What is this all about you ask?
Let me give you the quick run down that I "stole" from my girlfriend's blog.
NaBloPoMo stands for National Blog Posting Month. The goal is to write a post a day for an entire month. You can find more information at www.blogher.com.
"Thanks Bonnie"
I'm a day behind, as it started yesterday. I tried to do this last year with my other blog, but failed miserably. I decided to try it again...with BOTH blogs this time!
Here is to a November of blogging!
I'm posting this exact same post on my other blog!
Saturday, November 2, 2013
Thursday, May 23, 2013
Bloglovin
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Tuesday, May 7, 2013
Design Help
So, I have decided to take on a small project and I need your help!
A little back story
When Hayden was about 2, we got a little wooden playhouse from my boss. It was his daughters, but now that she was older, they no longer wanted it and gave it to us.
It's a cute little house and at our other house, we had built a little stone pathway up to it. We never painted it because I liked the rustic wood look.
When we moved to our current house, the playhouse came with us.
It has sat in the yard for the past 4 years, pretty much untouched and not played with. Perhaps I never really paid it much attention because I was just waiting for a little girl to want to make it home.
I now that that little girl and I feel she is the perfect age for it. With that being said, I have also decided that it's time to paint it and I need help picking out colour combos.
Here it is as it currently stands in the yard:
Here are the samples we picked (sorry, the quality is not very clear)
A little back story
When Hayden was about 2, we got a little wooden playhouse from my boss. It was his daughters, but now that she was older, they no longer wanted it and gave it to us.
It's a cute little house and at our other house, we had built a little stone pathway up to it. We never painted it because I liked the rustic wood look.
When we moved to our current house, the playhouse came with us.
It has sat in the yard for the past 4 years, pretty much untouched and not played with. Perhaps I never really paid it much attention because I was just waiting for a little girl to want to make it home.
I now that that little girl and I feel she is the perfect age for it. With that being said, I have also decided that it's time to paint it and I need help picking out colour combos.
Here it is as it currently stands in the yard:
The inside is not very big...probably big enough for a little table and chair. Perhaps a baby bed.
This is the picture I first saw that inspired me and was my colour combo of choice until Abby said she didn't like it:
Here are the samples we picked (sorry, the quality is not very clear)
This first one is pretty much the colours in the inspiration, the pink, sage-like green and yellow. I would keep it the same....most of the house yellow, pink posts and trim and green roof.
This one is a bit more bold....orange, blue and red. I would paint the house blue, trim red and roof orange.
Now, the colour is WAY off on this one, but from left to right, lime green, plum purple and turquoise. I would paint the house green, the trim purple and the roof turquoise.
So, yesterday Abby wanted it blue and orange...today she likes the pink and yellow. So, basically, I can't leave it up to the 3 year old My heart is pulling towards the girly palette....what do you think? Would you do something totally different from what is here?
Thursday, May 2, 2013
Kids Say The Darndest Things
On our way to Niagara, Hayden says to dad
"Hey dad, let's put our hats on backwards and look cool!"
"You bet Hayden, and then we can really pick up the ladies!"
"Oh yeah, dad!"
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Later on the 401, a corvette drives by and Brian says,
"Hey buddy! That is the car we need to pick up chicks! Pretty cool huh?"
I pipe in and add " yeah, but there are only 2 seats...nowhere to put those chicks"
"We would find room, wouldn't we Hayden"
This is where it gets fun, Hayden then says,
"But dad, we will need a big cardboard box"
Brian and I look at each other, a little puzzled, Hayden then continues,
"because chicks poop a lot!"
Apparently, Brian and Hayden will be picking up different chicks!
Then tonight, driving into town, Hayden and I take the road that my late grandfather's house is on (now my uncle's).
He correctly points out that Uncle Steve lives on this road..."not great grampa anymore though, because he is......he is......he is extinct. Extinct means there are no more of them left!"
I had to agree with him. Our great grampa is extinct, for there will NEVER be another one like him!
"Hey dad, let's put our hats on backwards and look cool!"
