park hop

I've decided to try something new with the kids this summer. We try to spend as much time as possible outside, but we always go to the same parks, the same walking trails and the same libraries. But a few weeks ago I came across an article challenging parents to take your kids to a new park everyday, basically getting out of your comfort zone, literally. I thought this would be a great idea since there are an abundance of different parks, and splash pads in our area, but we never really venture out into new territory. I have to admit I'm one of those moms who finds a park and sticks with it. Hey, why fix it if it ain't broke, right? But I think the kids would see it almost like an adventure to go to a new place everyday, and I'm making a conscious effort to make sure that we are spending most of our summer outdoors as opposed to being couped up in the house playing video games.

And to get things rolling, as far as being outside goes, we've managed to make it to the farmer's market and the splash park a few times already. The mini papercuts are out for the summer as of next Wednesday, so let's hope I can get everything mapped out by then! And fingers crossed that the weather co-operates too! :)

{embrace} the camera thursday

You may have noticed a bit of an extended absence from us. No reason really, just catching up on everyday stuff. Plus I don't want to bore everyone with what I bought at the grocery store!! ;) With school coming to an end for the summer and the kids finishing up all their regular school year lessons, we're ready for a REALLY relaxing next few months...hopefully :)

So here we are, the mini and me, getting set to do a little shopping before the big kids are home from school. We haven't embraced the camera in a while, but I hope you've all been participating with Emily :) If you haven't joined in yet, then what are you waiting for? Grab your camera and your munchkins and take some pics together...believe me, they'll love you for it!

system malfunction

It finally happened. My computer is on the verge of crashing and I've been spending the last few weeks clearing all of my photos and files onto an external hard drive. That's a lot. I have roughly 4 years worth of pictures of the kids on my laptop, and a few years back when our first computer crashed I had the first year of my son's life on there. A friend of ours saved most of the pics and videos but a lot was still lost. I think I have everything cleared from my laptop now and I'm shopping for a new one, so for the next few weeks there will be very few pictures accompanying my blog posts.

I know, boring but bear with me because we've decided to revamp all the bedrooms. That's right, all 3 at the same time. The painters should be coming within the next week or so to give us an estimate on the kids' bedrooms (they have striped walls that need to be sanded, and unfortunately I cannot do it myself with a little one attached to my hip) and once the rooms are painted the real fun begins! Even though we did most of the master bedroom/nursery makeover just a little while ago, I never really got around to fully completing it and have recently changed out the bedding for our bed and transformed the crib into a toddler day bed. Stay tuned folks, we're in full on decorating mode now :)

happy easter!

Happy Easter everyone! We hope you all are having a wonderful holiday weekend :)

{embrace} the camera thursday

That's us doin' our thing. My squirmy wormy who loves to be upside down and me:) Hope you all linked up with Emily today to share the camera love!

a year + a half

I meant to post this last week and completely forgot! Here's my little lady hamming it up for the camera :) Wow, how time flies! She definitely marches to the beat of her own drum. Loud and boisterous but still sweet and silly too. Yup, the miniest papercut is growing up fast, and we're enjoying every minute of it!

chandelier envy

Image via ATELIER Abigail Ahern

I love chandeliers, but because we live in a condo with concrete ceilings, and we're planning to move soon, I don't want to spend the money or the effort to have something hardwired. Not to mention that I also do not want to drill any holes in the ceiling that I cannot fix. So I admire from afar the beautiful chandeliers that hang in so many others' homes and wait patiently for the day when I will have one too. Sigh.

Image via PBTeen

We are currently doing a mini makeover on the eldest papercut's bedroom. She's 9 years old now and has most definitely outgrown the pink and green stripes I had so lovingly painted for her when she was 2. All the furniture is in, and we are in the midst of choosing paint colours, but something is missing. Can you guess what it is? Yup, a pretty chandelier. But instead of sulking about not having one I have decided to make one out of cardboard. Light enough to hang from fishing line suspended from the walls as opposed to the ceiling, and relatively simple enough to make with a toddler running wild underfoot :) It may not have any actual light, but I think the final product will make a stunning statement in the room, don't you?