Cutest Ringbearer Ever

Ethan tried on his outfit yesterday - cute, don't you think? :)

Sleep

You know, sleep is underrated!! As Mama to a wee one, I can tell you that sleep is something I've been craving. Ethan has gotten up every 2-3 hours since he was born - during the night!! Yikes. Sometimes even more. I'll tell you what: lack of sleep makes this Mama CRANKY! Last week I found that I was snapping at Annika too quickly, getting angry for little things and just generally out of sorts. I'm pretty sure that over 6 months of getting up several times each night contributed to my awful mood. So last week I turned off the baby monitor after he woke up the second time (after talking to his doctor who assured me baby is just enjoying having mama wrapped around his finger) and I slept. I slept for 4 hours straight I think, and then went in to check on Ethan (who was of course A-OK). The next night he woke up at 4 (after a 7 pm bedtime) and I fed him and he was back to sleep. And the subsequent nights were just as good. In fact last night he went to bed a bit late at 8:15 - I didn't hear a peep from him (the monitor was on) until 6:30 this morning! Hooray!! :) I'm feel like a new woman! His naps are better (longer) and I couldn't be happier. Now if I can just get the little guy to eat his solids! ;) Slow and steady...he's not impressed with solids yet. Today we're going to try carrots - let's see if that works!

Yesterday we purchased wedding finery for the kidlets. Annika has a sweet lacy flowergirl dress and Ethan has a little suit...so cute!! They're both adorable and will undoubtedly steal the show at my dad's wedding in August! Now i just have to find myself something to wear. Eeek.

On Friday we made an impromptu visit to our local spray park with my cousin-in-law and her kids. Boy it was a hot one out!

Friday night Annika went bowling for the first time...I was a bit nervous watching her haul around a huge bowling ball! She had a blast though...

Ethan is a little gymnast in the making. Look at him in his best push up form! He gets on his tiptoes and hands and just pushes up and down! Oh, and he's a crawler. Boy is time ever flying by.

Not sure if I ever shared my layout for Annika's scrapbook cover page. Here it is: I see some similarities between little miss and her baby brother!

Hope you're all starting the week off on a good note. I'm in full party prep mode here - Annika's big Princess birthday party is on Saturday morning! Lots to do! I'll try to remember to take pictures during the day of the festivities.

Have a great week all!
Penny

What We've Been Up To

We've been to the indoor park at John Janzen Nature Center - very cool! I highly recommend a visit!

We've had ice cream with friends to get through the hot days

I've been reorganizing the craft area (again!) What do you think? I've got a computer down here now which makes it easier to search for inspiration and blog, etc.

We've been goofing around more with gooey messes!

Been on the LRT for the first time to go to the parade for the first time!

Went on some rides at the fair...

 Enjoyed some yummy treats...

 Played in jumpy castles...

And much more. It's been a good couple weeks.

Yesterday my little princess was quite the challenge...but today is better so that's good! :) Yesterday hubby and I went on our first movie date night in almost 7 months. Eeek...that took a long time!! :)

hope you're all having a great week. I'm busy getting birthday party preparations done.
Penny

My new Toy!

Well...I finally did it. I've been drooling over the Silhouette Cameo for quite some time now. My friend owns one and makes the cutest cards and I've seen a lot of crafting that I want to try out. So I hemmed and hawed over it for a while and finally (with hubby's blessing! lol) went out and purchased my very own Silhouette Cameo!! Hurray! Of course I haven't had any time to play with it yet. I finally installed the software yesterday. Now I want to get to playing but it's honestly so hot in our office I just can't do it! And of course the wireless isn't working properly with my laptop and so now I have decided I need to buy a new laptop and have a hard line wired for internet in the basement! Haha...it's always the same...we start with one thing and end up overdoing it!

I will be sharing my projects when I do get into it. I can't wait! Oh, by the way, I am more than half way through my seating renovation in the kids play area in the basement. Once I"m done I will be showing before and after shots of the kids area. I'm happy it's done and it's turning out pretty cute, so can't complain!