"You bet Hayden, and then we can really pick up the ladies!"
"Oh yeah, dad!"
.jpg)
Later on the 401, a corvette drives by and Brian says,
"Hey buddy! That is the car we need to pick up chicks! Pretty cool huh?"
I pipe in and add " yeah, but there are only 2 seats...nowhere to put those chicks"
"We would find room, wouldn't we Hayden"
This is where it gets fun, Hayden then says,
"But dad, we will need a big cardboard box"
Brian and I look at each other, a little puzzled, Hayden then continues,
"because chicks poop a lot!"
Apparently, Brian and Hayden will be picking up different chicks!
Then tonight, driving into town, Hayden and I take the road that my late grandfather's house is on (now my uncle's).
He correctly points out that Uncle Steve lives on this road..."not great grampa anymore though, because he is......he is......he is extinct. Extinct means there are no more of them left!"
I had to agree with him. Our great grampa is extinct, for there will NEVER be another one like him!
Wednesday, April 24, 2013
A Dozen Cupcakes
This is a story about a mom that agreed to make a dozen cupcakes for the Cops For Cancer fundraiser that her son's school was hosting.
Her son wanted camouflage cupcakes, so that mom did a search on her favorite "go-to" site, Pinterest! She found the perfect tutorial and set out to make them. Her son wanted Army men on top of them. That mom soon discovered that little plastic army men are like liquid gold! Hard to find!
Because she is a good mom, she did finally manage to secure 6 dozen army men.....she bought more than needed because of their rare availability and the hopes of later selling them on the black market to raise money for college.
She went to the bulk food store to get piping bags,leopard camo print cupcake liners and food colouring....forgetting the piping bags on the first trip, meaning she was then required to go back to the store a second time.
Things seemed easy enough, but as she got reading, she realized that the instructions called for 2 cake mixes, which means, she would in fact be making about 4 dozen cupcakes. No problem.....because she picked up extra icing and army men! So she split up the batter and coloured it into a multitude of colours. She scooped and spooned, spending more time filling cupcake liners then any one person should.
Turns out, following the directions in the tutorial only leaves you enough green and white batter to make 2 dozen. This leaves enough chocolate batter that you are forced to do something with.
At this point, the smaller child in the family pipes in and asks which ones are hers? Her lob-sided pigtails make that mom agree to make some mini cupcakes for her preschool friends at daycare. As the mom pulls out the second dozen pan of mini ones, she remembers that both the preschool and toddler room are sharing space and can just imagine the puppy dog stares of the little ones over the bookcase, wondering how come they don't get cupcakes. That means that mom should make another 2 dozen mini cupcakes.
After making 2 dozen army cupcakes and 4 dozen mini cupcakes, there is still batter left over. As it turns out, only enough for 1 1/2 cupcakes. Now there will be none for the kids to sample.....what is a mom to do? Correct-o! Pull out ANOTHER cake mix and whip it up. Let's remember.....1 cake mix makes about 2 dozen cupcakes.....this means, she will need to decorate another dozen for the school, because both her kids and waist line don't need 2 dozen at home. After that 2 dozen is ready to go in the oven, there is STILL some batter left (she is convinced it multiplied on it's own when she wasn't looking!) Guess how many it made? 4......4 cupcakes....the perfect number for home. So, now she has 4 dozen to go the school, 4 dozen for the daycare and 4 single cupcakes for the kiddos. Because the second batch was just plain chocolate and it was a pain in the behind to do the camo ones, she reverts back to her old stand by.....Monster Cupcakes.
Guess what?!!? There is just enough icing left for 2 dozen cupcakes....those 4 perfect left over ones? No icing for them!
In the end, she has 23 camo cupcakes, 23 monster cupcakes, 48 mini ones and 4 plain.
Apparently, this mom is a bit crazy and should clearly be medicated for this day of baking. But guess what, she secretly loves it and was so happy to do it! They needed to go to quality control though!
They passed!
