What we do in our weeks

Scott's always teasing me about how I'm not that spontaneous...that most stuff I do is according to a plan/schedule. It's true...I am a planner at heart. I think routines are especially important for little ones. I know my littles are pretty dependent on routine, although little man doesn't even know it yet! Annika certainly knows how her day goes for the most part, and I think it helps her feel comfortable. She knows that after we wake up we have breakfast (although Annika sometimes calls it "yunch" {lunch} or supper). Then we have a cartoon on tv while Mommy puts Ethan down for a nap and has a shower. Then we do "stuff" until lunch time. Some days we go to the library (usually once per week) and other days we colour or play barbies/dolls, etc. Now on Thursdays Annika is in a little class put on by the city of edmonton called Scribbles & Strings. It's for 2.5-3.5 yr olds and it's really just socialization and crafts/play time. It's a great time for the little tykes! So we've been enjoying that.

When it's nice out (and hopefully it'll be nice a lot more in the coming days) we sometimes go for a walk in the afternoons and get Ceniza out of the house for a nice stroll over to the park. That's about as much exercise as I get these weeks! (PS...I still have 25 lbs to lose. EEEEK!!!!)

I've just started a cleaning routine. For so long I just kind of coasted along in the week and tried to get all the cleaning done in the weekend (which never works out for me). Now I've set a weekly schedule and it's going great so far! Mondays I vacuum upstairs and clean our bedroom. Tuesdays I do the kids rooms and the upstairs bathrooms. Wednesdays I dust and vacuum/wash floors on the main floor. Thursdays are the main bathroom, and Fridays is the basement/stairs. Every day I do things like laundry, unload and reload the dishwasher, and keep the kitchen clean (sort recycle, garbages, etc). It's helping. Plus...we're having help with the cleaning every 2 weeks, so that's going to be fabulous! She started last week and it made a tremendous difference!

Anyhoo...I'm off to clean! ;) I may play a bit in between with some cute little kidlets that are hanging around here!
Have a great week! PS - are your taxes done?? Don't forget...today's the day to get 'em in!
Penny

Papercrafting day

For many years now, I have been joining a lovely group of ladies in Stonyplain for a papercrafting day (or couple of days). I went for a half day today and did some card making. Normally I do scrapbooking, but due to the attendance of a certain hungry baby, I didn't want to cart along all my scrapping supplies out there. Scrapping takes a lot longer for me. I have to sort through pictures and figure out which one goes best where...then there's the paper choices and the accessories and the journalling. No, this is a hobby best kept at home where I can go and play during nap times or after bed. Soon I will have to take pictures of the layouts I've been able to do in the evenings. I haven't done many but something is better than nothing, right? I digress.
So anyway, instead of scrapbooking stuff I took along the card stock colours I was working with (in-colours...oooh!) and a couple stamps I decided I wanted to use. I had an idea of what kind of card I'd make (simple simple simple - Sandy, I hope you like these) and managed to get 3 cards made today! Not bad! So...here they are!

Hope you're all having a good weekend!
Penny

Just look at this hairdo!

Just need to share the little guy's do. I LOVE it!

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Sleepless nights

You would think that my sleepless nights are mainly due to the fact I have a little baby who keeps me up fairly regularly to feed him. While that is true, lately it's his big sister who has been causing me grief at night. I guess it's not enough that she tries to drive me nuts during the day...now she wants to do it through the night too!

She has been crying like crazy and shouting and carrying on throughout the night. I have no idea what her issue is...but boy it's driving me bonkers! Last night i bounced from one child's room to the other, soothing and comforting. Eventually I had to bring Annika in to sleep with me and even then she continued with her drama in the night. Argh! So when we finally got to sleep just shortly after that Ethan started crying for Mama from his bedroom.

Ack. I am sooooooooooo looking forward to one day having a night off. Maybe a whole day and night. To just relax and enjoy silence, and a good, deep, restful sleep. And a book. Maybe a glass of wine too. And some chocolate. Mmmm.

Well, I'm off to see why Annika is STILL crying up there. Sigh. I fear another sleepless night is going to be in my future.
I just have to remember...they're only young for such a short period of time. One day i'll miss this, right? Hmm...nah, not the lack of sleep!

Have a good night all.
Penny

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Easter Pics

Yeah, I'm a bit late getting some pictures posted of our Easter fun at Fort Edmonton Park! Here are some shots of our day.

Checking out the miniature horse at the petting zoo

Petting some baby chicks

One of her treats was a candy necklace. Boy did she ever enjoy that! She also had her face painted for the first time and had a beautiful sparkly butterfly on her cheek.

Ethan napped most of the day...it was just too warm and comfy with Daddy!

She loves playing in the "forest"

She also loves chocolate! Mmmm...Easter chocolate!

Have a great weekend all!
Penny

Card workshop

I hosted a card workshop on the weekend at my friend Carolyn's home (she's another Stampin' Up) demonstrator. My aunt, friend, and future step-mom came along for the afternoon and we made a few really great cards! One was a masculine card which are few and far between, so it was a nice change.

