~The 3 of Us~

~Warm, Cold, Warm, Cold~

2009-04-19T18:58:00.002-04:00

OK so what is up with this weather, in the past week I have worn a winter jacket a spring jacket and NO jacket and not in the order that you would think! Geez I almost unpacked my sandals yesterday but would have had frostbite on them today???? So today as you have probably guessed was chilly once again, we had a pretty slow day, Robert went to visit Grandpa in the hospital, things are still the same so prayers are still needed and greatly appreciated. We went to the flea market this afternoon and I never realized there was this AWESOME section attached to it with really good name brand stuff(Revlon, Neutrogena, Aveeno etc) for C-H-E-A-P....must go back there with a female companion!!!! Joshua has been out bike riding twice now...would be 200times if we let him...I should get my 10lbs I need to shed right now off just by tagging along to the park with him to ride his 2 wheeler...OK so I may have to work a little harder than that, but it would certainly be nice....

Victoria is off to see The Sound Of Music with Grandma, Catherine and her best buddy Rebecca, and Joshua is excited to have a bath with his newly acquired bath boats that we bought today for 99cents. He had a bath last night and would normally not have one tonight but since he got these boats he said, "Can I please have another bath tonight??" I said yes and was told, " You are the best Mom in the whole world"...ah if only it could be that easy to please them forever, my sweet Victoria is opening me up to a whole new world of being a Mom as of late, I hope I make it through OK, but for now I am off to bathe my little boy who thinks I rock....

~Michelle

~Good Bye Training Wheels!!~

2009-04-18T18:00:00.004-04:00

Joshua had his first ride on a big bike today. Jaiden handed this bikedown to him and we got a new tube put in it today and it was ready to go. He was so proud he kept saying "Im doing great arent I???"

Here is a video of him riding to his hearts content......

~Michelle

~New Beginnings~

2009-04-10T17:29:00.012-04:00

We are already nice and 'settled' into our new home. The only room in shambles right now is the Master bedroom. We were planning on a furniture delivery tomorrow but the items are on backorder so we have to wait till next weekend.....and so here are the some pictures of the mainfloor.

The kids love the house too, today is a holiday and we are all home together and the kids have already gone to the park 3 times today! Roberts Parents came to see the house today and my family comes to see it tomorrow :)

~Michelle

~Confirmation the Right Choice Made~

2009-04-03T21:36:00.005-04:00

So the countdown is on, we move in only 5days!!! If we didn't already feel our choice was the right one it was surely confirmed today when we received the first big rain of spring. We were greeted by a very wet basement.

Here is a shot of under the stairs...a pool of water....
Obviously things are ALOT worse than we originally thought. Any small crack in the concrete floor is oozing water. Robert jumped in one spot and the water actually bubbled up through the floor. The picture below is showing the area of the basement thats finished and the water is coming out from the floating floor, you can actually splash it with your hands.

And so...Wednesday cannot come fast enough......

~Michelle

~Shanae's 6th Birthday!~

2009-03-24T20:58:00.007-04:00

We celebrated Shanae's 6th birthday a couple weeks ago...Im a little slow to posting I know....

~The Birthday Girl~

~Picture with Mom~

~Darlene and Jaiden~

~Victoria(Do you see attitude?)~

~Joshua and Paka~

We had a great time at Chuck E Cheese and cant wait to go back to celebrate Jaidens birthday in a few months!

~Michelle

~The Stitch~

2009-03-17T20:37:00.005-04:00

Victoria cut her finger cutting an apple last week. She ended up needing stitches which were referred to by Joshua as 'The Stitch'. She did really well considering the numbing needle didn't work until the last stitch went in :( I think her tolerance for pain medication is similar to that of Roberts. Now that this has happened though at least we can give Dr's and Dentists a 'heads up' so to speak. She has never had a cavity or anything so this was the first time she really experienced pain medication. So she had the stitches in for a week and had them out of Friday. Our family Dr says the Dr did a great job and she should heal just fine and without a scar. We of course HAD to take a photo of her injury to remember it....when she first saw it she refused to ever look again and I told her one day you will want to see it so I documented it with a photo!

~Michelle

~Re-Modelling~

2009-03-10T19:40:00.005-04:00

Ive been getting in the mood to do some of the minor improvements I have wanted to do to the house since we moved in. On the top of my list was the bathroom. I love our bathroom but I could see so much potential for it. This weekend I rolled up my sleeves and dove right in!

Here is the 'before'

And the 'Afters'

The biggest difference than the blue colour of course is that the window frame and the cupboards you can see in the mirrors reflection were unfinished pine before and they have been changes to white which make such a big difference. I also took the blind off the window and frosted the glass to open the room up, let the light in but give us privacy at the same time.

Really happy with the finished product, it was worth the effort...onto the next project!

~Michelle

~Tornado Joshua~

2009-02-10T20:20:00.005-05:00

So as I come upstairs this evening, I have a clear view of Joshua's room. This is what I see....
Disgarded pair of jammies....guess he changed his mind?

As I pan to the left I see....

and finally....voila....do you like how he picks what pjs he wants to wear?

What more is there to say?

~Michelle

~I Blinked~

2009-02-09T11:33:00.004-05:00

So it seems when I did, 2months went by! Ah February, a very busy month. My 'babies' both have a birthday in a couple weeks, luckily Victoria is 'done' with parties and Joshua wont have his first party till he is in Grade 1, so this year is somewhat less hectic than the past few and the next few ahead of us, but we still have family parties to host so we will still be kept busy.

I have to say I have never disliked winter as much as I have this year. It could be coupled with the enormous amount of snow we have received this year along with out enormously looong driveway, the FRIGID temps we have had this past month and that we have a beautiful yard I am itchin' to enjoy once again! We are experiencing a warm spell if you want to call it that, you know its only minus 7 with the windchill as opposed to minus 35. I am so not getting my hopes up though cause both Victoria and Joshua were born at the end of February and both during a snowstorm so I know this isn't the last of the white stuff, or should I say charcoal stuff cause that's what it looks like on the sides of the road this time of year...gross. Snow is so pretty when its 'fresh' and within 12 hours its been plowed and all the road are lined with dirt piles, not so pretty anymore.

~Michelle

~Santa Visit 2008~

2008-12-18T19:44:00.004-05:00

For some reason I cant seem to load it directly on my blog but here is the link for it

http://www.verymagicalvideo.com/public

Email address is michelleperkins@rogers.com and the password is the same.

Our mall took videos this year instead of photos, I missed the photo but the video turned out to be pretty cute. If you KNOW Joshua you will laugh so hard at this video cause its him through and through, talkin' up a storm and givin' a million details!! In case you cant catch what he asked for its a Wall E Leapster Game...funny thing is he kept forgetting what he wanted to ask him for, he wanted a Wii from Santa and then this came out of his mouth when he spoke to him..lol

~Christmas Recital~

2008-12-06T08:36:00.009-05:00

Last night was the Christmas Piano Recital, Victoria's second and Joshua's first! They both did wonderfully and we are very happy with their progress. We took the opportunity to grab some photos since the Churchs backdrop was great :)

~Family Photo~

~Grandma with her 'students'~
~Victoria and Joshua~

~Victoria ~

~Joshua Playing Jolly Old St Nick~

We took a video of Victoria playing too, but it came out very blurry :( If I get another copy from another 'onlooker' I will post it then.