Her son wanted camouflage cupcakes, so that mom did a search on her favorite "go-to" site, Pinterest! She found the perfect tutorial and set out to make them. Her son wanted Army men on top of them. That mom soon discovered that little plastic army men are like liquid gold! Hard to find!
Because she is a good mom, she did finally manage to secure 6 dozen army men.....she bought more than needed because of their rare availability and the hopes of later selling them on the black market to raise money for college.
She went to the bulk food store to get piping bags,
Things seemed easy enough, but as she got reading, she realized that the instructions called for 2 cake mixes, which means, she would in fact be making about 4 dozen cupcakes. No problem.....because she picked up extra icing and army men! So she split up the batter and coloured it into a multitude of colours. She scooped and spooned, spending more time filling cupcake liners then any one person should.
Turns out, following the directions in the tutorial only leaves you enough green and white batter to make 2 dozen. This leaves enough chocolate batter that you are forced to do something with.
At this point, the smaller child in the family pipes in and asks which ones are hers? Her lob-sided pigtails make that mom agree to make some mini cupcakes for her preschool friends at daycare. As the mom pulls out the second dozen pan of mini ones, she remembers that both the preschool and toddler room are sharing space and can just imagine the puppy dog stares of the little ones over the bookcase, wondering how come they don't get cupcakes. That means that mom should make another 2 dozen mini cupcakes.
After making 2 dozen army cupcakes and 4 dozen mini cupcakes, there is still batter left over. As it turns out, only enough for 1 1/2 cupcakes. Now there will be none for the kids to sample.....what is a mom to do? Correct-o! Pull out ANOTHER cake mix and whip it up. Let's remember.....1 cake mix makes about 2 dozen cupcakes.....this means, she will need to decorate another dozen for the school, because both her kids and waist line don't need 2 dozen at home. After that 2 dozen is ready to go in the oven, there is STILL some batter left (she is convinced it multiplied on it's own when she wasn't looking!) Guess how many it made? 4......4 cupcakes....the perfect number for home. So, now she has 4 dozen to go the school, 4 dozen for the daycare and 4 single cupcakes for the kiddos. Because the second batch was just plain chocolate and it was a pain in the behind to do the camo ones, she reverts back to her old stand by.....Monster Cupcakes.
Guess what?!!? There is just enough icing left for 2 dozen cupcakes....those 4 perfect left over ones? No icing for them!
In the end, she has 23 camo cupcakes, 23 monster cupcakes, 48 mini ones and 4 plain.
That same mom goes to pick up her son from school and while waiting, hears parts of an announcement....the parts she hears....."cupcakes....tomorrow....not available...." This is the point when she just about has a coronary and marches down to the office to clarify. Like it or not, she would be pawning these cupcakes off on somebody....but luckily, the announcement was a bit confusing and just meant that if students hadn't pre-ordered them, they would not be able to get them tomorrow. Heavy sigh exhaled!!
Apparently, this mom is a bit crazy and should clearly be medicated for this day of baking. But guess what, she secretly loves it and was so happy to do it! They needed to go to quality control though!
They passed!
Friday, March 15, 2013
My Little Girl
Last night, I had one of those awesome parenting moments, the one where I feel nothing but pure love and joy for my child. Don't get me wrong, I have this all the time for my children. There is NOTHING I wouldn't do for them, but sometimes, life gets in the way and you forget. Forget that they are little for such a short time, forget that their love is pure, with no hate or vindictiveness behind their anger.
Is she not one of the cutest things you have ever seen?!?!
Let me be frank here. I love her! I love her to pieces, but she is also the one that tries my patience the most. From day one, she was very high maintenance. I was spoiled by my son, he was so laid back and still is. She would not sleep for more than 20 minutes at a time and even now still doesn't sleep through the night every night.
She is not my favorite (and every mom has a favorite, whether they admit it or not) She gives me the most grief about everything. Getting dressed, doing her hair, the temper tantrums over not getting her way. Every thing is a struggle with her. She doesn't do this with dad, just me.
