Back to the Red Dirt Roads

2011-12-14T09:38:00.001-04:00

How cute is this!?! My dad is currently on the RCMP musical ride. My mom found this cute ornament at hallmark!

2011-12-09T14:58:00.001-04:00

My Christmas decorating is well under way! Here are a few pics of what I have done so far!

Wednesday wing nite!

2011-11-30T21:09:00.001-04:00

My almost favorite day of the week! Wednesday!

I got to spend some time with my friend Jodi today. She and I have been friends since high school! She has 2 handsome little boys one of who is my youngest daughter (Kiki who is 5) boyfriend! Lol

I had taken their family photo a few weeks ago and had to deliver the picture cd. So I got to spend a few hours with her and her gorgeous baby boy Brandon. She even made me a delicious lunch!

After my visit I was back to work for the afternoon bus route ( I am a school bus driver). Then home to make a quick supper for my 3 girls (Raven, River,& Kiki) and wait for the sitter to show up. (hubby had a hockey meeting) then I was off to my parents to take their christmas photo ( my mom, dad and their beloved doggy kiya!)

Then it was time for wings!!! A group of ladies all go for wings every Wednesday night! I look forward to it all week!

Back to blogging!

2011-11-30T20:53:00.001-04:00

Hello blog friends!! As u can see I haven't been blogging for quite sometime. Why? You ask..... Well plain and simple.....when I started this blog I had loads of time on my hands but nothing to blog about! Now I have loads to blog about but no time!! Lol

Until today when I discovered the blogger app for my iPhone!

Yay!! I can blog regularly now!!!

First snowfall of winter 2011/2012!

2011-11-30T09:26:00.001-04:00

We had a nasty day and night! The first snow fall is always the worst for car accidents. Some people don't think about snow tires until they are spinning an sliding in the snow. My girls played outside all day long Friday ( it was a teacher professional development day -so no school)

The snow was completely gone by Monday and we were back into double digits (10+ degrees celsius). Which is fine by me!! Lol

2011-08-24T09:09:00.000-03:00

Kiki on her way to the public health nurse........before she found out she has to get a needle!

2011-08-23T23:17:00.001-03:00

Please bear with me while I figure this thing out!

2011-08-23T23:11:00.000-03:00

I have wanted one for a while
And hubby came home with one for me today. Did I mention I LOVE him!!
Sent from my iPhone

2011-08-23T23:06:00.000-03:00

I got an I phone
Sent from my iPhone

2011-08-23T09:32:00.000-03:00

You know how people have shoe or purse obsession?

Well I have a mug obsession!

Seriously! lol

I cant drink my morning coffee out of just any ol'mug.......

it has to be a nice one.....lol

and when I find a mug I LOVE, I buy 4 of them......weird??

lol I seriously cant help it! haha

A few weeks ago I was at my cousins house Photographing her daughters 13th bday party

and I had a cup of coffee.....

and the mug was BEAUTIFUL!!!!

And she had a set of 4 of them and this beautiful mug tree holding them!!

I was in LOVE!!!

I found out where she had gotten the mugs (and found out where she shopped for home Decor too because she has awesome style and taste!!)

The Mug (& mug tree) was Princess House....

I had to have them!!!

I hadn't bought anything from Princess House before.......

In fact I hadnt even looked at a Catalogue before.

SO I posted on facebook that I was looking for someone that sold Princess House

And low and behold ....I got my mugs and mug tree!

I love them!!!

You can also get them in red!!!!

2011-08-21T20:49:00.002-03:00

Its been a sad few days in the Scanlon and MacConnell households.

2 of my parents dogs got loose and got hit and killed by a truck.

Woody (redish one) was 9 and Nelly (black one) was 8

These were the best dogs I have ever known.....

and I have 2 dogs of my own that I love with all my heart!

My dog duke

is one of Nelly & Woody's pups

Nelly & Woody had amazing personalities, and they were so different from one another!

We often joked that Woody looked and acted like the female lol
He was so meek and mild and gentle.
He loved to snuggle.

Nelly was a sweetie, she LOVED food! Every kind of food......i dont think there was anything she didnt like!
She loved to sleep under blankets.....fleece blankets were her fav!!! lol

My parents got both dogs when they lived in Newfoundland (i still lived at home when they got Woody)

With my dad being RCMP they moved a bit, and all the way to Yellowknife, NWT and 5 years later they moved to PEI (where they still live)

My parents have a lot of funny stories and really good memories of these 2 dogs.

Including the fact that my moms best friends name is Donelda, and Her husband's name is Leland.

Donelda's nickname is.... Nelly

and everyone calls Leland.... Woody!

also the fact that Duke (and his brothers and sisters from that litter) was born on Donelda & Leland's daughters birthday!!! HA!

"Dogs are not our whole life, but they make our lives whole."

(Roger Caras)

When a pet you love becomes a memory, the memory becomes a treasure.

~Author Unknown

RIP Woody & Nelly

You have touched my life in ways I cant express.....

We will love you forever.

Weddings!

2011-08-18T20:45:00.000-03:00

I love Weddings!!

But who doesn't!

Here is a wedding I got to photgraph a few weeks ago!

Come Grow Old with me, The best is Yet to be!

~Unknown~

This day I will marry my best friend,
the one I laugh with,
live for,
dream with,
love

~ Author Unknown ~

Once in awhile,
Right in the middle of an ordinary life,
Love gives us a fairy tale.~ Anonymous ~

You know you're in love when you can't fall asleep
because reality is finally better than your dreams.~ Dr. Seuss~

A part of you has grown in me. And so you see, it's you and me together forever and never apart, maybe in distance, but never in heart.~ Author Unknown ~

Come live with me, and be my love,
And we will some new pleasures prove
Of golden sands, and crystal brooks,
With silken lines, and silver hooks ~ John Donne ~

You don't marry someone you can live with - you marry the person who you cannot live without~ Author Unknown ~

If I could reach up and hold a star for every time you've made me smile,
the entire evening sky would be in the palm of my hand~ Author Unknown ~

Have you discovered Pinterest?

2011-07-27T07:39:00.003-03:00

On one of my favorite blogs (Kelly's Korner) the other day she had a post about "pinning" . I decided to

check it out and I AM IN LOVE!!! lol

My computer is overloaded with pictures I have saved in folders called "decorating ideas" then with sub folders for every room in the house. and Folders called "christmas decorating ideas" and "fall/halloween decorating ideas" etc.

With Pinterest I dont need to save another single item to my computer!!! It saves it all!!

Party ideas, recipes, home design, clothes, photos you want to take of your kids.......... now I can use this site to "pin" my ideas and put them on boards. I absolutely love it. AND you can follow all your creative friends and see what great things they are finding and pin their ideas to your boards too.

It's a super great place to keep good recipes or just any idea you might need. Or to help you plan parties.

It's a huge time zapper. But sometimes late at night..................I do enjoy a little pinning! :-) DO YOU?

I am sure you all have heard of it....but if not CHECK IT OUT!!!

http://www.pinterest.com/

2011-07-26T11:37:00.000-03:00

Hi Dolls!

I have recently discovered Avon Bubble bath! Its pretty amazing stuff!

My mom always had this stuff on hand when we were kids.......

I had no idea it did anything other than give you a sweet smelling bubble bath!

Here is a list of things you can use it for.......Who knew! Ha!

