~JOLT~

awww baby's growing up

2011-02-16T19:00:00.001-07:00

Greg's big brother was in school all day today.

The Greg man took advantage of having no one home to run him over, push him over or generally attempt to trample him. And showed off just how far his walking skills have come.

Although he's been taking 1 to 3 steps for months now. After one or 2 he generally decides its faster to crawl, or just launches himself at you or the nearest piece of furniture.

But today I watched him walk from the kitchen table to the dog kennel half way across the room. 10 big steps in all!!!

No More Crawl-ee Mc-Small-ee

Key to My Heart

2011-02-15T00:52:00.000-07:00

The boys loved their "iPods"! Okay maybe Chris loved his and Nathan was too busy ripping into to it trying to find candy...but whatever they were a hit.

The "sweetest" thing about my Valentines was the Key to My Heart Cupcakes I made. But Boy were they labor intensive, wrapping the bottoms and cutting out all the heart and key shapes?!?!?

Then I "created" an impromptu cake stand. I don't own a real one but the cupcakes were just to darling to throw them on a plain plate and call it a day. So I took a candle holder and placed the plain white plate on top and then used a little bud vase and the smaller version of the same plate for the second tier. I won't win any awards but, it seemed like a more grand presentation that slapped on a plate.

( I got the wrapper and topper printable set from PaperScissorsCake on ETSY and bought these adorable circus dog ones at the same time, I can't wait to use them for one of the kids Birthdays? or maybe the end of school celebration? I'm sure I'll come up with an excuse soon...)

snowman cookies

2011-02-13T21:40:00.000-07:00

This weekend we celebrated some of the "breaks in the weather" -Yay plus temperatures and melting...with melted snowman cookies.

Actually I originally saw the idea here, I've been dying to make them for awhile but this was the first time I had both the time, energy and a clean enough kitchen to undertake a new project

But they turn out sooooo cute- really who could resist???

Rockin' Love

2011-02-07T23:37:00.000-07:00

Tonight I made it a priority to finish my Valentines for Nathan and Chris.
How stinking Cute is this???

An ipod candy Valentine, because you know...... they Rock!

So Cute and so simple. The idea is from the family fun website. You can download and print the menu circle and the playlist. Or even edit a playlist to write in your own songs. I did for Nathan's (He is kind of young to get the ipod concept) I put in songs that were sort of love themed, but that he would know, like You are My Sunshine.

and then just a few simple "ingredients" and your done! LOVE IT!!!

baby curls

2011-02-07T00:52:00.000-07:00

With all of us down sick for the week. (This cold has been BRUTAL)our only big excitement was going to the "kid" hairdresser on Saturday.
Yes, I have to bribe Nathan to cut his hair by offering up a place with a ball pit, and fun colored hair spray.
But they have a blast, and I get get him cropped in the process.

(is it strange I think Nate looks like some kind of raptor in this picture?)

Do you love the punk green look? He insists on it every time. But it washes out quick, and it seems like a small price to not have the hair cut fight.

This pic of Greg makes me giggle.

He fought so hard to chase after the big kids and go in the ball pit.

Then as soon as he was in in.

This was the face.

Balls are really hard to move in when you still can't walk.

Of course cutting Nathans hair made me take a hard look at Greg's! I always hate having to give them their first hair cut. I think it was only after Nathan got called a girl 4 times in like 2 weeks that I relented and cut his hair. But right now I'm so in love with the soft downy feel of Greg's baby curls I can't even fathom cutting them yet. And this time I think I might cry when it does have to be done. You want your first to grow up and keep moving, but the baby? he can stay a baby as long as he wants!

my life is so boring

2011-01-16T12:30:00.000-07:00

My life is so boring, that the big excitement of my weekend was getting snow pants.
no. I'm serious. I was just about giddy with excitement over finding snow pants at the store yesterday.

Mostly because it seems that all the stores only carry these "new" type of snow pants

I have been on the hunt for "Old School" bib style snow pants. For literally 2 years.

I finally found a pair in Walmart yesterday. They are Black, and only cost me $30. I was giddy.

Yes, I am aware I need a life!

But think of how many snowmen, snow forts and snowball fights the kids and I will both enjoy now. vs. the norm, where the kids are more than happy to play in the snow and I'm freezing and ready to cry.

Presto Change-O

2011-01-16T12:14:00.000-07:00

It snow AGAIN last night, about another 10 cm. Daddy's busy trying to dig us out. So Mommy and Nathan are having some costume box fun...

Presto Chang-o

Watch me wave my paintbrush er...magic wand...

and pull a rabbit out of my hat.

CNN article makes me see red

2011-01-14T13:18:00.000-07:00

Vaccine-autism researcher should be prosecuted- was the headline on a CNN opinion article this morning. I can't tell you the mixed feeling I have about this. Reading through the article and finding out the researchers study was based on only 12 children and he may have falsified medical histories made me so incredibly angry. - but I still question why they are not releasing the information he reportedly falsified.

I just took Greg for his one year shots vaccination shots this week. And with Nathan I remember tormenting myself and reading every article I could get ahold of trying to decide.
With both boys, I've decided that the risk of the vaccines vs. the deadliness of the diseases, meant that I would vaccinate regardless. But after researching the ingredients of each shot, I have always refused to give influenza shots. Since they do contain trace amounts of mercury. And all the articles I read pointed to mercury most likely being the source.

Although I felt the risks of not vaccinating outweighed the risk of the diseases, I completely agree with the article author when he states "The direct result of this was the creation and perpetuation of an insidious myth that may be unparalleled in modern day medicine".

That's the part that really upsets me, if this research was originally based on only 12 children in the first place, why was it ever given any credibility? How many parents have refused to vaccinate based off of what could essentially be as credible as a rumor?
"wasted time and money pale in comparison to the devastating personal consequences that occurred across the globe as a direct result of Wakefield's behavior. The marked decrease in vaccinations which occurred in the decade following his research literally cost people their lives. When parents refused to vaccinate their children, many of them contracted diseases such as measles and pertussis (whooping cough). Some of them died."

I understand that many parents will still support this theory, if your child began showing symptoms of autism right after a vaccination shot, research credibility isn't going to matter to you. But all the parents who didn't vaccinate in fear of the what if's?????

This is actually on the market?

2011-01-05T18:10:00.000-07:00

Seriously?

A friend of mine actually bought this hot sauce. I mean it's an awesome name but I couldn't believe it was actually on the market as "Colon cleaner Hot sauce"

Why can't I be a kid and get some of the cute stuff?

2011-01-05T18:05:00.000-07:00

Is it wrong that I'm totally in love with this "children garden watering can"

This little Hedgehog just speaks to me.
Cute- Yes!
Practical? - Probably not since it looks like it would hold next to no water. Probably why it's for kids huh?

Did I mention my tree?

2010-12-30T10:33:00.000-07:00

I've hated our tree for the last couple of years.
I took all my "special" ornaments and all my show ones and put them on the pink tree that I display in the stairwell. Partially because the pink tree is too cute not to have special ornaments and partly because I'm scared of the kids breaking some of them.

The problem this has caused is our big tree is now kind of bare looking, all the ornaments being nothing really special.

Until this year.

I went out to Canadian tire one day and feel in love with all these bejeweled beauties.

It all kind of started when I fell for this little "jester guy" and the jewel encrusted crown. The star is such a perfect replacement for our big white angel that was getting a little ragged looking.

The whole tree is themed in such rich greens, purples, reds and Oranges. And I love the fact I can add things like a feathered purple bird (50% off on boxing day)

All the jewels, sparkles, and rich colors just make me so happy

Can you tell I'm thrilled? to finally have a put together tree again, makes everything so much better.

Stairwell Christmas

2010-12-30T10:32:00.000-07:00

My Shoe Tree

The upper part of the display with the "Dear Santa, Let Me Explain..." Shirt.

The shiny trees and Presents under the Christmas tree

The Whole space! It was a real Pink and Red Theme there this year and I kind of like it. I still look having the Stairwell as the one place to put my pretty girly things that the little ones can't get to. Especially now that Greg is getting into EVERYTHING!!!

2010

2010-12-30T09:45:00.000-07:00

L to R
Cheering for the Olympics, New Chicks, Mutton Busting, Tent Picnics
Garth Brooks in Vegas, New Goats, Baby toes, Leprachaun Gold Hunt
West Edmonton Sea Cavern, Hanging with Penguins, First Day of School, Santa
1st Birthday, Staying at Gramma and Grandpas, Maggie & Jasper, Meow Meow and Maxxie

Christmas B-day Boy

2010-12-29T11:20:00.000-07:00

With Christmas this year we had to start another new tradition

BIRTHDAY CAKE!!!!

I can't really believe it's already been a year since I got the best Christmas gift ever!

Mid afternoon, we stopped playing with new toys long enough to have a cake and sing Happy Birthday.

Awe. The one year old cake smash. What could be cuter?

My 2 Favorite pictures of the season

2010-12-29T11:05:00.000-07:00

Quick Christmas re-cap

2010-12-29T10:58:00.000-07:00

I must apologize to Everyone! My kids got so spoiled this year, I think Santa must have emptied his entire sleigh here. So if Santa Forgot you, I apologize, I'm sure it was our fault!!!

Really the kids got spoiled rotten.

There was everything from a bike to a rocket ship in our living room on Christmas morning. Plus about nine million action figures.

My in-laws were here, we had such fabulous meals both days, and the kids were in heaven getting Grandpa Charlie to figure out there toys (all I have to say about that- "when are the toy manufactures going to stop making it a half an hour process to get toys out of their packages?!!!?)
Grandpa and Gramma learned names of characters they'd never heard of.

