checked out a few local farms and the farmer’s market. I also grew my own garden. This seemed to be enough].

To sum up – it appears that I like to make lists. (Just noticed my November to do list too!)Hopeless lists that I can’t possibly accomplish. On the surface it looks like I should but as time goes on my priorities change and new lists gets made. I tend to be an overachiever. I also completely forgot what it is like to have an infant/ toddler around in the house. Oh well. I can’t say that I am disappointed in myself. I still feel like it was a great year. It was a happy year. A healthy year. I got to be home with my son. I had creative opportunities. I learned about and experienced great joy. I am ready to leave the past behind and move forward. I am blessed beyond measure.

Stay tuned for what is to come….

The Adventure of Christmas

2012-01-01T22:17:00.000-05:00

A week or so before Christmas I was asked by my MOPS group to share how what our family does for Christmas. I thought I would share it here.

For our family, Christmas celebrations begin with advent. I just can’t bring myself to get decorations out any earlier. It is usually a scramble to grab the advent supplies on the applicable Sunday as it is! Thank goodness they are all stored together!

Our advent supplies consist of our candle wreath and the pocket calendar that my mother made us. It has pockets to hold something for up to 29 days depending on when advent falls. This year it was the longest it could be since Christmas fell on a Sunday.

A few years ago we decided to coincide our advent celebrations with the Jesse Tree. I found some links online that provide a picture of a symbol to colour as well as a scripture, a bible story, an application and a prayer for each day. It chronicles the biblical history from creation up to the birth of Jesus in a way that kids can understand. So far we have not ventured further than using the paper ornaments provided. Some people have looked for specific items that represent each symbol. Maybe one day. I now put one ornament in each pocket of the calendar and the kids hang the ornaments on a makeshift tree made out of branches.

I also incorporate one family activity to do each day of advent. These are usually activities that we would be doing at some point over the month anyway. Things like decorating, putting up the tree, baking cookies, having movie nights and wrapping presents together. We may make them more special by adding a scavenger hunt, a hangman, a puzzle or a word scramble to put together in order to find and carry out the activity.

I have gotten away from putting a daily candy treat into the advent calendar. We have enough candy as it is at this time of year. The kids do get to find a chocolate count down calendar on the first of December for them to then open each day as well as a LEGO calendar with a toy to put together.

Some of our favourite holiday activities are traditions that I have grown up with and others are ones that we continue to experiment with.

Since 1990 when our church was founded, the congregation has been celebrating Christmas Eve at an outdoor service together. At this service all of the children receive a Christmas ornament that tells the true meaning of Christmas. These have all been made by our dear friend Paula who has since passed away. She passed the torch on to Charlotte who has been doing a fabulous job carrying on the tradition. I have saved all of these ornaments and we spend one evening decorating our special “Paula’s Tree”.

December 22nd is Matthew’s birthday so we always make that day his special day. He gets his room decorated, a special breakfast and dinner and a party of his choice. We will have already decorated for Christmas but we make a point to bring out the things that would normally be out for the other kids birthday’s too. We also make a point to look back at photos over the years to celebrate his life.

Nativity scenes play an important role in our house as well. We have some that are for decoration only and a number of ones that the kids can play with. We usually make a few family activity days that involve finding all of the parts for each set.

In our house we have decided to not emphasize Santa Claus. We don’t deny him but we also don’t label toys from him, we don’t have a lot of decorations with Santa and we don’t warn the kids about Santa. A little wishy-washy perhaps but that is where we are. We do discuss Saint Nicholas, who he was and how his example has led to the current view of Santa Claus. We have thought about celebrating Saint Nicholas day for the past few years but for whatever reason it has not worked out.

In the past I have tried to take extra care and make special clues that colour coordinate and match certain themes. I have found that I do like to make them rhyme but the rest is just extra work. I now take out a calendar for the month, plug in the days I know specific things will be happening (ie church dinners, drama productions, parties etc) and then try to fill in the blanks. I have lots of extra activities that can work any day and I try to type up everything ahead of time so that it can be printed easily. A little planning helps a lot but so does keeping it simple. I like to try to document and photograph the activities in the hopes of one day doing a daily December scrapbook – the photos are there but the scrapbook remains to be seen!

For our family Christmas is about the birth of Christ and about family. It is very easy to get caught up in the hoopla of the season around us – and we certainly have our days. It is our hope to bring the season back to Christ by focusing on things that we can do as a family. If we can do things that have a deeper meaning than even better. One such way is to look at the meanings behind a lot of the symbols of Christmas. I have used the book the Adventure of Advent as well as the internet to create some activities that center around the everyday celebrations. Those like lighting the advent wreath, viewing the lights around the neighbourhood and eating candy canes all have meanings that are related to Christ! Of course sometimes an activity is just an activity but it is that much more important and memory provoking when we do it as a family. It is so easy to be bombarded with the commercialism of the holiday so I find for me that the easiest way to stay focused is to have a daily reminder of what the reason of the season is. For our family that is the advent calendar and the Jesse Tree. Simple yet meaningful.

Below are some options of activities to choose from:
Attend a holiday event
Go out to get a Christmas tree
Build and/or decorate gingerbread houses
Bake cookies together
Jingle neighbours with special goody treats
Make Christmas cards
Make Christmas tags
Movie night with Christmas movie
PJ day
Go for a ride and look at decorated houses
Celebrate St Nicholas night Dec 5/6 by putting out shoes with carrots and apples and later replacing with gift
Decorate tree
Make Christmas gifts
Service – salvation army kettle
Service – contribute to an angel tree
Service – host a CAS family
Red or green night – serve all food that is red or green and dress in those colours
Learn about other countries Christmas traditions
Have a slumber party by the tree
Host a family game night – bonus – make it Christmas themed
String popcorn
Paint holiday scenes on the windows
Have dinner by the tree picnic style

In reflection I think that this has been one of our best years yet. It was the first that the kids actually questioned Santa. We reiterated (awkardly) a bit about how we don't focus on Santa at our house - that gifts are given from us and family but that we celebrate the Spirit of Saint Nicholas. They were not behaved on the day that we were going to put out shoes for Saint Nicholas so that discussion was botched. We didn't put out cookies for Santa this year and it wasn't noticed. We were just too busy. We played a lot with our new nativity scenes and had a lot of fun doing the various family activities. Next year I would still like to work more service opportunities into the plan. All in all though I was very happy with the Christmas season (although we still have to REALLY work at cutting down on the gifts) but THAT is another story.

Jesus is the reason for the season. It is also a time for family. We are human though and it is easy to get caught up in the world around us. Overbuying. Overextended. TOOO MUCH. Bottom line is it is a time to reflect on the amazing gift of life that has been given to us. Prayerfully we can focus on this gift and how it relates to our family. We hope we all “get it”.

December 2011 Recap

2012-01-01T22:11:00.000-05:00

It’s that time again! Another month has passed us by and it is time for a recap. So why do I do this? First of all my memory is terrible and often find myself wondering when such and such happened. Second of all I love lists and information. Third of all I believe I am a type A personality. Enough said.

Here's a look at our month:

Entertainment – what we’re looking at , listening to and going to!
Books, Magazines, Blogs read:
Toddler No Cry Sleep Solution
She Makes It Look Easy by Mary Beth Whalen
Creating Keepsakes
Usual blogs
TV, Movies, Live Entertainment:
Prince Caspian (DVD)
Family Man (Netflix)
Rudolph; Mickey Mouse Christmas Carol; Berenstain Bears; Home Alone;
Bedtime Stories (DVD)
Bones Season 3 (Netflix)
iCarly (Netflix)
Modern Family (Computer)
Night at the Museum (DVD)
Daily Happenings & Special Events:
Santa Shuffle 5k walk (3rd)
Kids church drama production
Family dinner for Family Home Program (8th)
Church Christmas dinner (10th)
Ellie’s Bday (11th) – kitchen centre
Boys to Leafs Hockey Game with Ben and Dan (13th)
Church staff/ council dinner (17th)
Matt 9th Bday; party at Retro Planet (23rd)
Parents to Sarah and John’s (23rd to 2nd)
Visit with Kelly and Phil (26th), ice skating
Visit with Tom and Dilys (27th)
Matt to Bens bday at movies (Chipwrecked) – gift card for Center Town
Resolution Run (31st)
Travel (1 hr plus): n/a
Financial/ changes to the house etc.:(gifts, renos, big purchases, household purchases):
Laundry room cupboards made and pantry shelves added; basement door changed
Drew changed cars – Honda Pilot
Health/Development/ Exercise/ Extra Curricular Activities:
Drew: basketball; running; Resolution Run
Alison: running, Resolution Run; eliptical
Cierra: bowling; Foot Dr;
Matt: hockey; Turned 9 this month. Weighs 65 lbs **** tall. He is doing well at school although initiative to do his best isn’t there. Has playdates regularly. Some issues with a few friends and jockeying for leadership roles. His interests include Montreal Canadians, hockey in general, reading (39 Clues, Big Nate, Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Spiderwick Chronicles etc), playing Wii (VERY competitive, working on anger), movies etc. His favourite sayings are jinx, jeez, seriously. Love/hate relationship with siblings (except Mitchell), easily frustrated or “wronged”. Loves hugs, snuggles, bubble gum and generally having fun.
Marlee: art start Saturdays; tooth out (upper left 2nd from back) (7th); eye Dr(7th);
Mitchell: 21 months already! He is a total pleasure to be around. No increase in speech although we all understand him and are able to interpret. Sleep about the same although we are trying to increase his time in his own bed. It’s working slowly. Nursing during the day is decreasing as sippy cup is encouraged; introduced to Mighty Machines DVD – loves it!!! Also loves music, twirling and dancing when music is on. Food/ eating similar although skill is increasing. He eats well with a spoon and fork and is drinking independently out of a cup. He still likes to toss his food though. EC about the same – catches after sleep, a few poops; if we are with him we are able to notice signs for oncoming poop. Yey! Attempts to empty potty on own. Stays well with other caregivers as long as there are vehicles to play with (church, MOPS).
Accomplishments/ Disappointments (Goals - Gotta Do’s, Wanna do’s; OLW, projects):
Indian restaurant with RJ; Merry Days of Advent; Resolution Run
All Around Us/ Other (News, Trends, Births, Deaths, World Events, City News Etc): n/a

