Lee-Ann's Crazy Life!

Animal Kingdom

2012-01-31T20:00:00.000-05:00

On the Friday of our vacation we hit up Animal Kingdom. The day was sunny but cooler, we had to wear jeans and hoodies to stay warm. We had a good day there since it is one of our favourite parks. We did some rides, had lunch at Tusker's Place, which I wasn't a big fan of and saw some shows and lots of animals. Our favourites were the Safari ride, a Bug's Life show, and checking out the tigers! We will definitely be back, we enjoy a lot of Animal Kingdom, so I think our next trip we will definitely go again.

Lunch at Tusker House:

Donald kept us entertained while we waited to be seated, he danced and played ring around the rosie with the kids! I wasn't a fan of the lunch buffet menu at Tusker's, I think we'll stick to the breakfast buffet if we go again.

Animal Kingdom Parade (we missed this last time), really cool stuff!

Pooh & Characters Meet & Greet

Animals at Animal Kingdom

2012-01-30T20:00:00.000-05:00

We are a huge fan of Animal Kingdom, we love the amusement park mixed with the zoo feel. It has all the Disney awesome with a mixture of the outback. Check out some of the cool animals we saw when we were there this time. We did the Safari ride and did more of the walks to check out the animals.

Hippo

Ostrich Eggs

Mama Ostrich

Gorilla

A big ass bat! These things were creepy looking!

Tiger, these were super close to look at, such beautiful animals.

So beautiful

Electric Parade

2012-01-29T19:49:00.000-05:00

One of the really fun things about Disney is seeing the parades they put on, they are just amazing, and make your town parades look ridiculous! Every time we sit and watch a parade, we are amazed by the detail and the organization, they have parades down to an art!

Magic Kingdom

2012-01-28T21:23:00.000-05:00

On the Thursday of our vacation we went to see the beautiful Magic Kingdom. Since we went 3 times our last trip, we were able to do some favourites and do some things we missed last time around. The kids had a blast and it was another beautiful day. We spent a good deal of time at the park and we will definitely be back for our next trip, it is just the type of place you can go back to over and over.

Riding the People Mover

The Tea Cups!

Princess loves fairies and last time we went to Disney we didn't get a chance to see them, the line was about an hour long! So this time she really wanted to see them so while the big kids went on a ride with the live in man friend, I took Princess to wait in line, we were still waiting when they got back and when given the choice between another ride or seeing the fairies, my boy chose the fairies. He is a big fan of Tinkerbell and loves the movies. It isn't a very "boyish" thing but he loves them nonetheless, they are up there with the Lego and Pokemon!

Meeting Rosetta

Meeting Tinkerbell

If you've ever been to a Disney parade or a fireworks display on a busier day then you will understand why this single stroller was holding all my kids! It was a zoo and I swear we would have lost someone if it wasn't for keeping them like this!

Move it people!

Epcot

2012-01-26T20:00:00.001-05:00

On the Wednesday of our vacation we went to Epcot for the day. Unfortunately it was a bit of a rainy one but it didn't slow us down too much, it definitely could have been worse! We enjoyed mainly the front area of the park and focused on the rides that we hadn't done before or doing some of our favourites. We also did some character greetings, which are always a favourite. We stayed for the most of the day and the kids were exhausted by the time we left, just check out of the picture of Princess getting carried out of the park! She was asleep asleep, not just faking! Our Epcot favourites are the Test Track and the Nemo ride. We are also a fan of the talking show with Crush from Finding Nemo.

Character Greetings:

The Wizarding World of Harry Potter

2012-01-25T20:00:00.001-05:00

The best part of Universal Studio's and the reason why we went this year was to see The Wizarding World of Harry Potter since the kids are huge into Harry Potter right now. The details of the buildings and such were amazing and the kids really enjoyed themselves. Unfortunately we couldn't really do any of the rides since they were too small but they loved the Flight of the Hippogriff which was the only one we could do. The ride through the castle had an hour long wait and since the kids couldn't do it anyway we didn't want to wait in line but we wanted the kids to see the inside of the castle. While we were in the gift shop a super nice lady let us know that we could tour the castle and she then came back and took us through the back passages to show us inside the castle. The kids thought it was amazing and the lady was so sweet to help us out so we didn't have to wait in line. Another bonus was the Butter Beer they sold there, oh boy, I keep thinking about it even now and wish it was sold at Starbucks!

All Aboard!

Hagrid's Hut

Cool Stuff from the Shops!

Yummy Butter Beer!

For My Sister!

2012-01-24T22:33:00.000-05:00

Tonight I chatted with my sister, she told me she keeps checking my blog for updates, but alas there are none! Okay, things have been busy but I have a little time for some Wally! So here you go sis, the dog you see every day is making it big!

I just love this dog! How super cute is he?! Also, can I just tell you how much I loved talking to my sister tonight and hearing about how he chewed off 2 more corners of her coffee table today while she was at work! It was a hoot hearing "I threw him in the car and we went to get a crate". It totally cracked me up! Of course my poor little sister feels bad, don't worry, Wally will be fine and grow to love the confinement of his new jail, errrr, bed!

Universal Studio's Islands of Adventure

2012-01-21T11:07:00.000-05:00

On the Tuesday we went to Universal Studio's, which has 2 parks but we only did the one, Islands of Adventure. This is the one with the Harry Potter section, which I'll post about separate.

The kids really enjoyed the Dr. Suess area, it was pretty neat! We did a bunch of rides in there because the kids were the right heights for all of them.

We did a couple of other area's in the park but the best parts for us were the Harry Potter & Dr Suess. I think our next trip we are going to try the other Universal park.

We left the park with 3 Things!

Legoland Florida

2012-01-19T22:21:00.000-05:00

We drove the 9 hours to Florida from Tennessee on Sunday and arrived in the late afternoon. Just in time to pick up some groceries and get to the townhouse for a swim while it was still light outside. The kids loved the splash pool. We stayed in the same place as the previous trip and once again we had a great experience.

Everyone was in bed early after showers and ready for for the next day, my boy was so excited since he is a huge Lego freak!

We left in time for opening of the Legoland park, the drive was about 45 minutes away, so it wasn't too bad. The kids were so excited when we arrived and there was so many things made of Lego. My boy was in his glory, he almost cried when we left for the day, poor guy.

We did a lot of the rides, I don't think we missed too many of them really. We walked the entire park and saw all the cool stuff. Our favourite rides included the Dragon coaster and the dinosaur coaster. There was a really cool area where as a family you could get into a huge Lego like fire truck and you had to pump it to a fake fire and then pump water at it and then pump the truck back. It was hilarious and the kids thought it was a blast! Our family beat out the other ones, 4 play at a time.

We bought a couple of cool souvenirs there, 1 I'll do a separate post about, and the other the kids made their own Lego mini figures, that was pretty cool and time consuming for someone like my boy who could build all day long!

Some of the Lego things that were built were just amazing! It was so cool seeing some of these super large creations up close.

Overall it was a good day and we had beautiful weather. We'll definitely go back at some point, I'm not sure if we'll do it our next trip but maybe the one after that. Poor Princess was exhausted by the end of the day but nothing a little shoulder carrying couldn't fix. We actually only rented her a stroller for half the week and the rest of the time she walked with the big kids, she did great!

Fun in Tenneessee

2012-01-18T21:49:00.001-05:00

Instead of driving straight through to Florida this time, we stopped in Tennessee for a couple of nights to see the sights in Chattanooga. The live in man friend is a real fan of the area and wanted to share the sights with the kids. We we stayed the first night at the Chattanooga Choo Choo and enjoyed the train themed hotel and pool. It was there for dinner that I ordered fried chicken, huge mistake! I received half a fried chicken covered in batter, oh my gosh, I should have taken a picture, it was so much and I felt bad for barely eating any of it!

Inside the engine

My train engineers

Our next fun stop was at the Tennessee Aquarium. We spent the afternoon checking out the many river and ocean animals at their two buildings. The favourites for the kids were the checking out the river otters, stingrays, and the penguins.

Jelly fish

Watch out for that shark!

After a long day we went back to our room for the night, ordered some food & watched TV. Then we spent most of the evening trying to get the kids to bed, which Princess was being horrible about! We had to get up early in the morning to head to Florida and we were up and down until almost midnight before everyone was finally asleep.

The morning after!

After Santa Came 2011

2012-01-13T20:00:00.001-05:00

Christmas Eve 2011

2012-01-12T20:00:00.000-05:00

We had our annual family gathering on Christmas Eve with my Grandma & Great Grandma. My Mom & sister joined us this year, the same last year. We've been doing this pretty much every year since I moved out in 2002 and we've gone every year except the year my boy was born 8 days before Christmas. It is a very nice way to spend Christmas Eve every year and the kids look forward to it. We have a nice meal together and exchange gifts, usually just the kids do but this year everyone opened gifts together which was nice. The trio was spoiled yet again with many gifts and money to spend while at Disney for our vacation, which is always much appreciated! We did some pictures of all of us since it is pretty cool that my kids have a Grandma, Great Grandma & Great Great Grandma!

Family Pictures 2011

Nana Vera, Nana Catherine, Kaiden, Taryn, Me, Audree-Ann

Nana Vera, Nana Catherine, Kaiden, Auntie Nicole, Wally, Taryn, Me, Audree-Ann

Nana Vera, Nana Catherine, Kaiden, Wally, Auntie Nicole, Grandma, Taryn, Me, Audree-Ann

My Fur Nephew

2012-01-11T20:00:00.000-05:00

Seriously, this pup is the cutest thing ever. I can't help but take pictures of his cuteness every chance I get! This was Christmas Eve after Wally had been chased by my trio around a very small apartment. He needed a little Mama break.

Curled up on his Mama's bum!

Poor Wally, can't even catch a moment's peace while he chills on his Mom's bum!

Falling asleep listening to lullabies

Decorating the Christmas Tree

2012-01-10T20:00:00.000-05:00

We were so late this year with getting the Christmas tree and then we had it up undecorated for almost a week! We finally decorated it on the 23rd, just a couple of days before Christmas! The kids were happy to have it done. They did most of the work with the ornaments which I'm happy about. Every year I buy each kid a new ornament so when Christmas comes around they have a bunch of ornaments they can decorate the tree with. It is really neat and I try to do something that resembles their year. This year I did a train and we each had a piece of it, it is a really cool way to remember the years going by.

