hair

yesterday was the day. the day Sadie and two of my sisters cut off their hair! they are donating it here.

I am so proud of all of them!

after! super cute.

a bit short for Jill's taste, but I think it looks really cute. and, the good thing about hair, is it will grow!

skating

we have some big rinks in our city- with the boards around,
and we have this little rink in a big park.
I love it!
it was in a little bit different place this year, so after driving by where it was last year, we saw it and had to turn back.


there was some pouting, some snow eating, some snow angels, some blistered feet, some catching snowflakes on the tongue, and even some skating. I think I should get some new skates. I lasted about 10 minutes before my feet hurt so bad. but I go skating about 2 times a year. hmm. maybe if I had skated that didn't hurt me, we might go more?!?

we had the rink to our selves, until a lady came, and skated for about 5 minutes, fell down numerous times in that 5 minutes, and left. good times!

it was a merry Christmas

1.I just had to laugh at this picture of Maggie. her hair is hilarious.
she is checking out the cup of eggnog we left for Santa. did you know he likes eggnog more than milk? he left us a note telling us so.

2.here is a shot of the aftermath. and our super messy livingroom. two tvs. yep, one is for watching vhs, one for regular tv, and dvd's. don't you all have two tv's for such things too? no? oh. well. must deal with that.



3.a shot of the dresses. done. I vow to never sew with that horrible fabric again. never.
they did get a lot of compliments at church.
I don't think I can wash them.
I think they might fall apart.
4. on Christmas eve we headed out to Spruce Grove to see the live nativity. it was nice. and it was chilly. and they served hot chocolate and cookies, and you would have thought my kids had never seen cookies before by the piles of cookies they took. little piggies.


5. this is a shot of our tree on Christmas morning. the bottom string of lights is out, and I don't have the patience to go through every bulb and see which one is causing the trouble.

6. our kids didn't wake up until about 8:30 on Christmas morning. and even then it was just one kid, who proceeded to wake up the rest. nice.

7. the girls got Dora Candy Land game for a gift, and the three boys were just playing it. haha. cute.

8. they are all sitting nicely and coloring with the crayons Sadie got for Maggie for Christmas. funny kids. Ben is really into it. coloring in the sesame street coloring book.

9. right now it is snowing big fluffy flakes. I am going to attempt to take the kids out skating. we might be back really soon! just getting the skates on is such an ordeal.

10. I am enjoying the non Christmas songs on the radio right now. don't get me wrong. I love the Christmas songs, but nice to have other stuff. I will probably be missing it all tomorrow.

11. Bobbi- I don't paint, and I don't do photoshop well, and I don't do digital scrapbooking, and I don't clean well, or organize, and there are many things I don't do.

12. already have a plan for next Christmas. but I think I told you that in my last post. I am sticking to it. love it.

13. tomorrow is the big hair cut day. will explain more afterwards, with pictures!

some pictures

for the family I babysit, I thought it would be fun to get some pictures of the girls, so yesterday, I got them to sit for a tiny bit, and took a few pictures.
these were my two favorites.
this morning their mom called, she thought it was just a card I had put in their bag, but when they opened it and found the disk, they were suprised. she loved them, and I was so happy!



then my friend from my yw days- she was the yw I got along with the best- called, she had bought a frame for her boyfriends mom and needed a picture to go in it. too cute.

so, are you all ready for Christmas?
I still have a bit of wrapping, mostly the stocking stuff, and I can think of a few things I bought earlier, but don't know where they are, that need to be found.
and we are second guessing what we bought for the boys. sheesh. I have a big failproof plan for next year. I am starting real early and getting their big gifts- all the same, hopefully when I can find them cheap. and making things. maybe I can finish the sweater I started in January for Jack for next Christmas. I am pretty sure it will still fit him- he is a little guy. and I found a super cute princess and the pea bed and doll I want to make for Sadie. oh, I have big plans for next year. now if I can only get through this year! haha.

my boys have been invited to play video games at Uncle Matt's house. they can hardly wait. they were counting down the days until today, more than they were till Christmas. so much fun.
and Auntie Shelley comes home tomorrow for Christmas. fun stuff. good times. love it.

Hallelujah!

