boy #4

is 7 today!!!
I cannot believe it...we all say that as our kids get older I guess but it just doesn't seem like Gavin should be that big already...perhaps it's cause he's the baby and I would like to keep him that way a little longer.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY GAVIN

we love you!!

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!!

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...

update...

so Reilly saw the opthamologist on Thursday...he's healing nicely and we go back for another checkup next Thursday. He wants Reilly on bed rest till then...that means he won't be starting school on Tuesday with everyone else but that's ok...we'd rather he heels completely before getting back into action.
Poor guy is officially bored though...has been for a couple of days!
Yesterday, I sat and played go fish with him and then the boys joined in and we played a few rounds of Old Maid. I think some Yahtzee is on the agenda for today and of course we'll all be watching the Roughriders vs. Bluebombers game this afternoon so that'll keep him occupied for a few hours.

Other than that, we are ready for back to school and I am soooooo excited for the boys to go back. This last couple of weeks they've done nothing but fight and argue with each other. I was thinking about the year round school that some places offer and ya know...they are on to something! Seriously, I'd rather have the boys home for longer at Christmas, Easter and a fall break and only one month in the summer...2 months at home is too long...lol!! Perhaps it'll be different next year when Brian takes holidays and we go camping and stuff with them. We're all getting golf clubs too so we can do that as a family (better get me some lessons cause it's not quite the same as mini golf...lol).

I spent the day yesterday scrapbooking (did 4 pages) and making some samples of wedding invitations for a friend getting married in the Dominican next March...will share them after she decides which one she goes with. She had some great ideas for "something different".

Not much else going on...with Reilly's injury we haven't done too much else in the last week. I did clean and purge the laundry/storage room so we can knock out a wall in the family room, making the laundry room smaller and the family room bigger. Won't do too much else till Brian is home for a few months this winter. Working on ideas for the garage still. I really want to make it into a scrap studio but Brian and the kids want a rec room with pinball machine, video game system, mini fridge/microwave etc....a place for the guys to hang out. Somehow, I have a feeling I am going to lose this battle as I am seriously out numbered!!

Enjoy the rest of the long weekend and Happy back to school for those of you with kids...I know I'm going to enjoy it...maybe too much...lol!

accidents happen

just wanted to let those of you who may not know that we had a bit of a scare yesterday with Reilly.
An innocent crab apple fight ended up with him getting one right in the eye causing his eye to fill with blood. I sped him to the hospital here in town and the doctor took one look at it and made arrangements to see a specialist in the city. He further decided we need to go there by ambulance.
On route to the hospital here, everything looked green to him out of his hurt eye. At the hospital, he said everything looked white. The doctor took one look at him and said we needed to go see this other doctor who would know if he needed surgery etc. Reilly started crying when we were alone and he told me he was afraid of surgery and being blind. It took everything I am made of not to cry too. While we were waiting for the doctor to get us in with the specialist, he could see a bluish white of his Dad's shirt. I held up a colored doctors glove and he could kinda make out the color of that too...he had no idea what it was but the color was at least there. On the way to the city, he was able to make out more colors and could even read the letters off of the big trucks...I was feeling pretty hopeful but we still had to see what the tests would show.
We bypassed emergency and went straight to the specialist where they ran several tests and after about an hour, we got the fabulous news that he will make a full recovery as long as he follows doctors orders for the next week. We have to be careful that there is no re-bleed as that could cause complications. He is to sleep sitting up at no less than a 30' incline, only allowed to get up to go to the bathroom and has drops he has to take. We go back to the specialist on Thursday for a follow up...hopefully the news is even better. His eye looks soooo much better...most of the blood has drained out of his eye and he can see as good as he could before so that's excellent.
I'll keep ya'll posted.
If anyone has any ideas on things I can do to keep an 11 year old still for 7 days, please share. The doctor said he could use the computer, watch tv and play video games as much as he wants for the week...that's a pretty good prescription for a boy his age I'd say! His spirits are good and he's not been too demanding...yet!