~Winter Already??~

2008-11-20T16:36:00.003-05:00

What a difference 20 days makes!! Looks like my favorite season has come and gone quick as a wink once again. So we went to bed last night with the snow starting and woke up to a winter wonderland. Hate driving in it(doesn't everyone?) but its beautiful to look at. The kids are in Heaven of course, I don't think much compares to playing in the snow when your a kid ;)

~Do ya think she looks happy?~

So of course like all Canadians, the snow came as a big SHOCK(lol) and we were unprepared for clearing the snow in our extra long driveway. We went on a snow thrower 'hunt' this afternoon and of course everyone had the same idea and bought them all before us...uhhg ...I hate when that happens. I called my Canadian Tire connection...aka...Mommy :) and she hooked us up big time, so our new snow thrower is coming tomorrow...bring on the white stuff!!

~Home Early Today~

2008-11-11T14:13:00.002-05:00

Joshua's Daycare was closed today so I got to come home early to pick him up. On the down side we spent an hour in the Drs office this afternoon since he is still not feeling 100%(remember he wasnt able to go out for Halloween cause he was sick...) So we saw the Dr and low and behold he seemed to have an Ear...throat...and sinus infection...poor little thing. I have to tell you though, please dont think I am a horrible Mother, he was NOT complaining. The Dr actually said his throat and ear were healing up on their own but the sinus'(which was actually my concern at this point) needed some helping along. So we are home now, with antibiotics and nose spray in hand.

Worked out well that I got to come home early today, everyone in the house had been sick but me and I started feeling not so great yesterday, figured it was only a matter of time before it hit me.

~Joshua Sillies~

2008-11-04T09:31:00.002-05:00

Joshua as always has us in stitches but I had to share some of his recent sillies. Last night while I was at my Bible Study Robert put Joshua to bed and prayed with him, Robert prayed first and then asked Joshua if he wanted to pray too and he said, " Dear Lord, please help me to have a good sleep and that I feel better tomorrow and that my nose will stop running and that I don't cough when I race....(pause) if there is a race tomorrow...."

The other day I called him a 'Turkey' and he told me that he wasn't a Turkey and I said, well your my turkey and he came back with "Awe Shucks" I about fell down laughing I thought that was so cute!

~L~E~A~V~E~S~

2008-11-01T13:01:00.004-04:00

Everyone is coming down of their 'sugar rush' and its a perfectly beautiful Autumn Day so we had some Fall Fun!! There are still a TON of leaves to fall off the trees around our yard but we made quick work of it tackling what has already fallen so far.

Joshua is still not 100% but you can see that it doesn't effect his mood much :)

After we came in from the raking and jumping we roasted our Pumpkin seeds...yummy!!!

~BOO~

2008-10-31T20:41:00.002-04:00

Here is our little Motocross Racer this Halloween. Unfortunately he wasn't able to actually trick or treat this year. He has not been feeling well the last couple days and had a fever this evening so he had to stay home and give out candy. He got to wear his costume though and he gets to have our left over chocolate(we have lots too...lol)

Victoria didn't dress up this year, and is already at a sleepover at her friends for the night. We thought we would have a lot of kids but we didn't have that many at all, Joshua was counting the kids and we didn't realize it till he started saying, "That's 23" So we only had about 30 kids which was disappointing considering I know have about 150mini chocolate bars calling my name.....

~Michelle

~Pray, Pray Away~

2008-10-26T16:15:00.003-04:00

I have eluded on my blog that I have been dealing with some tough issues as of late and have shared some of them with some of you who read my blog but I have for the most part just kept these issues to myself. I know that many have been praying for me/us and I just wanted to say that it IS working. Things are still not 100% but things are happening and God is great. We got some pretty terrific news this afternoon and once I know everything is gonna happen the way it appears I will likely update and fill you all in, right now though, I would just ask that you keep on praying that God continues to see us through this time and that his 'will' shall be done!

Love to all who have been there for me, it means more than you will ever know....

~Autumn Photos~

2008-10-24T16:42:00.005-04:00

Our 'Fall' house :)

WOW so much for fall! Its been very cold this week! We even got some snow, although it didnt stick thank goodness. I have been very lax with photos so I took some to share today. Here is a photo of Victoria with her pumpkin. Joshua is at his buddy(our neighbours)Nathans house...as usual so I will add a shot of him with his Pumpkin later.

~Ahhh, Fall~

2008-10-20T13:53:00.002-04:00

I love Fall, I love the cool clean air and the colours of fall, as well as the cozy clothes. This weekend was just beautiful and the perfect fall weather, it was bright and sunny and a cool 15degrees or so. Today is not as nice, its a downer day...cool and rainy :( Joshua was to go to Pumpkin picking this afternoon with his babysitter, I really hope they were able to go and didnt get rained on. He wants to roast pumpkin seeds so badly if they didnt go he will be disappointed. We got our pumpkins this weekend but we decorated them with these really cool kits I got from Avon so there was no 'carving' and hence no pumkin seeds.

I re-did my template to go with my favorite season and I am hoping that lights a fire under me. Hopefully I will get to pposting again within days instead of weeks.....

~Yup,....Im still around~

2008-10-07T12:00:00.002-04:00

Life has been super busy lately and I have had so much going on, good and bad, more bad than good as of late, but things are looking up. I just needed a break from things so I took a posting break. Didnt want to come across all fake and perky when that wasnt how I was feeling ;) Nor did I want to be a bummer so I just didnt post at all! lol

Enough about that....

Joshua started Piano lessons last week! He is so excited about it. He went to a little piano club at his Teachers house(aka Grandma) and played his 2 notes...hehehe and tought it was so cool that the kids clapped for him! I am very curious to see how Victoria does with her piano now that she has some competition, I am sure they will be fighting over the piano at the very least.

~Felt Like A Kid Again!!~

2008-08-25T16:36:00.004-04:00

I was treated to a ticket to the Anne Of Green Gables Musical last week! The original 'plan' was for Victoria to attend with Grandma, Catherine and Rebecca, but with Grandma Dale having a bad fall last week Sharon(Grandma) wasn't able to go and handed her ticket down to me. I cannot begin to tell you how grateful I was/am. Seems like no big deal to some, but being that it was my first ever live theatre/musical experience, I was on cloud 9 through the entire thing. I don't think my big silly grin ever left my face..lol. Victoria also had a great time and I have told Robert we HAVE to do it again!!! Thanks again Sharon, I loved it :)

Victoria spent Sunday at the Ex(an annual tradition with Auntie Cathy) and while she was away Joshua went over the the Neighbours House to play(Our Neighbour right beside us has a little boy from his class) The boys played together for hours and at about 5pm Joshua comes to the door all wet from the sprinkler and says, "Can I have dinner at Nathans house?" I said, "Did they invite you?" He says, "I asked them if I could and they said yes." I really have to work on his manners ;) He did end up staying for dinner and was wiped out by all the fun he had and fell asleep in no time.

I cannot believe that in a week I have a Daughter in Grade 5...gulp...I cant believe how quickly she is growing up. We have done our back to school shopping and have our indoors and we are ready to go! Joshua is very excited to get back to school too, he will be in Senior Kindergarten this year and we will find out who each of them have as Teachers later this week.

~Fun Day!!~

2008-08-12T16:37:00.005-04:00

We had an amazing day today. The weather was just perfect and not a cloud in the sky! We went to Sting Ray Bay and got to get up close and touch them, it was incredible. Victoria said it was her favorite part of the day. We literally spent about a half an hour with our hands in the pool petting them. Some of them came right up and put their faces out of the water looking at us. Here is a shot of Victoria's hand touching one

I cannot for the life of me remember what this little thing is called but he was just so cute asleep up in the tree we had to get a picture of him!

