Afternoon at the dog park.....

We had a lovely time at the dog park this afternoon with Rosie.  Sam and Abby had a blast playing with the frozen puddles - trying to break the ice with their boots and big sticks.....even Rosie had a go at ice skating.  Because of last nights rain, much of the trail was an ice rink until we got to the woodland path, which was much nicer - and prettier!!

The sunshine through the trees and the snowy paths made for some lovely pictures!!

It was a gorgeous afternoon and I'm so glad we made the most of it :)

This morning was spent making and writing Christmas cards, working in our journals, chatting about our plans for the next few weeks and making sweet and sour chicken in the rock pot for supper tonight.  

All in all a great day.

Tonight we are curling up to watch Deck The Halls together.  Susannah has been working on her Social project while Sam and Abby played Othello.  Now sam is playing Minecraft while Susannah reads and Abigail crafts away with the pipecleaners I bought on saturday.  I have been prepping for my new sculpture class, which I am soooo excited about. It is already filling up which is wonderful!  It is going to be so much fun!  

xxx

Rainy days....

We have been having some bizarre weather here in Alberta.  It has been very warm for the end of November, and yesterday it RAINED!!!  Susannah snapped this picture of the car lights reflected on the wet road as we drove home!!  The rain washed away what was left of the snow for the most part

The rest of Alberta wasn't quite so lucky and although they had warm temperatures, they also had VERY high winds which caused a LOT of damage which you can read about here:

Strong winds in Calgary click here

clean up in Calgary click here

Fires in Lethbridge click here

Just LOVING this.... (smile)

xxx

Snapshots from my Sunday.....

Relaxing with a cup of tea by the glow of the tree lights.  Bliss:

Rosie missed her people this morning.  She is so happy to have Laurence, Abby and Sam back tonight!! She has her family back with her.  Her life is complete again :)  

No words needed :)  lmao - even has a place for a picture hahaha:

Fun afternoon strolling along Whyte with the girls:

Worlds noisiest gumball machine:

Home again - where they belong:

Our lovely cozy corner for the Winter:

A little something I picked up for a friend today.  I hear she is burning him tonight lol....oh the BEST therapy hahahaha.....Susannah wanted to know what scent it would have as candles often have scents...and my friend said "Sh*theads smell like sh*t when they burn"  Hahahahahaha!!  Oh how true:

I don't think this cock is too happy...A) he has been moved from his usual spot in the window - and no cock likes to be made to feel inferior (lol) and B) he's been dressed up in a stupid friggen' bow lmao!!!  

True!!

lol. Love it. And so true.

Snapshots from the last few days......

Five Question Friday

1. Is there a special dish you prepare that you are famous for?

My roasties.  My beef and Guinness stew.  My potato and bacon soup.  The hash brown casserole recipe that I took from Joanne and changed up....my kids love my version.

2. Are you (did you) go Black Friday shopping ?

Nope.

3. What are your strangest holiday traditions?

I don't think we have any strange traditions.  I love all of our traditions.

4. Pecan or pumpkin pie? (She actually asked "Apple or pumpkin?" I just T-giving'edit!)

PUMPKIN!!!!! Yummy :)

5. When will you put up your Christmas tree?

Probably this week.

craft tag

1. Must have craft supply?    Glossy Accents

2. Why & when did you start journaling?   Its a way to be creative, write, draw, colour, save memories, use notebooks, doodle.....all in one....and it's portable!!!

3. Guilty Pleasures?   Goodwill.  Chocolate.  Facebook.

4. Two things you want very badly at this moment?  To stay home with Rosie instead of having to head out and drive all over the city to classes all afternoon.  Monday to arrive - Abigail has asked for us to sign up for th Brave Girls Mother - Daughter class together (love)!!

5. 3 items in your purse?    Keys, advil, diary.

6. Favorite art technique or style?  mixed media/ collage

7. When do you feel most creative?   evenings.

8. Do you snack while you craft?  sometimes....

9. Do you have a crafting confession?  I am becoming more and more impressed by Sams art skills.  Like SERIOUSLY impressed!!!!

10. Favorite TV shows?  We don't have tv.

11. Jobs you've had?  Art teacher, artist....psychiatric nurse, homeschool mom, sales assistant, newspaper delivery,

12. What are you listening to, right now?   Rosie snoring, Sam chatting to himself while he works, Abby singing and talking to herself as she potters about....

Snapshots from our week.....

Bathroom mirror pic (haha)  and the mirror needed wiping lol!!!

Laurence on Tuesday:

One of this weeks glorious sunsets:

View from my front room:

Rosie keeping me company one night:

Rosie saying hello:

An appointment downtown this week:

Art time - clay sculpture.

Yesterday we did clay sculpture.  Sam made Star Wars characters.  Abby made a guy sat down watching tv :)  I think they did a great job!!!  :)  

Today we are off to Bricks 4 Kidz - our monthly Lego class.  Tonight Susannah has a yoga class at the library so we are heading there - Their Dad cancelled having them again - but it works out well as it means we can all go to the library for the evening and Abigail wanted to get some new books anyway!! 

Then tomorrow we have climbing class and then I'm hoping we have time to get to the SHINE Lego club in the afternoon.  Sam would really enjoy that!!

And that will be another week over with!!  Wow time is flying but we are having such a great year!  Sams reading and writing is going so well now.  I signed up for Reading Eggs - a website that was recommended and he did so great on their reading assessment!  It really pleased me to see his progress!  He is finally starting to see connection between letters and sounds and stringing them together into words.

I'm still not going to push him as I want him to ENJOY reading, but I will encourage him and let him see the GOOD things that come from reading - and why it will help him do so many other things when he can read!!

Home

Laurence snapped this picture of our beautiful home with his phone.  He was walking up the driveway from the school bus and the sun was setting and shining on the front windows of the house.

Beautiful.

xxx

I love that even my 16 year old can appreciate how wonderful this place is...how beautiful the sunsets are and how lucky we are to have lived here.  

xxx

doggy massage :)

Rosie getting a tummy rub from Abigail :)

Quicky pies :)

Yesterday was an at-home day and I made a new recipe in the crock pot.  I really like the lasagna casserole at Timmy's, so I tried that at home and it was a HUGE success!!  Everyone loved it!!    Wholewheat lasagna sheets broken up, pasta sauce, ground beef, garlic, vegetables, onion, cheese, tomatoes....

It was really yummy and they've even asked for the leftovers for today!!

I then used two pie shells and made two quick pies!!  A jam tart using up all the almost-empty jam jars in the fridge.  My kids have a habit of opening new jars and leaving jars in the fridge that have about two spoonfuls in them - so I emptied about 6 jars and made the pie!!  

I also made a chocolate cream pie using chocolate pudding and whipped cream.  

Both disappeared fast and were well loved :)  

Christmasy happenings....

Christmas has been on the children's minds a lot lately :)  Abigail has already been watching a lot of Christmas movies.  Both children have been making a lot of crafts - from kits and from their own imaginations :)  

They both sat and wrote their letters to Santa, and we mailed them on Tuesday morning.  We will now be checking the mail box regularly and waiting for a reply!!  

I do love this time of year and the excitement in the run up to Christmas - all the traditions and fun!!

xxx