The Year of the Pansies

My garden is officially free of last years debris. Just have a couple tree wells, but I'm ignoring that small fact. Because it feels SO good to have the beds done.

Almost all of my flower beds are full of perennials. I have a hard time shelling out coin for plants year after year, and love the gratification of seeing a plant having survived our winters. I usually just end up grabbing a few marigolds and sprinkling them here and there to add some 'splash'. But, I have been on the wonderful receiving end the past two years of my parents greenhouse.

They created their greenhouse (the size of a medium shed) on their acreage two or three years ago, and ever since have grown all their annuals themselves from seed. Last year, they had a few too many and passed them on. This year, I received a tray full of pansies. I spent the day today adding dirt to the beds, and planting pansies ANYWHERE they would fit. I had 32 of them to find a home for.

By the end of the day I realized we needed one more evergreen, one more vine, around 20 or so marigolds, and one more tallish perinneal. We headed off to Golden Acres. Oh how I love walking through a garden store. We came home with four more ferns (and a fiddlehead - woot!), three lillies, one evergreen, and a clematis. I can't wait to plant them.... tomorrow, as it is now hailing outside.

Tune in tomorrow to find out the winner of my blogoversary giveaway!

W.I.P. Wednesday - no really, it is!

Or how about we pretend it is? Last night I had a friend from out of town come over to visit. We talked until late at night. It was wonderful. One of those people you could just KEEP talking to and never be caught up. It just wasn't very condusive to W.I.P. posting. But you all understand right?

First W.I.P. - Stairway to Heaven.

Oh Sock A was the bane of my life. Those darn rosebuds had me all in a knot.

But by Sock B, I can say that while knitting the foot, I felt like I almost didn't need to read the pattern.

In the end, I love them and all the new techniques they taught me. Creating a picot edge, creating the rose buds, and learning to truly read a pattern.

W.I.P. Two - Friday night Therapy

Ok, I know you have all been wanting to see this. But I have decided just to give you a sneak peek (hold on! There's a reason!). I am making a second one, for a friend, who reads this blog, and I don't want to give the secret away. You need to wait until both are complete. Which will be soon. Really soon.

Peek at Friday night:


Peek at the Second one:

And my last W.I.P.

8 and a bit weeks along.

This W.I.P. likes iced tea, Doritos, Macaroni & Cheese, and Sour Soother Candy.... this week. (Don't worry, those aren't the ONLY things I eat...).

And some muffin pictures for you yesterday. And the recipe. Because they were that, darned good.

Sun Shiny Days!

Today is just one of those really great days. It started this morning when I woke up an hour earlier than usual so I could bake muffins for Grace. She's been having a hard time with leaving me, and the past two days, dropping her off at Laurie's (our dayhome) have been rough for her. She is usually with my Mom today, but with my Mom away on a trip, she is also at Laurie's today. I thought muffins would help ease the transition. They did. They were loaded with goodness too - bananas, zucchini, whole wheat flour, eggs. The bonus - only 1/2 C brown sugar and 1/3 C oil. I felt so good about them she also had a muffin for breakfast. At 6 am as I stood in the kitchen, making muffins in my PJ's, the light was shining into the kitchen. It was warm, sunny, Cliff was at my feet. The house was quiet, it felt so RIGHT.

I just spent my lunch hour outside, still sunny, reading the Book Exchange book I was sent from Elizabeth. I love it. It was so nice to sit out at a park, along the Bow River, reading. I could have stayed out there all afternoon if I was brazen enough to not come back to the office.

