Todays page

Today on SH there was a challenge to do a 'dare' page from the new Efferdares book. It is dare # 2 and we had to scrap a page about 'your safe place'......needless to say, I wanted to do a page about Lloyd! So he agreed to a quick photo session (hence the pictures below) and then I printed one of him out to scrap :)

And in black and white.....

My Lloyd.......

Lloyd and Sam....

We're home :)

We are back from the CIBC Run for the Cure...it was soooo much fun and I'm so glad we took part!!! I will be posting all about the run on my running blog Running To Mickey....so if you want to hear all about it, check over there later :)

Thank you to all of you who sponsored me or my boys - it meant a lot!!!!

Conversation with Sam aged 2

Sam (cuddling me): "you hot Mom?"

Me: "Oh yes, very!"

Sam "Why you hot Mom?"

Me: "Because I'm SEXY!"

Sam (laughing cruelly lol): "You not sexy Mom, you Mommy"

sigh.....

the preschool saga continues....

My email to preschool boss:

Hi *********

Thats such a shame about the classes here - it makes me so sad to know there will be no preschool here. Was there a reason why the classes out here are so much more expensive than the ones in town? In my opinion they are very over priced and I don't think many of the families would be able to afford that - especially when last years classes were really nothing more than a playgroup. What is the formula for determining the cost of classes?

If it means the class will run, I will do the lead position after Christmas. Its important to me that this area has a preschool. I had a meeting with the local schools kindergarten teacher a couple of months ago asking what her needs are for preschool in this area and it is so very much needed! She was able to give me detailed guidelines of the areas that children need help with to prepare them for kindergarten - from drawing diagonal lines to counting backwards from 10.......there are several issues that children in this area are still struggling with by the time they enter kindergarten.

Is there a chance the cost of the classes could be lowered so that they are more in line with the classes in Sherwood Park? Will the two classes be combined back into one morning class like they were last year? I personally don't feel that a combined class is detrimental to the childrens learning if it is run well. I homeschooled five children all of different ages and never found it difficult to have the different ages/ stages all together - I think it benefits the younger children to be around the older ones....role modelling etc - it just takes a little more planning to make sure there are activities for all the ages and abilities.

Anyway, I really do hope there is a class after Christmas. If I can help in any way please let me know. I could probably find someone to be my Assist in the class too. I'd like to make this happen!

Best wishes
Jane

And the response (which won't read very well for the simple reason the email format was a little bizarre and all mixed in with mine - it was a really odd response - Val can agree with that I'm sure as she read the real thing.....so its a little disjointed here....


Hi Jane:
I am sorry for my delay in responding to this, we have been very busy
getting our Fall programs under way. I was also very upset that we were
unable to run classes out at South Cooking Lake this Fall. We had very
low registrations, but probably would have run the programs, if we had
instructors. We worked very hard to set up programming out there, and
would really like to continue it. I expect that our registrations
should be higher in the Winter, as they were last year.
The reason that the costs are so much higher out there is due to set up
and take down costs. In all of our other buildings we have building
staff to do the set up and take down of equipment as well as the
cleaning. Because we don't have that at SCL, we have to pay the
instructors extra to set up, take down and clean. We have talked to the
Community League and they were unable to provide people either. Also,
just so you know, we operate on a cost recovery basis for our programs.
We are here to provide a service for our residents, and not to make
money from our programs.

The only way that we
could lower the price is if we could somehow get someone else to to the
building duties for a lower price or get parent volunteers to help.
I would be absolutely thrilled to have you as our lead instructor in
the Winter, I was very disappointed when you weren't able to do it this
session.

I would really like to run two separate classes, as our focus for the
older children was to be more of a Kindergarten Readiness class, similar
to the ones that we currently run.

