Saturday snapshot

Aahh, there's nothing like making nuts and bolts to put me in the mood for Christmas.  That being said, I guess this is no longer a holiday snack for my family as I made it this week.  Oh well, I will enjoy it just as much!

Spring

"Spring, spring, spring.  Spring said the groundhog.  It was spring."  Did you ever read this book as a child?  I think I still have my copy lying around somewhere...as long as little girls haven't gotten to it yet!

Well, Pinterest has not let me down again.  I found this pretty little Easter wreath that was on a blog.  One, I liked it because of the colors.  Two, it looked like it was a project that would take very little time.  Three, this lady has a craft night once a month, and this is what they did one month.  It was kinda fun to see the group of ladies all making these wreaths together. 


I was at our local Dollar Giant a couple of weeks ago picking up cheap toys for the girls for their Easter egg hunt (our theory is, why spend a lot of money when they're just going to wreck the things you buy anyway.)  While I was there, I saw garland and Easter eggs. 

Everything was $1.25 each, so I bought three bags of the bigger eggs, and one bag of little eggs.  I also purchased three strands of the garland and one roll of Easter ribbon.   A visit to Michael's got me a foam wreath.  In total, I spent under $20 and here is my finished project.  I think it turned out pretty nice!  Clark said it looked like something high end you would pay big bucks for.  He's so sweet. 

You can't really see the garland underneath all of the eggs, but I didn't necessarily want it to be seen, I just didn't want to see any of the foam. 

*Update:  I tried hanging this on my front door this morning, but because we also have a screen door, I couldn't close the door!  So, it's hanging on my front door INSIDE my house.  If you want to see it, I guess you'll have to come over for coffee!

Saturday Snapshot

Aren't these just the cutest containers?  I found them at the dollar store the other day, and thought they would be perfect to put Tyler's food in.  They fit about 3 tablespoons of food.  I think the best part is the price, 6 of these containers for $1.25!

We survived being unplugged!

Do you remember this movie from the 1980's?  My sister and I loved all of them!  I remember one part of the last movie I think it was, where Chip had a girlfriend, and she was running out of juice, so he unplugged himself so she could live.  It was really sweet.  I kinda felt like him today, while 4/5 of our little family was trying to stay away from the TV. 


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Here's what our unplugged day looked like!

 First, Tyler decided he would rather eat the straps of his high chair then have breakfast.  He's pretty cute doing it though!

Then, we went swimming with my friend Marla and her two boys.  I had the camera with me, but forgot to take pictures.  After swimming, we went to Costco for lunch and some shopping.  If you're in the market for a swimsuit, check them out!

Then we came home.  Abigail fell asleep in the van, so she went for a nap and Annika headed outside to ride her bike.  She did that for awhile, then came inside and wanted to help me, so we put in a new doorknob in our bathroom.  It's part of my low budget makeover.  It might not look like she's doing it right here, but she did manage to tighten the screws.  The doorknob works even!

After that and before we dropped Annika off at Cubbies, we went to Starbucks for cake pops.  The girls LOVE them and I thought it was a nice treat for them being so good at not watching TV.  *This was not from lack of trying.  I caught Annika trying to turn the computer on by clicking the mouse twice today, and she turned the TV a couple of times as well.  Good thing I thought of that in advance and turned the computer totally off instead of putting it to sleep (she doesn't know how to turn it on yet) and the TV was put onto the screen we go to when we watch DVDs.  She also doesn't know how to turn it to the proper TV watching screen.  (I apologize for my lack of technological savvy here...I have no clue what the proper terms are.)

All in all, it was a pretty good day.  Annika told Clark on the phone tonight that she wasn't bored at all, so that's a good thing!  I also found that since I wanted to keep track of what we were doing, I took more pictures.  This is not really tough for me, since I am notorious at not taking pictures at all!  I can't wait to see what we're going to do next week.  If it's warm, I think we'll check out a park.  If not, maybe the library?



