1650

Can you believe this is post number 1650? Wow, do I talk. A lot.

Thought I would quickly share a picture of my current notebook. Kaedo helped me decorate it.

I think it is fun and hilarious and it makes me smile. Sometimes you just need that. I am not a journal keeper (I guess maybe this blog is my journal??), but I do write notes about everything. My book idea, what needs to be done, meal ideas, cute sayings I see, something funny someone said. The detritus of life. Anyway, the back and spine are covered with paint swatches with color names I like and the dinosaur sticker is my fave as my sweet Kaedo gave it to me.

It looks a bit like something a 14 year old girl would carry but I don't care. It's the smile that matters!

Friday Randomness

WOW! Where has the week gone? 4 day week here in our house and the kids are thrilled it is FINALLY Friday. You'd think we had tacked on a couple of school days instead of missed one. Kaedo is out playing with his buddy, and I can hear Sterling upstairs laughing to the Simpsons. Craig has already called and said he was on his way and me, I am just doing great.

Mother's Day is right around the corner so some of this weekend will be spent boxing up gifts to send to the two most fab moms on the planet. My birthday and my cutie nephew's birthday are all around the corner too. You know what that means....let them eat cake! I plan to make my own on my birthday so it is nice and fresh and deee-licious!

Tomorrow I am heading to T.O. for a Steeped Tea show. Looking forward to that. Heading out solo for this one, so while Craig is off playing football, the boys will have to entertain each other!

Had a show yesterday and it was amazing! Totally fun. Helped that my best buddy had the booth next to me so it was like getting to hang out for the day and make money. Can't beat that with a hammer.

Went to the library today and a book I had been drooling over/coveting/trying to think up a plausible excuse to buy, was on the shelf, staring at me in all its beautifulness, begging me to take it home and read it. I only have 7 days but hey, I can do it. Supper? School pickup? What are these things of which you speak?

Sunday is breakfast, family time, and ironing work shirts (damn I hate that part). Actually, in embracing the 1950s housewife in me, I am loving every minute of being a not-so-domestic goddess. Love it!

OK - enough randomness for you? Now must go stop the dog from barking. The neighbors barbeque cover has come off and it is flailing around their backyard. It is driving him mental.

MOM - BEST TALK EVER! You are truly the coolest woman on the planet! Love you!

Meet Fred

Fred is my potato zombie. He was created in protest with love by Kaedo after having been asked to peel potatoes. A job he apparently does not like. He left Fred sitting on the edge of of the sink as a surprise and I must admit I fell in love. Kaedo thought I would surely throw him down the garberator but alas I have not and now Fred is wearing a beautiful flower in his hair. We are a little concerned about his rapidly advancing age, as he looked youthful as a baby potato straight out of the Earth not a few weeks ago. He makes me smile every time I go to the sink with his witty repartee and joyous voie de vivre. If I didn't know any better I would think he doesn't realize he's a zombie. A potato zombie.

So we Bought a New Door......

.... a teeny tiny one big enough for an 8lb dog, or a rabid raccoon. The GMan loves to be outside, and brings new meaning to "let the dog out, let the dog in...", so we thought we would buy a little door that goes in our screen that he can go in and out as he wishes. The only thing we didn't factor in was that he'd hate the damn thing. Let me just say I have never bribed my children as much as I bribed my dog to go in and out of the damn thing. He ate his weight in dog treats tonight and showed off his pitiful "why are you making me do this?" look more often than I care to mention. Now I must say, the cheering could be heard down the block when he actually capitulated and did it. Seriously. Down. The. Block.

I don't have any pictures as he was definitely not in the posing mood. Just picture his head through the door with it caught around his neck. Pitiful.

Now I picture my summer with him batting at the door, it swinging back and forth, and then whining until I come and open the screen. "Let the dog out. Let the dog in..."

I just have to be on the lookout for any raccoons that may want to come for dinner.

