August

Summer seems to fly by no matter how you try to slow it down and savor every moment of sunshiney goodness. It was soo exciting to send Alex to camp for the first time (even if it was only a two nighter). I did pretty good until we got to the gates, got a little choked up but he was so excited it was hard not to get caught up in his enthusiasm. His generation seems to be better prepared for camp than mine ever was. Within moments of picking him up he wanted to know if he could go to the 5 day camp next year, lol. Although next year I think I'll send him with a garbage bag with holes and a pair of swim trunks for the entire week, he was pretty much cleaned out when we picked him up (bad combo of untidy consellors and parents that just don't give a crap, I mean his name AND phone number is on everything). But it's important to keep in perspective just how much fun he had ;)

Our vacation this year was a bit different in tempo, but that wasn't a bad thing. The timing of the long weekend (when I take my vacation to get a freebie day) didn't sync with when they have the Napan fair at home. It rained on and off alot of the time but I think that finally forced me to slow down. I got alot done on 'Haley' the new Mirabilia 'Fairy' out of Cross Stitch and Needlework. Why she's called Halloween Fairy, I have no idea. I mean there's already a Halloween Fairy kit out and well...don't Fairy's have wings? Also on vacation mom and I got away for a little shopping day in Moncton, and I must say I was quite well behaved :) We also had a wonderful trip the the Aquarium in Shippagan and I think the biggest news of all....Alex finally can ride his bike! Within about 45 minutes of taking the wheels off and some guiding by Pappy (he was pissed with me for making him wear his Caillou hoodie that I could care less if he ripped falling) he was off and biking on his own! Sweet! We wrapped up our trip with a visit from my aunt and uncle who my boys have never met so that was quite neat as well.

The last couple weeks have been busy. Alex has been in not one but two vacation bible schools and loving it! While I don't advocate willingly keeping young children out of church, our absentee-ism was more exhausted working mom related, I am in awe of his genuine enthusiasm.

Last night wrapped up skating lessons and soccer so I have a free week next week, sweet!
Skating solidified that he wants to try basketball this year and has given up on hockey (yippee), basketball has better hours, registration is hundreds of dollars cheaper and gear = sneakers which would be about the same price we'd pay for the skate portion of his hockey gear. Not to mention his parents were big time into basketball :) Hopefully my supplies will arrive next week to finish Haley, and I'll locate my camera post vacation and upload some pics :)

Summer Pics

Summer Eats

Summer Treats (homemade chocolate ice cream anf fresh strawberries :))

At our subdivisions Lake :)

Hayride at the Campground - Bear Island NB

Hiking at the appropriately named 'Alex' Creek - Mactaquac NB

Alex riding the Kamikaze

Me coming in on the Pro Racer

Meeting Hunter

Clan Côté

It's Been How Long?

Omigosh it's been over a month *eek*

"Time flies when you're having fun" well that about sums up my blogging absense. We went straight from Homework/Karate/Swimming/Beavers to one night of skating lessons & soccer (1.5 hours of stitchy time, yippee) and the rest of them family time bliss. We've been frequenting our subdivision's lake and hitting up the wading pool, weather proofing our wood structure, hiking, picnicing and just taking advantage of the beautiful weather AND not being soo scheduled.

The only activity I booked for Alex is a two night stay at Green Hill Lake later this month which I thought would give us plenty of time to do stuff. Ha! Most people have some sort of appreciation for all that we do and respect that these two months are really the only sort of reprieve that we get, of course it's not those people that are showing up this weekend or asking for my son to visit next week. Factor in my vacation and Matt's on call schedule and we ended up having to schedule both camping and our Moncton Magic Mountain trip this week (and prepare for campany, arghhhhh!) or else we'd be at the two weeks at the end of August, one of which will probably have Alex at vacation bible school in the evenings and being at the complete mercy of the weather which for the past several summers has been cold and wet. I mean if I wanted to send my son anywhere it would be up to my parents which have a very close relationship with him and there just doesn't seem to be any time.

