Have a happy friday!

(Cory has decided we are going to empty out the garage, and then put stuff away where it belongs. yikes)

at least the sun is shining today.

that is a very happy thing!

Thursday 13

1. wow. one more month of summer. I'm not sure if I can make it!

2. I made this fun bag for Sadie. Found the pattern here
but changed the handle a bit. super cute!

3. something else I made-
4. and I finally figured out the pillowcase dress thing!

pretty fun. and really easy (go figure.) it only took me a week or so to get the first one finished.

5. I think the second one took me about 15 minutes.

now I can pull out the cute pillowcases I have been collecting, and whip up some fun summer dresses!

6. yesterday I made my children come and pose for some pictures. getting Ben out of the house was a hassle, but once we were out, they were okay.

(I only took a few. just wanted to try something out)

but when we were done, this happened:

a certain little spoiled youngest child was not getting her way.

poor baby. sheesh.

7. this is one of the pictures I got. my fun gang of hoodlums.

8. yesterday morning, all the kids were in the basement, and I wanted to run to the grocery store, but I really didn't want to take anyone with me

(is that so wrong? I didn't think so either)

so, I was just going to sneak out. I wanted to tell them I was going, but knew if I did I would have 2 or 3 that would want to come along.

(which would just make a quick trip not so very quick)

so I wrote a note, and stuck it to the front door.

I love that my kids are old enough that I can do this!

9. I found the source of this picture-

but the posters were a limited edition (and were being sold for $15!)

and are all gone. and probably have been for a long time.

I would so love one. but, oh well.

so darn cute!

10. looks like it will be a bit cooler today. there is a cloud cover.

I think I need to make cupcakes!

11. I took Maggie to speech therapy earlier this week. the speech therapist is one that Sadie went too, then she went on maternity leave.

she was telling me that her husband has always wanted four kids, and she now has two.

The therapist was telling me that she always thought that she hopes her husband never sees me with my kids because then he would say -if she can do it, we can do it!

I was pleasantly surprised. I guess I used to be a good mom, with good kids.

12. I wonder if she would still say that if she saw me with all of my kids!

haha.

13. well, the kids are fighting over who gets the computer next.

in only one month it will just be Maggie and I taking turns.

(unless I can figure out the apple, then we will each have our own.)

sweet!

I don't claim him

so, In the nice family picture,
from the Livingstone family reunion,
almost every one was looking at the camera,
most every one was smiling,
then Cory informs me that I need to have a closer look at Jed.
so I zoom in,
and what do I see? little rotter!

who are you, who, who, who ,who

-all in the CSI theme song tune-
who are you - out there reading my blog?
( I can see the numbers!)
why don't you leave me a comment?
A happy - love it!
or a - can you please post about ......? ( fill in the dots)
or a - thanks,
or a - you are weird
or just a hi?
I know you are out there.
but I don't know who you are.
let yourselves be known,
please?

reunion

man, was it hot.
we learned that some of those little gnat-like flies bite!
tenting was okay, (for one night anyways)
but I can't wait for our cabin holiday coming up!
the lake was nasty-
due to a big wind storm a couple of weekends ago-
I think it stirred up all the nasties in the lake and sent them to the shore.
yuck. but it was a good time.
our kids are so lucky to have so many cousins to hang out with!
( I was telling my kids that I have for way older cousins, and 2 way younger cousins, and that is it!)
we are in charge of it all next year!
yikes!

chilli cheese

so, they were playing a Michael Jackson song on the radio,
and I was singing along-

then Jed pipes in- chilli cheese is not my lover.

hahahaha.

I said it was Billi Jean, not chilli cheese.

I guess I need to pronounce my words better.

or more likely Jed needs to listen better.

funny boy.

13 very random things

1. the cable guy is coming at 10 to fix up our internet- although it has been way better since we got home from our weekend.

2. I tend to get up a bit earlier than the kids do, just so I can have my own quiet internet time. it is very nice.

3. the weather has been hot lately. hopefully that will hold out for the weekend when we are at the beach.

4. although we will be camping in a tent. (yuck) hope it doesn't rain!

5. we booked our family vacation for august.

6. in a cabin! I am so excited.

7. I think it is only right, since I will not have my nice trailer.
and tenting just requires so much stuff. and bringing food. and keeping it cool.and cooking it. wah. I want my trailer back.
but maybe a cabin will become our new thing. we shall see how it goes.

