Through The Eyes Of A 4 Year Old

Today, Hayden wanted to take some pictures with the camera....so I showed him what button to push and let him go wild.  Some of the shots were full of fingers or blurry, but some were not too bad.  Here is a sampling of his work. 

Face Cloth in the pool

Clean Laundry

Peony Bush

Tomato Plant # 1

Tomato Plant # 2

Tomato Plant # 3

When Daddy Is Away.....

Mom has to find something to do with the kids before she pulls out all her hair.

I think I have mentioned before...I love my kids to bits, but am not meant to be a stay at home mom.  Bless all those who have the patience to do so, but I love going to work and having "me time"

So, today is the start of a long weekend, which usually is great, but with Brian away, to me, it just means one extra day home with the kids with no one to provide a few minutes of relief.

So, I decided to take the kids to a local reptile zoo.  I knew the kids would like it and Brian is not a big fan of snakes, so I figured it would be one adventure he might not miss.

We made plans to pick Gramma up at 10.  Then I remembered that it's Canada Day and there is a local parade.  We walked down the road to watch the parade while Gramma finished getting ready.  Usually we are in the parade, but I just didn't get it together in time this year, so we were mere observers.  It was a good parade this year with a few more additions than usual.  Afterwards, they always have free cake and hot dogs, but quite frankly, neither one is thrilling enough to make me brave the mass amounts of people.  We stood and watched the parade with one of Hayden's school friends.

Then we loaded up and went to the reptile zoo.  It's a great little place really.  Mostly snakes and lizards in cages.  They have a tank of turtles that you can watch them swim around in.  Abby loved that and kept saying " Hi Doggy", there is also a crocodile and an alligator.  Outside are some tortoises.  Hayden's favorite part was when the crocodile climbed out of the water and ventured out the door to the pen outside.  There was also a live demo show with a turtle, lizard and snake.  Hayden was able to touch the snake, but he wasn't too excited about it.

Getting ready in our matching shirts
I have given up getting pictures with both kids looking at the camera

All the bikes in the parade...we are usually right in the middle of the chaos!

Hayden and the snake

The large tortoises

Gramma and her Grandbabies!

The crocodile

Hayden and the crocodile

The kids fell asleep on the drive home and I just parked the van in the garage and let them finish their nap.  It was long enough for me to have a quite lunch.  We did a few things inside when they woke up, and then we played outside until dinner time.  I actually cooked dinner tonight, which I haven't done since Brian left.  Then, Hayden rode his smart cycle while Abby had her bath.  I put her to bed and let Hayden have his bath while I cleaned up the kitchen.

This is what happens when you leave your 4 year old alone in the tub with a can of foam soap!

The tub looked like a pink milkshake and Hayden pretty much needed a bath to clean up after his bath!  Ah well, he was happy and I got done what I wanted to do!

Married For A Reason!

This past May, my husband and I were married 6 years.  As far as it goes...it's been great and productive.  I mean, we have 2 kids to show for it.

Our marriage is full of love and understanding for each other.  We balance each other out pretty well.  We know when the other is frustrated and can defuse the other to calm the situation.

This past Tuesday, Brian called me at work, asking if he could go to Nunavut.  Work needed him to go up there to unload and set up one of his machines.  Usually, the service department takes care of this aspect, but the other service guys were busy.  Brian is the only other person who knows the Crushers. 

We both felt it would be a good experience, partly considering he would like to go to service and service requires A LOT of time away from home.

This means.....I am a single mother for the week.  Let me just say, I am SOOOO not meant to be a single mom!  Like I said, we balance each other out and quite frankly....he does TONS around the house and his being gone means I have to do the crappy jobs that are his....like cleaning up after the dog and taking out the garbage!

I don't mind the alone part so much, except at bedtime...the house seems to quiet.

Hayden is upset and misses Daddy....and doesn't understand when he will be home.

