A Tree

In our new house (which we're moving into next week) we have a bonus room which will be half play room half craft/sewing room. I know that sounds like a disaster, but in the end it will win me more sewing time. My kids are very content to play, as long as I'm in the room. When I'm not in the room I plan to be super organized and keep things put away, and have most things behind doors. I know you're all laughing at me and my lofty ideas of organization and thinking I should know myself better by now. But whatevs. Anyways, that's not my point. My point is that we have a very big plain wall in that room, it's a vaulted ceiling. A very big plain wall in a hideous neutral colour doesn't suit crafting and playing, so I'm going to paint a tree on it. I'm thinking about something whimsical, but not to immature. So here's some ideas

Beets are Good

Things I want to do before we move in November

Move in November?! Yes that's right, you heard it here first. I finally get to move! Hopefully this will be the last time for awhile. We've had our house that we're currently living in for sale for about 8 months. Finally we decided to rent it out. The perfect family came along and viola! It's done! This family seems pretty amazing, I'm stoked to have them as neighbors. Anyhoo, here's my very ambitious list of things to do before the big move. This is besides packing of course.
-Make these baby bloomers for Owen
-Finish Felicia's Scarf
-Make a few pairs of these cute slippers
-finish Chace's baby quilt
-finish the Kiss's wedding quilt
-finish Christmas gifts that I'm making, and Christmas decorations. I have no idea what I'm doing for this, I just keep getting ideas and starting projects, so I'll have a lot to finish by the time Dec 24th comes around.
-Sort out my deep freeze which really means making about 10 ice cream pails of soup, making Saskatoon jam, making perogies (I figured if I can sneek pureed veggies into them it would be worth the effort to make them from scratch), making squash bread and many many other squash delights as I have about 200 pounds of squash to use (seriously not even exaggerating), making pate (yum), making a few freezer meals to have on hand.
-use up some stuff from my fridge like a HUGE thing of cream cheese, what was I thinking?!?!
-use the rest of the tomatoes so they don't go bad. I'm making batch number 2 of salsa (yes Melissa, I'm totally using your moms recipe this time!) I'm also making green tomato chutney, which will later be used in mince meat tarts, so good.
-finish the apple juice and apple sauce, which won't be hard because I'm already half done that right now.
-digging up all the roots that are still under ground. Carrots, potato's, rutabaga, and beets. I'll probably can the beets because that's how we like them the best around here.
-I'm really getting the itch for baby number 3, but that might not get done what with all these other things going on. This is really just a test to see if I get a reaction from this comment, ha ha. June is 9 months away. I'm very busy in June. Therefore baby number three will just have to wait a bit.
-I'd also really like to finish the house that we'll be moving into. This means painting painting painting. And shopping for light fixtures and other such things. I have some pretty great neighbors and friends that are offering a lot of help in this area. Couldn't do it without them.
-making these lists are very pointless for me, as I never really do half the stuff on them. I made a list in the spring and I would laugh to look at it now, I won't even allow myself to look at it. But if you want to look at it here's the link.
And with that, I'm out! Got a lot to do!

Just Stuff

These pics just make me feel better about life right now. I feel so blah and whatever. But when I look at these I remember the good times lately.


My sweet friend Jessie got married this summer. GORGEOUS wedding, just incredible. Everything about it was brilliant. The vows, the setting, the music, the food, the people. It was great.

Us at the wedding!

Laura, Amy and I. Too bad there were some important people missing from this photo. Boo. Oh well, next summer there will be another wedding, we can try to get everyone in it then

These are some adorable baby quilts I made for my friend in the spring. She waited so long to have a baby, and then she was blessed with twins! I was just so happy for her.

This one turned out really nice, and it was easier than a "real" quilt with binding

See this adorable chicky? We let it grow up all nice and fat, then we killed it and ate it. It's pretty tasty chicken, and cute too.

The Ultimate Coolest Ever Blog (and a stroller I'm selling for a friend)

Like the title says, this is the best blog ever. It's what I want my blog to be. So maybe I'll just stop blogging and keep putting different links from this blog on here instead. It will take me awhile to look through all the wonderful stuff she has on here. So far I'm amazed.


