Creative Ideas Needed!!

I'm always stuck for good ideas when it comes to Father's Day. Every year it seems like Joshua already has everything he wants or needs. And if he doesn't already have it, it's something too expensive for me to buy! Last year, I took Sara and Sky to get special portraits made and then we framed them and gave that to Joshua for his gift. (I got that idea from my good friend, Trina.) So, I can't exactly do that again.... Of course, we always make a craft or cards to give Daddy, and he loves those. But, with "giving and receiving gifts" being my love language, I always want to do something more than that. This year, I'm asking for help! What are some things you have done in the past to honour the Daddy in your home? I tend to focus on a gift, but maybe some of you with other love languages, can give me some creative ideas! I'll be waiting to hear from you!

Meet Ruthie Toothie

This is Ruthie Toothie. She has been in the family since I was a little girl. My grandma made me a Ruthie Toothie when I started to lose my teeth. Every time I lost a tooth, she gently held each one of my teeth as they waited under my pillow for the tooth fairy to come. I'm sure I still have that Ruthie Toothie somewhere in a memory box... I made a new one for Sara when she was still quite small. Last night, Ruthie Toothie had the honour of holding Sara's most recent lost tooth - tooth #6! After I put Sara to bed last night, she called me to say her loose tooth was hurting and bothering her. I knew it was hanging on by a thread. I told her that maybe it would feel better if we cleaned it. :-) So, she started brushing and the tooth started to bleed. I said, "Honey, that tooth really needs to come out tonight." She started to panic a little. Then, I took over the brushing and after a few strokes over the tooth, it jumped right out of her mouth! She was so happy! We found Ruthie Toothie and tucked the tooth inside. I almost had her convinced to put it under her pillow, but she didn't quite have the courage. You see, even though we've told Sara that the tooth fairy is only pretend, I don't think she fully believes us! With the exception of the first tooth, she has never wanted her tooth under her pillow. She really doesn't like the idea of the tooth fairy coming into her room in the middle of the night! So, she left Ruthie Toothie on the bathroom counter. Of course, the tooth fairy found it! :-) Sara was so excited to find 2 loonies (2 one dollar coins) inside Ruthie Toothie this morning! Here she is, showing you the new hole in her mouth (the one on the left)!
For more lost teeth adventures, read Welcome to My Life! and Cute Kid Sayings and The Tooth Fairy! How does your family celebrate a lost tooth?

More Rainy Day Fun!

It was indeed another gray, rainy day, but as you can see, one person in the family decided to make the best of it!

You have to know Sky to realize how funny this is. My little boy is definitely "all boy" in many ways. He loves sports of any kind and can hit a baseball like you wouldn't believe, he loves trucks and cars and dinosaurs, and wishes he could be Superman, Spiderman or Batman. But, one thing that Sky rarely does, is make a mess or get dirty! So here's the story... We were all having a Sunday afternoon rest. Sara was playing in her room, Sky was in the basement watching T.V. and Joshua and I were reading and resting in our room. Suddenly, we heard the front door slam. I assumed it was Sara because she's the one who practically lives outside. After a few minutes, there was a knock on our bedroom door. It was Sara saying she couldn't find Sky. We said, "He's in the basement watching T.V." She replied, "No, he isn't there. I think he's outside." What? Joshua got up to check things out. Then, I heard "Peggy, come look at what our son is doing." Looking out the window at the playground across the street, I could see Sky running around, wading through puddles, and wet up to his knees! We couldn't believe it! Had he gone crazy?! He was all by himself out there and having the time of his life! It was too funny! He went out in just a t-shirt and no rain boots, so we were sure he would be freezing soon. Joshua went out, armed with rubber boots, a dry pair of socks and a hoodie. If Sky was going to jump in puddles, he might as well be properly equipped! Sara and I were laughing and giggling as we watched out the window! I went out later to capture the event on camera. Sky was more than happy to splash for the pictures! He finally came in when his pants were wet up to the crotch! The soggy weather must be getting to him, because this was his second messy ordeal of the week. A few days ago, he got into my makeup.... Why? Because he wanted to paint a tiger face on himself! He did a pretty good job, but my makeup is destroyed.... Oh well, it's not like I ever wear makeup anyway! :-)

And one more fun thing we did today. We went, with our neighbours (Sara's good friend Alexa, her two brothers, Lucas and Caleb, and of course, Mom and Dad), to see the movie, Kung Fu Panda! The kids loved it! I think the adults liked it too! Joshua was saying before the movie that it would kill his brain cells, but I heard him laughing a lot, so it couldn't have been that bad! Sky left the theatre very inspired - he was kicking and jumping and chopping with his hands! I was afraid for my furniture, but he had calmed down a bit by the time we got home! Sara just loved the fact that she got to sit next to Alexa the whole time. And have all the popcorn and Gatorade her heart desired! It was fun to do something like that with neighbours. We've really enjoyed the relationships we've been able to build with our neighbours since moving to this new community. We've been blessed with so many new friends!

And that's the end of another rainy day! It's time for my cozy bed! Tomorrow is supposed to be dry and partly sunny! Yay!

Rainy Day Adventures

Today was cold and rainy. Sara and Sky had their final music classes with Miss Wendy this morning. They both had fun in their classes, playing games and singing their favourite songs one more time! We'll start up again in September, but it will be so nice to have the summer break.

