it's thursday

it's getting late.
it's been a long day with all my kids all day.
something I am going to have to get used to for the next two months. yowsa.

okay.
1. maggie finding out that bubbles don't taste very good. yuck. poor thing.
2. the kindergarten classes had a potluck picnic lunch on Wednesday.
here's sadie doing the parachute thing. fun stuff.
3. she can not wait to start grade one. she would already have her backpack packed if I let her. like everyone tells you, they grow up too fast.

4. we all went to my sister Andrea's and got hair cuts today. fun stuff.

5. except Sadie- she's growing her hair, and she and two of her aunties are going to cut their hair at Christmas time and donate it for wigs. she is getting excited for that too.

6. if you come to Fort Saskatchewan you must go see the sheep that they use to mow the lawn at one of the parks. Cory took the kids on Sunday, while I made supper. isn't Maggie looking especially cute. haha.

7. two weeks from right now I will be in New York City. wow. hard to believe.

8. I finished my reversible wrap skirt. and ummm. not sure about it. it is comfortable. but maybe not the cutest thing. I am not too sure it is NYC material. will have to see if I can fix it. maybe I will take pictures and see if there are any positive comments.


9. Pokemon cards. wasn't that so - a few years ago? well, apparently they are the big thing. for my kids and their circle of friends anyways.

10. Apparently Ben has the rarest card in our town. yep. isn't that interesting.
they talk and talk pokemon all the time, and I have no clue, and no desire to know what it is all about. so bizarre.

11. finally found some shorts that fit. yay. I hear it is hot out east. yay. lousy weather here.

12. while I was at Costco, with all my kids- big mistake, but anyways, found some crocs knock offs, and bought them because I really need good comfortable shoes for all the walking in two weeks. not the cutest things, but wow, they really are comfortable.

13. sleeping in is wonderful, but getting kids to bed at night after they sleep in, is not so wonderful. I really need to get kids to bed, and get myself to bed, because wow, am I getting cranky. :)

a sad day

as I was sitting in the Elementary school gym,
my eyes teared up. why? I am not sure.
except maybe that my first born, my oldest child
was attending his grade six farewell.
wow. going on to grade 7 next year. scary.
I left my camera with him, so maybe I can show some pictures tomorrow.
he and two girls did a little prediction for the future, named all the kids and what they thought they would be when they grow up. Ben is going to be a science teacher because he is so smart! that's my boy.

speaking of smart, my two oldest both got honors this year.
that was a great thing.

my sewing machine ate 3 meters of fabric. 3! eaten!
it was the strangest thing. I bought 6 meters of fabric- 3 each of two kinds,
to make this- but a bit shorter,
put them in the washer- or I thought I did,
then when I went to put them in the dryer, there was only one piece there.
weird I thought, maybe I didn't put it in.
had the kids searching everywhere with a big $1 reward to whoever found it. - yep, I am cheap, but it got the kids looking.
so, fast forward to today, I had another load in the wash, when it was done, it was still pretty wet, so I spun it again, then when I had it emptied out, into the dryer, lo and behod, there is some of my fabric peaking out from the agitator thing. what the heck? that freaks me out. if my machine could be hiding 3 meters of fabric, what else is hidden in there?
now I am afraid to do any more laundry. yikes.
but I am glad I found it, and excited to make that skirt!!

here's the link for that shirt dress- shirt dress! cute and fun, and not too hard.

three more days of school, well, today is almost over, so really two. ahh. sleeping in. can't wait. but then all day with kids. hmm. can wait!!

thirteen things

1. yesterday we headed out to take Sadie to a friends house for a playdate, a few blocks away, she was on her bike, and was having a hard time, so we took the bike back home and walked over, and she told me she is not riding a bike again until she is 11.

hmm. we shall see.


