We are getting there Dear

David and I have felt we are on the getting there plan, never quite where we thought we would be but you know...Getting There . As I look around today with light sockets dangling plug covers off and just that general look of ..Houston, We have got a problem....I wonder why is it that when we have a problem no one can find it? So, we are getting there and soon electrical debacle shall too pass.

Again, there is always a good side - that being said....everything in the kitchen works fine. So, you might ask what is it that I feed the boys for breakfast. Take a look at experimentation Tuesdays creation - Rocky road Pancakes! The secret to cooking them, a well seasoned cast iron pan and a wipe with a paper towel dipped in veg oil between pancakes. Not my favorite ( I am starting to understand that thing that adults would talk about- to rich for me. Unfortunately, I guess I have entered that adult faze - No comments Dear!) but the boys devoured them.
So, dear that is how things are today. Getting there. Wish you were here. Love Me.

Busy, Busy

So, Just a quick post while I get the boys off playing and I get the yard finished and the house cleaned. We have an electrician coming tonight because the lighting in one part of the house has stopped working (Yes, I checked all of the breakers!). So just a picture of another corner of our home.
Hi Dear, hope work is going well. We should know tonight what the problem is. Have a good day all. I will keep you posted (haha).

Gardeners are nuts!!!

Mean while, while the boys ran off to play baseball,....

The unable gardener strikes again! I just do not get

it......weeding! AAAHHH!!! I am not cut out for this, finally the grass starts growing and now it is growing in places I did not want grass, not to mention the mountain (Yes, the honest truth as you can see from the picture to the left.) of weeds and ever spreading perennials vieying for a spot. I have to resign myself that I am defeated and highly incapable not to mention unwilling to do this. Gardening Guru where are you...Please save me!

On a positive note - see the lush green grass, I did that. Oh and see the tall decorative grass at the edge of the garden, it should be declared an invasive species, it has moved in from my neighbours yard! It looks good but takes over everything.

So Dear, that was my day and I can already tell I am going to pay dearly, Sore back, sore arms and sore feet. Wish you were home to rub them! We miss you!

Well, we managed to use up the blueberries. The picture of the pie is all that is left. I used the same topping for the pie as is listed for the muffins below. It was yummy!

Now, for something a little different....while mowing the lawn. Yes, dear with the push mower (No motor) you did not want to

buy! But, I like it - I had a lawn mower accident, when I was younger (Yes, I still have all my toes and fingers) but now I will not go anywhere near the gas mower. Ok, back on topic. I found the nest to the right and guess what it is made of.... Dog hair, I couldn't believe it I had never seen one like that before. I guess I should be throwing the clumps I find under the couch outside instead of sucking it up with the central vac..who knew!

Have a good day Dear...and thanks for the new clothes. Yes, he showed me new pants and a shirt he bought for me today while we talked on Skype. I am so lucky. Remember, hug your Dear today!

Good for you Muffins

Well, you didn't think I would pick all those blueberries and not use them - much to Jacobs dismay. Yesterday, was blueberry muffin day !
So here is the recipe, created by Me.

Whole Wheat Blueberry flax Muffins

Batter:

4 c Whole Wheat Flour

1 c Ground Flax Seed

1\2 tsp Cream of Tartar

2 tsp Baking Soda

1c sugar *

1 1\2 tsp cinnamon

1\2 tsp Nutmeg

2 Eggs (beaten)

1 1\2 c Milk (I use soy)

2\3 c melted Butter cooled (I use Becel)

2c Blueberries

Topping:

1\4c becel

1 c large flake oatmeal

3TBS Flour

1/4c Brown sugar

1tsp cinnamon

pinch of nutmeg

Whisk dry ingredients in a large bowl. Place all wet ingredients in separate bowl and whisk. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and add wet all at once - Stir until just mixed. For Topping - In a bowl mix all ingredients with a fork until mealy in appearance, then sprinkle on the muffins. Bake for 15 - 20 min at 350. Enjoy!

*If you have a sweet tooth adding up to 2 c of sugar would be more your taste.

Wish Dear was here to enjoy all the goodies - today, even in this sweltering heat, I will make a pie.

Yes, we had smores last night. They were yummy, sticky and gooey and crunchy all at the same time! The kids enjoyed having the fire and cooking outside. It is nice to get outside relax and just enjoy the time.

Have a good day all and find the time to just relax and enjoy! You too Dear!

A Good Time Was Had By All

Well, we got the berry picking done and the best picker award goes to Jacob. Jacob doesn't eat blueberries and his main concern was filling his dish! With that said - Will and Tristen did not fair too badly. The secret is to give them a small enough dish that they feel the goal is attainable and then presto a full bowl, enough for a pie and muffins! note the pictures Jacob relaxing with Alex and Caramel, Tristen in search of berries and Will having sufficiently filled his belly felt it was time to go home. The look came when I said - Not yet ... incredulous!We were so fortunate to be invited for a boat ride and swim and the Dr and Mrs house. The boys could hardly contain themselves. Doc showed Tristen how to use the oars. Swimming for the Dogs and boys could have gone on all night - They were having so much fun! Jacob to the right jumping off the deck to his brothers waiting in the surf. It was a great day. Oh, and the smores - tonight!

