time.

time is lacking for blog worthy posts. [& to be honest when the time comes to sit down and do so, the brain clears of any practical ideas for a blog post!]
i made time for a shower today.
i took time to cuddle the one who got a huge goose-egg just minutes into my shower...
i took the time to read books to the boys who love them [count em - three! actually four]...
i took my time placing boy3 in his crib like i do each time he sleeps [this is truly a first this time around doing it with a big preggo belly!]
time flew by when i closed my eyes for a bit this afternoon...
it took a little time for the paint to dry on everything i painted the last 24 hours...
i had a good time talking on the phone to a few close relatives this evening.
there is always time.
what do you make time for?

monday monday

it's monday. ready for the mish mash of miscellany with some more 1000 gifts?!?

1] this wreath I have crafted will hopefully bring the warmer spring temperatures as promised by mother nature...

2] it is day one of spring break. operation - keep three boys busy. nothing planned except maybe the zoo or museum. perhaps a little more planning needs to go into this week! update: i took some initiative and planned two kid swapping days this week!! MUST do this more often. one day i will look after a friend's kiddies for the morning feeding them lunch and another day she will take mine!

3] i MUST remember to keep saying no. i have enough on my plate as it is and need to make sure other things are done before i say yes to anything else. of course there is still a fine balance between keeping friendships & continuing to do what needs to get done [also make time for fun crafting/down time like the wreath above!]

4] baking all the time will NOT agree with my hips. i made Cinnamon Topped Rhubarb Muffins, to make use of some rhubarb sitting nicely for so long in my freezer. they are GOOD. boy1 loved helping out too. especially the tasting part after they were all baked. not going to say how many we had in total. it was more than two though. that's all i'm sayin :)

gifts...
the amazing gift I received this morning of an unharmed husband. he drove to work this morning [all highway] then once in the city the ball joint on his work van went. imagine a newborn calf or deer just learning to walk and it's front leg gives out on him. crash, tilt, wipe out situation. that was his van. wipe out. could have been a roll over or something much worse...

SO thankful he is okay.

AND that it didn't happen on the highway going highway speeds.

AND so glad that this will hopefully be covered by insurance and we won't get the dreaded bill that could be a thousand or more dollars...

beyond thankful for the sunshine lately. makes the day so much brighter...



Thanks God. Of course, You knew what I needed for the day and completely provided :) [#121-125 & more 1000gifts here]

More Sharing

Lisa Leonard is at it again! She is chalk full of ideas and this is her latest:

&

[photos from here]

An oval wall hanging. You choose the words. You choose the ribbon color.

And I do believe she is kind enough to be giving one away :) Go HERE to enter.
Updated: Giveaway now over.

Sharing

As soon as I saw this I thought of you Mel. To explain - she LOVES books. So does Syd. I bet you would take up this challenge no problem Mel :)

Over at MADE - Dana mentioned her post at:

 Which includes a few samples of these:

A Bad Case of the Stripes with Ruby of Cakies.

Dana her self did this one... Dr. Suess

And this one... Put me in the Zoo

How sweet is that?!?

And Dana's latest of all - Good Night Moon

So GO SEE!!
It is quite inspiring :)

hello monday

hello monday...

today i am beyond thankful for the MOMs group i go to the occasional Monday to...

for the husband that wakes up early to go to work each morning to support his family...

and who woke up early saturday morning to start off his *last* day of hockey for the season...

so grateful for the sports break we get between now and soccer season...

for friends who have safety pins when i don't... [another thing on the 'to find' list to go along with my hot glue gun!]

for what seems like another chance at something that we thought may have been lost to us...perhaps a God wink or push?!? time & prayer will tell with this one...

for three incredibly healthy boys...

a good nights sleep...

25 weeks - 15ish to go!
these are our eggplant's [aka STEVE'S] stats:
about 14 inches and 2lbs.
That oh-so-handy sense of equilibrium is kicking in, and baby's learning to distinguish right side up from upside down. photo & stats from here.

an evening with friends & good food to come!

praying for a doula?!? another thing where time & prayer will tell us the outcome of this one.