November 2011 Recap

2011-12-01T22:05:00.000-05:00

November to do list

2011-11-02T11:50:00.001-04:00

After finishing up LOAD I find that I have neglected a few things around the house. The guys have been great and it was a very successful time for me (I find that I am much happier when I do have some 'me' time on a regular basis - and what better me time than scrapbooking?) however it time to get back to reality. For me that does not allow for scrapping every day of the year. Last year I found it really helpful to focus on my to do list for November. Tackle some of those things that I have been procrastinating on. Sooooo...
This is what I have come up with:

- Recap for Sept (yikes - how did I forget that?) and Oct

- Receipts

- Blog book (while the discount is still available)

- 1 Jessica Sprague layout

- Gotta do list update

- Print out family mission wordle style

- Add layouts to BPC classes gallery

- Pantry shelf - Drew

- Part for bike stroller

- Something on kijiji or ebay

- Tickets for Mary Poppins and Willy Wonka

- Catch up on safe church names

- Purge at least 5 boxes full

- Get caught up on family binders

- LOAD recap

- LSNED recap or layout

- Purge kids school stuff

So hopefully this is not an outrageous list. There is definitly some doable things here. Off to get started. Wish me luck!

October 2011 Recap

2011-11-01T11:04:00.000-04:00

It’s that time again! Another month has passed us by and it is time for a recap. So why do I do this? First of all my memory is terrible and often find myself wondering when such and such happened. Second of all I love lists and information. Third of all I believe I am a type A personality. Enough said. Here's a look at our month:

Entertainment – what we’re looking at , listening to and going to!
Books, Magazines, Blogs read:
TV, Movies, Live Entertainment:
Gilmore Girls (finished season one)
Alex, the Life of a Child (VHS TV movie)
Parenthood (Netfix)
Not much reading or tv because of LOAD; perused regular blogs
Daily Happenings & Special Events:
Dinner with Nickell’s (8th)
Church meeting – survey (11th)
Bowling (Groupon) (19th)
Rounds Ranch with Small group (22nd)
Church baby shower (23rd)/ Marlee to Carson’s birthday
Matt to Josh’s birthday (24th)
Al taught Safe church presentation (25th)
Funeral (28th)
Church harvest dinner (29th)
Halloween/ Light the Night (30th)
Travel (1 hr plus): n/a
Financial/ changes to the house etc.:(gifts, renos, big purchases, household purchases)
Carson – ball making kit, gazzoobles kit
Josh - $25 pot of gold ELM gift
Health/Development/ Exercise/ Extra Curricular Activities:
Drew: council; ½ marathon (16th)
Alison: run/ walk; dentist (11th); 10K (16th)
Cierra: biking (wipeout – 7th);BRumble volunteering; dentist (11th); bowling Mondays(Spec Olympics)
Matt: hockey; shoot the puck (Fridays)
Marlee: Art Start (Saturdays)
Mitchell: 19 months – speech about the same – lots of mom, da, vrmmm (transportation), tsss (animals); sleep about the same – 1.5 hour nap daily; down for bed at 9 for 3-4 hours then in bed with us; fidgety and nursing from 5-7ish until I get out of bed; eating – not a tonne; likes bananas and granola with yogurt; carbs and fruit still lots of nursing though; fetches things, helps get dressed, puts things away, identifies pictures; LOVES cars; EC about the same – catches after sleep, a few poops; grabbing self after he’s gone
Accomplishments/ Disappointments (Goals - Gotta Do’s, Wanna do’s; OLW, projects)
LOAD; OLW loaded to site; working on going through slides
All Around Us/ Other (News, Trends, Births, Deaths, World Events, City News Etc):
Warren M died (27th) 4 weeks since diagnosis

LOAD1110 - Day 27

2011-10-27T11:50:00.000-04:00

A You're Adorable... A-B-E & F - additions for Mitchell's album of random photos and words that go along with the song sung by Sharon, Lois and Bram - A You're Adorable

Park - LOAD1110 - Day 26

2011-10-26T22:58:00.001-04:00

Park - LOAD1110 - Day 26
Originally uploaded by Alijoyc

The awesomeness of Marineland

2011-10-24T23:31:00.001-04:00

The awesomeness of Marineland
Originally uploaded by Alijoyc

9 months - M3 - LOAD1110 - Day 23

2011-10-23T23:26:00.001-04:00

9 months - M3 - LOAD1110 - Day 23
Originally uploaded by Alijoyc

11 months - M3 - LOAD110 - Day22

2011-10-23T00:20:00.001-04:00

11 months - M3 - LOAD110 - Day22
Originally uploaded by Alijoyc

12 months - M3 - LOAD110 - Day22

2011-10-21T20:45:00.001-04:00

12 months - M3 - LOAD110 - Day22
Originally uploaded by Alijoyc

Thoughts

2011-10-20T23:38:00.000-04:00

“Be careful little ears what you hear; be careful little eyes what you see…”

It's amazing the way the mind works and what tangents it can go to.

We went and saw a movie put on by the BFilm Festival tonight.

It was called the Whistle Blower. We had intended to go see the Blues Bros but then I saw that Rachel Weiss was in this and the drama seemed more appealing. I didn't really know what it was about. It was about human trafficking in Bosnia.

Scary stuff.

Disturbing stuff.

Make you numb and cry stuff because you know it happens stuff.

I get at least one email a month talking about it and asking for money combat it.

So afterwards there I sat on my cushy car with tears running down my face thinking about our fallen world.
Then I started thinking about the movie Taken where this happens to teenage girls on a fun trip. That lead me to thinking about my exchange trip in high school and how I'd love for our kids to do that but is it now too dangerous? Would I let them go without us there with them? I did some really stupid stuff when I went. If I did that today???

But are we to be ruled by fear? No. The world has some amazing things to discover and explore but on the other hand it is still tainted with sin.

Bottom line? I live a cushy life. I flit away lot money away needlessly.

That lead to me thinking about wanting to live like no one lives so that we can live like no one lives (Dave Ramsey – no debt so that we can give).

But will I remember this?

Will I remember to give so that others can have better lives?

A fraction as good as ours?

There are so many causes - which do you choose? Healthy living for our own kids? One or two children through Compassion or World Vision? Family as a whole through Focus on the Family? Local giving in our community? Do you give now or work to pay down your debt so that we can give more later? How do I keep from forgetting? How do we protect our kids?

I have no answers other than to breathe, believe that we believe in a good God; one who shares my struggles and my pain and I have to trust that our kids are in His hands. I have to trust that if I ask, He will lead me to give in the way that I shoudl give. I have to thank Him that I was born into this type of life with the ability give back and to help others if we only do remember.

I pray that I will remember.

I pray that I will not forget how blessed I really am.

Extra big {HUGS} to the kids tonight.

Man how I love them.

4 Months - M3 - LOAD110 - Day20

2011-10-20T23:19:00.001-04:00

4 Months - M3 - LOAD110 - Day20
Originally uploaded by Alijoyc

Queen's Park - LOAD1110 - Day 19

2011-10-19T23:32:00.001-04:00

Queen's Park - LOAD1110 - Day 19
Originally uploaded by Alijoyc

Block Play - LOAD110 - Day17

2011-10-17T22:21:00.001-04:00

Block Play - LOAD110 - Day17
Originally uploaded by Alijoyc

I did most of this yesterday but held off until today to finish...

The best Monday ever....

2011-10-17T22:01:00.000-04:00

I receive an email from Simple Scrapper on Mondays that gives a prompt about a memory. A few weeks back I got this one... what was the best Monday ever?

I have to admit that I don't recall a best Monday but I do like Mondays in general. After busy weekends with the kids home it is nice to get back into routine, start a list and get back into being productive for the day. I also really enjoy the quiet. I have really enjoyed reading these memory Monday prompts from Simple Scrapper and also from Katie the Scrapbook Lady - they are great reminders to look at the past or do some sharing and to get the story down.

1 month - M3 - LOAD110 - Day 16

2011-10-16T22:52:00.001-04:00

1 month - M3 - LOAD110 - Day 16
Originally uploaded by Alijoyc

The Look - LOAD1110 - Day15

2011-10-15T15:50:00.001-04:00

The Look - LOAD1110 - Day15
Originally uploaded by Alijoyc

This was a special look Grandpa happened to receive the other day. Don't worry Grandpa, you're not alone - lots of people have been seeing this!

Park - LOAD1110 - Day14

2011-10-14T23:32:00.001-04:00

Park - LOAD1110 - Day14
Originally uploaded by Alijoyc

He hits runs scores - LOAD1110 - Day13

2011-10-13T23:14:00.001-04:00

He hits runs scores - LOAD1110 - Day13
Originally uploaded by Alijoyc

The look

2011-10-12T23:17:00.000-04:00

Close...

Not quite, but a little closer...
Ahh haa.
Now THAT is the look that a number of people have been receiving from little boy charming.

What do you think he is trying to say?

4 seasons - LOAD1110 - Day12

2011-10-12T23:12:00.000-04:00

Journaling reads: I’ve said it before and I’m sure I’ll say it again. I love where we live. The great white north? Technically yes, we are in a snow belt. But we really do have 4 distinct seasons. And I love that. New growth, cool, wet days of spring; melt into blazing hot sunny days of summer; which transition to colourful cool mornings and warm afternoons of fall and then comes a few months of cold, white, snowy winter. Just enough of each season to start to get sick of it and then we are moving on to the next. The best of ALL worlds. What’s not to love? Barrie, Ontario, CANADA Photos from 2010-11
TFL!

