All about the color

Ok. This is the before picture of my beautifully orangy bright kitchen. I loved having an orange kitchen - so cheerful and happy to see me in the morning. Luke, on the other hand, had some choice words to say about it. I think "ghastly" summed it up quite succinctly in his mind.

Now for the end result. A much tamer, safer, and not so in-your-face yellowy color. Official name: Sahara. Truthfully (and I reeeally hate to admit it) it fits into our kitchen better. The wood seems like just wood and not something that totally clashes with the walls. It mixes well with the countertop, the lino, the backsplash, and pretty much everything else. So, while I am sad to see my bright kitchen go, I am happy to be in a place that is not at odds with itself. Luke's just happy it isn't orange!

Sickness

Remember when I spouted the drivel that my cold was the "best bad cold ever"? I'm sure you could see the writing on the wall. Well, "best bad cold" turned into "most miserable long cold" that I've had to deal with in quite a long time. It was sooo bad that I stood up in the middle of movie night with Luke and went to bed, groaning and holding my head and being generally the biggest baby ever. Of course, now I'm all better and the memories are fading fast, but at the time it was not good. I couldn't even knit! Or read!!! Thank goodness no one else in the house seems to have caught it. Which, in and of itself, is rather remarkable since I touched most everything they ate, wore, and slept in.

Well, this weekend was good since Luke was home and I was feeling exponentially better every day after Friday. We had a campfire behind the house and roasted weiners and marshmallows (does anyone know how to make s'mores?). We flew a new dragon kite that I picked up in Costco and managed to get it caught in some power lines (very embarrassing for us adults). We went out after church to a brunch buffet and stuffed ourselves silly. We went swimming. And then, on Monday, we painted the kitchen. It was a beautiful (to me) orange, but Luke was not liking it. Apparantly it reminded him of A&W. So now it is a kind of yellow called Sahara. It is really nice. I wish I had pictures for all the fun stuff we did, but I managed to forget the camera, or forgot to take pictures. Sorry! Next time, I promise!

New hobby

Can you believe it? I am apparantly going about my life as if time doesn't even exist. I took up knitting. Yep. I can just see you shaking your head now. Luke sure did, and managed a nice little roll of the eyes to go along with it. It is rather fun and a way for me to not feel totally useless when I sit in front of the TV for Heroes or Lost or Survivor. I am creating. It feels good. And the boys are totally enthralled with the process. "Use this one now, Mom!" "Ooh, that looks good, Mom!" "Make me a sweater, Mom!" It's nice that they get all excited like that, makes my day. Of course, I learned just in time for me to get bowled over by a head-plugging cold. So I sit and I knit and I let Luke do little things for me. This is the best bad cold ever!

Soccer

Yes, soccer season is upon us. One nice thing about soccer is the hours. I don't have to get up at 7 a.m. on a Saturday morning just to take a tired boy to the rink. Another nice thing - soccer equipment is shin pads and shoes. No big bag to lug around, no fifteen minutes getting everything on, no stinkiness taking everything off. Sigh*. Did I say how much I love spring?

spring has sprung

The grass is green.The jackets have been put away.
Bikes and balls have come out to play.

Isn't spring marvelous?

Getting older, wiser, and more mature

OK, maybe not the wiser and more mature part, but I am getting older. In fact, I had a birthday last Sunday and turned 31 years of age. Or, as my Uncle Bob would say, I am now in my 32nd year. It was a good day - no cooking for me! After church we went to Uncle Jack and Auntie Cheryl's house for some yummy BBQ fish (with burgers on the side for the boys) and raspberry shortcake. Mmmm. And then we were off to my parents for faspa and chocolate cake. Luke (the brother, not the husband) was up from the endless prairie of Saskatchewan, unfortunately without his bride (we missed you Lindy!). Eric came after work with a beautifully pregnant Jana. Even my cuz, Keri, showed up. Of course, we couldn't stay too long since we had two children who came down with fevers during the course of the day. Yep, the neverending merry-go-round of illness struck again. Last week was Ethan, and he managed to pass it on to Caleb and Titus this week. Sorry, no pics!

On Monday, Heather picked me up for a little birthday shopping without the kids. Do you know how long it's been since I tried something on in a dressing room without a small child trying to open the door whilst I am in a state of undress? We then went out to Earl's for supper.

Of course, a birthday isn't a birthday without a present. Let me just say, my life is now complete.

Busy, busy, busy

Wow, has it really been so long since I've posted? Gotta say that it doesn't seem that long ago! So much has happened. The kids have been sick, then well, and now sick again. First time was some sort of flu (a lot of laundry came of that!) and now there are stuffy noses, coughs, sore throats, and in two out of three cases a fever. Thankfully the first illness only stopped long enough to say hello to me, and this one has ignored me entirely. So far. I think. My poor children and husband, on the other hand, have taken the brunt of it.

