Giraffe Puzzles

I'm Back and Expecting!!!!

2011-09-14T07:43:00.000-07:00

Wow what a summer!

Beautiful sunny carefree days...

Enjoying our newly built deck and patio furniture...

Camping and hiking...

Fishing and swimming...

and...

A BABY ON THE WAY!!!!

Hubby and I are thrilled to announce the coming of baby # 2, we are due April 5 2012 and are very excited :)

I have been feeling a little blah the last couple of weeks, but here's to hoping we can only start feeling better

Check out my proof:

hahaha :)

Summer Hiatus

2011-07-26T08:53:00.000-07:00

Well hello blog! haven't talked to you in awhile...

Summer is in full swing and blogs are very few and far between. But when you live in a place that snows 8 months of the year, you really must take advantage of those warm days.

Hubby has been working hard building a new backyard for us and I must say I am VERY impressed with his work. He built a wonderful deck and fence for us to enjoy, our backyard has really had a facelift.

Now I just need a professional landscaper to drop out of the sky and tell me what to do with the rest of our yard.

We have also snuck in a couple of lake outings and I can't wait to do more.

I hope everyone is having as lovely a summer as myself :)

Meet Florence

2011-06-29T14:15:00.000-07:00

This is Florence:

Florence lives outside of our kitchen window.

I was tempted to bring her hairy little life to an end when I first met her.

but she did have plenty of flying buggies in her web, which means less flying bugs on my food on the patio.

win-win. She lives.

I have no idea what types of spider she is, or whether she is poisonous?

notice the 2 large "horns" on her back. Poison??

If anyone knows please tell me.

I would feel safer knowing she will not end my hairy little life.

5 ? Friday!

2011-06-24T09:19:00.000-07:00

1. What is your current favorite tv show?

"How I met your mother", I really love this show it it always

funny and I love how they will mention something one episode

and it will come up again 8 episodes later...very well written!

2. What's the worst haircut you ever got?

I gave myself a haircut when I was four.

Yup, I cut them bangs alllll they way to my scalp.

Not pretty at all.

Needless to say hairdressing never appealed to me.

3. What was something that you did as a child that you thought you were so cool for doing?

As a "tween" I wore some of my mom's chunky platform heels from the seventies, I thought I looked pretty hip. Plus it gave me another four inches (I was already pretty tall) so I thought I could pass for at least 16 or 17 when I was only 14.

Not so much.

4. Do you have any GREAT frugal family fun tips?

I make my own baby food and I use cloth diapers.

Thats pretty fun.

5. Would you drive across country if you had the money to fly?

It might be cheaper to fly with the way gas prices are here.

Depends on what I am doing I guess. If the destination is

across the country I guess I would fly just so I could get there

quickly and spend my time there. But if I want to take my time

and see a lot of sights driving is not bad either.

Last weekend before summer break.

SOOOOOO excited!!!!!!!!!!!

Never read baby books

2011-06-23T10:15:00.000-07:00

Ok so I use the term "never" quite loosely.

Baby books are full of great information especially for us first timers.

I really like "The Baby Book" by Dr. Sears

that book has everything!

The only downside is that I track Gooberfish's development with the "monthly development scale" and even though I tell myself not to worry.

I end up worrying.

He is almost seven months old and has no sign or interest in sitting.

This is supposed to be a big step for a six month old.

I will put him in a sitting position and he will either:

A) be ok for a very short time (1-2 min) before fussing

B) cry the instant he is put in that position

C) shimmy his body down so he is laying on his back

I know he won't be like this forever, he has to sit sometime.

But those books for whatever reason make me worry ALL THE TIME.

Take a deep breath.

Let it out.

He WILL learn to sit.

sitting long enough for me to snap a photo!

Dad

2011-06-19T20:02:00.000-07:00

So today is Fathers Day and we celebrate dad.

Most gifts you buy from stores associate dad with:
Golf
Bowling
BBQ
Hunting
Drinking Beer

My own father is none of the above.
He is a quiet farmer who is old fashioned in the sense that he deems it inappropriate to use cuss words in front of women.

