Baby Beluga

After all the sunshine this weekend I can't believe its raining again. Sigh, oh well. Yesterday we had church in the morning, I was in the nursery so I got to watch Ariel have fun playing with all the kids. We had a huge 'ring a round the rosie' game going. Lots of fun.

Later we went to our Life group's potluck dinner. I love potlucks, so yummy. Sadly our group was smaller than usual due to people away, some not feeling well and one gal in labor! We later got word that she gave birth to her 3rd child, a little boy named Nathan. Congrats!

Speaking of babies, a big congrats to my high school friend Julie and her hubby Ray. They welcomed their first baby yesterday as well. A daughter named Lillian (Lily), good work guys! Can't wait to see more pictures.

Back to the party. Ariel was having a ball playing with the doll house.


It was really cool since it was all open. She was checking every little area out very closely.


The baby that destroyed Tokyo!


Ariel loved all the food served, especially the chips and crab dip. We had to make sure she didn't double dip.


Good dip Mr and Mrs Andres.


Dinner was super tasty. Ariel really loved the enchiladas and of course the chocolate brownies for dessert. It was a fun evening and nice to visit with everyone. Ariel had a great time and was on her best behavior, she is such a wonderful little girl.

So at quarter to 9am this morning, Ariel and I were both up and ready to leave as we were going to the aquarium with some of the other mom's and kids. She was very excited and was eager to get outside to wait for Erin and Carter to pick us up. Once we were all buckled in, we drove downtown. Gosh it really is nuts with all the construction, yuck. I don't miss the city at all.

We arrived and got our picture taken, whee.


Afterwards we met up with everyone else. First stop was a visit to the jelly fish. Ariel really liked those.


Then on to the kids area. Ariel loves the bubbles and was kind enough to pose for a picture.


She was in love with the colored floor and was dancing away. I think she thought it was a disco. Haha.


Sienna and Ariel had a little reading break as we waited for everyone to regroup.


Ariel wasn't having anything to do with the 'touch the sea creatures' area. For the girl who hates to be dirty, that was asking too much. She did love watching the dolphins swim by and would giggle when they stopped by her window.


Is he coming back Mommy?


Then we got to watch the dolphin show while we ate a bit of lunch. Ariel was totally captivated.


Look at that jump, wow.


All the kids loved the big turtle. Ariel kept looking at me for reassurance that he couldn't get out of the tank.


They were so cute all lined up at the window. I can't get over how big they all are.


Before it was time to go, we had to of course see the big attraction, the beluga whale! What little toddler wouldn't want to meet the famous beluga from the song. Haha.


Then a few pictures with the group...


...look at Carter's arm around Ariel. Awe.


We stopped in the gift shop on the way out and Ariel picked out a cute otter cup and straw. She loves those straws, and the otter made noise, so it was a hit.

The drive home was too long after such a full morning and both Carter and Ariel fell asleep. Lucky for me the princess wasn't in a deep sleep yet and I was able to get her wake up enough to walk upstairs and into bed. She slept the rest of the afternoon dreaming of the fishies. Hee.


Thanks again gals for inviting us along for such a wonderful day.

Garage Sales, Smokies and Paintings Oh My

First off, thank for your lovely comments! Ariel's big swimming day went off perfectly. She was in a great mood and I think she knew the camera was there as she was totally showing off. They didn't say when it was to air, so I may have to call them later this week to find out.

Afterwards we had lunch with Nana and Papa. I can't tell you how much I needed that. Ariel happily ate her cheese pizza and fries, and I got to relax a bit. When we came home I fell asleep on the couch, so I guess I was really overtired. When we both woke up we loaded up our food for the bake sale in the stroller and walked down to the church. It was a gorgeous evening and I couldn't think of driving. So thankfully I managed to get things there in one piece without getting squished. Haha.

I ended up renting a movie for last night once princess was in bed. I got the Nanny Diaries. So I watched it while I was sewing the Tinkerbell outfit. By the time the movie was over I had the top pretty much together and all the petals ready to be attached. I guess that is what I will be doing tonight.

This morning was filled with fun and exciting things. It was a good way to fill the hours before Ken was due home again. Ariel slept in and I had to wake her up at 9am. By the time we were dressed and out the door is was almost 10am. We walked down to the church where the big garage sale was happening. The youth had done a wonderful job setting everything up. The baking table was pretty much empty when we arrived, which for me is ok. Haha. I didn't need to be bringing home cookies. Ariel was still looking for those cupcakes we dropped off yesterday. In fact most of last nights conversation was 'cupcake?'

I did manage to find a cool craft book and Ariel got a nice wooden puzzle. For 50 cents, you can't go wrong. Then we had an early lunch of Mennonite sausage! YUMMY! See that missing bite, thats Ariel's handy work.


Ariel's little friends Chloe and Angela were on hand to play babysitter and I got to have a moment of peace. It was VERY nice.


She was having a blast with the kids...


...flower power!


Ariel tried out some of the kids carnival stuff. She liked the simple coloring station best. Thats our little artist.


