Coffee Date

If you were to come over for a coffee date my house would be a mess.

We would sit in the living room so I could watch the boys while we visited.

Zac and Eli would dress up as superheros and ask you to be a bad guy.

I would tell you that seeing Zac carry the stress of our move on his little shoulders is killing me and that I wish I could figure out how to calm him.

I would tell you that I worry about Eli. I would say he is so stubborn and strong willed that I am at a loss on how to discipline him. I would confess that he makes me question my ability as a mother all.the.time. and that I worry about how he will be as a teenager.

I would ask you how you are doing and would offer you a snack.

I would tell you that I am finding this pregnancy so much harder then my previous two, but then I would remind myself of all the tears shed and prayers voiced for this little bean and express how grateful I am to be expanding our family once again. Then I would probably cry a little bit and apologize, embarrassed by my inability to control my emotions.

I would walk you through the house and ask your opinions on the new paint colours and furniture placements.

I would ask if you had any suggestions that may improve our chances of selling fast.

I would tell you how excited I am to start fresh in a new town. I would say how frustrating I find it when people question why we would be willing to make this move. I would tell you how sad it makes me feel to know some of our friends and family do not support our decision. I would say the experience to live so far North isn't for everyone but that our little family is going to make the best of it and hopefully have the best time.

I would get butterflies in my stomach and state that I'm not sure I can handle Zac starting school.

I would ask your opinion on homeschooling.

I would show you my current knitting project and possibly the fabrics for my next quilt.

I would ask what you were making for dinner and then check to see if I had the stuff to do the same.

I would walk you to the door and sit on the stair while you got on your coat.

I would ask what book you are reading.

I would consider, out loud, taking the boys out to play and ask if you found it cold before you came in.

I would ask your plans for the rest of the day and then I would thank you for coming and say we should do this again soon.

Zac would be sad to see you go and refuse to say good-bye. Eli would wave and ask me for juice and a snack.

February's Books

This month revolved around mostly one book for me I'm afraid...

The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingslover

I found this book a bit of a challenge to read.

The story follows the Price family into a small village in the congo as missionaries. Nathan Price is a hard headed baptist preacher determined to save and baptize all the people in the village come hell or high water. Although his voice is never portrayed in the book it does follow his actions through the lives of his 4 daughters and his wife.

The story is told through the Price girls and it follows them from their mid/late teens up into their 50's.

I am not at all politically minded so the political aspects of the book, discussing the independence in the congo during the 1960's made this book a hard one for me to really get into.

Would I recommend it? Probably, as it was really well written and I did find it an enjoyable read until the politics came in...

...I did fit another quick read in though too...

Oddfellow's Orphanage by Emily Winfield Martin

I loved this book! 

Coming off The Poinsonwood Bible I needed an easy and cozy read and this one did not disappoint. I actually read it all in one evening. 

There is no complicated summary to this book, it simply follows the adventures of the children (also a hedgehog and onion headed boy), that live at Oddfellow's Orphanage.

It's an "early chapter book" full of Emily's wonderful drawings.

I really couldn't have enjoyed this book more and I look forward to reading it with my kids! 

What are you reading right now?

Musical Monday: Adele

I love Adele.
I think everyone does at this moment in time, but I'd like to just say I liked her before the Grammy's and before Rolling in the Deep was the crazy chart blowing sensation that it is!
This is a bit of an older video, but I love it still.
I mean seriously dude! That girl can sing!

Some other wonderful songs that I love can be viewed below via YouTube...
One and Only, PS - I think she is seriously gorgeous and all the pics during this song are stunning!
He Wont Go
Rolling in the Deep - not the official video, but I love this one of her in the studio
Someone like you - Grammy Performance!

bits'n'pieces

I carried around the camera most of the week snapping some random pics that made me smile and though I'd share some "Bits'n'Pieces" with you!

Happy Friday.

Garlic Cheese Biscuits

I love biscuits.

I think I could survive on biscuits alone actually... I've never met a biscuit I didn't like.

