gimme 5

since I have been tagged by 3 people to do this one...here it goes

The Five TAG:


10 years ago I:
1. was in my mid 20's
2. only had 2 kids
3. weighed 50 pounds less than I do now
4. started scrapbooking
5. hardly used the internet


5 Things on "today's to-do list":
1. volunteer at the school
2. finish wedding invitations for a friend
3. update blog
4. get the boys where they need to go
5. go to bed early


5 Snacks I enjoy:
1. popcorn
2. chips and dip
3. nibs
4. nachos
5. cheese and crackers


5 Things I would do if I was a Millionnaire:
1. travel
2. help some of my family
3. start my own business
4. be able to send the boys to post secondary school without a worry
5. donate money to charity


5 Place I have lived:
1. Gull Lake, SK
2. Lethbridge, AB
3. Brooks, AB
4. Coronation, AB
5. Red Deer, AB


5 Jobs I have had:
1. waitress
2. Educational Assistant
3. preschool teacher
4. daycare worker
5. preschool director at a YMCA


Tag 5 Friends:
1. Julie
2. Carole
3. Joce
4. Jocie
5. Lisa

Rules: Each player answers the question themselves. At the end of the post the player then tags 5 people and posts their names, then goes to their blog and leaves them a comment letting them know that they've been tagged and asking them to read your blog. Let the person that tagged you know when you've answered the questions on your blog.

I'm the happiest girl today

alrighty...so the online crop wasn't as productive as I had hoped bowever, the deadline for uploading layouts isn't until this Saturday coming so I am hoping to do more this week. Here are the 2 pages I did manage to accomplish...


(click image if you want to see a larger version)


The weekend was just too busy with hockey and 3 of the 4 boys ended up with plans Saturday evening so I was driving them here and there. This week is actually pretty busy too but Brian is on days off so he's here to help.

I was offered a job today at my youngest sons' elementary school...and I am ecstatic!! I was there volunteering in Gavin's grade 1 class when the VP asked if she could speak to me. She has requested more hours for support staff and so far they have given her 2 hours a day and she offered it to me. It could turn into more or not but either way, I am thrilled to have my foot a little further in the door. It's a great balance for me at this time in our life...work a little and still be here with the kids and keep up with the house and extra curricular things with the boys.

Here's to a fabulous week!!

Happy Friday!

I don't know what it is about Fridays that I love so much!
I mean, it's not like my work week is coming to an end or that Brian is guaranteed to be here to give me some help or a break...I just love Fridays!
This Friday in particular, I'll be participating in an online crop...sooo excited about that! Got some new pictures printed, picked up a few supplies and of course cropping snacks yesterday so I think I am good to go.
Reilly does have hockey tomorrow afternoon for an hour but I can work with that...other wise the boys are on their own till Brian gets home...I will feed them of course but only cause I have too...lol!!

Hope you enjoy your weekend!

what to blog about?

First of all...Reilly was given a clean bill of health by the Opthamologist last Thursday and has returned to the life he knew before taking a crabapple to the eye...and it's such a good feeling. He is beyond happy to have been given the ok to start hockey tomorrow and to run around the neighborhood with his brothers!
No more weekly visits to the city for doctor appointments...woohoo!!
Thanks to all of you who had well wishes for him!

Things certainly haven't slowed down with the return of school and the routine I was hoping for. And now with hockey starting this week, it's going to get worse.
Zack has been asked by the Senior High Volleyball coach to play on the team and he's already had a tournament last weekend and another this coming weekend. He has had practices every weeknight for 2 hours and the team is hoping to participate in an exchange with another team from Eastern Canada in April so the boys have been busy with fund raising to help make it a reality.

I've been called a few times to sub at the school so that's been a nice balance with the days I'm home alone. I've been getting some scrapbooking done....I love that!! And I am just about done the "message in a bottle" wedding invitations I have been working on for my friend and will share them soon.

I went shopping with a friend to one of the LSS's last Tuesday...it was her daughters first day of Kindergarten and she didn't want to be at home pouting...wanna know how sad I am...this is all I bought...

one teeny tiny brown paper lunch bag with three thing in it!! Either I have too much stuff already or I've been to that store one too many times...I'm going with the second option as I possibly can't have too much scrappy stuff!!

