Friday Fill-ins - Feb 27

TGIF!!!

And...here we go! My answers in Bold.

1. I'm a mom, I'm a wife, I am happy to be ME! Take it or leave it ;)

2. Why do I have _to make my bed in the morning and not just leave it as is. I am getting back in it anyway!!

3. How does this "seeing the grey" work, anyway? I can't let go of black or white. It is or it isn't.

4. Every morning, I put Jonah on my lap for a squeeze because one day he may not want to do that anymore. Hoping that NEVER happens!

5. I consider myself lucky because I have a wonderful, loving family and friends who I also consider family.

6. One day we’ll see what true humanity is.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to my scrapbook class and me time, tomorrow my plans include Jonah's birthday party and seeing Lee and her clan at the hockey arena! and Sunday, I want to just be with my family and do whatever tickles our fancy!

Pancake Tuesday!

I can't believe I forgot today was Pancake Tuesday!! Thanks for the reminder Lee!!

I remember "celebrating" this day growing up. There was always something so exciting about eating pancakes for dinner! And now I get to celebrate with my own child and it is STILL exciting!

Are you celebrating as well? Do you do anything different? I would love to hear!

Happy Fat Tuesday!

Manic Monday - Feb 23rd

A sweet picture of a beagle pup - picture of the day.

Time for this weeks interview. If you participate, please leave me a comment and link to your blog so I can learn more about you!


What's one of the simple pleasures in your life? Oh there are so many! The fact that my 6 year old is very affectionate and tells me multiple times a day that he loves me, that my husband and I are married almost 12 years and we are like honeymooners, that my family is close, taking a walk to see the trilliums in bloom - my life is surrounded by simple pleasures and I am very grateful for it.


What do you like to snack on when you watch a movie? Um, hello! POPCORN!! And any form of chocolate really. :)


If you were a Survivor contestant, what would be your luxury item? Well, since I am not allowed to bring "normal" food, it would have to be my camera of course!! I can only dream of the things I would be able to photograph while there. Although I would have to take all the pictures I wanted the first day because I am pretty sure I would be the first voted off!!

The Face on my Pillow

Always a good way to start the day.
Enjoy your weekend my friends!

Friday Fill-ins - Feb 20

My Patooter

A day earlier.....my answers are in bold. :)

1. Give me a few hours and I'll visit my scrapbook table!

2. Whenever you need me, I will be there for you.

3. I wish 2009 didn't start off as bad as it did. It can only get better.

4. The chicken tomato alfredo the other night was the last thing I ate that was utterly delicious.

5. To live in this world you have to have a lot of patience and open mindedness (is that a word?LOL).

6. Other than this one, Lee's is the last blog I commented on.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to a nice family dinner, tomorrow my plans include _bridesmaid duties and Sunday, I want to go to church, spend time with my family and scrapbook!

Family Day

In Ontario, we have a holiday called Family Day. I am thrilled that we have this relatively new holiday to celebrate the important thing in life - FAMILY!!

The weather was beautiful - we were in the plus! But it was still cold enough that we had to wear our hats, mitts and winter coats.

Jonah was very excited that the warm weather had melted so much of the snow that he was able to ride his scooter! We learned that it is time for a new scooter - wow, he is outgrowing everything!!

We decided to take a walk to to lake since it was so nice outside. It is about a 15 minute walk from our house. Jonah happily scooted along. Of course, Jonah had to stop when he found what he called a "mini ice rink". We put the scooter down for some sliding time. :)

The view at the lake was beautiful. The lake looked like glitter and so peaceful! Jonah and Daddy took in the view from a bench.

We enjoyed some rest time just taking in the view and playing around. We even waved to Ms Lee and Mr Louis who Jonah knows lives on the other side of the CN Tower - which looked very tiny from where we were!

Jonah wanted in on the picture taking so he took a picture of mommy and daddy - did pretty well I think!

Time to trek back home to warm up with some hot chocolate. On the way back home, we came across a playground. What 6 year old can walk past a playground and not give it a go?? Definately not mine!! So after a fun half hour at the park, we eventually did ake it home to enjoy that Hot chocolate.

It was a wonderful day. What did you do for Family Day?

Remember the days of.....

.... kicking a can?

I love these little moments of watching Jonah that take me back to that age.
The difference between Jonah and I? I kicked the can just because.......he was kicking it to bring it back home to put in our recycle bin since "some mean person is not being nice to the earth!"

