Saturday, May 30, 2009

DD Eating Corn





Tonight we had some "Peaches and Cream" corn, and I thought the way my dd was eating it had to be photographed to share with you all :)! We find that "Peaches and Cream" corn is the BEST corn on the cob to get, it is so sweet and juicy you can never go wrong with it...where as the other kinds out there aren't as nice or juicy.  






We don't have those corn holders that most people have, so we improvised and used small forks for the kids to use.  She get's right into it, she's not afraid to get all buttery or or covered with corn...








Sadly, I couldn't take anymore pictures after this one because my camera's battery diet and so I was lucky to even get the pics I got.  These cobs weren't small either, and she finished hers off no problem.

Inky Hugs,
Catherine

Bday invites


So my son E* wanted to have a Wall-e Bday party,  so I wanted to create his Bday invitations and here is what I came up with :)!   I found a coloring sheet online, then re-sized it so it would fit on the front of the card, and then I colored Wall-e in using Copic/Tombow markers.  Sadly, you can't see the stars I stamped on all over the card behind Wall-e and am sitting here hoping my dh will finally get my light tent made.  E* was so happy with the invites I made :D!


Hugs,
catherine

Bday gifts


My middle guy turns 5 years old tomorrow, but we have a busy day so we thought he could open the gifts that he recieved in the mail this morning after breakfast.  He opened up my my sister in laws, brother inlaw and family gift to him, and it was a wonderful Superman sun hat. He was so thrilled, going to have to find out if my sister in law made it or if she got it from a craft/farmers market :)! He LOVES the hat, am starting to wonder if he will take it off :p!











Here he is opening other gifts with his cool Superman hat on, he is saying "hi G* and H*" his two cousins who gave him the hat.  I tried to get him to say Aunt Alissa and Uncle Scott too, but he wasn't going for that at all...I was lucky I got anything out of him.





The next picture is of him opening up Aunt Erin, Uncle D's and baby L*'s gift...boy was he happy with his own bag of Twizzlers and also a kite. He told his older brother he could have his "Bumble Bee" (transformer kite),  so he could use his new kite...with that everyone was happy :)!  

  Inky Hugs,
Catherine

Friday, May 29, 2009

AM SO HAPPY :)

  We goto the local library at least once a week, sadly our little library out by where we live has really weird hours of operation and it is hard to get there during those times they are open.  It is especially hard when you have a child who doesn't understand library ettiquette, or has Sensory issues and you don't know what might set them off.  Usually, I goto the library when my son is at Pre-school and I take my dd with to have some playtime there in their fun play areas :)!  I haven't really had a good library experience when we have her brother with us, we have tried everything from social stories to getting library books about going to the library to giving him jobs to do to distract him from whatever might bother him.  Nothing seems to help, until we got this ring ( a binder type ring) with pictures of each step of going to the library and there is only one picture on each "inchie".




Today, I had to goto the library out by where we live because I had 2 books that were on hold that I had to pick up before the holding date expired.   I sat down with both my dd and my son, went through the pictures with them and then we headed off out the door. As we were about to do each task on the ring, I would hold it up to show them what was going to happen next and then we would do it :)!  
When we got there to the library, I had the two of them hold my hands, then I asked my dd to get a basket (that is usually her job) and then off we went to the kids section to get some books and a few movies.  They both did well there, then we went over to the beginner readers section for my oldest whom was at school.  My dd even grabbed a few books off that shelf she though her older brother would like to read...or perhaps for him to read to her :p!  We then went over to the section that has the crafty books/mags, got several goodies there am sure the librarian who was there thought I was crazy or an addict or something leaving with 8 books/mags full of crafty goodness. 
We then walked over to the desk, where I handed the lady our basket, she scanned everything through and my dd put the basket back although she had problems putting it back...nearly ended up in the baskets herself.  We gathered up all our books/movies/mags in our bag, then the librarian told us that we were all good in the library tod
ay :) *I turned red*...lol!  
When we got out into the van, got everyone buckled up in their seats I clapped and made a huge scene about how proud/happy I was...you should have seen how happy they were.  

