Two Week update

My Sister came to visit and brought my nephew, Ben and Mikey picked up right where they left off and had a great few days together.   My sister and I tried to get in as much as we could and yet we also just want to be still and enjoy being with each other.  We usually don’t find the balance because by the end of the trip, we still feel like we need more of a fix or a fill.   It’s really hard.

The boys both finished their Lacrosse tryouts.  Benjamin made the Bantam team and will share his goalie spot with another goalie.  I’m thrilled that he has backup because when he was the only goalie last year he had to play while he was sick and we had to postpone family trips because he was the only goalie.   At the same time, I’m not thrilled that we will make many long distance trips for him to sit on the bench while the other goalie plays.  

Cody is playing up this year,  Instead of being AP’d to the Jr. C team he tried out and made it as a full time rostered player.   He’s the youngest on the team but already he’s proving his worth.  It amazes me how far he’s come in this sport in just 4 short years.  Playing up will be a great learning experience for him.
Cody tried out last night for an Evolve elite Field team.  This team is coached by NLL players and enters tournaments all across the United States giving these kids visibility at scouting levels.   I really hope he makes it,  he’s a fantastic player and it would be a great experience for him.   We should find out today.
Cody has also started playing Rugby.  I begged him not to play.  Have you seen this sport?   It’s essentially football (including tackling) with no helmet’s or padding.   Not even a jock my friends.  One day (not soon)  I would like to have little Cody grand kids and sports like this make me fearful that it won’t happen.  I will say though, there are some great photo opportunities in Rugby.

Ken went back to work!  Yippeeeeeeeee!   It was a long winter and while I love having him around I’m not fond of the interruption of flow him being around has on our house.   I probably sound like a freak but I like doing everything, at least then things get done because there are no other expectations.  Really, I know that sounds bad but it’s not, it’s a good thing to have that order, I feel better for it.     Speaking of feeling better, Ken also got his first paycheck since being back to work…. Can you say Fan Freaking Tastic????????

Benjamin is getting ready for his 7th grade school trip.  I”m not nearly as excited as he is.   He had 5 minutes left this morning before he had to go for the school bus…. Did he spend them watching cartoons?  NO,   he spent them packing.  He will be gone for 3 days… That’s 2 nights he will sleep away from home.  My heart hurts!  

Besides everything that’s going on with my Gentlemen, Probably one of the most notable things that is going on with me is that I have started a new business.   It’s a side business as I will keep my full time job but hopefully it will generate enough to help with Cody’s college which is coming up sooner then I can fully comprehend, it will be easier for Ben if I haven’t already had to re mortgage the house by the time he’s ready for University!   The business is called Sweet Soda Frames.   I have a company in Brampton who was able to draw out the frames for me and is cutting them this very moment.  They will be ready to pick up on Monday and once I have a few finished, I’ll take the pictures and put them up in my Etsy shop.  Very exciting times!
 
Last but not least,  It’s the WEEEKEND!  We have a busy one ahead.   Lacrosse, lacrosse and more lacrosse!   Cody  has both field and Jr. C.   I am also watching Malcom for the weekend and while I’m looking forward to squishing him constantly, I’m not looking forward to the lack of sleep.   Can’t wait to see him though, it’s going to be fun.

Have a great week!

It’s Spring Baby!

What does spring mean to me?  It means walking out my front door and not rushing to get into the car, taking time to look at the garden and see what Spring has Sprung.   The Tulips are coming… slowly but surely.

It means a reunion with my Lacrosse friends.  Weekends are full of Lacrosse tournaments which means a LOT of fresh air… Something we are not used to so we fall into our beds and sleep like a rock at the end of the day.

We spend a lot of time in the truck driving to different fields for Lacrosse, Spring is a time to open the car windows and play our music a little louder than normal.  As with every Spring a new mix is always in order, this year it’s a classic Rock CD complete with songs like China Girl, Hooked on a Feeling,  Light my fire and Mississippi Queen.
(no persons were lost in the making of this picture – he was just looking at the map book, honestly)

Hope you are enjoying your Spring time rituals as much as we are!