1. Refill for liquid soap,mild on hands-add a touch of sss bath oil.

2. Use as a hair shampoo.

3. As a dog shampoo-the dogs coat will shine.

4. Eliminates bath ring -great companion to SSS Bath Oil. Dries tub to clean shine.

5. Cleans bathroom vanity. No water spots!

6. Cleans combs and brushes & leaves no film.

7. Add to children's wading pool. Great big Bubble Bath outside PLUS it cleans the childs pool.

8. Add to cleaning water for cars,aluminum or vinyl siding,campers or trailers. On cars leaves waxlike protective coating & watermarks rinse off.

9. Removes stains when used on your laundry.

10. Use 1 or 2 capfull instead of harsh detergents.

11. COLD WATER wash as WOOLITE REPLACEMENT. Great for lingerie.

12. Wash your walls.

13. Wipe and clean your furniture.

14. Use on windows, shower doors, etc.

15. Wash your crystal with it.

16. Mop floors with it. It will cut through many shoe marks.

17. Shampoo carpets, vinyl, and fabrics with it.

18. Remove wax build up. Use straight from bottle with scouring pad and wipe with dry towel.

19. Leaves TV screen clean-no streaking-wipe with dry cloth.

20. Wash and clean cabinets in any room of home.

21. Great cleanser for mini blinds.

22. Great all around cleanser.

I got this list from:

http://www.angelfire.com/fl2/avonconsultant/BubbleBathUses.html

and a few things not on the list that I use it for is

*fill up your vehicles windshield washer with water, then add a capful of avon bubble bath ( only in summer...as it will freeze in cold weather)

*use in tart burners....puts a nice smell in the house

*fill an empty spray bottle with water put a capful of avan bubble bath and use to clean counter tops, table tops etc.

This stuff is amazing as a stain remover/pre-treater for clothes.

A few weeks ago my oldest daughter was taking the garbage out side to the can, when she cut her ankle pretty bad on a peice of glass that someone had put in the garbage......anyway she had on pale yellow pajama pants and they were soaked in blood around the ankle.

After we got her ankle cleaned and bandaged up, I took the pj pants out to the laundry room and decided to give it a try with the avon bubble bath.....i poured it on and the scrubbed it with an old tooth brush, then threw it in the washer (on the cold water setting)

When the pants came out of the dryer a while later I couldnt believe there was not a trace of blood left on them!!! I thought for sure I was going to have to throw her pj pants in the garbage!!!

I now use it on every peice of clothing with stains on it!!! No more ruined clothes here!! Ha!

If you haven't tried avon bubble bath before I strongly advise you to call your avon representative (or if you dont have one.....get one!)

Its regular $9.99 a bottle but for the last month its been on for $4.99 a bottle or 2 for $9.99!

My favorite is Sparkling watermelon.....smells so yummy!!

2011-07-22T14:28:00.002-03:00

Here is an outside look at my house......

its old and is a fixer upper.....

But I love the possibilites it holds....

and its unique characteristics!

I also love its location!!

We have a beautiful water view!

Its a quiet dead end street ( that leads to a quiet beach)

I can hear the waves crashing, and the loons.....looning? ha!

2011-07-22T14:27:00.000-03:00

I come from a family with 5 kids.......well actually 6 counting my older half brother, but he is 10 years older than me, so we werent raised together. My mom and dad had 5 kids. Me being the oldest.....of 5 girls!!! Thats right 5 GIRLS!!! I know! my poor father!!! I now know why he spent so much time out in the garage tinkering with lawn mower engines....lol

Out of the 5 girls 2 of us now have our own children. Myself ( I have 3 girls) and my sister Peggy who is closet to me in age. She has 2 girls. SO thats 5 daughers and 5 granddaughters for my parents!!! Actually 6 grand daughters....my brother has a daughter too!!! She is (in age) between my 2 youngest sisters!

Us 5 girls!

us girls and the one and only boy.....

The 5 granddaughters!

My brothers beautiful daughter Katie.

My next thing is to get a photo of all 6 of the grandkids......its just to get all 6 of them in the same province!!!

2011-07-22T10:48:00.000-03:00

A few sundays ago my church did a beach baptism

It was so amazing to see

Here are a few pics

Our Paster Howie

The "new" believers

Ephesians 2:8

For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God…

Laundry Room

2011-07-16T16:11:00.002-03:00

I took a few pics of my laundry room the other day and thought I would share

Its nothing special, but I am kinda loving it....lol

But just let me give you some back ground info in my house first.....

My house was built in the 1950's as an Executive Bunglow for some head guy of a fish plant company here in this town.

My dad bought it in the late 70's as an income property and renovated it into 4 apartments (2 in the basement 2 on the main floor)

Then in the mid 80's (after my dad met my mom and I was born and we were living in Ottawa, ON and then Sheet Harbour, NS.....My dad is RCMP so we moved a bit) he built a 24 x 24 2 bedroom apartment second story addition on half of the house....which was to be used as their place to stay when home on vacation.

But because the apartments were in such great demand he ended up renting it out ( as apt #5), and also turning the garage into a 6th apartment.

So when we got this house from my parents it was a 6 apartment complex.

My parents lived on the main floor ( they converted the main floor back into the house it used to be) and we lived upstairs in the 2 bedroom apartment for a year while my parents were building their new house.

Since we took over the entire house almost 2 years ago and have done quite bit of work since.......

SO now that ur caught up on the history of the house......

The laundry room is part of the old garage (turned apartment #6).

The laundry room is small because its only a quarter of the old garage. The rest is a bathroom and one room (bachlor ) apartment.

We plan on tearing down the wall that seperates the laundry room from the bathroom, removing the bathroom (to make my laudry room bigger)

Then the the rest of the old garage/bach apt will be out new family room!!!

Did ya get all that......or did I lose ya? haha

I know its a lot to take in......

anyway here is what my laundry room looks like now......

This old door I was given by my best friend....she lives in a house that is over 100 years old.....this door was in the basement when they bought the house. She was gonna throw it out until I told her I was looking for one!

This was a entry way down to the basement......I found a duvet cover at Value Village (14.99) and had my mom make it into a curtain. (The back side of it is black and cream checkers (or plaid) so i can switch it around for a different look!

I have the color "allspice" its a golden yellow (from Kent Building supplies)

picked out for wall color.....I want to find a few more "country" things such as a old fashion wash board.

2011-07-16T16:08:00.000-03:00

Hey Dolls!

Its another cold summer day here on Prince Edward Island!

So I am snuggled up on the living room couch with my laptop (and of course cell phone!)

and a piping hot cup of coffee.....and believe me its the only warm thing here!

I have been looking around on Rate my space for the past hour or so, and I have decided to share with you my kitchen DIY project I completed a few months ago

Here are a few before pics.....notice the ugly green counter top and back splash.....

and tada!!!

newly painted counter top and paintable wallpaper back splash!

Now next for this kitchen is new wall color ( I am looking for a nice spicy orangey color)

A friend just painted her living room Brushetta (beautitone brand) and I really like it.

A new window treatment and new flooring!! yay!

I leave you with this pic I took the other day when I was out "Scouting" for things to photograph!

Splish, Splash!!

2011-07-08T13:12:00.000-03:00

Its been nice and hot here on PEI the last couple days so we have been spending our days by the pool!

Keeping the girls hydrated with some really yummy juice!

Its hot again today so out by the pool we go!!!

Have a great day!

2011-06-30T23:52:00.000-03:00

I did a quick photo session with my oldest daughter the other day.....

I cant believe she will be 10 in September!!!

Seems like just yesterday she was still in diapers!