Sadly I never really got to spend much time in my life with my dad.
My parents divorced when I was 2 and I lived with my mom most of the time.

I think about what it would be like if I grew up in a family with two parents together who love each other very much.

It seems odd to me.

Something strange that I have never known.

But the silver lining is that my husband and I are very much in love and and we celebrated his first fathers day today.

To my wonderful husband, and amazing father:
I love you very much thank you for your involvement and dedication to our son and our amazing marriage!

5 ? Friday!

2011-06-17T11:13:00.000-07:00

Yay! Friday...best day of the week...can't wait till hubby makes mickey waffles tomorrow :)

1. What is your favorite summer time activity?

Eating BBQ food stuffs and sitting around a campfire.

I love food and I am lazy hahaha.

This just brings good warm fuzzy feelings to my heart. I spent MANY hours growing up just sitting around a campfire and I enjoyed every minute of it :)

2. Do you have one laundry soap you stick to, or do you buy whatever's on sale?

Uhhh...I just try to find something that can be used in an HE front load washer. Hubby is sensitive to some brands...on sale is always a good thing

3. What is your favorite dinner to make in the summer?

See question #1.

My favorite dinner is the one I don't have to cook. Hubby is the skilled BBQ king so I let him take over in that area.

The bonus with BBQ is there is way less to clean up :)

4. Do you have any talents?

Oh many! I can change the yuckiest poopy diaper without batting an eye. I can go for days with 1-2 hours of sleep. I can clean a house, cook dinner, and take care of an infant while making it appear as though I have done nothing all day...

The list goes on

I am also good at art

reading

wasting time

shopping

5. If you could instantly be an expert in something, what would it be? Why?

I have actually wished this many times, for different areas.

Currently I wish I was an expert landscaper/gardener.

I would like to have the most awesome backyard imaginable but I need some more know how...

and money...

Happy Friday Y'all!

Sometimes I am embarrassed...

2011-06-16T08:05:00.000-07:00

I don't watch hockey much.
At all. Ever.

But I was sorta listening in on the playoffs since a Canadian team was in the finals.

In my heart I cheered for them a little since I heard it had been many years since they had a big win.

After I read last night that the Canucks lost, I thought to myself...too bad, better luck next year.

But when I watched the news this morning I was absolutely appalled by what I saw.

Some of my fellow Canadians were taking their rage of the loss to the streets and causing riots, fires and looting.

WHAT A HUGE EMBARRASSMENT!!

So they lost....GET OVER IT!!!

Don't think that you have to prove a point by turning into a bunch of goons and destroying your own home over it!

I really think that most individuals are rational, but you put people in a group and suddenly they turn into a bunch of lunatics.

I even saw one guy on the news who was prepared to be an idiot and had some flammable liquid in an eye dropper that he used to light a police car on fire.

OVER A HOCKEY GAME.

I could go on and on about the stupidity of people in a group but I will stop here.

I will however apologize and assure everyone that not all Canadians act like this.

We are mostly a good friendly lot who would love just to sit and enjoy Tim Horton's coffee.

Cheers, Eh!

5 ? Friday!

2011-06-10T07:14:00.000-07:00

Thanks for the 5 ? Friday, it saves on brain power...

1. How close to your childhood dreams is your life now?

I am not a race car driver or movie star or model but I know somewhere along the line I wanted an amazing husband with great kids.

I got the perfect man and we have one wonderful son.

We are working on our litter, but that takes time ;)

2. What is one must have item for the summer?

For the past 3 or 4 years I have owned the same pair of croc sandles (not the original croc shoes) and I LOVE them. I would cry if I ever lost them, I wear them ALL THE TIME.

I would invest in another pair but they seem to be a rare find...

3. Do you have your kids stay up on school stuff during summer vacation? (Or, if you don't have kiddos, did your parents make you keep up on school stuff during summer?)