I'm starting to come around to the weight I've already put on this pregnancy. So far 7 pounds (because I have decided not to count the weight gained in Hawaii). Vacation weight should not be counted as PG weight (or so I tell myself). People not so jokingly ask if perhaps there are two. I have no idea. I just know this babe likes me to eat. Or the nausea likes me to eat. So I eat. I am pretty close to being at the point today I just don't care. I'll lose the weight after. I will, I will, I will. Erin and I hatched up a plan yesterday to have a goal race set for me post babe to help get me there. We are thinking of this, and if not, potentially this one. I'm pretty pumped, despite it's over a year away. It is making all this eating feel OK. I'm also pretty impressed I have found clothes to wear to work this week. My "old" clothes no longer fit, but mat clothes are too baggy. I'm at that awkward in between stage and have been relying on hair elastics wrapped around pant buttons to give me extra room, and belly bands. With Grace I was so anxious to get into maternity clothes, sporting them readily at this stage. This time, I'm hanging back. Those clothes will get enough wear soon enough. But, I was PG through the fall and winter with Grace. This time it will be through the summer. Some summer clothes will have to be purchased.

I'm thinking of sewing myself some maternity skirts. I'm pretty excited about it actually. I found this tutorial, but for some reason it has me confused. Perhaps because I have never sewn clothing. But it can't be that hard can it? If you were to sew yourself a maternity skirt, how would you do it? I think some big bold floral Amy Butler fabric would make an AWESOME skirt. Help please! Tips? Tips?

Anyways, I should get back to work. Have no fear, my W.I.P. will be up tonight, post work.

Blogoversary Giveaway!

Remember I mentioned that I was going to do a giveaway because this dear blog turned 1?

No fear, I hadn't forgotten, here are all the nitty gritty details :)

Answer the question at the bottom of this post, leave me a comment, and I will magically pick a name and will send that winner the following:

Five hand made cards by moi, as well as some goodies to get you stamping on your own (very exciting, I know!).

Here's the question:

What was your favorite summer activity to do as a kid?

I will keep this open until Friday, May 29th at noon (Mountain Pacific Time).

Good luck!

Random Bits

We had another glorious weekend here. Sun was shining and it felt like summer. Here are some random snippets from the past couple of days:

• It was so gorgeous out on Saturday we BBQ'd for dinner. Kabobs and rice. Yum!
• Grace and I watched Erin run in a trail race Saturday morning. I think this was one of the few times I have been a spectator and not a participant. It was fun, but made me miss the action. As Grace said "Aunty super fast!" Yes, yes she was :)
• Almost all the yard is cleaned up now. Dirt laid down and ready for more bark mulch and planting. I think our last frosts are behind us now. Yipee!
• I have started writing names for our baby on a white board in our kitchen. I came home Saturday morning to see Nate had check marked beside the ones he liked. It made my heart smile. Still does. New names being added daily by us both.
• Nate worked all weekend. We missed him but are thankful for the extra work Spring and Summer always brings after a long Winter.
• I went for a run this morning after missing it so much yesterday. It felt wonderful to be back out there. Maybe running through part of this pregnancy is a possibility!
• I had some sewing therapy on Friday night. I'm going to wait until Wednesday to post it up though. It already comes with me everywhere I go!

I hope you all had just as productive, relaxing, and family filled weekend as us.

Mr. Tig - UPDATED

UPDATE: Thank you all for your well wishes for Mr. Tig. He passed away very peacefully. It is with great sadness that we also said farewell to Ali our Border Collie today. She was diagnosed last week with the possibility of a having a disease, common in older Collie's where they become quite dizzy and have trouble tracking with their eyes. She was put on gravol and seemed to be doing a bit better by mid week. Today she was really struggling, and as I pulled into my parents driveway, she could hardly make it to my car. The vet said if it truly was this syndrome we should have seen better results, and it was potentially a stroke or a tumour causing her ailment. Her quality of life has been so greatly reduced, my parents made the very hard call to also say goodbye to her today. She was 13. Loved chasing sticks, and herding. They both will be dearly missed. I feel completely drained and it's 7 pm. I hope Mr. Tig is climbing trees, and that Ali is running as fast as she can in a field that never ends.

We moved out to an acreage when I as going into Grade 10. With the acreage came the need to buy a cat. And we went through a few thanks to coyotes. First was Moses. A stray who randomly disappeared the same day the house was broken into. There was also Milly and Misty. And then came Tigger. A.K.A. Mr. Tig. At this point I recall being quite upset another cat was coming into our home. Hadn't we lost enough? But Mr. Tig decided to stick around. He probably came to live with us in 1995. We really have no idea how old he is, but if we look at that date as a guide, today he would be 14.
Tig nestled in a box with Milly.

