Thursday Threesome

I have a threesome of things that I would like to brag about. My Thursday Threesome is about three things I am super proud of right now!

1) Diana at Forgetfulone was so kind as to recently present me with a wonderful award. Diane writes a wonderful blog full of insight, honesty and informative tidbits and inspiring scrapbook accomplishments that have all made me a regular reader and bloggy-friend.


I am so happy that my posts make her smile, and not run away screaming or even worse, shake her head in disbelief! In all seriousness, I am so honoured that she would present me with this award. Thank you Diana!

2) Nissa at Nissa's Niceties presented me with a great award and a wonderful compliment when describing the Lunatic Fringe. I blushed when I read it!



The rules that come with this award are:

1. You have to pick 5 blogs that you consider deserving of this award for their creativity, design, interesting material, and also contribute to the blogging community, no matter what language.
2. Each award has to have the name of the author and a link to his/her blog to be visited by everyone.
3. Each award winner has to show the award and put the name and link to the blog that presented her/him with the award.
4. The award winner and one who has given the prize have to show the link “Arte y pico” blog so everyone will know the origin of this award.
5. Show these rules.

So I'm passing this award on to:



Little Elvis' mom at Pregnantly Plump. I totally love her blog: she and I seem to have so much in common, starting with our equally adorable 18 month olds! Her wonderful photo and video montages ROCK! Go check her out!

Kathryn at Seeking Sanity is one amazing mom and blogger. Her honesty, sense of being and wit draw you into every post. It is like you are watching and enjoying life, right there beside her, her hubby and her three gorgeous little boys!

Amanda at Shamelessly Sassy is, well, sassy, brilliant, witty, edgy and simply wonderful!

Mishelle at Secret Agent Mama is a brilliant photographer - I would so buy a coffee book of her photos! She ROCKS!

Alf at I Shot a Man in Reno knocks my socks off - every post is funny and true - where else can you get grass-growing update photos and awesome lessons of life in the great west? Alf keeps me in stitches and while we could have played on the same soccer pitch in high school, I am sure she was too cool to hang out with the likes of me!

3) Finally, I am proud of a project I just finished. We are attending wedding of the century in 9 days and for weeks I agonized over what to give as a gift. I am sure I will get tons of blogging material leading up to, during and after this wedding, so I will not yet go into any details - but lets just say that with DJ being a ring bearer and the wedding being out of town, this wedding is costing us a fortune!

Normally I would not share a photo of upcoming wedding gift, but I am certain the bride is too busy and occupied to visit the Fringe. Plus, I want to show-off my handy-work!

I found a neat picture frame on sale (actually bought two so I could have one since the sale price was AMAZING! ) I inquired about the colour scheme and flowers for the wedding...then in a few days completed a small personalized cross-stitch for the bride and groom. I inserted it into the cool multi-picture frame and VOILA - home-made wedding gift!

I am quite proud of how it looks and I am proud that I only spent a third of what I figured a proper wedding gift would cost - I figure the time, effort and love that was placed in every stitch should increase the value!

Here is the finished product that I am very proud of...what do you think? Is it an acceptable wedding gift to give my hubby's cousin?





So, what three things are you proud of today? Take inventory - it makes you feel pretty good to brag a bit! Go for it!

Votes and Vacations!

Reality shows are getting more and more popular. It is unbelievable what the common-Joe will do on TV for money or 10 seconds of fame. You can vote for housemates, dancers, singers, performers - just about any type of person. I have to admit, there are a few reality shows I really enjoy: Dancing with the Stars, Amazing Race, and (sadly) America's Got Talent. I will even watch the first few episodes of Idol to see the crazy people.

Over the last 6 weeks I have been glued to a Canadian-based reality show. Every Sunday, even though I have to get up at 3AM for work, I race to the TV at 8PM, humming, well, honestly, belting out, the theme song to "What to do with a Problem Like Maria".

Yep. That is the name of this reality show. "What to do with a Problem Like Maria".