Oh, and here's a pic of this wicked awesome stroller that my friend is selling. She's away for a couple weeks and she's letting me use it while she's gone. We're hoping that by me walking around with it (and two cute kids) it will gain interest and we'll make a sale. It's great for people with two kids thinking about three. Or one kid, having the second, and knowing a third will come along someday. It's just really great, it has wonderful features, too many to go into. There, that's my schpeal on the good stroller that you should buy. Here's the link to her ad if you want to know more.

Little Wagon

 

Ok here's a random thought. Picture a wedding with a couple cute flower girls and ring bearers. Maybe one ring bearer is at that lovely age of 18 months where they like doing their own thing. What 18 month little boy wouldn't like to be pulled in a wagon? So my thought is, rather than having him walk down, why not let the older ring bear pull him in this little wagon that I have laying around the yard? It might look like a little kid parade, but it'd be cute right? This is all totally hypathetical of course...... heee hee.

My Sister is in LOVE!!!!

 

Yes indeed, this beauty found the man she's always been waiting for. I'm thilled. I'm so giddy I have been smiling for two days straight. I don't wander far from the computer for fear of missing a skype call or some other such exciting event. I'm so happy for her, just beyond words. It was all such a God thing and just totally amazing. I can't wait to see what will happen next! I'll try to post a picture of him, I'll have to steal it from his facebook account, hee hee, I'm so sneeky. His name is Teunis and he stole her heart, yay!

Broken Promises

April 2! That's almost FOUR MONTHS of non blogging! Poor lonely little blog, so cold and all alone! Well, I'm here now, but I can't promise I'll be back soon. It seems like every time I promise to be a faithful writer I break my promise.
Where do I start to catch you all up on the last four months? My to do list, sadly, isn't much different. It has grown a lot, that's the only difference. Gardening is the newest and greatest stuff that has happened. What a depressing spring of weather we had. At one point I was ready to rip the garden out and move to B.C. !!!! A true Alberta girl ready to betray her province! That must mean it was truly horrible. And it was. Windy, cold, dry, just terrible. I'm really tired of starting my garden from scratch every year. I've never got to build it up nicely because I'm starting in a new yard every year. We've been getting hot days lately and everything is looking very happy out there now. I have fallen in love with Alberta once again this month. All it took was a lovely drive home from the farm one day. Just me in the truck with the windows down, the country music blaring, at that glowy time of evening. Fresh hay bales out spreading their sweet perfume, bright canola fields swaying in the slight breeze. Glorious. It made me wonder why I wanted to move to the dessert, all cloudy and depressing in the winter. Boo B.C. Boo! (although I'm super excited for a B.C. trip in the fall to buy some apples and see very dear and wonderful friends and family)
Other new things going on? I'm pretty obsessed with a cook book I've had for awhile called Nourishing Traditions. It's a new way of cooking (for me) that takes some getting used to, and a lot of thinking ahead. She soaks all her flours and grains for baking, ferments milk and veggies, sprouts nuts and seeds before eating. It's much more than just a cook book. She goes into SOO many things about healthy and nutrition, I love it. It's my fav. So I've been cooking a lot, and getting healthy. Oh and I grew wheat grass! It's nasty stuff! But apparently really good for energy. Another thing we've been taking is called Youth Juice. I'm really loving it and noticing a difference in my energy, and in how well I sleep. People are saying it's been helping with digestion, injuries, sicknesses, diabetes, etc. etc. It's 7 berries (all grown in the lovely B.C. wink wink) and 3 sea weeds from the Canadian Pacific. I really like that it's "local" ish. I also like that it makes a difference. It's loaded with anti oxidants. Oh and it's yummy. Ok, you get the point, I'm excited!
The kids are doing great. the Monkey is at my favorite age ever, just the best! He's 16 months now, still baby, but a bit of kid too. He's a lazy little talker, I wouldn't even give him the credit of saying he had a vocabulary at all. He says "hi" and "dad". Yup, that's it! What he lacks in vocab he makes up for in physical activity. I'm just shocked at what a nut he is. Just go go go, no stop, all the time! I'm also shocked that we haven't been to the hospital with him yet, ever! Although I do have poison control, the doctor, and health link on speed dial. Yeesh. He's such a cutie though. And Munchkin's doing great too. Still a little too smart for her own good. She has such an amazing imagination. I catch myself sneeking in to just watch her play by herself. It's amazing what this girl comes up with. I need to write down more of her stuff, she's clever.
Well that's all the fun and wonderful stuff that we've been up to, guess it's time for the bad stuff now? It's been a really rough year for me. The worst year of my life so far actually. My parents split up this year, after 30 years of marriage! In a way it's like mourning a death, the death of a marriage I guess. I'm still sad a lot, and trying to move on and readjust. The other totally shitty thing is that my Grandma just passed away. Excuse my language, but that's how it feels. It still feels like a big shock, even though it was more than a month ago. I miss her so much. She was a truly great Grandma, and I'm super thankful for the memories and the time spent with her. I'm also thankful that she didn't have to suffer for long, and that she is at the feet of God, more blissfully happy than we could ever imagine. It just sucks being stuck here feeling weighed down at times by the pain in this world. I've been hearing about a lot of people I went to school with who are splitting up. I just don't understand! I feel really sad about things like this right now. Sorry to sound depressing.
But it's much to sunny a day to waste blubbering away in here! Sure we can feel sad and weighed down, but life goes on eventually, little by little. There is so much to be happy about, and to keep one going.