Dad's Ornaments (an angel I bought this year and

the golf cart one was one from long ago)

The Trio Decorating

Movie Party

2012-01-09T21:22:00.000-05:00

For my boy's 6th Birthday we hosted a bunch of his friends to the local movie theatre for snacks, a movie, and cake. Everyone seemed to have a good time and we enjoyed celebrating a Birthday in a way that didn't involve cleaning up the house before and after. We watched the new Chipmunks movie, Chipwrecked, which was pretty lame but the kids seemed to enjoy it, especially my boy who was the loudest in the theatre! He was also spoiled with many gifts of Lego and other fun toys. It probably took a week for him to get through them all and open all the boxes! Of course just in time for Christmas! The December Birthday just kills me but my boy was definitely worth it.

Wally & Fam

2012-01-03T09:37:00.000-05:00

We are a house full of Wally lovers over here. Auntie Nicole left Wally for a week with my Mom so we had a chance to see him a couple of times while she was away. He is so sweet and a total ear loving nibbler. The bottom picture is of Wally's favourite care providers. :)

Sweet Girl...

2012-01-02T16:56:00.000-05:00

in little girl fashion & yummy cake!

Carter Boy

2012-01-02T10:00:00.000-05:00

On my boy's Birthday we were lucky enough to see my friend Jamie and her sweet boy Carter. We hadn't seen them for a long while so it was nice that they came over a little extra early to play and hang out with us. I couldn't believe how big Carter is, walking and talking and being all cute loving on his Mama. The kids adore Jamie, so it is nice for them to see her as well and of course for her to see them. She's known my kids since the first born beauty was 1 and was one of the first to meet my boy & Princess as newborns. Jamie & Carter are part of our family and we love that.

Merry Christmas Carter!

Yummy Cake!

Cute New PJ's!

Best Group Shot!

Bye Jamie & Carter, miss you!

Kaiden's 6th Birthday

2012-01-01T15:53:00.000-05:00

Kaiden's Birthday actually fell on a Saturday this year so we took the opportunity to have some family over for the actual day and did a friend party separately. We ordered pizza and tossed some fruit & veggie trays on the table, and of course there was cake. Kaiden had a good time. We had dogs and kids running around, it was fun. He of course was spoiled. Thanks to those that came out for the evening to spend with my boy,

What?!

Finds out he is going to Monster Jam with Auntie Nicole

I'm 6!

Big gift from Mommy & Daddy, a Nintendo DSi!

Cake made to his specifications!

Christmas Gift 2011: Disney Trip Reveal!

2011-12-27T11:43:00.000-05:00

We gave the kids a trip to Disney World for Christmas. We leave January 7th! This is how we revealed we were going!

Merry Christmas

2011-12-25T09:00:00.000-05:00

Puppy Play Date

2011-12-24T20:00:00.002-05:00

My sister just got a new puppy, his name is Wolowitz, Wally for short. He's a french bulldog and I love him! Last week Wally and Mila (Kim's puppy) came over for a play date! They had so much fun running around and wow, did Lizie ever sleep well that night and was even tired the next morning.

Christmas in the Park

2011-12-23T20:00:00.002-05:00

Last Friday after seeing Santa and the ponies the kids and I went to check out Christmas in the Park. Our town puts it on every year but this is the first time we've actually been to check it out. The kids had fun running around, checking out the lights, and getting their pictures taken in all the cut outs.

Santa & Ponies

2011-12-22T21:13:00.000-05:00

Last Friday our Elf suggested we check out Home Hardware for some fun. The kids were a little confused about what type of fun could be had at the home improvement store but went along with me to check it out. They were pretty excited to find a petting zoo, pony rides & another chance to see Santa! The place was dead so things were quick & the kids loved it. I could barely get them off Santa's lap, I thought they were going to camp out there for the rest of the year! They loved the pony ride too. All proceeds raised from the event went to our local child protection agency, so it was for a good cause as well.

December 4th

2011-12-21T20:00:00.000-05:00

On the 4th we went to visit my Grandmother's for the afternoon before a dinner with the live in man's family. We had a lovely lunch and visit with my Grandmother & Great Grandmother. It was nice to see them and the kids were better behaved than the last time we saw them.

Afterwards I took the kids to the mall to get some energy out before we went to dinner at the Mandarin. They were well behaved there as well. They had a neat set up at the mall where you could vote for your favorite Christmas tree, so the kids picked a tree and we voted. I also did a little shopping and then let them loose in the play park. My boy being who he is made a couple of friends and ran wild with them. He actually worked himself up into a big sweat! The first born beauty is so much calmer and a lot less social, just check out the picture! Taryn had fun and she is in the stage where she doesn't care about having someone to play with, she is just happy there are other kids around.

We went to the Mandarin next and had a wonderful time visiting with the live in man friends Dad and wife. The kids were well behaved during dinner and enjoyed the food and atmosphere, it was nice, we had a table right beside one of their huge fish tanks, the kids loved it!

Then it was time to head home. The kids were crashed in the car so quick that I don't think we had left the parking lot! It was a busy day but a great one.

Santa Train

2011-12-20T09:48:00.000-05:00

On the 3rd, because you know we didn't have a busy enough day with the Santa breakfast, we also headed over to the Credit Valley Explorer Santa Train for a ride and to meet Santa. We went with our close friends, the kids of course had a blast. We enjoyed some music, treats, and of course visiting with Santa.

Breakfast with Santa

2011-12-18T20:00:00.001-05:00

The kids school hosts a Santa's breakfast every year and we've gone the last 3 years, the kids love it and it is a cheap breakfast that I didn't have to cook, plus it helps out the school. This year it was on the 3rd and we headed in early because I knew it would get crazy fast and the kids were starving as usual at 7am.

We sat down for breakfast and the kids were so excited when my boy's teacher sat down with us to eat. She also taught first born beauty last year. We all adore her and she adores my kids. So we had some good conversation and food.

Afterwards the kids had a chance to see Santa and get their picture taken. Of course the picture looks great, except for the fact that the Princess has her eyes closed! Ugh! So annoying!

It was a good morning though and a fun tradition for the kids.

Happy Birthday!

2011-12-17T00:01:00.002-05:00

Dear Kaiden,

Today you turn 6. It is so hard to believe that 6 years ago you came into the world screaming so loud that everyone commented about how much noise you were making. You've always been an either super happy boy or super unhappy. It isn't often that you stay mid ground.

This past year has gone really fast. You started Grade 1 in September and have seemed to settle into the routine of full time school pretty well. I think the only complaint would be that you are tired more often and that can send you into meltdown mode.

Your favorite toy is Lego, you building with them every single day and will spend hours if there is time, making your own creations with them. You also love any type of technical gadget, you love the iPad to play games and enjoy playing on the Wii. For your Birthday we are giving you a Nintendo DSi, I know you are going to love it when you open it!

You are a very social boy and sometimes that is hard to keep up with. You want to talk to everyone, even complete strangers, and tell them your life story. I think one day you are going to do amazing things!

I wish for you another wonderful year filled with all good things. You are an amazing little boy and you make me proud every day.

I love you.

Love Forever,

Mommy

Party Time!

2011-12-16T22:16:00.000-05:00

On the 2nd we had lots of parties going on around here. The first born beauty went on her first friend overnight! She was pretty excited and she seemed to have a good time. She was tired and kind of cranky the next day though. My boy had a birthday party to go to, it was a skating party. He had only been on skates last year for the first time but I was surprised to see he seemed to be more balanced this year and he did a great job! He had a good time with his friends at the party too. He is such a social boy. Princess stayed home with her Daddy and made cookies. It was a good day for everyone.

Kaiden with his friend, they were holding hands at one point,
they are both love bugs.

Happy Half Birthday Princess!

2011-12-12T20:00:00.002-05:00

On the 21st Princess Taryn had her half Birthday. As a tradition, of course we celebrated! She got to have her choice of dinner, pancakes with all the trimmings! We had cupcakes and of course a small gift for the Princess. I can't believe she just has 6 more months until she is 4! Time goes way too fast for my liking! She is loving preschool, gymnastics, and swimming. She is excited to start school next year, though I'll be a sobbing fool! Happy Half Birthday sweet Princess!

Weekend in the City

2011-12-11T20:00:00.001-05:00

I love how my boy is wearing his PJ top in this picture!

Recently I went to complete my postpartum doula training in the city and needed help with babysitting since the live in man friend was working the entire weekend, I didn't want to spend oodles of money on one of the teenage babysitters that are available to me either so I set it up with Kim to take the kids for the weekend. She had actually been asking about an overnight visit for a while, so this worked out great!

The kids had a blast! They checked out Nathan Philips Square for their Christmas decorations, checked out the Eaton Centre, walked the dogs (since Kim was nice enough to watch Lizie love as well as the kids!), went swimming at the building and watched a movie in the theatre room with Auntie Cole! They were well fed the entire weekend with all of their favorites and enjoyed some time away from the usual crazy house environment.

A couple of shots from their weekend in the city. When I picked them up Sunday night, they were exhausted! I wish I could say the same for Lizie love who was ready to go for a run! They had a blast and it helped me out a lot. Thanks Kim, Ally & Nicole for keeping them busy, fed, and happy while I worked towards my dream. :)

Fashion Model

2011-12-10T20:00:00.002-05:00

Ted sent me a text message one morning when he had to get the kids off to school on his own because I was working early. He told me that Princess was very adamant about dressing herself and would take no direction from him regarding clothing choices. He sent me a picture later on to show me. I think she did pretty good, she looks super cute and as you can tell she is very much a girly girl, which is so different from the first born beauty who is about hoodies and jeans! I hope she lets me continue to dress her though, I don't have much time left! Maybe she knew her Daddy would try to dress her ins some type of half PJ top and capri bottom outfit like he did to her sister & was making sure that didn't happen!

