Homemade with Love, Laughter and Pins

Today was like old times...Scarlett was not feeling to well this morning so we all stayed home and invited Nana out for a visit...Just like old times. Since Nana knew Scarlett wanted to be a mummy for Halloween she brought her fabric, thread and needles and helped make her costume. I am absolutely in love with how it turned out. Scarlett is pretty happy too! Today was a good day of Mine Craft, Chit Chat, Hanging out with my kids and just being home. It's funny how much I miss my home since I started working. If we leave to catch the bus and I have to run back inside for just a moment I feel that quiet, calmness of when it was just me and my home and I want to stay, sit and enjoy but I can't. I have to get the kids on the bus and get to work....Crazy to think it's already been a year and half of 

being a full time working mom!

So I Got Thinking...

Maybe I should get this going again...

Someone mentioned my blog to me the other day and it got me thinking. I'm not sure why I stopped, I loved blogging. Wait I do know...Life got busy! I am hoping to squeeze this one little enjoyment back into my game of life. It will be squished in between homework, laundry, snuggling, meals, fresh air, vacuuming, questions, answers,....oh how could I forget that thing I squished in a year and a half ago...WORK! My story has changed....For the good! I am excited to be back. To give back this little gift to my kids who have already looked back through the pictures on this blog with smiles of looking at themselves so little, so sweet, so silly, so innocent and oh so perfect! They have grown, We have grown has a family and I couldn't be any prouder of us!

Love

This picture just tugs at my heart... Scarlett painted it last night :) Yeah I'm going to frame this one.

Bowling

Just call me a slacker....I have gotten a few remarks that I have not updated my blog lately. So this one is for all of you, you know who you are...

We took the kids bowling with some great friends the other week. We first headed out to dinner at Boston Pizza and then went bowling. It was such a great way to spend a Saturday night with family and friends!

 Helping her pick out the perfect ball

 Bowling side by side

 First time bowling 

Two little cuties 

Good Morning

It was a beautiful morning with the frost. I got a little inspired so after the kids got on the bus I pulled out my camera. I just got around to editing them as I was cleaning a.l.l. morning l.o.n.g.... I must say picmonkey is working wonderfully for me lately...I hope I just didn't jinx myself ;)

32

It was a beautiful day to turn 32...

Peace, Quiet, Calm and Challenge Yourself...

Praying Mantis

Sometimes we need to find the peace and calm that we sometimes lose in the hussel and bussel of our social media life.  It has become a big part of everyone's life who has access to the internet. Lately social media has been taking up a big part of my life. I am reevaluating how much time I spend media socializing. It is not a bad thing if used in moderation. Sometimes though you just need to live in YOUR moment and not someone elses moment...

I am challenging myself with this...I am finding that I spend way too much time caring about social media. I have taken my social media app off my phone and make a point to turn off my computer (like actually do a power shutdown). I was surprised how many times I went to check on my social media life. I am happy to say I have been social media free for over 24hrs and it feels great. I think we should all challenge ourselves with this! I think  you would surprise yourself. 

In my opinion blogging and searching the internet is not media socializing so I am still free to blog, edit photo's and do a little pinning 

Happy Halloween

Thought I would share a picture of my little trick or treaters...Happy Halloween!

Halloween Ain't Halloween...

without a Jack-O-Lantern, Pumpkin Seeds, Cup Cakes and a little Ghost Poop....Well not in this house anyways!

Happy Halloween Everyone and Cheers For Good Weather For All Our Little Tricker Treaters!

These Are The Days To Remember...

What a B.E.A.U.T.I.F.U.L Day today....So we went to the beach! Ronyn played hooky (what kid doesn't deserve a day off? Especially one that came home with a perfect test score!) and it was Scarlett's day off. Nana Lynn picked us up and we spent the day at the beach searching for beach glass, beach twigs and any other special little treasures we could find. I used the opportunity to capture some pictures of my kids in one of their favorite places! It was so nice out I even let them play in the water. Mind you they and their Nana were the only ones ;) It is days like today that I love.  Days that I want my kids to remember. Days that I want to remember. Also to teach them that yes school is important but you also need to let loose and have a little bit of fun and adventure at the beach on a beautiful day!