I haven't done as much crafting as I'd like to these days. I've been dreaming about scrapbooking, card making, crocheting. Sigh. Maybe one day. Little Ethan has been quite a bit needier this past week. Not sure if he's fighting a cold or what, but boy he's been clingy! He always is chewing on his little fists and wants me to nurse him, and then I nurse him and he throws up! Yech! Poor little thing. I'm not too concerned (even though it's honestly projectile puking at its best). He's just a few ozs shy of 15 lbs, so the little babe is growing well. :)

Here are the cards!
Have a great week...

Chocolate Peanut Butter Banana Smoothie

I've been on a smoothie kick lately. I love smoothies as a quick, filling, super tasty snack. Fruit smoothies are always delish, but lately I've had some hankerings for chocolatey peanut butter goodness. So I've tried a few variations, and this is the one that I've had the most success with. I didn't take a picture of it...drank it before the thought occurred to me! {slurp}

Chocolate Peanut Butter Banana Smoothie
*Note: I didn't actually measure...just put stuff in the blender so these measurements are approximately what I used
2 frozen bananas (or today I had no frozen bananas so I used 2 bananas and approx 2 cups ice)
1/4 chocolate chips
1 T peanut butter *heaping
1 T cocoa
1 1/2 cups milk (or vanilla soy milk is what I have been using but ran out today)
1 tsp honey
1 tsp vanilla (omit if you're using vanilla soy milk)

Blend chocolate chips, cocoa, honey, peanut butter, and milk in blender until smooth and no chunks of chocolate chips remain.
Add bananas/ice and blend. Add ice or more frozen bananas until consistency is the way you like it!

Kick back, relax and enjoy this yummy drink!! I know I did (well, not so much the kick back and relax...but I did enjoy my smoothie). Annika had a chocolate mustache to show how much she liked it!

have a great week...
Penny

Crusty French Bread

There is nothing quite like the smell of freshly baked bread. The delicious smell of baking bread wafting through our house on the weekend was heavenly! I got the hankering to bake a couple loaves of french bread from scratch to go with the Ham & Potato soup that I made from our ham bone leftovers. (ahhhh, easter leftovers are wonderful!)

Hearty and filling - this ham & potato soup is yummy!

Scott asked me why I don't just use the breadmaker...to which I replied that hand kneaded, home made bread would taste much better. So we set out to prove (or disprove) my theory. Scott made a french loaf in the breadmaker and I made mine by hand.

His version of baking:

My version:

I did use my kitchenaid mixer...makes it much easier!

But the kneading was all me...and I enjoyed it. Therapeutic.

You can see Scott's loaf starting to turn beautifully golden!

My loaves going through their final rise.

Scott's finished product:

My finished loaves:

The taste test:

The verdict:
It was unanimous...the time spent kneading and rising and shaping was well worth it. My loaves were beautifully crusty on the outside and soft and springy on the inside. The breadmaker loaf was very very dense with a solid crust. It's awesome in the toaster but not as good as a side to a bowl of soup. I will be baking more bread in my future. Next up is a whole wheat loaf. Yum.

Have a great day! Here's our little man to send you off with a smile on your face.

Penny

DIY: Jewelry Organization

Finally got my pictures transferred on to the computer and I'm ready to share my project. The one picture I forgot to take was the before of my jewelry. I was just too darn excited to get it all cleaned up! My necklaces were in jumbled heaps in a box and in a little jewelry pouch that I have. Nothing was visible and anytime I wanted to wear a necklace it took a lot of time to untangle the knots and twists that had become my jewelry. Plus, I didn't even remember half the stuff that I have!! It's hard to remember what you have when you can't see anything. So I started thinking to myself....instead of buying a jewelry box, what can I do to organize my doo-dads? I googled jewelry organization and saw a number of really neat looking ideas. I decided to go with a cork board covered in fabric - simple and fast (right up my alley!)

I purchased a cork board at staples for around $15. Got some furniture tacks at Canadian Tire for a few dollars more, and some fabric at Walmart. Ready to go! I also needed a staple gun, staples, a sawtooth picture hanger, and some fabric scissors.

I wrapped the fabric around the cork board and trimmed it to a size I wanted to work with around the board. I put the cork side down on the wrong side of the fabric and started stapling one side down in the frame of the board. I then pulled the opposite side tight and stapled it down as well.

Once both sides were stapled, I started on the corners. I folded up the fabric nice and taut and put a few staples in for good measure. I sort of folded it like I would gift wrap a present! Then pulled the fabric nice and tight and put in more staples all along the third edge. I then repeated for the fourth side and made sure it was tight enough so that the front was perfectly smooth.

And voila, it was ready to go! Do you like the paisley fabric? I really do...

Then I nailed on the sawtooth picture hanger and headed upstairs to load up my jewelry. I used the cool looking furniture tacks I found at Canadian Tire and just kind of eyeballed where I thought they should go on the board. (I'm not big on measuring!) Then I started hanging up my necklaces! And added and moved things around until all my necklaces were nicely hanging and displayed.

Oops...this picture is not focused! LOL!! I'm just learning on manual mode - it'll take a while for me to remember everything!