See? S-P-O-I-L-I-E-D!!!! let's just hope it doesn't turn them rotten!

Do you remember back in November when I wrote about the radio station being on location in town and how we'd enter for a trip to Vegas? Well, we didn't win the trip to Vegas but Chris won tickets to a Charlie Pride concert in May. And really no offense to Mr. Pride. I mean I know his Kiss an Angel Good morning song, but that's about it. Dude is like 72. I wasn't sure his concert was going to be our cup of tea. So we kind of re-gifted the tickets.
We gave them to my in-laws for Christmas.
They were the surprise hit of the year.
My father-in-law was totally excited.
I mean the tickets are wicked, they are like 3rd row on the floor. -and yes I know I'm totally cheap, giving away free concert tickets as a Christmas present, but he was so excited. I thought it was awesome!

Another magical childhood tradition

2010-12-29T10:25:00.001-07:00

When I was a kid one of my favorite parts of December was the night we got to sleep under the Christmas tree. We did it every year I can remember, until I was "too cool" to participate anymore.
There would be eggnog and Christmas stories and then my whole family would curl up in their sleeping bags and sleep on the living room floor for the night under the twinkling Christmas tree lights.

This year I decided Nathan was old enough we could start the same sort of tradition here.

Since Grandpa Zoom wasn't coming for Christmas this year he came up the weekend before.

Nathan and Grandpa ate snowman cookies, and drank little mugs of eggnog while watching the Grinch.

Then they settled in under the tree for the night.
Nathan L-O-V-E-D this new tradition. And I think Grandpa Zoom loved reliving some Christmas memories while making new ones with a new generation.

* I still have at least one more Childhood tradition I hope to revive before the seasons out- stay tuned*

In the running for Mother of the year?

2010-12-01T12:11:00.000-07:00

My friend has an excellent saying
"...And then, I accepted my Mother of the Year Award"
(insert sarcasm font between quotation marks)
For all those times you say or do something to your child that makes you feel like maybe they should require people to get a parenting license before having kids.

I had one of those moments last night...
It's been a fight with Nathan for the past 3 bedtimes, whether he should be required to wear pajamas. The first couple of nights he has gone to been in the pajamas but also in tears.
The fight started again last night, trying to avoid a temper tantrum I changed the tactic.

This was the conversation...
"Mom, I not wear pajamas"
"If your going to bed you wear pajamas"
"NNNNOOOOO, I want to wear my clothes!!!!"
This is the point where the whine started and the eyes are brimming with tears.
"Nathan, if you want to sleep in your bed you wear pajamas. If you want to sleep in clothes I guess you need to go out and sleep in the goat barn."
There is a looooonnnnnngggg pause, as he absorbs this information. Then tries to decide if I'm serious.
"MOM, Don't be silly"
"Nathan, you don't be silly. Put on your pajamas or you'll have to sleep with the goats"
At this point he decided to go find some pajamas, rather than see if Mom was serious.
And me?
I went off to accept my Mother of the Year Award.
I'm sure threatening to make your child sleep in a barn in the dead of winter would at least get you into the finals, for such an award.

Teddy Bears' Picnic vs Toy Story. My Magical Childhood

2010-11-29T01:16:00.000-07:00

Do you know the Teddy Bear Picnic song?
After watching Toy Story 3 for about the 9 millionth time, I had to share.
Toy Story makes me feel guilty about where all my childhood "friend" are now.
When I was a kid, We used to have a record of the Teddy Bear Picnic Song.
My parents convinced me that it was true. That Teddy Bears came to life at night, or when you weren't around and played and had picnics (Much like all of Andy's Toys in Toy Story, but long before the movie ever existed)
One afternoon, I came into to my room and "CAUGHT" them.
My parents had set out a blanket, places all of my stuffed toys out, as well as my tea set.
It was so convincing there was even cookie crumbs on the plates.
I was utterly convinced that my toys came to life.
Which is probably why, even after Toy Story has been put on repeat for days. It's one of the movies I still don't mind.
I believe that toys can have a secret life.
I have proof that mine did.
I asked my Dad if there was a picture in any of the albums of the Teddy Bear tea party. I so wanted to show you, why my childhood was magical. But alas. It happened in the days before toy story, and the days before digital camera. So there isn't picture proof of every little event. The Teddy Bear Tea party only still exists in my memories.

Girly stairs

2010-11-28T01:29:00.000-07:00

For the last few months my Stairwell display has stayed the same. Either because I'm too lazy to change it, Or because I Love having all my Girly pieces somewhere on display that little hands can't get too. One or the other I'm not sure which.

But, I hoping to get some Christmas decorating finally done this weekend. So it's about to change, and I realized I hadn't posted any pics of how it's looking now.

Sharks and penguins and sting rays, oh my

2010-11-28T00:04:00.001-07:00

West Edmonton Mall, had a customer appreciation day at their sea cavern this week. = free admission.

I took both boys, and we were there in time to see the shark feeding

Greg is getting so big, and trying so hard to do and see everything Nathan is interested in.

WE got to stick our hands in the tide pools, where we could touch starfish. Nathan wasn't a fan, since they are both slimy and kind of rough feeling at the same time.

We also got to pet sting rays in another pool, although Nate couldn't get them to swim close enough and couldn't reach to the bottom. I did however actually touch one, which apparently amazed a few people when I told them : )

By far, the highlight for Nathan was the penguins.

I think he would have watched them for hours, if I'd let him.

It was a fun afternoon. But even better when you don't have to pay admission to show the boys something new.

Cold days, fun afternoons

2010-11-27T23:05:00.000-07:00

Our "new" schedule means that Greg is in babysitting on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. Nathan goes to school Tuesday and Thursday mornings and joins Greg at babysitting on Wednesdays. This gives me a day and a half to complete all my work and half a day alone with each of the boys.

Today (Tuesday, Nov. 23) was brutal temperatures, record setting temperatures actually a lot of Alberta was some of the coldest places on earth today. I know our thermometer was reading -33 at one point this morning and it doesn't factor windchill.
The highways were so bad first thing this morning that Daddy couldn't make it to work. So he worked online part of the day, and came to town with Nate and I in the afternoon. After I finished what was left of my work assignments, and we got some water, the 3 of us had a great time doing some Christmas shopping. Checking out all of the holiday decorations, and ornaments. Trying on silly hats.Drink Christmas cokes And getting Nathan to pick out a gift for his brother, specifically for him.

One of the radio stations was broadcasting from a local store so we stopped in to enter our names for a trip to Vegas ( wouldn't that be heaven to go anywhere warm right now!!!!) They were also having a crack the vault contest, where you can enter 7 numbers into their "vault machine" and if you crack it the prize is a million dollars. How Sweet would that be???? Needless to say, we didn't manage to crack the vault. But Nathan was thrilled with the hot chocolate, getting a sticker and a rice crispy square.
Wouldn't it be nice to be 4 and have those things be cooler than a million bucks?.

Overall we had a great afternoon out. Of course that ended pretty quick when we came home and discovered a goat half dead with hypothermia. I don't write much about the acreage here any more. Mostly because I maintain another blog devoted to the comings and goings of animals and the work were doing on a separate blog Acreage Dreams. You can see the post about our poor goat buddy here if your interested.

adorable background idea.

2010-11-21T23:13:00.000-07:00

How cute is this idea?
I sent my MIL an e-mail with the picture of Nathan's Santa letter
She wants to use it as the background for her annual Christmas letter.
Instead of buying a holiday letterhead. She plans on taking the picture and she said fading. I assume reduce the opacity. Having it printed and then color photocopying 20 or so copies to print her letter on top of.
If it works out I think it will be such a cute background for a letter. I almost wish I'd thought of it first.
But I suppose as the parent it would be kind of tacky to send out your kids wish list to everyone you know?!?!?

Today was a day of kindness

2010-11-21T23:05:00.000-07:00

I have an insanely busy week in front of me. ( well, coming from my old life of having no routines and no defined schedules. This work/school/babysitting thing is hard to adjust too)

Anyways, in order to fit everything in since I have about twice the amount of work I was expecting this week, I went and did my in store studies for most of today.

Since I have no winter boots that I'd wear to town I wore a pair of old high heeled boots. Now My arches and back are killing me. Again, I will point out I used to live in high heels, heck once I moved in them. But now-a-days I'm all about flip flops, sneakers, or rubber boots. So heels was a pretty bad choice.

having said all this...I HAD A SUPER AWESOME DAY!!!!
It was one of those days you count your blessing. People seemed to be going out of their way to try and make my day.

* The Lady at the 7-11 gave me my coffee free
* Another lady stopped me in the store
"Excuse me,"
"Yes?"
"I just have to tell you that you have gorgeous hair"
"Ummm...well, thank you. I'm a little surprised it's not even done today"
"Well, it's so pretty, I just had to tell you"
"Thank-you"
(and it's true, I thought my hair looked horrible today I had it up in a loose bun/knot on the back of my head. People usually only tell me how nice my hair is when it's down and curled under control)
* I got home and my kids were thrilled to see me.
* Greg, although he was suppose to be in bed, spent 1/2 an hour doing a dance and talking to me from his crib. He had quite a story to tell me and I just smiled and thought, these are the moments I wish would last forever.

I don't know, all in all it just felt like a very good day. Where you have to stop and count your blessing. See how people really truly, can be good and nice and make your day in such small simple ways.

Things that made me laugh while driving

2010-11-20T00:40:00.000-07:00

There were several instances over the summer, and the last few months where I came across someones car, and just started laughing. These are the few a actually caught up to and got a picture of.