A Giraffe of course ;)

Couple shots of Victoria having fun!

It was a wonderful break and my phone didn't ring once which was a bonus! Thanks to my little Girl for such a wonderful day!

~Mother/Daughter Day Tomorrow!~

2008-08-11T21:01:00.002-04:00

I am taking the day off tomorrow to go to the Zoo with Victoria and her Friend and her Mom. Victoria and I don't get a lot of time to spend alone so Joshua will still be going to Daycare and we are going to have a girls only day. I am looking forward to spending a whole day with my little Girl :) I will be sure to take lots of pictures of our day!

Now here is to a DRY day,which has been extremely hard to come by this summer!

~Michelle

~Kids Rooms~

2008-08-08T16:37:00.005-04:00

Here are the pictures of the kids rooms. This is Victoria's room, she is really enjoying having a big room and that her space is so her own now. I think the timing is just perfect now that she is getting older.

This is her reading spot and Baileys favorite chair he sits on the back to watch out the window on.

Here is Joshua's room. If you remember this one the room with the floral wallpaper. We planned on ripping the paper off until we starting doing some work at the house. It came evidentthat the house is very old(80years we learned) and the walls are plaster and not drywall so taking the paper down would have been a disaster. I did 2 coats of primer and 2 coats plus touch ups of the paint and it actually looks great.

~Holiday Fun~

2008-08-05T19:36:00.004-04:00

It was a long weekend this past weekend and we got to spend some time outside since the day was absolutely p-e-r-f-e-c-t! Victoria was hiding out in her room AKA the Girl Cave with a friend and Joshua played outside and ran through the sprinkler.

I just love these two shots, definately going to print them out and frame them! You should be able to click on them to open in a seperate window...you must do that to really see the shot, I am so proud of myself..lol

Joshua is doing some serious backyard fun catching up! He loves having a big yard to play in :)

~Michelle

~We're Home!!~

2008-08-03T20:40:00.007-04:00

So we are IN the house and loving it! We have had both our Parents over to see it so I am going to post some 'moved in' photos :)

The Dining Room~

Living/Family Room~

...Guess I should have turned the TV off..lol

I will post the bedrooms tomorrow...

The kids love the house, they spend most of their time outside playing. My Mom and Dad came over yesterday and Mom and I watched the guys put the BBQ together and when they finished we enjoyed some burgers on it!

On another note I wanted to wish my Mom and Dad a Happy 35th Wedding Anniversary!!! Man that's a long time!! Love you both and love to see you both so in love even after all these years.....

~T'was the Night before...~

2008-07-27T20:46:00.002-04:00

OK so I am managing to pop on one more time before tomorrow morning..hehe. Its 10min to 9 and why does there seem like there is still so much to do??? We will likely e up very late tonight and up very early tomorrow morning.

Last evening Joy came over to the house with me and spend a couple hours helping me do a cleaning...thanks again Joy, cleaning is so much more fun when your not all alone! She had wanted to bring her camera, but forgot it..... and I am secretly glad cause most of you would laugh at how organized everything is already and we don't even technically more in till tomorrow. Robert and I have been taking some loads over the in car since we are just a couple blocks away. Also since we bought quite a bit of new things for the house its actually looking 'set up; in some rooms.

Guess I better get get back to work, thank again Joy! Oh and Cathy the Bath and Body works stuff is making the house smell wonderful, thank you so much!

~Michelle~

~3 More Sleeps..or Should I Say 'Not' Sleeps~

2008-07-25T21:58:00.003-04:00

I cant believe it...it just 2 more days we are in the house! Seriously cannot wait, but also seriously in need of a goods sleep so those 2 days cant go by fast enough. I would consider myself very organized and living with boxes piled up and what feels like a 'mess' has really affected me being able to just shut off at night, I am left with my mind working and thinking and planning for hours before I can finally fall asleep. Happy to say though that almost everything new is all set up and put together. Robert worked on the new Patio set till midnight or so last night in the garage. Victoria bed is set up and so are all the new shelves for her room...its looking so sweet I tell ya... The last 'big' thing to put together is the BBQ, and I don't particularly want to be there for that, it looks big and heavy and complicated.

So this weekend, we have to finish packing all the last minute stuff and frankly I find with 2 kids, practically everything is 'last minute' stuff. Joy is coming over tomorrow evening to head over to the new house so we can give it an official move in cleaning before all the stuff comes on Monday. I wont be on to update but hope to be back to my posting self once we are moved in and settled, and the way I work we will have every box unpacked and picture hung by 9pm Monday night, anyone care to wager?? ;)

~Michelle

~One Happy Husband~

2008-07-18T09:55:00.004-04:00

We have been spoiled by both of our Parents for the new house. My parents gifted us a new Lawn Mower and yesterday we were gifted a BBQ from Mom and Dad 'P' :) Now I know the gift is for us, but, well, lets just say Robert is in BBQ heaven. He has wanted a Stainless Steel BBQ for a long time and he has been saying it more than ever since we got the house and voila....

Now realize he is likely going to want to BBQ every meal, everyday for the rest of the summer, anyone want a burger??

Thank to both Mom and Dad's your gifts are so gratefully appreciated...love you.

~Packing Up~

2008-07-17T11:00:00.002-04:00

Haven't updated in a while. Every spare moment has been spent packing things, taking some items to the new house and out and about buying the things we want to make it just perfect!

Had a great 'God' moment last night/this morning. We bought a new larger Dining table and I had listed our old one for sale on some local selling sites and had yet to have a taker, I couldn't really fathom why since I was asking very little and its a nice set (with one chair that needs tightening) Anyway last night out of no-where I got the urge to offer it to a friend(more like family though) and I got her response this morning saying that she was just yesterday saying that she really needed a new set and that mine was exactly the style she wanted! So the set will have a new home...and a new little one sitting at it in the next year :)

Got an email this morning from Joy sharing a link to Christopher's new Anthem submission for the Toronto Maple Leafs, I think he did an awesome job!! Here is the link if you wanna have a listen http://anthemchallenge.cbc.ca/mediadetail/267381?sort=hits+DESC&moderationstatus=1&q=Rhapsody&offset=0

It unbearably hot today, thank goodness we got A/C this year and even more grateful that the new house has Central Air. Our next big jobs with the move is getting the house nice and clean and putting together some of the items we bought so that we can enjoy them right when we move it. Of course there is still Joshua's room to tackle too...I really need to get my claws into that soon.

Only 10 days to go!!!

~Worthy Double Post~

2008-07-07T20:48:00.025-04:00

Ok so I know I already posted once today with a whole load of pictures, but I couldnt wait to post a new day, since we are so very excited. I got to call my Parents and give them the 'heads up' but we havent been able to reach Roberts Parents and we just cant hold it in any longer :) So here it is, our new home!! We are moving on July 28th...I know very soon, I have a lot of packing to do. We took lots of photos so I could take you on a mini tour. The house is actually just around the corner from our townhouse so the kids will stay in the same school.

~Front Of House~

~View from back of Yard~

~Deck~

~View from Deck to Right~

~View from Deck~

~Front Entry~

~Living Room~

~Dining Room~

~Kitchen~

~Bathroom~

~Master Bedroom~

~Little Extra Room :)~

~Joshua's Room~

(Must remvoe the wallpaper, alothough I do like it, just not for a boy)

~Entry to Loft~

~Loft AKA Victoria's Room~

Pretty Cool Room Huh?

