My project--birthday presents

Here are some of the things that i've been working on for the past week for my friend Tami--as you can see from the card, she is 30...something!

I love to make these little dishclothes--i don't do anything fancy....they are a dishcloth after all!! But because you can make a couple in an evening; they give me instant satisfaction!!

Lastly is the scarf--it's hard to get a good picture of a scarf unless you have a model, so Kalli stepped up to the challenge and modelled for me. Now all i did was ask her to wear it so i could get a good picture--i did not in anyway tell her HOW to stand and look at what she does.....

Could she have any more of a models' pose?!? (Seriously though--whose kid is she--i certainly don't stand like that.....the hip off to one side.....one foot in front of the other....i don't even wear high heels....where do they learn these things!!) But i have to say, she does look cute!!

People are great!!

On Monday, on my walk home at lunch, i stopped to talk to my next door neighbor. She noticed that Rex had "blew a bootie". Now being that Rex is only about 7lbs, his booties are pretty small, however they are also inexpensive to buy at the Feed Store so it's not the end of the world. However, I figured that i MIGHT be able to find it as i walked to work the next morning, but alas it snowed that night!! I did not give up hope and kept my eyes peeled as i walked to and from work on Tuesday.


On Tuesday, as i'm crossing Tatchun, a car pulls up to the stop sign, the driver gets out and says to me "i think we found your dog's bootie". REALLY? "Just go knock on the door and my mother-in-law will give it to you"--and off he goes.


So i continue home, drop off Rex, stop at this guys house, knock on the door and am greeted by the whole family, their dog included!! The mother-in-law informs me that she found it down by Rotary Park!!!


Now what are the odds that when i loose this 1 x 2 inch bootie:

1. a lady picks it up and doesn't just ignore it


2. brings it home to within 1 block of my house


3. her son-in-law leaves his house


4. intersects with me walking home with Rex


5. takes the time to look at Rex (or his little feet)


6. stops and talks to me


7. i am reunited with the missing bootie

I think that is just a reminder that people are great!! Later that afternoon i watch from across the street as a vehicle stuck in it's snowy filled parking spot, is struggling to rock back and forth to gain momentum to try & get out. Along comes a guy walking down the sidewalk who stops, puts down the stuff he is carrying and helps push this person out of the snow!! People ARE great!!

The rising cost.....of cereal

Has anyone else noticed that while gas may have gone down, the price of cereal has gone up....about a million percent!!! Cereal is becoming a 'treat' - and i'm not talking about the'crappy, taste good, but are so bad for you' kind, i'm talking about the 'good for you' kind. A big box of special k with the strawberries in it is about $7!!! For $7 I can buy a whole lot more strawberries than what comes in the box. AND i've also noticed, that while the prices have gone up, the size of the boxes have shrunk!! The box is about the size of a piece of paper, and about an inch thick and the price is higher!! Pretty soon they'll be about the size of those one serving boxes--8 little boxes that come all shrink wrapped together--we used to get those for a treat when we were kids!! There would be a fight for the frosted flakes and fruit loops, but the rice krispies and corn flakes would stay in the cupboard until probably about a year later, mom would throw them out.
I think we should start a cereal protest or strike--stop buying it until they increase the size of the box back to what they were and they leave the price alone. Cereal is my favorite food--it works for all three meals and a snack--but thankfully my kids are not big cereal eaters, so the rise in cost won't kill me.

100's day

Every year in my kids' school, the primary grades celebrate '100's day' which marks having been in school 100 days. Each student makes a project using poster board and 100 things glued on to it. I had come across Christine Kane's blog http://christinekane.com/blog/ where she talked about gratitude journals and things that delight you etc...So i challenged myself and kids to make a list called '100 ways I am delighted'. Well Kalli chose this to be her 100's day project--apparently she thought this would be more fun than gluing 100 cherioo's to a poster board!!!
Anyways we both made it to 100, Taylor made it to 26--i think because she is the kind of kid who delights in about a million different things a day, so to try and take the time to write down 100 of them, would be just too overwhelming!!! These lists were so neat that we taped them to the wall and there they have hung for a year!! I decided last weekend that I should take them down, date them, fold them up and put them away for when they were older. I would love to see now what delighted me when I was a kid.
So this morning, as Taylor was sitting there eating her breakfast, reading over the lists (i've taken them down and dated them--just haven't quite gotten them folded and put away yet!!), she informs me that February 4th was the deadline for Kalli's 100's day project. And sitting beside her was Kalli--eating Cherioo's!! Kalli doesn't say a word about the project--she was probably in deep thought wondering whether to glue 100 Cherioo's to a poster board, or do something way more significant---she is, after all, 8 years old now!!