We can
discuss this further, but the only problem is that the information for
our Winter Guide is due to the printer's early next week. If you would
be willing to try it for the Winter session, and then make changes for
the Spring, that might work out a little better.
One of the challenges that we face is not living in the community, to
be able to interact with people there. I would love to discuss with you
how we may better market things as well, to best promote our programs.
Also, if you have an assistant in mind, this would be very helpful as
well.
Please get back to me when you can Jane, and if you would like, I can
even come out there and meet with you if needed.
Looking forward to hearing from you!

from
**********

My gripe for the week....

It's a beautiful time of year...the Fall colours are everywhere and I have to say that Strathcona County looks stunning.......well.....it DID look stunning! My gripe of the week is all those ugly horrid primary coloured signs for the Mayoral elections taking place in October. They are everywhere - alongside every road....on every corner...in driveways....and even in the rural areas they are there - every few yards there is another one.

They are such a mess and an eyesore!! They should be banned. The council come around and remove comfree signs and yard sale signs etc yet the councillors are allowed to litter our beautiful roadsides with these signs for several weeks before each election!

And then driving home today I see (On a rural road) a HUGE lit up sign for Darien Masse!! and also along Hwy 21 endless signs for this same candidate. Like in bunches...what is the point of that - why is that necessary? Do they think us voters are stupid? Masse for sure would not have my vote! I don't care if he has the answwer for world peace right now - he needs to find better ways of getting his point across!

I don't WANT these signs littering up our roadsides in what is one of the most beautiful times of the year in this area....

If I was to vote then I would refuse to vote for anyone who has these signs up - you want my vote? then refuse to have signs up - campaign door to door or via newspapers and flyers or within malls etc - but do NOT spoil my view with endless ugly signs!

Snow Globe from TO

Here is the snow globe Lloyd found for me in Toronto. It's gorgeous - it's musical and the inner part of the base turns around with different scenes and words as the music plays :) I know the CN tower, but can anyone name the other buildings for me?

Lloyd brought the boys back a t-shirt each and the girls got soft toys - a racoon in a TO sweater for Susie (looks just like the one from The Kissing Hand) and a sled dog for Abigail....oh and Sam got a little west Jet plane :)

Prize winnings!!

Yesterday in the mail I received the prize I won in last weeks online crop! Unicorn1 from SH sent me this prize for scraplifting (copying) one of her layouts from the gallery at SH. She sent me sooo much!!!! All these gorgeous goodies and it was such a great thing to get in the mail - Thanks Glenda - I love it all :)

Saturday is here...

And we got NO flurries last night despite the forecast!! Yay!!! It's gorgeous and sunny outside and it loks as though we will get through the entire month of September with NO SNOW which is a very good thing! Most Septembers we seem to get a dusting at least one morning but not this year :) This Winter is going to be a good one!

So Chris was at a house party last night in town...I guess I really should worry more but I trust him - he's a sensible boy and I'm sure he had a great time! It was his friend Andres birthday - I think he's 15 now....

Chris is supposed to phone this morning but if he had a very late night no doubt he is still snoring on the floor somewhere at Andrews house.

We have to go to MP today to pick up my run kit for tomorrows Run for the Cure - thanks again to EVERYONE that sponsored either me or my boys! That really does mean so much! I am not sure if I can run the WHOLE thing - yikes.....maybe the momentum and excitement of the crowd will help push me along - but run, walk or crawl, I WILL finish my 5k :) Lloyd is coming along with the camera so I will be posting piccies tomorrow night!

So yes, we have to pick the run kits up from the running room and I have a 20% off coupon to use on some running pants for Winter. Then we have to run to Costco for diapers and Tide (washing liquid) and thats our plans for the day. No idea what else we will do....

Our chickens leave tomorrow. Tomorrow afternoon we are going to Elk Island for our Fall pictures. Tonight maybe we will watch Greys Anatomy (we are mid way through the Ferry fire episode.....)

Ok - I should go and get showered and dressed...oh but first I think I will take a couple of pictures I want to blog!

New reader :)

I have a new reader :) Please welcome Tess (aka Bradsmom). Tess is a fellow scrapbooker and member of Scrappers Haven - in fact she's taking part in Iron Chef 3 at SH right now! Good Luck Tess!

