Our Newest Addition...

A little girl in love...




We got turned onto Waldorf dolls from a friend of mine. And while I am not a person who necessarily will go for the "all natural" product...it doesn't hurt. They are very cute...and K really seems to prefer the "softer" dolls much more than the hard plastic dolls.


The only problem with these dolls is that they are flippin' expensive!! It just so happened that the friend that turned me on to these dolls has a very talented sister-in-law who had decided to try to make a few of these dolls. The first five people to let her know got a doll made for free...you just had to buy the materials. I was so in!! And, so, the first doll was underway...a little cutie with blond hair and blue eyes just like K.


Not too long after the first doll was underway, I saw a notification on the side of my facebook that my friend had commented on a pic in a group called "Bamboletta". In checking out the group, I somehow got on her website and entered my name into a drawing for a Waldorf doll by the home-operated company. And to my great surprise, I won!! The doll I won, I let K get her in the mail and bring her home and open her who became named Emmy. The one that was being made (what an awesome woman for doing that, as these dolls sell for over $100 each...usually around $130-160), K opened Christmas morning from Santa Claus. She later became known as Annaleise.


Now, I was looking around on Etsy a few weeks ago, K laying on my side, late at night. I thought she was sleeping...but found out she wasn't as I opened a window with the cutest little doll with dark hair, dark skin and dark eyes...K fell in love. I wouldn't spend the money for her. But, K kept asking and kept saying how much she loved her, and how much her "girls" needed a new friend. In thinking about it, K had a bunch of money in her banks plus some she had gotten for Christmas. So, I explained to her, if she really wanted to have that doll, she had to buy it with her own money...if she had enough. Well, it turned out she did have enough money and was more than happy to pay for her own doll.


She was sooo proud that she paid for it herself. Then was the hard part....waiting for it to come in the mail. Well, yesterday, she arrived!! The newest family member. And, after much deliberation on K's part, she became "Melody" cause she has a red dress (just like Melody on her movie). lol....the reasoning of a 3 year old!! Anyways, K is just in her glory with the new arrival...She is actually asleep upstairs snuggling all three right now (although she is showing a little more preference for Melody right now over the other two).

Here is a pic of K watching tv with her girls!!

My Perfect Family!

To us, family means putting your arms around each other and being there.
– Barbara Bush


My family is my life. Simple statement...simply said...but embraces all my feelings for my family. My daughter is definately the entertainer in the family...keeps us laughing, and keeps us on our toes. My little princess. My little kindred spirit. The one who loves to have movie night with her mommy and daddy, loves the colour pink, adores fairy tales and happy endings and has a spirit that is so very, very sensitive (which can also means lots of tears!)… she is gentle and kind to her sister (our dog)---Kuma (for the most part!) … between growing up and becoming such a great helper for mommy, she’s still such a sweet little girl who just wants to dance with her daddy when he gets home from work and snuggle up with her mommy late at night. I cannot imagine my life without her and I honestly do feel so blessed to call her my own.





My husband, of whom I have talked about in an earlier post. My best friend, my Man, my Confidante, my Sweetheart (although he doesn't like people to know) who is up for anything, and if he isn't, I can usually convince him!! He loves to tease, which gets our daughter going, and pick and poke whenever he gets a chance...and he LOVES the reactions of the recipient of his teasing. I feel so lucky and honored to have him as a part of my life.

My Mom and Dad. Always there, even though we are so far away from each other. Always know I can depend on them and go to them with anything. Will they judge?? maybe...but they will always do what they can to help. And they are also head over heals in love with K (not that any grandparent don't love their grandbaby). The don't get to see her very often, but when they do...I love to just sit back and watch them with her. Interaction between them always makes me smile, cause you can always see the love between them. I hope I can grow to be 1/2 the parent they are, and I will be successful in my job as a parent.

My brother. Although I don't see him very often, or talk to him very often...I still love him to pieces. He is freakin' hilarious...can always make me laugh...and we have a great time together when we see each other. Again with him, as with my parents, I love to watch the interaction between him and K. Amazing to watch!! Especially considering he doesn't want kids... And, I know, no matter what, he would do whatever he could for me if I needed him.

