Monday 30 March 2015

Sticky Snow

The snow was perfect a few days ago for a little snowman making. 

Emma loves the snow. She was all giggles and laughter. She even forgot to be shy and run from our neighbours when they came home ;)


Sticky and perfect for rolling.


Gracie posed with our snowman.....


And then he broke in half and plunged do his end.


So we rebuilt!


But he was melting as we went. See the lean he's on already?


Then the snowball fight broke out. Here's Emma hiding in her trench. 
We take our snowball warfare seriously, apparently.


But, she'll pop up for a photo. Luckily this really isn't war. 


And she attacks! Unfortunately, her throws don't go very far...


And they swarmed.... time to go in for supper.

Saturday 28 March 2015

Looking for Something New to Read?






Here are a few write-ups from the Edmonton Public Library's website on some of the books I've read lately. If you're looking for some new reading material, here's a few to think about. 


Station Eleven

Mandel, Emily St. John

One snowy night a famous Hollywood actor slumps over and dies onstage during a production of King Lear. Hours later, the world as we know it begins to dissolve. Moving back and forth in time - from the actor's early days as a film star to fifteen years in the future, when a theater troupe known as the Traveling Symphony roams the wasteland of what remains - this novel charts the strange twists of fate that connect five people: the actor, the man who tried to save him, the actor's first wife, his oldest friend, and a young actress with the Traveling Symphony, caught in the crosshairs of a dangerous self-proclaimed prophet.


The Housemaid's Daughter

Mutch, Barbara

Duty and love collide on the arid plains of central South Africa. Previously released as 'Karoo Plainsong' this is a fully revised debut novel. Cathleen Harrington leaves her home in Ireland in 1919 to travel to South Africa and marry the fiance she has not seen for five years. Isolated and estranged in a harsh landscape, she finds solace in her diary and the friendship of her housemaid's daughter, Ada. Cathleen recognises in her someone she can love and respond to in a way that she cannot with her own husband and daughter. Under Cathleen's tutelage, Ada grows into an accomplished pianist, and a reader who cannot resist turning the pages of the diary, discovering the secrets Cathleen sought to hide. When Ada is compromised and finds she is expecting a mixed-race child, she flees her home, determined to spare Cathleen the knowledge of her betrayal, and the disgrace that would descend upon the family. Scorned within her own community, Ada is forced to carve a life for herself, her child, and her music. But Cathleen still believes in Ada, and risks the constraints of apartheid to search for her and persuade her to return with her daughter. Beyond the cruelty, there is love, hope - and redemption.


All the Light We Cannot See

Doerr, Anthony

From the highly acclaimed, multiple award-winning Anthony Doerr, a stunningly ambitious and beautiful novel about a blind French girl and a German boy whose paths collide in occupied France as both try to survive the devastation of World War II. Marie-Laure lives with her father in Paris near the Museum of Natural History, where he works as the master of its thousands of locks. When she is six, Marie-Laure goes blind and her father builds a perfect miniature of their neighborhood so she can memorize it by touch and navigate her way home. When she is twelve, the Nazis occupy Paris and father and daughter flee to the walled citadel of Saint-Malo, where Marie-Laure's reclusive great-uncle lives in a tall house by the sea. With them they carry what might be the museum's most valuable and dangerous jewel. In a mining town in Germany, the orphan Werner grows up with his younger sister, enchanted by a crude radio they find. Werner becomes an expert at building and fixing these crucial new instruments, a talent that wins him a place at a brutal academy for Hitler Youth, then a special assignment to track the resistance. More and more aware of the human cost of his intelligence, Werner travels through the heart of the war and, finally, into Saint-Malo, where his story and Marie-Laure's converge. Doerr's "stunning sense of physical detail and gorgeous metaphors" ( San Francisco Chronicle ) are dazzling. Deftly interweaving the lives of Marie-Laure and Werner, he illuminates the ways, against all odds, people try to be good to one another. Ten years in the writing, All the Light We Cannot See is a magnificent, deeply moving novel from a writer "whose sentences never fail to thrill" ( Los Angeles Times ).


These ones need a little beefing up because apparently the  librarians didn't read them...


Yes Please

Poehler, Amy


An autobiography of comedian, Amy Poehler, known for her work on the television programs, Saturday Night Live and Parks and Recreation.

If you like her comedy, or if you're a woman/mother/friend you'll relate to this book and probably laugh out loud a few times. She talks about her rise in the comedy world, her marriage, divorce, kids, parents, friendships, and so much more.I don't even watch her shows or really relate to her quirky humour but it made me laugh.



Dark Places

Flynn, Gillian

Thanks to Libby Day, her older brother Ben has been in prison for twenty-five years, since he was fifteen and Libby testified that she watched him kill their mother and two sisters. But there are those who believe that Ben is innocent, that Libby lied on the stand.

This is the same author that wrote Gone Girl. It was wildly popular and this one was pretty similar. Keep in mind, if you haven't read or seen Gone Girl, her books are pretty out there, but interesting. Did you know there are people who actively stalk cold cases and try to solve them? Apparently there are.... Creepy, but interesting. 