My babe is too young for that question but as I teacher I honestly say to relax and enjoy summer for what it is. You get very few precious summers with no worries as a kid and I think it should stay that way.

With that said hubby and i are both avid readers, we read almost every night. I want my kids to see that and when they can read on their own I would like them to do it as something fun for spare time.

4. Do you can or freeze fresh produce?

I puree and freeze produce for my son's meals, I also give him fresh stuff.

For myself I wonder if my local grocer doesn't do it already...the produce here is nasty

5. Do you get ready for the day first thing in the morning?

Sigh...I must say that I usually don't. I enjoy lounging around drinking coffee and blogging or taking care of my son's or husbands needs before I even think about tending to myself.

BUT If I do get up and at em' I find that I feel more energetic...

whatever i am a stay at home mom for the time being I will relax as much as I want :)

Happy weekend all!!

Don't pi$$ me off or I'll send in the cops!!

2011-06-09T19:35:00.000-07:00

So being a stay at home momma has made funds a little tight around the household.

Naturally I look around for things to sell.

Dresses that I never plan on wearing. Perfect.

Some even with tags on. Even more perfect.

I put three dresses up for sale on a website hoping some young gal might need a dress for a soiree of sorts.

After much waiting I got a bite.

A kind young lady (high school age) wanted one of the dresses but she was worried it might not fit. Being four hours away I thought the best answer would be to send it to her in the mail.

I am trusting. I try to see the best in people. After much emailing back and forth she seemed very trustworthy.

I sent the dress. She got it in the mail and LOVED it, perfect fit she even said.

I asked her to send me the $ and I gave her a variety of options to do so.

She wanted my bank account number to do a direct deposit.

RED FLAGS!!!

I told her no-can-do, I don't give out that info and then again gave her another list of options.

That would be the last I heard from her.

I emailed every other day, I said kind nice words.

Nothing

Nadda

What could I do?? She lived four hours away

Lucky for me she lived in a small town. Within a few hours I had her phone number, mom's name and place of work.

I had no luck contacting her by phone. Maybe she was on to me??

So I called the boys in blue.
Thats right.

The cops. It is a small town and the nice young man I spoke to over the phone was more than welcome to track her down for me.

I only wished I could have seen the look on her face when she answered the door to a police officer looking for my $.

Needless to say he got me my cash.

Yes I learned a valuable lesson, Don't trust anyone no matter how nice they might seem online, get $ first!

Fool me once...I call the Police HAHAHA

You don't mess with this type of crazy

Oh my....

2011-06-08T18:47:00.000-07:00

So I need to apologize deeply for my absence dear blog.

I am so very sorry.

Silly life gets in the way sometimes,

we are building a deck and a fence

I am in the middle of a great job fiasco

and little Gooberfish has started teething!

Reno's, teething, job stress, no sleep = no blogging

I will try my best to be an avid blogger for the rest of the month!

Gooberfish and Moochie trying to be friends

Yay! 5 ? Friday

2011-05-20T10:34:00.000-07:00

So I read these on another blog and I LOVE doing stuff like this so without further ado here we go!!!

1. Do you and your spouse go to bed at the same time?

Yes. Which is alarmingly geeky early. We are usually in bed around 9:30 or 10:00. After we bath the gooberfish, read him a story, I nurse him, then the family is ready for sleep.

We have stayed up later than Gooberfish to watch a movie but the inevitable happens:

1. I fall asleep halfway through

2. I drag myself around the next day cursing the fact I went to bed at midnight, got up for two nursing sessions and was up with Gooberfish at 6 AM.

2. A question for the ladies...What kind of facial hair do you like on your man?

None. For the most part, my hubby bares a little soul patch which is about all I like. The rest just makes kissing a scratchy event!

3. What's the worst vacation you've ever taken?

I really can't think of a bad vacation. I am broke enough that I have learned to love any chance to get away from home for awhile.

ohhhhh...wait.... I just remembered this one time when I was about 7 or 8 and my family drove to Drumheller, AB to see the prehistoric park. I was SOOOO sick, I remember hardly being able to keep down a glass of water and barfing all over the floor in the reptile exhibit room.