The Food Edition

I thought I would take this Saturday morning and post a little bit about some of the food I make at home. As a work-from-home mom, I have the opportunity to make some more time consuming meals than someone who works away from home and has daycare, etc to contend with along with groceries and all the chores it takes to run a house. I am very blessed that I have this opportunity and find myself becoming a bit like a 50's housewife. And to tell the truth, I am more than fine with that. I am in the position that my life with my children at home is quickly coming to an end. They are not 4 and 8 and I can't see the horizon. The end is very real on our end. While they both plan to attend college locally, I know that girlfriends, jobs and eventually their own apartments are right around the corner. Bare with me here while I let out a giant sob.  lol.  I love being a mother. Every part of it. I imagine that has a lot to do with my kids, who have given me a run for my money but have never disappointed me, or done anything irreparable. I read sometimes in the comments on other "mommy blogs" that women speak about their children as if they are perfection in a bottle. Those who truly know our family know that is not the case. We had a lot of hard times but are reaping the rewards of our hard work. When people tell me I am blessed with the children I have, I am quick to point out that while my children are amazing, blessed has nothing to do with it. We have worked hard, cried many tears, held many shaking children, done a lot of tough love, and smiled and laughed and joked until there were tears of joy. We spend all our free time with the boys. They choose for now to be with us, and we are not giving up a minute of it. For it won't be long until some girl I will never like steps into one of their lives and .... I won't go on. I guess in a round about (very round about) way I am saying that I am so grateful for my life and the opportunities Craig has provided me. I currently have 3 small businesses I work on, I car pool to and from school with two different families, I take the boys to their volunteer commitments, I go to the gym (sorta), I make breakfast lunch and dinner 5 days a week, and do about 40 other things. I am not asking for a slap on the back, don't misunderstand. I am simply sitting here in amazement at the good fortune of my life. How else would I get the opportunity to make this food for my family (which is what this post started about - oh well, it's my blog, so there). Because I have the time, actually, because it is important to me that my family sits down five nights a week and has supper together, I make time to create meals from scratch (we have eaten enough frozen pizza to choke a horse). This is not for everyone. Many families truly don't have the time and some don't have the inclination - that's ok - more than OK - I will not judge them, if they do not judge me.

OK - enough about that - here are a few things I have made lately - many with my bread machine (Jessica - I heart you):

Fresh French Bread with garlic butter for spaghetti

Homemade cheese turnovers for Chicken Noodle Soup

A loaf of bread on Steroids (lol)

Homemade pizza - a Friday night staple

Homemade buns - most don't look like a circle but they taste damn good

Pizza waffles - amazing what you can do in a waffle maker

Bread bowls (can't believe they actually turned out) filled with stew

 So I guess on Easter weekend, I am counting my blessings (and kissing my bread machine) for the life I have, the family I share it with and the opportunity to be home, and present in these last few years as a family of four. I am not being melancholy (maybe a bit) or melodramatic - things are changing quickly and I know that if I wasn't here I'd miss it, and regret it. It doesn't work for most, but it works for us and at the end of the day, that's the most important.

Now if only I could get a pair of penny loafers.

It's Been Worth The Wait

About 13 years ago, Craig and I along with the boys went to my mom and dad's for the weekend and on our way we saw the coolest wooden deer for sale in a yard. I immediately told Craig I wanted a set but at the end of the weekend, they were no longer for sale. I was so disappointed. Over the years, I have mentioned those deer enough that it's a running joke in our house.

What a thrill is was to come home form working all weekend and see these beauties hand made for me by Kaedo and Craig:

They are so beautiful and fabulous and all sorts of awesome. I just can't get over them. Finally my own set. The baby's head (Kaedo says his name is Mr. Snuffles - Craig says absolutely not - lol) even faces up like he's staring at his dad. So freakin' awesome!

Anyway, this was a wonderful 'for no reason' surprise, and I just love them.

I asked Craig if we could keep them in our room. He said no. Out to the front garden they will go as soon as they have been lacquered and the glue is good and dry. Maybe I'll just bring them in for now. Wouldn't want them to be lonely in the garage.

****** A SPECIAL HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my mom today! You ROCK! Hope you liked our singing and for that time of the morning we had better been first! ******

A Layout for Shirley

Not a great photograph on my part, but wonderful pictures of Craig and his grandparents. I'm going to hang it on my feature wall. Hope you like it Shirley. Love you.

The Fleet

One thing that can be said about Kaedo is that he is never bored. He always finds something to do and often it includes using his amazing imagination. On Sunday he had it in his head to built a fleet of paper airplanes, He also had it in his head that his mom was a professional paper cutter so surely she wouldn't mind assisting. She didn't mind. At all.

He chose a variety of cardstock, got the pattern online and we were off to the races.  We had a lot of fun cutting and building them and Kaedo loved making them fly. I loved watching him. SO GREAT!

He says he has plans for more designs. I don't know if it was a Sunday afternoon/evening passing fancy but I'm ready when he is. I realize more and more each day how very blessed I am that my sons still want to be with me. They often speak of their friends never even talking with their parents, let alone hanging out with them. I will cherish every paper cut moment.

25 Things

I often see in the Celebrity Tabloid magazines a "25 Things You don't Know About Me" list. Since I'm a celebrity in my own mind (lol - so kidding), I thought I'd try it out. Mom probably knows a lot of these but I'm going to see what I can do:

1. I've never had a cup of coffee

2. My favorite lunch is Kraft Dinner

3. I always drink my diet coke/juice with ice and water out of a 1L pink water bottle

4. I've never had a glass of wine

5. I rarely sleep more than 5 hours

6. I love to nap but will only do that on the weekends

7. My favorite outing of the week is Sunday breakfast with Craig

8. I drink approximately 8L of water a day (conservative estimate)

9. We don't have a home phone or cable. We do have a shitload of internet allotment though

10. Buying birthday presents and packaging them for mailing gives me a thrill

11. I search out paint swatches with cool names and send them to family explaining why the name of the color reminds me of them

12. My favorite music is the Grease Soundtrack on LP - I'm actually listening to it right now!

13. I wear a scarf every day

14. I make my kids breakfast, lunch and supper 5 days a week (did I mention they are teenagers and have me well trained?)