My in-laws are awesome as well. My mother in law, and father in law are really great people. As with my parents...we always know we can depend on them. My sister in law....hmmmm...she's a different story...haha...just joking. I love her too, but a lot of our relationship is teasing and being jokingly mean and rude to each other.

So many people have no family...I am very blessed in my life.

You Wanna Go-Me Homey???

My husband M can get my daughter all riled up like no other. The other night they just cracked me up. K was tugging at M and singing and repeatedly "Daddy, Daddy, Daddy"....so he turned around and with a home-boy accent says " You wanna go-me homey, you wanna piece of me"??? She in turns starts yelling, "You wanna Moe-me Moe-me, you wanna piece of chicken"?? We both laughed so hard...so she says again, "You wanna Moe-me Moe-me, you wanna piece of spaghetti"?? haha...K seriously keeps me entertained....All The Time. And M likes to help out the situation.

My Wonderful Hubby!!

“Sometimes in life, you find a special friend. Someone who changes your life just by being part of it.
Someone who makes you laugh until you can’t stop.
Someone who makes you believe that there really is good in the world.
Someone who convinces you that there really is an unlocked door just waiting for you to open it.
This is forever friendship. Your forever friend gets you through the hard times, the sad times and the confused times.
And if you find such a friend, you feel happy and complete because you need not worry.
You have a forever friend, and forever has no end. ”







That person for me is my husband. We've been together since 1997...that'll be 13 years in May...Holy Crap!! A lot of people think we have the perfect relationship...We totally don't. And, to be honest, we haven't always gotten along, but we are not ones to just give up on a relationship because of a few arguments. We both enjoy a good argument...but some have been doozies. Don't get me wrong...its gotten pretty bad between us sometimes, but things like that happen in many relationships. Through the good times and the bad, though, he has ALWAYS been there for me...even though sometimes I tried to push him away. And, no matter whats going on, or how upset I am...he can ALWAYS make me laugh...even if I don't want him to. I just wanted to do a shout-out to my wonderful/awesome husband...I love you babe!!! And I hope and wish for all the women out there to get a great guy, just like me. Muah!!!

Walking in a Winter Wonderland

“…Jack Frost took his paintbrush
as he sailed across the sky
so every morning as the sun comes up
his artwork greets the eye …

… so when you’re in bed sleeping
and outside everything seems faint
just remember at midnight
Jack Frost begins to paint…”





What gorgeous Winter days. Yesterday and today. Mild temperatures as far as Winter goes...and just gorgeous...the trees with a light "frosting" of ice...everything glistening...I love Winter...can u tell?? Anyways, it was such a gorgeous day yesterday that K and I headed out for a leisurely walk just after we got home (me from work, K from daycare).

K was being a ham as soon as the camera came out...





And the scenery was freaking gorgeous <3





Here is my favorite pic of K from our walk yesterday:





Where there's a puddle, there's a child jumping in it ...and loving it...





...and to end this "post of pics", one more pic of this gorgeous Winter day walk with my favorite
girl ...




...now if only we could just get a little more snow...it would be just perfect <3 <3 <3

Kreations!!!

I love to spend time doing things with my daughter...and she loves to create!! Anything and everything...she loves baking, cutting, gluing, painting, stickers...you name it...so the last few days, I got to spend some extra quality time with K, and K got to do what she loves best...creating.




First we made muffins...chocolate chip for daddy, strawberry yogurt for mommy, and K eats a little of both...lol. Next we moved on to make salt dough necklaces...let me tell you...this is the first time I had ever used or experimented with salt dough...what a heck of a mess!! and K loved every minute of it...except the wait for the cut-outs to cook and cool down enough for her to paint...but she was very pleased with the final product. And then, since the paints were out anyways, she decided to paint a picture with a rainbow, K and her best friend ML, a jelly fish, a heart, whatever her heart desired at the time...my little creator is very imaginative...and had the time of her life creating. She much prefers to be given the tools and told to go to, than to be told how to do something...and I try to encourage her individualism...(is that even a word??, anyways, you get my point). Oh and we made 4 batches of play doh last week that she had the time of her life creating...making "snowmen" and "crabby patties" and "flowers" and "butterflies"....now just remains...what to create next???