Seriously thinking of repainting my minivan to have a snazzy paint job like this.

(Although Chris says its actually suppose to be the Scooby Do van)

Here Lizard, Lizard. I think its hilarious some one turned their car into a lizard- dragon- reptile mobile.

On a Smart car. A Licence plate that reads "NOTDUMB" -Brilliant if you ask me!

And really this sign speaks for itself.

The only picture I missed that I'm still kicking myself over,

I saw an older Hurst driving down the road. Someone had obviously bought it second hand and pimped it right out.

the back window read

" A Tisket a Tasket, No Body in the Casket."

and then it had one of those gory, bloody Halloween arms dragging out the backdoor.

I just died laughing. But at 80km/h it was impossible to get a picture : (

A MOM letter

2010-11-18T15:42:00.002-07:00

Do You ever read an article and sit there the whole time nodding your head in agreement?

That's what I did when I read this posted on a friends facebook page.

I just couldn't help thinking. "she put words to exactly what I can't explain to some friends and family"

I know I drive a few of my friends nuts that I can't have lengthy phone conversations anymore. During the day I'm too busy keeping little feet from climbing counters when they know Mom's distracted on the phone. And at Night I just need some silence. No more questions. Please. No more explaining anything for awhile.

But anyone without kids doesn't seem to get how much...

well the article expresses it better than I can.

Is it too early?

2010-11-18T14:23:00.000-07:00

Is it to early to decorate for Christmas?
The temperature has dropped it's -14 C today and going down to a low of -23 tonight. With the snow blowing everywhere it's miserable outside. I either feel like channeling my inner bear and hibernating until it's nice again or decorating for Christmas and embracing the only thing I love about winter.
So really is it too early?
Do I have to wait until December 1st?
My Dad and Chris seem to think that's the rule.

Shoe L-O-V-E

2010-11-16T22:05:00.001-07:00

A friend of my Dad's sent me this link to Gizmodo awhile ago, recalling my love of shoes.

And I have to tell you I'm wildly in love with these...
I wish I could claim these designs as my own.

Blurring the line between shoes that belong on feet and shoes that belong in some weird contemporary art museum, Kobi Levi's "Chewing Gum"

My plan still is to get at least one pair In Altered Couture magazine. They have an entire shoe section that makes me nut every time I flip through the magazine. I will send them something. I've even set a goal to complete this by September next year. (there I've written, now I'm bound by some weird blogland oath right????)

Pirate pop update

2010-11-16T22:00:00.000-07:00

The Pirate pops were a hit at the preschool. At least half the boys asked Nathan for a second one. And probably close to half the moms asked questions about how they were made.

I ended up staying for all of Preschool today, one of the "room helper" moms got her days mixed up and didn't show for her appointed day. This worked out well since I owed a day of volunteering from Nathan being sick a few weeks ago. Now I'm caught back up on my days and got to see the kids eat the pirate pops that I slaved over last night!
BTW- "draw the faces on with edible marker"...uhhh yeah. That works for about 2faces before the marker is so gummed up you have to go over the lines 20-30 times to even make a mark. If I do these again I've be doing some research into finding a better ink/dye/icing/something to draw with.
AND....No matter how cute the pictures look I swear they have been photoshoped. There is NO WAY the candy coating comes out that smooth no matter what I did.

But I threw some photos up on facebook, and got rave reviews from friends and family, so that was a little bit of balm on the wound.

Tonight I don't get to do anything as fun and creative, instead I'm swearing at the computer. I took a part time job last month, which involves a lot of computer downloading and printing documents. Needless to say I've spent about 45 minutes on the phone tonight with my boss. Another hour or so trying to unzip and e-mail files not to mention the printer mess that I made Chris just deal with for me~
Tell me once this is all set up it will get easier?
Or at least I'll develop a callus on my forehead so all the banging my head again the screen doesn't hurt as much~

A twist on cupcakes for preschool.

2010-11-16T01:03:00.000-07:00

Another few hours in the kitchen tonight *sigh*

We came out with about 23 Pirate Pops. More than enough for the preschool class tomorrow.

They are not as cute as in the book. But they are pretty cute. And it's a bunch of 4 year olds eating them.

All the Matey's together.

(although Chris may get a kick in the head. I didn't have any white confetti sprinkles so I used white and yellow stars on the bandanas. Chris kept referring to them as wizards of the Caribbean. and now its stuck in my head.)

Seems like I spent half the weekend in the kitchen

2010-11-15T00:02:00.000-07:00

The boys have had a very exciting weekend. Nathan's 4th Birthday is tomorrow, and Grandpa Zoom came for the weekend to celebrate. The boys get spoiled with so much attention from Grandpa you can't blame them for being totally insane whenever he around.

I spent my day working on this....

I'd promised Nathan a Buzzlightyear cake. So I went out and got Wilton Cake pan. And spent the better part of the afternoon trying to get the icing looking like the picture.

It certainly wasn't identical. But it was good enough for a 4 year old. And considering it was my first real attempt using decorating tips. I think it came out not half bad.

We roasted one of our chickens for dinner and everyone had a very good filling meal.

Of course we had to move on to presents. The Birthday Boy got spoiled as usual!

We had quite the Toy Story theme going on too. Since he got a talking Woody doll from us, The Jessie Doll from his brother, and the Toy Story 3 movie from Grandpa. As well as lots of new clothes and army toys from his Uncle.

Now the next big adventure...tomorrow I plan on taking a run at Cakepops. If you've never seen them they are adorable. So cute I actually shelled out full price for the book a few weeks ago. I have big dreams of making the pirate pops for Nathans preschool class for Tuesday. Lets hope they at least have the resemblance like the buzz lightyear cake. Or I'll be making a mad dash into town for bakery cupcakes that day.

Dear Santa

2010-11-12T23:11:00.000-07:00

We "wrote" our first letter to Santa tonight. Since Nathan will be turning 4 on Monday, his writing skills aren't exactly at the point where he can pen an entire letter. So we filled in a lot of the words with pictures.

I think it's super cute. I does however have a Ransom note feel to it.!

Halloween Mania part 2

2010-11-02T00:54:00.000-06:00

Nathan has been pestering me since the start of October (actually it may have started as early as September).To Carve a Pumpkin. So as much as the kids have been sick, and I didn't get any Halloween decorations up. I knew I wasn't going to get away without at least carving a pumpkin.

Nathan wanted a "MAD" face, so "We" drew it together. As in I ended up drawing the shapes in the end, because he couldn't get them looking the way he wanted. But he was giving me directions the whole time. I also made him scoop a good amount of pumpkin guts. And even let him do some of the carving when we got to the straight lines.

But most impressive to me was that I finally got the dog pumpkin done I talked about last year..I was pretty happy with how it turned out. When I sent a pic to my brother he was in L-O-V-E!!! It does look quite similar to his new bulldog puppy. (Although the pattern is for a Pug-shhhh. Everyone will see what they want to in art right?)

Halloween Mania Part 1

2010-11-02T00:36:00.000-06:00

We had quite the Halloween this year. It was Greg's first.

Grandma and Grandpa found him a little Dolphin costume.

Nathan was Spider Man

So I referred to them all night as Spider Man and Shark Boy. It just sounded a little cooler than your brother the dolphin

In true brother form the fights are already brewing over candy shares. Since Nathan seems to be coming down with the croup Greg had last week (SCARY-when Greg had it) We didn't hit up to many houses. 6 to be exact. And I couldn't believe what a haul they got from just 6 houses. Man, Halloween has changed since I was a kid. - and this is the part where I launch into the story about up hill both ways to school in 10 feet of snow?!?!? I know. I'm starting to sound old. But seriously, We never got that much candy at Halloween.

Happy Canada Day

2010-07-01T23:43:00.002-06:00

What rings true?

2010-06-15T01:31:00.003-06:00

I got an email from a college friend the other day. It made me LOL

"you've totally gone domesticated...milking goats, making soap...my my my...what happened to my high heel wearing outrageous jo?
Farmer jo has a good ring to it."

It was from one of my best friends in college and it made me laugh.

The girl I was then owned a PINK feather boa and would wear it to the bar paired with a pink cowboy hat and pink cowboy boots- because she could.
She was known to wear high heels even when moving.
She owned sports cars that she drove too fast, and charmed cops out of giving her tickets.
All of her friends would be waiting for her to get to class Monday morning to hear the stories of her wild weekend in the "big city" and there was always a story.

but that was 10 years ago

Now the same girl wears pink rubber boots out to feed the chickens. And drinks pink ginger ale instead of beer.
She lives in rubber boots or sneakers because there easier to chase kids in. And only wears high heels once and awhile to town.
She drives a minivan, the speed limit because there is precious cargo strapped in the backseat.
And she reads bedtime stories
She takes classes online to learn to make goat cheese and soap.

yes farmer jo does have a good ring to it. Probably a much truer ring.
I had fun, I had adventures. I probably would have had a much more interesting blog back then.
But now?...Now I'm living my truth.
I'm living the life I always wanted as a child.
And I'm giving that life to my children.

rain drops keep falling on my head

2010-06-12T02:41:00.000-06:00

Monday night our soccer practice was canceled due to rain. But when your 3 rain just makes everything more fun!!!I'd found a scooter at a garage sale for 7 dollars on the weekend. He's being dying for one for awhile. Every time were in a store where there sold he's ready to test drive them up and down the isles, peoples ankles in the way or not! One of the drawbacks to living on a farm is you don't have sidewalks, or hardly enough concrete to ride a scooter properly. So instead of soccer practice we went to town anyways and spent a good 45 minutes riding in a parking lot. The finished a new strip mall last summer and store are yet to move into any of the spaces. This makes for some awesome riding. there are no cars, and brand new concrete everywhere.