Unplugged

It's very rare at my house that during the day I get to sit down and watch television.  If I do...it's usually Disney Junior.  While I like Mickey Mouse as much as the next guy, it doesn't really stimulate my mind!  However, one day a couple of weeks ago....maybe months...the days all blur together....I got to watch Anderson Cooper.  I think he's trying to be the next Oprah.  Clark says that he's like Ryan Seacrest (as in EVERYWHERE).  Anyway, he had a family on there that were addicted to their technology, and he sent them to live with another family that had gotten away from it all and bought a farm that didn't have running water or electricity.  I forgot how long they were there, but they said that it was nice to unplug.  Anderson then had someone else on there who gave tips for having a slower life.  One of the suggestions was to unplug once a week ~ no TV, Internet, cell phones. 

I have to admit, I'm the mother that sends her kids to watch TV so I can get housework done.  So, I thought it might be a good thing to unplug once a week.  I was going to do Tuesdays, since we go to a Mom's group at our church in the mornings.  It would be very easy to tack on the afternoon.  Then I thought, if I was going to be intentional about this, I would pick a day where we didn't have something else to do already.  So, Thursdays it is!  I'm being a good wife and picked a day where Clark typically works, so I'm not making him become unplugged with us...he already spends most of his day commuting or at work, so when he gets home, he's allowed to watch TV! 

I informed the girls tonight of our unplugged plans for tomorrow.  They didn't look very impressed with me.  However, I told them that they had to keep me accountable as well...Annika liked that idea.  I guess any situation where she gets to boss her Mom around is all right with her!  I hope we can do it.  It might be tough for a bit, but at least I have warmer weather to look forward to, then I can send little girls outside!

Cute Things Annika says (Part Three)

Annika was telling jokes to Abigail today.  There was much laughter after she told the punch line.

Why did a banana get eaten by a mango?

Because it had a face!

Hmmm...I'm not sure she's going to be a comic when she grows up.

Just for clarification

I have proof that I'm not crazy!  Well, maybe not proof, but it makes sense to me! 
My mother has crazy dreams as well.  She tells me about them sometimes, and so now I know where I get my dream imagination from.  It's hereditary.

Things I've Learned from Murder, She Wrote

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I love Netflix.  The options for kids shows are pretty good, and some of the shows for adults come from my childhood and bring back great memories.  One such show is Murder, She Wrote.  I've started from the beginning and am now in Season 5.  There are 12 seasons all together.  I'm quite excited to watch these shows again.  I remember some of the storylines, but sometimes not who did it. 

Sunday afternoons, my family would watch Matlock from 4 to 5 and then Murder, She Wrote from 5 to 6.  However, church started at 6:30, so there were some Sundays that we had to leave before Jessica had solved the case.  It's really quite fun to find out after 20+ years the answer of "who done it"! 

I've compiled a Top 10 list of things I've learnt from the show so far ~ I'm sure that maybe the last 7 seasons will have another list.  We'll see!  Here they are in no particular order.

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1. You don't have to wear tight, short clothes.  Covering up can be classy.
2. If you're going to murder somebody, check to see if Jessica Fletcher is in the area.  If she is, don't pull the trigger until she goes home again.
3. Just because you live in a small town doesn't mean that you can't have multiple murders.  I guess that's how you keep the population under control.
4. If you're going to fake playing the piano, make sure it looks convincing.  If you're going to sing low, make sure you're not playing the high notes at the same time.
5. Even if you're retired, you can still be charming and have handsome men be in love with you.
6. You can be rich (I assume that Jessica is rich since her books are popular), but that doesn't mean that you can't reuse clothes in your closet.  Change the top, and your skirt becomes totally new!
7. You don't have to swear and use coarse language to get your point across.
8. Age should not be a factor in how active you are.
9. Don't be so quick to judge people.  Even if it looks like a jewel thief is just that, maybe there's more to him than meets the eye.  (Can you tell that we just met Dennis Stanton?)



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10. If you want to solve murders, don't become a police detective.  Become a mystery writer instead.  People will think you're more competent.