Anyway, it's time to get on with the bedtime routine so these boys can get too sleep!

more firsts at our house

Gavin lost his first tooth...





he was sooo excited. He called to tell my Mom and went across the street to tell the neighbors...it was kinda cute. Until they told him that they thought the toothfairy gives $10 for the first lost tooth....not at this house she doesn't...lol!! He was very excited she left him a toonie!!


for the very first time...all 4 of the boys had homework...talk about a busy time of the day!! We may have to break it up so that the younger 2 go first and then the older 2 cause it was really hard to help the three that needed it...Zack had a couple of questions too but seriously...algebra...go ask the teacher...lol!!!


Gavin loved having homework...he kept saying so and the boys kept looking at him like he head three heads and Brian was in the living room calling him a nerd. What a Daddy hey...lol! He was just teasing and for those of you that don't know Brian...he's like that...a lot!!



and...a few of my layouts are being shared on Scrap the Teenz


I am experiencing my first full day as a SAHM with kids who are in school all day and no hubby here to bug me either...have no idea what I'm going to do but I will try to enjoy it before they all come home and the chaos ensues...lol!

Have a great day everyone.

Sunday sharing

Reilly is going back to school on Monday!!! The opthamologist said he can return but is not allowed to participate in gym class or do anything outside at recess but get some fresh air. He's been outside a few times over the weekend, just hanging with the boys and neighbors. He says he's not happy about going to school but I think he'll be happy to have something to do and friends to see.
We do have to go back on Thursday for another appointment and we'll go from there.

We spent Saturday packing up the pool, pulling out dead plants and moving the last of our dirt pile from when the patio was built...the yard looks better already and will be even better when we either get some grass seed or throw some sod down around the patio. Can't wait till next Spring/Summer when it's all purty!

Guess what? I made my very own, all by myself, first ever batch of homemade crabapple jelly and...it worked! After several calls to my Grandma and my Mom, I gave it a whirl. It didn't set the first time but I recooked it and voila...! Last summer, the boys picked 5 ice cream pails of apples to take to my Grandmas and her and my Mom showed me how... I took pics of all the steps cause I was going to make a mini album/recipe book...guess I should and then I won't have to call her so much next year. We weren't able to go visit this summer so I had to try on my own. Funny story about the recipe...growing up, I always thought it was a "family recipe"...ya know the kind that is passed on from generation to generation...ya...not so much...lol! When I called my Grandma a couple of years ago (after we moved here and had a crabapple tree in the yard I was thinking woohoo...now I can have the family recipe)...are you ready for this...she told me it was in the box of Certo!!! Yep, that's right, our family recipe for crabapple jelly is everyone's family recipe...I was devastated and then I laughed. I don't know why I thought it was "ours" all these years, I just did.

So, my friend Carole has issued a blog challenge...she wants us to share one of our first ever scrapbook pages and then one that is more recent. YIKES...I cannot believe I am about to share this but here it goes...


and here are a few recent pages...



So, the rest of the day is going to be filled with some outdoor activity, some scrapbooking, a football game or two and a big family dinner followed by sundaes on Sunday! Enjoy your day everyone.

back 2 school

the boys headed back to class yesterday...well all but Reilly!
Things went pretty smoothly...I even got up early to make them French toast for breakfast. I decided if I was going to be home and kidless, I would be "that" Mom this year. They really enjoyed it and asked if we could have egg mcmuffins the next time. I'm thinking twice a week I'll make them a hot breakfast to start their day...unless things change int he next week and I am working...I'll keep ya posted on that situation!
Here they are, by the front door...something we've been doing on the first day of school since Zack started Kindergarten all those years ago!



and here are the youngest 2 in their desks...

he looks so cute and grown up sitting in that desk. I can't believe he is going to be gone all day every day!


So, I hung out at the school for a bit visiting with some Mom's and then came home to be with Reilly. He says he's happy to not being going to school yet but he was pretty bored with his brothers gone.
I was a little lost too...there are lots of things I could and should have done but I just didn't feel like doing them. I spent most of the day catching up with friends via the phone and hanging out with Reilly. Also had to have the radio on...couldn't handle the quiet! All that complaining in the last post about not being able to wait till they went back and then I'm lonely and miss the noise they make when they aren't here...just proves you should be careful what you wish for hey!!
I am going to try and be more productive today...it's kind of a yucky day here so I think I'll bake and scrapbook. Oh and help Reilly with the homework I picked up for him when I went to talk to his teacher yesterday about his return to school...which we'll get the wordon tomorrow after we see the opthamologist for a check up.
I'll leave you with a few more pages from our California Adventure album...