Nate was getting the hang of it pretty good. But you would have laughed at me. Rain may not bother 3 year olds but there was Mom under a big umbrella with a warm coffee in hand going up and down the curbs behind the "ROCKET SCOOTER".

knights of indigo

2010-06-11T12:00:00.000-06:00

Wouldn't it be awesome to be 3 again? and just start playing dress up whenever and where ever you are? To have that kind of imagination? and not care what anyone thought? To just be in the moment so you become a knight with your sword and crown?
Nathan and I were in the bookstore Tuesday night, he disappeared behind one of the bookshelves, and after a minute or two I had to go see what he was up to. This was the sight I came around the corner to.

Sodbusters rodeo

2010-06-10T18:00:00.000-06:00

Saturday we...or I should say Nathan participated in the Sodbusters rodeo. It was the perfect small town rodeo with all ages and abilities steer wrestling, bull riding, bare back broncs...and of course there was Mutton bustin'!!!

This is Nathan's second time doing the Mutton bustin', we did the bull-a-rama back in April.

And as I watched the first kid ride, I was a little worried about how he'd do. This time no one was going to hold him on. They had what I referred to as the bait sheep, standing in the middle of the arena, in an attempt to make the riding sheep run a beeline to the "bait" sheep I think. But once they got the kids on the backs of the sheep they turned them loose.

Most of the kids only made it about 20 feet before hitting the dust.

Nathan was the 4th one up. they got him settled on the back of this poor sheep told him to hold on tight and let the thing go!

No word of a lie. That little cowboy hung on for dear life, and made it to the half way mark of the arena. If fact I'm pretty sure the only reason he fell is because the sheep came to a dead stop when it got to the "bait" sheep.

He rode further than any of the kids there (not that I'm bragging- okay maybe a little). And when I saw the pictures afterwards he had a huge grin on his face the whole time he was riding. Of course when he fell off he apparently landed on his head (lucky they make them wear helmets) so I think he may have also cried the hardest of all the kids too!

I don't know if we'll get him back on another sheep now.

but I love this picture of him riding and the clown running along beside him in the back ground.

World's most beautiful tweet

2010-06-09T03:04:00.002-06:00

Awesome!
Apparently there was a competition out of the U.K for the world's most beautiful tweet and a writer (or tweeter) out of Edmonton won.

I love the tweet...
" I believe we can build a better world! Of course, it'll take a whole lot of rock, water & dirt. Also, not sure where to put it."

you can see the article here

Being a tourist in your hometown.

2010-06-09T02:17:00.002-06:00

Thursday was a rainy miserable kind of day, and I had cabin fever. So we ended up at the garden center in town. Although we ended up not buying anything I did walk out with a visitors guide for the area.
We are still pretty new and kind of like tourists around here. Plus it had all the dates for the fairs and upcoming summer events. But as I was thumbing through it I found out that there is a shrine in the area that I knew nothing about...Even though it was rainy and grey and pretty much the worst weather for pictures I had to head over and check this out.

Apparently she stands 7 feet tall and was sculpted in Italy from Carrara Marble- and is also the only religious monument of its kind in Canada.

When your Mom is a jerk

2010-06-03T17:16:00.001-06:00

See what happens when you fall asleep in the car on a rainy day and Mom is bored waiting in a parking lot?
Well it's what happens if your Mom is kind if a jerk anyways! I'm sure most Mom's wouldn't use their kids as a coloring book.
He had a cute curled moustache and little beard too. But 3 year olds must touch their faces a lot while sleeping because only the eyebrows really were in tact by the time he woke up.

Super cool find

2010-06-03T12:02:00.000-06:00

We were in town last week, and came across a rummage sale at the church.

we found 14 VHS movies Disney and Dora the explorer for 25 cents each.

A board game, and a pair of shorts for Nathan and only spent 5 bucks.

Then outside they had an entire bench full of free things. One of which was this super cool retro bike.

"Free" are there any better words than that?

It's not in the best shape. The fenders are bent to rub the wheels and the brakes are out of alignment. The tires are trashed.

But I'm really not planning on riding it.

I think it would look amazing with a coat of turquoise blue, or a bright green paint. A big hanging basket on the front filled with hanging flowers and parked out on the lawn.

That's my thoughts right now. But I'm still researching it a bit, trying to figure out exactly how old and retro it is. In the bit of investigating I've done already. These bikes from the 20's -30's and 40's can be worth more than a thousand dollars. I'm pretty sure by the goldish color on the bike and the gear shift on the handle bars that it's probably only a 70's bike and not worth anything close. but I'd sure be mad if I found out after it had been spray painted and left outside for a year that it was worth big bucks!!!!

Picnic Day

2010-06-01T23:07:00.003-06:00

I promised Nathan a picnic todaySo we set up the tent in the backyard and even packed Greg in the picnic basket

We all had a great time can't you tell. I LOVE this picture of us all looking at each other

a Greg in a box?

mmmmm...peanut butter and banana sandwich

Nate thinks its the coolest clubhouse ever! So excited, it was such a fun adventure for him. We've left the tent up in the yard for a few days. and Nathan is dying to get back out there first thing in the morning.

Day in the "BIG" City

2010-05-31T14:42:00.001-06:00

We had to zip into Edmonton today, to get everything done for our passports.

When we were done Nathan was desperate for a ride on the elevator. He thought it was the coolest thing. We had to ride up and down 3 times before we convinced him it was time to go. And I guess an elevator is a pretty cool thing. Especially the glass ones so you can see all the floors your going past.oo

Ever Notice...

2010-05-27T00:25:00.002-06:00

Ever notice how hard it is to come back to blogging when you let it slide for a few weeks.

or is it just me?

I feel like so much stuff happens that I don't know where to start again

Like
I signed Nathan up for playschool (starting in October)
and he'll be Mutton Bustin' again in June

Greg is 5 months and doesn't seem like a newborn anymore. I'm constantly amazed how well he can track with his eyes and how he gets a hold of anything he can and won't let go.
We were having mashed potatoes with dinner the other night and I gave him a taste. He did better than I expected with the texture. BUT... when he had gas for the next 24 hours I decided his poor little system isn't quite ready for solids.

Chris was home for the entire long weekend. And we actually managed to cross some things off the TO DO list. We spent pretty much the whole weekend here, so I guess there wasn't much of a choice. - But Thankfully it sounds like he'll be headed for Fort Mac again within a week (fingers crossed) because boy could our bank account use some overtime again.

I have a small forest in our front window right now and can't wait till the temperatures stop dropping so low at night to get all these plants actually planted outside.

My baby chicks are becoming chickens. They've lost all the cute chick fuzz, and are actually kinda scary looking now. They've also figured out that us coming in means food. So they jump out to meet us at the door. It's becoming a lot of fun to keep them in and Cat out. Good thing I have a "expert chicken wrangler" with me usually.

I had a mini melt down about 2 weeks ago, over some stuff in the media. Although I won't go into details right now. I've tried to change some rules around here. (thanks to a a pep talk from my BFF- who suggested it) I'm trying to carve an hour a night out per night to work on "my stuff" "my projects" and not house projects but actual me time. and another 3 hours on Sundays where I can either leave the kids with dad or kick everyone out of the house. It was working well until this week. My dad- or Grandpa as he's better known is coming on Friday and my projects have turned back into trying to madly get the mudroom painted.

But I have signed up for an online course or goat milking-cheese making and goat milk soap making. Yes, we don't have a goat (YET) but we'll see how this goes.

And BLAH
I've purged
Now maybe everything's caught up and I can just blog when the feeling comes instead of constantly feeling like I need to say so much that I'll never have time to write it all up.

April 26- May 2, 2010

2010-05-02T23:08:00.003-06:00

Week in Review

Top Left- clockwise:
Cool Dude getting bigger everyday
Beautiful Alberta sky
All the seeds finally planted, sitting in the front
First soccer practice
Mini Donuts- Nathan's not happy I was eating
Hanging on a fire truck
Back to winter- wearing toques and gloves to go feed the chickens this week
Greg's cool dude shoes
Nathan making friends in the bookstore (or anywhere)
Eating burgers in the fire hall (town garage sale day on Saturday)
Mini donuts- YUMMY
Michael's had a mug decorating class - Nathan made a mug (for mother's day)

Middle picture: FIRST ICE CREAM OF THE SEASON ON THE FRONT DECK

Soccer Star

2010-04-27T09:53:00.002-06:00

Nathan had his first soccer practice last night.
And to be honest...
it went horribly wrong.

He did fine during the warm ups. When he was told to go for a run with the coach he ran right up and grabbed his hand and went for the run"right with him". He hopped like a bunny when he was told to. And as long as he had the coaches attention he'd do what he was asked.
But...
then the drills started and the parents do them with the kids (remember I'm wearing Greg in his sling for all this). Anyways the drills involved things like kicking the ball around pylons. and most of the other kids would kick it, and it would go somewhere near the next pylon 3 or 4 feet away. But when Nathan kicked the ball it would go half the field. and be nowhere near the pylons he was suppose to be going through. So Nathan and I spent the entire practice running over three different soccer fields. The coach would blow he whistle to bring everyone in and explain the next drill and more than half the time he missed the directions because he was still coming back from 3 fields over.
Totally not the coach's fault. The Head coach did an awesome job, keeping everything moving. and only doing each activity for 5-10 minutes so most of them didn't get bored.
In fact I blame myself for his less than stellar behavior.
He was so excited to be "Playing" with other kids that he could barely contain himself. and he's just not the type of kid to wait in line to take his shot on net. If theres a line up he'll just take his ball and go somewhere else. Really? he hasn't been in enough groups. He's also not used to not being the centre of attention.
So for the next 2 days. Until our next practice on Wednesday night. We will be having a ton of conversations about how when you hear a coaches whistle, you need to run as fast as you can to the coach. See if you can be the first one there.