Next on my busyness list is keeping a clean house. I know there are some of you out there that this comes quite natural to, but for me it's a struggle against my innate procrastination and laziness. Wow, was that L word ever hard to write! It's been two weeks and I think that I wouldn't have been too embarrassed if anyone had dropped in, which is a major step in the right direction for me.

I am also one of the music team leaders at church, and that tends to take up a lot of room in my brain on the weeks we lead worship. Too much, in fact, and much of it unnecessary. A lot of it is panic because too often I have forgotten to contact someone or do something that should have already been done.

Thank goodness for the boys. They are so precious, even though my mountain of laundry gains new height daily (can someone PLEASE tell me why little boys and mud are so attracted to each other! Three, yes, three pairs of pants a day for each child!). Caleb so cheerful, Ethan so cuddly, and Titus so funny. Really, what more could I ask for?

Paska overload

Easter just isn't as fun without the traditional paska. It's a sweet bread served on Sunday topped with butter icing and sprinkles. My past paskas have been dry, but this years was quite good, so I thought I'd share the recipe in case anyone has a hankering!

3 tbsp. yeast

1 c. warm water

8 eggs

2 c. sugar

1 c. whipping cream

1 c. milk

1 c. warm margarine

1 tsp. vanilla

Rind & juice of 1 lemon

9-11 c. flour

Dissolve yeast in one cup warm water. Whip eggs and sugar. Add warm margarine, milk and cream. Add yeast, vanilla and lemon (I didn't use the whole rind, try 1-2 tsps). Add flour to make a soft dough. Let rise until double in size(1 1/2 to 2 hours). Form into small loaves and let rise again. Bake at 300 F for 30 minutes or when the top is a nice golden color. Ice with vanilla icing and decorate.

Hope you enjoy!

Let's Get Real Monday

Well, I decided to take part in a little something called "Let's Get Real Monday". Randi from the I have to say... blog has been hosting this for quite a while and I decided to play along. The topic this week is about my favorite things. So here goes...

My favorite movie is and always has been The Princess Bride. However, I am quite partial to British movies like Waking Ned Devine, The Full Monty, Calendar Girls, and Ladies in Lavendar. I don't know why, since I'm not a Britophile, but that type of humor is my cup of tea!

My favorite food is ... OK, I can't think of just one. Mennonite food as a collective, maybe. And Italian. And Mexican. Anything that is guaranteed to add a little jelly to the belly. ( I know. It's sad. Why, oh why, don't I crave salad?)

My favorite saying is "I love you mommy" followed closely by the exasperated way Caleb says "Mom" when I am acting silly.

My favorite song (lately) is "I Don't Feel Like Dancing" by the Scissor Sisters.

My favorite household chore is laundry, which is good since with the three boys that seems to be all I do.

My favorite verses are Romans 8:38 and 39 - "For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall by able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord."

Little Dancing Mennonites

Yes, those are my two eldest. Dancing, if you can believe it. To Ukrainian music, of all things. At their school on Friday, it was the culmination of their Ukrainian days. Every year their school honors a different culture - last year it was the French Canadians. This year the kids learned to dance Ukrainian, created poppy paintings, cross stitched poppy pillows, and made enough food to feed the many children and their families. Ethan's grade 1 class made perogies (not just cooked, but did the filling and stuffed the dough and folded it into pockets) and Caleb's grade 2 class made meatballs. There were cabbage rolls and beet borscht. It was impressive to say the least! And felt very familiar. It's easy to see what Mennonites picked up while they lived in the Ukraine (besides the dancing). So, here's to the Ukraine! I thank them for teaching my great great grandparents the delights of borscht, paska, perogies, and many other delicious foods that have been so incorporated into my own heritage. I just wish I didn't like it so much!

Ethan's last hockey practice

Thursday nights were always Ethan's hockey practices. After tonight they are no more, and Ethan moves up a level from Jr. Novice to Sr. Novice to play with Caleb next winter. Of course, we will still be going to Jr. Novice practices because of Titus. Oh, yeah, Ethan is the one on the furthest left, good old number 13 like his Dad and Grandpa. Eth sure improved a lot this year, and spent more of the practices and games on his skates than on his butt. The whole family got to skate with the team tonight and I got to show the boys how horrible my skating really is. I have no problem picking up speed, but stopping is another story. Titus even got out on some skates for the second time and did waaaaay better than I had expected. No tears, no tantrums, no whining. Just skating. I have to say, for such a dramatic child, this was almost miraculous. Sure hope it continues into next hockey season!

Hockey Night in Alberta

This is our typical winter Wednesday eve. Caleb's hockey practice. He is pictured here in his usual position - defense and goalie companion. No, they aren't chatting about the weather. At the beginning of the season, he was under the assumption that the defenseman stood on the blue line, whether it was in their end (correct) or our end (incorrect). I am pleased to report that after a couple games of his mother (yep, that's me) screaming at him from the stands and his coach telling him in a much calmer and reasonable way where he needs to be has paid off. He is the only defenseman on his team who is always in position. I am a proud mama indeed. Doesn't he look cute? Too bad his last practice was tonight. I think I might miss the hockey season this summer.

long time no see

Wow, it's been a while since I last posted! Not much of an excuse either - in fact, there is no excuse at all. It simply slipped my mind for the past couple of weeks. Maybe it had to do with the fact that spring is in the air! Observe.

