Long days...

..and not enough hours in a day. I come home late from work, gotta clean and do the household stuff, hang with the kids and poof - it's past 9 and I am pooped. I am lucky tho that Rob is such a good hubby and does most of the cooking lately. Am I ever grateful for that. I think we have to get back to meal plans and maybe even pre-cook and freeze. But then, our freezer just died, so we need to buy a new one. Just great LOL.

Anyhow, what's new? Oh, the kids have started taking the bus to and from school. What an adventure let me tell you LOL. We decided to do a trial run on monday. Rob went to school at 2.30, put the kids on the bus and then drove back to pick them up at the busstop. So, there he is waiting for the bus, the bus arrives, Paula and a bunch of other kids get out of the bus, the bus drives on. No Liam and no Colty LOL. Well, the 2 little goofheads missed the stop and kept on riding the bus LOL!! Rob is then following the bus and catches it at the next stop! Talk about panick LOL. The ride from school to our stop is only about 2 minutes, so the boys did not realize that the stop comes so fast. And apparently Paula didn't sit with them and didn't notice that she left without the boys. Both boys were a bit shaken and needed reassurance that things will be alright even if they don't get out on time and today all went well. We do have to get up earlier tho, but we just found out that the bus also stops right in front of our neighbors house.

Kids are growing up for sure and after it was all successfull today they are all excited now to go on the bus again tomorrow. Rob took some pics this morning, but I will have to take some more tomorrow. Gotta scrap this for sure.

On the weekend was the online crop at Pick of the Patch and it was a lot of fun. Margo came over to scrap with me and it was great - haven't done that in long time.

Here is what I got done:

This is one was all about shapes, so i did a big fat triangle which I have never done before - like the way it turned out.

This one was for a challenge called "Laugh out Loud". We had to use funny/silly/goofy pics, so well, these are definitely goofy LOL.

This one was for a stamping challenge and I used my new Fontwerks "elsie" stamps -good stuff.

This one is a lift of Kim Moreno's layout - but well, let's just say hers is soooooooooo much better. I wasn't pleased with my paper on hand and it all went downhill from there LOL. I totally dont; have enough 'boy' papers!! I have girly stuff coming out of my ying yang, so I am planning on stocking up on some new paper. I haven't bought a whole bunch in quite some time, so this will have to change (pssst, don't tell hubby) LOL.

I just got my April kit from POTP yesterday and a bunch of other goodies that I ordered. Woohoo, go and check out these awesome chipboards from Everlasting Keepsakes -LOVE LOVE LOVE them. I am glad I got a ton LOL. Now I just have to find the time to start playing. But by the way this week looks like - probably not gonna happen.

The kids are signed up for baseball, it's the last weekend of soccer and Paula's Hip Hop Dance is starting on saturday too - it'll be a lot of driving around. Oh well, what can you do.

And, because I told Jessi that I will do this - here it is (a bit late I know, but better late than never, right?)

Two Names You Go 1. Mom 2 .Bine

Two Things You Are Wearing Right 1. Jeans 2. sweater

Two Things You Have in a Relationship 1.love 2.fun

Two of Your Favorite Things to do 1. scrapbook...duh!!!!2. watch tv

Two Things You Want Very Badly At The Moment 1. going to Germany 2. more time

Two Pets You Had 1. a dog named Luca 2. a bunny named Jacob

Two People Who Will Fill This I have no clue

Two Things You Did Last Night 1. went out for dinner 2. folded laundry and cleaned the house

Two Things You Ate Today 1. a chocolate chip muffin 2. spaghetti and chicken cooked by hubby - very yummy

Two People You Last Talked To 1. Margo 2. Margo LOL - seriously, the last 3 or 4 calls have been with Margo LOL

Two Favorite Places 1. home 2. the mall LOL - sorry couldn't think of anything else right now

Two Things You're Doing Tomorrow 1. going to work 2. going to Paula's first ball practice

Two Longest Car Rides 1. Vancouver Island to Edmonton 2. Germany to Greece in a bus (took about 28 hours)

Two Favorite Holidays 1. Savary Island . 2.a tradtional holiday...christmas!!

Two Guilty Pleasures 1. Iced Cap 2. chocolate chip cookies

Two Things that Make Me Laugh 1. my hubby 2. my boss (he is the funniest ever LOL)

Two Things I Last Got in the Mail 1. my big fat pizza box from Pick of the Patch 2. bank statement

Okay, if you read this, take it and put it on your blog and leave a comment so I can come and check it out, okay?