You Got to be cruel to be kind!

Our cruel, cruel neighbour brought us a bag of kindness - see photo. A whole bag full of Hersey's chocolate bars some with almonds, some with toffee pieces and some plain. The cruelty, just when I thought I kicked my sugar (Chocolate habit). I guess it is smores over the fire pit tonight! Thanks Marianne for the little fat pills (As Dear would call them!). Wish you were here to enjoy too Dear but as we ate dinner together, over Skype video link, the boys and I clearly saw some of the goodies he is being fed! Lets put it this way he wont starve! We miss you dear....Love Me.

Oh, today we head to a lake in the area to visit friends and pick blueberries. It is so nice of the to invite us. For now the boys are full of excitement, I am sure they will be just as I was when I was a kid - as soon as I was full, of what ever was being picked, I was tired of being there! We will see. Have a good day everyone.

Hey, I added a site meter today....ok so maybe I am the only one excited about that!

Corners of our home

We are not planning much today - I have to return a water cooler for the second time now but other than that a relaxing day. Maybe we might even return the water cooler tomorrow.

We will probably end up swimming at some point.

The pictures - Tristen's new bed, the orange - his favorite colour of coarse. I liked the way the light was coming through the window. The other is a picture I painted for the outside dinning area but it has stayed in the house so far.

Hi Dear, it was nice to wake you this morning, with a phone call. We will talk to you later today. We miss you.

It was a Fun Day

Fun day at the pool was great! The boys enjoyed themselves and it was fun watching them. I became the photographer for the day - no one brings a camera! Well, actually, I forgot mine but ran home to get it, hence very few pics of Tristen who was in the pool when I went home to get it. I will get more this week because we are going to the pool for fun and to practice their new skills. The pictures left Jake - first time allowed on the slide, Right Tristen -relaxing in the hot tub and bottom Will - swimming in the big pool. Have a Fun Day all - ENJOY YOUR SUMMER! Dear we wish you were here - miss you - Me.

A Freudian Moment

It was chaos people running everywhere, smoke billowing from the ground, fire and the sound of the injured and lost. Men, women and children were looting stores, someone murmurs - It is the end of the world- and I think why do you need that big screen TV then? As I take my arm and swipe a whole shelf of anti-aging lotion into the bag I was carrying. Wow, wonder what I am worrying about lately! I guess several people have mentioned aging to me recently and what it does to us - our bodies. But really the end of the world and I am stealing creams and potions! I need a life! And not a dream life as you can tell that is already rich enough.

I guess my Dear doesn't have that problem since he is younger and a man. Or do they worry and think that way too? I am sure they do .... balding, paunch and slowing down. Well, I miss you Dear, and will even when you start to grey, wrinkle, bald and all those man things that happen.

Got to get to swimming - it is fun day!! Pictures later! Have a good day.

Played out!!!

Played out...me that is - not the boys. I don't know how they do it. Going since 8am. Swimming lessons all morning until 11am, then to the water front for a picnic and more swimming and finally for a train and carousel ride. Ahhh, I thought home to relax but the are still running...how? It was a great day though, it is nice to have these days to share with friends.

I hope it has been a great day for you and your family as well. The picture- Will swimming with his noodle. Take care all. Dear you are never far from our thoughts, around every corner of the day one of the boys would say - Can we come back so Dad can do this with us? We love you and miss you Dear.

Hi, my second post of the day. I just had the most interesting conversation at the pool with a mom who just had her second baby. We talked about breast feeding and people. She and I are from the same school anywhere anytime but with that comes people who, invariably, feel they can tell you where and when you can breastfeed. I breast fed all of our boys for 2yrs each, as most of you know. Some people commented - Don't you think it is time to stop now? or Men comments - Lucky kid! (Noticeably absent - the wife who would not so gently give him a good cuff in the head!). But pregnancy gives a whole other set of rules - people think they can comment on your weight, touch you and give you unsolicited advice. I had a woman in Church, no less, ask if I was pregnant or just fat! The woman I spoke with at the pool was given a weight loss book by her minister - for after the baby came! Although, that part of my life is done, sometimes I think - Look at that little bundle with wishful inklings (No, Dear!) But then sanity returns, usually in the form of MMMMOOOMMMMMM! I snap to reality and think....wow, those days are done, thankfully. Bring on the Grand kids - not anytime soon! I always tell the boys - first you have to finish school, University, College, have a good job then you could look at finding a nice girl of whom Mom should approve ( Yeah, Right! Dreaming, it is so fun!) . I can only hope that I can be half the mother and Grandmother my Grandmother (She raised me) continues to be in my life and now my husband and boys lives. The picture me with our third - used as a model portrait in the area where we use to live. I am glad I had the pictures done! Have a good day all. If you are pregnant you will get through it - enjoy it - most of all sleep now! If you know some one who is ask before you touch, it is common courtesy and really like I tell the boys think before you speak - you cannot take it back once it is out there. Dear, I miss you!

