8.30.12

Apparently, the BEST place to play in the entire house is on our bed.  Both kids love to jump around, but Paige is a little more fearless than Wyatt.  She likes to stand on top of our pillows, and then just throw herself forward.  She does this hilarious scream/laugh while she does it.  Of course, the downside to this as the parent is running back and forth from each side of the bed to make sure she doesn't fling herself onto the floor.  She also enjoys doing this from the footstool to the couch, which is just downright terrifying and not fun at all (for me or Josh), so now the footstools only come out after bedtime. :P

8.29.12

Look at that face!  He cracks me up.  Wyatt is away at Josh's parents for a sleepover tonight, so it's been oddly quiet around here.  And clean.  No sippy cups left in front of the TV, no fire trucks and Hot Wheels taking over the dining room table.  Apparently they played outside from after lunch until suppertime, so I imagine he'll be tuckered right out.  Josh's dad really wanted to take him fishing, but I don't know that he'll like it.  It'll be good for him to decide on his own, and I appreciate that they want to do special things with Wyatt, but I hope they can acknowledge his limits.  His fear of water plus the unsteadiness of the boat will probably not go over well.  However, I am certainly fine with them trying - they usually know to not push the issue.  They tried to take him on some rides at the Corn and Apple festival on Sunday, but the crowds and the noise was just too much for him.
His actual birthday is quickly approaching, and I am still hoping to do something special.  He has been asking to go to the zoo, although I can't figure out why (whenever we go, he shows ZERO interest in the animals).  He has also been asking to go camping all summer, so if I can luck out and find a small campground close by (that still has available sites!), maybe we can swing that for one night.  Or just some backyard camping would probably make his day too. :)

8.25.12

We celebrated Wyatt's birthday today!  A little early, but it was the one day that worked for most of us (missed you, Kaeleigh and Barney!).  Wyatt wanted a Hot Wheels party, so we had some race car themed snacks and a few race car activities (a racing ramp that Josh built and some white Hot Wheels that the kids could "paint" with Sharpies).
He was blessed with many wonderful gifts (I think the Little Tikes BBQ may have been his favorite, considering he could hardly get the words out when he saw it!).  Thank you to everyone who came out to celebrate with us!

8.19.12

Car Wash time.

"Oh hai mom. Just pouring water all over myself. Hope that's okay."

Pretty laid back weekend over here, if you consider pressure washing our deck and resealing it to be laid back.  I don't.  I should take that first sentence back.  Lots of hard work over here!  I even strained the muscles in my wrist using the pressure washer, so you know it was serious.  We're about half way done (a little more) resealing.  Kind of a moot point, since the wood is already in terrible shape.  Lipstick on a pig and all that.
Also working on Wyatt's 4th (FOURTH!??!?!?) birthday party.  This time, I swear I will be ready before the guests arrive.  Even if it means I start making the food today. ;)

8.15.12

They actually get along now.  Sometimes. Not usually.

Always with the upside down soother.

He was saying, "Don't take my picture!" He always says that.  I rarely oblige.

8.13.12

I forgot to post these yesterday! Wyatt had a blast in the puddles. :)

8.8.12

This has been my project in the basement for the past few days.  I am so glad it's done!  I have a new storage unit to add (the one you can see on the right side was damaged one of the 2 times the water line burst and flooded our basement - I didn't realize how BADLY it smelled until I moved it. Yay water damage!).  I also need to move around everything you can't see in the picture, ha ha. ;)

8.7.12

Look! No one is trying to hurt anyone else!

8.6.12

Paige's new "bookshelves" and painting.s

Pooh's Balloon and The Paper Bag Princess.

Where the Wild Things Are and The Very Hungry Caterpillar.

Guess How Much I Love You.

For a few months now, I've wanted to add some bookshelves to Paige's room.  I kept seeing the "rain gutter bookshelves" on Pinterest and thought I'd give that a try.  After buying everything, I decided I didn't like the idea anymore (shocking).  Another popular idea out there is using IKEA spice racks as bookshelves.  I even had 2 of them in my hands when I went to Calgary with my parents and sister back in May, but put them back.  Arg!  So I figured I'd make my own with the leftover pine I had from the picnic table.  Well....I didn't like how those turned out either - not as smooth as I'd like (MDF would be a better material for that project), so I went back to the rain gutter idea (I can't figure out how to spell eavestrough for some reason, and spell check thinks I mean "breakthrough", hence the rain gutter reference).  Josh helped me put them up - well, Josh mostly put them up because I sucked back a pina colada too quickly and didn't want to use a drill, ha ha. ;)
I still am not terribly keen on them.  The brackets get in the way of the books.  They slope forward, and so the books all tip forward as well.  And you can't really fit that many in there.
I guess when IKEA finally comes to Winnipeg I'll stock up on spice racks. :S

8.4.12

Working on a masterpiece.

Our DIY tent.

Last night Wyatt tagged along with me to Dollarama and was allowed to pick one "treat" - anything he wanted.  He picked glitter paint. ;)
I wasn't able to find another kids play tent around here (we returned our Superstore one that broke twice), so I figured I'd give another DIY a go.  This a-frame tent has been making it's rounds on Pinterest.  One thing is for sure, it was NOT cheaper than buying a tent, mostly because I chose to go with canvas (although I did get it for 50% off).  Total cost was about $35.  And what a pain in the arse to make.  Cutting the wood and drilling the holes for the dowel was no big deal....until I hit a knot in the wood.  Neither of the cordless drills would get through, so I asked Josh for some help with the corded drill.  As he was pushing the spade bit through, the wood broke off (about 6 inches worth) and went flying across the garage - right at the side of my thigh.  I tell ya, that hurt like a SOB.  So I had to go pick up a new piece of lumber, and oddly enough our local lumberyard does not carry 1x2s (I got the others at Rona), but the guy working (who happens to be on the fire dept) offered to rip it down for me.  But, he ripped it to exactly 2 inches, and an actual 1x2 is only 1 1/2" wide.  I had to get Josh to help me again, because I hate using the table saw.  We ripped it down another half inch and were finally good to go.  Until I hemmed the fabric.  The tutorial used elastic loops on the corners to hook around the frame.  With the weight of the canvas, the fabric sagged into itself and would have made a lousy tent.  I had some extra 1x3s in the garage, so we cut those down and screwed them between the posts at the bottom of the tent.  This way I could wrap and staple the fabric nice and taut.
Glad that's done with!  I think it will be a cozy spot to play and read for the kids.

8.1.12

First off, how on earth is it August already???
Tonight the fire department was doing a controlled burn at a farm (an old pig barn), and I got to tag along.  It was really neat to watch.  We're incredibly fortunate to have these guys as our fire department!  Good lookin' bunch, aren't they? ;)