We Survived... the First Week of School

Well, we have gotten the first week of school out of the way and all is still right in the world! The kids all like their teachers and are happy with their classes. Chloe and Liam were excited to go back and see the friends they missed over the summer. This year, Liam is in grade one! It makes me want to cry. It is a big year for him. He was always in an all day class but this year he makes the transition from school twice a week to school everyday. He was so excited that he doesn't have to stay in the kindergarten yard anymore. He is now free to roam and play with friends he couldn't get to before. I think he is also happy to be able to see Justin and Chloe.

I hope that their enthusiasm for school keeps up all year long. I can say that Liam and Chloe were exhausted by the end of this week. Liam was SO grumpy Thursday night! Last night they wanted to stay up and watch Princess Protection Program on tv. Poor Liam was sitting on my lap and he kept squirming trying to get comfy. He took only a few minutes to fall asleep after the movie, which for Liam is a miracle.

I also snapped these photos with my iPhone on the way to the bus stop later in the week.

Let's hope those cute faces are still smiling next week!! Enjoy your weekend

Deb

Another Day of Fun

Shane's conference started today, so the kids and I spent the day entertaining ourselves.

Today, I am remembering:

1. exploring with the kids.
2. enjoying a hot tea with milk
3. sitting inside our hotel beside a waterfall playing go fish and crazy 8's with the kids
4. spending time with Shane while he had a break from his conference schedule
5. taking the kids to the pool
6. watching Justin, Chloe, and Liam play and laugh together for hours
7. lounging by the pool reading a book while they played
8. watching Chloe do so well with her swimming
9. going to TGI Friday for dinner
10. finding a JoAnn 's Craft Store by the TGI Friday
11. also finding a Hobby Lobby across the street from the TGI Friday
12. remembering to be thankful that we have this great opportunity to experience all of this together



I hope that everyone out there is having a wonderful time, wherever they are, whatever they are doing.

Thanks for stopping by. Have a great night.

Deb

Hello from Nashville!

Hi Y'all. Sorry I couldn't help myself, it is so exciting to be here! We left yesterday and made the whole trip in one day. We spent 15 hours travelling yesterday (by car) and I have to tell you that my kids were GREAT!!!! Shane and I were so pleasantly surprised that not one of them complained at all. They sat in the car quietly without fighting or even getting too restless. Of course we got a few "are we there yets" but even that was minimal. We loaded them up with activities to keep them busy. We had colouring, movies, Nintendo ds, a tablet, a notebook, and some books. I have to say that going to the mall near us can be more painful than this drive was!

Since we didn't break the drive up into two days, we didn't stop anywhere along the way to look around. We have made note of a few places we would like to stop and see on the way home next weekend. We will see, hopefully we will take our time and stop along the way but by then we may just want to get home.

We arrived a day early, so naturally we had today to get out and look around a bit. We went to Ihop for brunch (the kids were so tired they didn't even stir this morning until I cracked the curtains open a little and let the sun into the room). We inadvertently found a mall when we found Ihop so we went to check it out. Chloe got a few new things from Macy's to wear back to school. We may go back later in the week so I can pick up a few things that I saw (we will see, it depends on how much I spend before then! LOL).

When we got back to the hotel, we went to register Shane for his conference. We toured the hotel a bit (the conference is at the Gaylord Opryland Hotel) and found a shop that sells Haagen-Dazs ice cream by the cone! We can't get that anywhere at home. Sorry that the pictures below aren't great. I took them with my iPhone and I only had one hand free so the phone was a little shaky. Both pictures were taken inside the hotel.



The kids enjoyed swimming in the indoor pool before going to get something to eat. We decided to try out a place in the hotel called Stax where you build your own burgers. The burgers were huge (each had 2 patties-and they offer more if you want!!!!!) I could barely get it out of the box without it falling apart, let alone get my mouth around it!

It is now 9:45pm and the kids are chilling in bed watching tv. Tomorrow Shane's conference starts so he will be gone from 8AM until 5PM. Could be a long day with the kids but I imagine we will occupy ourselves by the pool for a couple of hours and maybe do some more exploring.