Gorgeous Girlz with their Girlz!!!

"Lean on me, when you're not strong, and I'll be your friend, I'll help you carry on, for it won't be long, 'til I'm going to need somebody to lean on."




The above pic is of my daughter K (left) and best friend "ML" and their babies!!!


Now, I have to say, I have the BEST child care provider for my daughter I could possible ask for!! When I went back to work 2 days before K's first birthday, I was devastated to be leaving my daughter with a virtual stranger. Being not from these parts, I didn't know anyone who did childcare, so I did the dreaded (gasp) newspaper search. There was only one from that search that I was even interested in meeting. Bonus for me (and K), it turned out she was a Brownie leader that a friend of mine knew. So, if nothing else, she would have first aid, etc. But boy, did I get more than I bargained for. First of all, K liked it sooo much there, even from the very first day, that I have never had a problem dropping her off...more of a problem some days trying to convince her to come home with me...lol. "A", her childcare provider also has a daughter about 3 months older than K...so that was great. Apparently they hit it off right away, and have been best friends ever since. It was the hardest thing leaving my daughter for someone else to care for for 8 hours a day or more, but A was awesome!! She added me to her facebook, and would randomly post pics of both the girls playing or some of just K by herself. It was easy to tell K was having a great time there by the smiles she had in all the pics A posted. This helped me sooo much with the transition of going back to work, and with not being with my daughter 24/7. She would also do K's hair, and if/when K would leak through a diaper or mess her clothes in some way, I can't even tell you how many times she would wash up her clothes. She also did the potty training thing along with me. Couldn't have done it without her!! I hold her in the highest regard for sure. And now, I can even say she is a friend. We started to get the girls together outside her place this past spring and spent lots of time at the parks. A spiratically comes over for an evening of hottubbin'. We usually plan for an hour or two...but by the time we come in, it is usually about 5 hours...haha. The girls did a couple sessions of swimming lessons together this summer (which A offered and took them to cause I was working---see what I mean?? She's awesome!!). And, they are now in the same dance class!! I am so glad K has such a good friend that she thinks so much of at such a young age. She will just randomly say "ML's my best friend and I love her very much"!!!

Beautiful Ballerina....

Daughters Dance their Way into Your Heart
Whirling on the Tips of Angel Wings;
Scattering Kisses & Gold Dust in our Paths


My daughter K LOVES to dance. Ever since she could move she would bop her head or body to music everytime it was on...even if it was a commercial...or the weather channel...lol. So, when she was 2, I enrolled her in dance class. The dance class in town don't take kids till they are 3 so we made the drive to the next town for a "Mommy and Me" class...No trouble to tell she is the love of Mommy's life-cause I don't dance for just anyone. But when this year rolled around, there was no question that she was going to the dance class in our town. Not only no driving for Mommy, but two of her best friends are going to this dance class as well. And staying true to her love of dancing, she looks forward to each and every class!! I am so glad she has found something she loves so thoroughly. I hope she sticks with it!!

