Happy Anniversary

It's amazing how quickly one year goes by. I realised a few days ago that the one year anniversary of our Vancouver house purchase had snuck past the radar unsuspectingly. Amidst the start of the school year for Ethan, dance classes, recent and impending visits from Andrew, and getting Halloween costumes finished, I didn't even pause to say 'happy first year back to Vancouversary'.

And what a year it's been. I became an aunt! Rueben met his auntie Andrea for the first time. We hosted our first Christmas dinner and christened 'the great dinning hall' (picture Andrew leaning back, hands up in front, eyes slightly closed, gesturing...). Ethan and Rueben experienced Hotel Lake and Sheridan Lake camping trips for the first time. For about two months after, ever lake we past was 'look, it's Hotel Lake'! We became landlords twice over (with better luck back in fsj...). Ethan started preschool and hip hop dance classes while I stepped back into my tap shoes (hello bedazzled 'all that jazz' number).

On the downside, my dad was diagnosed with colon cancer and had a colonoscopy followed by chemo treatments. He has fared extremely well due to his amazing physical fitness (climbing Kilimanjaro is no easy feat, let alone when you're in your 50's). He has just recently been told by his Doc that he has only two rounds of chemo left before he's done with it. Excellent fantastic news.

I can't believe how much has changed in just one year, but I'm glad we made the decision to move back to the lower mainland. I do, however (and I can't believe I'm about to say this...) but I do miss Fort Saint John. It took me a long time to break out of my shell and make some good friends. I feel like this first year back to Vancouver was kind of like my first year in FSJ. Settling into the neighbourhood has been easy. Settling into friendships has been harder. I need to make a more concerted effort to make connections with people (beyond the baristas at Starbucks of course...) This will be my challenge for Vancouver: year 2.

R.I.P Wasteful Halloweens | Seventh Generation

R.I.P Wasteful Halloweens Seventh Generation

Check out this article from the Seventh Generation Blog with tips and resources to celebrate a green and Earth friendly halloween. This year, Ethan decided he wanted to be Thomas the Tank Engine for halloween. His costume is coming together nicely. We found a big long box that will form the body of the train which we have painted blue. We painted some toilet paper rolls for the funnel and whistle. And for Thomas' face, we paper-mached a balloon which we will glue to the front of the box. I think it's going to look fantastic and I know Ethan will love it. And one of the best parts about it is that it only cost us a few dollars to make.

This year, Rueben is going to re-use one of Ethan's old costumes. Either a turtle (if the costume still fits) or Frankenstein's monster. Looking forward to some halloween fun!

Welcome great pumpkin

Well, it's autumn, and that means Halloween is right around the corner, which means it's time to carve pumpkins!!! Hooray!! I couldn't have been more excited when I found out that Ethan's preschool class was going on a field trip to the Hazelmere pumpkin patch. What a treat! It was so much fun.

We started our morning looking at some goats... Rueben was a bit reluctant to pet them and Ethan was not interested at all. Then we had a chat with one of the 'pumpkin farmers' who showed us different colored and shaped pumpkins. After the little lesson, we enjoyed a hayride through a spooky-ish forested area and were dropped off in front of a corn maze! It was so much fun zig zagging through the corn stalks with all my boys. We emerged on the other side into a huge pumpkin field where we decided exactly which pumpkins we would take home with us. Then once we had all made our selections, we boarded the hay wagons again for another little ride. Our morning ended with snacks and hot chocolate. What a fun way to spend the morning with Ethan and all his preschool mates. We happened to sit next to Ethan's best friend and train officionado Ty on the waggon ride. Ethan later pronounced "mom, I love playing trains with Ty. He's my favorite"! Who knew that the two little boys who argued over the trains on the first day of preschool would turn into best mates... OK, we all know that's how the greatest friendships begin! Here are some pictures from our little romp in the field.

CBC Books - Canada Reads 2011

CBC Books - Canada Reads 2011

The Curse of the Half-finished Projects

In a dark green craft room... at the top of the stairs... tucked into boxes and bags... lurks something every crafter dreads... well, lurks something that this crafter dreads. It eats away at you, those voices whisper to you every time you check out craft blogs and the weekly Michaels sales flyer... "We're still here. You can't get away from us." It's the curse of the half-finished craft projects and the terror it produces is unparalleled.

My problem is that I love the feeling of starting a new project; The possibility, the creativity, the excitement are all things that I really enjoy. Inevitably though I loose steam and I end up either starting a new project or forgetting all about it. To break myself of this bad bad habit I am going to publicly declare my list of unfinished projects and try my darndest to not start any more projects (except for Christmas cards, naturally) until I've finished the others. So here we go...

1. Christmas quilt wall hanging. Started two years ago. I went on a day trip with a girlfriend Arlyn from Fort St John to nearby Grand Prairie in Alberta. We stopped in a fabric store and I found this great fabric which I thought would be a fabulous quilt. So, two years later, I've done all of the sewing, but had lofty ambitions for embellishing it by hand with sequins and shinny threads. Still not done.

