Merry Christmas!

I know I've been a very bad blogger, and it's in my resolution list to be better, so here is a little something to make you smile and wish you a happy holidays! Hope you get a giggle!

http://www.elfyourself.com/?id=1709547614

(copy and paste in addy line - if you get an error message, try it again and it should work!)

Check out my Slide Show!

All of this and it's only 8 AM!

Wow, what a morning. It's Sunday, I don't have to get up. The boys don't have to be taken anywhere, I don't have a class to teach, the Colts don't even play today. Relax, take it easy, maybe even sleep in? Yeah, nice dream if you can have it! Today my adorable little bundle of joy's decided that waking up at 4:30 AM was a good idea. Then they decided that getting into a fight, which resulted in me getting whacked in the head a few times as collateral damage, was a fine idea. Fight resolved, boys settled - for all of 5 minutes. Conor, my constant noise maker, decided that filling the room with sounds of incoherent chatter was a good idea. I swear he babbled for 30 minutes. Finally, in an effort to get a few more minutes of horizontal shut eye, I let them watch cartoons (OK, total side note. Our satellite carrier has added a channel called Toone Network Retro - it is the absolute coolest! The boys now get to enjoy Tom and Jerry, Bugs Bunny, Elmer Fudd, Fred Flinstone, Rocky and Bullwinkle and many more!!! OK, really, I get to enjoy them! LOL). The cartoons lasted all of 10 minutes and they were back to fighting. So, being the conscientious mother that I am, I kicked them out of bed and told them to go away. For that I was rewarded by a panicked (although somewhat smirking) yell from Liam that Conor had painted the stool, Craft container and his face red. *shudder* Yep, sure enough, round the corner of the living room to find a red faced Conor sitting with all his defiant glory. The conversation went like this,

Me: "Conor, do you know you aren't supposed to touch the paint and stamp pads?"
Conor: Shakes head no
Me: "Excuse me?"
Conor: Shakes head no
Me: Grab chin, force his eyes to mine, "Want to try again, mister?"
Conor: "Well, now that you are up, I'm thirsty and I need my vitamin"
Me: "Arghf"

Honestly, this child creates trouble out of everything. He is way more than a handful! And I need sleep!

After the massive paint clean-up, I decided to make blueberry muffins for the boys for their breakfast. Nice treat for a Sunday morning, right? Ummmm, no. Not for Liam. He stood at the counter telling me that Blueberry muffins were a "treat" and maybe they weren't a "healthy choice". I tried to point out that they were fruit and grain and it was a good thing for an occasional breakfast, but that didn't seem to fly. Instead, Liam pointed out that mommy's homemade french toast WAS a healthy choice. Do you know what it's like to have a 4 year-old food critic living in your house? Every meal I get judged because they are learning about healthy choices in school. Thankfully, most meals pass with flying colors. LOL

So, all of this was BEFORE 8 am. It's going to be a great day, I can already tell. (Insert sarcasm...dripping, dripping sarcasm!)

Well, we have a new member of our family. 3 weeks ago, she joined our family - she's just a little squirt of a thing, but she's adorable! Meet Baby Blue:



Isn't she just adorable?? The vet figures she was around 3-4 weeks when we found her. We've been extremely lucky because she's used the litter box since day 1 and she sleeps in a little bed right beside my bed all night. Just for a reference, here's a pic of Baby with Desi - the gargantuan. LOL

As you can see, she's about the size of his...head. LOL They made friends quite quickly, but Lucy took some time warming up Actually, I don't think she stopped hissing at her until Baby started eating Kitten food, which now Lucy thinks is the "bomb". Go figure.

Going to make a slide show of Conor's Birthday and Swimming Lessons - watch for it soon!

Hope everyone is doing well! Love and (((HUGS))) until next time!

Check out my Slide Show!

Surgery, Webkinz and other ramblings

For those that are wondering, I had my surgery yesterday - I haven't really found out anything except that the problems they thought I was having aren't the ones I'm really having and that means starting all over from point A. Clear as mud? Yep, for me too!

WEBKINZ

Have you heard of these "wonderful" little animals?? No? Neither had I until my dear friend, Sonya, introduced my 2 little men to them. For those uninformed, they are these wonderful little stuffy friends that have a special website where you can go, register your animal and play games, make a home, feed and various other things, your animal. The more animals you have, the more "stuff" you can access. Get the trend here? Just 1 webkinz is not enough, you HAVE to have several so that your Webkinz can have "friends". More $$ from mom and dad. UGH. I do have to admit, though, that they are the cutest little animals and they are Ganz - so nice quality. The website is sort of cute, too, I guess, if you pressure me into admitting it. So, Liam currently has a Bulldog named "Guido"

and Conor has a Clydsdale named "Boogee" (don't ask - actually, ask Nicholas because he named his frog that first and Conor stole it. LOL)


Now, take note Grandma and Grandpa, Aunts and Uncles, Cousins and friends alike - according to Liam and Conor, "You can never have too many Webkinz" and it now tops their lists for any gift giving reasons. Yes, they even plan to ask Santa and Liam actually asked me if I thought he might get one on Halloween or for Conor's birthday. LOL Can you say addict? I sure can. Check out the Webkinz site if you are still confused.