Tess has started a new blog, so be sure to check it out by clicking on 'My Daily Ramblings' in my links list tot he right! Leave her a comment to be sure she keeps blogging!!!

Sams new hiding place...

This morning I couldn't find Sam - I looked every where!! He was hiding in the laundry baskets that I had walked passed twice! He was so quiet and just watched me looking for him! My clever boy - so cheeky!

He's down...

Lloyds plane has landed, he has his bags, has picked up his car and is heading home. Yay!!! God I hate him going away!!!!


But he did get me a snow globe :)

My post on LP

I posted this on LP this afternoon and got several responses:

Abigail 5yrs 9mths started K this September. Two full days a week. Its been three weeks and she is already bored. The teacher seems incapable of giving her anything extra to encourage her and interest her. Instead, she seems to put her down. This month they will be learning numbers 1 - 5. Abigail can count to 1000 but the teacher can only says ' you count too fast'. You know, she could have said wow thats great...can you count a little slower for me so I can really hear the numbers?' but no - she just said she counts too fast!

This month they will learn colours like red, blue, black and white. They have learned the letters o u and p. They have learned to cut with scissors and hold a pencil...these are ALL things Abby has been doing for at least 2 years if not longer.

I understand that some of the children can't count to ten, don't know their alphabet and haven't learned the colours, but surely a teacher should be able to work with ALL her students and help them all to advance instead of learning instead to be bored.

the thing that breaks Abigails heart the most is that they won't let her do math - proper math...of course we had got her all excited about school all summer long saying how much fun it will be and she will get to do math every day (she LOVES math and will happily spend hours answering sums we write out for her - I know lol, weird kid!

Abigail is a February baby and we chose to hold her back a year - not because she wasn't ready academically or emotionally, but because with three older siblings we have experience of putting a child in early and we don't like what happens in later years. We knew it would be difficult now but we felt it would pay off in a few years.

Abigail says she wants to stay home and that we can just phone in and tell them she's sick....she says she doesn't want to go - she wants to stay home and do math and writing.

If we speak to the school they will probably suggest we put her into grade 1. We don't want to do that because of the above past experience.

The K teacher herself is not the easiest person to talk to - she is very much a 'them and us' teacher and speaks to the parents as thought they are stupid. I have already had a heated discussion with her over speech therapy. This teacher has a lot of rules - even for parent volunteers - the rules are insane and I feel like I'm in school! Its ridiculous!

So we don't know what to do. I am leaning towards returning to homeschool - just with Abigail - although my 14 year old is also considering returning to homeschool. DD in grade 4 loves school. DS in gr 7 isn't bothered either way lol!

My thinking is that if we homeschool her until grade 2 or so we can re-evaluate and by then the children in school will all be reading and writing and it will be a more even playing field...less chance of her being bored.

We thought she would enjoy the social side of school but I don't think she particularly cares for that either...the only friends she is interested in spending time with are those she sees out of school anyway.

We thought that just two days wouldn't matter - she could go and have fun but we would continue to do our own thing at home - we are always doing something (today they have been out in the chicken coop collecting eggs which they are now busy painting...my youngest DS is sick and we are stuck at home). Unfortunately it seems that those two days DO matter because they are changing Abigail from a little girl who LOVES to learn into a girl who 'hates' school and is bored - who sees teachers in the wrong light...who doesn't want to write any more because they are made to write boring things at school like pop again and again Rolling Eyes when she'd rather be writing her own thing.....

It sounds as though the answer is obvious - homeschool her - K isn't something they HAVE to do - they can skip it and go straight into Gr 1 - but will Gr 1 be any better? Is homeschooling the right thing to do? We will be living here next year and so if she goes into school she will go back to THAT school ( a good school otherwise) and I don't want this to go against her.

I'm rambling here...hope this all makes sense....any thoughts.....???

Todays art session...