[1000 gifts #110-120 and more here]

Puddle Jumping

I will admit... all winter I have been a hermit. Not a huge fan of freezing temperatures and wind chill warnings that threaten to give you frost bite in minutes/seconds.

So when it warms up, I promise my boys to take full advantage of it. 

We went puddle jumping. There was no shortage of puddles around our streets. Not at all!

And wow. Those boys LOVED it. The fresh air was so nice and despite the foggy day and red runny noses afterwards, it was totally worth it...

Hopefully next time the sun can join us and melt some more of that dirty snow away...

When was the last time you puddle jumped?

Photos added

*photos finally added to this post*

Recipe & baby talk

I made this new to me carrot cake recipe for a birthday party tonight. It was devine! I was pleasantly surprised by how moist it was, especially with my modifications. There is just something about a recipe that I never follow it exactly the way it tells me and sometimes works out. The birthday girl requested no raisins, no nuts, and no pineapple in it. Done done and done!

It calls for 1.5 cups of oil. Really? No thank you. So I used 1/2 cup apple sauce, 1/2 cup oil. Also whole wheat flour. Instead of cinnamon, I used 2 tsp pumpkin pie spice by Epicure. Pretty sure it has cloves, cinnamon and other goodness in it. Worked out just fine! It was also my first time using two pans to make it a layer cake.
For the icing I did NOT use the whole 1lb bag of icing sugar, perhaps half of it. boy1&2&3 all licked the beaters. What great helpers :)

**Will add pics of this & full recipe when the sun comes up in the am!!**
*Update:now added for your viewing/drooling pleasure*

It's 1137 pm and I am in the office writing this post out and can hear my baby boy talking in his room. He should have been put to bed & sleeping over 3 hours ago... silly boy. Love those happy talks in his crib though. Makes my heart smile :)

Miscellany Monday

Since I'm all over the random miscellaneous lately I am joining in on Miscellany Monday [thanks Sandy for introducing me to it!!]

Let's begin:

1] This Monday came as a TOTAL surprise for me because I forgot boy1 didn't have school, so having a city day without two kids became even SWEETER when it became a city day without THREE kids!

2] The only way that could happen is to have mom here and she is making supper tonight. Can't wait... I do have a great mom. Must send her this link so she reads/knows that too... [for the record Mom you now have 128 blog posts to catch up on!]

3] Tried out Wok Box for lunch today - the Pad Thai with Chicken. YUMMMO. It was good and just the right amount of spice. Must go back to try the other drool worthy items on the menu... They even keep things in mind like allergies [gluten, peanuts etc] for those who need a different diet...

4] Was just a tad disappointed today when I went to Old House Revival antique shop [you know because I had TIME & NO KIDS & in the area] and it was closed. Must venture there again another day. After 1130 on weekdays. MUST remember that.

5] Triple arm pump to the doctor who not only is letting me try for a VBAC [ahem VBA3C] but is so oldskool that he doesn't make you drink the crappy oversweetened orange crush drink for the glucose test if the finger prick is A-OK. LOVE him.

That's all I got today. Thanks for making it this far down the page ;)

a Sunday off

I am participating in Lent. This is a first for me.
I chose to give up Facebook for Lent. For 40 whole days. 46 in total but Sundays the rules are relaxed and I, in fact, will be taking full advantage of that and will log in each Sunday to catch up on what I have missed, and also update my business page. Although I do feel like I should set a time limit on it for myself but we will see how it turns out. It's a busy day with church, hockey, family coming to help us celebrate boy3's birthday and making boy3 feel uber special on his big day today :)
[I am writing this post Saturday night & schedule it for the am & will NOT be staying up until 12am Sunday to log in...]
It has only been four days so far. It's tough. Facebook is my go-to. As is email & new blog posts to read. But Facebook is usually the most updated & lets face it. I just don't get&receive as many emails compared to friend updates...
What is the point of all of this? I don't want to rely on it. To miss it so much. In all honesty I wouldn't have facebook if I didn't have a business. Sad, but true.
I want God to be #1 on my list for the day. Not rushing to read my Bible with breakfast while I anticipate what's new on fb...
That's all...
Oh no. That's not all. boy1 nicknamed baby4 the other day. "I think we should call him Steve." Whaaaa?!? That came outta left field. We have a friend named Steve and I'm sure he would be honoured if we name baby4 'Steve' but it's not something that I would actually do [no offense]...
Now that's all...

