52 Books :: Oy....

I am up to my eyeballs in sick, teething, sleep deprivation, and toddlers testing the limits around here. Nick just got over a bug only to pass it on to me (c'mon, twice in 1 month, not fair!), Baby C is either sick or teething on some molars and Baby S has decided that this week she must wake up every hour on the hour... this makes for one very tired mama.

As far as my 52 books project... I am just too tired to read. I have been working on a super quick read for what, 2 weeks now? Every time I sit down to read I get in about 2 pages deep and then fall asleep until one of the babies wakes me up. Its slow going for sure and I think I'm just about ready to admit defeat, throw my hands up and walk away from the challenge. But that's not how I roll - so I'll keep going but the results might be a tad embarrassing!

How cool is this?

What is that? Its a birdhouse by Extreme Birdhouse. How cool is that? I would love to have one of these beauties at the corner of our yard. Right now the birds have re inhabited their nest under the deck but I would just love to give them a new handcrafted home...a birdie spa if you will!

Summer Days

We had a busy day today with lots of company....


:: We devoured a super yummy strata



:: Baby C discovered some grass clippings




:: And then stopped to smell the roses (well petunias)



:: Oh.. and I also entered a fabulous giveaway for a mama and child sized vintage apron from gardenmama - wish me luck!!!

Father's Day Baby Crafting

Baby C's first artwork... need I say more?

Making Jam Day 2

So we finished the jam on Thursday and did another batch on Friday. It turned out pretty well, however the last batch didn't gel as much as I would have hoped it would. Oh well, its a learning experience and not too bad for my first jam making attempt. I hope the strawberry jam goes better in a few weeks... I have really been looking forward to homemade strawberry jam! I'm getting hungry just thinking about it.

Making Jam Day 1

Today Cecilia and I realized that it was the first day of the season for Tuesday Market in St. Jacobs and Nick just happened to be home for the afternoon so off we went with Baby S in tow to get berries and rhubarb. We got everything cleaned, chopped and now its sitting in the fridge with some lemon juice and sugar waiting until tomorrow to be made into jam. They have only been sitting for about an hour but if the syrup we have right now is any indication... this jam is going to be fabulous!

A shower gift

I just love baby showers that take place after the baby is born because I can make a gift like this. A set of 38" square baby blankets all personalized with the baby's name, birth date and sometimes a little nickname. My mom made me a whole bunch of these flannelet blankets when Baby S was born and they are by far my favourite - they are perfect for swaddling. So I decided they would make a fabulous shower gift and made some up! I hope baby Eden loves them as much as Sadie does!

Right now

Right now I am loving...


:: This bonnet and the little girl who wears it





:: Sitting on the deck enjoying a tea and the view


:: The fact that we just celebrated my grandmother's 90th birthday and she doesn't look (or act) a day over 75!


:: Sister love, it just melts my heart every day

52 Books :: Week 26 (Book 24)

I was thinking that I really need to make some progress on that stack of loaned books so here goes another:





The Forbidden by Beverly Lewis

Cricket's first modeling gig

It certainly took me long enough but the sleep sack 2.0 is finally finished. Thanks to all the pattern revisions it turned out really great and is a perfect 0-6 month size. Baby S still likes to be swaddled to sleep so she will probably be 3 months old when I actually start using it, however if I were to have put her in it in the super early days I think the waistband still would have been a little loose. I have been debating adding a drawstring to the waistband to tighten it up... what do you think? If I anchored it at the back securely would it still be safe for a baby?

52 Books :: Week 25 (Book 23)

In preparation for my strawberry-rhubarb jam making date with Cecilia I'm going to peruse The Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving.



Seeing as this will be my first attempt ever at canning I figured a little background reading wouldn't be a bad idea. I have a cold cellar downstairs just waiting to be filled up with this summer's goodies! I can't wait!

Not quite sure

Last Christmas I had a lot of positive feedback on the photo quilt that I made for grandma and quite a few suggestions that I should sell these quilts. Now that I'm not pregnant and can comfortably fit behind my sewing machine I have been coming back to this idea again and again. The only thing stopping me is that I don't quite know if there is a market for these quilts, and I don't know if anyone would be willing to actually pay for them... hmm.... for the time and supplies it would take to make a 42" X 56" quilt with 24 photos I would have to sell for about $250. I guess I have some thinking to do!

Happy days

I have just had the most fabulous 2 days. It all started when Nick surprised me by getting off work early yesterday. Monday and Tuesday were super rough days with the girls, something I ate must have been bothering Baby S' tummy and big sister C was getting annoyed by all the crying and lack of my attention so when daddy showed up at 11am we were all thrilled. We had a wonderful afternoon playing outside and walking around the neighbourhood...

and today.... well today we had our first puke free car ride to Guelph since January! YEAH! A friend recommended Vertigoheel to us as she swears by it for her extreme motion sickness. Its a homeopathic remedy for Vertigo and I was much more keen on trying this for Baby C rather than Gravol or some other similar medication. It seems to be working for us because we haven't been able to travel more than 2km from the house without an incident and today we went 50 km round trip! I can't even express what a relief it is to be able to leave the house with the kids without having to worry about cleaning up Baby C, the car seat and anything else that gets in her way.

What a great 48 hours! I couldn't have asked for them to be any better!!!

52 Books :: Week 24 (Book 22)

So I decided its time to filter through the quick reads pile that was loaned to me when I was first pregnant with Sadie. There are some super quick and easy reads in there and as my mind is so easily preoccupied these days I thought it would be the perfect time to get through them.

First on the list is...

The Parting by Beverly Lewis. I have read a lot of Lewis' work in the last few years, and there is something about the simplicity that I have always enjoyed.