Wow, it's 10pm already and I haven't scrapped a thing. Darnit. But I know 6.30am is coming fast, so I better head to bed. Lunches for tomorrow are made, kitchen is clean, laundry is done and the floors are as clean as they are gonna get LOL. So, it's all good.

Nighty night all :)

And the winner is..........

MARGO!! LOL.
Because Margo was the only one participating in my little Freestyle contest, she will get some gorgeous ribbon and some other goodies from me :) Thanks for playing Margo - you rock GF and I am super proud of you doing this totally 'rulerless' layout - I love it.

Parent Teacher Interview, Report Cards and stuff

We had our Parent Teacher interview yesterday and I love this kind of stuff. We get to go and get the inside scoop on how and what the kids are doing all day. Because when I ask them what they did at school I get an "I dunno" LOL. Well, Paula does tell but her stories are more like what happened during recess and who was mean and that kinda stuff.
So, we went to Paula's class first, and because they are now doing "Student led conferences" she got to tell and show us some of the things they are doing; eagle and salmon studies, math, reading, computers,.... lots of fun stuff.

My favorite thing was a little sheet of paper that read:
I like kittens
I like Tim Hortons
I LOVE my littel brother.

Awwwwwwwwww - it warmed my heart and I cannot stop thinking about it - so wonderful.
It's the little things for sure.
Then Ms T. came and talked to us and told us that Paula is doing a wonderful job at school, she is paying attention, she is considerate and helpful. Things that every parent loves to hear.
Paulas report card is one to be proud of, she got mostly exceeds with a few fully meets. It just comes very easy to her and I hope she'll keep up the good work.

Then we went on to Liams class and I just love his teacher Mrs. Robison. She is a young woman, and she does wonders. I love the way she interacts with the kids and the way Liam improved overall ever since she is his Grade 1 teacher. He came a long way in his reading, he is great at math and apparently he is the only one who gets her jokes LOL. No wonder as we are a 'joke' kinda family and we do lots of it here at home as well. Just cracked me up when she said it.
Anyhow, he was kinda emberassed showing us all his work, but I was majorly impressed. He does stuff at school that I had no idea he is even capable of!!! Unbelievable. At home he does do his spelling words and he reads the occasional book, but that's it. He is not big into colouring and stuff and seeing his artwork and all - it blew me away.

My favorite thing from him was a story he wrote all by himself. The task was to write a story with a problem and solve it.
His story was that of a soccerball that was all alone and very sad. He sat in a big basket and nobody would ever take him out and play with him. He would call out to the children and tell them to take him out, but nobody ever did. ANd then, one day came this boy (I am guessing that boy is called Liam LOL) and he took the ball out and started playing with that soccerball. More and more kids would come, play too and have a lot of fun. The soocer ball was now very happy -[and I quote] problem solved!!

How friggin cute is that??? I almost cried and couldn't believe that my little boy can write a story like this!!
His teacher said that she truly enjoys Liam, he is smart, listens very nicely, has a great sense of humour and if somebody needs help or a little support, Liam is there to lend a helping hand.
How lucky are we??? His report card was also very good, he improved in so many ways and he has fully meets everywhere this time. WTG my little man!

When I went to bed last night I thought to myself that many a times I am wondering if I am a good enough mother and if I am doing things the right way, but you know, after hearing all this positive feedback and seeing how our children behave when they are with other people, I think I can safely say that we are doing things right. We never get any complaints about misbehaving, they are both very considerate and both are trying their very best. They care about other people, they make sure that things are fair and they look out for their friends. We are truly blessed and I am so very thankful for my children.


Okay, what else? Oh, my parents are coming the beginning of May and I am sooo flipping excited. My mom and my dad, and my whole family can't wait. It's been 2 years since we have seen each other - blows me away that I am living my life this way LOL. If you would have ever told me that this would happen, I would have called you crazy. I miss them so much and sure wish we wouldn't be so far away from each other. BUT, that;s just how it is and there is nothing we can do about it, so we do cherish the times we get to spend together.
They are gonna be here with us for about 2 1/2 weeks and then they will be renting a car and driving to Calgary and fly home from there.
It's gonna be so good, and I know I am in dire need of some motherly loving.
But now I have to stop writing about this, I am crying already LOL.

