My Blocks

This video clip is a classic Calvin. Everytime his blocks are cleaned up he begs for me to get them down. As soon as he has them he dumps them out (usually right over his head) and then walks away (this time to get his milk). He does like to play with them but seems to enjoy making a mess more than anything else.

The Blue Marker

Someone was quick to get into the markers this afternoon.

Kids and Laser Pointers

Not spring quite yet...

This morning we woke up to a pretty thick blanket of snow on the ground, boo! It's been snowing hard ever since, so there's already way more out there than when I took this photo. I suppose spring isn't as near as we hoped.

When I went back into our room after taking the pic, both kids were snuggled up with daddy playing Dora games on the I Phone. So sweet!

Easily Entertained

Several times today the kids would just start chasing each other around the coffee table. I continue to be amazed at what kind of things can entertain them, catch their attention and amuse them. Yesterday was a rough day (behaviour wise, especially for Sarah). Thankfully today was much better. I can always appreciate the hope that each new day brings.

Kids Remember

People sometimes ask us why we bother going on trips, etc with our kids since they won't remember any of them anyways. Sure, they won't be able to look back and remember every detail but we're confident that they'll be able to look back and think fondly of good memories that we've shared as a family, even if it's just a general feeling. We hope this helps create a sense of adventure in our children, a willingness to experience new things, the ability to take risks and live fully without fear. Not to mention, that it's fun. David and I treasure these memories with our family.

Interestingly, everyday since we have come back from our cruise (over a month ago), Sarah climbs into our bed in the morning for a snuggle and goes on to tell me about the plane and the "ice cream boat." She giggles, chats and uses her hands to gesture about the trip. I have continued to be amazed at how much she has remembered and the impression that the experience left on our little girl. She doesn't appear to be forgetting about the experience anytime soon.

As a side note, a comment was left by someone (unknown) who didn't understand how we could afford to travel as often as we do or plan to. I understand that from the outside this can be difficult to understand, I'm not coming down on the person who left the comment. I hope that I never gave the impression of bragging, since that was never intended. This is our family blog site. The main purpose of our blog is to journal about our life. People are more than welcome to come here to read about what we're up to, etc. I like to occasionaly write posts for others, however that is not the main purpose of this blog. This is a place where I should be able to share by joys, excitment and even sadness, it's our blog after all.

The reality is that our family is heading into a brief period of time where we have freedom to travel and go on adventures. With me not working a regular job, David finishing up school in a matter of weeks (just thesis left after that) and no work, kids that aren't in school and are no longer babies, we actually have a lot of time to spend together. As an added bonus we are doing fine in the resouces department (no debt here). We see this all as a gift that we want to make the most of. We know that this is a season that won't last long. By the end of summer, we'll have moved (unpacking, etc), possibly bought a home (lots of expenses there) and David hopes to be working at a winery (no vacation time anytime soon) we also plan to have more kids down the road, which makes travel not so easy.

I also think a lot of it comes down to priorities and a way of living. People can spend $2000 on a bathroom reno and no one thinks twice, it's just a bathroom. People don't think someone is rich if they do a little landscaping, buy a new washer/ dryer, buy a second (used) vehicle, replace some flooring, etc (you get the idea). However, people often seem to think that those that go on vacations regularly must have money to burn (it's not the case). It's just a matter of priorities. I'm not trying to start a debate on money, spending, etc. However, I am polietly asking you not to judge us on the way we spend our money and/ or our priorities. If you are truly concerened you are welcome to send me a personal email or call. We have nothing to hide and I would therefore be happy to answer any of your questions.

We have several trips (some big and some small) planned for the next 5 months. We're so excited about all of them! Just be warned, that I will indeed be posting about all of them, after all this is our family journal.

