Tightening the purse strings

I'm certain this will sound just downright ridiculous to some of you. You will laugh and think to yourself, “is this nut for real?”. “Is she actually someone's mother?” “How could she possibly be educated . . . wait – isn't she a teacher?”

Brace yourself.


I just completed my first budget. A real life, actual budget that monitors and limits your spending.

Dictionary.com defines “budget” as the following:

–noun
1.an estimate, often itemized, of expected income and expense for a given period in the future.
2.a plan of operations based on such an estimate.
3.an itemized allotment of funds, time, etc., for a given period.
4.the total sum of money set aside or needed for a purpose: the construction budget.
5.a limited stock or supply of something: his budget of goodwill.
6.Obsolete. a small bag; pouch.
–adjective
7.reasonably or cheaply priced: budget dresses.
–verb (used with object)
8.to plan allotment of (funds, time, etc.).
9.to deal with (specific funds) in a budget.
–verb (used without object)
10.to subsist on or live within a budget.

Number 10 kind of hit me like a speeding train at rush hour. I mean, this is what normal, grown-up adults and parents do, isn't it? And while I'm sure there are many of you shaking your heads, thinking I must be an unorganized, over-spending goof . . . there must be a number of you nodding in agreement, recognizing that a concrete budget is something that's been on your own to-do list for far too long.

Despite not having a budget on paper, I'm not a crazy over-spender. We don't live a lavish, extravagant lifestyle. At this point in my life, I choose not to work and I have an extended maternity leave from my career (and I have been fortunate enough to have retained my full-time status and position in my school board) so that I am able to spend this part of my life at home, raising my children. It's a choice. But one that comes with some restrictions and limitations. We live in a modest, small, home in a mid-sized city. We drive basic, no-frills vehicles (what I wouldn't give for a power window at the drive-thru). We don't have a home filled with expensive gadgets, equipment, or “things”. Our recent Wii purchase (for Father's Day) is our first video game and only item of that genre that we own. We don't eat out often, we don't own NHL season tickets anymore, I don' t have extravagant jewelry and we don't take world-class vacations. We don't have any debt outside our mortgage.

I used to work in a career where I made a fairly decent salary. I chose to leave that career to pursue a degree in Education and become a teacher. Not because I hated the previous career, but I felt that I had a calling to become a teacher, and I had always loved and felt natural teaching children. It was a huge life adjustment for me and a large pay cut (but evidently extremely rewarding). My husband and I used to be DINKS (double income, no kids) and we ate, drank, traveled and spent. Changing careers and then having three children was a real wake-up call to our financial stability.

After putting our budget discussion on the back burner for ages, we finally got our act together and did it. It wasn't so hard. I'd always been great at saving receipts and documenting all our costs, so I'm certainly aware of where we spend too much money, and where the majority of our money goes.

The biggest and most aggressive change we made was to deliver a largerer percentage of our income directly into savings for retirement, education, etc. What is left we divided among our bills and typical monthly costs. At the end of that, well, there is not a whole left. You can see this is not rocket science, I didn't even use a fancy program like Quicken, I did it in simple old Microsoft Excel.

So this is where things change for me. Suddenly every penny I spend comes from a pre-existing category. I have certain allotted amounts per month, per category. I'm careful with money and I don't believe I waste it, but I'm not used to contemplating every dollar we spend. This is really going to make me think about things, and ultimately, that's a positive thing for our family. I've found lots of useful websites and blogs with great tips, so I'm learning a bit more every day.

Be sure to stay tuned in the coming weeks to see how a crafty mom does on a budget!

Wordless Wednesday

(well, not really wordless because that would be impossible for me)

Here are a few shots from yesterday . . . the kids were still not 100 per cent better from their stomach flu bout, so we walked around the neighbourhood, and hung out on the bed. On a non-sick day I couldn't have done anything in my power to put Thing 1 and Thing 2 in the stroller AND have them fall asleep!!!!

A Mosiac of Me!

I saw this cool mosiac idea at Simply Shannon's blog. With a fabulous name like that, I couldn't resist, so I tried it out!!!

