Caleb's First Garden Patch..

I decided I would plant a garden with Caleb this year... since we are not in an apartment anymore and have a lot of space in our yard! Also after last years pumpkin carving we agreed if nothing else we would grow pumpkins...we kept the seeds. We decided on Pumpkin, Onions, Watermelon, Carrots and Cabbage to start. Now I have never done this before and no one told me (until after the fact) that I was starting way too early! Now we have huge plants and no where to put them as it is still in the minus degrees at night (lesson learnt for next time) I honestly didn't think these seeds would even grow - my thumb is far from green! So here we are on week 4 I think???

Caleb watering his planted seeds!

Newly planted

Now.. Onions transplated into a bigger pot...

Now... Pumpkins in really big pots! Cabbage in slightly bigger pots...

So watch this space!!!!

Monetize what????

So I noticed this new button to click on today... Ok ok I haven't blogged for a while... (taxes to do, course to read, kids to run around after) So I might be a little slow on this one.. So I click to put some ads on and I get a cheque in the mail?? Is this the general gist of this? So I work in a bank and I have seen these cheques from google.. yes they are real and do exist. So why not??? If I don't like them I can always remove them, so lets hope some people click and the money starts rollin' in !! Mwwaaahhhhhh!

Just a little self diagnosis....

So I fell over at ballet... I jumped and landed (not so gracefully) on the side of my foot. I thought I had just twisted my ankle and it seemed ok so I kept going, taught a class, came home... then I couldn't walk. So ever since I have been sat down with ice on my foot or a tensor bandage but it hurts like hell to put weight on it. I decided to research on the internet and this is what I found...

http://www.zfootdoc.com/ganglion.htm

My bump isn't that big so maybe I just burst a blood vessel and twisted my ankle a bit?? That ganglion thing makes me feel a little nauseous...

Maybe I should go to the clinic tomorrow!?

Houses in darkness..

So my last post was my 100th post!!! Yay!! Here are some houses in the dark for Earth Hour.. Although this year was hugely successful internationally, as we were looking out of our windows around town it was sad to notice how many houses were still lit up. We did something during Earth Hour that we never seem to find the time to do... TALK! We lit some candles, Sean had a beer and I had a glass of wine and we spent two hours chatting about all kinds of things. Life gets so busy with work, kids etc.. the evenings seem hectic with getting home, getting supper ready, getting kids in bed, tidying up.... that we forget to take time to do something so simple. We just end up exhausted and stuck in front of the TV. So we made a pact to take time out more often to sit and chat and enjoy each others company! Anymore pictures I can add to the collection? email me.

Todd and Perry's apartment block, Gore Bay ON

My Mum & Mark's place, England UK

Our house, Gore Bay ON

REMEMBER EARTH HOUR!!

Don't forget to turn off your lights tonight! 8.30-9.30pm. One hour that is all!!!

Here are 10 different ways to spend Earth Hour and reduce your carbon footprint:

1. Attend a local Earth Hour event or organize your own by throwing an Earth Hour street party with your neighbors
2. Gather family & friends for a night picnic in your local park and look at the stars
3. Enjoy a family dinner by candlelight
4. Organize a treasure hunt in the dark
5. Take the dog for a night walk
6. Have a candle-lit bath
7. Sit in the dark and share stories
8. Organize a family night playing board games
9. Share a romantic night in with your loved one
10. Upload your ‘on the night’ photos and videos to flickr and YouTube respectively, and then add them to the Earth Hour flickr group and the global YouTube Group.


Check out the website for more info.... http://www.earthhour.org/home/

Welcome spring!!

1st official day of spring, picnic table and BBQ out... look what happened...


It snowed!

Subject: Join me in fighting poverty!

Hi,

This may look like any other email, but it is actually a crucial piece in the fight against extreme poverty.

I’m taking action with ONE, to help spread the word about the difference we can all make when we join together as one in the fight against extreme poverty. While there are many great organizations delivering direct assistance in Africa, ONE is an advocacy organization focused on making sure policymakers and politicians do their part in this important fight. Tens of millions of lives are at stake if they don’t.