2 months - M3 - LOAD1110 - Day11

2011-10-11T23:20:00.001-04:00

2 months - M3 - LOAD1110 - Day11
Originally uploaded by Alijoyc

Today's prompt was about money... I've got a few ideas brewing but not enough to complete it for today. So instead we have another Mitchell page... 5 more to go?

2 weeks - M3 - LOAD1110 - Day10

2011-10-10T23:21:00.000-04:00

TFL!

Celebrate Monday | Celebrate Memories - Sundays

2011-10-10T10:40:00.000-04:00

I get a weekly email from Simple Scrapper called Celebrate Monday. It is a "weekly journaling exercise designed to help us get back to the basics and find more joy in our memory keeping." Me? I just like the push to get some journaling and memory keeping down - if not scrapbooked, at least on to the blog and down on paper so-to-speak.

Today's prompt is about Sundays...

Sundays in our family has always been about church. Rest. Family. When I was little, my dad was the minister at our church so the mornings started early with him out the door to the church behind our house. We followed down the lane in our Sunday best (not really that fancy but church clothes none-the-less). We had our set spot to sit as a family in the sanctuary. We tended to be among the last to leave the church, staying for coffee hour and clean up.

After lunch I do remember lots of family times - walks in the woods, board games, outside time.

As I entered highschool and our family was going through some career changes, I found that I tended to work more on Sundays. I worked at a group home for individuals with special needs. Sunday shopping had just been introduced which we felt (as a church and as a family) wasn't necessary or good for the family unit. The group homes still needed to be staffed though and that worked for me. I think it actually turned out to be an escape for me, as well as a welcome way to save money for school - both during highschool and university. Church was still a given if I was able to attend but the afternoons fluctuated between meeting with friends, doing things at home and still the odd family activity. It has since become a favourite nap time for my mom!

Now that we have our own young family, Sundays continue to evolve for us. Church is a given (unless I have to attend by myself - which with Mitchell's schedule means I am in the nursery with him for the time being - not much point for the other kids since I can't be with them). We are still usually one of the last families to leave the church - for reasons I can't quite figure out. It really just boils down to us being slow I guess. Talking. Taking our time. Putting things away. You name it. All of a sudden everyone is gone but us.

Afternoons may involve the library as a family since we pass it on the way home from church. A few times I've taken Marlee to the art museum for a family art class. It is one of the things that seems to truly interest her and is something we can do together or with Cierra. Then I hate to admit it but quite often we get chores done during the remainder of the afternoon. It is a time when Drew is home and the time is not taken up by hockey or other extra-curricular activities. We try to do something outside or perhaps watch a movie together. At least we are together. In the winter time we head out as a family to go skiing - lessons for the kids and free ski for Drew and I and a family friend. We all go out for a few runs together after the lessons.

The evening closes with dinner with my family. Usually they come over to our house, taking turns bringing or having dinner. On skiing days we go there. We usually go late into the evening, catching up on family news and then rush to get the kids in bed.

After the kids are all in bed, ideally I like Sundays to plan the upcoming week and to wind down. Extra-curricular activities, work schedules, meal planning and to do lists. Get the week off to a good start and finish off the last week by filing what we did. Then we collapse to watch some TV before bed.

That, in a nutshell (a long one at that), is how we spend our Sundays - past and present.

LOAD1110 - Days 7, 8 and 9

2011-10-09T23:13:00.000-04:00

A few more days of LOAD1110 to share....

7 months - M3 - LOAD1110 - Day7
Another layout to add to Mitchell's monthly size comparison album.

So Thankful - 2009 - LOAD1110 - Day8A

I did the digital layout a while back but wanted something to do with the papers that everyone wrote on so I did up this pocket page for them. This will now go into an album for us to add to each year with thanksgiving messages.

3 months - M3 - LOAD1110 - Day 8B

Park Page - 2011.02.05 - LOAD1110 - Day 9

I decided to go digital instead of following the prompt (to choose one of the journaling methods - great ideas though). This is one of an ongoing album where we are exploring the various parks in our neighbourhood - trying to be more spontaneous and to visit different parks than those we normally go to.

TFL!

Someone should tell him...

2011-10-06T23:11:00.002-04:00

that plumbers don't usually use power drills do they?

8 months (M3) - LOAD1110 - Day6

2011-10-06T23:11:00.001-04:00

8 months (M3) - LOAD1110 - Day6
Originally uploaded by Alijoyc

I decided not to go with today's prompt of "Digging Deep" (to go back and use some older photos). I have lots of ideas there but not too much organized for it. So instead we went with Mitchell's monthly photo shoot...

TFL!

Pandamania 2011 - LOAD1110 - Day5

2011-10-05T23:11:00.001-04:00

Pandamania 2011 - LOAD1110 - Day5
Originally uploaded by Alijoyc

It's all about texture...

'S' is for Sassy & Sweet - LOAD1110 - Day4

2011-10-04T23:34:00.001-04:00

'S' is for Sassy & Sweet - LOAD1110 - Day4
Originally uploaded by Alijoyc

A Christmas Tradition - LOAD1110 - Day3

2011-10-03T23:39:00.001-04:00

A Christmas Tradition - LOAD1110 - Day3
Originally uploaded by Alijoyc

The prompt today was to do a layout on a tradition. This one has been in my To Do pile for LONG time. It isn't totally was I envisioned but I am glad I am done. We miss you Paula!

5 months - LOAD1110 - Day2

2011-10-03T23:38:00.001-04:00

5 months - LOAD1110 - Day2
Originally uploaded by Alijoyc

TFL! I started taking photos of Mitchell on his monthly birthday with a few stuffed animals to note his size. I hope to get each month's pictures into an album with stats about each month. It was so fun to see the growth and changes!

six (Marlee's Birthday) - LOAD1110 - Day1

2011-10-01T15:11:00.001-04:00

six (Marlee's Birthday) Day1- LOAD1110 - Day1
Originally uploaded by Alijoyc

Starting a new LOAD challenge...Day 1 is here.

September 2011 Recap

2011-10-01T14:33:00.000-04:00

Ben, Rachel $50 gift card

Kierra - barbie movie, cash

Pool closed (35th)
Health/Development/ Exercise/ Extra Curricular Activities:
Drew: running
Alison:* Dr appt (20th), running/ walking
Cierra: bike riding
Matt: baseball, hockey, fishing
Marlee: lost tooth top right; Dr appt (20th)
Mitchell: Dr appt (20th); 18 months – lots of mom, da, vrmmm (transportation), tsss (animals); sleep about the same – 1.5 hour nap daily; down for bed at 9/9:30 for 3-4 hours then in bed with us; fidgety and nursing from 5-7ish until I get out of bed; eating - likes bananas, grapes, apples, granola with yogurt; carbs; lots of nursing; fetches things, helping to get dressed, likes shoes; puts things away, identifies favourite dog; loves to watch cars outside, digital frame; cars and balls are favourites; EC about the same – catches after sleep, a few poops
Accomplishments/ Disappointments (Goals - Gotta Do’s, Wanna do’s; OLW, projects) All Around Us/ Other (News, Trends, Births, Deaths, World Events, City News Etc):

Every little bit....

2011-09-13T13:58:00.000-04:00

I followed a few environmental blog links today and found myself commenting on one that had discussed how the parties involved kept their plastic plates at a conference to reuse rather than to just discard. Sounds like something I would do. She asked if it was, so I responded about some of our adventures, here.

Helper or Hinderer?

2011-09-10T15:09:00.000-04:00

Is he a helper?

Or a hinderer?

I'm proud to say he IS mastering the difference between green and red and now happily helps pick the RED ones. Way to go buddy!

Augsut 2011 Recap

2011-09-01T10:50:00.000-04:00

August 2011

Here's a look at our month:
Entertainment – what we’re looking at , listening to and going to!

Books, Magazines, Blogs read:

Not much in this area! Usual top 10 blogs and more

TV, Movies, Live Entertainment:

Bones Season One (movie rental)

The Smurfs (kids at movie theatre with Ya-Ya)

Spy Kids 4D – theatre

Sharpay’s Fabulous Adventure (movie rental)

Daily Happenings & Special Events:

Cottage (July 23^rd – August 5^th)

Golf tournament – Drew work (6^th)

Visits with R family

Sleepovers for Matt

Cierra to camp (14^th – 20^th)

Matt to birthday party (20^th) (gift card for Canadian Tire)

Marlee’s 7^th birthday and party (26^th)

Travel (1 hr plus):

Thunder Bay (July 23^rd – August 5^th)

Cierra to camp

Financial/ changes to the house etc.:(gifts, renos, big purchases, household purchases)

First floor painted, fireplace painted

Gifts (see above)

Health/Development/ Exercise/ Extra Curricular Activities:

Drew: baseball

Alison: *

Cierra: n/a

Matt: baseball

Marlee: eye appointment (8^th)
Mitchell: Growing like a weed. Talking a bit more; lots of pointing; signing for car/truck; another tooth Aug 3^rd (lower right); sleeping same as last month (did realize he is still getting 11.5 hrs/day); EC – a few successes as noted here but otherwise the same. He likes to do puzzles and stay on the potty but generally I am not seeing cues – just going on timing.

Accomplishments/ Disappointments (Goals - Gotta Do’s, Wanna do’s; OLW, projects)

Completed most of OLW

Purging

New foods – Kale (farmer’s market) not a major fan but would like to try it in a different way;

All Around Us/ Other (News, Trends, Births, Deaths, World Events, City News Etc):

Said goodbye to Holjak’s

Church hired interim pastor

Anatomy of a 7 year old's birthday!