Here’s how it works . . .
Answer each of the questions below.
Surf over to Flickr (set up an account if you don’t have one–it’s quick and easy) and type your answers (one at a time) into the search bar.
From the choice of pictures shown only on the front page, click on the one that moves you.
Once the page with your picture opens, copy the URL.
Surf over to the Mosaic Maker, set up your mosaic, and paste your URLs.
Click “Create!”

The Questions:
1. What is your first name?
2. What is your favorite food?
3. What high school did you attend?
4. What is your favorite color?
5. Who is your celebrity crush?
6. What is your favorite drink?
7. Where would you go on your dream vacation?
8. What is your favorite dessert?
9. What do you want to be when you grow up?
10. What do you love most in life?
11. Choose one word to describe you?
12. Your Flickr name? (I used my blog name.)

Back in the bloggerhood

I have been absent from the bloggerhood for a good few days now. We certainly got walloped with this stomach flu. But all is not lost, and I'd go as far to say that I've learned a good solid few lessons from all this. I try to seek out the positive in all things, so I'm gonna dig deep here and aim for that as I slowly emerge from one of the least fun weeks of my entire life.

1) Valuable life lesson learned - WATCH what you say OUT LOUD. Be wary about open comments like "we are all feeling better now" . . . when in fact another child waiting to throw up or poop his pants is right around the corner. This should also include phrases like "I think we've kicked this" (when we hadn't) or "it wasn't really that bad" (when it really was that bad). My personal favourite? "All five of us couldn't possibly get this bug".

Number of family members who contracted said stomach bug? FIVE.

2) I certainly instilled a lot of very sanitary behaviour around here. Floors were mopped countless times, walls washed, laundry was cleaned 4-5 times a day, sinks were scrubbed, *and* the entire inside of our van is sparkly clean and like new. One child carseat is fresh and scrubbed like brand new!

3) My family spent a lot of close, one-on-one time together. We played Wii, we watched movies, we chatted, we read books, we CRIED, we laughed.

4) I am currently within one to two pounds of my goal weight. I mean, there really is no faster and more efficient type of weight loss. I even got a (maybe not necessarily needed) break from working out . . . because I certainly could not have run feeling the way I have.

5) We learned to focus on all the good things in our life, and how even though we were desperately ill, we still had "each other" and are completely blessed for the family we have and our happy little life together.

6) There is a very good chance this is now behind us and we will likely be completely healthy for our big trip and vacation out East in a couple weeks!!!!

I promise to have more exciting blogging topics to come in the near future!!

A bouncing baby girl!

Ever wonder when your child might be getting a little too big for the "bouncy" seat????




Of course I missed the funniest part, she grabbed the two hanging parts and started to lift herself right out of the chair. Yes, I realize she is not buckled in, but I was right next to her.

The straps don't fit around her anymore . . .

A slow week

You may be noticing a lack of fun, interesting posts this week.

This is indeed true.

Our little household of Things has been walloped by some unpleasant illnesses as of late.

Meaning, our kids are SICK!!!! Poor Thing 2 was miserable for a few days, and I really didn't know what to make of it. I tried to chalk it up to the "terrible twos" but he just wasn't himself, cranky, crying, not eating, and lethargic. We headed out on Canada Day to celebrate at a local fair held for kids, but he just wasn't into it. He was clingy, crying, hot . . . he just wasn't having a good time. Even Thing 3 was fussing in her stroller . . . *very* unlike her.

We left early and I took David's temperature when we got home. He did have a low grade fever, poor little thing. He's been downright feeling rotten since Tuesday. He had diarrhea (um, in bed while napping . . . not the best timing with our recent successful potty training), sweats, and now has developed a cough and a runny nose. Bleck.

And out of nowhere yesterday my precious little Thing 3 started vomiting all over the place. FOURTEEN times before bed last night. I mopped, did laundry, wiped faces, changed clothing - and then started that all over again. And bless her little heart, she never shed a tear or stopped smiling through the whole thing. Literally . . . just vomit, smile, laugh, vomit again. Nothing can get her spirits down.

And after leaving you with all those miserable details, here are a few pictures we did manage to take on Canada Day. Auntie Steph is off to Holland and wanted some family shots for all the relatives. These are far from ideal, but, we are not perfectionists.

The six of us . . . Things 1 through 5 and their awesome mommy.