April 19- 25, 2010

2010-04-25T22:54:00.002-06:00

April 19- 25, 2010
Originally uploaded by jjolt

Top line left to right
* Iron Man and his new shin pads
* The New Iron Man helmet that he won't take off
* This is what was starring at me over my computer "look mommy muppets" - to much kermit the frog, now everything is a muppet not just a puppet.
* Baby Greg's
* Nathan's seeds

second row
*Planting
* Monkey needs to be safe too! buckle in Monkey please!
* Rainy day balloons
* Helping get ready for the chicks washing out the pool
* Everyone's fav. Bubble wrap

Third row
* Play place climbing
* Evil goose hanging on the hay bale
* I went to grab some hay for the chicks, and noticed something on top of the hay bale.
* Nate with his special package
* THE CHICKS

Forth row
* Me, and a chick
* Baby Farmer
* Chick close up- playing with the new macro lens
* Nate and the chick
* The new chick pen

Fifth row
* Chick kisses
* and the last 4 pics are me experimenting with the new lens and how close it can get to things...door handle in the barn, leaf, flowers...

But Daddy won't be happy

2010-04-23T11:41:00.001-06:00

Nathan found a pair of my high heels this morning.
I asked if he could actually walk in them when he put them on.
He could but didn't like it
"shoes to Wiggly, Mommy"
When I said I was going to take his picture, he took them off. And will NOT let me take his picture.
Do you think somewhere deep down he knows his daddy would not be impressed???

My Peeps

2010-04-22T20:48:00.002-06:00

It was a pretty exciting day around here, We finally got the chicks...

Nathan absolutely loves them. "go see MY baby chicks?" I heard all day long.

I was pretty surprised with how gentle he was. I still need to catch one for him and put it in his hand or he attempts to pick up up by the head. But once they're in his hand he's so gentle and calm it's pretty great.

Although my favorite part of the day didn't just make me laugh out loud, I was howling it was so funny. On the way to get the chicks we had this conversation...

Mommy: "Do you know where were going?"

Nathan: "get chicks"

Mommy: "that's right baby chicks, do you know what sound a chick makes?"

Nathan "......"

Mommy : " Chicks say peep peep peep"

Nathan: " Mommy, what that sound?"

Mommy: "what sound? peep peep?"

Nathan: "yes, mommy, that a microwave"

2010-04-21T11:06:00.001-06:00

Nathan discovers something "new" ....everyones favorite Bubble Wrap!

Up North

2010-04-20T21:38:00.003-06:00

Remember when I mentioned Muskeg up North?

Apparently the thaw is in full swing now.
And they can't have any vehicles in the field. So they load the guys and their equipment onto these large rig mats and drag them into their site with a bulldozer.
Chris sent me a pic. I think it's pretty cool

And then he gets to cruise around site in this little mean machine. I'm pretty sure he called it an ARGO.

I think we should get one, for our field with all that marsh. I'm told you can take them right in the water as they float, and can cut through water pretty good too!

april 12-18

2010-04-19T00:15:00.003-06:00

april 12-18
Originally uploaded by jjolt

Week in Review
Upper left clockwise

* Snowed in our living room
* Dump truck "Snow" clean up
* smiles and giggles
* Nathan showing his brother how to play
*New Photography books and Mags (can you guess what my new obession is?)
*Hay bale- taken with the new lens from the front porch
*Awe! Flowers from my Man
*My "COG" the cat that thinks she's a dog
*Nathan still playing cowboy
*Our first outdoor BBQ of the season
*My new Lens!!!!!!!!!!
*Daddy and Greg.
*How big my little guy is getting!

Crazy

2010-04-18T21:44:00.002-06:00

It's been an insane few days around here.
Chris is working on getting a class 3 license, in hopes of changing jobs soon.
So instead of having the weekend off, he spent 10 hours Saturday in an air brakes class.

I thought I'd have him all day today to get some more of the weeds done in the back field.

But...

He got a call last night that he would be heading out to Fort Mac this afternoon. No rest for the wicked.
So were busy getting his clothing and everything packed up last night, and the washing machine starts acting funny...why???
Because it has no more water.
The stupid pump in the basement bit the dust.

So this morning like a mad man Chris flew into town, got a new pump and got it installed for me before he left at 2 this afternoon.
Although I was completely annoyed that the pump finally kicked it, and that it caused such a time crunch. I had to admit I was pretty darn happy that it happened last night instead of tonight. - with Chris gone for 3 weeks it would have been fun figuring out who to call, and what to do to get it fixed on my own!

Some days people surprise me

2010-04-15T14:58:00.001-06:00

Today, I was determined to get to a camera store in Edmonton. I looked up the address, and checked a map before we left.
I still got lost.
Looking for it on the wrong side of the street.
And as I'm cutting down back alley's trying to get back to where I needed to be. I realized we were in a pretty rough area. The kind where people are picking through dumpsters and stumbling out of the corner liquor store.
So I was already in high alert mode when I started piling the kids out of the car.
I had Nathan strapped into a stroller and was wrestling Greg into the sling when a woman approached me.
And I automatically thought "here we go..."do you have any...""
But she started by asking me how old my baby was.
And I thought "uhhhhuh, she's just trying to get me talking"
I told her Greg was almost 4 months.
And she told me I had beatiful children, and was truely blessed. Then she told me to have a wonderful day, and walked away smiling.
And I stood there kinda stunned.

What a Man

2010-04-14T18:39:00.001-06:00

Sometimes that man of mine still manages to surprise me... Like 2 nights ago, when he came home from work with flowers in hand.
Sometimes I wonder where his head is, but his BIG heart is always in the right place.

My little Cowboy

2010-04-13T11:50:00.003-06:00

Spring clean?

2010-04-11T18:45:00.001-06:00

Finally my poor van is getting a bath! I don't think the poor girl has been washed all winter.
And is there anything grosser than the stuff that you find under a three year olds car seat? Ewwwww.

Mutton Busting

2010-04-11T14:28:00.004-06:00

So last Night we went to Bull-A-Rama in Thorhild. And Nathan got his first taste of being a Cowboy...

Dressed in his snazzy new Wrangler shirt we dumped him on a sheep and let that boy ride. He's on his way to becoming a a professional Mutton Buster.

He loved every minute of our night. He sat in the stands screaming "go Cowboy" after every ride. At one point he slipped away from his Dad and made it to the arena floor. He slid right under the bars, and his Daddy had to haul him out quick. I think he figured if he could make it into the bull pen they'd let him ride.

By the time the sheep riding (finally started-it was awfully late for little kids) he figured he knew exactly what to do. and was ready to go!!!!

And as soon as he finished his ride. He was asking to go again.

So Proud of my little Cowboy!

(still trying to upload the super cute video, but blogger isn't liking the format or something at the moment)

Happy St. Patricks Day

2010-03-17T01:02:00.003-06:00

I'm so excited about our green and "GOLD" theme, madly trying to finish all the details for an event filled day. Managed to get the leprechaun hat done (you may be able to tell from the glue streaks in the picture that it's still drying). I'll be letting Nathan glue little shamrocks to it before our gold hunt tomorrow morning.

and this is the stairwell display, hopefully I'll find some stuff on sale this weekend so next years display won't look quite as sparse.

Stay Home Stay Happy

2010-03-12T14:12:00.002-07:00

I know your going to want to kick me .more about my iphone. but I downloaded the kobo application and have been scanning through online books. Anyways I just read the first chapter of Stay Home Stay Happy: 10 Secrets to Loving At-home Motherhood by Rachel Campos-Duffy.

"All of us want the same thing : to be there for our children without losing our sense of self and purpose. We want to transform the stay-at-home experience by finding innovative outlets for our creativity and professional interests so we can feed our minds and souls during this incredible- and fleeting- journey."

that quote jumped off the page at me (or the screen i guess- I'm going to have to get used to the idea of reading an entire book on a screen- no sure I'm there yet!) But I was thinking along those exact lines for the last few days. It's hard not to start losing yourself or only think of yourself as Mommy. I try to use my art skills both to nurture myself and create fun activities for Nathan, but I still hate going to parties or anywhere new and facing the question "what do you do?"
"I'm at home" which I almost always feel like I should follow up with "for now," or "until the kids are in school". I loved the fact the author is making no apologies for being a stay at home mom. Her attitude is so, I could be having a glamorous career, but I choose to be at home and I'm proud of it! -
maybe it's just me, but I wish more women would admit they are proud to be stay at home mom's, maybe societies attitude about it would change a little. And Maybe I could feel a little less like I have to apologize or make excuses for why I'm at home instead of back at work.
It probably is just my own insecurities and maybe it's in my own mind that people seem to cut conversations short at that point. like if she stays at home and talks to a three year old all day she can't be all that interesting or informed or current. I think I am, I try to be, and I can still carry on a conversation with an adult as an adult. It's not like I'll ask you if you need to use the potty in the middle of a sentence or something.

St. Paddy's prep

2010-03-12T01:21:00.005-07:00

I'm really mad at Chapters and their lack of St. Patricks day spirit ( look what happens when one company gets a monopoly in a market) they have absolutely no Leprechaun or St. patty's related books in store for kids. And all orders are 5 to 7 business days so nothing would be here in time.