2011-08-28T23:48:00.000-04:00

Happy Birthday to you,

Happy Birthday to you!

Happy Birthday dear Marlee,

Happy Birthday to you!

Love you Toodles!

So how do we execute a birthday party for an excited almost 7 year old?

First it starts with a plan (I have a spreadsheet to remind me all of the details to consider)...

Marlee had her pick for dinner - she chose Chinese food with the family.

Which then led to gift time... Marlee got some clothes, some crafts and lots of wonderful attention.

After she went to bed the real work began... decorating that is. Banners, balls and balloons, birthday card banner, and the table set for the morning.

And at the last minute (of course it was around midnight) I was inspired to add pictures of Marlee all over the house. I took out a pile of her photos from my card file (see Stacy Julian LOM) and a number of scrapbook pages I had made of her. I got to bed at 1:11.

In the morning Marlee awoke to the decorating - I think she LOVED the added photos.

She then had the requested Eggo waffles for breakfast.

And enlisted on the requested scavenger hunt which ended with her pot of gold at the end of the rainbow (she asked for money to go shopping with - together).

We got working on her party and set out all of the snacks.

When the guests arrived they started with some Wii dancing and then moved outside for some water slide play and some pool time (thank goodness it was warm enough)...

...some craft time (they made bracelets)...

We later moved inside for some ice cream cake and cupcakes that the kids decorated...

And finally some pinata time. We had purchased the filling earlier in the week and it was Marlee's favourite activity. It was filled with wrapped candy, granola bars, rice krispie squares, welch's fruit snacks and raisins. A little healthy but all wrapped. (We are still making some concessions regarding the environment).

The older boys were sequestered for the pinata time despite their protests.

The afternoon ended with some quality play time with some newly acquired toys.

She was very happy.

Drew and Matt had baseball practice so we went out and rented Sharpay's Fabulous Adventure
to finish off the evening. It was a hit.

All in all it was a fabulous birthday.

Now we just have to figure out when we will go shopping.

She is definitely eager to go ASAP.

Happy Birthday sweet 7 year old!

I'm so glad we could do this.

Similarities

2011-08-27T15:53:00.000-04:00

I'm seeing some similarities between this little guy and a certain other someone.....

How about you?

17 months!

2011-08-25T16:47:00.000-04:00

In honour of Bibiti's 17 month old birthday I created a list of 17 things at 17 months!

(in case you are having a hard time reading it, it says:

1. You weigh about 23 ½ lbs and are 30.5" tall
2. You say ma, da, ball, tsss, vrmmm
3. You prefer being nakey butt and free
4. You love playing in water, chasing balls and watching cars
5. You give great hugs and open mouth kisses
6. You can find your hat, shoes and blanket (and any ball) when asked
7. You help get yourself dressed and brush your own teeth
8. You can sign car/truck
9. You have 16 teeth
10. You are very easy going and happy-go-lucky
11. You love to be where the big kids are
12. You scream when you don’t get your own way but calm quickly
13. You can match puzzle pieces
14. You can make yourself pass out when you don’t get your own way
15. You have a wickedly adorable smile and laugh
16. You get knocked down but you get up again
17. You are loved beyond measure!

Out to a Movie

2011-08-24T11:33:00.000-04:00

Ever since Spy Kids All the Time in the World in 4D came out, Matt has been wanting to see it. Obsessively so. We finally got the opportunity last night to use his Summer Bingo tickets and head out.

I have to say though, that we were a little disappointed. 4D does not mean 3D plus an extra sense! Well at least we didn't know that! There were no 3d glasses for us! There was an option at another theatre to see it in 3D but we thought this would be all inclusive. Oh well. I haven't seen a 3D movie since like forever - maybe childhood? I don't even know what that would have been either!

And to top it all off,

my scratch and sniff didn't work. I could only smell one of the 8 smells. Matthew's was similar. The rest smelled like paper. Otherwise the movie was great. It was very entertaining and certainly clean enough for Matt.

On out way home I started remembering all of the scratch and sniff stickers I had as a kid and shared those memories with Matt. They have there sillybandz, the bakugons, the polly pockets. We had friendship pins, scratch and sniff stickers and cabbage patch kids. Maybe stickers will be one of those things that "comes back"?

Remember these?

photo credit

But there was a bonus. I used my container to dump my popcorn in and used my own salt. I only had to get a disposable cup for my pop and the bag for the popcorn. 2 things saved.

Matt got the kids pack which was a box, a water bottle and a kinder surprise. We'll get him edumacated soon enough. Baby steps people. Next time if I'm not in such a rush I hope to bring my cup to ask if they can use it instead. I'm not hopeful though - they weren't willing to give Matt a bigger water from the fountain instead of a water bottle.

Ball

2011-08-24T09:40:00.001-04:00

A quick layout I did about the Micho's latest obsesssion...

Deli and Meat counter success!

2011-08-21T17:31:00.000-04:00

Today I was able to get deli cheese and meat for the first time without any extra packaging (well I had to get a sticker with the price on it).

I simply brought my containers, asked for the food to be put in it and they did it.

What was I afraid of?

A One Time Thing?

2011-08-18T16:48:00.000-04:00

The kids had been in for a swim and then became "mud monsters" in the yard and of course needed to have a shower. I followed them upstairs with Mitchell (after he had been forced to have his shower in the laundry tub) to check on the progress. Mitchell was still nakey-butt. And....

He walked into our bathroom where Marlee was having a shower,

and

SAT

down

on the potty

and

peed!!!!!

All on his own accord!

This is a first and HOPEFULLY a sign of things to come?

[It would be so nice because frankly, to say that I have been a bit frustrated about this side of development would be saying it mildly. Typical from what I read but still, I have high aspirations.

We typically get his after sleep pees and a few throughout the day but we definitely aren't accomplishing what we had been. The poops are the most disappointing. It is SO much easier to clean a poop out of a potty than out of a diaper:( ]

Anyway, here's hoping, and I just had to share my JOY!

Life Up North

2011-08-06T01:02:00.000-04:00

Life up North Summer Vacation Weeks 4 and 5

Life at the cottage (aka as camp to everyone else up here except for us because C gets it mixed up with "duck" camp) brings many stories and memories to be shared:

M3 is becoming quite the climber - easily scooting up on the coffee table.

The kids love riding the bike (we only have one at the moment) and the paths are great for doing it here. Unfortunately this one is getting a bit small but he doesn't care. Just previous to this photo the kids were fighting over who got to ride the one bike. It was typical for this day. lots of arguments and saucy talk. Even some tears.

M3 took a while but all of a sudden got VERY brave at swimming. He went from daddy's arms to the edge - to the ladder (it had to be the ladder) and literally got to be jumping in - going under as well.

Visiting with cousins is a highlight of our visits. M2 was particularly looking forward to swimming and visiting Karli. We spent the day by the pool visiting and snacking, and it was great.

I went out for a canoe ride with C and had a pretty good experience. I had kept putting it off as I was afraid we would get stranded with me not knowing how to guide us back. It wasn't nearly as difficult as I had imagined.

M2 enjoyed some wake-boarding.

M3 SQUEALED with delight when M2 showed him a baby frog. it was precious to witness.

On one of my walks I stopped to look at Little Lake. I was struck by the mid-morning beauty through the trees.

This was the year for fishing. Off the dock. Off the neighbours dock. From the canoe. He didn't have any luck but he sure had fun.

Football in the water - great fun diving for it!

M3 preferred the edge of the water and was content pouring and dumping. Pouring and dumping. Pouring and dumping.

M1 got the windsurfer board going and became quite proficient at using it. He went all around the bay on it.

I love seeing sharing like this!

At one point the kids wanted to play dogs. How appropriate that there was a cage to accomodate them. Hair and everything!

M2 enjoyed the swinging - just not the scraping against the trees.

M1 got M3 into some hitting practice. He actually hit it a few times!

Of course we had to have a checker game or tow. He beat me easily.

Sleeping is a different adventure up north too. It sometimes takes a longer to get to sleep but usually they are so tuckered out we don't have to say anything.

The boys enjoy a splash or two.

All in all life up north was excellent. The weather was great (One day of actual rain, one day of cooler temps), the water was awesome. We visited with fmaily and relaxed in a differnt sort of way. As usual, returning home was bittersweet. Another year done and more to look forward to.

July 2011 Recap

2011-08-01T15:59:00.000-04:00

It’s that time again! Another month has passed us by and it is time for a recap. So why do I do this? First of all my memory is terrible and often find myself wondering when such and such happened. Second of all I love lists and information. Third of all I believe I am a type A personality. Enough said.

Here's a look at our month:
Entertainment – what we’re looking at , listening to and going to!
Books, Magazines, Blogs read:
A Secret Kept
Scrapbooks Etc
Regular Blogs as well as My Plastic Free Life
TV, Movies, Live Entertainment:
Yogi Bear movie (library DVD)
Ramona and Beezus (library DVD)
Fear (Netflix)
Hannah Montana (final season) (library DVD)
Bones (Season one Ep 1-5) (library DVD)
All Roads Lead Home (cottage DVD)
Life Size (cottage DVD)
A Cinderella Story (Cierra’s DVD)
It’s Complicated (Melissa’s DVD)
Nanny McPhee (library DVD)
Alice in Wonderland (2005) (cottage DVD)
Jonah (A Veggietales movie) (library DVD)
Free to Be You and Me (library DVD)
[A Kid in Alladin’s Palace] (Cierra’s DVD)
Revolutionary Road (library DVD)

Daily Happenings & Special Events:
Boating with H family for fireworks (1st)
Baseball tournaments Markham, Etobicoke,
Trampoline finished (1st)
Strawberry picking (1st)
Sarah and Macy here to visit! (July 13th -21st)
Church Camp – Pandamania (July 18th -22nd)
Sean and Family here to visit (17th)
TBay (July 23rd-August 5th)

Travel (1 hr plus):
TBay (July 23rd –August 5th)

Financial/ changes to the house etc.:(gifts, renos, big purchases, household purchases)
Marlee to bday party (littlest pet shop and books); Matt to birthday parties (nerf guns, gift card to Toys R’ US; gift card to National Sports)
First floor being painted
Laundry room door fell off

Health/Development/ Exercise/ Extra Curricular Activities:
Drew: Baseball; golf; mole removal acting up
Alison: *
Cierra: Still wearing air cast when appropriate; attended church camp
Matt: Baseball; golf camp (3 days); church camp
Marlee: Golf camp (3 days); church camp
Mitchell: 2 new teeth in July; EC same or worse – not much communication, still catching early morning but less during day; sleep schedule way off – shorter naps, 3 hours at a time at night; still happy-go-lucky; saying da (that and dad), mo (mom), ba (ball), tssss (animals in particular dogs and cats); eating well, still nursing on demand.