It might not seem like something to be excited about to you, but you know what it was a HUGE deal for us.   Even running an errand, going to get mail at our community box, or to go get one thing from the grocery store or going to get gas are things that we can't do without something causing our son problems.   Today, I am so HAPPY for him :)! 

Hugs,

Cakes

My soon to be 5 year old wants me to make a Walle cake for him, I am going to goto Bulkbard I think and get a pan and just frost it. However, in my cake search I came across this cake site...you HAVE to check it out...WOW is all I have to say:



Hugs,
catherine

Thursday, May 28, 2009

Nutshell DT card submission








Here is the sketch they give you to do for the DT call on the new blog called "Nutshells", as well as a stamped image that you can get over on their blog.  Here is the card that I created for this DT call, hope you like it :)!  

Inky Hugs,

New blog in town called Nutshells

There is a new blog out there that you will want to check out, it is called "Nutshells" and they are having a blog candy giveaway where you can enter to win a few stamps and some other goodies :)! Plus, they are having a DT call as well...head over and check it out :)! 


Hugs,
Catherine

Wednesday, May 27, 2009

MFT Chalkboard Easel box






The other day I was blurffing, and I came across this template on the MFT blog ( at least I think that is where I saw it)...and I thought I would use it to create something for my son's teachers.  The best part of this template is it is FREE, yep...all you have to do is go over to the MFT site and add it to your "shopping cart" follow through to the end, then you will get a link to download it.  EASY to do :)!



So here is what I created once I printed out this template, pretty neat eh?? Sadly I didn't have any other "school stamps" that weren't acrylic otherwise I think it would have turned out better...and yes I know I didn't write the whole alphabet out...lol.
Here is the side view of the project I created, going to play around with it a bit more to see what else I can create with this template...or see if I can improve upon what I have done already :D!

Inky Hugs,
Catherine

Waste of time, sorta

Well, I went in this morning to talk to my family doctor about me being so full of stress and anxieties...she thought this other doctor (flip flop) is being ridiculous. That I am fine, and that I know when to ask for help if I need it...she thought it was weird of this "Flip Flop" doctor to not get why I am stressed.  Lol, this whole experience is odd with this "Flip Flop" doctor...lol!

While I was there I thought I would bring up my poor sore knee, she looked at it and thought that I have without a doubt Osteo Arthritis in it plus she thinks I am going to have to have another knee surgery to smooth out the back of my knee cap.  I had an x-ray done too, but my knee problem doesn't show up on x-rays but it does on MRI's...oh and I get Tylenol for pain..so basically I won't take anything for it since Tylenol doesn't touch the pain at all.  

Hugs,
catherine

afternoon pic yesterday


My oldest son wanted me to take a picture of him and his lil sister, out on our back deck yesterday afternoon in the sun after he got home from school.  Took 20 shots, and this is the BEST one that I took...sadly my dd wasn't so co-operative :p!  She was hiding behind her bear there for most of the shots, or looking away...


Hugs,

Tuesday, May 26, 2009

Bloggariffic Friday Sketch Challenge Card



I decided the other day that I would participate in the "Bellariffic Friday Sketch" challenge, and so here is the card that I created using this sketch.  I used Maisy Ketto stamp for this card, I also used a dew drop for the centre of the flower she is holding and I used glass finish on her wings/shirt/crown/flower's leaves.   I am very happy with how this card turned out, and thanks for this fun sketch too :D!


Hugs,
Catherine

Sorry

Need to apologize for the background I had the other day, didn't realize that it made it hard to read...so I got rid of that background. But would love your feedback on this new background that I found???


Inky Hugs,
catherine

Thousand Birdies blog revamp giveaway


This cool blog giveaway sounds like a good one that you just might want to be part of, if you are tired of your blog's look and want something new...you can actually win a blog revamp on Thousand Birdies giveaway.  Check it out :)!


Hugs,
catherine 

Monday, May 25, 2009

How's things



Just wanted to check in with everyone to see how you all are doing?? I know things are busy or busier, but what kinds of things do you do for "you" time???  Everyone healthy ( I hope)?  Hope you all are getting some good ol'quality "YOU" time in, if not please try to do so because it is essential or so I think anyways :)!

