Letter B

Project 365 - Day 151

We found a small 'b' on a cup today.

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I forgot to mention my dear son turned 9 months last week! Wow, he is nearly a year old!!! Mr Grunts as I have been calling him, as he prefers that for communication lately mixed with the typical ahhhh, eeeee and booo. He is cruising the furniture now with ease, and even at time it seems as if he might let go and walk - EEK!

He is a self feeding machine, and quick to pick up anything on the carpet to taste, keeps me much more in check with the vacuuming. Loves Cheerios and has discovered the musical barn that use to entertain Ariel. No dancing but some bopping to the beat, we will leave the dancing to Ariel. He loves to bang stuff on the coffee table, and grins while doing it as if to say 'lookie what I can do!' Xander thinks 'peak a boo' is hysterical, so funny to watch.

His personality continues to emerge and it is one of a very sweet and quiet little boy. He is very observant to things happening around him, especially when it comes to Ariel. When we drop her at school he is focused on what she is doing. Ariel's teacher even commented on it today while she held him. He is excited to see both Ken and I, crawling right to us and pulling up our legs. He might not say Mama or Dada, but we see his affection which is warm and genuine. Xander also started more separation anxiety recently, and pulling away from people he doesn't know who might be trying to hold him. He has more of this than Ariel ever did, but then he is a Momma's boy too.


One of my favorite things about Xander is his grin and laugh. He has a cute little giggle that can turn into a snort if he is really laughing hard. I love watching him crawl like a race car after Ariel. He can keep up with her running, which is CRAZY! They are a bit wild together, which I know is just the tip of the iceberg. I am excited to see the love between them, and I hope it grows over the years. Ariel is always attentive to his cries, and wants to help him be happy.

So happy 9 months Mr Man! I just love my wookie boy, although I wonder what to do with the hair sometimes... haha.

1001

Project 365 - Day 150

Well, the winner is Kristin! I have been wanting to try a photo alphabet and decided to give it a try. So my goal is to go from 'A' to 'Z' but if I have something interesting I had to share then it will have to take a day off. I can make my own rules, haha. So here is the first letter 'A'. You see it? You guys had some great ideas so I may use them or do another contest again. Kristin, I have a prize in mind and I will contact you once its ready to send. I know you are coming down to Canada, so I may send it when you are here.

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Oh my, WHAT A WEEKEND! Some good, some bad - but we survived! First off, my last post, which was 'scheduled' due to the computer issues we were having, was my 1000th post!!! UGH! I missed it, how LAME! So I am celebrating the big 1001 today... yeah, kinda a let down. Sigh... I guess there is always 2000 right? Anyhoo, as I mentioned, our computer started acting weird. My brother said the best plan was to reinstall windows and have a start fresh, so that is what we had to do. The following days were spent backing up things to be on the safe side, but it makes for a stressful time of course.

On Friday I tried to forget about the computer and took Ariel on her field trip to A Rocha which was so much fun. I did notice our car having trouble accelerating at times, but it was a rainy day and sometimes our car doesn't like that. However nothing seemed too odd and just ignored it and enjoyed the time with Ariel and her classmates. Stella had taken Xander so it was really nice to be in the moment without a baby to tend to .

Come back, had lunch with Stella and came home again to bake oodies of cupcakes for Jessica's grad party. Then I got cleaned up and ready to leave as I had a movie and dinner date with Kara for a girls night to see Sex and the City 2. The traffic was really bad that night and I sat not moving for 45 minutes listening to the radio until I noticed that my 'check engine' light came on the dashboard. Crud! I started praying that the car wouldn't die right there on the highway or in the upcoming tunnel because that would have really sucked! Thankfully the car made it to the theater and shook to a stop in the parking spot!

I met Kara and enjoyed dinner and the movie, I wasn't going to let this ruin my evening, but I did ask her to follow me home briefly in case something happened. Thankfully again the car started and managed to get home only to shake and die in our parking spot. However, this situation put me in an odd spot, as I was to take Mike our computer to fix the following day and now our car needed to be fixed too. I was able to get my Dad to drive me out to take the baby stuff and computer to Mike and Jo's place while the car got looked at. The long story short is that the car went and broke something really abnormal (which seems to be the norm for us, we never break anything common). Our front tire also had come apart and needed to be fixed so in the end we shelled out $800, which sucked but at least its fixed, sigh.

That night we decided to go to May Days for dinner and to have a night of fun... which we needed. The park was pretty empty and so we had some grub and let Ariel ride a few rides...