Mr. Tig is a big cat. He is only able to climb up half of a tree. He is a good mouser though and many times would leave us 'presents' on our car. He loves to sleep in boxes or in the recycling in my parents garage. His bed for a number of years now has been a wooden crate that reads "Grape King". He is best friends with my parents Golden Retriever, Penny.


Hard to see, but this is a shot of my parents truck with all my gear we drove back from Victoria. Tig nestled right in amongst the boxes in the back.

About two weeks ago, Tig stopped eating. My Mom took him into the vet on Tuesday and discovered he has cancer. A tumour the size of a muffin in his abdomen. He has stopped eating as there is hardly room for food. My parents made the right decision, that it is time to put Mr. Tig to rest. I'm headed back out to the acreage this afternoon so I can make the trip to the vet with him. He is going to be dearly missed. By my family, and 'the girls' Penny and Ali (the border collie).


I'm not sure how today snuck up so fast on us. I am sure 4:00 will creep up just as quickly.

Go give your pets an extra head scratch and snuggle today - in honour of Mr. Tig.

Tom Cruise

I had full intentions of posting up a W.I.P. yesterday. But I got home from work, and Nate wanted to take Grace swimming (her favorite thing ever). And he wanted me to come too. The thing is, I hate water. We just don't agree. Ok actually, chlorine and I don't agree. And even those salt water pools? They have a certain amount of chlorine in them. They have to because of all those wee ones in the pool and the likelihood of accidents. Thankfully, Nate was more than happy if I just came to watch (ahem, knit).

So I knit, and they played, and I was a bit jealous I wasn't in the pool with them. Next time, I will face the chlorine and participate.

Anyways, by the time we got home and got Missy to bed, it was 8:15. I decided to "just lay down for a minute" in our bed. Well that lasted until 7:30 this morning. I think that goes down as a record for amount of time slept. I was impressed, and a little embarassed. Eleven hours may be a bit ridiculous. And, eleven hours also leads to very interesting dreams. Ready? Here we go.

I was working at a shoe store, which also sold gorgeous skirts. A woman I was helping to pick out a skirt and some shoes, decided to buy them.... with a safe key. I too was confused. My manager took the key, told me when noyone was looking, to go out around the back of the store, and open her safe. I did, but on the way I ran into two painters from Columbia. And Tom Cruise. I looked at him like one would a famous person they know is a famous person but are unsure if it could actually be true. He finished talking to the painters and left. I asked them if it was Tom Cruise, it was. Around I go to the safe. Hers is filled with all sorts of pots and pans. I sat there trying to figure out how many pots and pans were worth a pair of shoes and a skirt, when a man came up behind me. I freaked out and ran back out into he street and into the painters shop. The man came in with attempts to kill me, and, Tom Cruise saved me. That's when I awoke. Have you EVER had a dream like that? And, it was in colour. Because I remember the paintings to be especially vivid in reds and browns.

I think tonight, I'm going to stay up, and try to only get a normal 7 hours.

Mind you, it was rather neat to meet Tom Cruise :)

Seriously Giddy. I must be a Knitter!

I was hanging around Ravelry, stopped in to see what was happening on the 'Rockin Sock Group' and entered the post about the next shipment coming in May. That led me to the Rockin Sock Club webpage and, ahem, this playlist (a hint of what is to come) has left me seriously giddy. Are you ready?

Then there was this:



Are you wishing you were knitting socks now too?! What do you think? I'm envisioning something fun, wild, and super colourful. Does the playlist make you smile too and bring back some great memories from your childhood? Gosh, it sure does for me! Bring on the May socks!

Getting Dirty

After my post about yardwork involving lemonade and popsicles, I thought perhaps I really should get down to business. After all, if I want the summer to involve the latter, it would be even better if there was a nice yard to enjoy it in!

Saturday morning I decided to set myself small maintanable goals. I'm usually someone who tries to tackle the mountain, but I have come to see that just is not possible right now. Seriously, small goals involve things on my daily to do list like "Clean the microwave, clean one flower bed." Yes, that's it. At least then at the end of the day I can say "I did something today".