party like a [almost] two year old

~saturday snapshots~

hello - elmo? it was nice to eat you...

boy3 & his lil friends and their mamma's had fun eating elmo & his friends... ernie and oscar. cute!!

in fact boy3 took his sweet sweet time taking the icing off his cupcake, one precious finger lick at a time... oh the mess!

elmo's head was strategically placed to the side for easy munching on when the time was right. of course the eyes and nose were consumed first! and even though a few guests had to leave right away it was quite an ordeal to peel the cupcake away to open the gifts before they left...

"it's my party & i'll cry if i want to..."

all in all boy3 had fun at his lil party and will be more than ready for the real birthday on sunday. he loved his new shoes [slept for his nap in them!] and made those new toy dinos roar [although when he first pulled them out of the gift bag he called them horses! now they are 'saurs']

Sharing

A Friday Favorite I stumbled across and now I can't get the song out of my head...

[via tankandtink]

It would look absolutely smashing on my wall!

wake up call

There are those days where you get the eye opener you haven't seen in a while. Like walking into a brick wall and realizing OH! there is a wall there. Just like that.

Today was one of those days.

HELLO!! Wake up call!!

I had three friends and their kiddies over for coffee, lunch & cupcakes for boy3's little friend party. After all was said and done and gone, it was like WOW, I feel so blessed. So blessed to have these wonderful ladies in my life. Each so different, yet each so very much an important part of my puzzle - my life. It makes my heart sing :) Thanks God. I now see.

And now I need to catch some zzzzzs because I am beyond exhausted! Pictures to come later...

Lent, cupcakes & sales

"Lent. It’s the preparing the heart for Easter. Like going with Jesus into the wilderness for forty days, that we might come face to ugly face with our enemy. Our sacrificing that we might become more like Christ in His sacrifice. Lent isn’t about forfeiting as much as it’s about formation.We renounce to be reborn we let go to become ‘little Christs’. It’s about this: We break away to become." AV

I am breaking away from something that consumes and wastes my time. Facebook. For 40 of the next 46 days [well now it would be only 38 days technically] this is my personal challenge. Yes, I will take full advantage of the relaxed rules on Sunday and check in, especially updating this page. I will not specifically set out to replace the time that I will have now that I don't check in multiple times a day, I will merely make better use of my time & have time for other things that may have been lacking. Like daily bible reading. More prayer. Clean and tidy counters. Folded laundry. The list goes on. It never ends... This is my first time participating in Lent and I am looking forward to how it changes some of my habits over the next 46 days!

More random facts pulled out of the air:
I eat chocolate melted in the microwave as a snack, sometimes with an apple or orange to dip in it... and today I melted a square to do so.

I have been craving Hooters wings for a while now and tonight finally get to fullfill that craving!! I will admit that Hooters is NOT a great place to go and hang out but man oh man the wings are GOOD.

Since it is now Day Two of Lent, I have to say that the cravings to 'check' facebook often each day are waining and I have taken time for a few personal emails, read my Bible each morning before turning the computer on, and my dishes are clean. :)

boy3 brings me a book - "You go ask boy1 to read it to you"
boy3's answer - "Kaaaaaay"

We are celebrating boy3's birthday tomorrow with a few little friends. He will be TWO on Sunday. Wow has time flown by. He surprises me everyday with phrases and new words he comes out with... I can't wait to share pictures of the cupcakes for his party!!

Here he is still jammied in the morning playing with the car garage. Puzzle & car carrier in the background of course. He LOVES puzzles. Melissa & Doug puzzles are the greatest and my fave to have out for him...

I am keeping an eye out for seat sales still. I want to find cheap flights to get away for a weekend [with or without husband, either way would be fine!! I know he would enjoy some time away too...] and the destination I want hasn't gone as cheap as I needed yet.