2. Scrap booking. Started many years ago. My problem here is that I have several half finished scrapbooks from vacations 5 years ago, life milestones, baby books, and too many pictures that are yet to be developed. I just need to sit down and do it. This could absolutely be multi-tasked with TV watching. I need to schedule scrap booking into my weekly calendar. I am pleased to report that I did accomplish my one pager on my fall list. Hooray.

3. Cross-stitching. Started four years ago. I have two projects still to finish. One lullaby sampler that I started for Rueben when he was born. Ethan's turned out so well that I knew I had to do one for Rueben too. I also have a sampler that I started when we bought our house in Fort St John to commemorate our new house purchase. Four years and two houses later and I still have nothing to hang on the wall in the entryway.

4. Sewing Curtains. One year ago. I have all the fabric, just need to sit down and sew curtains for Ethan's room and the craft room. I also found a very cute pattern for a baby jean skirt that I want to make for my niece McKenzie. But I guess this one will need to wait.

5. Halloween costume. Two weeks ago. Ethan declared "I would like to be Thomas the Tank Engine for Halloween this year"! So, we have a large cardboard box, a papermached balloon with eyes, nose and cheeks. We have made a great start, but it's been sitting untouched for a few days and I worry that Ethan will end up going as a bed sheet ghost.

6. Christmas felt projects. I bought some coloured felt to make quaint handmade Christmas tree ornaments and throw pillows but never got around to making them.

Hopefully, I can finish most of these projects by Christmas this year, although in all honesty, I think the scrap booking will never get done.

wordless

UPDATED! Fall List

Yes, I'm aware that I have already made a Master List of Goals for 2010. This is a more whimsical list, following the lead of Aimee from one of my favorite blogs, Underthehighchair.com, I've decided to create a 'must-do' list for fall 2010. So without further ado, and not much thought (sort of adds to the whimsy, no?), here is my list.

{DONE} 1. Go to a pumpkin patch with the boys to select a Halloween pumpkin

{DONE} 2. Get lost in a corn maze. I can't believe I'm 30 and have never been inside a corn maze!

{DONE} 3. Make and can some apple butter... cause the peach butter I made is off the chain

4. Loose another 10 pounds. This I give myself until Christmas, where I will probably write on my 2011 list 'loose those 10 pounds again.

{DONE} 5. Scrapbook at least one page. I mean, really, you think I could accomplish that, right? We'll see.

6. Finish the Christmas quilt I started 2 years ago.

7. Throw a dinner party. You know, a real grown up type party, with cocktails and whatnot.

{DONE} 8. Plant some winter veggies in some pots on the deck and see how they grow.

9. Take the boys for a walk in the rain and (gasp) let them get muddy. (oh, the horror. I can just see it now...)

10. Take more photographs. Really learn how to use my camera and maximize its potential.

So, we'll see how I do with these 10 items. What's on your list this fall?

Summer 2010, a photo journal

Happy 4th Birthday Ethan

Well, I can't believe it, but my monkey turned four today. Our day started with breakfast and singing 'happy birthday to you', then we played with cars and trucks and trains and blocks and wooden puzzle cars with a short lunch break sandwiched in between (get it?... sandwich). Then Ethan rode his bike outside for a bit, followed by his very first hip hop class. Rueben and I got to watch his class which is comprised of 4 and 5 year old boys and girls. So cute to watch. He has a great teacher too who has her work cut out for her (if I do say so myself... she is very brave)! Then for his birthday dinner, Ethan decided we were going to have chicken from KFC. The last time I had KFC was during my pregnancy with Rueben where I craved it daily. Lucky for me, I felt like crap soon after tonight's dinner which is yet another indication that my body is getting used to 'the healthier lifestyle'. We capped off the night with our normal bedtime routine. I guess in the grand scheme of things, it's just another day, but it's hard to believe that it was four years ago that my life took on a whole new meaning and assumed responsibility for another life.

Millions of peaches, peaches for me.

We are arrived safely from a weeks worth of camping over the labour day long weekend. In Salmon Arm we had nice enough weather to enjoy an outdoor hot tub, a mini trek to Margaret Falls, and even snuck in some geocaching (or treasure hunting as Ethan and I like to call it). It wasn't until we made our way to Sheridan Lake for the Annual 'Friends and Family Fishing Derby' that the weather really turned for the worse. It was cold and blustery during the day and wet and rainy overnight which ends up sounding like a torrential downpour when you're sleeping in a trailer with a tarp only 1 foot overhead.



Ethan and Rueben had so much fun riding quads and pushing strollers (yes, respectively). And I enjoyed a little time to relax and read without worrying about the boys 24/7. I actually managed to finish reading Emma, which has been my major stumbling block in the great book challenge of 2010. Huzzah, I can move on to Persuasion...



But even more exciting is the bushel of peaches I picked up on our way out of Salmon Arm. I now have several jars of sliced peaches cooling on the counter and the slow cooker is working its magic to make some peach butter which I will jar and process tomorrow afternoon. Looking forward to hearing all those lids popping.