It's a long weekend here in Canada, and both Saturday and today I was outside in the dirt. Saturday I cleaned up one flower bed, and today tackled half of another one. My yard looks so much better. No new flowers planted yet, but things are at least cleaned out of weeds, leaves, and grass. Home Depot also had bags of dirt on sale for $1.50. It was a steal of a deal, but did leave me jealous of Elizabeth who can get it free by the truck load!

Tomorrow's goal? Finish cleaning up the last bed, and unload some of that dirt I bought into them all. Then, it will be ready for planting! Yes!

The bonus of this past weekend spent in the sun? It was actually sunny, Grace played happily by herself or with Clifford the entire time, and sunshine works better than Diclectin. True true.

Not to mention, the view from my kitchen is starting to look alot nicer :)


From the right of the flower bed to the bush is all cleaned up. Just around the corner to go!

Yard Work

Grace and I managed to squeeze in some yard work today. Here is the view from where I worked:

Perhaps not the weed tackling, grass jungle mowing, flower planting yard work I originally had in mind last week. But, this is a type I could get used to.

The summer Grace was born, she was so little (3 months in August) our time outdoors was limited. The second summer, she was TERRIFIED of the grass. Also didn't lend itself to much outdoor time. But this year, oh this year looks to be shaping up to be one of backyard fun. Little Miss this morning was RUNNING through the grass! Two hours passed outside this morning without either of us realizing it. It was splendid.

I think this is the majority of the type of yard work I will do this year. With some lemonade and popsicles thrown in.

Too much fun?

Thank you all for your comments on my previous post! I have read them a number of times. It is so much fun to be able to share such an exciting part of our lives with all of you out there that I have gotten to know in this blog world.

Yesterday, my Mom came to pick up Grace, took one look at me, laughed and said "Some kind of secret". I am one of those people that (please, don't hate me) have a hard time gaining weight... that is, until I'm pregnant. Then it's like nothing can stop me. Already, at 7 weeks or so, I have gained 5 pounds. I struggled to put on just 2 pounds to even make this pregnancy possible! I decided with my Moms comment, we should let people know. So far, since spilling the news, a number of people have told me they thought perhaps I was putting on weight from "Hawaii, and all those birthday parties you know?" I'd MUCH rather people think I am in the sausage stage* of pregnancy than randomly putting on pounds!

I have been on the Diclectin for a week now, taking 6 pills a day. It leaves me in a bit of a fog, which I'm hoping will slowly dissipate as my body gets used to taking it. It is helping the sickness part of the pregnancy immensly, which I'm very grateful for. Grace had been walking around saying "Mama tired" "Mama sick" I'm still not feeling very spunky, and there haven't been many play outings together yet, but I hope that will change as the days progress. I was thinking today perhaps this is what it will be like come December. I'm starting to think of good indoor activities that can be done for a pre-schooler.

What? What did I just say? Yes, a pre-schooler. I get these e-mail updates sent to me for Grace's age. Suddenly, since she has turned two, they are referring to her as a pre-schooler! How did that happen? Are they pre-schoolers as soon as they hit two? Toddler I sort of understood as when they start to "toddle". Grace didn't walk until she was 14 months old. Did I only get 10 months of a toddler? I'm not ready for a pre-schooler. That resonates school and backpacks to me. I'm not ready for all that. Perhaps there needs to be a new term. Like tween for those kids who aren't teenagers but aren't pre-teens. What should the age two to three be called? Perhaps Adventurers, or Explorers, or Tumblers. Yes, Tumblers.

Tonight my big plan is to watch the season finale of Grey's Anatomy and try to work on my Rogue Roses socks. I have one and a half complete. SO close. Perhaps they will be ready for next weeks W.I.P. :)

*A term my girlfriend uses to describe the stage of pregnancy where you aren't really sporting a belly, but there is some definite change happening.

A different kind of W.I.P.