The girls and Sam went to the coop and collected some eggs, washed them and then painted them - and then moved on to painting paper!

finger painting fun!

Sam with his work of art from todays painting session!

My girl :)

Abby Banana.....

oops

Lloyd took a small overnight case with him to TO and purposely packed it so that he could take it as hand luggage. Unfortunately because the snowglobe is full of water, they won't let him take it on board with him so it has to go in the hold......

Mission accomplished....

Lloyd has the snow globe in hand and is now heading to the airport through the busy TO streets....

:)

exciting month of learning....NOT

This coming month at kindergarten, the children will learn:

body parts like chin, fingernails, shoulder and wrist.

colours - red, blue, green, back and white

know the numbers 1 - 5 and match them to the correct number of objects

proper way to hold a pencil and cut with scissors

know the letters o, p and u.

so I guess theres no point sending Abigail for the whole of October.....I feel so sorry for her. It must be very frustrating and boring...and the newsletter doesn't mention what the teacher will do if the students already know all of this.....there is no alternative.

At least she has a week off of school in October while we go to Vancouver and Whistler.

on a mission..

Lloyds conference is over and it looks like he won't have to go back :) Right now he is in Toronto, on a mission to find me a Toronto snow globe :) then he is heading back to the airport for his flight - he won't be home until late though!!

Thank goodness for blackberries :) I have been able to chat with him throughout the conference and even now as he is wandering the streets of TO we are emailing back and forth :)

Cierasky...and Tanya!

Thank you for your offers of child care. Ideally I need someone close to home as DH has to collect the children in the afternoon on his way home from work. If we can't find anyone close to home then we will find someone in Sherwood Park. I need care from about 9am until about 5pm or 5:30pm on Wednesdays and Fridays.

I need someone flexible though who can do an extra day now and then if Lori is short staffed or extra busy near Christmas.

September = sick kids!!!!

Last Friday I had Laurence home with stomach flu....today Sam woke up and sneezed snot all over me - what a GREAT way to start the day lol! He was quite happy though - until mid morning and has since gone down hill. He is miserable. The pic above shows him now - the sucker is to take the taste of the medicine away...but he didn't even want the sucker (Val - as you know, this is NOT like Sam!)

So this morning we were up and ready to go to Lets Play - and now we aren't going...he is just an unhappy little boy and it wouldn't be fair on all the other children there today.

So we are having an at home day - though I have to drive into town later to take Chris to a birthday party sleepover...

Lloyd is in a conference all day today - basically its like a huge board meeting but with all the health boards from all the provinces there...and he is answering questions fired at him from everyone there...

They forecast flurries here tonight. I was hoping we would get through September without having even a flurry - doesn't look like that will happen! It won't stick around but its still depressing! Although pretty too of course!

My day...

I had a crazy busy day today....

Firstly, Lloyd woke me with coffee this morning and we sat and had coffee together before he left for the airport for his flight to Toronto.

After everyone left, I got up and saw that no one had done their chores - house was a mess and so I had to sweep and clean the kitchen and feed the animals and get Sam ready and then get showered and ready for me...then I realise Chris doesn't have the chips he needs for his school event at lunchtime - so I called Val to say I would be late and then ran and got some chips and went to the school and dropped them off......this meant me driving two detours as they are doing a lot of roadworks around here atm.

I finally made it to breakfast half an hour late (sorry Val) and breakfast was a little chaotic with Sam popping cream pots and playing with jam and Vals little guy throwing cheerios lol! Thank goodness for Grace - although the restaurant was soooo busy we didn't really get to chat with her....I wonder why it was so busy! We did though get LOTS of coffee refills and it was EXCELLENT coffee.

After breakfast we headed to 17th St...I followed Vals car so we arrived together. We went to Dollarama and - oh boy I love that store! I got so many stocking fillers and scrapbooking goodies and even some hats and scarves for Susies charity collection at school....I love that I can fill the cart up and it still doesn't come to much! I bought a few packs of their chipboard letters as I love them! $1 for the entire alphabet in glittery colours....

