Live it!

Right now...

Keaton is wild about ---

1) The Lorax book by the one and only Dr. Suess. I had bought this book for him when he was a little baby... put it up on the top shelf of his closet and promptly forgot about it. Found it this weekend and read it. And it is Keaton's new FAVOURITE book. It is actually quite enjoyable to read and teaches environmental awareness. I think it is the perfect book for 4-5 years olds.

2) Rescue Heroes (still)

3) Batman Action Figurines

4) Game boy - got a new game Banjo Pilot and loves it!

5) Bologna sandwiches - just butter. Eats this everyday he goes to school. That or cold Pizza.

6) Art: he has a real love for drawing. He draws teeny-tiny little pictures of bugs and people. He prefers white paper & a blue ball-point pen :)

7) Curtis. His best friend. Nothing better in Keaton's eyes than his 2nd cousin. Getting to play with him is the highlight of any day.

Another weekend gone

i love me the weekends. and i hate when they are over. why do they have to pass by so quickly?

we had a busy weekend and got nothing accomplished other than social interaction :)

with shaune's cracked rib (yes, he cracked a rib in hockey on Tuesay - poor guy - done for 6 wks) we didn't do much around the house. we need to close the pool. mow the lawn. clean this house. wash the siding. stain the playhouse ...the list goes on and on. Yet - we did none of that. Oh well, hopefully he will be healed up a bit soon and we can start tackling all this stuff together.

Instead - we had fun :) Not such a bad trade-off.

On Saturday we went out with friends (John & Michelle; Kerri & Matt) for supper at Montana's and then caught a movie - "The 40 year old Virgin".  It was full of laughs. Crude. Funny. I liked it. Not as much as i loved "Wedding Crashers" but it was worth seeing with friends.

Sunday I took Keaton to Sunday School. Now that Autumn is here, Sunday School is back at our church and so I am going to try and get K there most Sundays. Chloe isn't old enough yet to go so her and Shaune stay home. I go to church with my parents and Gram while Keaton is in Sunday School with friends from school. He loves it.

Our church had a Kid's day after church from 1pm-3pm. The kids (both K & Chloe) had a blast playing all the 'circus' games & then we went into the santuary section of the church for sing-along with Andy Forgie.

We ended the weekend with an over-the-top meal (at Shaune's request - he is getting sick of take-out) of Caesar Salad, Steak Oscar, Twice-Baked Potatoes... and mom's homemade apple pie.

A day for me...

spent the day with my friend Tina B in Kingston today. It was fun. Neat to stand next to her and teach what we love. Cool to see so many girls turn out for our seminar (i think 24 girls fit in the crop area) & share the day with people that love scrapbooking like I do.

Thanks to Marchant's in Kingston and Susan the owner. Thanks to Wendy for a very funny tshirt she made me. Thanks for all the input and enthusiasm from all the girls that attended. Thanks to Joan Fowler and Nicole for sharing an after-class coffee with us at Starbucks. Thanks to Tina for always inspiring me - and for just being a good friend that i love to talk to.

I took my camera. Only took a few photos. Too busy and full-of-activity to really get anything good. most are fuzzy. oh well.

Finished the day off with a wonderful supper downtown at the Radisson's AQUA. Delicious. Tina and I apparently both have very good taste - lol - we ordered the exact same meal, but different desserts.

I had a great day with you Tina. thanks! See you in October!!!

Some things to look forward to..

1) tomorrow i get to hang with my buddy TINA B! we are hosting/teaching a seminar at a little store in Kingston, Ontario called "Marchants". It should be fun. I haven't seen her since CHA Atlanta and I miss seeing her! We are hoping to get some shopping in and a tasty supper out after we teach. Tina lives 3 hours east of me in Ottawa. I wish she was closer.

2) Memory Trends 2005 in Las Vegas. Not a bad place to work... if ya gotta work ;)

3) The return of all things "good" on TV. some of my fav's are:   Lost, CSI, Amazing Race, and Survivor.

4) Autumn... my favourite season. Colourful leaves, cool weather, pumpkins, Halloween... all so GREAT!

5) On my list of things to do this week is book a hall for our annual Kid's Halloween Party. We have had this party every year since Keaton was born. It is fun. I love Halloween. We used to hold it in our home, but the party keeps 'growing' so we've moved it to a local recreation hall. Keaton is being Peter Pan (his request); Chloe is being none-other-than Tinkerbell... not her request. mommy just thought that would be cute. i think she wanted to be Pooh Bear ;)

6) The purchase of this Brighton's ORCHARD bracelet at Las Vegas airport - shoulda bought it last year when i saw it. have been wishing for it ever since.

our weekend

has flown by. just got home from the park. keaton riding his bike. he is doing so well considering he couldn't even figure out the pedaling motion at the beginning of spring. he loved going down the hill so he could apply the brakes. it is just gorgeous here this weekend. hard to believe it is September actually.

last night i went out for "girls night" over to Mel's ... it was so fun. a nice get-away -ha.  she is an amazing cook and we mingled over appetizers, drinks, supper and creme brulee until almost midnight. Shaune had the kids and so they went to a street 'dance' party our little village was hosting.

Today - work. ugh. and shaune has requested some chicken recipe  he has concocted in his head. honeymustard chicken with pecans???? i wonder. i guess i'll try it.

here is a funny photo of Chloe from yesterday. playing in our backyard. totally intrigued by the neighbours apple tree. pick an apple - take a bite - throw said apple on the ground... and then start all over again.  Sorry DAN (our neighbour)!

ps: I *heart* VINCE VAUGHAN. swoon. laugh. omg. this guy is my new *good thing*. went and saw WEDDING CRASHERS. best funniest movie i've seen in a while. we laughed the entire show. i love movies like that. Liked it even better than OLD SCHOOL and i didn't think he could get funnier than that. If you haven't seen this movie (and like crude over the top dorky mindless comedy) go see it.

