Home Improvements (and mom and dad!)

It's been quite the eventful 2 weeks! Mom and Dad arrived on August 5 and we've been just going ever since. Mom has been especially busy...sewing blinds for my kitchen, scrubbing my bathtub, taking care of Reid, washing windows, cooking, grocery shopping and just doing everything for me...I feel quite lazy! But always appreciative. I love that my parents come to spend time with me here...maybe when I go home for Christmas it will be my turn to clean and scrub their house! Maybe. Here is our visit in pictures. 

Josh and Dad out for dinner in Eastern Passage.

Mom, Reid and I, out for dinner in Eastern Passage.

Mom and Dad, out for a walk on the Bedford Harbour front.

Our little family! That growth on my chest is Reid in his pouch under a blanket!

Self portrait...always amusing.

A nice passer-by offered to take our picture!

Dad and Reid!

I bought this "birth stat print" from Etsy. Cute!

Reid's change table area...the ribbons were Mom's idea and he does love them!

Mom made this hanging book display for me!

Reid's footprint art...2 sets of prints = 2 months of age!

Reid' s room...Erica, this is where I hung his name banner!

Close up of the hanging book display.

Lazy roman blind that Mom made, as per Auntie B's instructions.

We had extra fabric from the blinds, so Mom added some detail to the dining room curtains! What do you think?

The full view of the dining room curtains. 

Roman blind for the kitchen window.

If you are interested in making a hanging book display, click here. 

Well, there you have it! Our glorious visit. Mom leaves on Sunday and there's no doubt I will miss her! It'll suck having to do everything for myself again....! Just kidding. I will miss her for other reasons, of course!

Things I've been lovin' this summer...

Here is a list of random things that I've been loving this summer. 

First is Avon SuperShock mascara. I first tried this when I was home in Killarney in August. Thanks to a mom that sells Avon, I get to try anything that I want (within reason!). This mascara is a big honkin' tube and the wand/bristles are bigger than normal, which I like, as I feel that my lashes are much more dramatic/luscious/long. I always wear mascara, even if I'm not wearing any other makeup, and this mascara totally delivers on bringing attention to my eyes with minimal effort. Love it! Regular price $9.99 

My second fave item this summer is the Norwex Body Pack. These cloths are antibacterial and are used like a washcloth. You just wet them, wash your face, rinse and let dry. Because they are antibacterial, you don't need to use any cleansers. I have sensitive skin and I have to be super careful about what I use on my skin, especially my face. With these cloths I can wash my face without worrying about breaking out from some nasty cleansers full of perfumes, dyes, preservatives and chemicals. I've had these cloths for over 2 years and they still work great. I wash them with my towels and dry in the dryer (never use bleach or fabric softeners!) I have recently begun selling Norwex products, so yes, this my shameless plug for Norwex! If you are interested in these cloths or anything else from Norwex, let me know! Regular $22.99 for a 3 pack.

This is a product that I carry with me at all times. Dove Pomegranate and Lemon Verbena scent Go Fresh Body Mist is great to have in your purse to spritz and freshen up, especially in the summer months when you can get hot and sweaty. This is a great scent - very light and refreshing. The daycare I work at can get super hot and sometimes after a rough morning, I like to spray myself with some body mist and then I just feel better about the day and myself! There are many other scents from the Dove Go Fresh line, all of them are just delightful. I think this retails for about $3.99 at drugstores - maybe less if you can get it on sale!

My friend Liz recommended this Rimmel Natural Bronzer to me quite a while ago, and I finally just went ahead and bought it! It's available in 2 different shades, 1 lighter and 1 darker. I think I bought the lighter one, as I hate when bronzer looks like bronzer, if you know what I mean. I am quite enjoying this product, it gives a very nice, natural look without being overdone. A hit, especially in summer. I think I paid $8 or $9 for this at Shoppers (which was dumb because Shoppers is always more expensive) but I saw this for about $7 at Zellers. 

Well, that's all I can think about for now, and it's time for bed, so this post is done! I'll maybe think about another list of things to post in the future. Happy Sunday!

Summer.

Josh and I had a great holiday in Killarney over the August long weekend. I didn't take too many pictures, but here are some.

Summer Fun in Killarney!

9 days of summer fun in Killarney is now over, but what a 9 days it was! We had great weather, some great thunderstorms, great food, family and friends.







