I am LOVING the new art sticks that I got for the classroom - for the Tuesday evening art journaling class.  They are soooooo amazing to use!   Love, love, LOVE!!!!  What I love even more is that I got them for 50% off!!!!  :)  

Tonight I worked on an art journaling page about betrayal - this has been a big issue in my life in the last couple of weeks.  I was betrayed very badly by someone I trusted.  I wanted to create a page and get my feelings out about why I am reacting the way I am reacting.  I am not reacting in the way I would normally - in fact I am not reacting to anything in the normal way right now - I think I am just too tired of fighting and arguing and I just needed to move beyond that with everything - even this NEW betrayal.  I am so glad I have remained calm about it.  I wasn't sure what to do about my future...so many people have been asking me about things...and so many have been just soooo encouraging and supportive.  They understand exactly how I feel though.

I think what I am going to do is just give it a little while and see how things go and see how I feel....maybe this time next week I will be more sure of what I want to do.  

My finished art journal page from this evening:  

Our Friday!

Today has been a real mixed bag where weather is concerned.

It snowed a little this morning and then got really sunny and has also rained a bit

too with dark clouds coming over each time....then clearing to blue skies again.

When the skies are blue the temperature is LOVELY!!

We sat outside at the table on the deck and had a 'poetry tea' with drinks and cookies.

We took it in turns to read poetry to each other.  This book of poems was also about sea life or creatures from 'Tide Pools'.  

Today we also did a lot of science.  One of the experiments was filling a bottle with oil and water and a little food colouring.  Of course the oil would not mix with the water - even when we shook it really hard it would still separate:

We eventually went inside and I read several chapters of our story book to them.

Then we used the geometric shapes to try and memorize them.  I think we all did really well - I will test them after the weekend and see if they remembered them :)  

Another science experiment we did was to create gases using baking soda and vinegar, to inflate balloons:

They really liked this experiment and did it over and over and over again!!

All in all it's been a great day of learning together!  Now the little ones are off to their dads for the weekend.  Laurence is working and Susannah and I are going to art journal.  

xxx

Thursday afternoon

Yesterday we had to take Laurence to get his hair cut, so while he was with Amber, I took Sam and Abby over to the mall near the hair salon.  We had a look around the pet store there and I couldn't BELIEVE these cookies there - which look soooo yummy, but are for DOGS!!!!

Abby and Sam enjoyed looking at the rabbits, Chinchillas and other pets that they had there - oh ferrets - they had quite a few and Abigail thought that was WONDERFUL!!

We also went upstairs and had a snack while we waited.  I had a coffee and a scone which was really yummy:

We watched the fountains in the centre of the mall for a while as they shoot up really high every few minutes.  We also had a look through the book store there.

Our Thursday evening....

Susannah and I headed to the farmers market - it was the last week of having it indoors before it heads out next week for the Summer season.  We didn't buy anything and weren't there for long as it really isn't as good as the one at Festival Place which we LOVE...I always find the one at Salisbury a bit 'pushy' - they pounce on you as soon as you walk near and I prefer to be left alone to stroll around.  We do LOVE the Saturday market at Old strathcona though!!!  Hmmmm maybe we will head there tomorrow after my appt with Sandy!

I've been meaning to blog one of the plastic $100 bills for AGES...but keep forgetting.  Finally remembered in the car yesterday and used Susannah as a prop lol - yes they are plasticky and part of it is transparent - can you see Susannahs glasses through it????  I find them kind of weird but I guess they are safer!

And...here we go!

1. Vegetables are best most definitely - and I love them ALL.
2. I love mason jars; there are just so many things you can do with them - I mean just look at Pinterest!!!  lol.
3. How wonderful it is to homeschool outside on the back deck in the sunshine again.
4. Before I Go To Sleep is a book I'd love to recommend.
5. Using leftovers: I like seeing the children have a hot lunch because they get to reheat leftovers.
6. Teaching art and art journaling to people and showing them how fun it can and SHOULD be makes me incredily happy!
7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to an evening at home art journaling, tomorrow my plans include going to see sandy to get my taxes done and also going to a Roller Derby match and Sunday, I want to do one of three things - we can't decide between Earth Day Festival, The Womens Show or going to see the new Zac Efron movie!

Wednesday Tag :)

1. Spring is in the air (at least in my neck of the woods) and the birds are singing...what's your favorite bird?

I have a lot of favourites - so many that visit our yard...the Nuthatches, the crows, the Goldfinches, the Redpolls, Little Peep and Big Peep, The Robins.....the hummingbirds...

2. Speaking of birds...do you tweet? If you do share your screen name and we'll come flocking to your twitter site. Even if you don't let's all pretend here that we do-in 140 characters or less, sum up your week so far.

No I don't tweet.  Sum up my week?  Ok:

Busy days are a sign of a life well lived.  I can't complain!

3. It's been reported recently that employers are not only viewing the facebook pages of potential hires but they're also requesting your facebook password to have a look at what you've kept from public view. What say you?

I would NOT give my password to anyone - certainly not an employer.  Oh no!  

4. It's April and you know what that means-Major League Baseball is back in action. What's your favorite baseball themed movie? If that's too hard what's your favorite sports themed movie?

No idea....

5. Something else this season brings-asparagus. Yes please or no thanks? If it's yes please what's your favorite way to have it prepared?

YUMMY!!!  Any way it comes please and thank you :)

6. What drives you? (Don't you love how I sandwiched that one in between asparagus and jugglers?)

My children, myself, a need for security in the future...a need to prove things to myself.  

7. April 18th is International Jugglers Day...can you juggle?

Yes.

