just rubbing it in

for the people back home. While you were shovelling snow yesterday...



we were outside enjoying the sunshine, riding our bikes and eating outside {we had a great BBQ at Monique's home}!

I thought it was summer. I bought watermelon. We brought out the patio furniture. We basked in the sunshine with everyone else in the neighborhood.


And then it rained all day today.
{But still...it is not snowing}

disney on ice

Like all things Disney, the Disney on Ice show that is currently in Ottawa, is just magical! We took the kiddies to see the "100 Years of Magic" show on opening night, and it was fabulous. The kiddies were both enthralled, for the full two hours...and it is hard to keep them interested in anything for that long.

Miss S and some of her friends, dressed up for the show...

We all had seats together in a big group. R was going to be a pirate, but settled on his Batman cape!

Miss S was also enthralled with her bucket of $10 popcorn for the full two hours...

We had great seats - third row from the ice, so the kiddies had a great view. Almost all the characters were there and all the stories covered. I would go back to this show again in a heartbeat. It was so much fun...

I love Disney!

hi auntie m

{Miss S wanted to tell Auntie M all about our trip to the shopping mall this week, because she knows Auntie M loves to shop with her}

Hi Auntie M! I went to the shopping mall with Mommy and I sweet talked her into buying me all kinds of fun stuff. Like these pinkalicious sunglasses...

{I can wear them when the paparazzi are chasing me}...

and these pink princess shoes {Mommy calls them jelly shoes, but I don't know what she is talking about...she says you wore shoes like that back in the '80s}...

{Mommy wanted to buy me the blue ones that were a bigger size, but I wanted pink, pink, pink}

Yay! On the way to the mall I ask Mommy to put on 'rock and roll' {this makes Mommy laugh} and turn it up really loud. I'm a rock star...

We also bought me a new swimsuit with a big strawberry on it for when I go to my swimming lessons. Shopping with Mommy is fun...

Mommy says you are coming here in June. Maybe you can take me shopping...but you have to stop at the coffee place and buy me a big rice krispie square, otherwise I might get cranky.

Love Miss S

haystacks

Making haystacks at another cooking class this week...

Miss S and the other Miss S...

The theme this week was The Farm, so there were barnyard animal toys, farm animal books at story time {this is Monique's and my favorite part of the class - it's when we get to sit back and have a coffee!}, farm coloring pages, and the girls made sheep...

along with their very sweet haystack cookies. Miss S brought some of her treats home to share with her big brother {who has decided he wants to be a little chef too, so he starts cooking this week too}!

sugar bush

We spent the last day of R's March Break being tourists at the Sugar Bush.


Did you know that Lanark County {just west of Ottawa}, is the Maple Syrup Capital of Ontario? I do...now. We headed out in that direction with Jill & her family, and spent the day at Fulton's Pancake House & Sugar Bush.

I have to start out by saying, we did have a fun time. Although it was not quite what we expected.

I have been telling R all about how maple syrup is made, getting him ready to see the Sugar Bush. We even turned on Treehouse one day, and happened to see an episode of Franklin where Franklin and his friends made maple syrup. They helped drill into a tree, put in the spigots, and watched the sap run out, carried around the buckets in their wagon, etc. R was so excited - he thought he was going to get to use a drill and put in the spigots... {I knew that wouldn't happen, but I did think we would see all the trees with the buckets, etc}.

Well, to my disappointment...that is just not how they get the sap out of trees in this age of modern technology. Who knew? {Well, I guess all of you, that are not first-time sugar bushers...}

So instead, we got a thrilling look at the blue wires {???} that vacuum suck the sap out of the trees and pump it into the sugar shack...where something very technical to do with barometric pressure {again ???}, blah, blah, blah happens... What the? Where are the charming old sap buckets with sap dripping into them?

We asked at the not so informative info booth where the sap buckets were, and were told "we don't do that anymore". But shouldn't you still have some sap buckets around, for the sake of history, maybe? We were told there might be one around the playground. After doing some looking around on our own, we finally saw a sap bucket or two, but not any in use. We were having fun anyway, so this made me happy...but really,couldn't they tap a few trees the old-fashioned way...for educational reasons, for old time sake, for the fun of it?

Here it is, the staged,not for real use sap bucket that made my day...

And this little bit of history amongst the ugly blue wires made me happy too...

And here is what made the kiddies happy. Maple taffy on a stick...

This made Miss S very happy. Teeter...

totter...

And this was the highlight for me. A horsie ride, at Miss S's request...

We also lined up for the pancakes with maple syrup and maple sausages and maple beans {which ended up being not so great, but the kiddies liked it, so we were all happy}...

And this guy was pretty cute. This is Jasper, "Fulton's Playground Ambassador"...

