Mother's Day 2019

I was a lucky girl and my children and "R" gave me this for Mother's Day:

Not sure what I am going to make with this yet. 

I did Facetime with the two girls, and I popped round to son's house a couple of times, once to bring coffee in the morning (son and dh opening pool) and then later in the afternoon to see daughter-in-law (her first mother's day) and to see grandson.

When I went home I prepared supper and it was one of my favourite suppers.  Broccoli quiche, garden salad, quinoa salad and hard boiled eggs.  With strawberry and rhubarb crumble pie and cream.

The good thing about making all that food, is that I don't have to cook tonight.  I am out all day on Monday doing a Jelly Roll Rug class.  Here is a video on what I will be making, or something similar.

Happy Mother's Day!

Happy Mother's Day to all the mother's out there.  I hope you have a special day.  

I'm going to share some photos of all the daffodils we have blooming in the garden.  The people who lived here before us, obviously loved daffodils.

Happy Mother's Day..........

too all the wonderful mothers out there.  Hope you have a lovely day.

Photos from Saturday......

Our grands arrived on Saturday for a visit.  They were all as good as gold and are growing like weeds.  Our Little Man, is such a good boy we never hear a peep from him, mind you he can't get a word in edge ways for his sister!!!

 I was given a tomato plant, a green pepper plant and a container that contained a rhubarb, strawberry and blueberry bush by our kids.  The Princess and little man's parents gave me two gift cards, for Tim Hortons and Chapters, and a Risotto kit!

 We kept the two girls busy for a little while watering the plants.......

 As you can see the deck got watered as well!!

 The girls are ten months apart, but Our Little Munchkin is practically the same height of Our Little Princess now.  

 They both go to school at the same time, as Our Little Princess is a January baby, while Our Little Munchkin is a November baby.

 Our Little Princess chatter's away none stop.  She was helping her Granddad weed the garden and the questions were coming out of her mouth a mile a minute.  With a lot of WHY'S in there!!

 Our Little Munchkin was quite happy to let Our Little Princess do the talking!

We got lots of hugs and kisses from them all, which is a perfect way to spend the day!

Post from a while ago...

Rose commented on a blog post from back in 2008 about me and dh "stealing" rocks the other day.  You can read about it here.  The post talks about us "liberating" large rocks from a home building site (subdivision/estate), as we were flabbergasted that you have to pay by the pound for rocks in a garden centre.  As I will say again I have never ever had to pay for rocks for the garden and don't intend to start now.  Our present garden is "rockless," and I don't intend on adding any, but if I did they would be "picked up," on our travels in the countryside.  What are your thoughts on paying for rocks for the garden?

If you asked me what my mood was at the moment it would be annoyed.  I am annoyed with our condo board and it's stupid rules and regulations.  There is nothing we can do about it, but it has certainly made up our mind that as soon as dh retires we are moving.  Dh will not be retiring for a little while yet, anywhere between three and seven years but move we will, back into the countryside!  They still haven't said anything about the no dog signs but I can see that coming soon.

Finally a Happy Mother's Day to all the mothers out there today.  We will be having our Mother's Day get together next Saturday.

(image credit)

Our Little Munchkin........

We're going to see her today along with both kids and partners as it may or may not be someones birthday today (wink, wink!!)

Since both kids have their own houses I am pleased to say we split up hosting duties for special occasions.  Dd is hosting my birthday, I am hosting ds birthday and Easter as they are both on April 4th.  Ds is going to host Father's Day, maybe Mother's Day not sure which one, as he is a whiz with the BBQ and it should be BBQ weather by then.

So back to our little Munchkin.  She has had a cold again.  It could be due to more teeth coming in, or just because someone else at school has cold again.  This time dd was super organized and as soon as she started having signs of a cold and a cough, out came the Vicks Vapour Rub and the cold water Humidifier.  She managed not to get an ear infection or bronchitis this time so that was good.

I haven't shared any photos of her in the past couple of weeks.  I had to go back over my blog to see what I have shown you.  If you are one of my Facebook friends you will be groaning now as I often post photos of her on there.

They went to a 50's themed party at the end of February for her other Grampa.  Dd made the felt poodle and pinned it onto her skirt.

Here she is at school sitting under the table playing peek-a-boo.  Why, because she can!!  Love the highlighter pink dungarees.