8. Cory bought an apple computer. he has been wanting one for a while. I think it is his birthday, and christmas present. now the kids think this computer is theirs, because Cory won't let them touch his. they have changed the screen saver, and are ready to delete all my favorites.
I am thinking I need my own now too.

9. maybe for my birthday and christmas.

10. a guy came yesterday and fixed my treadmill. (he had a wicked mullet) Ben was wondering why anyone would have hair like that. it was quite funny. (ben, and the mullet)

11. so now I have no excuse. I had better get on it!

12. especially since I am really wanting to make some cake balls. so delish.

13. I took this picture a bit ago of my etsy shop!
people can book mark shops they like, and I was just over 100 people hearting me! (I was quite excited)

now it is up to 107! yay. I love that etsy is there, a great way for people to make some money selling homemade stuff. genius. and I love that people are buying my homemade stuff. especially since I have designated that money (well, most of it) to a disney world trip, so we might make it there before the kids are all out of the house. maybe!

our feet

bowling in BowIsland (loved those little velcro bowling shoes!) and at Long Lake (when Cory and Ben were at scout camp)

hopefully our feet will go to some more fun places this summer!

sweet girl

still loves barbies,
loves stuffies,
writes and draws a lot.
can not keep her room clean.
loves Hannah Montana.
that's my Sadie.

what a weekend

we did a lot of driving.
saw people we haven't in a while,
missed out on seeing others-
(next time, Taryn!)
saw fireworks,
stayed up too late,
my house has mess from two guys at scout camp,
and now a weekend away.
my kids were brats.
(one shoved a piece of cake in another one's face at the 20 year reunion. in the middle of everyone. it was really nice.)
I think they will be doing a lot of cleaning up tomorrow.
while I sit on the couch and read. or knit.
and bark orders.
sounds wonderful to me!

sorry

I am sorry you only got to see half of that picture.
I will try to figure it out.
I am really sorry that my internet is still not working today.
I called the place. they said it would be up in an hour. it wasn't.
now I am at my sister-in-laws, bumming off of her internet.
tomorrow I will be shmoozing with people my husband graduated with 20 years ago.
(isn't he sooo old?)
good times all over the place!

13

1. my computer, no- the internet hasn't worked all day, but it is finally working, so I am posting quick, before it decides not to work anymore.

2. I was going to five up, and go to bed, but of course, it decides to work, so now I might have to be up for a long time catching up on all the things I would have been wasting my time on earlier, had it been working.

3. we spent the afternoon at a lake.
it was so nice.
then the thunder clouds rolled in,
and we cleared out.

4. Maggie was carrying around a little minnow that the other kids had caught, but it was dead. and it was creepy (to me) but she kept telling me, it's okay mom, it's just sleeping.
yuck.

5. Cory and Ben are at scout camps. the older boys went on a long canoe trip, and the younger ones are elsewhere, so they aren't even at the same camp. but they come home tomorrow.

6. how did we ever learn anything before the internet?
oh yah, that set of encylopedias on the shelf!

7. I was looking for a knitted hat pattern- just google it, and it will be there somewhere in internet land. love it!

8. my parents should now be in the Phillipines! how awesome is that? they had a long trip there, with lots of layovers. and I don't think my mom enjoys flying at the best of times. yikes.

9. last week I was wanting some warm weather. well, we got it.
it is hot around here now. gee, I wish it would cool off!
just kidding.(sort of)
I really wish we could just have a nice happy medium. 18 degrees at all times. is that too much to ask for?
I am sure it is.

10. man, I am ready for bed. my mind is a blank.

11. sorry I can't think of anything fabulous to share. let me know if there is anything you would like me to share with you!

12. we get to take our new(ish) van for a long trip this weekend. should be interesting. Cory informed me that it has a bigger towing capacity than our other van does. what? you tell me this after our trailer is gone? yikes. He says he probably wouldn't pull it with this van either.
I can just tell you that camping in a tent will be quite the experience. especially after having had a couple of years in a trailer with a bathroom, a shower, a freezer, a stove- you get the drift.

