our basement

hallie, enjoying the playhouse

the long wall in the basement... we have to get rid of some toys. way too many for down there...
the girls checking out the house

the cut out in the wall is for a pocket door that will be going in this week ASAP, and that room is home to our new deep freeze, the washer/dryer, my drying racks, and then there is a separate door which leads into our furnace room on the right side. on the left you can see a white door which leads to our future bathroom. for now it is just a storage room.

more toys

we didn't finish the ceiling, and i don't think we will for a while. i don't see the point myself. i think we are getting baseboards but to be honest, i could care less if we do. i'd rather not spend any more money!!!

my sleepy boy.... awwww!!!
the kids enjoying the new playroom (well, kai is enjoying the couch i guess!)



we have this long hallway leading into the playroom area... you come down the stairs and have to walk down this hallway... i guess that is because of our garage.

the stairs going back up... they are carpeted and were finished by the builder. the basement carpet is different.

kipp bought me a new mouse! it's WAY better, i can't believe we didn't get one sooner for the whole $25 it cost. so uncle derek was here all weekend, he just left. the kids sure loved having him here... he plays non-stop! (mommy doesn't play non-stop....i'm not as fun!)

oh shoot! i just realized we got no pictures at all this weekend. oops! that sux.

sick

i have a chest cold. i hate being sick. the older i get, the worse it is being sick. it hurts all over and takes FOREVER to get over it. when i was younger, it seemed to be easier. and i'm not even old!!!!!!!!!!!! that really scares me for when i'm even older.... LOL yikes!

uncle derek arrives tomorrow. we are all excited to have him here for the weekend. the kids have been counting down the sleeps. (derek is kipp's brother from vancouver)

ok gotta run.............. back to lounging in pj's and breaking up fights. actually, the kids are playing pretty nicely today *knock on wood* -- we're aiming to get out for a walk later, it's supposed to be +5!!! woo hoo!

bday party

one of the many parties we attended in the past couple of weeks. i forgot my camera at the one we went to friday, darn! so this is thursday's party -- moira turned 3! they live in our neighborhood, so it was nice and close.

friday we went to chuck E cheese and dominic turned 4! woo hoo! it was also a great party, kids had a BLAST and were sooooooooooo tired that night!

update yer blog already, sheesh!! ok ok....

sunday i took the kids to the muttart again. they enjoy it there! funny thing... i never have actually taken a picture of a flower there, only my kids. you can see where my passion lies, eh?! i bought a multi-facility pass too, i figure we'll make good use of it! it's good at the muttart, the zoo, fort edmonton, and john janzen nature center. good for one year!

sooo....

perogy mess (sour cream)

soooo.... i've given notice to one dayhome family. i didn't give a deadline but just told them to start looking for care elsewhere and explained why. it went much better than i could have thought. i also found someone who wants to do the morning half of the day, and i can still do after school so i presented that. this would be ideal because honestly, i don't want to see this kid go :( it makes me sad and i know my kids will be heartbroken.... ugh. my stomach hurts. :(

house

some of you asked some questions about our new house... our builder is maple isle homes -- a very small, custom home builder. we are very happy with everything, even though we had some bumps in the road to begin with. it's a nice, small company -- the owner also lives on our street, as well as the site super dude, framer, the site super's daughter... it's a close little community. it has been great! they can't run away from us if we do have issues LOL!

and yes, we are done unpacking. totally. we were done last week on sunday/monday. moved in on saturday. we even have 1 picture hung! (i have to still decide on WHERE to put the rest) in case you forgot, my husband is OCD and cannot have things out of place for long. therefore, our unpacking goes FAST. plus, we have done this a few times before ;) this was the first time we hired movers and it still was a TON of work and we also ended up paying them a small fortune... it was nice to have extra muscles and a truck but still.....

ramblings...

so the basement is almost done. the electrical is done, the framing is done, the drywall is done.... we were not planning to mud/tape/paint however we are now considering it. it would have to be done FAST like this week and it would have to be affordable. so we'll see. carpet is being put in either friday or monday....

i am having a dilemma with my dayhome.... now that we have moved, i have to walk the before & after school child to the bus in the morning. this REALLY REALLY sux. i have been packing up 5 kids, most in pj's and driving down the street to the bus stop. it's not working. before, a neighbor walked him but now we aren't close to them. i'm really hating it. when it's nicer, we can walk but even then it's just a pain!! the after school part is fine because i pick him up. it's not a big deal as i'm usually out picking up my own kids from school. sooooooooo financially i don't "need" him and i could let him go... however i know they are counting on me and i just hate giving families notice. i am stuck on what i should do. any advice???? should i cut out some stress and just give notice? or suck it up and work until the end of the school year, and then give notice. i don't think i can keep him for the summer. i have 2 new kids starting in the summer and they will require walking the bus too next fall, however i will have to be up and have the kids dressed anyway as they will be going mornings next year. aaaaaahhhhh help!????

blah!

indoor playground

we went to the indoor playground on friday. kids always love it there. emerson is now able to enjoy the indoor playgrounds so it's fun to go for everyone!

my little walker... she is getting better every day! more confident! she has also totally slimmed down and can actually wear pants that button up! my other kids couldn't wear regular jeans, etc. due to chubbiness!!! emerson is my skinny one! hehe

emerson with her buddy (my dayhome girl!)

kai and emmy

emerson sometimes like to be the pushy one of the two...

see????? that's ok, today she was put in her place when mackenzie's sister who is 1 month YOUNGER than emerson bit her on the forhead and left marks! oops :(

family day

i am not sure why one paragraph is underlined so ignore that???

we went to the terwillegar towne family day activities again this year, second year we have gone. it was great! kipp stayed back at home to unpack/set up the house. last year he stayed back because emerson was sick and i remember i took her to the ER that night (last year) and they admitted her. i am happy to report she is healthy this family day!!

anyway, the community puts on some family day stuff. sleigh ride with horses, parachute games, hot dogs, hot chocolate, skating, sledding, etc. it was fun! we ran into friends mackenzie and taya and their mommy & daddy and then our new neighbors were there as well. we also saw a lot of friends we see at the park in the summer, but never really see over the winter. it's neat to see the kids growing up!

hallie and mackenzie

a view of the lake and the skating on family day

kipp thought this pic was hilarious! i was taking a pic of my friend anne, mackenzie's mom... and the background is pretty EW

birthdays birthdays!

birthdays! woah! we attended an awesome bday party last week for our good friend, keith! he turned 4 years old! we also were at a bday party today for simon who turned 3 yrs old. he is our new neighbor! next week we have 3 more bday parties to attend. wow!! here are some pictures....

birthday boy keith eating his cupcake!
my son being a pig with some chocolate
birthday boy eating lunch... mmmm chicken hot dogs!
the wonderful and yummy bday cake! there was a big cake and then 24 cupcakes, from a local company who also delivers! they were sooo good! (buttercream... so i'm sure horrible for my waistline too!)


this is not from the bday, but a random pic of kai using my old camera. the kids have taken it over.... (except i use it still for movies)

emerson at the party


the kids making the party craft... that i actually did for them (shhh....) only because it was a bit complicated for little fingers...