Anyway, last night was one of those nights. It was 9:00pm, she had been in bed for 2 hours and she still wasn't settled. Finally, I went and got her out of bed to cuddle on the couch. She was so happy! I decided to take her to my bed to snuggle for a few more minutes. I figured if it was dark and quiet and my breathing was relaxed, she would follow. So we crawl into bed and she is wide awake now, all toothy smiles to be n bed with me. We lay down with our arms around each other and she just starts kissing my face. Randomly, with love. Suddenly, I remembered that this little baby (and she is STILL a baby at 3) won't want to do this forever. I was mad at myself for not cuddling with her earlier in the night. Why didn't I? Because I wanted to watch some shows on Netflix and relax. It seems pretty trivial now.
Pinterest is one of my favorite sites and there are so many cute ideas to record your children growing up. I have done none of them for my children. I have a baby book for Hayden, but not for Abby. I tell myself that my kids are too old to start some of these things, but are they really?
In the fall, I thought it would be nice if I started a journal for each kid and give it to them at their wedding. I would only update it once a year on their birthday. I would tell them what they liked and dreamed about. Did I do this? Of course not. I sort of started a letter to Abby and it went a little something like this:
That was as far as I got. You know what? I am going to finish it. It might start mid-way through their life, but it will be something for them to remember!
Is she not one of the cutest things you have ever seen?!?!
Let me be frank here. I love her! I love her to pieces, but she is also the one that tries my patience the most. From day one, she was very high maintenance. I was spoiled by my son, he was so laid back and still is. She would not sleep for more than 20 minutes at a time and even now still doesn't sleep through the night every night.
She is not my favorite (and every mom has a favorite, whether they admit it or not) She gives me the most grief about everything. Getting dressed, doing her hair, the temper tantrums over not getting her way. Every thing is a struggle with her. She doesn't do this with dad, just me.
Anyway, last night was one of those nights. It was 9:00pm, she had been in bed for 2 hours and she still wasn't settled. Finally, I went and got her out of bed to cuddle on the couch. She was so happy! I decided to take her to my bed to snuggle for a few more minutes. I figured if it was dark and quiet and my breathing was relaxed, she would follow. So we crawl into bed and she is wide awake now, all toothy smiles to be n bed with me. We lay down with our arms around each other and she just starts kissing my face. Randomly, with love. Suddenly, I remembered that this little baby (and she is STILL a baby at 3) won't want to do this forever. I was mad at myself for not cuddling with her earlier in the night. Why didn't I? Because I wanted to watch some shows on Netflix and relax. It seems pretty trivial now.
Pinterest is one of my favorite sites and there are so many cute ideas to record your children growing up. I have done none of them for my children. I have a baby book for Hayden, but not for Abby. I tell myself that my kids are too old to start some of these things, but are they really?
In the fall, I thought it would be nice if I started a journal for each kid and give it to them at their wedding. I would only update it once a year on their birthday. I would tell them what they liked and dreamed about. Did I do this? Of course not. I sort of started a letter to Abby and it went a little something like this:
To My Wonderful Daughter,
Abigail Marjorie Lynne
Recorded here are my thoughts on you, the value you add to our family and how much you are loved!
I will record for you, each year on your birthday all of the special things that happened and my thoughts of you growing from a baby to a woman.
I will record for you, each year on your birthday all of the special things that happened and my thoughts of you growing from a baby to a woman.
Introduction
I wish I had thought to do this for you before now. It’s the year of your 3rd birthday and while I may not have documented my memories from your first couple years, they are vivid and strong for me. I hope to pass this on to you once you are ready to start your own family, because it’s not until then that you can truly appreciate all that you mean to me!
You are the second child we had the pleasure to welcome into our home. Your arrival completed our family. We officially are considered to have the “million dollar” family.
Ever since I was a little girl, the only thing I wanted to do was get married and have children. I always dreamed of a little girl I could dress up in cute little clothes and play dolls with. When that ultrasound picture showed you to be a little girl, I could not wait to start buying pink EVERYTHING!