Accomplishments/ Disappointments (Goals - Gotta Do’s, Wanna do’s; OLW, projects):
New foods – Swiss chard from dad (not a major fan)(10th); New park (12th)All Around Us/

Other (News, Trends, Births, Deaths, World Events, City News Etc): n/a

Return of the lost...

2011-07-09T12:16:00.000-04:00

Yes at long last I am making a post. What can I say? I took a blogging sabbatical and I'm not quite sure that it is done.

But since I use this primarily for me as a way of remembering what has gone on in my (our) lives, I thought I'd better add a few things before the memories lost me.

So without further adieu... you can find my

May 2011 Recap here

and my June 2011 Recap here.

Crazy.

Over a month without a post.

So what have we been up to?

In few short words - it doesn't look like a lot but it feels like A LOT!

I can say that I LOVE my ipad but it is just not good for producing.

Blog material that is. I can type back emails etc but I find it hard to add links, difficult to type longer portions of writing and in general it is easy and portable but not good for production.

I think I heard that somewhere - great for consumption but not production.

They are right.

So talking about CONSUMPTION....

I have definitely been consuming. In fact the kids can attest to the fact that every time I see them on the ipad they are pretty much kicked off. I have discovered a few more blogs that have become very inspiring on the one hand and yet have added some incredible frustration to my life on the other.

Those that know me understand that I have always had a passion for the environment and getting right down to the root of it, feel that as a Christian, we have a responsibility to "keep and till the earth" (Genesis 2:15 " The Lord God put the man in the Garden of Eden to take care of it and to look after it." Contemporary English Version) I have always felt that we have been doing our part within reason. And I still do. For the most part.

I have also been exploring more natural ways of eating, eating more local food and cutting down on the processed crud we eat (I do confess that I am a candy and chips and chocolate junkie). Well one of the blogs I discovered linked to another and another and the consumption continued.

So these new blogs have put me over the edge.

I don't even know what took me there in the first place.

I am firmly entrenched in stage 3 of this new "process"? (aptly described in this post at The Zero Waste Home), although I do dip back and forth in some of the other stages.

"Action boost and trial : I need to do something! and fast! Deciding to do something about those environmental issues if not for myself at least for the future of my kids, meant doing a little research and jumping on the learning wagon..." I already DO do a lot but of course there is more. Some more extreme measures, some experimenting, some definite learning curves. Oh and first and foremost, learning to REFUSE ( more on that some other time).

Currently I've been going to the store and I think,

Am I buying this for the "naturalness",

for the packaging

or for the "localness"?

Ahhh!!!

Let's say it is all very confusing.

Which brings us back to the previously mentioned post.

I am where I am and I know that at some point I will come to decide on my own position.

I spent basically this whole past month reading the entire zerowaste blog from beginning to today.. That led me to listening to the beginning (6years old) and current podcasts over at More Hip Than Hippie. I also linked up with 100 days of Real Food and am reading about the prcoess (and the recipes) this family have gone through to eat zero (yes 0) processed food.

I have become reacquainted with the blog family at Simple Mom, Simple Kids, Simple Organic and Simple Bites and more as well as Kitchen Stewardship and Keeper of the Home. Plus most of these bloggers are Christian! Bonus! Thank goodness that Mitchell is still nursing quite sporadically and that their posts are short.

Who knew the world wide web had so much information?????? lol!

As for the rest of the gang....

Now that the kids are out of school and are at home we have been busy making summer plans. We have a list of "Summer Goals" - places to go, things to do etc. Many are repeats but easier done in the summer. Much to my dismay (!), the kids were totally devastated that I didn't want to do Summer Bingo again this year. I succumbed though and we have had a successful week 1 of bombardment. Isn't it supposed to make my life easier? Being the overachiever that I am, it appears that I have put a lot of squares on that require "checking" in with me. Oh well, live and learn. Some rules have been added and changed, some new rewards and compromises have been made (less junk food this year, more financial incentives) and less days. I have daycare kids M, T, and Th of most weeks and a few W but not on Fridays so it will be a 4 day Bingo, with the last day to just be us and chillax. We have been so enjoying the pool (M3 particularly - so cute the way he throws himself in the little blue pool - I think he may be our fastest swimmer - we will see).

Soooo, sorry for the loooonnnng rambling post. I hope that this means that I will be back more frequently to update but I can't promise. Office time is limited and there is lots to do while M3 sleeps. I have lots that I want to document for our family but unfortunately most of it remains in my head and not in concrete form. Such is life. But it is a good one!

Since M3 is still sleeping and M2 wants to paint....(and M1 is away at baseball with Drew for another tournament) I shall be off while I can!

Oh and maybe some lunch!

TTFN!

June 2011 Recap

2011-06-30T14:22:00.000-04:00

[Another month come and gone - AND late to record. Thank goodness for backdating!]

It’s that time again! Another month has passed us by and it is time for a recap. So why do I do this? First of all my memory is terrible and often find myself wondering when such and such happened. Second of all I love lists and information. Third of all I believe I am a type A personality. Enough said.

Here's a look at our month:
Entertainment – what we’re looking at , listening to and going to!
Books, Magazines, Blogs read:
· Finished audible book Animal, Vegetable, Mineral by Barbara Kingsolver. I really enjoyed this book and it goes right alongside a lot of the other reading and listening I’ve been doing this past month. I am reading and investigating being more of a locavore and this book was very encouraging. I found her reasoning for eating meat versus becoming a vegetarian in Ch14 very intriguing and insightful. I’m going back to the paper version to reread parts.
· Hiding Edith – I saw this book at the kids book fair and signed it out from the library. It is a junior non-fiction about a girl that was hidden during the holocaust. I find these stories fascinating and this one was no exception. It is part of a series so I plan to read more.
· Perusing Scrapbooks etc but finding there wasn’t a lot of time for magazines this month – e-versions preferred.
· I finished all of the back posts for http://www.zerowastehome.blogspot.com/ – huge inspiration. It has also led to a few other links http://www.100daysofrealfood.com/ http://zerowastelifestyle.blogspot.com/
· I’m still keeping up with my top10 as well although more like my top 5!

TV, Movies, Live Entertainment:
· Being Erica and Arrested Development were all we had time for. I also found we just sat and did internet searching a few times together
· We did watch Shrek 3, HSM 2 and Star Wars together AGAIN! Diary of a Wimpy Kid 2 (better than I thought it would be!)

Daily Happenings& Special Events:
· Cierra in Spring Fever dance for school and city
· Waterfront Festival with church (RAIN!!!)
· Theoren’s 8th birthday party at their house (gave him a tetherball set); Cierra hurt ankle
· Celebrated Don’s birthday with family
· Sexuality workshop at work
· Great Wolf Lodge (7-8th)
· Dinner with girls (Beaches) (8th)
· Church golf tournament (11th)
· Church bridal shower (12th)
· Mom out to lunch for Mother’s Day/ birthday
· Cierra prom! (17th)
· Matt to L’s 9th birthday party – gave $25 Toys ‘R Us gift card and smarties
· Cierra graduated! (29th)

Travel (1 hr plus):
· Cobourg (4th-5th)
· Niagara Falls (7-8th)

Financial/ changes to the house etc.:(gifts, renos, big purchases, household purchases)
· Pool opened (5th –cover, 9th – chemicals)
· Consultation for painting first floor!

Health/Development/ Exercise/ Extra Curricular activities:
Drew: baseball, running
Alison: *, walking, running
Cierra: hurt ankle*; x-rays, CT scan; Dr appointment
Matt: baseball-baseball-baseball!!!
Marlee: Mitchell: 3 new molars (15th, 18th, 27th); walking!; EC – a few dry nights! Sleeping a few 5 hour stretches otherwise the same. Liking to eat more casserole type foods – all mixed together. Loving strawberries and grapes and processed snacks – working on that!

Accomplishments/ Disappointments (Goals): (Gotta Do’s, Wanna do’s; OLW, projects)
· Dinner out – Puck ‘N Pizza (used Wag Jag), Il Buco (used Wag Jag)
· Crock-pot recipe for chicken and mushroom soup
· More purging!
· New/ revisited foods – fiddle heads – yuck! And iced tea – yuck; rhubarb – not bad!

All Around Us/ Other (News, Trends, Births, Deaths, World Events, City News Etc): nothing comes to mind

June Good Food Box

2011-06-24T14:30:00.000-04:00

I recently picked up the June Good Food Box. As usual it was a steal for $10. Iopted out of the potatoes as I still have the ones from last month. This is what I got:

English Cucumber
Lettuce
Carrots 2lb
Parsnip or bananas
Green pepper
Green onions
Garlic
Lemon
Orange
Strawberries
Rhubarb
(potatoes)

Yum yum local goodness!

MIA

2011-06-11T23:33:00.000-04:00

Missing In Action. Yep that's me. Like I just noticed on my sister's blog, I haven't felt all that chatty lately. That and we've been super busy....

