My Monday...

I was going to meet a friend at Kidz Quarterz today to pass on my homeschooling magazines and some other homeschooling bits that I no longer need, but last night I was feeling so ill - swollen glands and a sore throat and ear ache and as Lloyd has not felt well for days I thought it best to let my friend know that we are full of germs - to give her the option to postpone! I always think its best to warn people - especially coming up to Christmas - I hate to make people sick by spreading germs without warning them! We ended up postponing KQ.

Anyway I have been taking some high dose garlic oil tablets and a C-Boost smoothie drink that brovides something like 2000% of your vitamin C needs and this morning I didn't feel too bad!! I decided that instead of going to KQ I would go to Dollarama with Sam and and take him to see the animals in Pet Smart as a treat instead! I was going to mention this little trip to Val because I know her views on germ sharing....ie we often go to breakfast together when our kids are off school sick....yes we are terrible Mothers who put our own socialising needs first!!! ;)

The funny thing is that I woke up to find a message from her asking if I'd be interested in heading to Dollarama with her and her youngest!! So we both had the same idea! So thats what we did! We did some shopping there, headed to the pet store to look at the fish, birds and animals - saw the cutest Harley davidson gear for their piggy - too funny! Had a quick stroll around Winners and then headed to McDonalds so the boys could play in the play place while we chatted some more!

It was a really nice day :)

I came home to find the workmen had filled in the window in my pantry - something I have wanted done since we moved in!!! Yay! And they have started putting on the lovely new white siding on the house at the back - it looks soooo much nicer than the horrid grey :) The house is going to look so lovely and pretty when its all white with the wraparound porch all done :)

Now I am tired and my throat is hurting again - why are colds etc so much worse in the evening - I was fine all day but its catching up with me now :( Time for another garlic capsule!

Feeling very grateful......

I've just spent the last little while unwrapping some of my Christmas decorations. Special sentimental keepsakes - some of which go back to my childhood. Others that have been gifts over the years from family and friends - others that are treasures my own children or my Nephews have made for me.

My home is feeling a little more festive and as I look around it I am reminded of Christmases past. there is the reindeer I bought in Florida when I was 8 years old at 'Rogers Christmas House' - amazed at the fact that there was a store completely devoted to all things Christmas open in the middle of June!!!! There is the Santa boot that I bought in Harrods when shopping in London with my Mom one year. The Santa advent calendar that the children get excited to display each year December.....the stars I hand stitched last year for my little tree....my blue Santa that matches the cream one I bought for my In Laws - that caused my Brother In Laws problems at the airport - the security suspected he had stuffed it with drugs hahahaha! And then there is my amazing angel from South Street Seaport in New York City...the angel I fell in love with but didn't return for because I thought she was too expensive and I didn't want to inconvenience everyone...and then my Ex Mother In Law surprised me with her!!!! She's sooooo GORGEOUS!!! These are just a few of the items I have put out today. Yes they are just 'things'...just 'stuff'...but they are irreplaceable to me.

As I was unwrapping them I was feeling extremely grateful to be able to unwrap them - that I still have them here. I know a family not too far away that isn't so lucky this year. :( I know that everyone keeps telling Tara that she can go shopping for new Christmas decor and sure shopping is fun - I too love to go and look around the Christmas displays each year and add to my collection each year. But its not the same. The sentimental aspect just isn't there. There is something special in those personal decorations - the ones that MEAN something to you. To your children.

So my heart goes out to Tara. And please - when you are unwrapping your decorations this year, please take a moment to think of Tara and her family and just remember how very fortunate you are.

Activities at the festival of trees......

A few of the things the children did at the festival......Laurie came too as he loves the one at the Shaw conference centre. They did say that the important things were missing - cookie decorating - the secret Santa Store - and the cookie store!!! They also love the gingerbread houses which is one of Lauries favourite things form the big festival in the city!!! So I think we will have to go next week!

Abby was MOST put out that there was no cookie decorating so I think I am going to have to whip up some sugar cookies this week and let her decorate some at home ;)

First Annual Festival of Trees....

Today we took the children to Sherwood Parks first annual Festival of Trees. we have been to Edmontons for the last few years, but we thought we would go and support Sherwood Parks very own and see what it was like! We knew it would be much smaller, but if these things are not supported in their early days, then the community will not continue them.