To Do List

Backing, quilting, and binding for Katelyn's huge quilt
Blankies for the twins
Five more sock monkey's (at least)
Katelyn's summer dress
Owens "Huckfin" pants
Apron (for me)
Apron (Aunt Eileen)
Eat some chocolate and relax
Get un-addicted to Farm Town
Bib's and sheet
Organize and file paper work
Take in recycling and give away's
Wedding quilt
Order seeds for garden and Lee Valley stuff
Read two parenting books on my list (Grace Based Parenting and Shepherding a Child's heart)
Do the sticker swap thing with Katelyn
Think about packing, just get into this mind set, hopefully we'll be moving soon
Help Matthew paint next door, figure out what to do with kids
Start "the window quilt" and figure out who to give it to
Make bean bags for the kids (I bought a bunch of beans, might as well use them)
Make a summer skirt for moi
Pillow case for Katelyn
Picnic quilt
Make doll clothes for Katelyn's birthday gift
Send in receipts for benefit thinger


I'm sure the longer I sit here the more things I'll think of. I realize how boring this is for everyone except me. To me it's hilarious, especially considering I have three SLEEPING kids right now (babysitting another kid this week and next) and I'm wasting time on the computer. Not to mention I haven't even cleaned up the kitchen, thought about supper, done all the basic stuff to keep the house running. Sigh. Ha ha, but I love it of course. I love lists and accomplishing things. I think now that I have it here I'll be a bit more motivated.
Last night I was wasting time here on the computer like usual, only this time it was looking at old pictures of the kids. It was SO funny watching Katelyn learn to talk and walk, you forget those little things so easily. Here's some newborn pictures of both kids. Big round of applause for anyone who can tell me which one is which. I think they look totally different but I'm interested to see what other people see. Mom, don't give it away if you figure it out right away, you're biased;-) Ryan, I realize how boring this post is, I'll try to think of something clever and interesting next time, but no promises.

Happy Birthday Owen!

Just click on the collage to see the pictures bigger.....

 

Here's my little monkey's birthday pictures! Lots of sugar, sock monkey's, few toys amongst many children, a smokey oven, a very tired mommy. It was a hit! Matthew and I had gone to Edmonton to pick up our kitchen cabinets and got home right before the party. It was a quick trip, but so worth it. We were waiting around Ikea ALL day, so annoying. Anyhoo, it was really good to get home, see the kids again, and party! These other pictures I took intending to make birthday invites, but it never happened. Cute pictures anyways. Happy birthday little guy!

 

Deceptivly Delicious

So I'll be honest, I've been decitful lately. Or at least trying to be. I've been sneeking veggies into our family dinners, gasp! The horrors! I got this cookbook that has great ideas to work off of, Deceptively Delicicious. BUT I'm horrible at following recipes. Just look at the difference between the lovely glossy photo of these chicken fingers.... Then look at mine..... right. Mine are black and have visable spinach puree peeking out, there is nothing sneeky about this. Try convincing a very smart almost three year old to eat this!!! I'm convinced this pretty photo in the book is a fake.