Manic Monday

Seen this on some blogs and thought I would join in on the mini interviews. I hope you will join as well so I can get to know you better! Leave me a comment so I can check yours out! Here is the link to the site if you want to check it out: http://manicmondaymeme.blogspot.com/


Of all your favorite foods, which one would you find the most difficult to give up for the rest of your life? Pasta! There are many things I love about pasta, but the main one is the variety! I love making homemade lasagna, chicken alfredo, Garlic pasta bake and of course good ol' spaghetti and meatballs (homemade balls, not store bought!). It is a comfort food for me as well. I love my pasta so much that I refuse to eat store bought pasta "entrees" - canned pasta, frozen lasagna (gross! I might as well eat cardboard with tomato sauce on it!). Love me some real PASTA!


Which month of the year do you think best describes your personality? September! CRAZY and COLOURFUL!! LOL. One of the things I am trying to embrace is accepting change and I have been doing it a lot lately. The leaves in September change to such awesome colours and it shows me how different (and ok!) it is to have difference. I love it!


If you could be a contestant on any game show, past or present, which show would you pick? Sean and I have always said that we would make a great team on The Amazing Race. The only thing that would hinder is my being out of shape. But other than that, I think our communication would put us ahead of the game. Sean would be great at the physical challenges and I would do the puzzle challenges. Sean says the other hinderance we would have is that I would want to stop everywhere to take pictures for the scrapbook! LOL

Friendship Blog Award!

Two of my fantastic friends, Lee and Jayne bestowed a friendship blog award upon me! Thanks Ladies!

Here is the description of the award: “These blogs are exceedingly charming. These kind bloggers aim to find and be friends. They are not interested in self-aggrandizement. Our hope is that when the ribbons of these prizes are cut, even more friendships are propagated. Please give more attention to these writers. Deliver this award to eight bloggers who must choose eight more and include this cleverly-written text into the body of their award.”

As for my eight friends, I will pass this on to:

1. Megan

2. Becky

3. Kari Ann

4. Amy

5. Stacey L

6. Trudy

7. Martha

8. Tricia

Friday Fill-ins - Feb 13

This was the sky in Parry Sound. Looked like Heaven's door was open.

1. It seems like many people are on a destructive path. Wish I could help more.

2. Put the friggin toilet seat down when you're done, please!

3. If I thought you could be honest and true I'd embrace a friendship!

4. Pure Love is what I think of most when I think of you (hubby).

5. To me, Valentine's Day is a commercial holiday. Why can't we express love everyday??

6. My family and true friends gives me strength.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to movie night with Jonah, tomorrow my plans include family time and Sunday, I want to have a great time with my sister and her boyfriend for game night!

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend!

My Baby is 6 today!!

I cannot believe my baby boy is 6 years old day! I have a lot of feelings about today. I am very happy and blesssed to have Jonah in my life - especially since doctors "thought" I couldn't have kids. But I also freaked out a little bit because he is growing up! I feel like there is no justification of me babying him! LOL. I wanted to take today off to spend the day with him, which normally isn't a problem. But I have been in a work session that carries on to tomorrow. So I am ducking out early today, to make sure I am home for the birthday boy.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JONAH! We love you!

A Sweet Gesture to start my day!

My sweet husband Sean - who I should say is not a morning person - pulled himself out of bed at 5:15 this morning while I was in the shower to surprise me with a nutritious breakfast!

I came downstairs to find a bowl of fresh fruits, yogurt, a steaming cup of hot tea and my daily shot of Mona Vie!

A great way to start my very long day!

Thank you Sean, I love you!

Making the right choice

As concerned parents, Sean and I have always discussed education choices for Jonah. We made the choice to spend the extra money and enroll him in a Montessori school when he was quite young. A choice we have never regretted. We have also always said that we would enroll Jonah in the French Immersion program when he gets to public school. I know many people who have either been in this program themselves, or have children currently enrolled in it. We have researched this option from the very beginning. We have always been confident in our decision on this - Yes, we will enroll Jonah in the French Programme. We even discussed this with Jonah to see what his take on it is. Done deal, the choice has been made.


Jonah is now in public school and last thursday a form came home for the parents to fill out. It was to let the school know what our choice would be for our soon to be Grade 1 child. Regular program or french program?


I don't know why, but the form is still on my fridge. I started to fill it out, but I haven't marked the appropriate box yet. Why am I hesitating?? Am I just freaking out that my son is going to be 6 in 2 days?? Am I hesitating because I made the wrong the choice?? WHY??


I hate that I am questioning it. I am a person who, for the most part stands by her decisions. But having this parent responsibility has me stopped in my tracks. Obviously, I want the very best for Jonah.


So......I am going to go with my gut and sign the form. Sigh.