2011-06-30T12:22:00.000-03:00

Its been a crappy cold spring......

and the start to summer here on Prince Edward Island hasn't been great either.

But today was beautiful!!

I spent the morning cleaning, and doing laundry so that we could enjoy the afternoon outside!

We spent the entire afternoon at my parents house.

(They live literally 2 minutes down the road.)

They have a great pool! My kids love it there.

2011-06-21T18:34:00.000-03:00

I'm back!!!!

There was no big reason why I stopped blogging........just life I guess.

When I had time to blog nothing real interesting was going on and I was always searching for something to blog about.....

Then I actually had a life and LOTS to blog about but no time to do it......lol

anyway I will catch ya'll up in a post tomorrow ( or later today)

I missed you all!!!

TTYL Dolls!
Moi!

My New Photography Blog!!

2010-10-16T14:25:00.000-03:00

I have been getting more and more into photography, and I love it more and more everyday!

For my birthday, my wonderful husband bought me a new DSLR Camera!!! A Nikon D3000 to be exact.

Before this camera, I was using a point and shoot.

So this camera is awesome! Its a great started DSLR!

So because I am getting more and more into photography, and I am getting more and more clients..

I made a new blog to showcase my photography.

That way I can blog about Photography threre, and reserve this blog for everything else!

So please go visit my new photography blog, if you like it tell me! If you dont tell me!!!! lol

here is the link !

Show us your life - Kitchen & Dining room!

2010-10-10T11:02:00.000-03:00

One of my favorite blogs is doing a "Show us your life" where you live edition!

She did it last year too, and I got so many great ideas!

Last year we were living in an apartment waiting to move into our house.

I didnt post much last year, but I am super excited she is doing it again!!!!

Ok so I missed out last week, so this week I am showing my kitchen and Dining room!

This is the fireplace in our dining room, its functional, but we havent had the chimney sweeped yet, so until we are able to have roaring fires, i think this party lite piece works just great for ambiance.

This is my present center piece, fake apples, and a mulled cider gold canyon candle! yum! Nothing says fall like apples and apple cinnomon scented candles!!

This is looking into the dining room from the front entrance.

Looking in from the kitchen

My dining room table actually came from the Yellowknife, NWT city dump!!

I kid you not!

My mom and dad lived up there for 3 years ( My dad is RCMP)

anyway the city dump is not your ordinary dump.....

because YK is so isolated, it is hard for people that are moving out of there to move their belongings.

Unless they are Goverment, ( and it is an all expense paid move) it is very very expensive.

So people just throw out their stuff ( but chances are if they moved there with nothing, they either acquired stuff at yard sales, from other people moving that were selling everyting, or the dump)

Anyway, my dad (who is the king of other people junk is someone elses treasure...lol) would go to the dump on a weekly basis ( sunday mornings- he called it shopping cart sundays...lol because the people that had yardsales on saturday would take all the stuff they didnt sell to the dump!)

Ok I know it sounds like my dad is some kind of dumpster diving street person....lol but No! everyone goes to the dump on sundays!!! lol!

anyway, this one sunday my dad spotted a dining room table all set up just sitting there!

He very quickly loaded in the truck, as many others were eyeing it...lol and took it home to my mom!

It was upholstered with very ugly and stained green fabric, but my dad figured my mom could recover it! The table and wood in the chairs was in mint condition!!

My mom was so amazed at my fathers find!!!

In further investigation my mom found that there was another fabric under the ugly green stuff....so she ripped all the green fabric off and under neath was a fabric that was in mint condition! ( and it is the fabric that is on it today!!)

Anyway my dad was transfered to PEI (home for us) and when they got back here, they built a house and bought all new furniture.

My mom gave me the dump table, and I love it!!!!

She also gave me new upholstry fabric to someday cover it, but i kinda like it the way it is for now!

Oh and also! a very funny twist to the story!

After my mom had cleaned the table and it was ready for use ( in YK) my moms good friend Toots came over to see the amazing dump find!

She took one look at it and said.....that was my table......15 years ago!!!!

Toots had been married to a man, and they divorced and sold the house with all its contents, and this table was one of its contents!

She had been the one that had the underneath fabric custom done after purchasing the table.

Isnt that an amazing story!!! lol

My mom also gave me the china cabinent, and all her china!

My kitchen!

Our house is a 1950's rancher, and the kitchen is almost original.

We painted the cupboards( which were almost the same yellow as the walls)

and the counter top ( which was originally orange!)

We are planning on gutting the entire kitchen in the next few years

This hallway leads to our laundry room, my daughter Raven's room and the kids bathroom

Thanks for stopping by!

2010-08-23T09:51:00.002-03:00

I have been super busy the past few weeks!

My cousin Jodi got married, and my gift to her was I would do her wedding photos!

I was super nervous, it was my first wedding!

She is a cousin, but she is more like a sister ( to all 5 of us sisters), so we were all pretty much involved.

On friday my mom, 2 of my sisters ( Peggy(who is the maid of honor) & Lexi), myself and Jodi (bride to be) all went and got mani- pedis. It was a lot of fun.

Jodi, and all her bridesmaids, and even the mother of the groom got ready at my moms house....so it was beyond hectic! lol

Imagine..... a bride, 3 bridesmaids, a jr bridesmaid, a flower girl, mother of the groom and mother of the bride.....

and then my mom, 2 more of my sisters and a 13 month old baby all getting ready for a wedding in one house!!!!

It was quite the experience.....lol

I was there to photograph the whole thing! lol

This week end we have my dads, mothers side of the family reunion!

My part in this was helping input the family tree.

We have been working on it every thursday night for months......

I am now on express mode, and am trying to fix the little glitches that happened along the way.

We are using Family Tree Builder by myheritage.com

Its a neat little program that helps you input all your family tree info and organizes it for you.

You can publish online so other people researching their family tree can find you, or your ancestors.

And amongst all this, I have been trying to get Raven & River ready for back to school!

I havent been home a whole lot the past 2 weeks or so, with all the errands for the wedding, or family tree.

My children, husband and my house have all been neglected by me! ha!

I will be glad when everything is over and school is back in.......

I have so many fall projects I cant wait to start ( and blog about..Ha!)

Here is a sneak peak of the wedding....

2010-08-11T23:34:00.001-03:00

My next diy project, I have decided will be tackling my kitchen countertops and backsplash.....

Its just not in the budget right now, to replace the counter top.

But I really need to get rid of the ugly green melamine paint!

It chips alot and shows the even uglier original orange counter top.

It has a few bumps and bruises and I need something more forgiving than light green melamine.

I have been searching high and low for a cheap ( and easy) solution.

First I checked out a product called Stone Effects by Rustoleum. It is a 3 step process that unless you do it right, can turn out to be a huge mess and having to replace the countertops anyway.

The end result looks really really nice, but I am scared I will mess it up! and this stuff could still run me a couple hundred bucks...

Also, I wouldnt be able to use my kitchen for 5 days!!!

Secondly, I came across this forum and I think I have a winner!

I have to sand and then prime my counter top, then I have to pick 4 or 5 acrylic paint colors out.

Sponge paint the colors, and then when all is dried apply at least 3 coats of polyurathane.

Sounds easy and pretty cheap!

The lady in the forum also suggested going to a store that sells counter top and picking out one I like, and matching my paint colors to it.

I also have a pretty neat diy idea for my backsplash......

its one I stole from a friend.....

she used paintable wallpaper, and painted it silver.