Cheers!

Where do I even start?

I really don’t want to leave my blog hanging as I get busier so I’m sneaking in an entry while I eat my lunch…. Regardless of how short my updates are, I am committed to keeping this going for the boys (and my mom 🙂 )

It’s been a busy week already and it’s only Wednesday.  Cody started Field lacrosse practices this week with a neighboring lacrosse center that is a 45-50 minute drive from our house, he also started Jr. tryouts in the same city, there have been many late nights already and there are plenty more to come.  I can’t even begin to tell you how crazy our Spring is looking, between tryouts and practices then games and tournaments, we will be driving more then sleeping over the next few months.  Sounds awful right?
It’s actually not.  For me there is nothing better then watching the boys play and I’d go to the ends of the earth to do it, I do think we will have to start car pooling though with the price of gas lately, I believe it’s up now to 128.8 per litre.

Little bits of spring have sprung.  It’s so nice to have the snow all melted from the lawns and to see the Tulip buds pop up through the soil. I’m so looking forward to full days of sunshine and open windows.  I started to decorate with little bits of spring throughout the house where I can,  I planted some herbs on the window sill this weekend, I’m still waiting for the herbs to poke through but love the splash of color the pots have added to the kitchen. 

I really don’t have a green thumb but think that anyone can grow Herbs, what I am surprised with is the tree that Ken got me for Valentines day… That sucker is still growing and it actually looks healthy!  I’m sure it’s ready for a bigger pot which I should probably tackle sooner rather than later.

Since I ran around taking pictures for the blog, I though I’d share with you a picture of my favorite snack (I’m eating lunch, remember?)    Does it get better then this????

Meet The Parents

He was the one I went to because he was more likely to say yes.
When he was a parent helper for field trips all the kids in my class fought to be in my group.
He let me tongue dip in his beer when I was little.
He taught me how to drive and never flinched once.
He has always put my needs and his families needs ahead of his.
He taught me about Led Zeppelin, The Rolling Stones, the Blues Brothers and Louis Armstrong.
He showed me that helping people is better than talking about helping people.                                                                                             
He was the one that encouraged me to be independent but was there to help pick up the pieces when I fell.
He makes the BEST cup of tea you have ever had.
He’s donated blood over 130 times.
He saved countless lives as a full-time firefighter for over 30 years.
He served his community as a volunteer firefighter for 20 years.

She was the one who taught me unconditional love.
She is one that taught us what family loyalty is and that Blood is always thicker then water.
She took my side when I told her the teacher was picking on me.
She let me lay my head on the shoulder of her fur coat and gave me a finger massage so I’d sit still during mass.
She always tells me I’m beautiful and talented.
She taught me about work ethic and how you have to work hard to get noticed and getting noticed will lead to its own rewards.
She stayed up worrying when I didn’t come home at curfew.
She sent my dad to follow me around and protect me when she suspected I was up to no good.
She compliments my parenting skills and encourages me to keep doing the right thing no matter how hard it can be sometimes.
She comes over and spoils my kids with French Toast breakfasts whenever I’m working out of town.
She is the happiest when she’s with family…. She loves her Grandkids to the moon and back and then to the moon and back again.
She worked full time, made dinners, drove us to Figure Skating and Hockey games in the dead of winter and never complained once.

I’m not sure how I got so lucky or blessed to have these people as my parents.

I can feel the sun!