After there, we strolled over to the new Winners - the Grand opening is tomorrow but they were open for business today. I have never been lucky in there and have never found it very cheap...but today I found some FAB bargains...I refused to look anywhere but at the teen boys section as the boys really needed some sweaters - and boy did I find them some!

After that I decided I had spent far too much money ( I blame Val lol!) and so I said goodbye to Val and we headed into Sherwood Park. I stopped off at Samanthas house to leave something for her on her doorstep...then I ran to Sobeys and got a few groceries as Susie has a friend here this evening...Sam pushed the cart - one of those mini ones and he was soooo proud. We had a few collisions with displays lol but nothing too serious :)

Then we came home. I made some toast for Sam and I for a late lunch (it was 2pm by this time) and then we walked down the road to meet the school bus.

Much of this evening has been spent emailing Lloyd :) he is bored - had dinner with his colleague and now is in his hotel room.

I had a bath.....read for a while and then Sam came in and splashed around too...we got out, had pizza and now I am here doing this and have been looking at the Effer dares entries for The Last Scrapper Standing...wow - some AMAZING entries!!! I know a few people who have entered and their pages are gorgeous so I hope they get through this first round....Effer Dares cut out half of the entries each round so it can be difficult to get through! This round the dare was to use 8 transparencies on one page.

I think I'm going to switch off now and go to bed...Sam can fall asleep watching Treehouse while I sort laundry.

Tomorrow the weather isn't supposed to be very good, and the children have the day off of school, so I think maybe we will head to Lets Play for a few hours...the children can play and I can read :) Chris has a birthday party to go to tomorrow night. Lloyd won't be home until late tomorrow night. I think his plane lands around 10pm.......so he won't be home until 11pm.

I hate Lloyd being away....it feels like my right arm is missing....like I can cope and everything but just something is missing :(

on the subject....

...of homeschooling....Chris has been looking at his choices post-high school and he is thinking ahead to next year and High School choices. He is thinking of homeschooling grades 10 - 12.

He's mentioned it a few times.....I said its his choice and we'll support whatever he chooses.

A return to homeschooling??

Lloyd left for the airport at the same time as the children left for the bus this morning...he said that at the end of the drive Abigail told him she didn't want to go to school....he figured it was because he was leaving...but she told him that she is bored at school and that they won't let her do any math.

I told him she was fine and she was happy when she got home - so then I asked her a little later what she liked about school. She said she HATES school (this she emphasised by holding my face) and that its boring and she wants to do math but the teacher 'won't let her'.....

She is coming home with pages of a single letter that she has had to trace and she has to learn a song about each letter to help her learn the letter.

Abigail was doing this over two or three years ago....no wonder she's bored.

She doesn't need to learn a stupid song to remember her letters or their sounds...

I was hoping the teacher would be better able to handle a class of mixed abilities but it doesn't seem to matter if some children are reading and others aren't....she makes them all do the same thing. Its not a huge class - less than twenty...she has a helper EVERY day...

If we talk to the school they will probably act like we don't know what we are talking about - we are obviously parents who are pushy and want their child fast-tracked...which couldn't be further from the truth - we just want Abigail to continue to LOVE learning - at HER pace....

Anyway, I always thought this would be a problem. I don't want her put into grade 1 because I know that by grade 3 I will regret having her in a class with girls so much older.....we went through that with Susie.

So maybe we homeschool for a few years and then try school again....

We've said we will give it until November and go to parents evening and see what she says....if the teacher cant say anything positive about Abigail then we will remove her from class...I don't thinka teacher who can't say anything positive about a child is any good at all - no matter how long they've been teaching! I don't want to hear that 'Abigail counts to fast'....she could say 'Wow Abby you're a great counter - can you try that a little more slowly for me?'

Abigail loves to learn - she loves worksheets and doing 'work'...always has...and I want her to be able to continue to learn in the way that suits her...in the way she loves....

