I have been very busy...

holding,

cuddling,

squeezing,

kissing,

cherishing,

and thanking the Lord for this little bundle of cuteness.

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Our new little guy showed up on July 23rd, 2010 at 12:20 am.

He weighed 7lbs 9oz and has big feet :)

2 hours of labour

(yes, you read that right)

and one push and we had our newest little man in our arms.

Our kids just love him!

What a blessing.

A lot of prayers, (my own and from others),

went into the making of a beautiful birthing experience.

There is nothing better than seeing the richness of the blessings the Lord doles out.

Nothing.

I feel great and am enjoying some downtime with the family.

but I'll be back soon with more details.

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And thank you to those of you that have encouraged me the last few months.

It means alot.

Good news and some crafty goodness

First the GOOD NEWS!!!

I'm 3 centimetres dilated!!!

Yay!

this baby is on it's way soon!

Now, an udate into the crafty goodness around here as this will probably be my last post until after baby #3 joins our family....

I finished my quilt!

and it's at the quilters and I should have it back by the end of the week!

Here is the top:
and here is the backing:

i chose to have it professionally quilted because my hubby wanted it to have a soft cuddly scrunchy look and I can only do straight quilting.

Can't wait to bind it and throw it in the wash!

Pumpkin is attending her first ever real birthday party!

I saw this post on Bridget's blog, Everyday Chaos, in the morning and by the afternoon I had a gift!

Yeah!

It's getting sunny around here and the kids were due for Big Kid sunglasses.

I had seen this idea on Disney's blog (which sadly she is no longer writing)

and bought me some potholders.

Jazzed them up and instant sunglass cases!

and best of all--

No scratched lenses!!

Lastly I bought a pair of jeans for Pumpkin hoping they would fit.

no such luck. too short!

So they instantly

(or should I say after I decided what to do with them)

became some super ruffly and fun capris!
they were so easy and she gets lots of compliments!

So there you have it!

hopefully the next time we talk these 2 will have a new sibling!!

Wish me luck!

as the days creep by

I am greeted by stares lately.

Gaping mouths.

Hoots and hollers across parking lots of

"You're still HERE?!"

Or,

"You haven't had that baby yet???!"
No I haven't.

I guess this is the life of an overdue mama.

I'm only 3 days overdue.
Not so bad.
Who am I to say that this babe is actually overdue?

It says in the Bible that only the Lord knows the hour of our birth.
I'm trusting His plan for this baby.
It's hard though.

I find myself anxious in these last days.
Wondering when, how, and what to do when it all happens.

I LOVE being pregant.
honestly.
I could do this for another couple of months.

so we'll see.
I would like to know whether we're having a boy or a girl however...
I'm sure this child will arrive before it's 13th birthday...
and with a small head, if you don't mind.
Please and thankyou.

Mostly we are just so excited to meet this new little person
of whom we have struggled over names for the last 9 months.

Lord, help me to be patient.
Accept your timing.
Help me to have peace.

Welcome BABY!
We're waiting on you :)

progress...

ready to be pieced....

I'm loving how quickly these HST blocks come together...

this is one Cotton Blossoms layer cake and 6 extra squares of fabric...

(my layer cake was missing 4 squares)

We'll see how I like it once it's all pieced :)

Bob the Builder Birthday Party!

Can we Party?!

YES WE CAN!!

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Well, as you can tell, I'm still hanging in there.

My water did not break during the birthday party,

thankfully.

And we made it through!

First off,

the cake.

Now I know you saw my part the other day,

but check out BOB!!!

My friend, Laurie,

truly outdid herself!!

He is clearly well put together and totally made the cake special!

and was a total hit with our own Bob the Builder!

My portion of the cake was a bit of fussin', but worth it!

I used a great tutorial found on FamilyFun.com.

They have SUPER cake ideas!

and often show videos of how to do it.

I just looked at a picture of SCOOP and tried to adapt this tutorial to recreate him.

The toughest part was trying to frost a twinkie!

Definately freeze them first!!

All the kids and parents met us at the free splash pad in town.

It was very warm and the kids loved the water.

I brought colouring sheets and crayons in a dump truck.

and mod podged rocks with our favourite characters to hold down the napkins/plates and papers so they wouldn't fly away.

Lastly, before everyone left, we had a pinata!

here it is after the party still in one piece.

Why?

because it wasn't a pinata you hit--

it had a trap door!!!!

the kids pulled on the caution tape strips one by one.

they fall right out unless you pull the one that opens the door

and WHAM!

Candy for all!!!

the kids and the moms loved it!

I got the idea on familyfun.com as well.

HERE.

but did a few things differently.

the thing that made it the easiest was that I had bought adhesive caution tape at the dollar store.

Saved my butt that tape did!!

and made decorating the park a breeze because I didn't need to "tape" my caution tape.

