Tuesday, June 30, 2009

On June 25th....

Khai learned how to ride a bike without training wheels! It was the day before his 5th birthday and he was so proud. I had to run to the store to pick up a few things, and Helmut, Brettt and Khai were outside playing. When I got home, Khai ran to get his bike, and showed me that he learned how to ride it all by himself! I was (am) so proud of him!









These photos will definitely be going into a mini book in the near future!
Today, I'm hoping it will warm up! We're hoping to spend some time outside in the kiddie pool this afternoon and just relax!
Have a great day everyone!

Monday, June 29, 2009

my baby...


needs glasses!


We had a visit with the opthamologist this morning. The dr. had recommended that Declan see him, because the condition which requires Khai to wear glasses, runs in families. I thought that it was going to be a "nope, everything is fine" type of appointment. Only to find out that his eyes are WORSE than Khai's.


This one has hit me hard...because I wasn't expecting it. Khai's eyes had started becoming cross-eyed, so I knew there was a problem...I just didn't think that anything would really be wrong with Dekkie's eyes. yeah. i'm feeling quite down today.


I also have ABSOLUTELY no idea how I'm going to keep glasses on this kids head!!! Well, I'm sure we'll figure it out.


Also, a big Happy Birthday to Brett as he turns 12 today!!!
I love you kiddo!

Friday, June 26, 2009

I have never been more pleased....

with pictures than I am with these!

I walked in the door after picking up Declan from Shannon's (thanks again by the way) on Wednesday, to Justin asking me if I would come with him and Magda to take pictures of them at the Legislative Building.
So, I got ready in about 20 minutes flat, jumped in the car, and off we went.

Even if I do say so myself, these pictures turned out wonderfully...but it helps that I had such great subjects!!

This next one is one of my favourites from the whole day.

Well, this one is too...











This one is VERY "them".

I love this shot of Justin. He's trying not to laugh :) hee hee.






Then it was off to meet the horse drawn carriage that was taking them to the Gates.



Khai is actually in the buggy here...he's crouching down on the other seat because I wanted a shot of just Magda and Justin.
and I'll leave you with one of my favourites...
Isn't she lovely???

I've got TONS more photos from this week....hoping to get them up early next week!

Also, Khai turned 5 today!! A VERY happy birthday to my little boy who woke up this morning and told me that now that he was 5, he has muscles. then he flexed to prove it.

I love you Khai!

Sunday, June 21, 2009

Father's Day.....

Today was a terribly busy Father's Day for us. We had a WHOLE lot of things going today..including our nephews confirmation, Khai's piano recital and a Father's Day dinner at my in laws.

I have to say, I appreciate Helmut SO much as the father of our kids. He is not only an amazing father to them, but a wonderful husband to me.

I'm sure most of you know this, but Khai is biologically my child from a previous relationship. His sperm donor (as we like to call him around here) wants NOTHING to do with him, and never has. Helmut has now legally adopted Khai, and Khai knows no other man as Daddy, except Helmut.

Helmut wants and loves Khai. Period. There is no denying that he is his father. And I could not have asked for a better man for the job.

I know I've just talked about Khai so far, but let me just say that he is an amazing father to all of the kids. He kicks their butts when they need kicking (figuratively that is :P), supports them when they need it, and is still able to laugh them out of a bad mood.

Thank you, my dear husband, for being the man I've always dreamed of for our kids.

I love you. More than you know.

Wednesday, June 17, 2009

Teacher's gift....

Brett has had an EXCELLENT teacher this year. We are SO pleased with her and the extra time and attention she's put into him.


I always do something for end of the year and Christmas gifts....and this is what I made this year.


They are coasters, handmade, hand embroidered and designed by me (the embroidery that is...I got the idea for coasters online somewhere...they varied quite a bit from what my finished product is, but I want I did find the idea online).


I will also be buying two mugs from Starbucks (I'm a sucker for their mugs) and getting her a gift certificate as well....

















The one with "learn" on it has a stack of books on it. You can't see it very well, but that's what it is!


Oh, and the undersides of the coasters look like this:

All of my energy has to go into creating these days, as there is a LOT of it. Mostly negative energy (stress, frustration, anger, resentment etc) which I'm not quite sure how to handle.
If I ever stop feeling stressed, I think all my creative juices will dry up!!
*sigh*
This too will pass.
Thanks for stopping by!