I personally think it is good for our relationship to be apart for a bit....absence really does make the heart grow fonder!  This is the video I sent to Brian from the kids. I hope he gets it, and that it doesn't make him cry.  It's pretty cute!

So, there you go...a blog update.  My girlfriend had to remind me it's been awhile since my last update.  But really nothing exciting had happened.  This one is not real exciting or funny.  Perhaps I will blog about our adventures tomorrow.  Hoping to take the kids to the reptile zoo!

No Hanky Panky, Mister!

I now find that as our marriage gets "older", certain things change....the main one being....I no longer feel obligated to go to bed at the same time as Brian.

His work hours have changed, he starts at 5 in the morning and works until about 5 at night.  It's no wonder that he is ready for bed at 9 and is usually asleep in the chair by 9:30.

Last night, he went to bed and I said I would be up in about an hour. 

" ok, well, when you come to bed....scratch my back for me, will ya?"

 Yeah, right hunny....put that on the top of my list.

Anyhoo, around 10:30 I went to bed.  Keep in mind, when I go, it's dark and I don't turn on a light.

I crawl under the blankets and something just doesn't feel right.  I run my hand over Brian and feel my mistake...I am laying on top of the flat sheet.  So, I reach up to pull it down and all I grasp is the fitted sheet.  What the heck?!?!  I turn on the light and just start to howl in laughter...Brian is all curled up in the fitted sheet.  I try to wake him up, but he doesn't move.  Oh well....no worries of wandering hands tonight ;-)
About 2 minutes later, he did get up and "fix" the sheet.

So, this morning, seeing the bed was half unmade, I washed the sheets and had the sitter hang them out.

Do you suspect this was him just trying to invoke the "clean sheet" rule?  With men, all things are possible!

Bicycle Thief

So, I told you how we found a number of bikes at yard sales a couple of weeks ago and mom and I both got ours planted.  She was very worried about it being under the tree and someone stealing it.  I sort of laughed and thought....we live in a small village, I doubt anyone is going to steal an old bike that is clearly set up as decoration in some one's yard.

This morning I was surprised when Dad called to ask me to come over and help him.  Apparently, someone did in fact try and steal her bike.  Dad had them caught but wanted me to help him deal with the would-be thief.  So, I thought this would be a good opportunity to show Hayden what a bike thief looks like and teach him a lesson in humanity as well. 

I had to bring my camera with me....photo ID and all.  But I thought I would share some pictures....might help others be aware and keep an eye out for the "perp"

 The thief in action

A close up so you can see his face for the "line up"

Hayden after we convinced him the "perp" would not attack

 He's got a firm grip on him now!

The "perp" attacking...guess we were wrong

Hayden being thrown to the ground

Hayden with the final "pin down"

Another close up before we handed him over to professionals

Did I have to going for a minute there?  Dad did call this morning about 8:15 and asked if I had a busy day planned....he told me he had a turtle in his yard and thought Hayden might like to see it.  I made Hayden phone grampa back and ask him what he had in his yard.  Hayden was so excited!  He dropped the phone while trying to get all his stuff ready to go "sorry Grampa...you ok?  I just dropped you!"

I have never seen that kid get dressed so fast!

We were in the car and over to help Grampa in about 10 minutes.  Dad said he was sitting at the table having breakfast when he thought he saw a large dove.  He got out the binoculars and lo and behold...a turtle. The thing must have been lost, because there is no water around mom and dads. 

After letting the kids check him out and take a few photos, we took him down to the river to release him.  I tried to get a video of the release, but man...could that turtle move!  He was in the water in no time flat!  So, our day started out with helping mother nature!  How cool is that!  See folks, THAT is why I can't live in the city!

P.S.  did you notice that there are no pictures of Abby with the turtle?  She touched it once and cried in terror after that!

A Busy Weekend

This past weekend seemed very short but was very productive.  We spent all of Saturday morning in town, which was a great way to beat the rain, but I hate doing that.  For me, a couple hours is good and then I just want to be home.  We picked up some flowers for the gardens and did a few other things ( I will show you the most adventurous at the end of the post, so stay tuned!)