15. I love silver and aside from my wedding ring I don't wear any gold

16. Nora Roberts is my favorite author

17. My house is a perfect mix of new and up-cycled. I love it

18. I take pictures every day

19. In our house, everyone has an assigned seat at the table and when watching movies and in the vehicle. Weird. We never did this intentionally, it just happened

20. I BBM (text) my mom every day

21. I love to cook and am always looking for new recipes

22. I carpool my kids along with another family in the morning and afternoon each school day

23. I talk to my dog. So much he barks at me to shut up

24. I knew Craig was the love of my life on our first date (and told my mom that night I was going to marry him - October 26, 1994). That has never changed. Not for a moment. Poor bugger

25. I'm quite sure I have eaten my weight in potato chips

Obsessed Much?

Kaedo has an obsession with VHS movies and currently owns 80+ movies, two VCRS 

("mom, one for playing, one for rewinding....duh"), and a TV/VCR combo.

I have no idea what prompted this obsession but we sure have fun with it. Saturday afternoons we head to the flea market and search through 10,000+ tapes for whatever is on his list. He is currently searching for Star Trek (William Shatner era) movies number 1 and 2. We have 3-6. He is also looking for Back to the Future 2 and 3. 

I must admit that I have added a few to the collection - Gone with the Wind, Breakfast at Tiffanys, Mystic Pizza, Grease. lol  

We have a blast searching through the stacks of them. As I am very much into retro, I can't fault him. Plus, it is an amazingly cheap hobby as he is sometimes able to get them 3 for $1.

A selection of some of his movies

Sterling is anti-VHS, yet he laid on the floor and watched a movie when Kaedo bought his little TV. Hmmm

If you're ever looking for a gift for him, a roll of Loonies would he perfect!

The Weekly G

I swear to you, the G Man is part human. He doesn't like to be pet really, but he loves to be cuddled. He really cracks me up.  Kaedo snuggles with him a lot, Craig a bit, Sterling and I not so much. He's such a cutie and inquisitive and leaves his toys everywhere. He loves to be outside (I see a dog door in his future), and finds tiny out of the way spaces to lie down. He can be playing like crazy and then just drops like a stone.
He's a good boy. We love him. Now if only he'd leave my grey shoes alone.

Back at It

I started scrapbooking when Sterling was a baby, 16 years ago. A lot of it was sticker sneezes and cropping around people, and making pictures into shapes. In 2000 I started working in the industry and did so for 10 years until the company I worked for closed its doors. I mourned the loss of that job, as it had been a good one and the industry had been very good to me. I t had given me the opportunity to teach on an international stage to 100+ people at a time, as well as give me the chance to share my adoration for this form of memory keeping. When I finished working in the industry I wasn't sure what do do about scrapbooking personally. Was I burnt out? Did I still want to? I knew I loved it, but felt I had given all my ideas away (sort of like Christmas lol - family joke). Early this year I sold 95% of my scrapbooking stash as I hadn't used it in two years. Let me say I really regret it,

I have been thinking about starting again, not on such a large scale, but on a small scale doing something I really love. I am a huge fan of taking one picture that means a lot to me and creating a piece of art with it - or what in my mind is a piece of art. Last night I sat down and created this one - first one!!!! - and I truly love how it turned out. I am creating a feature wall in the house with scrapbook pages, pictures, drawings by the boys, and now this one will join.

This is me and my mom in December 1972. She was then and still is so very beautiful. And she still gives the best hugs ever!

Click on photo to enlarge

The Man

Ok, this guy is no longer a boy. Look at this picture! This is a young man staring at you. A young man who is gorgeous, confident, kind, generous, caring, smart, creative and to me, utterly brilliant.

He had the opportunity to join the High Skills Major students on a field trip to T.O. this week. They had to be dressed up and looking professional, and this is what he wore. Let me tell you, he took my breath away. He also told me he was the best dressed. He spent the day with the owners of an architectural firm, and went to a fancy schmancy lunch.

Now I know I spend considerable time bragging on my guys, but it is my blog, so too bad. lol.

On this field trip Sterling shone (is that the right word? shined? shone? you get the idea), and while he does not 'toot his own horn', he did say he had the best question of the day. He was also asked to do the 'thank you' at the end of the visit, on behalf of everyone. Love it!

He is actively looking for a job, and learned of a possible opportunity this week. So this morning (7am) I took him to meet with the owner before school. He dressed up again and due to the hour (a likely excuse) I forgot to get a picture. He is so damn cool!

We'll see what becomes of it. Anyone who hires him is going to be so impressed and lucky to get him.