13. I saw on someones blog how to make pictures big on your blog- super fun. thought I would try it out!
okay, maybe I didn't quite figure it out the right way. here is half of a big picture! yikes. me and computers- someday I will figure them out!

jkclothing

jkclothing is now open for business.
need a cool shirt?
Jack is on it!
the etsy bug has bit.
(and the chance to maybe make some extra money doesn't hurt one bit.)

beautiful

Cory and I left on Thursday night to go out on a date!
(it's been a while)
we went to see transformers
(not my choice)
it was okay- but not one I would let my kids see.
(too many inappropriate comments and stuff)
and while we were gone, the girls decided to paint their nails. this is Maggie.
(I think she painted more skin than nails!)
but hey, not bad for a 4 year old!

7/11

when Cory came home in the afternoon, and asked if we had been to 7-11 for our free slurpees,
we said no,
and quickly walked on over!
(I always forget about the whole 7/11 free slurpee day thing)

they were the perfect little size.

and you can't beat free!

(and it was even sunny today. yay!)

happy 7/11!

my first quilt (sort of)

super cute Camille, over at simplify, is doing a little contest thing.
you are supposed to show your first quilt you ever made, then the last one you have made.
well, the first quilt I made was for my 20 hour Laurel project back when I was 16 or 17. I don't know where it is. I might have given it away when I was in one of my clean it out modes.
so, I thought I would show the first quilt I ever machine quilted.
yikes.
my laurel quilt was way better! I hand quilted it! the stitches are completely uneven, and very large. It would probably be pretty easy to pick out because of that. but really. who wants to do that?
want a closer look?

I even added flowers in! wow. big loose flowers. yikes.

okay, moving on- the last quilt I have finished was Sadies quilt.

much more even stitches, tighter stitching.
still room for more improvement, but I must say,
way better than the first!

13

1. we got a new van.
well, new to us. very similar to our old one.
except it doesn't make a ticking noise- like it's going to blow up any minute.
that is a good thing.


2. we have had rain and clouds for 3 days now.
which is good. we need it.
but man, I am dying to see the sun.

3. I am going to make cinnamon buns today. yum.


4. I bought a big huge picture frame at the thrift store.
I think I might have mentioned this before.
I had a bright idea to make it into a magnetic chalk board.
(wouldn't that be fun!- for my craft room)
so I finally tracked down some magnetic paint, and some chalk board paint. and they will cost me about $5o.
I am not sure it is worth it.
but I think it would be super great.
I need to think on this.

5. what do you do when you find an abandoned scooter on your front lawn?


well, you find a rope, hook it up to your brother's bike, and go for a ride, of course.


6. I still can't find those toggle thingies.
no such thing at Micheals. any other ideas?



7. I got a Hannah Montana CD from the library and Jed is really digging it.

8. and his brothers are really bugging him about it!


9. my sweet sister came over with her kids- they needed something to do- and she helped me clean up the girls room- again-
although I am pretty sure it is back to it's messy state,
there is a lot of noise coming from down the hall right now!



10. and she helped me clean up my craft room.
again.



11. maybe, just maybe, I can keep it a bit cleaner this time.
I will try.



12. I think the trick will be to just finish up some projects, use up some of the stuff, and not buy, or start anything new.
sounds easy.
but it isn't.

13. alright, I think I am going to confine myself to my craft room for a while, and see if I can get something completed in there! it's worth a try!

I woke up when Cory woke up.
darn his alarm clock on these summer days.
then I was lying in bed.
and I thought- I should get to the computer before any of my kids are up, and not have them breathing down my neck awaiting their turn, or fighting over who dibsed it after me.
and I did.
and it is nice.
but they will be up soon,
so I should turn it off,
and make them work.
because isn't that what summer is all about?
I think so.

I am determined that today will be a productive day.
very unlike yesterday. so not productive.
I think I have already figured out freecycle.
I think.
I am not so good with all this computer stuff.
I have some stuff, that I want to see go to good homes, of people who will use, and love it.
although I also like getting stuff out of my house.
win, win.
if I figured it out right.
although I do have some boxes of stuff in the back of my van to drop off at good will.
I guess yesterday wasn't all that unproductive.
just mostly.

help!

does anyone know what these are called- or better yet, where I can get some? I was thinking toggles, but when I googled that they were not coming up.
if you push the little thing on the side, you can slide the ribbon up and down.
I ( or really Leanne) bought this headband at a ritzy store here in town- that I really don't shop in, because I am too cheap.
and actually, I still need to pay Leanne back. don't let me forget, girl! anyways, this is a headband that won't slip.
and I have lots of ribbon, and would love to rig up a few of these for my girls. all I need is to get my hands on some of those thing-a-ma-bobs.
Sadie wore this on Sunday and it stayed in place all day.
that is unheard of.
but I am not willing to fork out $8 for more.
see, I am cheap.
so, anyways, if anyone can help me out, I would be much obliged.