Rough day? A biscuit will make it better!

Feeling sick? There's a biscuit for that.

Tired? Biscuit.

Grumpy? Biscuit.

Happy? Biscuit.

I strongly believe life is made better with biscuits.

My go to biscuit is filled with cheese and topped with a garlic butter, because that makes for a good biscuit!

Unless you don't like cheese and or garlic... in which case I think you're a weirdo... but then you already knew that!

Garlic Cheese Biscuits

1 cup bisquick

1/2 cup grated cheese

1/4 cup cubed cheese

1/4 cup milk

Mix everything together and bake at 450 for 5-10 minutes until golden.

Garlic Butter Topping

2 tbsp butter - melted

parsley and garlic powder to taste

Mix the butter and spices and brush over the warm biscuits.

I'm drooling...

ok, there's more

ok, ok, so yesterday I didn't tell you everything...
there's been more going on here then just some painting and list making...

I've also been pretty full of sickness and migraines because I have a new little bean in my belly!
Although the timing isn't exactly what we hoped for we are super excited to be expecting a new little family member in September!!

I am only 10 weeks now and as much as we would have liked to hold off telling family and friends until the full 12 weeks of the first trimester had passed, with how I've been feeling and well... this...

we kind of thought there was no point trying to hide it.

yay!! 

What we've been up to

I know the last week or so my posts have been a little more distant then typical of how I write.

At least, I feel like I've been distant...

So I decided, it was time to confess some of the goings on in our lives these days...

The reality of my mister's job is we move... we will move a lot during his career. 

Most of our posts will be a duration of 3-5 years and then we will be packed up and shipped to a new location to start over.

We have been in our current location for 3 years now and were notified in early January that we would be moving on, somewhere new, this summer.

We're ok with this move, we are ready to move on and see a bit more of the country we love so much.

So what have we been up to??

We have been busy little bees trying to prepare our house to go up for sale in early April.

We have been painting every inch of the house that remained untouched from the time we bought it; 

we've been sorting through boxes that were ignored from the time we moved here;

we've been donating books, clothes and toys...

In short, we have been trying to empty our house of the clutter that it's accumulated in the 3 years we have loved it.

In addition to all of this we have been wracking our brains, making lists upon lists upon lists.

You see this move is exciting and terrifying for us.

We are moving north... really north. 

We are moving to a little town of 1200 people with very few resources. We need to prepare our pantry with a least a year's supply of goods along with any other items we think we may need along the way.

We will still have internet access and online shopping (thank goodness!!), but we are trying to be as prepared as possible going in.

Because "Prepared" should have been my middle name!

So there you have it... some of the reason I have been a little quieter on here with less to share and say... because in reality I am covered in paint splatters and writing lists like it's my passion.

well, truth be told, I do love writing lists...

Musical Monday: Blabla video

I am loving stop motion pictures/videos these days.
I only wish I were so technoligically inclined to know how to make my own.
But then it's probably better that I don't know how because think of all the time I would waste making them!!

In addition to my love for these videos I have long since had an adoration for BlaBlaKids and their products.
I have eyed them since before Zac came into our lives and I think this year I am finally going to narrow down some favourite stuffies and buyfor each of the kiddies in our house.

When I found this stop motion video on YouTube from BlaBlaKids it was instant love, so I had to share.
It's not a "song" for my musical monday, but there is music in the video... and it's my thing, so I decided you could forgive me!

Taking a Breath

Well folks, my mister is preparing to head out of town for a few days, for a hockey tournament, leaving me with an already fuller then usual schedule to navigate on my own. SO, I'm going to take a step away from the computer screen for the next few days.

I'm hoping to be back early next week with a bit more energy then I've had the last few weeks to start sharing recipes and crafty goodness again.

See you then!

xo

Lisa

I had all kinds of fun Valentine themed activities to share this year, but life has gotten in the way and none of them have been completed.
We're in a bit of a rut at the moment, trying to figure out a new rhythm in life as things are changing these days, faster then I had expected, but more on that soon.
So for now, I'm sending you an extra big hug to celebrate a day of love!
Hope you have a romantic one.