You can see more pictures if you click HERE!

46 1/2 Rodney Road

I've been in Nova Scotia for 1 week, and have basically melted away here in the humidity. Josh and I seriously contemplating the purchase of an air conditioner - our upper floor apartment is pretty hot, especially when you're hauling boxes, painting old, ugly bedroom furniture (which turned out great!) and putting up the shower rod for the 18th time because it keeps falling down.

Otherwise, the apartment is great!! 46 1/2 Rodney Road is the upper floor of a 2 story house. We are right off a main street, beside a pub, and seconds from a bus stop. Right up the main road is SuperStore, Staples, Reitmans, Bulk Barn, Wendy's, McDonald's, Winners, and a liquor store. Everything we could ever want. It's not the quietest neighborhood, due to the main road nearby, but it's not terribly loud, either. The pub next door is not a loud place, so I don't anticipate too much trouble from them.

We are allowed to paint, and I think next week we will start. We'll only do the living room and the bedroom, so it shouldn't be too much work. We did paint Josh's ugly old bedroom furniture (circa 1965), and it turned out well, I think!

Tonight Josh and I have our first marriage counselling session with his pastor, Reg.






See more pictures here.

july

The summer has already gone by so quickly - it's already July 20! So far I've done a lot of sleeping, resting and going to the doctor....and the result is....MONO. It hasn't been the best start to the summer of 2009, but I am already feeling quite a bit better, which is a true blessing and answer to prayer.

When I'm not sleeping, I have been packing my life into boxes, getting ready to move to the east coast. I leave for Halifax on July 29 and am shipping about 12 boxes to meet me there. Josh and I get our apartment in Dartmouth on August 1, so I want my things there when we move. I am in Nova Scotia until August 18, so will paint, unpack, clean and organize! I am so excited for this, naturally.

Then I am back in Manitoba on August 18 and about 2 weeks later, Josh will come. And then we'll be married on September 6. Life is flying by, but am trying to enjoy every minute of it.

lazy, hazy days of summer: part 2

The girls and I have been pretty busy these last few weeks. The weather has been decent enough, so we are taking full advantage of that and getting outside as much as possible. This past week we went to Carnfunnock Country Park, which is a huge outdoor park, with tons of things to do. The girls and I made our way through a twisty maze (with success!), took a train ride, had a picnic lunch, fed a bird, bounced on a bouncy castle, steered boats in a pond, rode go-karts (without crashing), played on the playground, and played a huge game of "Connect 4"!






The girls finding their way out of the maze.


Playing a giant game of "Connect 4"!

On Wednesday, I took the girls to Jordanstown Lough Park, which overlooks Belfast Harbour, where the boats, ships and ferries dock. There is a nice sandy beach and large grassy space. We took apples and bananas for a snack; I have never felt so like my mother and aunties than in that moment when I was cutting the girls apples for them while sitting on the beach - a good feeling. The girls brought their buckets and shovels and set about digging around, making sand castles, collecting shells, etc. We had a good afternoon there, and the sun even shone for about 10 minutes!









The days continue to fly by, and in less than 3 weeks I'll be coming home.


The girls in their uniforms for Primary 1 (kindergarten) in September.

lazy hazy days of summer: part 1

I have titled this "part 1" because more parts of this series will be appearing throughout the summer (and because I have a very hard time thinking of new titles).

Anyway! This is what we've been doing in June, thus far.


Caitlin and Lauren dressed up at Batman and Zorro...just hanging out, eating apples and watching "Dora the Explorer". Even Superhero's have to relax, right??

The girls after I painted their faces (again!). Caitlin as a tiger, Lauren as a clown (slightly smudged and sweaty!).

The girls playing in the linen closet! We were cleaning it out and I put them up on the shelf. They were quite happy playing up there for about 15 minutes!

In the linen closet...

A self portrait, so you don't forget what I look like.

Amy had a wedding shower at church last weekend, and here am some photos she emailed me of the evening. Wish I could have been there :(

The happy couple, Dons and Amy. I assume they are happy because they made a whole lot of cash at the money shower!!

Mom made this umbrella with bills tied to it, so that when it opened, Amy would be "showered" with money!

Mom, Amy, and Alison at the shower (not pictured: Claude, in the womb. FYI: we have dubbed Clarke and Alison's baby as "Claude" until he is born. Just in case any of you were perplexed).