This hotel is amazing and there are some awesome areas in here. So many places that would be great for taking pictures of the kids. I am planning on finding some time to do that too this week. I will keep in touch and let you know how things are going here.

Have a great night.

Deb

New Canvas Preview

Hello there. I have finally finished the canvas that I started at least a month ago. Several months ago we finally started giving our main floor an overhaul by painting the walls. Unfortunately we haven't finished yet since we have cathedral ceilings in our living room and neither myself, nor Shane, are too keen on going up there to paint! We still haven't put anything back up on the walls that are finished, partly because I wanted to make sure that the walls were REALLY dry. Paint tends to not really dry well in this house (the couch in the basement still sticks to the wall if it gets pushed up against it and that room was painted years ago).

The other reason for not putting anything up is that I got it in my head that maybe I should just paint something to go up there. It would have to be large enough to look decent on the wall so I picked out a nice big 24"X30" canvas and then I let it sit there...afraid to start. Then I got up the nerve and created the background and I really liked it so again it sat there for a while untouched...afraid to mess up what I had already done. And so the process continued until yesterday when I put the final coat of varnish on it. It isn't a masterpiece and is maybe a little more whimsical than I had originally wanted it to be but, I like it and Shane likes it (and is willing to have it displayed in our home) so I guess that is all that matters.

Here is a peak at part of it. I will post a full picture of it once it is up on the wall. Hopefully it won't take as long to get it hung up as it took me to paint it! LOL.

The photo is pretty dark in places but I took it with the hipstamatic app on my iphone. I love this app. 

I am also working on putting together a mini book (Ali Edward's Scrapbook on the Road) to take with us on our trip to Nashville soon. I will post pics of that when I get it all together.

Until then, I hope everyone is having a great day. The clouds are moving in here and the sky is getting gray which makes it a perfect guilt free day to be creative. Enjoy!

Deb

Vacation Pictures

Hi Everyone. I thought that I would pop in today and share a few pictures from our vacation that just ended. It was more of a stay-cation than anything but we did make a few small trips.

At the end of our first week, we went up to Ottawa and stayed for a couple of days. It was really nice to get away for a while. If you ask my kids what their favourite part was they would all unanimously agree (which happens so rarely) that the pool at the hotel was the best part. They spent at least an hour or two in it both evenings that we were there. The best part: doing canon balls (and a few belly flops) into the pool!

Also while in Ottawa, Shane wanted to visit some of the museums. We went to the War Museum and the Aviation Museum. Shane thought both were great. The kids liked parts of the war museum but were much more interested in all the planes at the aviation museum. Liam has loved planes his whole young life (at least since he could tell us anyway) and he was in Heaven at the aviation museum. He followed Shane around and listened to everything that his dad had to say to him. Then he would find his sister and repeat what he had just been told. It made my day just to watch is excitement and enthusiasm! There were a few cockpits that you could go into and see what they looked like inside. Shane and Liam were in their glory. Liam was so interested and in awe that we had a really hard time getting him out of the cockpits each time. I loved to see the amazement on his face. The funny thing is,  even with the amount that he loves planes, when asked if he wants to fly them when he gets older, the answer is always no. Oh well, I guess time will tell.

This picture of the kids was taken at the war museum.

The next photos (collage of photos) were taken at the aviation museum.

We also went to The African Lion Safari the week after. I will post some pictures from that adventure another day. Until then, thanks for stopping by and I hope that you are enjoying some quality, memory making time with your families.

Deb

Hello

Hi there. I just wanted to pop in and say that, yes, I am still alive. We have been enjoying some good quality family time for the last three weeks. Shane has gone back to work today. The kids still have five weeks of summer vacation left! I am glad since the house would be way to quiet if everyone had gone back to work/school at the same time.

I am hoping to be able to post some pictures from our vacation later this week. It was more of a stay cation than anything else but we did go places and had a blast.

I hope all of you out there are enjoying your summer and are well.

