reality check!

Okay, so originally I had planned on going back and writing posts on various different days, changing the dates on the post and making it look like I had been caught up all along. But you know, that's just never going to happen because we have SO much on the go right now and it is hard to keep the blog high up on the priority list. So instead, I'll write a couple of posts now and let's consider me all caught up and ready to move forward:-)

So, it was a productive weekend this weekend. Appliances looked at and many bought, tiles looked at and some major decisions reached, took out lots of books from the library on bathroom and kitchen designs and Jamie had a friend go over the house with all of our plans - the renovations are coming along nicely and we're getting really excited about it all being done! Just that painful middle point (actually DOING it!) that we have to get through!!!! Thankfully we have friends who live a few blocks away who have been generous enough to let us move into their basement suite for over a month, which we REALLY appreciate! It's so great to not have to worry about having the kids living in the house as we rip it apart and drywall/paint/etc! In the next couple of days we'll go through with the camera so that we can post a few before pictures, then I'm sure we'll document the process and finally post a few photos of all that we've done! But if you want the full experience, you'll have to come visit us!!!!!!

Okay, so I'll try to post a few more posts today about things I've been wanting to talk about, but I'm taking care of Emma (8) and Ollie (5 1/2) right now, so it'll all depend on how well the four kids continue playing!!!

Africa-bound

So, first off, the news we're most excited about........we've bought our tickets, booked 1 1/2 months off work and daily life and we're flying to Ghana!!!!!!! Wow! It all just seemed to work out so well, it was like it was meant to be! A friend of mine works for Canada World Youth and will be going to Ghana for the second year in a row. I've always wanted to go back there, and have always regretted that I did not make it back when people we knew were still there, so I mentioned about how great it would be to go. And my friend very quickly said that it would be great to have us come visit, and that she would probably have a bit of extra time to spend with us! So, we'd been mulling around the idea for a month or two, and decided that we did have the extra money so I went down to the travel agent to talk to them about flights....and wouldn't you know, there was a huge seat sale with British Airways at the time that we wanted to go! So we bought our tickets (saving $2000 in the process!) and even have a free 10 day stopover in London on the way in order to visit family and introduce them to our kids! I'm very excited about the whole thing, it's been about 6 years since we've been overseas and we're both feeling like it's time to hop on a plane and have an adventure!

Now, just all the hassle of ordering passports for us all, looking into various vaccinations and anti-malarials, sorting out what to bring with two young ones tagging along, and researching all that we want to do!!!! Most of which, I'm sure, will be done AFTER the house renos! If anyone has suggestions for travel to Ghana or London, please feel free to share!

Cinderella

So, Kea is obsessed with Cinderella. She has been for about a year now, and it all began with the viewing of Disney's Cinderella at a friend's house. That classic cartoon version completely captivated her imagination, and she has been crazy for the story ever since. Of course, my role has been to expose her to all the other versions of the story I can find - puppet shows, modern dance performances, other DVD's, different books, etc. Throughout all of this, though, the one thing that remains constant is her love of the ball scenes in the Disney version. Ever since she first saw it, she has talked about hosting a ball, made invitations for her friends to her ball, picked out dresses that she would like to wear to the ball, practiced dance steps, etc. She is obsessed, what more can I say?

So anyways, I thought that it would be fun to try and make this dream come true for her in some way. So I applied for a little bit of funding through the Mount Pleasant Neighbourhood House Small Grants Program, and went ahead and booked the main floor of the Heritage Hall down the street, and we're now hosting a Cinderella's Ball! I booked the hall a few months ago for Oct. 27th, not realizing how much we'll have on the go at the time so we'll see what I can manage to do by then! But right now, I envision something really big and magical for Kea and all of her friends - dancing and music, perhaps a small group coming in to teach dance steps, carved pumpkins with Cinderella themes, props and velvet curtains, punch and sweets to eat, a quiet corner with versions of Cinderella from around the world for people to read, etc. I've looked up costume places and we'd like to rent period costumes for the night, and so far I'm just having a really good time learning all about the history of Cinderella! If you're in town at the end of October, give me a call! We'd love to have you join us.

Learning something new about myself every day......

Today we began to tackle the tedious task of appliance shopping for our upcoming renovations. And I had no clue whatsoever that I could get so excited about such things!!!!! We made our way to the Sears Outlet Store in Burnaby, where they sell appliances at a discount for being last year's model, or a floor model with a few scratches on it. And we found a great washer/drier set that we'd been eyeing up for about $500 less, AND a super dooper dishwasher at a great price! I am so friggin excited about this dishwasher I can't believe it, and the washer/drier are going to be a nice change from the clunkers that came with the house and tend to eat up all of our clothes. Now, we just have to tackle the job of finding an oven - and I tell you, given that the one we have right now is a lovely putrid green from the 70's, with a top element inside the oven that keeps loosing it's magnetic pull and falling into our food halfway through cooking, I'm going to be even MORE excited about this purchase once we make it!!!! Then we'll have all these snazzy new appliances sitting around looking pretty, and I bet you our laundry STILL spends half its time on our bedroom floor!!!!

Happy Fall Everyone!

So, yesterday was the official first day of fall and we've been enjoying perfect autumn weather to celebrate! Clear blue skies, crisp air but sun shining and birds chirping happily in our trees!!!! We've been going for lots of walks to collect colourful leaves, and yesterday I even put all my bedding outside to air it out, and we went to sleep lastinght surrounded by the smells of fresh air! I LOVE fall!!!!

This morning has been one of those idyllic mornings, where everything seemed to go just right and I feel like supermom. Of course, it's only 10 am so there's lots of time for that to change, but I'm just going to enjoy this feeling of contentment for now! We got up and the girls each went to their favourite heat vents as the heat came on. I made up a batch of smoothie with the frozen berries we had picked earlier this summer, and then put my homemade squash soup in containers to freeze. We had enjoyed a chicken with roasted veggies last night for dinner, so this morning I put the carcas on the stove to boil down for soup and now our house is full of the aromas of simmering chicken soup. Kea has been happily absorbed in some elaborate game all morning with her Ariel doll, while Tiegan and I tackled the pile of dishes from lastnight together - she is at that stage where she just loves water play, and being supermom this morning, I have never-ending patience for all of the 'help' and splashing that that entails! :-)

And now Tiegan is dressed up as an elephant and playing with Jamie's old matchbox cars (this girl is OBSESSED with cars!) so I thought I'd take a moment to drink my coffee, check my emails and *gasp gasp* start the process of updating my blog! It is something that I've been writing on my "to do" lists ad nauseum, but I am so far behind in EVERYTHING that it never seems to become a priority! Today my goals are: 1)to get us all to our dentist appointment on time at 11am. 2)Update my blog. 3)Finish the thank you cards for both of the girls' birthday parties and get them in the mail so they can stop haunting me on our dining room table! I'd also love to work on our website, but that might be asking too much considering Jamie has on his to do list to check out appliances all over the city to make some final decisions before our big renos begin! So realistically, my to do list is more for the end of the weekend, cross your fingers that it all comes through and that "supermom" decides to stick around for a couple of days!!!!

Happy Friday to you all!