I searched Youtube and came up with this 60 year old movie, which will have to be how I explain leprechauns to Nathan.

and I'm busy trying to turn a foam hat from the craft store into a green top hat in the next few days. wish me luck...

Oh dear

2010-03-07T18:54:00.001-07:00

I am so getting crazy with this iPhone thing.
I love the apps.

Today fingerzilla is on the top 25 downloads. Under free apps. I installed it and both Chris and I have played until our fingers hurt. It's crazy! I don't know I survived this long without having a phone (that's really a mini computer with me all the time) like I said I dread my phone bill.

iPhone

2010-03-07T01:01:00.001-07:00

Yay me!
Just got an iPhone this afternoon.
I can so see myself becoming
Addicted to this!!!
(my phone bill is going to be like a million dollars isn't?)

Only my kid

2010-02-28T12:33:00.003-07:00

We were in the grocery store a few days ago. As I was bagging groceries the kids were parked in the cart at the end of the register. Nathan was busy talking away. Pointing out the signs to anyone who would look at him.
"see that?"
"what's that?"
An older grandmotherly type stopped beside him bent down and said something to him quietly. Then she stood up and smiled and walked away.
a Second later.
Nathan screams down the aisle after her.
"I think your cute"
I'm sure that's probably what she said to him. But only my child would scream your cute at people in the middle of a grocery store. He's working on becoming such a little Casanova.

~Happy Dance~

2010-02-28T12:21:00.004-07:00

So excited!!! We got tickets yesterday to one of the live Garth Brooks shows at the Wynn in Las Vegas. Just Chris and I, no Kids and a few days in Vegas. Yay for us. now I just have to hold out till July. I've been dying to see Garth f-o-r-e-v-e-r. He only did 3 shows in Calgary, in the late 90's, they were all sold out and it was impossible to get tickets. Then he retired before he ever came back up here. So when I heard he was preforming again in Vegas, I was on a mission to get tickets and go! It'll be the honeymoon we didn't get last year. And it's a few days before Chris' 40th. so we may have to book our hotel and flights to make sure were down there for his Birthday as well!

Go Canada Go

2010-02-21T21:15:00.004-07:00

Canada vs. US men's Hockey tonight- I decided to give Nathan an Olympic experience...

We baked up some "Bring on the Gold" cookies
They were suppose to have little maple leafs, but they all melted, definitely looked better on the package than the real thing- but still Yummy
And then I dressed everyone in RED- including Nathan's Canada hoodie and put on temporary tattoos from the dollar store. Nathan thought the Tattoo's were the coolest thing EVER!

"GOAL!!!"

Yes, I tattooed a less than 2 month old baby- he needs to get used to his mother being crazy from the start!

All of us ready for the game!

We cheered

Okay I cheered, and Nathan told me"shhhhh Mommy, you hurted my ears"

and then we lost...hmmmm

Muskeg...more than just a funny word

2010-02-18T08:24:00.002-07:00

Quiz Time!!!
ha
You didn't know there was tests on here did you?
Anyone know what Muskeg is?

well according to wikipedia Muskeg is:

Muskeg is more-or-less synonymous with bogland but muskeg is the
standard term in non-Atlantic Canada and Alaska (while bog is more common
elsewhere). The term is of Cree origin, maskek
meaning low lying marsh. Large tracts of this soil existing in Siberia may be
called muskeg or bogland interchangeably. Muskeg consists of dead plants in
various states of decomposition (as peat), ranging from
fairly intact sphagnum moss, to sedge peat, to highly
decomposed muck. Pieces of wood such as buried tree branches
can make up five to 15 percent of the peat soil. Muskeg tends to have a water
table very near the surface. As well, the sphagnum moss forming it can
hold 15 to 30 times its own weight in water, allowing the spongy wet muskeg to
form even on sloping ground

Hmmm sounds like a text book, pretty boring
But the Muskeg freezes solid in the winter and can be driven on.

I bring this up because Chris is working up in Fort McMurray right now. He called last night and told me they site they are working on is Muskeg. They have been told that the trucks must be started and moved every ten minutes. Because within an hour your tires can sink 2 -3 inches and once that happens the truck will be unmovable and completely stuck. and worst case scenario???......

source: D6 Caterpillar that broke through muskeg in spring thaw. Located near Wabasca, Alberta.

again according to wikipedia:
During the 1870s, muskeg in Northern Ontario was reported to have swallowed a railroad engine whole when a track was laid on muskeg instead of clearing down to bedrock. Many other instances have been reported of heavy construction equipment vanishing into muskeg in the spring as the frozen muskeg beneath the vehicle thawed.

Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics

2010-02-17T22:05:00.000-07:00

I do love Facebook sometimes.
I just found out through an old highschool friends status update, that one of the guys we went to school with actually made the Olympic team.
I knew he'd been pretty heavy into luge by the end of highschool, but I wasn't sure he'd kept going.
Anyways I found him listed right on the Offical Olympic site. How cool
Chris Moffat - Luge Athletes : Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics

The display

2010-02-17T21:49:00.002-07:00

Weird! I just went back through my old blog post and realized the first time I talked about this space in the stairwell was almost exactly a year ago HERE
And I have been decorating the space seasonally...at least since Halloween but I forgot to take any pictures until this Valentines one.

Actually I think part of the reason I haven't been taking a lot of pics of the space is it's a lot bigger and harder to fill up than I thought so it almost always looks unfinished. But I think I'll start taking pictures anyways so when I do it better the following year it feels like an even bigger accomplishment. Sound like a plan?

V-day

2010-02-17T21:34:00.002-07:00

Valentine's Day was more of kid event than it's ever been.

In fact we had pancakes as the main course for our "romantic" dinner
They were heart shaped and I dyed the batter pink...
Then topped them with whipped cream and strawberries

And Nathan was so proud of himself for helping set the table with "sprinkles" or some people might call them rose petals!

O Canada

2010-02-12T22:53:00.005-07:00

WoW!

Just finished watching the Opening Ceremonies for the Olympic games.

I was pretty impressed.

Mostly I was impressed with how they recognized such a range of people, histories and Canadian figures. And to be honest I was happy that they didn't completely sell out the "Aboriginal Cultures" as I feel Canadians tend to whenever it suits there needs (ie. When we are the focus of the World stage). I Know that there was quite a bit of Native culture in the show, but to see so many other cultural references was a new touch for anything Canadian.
I loved when the totem poles turned to trees that referenced the group of 7 paintings.
I thought the ice flows and the Orca whales on the floor was the most amazing use of 2 and 3D technologies combining to create such a realistic images I was in awe.

But the nod "Rhythms of the Fall"to Quebec and French Canadian history of fiddle history, with the dueling fiddler in the moon was very poetic and the imagery with the maple leafs falling all around as the Newfoundland dancers and fiddlers began to play and dance was beautiful. Although I wish they had been able to find fiddle player that looked slightly less Gothic ~tattooed, dreadlocks and piercings aren't exactly the image I would have portrayed- but hey, I guess you can't accuse us of not being accepting and multicultural. And it was really great to have the East Coast Culture recognized and celebrated.

I won't talk about how they represented the prairies- other than to say it was slow, and a little to "Artistic" to make me feel the captured the heart of the prairies very well. I'm not really sure what some kid trying to be Peter Pan over wheat fields was trying to say, so I won't say anything more.

The "Peaks of Endeavor" segment with the Canadian Rockies rising from the stage in a storm of lightening and fire and transforming to high snowy peaks again amazed me. The instant staging changes were so dramatic when you think about. The ballet of the skiers and snowboarders that were lowered from the roof and the suspended from in front of the mountainous back drop were so well done. Then when the "Ice" skaters started to skate around the mountain peaks and create the light tracers, that looked like moving traffic lights and the Vancouver skyline replaced the image of the mountain peaks ~ I thought it was a brilliant transition. From Canada's natural beauty to the welcoming lights of the metropolitan Vancouver.

I will admit some parts of the ceremony were pretty slow, but most of the "Canadians" on facebook seem to be posting comments of pride. Although admittedly a few of them feel that there was a focus on stereotypes again. Whatever~ I like at least parts of it enough, I'll probably watch it again on another channel with Chris when he gets home.

I feel like a new parent

2010-02-08T18:26:00.003-07:00

Well, I guess I technically am a new parent! But for some reason I expected there to be less of a learning curve with the second baby. However this is me, and I have to make it a whole new game again.
See,
With Nathan I had to learn the art of diapering one handed, while keeping a squirming baby on the change table with the other hand.
and you know? Since I mastered that little challenge why not take on a new challenge? right...right?
Actually it all started with the idea that cloth diapering would be more "sanitary" out on the farm, without regular trash pickup I was worried about diapers sitting around the area too long. I had a plan to sew a bunch of diapers before Greg was born, but that didn't get done. My MIL found these little g diapers.

I like the idea of them,
they are kind of the in between of disposable diapers, and actual cloth diapers
"You can flush, compost, or toss them. Flush and you're putting poop where it belongs. Throw the wet ones in your garden compost and in 50 – 150 days you've turned a wet diaper into a soil amendment. You're actually giving something back to the planet and reducing your family's footprint."
I'm not totally sure if I'm ready to compost them myself, but it seems like a more earth friendly idea.
Gotta tell you though,
I haven't been peed on this much in a long time!
I'm thinking I nee more that 2 of the little g pants, I'm not quick enough putting the new liner back in the pants...and well, I am dealing with a little boy!
Hopefully, I can master the quick change with these diapers as well, before Greg gets big enough to start squirming like his brother always did!