I thought two days a week wouldn't make much difference but it does :(

unbelievable

news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/in_pictures/7014750.stm

These pictures of German soldiers relaxing during their time off from Auschwitz turn my stomach :(

love...

Sam has been busy playing with playdough since we got home and he brought me a heart he had made for me :)

Far away...

So, Lloyd is two time zones away.....that means he's very VERY far away :( He landed safely though and is now at the hotel waiting for his colleagues to arrive.

I was sat in Mcdonalds today skimming the papers for childcare ads (no luck) and I recognised the lady that walked in and sat at the table beside me. Her Son was in preschool with Abigail last year! We sat and chatted for ages and I ended up being in there for two hours! The children were happily playing with their preschool friend so it worked out great. It was a really interesting conversation and has left me with a lot of food for thought!

Talking of food - it's date night tonight! Lloyd needs a few things to take to Toronto with him, so we are planning to have an early dinner and then do some shopping at SEC. I want to pop into the Running Room too as I have a few questions.

I'm glad we went out today - although it means I STILL haven't made my pumpkin loaf!

Learn stamping techniques online!

mycreativeclassroom.blogspot.com/

Donna from Scrappers Haven has started an online tutorial blog for stamping techniques..... What a great idea!


It's so nice to put a voice to the name and face too lol!

What on earth happened to the weather forecast for this week???? So Friday is going to be horrible - tomorrow is going to be lovely...today is supposed to 'nice' (and as I look out the window I see blue skies a-comin'!!!!!

So it doesn't look as though we will go to the zoo on Friday after all - maybe next week.

Job wise - I have told Lori that I would like to work Wednesdays and Fridays and alternate Saturdays. That I am away for a week in October and that all this is dependent on childcare (which is not proving easy to find. Basically all that I earn will go towards childcare lol! So now I am on the hunt for part time childcare - Wednesdays and Fridays - but flexible so that if I need to change my days or work an extra day then that would be ok.

There was a lady advertising on our mail box.....but the sign has gone so maybe they will have it at the store on the board...and the local paper comes out today so I will look in there too....

So...I might be working three days a week for minimum wage and paying more than I earn in childcare lol but I'm looking forward to it - it's a beautiful store. Lovely baby clothes, maternity bras, new baby gifts....elegant, unusual baby items....they have a play area for children, breastfeeding room....washroom...and hey - I certainly am an experienced Mom to know the products :) I haven't worked retail for YEARS but I used to really enjoy it :) Especially at Christmas! And working those two days mean s I can still do preschool after Christmas if I wnat to, can still help in Abigails class sometimes, can still (most importantly!) have breakfast with Val every Thursday morning :)

The drive home.....

Some of the Fall colours were so pretty on the way home that I stopped and snapped some pictures!

Zonked out....

After the playground, we went to Smittys for lunch - actually we had breakfast there but it was 1pm so its a little late even for brunch lol! I had a waffle and Sam had sausage and pancakes. The food was super fast and the service was GREAT!!

We went back to the car and I put my purse and keys up on the bit between the driver and passenger seats....went to grab Sam to put him in his seat and the door blew shut! I try to open the door and its locked!!! HOW?????? I must have knocked it with my elbow or something?? I don't know - I didn't think you could lock it without the key!

Anyhoo, I went back in to Smittys and borrowed their phone and called Lloyd and he gave me the code for the car. It wouldn't work!!!! He told me to press each button twice if I wanted the second number.....I couldn't believe it - my day had been going so well, but luckily I was in a good mood and felt like it was just funny more than anything!

Thankfully, my old neighbour Lori owns a baby store just around the corner from Smittys - the store only moved there a few weeks ago PHEW!!! So I walked around to Baby and Beyond and asked for Lori! We chatted and she let me borrow her phone to phone Lloyd - she didn't know what to do either lol. Anyway, we are chatting and a lady in the store says she knows how to get into my car - so she tells me how to key in the code - I try it and it works PHEW (another PHEW!!!)