Anyway, our first family camping trip was a success. We didn't get into our original planned campground but meh... This one was smaller but had a Christmas in July celebration going on so there was plenty to do. Alex loved having a bit of freedom to bike around our section and just go play with kids. We got stuck beside some 'rowdies' (there are lots of offensive words I'd love to sub that with) but what mattered most was Alex was happy and not letting some drunk ding dong parents take away from that. Magic Mountain was also a blast. We have a little wiggle room with our vacations so we decided if it was nice Wednesday we'd head to Moncton and all the stars aligned for us :) The crowds were a bit more than I was expecting for mid week but it was a really hot day. Alex did the Kamikaze for the first time (huge vertical drop slide) and I got a pic which I'll post when I get home. He's definitely a thrill seeker. We also got to visit with Lisa and her new baby Hunter. Alex was on overdrive as he's never really been around a baby that small before. We wrapped up the trip with dinner at St Hubert (sigh I couldn't convince the boys to go to The Lonestar) visited Roots for me and Matt hunted down his season 7 of Stargate and we were good to go. Needless to say we're all a little tired today.

Now...on to stitching. Surprise, surprise, I actually finished something! Scratch SB's Pumpkin Hill off of my to do list!! I have an 'ornament' almost done too that I started on the way to Bangor in June as well. Weird :) Anyway, hoping to post some pictures tonight :)

Picture Time

Woo hoo, two finishes in a week. It's a record for 2008 which has been soo insanely busy I couldn't tell you if I'm coming or going half the time. I shouldn't have bought the 'Mom's Taxi' shirt last summer, it had an odd way of coming true! I apologize for their slightly crooked nature, my camera has NOT been cooperating lately.

Willy of the Snowman Trio - Stitchy Kitty (buttons still in the craft room)
Mill Hill Kit (had to do something at all those karate sessions this weekend)

My favorite Birthday Boy and his Mario cake :)

Happy Birthday Alex :)

Omigosh, where have the last 8 years gone? We started the day with a balloon ambush on him in bed and I drove him to school so he could hear his birthday announcement on the radio. I did some wheeling and dealing at work to take off a couple hours and picked Alex up at school. We then headed to Kingswood for some play climber and arcade tokens followed by ice cream and a rousing game of badminton until the black flies drove us inside. Matt managed to get home early so we started presents and headed out for dinner at Jungle Jim's. Needless to say we had one happy kid. We also indulged on the yumm mario cake mom made and watched a video of Baby Alex (and that's a whole other story) while he received a couple of phone calls. He was pretty darn excited to hear from his uncle in Argentina. :) He said he didn't want the day to end, and I can't blame him. I didn't want the fun to end either!

As Promised

Some pictures :) We had a wonderful weekend on the Miramichi. We made the trip up to celebrate both dad's (Sunday) and Alex's (Monday) birthdays. The weather didn't cooperate with doing alot of the fun outdoor activities up there (our hike was cut a little short) but it was still a really nice visit. We all went out to see Indiana Jones 4 and loved it. Alex was in seventh heaven. Not only was he getting to see Indy on the big screen, he managed to sit himself inbetween both bags of popcorn and was double fisting it into his mouth ;) Afterwards he added some bling to dad's birthday cake with some jelly beans and kept eyeing the Super Mario cake mom made him. We had a lovely lunch before presents and cake today and then started the trek back home. Weekends go by soo fast up there.

Now on to those pictures...

Mill Hill Bunny Ornament

Paddington modelling the chenille scarf I sewed this month (yes me sew)

Ready for Alex's 8th birthday

She Stitches....

but can she pick up a digital camera and update her blog? Guess that'll have to wait until we return from our trip the the Miramichi this weekend. I finally managed to finish something during Karate class this week. Normally I go walking but Mother Nature was not permitting it. So, I finally finished the little Mill Hill beaded bunny ornament I started on stitchy night. The bug is biting again but I'm still trying to figure out what to stitch up next. I may do another ormnament but chances are I'll likely either be starting Lady of the Mist or restarting In The Arms of An Angel within the next couple of weeks :)

