It's starting to feel like....summer

22 degrees today ~ starting to feel like summer! The sky was a beautiful bright blue with not a cloud in the sky! The wind was comfortably cooling and kept the bugs away ~ PERFECT! We didn't go to church today, the kids have pink eye (by the way, it is TOTALLY not fun putting drops into children's eyes!!). This morning the weather was kinda wacky, woke up to what must have been a wet night (I didn't even hear the rain); then it was just cloudy, but from out of nowhere the clouds started to part and the skies turn blue! Perfect! A day outside chilling on the deck!

So I thought I would click some pictures of what a typical summer day for my family looks like! I always love fresh cut flowers in the house.. but more especially I like it when I can cut them from our own garden! There is just something soo peaceful at looking at such bright and vibrant colours - and the scent the flowers give off -- UNBELIEVABLE!

I also enjoy making the outside look warm and inviting too, I love the look of tablecloths! Here is a couple of pictures of one of the decks, and what yard looks like (this is our first summer in our new home so this is all new to us too! Exciting! :} )

Of course a 'summer like' day wouldn't be complete without cute little outfits! I found this a year ago at a second hand sale at a church. I love it!!! It looks soo 1920's!! So here is Gracie striking a few poses!

And although it was wonderful and sunny outside, Gracie still has a meltdown and needed her nap!! :)

So while Grace napped, I took Ava and Gabriel outside. While they ate, played with water guns and bubbles I .....

suntanned and kept my feet up ~ hey someone has to do it!!!! :) :)

In the summer time, we like to eat 'lite'... foods with loads of flavour.. but cool, satisfying and refreshing. In the morning I made a cold couscous salad with peas, corn and roasted red peppers tossed with Greek salad type dressing. I also blanched asparagus and topped them with the same sort of Greek dressing. I had chicken legs marinated to be bbq'ed in the evening - and viola! dinner is done!

I also managed to pop a cake in the oven for an after dinner dessert, I like to just top the cake with some pudding ~ always a hit! While the cake cooled outside I continued to work on my tan!

Later on that afternoon Gracie woke from her nap, greeted with kisses from Ava ~ who wouldn't want to be greeted that way after waking up! Ava just adores Grace! So click click away... here are some photos of Gracie waking up ~ she sure is cute!! :}

So while myself and the kids were enjoying the warm sun, having snacks, reading suntanning, drinking ice tea and iced coffee.....

...Jay had a few chores to get done before summer 'officially' starts! He was able to stack all our wood for next winter (better to it in May then August!) and he cleaned out the pool, top it up with water and shocked it!

So as you can see we've had a busy but enjoyable day! And for anyone who might be worrying about Jay if he was actually able to relax... he did manage to settle down on the deck, enjoy a beverage, snacks and his family! (although he did get a farmer tan working outside today! *hee* ~ so I would feel bad for him because of that!)

I hope your Sunday was as blessed as ours! Happy 'almost' summer!!!

LIGHTS OUT!

Last night we experience a taste of what an evening would be in the 1800's! It's been really windy in these here parts (opes, sorry my 'country talk' is coming out! :} ) It had been very windy most of the day yesterday, I lost my laundry quite a few times! Very frustrating!



Around 7pm last night shortly after coming home from taking the kids to meet their soccer coach and pick up their team shirts - the power went out! It was a bit surprising to us because at that point the windy had died down a bit...


Jay and I bathed, read some books and put the kids away. It was a beautiful evening, the trees were still dancing in the wind making the most calming and wonderful sound only trees in the wind can make! The frogs began singing! (Mind you not as loud as it was about a month ago when they were mating! All I can say FROGS CAN BE VERY LOUD WHEN MATING! )


Jay sat and read the paper as I was reading my homeschooling book. It was a very relaxing evening! Once the sun went down and the house was beginning to get dark, we gathered up the candles and lite them around the house! It was WONDERFUL!


It was soo great to just sit and talk, admire all that God has made! It would haven been nice to sip on a coffee while chatting, but alas the power was out... so no coffee making was working in this house!


It was interesting, Jay asked me what I thought the world would be like if we never had electricity. Interesting question. I think life would be way more simple! We would function at a slower pace - but a good pace! I think we would appreciate our food, our home and everything around us more. Because when you have to work hard for something you enjoy it and truly see how wonderful it is.