Moment of freak out is over. Thanks for listening ;)

Another Jonah-ism

You may remember my post a couple of weeks ago about my Jonah waking me up in the middle of the night to share his ever so exciting news - a barely loose tooth.

Well, lately it has become much more loose. I told Jonah it would probably come out in a couple of days. Jonah decided to take that matter into his own hands and yank his tooth out. The kid has no fear.

So in the Tooth Fairy pillow the tooth goes. The Fairy brought $3 - a little more than normal because it was a tooth that generally doesnt come out until Year 8.

When Jonah woke this morning and saw the money he was so excited! He then told me: "If more of my teeth come out I can buy that DS game I want! C'mon Mommy! Lets go get some candy so my teeth fall out!"

My Jonah.

More Cards

More cards that I have made from the Year of Cheer class over at Feeling Scrappy!

This set I made using scraps. The card on the right has ribbon weaved thru it. I used the ribbon border punch that my virtual friend Kari Ann sent to me from the US! I lalalaLOVE it!

Used my CTMH stamps for these cards. Also had to add my beloved flowers!

This set is my favourite. The flowers are chipboard. The stamps, ribbon and fibre is from CTMH.

Again using the ribbon border punch and Martha Stewart zig zag punch (not sure of the name actually). Also got to try out my new toy, the paper crimper.

I am really enjoying this class! I will post some more cards later this week.

Have a great day!

I altered!!

I have been taking another class over at Feeling Scrappy!

If you haven't checked out their site yet, you MUST! I lalalaLOVE Feeling Scrappy classes. This class is called Year of Cheer. It was a prize I won a couple of months ago in their Sketchapalooza 2 Class. At the end of the class, I will hopefully have enough cards of cheer to give thru the year!
This class is perfect for those of us who are running around last minute to grab a card. I love receiving homemade cards, so why wouldn't I want to GIVE them!


The instructor for this class is the brilliantly talented Stacey. Check out her blog here! I have always been a fan of Stacey's work so I am so excited for what is in store for us.


One of the first things we had to do in the class was to make a place to keep the cards we are making. We learned how to alter a box to keep them in. This was the first time - other than my Mess to Success binder - I have altered! Very exciting in my world!!

Here is how my card box turned out.


Next we had to make the dividers for the box. I picked a few categories and made them to match the box. I will add more as needed.

Now that the box is ready, its time to fill it!

Stacey gave us our first sketch that we were to follow. As always with a sketch, you can fit it to your need. I made 4 thank you cards.

I can't wait to see what else is in store for us! Stay tuned!

This is one of my favourite pictures of Jonah. It was taken at Earl Rowe last summer.

1. Please don't tell me to chill out if I am upset or angry. You are just fuelling the fire.

2. Can you please join me for a rendition of "Good Morning" in the morning? Jonah and I sing this to each other everyday!

3. The color pink makes me want to scream! Good thing I didn't have a girl, she would be dressed in blue and red!

4. I have a craving for chocolate - A.L.L T.H.E T.I.M.E.

5. If my life had a pause button, I'd pause it the moment Jonah was born, just to savour it a little longer. Most amazing moment of my life.

6. Eyes are the the first thing I notice about people. I believe you can look into their souls and see who they really are.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to a night of good food, cood company and WII with the Sibley family, tomorrow my plans include cleaning and scrapping and Sunday, I want to enjoy the day with my family!

TADA!! The Kitchen!

We have had so much going that I haven't posted pictures of my kitchen. There are a few "touch-ups" to be done, but for the most part, we are done! Or I should say, the sexy handyman is done. Time to find a new job for him! LOL

So.....TADA!!

I love how the colour turned out! We bought new blinds and new curtains to brighten up the room. I also had Sean hang a sign that I absolutely love. I felt it was appropriate to have it where we always eat as a family. The Sign says "All because two people fell in love."

I am so happy about this change....we have a light!! For the longest time, we had these commercial flourescent lights that didnt actually work. We saw this light at Home Depot and really liked it. It is amazing how much light we get in the kitchen now! LOL.

And of course, the beautiful floor. Home renovations are so much easier when your husband does flooring for a living! Sean used different colours of flooring and patched them together. I lalalaLOVE how it turned out.

Now that Sean has done this much, now he wants to finish off the cupboards! We'll wait for that. We do need to put up the ceramic tile backsplash, but Sean is waiting to get them from a guy at work - at no charge! So I can be patient for something that is free! ;)

Thanks for following me along in my renovations!

Album Tag

I was tagged by Lee and Amy in this fun challenge.

Lee's tag was to post the 4th picture in the 4th album on my hard drive.
Amy's tag was to post the 6th picture in the 6th album. And there is no cheating! You have to post even if it is a really kife picture. You also have to explain the photo.