That's all for today. I have to go get ready for wing night now. YUMMMM...

aléatoire

randomness [in french aléatoire] for a bloggy day...

i sometimes have a short tempter.

& when i am mad i clean/de-clutter. makes me feel better...

i am giving up facebook for lent. sundays i will relax that rule and check in...

i ran three errands today. it felt good for a sense of accomplishment, although my list of to-dos for today [still from yesterday] is not near complete. checking things off said list is nice...

i dread certain events coming up. nothing personal but i also don't like to put on the fake face and pretend like all is tickity boo and fine.

i try to love everyone but it's pretty hard sometimes when some people are so self-absorbed they can't see past themselves... and as hard as i try to not be like certain people it hits me like a brick wall when i see those characteristics come out in my personality too. ooops.

i don't know what it's like to put my whole trust in God. i say i do. and want to. but in the end? some part of me still doubts. i pray for direction, for guidance, wisdom... too many decisions or paths in the road to take & it makes me doubt certain decisions especially when two of us have to decide, one okay with taking the risk & putting all that faith in God, and the other okay with letting things happen as they go, without having to take that huge risk and still having faith that His Will be done. so it's sit and wait or DO.

i don't capitalize a lot of sentences, but then out of the blue i will have a blog post that has all correct punctuation. weird. i know it annoys some people, but once i start [like this post] i am not going to go back to correct nor will i even proof it...

i don't work well with competition. sports? fine.

i can't wait to be not pregnant anymore. sad but true. this pregnancy hasn't been bad, but i just want to hold my baby boy in my arms and look into his eyes... so baby4 will now be deemed boy4 [and ooops for not posting a poll in time to get your feedback on which you think it was!]

i also want to start getting rid of all the baby stuff we have been hoarding for almost nine years. oy. that will take away at least 1/3 of our boxes in the basement...

it's international women's day. also shrove tuesday where people eat pancakes apparently?!? i think that's what we will have for supper tonight... hopefully we have breakfast sausages to go with them...

i am realizing [thank you statcounter] that i have a vast range of readers [a lot of local Manitobans & Canadians HELLO THERE!!]... and something keeps you coming back, although never commenting, which i am slowly becoming ok with...

this is random art that i put up in boy3's room. boy2 painted it and i stamped & framed it. we also put up a floating shelf up with two frames & a few stuffies on it. unfortunately it came crashing down barely 48 hours later when boy1 decided to lift boy2 up to get one of those stuffies. nice. my temper flared that morning too. and it was a monday to boot! [i am not a fan of mondays. or wait?!? maybe they are not a fan of me. either way, me and monday don't mesh...]

Sharing

Joyce sews. Joyce makes bags. Joyce sells bags. Joyce takes that money and donates it ALL to projects for Darfur. Her project - Bags 4 Darfur. Read more about it here. Read about Darfur here. Her grand total raised so far? $20,351.00. WOW. Joyce has a HUGE heart.

[via]

She posts a bag [or bags] and you comment with how much you will pay her for it. Easy. Go check it out. Nothing but good things over there...
[I have at least three bags from Joyce, they are awesome.]

sometimes...

sometimes...

i just wanna delete it all.

sometimes...

i would like a re-do

sometimes...

i just want it to work on its own

sometimes...

ok most times -

i need to remember to just pray.

& sometimes...

i need to remember it is GOD's plan, not mine.

and that puzzle may never get completed the way i want it to...

but in time. it WILL be complete.

wordless

wind=power

I love it when people/companies take full advantage of nature's resources without [knowingly] harming the environment. This was only a small part of the drive on my lil road trip south to the border. There must be hundreds of these. GENIUS. Pure genius. One of these babies will be on our future property in the country. Can't wait...

there is a point

there is a point when you just wanna yell NO!! some people ask. some people don't. everyone should, except the husband or my kids. even then the "no you can't" might get awkward, you know, because some person you barely know wanting to touch your belly is not awkward enough. so instead i would [should] wear shirts like this out all the time...

nuff said.

[all fotos via here]