~Loft AKA Victoria's Room~

The 28th cannot come fast enough for any of us!!!

~Pictures of Our 'Fun'~

2008-07-07T17:51:00.008-04:00

Finally got those pictures downloaded! Here are a few favorites from our weekend.

Where did my Little Girl Go? Momma's Boy...I love this shirt :) MMMMM...BBQ....
Time For a Snuggle..I tell you no kid snuggles like Joshua!

~What a Weekend!~

2008-07-03T13:52:00.005-04:00

Well I had a much deserved..if I do say so myself..lol 4 day weekend. Tuesday was Canada Day and I was able to take the Monday as well and we spent the weekend up north. We arrived to a rather rainy day but the weather improved bit by bit and was beautiful on Tuesday and we were able to get in some fun in the sun before we headed home around dinner time. Robert went water skiing and would you believe my adventurous Victoria gave it a try!! What a girl!! She wasn't able to get up, unfortunately Uncle Gord didn't have kids skis and they were just too big and heavy for her little legs.

I got some bad news on Sunday that one of my Guards, only 22years old, had passed away in the early morning. It appears that life got to be too much for him and he chose to end it far too early. So sad on so many levels....

I came back to work without my Assistant because she unfortunately broke her foot on Monday, she will be in a cast for the next month but is back today to help me...thank goodness :)

I have TONS of pictures but Robert took them and used his camera so I cant download it.

~Mid Week Update~

2008-06-25T15:31:00.002-04:00

OK so I was a posting machine last week, but this week, Robert came home and it was a pay week plus both kiddos have had their turn at being sick, so I have been too busy to keep up with last weeks pace! Robert is actually away again, left yesterday comes home tomorrow. Not as far off as the Dominican but away(for Business) none the less. Joshua was sick Sunday and back to himself late Monday and last night Victoria started feeling ill and is home from school today. She appears to have what Joshua did so she should be A'OK for the last day of school tomorrow.

Our weekend is looking fun though, its Canada Day on Tuesday and we are going to take both the Monday and Tuesday off and have an extra long weekend up north!! :) :) Cant wait! Only downside is that the weather forecast isn't as great as I would hope, but there is still plenty of time for it to change.

Anyway that's it for now, must get back to taking care of my sick 'Not so little Girl'.

~Saturday~

2008-06-21T17:56:00.009-04:00

We had a fun day today...our final day without Daddy!!! YaY!!! Unfortunately he doesn't fly in till midnight tonight so we technically wont see him till Sunday morning when we wake up. It was strange waking up Saturday morning without him. We always sleep in on Saturdays and then Robert runs out to pick up breakfast when he wakes up from either McDonald's or Burger King. Today it was just us. We had a rather 'lazy' morning and then headed out for a couple little errands, lunch at McDonald's(again something we always do with Daddy on Saturday afternoon) and cant forget about a trip to the PARK!!!

After all that fun stuff, we decided to make Robert one of his favorite deserts for when he comes home. I was reading Caren's Blog yesterday and saw that her girls made a Strawberry Pie after they went strawberry picking and I thought it would be fun to do the same :) We didn't get a chance to go strawberry picking but we did get them fresh from the local Farm stand. Since Caren was brave enough to let her kids do it pretty much unassisted I thought I would be brave and do the same. I wont lie to you, I don't usually let the kids help me cook/bake much cause the mess kinda gets to me, but they have so much fun when I do....I really must lighten up more often!

Don't they look proud of their accomplishment? Cant wait to have some with our lunch WITH Daddy tomorrow!!! WooHoo Hey on a side note, can you tell I took these pics with our actual camera and not my phone?? I apologize that my photo quality is not always terrific, I rarely have my camera with me, but unfortunately always have my phone ;)

~Michelle

~Summer???~

2008-06-19T10:25:00.003-04:00

OK so tomorrow is supposed to be the first day of summer right? So tell me why my kids had to go to school in jackets!! Ah this weather cant ever just be perfect can it ;) I will admit we have received ALOT of one particular aspect of Summer and that would be the summer storms, man I have seen enough storm clouds, hail and tornado warnings to last me the next year!

I guess it could be worse I could be home this week without Robert and be really scared of storms, so thankfully storms don't really bug me too much.

Victoria was treated to Dairy Queen last night by Auntie Japhia and Daniel. It was to celebrate both Victoria and Daniel completing their Piano exams. Japhia shared a funny thing Victoria said to her. Today is the day 'Dorothy' our cleaning lady....I love Dorothy....comes to clean the house. So its standard that on Wednesday night we tidy up so Dorothy can actually see what she needs to clean..lol. So Victoria says to Japhia, "Its great that my Dad isn't here cause we hardly have to tidy at all!" Man we were both rolling...casue she was RIGHT!! Still missin' him though, messiness and all...

~Michelle

~And the Answer is.....~

2008-06-17T14:03:00.004-04:00

It was just a piece of the parkay floor that had literally arched up on the floor. There was some water in that area last week and it must have....in that short period of time made the floor warp! Thankfully nothing living/dead..whew Thanks for checking it out for me Larry :)

We have talked to Robert everyday he has been gone. He calls me once while I am at work and once in the evening so he can talk to the kids. It was so cute last night he called and seemed a wee bit down, he is really missing me..hehe. He said everything he see's or does he thinks, "I wish Michelle was here" or "I wish Michelle could see this" He loves me :))))(that's a super grin..lol) The kids are missing him, Joshua a little more openly than Victoria. Joshua was really missing him at bedtime and had to sleep with me and lie where Daddy lies and hold his pillow just like Daddy does....it was so sweet. He is counting the days till Daddy comes home and was happy it only takes 1 hand to count the days now. Victoria is on a field trip to Cedar Park today, Joshua's class went too, but with Robert being away I couldn't go along so I kept Joshua with the sitter all day....call me overprotective but I just cant send my 5 year old to a water park without Mommy or Daddy!!

~Bubble Fun~

2008-06-15T19:43:00.007-04:00

A Sunday tradition in our family is Swiss Chalet lunch with Mom & Dad(Grandma and Grandpa)at our place after Church. Today though with Robert being away and Grandpa helping out at the Fathers Day event at church we had a lovely lunch at Grandma and Grandpa's house with just Grandma! So me and the kids had a great time and then we went out back to enjoy a cup of coffee on the swing :) Roberts Mom had picked up Bubbles for the Kids and would you believe Joshua played with those bubble for an hour straight??? Victoria played with hers between chapters of her 'Dear Dumb Diary' Book(If you have a little girl Victoria's age, I highly recommend this serious...its hilarious!!) She actually finished the book while we were there my little book worm....

I also got a call from my Honey while we were there, he is fine and the weather is good. It was nice to hear from him, we passed the phone around so everyone could get in a quick Hello. I am kinda wishing he was here right now, there is a hard lump under my carpet and I don't have the nerve to find out what it is...it doesn't move...and its hard when I touch it....uhg, I hope its not something dead under there, I will be so grossed out. I don't know what to do, I don't want to leave it all week and wait for Robert. Joshua pointed the spot out to me earlier today and I figured the carpet was just bubbled up so to speak cause its kinda close to an edge. But tonight when we got home I went over to press it down and its not going anywhere. So if anyone reading is brave enough to come on over and investigate my carpet lump, I wont mind..hint...hint...hint :)

~He's in The Air~

2008-06-14T15:29:00.004-04:00

I haven't mentioned anything here, but Robert left today for the Dominican :( He was treated to a week away by our Boss...with our Boss... His flight left today at 3pm. Joshua and I dropped him off and Victoria said good bye on the phone since she is away today, Joshua gets emotional very easily as I have said before, he was all smiles saying goodbye but once Daddy was out of site the I will miss Daddy waterworks began...cause 7 days is a very long time in his little world. Considering I have to run the Business while they are both away, 7days is a very long time in my world too!