We had a lovely time there. It WAS a small event. Held in the Coast Hotel next to Millennium Place, but we had a lovely time. Many of the businesses in the area had sponsored Christmas trees to decorate, and there were a lot of crafts and activities for the children to join in with - and unlike the Edmonton Festival of Trees, these were FREE with admission! There was a magician, face painting, tattoos, choirs and solo singers (amazing singers!!) arts and crafts to buy, local charities selling Christmas wares...

All the little boys there seemed enthralled with a big tree that had a toy train whizzing around it....

I wasn't feeling very festive or Christmasy before going - I have only done a little shopping and only managed to get some of my Christmas cards sent off this week. Yet this afternoons Festival finally put me in the mood. I thought it would mean we wouldn't need to go to the Edmonton one next week but heading back to the car we all agreed that we WANT to go even more now (except Lloyd who groaned and rolled his eyes hahahhaha)!! He did however come home and get out my boxes of Christmas decorations though - I'm not putting up my trees until December, but I do want to put a few decorations now! I can picture my Moms face at this thought lol but here in Canada I know its ok to put up your decorations any time after Halloween :) No one will think you are too crazy!

Start 'em young........

Sam peeling potatoes for Daddy at dinner time - he did a great job but took about half an hour to peel one potato :)

Queen of hearts...she made some tarts....

Abigail is feeling fed up at the moment so I wanted to spend some time just with her, so today we made jam tarts together. We made two different kinds together - some we made in ready made frozen pastry shells, and some we made in proper pastry! She loved having to roll the pastry out and cut the circles out...and she liked being able to make a HUGE jam pasty at the end that she got to eat herself! I liked the ease of standing beside her and just filling pastry shells while she was busy!!! :) You can see her big pasty on the rack and a mixture of the jam tarts in the picture above :) I must admit that her jam tarts taste MUCH better!!!

Feeling crafty :)

Today I managed to get all of my ATC's done for the swaps I'm in at the moment! I did all my nature swap ATC's and the one for my Frog Swap! All ready to send off! I can't add the pictures of the nature swap because they are for people who read my blog - so you will have to wait to see them, but I'm really happy with them :) I've started work on the New Year atc's for the swap I'm organizing too!

Then I worked on a little album I'm making of my family. It's been a while since I worked on a mini album. I didn't get much done but I've made a start.

I spent a while cutting up lots of card stock in size for future atc's too - I find this makes it a much faster job to make them when I need to do them - and I made quite a few up in watercolour cardstock as I love painting atc's.

It was windy out today again - the last couple of months have been so windy here - still very little snow or rain but soooo much wind! The rest of the country seems to have had a lot of snow so I have no idea why it keeps missing us, but thats fine with me! But this wind - WOW!!!!! It was nice to snuggle up and stay home and just craft!!!

Guess who......

Lol....oh the styles these kids wear ;)

Twilight - possible spoilers - but Stacey knows already lol!

I had a wonderful evening - going was soooooo much fun! We got there two hours early and the line up was quite long already - full of teenaged girls with nothing better to do but the atmosphere was sooo much fun!!! It was BUZZING!!!

I thought the movie was disappointing - there were some really good parts in it and it COULD have been really good - but it was runied by some VERY bad acting and some VERY CHEESY parts - OMG the part where Bella walks into the classroom by the fan....the whole theatre was laughing hysterically at how cheesy it was - and when the Doc walks in - it was so bad it was like a bad American soap opera!!! the worst kind - why they had to keep doing those terrible slow camera moves into Edwards eyes - it just made everyone in the theatre laugh when you weren't supposed to!

But it was such a fun evening! I really enjoyed going and there were parts of the movie that I really enjoyed - it's 50% great and 50% really corny!!!! It was great going to one of the first showings and everyone there being so excited to see it - most of the teens were dressed in Twilight gear and many of them had their books with them - and there were lots of screams when it first started - and lots of laughs at the funny cheesy bits the atmosphere MADE the night I had a great time!

The movie imo is NOTHING like the book....even things like the kitchen in Bellas house is nothing like the kitchen in my mind.....and Jasper...OMG!!! The only thing they had right to me was Alice's voice!! It's a shame they didn't go with a different director.....with these wonderful books they could have done so much more.