A gorgeous shot of Granny with Thing 3.

Paul, Granny and the 3 Things.

Thing 1 (he refuses to take that Longhorns hat off, he wears it 24/7. Daddy got it for him while working in Houston last year).

Thing 2 . . . our little sickie still strong enough to climb up the slide.

Thing 3 looking elegant in another headband shot. And I see more headband paraphernalia in her future . . . Heather from A Big Boy, A Baby Girl, and a Precious Pug gave me some shopping hints on where to get a few more . . . she has a daughter Thing 3's age and a little boy Thing 2's age!!

Not sure which is more yummy . . .

While obviously there is sugar in this scrumptious strawberry cake, it is entirely made from scratch with delicious, organic ingredients. I'm in love with our fresh, local strawberries and they're in season such a short period of time here, that I make sure we eat tons every day.

We had a fun barbecue last night with Granny, topped off with our yummy cake for desert.

And check out Thing 3 sporting a new headband and looking girly and gorgeous. I eventually caved in and got one of these bands, they are very cute and very soft for a little baby's head. I had gotten the "is it a GIRL or a BOY?" comment one too many times from strangers. This should fix that problem, I'd say!

We've got a busy week of visiting, barbecues and entertaining. Tomorrow is Canada Day here so we'll be off to a local fair and then heading to see the fireworks!!

The Ultimate I Buy Canadian Blog Party!

Although I'm a little late, I'm joining the Ultimate I Buy Canadian Blog Party hosted by Apples 'n' Oranges, a great Canadian company I just found offering Made in Canada children's clothing for ages 0-5. Well, that suits me perfectly since I have THREE Things, age four and under!! Although I'm very late, and very tired (the contest closes tonight at midnight and it's after 11:00 pm!), here's my bit:

I buy Canadian products whenever possible. It is important to my family and I to support our country's economy, to keep things local and support business in our area. We buy local and organic food as much as we can (see my next post, lol), made-in-Canada clothing, cloth diapers, and as much else as we possibly can. Last fall we purchased a beautiful bunk bed for the boys, handcrafted across the river from us in Aylmer, Quebec! Because of many Canadian government policies and regulations, a large number of the Canadian products we choose to purchase are environmentally friendly, safe, and non-toxic . . . a huge plus for us and our little family.

It's also important to us to buy from smaller, local businesses when possible, because in large part we are then avoiding large corporations who are possibly purchasing clothing, toys and other items made by men and women in other countries working under deplorable circumstances, for very little pay. Keeping things Canadian works for us!!!

Seeking health and happiness

I've had food on my mind a lot lately. Many of the blogs I read have been talking about food, eating healthy, cleansing diets, eliminating sugar and processed foods, and a host of other yummy and delicious topics lately. It really got me thinking.

As a loyal Dooce addict, I was following her recent cleanse. It was interesting to see the effects it had on her, and how many toxins she must have eliminated from her body. And how much better she felt (well, mentally . . . she didn't feel so great physically if you've read it) and how her anxiety decreased tenfold. Now, clearly I'm not able to do a cleanse of any type because I'm nursing a five month old baby right now. But I can certainly cut back on a lot of the crap in my diet.

I wouldn't say I eat horribly. I make many healthy choices throughout the day, and I eat three well-rounded meals on a regular basis. But I certainly crave sugar and feel pretty ripped off if I don't get my jolt of something sweet each evening. It's hard for me to go to bed without a cookie, bowl of ice cream, or other yumilicious goody these days. I've always been a sugar-lover, but I never really took the time to contemplate what a lot of sugar was doing to my body, and my health.

(I realize some of you must be rolling your eyes and saying, "duh", how could she not know sugar wasn't good for you . . . of course I knew, but I hadn't felt the need to do anything about it until now).

I had a long chat with a friend this week who recently eliminated sugar and processed foods from her diet. She spoke to me about a list of symptoms she had that were leading her to investigate her diet - weight gain, moodiness, anxiety, lethargy, etc. I felt like maybe she'd just let me in on some spectacular secret or something . . . I mean, I have certainly fallen victim to some of those nasty symptoms! I often just chalk my moodiness up to "I'm tired", or "I have a new baby", or "the world is out to get me". I listened to her eagerly while she told me some of the steps she had taken.

