Today was MY turn to make the smoothie....
Flax, protein powder, spinach, banana, peaches, raspberries, blueberries, apple, strawberries, pumpkin, milk.....all blended up. YUM!!!!
xxx
3 days ago
Jan 7, 2012
Morning Gratitude....
Early morning.....sunshine.....and emergency coffee cups :)
I keep these cups of coffee in the back of the cupboard for emergencies JUST like this morning - for when I run out of coffee :)
This morning we had to get up early as we had a lot to do in the basement to get organized :)
So before we started we NEEDED coffee :)
Sitting in the morning sunshine drinking emergency coffee and watching Rosie :)
Grateful :)
Jan 6, 2012
About Last Night.....
Last night at the pub was just....well...I don't think I stopped laughing all evening. Thanks to everyone who came out!! Great night out!! So much fun!! So lovely to meet Melissa - even though meeting her was like meeting an old friend :) Somehow meeting a fellow Brave Girl is like meeting a Sister - you know so much about each other. And Melissa and I have walked the same path over recent years....we can relate to so much.
I loved loved LOVED last night :) Can't wait until the 28th :)
xxx
Twelfth Night.....and it's over....
Wow. Twelfth Night....and with it, Journal Your Christmas comes to an end. I can't believe that 37 days can go so fast. My album is full of so many wonderful memories yet again. I am so grateful that we have been healthy and fortunate enough to enjoy the season as much as we have. We made the most of every moment. This morning my little boy summed it up for me. He woke up, hugged me and said "I love this family, it's so much fun" ♥ And THAT is what I want my children to remember ♥
Green Monsters!!!
Susannah and I are taking it in turns to make smoothies each morning. Today Susie made this one! I want to encourage her to drink orange juice high in pulp, but she doesn't like it!! So we added it to the smoothie instead of milk and she really liked it.
This week we've been adding a lot of frozen berries instead of ice, bananas, mangoes etc etc...protein powder and of course the flax and spinach.
Everybody has been drinking a lot of these and I think it's sooooo good for the kids to have a cup each day :) Luckily they eat a lot of fruit and veg anyway - always having salads, apples, bananas vegetables etc etc...but this is a great way to get a LOT of good stuff in to them in a quick shot!!
I love vegetables but was never a fruit fan, so for me its great to have these again as it has upped my fruit intake again....there are instagram groups for pictures of them too so I'm taking part in those :)
As of today Instagram pictures instantly go into their own folders on Facebook!!! At last!!! yay!! About time too!!! :) Makes life so much easier :)
Triops
The Triops are growing so fast!! We have moved them in to a bigger bowl now and they are doing great! They are pretty dumb though and swim really fast doing somersaults and crashing head first into each other and in to things again and again! They are very strange looking but fascinating to watch :) Much better than sea monkeys! I would definitely recommend these little creatures for kids and I will definitely get them again! I would NOT follow the instructions on the box though, but would follow instructions online about how to care for them!! Much better :)
definitely fun little things :)
My little boy turns seven :)
My Samsam turns seven this weekend. I can hardly believe that my little boy is so old already! The time has gone much too fast!
This morning he sat on my bed and we had a big SERIOUS discussion about what it will be like to be seven. How it is going to be different and what he thinks he is going to be like when he is seven. It was so sweet to watch him talk away and pulling faces and using his hands and moving around on the bed as he chatted about all kinds of things - all kinds of crazy ideas - changing subject again and again. I snapped away with my phone while he talked - which was one of the reasons I had started the conversation :)
Afterwards we curled up and watched Ice Age 2 :)
Jan 5, 2012
Enjoying the gorgeous weather!! +11c!!!
After the museum we headed to Broadmoor Lake to enjoy the gorgeous warm weather!! january 4th and it was +11c :) How wonderful!! :)
The children played on the lake for a while - they didn't have their skates on but still had a lot of fun - they especially seemed to like being able to get onto the island!!!
The playground and skating pond were fairly busy because of the gorgeous weather!! Great to see everyone out enjoying it :)
After a good while we decided to walk up tot he ice slide by the community centre. The warm temperatures were melting the snow and ice sculptures extremely fast, but the children still got to enjoy them - even if it meant they got VERY wet!! Good job we went prepared :)
They had fun on the slide for a while and then we headed into toe library to dry off and warm up for a while. They played on the computers and on the Wii together and little K played on my iphone making cookies endlessly :) So very cute!!! :)
Once we were all warmed up and dried off, we headed back towards Broadmoor Lake again and the cars.....said our goodbyes and headed for home just as the sun was setting.
What a fabulous day :)
To top it off, I even won free passes to Ice on Whyte today :) Woot!!! :)
Tonight the girls and I settled down together and watched Flashdance :)
Oh the memories :)
lol!!! :)
Museum field trip!!