Deb

Happy Canada Day

Hi Everyone. I just wanted to take a moment to pop in and wish everyone in Canada a very happy Canada Day. Our plans for the weekend: spending some good quality family time and maybe I will be able to convince my husband that we should get some things done around the house. It is supposed to be a scorcher tomorrow where we live so we will probably spend the afternoon hiding from the heat (high temperatures are not my friend!). Thank goodness we finally had central air conditioning installed.

I hope that everyone has a fun and safe holiday weekend. To anyone reading this from the States, have a happy and safe Independence Day on Monday.

Deb

Saying NO to Fear

Hello, good Monday morning. Today I am participating in my first ever blog link up. I have been participating in Liv Lane's e-course on How to build a blog you truly love. Today Liv is encouraging and challenging us to be authentic and brave; to post something about ourselves that maybe we wouldn't post publicly and then link up to it on Liv's blog. At first I didn't want to participate. I didn't want to put myself out there and let people in. It is one thing to write something from the heart and another to link up to it and invite the world in. I was afraid of being rejected, afraid of sounding like a fool, just plain AFRAID.

Fear!

It stops me in my tracks so often. I have lived with it my whole life and it has stopped me from experiencing so many good things. From the fear of things like sharks keeping me out of the ocean, to the fear of failure stopping me from trying new things and taking risks. I know that a lot of people experience this but I have yet to learn to move past it. I try to be rational but I always come back to feeling unworthy or feeling like I don't deserve whatever success may come my way. Who am I to start a blog, no one wants to know anything about me! Who am I to have a creative life or business, it is only a matter of time before someone figures out that I have no talent! These thoughts plaque me every time a new possibility opens up for me. I put everything on hold because I feel like I need to have all my angles covered before I dive into something new. As a result, I end up doing nothing!

When I dream of my life I am strong, confident, and I live a full life without fear standing in my way. I want to live a life that my kids can be proud of, I want to leave them a legacy where they know that they can truly do and be anything. That failure is a fact of life but if they don't try, they can never even hope to succeed.

I have been working on making these dreams come true. I AM good enough and I DO deserve to have the life I have imagined. People ARE interested in me. So, I am reading books by Brene Brown, Kelly Rae Roberts, and others. I am building my confidence and I am setting fear aside. I am going to push fear aside and barrel on through and come out on the other side smiling. If failure comes knocking, at least I will know that I did all I could to find success and happiness!

This post is my first step! Thanks for taking the time to stop by.

Happiness always,

Deb

Happy Birthday to my Little Man

Happy Birthday Little Man! Today you turn 6. Where has the time gone. I feel like time is going so fast. I could have sworn that just yesterday you were learning how to walk but instead, just the other week you learned to ride your bike without the training wheels. I don't remember saying that you could grow so fast. I don't want to miss a minute of your sweet life. You are the sweetest little boy in the world (I know I am biased being your mom but who can blame me). You are so full of love and generosity. Don't ever stop being like that. As you grow and life gets harder always remember to love with all of your heart. I will never tire of hearing about it or of being the recipient of your warm hugs. You make life wonderful (and challenging at times but we aren't talking about that today!). I pray that you have nothing but wonderful things in your life. I hope you have an incredible birthday! I am looking forward to spending the day together and having lunch at McDonald's (your choice).

Always remember how much I love you and how special you are. Happy Birthday Little Man. I love you more than words can say!  Love always, Mom

A Photo from today and a new canvas

It is a quiet day around here with just Liam and I at home. I couldn't resist snapping these photos of him today. When I went to see what he wanted for lunch, he was sitting playing the PS3 with his arms wrapped around his stuffed dog.

He looked so sweet, so big (big enough to be playing video games) and so little (small enough to still want to cuddle a stuffed animal). It made me smile and run for the camera. I love to witness tender, quiet moments like this.

I also finished another canvas yesterday. Here's a picture of it.

For some reason I can never seem to get decent pictures of the canvases. I guess I will have to work on it. Oh well, practice makes perfect. Now I am off to do some laundry, check up on my little guy, and maybe get some more creative work done before anyone else comes home. 

Have a great day.