Today's smoothie was a pineapple, banana, OJ, milk frothy shake. It was ok, but it didn't make me crave another one instantly. I'm off to my kitchen right now to slice and freeze a bunch of watermelon. I also bought more strawberries so I can make another delicious strawberry drink. num num num. Next experiment will either include peaches or blueberries. Or maybe both...who knows how crazy I'm going to get with my vitamix! ;)

Hope you have a great evening all!
Penny

Strawberry Icee

So today I indulged in a free 7-11 Slurpee...they're sooo sweet! But it was good, of course. And free, which is always good.
I've got a frozen fruit drink obsession. It's so hot that I've been making smoothie/slushy drinks. I've already told you about the watermelon yumminess. Today I decided to start messing around with other fruity concoctions! Strawberries were on the menu today. I threw in around 1-1/2 cups of fresh strawberries in my vitamix, added in 1 cup of ice, the juice of one lime and some splenda. Turned that bad boy on and whizzed my way to a delicious strawberry slushy. So good!

I'm thinking this could be a great base to a margarita. In fact, I am hosting a girls night coming up in a week or so and will think about serving some type of drink. Maybe the strawberry with a splash of rum? Or maybe I'll do a peach one and add in a dash of malibu? Mmmm....sounds scrumptious! In any case, expect to see lots of different drinks in the near future. I'm having too much fun not to share. Besides, they're yummy...I want you to enjoy one too!

Today we went to our local spray park and Annika had a blast. I just tried to keep Ethan out of the sun...lol! I had a dr appt this afternoon and then before you know it it's supper time...you know the days fly by. My baby boy will be 6 months on Monday. Boo hoo!!!


There are so many fun things coming up in our city. Festivals, music, shows...it's going to be great!
Have a good night all...baby's calling.
Penny 

Watermelon Shake

Because I really really think you should try this out - honestly the most refreshing, delicious drink I've had in a while...here is the link to the Foodess' blog. She is the reason I am buying watermelons like crazy! LOL! Check out her blog and then try it out...if you like watermelons and you like icy fresh drinks on hot days...this is the recipe for you!
Foodess Watermelon Milkshake Recipe

I bought a little water play table for Annika and she played outside for a good hour and a half in the heat (and shade, of course). We had a fun time outside, although I'll be happy when the temperature becomes slightly less unbearable...(just need the humidity to get lost!!)

Ta ta for now...
Penny

I'm Melting, I'm Melting!!

So. Hot. Ugh. AC would be such a treat in our house. Fortunately we have an a/c unit in our bedroom which makes nights bearable for us. Unfortunately the rest of the house is hotter than outside!! Yuck! Our kids are having a tough time with the heat, particularly my baby boy. Poor little guy was down to his diaper today and just sweating bullets. I feel for the little guy. Sleeping in their rooms is out of the question, I'm afraid. They're both tucked up in our bed enjoying a cool spot. Ethan is spread eagled and belly down and taking up about 3/4 of the bed, haha! Little Annika has the other quarter of the bed. I think we'll have to rejig positions when we get up there. Thank goodness for a king size bed! Fewf!

To beat the heat today I made a Watermelon shake/slushy with some cubed watermelon I had frozen in the freezer. It was honestly SO delicious. If you have a lot of watermelon, I highly recommend blending some frozen watermelon chunks with some milk. DELISH.

Annika and I made some slime today. And boy oh boy did she have fun with that. I stepped away for a minute to get Ethan (did I mention he was miserable today?!) and when I came back she had spread her gooey slimy mess all over the counter. It was dripping on the floor, all over the dishwasher, her clothes...and boy was she having fun!! :)

Hope you are all keeping well and staying cool. I'm trying to figure out what I'll do to keep the kids cool all week. Yikes.
I'm off now...literally sitting here just melting away. I'm off to bed to cool down!!
Penny