Well, the telephone just kept ringing but I was glad. A friend I have not seen in 20 yrs called - It was so nice to hear from her. Then the hockey school coordinator - Yes, hockey starts for us in August, with hockey camp for all three. Manon, I am sorry - I did not get back to you!!! Yes, Picnic on the water front tomorrow sounds great - meet you there. What should I bring? Call me.

The above picture - Will writing in the sand with a hockey stick. He is beginning to put it together - that is TOY for Buzz Lightyear and Toy Story of coarse. Tristen got his big boy double bed yesterday and is still sleeping - so he should be I think his pillow top is more comfortable than ours! Jake is relaxing before he hits the pool this morning - he has done 2 levels at once this time much to his older brothers dismay!

Well, we met the new neighbours...because of the dogs! Oh ya - Oh no! 165 pounds of drooling Golden retriever barreling down on a small child and (What they were really interested in) a small slipper like creature that weighs about 2lbs and they call a dog. No, the first words exchanged were not nice - their part not mine but I could not blame them. We did have a good talk after and they met Alex and Caramel in a better light. They met the rest of the brood as well. All is smoothed over thankfully - I would not like to be on bad terms with a neighbour, it would just not be good. We have such good neighbours and live in a great neighbourhood, we are very lucky.

Well, Dear I will have to sign off now. Jake has piano this morning and swimming for all three...Busy, Busy. Do not try to solve everything at once ...one problem at a time - delegate!!! You are allowed. I love you. Have a good day all and hug your Dear today - you are lucky he is home with you.

Its raining .....again

Another day and raining again. Since Dear left it has rained most days. So finishing the fence is out of the question, Oh the disappointment. T he picture is of the garden gate which did get painted - while Dear was home. So, today we went for a drive - yard sale heaven, even in the rain and got the boys some games. Rainy day fun . Jour de Paye (Pay Day)went over well, 13 Dead End Drive not so much.


The boys are playing quietly, while I sit and write, giving me time to look at pictures and add some. The one to the left is Tristen playing at a concert given by his violin teacher every year - I call it the reluctant virtuoso. He does not find much challenging at school, even reading music came easy but playing the violin has not been easy for him. Causing the same type of rants as the piano player on Sesame Street. Perfectionist.

Jacob (Above to right)- animal master. I do not know how he does it. He is also a dirt magnet just like my brother was. The joker. Wants to be a dentist - yes, a dentist. Here is a conversation in the hockey change room with another player:

Player: Jake you know the team Toronto - I am going to play for them when I grow up, I will help them win. What team are you going to play for?

Jacob: I am not going to play hockey. I am going to be a dentist.

Player: A dentist, WHY?

Jacob: All you hockey players are going to need a good dentist.

The wall paper in
his room - his dental x rays! Go figure.


Will, to the right, just wants to be like his brothers. Although, this one is our healthiest eater - loves red peppers, cherries, peaches ...really most everything. He starts violin in the fall, at his request. He too has become a little joker. Does not like to say sorry, Dear often refers to him as Fonz (Who had the same habit). He loves school so much that the weekends disappoint him! He dreams in french!

We all miss you Dear and hope to see you soon. Take care all and have a good weekend! Remember, any of you can always contact me through the web site email or leave a comment in the comment section at the bottom of a post.

I am Back!

Ok, so it is about time - I know. Well, the last month has been busy and as you all know Dear has gone but it is not so bad this time, we use Skype to video conference most evenings! It is great, we use to have 300 - 400 hundred dollar phone bills every month - Thing of the past, Thankfully! Now we spend that money on hockey registration, 3 boys playing - ouch.

I promised a look at those lamps I found at the thrift store - no new shades yet but the picture is a corner of our home. The lamps (Only one on the table), candle sticks and side table all thrift finds for under $100 total. I know amazing!

We got most of the previous projects done or, at least, under way to the point of me being able to finish them. In between taking the boys to the pool for swimming lessons, reading club at the library and one has piano and a tutor for the summer. The fall will be a busy time - after the outdoor work is finished the indoor stuff begins. Dear I found the bookcases for the family room at Ikea, See picture - The closest store that has them - Montréal. Darn, I just might have to visit Lisa!

Well, I have to sign off. Will has become motivated to and wants his training wheels off now!! We will got try. By Dear see you tonight online. Have a good evening all , I will write soon and have new pics of the boys.