The first time I saw it I thought she had a metal backsplash!

It is so nice! and really looks like the real thing!

I will post pics as soon as I get all this finished!!

Does anyone have any other ideas, comments, or helpful hints for me before I begin this?

Family Pictures!

2010-08-09T19:46:00.000-03:00

Something I realized a few weeeks ago may shock you but.....

We have never had family photos taken before!!!

Blaine, Raven and I had out family picture taken when Raven was 3 months old, but thats it!

I have taken ones of the 3 girls, and even ones of my 4 sisters and our brother and I, but never Blaine, myself and our three girls!

So here is our first family photo!!! ( that's sad i know, seeing as our baby is 4.5!)

Okay I went a little gung ho, and uploaded a bunch of the photos from our family photo shoot.....

My 3 beauties...River, Raven & Keilee

Hubby

Myself & hubby

Smoochy- Smoochy! lol!

....and of course a self portrait! lol

Raven

River

Keilee

Drum roll Please.......

lol this is my least fav...

this one is ok....

I Heart this one!!!

After I was done "taking" pics, they said to me....can we go in the water now?

My response....."fill your boots!!"

So they did! haha!

2010-08-08T22:38:00.000-03:00

I woke up to my 4 year old at my bed side saying " Mommy, Mommy!! Wake up it's 9:40 and its sunday! We are gonna be late for church!!!!"

How awesome is that!!

1. She knew what day it was!

2. She knows how to tell time!

and 3. She LOVES Jesus! (and going to church!)

Last sunday I spent half the day thinking it was Saturday! We missed church, the kids were upset, especially Keilee ( the 4 yr old).

She made sure she wasn't missing it this week! Ha!

2010-08-05T21:51:00.000-03:00

We got a phone call today from my grandmother ( who lives in Corner Brook, Newfoundland)

She told us that our Minister (and her husband) from when we lived in Corner Brook, were killed in a car crash yesterday.

Rev. Patrica "Rev. Pat" Melindy was an amazing woman. She was sweet and compasionate.

I loved talking to her, she always had such good wisdom and advice.

She married my husband and I seven years (and three days) ago.

She has always had a special place in my heart.....

My heart goes out to her children and grandchildren.

Seven Years!!

2010-08-02T10:54:00.000-03:00

Today is our seventh wedding anniversary!!!!

Wow time flies! ha!

Us then.....

Us now!

painted my dining room!

2010-07-31T22:10:00.000-03:00

Since I have been taking a bit of a break from blogging I havent showed ya'll my newly painted dining room!

Here are some before pics

And here are the afters.....

Dont mind the mess in my kitchen......lol

Well thats one more room finished!

Next is the Family Room, which right now is being used as the "junk" room!

This will be my biggest transformation yet!!

A little girl named Chandler....

2010-07-31T01:43:00.000-03:00

I had the pleasure of photographing my baby sis ( she is the youngest of us five girls)and her boyfriend Martin. She is 18 ( as is he), and the both graduated High School in June.

She has grown up to be such a beautiful young lady, both inside and out!

Chandler and our neice Maria

Martin and his shades...lol Hes such a cutie!!

My Ugly Pink and green bathroom is no more!!

2010-07-30T01:22:00.000-03:00

I blogged about here my beautiful ( not so much) peppermint pink and mint green bathroom straight outta the.....I dont even know what era!

Well I finally got around to painting it.

Yes I painted the tile!

After much research, asking people questions...lol I did it!

I think it looks a hundred...no a thousand times better!!

I still have to get new flooring, countertop, sink and faucette.

I am also looking for a new shower curtain and window treatment.

So whadda ya think??

Summer Break!

2010-07-17T11:24:00.000-03:00

Hey Fellow Bloggers!

I haven't abandoned y'all and nothing serious has happened in my life

I have just decided to take the summer off from blogging, other than a few check ins here and there yall wont here from me til september!

We are having a fabulous summer!!

Regis and Kelly were here for a visit last week!

Well not me, but my beautiful Island PEI!!!

I wasnt lucky enough to get tickets to the show but I watched from home!

It was so amazing for our little island to get so much publicity like that!!!

They did four shows here!

These pics are from the first show, I borrowed them from a friend that actually got tickets!

What else have we been up to?

We have been swimming lots!!

All 3 of my girls are amazing swimmers!

I couldn't believe how fast the learned and went from swimming with arm floaties on to jumping off the diving board and swimming under water like pros!!!

Hope everyone is having a good summer!!!

It's starting to feel like Home Sweet Home!!

2010-05-23T16:50:00.000-03:00

Here is part 2 of my house post.

I would have had it done sooner, but I was having problems with uploading pictures....

anyway.....

This is my kitchen,

the cupboards are original, they used to be yellow, (like the wall color now) and the counter top and backsplash were a bright orange!! it was hideous!

We plan on gutting the entire kitchen in the next couple years, but for the time being I can live with this...
We are going to repaint the counter tops with a "marble look" melamane paint, my cousin used it and she likes it, so i am gonna give it a try.

I also seen a really neat idea for a silver backsplash.....

I will post pics as soon as it is finished!!

This is the hallway off the kitchen, the door at the end is my laundry room...

the other 2 doors are Raven's bedroom and our 2nd bathroom.

This is the 2nd bathroom....and yes it is the same paint colors as the kitchen.....

the walls in this house were all white, and to save money the previous owners, used alot of the same colors thru out......we have 2 brown bedrooms......and the other bathroom is the same color green.......and so is the dining room and other hallway.......

we are in the process of getting rid of all the green.....except for in this bathroom

I like it in there, and it matches the shower curtain pretty good.

This is Keilee and River's bedroom

It is one of the room's we painted all ready.

The color in here was horrible....lol

Dont mind the ugly blue flooring.....its original to the house, and we are replacing it very soon!

This is the other brown bedroom.....
It is my oldest daughter`s room, she is 8.

She likes the color, so for now we are leaving it

I am trying to put lots of bright colors thru out to brighten it up a little....check out her curtains...ha!

Laying on the bed like she owns the place, is Raven`s youngest sister ( lol our kiki baby)

This picture was taken while Raven was in school.....hence the laying on the bed like she owns the place....lol

Another view of my dining room.....can not wait until this gets painted.....best get my butt in gear and get it painted! lol

More green..... this is the hallway leading to the other 2 bedrooms and main bathroom

and the soon to be family room

This is the soon to be family room.....but until we get at it, it is just a junk room.....

So that is our house!

We have LOTS of work to do yet, but I am excited to be unpacked and starting all the work!

I am all ready in love with my house!

2010-05-20T15:37:00.000-03:00

Oh WOW!!

It has been a really long time since I last posted!

Where has the time gone?!?

I have been super busy.....with well if you read my last post...you would see what I was busy with....lol

But I am happy to report that we are all unpacked! ha!

Here is a glimpse of how the house looks right now.....

This is the masterbedroom.....

Please pay no attetion to the horrible blue original tile floors.......

they are one of the first things that will be gone soon!

Our bedroom has his and hers closets!!!! Love them!!

This wall is by the main entrance.....I love how the stars and the saying look together....just hate the wall color.....I have a really nice color picked out...can't wait to see how it looks all together!

This fireplace mantle came out of a house that was built and lived in by my fathers great grand parents!

I was so excited to get my hands on it! lol

My dad's cousin and his wife own the house now, and are doing renovations.....

They took the mantle out and were going to throw it out....

Their neighbor and my good friend nabbed it for me!