1. The school Christmas concert was great! one hour long- just right.
here is Sadie's class singing their songs. Oh Christmas tree was one, and Maggie was on my lap singing right along. I kept trying to shush her. luckily the afternoon session was not full- it was basically a dress rehersal they have open to anyone who can come to free up room for the evening performance which is always packed. they booked a theater at a place in town, which was very nice. soft comfy seats, great sound, good times. in the past it has just been held in the school gym. pleasant change.
2. Sadie's dress was done. hard to see in this picture, but I zoomed in a bit for you! I will take a picture of both the girls together on Sunday.

3. the finale- the Hallelujah chorus- oh my. it was moving. wonderful! fabulous. I loved it. really, really good!

4. I should probably show you Jack's 'gingerbread' house made of graham crackers. it no longer looks like this.
5. he made a turtle- he would love a pet turtle, and a bonfire burning in the back. and a slide for the penguins. he did a good job.

6. on Saturday we had a major christmas baking day. yum.



7. here is Maggie helping make the reindeer chow. doesn't she look happy!
it is one of our favorites- so I will share the recipe with you, so if you want you can enjoy it too!

Reindeer Chow

1 lb white chocolate. ( I don't have a scale- I just buy a lot of the white dipping wafers, and melt them and mix it in)
3 c rice chex
3 c corn chex ( I haven't found those around here, so I buy crispix, which is one side corn, and one side rice, and use 6 c of it!)
3 c cheerios
2 c pretzels
2 c peanuts
1 12 oz bag m&m's

so, mix the dry stuff all together, then pour on the melted chocolate and mix. I spread it on a couple of cookie sheets and let it set, then throw it all in a big bowl. mmm.

8. I am determined to get my quilt squares done- I am so behind- being that is is about week 6 and I have done 1 square. I have cut out one, and part of another. need to get sewing!

9. I have been thinking about fresh salsa lately. I want to make it, but really, I am the only one around here who will eat it- and Maggie, she likes it, so I am going to make a batch and take it to my mom's for Christmas Eve munching. I can't wait.

Fresh Salsa
1/2 bunch cilantro
1 cucumber
1/2 bunch green onions
2 med. tomatoes
1 white onion
1/2 jar salsa ( 375 ml jar)
1/8 tsp salt
pinch pepper

chop everything up, let sit for at least 2 hours- to let the flavors mingle.
oooh. can't wait!

10. hmm. having a hard time thinking of more to share. sad. I will come back and add more later- if I can think of anything exciting!

guilty

yesterday it was confirmed.
I suspected it back in November.
on my way to the wedding to take pictures.
I came to an intersection.
the light was turning, but I went through-
I thought it best to continue, than to try and stop, and maybe slide, and crash.
then I saw the flash, and another flash.

NOOOOOOO!

but yes, yesterday it came in the mail.
a stinky ticket, for running a red light.
curses.
I knew when it happened I should have stopped.
but sometimes, it is best to go through.
know what I mean.
now I have to pay.
big bucks.
luckily it isn't due for a couple of months.
just thinking of all the fun stuff I would rather be spending that rather large amount of money on.

like maybe a wii.
funny story about that.
this morning Jed was saying he can't wait until he gets a wii for Christmas, and I thought he was saying a wreath, and I asked him why he wanted a wreath for Christmas. I thought that was a funny thing for a kid to want.
then we got into how it was spelled, and he must have written a letter to Santa at school, or a wish list, or something because he said he spelled it wee. I thought that was cute.

so I was given a court date- do I go to court and fight the ticket? or at least try to get it reduced? any advice?
anyone? anyone?

um, my best friend's sister's boyfriend's brother's girlfriend heard from this guy who knows this kid who saw Ferris pass out at 31 flavors last night.
I guess it's pretty serious.

serious, indeed.