Happy St. Patrick's Day

It feels like spring has finally began to sprung around here. I was starting to wonder if it would ever warm up! We went from cold and snow to 10 degrees, it's been lovely! The last couple of days we have been playing outside and starting to clean up the yard. I love cleaning off the dead leaves and finding all the little green plants poking through the earth. I was surprised to see a good bunch of parsley growing and the chives looking for the sun. I haven't decided it I'll plant a garden this year since we plan on moving. I will probably plant a few things just becuase I can't resist.

It's so nice to be able to go for a walk and not have to think of mittens, hats and snowsuits. After dinner today, we all headed out to the park for some needed outdoor playtime. Let's hope this weather sticks around.

For St. Patricks Day we did what most people do, wear green. St. Patrick's Day is a huge holiday with the university crowd out here. Everyone is fully decked out in green and white and there is major partying happening. I don't remember St. Patrick's day being a big deal when I was in univeristy. Here it's impossible to miss, even just driving down the road. Interesting anyways.

A little Shopping

We love going out. It helps pass the time and entertains the kids (and us). Since there isn't a lot to do at this time of year, it means that we usually head to the stores. This is usually to do some browsing or grocery shopping. If we're home for 2 days in a row the kids will go get their coats and shoes and tell us that they want to "go out." We just get a little bored being home too much. Here's a couple pics from a recent trip. All the special carts help to make the shopping trips even more fun.

Animals!

Last weekend we went to the Hamilton Home and Garden Show for something to do. David got free tickets from school and we enjoy trade shows. There was an awesome indoor "kids zone" with bouncy castles, colouring, etc so the kids were able to get their energy out.

While at the home show, we saw these fun animal ottomans (Reiners). They were having a show special that was a huge discount so we decided to get one for each of our kids. Then we got to thinking that if we have more kids in the future (which we plan to), we would probably have to get more to keep it fair. Well, we would never buy these at their regular retail price. So in the end we ended up buying four animals for less than one would have normally cost (I guess we have to have four kids now). They were still a lot of money, but we're happy with the purchase. The kids love them and they're the kind of thing that doesn't look too childish, so I don't mind them in the livingroom. We ended up getting 1 Rhino, 1 pig and 2 elephants (sold out of other animals). They're solid yet soft (made of leather), they can easily support an adults weight. They are also fully hand made. The kids enjoy sitting on them many times throughout the day. We have one upstairs and the other three downstairs. I tried to put the extra two away but the kids just wouldn't have it. Oh well, even I enjoy the extra seat in the family room.


Sarah seems to think she's in the circus...

Playing with Potatoes

I remember my grandpa telling us stories about what life was like when he was a boy. They didn't have any money so one year for Christmas he received a toy animal which was really a potatoe with tooth picks in it for legs. It's kind of funny, since this is really one of the only stories I remember him telling.

The last couple of days our kids seem to have a thing for playing with the sac of potatoes in the kitchen. So many wonderful toys and yet potatoes seem to entertain. I feel like I'm constantly stepping on potatoes or kicking them out of the way. As soon as they empty them out of the bag, Sarah puts the bag in the bathroom garbage can. The first time they did this I couldn't figure out where the bag had gone and therefore couldn't clean up. Thankfully Sarah went and got the bag and put them back (for a few hours anyways). Kids are strange. Funny and wonderful, yet strange.

Something Different

It can be hard to always know what to post. Most of the time there seems to be something going on in life, so I usually stick to that.

Anyways, I was thinking of writing a little series of posts that were a little more interactive (if possible). So to keep it a little interactive from the start, could you please read the list of ideas below and leave a comment on which little series of posts you would prefer (or order your preferences if you like more than one). Anyone can leave a comment, you don't need a google account. If I don't actually know you, it doesn't matter, thoughts are appreciated. I am not an expert in any of these areas, it's more of a learn together idea and I'll share what I do know.

1. Cooking Related (thinking of planning out dinner for a week, I would provide a grocery list, recipes, etc). Cooking together.