All die-hard fans will know right away the concept of this reality show.

For about an hour BEFORE the show I can be heard belting out songs like "The hills are alive with the sound of music" and "These are a few of my favorite things" and "Doe, a Deer". Then, after the show, I am humming the tunes for hours, even days.

Yep. It is a reality show to help cast the next Maria for the theatre production of The Sound of Music.

I LOVE the Sound of Music movie starring Julie Andrews. And I cannot wait for the stage production in Toronto, Ontario, Canada this Fall.

This reality show, while a bit corny and Canadian-quirky has been very enjoyable. They started out with 200 contestants and over the weeks it has been narrowed down to two. Click HERE to read more about the show. Andrew Lloyd Webber is even involved in the show. Too cool!

The competition has been amazing. These gals can sing, dance and act. The race has been very tight. All of the top 10, let alone the top 3 could be leading ladies in almost any musical. I can only imagine what this exposure will do for their careers on stage.

Two of my top three made it to the final. I have been cheering for Janna, but have liked Elicia since "Maria School". Yep. Maria School...go, click on the link above and learn more about it!!!

Anyways...last night, for the first time EVER, I voted for a reality show contestant. After the last performance I ran down to the computer and logged my vote. I also made hubby vote for my favorite contestant too!

Tonight, at 8PM the voting results will be in...I am on the edge of my seat!! I cannot wait! Funny, I can now understand how people, who do routinely vote for their favorite reality stars, really feel connected to the show once they cast a vote, take a stand and invest in the outcome of the show.

How do you solve a problem like Maria? -- One of my favorite things, for sure!!!!!

Now onto vacation news...I am officially on vacation this week. Oh, do not get me wrong, I am still getting up at 3AM and going to work for 4AM. I am still coming home and being a stay-at-home mom through the day - but, to only one kiddie! Yep, the boys are off to full-day camp - so, it is just Madigan and I....can you say VACATION?!??!?!?!? I am so excited to only have one little person in my charge. For those of you with more than one child, you know exactly what I am talking about!!! It is so rare to get one-on-one time when you have more than one child - so, I am hoping to make the most of this week - in terms of play and attention, but also in terms of getting household duties that are near impossible to complete with a 4 year old, 3 year old and at 17 month old under foot! Ya! VACATION!!!!

Artisitc Inspiration

Artistic inspiration is all around us.

Vincent van Gogh was inspired by a simple vase housing twelve sunflowers.

Leonardo da Vinci captured the beauty and intrigue present in the now-famous smile of Mona Lisa.

Michelangelo saw the beauty of the human form and masterfully sculpted The Statue of David.

Group of Seven were inspired by the pure beauty of the Canadian landscape.

Edvard Munch eerily captured total fear in his painting The Scream.

My son Anderson, well, he was breast fed...

(His new digital camera allows for clip art to be added...not sure if this is what he meant to do or not...but like all good artwork, it could generate much discussion)

Sunday Scrappin'

For many weeks I have been admiring and commenting on fellow-scrapbookers' blogs. Looking at their pages and designs sure do inspire me. I have been especially impressed with the page layouts and designs by Diane at Forgetfulone and Miss Sniz and Mighty Morphin' Mama, along with a few others (sorry I cannot remember them all - but I love them all!).

I am addicted to scrapbooking as much as I am to blogging. I think they are very similar in the fact that both are creative outlets that allow us to explore, explain and capture daily life and those special, memorable occasions. For me, both offer some "me" time, but result in an archive of experiences and memories that me, my family and our friends can treasure for years to come.

There is a great blog for Scrapbookers that has a neat weekly challenge. It is called Sunday Scrappin' and it offers links to many other blogs that are super amazing.

Last night I participated in my monthly blog Saturday and completed a few pages of which I am very proud and I thought I would take the plunge and share them. Hope you like them!

This is layout is Madigan's birth. I have some wonderful photos that my hubby took during the c-section - including one of just her foot sticking out of me and then the exact moment they pulled her out, bum-first!

