Party pics

Here are a few pics from Scott's party the other day....

When the kids first got here they all played downstairs until Steve arrived with the pizza (about 10 minutes). Then it was pizza for lunch, then the activities began (all pictured below) and finally, some presents and the firetruck cake (shown in an earlier post). It was a fun party, and the 2 hours just flew on by!

Stick the dog on the Firetruck!

Fireman Relay... Here you see, "STOP, DROP and ROLL!!!"

After the kids did Stop, drop and roll, there was a mad dash to get into the Fireman clothes... and a race to go around the buckets at the end of the driveway.



Next we had a piñata and all the kids got to try a few times hitting it... but it finally took them pulling on the strings at the bottom to open the trap door in it to release all the candy.

Jackpot!!!

Yes, these are water balloons... what would a fireman party be without water?

The kids lining up for "Soak the Fireman" game... Steve always wanted to be a fireman, and on this day, he got to be one! The kids thanked him for it, and they all (including Steve!!) had so much fun.

These were all supposed to be outdoor games, but because of the rain they got played inside the garage. And for Soak the Fireman, the kids stood under cover inside the garage and Steve stood out in the rain... which didn't really matter because he was getting pummelled by water balloons anyway!!!

And finally it was cake time. Then the party was over and the kids all went home. Next my parents came for dinner and spent the weekend with us. What a fun-filled, wonderful weekend we had at our house!

New Classes Added

I have added 2 classes to my Spring schedule....

Monday, April 27th - from 7 - 9:30om
Treasure the Memories Scrapbooking class. Come out and make 2 Double 12X12 layouts using new techniques and products. Suggested titles will be given, but you are free to title the pages however you'd like! Cost is just $15.00

Saturday, May 9th from 2:00 - 4:30pm -
Mother/Daughter.... Celebrate Mother's Day by coming out with your mother or daughter to this fun class. Cost is just $25.00 for the two of you, and if you have additional daughters, (or mothers!) the cost is just $10 more per additional person. Don't have a daughter? Why not bring a niece! If your mother lives too far away, feel free to bring your aunt! I am pretty flexible... this is just a great way to celebrate the special women in your life, so if someone has always been like a daughter, or a second mother to you... of course she is welcome to come with you!

Contact me for more information or to sign up for a class.

And in the spirit of "mother/daughter..." here's the latest pic of my mom and me... my parents were here over the weekend and this is a pic I took of us when we took the kids to the park!

Open House

Don't miss my Open House!

Date/Time: Wednesday, April 1st from 7:00 - 9:30pm

Highlights:

- make and takes

- new Occasions Mini and products on display

- retired products on clearance

- doorprizes

- refreshments

RSVP by Wednesday noon to get a free stamp!!!

Where's the FIRE!?!!!

I don't think this firetruck would be much good at putting out the flames, but it was still a hit at Scotty's 6th birthday party, yesterday. Party pics to follow, but I just wanted to share a few pics of the cake!!




The Playmobil Fireman that we got Scott on his birthday came in pretty handy as props around the cake!!

I used red string licorice wound up to make the firehoses.


I had a new flashing Canada Flag pin, so I thought it would nicely complete the cake as the firetruck lights! A #6 candle sat in the bucket on top of the cake for Scotty to blow out... (you'll see that in a later post).

Seeing Red!

My oldest has recently turned 6, and we have his party coming up (it couldn't be on his birthday because the kids were away at my parents' over his "real" birthday!) He decided on a Firetruck/Fireman theme for his party and so I, in my loads of extra time (that was sarcastic, if you missed it!) decided that I would make a perfect firetruck cake. I've seen them online and they can't be that hard, right?

Well, the cake itself is not the problem... I spent 2 days (well, pieces of 2 days, not a full 48 hours!) trying to get the perfect red coloured icing for the truck. It started out like this....


Then I added red (no-taste) Wilton gel. But all I could achieve was this at first: (I don't think Scott would be happy with a "Cameo Coral" firetruck cake!)


Finally, after a lot of asking around, and even putting a plea to my pals on Facebook who are cake decorators, and more mixing and adding gel colouring, I came up with this... There is a bunch of chocolate icing in this as well, which helped create a richer red. I am so glad that the gel by Wilton is no-taste, otherwise nobody would eat the cake!

The colour seemed to darken a bit after I left it in the fridge. It is a great firetruck colour, now, so I am very happy.

