Jiggler-Time!

We did Jigglers today!

DUCKIES!

Lime & Orange mixed!

 Soooo many duckies!

Soooo tasty too!

YUM!

Stolen Scrappin' Moments!!!

So this past weekend I spent some time with my scrappin' sistas...

We enjoyed playing with paper and doing a wee bit o' shoppe-in'...

It's always nice to hang with D,N&D!

[Thanks for a much needed scrappin' break ladies!!!]

When it came time to go back home...

Here's where I ended up...

... in a hotel!

It seems our ferries didn't want to sail in the 110km/hour winds.

I'm OK with that!

We found a hotel and hunkered down for the night...

Well... we actually put on our pj's, scrapped a bit more and enjoyed watching the Food Network!

I was fortunate enough to get a hold of my brother who gave us a  ride back to the ferries in the morning so I could get back to my regularly scheduled Motherin'  life!

I'm so glad I can count on him!

Thanks big brother!

So THIS is me relaxin' in the hotel room with all of our paper goodies strewn about!

Loooove it!

[D snapped this pic] 

I always feel so rejuvenated when I return from a scrappin' weekend!

I guess someone was trying to give me just a few more hours to play!

I'll take it  ANYTIME!

Thanks!

Got SNOW?!?

We did!

 

 And this pic of 'c' is so EXCITING!

Why?

Because last year she would NOT touch the snow...

She just wanted to go back inside...

This year I actually coaxed her in to picking up some snow!!!

And she was HAPPY about it!

Just check out that dusting of "white-stuff" on her mitts!!!

Maybe next year she will actually get IN to it...

 'g2' has NO problem with snow...

She  LOVES IT!!!

She LOVES to lay in it, make snow angels and spend many, many minutes enjoying it!

I say 'minutes' because this is the last picture I snapped today...

'c' was begging to go inside and 'g2' was NOT having anything to do with it!

She wanted to stay outside...and roll, lay and play in the snow...

I was the only one home so I had to bring them both in...

Last year 'g2' was able to stay out in the snow with her older siblings.

Perhaps the next time we get snow there will be someone else home and 'g2' can get MORE snow-time in...

Peanut Butter 'Play-Dough'

This is a favorite for ALL wee ones in this house ...

[Big ones too! Shhhh...]

It all starts with some peanut butter, milk powder and agave syrup...

Mix until you get a not-so-sticky consistency...

 It helps to have a couple of eager and adorable assistants...

 Once you've got it 'right'...

Get out some "decorations"...

Cheerios, pretzels, crannies and mini chocolate chips will do just fine...

[you can use whatever you've got!]

 Now... let them CREATE!

 "Snakes" are nice...

A good way to practice hand-eye coordination skills...

 ...and there's lots of surface to 'decorate' too!

 'Snowmen' are also pretty popular...

 This 'play-dough' keeps in the fridge...

Although with all of the nibbling that happens...

 ...it does eventually disappear!

 That's ok...

this home-made peanut butter 'play-dough' is TOTALLY edible!

An added bonus because, not only does it keep them busy...

It's playtime AND snack-time rolled into one!

Two Moments...

I've got TWO snaps from this week for you...

Here's the first one...

The girlz have decided that they don't need to nap anymore...

Yeah RIGHT!

It makes getting thingz done a little more difficult...

Today... I popped downstairs after lunch to switch over the swishin'...

[swishin' = laundry]

I was only downstairs a few minutes but when I returned back upstairs...

They were BOTH out cold on the couch!

So now... I need to keep BOTH eyes on them after lunch so that this does not happen anymore.

Because now when they do 'accidentally' nap...

they don't go to bed until after 8pm...

NOT so good for me either...

Because I'm still trying to keep up with all of my usual thingz I have to, need to and want to get done during the day....

But I'd like to have something fun to do too!

Needless to say...

the paper-playing has been seriously neglected as of late...

I shall have to find a way to squeeze it ALL in...

I get kinda grumpy when I don't get to play with paper...

Stay tuned to see how successful I am...

I'll take good vibes, well wishes, crossed fingers and prayers to help me in that effort!

;o)

Ok, on to the second snap for the week...

 It is beyond me how most Sundays I am able to get myself presentable and the girlz presentable and STILL have to WAIT for everyone else to be ready to go!

So this is a typical scene as I try to keep them happy and fully clothed ...

Gotta love books!

So, there it is...

My Project 52...

You've heard of 'Project 365'?

It's suppose to encourage people to snap a pic every day of the year...

When in reality, it becomes a chore and end up running around posing shots or using several pics from the same day JUST so you can say you've DONE it, when...

YOU HAVEN'T!!

So, I thought this year I would do 'Project 52'...

ONE picture each week...

There should be ONE moment in each week that is photo-worthy...

...some weeks there will be more...

But in an effort to keep family & friends updated with the goings-on in our house...

I think 'Project 52' will fit the bill!

AND...

Enable me to actually accomplish something for real!

So, stay tuned...

I will be going back and catching up with the remainder of 2011...

But ONE photo each week for 2012

is my goal for this blog

this year!

Helpers x2!

This is what I get when two almost two-and-a-half-year-olds decide to "help out"...

I forgot to close the door to my room...

's' had deposited a bag of tp in there and he hadn't put it away yet...

The cherubs discovered it, opened it and deposited it where they could reach!

When I walked into my bathroom, I laughed, grabbed my camera and captured the moment.