Santa Claus Parade

2011-12-09T20:00:00.002-05:00

The live in man friend is a good Dad, actually he's a great Dad. He takes care of our children top notch and is very much about making memories with our kids which is so important to me. I love how he will take them to do things even when I'm working. On the 19th he took the kids in the yucky rainy weather to see the Santa Claus Parade. They were good troopers & so was he. They came home for hot chocolate, the electric fireplace and warm PJs with smiles on their faces and memories that I hope will last a life time.

Girls Night!

2011-12-08T20:00:00.002-05:00

On the 18th I headed out on the town with some some awesome ladies for GIRL's NIGHT! We started the night with heading to the Pickle Barrel for dinner & to start to get our drink on! There was about 7 of us & then we headed out to some super fun places that I won't divulge on this blog! Needless to say the night was lot of fun with some great ladies! It is nice to take the "Mom" hat off every once in a while and to let loose. Kim was nice enough to let me crash at her place, though I really wish I could have slept better. Oh well, it was worth it for sure.

See these lovely lady's? The dark haired one is my new love & BFF! She loves all thing cheesey & fatty, loves to talk about the good stuff & swears like a sailor! She almost kissed me for sharing my bacon with her. That is my type of girl! :)

Pretty down town view

Now that is a lot of beer!

Caught up for November!

2011-12-08T16:41:00.000-05:00

Yay! I have posts scheduled until the beginning of next week to get November all caught up. I'm going to work on posting our fun from last weekend soon. Then hopefully I can continue to stay caught up. Here's hoping anyway!

Make sure you check in daily to see a new post. Thanks for reading!

Gifts from Daddy

2011-12-07T21:46:00.000-05:00

You may remember my single Mama days last month. Well the kids loved when Daddy got home & of course he came bearing gifts. Super cool train Pez toys! Also bells from the polar express. The kids thought they were great but more importantly they loved having their Daddy back in the house.

Catch Up!

2011-12-07T10:41:00.000-05:00

I have a bunch to catch up blog wise and I don't know where to start so I thought I'd post a list of posts I plan to cover over the next little bit. I always have a hard time keeping up my blog this time of year, if you look back over the years you can definitely tell! But I do want to try to stay up to date as possible so I need to power through!

So here are some of the posts planned for the next little bit:

Gifts from Daddy
Girls Night
Santa Claus Parade
Fashion Model
Weekend in Toronto
Happy Half Birthday Taryn!
Skating Party & First Friend Sleepover!
Santa's Breakfast
Santa Train
Family Visits

Okay, so now I have a plan in place, I need to get posting! Check in over the next little bit, as I play catch up!

Come Enter the Santa Sack $400 Cash #Giveaway NOW

2011-12-01T00:01:00.050-05:00

“Feeling gratitude and not expressing it, is like wrapping a gift and never giving it”
William Arthur Ward

We are Thankful for our Readers
and we would love for you to win some holiday cash

The Freebie Junkie and Children Teaching Mama PLUS 38 other fabulous bloggers are offering 2 readers the chance to win $200 EACH in our Santa Sack Cash Giveaway

The cash giveaway is open to all worldwide and will be paid directly into your paypal account

What would you do with $200?

Put it towards your holiday get together?
Donate it to your favorite charity?
Put it towards your holiday gifts?

Splurge on yourself?
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The Freebie Junkie
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About a Mom
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Three Thrifty Guys
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Royalegacy
Just Married with Coupons
Healthful Mama
The Shopping Duck
Mindfully Frugal Mom
Family Life in Las Vegas
The Eco-Friendly Family
Kaia Magazine
Full Price Never
Quick Tattle Tails
The Mama Report
Daily Mothering
4 little Monsters & Me
I Heart Giveaway
To Sew With Love
Lee-Ann's Crazy Life
Save & Share with Coupons
Dealirious Diva
RockinDeals4You
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This Lil Piglet

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Favorite Holiday Pictures

2011-11-29T21:35:00.000-05:00

A couple of weeks ago I took up a great offer from a local photographer, Reflections by Patty. We had a quick 20 minute session and these are some of my favorites! It was the perfect way to get pictures for the Christmas card without me stressing about shooting it myself. Thanks Patty, we had a great time!

Sneak Peek into the $400 Santa Cash Giveaway Event (STARTS 12/1)

2011-11-24T20:00:00.014-05:00

“Feeling gratitude and not expressing it, is like wrapping a gift and never giving it”
William Arthur Ward

We are Thankful for our Readers

and we would love for you to win some holiday cash

Starting Thursday December 1st The Freebie Junkie and Children Teaching Mama PLUS 38 other fabulous bloggers are offering 2 readers the chance to win $200 each in our Santa Sack Cash Giveaway

The cash giveaway is open to all worldwide and will be paid directly into your paypal account

What would you do with $200?

Put it towards your holiday get together?

Donate it to your favorite charity?

Put it towards your holiday gifts?

Splurge on yourself?

To enter the Santa Sack Cash Giveaway simply come back on Thursday 12/1 after 12:01am EST to find the giveaway post

See who won the $200 Fall into Cash and $250 Thankful Cash Giveaway events

In the meantime check out the generous bloggers involved in this event

The Freebie Junkie

Children Teaching Mama

Sonya's Happenings

PS Mom Reviews

Retail Therapy Lounge

Misadventures with Andi

Just Married with Coupons

Healthful Mama

The Shopping Duck

Mindfully Frugal Mom

Family Life in Las Vegas

The Eco Friendly Family

4 little Monsters & Me

I Heart Giveaway
To Sew With Love
Lee-Ann's Crazy Life
Save & Share with Coupons
Dealirious Diva
RockinDeals4You
Domestic Executive Online
7 On a Shoe String
This Lil Piglet

Be in it to win it

Please...

2011-11-24T10:28:00.000-05:00

check out my new business blog!

Motherhood Moments

First "Snow" Day of the Year

2011-11-23T18:49:00.000-05:00

Last night we got a bunch of freezing rain. I worked until 11 and really had a great time chipping my car off to go home! So needless to say I was pretty sure the buses would be cancelled and come morning when I checked, I was right! The kids thought it was great! They ran outside and played in the crunchy ice grass for 10 minutes before coming in screaming they were freezing. We had a pretty low key day considering my car was in the shop for the day. We napped, played, and cleaned, all the good fun of a day at home.

The Little Things

2011-11-23T08:12:00.000-05:00

Some days life seems so crazy (I'm sure you can tell by my blog name), we rush through the regular every day life of kids, food, sleep and activities. There are some days when it seems we barely get a chance to laugh, not just an every day laugh but a good belly busting laugh. Now laughing at other people and their stupid is one thing but when it is directed at you and your own stupid, that brings out a whole other level of gut busting.

A couple of nights ago I showered and crawled into bed. I had an okay sleep. In the morning I woke and went to the bathroom and it was there that when I turned around I saw it, a bright blue sparkle heart sticker stuck right to my butt. I probably should have mentioned I fell asleep sans PJs after my late night shower. All I could think of when I saw this little piece of art was how in the world did the kids get a sticker in my bed! I couldn't help myself, I started to laugh, not just a chuckle but a full out belly laugh. Then of course the live in man friend is in the bedroom wondering why I'm laughing in the bathroom like a crazy person. So of course I then come out and tell him and he can't help but laugh too.

Needless to say, it was a better morning, a better day, just because of a little heart sticker on my ass! Really it's the little things that keep you going. Have a great evening and I hope you find a little thing to keep you going.

Giveaway Winner--Sports Chair

2011-11-20T16:27:00.000-05:00

The winner for the sports chair was lucky comment # 6.

Congrats to:

karasceviour said...

It would benefit my teenage daughter.

Please check your email!

Also keep watch for a chance to win $400 cash in the upcoming Santa's Sack giveaway!

AWESOME!

2011-11-17T11:10:00.000-05:00

Last night I had the opportunity to meet an awesome blogger and author at a local Chapter's store. Neil Pasricha started his blog 1000 Awesome Things after a string of not so awesome life events. He started the blog as a way to lift his spirits and to focus on the good things in life, no matter how small. Neil continues to update his blog and currently only has 110 entries left of 1000 awesome things. Neil was then offered book deals after his blog went viral. He wrote The Book of Awesome, The Book of (Even More) Awesome, and just released The Book of (Holiday) Awesome.

Last night Chapter's put on an awesome event, with cookies, egg nog, crafts and of course Neil! There also ended up being a surprise visit from Santa who read from the book about Santa with real beards, which this Santa totally had! Neil is a wonderful speaker and very motivating, he made me want to find the awesome things in every day life right then and there. If you haven't had the chance to read through some of the great content on the blog or his books, make sure you go check them out. I read through half of the first book while I was waiting to meet Neil.

So thanks to Chapter's and Neil for hosting an AWESOME night, it was a wonderful way to get into the holiday spirit.

2011/2012 School Pictures

2011-11-15T18:17:00.000-05:00

Here are the kids school pictures for the year, not too bad.

I Survived

2011-11-11T22:12:00.000-05:00

The live in man friend will be home tomorrow, less then 24 hours and I'll see him. He has been gone a long week and doing it alone was exhausting!

Yesterday I spent the day at work & then it was home from work to hang with the trio, do the homework, showers & then bed.

Today I was off work, a nice change. So after dropping Princess at preschool I headed to volunteer in my boys class for the morning. I also got to attend their Remembrance Day assembly. They did a wonderful job.

This afternoon once the kids were home, we spent time cleaning up the house and then it was time for bed. The day went crazy quick. Now I'm relaxing until I'm ready to head to bed, which isn't too far off.

Thanks for the supportive comments over the week, they kept me going. I am hoping I'm not going to be doing this again any time soon, that is for sure!

Day 5: Single Mama

2011-11-09T22:10:00.000-05:00

Today was pretty uneventful but exhausting. Mostly because I've been sleeping awful. Last night I had a straight 4 hours in which I'm guessing I slept in exactly the same spot for those hours and that would explain the huge kink in my neck today! Then at 3 am I woke up with a crazy case of allergies, after some pills I was back out in 30 minutes, the only problem is once my alarm went off it was so hard to get up because the full effects hadn't warm off yet! It made for a rough morning.

After dropping the big kids off at school, I crawled back into bed with Princess for a little snooze before having to get ready for work. I worked 11-7 again today & then home to the trio. The live in man friend called and talked with us all, so that was nice. I then put them to bed and now it is time for me to head that way too. I still need to catch up from the lack of sleep for the last couple of day.