I am very grateful to the Doctor here who realized Reilly needed something they couldn't offer him and for the ambulance driver and attendants who got us there quickly and safely and for being soooo good with Reilly in the back.

game day and gadgets

tomorrow, all 6 of us will be heading off to the football stadium to watch the Edmonton Eskimos take on the Saskatchewan Roughriders and we are soooo excited!!
We love our football at this house and to have the chance to watch these 2 teams play live and in person is going to be a blast! Especially since Brian is the only Eskimo fan! Well, we all are actually EXCEPT when they play the Roughriders! So, again this year, the 5 of us will be wearing our Rider Pride and Brian will be in his Esks shirt. My Aunt and Cousin as well as another Uncle and Cousin will be joining us...we all went together last year and had a blast hootin and hollerin! Oh and our neighbors are coming too! Check back for the pics...the boys have picked out some crazy things to wear to the game!!

You know you are domesticated when you get excited over things that make your life as a Mom and housewife easier...girls... I have to tell you...I am in love with my new Swiffer sweeper vac. It's a rechargable vacuum with swiffer duster cloth. It has a reusable filter and it's safe for laminate, hardwood, ceramic tile, linoleum...basically any floor surface other than carpet. Seriously, no Mom should be without this! I couldn't believe how much it picked up from my floor...chunks of food from under the table, scraps of paper from my scrapbooking mess...it's awesome! Go out and get yourself one!!

here are some of the Disney layouts I have done.






and this one just because...it's a song that is very special to us and I wanted to make sure I documented it for the boys...not that I think any of them will forget.
It's the story of how the song, "I'm Already There" by Lonestar came to be known as "The Daddy Song" Most of you know that Brian is on the road a lot with his work...even more so since we started our own company last year. The lyrics to this song, pretty much describe our life to a T and after the first time the boys heard it (7 years ago) they gave it a new name...to this day, whenever they hear this song, they say, "hey, it's the Daddy song"...if you are not familiar with it, here is a link to the video on youtube I'm Already There



and with that, I'm outta here.

hit the road Zack...

Zack passed his learners test today...on the first try and I tossed him the keys and let him drive me home!!
The pic is of him parked in the driveway cause he refused me bringing the camera with us to the registry place!



Let's just say, I was a bit nervous. He did ok till it was time to pull in the driveway...I thought for sure he was taking out the front of my van with the basketball hoop...lol!!! It's not as easy at it looks and I think he knows that now but that's why we will practice lots...around town and in empty parking lots...lol!!!

bittersweet moments

Gavin learned how to ride a 2 wheeler today!!
He just decided he was ready so I took the training wheels off and we headed over to the basketball court (I taught the other boys how to ride on one too cause the concrete has a bit more give). The whole family decides to come and cheer him on.
So we get there, I hold the bike for him to get his foot on, tell him to start with the pedal that's on the top and off he goes.






Just like that. We were all shocked it was that easy for him.
I was a bit sad...this is just one more thing that I won't do that "one more time" like it's been up till now.
In no time at all he was trying to lay skid marks on the concrete...even stopping a few times to get off his bike and have a look...lol! Yeppers...he's all boy!!

A few other details to share but I'll wait till the next post...this one is all about Gavin and his accomplishment today!

some layouts to share

been awhile since I shared anything scrappy...these are a few recent pages. I am still going to upload the rest of the character pages from our trip so you can see them too!










I am hoping to do some more scrapping soon now that the patio is finally built! Brian will be gone for 10 days so I should have some time to be one with my stash and get a few layouts done or even other projects completed! If I don't get any done before he comes home for a week, I won't have time as we'll be tackling more house and yard jobs while he's home.
So the patio...I can't wait to show it to you..you have to wait till we get the dirt pile out of the way and I get some planters put around it and finish making it purty! We are in love with it...the pattern the bricks were laid in Brian designed and our friend (from now on I'll call him Superman...lol) had never seen before in his 11 years of working with paving stones. We'd just be finishing it I'm sure if we hadn't had the help we did! I seriously have a new found appreciation for what he does for a living...it's a talent there's no doubt about it! After we were done, we celebrated with a steak dinner on the patio...it's so nice to have a place now rather than the lawn! Next year...we'll do it all over again as we make a space for our hot tub! (just kidding...we're building a wood deck to go around that! We'll never do a project of this magnitude again!)
So, in some ways,we took a step or two back with the mess we made building the patio but it'll be totally worth it when it all comes together next year!