Thursday 26 March 2015

Pocket Pages

My first attempt at a pocket page. 


I thought it was kindof fun and it made me think about my layout a little differently which I always think gives you a dose of creativity. 

Unfortunately, I didn't think it through too thoroughly, because I didn't think about the back side of the page...

Oh right. 

Since I used these photos from 3-4 years ago, I had to go scrounging for some more pictures from that time to put on the back. 

This is what I came up with. 


So, the next page I did, I used Gracie's soccer photos from 2 seasons ago. 


I also used one line of paper, so I could use a double-sided paper to make my base cards. This way, I used both sides and just slid one paper into each pocket.

This one turned out a little better. 




I can see me putting these pages throughout my scrapbooks to use a lot of my phone pictures and smaller moments. 

This definitely won't be a Project Life type album where each page is a week of our life, and each week is documented. Maybe one day, but not now.

I desperately need to be more organized with my pictures/layouts. 

I print out pictures that appeal to me and scrapbook in the same manner, which is a good way to maximize creativity but may make me a little crazy. 

Have you tried adding pages to postbound scrapbook albums? 
They are crazy-makers.

Luckily, these are all getting snapped into my D-ring albums so there's hope for me.

Tuesday 24 March 2015

6x6 paper pads

I wanted to do some fast layouts with a few 6x6 paper pads that I have. 

Totally simple and super fast. No trimming, nothing. Tear out the pages (ok, I trimmed the edges) and stick them down. 

This one is four pages, glued down on a large scrap piece of cardstock. So simple. 


One of them is a big quote which I usually find hard to use. Not often do I have a 6 inch square on my layout that is blank, I like to shove lots onto each page. 

This layout helped me arrange my photos and embellishments in the other quadrants and keep a space for the quote.  

This layout just uses two 6x6 pages and a wide strip of chevron washi tape on a kraft background. Simple.



Add a cute kid eating corn, some embellishments and a simple title and some doodling and viola!

Those cute little pads are for more than cards! 

Sunday 22 March 2015

Tea with the Queens


They insist that I'm the Queen and they're the princesses, 
but I think we all know that they're in charge. ;)

Either way, we warm up after playing outside with dry clothes 
(matching dresses of course) and tiny cups of hot chocolate.


See that pinky popping up? Royalty, for sure.


Look at these chubby little tea drinking hands. 

Pretty cute, right?


Toque hair at it's finest. 

Give that girl a haircut mom! 

This is the age where I try to grow out the awkward shape that her hair just naturally grows in. Half a head of bangs anyone?


Not sure if she'd looking at the cup contents or her hand, but it made me smile. 


Stir, stir, stir.


And the handy spoon helps them dig out the marshmallows. 


Mmmmm... so good.

Perfect tea party companions.

Friday 20 March 2015

PD Day Fun

Have I told you about Dallas Clayton yet? Love him! He's  like the new Dr. Suess. 


One PD day I set aside the whole day to play. 

That never happens. 

Usually, I have errands to run, a house to clean, meals to make, dogs to walk, laundry/dishes to do, or I just get distracted by emails, pinterest or something else horrible. 

On this day, I tried to set aside as much time as possible to just sit with the girls and play. 

We had fun with art projects. 



Notice Gracie has a fancy dress on and Emma's shirt is inside out so the paint stains won't show.... One of these kids is still only two. 


Then, we did some yoga. 


This actually was their idea, but I was happy to oblige. 

We played in the snow, had a tea party, baked muffins, read books, and I actually don't remember what else, but it was fun. 

Wednesday 18 March 2015

Advent Calendar Date

Grams and Papa gave the girls a gift card for a Happy Meal date in their Advent Calendar this year so we had that date last weekend. 

I don't think the girls liked it....


Haha! Okay, they loved it. 


Thanks for the fun!


Plus, they got Barbie toys.... Pretty much the best thing ever. 


Yum, yum, yum.

Monday 16 March 2015

Bike Racers

You can tell Saturday's pictures were from awhile ago. They were about a week old. This weekend was +16 C and beautiful! We've been riding bikes all week around here. 

Spring in March? Maybe!?







These kids are hardly having fun. 

I'm pretty happy to be getting out in the fresh air more, too. 

Brad and I went to an obstacle course class Friday night that was outside, we walked around downtown and went to the Farmer's Market Saturday, went to the dog park Sunday and BBQ'd whenever we could. 

Lovely March, but will it last? It was windy March 1st, but still pretty tame, does that mean it will be going out like a lion??? 

Saturday 14 March 2015

Last play in the snow?

Probably not... spring is coming, but this is Edmonton, and it's only March. 


Why note embrace it anyway and get out the sand toys for the snow?



It's almost like a beach. 


You can bury yourself in snow or in sand.



You just need snowsuits instead of swimsuits. 




And the drinks are hot instead of cold.

Thursday 12 March 2015

Gracie's Swim Lessons

Only three lessons in and Gracie passed onto the next level! Really loving the girls lessons this year. 




We'll be ready for the pool/beach/lake this summer!