2010-02-03T19:29:00.002-07:00

It' 7:30
both kids are screaming
one to be fed
the other about going to bed...

if I wasn't so tired I might be able to turn that into some Dr. Seuss worthy rhyme.
Instead I think I'll have to settle for figuring out a better routine tomorrow night.

How to feel OLD in one coffee or less

2010-01-16T23:33:00.002-07:00

I had a great afternoon in Edmonton today. An old friend called up and announced they were in town on business and asked if I had time to meet for a coffee this afternoon.
We had a wonderful conversation, although we've talked on the phone and on Facebook quite often in the past few years it's actually been years since we've met in person.
Eventually the topic turned to registering his daughter in kindergarten, the applications for the process have to be in by the end of the month. Now I need to mention his daughter is almost exactly a year older than Nathan, so they are very similar in age.
But when I felt about the oldest I've ever felt was when he reminded me that WE HAD MET in KINDERGARTEN- And therefore had KNOWN EACH OTHER 25 Years now!!!!!
I nearly died
25 years
and we were almost our children's age when we met?
How did I possible get this old?

Today is the due date....

2010-01-12T23:20:00.004-07:00

So January 12th is- was my actual due date for baby number 2

I had already convinced (or basically just agreed with) the OBGYN that we would do a scheduled C-section and the hospital had that booked for January 8th.
So one way or another I knew the baby would be in my arms by this date....

However...

I really wasn't expecting what happened.
What's that saying? "If you want to hear God laugh, tell him your plans."?!!?!

So our beautiful new bundle arrived 2 and half weeks early. In another city and on Christmas day!
He's beautiful. He's Healthy. He's the best Christmas Present anyone could ever get. But Gosh was he a surprise that day!!!

We'd gone down to Calgary Christmas Eve and were staying at my Dad's house.

In Retrospect now, I realize I was probably in the beginning stages of Labor all night, since I couldn't sleep for more that an hour without my hips hurting so bad that I needed to get up to pee and relieve the pressure. That had been happening for weeks though, not quite once an hour, but I'd been getting up about every 2 hours for weeks at home, so this didn't strike me as all that strange.

However, when we started opening presents on Christmas morning things changed! Not only was I up going to the bathroom constantly I was now getting definite pains. - and I spent the whole time we were doing Christmas morning trying to convince myself that although they might feel like labour pains there was no way I was in labour, at best it was braxton hicks or in my eloquent way "I was faking it". I tried for hours to hold out hope that they were irregular ( a sign that it was braxton hicks) and that they would stop. I hid out down stairs in the bedroom, I hate being the centre of attention at the best of times, when I'm in pain that would be one of the worst things you could do to me. I took a shower, I plead to Chris to make it stop, I was desperate not to have a baby on Christmas Day. And finally after hours of this, and my contractions getting to the point of less than 3 minutes apart. He put his foot down "this is not braxton hicks, you are not faking it. And since I am not delivering a baby here or in the car we need to go to the hospital NOW!"

Long story short our Beautiful son Gregory was in my arms at 3: 36pm that afternoon. We've now had 2 and 1/2 extra weeks with him. He's snuggly, and perfect, and so worth missing Christmas dinner for!

Our little Christmas Miracle!

Tea Time

2009-10-16T01:49:00.003-06:00

Several weeks ago we took Nathan out for Vietnamese food, and he discovered He LOVES Tea!

I haven't made any at home in quite awhile but it was so cold the other day, I made a pot and offer him a cup at the table with me. I guess Mommy can make it as good as the restaurant...

This was all good and cute, until the next day, when I was standing in the laundry room and heard a strange clinking sound from the kitchen.

"Nathan what are you doing?"

"Yes"

hmmm not good. I went to investigate.

and if the little tea monster hasn't added 2 tea bags to the tea pot and is climbing on the counter trying to figure out how to plug in the kettle!

I made him a pot, with a lecture about how he was allowed to have tea but needed to ask Mommy first, and Mommy would make it.

Again~ I guess my tea making ability gets the thumbs up!

Feelin' crafty

2009-10-03T20:50:00.003-06:00

I'm getting really excited about Halloween this year.

We went out today and pick up 5 pumpkins. I know it's too early to carve them (darn), but I thought I'd leave them out as decoration on the front porch for awhile first.

While in the grocery store I couldn't resist coming home with a "Halloween tricks & treats" magazine. It's a special interest publication from Better Homes and Gardens. The main reason I "needed" it was the 43 clever pumpkin ideas inside...although the ones I think are the absolute coolest are the patterns for dog breed pumpkins that you can get online here...Free Pumpkin-Carving Stencils of Favorite Dog Breeds

Shared via AddThis

Last day of September

2009-09-30T21:09:00.002-06:00

Chris has been off for the last 3 days, and it's been fall prep all over the place!
The leaves are such gorgeous autumn colors, and the "new" chainsaw is roaring in the trees. Trying to get enough of the dead fall cut and stacked for our little fireplace this winter.
I meant to take the camera into "out little forest" last night. But I took the dogs and Nathan (oh and the cat who apparently thinks she's a dog too tagged along) and cameras and a spastic dog don't do well together. So I'll have to get back over there in the next few days before all those beautiful colors drop, or are blown away in this crazy wind!

Another cute addition

2009-09-27T21:49:00.009-06:00

We've been on a search for awhile for the PERFECT dog for out here.

I was pretty sure I wanted another Pyrenees. The question was did we want to start from scratch with another puppy? or find an older dog that might teach Miss. Maggie a few things, like coyotes don't really want to be your friend? (to be honest I was terrified that the coyotes were getting closer to the house, and Maggie wasn't seeing them as a threat- if figured if one was bold enough to approach her she'd probably just roll on her back and think it wanted to play)

But finally after months of searching the ads I found the dog...

(hmmm...blogger is doing something funny with the pictures- it rotated on it's own and I can't figure out how to turn it back!)

Welcome Jasper
he's an 11 month old 3/4 Pyrenees 1/4 Samoyed cross

and those cuts on his nose? from a couple weeks ago when he tangled with a coyote. He's already fearless, not another wussy, city-fied dog around here.

He was also raided around 2 little girls ages 2 and 6, so Nathan's sometimes spastic behaviour is totally tolerated by this pooch.

Right now were working out the kinks. Like, he's never worn a collar or been on a leash. He also seems to think climbing people is an acceptable greeting. But he's coming along fast.

And of course Maggie is thrilled...but we knew she would be.

Clean up

2009-09-27T21:47:00.002-06:00

Decided it's time to clean up the blog a little bit...and either post all the things I have sitting in draft files or delete them...so there may be a few "new" entries out of order and from months ago...

30 SUCKS!!!

2009-09-14T00:02:00.003-06:00

Okay...maybe it's not actually being thirty that sucks.

But,

I felt the cold coming on the night before, and by the next morning (you know the actual day I turned 30) It hit full force!!!

Yuck!

Nothing that hacking, sneezing and snorting your way into a new decade.

Can't sleep...cause you can't breath laying down...can't get any better with no sleep...it's a vicious circle.

What a snot-tastic way to start a new decade.

hopefully it can only get better from here...

The Eve of the BIG EVENT

2009-09-06T20:39:00.002-06:00

Tomorrow is the BIG DAY
Tomorrow I am officially the BIG 3-0!!!
and the truth is, it's been bothering me since I was turning 29 and realizing that this was my last year in MY TWENTIES.
But surprisingly, I'm doing really well!
I've kind of taken the last month to take stock, and look at where my life is.
30, was always the big magic number for me. Everything was always something that had to be accomplished by 30.
I'm happy to say,
I've done it all!
Okay maybe not everything,
I didn't get to Paris like I promised myself.
But I managed to get out on to a farm years sooner than I thought I would. So I see those two as awash.
And really?
the lifestyle living out here full time has got to be way more worth it than 2 weeks in Paris.

So I figure everything is pretty good (minus the fact I woke up this morning with a wicked chest cold and a throat that's on fire- make enjoying your last day of your twenties kinda painful)
I mean if you can reach that milestone/goal age, and say I did everything on "my list" so far, except one thing, you've got be doing something right, RIGHT?

Now...I need to come up with a whole new list of goals and stuff for the next big milestone...

2009-09-06T20:31:00.003-06:00

How Fun would it be to go out for Halloween as a stick man?
Maybe it's just me and my rapidly expanding shape...but I thought this costume was the greatest

Of course I have no intention of breaking out in dance routine, in another 2 months I'll probably be lucky to tie my own shoes. But I just thought this was such a simple yet great costume.

Budda is pear shaped...or the other way around?

2009-09-05T23:28:00.002-06:00

Just another little something from cyberspace...I thought it was too cool not to share.
http://www.neatorama.com/2009/09/04/buddha-shaped-pears/

How cool would it be to have an entire fruit tree of little growing Buddha's?

Birthday Ice Cream

2009-07-22T23:13:00.009-06:00

Chris' Birthday...and I'd put off making a cake. It was way to hot to turn on the oven and bake one, so we did the next best thing...

Off to DQ- and stick some Birthday candles in the ice cream~

Happy Birthday!!!!

Of course Nathan figured he must be missing out...and needed a candle in his cone too!

Happy UnBirthday!

mmmm...even better than cake.

The Capital EX

2009-07-22T03:39:00.006-06:00

Yesterday we went to the fair...the capital ex actually. I had wanted to go on Chris' Birthday (today) but after looking at the schedule of entertainment we decided to go yesterday to see Thomas the Train and Elmo!

Nathan Had the best view of anyone for the Thomas the Train show

Thomas, the station master and the conductor putting on their songs and dance act

Nathan with the mini donuts- a must at any fair!!!

And I put him on a pony ride! I was so proud of him, he loved it and he was solid in the saddle.