...and play some games. (She won a Dora, haha)

She had been too short last spring to ride the rides, so she was very excited this time to go. She was all smiles and was just grinning as she got off each time. Kinda made me wish it was cheaper so she could go more but a few of the ride operators totally let her stay on a long time because it was so quiet, which was awesome.

Came home and was up early for the outdoor church service. It was great and both kids sat through it quiet well considering. We let Ariel pick another 2 rides as a 'reward' for being such a good girl and as her last one she rode the kid's 'Roller Coaster'. My goodness, she takes after Ken with that love of rides for sure, not me in the least. Gack!

We made our way through the various booths and strange mascots...

...got some fish and chips for lunch and went off to find a spot to watch the parade. Xander was pretty tired and actually fell asleep during it in Ken's arms, aww. (Not the best picture of but I realized we had only this one of Xander since he mainly sat in the stroller for many of the events)

Zipped home so I could ice the cupcakes for Jessica's grad party while Ken took the kids and went to pick up the computer. We really appreciate Mike's hard work for that, so thank you so much!

Went to the party and had a wonderful time. The cupcakes were a hit and sadly I didn't get great pictures since I was having too much fun, haha. Here is one of the 'hat' cupcakes. These went fast with the teens.


The kids were all tired and ready to crash, so we left for home with a sense of 'wow, what a weekend... and we survived!' Now here I sit blogging and gearing up for a new week. Just hoping its a little more boring, haha.

Falling Apart

Project 365 - Day 149


Don't we all feel like we are falling apart at times?

Kitty

Project 365 - Day 148


Meow... just found this and thought it was funny.

Puddle Tree

Project 365 - Day 147


I like this picture. I was playing with reflections and trying to make a tree grow within a puddle. Not sure if it worked completely but its still interesting I think.

Online... meh

Project 365 - Day 146


Get it, the bird is on the line... online, hee... so bad.

Ok, I am uploading and scheduling some posts for the next day or so because our computer is going down the creek fast! Basically the virus vault got full, and we got infected - to the core! Within 24 hours we are experiencing more crap then ever. After a quick chat with my brother, its pretty serious, so we were backing up everything tonight to our external hard drive. I feel better knowing the pictures of the kids are safe, but still its got me on edge. After our computer crash years ago I think it makes me that way. So I don't know how much longer its going to last. Our email isn't working and it keeps doing weird stuff so I may just stay away if that is possible?!

Please continue to send ideas for the photos, I am trying to come up with a fun prize. Whee!

Coming Soon - girls night out!

Project 365 - Day 145


So Kara and I decided to go see Sex and the City 2 together on Friday night, eek! I used the new buy your tickets online thing and so it saves one more step when we arrive since we are going to dinner first. Whee! So excited... perhaps I'll wear my new heels, oooh!

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So its been a whirlwind long weekend. Lots going on and a visit too from Ken's Dad. The craziness started on Friday evening when Ken got home and we were off to meet his Dad at the hotel and go to dinner. We ate at White Spot and came back to our place where he had lots of nice gifts for the kids.

Ariel got a pile of Barbie stuff including a doll, clothes, book, purse with jewelry and her fav the computer game thing. Its like a tiny purple laptop that plays 10 games and tells her she is 'fabulous' haha.


Xander got some outfits and a few toys including a funny bear that sings that Ariel enjoys too.


The next morning I left the men and the kids to fend for themselves for the day as I was off with Stella and Donna for a shopping trip. I was needing some 'nicer' clothes for the upcoming weddings as well as getting fitted for new undergarments. As you girls know that is a big deal and you can't shop for those with kids. I am much happier with how my clothes fit now, ahhh.

We hit several dress places and I tried on everything that was thrown at me. Some good, some not so good. There was one dress I was convinced made me look like a pine cone, haha. I will try and do a fashion show soon, but part of me wants to wait till the weddings. We will see how it goes.

After a few finds, we picked up Kara and stopped for a much needed lunch break. Then we were back at it finding more goodies. I had a wonderful time and it was a much needed day for me. All that time Ken and his Dad had the kids down in Steveston and then to the beach where Ariel's classmate was having a birthday party. I was sad to miss all that too, but you can't do it all right?

Sunday was church and a soup and bun thank you lunch to those who helped with the children's ministry. Then we had some downtime before heading to Dad and Rita's for the big 60th / retirement party. They had everyone bring a salad and if you can believe it there was almost no doubles. It was salad city haha. I had a plate full of every one's salads that my hot dog was sitting on a napkin. Hee. A very yummy evening...