I'll be back soon to write about...

May recap

Drew's 1/2 marathon run in Ottawa

visit to see Sean

did I ever write about visiting Sarah in South Carolina????

Cierra's birthday

LOAD recap

wondering if we'll ever get to put up the tether ball set, the basket ball set or the trampoline that is sitting in the garage

Cierra's "broken" foot

my latest obsession with a new blog I came across http://zerowastehome.blogspot.com/ and exploring our own carbon footprint

our trip to Great Wolf Lodge

looks like it will probably be the June recap by then too!

Until then, a few recent photo faves!

Marlee and Autumn taking a [cool] dip.

Matt and Theoren in deep discussion.

Cierra eating a fireball (yes she was warned it would be HOT!)

The family enjoying the outdoor water area at Great Wolf Lodge (that's Marlee int eh pink in the background).

Mitchell enjoying some watermelon.

TTFN!

May 2011 Recap

2011-05-31T14:19:00.000-04:00

[Added late - oops it really has come and gone! Time to recap our life!

So why do I do this? First of all my memory is terrible and often find myself wondering when such and such happened. Second of all I love lists and information. Third of all I believe I am a type A personality. Enough said.

Here's a look at our month:

Entertainment - what we’re looking at , listening to and going to!
Books, Magazines, Blogs read:
· ebook Simple Mom; listening to Animal, Vegetable, Mineral by Barbara Kingsolver
· top 10 blogs plus new link to http://www.zerowastehome.blogspot.com/ – all consuming!
TV, Movies, Live Entertainment:
· Not a lot of Entertainment this month! - Being Erica, Arrested Development;
· Listening to - More Hip than Hippie podcast, Paperclipping podcasts;

Daily Happenings & Special Events:
· Watched church baseball team as a family (9th)
· Marlee to Carter’s birthday party (13th) – gave ‘doh’ gift
· MOPS finished up
· Cierra’s 21st birthday at Moose Winnoosky’s with family and friends (19th)(list for birthday gifts)
· Sean’s birthday (Drew gave golf balls at end of month)
· Ottawa trip for Drew and G’s half marathon run (28th-30th)

Travel (1 hr plus) - Ottawa

Financial/ changes to the house etc.:(gifts, renos, big purchases, household purchases)
· Not much this month (gifts see above)!

Health/ Development/ Exercise/ Extra Curricular Activities:
Drew: basketball; running, half marathon; 2 yr follow-up appointment – leg
Alison: *, elliptical, running, dentist
Cierra: dentist
Matt: ball hockey, baseball, church drama
Marlee: church dramaMitchell: doing well, sleep schedule still the same (down at 9, up a few times through the night with us, up at 7ish and down for 2-3 hour nap at 9:15); eating well; still creeping; happy-go-lucky!

Accomplishments/ Disappointments (Goals - Gotta Do’s, Wanna do’s; OLW, projects)
· LOAD211
· LOTS of purging!
· Trying new recipes – Butternut squash in the amish muffins – not a great hit especially when the loaf isn’t fully cooked!

All Around Us/ Other (News, Trends, Births, Deaths, World Events, City News Etc): nothing comes to mind!

Phew - glad to get that down!

LOAD1105 - Day 20 and all about today...

2011-05-20T23:58:00.000-04:00

It was such an amazing day out today that I left scrapbooking until the very end, and I am tired so a few more quickies for the neighbourhood album were all I was inspired to do.

perhaps not a lot of scrapbooking but today I...

got 15 minutes of elliptical in before M3 woke up at 7:03 (PS - C was downstairs at 6:03 dressed, eating breakfast and I think there might have been dishes she put away - WHAT TIME DID SHE GET UP??? her alarm is supposed to go at 5:45!)

Got C off to school

took the kids to school (A-day)

went for a walk with M3 (30 minutes)

took out lots of dandelions in front and back yard

raked out dirt in back yard and added some to garden bed

got first ever harvest of asparagus (some had already bolted)

cleaned up the garage a bit more

set up the posts for the garden trellis

sat with M3 who fell asleep

M3 wouldn't transfer so I thought a drive would help

ended up at Bradford Greenhouse (still not asleep) and bought veggie plants for the garden (super busy there!)

forgot my gift card in my pants pocket but bought everything anyway ($115)

M3 still not asleep but in a good mood

logged C's birthday gifts

made lunch

ate most of lunch and read ZeroWaste blog

C came home and got her ready to go to mom's and snack ready for school

went to school and played at park until 4pm

dc kids picked up at school

walked home (M3 fell asleep)

made dinner for M2 who was going to bowling invite with a friend

drove M2 (with everyone) to bowling for 5:30 (M3 transferred and went back to sleep)

stopped at park with kids on way for 10 minutes

yelled at kids who were rude to kids at the park

cleaned up garage more and watched kids play baseball in driveway

missed DC kids mom when we got home

got pizza from kids mom

left my kids with DC kids mom while I went to get M2

took longer then I should of to get M2 (who looked SO CUTE bowling - stylin! outfit and COOL bowling shoes I might add!!!)

had to get gas since I was on empty

returned overdue book of Drew's to library

sat with friend and neighbour for a few minutes, friend left, neighbour stayed, played in back yard with kids

neighbours went home, kids went up to bath

bathed, quick hugs, prayers and into bed!

dozed with M3

woke up at 10:16 - LOAD!

now sidetracked and time for bed.

and as for tomorrow? hopefully...

plants in garden with trellis and tunnels finished?

basketball net and tether ball set installed???

M2 to play date and then sleepover at DIL

scrapping for me?

That's enough for now!

T's house - LOAD1105 - Day19

2011-05-19T22:44:00.000-04:00

Another quickie tonight as we were out celebrating C's birthday. More will follow on that. Otherwise, here is another addition to my childhood neighbourhood memory album.

TFL!

Body for Life

2011-05-18T23:34:00.000-04:00

Do you remember this book?

I bought it, I read it, I even followed it for quite a while.

And I bought the products.

This was about 9 - 10 years ago I think? and then I got pregnant and thought about putting those products in my body with a baby and decided it would wait.

So it has waited. And off and on I have been pregnant or nursing and still not wanting to put it into my body (most of the products had aspartame as well as too-hard-to-name ingredients). Through it all, I've had a box sitting in my pantry waiting to be used up. Because of course I paid good money and well...

The time came today. I dumped it all. And I almost cried when I saw how much I paid for this stuff. One was $39.99 on sale from $59.99

and one

was $99.99!!!!! It wasn't even opened!!!

All I have to say is WHAT WAS I THINKING? I spend how much?

Crazy! And all it really takes to take care of your body is to eat healthy foods - less (or better yet no) packaged foods, normal portion sizes (for me this means less than what I am currently eating) and regular exercise (again for me this means MORE).

Ahh the expensive lessons learned.

May Good Food Box

2011-05-18T23:25:00.001-04:00

I picked up my May Good Food Box yesterday. As usual, a plethera of goodness for only $10.

We got:

10lbs potatoes

1 head of romaine lettuce

2lb bag of carrots

1 cucumber

1 bunch of green onions

1 bunch of asparagus

1 tomato

1 bulb of garlic

1 pineapple

1 lemon

2 oranges

Yummy goodness! This goes along well with all the reading I've been doing lately about eating local, eating fresh and eating in season.

Greenfield Park - LOAD1105 - Day 15

2011-05-15T23:33:00.001-04:00

Greenfield Park - LOAD1105 - Day 15
Originally uploaded by Alijoyc

An easy digital one today to add to our "New-to-us Parks Album". TFL!

Food from the USA - LOAD1105 - Day 11

2011-05-11T22:57:00.000-04:00

Food from the USA - LOAD1105 - Day 11
Originally uploaded by Alijoyc

Another day of not following the prompt (make a black & white LO or use a b&w photo) but I started this yesterday and wanted to finish... click for the journaling.

the big snowball - LOAD1105 - Day10

2011-05-10T19:14:00.001-04:00

the big snowball - LOAD1105 - Day10
Originally uploaded by Alijoyc

I didn't follow the prompt today (using colour in nature...) but I did finish another on my to do list!

LOAD1105 Day 9

2011-05-09T23:33:00.001-04:00

Just a quick and easy one today to add to my childhood neighbourhood album... the prompt was to use a colour from a colour swatch. My eye was drawn to the sage colour but I wasn't inspired with any of my photos to go in that direction.

First day of school - LOAD1105 Day 8web

2011-05-08T23:47:00.001-04:00

First day of school - LOAD1105 Day 8web
Originally uploaded by Alijoyc

We were supposed to enhance your page topic/theme by careful selection of colors. FUN!
I went with shades of green for the grass, new and learning...

Summer Camp '06 - LOAD1105 - Day6

2011-05-06T17:02:00.001-04:00

Summer Camp '06 - LOAD1105 - Day6
Originally uploaded by Alijoyc

Today was all about alignment - even spaces between the parts.

Three down and just 2007 and 2010 to go for our summer camp book. So fun to see the changes over the years!

New shades

2011-05-06T16:58:00.001-04:00

Buddy boy is sporting some new shades and actually keeping them on!

(these are a la Marlee since he threw his last ones out of the stroller and they got run over).

Somehow I think they kind of suit him!

September 2010 - LOAD1105 - Day5

2011-05-05T22:00:00.001-04:00

September 2010 - LOAD1105 - Day5
Originally uploaded by Alijoyc

Using a visual triangle... This is fairly self explanatory. I'm trying to go back and do monthly layouts...that may eventually get into a book?
Tfl!

Hi Ya! LOAD1105 - Day4

2011-05-04T11:13:00.001-04:00

Hi Ya! LOAD1105 - Day4
Originally uploaded by Alijoyc

The prompt today was to use white space - definitely something I do a lot of. This was a quick 15 minute layout from Scraphappy.