So far more than 2 million people around the globe have joined ONE, and more people (like you?) are joining every day.

You can get involved by visiting:
http://www.one.org/

ONE members are making a difference by convincing world leaders to take the simple steps necessary to help the poorest people in the world work their way out of extreme poverty.

I hope that you’ll join me.

Thanks!

Best present ever!

My friend Audrey got me a composter for Xmas. Let me tell you I am very excited about this! It's a cute little stainless steel bucket that sits on my counter, when I opened it I thought it was an ice bucket!! (sigh-eyes rolling..) There is a small green cone composter in the garden. Now this is all new to me but as I am trying really hard to not only be greener but be an avid gardener that has wonderful flower beds and grows fresh vegetables I thought I would give it a go. Note to you: I am a horrible gardener but I try REALLY hard every year and put my self through the money and expense to produce, well nothing really, everything dies.. Luckily I have a thoughtful friend who not only got me a composter but a handy book to tell you how to do it!

Now that I compost and all the paper/burnable stuff goes in the fireplace.. wow am I every shocked at how much less garbage we are dragging to the dump every week! We would have to go twice a week now if we skip a week it's not a big deal! Due to the climate we are living in it seems that there is not really too much composting going on right now as everything appears to be frozen so it seems I will have some more figuring out to do once the ground thaws and the sun reappears with some warmth! Who thought I would be so excited about a composter???

Kids Fishing Derby 2009

Last year Hugh (my father-in-law) took Caleb to the kids fishing derby.... He decided that he would take him every year and that would be their 'thing' they do together. Saturday was beautiful, warm and sunny so he comes to pick him up loaded up with a trailer of fishing gear, ice shack, quad and off they go. Unfortunately they forgot fishing rods so I had to run out with them and we took the opportunity to take some pics and make a video of Caleb fishing.

Firstly I got to drive my car right onto and across the lake... VERY cool for a city girl that grew up in Dubai and has never experienced all these winter activities! So there is a picture of my car below on on the right of the photo you can see the causeway. Caleb was ok when we got there but then started crying and then realized it was because of the fish Annie (cousin) had caught. He went fishing last year and caught a fish so why he was scared this year I am not sure. But he was pretty sure the fish (which weighed in at 22 grams) was going to bite him. And everytime the fish moved.. he squealed! Now I have married into a family of hunters/fishers, so as you will hear Hugh remark on the video.. he will need to toughen up!!! Caleb also asked which you might hear if we could take the fish to the doctors... Sean missed that the first time but when we watched the video back boy did we laugh!! Despite his crying he did not want to go home and was easily pacified by a ride on the 4wheeler and went back to fishing once Mum and Dad were out of sight! He didn't catch anything else which was a shame as he set out to 'catch a big perch for supper'!!

Our vehicle on Lake Wosley

The offending fish...

VOTE EARTH

http://wwf.ca/earthhour/

http://www.voteearth2009.org/home/

The big reveal...

It's like being on one of those TV shows where you walk into your house after a few days and it has been miraculously transformed! We watch a lot of those shows, my husband PVR's divine design and a handful of others that I usually have to sit through... SO anyways I go away for the weekend to Meldrum Bay to see the Featherstones and my husband while I am away takes it upon himself (with the help of Todd, Perry, Sue & Scott) and paints the downstairs of our house. Now I am not expecting anything like this and I am thinking it will be years before anything gets done as ripping out lath & plaster, insulating and dry walling is not in the budget, nor do we have the time. Did I mention really old ugly wall paper??? It is amazing what a few cans of paint can do!!!

Anyway here are the pictures.. and yes I love my hubby very much. Just when you feel worn down, underloved and appreciated he make a grand and thoughtful gesture like this!!! and.... we are blessed with truly wonderful friends :)

Dining Room Pre Makeover...

Tada!!!!!!

Entrance way when we 1st looked at the house...

Entrance way and stairs....

Living Room.....