So I get into the car and get my purse and keys and we head back to the store to say thank you and to say goodbye to Lori. I also took the time to choose a little something for a certain someone while I was there.....

While I was paying, Lori offers me a job! They need staff and can give me hours to suit.....they don't open evenings or Sundays or holidays. Perfect! So I need to figure out childcare for Sam and she said I can work Tuesdays and Thursdays if I want - while Abby is at school - or as often as I like! They mainly want someone over the lunchtime hours as they can't take a lunch break right now!

So now I am home and the lady isn't coming for the chickens today - they will be going Sunday or next Tuesday instead......the kids are all back from school...Lloyd is on his way home. Lasagna is in the oven and we have a lovely salad in the fridge.

Tonight we will watch 3 more episodes of Greys Anatomy. Georges Dad died last night and it was just so so sad. Lloyd asked if I needed the box of tissues - my sleeves were soggy from drying my eyes! We have to get done in time for the new series which starts on Thursday night!

Lloyd leaves for Toronto on Thursday morning - the flights are booked.

Climbing and sliding....

Sam had fun in the playground after our swim....there were only two other Moms in there so I chatted with one of them for a little while and then the staff member there came over and chatted for a while as she was bored as there was no one there. The last time we were at MP, the school holidays were still on and it was CRAZY busy!!! So this was a nice change :)

Just keep swimming......

This morning Sam and I headed to Millennium Place and went swimming. The pool has been closed for three weeks and reopened yesterday. There were 5 moms in the pool and their babies/ preschoolers and that was it - so we had lots of space and lots of fun - we were in there for 1 1/2 hours and Sam still didn't want to get out - I had to bribe him with food lol!

Fall morning.....

the apples post...

How'd you like them apples? This phrase always reminds me of Matt Damon and the bar scene from Good Will Hunting.

Great scene from a GREAT movie!

How'd you like THEM apples??

Apples are 58c in Sobeys which is a fabby price! Not sure if thats a kg or a pound...I forget what stores price it by.....but its cheap anyway - apples are quite expensive here sometimes....where as bananas are alsways soooo cheap! Anyway.....yesterday we bought a LOT of apples - and they had tiny little ones which are perfect for Abigail and Sam :) And Charlie!! Charlie loves her daily apple!

Inky fingers...

My fingers are all inky as I have spent the afternoon experimenting with my Distress Ink and chipboard and different papers and card stock. All my finger nails are brown...yuck - it looks as though I haven't bathed in a year!!! Fun though :) I'm loving what you can do with this stuff!!!

The Gay Soccer World Cup

So the Gay soccer world cup kicks off today....and I have to say this bothers me - it's in its 17th year so I guess its a success...but I just don't get why they need to have a Gay Soccer World Cup.

To me it just seems wrong. Gay people should be seen as just a part of the every day community and be part of soccer generally - I just think that having a separate world cup for homosexual people still separates and creates a 'them and us'.....

Wouldn't it be a better world if being gay wasn't such a big 'different' thing but just a normal part of life.....why make a big thing about it? Does that help? I don't think so.

There is a show over here that I love - it's called Open House America - and basically each episode shows three different US cities and then shows you what you can buy for various price ranges.....almost every episode there is a gay couple showing them home and talking about the renos and how much money they have made on their property...I love this - I love that they don't come across as the 'token gay couple' but are just a normal part of the show - which is how it should be....I love that it shows a real mix of families on that show from across the US. Thats how it should be :)

So I'm sorry but I don't think things like Gay Soccer World Cups do anything to help homosexuality become a normal part of our lives an dour community...it just makes 'them' stick out like sore thumbs again.....and yes I do say 'them' because thats how it seems to deal with what should be a normal part of life.

Monday

So the weather forecast has changed and so my plans for each day have changed....we'll head to the zoo on Friday to enjoy the gorgeous weather!

Today is my sister Karens 42nd birthday....you all know her as 'Commode' who posts comments sometimes. Happy Birthday!