She mentioned that her son (Thing 1's age) was also following a sugar and processed food-free diet, and that it really drastically affected him if he ever ate a lot of sugar. It changed his mood completely and he was very hyper and out of control. Kind of like . . . my children . . . every . . . single . . . day!!! OK, I'm just kidding but you see my point, right?

Thing 1 has been a poor eater since birth. He is picky beyond belief and has a list of about 10 foods he will eat. We have tried everything with him. He is a tad underweight, so we are always conscious of making sure he gets enough calories, whether they are all completely healthy or not. So I've decided over the past little while that the food he *does* eat is going to be nutritious and good. We're taking baby steps, but each day I'm cutting out more and more processed foods and snacks that the children used to eat. I'm making more and more things from scratch at home, and using healthy and organic ingredients.

Speaking of which . . .

My sister-in-law in Vancouver (the land of all things green, organic, and crunchy) has fresh organic produce delivered to her home each week. For the longest time I really thought that was very cool, and eventually learned that we now have a similar service here. So, yes, I signed up for a basket of organic fruits and veggies to be delivered to my door. The company, Life Organic, arrived yesterday with my first order!!! I'm really pleased with it. I got quite a good assortment of goodies, for $35. Some may believe it seems a bit extravagent to have food delivered to your door, but getting out shopping for decent food (especially organic) with three small children is a monumental endeavour. This may be exactly what we need in the short term. The food selection is very reasonable so it's very easy to adjust/plan my weekly meals around what I get. I also have the ability to change my order and substitute out things the family doesn't eat.

Just over the past week I have started to cut way back on sugar, particularly on processed snacks or cookies that I used to, well, inhale. I truly am seeing and feeling a major difference. I still crave sugar but the biggest difference seems to be that for the first time in my life I am consciously thinking about my choices before I reach for something and stick it in my mouth.

I know, I know, not rocket science.

You'd think I was born yesterday, yet this is all just sort of playing out for me right now. Maybe for a reason? We'll see how it goes. I'm thinking it will be an interesting path to take and am thoroughly enjoying my travels as I seek out a healthier life for my family.

Real Life Thursday

Another Thursday, another glimpse into my real (fairly boring) life. Be sure to check out Jessica's blog if you'd like to peek into other's real lives! Today's list of real life photos included the following:
- curb appeal (yep, a picture of your home from the outside)
- junk drawer
- from whence you blog
- favourite jewelry
- your best feature

So hang on to your hats . . . and off we go!










Curb Appeal - here is part of the front of our house (we don't post pictures of the whole house on the internet), where my garden is starting to get a little out of control. So much rain has really caused it to grow!

Our junk drawer in our kitchen . . . ah . . . a little something for everyone in here! I organize it every few weeks and it instantaneously looks like this again.

I often blog upstairs at the kitchen table on our laptop (thanks mom!!!), otherwise I use the desktop computer downstairs. There's Thing 3's nursing pillow, I usually blog while nursing her. I am nothing if not a multi-tasker.

My favourite piece of jewelry (and I AM a jewelry girl, big time) is my recent mother's day gift from Paul and the kids . . . it was hand-crafted at Amos Pewter in Nova Scotia and I just love it, and the fact that it represents my three children.

I am mildly addicted to hand-crafted jewelry, and even make some basic pieces myself. Most of the pieces I own are one-of-a-kind, hand made by artists on the East Coast of Canada. I was thrilled to find this jewelry organizer a couple years ago (again, thanks mom) to organize and highlight all my pieces. It's so easy to pick something in the morning to match what I'm wearing . . . I'd be lost without this, and my jewelry!!

I wasn't sure if my best feature was supposed to be physical, or other. So I would say my best feature is my sense of humour, but if if I had to go with physical I would pick my legs . . . they are pretty big and strong and I've been running lately and they are finally getting back into shape. They help me sprint after Thing 1 and Thing 2 nicely :-)

That's it for another week of Real Life!

The 3 Things Have a Day Out

A big day was had here in the land of Things 1,2 and 3. My friend J convinced me to meet she and some friends at a local beach (she had the day off work and was spending it with her son). After having mild anxiety for a day or two, I was persuaded (by my dear husband, my two sons and the original friend who extended the invitation) to suck it up and take my three kids to the beach. On my own.