This is a series of shots from June 2007. I like my banner on the top of both pages I used stickers and paper to make a long beach scene.

We do an annual hike near our house each October as the leaves are changing. We take a photo of the kids on the same rock every year. This is my 3rd year scrapbooking this event and I think this layout is one of my best!

This layout took a long time as I was not sure how to use the poor photos we took!

Though, I do like the 3 photos of DJ on the left page - one with no makeup, one with me applying the makeup and the final Shrek!

In the past I only scrapbooked specific events. But I am slowly starting to do "month spreads". this two page spread contains photos from a series of hikes we took in the months of October and November. I like the foot prints I drew on the title.

This single page spread does not have any journal writing since all I could write about was how Santa did not take one good photo...he was either blinking or sticking his tongue out or something! Man, it is hard enough to get a good shot of a 3 year old, 2 year old and 10 month old on their own!!!

One the left side are photos about my eldest son's annual heart tests. I included a sticker that quotes Mary Poppins and reads, "Perfectly perfect in every way". I changed it to read "perfectly imperfect" since that is exactly how his cardiologist describes DJ's heart!

The right side of the page is kind of cool since it only has two photos of the boys and the rest are produce and parking meters! This is the street market we visit every summer - we usually shop then swim and eat most of our fruits. Twice last summer I fed the wrong parking meter and got a ticket...so, this page is a neat little summary of our summer marketing.

This was an emotional page! The first day of school for DJ! I love how proud he looks walking to the school bus stop. I drove like a crazy-woman to beat the bus and get a photo of him getting off the bus at school!

Well, I hope you enjoyed a glimpse at what I worked on this weekend. I am hoping to participate in a few more of the Sunday Scrappin' challenges.

Do you scrapbook? Want to share? I would love to see your work.

Caught Red Handed

For my volunteer day at the boys' preschool we decided to make popcorn balls. A really easy treat that involves popcorn, marshmallows, a bit of butter and food colouring. We decided to use red food colouring.

Here is a photo of our special treat:

The few drops of red food colouring make the marshmallows turn a carnival pink and the treats look like candy corn.

And here is a photo of Madigan....caught red handed after handling the red food colouring!

Note, this photo was taken after a face cloth scrub, one extended bath time scrub and one sleep.

Anyone know how long red food colour taints the skin?!?!??!?!!? If you do not, I'll be sure to update you on our findings!

Notice her arms, face and feet...she also has a perfect baby hand print on the back of her bald head, and her tummy is full of splotches and if you look closely, her face is a bit tainted as well.

Long girl hair and China

Mrs. Incredible, over at That's Life v 2.0 (check out her blog - I LOVE IT!) posted an awesome BRAGGING post featuring a masterpiece by her son Jack Jack. It is amazing...and I felt a bit jealous.

My DJ is now 4 years old and it is a battle to get him to even write his letters. He NEVER comes home with art work from junior kindergarten or play group.

So, on Saturday I asked DJ if he wanted to draw a picture and make a birthday card for a party we were going to that afternoon. I suggested he draw a picture of Baby Alythea opening her gift.

He did.

Low and behold, it actually looked like a person. It even had lots of hair - just like Baby Alythea! I was so proud!

Then DJ asked for another piece of paper to draw a picture of Mommy.

Wow - I was so excited...I got him a nice fresh piece of paper and struck a pose.

And voila! A portrait of Mommy... Isn't it great!

DJ showed the picture to his Daddy and brother. Anderson asked who was in the picture. DJ replied, "It is Mommy. Look - she has long girl hair and here is her china. "

Interesting...why am I holding china? Not sure. (The china is that big read circle just under my chin.) So, I ask DJ why is Mommy is holding china?

"Mommy, every girl has a china - it is where you go pee pee and have babies."

Of course....a china ...my china ...now on display on our fridge...

