ikea you never disappoint

My master bedroom/nursery has been 'under construction' for close to a year now. When we began our little reno the hubby and I had decided right off the bat that we were going to try to steer clear of too many Ikea items. I love Ikea, but in the past we've spent lots of money there on some items that have not withstood the abuse that 2 small children can subject it to. And, truth be told, I always associate Ikea with 'temporary' furniture. Pretty much, items that we need until we find something nicer and more permanent.

Now that the room is near completion (all that's left are the lamps) I realize that there are only 2 items in the room that DID NOT come from Ikea...the bed and a chair. How did that happen? Didn't we say we were gonna go with 'better' furniture? Didn't we agree to invest in well made, sturdy and timeless pieces that would last us, well, forever?

Well that's exactly what we did! When it comes to design, you cannot beat the clean, modern lines of the majority of the furniture at Ikea. I think, having owned many pieces in the past made of that horrible particle board/chip board stuff, it is really fantastic that Ikea seems to be moving forward and making a lot of new items in solid wood. Our dresser/changing table and side tables are both from the Hemnes line, and our crib is the Gulliver...all solid wood. Very sturdy, and not rickety at all. My favourite part about the Hemnes pieces is that the drawers all boast a pretty yellow and white stripe on the insides, so no need to put drawer liners in myself:) And really, you can't beat the Ikea price tag. Believe me, I tried.

For all that we tried to stay away, Ikea always seems to have the answer when it comes to budget friendly home decor. Ikea, you never disappoint:)

no more teachers, no more books

Yup, summer vacation started yesterday. The kids have been looking forward to sleeping in and lounging around in their pajamas (me too). The school year went by so fast, and with summer upon us we're on the hunt for fun activities and places to occupy our time. We start swimming lessons next week, 2 days a week for the month of July. I'm excited for the kids, and for the mini papercut. She misses them terribly when they're at school, and I know when they both start back in September, she will probably cry for them. But we're going to have a wonderful summer, just being together and having fun:)

{embrace} the camera thursday...ok friday

I admit, I forgot again...but better late than never right? Hmm, I seem to make this face a lot. Me and the funny monkey:) Love him!

Hope you all linked up on Emily's blog!

easy is a four letter word

What seems like a lifetime ago, when my daughter was in kindergarten, she came home one day from school proclaiming that one of the other kids had gotten in trouble for saying a bad word. 'What word is that?', I asked her cautiously, bracing myself. Not wanting her to repeat the word I prompted, 'What letter does it start with?'. She thought for a moment and replied 'The 'E' word.' It took me a minute to realize that I had no idea what word she was talking about...I couldn't even think of a negative 'E' word at the time!

'What's the 'E' word'
'Easy'
'Why is it a bad word?'
'Because what's easy for one person might be hard for someone else. If they think it's hard it doesn't mean they're dumb.'

At that moment easy was added to our list of bad language words.

It's true, all you really need to know you learned in kindergarten:)

daddy cool

Daddy you are the best, for sure #1
And you always know how to have the most fun!
Daring and silly and loving and kind
Dado I don't think there's a better one you'll find!
You love us with all of your heart every day,

So we're wishing you a very Happy Father's Day!























Wishing all the dads out there a very HAPPY FATHER'S DAY!! Hope you have a wonderful day with your kiddies:)

oops! {embrace} the camera...saturday

I completely forgot to post this on Thursday! So here we are...a little blurry, but that's us:) Hope everyone else remembered and linked up over with Emily's blog!

good day sunshine

Today the mini papercut is 8 months old! She's got 4 teeth and she's starting to crawl...in fact she's trying to attack my laptop as I type:) She's got the best smiles and loves to eat. She's sweet and funny and snugly and silly, not to mention curious and mischievous too! My teeny tiny sunbeam:)
















And while I'm thrilled at how much she's learning and growing, my heart is screaming 'SLOW DOWN ALREADY!!!!' I'm trying to enjoy my littlest papercut, but boy is she in a hurry to catch up to her older siblings!

gotta dance

A few weekends ago the eldest papercut had her ballet recital. She really enjoys dancing, and getting to wear a fancy costume makes it that much more enjoyable:) She has done so well in her class that she was selected for the competition team next year! We are very proud of our little ballerina!

baby you can drive my car

Image courtesy of The North York Drive In Theatre

Yesterday was a very gloomy and raining day, but it didn't stop us from doing our usual Saturday routine of ballet and running errands. We took the kids out for dinner later in the evening, and luckily while we were eating the rain subsided so we decided to see a movie at the North York Drive-In. If you've never taken your kids to the drive-in, I highly recommend it!

We've been to the drive-in with our kids before and have found that it's a much more enjoyable, and affordable experience than going to the regular theater. We stocked up on snacks before going, and brought every one's pajamas for extra comfort! The mini papercut slept through the whole thing, but the two older papercuts had a blast...as did the hubby and myself:) We saw Shrek Forever After, and even though we didn't stay for the second movie ( yes, you get to watch TWO movies for the price of ONE!!) it was well worth the cost. For those of you in our area, adult admission is $11 each, $2 for kids aged 6-12, and kids 5 and under are FREE!

This is definitely something you should all try with the kids...so much fun!

{embrace} the camera thursdays

I was so busy today I almost forgot to post this! Here I am with all the little papercuts after dinner time.
















Hope everyone got out their cameras too! Remember to link up over at Emily's blog...Happy Thursday everyone:)

{embrace} the camera thursdays

I am absolutely LOVING this idea! I am inspired by Emily over at the anderson crew, an amazing photographer and fab mom too! The idea is so simple...take a picture with your kids every week. Not OF your kids, but WITH your kids! I think I've only ever posted one pic of myself here, so this will definitely be a challenge for me, but I'm ready and willing. Hopefully I'll be able to keep up and I hope you all join in too:) So here we go...

1 sweet and wriggly baby + 1 loving mommy = a perfect, and a tad blurry, pic:)

And just because she's cute, here's one of the mini on her own!

i might even be a rockstar

Image via Burkeheart Baby on Etsy

My niece (the mini muffin) celebrated her 1st birthday a couple months ago. Yes, that's how behind I am! I had meant to post this then, but better late than never, right? She's growing into such a sweet little girl:) So, I'm giving you all a glimpse of what her present was...and as a nod to her musician daddy, we chose a bit of a rockstar/music theme!























For her quilt I chose fabrics that were a little out of the norm for a little girl, but the mini muffin is a bit of a tomboy herself, so it really suits her.


















And I was able to find a cute pair of shoes by Burkeheart Baby on Etsy made from the same 'mix tape' fabric in the quilt! They make the most adorable and comfy shoes for little feet, and use wonderful fabrics!
















I did stray a bit from my own rockstar theme, making her a sweet pink floral reversible pinafore...as a nod to my own girliness:)






















Happy Belated Birthday Mini Muffin! We love ya!