Calaway

in my last post, I was a day off, that was Thursday night.
Friday morning we all woke up bright and early and headed off to Calgary to hit Calaway park. my sister in law Leanne, and most of her kids were over- from their surprise arrival on Canada day,
so we divided up, girls in Leannes vehicles, and all the boys with Cory.
perfect!
then we finally got there,
and I have wanted to go on the log ride every time I have been there- okay, I can think of two times, but the ride was closed both times, I think.
so anyways that was almost the first stop.
for some.
the big boys had dissappeared the minute we got in the park.
so anyways, I got the pleasure of riding with some of the girls.
after the first hill, Hannah said she wanted to get off, and since that wasn't an option I just told her to hold on tight, and close her eyes.this was the other log. you wouldn't guess that just a shor minute ago the fellow in yellow was crying and wanted to get off too. as soon as we were done, they all wanted to go again. but the line up was pretty long, so we moved on.

this was Maggies first time on the kid roller coaster. she looks like she is going to be sick. when she got off she said she didn't like it. at all.but later in the day, here she is, enjoying the ride immensly. arms up and everything.
funny little girl.
Leanne and I escaped the kids for a bit, and headed out to go on rides by ourselves, but there really weren't many we wanted to go on- either too crazy spinny, or ones we would feel silly on without our kids.
but we did hit the bumper cars.
a couple of times.
that was fun. and here we are at the end of the day. it was fun.
maybe we'll come back. in a year, or two.

Sheep

well, on Friday night we went to see the sheep.
the ones that come to a big park in our city to mow the grass.
we know that they also enjoy munching the leaves,
and since they have already eaten all the ones that they could reach,
the kids had to climb up to get some.I think those sheep know exactly what he is doing up there,
and trapped Jed up in the tree!

The sheep dog was so friendly.
her name is Jenny.
she was sweet.the Shepherd lady (shepherdess?) sent Jenny off once to gather up a couple of sheep that were straying, and when Jenny had done her job, the lady said "that'll do", and I immediatly thought- that'll do pig, that'll do. from babe, of course!
but then, there was thunder,
and Jenny started running.
and the lady got her, and put her in her car.
apparently Jenny is very afraid of thunder and will run and find a place to hide. once she was gone for 2 days! crazy.
but there were sheep out of their pen.
so we got to do the sheep dog's job.
we went behind them, clapped our hands twice and said "walk up"
and they would head in. it was very interesting.
good times with the sheep.

13

1. yesterday, being Canada day, we did what we always do.
have a house full of people, tons of food, and of course, go to the parade.

2. and while at the parade there was some hugging of mascots-
and it totally suprised me when Maggie ran out and gave this happy face a hug. those things terrified me when I was a kid! 3. there was some candy throwing-
and not always by the parade people.

Kate, you are so funny.

4. there was a whole lot of waving.

I thought this was funny, because the people she was waving at were far, far away, but she just kept waving and waving.

5. there was some picture taking!

6. Jack really got into the patriotic spirit and had his cousin help him paint a maple leaf on his face.

7. Although he also ran up to that yellow happy face guy, and gave him a big huge hug, almost knocking the poor guy down, and leaving a big red smudge on him.

poor guy.

8. It was fun to get a call in the morning yesterday from a sister-in-law who lives far away asking if it was okay if they crashed the festivities, because they were about half an hour away.

the more, the merrier, I say!

9. so, my parents are off on their mission now.

before they left, we got the whole family together and took some pictures.

we had the kids all lined up against this awesome brick wall.

I found it funny when I was looking at this picture after that all the boys are on one side, and all the girls on the other. totally unintentional. it just happened that way.

and no, those kids faces aren't really like that. remember- I have that one brother-in-law who doesn't want his kids on the internet. fyi.

10. apparently the guy who took our pictures has the mad skillz to cut heads out of some pictures and move them onto others. I think that will come in very handy- because I highly doubt there was one picture with all the kids - and adults - happy.

can't wait to see them!

11. This was a picture I snapped of my dad and Jack. love it.

12. alright, I have a whole lot of cleaning up to do, after our big day yesterday.

13. and then tomorrow off to Calaway park. probably the most fun we will have this summer. we might as well get it over with.

kidding.

sort of.

Happy Canada Day!

eh!