We left at noon and stopped by the grocery store to pick up things we needed for dinner. Ariel took great pleasure nibbling on the package of cheese while we waited to check out. What a nut.

On the way home, we stopped in to the local framing shop. They had a guest artist in doing a painting and showing some of his work. Ariel enjoyed watching him paint and snacking on the cookies they had.


Then home for a nap... that didn't happen. She was quiet but I think she knew Daddy was coming so when he got home I let him get her up. Its so nice to have him home. He brought some treats for me and Ariel. She got a license plate with her name. She has one from Michigan, perhaps we need to get them from all the States?


A puppy in a purse... BIG HIT!


Finally, a new puppet friend, Mr Cow. She seemed quite taken with him.


Ken said we will all have to go back at some point for a trip, and I agree. Looking at his blog while he was gone made me want to go even more. Next time for sure!

Busy Bee

I wasn't going to post tonight but since I am not sleepy (yet I should be) I figured hey why not. You may also notice the change in header and background. Ken said I needed to update my heading. I already miss the picture of my baby, but I guess she isn't a baby anymore. Perhaps this is the cause of my ever rising baby fever. Gack. Seems like everyone I know is expecting. I am very happy for them all, but I long for the turn again to be mine. All in time...

Let me sum up the past few days with this statement. Anyone who is a single parent out there deserves some serious LOVE! Its not easy, in fact its down right hard. It doesn't help that I am extremely emotional, tired and sore. I was on my feet all day baking for the church's garage and bake sale this weekend. Add in a busy toddler and it makes for a very long day.

It started with us heading out to get more cupcake papers, since I thought I had enough, WRONG. Then before leaving our fridge light burnt out, so added that to the list. Tried not to stay out too long since we had a huge list to complete, but it was soooo nice out. I miss my walks when life gets busy. Sigh. Came home and started baking. Ariel of course helped as much as she could.


We made cupcakes with fancy icing...


...peanut butter cookies...


...yummy white buns (oh how I miss thee)...


...and some banana bread.


At the end of the day its all wrapped pretty ready to be dropped off tomorrow evening. Yay. It was a huge job, but I hope they help bring in some good money to help out.

Yesterday, Ariel and I went to visit Stella in the morning to cut out the costume patterns. Ariel didn't seem that overly excited and spent most of her time snacking on fish crackers.


By noon all the pieces were cut and we came home. During Ariel's nap I spent the time sewing the top of the dress. Ariel got up later and played as I continued to sew. As I was nearly finished and was sergering the edge of the sleeve, I noticed there was a fold in the material. GACK!!!!!!!!!! Long story short, I had created a nice hole right smack in the front of the top thanks to it being cut from the blade of the serger. Noooooo! I was so upset I started to cry in pure shock. Then Ariel started crying because I was and then Ken happened to call. Bad timing on his part. He got to listen to us both blubber.


I ended up having to re-cut the pieces of the top from the remaining material and do it again. There was no way to hide it or make it less noticeable. It was NASTY. Thankfully, it was much faster the second time around. By the end of the evening, I had a brand new top finished, and managed to finish the seams without destroying this one.

Today, once Ariel woke up from her nap, she modeled it so I could then measure how long the skirt would be. Can you tell she just got up. Haha.


I then spent tonight putting the skirt together. Lots of material! Satin, lining and tulle, oh my! Eek! Its like a baby prom dress. Haha.


After all was said and done, here it hangs! Sorry I should have turned the light off when taking the picture. Blah. I have pinned on the lace and it still needs a zipper and some ribbon trim. I am quite happy with how it turned out, and can't wait to start the Tinkerbell one. I think I will need a long nap first.


Tomorrow is the big filming day at the pool. We have decided to go with the blue fish suit, since it got the most votes. I posted a poll on my Gymboree board too and it was the big winner getting over 50% of the vote, the remainder was a even split for the other suits. Thanks for your help! Will tell you how it goes. Those in the area to see if, I shall email the date when it will air, if they tell us.

After swimming we have been invited to lunch with Nana and Papa. Should be a nice treat after the busy week. Plus Ariel is dying to see them. Every time the phone rings she yells NANA! PAPA!

Tonight we chatted with Ken briefly. He got to watch Ariel dance to Debbie Gibson via the web cam. It was pretty funny. Of course he was sad to see me looking so tired and worn out. Have a good time honey, and don't worry about us, you'll be home soon enough.

Ok, its way late, time for bed! Good night!

Bye Bye Hubby

Just a quick little post tonight before I go to bed. Just was chatting with my sweetie online. Go check out his blog for full trip coverage. Hee.

This morning was filled with running around and finishing the list of things we had to get done before Ken was to leave. We did get time for a quick bite at the cafe this morning. It was very nice indeed. Ariel of course was thrilled to have her quiche. Yum.

Ken spent some time with Ariel before he left. She loves interacting with the puppets. Its like our own Sesame Street here sometimes. Haha.





When Ariel woke up from her nap, Daddy was gone. She looked around for him for a long time before giving up. To take her mind of it we went down to the Telus BBQ. I picked up some info to read through, although I am not sure if we switch or not, I haven't heard great things about the internet speed. Either way, it wasn't high pressure, and the food was good. Ariel ate a whole hot dog (with bun) and half a hamburger (with bun). Everyone was getting a kick out of her, and she was thrilled to have an audience.