a day late

1. sorry, had a busy day yesterday. Maggie and I headed in to Sherwood Park to do some shopping, and were gone all day.
2. I am having a hard time finding just the right gift for one of my kids! I found something on line, but it would require us shipping it back, and them shipping it back again- it is a book kit, that they write the book, then send it back and they make it into a real hard covered book. I love it! but ends up, we would have to pay for all the shipping which they estimated at $40. and that doesn't inclued the cost of the actual kit. bummer. a bit more than I am willing to spend.
3. I did find something I think he will like, but not quite as fabulous as I am wanting.
4. this afternoon I get to go and make gingerbread houses with Jack at the school. here is the stash of goodies we have collected to put on it. the grade 5's and 2's do it every year. so next year is Sadie's turn. last year was Jed. then the year after Sadie will be Jed again. never a years rest! haha.
5. I need to run to the grocery store and get some egg nog and some graham crackers. that is the base for the ginger bread houses. and of course we have none. but, any excuse to buy egg nog works for me!
6. Cory's brother and his family are coming to town this weekend, so doing a bit of cleaning up- of course.
7. I think the drywallers are coming next week.
I really hope they are coming. can't wait.
the boys can't wait.
hurry, please!


8. some little gifts for my sisters! I made the boxes out of paper from this pattern. at first they were a bit tricky, but then I got the hang of it. really fun!
9. Jack had some teeth pulled years ago, and had spacers put in. he has the worst teeth of all our kids. bad. I know. but now he has been in pain, I think the teeth are coming in under them. ouch. I tried calling our dentist, but I think they are closed on Fridays. could be a long weekend with a cranky boy.
10. get to go to Jessica's tonight to do some scrapbooking! yay. it has been a really long time! I am excited.
11. is it just me, or is December just flying by?
12. the dresses- I think I have them figured out. the zippers are in. just need to hand sew the lining in, do the hems, and figure out how to fix the sashes, but there is an end in sight.
13. I have till Wednesday to get them done- well, Tuesday night. school Christmas concert on Wednesday. the grand finale song is Handels hallelujah chorus, so I am hearing alot of hallelujahs around here!

moving on

two birthdays done- parties and all

although Sadie reminds me we still haven't had her birthday dinner- she picked pizza.

must do that this week!

Sadie's party was fun, lots of kids, lots of crafts, lots of mess, and lots of good times.

Jack's party was great- good idea to book a gym. the boys played floor hockey and dodge ball, then I came with icecream and chips and pop, they ate, then had one more game of floor hockey, then we all went home. I like that the mess was not at my house- which has it's own messes, thank you very much!

I made a batch of Christmas cookies on Saturday- oatmeal cranberry white chocolate chip cookies! yum. my kids don't eat them because they think they are raisins, although they probably still wouldn't eat them if they knew they were crasins, but that is okay by me! yum, yum.

Sunday night was our stake Christmas concert- all the ward choirs do a couple of songs- our choir sang the same song we sang at our ward party, but at the ward party no one hit the last note right, so we all walked back to our tables laughing- it was that bad. so, at the concert last night, we got it right. hallelujah!

one ward- or group? it was 8 girls singing, a man on the cello, and another lady on the violin, sang an amazing song. really really good. then my friend beside me pointed out on the program that the man playing the piano had written the song. wow. truly a song you would want on a CD to listen to over and over! last night got me in the spirit of Christmas, in a good way!

and , although I say I never win anything- look here!.

some scrapping goodies from some cute girls. post a comment, you could be a lucky winner too!

so, today, I am shifting from the birthday mode, and focusing once again on Christmas. must get those dresses fixed! and got the picture/cards fixed, just need to address some envelopes and get those out! can't believe there are only 15 more days til Christmas! wow.

cursed

1. trying to upload pictures to post, but it's not working.
2. trying to get my Christmas picture/card ready, but when getting the ribbon attached I noticed something important is missing from the text on the pictures. curses. arrrggghh. I was going to post a picture and see if you caught it. I mean, I previewed it, the super sweet girl who helped me did it, and we both didn't notice the vital word missing. wow.
3. was going to go to my mom's house and work on the girls dresses, but I have a kid home sick. so I am not going anywhere.
4. I guess I can get stuff done around here, if anything is going to work for me!
5. want to pull out the sewing machine and work on some special somethings for all the little girls on my list, but last time I checked my regular foot was missing- I had taken it off to use the zipper foot I borrowed, and now I think it is lost. must do a thorough search for that.
6. the party was good yesterday. one girl never came and afterwards I asked Sadie if she gave her an invitation, and she said no. hmm. go figure.
7. one electronic gift she got already isn't working. sheesh. I'm going to see if I can exchange it at Walmart. they are good about those things, aren't they?
8. After seeing Sadie and her great gifts, Jack is even more excited for his big party on Saturday. should be good.
9. finished the last knitted hat my sister consigned for me- is that the right word? that hat was trouble, and is not the cutest thing.
10.I am thinking that maybe I should give up on the crafty things this year and just go shopping! everything is backfiring on me.
11. I was really hoping to be done stuff and ready for Christmas now, but it was not to be. my list is very long, and my will to do them all is waning. I am thinking I will have to pick the most important, and start there, and what I get done, I get done, and what I don't, I don't. profound, eh?
12. alright, enough whining.
13. I'm making a list, checking it twice, going to get something done on it today! or so help me!
- that's what I tell my kids- you do(whatever) or stop doing (whatever) right now, or so help me! I'm not exactly sure what that means, but whatever!