... and of course cake too.


We had made Dad a card, and no I can't explain why the kids are dressed as food. I thought of the idea really late at night and it seemed funny and still does to me, haha. Good thing Ken just goes along with me at times. Haha.


Ken thought it be fun to take a picture of the Grandpas together.


Monday was a full day of adventure. We went to Stanley Park up to prospect point to start our day. It was cool and cloudy but still nice. We enjoyed the view and took pictures.


Then some lunch in the cafe up there.


The Aquarium was the next stop but by then Ariel was in serious meltdown mode. She had several late nights in a row, no routine and BANG - she is crashing. The screaming was enough to make both Ken and I nearly lose it.

We did manage to get around to see most of the features like the kids area...


...turtles...


and belugas.


There were nice photo opts for me along the way before we decided it was time to leave for our sanity. We went down to the sea wall and walked around in the sun. Ariel perked up quite a bit by then, the ice cream helped too.


Then we came home for an easy dinner of pizza and hanging out. We were all tired and ready to rest. It was also time to say good bye as Ken's Dad was leaving the next morning and we wouldn't see him off. Ariel in her usual fashion wasn't big on the goodbyes and could only offer up a wave.


Today I kept as normal as I possibly could. We slept in, eventually getting up and going to the store for the groceries. There a lady commented on how behaved Ariel was and after the meltdown the previous day it was a much needed complement I needed to hear. She is a really good girl, and there is usually a reason for her extreme behavior.

Then came some laundry, some baking little banana bread loaves for the youth's garage and bake sale and vacuuming the house. It was a fulfilling day for me, lots got done and I will say that not having ballet in the morning was kinda nice with getting things done. Ariel happily played with her toys all morning and afternoon. Xander had 2 good sized naps and I managed to make a dinner that will last another 2 nights, woot!

Soooo, we are slowly returning to normal and look forward to all the fun stuff ahead. We are finalizing our travel plans for summer with the Michigan / New York trip which now will most likely include Niagara Falls too! We will be traveling from Detroit with Ken's mom and brothers, go to Niagara Falls for a few days then on to New York for a few days and conclude with the family wedding. So exciting and for someone like me who isn't always a great traveler, I am looking forward to it.

Snack Time

Project 365 - Day 144


We saw this little guy digging for a snack at Stanley Park.

So ends our long weekend as well as our visit with Ken's Dad. He leaves early tomorrow morning back to Michigan. We have had a fun time, but we are ready to get back to routines (cough cough Ariel... can we say the meltdown of all meltdowns today, ugh). Thankfully tomorrow there is nothing to do, except baking for the youth garage sale, so it will be a quiet day. Xander needs it... Ariel needs it... my sanity needs it, haha.

Will blog tomorrow with lots of pictures from our fun weekend.

Party Time

Project 365 - Day 143


We had my Dad's big 60th birthday / retirement party tonight... a little overdue, but hey no one complains when there is cake right?

All Dressed Up!

Project 365 - Day 142


Today I was taken shopping for fancy clothes for the upcoming weddings this summer, mainly the big American one in New York, because lets face it I need help! Ken and his Dad had the kids all day while I went out with Stella and Donna, who had me try on at least 50+ dresses... being a Barbie doll is hard work! In the end I found several fun things, but these are my crowning glory, a little black dress which is so lovely (I also got an amazing deal on!) , my first pair of real heels in years... the last pair were for Grad (eek) and my new handbag which I have lovingly named 'pine cone'... and there is a story behind that - but you will have to wait till next time to hear it as my feet are tired and so am I.

Seeing Red...

Project 365 - Day 141


...fabric that is... not mad, hee.

Ken's Dad arrived today and so we are busy hanging out with him for the long weekend. The kids got majorly spoiled rotten, and I don't think we will be able to get Ariel away from her Barbie computer thingy for quite some time... I believe its in her bed sleeping beside her. Haha.

Orange You Glad I am Blogging?

Project 365 - Day 140


Oooh, bad I know. I couldn't help it, haha. This grabbed my attention while taking pictures of X-man this morning, the carrot car. I think its something from Ikea he got in his stocking at Christmas and quite likes it. Watch out Mr Bunny... that baby is coming again.

