This Girls Life...

Someone decided to give himself a haircut...

        He found a pair of scissors and decided his hair was just too long (which is true, I admit it was past time for a cut :) Lucky for him, his mommy is a former hairdresser (me) and could fix that up right away :) Now he's left with just a couple minor bald spots. *sigh*
   Gabe's favorite game lately is "garbage truck". This is where is gathers up anything he can carry or that isn't bolted down and piles them up on chairs, then drives them to the "dump" which is just another designated spot he drops everything. As you can see, boxes are a favorite "garbage item/plaything",

probably because boxes are mommy's new "favorite toy"  

:)

Yes, there is lots and lots of packing going on around here (my mom works at the hospital so she supplies us with most of our boxes).The move is coming up pretty soon, at the end of June and I can't believe it's the end of May already! Another prominent theme around here? Empty walls....

and emptyish shelves. :) 

     The three colourful bins hold all our kids dvds and videos so I can't pack those yet as there are a few Special Movie Nights before the move :)
     Gabe couldn't stand all the walls becoming empty, so he found this delightful Happy Birthday banner and decided to pretty up the bedroom. Don't you guys know that happy birthday banners are the height of home decor??!!!   :)

And here's my sweet little buddy, enjoying his morning oatmeal (with almonds,cinnamon and raisins of course!)

:)

Have a great day!

Baa baa black sheep......

Have you any wool? You sure do and you are super cute too! :)

 Yesterday, we went and visited Grandma Dusty and Tim's farm again! Every time we go there, there are new little treasures to get acquainted with :) I can't believe it has already been two months ago since the last time we visited when first saw the baby lambs! (I do realize that saying baby lambs is redundant, but I just can't help myself :) They are getting so big! Also, since Grandma helps a friend with taking care of lambs rejected by their mothers, her lambs have changed and now she has a few black ones, last time they were all white ones. But, black or white, I think they are all super cute, and so do my kids.

Grandma has also acquired some miniature donkeys! Aren't they cute? The smallest one is called Isabella (or Izzy for short) and she is only two months old. Pictures just don't do these guys justice, but they are so cute and charming in person.

The kids sure had a blast getting reacquainted (they met once before, but it was mine and Pats first time meeting them)

 The kids (and I) were thrilled to meet Grandmas newest chicks and another new addition, ducklings!

Sooo cute! I have to admit that although I think the chicks are cute, I fell hard for the ducklings :) Have to add ducklings to my list of animals for our eventual farm (still working on that, went to look at a few places yesterday!) Here is Grandma holding one of the ducklings...

and of course the kids had a turn holding the chicks and ducklings :)

I just love Gabes' expression, he is cuter than any baby animal, by far :) He was also so nice and gentle and calm while holding them, a real natural.

Gabe also enjoyed helping Grandma herd all the animals back in their pens for the night :) "Follow me donkeys, follow me"  

We sure enjoyed our day on the farm and the kids are sure looking forward to summer break so they can sleep over at Grandma and Tim's place for a whole week! :) Pat and I had a quick, but very enjoyable visit and I know for me it totally inspired me and made me extra committed to finding our "perfect" place to have our own farm.

Thanks again, Grandma Dusty and Tim!

Anyone else visited any farms lately? Have your own farm and enjoying the spring influx of baby animals?

Have a great week!

Real Food

Last week I was tootling around Pinterest and saw this intriguing pin


                                    source

So, I went on over to Lisa's BLOG and checked it out and it is great!

     Lisa is tackling an issue that is close to my own heart which is to feed my family as healthy as possible. I've always been aware of eating/cooking healthy, I nearly always made homemade baby food for my kids and continue to make sure they eat lots of fruits and veggies, but it was easy to let other "convenience foods" sneak into our diet like granola bars, fruit cups, yogurt tubes etc.

     Since reading Sharon Astyk's books a few years ago and now discovering Lisa's blog and well as a few others, I am committed more than ever to ridding our pantry and fridge/freezer of convenience foods.  I started two years ago by making the transitions slowly first by (almost) eliminating store bought bread and making my own. I either make it by hand or, until it broke, with our breadmaker. Then in the last year I've slowly been working on a difficult one for our family which is eliminating store bought cold cereal. I was never one for buying Fruit Loops or other sugary cereals like that, but even things like Cheerios and Cornflakes add up cost wise with a family of five. So, what have we been eating for breakfast you may ask? Well, my youngest two love oatmeal (not instant, or even quick cooking, the old whole oats kind) and it is really easy to make. I just pop 1/2 cup oatmeal in a microwavable bowl with one cup water, stir it a bit, put it in the micro for 1 min, stir it again then 1 min more. When we take it out we add some (unsweetened) applesauce, cinnamon, raisins or dried apricots, almonds or walnuts and a dab of whole milk and voila! Yummy fast breakfast! Nyla doesn't like oatmeal so she usually has homemade bread with peanut butter and honey or jam.  Sometimes we make scrambled egg burritos with cheese or if I'm really on the ball, whole wheat pancakes with a bit of maple syrup and some type of fruit.