Lol thats jmho anyway

After the movie Lloyd and I went to Milestones for dinner and Lloyd said even our waiter looked like Edward - too funny! It was such a fun evening - Lloyd was a real sport to put up with waiting in line with all those teenaged girls - he was practically the only guy!!!! Luckily we got great seats near the back and by the aisle - perfect!!! I had my coffee for the movie too :) Dinner was yummy and the movie and atmosphere was fun! So the movie wasn't great but my evening was! :) I had a blast - Thank you Lloyd! YOU are all the Edward I need :)

Eeeeeewwwww!!

I just had to sign Susannahs school math test and it smells REALLY bad of cigarette smoke :( She wrote the test yesterday....so do the teachers smoke in the staff room still these days or does her teacher smoke THAT much at home while he marks papers???? For it to smell so strongly STILL???

I figured they wouldn't be allowed to smoke in the staff room these days - it can't be allowed right - here in Alberta???? So it must be at home while marking the papers?

Come and by my IMMEDIATE neighbour!!!

www.realtor.ca/propertyDetails.aspx?propertyId=7750935

Our neighbours are selling - these are the people who used to live in our house!! They then built a house up in the top part of the land and sold off the major part of the land (where we are) and moved to their house that they are now selling. Their kids are grown up now and they have Grandchildren and I guess they no longer need their acreage..the boys will be sorry to lose their dog sitting job!

I have to say though that I have NO idea where this 'riding arena' is supposed to be...because I'm looking out of my window now and I can't see a 'riding arena' hahahaha um is that realtor speak for 'overgrown field with pretty white fence around it???? He's selling the place himself so I assume thats why he's used those terms....

Anyway I hope we get nice neighbours because they've been very good neighbours really. It's a shame it isn't one of the other neighbours - we want one of our other neighbours to sell - so we can buy the land - but these are the wrong neighbours because their land isn't really worth us buying.

Come and be my neighbour :)

Tara update.....

Please continue to keep Tara and her Daughter in your thoughts - they remain in hospital and Taras last update at 3am this morning was not good. 'K' remains in pain and vomiting. She has an NG tube (a tube that goes via the nose and throat into the stomach for nutrition normally but could be being used for an alternative reason) and IV and if this doesn't help will require surgery. Tara hasn't slept for 24 hours and was already sleep deprived prior to this because of nightmares due to the fire.

This is all so unfair with all they have been through. They really need a break!

Blown away.....

Being blown around by the wind yesterday at Millennium Place reminded me of the scene from Unfaithful where Diane Lane is blown about in Soho, New York City by the strong winds until she falls into Olivier Martinez and hurts her knee. It put me in the mood to watch the movie, so last night Lloyd and I snuggled up and watched Unfaithful while the wind continued to blow around our little house outside.

This morning the winds have died down and we are left with a dusting of snow and hazardous roads coated in freezing rain. There seem to be endless road accidents this morning in Edmonton. Lloyd drove Chris into the transit centre this morning and picked up coffee at Timmys before coming home - he's not working today (Yay). I'm having my hair cut at lunchtime and then this afternoon we are off to see TWILIGHT at the movies :) WOOHOO the day has finally arrived :)

Meteor over Edmonton yesterday!!!

Lloyd and Chris saw a flash over Edmonton on their way home form work yesterday. Chris came in and told me that they had heard on the radio that it was a suspected meteor!! So we put the tv on and sure enough they were saying it was a suspected meteor over Edmonton but they have no idea where it had landed and it had been seen in the sky all across Alberta and as far away as Saskatchewan!! Luckily some people caught it on camera but we didn't see these until this morning! Cool huh? Lloyd and Chris were lucky enough to see a little bit of history! :) I'm impressed but Lloyd isn't! I think it's very X-File-ish but of course Lloyd is all depressing and pessimistic (I tend to be Tiggerish and he is all Eeyore-ish lol) and he says it's more like Armageddon!!! hahahahaha)

My little Paddington Bear...

I've decided Samuel is Paddington Bear reincarnated!!! His favourite sandwich is a marmalade sandwich (which he is eating right this very second for breakfast) and he also LOVES cocoa to drink.

I think I'm going to have to find a Paddington Bear book for him for Christmas that mentions marmalade sandwiches and cocoa!!!