As a baby, you were bright and alert! It was love at first sight and it was that love that got me through the tough times. You were not a sleeper and had to be entertained all the time. For you, stimulation was key. You sat up early and started to crawl around. You took your first steps the day before your first birthday and after that, there was no stopping you. You are a girl on a mission and there is no telling you no!
Friday, November 30, 2012
At 3, you love to play with your babies. You are a wonderful and caring mother to them. You rub their backs when they cry and give them tender “shh’s” You can be seen pushing your double stroller full of babies, wearing your pretend high heels.
You can count to 10 and know all of your colours. You are not much of an eater, living mostly on diary products, treats and crackers. It drives me crazy but I have faith you will turn it around and at least try something else one day. You are daddy’s girl and constantly at his side. You request that he does everything for you and he does, because he loves you just as much as I do.
You are shy with strangers, unless in the grocery store, then you say hi to everyone and insist I do too. If you don’t get your way, you scream, cry and lay on the floor pouting. We have learned to just walk over you until you are ready to move on. You love Hayden but pick on him endlessly. You grab his clothes as he is about to get dressed. Play with his toys just as he is about to. You are one smart cookie and know what buttons to push to bug him.
But most of all….you are full of love! You give hugs and kisses without asking. Your birthday celebration this year, was filled with family. Gramma and Grampa join us every year for cake and presents. They love you just as much as we do! You asked for a ‘nilla cake with ‘nilla frosting and sprinkles.
That was as far as I got. You know what? I am going to finish it. It might start mid-way through their life, but it will be something for them to remember!
Tuesday, March 12, 2013
Welcome to Old Fart's Ville!
This year, I turn 35. I am positive about this, I used the calculator to do the math. Seriously! I am so old that I need to do that now. If someone was to stop me on the street and ask me how old I was, I would look like a fool as I tried desperately to remember and would probably respond with something like "I was born in '78" and let them do the math.
I have already decided that this is not my year and I am falling apart. First off, I am having my gallbladder removed in a couple weeks and I have a tumor under my right ear that I am having removed sometime in the fall.
Those things alone would make someone feel ready for the retirement home, but that is not what made me feel like an old fart. It was a conversation with my son last Wednesday.
We were in the car going to an appointment and he says:
"Hey Mom, can we go on a subway one day?"
"Yes, Hayden, I think that would be something we could do. Did you know that when mom lived in Toronto, I took the subway all the time"
"Yeah, 'cause in the old days they didn't have cars, only buses, subways and airplanes!"
"No, actually they DID have cars, I just didn't drive"
"Were you a grown up?"
"Yes! I was in college"
"Well, when you are a grown up, you are supposed to drive!"
"Well, I didn't have my licence to drive, so I took the bus and subway everywhere"
"Hmm, grown up's should drive"
At that point, I pretty much turned up the radio to silence the sounds of my tears as I sobbed into my old fart handkerchief.
Now, if you will excuse me, I need to go oil the wheels on my walker!
I have already decided that this is not my year and I am falling apart. First off, I am having my gallbladder removed in a couple weeks and I have a tumor under my right ear that I am having removed sometime in the fall.
Those things alone would make someone feel ready for the retirement home, but that is not what made me feel like an old fart. It was a conversation with my son last Wednesday.
We were in the car going to an appointment and he says:
"Hey Mom, can we go on a subway one day?"
"Yes, Hayden, I think that would be something we could do. Did you know that when mom lived in Toronto, I took the subway all the time"
"Yeah, 'cause in the old days they didn't have cars, only buses, subways and airplanes!"
"No, actually they DID have cars, I just didn't drive"
"Were you a grown up?"
"Yes! I was in college"
"Well, when you are a grown up, you are supposed to drive!"
"Well, I didn't have my licence to drive, so I took the bus and subway everywhere"
"Hmm, grown up's should drive"
At that point, I pretty much turned up the radio to silence the sounds of my tears as I sobbed into my old fart handkerchief.
Now, if you will excuse me, I need to go oil the wheels on my walker!
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