Its amazing how lovely everything looks by candlelit! Maybe that's why back in the 1800's people had large families ~~ people must have looked HOT by candlelit!!! :}

Pregnancy Update

Today was another busy day (are any of my days not busy? humm) Gabriel, Grace and myself were invited to friends of ours sons birthday. It was loads of fun... well I think mostly fun for the kids... I mostly walked around and made sure Grace didn't try to pick up the roaming chickens (if she could take one home, I bet she would have snuck one in my vehicle!) And Gabriel... oh Gabriel he is our forever roamer, running, streaming, crying, laughing... as you can see he does EVERYTHING in extreme - but he had loads of fun too! He couldn't say the little boys name very well.. but kept saying 'Happy Birthday Pete' -- very cute!

So baby #4 seems to be doing well, I had my midwife appointment this past Monday and all is good. I heard the baby's heart beat - that is always fun! Weight gain has been going alright, so far I've gained 10 lbs - pretty good for 15 weeks. Although I look bigger than that.. but hey I'm just going by my scale so whatever I'll take it! :) I generally gain between 25-30 lbs. I've been very fortunate to loose all my baby weight after each baby.. I think running after all my kids (and may I add they are all under 2 years apart).. helps to shred the p0unds. Although I was about 45 lbs over weight when I first got pregnant with Ava.

I am sooo determined to get into shape after this baby. I've been hinting to my husband for a treadmill for Christmas, I think he's pretty excited too to see my get in shape (purely selfish :) motives..*hint**hint*)

My back has been hurting.. when I was pregnant with Gabriel I had to leave work early due to sciatica.. so painful! My boobs have been more tender too -- all par for the course! I generally get 'tanckles'.. and I am FAIRLY certain I will get them with this pregnancy considering I'll be pretty big all summer! Yikes! That's alright though, gives me a good reason to just keep my feet up, sip lemonade and tan by the pool -- I can handle that!!

So overall I'm feeling pretty good, no more morning sickness *THANK GOODNESS!* just tired... but I can deal with that!

Can't wait to meet baby -- are you a boy? or a girl? We'll see November 1st!

MUFFINS anyone??

Today is such a sunny warm day! WONDERFUL! I am having a friend and her son over this afternoon, so I decided to bake my FAMOUS banana cake/bread! And then the thought came to me... I would like to share with all of you some of my favorite recipes. The ones that I will share with you today are actually 'baking' not 'cooking', but I will be periodically adding all sorts of my favorites! For today, I'm going to showcase three great muffins that are always a hit when I make them for family or guests.

First off, my strawberry muffins ~ always a summer pleaser!

Strawberry Muffins

1 ½ cup chopped strawberries & juice
¼ cup white sugar
¼ cup softened butter
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 ¾ cup flour
½ tsp baking soda
¼ tsp salt
¼ tsp nutmeg

Preparation:
cream sugar & butter
add eggs, stir in vanilla
add flour, baking soda, salt & nutmeg
stir in berry juice & gently stir in strawberries

BAKE @ 425 for 18 minutes

This next recipes is great for the fall! When all the apples are in season and are tasting wonderful!

Apple Cinnamon Muffins

1 ½ cup flour
¾ cup white sugar
½ tsp salt
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 egg
½ cup milk
2 large apples, peeled & chopped

Preparation:
mix dry ingredient
mix wet ingredients
mix the two together, do not over mix

BAKE @ 400 for 25 minutes

And finally my blueberry muffin recipe! This muffin is a hit with my kids. Ava LOVES blueberries - and they are soo good for you too!

Blueberry Muffins

1 ¾ cup flour
1/3 cup sugar
2 ½ tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
1 cup fresh or unthawed frozen blueberries
¾ cup milk
1 egg
1/3 cup melted butter

Preparation:
Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, salt & blueberries **bakers secret, by mixing in the blueberries into the dry ingredients, it coats the berries so your batter doesn’t turn blue!**
Add milk, egg & butter. Mix until batter is moistened. The batter will be lumpy. Do not over mix batter

BAKE @ 400 for 25 minutes

Well hope you enjoyed some of my favorite muffin recipes!

Some have roosters I have a woodpecker

Since our move last fall, we experienced autumn and winter in our new home. Both seasons were very beautiful; all the trees around us were bright lively colours and the winter was well a winter wonderland!

We are now experiencing our first spring. Proving to be another beautiful season. The ice has broken up and the river is a sparkling bright blue again; boats and freighters are starting to make their way up and down the seaway. Another new thing for our family is a lovely woodpecker who has decided to make the area around our home his/her surroundings.