Living room.. still have to hang pictures and make shelving unit in original doorway..

Here I was thinking no-one read my blog....

Well except My Mum, Kavita and Adrienne......

The other day someone else from the Island posted a comment on my blog.. YAY! A reader.. She mentioned that she had found my blog on another one.. http://ourmanitoulin.blogspot.com/

Sure enough there I am listed on there... 'Favorite Manitoulin Blogs' as well as a few others I follow...

Makes me a little more inspired to update more often!

Our new addition....

Sean feeding the cat hot dogs... Tug hoping the cat doesn't like them!

So Sean came home with a cat yesterday from his brother's barn. It's a 'no name' cat right now as we don't know if it is male or female (let's hope it doesn't start spitting out kittens). It's cute and really quiet, good with the kids... I guess it is used to noise and movement as it was on a farm with horses, 3 dogs and 4 kids running around. Tug loves cats, he always cuddles up with them, he is pretty mellow and relaxed (in the picture above) but Billie however would like to eat the cat.... We are trying to keep them in separate rooms until they get a little more acquainted... The first meeting didn't go very well... The cat was sat on the window sill and we put Billie next to it (he/she/him/her), they were really quiet for about 15 minutes just checking each other out.

"maybe they'll get along this should be so bad after all"

Famous last words, the cat went to move and as soon as it's back was turned Billie went after it. So now the cat is trying to run away, Billie has the cat's tail in his mouth... I am freaking out!!! So now we are going at it a little slower... I did some research on the Internet and we are following the suggestions by The Humane Society of the United States.... It's what came up on google!

I can hear my Mum groaning now.. she hates cats... I am not really a cat person. I find they are very unpredictable.... Sean grew up with cats so he is in love with this little creature. I did remark to Sean though that if I had come home with a cat he would lose it.... It's alright for him to drag stray animals into our house but I am sure that if it was me.... Hmmm lets just say I don't think he would be very happy.... We'll see how it goes and if Billie will give up his prey instinct to chase and eat!

Food, food, food and more food....

Friday night has traditionally become wing night. It started off as pizza and wing night then has become just wing night. Todd and Perry joined us this past Friday and I had to post a picture of the obscene amount of wings we cooked.... and of course of the boys chowing down with their hot sauce and beer! So there you go if you come for dinner at our house on a Friday night you know what you'll be having!


Saturday night was our themed dinner party which was so much fun! After all the agonizing I did make a lemon syllabub. It was a great meal.. there was Macaroni and Cheese from Perry's Mum. (he cheated and his mum made it)

Pot roast & veggies from Sue & Scott and Denise made what she calls 'Prison Food'. A mixture of ground beef, potatoes, peas and basically gravy (it was so good - I am a gravy monster!)

Hmmmm my plate full of yummy goodness!!! And for dessert I made my Dad's Lemon Syllabub.. so easy to make! Here is where I found the recipe, although my Dad said he used Brandy to make it instead of wine. As soon as I tasted it I remembered eating it. We would have it Sundays after a big roast dinner and he would serve it to us in a wine glass.. we felt so grown up!!


Other desserts were Perry's Mum's rice pudding (which he made himself ha ha!) and Denise made the most amazing apple torte it had almost a buttery shortbread base, then a cheesecake filling with jam spread on top then a layer of apples. AMAZING!! I went to Todd and Perry's place Monday on my lunch break and raided their fridge for a leftover piece. I even went as far as to leave a note on the remaining pieces on the fridge to tell them they were not allowed to throw it away, I will gladly eat any pieces left! After much agonizing for about a week and a million phone calls to my Mum it was a fun night... and now for the next one. We are having a Kraft Dinner pizza night? at Sue's place.. it apparently a Canadian thing and one I can't miss out on.. Incidentally did I mention I had hamburger helper for the first time in my life the other day??

Saturday's Dinner Party....

Our good friends Todd and Perry decided that we don't get together enough for dinner with our friends. We always seem to be caught up in life running at a million miles an hour and now with the 'wonderful' recession we don't go out for fear that if we spend these pennies we work so hard for there might not be any more to spend... so we just stay home. Sound familiar??

