Explosion Box

In our ward we have a 'Christmas Club' once a month. There is a craft each month or you can come and work on projects you maybe don't want your kids to see, or heck, just hang out and get away from your kids! So this was the project for September- Explosion Boxes. Now, I have made these before, but this time I was determined I was actually going to FINISH one. And I'm happy to say - I did it!

When I got home I was showing Peter and Katey and Peter looked at it and says "So that's what you made? Hmmm." I then opened it up and he became more animated and says"WOW! Will you make me one of those for my desk at work?" I think he liked it;)

These are just a few of the inside 'flaps'. I'd bore you to death if I posted them all. I used the pictures that Amy took at Katey's grad photo shoot.

Happy Monday

I love Mondays. The kids are back in school, Peter is back at work and I have the house to myself. A chance to organize and decompress after a weekend of chaos. And this weekend was certainly NO exception. Since my mom is away in Sarnia helping Amy (http://workmanfamily.typepad.com/our_life/2008/09/the-rumor-is-true.html#comments) we had the opportunity to use my dad's renovation talents. On Saturday he came over and he and Peter were going to build a wall so I can have a laundry room, yeah me! Well when I arrived home from Women's Broadcast (http://www.lds.org/broadcast/grsm/0,6220,285,00.html) this is what I was greeted by.

AACK! The plan was to close off the laundry room and move the bathroom door. I was more than a little shocked to discover my whole bathroom GONE. Poof, just like that. I mean I knew we, OK they, were going to change it around I just wasn't prepared for so soon. And now it sits. And we have no main floor bathroom. But it does look better than my laundry in my front entrance. Now there is a definition of space. I like having a kind-of laundry room. If we could only find a door to match we'd be off and running:)


Here is what it looked like before I left

And now ...

Laundry

Bathroom

Epic Update(s)

I'm sorry that I've been MIA lately, life's been hectic. We have successfully moved...again. Lot's of pictures and summaries to catch you up to date. Hope you enjoy!

Happy Birthday Ethan

So today my baby turns 5. Yet I'm not sad that my little guy is growing up. Cause he told me that even when he is a daddy he'll still be my baby. Man I love that kid.

We have plenty of pictures of Ethan opening his presents, 44 to be exact, yet none of him with his cake. Sadly it is all my fault. Somewhere between moving in and having his birthday, I forgot to get icing sugar. And we had his party yesterday {Sunday} so I couldn't run out and get some either. And then to add insult to injury, I can't find the candles. So he had a plain chocolate cake. Which we served with chocolate pudding instead of frosting, and it was surprisingly delish! One day I'll make it up to him and make him a cake with frosting AND candles. One day...

Back To School

Oh the 3 most blissful word in the English language are 'Back To School'. A time when peace and order once again is restored. (Well, after fighting for 45 minutes to get them out the door.) So here are my munchkins on their first day of school 2008.

Katey - Grade 9

Megan - Grade 4

Hannah - Grade 3

Mary - Grade 2

And finally Ethan. The sun was really bright and darned if the kid wouldn't cooperate. So no first day of school picture for him.

Ethan is only in school for the morning and he wanted to make a snack for the girls when they got home in the afternoon, so we made Rice Krispy Squares. And I got a better picture where you can actually see his cute little smile!

Our New-To-Us House

OK so when I went to the final walk though for our house I was in for quite a shock. Seeing as this was also the first time to actualy see the house, it was a double whammy. Mom and I met Peter and our realtor who were already there. What I saw when I walked though my new front door was enough to make Aggie and Kim think they hit the Jackpot.

There was garbage EVERYWHERE. And houseplants, about 20 of them. And the garage, well let's just say we hauled away 4 truckloads and we still have a few more things that need to go.

I don't even want to remember how bad it was. I didn't even take pictures because I was so upset. The house itself was OK, but the mess, and dirt and grime and grunge, GACK!!! So once we officially got possession Peter and I went to Wal-Mart and purchased $150.00 worth of cleaning supplies. And we probably used about $120 worth of them. I went though a 50 pack of disposable rubber gloves alone! With the help of my mom and dad we were able to scrape and steam away most of the gunk, and we got the bedrooms painted. Peter and I are working on the downstairs one room at a time.

There is still a lot of construction type jobs that need to be done, like putting up a wall so my laundry room is no longer in my living room! but they'll come in time. Slowly but surely we'll get this place looking and feeling more like a home than just a house.

I'll share a few pictures nothing grand, and don't expect much, I still have stuff in boxes and they're all over right now! But at least those of you who have been wondering where we live, well now you'll get an idea!

Family room. We plan on taking out the built-ins and doing something else super fabulous creative there!