Actually I'm using the word 'lovely' very very loosely! Every morning at quarter to five in the morning, this dang woodpecker decides to perch him/herself on our satellite antenna to peck it! This wakes the whole family up! I could be wrong but isn't this damn bird suppose to be pecking at a tree for bugs????

How can I get this thing to go for the trees instead of our antenna???? I hope he/she stops soon because I'm going to have to start going to bed at 9pm to get a good 8 hour sleep.

Is this a country thing to have a crazy woodpecker???

So to all you early risers out there.... I will be thinking of you at 5am as I hope you are thinking of me! :)

Happy Monday ;)

Mother's Day 2009

So today is mothers day... bittersweet for me. My mom passed away from cancer 15 months ago. It seems crazy to think that just over a year ago she passed away. I wonder when it will get easier? When will it really really sink in? I know days like today are filled with more sadness for me. I tried to be cheery this morning, but once the kids (and daddy) gave me my card today, I sat at the kitchen table and sobbed :(

I have different memories of my mom when I look at each of my kids. Here is a picture of Ava and my mom when we were making our tomato sauce. Ava kept telling my mom she wanted to eat more apples! (but of course they were actually tomatoes!) My mom was laughing all day when Ava would say this! This picture was taken after her breast surgery.

This was the last picture taken of Ava and my mom. We had a surprise brunch for her at her favorite golf and country club. It was her 55th birthday. This picture was taken after she found out she was diagnose with leukemia (a side effect of all things from her treatments for breast cancer). Only a few days later she went to stay at Princess Margret for intense treatments.Here is a picture of my mom and Gabriel; he was SUCH a puker! My mom would get soo grossed out by the smell of his vomit! I would just laugh!

Unfortunately I don't have any picture of my mom with Grace. My mom passed away 4 weeks and 5 days after she was born. My mom was able to hold Grace and cuddle with her... I REALLY REALLY wanted to take pictures of them together, but I know my mom would have been VERY uncomfortable with that. She was very close to the end of her life... at that point.

I also wanted to add some pictures of my mom when she was younger and healthier... she was a really stunner :)

This was taken at our home in Toronto; myself, my mom and my brother:

These are from my wedding:

And finally this was the last family picture taken ... October 2007.

Even though I miss my mom VERY much.... I know I have many things to be thankful for. God has blessed us with three beautiful children and soon to be four.... this is what makes me smile:

So Happy Mothers Day to all you mommies out there. I hope your day is blessed with many memories!

SUN + WARMTH = happy me

There is just something about today that is making me feel very happy and content and I can't put my finger on it. Could it be that my wonderful husband drove Ava to school and ran errands, while Grace napped and Gabriel watched a show allowing me to tidy up the house.

Could it be that I managed to get all our bedding in the wash and is now hanging on the line. What is it about looking at clothes/sheets/blankets fluttering in the wind that is just sooo calming???

Could it be that it is soo sunny and warm today and I was able to squeeze in 45 minute phone conversation with my aunt in Connecticut? She is soo wonderful and supportive! I just love her! She makes me feel cheery!

Could it be that last night I managed to give myself a french manicure and just makes me feel SOOO GIRLY and like my old self?

Could it be that I have all the windows open in the house and the sun is spilling into the rooms and wind is blowing the curtains about?

Could it be that my husband and I are in the process of making plans to drop the kids off at his parents place for the night, so we can go on a date?

Could it be that I may finally be able to have my first taste of THE BEST FISH AND CHIPS anywhere for the spring/summer? Jay and I have decided that that is what we want to do for our date. Eat fish and chips by the river, watch boats float by, chat maybe get a Starbucks... and then rent a movie.

Could it be that I MAY... JUST MAY sleep in Saturday morning 'cause the kiddies are at Nanny & Gumpys?

I don't know......... I'm just HAPPY and I don't think I have to figure out why. I just have to TAKE IT ALL IN!!!!!!!

Have a GREAT weekend y'all!

our Last baby..

So as some of you may know, I am expecting again. This will be baby # 4 for us in the last 5 yeas - yup we've been busy! :) I'm now in my 15th week, I'm starting to feel like my old self again. I do get tired by the end of the day.. but hey who wouldn't when I'm also running after a 4 1/2 yr old, 2 1/2 yr old and a 15 month old! Yikes! I'm excited to see what we will have.. will it be another girl or a boy to round out the sexes?? We don't find out what we are having, we just pray that the baby is healthy and the birth is safe!