This W.I.P. (Work in Progress) is not very crafty. It is actually detracting from any possible amount of craftiness. But, I hope that will change in the next few months.

Mostly, it involves alot of napping, usually on this couch.

And unfortunately, alot of medication.

It also involves ridiculous amounts of food. Usually ones that are hard to find. Hello Pavlova?!

This will sum it up best. My gift from Nate on Mother's Day.

Yep, that charm says "Baby on Board"!

Our second little one is due to arrive around New Years :)

Totally Indulged

Remember Nectar? I blogged about it awhile back. We discovered it a stone, skip and jump from my friends backyard, and ever since, our book club has been meeting there monthly. For desserts. But mostly Pavlova. Oh dear Pavlova. I didn't order it the first night, it seemed a little suspect based on the description, but after having a bite of someone else's, I have never ordered anything else since. A little piece of Heaven. (I am sure Heaven has Pavlova in it).

So this Friday coming up was to be our book club date. And I was set and focused on the Pavlova outing. Until plans got derailed and our dessert book club date was moved to a coffee/breakfast Saturday morning outing. Oh no!

But I was set on Pavlova, and while twiddling my thumbs on the internet yesterday, decided to find a recipe. One can make pavlova no? I found this recipe. Then I searched some more today, and after descriptions saying the meringues take 2 hours to bake, I had a revelation. Who says if I can't have Pavlova on Friday that I can't have it on another day? I was seriously buzzing over the excitement of the possibility of a spur of the moment, night out on the town. First though, I had to:

- double check with Nate that this was a feasible plan. Could he watch Grace, get her to bed, and still have time for a workout when I got home. Check!

- Next, I could go on my own but that is going to a whole different level of crazy. I needed a friend. I called up Tina, the one who lives a hop, skip & jump from this fabulous place. She was in for the adventure! Check!

There it is my friends. Mangoes, chantilly creme, passionfruit creme and those delicious orange meringues. Seriously tasty. And a wonderful, spur of the moment, night out with a friend.

I think I'm satisfied now... at least until next month :)

Time to unspin

First, I loved reading all your comments on my previous post. It was one of those posts I wrote thinking "does that really explain what I'm trying to say?". But I posted it anyways, and was glad to see that you all got what I was trying to say. Our Jumblefriend summed it up really well "Three cheers for full-disclosure parenting! I'm all about that. As my dear friend says, "there's a conspiracy of silence" about the reality of it all. " Sometimes, the brave face drives me nuts. I think it's ok to say "I'm having a hard day, I could use someone to listen, share a coffee, listen to me groan." Now, I know we'd hate to live in a world where everyone is complaining. That is totally not what I'm trying to say. But being real can sometimes be really nice.

This past week has personally been really crazy. Birthday parties, birth days, Mother's Day, a special outing with Grace to see Thomas the Train. I feel a little turned around and can't believe tomorrow is Monday already. I also have a growing list of Spring Cleaning items I REALLY want to tackle.

- Yard work.
- Going through the books on our shelf and bringing ones we don't read anymore into a used book store.
- Cleaning out Grace's toys of ones she doesn't play with anymore.
- Yard work.
- A good solid dusting, mopping, and window washing of our home.
- Did I mention yard work?

I'm hoping this week ahead is going to be a bit slower paced than the one that has passed. I'm also hoping to get into that yard of mine this week. I'm dedicating Thursday afternoon to start that project. Grace got a kids sized garden tote for her birthday, and even some gardening gloves in her size. I'm hoping she'll help me pull up all that debris from our flower beds.

I am loving, loving, loving that spring is here. What a beautiful time of the year!

Parenting Made Easy

Since coming home from Hawaii, things have been a little rough on the Grace front. With a slew of new words (we often refer to her as our little Dictator), things aren't going as smoothly as they once were.

For instance. Monday morning at breakfast this is what I heard upon giving her a bowl of cereal and a banana. "Don't like it, Don't want it. Need chips." Yes, NEED. We have been working hard on things we DO like. Mmmm Mom likes icecream for instance, or Mmmm, Dad likes spaghetti! But, it's challenging. And, it's amazing that the struggles we are having with her over getting her to eat a meal, are non existant at the dayhome. I heard that after dropping Grace off there on Monday, she promptly ate two bowls of cereal no issue. I am pleased to say, it is getting better every day, but, there are parents out there that make this parenting gig seem so easy!