I found out last night that some of my layouts and altered items have been in the newsletter at SH over the last few months - I had no idea!!!! How exciting :) Thank you Donna - I guess I feel extra proud because the talent at SH is soooo amazing that for my layouts or items to be in the newsletter is just amazing!!! Truly amazing!

I'm sad today. Today is my chickens last full day of life possibly. Tomorrow a lady is coming to get them all and they will be butchered for her freezer. We know we can't keep them - or at least there is no point in keeping them...but its sad all the same. They are layers but they are starting to lay less...it was difficult to keep them through the winter last year and then we were told that people here don't do that anyway - they have them through the summer for eggs and then they are butchered for the meat in Fall. We can't bring ourselves to eat them - or even kill them - so I am very grateful that someone else is happy to have them and will have a freezer full for her family!

I got a post-it note on the monitor this morning - Chris apologising for over sleeping and not doing his chore before school (he was on dishwasher duty)

3 days until Lloyd heads to Toronto.

Ok I have to get a few chores done as we are heading out at lunchtime!

great link

www.marthastewart.com and click on good mood foods


Marthas show last week was about eating to relax you and destress yourself! It was really interesting and the above link covers basically everything they mentioned. They also mentioned 'snackpacks' and how they have created several ideas for 100 calorie snack packs that you can grab when stressed or hungry or on the go to help deal with life! Its in this months Body and Soul magazine too but you can read about those by clicking on the snack packs link on Marthas home page.

Plans

Monday - (zoo moved until Friday as weather set to be 21c)

Tuesday - swimming then Val and friend are coming over for chickens

Wednesday - library and Broadmoor Lake playground OR Miquelon Lake playground with ALL kids after early-out

Thursday - breakfast with Val then pet store and the new Dollarama with Sam. Collect my Run for the Cure run kit in the evening and maybe take the kids to MP for a while.

Friday - Zoo with all children (no school) maybe swimming or Lets play or movies in evening.

This is my plan for the week....I want to stay busy. If anyone feels like joining us for any of the above just let me know :)

My newest favourite blog!

http://lifeaslou.blogsome.com/

And doesn't the blog author have the most amazing eyes?????

Oh and guess what I'm baking tomorrow....... ;)

Finished.....

I finally finished My Sisters Keeper. What a great book - what a great twist at the end.....I really enjoyed this look into the lives of a family with difficult choices to make....

Read it!

Hhhmmmmm so what shall I read next? I think I'm going into Chapters tomorrow to get A Recipe for Bees.....or Turtle Valley. Or maybe Nineteen Minutes.....

Any recommendations for a good book? What are you reading right now?

This makes the news!

news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/cornwall/7009461.stm

I thought this was interesting. Alpacas are being used for the first time in the UK to protect animals on farms....

Alpacas and Llamas are a common sight here in Alberta...most farms have one or two.....some farms still have donkeys but most have alpacas...they guard against coyotes etc....and even people! The field opposite our house has an Alpaca protecting the cows....if you walk up to the fence the alpaca is quick to walk over and glare at you!

About five minutes from us there is an Alpaca farm with fields full of these gorgeous but unusual animals. Have you ever felt one? They are so cuddly and soft!

There is a ranch close to here that uses alpacas in their therapy program for people with ADHD and autism etc etc.....

Funny signs.....

news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/in_pictures/7006446.stm

Happy Birthday Oliver

Happy 16th Birthday to my Nephew Oliver!

Hope you have had a great day :)

My first acrylic album!!!

So I started my very first attempt at an acrylic mini album!!!! It's trickier than it looks because you have to make sure that one picture backs on to another the same shape and size - the same with embellishments because they can be seen from both sides and through multiple pages......it's really fun though. I used acetate sheets to cut clouds and then inked them with white ink around the egdges to match the clouds in the skies in the pictures!!!!

I've only done a few pages and they aren't embellished yet but I'm really enjoying this new style of scrapbooking :)

Fall colours.....