It turns out she loves to do crafts; thank goodness, as you all know dd is a Martha Stewart wannabe!!!!  She loves to paint and crayon and put stickers on paper.  Must admit when I saw this photo all I could think of, is "Why didn't they put an apron on her, that's a brand new outfit she has on!!"

She loves school/daycare and gets an awful lot from it.  Her move to the toddler room has been put off for a couple of weeks; there is a reason but too long of a boring story to explain.  When she is well she is a happy camper and they love her in the baby room, as she is easy going and feeds herself.  The only issue is that if she doesn't get enough sleep, she is miserable and with some new babies arriving in the room who don't know the routine, it's been tough making sure she gets enough sleep.

Looking forward to spending time with them all today.

Oh and finally if you are at the other side of the "pond" a Happy Mother's Day to all the mother's there including mine.  Mine is a lucky duck as she gets two Mother's Day's per year, in March and in May when we celebrate Mother's Day in Canada.

Look what I got for Mother's Day from dd and hubby:

Yep, they're expecting their first baby at the end of November.  Honestly I was, and I think I still am in total shock.  I just wasn't expecting it, so it came as a complete surprise for for dh and I.  She goes for her first ultrasound tomorrow and she will find out the sex of the baby at 21 weeks.  My bet is on it being a boy; then I always say that!!!  This baby will also be the first great-grandchild on my side of the family.  Also Our little Princess  and dd's little one will both being going to school at the same time, despite Our little Princess  being born in January and the new little one in November.

Dd is well and hasn't had much in the way of morning sickness; mind you that is a blessing as when she has had it, she burst a blood vessel in her eye from vomiting that hard.  I had pretty easy pregnancies, so I would expect the same with dd.  When dd told Our little Princess  parents, they drove up to congratulate them and brought up the baby's first outfit.  Our little Princess  is 4 months old today.

Our little Princess , her parents and grandparents are heading to Mexico next week on vacation.  Our little Princess  even has a bikini!! I can't wait to see the photos of her in her bikini!!

So now I have another baby shower to organize this year!!!  Luckily I will have the capable help of dd best friend "K," who is a Martha Stewart wannabe.......yes you are "K!"  I am going to be a pro at organizing baby showers and sewing baby quilts before long!!!

So to all the mother's out there and you don't have to be a mother of a human, animals apply as children also, a Happy Mother's Day to you all.

Dd sent me this survey to fill out and it is really interesting and pretty quick:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/science/humanbody/mind/surveys/smiles/

What you have to do is say whether or not each person is smiling genuinely or its a fake smile.  I ended up getting 16 out of 20 right.  Let me know if you do it.

We are very lucky parents......

This is what we got as a joint Mother/Father's Day present off the kids:





 Now to be fair we got a great deal on it. It should have been $500 and we got it for $200 + taxes.  So thank you to our generous children for buying it for us.


This was what I had left after the garage sale last weekend:




 
 I donated everything to the church garage sale.


It's been another busy weekend, we got a few things accomplished in the garden though, so that is good.  Got a list a mile long though of things I need to do this week so lets hope we have good weather.  Are you going to be busy this week?

Happy Mother's Day and good customer service....

to all the mother's out there in Canada and the States.  I know Britain celebrated Mother's Day in March, not sure if anyone else celebrates it today as well?

The kids are coming up as the boys are helping dh hang a 12 foot piece of drywall/plasterboard under the attic stairs.  The job is not a long one, it just takes a lot of muscle power.  Meanwhile I want to head into the attic and see if I can get a coat of paint on the walls before they come.

We popped out yesterday to pick up more paint as the attic is a big room, so I knew I wouldn't have enough.  We went to a DIY store that is Canadian based as that is where I got the original can.  Now it wasn't the one I normally go to, infact it was the one close to Hwy 400 and Hwy 7.  We were there around 4:30pm and there was one person in the paint department.  We stood ages waiting to be served.  Dh wanted a couple of other things but couldn't find them, nor could he find anyone to help him.

When paying for the paint I asked the cashier is they had, had all their hours cut and she said yes.  So I told her to tell the manager, that due to the lack of staff and not finding what we wanted and not being able to find what we were looking for, we were heading to their competitors Lowes to finish of our shopping.

When we got to Lowes it was busy but at least there were plenty of staff there to help us with our questions.  In this day and age customer service is expected and good customer service keeps customers coming back.  The other store should remember that!!!

