Movember

Movember.... A time for men (and some women.... lol) to grow their 'staches as long, fluffy, etc. as they can in effort to raise awareness towards Men's health... Best known towards Prostate Cancer....

What a month it is! lol

I personally love it.... lol.... It's awesome to see whose 'staches turn out in which way... What style they choose to go with (will it be handlebars? Dali? Zappa? Porn Star?)??

Below are a few of the things we set up in our house.... Enjoy!

Name that 'Stache (How many of the 30 can you get correct??!)

 A little support...

 Mustache Chocolates! 

 Mustache Cake (which, believe me, would not have happened without the help of my wonderful Husband! lol)

 My attempt at celebrating the reason for gathering....

 Oh yes! This was hands down, the best game ever! Blindfolded, dizzy and aiming for the right spot... lol.

What did you do to celebrate this months awareness?

Feel free to share your photos (you can always post your link below), I would love to see them!

Happy Movember!!

ALSO:

Feel free to check out here to read more on what exactly Movember raises awareness about, how to donate, and buy some awesome merchandise! 

Winter Special!!

Head on over to Cinnamon Photography for an awesome Winter Special! 

I hear she's talented.... And loves random photos with fun, unique individuals ... And also close-up's of little ones (pets included!).... lol.

But honestly, take advantage of this amazing December deal while you can!

Today Sucked.

Today sucked.

My FB status was as follows:

: I think today should be labeled 'Forget this! I'm going back to bed until tomorrow!' day. Uggggghhh.

That was around 3pm.... Which was an hour after Tyler told me he had been laid off. 

Awesome.

We had been very fortunate that he was able to keep his job at this location for almost 3 years (a month shy)... And for that, I am thankful. We were able to live in our newly built home in Leduc, place the girls into sports, day camps  etc., go on our first major family vacation (Disneyland) for Christmas last year and buy our new home.... (While still having our other as a rental)...


But why did this have to happen..... Now? 

We'll be taking a break from sports for the Winter Session (can you hear my heart breaking? Parent Fail #1).... We will not be throwing Emma the usual extravagant Birthday Party that we normally do (Parent Fail #2... We also missed doing this for Zoë in the Summer... So lets boost that up to #3).... Oh and there's Christmas.

Christmas is my favorite holiday hands down.... I look forward to it all year long.... I secretly get butterflies in my tummy when I think about it during the Summer! But this year there has been a change.... Which is odd.... Was the Universe preparing me for this before I had any clue? Humm....

I pulled out one of  our trees (yes, we have a few) a few weeks ago to set-up..... I did the bottom branches and left it, not fully assembled. In the family room. For a whole week.... Then Tyler came home for his 4 days off and moved it to the storage downstairs so we could host our Movember Party... And it's stayed there. 

I did put a few decorations out... But I'm just not 'feeling it' this year... Boo! 

Do you think we could just.... post-pone Christmas? Would that be so awful? I'm happy to have family and friends over.... Enjoy the company... But do we have to do the gifts? Already we had talked to our girls about cutting back (honestly, Christmas with my family is a full day opening event).... We had them pick a few items they would like on their wish lists, we added a few and then they picked a few Charities to give to... The idea being, if it's not on the list, and you go to buy something else, look at the price tag and give that to one of the Charities. Both girls jumped on board with this, bless their giving hearts! <3 and="and" at="at" awful="awful" be="be" calgary="calgary" day="day" etc="etc" if="if" instead="instead" it="it" sigh="sigh" so="so" span="span" spend="spend" the="the" them="them" to="to" took="took" up="up" warms="warms" we="we" weather="weather" when="when" would="would" zoo="zoo">

Anyhoo.... That's what's up in our household.... I do hope life is a bit more upbeat for all of you! lol I'll take tonight to mope around and then hit the ground running tomorrow.... Until then! 

‎: What a day... Started off rough with Emma; Tyler was laid off and my cell fell screen first into gravel.... Is it bedtime yet??!!

NEEEED!

I'm in LOVE with this tub!!

I MUST find it!!

Good thing Christmas is right around the corner.... *wink, wink*

Life.

Life in our household has been a whirlwind.... I honestly can't remember the last time  I wrote on here and published it, sorry about that. I didn't take the time to look at my last blog....

I would really love to write about the last 5 months of our lives but tonight I have to step back from all that goodness and write.... this.

I must apologize right now for the vagueness in this blog.... for the unanswered questions.... and the lack in details right now.... and for the never ending circle of thoughts that follows below...

Today I received a message on FB from an Aunt of mine on my Father's side. If anyone knows the history of my Father's side of my family and I, they know there have been struggles.... Which accelerated once I had my kids.... And I made the tough decision to cut my ties with the majority of that side of my family for the health and wellness of myself, my children and my Husband. THESE people (my family) matter the most to me and I would do anything to keep them safe, healthy and loved. No questions.