8. Insert your own random thought here.

The laundry basket is right beside the shower and yet STILL Abigails clothes are on the floor of the bathroom....scattered.  Love her :)  

x

My current art journaling classes...

My new evening art journaling class started last night.  For the first class we worked on

backgrounds and layering techniques, introducing everyone to gesso, various paint techniques, glimmer mists and pastel art sticks.  I think it went well.  This is the page that I created as I went through step by step to show them....I was rushing as I wanted them to see what to do and then spend the session taking the time to create their own pages.  I still had fun doing mine though.

This morning I had my usual childrens art journaling class - this semester our topic is 'bring on the colour' - today we created a collage of houses using various coloured/ patterned cardstock and finished off with paint/ pens.  Each one was really different!  Then we spent some time trying out various art products - alcohol inks, sprays and mists, embossing powders!!

Sam was sick today and didn't take part, and a few others were missing from the class too :( 

This is the page I created to show them the idea:

As we had some spare time at the end of the session, we used the junk modelling materials to build a 3d version of our town collage.  Then we built a tower tall enough to reach the ceiling:

Then I had them create sculptures of a man, an elephant, names and 

a really REALLY long snake:

Rosie has spent much of the day today sleeping and enjoying having us at home - our first 'at home' day all week!!!

My afternoon was spent finishing my book (Before I go to Sleep) which was FANTASTIC.  I also did a ton of laundry - about 4 loads I think....Sam played Minecraft and watched movies as he is ill.  Abigail read and did sewing and asked me question after question after question!!!  OMG!!!!  My brain is going to explode!  Sam started showing me his Minecraft house.  He also started asking me math questions.  

Susannah was late home as they had bus evacuation.  She went to do her homework and Abigail found her asleep when we called her for dinner!  

Laurence is working tonight so I will drive in and get him tonight.  

And that is my Wednesday!

Oh and yesterday?  As well as my class in the evening....Laurence started his new job.  I had to get some supplies from Michaels for my class - then we went to Timmys and met a friend of Abigails and her Mom.....then we went to Homeschool Group at the library - it was science day - chatted a lot with Sharla.....also chatted afterwards with the girl who ran the science day - about getting the group more structured and organized and make it more welcoming.  Getting it more active again!  It REALLY needs it!!  It needs SOMETHING!!!  So we are going to get together or have a planning session and figure something out!  

Abigail said that she for SURE wants to keep going now that this new lady is getting involved because it was soooooo much better and she LOVED yesterdays class (and loved playing with Sharlas Daughters too).  

So anyway...that was our Tuesday too.....

I'm exhausted and it's only Wednesday!!  :)  But I love being exhausted when it is because of good things and GOOD stress and good busy :)  

x

Monday - a great start to the week :)

I had the loveliest sweetest snuggles with Sam this morning.

Our conversations in the mornings can be so amusing...I don't remember what this mornings was about, but it was sweet and funny and he was lying there with his head resting on my hand for a long while just chattering away :) 

We had to get up and dressed and head off to Edmonton to run some errands.  I popped into my lawyers office, then we went over to the bottle depot and recycled all our bottles - I really love doing that and wish we had done that for years!  All that money we were throwing away!!

After that we ran over to Oliver Square to do some banking and then in to McD's for coffee and a snack.  

The RBC there was so busy - must remember to AVOID that one in future - although the guy was OVERLY friendly there!  But not as cute as my normal guy at my RBC :)  

Mmmmm love McD's coffee :)  

Then it was on the the Royal Alberta Museum - we haven't been there in ages so we thought we would check out the galleries and see what they have going on!  First of all we took a little walk around the grounds because the weather was gorgeous.  The children want to come back one afternoon and go right down and walk along the river here...so we will do that one afternoon.  

Government House is such a gorgeous house - love it:

The children chose to go in to the 'Wild Alberta' gallery first - one of their favourites.  Abigail loves the Coyotes - she likes to press the sounds they make and was telling me how she falls asleep to that sound each night and she really loves it :)  I'm so glad - because I know exactly what she means.  I love it too.  They sing you to sleep :)  

They have a new exhibit in there called 'The life and death of the forest' and it's about forest fires and how important they are - and you get to watch a movie showing exactly what happens within minutes of a fire being put out in the forest....it was fascinating!  I really enjoyed it!

Then we were off to the Aboriginal gallery to see Sams friend - the bison!!

Then off to the gem gallery.....and the dinosaur exhibit.  We spent ages looking at all the fossils, learning about the layers of the earth and checking to see how many of the gemstones Sam has from his many attempts at gem mining!!

Then on to the bug room!!!!

Black widow spider!  Eeewwwww:

Then it was back outside and we went for another stroll around the grounds:

Took pictures of the children in the beautiful Pagoda:

It really is painted so beautifully:

Then we spotted a totem pole that we had never seen before so we headed over to it.  We were really surprised to find it was only HALF a tree and it was HOLLOW.  Very well done though and interesting to see:

We picked Laurence up after school and took him to get new shoes for work ready for his first shift tomorrow.  Then home via the gas station to fill up:

One more stop before home, and that was to check the mail box.  Today was Sam's turn to check.  There were two letters for us today.  

Home for dinner and yay we were all here for dinner tonight so we were sitting at the table to eat.  Lately it always seems like someone is missing...Yesterday we had the fish that they all love...today we had the chicken pies that they have been on about for ages...

Now I am about to watch a movie Sam has asked me to watch with him - he is finished drawing dragonflies from the museum today....so now we are watching 'Jingle All The Way'.  Hmmmm we seem to be on a  run of Christmas movies lol - the other day it was Santa Buddies!!!  Mind you, yesterday we watched Up :)  

I just want to get my head back into my book again!  It is sooooo GOOD!!!  :)

x