Wednesday, October 31, 2012

Halloween 2012

I'm not a big fan of Halloween.  This year I was exceptionally unfestive.  We didn't even carve a pumpkin.  But it is fun when the kids get dressed up & are super excited to go trick-or-treating.  This year three of our kids went out with their friends.  Grace had a melt-down over her costume and ended up missing the half of the night.  Abbie just goes with the flow. 







Week 41 in Pictures

The girls & I skipped school one day this week and went to the children's library.  One of the books I picked out was a drawing book that shows how to draw animals by sketching circles to get the basic shapes and proportions.  We've all been having fun drawing this week. 


Music lessons have started again - practice, practice, practice.



I planted garlic for the first time this fall - these are the cloves just before I put them into their winter beds!


Sunday, October 21, 2012

Week Forty in Pictures (Jane)

Emma rocked at her competition this weekend!  I rocked the food!  Doesn't this one remind you of the "picnics days".  It was rather fun being creative with food again, but it's exhausting too.  It reminded all of us of the old catering days - the good and the bad.


I kind of wish Grace & Abbie were dancing this year too.  Jody brought the kids up to watch.


Trophy winner!!



The kids all had dentist appointments this week - on the same day as school pictures.  I don't usually buy them anyway, but it inspired us to go to the "secret spot" for a little photo shoot of our own.






Week 40

Seth turned 4 this week. 

To be honest, 3 was a hard year for him. A big move, a new baby- he had some major things to work through. We've cuddled and talked and taught and fed this year, trying to infuse him with love and give him skills (hit the pillow, not your brother) 
 He's slowly relaxing into a new city, a new house, a new family dynamic. He hasn't asked "why can't I be a baby anymore?" or said "I hate this house. I want to go back to our old house" in months. 
I've noticed a calm spreading over him.
And so we celebrated. We celebrated his sass and his spirit, his sweetness and intelligence. We celebrated his healthy body, his curiosity, his adorable affection. We celebrated the magic of childhood and the beautiful journey of a year.






 Can you guess what his favourite new toy is?







We had a superhero party full of webs, evil pinata planets and other shenanigans.......


I think year 4 is going to be a good one, do you agree?



Week 39

 
  

Annalise turned one this week. We had a lovely little party with some friends and neighbours to  celebrate.




 She is a delight. And she's adorable and perfect in every way.



A Few Things From Week 38




 
 Have you heard about story stones? What a cool idea! We parked our van down by the river (quote?) and gathered as many flat, smooth stones as we could. After a good scrub and an hour in the sun, we broke out the paints and got our craft on. 





       I had three extra chicas here for a couple days this week. 
I watched them for a friend who was in the hospital. 







 8 hours of conference? I gave the oldest 3 each a roll of masking tape and let them stick to their hearts' content. 

My favourite talks here and here

Thursday, October 18, 2012

Before and After: Back Entry Light

Almost two winters ago Dad & I renovated the back entry - replacing drywall, replumbing, tiling, painting, building shelves & the bench that I love, installing beadboard, hooks, trim.... we almost got the whole thing finished to perfection.  But for two years the light has been dangling from the ceiling by three dusty wires.  I just couldn't find one that I really liked but refused to screw this one into it's former place. 




A few weeks ago I saw a light that I liked from the picture here and tried to find it in Canada.  I couldn't order it from Lowes.ca, but when I called the nearest Lowes (in Sudbury - 3 hours away) they actually had them in stock.  The sales-guy was skeptical at first that they would carry them, but apparently this light was just meant for this spot!!  And it was only $33.00!  Then my sister Megan picked it up for me when she took a trip there a couple of weekends ago!!  Then it sat in the box.  I opened it, read the instructions, and got nervous.  Then I called my brother Fraser who can build or fix just about anything & today all of my lighting dreams have come true! 





Isn't it lovely?

The only thing that really drives me crazy is that I want to learn how to do all of these things without help!!  Wiring is a little scary, but it seems straight forward.  Do most people just install lights themselves, or call an electrician, or a guy they know?  I have two more lights still in boxes....