Once I finish decorating the cake I will post the pictures!

Here is the invitation that Scott and I made together. These are some super-cheap invitations to make, but I think they turned out pretty cute, and in keeping with the theme!

Mudbath, Anyone?

While at my parents' house, last week, the kids found a tiny little mud puddle that just kept on giving... it was a beautiful, sunny day, so a trip outside was a perfect idea. Then my oldest convinced my youngest that they should jump in this mud puddle. It seemed like a small, uninviting little puddle to me, but to a boy that was newly 6 and a girl that is 2 1/2, it was perfect for what they called their "mudbath." And that is exactly what it looked like they had done... looks tempting, eh?!

Have you seen Slumdog Millionaire? Well, this is nothing compared to a certain scene from that movie!!!



Yes, her beautiful jacket came perfectly clean... I washed it even before the mud had a chance to start drying. Her pants were already stained playpants, but they started out a light pink!

Todd is yelling, "Scotty, don't touch me!!!"

While I washed the mud out of their clothes (Todd barely got any on him... he was a bit disgusted by the whole thing) my mom gave the kids a much needed bath (with water, not mud!).

A beautiful gift!

On Friday, my friend Sarah came over for her stamping order and to share her latest projects with me. She surprised me with this beautiful gift... A nailcare set. I did my nails right after she left and I love the results! It looks like I have clear polish on, but I have nothing on my nails at all, they are just buffed with the 3-step buffing block! I love it...and I can't stop running my fingers over my smooth nails. I can never keep polish on my fingernails because I just pick it off. I have seen little booths selling this stuff in Malls, but I always pass by thinking it won't work - well, my friends, it does!!! I love my nails! Thank you so much, Sarah, I LOVE my gift!

This is the card Sarah made for me, too. Isn't that so cute? She does such a beautiful job on the colouring.

New Paper!

I love this new Flamingo paper... the colours, the designs, the vibrant feel. I couldn't wait to play with it, and this is the first card I made using its bold combination. I can't wait to sit down and play with it some more!


P.S. Not that this has anything at all to do with the card, but... I was watching Robin Hood while I made this card the other night! VHS rocks -RH was just 50 cents at a neighbour's garage sale!!!

OPEN HOUSE

Mark the date for my

Stampin' Up! OPEN HOUSE

location: my house (email for directions stampinsars(at)hotmail.com)

time/date: Wednesday, April 1st from 7 - 9:30pm

- rsvp for a free stamp

- door prizes

- refreshments

- new products on display

- make and takes

- retired merchandise on sale

Occasions Mini will be available to order from at the Open House. Order dates: April 1 - June 30th

This and That...

We had a great week last week while the kids were at my parents' place. The biggest thing I accomplished was that I went through their toys and sorted, gave away, chucked (broken ones) and divided the toys to bedrooms, playrooms and even designated "no-toy" zones! On our main floor, I am trying to keep the area for books, games and puzzles. In the bedrooms there are books, Little People (all in Elise's room), some blocks, cars, and a few other toys. Then in the basement is all the other stuff, including sports equipment (which may get sent to the backyard or garage once the weather warms up).

There were so many other things on my list, but a week really is not enough time to do a whole house. I wanted to go through the kids' clothes, too, but since I had done that on a smaller scale in January, it wasn't as much of a priority as sorting toys.

Plus there were dates. We went for Fish and Chips and to a movie the first night without kids. Then we rented a couple movies on a different night. And finally, we went to another movie on the last night without kids. One of the movies we went to see was "Slumdog Millionaire." Great movie. I don't know what all it won at the Oscars, but I think it deserved everything it won.

We also developed a new love for the Chipotle Chicken wrap at McDonald's. Plus, it is Roll-up-the-rim time at Tim Horton's, so we didn't really do any "fine dining" but we did eat out a couple times. But the drive-thru type "eating out!" Pretty classy - but so very, very yummy!!

I got to spend the better part of a day shopping... alone... just me... and mainly for me, too! That was fun. But I peter out pretty fast when I'm shopping, so I am not one to go on "shopping weekends!" That doesn't really even sound fun to me. But in 4 hours alone (including travel time) I hit 6 or 7 stores and got almost everything on my list - plus a few things that weren't on there (funny how that happens, eh?!).

Anyway, here are a few pics from the weekend when we went back to collect the kids... sorry, no pics from our week... I only took card pics, and I have already posted those. Not even one pic of us, or what I accomplished!