Musical Monday: Nancy Sinatra - Sugar Town

I think this video is awesome!!

Yesterday & Today

Yesterday I...

• slept in until 8:30!
• felt only a little sick
• had to take 2 extra strength Tylenols to get through the morning
• went to the Chiropractor... that was soooo gooooood, I needed that visit badly
• made 8 zillion puzzles (slight exaggeration?)
• kissed my boys until they asked me to stop
• used my mom voice... a few times
• got overwhelmed
• made Apple Oatmeal Muffins with the boys
• put a dent in our mile high piles of laundry
• worked on Zac's super hero quilt

Today I...

• got to sleep in until 8:30, again!!
• will eat the rest of the Apple Oatmeal muffins we made yesterday
• will pull out the screwed up stitches in Zac's quilt and fix my mistakes
• will paint the basement
• will work on the rest of the laundry
• will work on one of the many lists I am currently making...
• will say "I love you" 50 times
• will make a Root Beer Float.... mmmmm....

What have you been up to?

Gift Exchange

A few weeks ago the lovely Ms. Casey hosted a bit of a blogging party gift exchange.

I signed up and was randomly paired up with another blogger to exchange a small package we would each assemble for the other.

The idea was to have the package received by your partner by January 31st.

I was paired up with Jessica from Oh So Antsy and had a really great time getting to know her through some e-mails while I tried to figure out what to gift her.

Unfortunately neither of our packages arrived by the "deadline" but we knew that going in as our locations were so far from eachother (she's in Texas while I'm in Newfoundland), the deadline just wasn't realistic in our case.

Yesterday I opened up Jessica's package and was so excited with what I found.

she gave me two lovely balls of a purply yarn, 

 a bunch of different teas to try, along with steeping instructions

and this amazing hand cut Canada necklace.

Jessica has a shop selling necklaces like the above and I'm not going to lie and say I didn't have my fingers crossed that she would make me one.

It really was a fun experience and came at just the right time.

Nothing like receiving a package of goodies in the mail to brighten your day!

Thanks so much Jessica! everything was awesome!  

A little Video

I have this "thing" that I don't like sharing videos two days in a row.

So yesterday being Monday, I shared a video, which would normally mean I would try and avoid showing one today... yes, I am bizarre... yes, I know this...

however I love this little video and simply couldn't wait any longer to share it. 

I think it's just too cute and it puts a smile on my face.

Streamschool (Patakiskola) from Péter Vácz on Vimeo.

Happy Tuesday!

Musical Monday: Eisley - Silverspring

Beauty...
...makes me so calm and relaxed...
this is the song I listen to after a hard day.

Dinosaur Quilt

I finished a quilt!!

I started making it probably a year ago and just recently decided to cut it down from Twin bed size to lap size and I am so glad I made that decision.

Eli is not a comfort item kind of guy. He doesn't need any stuffies to sleep with, had no interest in a soother, doesn't need the same blanket every night... he's pretty laid back.

So watching him tote this blanket around with him everywhere is melting my heart. 

This morning both boys crawled under it and matched all their toy dino's to the ones in the pictures.

 There's nothing more gratifying then seeing something you made, loved!

The dinosaur scene in the middle of the quilt is a flannel panel. I cut long rectangles of co-ordinating fabric and quilted the fabrics surrounding the panel. The back is also covered with a flannel and if you can get past the horrible binding job it's nice and cozy warm!!

Now on to Zac's superhero quilt... hopefully this one will take a little less time to complete!

My Week With Marilyn

Growing up I always had a very strange obsession/adoration for Marilyn Monroe.
I read her biographies, spent hours looking at pictures of her, did school projects on her...
Kind of odd for a kid under 14, but there was just something about her.
Always so beautiful and sultry, but also... so sad.

A few weeks ago I saw some pictures from the filming of this movie and got so excited!!
I can't wait to watch it...