Oh, and I have to say, "Thanks a lot" to Sonya one more time, because now Nicho has not 1, not 2 or even 3, nope - he's got 4 of these darned things...you know what I heard all evening after they spent the days with Nicho? Yep, I'm sure I don't have to tell you. :(

In case you haven't heard my big news, I have a job now. Yep, I am gainfully employed. I have accepted a position with the local artSpace program and will be teaching 5 different classes for kids 1 - 5 (different classes for different ages). The big bonus for this job is that I make my own hours and I can take Conor and Liam with me when I have to. Right now I am a bit overwhelmed and trying to figure out why I took this job. LOL I know I am going to have a lot of fun, and it's right up my alley, I think it's just overwhelming with everything else going on right now. *sigh* I'll be teaching a Mommy & Me class for parents and their 1 year olds, a Crafty Kids class for 2.5 - 4 year olds, A "Jump up & Move" class for 3-5 year olds, a "boys only" Pirate class for 4&5 year olds and a "Girls Only" Princess Power class for 4&5 year olds. Fun!

*BIG GIGANTIC SIGH* Liam starts preschool on Wednesday. I am not ready. He is. 'nuff said.

I hope you are all doing well - drop me a note and let me know! Love and (((HUGS))) until next time!

Check out my Slide Show!

It took me a while

But, I finally got the second paper pack done for my Primarily Twisted line. I just love how it all turned out! I'd LOVE some feedback, so if you grab the papers, let me know what you think!



Primarily Twisted Flowered

I've been tagged!

A - Attached or Single: attached
B - Best Friend: Glenn
C - Cake or Pie: Pie
D - Drink of Choice: Iced Tea
E - Essential Item: Camera
F - Favorite Color: Red
G - Gummi Bears or Worms: Worms
H - Hometown: Fort St. John, BC
I – Indulgence(s): Hot Fudge Sunday
J - January or July: July
K - Kids: Liam (4) & Conor (2)
L - Life is incomplete without: My boys - all 3 of them!
M - Marriage Date: July 30, 2000
N - Number of Siblings: 2
O - Oranges or Apples: Fruit salad? LOL Probably oranges
P - Phobias/Fears: Snakes and Frogs
Q - Favorite Quote: “I can't change the direction of the wind, but I can adjust my sails to always reach my destination.” ~Jimmy Dean
R- Reason to smile: My boys
S - Season: In general: Fall - Since moving to the land of snow? Summer
T- Tag Three: Rebecca Lynn, Sonya & Sarah
U - Unknown Fact About Me: I long to be a writer
V - Vegetarian or Oppressor of Animals: Opressor of animals
W - Worst Habit: Good grief - too numerous to list!
X - X-rays or Ultrasounds: ultra sound
Y - Your Favorite Foods: Lasagna
Z- Zodiac: Sagittarius

We're back from vacation and my baby turned 4!

Well, we are back from Edmonton - believe me, not voluntarily. LOL Liam, Conor and I all decided we were ready to move there, believe it or not, the boys more than me! They had so much fun going to all the museums and fun places. We hit the WEM (that's West Edmonton Mall, for you non-Canadians) several times, but the boys really loved the water park there - it is HUGE and they had such a blast. We did lots and lots of shopping, went to Chuck E. Cheese, Klondike Days (it's sort of like the State Fair), the Telus World of Science, the Valley Zoo, and Toys R Us (3 of them, some more than once). We all had lots of fun, and it was nice and hot while we were there so we all came home a bit browner (yes, I did say brown - believe it or not, none of us burned!) than when we left. Here are some pictures of all our fun:

Klondike Days:








Chuck E. Cheese (OK, there are only 2 - do you know how hard it is to get pictures at Chuck E. Cheese? They just don't stand still for more than 2 seconds - long enough to waste 1 token):





The Valley Zoo:













Telus World Of Science:










On a different note...Could somebody please tell me where the heck the last 4 years have gone? How, in the name of tarnashen, did Liam get to this point? HOW is it that my sweet little baby boy turned 4 today???? I AM A MOMMY IN DENIAL!!! He had a great birthday and got lots of fun stuff - he was a little "disappointed" in the clothes (OK, Thomas, quit transferring your "Clothes aren't gifts" anthem to my son!;) ) he got...that is, until he saw that they had either Buzz, Lightening or Spiderman on them. LOL Spoiled little bugger. I've got lots of pictures of the day - we got to go down to our friends place and the boys got to ride Shetland Ponies - I got some real cute ones that I will post once I actually upload them to my computer.