Elise colouring... a favourite passtime!

We stopped and picked up a little Carrot Cake on our way... Scott had his birthday while he was at Grammie and Papa's place. He loves carrot cake!


My mom had her birthday, too... here she is trying on the necklace I gave her as part of her gift.

Mom and dad opening their "thank-you-for-having-the-kids" gift. Lighthouse napkins, 4 clear coffee mugs (made in USA...hard to find these days) and some Timmy's English Toffee mix. My mom has started making special coffees for my dad because he got hooked on them on their last trip to my sister's house.... the only problem is their mugs are all pretty wimpy, so I thought 4 decent sized mugs would be a good gift for them.

Scott opening his Fireman Playmobil set (got it at the House of James... just in case any locals didn't know they sell it there!!!)

We also got him a Remote Control truck. That has gotten lots of use... he's the perfect age for an R/C.

Apparently, this was Todd's favourite pose all week... curled up with Papa - 2 peas in a pod, these two!!

A Beautiful RAK!

Last weekend, Alexa blessed me with this beautiful book of quotes and scriptures. I love it, Alexa! And you picked some really perfect quotes to inspire! Thank you so much!

My Mom

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM!!

Today, is my mom's birthday... hope you had a good one, mom! Since you have my kids this week, I doubt you're getting to look at my blog before now, anyway.... sorry it took all day for me to get on here and say Happy Birthday!!!

Kid-Free week...

We are blessed to have parents (both mine and Steve's) that will take our kids from time to time... sometimes for an afternoon, sometimes overnight or for a couple nights, and every once in awhile for a whole WEEK!!! We appreciate you guys!!

This week, our kids are with my parents, and we are at home. I am hoping to weed out clothes and toys that don't get used anymore... to do some scrapbooking while Steve works in the daytime... get some projects finished around the house and to go on lots of dates... (already been on a couple... it's Roll-up-the-rim time right now... and I love my English Toffee!)

On Friday, we headed over to the Island, and I thought I would share a few pics of our whirlwind trip over. Todd, Elise and I went over in the morning and Steve and Scott caught a later ferry, then Steve and I turned right around and came back home - after some ice-cream cake, of course!!!

Waiting, waiting... "Is that our boat, mom?"

This is what it looks like when you walk on with kids and their bulky car seats.... (notice Todd's sweater... see anything wrong with it?! Yes, he dressed himself!)

I love it that they were "playing" video games and I didn't have to pay a thing! Elise even said she "won" her game!!! We had to move a couple times when real paying customers wanted to play the games... I had to explain that my kids were just pretending! Then we found some brochures and went to sit with a nice looking couple that we found out were even from the same city as us!

Elise's hair was CRAZY! And the static electricity in the video arcade only added to our dilemma - she's not even moving here, it just stuck straight out like that. Eventually, she let me put it up, and it was a bit more controlled, but I think it's time for another trim.

We found a little window to watch the ocean from.

I set them up above the life jacket cupboards and they even had a little rest while we sailed.


We went to the funeral for Baby Grace (see earlier post) and we got there quite early (which is good because the church was PACKED) and Todd played with Papa while we waited. Then by the time the funeral started, both kids were fast asleep... I was counting on this when I decided to bring them along, because the funeral was taking place right at their nap time.

Todd in Papa's glasses. They are so much alike... I think I know what Todd will be like in 55 years, just by looking at my dad!

Then, after picking up Steve and Scott, we had a little party for Scott... this week he turns 6 - and he gets to celebrate it with Grammie and Papa, but we wanted to have a cake for him before we headed back to the ferry.

DQ Ice-cream cakes... our fave! I know there's a lot of pink on here, but mom only had pink candles, and they had "Pink-shirt Day" at school last week for the Anti-Bullying campaign, so I didn't think it really mattered that we were celebrating with so much pink! Look at all the other colours on there, too... it's very cheerful for a little kid's cake!

I think he ended up with a couple "girlfriends" even though it looks like he is blowing really hard!


Our way home... we were on another old ferry...

... which was VERY empty!


We went for a walk on the empty car deck, and laughed at the pet area! Don't know if Steve really should be sitting on that chair... talk about unsanitary... but it made a funny pic, anyway!

So, that's how we ended up getting a kid-free week.... and we are enjoying every minute of it! Thanks, mom and dad!