The Glasses - LOAD1105 Day3

2011-05-03T23:04:00.001-04:00

The Glasses - LOAD1105 Day3
Originally uploaded by Alijoyc

Today's prompt was about emphasis. I started off thinking about the flower cluster but just got going with it. It's not quite on task but hey, it's done!

2010 Technology faves - LOAD511 Day2

2011-05-02T23:01:00.000-04:00

2010 Technology faves - LOAD511 Day2
Originally uploaded by Alijoyc

A little lift from my favourite ebook by Ella Publishing. I hope to get a few more done from their Year in the Life publication.
TFL!

Theresa Street - LOAD1105 Day1b

2011-05-01T23:03:00.001-04:00

2011 05 01 Theresa Street
Originally uploaded by Alijoyc

I added another quickie since my post on flickr showed yesterday's date even though it was after midnight here. This is another addition to my childhood nighbourhood album.

H's House - LOAD1105 - Day1

2011-05-01T23:02:00.001-04:00

2011 05 01 H's house
Originally uploaded by Alijoyc

Day1 for May 2011 LOAD! I'm hoping to finish up my album on my childhood neighbourhood and all the memories that come to mind. Thanks to an easy formula, these can be used when I need to do a quick layout and upload.

April 2011 Recap

2011-05-01T11:49:00.000-04:00

It’s time to recap all that has happened during the month of April. Hopefully I'll get a page or an update on specifics somewhere along the line as well.

Why do I do this? First of all my memory is terrible and often find myself wondering when such and such happened. Second of all I love lists and information. Third of all I believe I am a type A personality. Enough said.

Here's a look at our month:
Books, Magazines, Blogs read:
· Poisonwood Bible (audio book) – very interesting book. I have to say that I had no idea of the premise of the book and was therefore quite shocked by the end of it. I find it similar to our own nations treatment of Native Canadians.
· Happiness Project (book) – LOVED this. So much of what she said rang true with me. I believe we are of a similar temperament. This was extremely timely for me with my “One Little Word” being joy as the two are often used interchangeably. I found lots of things that I can use for this journey. Her website is also a great source of information. The biggest thing that she learned and I happen to believe works for me as well is the accountability – lists, charts, check-offs. If I want to set a goal I need to have a daily, visual reminder of it and check off my accomplishments.
· Life Artist by Ali Edwards (book) – LOVED this too. I love her vision of instead of just being a scrapbooker, we are life artists. That works with me. She has an amazing outlook on life and a lot of incredible projects that will be put on my someday list. I love her clean and simple style that usually celebrates everyday life.
· I found time of course for my top 10 blogs and am always getting rerouted to new interesting ones too.

TV, Movies, Live Entertainment:
· Not a lot of TV this month – Being Erica, Arrested Development
· Blue Jays game – Rogers Stadium with small group families (3rd)
· Fashion Show/ Silent Auction for work (28th)

Special Events:
· Blue Jays game (3rd)
· Out for dinner with G’s (Tattingers) (5th)
· Cierra attended a bday party at Retro Planet (8th)
· Matt had a craft bee and barn dance at school (12th)
· Adult Drama at church (16th weekend)
· Travel to see Sarah, John and Macy (22nd – 27th)

Travel:
· Travelled to see Sarah, John and Macy in South Carolina (went through PA, OH, VA, WV, TE, NC, SC, Maryland****). We had a great time although it was way too short. We are obviously not good at predicting travelling distances. 2 days to get there, 2 days there and 2 days to get back. Next time we'll have to stay longer. The travelling was great - lots to see and do - travel BINGO was a huge hit. We also tried to stay at restaurants rather than fast food places and also allow for some down time in the evening at nicer hotels with pools and fitness rooms, sot his all added to our travel time. While we were there we celebrated Easter at their church with a big pancake breakfast, took in a boat ride with John's relatives, explored their neighbourhood and relaxed. The drive home was a tad more rushed as we took larger motorways but it was still scenic and the kids tolerated it well. With a little more organization around home daycare I could see this becoming a yearly event??? The weather was certainly more inviting to say nothing about the chance to visit with family.

Financial/ changes to the house etc.: (gifts, renos, big purchases, household purchases)
· Cierra gave a movie gift certificate for her friends birthday
· Made a dinner for parents for the 3rd time P’s
· Money towards hockey equipment for Samantha’s 9th birthday

Health/ Exercise: (health, extra curricular activities, development)
Drew: running and basketball
Alison: exercise, *
Cierra: *
Matt: power skating; ball hockey; baseball
Marlee: n/a
Mitchell: 22lbs-6oz; 2 needles (no crying!)(12th); standing independently, not making steps though; EC – exerting his independence – not wanting to sit still much so we are in diapers much more right now – using about 40/wk; making a lot of grunting noises for communicating – very little signs although we do understand him; sleeping fairly similar to last month; did very well on travel – generally a 3-4hr schedule for us all.

Accomplishments/ Disappointments (Goals): (Gotta Do’s, Wanna do’s; Projects - OLW etc)
Gotta Do’s
· #33 - Restaurants – Tattingers (5th); West Wing (12th)
· #100 - New USA states – West Virginia;
· #62 - Collect faucet “run-off”
OLW – trying to get caught up on the prompts and actually put them together

All Around Us/ Other (News, Trends Etc): births, deaths, world events, city news,
P family had their healthy baby girl!

Good Food Box April 2011

2011-04-19T20:44:00.000-04:00

Yes - that time again. This month (all for the incredible low price of $10) I received the following:

10 lb bag white potatoes

1 head romaine lettuce

1 bag red seedless grapes

2 lbs onions

2 lbs carrots

1 small zucchini

2 sweet potatoes

3 bananas

1 green pepper

1 head garlic

2 beets* we were actually able to grab a few extra if we wanted so I did

It does change the way we prepare meals. Instead of choosing recipes and going shopping for the ingredients I'm finding that I have to go shopping for the recipes instead. Trying out new recipes is one of my Gotta Do items though...

Memory Monday - candy candy candy

2011-04-18T16:41:00.000-04:00

Again prompted by Katie the Scrapbook Lady, I am reminded to think of the candy from my childhood. While my parents weren't strictly against sugar, I don't recall them being too too generous or open to it either. If I recall correctly, my dad actually had a fairly long stint of limited sugar after a bout with cancer. For holidays and special celebrations we got the typical sweets that prevailed at the time. At Easter we got the large chocolate bunny and jelly beans. At Christmas our stockings were filled with a mixture of chocolates, hard candies and fruit as well.

Random candy that I recall:

black bart gum

thrills gum (tasted like soap but we ate it anyway)

popeye cigarettes (we still have them but it isn't politically correct to call them that)

bottlecaps (especcially the root beer ones)

gobstoppers (they seem so much smaller now!)

astropops!

popsicles - especially banana ones!

Random candy memories:

getting black licorice balls from the store in Cookstown

[gasp] I stole a package of lifesavers from the local IGA and my mom made me take them back (embarrassing but I learned my lesson!)

mojos from the store on the way to the cottage - espeically banana ones (and now we can get them at the Superstore!

getting our penny candy and going to the store up the street to spend it

finding "cats tongues's" at a store in Guelph and buying them out

And what candy do I like now?

sour soothers (as long as they are the right kind, preferably stale)

wine gums (the right kind and preferably stale)

Hot Tamales

Mike and Ikes

Sweedish Berries

Cadbury Easter Creme eggs

chocolate covered almonds

caramels - chewy or hard

hard candy - the kind that comes at Christmas

Runts - or similar theme-type

Jelly bellies

solid chocolate - mini easter eggs,

chocolate bars - Dairy Milk, Reese's Peanut Butter Cups, Hershey milk chocolate with almonds, skor bar, kit kat - it all depends on the mood

And candy I don't like?

candies with malt inside

candies with cherries inside

most of the chocolates in boxes of assorted chocolate

Turkish Delight or similar, Coffee Crisp, Mars Bars,

It appears that the list of likes is much longer than the list of those I don't like. That could be part of an even bigger problem if you know what I mean...

Grateful for eight on the eighth...

2011-04-08T22:55:00.000-04:00

I was inspired by a layout by Ali Edwards from her book Life Artist...

1. Today I am grateful...that my husband was able to hold down the fort and I could go out for a run first thing before everyone got up... 2. Today I am grateful... that my buddy slept until 12:52 which allowed me to tidy up, catch up on emails, look into True Scrap, do most of Cierra's monthly receipts, tidy up the office (majorly), and more... 3. Today I am grateful... that I can have a peanut butter and banana sandwich (and that I am not allergic like one of the kids in my care)...

4. Today I am grateful... that we got the sand toys out and could enjoy the sunshine and the sand and friends at the park...

5. Today I am grateful... that spring has sprung and the sun is shining...

6. Today I am grateful...that Cierra was able to go to a birthday party for a classmate and she was so excited about it all week. She had a total blast and it was neat to see her in her element...

7. Today I am grateful...that Marlee had a playdate over. They tested out new bikes together, got giddy on lollipops and giggled and giggled and talked about snoogers and their siblings and being BFF's...

8. Today I am grateful...that our kids love each other and enjoy playing with each other...

We are so blessed.

PS This was more difficult then I thought - there is so much more to be grateful for!

March 2011 Recap

2011-04-01T17:27:00.000-04:00

It’s that time again. Time to recap. So why do I do this? First of all my memory is terrible and often find myself wondering when such and such happened. Second of all I love lists and information. Third of all I believe I am a type A personality. Enough said.