Enjoy your Sunday...

What I was up to on Sunday.

Woke up to snow on the ground.  Nothing exciting, but enough to say it had snowed.  Had the fire on again, as it was so cold.  Went to church and had a get together with a couple of the women who have been giving me grief with this recipe book; but have it all sorted out, and they seem reasonably happy!!

Dh worked until 12 noon, so was home by 1pm.  We went to Tim Hortons for a late lunch; we both had the soup deal, and it was good.

Then dh decided to take me for a drive to Bradford Greenhouses. You could spend a small fortune in that place and there have more than one area with just spectacular things in there. 

We picked up a couple of things.  I got this pear tree it's a Red Bartlett to add to my other pear tree, which is a triple pear tree.

I also picked up a white lilac called Primrose.  However when reading up on this lilac, the older the plant gets the more yellow the flowers so that is something to look forward to.  I would like to plant a pink lilac as well.

I have been wanting a clock for outside, as I never know what time it is.  So we picked up this double sided clock and I will get dh to put it up by the garage.  It will save me trailing into the house with my dirty shoes on.

Dh also came home with this basket of plants for me for Mother's Day which was really sweet of him.

Now all we need is for the weather to warm up, but I don't see that happening much before the weekend.  So I will get some jobs done around the house this week.  At least if it's cold the grass shouldn't grow as fast right?

Happy Mother's Day......

to all you Mother's out there.  I know Mother's Day was in March in Britain, but over here in Canada and the States its in May.

We went to dd's on Saturday night and had a roast beef dinner that she made.  It was yummy; and I made strawberry rhubarb crisp with vanilla icecream for dessert.  Ds was also there which was good, as I haven't seen him in a while.

The kids got me a fancy tin to put bird seed in.  A pair of deluxe gardening gloves.  Some gardening themed paper napkins.  A fancy dancy palm vegetable peeler make sure you click on the link as that company has some really neat products.  Also a nylon shopping bag that folds up so you can carry it in your handbag.  We're not too bad where we live, but in Toronto you have to pay for all your plastic bags in the stores, so having a bag in your purse is handy.

Dd did take a photo for me as she wrapped it all up just lovely, but she hasn't emailed it to me yet.

The Evolution of Mom


Yes, parenthood changes everything. But parenthood also changes with each baby. Here, some of the ways having a second and third child differs from having your first:


Your Clothes -


1st baby: You begin wearing maternity clothes as soon as your OB/GYN confirms your pregnancy.


2nd baby: You wear your regular clothes for as long as possible.


3rd baby: Your maternity clothes are your regular clothes.


The Baby's Name -


1st baby: You pore over baby-name books and practice pronouncing and writing combinations of all your favorites.


2nd baby: Someone has to name their kid after your great-aunt Mavis, right? It might as well be you.


3rd baby: You open a name book, close your eyes, and see where your finger falls. Bimaldo? Perfect!


Preparing for the Birth -
1st baby: You practice your breathing religiously.


2nd baby: You don't bother practicing because you remember that last time, breathing didn't do a thing.


3rd baby: You ask for an epidural in your 8th month.


The Layette -


1st baby: You prewash your newborn's clothes, color-coordinate them, and fold them neatly in the baby's little bureau.


2nd baby: You check to make sure that the clothes are clean and discard only the ones with the darkest stains.


3rd baby: Boys can wear pink, can't they?


Worries -


1st baby: At the first sign of distress - a whimper, a frown - you pick up the baby.


2nd baby: You pick the baby up when her wails threaten to wake your firstborn.


3rd baby: You teach your 3-year-old how to rewind the mechanical swing.


Activities -


1st baby: You take your infant to Baby Gymnastics, Baby Swing, and Baby Story Hour.


2nd baby: You take your infant to Baby Gymnastics.


3rd baby: You take your infant to the supermarket and the dry cleaner.


Going Out -


1st baby: The first time you leave your baby with a sitter, you call home 5 times.


2nd baby: Just before you walk out the door, you remember to leave a number where you can be reached.
3rd baby: You leave instructions for the sitter to call only if she sees blood.


At Home -


1st baby: You spend a good bit of every day just gazing at the baby.


2nd baby: You spend a bit of every day watching to be sure your older child isn't squeezing, poking, or hitting the baby.


3rd baby: You spend a little bit of every day hiding from the children.