I absolutley love it!

Its beautiful and it has sentimental value!

This is one of the few changes we have made so far.....lol

a chandelier in the dining room....there was just an regular ugly light there before...

The living room.....

This room has original hardwood floors...

See the star.....lol it is covering a non working thermostat....lol

Okay, I have to say this has to be one of my fav things about this house......

my very own closet!!!

I will post pics of the rest of the house tommorrow.....gotta save something for then...lol

Have a good day!

2010-04-07T23:12:00.000-03:00

Today was just an ordinary day.....it was nice!

It was the middle of a 3 day school/work week.....which is always very nice...lol

We have been having such nice weather, but today was cooler and rainy. It was a nice change.

I love a rainy day! I love the dreary-ness, it calms and relaxes me. Is this weird? lol

And the harder the rain the better! lol

I wouldn't want it to rain everyday, just random days.

What did we do all day? Well Blaine sleep for the better part of the day ( while I was home at least)

Kiki played (which she does very well by herself, while the other girls are in school)

And I, puttered around the house, putting stuff away, cleaning and thinking of the MANY projects that need to be started and completed on the house!

I also made Slow Cooker Chicken Noodle soup for supper

This stuff is great! It was the first time I tried it, and it was so easy chop up a pound and a half of chicken breast(brown it in a frying pan with a little bit of olive oil) , some carrots and onion, and celery, throw it in the slow cooker with 5 cups water and Volia! 4 hours later you got your self some very yummy Chicken Noodle soup!

I also made some biscuits when I got home from work, so that they would be hot out of the oven for supper!

I am not a "from scratch" kinda girl, so I really LOVE bisquick!

I use it for my pizza dough, cinnamon rolls, etc!

We didn't have a lick of leftovers! Which makes me happy! The kids loved the soup and the biscuits!

Even my extremely picky husband had seconds of both!!!

What's on tommorrow's menu?

Slow Cooker Speghetti, cheesy garlic bread, and salad....

Happy Easter!

2010-04-04T14:40:00.002-03:00

What beautiful sunny weather we are having!

Usually this time of year there is still bits of snow on the ground, and still a bit of chill in the air.....

But not this year! It was a whopping 20 degrees yesterday and the same for today!

Yesterday, our town put on an Easter egg hunt for all the kids. They also had face painting.

My kids had so much fun!

River and kiki off searching for eggs....

River found a special one that she won a prize for finding.....

My biggest bunny......lol Raven

My middle bunny.....River

and then there`s Kiki Baby that didnt want to get her face painted.....lol

(Raven, River & Kiki`s) Team # one counting all the eggs, and eggies......

Team 2 Counting......

.....and the winner is Team # 1!!!! Way to go guys! lol

On the walk back home I thought this was a great `spring` picture...lol

and of course I had to take one of the 3 girls together....lol

This is the beach by our house.....also refered to (by me) as "our beach" ...ha!

Won't be long and this is where we will be spending our days!!

I love that I have a job that I am home all summer long with my girls! Making memories!

I tried out the self timer on my camera for the first time......

Cute right? ....lol

Actually this was my first attempt........LOL

And last but definitly not least.....I leave you with this

Thank you Jesus!

Have a Hoppy Easter everyone!

2010-03-22T23:04:00.000-03:00

No, this is not an episode of Horders,

this is us getting moved in! Ha!

and these aren't even the before-before pics,

if I would have taken pics of that you would have seen this living room was full from floor to ceiling, and you could not step one foot into the room, it was so crammed with stuff.

We had 80% of our stuff in storage......for over a year....

We had 20% of our stuff in our apartment(waiting to move into our house) with us.....

Do you know how much new stuff a family of 5 can accumulate in a year?

Alot!

This is another room, the only one that wasn't completely crammes wiht stuff......

and this......well this is the beginning of my dumpster pile.......

We ended up filling this dumpster with stuff.....

I wanted to just get rid of everything we did not use, or have not used in a while.

I gave a big heaping pile of stuff to a local thrft store....

We also had people come and climb in the dumpster and then go home with "treasure"...lol

Our new house is starting to feel like a home!

And I am loving all the room we have!

2010-03-20T22:32:00.000-03:00

We are officially moved into our new house.....welll sort of...lol

(this is our house, it was built in the 50's and we have a lot of work to do to it, but I love it)

We started moving our stuff on Tuesday ( today is saturday).

I have only this to say......

I AM NEVER MOVING AGAIN!!!!!

HA!

I have pictures and more to tell you, but it will have to wait until tommorrow

I am beat, and I am going to bed!

Tonight is our first night in the new house!!!

Night!

Why I picked the title of my blog....

2010-03-13T12:30:00.001-04:00

Up until last January 2009, we lived in a big city.

I grew up in the country, and my husband grew up in a teeny tiny town.

I as a parent wanted to raise my family in the same settting as what I was raised in.

I am not knocking city life, but I think ( and this is just my opinion, for myself) that children should be raised in a surrounding that is slow, quiet, and filled with community events, a place where you know who your neighbours are.

I never once growing up wish I lived in the city, or a bigger place. When Blaine and I and the kids lived in the city, I wished we could have the oppurtuinty to move back to PEI (my home) and raise our kids like I was raised. This dream was far fetched considering Blaine was military and we had to live were they told us to live, and there was no Military Base on PEI.

We all have dreams, and goals and plans. God has a plan for each and everyone one of us, before we are even a glimmer in our mother's eye. We never know what his plans for us are, or at the time why.

For us we never thought we would get the chance to raise our girls around family, and on PEI, it was just a dream.

When Blaine was diagnosed with Stage 3 Hodkins Lympoma at the age of 24, and told his chance of survival was 50-60% we did not know what God had planned for us or why. But we prayed, that Blaine would be alright, and we had many, many friends, and family pray for us.

A year later we were told that Blaine was in Complete Remision! Praise God!

A few months later Blaine was given a medical release from the military, on medical pension, ( he has other medical issues that prevents him from ever returning to any form of work, but its not life threatening, just something we needed to fit our life around) and we got our final (military paid for) move.

We moved to PEI!

Hence, the title of my blog " Back to the Red Dirt Roads"

God had a plan for us, and we didn't understand it at the time, when Blaine was going thru chemo, at the age of 24 with 3 little girls at home aged 5, 2 and 1.

We understand it now, and we thank God everyday for all he has given us!

It was hard going thru what we did, but I would do it all over again, so that we could be right where we are this moment. It opened our eyes to things we thought only happend to other people, it made us love stonger, hug a little tighter, and appreceiate the small things a whole lot more.

Help! How do I paint over ceramic tile?

2010-03-01T11:00:00.000-04:00

I am looking for diy infor on how to paint over outdated bathroom tile.

I just don't have the money to gut this bathroom right now, so I was thinking about painting the tile.

The only thing is I can't find anything on how to do it.

And I also don't just want to paint over it, I also want to do a decorative finish, so it will look like "new" ceramic tile. Does that make sense?

So if any of you have any tips, or know of a where I can learn about painting tile please let me know!

2010-03-01T10:08:00.000-04:00

Way to go Canada!!!

The men's gold medal hockey game last night was awesome!

Sid the Kid scored the overtime goal, winning 3-2 against the US.

The crowd roared as the victory gave Canada a record 14 golds and brought our total medal count to 26 --another record.

What a sight! After being handed their gold medals, they celebrated by taking turns skating with a big Canadian flag!

A photo shoot with the almost birthday girl!