Not much else to share...we've been consumed by this backyard project we haven't done too much else since my last post.
The boys and I are thinking about heading to my Mom's for a few days while Brian is away and then meet back up with him on his next set of days off...not sure I want to travel for 8 hours...alone...with 4 kids and a dog! But we'll see.

So, I guess, that's it for now.
Over and out!

catching up

Alrighty, so the end of June was really busy with year end stuff and helping the older 2 prepare for exams...I am very pleased to report that all of the boys are moving on the next grade in the fall and with pretty darn good grades I might add!
We survived all the crazy scheduling that often required me to be in more than one place at almost the exact same time but I managed to catch everything the boys were doing...recorder recitals, mini games day, track and field and class parties!

So far, the first week of summer vacation has gone pretty well...the first few days I thought I'd end up the town drunk if the boys kept up their behavior...seems that we have all adjusted to being home together during the day!

We were lucky enough to have Brian come home a day early last week...that meant 6 whole days and nights of him being home! I can't tell ya what that does for all of us. The boys were sooo excited but...it just made it that much harder yesterday when he had to leave :( Gavin said to me this morning, "Wasn't it so fun having Dad home Mom"...I darn near cried! The good news is, there might be some changes for our family that will have Brian here. Please keep your fingers crossed for us!

We had an absolutely fantastic Canada Day...started out with the whole family getting decked out in red and white and walking uptown to watch the parade...





these are the only ones I can show that just have my family in them or floats that don't give away where I live (ya know for those creepers that might stalk my blog...lol)

Later in the afternoon, we hosted a bbq with 28 people attending...I can't tell you how much fun this was! We provided all the food and non alcoholic beverages and I had some games planned and a prize for every kid...they loved it! I wish I could show you pics but I don't have permission from the guests to post them on the net so I'll have to show you the yummy patriotic desserts I made...



I finally put the maple leaf cookie cutter I bought 3 years ago to good use...



we were able to sit by the fire in our backyard and watch the fireworks...managed to get s couple of snapshots that turned out...




Brian parents were here for a few days, it was nice to see them. They bought themselves a trailer so they stayed at a campground in town and we went to spend some time with them at their site yesterday...all that did was get us all back on the camping band wagon. I've been looking at trailers for hours on the net!

Our patio was not built during the time Brian was home..the bobcat has been delayed till late this week or early next! I want this job done soooo bad...can't wait to show you all when it's done! We did manage to get a few other yard things done but I won't share it till we're done! That way, you'll get the whole picture.

We've been spending quite a bit of time hanging out by the pool and just enjoying not having anything to rush off too...hope you are able to enjoy some down time too!

I should go...my to do list for the day was pretty long...now I can scratch 'update blog" off the list...lol!!

I'm outta here!

celebrate good times...come on

we have lot's to celebrate in the month of June!
Brian's birthday is the first, Carsyn's birthday is the 9th



we gave him a Nintendo DS...he was beyond excited! It's a pretty cool device but I think the fact that he got one before any of his brothers made it extra special!!!
Him and three friends will be seeing Kung Fu Panda today for his party!

Then, Father's Day...the boys made Dad an extra large "Sundae on Sunday" (a weekly tradition at our house). It was so big, he couldn't even finish it! It's in the freezer waiting for him the next time he makes it home.



Now, Kindergarden Graduation isn't a regular June event at our house but it is this year. Gavin will be graduating on Friday...isn't he too cute in his cap and gown?



We'll be having company for the big event...my Mom and my Grandma will be arriving on Thursday. A few sets of our neighbors will be attending the ceremony as well. What our guests don't know, is that Gavin was chosen by his teacher to lead the class in the singing of O Canada, with the mic, at the beginning of the ceremony. I am soooo excited for him! My fear is that he'll think he's playing Rock Band and belt it out...lol!! I'm sure however he does, will be great! Watch for pics to come of that.
Then, on the 30th, Zack will celebrate his birthday! Fifteen years old!!! Can't believe it!

See what I mean...June is crazy busy for us and that's without all the year end activities/field trips and studying for finals!

Well, if I am going to take 4 9 year olds to a movie, I should get off the computer and get ready to go!

Over and out!