2. see this shirt?

it doesn't look too attractive on this little girl, does it?

but wait--

3. look at it now! a cute little dress! who would have thunk it? not me- but Cory's cousin Kayli found a tutorial of how to do it, and I did it, and she loves it! I think I will have to find one of those flowery mens shirts that are funny for men, but would make fabulous dresses!

this is the back, which used to be the front of the shirt! I think that is so cool!
4. kids in goggles. so funny.

and this picture also represents the girls swimming lessons- which I didn't get pictures of because I was in the water with Maggie, but they were fun, and today was the last day. sad thing. that was fun.

5. MAggie has made it her goal in life to remove the wrappers off all of the crayons in the container. what a mess.

6. Maggie has baby measles. apparently it was contageous, so sorry all you family members we were around on Sunday, check your kids for spots. that would also explain the 2 days of fever. fun stuff.

7. wow. 4 more days of school. gotta get going on the teacher gifts. I have something planned that I think will be cute. I will share when they are ready to go!

8. went out walking this morning with my cheapy MP3 player- so nice to walk with music, but i think I need to make sure they are all fast beat songs, because I was totally walking to the beat, no matter how fast- or slow it was. fun.

9. last night of soccer last night. Jed loved it and did really well.

10. sorry, can't get these pictures to go where I want them, but the piano one is Jed doing a duet with his teacher at the recital.

anyways, my #10 point is no more piano, the boys couldn't be happier.

11.this morning was beautiful when I was out walking, but it is getting windy and grey now. yuck.

12. hope it doesn't rain because we are heading to my sister's house for dinner, my Aunt will be there- haven't seen her in a while. she lives in Ottawa. she is a really great lady. can't wait to see her!

13. so, I think I need to up my babysitting prices if I am going to continue into the summer, but I am too wussy to tell the mom. hmm. must be bold, so I can make more money to spend on the big trip!!

sassy sadie

yep, that's her!

I have begged her for months to let me put piggy buns in her hair- and take pictures,

and she finally agreed.

but I think I am not supposed to tell anyone she let me do it. so shh. don't let on that I showed you these!!

she came out with the white dress herself. silly girl.

so apparently Cory is living it up in Calgary in a rented mustang convertible. tough life he has. hotel- with cable, restraunts for all meals, no kids to make messes and wake him up. man. soon it will be me- yay!

Maggie is better now. she woke up all good- back to her usual mischief. funny how when they are sick they are so docile, and quiet, and nice. today she is noisy, running around- the usual. she is still a pretty good kid though. I can't complain!

father's day

was good.
trying to get a picture of Cory with his kids-
not so good.
that rotten Jack.
weird faces in every picture,
then Maggie started to cry,
and it was over.
oh well,
true to our reality.

so, Maggie has had a fever all day.
she has been pretty cranky,
but ate a bit at supper.
here is hoping she sleeps good tonight-
especially since Cory is in Calgary for meetings for the next 2 days, and I won't have him to poke and go help her in the middle of the night.
wo is me.

it's Thursday!

1. finally took my camera to soccer, caught this shot of Jed- leaping for the ball- his feet are both off the ground!
I love it!





2. a while ago I had a hankering for guacamole.
funny, cause I don't really eat it, but thought I would try it, so I bought an avacado- then when I was looking for recipes, they all called for stuff I just don't have hanging around- till I found this one- all stuff I have. made it and loved it! I will now share with you!
1 ripe avacado
1/4 tsp salt
2 Tbsp salsa
3/4 t garlic powder
1/2 tsp lemon juice mash it all together and enjoy!

now if only that avacado I have sitting on my counter would hurry up and ripen!

3. wow, just less than 2 weeks left of school. what shall I do?

4. actually I saw a tutorial for papermache piggy banks, I think I will take a few days and make those with the kids.



5. Maggie was a willing model for me yesterday, I had so much fun with her. too bad she is the only one who will sit. so when my other kids complain that the pictures are all of her, you all know why, right?

6. Kayli, I really don't take pictures all that often, kind of in spurts, right now I am all over it! having so much fun. then my camera will probably be tucked away for a week or two, or a month, you know!