 

But I'll not be put off so easily! Now I'm inspired to do more, these recipes will not limit me. Tonight, while feeding my family "store-bought" perogies, and feeling miserable about it, an idea was formed. I've made home made perogies before, but didn't think it was really worth all that work. But what if there was pureed cauliflower, sweet potato, or squash in those lumps they are happily gobbling up? It could work! So as soon as we devour our costco box of perogies, I'll get on that, yipee!
Any other ideas out there for veggie eating? Not just for the kids either, I'm not crazy about veggies. I would very rarely choose to eat salad, and never eat veggies before my meat and starch. No wonder my kids are picky! Actually I can't complain, they're pretty good. I think Katelyns dinner fights are more of a power struggle and have very little to do with the food in front of her. Sigh...

Pointless

Ok, so after all the work of making my blog private I realized how pointless it was. My reasons were weak and not worth the trouble and after all that I realized that everyone would need a google account to get into my blog. So it will now just be regular again. I'll get some pictures up soon and make this interesting again for all of your trouble, I promise!! I just have a really busy week, but my poor lonely blog is priority, don't worry!!

Out Takes

Just a glimpse of what I had to deal with while taking pictures of my kids this week. I set up a makeshift studio and somehow lead myself to believe this would be a cinch..... right..... The T.V. on, a crawling baby, a bossy sister, no one to help, a mom with high hopes, it was a recipe for disaster. I did end up getting some excellent shots, but we'll save those for later. Sharing the bloopers makes me appreciate them more. Katelyn was a flower girl in the fall, but we never got really great pictures of them dressed up. So this was take two of two. Yes, believe me, I am done, there will be no more. My biggest mistake was attempting this while Matthew was at work. Would have been much easier with an entertainer/crowd controller. Anyhoo, was good for a laugh, and like I said, I will reveal the good ones later.

Mr. Piano Man

Here is the story of our free piano: It was a cold and stormy night, everyone had left our house and for some reason Matthew said emphatically, "I want a piano!" At first it seemed as if this dream wouldn't come true, but we didn't give up hope. Then we found an add from a woman in Wembly with a piano that needed taken by the next day. Within an hour we had everything in place but as we would find, that was the easy part. Within a matter of minutes, we had named this piano 'The Beast' and it would cause much pain as we would soon find out. It was a tight squeeze, both out of the woman's house and into ours. Our neighbor came to the rescue and within a matter of 5 minutes had a 3 inch gash in his head, but that didn't stop the resilient crew. With screams and cries, the 800lb beast made its way up the front stairs and now, it is a permanent member in our home. It is a Heintzman and Company transposing piano, built in Toronto in 1897. (posted by Matthew)

 

 

 

 