So Josh and I spent the afternoon running errands. We really needed a shoe rack at the front door cause we all have way to many summer shoes :) and I found the PERFECT one at Walmart today. It was the last one and it was unreachable so a 'Friendly Sales Associate' had to help me. It has the dark wood finish on the sides to match all our furniture so I was thrilled to find something a little more high end than a plastic one! Shopping always tired out my little helper, here he is on the way home.

I have admittedly not even started my garden this spring, so that is the only thing on my To-Do list now. I would like it all done when Robert returns home next Saturday. Just keeping my fingers and toes crossed that the Squirrels are not as bad this year and destroy it all....

~Michelle

~Grade 1 Piano~+Update~

2008-06-12T11:54:00.006-04:00

Victoria takes her Grade 1 Piano exam tomorrow morning! She is really excited about it and her Teacher(aka Grandma)thinks she should do great :) After her exam she is off to the trailer for a fun weekend with Grandma, Auntie Cathy and her best buddy Rebecca!! Hope Grandma and Catherine are ready for a late night with lots of giggles and screams. Unfortunately I had to make an appointment for Victoria this afternoon at the Dr's to check her throat its been bugging her over the past couple nights so I figured we better get it checked before she goes away.

***Just a quick update, she did have a throat infection so she started on an antibiotic yesterday afternoon and already feels MUCH better. I will add that Victoria HATES taking liquid antibiotics she actually fights me on every liquid medication, so she asked the Dr for pills and he obliged and she is taking them wonderfully, I guess I will start buying that type for her more often. As for her exam, she called me after she finished as happy as ever and felt she did great, she said that Grandma wanted me to know that she was very pleased :) So now she is off on her much deserved getaway!
~Michelle

~Ever wish you were a Turtle?~

2008-06-05T10:38:00.006-04:00

I was feeling quite stressed last week, there are just some occasions where everything with work seems to bubble up so to speak. Although I can generally take care of it all and work things out there are times when the stress is just overwhelming. After our weekend away, I came back to work Monday so refreshed I felt I could take on the world! Well yesterday that 'world' crushed me. I had 2 people quit first thing in the morning, with no notice that were supposed to work THAT night. I had someone else tell me that something came up with their family and they couldn't do the rest of their shifts until who knows when???? Then there was a couple things that our Field Supervisor did that just stunned and me and I have already had a call about something else that she did and we are right now working out what to do. She has to go whether it be a suspension or termination, problem is I become the phone contact until we find a replacement.... On top of that there were a couple other scheduling issues and new clients that I am trying to accommodate and struggling with due to specific requirements etc.

I know it seems trivial, but the stress is really getting to me so if anyone wants to pray or think positively or whatever you 'do' that things get a bit better this week and that we can find someone to fit into this position I would be grateful. In times like these I am thankful that I have Robert, he can see when things are getting to be that little bit too much for me. I can honestly say in the 2 years I have been doing this job this is only about the 3rd time where I have become this overwhelmed and just want to walk away. I wont walk away of course, I do see that my perks and benefits far out way these moments in time, and in normal circumstances I really do enjoy my job, but these moments do bring me down and its hard to get through....these are the moments I want to retreat into my 'shell'.....

~Happy Birthday Bailey~

2008-06-04T09:46:00.005-04:00

Our Bailey turns 1 year old today. The kids were so excited to get up and wish him a happy birthday. He got wet food as a birthday treat and Joshua got him some new toy mice to play with. Victoria has asked me to pick up a cat tree thing for him from her. Bailey is pretty much Victoria's cat and has become like part of our family over the past..almost year, since we didnt actually get him until August. Bailey has an awesome personality and is a great companion for the kids. When one of the kids are sick Bailey doesnt leave their side. Bailey also has a knack for 'talking' he will have a meowing conversation with you for as long as you want, which is hard to believe till you actually see it. So Happy Birthday to our Bailey, we love you :)

~Some Joshua Funnies~

2008-06-03T11:55:00.004-04:00

OK so since my little tornado is feeling much better and my heart has come up from my stomach and back to its rightful spot in my chest, I thought I would share some of the humorous portions of our trip to the hospital. First off I will say that I just cant convey how hilarious Joshua truly is, he will have anyone laughing in no time. Thing is he doesn't intend to be funny, he is just so incredibly genuine so to speak, he more or less says what all of us think, but don't have the guts to actually let out of our mouth!

So our story starts when we arrive at the hospital and visit with the Triage Nurse, she says hello to him and he sits down in the chair and she asks his name. Joshua says(in a somewhat frustrated tone) "My name is Joshua, don't you remember me, I came hear when I had my ear infection and was screaming my head off." Then she starts to put the heart rate monitor on his finger, he knows the drill, been there done that! Then she goes to put on and explain about taking his blood pressure, he says, "I know, I know, your going to check my blood pressure" As it starts she tells him that is might hurt and he proceeds to tell her, it wont be an issue for him cause he can hanlde it. Well she is typing away and it gets tighter and loser and Joshua while tapping his hand says non chalantly, "Yup its getting tighter........its really tight now........" But wont admit its discomfort because he had stated that it was no problem..lol So now we are sent to bring his chart to the next desk and off we go....

We arrive at the next desk and Joshua hands over his forms, the Nurse says, "Hi little Guy." To which Joshua states, "My name is not Little Guy, its Joshua Robert Perkins and this is Michelle(as he points to me) and this is Robert(as he points to Rob.) They put on his wrist band which he proceeded all night to call his 'leash.' Right away he was not thrilled since it had his name backwards(It was printed Perkins, Joshua Robert....so backwards in his opinion) He talked about this issue on and off through the whole night. He also met a really nice older Gentleman when we were waiting in the XRay Department for his CT Scan. You have to take numbers in that area, and when Joshua struck up a conversation with this man the man ended up asking Joshua if he would trade numbers with him(he was to be seen before us) It was so sweet. Joshua still remembers his name and mentioned him yesterday when we were talking about racecars because the man said he used to race cars. There were a couple other things he did that cracked us and everyone around up, (he seriopusly thought everyone should have remembered him from his ear infection visit in which he was screaming his head off) but I will just lastly share that when we got the results that everything was OK and he could go home, he just had to talk to someone about the fact that his 'leash' had his name backwards and how unimpressed he was. The Nurses completely humoured him telling him they would have a talk with the person..lol. So Joshua's humour kept our spirits up that's for sure, and we have some happy stories and memories of our Hospital visit.

~Michelle

~Changes~

2008-06-03T10:08:00.002-04:00

Please excuse if you log into my blog and find it keeps looking different :) I am playing around with a few looks...so please be patient.

~Michelle

~Wonderful Time~

2008-06-01T20:30:00.001-04:00

Robert and I did manage to get away for our Anniversary. We stole away early Friday and dropped the kids off at my Parents house around 3pm. We arrived in Niagara Falls around supper time, took a little rest and then headed out to Dinner. We went to the Keg which is located on the 9th Floor of a hotel with windows overlooking the Falls. We got a table with a view of the falls and a view of the nightly fireworks that go off at 10pm. The evening was just perfect! Dinner was wonderful and we shared a desert by fireworks so to speak :) The picture is only of me but I promise Robert was my dinner companion!