Tuesday, June 16, 2009

Today...

was a good day!

We went over to a friends house for a playdate this morning! So much fun! Khai and Elijah play SO nicely together, it was nice to see.

I had made her a blanket for her new little girl (Abby) that they are adopting, and I wanted to drop it off....






Tonight, was Khai's last soccer game of the season. He got a medal, and he is VERY excited about it!

And Dekkie, copying everything his big brother did!!



Like I said....a good day!!

Saturday, June 13, 2009

the view from up here...


I'm in a silly mood today.
I think I've been outside too much. Too tired. and a bit giddy.
Was looking through random pics and found this one. Two weeks ago. I was sitting in a deck chair enjoying the sun while the kids were napping.
the best part was that it started pouring about a minute and a half after i took this.
rain and pretty toe nails make me happy :)

Thursday, June 11, 2009

remember this sad little frame...

... from yesterday's post??


Well...I did something with it!!

I handstitched the names of the people I ADORE on a scrap of patterned paper (this paper is manufactured by Scenic Route) in different colors, glued a couple pieces of raw chipboard to it and VOILA!

I must say, I'm very pleased with the way it turned out.






Wednesday, June 10, 2009

i decided to share....

my scrap space with you all!
The frame on the right used to have a piece of glass in it...declan took the whole thing apart and i "put away" the glass...and now I can't find it. So, I'm altering it...I've done some sanding, and I have some other ideas that I will hopefully finish this afternoon.

This is the main space where I scrap. The table with the papers on it is where I put together my layouts. The other table is where my sewing machine goes. I like to have it out, whether I'm sewing or scrapping...that's where it's most happy :)



The seagrass tower houses journalling tags, transparencies and "stickers". I put stickers in quotes because this is really anything with an adhesive back...not just your traditional sticker like stickers.



On hooks above the tower, I hang my minis. I love having them out, but with declan at the age he is...they would be in tatters! So I hang them up high where I can still see them, but they are safe from tiny hands :)

This bucket houses my embroidery stuff. Old vintage patterns I found at my Mum and Dad's place, embroidery hoops, thread/floss/yarn, a pair of scissors and bits of old material I will eventually embroider on. I often embroider just before bed, so having everything in a bucket makes it easy to carry around the house!



This is my FAVOURITE thing in my whole room. My wonderfully talented hubby heard me talking about the expedit shelves from Ikea, and for Mother's Day last year (2008) he made me this (with the help of the kids). He made it so that it could fit 2 of my craft boxes, and I love that I can access it from both sides!



Here's the other side!!!
Vintage phone (pink) on the little stand there. Justin hates how it sounds so I unplug it every night for him :)
***as a side note, I should mention that my husband made ALL of the wood stuff in this area....he's amazing.
My desk. computer. chair. usually a cup of tea. :)




All but ONE shelf of these cabinets are filled with scrapping supplies. No. I'm not joking.



This is the view from the couch. Jean and Lionel are on the tv! I ALWAYS watch the britcom "As Time Goes By" while I'm crafting. I've seen all the episodes a million times, but I love them all!!
My tea/beverage area is on the end of that counter top....



I found this ancient carafe in my hutch the other day. Keeps my tea warm for HOURS!!



My projects end up being displayed in one space or another. Here is a canvas I did of Kelsey...it's to the right of the TV.


As Time Goes By. All the episodes. Except the reunion special. I have that PVR'd upstairs.



My best friend gave me this as a gift the other day. I LOVE it...but it hasn't found a permanent home yet...I've started filling it with embellishements...and it's just sort of out right now....I will find a home for it...and I'm planning on customizing it a bit too...Sticking stuff on with magnets so that I can change it whenever I want :)


My typewriter lives on this filing cabinet. One of my favourite purchases!

All of my alphas live inside the filing cabinet. I put baskets inside to sort of keep them contained, and they are STILL overflowing!!


See??? Overflowing.
I thought I would get tired of this color on the walls. BUT I LOVE IT!!! We painted about a year and a half ago (I think) and it's actually a really warm and lovely color. Surprisingly enough, it goes with almost any color and well...I LOVE it.
Thanks for stopping by and letting me share my space with you. It's where I'm most creative, and quite honestly, other than my bedroom, is my favourite place in the house!!