Well, and yesterday I had another good day at work. Remember a while back I was thinking about working more hours? One of the reasons for that was that they were thinking about hiring a new full time person. And I knew if that is the case, my chances of 'getting somewhere' at work was getting slimmer. So, I stepped up, offered to work more and just did the best job I possibly could do. I showed them time and time again that I am doing quality work and that they can trust my work to be good and accurate. They still hired a new lady tho, but well, I left her way behind LOL. I am taking over some of the bosses work, I am fully informed on what's going on (me speaking german is awesome - I can hear and understand just everything that goes on LOL) I am training the new sales reps, I am training the new lady, and I am working on million dollar projects.
So, to make a long story short - I got another raise!!!! They told me that they can see the effort I am putting in, they see that I do quality work and that they appreciate all the things that I am doing. ANd because I am taking on more responsibility, they think it;s only fair that I should be making more money. Oh yeah baby, bring it on LOL. I am now getting $2 more an hour - holy crap I was speechless. I am soooooo excited - I could not think about anything else all day yesterday. I am making serious money now, I can pay for the mortgage, pay for groceries and more - it feels so good. I basically doubled my hourly wage in the last year! Not bad huh?


It was a great day for me yesterday!! Hope yours was just as good.

Day off

It's been a while since I had a day off (other than weekends of course), so it feels good and I am planning to scrap the morning away. Can't believe it's 10.30am already, time flies when you are having fun. I better get cracking, but that little Chameleon grabs my attention all the time, I could just sit there and watch it for hours. Liam decided that his name is Tony - girl or not LOL. I thought Tony is cute. So, Tony it is. We are taking him out a couple of times a day now and Liam is sooo good at it. And I think Tony likes Liam, as he never makes any trouble when Liam goes to take him out. I can't wait til Tony is bigger and easier to handle. This is gonna be so much fun. Best pet yet :)

Anyhow, enough rambleing, I am off to scrap.

A new family member

Well, now that all of Liams fish are dead, he got his long awaited new pet - a little chameleon!! He - well actually she is the cutest thing ever! OMG soooo cute. Liam is on cloud 9 at the moment - well actually, we all are! I will take pics later and show here. The little thing is about 6 weeks old and it looks like she likes her new home. She is crawling around the leaf things, licking water and now we'll have to go and feed her some live crickets dipped in some kind of calcium powder.
This is gonna be fun!!

Okay, here she is - we watched her eat some crickets - totally wicked LOL. Hope I will get a good shot of that one day.

Benji...

has passed on too. Another sad day here at our house.

Savary - here we come

I am soo excited - we booked our cabin for Savary Island today. I was worried that we wouldn't get one this year - but, we were lucky and it all worked out. Phew.

We went to Savary for the first time 2 years ago - and it is heaven. No cars, gravel roads, endless sandy beaches, not much electricity (it's all solar panels), beautiful blue ocean, lots of wildlife and relaxation pur. It's like being in a different country and all this only 5 hours away from home.

Here is the cabin we rented - isn't it cute? Now I just wonder if this cabin does have electricity at all LOL - dinner by candlelight? Oh well, just adds to it :) I guess lots of early nights.

The kids are soo excited too - we'll do tons of exploring, swimming, relaxing, hiking and playing - I cannot wait. We'll be going for a week, July 22 - 29th. Oh yeah, life is good.

Just got home from a full day at work and then dentist (had a new dental hygenist - and man, not liking it!!) and now I will try and catch up on what needs to be done around the house. Chores just never end...............

Have a good one.

Fish Trouble at the Bell house

Oh man, these fish are giving us grief! First Gary the snail passed away - big drama with tears and all and this morning Liam noticed that Patrick- his new (black) goldfish was missing all its scales on one side. So, I called the pet store and they figured that the other goldfish (Benji) might be a bully. By the time I got home from work, Patrick was laying on the bottom of the tank, missing all its scales - but still alive. I moved him to a different bowl but - he didn't make it. When I asked Liam tonight if he fed Benji he said 'no, he is a bully and is not getting any food tonite" LOL.
So, here is to dear Patrick - may he find his way over the rainbow bridge and be happy - the poor thing.


