WAY Too Many Valentine's

Marley & I saw an example of some cute Valentine cards on Pinterest (surprise, surprise) and I thought - 'Hey, why not?  Looks easy enough!'

Really, why doesn't anyone stop me?

Please - an intervention at my house would be great.  (With drinks of course)

What's the big deal you say?

Well...

20 in Marley's class

40 in my class

9 for Mia's daycare

4 for me

Yes - close to 75 kick ass Valentine's

Interested in making your own?

#1 - Don't make 75.  If you do, start early.

#2 - Visit The Idea Room - this is where I got the lovely pattern from

#3 - Don't forget to make one for me

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year

As the year came to a close last night, I was able to reflect on the good things in life.
We had a great Christmas this year.  The girls are at a perfect age to each enjoy something special.

Marley is holding the cutest letter to Santa asking for her own Christmas Tree.

Choosing cookies for Santa

Taylor Swift book, Taylor Swift calendar, Taylor Swift piano book. hmmm, does someone have a favourite?

Just before bed, Mia told us Santa would bring her a Barbie house and doll.  Lucky us he did.

I think this might be my favourite photo.  Mia intent on the presents and happiness in the background.

Spending the New Year with some of my favourite people.

Summer at the Beach

Yes, I know that it's December.  I was going through my pictures this past week and decided I need to make a few catch up posts.

I took the girls to the beach more this summer than I have in at least 5 years put together.  They just loved it so much that I couldn't say no.  The girls also wanted my mom to come most of the time as well.  It was really cute, I would be almost ready to go and one of them would say "What about Grandma?  She needs to come with us"

I added this picture to show how close I was parked to the waters edge.  I love Ipperwash for that.  This particular day was just Mia, my Mom & I.  The other girls were in day camp.

I make them carry their own things.

The three of them really stick together at the beach.  It's so cute.

She could dig all day long.  Nothing like a good dirt bath.

Kusterman's

For whatever reason, I have had a rather unproductive summer.  I'm blaming the weather, but having three little kids is up there on the list too.  Friday morning I took the kids to Kusterman's Berry Farm to pick some blueberries and to play.  They love it here.  Even if you are not big on the picking part, I highly recommend it for an afternoon with the kids.  There is a little sand hill, barn with slides, playground, horse rides, a couple farm animals, peddle bikes, and I'm sure something I'm forgetting.

Loaded with blueberries

As you can see - they were really into it

It is next to impossible to have all of them looking the same way, let alone smile.

Going down a slide together

Getting ready for their horse ride.

This is an awesome place for Mia.  She can climb and run all day.

Zip line

My favourite photo of the day.

CSA - Week 1

My CSA started this week.  If you don't know what at CSA is, it is short for Community Supported Agriculture.  I saw a lot of posts on Pinterest and in my mind it was only mid-western States that offered it.  To my surprise there are actually quite a few around our little neck of the woods.  I did a little research and decided to go with Janssen's farm out of Appin.  The pick up location was convenient for me, and I liked the veggie variety. 
Friday June 21 was the first pick up.  I have to say, I was very excited when I got the call.  We have had a lot of rain and cool weather this spring so the crops have been slow to grow.  Dianne went to Leamington to add to the boxes.  Bonus for me!

This Week:
- rhubarb
- spring onions
- cucumber
- tomatoes
- grape tomatoes
- 4 peppers
- garlic scapes
- spinach
- kale
- strawberries
- lettuces
- asparagus

In the above picture you'll notice some curly greens.  Those are garlic scapes.  I hadn't even heard of these before.  When I got home I had to google them.  You can use them just like garlic and chop them up or grill them.  I did both, I hope to get them again.

The strawberries were so good.  You forget over the winter what strawberries should really taste like.  Mia ate a bunch before I could take the photo.  They were gone moments later.

I didn't want anything to go to waste so of course Pinterest was quickly consulted.  I don't follow recipes very well (I heavily modify) so I combined a few.

This week I made a Pasta Carbonara with greens, garlic scapes and asparagus.

 

 

 

 

Grilled Fajitas, salads, sandwiches were all on the menu this week.  I can't wait for next!

 

On a side note: Mia is the dirtiest kid alive.

 

Now for the cleaner kids:



Entry Renovation

On Boxing Day when most people are either relaxing from a busy Christmas or out shopping for the latest deals, I force my family out to Lowe's for wood.


Okay, so we did a little Boxing Day shopping:
note Snoopy and how happy Cam is about it.

They aren't even bothered - squish up!

Party time is over, folks.  We've got days off between Christmas and New Year's - let's get to work.
We don't have a mudroom and our entryway was constantly a heap of a mess.  Seemed like a good sized space, but it seemed like wasted space.  I've tried the coat tree, a bench with cubbies, it just didn't work.  Of course I turned to Pinterest (my serious addiction) and gathered as many ideas as I could.

Before:  As you can see, it's a good amount of space, but that's all it was - space.

Once we start a project we get a lot of  'helpers'.  Just imagine for a moment - renovation with three little girls.  Words - peaceful and calm don't really come to mind.

 

Marley is our constant helper for all projects.  The others want to be around, but Marley really wants to do things and work all the tools.  Note the ear protectors for the saw, and the vest like Daddy is wearing.  Soon though, the snow calls.

 



Work in progress:

Finished product.  Each of us has our own double hook for coats and a lower hook for a bag.

 

 

Interested in doing it yourself?  It was very easy.

 

1 x 6's for the horizontal pieces.

 

1 x 3's for the vertical pieces and the shelf on top.

 

Wood fill, sand, paint, hooks, done.