these two, lately

celebrating a little jett-plane

I always feel so proud of myself when I actually have a post or event to share that is not about my kids! As, now and then these days, there are things which show something of my own life and not just these all consuming days of mothering two toddlers. So when my friend Tanis had her second child, a little boy named Jett, I was feeling the need to get my own creative juices going and contribute to her baby shower. Well I ended up taking on the whole decorating aspect of the party but for all the hard work I really, really enjoyed it! How can you go wrong with a boy named Jett? I made my signature chocolate cake, with a few added jet planes soaring up in the sky, and lovingly made 2 dozen Sprinkles cupcakes (mixes from Williams Sonoma) and decorated those with personalized toppers ordered from TheGreenGrassGrows. Then ... and simply for the fun of it ... I made individual thank you cookies for all the guests to take home and enjoy. It was tiring, it was rewarding, the party itself was fabulous but I think that's it for extra make-and-bake projects til the boys' joint birthday in a few months. Oh my, I need to start writing down ideas ....

halfway there!

this is why ...

This is why I take alot of photos. Right here. This moment. To remember them at 8 a.m. in their summer jammies, with bushy morning hair, just being happy together. Take a second to enlarge that first photo of Walter .... oh my, delicious. And those little tucked-in hands as he intently watches Henry draw, sigh. How I love little boys when they are becoming little boys. De-licious.

adjusting to summer

We live in an area of Canada where we can easily reach -32c during the winters ... and so these summer days of +32c are happily welcomed. These hazy days of summer where you often forget that you could even exist and function in such cold and dreariness. And for all the pesky mosquitoes that the wet springs/dry summers bring I look around our backyard now and think how beautiful it is. Every blade of grass a strong shade of green, our raised garden bed now full of veggies, just-about-ready-to-burst pink peonies along the garage wall, sweet strawberries show their colours from underneath the broad leaves, and extended families of redbreasted Robins entertain us from the skies and keep us company. Today was one of those really hot and really inviting days and so we made sure to have some backyard pool time before and after the boys' naps. We pulled out all their water toys, buckets, cups, and the sprinkler to the pool .... and how they loved it. And how we loved watching them in these early carefree days of their childhood. The colours of their swimsuits and the sponge-star toys I made for them only added to the rainbow of colours already present in our backyard. I look at my two boys and think ... how beautiful they are.

(Today was also a big milestone in our family as my parents celebrated their 40th wedding anniversary! Congratulations Mum and Dad!)

happy canada day!

Sam was out of the house early to secure a spot for the Canada Day parade ... and good thing too, as we had a big group of friends suddenly join us at the last minute! A typical small town parade ... more community advertising and familiar faces driving the trucks than flashy glittered-up floats. Still, the kids loved it and Henry talked about the horses and the ambulance and the loud noises and the big stuffed moose all through the day. We were home at 11:30 am to reorganize for a few minutes before we were off again. Carrying our lawn chairs and my freshly made chocolate cake to friends Autumn and Kevin who live across the street, ready to celebrate Canada Day with everyone at our big yearly potluck BBQ. This year I'm sure we had between 50 - 60 people there, including all the children, and it was really, really fun. Makes me feel thankful anew for the amazing group of friends we have here. A happy surprise we've found ourselves a part of, 4 years after moving to this small prairie town.