So we are having a dinner party with a theme... (bearing the recession in mind and the need for comfort food in trying times) comfort food your parents made you growing up. Actually it was comfort food your Mum made you growing up, but my Dad cooked to so I made them change it to 'parents'. Except now I am trying to rack my brains to find something before Saturday... I can think of things but bear in mind we live in a REALLY small town with a REALLY small and understocked grocery store to trying to find anything that strays away from REALLY basic requires a two hour drive out of town. I mean I went in there today and they had no frozen pizzas... nothing... not one..??

My options so far seem to be this dish that is made with Kielbasa (that Sean hates), Beef cobbler, stuffed marrow (a veggie like a zucchini that you can't get here)... so beef cobbler it is now I need to find how to make it. I always remember this desert my Dad made called a Lemon Syllabub so I think I will make that too!!

You have to watch this!

After obsessively watching The Tudors every night we finally got through Season 1. I LOVED it!!! Now I have to buy Season 2!!

What's in your purse?

So my friend Kavita did this on her blog and I thought it was fun. Especially as men I think are mystified by what we lug around with us, and why we lug it around with us!

This is my purse from the Coach website....


This is my purse stuffed full of crap.... (hmmm not so pretty)


This is the contents of my purse....

My purse I got this summer from my sister for my birthday (best sister in the world who realizes the importance of having a designer purse.. unlike my husband).. I am not going to say how expensive it is but just that I have the best sister in the world and I am very spolit :) And as for the contents:

1. Day Planner (my bible)
2. Wallet (Ugly green old Guess wallet - must buy a new one)
3. Matching coach change purse with a lottery ticket inside it :)
4. Cell Phone
5. Cheque Books (yes there are more that one in there)
6. Pile of bills that need to be paid held together with a clip :)
7. A day planner of bills (when they are due, how much needs to be paid - what can I say I try to be organized??)
8. Passbooks (yes... I carry them all with me)
9. Gum (the little thing of sticks just wouldn't cut it)
10. Mints (in a really cool little case)
11. Pills - Tylenol and Iron Supplement (I carry them with me so I remember to take my iron everyday)
12. Mitts
13. Camera & case
14. Mini Ice scraper (that I have never used)
15. Various feminine products
16. MAC Compact
17. 2 MAC lip glosses
18. 2 notepads (in case I lose one)
19. 2 pens (what?? one matches my day planner!!)
20. Random keys

And missing the day of the photo shoot... my ipod, telephone book and keys to my work place!

WOW! I have also recently take some stuff out of it... Like pictures of the new appliances we just got (yes I am a loser for carrying them around)... What would I do with a smaller purse? At least I no longer have to carry diapers around with me!

oHHHHH I suck.....

Yeah it's been a while (my Mum reminded me)...

I'm in a winter blah......

Registration Day...

Caleb registered for school today!!! In August he'll be off to JK Monday, Wednesday and every other Friday. We filled out forms then he got to see his classroom he'll be in... he was pretty excited. Painting stations, Mr Potato Head centre, computers, puzzles, games.... He didn't want to leave!!!

On another not so happy note Mason had his needles today... When he screams it is the highest pitch noise I have ever heard! Wow.. and did he scream!!! Poor baby boy. It didn't help that it was in the middle of nap time so he was cranky to begin with... :( No more now until pre school (4-6) hopefully by then he won't scream with such a high pitch! Caleb came to and was telling everyone in the office that Mason was here to have his 'noodles'. May have been a little more enjoyable for poor Mason if he went to the doctors office for some noodles :)

Mason Talking....

This was yesterday, Mason was at the kitchen window pointing out Daddy... I am also daddy, as is the babysitters husband... But I still thought it was pretty cute!

