sledding

One of the kids' favorite things about our yard is...

the big slope in between our home and our neighbor, that all the kids sled down in the winter!

This year there were more obstacles to get around, as we put up a fence in the summer, but those crafty kids just figured out a way to make a 'track' in the snow that took them away from the fence and towards our neighbors' skating rink...

i want to live in a pottery barn catalogue

I miss Pottery Barn.

Why don't we have it in Ottawa?

I am currently lusting after this chandelier...

but K has told me I am at my chandelier limit for this house. {He is also suggesting that hanging paper next to light bulbs is a fire hazard...}

Just think how fabulous this would look in my scrapbooking room. I could alter it all the time with photos and vintage ephemera. {I would have to ask K to move the existing shabby chic chandelier out of my scrapbooking room, and put it in...the guestroom???}

Look how fancy I could make it at Christmas...

So maybe someonelikeAuntieMbackhome could go check this out for me and put it in their suitcase and bring it here at Christmas. I am sure you would have room for it Auntie M, just don't pack your usual amount of shoes this time...

{And don't tell you know who}

(all photos from www.potterybarn.com)

the one where I catch you up

R and I went Walking With Dinosaurs, and took Monique and his buddy E with us. It was an amazing show {go to the official website, click on Watch Footage, and then on the photo of the dinosaur eggs, to get an idea of what the live show was like}. We watched from a suite, which put us a safe distance above the dinosaurs, so it "wasn't scary at all" according to R. Miss S stayed home, but she gave me some carrots to put in my bag "to feed the dinosaurs"...

I convinced Renee, Lee Anne, Christine, Monique and Jill to join me at The Circus Starring Britney Spears concert! Despite the fact that we were too old, and clearly too overdressed {ie...we were actually wearing clothing} we had a good time. We missed the opening act because we were still at D'Arcy McGee's enjoying dinner and drinks on the patio. Luckily we did not miss the start of the circus, because those performers were probably the best part of the show. Brit may not really sing {all the gum chewing makes it hard for her to lip-sync even}, but she puts on an entertaining show. So even though I am not a Britney fan {sorry Uncle VW} I had fun! We took the kiddies to the Canadian Museum of Nature. They loved it. The interactive exhibits are so great for the kids and the The Trading Post is just the kind of thing that R would love. He is a collector {right now there is a pile of acorns and a strip of birch bark on his desk from a recent hike}.

I registered the kiddies for their fall activities. Swimming for both, dancing for Miss S and hockey for R {a "real team with uniforms" this time, and a big time commitment for the whole family I think}. Pre-school for Miss S and Senior Kindergarten for R...

We have been doing lots of bike riding and baseball playing with Grandpa, celebrated the other Miss S's birthday and K's too, and have finally been able to start putting together the kiddies play structure...

There. All caught up.

rideau antiques

All one and one + two of us went antiquing Mother's Day weekend because K didn't buy me a gift and thought it would be smart to suggest I go find one for myself and act like he intended to do that all along. So off we went, on the hunt for some it is art to me even if you don't think so to hang on the big empty boring wall in our family room. I had my heart set on three antique church windows from here, that I spotted a while back, but by the time I finally convinced K how cool they would look in our home, they were gone.

I remembered Rideau Antiques having some windows, so we looked there...

{Read about the shop here}

Some windows, it turns out, is a major understatement. There is no shortage of windows...

or doors as it turns out. I thought about hanging a perfectly peeling door on my big boring wall, but K did just not 'get it'...

He did not understand how pretty the shutters would look on the flat, empty yellow vastness that is our family room wall either...

It was not really the right time to tell K how cool I thought one of these posts would look, just leaning elegantly in a corner of our home...

or about how I have always wanted an antique claw foot tub...

in every room in the house...

In the end we went home without finding the art of my dreams to fill the wall of my decorating nightmares. We were worried that because the windows have been out in the Canadian elements for who knows how long through wind and crazy humidity and rain and snow and more snow and more snow, they may have too much mildew mold, maybe??? and ick on them. Which might be hazardous to the kiddie's health. And I should probably not endanger my kiddies health with my Mother's Day gift.

I didn't find my art that day, but I did have fun taking photos at Rideau Antiques.
I love that place!

here comes peter cottontail

Hoppin' down the bunny trail...

The kiddies were very spoiled this Easter, as usual, by family. Treats, games and books came from Grandma & Grandpa, Auntie M, and Uncle VW. And this is them opening up gifts from Auntie and Uncle in Winnipeg {this doll that Miss S can color on is adorable}...

Monique and her family came over for dinner on Saturday, and brought us this lovely bit of spring...

Hippity hoppity,

Easter's on it's way...

Or, um, actually it has come and it's almost gone. I'm just enjoying this Easter Monday at home with the kiddies. So here is a last look at some of my Easter decorations, before I pack them away for another year...

Happy Easter!

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...

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!

now we're cookin'

We finally have our oven! And to put it to good use right away, the kiddies and I baked some Valentine's treats, at the same time as I was baking chicken and roasted veggies...oooh I love a double oven...

and Miss S still loves cuppy-cakes...

She was a little heavy-handed with the red sprinkles when we were decorating...

And finally what you have all been waiting for {no wait...just I have been waiting for it, and waiting, and waiting}...

How nice to finally have an oven!