2010-02-20T22:47:00.000-04:00

My baby Keilee ( aka Kiki Baby) is turning 4 in 4 more days!!

Last year I wrote this post on her birthday

I can't believe another year has passed!

I got to spend some time with just her today, and it was really nice! Everybody else had places to be, so I got the camera out and had a fun photo shoot!

It's a tie between this one....

...and this one, as to, which one is my favorite

I mean, I do like them all, but those two are my fav!

Her eyes are a really neat shade of green, but yellow, and brown......

I can't believe my baby is going to be 4 in four days!!!!!!

Everybody Loves Cupcakes!!!

2010-02-17T12:59:00.001-04:00

Happy Valentines Day!

Yup, I know I am a few days late with that one....lol

We had a great vday!

We got our vday goodies from Poppy Ben ( my dad - see last years vday post )

Even though he was not home this vday, he got all our stuff and got mom to give it to us! Love my daddy!

I promised the girls we would bake cupcakes......

We are still living in the little 2 bedroom apartment ( we are living here until our house is ready)

and the kitchen is itty bitty, so there is not a whole lot of space for the "shared" baking.

So I made the cupcakes, but told the girls they could each decorate their own.

The rest were daddy's!!

Simple Pleasures

2010-02-07T13:10:00.001-04:00

One of my favorite bloggers ( Kelly Stamps over at Kellyskornerblog.com) did a post last week about Simple Pleasures. My week has been a busy one, so I didn't get a chance before now to post my favorite simple pleasures.

They are in no order what so ever....

The whole family cuddling up in bed together and laughing

waking up early, and listening to the house still sleeping

Coffee with a friend

A clean house

Freshly washed sheets and a made bed.....lol

The sound of the dishwasher running in the evening after the kids are in bed, and the house is quiet

Listening to my 3 girls playing in the other room ( and actually getting along...lol)

Shopping with my momma

Diet pepsi with crushed ice

Flip flops in the springtime!

Taking photos of friends and family

Editing photos, and listening to music

Kisses on the forehead

Someone new following my blog....lol

The smell of a new baby

Eating watermelon on a summer day

Hugs and kisses from my 3 girls

Hearing "I love you Mom"

Spending a whole day at the beach

Talking to my grandmother on the telephone

Sitting in Church on Sunday mornings, with the sun shinning in the church windows

and last but definitly not least.....

These 3 girls each and everyday!

2010-02-03T11:18:00.002-04:00

Today started out pretty crappy, and put me in a really bad mood.

When I was doing the morning bus route, I had a parent come to the bus door and blast me about the bus being "sporadic" and never being there on time.

I appologized, telling him I was a substitute driver and that I was just learning the route.

He then goes on to say that the regular driver was "sporatic" also.

I appologized again, and told him to take it up with the School Board Office.

He then told me that "you'd have to be F@#&ing stupid, not to be there at the same time everyday"

and went on to say that his son had been at the bus stop at 7:30 and waited until 7:50 for the bus.

I told him that I am never there by 7:30, as I don't turn onto his road until 7:31 and it takes me 7 minutes to get to his son's stop. ( There are 6 or 7 stops on that road before I get to his) And, when I looked at the time after he said this to me, it was then only 7:42!!

I then told him that it was only 7:42, and asked him whether or not his son was getting on the bus, ( his son apparently went back up to his house at "7:50" after waiting for the bus) and he replies " yes, I just sent my other son up to get him" and then continues to say to me " this is F&$%ing ridiculous that you can't be here the same time everyday and I am F*&%ing tired of it"

He then turned back to his driveway to yell out to his son to hurry up, and I don't know what else he was saying, I couldnt hear.

His son ( who is in grade 10) got on the bus, with his head down, (I can only imagine how embarresed the poor kid was) and went all the way to the back of the bus and sat down.

I was so embarressed, angery, etc!

The whole thing put me behind 10 minutes picking up the rest of my kids!

Anyway,after the morning route, when I got to the bus room ( the bus driver's staff room) I told the other driver's what had happened, and they said that I didn't have to put up with parents like that, and to report it to the principal and School Board office,and that they would deal with it.

I gave the civic address and the name of the student, to my supervisor, and he said he would pass it on to the prinipal and School Board office.

I hate confrontation, I feel like a little kid when people say stuff like that to me....

Grrrrr.....lol

I felt like this....

and a little like this....

LOL, ok maybe not like this...lol

Like for 5 seconds after the "incident" I serioulsy wanted to quit my job.....lol

The other driver's re-assured me not to let it get to me, and that putting up with abuse from parents is not part of our job description!

Okay I feel better I got that off my chest.....lol

It's 11:12 am , I hope the rest of my day goes better than the start of it!

How's you day going?

2010-01-30T23:04:00.002-04:00

For those of you that read my post the other day, about River and Keilee cutting each other's hair.....

Well here are some pics......

Doesn't she just looked thrilled.....

I was finding strains of dark brown hair everywhere!

But looking at her hair it doesn't look that bad, that is because Keilee cut River's hair underneath........

At the hair dresser today, Amy ( said hairdresser) pointed out all the short ( cut) pieces underneath, by her neck....... not only was Keilee sissor happy, going right to town on River's hair, but she was sneeky (smart)!!

River's pretty new hair...

I didn't get an after shot of Keilee yet, but I do have the before.....

This is what her hair should have looked like....

And this is what River cut.....

LOL! What am I supposed to do with that? lol

Our Hairdresser Amy did a really good job fixing both girls hair....

Thanks Amy!

"We are so close, we do everything together! We even cut each other's hair!!"

Snow Day!

2010-01-29T22:32:00.001-04:00

Today is a Snow day here on Prince Edward Island!

All the school are closed....which means no work for me!

We spent the day, relaxing and spending time together.......lol

No really, I spent the day cleaning, and getting (almost) caught up on laundry, Hubby took a (few) nap, and the kids fought, and played, fought some more, watched their fav shows, then what do ya know they fought some more!

LOL!

My house smelled like I had been baking Cinnamon Rolls all day!

This candle smells good enough to eat!

My fur baby Riya, went out for a quick pee.....she came back looking like this

Here is a video I took of outside....

I love long weekends!

Have a good Weekend!

2010-01-28T20:56:00.000-04:00

Today was quite the day....

Things were good on the bus, ( its exams week, so there are only half as many kids on) ( and by the way for any new readers, I am a school bus driver) I am driving for a guy for 2 months! The reason that he is taking the time off is sad, and I dont feel like getting into it right now, but that added to my " Oy! What a day"

River & Keilee decided to give each other haircuts!

River and Keilee thought it would be a good idea to give each other haircuts..........I am finding pieces of dirty blonde hair and pieces of dark brown hair everywhere.......apparently Keilee was way more sissor happy than River....thus why I am finding a lot more brown hair than blonde.........

Needless to say, a proper haircut for both girls in the the very near future!

I guess I should just be happy it didn't turn out worse than it did.......

It could have looked like this

or this....

Ha!

2010-01-24T22:08:00.000-04:00

My Nanny MacConnell died 14 years ago, Grampy MacConnell died 2 days ago. His funeral was today.

There is a picture of the two of them kissing from an an anniversary party of their's.Nanny is sitting at the head of the table, grampy in the seat next to her and he stands up, bends over and kisses her.....this is my most favorite picture of the two of them together. The were so much in love. Grampy was devistated when he lost her, she was so young, only 62.

