Pics

Making cupcakes...

Then she stuffed them in jars, piped as much icing as humanly possible in and around the cupcakes...added 3/4 of a jar of butterfly sprinkles...

Finished project! Cupcakes in a jar for Kiki and her friend, for dessert on a sweltering 30C+ night.

Sammy Sunshine doing some colouring, perched atop the dining room table...

...and a boy who really needs a haircut but just can't stand the idea. He could probably use a clean shirt, too. Lookit those dandelions in the background...I don't know why, but it seems like there are just tons of them this year. But I don't mind them, they're pretty when they're still yellow :) .

3 posts in one night!

Can't sleep...Kylie's friend is sleeping over, but there's not much sleeping going on...

Last week, I took Kylie out of school for the afternoon so that we could visit the Koshashin exhibit at the Edmonton Art Gallery. Koshashin is a Japanese word meaning 'old photography', and I only know that because I Googled it lol. Kylie enjoyed it immensely...in fact, there were grade 8 classes there on a field trip who just rolled their eyes and acted silly, while Kylie walked from room to room, soaking it all in. She loved it.

When we got home, we Googled 'Koshashin', and found a koshashin generator here (in the upper right-hand corner, you can toggle from Japanese to English). We uploaded some pictures that we took last summer and she chose one to hi-lite with some pencil crayons. I think it turned out pretty cool...

Before (I actually can't find the *exact* picture right now):

After:



I'm going to frame it and display it in my bedroom, which is decorated with the kids' art projects. I liked doing this with her...reminds me of the days when Kylie thought it was cool to do crafts with me. Now I'm useless to her lol...

The Lemonade Stand Award

Cori at Cori's Musings has nominated me for a Lemonade Stand Award!

The Rules:
Comment on this blog.
Cut and paste the award logo and use it on your own blog.
Nominate 5 to 10 blogs you feel show great attitude and gratitude.
Link to your nominees within your blog post.
Comment on their blogs to let them know they received the award.
Link back to the person who gave you the award to show your appreciation.

Thank you Cori, I shall treasure my award always :) .

I have an issue, though...I can't really pick just a few of my favourite blogs to nominate, because I love them all. Even if the authors have a crappy attitude for one day or one post, I still love them LOL...in fact, that makes me love them more :) .

Crazy 8's

The Rules

1. Mention the person who tagged you:

Josie at http://raisingbabycheap.blogspot.com/

2. Complete the list of 8's.

3. Tag 8 other bloggers.

4. Tell them they have been tagged.

Eight Things I Look Forward To:
Timmy's coffee on Sundays
Going to work on Saturdays (well...most Saturdays)

School being over for the big kids
Going to the beach this summer

Scott coming home from work every weekday
Having the school yearbook completed
Jake's talent show at school

Back to school shopping with Kylie

Eight Things I Did Yesterday

Gave Sam a bath
Met Scott for lunch at the mall
Bought new summer sandals
Cut out a blanket for J's teacher's baby (with J)
Worked on a faux koshashin project with K
Did 4 loads of laundry

Played 'tent' with Sam
Made pancakes and turkey bacon for supper

Eight Things I Wish I Could Do
Crochet! Gawd, that pisses me off!
Put in a zipper correctly the first time

Have a cold drink outside on a hot day (will it ever be summer?)
Read Kylie's mind

Adopt a cute, chubby boy baby from somewhere
Make time stand still or at least slow down
Sit through a movie for my husband's sake

Master the computer at work

Eight Shows I Watch

Taking it Off

The Duggars

Family Guy

The Evening News

Housewives of Orange County (don't laugh)

Corner Gas

Hannah Montana

Mad TV

(I don't watch any of the above regularly...I just know Family Guy is on at 10 and the news is on at 6 lol)

Eight Friends I Am Tagging:

Um...if you're reading, tag you're it!!!

Pics

Scott and I just had our very first vacation together, without any kids, since before Kylie was born! How very exciting. And now I get to bore you with the pictures lol.

We stayed at the Jasper Park Lodge, in Jasper (of course) which is super-duper fancy. A bowl of cereal cost $10, the same price as a beer...which I find absolutely stupid. But I guess you pay for the view, right? We were attending an insurance adjustor convention, so we got tons of free post-its, pens and lanyards to make up for the crazy prices.

...the lobby...fancy, huh? Freakin' stuffed, dead animal heads *everywhere*.

Golf-cart porters. These guys just sit outside, waiting to take you to your $300 per night cabin. Well, it wasn't really a cabin...more like row-housing. The rooms were teeny and hot, no air conditioning and it just happened to be really warm when we arrived.

I *think* this was the staff quarters, but I'm not sure...but note the breath-taking view of the Rockies in the background. I don't think I could ever get tired of that.

Are these bighorn sheep? Mountain goats? What do you call these things? We saw tons of them...no elk or bears though.

And this is a pic of me crushing the car in front of us.

It was a fun trip, and we were so lucky to have my husband's sister, who is a rockin' Auntie, and my mom to watch the kids while we were gone. I think it will be a while until we go somewhere without the kids again...I just missed them too much.

Oh, one more pic:

Kylie, in the parking lot after the Koshashin exhibit at the Edmonton Art Gallery. But more about that later...I also have a meme to respond to and an award (yay, me!). Tomorrow is the year-end free hot dog lunch at school as well as track and field day, and I have to finish off a few PAC reports. Busy girl, I am!

It kills!!! Bwah ha ha ha...

I would give credit to whatever site I got this recipe from, but I don't remember. So I'll say I got it from my mom, who emailed me the same recipe a few weeks ago...

This spray works awesome for killing those pesky dandelions that pop up in sidewalk cracks or along the garage...you know, the ones that you can't yank out of the ground :) .

WEED AND GRASS KILLER RECIPE

1 L vinegar

1/2 cup of salt

1 tbsp of liquid dish soap

Pour all ingredients into a spray bottle and shake very well. Works best on hot sunny days. Spray directly into the center of the dandelion, and make sure to spray the leaves. The dish soap helps the mixture stick to the leaves so it doesn't run off. Be careful, though, this will also kill grass or flowers or whatever else it happens to touch. Shake before every use.

The Dionne Quints

Quintland

Just a point of interest...have you ever heard of the famous Dionne Quints? The were born to an Ontario family during the depression and were soon taken away by the government, who told the family that they would give them a better life.

They were raised behind a mesh screen, and admission was charged to watch them play. Uniformed policeman kept the crowds at bay. They sold autographs and souvenir postcards and pamphlets documenting the quints' birth. According to the posted link, "Quintland had equalled the Niagara Falls as the biggest tourist attraction in Canada".

Can someone please tell me what the difference is between the train wreck airing on TLC and the Dionne Quints? And I will say that I used to love that show...now I can't stomach to watch it.

It's sad what some people will do for fame and fortune. If you are still a fan, that's fine...just wanted to post my two cents.