Do you remember last week I talked about my yard sale finds and the garden we started?  Well, here is a continuation and a few more photos of the rest of my gardens in progress.

This was my other yard sale find.  I had seen the idea on someone else's blog.  I told mom what I wanted to try and find and she wanted one too.  We hit the jackpot at the yard sales with a total of 5 being found!

TA DA!

I had originally envisioned it under a tree, but after moving it around the yard under all the trees, I didn't love it under any of them, so I put it next to the front step and I think it's perfect.  I still am going to add a plant to the back fender....mom has a bracket for the back that we picked up at a different yard sale.

I also bought some flowers for my metal wagon that I bought last year. It's not old, just looks that way, but I love it too!

The other garden addition I did last year was an idea I saw on Rachel Ray.   I had been looking for a focal point for my garden, but couldn't come up with one.  Then I saw this idea and knew I had to re-create it!  I have gotten a number of comments on it and that makes me happy!



Just imagine it with flowers cascading out of the bottom 2 drawers

 It didn't weather so well after the winter, all the paint came off, so we brought it in and Brian scraped and re-painted. I will get some plants for it and something to adorn the top.

Ready for some more pictures?  Here is the garden we stared last weekend:

I decided to incorporate a dry river bed.  Grampa made Hayden this bridge (not very well, might I add Grampa!)  and I didnt' know where else to put it and it didn't look right to me just sitting in the dirt.  So, to me, this is the perfect solution.  My girlfriend Teri would be so proud of me!  As a family yesterday, we went ROCK PICKING to gather all of these rocks.  I need a few more to fill it up and maybe some smaller ones to close the gaps

The last few are of a couple items that have been around for awhile, but I never photographed them and by the time I got to it last night, it was getting dark, so not the greatest quality.

 Hayden "stole" this from Gramma and Grampas' last year

 The old window frame came from Aunt Chris's
and we cut down the trellis to add it to the top

I had this at the other house and the rocks made the move with us!

OK, so I know you have been waiting with baited breath...what was the most adventurous thing we did!?!

We got Abby's ears pierced!   I know, I know, I can hear the gasps and shrieks and cries of what horrible parents we are!  Really, it was all Brian's idea.  He has wanted to get this done for ages and I have held him off this long.  I wanted to do it too, but didn't want to cause her any pain, that is why I didn't do it.  They look so cute though and after the initial shock and pain, she has forgotten about it.

So, here is hoping your weekend was as great as mine!

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June's Menu

Time to get back on track that for me, that is starting with my monthly meal planning.

Here is what the Bickmore Family Resturant is cooking up for the month of June!

Menu for June 2011

Sun	Mon	Tue	Wed	Thu	Fri	Sat
			1	2	3	4
			Pulled Pork Onion Rings	SHOPPING NIGHT	Burgers Potato Salad	Chicken Parm Pasta Garlic Bread
5	6	7	8	9	10	11
Roast Beef Mashed Potatoes Yorkshire Pudding	Grilled Cheese Tomato Soup	Baked French Toast	Mexican Casserole Bread	BBQ Chicken Potatoes	Sausages Fries	Amy’s Night Out!
12	13	14	15	16	17	18
Pork Chops Sidekicks Potatoes	Pancakes Bacon	Spaghetti Caesar Salad Garlic Bread	Chicken Stew Bread	SHOPPING NIGHT	Chicken Burgers Chips	Ham Potatoes au Gratin Corn
19	20	21	22	23	24	25
Father's Day Steak Potatoes Fried Onions Bread	Sandwiches Chips	Pizza	Pork Tenderloin Twice Baked Potatoes	Mac & Cheese	Texas Tommies Tater Tots	Chicken Fingers Fries
26	27	28	29	30
Chicken Alfredo Caesar Salad Bread	Egg McMuffins	TOPS BBQ	Burgers Fries	SHOPPING NIGHT

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