"The hardest thing in life is to know which bridge to cross and which to burn" ~ David Russell

My decision came with a life long knowledge that one day life would get hard.... Even after all the stresses had left and my little family could start enjoying life once again... I knew that one day I would receive a message that someone would be ill and the tough decision of how I would handle that would happen.... And it did.... today.

A family member is ill. Very ill. Given 2 weeks to 6 months to live.... And I am now torn between the decision I made and decided not to ever go back on over four years ago or one that will throw me into the wildfire that is that side of my family.

THIS decision sucks. There's no better way to say it. It feels like a non-winning decision either way.... If it were just my decision that just affected me, I could make it fairly quickly... But it's not just me. My Husband supports me no matter what way, I know that.... But my children's futures can quickly be affected here.... And THAT is the part I'm having trouble with.

I don't ever want to come off as cold-hearted.... But some awful things have happened to even have made me make this cut-off decision years ago.... That decision was not made lightly believe me.....

So here I sit, trying to preoccupy myself by decorating into the wee hours for our Hallowe'en Party..... Listening to music and ignoring the topic and choices ahead of me that have been on my mind all day....

Mish Mash!

Back in 2009 I started an event called "Mish Mash".... It consists of a bunch of home based businesses gathering together for an evening of fun, meeting friends and sharing their products....

It was a blast! I invited a bunch of my friends that we're in the beginning of their new home based businesses, created an open house and had a fun evening of meeting new folks and shopping!

Fast forward a few years (say, three years) and now I get to host this wonderful event in my new home!! GEEE!

This time around I opened it up to two dates.... And more vendors! lol The joy of owning a a larger home!

As of right now there are 10+ vendors and can't wait for them to invite everyone they know!!

What a wonderful evening it shall be of meeting new people, seeing other vendors and making sales (holiday shopping early!!!)!!

If you're around, check out the event on FB or contact me! (Event will be open to public within the week)

    

Happy Birthday!

To Me!

Yup... 29!

So far I have gone to College, gotten married, had two children, become a wedding & event coordinator, run a dayhome, volunteered on the Parents' Association non-stop, am a photographer, volunteered on a sport executive, built a house, own three cats, bought a second home, renting current home... and own four (no, really) vehicles... Oy! *L* (Not in this particular order)

My Husband is currently up North at work... Both girls are asleep and I'm surrounded by a sea of boxes.... lol.

Just another "typical" day in our household... :)

We're Moving!

YAY! The time has come for us to move.... Into our 'Dream Home' (with kids! *L*)...

We've been truly blessed to have come across such a house... It had every 'Need' we were looking for and most of our 'Wants' (unfortunately it doesn't come with a personal chef; maid; trainer; lawn boy.... lol).

And the best part? After years (yes, YEARS!) of looking on my part I finally opened up our search to a new City.... And there we have it, the second house we walked into! *L* What are the odds? We were the first to call, first to view and the people that the sellers felt were right, right off the bat! Yay!

Now for the scary part.... Possession date is Friday, August 3rd.... Totally wasn't ready for it to be a month and a half away! *L*

Packing is insane! Of course Alberta is under the one-week-for-the-year heat wave this week (sorting, tossing, donating, cleaning/scrubbing, packing, two kids, three cats and no air conditioning.... Oh, and missing the sun as indoors is where all the action is happening right now.... *sigh*)..... lol. But whatever, I'll take it as this house is perfect (yup, there, I used the word!).

PICTURES!

 Our New Home!

 Front Living Room (ghost not included in sale)

 Dining Room

 Kitchen

 Kitchen

 Guest Bath

 Family Room

 Kid Room

 Kid Room

 Kid Bathroom

Master Bedroom 

Ensuite 

Guest Bedroom 

Office 

Basement Living Space (AKA: Kid art/reading space) 

 THE yard!

 Standing in one location for the next few...

A third of an acre IN the City! Whoo Hoo!

Needs: Minimum three bedrooms, fully finished basement, big yard (enough space for a trampoline), garage (at least a double), near great schools, great neighborhood, no smaller then we're currently in (1200sq.ft.).... And not to be able to reach out and touch our neighbours! (You'd be amazed at how hard this is nowadays!)...

Wants: Separate dining room to host family/friend gatherings, spare room for guests, cold storage, RV parking, if possible a separate family room...

As you can tell we hit the lottery with this house and then some! I'm so stinking excited to get into it and have people over (just step over the boxes and make your way to the yard!!! *L*)....

*We have cold storage and such in the basement (huge!)... The family room is on a level of it's own and that's what is under it! And an added bonus is that the garage has access to the house without going outside (yes, we looked at many houses that you had to walk around to the front door to get in! *L*)...

BBQ's, tenting, trampoline, gazebos, etc.... RV parking and then some.... A garden.... A shed... Landscaped! GEEEEE!
The house is so big we don't have enough furniture to fill it, which is an awesome situation to be in considering! *L*

The kids rooms have wood flooring (they currently have carpet laying on it), which I'm REALLY excited for! The master bedroom is huge! It looks over the back yard which is nice considering I'm going to miss the farmers fields here....