So I will do both. If you want to play along, leave me a comment to let me know you posted yours!



4th of 4th - This photo was taken in March of 2008. Jonah received a gift card to BuildABear for his birthday, so this was his very first experience at Bear making. In this photo, the BAB Lady was telling Jonah the story of how the bears come to be a part of your family. Jonah LOVED it and "Henry" is a cherished member of our family now :)

6th of 6th - This picture was taken on Mother's Day 2008. Jonah and I were doing a craft together. It was making a pirate's treasure chest. NOT the best picture of me, but there was no cheating! LOL

Remembering My Uncle Ken

On Thursday January 29, 2009, my cherished Uncle Ken passed away at his home with family by his side. He was 75 years old. It is a devastating loss for many.

Uncle Ken was very active in the Rotary Club and he lived his life following the "Four-Way Test"
Of the things we think, say or do:

1. Is it the TRUTH?

2. Is it FAIR to all concerned?

3. Will it build GOOD WILL and BETTER FRIENDSHIPS?

4. Will it be BENEFICIAL to all concerned?

This is just one of the many attributes that made Uncle Ken the man he was. Perhaps if others followed this test, we wouldn't have so much negativity in this world.

There are so many things I remember about uncle Ken. He could always tell a good joke without having to be crude. The ice cream song, which really had to be seen first hand, his drink called Bloody Awful which was Beer, Tomato Juice, Tabasco sauce and Worchestershire sauce. He would always offer it to us when we were there, regardless of the time of day. Aunt Shirl would yell "Ken, its too early!" and his response was always "It's noon somewhere!" The drink lives up to its name because let me tell you, it is BLOODY AWFUL!!

I will also never forget one winter when uncle Ken, in his 70's strapped on a pair of hockey skates and went out on the lake for a skate. Age was never a factor with Uncle Ken.

One memory that stands out to me - as a little girl going up to the cottage, everyone would run off the end of the dock and into the lake. I would be hesitant because I wanted to know what was in the water at the end of the lake. Uncle Ken would say "It's ok, whatever is there will move". For whatever reason, I believed him and would make the jump. This past summer, Jonah and I went up to the cottage with my mom. Jonah ventured his way into the lake with Nana. Ironically, he had asked what was in the lake. Uncle Ken, without hesitation said "It's ok, whatever is there will move" It will always bring a smile to my face remembering that. Jonah did jump off the dock that day with nana catching him. It was a surreal moment for me.

Uncle Ken was funny, he was sincere, he was true to not only himself, but everyone around him. He loved his family, loved the outdoors and loved being a part of his community. And this showed at his service.

Something that used to always bother me was when someone would say "that was a beautiful service." It would irk me to no end. I mean, how could it have been lovely, or beautiful or wonderful? Well, on Monday I realized that really can be. The service for Uncle Ken was wonderful! I know it was just as he would have wanted it to be. We cried, we laughed, we remembered and we honoured. It was a beautiful service. It was a lovely service. It was a PERFECT service for Uncle Ken.


We love you Uncle Ken.

The 35 Bang?

Did you hear a big bang? Hmmm, neither did I. That is so weird. I wonder why. I mean....I DID turn 35......wasn't there supposed to be a big bang??

35 came and really, it was no big deal. Nothing has changed, I am still Char. Take me or leave me! LOL

The celebrations for my birthday were a bit more subdued than planned. My uncle Ken passed away the night before my birthday and although I had many, many emails, messages and phone calls from people to give me a smile, it was still a somber day. My mom called me in the morning to wish her "baby" a happy birthday and we ended up in tears! Uncle Ken would have wanted us to celebrate so we still had my parents and my sister and her boyfriend come over for some pizza, ice cream cake and a few rounds on the wii.

I received some BEAUTIFUL gifts! My girlfriend Colleen came over in the morning to clean my house and told me the cleaning was on her! And I was to use the money to buy myself something from Michaels! So I got a new Fiskars punch (Diamond) and an 8x8 album to do the month of me challenge in. Sean and Jonah gave me some scrapbook paper, rub-ons, card foils and a gift card to Michaels. Any suggestions on what to use the card for?? LOL

My parents just came back from a cruise and they, along with my sister Dawn and her boyfriend Ian, got me a pair of Mystic Topaz earrings. They are beautiful!

Here are some pictures from the day.

OK - I have tried in vain to post a slideshow but it does not want to cooperate. So if you would like to see the pics, click on this link!

http://www.slide.com/r/3MXEXJ89xz_9kDHUniSirI5wvyeX4v14?previous_view=mscd_embedded_url&view=original