Caleb woke up this morning and asked if he could go to church! His grandparents (McLaughlin) will be so proud! Of course he doesn't actually sit through the whole service but goes down to Sunday school, but I was still happy that he wants to go! Unfortunately we didn't make it as we were a little slow getting dressed and getting up this morning. I know a poor excuse soon as we live across the street....

For Adrienne & my Mum...

How to post comments on a blog.. the beginners guide..

Go to this link:

http://darraghdoyle.blogspot.com/2008/05/how-to-comment-on-blog-beginners-guide.html

I think on mine you have to click where it says '0 comments' and then you can write it in...??

Hope that helps!!

New do...

So after a few years of torture and abuse to my hair I finally decided to get it cut... yes I know this is not the normal me... hello... biggest spa fan.. lets just say after practically back to back babies I have been in a pregnancy rut..?? Also finding a new hairdresser is the scariest thing in the world. Despite the picture above (which are not terribly flattering) I have INSANELY curly hair and it is easy to turn me into a prized poodle..... But I seem to have found a good hair dresser in our tiny little town. Hurray!

Manitoulin on a snowy day...

Coming into Gore Bay

Ice Lake Causeway

I have decided that I will share a little of Manitoulin with you. We drove to Little Current (across the Island) for Caleb's speech therapy appointment today and it was snowing. Now I realize if you live in England this may be a huge shock that we drive in these conditions but for those of us that live in the great white north (does Manitoulin qualify?) this really is nothing, if it were 'bad' I wouldn't drive in it. I do find it however really hard to concentrate especially at night when the roads are like this as it all just kind of blurs together.. roads, fields... it just all looks white!! I find it particularly mesmerizing when you are driving into the snow... then all I seem to focus on are the white chunks coming at my windshield!

Billings Stretch

Somewhere near Honora Bay?

Caleb Skating 18/01/09

So I thought I would post a few videos of Caleb skating last week for all the people that won't use facebook! (my Mum, Adrienne just to name a few :) He did really good considering this was his first time this winter skating. We went this week too and he managed to stand up by himself once he wiped out which was kinda cool... All his friends from daycare were also there and they are a few years older than him so it was really cute to watch them try and pick him up when he fell over!




Ok so it's taking too long I'll post the reast tomorrow or something I am going to bed... and my husband is in the basement like a man man with his big table saw going cutting up god knows what as we ran out of fire wood and didn't get a chance to get some more this weekend. When I get up in the morning I may come downstairs to find we are missing a few doors...... (FYI we also have electric heat and an oil furnace for heat in the house so if the wood stove goes out, we won't freeze...)

My new favorite meal...

That's right folks Slim Fast... yummmmmmmyyyy.... I have had a really tough time with my weight ever since my boys came along because as have found out pregnancy kicks your metabolism in the ass so to speak. So I get upset throw away my clothes and then I eat.. it's a vicious circle. No more!! Pre-pregnancy I weighed 128lbs. That was my heaviest weight ever, now at 165lbs I hope to get down to 135lbs...... eventually. That is my goal lose 30lbs (though in my current frame of mind if I lost 5lbs I would be happy) If I lost that weight I would be happier pysically and emotionally, I mean I could jump and spring through the air and land gracefully instead of with a thud. Ok ok that's my floating in a green field with the clouds in the background kinda day dream, but you know what I mean.

So the first week was tough... I had headaches, felt sick, dizzy etc.. My problem is not what I eat, but how much I eat which has never been a problems until now. I always cook from scratch, eat veggies, fruit and rarely buy processed food but it's time to slash the portion size. After a week I can now do just the slim fast and dinner but it took me until now to slash my stomach size! Luckily the shakes taste good otherwise I couldn't do it. I did however today go to the grocery store and stared at the fried chicken. So the deli counter guy now thinks I am crazy. Maybe I should wear a sign indicating that I am starving, then he'll understand. So what's for breakfast tomorrow.... vanilla or chocolate fudge??

Funny....

Look what I just discovered while printing off some colouring sheets for the boys...