P.S. I wanted to give a little shout out to TRAM for reading my blog and sending me a sweet message. Once again wonderful wonderful customer service and pretty awesome boots :)

Beautiful Night

Last night was beautiful! It was one of those nights where you couldn't wait to get outside after dinner and soak up the sun and fall air as you knew nights like those won't be here for too much longer. We played dodge ball, went for a bike ride and just goofed around in the backyard. It was pure simple bliss :)

Bogs vs Trams

Okay back to blogging...

I got the kids winter boots in the mail about 2 weeks ago and I am so happy I decided to get really good boots this year. Boots are always a battle in this house and I think I have solved that pesky problem. I thought I was ordering Bogs for both kids but ended up with a pair of Trams for Scarlett. I was really worried as I have never heard of Trams. I did a little research and Bogs were born in the States (made in China) and Trams were born in Canada (made in China). The descriptions of the boots were exactly the same and claimed to keep your feet warm and dry. So I thought I would give them a chance and do a little comparison and find out what ones I like best for next year's boot purchase.

On their arrival I gave them a once over and were impressed with both boots. Bogs fit tighter on the legs where as Trams give you a little more room. Which is perfect for Scarlett as she hates the feeling of her pants all scrunched up in her boots, Ronyn could care less ;) They both seem to be put together well and the boot handles are a nice feature. I do however find that Trams fit big and Bogs fit small. Which is not a problem for us as I get boots one size bigger to compensate for thicker socks. I did feel the need to order Scarlett an extra insole for her boots as I thought they were a tad too big. I contacted Trams through facebook and got an immediate reply with a free pair of insoles that are being sent to me! I tried contacting Bogs through their online site to ask about a promotional code (who really wants to pay full price) and still after  3 weeks have had no reply. I give Trams an A+ for customer service and Bogs an F. We been out to the family farm a few times and these boots have been awesome for this rainy, muddy weather. I have had no complaints of cold or wet feet. I think the real test will be the winter, but I guess I have to wait and see if we get any snow...Right now I would recommend any of these brands of boots. I might lean more towards the Trams as they are Canadian born and they have great customer service ;)

p.s. The chocolate syrup I made in my previous post worked like a charm! I really do wish I would have found out about this little secret of chocolate a lot sooner in life...So happy I won't be buying that little bunny bottle ever again!

Bogs, Nerdy Glasses & Shhhhh They Won't Know The Difference...

 Last night while I was surfing the internet and facebook creeping I could sense someone standing beside me. I look over my shoulder to find Scarlett standing there wearing her rock band glasses and she says "Mom I just want one more hug". She is just so darn funny lately. After a quick photo session and big hug she was back in bed.

Today I made homemade chocolate syrup. It makes me sick thinking how much money I have spent on chocolate syrup that when I came across this YouTube Video from Pinterest I vowed the last bottle was the last bottle! It was so easy and quick to make. I wish I would have found this a lot sooner. The real test is when the kids get home and ask for their usual chocolate milk. I hope they won't taste any difference. I am even being a sneaky mommy and keeping the old bottle ;)

I order these yesterday morning from Sport Chek and I got them today! They have some fast shipping! I tried these Bogs on in a store and fell in love. Being a smart shopper I came home and found the best deal I could online. I got these for just $3.00 over the shelf price (tax and shipping included) where I tried them on. I think that was a pretty good deal. I will have some more posts on Bogs and Trams as I am waiting another package in the mail. I had a mix up, caused by excitement of a good deal, at another online store but I am turning into a review and comparison of brands....but more on that later!