Blogging Lesson 421 - Or there abouts

Never leave pint-sized Picassos unattended in order to have a quick check of your favorite blog sites.

Lesson well learned...

(my bad!)

The Backyardigans Live - EXCELLENT!

My boys LOVE the Backyardigans. It is a Canadian cartoon that plays on Treehouse and NickJr. DJ and Anderson just love them...they are a bunch of friends who have EXCELLENT adventures in their backyards. Two years ago DJ and Anderson talked me into making them Pablo and Tyrone costumes for Halloween.

DJ as Tyrone the Moose

Anderson as Pablo the Penguin

So, when I heard the LIVE SHOW was coming to town...well, with lightening speed I got us row L tickets. Believe it or not, the show sold out in 9 minutes!!!!! The boys were so excited. They even insisted on wearing their old Halloween costumes. Unfortunately, only the heads still fit them, somewhat, at that!

The boys clutching their tickets!

What an EXCELLENT afternoon with my boys at the theatre. We had a blast. The boys were on the edge of their seats cheering on the characters and following the directions and dancing. It was so fun to watch my boys react to what they saw on stage.

The show was EXCELLENT! The boys were EXCELLENT!!! The whole afternoon bonding with my boys was EXCELLENT!!!!

Hey! Is that Pablo and Tyrone or DJ and Anderson??!!??!!

Hey....speaking of EXCELLENT, I got an EXCELLENT award from an EXCELLENT blogging friend, TheVasquez3 . You gotta check out her blog - lots of photos and fun family stories. It is EXCELLENT! I am so happy to be sent some EXCELLENT bloggy goodness.

As with tradition, I would like to pass this wonderful award to some EXCELLENT blogging friends.

Kathryn over at Seeking Sanity has an EXCELLENT blog. I love her EXCELLENT music that compliments her most EXCELLENT style of capturing life with three young children. I can sure relate to her...and so will you!

Kellen over at On theUpside has an EXCELLENT blog too. Her writing style pulls me in every time, her sense of humour makes my day and she makes me feel like I am right in the middle of all the action. EXCELLENT!

You know, I have been reading about 45 different blogs on a regular basis. They are all EXCELLENT in their own unique ways. Plus, I so appreciate all your support -especially during the recent challenges I have written about. I so appreciate all your EXCELLENT comments and support. Therefore, I am giving you all this award!! All of you, my blogging buddies really make me feel part of an EXCELLENT community of friends. Thank you. You all deserve this award more than me!

Be sure to spread the bloggy love!

Bravo! Bravo! Encore! Encore!

What a wonderful performance. Earlier today DJ and I went the National Arts Centre and attended a Kinderconcert. WOW - it blew me away!

We saw the "opera" entitled, Annabelle Canto starring Christina Tannous and Dominic Boulianne. It was so great. I could never do a review justice, so, here, in DJ's words is what happened:

"I went to eat lunch with my girlfriend Emily. We had lots of good food. But I had yukky chocolate moosey and Emily had yummy chocolate cake. When we went to the music store and played with the stuff. It was fun. I wore a bow tie and my nice pants. Emily wore a blue dress. I like Emily the best. She is my girlfriend and we play together. We got to see singers there was a girl and a boy and the girl lost her voice. She could not sing and the piano man was very funny. He made a machine to help her. But she lost her voice. But they found it in a x-ray because she had a frog in her throat. She had an operation and now she can sing. It was fun and I liked the singing and I liked the girl's blue hair. My favorite part was lots of parts like when she ironed her hair and then when she drank the potion and when she called the Lost and Found Department and when he had pins and needles in his hands and when she touched my chin and when they got the frog out. I was happy they got the frog out of her throat. Can I go watch WonderPets now, Mommy?"

It was amazing to see this performance. I highly trained and extremely opera singer preforming for 100 children - who were all captivated (as were the adults!) I highly recommend this concert series and hope to attend another soon. If you are in the Ottawa area, check out the program! Support the Arts! Click HERE for more information.