My Parents

Describe your relationship with your parents.

Mom, Dad and I - Jack Astor's Dec, 2011
As I mentioned in my previous post, I have the best parents a girl could ask for. My parents are loving, supportive, encouraging, and fun.

For as long as I remember, I only have wonderful memories and thoughts of my parents. Family trips to the cottage or to my grandparents trailer, fun in the backyard on the swingset, slip n slide or later in our pool. They were always at school events and took an active role in the school council. They took the time to get to know our friends and their parents. They were fun and in turn, we had fun.

As a teenager/young adult - I loved spending time with my parents - not many people can say that. I enjoyed quiet time in the evenings with them, just sitting chatting...or heading out to stag and does and dancing the night away. Who can say they enjoy "partying" with their parents. The king and queen of the dancefloor everywhere we go - we always had a ball when we got to go to events with them. I still look forward to those fun times together.

Now, as a parent, I appreciate them even more. Being a parent is the hardest job in the world. I struggle every day thinking I am not being the best parent I can be - which makes me appreciate all they did for me and my sister - being the best parents they could be.

The next best thing about having you as my parents, is that my children get to have you as their grandparents!

Mom & Dad, I do not say it enough - but I appreciate and cherish you more than I can ever express. I love you!

20 Random Things

20 Random Things About Me!

1. I am a shortie. 5'3"
2. I love diet coke.
3. I am a huge Beatles fan. I love Ringo. (It is making me so happy that my children are enjoying their music - they always ask for it on in the car <3)
4. I have short toes - they make me self conscious.
5. I love Pitas.
6. I love to travel to hot locations. I have been to Hawaii, Dominican Republic x2, Puerto Rico, Mexico.
This is harder than I thought it would be.....
7. I love reality TV - American Idol, Big Brother are my favourites.
8. I struggle with self esteem - my weight has a lot to do with it. Wish I could just be happy with myself.
9. I would love to work in the school board as a ECE in the kindergarten classes or as an educational assistant.
10. I love to dance - love the occasional night out in the club.
11. I'm addicted to my laptop and social networking. Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest...so many things to occupy my attention.
12. I have a soft spot for late 80s/90s Kevin Costner. Field of Dreams, Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, Bodyguard. He was so handsome.
13. I can touch my nose with my tongue - and stick my entire fist in my mouth - the last one is definitely a drunken party trick.
14. I have lived in 4 homes in my life. Home#1 1978-1980. Home#2 1980-2002.(My parents still live in my childhood home) Home#3 2002-2008 and Home#4 2008 - ????
15. I play flute. I was in the band in grades 7 and 8...and in grades 10-OAC. Yes, I was a band geek =D
16. I didn't like seafood up until I got married - my husband has introduced me to so many yummy things. So happy he encouraged me to try it.
17. I get exceptionally crabby when tired or stressed.
18. I love to sing, but am not good at it. I wish I could.
19. My laugh changed when I was pregnant...now it is a lot louder than it used to be.
20. I have the best parents a girl could ask for.

August Challenge

I haven't been the best at updating my blog - so I'm giving myself another challenge. I found a neat list of 30 random things on Cherishing Hopes & Dreams and I figured it would be a great list of things to write about for my August challenge.

Funny Things Kids Say

Just a cute story I had to share:
Monday, Buddaroo announced that he had to use the bathroom - um, to go...."poopoo" as he would call it. So, off he went and I told him to call me when he was done.

After a few minutes of listening to him grunt like crazy, I asked him if he was all done. And this was his answer:

"Let me check out my body. (lifts up his shirt) My belly button is calm. My nipple is calm. My other nipple is calm. My belly is calm. Yup! I'm done"

I was dying! Seriously, where the heck do kids come up with stuff like this? Hilarious.

Recipe: Chipotle Mayo

I wanted to share with you a yummy recipe - I made a Chipotle Mayo that was fantastic with our sweet potato fries last night. It was a huge hit and was really easy to make - Buddaroo loved it for his fries and his chicken strips.