25 Random Things About Me

1. I love singing at the top of my lungs while driving alone on country roads. I used to take voice lessons and I even do those old voice exercises in the car. I had one very humiliating experience singing in front of an audience and ever since I don't sing in front of people. I don't see this as a big deal, it didn't take away from my enjoyment. I just love singing out to Jesus, this is my favorite way to worship and connect to Him. Oh, and I sing for my kids
2. I would love to live on a farm and be fully self-sufficent. Have a wind mill, well, wood stove thing-a-ma-jig to heat the house and cook on, the works. Obviously I have a lot to learn about all this, but I'm excited
3. I like to eat brown pasta and brown rice. One of them I like almost mushy, the other I like tender. You can probably figure out which is which.
4. I love old furniture and dishes, especially if they have personal sentimental value to me. Things from my, and Matthew's grandparents are really special. When I buy new things I feel like I'm cheating. I just figure, why are we all buying new stuff that's made in China when there is probably the same thing already kicking around somewhere, it has much higher value in so many ways. Not to mention burning all these fossil fuels making and transporting our new flimsy things.
5. I had a C-Section with Katelyn, which was very last minute and heart breaking at the time. It turned out that she was footling breech. I was glad I didn't know because I'm thankful I got to labour with her.... which sounds a bit crazy now. Anyways, because of that I did a lot of research to prevent another C-Section, and in doing so decided to have a home birth with Owen. It was amazing and perfect and I'll do it again someday, which also sounds crazy when I think about it.
6. When I was in grade 4 I watched Freddie Kruger, it terrified me. I never watch even remotely scary things and I don't see the point of it at all. Why put that in my mind or even in my house?
7. I force myself to be organized because otherwise my life would be a mess. I really love lists, budgets, schedules etc. I just have a really hard time implementing them.
8. In the winter I get psoriasis on my elbows, I know it seems kinda yeecky. Basically it's just really itchy and dry. Since Christmas I've been eating really healthy and it's cleared up.
9. I use cloth diapers for Owen, I recycle, I reuse Ziplocs (and get made fun of for it), I limit my driving, I use cloth shopping bags. Despite these things my husband accuses me of washing dishes by the principal of erosion, just letting the water run and run until the food comes off. I also take extremely long showers. I feel very guilty about these things and I'm trying to stop.
10. I lived in Switzerland for a year as an au pair. Best experience ever, it was just incredible. There is so much value in something like this. I love the family I lived with and still miss them almost 5 years later. I traveled a lot of Europe while I was there and want to go back when my kids are teenagers.
11. I'm a night owl, I don't even really get going in my day until 10:00am or so.
12. I like stand up comedy, live theater, live music (most kinds)but I don't like going to the movie theater. I'm never comfortable enough, don't like the food there, and wish I could pause it so I could pee.
13. I hate leaving my kids with babysitters, it just seems like more trouble than it's worth. Once we're out I enjoy our time, I don't fret. I envy my friends that have parents living close, I would totally over use that privilege.
14. I was head over heels for Matthew and had no idea he felt the same. When he told me he loved me he totally took me off guard. It was wonderful. I loved dating him and I love being married to him.
15. We watch T.V. in the evening and I always knit or embroider, other wise I feel like I'm wasting time.
16. It takes me about 2 years of living in a house before I put pictures on the walls. We've been married almost 5 years, lived in 3 places, I don't often have art up. It's usually because I'm intimidated and can't really decide exactly what I want.
17. I have plans drawn up for our future dream house and I regularly revise them as life goes on. It's not huge, but very practical for our family. The rooms I'm most excited about are the kitchen, the laundry room, and the piano parlor, oh and the school/craft room.
18. I'm pretty good at cooking about 10 different things. Everything else is just trial and error, unfortunately it's usually error. But I'm getting better and I learned how to make really good 100% whole wheat bread last week. I used to enjoy cooking a lot and would pride myself on mastering certain things like pie. Now I would rather be sewing.
19. I thought I would naturally be a great mom and not have to try very hard. I enjoy being a mom but it's hard and doesn't come naturally to me. I feel like I have to call someone or read up on things everyday for different reasons.
20. I like riding my bike and miss doing it. I've had the same road bike for 15 years, it's still great. Where I grew up there was perfect bike routes with amazing views. Where I live now is too dangerous to road bike, I miss it.
21. My favorite colours are green, then red. These are very unfortunate favorite colours when it comes to home decorating...... although I do love Christmas, I don't want my house to look so festive all year round.
22. I'm about half way through 7 sewing projects right now. I have 13 more projects on my list to be done before spring. I have an old Kenmore that was left in a house our friends were renting out, it's great. I love free things, although I'll probably buy a new sewing machine someday since I use it so much, I don't know how long this one will last me.
23. I regularly purge my wardrobe (about every 3 months). I hate having things hanging around that I never wear. I don't know how I still have clothes 'cause I don't go shopping very often. Oh, I'm sneaking another one in here 'cause it's related. I hated shopping before I had kids, and now it's something I really miss. I wish I could spend as long as I want, by myself, at a really nice mall. I like Market Mall (Calgary).
24. I try to eat seasonally, locally, and responsibly. Soup in winter, salad in summer etc. We grow or buy the majority of our food locally. My favorite thing to not buy is dairy products. I make yogurt, kefir, butter, all that. I started this when Katelyn started eating solid food. Some things are really hard to stop buying, spices, chocolate, coffee, salt. Everything else really can be made. I don't make everything, and I still have a house full of boxes, bottles, and bags, but I'm trying...
25. I always think I have a favorite kid but then while I'm thinking that I realize the other one is my favorite. Hopefully this makes sense in other peoples minds. I just love both of my kids so much. They make me laugh so much and sometimes make me cry (in a good way).