Silver

...it's what both of the girls won at their dance competition today! It was Mylie's first time on stage and she did amazing, their group was the youngest competing and the whole audience just spent the whole time going, "awww, look at them!! So cute!" And they were...

I didn't manage to get one of Laina's group before they went on stage but here are the sisters.

It was a fun and busy day!

Twas the night before competition...

... and all through the house, mama was scurrying around because I left all the preparations to the last minute. I haven't been able to find either girl's jazz shoes all week (found them a couple of hours ago after much searching), realized I should have bought a new hairpiece for Mylie (whose hair is darkening by the day... hurry up bleaching sunshine!) and that Laina's tights have a hole in them. After much running around, we are set for tomorrow. Now I just need to wake up at 5am tomorrow morning and get two little girlies into full makeup, hair and costume and have them at the venue (not in our city!) by 8am. Should be fun, right?

Right! I am super excited. I just hope all goes well!

Today Laina's dance teacher kindly posed for me for a photography assignment. I did my first black and whites and I quite like how they turned out (but what do I know?)

Just for the record too, she is a mama of a 2 year old! Am I jealous or what??

Another round with my nemesis...

.... the sugar cookie. Easter cookies were attempted. They were a bit of a disaster this time, but one of these days? I will conquer them!

The making of the cookies went much smoother thanks to my new KitchenAid stand mixer courtesy of my lovely husband. He knows I have been wanting one for awhile and he saw a highend one on sale at Costco and decided to surprise me with it. It is a gift for me, but don't let that fool you... it is a gift for him too because he loves to eat my baking!

When I was taking a picture tonight of some of the cookies to share with you, I noticed a little hand creeping into my frame....



Evelyn had decided that since I was busy with my camera, it was a good time to attempt some cookie-snatching.

Busy busy day

Back to school day and Laina did NOT want to go. She begged for just one more week off, but being the mean mommy that I am, I forced her to go. I had flashbacks to her kindergarten year when she would beg not to go to school everyday. It is heartbreaking to see your child hate school as much as she did that first year, and I am very happy that the decision we made to switch her out of that school and into French Immersion had such a happy ending for her. Aside from today, she has looked forward to each day with eagerness and loves the whole experience of it.

After school, Mylie had another private swimming lesson in an attempt to get one last skill passed on her report card before she moved on to the next level starting this Sunday. Unfortunately, she couldn't complete it, and I had to withdraw her from that class and she will keep doing private lessons while Laina goes into a group class. None of my kids so far have really taken to the water, but luckily with time, Laina has become quite comfortable in it... hopefully Mylie will too.

From swimming, it was a quick stop home for some dinner and then off to Laina's last jazz practice before competition on Thursday. Then the homework and bedtime routines... needless to say, I didn't take many pictures today, and only snuck outside for a few moments to take some flower pictures for my daily project.

Nothing too interesting, but some tulips beginning to bloom! The more flowers that come out, the happier I get!

Hello Cuteness! And ebay spam...

Today we had a little visit from someone cute. My neice Jazzy...

She had a fun time exploring the backyard and the girls got out all their outside toys to tempt her to play with them!

Tomorrow is back to school after their spring break so we spent most of the day trying to get ourselves physically and emotionally prepared.

Another thing that was getting prepared today... my ebay auctions! My awesome ebay TA Christine launched my spring and summer auctions tonight as well as a few of her own things and here they are!

More of the same

We went for a walk at our favourite park today, so there will be more of the same with regards to pictures... you know, chickadees, ducks and squirrels, that type of thing.

Laina was grumpy because the chickadees weren't hungry at first. She is a real chickadee hog, and she gets mad when anyone else gets a chickadee on their hand. So she ran up ahead and sat on a stump. We laughed at her grumpy face and Adam said she looked like a gargoyle perched up there. So Mylie decided to hop up and be a gargoyle too. It made Laina even madder.

This cheeky little guy just could not get enough of having his picture taken. He let me get closer and closer and even changed up his poses for me.

She was happy by this point because the chickadees were coming to her again.

I got a chickadee this time!

A weird picture

I didn't take any pictures today during the daylight hours, which is very odd for me! I had to do my daily shooting inside and for lack of a better thing to photograph, my Easter display on my buffet/ hutch was my subject tonight. And since most of them had a weird custom white balance issue, all you get is one strange picture.