3 more sleeps. :)

Day 4: Single Mama

2011-11-08T21:41:00.000-05:00

Today wasn't as crazy as yesterday, thankfully, since I had the worst nights sleep last night. I'm exhausted and am going to attempt to hit the hay early tonight and hopefully get a fully 8 hours!

I got the big kids to school this morning and then Princess had gymnastics. I had the chance to sit and chat with my friend Andrea for an hour there before I had to head to work.

I worked 11-7 today and then came home. Dishes, load of laundry & tucking the trio into bed. I watched a little TV and am now ready to turn in myself!

4 more sleeps. I tried to convince the live in man friend that he should head home 1 day early but he didn't bite. I guess it would be wrong to fake some type of emergency to bring him home sooner huh? I'll make it through I guess but I'm sinking quickly now!

Day 3: Single Mama

2011-11-07T23:51:00.000-05:00

5 more sleeps until the live in man friend comes home!

Last night I went to crawl into my lonesome bed all by myself but found a couple of fur babies to spend the night with. One slept on the pillow above my head and the other took a cozy spot up beside me. I fell asleep listening to purring in my ear and waves crashing on the beach from my iPhone.

Today was seriously crazy. At finally 10 tonight I got a chance to chill out. This morning started with getting the big kids ready for school. After the bus drop off Princess and I took Lizie love for a walk. It was a nice morning for it, loving this warmer November weather, beautiful! Before 9 am I sent about 30 text messages to the sitter about the plans for the evening, she must think I'm crazy.

I was feeling really productive this morning, so after dishes, Princess and I baked banana muffins for the kids for afternoon snack. Then because the sitter was here for dinner with the kids I tossed a bunch of stuff into the crock pot and made a chicken stew.

I dropped off Princess at Andrea's and then it was off to work. I was lucky enough to be able to get some multi tasking done at work and did the grocery shopping, it saves me from doing it tomorrow, which is going to be another crazy day.

The sitter held up the fort here while I was at work and got the girls to their swimming lessons, did the homework stuff & fed the trio. Of course then it was time for bed. Apparently they were exhausted and fell asleep quickly. I found out the first born beauty and Princess are moving up in their swimming lessons, so that is great.

Once I got home, I spent an hour sorting everything out, garbage to the curb, unpacking groceries, dishes, checking backpacks, and then finally some time to just relax. Now it is time for bed. Tomorrow is another day, a busy day, a day without the help of my live in man friend. We miss him but tomorrow it will only be 4 more sleeps until he is home.

Day 2: Single Mama

2011-11-06T22:10:00.000-05:00

Today was a good day, the time change killed me though! The kids don't get the time change memo, so everyone was up super early. I actually got up earlier than I usually would and got some laundry and dishes done before we had to leave for the first born beauty's soccer game.

My Mom came to the game to see the kids and we then went out for lunch to Kelsey's. The kids had fun spending time with their Grandma & Greg. The kids were seriously wound up today, it was insane. Unfortunately the first born beauty's team got creamed today but she did have fun, so that is good.

At the game I found this little gem on the camera, I had to smile. I love when the live in man friend catches these crazy moments when he is home with the trio.

Apparently the kids felt like they needed a little foot spa!

After lunch we came home for a late nap, the best part of the day! I had just changed the sheets and put the new duvet on, it made for a wonderful nap.

Afterwards we took a walk around the neighbourhood before dinner, the dinner pretty much none of them ate. Seriously sometimes I should just throw them a loaf of bread and let them at it!

Showers, PJs, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, a phone call from Daddy, and then kisses & hugs before being tucked into bed. The walk must have helped settle them because they were asleep pretty quick tonight.

Another day gone by, I survived but I could have done with a little more patience. We shall see what tomorrow brings.

Day 1: As a Single Mom

2011-11-05T21:33:00.000-04:00

At 2 am the live in man friend left for Tennessee for a week for a all too fun train conference. So I'm on my own for the week, and truthfully I'm freaking out. I've done the single Mom thing with 1 kid for a week, working part time, and 8 months pregnant but 3 kids, 2 of which are in school, and working full time is a whole other story. So I thought I would give you a glimpse of what my life is like for the next week, in honour of all those single Mama's that do it every day, all day.

It wasn't until the live in man friend was getting ready to leave that I realized how much I count on him to do the simple things that help so much, like how he makes lunches almost every morning of the school year with no complaint, or how he helps out with the picking up and dropping off of our trio. He also is able to keep level headed in the midst of our crazy schedule with both of us working full time jobs on opposite shifts, taking care of all of us. So this week I'm all alone, with no one to count on, no one there as my rock. I'll manage but I just don't want to manage, I want to do this well.

Today we spent the time at home, chilling, playing, and relaxing from a busy week. It was well needed and included a long nap. We had an easy to make lunch, soup & crackers. I then ordered in a pizza and pasta for dinner and we sat and watched Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire since we just finished reading the book this week. The kids loved it! I received an email from the live in man friend so that was nice to hear from him. The kids went to bed pretty well, poor Princess kept saying she missed Daddy though. First born beauty was complaining that she wasn't feeling well. I'm guessing with my luck I'll probably end up with a sick kid not being able to go to school come the beginning of the week, oh yes, way to throw a wrench in the plans.

Wish me luck!

Beauty in the City

2011-11-05T11:00:00.002-04:00

This week I was in downtown Toronto for some training. I'm not a big fan of the city so it isn't often that I find happiness there but I was excited to see some beauty right in the midst of my training.

Invisalign Teen Blog Tour & Giveaway

2011-11-04T10:14:00.000-04:00

My Life

See this pretty girl? See her gnarly teeth? The first born beauty is 8 and the first time she saw the dentist he said to me "start saving up for those braces". I never realized at first how crowded her teeth are until I had other children with a full set of teeth, those kids have space between their teeth, first born beauty can barely get a flosser in there and she is only dealing with baby teeth. She lost her first tooth last spring and I watched over the last several months as some adult teeth have poked through and in my head I can see the braces and the big bills that go with it!

The first born beauty is a busy girl, right now she is taking part in 3 outside of school activities, she swims, plays soccer and takes part in the activities in her Brownie group. The thought of fitting in orthodontist appointments on top of that, plus regular Dr and dentist appointments for everyone in our family is an overwhelming thought. We are a busy household with 2 working parents, 3 children who take part in extra curricular activities and occasionally we like to have some family time. Emergency orthodontist appointments will definitely cut into the little amount of family time we share. So I am pleased that there is another option available out there, one that needs less of a time commitment for me and my busy family.

The Product

Introducing a great product called Invisalign, clear see through braces for adults or teens. With Invisalign you don't have to worry about dental hygiene because you can take out the clear aligner to properly care for your teeth. No forbidden foods! And yes, less of a time commitment because they won't break and require quick fix ups, just head in for your regularly scheduled appointments. I will be definitely be talking to the orthodontist about the option of Invisalign for the first born beauty when the time comes, it is a win win situation for her and our family.

Invisalign Teen Facts

- Invisalign Teen effectively straightens teeth like metal braces and is an ideal choice for active teens
- Invisalign is not only available for adults. The new Invisalign Teen was developed with leading orthodontists who understand the unique treatment and compliance needs of teens as well as their active lifestyles
- Every patient’s needs are different and there are many factors that determine the cost of Invisalign treatment. But, in most cases, Invisalign is comparable in costs to traditional braces, is covered by most dental insurance plans, and affordable financing options are always available.
- Invisalign’s treatment capabilities are not limited to mild/cosmetic cases – Invisalign can help correct a broad range of cases: Overly crowded teeth, widely spaced teeth, crossbite, overbite and underbite
- Invisalign treatment is also ideal for busy parents because there are never any emergency appointment from broken wires/brackets; it requires fewer appointment (because you get your sets in advance) and less chair time (for those uncomfortable tightenings)
- The total treatment time with Invisalign averages between nine and 15 months and the number of aligners worn during treatment is between 18 and 30. Treatment time is about the same as with metal braces and in some cases, shorter.
- There are almost two million Invisalign cases in treatment or completed worldwide (15-20% are teens)
A Chance to Win

Enter here for a chance to win a full Invisalign treatment (a value of up to $7000)! You can find the contest rules here. Good luck!

Giveaway

Enter for a chance to win an Invisalign sport chair, it is fold-able and comes with a carry case.

Mandatory Entries (these entries need to be completed in order for extra entries to be counted)
Comment on how Invisalign could benefit you.
Follow my blog through google friend connect (sidebar)

Extra Entries (leave one comment for each completed)
Subscribe via email (sidebar)
Subscribe via reader (sidebar)
Like me on Facebook (sidebar)
Follow me on Twitter
Tweet this giveaway (only once)

This giveaway ends November 18th, 2011 at 11:59 pm EST. Only open to Canadian residents. Winners can only win from one of the blogs that are offering the giveaway.

Thank you to Mom Central Canada and Invisalign for including me in this tour and allowing me to offer my readers a giveaway.

Disclosure – I am participating in the Invisalign Teen program by Mom Central Canada on behalf of Align Technology, Inc. I received compensation as a thank you for my participation. The opinions on this blog are my own.

The Cutest Hat Ever!

2011-11-03T16:17:00.000-04:00

As you've probably seen from some of the past pictures over the last several weeks, Princess has a new hat. This has got to be the cutest hat out there. I found this amazing piece of art work at the fall festival from a vendor, you can check out her shop here. The awesome factor continues, a Canadian product, handmade, and wonderful quality. Dana has some other really cute items listed at her store, so make sure to check her out! Also if you are huge fan of Facebook, you can like her page here. Thanks Dana, we love our new hat!

Halloween Night 2011

2011-11-01T16:23:00.000-04:00

Last night the kids had a blast, of course before we actually hit the streets they were driving me bonkers, they were so wound up! Finally we left with the trio decked out in their Harry Potter garb, they loved it! We had Harry (my boy), Herminone (first born beauty), Hedwig (Princess), and Aragog (Lizie love). We did a full block and ended up with a lot of loot! I gave out of a bunch of candy, thanks to a recent blog tour I didn't even have to buy any! I only ended up with a tiny little bit left. It was a fun night but I'm glad it only happens once a year, the kids go nuts! So now we need to eat all this candy so it will be out of the house. Hopefully we'll finish it off by Christmas!