I also just wanted to stop by to give an update, well sort of...:p!  Everyone in my house is  healthy, by that I mean no illness (Shhhhhhhhhh *knocking on wood frantically*) and it is a rare occurrence since we have had so much illness in our house over the winter.  

~Ben (my dh), is busy with work and also is helping to build a wonderful church camp for kids/families to goto on the outskirts of Halifax. That is actually where he is now doing duct work/ventillation for the cabins, will be there probably until late since they are getting close to the deadline of the camp needing to be done.

~My oldest is excited about going into grade 2, going to a new school (the schools are split up, in one school you have primary to grade 1 and in the second it is grade 2-6). This is however going to change fall 2010, we are getting new elementary school that will house everyone in one spot and we will actually have a library (not a book mobile) plus a full sized gym. Not a gym/music combo room :p!   

~My middle one is doing okay, but could def. be better since the "trial" run of a med he is on is making him do things that he usually wouldn't do. He has absolutely no sense of danger right now, or sense of fear...we have to keep a close eye on him and he can't be left alone!  He disappears without telling anyone, he chases birds/butterflies without watching/paying attention as to what is around him (like a busy road).  We have also noticed new symptoms with him today, his tone of voice has changed (it has gotten nasalish) and he is hollering at us but he doesn't know he is doing it.  He is gritting his teeth, he is slowly not making a lot of eye contact...the list goes on and on!  We called the pediatric doctor who put him on this med, and she lowered the dose (can't stop this drug cold turkey I am told) but that doesn't help us with the safety issues.  
To be honest I am now worried to go anywhere with him, because I don't know what will catch his attention that will make him bolt...and I don't like this feeling at all!!!!  In the meantime we are told to "wait and see"...just love those words *not really*...
I also asked to have a "Case Meeting" with several of the people on our team, including the "flip flop" doctor in hopes that we can get all on the same page. I was told that the "flip flop" doctor's office will get back to me, if this dr. thought it would be something she wanted to be part of...

~ My dd is getting bigger, is getting more and more independent :)!  She let's you know when she wants something, if she doesn't like something or if she does...there isn't really any inbetween which can make things difficult. 
Today, for lunch my mom took us out to Swiss Chalet (I know what was I thinking...we don't go out to restaurants with our middle guy because it always ends in us leaving) and my dd freaked out about something behind where she was sitting. She screamed and was shaking, it was weird...we asked the waitress to remove a metal chicken that was there in hopes it was just that. NOPE, not that...the people who were behind us left so it wasn't that...she was absolutely terrified.  It was good food, but I left feeling sick to my stomach since the meal wasn't exactly peaceful or uneventful...

~Me, I am doing well actually...I am slightly stressed but it is no wonder I am!!  I have a bad left knee since High school, have had 2 knee surgeries and a lateral release done on it but am still suffering from knee pain.  I am going to my family doctor this week to get a referral to get an MRI plus X-ray done on it...also to put my family doctor's mind at ease that I am okay and not stressed like "flip flop" doctor seems to think I am.  Another story for another day!!

There ya go for now, will be back with 2 crafty projects I think :)!

Hugs,
catherine

Look at this ....





I looked out my window, and noticed it was raining out my back window but sunny out the front window :p!  So I just so happened to go out onto our back deck to see a rainbow over our house, so I ran and grabbed my camera...took these pictures :).  










Not even 2 minutes later a second rainbow appeared above the first one, pretty neat I thought and had to share :)!







Then the second one disappeared, and then the first one just kept getting amazingly brighter...then they were both gone.  All 3 kids ran out onto the front deck, it was the first rainbow that they had ever seen. So it was a pretty neat bedtime treat for them :)!

Hugs,


Today's appointment for my middle son

I am starting to really think we may as well move into our local children's hospital, because I am now there 2-4 times a month and get frequent flyer miles too while I am there so frequently. Anyways, todays appointment was for my son to see a Plastic Surgeon for a birthmark that our ped's neurologist was concerned about and wanted to get a second opinion.  To make a long story short, he has to have the birthmark removed probably when he is a teen but not right now...if it isn't removed apparently it can turn into some sort of skin cancer (don't know what kind).  