Next on our list is: 40 yr old virgin. anyone seen it? like it? i hear it is hilarious.

He's a Bug Man

Just like his Uncle Cory was (and honestly - he still is at 31)...Keaton is in love with all things BUGGISH. Spiders, Bees, Grasshoppers, Moths, Butterflies & Crickets... he is always catching or chasing them.

Uncle Cory is tops on Keaton's "Cool" list now because last night Mom brought down a gift from Cory: this bug house and bug vacuum gun. OMG... Keaton is in heaven. Simple stuff make this boy happy.

I took these photos this morning when we were waiting for his school bus to pick him up. He begged to take it to school with him but i of course couldn't let him. He told me to take good care of his bugs and give them "lots of fresh air".

Chloe watched and helped as much as Keaton would let her. I fear (or maybe hope too) my little pony-tailed gal is gonna be a tomboy just like i was. She was right in on the action. Announcing "oh YUCK" and then getting busy helping her brother "hunt".

OLD PHOTOS...so many memories...

a reminder to family that i update my album "Memory Lane: Snapshots from my past" every day. it is fun digging thru all my photos from the past. Brings back so many great memories - and makes me wish i'd taken more photos of my teenage/college life.

anyhow, here is the link for anyone interested: OLD PHOTOS

i add to the album almost daily. depending how energetic i feel! ;)

And another year begins

it is crazy how time flies. i cannot believe another summer is over (wahhhhh) and Keaton is back to school. He came home sick last night from his Nana's and went straight to bed at 6:30pm. that is so unheard of for Keaton. i was worried that he would be too sick to go for his first day of school today. i was wrong. he woke up early and even had time for a bath and hairblow (note to self: get that goldie-locks to a hair dresser fast!)

this year he is in Senior Kindergarten. Here we do things a bit differently. Children enter the public school system at 4 (or in K's case age 3 because his bday isn't til' December) and spend 2 years in Kindergarden together. First as Junior, then as Senior. There is a mentoring program where the Sr's help guide the Jr's and they are 'buddies' for the school year. I cannot believe Keaton is a senior now and the thought of him 'guiding' a younger child in the rules of the school scares and amuses me a bit ;)

Keaton picked out his clothes today. I was all set on him wearing a yellow short sleeve button-up with red underneath and a different pair of shorts... he wanted only ORANGE (and then covered it up with his blue top). he does look sweet. what a boy. i am so proud of him. 4 years old and loving school. i hope he gets off to a good start this year. i hope he has a bit more control and a little less issues with 'transition times'. lol. a whole new year of worrying and guiding him thru the school system.

Note that Keaton is all about BATMAN lately. I'm not sure when Spiderman took backseat, but this year, it is all about Batman. He has a backpack with Batman, a lunch box with Batman and a pencil case full of coloured pencils ...yes, Batman. He even put on a new pair of Batman underoos today... and man, did he think they were "cool".

So, i snapped photos like the crazy mom i am. He is a good sport about it and when he is done he announces to me "Ok mom, i don't want anymore pictures...ok?" ha.   He got on the bus and off he went. i met him at the school b/c i needed to arrange a bus-buddy for him. Met his new teacher {Mrs. Fryer} who seems very nice. I bet she'll be tired tonight. 20 kids ages 3-5yrs... 1 teacher. i'm tired just thinking about it!

do you know what time it is?

for Shaune, it is TIME...time to play again. The sport he loves - HOCKEY.

he is excited, he bought a new hockey stick and is looking for his old stinky equipment... anticipating the start of hockey again. He hasn't played hockey at night since Keaton was a baby. He fell during a game and broke his scafoid bone in his wrist.... it took forever to heal & then he fell on it again while bathing the kids (hee) and rebroke it. It is a bone that is not fast to heal. Anyhow, i thought that would be the end of him playing hockey, but he has decided that he needs and wants to play. For fun. For a hobby. For the love of Hockey. I hope he doesn't break it again, but i suppose if he does then at least he will be doing it for the love of his sport (and not from bathing the kids and slipping on a wet bathroom floor).

His games are late at night. School nights. I am hoping to take Keaton to a game sometime to see Shaune play but tonight won't be the night... Keaton starts school tomorrow!!! and his days of sleeping in until 9:30 are about to come to an end!

Saddened...

by the devastation the Southern US is experiencing. So sad.

I cannot wrap my mind around what they are dealing with, what they are feeling...fearing... praying. I sit at my computer planning a fun long weekend full of socializing and daily chores/tasks. It is hard to understand and imagine that not too far away, families have been torn apart. Homes and ways-of-life have been destroyed. No hope in sight. not for a while. I feel helpless... unsure of how i can do my part to help. To show them I care and feel and hope for them.

I tend to be the kind of person that buries her head in the sand like an ostrich...at the first sign of bad news. I'm a happy go lucky girl. I love and crave happy thoughts. When bad things happen, i can fall apart... unsure of what to do or how to react. I am not a news-watcher. I don't like to know about so much sadness in the world. Yesterday, I forced myself to sit down and watch CNN with my husband after the kids had went to bed. It wasn't fun to see. It was sickening actually. But it was a reminder. A reminder to be grateful for all i have. A reminder to hug my kids and be more patient with my wonderful husband. A reminder that the stresses and agitations of my day really are not worth giving a second thought. A reminder to be happy, be loving and grateful, be thankful for the simple things i take for granted every day.

If anyone knows of an especially wonderful/resourceful way to contribute something to helping the people of Katrina, please let me know. I know there are a million different things and it is hard for me to wrap it all around my head. I want to help, I'm just unsure how.

God bless!