(I couldn't find the picture, but here is a picture taken at the same time Nan is wearing the red shirt, grampy beside her hugging his mother)

When I picture them in Heaven, I imagine them like they were in that picture, kissing like that, so very much in love.

With Etta James' "At last" playing in the background.....

and looking like they did in their wedding picture

It gives me comfort to know they are together again.......for all eternity.

We miss them both like crazy here, but we know we will see them again someday....

Nanny & Grampy, I love you and miss you both so very much!

2010-01-24T00:20:00.000-04:00

Here are a few of my latest creations....lol The pics were taken a while ago, but I really like how the collages turned out. I just need to figure out how to print them...lol!

My baby girl Kiki Baby

My middle baby Miss River

And my biggest baby, Miss Raven

Here is one of my niece Maria

And last but defintly not least this is my baby niece Ava

2010-01-22T19:35:00.001-04:00

When a person we love becomes a memory, that memory becomes a treasure.

Rest in Peace

"Grampy"

Charles Alexander MacConnell

Gone, but never forgotten

Today my grampy died. My Dad's Dad.

He was a strong, loving, funny dad, granddad, great granddad,and even a great great granddad.

He was a WWII vet.

Grampy and my grandmother had 10 kids, but raised 13(+), all 10 kids names started with "B" ...lol

Barry

Beverly Jean

Benjamin

Brian

Barbara

Boyd

Brenda

Bethanne

Brady

Benita

the other 3 were Belinda, Blair ( aka Joe) and Beryl (aka Stacey) so yup that is 13 B's!!

I love you and Miss you Grampy!! xoxo

2010-01-17T20:01:00.001-04:00

Favorite saying of the day

"I have a headache in my leg" Keilee

LOL!! This cracked me up Ha!

2010-01-16T20:24:00.029-04:00

I am linking up with Amanda @ Serenity Now

This is the fireplace in the house we are buying....it's very ugly

The previous owners have a wine cabnet in the right corner

A few of the ideas I have floating around are

Painting the all the brick white
Having a mantle custom built
adding a nice fire screen

What do you think?

2010-01-14T13:43:00.000-04:00

My heart hurts for Haiti. I am hugging my kids, my husband and all other loved ones a little tighter these days. I am thanking God for all the things he has provided me and my family with, instead of complaining that my house is too small, or even that it is messy. I am so thankful that I have a roof over my head and my family by my side, all safe and happy.

I feel helpless, but I am praying for all the families and children and individuals affected by the quake.

If you feel helpless, there are ways that you can help too, you can pray for the people of Haiti, and you can donate.

There are many ways you can donate -

An easy way is to text "Haiti" to 90999 to give $10 to the Red Cross.

It will be on your next phone bill.

OR you can text "disaster" to 90999 to give $10 to Compassion's disaster relief program.

They will be working directly with the local churches who know where these families live and will be providing immediate relief to them.

You could also visit HERE ( if you are from Canada) or HERE (if you are from the US) to donate.

Any donation made to Canadian charitable organizations between Jan. 12 and Feb. 12, 2010 will be matched by Ottawa through the Haiti Earthquake Relief Fund -- which is managed by the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA). CIDA will then allocate these funds to Canadian and international humanitarian and development organizations.

You can also check out this blogger who has set up the website : Hope for Haiti.

Also, Blogger Kelly Stamp over at Kelly's corner said this

"for every person who leaves a comment on this post"( meaning hers)" and lets me know that you have donated (Please share where you have donated - I know there are other organizations helping besides compassion and Red Cross) - we will donate $1 to the compassion disaster relief to Haiti up to $1000."

Tutu's and Hockey skates

2010-01-10T15:37:00.000-04:00

Saturdays is our busiest day of the week.

We start out with Keilee's Ballet at 10am

Then it was back in the van to drive to Raven's hockey practice at 11:10am

Don't they just looked thrilled to be in the van...lol

We had just enough time to stop for coffee on our way to the rink

Ok, I have no makeup on in this picture so brace yourself....its not pretty.....LOL!

Here is a video of Raven skating, this is her first year playing hockey, and her first year on skates....for the most part she is doing well, I think she will be a fairly good skater in a few years. (She is only 8 yrs old)

She is wearing the navy blue jersey with the number 11 on the back. ( red & white socks)

After Raven's hockey we hoped back in the van, and headed home for a quick bite to eat, and then back to the rink for River & Keilee's hockey practice.

Here is a video of River & Keilee, RIver is # 79 and Keilee is #2 (with the pink laces)

This is the first year of hockey ( and skating) for both Keilee and River.

They have both come a LONG way since the beginning of hockey season.

Sorry, this video is sideways.....but it is cute and I had to post it...LOL

This is the first week of hockey practice, see how far they have come?

How do you spend your Saturdays?

SHOW US HOW YOU LIVE - New Years Resolutions/Goals!

2010-01-08T18:32:00.001-04:00

Today I am linking up with the mr linky party over at Kelly's Korner .

Welcome!

To find my New Year's Resolutions read this post, that I wrote on Jan 1st.

Thanks for stopping by!!

2010-01-07T14:39:00.000-04:00

My sister Billie left to go back to Yellowknife today, we said our good byes last night, as she was leaving early this morning. It was nice to have her here for almost a month.

My sister Peggy (and her 2 little girls Maria, and Ava) arrives home from Yellowknife sunday! I am so excited! I have missed Maria and Ava ( and Peggy too) so much! My girls are even more excited about their litttle cousins returning home!

Before Peggy left for Yellowknife, she took the girls to have their pictures done, to give out as Chirstmas gifts.

Are they not gorgeous!?!!

Ha~! She is too cute!!

The pictures are taken with the props and costumes, with a black background, then you pick which pretty background you want and they photoshop it in!! How cool is that?

2010-01-03T12:05:00.002-04:00

Last night Blaine said he would watch the kids so I could have a night out with my sisters!

We went to the movies and seen the movie "The Blind Side"

It was so good!

I am a sucker for a touching true story!

If you have not seen this movie, go see it, you will not be disapointed!

Happy New Year!

2010-01-02T22:42:00.001-04:00

Welcome 2010!

We spent New Year's at a dance in our town. It was fun, it wasn't overly packed, which made it better, then having it too crowded and having to push your way thru the crowd.

New Year's day we had a lazy day and we all stayed in our pjama's and watched movies and played our new wii, it was a very fun day! The kids had a blast, ( and so did the big kids too, ha!)

Do you know that you can download the original Super Mario Brothers from the original Nintendo Entertainment System, for the wii!!! I was so excited! We downloaded Super Mario Bros 1, 2 and 3!!!
3 is my fav!

Did you make new year resolutions?

I did!

I have 3, HA! (in no particular order)

My first one is to be more organized ( I make this one every year, and every year I get a bit more organized that the year before...lol)

My second one is to have more patients, with my kids, husband, and myself.

My third is (of course ) that this is the year I will lose weight!

and my last ( but definitly not least) is to attend church every sunday, and to spend more time with Jesus.

I grew up going to church every sunday, and I was involved with Youth Group, and the Youth ministry Music and drama group. I loved every minute I spent at church, with all my church friends. But as I grew up and life happened I got away from going to church. I did not stop talking to Jesus, or praying to him, I still had a relationship with him ( it just was no where close to what it should have been). We started going to church a few months ago, we found out that this little town ( which we have only lived here a year) has a great Baptist church, with wonderful people that attend. The pastor Howie and his wife Kelsey are a young couple, and they are both really nice, and welcoming.