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Surgery

I had surgery last night. 
The doctor performed it in the backseat of a white car. 
I don't know what kind of surgery it was, but I think it had something to do with my abdomen.  I must have remarkable recuperative powers, because I was able to climb out of the backseat and drive away when he was done. 

Cute Things Abigail Says (Part 2)

Our dishwasher is broken.  It has been for a couple of weeks now.  I don't mind it so much anymore.  Annika loves to help dry the cutlery and put it away.  She summed it up quite succinctly the other day.

 

"Mom, it's always better to do dishes when you have someone to talk to."

Abigail likes to help as well.  However, her idea of helping is me putting water in the sink, she pushes me out of the way then starts splashing around.  Usually by the time she's done, there is no more water in the sink.  It's on the floor.  I came up with these totes filled with water to keep them occupied.  They like it because they're playing with water.  I like it because we're still spending time together while I'm doing chores and the mess is minimal since they aren't very deep.   Well, now that we've had the background, on to the purpose of my post.

Abigail was sitting and playing with her ducks and boat today, talking to herself.  It was really cute, some of the things she comes up with!  Anyway, I told her she was cute, and in her best bossy voice she said,

"No Mom, I'm happy!"

Sisters

While putting the girls to bed tonight, Annika asked Abigail if she could sleep in her bed with her.  Abigail said "No problem."

I went in to take a picture, they are too cute!

Super Tuesday

It was Super Tuesday yesterday.  That does not thrill my soul.  It thrills Clark's though!  He secretly wishes he lived in America...while having Albertan health care!  This is only my second Super Tuesday that I've had to go through with Clark.  The first one was worse, since there were two parties that were trying to pick a nominee...and we didn't have anybody for him to watch the primaries with, so guess who got stuck listening to the commentary?  Yep, me.  This year is different.  Clark has a friend!  The family pastor at our church likes American politics just as much as Clark does.  This makes sense because he IS American.  Pastor Mark and his wife Flo (MY friend) came over for supper and CNN last night. 

After we ate our Eat at Home supper for Tuesday (Tilapia and Veggies baked in foil) the men went downstairs, and the rest of us stayed upstairs and DIDN'T talk about politics.  Guess who had more fun? 

Flo and I made dessert (well, we had dessert, angel food cake and berries) but we made ice cream to go with it.  Here's the link.  We just made ours chocolate with no other flavours, but I think the next time I try it, I'll try almond flavouring. 

We also hung our family pictures on the wall.  Doesn't it look nice?  My friend Melissa figured out where they should be positioned.  I think it turned out really well!

Far away

Close up!

One of the highlights of my evening was finding my camera.  I had lost it in November, and finally broke down in January and bought a new one.  It was in the couch, underneath the cushions.  The only reason I found it was because I was standing on the couch and it slid onto my foot.  Oh happy day!  Now I have a back up.

I think that's about all I did yesterday.  Oh, the plumber came, but that might possibly be a story for another post.  I'll have to think about it.

Pinterest of Interest

So I have a new love.  Pinterest.  I signed up a while ago, but didn't quite understand what I was doing.  Once I took the time to check out the site, I was hooked.  It's quite fun to see the things that people come up with.  Well, today while tooling around there, I found a pin that my friend Alison had put on one of her boards.  It's from a blog called Eat at Home.  The post is for an entire year of menu plans.  If you want to see them, you can just click here.  Oh my goodness.  It's wonderful! 

I usually plan out my weekly menu and then make my grocery list from there.  This lady does it all for you.  There are menu plans, shopping lists, and recipes.  For some reason, I couldn't find a week one, so this week we are starting on week 2.  I have never made any of the recipes that we will be eating this week, but that's the fun of it!  Even though it might be a bit of a sketchy experiment, Clark eats ANYTHING, so I know that we won't be having leftovers every night.  It is exactly what I usually do anyway, but I must say it is nicer to not even have to think about what we're going to be eating, or making a shopping list.  I just print off the list from the blog, take off everything I already have in my pantry, and head to the store!  I'll let you know as we go along how the food tastes and if we'll be trying week 3 next week!