Christmas has officially ended

This weekend I finally took down my Christmas tree--um yes it was a little late, but it was my first chance!! Last weekend we painted Taylor's room, and the weekend before that we were returning from the cabin....(I wish I was there!!) Anyways....typically I'm always sad to take down my tree; I remember as a kid, crying when my mom took ours down!! But this year, I put it up 1st weekend in December (that was the only time I had to do it other than 1 week before Christmas) and then left it up until the middle of January, which gave me a good 6 weeks of Christmas tree enjoyment. And that was plenty--no tears of sadness for me when I took it down!!
I have always been one to insist on a real tree and refused to even consider a fake, but last year I took the plunge and bought a brand new, fake prelit tree with a remote, all for $50!!! I have to say, it's not nearly as bad as I thought it would be:

1. I don't have to crawl under it to check the water
2. I don't have to try and water it without spilling any on the presents
3. I don't have to risk buying a real one and having it begin dropping needles 3 days later
4. I don't have to tie it to the wall/ceiling in order to keep it from falling down
5. I don't get sap all over myself
6. I don't have to manuever myself between it and the wall to unplug the lights (because I have a handy dandy remote!!)
7. I can set it up early and take it down late to get my fill of Christmas tree viewing
8. -40 has no bearing on whether I can go and get my tree

HOWEVER

1. I miss the smell of a 'real' tree
2. I miss going out and getting a 'real' tree -as long as it's not -40!!
3. I miss the uniqueness of a different tree
4. I didn't have to try and fit a' real' one back into the box!!

My musical kids!

Here is, not the best picture of Kalli playing guitar in the school christmas concert--she is the only one in Grade 3 & obviously the only one with a blue guitar!! In the lead up to the concert we heard 'Joy to the World' about a million and a half times--we were very 'joyous' when all the practising for the concert was done!! (I think it's time to update the camera to better capture these moments!)
Here is Taylor playing some musical instrument-I'm not sure what it is - but she also played her recorder for parts of it too. She just loves to perform in whatever capacity she can!!

A Baby Shower

I am helping to plan a baby shower for my (much younger!!) friend. It takes me back almost 11 years to when my firstborn arrived. I remember them handing her off to me and all of the sudden you realize this being is yours--you're the mother, you should know what they like, how to make them happy, what they need etc...WAIT A MINUTE--I've never met them before--how the heck am I supposed to know?!?!? On the 2nd night, after hours of trying, I have not managed to appease this little baby, so I ring for The Nurse. She bustles in, wraps her tight, gives her 2 pats on the bottom and bounces her just right and suddenly she's happy!! OKAY THAT'S JUST NOT FAIR!! I couldn't figure out how she could achieve this so easily and i had been struggling for hours to make 'MY baby' happy. It didn't make sense-I've always been good with babies, I wasn't scared about having a baby, and it certainly didn't occur to me that I wouldn't be able to solve any problem with my baby. But I remember asking her as tears of frustration were sliding down my cheeks, 'how did you know what to do'? She told me very gently...'Over the span of my career, I've done this with about a thousand different babies". OH, and a lightbulb comes on in my head!!
Now after 2 of my own, I can now pick up a crying firstborn of one of my friends, wrap them just right, swing them just right, and what do you know, they're happy!!
And now mine are coming with me to the baby shower. They're going to help us set up and decorate because now, they're old enough! I miss the baby times, but only a little--as long as I can occasionally hold a newborn, I'm good to go!! So don't worry hubby, my biological clock has been unplugged!

My First Blog entry

This is my first entry into my blog--shall i jump right in and talk about what is on my mind?! THE WEATHER--after weeks and weeks in the -30 to -40 range, it's now +2!! It smells like spring (if there is such a thing!!) When i walked to work this morning, even the wind felt warm! I can't believe that they're calling for rain on Sunday--then -13 on Monday--I'm hoping that doesn't happen because the roads will be a complete nightmare to try and navigate.
BUT with the amount of snow we have and the warmer weather, it does make for perfect snowman making conditions--this is something that doesn't happen too often here. For the most part, our snow is all 'crystally' and you couldn't make a snowball if your life depended on it. I think this weekend i'll send the kids outside to make one--if there's still snow left!!