It just stuck to whatever I put it on!!

All in all a great day!

And now onto having this baby.....

Here's the SCOOP!

SCOOP the Backhoe that is...

More to come....

that is, if my water doesn't break while throwing a birthday party for my 3 year old!

fingers crossed :)

teacher appreciation

Pumpkin has officially finished Senior Kindergarten.

How did this happen?

Where did the time go?

Is it possible that she will be in Grade 1 next year??

Wow!

I just realized that....I'm getting old!

Pumpkin's year was a great one.

She grew in stature, goodness, kindness, mind, body and spirit.

She's made friends that have made a difference in her life and shaped her into a forgiving and caring friend.

She's made mistakes and learned from them.

She's become bigger than life.

I wanted to thank her teacher's in a personal way as they have touched Pumpkin in a personal way on her road to becoming who she is.

They have families they love and enjoy family time with. Just as we do in our home.

So what better thing for them to share with their families than

a Super Sundae in a Jar Party!

Layer a large jar (I used a pickle one)

With all sorts of YUMMY sundae toppings...

Our list included peanuts, M&M's, chocolate caramel balls (Rolo's), mini coloured marshmallows, gummie bears and worms, butterscotch chips, sprinkles, toffee bits (Skor bits), mini oreos/cookies, etc....

I made my favourite homemade hot fudge sauce and gourmet peanut butter sauce.

Used scrapbooking papers and some clipart to decorate the jars...don't forget the Mod Podge!

And...VOILA!

All they have to do is dump the toppings in a bowl and add a spoon for easy sprinkling,

warm up some sundae sauces,

add some ice cream, whipped cream and a cherry and they're set!

I think these gifts were a hit!

Goodbye Senior Kindergarten--

HELLO SUMMER!!!

Happy Father's Day

I wish I could wish my dad a Happy Father's Day,

but I can't.

I do have lots of good memories of him which warm me on days when I feel lonely to talk to him.

And I'm a LOT like him.

in so many ways.

My dad was a ham bone! in a good way!

He was funny and silly and everyone laughed when he was around.

I happen to think I'm just as outgoing as he was

(--except I wear a one piece in the pool)

He LOVED to dance and he was a good dancer!

He and my mom could really dance it up.

Often others would stop dancing just to watch my parents on the dance floor.

my dad used to hold me and dance me around the room

to Kenny Rogers "The Gambler"

When I got older, he'd let me stand on his feet.

I loved dancing with him.

He worked at a hospital where literally it felt like EVERYONE knew who he was.

As a child the most remarkable thing about that to me was

that he cared more and spoke more often

to the "little" people than he did about all the prominent doctors in the world.

He loved the cleaning ladies and cafeteria ladies, the orderlies and his patients.

He chatted them up, knew their names and truly cared about them.

He always remembered little details about them.

I too learned from his example that everyone is important and worthwhile.

No matter their title or place in life.

Daddy was just plain fun!

He was always with us kids.

He didn't just sit around like the other adults.

It always felt like he enjoyed being with us almost more.

He never rushed me.

Or lost his patience.

He truly loved.

I aim to do the same.

Happy Father's Day to all the dad's in your life

living with us and in our hearts.

Mother's Day

Mother's Day was so special for me this year.

It was the first year Hubby really included the kids

in things.

Pumpkin and Bubby made their own cards this year

which I big puffy heart!

Pumpkin had crafts from school that she had made that were wonderful.

Bubby drew snakes in my card-- and I have to say,

even though he's only 2 1/2 you could actually

say they were snakes :)

Then Hubby took them to buy mommy a special book.

A special book from my favourite used bookstore!

I just love Sophie Kinsella and have the rest of the series except this first one.

Pumpkin said they even got to pay and you could tell that that was a big deal to her.

Then there was the big gift which daddy clearly got in on but I don't mind...

no don't mind at all!

Pedicures are one of my favourite luxuries and he knows it!

Especially when I'm prego.

Not bad eh?

(yes. my feet are small)

The nail colour is "I'm not really a waitress" by OPI.

I wore it on our wedding day.

Hubby bought me a bottle of it on our honeymoon.

Love this colour.

so....

I didn't get a new mousepad...

but I got something so much more...

My family.

crazy busy. crazy fun.

yes. okay.

Where do I begin?

the last months have been...

ummm...

eventful...

to say the very least.

Between dentist appointments for my two year old...

why you ask?

ummmm--he took a bite out of our fireplace and is now missing his 2 front teeth :(

makes me sad...

and then what else?

oh! he's potty trained!!!!

WHEEE!

so toothless and potty trained...

Pumpkin had no bus driver for nearly a month so...

hi ho hi ho, it's off to school I go--twice a day!

and something called the Battle of the Books--

TRUST ME--it truly was a battle.

read 10 books,

make 100 questions each... (per book)

yeah,

have no life as a result!