I apologize for whoever had to clean that up.

4. What's the first-ever blog you followed?

I don't remember... sorry :(

5. Do you enjoy amusement parks?

Depends which one.

Disney = Heck Yes!!!!!!

Roll into town carnyville = scary

I like a good theme ride, which is why I love Disney, the rides actually amuse me.

Any other place the rides make me dizzy and I have a feeling of disappointment mixed with that barfy feeling I mentioned earlier

Lovely thoughts to end the blog.

Me and my favorite mouse

Book Review

2011-05-18T07:55:00.000-07:00

I finished reading "The Wedding Girl" and I have added it to my review page so go on and check that out if you wish.

Also please leave comments if you were reading it as well and let me know what you thought.

So I am searching for my next novel. Suggestions?

Pollen-hate

2011-05-17T08:52:00.000-07:00

I love the great outdoors. There is just something wonderful about being outside after spending the last 7 months stuck inside wearing my warm woolies.

But sadly for about 2-3 weeks every spring I have to take the good with the bad.

I am allergic to spring.

All those lovely pollenating plants make me want to gouge out my itchy eyes with spoons while standing on the mountain of tissue I use each and every day.

I NEVER had any allergies as a kid, they actually developed after my first year of university.

How does this happen? I thought I had a nice clean break from developing anything that late in the game.

Oh well. With my pockets stuffed with tissues I will go outside and I WILL enjoy the precious little warmth that we have here in the great white north.

I may have red eyes and a snotty nose but at least I am happy and warm :)

ZZZZZZZZZZZ....

2011-05-13T14:28:00.000-07:00

The Gooberfish has been growing quite nicely if I do say so myself. He seems to be a nice, cheerful, sensitive 5 month old.

It bothers me a little when as soon as I took him to visit my parents and he lets out some whimpers and even has a little cry that they assumed something was the matter with him.

He is a baby.

Babies cry. Did they forget that?

We had driven 8 hours across country only to have them ask what was wrong with him.

We threw his personal schedule off and he did not nap at his proper times, he was forced to sleep in a bed that wasn't his, he was in a strange house filled with strange people, so ya a little cryin' is what we had to endure.

I love my parents, God bless them, but REALLY?!

Now that we are safe and sound back at home they keep asking if he doing better.

Rest assured HE IS FINE.

Next time Grandma and Grandpa should drive 8 hours, I will make them sleep on cots in the basement and we can see how cranky they are in the morning :)

Aside from that Gooberfish has entered the world of food! He really enjoys his rice cereal with breast milk.

He has also moved from his bassinet to his crib (sniff sniff momma is doing fine...)

But we really enjoy our afternoon snuggle and sleep in the big bed :)

Have a great Friday everyone!

Prepping for summer

2011-05-10T17:28:00.000-07:00

Hubby and I have been waiting for this for a looooooong time.

Summer.

Not just any ol' summer, I mean the kick back and have a frosty drink in backyard, go for long walks, maybe even a little camping and hiking kind of summer.

We are always moving. Always.

With us both being teachers you would think that we would have these gorgeous summer holidays.

But alas teachers are a dime a dozen. No one needs us for more than year.

And then we are off to the next city/province/country to endure a year of teaching into the unknown of where we will be at the end of it.

Last summer was horrendous because not only were we moving eight hours away from our home, but I was 6 months pregnant.

BUT FINALLY

hubby has a job secured in the same place so we can stay put.

Hopefully our fence and deck building project is complete before summer holidays start.

I can't wait for us to kick back with some fruity slushy summer drinks!

My Curse

2011-05-09T09:27:00.000-07:00

I believe that everyone has that something that just follows them around like a rain cloud ready to pour on the parade.

Some people always manage to pick out the worst movies (hubby I'm looking at you)

Some people cannot buy a good pair of shoes without something going wrong (mom I'm looking at you)

Some people cannot buy a used vehicle without something falling apart on it (Bro I'm looking at you)

We all have it.