So off we went this morning in our little van. Four happy campers. Listening to alternative rock. Driving into . . . very dark clouds and rain. Thankfully, as we headed further north the rain stopped so when we arrived at our destination it was completely dry. But still remained cloudy. And windy. And cold. Things 1 and 2 had shorts on and hoodies - I threw them on at the last minute and was glad I did. It was FREEZING cold out there. The boys were still cold though, and would often come to my side, shivering and looking a delicate shade of icy blue, begging, "mommy, could we go home please?".

Well, seriously, it wasn't that bad and we stayed a short time and mostly played in the park area with all the play structures. The boys had fun and Leah was warm and comfy in the world's best baby carrier - that's right, you remember, the Beco!!! That sturdy piece of fabric remains the *best* money I've spent in months (maybe since my Paige jeans in 2006???).

After an hour or so we were so cold we had to throw in the towel and call it a day. Because we were all cold I figured a cup of coffee would be a great way to warm up - but realized a coffee shop wasn't somewhere I could conceivably take my three Things. Coffee shops are places for intelligent, cheeky, well-dressed grown ups. Not toddlers and babies. J worked her magic and convinced me to join her at a trendy, fair-trade coffee shop in Westboro (where cool, liberal-minded, young people live in highly overpriced homes that we cannot afford) for a latte or something. And suddenly, I had that feeling again. That feeling I had the day I took the boys to see Kung Fu Panda, the same feeling that creeps up on me on the days I take all three things to the grocery store, or to Costco. The "I can't possibly make it out of this alive" feeling, deep in the pit of my stomach.

But a latte called. And I don't get them very often. And I really wanted one. So off we went.

Thing 3 sat nicely and happily in her car seat carrier, while her brothers sat in seats with J and A. I went up to the counter and got each boy a cookie and a glass of milk and myself a yummy coffee and a sticky bun. J soon picked Leah up and held her for me (after the wedding on Saturday I am falling more and more in love with these kind and gentle baby-holders). We sat and ate and drank, and for a short time all was right in the world. Until we went to the bathroom to change Leah's dipe and the first two Things started getting antsy. Then David didn't want to leave the washroom and started to . . . yell . . . a little bit. No worries, we were out of that shop faster than a helium balloon with a hole in it. We barely left a scar on the relaxed, trendy-person atmosphere inside.

J and I commented that the clothing shop next door to the coffee shop was one of our favourites. Really living on the edge, we stepped inside. We convinced Peter (4), A (3) and David (2) to all hold hands and stay together in the store. It went remarkably well for a short time. I then grabbed a couple fab items from the new Lole summer collection (my very favourite clothing line in the entire world, and Canadian at that) and even managed to purchase them before snatching the three munchkins just before things would have gone awry and bolted from the store.

It is then only 12:30 pm - haven't I accomplished a lot? Chatting with adults at the beach, coffee AND two clothing items (cute and adorable at that, although not necessarily totally on budget). More than I had ever hoped for in my wildest dreams. The boys were having such fun that J asked us to come over and play at her house for the afternoon. Feeling an extra hint of mommy craziness come over me, I said yes. It was fun and relaxing and the kids all had a blast playing in the sprinkler and checking out A's funky Playmobil biker set. We drove home and arrived at our humble abode just before supper.

Total success. Do the three Things have a pulse? Check! We all made it!

Well . . . almost. We put Leah in her exersaucer while we dined on spaghetti for supper and in less than five minutes we noticed she had dozed off on the little fabric book she was reading. Too pooped to party anymore . . .

I do

You know those really annoying people who bring BABIES to weddings? Have you ever sat next to one of them? Aren't they completely and utterly irritating? Even when the baby is quiet, it's never real actual silence, because babies make noises just being alive . . . gurgling, burping, cooing. Many of these noises can even be pleasant, but are still,well, noise.