In Peace

WILSON, MARIANNE AUDRÉE The passing of Marianne Audrée Wilson, of Fredericton, occurred on May 25, 2008 at her home. Born on June 1, 2004, she was the daughter of Kevin Wilson and Isabelle Roy. Besides her parents, Marianne is survived by her brother, Henri Wilson; maternal grandparents, Carol Ann Bernard and Christian Roy; paternal grandparents, Diane Grant and Gilles Wilson. A Graveside Service was held at Hermitage Cemetery for the immediate family under the direction of York Funeral Home. Marianne fought a brave battle against leukemia for more than half of her life. She came to rest at home peacefully with her family by her side. In lieu of flowers, donations to the IWK Foundation (www.iwkfoundation.org) or to the Children's Wish Foundation (www.childrenswish.ca) are suggested.

Dear Marianne,

I had the wonderful opportunity to meet you in 2006, your infectious smile engraved a special place in my heart that day. You were definitely the best 'secretary' Caris ever had. We've watched your journey ever since you were told you'd have to be brave beyond your years once more but like a glorious sunset you were gone far too soon. Your parents have refined the word strength in my mind. You and your parents had so many adventures that most of us of sound body put off until tomorrow for far less that what you are going through. Please watch over them. You've made me cherish my health son far more than I ever thought possible and put into perspective many things I used to be far to impatient with. Thank you for making me want to be a better person. I am very sad to hear that your brief time on earth has come to end but find comfort that you are finally at peace.

Rest well little one,

Katie

Welcome to the World

Dear Little Gabriel,

As pleased as we are to hear of your safe arrival you've given your parents an aweful scare showing up months before they were expecting you. Alex cannot fathom that you are only slightly bigger than mommy's 1 lb weight and hopes your wires don't hurt too much. He loves your 'sunglasses' but thinks you must be awefully cold with no clothes but we reassure him that your incubator is quite toasty.

Please grow strong little one in the weeks to come and we're hoping to visit you at the IWK this summer. Give your mommy and daddy a squeeze for us the next time they're at your little cocoon.

Love,

Katie, Matt and Alex :)

Life's a Dance

Yes, I've been a very negligent blogger. I've come to realize I was suffering from some burnout. Alex being super busy with some afterschool activities (4 nights a week) combined with a husband being highly in demand at work and some new health weirdness just made my free nights a wipe fest. What down time I'd usually use for stitching was replaced with some catching up on Facebook and even that was cut down somewhat keeping up with the crappy hand life has been treating our friends. we're praying that two of our close friends have happy endings to two very rough pregnancies. We're praying that two of our university pals find peace and balance as they part from their 11 year relationship. And finally we pray for strength, painfree days and peace for a former coworker who's soon to be 4 year old daughter will sadly lose her battle with the monster that is cancer (http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/mariannewilson).

All of that being said, I've just been too drained to stitch at night, especially the last one. Part of me feels like whipping off a princess piece or attempting to organize a quilt but I fear it would be too late and when I think about a memory quilt...would it have the same theme or is there something else I can do? I thought I would be stitching some baby pieces but with everything up in the air with one I just can't motivate myself to do anything. So what to work on? I'm too tired to decide.

Things are turning around though at the homestead, we knock off one of Alex's activities this week, and the other (that consumes 2 nights a week) in two weeks time. There's stitchy night tonight which will be good. I've also gotten to see my family twice over the last two weeks after a winter induced hiatus that was far too long. Mathieu and I also celebrated our 2nd wedding anniversary yesterday. Oh, and during my time at home during the flood I finally managed to SEW something! I tried my hand at my first chenille scarf, I'll definitely have to upload the picture of it after I get some batteries for the camera :)

Until then...

Water Water Everywhere

I had planned on writing a nice post about our wonderful girls getaway to Maine when I got back Sunday but I figured we'd be coming back to a drier area instead of an increasing flood. I have been soo distracted at work, thankfully our home is far away from the flood zone but my office is downtown and well, when it starts to cover the streets you begin to wonder... So I thought I'd share a couple pics, eventhough I think you really have to know the area to realize just how much water is truly covering it. It's been surreal having local schools closed and well...even the office. Thank goodness I can work from home.