Love and (((HUGS)))

I've been playing!

I've been playing with creating new papers and I'm really happy with the new solids I've made! They are my Primarily Twisted solid pack (patterned twisted's are coming!). I hope you enjoy! Please leave a little love if you pick these up!



You can get the papers here.

These papers were made using Rebecca Lynn's AWESOME new textures - you can find those at Oscraps!

What's wrong with this picture?

It is currently 12:45 AM and I should be tucked nicely into my bed snoozing away. Obviously, that isn't happening. Why? Because, at 12:45 AM it is currently 85 degrees outside. That's outside. In my house it must be 2 degree's before sweltering! I am dying here!! There is absolutely no relief - not even the slightest of breezes coming in the windows. The boys are sleeping and Glenn, of course, is snoring away in the other room - I swear that man could sleep through/in anything. To top off the fact that he's sleeping, he's actually wrapped in our comforter! HUH??? So, since I can't sleep, I came out to see what the bloody temperature was, and on my computer I have the temp here and in Indy side by side so that I can wish I was there (especially in the winter). Do you know that it is only 66 degree's there right now? Again, I say...HUH???? In the land where air conditioners abound, it is 66, but here, where very few houses, especially the older houses, wouldn't even consider air conditioning, we are dying! My blood is too thick for this kind of heat. On top of that, my hormones, which have been thoroughly confused for quite some time now, are wreaking complete and utter havoc right now. And tomorrow it is supposed to be worse! Actually, for the next 3 days it's supposed to be totally unbearable! Tell me again why it is that we don't leave for our vacation until next week? At least in Edmonton the hotel will have air conditioning. With my luck lately, we'll have snow next week. Go figure!

On that very grumpy, sweaty, irritated note, I'll leave you now. Surely sleep will come soon...or I'll pass out from heat exhaustion!

Love and (((HUGS))) until next time!

Chi-Chi-Chi-Chia

That's exactly what my hair looks like at this stage - a silly chia pet. LOL The growing out process is certainly interesting! Get a load of this.



Pretty funny, huh?

We've been really busy around here. The weather has actually been wonderful lately and the boys have been taking full advantage of it! They love going outside to play in the backyard. I'm so thankful that we have such a great play set for them - they love it! The best thing to them, though, is when we go see the ponies - the security guard that works where Glenn works raises Shetland Ponies. The boys love going down to visit them. We usually take carrots or apples with us and they have a ball feeding them. They've even ridden them bareback! LOL Such little adventurers.

Remember how I used to talk about how terrible 2's were a myth and that, with Liam, it was 3-year old hell that really was the bugger? I'm very happy to say that Liam has officially exited that stage. He is at this wonderful stage now - potty trained, helpful, polite. Not 100% of the time, but most of the time, which is a blessing. This age is so much fun! He's so intelligent, and so eager to head to pre-school! I don't know how I will be able to deal with that first day of school! LOL I'm sure Liam will be so excited that it will be "Bye, mommy" and I'll be the one that doesn't want to leave!

Now, having said all of those wonderful things about Liam, let's talk about Conor. He's such a cutie, and so sweet...when he wants to be. Just as Liam has officially left the hellish 3's, Conor has officially entered them. Oh my word - where did this new child come from? Canada day was spent chasing Conor from event to event, having him want to go do one thing only to get there and have him throw a fit because he changed his mind! LOL Glenn asked me how long I thought it would last. My answer was a very hopeful "by Christmas?". Give me strength!

Our most exciting news is that we are the proud owners of a brand new mini van! Although I always said I would never own one, it is the vehicle that makes the most sense with our 2 growing boys. We went out and got a Honda Odyssey - what a sweet little van! The boys love it because they are "smooshed" anymore. LOL

We're also preparing for our first road trip in our van. We are taking the boys to Edmonton for 9 days, we're going to go to Klondike Days. The boys are so excited and have helped us plan the whole trip - a trip to Chuck E. Cheese, the zoo, the waterpark, Fort Edmonton, a ride on a train, a day in the country going to various activities they will be having there - it should be lots of fun!

That's us in a nut shell. I hope that everyone is doing well! Love and (((HUGS)))

Happy Anniversary!!!

Happy 50th Anniversary Mom and Dad! Wish we could be there to celebrate with you!! We Love you!!!

It's a Picture Post!

Pictures from Grandpa's visit: (The order is reversed a bit.)