Hugs,

Saturday, May 23, 2009

Blurffing

I came across this neat post on a blog called HennHouse, and it really hit home to me...might even make you teary eyed as well so you may want to get a kleenex or a box full of kleenex. I wanted to share this post with you though:


There are some moms I know… maybe you know them, too.

I know a mom who explains to the airline ticket agent at the counter that her son has autism. Or Aspergers. And she watches as the employee observes her son’s obsessive behavior. Or his intense interest in the wings of the airplane.

I know a mom who checks her daughter’s diaper every ten minutes to see if it is wet so she can catheterize her and measure the post-void residual. Measure what her daughter can’t pee out because of her undiagnosed neurological disorder and her rare metabolic disorder.

I know a mom who struggles to explain the “blind” disabilities her children have. And how, because of the Fetal Alcohol Syndrome or the Reactive Attachment Disorder, they really can’t help it. That their behaviors are not born of lack of discipline or bad parenting, even though that is what the outside world sees.

I know a mom who has fought day in and day out with insurance companies and state agencies to provide life-saving equipment for her son who was born with an extra chromosome. And, though tired, I’ve watched her continue to fight because she is on a mission to prove that a life with Down Syndrome is a life worth living.

I know a mom who adopted a baby she knew would be sick. Who she knew would have a hard road ahead. And she still feels every, single struggle her tiny daughter goes through.

I know a mom whose son is addicted to drugs. She raised him by herself… setting aside her own desires to give him the best life possible. And she isn’t giving up on him now. My heart breaks with each update of relapse.

I know a mom who struggles not to be embarrassed when her son can’t seem to sit still or reads every, single label at the grocery store. Out loud. She tries not to wonder what others think and she tries not to be bitter that her son has to deal with ADHD.

I know these women because we are in the same club. Oh, we don’t pay dues and there isn’t a secret handshake; we don’t have a name and there are no rules or bylaws.

Except that we don’t judge each other.

And we don’t apologize for the way we raise our kids. 

You can’t elect to join this club just because you want to. It isn’t that kind of club. You are handed your membership papers in the fine print of a diagnosis you never wanted to hear.

I didn’t think about this club when I stood before a judge and promised to love my sons no matter what. No matter the problems. No matter the diagnoses. No matter what.

I didn’t think about this club when I sat in an exam room and a sterile, professional neurosurgeon told me what would be “wrong” with my daughter.

Other moms were never in my thoughts. And certainly, I never thought about how much I would need them when I didn’t think I could take another breath.

But that is the beauty of this club. This community. They seem to appear in the crowds and reach out through cyberspace. We don’t think of ourselves as “special needs moms.”

We’re just moms.

Parenting our children is our number one priority. But sometimes, we have to do it from the side of a hospital bed. Or we have to do it creatively. Or we do it through a different lens. Or we lose friends because they don’t want their kids around ours. Or we lose family because they don’t understand the diagnosis, the therapy, or why in the world we would want to adopt more kids.

The members of this club understand.

They meet you on your porch with pomegranate martinis and pour over outdated printed web pages with you searching for the same thing—hope. They leave you encouraging or funny notes about something or nothing at all. They send you cards in the mail filled with confetti just so that you have one thing to smile about today. 

They celebrate with you when your three-year-old daughter finally stands up on her own for the first time. They grieve with you when your son is suspended from school. They understand why you don’t leave your kids in the nursery and they are angry with you when you are asked not to bring your kids back to junior church.

They celebrate with you and mourn with you when the minute and mundane become more than bearable. They know that even though you mess up bad sometimes, you are doing exactly the best that you can.

These are my people.

These moms get that I want to be a mom first and deal with the special needs after, but that most of the time I don’t have a choice. These women will stand next to me as my child is wheeled into surgery. And cry with me when the results are better than expected. These are the women who understand why I rock my 12-year-old son in a big rocking chair desperate for attachment. And cry with me when he pushes harder against that love.