Trying to be Creative

I haven't created anything in about a week or two but I am getting back into it. I started a background for a new canvas this afternoon. I am really tired this week and am having trouble getting motivated. I think that I need to get to bed at a decent time for a couple of nights and then hopefully inspiration will strike. Well at least I am hoping to be able to think straight. I will post pictures when the canvas is done.

I also just signed up for Christy Tomlinson's new class called She had three hearts. It is an art journalling class and I am looking forward to it. Christy is a great teacher and I really enjoyed her She Art class. You can find the information about the new class here. I also signed up for Kelly Purkey's new Sketchbook 3 class. I am looking forward to this one also. I really need to start getting our family memories down on paper for the kids to have. I am hoping that this class will give me the jump start that I need. The information for Kelly's class can be found here.

Well, that is all that is going on around here. Time for me to go and convince Chloe that it is time to study for her math quiz. Should be FUN!

Have a great night.

Wow, it has been a long time

I have been a really bad blogger! My husband isn't happy with me for that. The sad part is that since my last post I really have been on a creativity hiatus. Nothing came to me. I didn't seem to have the energy to create anything. Or to even think of something to create.

For the last 3 weeks (this is the third week) I have been taking Christy Tomlinson's She Art Workshop. I LOVE this class. Christy is amazing and it has been so much fun. I have made 4 canvases so far. It is really a lot of fun to just play around and to try different things. I am trying to learn to not get discouraged if the work doesn't look the way I want it to. I am playing until I end up with something that I like.

These are my first attempts. The pink one is actually the last one that I did and it is my favourite. As I go, hopefully they will continue to get better and more creative. I am planning on doing some that don't have any girls on them. I would also like to create 2 boys to give to my own boys (their sister always gets everything!).

Christy is a great teacher and you should consider taking her class. She is also going to be starting a new class which is an art journalling class. I am definitely going to sign up for that one as well. 

Anyway, it is time to start getting my little ones to bed. They are home from school this week on March Break so they have been staying up a little later than usual but the late nights are starting to take their tole on my little guy.

Have a great night. Thanks for stopping by.

Just thinking (and feeling)...this is long

Hi, happy 2011! It has been a really long time since I have posted anything here. I think that, although wonderful, the holidays wore me out a bit. We had a great Christmas with family and although a few days were busy we were able to have some down time with the kids.

Now we are back into the swing of school and homework and projects that need to be attended to. We have had doctor's appointments and I have had to go for some tests and follow ups. Our little guy is testing the waters and pushing us quite a bit. He is in a stage now where he is throwing fits when he doesn't get what he wants. Anything can set him off and sometimes it can be a very long day. He goes from, a cuddly sweetheart that you can't get enough of to a tyrant that you can't hide from, without much warning. It will be nice when this phase of his childhood is over! LOL.

My little sister is home on vacation now and will be starting her maternity leave in a few weeks. I am not watching my niece anymore while she is home. I am looking forward to getting to spend some time with my sister. It is hard to do that when she works since she works long hours and everyone has such busy lives.I am looking forward to spending time with my niece just as her aunt and not her care taker, where I can spoil her and let her parents worry about discipline. I can't wait to meet my nephew and hold a newborn again drinking in that sweet baby smell.

 I am going to try to enjoy some of the alone time I will have on the days when everyone is at school or work. I think that I need some quiet to restore myself and to do some thinking and putting things into perspective. Too often I get tired and things pile up and then situations get blown out of proportion and things that are really just mole hills seem like mountains. I am going to try to push myself to get more crafting done and stop being afraid to fail or do a bad job. It is time to push the boundaries a little (or a lot), break out of my comfort zone, find some confidence and just go for it. Whatever "it" turns out to be.

This is the year to put myself in the foreground. To take care of my own needs and desires and not just those of my family. This is the year to become the person that God intended me to be. To be the best wife, mother, daughter, sister, and aunt that I can be by being the best "ME" that I can be. I need to make myself happy. It is time for me to figure out what my dreams are and to reach for them. It is time for me to shine.

I hope that everyone else out there has a wonderful 2011 and that you all get to shine.