I'm surprisingly feeling pretty good that this will be our last. I really did think Gracie would be our last, so I tried to soak up everything about her being a baby and even now... all her firsts, what she is doing... I wanted to have more after Grace but Jay wasn't so sure.. but voila - God blessed us with another babe (but we did give Him loads of help!!!)

I'm looking forward to moving on with our family, watching the kids get older, seeing what their interests will be. How our family dynamics will change when I start to home school in the fall. I'm also really excited to getting back to ME. I want to get back to the weight I was when I met Jay.. we don't need to go there as far as a number!! :) But I am looking forward to getting in shape, feeling healthy for my family and for me. I'm looking forward to having my body back! I can honestly say right now that I'm NOT sad that this will be our last baby...

Just for fun.. here is some pics of the babies we have now:

Here is Ava when she had her 'own' sleepover at Nanny & Gumpy's house...

This is Gabriel enjoying cupcakes that were sent home with us from of course Nanny & Gumpy's house:

And finally here is Miss. Gracie... just being Grace!

Sun, Kites, Parks, Picnic Lunches and just LOADS of FUN

This past weekend was AWESOME! Although my husband had to work, it was still a great family weekend! How you may ask? Well I guess it's how you can fit it all in... I think we are becoming the 'master of multi-tasking'! On Friday I broke out the kite... Ava had soo much fun flying it! Nothing like doing something simple to make you feel like a kid again! To be free of problems... no cares in the world.. just looking up at your kite and being proud of your accomplishment of keeping it up in the sky! Awesome!

I was scoping out where to put Ava's flower garden. This will be our first summer here; there are a few gardens (not too many that I feel overwhelmed, but just enough to add interest). Ava has been talking alot about flowers and planting a garden. She says her favorite flowers are poppy's and roses! She is soo sweet! So I thought I would take her to the store and pick out some seeds. I also want to find a craft kit that we can make a plaque that says 'Ava's Garden', I think she would enjoy making that also!

So we also go to see Jay alot too this weekend (my husband). I packed a picnic lunch and I took the kids to the park by the river. The kids loved being at the park and playing with all the kids that would come and go. Then Jay met us for lunch; we did this for both Saturday and Sunday mid-morning / afternoon. This past weekend the weather was GREAT! Sunny, alittle cool but nothing a sweater couldn't remedy!

I am a BIG picture taker! I am always taking pictures.. but you know what?? I didn't this weekend, I was just having soo much fun with the kids, playing with them, watching them run and laugh.. that I just didn't get to take any! Oh, I have to say too, Grace was soo sweet this weekend. We just bought her first pair of running shoes and she LOVED them! She would just run, turn to look at me give me a quick smile then keep running! She is growing up soo fast!

So I have to say.. since I've gotten pregnant and now I am past that whole nausea, tired sick stage this was an excellent weekend!

Hope yours was memorable too!

Where did all the 'good' women go?

On May 11th, it will be 9 months since we moved. Alittle background for everyone; our family recently moved four hours from our hometown. After being in school last year and doing his clinical my husband was offered a job as a Recreational Therapist at a Mental Health Hospital. However the hospital was four hours from our home. So needless to say, we got ready to move. The move in itself went smooth, we sold our home in 6 days! Actually the night we put an offer on a new home, we received an offer on our home! It was a whirlwind to say the least!

So it will be 9 months ago that we moved...and my question is 'where did all the good women go'? What ever happen to connecting with other moms that happen to have children the same age as yours? Or other moms with the same interests? I find it very difficult to make friends in this 'new' place. Is it me? Is it this place? Is it these moms? I don't know, I can't figure it out? Doesn't anyone like to go for a Starbucks at night once all the kids are in bed? Or come over for a visit? Or go to dinner? I'm not sure if this is a new phase of me... am I just harder to make friends with? I think I have high expectations... should I lower what I expect from other women? Should I change in my head what I think a friendship should be? I didn't have many friends where we use to live, but the friends I did have were very good ones. In fact I still connect with them, whether it is by phone or weekend visits. I never thought it would sound so desperate or be so difficult to make new friends. Other women who like to chat, socialize.. maybe connect our families together.

So I think I need to reflect on this more... take it all in... maybe I just need to put all my focus on God and my family and friends will just come. Is it that easy? Hum?