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At this moment its somewhat quiet, except for itunes playing some Glee tunes... I HEART Glee. I know I know I say that a lot, but I really do. Swoon! This week the episode was so good, and Buffy writer/director Joss Whedon was running the show and you could sure tell. The story was really touching too, all about hope. Sometimes our hopes and dreams are realistic and if we work hard they can be obtained. False hope although coming from a place of love can be sometimes even harder to except and move away from. The one character wishes to walk again so he can dance. With having a mom who sometimes wished for the same thing while suffering with her health, was hard to watch at times. While watching this show, I am often thinking how my Mom would have enjoyed it, so this is for her.



With the 1st anniversary of Nana's passing tomorrow the idea of hope returned to me. Everyday this week, I saw eagles... always 2, just like that day at the hospital. (If you want to read about that day click here for the entry) Its been very comforting and I find myself at peace, sad of course, but hopeful and reassured in God's vision and plan.

So this past week was Ariel's last ballet class. Ariel was up at the crack of dawn eager to get ready of course. She is handing the idea of no dance for awhile ok at the moment... we will see how long that lasts. With her awake, and lots of time to kill, we decided to try a fun hair do we saw on Girly Do's. It turned out well and super cute! YAY!


Ariel did well and I am very proud of her. She is very attentive and I noticed much more at ease with people watching her now. In fact she was very focused when it was her turn for any of the exercises.


I meant to ask Kara the names of all these bar exercises... guess I need to learn them.


Here is her big performance to 'Circle of Life'. It was more of an interpretive dance this time around, and very sweet. This is when Ariel seems to really shine. Mommy's performer.

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

After class was over Ariel and her classmates each got a My Little Pony set from Miss Julie! Totally unexpected and her eyes were huge! She came running back with the biggest smile.


We in turn gave Miss Julie a handmade card and tissue paper flowers Ariel had helped make. The card featured pictures we had taken the previous week in the park after dinner. I managed to find a dance quote online she hadn't heard before, so she was tickled about that too. Here is the cover of the card with the little dancing fairy.


Soooooooooo it looks like Ariel will be coming to a tv near you! I got an email from the Jello people with a final contract to sign and needing our address to send Ariel her $500, which will cover her plane ticket this summer so its a huge blessing! We are just preparing our trip details and can't wait to finalize them. Eek! New York here we come!


After Ariel's ballet, Stella and I went off to the party shops to pick up my essential goodies for invitation making and decorating. Whee! Its by far one of my favorite places to go, so much fun stuff there. Its been decided that Ariel is having a black and pink Barbie themed party, and Xander a blue, brown and green turtle party. By the end of the afternoon I had gotten Ariel's invitations designed and ready to print and put together. I am in my happy place, haha.

Yesterday was a quiet day. Ariel went to school and I got the groceries, cleaned and did some work on projects. We had the building's plumber visit our place in the afternoon as our sink is leaking. With only one look at it, he decided to bring us a new sink the next day. YAY! I have hated that sink since we moved in with all its chips. Ariel was very curious about the whole process and today when the new sink arrived she was very excited to try it out. He even got us one with better knobs for the kids to turn on themselves. So pretty... and clean! (Amazing what excites you as an adult eh?)


In the morning I got a call from Brenda about how she was blowing off her pool class in favor of a walk and if the kids and I wanted to join her. We all jumped at it and had a great walk and talk about Arts Camp stuff and other interesting possibilities, which I need to keep to myself at the moment, but lots to look forward to. Yay! (Xander's future plans are to walk... I am not ready for that!)


The long weekend is fast approaching and I am looking forward to dress shopping with the girls, Ken's dad coming to visit and just having Ken home for an extra day! Ken's book went to print so we are all excited to finally share the cover design with everyone. Looks awesome and I am very proud of my man!


Well, Daddy should be home soon, and its taco night, so better get on that. Xander is eager for a visit...

Blue Fairy

Project 365 - Day 139


A several years ago Ken got me this blue china fairy on one of his many work trips. Still to this day it is one of my most favorite things he has ever brought back for me... and he loves it just as much as I do. Her face is just so pretty and sweet. Thanks babe!

Hanging up the pink

Project 365 - Day 138


Today we hung up our dance shoes as it was the final ballet class for Ariel until next fall. Boy that seems so far away, but I guess the summer will fly by eh? I taped Ariel's performance and will post it up in the next few days with a blog with more pictures. I'd do it tonight but its Glee night (*squeal*) and Ken's book goes to press tomorrow, so we are taking this night off to do nothing but celebrate with a couple of cokes and some chips! Ahhhh, life is good...