On to happier things .....I got this new office cart thing for all my paper ...I will be doing some reorganizing and tidying - my scraproom looks like a bomb hit it! I can't even be creative right now with this mess in here. I think I should call Margo to the rescue, she is a pro when it comes to organizing and such. Margo, if you are reading this - anytime GF!! ;) I am ready for ya LOL.

What else? Nothing really LOL, so I better go and see what's on tv and get started on my paper.

Take care and have a good night :)

This one's for Jessi :)

Jessi reminded me that my blog is lacking some update (shame on me LOL), so here it goes:

It's been busy to say the least! I was working a lot of hours in February - totally loving it tho - and made enough money to pay the mortgage and more - YAY me!! Made me feel so good I can't even tell ya. So, I decided to work 2 full days a week -and the rest half days. Fun stuff. I am soo lucky to have the work I have, I get treated very nicely, love the work I am doing and the people too. Now we also have full benefits - which just rocks. Got another little raise - BONUS! I am very thankful and blessed :)

My house is suffering tho - it ain't pretty :( Where are those little fairies that come at night and do the cleaning?

I asked Rob for a cleaning lady for christmas and because he figured we can't afford it, he made me a little coupon book with chores in it that he will do for me. And I am pulling them out now! I am using coupons for cleaning kitchen cupboards, living room windows, floors and fridge, so the whole front of the house is good looking and clean again :) LOVE coupon books.

Went to a local school fundraiser crop yesterday and had a lot of fun. Gotta love scrappin' and socializing for 12 hours straight. I accomplished 2 layouts and 3 cards.

Oh, and there was this CM lady there and I bought the circle cutter sytems thingi. I had asked for it for christmas, but didn't get it, because the lady hubby called was on vacation. So, I told the lady that yesterday and she said - that was me LOL. Apparently she called Rob back in the middle of January and he told her that she was too late now - WHAT??? So, I showed him and bought it myself LOL. Put it right on the VISA :) Oh yeah!

Anhow, here are the 2 layouts that I did yesterday.

If you have these Cosmo Cricket papers - use them - they rock. And the Daisy rub ons - LOVE them!! They rub on like butter and are so very pretty and versatile.

This one was so much fun :) The pics are of Margo and I on our way home from Hope last year and we posed like Elsie does. So, I thought I should do a freestyle kinda layout with it. Well, I still need some practise with the freestyle thang - but like I said, it was so much fun and I kinda like the way it turned out.

So, this got me thinking -how about a little ELSIE CONTEST????

Make an Elsie inspired freestyle layout, Email it to me and I will upload to my blog here. By the end of next week I will draw a name - I have some nice new ribbon and some other goodies to send out :)

Hope you are up for it and I can't wait to see whatcha got :)

Okay, we have layout #1 by Margo :) Thanks for giving it a try Margo - I think it looks fantastic - considering you are a 'ruler' kinda gal ;)

I got this from Jessi's blog and thought it was cool and very interesting; all the ones in green are the ones I have done:

1. Bought everyone in the bar a drink
2. Swam with dolphins
3. Climbed a mountain
4. Taken a Ferrari for a test drive
5. Been inside the Great Pyramid
6. Held a tarantula
7. Taken a candle lit bath with someone
8. Said "I love you" and meant it
9. Hugged a tree
10. Bungee jumped
11. Visited Paris
12. Watched a lightning storm at sea
13. Stayed up all night long and saw the sun rise
14. Seen the Northern Lights
15. Gone to a huge sports game
16. Walked the stairs to the top of the leaning Tower of Pisa -almost LOL, we got there and it was closed for restoration.
17. Grown and eaten your own vegetables
18. Touched an iceberg
19. Slept under the stars
20. Changed a baby's diaper
21. Taken a trip in a hot air balloon
22. Watched a meteor shower
23. Gotten drunk on champagne
24. Given more than you can afford to charity
25. Looked up at the night sky through a telescope
26. Had an uncontrollable giggling fit at the worst possible moment
27. Had a food fight
28. Bet on a winning horse
29. Asked out a stranger
30. Had a snowball fight
31. Screamed as loudly as you possibly can
32. Held a lamb
33. Seen a total eclipse
34. Ridden a roller coaster
35. Hit a home run
36. Danced like a fool and not cared who was looking
37. Adopted an accent for an entire day - my gf and I used to do that when we were teens - it was hilarious LOL
38. Actually felt happy about your life, even for just a moment
39. Had two hard drives for your computer
40. Visited all 50 states
41. Taken care of someone who was shit faced - not sure what that means???? Okay, update - I did now that Margo told me what it means LOL.
42. Had amazing friends
43. Danced with a stranger in a foreign country
44. Watched wild whales
45. Stolen a sign
46. Backpacked in Europe
47. Taken a road-trip
48. Gone rock climbing
49. Midnight walk on the beach
50. Gone sky diving
51. Visited Ireland
52. Been heartbroken longer than you were actually in love
53. In a restaurant, sat at a stranger's table and had a meal with them
54. Visited Japan
55. Milked a cow
56. Alphabetized your CDs
57. Pretended to be a superhero
58. Sung karaoke - at home tho LOL
59. Lounged around in bed all day
60. Posed nude in front of strangers
61. Gone scuba diving
62. Kissed in the rain
63. Played in the mud
64. Played in the rain
65. Gone to a drive-in theater
66. Visited the Great Wall of China
67. Started a business
68. Fallen in love and not had your heart broken
69. Toured ancient sites
70. Taken a martial arts class
71. Played D&D for more than 6 hours straight
72. Gotten married
73. Been in a movie7
74. Crashed a party
75. Gotten divorced
76. Gone without food for 5 days
77. Made cookies from scratch
78. Won first prize in a costume contest
79. Ridden a gondola in Venice
80. Gotten a tattoo
81. Rafted the Snake River
82. Been on television news programs as an expert
83. Got flowers for no reason
84. Performed on stage
85. Been to Las Vegas
86. Recorded music
87. Eaten shark
88. Eaten fugu (pufferfish)
89. Had a one-night stand
90. Gone to Thailand
91. Bought a house
92. Been in a combat zone
93. Buried one/both of your parents
94. Been on a cruise ship
95. Spoken more than one language fluently
96. Performed in Rocky Horror Picture Show
97. Raised children (raising still)
98. Followed your favorite band/singer on tour
99. Taken an exotic bicycle tour in a foreign country
100. Picked up and moved to another city to just start over
101. Walked the Golden Gate Bridge
102. Sang loudly in the car, and didn't stop when you knew someone was looking
103. Had plastic surgery
104. Survived an accident that you shouldn't have survived
105. Wrote articles for a large publication
106. Lost over 100 pounds (45.5 kilograms)
107. Held someone while they were having a flashback
108. Piloted an airplane
109. Petted a stingray
110. Broken someone's heart
111. Ridden a bike
112. Won money on a T.V. game show
113. Broken a bone
114. Gone on an African photo safari
115. Had a body part of yours below the neck pierced
116. Fired a rifle, shotgun, or pistol... does a pellet gun count??
117. Eaten mushrooms that were gathered in the wild
118. Ridden a horse
119. Had surgery
120. Had a snake as a pet
121. Hiked to the bottom of the Grand Canyon
122. Slept for more than 30 hours over the course of 48 hours
123. Visited more foreign countries than U.S. states
124. Visited all 7 continents
125. Taken a canoe trip that lasted more than 2 days
126. Eaten kangaroo meat
127. Eaten sushi
128. Had your picture in the newspaper
129. Changed someone's mind about something you care deeply about
130. Gone back to school
131. Parasailed
132. Petted a cockroach
133. Eaten fried green tomatoes
134. Read The Iliad and The Odyssey
135. Selected one important author who you missed in school, and read
136. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
137. Skipped all your school reunions
138. Communicated with someone without sharing a common spoken language
139. Been elected to public office
140. Written your own computer language
141. Thought to yourself that you're living your dream
142. Had to put someone you love into hospice care
143. Built your own PC from parts
144. Sold your own artwork to someone who didn't know you
145. Had a booth at a street fair
146. Dyed your hair
147. Been a DJ
148. Shaved your head
149. Caused a car accident
150. Saved someone's life

So, if you like it, copy and put it on your blog :)

And, tomorrow is Show Time at Pick of the Patch - the March kit is the Making Memories Kraft paper and it RAWKS!!!! We, the DT are uploading our layouts tomorrow and I am looking forward of seeing what the other gals did with it.

So, that's it from me now, I am gonna go and do some more scrappin' and then I definitely will have to do some laundry and tidying. BLEH.

Have a good one :)