     So even with those changes it was good to read Lisa's Blog and be reminded of the hidden sugars and bad stuff added to seemingly "healthy" foods like peanut butter, salad dressings, even pre-shredded cheese! I think she is doing a fantastic job of living by example and sharing it all with the rest of the world. I am now committed to checking label and making sure that they have 5 ingredients or less and that the ingredients are "real food". I'm also committed to growing our own vegetables and fruits as much as possible and if not grown then bought locally and/or organically in season.

(these are some of our homegrown plants hardening off)

    We are very lucky where we live as there are a lot of small farms growing organic produce. There are also a bunch of farmers markets in the area as well as a local grain CSA which I hope to become a part of hopefully this year. We live right by a large lake with abundant salmon and trout as well as being surrounded by mountains full of deer and elk and grouse etc. As most of you know, we sold our house and now we are on the lookout for a good sized piece of property in order to have our own small farm where we hope to raise/grow about 90-95% of our own food.

So how about you? Are you aware of all the hidden "gems" in processed food? Are you working on eliminating them from your diet? Or are you just fine with store bought food the way it is?

Please keep checking back as I share with you all the ups and downs of this adventure :)
Have a great Wednesday!

8 happy years (so far!)

As you may have guessed, today is Pat and I's anniversary. Eight whole years! 

A lot has happened in those eight years, 2 kids (our first was born before we married) 4 1/2 moves (we're smack dab in the middle of one now!) 2 different cities, 4 different vehicles, got a puppy, lost a cat, and a partridge in a pear tree. Just kidding about that last one :)

Happy Anniversary darlin'! Thanks for being a wonderful husband and father, my best friend and lover (hey that rhymes sorta). I can't wait to see how happy the next eight years are going to be.

I love you.

:)

I feel loved :)

Yesterday I had a lovely day with my family. I was greeted with a plethora of lovely handmade gifts from my sweet little kidlets :)

Nyla made this sweet card,

and a few paintings that she made at school. The one below is one called "friends come in all colours" or something like that....

and this one is a pastel and watercolour of some waterlilies. I love the colours in this one, definitely one of my favorites!

Cadence painted this beautiful flowerpot and then planted the flower/plant inside :)

She also made a whole whack of cards and some of my favorites are on the right side of the picture below. The one on the left is Gabe's sweet card which Nyla helped him with. She drew what he asked and then he coloured it all in. Isn't it sweet? I loved it! 

We were blessed with a gorgeous day! A beautiful cloudless blue sky and nice and warm :)

So gorgeous that the grass is growing like crazy :) So, me and my trusty lawnmower set out to make the grass pretty. I know it sounds crazy, but I really like mowing the lawn! It is so nice to know I can make a nice pattern in the grass and it won't get upset or ruined right away. When you do dishes or laundry you know that the cycle is going to start again almost immediately, but mowing lasts about a week :) 

Hard to see, but there are pretty lines in the grass :)

We all spent the day outside, had a big bonfire (doesn't look like it here, but that fire is super hot! We had flames about 10 feet high for a bit too :) and roasted hot dogs and smokies.

 The kids had a blast building a fort in the forest and swinging and playing on the trampoline with the neighbour boy.

Whee! Go Cady :)

So, did you have a good weekend? And a good mothers day? Have you roasted anything over a bonfire lately?  Do you like mowing the lawn like I do, or do you prefer the "man of the house" to do it instead?
Have a great week!

Happy Mother's Day!

                                          (source)


A mother is the truest friend we have, when trials heavy and sudden, fall upon us; when adversity takes the place of prosperity; when friends who rejoice with us in our sunshine desert us; when trouble thickens around us, still will she cling to us, and endeavor by her kind precepts and counsels to dissipate the clouds of darkness, and cause peace to return to our hearts.  ~Washington Irving


Happy Mothers Day to all my mothers and to all mothers everywhere!

Something to Ponder

A Busy Weekend

Hi everyone, did you have a good weekend? We did, albeit a busy one! On Saturday, all three kids had soccer games, my hubby had to work, and I had to do some volunteer time for Cadence's gymnastics club for a competition that was being hosted there. Thank goodness my mom was willing to help out! (Thanks mom!) My mom and sister took the kids to their soccer games in the morning, and then the kids and I went over to her house to help out with a greenhouse they are building. Since we (hubby and I) aren't sure yet where we will be living come July (hmmm gotta get on that!) my mom and her partner Al generously offered us some of their garden and greenhouse space to use since we don't know if we will have a garden space and by the time we move it'll be too late to plant some things. Whew, so that was Saturday, then on Sunday, Cadence had her part of the competition to go to. 

Here she is receiving a medal (all the participants of this age group got a medal of participation) and certificate.   

(so sorry the pictures are really blurry, it is really hard to take pictures in their gym and I am definitely no expert photographer!)

Cady did really really well and the judges and her coaches all commented that she had excellent form. She especially excelled at her vault and her beam routines :)

Here she is mid-dismount :)

 All in all it was a good weekend, busy, but good. I better get used to the busy as the next couple of months are insane. We are moving, the kids all have soccer, Cady has her gymnastics, Nyla is doing a writing course, we are going to an extra special birthday party 8 hours drive away (more on that to come), rebuilding a deck, and Mine and Pats anniversary is in 8 days. Whew! I'm sure I'm forgetting something, but as you can see we're going to be busy!

How about you, did you have a good weekend? Is this spring promising to be a busy one? Any extra special birthdays coming up?

Have a good week!