And you'll notice that I also have my bracelets/anklets hanging nicely now. I picked up a mug tree in Canadian Tire for $6.50 and just hung all my bracelets up on that. Works like a charm and now I can see the top of my dresser AND I can also see what I have to choose from in the jewelry department!

Next post I hope to share all about the great "loaf-off" Scott and I had. We competed head-to-head in a bread baking contest here at home. Mmmm...bread!
Penny

Happy Easter!

Hope you are all having a blessed, relaxing Easter weekend. We have been enjoying ourselves! This afternoon we spent some time at Fort edmonton Park for their Sweet Treats Hide and Seek! What a nice way to spend an afternoon! Annika had a great time hunting for Easter eggs, getting her face painted (for the first time!), and petting some cute baby animals in a petting zoo! After we finished up we headed home to prep easter dinner for family.

I popped a ham in the crock pot, put a hash brown casserole in the oven, steamed some asparagus, and got some help from my aunt throwing together the salads before sitting down to a yummy meal! One of three salads was a pinterest find...black bean, peppers, avocado, and corn with a lime dressing. Yum! Finished off with a saskatoon pie made by my lovely grandmother. Good meal.

I have Annika's Easter basket filled with little goodies sitting on the table and a few eggs hidden around the living room! All set for tomorrow morning. Unfortunately, I think I'll have to make a trip in to the medi centre tomorrow. I seem to have a nasty infection right in my nail bed...it hurts like crazy. So I think i'll have it checked out.

Oh, I did a, little project that i'm excited to share with you! Tomorrow i'll try to get my pictures sorted out. I had a horrible mess of jewelry and I have no jewelry box. So, I did what I always do when I need help or inspiration of any kind. I googled. :) (Sources of inspiration closely followed with pinterest, of course!) Anyway, I googled jewelry organization and found peg boards and cork boards for storing jewelry. I went with the cork board. Finished project to be revealed soon!

Have a great day tomorrow all! I'm pooped so heading to bed.
Penny

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Sick days just aren't what they used to be

Sigh...I remember the good ole' days when I was sick. I'd take a sick day from work, curl up on the couch and watch tv while sipping tea/neo citran and just resting. Today I think I'd like to go in to the office for a sick day! LOL! Curl up in an office chair while staring at a computer screen with a mug of hot tea. Haha...how times change. Sick days at home with two little ones is not a real "sick day". Kids still need to be fed and entertained.

And that's what I'm off to do right now...I hear little mister calling.
Penny

Fun times fly past

Well, vacation time came and went and Scott is back at work. Boo!! But we had a great week off...it was nice to hunker down and stay at home for longer than a weekend. We went to the waterpark, Terwillegar rec center, saw a movie (The Lorax) with Annika, had friends over for supper a couple times,and just took it easy. It was a nice week.

Now it's back to reality. I came down with a sore throat/cold on Sunday and so I'm still fighting that off. Blech. Hopefully I'll be on the mend soon. I'd like to get some energy to do some serious spring cleaning and maybe even have some time for some playing! Over that last few weeks I've spent a bunch of money on stuff I'm excited to play with. Have you ever heard of Close to my Heart? I hadn't until my friend showed me the template books she has for scrapbooking and stamping. They are so neat! I bought as many of the books as I could. I think it should really help me focus and get layouts for scrapbooking done a whole lot quicker (like maybe I'll be able to finish 2 or 3 layouts instead of 1 in an entire day!!) I'm excited about this because I'm going to a whole day scrapbooking event at the end of this month. Yay!! So looking forward to visiting with some lovely ladies and make some progress on Annika's album. I'm very very VERY behind.

Now, back to the less exciting part of what I want to do in the next week or so. Cleaning. Yikes. I am soooooo behind in all the cleaning that needs to be done. Even my regular cleaning is fallling behind. Sigh. Whenever Annika's occupied and I have free time, Ethan's up. Or maybe the stars align and I magically do have time when I can get stuff done...it's still not enough to get the vacuuming, mopping, laundry, dusting, kitchen tidying, and bathroom cleaning done. So I've been thinking about getting some help via a housecleaner. And as of last week I am finally going to be getting help with the housecleaning!!! Yay!! I'm so excited. It will be money well spent. And it helps that it's a friend and I have seen her house - soooo clean!! She'll do a far better job than I do, I'm sure. She starts the week after Easter. :)

I really like Groupons/dealfinder deals.Today I saw one for groupon goods for sheets for $39/set. Wow! Unfortunately the kings and queens were all sold out by the time I got online to check it out. Boo. I did, however, purchase my share of Cold Stone Creamery groupons. Yum. A month back I bought a groupon for window washing and gutter cleaning - that'll be so nice to have done. Some of our windows are super high up there. I'm glad I don't have to do that! The next deal I need is one for spring cleanup - let me know if you see any good ones!! :)

Hope you're all having a great week. I'm off to take a pumpkin loaf out of the oven. We have leftovers for supper tonight, so I had a chance to use up some stuff I needed to in the fridge (coconut milk) and I used it in a nice pumpkin loaf and some muffins.

Penny