When the days start to get cooler and the leaves start to turn color I’m in love with Fall.  I wear cable knits, brown boots and sweaters and wish I had it in me to wear one of the those newsboy hats that are so cool.  I’m in absolute fall loving mode from September until Halloween; once Halloween is over, it’s time to move onto Winter.  I anticipate the snow and love the clean crisp look when the snow covered fields go on and on until they reach the light blue sky.  I love spending time hibernating with my boys eating cozy dinners and watching movies, I look forward to our ice fishing trips and spending the holidays with family.  I’m a winter lover until we hit a warm spell in March… and that warm up happened!  About a week ago we hit temperatures 10 degrees above freezing.  I started thinking about Capris and Pedicures, Drinks and BBQ’s,  Flowers and grass in between my toes. I am officially craving Spring so you can imagine my disappointment when I woke up to a fresh blanket of snow yesterday morning.  Everything mother nature had worked so hard to uncover these past few weeks is now covered again.  This is a typical Canadian spring though….. The good thing is that the taste of whats to come has put a fire under my arse on the weight loss front.  I am desperate not to feel like a cow in my Capri’s this year so I’m workin’ hard!    This fresh snowfall may just work in my favor!

(These pictures were taken the night of the super moon down at the lake.  There is open water around the inlet and all the ice huts have been pulled off… A sure sign that Spring is coming right???)

(Speaking of said supermoon, here it is in all its glory)

The boy was in a funk yesterday and it appears to have carried over into today.  It’s really not like him to be so down so of course my Moma instincts are on high alert and I’m ready to beat up  have some carefully chosen words with the girl who is making my boy feel this way,  I remember when he was little he would come right to me when something happened, he’d tell me about the boy at the playground who had called him a name or about the kids that wouldn’t include him in their game.  He came to me for
comfort and I gave it to him.  I would distract him with something else or simply love on him until he was ready to carry on with his day.  I miss those days…. 15 going on 16 year old stuff is a lot more complicated then a hug or a couch fort can fix….. That said… I still want to just hug him until he gets through this.

(I’m linking up this picture to Beth’s blog and Youth photo challenge at I Should Be Folding Laundry.  This is as youthy as we get around here)

Well, we have no plans for this weekend so I’m thinking it’s a good time to start the Spring cleaning.  Out with the flannel and in with the crisp sheets.  I think it will also be a good opportunity to go out Deck furniture shopping…. Did I tell you all I was getting a deck?!?!?!  A long overdue deck is coming our way, just waiting for the permit.

Have a great weekend.

A Framed Monogram in less then an hour!

So, Raising my gentlemen this week has been hard work, a little “Me time” was in order.

I have shamelessly stolen decorating ideas from other Blog’s in the past so today when I was feeling crafty I pulled up my bookmarked favorites and began to surf.  I got this idea at My Decorating Addiction and although I executed a little differently based on the materials I had available; I think it turned out just as well.

I found this frame in the basement.  I purchased a picture of a woman holding her infant son gazing out the window back in 1995 when I had my first son.  I remember paying good money for the picture so imagine my surprise when I took it apart and found that the print inside was simply a greeting card taped to the matting.

The fabric I choose was used as a backdrop for some of the photo sessions I have done this past month.  ( I think if you scroll down you can see it as the backdrop for the dog session I did a couple weeks ago).  I figure you can’t have too much of the same thing in a portfolio so I’m due for some new fabric anyway!

So, Here is the finished Monogram.  I’m not sure where it will go permanently but I’m sure I’ll figure that out soon enough.  In total, I think this only took about an hour to complete… So simple!

Today I’m linking to All Things Inspired… Check it out!

Small Town Child Rearing

So yesterday I was told by my child that I’m too strict.

I knew this day was coming…., how did I know you ask?  Simply because we are strict, plain and simple.

I love that we live on a lake and that it’s a small beautiful town….. I don’t love that most of the people who live here have lived here all their lives and don’t seem to discourage their 14 and 15 year old children from acting like a 20 year old.    I don’t want to sound like a snob but really, tell me honestly, should 14 and 15 year old kids be having parties where they crown beer pong champions, drink vodka straight from the bottle, take drunk pictures of their friends on the toilet and make out with each other in front of a room full of other kids?   I won’t get into all the details but thanks to Social Media sites, these are the images that flash into my mind every time he asks me to go out with his friends.