Here is a pic of my Beautiful Ballerina....

~~~Family~~~

Other things may change us, but we start and end with the family.
– Anthony Brandt




I moved away from home in 2000...a few months before my 20th birthday. I was excited for new adventure and it was a move that needed to take place. However, there is not a day that goes by that I don't miss my family like crazy. My husband and I had been together 3 years when we moved away from all our family that we have known. Long story short we settled in a small town 2570 kilometers from what we call "home". It was and will always be home to me...however the town we live in now is home as well. And, its not that we don't have family here...its just family I don't really know. My dad's sisters have been there for me/us since we have moved here, but when I first moved here, I only knew these "family members" from a 2 week visit every second year my whole life. That being said, they have grown to be a lot more.

We have managed to get in a few visits throughout the years, including going "home" for our wedding in 2004. Our parents have made a few visits as well. In 2006, when our precious daughter was born, we have seen our parents more than before as K is the first grandchild on both my side of the family and M's side of the family...a very spoiled and VERY loved little girl!! And since K has been born I have even seen my brother here twice (just short visits, but still), and M's sister here once.

I didn't have the whole "homesick" feeling before K was born...Not that I didn't miss everyone, but I didn't feel like I "needed" to move back. Once K was born it was a different story for me. I HATE that she has to grow up sooo far away from not only one, but both sets of grandparents, and her aunt and uncle...plus tonnes and tonnes of other family. I think its because I grew up across the field from one set of grandparents and a 10 minute walk from the other set. I had sleepovers, and played with them and visited with them almost every day. But through the invention of the new (not so new now) technology, K knows her grandparents even when she hasn't seen them in a while...and she always has. Video messages has been awesome for both K and the grandparents...and the added bonus of Facebook lets me share pics with all the family so they can see her growing up.

We had a visit from M's mom in October, and my parents came for Christmas this year!! I was sooo excited...as was K. They just left to go home 2 days ago and I miss them already. Now I have to decide when our trip will be for the year.

I will leave you with a pic of my parents and K during their Christmas trip. This is a pic of them on a horse and wagon ride to look @ all the Christmas lights.

{2010}

Cheers to a new year and another chance for us to get it right. ~Oprah Winfrey

Wow!! I can't believe its 2010 already!! I cannot wait to see what this year has in store...The last year was overall awesome. I love watching my dear daughter "K" getting bigger, growing up and constantly learning. Spending time with hubby has been great too...We seem to be able to argue less and enjoy each others company more as we are getting older. Christmas was A.W.E.S.O.M.E. K is at the perfect age...she had all the excitement that should come with Christmas.

However, the end of the year could have been better!! December was a super busy month for me (as well as everyone else I'm sure). My parents were coming on December 17 for the Christmas holidays...the second Christmas in 10 that we have spent together. So, as I am cleaning up shop and organizing and getting ready for their arrival (which I am a procrastinator, so everything was done in the last few days), there was a little glitch. On my way home from work on December 14, a perfectly fine day-no snow on the roads, sun was shining-I was thinking of picking up "K" and going for a little walk with her when we got home, when some guy decides to run a stop sign. My first accident. Needless to say, dealing with police, insurance companies, and garages took up a LOT of time. They were thinking of writing the van off, but in the end, the van was worth more than they had first anticipated. So, $4900 damage later and almost 3 weeks later....I am still waiting for my van....

I also had a birthday recently. The big 2-9. haha...only one year away from dirty thirty, which I was dreading...but it turns out 29 sucks!! I had a regular appointment for a physical scheduled...an obligation more than anything else, cause I've never had a health issue in my life. So, imagine my surprise when I show Doc my hand (which randomly breaks out into blisters), and she decided to do a biopsy on it later that day, she found out I have a heart murmur that I have to get tests done to check on it, and...in my sample provided, my white blood count is low and some blood in my urine. I have to drop off another sample next week. I went back for my biopsy that day...and when it was almost over...I made the mistake of looking over just as she was pulling out part of my hand and the blood started flowing. Long story short...I had to stay for an extra 20 minutes with my feet up and a cold cloth on my head.

Anyways, enough complaining for now!! Cheers to 2010!! May it bring me back my van, my health, and be full of greatness all the way around!!

*posting a pic of me with my favorite present for Christmas!! My Newfoundland quilt!! Thanks Mom and Dad!!

I've given in...

I have been considering creating a blog for some time now...and kept putting it off due to so many other things going on, I am not sure I can keep up a regular blogging process. But I have finally decided to start one anyways...and we'll see how it goes. I am a 29 year old mother of one and loving it...she is the single, most wonderful thing that has EVER happened to me. My gorgeous daughter "K" (a mother's biased opinion, I know) is 3...I am married to, and still in love with (most of the time), my wonderful husband "M" since 2004 (we've been together since 1997). Anyways, that is my quick introduction, and I will be back to post/blog some more...and hopefully be a faithful blogger and be able to keep up with it!!