7. I was thinking about the summer- when the kids are out of school, and usually it goes slow- while you are in it, then when it is over, I always wonder what we did, how it passed so fast.. but really July will fly by, my two older boys will be hanging at Grandmas, with 4 other cousins for 2 weeks, having a blast, I am sure, then by the time they are coming home, I will be on my trip- yay, then July will be mostly over. wow. see how fast it is going already?

8. Sadie's kindergarten teacher is getting married this weekend. weird that she would get married with just over a week of school left! so she was Miss. Moore, but will come back Mrs. Lessard. she is a really great teacher. but the kindergarten kids have Friday and Monday off school- why not a substitute for those days? not sure. they sure have had a lot of substitutes this whole month, while the teacher is taking care of wedding things, I am sure.

9. I think I like the word sure.

10. bought the Mika CD- I have been listening to his songs over and over on youtube, but I was at Walmart the other day, and thought I would take a look- there it was, so I did it. love it. the kids turn it on alot too! good fun songs.

11. someday I will try linking a youtube video to my blog. that would be fun. can't be that hard, can it?

12. cute bags in my etsy shop, and for some reason I can't link there, but if you want to see them, click on the link on the side!

13. ward campout tomorrow night, I think we will be tenting it, but the site is about 15 minutes away, so Cory gave me the option of coming home to sleep then going back in the morning. I think I can rough it for one night! but hopefully a nice trailer is still in our future! I hope.

it's a beautiful day in the neighborhood..

after a couple days of gloomy weather, the sun decided to shine,

today is a beautiful day,

and since I am always thinking I need to get out and exercise more,

but never do,

I actually did today.

Tied up those running shoes,

grabbed the stroller and off we went.

Sadie up ahead finding her balance on that little two wheeled bike.

we didn't really have any destination, just walking, but then I had a thought that we should go visit our old neighbor Helene.

when we got to her house she was sitting in her backyard.

she pulled up another chair, went in and got juice for the girls and I, brought her husband out, and we had a very nice visit.

they miss us. we miss them. they were super neighbors.

I got a hug from her as we left.

so nice. why did we move again? not sure. sure wasn't because of the neighbors. although the ones we have now are pretty nice too.

so today, go for a walk, or call someone on the phone that you have been meaning to call for a while. feels good.

something sweet-

I think so, anyways!

Thrilling Thursday.

not really thrilling, but the day isn't over yet!

1. I am on a bag making kick!
I bought 2 curtain panels at a garage sale last week, thinking they went together, but when I got them home, they were two different shades, and Cory said they were too dull anyways, so I cut one up and made a few bags.
then found a fabric flower tutorial,
and had to try it- so cute. might try and put some on etsy. my shop wasn't such a hit- many items are gone, due to the time running out. will have to ponder on whether to try it again. hmm.

2. these pictures aren't going where I want them to, but then when I am done, they usually aren't where I thought they would be. yet another thing I need to figure out. -eta. I think I figured it out, a bit better- before they were all clumped together, but now, they are sort of where they should be!

3.wow, June is flying by already! so much on my calendar. I was trying to make an eye Dr. appointment for the kids, and had a hard time finding a spot for it!

4. the globe and the chair are favorite garage sale finds from last weekend. I actually saw the chairs at the sale the weekend before- then thought about them all week, wishing I would have bought them- there were 4 like this, then one with arms. then the next weekend - lo and behold, same garage sale, and they had 2 chairs left, so I snatched them up. I think I will paint them a cool color and have them in my craft room- when I have one! and I think I want to collect globes and have them up on a book shelf in the basement. kind of pottery barn-ish. I think.


5. my sadie can ride a two wheeler! 2 nights of the bike at Jed's soccer with dad, and she is good to go. what a gal.

6. my flowers have more blossoms, and more colors. yay.

7. the lady I babysit for often comments how very calm I am , and thinks that I never get upset. we will just let her keep on thinking that, I think!