Every sunday, sitting in the little church, in this little town, I feel so much emotion, I feel whole!

My kids Love church, which makes me very happy, I want them to have a relationship with Jesus, I want them to have a great relationship with him.

What New Year Resolutions did you make?

Merry Christmas!

2009-12-26T20:05:00.000-04:00

May Joy be your gift at Christmas and may Faith, Hope and Love be your treasures in the New Year.

From My family to yours

Merry Christmas

Happy New Year!!

2009-12-21T22:26:00.000-04:00

In my post "SHHH! Don't Open Til Christmas" I showed you guys the pictures I did for my parents for christmas..... Well I figured out how to edit them better and I wanted to show you them.

I think they look ALOT better!

I put the frame together with the 6 individual pictures and it looks so nice!

I really hope my parents like it, I like it so much that I am going to do the same frame and prints for myself!!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

JESUS IS THE REASON FOR THE SEASON!

Weigh in

2009-12-21T22:09:00.000-04:00

I haven't fallen off the wagon or gave up with my weight loss, its just been crazy hectic round these parts, and I haven'thad time to written any weigh in posts....lol.

I got weighed and measured and......

10 pounds!!! 12 inches!!!!! GONE!

Now to keep this going over Christmas will be a challenge, but one I am ready for!

My goal for this time next month is to be down another 10 pounds.....then I will be at a lower weight than I have been in 3 years!

I also CANNOT wait til I start at a regular gym! I have had a curves for women membership for 2 years and I am sorry for any of you die-hard curves ladies out there, but it did diddly for me......

I am starting at a local (regular) gym in January!

I (as a teenager), lived at the gym(a regular gym), I was there 5-6 days a week. I craved it! Then life happened, I got a job and then I just didnt ~~make~~ have time for the gym anymore.....this was one of my biggest mistakes ever made, had I kept up with my love of the gym, I probrably would not have gained all the weight I did having my babies....

But, that's a what if, and I need to look to the future not the past! I need to think of the person/body I will become/have not the body/person I was. Does this make scense? ( It does in my head....ha!)

Merry Christmas!!

SHHH! Do not open til CHristmas!

2009-12-19T17:02:00.001-04:00

My Mom doesn't read my blog......she doesn't spend a lot of time on the internet.....not that she does not like it....she only knows how to read her email, look at stuff on facebook, and that's about it..HA!

My dad doesn't read it either.....because he doesn't know the "dot com number " to find it......enuff said! HA HA!

Maybe after Christmas I will bookmark it on their computers so they can read it...lol!

But for now I am glad that they doesnt read it....because I am going to share with you all what I am giving them for christmas!!!

It has been years since all my sisters, my brother and I have all been together. And we have never had a (Professioal) picture done with all 6 of us EVER! We have only twice had (professional) pics done of the 5 of us girls; once I was 11 yrs old, and my youngest sister Chandler was 1...lol, the second and last time was at my wedding ( Charlie didnt make it....long story short he was working down in miami and missed his plane for reasons unknown....lol) and that was 6.5 years ago ( chandler was 11yrs)

SO We had ONE DAY with all 6 of us in the same province (and town), I jumped at the opportunity to have a picture taken of all 6 of us, without my mom or dad knowing!

I set the pics up then Chandler's friend Molly took them for us.

It was snowing, and the pics were taken outside, so that is why there is white dots/lines in the pics.

I was disappointed when I seen them, and thought that the pics were not good, but then my sisters lookd at them and liked it...lol she said it added to the pics....I didnt think so but anyway, Peggy left for Yellowknife to spend Christmas with her bf and his family, so its too late for retakes.

Charlie

Moi!

Peggy

Billie

Lexi

Chandler

The individual ones of Charlie and the one of Lexi, I am going to redo....they are both here in Georgetown.

I think my mom will like them, I am sure she will be like "what's with the white spots?"......but oh well, I don't know how to edit them out. I use Picnik to edit my pics, I really like it because its easy, but I dont think its as versitile as Photoshop ( which I have no clue how to use).

Merry Christmas!

One Christmas Concert down.....2 more to go!

2009-12-18T11:19:00.001-04:00

My middle daughter River had her kindergarten Christmas concert on sunday afternoon

The concert was so cute, there are 14 kids in her class and they all did a fantastic job!

Kindergarten is not in the school system here on PEI ( it goes into the school system in september 2010), and the kindergarten teacher Ms. B has been teaching for 26 years!

And every year the concert is the same....lol My friend's mom was telling me that she made the costumes 25 years ago when her oldest daughter Kerri was in Ms.B's kindergaten class...and they are still using them!

First they did "Away in a Manger"

Then they were Reindeers ( and santa!)

Then a frosty song...

and of course they sang Jingle Bells!

and last but not least "we wish you a merry christmas"

Raven's Christmas concert was last night ( my next post) and then we have the Christmas eve sunday school concert at the Christmas Eve Church service.

I LOVE Christmas Concerts!

I loved being in them as a child ( and teenager..lol) and now I LOVE even more being the parent and watching my children in them!

This is my mom(right) and her BFF Nelly (left)

Nelly came out to spend the day with my mom and got to come to the concert too!

They have been friends for as long as I can remember!

Nelly (Donelda) has 2 children, her youngest Kelly is a year or 2 older than me.

She had her kids all grown up before mom even had one all grown up...lol (I am the oldest of 5 girls, plus we have an older half brother Charlie, he is our dad's son)

Nelly used to come over every Christmas morning (when we lived in Hazelbrook) for years(1993-1999) and video tape us opening our christmas gifts....lol

We laugh every year when we all sit down and watch the videos.....lol

Brrr It is Cold outside!!

2009-12-11T17:53:00.001-04:00

I have been feeling really crappy all day! And the weather outside sure is not helping.

I did a photo session with my sister Peggy's long time gal pal Paige and her little handsome man Hudson today, he sure did not want to cooperate...lol He is only 1 month and just wanted to be in his momma's arms the whole time...lol.

But I did get a few nice shots, and as soon as I get them edited I will put them in a post!

I also decided to finally do my girls christmas pictures!

They turned out ok, also (since I had the 3 girls dressed and all three heads curled....which is a lot of work) I decided to do their "school" pictures too!

I don't order Pictures from the school when they get them done in September, because of a couple reasons

1. They are expensive ( for the amount of pictures you get)

2. I dont like that every kid in the school has the exact same pose/background etc.

3. I have alot of fun doing them myself, and it cost next to nothing!

Also Kelly over at Kelly's Korner is doing a mr. linky cookie exchange, I browsed thru some of the recipes and they all look soo good! I might have to get in some baking this weekend!

Have a good Weekend!

First Snowfall of WInter 09/10!!!

2009-12-08T11:36:00.001-04:00

kay, so it snowed here Saturday night and all day Sunday, I am just slow getting this post finished.

We did not make it to church on Sunday because the roads were very yucky, and drivers on the first snow fall of the year, usually forget what it is like to drive in snow, and that is the day the most fender bender's happen.

So we played it safe and stayed home for a nice relaxing day at home!

Here are some Pics I got on sunday afternoon/evening after the snow stopped.

I took all these pics in my front and back yard.

These tall trees are in my back yard, they are my favorite of all the trees in the yard.

I love how tall they are, they remind me of the trees in Victoria, BC

I couldn't resist taking this picture, I love the colors of the bus with the snow!

This one is from my front yard looking into the neighbors yard across the street.

I think this picture is really cool, Blaine thinks it looks creepy!