the wedding

wow. I wish I knew a lot more about photoshop than I do!

but there were some good pictures.

a lot, and I mean a lot of them have one, or the other of these two with their eyes closed. crazy.

and I learned that I tend to tilt the camera to the right. a lot of tilted pictures.

crazy, stressful wedding pictures. now to get them all edited, some printed and into an album.

good times!

so, Friday should have been our last day ever of doing flyers, but I happened to be in front of the lady who is in charge of that in the Canadian Tire line on Saturday. and happened to mention that if they needed, we would do some more, so we are doing them today too. and there is tons of snow, and it is cold.

and when she dropped off the papers today, she offered a job to us, that I think I can't refuse, but I think my kids would like me to say no. she is going to put a paper box on the corner by where we had our route, because that route, and the nieghboring one are now without a carrier. so, on paper days, we would have to sort and bag about 100 papers- we currently are doing about 220, and we would just put them in the box, and still get paid for doing the three routes! wowsers. I think if we tell the kids we will put all the money into a Disney Land fund, and really do that, they might be more willing to help, and we could actually go to Disney Land- even though Cory could really care less about going there, but I think every kid needs to go once!, at least- I think I went 3 times. okay, at least twice. so fun.

alright, must get a birthday cake finished- it is Jack and Sadie's birthday today. and Sadies party tomorrow- when she woke up this morning she was so confused about which day is her birthday. today is your birthday, tomorrow is your party. so confusing! good times.

what a weekend

first off, on Friday night we got to go and play at Galazy land in West Edmonton Mall. wow. I haven't veen there in ages. some friends of our were having their work party there- so basically, the company booked the whole park, and we bought tickets for $5, and got to go on all the rides we wanted, and hardly had to wait in line. sometimes we would be the only ones on there. it was fun, the kids had a blast. the 3D ride is a blast! the crazy swing ride about did me in. I knew I shouldn't have gone on, but Sadie went on by herself and loved it, so Jed and I decided to try it with her. the whole time Jed was screaming, I'm going to fall off, and I am yelling at him- you won't fall off- meanwhile I am hanging on for dear life, and wishing the ride would end. Sadie was crazy, going on all kinds of rides I didn't even want to look at! what a girl!
then on Sunday, we had a special visitor to our house,
and Maggie was less than happy to see him. she sat as far away from him as she could, but was smiling by the end. so fun!

so. update on the dresses- they are done, except being hemmed, but the zippers look horrid. there is a big gap where the sash is. argh. my mom says I just need to have patience, and iron them good, and do it again. not what I wanted to hear. and I should have serged everything as I went. the fabric is very ravelly. fun.

I am three weeks behing with my quilt blocks, so need to get going on those.
still need to finish one of the knitted hats. I sent the turtle ones with my sister without taking a picture- hope the lady likes them!
need to get editing the wedding pictures. it was fun. the food was great! the wine was flowing- but luckily there was also some delicious non-alcoholic punch. heehee. trying to find the place was crazy. glad to live in a small city- downtown is crazy. Cory is having a work dinner at the same hotel on Friday night, I told him I am not sure I could find it again! but he says he has been there before!
alright, got some birthday parties to get ready for this week- Sadies on Wednesday, and Jacks on Saturday. fun stuff. their birthdays are both on Tuesday. what was I thinking having two kids born on the same day? crazy. how can they pick their favorite thing for dinner? just not fair! maybe they like the same thing- that would work great! haha.