Behind my office, three streets up from the river

The cosway to where the walking trail is that I usually jog on

Road and On ramp to the bridge covered
The Green where we had a number of our wedding photos

Where Oh Where,

Did the weekend go? I just wanted to crash and burn Friday. I got out for my power walk at lunch, did some head shots for an upcoming promotional campaign at work on my break (now if that's not motivation to lose weight I don't know what is), picked up the van from it's tire change and servicing, picked up the remaining groceries, cooked supper and then was back out the door with the boys for swimming. Matt came along and we decided to go walking, although I've come to find he's not as fast...and we happened to run into one of our old university friends who lived in the neighborhood we were walking in. It was kind of nice getting caught up without Alex hiding behind us or wanting to get the show on the road. After the lesson was over it was auto bedtime for the boy (the timing of the lesson is perfect for a shower and change into pjs at the Y) and we flaked on the couch with some Stargate and stitching.

Wednesday I started Willy from Stitchy Kitty's Snowman Trio and I adore him. I decided to go DMC for him instead of the variegated option mostly because I don't find it adds to the project that much. The only place I could have seen benefiting from it is his scarf but I'm more than happy with it. That's the one change in my stitching that surprises me the most I guess. There was a time where everything had to be EXACTLY as charted...and really this got to be expensive, especially for pieces where it wasn't noticeable, and it just takes a bit more time to individually stitch each one. Not to mention that around here the threads don't seem to be nearly as variegated as the models which is quite frustrating. I now use a little more discretion using it mainly in pieces that are either going to a)stay in our house, b) have big blocks of colour c) require a multicolor variegated d) is a sampler or e) quaker'ish/country/LK patterns. That being said, I can't wait for my Simple Stitches Nativity to come in.

Saturday we were up fairly early and headed to the city's farmer's market for some sausages, orange juice, local blueberry wine and lox. Somewhere along the ride to pick up a new button for Matt's pants and the low fat crackers and cream cheese to go with our little feast the week's activities wore me down and I retreated for a 4.5 hour nap. After that we packed up my stitching and Matt updated his pod casts and we headed to McDonald's. I'm not big on the place so my WW points were saved for the wine and crackers. Alex had a blast in the new playground and was drenched when we took him home. He was quickly sent to bed and we cracked open our little treat, stitched and watched Patriot Games for the hundredth time (we're really exciting)

Sunday was busy as well. There were Christmas lights to bring in, taxes to do, a van to vacuum, sheets to wash, painting and reading sessions with Alex and an Usborne party to go to :) I was pretty good and stuck mainly to my list. I got one extra book for Alex for his birthday which he'll love and that qualified me to pick up two math practice books half price (which we've been looking for) so that was good. Somehow in all of the craziness I managed to get the majority of Willy's scarf stitched along with his face and scarf. I think I'll be sleeping the entire way to our girlie getaway this weekend ;)

Do You Ever...

Have the feeling the week is never going to end? Welcome to my world. Alex schedule just got a little more hectic lately with Karate and swimming in the mix. We've adjusted quite well after prepping for a couple of weeks. So...when you have
-follow up trip to the doctor
-vehicle maintenance
-field trip
-parent teacher
-stitch night
Fall on on the same week, look out ;)

Stitching night was fun. Alot of the girls were pretty hyped up about retreat, although Cathey, Faith Ann and I are opting for a get away next weekend instead. The way this week has been I think I'd be sleeping and not enjoying it anyway. I got a start on Stitchy Kitty's Snowman Trio last night which works up surprisingly fast considering I was gabbing more than stitching ;) I was pretty impressed with how much of the hat was stitched considering. Although I pretty much collapsed in bed upon arriving home!!