Here's a look at March 2011:

Books, Magazines, Blogs read:

I survived the sinking of the Titanic; 1912 (book)(kids book - trying to get Matt to read it but I love anything about the Titanic anyway);

Blessing in Disguise (book) (Great easy read introduced by Kelly on the ski trip - sort of a Little House on the Prairie Christian-style);

No Impact Man (book) (excellent book - lots of info on being environmentally aware - remember - you may not be able to do everything but you can at least try)

Creating Keepsakes; Scrapbooks Etc.; Us

Top 10 blogs as well as a few new ones through links

TV, Movies, Live Entertainment: Parenthood (internet); Being Erica (Netflix); Marmaduke (Netflix); Executive Decision (tv); Running Shoes 16th (live); Steven Curtis Chapman 26th (live at the Church on the Queensway)

Special Events: Matt’s hockey wrap up dinner and party (5th)

Skiing at Owl’s Head with H’s (10th – 14th), Vermont (ECHO center), New York, Kingston (water park);

SC Museum with the kids (15th)

Running Shoes in Minesing (16th)

Mitchell’s 1st Birthday (25th) and party (27th)

Steven Curtis Chapman (26th) Loss of PB (29th) and visitation (31st)

Travel: Owl’s Head, Vermont, New York

Financial/ changes to the house etc.: Drew purchased an expedit shelf from IKEA for his closet. It is still in the garage.

Health/ Exercise:

Drew: running and basketball, skiing

Alison: running, elliptical; skiing, wart gone! *

Cierra: Dr appt *

Matt: power skating, skiing, hockey, baseball, ball hockey

Marlee: skiing, karate

Mitchell: n/a

Accomplishments/ Disappointments (Goals): 1 scrapbook page (Go Green!); Finished Y&T class (not the layouts but the class ended); see Gotta Do’s and Wanna Do’s

All Around Us/ Other (News, Trends Etc): Tsunami in Japan (11th); Church vote *

The End of an Era

2011-03-31T11:13:00.001-04:00

...that never really began.

After less then a month of "try-out" classes, Marlee has decided that she is too busy to continue with karate. She doesn't like being "rushed". I don't blame her. Although I have to admit I am surprised. She raved and raved about wanting to take karate since a classmate of hers has been for a few years now. We were able to try out the class for a month before committing. Thank goodness.

We thought she was really enjoying it.

She was encouraged to attend 2 of the 3 classes offered each week.

She tried out her "hayy ahh's on everyone and showed off her 'kee'.

She managed the sore muscles and a sore foot but decided in the end that it was not to be. Better to know now then after the commitment. I still feel a little bad though. She really wasn't always rushed there but any after school commitment does involve cutting something else out and in our household yes, being hurried along.

I think she might have felt it was affecting her love of UNO this month.

Happy Birthday Mitchell!!!

2011-03-28T11:13:00.000-04:00

Happy Birthday Bubs!

...the days are long, but the years are short. Oh how true. Where oh where has this year gone? Our bibiti is one year old already. A year ago at this time I was recuperating from the C-section, somewhat from the shock of having a boy (I was sure it was a girl for some reason), and that we had in fact had another baby and all was well. We named him Mitchell, which for the first few hours I was totally second guessing. Now? It is so him. And what a boy. My tears well up just thinking of this past year. Not a day goes by that I don't thank God for this precious gift. We all do. Marlee routinely "loves him" and tells him how cute he is. Matthew wants to carry him around and have him participate in just about everything he does (not technology but that is another story). Cierra loves to ask him "where's your mommy?" and gives him tickles or entertain him while I get ready for school. He is indeed a precious boy.

We gathered as a family on Sunday to celebrate the birth of our number one Chi Chee. He had his first taste of icing and a little bite of cake, received some great gifts and basked in the celebration of himself.

On his birthday we continued the balloon tradition and he awoke to an assortment of balloons and banners celebrating his birthday. He loved it!

On Friday (his birthday) I took his final [25] on the 25th. It was never really 25 but I goofed up in the beginning and forgot which animal I took pictures of so I started doing the three main ones he got as birth gifts. This is one of my faves this month.

Now for a trip down memory lane, starting with moments after he was born...

...to a wee young thing!

...changing to a cool dude! (We'll have to see if these glasses stay on better this summer!)

We moved then to the more "alert" stage - watching and waiting and taking EVERYTHING in...

Then we had the INTERACTIVE stage where he "chatted with everyone we meet...

And then a NOISY and continuous EXPLORATORY stage...

And even more Exploring... and some Moving...

And here we are at one year of age...

He last weighed in at 21 lbs 10 oz (just about time to switch car seats!)

Physically he is still doing the commando crawl with one leg underneath - hey why mess with what works? He pulls himself up to furniture easily and is walking around it. We haven't done much finger walking at this point. He loves couch and pillow diving but this is much better on the carpet then on the hardwood. He knows how to crawl up the stairs but not down and gets frustrated on the one step landing where he gets stuck.

He has 8 teeth.

He is just starting to wear his 12 month clothing.

He is eating mostly what we eat (I avoid out and out sweets and junk food). His favourites are carrots (raw and cooked), muffins, bread, applesauce, some meats and some cereals. We are still nursing on demand. Lately he has taken to pulling though and I'm not sure what to do about that. We are working on giving him a little cup of water but he doesn't quite have the hang of it. I haven't tried a bottle since a month or so ago as there hasn't been a need. Baby led weaning is going well although I admit there is more waste then was let on. But lets just say that when he tastes it and immediately spits it out well....

He is still one of the most easy-going kids around. He rarely cries - only for needing something and protesting but is easily distracted or persuaded. He has an amazing laugh and an infectious smile.

He is on a similar sleep routine as last month. He is getting up (or woken up) between 6 and 7am and goes back down for a nap around 9am. He sleeps for a good 3-4 hours daily. When we go to school at 3pm he routinely falls asleep at some point and will have a 1-1/2 hour nap then too. He goes down to bed by 9 or 9:30pm and has another feeding around midnight and sometime during the night (in bed with me). I should be working on this but in all honesty don't really care until those nights when he is rolling around from 4-6 not really eating but not really sleeping. (I had a few this past week). I may be enlisting in Drew's help soon.

Pottying as to be expected. He has a regular pee upon waking (wet) and then depending on our morning a few catches or misses before school. He has been waking up wet again but goes pee again for me on the potty. Until we go to school at 3 we will have a 3-4 pees and usually a BM - some caught some not. He usually wakes form school dry and has another pee and Drew will usually put a diaper on him for some carpet time until dinner. He is often dry until bath time and then again until bed. I try to change him at his midnight feeding and put a doubler on him for the remainder of the night. I rarely have a poopy diaper (we did on holidays and yuck - so glad how this is working out!). I am still using the diaper service but I admit that I am itching to try the whole cloth diapering completely on my own. I just hesitate as i really like to support small business. I still need to think about this.

He is a good communicator. He is coming up to Drew a lot more now. It is so sweet to see him burying his head in his legs or shoulder. He is really enjoying dad. He is using a few signs interchangeably but we are just encouraged that he is using them. I'm sure more progress will follow. He is doing some exaggerated nodding of yes and no as well - too cute.

He loves to watch the boys play hockey and if he is upstairs while they are doing it he will stand there shaking the gate - it's quite a sight! He loves to chase the hockey ball with his mini stick. He follows balls or plastic eggs or anything that moves around the house. He loves the phone and the ipods or pounding the computer whenever he gets a chance. He loves the pots and pans drawer as well as the plastic dishes drawers. Dishes are routinely all over the floor.

So Mitchell... We love you and are so thankful that we have had this year with you. You are a total blessing and you bring so much joy into our lives. We can't wait to see what this year brings but we are anticipating lots of movement, lots of sand play and lots of infectious giggles. Keep 'em coming bud! WE LOVE YOU!!! We are sooooo glad you are a part of our family!

Memory Monday - wall pictures

2011-03-28T10:51:00.000-04:00

I finally got around to changing these photos the other day. (I know the clarity isn't that great but "technically" they are copyrighted...right?).

When Sarah and John and Macy were here at Christmas we decided to update our family portraits. They turned out really well and I love them. It just means that they replace the old ones. And it is a daily reminder of how things change and times moves on.

Oh how our our family has changed! Everyone is a little older. Grandma and Grandpa are no longer with us. Mitchell and Macy have joined us. When you change out the old with the new it feels like a part of us is missing. I know that is not true as those that have gone on will always be with us.

But not seeing them there at their spot on the wall reminds me more clearly of their absence.

It is also a reminder of how much I am enjoying photos as decoration - so that we can see the people in our lives and remember the times we shared with them.

Soooo what am I trying to say?

Missing you guys today!

But glad of the additions!

Kingston - Monday

2011-03-19T22:27:00.000-04:00

Monday was a pretty lazy day. I got to sleep in a little while the other folks made their way to an early water park experience (Mitchell included - bonus!). I took our friends' kids down to check on everyone (they quite enjoyed the hot tub).

I then came back up to try to get Mitchell down for a nap. K and I and Mitchell ended up hanging out for a bit since he wouldn't go down. We had Timmy's for brunch and then played some family games in the lounge area. It was a really great idea there that would be neat for church too. They had a giant snakes and ladders. big connect four, bean bag toss, twister, a large tic tac toe and a few others we didn't try. Just as we were heading out Silly Sally the clown came in, made some funky balloon hats and we were outa' there. The H's were going to explore Kingston a bit and since we weren't that organized we just drove around a bit, saw the penitentiary (and the wind turbines across the border) and then drove on to the highway.

Not too exciting. We did stop at Denny's for "linner", a favourite and then IKEA where Drew got the EXPEDIT shelving he was wanting for his closet and I got Mitchell a new potty. Bright red. He likes it! The kids also got the splurge of a lifetime - new puppies. Low and behold the very dogs that they played with all weekend were from IKEA. So Drew caved and got them each $16 dogs. I guess if your wife won't let you get the real thing....

So all in all a great time away. I would definitely do it again although my preference is to try new places. I hope that we haven't worn out our welcome with our friends and that we can look forward to doing this again next year!