Looking back, I did some stupid and immature things but my parents had no clue (Now they do…. Hi Mom!!!) and I’m left to wonder if as a parent knowing so much information is good or bad.   Kids of the 90’s have no idea what real privacy is or how important it is.  I wonder if the day will come when they regret posting their every movement on Twitter or posting the picture of their best friend giving the camera a Rock out hand sign while squinting through a Vex haze sitting on the toilet.

I’m struggling to find middle ground.

I’m trying to figure out how much I can trust him.

And, I’m a little bit freaked out at how grown up these 15 and 16 year old boys and girls want to be!

Snow Snow Go Away!

I really never thought these words would come out of my mouth.  I honestly L to the O to the V to the E Winter and all the whitestuff it brings… That is, until it started only snowing on weekends and in the middle of the night.  To a snow plower or his wife, these are not the ideal times for snow accumulation.  For the past 4 weekends in a row our evenings have been hampered by the “What If’s”  We don’t make plans with friends and we end up going to bed early so that he can get some sleep.  When I wake, he’s gone; called into the icy and snowy dark to plow schools that aren’t even open till Monday anyway.  I know it’s all coming to an end and before I know it he will be back to his real job working crazy hours but at least these hours are set and we can make weekend plans.  I’m looking forward to that.

Sabrina and Izzy were groomed this weekend.  We used a service called Robinson’s Mobile Pet Grooming.  Lindsay showed up in her truck towing a mobile dog grooming setup in a trailer behind her.  Grooming has always been a pain in the a$$ because the only time we can get appointments are when we book well in advance because weekend appointments are so hard to get.  Since I work from home, this mobile dog grooming service is PERFECT! She showed up, took the dogs out to the trailer and brought them back all trimmed up and smelling fantastic!  I have a feeling Lindsay will get to know Sabrina and Izzy very well!  It was also the perfect opportunity for me to take some overdue Dog pictures….

The letter L

The letter L is this week’s You Capture topic.   I’m not sure if it’s because Valentines day just passed but whenever I think of something that starts with L; I always think of the word “Love” first.  The picture below represents the letter L in so many ways….

I LOVE that my husband bought me this tree for Valentines day instead of Roses….I’m just not a Rose girl.

The LIGHT in this picture is perfect!  I have been using my front room for a lot of pictures lately because the LIGHT hasn’t failed me once!

This picture makes me so excited for Spring and all the new LIFE spring brings with it.  I love the winter but come March, I’m over it and ready to move on to backyard BBQ’s and the smell of fresh-cut grass.

Check out some other picture representations for the letter L

Sno Ball

This weekend we played baseball in the snow to raise money for Cancer research.  The games were on Saturday, today is Monday and my quads are still screaming!   I know I have to get in better shape but really, this was ridiculous!   On Sunday I could barely walk and now on Monday, although I made it through my workout, my Quads are still nagging at me.   So far I have been able to step away from the A535 but if this keeps up, I’ll be smelling like a Senior Citizen in no time.

The weather was cold but the sun was shining and once we got moving, it was enough to keep warm.   While we didn’t win a single game, there were tons of laughs and new friends made.   I love events like this, events where it doesn’t matter who you are or who you came with, everyone ends up talking together and having a good time, there is no judgment on your playing skills (that I know of)  and luckily, Kenny’s baseball abilities made up for my inabilities so together, we came across half decent.

All money raised from the tournament goes to The Ride to end cancer.  Our event fees sponsor Sylvie so she can take part in the bicycle ride from Toronto to Niagara to raise awareness and funds for cancer research.  So, that said, I feel honored to have contributed to such an amazing cause and I wish Sylvie all the best.  I can’t imagine how fulfilling and humbling  it must be to reach the finish line.

Looking forward to next year!