He likes to nap on the picnic tables...

So, for next time, maybe all you experienced Sugar Bushers could tell me a different place to try? Are there any places left that have at least a few sap buckets in use? And where is the best food?

On the way home, we stopped to check out Mount Pakenham, since it was just a short drive away. It made me really miss the mountains back home, and got me thinking about how I miss snowboarding, and want to go again {not as often as I used to go, but at least a few times a season would be nice}. I will definitely have to start R skiing next year!

spring???

It has been very spring-like around here lately. It has been so great to get outside and play with the kiddies without having to put on snowsuits. The snow has pretty much all melted, leaving us a very muddy yard {can't wait to get grass}, the days are feeling longer and warmer. The kiddies were were thrilled to see a deer and a robin in our backyard this morning as we were having breakfast.

To celebrate the spring like weather, Jill had the first BBQ of the season at her place on Saturday.

The kiddies and I had a great time time {K was working}. There were so many kids, and they all played so well together, it was a very relaxing time. It was great to see Kelly and her sweet baby boy finally {I have been so sick lately I haven't been able to visit with them}. Jill had just set up their new trampoline, which was a big hit with R and Miss S {who said she was going to jump "as high as the sun"}!

I love BBQ's. So much fun gathering with friends and sharing good food and good times. I hope this is truly the start of spring and that we are done with snow for the season!

old made new

I needed some storage space in my scrapbooking room. It is on the main floor of our house, and you can see right into the room through it's double french doors and there is no closet, so I needed a place to hide some of my tools and supplies that don't fit on my bookcases, in baskets, etc. So, I took this old armoire that was in my Grandma's basement {made by my Grandpa circa 1940ish}...

and gave it a new life...

I primed, painted and distressed it {although that doesn't really show up in the photos}. I am still on the lookout for a new handle for it, but at least now I have a place to hide some of my scrapbooking stash.

Next, I think I am going to paint this drop-leaf table, also from my Grandma...

that holds my sewing machine. I just need to decide what color...

smitten

A day back home, when Grandma & and I took the kiddies to see Toopy & Binoo live at the shopping mall...

eye candy

So, the other day I was enjoying some retail therapy time, shopping online at Etsy.


Jenny's Bake Shop {Every Day is a Holiday} had these back in their shop...

so I ordered one for Miss S's new room {you know the girl loves her cuppy-cakes}. I love it!

This got me started looking for more art for the kiddies rooms.

I think I need these, to hang in the hallway between their rooms...

from Nella Designs...
Of course I am going to order them with my kiddies names, and I think in red and/or the grass green colors. I love that you can choose the silhouettes to suit your kiddies. How cute is this...

I love the Dr Seuss quotes!

How cool are the By Order of Management signs in John W Golden's shop? I think we need this for the playroom...

and these for R's bathroom...

I love Etsy. I love buying handmade. I love shopping.

Clearly.

toy testing

I am officially a toy tester! What a great job...although I am not getting paid. And technically, it will be my kiddies that are doing the testing, although I will be the one writing the reports {R is getting very good at printing, but not that good}!

I found out about the Canadian Toy Testing Council from my friend Jill. Her family has been a testing family for over a year now. Because the head office for the CTTC is located in Ottawa, they use families from the Ottawa/Gatineau region to do all the testing, and we have been chosen as a testing family.

Every 6-8 weeks my kiddies will see new toys, books and software {that are specific to their interests and ages} being rotated through our home. I just have to observe my kiddies with the toys, and report back what I see. We may even get Wii games and LeapFrog toys, as I had to specify which systems, etc we have in our home. And R should see lots of LEGO and Playmobil, which he loves...

{photo of R after last Christmas, playing with new toys}

Bring on the toys!

teeny chef

{photo of Miss S, still on the lookout for 'flamingos' or other such wildlife, in our backyard}

Miss S and I dropped in our first ever cooking class together, this week. Our local grocery store hosts cooking classes in their upstairs classroom, and each week there are themed classes for 'tots'. We went with Monique and the other Miss S, and had a great time. The girls did a craft, were read a story, and did some baking. We got to sample some of our baking as a snack, and then were given some, boxed up to take home. Yum!

mani pedi

While R was at school the other day, Miss S and I had a 'girl day'...

I gave Miss S her very first Mani/Pedi! She had picked out some pink {of course} polish while we were shopping, and was very excited to "paint on fingers"...

It is harder than I thought to give a two year old a manicure...

If only she would sit still for a minute! {Miss S also insisted on painting my fingers and toes. R was not impressed when we showed him. He said "Mom, is that paint going to come off, all over your skin?" - Miss S does not have good aim with the polish brush!}...