Now for some VERY exciting news. Regular readers may know of our 'special' neighbors, the ones that the cops visit every few weeks. The same ones that brought out the full armored cops with shields and bullet proof vests because their was a rumor of a gun (wasn't true, just a lie to get attention by the girlfriend). Oh yeah, that was when my Nana was coming by and was sent away for safety. Yeah... that kinda freaked her out, and I was late for meeting my friends due to a lock down on the building. Yes, the time has come to announce that they are MOVING!!!!!!!!!!!!! Can I get an amen!

There was a big pile of boxes outside the door and I never get my hopes up anymore with these guys. Anyhoo, I was chatting it up with another neighbor at the BBQ and she mentioned they were going to the co op housing. Well, I won't be sending an application to that one. Gosh, I wonder if they know what they are getting into. I am sure our building manager gave a great recommendation just to get them out. Who knows... sigh. Either way, I am happy I don't need to hide their drunken behavior from my daughter anymore.

Its really sad because when they aren't drunk, they are really nice... but they like to drink. Not much that can be done. They were the only thing that I really didn't like about our home, especially after Ariel was born. When it was just us, it was somewhat entertaining, but with a child, its scary.

Ok, back to fun stuff. So after the BBQ, we came home and Ariel played while I kept her happy with good danceable itunes songs. I found a new hit tonight for her. A good old 80's song. Haha, anyone remember this one. I am so happy I have an 80's loving daughter. Hee. Man this is cheesy... don't you miss this stuff?




Well I should wrap up here. Tomorrow is sewing day at Stella's. YAY! I will leave you with the picture of the day.


Awe... Ariel misses you Daddy! So do I. Love you babe!

New Toy

Hey everyone. Sorry, its been a very busy weekend as we are preparing to send Ken off to San Fransisco tomorrow. To top it all off, Ken had to be downtown all weekend for the big Pixar event the school was having, so it made for a some very long days for the boy. Thankfully he booked today off, so he has been able to prepare and build some of the puppets he will need for the video shoot. Woot.


On Sunday we missed church. Ken was downtown, and after a somewhat rough night with Ariel, it just seemed better to sleep in. We stopped by to visit Nana and Papa later in the morning. Ariel and Papa had a lunch date together in the living room. This girl really loves her Papa, its very sweet. I think its because he lets her eat hundreds of crackers. So if you want to bribe her...


One fun surprise of the weekend was welcoming a new camera into our home. Its not the digital SLR that I desperately would love to own... yes I have been told by my hubby that I turn 30 next year, so perhaps that is a good sign of things to come. Whee! Anyhoo, with Ken traveling more, and needing use of the camera for work and documenting his trips when we can't go along, we decided to get another one to have around here. We really love our Canon S2 PowerShot, and so when I found out that the newer model S5 was marked way down (most likely due to the fact another model is coming out soon) we went searching. I found out a London Drugs in Surrey had their display one on sale for uber cheap, so I went down Sunday afternoon and snagged it.


So now Ken will get the older camera to take on trips etc. and I get the newer one, since lets face it, I am the photo nut around here. I must also say what a HUGE deal this was. It was 1/3 the price of what we paid for first one. Gack. One new thing that is cool is the fact there is a hot shoe attachment, thus allowing me to attach a regular flash. This will give me more range with shooting on the more manual settings. Very cool indeed.

Here are some shots from this morning. Ariel loves watching the cartoons on CBC in the morning. Her favorite is 'Super Why', since she can yell out the letters.


Chocolate cookies + new camera = Lots of cute pictures!

So tomorrow morning we are going to have coffee out together, get some little things done in town that Ken still needs to do. Then after lunch my sweetie leaves to go to the airport. He won't be back till Saturday evening, so we are going to miss him big time. Ariel must have sensed something up since she stuck to Ken like glue today. Poor girl.

At least the week is filling up with things to keep us busy. Wednesday we have a sewing date with Stella for working on the Disney costumes. Then Thursday and Friday I will be baking lots of goodies for the church's garage sale / bake sale / silent auction / BBQ. Yes, its a major event, and I look forward to going to take it all in. Fun stuff. Tomorrow night our building is getting a free BBQ from the Telus people. Basically they are trying to show off the new internet and tv packages to us by temping us with food. Well, if it means not making dinner, I am all for it. Haha. I can take the info and do the 'need to check with the man of the house' line, which is always a lifesaver in these situations sometimes.

Well I am gonna go back to t-shirt designing. I am making iron on transfers to print up some fun Disney t-shirts for our trip. On the Disney message board they had a whole area about making fun shirts that you can personalize and I was totally hooked. So you grab some online clip art, download the Disney fonts and then play around. Here are some of my favs I have put together so far.

These are for Ariel...



Some for Ken...



Ones for me...



Well thats it for me tonight. Will be posting more regularly while Ken is away so he can see what we have been doing. Bye for now!