Mix together:
* 1c. Mayonnaise
* Juice from 1 lime
* 3 tbsp. of Honey
* 1-3 tbsp. Chipotle chili powder.

Refrigerate until serving.

I'm sure this would go well as a mayo for wraps or sandwiches, as well. If you decide to try it, let me know how you like, or not?

Enjoy!!!!!

Oh Ya, Baby!

74 DAYS TIL THE COTTAGE

Just throwing it out there ;)

A gift from my boy

Today I received my very first school made Mother's Day present from Buddaroo. At preschool last week, the kids got to paint a flower pot. He was so excited to tell me that they were making something special for me for Mother's Day. I was a duty parent today, so I was actually helping the children finish up these lovely pots - but stepped aside while he finished off his lovely gift.

Once we got home, I opened it up to reveal a lovely orange painted pot with a beautiful marigold planted inside. I love it! And I love him. And HoneyPie. SO very much. I am one lucky mom!!!!!

Creating My Own Wall-Art

I am definitely not an artist, but when I saw this post Two Girls Being Crafty via Pinterest (yet another crafty item from that wonderful site), I decided to give creating my own wall-art a try.

I made a run to Michaels and picked up some supplies
* 16x20 canvas (yay for a 50% sale - perfect timing)
* brown acrylic paint pen
* acrylic paints
I used Martha Stewart multi surface Satin acrylic paints (only chose this brand because they were 30% off)
* round sponges in 3 different sizes.

I started this morning by taking my canvas and painting it with "Summer Linen" - the white was just a bit too stark, the creamy colour made it look just a little warmer. I used a small paint brush to cover the canvas...don't forget to do the sides, too ;)

The paint did not take long to dry, so about an hour later, I started drawing, with my paint pen, a variety of branches. It was recommended to use a paint pen, for us non-artsy types - I don't think I would've had the same precision with a paint brush. This was fun to do - made me feel artsy. My sister got that bulk of the art gene, sadly.

While the kids were napping, I decided to start adding colour to my painting. This was the fun part. I used a variety of colours that I felt would go well with my dining room/living room. The colours I used were Habanera, Geranium, Yellow Jacket, Green Olive and Scallion. I just dabbed my round sponges into the paint and then placed them sporadically around the canvas.

I am very happy with the finished product - What do you think? Right now I have it placed on our beige wall - but may move it over a tad onto our brick coloured accent wall - not sure.

Another successful crafty creation from Pinterest - man, I love that site. And if you have time - check out Two Girls Being Crafty - they have some great things to make on their site...I can't wait to check out more of their posts.

April 26, 2012 - Birthday Card

We've been invited to a 1st birthday party for a little sweetie that lives on our street...and seeing as it's been a while since I put my scrapbook desk and Cricut to use, I decided to make this little princess a birthday card.

I found a similar card while searching on google and decided to create my own with my own personal touches.

The Cricut cartridges I used for this card are
* Create A Critter - for the hippo, and flowers (which are a layer option of the cute little rabbit)
* Cuttin' Up - letters for her name
* Plantin SchoolBook - for the number 1

I used scraps for the paper - sorry I don't have names for the printed paper like some scrapbooking websites do. You could use any combination of colours and patterns for this type of card.

I love the look of different patterns together - Not sure if you can see, but the light pink layer of the hippo is embossed with little hearts - adds a bit of dimension to it. I also used small adhesive squares to maker he hippo stand out a little more.

The brads I used were from the Making Memories line which I purchased at Michaels. I love using things like brads and eyelets - they are so easy to use and add a touch of colour, texture and charm to your cards or scrapbook layouts.

I love making cards for my friends and family...so much fun!

April 18, 2012 - Being a Mom

Being a mom is the hardest job, but it is the best job.
This is a beautiful video - Grab a tissue, Moms.