These are the women who believe with me that what it says in John 9 is about our kids.

“As he went along, he saw a man blind from birth. His disciples asked him, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?" "Neither this man nor his parents sinned," said Jesus, "but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life.”

These moms believe with me that through their disabilities, our children will have the work of God displayed in and through their lives.

And these women still hope with me that someday, we will brush our hands along the hem of His robe and our children will be healed completely.

These are the women who love my kids simply because they are my kids. And will grieve and celebrate their disabilities simply because they love me.

These are my people.  


Hugs,

Catherine


Movie Mingle

The other night, we (my crafty friends and I) decided to have another mingle and so Val thought of a GREAT idea for our mingle: We have to create a card (with stamping on it) that represents our favorite movie in someway.  Plus, apparently one get's bonus points if you use the stash that you have at home or something you have also NOT used before in your stash.

I thought that it is an AWESOME idea, but my problem is that I am quite a movie buffette (lol, tee hee had to change it) and I have A LOT of favorite movies :)! 

Val even gave us a link to help us out if we were having some difficulties creating something: 


So I have created a card, and am soooooo EXCITED about how it turned out but am not allowed to post it until I have mailed it out or when I think the person recieving my card has gotten it.  Which is hard to do when you are so excited :p!  I will be good though, and will create a second card in a few minutes to post.  

Hugs,

Friday, May 22, 2009

Bday card for Emma


My middle son has a little friend from Pre-school who's Bday party is this weekend, and I had to make her a card so here is what I came up with.  Things you might not be able to tell from the picture are:


~I used some glass finish on her wings, her polkadots on her shirt, on the petals of the flower, and the pink balls on her crown. 

~I colored the center of the flower using a Tombow yellow marker, and then I put a clear "Dew Drop" on top to make the flower pop off the page a little bit :)!

Hugs,

Thursday, May 21, 2009

Wanna win this beauty??


Check this beautiful coffee maker out, what a beaut eh?? Lol, okay so if you are addicted to coffee like then I know you will want to know how you can win this sweet coffee maker :D!  Just head on over to AnyLuckyDay  and enter, easy peasy :)...


Hugs,
catherine

Wednesday, May 20, 2009

Pictures in the sun




This afternoon I decided the kids should play outside since it was a beautiful warm sunny (buggy) day, so I thought it would also be a great time to take pictures of them while they were playing.  I just HAD to share these pictures with you all, especially since there are some grandparents who come on here from afar wanting to see their grandkids.Here is 

my little weed whacker :p!  She thinks they are the most prettiest flowers ever, and how convenient that they just happen to grow EVERYWHERE.  "Look mommy, more mommy !!"





This picture I took of my middle child looking through a Little Tykes car window, turned out pretty neat eh??  He was playing in the water in the back of the little car, seeing what things would float and what didn't.  








I just couldn't resist taking a close up of him through the same window, what a handsome fella :)!  The best part is he had a pretty good day today, which is really nice to have on a sunny day.









Lol, my dd was making a funny face at me since she knew what I was upto...I just wanted to get a picture of her holding out her flowers.  I got that too, but I also got this silly face too which she thought was funny later when I showed her.  








Since she was the most co-operative out of the 3, I stuck with her for this photo op and her big brother wanted nothing to do with it.  







Darn it all, she found more dandylions...going to have to show her how to pick them properly :p!  Determined little girl she is :)!  The next sequence of pictures I took will show you just how determined she is...














See I told ya :p!









My son wanted to sit on my lap and swing with me, so I took a picture of him by leani
ng way back and having him hold on tight onto the swings ropes.  I LOVE this picture of him :)! 











Here is my new pro swinger, once she is on it she just wants to keep on swinging...mind you she also wants you to keep on pushing her.  "High as a sky mommy, High as a sky!" is what she says to me when she wants another push :)! 






Here is the last picture I took for the afternoon, since I had to go in and make some supper :)!


Inky Hugs,
Catherine

Project #2





Here is the project that Deborah gave us to take home to work on :)!  I had some new paper here at home that I wanted to use with this project, so I used that instead of the patterned paper Deborah gave us.  So this first picture is of the front of my little project, just had to use the glittery butterfly patterned paper that I picked up from Michael's with a coupon the other week.  