My worst fear came true yesterday and I had to bring the won't-drink-from-a-bottle-to-save-my-life baby with me to a wedding. The boys' granny was babysitting them, and I had dinner all planned and figured life would go on as scheduled without me there. They are more independent lately, and with Thing 2 potty trained that means no diapers to change. Basically you just help Thing 2 with his pjs (Thing 1 has been getting dressed on his own for months now, thank goodness) and they're off to sleep without a hitch. Thing 3 is just another story. She requires a lot more care and loving and prefers her milk straight from the tap. Demands it this way, actually.

So at the risk of actually missing the wedding, and after taking a poll among my friends who would be attending the wedding, we decided to bring the little bambino with us. We expected her to sleep through the ceremony (which was at 4:00) because she hadn't yet had her afternoon nap.

Not the case.

She was awake for the entire ceremony, and while she never once cried or was what I would constitute as *loud*, I still took her outside for most of the vows. The doors were open at the back so it was easy for us to stand almost out of sight (and earshot), still see most of the event, but be able to sneak out if things got out of hand. They never did, she was quite good and happy the entire time.

After the ceremony a cocktail hour was held, so I snuck to the ladies washroom (which was not air conditioned) to nurse Leah.

On a toilet seat.

In a gross little stall.

That was not for the handicapped, so it was incredibly tiny.

She drifted off to sleep and before I became too ecstatic about heading back to the wedding with a sleeping babe, I realized there was no way for me to slip my dress back on and tie it while holding Thing 3. I wore a halter dress thinking that it would be easy to feed her in . . . I think I missed the boat on that one. I had to practically undress completely to enable her access to the milk factory.

But we figured it out. She was pretty well behaved. No one seemed to mind that she was there. And for several short intervals she slept.

Five minutes on mommy.
(Notice my near-balding head from so much post-partum hair loss? I think I have 75 per cent fewer strands than I used to.)
A good seven or eight minutes on daddy.

And even crashed out on my friend C halfway through dinner. C insisted I eat my desert and have coffee sans baby. It was heaven. Thanks buddy!

So all in all not too shabby. It was a lovely ceremony, the groom (C) wrote and sang a beautiful song to his new wife N, and it was amazing. And the bride was stunning, she just looked gorgeous.

And while I love a great wedding as much as the next guy, PLEASE people, no more weddings until my Things are older!!!

Let's take some time out here

We just survived a very long week with no preschool, no scheduled activities, and rain every. single. day. Thing 2 had one of his last two-year molars break through his poor, sore, red gums. The pain *must* have been unbearable because he was whiny, cranky, uncooperative, miserable and downright unhappy. He threw several temper tantrums . . . per hour (characteristically unlike him). And yes, I mean the kicking, screaming, BITING kind.

Thing 1 was his excruciatingly "spirited" self, over-reacting and melting down far more frequently than normal. There was much fighting, many tears, some loud words, and one permanent scar left on Pete's arm where David bit him. Even precious, happy, and smiley Thing 3 was not herself the past few days, crying and fussing to a degree we did not think was possible for her - ok, yes, it was mild, but add all these three Things together and what do you get?

Total mommy breakdown.

Well, not yet, but I'm already focusing on a brighter, sunnier, more positive weekend. I trust things will only go up from here.

I also learned I am inadvertently imparting Supernanny's discipline techniques on my own kin already . . . I came around the corner yesterday to see this:

and to hear David saying "you're in a time-out Jesse**, because you were NOT listening to mommy again".

**Jesse is the fun-loving cowgirl from Toy Story 2. Jesse, nor Woody, her close friend and confidante, were harmed in this discipline scenario.

Our Real Life

It is becoming quite apparent that I've gone a little "bloggy" this week. I decided to participate in yet one more fun blog festival . . . today's theme is REAL LIFE and we were instructed to take real life pictures of a list of things. So being a good blog instruction follower, that's exactly what I did! The festival hostess is Jessica at Farm Fresh - she's a mommy of two girls with another babe on the way. Anyone as crazy as I am to embark on raising a trio of munchkins surely has a blog worth visiting, right???

If you think you're ready, grab a cup of coffee and step in to my REAL LIFE.

Have a look inside my fridge . . . I do groceries usually on Saturday morning (early, before anyone else gets there!) so we're getting a little on the bare side.


Next, we have a closet - I chose Leah's because I so adore staring into it and gazing at her precious little baby dresses and outfits!!