Purple Buzz

Project 365 - Day 137


I am doing a color theme this week, thought it be fun to do something different. Speaking of different, if anyone has an idea or theme for a week's worth of pictures, leave a comment. I am looking for some new ideas. I did the black and white theme and now this color one, so throw some new ideas my way... maybe a prize for the one I pick, ooh.

Wishing Puff

Project 365 - Day 136


This is what Ariel refers to as a 'wishing puff'... these are just part of the reason I hate Spring... one word - ALLERGIES! The past few years my allergies have been almost non existence so I am not sure why this year is so bad. Either way, I am miserable and I WISH the pollen and flying puffy things would go away. Sniff, wah! Rant over.

Auntie Jay!

I have been eagerly waiting till the 15th to share this exciting news! This coming November I will be officially become Auntie Jay! Eek! Yes, my brother Mike and sister in law Josée are expecting their first baby. Its been hard keeping the secret so long, but I am happy I can finally say it out loud.

Becoming an Aunt is something I have always wanted to be. I love the Aunts I have in my life and hope that I will be someone special in this child's life as well. Not to mention I am so thrilled my kids are getting a cousin. When you grow up with a wonderful relationship with your cousins, its something you hope your children will have too, so its a huge blessing! Ariel is thrilled since she is in total 'mommy mode' these days and I am sure Xander will too, even though he is still too young to understand.

So I am packing up our baby stuff Xander is done with to pass along to Mike and Jo. With knowing we won't be having any more children, its bittersweet but it is helping with the transition. Letting that part of my journey go is hard, but I look forward to the new adventure ahead.... Auntie Jay, has a nice ring eh?

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Project 365 - Day 135


Meet Miss Kaelyn! This is one of the shots I got this morning from the pictures I took for my friends Michelle and Jug. She has got some pretty amazing eyelashes and is such a cutie!

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Oh its been crazy around here. Ken got home on Friday morning and Ariel has been a basket case ever since. She basically has been glued to him, and that is understandable, but Ken is tired and short on patience. Makes for some cranky times in the homestead, but I know things should return to normalcy soon... I hope anyways. Haha. Eep!

Friday evening Dad came over to watch the kids as we went to Nick and Andrea's wedding.


It was a beautiful ceremony and Andrea was gorgeous!


The wedding took place outside where I realized too late that sunscreen would have been a good idea. The simple decor was stunning and the feeling from the whole event was meaningful and fulfilling. A great reminder of God's gift of marriage and how special it is to treasure it.


We got to sit with friends from church and had a great time visiting... and eating. Haha, yummy food! Even got to see some friends Natalie and Peter who flew in for the occasion. Yay! Oh, and the cutest favors ever, calculators! Andrea is an accountant and Nick an engineer, so it was a fun little surprise and Ariel was thrilled with getting the one we brought home.


It was fun to have a night without the kids, especially for me since I have been playing single mommy all week with Ken gone. I did feel bad for my Dad since Xander was teething and not a happy camper for some of the time. (The tooth did pop out this morning by the way - tooth count is now at 4!)


Today was just as busy. We meet up with my friend Michelle and her boyfriend Jug and daughter Kaelyn for a photoshoot. In return they treated us to lunch and it was lots of fun. Michelle and I go way back as our parents are good friends... and there was that summer with the car and the squirrel... poor squirrel, haha. Its fun reconnect as parents with our own kids... crazy too - when did we grow up?


After lunch we came home and while Ken and the kids had a skype chat with Ken's family, I made 3 batches of cupcakes for church tomorrow. Brenda asked if I could bake some cupcakes for the kids to decorate tomorrow as its the final day for the kids program before the summer starts... Kinda hard to believe summer is nearly here! Gack!

Speaking of programs ending, ballet ends this week with Ariel's little show. This time I actually hope to get it uploaded to share, just didn't happen last time. Anyhoo, on Thursday evening after dinner I took the kids to the park with Ariel all dressed up in her 'dancing' gear to take pictures to create a card for her teacher. Ariel had a ball dancing away and got lots of attention with people asking what the occasion was, haha. Just before packing it in to go home, I got this beautiful close up of Ariel and played with it in photoshop to give it a magical look. I just love it!


Speaking of Ariel, she got a call this week from the Jello Pudding people. Remember how we were filmed a few weeks ago eating pudding, well they called to say Ariel was in the finals. They are preparing the final edits this week and if all goes well she will be in the finished commercial! So we shall wait and see... eek!

Well, the house is asleep and I have enjoyed my time to myself... guess I will get to bed. Yawn...