One Lucky Mommy

I got a surprise tonight from my wonderful family! I feel so blessed to have these three special people in my life and now I get to Brag About it! They make me laugh, they make me smile and they make me feel so loved.

Beautiful Day To Finish Harvesting.

We finished harvesting on this beautiful day!

Beautiful Day

What A Beautiful Day...
I was cleaning up dinner tonight and just loved the way the sun light was hitting everything as it was setting, so I grabbed my camera (Rebel) and headed outside...I took a few pics and then edited them in picmonkey. I see that they have some really cool Halloween edits that I might have to play around with with the kids. I would love to learn a more high tech photo editing software but for now this works great for me!

Its Got To Be Easier...

 She will only wear her brothers socks to school

 A little umbrella fun before the bus comes

The kids and I on the bumble bee ride at the fair

With lots of "What are you doing up there?", "Come On..." (husband likes to play this online war game and I like to upload stuff and the two don't really get along) I figured out a way to post my smartphone pics...But it has to be a lot easier! I have to do a bunch of emailing and then uploading and then copy and pasting and more uploading etc, etc, etc. I know by my husbands annoyance he will find me an easier way!

Coming and Going.....Obsessed!

I will not make a comment about how many times I have said I am going to blog and how I need to blog more often as if you read my below post I know, you know, everyone knows that I leave and come back, leave and come back...

Obsessed...that's right! I have been obsessed lately with organizing my cupboards, pinning things to pinterest (way to many things!), making a change from plastic ware to glassware, mason jars (oh I love love love mason jars) and taking photos with my phone and editing them with apps, cooking, baking and making my own homemade cleaning supplies. I am proud to say that I have not bought a cleaning product (ex. glass cleaner, bathroom/kitchen cleaner, furniture polish etc..) in the past 7 months (I think it could be longer...) I rely on my Norwex and vinegar based products.

Instant gratification...I love my smartphone. I have a Samsung Galaxy blah blah blah (I'll have to confirm with my husband) and I love it. It has apps that I just love. For example Out Milk (my grocery app), P Tracker (every girl needs a period tracker), Facebook, Play Books (downloaded the Fifty Shades books and can read them where ever/whenever), Games (to keep the little ones occupied in desperate times...) and my all time favorite Pixlr-o-matic (to edit my camera pictures). Don't get me wrong I love my Rebel still but I love the instant gratification I get when I can take a cute picture, edit it and post it to my facebook page for all my friends and family to see in less than 3 mins! I still pick up my Rebel from time to time but I find editing on my computer to be really slow lately. I am trying to figure out how to post from my phone to my blog. I figured out how to change my blog from "It's okay" to "That's WAY better" so I should be able to start sharing my nifty Smart Phone photo's hopefully soon!

That's my rambles for today....I've been waiting to get an e-mail from blogger to post some Smartphone pics, it says it's super easy and takes 30 seconds, I guess not for me...Pics to be posted soon!

Guess it looks like I'm going to have to do some MAJOR account setting configurations in order to post some smart phone pics or this is a sign to pick up the Rebel and some new photo editing software...Time to get the hubby ;)

Need To Blog...

I really need to blog...I feel like I have no time now that I have been working from home. I need to get my new schedule down pat and make some time for me! I have some great photo's to edit and share. At least I have still been picking up my camera and taking pics.

Must Blog, Must Blog, Must Blog...

My Sweet Sweet Valentines...

Happy Valentines Day...

We had such a wonderful day today! While the kids were at school handing out valentines I was busy at home preparing for our own special valentines celebration. Since we were young loves Travis and I have this tradition of getting Chinese take out and staying in. This has been going on for about 14 years or so. I love it now as I can take celebrating this special little day to the next level. I made the kids super cute valentines to hand out to friends. I surprised them with some cupcakes and chocolate and a little something extra to say I love you and how proud they make me. We had a delicious Chinese dinner and ended the night with a movie. With all the hugs, kisses and I loves you tonight, I couldn't have asked for a better day!