Ready to peer into my kitchen sink? Usually pretty clean because I'm anal about stuff like that.


Feel free to skip this next one - one of our toilets! This is in the bathroom of our bedroom, usually cleaner than our main bathroom because little toddlers are rarely peeing in (I mean all over) this one.
Now is where I get a little embarrassed. These are my favourite shoes. Yes, they are ugly Birkenstocks but they are so delightfully comfortable and better than flip flops for my plantar fasciitis. I've been addicted to them since I was a wee young thing in my early 20s.


The living room is my favourite room in my house. We can sit, relax, play, read or have a cup of coffee. It is the main area in our home and often we are in there spending time together. The dog is a permanent fixture on that couch. He never moves and stares out the window ALL DAY LONG.

Here are what my kids were doing when I took these last night. Thing 1 and Thing 2 decided to go to bed early (well, more like I decided that for them) . . . they were exhausted. Pete just recently started climbing down from the top bunk and sliding in to sleep with David - this was way too cute a photo for me to pass up so I clicked away. To think six months ago I was fearful the boys would not want to share a room.

Thing 3 didn't go to bed as early, she had a supper time nap so she was still up at 8:30, just hangin' out with mom and dad (and Wii).

I almost forgot a shot for laundry, so I took this last night as I was about to fold my last load of the day (at 10:00 at night). This red basket is very dear to me, it used to be my grandmother's and is the sturdiest thing around!


And what a bad day for a self portrait. I did not do my hair, or make up or anything remotely related to self-care yesterday. It rained and we were in the house all day. But here it is anyway . . . yes, that is spit up on my left shoulder.

Whew, all done. Hope you you enjoyed your glimpse into my real life.

WWWAT - Vintage

So . . . I'm trying this out for the first time . . . I'm participating in a Wordless Wednesday Blog Fotofest (with a twist) from American Mum. Her blog is terrific, so go have a look if you have time. She's an American living in the United Kingdom with her adorable family, and blogging her way around Europe!

This week's WWWAT theme is VINTAGE . . . I really had no idea what kind of photos I could possibly share and I wasn't feeling terribly inspired, but I did my best.

Here's a glimpse into a 1960s VINTAGE basement - yes, this is where we live. We are hoping to renovate the basement later this year, but for now, we remain firmly implanted in past decades.
Here is wood paneling gone crazy - the stairs that lead down to our basement:

The bar that was built by the original home-owner. Can't you just smell that vinyl?

Mmm, I'll take a gin and tonic on the rocks please!

And the previous owners also left us this little gem, a GE vinyl beer fridge. It really does scream vintage, doesn't it? We used it for a short time when we bought our house (five years ago) but soon realized little Things could crawl into it. So we turned it off and tied a cord around it to truly keep it out of commission.

That's about it from my vintage basement . . . until next time!

One expressive little face

I really love the "deer caught in headlights" look . . . it suits her completely.

Weeds be gone!

I found a great review of an organic weed killer on Crunchy Domestic Goddess' site. It's really interesting, so take a look if you're like me and are interested in safe, organic weed killers that won't harm the environment, pets, or little Things. You can win a bottle of Nature’s Avenger if you leave a comment on her blog, and a link on your own. I'm finding I have less and less time to yank weeds out - and they seem to be everywhere this season - they're creeping through our patio stones and all along our front driveway and walkway. Not to mention all over our front lawn.

We've had grubs on our lawn since we bought this house five years ago. Each summer we end up ripping up the front lawn, trying to dig out all the grubs and then re-sodding the entire area. It's been expensive and time consuming. Not to mention ridiculously annoying. So this year we bought some nematodes and put them all over the lawn, and apparently they eat up and kill all the grubs. We then filled the area with topsoil and grass seed, and it's slowly filling in. We've thankfully had oodles of rain so watering has been kept to a minimum (because no good environmentalist wants to waste water!). The downside is we won't really know if the grubs have been eliminated until later in the summer, because it's after the really hot weather that the grubs come to the surface and the grass starts to die . . . not to mention get torn apart by birds and skunks and other animals. So we're keeping our fingers crossed that we kicked our grub problem this season. I'm fairly tired of looking like the "white trash" of the neighbourhood with a completely ripped apart and hideous lawn.