What's up this weekend? Nothing...well at least not on Saturday as I need a real day off. Unless of course Matt's motivated to put up the new lights in the kitchen. Sunday I have an Usborne party to go to. I looked over the catalogue and am going in with a firm list of books for the moment, one baby shower gift and two for Alex's birthday Although I plan to sit back and gather lots of information for private orders throughout the year. ;)

Life Is Full Of Meetings And Partings

Life is sprinkled with a handful of profound moments. One that sticks in my mind was while I was being driven home by my husband after finding out my grandmother had passed away. I was looking out the window in my distracted grief ridden state and there were people leaving their offices for the day, people gathering groceries and other out walking their dogs. Eventhough my world had stopped, millions of people in the world were travelling full speed ahead completely unaware of my misery and the realization that someday my life would go forward again, eventhough significantly altered was as calming as it was profound.

We had a wonderful day yesterday. We prepared Matt a birthday breakfast before work. I went walking at lunch to get some decorations and Matt arrived home to streamers balloons and two red head blowing horns at him the second he walked in the door. He loved his cards and gifts from near and far and once that wrapped up we headed out for a delicious meal at Jungle Jim's. We ended the festivities with ice cream cake (not my fave but I wasn't the birthday boy). Matt unfortunately had a trans Atlantic work call to deal with after Alex was in bed so I hopped on the internet to find out a dear stitching friend's world had 'stopped'. It made me reflect on that car ride and how we'd been hurtling forward oblivious to what had been happening all day. While we were celebrating the anniversary of one of our family entering a world the day will forever be marked for another as when their loved one left the world and for millions of others, it's was just another day.

Needless to say this morning's break involved finding a sympathy card for Tracy (of Fiddlestitch Cottage) which I find difficult. I just can't bring myself to buy a 'deep' card. It's not that I didn't appreciate any I've recieved in the past. I try to find one that expresses to that the recipient that we're thinking about them, the ones left to mourn. I find it frustrating that so many focus on either the specific loss or the 'freedom' of being deceased. However, I did manage to find 'old faithful' and am contemplating either buying the remaining stock or incorporating the following verse into handmade cards.

"Please remember, in your sorrow,
you have many friends who care.
You're someone very special,
and you're thought about in prayer."

You're in our thoughts and prayers Tracy

Happy Birthday Hubby

Although it's been insanely busy here, I'll take a moment to wish my DH Matt a great big happy 35th birthday!! :)

Nothing Makes You Feel Old Like...

'The reunion comes 20 years after the release of the group's multi-platinum album, "Hanging Tough." '

20 years, ack!!!!!!

Now to figure out how to get to one of the concerts ;)

Last night was the first night I actually got to sit down and do some stitching all week. It's just been 'one of those weeks'. Hopefully if all goes smoothly the Easter Snapper will be complete this weekend and I can move on to a couple of other potential projects :)

However it will be a busy weekend around the house. Some old friends of ours are visiting from Moncton so we're going out to dinner this evening. Then there is the air exchanger to finish installing and the new light fixtures to put up. On top of that there are some prep things to do for Matt's birthday and dinner prep to do to make next week run smoothly. Alex starts Karate lessons two nights a week (although this session we're only committing to going once a week) and swimming so were' going to be busy for the next couple of months. Our slow cooker had better not go on the fritz ;)

April Fools

I wish! Our e-mail has been down since 11. I'm beginning to feel pretty cut off from the world!

April Showers

Wow, is it April already? March just seemed to go by in a blur!! I had intended to get back to blogging like I was, however there were just a number of things happen post post that had me bitter or negative (holiday plans, work, school, you name it) and I was afraid any minor post would turn into a big tirade. So now that most of that has blown over, here I am ;)

We enjoyed our first Easter in our own home this year and that was wonderful. It was soo much fun hiding eggs and being able to put them where ever I pleased. It was nice to be able to go to our own church and then come home and actually relax. Previous years we've travelled and that side of the family insists on throwing a big (although rapidly shrinking) party at the location we're staying so there's no time to rest and usually we end up helping out. Instead I threw a turkey in the oven and sat back all day and had one of our groomsmen's families come over for the afternoon. We offered turkey but they had their eye on a 'big city' restaurant supper and I don't blame them. I know I enjoy restaurants that we don't have around here when I travel as well. So...we had a quiet turkey dinner that was scrumptious, did the bare minimal clean up and laid back and relaxed. Woot!