Sorry this post was late coming out and is a short one.  I have to still write my column for the Eden Valley Messenger and am not too sure what I am going to write about at this time!!  So I had better get on with that.

Even if its not Mother's Day where you live, have a wonderful Sunday!

Gill xoxo

Lot's of "stuff" today

Did you scream with horror when you saw my photo on the right of my blog.....that actually is a very good photo of me I must say, at least I am half smiling in it!!

The Dump Cake recipe I featured on my blog is also featured on here as well.  You could also win an Eden Valley Messenger Tote Bag, by submitting a money saving tip here  Don't worry I am not going to submit any, I want all you guys to win the tote bag (s).  I will just whine, beg, and make a general nuisance of myself to get one...........hey I write columns for them, I should get the odd perk!!

It all started when I popped over to Tracey's blog on Thursday morning and she mentioned Mother's Day in Britain.  I had totally forgotten about it, so after a quick phone call to my mother, we decided she would celebrate Mother's Day with us in Canada in May, as she is going on vacation for a couple of weeks this weekend, so it's too late for me to send anything.

Now I am going to blame my calendar for this oversight, as I normally have a calendar with holidays on it for different countries.  This year I am using the calendar that I bought from our local Volunteer Firefighter Department and all they have on it are the Canadian holidays.  I do feel I need to give them a call with a few tips on how to make a calendar more appealing though.  Below is the photo for the month of March:

I know it brings it home to you what firefighters do, but do you want to look at an accident all month?  Now I don't expect it to be like the Toronto Firefighter Calendar although you must admit looking at those guys day in day out wouldn't be a chore; I would prefer not looking at an accident.  They need to make it more attractive, otherwise next year they'll be getting it back!

I got this lovely piece of stained glass off my dad and step-mother from their holidays.  Isn't it lovely?  I love stained glass.  Yes that is our garden, still covered in snow, and yes it sucks!!!!

It was warm enough on Thursday, that I was able to open the windows when I was doing my varnishing, still a bit smelly, but at least I don't have a headache.  I had a day of trying to do some tidying up and even got a couple of letters written.  It has been warm enough these past couple of days, that I haven't had to have the fire on until lunch time.  Even the heating hasn't been on 24/7.  I live in the hope that we don't have to fill the oil tank for the heating until middle to late April; we'll see!

Did you remember to put your money in your Daily Savings Box today?

Today's Money Saving Tip:

Buy one large roast, divide it up, and you can have several delicious meals for your family.

Happy Mother's Day and water softener woes.........

First of all Happy Mother's Day to all you mother's out there. It's Mother's Day here in Canada and the USA.

We celebrated Mother's Day on Saturday as dd boyfriend works on a Sunday. She invited me and dh down for lunch and she made a lovely meal of club sandwiches with Cesar salad and cheesecake for dessert.

Ds, dd and dd boyfriend all clubbed together to by me this Ipod:


As you can see it's in my favourite colour red, and dd downloaded 85 songs on it for me, and I have to say, she knows me so well, as I listened to some of them on the way home and they are great. It's tiny but will be great when I am cutting the grass or in the garden.

Then dh got me Wii Fit:

As I said to dh, I will probably get more use out of this when the weather is colder than in the Summer when I am outdoors a lot anyhow. Still it was great of him to get that for me, so I have been a very lucky mother again this year, helped by being blessed with two wonderful children!!

Now for the Water Softener woes. We have never had a water softener in our prior homes, so this is all new to us. This one in our house was of course icky, and it had no salt in it, plus they didn't leave a manual on how it works. So I picked up three 20 kg bags of salt last week, but haven't had the time to dismantle the tub and wash it all out.

Finally managed to get that done Saturday morning in the middle of a torrential downpour!! I am standing out there with my flowery rain boots on, my bright pink capris and my anorak hosing out this tub. Needless to say I got drenched. In case you were wondering where dh was, he was busy trying to connect the downspout to the eaves trough on the garage, to stop that flooding into the garage. So yes he was soaked as well.

So we put the salt in, but wasn't sure what else to do with it. Anyhow, dd boyfriend found some information in the internet, and we had to add 5 gallons of water to it. So I did that when we got home later Saturday night. Now we have to study the instructions that "B" found and see what else we have to do. It is set up for something, not sure what though at this point.

We're not daft, it's just that we have never had to deal with this sort of thing before so its all very foreign to us!!!