We started our Saturday with room service...admittedly I have never used room service so I was pretty excited about having breakfast brought to our door at our specified time..lol. Oh and I almost forgot there was Valet parking at the Restaurant...which I have also never experienced before(I know I don't get out much do I?) Although our weekend was just about perfect in every way, we did run into a little 'glitch' so to speak when were greeted with this....

No big deal though, we had it pumped in within 15min by CAA and drove to a nearby tire shop where they plugged it. How fortunate were we that the tire shop was within walking distance to the outlet mall??? So we walked around there till our tire was fixed up. We headed back to pick up the kids, but only to come home and drop them off at Roberts Parents for another sleepover! The kids had a great time and went to Rock and Bowl with Grandma and Grandpa. Robert and I were treated with a Restaurant Gift card from his Parents so we went out for another solo dinner. What a wonderful and refreshing weekend! I made it quite clear to my staff that I was not to be bothered this weekend and guess what??? I WASNT!!! Now back to the workday grind tomorrow.

~Long Night in the ER :(~

2008-05-30T12:42:00.001-04:00

Just wanted to send out an update on our little Joshua. He hit his head yesterday at school and didn't seem phased by it so it didn't alert anyone to a potential problem. Unfortunately his sitter called me around 1pm to let me know that he had a head ache and was crying alot. Once I got there to pick him up he had vomited a couple times. After I got him home he continued to vomit quite a bit and we figured he had a bug. He slept between throwing up and when he finally woke up around super time(and was starving) was when we noticed a bruised lump on his right temple. We took him into Emerge and spent a good 5 hours. He had a CT Scan and did great and was very brave! We are happy to report that the scan was clear and that he was diagnosed with a concussion. He has stopped vomiting and is back to his normal self today. We had a very long night as did Grandma and Grandpa who stayed with Victoria till we got back home. The kids and I all stayed home this morning to re-coup, unfortunately Robert had a hearing to attend that couldn't be missed. I have had a couple calls and emails this morning and wanted to quickly say thanks to everyone that has prayed for Joshua, it was a scary night.... here is a shot of him going for the Ct Scan....still smiling....

Just wanted to add how great Joshua's sitter is, she knew something wasnt right with him and called me and she was so worried about him she was up all night along with us emailing me for an update. We are so incredibly lucky to have someone who loves and cares for Joshua like that....

~Anniversary Getaway~

2008-05-29T10:41:00.000-04:00

Robert and I celebrate our 11th Wedding Anniversary this Saturday. We don't usually do anything other than dinner out to celebrate but this year we have planned a night away to Niagara Falls and the kids are going to their Nana and Paka's for the night. We also had an offer for the next night from Grandma and grandpa for another night minus children..lol so we will have a couple nights to ourselves this weekend....which we are both super excited about!! We haven't been without at least 1 child...in well 5years!!!

I wont get too mushy and gross, but I just have to take the time to say how very much I love my husband. Robert has been my best friend for 15 years now, its unbelievable to think back that I was only 18 when we started dating! Time has flown by so quickly and although we have had our ups and downs, I wouldn't trade a minute of it because its made us what we are today. I think Robert and I have a truly awesome relationship, as most of you know we actually 'work' together everyday and still want to be together at night when we get home..lol! So to my Husband if your snooping on my blog ;) I love you and look forward to the next 11 years with you by my side, I consider myself blessed to have met you and even more so to be your wife....

~Tuesday Nights~

2008-05-28T12:02:00.001-04:00

As most of you know I used to attend a Bible study group on Tuesday nights. I found it too hard to get my homework done with work and other commitments and felt silly going without having completed the 'assigned' task so I stopped going :( Well after some much needed coaxing(thanks Joy) I went back to the group last night and had a great time. Thanks again Joy for giving me the tug I needed. Hopefully after the summer break I will be able to commit once again...homework and all, since I really do enjoy the fellowship and growth I experience Spiritually when I am there.

~MONSTER MADNESS!!!~

2008-05-24T21:45:00.002-04:00

We all went to Bigfoot Monster Madness this afternoon, I think Joshua thought he was in Heaven!!

This is a shot of the Transformers they had there that put on a little show and 'batteled', this was actually his favorite part.

I think we will make this a regular thing when its in the area.

~Its been a While...~

2008-05-22T13:59:00.001-04:00

Busy, busy as usual so havent had much time to update. Unfortunatly the power button on our computer is broken so I havent been able to get on-line at home much. I have the laptop, but I find some things are easier on my 'main' computer :) Also having some car issues, nothing major, but they arent really sure what exactly is wrong, which never means cheap..am I right? It was in last week and they did some minor tweeking hoping it would be resolved but the engine light came back on this week so I will have to arrange to bring it back next week. Luckily I have access to an extra car at work if I don't have my car for a longer period of time.

Victoria spent the long weekend at the trailer and although the weather was wet and cold she had a blast as usual and cuaght up on her much missed bike riding! Joshua misses her so much when she is gone, its so sweet. He just says every so often, "I really miss Toria"...he is a super senstive kid so if you dont work to perk him up right then and there he will start to cry! Well once she got home, he wanted to catch up on playing with her, and poor Victoria was beat!!LOL Last night while Joshua and Robert went to Judo, Victoria and I went to see Narnia~Prince Caspian.....oh man what an awesome movie, not a disappointment after the first and very moving, its 2 1/2 hours long so we didnt get home till after 9pm and Victoria was pretty beat once again. Today is tutoring(her least favorite day) and thankfully it was a short week and the weekend is just around the bend...

~Mothers Day Tea~

2008-05-12T10:57:00.001-04:00

I hope everyone had a wonderful Mothers Day! I spend Saturday afternoon at a Mothers Day 'Tea' at our Church with my Mother in Law...whom I love like my own Mother :) along with Grandma and Japhia and Joy, it was a wonderful time and one we hope to repeat at the trailers this year right girls???? On Sunday I spent the Day with my Mom and family and had a great time. Joshua played outside the entire afternoon and was asleep within minutes of the drive home. On our way home we visited my 'Nano' at the Memorial Gardens, it was actually our first time their since her death 3 years ago. It was nice to visit since we all went together as a family. Joshua was only 2 when she died and seems to have completely forgotten her already...so sad to lose someone at that age because its so difficult to 'remember'.....

I made a little Boy very happy!

2008-05-03T19:28:00.000-04:00

While searching EBay a couple weeks ago I stumbled across a pair of 'Cars' Crocs from Disney. Well I just had to buy them for my little cars fanatic! They arrives in the mail yesterday and Joshua was thrilled, he even had to sleep in them. We haven't seen them in any stores and I got them from the States so I am sure people are going to be asking where we found them :) So here he is sound asleep with his new favorite footwear.

I dont think I can do it!

2008-05-03T11:01:00.000-04:00

I am leaving in a few minutes to get my hair done...I don't think I can cut it. I have to tell you, I have never been one to be really 'attached' to my hair. I have had it super short, above the shoulder, below pretty much everything in between. That being said this is the longest I have grown my hair since Robert and I first met almost 15years ago and I am quite attached! Robert says cut it, others so NO WAY! uhg, I guess we will see if I turn out to be brave or not....likely not, but who knows....by the way this is the length right now.

***Ok I cut it but not alot...lol...I took off more than I usually do, like 2 inches and had it really layered out and I got side bangs..baby steps...