Today we headed into town to the Strathcona County Museum, to join in with their Festive activities. For only $20 you can sign up for a family membership for a WHOLE YEAR!!! So we did that!! We were given a guide of historical sites to visit in the area, and quite a few of them I didn't know about, so I think we're going to visit a few of them in the next few months!
The museum has really changed since I was there last - and since Chris worked there! It is so much more hands-on now, which the kids LOVE - and each room has a button you can press, which sets off a tv, that plays a movie and talks you through the era...a few of the rooms have changed too.
The children were given activity books to take for another time - they each match their grade levels. They were also given scavenger hunts to do - they had to do things like find out how many Dutch Elves were hiding in the museum, how many stockings were hanging on the tree, how many bears were hidden around the exhibits etc etc...oh and where the German Shepherd Reko was displayed on the wall..
They got to decorate cookies, hunt for candy canes and then take one home....cut out and take home paper dolls, and decorate paper gingerbread men to hang on a tree.
We had a quick look around the museum but didn't really learn anything much about the displays as it was more of a 'fun' visit this time, but as we now have free access for a year, they suggest we plan a field trip with more families (three families went today) and plan a themed visit with guides.
We can also go one day with our activity guides and go through them.
Jan 4, 2012
Wednesday tag....
1. What are three words you would use to describe your 2011?
fun
creative
adventure
fun
creative
adventure
Morning games...
This morning was spent chatting, playing games, and getting ready to go out.
The latest addiction in this house apart from Minecraft - seems to be 'Tiny Towers'...as in the picture above...and the girls have to constantly show me their latest little characters going up in the elevators!! Wearing funny costumes!!! It's so odd! But I guess it's addictive!
A couple of weeks ago it was Sims. Now it's Tiny Towers :)
Yesterday we were playing Abby's new horse card game - thats a good one! we also played Trigger - another new game we have from the same series as Spot It!! It is such a GREAT game! So funny! We made soooo many mistakes with our true and false answers hahahaha :) It makes you feel like a fool at times but so many laughs :) It makes you forget your left from your right too :)
A very important blog post to read!!!
You can read the original BY CLICKING HERE
(I am posting this in the hopes that my Ex husband Lloyd will read it - or his parents - and that he will finally stop using this word around my children inappropriately.)
Being Retarded
All around me, people use the word retarded without a second thought. Sometimes, I’ll say “Um, dude, really?” and they’ll say “Oops, my bad! But really! I was being so retarded!”
Sometimes, I let it slide. I realize that it’s a word that’s ingrained in our society’s vocabulary and people use it without a second thought to its meaning.
But what does it mean to be retarded? Well, I know what it doesn’t mean.
It doesn’t mean not being able to choose something for lunch despite 100 choices in front of you.
It doesn’t mean not being able to find your car keys.
It doesn’t mean saying the wrong thing to a person.
It doesn’t mean forgetting your best friend’s birthday.
It’s not something to describe yourself as when you’ve spilled your coffee, or tripped on a crack in the sidewalk.
It’s not something to describe your computer, car or phone.
According to Merriam-Webster Dictionary the word “retarded” means -
: slow or limited in intellectual or emotional development or academic progress
For me, it’s not just any old word – it’s my daughter. My beautiful, bright, happy, loving, amazing daughter who is slow or limited in intellectual development and academic progress.
In our household, being retarded means something different.
It means not being able to fully care for yourself.
It means not understanding what the doctor is going to do to you.
It means not being able to explain what hurts when something hurts.
It means not being able to ride a two wheeler. Or read. Or ever be able to live on your own.
But ever the optimist, I also know that retarded means…
…never realizing the negativity behind the word retarded.
…never knowing the insensitivity surrounded the word’s usage.
…never realizing the ignorance of people.
…never knowing how other people view you.
Being retarded also means…
…loving unconditionally.
…finding joy in the smallest of things.
…being self-confident.
…not realizing that there are limitations.
…innocence.
This is Maura. Her diagnosis? Cognitively disabled. Which means retarded. When you call yourself retarded, you’re also calling my child stupid. Because you use the word as just that – another form of stupid.Let’s get something straight here.
My daughter may have cognitive issues. She may have delays. She may never live on her own. Scratch that. She will never live on her own.
But Maura is not stupid.
In her own way, Maura is very smart. Maybe smarter than us at times. She has more self-confidence than anyone I know who’s called themselves “retarded”. She is the best judge of a person’s character than anyone else I’ve ever known.
Yes, she is slow to learn things. But she is not stupid.
I know that most people don’t use the word “retarded” maliciously. Most people I know use it in a self-depreciating way. And when I point it out, they go “Oh wow! I’m sorry!” and they truly feel like a heel. But the thing is, you’re still using it in the way that people who do use it maliciously use it as – to describe stupidity.
So why not just use the word “stupid” instead? Because I know what “retarded” is. I live with it in the form of my daughter. And in our world “retarded” doesn’t equate to “stupid”.
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