Stitching wise I've been working on Bent Creek's Easter Snapper. Back at Christmas I'd been aiming for it to be up in the house before the holiday however our discussion on where we were spending our holidays went in someone's ear and out the other and this lead to another back and forth argument and really killed any interest in the 'festive' part of the holiday. Thankfully things worked out in the end, the 'party' was moved to a date and time we couldn't attend and the second I had word of that I pulled the project out, knowing it wouldn't be finished but it was still fun to work on that weekend. Sadly there's been an attack of the frog that's set back progress a bit :(

Other things keeping us busy have been Alex's big swim up to Cubs and a bunch of home improvement projects. We've been a little stir crazy with the amount of snow still on the ground and that's been a big motivator in fixing some things in the house. First off is our lack of an air exchanger. When we bought the house we knew we needed to put a new one in (the old broken one wasn't even in the house) so you can imagine my shock when I'm minding my own business looking at mirros and Matt flies through the isle looking for the car keys because he's got a whole new system by the door of the store. Matt also go the light over my kitchen sink replaced, why on earth the original owners put in a florescent that hung down under the canopy is beyond me.
So that left the three lights in the kitchen/dining area as the last of the original 'yuck' light fixtures and miraculously...Canadian Tire had the replacement set I'd been eyeing on sale. So installation of the new Venmar started Saturday, however as with all home improvement projects it didn't go as planned, eventhough we bought the same system the piping and vents had become bigger so again to CT to buy a reciprocating saw to cut through some floor boards and the exterior of the house...so sadly no light installation this past weekend. Instead I have a new control panel hooked up that is smaller than the old one...so the hall could use some paint, and my basement looks like something out of funhouse with all the things hanging not yet hooked up to the system. On the bright side, the china cabinet had to be moved to install the new vent which then made it possible to center. I've been wanting to hand a picture over it (Bent Creek's Wedding Row) but never felt it was worth taking all of the crystal and stuff out to move it, and it would look odd without the china cabinet centered.

So as you can see, this hasn't left much time for blogging. Although April is looking like a more 'open' month than March with only a girlie road trip to look forward to ;)
Until next time...

It's Getting Chilli

Well actually it's getting warmer but Chilli's Gift by Stitchy Kitty is now complete!

Chilli's Gift - Stitchy Kitty on SMF Ares

But just in case you were wondering, we've still got a tonne of snow!

Stick A Fork In It!

Just like my vacation Miss Vicki is now DONE!

Victorian Christmas Eve - Nora Corbett

Like any good vacation I've been AWOL most of the week and loving it. I'm almost afraid to log into my e-mail, the most I've been doing online is glancing at my Facebook page this week ;). I don't usually completely disconnect for such an extended period of time but March break seems to be the one week of the year set aside for doing so.

This year Matt actually took the break off with Alex and I so there was alot of vegging around the house, minus the couple hours of paint touch ups I did in the craft room. We took Alex to two of the toonie movies playing, The Waterhorse and The Pirates That Don't Do Anything. Both of them were worth more than the price of admission. The other toonie movies we'd already seen so we didn't venture out of the house Wednesday at all. While we were at the mall we took advantage of the children's booksale at Chapters and found some additional deals on clothing at The Children's Place, my ultimate favorite kids clothing store.

Thursday Alex and I packed up the van and headed to the Miramichi. Since then I've been relaxing quite comfortably here, stitching without the normal distractions of our household, learning to put up moldings, heading to the gym and just zoning out :) The plan is to return to Hanwell today but that will depend greatly on the condition of the roads later this afternoon and the weather. Right now the weather has settled down from last night's storm but the roads are still pretty bad. So in the mean time I'll have to do the toss up between the next project and settle in to rewatch The Goonies with Alex :)