At one point during the ride he noticed the horse in front of us was empty...and we had a little conversation...

"Mommy seat" (pointing at the horse)

"yes the seat on that horse is empty, it's called a saddle not a seat Nathan"

"mommy go sit"

Translation???

Mommy I've got this covered, go ride your own horse I don't need any help here.

I love his confidence- a little cowboy in the making

We played the duck pond game

And he won "froggy"- he got to choose which one he wanted and of course chose the brightest creature of them all

Chris got his Birthday corn dog

Although he did agree to share a few bites...it was Nathan's first corn dog ever and he thought it was a pretty good deal - although he started calling it "Doggie corn" which I think grossed his Daddy out

And we did see the sesame street characters- although I wasn't impressed! I though they were putting on some type of show. Turns out it was a meet a greet, with about a 45 minute wait by the time we realized what the deal was. So this was about as close as we got...and that of course caused a melt down that we didn't get to hug Elmo!

tomorrow...

2009-07-17T20:34:00.003-06:00

I'm so excited for tomorrow...I must be getting OLD!!!
My Dad and Barb are coming up, and going to pick up our New Lawn Mower!!!
a sweet John Deere riding lawn mower that is! ( we're being spoiled by both sets of parents getting together and buying it for us as a wedding present- My dad's just thrilled I didn't cost him a million bucks with a big wedding and decided to put the money into something we need- so cool)
No more push mower.
And a JOHN DEERE to BOOT?!?! AWESOME
I'm tempted to go get me a John Deere hat so I can feel like a true redneck...of course I'd have to find a pink one....

mmmmm..tastes like summer

2009-07-12T20:43:00.004-06:00

I found perfectly ripe cherries at the store today...You know the kind that you need to eat right away because they're so juicy and perfect at that exact moment?

Personally I love pulling off the stems and spitting the pits out...but this year I was a little worried about someone breaking a tooth or chocking on a pit...so I de-pitted (Is that an actual word?) all of them first

And we took a whole bowl of them out onto the deck for dessert tonight

I think, by the looks of this face, my son may have inherited a love of cherries from me!

Although I don't think he was to crazy about the cherry juice wipe down/clean up routine his dad had for him

Friday Nite Date

2009-07-11T01:32:00.004-06:00

Being to hot and tired to cook, and knowing that I had to pick up a few things at Walmart.
I took Nathan to Mcdonalds.
I bought him a happy meal, which had some sort of dinosaur toy in it...and then we went and did our errands in Walmart...
He was really well behaved the entire time, so I'd had a great night.
But the really special part to me was the conversation we had just as we were getting in the van to go home, he looked up at me and said...
"mommy, 'donalds fun"
and then
"thanks mommy dinosaur"

from a little guy that doesn't have a lot of words still, that just about made me cry!

It was a special date night for me

Flowers flowers everywhere

2009-07-10T21:00:00.008-06:00

Nathan and I spent our evening gardening together, actually that's not entirely true first we went to Wal-mart to get the potting soil, some big boy undies oh and McDonald's for dinner...then we spent the rest of the night wedding and planting.

I know it's super late to be planting flowers, but after the July long weekend they go on sale for 50 % off, and seeing as I'll probably kill at least half I figure the math works out in the end...sort of!

After weeding the big horse trough/planter out front I just put Nathan right into it; to help me dig the holes. As you can see in the pic below it's a little too tall for him to try and reach into.

All I can say is the flowers are "well planted" or at least well packed into the soil since I think that most of them got stepped on at least once.

(my poor lily got the worst abuse of all the plants, Chris broke one of the blooms off before we were even out of the store and Nathan stepped on it, and I think he may have snapped the stem of the remaining bloom...so maybe I'll have pretty lilies next year ?!?!?)

I also had to dig some back out, since Nathan thought they need to be completely cover over in dirt. But hey he was helping.

This is the special plant that Nathan got to pick out himself...I think it's pretty cool looking, I've never seen one before it's called a candy corn plant...

He's also an expert waterer. I think that needs to become his new chore.

2009-07-09T09:54:00.004-06:00

**An Update since the last post about the "FROG" in the basement**

I was on the phone with Chris when I discovered the creature in the wall...and the first words out of my mouth, after the scream were"there's a lizard or a gecko in the wall"

to which he told me I was being crazy it was probably a frog...so after the last post i went back down stairs to make sure the water had completely stopped and look what I found...

We were actually both wrong, after some research on the net I realized it's actually a Tiger Salamander
Being a salamander is less scary than a frog...go figure that one out. So I caught the slimy little thing with a bucket and a broom and even fashioned this little cage to keep it over night so I could show the boys in the morning

Nathan thought the thing was pretty cool in the bucket

Although he was sure it was a frog and kept telling us it was kermit

It was even cool to watch it run around on Daddy's hands...

But when we asked if he was going to touch it, he threw himself off the chair and shouted "NO, no thanks"

We took it to the edge of the pond out front and released it

By the picture below I'm not surprised we've never seen one before now, look how well they camouflage in their environment

Basement disaster

2009-07-09T00:06:00.003-06:00

This morning we noticed the hot water was out.

Neither one of us was that keen on going downstairs and looking at the tank. We were told by the house inspector before we moved in the hot water tank probably had less than a year of life in it, so we thought we knew what we were about to find.

WRONG

the whole basement was flooded, and I mean the WHOLE BASEMENT. it was up to my ankle in low spots.

We think the kill switch and the float in the water holding tank failed. So the tank was full but the pump kept bring in more water from the well. NOT GOOD.

anyways, lots of mopping and pumping and wet vac action later (like 3 hours later) we had it kind of under control.

put down some fans and heaters to dry out for a bit and were hoping to leave it until tomorrow- where we can start a bleach clean up...ummm no...

I just went down to turn off the heaters before bed. there's more water!!!

not as much, and it's contained around the tank...so I killed the power to all the pumps and shut off all the water lines including the hot water tank...

but do you know what freaked me out the worst?

a frog

yes, you read that right. On my way down the stairs there was a frog trying to jam it self into a crack in the wall. I screamed!

Yes

I'm not usually a total girly-girl but I had a run in with a frog a few years ago and now I'm tainted against them. Snakes, Frogs and Moths. those are my big girly- run- screaming kind of things. And running into a frog in the basement just made the whole nasty flood thing too much!!!

Adventures in potty training

2009-07-08T22:46:00.002-06:00

Admittedly, my morning sickness and lack of energy has affected all areas of our life, and Nathan's potty training has suffered along with everything else. The funny thing is although I haven't managed to get him to use the potty on a regular basis...I do seem to have him outdoor trained...

This pic just makes me laugh.
Not only did he whip off his pants and diaper completely when I asked if he needed to pee. He also headed straight for the fence!
and the mask just kills me.
"if I wear my mask no one will no it's me peeing on the fence"
I guess peeing is just that much more fun if you get to do it outside...Must be a boy thing!

ha ha oops...

2009-07-08T22:43:00.002-06:00

I just realized it was probably a little tacky posting about my wedding in one post and a new baby in the next~
oops!
Not That I've ever been someone who follows the rules very well. I just do what works for our family, and if the timing isn't perfect for everything~oh well!!!

2009-07-08T00:28:00.002-06:00

I don't know if you noticed the Widget on the side bar??? the baby count down ticker?

We're expecting in mid- January....
and the most exciting part for me right now is TODAY is officially 13 weeks!!!
Marking the end of the first trimester...which has been BRUTAL. Morning sickness, tired beyond belief, I'm so hoping this marks the end of all these symptom, and we can just move on to the other pregnancy aches and complaints. I had no idea that pregnancy was so different from one kid to the next

Finally a MRS

2009-07-06T22:27:00.002-06:00

After, like 4 years of being "engaged"- we finally just ran off and "Eloped"- well, sort of...

We went to Drumheller for the day

and had our parents meet us there, so it was small a quick..and in the end it was just the people that I think it was most important to.

I didn't wear my "real wedding dress" partly because I was scared it wouldn't fit and partly just to keep this simple and laid back

We got married at the "little Church"

- which seats 10,000

6 at a time

(also a way of ensuring that the wedding had to stay small, there was only enough room for us in there)

and finally after all this waiting, and cancelled wedding plans...it finally was a done deal, sealed with a kiss!

"NICE" People

2009-05-24T00:02:00.002-06:00

I just have to vent about this...
so, we went to a town just north of here today that was having a community wide garage sale.
and at one of the garage sales Nathan attached to a little electronic black jack game. for no real reason, except it was his size I think.
Anyways we told him we were going and to put the game down on the table.
and...
the hissy fit started, boots got kicked off everything.
So the lady running the garage sale rushes over and says "oh, he can have that" and hands it to him!

Now I know she was being nice,
and most people just don't want to see a little kid cry.
But it really irked me! I mean were standing there telling our child no, and some stranger is undermining us. The point was not to buy the toy or not I'm sure it wasn't even that expensive, but the actual problem was that he'd gotten 2 other toys at a different sale and needs to understand he doesn't get everything he wants.

I know people are being nice and he's cute, but it really make me angry when the offer something to Nathan, or stick it in his hand before they ask me. People give him suckers and things all the time...and half the time I'm just like "really? great, he just had some sugar and now your jamming more in him. But I'm the mean one and get to deal with the temper tantrum not mention the screaming and tears if I take it away now! THANKS!!!"

pretty cool wedding video

2009-05-20T22:19:00.002-06:00

Found this in my travels... thought it was one of the coolest wedding videos I've seen...

Brian & Eileen's Wedding Music Video. from LOCKDOWN projects on Vimeo.

*~*JOLT*~*