My new kitchen. I lost about 1/2 of my cupboard space compared to the last house, and man, I MISS it. We have big plans for this room. Extending the island and replacing the appliances. By the way, did you know you can still buy ovens that AREN'T self-cleaning? Because you can, I have one, phhttt, stupid oven.

Living room view from hallway upstairs

View down the hallway from the front door. The rooms kind of look like booths at a fair or something from this perspective, hehe.

Megan's half of the bedroom. Note the lovely lavender walls that grandma painted. Also note that Hannah's half is not pictured. See below and imagine Katey's room with a Care Bear theme.

Katey's Pit of Despair. Don't ya just love teenagers?

And finally my retreat. After almost 11 years of marriage I have finally gotten new bedding. (Up till now it's been a mishmash of hand-me-downs. Which I'm very grateful for.) Anyway, Sigh, I LOVE it. I feel like a princess when I lay back on all the fluffy pillows to read. Which happened once. Maybe when Ethan graduates I can do it again;)

So that's about it. I can't wait to update once we start completing some of the larger projects. And I can't wait till we START some of the larger projects!

Trip to Alberta

This was an interesting time in my life. Travelling for roughly 32 hours in a van with 5 children, 1 cat and NO ONE to help me! {You would think with Katey being 14 she could have been of assistance. Well let me remind you she's 14 - she slept for about 30 of those 32 hours!} We managed to make the trip in good time. The first day we drove for 6-7 hours and stopped at a hotel with a pool. We swam for a couple hours then ordered pizza and fell fast asleep (my personal favorite part of the trip was bed time!).

We got up early next morning and hit the road at 9:00 local time. We were lucky this day because at lunch time I stopped in a rinky dinky town to get gas, but I missed my turn in to the gas station. I turned down a side street and we found a school playground with picnic tables! We pulled into the parking lot and the kids got a chance to run around and play while I made some sandwiches for lunch. What a blessing that park was. The kids got a chance to work out some wiggles and I got to stretch my legs. Katey of course opted to remain in the van, what a party-pooper.

About 4 O'clockish I became somewhat insane and decided to drive until midnight. Yeah dumb I know. But the kids spent about 4 hours sleeping in the van so that translated to about four hours less fighting and whining.

We had the pleasure of spending the night in what Katey quickly dubbed the Super Dump (Super 8). It was the only place in the town that had vacancies and we quickly found out why. Maybe the first clue was when we lugged all of our stuff to the third floor (no elevators) and then I walked into a room that was occupied. I wanted to die. So I went back downstairs to the front desk and was given the key to a room that didn't have a Goldie-lock type surprise waiting for me. I shoved the kids into bed - 3 to a bed because all their cot's were broken - gee big shock there. Katey was so grossed out she slept across the bottom of the bed - with her shoes ON! Thankfully we were only there for about six or seven hours then we rapidly vacated the premises and opted to skip the free continental breakfast, {{shudder}}.

The final day of our journey felt like the longest. We were back on the prairie and there wasn't much to look at in the way of scenery. Plus we were so close to Alberta we could almost touch it.

***Funny Story Break - Not For the Squeamish***

Sometime during our last day we were dive bombed by a bird and I thought for sure I hit it, but as I didn't see the carcass rolling away from us down the highway, I assumed I missed it. Well we all know what happens when we assume...Later during the day we stopped to get gas and as I walked past the front of the van this is what I discovered...

Poor Tweety, he'll never fly again. Sorry if I offend anyone with my twisted sense of humor. {Unfortunately we drove around like this for the next 3 or 4 day's till I was able to poke it out with a stick. It was NASTY!}

And at 5ish that fateful day we finally arrived at Grandma and Grandpas house in Strathmore, although it was with much whining, crying, wailing and gnashing of teeth. Needless to say I'm glad to have arrived. Phew!

Princess Party

Before we moved the girls wanted to have a party with all their friends, so we dusted off our tiaras and had a ball!




We started the party by coloring princess pictures till all the guests arrived. We then decorated jewelry boxes, made crowns and strung sparkly beads on necklaces.

After the craft-o-rama was over we ate lunch - homemade pizza, piggies-in-a-blanket, and fresh fruit. {FYI - don't blog about food when you're hungry. Way too many pictures of the food nearly made it on here!}

Oh and what party would be complete without CAKE? {I totally cheated on the cake. I went to Wal-Mart first thing in the morning and scored a clearance cake. I stuck a dollar store tiara on the top and - Presto - Princess Cake for under $5!}

After the food fiesta we played some party games - Pass the Parcel where the prize was jumbo 'diamond' rings, What Time is it Mr. Dragon?, and Freeze Dance. The girls had a fantastic time and I must admit I did too. I mean who doesn't like being treated like a Princess for a day?