2. Photography (geared for the point and shoot camera, how to take better pics, tips, would focus on baby and kid pics, photo editing info (& help) with a challenge at the end)

3. Sewing (some mini project ideas, basic skills, making the most out of your fabric)

4. Faith (a little daily devo and challenge)

5. Life and Money (ideas for living on the cheap, more than just cutting coupons)

6. Travel (where to go, travelling with kids, how to stay budget but still have a good time, cruises)

7. Starting a Home Based Business (for someone interested in starting or has already started a home based business). Getting going, goals, social media, staying with it, time management, etc.

Let me know what you think!

Making Play Dough

Yesterday Sarah decided that she wasn't going to nap. Boo. This seems to happen 1-2 times each week, which is strange since she has 3 hour naps the other days.

We were running out of things to play and do so I figured we could make some play dough together.

There are a ton of play dough recipes out there, but here's the one that we used. It turned out wonderul and it was a "no cook" variety which I loved. This way Sarah could help with pretty much the whole thing.

1 c flour

2 tbsp cream of tarta

1 tbsp oil

1/2 c salt (I used sea salt since it's all I had and it worked great)

1 c boiling water

food colouring (extract optional)

Mix first five ingredients in a bowl. Add the food colouring and knead on a flat surface and/ or in your hands. I also added orange extract for our orange play dough and peppermint extract for the green play dough. Sarah did take a bite but then realized it was "yucky" spit spit. One recipe makes one ball of play dough. We made two batches.

Cuvee 2011

Yesterday evening David went to the Cuvee awards gala. This was his third year in a row winning a ticket to the event for being the top student in his class. I'm so proud!! Just wish I could have gon to the event with him, oh well, at least I got to go last year. In the above pic he's standing with a fellow classmate and a prof.

He couldn't stop talking about these little chicken tacos they were serving. The shell was made of baked 100% parmegano reggiano cheese. Wish I could have tried them!

He was able to meet up with Sue Ann Staff, the winemaker at Megalomaniac winery (where he previously worked).

Morning Reading

I'm thrilled that the kids are actually sitting still for longer periods of time these days. We can actually get through a story (most of the time). Calvin loves books as well, so reading with the two of them is an enjoyable part of the day (except for those times when they are both trying to be on my lap).

Anyways, this morning I decided to get up from reading time and take some pics of the kids. I love photos that capture those regular moments of daily life with the kids.

Heading to Disney World!

David finishes classes in April so we figured another little holiday was in order. It's not that we're starved for a vacation, it's just that we have the time (& resources) and want to make the most of our time. I'll be able to work off the laptop when necessary, so no worries there as well.

We've booked a week at a condo near Disney World in Florida. We've decided to drive down (crazy) to save some money and give ourselves more flexibility once we're there by having our car. It should take us about 22 hours, yikes!

Lucky little Sarah will get to celebrate her third birthday at Disney World (we'll never be able to top that). We didn't plan it that way at all, it just worked out that way. Kids 0-2 are free and since we'll check in the day before Sarah's birthday, we won't have to pay the extra $220 (thank goodness).

We're looking forward to fun and sun. Should be a fun adventure with the kiddies. Hopefully they don't get too scared of the dressed up characters.

Groupon Deal of the Day

When I saw today's groupon (http://www.groupon.com/r/uu14153961) come up I couldn't help but chuckle. Since I just posted about this sort of thing, I figured I had to post this deal. $100 worth of product from Picaboo, http://www.picaboo.com/ (I just like the books) for only $35. You could also likely apply other coupon codes as well, making this an unbeatable deal. If you like to create photo books, or have never done one but have always been interested, then this deal is for you.

Regular prices for books range from $10-$100 depending on style of book, number of pages, cover, etc. Another great thing about Groupon is that they reward people for referrals. For example, if you decide that you want this deal, you could follow my referral link (http://www.groupon.com/r/uu14153961) and therefore sign up for Groupon.com (free), and purchase the item. Groupon will then give me $10 to use on future purchases. You could do the same for your friends. Not a bad deal for everyone. Hey, it's worth a try!