You know the ones who have had a colicky baby screaming all day, but still somehow have had a shower, cooked dinner and have a clean home. The ones who never seem frazzled by their childs outburst but just keep on going? The ones out there with blogs who have four kids, do crafts all day long, post up smiling photos of everybody, and still have time to garden? I silently wonder if they are derailing on the inside and just don't show it.

So, I would like to publicly say, without shame, that I personally do not think this parenting gig is easy. It is a wonderful ride, with so many amazing moments, and one I'd never give up. But, it is not easy.

At least now, if you were wondering like me, if you were the only one who was tired and not feeling sane, you no longer need to feel like you are alone.

Mega Update & WIP Wednesday!

Best grab a coffee, a snack, perhaps a juice... this will be a long post!

We flew into San Francisco from Kona on Friday night, then San Fran to Calgary on Saturday. We had a 3 1/2 hour delay in San Francisco. Magically I had Grace nap in my arms in the middle of all the raucous. Supposedly it was an air traffic controller issue, then it was due to weather (yeah, uh huh... weather in Reno where our plane was coming from?). Doubtful. Especially since the crew for our flight didn't show up until exactly when the plane did. Anyways, it was a late arrival Saturday night, and a busy night prepping for Grace's family birthday bash on Sunday.

I made four cakes. Yes, four. No, no the goal was just to make one, but I made four. I will blame sleep deprivation. No matter what I did the cake kept sinking in the middle. I made two Saturday night, then two on Sunday. Nate gently pointed out Sunday morning "um honey, why don't you cut two in half and sandwich them together." Very good point my dear.

I ordered the Clifford bobble heads off of Ebay and used the Wilton house mould to make the cake. In the end I was quite pleased with it. Grace loved it and kept pointing to it saying "dog! dog!". Worth all four cakes to see how happy she was with it :)

Then Tuesday was her actual birthday. We kept it pretty low key at home, but I did take her out with a friend for an ice cream cone. And, she ate dinner in front of the TV watching Franklin.

Here's a question for the day. What special birthday traditions do you do for your kids? Last year I started a few that I continued with yesterday, and it made me wonder what other families do. Here's my list (which I realize parts of it will change as she gets older):

- All the meals throughout the day are her favorite ones

- We give her a special present just from us

- I measure her height

- I do an imprint of her hands and feet

- I take a photo with her favorite stuffed animal (we have been photographing her with her dragon since birth!).

- At the end of the day I write her a letter about what this past year held for us, and how much I love her.

I could go on and on about Miss G, but I presume you are also wishing to hear a little about Hawaii?

It was absolutely perfect. Around 30C each day, hardly any wind, and very few clouds. Dreamy. We did very few touristy things other than the volcano, and stuck around the pool and the beach. It was delightful and VERY relaxing. Grace fell madly in love with her Uncle and it was so neat to see them interact, really for the first time. It was one of those holidays which seemed to stretch on forever, which is exactly how a holiday should be.

Grace petting a Gecko!

Last but not least, today is my one year blogoversary! I have gone this past year from having one commenter, to having around thirteen. I have met so many amazing women who have inspired me to craft in new ways and pursue new projects. I know there are many out there though who read my blog and haven't commented. I'd love to meet you! I'll come up with some sort of great blog giveaway and post back on it in a couple of days. Stay tuned!

Oh, and check this out! I'm the WIPster of the month over at the Fish Bowl. Hop on over and check it out!

Two!

A very special little person is celebrating her second birthday today. It is hard for me to believe it was already two years ago that we brought her home from the hospital. She is an astounding little girl, with an amazing personality and a very big heart. I am blessed that Grace is part of my world.


Regular posting will resume soon. In the meantime, I have some "Wheels on the Bus" singing to do, some Thomas the Train playing to partake in, and alot of time marvelling in my TWO year old!