Here is the inside of the card, I decided to use one of the photostamp images that I stamped out when I borrowed some photostamps from Kim for the Stampsmith DT call.  LOVE how this project turned out :)! Thanks so much Deborah again, for such a fun project and also a fun night :)!

Inky Hugs,

Last nights crafty night


We were only able to get to one project last night at our crafty night, and that was the project Kim did with us!  What a beautiful project, I was actually quite surprised at how easy it was to do and have been wanting to do one since Kim gave me one of these cards a year ago.  So I was THRILLED to finally make one, and to see that it was actually quite easy :D!  I am still not quite finished with this card yet, as I want to do something on the front of it but I wanted to show you what we created.  Here is the back view of the card that we made:  




We weren't able to get our usual 2 projects done, but we were lucky in that Deborah had made up kits for us to make our projects at home.  Thinking I will work on mine today :), and may have to call up Deborah to ask questions I am sure :p! 
We missed all of you who were unable to be there and hope to see you out at our next get together in June :)!  Thank you gals for a much needed crafty night out...can't wait for the next :p!


Inky Hugs,

Tuesday, May 19, 2009

Swap card for tonight's crafty night


Right now I am at the monthly "Crafty Night" at Deborah's place, sadly not all of us could go so we shall miss you all that couldn't come that are usually able to come.  Here is the card that I created for the swap/challenge we have everytime we get together, this swap/challenge was to create a card using a  stamped image of a woman.  I was able to borrow some photo stamps from Kim, for this challenge and also to apply for the Stampsmith DT :) *thanks Kim*!  





I LOVE how this card turned out, especially since I didn't really know what I was going to do with this stamped image or how I wanted it to look...I kind of went with the flow.  I just love the BOBUNNY paper, can't get enough of the stuff...gotta go get more soon though. 
Here is the inside of the card, wanted to do something a bit different than my usual style...made the card look antiqued :)!  Thanks for stopping by, and I will have more posted for you all tomorrow from our Crafty night endeavors ;P!

Hugs,

Monday, May 18, 2009

Victoria Day

On Thursday our van decided to pop it's "I need an oil change" light on,  so I made an appointment on Saturday morning to get one done this morning at 9 a.m.  2 of my 3 children will be going to my mother's house to have a playdate which they haven't had one of in awhile, usually my mother comes with us and helps out with the kids.  This time I don't think the kids would have fun where I am going, plus it is a rainy day and that just doesn't go well with what I have to do.  While I am waiting for my oil change, I am luckily in the Dartmouth Crossings (a business park) that has things like Michael's and Walmart in it...so I think I can keep myself busy :p!  

My oldest son, my dh both went out to the new family church camp that they are helping my father in law and about 40 or more to build.  It is called Bayside Camp, my son went to the camp last summer and is hoping to go this summer...it is going to be an amazing camp that is for sure but it still isn't done yet and there is A LOT of work to do.  My husband and I went to the old Bayside camp, which they sold a year ago to build a new camp since it wasn't big enough to hold the number of children who were wanting to goto this amazing camp.  
I also have start prepping my middle son to get ready for his "orientation day" at school tomorrow, and I am nervous about this but luckily our Early Interventionist will be there to help out. Since I will have my dd and my oldest with me when he is there at his primary orientation, and I am praying that it will be a nice hot sunny day tomorrow...no rain because I want the 2 I have with me to play on the playground equipment.  
Well, I gotta get going to my oil change but that is what I will be doing this morning!!  Will be crafty this afternoon I think :)!

Hugs,
catherine

Sunday, May 17, 2009

Bellarific Friday Sketch challenge

 This afternoon I came across the "Bellarific Friday Sketch" challenge, since I hadn't done a blog sketch challenge in awhile I thought I would give this one a go.  If you are interested in trying to create something using this sketch, then send your enteries into: emily@stampingbella.com and you have until May 21st at 5 p.m. EST time.

Here is what I created using the above sketch, have fun :)!



Inky Hugs,
Catherine