Thanks for the help girlz!

Happy Birthday Sweet 16!!!

My oldest child turned 16 today!

 She picked Turtle Cheesecake for her birthday cake...

 and had plenty of help blowing out the candles!

She received many nice presents too!

Happy 16th Birthday 'g'!!!

... and many more!

"Swimming" Lessons...

The kiddos have been taking a few swimming lessons lately...

 's'  has really "immersed" himself...

He's LOVING the water and I am pleased with his improvement!

Good work boy-o!

- - - - -

 'z' is IN the water and that IS a HUGE accomplishment for her...

She has improved as well and that is a VERY good thing!

's', as you can see, LOVES being in the pool!

It's nice to have them do something where they can learn a new skill and have SO much fun at the same time!!

Piano Patooties...

If it gets quiet upstairs...

I know exactly where to find these two...

Stripped down to their dipes and plunking away on the piano downstairs...

It's the simple things you know!

Chillin' @ Parksville Beach...

After yesterday's NBT trekking we decided it would be a good idea to relax on the beach...

So out to Parksville we went...

Here's what we did!

 's' enjoyed digging in the sand ...

with a few breaks to wash off in the water...

- - - - - - -  

 'z' enjoyed munching on the many delicious snacks we brought along...

- - - - - 

 'c' and 'g2' were really IN to putting sand into the buckets...

- - - - - 

 'z' partially buried 'T'...

It kept her busy and the sand was SO warm!

- - - - -

 Basically we just hung out and relaxed!

- - - - -

 'g2' enjoyed her watermelon...

- - - - -

 so did 'c'...

- - - - -

 'g2' again....

I have LOTS of watermelon munching pics....

- - - - -

 'c' and more watermelon....

- - - - -

 By late afternoon...

A snooze took over many minds...

- - - - -

 There's a gorgeous boardwalk and the girlz enjoyed strolling along and catching the breeze off the ocean...

- - - - -

Finally it came time to go home...

We walked back over to the cars and loaded everyone up...

 BOTH girlz were OUT before we finished loading the bits 'n pieces...

It was a great day in the fresh air with family...and a nice quiet ride home!!!

Nanaimo Bar Trail!!! What FUN!!!

We were blessed to have a visit from my sister and her family this summer!

She came across this...

http://www.tourismnanaimo.com/content/nanaimo-bar

...and wondered if we might like to do it when they were in town....

NO! Not at all! Who are you kidding?

I would NOT like to spend time munching on delectable Nanaimo Bars...

WHO would want to do that?!?

ME, ME, ME PLEASE!!!!

I did not tell the kiddos what we were doing that day...

I wanted it to be a surprise...

;o)

I wish I had my camera ready when my sister told 's' that this is what we were doing for the next couple of hours...LOL... 

His eyes just about popped out of his head!

He didn't believe her at first!

Too funny!

- - - - -

So we started out at Serious Coffee, sampling their SERIOUSLY BAD Nanaimo Bar...

It was the first one of the day...and the WORST one too!

 They looked not-too-bad... 'cept for their uber thin chocolate top...

 ...but they did NOT taste good at all!

We will not be going back there.

I would not waste your time or money there.

[jmnsho]

- - - - - - - - -

 Next we headed over to Perkins...

 This was a very tasty Nanaimo Bar! 

YUM-O!

We also had a taste of another bar...it was good.

I would definitely go back to Perkin's because they have several treat bars cut the size of your HEAD!

And the price is right too!

GIANT Rice Krispie squares [well rectangles] and

many other MONSTEROUS 'retro' treats.

Many I am sure the downtown employees remember their Mothers making...

SMART business move to do that when they have a lineup waiting for their fancy coffees or hot cocoas 

to be whipped up... and since the size is GINORMOUS... perfect for sharing!

 A decent top coat on their version and it was dark chocolate...

I LOVE DARK CHOCOLATE!!!

I should mention that the size of the bars you are seeing is not their actual size.

There were 8 of us...

We purchased 2 bars and had them cut into 4's...

- - - - - - - - - 

 We did try and go to the Wee Cupcakery...

...but they only do their Nanaimo Bar cupcakes on Fridays and Saturdays...

Since this was Wednesday, we missed out...

 Here's Bocca's version.... 

Just LOOK at that DARK chocolate top layer!!!

DOUBLE YUM!

 They also do a peanut butter version!

We did not sample it that day...

[I have since been back but they were sold out... one day I shall indulge!]

Here's our hopped-up-on-sugar-crew!

We did also stop at McLean's Specialty Foods but we took that one home to enjoy later...

It was ok...

So, to sum up...

We liked Perkin's & Bocca's Nanaimo Bars best!

Definitely worth the trek!

We also parked and walked from place to place so we were burning calories as we went!

Good thing too!

If you haven't tried the Nanaimo Bar trail...

I would recommend it!

We didn't go to any of the places that served the cheesecake version...

I think that would be best if you could make a day of it and shoppe some and then enjoy the cheesecake after having dinner out....without the entourage.... just sayin'....

;o)

The kiddos did well though and I was pleasantly surprised that they were so well behaved.

Even when we went into a shoppe to have a peek, they did well.

And we don't drink alcohol so the martinis were not sampled either...

Check the link at the top of this post for the whole 'trail' list.

If you're from Nanaimo or just visiting...

It's a great way to spend the day!

Thanks for finding something so fun to do right in my own backyard Sista!