8. I want to take pictures like this when I grow up!

9. a friend of mine called me yesterday to see if she could keep her husbands fathers day gift at our house, so he won't stumble upon it. hmm. Cory has seen it. maybe I shouldn't do favors like that for others.

10. just kidding. it is a big stove, - for camping and stuff, and Cory says he would only want one if we had a place to keep it- like a nice big trailer- that that family is getting- today, I think- so, I don't have to worry about that for a while. but someday I want a nice trailer. it doesn't have to be that big- just sleep 7, right Cory?!

11. the rain we were supposed to get didn't really come. I was driving Jack to Cubs on Tuesday, because it was pretty cloudy and he didn't want to have to ride his bike home if it was raining, and on the radio they were talking about flash flooding in Edmonton. - which is only about 20 minutes away. weird. hardly any rain this way. I just might have to pull out that sprinkler!

12. actually, a few Sundays ago we had a big rain/ thunder storm in the afternoon, and when we went to my moms for supper, it was totally dry, and they had had no rain or thunder. crazy weather.

13. it should be the last piano lessons for Jack and Jed tonight- but sadly, we missed one lesson earlier in the year, so they have to go again next week. this Saturday is their final recital, then they both say they will never play the piano again. we shall see. will they curse me in the future for letting them quit? probably not, but let me share with you now- it is all them, they say they hate it. torture for all involved to try and get them to practice. you all are my witnesses. stand by me!

come with me..

for a look in my back yard.
here you will se Ben heading off on his bike to the pool for swim club.
I am proud of him, and his hard work with swimming. hopefully we will be able to get him to a couple of swim meets this summer-
swimming does crazy things to his hair- he doesn't need gel to make it stick up now! too weird. hmm. maybe washing it would help. haha.

oh- and notice the big lilac tree. One of the branches goes right in front of the garage door, and whenever I walk in there I think of the primary song- when ever I touch a velvet rose, or walk by a lilac tree, I'm glad that I live in this beautiful world, Heavenly Father created for me.
not a bad thing to think of every once in a while!
and you will notice the pile of wood covered by the blue tarp. someday those peices of wood will make up walls in my basement. someday.
then the corner of our sad, decrepit tent trailer. hmm. must fix it or get rid of it, right Cory? hemhem. (said like Delores Umbridge in the Harry Potter book I am currently reading to the boys!!)



then the three littles in the little pool, having some big fun.
oh, ignore the crab grass growing in the back, and the dead looking grass. it is supposed to rain this week, and I really hope it does. my grass could use it!
and that is but a glimpse into our little yard.
thanks for coming and looking!

we had a great day yesterday!

played outside in the super hot weather!
almost too hot,
but I know it won't last, so I shall not complain.
Jed wanted me to take a picture of him shooting the water gun,
but I was nervous he would get my camera wet, and that would be bad, but it all turned out good!



and my sister Kim had her baby yesterday!
Maggie and I went over to the hospital to meet Jonathan. 10 pounds 1 ounce. wowsa. solid baby. sweet as can be!
okay, I have so much to do, I must step away from the computer and get busy. man, this thing can suck you in! so many places to go, things to see, people to meet! good times.

a wish

wishing you a very happy day today!

great day.

today will be a great day.

Maggie playing on the swing, still in her PJ's
that is a sure sign of a great day!



my flowers on my back deck, already watered. the ones in the round brown pot have one blossom, but I have been told they were a great "bang for your buck" in regards to lots of flowers, easy to care for- just what I need. we shall see!

this is Maggie - in her pajamas, sitting on the cute swing the nice lady across the street gave to us. she has one granddaughter- I think she might babysit her, but this was the swing they had for her, but she out grew it. funny because I think they said she was 5- and we have had 3 kids sitting on it at a time, but we are grateful, and love it, I love free stuff! so nice to have people who think of us when they have fun stuff to get rid of!

and these are some roses from my sweet visiting teacher. what a great program the church has. I need to do better at it! thankful for those who do it so well.