Harry Potter theme 2011

Aragog AKA Lizie love

2011 Loot

Happy Halloween: Pumpkin Carving

2011-10-31T21:46:00.000-04:00

Sending Halloween fun & wishes to you from us!

The kids all started the pumpkin carving with the live in man friend but the only one left by the end was the first born beauty and Lizie love who was trying to eat pumpkin guts!

We had a good night tonight, I'll post more Halloween fun tomorrow.

National I Can Be Day!

2011-10-27T12:00:00.002-04:00

Did you know today has been declared National I Can Be Day? Within Canada some students will be lucky enough to hear Moms come into the class to discuss their careers. Students will also follow along with a program created to inspire them to be whatever they want to be.

Growing up I never had any limits placed on me about possible job opportunities, actually my Dad tried to push me into further education, to do more, to be more. I remember wanting to be a teacher, a nurse, and a daycare worker. At the end of high school, the only thing I knew was that I wanted to work with children and I wanted to make a difference in their lives. It was me that felt that a University education wasn't the right thing for me at the time. So I chose to go the College route and graduated with a Child and Youth Worker diploma. Of course now I wish I had that University degree, not so much the job, but the degree would help me towards other career opportunities now that I've found other passions.

I don't limit my children in their possible career choices, I've heard my oldest wants to be a Doctor and a Mom, my boy at one point wanted to be a flower delivery man and to tell you the truth I bet he would be awesome at it! I do talk to my children about different career choices and the types of education they would need to follow their dreams. I feel it is important to encourage them and give them realistic expectations of what they would have to do to make it happen. We also often talk as a family about how there are no girl or boy jobs, everyone is good a different things and they get to choose what they want to be when they grow up.

Barbie feels the same way so they've created a new website to help parents learn how to inspire their young daughters to be anything they want to be. Check it out at I Can Be Website. The website includes a great Canadian parenting coach, Terry Carson, as an in house expert. Be sure to check out the site often since Terry will be posting monthly parenting tips and themes. Make sure you take part in the conversations too, it is a great chance to ask questions and learn great tips from others about raising children to be whatever they dream.

Disclosure – I am participating in the Barbie I Can Be campaign by Mom Central Canada on behalf of Mattel Canada. I received compensation as a thank you for my participation. The opinions on this blog are my own.

Annual Pumpkin Patch Trip

2011-10-26T17:57:00.000-04:00

Last Friday we did our annual pumpkin patch trip to Downey's Farm, we've pretty much gone every year since the first born beauty was a year old. It is one of our favorite family traditions. We go and play and pick out our family pumpkin to carve.

Friday was a little cool and the rain was threatening, it started after we left, so we lucked out this year. One year we did actually do it in the rain, it makes for a miserable trip!

The hit this year was their new big tractor like bikes, they were awesome! Even the live in man friend and I enjoyed them! Funny enough the kids weren't even remotely interested in the animals, I guess they've done that part enough in the past! We did a little of the corn maze and the kids climbed all over the cool equipment they have. It was a fun morning and we left with a pumpkin and 3 muddy children!

Allan Candy Blog Tour: Halloween Traditions

2011-10-23T21:21:00.000-04:00

Thank you once again to Mom Central Canada for this great opportunity to try out a wonderful product, one I was very pleased to receive and test out for my own family. Thank you to Allan for make such great products.

Halloween Traditions at Our House

As most families with small children we enjoy the holidays so much more since we've had children. The kids make it more exciting and when I had kids it was very important that as a family we created traditions that would give the kids long lasting memories of their childhood, especially around fun holidays. So when our first born beauty was just a year old we took our first trip to the pumpkin patch. We chose a farm that was close to my work that I had seen several times even though it was kind of far from our actual house at the time. We've been back almost every year since.

This year our pumpkin patch trip fell on a day the kids had off school for a PA day, so it was perfect. We spent the morning at the pumpkin patch, it was a little chilly and the ground was wet and muddy but we had a good time. We chose a pumpkin that the kids will carve with the live in man friend.

As you can see I'm big about tradition, I'm a pretty sentimental person as well, so when I received my package of these wonderful Allan candies, all I could think of is days past buying candy at the corner store, filling up little paper bags with yummy sweet treats, not choosing the Hot Lips because of the burn, but taking more than enough of the yummy Big Feet! Now, I try to have my kids lead a healthier childhood than me but on occasion I do let them enjoy sugary treats. I was very excited about the Allan candy being nut free because the first born beauty has a nut allergy, so it is wonderful to have another option for her. I also was really impressed that they printed the nut free symbol on every single package because once it is time to actually go through the candy bucket and sort through the can and can not eat piles this will be so much easier. I also love that I can share with my kids how I remember eating the exact same candy, because really, that is just so cool!

The Product

Allan Candy Halloween treats are all made in Canada and are peanut free – line-up includes: Allan Intense Jubes & Jellies, Allan Chewy Rascalz and Allan Fruit Buddies. You’ll find these selections at key retailers, including Wal-Mart and Loblaws.

- Allan Candy Company is a Canadian company and all of their Halloween Candy is proudly made in Canada
- Allan Candy Company is now celebrating its 77th year and their iconic Big Foot brand has been around for more than 25 years.
- Peanut Free, individually wrapped candies that are available for Halloween are:
o Allan Intense Jubes & Jellies – delivering an intense sour flavor and a soft & chewy bite.
o Allan Chewy Rascalz – these childhood favourites will keep your taste buds happy! Packed in one bag, and of course, peanut free – you’ll find Big Foot, Sour Big Foot, Green Thumbs and Hot Lips!
o Allan Fruit Buddies - offering a variety of fruit flavoured candies that are also peanut free! Indulge in 5 great fruit flavours: Sour Watermelon Slices, Peach Slices, Sour Cherry Slices, Tangy Wild Strawberries and Sour Grape Slices.

Disclosure – I am participating in the Allan Candy Company program by Mom Central Canada. I received compensation for my participation in this campaign. The opinions on this blog are my own.

Empire Theatres Reel Baby Blog Tour + A Free Movie Ticket!

2011-10-19T17:24:00.000-04:00

On this drizzly afternoon I had the chance to take in a movie with the Princess, we checked out Footloose, while the big kids were in school. Thanks to Mom Central Canada for including me in this tour and for Empire Theatres for offering a wonderful program for parents.

My Review

I took Princess to the Bolton, Ontario theatre, since that is the closest to us. It is a fairly new theatre and was nice and clean. The seats were wonderful, nice and plush and they move back a little to recline, I love that feature. It was pretty dead for the Reel Baby program today, we shared the theatre with 1 Mom and infant, and then a worker came in to watch during a break. I was really impressed with the setup the program had, there was a change station, stroller parking, baby swing, exersaucers and play mats for baby. Like advertised the lights were on a little and the sound was turned down from the regular volume. I will definitely be heading back for a couple more films!

Reel Baby Program

The program offers these great things for parents:

Twice a month you can enjoy a new-release movie in a baby-friendly environment.
Each theatre is equipped with a change table, bottle warmer, play mat and swing, so you can take care of your little one while you catch the latest blockbuster
They even keep the lights on dim and lower the volume a bit

Also if you check out what is playing online, Reel Baby Program, you can vote for what movie you would like played at your theatre! I think that is a really neat feature.

If you have been looking for something to do with baby during the soon to be long days of winter, head over to your closest theatre and check it out!

Free Tickets

If you are a Canadian Mom and near an Empire Theatre that offers the Reel Baby program, comment here and I'll hook you up with a free admission! I have 10 free admits to offer, plus I'll throw in a $3 off admission coupon for the first 10 comments. I also have another 10 $3 off coupons that I can send out to comments number 11-20! Once you have commented I'll email you for your address, so please make sure I can find your email. In order to qualify for a free admit or coupon you need to be a follower of my blog. The admits and coupons expire December 2012, so there is a lot of time to use them.

Disclosure – I am participating in the Empire Reel Babies program by Mom Central Canada on behalf of Empire Theatres. I received compensation as a thank you for my participation. The opinions on this blog are my own.

Birthday Balloon Release

2011-10-17T14:33:00.000-04:00

Pictures from our balloon release, on the 4th. It was a beautiful day for a balloon release, as you can see.

Happy Birthday in heaven.

Friends

2011-10-12T18:59:00.001-04:00

This weekend we spent some time with friends, the kids had a blast together, as you can see below.

This Girl...

2011-10-11T19:00:00.000-04:00

...loves her cars.

First Birthday in Heaven

2011-10-10T19:00:00.000-04:00

Dear Dad,

On the 4th of October you would have turned 48, instead you celebrated your first Birthday in heaven. You know how much we like to celebrate around these parts so we couldn't pass up the opportunity to honour you on the day you were born with a little shindig! Prior to the day we talked about what we would have for dinner and we decided on having a big Thanksgiving dinner with all the fixings, very fitting a week before Thanksgiving, and also one of your favorite meals. We knew chocolate cake would be served up for dessert as well.

The day of course was hard, I guess all these anniversary/special days will be hard for a while, if not forever. But I would rather spend my time remembering you in a positive way and working on healing all our hearts as we go then to pretend the day didn't exist, after all the day you are born is a pretty special day.

We had a beautiful balloon release to send up Birthday wishes and kisses. I hope you caught each and every one of them, especially the ones the kids sent up.

Of course Kimmie did up the meal right, and Ally and Nicole even helped! It was an amazing meal, and enough leftovers to feed the usual army, Kim even bought leftover containers specifically for the event, you'd be proud! The turkey was huge, I think Kim thought the whole building was coming over! But we stuffed ourselves and Audree-Ann said a special grace for you before we started.

Afterwards we had a yummy chocolate mousse cake, you would have loved it! Ally blew out the candles since as you know her Birthday is the day afterwards. I have to admit this was a difficult thing to watch because I've seen a couple of pictures where you would blow out the candles together, so I'm sure it was really hard for her to do it by herself this year as well.

Kim bought the kids these super cute Miss You Angels, they are so fitting and perfect with the little balloons. They have them beside their beds to think of you. A new Dad charm was added to my bracelet as well, I love it.