(I did have help--lots of it!)

AND

my team won!

wooo hoooo!

and of course, I'm still pregnant.

So there you have it.

Nutshell.

Tip of the week: On a roll

Bacon.

I love it.

Especially when I'm pregnant.

YUM!

But our family doesn't eat a whole pound of it in one sitting.

And I have a few recipes that only require 3 or 4 slices....

You too?

Well here is your answer--

Roll it, Freeze it and use it at will!

See how cute it is all frozen and in your pan?





Start with fresh bacon.
A container to freeze it in
(I use a tupperware hotdog container).

Open bacon and lay one piece out like so.



then roll from end to end.


yes--it can be a bit tedious--but it's such a time saver and money saver it's worth it!






And this is why you had children, anyways.
to help you roll bacon :)





Place each completed roll in the container. Nice and snug.

Ta Da!

Freeze.

Pull out what's needed when it's needed.

As my 5 year old says,

easy peasy, lemon squeezy!

Faith Like Potatoes

Watching this with the youth from our church today...



POWERFUL!

We open our home twice a month to 10-15 rowdy teenagers and feed them.
We normally do a bible study.
Right now we are focused on the book by Jerry Brydges
"Respectable Sins"

It is also powerful.

It is changing how I live my life.

Seriously.

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On another note, I know I haven't been around much lately but I've had a bit going on....

be back tomorrow with an update :)

All popped up and ready to go

It's no secret that I was floundering for ideas for pumpkins class for Valentine's Day after what I like to call the big candy cane fiasco!

And good old blog land came through for me once again.

Thank you to you all that sent me emails with ideas.

I so appreciated them.

I nearly made these ...

and I still might...

But then I came across this post

and like a bolt of lightning I was inspired!

What little girl doesn't like

ELECTRIC PINK POPCORN!

thanks to Alish and Whitney at Sisters' Stuff, I was on my way...

then in a moment of genious and a conversation with my mother...

We took it up a notch and added drizzled white chocolate and pink M&M's

Packaged so neatly with sandwich bag goody labels by the so talented Amy at Living Locurto
found here




oh the simpleness.
oh the completeness.
Oh the thankfulness for the simpleness and the completeness.



A big thank you to those that aided in making my 5 year old's Valentine's Day treat a success.

I am Super Mom once more...
for now....

3 things I've learned today...

Number 1:

These,

however cute they are...

are harder than they look... (tutorial here)
Do you think pumpkin's class could share one?


Number 2:
Laundry does not do itself...
technically I already knew this
and yet I still wait in anticipation for the laundry fairy to drop by...

Hey--there's a tooth fairy--why not a laundry fairy?


Number 3:
Supper, not unlike the aforementioned laundry,
does not make itself...
I guess I'd better stop fussing with those candy canes
and come up with something for dinner...
any ideas?

Did I say come back "tomorrow"?

UHHHHH.... Yeah.
"Tomorrow" is only a figure of speech around here

like when hubby says,

"Hon, could you iron my shirt?"

"Ummm...yeah, I'll do it tomorrow..."

he irons his own shirts.

Onto the bathroom remodel.

mmmmm.... peachy....

although everything went

including the toilet and the tub

(I liked the avocado colour--hubby did NOT)

we did repurpose that cool mirror into the kids bathroom...

Good bye avocado...
Hello master bath surround and snazzy new shower!

they made a hole in the master bedroom closet

...don't know why...

It's got to be some..um...plumbing thing..

busted our the ceiling as there were no fans in either of the bathrooms

so we had to bring it up to code.

they were just going to patch up a few holes...

oh heck!

let's just take it all back to the studs!

Why not!

I was not initially party to the above mentioned decision to

evacuate all the plaster walls in my bathroom..

but by the time I saw it we were already looking good again!

Whew!

There used to be a linen closet here and one day they decided we needed more room...

so at 10 to 4pm they started rippin' her out!

again, not my call but now I'm so glad hubby and the designers did it!

mmmm.... yummy colours!

hubby no likey, even now....

but I really do!

Lovely ceramic

his and hers pedestal sinks

Lovely cabinets from Bed, Bath and Beyond

and my lovely matching toilet!

Not the initial lighting choice... however I'm very happy now.

I really wanted some pendants
but there just wasn't enough room to pull it off :(

TA DA!!!!

Sorry about the clutter...

but we live here!

And I know one of you decorating police (or my designer)

are going to show up at my door ranting about how my towels don't match,

but I just can't bring myself to spend $$ on towels when I have some!

I know, I'm so cheap!

Stay tuned and we'll look at the living/dining room extravaganza!

and then the kids bathroom--but that one is still in the decorating stage...