Its a curse of something.

Mine is telephones.

I cannot buy a home phone that will last more than a year maybe two at the very most.

I have lived on my own for just over 10 years. I have had a different home phone every other year.

So what am I going to do about this??

I quit.

Yep, that's right. I'm a big ol' quitter.

I'm quittin' and I'm never lookin' back. No more home phone for this momma.

I will finally take the plunge and get a cell phone, one for me, hubby already has one.

downside: telling everyone we have a different #

upside: no more losing hubby at walmart

Now to pick out a phone...

Serious Warning

2011-05-06T09:54:00.000-07:00

This momma has come to the realization that I soon need to cut the cord, hand over the reigns, let go....

my baby has outgrown his bassinet

When I purchased it I did not carefully read that it only holds up to 15 lbs.

15 lbs.! Thats it... 5 months later and his little bed is obsolete.

But I'm not ready. Not at all.

I like him being rightnexttome.

I like hearing him breath and sigh throughout the night.

I like waking up to him sucking his thumb waiting patiently for me to feed him.

I know it will take more for me to make this transition to his own room than it will for him. his own crib....sigh...

I wonder how concrete that warning sign is?

Surely he can stay snuggled in his bed for another 5 months or 5 years.

Love Thy Neighbor

2011-05-04T09:03:00.000-07:00

I am finding it increasingly difficult to follow this good ol' Bible rule.

Thy neighbor happens to have big meanie dogs who come running into my yard each morning to have a poop.

But then we found out they have been evicted and they are taking the big doggies away, yay! I know I should feel a little sorry for them...but I don't...not really even a little.

We are still going to build a fence, it is in the works!

Vacation?!

2011-05-03T08:05:00.000-07:00

So I just got home from Easter Vacation.

Not sure if I can really call it a vacation.

According to my vacation checklist, a vacation must:

be relaxing (or hectic but superfun ex. Disneyland)
hot and sunny
fruity slushy drinks consumed

But sadly I was not very relaxed, it was cold and wet, and the closest I got to a "fun" drink was a pink grapefruit slurpee from Seven Eleven.

Oh well, we drove for 6 hours to go see my family and some old friends, we ate loads of Easter yum yums and introduced Gooberfish to everyone who had not met him yet.

But next year I swear we are going to Hawaii.

Easter Egg Hunt in Grandma's backyard

Gooberfish's cousins: Mini M, Middle M and Big M

Gooberfish enjoying his time outdoors

Meeting my best friend J and her son

The Sound of Spring

2011-04-21T09:06:00.000-07:00

In this hectic day and age the simple little life pleasures can get lost in all the hustle and bustle.

But this morning at around 6:30 I was all snuggled up to my hubby and I heard a glorious sound.

The Robin's were singing.

Spring has FINALLY sprung here in the frozen north!

I took that moment to breath deep and thank God for life's little pleasures!

How to LOVE your clothes

2011-04-20T09:20:00.000-07:00

I recently read an article that was about loving your wardrobe.

I like my wardrobe, but I don't love it.

I would really like to love it.

I never made a New Years Resolution (it's not to late is it?) anyways I think I will now.

I resolve to love my clothes, and get rid of what I hate.

This article said that the best way to buy only clothes that you will love is to take the top five of something, say Tops, and find what is similar between them that makes you love them.

Here are my top five:

So what is similar?

Bold Color - I have 2 bright purple tops plus 1 yellow
Prints- 4 of the 5 have some kind of print on them
Fit- All are fitted but not too tight
Material- 3 are 100% cotton, the other 2 are cotton blends

Conclusion: If I stick to the similarities I shouldn't go wrong. Beware of duplicates though (how many bright purple tops do I need??) I am also aware that these are very casual tops and that I do need something to dress up in occasionally.

Also methinks that the look I have going here might be a little young for my age.
The big 3-0 is headed my way fast.
But I love what I love!

How to catch a cat

2011-04-19T08:13:00.000-07:00

Until now I have always loved cats.