So I hope you had a great first Birthday in heaven and I hope they do it up right where you are!

With love and memories always,

Lee-Ann

Fall Festival Part 2

2011-10-09T19:00:00.002-04:00

After the warmth of the indoors we ventured outside, which was super windy and cool. The kids warmed up with a jump in the bouncy castle and then checked out the petting zoo.

I have to admit the best part of the festival this time was the wagon pulled by a huge goat named Billy! He was the sweetest thing ever and the kids thought it was hilarious. If anything, we'll go back just to see if Billy is there again next year!

About $80 later and we were on the way home, yes it was an expensive morning, but a lot of fun. I left with 3 happy kids, 1 super cute owl hat (I'll post about that hat separately), 3 painted pumpkins and some cute pictures. We will head back next year for sure.

Fall Festival Part 1

2011-10-08T19:00:00.002-04:00

Every fall our local private school holds a fall festival to raise money for their school. We have gone most years since we've been in the area. I figure it is a good cause and the kids always have a blast. The school does an amazing job of putting on the festival with so much to do.

I always start off by going through the gym and putting bids down for some wonderful silent auction items, this year I wasn't lucky enough to be the top bidder of anything, so maybe next year. The kids pretty much hate this part since they have to walk around and it isn't really any fun. I bribe them with the good stuff to come and threaten to leave if they get to rowdy!

Because we went last year, and did a bunch of things I decided that there were somethings that we weren't going to do again, and some new things we would do since we missed out on them last year. So first up was mini putt.

Then we went to decorate pumpkins, which we do every year, they love this activity. Personally I hate it, it makes a mess and they are a pain to carry back to the car all wet and this is an event I get to take them to on my own since the live in man friend works all weekends in October.

Next up was cupcake decorating and stopping to then eat said cupcakes! Of course this was a huge hit with the trio and I didn't mind it so bad, as long as I didn't have to figure out how to carry those things back to the car with 3 painted pumpkins!

We had some more fun at the festival but I think I'll hold out for a second post, because I took way too many pictures of all the fun!

Helping Children Cope With Death Part 2

2011-10-07T21:50:00.000-04:00

This is a continuation of my first post where I wrote about how I prepared my kids to cope with the death of their Grandpa. This post will focus how we are grieving and things that we have done to help cope with this loss.

To start off, before my Dad died there was a conversation between my sister, myself and Kim (my Dad's wife) about my Dad's wishes for after his death. My Dad was specific about some things, like not wanting a funeral, about being cremated, and lax on others, like sure we could have a celebration of life. Don't get me wrong, this conversation was hard and long. But it gave us some valuable information about what to expect once he died.

Since we did not have to worry about a funeral, we took some time to plan out a celebration of life and planned it for 3 weeks after he died, we actually had it on Father's Day. Now some may think this wasn't fitting but for my sister and I, it was a perfect date. The most helpful parts of the celebration for me, were working on the picture montage, I went through hundreds, if not thousands of pictures of my Dad, I chose music, and plotted out how it would run. It was hard to do but at the same time, therapeutic, in these pictures I could see the man who loved life and not see the one behind my eyelids of him slipping away. The other special part of the celebration and I felt very important for the kids was the balloon release. We kept the balloon release for immediate family only, and focused it especially on the kids, we all added messages to our balloons, kissed them, and sent them off to heaven.

The celebration was a hard day, I was suffering from a severe emotional hangover for a couple of days afterwards. I just let myself feel it, I slept, I ate, and I just was. I took the time off work and talked to those that were close to me.

As things returned to normal, which is often quick to happen in a busy household of 5. I started to look for other things to help the kids remember their Grandpa, one of my biggest worries is that they will forget about him, since they were so young when he died. So I started with Audree-Ann, creating a scrapbook, it is all about her and her Grandpa, pictures of the 2 of them. We haven't completed it just yet but it is a work in progress. Another thing I did, and still need to finish, is to have a picture printed of each of the kids with their Grandpa and frame them in their bedroom, I have so far done Audree-Ann's and plan to work on the other kids soon.

Something I've done for myself and I'm sure I will continue is to write. I like to write in a way that I'm actually talking to my Dad, so I write them like a letter. I really find this helpful when the thoughts of feelings seem to overwhelm me, it helps to express it and get it out some where.

Another thing we just recently did, which I think is something we will do often, is to raise money for cancer research in memory of my Dad. Just a couple of weeks ago the kids participated in their school Terry Fox Run and raised $500 for cancer research. I also made them cute shirts for the occasion. I hope that next year we can be involved in the community walk as well.

It just so happened that October 4th would have been my Dad's 48th Birthday. Because we enjoy a good party and are all about the healing, we had a party! We planned the menu based on his favorites, which turned out to be a Thanksgiving meal with all the trimmings, right down to the chocolate mousse cake for dessert. We also had another balloon release to send Birthday wishes to heaven. It was another emotional day, but it was nice, a wonderful way to remember a great man. I haven't blogged the pictures from the evening but I will in the next week for sure, some are beautiful.

As we continue to grieve through this first year, we are going to come across more first time's without my Dad, Christmas will be hard this year, then the New Year, and of course come May, the anniversary of his death. To continue our healing and remembering, I am planning on some different things for these events, this to help us remember the man he was and to help us cherish the time we have with those we love because in can be such a short time.

Thank to you Mom Central Canada for sponsoring this post.

Helping Children Cope With Death Part 1

2011-10-06T11:12:00.000-04:00

My Dad was diagnosed with liver cancer in December 2009. I was shocked that my healthy and fit Dad was diagnosed with something so awful and terminal. I didn't take a lot of time to worry about my own feelings though, I constantly spent time worrying about my kids and how they were going to cope with such a significant loss so early in their lives.

At the beginning we often talked about Grandpa being sick, we didn't give "sick" a name but we talked about some of the symptoms, like Grandpa having a sore back so they shouldn't be too rough, or being tired so we wouldn't stay too long.

Before long we received the fateful words that it was time to seek palliative care. At this point I felt it was time to give the "sick" a name. So it was then that I talked with the kids about cancer. I talked about how the body is made out of cells and how cancer starts in one little cell and sometimes grows and takes over important internal organs. I compared it to a Lego man, made up of blocks (as cells). I talked to them about some of the different things that would be happening with Grandpa, such as him needing oxygen, also him not being able to move around much.

At a certain point, we began to talk about Grandpa dying. We talked a lot about Terry Fox and did some comparing. Talking about Terry Fox was helpful because it was something they already knew and could relate to. We talked about heaven and where Grandpa's soul would go. The kids had a lot of questions along the way and I answered them as truthfully as possible. I made sure to use words such as death, dying instead of passing away, gone away. I wanted them to know that Grandpa wasn't coming back and to not confuse them about death.

My Dad moved into a hospice home 5 days before he died. I went to visit every day except one. I truthfully had a hard time deciding whether or not to let the kids go and visit. Once my Dad was in hospice things seemed to go down hill very quickly and he wasn't lucid very often. I eventually did decide to take the kids down on the Monday after school. The night before I had the kids make pictures of one of their favorite memories with Grandpa.

On the drive to the hospice, I talked about the different things they would see and that Grandpa may not be awake. We planned that the kids would have a short 10 minute visit and then go out for dinner while I stayed for a longer visit. It turned out that this was the last time they would see him. I'm so glad I made that choice. They talked to their Grandpa and showed off their pictures and talked about their memories. They gave him hugs & kisses and told them they loved him. He knew they were there. Less than 12 hours later he left his earthly body and went to heaven.

Check back for Part 2, about dealing with grief after the death.

Thank you to Mom Central for sponsoring this post.

Time for your Close Up!

2011-10-02T19:00:00.000-04:00

Gnarly big kid teeth and all!

Apples & My Cute Trio!

2011-10-01T19:00:00.002-04:00

Terry Fox Run 2011

2011-09-30T17:00:00.000-04:00

Today Audree-Ann and Kaiden participated in their schools annual Terry Fox Run. Taryn and I joined them to walk the track with their teachers and school mates in honour of a courageous man. The rain stopped and the sun shown down for an hour of the walk, most of the day and now after, it is cloudy, cold, and rainy.

I'm grateful for wonderful family who sponsored Audree-Ann and Kaiden. They both raised $250 for cancer research, making up $500 of the almost $3000 raised for their school. How amazing, thank you for giving to such a wonderful cause. The kids were so excited to hear each time I told them they were sponsored again by another family member.

Today I went out to find shirts and something to make them special. After a trip to Walmart and leaving with a pack of white boys tees and some fabric markers, I had some shirts the kids were proud to wear. Everyone loved them and commented on them.

I must admit the walk was a little more emotional than I thought it would be. It had purpose and love behind it, it wasn't something we did just because. A couple of times I felt the tears ready to run over but I was able to keep it in check. All I could think of is how their Grandpa would have been so proud of them because they sure did make me proud today when they said "yup, I'm running for my Grandpa."

Apple Picking

2011-09-29T18:50:00.000-04:00

On Saturday I took the kids to Berryview Farms for some early apple picking. Of course the kids had a great time picking and running the rows. It was a beautiful day. We didn't end up stay too long, we picked a bags worth and headed home.

We made a big crock pot of applesauce and have a bunch of apples to just enjoy. We were pretty early in the season, so I think we'll go pick some more in a couple of weeks to make another big crockpot of applesauce, yum!

Hiking

2011-09-28T18:05:00.000-04:00

I've recently started taking the kids hiking on occasion, they love it and get their crazies out for a little while, so it is a win-win situation. On Saturday they were being heathens, so I thought a hike before dinner was in order. Sure enough it cured the crazies for a little while.

We took a pretty neat trail over a large marshy area, so it was all board walk and then onto a trail. We only were gone about 30 minutes but it was a nice walk and the weather was great.

Obviously I don't go anywhere without my iPhone! So I snapped a couple of pictures.

5 Blogging Years Today!

2011-09-24T19:00:00.000-04:00

Today I have been blogging for 5 years! Wow! What an amazing time it has been! I have recorded so many memories I would have otherwise forgotten, had a chance to market and enjoy some great products, and meet some other great bloggy peeps along the way. So Happy 5 Years to my blog. Here is to another 5 great years. I'm not sure what I plan to do with all this information one day, though I do know you can turn your blog into books, so that may be an option at some point, I think it would be great to give the kids at some point. Here you can check out my very first post!