A.C.E Award

2008-04-30T21:19:00.000-04:00

Guess who got an A.C.E Award this April???? J-O-S-H-U-A!!!! I got a note home Monday to let me know he would be receiving one today and if I could bring him back to school in the afternoon. So I came home early today(I just love that I am able to do that) and we went to the assembly....he had no clue what we were doing there....hehe. When they called his name he just kinda sat there like, huh? Oh and this time I made sure he went to the bathroom PRIOR so he wasn't in the stall when his name was called! Anyway he was thrilled when he realized it was HIM that was receiving it. He got it for "Willingness to try new things" and "Confidence in Daily Routines". We went out afterwards for a treat and he got to pick out a new Webkin. He got the Lil'Kin Cow and and named in Mini-Milkshake since Victoria's regular size cow Webkin is named Milkshake. Unfortunately I didn't get a picture of him at the assembly because our camera was being used for a Private Investigations Gig, but I will get one and add it tomorrow.

Quick Update...

2008-04-22T11:51:00.000-04:00

Mary Kay Order is placed! I will let you all know when your items are in, but it should be this week :)

If you didn't see me yet, you may not know that I am now able to 'see' without my specs!! Thanks to Contacts I have been wearing for a week now. I am really enjoying them since the weather has been so nice and I am able to wear fun sunglasses and not have sweaty areas where the glasses sat! lol

Joshua will be in to see the Dr about what seems to be allergies(and I will ask about the snoring too) but not until Monday. He seems better when he isn't at home, so it may be that Bailey is shedding more right now. :(

I am down the 10lbs I wanted to lose and actually FIT into my Capri's when I unpacked them this week!

I will be cutting my hair, but not for a week or so. I am opting for the shoulder length 'do' Rachael Ray is now sporting.

There I think I have quickly updated everything I needed to.....

!!!Mary Kay Order!!!

2008-04-17T10:34:00.000-04:00

OK ladies, a Mary Kay order is going in on Monday. If there is anything you need or want, please let me know by then. As always its at a discounted rate. 40% off any order over $50. Remember that tax is paid on the full original price though. If you have not received the NEW Spring Catalogue form me let me know cause things have really changed. Just a little info, but Mary Kay has discontinued all the Silver/grey compacts and they are now Black and pink and work a little differently. All the old blushes and shadows are also available while quantities last since they are converting to Mineral based products(which are GREAT by the way!)

My Boy is growing up...

2008-04-12T15:55:00.000-04:00

Joshua had his first phone call this week. Oh man it was THE cutest thing!! I was practically in tears just listening to his little conversation. Today he had a play date with this little boy, I tell you he was so excited about today. We call Saturday and Sunday 'Stay Home Days' and when he woke me up and I said it was a stay home day! He said, "no Mommy its a Christopher day!" He anxiously awaited the time for his play date to start, he was so excited he didn't even eat his lunch(not a normal feat for Joshua..LOL) I have already picked him up and he seemed to have a great time :) Robert had to drive to Hamilton today to pick something up and took Victoria with hi, so I did the grocery shopping solo while Joshua was out...man did it feel lonely, but on the bright side it was the cheapest shopping trip ever since I didn't have Victoria, Joshua or Robert for that matter..lol adding goodies to the cart!!

Same Old, Same Old

2008-04-09T13:18:00.000-04:00

The weather has continued to be beautiful, though today started with rain(which is OK cause its not SNOW....lol) Kids are doing great, we think Joshua may have allergies though, so I have to make a Dr's appointment to see what we do. I am using over the counter stuff right now trying to see if it gives him any relief. Its not horribly bad, just a constant stuffy nose, which is the same thing I suffer with, so I know how irritating it can be. Robert was in Ottawa Monday night and Joshua had a sleepover with me and was snoring all night because of his stuffed up nose, so I didn't get much sleep. On a fun note, we bought Guitar Hero for the PlayStation this weekend, I haven't tried it yet, but Victoria is awesome at it. Joshua tries, but its a bit hard for him....I think he just gets a kick out of wearing the Guitar!

As for my leg magic, I am getting rid of it. Quite honestly I think I pulled my groin doing it, so its obviously not the thing for me. I have had some people get on it and have a much easier time than I have so its just not my thing. I have read a ton of reviews on it and its pretty much 50/50, so if your thinking of getting it, definitely keep all the packaging and make sure your one of the 50% that can manage on it. I haven't used it in a week and I am still sore at times, so never again...

If anyone reading has been following Roberts knee problem, he went back to the Dr yesterday for his follow-up and he is not in as much pain, so no surgery, he is just going to continue to take it easy, and hopefully he will continue to heal and never need surgery.

What on earth????

2008-04-03T21:14:00.001-04:00

Is that big yellow ball in the sky???? Oh wait, I think its, its, its....the SUN!!!! Woo hoo, the sun was out all day and it wasnt 'minus' something on the thermometer!! What a lift to the spirits I tell ya!

Ok so if anyone is wondering how my adventures with my Leg Magic(Torture Device) is going, well, its going. I actually find it a bit boring, I can finally walk normally again, so thats a good sign. I can do it for about 30 sec so I have doubled my time..lol. I am going to give it one more week and if I dont feel anymore love for it than I do now, its going back.

I had a super busy day at work today, hired 9 people, all of whom come back in tomorrow to be uniformed and WHMIS trained, anyone wanna guess how many actually return?? I am going to go with 6, which is on the high side, but a girl can dream right? I overhired intentionally knowing that some just drop off the face of the earth. We purchased a powerpoint for work for our training room so the plan is to get the training DONE and then watch a movie...LOL...what, we worked hard this week!!

Victoria had her first tutoring lesson today after school, keeping my fingers crossed that it helps her figure this whole math thing out. Truth be told I think she is a bit lazy, if it doesnt come to her right away she just wants to give up and not try. I have been working with her and the mistakes she is making are just so sloppy it makes me want to pull my hair out....

Torture Device..AKA Leg Magic

2008-03-31T21:08:00.000-04:00

Have you ever heard of the exercise machine called the 'Leg Magic'? Well, I was intrigued by this little piece of 'magic' and ordered and let me tell ya, its like being tortured!! I am set to lose a bit of weight...yet again..I just know I am not going to fit into my summer clothes so I am starting now! I thought this little baby would be a nice addition since my thigh area isn't my favorite area..lol So I got it on Friday and tried the workout, the idea is to do each of the moves for 60sec..only 1 minute, not long right??? Ya well I could do 15sec of each move and thought I was going to DIE! I am still sore today. I tried it out again today, just one time and I could actually do the movements for 30sec, so an improvement, but I am only half way there. I better have legs to be envied and fast or I am giving up on this thing!

Late Easter Post!

2008-03-30T21:19:00.000-04:00

Had a wonderful Easter, the kids enjoyed their egg hunt and there goodies from the Easter Bunny :) We decided to head back to Church on Easter Sunday, hoping that Joshua would do better and he did pretty good. He has a hard time with the volume of noise during the period he sits with us, but he did better than I expected. We went back this week and I talked to him a bit before we went about the noise and that if it bothered him to just cover his ears. Today overall went better than last week, he tried the I have to go to the bathroom bit, but I was able to hold him off till his Sunday school time. He also seemed to really enjoy Sunday school this week and was very happy when he came out. Victoria is enjoying being back, she has asked to stay with us instead of going to Sunday school. She is so cute, trying her best to keep up with the Pastor and taking notes. She is experience a wee bit of frustration in that when she turns her Bible to where he says, she has a different Version and so it doesn't read word for word to what he is saying. Later today she went to a birthday party at the Rec Center and was really excited to get into a pool again and do some swimming, unfortunately she said the generator broke 45min prior to the party so they could only go in the kiddie pool....when I picked her up and we walked past the pool it was fine...disappointing...