Tonight's 20/20

I was a little excited to see he story on home births on tonight's 20/20. But after watching it it left me irate and really mad. According to this story couples choosing home births are selfish and only thinking of themselves.. not the child the are bringing into the world. As a mother who has had a hospital birth and a home birth I could write pages comparing both experiences and why our choice was so clear that our second birth should be at home and how our natural birthing experience benefited our child.

Our first birthing experience was by no means a horror story as some people describe their birthing experiences to be when they are in hospital sometime not by their own choice or wish to be there, and in the case of an emergency or things not working out as planned at home the back up plan is to always head to the hospital. But when did birth become a surgical procedure? When you look at the statistics it seems a bit alarming to me that according to 20/20, in the US one in three births are a surgical procedure... that there has been a 50% increase in c-sections and medical interventions. When I toured Windsor Regional they volunteered the information that 80% or more of their births end up being c-sections. I don't really think that that is something to be proud of. The fact of the matter remains that with the right guidance, knowing and listening to your body and in a case where there are no complications birth is one of the most empowering experiences a woman can have. I am so thankful for our amazing midwife and doula that were there every step of the way, making this a truly personal experience - just us and our baby - how it should be. This is what my body was made to do.. so why should I let someone take that right away from me, stick a needle in my spine and slice me open?

Now I can understand an OBGYN's dilemma... They don't want to stick around and endure the labour for however long it may be, I mean it could interrupt the planned golf game or charity ball and think of all the money that can be made by sticking this woman under the knife, a quick procedure that can be billed for big bucks and doesn't tie up all their day and night.... Am I a little cynical? How troubled is our medical system in the 'western world'? Now the American Medical Association is agreeing to support legislation that would make it impossible for couples to have a home birth. Wanna baby? You have no rights, no say in what will happen with your body take these drugs and under the knife you go!

20/20's website and the article stemming from the program I just watched led me to the website for Ricki Lake's documentary 'The Business of Being Born' I am really intrigued to see this documentary and any positive experiences for home birth. I agree that home births and drug free births are not for everyone, it is not what we all look for when it comes to our birthing experience but never stop fighting for your rights to be able to bring your child into the world in the most natural way, instead research look at the benefits and don't let our messed up medical system scare you into being a c-section statistic.

1st Blog post of 2009!

And what am I writing about?? Christmas! I am so behind I should be writing about New Years! Oh well better late than never!

Our Christmas.. low key. Partly because I am exhausted and have a case of the winter blues happening. Christmas is always such a stressful and emotionally exhausting time, I really felt it this year. As far as enjoying it with the kids and my hubby and some of our wonderful friends that came to visit it was wonderful, but if I didn't have to leave my house or change out of my PJ's it would have been better. It also would have been better if I was around my family... I was choking back the tears on the phone when I called to say Merry Christmas and my ENTIRE family was together except for me. It kills me that my kids haven't got to spend Christmas with my family and it pains even more that most of my family have never even met Mason. Well that's what you get for living a million miles away I guess. It usually doesn't bother me as much but this year I seem to be a little more emotional than others.

I never did get the popcorn on my tree, I think we ate most of it watching the batman movie but the boys didn't care and had so much fun. Caleb was especially fun now that he can understand a little more of what is going on. He is totally cute and asked for days before if Santa was coming tonight, when I said no not yet he then demanded that I take him to see him (he has met Santa 3 times over the last few weeks)... well you know Santa is busy at this time of the year....

My poor Mason was sick on Christmas day :( Christmas Eve I went to church with Sean's parents then came home and we stayed up until 7am with Mason who had a fever. He was such a trooper on Christmas day trying really hard to be excited with the 'ahh put me back to bed' look on his face... we did try.. no luck, no sleep. He finally crashed at 8.30pm and was in much better spirits on boxing day!! So we ate turkey, unwrapped presents, gained 20lbs, had not enough sleep, too much sleep.. the goes another Christmas. It is now back in the box until next year!!!!

Oh and my hubby thinks I am the best wife in the world...... His face when he opened his new 120gb ipod. Engraving on the back "Lets rock on Dad, Love Caleb & Mason xx"