Loblaws Gift Card Giveaway Winner

2011-09-20T11:50:00.000-04:00

Time to announce the $50 Loblaws gift card winner!

Comment # 3 is the winner!

Glogirl said...

I follow you on Twitter

Congrats! Please check your email and respond within 48 hours to claim your prize.

3D Fun

2011-09-19T19:00:00.000-04:00

First born beauty got this super cool tee shirt from Justice, it is 3D, Kaiden wanted to check it out, obviously he thought it was pretty cool!

More Birthday Celebrating

2011-09-18T16:02:00.000-04:00

Audree-Ann celebrated with Grandma, a movie, dinner and more Zhu Zhu fun. She had a great time and enjoyed the 1-1 time that doesn't come along often in our crazy household.

Audree-Ann celebrated with Kim, Ally & Auntie Nicole, we actually did this celebrating the same day as our Moon Festival Celebration get together. She got spoiled with gifts from Justice and another ice cream cake. Auntie Nicole added some more money to that "not sure what we are going to do with this money" fund! She enjoyed the visit from her family.

Thank you to those that sent Birthday cards and wishes with or without a money surprise. There are no set plans for the money at this point but I'm sure something will come up. :)

Our Little Husky

2011-09-17T19:00:00.001-04:00

First born beauty has a goal, to have a snow dog (they watch way too much dog movies!), a husky to pull a sled. Well Lizie is about full grown so I'm thinking she may just have to settle for a little scooter pulling instead! First born beauty likes to exercise Lizie by having her run up and down the sidewalk while she rides on her scooter and she helps to pull her down hill!

Scooters

2011-09-16T12:15:00.000-04:00

My Boy falls off his scooter or bike every day but still loves to ride!

Princess Learning how to use the Scooter!

First Born Beauty is a Pro!

My Boy

2011-09-14T19:00:00.000-04:00

I just adore this boy. Look how cute he is! He is also filthy at all times and I found chocolate smears from him on the wall from eating some chocolate dipped fruit. Only this boy would be able to accomplish such a thing at almost 6 years old! Good thing he is super sweet & loving!

Pretty Puppy

2011-09-13T19:00:00.000-04:00

I was at work a couple of days go when I received a text message from the live in man friend telling me that the kids were dressing the poor dog up. He sent one picture to me and I laughed and showed everyone at work. The next morning I woke up with a squirming dog dangling in my face with a tutu on, I thought I was dreaming until I came out to the living room a little while later and found this! Oh my poor Lizie Love!

Preschool Princess

2011-09-12T19:00:00.000-04:00

Princess started preschool last Thursday. It was a bittersweet morning for me dropping her off at preschool. I can't believe she is old enough to go already, it just feels like yesterday she was a newborn. Look how cute she is in her bling top! She loved preschool though she was a little nervous when I first dropped her off. She keeps asking when she is going to go back.

VH Moon Festival Blog Tour + Giveaway

2011-09-11T19:35:00.002-04:00

Thank you to Mom Central Canada for including me in this great blog tour. I had a fun time hosting the celebration and spending time with my family. Also eating a great meal was a definite bonus!

Celebrating

Tonight I invited Nicole, Kim & Ally over to celebrate the moon festival with us. I chose a recipe from the VH Sauces website to make and we enjoyed a great Asian themed meal together.

Dinner Guests

Recipe

I chose to make a very yummy Plum Maple Pork Chops recipe, with basmati rice, and a vegetable stir fry on the side and for 2 vegetarians that I was feeding. The recipe was easy to make and most of the ingredients I had on hand. Everyone raved about smell of the pork while it was cooking and finally tasting it was wonderful. I used the same sauces to create a little of the taste on the stir fry as well. Everyone seemed to go home with a full tummy and those that ate the pork wanted the recipe, so I overall I think it was a great hit! I'm also a new VH Plum Sauce fan, I haven't used plum sauce to cook before but loved the taste of the pork with the plum sauce and maple syrup, I will definitely use it again!

VH Steamers

I didn't grab any of these quick meals while I was in the grocery store this morning, mainly because I wasn't sure I would enjoy them, I'm pretty picky about my frozen meals and not very adventurous food wise. For those that are looking for a quick lunch or dinner these would be great to have on hand if you aren't as picky as I am. VH Steamers come in 6 different Asian flavors and are ready in just 5 minutes. Check them out in the frozen food section of your grocery store.

Giveaway

Enter to win $50 grocery gift card!

Mandatory Entries: (this must be completed in order for extra entries to be counted)

Tell me in a comment how you introduce culture into your meals.

Follow my blog with google friend connect (sidebar)

Extra Entries: (leave 1 comment for each extra entry)

Subscribe via email (sidebar)

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Tweet this giveaway (once per day give yourself an extra entry)

Giveaway ends September 19th, 2011 at 11:59 PM EST. Open to Canadian residents only. You can enter on different blogs but can only win once.

Disclosure – I am participating in the VH Moon Festival program by Mom Central Canada on behalf of VH. I received compensation as a thank you for my participation. The opinions on this blog are my o

Good Trio Shot!

2011-09-11T19:00:00.003-04:00

The Trio Aug 2011

Too bad the dog wasn't looking, that would have been perfect!

Super Hero

2011-09-10T19:00:00.002-04:00

Watch out, it is a bird, a plane, no it is Super Boy!

This was a day I was at work & the live in man friend took these and then told me that my boy actually went to the store wearing the mask, that is hilarious!

Yes he is wearing a plastic bag as a cape & no it is not around his throat, apprently it was tucked in his shirt, I asked. ;) And of course he is leaping off the couch, what else is new!

Sunflower

2011-09-09T19:00:00.000-04:00

Check out my first born beauty's sunflower! She started this as seedling in her bedroom in an egg carton, an activity from Brownies in the spring. The thing is huge!

Birthday Celebration

2011-09-08T19:00:00.002-04:00

We had a family dinner for my first born beauty's Birthday celebration. She requested hamburgers and french fries for dinner & I threw some corn in for some type of veggie! Afterwards we did gifts and then ice cream cake from Dairy Queen, her request this year. It was nice to sit together as a family, some days it doesn't feel like we do it often enough.

I love how she is such a simple girl regarding gifts, she really only had 3 gift requests for her Birthday, a watch, a calendar (which I couldn't find this time of year) and mosaic art sets. She got it all plus some extras, a new Gap sweater, another art set, a Justice gift card, and a Justice glasses case she was eyeing at the store.

Spoiled!

One of her top gift requests, a watch.

Make a wish.

First Day of School Pictures

2011-09-07T16:00:00.000-04:00

These kids of mine are getting so big! A 3rd & 1st grader, seriously?! Where has the time gone? This will be my boys first time staying at school all week, he was exhausted yesterday and actually fell asleep at 8:10, that is early for the boy that sometimes will still be going at 10! He at times still naps & I'm just waiting for him to be super cranky by the end of the week.

First born beauty is in a portable this year, she thinks it is pretty cool, I think it kind of sucks! Her teacher seems nice enough, I really don't know much about her. First born beauty was happy that she had some kids in her class from the last 2 years, though her good buddy that lives down the road isn't in her class.

We were blessed to have our first born beauty's teacher from last year for my boy. We were all so excited we had a group hug! We didn't know until the morning of who their teacher's were going to be. My boy was excited to see some of his friends from last year in his class & those that weren't he was happy to see to recess.

3rd Grade Sept 6/11

1st Grade Sept 6/11

Dear Birthdy Girl

2011-09-06T22:03:00.000-04:00

Dear Audree-Ann,

Today, you beautiful girl, you turned 8. 8 years ago I became a Mother for the first time, you were the most wonderful baby to introduce me to this crazy ride of Motherhood.

Today you started 3rd Grade, yes on your Birthday. You thought it was great and had a wonderful day. Your teacher from last year surprised you with a card & a picture she took of you last year in her old Brownie uniform in a frame. The thought was so sweet, I must admit so far she has been the most wonderful teacher we have had the honour of meeting, you just adored her.

Tonight we spent time together as a family celebrating your special day. You just ate up the attention, loved it. You went to bed saying it was the best Birthday yet.

You were spoiled with gifts and instead of a party you once again decided to spend some 1-1 time with me. We haven't gone away yet but sometime in the next month we'll go away for the night.

I wish you all the happiness in life for the next year. I hope you enjoy this 8th year of your childhood.

Love Forever, Mommy

Best Pizza Ever!

2011-09-04T23:51:00.000-04:00

The other day on a work outing we decided to hit the food court for something for dinner. We came across this awesome pizza place! I've never heard or seen it before but it was seriously amazing! So if you ever come across Fresh Slice I highly suggest you stop.

First of all the pizza tastes amazing, second the price is like nothing I've ever seen! 3 slices & a pop will cost you $5! You can pick any of the slices they have available at the time, no extra cost for something special. They had a bunch more stuff on the menu but I didn't try anything, maybe next time.

I did some research on the company because I was really impressed and came to found it is a Canadian company, I so love that! So you Canadians, get out there and support this great place! I will definitely be back.

Milestone

2011-09-03T18:48:00.000-04:00

Yesterday I finally took the Princess for her first haircut, she is 3 years and 3 months. It has been getting really strangly & tangly and I knew the top part needed to be cut because it was all straight, underneath is curls. As a tiny babe I wasn't sure if she would have curls or not. I am so thrilled every time I play with those sweet curls and I was so scared to get her haircut, I hovered like a psychotic mother hen over the lady cutting her hair!

Usual Style

Getting Started

All Done!

Please excuse the bruised up face (mall accident from the week) and the grumpy face on her, I think she thought getting a haircut would be more exciting! Her hair looks super cute & the hairdresser said to not bother with cutting it for probably another year since she has so much baby hair still coming in. I'm just happy it looks a lot neater and those curls are able to be shown so well!