After lunch, Sara played with her friend, Alexa, from 3 doors down for awhile. Sky joined in too, and they had a lot of fun together, running around the house and laughing! Then, I played games on Facebook and took a shower, while everyone else watched T.V. Once my legs were swimsuit worthy, we packed up towels and goggles and headed to the swimming pool! We almost didn't need to rinse in the shower before getting into the pool, with all the rain pelting us on the way into the building! We swam and splashed and raced down the water slide, with a few breaks to warm up in the hot tub. It was a nice diversion for all of us, on such a yucky day. It's been such a wet spring.... After showers and dry clothes, we went to our favourite pizza place, Casa Mia's, for supper. We had some hearty appetites and managed to almost polish off an extra-large pizza! It was delicious, as usual! When we got home, it was time for dessert (Gooey Butter Cake - see post below), and jammies. The kids were exhausted and ready to sleep! Tomorrow is supposed to be another rainy day, so we'll see what adventures we can come up with!

Just A Reminder....

I wanted to remind everyone about the other blog that I'm a part of, Recipeasy. Yesterday, after much begging from Sky and Sara, I baked a Gooey Butter Cake, for our family to enjoy over the weekend. And enjoy it, we have! It's almost gone already! I just finished a piece of it for my bedtime snack! Not good! Well, I guess it was good, as in "yummy," but not good by healthy standards! Anyway, check out the recipe and try it for yourself. Some other recipes I've posted are:
Summer Strawberry Pie
Simple Spanish Rice
Baked Oatmeal
Swedish Meatballs
Cabbage Meatball Soup
And lots of other great recipes from my blogging friends, Karen, Emily and Judith!

I'm supposed to post every Thursday, so keep checking back....

A Musical Success!

Something I've wanted to post all week.... (My computer time has been pretty much non-existent.)

On Sunday afternoon, we took a break from the ruggedness of camping experiments and yard work, for something a little more cultured! The year-end piano recital! Sara and Sky were registered with Music For Young Children this year. (To read my previous description, click here.) It was a wonderful experience for our whole family. The kids learned sooo much and had tons of fun doing it! I would recommend this program to anyone. Sara and Sky both performed in the recital again and they did an excellent job! Sara played her piece so nicely and clearly - we were very proud! There were no music sheet malfunctions this time, so that saved our nerves a bit! She even remembered to curtsy! (Which was something she forgot last time and was upset with herself about.)

Sky did a group song with his class and he did great! They did the "Hokey Pokey" with different coloured balloons tied to their hands. So, instead of singing "you put you right hand in," they sang "you put your red hand in!" All the kids forgot to sing, but they really got into the actions! They were cute. (But, don't ever tell Sky he's "cute" - he just wants to be "cool!")

Sara received a rose from Gillian (mom to Rachel, Hailey and Dallin, the kids I babysit). Sara was so excited! Gill and Hailey and Rachel came to encourage our budding musicians! Later Gill told us that Hailey made the comment, "It would have been A LOT better if just Sara and Sky had been in the recital."

Here's my handsome boy! We had to force him to wear this shirt and then practically carry him to the car, kicking and screaming! :-( Oh well, he got over it and had fun anyway!

Miss Wendy, Sara and Sky's piano teacher, always does a bang up job with snacks and treats and balloons after the recital! My kids filled up on chocolate chip cookies and rice krispie treats like there was no tomorrow! Joshua's parents and sister also drove down for the occasion, so that was extra special. Our good friends, the Whittington's came out from Calgary. Grandma and Grandpa and Auntie Shannon had to head home right after. The Whittington's came home and joined us for a supper of grilled sausages, pasta salad and spinach salad. We had a great evening!

We're Practicing...

Those of you who know me well, can just start laughing now, so you can get it out of your system! Yes, we are going to try camping this summer....and this is our new tent! We ordered it from Sierra Trading Post, our favourite place to buy quality outdoor gear and clothing. They have great name brand stuff for discount prices. We ordered it, had it sent to my brother in Michigan, and I picked it up while I was there and brought it home. (It saved on the shipping to Canada.) Joshua decided it would be a good idea to practice setting up the tent in the comfort and privacy of our own backyard. It was actually very easy to put up and Joshua and I didn't argue or fight about anything! The kids were a help too! :-) I am very skeptical about this adventure called camping, but after seeing the tent all put together, I must say I was getting kind of excited. (Did I say that out loud?!) The tent is huge - there's one main room, with two smaller rooms, one on each side. Even Joshua can stand up straight in the middle room! So, everyone gets their own bedroom! And each room has a separate entrance too. Sara and Sky were wild with excitement! They each picked their rooms and we even got the new sleeping bags out for a trial run. Joshua pointed out that it good that the kids got to play in the tent and work out their initial excitement before the big event. They were so wired, that if we had really been camping, they wouldn't have slept a wink! We had the tent up on both Saturday and Sunday, but due to chance of showers, we took the tent down both nights. I'm sure we'll try sleeping in it when it's a little drier and warmer. The camping trip is scheduled for the second week of July and we're going to the little mountain town of Jasper, AB. We have plenty of time to keep practicing....



I'm still not sure if I will survive this whole camping thing.... I'm just way too prissy for my own good. Any encouragement, tips or campfire recipes would be very welcome! No horror stories - please!