This is my crooked cake plate with our collection of wind-up easter toys. Every year it seems to grow, but it started out with just one, a little fluffy yellow chick that Laina dubbed "Peep-peep" when she was not yet 1. Peep-peep has since gone to the place where all good toys go (after they have been stepped on and maimed beyond repair) but the rest of the collection flourishes. On Easter morning, we all get to pick our toy and we set up a course for a race. Then we wind them up, and on your marks, get set, go! Much hilarity ensues since most of them bounce in little hopping circles, while some of them jump so wildly that they end up falling over with their little legs still hopping in the air. Inevitably, one does make it to the end, and the winner gets to do a victory dance. Everyone makes a mental note of which wind-up toy is the best bet for next year, but no one ends up remembering.

It has been an anxious day for me, and it is shaping up to be an anxious night. Hoping for better mental health tomorrow!

The Spa

Tomorrow morning, my three kids are going to play with grandma while I go to the spa/ salon to get my hair done! Woohoo, prematurely gray hair be gone! Three hours of time in a beautiful, peaceful environment that smells nice and serves me chilled water with crushed strawberries in it. Trashy magazines and scalp massages... mmmmm...can't wait! But that reminds me... they may not be pleased to see me...

On Tuesday, I took the kids to the mall to pick up a few things and while I was there, I decided to stop in at the aforementioned spa/ salon to make my hair appointment and get my eyebrows waxed. I knew it wasn't a great idea. Taking all three kids to crowd into a small room while I laid prone on a cushy table getting hot wax poured on my face, unable to react to any of the kid's shenanigans.... Well, it seemed like a bit of a gamble but I decided to do it anyways.

I knew I was in for some trouble while we waited in the waiting area for my turn and Evelyn decided to shout an incoherent word over and over. When the esthetician came out to get me, she balked at the whole crew assembled with me. "I don't think they will all fit in the room with the stroller too." she said. Since the waiting room was behind closed doors and was guarded by two ladies at the appointment desk on the other side of the closed door, I asked Laina and Mylie to wait in the waiting area while I strolled Evelyn in with me. Laina readily agreed to this since she is always looking at little ways to assert her independence.

I went down a long hallway of closed doors to a little room at the end, and the eyebrow waxing commenced. The conversation was stilted as I could tell the esthetician disapproved of my large brood of children and my overly bushy eyebrows. "When was the last time you had these done? You really need to maintain the shape a bit better!" she scolded me. (In my defence, it had only been a month... I was born with a unibrow, and it continues to try and reclaim it's lost ground... last time I went to get them done, the girl asked me what my ethnic background was to have such stubborn hairs... it's true, she really did!). Anyways, the uncomfortable conversation was soon broken up by the sound of the door opening slightly, and my two big girls giggling outside it. From my laying down position, I barked out, "What are you doing? You were supposed to wait in the waiting room, how did you find me?"

The esthetician paled as the realization dawned on her that my kids had just made their way down that long hallway, opening each door as they went and peeking in, looking for mommy. She said, "Girls, you didn't open the doors did you?" "Hehehehe, yep, and we found you!" Mylie sang out. After that, the conversation went from stilted to silent. Every now and then, she would burst out with a little scolding aimed at Mylie and Laina but they were oblivious. I kept picturing them opening doors and finding.... well anything! People getting a bikini wax.... a massage... basically anything in various stages of undress.

I left her a healthy tip despite her obvious hatred of children (or maybe just my children) and scuttled out of there as fast as I could, hoping not to be berated by angry, semi-naked patrons on my way out. So at least this time I won't be taking my rowdy kids when I go to get my hair done.

So for the pictures of the day... kids at the park:

and kids jumping off rocks on our dusky walk home from visiting grandma, aunty and cousin.

Laina and a dress

I finished the ruffly dress this morning. That dress was almost out of my skill level for sewing... it was tough! I think it took me about 8 hours all together. And then I wasn't even thrilled with it. But Laina liked it and I guess that is all I can ask for!

Tonight we went to our favourite park so that I could take some photos for an assignment in my photography class. I had made the dress with this assignment in mind, so I bribed Laina to cooperate for some pictures and boy, she sure did this time! Here she is (and the dress is too big up top, so I criss-crossed the straps... it is only noticable from the back, but unfortunately you can see it gape in some of these pics. I will be altering it to fit better, but didn't have a chance yet!)

Sewing

That is what I have been doing this evening... the fiddliest sewing project I have ever attempted... rows and rows of ruffles and now my back is killing me and it is time for bed! I will probably share the project tomorrow if I can convince myself to finish it....

Lazy Day

It was mostly a lazy day around here... trying to get the little ones to rest up and feel better so we can get around to enjoying spring break. I find that everytime Laina has time off of school, it is like there is a learning curve where she and Mylie have to figure out how to get along all over again. I mean, mostly they play well together but man, can those kids fight! They go at it like two little wrestlers, and the funny thing is, oftentimes, Laina is no match for Mylie!