Baby and You Blog Tour

2011-09-02T10:21:00.000-04:00

Mom Central introduced me to a great new place for parents! Check out this great Facebook page for conversation and savings, Baby and You! When I was a new Mom and on a year maternity leave, sometimes I found it hard to get out with the little ones, I turned to the internet and made some great online friends to help me pass the days and I met so many other Moms that had great advice to share. If Baby and You had been around when I was first looking for some extra support it would have been a great choice.

As it stands now, I have 3 children (almost 8 and under) and consider myself a pro in some of this parenting stuff, so I plan to hang out and answer questions at Baby and You for those newer Moms that need a little support. Other than conversation, advice, and friendship this page still has a lot to offer for those more seasoned Moms.

There are 2 bloggers that create articles for the page and have great idea's, thoughts, and tips. It is sometimes really nice to read that you aren't alone in this world of parenting, so rest assured, someone else has been exactly where you are and they have survived.

The other great feature of the Baby and You page is the exclusive offers, promotions, and sales. I just took a peek but didn't see anything current right now but I am a huge fan of a deal so I will definitely keep an eye on this section of the page. Another cool thing they have is that you can go directly to the Loblaws flyer for your area (you will have to allow information sharing to do this).

Now apprently there is going to be an unvieling of a great surprise at Baby and You very soon. Hint, has to do with Joe Fresh! I have no idea what it will be but I'm going to keep my eyes peeled on the page to find out!

So if you are a new Mom or a seasoned Mom head over to Baby and You to check out all the great stuff they have to offer! Everyone can always use a little extra support.

Thank you to Mom Central Canada for including me in this blog tour!

Disclosure – I am participating in the Baby and You program by Mom Central Canada on behalf of Loblaw Companies. I received compensation as a thank you for my participation. The opinions on this blog are my own.

Again!

2011-09-01T15:44:00.000-04:00

I just received news yesterday that I was chosen once again as a recipient of the blogger grant award for the summer months thanks to Mom Central Canada!

I am so thankful for this opportunity again. If you didn't get a chance to see my previous post, you can find it here.

Please stay tuned for my next sponsored post which will be about how to deal with the death of a parent and how to help your kids deal with the death of a grandparent. Yes I will be relying on personal experience for this post and will be sharing some of the things that have help us through the recent journey of losing my Dad.

Holiday Organization Week 1

2011-08-30T11:32:00.000-04:00

I've decided to follow along with this great Holiday Grand Plan to get organized for the upcoming holiday season. As a bonus I'll clean my house along with getting ready for the holidays!

Each week I will get a task regarding deep cleaning and decluttering of an area. I will also receive a holiday focused task to complete as well.

Week 1 Tasks:

1. Print lists & calendars to get organized, I'll add them to my family planning binder.
2. Make the lists regarding holiday preparations.
3. Deep clean front porch & entry way.
4. Update on my progress later in the week.

Good Free Fun

2011-08-26T21:58:00.000-04:00

Yesterday was pretty low key in our crazy house. Nothing too spectacular except this damage the Princess endured after rolling off the couch onto a storage bin, ouch! After some snuggles the morning went on as usual.

Poor Princess

The afternoon was spent on a long drive up to Innisfil to pick up some birthing & mothering books for my personal library. They had a gorgeous beach there, which I would have loved to take the kids to and hang out but they wanted $25 for our car to park and hang out there! I said screw that and we found park where we had a snack and the kids played for about 30 minutes. They definitely had some fun, it is always good to try out a different park.

Afterwards we head to the Cookstown Outlet Mall, which as usual was a waste of time. I came out of there with 1 pair of shorts for my boy, otherwise a waste of time and stress. The kids weren't as beastly as the previous mall trip but they weren't on their best behaviour. Before heading home we stopped at the bakery, we bought some fresh rolls & turkey pepperettes for the ride home.

Once home we then took Lizie love for a walk, while the kids rode their bikes & scooters. It was a gorgeous evening. Overall not too bad of a day, especially after I took some Advil and holed up in my room away from the screaming children before I completely lost my mind!

Bun Hand

An Afternoon Movie & a Beastly Mall Trip

2011-08-25T22:05:00.000-04:00

Yesterday I took the kids to see a movie. I must admit I had been hoping to take them to one sometime during the summer but the truth is, most of them really sucked & the thought of wasting money on them really made me rethink taking them. I then remember that there was a cheap theatre that played older movies not too far away, and it worked out that they were playing Mr. Popper's Penguins, which was super cute (I saw it at work once already).

So we headed off to the cheap theatre for an afternoon viewing and a popcorn snack. The theatre was older and smelled kind of funky but it did the trick for the kids and me. During the movie, I had to leave twice to take kids to the bathroom, I'm glad I had already seen the movie! Of course my boy and Princess spent a lot of time laughing and commenting very loudly for the whole theatre to hear about parts they found interesting. So after a good 90 minutes of laughter the movie was over and we made one last trip to the bathroom before we got back into the car.

I thought we'd head over to the mall since we aren't quite ready for back to school and really I love me a big giant mall! I figured the walking would be good for the kids since we hadn't done much that day and then dinner out before heading home to bed. Well instead the kids wanted to fool around and were constantly knocking each other over and touching each other so another would scream. Needless to say we had to leave before I left them there! So no dinner out, it was KD for dinner when we got home.

Interesting evening we had last night, crazy weather with tornado watches all around. It rained on and off for about 2 hours and then there was thunder and lightning for about 3 hours. It was pretty crazy! We never did lose power or get heavy winds though, so that is good. Finally all the kids were asleep and I actually headed to bed early too! Thankfully I got to enjoy my bed last night without kids in it, unlike the 2 nights prior.

A so-so day in our crazy house. Could have been better & could have been worse but we all survived.

Such a Beautiful Day!

2011-08-24T19:30:00.002-04:00

Today (yesterday, I'm scheduling this post for tomorrow!) was just one of those days. The sun was shining just right, the breeze was keeping it cool, and I could easily take the trio + 1 dog out for the afternoon.

The morning consisted of the usual chaos in small amounts. Even though I ended up on the couch for half of the night, I must have been tired because the chaos went on around me for quite some time before I finally dragged myself to the bathroom. I was shocked to realize it was 9 already!

Lunch was quick & easy with little mess involved, the perfect kind. Then the kids went for quiet time & naps, which meant I got to have a nap from the lost sleep from the night of tossing and turning on the very uncomfortable couch (can I just say how much I miss my old couch!).

Said nap was quickly turned into chaos when the first born beauty woke me enough to ask for a snack, she decided on a pear and was going to use the apple cutter that she had used the day before, just fine. Well that wasn't a good idea in hindsight, though she never actually got close to the pear which was still in the fridge I learned after the chaos. She got the cutter out and apparently dropped it off the counter and went to catch it from hitting the floor & cut her finger pretty bad. She came running and screaming. Of course things are pretty close quarters here so we were in the bathroom dealing with her wound in less than 10 seconds. We sat and wrapped it up to see if we could get the bleeding to stop and if we needed a trip to the ER. Thankfully she calmed down pretty quickly and after about 5 minutes of pressure it seemed fine. 2 band aids and some Advil for the pain and we were good to go.

Of course the screaming brought the other 2 out and my boy almost fell to the ground by seeing the blood, he is such a drama queen! Princess then told me she likes blood, so I joked that she was a vampire, seriously, if we can't joke during the chaos then things just aren't good around here!

Once all was calm we decided to go for a hike. The kids thought it was a great idea and we brought Lizie love with us. My boy had some great fun with a dog and owner we came across whom let him throw the stick in the water for the dog. The kids were fascinated by this swimming dog and wondered why Lizie love wouldn't even go near the water. We enjoyed about an hour of hiking and then stopped for a little 10 minute water play before heading back to the car. Now you must know that I'm very particular about the type of play my kids take part in, water, mud and such is anxiety provoking for me, so for me to let go and let this crazy go on was pretty good. The kids had a blast though and I loved watching them hoot and holler in the water like they had never seen anything like it before. Princess fell at one point and I just started laughing at her, she was about to cry but when she saw me laughing, she just laughed along.

A quick car ride & a pick up through the drive thru brought us home for a quick dinner & then zoom we were back out the door again! This time we had the live in man friend in tow & we were minus our furry 4 legged companion. We were off to the first born beauty's soccer game, parents vs kids. We had a blast, the kids thought us playing was hilarious and the best thing since sliced bread. And let me tell you us parents learned pretty quick that we were being a little too competitive when 2 kids were beaned with the ball or flattened by parents! Needless to say we were able to calm ourselves down a little bit and the final goal was scored by a 2 year old who happened to be in the right place at the right time as the ball ricocheted off him and into the net, what a hoot!

After a fun game, we headed for some ice cream and then it was home for some Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire before bed. The kids were super quiet tonight going to sleep, they must have been exhausted! Now only if it didn't take so much to make them fall asleep every night.

So today was good, a really beautiful, gorgeous and perfect day, minus the blood shed that is! Looking forward to more of these great days, it seems sometimes they are few and far between.

Poor Lizie Love

2011-08-23T22:04:00.000-04:00

Yesterday I awake to find the first born beauty wrangling poor Lizie love in the living room. She had set up an agility course and was making her work her behind off for small treat morsels. It totally cracked me up. This first born beauty has never been a big dog lover and actually was scared of most dogs for no particular reason but she has really blossomed with having Lizie love. The reason this agility course was running through my house was because over the weekend we rented the movie, Marlie & Me: The Puppy Years. The kids loved it and laughed their heads off and now of course the first born beauty wants a well trained pup to bring to the shows. I'm highly doubting our beast of a dog will ever get to that level!

So after her morning lessons it was then off to the park so the kids could run and play. Low and behold the first born beauty spent most of the time running poor Lizie love ragged around the fields and then making her climb, swing and slide all over the playground equipment! Good thing this dog is pretty tolerant!

The Help

2011-08-21T23:30:00.000-04:00

Tonight I took myself to see The Help. I read the book a couple of months ago and was really excited to see the movie. Oddly enough my closest theatre in town wasn't showing the movie, so I had to drive 30 minutes away to see it, annoying, but so worth it! The movie was amazing, funny, heart warming, and true to the book. I am totally going to buy it once it is on DVD, the story line is so inspirational and shows how far we've come. I think it would be a great story to read with the kids when they are older to show them how things can change and how one person can make a difference.