I am going to miss this current home... It's been good to us... The girls have grown here and know everyone at school. They've had most of the same kids in their classes since they (Emma) started four years ago... And the views here are amazing... But we're ready for the move to the new City... New friends, closer to family, and honestly, that yard!!!! *L*

Now.... Back to packing (which reminds me, I was going through my blog today and found this from when we were packing to move to this house! lol)...

Thunder rolls in....

And brings a pretty light show with it!

3:20am looking down our street.

(Click photo for full image!)

Chaos... Hanging by a Magnet.

THIS is my fridge....

And it's M-E-S-S-Y!

*LOL* Tonight I randomly took a moment to look up from my computer (while editing photos) to somehow see my fridge through the eyes of... well.... not me. *L*

And what did I do?

I laughed. Hard.

*LOL*

I mean, look at it... No REALLY look at it!

To an outsider they may only see old coupons, unorganized art work, old photos.... Chaos really.... But through MY eyes I see this:

Photos: There are photos from some of our best-friends weddings on there.... There's also photos from our wedding (that friends/family took which means even more to me), photos of a guys trip canoeing... The girls one morning when we had to drive Daddy to work for an early morning shift before we attended Church (still one of my most favorite photos of them... Honestly, it's adorable!).... Holidays, a grad picture of my "little-sis-from-another-mother".... a family photo... a photo of me from a make-up/style competiton I did for a friend while in College... a photo of Tyler and I at our Graduation.... and more photos of our girls....

(the friend's wedding ones are on the front of the fridge)

Magnets: Well yeah! *L* They're from all over.... ANNNNNND ones of my friends businesses, 'cause where else would you advertise??! *L* As well as the school holiday/pd day list (thank goodness they give us these!)... Also, my favorite from our friend Heather, "You can't scare me, I have children!"... *L* Soooo true!

Artwork: Not just scribbles on paper but lines made with love! I adore every.single.piece that my girls give to me.... Yeah I'm "that" Mom... *L*. I love having artwork on there from the whole year to see how they have progressed. Don't forget the full out ones that include gluing and such... I have a bunny from Easter time (pom poms, cotton balls, pipe cleaners, etc.)... A 3-D snowflake Emma made, etc.

Calendar: I would D-I-E without this. 6 feet away is another one on my wall in the dining area... Since this is where we all seem to gather at least twice a day, this is where I created our 'homebase'... Need to know something, check the calendar! It's color coordinated for easy access so all you need to do is check the date and see if you have your color on there... No? The you're good! Also: During the heavy months of sports I place those thinner labels on each day (in that persons color) with the sport and time (start to end)... Below you can see I finally was able to take off the last of them from skating and such.... Not placing any on for the last 8 weeks of gymnastics as we totally changed our times this session...

(Not complete.... Obviously... *L* ;P)

Random: Lotto ticket (these aren't bought that often by me so I better have won! *L*)... Old concert ticket for Michael Buble.... Spelling test marks (could make a whole 'school papers' section on here really...), spelling word lists (sight words).... Actual paper business cards (many for friends businesses).... Those word story magnets (we have the love version.... You should see what I found on there one day that Emma had made up... *L*)... School/Class newsletters... Paper clipping... Medical forms for appointments 7 months in the future (and if you lose the paper, I believe all hell breaks loose! Ack!)... Skating Test Day mark sheet!

Top of the fridge: DVD's (actually just a few of the cases I think.... Huh)... Nightlight that no longer works I believe... Candles (never know when the power will go out).... Tyler's paper from the gun range (excellent shot he is!)... gel for the fondue things... Tide to go stick (you never know! The kitchen seems like the perfect place for it, think about it!)... Sock Monkey (yes, you read that correctly... *L*)... Slinky (What? Don't judge me! *L*), kids dress up high heel (yeah, no clue on that one.... And it's pretty small for my kids feet, must have been up there for awhile... *L*), and a gift that I forgot to give to Kaylin at Christmas... Gah!

Hidden side of the fridge: Oh yes, I use ALL sides that I can of the fridge... I know, I agree... It's amazing this thing still wants to work for me! *L* On this side I have a Christmas themed magnet from one of my Sister Missionaries (she gave it to us when she visited here again) that comes out when it's the correct season.... Phone number lists... Swimming report cards (so I don't lose them as we take these classes randomly sometimes... *L*)... Another mini calendar that I use (rarely) to track what meals we'll be having for the month.... A Ziplock with the rest of those love story words....

I don't know that I could ever own a fridge where I could NOT have things stuck to it... It's part of our 'homebase' here.... It's a member of the family now! *L*

Yup.... That's my fridge! *L* Now I challenge you... Go stand in front of your fridge and look at it from an outsiders eyes.... Then start seeing it through your eyes.... What do you see??!