Cute, cuddly little furballs.

Then I move to a town where the population of strays rivals that of people.
We own a cat and as a result EVERY stray has to make it known to our cat that he is treading on their turf.

And they do this by peeing on our house!!!

Yep. You heard me. PEE. Right on our house.

CAT PEE. I don't think much else can rival that stank grossness.

Now that the weather is getting nicer I really want to bleach and scrub our house clean, but what is the point when they just keep peeing??

Step in my AMAZING handy husband.

A couple of youtube video's later and he built us not one but two traps. Best part is he did it with scraps from our garage!

Observe:

Our trap has successfully worked twice!

When I looked at the one feline we had caught my tender heart came out and I felt sorry for it, thinking maybe someone did own this cat.

Then it chomped out a piece of wood with its teeth.

We happily had pest control take it away.

Here's to hoping we are on our way to being pee free.

HOW TO HELP YOUR KIDS SUCCEED IN SCHOOL - Lesson 2

2011-04-18T12:56:00.000-07:00

MATH.

Growing up this was a dreadful word for me.
Enough to make my blood run cold.
This is a very common thing for many kids. Why??
Computing numbers is just something that does not come easily for many people. Take that and put in the added stress of timed tests and suddenly "I hate math" is just a common language among students.

So how can you help?

1. Use math everyday. Let your kids see you doing math and have them help. Add up groceries, figure out the average for your monthly bills, if you are doing home reno's the math is endless! By doing this you are showing the importance of math and how it is used everyday. Try doing things without a calculator and then have your child double check the answer with one.

2. Make math a game. When it comes down to it your child MUST learn how to add, subtract, multiply and divide. These are the basics. So the best way to learn them is to practice all the time. If you drive your kids to school or some sort of practice ask them facts and make it a game. Something along the lines of "Everytime we come to a red light I will ask a multiplication question, green light is addition...." make it what ever you want (older kids can take over as "teacher" when they are fluent enough). Don't make your kids compete against each other rather have them compete with themselves (last time I got 6 out of 10 right, what can I get on this trip?) The bonus is that they are all together, no one can walk away from the game, everyone can learn from each other. (I also really like "Brain Age" for Nintendo DS, it is a great math game that is fun to play for all ages!)

3. At the beginning of the year ask your child's teacher to compile some sample questions with instructions for how he/she will be teaching things like long division, two by two digit multiplication, etc. When your child is learning these things you can then follow along with the method they are using. Chances are the way you were taught math is not the way your child is learning today. Don't mix up your child by showing "your method" when they might need to prove that they know how to do it the "new way". Good communication from the start of the year will go a long way.

Happy Learning Everyone!!

Tuna with a Twist

2011-04-14T12:44:00.000-07:00

I LOVE cooking. I LOVE Eating even more.

I will baste, broil and caramelize everything and anything. I rarely cook the same thing twice (it never turns out the same on the second try and then I'm disappointed)

But only when it comes to supper.

Breakfast consists of cold cereal or toast maybe a hot cereal if I get the craving.

And then there is lunch. I NEVER know what to make.

I am home alone with the Gooberfish, so lunch has to be quick and easy because he no longer naps for more than 20 min at a time. So If I don't have time to savour the flavor why waste time making it??

So today I put Gooberfish down for a nap giving myself a whopping 20 min window for lunch.

I ended up making a kick-arse Tuna sandwich!

and you can too! here's how:

Step 1: Start with a can of lovely tuna

drain water(give water to cat if you have one), mash it up in a bowl

Step 2: Add desired amount of Mayo

Step 3: Add a squirt of lemon juice

Step 4: add a small squirt of prepared mustard

Step 5: Add a dash or two of Cumin (my new Favorite spice!)

Step: last but not least, one turn of fresh ground pepper

You could probably add some nice celery or olives or something else, but this chicky needed a quick lunch so I threw it as is between two slices of french bread, had a glass of milk and by the time it was all gone Gooberfish was up!
Enjoy!