Before spring (March 18 or 19)...

And today...

Notice the fence (or lack thereof). If you look real close in the first pic you can even make out snowflakes. See? Meltage has occured. I wasn't counting on it this year, due to the largest snowfall here in over 30 years. 30 years. That's as long as I've been alive!

Well, I had a fun day today. Heather and her boys came and picked me and Titus up in her cool van and took us to GP for lunch and a little shopping. Did you know that you only had to press a button to close the sliding door on the new vans? Not me. You should have seen me trying to close it by hand. Frustrating! AND a little embarrassing to tell the truth. We went to Rotten Ronnies (Mcdonalds, for the uneducated) for lunch and early enough so there wouldn't be a zoo in the playplace. Or so we thought. Turns out people hold birthday parties in there for their kids. What complete mayhem. Then we stopped by Sears so I could look for a new winter coat - yeah, that's right, I shop at the end of the season just to save money. Apparantly, the Sears aisles had the markings of a race track and Titus, Riley and Kyle had a heyday terrorizing the other shoppers and salespeople. After that grocery shopping and then on to home. My best friend is so funny. I almost peed myself on the way home. Did I mention I had a fun day?

more quilting

You remember that ugly quilt? The one that annoyed me to no end? Well, someone saw that quilt at the raffle and commissioned me to make a baby quilt. No kidding. Someone is willing to pay me money to make a quilt. When I asked if she had something in mind, she replied, "I trust you. Do whatever you think would be best." Now how is that for a dream job! I had been obsessing over an alphabet quilt ever since I saw it in Australian Patchwork & Quilting vol. 9 no. 6. designed by Caroline Price. So, I made one. Mostly my own ideas, a few inspired by the magazine quilt. Sorry about the bad picture - I haven't quite figured out how to photograph quilts yet. I love it. I want to keep it. But I can't, so I won't.

Matrix ping pong

I don't know about you, but I laughed and laughed and laughed at this. You'll just have to see it for yourself.

Favorite Blogs - Part 2

I have been incredibly busy these past few weeks. What with hockey and leading music and another quilt - well, lets just say that my head has been spinning and my body isn't quite sure which way to go anymore. So, I'm going to direct you to another blog that I've been reading for more than a year. I have to say... is the online writings of a mom and crafty person (as in makes things, not sneaky!) which I have a lot of fun reading. She makes some beautiful stuff and usually has great insights about life and the world around her. So, if you've got some free time, go ahead and check it out.

p.s. Thanks for all the comments lately. They've made me laugh alot and brightened up my days! Keep 'em coming!

Not little anymore

Titus has been on a "big boy" kick now for a couple of weeks. He used to answer any and all questions with either his name or his age (which really confused the heck out of a lot of adults) and has now moved onto his size and strength. You don't even need to ask him anything. We went to Slave Lake yesterday to take Luke to a curling bonspiel and watch a game. Didn't know anyone except the guys on Luke's team. Titus still managed to walk up to three or four men and get their attention long enough to tell them how strong he was and show them his muscles. He is truly a force of nature!

Ugly quilt

My mind would roll the phrase "I can't believe I'm actually doing this" over and over on a continuous loop whilst I pieced and quilted this thing. If there was no reason to finish this quilt, I wouldn't have even put the blocks together. And the 500+ one inch squares in the sashing took forever. I was so glad to see it raffled off. I'm sorry if you like it, but this was just not my style. I like most quilts, but I couldn't stomach this one. What a lot of work and money for something I don't like. What a waste! All those hours I'll never get back. Sometimes finishing a project just isn't worth it.

Self portrait

I tried taking pictures of myself. It was almost getting to the point where the camera was making fun of me. Double chin, eyes half closed (and I was taking the picture - go figure!), a leering grin (didn't even know I could do that), squinting, too big a smile, etc. etc. Anyway, this is me in my new hair. It suits me, and some people don't even seem to realize I had it cut. Which is a good thing. Sorry it took so long (you can't say I didn't try!).

Happy Heart Day

Yes, yes, love in the air. It is the late, great, Saint Valentine's Day. Children were sent off to schools everywhere with shameless Disney marketing in their backpacks to give to classmates. Roses are at a ridiculous price and waistlines are widening with an overindulgence of chocolately aphrodisiac. Me, I'm not really the gushy, gooey, sentimental type. But I certainly don't mind being told how awesome I am, so this holiday, while certainly commercialized (and really, which holiday isn't!), is OK in my books. Bring on the love, people!

Note: I don't mean that you have to tell me how awesome I am. Just one person, and I think he knows who he is.

p.s. Happy Valentine's Day!