Busy week at work ahead. Its a payweek..yippee..and I have to hire for a new site that starts on the 7th, thankfully I have a ton of resumes I received over the weekend to weed through and hopefully find some good quality people!

Weather Funk...

2008-03-25T09:42:00.000-04:00

I know I cannot possibly be the only person in a 'Weather Funk'....I am, in general a fan of colder weather, I could never live somewhere that its hot all the time, but this winter(oh wait its Spring now right?) is dragging on and on and I am so tired of it. Even just a couple days of near 10 degree tempuratures would perk me up! Oh well, I guess I just have to hope that April holds some spring weather. I booked a hair appointment for tomorrow and I think I will get more highlights than lowlights this time, maybe that will lift my weather spirit up until the actual tempurature rises.

Sleepover Night!

2008-03-22T20:24:00.001-04:00

Victoria had a sleepover with a friend last weekend and Joshua was very upset that they wouldn't let him join them. Robert promised him that they would have a big 'sleepover' together in the basement that coming week. Unfortunately we all got hit with a stomach bug and didn't think it such a great idea to be 2 floors away from the nearest bathroom, so the sleepover was postponed....until last night that is! So here they are, pop corn popped, beds laid out and movie ready to go. They all slept great and I had a nice quiet evening and night all alone upstairs, even got to sleep in a bit cause the morning noise was 2 floors away :) All day today Joshua kept thanking Rob for the fun sleepover, so funny what little things can mean so much to them. I think with Victoria having more sleepovers and that likely resulting in more of these family sleepovers we are going to invest in an inflatable mattress...I am sure Roberts back will appreciate it.

Happy 'Good Friday'!

2008-03-21T21:24:00.000-04:00

Good Friday~Christ's death reminds us of the human sin that caused his death. We see that salvation comes only through godly sorrow—both God's and, in repentance, ours. To experience happiness, we must first experience sorrow. Go forth in tears return in joy.

Spent a Relaxing day at home with my family......but alas my phone started ringing this afternoon with problem and after problem from work. Now realize I do the scheduling for the company and the schedule that included today went out LAST Wednesday!! Do you believe people were calling me all day saying "Its a Holiday, do I still have to go in today???" on top of that 1 Officer called the Supervisor to ask the same thing and mentioned he was at work and they were closed and she told him to go home??????? Thankfully he then called me and I told him to stay. So I called her and I am not going to lie to you I wasn't thrilled when she went on to say that the place was closed so I figured he could go home, truth is the place is ALWAYS closed when we are there!!! We are the night security!! Anyway its now 9:30pm as I sit here and vent and I really hope that my phone doesn't ring again....a girl can dream right;)

On a happier note for the day, Robert actually purged ALOT of clothes today, and if you know my husband you know he has a clothing problem worse than any woman! We then delivered the hand me downs to Chris(his cousin) later in the afternoon..and had our Starbucks fix at the same time, popped over for a visit with Mom and Dad, picked up our Easter Loaf they were holding onto for us(yummy) and then back home for dinner and the big preparation for the Father/Daughter/Son sleepover in the basement tonight. Will share more on that tomorrow...

Boy really ARE different than Girls!

2008-03-19T16:05:00.000-04:00

I am not going to lie to you, this year Joshua going to Kindergarden has not been a 'Bed of Roses' more like thorns..ouch! Because I work full time and just drop Joshua off in the morning and am not there at pick-up time, I have more or less felt on my own so to speak cause I really dont interact with the other Moms like I did when Victoria was in kindergarden. I kinda felt like my son was a problem and we were doing something wrong. Truth be told had we had the option I would have pulled him out and waited till next year and just put in in Sk, but a full time daycare spot wasnt available. After a couple horrible mornings I invested in the book Raising Your Spirited Child http://www.chapters.indigo.ca/books/Raising-Your-Spirited-Child-Guide-Mary-Kurcinka/9780060739669-item.html?ref=Books%3a+Search+Top+Sellers This book helped me tremendously, made me realize I was NOT the only Mom going through what I was. Since then I have seen some parents on some on line parenting resources come out of the closet so to speak and they sound just like me. One of the Moms posted an article from Macleans Magazine that was pulished just this past January, this article is incredible and really makes you wonder what we as a society are doing to our boys. http://www.macleans.ca/culture/entertainment/article.jsp?content=20080109_70985_70985 So once again affirmation that there is nothing 'wrong'...what a great feeling! In general, I have altered my expectations from him, and it has made both of our lives more relaxed. So speaking of my little bundle of energy, yesterday when I was on the computer Joshua decided to play the piano and perform "Life is A Highway" (from Cars of course). Is he not the cutest little thing????

And now here is today...he really does still need a nap but saves it for around 4pm and is then a bear to wake up and put back to bed at actual bedtime! Notice the Playstation controller tucked in his arms...can anyone guess what game he was playing?

Lets try this....Again!

2008-03-18T21:30:00.001-04:00

Ok, so I am going to try this whole blogging thing out. I think being a Full time working Mom stealing some time away to write will be somewhat of a stress reliever for me. Never mind the fact that there are so many cute and adorable things my kiddos do daily that I just dont take the time to document...bad Mommy, I know. I guess the best place to start is with today! Had a busy day at work..as usual. The weather has once again reverted back to winter, today was a mixed bag of snow, sleet, rain....a downer really. Truth be told I love winter, I have always loved the cold but this year has been too much for even me, I am craving the sun and warm days more than ever this year and keep thinking in my head, next week should be much better, now I am just hoping it doesnt SNOW in April....

As for the kids, Joshua didnt want to go to school today, we had the same problem after Christmas break, he doesnt go for a while and just isnt into it and I have to drag him there hoping we dont have a completely embarrasing episode...been there...so today I bribed him by saying I would play Playstation when we got home and let him win, hey whatever works right? If you think he would forget this promise your dreaming, he was ready to play within seconds of coming through that door. We played Heroes of the Pacific, not a total kid game, you fly fighter planes and shoot down other planes, can I just say my 5 year old Son rocks at Heroes of the Pacific!! The Mom plane crashed and burned just about every 30seconds and the Josh plane was ruling the skies.

Victoria wasnt too happy with me today, I requested a call from her Teacher when I returned her report card today. Overall her report was fantastic, but she is struggling with math, I can see it and really want to help her, so I requested a tutor. I can help her, but she loses her patience with me too fast(can you say 10years old???) and we both end up frustrated, its just not worth it, so I need some outside help. Unfortunatly the tutor group her teacher has is full...hmmm purhaps the math isnt being taught well/too advanced/too rushed...all of the above??? So we will see if another teacher has room in their group. Victoria also wants to join the Basketball team and while I like her to try everything and be a part of teams, I just dont think she can stick it out. She tends to get all hyped about something and then loses interest and doesnt fulfill her commitment. She really enjoys Piano, however getting her to practice is torture. She also loves Judo, but again getting her to classes is a struggle. Now she wants Basketball. Thing is its work for Robert and I too, since Robert would have to drop her off for early morning practices and I would have to pick her up later when there are after school games(if she was to make the team of course) I dont know, we want to say no, we will probably say no, so I guess she will be even more unhappy with me...