It rained for a good portion of the day and Evelyn stood at the sliding glass window staring longingly out at the backyard and saying, "Ow-side, ow-side" (her favourite new word). Finally the rain stopped and we got to go out and play, first in our backyard, and then across the street with the neighbor boys. I haven't mentioned them yet, but they are my girls constant companions in the spring and summer months.

Here is Evie sniffing our flowers... or maybe I should say, snorting AT our flowers. She leans over to sniff, and blows air out through her nose (instead of breathing in) and makes a snorting sounds. It is hilarious! She looks and sounds like a little pig rooting around.

In a reversal of roles today, Adam stayed home with the kids and I went out for a few hours! Actually that is exaggerating it a bit... I dropped Laina and Mylie off at their friend's house for a playdate and Adam stayed at home with Evelyn. I went to a family ladies lunch out at a cafe/ bakery for some yummy food and cupcakes. When I returned home, Adam had cleaned most of the house and washed the floors!

At first, I was pretty happy about the clean and organzied state of our house. But I quickly realized that there was a price to pay as Adam followed the kids and I around; barking out commands to clean up after ourselves everytime we moved. For those of you who don't know my husband, he is the kindest, most mild-mannered person you will ever come across. That is, until he becomes Mr. Mom. If I clean the house, it is fair game to destroy immediately by leaving dirty cups, dishes and socks laying around. But if HE cleans the house, you had better believe that he will make sure that we don't dare mess it up! The double standard amuses me, but I know once he leaves for work tomorrow morning, the house will return to it's normal state.

Here is one thing he forgot to clean... the patio sliding glass door that I took a photo of Pearl meowing through.

In an effort to preserve the tidiness of the house, we went for a walk to the park that included a stop at my mom's house where I photographed her crocuses.

And I think we might be in for a long night... Evelyn was feverish before bed and I think she has come down with the flu/ cold bug that the big girls just had... more sick kids!

Flowers

Adam and I were lucky enough to have a day off from parenting courtesy of my in-laws. Also thanks to them, we have a new kitchen table and chairs! We dropped the kids off at their house around 9 am and loaded up the new-to-us table and chairs before heading off for some shopping and then lunch out (why does food taste so much better when it is eaten without kids clamouring for one thing or another?). Then we stopped at the garden centre and finally picked up some spring flowers! We spent the afternoon cleaning up the backyard before picking up the tired and still-sick little girlies.

Now that you have been fortunate enough to have had a detailed run down on my day (lol, I am sure it was gripping reading!), here are some pictures.

My new flowers in my old planters... I will switch them up again around May when summer flowers come out. It makes me RIDICULOUSLY happy to see colour in my back yard again!

And my Evie, because I can't resist her big blue eyes.

Let spring break begin!

So the kids are officially on spring break... but unofficially they started yesterday since they both stayed home from school yesterday and today. I have sick kids.... AGAIN! Seems like they are always sick! So far it is just the two big ones and it is a flu/ coldish kind of thing... you know, the chills, aches, sore throats, headaches and general whininess (is that a word?). It was a nice mild day outside so we went out to do some yard work, but mostly the kids just whined at me and asked me to bring out large toys like the power wheels jeep only to abandon them a moment later in favour of some other large object.

Here is Evie trying to ride a scooter (that has definitely seen better days after belonging to two other children). And I have to laugh at this next bit and hope it helps me to gain some perspective. When you get caught up in the world of kid's clothing (and such a world does exist! If you don't believe me, just google Gymboree forum... there are at least 5 forums dedicated to children's clothing that I can think of off the top of my head and they have upwards of 40,000 members on some of them!), sometimes you forget that just because all of these clothes-obsessed people on the forums know what your kid is wearing, it doesn't mean anything to the average person on the street! So Evelyn was wearing a Matilda Jane outfit today... it was 3 pieces, a shirt, dress and leggings, and maybe a bit over the top. But it retailed for around $110 new (I bought it used in my defense). So my mom comes over and takes one look at Evelyn and says, "what are you wearing kid?". And I said, "Matilda Jane, what's wrong with it?" And she said, "It looks like you dressed her from the rag bag!" So I guess to the average person, maybe she does look like she is dressed in rags! It probably didn't help that she had messy hair and felts all over her hands...

And here is my sick Mylie... doesn't she look pathetic? With her rosy cheeks and her gawking mouth... and the hole in the toe of her Uggs. Why does every single pair of Uggs that Laina has worn get a hole in the toe? Is this a structural problem? Or does she have some kind of mutantly strong toe?? Has this happened to others?

PS. at one point I busted Evelyn crawling on her hands and knees through the dirt in my garden in said outfit. Serves me right I guess! She is going to TREAT it like rags!